Friends of Ours

Case-Fixing Judge Gets Six Years

Former judge Abel Limas has been sentenced to six years in a federal prison for running his South Texas courtroom like a racketeering enterprise pursuant to which he fixed cases as reported by Aaron Nelson for the San Antonio Express-News:  "in 2011, Limas pleaded guilty to racketeering as part of an investigation that uncovered how the ex-judge received $257,300 in bribes in return for court favors."

Dirty Lawyer Jumps To Ignoble End

The day on which Ray Marchan was to begin serving a 3 1/2-year prison sentence for giving bribes to District Judge Abel C. Limas in exchange for favorable rulings the dirtbag lawyer jumped to his death from the Queen Isabella Bridge into the Laguna Madre in Brownsville, TX as reported by Daisy Barrera for KGBT.

Limas pleaded guilty in March 2011, and according to the plea agreement the crooked judge ran his courtroom like a racketeering enterprise pursuant to which he fixed cases as previously reported by The Brownsville Herald:  "The criminal activities that the former 404th state District Court judge has pleaded guilty to involve ties with certain attorneys and litigants where he would render favorable rulings in exchange for money."

Yesterday a federal jury convicted Austin attorney Marc G. Rosenthal on thirteen charges for his role in the Limas case-fixing racket as reported by Emma Perez-Treviño for the Valley Morning Star.

Feds Accuse Nine Philly Judges Of Case Fixing

It's not just the NYPD allegedly engaged in widespread ticket-fixing.

The feds have indicted "nine current and former Philadelphia Traffic Court judges" for their alleged roles in "rampant ticket-fixing and pervasive corruption on the bench" as reported by the Inquirer:  "the charges, outlined in a 77-count indictment, described 'a well-understood conspiracy of silence' that created two distinct courts: one where typical citizens paid for their infractions, and a second where offenders with the right connections won acquittals or saw their fines or cases disappear."

Kim Rothstein Charged Over Pretty Baubles

Apparently she's a bit like Gollum from The Lord of the Rings, and she must have the precious.

Kim Rothstein, the wife of convicted Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein, has been charged by federal prosecutors in Fort Lauderdale, FL with "conspiring to hide more than $1 million in jewelry from federal authorities," and "among the items was a 12.08-carat fancy intense yellow diamond ring" as reported by Jon Burstein for the Sun Sentinel. 

Scott Rothstein ran a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme involving his law firm as a front to sell phony legal settlements to investors, and he alleged pervasive public corruption and organized crime in South Florida during deposition testimony last December "arising from the bankruptcy of Rothstein's shuttered law firm, Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler, and various lawsuits filed by investors" as then reported by Jon Burstein for the Sun Sentinel:

"We were involved in public corruption with politicians," said Rothstein in transcripts of his Dec. 14 testimony released early Friday evening. "We were involved in public corruption with law enforcement. We were involved in activities with mob-related individuals. We were involved in activities involving the physical threats of other individuals. We were involved in the public corruption side of purchasing of political positions. We were involved in the manipulation of the judiciary."

Rothstein was sentenced to fifty years in prison but likely will get a reduction based on his cooperation with the FBI in a sting which resulted in the bust of Miami Beach, FL wine merchant Roberto Settineri whom U.S. and Italian authorities suspect is an intermediary between the Gambino crime family and the Santa Maria de Gesu clan from Cosa Nostra or the Sicilian Mafia. Settineri was sentenced in November 2010 to four years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The feds should declare South Florida a racketeering enterprise and put the region under receivership if Scott Rothstein is to be believed.

Poll:  Which area of the U.S. is most corrupt?

NYPD Cop Charged With Conspiracy To Murder Witness In Ticket Fixing Scandal

An NYPD cop who allegedly was fixing tickets in exchange for stolen electronics has been charged with conspiring to hire a hitman to rub out the witness who ratted on him as reported by the New York Post: 

José Ramos, a 17-year NYPD veteran, arranged the assassination from his Rikers jail cell with the help of his wife, Wanda Abreu, prosecutors said. * * * "They need him. Without him, they have no case," Ramos allegedly said of [the witness] in one of several taped calls with his wife.

The dirt spilled by the witness sparked an investigation into ticket fixing at the NYPD which resulted in the indictment of sixteen cops last October.

View more videos at: http://nbcnewyork.com.

Further reading that may be of interest:

Ticket-Fixing Is Old-Fashioned Corruption

NYPD Corruption:  Same As It Ever Was?

Charge: Camorra Mobsters Corrupted Tax Man

Sixteen tax court judges are among the sixty suspects arrested in a raid targeting the Fabbrocino clan from the Camorra or Neapolitan Mafia, and assets worth about 1 billion euros or $1.31 billion have been seized as reported by ANSA:  "prosecutors believe corruption led to dozens of tax disputes being settled against the State and frequently in favour of people linked to the Camorra."