Tag: Prosecutorial misconduct

Rut Roh, we still have mystery!!!

Online commenting scandal involving ex-New Orleans prosecutors Sal Perricone, Jan Mann shrouded in secrecy despite new report ~Jim Mustian

Mainly that pesky Horn report per Jim’s article, a document that Slabbed revealed just yesterday was so closely held as to be forever banished to the crypt at DOJ HQ in Washington DC.

That said there are a few of us that got a special visit back in the day and today we form a survivors network of sort. You see folks it wasn’t just the thumbscrews but more so being forced to watch the entire run of Dusty’s Trail multiple times until we broke that resulted in the PTSD. In any event none of us are talking as the memories are simply too painful to recount.

Stay tuned.

US DOJ OPR Report released to the public, former AUSA Jan Mann harshly criticized

Meantime the Horn report remains sealed up, stored deep in the crypt located in the basement of HQ in Washington DC. As for Slabbed our lips are forever sealed :mrgreen:

Justice Department report scathing in its findings of former federal prosecutors Sal Perricone, Jan Mann ~ Jim Mustian

DOJ report found that Perricone, Mann acted alone, in secret ~ Gordon Russell

Judge refuses to overturn Broussard’s conviction ~ Jeff Adelson

Gotta given Gordon Russell and his gang over at the Advocate props for nabbing the OPR report.

In other news, to update a story first reported on by Slabbed New Media:

New subpoena issued in probe of former St. Charles DA Harry Morel ~ Littice Bacon-Blood

An unnamed FBI agent joins Sal and Jan playing on the Internet

The crash and burn of the River Birch Investigation continues to come into sharper focus as everyone also gets some valuable insight from the heart of the investigative community:

New rulings reveal 4th Danziger commenter is FBI agent ~ Gordon Russell

For those so interested here is Judge Engelhardt’s order and reasons referred to in Gordon’s piece above.

And that valuable insight?  My experience is that the FBI and the US Attorneys have problems playing nicely with each other.  I’ve heard the term “splits in the investigation” in Louisiana.  I’ve heard that term more recently in Mississippi in reference to the DMR Investigation.   Heck just a few days back up Oxpatch way, former FBI Agent Hal Neilson filed another suit against former US Attorney Jim Greenlee.

US Attorneys are political animals while FBI agents are not.  The tension is bound to be there which is why I am not surprised the FBI Agent commenter to NOLA.com on the Danziger Bridge Prosecution was critical of the prosecution.

Personally, I try to avoid getting caught in the middle of pissing contests involving people that carry badges, guns and/or can indict the proverbial ham sandwich.

Stay tuned.

The investigators were very clear that only Judge Engelhardt would see the report……..

Former Mayor Ray Nagin appears unlikely to get Danziger Bridge records detailing government misconduct ~ Juliet Linderman

“Frankly, Mr. Jenkins,” U.S. Magistrate Judge Alma Chasez said to Nagin’s attorney Robert Jenkins, “you’re not citing anything to suggest that there’s case law to give what you’re asking for. It’s not obvious to me why you need this report to defend your client.”

Federal magistrate seems dubious about Nagin’s ‘Perricone defense’ ~ Gordon Russell

Set the alarms for October 28, 2013.

The Engelhardt pummeling in the media continues: Who wudda thunk….

That Slabbed would be the one to go easy on him? I mean heck, back during the thick of the insurance war playing out in the Federal courts a few years back we levied a criticism or two at the man including when Slabbed went under the covers with Gidget but not here on the Danziger case. That said I do harbor some sympathy for the points Jarvis DeBerry made in his column.

Do the Danziger Bridge defendants deserve a new trial? ~ Juliet Linderman

Before you answer that question one should consider the alternative remedies.  I found this legal tome a bit dated but otherwise still useful.

In other news:

After Danziger Bridge ruling, lawyers for Perricone, Mann defend clients ~ Naomi Martin

This time Sal and Jan have stuck close to council, which is a smart move considering all the bad things that happened after Sal paid a visit to Errol and pals last year.

Bottom line here is a retrial is not near the worst thing that could have happened to the victims of the Danziger Bridge Shooting as a complete dismissal of the charges was an option for Judge Engelhardt.

“The worst may be yet to come”: A playing on the internet disaster update

Nowdy sends the following link:

Plenty of Misconduct, and 129 Pages of One Judge’s Disbelief ~ Joe Sexton, Part of ProPublica’s continuing Law & Disorder series on the post Katrina NOPD

And a portion of her comment that struck a chord with me:

Very close to your story

What she is talking about is how Slabbed framed this story. Media bias, yes there is such a thing as cognitive bias is inherent to the human condition, is seen in how various stories are framed. Nowdy well remembers the story of Jamie Perdigao and his tie up with Team Letten and I am pleased to see some of our newer readers taking time to follow the links to that 2008 story from the posts I have brought up from the archives over the past few days. In my opinion it was one of the first public manifestations of problems at Team Letten though I’d be remiss not mentioning the good folks at Patterico’s Pontifications, who have done some excellent work on the topic. More on them in a second.

Back to the post title because I agree with Judge Engelhardt that the worst may be yet to come on this whole prosecutorial misconduct scandal. The persistent rumors of a third DoJ internet commenter proved true but there are also persistent rumors of certain problems at the FBI which bother me greatly. Those that followed Slabbed coverage of the River Birch Investigation real time remember that New Orleans FBI Special Agent In Charge Dave Welker retired in May, 2012. While I am certainly not suggesting Welker did anything wrong I firmly believe there is a backstory to the departure.

My coverage of the US Attorney playing on the internet scandal has been profoundly colored by the musing of a couple of particularly sharp lawyers, one of whom called the implosion of these prosecutions the very day the Sal Perricone news broke. What I find neat is the evolution of the story on these pages as the community here began the proverbial search for the truth immediately. I’d invite everyone to note how the Perricone’s departure in March 2012 lines up on the timeline of the events with Special Agent in Charge Welker’s retirement in May, 2012. Continue reading ““The worst may be yet to come”: A playing on the internet disaster update”

BREAKING: 7 more years bad luck for the former Team Letten(mego)

Thanks to multiple readers for the heads up.  I scanned Judge Engelhardt’s 129 page order and have concluded:

  • Neither I nor Slabbed was mentioned. (Whew)
  • Judge Engelhardt indicated he knows the identity of NOLACat60, a former Slabbed commenter that I believe is now deceased, along with the several other identities contained in the subpoena sent to the Times Picayune which the Times Picayune successfully fought.
  • Judge Engelhardt had some strong words for both the AP and the Times Picayune in light of the suit filed by the T-P seeking access to the Horn report.
  • The fact someone posted online about the Danziger Bridge case straight from the hive in Washington DC does not surprise me in the least.
  • Jim Letten purportedly knew about Jan Mann posting online very early on after Sal Perricone was unmasked by Fred Heebe.  If true that allegation is damning towards Letten IMHO.
  • We get to see the USA v Kaufman et al aka the Danziger Bridge trial all over again.
  • This is certain to dominate the news cycle in NOLA and in certain lawyerly circles nationally for days.

Click the pic below the jump to score the 129 page pdf: Continue reading “BREAKING: 7 more years bad luck for the former Team Letten(mego)”

Sal under the bus? The reasons come into much sharper focus.

Yup folks, Slabbed has been very consistent in predicting that Sal Perricone will end up under the bus when this whole US Attorney internet commenting scandal is said and done.

I’ve never shared my reasons for the Perricone Postulate but I’ll add it is derived via process of elimination.  Even better, Mark Moseley hits a grand slam analyzing that video of Big Jim going postal explaining O’Keefe’s side of things in his confrontation with Big Jim. It is an absolute must read.

The O’Keefe/Letten dust-up at Tulane: more there than sound and fury? ~ Mark Moseley

For those of you that have no clue what I am talking about, click here and here.

It’s heating up in New Orleans

Sal’s ears are burning that I guarantee:

NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune seeks documents in Danziger Bridge case ~ NOLA.com

Slabbed was visited by Team Horn investigators in January 2013. I hope the Times Picayune gets those redactions lifted.  I’ll be keeping a very close eye on this.

Meantime Nowdy sends this must read from Radley Balko on the topic of Prosecutorial Misconduct which includes several of the misconduct cases from the Harry Connick days as Orleans Parish District Attorney. Left unsaid but well understood here in the Slabbed Nation is the role of David Vitter’s wife Wendy at Team Connick back in the day.