"" New York, New York, November 21, 2008- Sources have confirmed that Federal Agents in New York and Washington, D.C. are actively investigating complaints of witness tampering in the New York State Ethics Scandal pending in the federal District Court in Manhattan.
Legal Authority: Pay to Play
The latest probe began in July of 2008 when numerous individuals went to federal authorities with various accounts of illegal payoffs to New York State employees at the Departmental Disciplinary Committee (“DDC”) at 61 Broadway in lower Manhattan.
The DDC investigates ethics complaints against attorneys in Manhattan and The Bronx, and has been long believed to be a corrupt, political vendetta machine.
One cooperating attorney is quoted as saying, “I did not have to worry about any ethics complaints because I always paid my insurance premiums to the DDC. Everyone knew what was going on.”
Witness Tampering: Threats on a Federal Witness
Federal Agents from two different offices sprung into high gear after the summer when a DDC supervising attorney threatened another state-employed DDC attorney under his direction.
The DDC staff attorney was apparently confronted days before his sworn testimony was to begin in the ethics probe, and the intended message was made perfectly clear, says the source, adding, “You have a very serious situation requiring immediate involvement by federal authorities anytime someone confronts a federal witness and warns that a death may result from testimony.”
New York Norm: Obstruction of Justice
The allegations, and initial findings, were serious enough for investigators from New York State to forward the troubling reports to federal agencies.
Attorney General Andrew Cuomo was initially apprised of the witness tampering allegations and he has been tracking the various federal inquiries since.
And it has been confirmed that Appellate Division, First Department, Presiding Justice Jonathan Lippman ordered that the involved DDC supervising attorney be immediately transferred to his courthouse at 27 Madison Avenue from the DDC offices on Broadway where the threatened attorney works. Another court insider believes it’s “just another OCA cover-up,” adding, “no one in the First Department - or anywhere in the State - wants an ethics committee supervising attorney spilling the beans to a crowd of FBI agents.”
Recently appointed DDC chairman, Roy Reardon, according to sources, has been involved in DDC affairs on an almost daily basis, and he has acknowledged the seriousness of the physical threats and psychiatric issues involved. “To his credit,” says the source, “Roy Reardon took immediate action after he confirmed that he was staring at witness tampering by one of his DDC supervising attorneys. It was Roy who first suggested the transfer.”
It has been long rumored that virtually any ethics complaint, no matter how serious or criminal, could be made to disappear for “favored attorneys.”
“The feds are now beginning to understand that a ‘favored attorney’ in New York doesn’t just involve political connections.
A New York ‘favored attorney’ is one who pays,” says one attorney who has practiced in the federal court system for over thirty years, and who asked not to be identified.
It is believed that the underlying federal action is Anderson v. State of New York (SDNY), though there are other ethics cases pending, and some before the 2nd Circuit - all involving charges of corruption at the DDC.
“Win at all Costs” and “No Regard for Laws or Ethics” Hits National Agenda
The latest allegations coincide with the obstruction of justice case in the Eastern District Court in Brooklyn against defense attorney Robert Simels and his associate Arienne Irving, who each face up to 10 years in prison for allegedly seeking to use bribes and violence to prevent witnesses from testifying against one of their clients.
Tamanny Hall II – New York Court’s Cesspool Seeps to Washington, D.C.
In November of 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to hear Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal, a case that centers on state level ethics and judges beholden to financial supporters. The Brennan Center and other advocacy groups have called the issues egregious, matters that raise underlying questions about due process on a national level.
See, "The Unethical Ethics Committee" @
http://exposecorruptcourts.blogspot.com/2007/11/unethical-ethics-committee-sealed.html
See, Background story on New York-Style Ethics, "Sex Scandal at Attorney Committee on Character and Fitness"
@
http://exposecorruptcourts.blogspot.com/2007/06/sex-scandal-at-attorney-committee-on.html
OFFICIAL NOTICE TO THIS COMMITTEE:
THE STATE OF NEW YORK and
OTHER LIABLE NEW YORK GOVERNMENT AGENCIES
that are named Defendants in my Lawsuit, Face a Twelve Trillion Dollar Plus Liability that may not be reported properly in the Liability Section of their financials with State Regulators causing further Direct Liabilities to NY State and the People of NY, dwarfing the size of Madoff, Stanford and Dreier combined by thousands fold.
Other Federal Offices have been notified and are involved and actively investigating the claims, including Inspector General Glenn Fine of USDOJ; the Office of Professional Responsibility ( OPR ) of the FBI, the Office of Enrollment & Discipline ( OED ) of the US Patent Office, the Commissioner of the USPTO, the SBA Inspector General, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and more. ""
Source
http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache:ktIVkVh6K68J:www.iviewit.tv/20091005%2520NY%2520Judiciary%2520Committee%2520Prepared%2520Statement.doc+site://www.iviewit.tv+question&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
Pay to Play Attorney
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.