Free Republic

AKRON, Ohio – Jimmy Dimora is guilty of racketeering -- and all but one of the 34 federal charges he was facing. That's the verdict from a federal jury on the three dozen charges on which the panel is deciding today at the John F. Seiberling Federal Building and U.S. District Court. Dimora was found not guilty, however, on Count 30 in the indictment, for allegedly defrauding his campaign fund out of money by having Executive Caterers bill the fund for a birthday party for Dimora's wife. The verdicts were read this afternoon on 26 charges relating to Dimora alone,...

New York businessman James Lieto was an innocent bystander in a fraud investigation last year. Federal agents seized $392,000 of his cash anyway. An armored-car firm hired by Mr. Lieto to carry money for his check-cashing company got ensnared in the FBI probe. Agents seized about $19 million—including Mr. Lieto's money—from vaults belonging to the armored-car firm's parent company. He is one among thousands of Americans in recent decades who have had a jarring introduction to the federal system of asset seizure. Some 400 federal statutes—a near-doubling, by one count, since the 1990s—empower the government to take assets from convicted...

Members of Wisconsin State Employees Union, AFSCME Council 24, have begun circulating letters to businesses in southeast Wisconsin, asking them to support workers’ rights by putting up a sign in their windows. If businesses fail to comply, the letter says, “Failure to do so will leave us no choice but (to) do a public boycott of your business. And sorry, neutral means 'no' to those who work for the largest employer in the area and are union members."

  Standing before a judge in Manhattan federal court on Friday, November 19, Michael Forde learned the price of high living and the crime that made it possible: 11 years in prison. For some members of the organization he once headed, the New York District Council of Carpenters and Joiners, that isn't long enough. Forde had pleaded guilty to racketeering, bribery and perjury in late July in connection with taking as much as $1 million in illegal contractor bribes and skimming many millions more from union benefit funds. The Justice Department uncovered the scheme as part of a probe...

EL PASO - It's been almost a year but the drought in the F.B.I. public corruption probe is over. Eleven people have been indicted for dirty politics. The indictment, just unsealed, lists all of the charges that center around a pay-to-play investigation involving a Health Insurance Company. The indictment alleges Access Health Source kept contracts by committing fraud and bribing high ranking leaders in El Paso. Here's a look at who was indicted: Access Health Source business executive Frank Apodaca Jr. and Public Relations Consultant Marc Schwartz. They are both charged with racketeering, mail fraud and deprivation of honest services....

It's official. TPMmuckraker's favorite ex-convict ex-Congressman Jim Traficant will appear on the ballot for his old House seat in Ohio. A county board of elections ruled today, in a meeting that lasted less than a minute, that Traficant has enough signatures to make it on the ballot. Traficant, who was a Democrat while serving in the House, is running in the 17th District as an independent against Rep. Tim Ryan (D). Ryan replaced Traficant in 2002 when he was kicked out of Congress over 10 felony convictions for bribery, racketeering, tax evasion and other charges. Traficant was released from prison...

NOTE The following text SNIPPET is a quote: newyork.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel10/nyfo082410.htm Two Additional Arrests Made of Members of Violent International Organized Crime Group Albanian Government Aide Arrested; Newly Unsealed Indictment Charges 17 Defendants with Murder, Kidnapping, and Other Racketeering Offenses PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, JANICE K. FEDARCYK, the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI"), and RAYMOND W. KELLY, the Police Commissioner of the City of New York, announced the arrests of FLORIAN VESHI and ALMIR RRAPO for their roles in a racketeering enterprise that engaged...

June 3, 2010 NOTE The following text is a quote: Leaders of the Detroit Highwaymen Found Guilty of Racketeering, Drug, and Weapons Charges Six leaders of the Detroit Highwaymen Motorcycle Club were found guilty today on a variety of charges, including conspiracy to violate federal racketeering laws and conspiracy to commit murder, along with controlled substance, stolen property, and firearm violations, United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade announced. These six defendants are the first of 91 Detroit Highwaymen members and associates to go to trial. United States Attorney McQuade was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge Andrew...

Note: The following text is a quote: North Carolina MS-13 Gang Member Convicted of Racketeering Charges Related to Murder; First MS-13 Member Sentenced to Death Defendant Shot and Killed Two Brothers in December 2007 in Guilford County, N.C. WASHINGTON—A 12-person federal jury in Charlotte, N.C., today voted unanimously to impose the death penalty against Alejandro Enrique Ramirez Umana, aka “Wizard,” 25. Umana was convicted by the same jury on April 19, 2010, for the murders of Ruben Garcia Salinas and his brother, Manuel Garcia Salinas, on Dec. 8, 2007, in Guilford County, N.C. The jury also found that Umana was...

Note: The following text is a quote: Eight Area Men Sentenced on Federal Racketeering Charges Involving Conspiracy to Transfer Cash and Checks to the Palestinian Territories ST. LOUIS, MO—The United States Attorney’s office announced today that eight members of a criminal enterprise operating out of five St. Louis area convenience stores have been sentenced on charges of federal racketeering or related charges. As far back as 2000, the RICO conspiracy has involved bank fraud, receipt of stolen property, conducting an unlicensed money transmitting business, purchasing contraband cigarettes for resale, evading reporting requirement on exporting monetary instruments, and transporting monetary instruments...

Note: The following text is a quote: Authorities in El Paso Arrest Seven in Connection with Kidnapping/Murder Investigation Federal Charges Include Conspiracy to Commit Murder, Murder for Hire, Kidnapping, Drug Distribution and Interstate Transportation in Aid of Racketeering SAN ANTONIO—U.S. Attorney John E. Murphy, DEA Special Agent in Charge Joseph M. Arabit, FBI Special Agent in Charge David Cuthbertson, U.S. Border Patrol Marfa Sector Chief Patrol Agent John Smietana and El Paso Sector Acting Chief Patrol Agent Randy Hill, El Paso County District Attorney Jaime Esparza and El Paso County Sheriff Richard Wiles announced the arrest of seven individuals charged...

Reporting from Sacramento - To his friends, Randall Lee Rahal was just a food salesman, someone who routinely left his home on Shadyside Road in Ramsey, N.J., to crisscross the country hawking California tomatoes. The 61-year-old sold them pureed. He sold them crushed. He sold them roasted and mashed into paste. His clients were food manufacturers, supermarket chains and other commercial buyers who turned his products into soup, ketchup and salsa. But in the eyes of the Justice Department, Rahal was Tomato Enemy No. 1 -- a produce scofflaw who allegedly peeled off $100 bills and carried cash-stuffed envelopes to...

John "Junior" Gotti seemingly has his father's knack for avoiding conviction. Federal prosecutors have decided not to seek a fifth racketeering trial against the 45-year-old Gotti, the son of one of the most notorious mobsters in the United States, the Teflon Don, John Gotti. While the Gambino family crime boss eventually was convicted of racketeering, the younger Gotti, who insists he left organized crime a decade ago, avoided conviction in four trials. There won't be a fifth. U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara issued a one-paragraph statement Wednesday saying prosecutors had decided not to seek another trial "in light of the circumstances."...

Auburn, NY -- Three days before Christmas, Auburn Police Chief Gary Giannotta laid down the law for his command staff. At the closed meeting Dec. 22 in the department basement, Giannotta gave this ultimatum: Tell your patrol officers to write more vehicle and traffic tickets — at least one each per shift — or there will be repercussions for those who don’t.... Threatening to punish employees who fail to make a ticket quota violates state labor law. Tuesday, the Auburn police union took Giannotta to task for his proclamation, and two college criminal justice experts questioned the ethics of his...

There is a feeling that permeates throughout the law enforcement community that organized crime gangs are getting a free ride during the Obama Administration. While most of the focus of federal law enforcement is on counterterrorism, counterintelligence and cyber crime, federal police agencies must still contend with more traditional anti-crime operations including emerging organized crime gangs. "I may sound cynical, but I believe because [President Barack Obama] is from Chicago -- a city noted for it's history of organized crime -- he may be used to what's known as 'the Chicago way' and the casual relationship between organized crime and...

NEW YORK (AP) -- It's no mistake. This credit card's interest rate is 79.9 percent. The bloated APR is how First Premier Bank, a subprime credit card issuer, is skirting new regulations intended to curb abusive practices in the industry. It's a strategy other subprime card issuers could start adopting to get around the new rules.

Gov. Charlie Crist’s office is “looking into” the possibility of removing embattled attorney Scott Rothstein from the state’s Judicial Nominating Committee. Rothstein has offered to surrender his license to practice law. But, he may remain a member of JNC unless, or until, he’s charged with a felony crime. Gov. Charlie Crist named Rothstein to the JNC in August 2008. “Typically, the governor would only step in when felony charges are filed against a public official,” said Sterling Ivey, Crist’s spokesman. “Whether we will act before that point in this case is not clear yet. Our legal office is looking into...

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Nov. 20 (UPI) -- An attorney who was a major fundraiser for Florida Gov. Charlie Crist allegedly conducted an investment scam that cost investors millions, a lawsuit alleges. A group of investors said in a suit filed against Scott Rothstein that the co-partner of the Rothstein, Rosenfeldt and Adler law firm took part in a scheme that cost the plaintiffs more than $100 million, The Miami Herald reported Friday.

Junior Gotti Freaks Out In Court Against WitnessBy Jen Chung October 9, 2009 9:15 AM Well, it had to happen sometime: John Gotti Jr., currently on trial for the fourth time for racketeering, had a meltdown in court yesterday, yelling at a star prosecution witness and former mobster. The Post reports the Teflon Don's son shouted to John Alite during a break, "You’re a dog! You’re a dog! Did I kill little girls, you fag? You’re a punk. You’re a dog all your life — you always were. Do I strangle little girls in motels?" Apparently Alite was being led...

ACORN, a social justice organization with roots in [New Orleans], battles a string of scandals. The announcement stuck to a wall outside the entrance to ACORN's local office in the 2600 block of Canal Street quietly signals the trouble afoot. In English and Spanish, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now tells walk-up clients that ACORN's housing office has shut itself down for two weeks to immerse itself "in an intensive training program." The sign is a symptom of a tumultuous week in the history of a controversial poor people's social justice movement -- one founded by a New...