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Lawyer pleads guilty to illegal Edwards donations
Legal News |
2011/08/04 09:15
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A prominent Los Angeles attorney could face six months in federal prison for making illegal contributions to the 2004 presidential campaign of former Sen. John Edwards.
The U.S. attorney's office says Pierce O'Donnell pleaded guilty Thursday to two counts of making illegal campaign contributions and agreed to a six-month sentence and a $20,000 fine. O'Donnell is set to be sentenced in November.
In a statement, O'Donnell's attorney Brian J. O'Neill says he and O'Donnell are pleased with the resolution.
O'Donnell acknowledged he provided some $20,000 to Edwards' campaign for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination by reimbursing straw donors.
In 2006, O'Donnell was ordered to pay more than $155,000 after pleading no contest to using a false name while making political contributions to former Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn's campaign. |
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NYC lawyer pleads guilty to tax charge
U.S. Court News |
2011/08/04 09:15
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A lawyer has pleaded guilty to not paying taxes on nearly $11 million in income while working at a major Wall Street law firm.
John O'Brien entered the plea Thursday in federal court in Manhattan.
The government had accused the 48-year-old O'Brien of failing to pay $2.5 million taxes on $10.8 million in income from 2001 to 2008. They say during that time, he splurged on a weekend home, international travel and a rare book business.
Prosecutors say O'Brien has agreed to pay $2.8 million in back taxes and interest. At his Nov. 16 sentencing, he faces a maximum of four years in prison, though the term will probably be shorter under sentencing guidelines. |
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State Supreme Court rules on illegal taxes
Legal News |
2011/08/01 09:06
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The state Supreme Court made it easier this week for California taxpayers to seek refunds from cities and counties, ruling that a claim of an illegal local tax can be pursued as a class action on behalf of everyone who was overcharged.
The unanimous decision Monday in a Los Angeles case overturned lower-court rulings requiring local taxpayers to file individual refund claims.
In a class action, a representative can win damages that are distributed to an entire group of people affected by the same unlawful action. Class-action status often determines whether a tax can be effectively challenged, said Paul Heidenreich, a lawyer for consumer organizations in the case.
When only one person can sue at a time, there's little incentive to do so with small amounts at stake, he said.
The ruling may not affect San Francisco, however. Deputy City Attorney Peter Keith said the city has ordinances that set rules for tax refund claims and prohibit class actions. He said the court allowed class-wide suits only when a city or county has no laws of its own regulating tax refunds.
Francis Gregorek, lawyer for the plaintiff in the Los Angeles case, said a future ruling may be needed to determine whether a city can shield itself from class actions.
Class actions have become a hotly contested legal battleground. The U.S. Supreme Court restricted their use in two California cases earlier this year, refusing to allow as many as 1.5 million women to sue Wal-Mart Stores Inc. as a group over pay and promotion practices, and rejecting class-wide arbitration of a cell phone customer's overcharge claim against ATamp;T.
Gregorek's client, Estuardo Ardon, sued Los Angeles in 2006, claiming that a city telephone tax was illegal because it was linked to a federal excise tax that had been ruled invalid. Gregorek said the suit seeks millions of dollars in refunds for all phone customers in the city and has led to challenges against similar taxes in other communities.
The case has remained on hold while state courts determined whether Ardon can represent other customers. An appellate court said he could sue only as an individual, citing the state Supreme Court's 1992 ruling that rejected class-action status for a challenge to the state's taxes on vehicles bought by Californians in other states. |
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Ex-Schuyler teacher seeks OK to plead guilty
U.S. Court News |
2011/08/01 09:06
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A former Schuyler teacher accused of sending nude photos and sexually explicit text messages to a student is asking to plead guilty.
The Columbus Telegram reports that 26-year-old Jesse Harmon faces federal charges of enticing a minor in sexually explicit conduct, visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct and possession of child pornography.
According to a document filed last month, Harmon requested permission to plead guilty.
A police affidavit filed in Colfax County District Court says Harmon's texts included nude photos of himself, talk about sexual contact and requests for suggestive photos of the 16-year-old student.
A federal hearing for Harmon is scheduled for Aug. 19. He had pleaded not guilty in the state case before it was dropped. |
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