Free Republic

Junior Gotti Freaks Out In Court Against WitnessBy Jen Chung October 9, 2009 9:15 AM Well, it had to happen sometime: John Gotti Jr., currently on trial for the fourth time for racketeering, had a meltdown in court yesterday, yelling at a star prosecution witness and former mobster. The Post reports the Teflon Don's son shouted to John Alite during a break, "You’re a dog! You’re a dog! Did I kill little girls, you fag? You’re a punk. You’re a dog all your life — you always were. Do I strangle little girls in motels?" Apparently Alite was being led...

ACORN, a social justice organization with roots in [New Orleans], battles a string of scandals. The announcement stuck to a wall outside the entrance to ACORN's local office in the 2600 block of Canal Street quietly signals the trouble afoot. In English and Spanish, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now tells walk-up clients that ACORN's housing office has shut itself down for two weeks to immerse itself "in an intensive training program." The sign is a symptom of a tumultuous week in the history of a controversial poor people's social justice movement -- one founded by a New...

Glenn Beck yesterday unveiled a new congressional report accusing the far-left activist group ACORN of massive fraud, money laundering, and racketeering directed from the highest levels of ACORN management. (Snip) Beck noted that President Obama was a community organizer. “He is organizing our government in the same way,” Beck said. “We can’t track anything. You’ve seen that healthcare bill. It is so complex. Money’s everywhere. It’s a shell game.

George Torres' future looked pretty bleak: The supermarket mogul had been stripped of his riches by government prosecutors, convicted in a massive racketeering case and was awaiting a potential life sentence in federal prison. But in a stunning reversal of fortune Tuesday, the government released its grip on Torres' assets, a judge tossed out the most serious convictions against him, and he was ordered set free -- at least for now. The turnaround came after prosecutors in the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles turned over tape-recorded conversations that contained information that was potentially beneficial to Torres' defense regarding at...

The MPAA apparently said that the “enemies of copyright have really done a good job at creating the false premise that the interest of copyright holders and the interest of society as a whole are antagonistic” during the World Copyright Summit. The worry is that their pro-copyright advocacy perspective is fading away in the public conscious. In an interesting report from IP-Watch where there were a few choice words levelled against those that disagreed with the view-points of the copyright industry. Apparently, Fritz Attaway suggested that it's false to assume that the rights of the industry and the interest of...

Larry Moore has been attempting to earn his way off the streets of San Francisco by shining shoes. He used to be one of the homeless drunkards bumming change from pedestrians up until about a year ago when he decided to try to pull himself up by the bootstraps, so to speak. While he still sleeps under the Bay Bridge, for the last 11 months he’s cleaned up his act—stopped drinking, bathes everyday, dresses neatly and works diligently at his trade. He’s been saving money to rent a room so he can get out of the ranks of the homeless....

Mose Jefferson seeks dismissal of racketeering indictmentby Michael Kunzelman, The Associated Press Monday June 08, 2009, 2:11 PM NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- A former Louisiana congressman's brother asked a federal judge Monday to dismiss the racketeering conspiracy case against him, his girlfriend and two of his relatives, calling it a politically motivated prosecution. Arthur Lemann III, one of Mose Jefferson's lawyers, claims the case against his client is fueled by "the high tide of the public outrage" over the separate corruption charges against his brother, former Rep. William Jefferson, whose trial in Virginia is scheduled to start Tuesday. "In the...

According to an analysis of climate legislation performed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the cap-and-trade system favored by President Barack Obama and many congressional Democrats could potentially damage the U.S. manufacturing sector and force jobs to move overseas. The policy, under certain scenarios, for example, “can cause domestic production … to shift abroad,” reads the EPA analysis, and result in greater greenhouse gas emissions in countries that do not have similar cap-and-trade rules. Further, the EPA’s Apr. 20 preliminary analysis of the bill, sponsored by Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Edward Markey (D-Mass.), shows that the plan would reduce...

Slaying of Deputy Jerry Ortiz triggered four-year investigation HAWAIIAN GARDENS - Almost 1,400 law enforcement officials converged on Hawaiian Gardens in a series of pre-dawn raids Thursday as part of the largest federal indictment against a street gang in United States history. Varrio Hawaiian Gardens, Hawaiian Gardens' oldest and most notorious gang, waged a racist campaign to eliminate black people from the community via attempted murders and other crimes, according to the federal racketeering indictments that werei unsealed Thursday. A total of five indictments charged 147 members and associates of the gang, and federal, state and local law enforcement officials...

The interests of Floridians — not political parties — should be paramount as candidates jockey for position in the state’s 2010 elections. The dominos officially began tumbling this week when Gov. Charlie Crist announced, to no one’s surprise, that he’ll run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Mel Martinez. Crist, who has vied for four statewide offices in the past 13 years, was immediately endorsed by state Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer. While anointing his friend (who installed Greer as chairman in 2007), the GOP boss said he would work to limit primary contests for governor and the...

Homeowners brought a federal racketeering lawsuit on Thursday against KB Home, the former Countrywide Financial Corp and appraiser LandSafe Inc, accusing the companies of operating a scheme to fraudulently inflate sales prices of KB homes in Arizona and Nevada.

A community organization breaks into a foreclosed home in what they are calling an act of civil disobedience. The group wants to train homeowners facing eviction on peaceful ways they can remain in their homes. Derek Valcourt reports their actions are not without controversy. Near Patterson Park, the padlock on the door and the sign in the window tell part of Donna Hanks foreclosure story. "The mortgage went up $300 in one month," said Hanks, former homeowner. She says the bank refused to modify her loan and foreclosed, kicking her out of the house in September. The community group ACORN...

One of the top lawyers in the nation in the battle to protect traditional marriage, historically Christian lifestyle choices, parental rights and the key freedoms provided by the U.S. Constitution is warning that there eventually could be no lawyers left to take up those disputes. That's because of a recommendation before the State Bar of Arizona – the organization that licenses attorneys – to require all new lawyers to swear they won't let their personal religious perspective on homosexuality affect their representation of any client. Mathew Staver, chief of Liberty Counsel, warns that the proposal is just the "tip of...

CHICAGO – Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich says he is not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing and plans to stay on the job. In his first official statement since his arrest on corruption charges last week, Blagojevich (blah-GOY'-Uh-vich) says he will fight until he takes his "last breath." ... The Democratic governor says he intends to "answer every allegation in a court of law."

Will the Blagojevich scandal damage the incoming Obama administration? Given Rod Blagojevich’s profane railings against Barack Obama, revealed on federal wiretaps, few observers believe — although none know for sure — that the Obama camp engaged in any pay-for-play dealings with the governor, and therefore few see any legal problems for Team Obama resulting from the criminal investigation. But that’s not the only way the incoming administration might be caught up in the Blagojevich affair. The probe is being conducted, after all, by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, the man who prosecuted one of the most intensely investigated and politically-charged perjury-and-false-statements...

Blagojevich refuses to budge NBC Nightly News VIDEO: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/vp/28200681#28200681&gt1=43001

Extorting Children's Hospital is a new political low. Chicagoans and Illinoisans love political scandal the way that Milanese love opera. We trade recollections, like baseball cards, about the secretary of state (Paul Powell) who stashed money in shoeboxes, and the Chicago mayor (Harold Washington) whose birthday was April 15 but never filed his income tax return. Rod Blagojevich stands a chance to be the fourth Illinois governor in recent history, and the second in a row, to wind up in prison. This run suggests that Illinoisans are indifferent to political corruption, and it's hard to argue with such an impressive...

CHICAGO: For Jeff Makowski, a 47-year-old house painter, it had been fun lately to boast to out-of-town friends about Chicago as the home of President-elect Barack Obama. Now the phone calls are coming the other way, and they are often sarcastic. "We're a national laughingstock," said Makowski, who was drinking a beer with a work pal on Wednesday afternoon after finishing work on a North Side condominium. "They call up and say, 'What's going on in Illinois? How can you elect these people?"' Last month, Chicago erected huge banners along Michigan Avenue bearing the image of its hometown hero, Obama,...

America wanted change and we sure got it. We elected a politician who looked and sounded fresh and new and different (and don't forget "clean" as Senator Biden once remarked), and promised that magic word "change." Aren't we lucky? It appears that the change we got is that we've moved Chicago machine-style politics into the White House. We found out on Tuesday what that business model consists of- the good Governor of Illinois was arrested for allegedly trying to sell Barack Obama's United States Senate seat. Yes, I said sell Obama's seat to the highest bidder. It's nice to know...

Sweet catch by Tapper, showing why he got that promotion. Obama today…“I had no contact with the governor or his office and so I was not aware of what was happening, ” Obama told reporters today in Chicago. “It’s a sad day for Illinois. Beyond that, I don’t think it’s appropriate to comment.” …versus Axelrod on November 23, as seen below. Be sure to read Tapper’s post, as he has plenty more on The One’s long history as a friend of — and advisor to — Blago. Axelrod himself begged off Blagojevich’s first gubernatorial campaign because “I was concerned about...

<p>A source said today that Gov. Rod Blagojevich was taken into federal custody at his North Side home this morning. The U.S. attorney's office would not confirm the information, and a spokesman for the governor did not immediately return a phone call for comment.</p>

Federal investigators recently made covert tape recordings of Gov. Rod Blagojevich in the most dramatic step yet in their corruption investigation of him and his administration, the Tribune has learned. As part of this undercover effort, one of the governor's closest confidants and former aides cooperated with investigators, and that assistance helped lead to recordings of the governor and others, sources said. The cooperation of John Wyma, 42, one of the state's most influential lobbyists, is the most stunning evidence yet that Blagojevich's once-tight inner circle appears to be collapsing under the pressure of myriad pay-to-play inquiries. Wyma, Blagojevich's chief...

SAN FRANCISCO -- Federal authorities in San Francisco unveiled an indictment today against 29 people allegedly tied to a street gang, accusing the group of engaging in murder, drug trafficking, witness tampering, car theft and extortion. Those indicted include alleged senior leaders in the San Francisco faction of the Mara Salvatrucha or MS-13 gang, which originated in Los Angeles, has ties to El Salvador and is renowned for its savage tactics, federal prosecutors said. Most recently, authorities say, members of San Francisco's 20th Street clique of the gang have been tied to at least five slayings in the city, including...

An internal report by a lawyer for the community organizing group Acorn raises questions about whether the web of relationships among its 174 affiliates may have led to violations of federal laws. The group, formally known as the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, has been in the news over accusations that it is involved in voter registration fraud, charges it says are overblown and politically motivated. Republicans have tried to make an issue of Senator Barack Obama’s ties to the group, which he represented in a lawsuit in 1995. The Obama campaign has denied any connection with Acorn’s...

Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations lawsuit filed against ACORN; can we do this in other states?http://www.buckeyeinstitute.org/acorn.pdf (emphasis is ours) IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS WARREN COUNTY, OHIO [List of plaintiffs] v. ASSOCIATION OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS FOR REFORM NOW, AKA “ACORN” Serve: National Registered Agents, Inc. 145 Baker Street Marion, Ohio 43302 PROJECT VOTE/VOTING FOR AMERICA, INC. Serve: National Registered Agents, Inc. 145 Baker Street Marion, Ohio 43302 Defendants ...WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs hereby demand judgment as follows: (1) The dissolution of Defendant ACORN, pursuant to R.C. 2923.34(C)(3). 12 (2) The revocation of any license or permit that allows Defendant ACORN to...

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/election/s_584284.html

175 Alleged Gulf Cartel Members and Associates Arrested in Massive International Law Enforcement Operation "Project Reckoning" Leads to the Seizure of $60 Million and More Than 40 Tons of Illegal Drugs From One of Mexico's Largest Drug Trafficking Cartels NEW YORK - Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey announced that 175 individuals were arrested on Sept. 16, 2008, on charges related to an international drug trafficking cartel in a coordinated enforcement action by hundreds of international, federal, state and local law enforcement officials throughout the United States and Italy. Including the operations announced today, a long-term investigation of one of Mexico's...

BIZ GIANTS PAY OR FACE RACE RALLIES Anheuser-Busch gave him six figures, Colgate-Palmolive shelled out $50,000 and Macy's and Pfizer have contributed thousands to the Rev. Al Sharpton's charity. Almost 50 companies - including PepsiCo, General Motors, Wal-Mart, FedEx, Continental Airlines, Johnson & Johnson and Chase - and some labor unions sponsored Sharpton's National Action Network annual conference in April. Terrified of negative publicity, fearful of a consumer boycott or eager to make nice with the civil-rights activist, CEOs write checks, critics say, to NAN and Sharpton - who brandishes the buying power of African-American consumers. In some cases, they...

"Finally, a member of Congress has announced a laudable plan to do something about the abusive behavior of demonstrators of the anti-war left. Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, has introduced legislation to deal with what he has described as “a growing number of our fellow citizens [who] are abusing their right of free expression through vandalism and violent protest aimed at military recruiters and those who wish to serve.”" Finally someone talking serious about Code Pink's anarchical activities. There are a lot more examples of Code Pink's crimes then noted in the article....

The cooperation agreement reached between prosecutors and an employee of the call-girl ring known as Emperors Club VIP will come in handy should the Manhattan U.S. attorney, Michael Garcia, decide to charge Governor Spitzer with a crime. The woman, Temeka Rachelle Lewis, 32, who entered a guilty plea to money laundering and prostitution-related charges yesterday, would be a key witness against Mr. Spitzer if the former governor is charged in connection with patronizing an Emperors Club prostitute... Lewis, who booked clients for the call-girl service, had several phone conversations with Mr. Spitzer to hammer out the logistics of payment and...

LOS ANGELES - A Hollywood private investigator was convicted Thursday on charges that he schemed to dig up dirt for his well-heeled clients to use in lawsuits, divorces and contract disputes against the rich and famous. Anthony Pellicano, 64, was accused of wiretapping stars such as Sylvester Stallone, and running the names of others, such as Gary Shandling and Kevin Nealon, through law enforcement databases to help clients in legal and other disputes. Pellicano was convicted of racketeering and racketeering conspiracy counts. Verdicts on dozens of other counts were still being announced in court. The indictment charging Pellicano and his...

Plea Expected in Ring Tied to SpitzerBy WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM and IAN URBINA Published: May 13, 2008 The woman accused of being the primary booker for the prostitution ring patronized by Eliot Spitzer is expected to plead guilty this week to charges related to her role in the ring, people involved in the matter said Monday. The woman, Temeka Rachelle Lewis, 32, is expected to plead guilty in federal District Court in Manhattan to charges of money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to commit interstate travel in aid of racketeering, one of the people said. She would be the first of...

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-shakeup20mar20,1,7868966.story

BUFFALO, N.Y. - A dozen leaders and members of a construction union were arrested Tuesday and charged with a decade of attacks against nonunion workers and their families, and prosecutors said some of the crimes were aided by the local's access to state motor vehicle records. The president of Operating Engineers Local 17, Mark Kirsch, was among those charged with extortion and racketeering after a five-year investigation. The union, headquartered in Buffalo, operates in six western New York counties. At job sites where non-Local 17 members were hired, union members caused more than $1 million in damage to more than...

A dispute over food industry influence has resulted in the resignation of the incoming president of the Obesity Society. Dr. David B. Allison, who was to take over the society, a national group of obesity doctors and researchers later this year, submitted his resignation from that position on Friday. Dr. Allison drew criticism from some members after he wrote an affidavit as a paid consultant on behalf of the restaurant industry, which is trying to block new rules in New York City that at the end of March will require fast-food and other restaurant chains to list the calories of...

Huckabee came in second to Mitt Romney in the first round of voting, finishing with 33% to Romney's 41%, the AP reported earlier. John McCain, finishing third with 15%, survived to the second round, while Ron Paul finished fourth, at 10%, and was eliminated. Amid rumors of a deal between backers of Huckabee and McCain, Huckabee secured 52% of the delegates in the second round, to Romney's 47%. McCain's goal in throwing support to Huckabee is designed to deprive Romney of a win early in the day.

Illegal Worker Hiring Sites Promote Racketeering by Bridget Geegan Blanton Mexico is notorious for corruption... ...and is nearly unresponsive to a persistent, staggering poverty suffered by millions of Mexicans. At the top of the Mexican power structure is an elitist, wealthy ruling class that vehemently resists even a modest level of taxation while supporting the status of Mexico as a nation dependent on American financial aid. Onerous taxation and big government is never a solution, but at the other extreme is the Mexican ruling class who has shunned any responsibility for the dire economic state of their country. In a...

Sheriff's Lt. Rosie Enriquez chats with day laborers at 47th Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. She believes a day labor center could help cut crime by getting job seekers off the streets. Florence Low / flow@sacbee.com Sacramento day laborers who gather in a parking lot at 47th Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in hopes of getting work, cluster around a motorist who stops to hire someone Lt. Rosie Enriquez sat in a parking lot in her unmarked cruiser, looking out at a small sea of about 50 men waiting for the promise of work to...

53 minutes ago WASHINGTON - A woman accused of running a prostitution ring in the nation's capital is free to distribute thousands of pages of phone records after a federal judge lifted a restraining order on Thursday. U.S. District Court Judge Gladys Kessler's order granted the request of Deborah Jeane Palfrey, 51, of Vallejo, Calif., to quash restrictions by government prosecutors that prohibited her from giving away the list. "As a result, Jeane has determined to release those records under certain conditions to qualified individuals or organizations," wrote her attorney, Montgomery Blair Sibley, in an e-mail. Palfrey and her attorney...

A Los Angeles grocery chain entrepreneur was charged with running a lucrative criminal enterprise that orchestrated murders, bribed city officials, laundered money and aided drug traffickers, according to an indictment unsealed today. George Torres, 50, who owns the Numero Uno grocery stores scattered throughout low-income parts of Los Angeles, was arrested Tuesday ... on charges of racketeering, violence in aid of racketeering, tax evasion and fraud. ... If convicted, Torres could face more than 60 years in prison. More than $100 million of the defendants' assets are subject to seizure. Torres was the longtime business partner of Horacio Vignali, who...

"Two dozen people cheated casinos in several U.S. states and Canada out of at least $3.3 million over five years by using technology and bribes to rig card games, federal prosecutors alleged in unsealed indictments." (snip) "The three indictments unsealed name 24 defendants, including the son of Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, in an alleged racketeering enterprise dating from March 2002. The so-called Tran Organization allegedly was based in California."

Critics of vulgar, violent, gangster-style rap music make a mistake when they write off rap stars as stupid, immoral and self-destructive. They may be immoral and self-destructive, but they're not stupid. As one of my readers observed in a thoughtful e-mail, they're making a rational economic choice. The reader wrote: "I had to stop and ask this question to myself: 'Would I call my mother a 'ho' or my sister a 'bitch' if I could make a couple of million dollars and get out of poverty and live a pretty good life?" In a line of work that dangles riches...

Is 'Making Available' Copyright Infringement?January 22, 2007 By Ray Beckerman In 2003, the Recording Industry Association of America began a massive litigation campaign on behalf of the four major record companies against end users of peer-to-peer file-sharing programs, alleging widespread infringement of their sound recording copyrights. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 20,000-25,000 suits have been brought to date, with hundreds of new complaints filed monthly. While at first blush this battle might appear to be a simple fight between record companies and some alleged music file-sharers, it is actually much more significant because the litigation campaign rests upon a...

HOUSTON — A few short weeks ago, Garden Guy was just a mom-and-pop landscaping business that promoted itself as "making Houston beautiful since 1991" and promised to treat its customers with respect and honesty. Since then, though, the business has been vilified around the world as a bunch of bigots because its Christian conservative owners refused to do work for a gay couple. Michael Lord and Gary Lackey, a gay couple requesting bids for a landscaping job at their new house, received a polite _ and, well, honest _ e-mail from Sabrina Farber, a co-owner of Garden Guy: "I need...

NEW YORK - The president of the nation's largest municipal labor council was arrested on federal racketeering charges Tuesday, accused of stealing more than $2 million from the state, labor unions and even a Little League fund. Brian M. McLaughlin, a seven-term Democratic state assemblyman and president of the New York City Central Labor Council, has been under investigation for several years. He surrendered Tuesday morning and was released on $250,000 bail after a brief appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge James C. Francis. McLaughlin and his lawyer, Jonathan Bach, declined to comment as they left U.S. District Court in Manhattan....

A jury convicted four alleged leaders of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang Friday on charges of murder, conspiracy and racketeering in a federal case aimed at dismantling the violent white supremacist organization. The four defendants did not show any reaction when the verdicts were read in a 15-minute proceeding. Most jurors, who deliberated for two weeks, either looked down or away from the defendants. The trial is part of one of the largest federal capital cases, with more than a dozen people potentially facing the death penalty. More defendants face trials in Los Angeles later this year. Barry "The Baron"...

The documents seized in the FBI raid on the offices of Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) remain unread by Justice Department investigators, pending a federal Appeals Court ruling scheduled for August 27. [snip] But we already know a bit about the charges and some of the alleged partners of Congressman Jefferson. Two people have pleaded guilty to bribing him.

In the first of a series, John A. (Junior) Gotti gives his first ever in-depth interview to Daily News staff writer Thomas Zambito He has tried to renounce the life, walk away from the Gotti legacy of greed, intimidation and murder. Yet even as John A. (Junior) Gotti says these things, he still cannot separate his newfound perspective on the Mafia from his love and respect for his father. "To this day, my father is a god to me," he said. Gotti has kept his relationship with the press to a few stray quotes and the occasional news story. But...

NEW YORK -- Prosecutors are accusing John "Junior" Gotti and his family of living lavishly on Long Island with a swimming pool, a horse barn and a staff of gardeners, drivers and housekeepers, while Gotti claims he is going broke. Prosecutors wrote in a letter to U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin that the lifestyle is especially surprising since Gotti has been in jail or on home detention for the last eight years and his wife does not appear to have a full-time job outside the home.

SAN DIEGO – Federal prosecutors here announced the indictment Friday of a San Diego gang founder and other leaders of the Mexican Mafia prison gang on charges of running a massive crime syndicate in Southern California. Authorities said the notorious prison gang ran organized crime out of the state's highest-security prison, ordered murders, dealt drugs and demanded money from Latino street gangs, including many in San Diego, in return for protection and guidance. The local U.S. Attorney's Office is using anti-racketeering laws to go after 22 members, associates and affiliates of the prison gang. An additional 14 people were indicted...