Attorney Richard "Dickie" Scruggs, famous for winning billions of dollars from the big tobacco companies, has pleaded guilty to charges of trying to bribe a Mississippi judge, according to the Associated Press.

Scruggs and two other lawyers in his firm, including his son Zach, had been charged with conspiring to pay a state judge with $40,000 in cash in exchange for a favorable ruling in a case over disputed legal fees.

According to the indictment, Circuit Court Judge Henry Lackey cooperated with FBI agents to help document the bribery scheme. Lackey was presiding over a case in which Scruggs had been sued by another law firm for more than $26.5 million in attorneys fees related to Hurricane Katrina insurance claims.

An article in today's Wall Street Journal details how Scruggs, despite earning almost $1 billion from tobacco litigation, has tenaciously fought over sharing legal settlements with other law firms.

Posted by tyler durden at 09:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

More than 400 real estate industry players have been indicted since March — including dozens over the last two days — in a Justice Department crackdown on incidents of mortgage fraud nationwide that have contributed to the country's housing crisis.

The FBI put the losses to homeowners and other borrowers who were victims in the schemes at over $1 billie.

Posted by young summer at 10:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hedge fund hustler Samuel Isreal III was thought to be dead by suicide after being convicted of conspiracy charges. Although his car was abandoned by a bridge with the words "suicide is painless", Isreal is yet to be found.

Prosecutors say he and two other men persuaded investors to put $450 million into the Stamford, Conn.-based company by announcing nonexistent profits and providing fake audits. Meanwhile, they made millions in commissions on trades that lost money for investors. The fund's collapse prompted calls for stricter oversight.

Isreal was due to report to federal prision by a 2:00p.m. - he was last seen 9a.m. at his girlfriends.

Posted by young summer at 07:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

New York Governor Elliot Spitzer also known as client 9 has been identified in a hookery scandal.

Spitzer, a client of the Emporors Club was linked to the prostitution ring during an FBI investigation.

If spitzer steps down as governor, he is to be replaced by David Paterson - who would be New Yorks first black governor.

Posted by young summer at 09:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Strong Play

"Just months after the Kazakh pact was finalized, Mr. Clinton’s charitable foundation received its own windfall: a $31.3 million donation from Mr. Giustra that had remained a secret until he acknowledged it last month. The gift, combined with Mr. Giustra’s more recent and public pledge to give the William J. Clinton Foundation an additional $100 million, secured Mr. Giustra a place in Mr. Clinton’s inner circle, an exclusive club of wealthy entrepreneurs in which friendship with the former president has its privileges".

Posted by Frank White at 11:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Married Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his Chief of Staff Christine Beatty got busted having an affair and may be facing perjury charges. Kwame and Christine had to testify under oath about the nature of their relationship and both swore it was strictly a professional one.

Investigators went through 14,000 text messages to provide evidence.

Sounds like someone is going to jail ...

Posted by Frank White at 05:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Citigroup could write down as much as $24 billion due to subprime and credit-related losses. In addition, the company could lay off as many as 20,000 workers as part of a comprehensive plan to slash costs and raise capital.

Posted by Frank White at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Prominent New York lawyer Dominic Barbara has agreed to forfeit $100,000 paid to him by a convicted drug trafficker, money the attorney concedes was proceeds from criminal activity.

Barbara received the $100,000--in cash--from John Nebel, a veteran drug trafficker who headed the so-called Cartoon Network, a large marijuana delivery service that was broken up in late-2005 by federal and state investigators.

Posted by Frank White at 10:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Internal Revenue Service has failed to refund about $4 billion in improperly collected taxes, according to a Treasury Department audit.

The $4 Billion "extra" dollars fell into the hands of the IRS due to a telephone tax dating back to the funding of the Spanish American War in 1898.

The tax,originally applied to all telephone use. It was later revised to apply to long-distance charges that factored both duration and distance into the cost of the call.

Follow Up

Posted by Frank White at 10:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Once the richest man in Australia, the late Kerry Packer is believed to have lost up to $40 million in 10 months, including almost $28 million during a three-week losing streak at London casinos in 1999.

Posted by Frank White at 12:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW YORK, Sept 27 - Morgan and Stanley agreed to pay $12.5 million to resolve regulatory charges that it failed to provide arbitration plaintiffs with e-mails it said were destroyed in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, when in fact it had saved the e-mails on backup files.

The investment bank and brokerage will pay $9.5 million into a fund for several thousand arbitration claimants, and was assessed a $3 million fine by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, which announced the penalties on Thursday. The settlement also resolves charges that Morgan Stanley failed to provide supervisory materials to arbitration claimants.

Follow Up

Posted by Frank White at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Gary M. Milby who runs Mid- America Energy Inc. stunted a little to hard on MTV's "Super Sweet 16."

After throwing a lavish party for his 16 year old daughter daughter on television the S.E.C. decided to follow up and press charges for the $19 million dollars he ripped off from investors.

The S.E.C. claims he also failed to disclose that he had filed for personal bankruptcy.

Posted by Frank White at 11:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Thursday that it had charged 38 traders in a multimillion-dollar scheme involving phony finder fees and illegal kickbacks in the "stock loan" industry.

Those charged include 17 current or former traders at several Wall Street brokerages, including Morgan Stanley.

The SEC said the 38 conspired in various schemes to skim profits on stock loan transactions, pocketing more than $12 million from their actions.

Follow Up

Posted by Frank White at 01:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ted Stevens, the longest serving Republican in Senate history is now under a public corruption investigation.

Agents from the FBI and Internal Revenue Service started their search at the senator's home Monday afternoon.

The investigation has come due to his relationshhip with Veco CEO Bill Allen who has recently pleaded giuilty to bribing state lawmakers.

In the past year a number of Alaskan officals have been under indictment including his son Ben Stevens.

Posted by Frank White at 11:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Former media baron Conrad Black has been found guilty of obstruction of justice and three counts of mail fraud, following a 15-week trial in a Chicago courtroom and more than two weeks of jury deliberation.

Black beat out nine other charges including racketeering, a law devised to counter the Mafia which carries a minimum 20-year sentence.

His legal team is in the process of appealing everything.

As a white-collar criminal, he will serve 85 per cent of his sentence before being considered for parole. Because he is a foreign national he will almost certainly be held in a tough medium-security prison with serious criminals.

Posted by Frank White at 07:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thomas Ravenel campaign chairman for presidential candidate for Rudolf Giuliani (pictured above) faces up to 20 years in prison and $1 million dollars worth of fines on recent charges..

Ravenel, South Carolina's state treasure got paid to snort cocaine, do favors for his rich buddies, explore bigger political goals for himself and work on a presidential campaign using his state-issued equipment.

He has been federally indicted on cocaine charges and repeatedly violated state ethics rules which specifically prohibit any state employee from using work time or state equipment to work on political campaigns. The violations are completely separate from a recent federal indictment for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine.

But the court can't touch Ravenel because he is in an upscale rehab facility in Arizona.

Posted by Frank White at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It will go down in history as one of the all-time great trading paydays. Now, as the dust settles on the NYMEX’s initial public offering, we reveal who won, who lost — and why one of the last great bastions of open-outcry will never be the same.

Courtesy: Trader Monthlyhttp://www.traderdaily.com/magazine/article/7743.html

=The Nymex 10=

A year ago, NYMEX seats were worth just $4.1 million. Today, a single seat yields equity of roughly $11 million. We’ve done the math to learn which seat owners are sitting especially pretty.

Robert Sahn Age: 49 Seats: 10 Estimated Score: $100 million One of the first traders to capitalize big-time on the NYMEX’s fledgling oil business in the early ’80s, Sahn left the pits in 1991 — but by then had managed to buy nine NYMEX seats, split with his former spouse. Semi-retired, Sahn still trades.

Christopher Marks Age: 43 Seats: 8 Estimated Score: $90 million

David Lazarus Age: 64 Seats: 6 Estimated Score: $80 million

Mark Fisher Age: 47 Seats: 5 Estimated Score: $70 million

Martin Greenberg Age: 67 Seats: 5 Estimated Score: $60 million

Gary Glass Age: 60 Seats: 5 Estimated Score: $60 million

Stan Meierfeld Age: 59 Seats: 5 Estimated Score: $60 million

Joel Fierman Age: 50 Seats: 4 Estimated Score: $50 million

Hillel Tauber Age: 55 Seats: 3 Estimated Score: $40 million

Richard Schaeffer Age: 55 Seats: 1 Estimated Score: $40 million

Continue reading "Richest Whites- Black Gold Rush" »

Posted by L. Burning at 12:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Oh and just in case you were interested, the officer’s name is Joey Williams, and he works for the: Hot Springs Arkansas Police Department Phone: (501) 321-6789 Fax: (501) 321-6708 Chief of Police, Bobby Southard Email: bsouthard@cityhs.net 641 Malvern Avenue, Hot Springs, Arkansas 71901

Thx bobby hundreds.

fdsf

Posted by L. Burning at 02:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

To avoid serving prison sentences for tax evasion, Ed Brown and his wife, Elaine, have locked themselves off from the world on their own terms.

From behind the 8-inch concrete walls of their 110-acre hilltop compound, the couple taunt police and SWAT teams and play to reporters and government-haters with references to past standoffs that turned deadly.

The Browns were sentenced in absentia to 63-month prison sentences in April, after being convicted of conspiring to evade taxes on nearly $1.9 million in Elaine Brown's income and of plotting to disguise large financial transactions.

CNN.com

Posted by Frank White at 11:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Roy L. Peterson a 57 year old judge from Washington is suing his dry cleaner for $54 million dollars...over a lost pair of pants.

Peterson is using the District of Columbia Consumer Protection Act, claiming that the cleaners did not live up to the "satisfaction guaranteed" sign that was in the store.

He goes on to claim that he only wants $2 million in damages for himself — for his mental anguish and inconvenience — plus $500,000 in attorney's fees for representing himself. The rest would go to educate about the Consumer Protection act.

Apparently people aren't too happ with Mr. Peterson, you can find the rest of the story along with his address, phone number and e-mail, at Plank's Constant

thanks to Abraham for this one...

Posted by Frank White at 10:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Alabama senate..

One democrat called a republican a "son of a bitch"

Charles Bishop - " I responded with my right hand"

Posted by Frank White at 09:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., was indicted Monday on federal charges of racketeering, soliciting bribes and money-laundering in a long- running bribery investigation into business deals he tried to broker in Africa.

The indictment handed up in federal court in Alexandria., Va., Monday is 94 pages long and lists 16 alleged violations of federal law that could keep Jefferson in prison for up to 235 years. He is charged with racketeering, soliciting bribes, wire fraud, money-laundering, obstruction of justice, conspiracy and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Jefferson is accused of soliciting bribes for himself and his family, and also for bribing a Nigerian official.

Almost two years ago, in August 2005, investigators raided Jefferson's home in Louisiana and found $90,000 in cash stuffed into a box in his freezer.

Posted by Frank White at 04:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here we have HBO Chariman and CEO Chris Albrecht. I hope this dickhead put odds on himself because as soon as the dust settled b/w Mayweather and DeLaHoya he keep it going by pummeling his wife's face in front of fans at the MGM Grand hotel. Way to go champ, bet they are real fans of OZ in prison. Tighten up u pussy.

http://www.multichannel.com/blog/1820000182/post/710009071.html

Posted by L. Burning at 10:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)