From the reporters at NorthJersey.com comes news that former New Jersey State Senator Wayne Bryant was acquitted last Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New Jersey. The charges against Bryant were based upon a “monthly retainer” agreement between Bryant and Eric Wisler, a developer and partner in the DeCotiis Law… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: Acquittal
Mistrial Declared in Bid-Rigging Trial of Detroit Contractor
Posted in MistrialAs reportedin the Detroit Free Press, On Tuesday, the judge in the trial of Bobby Ferguson in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan granted the defense’s motion for a mistrial based on the jury’s inability to agree on any of the charges against Ferguson and his co-defendants after six days of… Continue Reading
Former Yankees Pitcher and 7-Time Cy Young Award Winner Roger Clemens Acquitted on All Counts in Federal Perjury/Obstruction Prosecution
Posted in AcquittalThe Federal criminal story of the week is the acquittal of former New York Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on two counts of perjury, three counts of making false statements and one count of obstructing Congress. The charges against Clemens arose from his testimony before Congress… Continue Reading
Judgment of Acquittal and Dismissal of Charges Against Seven Members of Hutaree Militia
Posted in Acquittal, indictmentLast week, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan granted a judgment of acquittal in favor of seven members of the Hutaree militia, dismissing all charges against the defendants following the conclusion of the government’s case against them at trial, as reported by the Detroit Free Press. Tina Stone; David Stone, Jr.;… Continue Reading
Florida Construction Firm and VP Acquitted on Federal Bribery Charges Due to “Botched” Indictment
Posted in AcquittalM.M. Parrish Construction Co., a Gainesville, Florida-based construction company and its Vice President Lloyd Whann were acquitted on bribery charges on Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, as reported by The Gainesville Sun. M.M. Parrish and Mr. Whann were alleged to have bribed Bob Williams, a former Assistant Superintendent of… Continue Reading
Judicial Lottery Outcome Determinative in Criminal Cases?
Posted in Acquittal, Courts and JudiciaryA piece on OpEdNews yesterday asks the question why Milton McGregor and the other defendants in the Victoryland gambling prosecution were found not guilty while former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman and former CEO Richard Scrushy were convicted in the HealthSouth prosecution several years ago? The piece submits that the difference in outcomes may be due… Continue Reading
Broward County, FL, Physician Acquitted on Kickback Charges
Posted in Acquittal, Health Care FraudYesterday, a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida returned not guilty verdicts against 78 year-old Francisco H. Gonzalez, M.D., on charges that Dr. Gonzalez allegedly took thousands in kickbacks from two Miami-area home healthcare agencies, ABC Home Health Care and Florida Home Health Providers (FHHP), according to the Miami Herald. Also… Continue Reading
Defendants Acquitted in Second Alabama Gambling/Bribery Case
Posted in AcquittalA jury in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama acquitted Alabama State Senators Larry Means, Jim Pruett and Harri Anne Smith; Milton McGregor, the owner of VictoryLand casino, outside of Montgomery; Tom Coker, a lobbyist for the casino industry; and Jay Walker, a spokesman for Country Crossing Casino, on all counts,… Continue Reading
Four Executives Acquitted in Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fraud Case
Posted in AcquittalAs reported in the Miami Herald, four former executives for Vanguard Fire and Casualty Co. were acquitted yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida in Tallahassee on charges that they allegedly defrauded the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund of $20 million. The charges arose from the 2004 hurricane season, one of the… Continue Reading
Chinese-American Former Motorola Employee Acquitted on Espionage Charge
Posted in Acquittal, indictment, Noteworthy CasesImage source: World Military Forum On February 28, 2007, Hanjuan Jin, a Chinese-American and engineer for Motorola, attempted to board a one-way flight for Beijing, China, at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. She was stopped by Federal agents before she could board the flight and found to be carrying a computer and other electronic storage devices… Continue Reading
Florida Attorney and Police Officers Acquitted of Federal Mortgage Fraud Charges
Posted in Acquittal, FraudProsecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida have dropped charges of mortgage fraud against Plantation, Florida, attorney Steven Stoll and police officer Dennis Guarancino, according to the Miami Herald. Stoll and Guarancino were charged in relation to a $16.5 million dollar loan fraud scheme by Guarancino’s brother, Joseph Guarancino, also… Continue Reading
California Businessman Acquitted on Tax Charges; Did Not Review or Authorize Tax Filings Due to Kidnapping of Son
Posted in Acquittal, FraudEarlier this month, as reported in the Wall Street Journal’s MarketWatch, a Federal jury in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California acquitted Howard H. Berger, a business consultant, on four criminal tax charges. The charges stemmed from Mr. Berger’s alleged filing of 2006 personal and partnership tax returns allegedly claiming a… Continue Reading
Alabama Legislators and Casino Employees to Be Re-Tried
Posted in Acquittal, Noteworthy CasesThe U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama has postponed the retrial of eight defendants on corruption charges relating to the gambling industry and various State legislators and employees, originally scheduled to commence on October 3, until January 9, 2012, according to Forbes.com. The charges stemmed from an FBI investigation into alleged… Continue Reading
New York Attorney Salvatore J. Piemonte Acquitted on Federal Charges of Allegedly Aiding and Abetting Drug Dealers
Posted in AcquittalSalvatore J. Piemonte, a former prosecutor for the Onondage County District Attorney’s Office in Syracuse, New York, for seven years, and former a local judge, was indicted last November in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York for allegedly aiding and abetting the sale of marijuana, according to Syracuse.com. The government charged… Continue Reading
Diamond Store Owner Arthur Hiaeve Acquitted on Federal Money Laundering Charges on Venue Grounds
Posted in Acquittal, Forfeiture, VenueArthur "Avi" Hiaeve, owner of the Manhattan diamond store, Hiaeve & Co., was acquitted last Wednesday on money laundering charges in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. According to Reuters, Senior District Judge Allyne Ross granted Mr. Hiaeve’s motion for judgment of acquittal on the seven counts of laundering drug… Continue Reading
New York Senator May Be Retried in Wake of Supreme Court’s “Honest Services” Fraud Decision
Posted in Acquittal, Fraud, Noteworthy CasesNew York Senator Joseph L. Bruno was indicted in January of 2009 on eight counts of fraud. A jury in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York acquitted Bruno, who is now 81 years old and the former Republican Majority Leader of the New York State Senate, on five of the remaining… Continue Reading
Associate of Former Arizona Representative Rick Renzi Sentenced to 3 Years’ Probation for Conspiracy and Embezzlement; Follows Acquittal of Mr. Andrew Beardall on All Charges
Posted in Acquittal, Corporate Crimes, indictmentYesterday, Dwayne Lequire, a former accountant at an insurance firm run by former Republican U.S. Representative for Arizona Rick Renzi was sentenced to three years probation in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, according to KTAR.com. Representative Renzi represented Arizona’s 1st Congressional District until declining to seek re-election in 2008. He is alleged… Continue Reading
Executives of Canada’s Royal Group Technologies (now part of Georgia Gulf Corp.) Acquitted of Fraud Charges
Posted in Acquittal, FraudA Judge in Oshawa, Ontario, a suburb of Toronto, acquitted six former executive of Royal Group Technologies on Friday, according to the Toronto Star. Royal Group is a manufacturer of plastic materials for the housing construction industry. The company is a subsidiary of Georgia Gulf Corporation, an Atlanta-based, manufacturer and marketer of chlorovinyls and aromatics, which… Continue Reading
Life in Shambles for New Hampshire Psychiatrist Acquitted of VA Charges
Posted in Acquittal, Noteworthy CasesDr. William Weeks had a life many would envy. He was a prominent psychiatrist, a professor at Dartmouth College, a physician at the local Department of Veterans’ Affairs hospital, a nationally-recognized expert on rural healthcare, the head of his town’s School Board and treasurer of his church. However, as reported by Fox News, his life… Continue Reading
Alabama Contractor Roger Taylor Acquitted of Conspiracy, Bribery and Obstruction Charges Following Federal Trial; Avoyelles Parish Sheriff Bill Belt and Family Acquitted
Posted in Fraud, Noteworthy CasesOn Tuesday, a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama in Tuscaloosa found construction contractor Roger Taylor not guilty on one count of conspiracy, five counts of bribery and two counts of obstructing justice, according to Tuscaloosa News. Mr. Taylor was one of numerous individuals investigated in relation to Alabama’s Community… Continue Reading
LAPD Officer Acquitted on Weapons Export Charges
Posted in MiscellaneousIt is a rather slow news day, so the Blog would like to take the opportunity to note that, earlier this month, a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California acquitted Los Angeles Police Department Officer Johnny Augustus Baltazar on charges of illegally exporting weapons and ammunition to the Central… Continue Reading
Sheriff Deputies Acquitted on Charges of Alleged Leaks and False Statements in Road Dog Cycle Motorcycle Gang Racketeering Investigation
Posted in Racketeering/Organized CrimeTwo years ago, Deputy Sheriff David Swanson and Sheriff’s Captain Raul DeLeon of the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department in California were indicted in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California for making alleged false statements to federal investigators regarding leaks during a federal investigation of Road Dog Cycle in Denair, California. The… Continue Reading
Columbus, GA, Attorney Acquitted; Middle District of Georgia Instruction on Money Laundering of Fees Paid for Legal Representation
Posted in Jury InstructionsMark Shelnutt, a distinguished attorney and member of the Columbus, Georgia, community, was found not guilty by a jury in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, the Honorable Clay D. Land, United States District Judge, presiding, on 36 counts brought by the government, including conspiracy, aiding and abetting a conspiracy to… Continue Reading