CORRUPTION ACROSS AMERICA PART 4
THE CITY ATTORNEY EDITION!
355. As we go through life, most of us will need a lawyer for various things. But if you have a dispute with the City of Superior, chances are you will definitely need one. That’s because we have a system in this city that has no board of ethics committee and an attorney’s office who’s main purpose is to protect themselves when it comes to taxpayers disputes. And we, the taxpayers are paying for this system. How come this has not changed? Probably because of lousy local government. They don’t care about our rights. They only care about protecting their own sorry asses. The system forces you to hire a lawyer at 300.00+ per hour, which many people cannot afford. In the meantime public officials who break the law get free legal services from the city attorney who we are paying for and the average person goes unheard. Pretty disgusting don’t you think? The system is morally bankrupt and the only way it will get fixed is by voting in better quality politicians. Another way is to get rid of the ones that step over the line and city council has that power. So the question is why don’t they use it? Today we will look at some of these cases on this special edition of “CORRUPTION ACROSS AMERICA PART 4. THE CITY ATTORNEY EDITION!”
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STORY # 17
Jackson City Council seeks to eliminate city attorney’s Office
The Jackson City Council could eliminate their city attorney’s office as threats of lawsuits and tensions between council members and Catoria Martin rise.
The council went into executive session Tuesday to discuss an item Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes felt needed to be addressed.
“There are some great lawyers coming in here, some great lawyers filing the suits, we got to have our A-game. I’m not saying our lawyers are not great, I’m just saying they are not as good as what the other side is beginning to produce,” Stokes said.
Councilman Stokes says amid potential sewer and water lawsuits, City Attorney Catoria Martin and her team won’t be able to handle the numerous cases civil rights attorney Ben Crump will bring to the city.
Crump currently represents three families of individuals buried in Pauper graves in Hinds County.
“Anytime a lawsuit is filed, that could be the difference between the city being broke or filing for bankruptcy,” Stokes explained.
Other council members have other reasons they feel the outside council is needed.
Ward 5 Councilman Vernon Hartley stated his concerns in part.
“The legislative branch doesn’t get any consideration, gets talked down to, gets all these negative things, and gets abused by a city attorney.”
“She’s acted as quarterback and referee regarding the garbage contract that they were trying to get done for Richards that’s way outside her lane where she should be. The attorneys are supposed to provide counsel to both the administration and the city council,” Ward 1 Councilman Ashby Foote said.
Catoria Martin released a statement claiming that the council does not have the authority to get rid of her office, and several AG opinions prove that.
But, council members claim they don’t plan to completely remove her.
“We’re not trying to just fire her. What we’re trying to do is get legal counsel, that we feel will be representing our interest so we can be you know, stay out of the court system,” Foote explained.
STORY # 18
Judge denies ex-city prosecutor’s last ditch effort to have public corruption case thrown out
A bribery trial is set to begin in February for Keith Kaneshiro, Honolulu’s longest-serving city prosecutor, and his campaign donors from an engineering firm.
And a recent court ruling shows just how contentious this case has been from the start.
U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright denied a motion to dismiss the case based on prosecutorial misconduct. The defendants — Dennis Mitsunaga, Terri Ann Otani, Aaron Fujii and Chad McDonald — are all executives at the engineering firm Mitsunaga and Associates.
The attorney who represented them, Sheri Jean Tanaka, was named as a co-conspirator in a superceding indictment.
The firm is accused of cashing in on political favors for campaign donations to Kaneshiro, who allegedly prosecuted a former Mitsunaga and Associates employee who sued the firm.
Seabright’s ruling, filed earlier this month, offers a rare peek into the usually secret proceedings of the grand jury.
It shows the employees — while grand jury witnesses — refused to answer the special prosecutor’s questions, citing self-incrimination.
“You cannot just simply take the stand and say, I’m invoking my Fifth Amendment to all questions asked, that’s not permitted,” said Alexander Silvert, a retired federal public defender.
“If they asked you your name, you can’t invoke your Fifth,” Silvert said.
Rather, the defense could be used for questions that include what someone saw or did.
The ruling shows several of them had to be compelled by another judge to answer some of the questions, including defendant Terri Otani, the executive director of Mitsunaga and Associates.
Steven Wong, another employee and Joann Fujii, wife of an executive, and others all tried to invoke the Fifth Amendment to every question and ended up being forced to testify.
Arnold Koya, a vice president at the firm, even ended up spending the night at the Federal Detention Center for ignoring a judge’s order to do so.
The ruling said Tanaka created her own problems by representing the multiple employees who were uncooperative.
Former city deputy prosecutor turned defense attorney Victor Bakke said that was a clear conflict from a legal standpoint.
The grand jury heard from 80 witnesses over 14 months before indicting Kaneshiro and the political donors in June 2022.
The judge did approve one part of the motion by defendant Otani, who asked that some information she provided to the grand jury might been protected when she did invoke the Fifth Amendment properly.
The trial is scheduled to begin on Feb. 27 with jury selection. Hundreds of prospective jurors have filled out questionnaires.
STORY # 19
Former Baltimore prosecutor Marilyn Mosby faces possible disbarment amid ongoing legal battles
The Maryland Bar Counsel has filed a petition to suspend former Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby's law license, following alleged misuse of her finances during the COVID-19 pandemic. A new petition, filed Tuesday, asked the Maryland Supreme Court to immediately suspend Mosby because she was found guilty of a "serious crime" as defined under state ethics rules for lawyers.
The petition requests Mosby to "be suspended immediately from the practice of law pending the imposition of sentence and entry of a judgment of conviction." Mosby, who gained a national profile for prosecuting Baltimore police officers after Freddie Gray, a Black man, died in police custody, faced perjury charges after she lied about her finances during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mosby was found guilty in 2022 and charged with two counts of perjury and two counts of making false statements on a loan application. The former top prosecutor allegedly withdrew $90,000 from Baltimore city's deferred compensation plan in 2020.
Modby then used the $90,000 as down payments to buy a home in Kissimmee, Florida, and a condominium in Long Boat Key, Florida. Mosby also falsely claimed that she had suffered financial hardships from the pandemic, despite receiving her full salary of $250,000.
Prosecutors said that the money in the retirement account was held in a trust and belongs to the city until a planned participant is eligible to make a withdrawal.They argued that Mosby wasn't entitled under federal law to access the funds in 2020 because her business, Mahogany Elite Enterprises, did not suffer any "adverse financial consequences" from the pandemic.
Delaney said Mosby's business had no clients or revenue. Jury selection for that trial will begin on January 18, 2024. A judge ruled that Mosby would not be sentenced until the completion of her second federal trial. Mosby's lawyer in her criminal case, Federal Public Defender James Wyda, did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
STORY # 20
Newly Elected Miami Commissioners Must Begin by Removing City Attorney
The Need for Action Among Newly Elected Officials
In a remarkable shift in Miami’s political scene, voters have decisively removed two standing officials from their posts. Notably, activist and financial consultant Damian Pardo triumphed over Commissioner Sabina Covo, while Miguel Gabela emerged victorious against Alex Diaz de la Portilla. Notably, Diaz de la Portilla’s recent removal from office by Governor Ron Desantis, following allegations including money laundering and bribery, was a significant development.
Pardo and Gabela’s success can be attributed to a strong public outcry against corruption. They were elected amidst public frustration over persistent issues such as flooding, inadequate public transport, unaffordable housing, and widespread corruption leading to continuous, high-profile scandals.
Despite these electoral shifts, the city’s troubles are far from resolved. Commissioner Joe Carollo recently lost a significant lawsuit to the proprietors of a Little Havana establishment, Ball & Chain, for misusing city resources against them due to their political affiliations. Carollo faces a substantial financial penalty for his actions.
City Attorney Victoria Mendez is embroiled in a corruption scandal involving a Miami-Dade County scheme meant for selling properties of legally “incapacitated” individuals. This program has been allegedly exploited for financial gain by her spouse.
Further, the redrawing of commission district maps, initially rejected due to evident racial gerrymandering, is now subject to a forthcoming trial, despite being used in the latest elections.
Moreover, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez is under FBI scrutiny for accepting significant payments from a developer who benefited from Suarez’s intervention in easing city zoning regulations for a luxury project.
Mendez’s involvement in these scandals is alarming. During Carollo’s trial, a former commissioner revealed Mendez’s role in directing unjustified code enforcement to conceal targeted harassment within Carollo’s district. This misuse of city resources for political vendettas is a severe concern.
An investigation by WLRN uncovered that Express Homes, owned by Mendez’s husband, leveraged connections at Miami City Hall to resolve code violations. These properties, acquired under the city’s program for aiding incapacitated homeowners, were later sold for substantial profits.
The evidence suggests that Mendez is deeply entangled in the corruption plaguing Miami’s government. Her ability to execute her duties as city attorney with integrity and transparency is seriously questionable. To honor their campaign pledges, newly elected commissioners Pardo and Gabela should prioritize her resignation and consider her removal if necessary. The electorate has entrusted them with the responsibility to cleanse Miami’s governance. The time for action is now.
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COMMENTS
I think that Frog Prell, Our City Attorney and City Council should take a hard look at this last story from Miami.
358. That’s it for this one. See you real soon!
Thanks again for reading,
Brian
