By Danny Fenster ticklethewire.com Chatty ex-Ill. Gov. Rod Blagojevich may have gotten an added stretch of freedom when a federal judge in Chicago decided this week to delay his Oct. 6 sentencing date. But legal observers are convinced the reprieve is only temporary and that he’ll get some serious prison time. Predictions range from 8…
By Danny Fenster ticklethewire.com A decade later and it appears that al-Qaeda members are still trying to turn airplanes into deadly weapons. “Al-Qaida has been obsessed with airplanes, they continue to be obsessed with airplanes,” said Robert Grant, head of the Chicago FBI., according to the Chicago Sun-Times. “They want to use airplanes to kill…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com The man known as the “dirty bomber”, Jose Padilla, got too soft of a sentence, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday. The Associated Press reports that the appeals court vacated the 17-year sentence and ordered a new sentencing. Padilla, a Muslim convert, was convicted in 2007 along with two…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Fed prosecutors in Chicago are denying claims that a major Mexican cartel member had struck a deal with the DEA granting him immunity and others prosecution from immunity in exchange for information, Reuters news service reported. Jesus Vicente Zambada-Niebla, the son of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, the right-hand man of Sinaloa…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Mexico may not be thrilled about the latest allegations coming out of the U.S. The news service All Headline News (AHN) reports that court filings in an upcoming Chicago case against accused Mexican drug lord Jesus Vicente Zambada Niebla claim the Justice Department agreed to protect Niebla from prosecution in exchange…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com The FBI has named two new special agents in charge: David J. Johnson for Utah and Gregory A. Fowler for Portland, Ore. Since 2009, Johnson, who has a law degree from the University of Pittsburgh, has been the chief of the Violent Crimes Section in the Criminal Investigative Division at headquarters….
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Oct. 6 won’t be a pretty day. That’s the day U.S. District Judge James Zagel of Chicago has set for sentencing for the ever-chatty ex-Ill. Gov. Rod Blagojevich, according to court records. In his retrial, Blago was convicted of 17 or 20 counts. He alos faces sentencing for the one count…
