Other officials behaving badly

[RTH10260]

Cauuse cops, lawyers, republicans and democrats have their own threads.

[RTH10260]

Police arrest Virginia mayor for distributing meth in exchange for sex

by Zoe Zellers, WBFF
Friday, August 5th 2016

FAIRFAX, Va. (WBFF) – Fairfax County Police have arrested the Mayor of Fairfax City and two others for distribution of methamphetamine in exchange for sexual encounters. The arrest was made at a hotel in Tyson's Corner Thursday.

Undercover narcotics officers began investigating meth distribution in the area and identified a suspect who was allegedly distributing the drug through a website used to arrange casual sex between men. An undercover agent made a fake profile on the website and within a few days, the suspect reached out and then the two started sending text messages.

The suspect said he could provide meth for sexual encounters, and undercover detectives agreed to meet the suspect for the exchange. The suspect said he would bring the drug and two other men to the meeting.




https://cbs12.com/news/nation-world/pol ... ge-for-sex

[RTH10260]

[RTH10260]

llinois ex-prosecutor charged with sending sexual messages to female defendants

By David Thomas
January 27, 202310:52 PM GMT+1Last Updated 2 days ago

(Reuters) - A former Illinois prosecutor has been charged with 32 criminal counts, including allegations that he sent sexual messages to women he was prosecuting and sought videos and photos of them in exchange for preferential treatment.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul on Friday unveiled criminal charges against former Coles County assistant state's attorney Brady Allen, 33, that involve allegations of bribery, witness harassment, official misconduct and witness intimidation.

Raoul said in a statement that Allen could face up to seven years in prison and up to $25,000 in fines if convicted.

"As a prosecutor who has sworn to uphold the law, I am shocked and outraged that a fellow prosecutor would allegedly use that authority to manipulate and victimize women in the community," Raoul said in the statement.

Raoul said Allen turned himself in to the Coles County sheriff on Thursday after an arrest warrant was issued. Jail records show he was released less than an hour later. Allen did not immediately respond to a request for comment.



https://www.reuters.com/legal/governmen ... 023-01-27/

[RTH10260]

GA police legally seized cars without proving wrongdoing in court, failed to report to state[

By Justin Gray, WSB-TV
February 13, 2023 at 6:29 pm EST

SOUTH FULTON, Ga. — Under Georgia law, police can seize your property without ever having to prove you did anything wrong in a court of law. But they do have to provide a public record of what they take.

Channel 2 Action News Investigates found a local police department has not been doing that, which Channel 2 consumer investigator Justin Gray learned is a violation of Georgia law.

“I work hard for that money to purchase that van, and I still do not have a van to this day,” said Tatiana Strong.

Three years ago, South Fulton Police seized Strong’s cargo van.

“There was no court case. There was no charges. There was nothing, but it’s gone,” Strong said.

She told Channel 2 Action News that she used the van for her medical supply delivery business.

Police claimed in a forfeiture complaint that the van was actually being used by an acquaintance of hers to transport drugs.

But while there has never been a criminal conviction or even criminal charge related to the van, police never returned it.

That is how civil forfeiture can work legally.

“There is no requirement that criminal charges be brought and there is no requirement that someone be convicted of a crime,” said Dan Alban, senior attorney with Institute for Justice, a legal non-profit.

“We will never feel comfortable driving this car,” said Karla Hill, whose Dodge Charger was seized along with two other cars.

City of South Fulton police charged Hill with operating a chop shop.

“Were you operating a chop shop?” Gray asked.

“No, we were not operating a chop shop,” Hill said.

“Were you operating a chop shop?” Gray asked.

“No, we were not operating a chop shop,” Hill said.

She filed numerous complaints with the city of South Fulton and Fulton County about the seizures and a judge ordered South Fulton police to return the Charger.




https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/south- ... KPUHQRW4U/

[RTH10260]

Teen athlete loses legs in crash; prosecutor asked to resign

JIM SALTER
Wed, February 22, 2023 at 9:23 PM GMT+1

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Missouri attorney general called Wednesday for the resignation of St. Louis' elected prosecutor, after a motorist who repeatedly violated his bond conditions on earlier charges crashed and injured a teenage volleyball player from Tennessee, resulting in amputation of both of her legs.

The case has renewed criticism of Democratic St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner amid questions about why the driver wasn't behind bars after court records showed more than 50 violations of bond conditions.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, a Republican, said Gardner must step down by noon Thursday, or he'll try to remove her from office.

“Instead of protecting victims, Circuit Attorney Gardner is creating them," Bailey said in a statement. "My office will do everything in its power to restore order, and eliminate the chaos in St. Louis caused by Kim Gardner’s neglect of her office.”

Others, including Democrats, joined in the criticism of Gardner. Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden, a Republican, said Gardner should resign, calling her “incompetent and grossly unfit to hold her office.” Missouri House Speaker Dean Plocher also urged Gardner to step down.

Democratic St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones said Gardner had “lost the trust of the people," but did not call for her resignation.

Janae Edmondson, a 16-year-old player in town for a volleyball tournament, was injured Saturday night when the crash left her pinned between two cars in downtown St. Louis while walking back to a hotel with her family. The high school senior, from Smyrna, Tennessee, was in stable condition, her coach said, but faced complications that could keep her hospitalized for weeks.





https://www.yahoo.com/news/tennessee-gi ... 25264.html

your "nice naighbourhood kid"

Police said Daniel Riley, 21, an unlicensed driver, was speeding and failed to yield at an intersection when his vehicle hit another car that then struck Edmondson. Riley was out on bond after a 2020 robbery charge that was dismissed and re-filed last year.

His bond violations included letting his GPS monitor die and breaking terms for his house arrest, according to court records, which show he violated bond at least seven times since Feb. 1, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

[keith]

I don't know from nuthin', but isn't it the JUDGE that sez whether a ne'er-do-well should be in jail or not while waiting for trial?

This guy really sounds like the definition of a ne'er-do-well.

[RTH10260]

I don't know from nuthin', but isn't it the JUDGE that sez whether a ne'er-do-well should be in jail or not while waiting for trial?

This guy really sounds like the definition of a ne'er-do-well.

The judge(s) is/are certainly to blame for not revoking bond. But the blame seems to go to the DA for not prosecuting swiftly.

[RTH10260]

Man Accused of Writing 'Groomer' on Libraries Faces Child Porn Charges

Trudy Ring
Sat, March 11, 2023 at 3:30 PM GMT+1

A former school librarian accused of vandalizing libraries by spray-painting the “groomer” anti-LGBTQ+ slur is now facing charges of possessing child pornography as well.

Charles Sutherland of Takoma Park, Md., was arrested last June and charged with malicious destruction of property and multiple hate crimes in connection with vandalism at two public libraries in Maryland’s Prince George’s County, TV station WUSA reports. Libraries in the towns of Greenbelt and New Carrolton were defaced with “groomer” in spray paint on their entrances early in June, during nearby Washington, D.C.’s Capital Pride Week. The Greenbelt library had hosted a Pride event featuring a drag performer shortly before the vandalism occurred.

The slur is often used against LGBTQ+ people. Right-wing forces claim the community is grooming children for sexual abuse.

In an interview with police last year, authorities say he “made several comments expressing his disdain for the LGBTQ Community and the Prince George’s County Memorial Library System while expressing no remorse for what he did,” according to The Washington Post.

Police said Sutherland confessed to being behind the vandalism, according to the station. He also agreed to a search of his home, which is in neighboring Montgomery County.

In the search, officers discovered he had a child-size doll, several smaller dolls, and diapers at his home, even though he has no children, nieces, or nephews, WUSA reports, citing a charging document. The document says he told police he had child porn on his computer, and in January forensics investigators found seven files of it. He now will face misdemeanor charges of possessing child porn.

Sutherland had been a librarian at Northview Elementary School in Bowie, Md. He was placed on administrative leave when he was arrested in June.




https://www.yahoo.com/news/man-accused- ... 04854.html

(original: The Advocate)

[John Thomas8]

[Dave from down under]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-22/ ... /102127414

Indonesia's 'filthy rich officials' are being named and shamed by social media users to bring them down

One Indonesian official is under investigation for posting photographs on social media showing him posing in luxury cars, on motorbikes and even in a Cessna plane.

Key points:
The Indonesian government has ordered a crackdown into public servants who flaunt their wealth
Social media users became outraged after photos emerged of an officials' son in luxry cars after his arrest
In response to photos showing his wife wearing designer handbags an official called a press conference to declare they were fake
Another has effectively humiliated his wife in public by declaring she owns numerous fake handbags.

And a third has been suspended over photos suggesting he showered his wife with several gold bars, a new car and a luxury handbag as an anniversary gift.

All three are among the latest targets in a national scandal that Indonesian media have dubbed "Filthy Rich Officials".

The government has now ordered a crackdown on public servants who flaunt their wealth in a country where corruption is endemic and the minimum wage is below $500 a month.

[bob]

Teen athlete loses legs in crash; prosecutor asked to resign


ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Missouri attorney general called Wednesday for the resignation of St. Louis' elected prosecutor, after a motorist who repeatedly violated his bond conditions on earlier charges crashed and injured a teenage volleyball player from Tennessee, resulting in amputation of both of her legs.

The case has renewed criticism of Democratic St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner amid questions about why the driver wasn't behind bars after court records showed more than 50 violations of bond conditions.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, a Republican, said Gardner must step down by noon Thursday, or he'll try to remove her from office.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: St. Louis prosecutor Kim Gardner to resign June 1 after weeks of resistance:

St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner announced Thursday that, after weeks of blistering pressure from Missouri lawmakers, she would indeed resign, effective June 1.

In a letter addressed to Gov. Mike Parson, Gardner makes no mention of the turmoil in her office nor the extensive staff departures in recent weeks. Instead, she says she is stepping down to prevent the state legislature from passing a bill that would strip her of most of her power and "permanently remove the right of every St. Louis voter to elect their Circuit Attorney."

* * *

Gardner, 47, St. Louis' first Black circuit attorney, swept into office in 2017 in a national wave of victories for progressive prosecutors, who pledged to be a unifying force and build public trust in the criminal justice system.

Gardner quickly came under scrutiny within months of taking office for mass staff departures. She then about a year into office indicted sitting Gov. Eric Greitens for taking a partially nude photo of a woman in a Central West End basement without her consent. But charges were eventually dropped, an investigator she hired pleaded guilty in federal court to concealing documents in the case and Gardner herself was reprimanded by the Missouri Supreme Court and forced to pay a $750 fee in an ethics case over her office's mishandling of evidence.

* * *

[AGoMO] Bailey filed a lawsuit seeking her removal.

Interestingly, it was a quo warranto petition.

[John Thomas8]

Kim finally resigns. Really kinda ugly.

[RTH10260]

Mayor khalid Questions Police Confiscations

Mayor khalid - South Fulton, GA
22 May 2023

At a May 9 Special Called Meeting, South Fulton Mayor khalid questions the South Fulton Police Department (SFPD) on its 400+ cases of confiscation of citizens' cars, money, jewelry and other property. Under Georgia's Asset Forfeiture laws, police can seize the property of anyone it suspects is involved in or an accomplice to a crime, and does not have to ever return that property — even if that person is never found guilty or is never brought to trial.

February reporting by Atlanta's WSB-TV 2 revealed that, since its inception in 2018, South Fulton Police had never reported the property it was taking from residents to the State of Georgia as required by law. The Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI) is now investigating all of SFPD's asset foreiture cases. Mayor khalid is proposing that all seized assets be held in trust until a trial verdict as been rendered; and that all persons found not guilty have their items returned and that reparations be made from police funds for any income lost because of such seizures.

[RTH10260]

Demolish building over drywall?

BY PATRICK FRASER, DAIANA ROCHA
OCTOBER 2, 2023

In 2015, two brothers replaced a piece of drywall in an apartment they own. Seven years later, the city sent them a notice that ended with the order to demolish the property. Is that legal? It’s why they called Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser.

Forty years ago, the Browns’ parents bought this property in Liberty City. It’s seen some changes.

Hernando Brown Jr.: “Previously, it’s been a cleaners on one side, a restaurant on the other side.”

Today, it houses a church and four apartments, if its allowed to stand.

Hernando Brown Jr.: “The building is to be apparently demolished because it is unsafe.”

The trouble began back in 2015 when water from a second floor air conditioner started running inside the wall instead of outside. A wet piece of drywall on the first floor ceiling fell.

Barry Brown: “So I’m with the my truck. Got a piece of drywall, put it back up.”

In 2015, the city posted a notice that the Browns needed to pull a permit to repair the wet spot and the hole Barry enlarged to put in the new drywall.

Barry Brown: “They repair with less than $100. You do not need a permit.”

That was it. Until suddenly, seven years later, the City of Miami posted this unsafe structure notice writing because of the water stain and partial ceiling collapse, the Brown’s needed to get a permit for the repair, and to do that, they had to take several expensive steps.

Barry Brown: “They told me get a contractor, got a contractor. Told me get an architect, got an architect. For a piece of drywall.”

Barry thought there was no need to appear before the Unsafe Structures Board since he was taking care of the problem.

Turns out they did have to go, so Hernando tried to schedule a meeting.

Hernando Brown Jr.:”No, you will not be going in January, the docket is full. No, you will not be going in February, the docket is full. I would go every month.”

And they got this notice. Their request to speak to the Unsafe Structures Board was denied and their building had to be demolished.




https://wsvn.com/news/help-me-howard/de ... r-drywall/

[RTH10260]

Former US ambassador arrested, accused of secretly serving as agent to Cuba: report
Former US ambassador arrested in Florida, accused of serving as an agent of Cuba, AP source says.

By Stepheny Price Fox News
Published December 3, 2023 7:26pm EST

A former American diplomat who served as a U.S. ambassador to Bolivia has been arrested and accused of secretly serving as an agent of Cuba’s government, according to The Associated Press.

Officials say Manuel Rocha, 73, was arrested in Miami on Friday on a criminal complaint.

According to sources, more details about the case are expected to be made public at a court appearance Monday.

One of the two people who came forward with the complaint said the Justice Department case accuses Rocha of working to promote the Cuban government’s interests.



https://www.foxnews.com/us/former-us-am ... nt-to-cuba

[RVInit]

Former US ambassador arrested, accused of secretly serving as agent to Cuba: report
Former US ambassador arrested in Florida, accused of serving as an agent of Cuba, AP source says.

By Stepheny Price Fox News
Published December 3, 2023 7:26pm EST

A former American diplomat who served as a U.S. ambassador to Bolivia has been arrested and accused of secretly serving as an agent of Cuba’s government, according to The Associated Press.

Officials say Manuel Rocha, 73, was arrested in Miami on Friday on a criminal complaint.

According to sources, more details about the case are expected to be made public at a court appearance Monday.

One of the two people who came forward with the complaint said the Justice Department case accuses Rocha of working to promote the Cuban government’s interests.



https://www.foxnews.com/us/former-us-am ... nt-to-cuba

Oh gawd. This is going to be bad for Biden.

[sugar magnolia]

Former US ambassador arrested, accused of secretly serving as agent to Cuba: report
Former US ambassador arrested in Florida, accused of serving as an agent of Cuba, AP source says.

By Stepheny Price Fox News
Published December 3, 2023 7:26pm EST

A former American diplomat who served as a U.S. ambassador to Bolivia has been arrested and accused of secretly serving as an agent of Cuba’s government, according to The Associated Press.

Officials say Manuel Rocha, 73, was arrested in Miami on Friday on a criminal complaint.

According to sources, more details about the case are expected to be made public at a court appearance Monday.

One of the two people who came forward with the complaint said the Justice Department case accuses Rocha of working to promote the Cuban government’s interests.



https://www.foxnews.com/us/former-us-am ... nt-to-cuba

Oh gawd. This is going to be bad for Biden.

Not sure what Biden has to do with it?

[RVInit]

Oh gawd. This is going to be bad for Biden.

Not sure what Biden has to do with it?

Everything is bad for Biden.

[northland10]

Oh gawd. This is going to be bad for Biden.

Not sure what Biden has to do with it?

I think RVInit was being sarcastic. Still, I expect some Biden blaming even though Rocha finished his Bolivia stint in 2002 and has not served in State since, as far as I can tell.

[northland10]

While not saying Biden is responsible for the former diplomat, Maria Salazar still finds ways to dig into BIden due to the news.

Rep. María Elvira Salazar
@RepMariaSalazar
The Cuban regime’s sole mission is to damage the US.

This is the same regime the Biden Admin has spent the last 3 years making concessions to.

We in Miami know the evils of the regime. The US must investigate and prosecute all spies to the fullest extent of the law.

[Slim Cognito]

If he hasn't been in service since 2002, I'm going to say he didn't wait for Biden to be inaugurated to start his shenanigans. What was he doing during four freaking years of trump?

Just sayin'.

[Dave from down under]

George W. Bush
20 January 2001
To
20 January 2009

[northland10]

George W. Bush
20 January 2001
To
20 January 2009

He had served in the State Department in some capacity even before Clinton. Clinton appointed him as an ambassador by 2000 and he served in that position until the end of his term in 2002. Essentially, he was a career-track employee.

The doc does not say when he actually started being an asset for the DGI in Cuba but it sounds like it may have been for quite a while, covering multiple presidential terms of both parties. Any complaining about it being Biden's fault or even Trump's, is political grandstanding and nothing more.

https://www.justice.gov/media/1327021/dl?inline

Currently, the right is more interested in bashing BIden than catching spies (and the left gets that way as well, some times). It is not MAGA but MBGA (Make Brandon Go Away). They would rather destroy America to "save America." If the Christian Reich actually opened their Bibles instead of just banging them they might notice a line, such as one in Mark that goes, "or what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"

[Dave from down under]