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Cheney lawyer wants visitor logs destroyed
Breaking Legal News |
2007/05/30 05:34
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A lawyer for Vice President Dick Cheney told the Secret Service in September to eliminate data on who visited Cheney at his official residence, a newly disclosed letter states. The Sept. 13, 2006, letter from Cheney's lawyer says logs for Cheney's residence on the grounds of the Naval Observatory are subject to the Presidential Records Act. Such a designation prevents the public from learning who visited the vice president. The Justice Department filed the letter Friday in a lawsuit by a private group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, seeking the identities of conservative religious leaders who visited Cheney at his official residence. The newly disclosed letter about visitors to Cheney's residence is accompanied by an 18-page Secret Service document revealing the agency's long-standing practice has been to destroy printed daily access lists of visitors to the residence. Separately, the agency says it has given Cheney's office handwritten logs of who visits him at his personal residence. Because of pending lawsuits, the Secret Service says it is now keeping copies of all material on visitors to Cheney's residence. According to the Secret Service document, Cheney's office has approved the agency's retention of the records, while maintaining they are presidential records subject to Cheney's control. ''The latest filings make clear that the administration has been destroying documents and entering into secret agreements in violation of the law,'' said Anne Weismann, CREW's chief counsel. |
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Tochett Pleads Guilty in Gambling Case
Breaking Legal News |
2007/05/28 08:45
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| The case began loudly in February 2006 when New Jersey authorities announced a former hockey star and a state trooper had been charged with running a gambling ring that had ties to organized crime. Wayne Gretzky was dragged into it, along with his actress-wife Janet Jones, on the eve of the Turin Olympics. But it was settled with little fanfare Friday as the former player, Rick Tocchet, pleaded guilty to promoting gambling and conspiracy to promote gambling in a plea deal that may spare him jail time. The case looked much milder at the end than it did 15 months ago, when it appeared it might inflict a serious blow to a sport that was struggling to regain fans after a season-long lockout the year before. But the worst suspicions were not substantiated. There didn't seem to be mob ties or betting on hockey. No other hockey figures are being charged or will have to testify in a criminal trial. "I'm sure everyone recalls the manner in which the case was initially announced and described," said Kevin Marino, the defense lawyer for Tocchet. "I think (Friday's) proceeding speaks for itself." It was two days after the 2006 Super Bowl when State Police Col. Rick Fuentes announced the charges against Tocchet, Trooper James Harney and a third man, James Ulmer. Fuentes said that during a 40-day stretch that had just ended, they had handled bets totaling $1.7 million from a list of gamblers that included a movie star and other hockey figures. Quickly, the prospect developed of a trial featuring a cavalcade of hockey players as witnesses. Even Gretzky, hockey's greatest player and a friend of Tocchet's, was caught on an investigative wiretap discussing how his wife could avoid being implicated. It turned out Jones didn't have much to worry about. Authorities didn't charge her, or any other bettors, because placing bets - even with a bookmaker - is not illegal in New Jersey. |
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DOJ Challenges Charleston Newspaper Deal
Breaking Legal News |
2007/05/25 01:59
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| Three years after the parent company of The Charleston Gazette purchased its capital city rival, the Charleston Daily Mail, the U.S. Department of Justice has stepped in, declaring the sale illegal. The Justice Department filed a lawsuit May 22 in U.S. District Court in Charleston, alleging the sale violates antitrust laws. It seeks an order requiring the Daily Gazette Co., which owns the Gazette, and Denver-based MediaNews Group Inc., which owned the Daily Mail, to undo the $55 million deal. The 19-page complaint alleges the Daily Gazette Co. bought the Daily Mail in May 2004 intending to shut it down and create a newspaper monopoly in Kanawha County. The Justice Department said the Daily Gazette Co. suspended those actions in December 2004 but only after the company learned the federal agency had launched an investigation into the newspaper company's maneuvers. The Justice Department's suit seeks to undo completely the 2004 sale and restore the Daily Mail to its previous competitiveness. "When the Daily Gazette Co. acquired the Daily Mail with the aim of shutting it down, readers in the Charleston area and the advertisers who valued access to them, were denied the benefits of competition," Assistant Attorney General Thomas O. Barnett said in a news release. Barnett works in the Justice Department's Antitrust Division. "The Department's investigation saved the Daily Mail from this unlawful termination, and this action seeks to remedy the competitive damage already done and to prohibit the parties from resuming an anticompetitive course in the future." Trip Shumate, chief financial officer for Charleston Newspapers, which serves as the umbrella company handling the business side of the Gazette and Daily Mail, said the Daily Gazette will "vigorously defend" the Justice Department's lawsuit. "We will win in court if it goes there," he said. Messages left for Dean Singleton, MediaNews' vice chairman and CEO, and MediaNews President Joseph Lodovic IV were not returned. |
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US court upholds bulk of verdict in Adelphia case
Breaking Legal News |
2007/05/24 10:21
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| An appeals court on Thursday upheld the fraud convictions of Adelphia Communications Corp. founder John Rigas and son Timothy almost entirely, although the judges tossed out one count they were found guilty on and ordered the pair to be resentenced. Both men had appealed their July 2004 convictions on charges of bank fraud, securities fraud and conspiracy for their roles in concealing loans and stealing millions from the cable operator. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the convictions except for the guilty verdict on one count of bank fraud apiece. "We reverse defendants' conviction on (that count) and we remand for an entry of a judgment of acquittal on this count and for resentencing," the court said. The Rigases, who both have been sentenced by a Manhattan federal court judge to lengthy prison terms, have remained free on bail while they have pursued their appeals. |
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US House passes gasoline price gouging bill
Breaking Legal News |
2007/05/24 10:13
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| The US House of Representatives narrowly passed the Federal Price Gouging Prevention Act Wednesday, approving heavy criminal penalties for oil companies and individuals who take "unfair advantage" or charge "unconscionably excessive" prices for fuel. House leaders used an expedited legislative process, so the bill required a two-thirds majority and passed by 284-141. The Bush administration and opponents of the bill called it a vague form of price control. The White House said Wednesday that Bush's advisors would recommend he veto the bill if the Senate equivalent passes as well. Last May, the House passed a similar bill, the Federal Energy Price Protection Act, that would have required the FTC to define price gouging within six months of the bill's final passage. That bill failed in the Senate. |
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Phila. smoking ban excluded from court ruling
Breaking Legal News |
2007/05/24 05:25
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| A court ruling that struck down a smoking ban in Allegheny County does not affect Philadelphia's anti-smoking ordinance. The Commonwealth Court decision this week dealt with whether municipalities have a legal right to limit smoking in restaurants, workplaces or other indoor areas, and concluded that the state Legislature assumed jurisdiction over smoking when it enacted the Commonwealth Clean Indoor Act in 1988. A section of that law said its provisions would supercede local regulations, but the law specifically exempted Philadelphia, allowing the City Council to regulate smoking inside city limits. "I'm confident that the Commonwealth Court decision does not affect the authority of the city of Philadelphia to enact a smoking ban," City Solicitor Romulo L. Diaz Jr. said.
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Pelo hires new lawyer; defense starts over
Breaking Legal News |
2007/05/23 10:30
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Defense work on behalf of a Bloomington police sergeant accused of rape will start over with a new lawyer hired by Pelo’s family.
Sgt. Jeff Pelo, 42, was in court Thursday with Glenview attorney Michael Rosenblat, the third attorney to sign on with the case since Pelo’s arrest last summer. The defense team of Jay Elmore and Michael Costello, attorneys from Springfield, asked to withdraw from the case because of financial difficulties the family experienced with legal bills.
Bloomington attorney Steve Skelton left the defense effort in February because of health concerns.
After Thursday’s hearing, Rosenblat said Pelo is anxious for the case to move forward.
“Obviously we want to get to the trial soon so Mr. Pelo can get back with his family and get back to work,” said Rosenblat.
Pelo is charged with a series of sexual assaults against four women in Bloomington between December 2002 and January 2005. The foundation for the prosecution’s case is identification of the police officer in photo and voice recordings by several of the rape victims, Skelton said previously.
The tab for legal fees could easily amount to six figures, according to estimates from defense attorneys.
Rosenblat declined to answer questions about the arrangements he made with the Pelo family for his services. The attorney met with Pelo before Thursday’s hearing.
Assistant State’s Attorney Mark Messman said investigators will continue to development information in the case.
An August jury calendar setting scheduled by Judge Robert Freitag seems unlikely in light of the voluminous discovery materials and the fact that Roseblat said he has not started his review of the documents and other materials.
A June 21 status hearing is scheduled.
Pelo is on paid administrative leave from his $81,000-per-year position with the police department. He must raise $200,000 to be released on a $2 million bond set in the case. |
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