Two news items from Chicago today. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals denied an appeal bond for Conrad Black, while granting one to his two co-defendants. The British publishing magnate must report Monday to a federal prison in Coleman, Florida to start serving his 6 1/2 year sentence.

While the Court said there's a substantial issue on the fraud convictions (which, if decided in defendant's favor, likely would result in a reversal or new trial being granted) it found no such issue on Black's obstruction of justice conviction. The old coverup -- it gets you every time.

In the Anton Rezko trial which begins with jury selection Monday, the judge ruled today that photos of Rezko's mansion will come into evidence because it shows his opulent lifestyle and some of the alleged unlawful fundraising activity took place there.[More...]

Here's a recipe for getting caught if you decide to steal a car:

Authorities say a man drove a stolen car to the Anderson County Sheriff's Office to demand the return of nearly $2,000 officers seized from him during a drug arrest last June.

Not surprisingly, he didn't get his money back.

What an outrage. The Justice Department has indicted one of Miami's leading, most well-respected, ethical lawyers, Ben Kuehne, on charges of money laundering.

Ben Kuehne, a widely respected Miami lawyer whose clients have included former Vice President Al Gore and other major politicians, surrendered Thursday on federal criminal charges for his behind-the-scenes role in a complex international drug-trafficking case.

An indictment, unsealed at his morning court appearance, charges Kuehne in a money-laundering conspiracy with approving tainted legal payments by an accused Colombian drug kingpin to his defense attorney in Miami.

The Indictment is here (pdf). What jumped out at me was Paragraph 15, alleging a substantial amount of the funds that were the subject of Ben's opinion letters to Ochoa's lawyers came not from the clean business of an Ochoa relative as set forth in Ben's letter, but from five undercover law enforcement operations the Government had in place in New York and Miami. [More...]

The feds have been busy in New York -- as have their counterparts in Italy. In New York, 50 alleged mobsters were arrested today and charged in an 80 count Indictment.

From the news description, it sounds like the case is heavily built on snitch testimony.

Charles Carneglia was charged with five murders, including court officer Albert Gelb in 1976, gangster Louis DiBono in 1990, armored car guard Jose Delgado Rivera in 1990 and Gambino associate Salvatore Puma in 1983. Nick Corozzo was charged with murdering Robert Arena and Thomas Maranga, two drug dealers in Brooklyn, in 1996.

Those murders are so old, the most likely way new evidence was developed was by getting it from someone who claims to have been there or have first-hand knowledge they decided to pass on to the feds. Will they have some forensics to back up the charges, or rely totally on the turncoats?

In a court hearing in Chicago, prosecutors detailed a $3.5 million wire transfer from a bank in Beirut, Lebanon that they said was moved through a series of accounts until it reached Rezko or some of his relatives who had posted property for his bond. Under the terms of his agreement, prosecutors said in a filing with the court, Rezko was obligated to disclose any change in his financial status.

More....

Famed pathologist Cyril Wecht goes on trial today in federal court in Pittsburgh on charges he illegally profited from his tenure as coroner. The charges are mail and wire fraud and theft of honest services.

In a case Congressional Democrats say is a politically motivated prosecution by a Republican administration, Dr. Wecht, a Democrat, is in federal court here facing 41 criminal counts.

....The upshot of the government’s case is that Dr. Wecht, who was the Allegheny County medical examiner until he resigned after his indictment in January 2006, used his office to benefit himself. The accusations include using county equipment, vehicles and employees in his private forensic pathology business.

In the most notorious charge, Dr. Wecht is accused of trading unclaimed cadavers to Carlow College in Pittsburgh for use of space to conduct his private autopsies.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has complete details of the case.

For the second time, a lawyer for Bernie Kerik has been disqualified from representing him.

During the federal investigation leading to his Indictment, the Government disqualified long-time Kerik lawyer (and TalkLeft pal) Joe Tacopina. (Background from the Washington Post here.

Today, on the Government's motion, the Court granted a request to disqualify Kerik's chief counsel Ken Breen.

Prosecutors had asked for the ruling in the criminal case against Kerik, arguing that defense lawyer Kenneth Breen was at meetings when Kerik gave his lawyers false information.

The potential conflict is "so severe that no remedial measure will cure it," U.S. District Judge Stephen Robinson said in his ruling from White Plains.

The Judge said the removal was necessary to preserve "both the defendant's right to effective assistance of counsel and the court's need to preserve the integrity of the process."

A new lawyer will require lots of time to get up to speed on the case, putting off a trial date -- possibly until after the November elections. In the unlikely event Rudy is the nominee, that would be a big boost for him.

Here are the Government's request to disqualify Breen, Breen's response and declaration, and another Government response.

Since President Bush doesn't believe that lying to federal investigators or grand jurors really deserves punishment (at least in the case of his friend and fellow rascal Scooter Libby), do you suppose he'll commute the sentences of Pro Bowl defensive lineman Dana Stubblefield or Olympic medalist sprinter Marion Jones?

Oh, and to all the disgruntled Republicans who complained that nobody gets charged or convicted or punished for what Scooter Libby did -- tell that to Stubblefield and Jones.

A Las Vegas judge doubled O.J. Simpson's bail today at a hearing on the motion to revoke his bond. (Background here.)

The judge also ordered that he put 15% down in cash, or $37.5k -- his friends are trying to raise the cash for him.

Update: He's on his way home to Florida.

Ex Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong filed for bankruptcy today. Also today, his answer to the civil lawsuits filed by the exonerated players were due.

In the October lawsuit, attorneys for the three players accused Nifong, the city of Durham, police investigators and others of conducting "one of the most chilling episodes of premeditated police, prosecutorial and scientific misconduct in modern American history."

Nifong listed his liabilities at $180 million. The case is: In re Michael B. Nifong, 08-80034, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Middle District of North Carolina (Durham).

This story last Thursday suggests that Miami police were confident they'd captured a cop killer when they arrested Ricardo Ajuste, a "reputed gang member" who admitted that he was "in the area."

Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Mindy Glazer ordered Ajuste held without bond Wednesday on the attempted murder charges.

Case closed? Not quite.

more...

In Reno, Nevada, hearings begin today to decide whether Darren Mack, who pleaded guilty to murdering his wife and shooting the couple's divorce judge, will be allowed to withdraw his guilty plea.

Mack is alleging he was "psychologically raped" by his defense counsel, David Chesnoff, a TL friend whom I consider to be one of the best lawyers in the country. (some of his recent cases are discussed here.)

Mack had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, but after the Government finished presenting its evidence at trial, Mack agreed to plead guilty to offenses that would avoid a mandatory life sentence and make him eligible for parole after 20 years.

Mack is also alleging that the judge he shot, Chuck Weller, demanded $5 million from Mack to agree to the plea deal, a charge the judge denies.