Former Public Official Pleads Guilty to Accepting a Bribe
U.S. Attorney’s Office June 02, 2011
Western District of New York (716) 843-5700
BUFFALO, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that James H. Wood, 44, of Delevan, New York, pleaded guilty to accepting a bribe in his official duties before Chief U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross, who is handling the case, stated that the defendant was a former field office supervisor for the Buffalo, New York office of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). In that capacity, Wood took money in exchange for delaying a compliance review/safety audit of a trucking company.
“This crime had the potential to compromise our government’s transportation regulatory system as it relates to the safety of our nation’s highways,” said U.S. Attorney Hochul. “This office—along with our law enforcement partners—stand ready to thoroughly investigate and prosecute any attempt to affect the integrity of either our nation’s governmental agencies or the well being of its citizens.”
The plea is the result of an investigation by special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Richard W. Kollmar, and the U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General, Investigation Division, under the direction of Ned E. Schwartz, Special Agent in Charge.
Sentencing is scheduled for October 19, 2011 at 9:00 a.m. before Judge Skretny.
Friday, June 03, 2011
USDOJ Press Release: Former Mayor Charged With Bribery and Making False Statements
Former Mayor and City Magistrate Charged with Bribery and Making False Statements
U.S. Attorney’s Office June 03, 2011
Middle District of Florida (904) 301-6300
ORLANDO, FL—United States Attorney Robert E. O’Neill announces the filing of a felony information charging Ronald Clifton (41, South Daytona) with bribery and making false statements. At the time of the charged offenses, Clifton was the mayor and a councilman of the City of South Daytona. Also announced today is the filing of a separate felony information charging Jerome Mitchell (42, Port Orange) with bribery. At the time of the charged offense, Mitchell, who is an attorney, was a City of South Daytona Special Magistrate. If convicted on all counts, Clifton faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison, and Mitchell faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison.
According to court documents, on May 14, 2009, a company named 3131 South Ridgewood, LLC purchased the River Club Condominiums, a condominium complex located at 3131 South Ridgewood Avenue, South Daytona, Florida. Before the purchase of the River Club Condominiums by 3131 South Ridgewood, LLC, the prior owners of the property incurred code enforcement violations resulting in the City of South Daytona placing $241,000 in code enforcement liens on the property. In addition, the prior owners of the River Club Condominiums incurred $500,000 in Volusia County tax liens on the property. When 3131 South Ridgewood, LLC purchased River Club Condominiums, the property remained encumbered by the city and county liens.
On May 21, 2010, Clifton, then the mayor of the City of South Daytona, attended a dinner with, among other persons, the owners of 3131 South Ridgewood, LLC and a purported representative of investors interested in buying the River Club Condominiums. At that meeting, the parties discussed the problem of the outstanding city and county liens on the property, and the fact that the liens made the property less desirable to potential buyers.
A few days later, on May 26, 2010, Clifton met with the purported investors’ representative and discussed how to get the City of South Daytona code enforcement liens reduced on the River Club Condominiums. At the conclusion of the meeting, Clifton suggested that the City of South Daytona Special Magistrate for Code Enforcement, Mitchell, would reduce the city liens to a minor amount, in exchange for a cash bribe.
On June 1, 2010, the investors’ representative met Clifton and Mitchell at a restaurant in Port Orange, Florida and provided an envelope to the mayor and an envelope to the special magistrate; each envelope contained $5,000 in cash. At this and other meetings, the parties discussed the potential of further payments in relation to the River Club Condominiums, as well as additional payments to Clifton, in exchange for his help in reducing the Volusia County tax liens.
On July 8, 2010, at a City of South Daytona code enforcement hearing presided over by Mitchell, in his role as Special Magistrate, Mitchell reduced the code enforcement liens on the River Club Condominiums from $241,000 to $12,500. The actions by Mitchell were not scheduled on the meeting’s agenda and the reduction was to an amount previously discussed by the investors’ representative, Mitchell, and Clifton.
On August 26, 2010, at Clifton’s residence, the investors’ representative met with him to discuss how he could assist in reducing the outstanding Volusia County tax liens on the River Club Condominiums. Clifton agreed to speak with county officials concerning the tax liens, and in exchange the investors’ representative provided him with $2,500 in cash.
On October 1, 2010, special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) interviewed Clifton at his private offices in Volusia County. During the interview, Clifton discussed the actions of Mitchell in reducing the city code enforcement liens on the River Club Condominiums, but falsely denied that he knew a bribe had been paid to Mitchell in relation to the River Club Condominiums. During further questioning by FBI agents, Clifton also falsely denied any knowledge of any city employee, including himself, having ever received a cash payment in relation to the River Club Condominiums, having any prior knowledge that Mitchell was going to address the liens on the River Club Condominiums at the city code enforcement hearing on July 8, 2010, and ever receiving a cash payment in relation to the property at 3131 South Ridgewood Avenue.
An information is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of the federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Florida Department of Financial Services, Division of Insurance Fraud. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel C. Irick and Carlos A. Perez.
U.S. Attorney’s Office June 03, 2011
Middle District of Florida (904) 301-6300
ORLANDO, FL—United States Attorney Robert E. O’Neill announces the filing of a felony information charging Ronald Clifton (41, South Daytona) with bribery and making false statements. At the time of the charged offenses, Clifton was the mayor and a councilman of the City of South Daytona. Also announced today is the filing of a separate felony information charging Jerome Mitchell (42, Port Orange) with bribery. At the time of the charged offense, Mitchell, who is an attorney, was a City of South Daytona Special Magistrate. If convicted on all counts, Clifton faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison, and Mitchell faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison.
According to court documents, on May 14, 2009, a company named 3131 South Ridgewood, LLC purchased the River Club Condominiums, a condominium complex located at 3131 South Ridgewood Avenue, South Daytona, Florida. Before the purchase of the River Club Condominiums by 3131 South Ridgewood, LLC, the prior owners of the property incurred code enforcement violations resulting in the City of South Daytona placing $241,000 in code enforcement liens on the property. In addition, the prior owners of the River Club Condominiums incurred $500,000 in Volusia County tax liens on the property. When 3131 South Ridgewood, LLC purchased River Club Condominiums, the property remained encumbered by the city and county liens.
On May 21, 2010, Clifton, then the mayor of the City of South Daytona, attended a dinner with, among other persons, the owners of 3131 South Ridgewood, LLC and a purported representative of investors interested in buying the River Club Condominiums. At that meeting, the parties discussed the problem of the outstanding city and county liens on the property, and the fact that the liens made the property less desirable to potential buyers.
A few days later, on May 26, 2010, Clifton met with the purported investors’ representative and discussed how to get the City of South Daytona code enforcement liens reduced on the River Club Condominiums. At the conclusion of the meeting, Clifton suggested that the City of South Daytona Special Magistrate for Code Enforcement, Mitchell, would reduce the city liens to a minor amount, in exchange for a cash bribe.
On June 1, 2010, the investors’ representative met Clifton and Mitchell at a restaurant in Port Orange, Florida and provided an envelope to the mayor and an envelope to the special magistrate; each envelope contained $5,000 in cash. At this and other meetings, the parties discussed the potential of further payments in relation to the River Club Condominiums, as well as additional payments to Clifton, in exchange for his help in reducing the Volusia County tax liens.
On July 8, 2010, at a City of South Daytona code enforcement hearing presided over by Mitchell, in his role as Special Magistrate, Mitchell reduced the code enforcement liens on the River Club Condominiums from $241,000 to $12,500. The actions by Mitchell were not scheduled on the meeting’s agenda and the reduction was to an amount previously discussed by the investors’ representative, Mitchell, and Clifton.
On August 26, 2010, at Clifton’s residence, the investors’ representative met with him to discuss how he could assist in reducing the outstanding Volusia County tax liens on the River Club Condominiums. Clifton agreed to speak with county officials concerning the tax liens, and in exchange the investors’ representative provided him with $2,500 in cash.
On October 1, 2010, special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) interviewed Clifton at his private offices in Volusia County. During the interview, Clifton discussed the actions of Mitchell in reducing the city code enforcement liens on the River Club Condominiums, but falsely denied that he knew a bribe had been paid to Mitchell in relation to the River Club Condominiums. During further questioning by FBI agents, Clifton also falsely denied any knowledge of any city employee, including himself, having ever received a cash payment in relation to the River Club Condominiums, having any prior knowledge that Mitchell was going to address the liens on the River Club Condominiums at the city code enforcement hearing on July 8, 2010, and ever receiving a cash payment in relation to the property at 3131 South Ridgewood Avenue.
An information is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of the federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Florida Department of Financial Services, Division of Insurance Fraud. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel C. Irick and Carlos A. Perez.
Thursday, June 02, 2011
USDOJ Press Release: Attorney General Settles Lawsuit Against Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff on Access to Records in Civil Rights Investigation
Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Justice Department Settles Lawsuit with Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office
Settlement Comes After the Sheriff’s Office Provided Information Sought in Title VI Investigation
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department today announced that it has entered in to a court-enforceable agreement with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio resolving a longstanding dispute over access to information related to the department’s Title VI investigation of the sheriff’s office. The settlement comes after MCSO allowed officials from the Justice Department to conduct more than 220 interviews and review hundreds of thousands of pages of documents. Prior to the litigation, MCSO refused to cooperate in full with the investigation.
On Sept. 2, 2010, the department filed a lawsuit after exhausting all cooperative measures to gain access to MCSO’s documents and facilities, as part of the department’s investigation of alleged discrimination in MCSO’s police practices and jail operations. Since March 2009, the department attempted to secure voluntary compliance with the department’s investigation and did not receive full compliance until the lawsuit was filed.
MCSO has now cooperated with the investigation by permitting the department to interview Sheriff Arpaio, command staff, deputies, detention officers and first line supervisors, as well as jail inmates. MCSO has also allowed tours of its facilities and has responded to each of the department’s original document requests. Under the terms of the agreement, MCSO will continue to provide the department with access to sources of information that the department determines are pertinent to its Title VI investigation.
“After numerous requests for access to information, the department was forced to resort to litigation to compel the sheriff’s office to provide us with full access to facilities, staff and documents, as required by federal law,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “We are pleased that since the filing of our lawsuit, the sheriff’s office has reversed course and provided the department with information we have been seeking. Today’s settlement shows that the Department of Justice is ready to take action against any recipient of federal funds that fails to cooperate with a civil rights investigation.”
“This is a positive development after delay upon delay by the Sheriff’s Office,” said Dennis Burke, U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona. “We are working aggressively to review the facts and complete this investigation.”
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination in federally assisted programs on the ground of race, color or national origin. Recipients of federal funds, such as MCSO, are obligated to provide the department with access to information and facilities pertinent to an investigation under Title VI. The department’s investigation of MCSO involves alleged violations of the prohibition on national origin discrimination in Title VI; the pattern or practice provisions of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968; and the pattern or practice provisions of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994.
The department’s investigation remains open and ongoing. For more information on the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, please visit www.justice.gov/crt .
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Justice Department Settles Lawsuit with Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office
Settlement Comes After the Sheriff’s Office Provided Information Sought in Title VI Investigation
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department today announced that it has entered in to a court-enforceable agreement with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio resolving a longstanding dispute over access to information related to the department’s Title VI investigation of the sheriff’s office. The settlement comes after MCSO allowed officials from the Justice Department to conduct more than 220 interviews and review hundreds of thousands of pages of documents. Prior to the litigation, MCSO refused to cooperate in full with the investigation.
On Sept. 2, 2010, the department filed a lawsuit after exhausting all cooperative measures to gain access to MCSO’s documents and facilities, as part of the department’s investigation of alleged discrimination in MCSO’s police practices and jail operations. Since March 2009, the department attempted to secure voluntary compliance with the department’s investigation and did not receive full compliance until the lawsuit was filed.
MCSO has now cooperated with the investigation by permitting the department to interview Sheriff Arpaio, command staff, deputies, detention officers and first line supervisors, as well as jail inmates. MCSO has also allowed tours of its facilities and has responded to each of the department’s original document requests. Under the terms of the agreement, MCSO will continue to provide the department with access to sources of information that the department determines are pertinent to its Title VI investigation.
“After numerous requests for access to information, the department was forced to resort to litigation to compel the sheriff’s office to provide us with full access to facilities, staff and documents, as required by federal law,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “We are pleased that since the filing of our lawsuit, the sheriff’s office has reversed course and provided the department with information we have been seeking. Today’s settlement shows that the Department of Justice is ready to take action against any recipient of federal funds that fails to cooperate with a civil rights investigation.”
“This is a positive development after delay upon delay by the Sheriff’s Office,” said Dennis Burke, U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona. “We are working aggressively to review the facts and complete this investigation.”
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination in federally assisted programs on the ground of race, color or national origin. Recipients of federal funds, such as MCSO, are obligated to provide the department with access to information and facilities pertinent to an investigation under Title VI. The department’s investigation of MCSO involves alleged violations of the prohibition on national origin discrimination in Title VI; the pattern or practice provisions of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968; and the pattern or practice provisions of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994.
The department’s investigation remains open and ongoing. For more information on the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, please visit www.justice.gov/crt .
President Bill Clinton's Ten Points of Advice for Graduates
10 in 10:Our Advice for Graduates
Every spring, President Clinton speaks to thousands of graduating seniors in commencement ceremonies across the country, providing advice to graduates on how to pursue their dreams while also working together to combat the challenges facing our independent world. Whether you graduated yesterday or a decade ago, whether you’re in the middle of a career or just starting out, we hope our advice inspires you to build a stronger tomorrow — and that you share this inspiration with others.
No matter what you do next, find ways to appreciate, celebrate, and enhance the impact of our diversity. Remember that our common humanity matters more than our interesting differences.
Take time to help others, in your own community or on another continent. You’ll help build a world with more partners and fewer adversaries.
Engage respectfully with those you disagree with, and know that healthy debate can lead to positive changes. Remember that no matter what side of the argument you fall on, we’re all in this future together.
You’re going to be affected by things that happen to you beyond your borders, whether you like it or not. So try to work to build up the positives and reduce the negative forces of our interdependence.
Never forget your teachers and what they’ve done to make your life better and stronger. Even if you don’t become a teacher yourself, remember their example, and try always to teach others and give the gift of learning.
Become an informed citizen. Engage with both local and global issues, and vote for leaders who you think are making a difference. Our world is filled with inequalities and instabilities, but that doesn’t mean we all can’t work together to change it.
When you’re just starting out, you may not be making much money or be exactly where you expected, but there’s always something you can do to give back. And doing good will guarantee you a rewarding future.
Always try, and if you fail, try harder. Life’s largest disappointments are not rooted in failures or mistakes, but in the absence of passionate commitment and effort.
Waste not a moment. Live your dreams. But find some way to empower other people to live theirs, too.
Strive to achieve happiness every day, not just at the end of a journey.
Every spring, President Clinton speaks to thousands of graduating seniors in commencement ceremonies across the country, providing advice to graduates on how to pursue their dreams while also working together to combat the challenges facing our independent world. Whether you graduated yesterday or a decade ago, whether you’re in the middle of a career or just starting out, we hope our advice inspires you to build a stronger tomorrow — and that you share this inspiration with others.
No matter what you do next, find ways to appreciate, celebrate, and enhance the impact of our diversity. Remember that our common humanity matters more than our interesting differences.
Take time to help others, in your own community or on another continent. You’ll help build a world with more partners and fewer adversaries.
Engage respectfully with those you disagree with, and know that healthy debate can lead to positive changes. Remember that no matter what side of the argument you fall on, we’re all in this future together.
You’re going to be affected by things that happen to you beyond your borders, whether you like it or not. So try to work to build up the positives and reduce the negative forces of our interdependence.
Never forget your teachers and what they’ve done to make your life better and stronger. Even if you don’t become a teacher yourself, remember their example, and try always to teach others and give the gift of learning.
Become an informed citizen. Engage with both local and global issues, and vote for leaders who you think are making a difference. Our world is filled with inequalities and instabilities, but that doesn’t mean we all can’t work together to change it.
When you’re just starting out, you may not be making much money or be exactly where you expected, but there’s always something you can do to give back. And doing good will guarantee you a rewarding future.
Always try, and if you fail, try harder. Life’s largest disappointments are not rooted in failures or mistakes, but in the absence of passionate commitment and effort.
Waste not a moment. Live your dreams. But find some way to empower other people to live theirs, too.
Strive to achieve happiness every day, not just at the end of a journey.
City of St. Augustine Giving Bad Impressions to Visitors and Significant Encouragement to Hate Websites?
Go to the City of St. Augustine website.
Click on Visitors. Read the all-too-brief, relatively dull account of our exciting history. What a pity!
Click on A Special Place, where it states: “You will also find information helpful in planning your visit at”:
• Old City.com There is nothing there but crass, low-rent commercialism for the less classy of the two tour trains, for a cut-rate motel, and (drum roll) one more click on News takes you to the Historic City News website, locus of MICHAEL GOLD's hatred, with a Tea Party ad with a snake one inch from the face of every single person in town who wants to make a difference, including Mayor Joseph Boles, City Manager John Regan and County Administrator Michael Wanchik. Is MICHAEL GOLD's crummy website being linked to Visitors on our City's website tarnishing our City’s brand in the eyes of international and domestic visitors? Is this is an unfair and deceptive trade practice in violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act? What do you reckon?
• The St. Augustine Record This site has an excellent section on parks and tourism. Why not a direct link to the parks part of the website?
• St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra & The Beach Visitors and Convention Bureau Great website. Classy layout, good information, great photos. Why isn’t this website first?
• St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce This website makes the ethnocentric statement, "It's easy to see why people have been settling here for nearly 500 years." People have been living here for more than 11,000 years, but I guess the Chamber doesn't think much about indigenous Native American Indians. The St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce website has nothing on tourism worth reading. The St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce is part of a national lobbyist-driven right-wing business organization that lobbies against environmental and worker protection laws. Why is it even listed?
Why are these four websites the only websites listed?
Who decided in which order to list them?
Why not list our state parks, state forests, the National Park Service, Flagler College, and other points of interest? Why not list www.staugustgreen.com?
By clicking on the first link at CHARLES NUSBAUM's OldCity.com, you will find yourself on the Old City.com com website, where a constantly changing banners says “Local News,” which leads you ineluctably to a hate website, Historic City News, whose controversial operator publishes racist, sexist, homophobic, libelous, defamatory opinions on Historic City News, www.plazabum.com and www.shamefulpeople.com --- MICHAEL GOLD f/k/a "MICHAEL TOBIN."
Enough. We need to welcome visitors, not offend them and insult their intelligence.
Click on Visitors. Read the all-too-brief, relatively dull account of our exciting history. What a pity!
Click on A Special Place, where it states: “You will also find information helpful in planning your visit at”:
• Old City.com There is nothing there but crass, low-rent commercialism for the less classy of the two tour trains, for a cut-rate motel, and (drum roll) one more click on News takes you to the Historic City News website, locus of MICHAEL GOLD's hatred, with a Tea Party ad with a snake one inch from the face of every single person in town who wants to make a difference, including Mayor Joseph Boles, City Manager John Regan and County Administrator Michael Wanchik. Is MICHAEL GOLD's crummy website being linked to Visitors on our City's website tarnishing our City’s brand in the eyes of international and domestic visitors? Is this is an unfair and deceptive trade practice in violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act? What do you reckon?
• The St. Augustine Record This site has an excellent section on parks and tourism. Why not a direct link to the parks part of the website?
• St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra & The Beach Visitors and Convention Bureau Great website. Classy layout, good information, great photos. Why isn’t this website first?
• St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce This website makes the ethnocentric statement, "It's easy to see why people have been settling here for nearly 500 years." People have been living here for more than 11,000 years, but I guess the Chamber doesn't think much about indigenous Native American Indians. The St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce website has nothing on tourism worth reading. The St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce is part of a national lobbyist-driven right-wing business organization that lobbies against environmental and worker protection laws. Why is it even listed?
Why are these four websites the only websites listed?
Who decided in which order to list them?
Why not list our state parks, state forests, the National Park Service, Flagler College, and other points of interest? Why not list www.staugustgreen.com?
By clicking on the first link at CHARLES NUSBAUM's OldCity.com, you will find yourself on the Old City.com com website, where a constantly changing banners says “Local News,” which leads you ineluctably to a hate website, Historic City News, whose controversial operator publishes racist, sexist, homophobic, libelous, defamatory opinions on Historic City News, www.plazabum.com and www.shamefulpeople.com --- MICHAEL GOLD f/k/a "MICHAEL TOBIN."
Enough. We need to welcome visitors, not offend them and insult their intelligence.
IN HAEC VERBA: FIRST AMERICA FOUNDATION HEAD DON WALLIS DUCKS QUESTIONS ABOUT FINANCE -- IT'S OUR MONEY!
Don Wallis, right, speaks to St. Augustine City Commission August 9, 2011 at 8:23 PM,
as St. Augustine Record reporter Peter Guinta and audience look skeptically
Dear Mr. Regan:
The estimable Mr. Wallis has not yet responded to my E-mails (below).
"Why does baloney reject the grinder?" (In the immoral words of William F. Buckley,Jr. I request that you ask the City Commission to please cancel his no-bid FAF contract and get our money back, through litigation if necessary.
Sincerely,
Ed Slavin
-----Original Message-----
From: easlavin@aol.com
To: dwallis@ubulaw.com
Sent: Tue, May 31, 2011 12:35 pm
Subject: Fwd: Sunshine and Open Records law request
From: easlavin@aol.com
To: dwallis@ubulaw.com
Sent: Tue, May 31, 2011 12:35 pm
Subject: Fwd: Sunshine and Open Records law request
Dear Mr. Wallis:
I wrote you four days ago. May I please have the courtesy of a response?
Sincerely,
Ed Slavin
I wrote you four days ago. May I please have the courtesy of a response?
Sincerely,
Ed Slavin
-----Original Message-----
From: easlavin@aol.com
To: dwallis@ubulaw.com
Sent: Fri, May 27, 2011 4:06 pm
Subject: Sunshine and Open Records law request
From: easlavin@aol.com
To: dwallis@ubulaw.com
Sent: Fri, May 27, 2011 4:06 pm
Subject: Sunshine and Open Records law request
Dear Mr. Wallis:
Will you please send me a copy of your correspondence to City Commissioners and the Board, along with a listing of every check/disbursement by FAF and a copy of any correspondence regarding 501(c)(3) status?
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Ed Slavin
www.cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com
829-3877
Will you please send me a copy of your correspondence to City Commissioners and the Board, along with a listing of every check/disbursement by FAF and a copy of any correspondence regarding 501(c)(3) status?
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Ed Slavin
www.cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com
829-3877
Wednesday, June 01, 2011
USDOJ Press Release: Testimony of Thomas Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, to House Subcommittee Today
Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez of the Civil Rights Division Speaks Before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution
Washington, D.C. ~ Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Good morning, Chairman Franks, Ranking Member Nadler, Chairman Smith, Ranking Member Conyers, and distinguished members of the committee. Thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today about the critical work being done by the Civil Rights Division.
When I last had the honor to appear before you, just months after being sworn in as Assistant Attorney General, I spoke about our efforts to restore and transform the Civil Rights Division. I promised to ensure aggressive, evenhanded and independent enforcement of all of the laws within our jurisdiction.
In the year and a half since, we have invested a great amount of energy into these efforts – and I am happy to report that we’ve had great success. The work produced in recent weeks alone illustrates the wide range of our efforts and is typical of the Division’s work. The following describes some of work in recent weeks.
A jury in New York found three men guilty of charges related to a scheme to compel undocumented Latin American women to come to the United States with promises of jobs as waitresses in two bars, and then forcing the women to engage in commercial sex acts. Human trafficking of this nature robs individuals of their freedom and their dignity, and we cannot allow it to happen in a nation that prides itself on liberty. In 2009, our Criminal Section filed a record number of human trafficking cases, and then topped their own record in 2010, charging 99 defendants in 52 cases.
We recently won the first conviction at trial of a defendant charged under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 – a law that has provided us with critical new tools to prosecute hate crimes. The conviction followed a guilty plea by a co-defendant two days prior. The defendants threatened five Hispanic men who had pulled into a gas station parking lot, and then pursued the victims in a truck. When the defendants caught up to the victims, they continued to threaten and hurl racial epithets at the victims, and then rammed into the victims’ car repeatedly, causing it to cross the opposite lane of traffic, go off the road, crash into a tree and ignite. All five victims were injured, including one victim who sustained life-threatening injuries.
We announced multi-million dollar settlements with Bank of America/Countrywide and Saxon Mortgage Services to resolve allegations that they wrongfully foreclosed upon active duty members of the armed forces without first obtaining court orders, in violation of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. By way of illustration, during our investigation we encountered a case involving a servicemember who was severely injured by an IED while serving in Iraq, breaking his back and causing traumatic brain injury. The servicer foreclosed on him, despite receiving notice on multiple occasions that he was serving in Iraq. He returned to the United States in a wheelchair with the prognosis that he would never walk again. He spent two years in recovery, re-learning how to walk and eventually run; however, he still suffers from the impact of the traumatic brain injury.
We cannot allow the members of our military – who have made great personal sacrifices on our behalf – to attempt to transition to civilian life only to find their credit ruined and their homes in danger.
Combined, the two settlements provide more than $22 million in monetary relief for at least 178 victims. To truly make these servicemembers whole, Bank of America/Countrywide and Saxon, have also agreed to repair negative credit reports and not pursue any remaining amounts owed under the mortgages. The men and women who protect and defend our nation deserve to know that we have their backs at home, and these settlements are part of a broader effort in the Division to protect the rights of members of our armed forces. These efforts have included ramped up efforts to protect servicemembers’ civilian employment rights, as well as an unprecedented effort to enforce UOCAVA and the MOVE Act and protect the voting rights of servicemembers.
We have ramped up fair lending enforcement, and we recently announced a settlement with Citizens Bank, in Michigan, to resolve allegations that the bank discriminated against African Americans by failing to serve the credit needs of African American neighborhoods in and around Detroit – a classic case of redlining that deprives neighborhoods of the investment needed to thrive. We cannot claim to offer true equal opportunity if we are depriving entire neighborhoods of access to credit. The case was the product of our new fair lending unit – which has around 60 open matters and last year secured the largest ever fair lending settlement.
Yesterday, we announced a settlement agreement under the ADA with Wells Fargo that will ensure equal access for individuals with disabilities to Wells Fargo’s services nationwide, including nearly 10,000 retail banking, brokerage and mortgage stores, over 12,000 ATMs, and its telephone and website services. The agreement resolves numerous complaints filed by individuals who are deaf, are hard of hearing, or have speech disabilities who allege that Wells Fargo would not do business with them over the phone using a telecommunications relay service. Wells Fargo will pay up to $16 million to compensate individuals harmed by violations, making it the largest monetary agreement ever reached under Title III of the ADA.
Last week, we charged a Wisconsin man with a violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. The affidavit in support of the criminal complaint alleges that, while loading his handgun, the defendant discharged a bullet through the door of his hotel room into the room across the hall. Police responded and he was arrested for reckless endangerment. Evidence uncovered thus far indicates that the defendant traveled to Madison with his gun in an attempt to kill doctors to stop them from performing reproductive health services.
We traveled to Newark, New Jersey, to launch a civil pattern or practice investigation into the Newark Police Department to examine allegations of, among other things, use of excessive force and discriminatory policing. We will investigate whether systemic violations of the constitution or federal law by officers of the NPD have occurred and, if so, we will work with the city, the police department and the community to develop a plan for reform. We also continue to work with the New Orleans Police Department to develop a comprehensive blueprint for reform that will reduce crime, ensure respect for the Constitution, and restore public confidence in the NOPD.
We settled a case against the Owatonna School District in Minnesota for failing to take steps to combat persistent peer harassment against Somali-American students. The students said they were taunted, made fun of for their culture and told to “go back to Africa.” Our investigation came after complaints were filed with the Division and the Department of Education after a fight broke out involving nearly a dozen high school students. The settlement ensures that, going forward, the school district will respond promptly when students are harassed because their race, color or national origin.
And today, sentencing is scheduled for two former police officers from Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, who were convicted of charges related to the cover up of a hate-fueled beating death of a Latino man that occurred in that town.
Every day in the Civil Rights Division presents me, my staff, and our outstanding team of dedicated career attorneys and professionals a new opportunity to protect and defend the rights of individuals who might not be able to assert those rights on their own. We are proud to carry the torch of the great civil rights pioneers who fought for laws that would ensure equal opportunity and equal justice – and we honor their legacy by enforcing those laws aggressively and evenhandedly.
I thank you for the opportunity to tell you about our work, and I look forward to answering your questions.
Google ad revenue supporting St. Augustine hate website cyberbully MICHAEL GOLD, in violation of Google ad policies?
Google(R) policies plainly forbid ads being placed on pages that promote hate. Google states:
Sites with Google ads may not include or link to:
- Pornography, adult or mature content
- Violent content
- Content related to racial intolerance or advocacy against any individual, group or organisation
- Excessive profanity
- Hacking/cracking content
- Gambling or casino-related content
- Illicit drugs and drug paraphernalia content
- Sales of beer or hard alcohol
- Sales of tobacco or tobacco-related products
- Sales of prescription drugs
- Sales of weapons or ammunition (e.g. firearms, firearm components, fighting knives, stun guns)
- Sales of products that are replicas or imitations of designer or other goods
- Sales or distribution of coursework or student essays
- Content regarding programs which compensate users for clicking ads or offers, performing searches, surfing websites or reading emails
- Any other content that is illegal, promotes illegal activity or infringes on the legal rights of others
USDOJ Press Rlease: Lawman Indicted for Abusing His Position and Lying to Federal Agents
Former DeKalb Police Officer Indicted for Abusing His Position and Lying to Federal Agents
| U.S. Attorney’s Office May 31, 2011 |
ATLANTA—DONALD BRISTOL, 41, of Lilburn, Georgia, was arraigned late today on federal charges of aiding others to possess and conceal a stolen vehicle, failing to report a federal felony, unlawfully accessing government computer systems, and making false statements. BRISTOL made the appearance late this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge E. Clayton Scofield III.
United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said, “Our citizens are entitled to police officers who will obey the laws that they have sworn to enforce. Not only did this officer violate the law, but his criminal conduct betrayed the trust of the people of DeKalb County and its police department.”
Brian D. Lamkin, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office, said, “It is an inescapable truth that law enforcement officers who choose to abdicate their sworn oaths of office add to the already immense challenges that the remaining law enforcement community must face. While it is understandable that these types of cases add to some erosion of public trust, it should be noted that the vast majority of the law enforcement community takes their sworn oaths very seriously as well as such deviations from that oath as we’ve seen here.”
“The alleged criminal actions of this former officer tarnishes the DeKalb County Police badge, it erodes the public’s trust in law enforcement and undermines the continued efforts of the men and women who honorably serve the residents of DeKalb County,” said DeKalb County Police Chief William O’Brien.
Rodney G. Benson, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division said, “This case is a reminder that officers are held to a higher standard and are not above the law. This officer is not representative of the honest, hard working men and women in law enforcement who do not violate their oaths, but faithfully serve the public daily.”
According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges, and other information presented in court: Starting in April 2010, BRISTOL used his position as a DeKalb County police officer to help two separately charged defendants to hide the fact that they possessed a stolen car. In addition, BRISTOL misused his access to a sensitive law enforcement database to provide his associates with information about criminal histories and outstanding arrest warrants. Finally, BRISTOL made numerous false statements to federal agents.
BRISTOL was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 25, 2011. The indictment charges BRISTOL with aiding others to possess and hide a stolen vehicle, with failing to report and attempting to conceal a federal crime, with unlawfully accessing governmental information, and with lying to federal agents. The most serious of the charges carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. In determining the actual sentence, the court will consider the United States Sentencing Guidelines, which are not binding but provide appropriate sentencing ranges for most offenders.
Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
This case is being investigated by special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the DeKalb County Police Department, and special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey W. Davis is prosecuting the case.
For further information, please contact Sally Q. Yates, United States Attorney, or Charysse L. Alexander, Executive Assistant United States Attorney, through Patrick Crosby, Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Attorney’s Office, at (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the HomePage for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is www.justice.gov/usao/gan.
Associated Press: DreamWorks Plans Martin Luther King Biopic
DreamWorks Studios plans to tell the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s story on the big screen in a film to be co-produced by Steven Spielberg, the studio announced Tuesday.
Officials are touting the project as the first theatrical motion picture authorized by The King Estate, using closely held intellectual property — including copyrighted speeches and other works — as the basis for the film.
King Estate Chairman and chief executive officer Dexter King was quoted in a press release announcing the deal.
"We hope that this will be the definitive film on his life and legacy," Dexter King said.
Dexter King's siblings, Bernice King and Martin Luther King III, were not involved in negotiating the deal. They did not immediately return a phone call Tuesday from The Associated Press.
The siblings have been involved in several disputes regarding their parents' intellectual property in the past year. Bernice King and Martin Luther King III have accused their brother of tarnishing their parents' legacy with his business decisions, and say he has been operating The King Estate for years without their input.
DreamWorks spokeswoman Kristin Stark declined to say how much the deal is worth. It is not clear when the movie might be made. Stark said she did not believe the siblings' legal differences would affect the project.
"What we have gained access to is the life rights, which is not what they are fighting about," Stark said.
Although several movies about King's life have been televised, the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize winner has only been on the silver screen once. The documentary, "King: A Filmed Record ... Montgomery to Memphis," was shown once in theaters on March 24, 1970, and featured commentary from Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poitier, Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward and Ruby Dee, among others.
Film and television producer Suzanne de Passe and Madison Jones, who has handled intellectual property issues for the estate for several years, are also listed as producers on the project.
Another beautiful day in a beautiful place; another predictable, dull story in the St. Augustine Record
St. Augustine Record Buidling, now largely vacant -- paper is now printed in Jacksonville and the giant Goss presses have been removed!
Richard O. Watson, a noted local trial judge, died yesterday. However, the St. Augustine WRecKord’s front-page article this morning is utterly boring.
Ordinarily when a noted judge dies, the New York Times obituary will discuss some of his/her significant cases, showing how the judge changed history or helped people. Not the WRecKord. Not one mention of any case where Judge Watson might have made a difference, or made new law, or showed courage in making a ruling that might have offended the rich and powerful.
The WRecKord said Judge Watson had a great sense of humor, but none of his stories are quoted. That would be like saying Lincoln had a great sense of humor, but neglecting to retell a single one of his stories. What utter shallowness.
The WRecKord article by Associate Editor Richard Prior quoted one source, now a judge, as indicating that Judge Watson may have had a mean streak, but the details are lacking.
Instead of using his journalistic knowledge and skills to write an interesting article about Judge Watson, Associate Editor Richard Prior produced a puff piece, hagiography without facts.
I never met Judge Richard O. Watson. After reading Richard Prior’s obituary, I have not learned anything more about him. After decades of reading good, well-researched obituaries in the New York Times, one often feels empathy, like one met the subject, learning how they made a difference in life. Times obituaries about famous judges, politicians, civil rights heroes, inventors or entrepreneurs leave one informed.
Dozens of years of journalism experience has not empowered Richard Prior to write a decent obituary on a respected local judge, when he had all day yesterday to do so. Why?
The WRecKord is a third-rate newspaper with underpaid staff and bad morale.
Is Richard Prior a hack or a journalist? I reckon that Richard Prior’s smirky call to me about MORRIS PUBLISHING’s SLAPP suit against me showed Prior for what he was – an authoritarian bore! Luckily, I was riding in a car with a former Baltimore Sun editor at the time, and she got to hear the "interview," such as it was.
Like the local hate website operator’s supercilious HISTORIC CITY NEWS, the WRecKord is in the habit of publishing press releases and not investigating anything. Birds of a feather, they flock together --- mediocrities practicing mendacity. Writing their nowhere “news” for nobody .
In 1982, the New York Times missed a golden opportunity to purchase the St. Augustine Record and the Florida Times-Union for only $200 million. Instead, MORRIS bought it.
We’re stuck with boring, shallow surface reporting to this day.
MICHAEL GOLD IS A CYBERBULLY WHO ABUSED DMCA TO TAKE DOWN ST. AUGUSTINE UNDERGROUND WEBSITE IN RETALIATION FOR INVESTIGATION
At this moment, if you go to the St. Augustine Underground website, there is a chilling reminder of the power of bullies on the Internet. It says :
Oops!!!
This site is currently unavailable.
If you are the owner of this site, please contact us at 1-480-505-8855 at your earliest convenience.
The St. Augustine Underground performed an excellent, Pulitzer Prize worthy public service in exposing MICHAEL GOLD f/k/a “MICHAEL TOBIN” and his patron, SHERIFF DAVID SHOAR f/k/a “DAVID HOAR.”
In retaliation for First Amendment protected activity regarding hate websites , controversial St. Johns County Sheriff DAVID SHOAR’s illegal actions embroiled the United States Marshals to arrest me based upon a non-existent “warrant” from Tennessee.
In response to the Pulitzer Prize worthy story, putative “journalist” MICHAEL GOLD violated readers’ right to read the news. Attacking a critical news story in the St. Augustine Underground, GOLD/TOBIN abused a federal law (the Digitical Millennia Copyright Act or DMCA) to take down the entire website of the St. Augustine Underground (owned by Milwaukee Journal).
How amusingly, errantly arrogant --- It seems that GOLD thinks a photograph on the website, from his hate website, is his intellectual property. The photograph is of me, taken and posted on GOLD’s hate website, HISTORIC CITY NEWS, without my permission, at the City’s event for the dedication of Riberia Street construction.
MICHAEL GOLD and HISTORIC CITY NEWS previously abused DMCA to force removal of a photo showing State’s Attorney R.J. LARIZZA laughing with fellow RANDY BRUNSON at the Rod & Gun Club.
GOLD has the text of the First Amendment at the bottom of every page.
What hypocrisy – which is of course what MICHAEL GOLD specializes in:
+ Raised more than $250,000 for SHERIFF DAVID SHOAR in 2004, paid thousands of dollars through his ACCISE CORPORATION for campaign work (while SHOAR demurely claims GOLD was an unemployed volunteer).
+ Claims to dislike government waste, but raked in more than $700,000 in no-bid uniform contracts from the St. Augustine Police Department and St. Johns County Sheriff’s Department, including purchases of sweaters and pith helmets. As Gary Hart once said, “You won’t get government off your backs until you get your hands out of its pockets.”
+ Operates racist, sexist, homophobic hate websites (Shamefulpeople and plazabum) attacking persons who speak at public meetings and file Open Records requests.
+ Uses hate websites to encourage violence, kidnapping, blacklisting, libel and defamation.
+ Media and Communications Chair for St. Johns County Republican Party.
+ Recipient of small subsidy from advertisements from Google®, in violation of Google® principles (don’t be evil”) and Terms of Service.
GOLD is a bully, a self-aggrandizing narcissist who may be the only one in town who thinks he’s a journalist.
Yes, in his own words, MICHAEL GOLD has good cause to fear the “wolf of insignificance” at his “door.”
That’s why he bays at the moon!
Back by popular demand, here's the "Dress You Up" parody song for GOLD and SHOAR:
Uniform salesman, private investigator, bagman and hate site operator MICHAEL GOLD f/k/a "MICHAEL TOBIN" and SHERIFF DAVID SHOAR f/k/a "DAVID HOAR"
Duet for Sheriff DAVID SHOAR and his Campaign Manager and St. Johns County Uniform Supplier MICHAEL GOLD (proprietor of hate websites and Historic City Media, in honor of some $700,000 in no-bid SJCSO and SAPD contracts for uniforms for JR UNIFORM COMPANY, 2001-2009 (including Cardigan sweaters and Pith helmets). Sung to Madonna’s “DRESS YOU UP” Label: Sire, Warner Bros. Records
GOLD You've got cops,
and I’ve got threads to sell you
uniforms with embroidery so fine (oh yeah)
cut a check made out to me and my business
and don’t go shopping
for something better priced (woo).
SHERIFF Gonna dress you up, you’re my cops
pull over, pull over,
gonna dress’m up, they're my cops
pull over you’re guilty.
GOLD Seven hundred thousand reasons why I love you
no other bids will keep you as my boo,
I’ll campaign for you as my Sheriff
and there’s no telling what we both can do (ahh).
SHERIFF Gonna dress you up, you’re my cops,
pull over, pull over,
gonna dress’m up, they’re my cops,
pull over, you’re guilty,
gonna dress you up, you’re my cops,
on my watch,
pull over you’re guilty, pull over you’re guilty
on my watch
pull over, pull over,
from Duval down to Flagler.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Federal St. Augustine 450th Commemoration Commission Meets Here July 18, 2011
The Department of the Interior and the City of St. Augustine issued announcements today that the St. Augustine 450th Commemoration Commission will meet on Flagler College's campus commencing July 18, 2011. The Commission will be asked to endorse a St. Augustine National Historical Park, National Seashore and Scenic Coastal Parkway, National Civil Rights Museum and National Indigenous Native American Indian Cultural Center. See www.staugustgreen.com
St. Augustine Underground Reports on False Arrest by Feds at Behest of St. Johns County Sheriff, in Retaliation for Concerns About Hate Websites
The June issue of the St. Augustine Underground has exposed MICHAEL GOLD’s hate websites, including the related recent false arrest of a local “activist” who dared criticize Sheriff DAVID SHOAR and hold him accountable for his promises about asking GOLD to “knock it off” – e.g., GOLD’s libel of people speaking at public comment during public meetings – libel on Republican apparatchik and bagman’s MICHAEL GOLD’s hate websites.
The Milwaukee Journal’s new venture is giving the St. Augustine Record some needed competition. In its June issue, the St. Augustine Underground reports that everything it and other local news media were told by the Sheriff’s Department about the Tennessee Supreme Court was false, including the false account of a phantom Tennessee Supreme Court justice planning to hold a “hearing” on my “extradition” about a non-existent “warrant.”
The Underground reports about how SHERIFF SHOAR misused the power of the Justice Department -- United States Marshals showed up and arrested the activist (that would be me) at the behest of the St. Johns County Sheriff, DAVID SHOAR. There was no warrant.
The article ends, “to be continued…..”
Will the WRecKord recant its libel and print the truth? Will we be hearing from MORRIS PUBLISHING’s insurance adjuster? Will Sheriff SHOAR apologize? Will MICHAEL GOLD recant from his hate websites and stop trying to pretend he is a journalist?
What do y’all reckon?
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