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Lawyers, Cigars, and Forgery
Lawyers certainly find creative ways to get in all sorts of trouble. The Seventh Circuit upheld the conviction of Chicago attorney Richard Connors for attempting to smuggle 46 boxes of Cuban cigars (hidden in four suitcases) into the country through Canada. The opinion’s first paragraph (here) shows that this one is more than a little…
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First Former KPMG Tax Partner Pleads Guilty
Bloomberg reports (here) that former KPMG tax partner David Rivkin entered a guilty plea to conspiracy and tax evasion charges, the first individual from the firm to admit to criminal conduct. The government has indicted 19 individuals, most from KPMG, for selling tax shelters to wealthy individuals. At the plea hearing before U.S. District Judge…
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Enron Prosecution Nearly Complete as We Ponder the Chuckle-Giggle Distinction
Former Enron treasurer Ben Glisan is nearly done on the witness stand, and reports indicate that he will be the last significant former Enron employee to testify for the government. Prosecutors may complete their case this week. Glisan’s cross-examination included a review of how former CEO Ken Lay reacted to a description of the effect…
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Nacchio Insider Trading Prosecution Lurches Forward
The securities fraud prosecution of former Qwest CEO Joseph Nacchio moved forward, at least a little bit, when U.S. District Court Judge Edward Nottingham denied the defense motion to dismiss the indictment because it did not identify the alleged material nonpublic information on which he traded. The court noted that while materiality is an element…
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Third Circuit Bank Fraud Decision
In United States v. Leahy, the Third Circuit issued a decision (here) on the merits of the defendants’ bank fraud convictions, after an earlier opinion considered the effect of Booker on forfeiture and restitution. The defendants, a corporation and two senior managers, were convicted of defrauding ten banks that had the corporation conduct auctions of…
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Client Acquitted, Attorney Faints
Former Erie, PA, mayor Rick Filippi, along with his law partner and campaign manager, was acquitted on charges of trying to profit from a proposed racetrack by buying property that could be resold later at a higher price. The track was never built and the property sold for no gain. Upon the announcement in state…
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Quattrone Goes 2-for-2
Former tech investment banker Frank Quattrone had quite a positive week. First, the Second Circuit reversed his obstruction convictions due to improper jury instructions, then a few days later the Securities & Exchange Commission reversed the NASD’s order barring him permanently from working with any broker-dealer. In 2002, the NASD, New York Stock Exchange (NYSE),…
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Subpoena to TSA Attorney Martin Quashed
Transportation Safety Administration attorney Carla Martin will not have to appear as a witness called by the defense in the death penalty trial of Zacarias Moussaoui. Martin had disclosed trial transcripts to various government witnesses in violation of U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema’s sequestration order, which nearly resulted in the government being unable to complete…
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Guilty Pleas in Bottle Deposit Scheme
While the amount you get for recycling bottles and cans is not much, if you have enough of them you’re talking about real money. Kramer and Newman certainly figured that out on Seinfeld when they collected cans in New York and planned to drive them to Michigan, which has a ten cent deposit (Episode 131,…
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FCPA Charge for Offering Bribe to Iraqi Police Official
Faheem Salam, a civilian translator working in Iraq as a contract worker through Titan Corp., was charged with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act for offering a $60,000 bribe to an Iraqi police official to obtain a supply contract. According to a Department of Justice press release (here): Salam offered a senior Iraqi police official…
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