By Allan Lengel For Sphere.com (A New AOL news site) There are plenty of legal things to buy on eBay, but elephant ivory isn’t one of them. Federal authorities in Los Angeles on Tuesday indicted a Thai national charged with trafficking in ivory from endangered African elephants, and a California doughnut shop owner who allegedly…
By Jon Perkins tickethewire.com Indicted ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a die-hard Democrat, has clearly been an embarrassment to his party. But what’s often lost amid the salacious allegations is that the “Blagojevich Enterprise” – a cynical term dubbed by the prosecution in the April 2 indictment — has been a bi-partisan affair, an equal opportunity for…
The former state senator thought she had problems before. Now the charges are really piling up. Another promising political career down the drain. By Jonathan Saltzman The Boston Globe BOSTON — Former state senator Dianne Wilkerson began taking bribes in exchange for political favors in 2002, five years earlier than authorities originally alleged when she…
No question ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich is going to line up a top notch defense team. But he may not get exactly who he wants if he doesn’t come up with cash. Too late to shake down everyone in exchange for favors. He has nothing to offer. Now his fund raising skills will be put to…
The day many have been waiting for is approaching. Expect the new indictment to be chock full of new details about Blagojevich and his chief of staff. It could also include more defendants. And expect to see the ex-Gov. flood the airwaves after the indictment comes out. He’s not shy. By John Chase and Jeff…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com It’s probably beyond dispute that Ronald Blair, a New York state motorcycle gang member, was not the most artful of text messagers. For example, court records say on Feb. 11 at 4:38 a.m., he wrote to the brother of a rival biker: “I’m coming over with a 2 club bros. want…
By Allan Lengel tickletehwire.com U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald filed a motion Wednesday asking for a 90-day extension to return an indictment against Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his chief of staff John Harris to review an avalanche of potential evidence. Under federal procedures, the government has 30 days to obtain an indictment through the grand jury…
