federal prosecution

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'Too Big to Jail' No More? Feds Ready to Charge Banks

After regulators promise not to kill Credit Suisse, BNP

(Newser) - US prosecutors are preparing criminal charges against Credit Suisse and BNP Paribas, in the hopes of securing the first guilty plea from a big bank since 1989—and stemming criticism that the banks are too powerful to prosecute, the New York Times reports. Credit Suisse is suspected of providing a...

Case Against Zimmerman No Piece of Cake for DOJ

Feds would have to prove shooting was racially motivated

(Newser) - Amid protests and a push from the NAACP , the Justice Department is looking into the prosecution of George Zimmerman on criminal civil rights grounds—but that would be a genuinely tough case to win, the AP explains. Says a former US attorney: "They'd have to show not only...

Prosecutors Hope Plea Deals Will Close Gitmo Cases

Federal, Military prosecutors fight for rare testimony

(Newser) - Federal and military prosecutors looking to convict Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other high-profile Guantanamo Bay detainees are competing with each other to offer plea bargains to lower-profile inmates in exchange for testimony. Some detainees have remained at Gitmo because they are considered too difficult to prosecute, and the evidence against...

Prosecutors Compete for 9/11 Case
Prosecutors Compete
for 9/11 Case

Prosecutors Compete for 9/11 Case

Va., NY vie for high-profile trial of alleged mastermind

(Newser) - Federal prosecutors in New York and Virginia are fighting for the chance to put Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four of his co-conspirators on trial, the Washington Post reports. Justice Department sources say offices in Alexandria and Manhattan have been lobbying hard to prosecute the self-proclaimed 9/11 mastermind, both stressing their...

Madoff Sentence a Massive Waste: Alec Baldwin

(Newser) - Alec Baldwin throws water on the general celebration of Bernie Madoff's prison sentence, arguing that the 150-year term handed down to the fraudster Monday was a wasted opportunity. "I want to suggest, as I am confident others have, that Madoff be given a reduced sentence in exchange for answering...

US Won't Charge Ruth Madoff

Not enough evidence to nab Bernie's wife in Ponzi scheme

(Newser) - Ruth Madoff won’t be prosecuted in her husband’s giant Ponzi scheme, insiders tell the New York Post, because the feds didn't find enough evidence against her after a 6-month probe. She had “no criminal exposure,” one source says. But if something new turns up, authorities could...

Vijay Offered $500K for Bail of Pal Stanford

(Newser) - Vijay Singh is sticking by embattled buddy and alleged swindler R. Allen Stanford. The star golfer, who's been sporting the Stanford Companies logo even though he no longer gets paid to do so, offered to put up $500,000 of the billionaire’s bail, reports CNBC. He was denied the...

Corruption Trial of Ex-Louisiana Rep Kicks Off

Feds say Jefferson took bribes, had $90K stashed in his freezer

(Newser) - Jury selection began today in the trial of former Louisiana Rep. William Jefferson, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. The Democrat is charged with taking bribes and using his office to set up business deals in Africa. “It is good to have my family with me,” he said as...

Judge: US Must Reveal Charges Vs. Gitmo Prisoners

(Newser) - A federal judge today ordered the US to publicly reveal unclassified versions of its allegations and evidence justifying the continued imprisonment of more than 100 detainees being held at Guantanamo Bay. The Justice Department had been filing unclassified versions of its legal documents under seal, so that they could only...

Rove Will Be Questioned Over Attorney Firings

(Newser) - Karl Rove is on the hot seat tomorrow. The former Bush adviser will be interviewed by federal prosecutors as part of a criminal investigation into the firings of US attorneys in 2006, the Washington Post reports. Rove will meet with Connecticut prosecutor Nora R. Dannehy, who has been charged with...

Feds: Stanford Ran Massive Ponzi Scheme

Chief investment officer freed on 300K bond after night in jail

(Newser) - Federal officials have labeled shamed financier R. Allen Stanford’s operation a Ponzi scheme for the first time, the Houston Chronicle reports. The accusation—meaning the company used cash from new investors to pay older ones—came in an amended civil fraud complaint from the SEC yesterday alleging Stanford and...

Stanford Officer Held on $300K Bail

(Newser) - Laura Pendergest-Holt, the chief investment officer for disgraced financier Robert Allen Stanford’s firm, is being held on $300,000 bail, the Houston Chronicle reports. Her family is attempting to come up with the $30,000 cash necessary to free her. Holt spent last night in prison after being accused...

US Will Charge 'Combatant' in Military Custody

In policy shift, he will get civilian trial, not military tribunal

(Newser) - Ali al Marri, the only alleged enemy combatant held on US soil, will be charged by the Justice Department, possibly for supplying material support to terrorism, ABC News reports. The move to a civilian criminal trial is an about-face from the policies of the Bush administration, which had insisted on...

Tejada Charged With Lying in Steroid Probe

(Newser) - Houston Astros shortstop Miguel Tejada has been charged with lying to congressional staffers involved in the inquiry into steroids use in baseball, the Washington Post reports. Federal prosecutors say Tejada’s accounts of conversations with teammate Adam Piatt in 2003, while both played for the Oakland Athletics, are contradicted by...

Illegal Immigrant Cases Hog Justice's Resources

Once-federal cases get bounced to state, local officials

(Newser) - A federal focus on prosecuting immigration crimes is killing resources to deal with a wide variety of other cases—meaning those cases go to state and local authorities, often overwhelming them, the New York Times reports. Immigration cases have soared in the past 5 years, while federal prosecution of drugs...

Prosecution Gets 3 More Months to Indict Blago

(Newser) - A federal judge in Chicago today granted prosecutors an additional 3 months to present evidence and obtain an indictment in the corruption case against Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Chief Judge James Holderman said the case against Blagojevich is too complex to expect prosecutors to obtain an indictment by a...

Siemens Will Pay $1.3B in Fines for Global Corruption

Company settles on US charges for $800M, shells out more over German accusations

(Newser) - German engineering conglomerate Siemens pleaded guilty today to an international pay-to-play scheme and will pay the US $800 million in fines, the Wall Street Journal reports. It will also give $528 million to the German government—adding to a $275 million payout last year.

5 Blackwater Guards Charged in Shooting

(Newser) - Five Blackwater Worldwide security guards have been indicted and a sixth was negotiating a plea with prosecutors for a 2007 shooting that left 17 Iraqis dead and became an anti-American rallying cry for insurgents, people close to the case said today. Prosecutors obtained the indictment late yesterday and had it...

Feds Dig Into Price-Fixing by Egg, Tomato Processors

New inquiries add to list of investigations

(Newser) - The Justice Department is investigating allegations of price-fixing by tomato and egg processors, the Wall Street Journal reports today. California processor SK Foods is facing allegations it bribed buyers at six companies to pay inflated prices for tomato paste and chili peppers. Tomato prices have surged 16% over the past...

In Pursuit of Bonds, Feds Put Screws on Trainer's Family

Anderson long mum in baseball steroids case

(Newser) - Federal authorities are still trying to get Greg Anderson, Barry Bonds’ former personal trainer, to testify about the baseball star’s steroid use, the New York Times reports, and may prosecute his wife and mother-in-law on tax charges to coerce him. “I have never heard anything like this,”...

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