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Refco CEO Bennett Gets 16 Years
Legal Line News |
2008/07/08 07:19
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Former Refco CEO Phillip Bennett was sentenced on July 3 to 16 years in prison and ordered to pay $2.4 billion for his role in the company's $2.4 billion fraud. Bennett pleaded guilty in February to all 20 charges against him, including conspiracy, securities fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering.
Bennett oversaw massive book juggling to hide losses and inflate revenue. The frauds were discovered after Thomas H. Lee Partners bought Refco in August 2004. The company collapsed in October 2005.
U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald held Bennett responsible for stealing approximately $2.4 billion from Refco's banks and investors, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. Bennett, 59, of Gladstone, N.J., was ordered to report to prison on Sept. 4. |
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Ruling Limits Courts' Role In Environmental Review
Law Firm News |
2008/07/07 07:17
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The 9th Circuit rebuffed environmentalists who challenged a logging project in the Idaho Panhandle National Forest, saying it is not the court's job to act as a panel of scientists and order the government to explain every possible scientific uncertainty.
The full appellate court overturned an injunction granted to the Lands Council and the Wild West Institute, clearing the way for selective logging of 3,829 acres of land as part of the Mission Brush Project.
Lands Council argued that the U.S. Forest Service violated federal environmental law by failing to explain its scientific analysis of the project's effect on wildlife, especially the flammulated owl, and by not maintaining at least 10 percent old growth throughout the forest.
The court said it took the case en banc to clarify some of our environmental jurisprudence with respect to our review of the actions of the United States Forest Service.
Judge Smith said Lands Council's arguments illustrate how, in recent years, our environmental jurisprudence has, at times, shifted away from the appropriate standard of review.
It is not the role of federal courts to tell the Forest Service how to validate its hypotheses on wildlife viability, choose which scientific studies should be used for determining compliance with federal law, and order the agency to explain each scientific uncertainty, Smith said.
The court, concluding that the government has complied with federal law, reversed the halt on selective logging.
The thinning project had been proposed, in part to restore the forests to their historic composition, and to decrease the risks of fires, insects and disease.
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DC police launch voluntary handgun search program
Legal Line News |
2008/07/03 07:30
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pWashington DC police are launching a new voluntary program to reduce the number of guns in the city after the US Supreme Court ruled last month that a city ban on private handgun ownership violated the Second Amendment to the US Constitution. Under the Safe Homes Initiative, police will ask residents for permission to search their homes for guns and residents will receive amnesty from prosecution for any weapons confiscated under the program. Critics allege that the program could amount to a violation of the Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable search and seizure if homeowners are intimidated into allowing the searches. The Washington DC chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union has distributed flyers advising DC residents of their constitutional rights./ppOther cities are considering similar programs following the Supreme Court ruling. Gun ownership advocacy groups have filed lawsuits in Chicago and San Francisco seeking to overturn laws which ban handguns within those cities. In September 2007, Washington DC Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and DC Attorney General Linda Singer ormally appealed a March 2007 federal court ruling which invalidated the District of Columbia's handgun ban . The Supreme Court affirmed a March DC Circuit holding that the city's 30-year-old ban on private possession of handguns was unconstitutionally broad.
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'Reality' Show Host Sued For Assault
Court News |
2008/07/02 07:32
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A security guard hired to work at Paris Hilton's unveiling of her clothing line claims reality TV host Stephen Glover aka Steve-O ordered his 6-foot-9-inch bodyguard to assault him, so that Glover, host of USA Network's Dr. Steve-O show, could crash the party.
Roland Cano claims Kitson's clothing store, a celebrity hangout, hired him to provide security for Hilton's Aug. 16, 2007 event. He says Glover demanded to be let in, and he did his job and refused him entrance. Glover then ordered his bodyguard, former professional football player and co-defendant Reggie Pace (Big Regg), to assault him, and Pace punched him in the face and head repeatedly, Cano says. Glover used the assault to enter the event, he says.
The complaint continues: After defendant Big Regg struck Plaintiff's face and head, defendant Steve-O proclaimed, 'I just had my dude rip that security guard's face. ... It was awesome. ... I just needed to see my security guard rough everyone the fuck up!' Defendant Steve-O then hugged defendant Big Regg, stating, 'Nice work man. You made me so proud of you. ... We won!' (Ellipses in complaint.)
Cano demands punitive damages for assault and battery, negligence and emotional distress. He also sued USA Networks' corporate parent, NBC Universal. He is represented by Joseph Barrett with The Cochran Firm. |
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