The western U.S. has more than its fair share of needs when it comes to security. Newly minted Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will have her hands full prioritizing and distributing money in the western states to make the country safer. By Teresa Watanabe Los Angles Times The nation’s top domestic security official toured Southern…
Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com U.S. Atty. Johnny Sutton of the Western District of Texas,who found himself embroiled in controversy when he prosecuted two border patrol agents, has scheduled a press conference for Tuesday to discuss his 7 1/2 year tenure. His last day is April 19. Sutton, who oversaw an office of 140 attorneys, assumed the…
The ugly chapter involving the questionable relationship between mobster Whitey Bulger and the FBI continues to rear its head in Boston. It seems the Justice Dept. has to owe up to the facts of the case and move on. Boston Globe Columnist Kevin Cullen feels the Justice Department isn’t doing that. He says the department…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Chicago U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, who has fashioned himself as a modern day Eliott Ness, finds himself this month in the company of such mega-names as Russell Crowe, the Dalai Lama, Willie Nelson, Bruce Springstein, Bill Clinton and Chris Rock. Fitzgerald is included in Esquire’s May issue (it’s on the stands…
By Stephanie Gallagher Fraud With Peril Blog The Department of Justice has had several high-profile incidents in the past few weeks calling into question the integrity of its prosecutors – specifically the aftermath of the Ted Stevens trial, during which prosecutors failed to disclose exculpatory evidence, and the Shaygan trial in Miami, during which prosecutors…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com By most estimations, most folks wouldn’t risk going to jail for this. But Seongja Hyun, a Korean national living in Los Angeles, isn’t like most folks. She faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted on federal charges of importing nearly a kilogram of bear bile harvested in China, according…
For some time to come, people are likely to dissect and analyze the failures of the government in the ex-Sen. Ted Stevens case, which resulted in a conviction that was later voided by an angry judge. It wouldn’t be shocking in the end to see someone in the government charged criminally — or at minimum,…
By Professor Ellen S. Podgor White Collar Crime Prof Blog A “not guilty” verdict was returned on a drug case in Miami, but what happened during the investigation and prosecution of this case has now resulted in an award of $601,795.88 under the Hyde Amendment. The Hyde Amendment allows for attorney fees when a “prevailing…
