Friday 30 October 2009

Pa. court throws out thousands of juvenile convictions linked to judicial corruption case


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Pa. court throws out thousands of juvenile convictions linked to judicial corruption case

By: MICHAEL RUBINKAM
Associated Press
10/29/09 6:00 PM EDT

ALLENTOWN, PA. — The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed thousands of juvenile convictions issued by a judge charged in a corruption scandal, saying that none of the young offenders got a fair hearing.

The high court on Thursday threw out more than five years' worth of juvenile cases heard by disgraced former Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella, who is charged with accepting millions of dollars in kickbacks to send youths to private detention centers.

The Philadelphia-based Juvenile Law Center, which represents some of the youths, said the court's order covers as many as 6,500 cases. The justices barred any possibility of retrial in all but a fraction of them.

"This is exactly the relief these kids needed," said Marsha Levick, the center's legal director. "It's the most serious judicial corruption scandal in our history and the court took an extraordinary step in addressing it."

Children routinely appeared in front of Ciavarella without lawyers for hearings that lasted only a few minutes. Ciavarella also failed to question young defendants to make sure they fully understood the consequences of waiving counsel and pleading guilty, showing "complete disregard for the constitutional rights of the juveniles," the Supreme Court said.

After being found delinquent, the youths were often shackled and taken to private jails whose owner was paying bribes to the judge. Federal prosecutors have said that Ciavarella and another Luzerne County judge, Michael Conahan, took a total of $2.8 million in payoffs.

"Ciavarella's admission that he received these payments, and that he failed to disclose his financial interests arising from the development of the juvenile facilities, thoroughly undermines the integrity of all juvenile proceedings before Ciavarella," the Supreme Court said.

The judges pleaded guilty in February to honest services fraud and tax evasion in a deal with prosecutors that called for a sentence of 87 months in prison. But the deal was rejected in August by Senior U.S. District Judge Edward M. Kosik, who said the two hadn't fully accepted responsibility for the crimes, and the ex-judges switched their pleas to not guilty.

A federal grand jury then returned a 48-count racketeering indictment against the judges, who await trial.

The Supreme Court had previously overturned hundreds of juvenile convictions involving low-level offenses. Thursday's ruling covered all cases heard by Ciavarella between 2003 and 2008, including ones involving more serious crimes.

"We fully agree that, given the nature and extent of the taint, this Court simply cannot have confidence that any juvenile matter adjudicated by Ciavarella during this period was tried in a fair and impartial manner," the court wrote.

Prosecutors in Luzerne County had agreed that none of the convictions should stand, but they wanted the right to bring dangerous offenders back into court for retrials.

The court said the district attorney's office may seek to retry youths who remain under court supervision — a group that Levick said likely numbers fewer than 100. And those youths may challenge any attempt to retry them on double-jeopardy grounds, the court said.

Berks County Senior Judge Arthur Grim, whom the justices appointed in February to review cases handled by Ciavarella, will consider any retrial requests made by the DA's office and forward his recommendations to the high court.

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Wednesday 28 October 2009

FBI: Mobster more powerful than Gotti

FBI: Mobster more powerful than Gotti

From Jeanne Meserve
CNN
October 24, 2009 12:17 p.m. EDT
Click to play
FBI: Mobster swindled $150m
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Semion Mogilevich accused of taking U.S., Canadian investors for $150 million
  • FBI believes he moved on to manipulating international energy markets
  • FBI: Mogilevich's business degree, large influence on nations make him dangerous
  • Alleged Russian mobster known for his ruthlessness, power, business acumen
RELATED TOPICS

Editor's Note: In an exclusive series this week on "Campbell Brown," the FBI has unveiled three additions to its list of the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives.

NEWTOWN, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- Semion Mogilevich may be the most powerful man you've never heard of.

The FBI says Mogilevich, a Russian mobster, has been involved in arms trafficking, prostitution, extortion and murder for hire.

"He has access to so much, including funding, including other criminal organizations, that he can, with a telephone call and order, affect the global economy," said FBI Supervisory Special Agent Peter Kowenhoven.

Mogilevich's alleged brutality, financial savvy and international influence have earned him a slot on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, though he has lived and operated from Moscow, Russia, for years. Watch CNN report on Mogilevich

"He's a big man. He's a very powerful man," FBI Special Agent Mike Dixon said. "I think more powerful than a John Gotti would be, because he has the ability to influence nations. Gotti never reached that stature."

He is accused of swindling Canadian and U.S. investors out of $150 million in a complex international financial scheme. It centered on a firm called YBM, which purportedly made magnets at a factory in Hungary.

Authorities say the scheme involved preparing bogus financial books and records, lying to Securities and Exchange Commission officials, offering bribes to accountants and inflating stock values of YBM, which was headquartered in Newtown, Pennsylvania.

  • What happened to the three men who came off the list?
  • Alleged hit man changes appearance, FBI says
  • Facts about the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list
  • Alleged L.A. gang member makes list

    • In a raid in 1998, FBI agents found a treasure trove of documents -- purchase orders, invoices, shipping orders, even technical drawings -- everything a legitimate business would produce.

    But there was one thing missing.

    "There were no magnets," Dixon said.

    It was all a sham, investigators say.

    "In essence, what his companies were doing was moving money through bank accounts in Budapest and countries throughout the world and reporting these to the investment community as purchases of raw materials and sales of magnets," Dixon said.

    And because the company was publicly traded, anyone owning the stock would have made a lot of money.

    "And of course Mogilevich controlled large, large blocks of stock from the outset, and he made a substantial amount of money in this process," Dixon said.

    Investors lost millions into the pockets of Mogilevich and his associates. He and his associates were indicted in 2003 on 45 counts of racketeering, securities fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering.

    Russian authorities arrested him last year on tax fraud charges, but because the United States does not have an extradition treaty with Russia, he remained beyond the reach of U.S. law enforcement. He is now free on bail.

    The FBI believes Mogilevich moved on after YBM and began manipulating international energy markets, giving him a large influence on other nations.

    Dixon noted that Mogilevich had control or influence over companies involved in natural gas disputes between Russia and Ukraine.

    Authorities say Mogilevich, who has an economics degree from Ukraine, is known for his ruthless nature but also for his business acumen, which led to his nickname "the Brainy Don."

    "He has a very sophisticated, well-educated, loyal group of associates that he works with," Dixon said. "He hires top-notch consultants, attorneys, risk management firms to assist him and protect him in his criminal ventures."

    Louise Shelley, an organized crime expert from George Mason University, says Mogilevich is a new kind of criminal.

    "The major criminal organizations in Russia have not only tapped into people with economics degrees," Shelley said. "They've tapped into people with PHDs in finance and statistics who assist them."

    The FBI hopes Mogilevich will eventually travel to a country that has an extradition treaty with the U.S.

    But, in case he doesn't, his wanted poster will be distributed all over Russia.

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    Saturday 24 October 2009

    Albania's Top Prosecutor Slams Judicial Immunity

    Tirana | 23 October 2009 | Besar Likmeta
    BallkanInsight.com
    Ina Rama
    Ina Rama
    Albanian General Prosecutor Ina Rama has called for a constitutional amendment that would restrict the immunity of judges, in order to strengthen the fight against corruption in the judiciary.
    “It's problematic because [while] prosecutors can be investigated without hassles, we don't have the possibility to investigate judges, who are granted immunity by the constitution,” Rama said on Thursday at a conference on judicial reform.

    “If the General Prosecutor's Office seeks the authorisation to investigate a judge on corruption-related charges, the investigation has already become public and it its difficult to move forward,” she said, adding: “It's not possible to investigate a judge on corruption, if he knows that he is being investigated.”

    Rama also spoke out against corporatism in the judicial system, illustrating her argument with cases where prosecutors arrested on corruption charges were set free by the courts.

    According to the 2009 European Commission progress report, judicial reform in Albania remains in its early stages, with little progress made thereon in the last year.

    “Key pieces of legislation needed to complete the legal framework have not been adopted and the justice system continues to function poorly due to shortcomings in independence, transparency and efficiency,” the report found.
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    Zero tolerance to judicial corruption: CJ

    Zero tolerance to judicial corruption: CJ

    Saturday, 24 Oct, 2009
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    The National Judicial Policy Making Committee said that non-production of under trial prisoners before the court is the main cause of delay in disposal of criminal cases, therefore, the police authorities should be compelled to ensure production of prisoners. - File photo

    ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry on Saturday stressed upon the Chief Justices of the High Courts to show zero tolerance to corruption and improve the existing monitoring mechanism for eradication of corruption from the judiciary at all levels.

    The chief justice took serious notice of the complaints of corruption against the judicial officers and court staff and stated that since they were drawing reasonable salaries any corruption and inefficiency should not be tolerated in anyway.

    He was speaking at a meeting of the National Judicial Policy Making Committee which was held in the Supreme Court Building. The objective of holding the two-day meeting was to ensure effective implementation of National Judicial Policy for expeditious and speedy disposal of cases to restore confidence of people in the judicial system.

    In his introductory remarks the chief justice emphasized that the National Judicial Policy is formulated through exhaustive consultation with the stakeholders of the justice sector and its objective can only be achieved through strict monitoring of the performance of the district judiciary.

    The committee also considered issues relating to non-production of prisoners before the courts for trial, overcrowding in jails and resolved that the provincial governments should be asked to construct at least one jail at district levels and sub-jails at tehsil level.

    The committee further resolved that spacious judicial lockups (Bhakhshi Khanas) with necessary facilities should be constructed in the court premises for under-trial prisoners rather keeping them in prisons van in scorching temperature.

    About establishment of jails for Islamabad, the committee requested the CJ Federal Shariat Court to convene meetings with the concerned authorities for early construction so that the prisoners of the federal capital, who are presently confined in Rawalpindi District Jail, could be transferred there.

    The committee further resolved that non-production of under trial prisoners before the court is the main cause of delay in disposal of criminal cases, therefore, the police authorities should be compelled to ensure production of prisoners before the courts.

    The committee resolved that the concept of open court should not be compromised and in only extraordinary and exceptional cases trial may be held in jail premises.

    The committee asked the District and Sessions Judges to visit jails regularly and to decide the cases of the prisoners involved in petty cases by invoking the relevant provisions of law. This practice would not only give relief to the prisoners confined on chargers of minor offences but also help to reduce the burden on the overcrowded jails.

    During the meeting, the District and Sessions Judges gave a presentation on the implementation of National Judicial policy with reference to the disposal of old/new cases, family/rent matters and bifurcating the civil and criminal function of the judicial and its effect on quick disposal of cases.

    The committee stressed upon the District and Sessions Judges to make all possible efforts for effective implementation of the policy and to ensure that the framework given in the policy should be met and its benefit should be trickle down to the grass root level.

    During the meeting, the provincial high courts gave demonstrations about the progress made for automation of justice sector. The committee resolved that by bringing the data base on networking the performance of the district judiciary could be monitored effectively, therefore, efforts should be made for computerization and networking of courts to facilitate the litigants.

    The meeting was also attended by Justice Agha Rafiq Ahmed Khan, Chief Justice, Federal Shariat Court, Justice Khawaja Muhammad Sharif, Chief Justice, Lahore High Court, Justice Qazi Faez Isa, Chief Justice, High Court of Balochistan; Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, Chief Justice, Peshawar High Court; Justice Mushir Alam Acting Chief Justice, High Court of Sindh and Dr. Faqir Hussain, Registrar, Supreme Court/Secretary, National Judicial Policy Making Committee.—APP

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    Friday 9 October 2009

    In Albanian Feuds, Isolation Engulfs Families

    In Albanian Feuds, Isolation Engulfs Families

    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/10/world/europe/10feuds.html


    Johan Spanner for The New York Times

    Sherif Kurtaj, 62, whose sons killed a neighbor, has been trapped in his home because of a code that allows vengeance to be taken on a killer’s male relatives. More Photos >

    By DAN BILEFSKY
    Published: July 10, 2008

    SHKODER, Albania — Christian Luli, a soft-spoken 17-year-old, has spent the past 10 years imprisoned inside his family’s small, spartan house, fearful he will be shot dead if he walks outside the front door.

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    The New York Times

    In Shkoder, blood feuds are still deeply felt and acted on. More Photos »

    To pass the time, he plays video games and sketches houses. Since he is unable to attend high school, Christian’s reading level is that of a 12-year-old’s. A girlfriend is out of the question. He would like to become an architect, but he despairs of a future locked inside, staring at the same four walls.

    “This is the situation of my life. I have known nothing else since I was a boy,” Christian said, looking plaintively through a window at the forbidden world outside. “I dream of freedom and of going to school. If I was not so afraid, I would walk out the door. Living like this is worse than a prison sentence.”

    Christian’s misfortune is to have been born the son of a father who killed a man in this poor northern region of Albania, where the ancient ritual of the blood feud still holds sway.

    Under the Kanun, an Albanian code of behavior that has been passed on for more than 500 years, “blood must be paid with blood,” with a victim’s family authorized to avenge a slaying by killing any of the killer’s male relatives. The Kanun’s influence is waning, but it served as the country’s constitution for centuries, with rules governing a variety of issues including property ownership, marriage and murder.

    The National Reconciliation Committee, an Albanian nonprofit organization that works to eliminate the practice of blood feuds, estimates that 20,000 people have been ensnared by blood feuds since they resurfaced after the collapse of Communism in 1991, with 9,500 people killed and nearly 1,000 children deprived of schooling because they are locked indoors.

    By tradition, any man old enough to wield a hunting rifle is considered a fair target for vengeance, making 17 male members of Christian’s family vulnerable. They, too, are stuck in their homes. The sole restriction is that the boundaries of the family home must not be breached. Women and children also have immunity, though some, like Christian, who physically matured at an early age, begin their confinement as boys. Family members of the victim are usually the avengers, though some families outsource the killing to professional contract killers.

    Blood feuds have been prevalent in other societies, like mafia vendettas in southern Italy and retaliatory violence between Shiite and Sunni families in Iraq. Appalachian bootleggers in the 19th century also took up arms to defend family honor.

    But the phenomenon has been particularly pronounced in Albania, a desperately poor country that is struggling to uphold the rule of law after decades of Stalinist dictatorship.

    Blood feuds all but disappeared here during the 40-year rule of Enver Hoxha, Albania’s Communist dictator, who outlawed the practice, sometimes burying alive those who disobeyed in the coffins of their victims. But legal experts in Albania say the feuds erupted again after the fall of Communism ushered in a new period of lawlessness.

    Nearly a thousand men involved in feuds have escaped abroad, some of them applying for asylum. But even then, dozens of people have been hunted down outside Albania and killed by avenging families.

    Ismet Elezi, a professor of criminal law at the University of Tirana, who advises the government and the police on how to tackle the problem, said recent changes to Albania’s penal code — including sentences of 25 years to life in prison for those who kill in a blood feud and stiff penalties for individuals who threaten to retaliate — had helped diminish the practice. Yet he noted that some still gave greater credence to the Kanun than to the criminal justice system, often with devastating social consequences.

    “The younger generation is no longer looking to the older generation’s codes of behavior,” he said. “But blood feuds are still causing misery because the men stuck inside their homes can’t work, the children can’t go to school and entire families are cut off from the outside world.”

    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/10/world/europe/10feuds.html

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