9 thoughts on “The first substantive rumor on the crash and burn of the River Birch Investigation has arrived on the Slabb”

  1. The FBI missing a tackle, really.

    But we have Mr.Polite, Senator Mary’s recommendation for the new USA DOJ post,also representing,blocking and running interference for an involved defendant, Mr.Ton, whose running end around.

    Now dere’s a polite, but possible vicious force and hitter dat could ring da’ bell of a good intentioned tackler.

    1. You may remember the lead FBI guy in NOLA retired at some point during the investigation. I do not know if it is a coincidence or not but there are enough data points to paint the picture in time. There are a couple of pieces of information I’ll never share but suffice it to say the rumor has my radar up and scanning.

    2. You mean Dave Welker, who was granted special permission to stay on after mandatory retirement age? That permission was mysteriously revoked, and here’s the timeline:

      December 2011: “FBI Special Agent In-Charge in New Orleans Dave Welker has been asked to stay on, past the bureau’s mandatory retirement age of 57. Welker has steered the Jefferson Parish investigation from the beginning [referring to Broussard & co.]” (wwltv.com/news/local/Sources-Indictments-Imminent-In-JP-Corruption-Case-134865378.html).

      March 2012: Sal is unmasked, and the end begins for Letten. Then Welker suddenly departs with this contradictory explanation:

      April 2012: “Welker, 57, has reached the bureau’s mandatory retirement age for agents” (nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2012/04/fbi_division_in_new_orleans_is.html).

      I asked Gordon Russell about that in the comments section, and here’s what he said:

      “Muspench, I don’t think there’s anything sinister about Welker’s ‘sudden’ departure. He actually stayed longer than most special-agents-in-charge, after petitioning to be allowed to do so. I’m pretty sure his leaving has nothing to do with the other things you mentioned” (nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2012/11/jim_letten_names_fred_harper_a.html).

      So if Welker’s the one to whom you refer, then I agree that looked very odd. 🙂

      1. That’s it Muspench.

        Next step is to figure out when Mark Titus wore the secret agent pen on Big D. I have the transcript posted somewhere on Slabbed.

      2. Titus made the transcribed recording of his conversation with Fazzio on the same date (June 3, 2011) as the deleted recordings thought to explain the timing of the government’s abandonment of the River Birch investigation & prosecutions. Transcript: http://www.slabbed.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/21-6.pdf
        Lemann story on abandonment: http://www.wwl.com/More-prosecutorial-misconduct-behind-DOJ-River-Bir/15752356 .

        Here’s the Lemann quote, just for future reference:

        “‘So, at the first hearing to dismiss for misconduct, when Titus was then on Team USA, I asked him whether or not, when he went back to Fazzio’s home for that last meeting, did he record that meeting on his pen recorder? And Titus then testified that he didn’t think he did, he was afraid to turn it on. Since then, government prosecutors, mostly Mr. Mann and Mr. Perricone, have represented to judges, that there was no conversation on that pen recorder relating to this June 3rd situation, and that none have been deleted.

        Well, now that Titus is no longer on Team USA, we’ve been getting some communication with him, and we’re now given to understand that he may very well recorded that last meeting…and he very well have recorded the secret meeting in the U.S. Attorney’s office.'”

        So Titus had a little sting in his tail after all. 🙂

    1. Agree. Great stuff.

      How to make the post, this is the question. First person to interview Mark Titus wins!

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