Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and a former aide have been charged with lying under oath about the nature of their relationship. Last week, Kilpatrick and Kristine Beatty, his former chief of staff, pled not guilty to multiple counts of perjury, conspiracy, obstruction of justice and misconduct in office during their arraignment.

The charges were filed following a nearly two month probe after excerpts of some 14,000 text messages between the two of them were published by the Detroit Free Press. The text messages had either been sent or received by Beatty’s city-issued pager between 2002 and 2003 and included sexually explicit dialogue, plans to meet, and exchanges about ways they could conceal their extramarital affair.

Last year, while under oath, Kilpatrick and Beatty denied having an affair. They had given this testimony during a lawsuit filed by two police officers who had sued the city of Detroit.

The two cops said they were fired from their jobs because they had been investigating claims that Kilpatrick had used his security team to cover up the fact that he had extramarital affairs. Both Kilpatrick and Beatty are married with children.

The city of Detroit settled the charges filed by the two men and a third police officer for $8.4 million. Kilpatrick and Beatty are accused of signing an agreement to keep the text messages confidential and the mayor is accused of agreeing to the settlement to cover up his affair with Beatty.

All of the criminal charges filed against Mayor Kilpatrick are considered felonies in Michigan. He will be fired immediately if he is convicted of a felony. The conviction for perjury alone could result in 15 years in prison.

Michigan Attorney Mike Cok and the Detroit City Council have called on Kilpatrick to step down. He is refusing to do so.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy says other people may be charged as the investigation progresses.

In Massachusetts, perjury is considered a serious crime. Under the General Laws of Massachusetts, Chapter 268, Section 1:

Whoever, being lawfully required to depose the truth in a judicial proceeding or in a proceeding in a course of justice, wilfully swears or affirms falsely in a matter material to the issue or point in question, or whoever, being required by law to take an oath or affirmation, wilfully swears or affirms falsely in a matter relative to which such oath or affirmation is required, shall be guilty of perjury. Whoever commits perjury on the trial of an indictment for a capital crime shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for life or for any term of years, and whoever commits perjury in any other case shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than twenty years or by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment in jail for not more than two and one half years, or by both such fine and imprisonment in jail.

Defining perjury in Kilpatrick case: Judge the facts for yours, Freep.com, March 30, 2008

Detroit mayor, ex-aide plead not guilty, USA Today, March 26, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Charges Against Kwame M. Kilpatrick and Christine Beatty (PDF)

Detroit Mayor's Office

Continue reading "Detroit Mayor Pleads Not Guilty to Lying Under Oath and Other Felony Charges" »

Five days after her release from prison, former Symbionese Liberation Army member Sarah Jane Olson was rearrested and sent back to prison on Saturday to serve one more year of her sentence. Prison department staff had concluded that a mistake had been made in figuring out when the ex-SLA member was eligible for parole.

Her criminal defense lawyer plans to fight this decision and cites pressure from the Los Angeles police officers' union, rather than a calculation error, as the reason Olson is back behind bars.

California’s Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the police union reject this accusation.

Olson’s real name is Kathleen Soliah. She was paroled on Monday after serving six years of the sentence that she received for pleading guilty to the second-degree murder of Myrna Opsahl while robbing a bank in Carmichael, California in the 1970’s. She also had entered a guilty plea for trying to bomb LAPD cars. She had planted pipe bombs under the car but the devices didn’t go off.

Olson lived as a fugitive for 24 years. She changed her name, got married, and had three children before she was arrested.

A California judge had initially sentenced Olson to five years and four months in prison because of 1975 sentencing laws. The state parole board, however, determined that she was a serious offender and changed her prison sentence to 13 years.

Olson was supposed to serve her parole in Minnesota with her family but was not permitted to board her flight from Los Angeles International Airport. After the error was identified, she was sent back to Chowchilla women’s prison.

According to prison officials, they forgot to add more time for the bank robbery and Carmichael’s murder, which now makes her eligible for parole after seven years instead of six.

SLA's Olson will fight return to state prison, SFGate.com, March 24, 2008

Ex-SLA member rearrested after release, MercuryNews.com, March 23, 2008

Related Web Resources:

The Symbionese Liberation Army, CourtTV.com

Sara Jane Olson on Life in Prison, Talkleft.com

Continue reading "Former SLA Member Sarah Jane Olson To Fight Decision Sending Her Back to Prison" »

Heather Lyn Johnston and Ashley Nicole Miller, the women who were arrested after robbing a Bank of America branch at a Kroger grocery store in Georgia last year, received their sentences today.

Miller, 19, was ordered to serve 2 years of her 10 year prison sentence, while the remainder must be completed as probation. Johnston, 22, was sentenced to 10 years probation.

Johnston and Miller and Benny Herman Allen, 23, had all pleaded guilty to theft by taking. Miller’s boyfriend, Michael Darrell Chastang, was convicted of theft by taking.

The two women, both strippers at the time, and Chastang decided to rob a bank.

The following day, Chastang called the girls with instructions. He told them that he knew a teller at a B of A branch that could act as their “inside man.” The teller was Benny Herman Allen.

Allen told the women what to include on the demand note, which asked for loose bills and included the statements, “Remember, I will not hesitate to kill you. Keep hands where I can see them. Do not pull switch.”

The two women were videotaped committing the bank robbery. They stole 11,000, which was to be divided among the four of them.

The two girls immediately went shopping at Phipps Plaza and Lenox Square mall for clothes and shoes, got their hair done at Carter-Barnes Hair Artisans, and bought a television at a Wal-Mart.

They were arrested two days after the robbery.

Johnson also pled guilty to a misdemeanor marijuana possession charge, while Miller also pled guilty to possession of Ecstasy with intent to distribute.

'Barbie Bandit' is sentenced to 10 years in prison for a bank heist, International Herald Tribune, March 24, 2008

The Fall of the "Barbie Bandits," ABC News, March 24, 2008

The Barbie Bandits saga winds down, AJC.com, March 24, 2008

Related Web Resource:

The General Laws of Massachusetts

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In Massachusetts on Friday, East Boston District Court Judge Paul Mahoney refused to drop the possession of a hoax device charge against Star Simpson, the 19-year-old MIT student who wore a strapped circuit board to her chest and walked into Logan International Airport last year.

Simpson’s trial begins on May 23, and she plans to take the stand. Simpson is expected to say that the week prior to her arrest, she wore the blinking circuit board around campus, which she considered a “piece of art” that she wanted to show off.

On September 21, 2007, she wore the battery-operated light display to the airport and was planning to pick up her boyfriend at Logan’s Terminal C. A number of employees fled the premise because they thought the device was a bomb. State police arrested her at gunpoint.

The Explosive Ordinance Disposal unit examined the device and determined that it was not an explosive.

Other MIT students have said that wearing this kind of device on campus is not uncommon. Called a “breadboard,” it is worn by students that are making something electronic.

Simpson has called herself a student, artist, and engineer.

Her criminal defense team says that the charge violates her freedom of speech and that she never planned on frightening anyone by wearing the blinking circuit.

The General Laws of Massachusetts

Chapter 266: CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY Section 102A1/2. Possession, transportation, use or placement of hoax devices; penalty; law enforcement or public safety officer exemption

Section 102A1/2. (a) Whoever possesses, transports, uses or places or causes another to knowingly or unknowingly possess, transport, use or place any hoax device or hoax substance with the intent to cause anxiety, unrest, fear or personal discomfort to any person or group of persons shall be punished by imprisonment in a house of correction for not more than two and one-half years or by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than five years or by a fine of not more than $5,000, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

Simpson’s criminal defense attorney had sought to have the charge against her dismissed because he said the statute is too vague. Her case has been continued a number of times.

Judge refuses to drop hoax charge against MIT student, Boston.com, March 21, 2008

Simpson asks charge to be dropped, The Daily Free Press, November 6, 2007

Student Says She Was Wearing 'Art,' Not Bomb, TheBostonChannel.com, September 21, 2007

Related Web Resources:

The General Laws of Massachusetts

Breadboard

Continue reading "Massachusetts Judge Refuses to Dismiss Hoax Device Possession Charge Against MIT Student " »

In Massachusetts, David J. Privette, the man accused of using cigarettes to burn the genitals of a 7-year-old boy, has now been charged by Middleborough police with two counts of indecent assault and battery and mayhem. The child, who is the son of Privette's girlfriend, may be permanently injured from the repeated burns.
Privette, 22, also allegedly beat the boy with a belt and urinated on his head.

Privette has denied the allegations. The charges that had initially been filed against him were two counts of assault and battery with a deadly weapon and assault and battery on a child.

DSS officials had been aware of neglect occurring to the boy as early as 2002 and had been to the boy’s home four times since the boy’s school filed a physical abuse report on December 19.

They did not inform police until this week—after a nurse at the boy’s school found burn marks on his pelvis, genitals, and buttocks.

Privette began dating the boy's mother, Michelle Henry, several months ago.

A nurse at the boy’s school had called the DSS in December and case workers spoke to the boy’s family. The school called the DSS on March after the boy told a teacher that he didn’t want to go home because Privette had burned his private parts with a cigarette.

The DSS finally contacted the Plymouth district attorney’s office after the nurse at the boy’s school filed a third report that the boy was being abused.

Privette says he was not at the boy’s home when the abuse took place.

Police file new charges in Middleborough child abuse case, Boston.com, March 20, 2008

New charges against man accused of burning boy with cigarettes, BostonHerald.com, March 20, 2008

Related Web Resource:

Massachusetts General Laws

Continue reading "Middleborough, Massachusetts Police File Indecent Assault, Battery, and Mayhem Charges Against Man in Child Abuse Burn Injury Case" »

Charles F. Bogues, a Dorchester man, who pled guilty to the 1993 murder of a 15-year-old teenager, is asking a Massachusetts appeals court to set aside his conviction. Bogues’s father, Boston police Officer Charles T. Bogues, says his son would like another chance to go to trial.

Bogues, 38, says he only pled guilty because prosecutors and his criminal defense attorney had convinced him that the stray bullet that struck the boy came from Bogues's gun. Bogues has so far served 11 years in prison for the murder of Louis D. Brown during a Dorchester shoot-out. Brown had been going to a Teens Against Gang Violence Christmas party when he was killed by a bullet in the head.

Brown pled guilty to second-degree murder. He is eligible for parole in 15 years. As part of his plea agreement, prosecutors dropped an indictment for cocaine trafficking and weapons possession that came with a minimum mandatory 15 years in prison.

After pleading guilty, Bogues found out that witnesses had identified another person as the shooter. Ballistic evidence also revealed that someone else had been firing a .45-caliber gun at the time of the shooting.

Bogues’s current criminal defense team says that his old lawyer never examined this evidence before convincing the Dorchester man to make the plea agreement. Bogues has already lost one appeal. The three-judge appeals court panel is not sure about whether it can examine Bogues’s appeal because he had waived his right to look at all of the evidence when he agreed to a plea agreement instead of going to trial.

Suffolk Assistant District Attorney Paul B. Linn says that Bogues is guilty and that only he could have fired the deadly shot. Linn says that Bogues’s involvement in the shootout makes him responsible for Brown’s slaying even if there is was a question about who fired the gun with the fatal bullet.

Bogues says that he fired his gun because he and his friends had been shot at on Tonawanda Street by an unknown shooter. He says that he doesn’t think that his return fire could have killed Brown because the teenager was on Geneva Avenue. Prosecutors say that the bullet ricocheted.

Tina Chery, Brown’s mother, says she is now not sure if Bogues is guilty and wonders why others involved in the shooting weren’t arrested.

Man says he was tricked into plea, Boston Globe, March 19, 2008

Inmate wants guilty plea tossed in '93 homicide, Boston.com, October 29, 2007

Related Web Resources:

Teens Against Gang Violence

Plea Agreements, Justia

Continue reading "Massachusetts Man Says He Was Duped into Pleading Guilty to Murder" »

In Massachusetts, a former US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit records clerk was arrested for allegedly selling OxyContin.

Christopher Cook allegedly sold 200 OxyContin pills to someone working undercover with the FBI. Cook, 28, was to be given $7,600 for the pills.

The undercover witness agreed to work with FBI agents, who tape-recorded the sale, after being charged with drug trafficking outside the state. He had informed agents that he and Cook had been selling drugs for over a year.

Cook reportedly tried to flee before he was arrested at an undisclosed location. He faces one federal charge of selling OxyContin. The Pembroke native reportedly has a history of arrests for violence.

Prosecutors suggested that he be detained until a detention hearing that is scheduled fornext week because he is believed to be a flight risk.

Cook faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted for federal drug trafficking.

OxyContin is a prescription painkiller. Street names for OxyContin include Kicker, OC, Oxy, OX, Blue, Oxycotton, Hillybilly Heroin.

The WhiteHouseDrugPolicy.gov Web site says that prescription drugs are often illegally obtained via:

• Doctor shopping or other prescription fraud.
• Illegal online pharmacies.
• Theft and burglary.
• Receiving/purchasing from friends or family.
• Overprescribing.

If you have been arrested for a drug crime in the Boston area or anywhere else in Massachusetts, it is important that you hire a Boston, Massachusetts drug crimes law firm that is familiar with the different avenues of defense that are available to you. We have defended clients prosecuted at the state and federal levels.

Former court worker held in OxyContin sale, Boston.com, March 14, 2008

Prescription Drugs, Office of National Drug Control Policy

Related Web Resource:

OxyContine, DEA

Federal Trafficking Penalties, DEA

Continue reading "Ex-Federal Appeals Court Employee in South Boston, Massachusetts Arrested on OxyContin Sales Charge" »

A Hull, Massachusetts man was arrested on five counts of larceny and securities fraud.

According to the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office, Jeffrey Gruber, 44, misrepresented himself as a stockbroker and certified financial planner from October 2005 until March 2006. He gave a “client” advice about stocks, bonds, a real estate loan, and placed money into accounts under the name Gruber Financial Services Inc. The victim gave $187,000 to Gruber and asked him to invest the funds.

A complaint filed by the Secretary of State’s Security Division says that Gruber used the funds himself and did not invest them. He also allegedly failed to comply and honor the victim’s demand that he account for her investments and give her the money back.

In Brockton Superior Court on Wednesday, Gruber pled not guilty to the charges. Bail was set at $500,000.

In Massachusetts, the penalty for larceny over $250 is five years maximum in prison.

Our Boston, Massachusetts white collar crimes attorneys have represented many clients throughout Massachusetts in criminal cases.

White collar crimes can include:

• Mail fraud
• Wire fraud
• Investment adviser fraud
• Medicare/Medicaid fraud
• Real estate fraud
• Tax fraud
• Embezzlement
• Pension fraud
• Insider trading
• Tax fraud
• Computer crimes
• Identity theft
• Bankruptcy fraud

White collar crime fraud cases require the legal experience of a law firm that is experienced in handling such matters.

Former financial advisor arrested on charges of securities fraud and larceny, Boston.bizjournal.com, March 13, 2008

Related Web Resources:

White Collar Crimes, Justia

Massachusetts Securities Division

Continue reading "Massachusetts Financial Advisor Arrested for Larceny and Securities Fraud" »

New York Governor Eliot Spitzer says he is resigning from his position following allegations that he was involved with an international prostitution ring. Spitzer had once served as a prosecutor and New York Attorney General and had built his reputation on prosecuting high profile white collar criminal cases against Wall Street securities companies. He also went after prostitution rings. In 2006, 69% of New York voters elected Spitzer as their governor.

On March 10, the New York Times web site published an article saying that during a federal wiretap, Spitzer is heard making arrangements to meet a prostitute in Washington D.C. Referred to as “Client 9,” in the federal affidavit, Spitzer allegedly paid $4,300 for this sexual encounter with a hooker named “Kristen.”

Sources say that Spitzer may have spent tens of thousands of dollars to cover the costs of sexual meetings with prostitutes. He allegedly requested prostitutes from the international prostitution and money laundering ring, called the Emperors Club, at least eight times.

Federal prosecutors are not saying whether they plan to file criminal charges against Spitzer. His attorneys reportedly are trying to negotiate a plea agreement to avoid prosecution. Four people, linked to the “Emperors Club,” have already been arrested.

At a press conference today, Spitzer expressed remorse for his “private failings.” He said he was stepping down from politics for the “common good.”

Prostitution is illegal.

Under the General Laws of Massachusetts, Chapter 272: Section 53A:

Section 53A. (a) Whoever engages, agrees to engage, or offers to engage in sexual conduct with another person in return for a fee, or whoever pays, agrees to pay, or offers to pay another person to engage in sexual conduct, or to agree to engage in sexual conduct with another natural person, shall be punished by imprisonment in the house of correction for not more than 1 year or by a fine of not more than $500 or by both such imprisonment and fine, whether such sexual conduct occurs or not.

Spitzer Quits as New York Governor; Paterson Elevated, Bloomberg.com, March 12, 2008

Deeply sorry,' Spitzer to step down by Monday, CNN.com, March 12, 2008

Massachusetts Law About Sex, Massachusetts Trial Court Law Libraries

Related Web Resources:

Read the Complaint (PDF)

Statement from Governor Eliot Spitzer , March 10, 2008

New York Governor, New York State

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In Boston, Massachusetts, the civil rights trial of Shawn Drumgold, the man wrongfully convicted of killing a 12-year-old girl, is under way. Drumgold, now 42, served 15 years in prison for the 1988 murder of Darlene Tiffany Moore who got caught in the middle of a gang fight in a Roxbury neighborhood.

Drumgold was released from prison in 2003 after prosecutors took another look at the case and realized that he did not get a fair trial. Witnesses had told the Boston Globe that they were bullied into testifying against Drumgold. One witness in his murder trial had even been suffering from a rare form of brain cancer that can impair his memory and perception. This fact was never revealed to the defense.

Drumgold filed a lawsuit against the city of Boston, Massachusetts in 2004. He also named two police detectives Detective Walsh and Detective Callahan, both now retired, that had investigated his murder case.

On Wednesday, Ricky Evans testified that he lied when he was a witness during Drumgold’s murder trial. He says Detective Callahan showed him several photos of suspects and refused to accept his response when he picked another man’s photo.

Evans said he didn’t have a permanent residence during the time of the shooting. Boston police paid for his food and lodging at a local Howard Johnson for eight months. He says that Detective Callahan told him several outstanding warrants against him would be ‘wiped out.”

Evans admits that he never saw Drumgold during the night of the shooting and that the testimony he provided was based on information that Callahan and another detective had given him. He says recanted his testimony because he felt guilty about lying.

Drumgold claims that Callahan and Walsh withheld key evidence that could have cleared his name and also manipulated key witnesses.

Witness in Drumgold case says he made up testimony, Boston.com, March 5, 2008

Jury hears opening statements in Drumgold case, Boston Herald, March 5, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Drumgold sues over wrongful conviction, Boston.com, June 4, 2004

Drumgold Says He Has No Anger, TruthInJustice.org, November 10, 2003

Continue reading "Civil Rights Trial of Man Wrongfully Convicted of Murder Gets Under Way in Boston, Massachusetts" »

The Boston criminal defense team of a Massachusetts high school student accused of stabbing a classmate to death in a bathroom at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High in Sudbury wants the charges against the boy dropped because he has Asperger syndrome (AS).

The defense says that a grand jury were improperly ordered to ignore the fact that John Odgren, 17, has Asperger syndrome, which makes him a special needs case. Odgren’s defense team is arguing that the disorder is responsible for his sometimes violent and bizarre actions. Odgren has been charged with first-degree murder.

Odgren is accused of killing James Alenson, 15, in January 2007. He allegedly approached the boy, slashed his throat with a 13-inch carving knife before stabbing his lung, stomach, liver, and heart.

Odgren’s defense team believes that he would have been charged with second-degree murder or a lesser crime if the grand jury had been given more information about the teenager's condition.

Last March, Odgren was found competent to stand trial. He is in jail in the Cambridge courthouse.

Asperger Syndrome
Considered an autism spectrum disorder, Asperger Syndrome can involve odd speech patterns, obsessiveness, poor social interactions, and peculiar mannerisms. Symptoms can include motor delays, limited interest, and peculiar preoccupations.

Odgren’s criminal defense team says that the boy’s disorder affects his premeditation and intent and that obsessing with weapons and other morbid items is associated with AS.

Suspect in fatal L-S school stabbing seeks lesser charges, Boston Herald, March 6, 2008

Related Web Resources:

State report describes teen's early aggression, Boston.com, January 23, 2007

Asperger Syndrome, KidsHealth.org

Asperger Syndrome Fact Sheet, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Continue reading "Massachusetts High School Stabbing Suspect With Asperger Syndrome Is Asking That Murder Charge Be Reduced" »

Woburn, Massachusetts resident Nicholas Chiaraluce has been cleared of the aggravated rape charge in an incident involving an unconscious woman in the bathroom of the Felt nightclub. In Boston Municipal Court today, the charges against him were formally withdrawn.

Boston police arrested Chiaraluce after the January 19 incident. Following the arrest, he pled not guilty to the rape charge and was released on bail. He says he was trying to help the woman and had even asked a friend to come to the club to assist them.

Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley's office says that the Commonwealth has determined that it does not have evidence to prove that Chiaraluce committed the offense beyond a reasonable doubt.

Chiaraluce applauded his exoneration. He says that he and the woman had consensual sex. He also criticized police for arresting him without speaking to the woman.

Boston police maintain, however, that credible witnesses had said that the Woburn man was seen performing a sex act on a woman who was unconscious—which indicated that she might have not able to give her consent.

Tests showed the woman had alcohol in her system. Her friends have also said that Chiaraluce did not sexually assault her.

Chiaraluce reportedly lost a job opportunity because of the arrest.

Woburn man cleared of rape criticizes Boston police, Boston Globe, March 5, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Man is charged with raping unconscious woman at club, Boston Globe, January 24, 2008

Read Our Law Firm's Blog About the Arrest and Charges, BostonInjuryLawyerblog.com

Continue reading "Suffolk Prosecutors Drop Aggravated Rape Charge Against Woburn, Massachusetts Man " »