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Government Says Its for Terrorism
As amazing as it may sound, it looks like prosecutors want even more freedom to investigate without oversight. According to the New York Times here the government is seeking power so that they can "subpoena records from businesses and other institutions without a judge’s sign-off if THEY declared that the material was needed as part…
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How Long Can The Government Take to Indict?
In our Nov. 17th post here, we spoke of the indictment of former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell of Atlanta, Georgia. In this prior post we also spoke of a defense motion to dismiss two racketeering counts because the prosecution was particularly slow in bringing this indictment. And now approximately six months later a hearing was…
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Closing Arguments Set in Kozlowski Case
With the evidence all in, the next step in the trial of Dennis Kozlowski and Mark Swartz (both formerly associated with Tyco), will likely be a hearing on what jury instructions should be given to the jury, followed by closing arguments. And it sounds like the jury may have the case before the end of…
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Closing Arguments in Scrushy-Part II
The defense closing has been full steam ahead. The Birmingham Alabama News reports the details here. And as anticipated, a key issue is whether Scrushy "knew." A second strong defense argument appears to be the – "holes" in the government case. When a case comes down to what the defendant "knew," the credibility or lack…
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Perelman Awarded $850 Million in Punitive Damages From Morgan Stanley
The Florida jury that awarded Ronald Perelman damages of $604.3 million for being defrauded by Morgan Stanley (see earlier post here) in connection with his sale of Coleman Co. to Sunbeam — a Morgan Stanley investment banking client at the time — has added another $850 million as punitive damages. (See AP story here) Thus…
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Closing Arguments in Scrushy Trial-Part I
Closing arguments have started in the Scrushy trial with the prosecution calling the accused the "the quintessential micromanager." (see AP in Birmingham News here) Clearly the government is trying to demonstrate that Scrushy had the knowledge and intent required for the crimes charged. CEOs reading and listening to this are likely troubled by this description. …
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When White Collar Crime Trials Turn Into Cures for Insomnia
While the field of white collar crime is (sometimes) considered interesting, and perhaps even "sexy," the trials themselves can be quite laborious, as some of the recent well-known prosecutions have shown that the proceedings can drag on over months. Tom Kirkendall has a terrific post (here) on his Houston’s Clear Thinkers blog about the Enron…
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It’s a Small World After All
As the prosecution of Richard Scrushy enters its final phase, with closing arguments set for today, the various sideshows should be coming to an end (see earlier post here on the investigation into a Wall Street Journal story on the dismissal of a juror). Judge Karon Bowdre released a transcript of a hearing held in…
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Former Houston Official Pleads Guilty to Wide-Ranging Corruption
Maybe there’s something in the air these days with all the corruption cases flowing out of the U.S. Attorney’s Offices (e.g., Philadelphia, Hoboken NJ, Connecticut). The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas (Houston) announced the guilty plea of Monique McGilbra, a former Director of Building Services for the city of Houston, to…
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Former Hoboken Mayor Sentenced to 30 Months
Former Hoboken, NJ. Mayor Anthony Russo received a 30-month term of imprisonment for taking $317,000 in bribes from an accounting firm in exchange for directing city business to the firm. A press release issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office (here) noted that, at his sentencing, "Russo equivocated and minimized his conduct." Initially dissatisfied with Russo’s…
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