Allan Lengel

Sometimes public corruption — particularly in Louisiana  — has a way of making you snicker — at least for a moment.

The sentencing in U.S. District Court in New Orleans of ex-State Sen. Derrick Shepherd on Thursday to 37 months in prison for money laundering made me think of the rich irony of his downfall and his ties to disgraced ex-Congressman William Jefferson.

Back in October 2006, as a reporter for the Washington Post, I attended a candidate debate at the Omni Royal Orleans Hotel in the French Quarter in New Orleans  for the 2nd Congressional District where Rep. William Jefferson was making a bid for a 9th term.

At the time, Jefferson was under FBI investigation, but had yet to be indicted.

During the debate, which was attended by citizens and local and national media, the challengers kept taking shots at Jefferson, making references to his FBI investigation, implying his problems made it impossible for him to effectively represent the electorate in the fragile post-Katrina era.

Ex-Sen. Shepherd/senate photo

One of those challengers happened to be Sen. Shepherd.

At one point, Jefferson could take  no more. He started attacking the integrity of the challengers and when he got to Shepherd, he strongly hinted of an ethical breach, saying:  “I will not say what we have to talk about there. But if pushed I will.”

Jefferson went on to beat Shepherd in the primary and eventually won re-election. (Jefferson lost a bid for a 10th term.)

And two years later, in 2008,  Shepherd pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering after helping previously convicted bond broker Gwendolyn Moyo launder $141,000 from the sale of bogus bonds, according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune.  Shepherd kept nearly half the money.

Interestingly, the indictment said Jefferson had steered Shepherd to Moyo after he lost in the 2006 primary to Jefferson. (Jefferson was not charged in that case).

And just as interesting, after Shepherd lost in the 2006 primary, he decided to endorse Jefferson in the main election, the guy he had previously declared was crooked and couldn’t be effective as a Congressman while under FBI investigation.

Interesting how all that works.

As we know, Jefferson was eventually indicted and convicted last Fall of  multiple public corruption counts stemming from many crooked business dealings over the years. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison. He is free pending his appeal.

Hopefully, Jefferson and Shepherd will get the opportunity to spend some quality time together behind bars.

I’m sure they’ll  be able to appreciate the rich irony of it all.

By Allan Lengel

WASHINGTON — After all the unnecessary political grandstanding, the administration is doing what it probably would have done anyways in the wake of the Christmas Day bombing incident.

The Washington Post’s Walter Pincus, one of Washington’s premier reporters, writes that the Justice Department and FBI will “consult with the intelligence community on information about terrorism suspects arrested in the United States before deciding whether to read them their Miranda rights under a plan now under review in the White House, according to senior administration officials.”

“We are analyzing lessons learned [in the Detroit Christmas Day case] with the goal of ensuring full information from across the government is available to law enforcement personnel on the ground as they conduct interrogations and make decisions on how to handle terrorist suspects,” a senior official said Friday, according to the Post.

To read more click here.

In recent years, the spotlight has turned to the violent Mexican drug cartels shipping drugs into the U.S.

But on Friday, U.S. Attorney John M. Bales in Dallas announced the indictment of 25 suspected members of a Colombian drug cartel that moved massive amounts of cocaine into the U.S. through Mexico and Central America.

Authorities said the probe, to date, had resulted in the seizure of 7.5 tons of cocaine and $4.25 million in assets.

All 25 defendants are Colombian, and 21 are currently being detained in that country.

“In this operation, the agents, both American and Colombian, are literally reaching across hemispheres to strike a blow against a criminal organization that is a vital lifeline to several Mexican drug cartels,” the U.S. Attorney said.

By Allan Lengel

The ex-head of the Miami DEA office Tom Raffanello got an early Valentines Day gift from an unlikely person: a federal judge.

In a surprise move, U.S. District Judge Richard Goldberg on Friday, in the midst of jury deliberations,  ordered the acquittal of Raffanello, who was accused of obstructing an SEC investigation by shredding documents to protect his employer, Allen Stanford, an accused swindler, the Miami Herald reported.

The judge concluded that the prosecution had failed to prove its case.

Raffanelo had been Stanford’s chief of security. The judge also ordered the acquittal of a second defendant Bruce Perraud, who worked with Raffanello, the Herald reported.

“I’ve been a federal agent for 30 years and I believe in this country and I believe in the truth,” Raffanello told the Herald. “On the 22nd of February, I’m taking my infant daughter to Disney World.”

To read more click here.

Jay Dobyns/his website

WASHINGTON – From one vantage point, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent Jay Dobyns still worries about the Hells Angels coming after him. From another, it’s his employer he’s more concerned about.

Dobyns infiltrated the Hells Angels from 2001 to 2003 in Arizona and wrote a New York Times best-seller about it last year. But now he’s locked in major legal fisticuffs with the ATF.

A $4 million lawsuit filed by the 23-year ATF veteran says the agency failed to abide by a 2007 written contract to protect him and his wife and two children against death threats from the Hells Angels. The suit, unfolding now in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, also says the agency failed to stop subjecting him to a hostile work environment for complaining about his safety.

In August 2008, Dobyns’ Tucson, Ariz., home burned to the ground in an apparent arson. Two months later, he filed the breach of contract lawsuit

For Full Story

By Allan Lengel

WASHINGTON — You might not be wrong if you thought the administration is totally confused as to where to prosecute suspected mastermind of 9/11 Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four of his co-defendants.

The Washington Post now reports that President Obama has decided “to insert himself into the debate” after he had asked Atty. General Eric Holder Jr. to pick the site.

The whole thing has turned into a political nightmare.

Previous reports indicated that the administration did a poor job of greasing the skids and building support in New York before announcing it planned to hold the trial there.

The political backlash has made the administration not only rethink the N.Y. location, but also whether to prosecute in civilian or military court,  the suspected terrorist Mohammed, who is often associated with a  photo in which he is having a very very bad hair day.

Holder told the Post he had not ruled out a trial in military court, though he said that is not what he would prefer.

“At the end of the day, wherever this case is tried, in whatever forum, what we have to ensure is that it’s done as transparently as possible and with adherence to all the rules,” Holder said, according to the Post. “If we do that, I’m not sure the location or even the forum is as important as what the world sees in that proceeding.”

To read more click here.