Ex-U.S. Atty. Accuses FBI and Prosecutors of Illegally Obtaining Documents and Lying About It

Former U.S. Atty. Roscoe C. Howard Jr.

By Allan Lengel

A former D.C. U.S. Attorney is accusing the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office of illegally obtaining documents in a major bank fraud trial in Brooklyn involving a Democratic fundraiser,  and then lying about it. He’s also accusing the government of allegedly introducing bogus documents that an FBI informant created.
Roscoe C. Howard Jr., the former U.S. Attorney, who is representing Democratic fundraiser Courtney Dupree, raised the allegations in a Dec. 21 letter filed in court and addressed to presiding U.S. District Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto. Trial began Dec. 5 and the defense is presenting its case this week.

Howard, a D.C. lawyer with the firm Andrews Kurth,  who served as U.S. Attorney under President Bush, is asking that the Brooklyn  judge to suppress evidence illegally obtained.

The FBI in New York and the U.S. Attorney’s Office  in Brooklyn did not immediately return phone calls Tuesday morning  from ticklethewire.com for comment.

The allegations of wrongdoing have flown under the radar of the New York media, which has showed more interest in ex-Green Bay Packer running back Dorsey Levens testifying in trial as a character witness for Dupree.  Robert Holland, ex-CEO of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, also testified as a character witness.
At the heart of the case is the Long Island-, GDC Acquisitions,  a holding of company,  of which Dupree is the CEO. Dupree  is charged with grossly overstating the billings to fraudulently obtain a $21 million loan from Amalgamated Bank.

The case began to take form when an employee of GDC, Emilio Serrano, went to the FBI to complain about financial shenanigans. The FBI claims that Serrano came in hand with all the documents for the case.
Howard contends in his letter to the judge, that after Serrano’s  initial meeting with FBI agent Gavin Shea in May 2010, the agent directed him to collect more documents from the company. Howard contends that the since Serrano was then acting as an agent for the FBI, the FBI needed to obtain a search warrant after the initial meeting. No search warrant was obtained.

The FBI has contended that Serrano came with all the documents and did not collect anything after that first meeting.

Howard claims in the letter that the government is lying.

In fact, he writes that Serrano testified during cross examination that he collected documents after his first meeting with the FBI , an admission which “contradicts the government’s repeated representations to the Court and defense counsel that Serrano had obrained all the documents before he approached the FBI.”
“Further cross-examination (of Serrano) revealed that not only had Serrano taken documents from GDC after meeting with Agent Shea, he actually created false financial records, which the government has introduced at trial, in an effort to curry favor with the government,” Howard wrote.

Missing Girl Found Dead, Babysitter Charged in Case FBI Was Involved In

By Danny Fenster

A missing 9-year-old girl has been found dead, the Associated Press reports, and the girl’s babysitter was arrested on murder charges Monday night. The FBI had been helping in the search.

Aliahna Lemmon’s body was found in northeast Indiana, near her family’s mobile home park, investigators say. They aren’t releasing where exactly the remains were found, sheriff’s spokesman Cpl. Jeremy Tinkel told the AP.

The babysitter, Mike Plumadore, was taken into custody after being interviewed by police late Monday. The 39-year-old, who was watching Lemmon and her sisters’ at the time of the disappearance, faces a murder charge.

“He was a trusted family friend,” the girl’s step-grandfather, David Story, told the AP.
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Ron Paul goes big time

By Adam Bitely
Most recent polls indicate that Ron Paul is in the lead in Iowa. Other polls around the nation indicate a growing level of support. After years of being painted as a kooky Congressman from Texas, it seems that Ron Paul may have finally hit the mainstream.

Since late summer, GOP primary voters have flipped back and forth on who they deem the conservative choice against Mitt Romney. First it was Michele Bachmann. Then it was Rick Perry. And then it was Herman Cain. And then came Newt. And now Paul, it seems, is getting his shot at being the anti-Romney choice.

How far things have come since Paul was treated as the red-headed step-child of the GOP in 2008 when he was relegated to the back of the line and treated as some sort of radioactive creature that needed to be disposed of immediately.

All the while, he stayed true to the principles of limited government.
At no point in Paul’s recent rise has anyone had to point out that his positions are recently taken. Unlike Newt and Mitt, Ron Paul has been consistent with his platform. He has not had to explain why he changed his mind to oppose health care individual mandates or why we don’t need the government to enforce climate change policies. Paul has been a consistent opponent of anything that will increase the size of the federal government.
But here is where things will get as dicey as they can possibly get. If Paul wins in Iowa, he will have to fight for the life of his campaign as he heads on to the ensuing contests.

His Iowa victory will be belittled. Those in the media will claim that the Iowa results were meaningless. Keep that in mind as they try to mention who finished second behind Paul, as they will claim that the second place result will somehow have meaning…

Already, Republican and Conservative elites have come out and announced that if Paul wins Iowa, the results of the caucuses should be ignored. So much for democracy.
Whether you support him or not, at least Ron Paul has been a consistent candidate. And that consistency is helping him gain support.
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11 Big Gov't Busts of '11: #3-Solyndra

Video by Frank McCaffrey

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Congress Drops the Ball

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Thou shalt not question UN ‘experts’

By Kelvin Kemm British Viscount Christopher Monckton of Brenchley parachuted with me into Durban, South Africa, to challenge UN climate crisis claims, attracting numerous journalists and onlookers. A 20-foot banner across our press conference table gave the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow further opportunities to present realistic perspectives on the science and economics of climate change. CFACT played by the rules, obtained the necessary permits beforehand, and ensured that its message was heard throughout the seventeenth annual climate conference (COP-17). Greenpeace, on the other hand, got no permits before staging an Occupy Durban protest in the hallway outside the plenary session – and got kicked out of the conference. Shortly thereafter, however, Lord Monckton and another CFACT representative were summarily (though temporarily) ejected from the Durban conference, for preposterous reasons that dramatize how thin-skinned and arrogant the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has become. As a South African and delegate at the COP-17 conference, I witnessed more amazing and absurd exhibitions than one would find at a Believe It Or Not circus sideshow. Along with thousands of government delegates, scientists and journalists, we witnessed music and dance groups, Women for Climate Justice, the Alliance for Climate Protection, APEs (Artists Protect the Earth) and others pleading for “planetary salvation.” It took a truly nimble mind, and abiding sense of humor, to appreciate their often competing messages. One large official poster proclaimed “More climate change means less water,” while the one next to it said “More climate change means more floods.” A socialist group sloganeered “One planet living is the new aspiration.” I could only conclude that they were neo-Malthusians worried sick about speculative climate chaos and resource depletion – and promoting a roll-back of energy use and living standards, so that people can share “more equitably” in sustained poverty and misery, enforced by UN edicts. Get full story here.

Sears, Kmart to Close 100-120 Stores

Sears Holdings Corporation, the tenth largest retailer by annual revenue in the US, announced Tuesday that it would close between 100 and 120 Sears and Kmart stores because of poor holiday sales.

“Given our performance and the difficult economic environment, especially for big-ticket items, we intend to implement a series of actions to reduce on-going expenses, adjust our asset base, and accelerate the transformation of our business model,” chief executive Lou D’Ambrosio is quoted as saying by the AFP.

D’Ambrosio estimates the store closings will generate $140 to $170 million in cash in inventory sales and added that Sears expects to make even more money when it sells or subleases the properties.

 According to the Washington Post, same-store revenue fell 5.2 percent to date for the quarter at both Sears and Kmart stores.

 While Kmart’s declining sales were blamed on diminished layaways and a drop in clothing and consumer electronics sales, Sears’ cited lackluster consumer electronics and home appliance sales for their drop.

Though the company, which has more than 4,000 stores in the U.S. and Canada, would not reveal which Sears and Kmart locations would close or how many jobs would be cut as a result of the shut-downs, it did say the closings list would be posted at http://www.searsmedia.com once it was completed.

Lakers fall to 0-2 after loss at Kings

foxsports.com: Marcus Thornton scored 12 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter and the Sacramento Kings opened the season in grand fashion, beating the Los Angeles Lakers at home for the first time in more than three years, 100-91 on Monday night. Tyreke Evans added 20 points, John Salmons had 13 and DeMarcus Cousins had...    read full article