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Ex-Pa. House speaker pleads guilty to corruption
Lawyer Blog News |
2011/09/04 16:21
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The onetime speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives pleaded guilty Wednesday to eight criminal charges stemming from a public corruption investigation, making him the highest-ranking state politician to be convicted in the four-and-a-half-year inquiry. Ex-Rep. John M. Perzel entered the plea to two counts of conflict of interest, two counts of theft and four counts of conspiracy. He left the courthouse without commenting, but apologized in an e-mailed statement and said he bore responsibility for improprieties in spending public funds he controlled. "It was up to me to see that taxpayer funds were spent only for the betterment of the people of Pennsylvania, and not for my political benefit (or) that of my party," Perzel said in the news release. Prosecutors have described Perzel, 61, as being at the center of a scheme to spend millions of taxpayer dollars on computer technology for the benefit of GOP political campaigns. Also Wednesday, his nephew and co-defendant Eric S. Ruth, 36, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and conflict of interest. Ruth once worked in the House Republican technology office. |
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Firm gets Iowa sports rights to 2026
Legal Career News |
2011/09/02 18:02
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The University of Iowa athletics department has quietly given the company managing its sports marketing efforts a contract extension through 2026 and the right to sell the name of its basketball court in exchange for guaranteed payments totaling $114 million, contract documents show.
Missouri-based Learfield Communications Inc. beat out several other firms in a competitive bidding process in 2006 for a 10-year contract to exclusively broadcast Iowa athletic events on the radio, negotiate corporate sponsorship agreements and generate other advertising and marketing income. Iowa was guaranteed $55.1 million under that deal.
But in a move that escaped public scrutiny, Iowa agreed in November 2009 to extend the contract by 10 years while giving Learfield the ability to sell the naming rights to the court of Carver-Hawkeye Arena and the Outdoor Club at Kinnick Stadium, according to records released to The Associated Press. Mediacom, the cable television and Internet provider, earlier this year secured the naming rights to both spaces for terms that have not been released.
Long-term agreements and contract extensions are common in college sports marketing, but the length of Iowa’s deal seems unusual even by those standards. Indiana, for instance, and Learfield announced this year they reached a 10-year extension through 2021. Wisconsin won approval in 2007 from its governing board for a deal with Learfield through 2019.
Sports marketing has also come under fresh scrutiny in Iowa.
Iowa and Iowa State were heavily criticized over the new Cy-Hawk football rivalry trophy that depicted a farm family gathered around a basket of corn. It was designed under a sponsorship agreement with the Iowa Corn Growers Association, and then scrapped after a backlash from fans.
Iowa last week renewed a partnership with the Iowa Lottery for a football-themed promotion involving a $2 scratch ticket despite criticism from some faculty members and NCAA guidelines discouraging gambling ads. And the Iowa Farm Bureau last month reached a wide-ranging, five-year marketing and licensing agreement with Iowa to promote the “America Needs Farmers” brand at a time when its president also leads Iowa’s governing board.
Iowa has refused to release the terms of those agreements as well as the naming rights deal with Mediacom, arguing they are not subject to public records law because they are between sponsors and Learfield even though the school sets the guidelines for sponsorships. |
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Court signs off on Comcast takeover of NBCU
Business Law Info |
2011/09/02 12:58
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A federal court has approved the government's conditions placed on Comcast's takeover of NBCUniversal. In an order Thursday, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington, D.C., tacked on a two-year oversight period that aims to protect competitors who want to distribute NBCUniversal video content online. He ordered the government and Comcast to report annually on online video competitors who attempt to arbitrate disputes either through the Federal Communications Commission or an arbitration process set up as part of the takeover. Comcast took 51 percent control of NBCUniversal in January after paying General Electric Co. $6.2 billion and contributing channels worth $7.25 billion to the new entity. Among other conditions, the Justice Department and the FCC forced Comcast to relinquish decision-making power related to its minority stake in online video service Hulu. |
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Court won't allow plea withdrawal in porn case
Court Feed News |
2011/09/02 08:01
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A federal appeals court says there are several reasons John Joseph Maillet can't withdraw his guilty plea on a child pornography charge for enticing a teenager to pose with venomous snakes. For one, Maillet didn't say he was innocent.
Maillet pleaded guilty in September in U.S. District Court in south Mississippi. The next month he asked to withdraw the plea and fire his lawyer, saying he didn't know there was a mandatory sentence.
U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden refused and sentenced Maillet to 30 years. Maillet then asked the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans to allow him to withdraw the plea.
The appeals court ruled Thursday, saying, among other things, that "Maillet has not asserted that he is actually innocent of the charge." |
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SD Supreme Court upholds school funding system
Legal Career News |
2011/09/01 16:25
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The South Dakota Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the constitutionality of the state's system for funding school districts, rejecting the schools' arguments that the current arrangement does not provide enough money to assure students of an adequate education.
In a unanimous ruling, the high court said a lawsuit supported by about two-thirds of the state's school districts raises serious questions about the funding system and shows that some districts struggle to provide adequate facilities and qualified teachers.
"Even so, reasonable doubt exists that the statutory funding mechanisms or level of funding are unconstitutional," Justice Judith Meierhenry wrote for the court.
The 41-page main decision upholds a ruling by Circuit Judge Lori Wilbur of Pierre, who ruled in 2009 that the school funding system is constitutional because it provides students with an adequate education that prepares them for life after high school. Wilbur has since been appointed to the Supreme Court, but did not take part in Thursday's ruling. |
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Appeals Court upholds sanctions against doctor
Court Feed News |
2011/09/01 14:20
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An appeals court has upheld sanctions against a former University of Wisconsin Hospital doctor who was accused of fondling female patients.
The 4th District Court of Appeals said in its decision Thursday that the state Medical Examining Board properly sanctioned Dr. Frank Salvi in 2009. He was suspended for 90 days and required to undergo a mental evaluation and five years of supervision.
Salvi denied charges made by four female patients that accused him of fondling them in 2004 and 2005.
A Dane County judge ruled last year that the state medical board improperly sanctioned Salvi, but the board appealed. The Appeals Court reversed that decision, saying the board properly disciplined Salvi.
Salvi's attorney Lester Pines had not seen the decision and had no immediate comment. |
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