Criminal Procedure

Published on: November 21, 2011

Guantanamo detainee appeal denied

by Stephen Bilkis

A Judge told a confidant that the United States Supreme Court has denied the appeal made by a detainee at Guantanamo Bay for Mohammed al-Adahi. This man is from Yemen who had been locked up without being charged. This happened in the year 2002. He was accused of Federal Crimes but not murder.

The United Supreme Court reached their decision and insisted that the accused be held in detention for an unspecified time. In other words, the Judge told the reporter that the ruling had to stand when it came to the high courts.

Do you know enough about the United States Constitution to know if this ruling is acceptable or not? In the year 2009, for example, a District Judge ordered the this Guantanamo detained be released even after the United States government accused that Al Adahi was connected to the Taliban or Al Qaeda. The District Judge told the reporter that the government failed to prove that this was the case.

Published on: November 19, 2011

Driver Charged with Manslaughter

by Stephen Bilkis

The driver in a two-car crash that caused the death of another driver has been arraigned on manslaughter charges. This occurred after a six-count Suffolk grand jury indictment which claimed the driver was under the influence of intoxicating substances, according to official sources.

The 53-year-old driver pleaded not guilty in Suffolk County Court, Riverhead, and was held on $500,000 bond or $250,000 in cash, by order of the presiding judge.

The driver, operating a 2002 Lincoln Navigator, swerved over the yellow divider line on Montauk Highway, near Old South Country Road in Brookhaven, on December 17, 2010.

Published on: November 19, 2011

LeBron’s Mother Arrested for Battery in Miami

by Stephen Bilkis

The mother of LeBron James, major star of the Miami Heat, was arrested on charges of assault, battery and disorderly intoxication. A contentious encounter with a valet at a Miami Beach hotel ended with the arrest.

The 43-year-old woman was arrested because she reportedly struck a valet around 5 a.m. in the morning, Miami Beach police told Long Island Criminal Attorneys.

Sources revealed, the woman requested her vehicle from the valet, who brought it to the valet ramp, where it was left running for 30 minutes as James’s mother talked to other hotel patrons. After that, the valet turned off the car and gave the keys to the valet cashier.

Published on: November 18, 2011

16-Year-Old Mother In Daytona Beach Arrested For Kidnapping Her Child

by Stephen Bilkis

A 16-year-old girl was arrested for Kidnapping in Florida after taking her baby from a foster care agency. The agency’s purpose was to place children who have been abused or neglected in foster homes.

Both mother and child had been taken to the agency located in Daytona Beach by a caseworker from Jacksonville.

The 16-year-old girl learned that she and her child were going to be separated and she sent texts to two of her friends, who came to pick her up, investigators confirmed. She then took the baby and rushed out to the car. Another caseworker contacted the mother not long after that and the baby was soon returned to the agency.

Published on: November 18, 2011

Tax Fraud in Georgia is Growing

by Stephen Bilkis

Tax fraud has been a problem almost since people have been required to pay taxes. As a New York Criminal Lawyer also claimed that, the problem has been even more prevalent in the electronic age. This is due, in large part, to the many places that we do business on the Internet that collect our vital information and store it as part of a normal business transaction. Electronic information gathering is not the only method that criminals use to collect our private information, however. Thieves have been scouring trash bins and mailboxes during tax season for many years, and the problem has only grown worse.

Many citizens in one state in particular have been learning of the problem firsthand. Citizens from the State of Georgia have been reporting increasing instances of receiving tax bills that have caught them by surprise. These are also the same citizens who have been filing their taxes regularly and have had no problems either with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or with their Georgia state income tax. Recently it has been learned of one such man who discovered too late that a 26-year old illegal immigrant had been arrested for using his Social Security number when he applied for work in a nearby county. It is also believed that this same illegal immigrant is why the Georgia man had recently received a tax bill from the IRS for $3,434.

Unfortunately, stories like his are not uncommon. During the 2010 tax season, the State of Georgia’s Revenue Department reportedly detected at least 52,000 fraudulent tax returns that totaled approximately $41 million in tax refunds. Those returns are only the returns that were detected; sources indicated.

Published on: November 16, 2011

Chris Cook’s Day in Court was March 21

by Stephen Bilkis

Minnesota Vikings’ cornerback, Chris Cook, will have his day in court on March 21, sources say.. He has been formally charged with brandishing a firearm, which in this case is a misdemeanor.

The incident reportedly began, as the second round, draft pick was involved in a heated confrontation with one of his neighbors. While his arrest did not take place during the argument, the arrest and charges occurred after his neighbor swore out an arrest warrant a short time later.. Although Chris Cook was arrested and charged Saturday, he was shortly released on his own recognizance. The cause or content of Chris Cook’s confrontation with one of his neighbors has yet to be released.

In case many who are reading this are wondering, just how Chris Cook was arrested and charged so quickly, especially when police were never called to the scene of the argument at the time of its occurrence. There are some differences in the way that Virginia law works and how the law in many other states work. We will try to explain.

Published on: November 15, 2011

An international case of fraud involving a major software firm leads to high-stakes charges

by Stephen Bilkis

A former manager of a major U.S. software company was recently indicted on charges of wire fraud, suspicion and money laundering, following an investigation which revealed a multi-million dollar international scam.

During the course of his five-year employment with the software company, the defendant appears to have taken kickbacks from foreign suppliers in exchange for insider information and future plans of the company. The co-conspirators included several suppliers from Singapore and China, as well as other partners in Asia. A the defendant is responsible for approximately $2.25 million in lost revenue for the company which he represented. This amount reflects both personal gains that the defendant gleaned from the shady Asian foreign suppliers, as well as damages to the software company he once served as manager. Potentially he can be charged with Grand Larceny wither in State or Federal Court

A New York Criminal Lawyer observes that the defendant, a native of Sunnyvale, CA, was indicted on August 11, 2010. He subsequently entered into a plea deal, the details of which are summed up in an official statement by a representative of the U.S. Department of Justice: “…(the defendant) admitted to engaging in a scheme to defraud (the company) of its money or property and its right to his honest services while he was employed with the company from 2005 through 2010.” Federal agents scoured the defendant’s home following his detailed conviction, where they found approximately $150,000 cash hidden in shoe boxes. This cash was most like part of the kickbacks he received from the Asian-based suppliers, which constituted a certain percentage of the commerce between the plaintiff company and its foreign suppliers.

Published on: November 14, 2011

SEC Accuses Former Goldman Sachs Director of Participating in Insider Trading

by Stephen Bilkis

A former director of financial firm Goldman Sachs has been accused of providing illegal business tips to the head of the Galleon Group, another financial firm. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleges that Rajat K. Gupta provided information about Warren Buffet’s intentions to invest in Goldman Sachs to Raj Rajaratnam hours before the investment was complete. This tip allowed the Galleon Group to earn $900,000 in profits after the company purchased 175,000 Goldman Sachs shares. Providing tips like this to other business people is illegal and unethical, and is charectarized as White Collar Crime.

According to the SEC, this is not the first time Gupta has provided Rajaratnam with trading tips. Gupta, who also sits on the board of Proctor and Gamble (P&G) alerted Rajaratnam of the company’s quarterly earnings early which prompted the Galleon Group to purchase shares right before quarterly earnings announcements. The Galleon Group earned more than $13.6 million in profits.

Gupta and Rajaratnam met about ten years ago during their work with the Indian School of Business. Since then, the two men have shared thousands of phone calls, lunches and formed business alliances such as the New Silk Route, a financial firm specializing in investment opportunities in India. Even though Rajaratnam’s role in New Silk Route is unclear, as he never took an active role in the firm, the two men are linked to the company, states a New York Criminal Lawyer. Gupta’s lawyer insists that the two men are friends and business colleagues and that Gupta has 40 years of experience in business and has never been accused of any illegal activities during this time.

Published on: November 8, 2011

Jurors in Blagojevich Trial Not to Be Named until the Day after the Trial Ends

by Stephen Bilkis

Jurors selected in the retrial of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich will not be named until the day after the trial is over to protect jurors from the onslaught of reporters who allegedly harassed jurors after the first trial. The judge presiding over the retrial said he is withholding the names of jurors because of the way the jurors in the first trial were treated just hours afterwards, reports a New York Criminal Attorney. Apparently, jurors from the first trial were followed by reporters and others in the media, harassed at home at all hours and were unable to go about their normal routines without media interference. Reporters hungry for juror reactions and their recollections from the trial say they were trying to do their jobs and that most in the media were compassionate to jurors while a few went too far.

In high profile court cases like those in New York and even Long Island, it is not unusual for the names of jurors to be withheld until the trial starts or until after the trial ends. Reporters want to know the names of the jurors sooner rather than later. Some reporters claim it is their duty to keep the public informed by learning more about what jurors were thinking and discussing in the deliberation room during a trial to determine if justice was served. Blagojevich is charged with trying to sell President Obama’s former Senate seat, fraud and other illegal activities. During his first trial, he was only convicted of one charge – lying to the FBI. The other 23 charges were dismissed by the jury, claims a reporter.

During the first trial, the jury deliberated for 14 days. Only one juror held out for a not guilty verdict. In the end, the jury was deadlocked on all by one charge and the trial was considered a mistrial. The second trial is scheduled to start on April 20th, says a NY Criminal Lawyer. Blagojevich is being charged with many of the same crimes he was charged with in the first trial. He continues to claim his innocence.

Published on: November 3, 2011

Guilty Plea From Convicted Sex Offender Thought Likely in Kidnapping Case

by Stephen Bilkis

A convicted sex offender on trial for kidnapping and raping an 11-year-old girl and keeping her captive for 18 years was expected to give a guilty plea – until his lawyer asserted the grand jury was improperly selected and acted inappropriately.

The public defender in this case is defending her clients against charges of rape, kidnapping, and other charges in an amended indictment, and she urged them to plead not-guilty.

The public defender did not elaborate on her claims regarding the jury, but did say she had questions about the racial makeup and the geographical makeup of the jury that indicted the couple on trial – the kidnapper and his wife. They were indicted mainly for the kidnapping of the 11-year-old girl, who is now 30. The public defender has been instructed to outline her objections in writing.