Saturday, December 23, 2017

D.A.'s Office, Under New Management, Perpetuates Old Fraud

The D.A.'s Star Witness
By Ralph Cipriano
for BigTrial.net

If you're caught in a lie, when do you have to admit it?

If you're the district attorney's office of Philadelphia, never.

The D.A.'s office, under Interim D.A. Kelley Hodge, has decided to uphold the corrupt regime of her predecessor, Rufus Seth Williams, by continuing to pursue a retrial of Msgr. William J. Lynn.

Never mind that Williams is wearing a jumpsuit and sitting in a federal prison in Oklahoma, where he's doing a five-year stretch for taking bribes from, as the judge who sentenced him put it, "the parasites" he chose to surround himself with.

Or that Danny Gallagher, the D.A.'s former star witness in the case against Msgr. Lynn, is hiding out down in Florida, spending his ill-gotten gains. That's the $5 million that Gallagher stole in a civil settlement from the Catholic Church, a heist made possible by the corrupt acts of D.A. Williams, who certified that a fraud like Danny Gallagher was an official victim of sex abuse.

In a 25-page brief filed Dec. 5th in state Superior Court, the D.A.'s office seeks to overturn Judge Gwendolyn Bright's motion to limit the evidence that the D.A. can present in a retrial of Msgr. Lynn. The defendant's lawyers, however, have a more ambitious goal; they're seeking to have the retrial thrown out on grounds of double jeopardy because of intentional prosecutorial misconduct, which is rife in the case.

5
Tuesday, December 12, 2017

Progressive New D.A. Larry Krasner Off On Wrong Foot

By Ralph Cipriano
for BigTrial.net

Attention Philadelphia: your newly-elected District Attorney, Progressive Larry Krasner, is already getting started on his new job, but it may not be a good thing.

According to a Nov. 29th mass email sent out to hundreds of employees in the D.A.'s office, Krasner sought and was granted permission by interim D.A. Kelley Hodge to have his transition team review the personnel files of those hundreds of employees, presumably to help decide who's going and who's staying in a  Krasner administration. The review,  according to the mass email, was supposed to be conducted last week, but one union official, FOP President John McNesby, said he did not believe that any of the reviews had actually been done yet.

That may be because of an ongoing ethical problem. Krasner, a longtime civil rights lawyer who's sued the city's police department 75 times, and provided pro-bono representation for the likes of ACT UP, Black Lives Matter, and Occupy Philly, isn't officially the D.A. yet, and he won't be until he's sworn in on Jan. 2nd.

Krasner, who could not be reached for comment, apparently has tasked a lawyer from the firm that he is now of counsel to, Patricia Pierce of Greenblatt, Pierce, Funt & Flores, to help review those personnel files at the D.A.'s office. Krasner also has been seen visiting the D.A.'s office at Penn Square a few times, along with members of his transition team, who supposedly have been given office space by the interim D.A. The reaction among some employees at the D.A.'s office has been paranoia.

"People were freaking out," said one source familiar with the process. "I think everybody's worried about being fired."

26
Monday, December 11, 2017

What John Gotti Did To The Mob


Even in death, John Gotti suffers indignities. A Gotti biopic starring John Travolta was scheduled to hit theaters Dec. 15th, only to be not only suddenly yanked from release but reportedly dumped by Lionsgate completely . . .

"It's a dark comedy" -- George Anastasia


Story from realclearlife.com can be read HERE.


3
Monday, December 4, 2017

I Did Not Deserve "The Scarlet Letter"

Updated to include "Fast Eddie" Rendell

By Ralph Cipriano
for BigTrial.net

The "Vince of Darkness" is back with a vengeance.

Philly Voice ran a long interview this morning with former state Senator Vincent J. Fumo.

Fumo, who spent four years in jail after he was convicted on 137 felony counts, came out swinging, saying he was the target of "an avalanche of negative publicity," and "prosecutorial over-agression," and that he did not deserve to be branded with "The Scarlet Letter."

In Fumo's case, instead of an "A" like Hester Prynne, he got an "F" emblazoned on his forehead as a convicted felon.

Philly Voice also ran an excerpt from my new book, Target: The Senator; A Story About Power and Abuse of Power.

That's on top of an 8,000 word Philly mag profile of Fumo that also discusses the book, which is out on Kindle, and is now available in a paperback, and hardback.

9