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Former Rove Aide Requests Immunity in Corruption Investigation
The corruption cases spawned by former superlobbyist Jack Abramoff may be headed in the direction of the White House as a former aide to Presidential advisor Karl Rove requested immunity from a Congressional Committee before testifying. Susan Ralston worked for Abramoff from 1999 to 2001, and then joined the White House staff as an executive…
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Sidley Austin Dodges Criminal Charges for Tax Shelter Opinions
National law firm Sidley Austin LLP avoided criminal charges for the work of one of its former tax partners, Raymond Ruble, who is one of the defendants in the KPMG tax shelter prosecution that is the subject of the Second Circuit’s recent opinion. A press release issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern…
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Eight-Year Sentence for Former Coke Employee in Trade Secrets Case
A former executive administrative assistant at the Coca-Cola Co. convicted of conspiracy to steal trade secrets and sell them to rival PepsiCo. received an eight-year prison sentence. The Sentencing Guidelines called for a sentence of 63 to 78 months, but U.S. District Judge J. Owen Forrester gave a higher sentence, stating that "I can’t think…
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KPMG Attorney’s Fees Claims Kicked By the Second Circuit — Is Dismissal of the Indictment Next?
The jury-rigged procedure created by U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan to address claims for attorney’s fees by the former KPMG partners and employees charged with tax evasion for their role in selling tax shelters has been overturned by the Second Circuit (opinion available below). Judge Kaplan found that the Department of Justice violated the Fifth…
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Goodling Goes to Capitol Hill
Monica Goodling will appear before the House Judiciary Committee on May 23 and, after receiving a grant of use/fruits immunity, testify about her role in the firing of nine U.S. Attorneys in 2006. Goodling served as the White House Liaison for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales until resigning in March 2007, shortly after she refused to…
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Down Go the Financial Aid Officers
The investigation of conflicts of interest in the financial aid offices at colleges and universities has started to cost some officials their jobs. A story in the Columbia Daily Spectator (here) states that the financial aid director at Columbia University has been fired after receiving stock in Student Loan Xpress while putting the company —…
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Government Seeks to Freeze Nacchio’s Assets
A Denver Post story (here) discusses a recent filing by the government seeking a temporary freeze of the assets of former Qwest CEO Joseph Nacchio, who was convicted of nineteen counts of insider trading from stock sales in 2001. According to the filing by federal prosecutors, Nacchio transferred assets in 2002 to his wife, and…
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Radler’s Finished — Did He Help or Hurt the Prosecution?
David Radler completed two weeks of testimony in the prosecution of Conrad Black and three other defendants accused of defrauding Hollinger International, taking more than a few lumps from the defense side. Whether his credibility held up is an open question, and media reports (here and here) provide definite mixed reviews, kind of like the…
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FBI Agents Search Office of San Francisco Supervisor
FBI agents executed a search warrant at the office of member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on May 18 as part of a corruption investigation. According to reports in the San Francisco Chronicle (here and here), the government is looking into a $40,000 payment from a local businessman having city permit issues. Agents…
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When a Lie Should Be Prosecuted
When former BP CEO Lord John Browne stepped down from his position over the revelation of an embarrassing personal relationship, he admitted to lying to a British court to obtain an injunction preventing the publication of the story. As discussed in an earlier post (here), his admission could be the basis for a perjury prosecution…
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