USA v. Perry Don Cortese Update

The federal case of USA v. Akohomen Ighedoise, Ikechukwu Derek Amadi, Priscilla Ann Ellis, Perry Don Cortese, Stacey Merritt, Kenietta Rayshawn Johnson et al. continues to rock along in the U.S. District Court in Tampa.

I wonder how a good ol' boy from Central Texas got mixed up with a bunch of Nigerians and Muslims in a federal conspiracy case. The charges are:

18:1349.F ATTEMPT AND CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT MAIL FRAUD (1)
18:1349.F ATTEMPT AND CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT MAIL FRAUD (1s)
18:1956-4700.F MONEY LAUNDERING - POSTAL, INTERSTATE WIRE, RADIO, ETC. (2)
18:1956-7477.F LAUNDERING OF MONETARY INSTRUMENTS Mr. Cortese, a colorful lawyer who used to grace the courthouses of the Hill Country, was released on pretrial bond on May 23.

The perils of technology for lawyers

Johnny Manziel's Lawyer Accidentally Texts AP Reporter

Bob Hinton hinted he is doubtful that Manziel can stay clean, and said the quarterback spent more than $1,000 in drug paraphernalia just hours after he was involved in a hit-and-run incident that he informed police about on Monday. Additionally, Hinton said he is seeking a plea deal for Manziel surrounding the alleged assault of his ex-girlfriend in January, but added: "Heaven help us if one of the conditions is to pee in a bottle."

Case of law grad convicted in slaying tests Delaware's death penalty law

from ABA Journal

The Delaware Supreme Court is considering the constitutionality of the state’s death penalty statute in a case involving a law grad accused of killing a former classmate.

An assistant public defender, Santino Ceccotti, argued last Wednesday that the law should be struck down because it allows judges to weigh aggravating and mitigating factors independent of the jury, report Delaware Law Weekly, Delaware State News and the News Journal.

The court is considering the law in the case of Benjamin Rauf, a Temple University law grad convicted of killing classmate Shazim Uppal in August 2015. Speculation by law enforcement was that it was a drug deal gone bad.

Prosecutor's Facebook post calls Orlando nightclubs 'utter cesspools of debauchery'

from ABA Journal

A Florida homicide prosecutor has been suspended from his job because of Facebook rants after the Orlando mass shooting that said the city should be leveled and its nightclubs are “utter cesspools of debauchery.”

The prosecutor is Assistant State’s Attorney Kenneth Lewis of the Orange-Osceola State Attorney’s Office, report the Orlando Sentinel and WESH 2 News. He was suspended for violating the office’s social media policy, according to a spokesperson.

He was previously in the news for a Facebook post about “crack hoes.”

His latest controversial post read: “Downtown Orlando has no bottom. The entire city should be leveled. It is void of a single redeeming quality. It is a melting pot of 3rd world miscreants and ghetto thugs. It is void of culture. If you live down there you do it at your own risk and at your own peril. If you go down there after dark there is seriously something wrong with you.

Dumb Judge and Cops Roundup

Brock Turner judge’s credibility gone: Prosecutors have Persky removed from a similar sex assault case
If you were seeking a fair and just individual to oversee an assault case involving a man an unconscious woman, you probably wouldn’t think Judge Aaron Persky is your guy. And neither does the Santa Clara District Attorney.

Las Vegas Judge Who Humiliated Defense Attorney Loses Election In A Landslide
A Las Vegas judge who last month ordered a public defender to be placed in handcuffs in court, saying she needed to learn “a lesson” about courtroom etiquette, got a lesson of his own when he lost his seat in Tuesday’s primary election in Nevada.

In the race for Las Vegas Justice of the Peace, incumbent Conrad Hafen lost by a landslide to criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor Amy Chelini. With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Chelini defeated Hafen resoundingly, 62 percent to 24 percent (53,332 votes to 21,274 votes).

Ex-DEA Agent Convicted for Hiding Strip Club

A New York jury on Thursday convicted two former Drug Enforcement Administration employees for failing to disclose their ownership of a New Jersey strip bar. Former agent David Polos and DEA telecoms specialist Glen Glover hid their involvement in the Twins Go-Go Lounge, claiming they didn't need to do so because it was simply an "investment." Prosecutors emphasized that disclosure is imperative because a DEA agent cannot have outside work in a business where drug dealing and prostitution could take place.

Chemist May Have Tainted 24,000 Court Cases
Massachusetts has only reviewed 1 percent of the convictions based on Annie Dookhan’s tampered lab results.
Four years after chemist Annie Dookhan was arrested for falsifying evidence at Massachusetts’ state drug lab, less than 1 percent of the 24,000 cases she may have tampered with have been reviewed.

More Williamson Co. TX Corruption

Business Leader To Hold Press Conference Demanding DA Jana Duty Resign

Duty was sanctioned by the State Bar of Texas for the second time yesterday. Her law license was suspended for 18 months. The suspension was fully probated and the State Bar has placed Duty on 18 months probation. Over the past year, Duty has been found to have intentionally withheld evidence in a capital murder case, admitted to lying under oath, found guilty of violating a court order, arrested and jailed for contempt of court and rarely shows up to work. Several media outlets have attempted to contact Duty but she refuses to take their calls.

Duty is not only dodging media calls, according to sources at the courthouse, is only showing up to work “maybe once a week” since last November.

Duty agreed to a plea deal with the State Bar of Texas who concluded that the following Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct have been violated by Duty. Duty acknowledged and agreed she violated these rules and was sanctioned for Professional Misconduct: 4.01 (a), 3.04(d), 8.02(a), 8.04(a)(3).

Judge Who Sentenced Rapist To 6 Months In Jail Faces Recall Campaign

Brock Allen Turner, the ex-Stanford University swimmer who was convicted in March of three felony sex abuse charges, was sentenced last week to just six months in county jail.

With good behavior, he could be released in three months or less. 

In the aftermath of Turner’s sentencing, outrage has been mounting. More than 210,000 people have signed a petition calling for Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky to be removed from the bench over the “lenient” sentence.

This Is Brock Turner’s Mugshot

He’s convicted of three felony sexual assault charges and scheduled for release in three months.

Stanford rapist’s father issues despicable plea for leniency: “A steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action”
This statement to the judge at Brock Turner's sentencing is a stunning example of rape culture in action


District Attorney: Armed Citizen Performed ‘Public Service’ by Killing Robber

Looking the other way: The accepted sexual abuse of young boys by institutional powers
Dennis Hastert is just the latest in a long line of powerful figures to escape justice for inflicting sexual abuse

Brock Turner’s Dad Gave Tone-Deaf Plea For Lenient Sentence In Son’s Sexual Assault Case
Criminal injustice in Texas: Thousands stay jailed in just one county because they can’t pay bail — and it’s happening all over the U.S.
77 percent of inmates in Harris County are still locked up despite not being convicted

Police: West Virginia Couple Accused of Trying to Sell Baby for Drugs

Lawyers Say Ruling Bad For Landowners, Good For Water Marketers

from Texas Tribune

Last week, agriculture and landowner groups heralded a Texas Supreme Court ruling favoring a South Plains ranch as a major win for private property rights, but some lawyers and conservationists are painting the decision as more of a win for developers and water marketers.

Prude Kenneth Starr is also an Idiot

Question leads to awkward interruption during Starr interview
WACO, Texas (KWTX) A question during News 10’s interview with former Baylor Chancellor and President Ken Starr about a rape victim’s email that was sent to his office and to several other officials led to an awkward interruption during which a well-known crisis management specialist convinced Starr to change his response.
.................
This article is worth reading because it shows Starr tying himself in knots trying to explain away his incompetence and lies. Bill Clinton got crucified for the same thing but at least his lies were almost articulate and smooth by comparison.

Oklahoma Volunteer Deputy Sentenced to Four Years for Shooting Unarmed Black Man
A former volunteer deputy sheriff in Tulsa, Oklahoma was sentenced to four years in prison Tuesday for shooting an unarmed suspect after he had been taken into custody. Robert Bates, now 74 years old, said he mistakenly shot and killed Eric Harris in April 2015 during an illegal gun sales sting when he mistakenly drew and fired his handgun, which he thought was his stun gun.

District Attorney: Armed Citizen Performed ‘Public Service’ by Killing Robber


‘Like Cologne’: At Least 18 ‘Very Young Women’ Sexually Assaulted At Music Festival
As many as 26 young women may have been sexually abused at a festival in Germany, with the attackers employing pack tactics to surround and isolate girls before launching their assaults.

According to a police press statement, three suspects were arrested at the festival after the girls they allegedly attacked went directly to police to complain. The men, who were arrested and released pending further investigations, are Pakistani “asylum seekers” aged between 28 and 31 years old.

Liam Fee murder trial: Mum and lesbian partner guilty of killing toddler and blaming death on another child
The mum of tragic Liam Fee and her lesbian partner have been found guilty of murdering the toddler and falsely blaming his death on another child.

Rachel Fee, 31, and Nyomi Fee, 29, were convicted today of killing two-year-old Liam by inflicting severe blunt force trauma to his body at a house in Fife, Scotland.

The youngster, who had been subjected to a life of pain and neglect, suffered a ruptured heart after sustaining injuries similar to those seen in car crash victims.

The defendants were both also found guilty of wilfully assaulting, neglecting and abusing two young boys, including the one they blamed for Liam's killing, over a two-year period.