Republican S.C. state treasurer Thomas Ravenel has been suspended over an indictment accusing him of distribution of cocaine.

The investigation started before Ravenel was elected, but State Law Enforcement Division officers didn’t have enough evidence yet to charge him.

He is accused of purchasing drugs from Michael Miller and wasn’t selling the drugs, but rather, was giving them away.

A quote from Governor Mark Sanford, also a Republican:

“Given the grave nature of these charges and what is alleged in this indictment, we’re left with no choice but to suspend Treasurer Ravenel immediately,” Governor Mark Sanford said in a written release. “These are obviously very serious allegations that we’re constitutionally bound to act upon, and they’ll ultimately be decided by the courts.”

The governor quoted Article VI, Section 8 of the South Carolina Constitution, giving him the power to suspend statewide, county or city officials indicted on criminal charges for crimes of “moral turpitude,” generally understood to mean crimes that involve acts of fraud, deception or other morally culpable conduct.

Sanford said he plans to make a decision on an interim appointment as soon as possible.

The Ravenel name is well-known in the Palmetto state, as I remember hearing the name in elections going back to when I moved here.

Ravenel was Giuliani’s campaign manager in South Carolina.

A comment from the Republican party spokesperson:

State Republican Party Chairman Katon Dawson released the following statement:

“The charges brought against State Treasurer Thomas Ravenel today are very serious. This is a personal matter that will be dealt with through appropriate legal channels. We hope this unfortunate situation is resolved quickly.”

Here is the Democratic party’s response:

“In only a few months, Thomas Ravenel has gone from spoiled rich kid buying his way into office to common street criminal. He is an embarrassment to the state and an embarrassment to the Office of Treasurer. It’s a shame that Grady Patterson - an absolutely honorable man and a true patriot - was replaced by Thomas Ravenel as State Treasurer.”

Note to the Democratic Party: He may very well be found guilty in court, but at this time our constitution presumes him innocent until proven guilty and you should correct your statement to reflect that.

Duke University has come to an undisclosed financial agreement with the three wrongfully accused lacrosse players and runaway prosecutor Mike Nifong, now disbarred, has been ordered by a judge to cease being District Attorney immediately.

DURHAM, N.C. — Duke University has reached an undisclosed financial settlement with three former lacrosse players falsely accused of rape, while a judge said late Monday he would order the disbarred prosecutor to leave office immediately.

Duke had suspended Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty and Dave Evans after they were charged last year with raping a stripper at an off-campus party. The university also canceled the team’s season and forced their coach to resign.

“We welcomed their exoneration and deeply regret the difficult year they and their families have had to endure,” the school said Monday in a statement. “These young men and their families have been the subject of intense scrutiny that has taken a heavy toll.”

How big of them, especially since the president of Duke judged them guilty at the time of the arrests and 88 faculty members signed a letter saying they were guilty and charging them with racism.

I hope they got a tidy sum, and I wish they would get an apology from the 88 faculty members, but I won’t hold my breath on that.

Disbarred and disgraced prosecutor Mike Nifong thought he had an agreement to stay on as District Attorney until July 13. I don’t know how, since he’s no longer a lawyer.

Earlier Monday, Nifong said he planned to leave office next month in a resignation letter to Gov. Mike Easley and to Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson, who is overseeing a pending request to remove Nifong from office.

“It is my fervent hope that this action will spare this community the further anguish a removal hearing would entail and will allow the healing process to move forward,” Nifong wrote.

But Nifong’s July 13 departure date wasn’t soon enough for Hudson, who decided late Monday to suspend Nifong from office.

As part of the suspension, Hudson said he would order the sheriff on Tuesday to prevent Nifong from carrying out any duties of the district attorney.

“I have thought about the situation, and this is way I wish to proceed,” said Hudson who initially agreed to allow Nifong work until next month.

Seems reasonable to me.

Nifong will still be able to collect his pension and health benefits earned while working in the DAs office for 30 years.

Even if the exonerated and innocent former Duke students sue Nifong I think his pension is safe from seizure. If reader David happens to read this maybe he can tell us for sure.

Look for the lawyers to press for criminal and/or civil charges against Nifong and the city of Durham to retrieve the fortune that was spent defending these men.

What would have happened if they had not come from families that had the money or friends from whom to borrow the money for their defense?

They probably would have had to cop a plea to something they didn’t do in order to stay out of jail for 30 years. This is something they themselves have mentioned.

I was just reading this post in the Politico that is discussing political reasons for President Bush to pardon or commute Scooter Libby’s sentence.

The all-important base is against President Bush, and according to this post, it will improve the president’s popularity with the base.

The post also talks of the president’s famed loyalty and uses it as a reason for a pardon or commutation of sentence.

I disagree with this thinking completely.

Don’t get me wrong; I believe the president should ideally commute the sentence to drop the jail time and leave in the fine and probation so Libby will have the chance to appeal his case and clear his name, and if he fails at that, he will not have to serve time in jail which seems to be an excessive considering the rest of the punishment.

The president may just do that as soon as he hears whether or not the appeals court will allow Libby to be free while appealing his case and then pardon him or commute his sentence before leaving the White House if necessary.

But it should be done because the president thinks it’s the right thing to do and not the right political thing to do.

He’s not running for office ever again, so what more can the base do to him? Besides, as rabid as some are about the president it will be like tossing a bare bone to a dog. The next day they’ll be barking at him for more and will like him no more than they do now.

This president has been loyal to a fault. There is nothing wrong about loyalty, but the loyalty of this president has given us an Attorney General who is bringing more and more disrepute on the president and the Justice Dept., while the Attorney General takes advantage of it to stay in power.

Confirmation hearings for a new AG would be contentious, but with the amount of time left in this presidency, we could get by with an acting AG while we wait to get someone confirmed, even if it takes the rest of the term.

I sincerely hope Libby doesn’t go to jail and has the opportunity to clear his name. If the Appeals Court doesn’t let him stay out on bail while his appeal is pending, I think the president should do what is right humanely, and let Libby be pardoned or, preferably commute his sentence.

Mike Nifong, the runaway prosecuter in the Duke lacrosse case, told the NC Bar Association he felt he should be disbarred.

The court recessed to consider his punishment and came back and agreed he should be disbarred. He was found guilty of 27 of 32 charges against him.

If you want to follow the video on a delayed basis you can find it at WRAL TV in Raleigh, NC, which has covered this entire trial and has all the video in the archives.

Now he will have to face the presiding judge in the courtroom to see if he will be held in contempt and what other punishment will be meted out to him.

Justice, at last, has been served for these 3 boys and their families.

As expected Judge Walton has ruled that as far as he is concerned Lewis Libby will go directly to jail and will not pass Go.

WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal judge said Thursday he will not delay a 2 1/2-year prison sentence for I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby in the CIA leak case, a ruling that could send the former White House aide to prison within weeks.
U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton’s decision will send Libby’s attorneys rushing to an appeals court to block the sentence and could force President Bush to consider calls from Libby’s supporters to pardon the former aide.

No date was set for Libby to report to prison but it’s expected to be within six to eight weeks. That will be left up to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, which will also select a facility.

“Unless the Court of Appeals overturns my ruling, he will have to report,” Walton said.

Let’s see what the appeals court decides, but I’d like to see the president commute the sentence to the probation and fine with no jail term. Then let Libby continue his appeal to clear his name.

For those following or who choose to find information on the Mike Nifong hearing there is comprehensive information here.

This case is turning out to be death by a thousand cuts.

Lewis Libby is due back in court today to find out whether he will be allowed to remain free while awaiting his appeal.

I’d say his chances for that are slim to none based on what the judge has already said.

Libby’s attorneys are ready to send an emergency order request to the appeals court, asking to allow him to be free on bail while he pursues his appeals process.

If this doesn’t succeed all eyes will be on the president to see if he will pardon Libby or commute his sentence to everything he was already sentenced to except incarceration.

We’ll just have to wait and see.

Over zealous prosecutor Mike Nifong has begun his trial before the N.C. Bar today.

More than a year after shocking allegations emerged about Duke University’s lacrosse team, prosecutor Mike Nifong was back in court Tuesday—this time, as the defendant.
The North Carolina State Bar charged the Durham County district attorney with several violations of the state’s rules of professional conduct, all tied to his handling of the lacrosse case.

His trial is expected to run for five days, and as it started Tuesday, the hearing commission chairman promised a quick verdict. If convicted, Nifong could be disbarred.

Here’s hoping for justice to be done.

Lewis I. “Scooter” Libby is at the courthouse now, awaiting sentencing which will come sometime today.

According to this article he’s between a rock and a hard place.

Before sentencing the judge will ask him if he has anything to say. If he says nothing it will probably go against him. If he says he’s sorry for putting his family through this legal mess for the past couple of years it will go against him.

If he says he apologizes sincerely for committing the crime of perjury he has no appeal left, but might make the judge happy enough to give him a lighter sentence.

Who really knows? My guess is the judge’s mind is made up and isn’t going to change no matter what goes on in the courtroom today.

I say go for silence or a general statement not admitting any guilt since he has his conviction under appeal.

Congressman William Jefferson of Louisiana has been indicted on 16 alleged violations of federal law.

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.

Jefferson, 63, whose Louisiana district includes New Orleans, has said little about the case publicly but has maintained his innocence. He was re-elected last year despite the looming investigation.

It will be interesting now to see if the Democratic leadership in the House tells him to step down from committees he is on since that’s been the standard in past congresses.

Then again they all whined when the FBI searched his office, including then Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert.

Full text of indictment in PDF form, courtesy of Fox News, here.

This morning I checked my email and had 100 messages, two of which were legitimate and the rest all spam. Fortunately, I have a good spam filter and just glance at them to see if I see a name I recognize then select all and delete.

Now comes this story of a 27 year old man in Seattle, who is one of the ten largest spammers, being caught.

SEATTLE — A 27-year-old man described as one of the world’s most prolific spammers was arrested Wednesday, and federal authorities said computer users across the Web could notice a decrease in the amount of junk e-mail.

Robert Alan Soloway is accused of using networks of compromised “zombie” computers to send out millions upon millions of spam e-mails.

“He’s one of the top 10 spammers in the world,” said Tim Cranton, a Microsoft Corp. lawyer who is senior director of the company’s Worldwide Internet Safety Programs. “He’s a huge problem for our customers. This is a very good day.”

A federal grand jury last week returned a 35-count indictment against Soloway charging him with mail fraud, wire fraud, e-mail fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering.

Soloway pleaded not guilty Wednesday afternoon to all charges after a judge determined that — even with four bank accounts seized by the government — he was sufficiently well off to pay for his own lawyer.

He has been living in a ritzy apartment and drives an expensive Mercedes convertible, said prosecutor Kathryn Warma. Prosecutors are seeking to have him forfeit $773,000 they say he made from his business, Newport Internet Marketing Corp.

A public defender who represented him for Wednesday’s hearing declined to comment.

Pay for a lawyer on your own, dime, fella. You’ll get better representation and you won’t need that money for a long time to come.

Courtney Beard and Cortney Hensley were driving home after picking up their homecoming pictures when they stopped at a red light on Sept. 24, 2005.

Hensley, 17, had been crowned Homecoming Queen at David Crockett High School and she and Beard, her best friend, also 17, were anxious to look at the pictures taken the night before.

But before the light turned green, a red Ford Mustang came racing through the intersection and slammed into Beard’s Honda CRV at a speed estimated at 125 mph.

The crash sent the Honda some 250 feet, causing it to burst into flames. Hensley was killed, and Beard suffered burns over 30 percent of her body. She spent the next month and a half in a hospital bed.

Prosecutors say the Mustang’s driver, Bradley Mullins, was drag racing.

Read it here

A millionaire couple were arrested on federal charges that they kept two Indonesian women as slaves in their swank Long Island home for more than five years, beating and abusing them and paying them almost nothing.

Authorities uncovered the alleged abuse after one of the women was found by police wandering outside a doughnut shop Sunday morning wearing only pants and a towel.

The homeowners, Varsha Mahender Sabhnani, 35, and her husband, Mahender Murlidhar Sabhnani, 51, entered not guilty pleas Tuesday at their arraignment in U.S. District Court in Central Islip and were ordered held pending a Thursday bail hearing.

Prosecutors said the women had scalding water thrown on them and were forced to repeatedly climb up and down stairs and take as many as 30 showers in three hours — all as punishment for perceived misdeeds. In one case, prosecutors said, one woman was forced to eat 25 hot chili peppers at a time.

This is too much

Source of this shortened version.

JUAREZ, Mexico — The man shot in the buttocks by two U.S. Border Patrol agents now in prison for the shooting and the coverup is breaking his silence, saying he is well aware that ‘everybody hates me there (in America).’

Osvaldo Aldrete Davila was shot in February 2005 by Border Patrol Agents Jose Compean and Ignacio Ramos as he tried to drive further into the United States with a van full of 700 pounds of marijuana. He was given immunity from prosecution in March 2005 for his cooperation in that investigation and subsequent trial, which culminated last year.

Ramos and Compean are now serving 11 and 12-year prison sentences.

In an interview with The El Paso Times, Aldrete Davila said while it was wrong for the agents to shoot him, he thinks the prison sentences are too excessive.

Aldrete Davila also said he only agreed to help smuggle the drugs in a moment of “desperation” because he needed the cash to get his commercial driver’s license. He said he was promised $1,000 to walk across the Rio Grande on Feb. 17, 2005, and get into a gray Ford Econoline van waiting for him with the keys in the ignition.

“I didn’t know exactly what was in the van. I didn’t look. But, you know, I knew it was bad,” he told The El Paso Times.

Aldrete Davila is suing the U.S. government for $5 million — money he says is needed to rebuild his urethra, which was shattered by the bullet. He lives with a rubber tube sticking out of his belly button that connects his bladder to a plastic bag.

“I know it was wrong what I did, but I’m paying for it with my health,” he told the newspaper. “People don’t know how it is for me to go to the bathroom, how painful it is.”

You can read the rest of this sob story here.

Shoppers entering a Wal-Mart Supercenter in Alabama got a reminder not to try anything funny: Two shoplifters stood outside with signs reading “I am a thief, I stole from Wal-Mart.”
Attalla City Judge Kenneth Robertson Jr. ordered the two people to wear the signs for four hours each during two successive Saturdays.

“The only comments we’ve heard so far have been positive,” said store manager Neil Hawkins. “Most of them thought it was a good thing.”

One of the shoplifters, Lisa King Fithian, 46, wore the sign from 11am to 3pm to avoid a 60-day jail sentence. Another convicted shoplifter was at the store from 3pm to 7pm.

Fithian maintained her innocence. She said her conviction was based on a misunderstanding: She said she was taking a $7 item to the service desk because it would not scan.

Outside the store, she said people who saw her wearing the sandwich board commented that the punishment was “cruel.”

Hawkins noted how embarrassing it would be for the public to see someone who got caught shoplifting. “Maybe they’ll think twice about doing it,” he said.

Heh. I don’t know about you but it would break me of the habit of shoplifting if I ever did it.

Source

How in the world could one justify this situation:

She had raised her daughter for six years following the divorce, handled the shuttling to soccer practice and cheerleading, made sure schoolwork was done. Hardly a day went by when the two weren’t together. Then Lt. Eva Crouch was mobilized with the Kentucky National Guard, and Sara went to stay with Dad.

A year and a half later, her assignment up, Crouch pulled into her driveway with one thing in mind - bringing home the little girl who shared her smile and blue eyes. She dialed her ex and said she’d be there the next day to pick Sara up, but his response sent her reeling.

“Not without a court order you won’t.”

Divorce, separation and child custody battles are not unique to the US military. However, Federal law which protects those in harms way evidently offers no guarantee that a deployed single parent with custodial rights will maintain that status upon their return.

A federal law called the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act is meant to protect them by staying civil court actions and administrative proceedings during military activation. They can’t be evicted. Creditors can’t seize their property. Civilian health benefits, if suspended during deployment, must be reinstated.

And yet service members’ children can be - and are being - taken from them after they are deployed.

Individual states have begun to address this issue and are initiating laws to insure the rights of these parents. Perhaps the federal government should do the same..for the sake of those fighting for our country and the welfare of their children.
Servicemembers Civil Relief Act
here.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday gave police officers protection from lawsuits that result from high-speed car chases, ruling against a Georgia teenager who was paralyzed after his car was run off the road.

In a case that turned on a video of the chase in suburban Atlanta, Justice Antonin Scalia said law enforcement officers do not have to call off pursuit of a fleeing motorist when they reasonably expect that other people could be hurt.

Rather, officers can take measures to stop the car without putting themselves at risk of civil rights lawsuits.

“A police officer’s attempt to terminate a dangerous high-speed car chase that threatens the lives of innocent bystanders does not violate the Fourth Amendment, even when it places the fleeing motorist at risk of serious injury or death,” Scalia said.

The court sided 8-1 with former Coweta County sheriff’s deputy Timothy Scott, who rammed a fleeing black Cadillac on a two-lane, rain-slicked road in March 2001.

Victor Harris, the 19-year-old driver of the Cadillac, lost control and his car ended up at the bottom of an embankment. The nighttime chase took place at roughly 90 miles an hour.

Harris, paralyzed, sued Scott.

Lower federal courts ruled the lawsuit could proceed, but the Supreme Court said Monday that it could not. Justice John Paul Stevens dissented.

In an unusual move, the court posted the dramatic video on its Web site.

Scalia described a “Hollywood-style car chase of the most frightening sort, placing police officers and innocent bystanders alike at great risk of serious injury.”

A vote of 8-1 is not even close and I’m glad to see the officers get some protection from lawsuits that could ruin them financially.

Now if they’d just rule in favor of those Border Patrol agents who have been sent to jail by an over-eager prosecutor…

A case in Long Beach, California which began with a horrific attack on three young women has reached its conclusion. Tracy Manzer of Presstelegram.com has followed this adjudication from the beginning and presents possibly the most stunning headline at its end.

Judge is served papers
Family of beating victims wants Gibson Lee removed for sentences.

LONG BEACH - A Long Beach Superior Court judge who received harsh criticism for his sentencing of nine local youths he found guilty in a hate crime beating last Halloween was served with a notice Thursday demanding his recall from the bench.

The judge has seven days to reply to the notice once he is served and it is filed with the secretary of state’s office.

If the petition is granted, recall proponents will have to gather an estimated 200,000 to 500,000 signatures from Los Angeles County voters for the issue to appear on the next ballot, he said.

Below is a brief description of the attack and a partial list of the injuries incurred by the victims.

The victims - along with throngs of other people - had gone to the 3800 block of Linden Avenue around 9:30 p.m. for a popular Halloween block party. As they walked up to an elaborate haunted house, they said, a group of about a dozen males began taunting them.

The taunts and jeers grew more aggressive, the victims recalled, as did the size of the crowd.

The suspects also began to gradually separate the girls, first by grabbing Laura by her long hair and yanking her backward.

She said she tried to fight off a group of girls who surrounded her and were clawing and hitting her, but then a man came up and slammed her in the head with a skateboard, knocking her unconscious.

Lauren was the first at Laura’s side, and a group of people immediately jumped on her and began punching her in the face and back of the head simultaneously.
Lauren suffered 12 fractures in her face, including four to her eye socket, three to her nose and three to her cheek.

Michelle said she saw the group drag Lauren down as she rushed up and knocked the man with the skateboard off Laura. But then he then turned on her, punching her in both sides of her face and in the ribs.
Her face, like Lauren’s and Laura’s, is bruised and swollen. The lining that surrounds her lungs is also bruised.

The arrest and ensuing charges.

Shortly after the attack, police arrested 10 juveniles on a charge of felony hate crimes, including counts for assault with a deadly weapon, battery and robbery.

Some of the 10 youths - nine girls and one boy ranging in age from 12 to 17 - were found wearing the victim’s earrings - which were ripped from their flesh - and had Lauren’s cell phone.

(Charges against one of the juveniles was dismissed prior to trial)

The trial was quite lengthy and peppered with racial unrest, witness intimidation and claims of incorrect identification of certain defendants. This was the result.

The nine teens, eight girls and one boy age 13 to 18, were convicted last month in the attack on the three victims on Halloween in Bixby Knolls. Hate crimes were found to be the motivation for eight of the teens’ actions and six were also convicted of an enhancement that they personally inflicted great bodily injury on their victims.

And finally the sentence.

All but one of the teens was sentenced to 60 days house arrest and probation during a disposition hearing that revealed many of the youths had not been the scholars claimed by their parents and attorneys.

Crimes which involve juvenile defendants are I believe among some of the saddest. It makes no difference the color of the skin of the offender or the offended it is the lack of respect human to human that is abhorrent.

The question is, should this judge be removed for the sentence he imposed for the crimes committed?

(Ms. Manzer was the only journalist I located who had completely detailed this saga, hence all the links. She has further links on a right sidebar if you are interested in reading further.)

Betsy Newmark has a very interesting post about the Duke ‘rape’ case.

Rick Reilly has a column at Sports Illustrated about Duke lacrosse coach Mike Pressler who was forced out because of the trumped up charges against his team. SI doesn’t have the column up yet, but Liestoppers has this telling quote.

On April 5, Pressler says, Duke athletic director Joe Alleva called him in and said, “Mike, I’ve got to let you go.”

“But Joe,” Pressler pleaded. “You stood up before my players and said you believe it never happened. The DNA is coming back any day. Wait for the truth.”

“It’s not about the truth anymore,” Pressler says Alleva told him. “Its about the faculty, the NAACP, and the special interest groups.”

“Its not about the truth anymore.” Well, that was certainly true, wasn’t it?

Go over and read all of it.

Mary Winkler, the wife of preacher Matthew Winkler, has been found guilty of voluntary manslaughter instead of the first degree murder charge the prosecution wanted.

Her sentence will be between three and six years. This is a lot more optimistic than the 60 years she was facing and if they give time off for good behavior she could be out sooner.

Justice was served.

Captain Ed is live-blogging the Gonzales hearings here. Go over and read if you haven’t had the chance to watch.

It’s important to remember that firing US Attorneys is not a crime. They can be fired for any reason including no reason. It should not be an impeachable offense unless someone finds out the DoJ was trying to cover-up something and I haven’t heard that accusation yet.

Macsmind has the details.

“NEW ORLEANS — An aide to U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, a congressman who allegedly stashed $90,000 in bribe money in his freezer, has been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury in Virginia investigating Jefferson’s African business dealings.

This would be the second time the grand jury has asked Stephanie Butler, Jefferson’s district manager, to appear. She was among six of Jefferson’s staff members subpoenaed in March 2006 by the grand jury. She could not be reached for comment Wednesday

Check out the rest at Macsmind.