Twelfth Juror Stars In Chaka Fattah Appeal

By Ralph Cipriano
for BigTrial.net

While former U.S. Congressman Chaka Fattah sits in jail, his lawyers are trying to get him a new trial.

Their best shot involves pro-prosecution Judge Harvey Bartle III, and his ham-fisted ejection last summer of Juror 12 from the Fattah case, simply because that juror had the temerity to disagree with the government.

Fattah's appeal was filed earlier this month in the United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit, in the matter of USA v. Chaka Fattah, Sr.

Any appeal is a long shot, but if the Court of Appeals signs off on Judge Bartle's decision to remove a dissident juror merely because he was a dissident, what's the point of having a jury trial when it involves a Philadelphia politician accused of corruption? We might as well just pronounce the defendant guilty upon indictment, and send them straight to jail. So we can spare the taxpayers the cost of a lengthy trial, and stop wasting time with any nonsense about constitutional rights.

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Lanny Davis Seeking Presidential Pardon For Chaka Fattah

By Ralph Cipriano
for BigTrial.net

He may have lost a bail motion today, but former U.S. Congressman Chaka Fattah still has one long shot left to stay out of jail -- a request for a presidential pardon from Lanny Davis, former special counsel to President Bill Clinton.

In a Jan. 1 letter to President Obama,  Davis and Dr. Therman E. Evans, a New Jersey doctor and pastor, ask the president to pardon Fattah before leaving office later this month.

"We have known him for 30 years and know first-hand his unmatched contributions to improving the life chances of tens of millions of Americans," Davis and Evans wrote.

Davis and Evans cite three key issues that they argue make Fattah a worthy candidate for a presidential pardon -- "the presiding judge exhibited a clear prejudice, there was documented misconduct by the prosecutors, and there are major evidence gaps in the case."

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Battle Over 12th Juror Continues With Two Fattah Co-Defendants

By Ralph Cipriano
for BigTrial.net

In a battle over whether two co-defendants of former U.S. Congressman Chaka Fattah are entitled to bail while they appeal their convictions, defense lawyers claim that the government is ignoring the testimony of five jurors in the case, as well as the improper actions of the trial judge in removing a dissident juror.

The defense lawyers were responding to a brief filed Monday by the government that asked the Third Circuit Court of Appeals to deny bail motions for Fatttah codefendants Robert Brand and Karen Nicholas.

Neither of the codefendants "present a substantial question that is likely to result in a reversal or new trial on any counts on which a sentence of imprisonment has been imposed," wrote Acting U.S. Attorney Louis Lappen, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eric L. Gibson and Paul L. Gray, and trial attorney Jonathan Kravis.

"There is no justification for granting either Brand or Nicholas bail during appeals," the prosecutors conclude. "Accordingly, the government respectfully submits that the appellants' motions for bail pending appeal should be denied."

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Defense Lawyers Pound Away At "Rash, Unmethodical" Judge Bartle; Feds Respond By Saying He Did Everything By The Book

By Ralph Cipriano
for BigTrial.net

Lawyers for two of Chaka Fattah's co-defendants have joined the chorus seeking to have their clients stay out of jail while a federal appeals court considers the propriety of Judge Harvey Bartle III's early dismissal of a dissident juror.

Last week, defense lawyers filed a motion seeking to have Fattah, the former 11-term U.S. Congressman, remain free on bail while a federal appeals court considered whether Judge Bartle had abused his discretion by booting the dissident juror.

In a bail motion filed today on behalf of Robert Brand, a Fattah co-defendant, a team of defense lawyers argued that Judge Bartle's "rash, unmethodical dismissal" of the dissident juror who "vigorously disagreed with the ultimate verdict was improper." The bail motion filed on behalf of Brand also claimed that Judge Bartle's "haphazard" questioning of five jurors during the trial "so disrupted the deliberation process" that it "severely prejudiced" the defendant as well as tainted the jury.

In a second bail motion filed on behalf of Karen Nicholas, another Fattah co-defendant, attorney Ann Campbell Flannery criticized Judge Bartle for asking "leading and suggestive" questions of five jurors in the political corruption case. Flannery also asked the federal appeals court to consider whether "the trial judge's quick and continued intrusion into the deliberative process was an abuse of discretion."

 And whether the judge's actions had "a coercive effect" on the remaining jurors, namely "that if one dissented or took longer to deliberate than the others, the others could complain to the court and obtain swift intervention and relief."

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Judge's Argument For Dismissing 12th Juror Doesn't Hold Water

By Ralph Cipriano
for BigTrial.net

When he explained why he dismissed a dissident juror in the Chaka Fattah case, U.S. District Court Judge Harvey Bartle III advanced an argument that doesn't hold water.

"There have been only approximately four hours of deliberation," the judge declared on June 16th in a memorandum released last month, after lawyers for The Philadelphia Inquirer had to go to court to unseal it. "There's no way in the world," the judge further declared, that Juror No. 12 "could have reviewed and considered all of the evidence in the case and my instructions in the law."

The judge then concluded that Juror No. 12 had not only violated his oath as a juror, but also "delayed, disrupted, impeded, and obstructed the deliberative process, and had the intent to do so."

But according to an interview with Juror No. 12, and court transcripts, the judge's logic disqualifies the other jurors in the case -- including the jury foreman -- who were repeatedly voting in the majority to convict, without a shred of evidence in the jury room. At a time when some of those jurors mistakenly believed that the government's indictment was evidence.

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Will 12th Juror Flap Keep Chaka Out Of Jail?

By Ralph Cipriano
for BigTrial.net

Lawyers for former U.S. Congressman Chaka Fattah are arguing that he should stay out of jail while an appeals court decides whether Judge Harvey Bartle III abused his authority by dismissing a dissident juror who didn't think that the government had proved its political corruption case against Fattah beyond a reasonable doubt.

Fattah, a former 11-term congressman, was sentenced earlier this month by Judge Bartle to 10 years in prison after a jury in July convicted Fattah of conspiracy to commit racketeering, wire fraud and honest services fraud, as well as falsifying records and laundering money. Fattah, currently free on $100,000 bail, is scheduled to report to prison on Jan. 25th.

But according to Fattah's lawyers, who filed a motion for bail today, there is a "substantial question" on appeal likely to result in a reversal of the former congressman's conviction. That question: whether Judge Bartle committed an "abuse of discretion" when he booted dissident Juror No. 12.

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Inside The Jury Room

By Ralph Cipriano
for BigTrial.net

On the first day of deliberations in the political corruption trial of U.S. Congressman Chaka Fattah, the jurors were screaming at each other.

After an 11-1 vote, the jury foreman told the lone holdout, Juror No. 12, to sit down and shut up. The next day, the jury foreman apologized. But the jury continued to argue, and  continued to split 11-1 on eight straight votes.

As far as two jurors were concerned, the majority was ganging up on the lone holdout.

"In my opinion, the rest of the jurors pounced on the gentleman with the . . . dissenting opinion," Juror No. 3 told Judge Harvey Bartle III.

"I mean, it was mayhem," the jury foreman agreed. "It was everybody pretty much against this guy."

In the end, the judge decided to join in the pile-on, and kick the dissident juror off the jury, for having the temerity to disagree with the majority.

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An Obstinate Juror? Or Henry Fonda In 12 Angry Men?

By Ralph Cipriano
For BigTrial.net

Was Juror No. 12 in the Chaka Fattah case being obstinate? Or was he reprising Henry Fonda's role in 12 Angry Men?

Did Juror No. 12 violate his oath as a juror? Or was he just following the dictates of his conscience?

It's an argument that won't be settled by a newly released Dec. 16th memorandum from Judge Harvey Bartle III. And it won't be settled on the front page of The Philadelphia Inquirer or the Legal Intelligencer.

Instead, it's an argument that will most likely play out in appeals court. While former Congressman Chaka Fattah sits in jail, anxiously awaiting the outcome.

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Judge To Release Transcript Regarding Dismissal Of 12th Juror

By George Anastasia

A federal judge said Friday that he will unseal all documents explaining how and why a holdout juror was dismissed in the Chaka Fattah corruption case.

Judge Harvey Bartle III, responding to a motion filed by lawyers for Philadelphia Media Networ, said he will file a formal notice "promptly" to unseal the court record.

The information could provide legal fodder for appeals that are expect dot be filed by Fattah, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Monday. He will remain free on bond pending the outcome of his appeal. His four co-defendants are also facing jail time.

The rest of the story can be read here.

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Judge Harvey Bartle III Sets Hearing On Philly Inquirer Motion To Unseal Transcript Involving Judge's Dismissal Of Juror No. 12

Illustration: politics365.com

By Ralph Cipriano
For BigTrial.net

Judge Harvey Bartle III has scheduled a hearing for 10 a.m. Friday on a motion by Philadelphia Media Network to unseal "records and information relating to the dismissal of Juror No. 12."

On Monday morning, the same day Bartle sentenced former U.S. Congressman Chaka Fattah to 10 years in prison for racketeering and corruption, Philadelphia Media Network filed a motion to intervene in the Fattah case, in order to obtain "records and information related to dismissal of juror."

Philadelphia Media Network owns The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia Daily News and philly.com. The 12th Juror in the Fattah case was dismissed after he was accused of refusing to deliberate. But in an interview with this reporter, Juror No. 12 insisted he wasn't refusing to deliberate, he was refusing to change his mind after he came out on the short end of eight straight 11-1 votes, the last of which was over whether Karen Nicholas, one of Fattah's aides was guilty of falsifying records. That prompted speculation as to whether the case should have ended in a hung jury.

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Fattah Gets Ten Years In The Slammer

Matt Rourke/AP

By Ralph Cipriano
for BigTrial.net

It was a prison sentence that seemed to please both sides.

"I'm personally satisfied," said U.S. Attorney Zane Memeger today, after Judge Harvey Bartle III hit former Congressman Chaka Fattah with a 10-year prison sentence for his conviction in a racketeering and political corruption case.

"That's a significant sentence," Memeger told a media horde outside the federal courthouse. The feds had asked the judge to put Fattah away for between 17 and 22 years, but 10 years is "a long time to be sitting in prison," Memeger said. He added with a prosecutor's glee that going from Congress to prison would be "a long fall for Chaka Fattah."

Inside the courtroom, Albert S. Dandridge, one of Fattah's lawyers, turned to the congressman's supporters after Judge Bartle had imposed sentence and said, "That's about as good as we could have expected."

As he exited the courthouse, the former congressman seemed to agree. "We respect the court's decision," Fattah said. And then the former congressman thanked his defense lawyers, the nine character witnesses who showed up to testify in his defense today, as well as the more than 200 supporters who wrote the judge on Fattah's behalf, requesting leniency.

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As Sentencing Nears, Debate Continues Over Chaka Fattah

Matt Rourke/Associated Press

By Ralph Cipriano
for BigTrial.net

On Dec. 12th, former U.S. Congressman Chaka Fattah, convicted of corruption last June, is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Harvey Bartle III.

Fattah is facing as much as 20 years in prison. But a group of the congressman's former staffers say he got a bum deal.

In a detailed analysis of more than 300 pages obtained by Big Trial, the staffers, who are anonymous, assert that the congressman who served 11 terms was convicted on non-existent evidence. To prove their point, the former staffers rely on excerpts from 3,000 pages of trial transcripts.

At 6 p.m. Monday on radio station 900AM-WURD, Barbara Grant, a former TV and radio reporter, and former director of communications for Mayor John Street, plans to delve into the issues raised by this analysis. Why?

"I've known Chaka for a long time," Grant said. "I don't think he deserves to go to jail, I've seen other people walk away having done more."

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Should The Chaka Fattah Case Have Ended In A Mistrial?

By Ralph Cipriano and George Anastasia

Should the racketeering and political corruption trial of U.S. Congressman Chaka Fattah  have ended in a mistrial?

That was the situation behind closed doors in June on the second day of deliberations in the case according to Juror No. 12.

In an interview, the juror, who sought anonymity, said that after two days of deliberations he was on the short end of at least eight 11-1 votes.

The rest of the story can be read here.

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The Verdict On Chaka

By Ralph Cipriano
for BigTrial.net

The jury filed into Courtroom 16A at 12:20 p.m.

The staff had ordered lunch, but none of the jurors wanted to stay. Instead, they preferred to read the verdict and get out of the courthouse as fast as possible.

The jury foreman, a middle-aged male, stood and read the results of the 19-page verdict form.

On Count 1, Congressman Chaka Fattah was unanimously found guilty of conspiracy to commit racketeering. The foreman kept reading the verdicts on six more charges under Count 1 for Fattah, including: guilty of mail fraud, guilty of wire fraud, guilty of bank fraud, guilty of bribery, guilty of obstruction of justice, and guilty of money laundering.

Fattah stared straight ahead and showed no reaction. When co-defendant Herb Vederman was found guilty of conspiracy to commit racketeering, however, his sister started crying.

"No outbursts," Judge Harvey Bartle 3d warned spectators. While the jury foreman continued to read five more guilty verdicts for Vederman under Count 1, his sister left the courtroom still crying.

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Defense: No Credible Evidence To Implicate Congressman

By Ralph Cipriano
for BigTrial.net

A lawyer for  Congressman Chaka Fattah told a jury today that there is "no credible evidence" that implicates Fattah in any wrongdoing.

After a four-week trial that included 58 government witnesses, and more than 400 exhibits, the government has "utterly failed to meet its burden of proof" to show that the congressman was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of engaging in racketeering, wire fraud, and taking bribes, Samuel W. Silver said in his closing argument.

During its investigation, the government reviewed more than 170,000 of the congressman's emails, Silver said. And what did they find? Not one email that implicates Fattah in any crime, Silver said. While a prosecutor accused Fattah and four co-defendants of embarking on a "white collar crime spree," Silver had a different take on the government's case.

"I call it a smear," Silver said. "It's all an overreach by the prosecution."

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Rendell At The Chaka Trial: "A Horrible Prosecutorial Overreach"

The Philadelphia Inquirer/Ed Hille

By Ralph Cipriano
for BigTrial.net

The way Ed Rendell tells the story, Herb Vederman came to him for advice.

"He wanted to get back into city government," Rendell explained on the witness stand about Vederman, a rich guy who served for years as Rendell's unpaid deputy mayor for economic development.

At the time, five Democrats were running for mayor of Philadelphia. And Vederman asked Rendell the political sage to pick the eventual winner.

Congressman Chaka Fattah "was the clear front-runner," Rendell testified he told Vederman. "He was well known and well-regarded." Rendell's advice to Vederman was to get involved with Fattah early in the 2007 mayoral campaign. So that when Fattah won, Vederman could go back to work in city government as Fattah's deputy mayor for economic development. Just like he did for Rendell.

But Fast Eddie sold Herbie a bum steer. Fattah wound up finishing fourth out of five candidates, behind eventual winner Michael Nutter. And what was Vederman's reward for getting involved with Chaka Fattah?  A co-starring role in a 29-count RICO indictment that had the congressman at the top of the ticket.

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Sister Mary Goes To Bat For "Ambassador" Herb

By Ralph Cipriano
for BigTrial.net

If you're on trial for racketeering in Philadelphia and you need a character witness, it's hard to beat Sister Mary Scullion.

The longtime homeless advocate whose fans include Pope Francis, President Obama, and Jon Bon Jovi showed up at the trial of Congressman Chaka Fattah today to go to bat for one of Fattah's co-defendants, former Philadelphia Deputy Mayor Herb Vederman.

"It's widely known that he [Vederman] performs acts of generosity on many occasions," the Sister of Mercy nun told the jury. On the witness stand, Sister Mary described Vederman as a "good friend of mine" that she last saw a few weeks ago.

A nosy prosecutor immediately asked at that last get-together, if the nun and Vederman had discussed Vederman's racketeering case.

 "I was just asking how he was doing, the nun replied dismissively. "Everybody knows there's a trial going on."

The prosecutor wisely let it go at that.

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On The Trail of Chaka and Renee's Au Pair

 By Ralph Cipriano
for BigTrial.net

As the government's case against Chaka Fattah winds down, prosecutors were hot on the trail of the congressman's former live-in au pair.

The au pair is mentioned on page 39 of the government's 29-count, 85-page racketeering indictment under the heading of "Vederman's Payments and Things of Value to Fattah."

The indictment claims that in exchange for Congressman Fattah's support in trying to make co-defendant Herb Vederman a U.S. ambassador, Vederman bribed Fattah by giving him, among other goodies, a $3,000 check on March 11, 2010 to help pay for his au pair's college tuition.

"In or around August 2009, Vederman sponsored Fattah's live-in au pair," the indictment says, identifying the au pair only by her initials, S.M., a native of South Africa.

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Senator Casey Said No To "Ambassador" Herb

Senator Casey at the Chaka trial/philly.com/David Swanson

By Ralph Cipriano
for BigTrial.net

He's a former clothing store magnate and lobbyist who gravitates to politicians the way a groupie chases rock stars.

In the past decade, he's given away more than $100,000 to some of his favorite Democrats. But what he really wanted to do was become a U.S. ambassador.

Herb Vederman, Ed Rendell's former unpaid deputy mayor, was also best buddies with Congressman Chaka Fattah.

Herb and Chaka were so close that for years, Fattah pushed Vederman for an ambassador's post. The congressman went as far as to sign and hand-deliver a letter to President Obama on Oct. 30, 2010, advocating for Vederman's appointment as U.S. Ambassador to anywhere.

But standing in the way of Vederman's lifelong goal was U.S. Senator Bob Casey. The Pennsylvania Democrat made a VIP appearance at the Chaka Fattah trial today to explain how he declined Congressman Fattah's request to support Vederman's candidacy for an ambassadorship in 2008, even though Casey was happy to continue to accept campaign donations from Vederman. Herb was sure disappointed about not getting that ambassadorship, the senator testified, and he expressed that disappointment twice directly to Casey.

2

Another Cooperating Witness Fingers Chaka

By Ralph Cipriano
for BigTrial.net

Mark M. Lee, a lawyer for Congressman Chaka Fattah, asked Greg Naylor about his negotiations with the government. And what the feds told Naylor he could expect to gain from his guilty plea, cooperation with the government, and his testimony in court today against the congressman.

"I don't believe they [the feds] had any interest in what I had to gain," Naylor bluntly replied. His discussions with the government prior to his guilty plea, he said, were "not a negotiation." Not after he got caught lying to the FBI.

Naylor, a retired political operative who was once close to Fattah, testified in federal court today about how he handed out about $200,000 in cash on Election Day, known as "walking around money," when the congressman was running for mayor of Philadelphia back in 2007. And how he wrote more than $20,000 in checks to cover the college tuition bills of Chaka "Chip" Fattah Jr.

The payments, which originally derived from campaign cash, came from Naylor's political consulting firm, Sydney Lei & Associates Inc., and were usually made on a monthly basis to Drexel University and Sallie Mae, the student loan corporation, Naylor testified.

Why did he steal campaign money to write checks to cover Chip Fattah's college loans, and then try to cover it up afterwards with a phony paper trail?

"The congressman asked if I would help out," Naylor explained in direct testimony under the questioning of Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Gray. Naylor said he kept writing checks for four years until the congressman told him, "We're done, we're good."

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