Federal Criminal Defense Blog : Georgia Federal Criminal Defense Lawyer & Attorney : Gillen Withers & Lake Law Firm : White Collar Crime, RICO, Trial : Atlanta, Savannah, GA

A seat on the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and two judgeships with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia remain vacant, as reported in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. All of the three positions have been vacant for at least a year, with one of the District Court judgeship having been vacant for 31 months. The vacancies have been declared "judicial emergencies" by the U.S. Courts.

On January 26, 2011, President Obama nominated U.S. Magistrate Judge, Linda Walker, and Natasha Perdew Silas, a Federal public defender in Atlanta, for the District Court judgeships. If confirmed by the Senate, they would become the first African-American women District Court judges in the Northern District. Georgia's Senators, Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson, have given blue slips of approval for Judge Walker, but have not for Ms. Silas. The failure to give Ms. Silas a blue slip effectively blocks the Senate from voting to confirm her. The failure has caused friction between the White House, which views Judge Walker and Silas as a package nomination, and Congressional Republicans.

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The Eleventh Circuit vacancy is the result of the retirement of Justice Stanley Birch, who was appointed by President George H.W. Bush in 1990, in August of 2010. The White House has not nominated any replacement for Justice Birch.

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 The Washington Examiner reports that Anjan Dutta-Gupta of Roswell, Georgia, and Ralph M. Mariano of Arlington, Virginia, have been charged in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island on bribery and kickback charges. Mariano was a senior engineer at the Washington Navy Yard. Gupta was the founder of Advanced Solutions for Tomorrow (AST), a Georgia technology company. The charges assert that Mariano and Gupta allegedly engaged in a scheme to defraud the U.S. Navy dating back to 1998 and resulting in approximately $10 million in losses in inflated costs to the Navy. During this time, AST gained 10 contracts with the Navy totalling $120 million. Gupta and AST allegedly paid kickbacks to Mariano, who allegedly distributed the gains to his father, brother, girlfriend and associates. Prosecutors claim to have recorded conversations in which Mariano describes the alleged scheme.

Gupta also allegedly contributed to U.S. Democratic Senator Jack Reed, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Senator Reed allegedly helped earmark military funding for ASFT. Senator Reed has pledged to donate the contributions from Gupta to charity.

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Very balanced pre-trial coverage and background of the U.S. Senate trial of Federal Judge Thomas Porteous can be found on Newsy.com, courtesy of a reader.

As reported at NOLA.com, during Judge Porteous' trial last week, the 12 member Senate committee heard testimony regarding allegations that a bonding company, Bail Bonds Unlimited, provided free vehicle repairs, buckets of shrimp and bottles of vodka to Judge Porteous while he was a State judge in Jefferson Parish Louisiana. Judge Porteous is alleged to have performed favors for the bonding company in return. Members of the House of Representatives serving as prosecutors also presented evidence that Judge Porteous allegedly omitted assets and gambling debts from bankruptcy filings, and used the false name "G.T. Ortous" in the filing.

There was also testimony that Judge Porteous asked Jefferson Parish attorney Jacob Amato in 1999 to help defray part of the cost of Judge Porteous' son's wedding at the same time that Judge Porteous was presiding over a multi-million dollar legal dispute between Lifemark Hospitals and Liljeberg Enterprises, in which Amato represented Liljeberg. Amato was alleged to have put $2,000 in an envelope for Judge Porteous' secretary.

Judge Porteous' attorneys argued that the bankruptcy false name was intended to prevent embarrassing publicity, and presented expert testimony that the omissions from the filings were not unusual. They also presented a Loyola University Law School Professor, who testified that, until last year, Louisiana's rules on gifts and meals for judges were fairly vague, and that State judges regularly received lunches and holiday gifts from lawyers practicing before them. Evidence was also presented that Lifemark retained attorney Donald Gardner in its dispute with Liljeberg for $100,000 solely based on Gardner's familiarity with the Judge. Gardner kicked back $30,000 of the fee to the attorney who recruited him. Judge Porteous' counsel argued to the committee that the allegations against Judge Porteous are not the sort of conduct which the Founding Fathers intended impeachment for--treason and high crimes and misdemeanors. Counsel emphasized that Judge Porteous was never charged with any crime relating to the alleged conduct, and that most of the conduct occurred before he was appointed to the Federal Bench.

The committee consists of six Democrats and six Republicans. The full Senate will determine whether Judge Porteous will be impeached during its lame duck session in November. If the Senate votes in favor of impeachment, Judge Porteous will become the eighth Federal judge to be removed from office in U.S. history.

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We have commented on the case of Alfredo and Niurka Rasco of South Georgia, who were charged in a $6.5 million Medicare fraud scheme. Well, despite a heated and well-founded defense against the charges based upon illegal use of immunized evidence by the government, Mr. Rasco and his wife pled guilty to the charges against them last week during their trial, according to a press release by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Georgia. Mr. and Mrs. Rasco face maximum terms of imprisonment of 12 years and 6 months respectively.

In other news, the U.S. Senate will convene next week to hold an impeachment trial of U.S. District Judge G. Thomas Porteous, Jr., of the Eastern District of Louisiana according to the National Law Journal. Judge Porteous is charged with corruption. Specifically, Judge Porteous is charged with accepting meals, trips and other gifts from bail bondsman Louis Marcotte III and his sister Lori Marcotte in return for giving the Marcottes and their clients special treatment while he was a state court judge. Judge Porteous is also alleged to have made false statements to the Senate and to the FBI in 1994 regarding his past.

Judge Porteous' attorneys are vigorously defending him, however, pointing out that much of the conduct charged against Judge Porteous occurred prior to his appointment to the bench. Furthermore, a federal grand jury had investigated Judge Porteous as part of wide-ranging probe into Louisiana corruption, however no charges resulted. The U.S. Department of Justice also decided to drop the case against Judge Porteous. Judge Porteous' attorneys have denied any wrongdoing by Porteous, and state that he has done nothing to justify his removal from office.  The defense also contends that the FBI and the Senate were aware of the allegations against Judge Porteous prior to voting to confirm his appointment.

A fascinating fact is that Congress is also the nation's least used court. The trial of Judge Porteous will be the Senate's first since the impeachment trial of President William Jefferson Clinton (who appointed Judge Porteous to the bench) in 1999, and the first of a federal judge since 1989. The U.S. House of Representatives has considered bringing impeachment proceedings against federal judges in the interim, but the judges had resigned before the proceedings could be brought. Judge Porteous was referred to the Senate for impeachment by the Judicial Conference of the United States, led by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts Jr., in June of 2008. A committee of 12 senators will serve as both judges and jurors at his trial. Members of the House will serve as prosecutors, or "managers." The Senators will vote on whether to convict Judge Porteous, with a two-thirds majority required to convict. Any of the Senators may question witnesses following examination and cross-examination by counsel. The Senate Committee will first gather evidence for consideration by the full Senate. Each side will have 20 hours to put on evidence. The Senate can only vote to impeach Judge Porteous, and cannot impose any sentence of imprisonment or fine. The trial will take place in the same chamber the Senate uses for confirmation hearings.

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The recap of the trial thus far of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, from the coverage of the Chicago Tribune's "Blagojevich on Trial" Blog and the Springfield State Journal-Register's Blagojevich trial coverage continues.

Thursday, June 17, 2010: Former Democratic Party fundraiser Joseph Cari testifies that Blagojevich spoke with him about presidential ambitions and getting contributions from businesses in exchange for awarding state business. Cari states that Antoin “Tony” Rezko told him he made decisions as to who got state work. Cari also testifies that he pressured venture capital firm JER, which was seeking to gain an $80 million allocation from Illinois’ teacher’s pension panel, to hire a consultant designated by Rezko, who would be paid a large finder’s fee. The defense gets Cari to admit that Stuart Levine—not Blagojevich—told Cari that JER would not receive the pension investment business unless it hired the consultant. Cari does admit that JER received the allocation even though it did not ultimately hire the consultant. Blagojevich’s attorneys point out that Cari did not tell federal investigators about his alleged conversations with Blagojevich until 82 days after they first contacted him, and attempts to portray Cari as lying to prosecutors in order to obtain a plea deal. Former Illinois Director of Boards and Commissions Jill Hayden testifies that she gave the most weight to recommendations by Rezko and Chris Kelly in selecting candidates to fill State boards. Rezko and Kelly selected five of the nine member Illinois Finance Authority (IFA). Hayden testifies that Rezko also called her and told her Levine needed to be reappointed to the Illinois Teacher’s Retirement System Board. Blagojevich aid Alonzo “Lon” Monk subsequently contacted Hayden and told her not to take any more calls from Rezko because the FBI had tapped his phones. Ali Ata, former head of the IFA, testifies that, in August 2002, he met with Blagojevich, Rezko, Kelly and legislator Jay Hoffman and gave Blagojevich $25,000 in return for a position in the administration. He states that gave Blagojevich another $25,000 in 2003 at Rezko’s request, and that Blagojevich had thanked Ata and said that he knew he was considering a job with the administration and that it had better be a job where Ata could “make some money.” Ata testifies that Rezko also came to him while he was Chief of the IFA seeking $16 million to refinance his restaurant businesses, stating that he would get the Governor to approve it. Ata states that he did not support the plan. Ata testifies that Rezko promised him a job on the Capital Development Board, but that the position was given to someone else. He also states that Rezko became increasingly paranoid about being bugged by federal investigators. On cross-examination, the defense attempts to have Ata admit that Blagojevich himself never informed Ata that he was receiving a State post in exchange for his campaign contributions.

Monday, June 21, 2010: John Johnston, owner of the Maywood and Balmoral race tracks, testifies that Lon Monk came to see in December of 2008 and asked him for a contribution right before the Governor signed legislation extending subsidies for race tracks. E-mails are introduced indicating that former U.S. Representative and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel supported Blagojevich in 2006 in exchange for the State authorizing a $2 million grant for construction of athletic fields for the Academy for Urban School Leadership, a school in Emanuel’s district. Former Deputy Governor Bradley Tusk testifies that Emanuel contacted him when the grant money for the school was held up, and that Blagojevich’s advisors said that the Governor wanted Emanuel’s brother, a wealthy Hollywood agent, to hold a fundraiser for the Governor. Tusk requested that Emanuel write a letter to the Chicago Tribune in support of the Governor’s programs. He also testifies that he met frequently with Rezko and Kelly during his tenure as Deputy Governor, and that he signed checks for Blagojevich when the Governor was not present. John Harris, Blagojevich’s Chief of Staff, testifies that Blagojevich had stated to him that he wanted to run for President. Harris testifies that Blagojevich directed him to block two investment firms from getting any State business on the grounds that the firms had failed to hire the Governor’s wife, Patti Blagojevich. Harris also testifies that Blagojevich was interested in finding a State position for his wife, including on the Illinois Pollution Control Board.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010: Harris testifies that Blagojevich became increasingly worried about his finances, including his legal bills of approximately $1.7 million from the law firm of Winston & Strawn. Blagojevich paid his legal expenses from his campaign funds. Harris testifies that Blagojevich considered appointing Illinois Senate President Emil Jones, and even himself, to the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama. However, when Jones caused an ethics bill which Blagojevich opposed to pass the Senate, Blagojevich allegedly told Harris that there was no way Jones would get the seat. Harris testified that he had conversations with Blagojevich regarding “how much” he could get for the Senate seat, including from wealthy businessmen Blair Hull and J.B. Pritzker. Harris testified that he and General Counsel Bill Quinlan told Blagojevich not to consider such ideas. Harris testified that Rahm Emanuel telephoned him and told him that President Obama was interested in having Valerie Jarrett, former Chairman of the Chicago Transit Authority, appointed to fill the seat. The prosecution plays an audio recording of a conversation between Blagojevich and Harris regarding Emanuel’s suggestion of Jarrett. Blagojevich asks Harris on tape what he can get for appointing Jarrett, including a potential appointment as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
 

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The Senate Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs is holding a hearing today on whether to overhaul laws governing financial crime, as reported by the National Law Journal, which has a link to video of the hearing. One point of contention has been whether to impose a requirement for financial services employees to meet a fiduciary duty to their clients, or else face criminal penalties.

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Leading the Georgia news today is the nomination of Assistant United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates by President Barack Obama to be the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia. The President announced Mrs. Yates' nomination in a Christmas Eve press release.

Mrs. Yates has served as the interim head of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia since August, when the former U.S. Attorney, David E. Nahmias, stepped down to become Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court. She has had a distinguished career as a federal prosecutor since joining the U.S. Attorney's Office in 1989. Mrs. Yates became the Chief of the U.S. Attorney's Office's fraud and public corruption unit in 1994, and became a top aide to the U.S. Attorney in 2002. Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney's Office, Mrs. Yates, a double graduate of the University of Georgia, was in private practice with King & Spalding. Notably, Mrs. Yates successfully prosecuted former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell and former Georgia State Schools Superintendant Linda Schrenko for corruption, and was an integral part of the investigation into the 1996 Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta. Mrs. Yates is married to J. Comer Yates, an attorney and Executive Director for the Atlanta Speech School, which has served children with speech, hearing, language or learning disabilities since 1938.

Mrs. Yates' nomination has been widely praised, including by the criminal defense bar. The nomination must be approved by the United States Senate. If confirmed, Mrs. Yates will be the first female U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia. Georgia was one of the 13 original federal districts created by the Judiciary Act of 1789, and was subdivided into the Northern and Southern Districts in 1848, and further subdivided again to include the Middle District in 1926. The Act provided that "there shall be appointed in each district a meet person learned in the law to act as attorney for the United States in such district, who shall be sworn or affirmed to the faithful execution of his office, whose duty it shall be to prosecute in such district all delinquents for crimes and offences, cognizable under the authority of the United States, and all civil actions in which the United States shall be concerned, except before the supreme court in the district in which that court shall be holden." Judiciary Act of 1789, Sec. 35. There are currently 93 U.S. Attorneys in a corresponding number of districts across the nation. The Federal Criminal Defense Blog congratulates Mrs. Yates on her nomination and expected confirmation.

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