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Corzine steps down at collapsed firm, hires lawyer
Headline News |
2011/11/07 15:49
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He set out to create a mini-Goldman Sachs. In the end, he built a mini-Lehman Brothers.
Former New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine's resignation Friday from the securities firm he led capped a week of high drama and swift failure.
MF Global collapsed into bankruptcy Monday, and Corzine has since hired a criminal defense attorney amid an FBI investigation into the disappearance of hundreds of millions of dollars in client money.
In another twist, a top regulator has ended his role in the investigation of MF Global because of his longstanding ties to Corzine. Commodity Futures Trading Commission chairman Gary Gensler, whose agency is leading the effort to locate the missing client money, had worked for Corzine at Goldman Sachs.
MF Global's implosion, which came after Corzine made a big, risky bet on European debt, revived memories of the 2008 banking crisis and the ruin of the much bigger Lehman. |
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Ex-owner of Pa. youth lockups gets 18 months
Headline News |
2011/11/04 12:54
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The former owner of two juvenile detention facilities was sentenced Friday to 18 months in prison for his role in a kickback scheme that led the state Supreme Court to vacate the convictions of thousands of juveniles who appeared before a now-jailed Pennsylvania judge.
Robert Powell pleaded guilty in 2009 to concealing a felony and an accessory charge in the so-called "kids for cash" scandal.
Powell testified earlier this year that he was forced to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to former Luzerne County Judges Mark Ciavarella Jr. and Michael Conahan in return for their support of his two private juvenile detention facilities.
Powell said the judges extorted more than $725,000 from him after they shut down the county-run detention center and instead sent juveniles to his new lockup outside the city of Wilkes-Barre.
Sentencing guidelines call for a punishment of between 27 to 33 months in prison, but Powell was given credit for cooperating with the government.
When Powell became aware he was a target of the investigation, he approached prosecutors and offered to provide details of the scheme. |
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Court unlikely to allow private prison to be sued
Headline News |
2011/11/02 13:43
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The Supreme Court seemed unlikely on Tuesday to allow employees at a privately run federal prison to be sued by an inmate in federal court, despite his complaint that their neglect left him with two permanently damaged arms.
Justices heard appeals from lawyers representing employees of the GEO Group, formerly known as Wackenhut Corrections Corp, who work at the privately run Taft Correctional Institution in Taft, Calif. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled inmate Richard Lee Pollard could sue GEO officials for his treatment after he fell and fractured both of his elbows.
Pollard said GEO officials put him in a metal restraint that caused him pain, and refused to provide him with a splint, making his injuries worse and causing permanent impairment. He sued in federal court for money, claiming GEO officials had violated the Eighth Amendment prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.
The federal appeals court allowed his lawsuit against the GEO officials to move forward. Courts normally don't allow government employees to be sued in those types of lawsuits, but the high court has authorized some if constitutionally protected rights have been violated by the federal employee and there is no state court remedy. |
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Judge denies Edwards' bid to dismiss campaign case
Headline News |
2011/10/27 16:10
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A federal judge denied on Thursday a bid by former presidential candidate John Edwards to have the criminal case against him thrown out, paving the way for a trial to begin in January.
U.S. District Court Judge Catherine C. Eagles said in Greensboro that the five motions to dismiss are being denied without prejudice, meaning Edwards' lawyers can use them at a later date. The former U.S. senator is charged with using campaign funds to cover up an affair he had during his unsuccessful bid for the White House and then submitting false campaign finance reports to cover his tracks. He has pleaded not guilty.
Edwards was in the courtroom and displayed no visible reaction to the decision.
Edwards and his defense team argue that the federal government's case depends on a completely novel set of legal arguments that have never been validated by a court. But Eagles said it may be that the facts of his case are unique and untested.
The 2004 Democratic vice presidential nominee had an affair with campaign videographer Rielle Hunter, eventually fathering a child. Prosecutors contend that Edwards used money from donors far in excess of legal campaign limits to keep the dalliance under wraps. |
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Ill. high court suspends Blagojevich's law license
Headline News |
2011/10/27 15:09
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The Illinois Supreme Court has suspended convicted former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's license to practice law.
The court acted Wednesday in response to a request from the state Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission.
Blagojevich is awaiting sentencing on federal corruption convictions, including that he tried to personally profit from his power to appoint a U.S. senator to the seat being vacated by President Barack Obama.
The Chicago Democrat has been a lawyer since 1984, but he hasn't practiced law since joining Congress in 1997. Blagojevich was governor from 2003 to 2009, when he was impeached and removed from office.
The suspension of his law license could lead to him being disbarred. Two other former Illinois governors — Otto Kerner and Dan Walker — were disbarred following criminal convictions. |
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State budget cuts clog criminal justice system
Headline News |
2011/10/26 14:34
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Prosecutors are forced to ignore misdemeanor violations to pursue more serious crimes. Judges are delaying trials to cope with layoffs and strained staffing levels. And in some cases, those charged with violent crimes, even murder, are set free because caseloads are too heavy to ensure they receive a speedy trial. Deep budget cuts to courts, public defenders, district attorney's and attorney general offices are testing the criminal justice system across the country. In the most extreme cases, public defenders are questioning whether their clients are getting a fair shake. Exact figures on the extent of the cuts are hard to come by, but an American Bar Association report in August found that most states cut court funding 10 percent to 15 percent within the past three years. At least 26 states delayed filling open judgeships, while courts in 14 states were forced to lay off staff, said the report. The National District Attorneys Association estimates that hundreds of millions of dollars in criminal justice funding and scores of positions have been cut amid the economic downturn, hampering the ability of authorities to investigate and prosecute cases. |
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