by Last Night in Little Rock

The Oregonian reported Sunday that "Louis Beres, longtime chairman of the Christian Coalition of Oregon, molested three female family members when they were pre-teens."

The Oregonian interviewed the family members, but Beres denies the allegations, a la Tom DeLay:

by TChris

Tommy Chong is still trying to overturn his conviction, but he's staying out of jail and going back to work.

The performer has plugged back into the stand-up circuit. He's just written "The I Chong," which chronicles his "wrongful" stint in the pokey, for Simon and Schuster. And "AKA Chong," a hit at the Toronto Film Festival, documents his arrest and prison ordeal.

Chong hopes to raise money to pay for his legal fees. In the meantime, he's imparted some sage advice:

"If there was a lesson to be learned," Chong says in a phone interview from a friend's home in Los Angeles, "it's to never put your face on a bong."

by TChris

Speculation has been that the government indicted David Safavian to pressure him to roll over on Jack Abramoff. Safavian's lawyer today endorsed that suspicion:

"If it wasn't for the open, active investigation into Mr. Abramoff, Mr. Safavian would not have had to enter a not-guilty plea today," [Barbara] Van Gelder, of Wiley, Rein & Fielding LLP in Washington, told reporters following the hearing. "I think it is a leveraging maneuver."

Safavian entered "not guilty" pleas today to charges of obstructing and making false statements.

by TChris

And the hits just keep on coming.

A Texas grand jury indicted Rep. Tom DeLay on a new charge of money laundering Monday, less than a week after another grand jury leveled a conspiracy charge that forced DeLay to temporarily step down as House majority leader.

Update:

The new indictment, handed up by a grand jury seated Monday, contained two counts. The money laundering charge carries a penalty of up to life in prison.

(Another update below the fold.)

by TChris

In light of the FEMA disaster, this TV show sounds more like a comedy than a drama:

"DHS" — a show about the men and women of the Department of Homeland Security "who risk their lives every day to keep us safe”

Problem is, it’s neither. It doesn’t exist, as duped investors learned.

by Last Night in Little Rock

The widow of slain Atlanta Superior Court judge Rowland Barnes has served notice on the Atlanta Sheriff that she intends to sue over the negligence of the Sheriff's Office in the judge's March 11th murder as noted on Law.com. As previously reported here, the Sheriff investigated and fired several officers.

by Last Night in Little Rock

According to a prosecution motion filed Tuesday in Palm Beach, Rush Limbaugh's doctors are to be questioned in his "Doctor Shopping" case as reported here.

Ashley Smith has always said it was the power of faith that spared her from being the next victim of the Atlanta courthouse gunman who afterwards made his way into her apartment. Turns out, it might have been the power of meth.

Ashley Smith, the woman who says she persuaded suspected courthouse gunman Brian Nichols to release her by talking about her faith, discloses in a new book that she gave him methamphetamine during the hostage ordeal. Smith did not share that detail with authorities at the time. But investigators said she came clean about the drugs when they interviewed her months later. They said they have no plans to charge her with drug possession.

In her book, "Unlikely Angel," released Tuesday, Smith says Nichols had her bound on her bed with masking tape and an extension cord. She says he asked for marijuana, but she did not have any, and she dug into her illegal stash of crystal meth instead.

by Last Night in Little Rock

USA Today reports on the chaos in the criminal justice system in New Orleans that is just starting to rear its ugly head, at least as far as the public is concerned: defendants, victims, and witnesses are missing or scattered, courts and lawyers are out of business, the police force lost hundreds who went AWOL and have their jobs in jeopardy. It is a long and compelling article. The criminal defense list servs have been on this since the flood.

Just the first three paragraphs are here:

by TChris

When the government builds a case on the word of thugs turned snitches, it shouldn't be surprised at an outcome like this one:

In a startling setback to federal prosecutors, John A. Gotti, the Gambino crime family prince who said he wanted to leave the mob life behind and drive a minivan with his family, avoided conviction today in his racketeering trial, as the jury returned hung verdicts on three charges against him and voted to acquit him on a fourth.

The government says it will bring Gotti to trial again, but there's no reason to think its witnesses will become more trustworthy in the interim. Judge Shira A. Scheindlin rejected the government's request to detain Gotti until the second trial. That ruling only makes sense: having exposed the weaknesses in the government's case, Gotti has little reason to flee.

Bump and Update (TL): Law Prof Ellen Podgor of White Collar Crime Blog weighs in:

Unlike Bernard Ebbers, but like Jamie Olis, the defendants were sent off to jail immediately. They were not released pending the appeal. .... Unlike those sentenced in the federal system (e.g. Rigas, Ebbers, and Olis), both Kozlowski and Swartz have the opportunity to present their case and circumstances for parole after they have served 8 1/3 years. But some will argue that the prisons awaiting Kozlowski and Swartz will be harsher than those facing the federal offenders (although it should be noted that Jamie Olis does not exactly have luxury quarters).

Is this sentence necessary? No. The minimum would have been 1-3 years and perhaps the sentence should have been closer to that time frame. Closer not because the crime was not wrong and should be punished, but closer because these individuals are first offenders who are unlikely to commit a crime again in the future. Their positions of power have been stripped from them and they are unlikely to have the ability or power to ever be a menace to society again. Are the fines and restitution appropriate? Yes. Make them pay back every dime that was taken and more.

Bump and Update: Jury selection is underway. Six jurors have been dismissed and opening arguments likely will begin Thursday.

********
Original Post (9/18)

Former Illinois Governor George Ryan's federal corruption trial begins Monday.

Accused of doling out big-money state contracts and leases to political insiders, the 71-year-old veteran politician is scheduled to go to trial Monday, charged in a 22-count indictment with racketeering conspiracy, mail fraud, lying to the FBI and tax fraud.

It's another case of purchased testimony, testimony bought with promises of leniency. Freedom is a far more precious commodity than money. How's it looking for Gov. Ryan?