Homicide Charges Rare in Iraq War
“The majority of U.S. service members charged in the unlawful deaths of Iraqi civilians have been acquitted, found guilty of relatively minor offenses or given administrative punishments without trials, according to a Washington Post review of concluded military cases. Charges against some of the troops were dropped completely.
“Though experts estimate that thousands of Iraqi civilians have died at the hands of U.S. forces, only 39 service members were formally accused in connection with the deaths of 20 Iraqis from 2003 to early this year. . . .
“‘We are indeed having trouble getting convictions and accountability, and so are other countries,’ said Eugene R. Fidell, president of the National Institute of Military Justice. ‘It has struck me that the sentences are kind of modest.'” (WPost)
Republican Senate Hopeful Explains Anti-Gay Columns
U.S. Senate candidate Stephen Laffey said he regrets that he wrote columns denigrating gays when he was a college student…. He called the writings ‘sophomoric political satire’ and said they do not represent his views.
‘Do I regret some of these things? Sure,’ he said. ‘But at the time, we were just having fun. We thought it was funny.'” (AP)
Boatmakers Back Good Ship Sweeney
“U.S. Rep. John Sweeney (R-NY), sponsor of a bill that would give tax breaks to boat manufacturers, has been one of the top recipients of campaign contributions from the boating industry’s largest political action committee during the 2006 election cycle, according to federal campaign finance records. The Republican from Clifton Park has introduced a bill that would allow boat manufacturers to take a tax deduction if they include personal flotation devices and electronic distress devices at no cost to the consumer.” (Poughkeepsie Journal)
An Enron Twist: Convicted But Not Guilty?
“A legal precedent could clear Ken Lay, the firm’s late founder, making it hard for the US to tap his estate.” (CSM)
Allen and The Jewish Question
Concerning Sen. George Allen’s (R-VA) possibly Jewish heritage… A columnist from a local Virginia paper writes TNR’s Ryan Lizza to say, “It’s funny, but the only time that George Allen ever wanted a correction from me in 27 years of covering his races was when I wrote about his mother’s Jewish family origins. He insisted, through a press secretary, that his mother was raised a Christian.” (The Plank)
Sisters Blew Whistle on Katrina Claims
“Richard ‘Dickie’ Scruggs, a prominent lawyer of tobacco litigation fame, created a stir by announcing in March that two “insiders” were helping him build cases against insurers for denying claims for Hurricane Katrina losses. Their identities remained a mystery until the day in early June when Cori and Kerri Rigsby — employees of a company that contracted with State Farm — told a supervisor they were cooperating with Scruggs.” (AP)
Whispers of Mergers Set Off Suspicious Trading
“[A]n analysis of the nationâs biggest mergers over the last 12 months indicates that the securities of 41 percent of the companies receiving buyout bids exhibited abnormal and suspicious trading in the days and weeks before those deals became public. For those who bought shares during these periods of unusual trading, quick gains of as much as 40 percent were possible.” (NY Times)
2 in Gus Boulis Murder Case Will Get Bond
“A Broward Circuit judge ruled Friday that two of the three men charged in the 2001 slaying of Konstantinos ”Gus” Boulis should be released from jail and allowed to await trial at home.
“James ‘Pudgy’ Fiorillo, 28, and Anthony ‘Big Tony’ Moscatiello, 67, have been jailed since their Sept. 2005 arrest in slaying of Boulis, the founder of SunCruz Casino and of the Miami Subs restaurant chain.
“Judge Michael Kaplan has not yet set the amount or the conditions of the bond. The Florida Constitution holds that defendants in capital cases are entitled to bond unless the state’s evidence goes well beyond a reasonable doubt.
“In his order, Kaplan wrote: ‘the basis from this court’s finding rises from a lack of physical evidence, as well as numerous conflicts and numerous inconsistencies in the evidence presented.’…
“Boulis, 51, was shot to death at the wheel of his car by a gunman who had pulled up beside him.
“The shooting happened amid a bitter dispute over SunCruz Casino, which Boulis sold in September 2000 for $147.5 million to Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff and New York businessman Adam Kidan.” (Miami Herald)
Guilty Plea in Iraq Kickback Scheme
“A former U.S. Army Reserve officer admitted Friday that he steered millions of dollars in Iraq-reconstruction contracts in exchange for jewelry, computers, cigars and sexual favors.” (AP)
Diplomat Faces Visa Bribe Charge
“A veteran U.S. diplomat will spend the weekend in jail on charges he traded work visas for lavish dinners, New York City hotel rooms, jewelry and Las Vegas trips with exotic dancers. Michael John O’Keefe, the deputy nonimmigrant visa chief at the U.S. Consulate in Toronto, was indicted on bribery and conspiracy charges Friday. International jewelry executive Sunil Agrawal, a native of India, also was charged but remains at large.” (AP)
Sailor Faces Trial on Espionage Charges
“A sailor accused of taking a Navy laptop loaded with classified information and peddling its contents to a foreign government will face a court-martial, the Navy said Friday.” (AP)
TN GOP Senate Hopeful Bob Corker Subpoenaed in Environmental Lawsuit over Wal-Mart Development
“Republican Senate nominee Bob Corker has been subpoenaed to give a deposition in a lawsuit over the way a Wal-Mart development affected a Chattanooga natural site. ” (AP)
Questions Linger on Spitzer’s Use of Jet
“In May, [New York gubernatorial candidate Eliot] Spitzer, on his way to a series of fund-raisers, flew on a jet provided by Richard Fields from Phoenix Sky Harbor airport to Tucson International airport to Lunken Field airport near Cincinnati, and to La Guardia airport in New York City.
The names of the airports will be important if the state lobbying commission decides to launch an investigation into whether Mr. Fields, a registered lobbyist, violated lobbying regulations by charging Mr. Spitzer and a campaign staffer accompanying him at a first-class commercial rate instead of the actual cost of a chartered flight. (NYSun)
The Congressman and The Dictator’s Daughter
“Illinois Republican Jerry Weller is one of the most powerful men in Congress when it comes to Latin America. His wife is the most powerful woman in Guatemalaâs controversial FRG party.” (Chicago Reader)
Schwarzenegger, British Journalist Settle Libel Action
“Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has settled a lawsuit brought by a British television personality over allegations he groped her during a 2000 interview in London and his aides later libeled her before the 2003 recall campaign. The libel suit brought by Anna Richardson against Schwarzenegger and aides Sean Walsh and Sheryl Main had been proceeding in a London court…. Richardson claimed Schwarzenegger fondled her breast during an interview in London. Also, she alleged Main and Walsh libeled her just before the recall election by suggesting she had encouraged the behavior.’ (Sac Bee)
Receptionist-Turned-Lobbyist Gets Attention of Federal Investigators
“Depending on your perspective, Letitia White is either the epitome of a Capitol Hill success story or a prime example of an unsettling mix of money, politics and public policy.” (AP)
Pennsylvania Drops Loyalty Oath for Candidates
“Candidates for public office in Pennsylvania no longer have to sign a McCarthy-era loyalty oath pledging that they are not ‘subversive.’
“The requirement was unconstitutional, Atty. Gen. Tom Corbett has told election officials.
“The change was ordered after John Staggs refused to sign the oath when he turned in nominating petitions this year and then threatened to sue the state.
“‘I believe their definition of “subversive” can really apply to anyone,’ said Staggs, 59, a Socialist Workers Party member seeking a state House seat. ‘They want to be able to pick and choose, so they can use it versus people who are challenging the status quo.'” (LA Times)
Donations to TX Gov Raise Eyebrows
“A North Texas utility’s political action committee gave $5,000 to [Texas] Gov. Rick Perry’s campaign last fall, only a few weeks after the governor had signed an executive order to speed up the state permitting process for coal-fired power plants.
“Additionally, the retired chairman of the company, Dallas-based TXU, gave Perry $2,000 the day the order was signed, Oct. 27, and another $25,000 in April.” (Houston Chronicle)
Fla. Public-Private Partnership Helps Corporations Bend the Rules
“[I]n 2001, BellSouth asked [Florida] for a huge tax break.
“Only a handful of companies had gotten such a deal – called a capital investment tax credit – since it was authorized in 1998, and BellSouth did not appear to meet the requirements.
“But its top Florida executive, Joe Lacher, was a powerful member of the board overseeing Enterprise Florida, the nonprofit organization that spearheads the state’s efforts to attract and retain high-wage jobs.
“Starting in August 2000, Lacher helped push through three bonuses totaling $290,000 for Enterprise Florida’s president. He oversaw bonuses for other senior managers. And his company contributed $400,000 to Enterprise Florida between 2000 and 2005. . . . Meanwhile, a sometimes dubious Enterprise Florida staff put aside concerns that BellSouth might not qualify for the tax break. It helped BellSouth revise its application. It arranged briefings between phone company executives and aides to Gov. Jeb Bush. Twice, it recommended Bush’s trade office approve the company’s requests.
“In December 2003, BellSouth got the green light to collect its first claim: a state tax savings of $2-million.” (St. Petersburg Times)
