Ryan - Guilty As Charged...Next!
posted by Patrick J. Fitzgerald at 4/17/2006
Apr 17, 2006
About Me
- Name: Patrick J. Fitzgerald
- Location: U.S. Attorney On Assignment - WDC, Illinois, United States
Think Globally Prosecute Locally - I grew up in Flatbush, kept my nose clean, went to law school. Now that I am in Chicago and D.C. I have found that the rampant graft and corruption to be a travesty - a travesty of a mockery of a sham of a mockery of a travesty of two mockeries of a sham. ---Favorite quote --- "Conditional love is an oxymoron." - Yours truly
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28 Comments:
Great job! I just heard it on radio.
Score: Crooks and Evil Doers 0 and Fitzgerald 1
Next on bat: Conrad Black
Coming soon on bat: The little soldier, Rove, Cheney, and Gerbil and company
Congratulations Fitz and staff you did good. One down more to come. You have should that justice still works. We thank you and your staff for making us believe again.
Those long hours paid off! Congrats!
Good job, PJ. Um, those prisoners don't have to go back to Death Row, do they? It's not like his governorship got annulled and never really existed, is it?
What I want to know is,were you there when the verdict was read?
Whenever you are around, people tend to get nervous.
And, who is next?
The responses from Fitz and Gov. Ryan in the conviction of Gov. Ryan. From CNN:
Ryan: "I believe this decision today is not in accordance with the kind of public service that I provided to the people of Illinois over 40 years, and needless to say I am disappointed in the outcome," he said. In plain English, you just got caught. Justice is served. And orange jumpsuit is for fitting next.
Fitzgerald: "For a brief moment, I'd just like to remind all of you out there that the charges involved were very serious and the corrupt conduct was very disturbing." The charges were serious indeed! Then, he says, "Ryan's actions represented 'a low water mark of public service.' And so is the current CIA leak case with the Gerbil and company, a "low water mark".
My apologies for not mentioning the staff who worked on the Ryan's case. Congratulations to the staff!
Congratulations Fitz!
Everyone, there is a nice photo of Fitz on Raw Story right now. :)
I saw the picture of your press conference. Boy am I good! You look good real good. My little angel knocked the socks of those other attorneys. I told you color means everything. The sutit,tie and shirt were right on. Now its to bad I can't tell the world I am the dress designer to the special Special Proscutor. But just keep doing what I suggested and those other attorneys will know there's a new GQ in town.
Fitz,
It's very good to see that he is now officially gone!
Next you can nail Conrad Black, Stephen Hadley and Rove and so on and get the conspiracy charges out....
I heard on the radio Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling are going to be convicted once Berkowitz is done. Boy I hope so, its time they are off the street!
Grifting the public is a serious offense no matter who- Abramoff or who.
Also I hope you read everything regarding that Al Rogers situation: Tell your people how dangerous this "Rogers" is and stop them from doing anymore damage.
The word is out: Lady Grey wants those people stopped.
------
Sharp attire, Fitz!
I had to pass this along. This was too funny. Brace yourself: Colin McEnroe, the buffoon Lieberman's friend and reporter actually fell asleep on air. I died laughing. If Lieberman was that boring, could you imagine what his name will be like at the polls?
My GOD! Joe Lieberman puts Colin McEnroe to sleep on air!
"Joe Lieberman's best friend Colin McEnroe and AP Capitol Reporter, Susan Haighs, were on WITC's Beyond the Headlines on Sunday and they explained why everyone should take Ned Lamont's campaign very seriously. They also go into why Joe's running scared and threatening to run as an independent (here's a hint: it's becasue there's a VERY good sign that Lamont will beat him in the primary).
BTW: Colin's snoozing is an instant classic..."
http://connecticutblog.blogspot.com/2006/04/my-god-joe-lieberman-puts-colin.html
Watch the video!
Lieberman puts anyone including a 16 year old girl to sleep.
He is just a neocon hack and I am afraid he was never for the people or some kind of good man.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anon, I had to pass that along. It was just too funny. Lieberman can put the dead people in the cemetary asleep!
Fitz, I wanted to commend for hiring Berkowitz. He is one smart person especially outwitting Unskilling Skilling. Skilling's goose is cooked. This is the rest of the afternoon's cross-examination by Berkowitz. Can't wait for tomorrow’s cross-examination. From WSJ the "Gotcha" moment:
Berkowitz’s “Gotcha” Moment (Brought to You By Photofete)
Posted by Peter Lattman
"HOUSTON — Call it a junior varsity Perry Mason moment. After lunch Berkowitz turned to the subject of conflicts of interest and asked Skilling about a defunct company called “Photofete,” an online photo sharing company run by a woman named Jennifer Bender.
Suddenly, the reporters who have been covering this trial and written books on the case looked at each other quizzically. The defense table looked a bit concerned. “Photofete” hadn’t appeared in the indictment and it seemed that no one was quite sure where Berkowitz was going with this.
Upon questioning, Skilling told Berkowitz that Bender was a photographer at Enron and in the late 1990s he had encouraged her to get involved in the Houston Technology Center, a dot-com incubator on whose advisory board Skilling sat. He testified that he thought he had invested $60,000 in the company, which he said went bankrupt in 1999 or 2000. Berkowitz then asked how much business Photofete did with Enron. Between $30,000 and $50,000, Skilling said. Berkowitz reminded him that in earlier SEC testimony he had said it had done only $3,000 in business with Enron.
When Berkowitz asked him why he hadn’t disclosed this conflict of interest to the board of directors, Skilling essentially said that it was small potatoes and that he didn’t think it was necessary. “I might have mentioned it to Mr. Lay,” he added.
Now were that all, it would of been a trifle embarrassing and an example of loose ethics. But then Berkowitz stepped up the tension in the courtroom. He showed a series of five of Skilling’s personal checks from 2000 and 2001, totaling $180,000 and made out to Photofete (one was made out directly to “Jennifer Bender”). Berkowitz then showed exhibits that showed the company did more than $450,000 of business with Enron, accounting for 76% of its sales.
“Was this a conflict of interest under Enron’s code of ethics?,” asked Berkowitz.
“Yes, it might have been,” said Skilling sheepishly. And for what it’s worth, Skilling’s wife isn’t in the courtroom today”. I just wish I had seen the "kodak" moment on Skilling’s face when Berkowitz cross-examined him about Photofete! Cheers!
Congratulations to you Fitz and your staff..
Mr. Fitzgerald, I must say--you are stylin' and looking wicked in that suit, --whatever the hell that means--but it is all good according to my daughter. ;-)
Seriously, You really look nice in those colors and the suit, hats off to the wardrobe helpers.
Look for Berkowitz to call these key witnesses to the stand in the Enron Trial:
No. 1: Mark Koenig, head of Enron investor relations
No. 2: Kenneth Rice, head of Enron's broadband unit
No. 3 Terry West, Enron accountant
No. 4 Paula Rieker, investor-relations executive, board secretary
No. 5: Wesley Colwell, former top accountant at Enron's trading unit
No. 6: Wanda Curry, former Enron accountant
No. 7: Timothy Belden, West Coast energy trader
No. 8: David Delainey, former head of Enron Energy Services
No. 9: John Sides, Enron accountant
No. 10: Kevin Hannon, ex-operating chief of Enron telecom unit
No. 11: Andrew Fastow, former Enron CFO*
No. 12: Christopher Loehr, former employee of Enron, LJM
No. 13: Johnnie Nelson, Enron pipeline worker
No. 14: Vince Kaminski, head of risk and research at Enron
No. 15: Sherron Watkins, former Enron Global Finance executive and company VP
No. 16: John R. Sult, former accountant for Arthur Andersen LLP
No. 17: Thomas Bauer, former accountant for Arthur Andersen LLP
No. 18: Ron Barone, managing director at Standard & Poor's
No. 19: Ben Glisan, former Enron treasurer
No. 20: Glenn Ray, stockbroker at Charles Schwab
No. 21: Robert Martin, FBI agent
No. 22: Joanne Cortez, former Enron employee (never charged)
Keep your eye on Fastow. He will be the most damaging to Lay and Skilling!
I thought this is interesting about Cheney's 2005 tax return: Katrina Tax Beenfits for Non-Kartina Charitable Contribuitons.
Kirsch: Cheney Tax Return Shows Katrina Tax Benefits for Non-Katrina Charitable Contributions
"It appears that the VP is a major beneficiary of the Hurricane Katrina tax relief act. In particular, he claimed $6.8 million of charitable deductions, which is 77% of his AGI -- well in excess of the 50% limitation that would have applied absent the Katrina legislation. The press release indicates that the charitable contribution reflects the amount of net proceeds from an independent administrator's exercise of the VP's Halliburton options -- apparently, the VP had agreed back in 2001 that he would donate the net proceeds from the options to charities once they were.
The press release seems to confirm, at least implicitly, the VP's efforts to take advantage of the Katrina legislation -- it mentions that the Cheneys wrote a personal check of $2.3 million to the administrator in December in order to "maximize the charitable gifts in 2005." Admittedly, I don't know anything about the transactions beyond the info in the press release, but my gut reaction is that the personal check was given in order to make sure the independent administrator had sufficient liquid assets to pay all of the promised charitable contributions before the 50% limit returned on 1/1/06.
Despite the importance of the Katrina legislation to his tax return, it looks like none of the charitable contributions actually went to Katrina-related charities (the press release lists the 3 charitable recipients, all of which were designated in the original 2001 gift agreement). While there's nothing inappropriate about that from a legal perspective, it does demonstrate how the legislation, which was sold to the public as providing relief to Katrina victims, provided significant tax benefits to the VP (and potentially other wealthy individuals) in situations that have nothing to do with Hurricane Katrina."
http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2006/04/kirsch_cheney_t.html
There's video of Fitz on the Chicago Tribune Web site:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/
Next indeed...
It may seem insignificant that you have the praise of a humble street musician, but as one from Flatbush, I'm sure you can appreciate the street.
May the Love that knows no Comprehension find refuge in your heart and in your home forever.
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Goper's Lament (Hard To Be A Republican)
http://www.vanityfair.com/
features/general/articles/
060417fege08
the real brains of watergate...
"There was understandable reluctance in the Congress to begin a serious investigation of the Nixon presidency. Then there came a time when it was unavoidable. That time in the Bush presidency has arrived."
Carl Bernstein
Amen Carl
Rosemary,
Please go ahead and see the email message I sent to you, and delete any mentions of the name Lady Gray from this blog.
She does not want anymore attention at any of these sites, and can not have her name on the net now.
You should have the full message regarding this now.
Thank you again for all you do,
--- The Orion ---
Just finished covering the house in foil here...
Hey Sparky!
Hey all, This poll is from the Chicago Tribune
Fitz and staff, you guys are a fantastic group of dedicated public servants that America can be proud of! Hats off to you ;-)
April 17, 2006
Your reaction
Are you satisfied with the Ryan verdict?
86.6%
Yes (11054 responses)
13.4%
No (1709 responses)
12763 total responses
We are all proud of Mr. Fitzgerald and his staff. This verdict gives a clear signal to the politicians that the American people do not tolerate the corrupt political culture any longer. It's not business as usual any more!
D
Congratulations and thanks.
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