August 18, 2025 Minor but Objectionable
An upstate GOP state senate candidate’s campaign allegedly paid homeless people to claim they made donations to him, allowing him to net matching taxpayer funds, a report says. Several homeless men in Auburn told the Albany Times Union in a story published Friday that Caleb Slater’s campaign offered them $30 a pop to sign paperwork saying they donated $250 to his run in November. This way, Slater, who ultimately lost his bid for office, could allegedly receive public funds from the state that match contributions up to $250, the paper noted. At least seven people who spoke to the outlet say they never contributed to Slater‘s campaign but were paid to submit contribution forms. One man said he was asked to recruit other straw donors as well.
https://electionlawblog.org/?p=151612
August 17, 2025
Today, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced that a grand jury has returned a felony indictment, including two counts of stealing by deceit and two counts of election law violations, against St. Louis County Executive Sam Page, following an investigation initiated by the Attorney General’s Office.
“I conducted this investigation into Sam Page’s alleged misuse of public funds because the people of St. Louis County deserve accountability, not corruption,” said Attorney General Bailey. “Public officials must follow the law, and my Office will work to ensure that they always do.”
The grand jury has returned a true bill of indictment on two felony charges, including two counts of stealing by deceit and two counts of election law violations.
The charges stem from allegations of Page’s deliberate misuse of public resources to oppose Proposition B, a local ballot initiative presented to voters on April 8, 2025. The allegations include that Page purposely expended more than $35,000 in county funds to produce and distribute over 50,000 political mailers to sway the election outcome, a direct violation of § 115.646, RSMo.
Following the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office citing a conflict of interest, a judge appointed Attorney General Bailey as special prosecutor. After this appointment, the Attorney General’s Office initiated a grand jury proceeding against Sam Page, resulting in the felony indictment.
“The Missouri Constitution and our statutes are clear: public money must never be used for political campaigning,” said Attorney General Bailey. “Any intentional misuse of taxpayer dollars in an attempt to rig the outcome of an election is illegal.”
https://ago.mo.gov/attorney-general-bailey-secures-felony-indictment-against-st-louis-county-executive-sam-page/
August 16, 2025
Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson has agreed to plead guilty to federal public corruption charges in connection with an alleged kickback scheme to obtain thousands of dollars in cash from a staff member in exchange for a large bonus.
Tania Fernandes Anderson, 46, of Boston, has agreed to plead guilty to count one of wire fraud and one count of theft concerning a program receiving federal funds. A plea hearing has not yet been scheduled by the Court. In December 2024, Fernandes Anderson was indicted by a federal grand jury. Per the plea agreement, the government is recommending a sentence of one year and one day in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release and restitution in the amount of $13,000.
Fernandes Anderson currently serves as City Councilor for Boston’s District 7, which includes Roxbury, Dorchester, Fenway and part of the South End. She was first elected to a two-year term in November 2021 and won re-election in November 2023.
According to the charging documents, in or about 2022, Fernandes Anderson hired two members of her immediate family as salaried employees of her City Councilor Staff. Because City Councilors are prohibited by law from hiring immediate family members to their paid staff, Fernandes Anderson was required to terminate their salaried employment in or about August 2022. Additionally, from in or about March 2023 to May 2023, the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission notified Fernandes Anderson of its findings and that it would be seeking a $5,000 civil penalty payment from her.
It is alleged that, in or about November 2022, Fernandes Anderson allegedly emailed a City of Boston employee regarding her hiring of Staff Member A – a relative of Fernandes Anderson who was not an immediate family member – as a salaried employee. In her email to the City of Boston employee, it is alleged that Fernandes Anderson falsely represented that she and Staff Member A were not related:
From in or about early to mid-2023, Fernandes Anderson was allegedly facing personal financial difficulty, which included the outstanding $5,000 civil penalty payment to the Ethics Commission. It is further alleged that, in or about early May 2023, Fernandes Anderson told Staff Member A that she would give them extra pay in the form of a large bonus, but that Staff Member A would have to give a portion of the bonus back to Fernandes Anderson. Staff Member A agreed to the arrangement with Fernandes Anderson.
On or about May 3, 2023, Fernandes Anderson allegedly sent an email to a City of Boston employee to process bonus payments for her City Councilor Staff. In the email, Fernandes Anderson instructed the City of Boston employee to process a bonus payment of $13,000 to Staff Member A – more than double the total bonuses paid to all other Fernandes Anderson staff combined. Fernandes Anderson allegedly did not disclose the bonus kickback arrangement she had made with Staff Member A to the City of Boston employee.
Staff Member A deposited the bonus check on or about May 26, 2023 into their account at Santander Bank. It is alleged that, at Fernandes Anderson’s direction, Staff Member A then made separate cash withdrawals of the payment on three separate dates: $3,000 on May 31, 2023; $3,000 on June 5, 2023; and $4,000 on June 9, 2023.
It is alleged that, on June 9, 2023, immediately following the final cash withdrawal, Fernandes Anderson and Staff Member A arranged to meet in a bathroom at Boston City Hall. There, Staff Member A allegedly provided Fernandes Anderson with $7,000 in cash:
According to the signed plea agreement, for tax years 2021, 2022 and 2023, Fernandes Anderson filed fraudulent federal income tax returns with the IRS. Specifically, it is alleged that Fernandes Anderson: omitted approximately $11,000 in income that she earned from a Massachusetts-based corporation from her 2021 tax return; willfully omitted campaign funds that she used for her own personal enrichment from her 2022 and 2023 tax returns; and willfully omitted the $7,000 kickback that she received from Staff Member A from her 2023 tax return.
The charge of wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley, Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bosonnection with an alleged kickback scheme to obtain thousands of dollars in cash from a staff member in exchange for a large bonus.
Tania Fernandes Anderson, 46, of Boston, has agreed to plead guilty to count one of wire fraud and one count of theft concerning a program receiving federal funds. A plea hearing has not yet been scheduled by the Court. In December 2024, Fernandes Anderson was indicted by a federal grand jury. Per the plea agreement, the government is recommending a sentence of one year and one day in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release and restitution in the amount of $13,000.
Fernandes Anderson currently serves as City Councilor for Boston’s District 7, which includes Roxbury, Dorchester, Fenway and part of the South End. She was first elected to a two-year term in November 2021 and won re-election in November 2023.
According to the charging documents, in or about 2022, Fernandes Anderson hired two members of her immediate family as salaried employees of her City Councilor Staff. Because City Councilors are prohibited by law from hiring immediate family members to their paid staff, Fernandes Anderson was required to terminate their salaried employment in or about August 2022. Additionally, from in or about March 2023 to May 2023, the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission notified Fernandes Anderson of its findings and that it would be seeking a $5,000 civil penalty payment from her.
It is alleged that, in or about November 2022, Fernandes Anderson allegedly emailed a City of Boston employee regarding her hiring of Staff Member A – a relative of Fernandes Anderson who was not an immediate family member – as a salaried employee. In her email to the City of Boston employee, it is alleged that Fernandes Anderson falsely represented that she and Staff Member A were not related:
From in or about early to mid-2023, Fernandes Anderson was allegedly facing personal financial difficulty, which included the outstanding $5,000 civil penalty payment to the Ethics Commission. It is further alleged that, in or about early May 2023, Fernandes Anderson told Staff Member A that she would give them extra pay in the form of a large bonus, but that Staff Member A would have to give a portion of the bonus back to Fernandes Anderson. Staff Member A agreed to the arrangement with Fernandes Anderson.
On or about May 3, 2023, Fernandes Anderson allegedly sent an email to a City of Boston employee to process bonus payments for her City Councilor Staff. In the email, Fernandes Anderson instructed the City of Boston employee to process a bonus payment of $13,000 to Staff Member A – more than double the total bonuses paid to all other Fernandes Anderson staff combined. Fernandes Anderson allegedly did not disclose the bonus kickback arrangement she had made with Staff Member A to the City of Boston employee.
Staff Member A deposited the bonus check on or about May 26, 2023 into their account at Santander Bank. It is alleged that, at Fernandes Anderson’s direction, Staff Member A then made separate cash withdrawals of the payment on three separate dates: $3,000 on May 31, 2023; $3,000 on June 5, 2023; and $4,000 on June 9, 2023.
It is alleged that, on June 9, 2023, immediately following the final cash withdrawal, Fernandes Anderson and Staff Member A arranged to meet in a bathroom at Boston City Hall. There, Staff Member A allegedly provided Fernandes Anderson with $7,000 in cash:
According to the signed plea agreement, for tax years 2021, 2022 and 2023, Fernandes Anderson filed fraudulent federal income tax returns with the IRS. Specifically, it is alleged that Fernandes Anderson: omitted approximately $11,000 in income that she earned from a Massachusetts-based corporation from her 2021 tax return; willfully omitted campaign funds that she used for her own personal enrichment from her 2022 and 2023 tax returns; and willfully omitted the $7,000 kickback that she received from Staff Member A from her 2023 tax return.
The charge of wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/boston-city-councilor-agrees-plead-guilty-federal-public-corruption-charges
Tania Fernandes Anderson (born January 4, 1979)[1] is a Cape Verdean-born American politician, non-profit executive, and convicted felon. She has served as a member of the Boston City Council, representing the 7th district, since 2022. A Democrat, she was elected in 2021 to succeed Kim Janey and represented Roxbury, Dorchester and part of the South End. She was the first practicing Muslim and first former illegal immigrant elected to the Council.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tania_Fernandes_Anderson
August 14, 2025
More telling that outrageous
First he was picked up for an alleged theft at Target on June 24th, which he blamed at least partially on the fact that store did not have bags. “During a recent visit to the Bethel Target, two items in my armload of others were not scanned. I was in a rush to bring items to my grandmother in the hospital, the store didn’t have bags, and I was juggling multiple purchases,” State Rep Raghib Allie-Brennan said in a statement to the press. He failed to mention that he voted to ban single-use plastic bags.
Then came a new arrest warrant for larceny in the 6th degree, prompting Allie-Brennan to turn himself into police on July 28th. The recent charges stemmed from allegedly failing to scan $26.69 worth of merchandise at the same Target. Allie-Brennan issued a statement taking responsibility for his actions.
Meet CT State Rep. Raghib Allie-Brennan (D). He voted for a law that made it a serious traffic violation to use a cell phone while driving. He was just charged for driving while distracted for… using a cell phone while driving.
https://nypost.com/2025/08/09/us-news/democrat-cuffed-again-shoplifting-at-same-target/
August 14, 2025
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has filed two new public corruption charges against Los Angeles City Councilmember Curren Price after uncovering evidence that the city’s housing authority and LA Metro paid Price’s wife more than $800,000 total at the same time Price voted to award the agencies multimillion-dollar contracts.
“Embezzling public funds and awarding contracts for your own financial gain is the antithesis of public service,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said. “Our communities expect and deserve better from their public officials. I thank our investigative team and prosecutors in the Public Integrity Division for diligently pursuing every lead and holding elected officials accountable. Self-dealing and pay-to-play politics will not be tolerated in Los Angeles County.”
Curren De Mille Price Jr. has been the Los Angeles City Councilmember for the Ninth District since 2013. Like all other councilmembers, he is prohibited from having a financial interest associated with any project that comes before the City Council.
Price (dob 12/16/50) was charged on June 13, 2023, in case BA515782 with five felony counts of embezzlement of government funds, three felony counts of perjury and two felony counts of conflict of interest. The 10 felony counts allege that Del Richardson & Associates, a company owned solely by Price’s wife, Delbra Pettice Richardson, received payments totaling more than $150,000 between 2019 and 2021 from developers before he voted to approve projects. Price is also accused of embezzling approximately $33,800 in city funds from 2013-2017 to pay for medical benefits for Richardson, who he falsely claimed was his wife while still legally married to Lynn Suzette Price. Price pleaded not guilty to these charges on Dec. 15, 2023. He was released on his own recognizance.
Subpoenas in the case yielded additional evidence of public corruption. On Aug. 11, prosecutors filed an amended complaint alleging two additional counts of conflict of interest. The complaint includes an appendix of 39 exhibits of evidence of the payments and Price’s voting history. Between Oct. 22, 2019, and June 30, 2020, the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles allegedly paid Del Richardson & Associates approximately $609,600. During this time, Price voted to support a $35 million federal grant and a state grant application for $252 million for the agency. Price’s staff had flagged the item of interest prior to the votes.
Between Oct. 27, 2020, and Oct. 20, 2021, LA Metro paid Del Richardson & Associates approximately $219,500. During this time, Price brought and voted in favor of a motion to award $30 million to LA Metro. Price’s staff had flagged the conflict of interest prior to the votes. It is further alleged that Price took advantage of his position in city government to award city lease agreements and over $2 million in federal COVID-19 grants to the nonprofit Home at Last. Home at Last was a paying tenant of the Urban Healthcare Project at the time of the votes. Price served as CEO of Urban Healthcare Project during the time of these votes. These funds were intended for homelessness efforts.
Jan 29, 2025
A second ex-FDNY chief copped a plea Wednesday in a nearly $200,000 pay-to-play bribery scheme that fast-tracked fire inspections across the Big Apple. Anthony Saccovino, 59, copped to a bribery conspiracy charge in Manhattan federal court as part of a plea agreement that will see him cough up $57,000 — the tally of illicit payments he reaped in during the years-long caper. The former head of the FDNY’s Bureau of Fire Prevention admitted he joined a crooked scheme with Brian Cordasco — another high-ranking fire prevention chief — to accept bribes from a retired smoke eater in exchange for expediting inspections. “Anthony Saccavino betrayed the City agency he was chosen to lead by repeatedly selling access to the Bureau of Fire Prevention’s services in a pay-to-play bribery scheme,” said Manhattan US Attorney Danielle Sassoon in a statement.
Jan. 17, 2025
Mount Clemens — If Attorney General Dana Nessel (D) d simply rolled over and tapped the shoulder of the person at the next pillow over, the current state of Michigan politics might look very different. We may have had a different governor. We may have had functioning schools, affordable energy, or a growing economy. But we don’t have any of that.
Had Nessel done that, I certainly would not have had an ex-con standing in the lobby of the Macomb County Circuit Court earlier this week, hoisting his middle finger to my nose, his lawyer warning him not to do something stupid. But there he was, dear reader, giving me (and you) the one-finger salute. Shawn Wilmoth is charged with a raft of felonies in connection with the fake signature scandal of 2022. His dirty work, Nessel contends, led to five Republican contenders for governor getting the boot from the primary ballot—including former Detroit Police Chief James E. Craig, who was leading Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in the polls.
The candidates had paid Wilmoth’s firm, First Choice Contracting LLC, hundreds of thousands of dollars to gather signatures for their nominating petitions. In the end, state election officials determined that tens of thousands of those signatures were fakes and forgeries. Squirming at the elevator doors, Wilmoth did not carry the look of a political mastermind. He looked like a worn-out carnival barker. He wore greasy hair, a leather biker vest, and a stain on his shirt. Why five candidates would hire Wilmoth is anybody’s guess. A simple internet search shows Wilmoth was convicted in Virginia in 2011 of election fraud, having instructed employees to fraudulently sign petition pages.
To this effect, Nessel offered a smug lecture to the hapless candidates at a June 2022 press conference, after announcing charges against Wilmoth. “I think that just googling some of these individuals would have seen things pop up from other states,” Nessel said. “Know who you are trusting with you money, your reputation and with your political future.”
That is very good advice. Very good advice, indeed. Advice so good that Nessel should have given it to her wife. As it happens, Nessel’s wife, Alanna Maguire, was co-chair of Fair and Equal Michigan, a campaign organized to enshrine gay rights into Michigan law. Fair and Equal hired Wilmoth’s firm in 2020 to gather 340,000 legitimate signatures. The group paid First Choice more than $1 million over a two month period, according to campaign finance filings.
A second firm, K2K Consulting, was paid an additional $250,000 by Fair and Equal to gather signatures during the same time period. K2K is the Democratic-connected firm that received a controversial no-bid Covid contract from the state. The deal was canceled once it became public.
When it was all said and done, election officials found that about 200,000 of the First Choice signatures were invalid for varying reasons: Signers didn’t exist in the voting rolls, some had incorrect or non-existent addresses, and some signatures that did not match those on file.
Ultimately, the gay rights proposal—like the Republican candidates after it—was blocked from the ballot. So why then did Nessel do nothing? Was it family embarrassment? Professional incompetence? Something more cynical?
“This guy is a walking crime wave,” said Fred Wszolek, a political strategist whose group Unlock Michigan was criminally investigated by the attorney general in 2020 for petition gathering activities. “He gets paid untold thousands of dollars for bogus signatures. He does it over and over again. You think Nessel would have dropped the anvil on this guy. It’s hard to figure.”
As for Wilmoth, his pretrial hearing was inexplicably delayed yet again. His next appearance is scheduled for March 10th.
https://enjoyer.com/why-did-dana-nessel-let-a-felon-collect-signatures-for-republicans-wife/
Jan. 11, 2025
It was just six days ago that the Ivor Caplin, the former Labour MP for Hove, emerged from obscurity to offer his thoughts on Elon Musk. Tony Blair’s former defence minister went on GB News last Sunday to offer his thoughts on the Tesla billionaire’s tweets about Keir Starmer and Jess Phillips. Such posts, Caplin declared, were ‘not acceptable’ and ‘it would be even more unacceptable if he was to become a serious and senior member’ of the Trump administration.
Fast forward less than a week and what has old Ivor been up to? It transpires that he was arrested today on suspicion of child sex offences after a sting by paedophile hunters.
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/ex-labour-mp-arrested-days-after-attacking-unacceptable-elon/
https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.5201845
Dec. 12, 2024
DC Council Member re-elected despite federal bribery charge.
Despite being arrested by the FBI on a federal bribery charge in August, White, a Democrat representing Ward 8, recently secured a third term on Election Day in a landslide victory. While the federal criminal case remains pending, the report, commissioned by an ad hoc committee and conducted by the law firm Latham & Watkins LLP, was submitted to the council on Monday following an independent probe into whether White violated applicable D.C. law, the D.C. Code of Conduct, or Council Rules. The council is meeting next Monday to deliberate the findings and consider whether to recommend sanctions against White.
The councilman has pleaded not guilty to allegations he accepted $156,000 in cash payments in exchange for using his position to pressure government employees at the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (ONSE) and Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS) to extend several D.C. contracts. The federal complaint says the contracts were valued at $5.2 million and were for two companies to provide "Violence Intervention" services in D.C.
D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson established the ad hoc committee in August. White has declined multiple offers to meet with the committee since.
Councilman Kenyan McDuffie, who chairs the ad hoc committee, said the investigation found "substantial evidence" that White’s alleged conduct connected to the bribery claims violated several provisions of the D.C. Council’s Code of Official Conduct, FOX 5 DC reported. McDuffie said that the report does not support allegations White violated residency requirements outlined in the District of Columbia Home Rule Act of 1973.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dc-councilman-step-closer-facing-expulsion-after-law-firm-finds-he-violated-code-conduct
Nov. 24 Deporting a Paedophile Would Breach His Rights
Classified as political because ridiculous legislation allowed for the outcome in consequence for a disgusting crime.
A paedophile convicted of sexually assaulting his stepdaughter has been allowed to remain in the UK as deporting him back to Africa would breach his ECHR right to a “family life”
Nov. 16, 2024 House Member Indicted on Bribery by Foreign Entities
Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) was indicted on money laundering, bribery, and conspiracy charges by a federal grand jury in Houston, Texas in early May 2024. He is alleged to have accepted nearly $600,000 from Azerbaijan and a Mexican commercial bank in order to influence U.S. policy. Despite facing federal charges for bribery and corruption, he was re-elected in November 2024.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Cuellar
Nov. 14, 2024 Totally Irresponsible and Illegal Behavior of House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair (Quite Reassuring to the Public)
https://www.semafor.com/article/11/13/2024/house-foreign-affairs-chief-detained-by-airport-police
But undoubtedly he exercises good decisions regarding Foreign Affairs.
Nov. 14, 2024 NPR CEO (Recipent of Public Money) Sees Little Need for Truth
“I think our reverence for the truth might have become a bit of a distraction that is preventing us from finding consensus and getting important things done.”
— Katherine Maher (NPR CEO)
Musk has posted video in which Maher makes this statement.
Nov. 12, 2024 Member House of Representatives Wore Undeserved Combat Infantryman Badge 2024
Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, removed the Combat Infantryman Badge from his lapel Wednesday more than a month after it was revealed the Army revoked the award last year because he was never eligible for it in the first place.
But Nehls would not directly answer when reporters pressed him on whether he would never wear the pin again, instead blasting "vultures" in the media for focusing on the badge. Nehls has been under heavy criticism from veterans for weeks after CBS News and Guardian of Valor, a website focused on uncovering stolen valor, first revealed in May that the Army revoked Nehls' CIB in March 2023 because at the time he was awarded it in 2008, he served as a civil affairs officer, not an infantryman or Special Forces soldier. In order to be eligible for a CIB, a soldier must be an infantryman or Green Beret, be serving in those roles at the time of the award, and engage an enemy in direct ground combat.
While Nehls first enlisted in the Wisconsin National Guard in 1988 as an infantryman, his military occupational speciality in 2008 was civil affairs, making him ineligible for a CIB, according to documents published by Guardian of Valor.
A separate award established by the Army in 2005 known as the Combat Action Badge is essentially the same award but for soldiers in jobs outside infantry or Special Forces. Nehls was awarded a CAB in 2006 for a 2004 deployment to Iraq that no one is calling into question.
After it was revealed that his CIB was revoked, Nehls dug in his heels and refused to remove the pin from his lapel, casting himself as a victim of politics.
Earlier this month, he sent a letter to the Army demanding to know why the award was rescinded. On Tuesday evening, he released a statement with the same defiant tone he has maintained since May after apparently receiving a response from the Army.
April 12, 2024 National Security Council Member and Ambassador Sentenced As Agent of Foreign Government
Victor Manuel Rocha, 73, of Miami, a former U.S. Department of State employee who served on the National Security Council from 1994 to 1995 and as U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia from 2000 to 2002, pleaded guilty today to secretly acting for decades as an agent of the government of the Republic of Cuba. Immediately thereafter, a federal judge sentenced Rocha to the statutory maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.
“Today’s plea and sentencing brings to an end more than four decades of betrayal and deceit by the defendant,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “Rocha admitted to acting as an agent of the Cuban government at the same time he held numerous positions of trust in the U.S. government, a staggering betrayal of the American people and an acknowledgement that every oath he took to the United States was a lie."
“Victor Manuel Rocha secretly acted for decades as an agent of a hostile foreign power. He thought the story of his covert mission for Cuba would never be told because he had the intelligence, knowledge, and discipline to never to be detected. Rocha underestimated those same skills in the prosecutors and law enforcement agents who worked tirelessly to bring him to justice for betraying his oath to this country,” said U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida. “I am mindful that Rocha’s decades-long criminal activity on behalf of the Cuban Government is especially painful for many in South Florida. Rocha’s willingness to cooperate, as required by his plea agreement, is important, but does not change the seriousness of his misconduct or his clandestine breach of the trust placed in him. Rocha’s 15-year prison sentence, the maximum punishment for his crimes of conviction, sends a powerful message to those who are acting or seek to act unlawfully in the United States for a foreign government: we will seek you out anywhere, at any time, and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”
U.S. District Court Judge Beth Bloom accepted Rocha’s guilty plea to counts 1 and 2 of the indictment, which charged him with conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government and conspiring to defraud the United States and acting as an agent of a foreign government without notice as required by law.
The court then sentenced Rocha to the statutory maximum penalty on his counts of conviction: 15 years in prison, a $500,000 fine, three years of supervised release and a special assessment. The court also imposed significant restrictions on Rocha.
Jan 30, 2024 NYC Council Member Lies about Police Stop, Hasn't Register Auto in NY, and Has Illegally Tinted Windows
New York City Councilman Yusef Salaam is facing calls to step down as head of the council’s influential public safety committee after a controversial traffic stop revealed he was motoring around the Big Apple with out-of-state license plates and alleged illegally tinted windows. Salaam is also taking heat over claims he embellished his Friday night encounter with an NYPD cop in Harlem, during which the officer pulled him over for the tinted windows but cut him a break when the lawmaker identified himself.
“This is damning,” City Councilman Robert Holden (D-Queens) said in a post on X. “An elected official with illegal tints and out-of-state plates, not legally registered, using his official title to evade the law. “Worse, he lied about the exchange until NYPD set the record straight,” Holden wrote. “CM Salaam should resign as Public Safety Chair.” The officer walked away after Yusef Salaam immediately identified himself as a city councilman on Friday night. AP
Salaam, one of the exonerated “Central Park Five,” has not responded to repeated requests for comment from The Post recently. However, Salaam’s office did confirm that he had Georgia license plates on his car until just this week — despite living in New York and holding office here for two years. According to Board of Elections records, Salaam registered to vote in the state on July 27, 2022, and had 30 days after that to transfer his Georgia vehicle registration to New York under the law. The lawmaker had those Peach State plates on his car on Friday when he was pulled over. According to police, Salaam was pulled over shortly before 6:30 p.m. while driving a blue sedan with his family inside — with the entire encounter captured on bodycam video. “As the video shows, throughout this interaction, the officer conducted himself professionally and respectfully,” the NYPD said in a statement over the weekend. “He followed all proper procedures, including procedures that were put in place after Detective Russell Timoshenko was shot and killed through tinted windows in 2007.” The bodycam footage shows the cop walking up to Salaam’s car, asking him to lower the tinted rear window, and then approaching him behind the wheel. Salaam immediately identifies himself as a city councilman, prompting the cop to wish him a good night and walk away, the footage shows.
But the councilman later griped in a statement that the officer told him, “We’re done here” and walked away — never telling him why he had been pulled over in the first place. According to the NYPD Patrol Guide and the city Administrative Code, police officers are not required to say why someone is being stopped on a low-level potential infraction like a tinted-window violation. “The stop was not illegal,” Councilwoman Joann Ariola (R-Queens) said on X. “The stop was done by the book. What is illegal is the percentage of tinting on his windows, using your Council Member title to get out of a ticket, and lying about the interaction. “How can we expect him to be impartial as chair of the Public Safety [Committee]?” Councilmember Inna Vernikov (R-Brooklyn) also slammed Salaam and called for a public apology. “What this experience amplifies is how you lied, are potentially committing insurance fraud, using the race card, as well as using your status as Councilmember to evade the law,” she railed, adding, “The officer did everything by the book, and was nothing but extra nice to you.
https://nypost.com/2024/01/29/metro/nyc-councilman-yusef-salaam-facing-calls-to-resign-safety-committee-chairmanship-after-he-lied-about-nypd-traffic-stop/
Jan. 22, 2024 -- Probation Dept Commissioner Drives Luxury SUV
New York City’s Probation Department has cut programs and city government is in a budget crunch — but Probation Commissioner Juanita Holmes has a new, luxurious city-funded car. Holmes has a $86,590 Ford Expedition Platinum, purchased in October from a dealership in Rockland County, city records show. The Ford’s standard features include heated leather-trimmed “multi-contour” seats that vibrate with “Active Motion massage,” a high-end Bang & Olufsen stereo system with 22 speakers and a “panoramic” sun roof, the car maker say. After the city bought the car, it was sent to Valley Van, a company in Valley Stream, L.I., for installation of a lights-and- siren package worth roughly $17,000, said sources. That purchase was outside the purview of the comptroller’s office, and city officials declined to confirm it.
The department bought the Expedition because the agency’s existing Mitsubishi Outlanders were considered “too small” by Holmes, according to probation insiders with direct knowledge of the discussions. Outlanders retail for about $30,000. “The Department of Probation is eliminating critical programs for at-risk young adults, but can somehow afford a luxury SUV vehicle for the commissioner,” said City Councilman Lincoln Restler. “The Department of Probation has the wrong priorities, and this sale should be immediately reversed.” In an emailed statement, a Probation Department spokesperson said, “Upon the commissioner’s appointment in Spring 2023, the vehicle was requested and approved, prior to the City’s budget cuts. Like all Commissioners, Commissioner Holmes needs a vehicle to ensure she can conduct City business outside of the office.” Holmes took office on March 9. The earliest date recorded for purchase of the Expedition Platinum in Comptroller’s office records is Oct. 5.
The probation spokesperson, who did not provide their name, did not specify the date the vehicle was “requested” or “approved.” Nor did the spokesperson identify who approved the purchase. The contract of sale was signed Oct. 25 by the Probation Department’s Interim Agency Chief Contracting Officer Richard Tibbetts, records show. Holmes, appointed as probation commissioner in March, has been criticized for canceling the funding of two mentoring programs, Next Steps and Impact, and slashing $1 million a year from a third program called Arches.
Anessa Hodgson, a spokeswoman for the city Department of Citywide Administrative Services, which usually handles vehicle purchases, said The New York Daily News’ information about the purchase was “incorrect.” However, Hodgson and her colleague Dan Kastanis repeatedly refused to specify what was “incorrect.” Holmes’ driver will likely be William “Red” Manderson, an NYPD detective first grade, who made close to $200,000 in 2023 as Holmes’ personal aide. (https://www.yahoo.com/news/nyc-taxpayers-buy-87-000-181900172.html)
Nov. 9, 2023 --Former Baltimore State Attorney Convicted of Perjury
Former Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby has been convicted on two counts of perjury by a federal jury.
The federal jury reached the verdict Thursday, finding Mosby guilty of perjury after she falsely claimed financial hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to withdraw money from the city's retirement fund, prosecutors announced. osby received her full salary of $247,955.58 in 2020, which is the year she claimed financial hardship and withdrew the money from her retirement accounts, according to federal prosecutors.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/former-baltimore-prosecutor-marilyn-mosby-found-guilty-two-counts-perjury
Nov. 5, 2023 -- Felony Dismissing Orleans DA Carjacked
There can be only concern and outrage and the DA and his mother being carjacked. But it must be recognized that these crimes are occurring because the perpetrators know there will be no consequences.
Soros-backed Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams and his 78-year-old mother were carjacked at gunpoint late last month. Williams was helping his mother into her car when armed masked men held them up at gunpoint and took off with the elderly woman’s belongings. Williams said in an interview that having a gun pointed directly at him was “horrific” and it made him think of crime victims. Williams was carjacked at gunpoint after he campaigned on social justice reform and dismissed more than 66% of the city’s violent felony cases during his first few months in office
Oct 27 --Video Released After Plea Deal Clarifies that Rep Bowman Pulled Alarm with Intent
- The footage of "Squad" Democrat Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York pulling a fire alarm in a House office building was released Thursday after he accepted a plea deal on misdemeanor charges for the incident. Bowman attempted to open two doors in the Cannon House Office Building. Bowman appears to approach the doors and try the right door, taking a red alarm sign with him from the entryway.
- The congressman then appeared to try to open the left door while knocking over the second alarm sign. Bowman then turned and pulled the fire alarm before walking off camera still holding the alarm sign from the first door. Bowman said that he did not mean to pull the fire alarm and that he had done so while in a rush to go vote. The House at the time was debating and voting on a stopgap bill to fund the government temporarily and avert a sutdown.
- The "Squad" Democrat told reporters outside the D.C. Superior Court on Thursday that "Hell no" he didn't mean to pull the alarm. What I did was against D.C. law," Bowman said. "As I said from the very beginning, I was not trying to disrupt any congressional proceedings, I'm glad the investigation yielded that." Bowman pulled the fire alarm ahead of a crucial vote as the GOP pushed a critical stopgap funding bill to avoid a government shutdown. However, the newly released footage seems to throw water on his argument, and his actions appear to indicate what lawyers would call intent. The question is why is the footage coming to light now after he received his plea deal.
Oct 20 - 23
The leader of the D.C.-based General Services Administration worked remotely from Missouri most of the time in the year after the agency's "full re-entry" plan called employees back to their offices, according to a GSA letter to Congress obtained by Axios.
Why it matters: The calendar records of GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan, cited in the letter, are the latest example of how remote work has continued after the pandemic for many federal workers — even at top levels of the Biden administration — despite the president's 17-month push for more in-office work.
- Carnahan, whose agency manages about 1,500 federally owned buildings, is scheduled to testify to the House Oversight Committee soon; a hearing on Thursday was postponed.
The intrigue: Oversight chair James Comer (R-Ky.) began investigating Carnahan's remote work arrangement in January. In a letter to her then, Comer said his panel had "received whistleblower reports you have spent most of your time working in a location other than Washington, D.C., during your tenure as GSA administrator."
By the numbers: From March 2022 to March 2023, Carnahan worked 121 weekdays in Missouri and 64 weekdays at her office in Washington, GSA Associate Administrator Gianelle E. Rivera wrote to Comer on March 31.
- Carnahan also spent 34 weekdays on official travel, Rivera wrote.
- Carnahan is a co-chair of the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force, which President Biden created to provide ongoing guidance to federal agencies on workplace measures related to Covid-19 — including hybrid models of remote work.
- The GSA, which is essentially the federal government's property manager, had some of the emptiest workplaces among federal agencies with just 9% of its office space being used, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report in July.
- The GAO also concluded that "17 of the 24 federal agencies used, on average, an estimated 25% or less of the capacity of their headquarters buildings."
Oct 23 -- Illinois State Comptroller Attorney Fired for Anti-Semitic Remarks
An attorney who works for the Illinois State Comptroller’s office was fired for anti-Semitic rants on social media. The attorney, Sarah Chowdhury sent private messages to an Instagram account named “Big Law Boiz.” This account was run by a Jewish lawyer who posts memes. She had written some very cruel statements including: “Hitler should have eradicated all of you.” Another statement: ” “Hopefully someone sends you anthrax or poison and you die a slow terrible death.”
Comptroller Susana Mendoza was informed of the incident on Thursday and contacted Chowdbury the same day. After she admitted to writing those statements, she was fired from her position. The South Asian Law Association also terminated her position which she was the president of the group.
Hateful views but we cannot control what others think. Somewhat surprising that a lawyer would post these views.
Oct 20 -- NJ Council Member and Son (Both Teachers) Arrested for Child Phonography
A New Jersey councilman and his son — both teachers — were released from jail less than a week after they were busted for allegedly possessing thousands of images of child pornography in the home they share. Despite living just 530 feet from an elementary school, Jeffrey, 65, and Steven Grossman, 24, were awarded house arrest Wednesday as they await their separate trials on charges of second-degree possession of child pornography.
The father-son duo were arrested and charged Oct. 12
with second-degree possession of child pornography after investigators found
thousands of nude and sexually explicit images of children in their Tenafly
home, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s
Office alleges. Over 1,000
depictions of child sexual abuse of boys generally between 10 and 13 were found
in a Dropbox used by Steven, while over 17,500 depictions of younger
prepubescent girls were found on Jeffrey Grossman’s devices, Assistant
Prosecutor Gary Donatello said during a detention hearing, according to North Jersey.com. The elder Grossman was in the midst of his
11th year as a social studies teacher at a Rochelle Park middle school, but
also spent time working in high schools and elementary schools, his educator biography states.
Jeffrey Grossman is a middle school
social studies teacher and serves as the Tenafly Borough Council president. Jeffrey,
who currently serves as the Tenafly Borough Council president, also has a
history of working as a defense lawyer for the City of New York. His son works as a social worker by trade and
frequently serves as a substitute teacher for the same K-8 district as his
father. Both were booted from their
posts the same day they were arrested.
Steven Grossman is a social worker and substitute teacher at the same K-8 district his father works at. “The Board has immediately suspended both employees and directed them that they are prohibited from coming to the school for any reason and are prohibited from contacting any student or staff,” Superintendent Sue DeNobile told parents in a letter. The father is now facing mounting calls to resign from his borough council position and to abandon his re-election bid for next month.
Judge David Labib ruled that the Grossmans could remain under house arrest, but restricted their access to their front yard and backyard from 8 to 9:30 a.m. and 2 to 3:30 p.m., the times when students at the nearby Smith Elementary School would be arriving and dismissed from the building.
July 27, 2023 Lying by a Former Federal Prosecutor and Mayor of NYC
Rudy Giuliani concedes he made defamatory statements about Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss. The late-night Tuesday filing from Giuliani says he doesn’t contest Moss and Freeman’s accusations that he smeared them after the 2020 election. Yet the filing says he still wants to be able to argue that his statements about voter fraud in Georgia in the 2020 election were protected speech.
No comments:
Post a Comment