Letter of Apology » 2008 » January

Judge Biggers Clarifies Two Issues

Dave Westheimer — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 07:05:52 +0000

US District Judge Neal Biggers on Wednesday denied Dickie Scruggs’ motion to reconsider allowing him to add attorney Kenneth Coghlan to his legal team (earlier). Judge Biggers’ order, linked here (in .pdf) by the Daily Journal, also clarified which ”previous bad acts” the federal prosecutors will move to admit in US v. Scruggs:

“…[Joey] Langston pleaded guilty to another charge of judicial bribery and agreed to testify in the present case against defendant Richard Scruggs about Langston’s knowledge of alleged prior similar bad acts by Scruggs as provided for by Rule 404(b) of the Federal Rules of Evidence.”

Hood Tries To Sabotage Scruggs State Farm Deposition

Dave Westheimer — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 07:05:42 +0000

Although US Magistrate Judge Michael T. Parker’s order of January 24 clearly granted State Farm’s motion to take a deposition from Dickie Scruggs in State Farm v. Hood (earlier), a bench memorandum submitted on Wednesday by State Farm indicates that Hood is running interference for Scruggs and is attempting to sabotage the deposition. John O’Brien’s Legal Newsline story is here.

Washington Man Extradited From Poland, Held In $30 Million Ponzi Scheme

Dave Westheimer — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 07:05:22 +0000

Charles Nolon Bush, a former Port Orchard, Washington resident who fled to France and then Poland after his investment business collapsed in 2002, was ordered detained on Monday in US District Court in Tacoma; he was indicted by a federal grand jury in Seattle in August 2006 on 32 counts including securities fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering. He is alleged to have fraudulently taken $30 million in investor funds in a Ponzi scheme. Bush was arrested in Warsaw in August 2007; he fought extradition but was returned to the US earlier this month. The DOJ press release is here.

Special Master Resigns in Frisby Case

Dave Westheimer — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 07:16:15 +0000

In the aftermath of public revelation that former Hinds County DA Ed Peters was advising a plaintiff behind the scenes in a case before Judge Bobby DeLaughter and that a special master had been removed by DeLaughter after Peters became involved (here), the replacement special master in that case (Eaton v. Frisby et al) has resigned. Jackson attorney Larry Latham, who had replaced Jack Dunbar, on Monday told Circuit Judge Swan Yerger that Peters had spoken with him about the appointment and that it was necessary for him to resign to avoid any appearance of impropriety. Peters and DeLaughter have not been charged. Patsy Brumfield’s Daily Journal story is here.

UPDATE: Jerry Mitchell’s Clarion-Ledger story here has more details: that Latham says he was unaware that Dunbar was serving as special master, that Peters’ call to him came four days before DeLaughter removed Dunbar, and that Peters asked him not to bring up his name. Mitchell also reports:

“In a motion filed Tuesday to protect potential evidence, Frisby’s attorneys said it’s obvious Peters and DeLaughter communicated privately because Peters knew about the plan to replace Dunbar - something they said Dunbar himself didn’t know.”

Special Counsel Claims DOJ Obstructing US Attorney Firings Probe

Dave Westheimer — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 06:20:47 +0000

US Office of Special Counsel head Scott Bloch last week sent a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey complaining that the DOJ is impeding his office’s investigation into the firings of eight US Attorneys. The independent agency headed by Bloch has the responsibility of enforcing protection of federal civil service employees from politicization. Bloch claims that he has repeatedly been refused access to documents and other evidence and that DOJ officials want him to delay his investigation until their own internal investigation is finished — which Bloch said could push his time frame to the end of the administration “when there is little hope of any corrective measures or discipline possible.” Richard Schmitt and Tom Hamburger’s LA Times story is here; AP here.

Prosecutors Recommend Two Years For Lerach; Lazar Sentenced To Home Confinement

Dave Westheimer — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 05:58:34 +0000

In court documents filed late Monday in US District Court in Los Angeles, prosecutors recommended that former Milberg Weiss senior partner William Lerach serve two years in prison. Lerach pleaded guilty on October 29, 2007 to one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice in connection with the firm’s hidden payments to repeat plaintiffs in class action lawsuits. However, the the pre-sentencing report filed by the probation office recommended a sentence of 15 months. Lerach’s guilty plea called for a prison term of one to two years. Sentencing is scheduled for February 11, 2008 before US District Judge John Walter. On Tuesday, Judge Walter sentenced former Milberg client Seymour Lazar to six months home confinement. Lazar, an 80-year-old retired attorney who was the recipient of $2.6 million in secret payments from the firm, had pleaded guilty in October to obstruction of justice, subscribing to a false tax return and making a false declaration to the court. The Houston Chronicle has the Bloomberg News story here.

Scruggs Prosecutors Will Introduce Similar Acts

Dave Westheimer — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 07:38:35 +0000

Prosecutors in US v. Scruggs et al on Monday filed notice that they “will seek to introduce similar acts evidence pursuant to Rule 404(b), Fed. R. Evid., at the trial of the above-captioned case”. Patsy Brumfield’s preliminary story in the Daily Journal is here. The question, of course, is which similar acts; it could be the Langston case now unfolding, or others yet unknown.

Meanwhile, Scruggs seems intent on creating a possible appeal issue. On January 17, US District Judge Neal Biggers denied in no uncertain terms Scruggs’ motion to add attorney Kenneth Coghlan to his legal team. Reason: Coghlan had briefly represented Scruggs’ co-defendant Steve Patterson early in the case; Patterson has now pleaded guilty and is cooperating with prosecutors. But on Friday January 25, Scruggs’ lead attorney John Keker filed a motion to reconsider which announces Scruggs’ intent to consult Coghlan on non-evidentiary issues if the motion is denied. Alyssa Schnugg’s Oxford Eagle story is here.

Closing Arguments Today In Snipes Tax Trial

Dave Westheimer — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 07:33:42 +0000

After the prosecution rested on Friday in the federal tax fraud trial of actor Wesley Snipes and two co-defendants (earlier), Snipes’ lead attorney Robert Bernhoft promised a parade of celebrity witnesses and hinted that Snipes would take the stand in his own defense. But on Monday the defense rested without calling a single witness, asserting that the government had failed to meet its burden of proof. Bernhoft moved for a directed verdict of not guilty, which US District Judge William Terrell Hodges denied. Closing arguments are scheduled for Tuesday morning. AP/Yahoo here, Ocala Star-Banner here.

More DeLaughter, Peters Entanglements Come To Light

Dave Westheimer — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 08:16:09 +0000

In his guilty plea, Joey Langston admitted bribing a “close personal friend” of state Circuit Judge Bobby DeLaughter in order to influence the judge to resolve a case in favor of Dickie Scruggs; the friend has been widely identified as former Hinds County District Attorney Ed Peters (earlier). Undoubtedly as a result of the publicity, defense attorneys for Jeffrey Frisby in another case being heard by Delaughter (Eaton Corp. v. Jeffrey D. Frisby et al) have filed motions asking for an impartial review of DeLaughter’s decisions in that case after learning from “accidental e-mails” that Ed Peters has been advising Eaton behind the scenes even though he is not the attorney of record. The Frisby motions also claim that DeLaughter removed a special master from the case after Peters became involved because his rulings had been unfavorable to Eaton. Bobby Harrison’s Daily Journal story is here.

Jerry Mitchell’s Clarion-Ledger story today indicates that this case and others are now part of an expanded FBI investigation.

Former House Staffer Pleads Guilty To Wire Fraud

Dave Westheimer — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 08:11:40 +0000

Laura I. Flores of Arlington, Virginia, a former office manager for three House Democrats, pleaded guilty on Friday to a single count of wire fraud in US District Court in Alexandria. Flores admitted receiving approximately $200,000 from false expense vouchers she submitted during 2005 and 2006. The vouchers were paid from funds allocated to the three House members to be used for operational expenses; Flores had the funds diverted to her personal bank account. Sentencing is scheduled for May 2, 2008; the DOJ press release is here. A Washington Post story here identifies the three Representatives as Jane Harman, Neil Abercrombie and Jim Costa.