Free Republic

Accusing prosecutors of a "shameful" campaign to intimidate witnesses and obtain unjustified convictions, a federal judge threw out high-profile criminal stock fraud charges against Broadcom Corp. co-founder Henry T. Nicholas III and the company's former chief financial officer. U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney issued his ruling Tuesday, less than a week after he overturned a guilty plea by company co-founder and Anaheim Ducks owner Henry Samueli.The judge also dismissed a civil lawsuit that the Securities and Exchange Commission had filed against Broadcom executives, wiping away misconduct allegations that had plagued the Irvine-based microchip giant for years. Samueli and Nicholas,...

Nicholas May Soon Fly on Gulfstream G-IV In a decision which could have wide-ranging implications for US law enforcement at all levels, US District Judge Cormac Carney told prosecutors pursuing drug and investment charges against Broadcom executive Henry T Nichols III that they went too far in seizing his Gulfstream G-IV and threatening to impound it indefinitely.As ANN reported last week, the California businessman asked the court's permission for his family to continue flying the bizjet...The 1993 Gulfstream, registry N2107Z, was seized in a July 16 raid at John Wayne Airport. The FBI asserts Nicholas "...distributed ecstasy, cocaine, methamphetamine and...

Filed at 9:42 p.m. ET LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - On the day the Anaheim Angels clinched a playoff berth for the first time in 16 years, the Walt Disney Co. hired an investment bank to market the baseball team and the Mighty Ducks hockey franchise to potential buyers. Disney has long discussed selling the two sports teams to a buyer who would keep them in Anaheim but the entertainment giant's announcement on Thursday that it had retained Lehman Brothers marked a firm step toward that goal. ``Lehman is the investment broker that is looking for a buyer as of this...