When looking at the case against this man, it appears the investigation that eventually led to his drug charge was one that went on for a quite some time, as he was being investigated since July 2009. Since at least that time, investigators supposedly had reason to believe that he was selling drugs.
]]> Throughout the investigation, approximately 15 people were interviewed. All of those people claimed to have either purchased drugs from the man, or sold drugs to him. One of those people -- who had already been sentenced himself on a federal drug charge -- claimed that he supplied the man with 196 grams of methamphetamine between March 2009 and August 2009.Other people also came out speaking against the man saying they too supplied him with drugs.
When looking at this case, there is a good possibility that the 46-year-old will end up having to serve the full 87 month prison sentence. Then, he will also have to deal with the repercussion of being on supervised release and having a felony conviction on his criminal record, which can end up really impacting him later on in life, especially when it comes to trying to find a job.
As this case goes to show, the consequences of a felony drug charge conviction can end up being rather severe, which is why it's important that anyone who either suspects to be the target of an investigation, or knows for a fact that he or she is part of investigation, contacts a criminal defense attorney in order to learn about what different options may in fact be available.
Source: The Bozeman Daily Chronicle, "Bozeman man sentenced on federal meth charge," May 18, 2012
]]>When looking at this case, this councilman was the last to be added to a list of defendants, which includes another city councilman, a former councilwoman and the former finance director. The others had faced charges for more than a year before he was even indicted.
]]> According to prosecutors, the city officials had been traveling for work-related reasons. However, while traveling the officials would stay at the Ritz-Carlton, which cost $775 per night, would eat at expensive restaurants and attend Yankees games and Broadway shows.But, what's really at the heart of this case is the fact that at least two of these councilmen are accused of "double-dipping" by charging the city for meals that other consultants they were meeting with had already paid for.
However, the claim is that there was a written policy in place for the city that allowed for officials to receive $75 per diem funds regardless of who actually paid for their meals. This would mean that even though a consultant did pick up the bill, under this written policy, the city official could still request the money from the city.
The claim is that the prosecution had misled the grand jury to have them think this written policy did not exist. In the motion to dismiss, it states that if the written policy was given to the grand jury to review, the jurors would have seen that the officials were not acting with fraudulent intent.
As of now, the motion to dismiss the embezzlement charges is yet to be approved or disapproved.
Source: Pasadena Star News, "Attorney for Irwindale councilman accused of embezzlement files motion to dismiss charges," Juliette Funes, May 11, 2012
]]>According to the U.S. Attorney's office, the woman admitted to her role in helping to produce documents, transport illegal immigrants, identity crimes and Social Security fraud. The woman was reportedly involved in this immigration fraud scheme from 2009 until January of this year.
]]> This scheme also led to the Missouri Revenue Department issuing more than 3,500 licenses due to fraud.In general, the case against the 23-year-old is an example of white collar crime. And while these crimes are often considered "victimless" since there are no physical injuries to a person, over the past several years the federal government has really been cracking down on those believed to be involved in fraud and other types of white collar crime, like embezzlement and money laundering.
In these types of cases, the federal investigations can go on for months, or even years. Additionally, many times the person being investigated doesn't even know that he or she is at the center of an investigation for quite some time.
However, due to the severity of these types of accusations and the consequences that can stem from a conviction, it's important for anyone who has been charged with fraud, or even just suspects to be the target of an investigation, to contact an attorney to make sure to have a strong criminal defense in place.
Source: The Associated Press, "Mo. woman pleads in immigration fraud scheme," May 7, 2012
]]>According to the lawsuit, the sexual assault took place at the Beverly Hills Hotel on Jan. 16. However, Travolta was reportedly on the East Coast on the day in question. According to his spokesman, his real whereabouts can be proved.
]]> When looking at the claim, the unidentified masseur said he was called by an anonymous caller who set up for the massage to take place. The masseur was then supposedly picked up and brought to the hotel where he was to earn $200 per hour.During the massage, the masseur claims that Travolta had tried to initiate a sex act and made inappropriate gestures.
The civil lawsuit, which is not criminal, is claiming intentional infliction of emotional distress, assault and sexual battery. The masseur is seeking a total of $2 million.
However, as previously mentioned, Travolta is denying all claims. According to a statement released by his spokesperson, the lawsuit is "a complete fiction and fabrication. None of the events claimed in the suit ever occurred."
Going forward, Travolta also plans on not only having the case against him thrown out, but he plans on filing his own lawsuit against the accuser for malicious prosecution.
Source: Reuters, "John Travolta sued for sexual battery by masseur," Piya Sinha-Roy, May 7, 2012
]]>Recently, a convenience store clerk in Anderson, Missouri, was arrested and booked into jail on a charge of distribution of a controlled substance. The 47-year-old woman is accused of working at a store where synthetic drugs were being sold.
]]> Her arrest came on Tuesday afternoon when police officers and agents from the Southwest Missouri Drug Task Force executed a search warrant at the woman's place of business. The search warrant was obtained after an undercover investigation led law enforcement to believe that there was a connection with the store and the sale of synthetic drugs.After the woman was arrested and book into jail on the drug charge, she was released. She will be appearing in court on a later date.
Right now, the crime lab is analyzing some of the materials that were taken from the store. This means future charges could also be forthcoming.
When looking at this case, it highlights the fact that police are really taking the sale and use of synthetic drugs very seriously. Additionally, this case also points to the fact that police will use different tactics, including undercover investigations, in order to build a case against a suspect.
Source: Neosho Daily News, "Agents arrest clerk on synthetic drug charges," May 3, 2012
]]>The claim in the case against the Missouri man was that he was attempting to rob someone he knew from the neighborhood. He supposedly ended up shooting and killing that man during the attempted robbery.
]]> After the shooting, police chased another man and arrested him at the scene of the crime. That man later admitted to providing the murder weapon. Another witness also claimed to have seen the shooting take place.It was that second witness that was not cross-examined on his motives for testifying. At the time, this same man was participating in a drug court program as part of his probation for an unrelated case. However, during the trial the court did not allow the defense to cross-examine him on questions related to whether he thought providing a testimony would result in leniency in relation to his own separate criminal incident.
The state's Supreme Court granted the Missouri man who was sentenced to life in prison a new trial considering the fact that this leniency belief question was not asked. In that earlier trial, the man was found guilty based on a large part due to witness testimony instead of physical evidence.
Had this question been asked, the court ruled, jurors could have had to more heavily rely on testimony by the witness who supposedly provided the murder weapon, who also had his own issues in terms of credibility.
Source: STLToday.com, "Mo. high court grants St. Louis man new trial in slaying," Jennifer Mann, May 2, 2012
]]>However, now the Missouri Senate has approved a bill that would add another consequence to being convicted of drunk driving: a criminal background check.
]]> The background check is intended to be a way for a Missouri resident to prove that he or she has not been convicted of any kind of crime that involved drugs or alcohol during the 10 year suspended driver's license time period.Looking to the future, if this bill passes, this would mean those with prior DUIs would have yet another requirement to fulfill before getting their driver's licenses back. Additionally, it's also even more money that they need to spend as they will be expected to pay for the entire cost of the background check.
And then what if that person has been convicted of a crime involving drugs or alcohol? This could end up meaning even more time without a driver's license. Because of this, anyone facing a DUI or a drug-related crime should make sure to have legal representation on their side.
Source: KSPR, "Drunk driving offenders may have to meet more requirements to get back on the road," Carrie Winchel, April 27, 2012
]]>When looking at the man's case, he was accused of killing two gang members back in April 1984. He ended up spending a total of 18 years behind bars, with 11 of those being on Death Row. In the spring of 2009 he was found not guilty and awarded a Certificate of Innocence in 2010.
]]> In his wrongful conviction, it turns out that the judge assigned to his case had accepted a $10,000 bribe from an attorney for the co-defendant in the case. The man learned of this bribe in 1991 from another inmate who showed him a newspaper article talking about the case against the judge. That judge has since gone to prison for taking the bribe.And while in this case his post-conviction relief stemmed from a judge's misconduct, the executive director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions points to the fact that false confessions are also very common. Many times, these false confessions come from law enforcement brainwashing a person into admitting guilt, or by offering false promises to avoid more severe charges. Sometimes, interrogations can also go on for days and end up breaking a person down to the point of a false confession.
Because of these variables and the chance of conviction mistakes, this now declared innocent man has gone around the country speaking about the importance of abolishing the death penalty.
But what do you think? Should the death penalty be abolished? What is the best way to avoid a wrongful conviction?
Source: Daily Herald, "Exonerated man wants death penalty abolished across nation," Harry Hitzeman, April 19, 2012
]]>The argument behind the recommendation is that longer prison sentences are especially needed in order to punish professionals as opposed to an everyday investor who might receive one-time inside information and act on it. The claim is that financial professionals are far more prone to engage in prolonged and systematic insider trading, given their greater access to investment information.
]]> Critics of the enhanced penalties argue that on top of the sentences already being harsh enough, the Justice Department never presented any cases where a judge was not able to hand down strict enough consequences due to the guidelines being too lenient.Additionally, the fear among many is that these stricter guidelines may lead to more individuals merely on the cusp of insider trading ending up receiving an unnecessarily long sentence.
The new guidelines would apply to a variety of financial professionals engaging in activities related to investments and trading, including those directing hedge funds. If the new guidelines are followed by federal judges, the sentences handed out in the future could end up being months and even years longer than they are now.
Congress has until November to decide to modify or discard the adopted changes or let them go into effect.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, "Longer Sentences Sought for Insider Trading," Brent Kendall, April 15, 2012
]]>The fraud charges against the woman regarding the lottery winnings stem back to Sept. 12. At the time she was on "Make Me Rich!" and won $1 million through the state's lottery. From that, she ended up taking home more than $500,000.
]]> Then, earlier this year a local news station ended up uncovering that the 25-year-old was still using a food stamp bridge card.The woman claims that she thought it was OK to continue to receive the assistance, because even though she was employed for a few months, she no longer has any income and needs to be able to pay her bills.
In total, she is accused of illegally collected almost $5,500 in food stamps and medical assistance between August 2011 and March 2012. She was scheduled to be arraigned on the charges related to not informing welfare officials about her brief employment and lottery winnings earlier this week. If she is found guilty, each of the welfare fraud failure to inform charges carries with it a maximum sentence of four years in prison.
In general, while it's unknown what will end up happening to this woman, this case does highlight the importance of having a full understanding of how the law works and the fact that welfare fraud accusations are something that officials take very seriously.
Source: USA Today, "Michigan lottery winner charged with welfare fraud," Dawson Bell, April 17, 2012
]]>Recently, one woman ended up pleaded guilty to attempting to obtain fraudulent tax refunds for not only herself, but also for other people. She was one of four people to plead guilty in this fraud case, which Missouri officials are calling the largest false claims case ever to be tried in the state.
]]> In total, there are four defendants who have been named in this national scheme that attempted to receive close to $100 million in tax refunds.According to officials, the woman had helped people file false returns, which resulted in $1.7 million in refunds. In one case, the woman filed a false return for a refund of $174,826 for a client. From that, she was able to receive a $26,223 fee. That fee was then in turn shared with another person, who is also a co-defendant in this case.
When working with clients to obtain these fraudulent refunds, the claim is that the woman would tell the person receiving the money to make sure to avoid any large transactions, which could be seen as a red flag. She also had them split up her fee into amounts less than $10,000. Again, this was supposedly done in order to not attract any attention to the amount of the return.
One of the false claims that the woman filed was also reportedly for herself too.
Looking to the future, this woman could end up facing hefty consequences, as the federal government takes these types of crimes very seriously. Additionally, after being convicted on a charge related to tax fraud, it may be difficult for the woman to find future employment.
Source: Kansas City Business Journal, "Wilson pleads guilty to role in massive Missouri tax refund fraud scheme," Brian Kaberline, April 10, 2012
]]>According to a probable cause statement, back on Jan. 29 the 33-year-old was behind the wheel of a Chevrolet Silverado when he accidentally rear-ended a car. This caused a chain reaction as that car ended up also colliding with another vehicle.
]]> Police claim that after the accident, the 33-year-old smelled of alcohol and was having trouble balancing. He also supposedly refused to submit to a breath test and was subsequently given a citation.Now, the case is making its way through the court system.
According to the superintendent for the school district, the 33-year-old had taken the appropriate steps in terms of his employment and reported the incident to the administration after it happened. Afterwards he was disciplined by the school district, but it is not known what those consequences were. However, he is still employed at the high school.
Looking to the future, the 33-year-old's arraignment is scheduled for May 2. And while he has already dealt with repercussions from his job, depending on what drunk driving-related charges he is facing, he could end up also facing criminal consequences, like driver's license suspension and fines.
However, what is important to remember is that the 33-year-old is still innocent, and even though his place of employment may have already enforced repercussions against him, the actual law has not. In fact, going forward, he can still defend himself against any charges and possibly in the end be found not guilty.
Source: Springfield News-Leader, "Forsyth coach facing DWI charge," Jonathan Shorman, April 11, 2012
]]>At the heart of this case was the idea of police coercion into admitting false guilt. According to sources, the then 19-year-old man was held in police custody for more than 36 hours and was interrogated by police for 17 hours. Here, it's also important to remember that the young man suffers from significant mental disabilities.
]]> After this intense interrogation, the teenager ended up admitted to a crime he reportedly did not commit. The crime was for fondling an underage girl.However, according to his attorney, the young man never even matched the description of the person who was accused of committing the sex crime. Instead, the suspect was described as being a 40-year-old weighing almost 200 pounds with brown hair. The 19-year-old was only 130 pounds and has red hair.
His attorney claims that the real issue was that law enforcement holds a bias toward people with disabilities.
Early last month, the charge against the 21-year-old was finally dropped when a mental evaluation determined that he could not comprehend his Miranda advisement, which means that he does not understand that he has the right to not answer questions by police.
In the end, this is a prime example of the fact that even though a person can be facing a very serious charge, defense options are still available and it is possible to have those types of charges dismissed.
Source: KDVR, "Disabled young man cleared 3 years after sexual assault arrest," Tammy Vigil, April 4, 2012
]]>This appears to be the case against one 39-year-old Dexter, Missouri, man who was recently arrested and is now facing a felony drug charge.
]]> According to the Stoddard County sheriff's deputy who first stopped the man, it was last Monday when the deputy noticed the man looking over a railing. Wondering what was going on, the deputy decided to pull over to stop and talk with the 39-year-old. At that point, the deputy supposedly noticed a syringe sticking out of the man's shirt pocket.The deputy claims that when he asked the man to step in front of his cruiser, the man said, "No, I'm running," and took off.
He was apprehended a short time later, and a syringe and spoon were allegedly found on him. The deputy also claims that inside of the shoulder bag that 39-year-old was carrying was a shake-and-bake type of methamphetamine lab. The chemicals typically used to make methamphetamine were also reportedly found.
Now, the 39-year-old is facing a felony drug charge of attempt to manufacturer or produce a controlled substance.
Overall, this case highlights that while large investigations can lead to drug accusations and arrests, someone looking suspicious can also lead to police question, which can in turn end up leading to an arrest and subsequent charges.
Source: Southeast Missourian, "Dexter man arrested on drug charges," March 28, 2012
]]>However, if a bill, which has already unanimously passed the Missouri House, also passes the Senate, this same 40-year-old may be able to petition to get off the registry. This is because the bill would allow for some convicted of a sex crime to get off of the required registry.
]]> According to the sponsor of House Bill 1700, only about 5 percent of sexual offenders actually reoffend, and that many of those who are currently on the list simply made a mistake when they were younger. Additionally, the list includes people who were found guilty for things that aren't necessarily a threat, like public urination.Right now there are about 12,000 people on the Missouri public registry, which provides information related to where they live, work and what kind of vehicle they drive. However, according to one study, if the bill passes, about 5,000 of those people would be removed from the list. Another 1,000 would also be taken off every year after.
The idea is to remove some of those who are on the registry for things like promoting obscenity, exposing oneself and second-and-third degree sexual misconduct. Depending on the offense, those who have been on the registry after 10 or 20 years would also be able to petition being on the list.
Additionally, a person's work or school address would be removed, as many times those on the registry struggle to find work as employers know their company address will then be included on the list.
Supporters of these changes say that the bill would help to better serve the public by taking off those people who aren't really a threat to society. It would also in turn take away the undue burden some have to deal with when it comes to harassment from the community and not being able to find a job.
Source: STLtoday.com, "Proposed law may help some sex offenders get off registry," Valerie Schremp, March 29, 2012
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