Articles Posted in The Documents Corner

A Report of the New York State Inspector General, Joseph Fisch, released on May 13, 2009 concluded that Herbert Titelbaum Executive Director of the New York State Council on Public Integrity and a close friend exchanged at least 165 phone calls and held regular dinners over a five month period in 2007, during which Mr. Titelbaum disclosed the progress and details of the inquiry conducted by the panel, the Commission on Public Integrity, into the handling by former governor Spitzer’s administration of the travel records of longtime Senate majority leader Joseph L. Bruno. Since the Report was released there have been calls for the resignation of Mr. Titelbaum

Below are links to two news articles which discuss the Report and its implications, followed by links to the Executive Summary and Findings of the Report, ending with a link to the complete Report itself:

New York Times Article May 13, 2009 “Paterson Asks Ethics Panel to Quit by Danny Hakim.

Pursuant to Section 42, paragraph 4, of the Judiciary Law of the State of New York the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct respectfully submits the Annual Report 2009 of its activities covering the period from January 1 through December 31, 2008.

The New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct is the state agency responsible for investigating complaints of misconduct against judges of the state unified court system and, where appropriate, determining to admonish, censure or remove from office those judges found to have engaged in unethical behavior. All determinations are subject to review in the Court of Appeals, New York State’s highest court.

New York State. Commissdion on Judicial Conduct, Annual Report 2009

As you undoubtedly have heard, a new strain of influenza called Swine Flu or Swine Influenza apparently started about a month ago in Mexico. It has now spread, first to at least a few states in the United States and now may be spreading world wide.

Art Bernardino who provides consulting services in pandamic planning suggests seven things people can do to lessen infection and protect themselves and others:

1. Wash hands frequently using soap and water or waterless hand sanitizers

Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, a Republican since 1966, said on Tuesday April 28 that he will switch to the Decmocratic Party and will run as a Democrat in 2010, thus presenting Democrats with a possible 60th vote and the power to break Senate filibusters.

Here is a link to Senator Specter’s statement made earlier today 4-28-09

In response to litigation brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Obama administration authorized the Justice Department to release four secret legal memoranda used by the Bush administration to justify torture. The memoranda were releasd on April 16, 2009. President Obama also issued a statement, emphasizing that “this is a time of reflection, not retribution”.

Ali Soufan, a former FBI agent who was involved in the interrogations being discussed and who questioned Abu Zubaydah in 2002 has written an important Op Ed article, “My Tortured Decision”, which is published in the April 23, 2009 New York Times. In his article Mr. Soufan says trhat Abu Zubaydah provided important intelligence under traditional methods. He writes: “…I questioned him [Zubaydah] from March to June 2002, before the harsh techniques were introduced late in August. Under traditional interrogation methods, he provided us with important actionable intelligence”. Mr. Soufan also writes that he believes that it was the “right decision” to release the memos because “we need the truth to come out” and that releaseing these memos “enables us to begin the tricky business of finally bringing these terrorists to justice”.

Since the events being discussed transpired during the administration of George W. Bush, we thought it might be interesting and instructive to also provide a link to: Reigning in the Imperial Presidency, Lessons and Recommendations Relating to the Presidency of George W. Bush.; a report prepared by the majority staff of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee.

Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau announced today a 118-count indictment of a Chinese citizen and his company for charges relating to the misuse of Manhattan banks and the proliferation of illicit missile and nuclear technology to the Government of Iran. The Chinese company, known as LIMMT,

is a major supplier of banned weapons material to the Iranian military.

The defendants, LI FANG WEI (a/k/a KARL LEE, a/k/a PATRIC, a/k/a SUNNY BAI, a/k/a K. LEE a/k/a KL, a/k/a DAVID LI, a/k/a F.W. LI) and LIMMT ECONOMIC AND TRADE COMPANY, LTD., (a/k/a LIMMT (DALIAN FTZ)

The Office of the Inspector General of the Social Security Administration (SSA) has prepared an audit report, Fugitive Felons Serving As Representative Payees. March 2009. The Report consists of a review and analysis of representative payee issues within the SSA. To conduct the review, a file of fugitive records was obtained from the SSA Office of Investigations. From that file it was determined that 14, 594 inbdividuals for whom arrest warrants had been issued and who were represenative payees for SSA benificiaries as of July 2007 From this group 275 individuals were randomly selected for detailed analysis..

To see the entire Report click on the link below:

Audit Report: Fugitive Felons Serving As Representative Payees

The U.S. Justice Department moved on Wednesday April 1 to drop all charges in the case against former Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska. In a federal court on Wednesday Justice Department lawyers explained that in addition to earlier disclosures they discovered further evidence of misconduct that raised questions about the way the entire case was handled.

Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. issued a statement (see link below) explaining the Department of Justice position and said that he would not seek a new trial.

Statement of Attorney Gereral Eric Holder Jr. Regarding Former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens

In a 75 page, 19 count indictment, prosecutors allege that Mr. Blagojevich and his associates sought illegal profits from the governor’s authority to award money and jobs in construction, legal work, consulting and investmentments. Included in the indictment are allegations that Mr. Blagojevich and his associates “schemed to auction off the Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama”.

To provide you further clarification we refer you to the following two documents:

A one page Fact Sheet prepared by the Office of U.S. Attorney for the Northern District Patrick Fitzgerald

A Report of the Violence Policy Center* authored by Senior Policy Analyst Tom Diaz

Introduction

Mexico is under siege, its democratic governance is at risk. This report examines the role of the U.S. civilian gun market in the drug-related violence in Mexico that is creeping northward into the United States.

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