Posted on December 6, 2010 by Anthony Lake

President Obama Issues Pardons; To Rob or Not to Rob? 78 Year-Old Georgia Man Charged With Bank Robbery

Today's Atlanta Journal-Constitution has an article on the nine pardons announced by the White House on Friday--the first pardons issued by President Obama. The pardons related to a variety of offenses dating all the way back to 1960. Only recipient appears to have been charged with an alleged federal, "white collar" crime--Laurens Dorsey, of Syracuse, New York, sentenced in 1998 to five years of probation and $71,000 in restitution for conspiracy to defraud by making false statements to the Food and Drug Administration

78 year-old George B. Hamlet of Georgia, unlike his prevaricating namesake, has allegedly taken decisive action to knock off a bank in Knoxville, Tennessee, according to an article at Knoxvillenews.com. Mr. Hamlet allegedly brandished a  weapon, jumped on the counter at First Tennessee Bank in Knoxville, and began collecting money from the tellers. Mr. Hamlet was stopped by a security guard as he was leaving the bank, and has been charged with one count of bank robbery in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee.

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Posted on August 30, 2010 by Anthony Lake

Sheriff Deputies Acquitted on Charges of Alleged Leaks and False Statements in Road Dog Cycle Motorcycle Gang Racketeering Investigation

Two 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 owners of Road Dog Cycle, Robert and Brent Holloway, were also indicted for heading a racketeering enterprise, which involved members of the East Bay Dragons outlaw motorcycle club of California; the Merced, California, chapter of the Hell's Angels; and the Red Devils outlaw motorcycle club of Sweden. The defendants were charged with acts of trafficking in stolen motor vehicle parts, robbery, making extortionate extensions of credit and collecting extensions of credit by extortionate means.

Swanson was charged with allegedly leaking confidential law enforcement information to an associate of Robert Holloway who informed Holloway of search warrants which were to be executed at Road Dog Cycle. DeLeon was similarly charged with allegedly concealing his relationship with Robert Holloway and having contact with Holloway during the execution of a State search warrant at the residence of one of Holloway's employees in order to enable the employee to conceal evidence. Swanson and DeLeon faced a maximum of 15 years imprisonment.

Well, as reported by the Modesto Bee, the prosecution of Swanson and DeLeon turned out to be a case of prosecutorial overreaching when a jury acquitted Swanson and DeLeon on all charges earlier this month. Following the verdict, one juror told reporters that Swanson and DeLeon had been "railroaded." The problems in the government's case caused it at one point to offer Swanson the chance to plead to one felony count with no jail time and not even any probation. Even courthouse employees told the defense that they did not believe that he could have conspired to impede the federal investigation into the Holloways' activities.

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Posted on April 17, 2008 by Anthony Lake

"Crown Royal Bandit" Bagged

    Georgia banks... and the Crown Royal Company of Norwalk, Connecticut... can breathe a little easier today. That is because Bruce Allen Hughes, the legendary "Crown Royal Bandit," is finally behind bars and has been indicted in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
     Hughes, who apparently had a fondness for Canadian whiskey, robbed about 30 banks in Georgia and Tennessee over a decade, taking over $300,000. Hughes' trademark during his crime spree was his use of a purple Crown Royal bag which he ordered bank tellers to place loot in. Hughes, a resident of Madison County, Georgia, apparently reeked of alcohol during his last robbery, of an Athens, Georgia, bank, and complained to customers that banks had foreclosed on his home, tips which were used by FBI agents who arrested Hughes at his home. Hughes is charged in the indictment with conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, armed bank robbery and use and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. He will be arraigned sometime after April 24.
    
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