Judges dismisses supermarket mogul's racketeering convictions

LATimes ^ | June 10, 2009 | Scott Glover

[CutePuppy]

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 least one key informant who testified against him.

The taped conversations took place before Torres' trial in April but were only recently discovered by prosecutors, said Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office.

.....

In light of the tapes, prosecutors told U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson that some of the convictions against Torres should be voided and that those charges would not be refiled. Moments later, Wilson dismissed the centerpiece of the government's case against Torres -- a pair of racketeering convictions that included solicitation of murder.

The overturned convictions were an embarrassing setback for the U.S. attorney's office. During the three-week trial, prosecutors portrayed Torres as a ruthless entrepreneur who had made millions in the grocery business by hiring illegal workers, failing to pay taxes, bribing a public official and even arranging to have people killed when they crossed him. Torres' attorneys argued that the government's case was the result of an overzealous LAPD detective who had a vendetta against Torres. They said the case was held together by convicted felons who were hoping to win early release by cooperating with prosecutors.

.....

[CutePuppy]

I only know that George Torres' partner (Vignali) was involved with Clinton's Pardongate afffair.

What about this case? Incompetence on part of prosecution team or prosecutorial misconduct which we have been seeing more and more frequently in recent years... or both?

[SatinDoll]

Torres is probably a Democrat, hires illegal aliens, and supports Democrats.

I suspect those are reasons enough.

[CutePuppy]

Title of the article reads “Judges dismisses” instead of “Judge dismisses”. I posted with the filed headline.

[DJ MacWoW]

On the info we have it looks like incompetence. Otherwise the tapes would have never been brought to light.

[2banana]

Torres as a ruthless entrepreneur who had made millions in the grocery business by hiring illegal workers, failing to pay taxes, bribing a public official and even arranging to have people killed when they crossed him.

Sounds like he is ready to join the obama administration...he has the qualifications

[a fool in paradise]

So all of the information presented in the trial was strictly hearsay from convicted felons?

Or is this another case of guily as sin, free as a bird, because of botched prosecution?

[2banana]

Torres as a ruthless entrepreneur who had made millions in the grocery business by hiring illegal workers, failing to pay taxes, bribing a public official and even arranging to have people killed when they crossed him.

Sounds like he is ready to join the obama administration...he has the qualifications

[freekitty]

What a crock.

[CutePuppy]

Steven G. Madison, Torres' lead attorney, said he and his colleagues suspected that there were missing tapes based on testimony and evidence that came out in the trial. He filed a government misconduct motion and asked that prosecutors search for and turn over any additional recordings. Prosecutors opposed the motion, Madison said, but Wilson ordered them to conduct the search, Madison said.

Madison, who said he was still reviewing the tapes, declined to discuss their contents in detail. He suggested that they contained conversations involving two government informants who made comments potentially helpful to the defense.

.....

Torres, 52, still faces sentencing on tax, immigration and bribery convictions, but his lawyers have said that they would seek to have those charges dismissed as well because they had been tainted by testimony related to the case's racketeering element.

.....

Wilson, a former assistant U.S. attorney, commended prosecutors for "taking the high road" by disclosing the tapes. But he told Chief Assistant U.S. Atty. George Cardona that he had been skeptical of the informants used in the case, as well as their police handler, and that such a development was not "totally unforeseen." He said that if prosecutors had been more careful, "perhaps some of these matters might have come to light earlier."

.....

The racketeering aspect of the government's case relied heavily on the testimony of two former Torres associates, Raul Del Real and Derrick Smith, both of whom are serving lengthy prison sentences for distributing cocaine. The men implicated Torres in solicitation of murder, among other things.

Both also admitted under cross-examination that they had been promised reduced sentences, cash payments and other favors in exchange for their cooperation, despite having earlier testified before a federal grand jury that no such promises had been made.

[ridesthemiles]

What grocery chain?

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

So the worst charge was that he had a hit put on a member of the Mexican Mafia who tried to extort money from him? Maybe he should get a citizenship medal.

[CutePuppy]

"... that is the question."

"... aye, there's the rub"

[Regulator]

Incompetence on part of prosecution team or prosecutorial misconduct which we have been seeing more and more frequently in recent years... or both?

More like he and his buddies got to the Judge or his family.

Guys like Jorge don't go down easily.

[SeaHawkFan]

There are a lot more corupt and dishonest US Attorney’s and their assistants than most imagine.

Jeff Sullivan (as was his buddy John McKay) in Western Washington is one of the worst when it comes to covering up corruption in the courts of Washington state.

[CutePuppy]

From post #9, just seems to have acted on information (tapes) “found” and released by prosecution after the trial and conviction, though he seemed to have had doubts about the prosecution’s case and conduct during the trial.

At least, that’s my take on it.

[CutePuppy]

There are a lot more corrupt and dishonest US Attorney’s and their assistants than most imagine.

No doubt. I think we have been seeing more publicity partly because judges have been more aggressive lately in putting prosecutors' feet to the fire regarding collection and production of evidence and unethical (or illegal) procedures and conduct of investigations. Including investigating and charging prosecutors with misconduct, especially in high visibility and political cases, e.g. in recent overturned case of Alaska Senator Stevens.

[SeaHawkFan]

Did you ever hear of the case of Edwin Wilson? worst example, EVER? Makes the Stevens prosecutors look like paragons of integrity.

[goat granny]

Perhaps the prosecutor should be sentenced to what he was trying to railroad this person to to....Would put the brakes on lots of criminal prosecutors....this happens so often I have changed my opinion of the death penalty..

[CutePuppy]

Are you referring to this?

Was not familiar with it, but sounds like railroading job similar to I. Lewis Libby persecution, totally political and in itself a cover-up.

[SatinDoll]

I never mentioned a grocery chain.