Posted on 12/11/2001 9:57:28 AM PST by mancini
Young Coot! At least in his Mind.
"Some of this action involving Ingram is taking place in that same corridor in southeast Florida that stretches in a sraight line on I-95 from Vero Beach, FL. to Miami in which certain of the 9/11 terrorist were using this area as a training and staging area for their attacks."
Any Detective *or* Investigator worth his/her salt would tell you straight-away the instances of *coincidence* happening during an investigation are so rare as to be insignigicant.
When one does pop-up?
The *coincidence* is often actually regarded as an indicator they're getting pretty close, to something.
...& this coincinence is no different for me.
"He was afraid of the implications, and he just panicked," attorney Richard Lubin told U.S. Magistrate Judge Ann E. Vitunac at a bail hearing on July 10.
Apparently this was taking place in the West Palm Beach,FL. federal court.
I'm familiar with two of the federal prosecutors in the West Palm Beach, U.S. Attorneys office and also the FBI field office in West Palm Beach, FL.
Is that right, Don?
I'd bet you are, at that.
...lemme *guess*; they'll have to bury these people using a cork screw, eh?
After 3.5 months, State Farm stopped paying presidential attorney fees to defend a sexual harrassment case that had been ongoing for over 3 years--another Larry Klayman legal victory.
I am bipartisan against political corruption. You can read my past work via the archives of the following:
copvcia.com--Deutschebank, criminal insider trading, CIA ties to "pre-attack" stock monitoring.
worldnetdaily.com--corruption of George W. Bush
newsmax.com--China, Clinton campaign finance, "normal" trade relations, Congressman Curt Weldon's China campaign finance conflicts via national defense.
judicialwatch.org--corruption of Senator Arlen Specter, corruption and insurance fraud of William J. Clinton via State Farm case.
While I am one-half Italian descent, I prefer to be called an "American."
Tom Flocco
Alex Brown defrauds federal government
Date: Sat, 14 Oct 2000 14:48:54 EDT Alex. Brown pays $15 million to settle yield-burning case Largest amount paid by an investment bank so far
Nov. 17, 1999 -- Investment bank BT Alex. Brown Inc. has agreed to pay more than $15 million to settle charges that it had defrauded the federal government in the municipal bond market through a practice known as "yield burning."
It is the largest amount paid by an investment bank so far to settle allegations that it had engaged in yield burning by overcharging municipalities for U.S. Treasury securities.
"Alex. Brown and other investment banks took advantage of their positions as trusted financial advisors and deal managers to enrich themselves at taxpayers’ expense," said Erika A. Kelton, an attorney with Phillips & Cohen LLP, a Washington, D.C., firm which represents the whistleblower who initiated the case. "The Treasury lost hundreds of millions of dollars because of yield-burning schemes."
Todays settlement covers transactions from 1990 through 1995 where Alex. Brown & Sons Inc. the predecessor to BT Alex. Brown ” had been a financial advisor or financial manager to municipalities, counties and agencies in:
Pennsylvania
Maryland (Montgomery County, Prince Georges County, Calvert County, Frederick County, St. Marys County, Charles County, Carroll County, Cecil County, Ocean City, city of Cumberland, Maryland Transportation Authority and the Maryland Health and Higher Education Facilities Authority);
North Carolina (cities of Charlotte, Asheville, Goldsboro and Fayetteville and Mecklenberg County);
Louisiana (city of New Orleans);
Virginia (city of Leesburg and Virginia College Building Authority); and Washington, D.C. metro area (Washington Suburban Sanitary District)
The Justice Department, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Internal Revenue Service agreed to a global settlement of potential False Claims Act, security law and IRS liabilities against BT Alex. Brown, which has been acquired by Deutsche Bank.
The government investigated the practices of Alex. Brown and other investment banks in the municipal bond market as a result of a "qui tam" (whistleblower) lawsuit filed by Michael Lissack, a former managing director of Smith Barney.
Out of the total settlement, BT Alex. Brown is paying $15.17 million to settle charges made by Lissack.
"Municipal bond sales are arcane and complex transactions," said attorney John R. Phillips of Phillips & Cohen. "Without the help of an insider, the government may never have become aware that Wall Street was defrauding the Treasury of hundred of millions of dollars."
Two other investment banks previously settled qui tam cases brought by Lissack. Alex. Browns settlement brings the total to about $39 million that banks have paid so far as a result of Lissacks decision to blow the whistle on Wall Street using the False Claims Act.
Lazard Freres & Co. agreed to pay the federal government a total of $11 million last April to settle federal yield-burning charges. In November 1998
Lazard agreed to pay the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority $9 million to settle charges brought under the California False Claims Act that the investment bank fraudulently overpriced securities by $3 million on a single municipal refinancing transaction. (Phillips & Cohen also served as counsel to the LAMTA in the case.)
A separate qui tam case brought by Lissack resulted in Meridian Securities (now CoreStates Financial Corp.) paying the Justice Department $3.8 million in April 1998 to settle yield-burning charges.
Yield burning occurs when banks improperly inflate the price of securities above their fair market value. The excessive mark-ups lower or "burn" the securities yield.
In the case of municipal debt refinancings known as "advance refundings," underwriters pocketed profits that should have gone to the federal government.
Phillips & Cohens empirical study of pricing practices in the municipal bond market found that when banks sold securities competitively, they charged average mark-ups of just 25 cents per $1,000 bond. But when they sold clients the same securities on a sole-source basis, the banks added about a $5 mark-up per bond. The profits made on non-competitive sales were on average 20 times higher than those made on competitive deals.
Lissacks false claims lawsuit against Alex. Brown was filed in 1995 in the southern district of New York (Manhattan). It was brought under the False Claims Act, which permits individuals with knowledge of fraud against the government to file suit on its behalf.
For more information about this case, see the following news stories:
"BT Alex. Brown agrees to pay $15.3 million in bond case," David Barboza, The New York Times, 11/18/99.
"U.S. near sweeping pact on yield burning, Charles Gasparino and John Connor, The Wall Street Journal, 11/18/99.
"Alex. Brown overcharge case settled," Bill Atkinson, Baltimore Sun, 11/18/99.
"Broker to pay for Pa. markups," Tom Cahill, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 11/18/99.
"SEC fines, censures lawyer, two investment firms for gouging state," Ken Zapinski and Frank Reeves, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 11/18/99.
About the firm | The False Claims Act | Whistleblower's reward | Have a case?
Whistleblowers' stories | Resources | What's new © 2000 Phillips & Cohen. All rights reserved Credits
Looks like this means that all possible future charges for any previous acts by the firm, currently known or unknown, are wiped off the slate. Is that the way you read it? If I'm right, this could have been a way of hiding something much worse, either to protect principals of AB, BT, or to protect Deutschbank from contingent liabilities.
It doesn't surprise me that LKlayman's JW was one of the few who'd lend assistance, either.
I'm sure you've read the flack & voscious attacks that man's recieved for simply trying to present some resistance to the hoardes of crooks, thieves & ghouls we've been over run with today.
Good luck to you & your family, Mr. Flocco; & have the best Christmas & New Year ever.
Ahhh...Donald?
This clown's got more records than the Beatles.
Jesus...
Well, I've got MY PREFERENCES set to display 100 replies per page, so you'll get no glory from Here! Ol' #51.
"Municipal bond sales are arcane and complex transactions," said attorney John R. Phillips of Phillips & Cohen. "Without the help of an insider, the government may never have become aware that Wall Street was defrauding the Treasury of hundred of millions of dollars."
So they pay pennies on the dollar as fines. Good Deal. Need a part of that action, don't we?
Twiddle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . twiddle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . twiddle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . twiddle . . . .. . . . . . . . . . did I mention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . twiddle . . . . . . ?
"Federal officials said they were now investigating the role that Ernst & Young, the bank's auditors, may have played in Superior's collapse and may seek a settlement from the company."
I trust you're following the plight of Andersen of Enron fame.
Foxes IN the Hen House. Nationwide."
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