New York Senator May Be Retried in Wake of Supreme Court’s “Honest Services” Fraud Decision
New York Senator Joseph L. Bruno was indicted in January of 2009 on eight counts of fraud. A jury in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York acquitted Bruno, who is now 81 years old and the former Republican Majority Leader of the New York State Senate, on five of the remaining […]
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New York Attorney Salvatore J. Piemonte Acquitted on Federal Charges of Allegedly Aiding and Abetting Drug Dealers
Salvatore J. Piemonte, a former prosecutor for the Onondage County District Attorney’s Office in Syracuse, New York, for seven years, and former a local judge, was indicted last November in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York for allegedly aiding and abetting the sale of marijuana, according to Syracuse.com. The government charged […]
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AB 259: The Daily Journal Op-Ed on California’s Proposed Salvia Law
Below is the text of an op-ed I published today in the Daily Journal arguing against California’s AB 259, which would ban the sale of salvia to minors. This is not a position I take lightly, because I genuinely do believe it’s important to legislate in a manner that protects kids. But I can’t support […]
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Former Chicago Bear Indicted in Pump and Dump Scheme
Former professional athletes have a knack of finding their way into serious trouble of the white collar variety. Certainly the few glaring examples are the exceptions to the rule and many former professional athletes go on to have productive careers in other endeavors. However, the most recent such trouble came from former Chicago Bears wide […]
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DNA Database Woes and the Birthday Problem
The Los Angeles Times has reported that “A discovery leads to questions about whether the odds of people sharing genetic profiles are sometimes higher than portrayed. Calling the finding meaningless, the FBI has sought to block such inquiry.” Actually, the discovery is not new, but the story is still unfolding. According to the article, State […]
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SEC Enforcement Actions – No Discovery Rule Available to Extend the Statute of Limitations
The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that SEC enforcement actions against investment advisors must be filed within five years from the date of the alleged fraud, not from the date the fraud was discovered by the governmentwas discovered by the government. In Gabelli v. SEC, the SEC sought civil penalties against the chief operating officer and […]
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Stanford guilty of bilking investors of billions
Second Biggest Ponzi Schemer is Now a Federal Guest – for 110 Years Convicted Ponzi schemer, Robert Stanford, is still in prison. Don’t hold a seat at the table for him; it will be awhile before his social calendar allows him to dine out. In what was a vindication for the Federal government, Stanford’s financial […]
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I’m Your Pusher: Purdue Pharma Cops to Oxycontin Charges
Today is clearly not a good day at Purdue Pharma, which is being pilloried in the press and in the blogosphere after pleading to charges of “misleading] regulators, doctors and patients about oxycontin’s risk of addiction and its potential to be abused.” As a PR issue, it’s a mess. On the other hand, the $600 million […]
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Sympathy for the Devil: Hug a New York City Defense Attorney Today
New York City defense attorneys are often critiqued—sometimes ridiculed—for just doing our job. Those who want to “hang ‘em in the streets” criticize us for setting criminals loose on the population. The people we defend can’t believe we charge for our services. Cops always try to prevent people from talking to us, and television shows […]
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Supervision Requirements Have Chilling Effect on Medicare Participation
Medicare billing can be a perilous, low-return, high-risk endeavor, with rules that sometimes seem less than logical and can readily trap the uninformed. Take, for example, the question of whether Medicare will reimburse post-doctoral clinical psychologists for psychotherapy services. Psychotherapy is a reimbursed service when it is provided by clinical psychologists. These “Psy. D’s,” as […]
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