A comparison of Jeffrey Epstein's case, and another case, U.S. v. Kent Frank 599 F.3d 1221 (11th Cir. 2010), shows that Roy Black's statement, that Epstein was only facing a 'low-ball' number of 10 years in federal prison, was not accurate. If the Government had pursued Epstein, with the same zeal it pursued Frank, Epstein was facing at least the same 40 years Frank received. In addition, if consecutive sentences were applied, that number increased dramatically. In the Frank case, to reach the 40 years, the 11th Circuit applied a definition to "purchase," under 18 U.S.C. §2251, that included the solicitation of underage girls — the same claims made against Epstein.
I met Mr. Frank at the FDC Miami. And along with 100's of other cases I was requested to look at, I briefly looked at his case. The case against Frank was far weaker than that reported in the press against Jeffrey Epstein.
The Frank case involved an American who traveled to Cambodia as a "sex tourist." Frank was arrested and charged in Cambodia. The age of consent in Cambodia has been reported as being either 15 or 16. Frank was found innocent in Cambodia and released. He was later arrested in Vietnam and extradited to the U.S. on the Cambodian charges. Rights groups have disputed the willingness of Cambodian courts to convict in such cases.
In the U.S. Frank trial, none of the four victims appeared as witnesses. The evidence against Frank was a statement given by Frank in Cambodia in which he admitted he met the girls at bars, paid the girls for sex and to photograph them, and had seen them on multiple occasions. A large number of pornographic photos of the girls, sexual paraphernalia, and DVDs found in his possession were also used as evidence.
Unlike Jeffrey Epstein's case, the ages of the four girls were in dispute. Because Cambodia does not maintain birth records, and without witnesses, the victims ages were determined at trial through the use of expert witnesses viewing the photos taken by Frank. While the 11th Circuit does not specifically mention the theory the experts used to determine age, from what I remember from my brief exposure to the case was that the 'Tanner scale' was used, a measure used in such cases. As Wikipedia describes: "The Tanner scale (also known as the Tanner stages) is a scale of physical development in children, adolescents and adults. The scale defines physical measurements of development based on external primary and secondary sex characteristics."
One criticism of the Tanner scale is that the scale is unreliable for residents of third world countries because poor nutrition delays development. The Tanner scale is not 100% reliable and has been successfully disputed. Wikipedia links to one dramatic case where the alleged victim appeared, as reported in Radaronline: Adult Film Star Verifies Her Age, Saves Fan From 20 Years In Prison! (“Lupe walked into the courtroom and it was like a courtroom drama movie,” Assistant Public Defender Hector L. Ramos-Vega said.) The prosecution, in the Carlos Simon-Timmerman case above, proceeded based solely on possession of a purchased pornographic DVD. Obviously, while the Frank case was much stronger than that against Carlos Simon-Timmerman, it was far weaker than the reported case against Epstein, which was proceeding at about the same time. In Epstein's case there where 30-40 potential victims identified whose ages could be confirmed. Indeed, the Carlos Simon-Timmerman case alone — based on a single DVD — makes it clear Jeffrey Epstein received special treatment.
My interest in the Jeffrey Epstein case arose because I don't believe in the type of coincidences I saw:
As I previously posted, the accused chief intimidator of the underage Epstein victims, as identified by the Palm Beach Police Department, was a P.I. named William Riley. It turned out that Riley was also an officer of the local bankruptcy court, who was illegally appointed at a secret off-the-docket hearing that was concealed for many years. In addition, he and a host of other, still not fully identified characters, were afforded a strange and illegal status as a type of federal law enforcement official that permitted them access to protected law enforcement materials. Those materials, which included protected law enforcement tapes (protected under the "Wiretap Act" (Title 3)) were then illegally passed on to Bear Stearns senior managing directors.
A common denominator with Epstein, is the Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. The Bear Stearns Cayman Island Hedge Fund managers were being brought to trial at the time of the sweetheart deal with Jeffrey Epstein. There was no dispute about the critical information in Epstein's possession concerning the Bear Stearns hedge fund trial, particularly since key records were hidden in the Cayman Islands. Epstein's lawyers touted his importance to the Government's case against Bear Stearns as the reason for his special treatment. That treatment included almost daily — and hotly criticized — "furloughs" to his attorneys offices to "help" in the Bear Stearns prosecution. Bear Stearns had enormous incentive to shield Epstein from the threat of a long sentence.
Compare Epstein's case to that of Raj Rajaratnam, the now proceeding Wall Street insider trading case. In the Rajaratnam case, the government obtained pleas from numerous insider witnesses, who were facing long prison sentences, and thereby turned them into damning witnesses against Rajaratnam, as reported in the NY Times. In the Bear Stearns hedge fund trial, the main evidence was email — no insider witnesses were used. Yet, without sweetheart treatment, many witnesses could have been obtained — starting with Jeffrey Epstein and finishing with the senior managing directors of Bear Stearns who had orchestrated the theft of protected law enforcement tapes and other materials.
Bear Stearns was far more effective than Epstein in demonstrating its ability to receive sweetheart treatment — treatment that would also extend to Jeffrey Epstein. Incredibly, Bear Stearns had succeeded in placing Juval Aviv, a discredited self proclaimed Israeli assassin who had been prosecuted by the Government, in control of the local United States Attorney's Office to direct illegal communications surveillance (see earlier posts). Thereby, a flood of protected law enforcement material began secretly flowing to Bear Stearns senior managing directors. The fact that the identity of Bear Stearns, as the ultimate recipient of the materials was carefully concealed, did not excuse what occurred. In late 2004, after I obtained access to the sealed record, I informed the USAO of what I had learned. In 2006, I secured a confession to the crimes.
A key player is Florida local bankruptcy power broker Paul Singerman — himself "Teflon coated" in brushing off his involvement in and ownership of Gibraltar Private Bank & Trust, a Florida private bank found to be violating money laundering laws. Gibraltar was a key player in convicted Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein's money laundering scheme.
In 2006, I laid out the clear evidence showing how the protected law enforcement materials were being stolen and passed to Bear Stearns. In response, Paul Singerman confessed to passing the law enforcement tapes and other materials to Bear Stearns. Indeed, in April 2006, he brazenly flaunted his activities by stating in a court filing: "according to Lawrence, one of the purposes of Title Ill is to prevent unlawful communications intercepts being used for "private financial gain." ... sharing the contents of the discovery obtained by court order with Lawrence's largest creditor— Bear Stearns & Co.— ... was entirely appropriate so that they could determine what, if anything, in the discovery obtained might be useful to them." See p3 here
Showing posts with label Roy Black. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Roy Black. Show all posts
Friday, April 8, 2011
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein's Accused Chief Intimidator Was An Official Officer Of The Local Bankruptcy Court
The Daily Beast has just published another explosive news article on former Bear Stearns insider and billionaire convicted pedophile, Jeffrey Epstein: Behind Pedophile Jeffrey Epstein's Sweetheart Deal .
The article, written by Conchita Sarnoff, a top notch investigative bulldog, states:
"Documents obtained by The Daily Beast reveal how pedophile hedge fund mogul Jeffrey Epstein escaped a hefty jail sentence despite overwhelming evidence of sex crimes with dozens of young girls. Conchita Sarnoff and Lee Aitken on how the fear and intimidation experienced by victims during pre-trial proceedings, combined with a ferocious, protracted campaign to undermine the prosecution, culminated in a set of charges that became a virtual slap on the wrist."
One of the alleged chief Epstein intimidators identified by the Palm Beach Police Department is William Riley. Mr. Riley was, and still is, an 'officer of court' in the local bankruptcy court in the Southern District of Florida. He obtained 'officer of the court' protection under secret, off-the-docket bankruptcy court filings.
Mr. Riley was secretly paid by Bear Stearns. His amazing 'red carpet treatment' and 'officer of the court' immunity, granted by the local bankruptcy court, was arranged by Paul S. Singerman, of Berger Singerman P.A., and his partner, James H. Fierberg.That bankruptcy court was the local hangout of convicted Trustee Lewis Freeman and Trustee Marika Tolz (who is now also facing Florida state charges).
Mr. Fierberg's and Mr. Singerman's backdated (nunc pro tunc) Riley filings (with an attached perjured affidavit by Mr. Fierberg) and the resulting off-the-docket orders, were illegally kept off-the-docket and sealed. They were never served on the U.S. Trustee's Office, just one of the many missing prerequisites to legitimacy. For years, Mr. Riley's 'officer of the court' status and protection remained a carefully guarded secret from: myself, my attorneys, the U.S. Trustee's office, the U.S. Attorney's Office, and all reviewing courts. This continued until the district court finally ordered the bankruptcy court to disgorge the secret record — an order that, even today, has still not been fully complied with.
(The Riley court papers, including the Fierberg affidavit, related orders, and other documents are posted at http://www.scribd.com/sjlawrence95)
What the secret off-the-docket court papers contained was shocking and repugnant:
Although the papers are misleadingly labeled as only an "application" to have Mr. Riley hired as an 'officer of the court,' they were, in effect, much more than that. They show:
— a secret hearing was held without a court reporter and with no indication on the court docket. Years later, the Riley papers and order were inserted on the docket as #1426 ..., which was the docket position at the date of the insertion, not the date the papers were submitted years earlier. So, not even normal sealing procedures (as in the many other sealed documents) were followed for the off-the-docket assignment of 'officer of the court' status to Mr. Riley.
— Mr. Riley's 'hiring' was backdated (nunc pro tunc). So obviously, by the time of the secret hearing, he had already done some of his 'work' and could testify without a court reporter being present (This pattern of 'nunc pro tunc' secret hirings and hearings was repeated many times over the years)
— Bear Stearns' name is nowhere mentioned in the "application," even though they paid Riley for his 'work.'
— There are no other traces of Riley, on or off the bankruptcy record, including bills, applications to approve specific payments by the bankruptcy estate to Mr. Riley, orders approving any payment for submitted bills. Mr. Riley's secret testimony and 'officer of the court' status simply vanished from view. In short, Mr. Riley's 'hiring' was a sham designed to give him 'officer of the court' status and allow him to testify against me without a court record and reporter, without a chance to confront him, and without his identity ever being known.
— Mr. Singerman's lead co-attorney, James H. Fierberg, through his affidavit attached to the Riley papers, and his unknown testimony at the secret hearing, became a principal sworn secret witness against me. Those accusations were perjured. Mr. Fierberg swore to the testimony of numerous witnesses that I threatened many people, including children, in order to force false testimony from them. Every one of those purported witnesses was readily available for deposing and the obtaining of sworn statements. If the many purported witnesses had really spoken to Mr. Fierberg, then there is no reason they would not have given truthful statements and testimony about those fictitious events.
— The correct (and required) procedure, in the face of the serious accusations made, was to immediately refer the matter to the U.S. Attorney's Office ... not to hire a questionable P.I. using bizarre and illegal secret procedures.
At about the time the above events were occurring, I had informally been told by one of the key alleged witnesses (my accountant and a personal friend for years) that he believed he was being pressured to give false testimony by persons connected to the trustee. I never paid much attention since the issue never went further and I did not know of the secret testimony that was being given against me by Mr. Fierberg and Mr. Riley.
I have no doubt that the reason Mr. Singerman and Mr. Fierberg did not refer the Fierberg and Riley secret testimony/information to the USAO — as required by law — was their fear they could themselves be facing perjury and obstruction of justice charges.
After I discovered the existence of Mr. Riley, I was in no way surprised that the Palm Beach Police Department accused him of intimidating the child victims of billionaire pedophile Jeffery Epstein — history was just repeating itself.
The Bear Stearns -- Jeffrey Epstein Hedge Fund Connections:
One unexplored aspect of the handling of the Jeffery Epstein case is Epstein's intimate connections with Bear Stearns. He was both a former Bear Stearns insider and a mammoth player in the Bear Stearns Cayman Islands CMO hedge fund scandal. Based on my intimate knowledge of how Bear Stearns operated, I believe there existed an extensive symbiotic relationship between Bear Stearns and Jeffrey Epstein: Bear Stearns promoting Epstein to potential clients and Epstein, in turn investing heavily in Bear Stearns deals.
Was special inside information or treatment given by Bear Stearns to Epstein that wasn't given to the public victims of those Cayman Island funds? The USAO, at least publicly, believed Epstein to be a good asset in the criminal prosecution of the Bear Stearns' Cayman Islands hedge fund managers. Indeed, Epstein was taking virtually daily, all-day long — and much criticized — "furloughs" to his attorneys' offices ... purportedly to "aid" the Government in the hedge fund prosecutions.
However, the sweetheart deal given Epstein does not square with the thousands of prosecutions I saw at the FDC Miami. The USAO, almost without exception, is ruthless in placing pressure on defendants to obtain pleas. Prisoners, looking to alleviate long potential sentences, regularly scramble to turn on co-defendants. The type of threats against individuals at the USAO, that the Daily Beast article hinted at, would normally be met with immediate, ruthless, and extensive reaction — through either new indictments or added charges.
In late 2004, after I first obtained access to the sealed bankruptcy court record, I began notifying the USAO, through filings, that extensive protected law enforcement material had been stolen through their office and funneled to senior Bear Stearns management — serious criminal offenses. I identified Juval Aviv as being a key link in the theft and passing of the stolen information to Bear Stearns management. Mr. Aviv is a mysterious self-proclaimed Israeli 'hit man' cum assassin who had been indicted and prosecuted by the US Government. Mr. Aviv — amazingly — had also become a secret, protected 'officer of the bankruptcy court' in the same manner Mr. Riley had, and as a result, was supervising the USAO in the illegal phone surveillance of myself, my attorneys, my family, my friends, and reporters I was in communications with. He was also a key figure in secretly funneling the stolen information he had access to, directly and indirectly to Bear Stearns senior management.
In 2006, I filed a federal court complaint (also sent to the USAO) that, again, clearly outlined and supported allegations that Mr. Aviv was repeating crimes similar to those he had been previously prosecuted for and other serious crimes for Bear Stearns senior management. I received no response. I also notified the Office of Professional Responsibility and was met with a stone wall. I filed a Freedom of Information Request to determine the full extent of the thefts of materials related to myself. Again, I was met with a stone wall.
Whatever the extent of influence pedophile Jeffrey Epstein has, Bear Stearns has similar influence to a much larger degree. Bear Stearns (through its successor) and former management had, and continue to have, enormous incentive to protect Jeffrey Epstein from turning against them — a very likely event if Jeffrey Epstein was facing 40 years in prison, as he should have been. If, as intimated in the Daily Beast, the USAO responded to threats of embarrassing disclosures with a sweetheart deal, Bear Stearns' and Berger Singerman's successful infiltration of the USAO, to facilitate the theft and funneling of extensive law enforcement materials and the results of unlawful wiretapping to Bear Stearns, presented a parallel embarrassing incentive to take the pressure off of Bear Stearns by taking the pressure off the key potential insider witness against Bear Stearns, Jeffrey Epstein.
The Daily Beast has just published another explosive news article on former Bear Stearns insider and billionaire convicted pedophile, Jeffrey Epstein: Behind Pedophile Jeffrey Epstein's Sweetheart Deal .
The article, written by Conchita Sarnoff, a top notch investigative bulldog, states:
"Documents obtained by The Daily Beast reveal how pedophile hedge fund mogul Jeffrey Epstein escaped a hefty jail sentence despite overwhelming evidence of sex crimes with dozens of young girls. Conchita Sarnoff and Lee Aitken on how the fear and intimidation experienced by victims during pre-trial proceedings, combined with a ferocious, protracted campaign to undermine the prosecution, culminated in a set of charges that became a virtual slap on the wrist."
One of the alleged chief Epstein intimidators identified by the Palm Beach Police Department is William Riley. Mr. Riley was, and still is, an 'officer of court' in the local bankruptcy court in the Southern District of Florida. He obtained 'officer of the court' protection under secret, off-the-docket bankruptcy court filings.
Mr. Riley was secretly paid by Bear Stearns. His amazing 'red carpet treatment' and 'officer of the court' immunity, granted by the local bankruptcy court, was arranged by Paul S. Singerman, of Berger Singerman P.A., and his partner, James H. Fierberg.That bankruptcy court was the local hangout of convicted Trustee Lewis Freeman and Trustee Marika Tolz (who is now also facing Florida state charges).
Mr. Fierberg's and Mr. Singerman's backdated (nunc pro tunc) Riley filings (with an attached perjured affidavit by Mr. Fierberg) and the resulting off-the-docket orders, were illegally kept off-the-docket and sealed. They were never served on the U.S. Trustee's Office, just one of the many missing prerequisites to legitimacy. For years, Mr. Riley's 'officer of the court' status and protection remained a carefully guarded secret from: myself, my attorneys, the U.S. Trustee's office, the U.S. Attorney's Office, and all reviewing courts. This continued until the district court finally ordered the bankruptcy court to disgorge the secret record — an order that, even today, has still not been fully complied with.
(The Riley court papers, including the Fierberg affidavit, related orders, and other documents are posted at http://www.scribd.com/sjlawrence95)
What the secret off-the-docket court papers contained was shocking and repugnant:
Although the papers are misleadingly labeled as only an "application" to have Mr. Riley hired as an 'officer of the court,' they were, in effect, much more than that. They show:
— a secret hearing was held without a court reporter and with no indication on the court docket. Years later, the Riley papers and order were inserted on the docket as #1426 ..., which was the docket position at the date of the insertion, not the date the papers were submitted years earlier. So, not even normal sealing procedures (as in the many other sealed documents) were followed for the off-the-docket assignment of 'officer of the court' status to Mr. Riley.
— Mr. Riley's 'hiring' was backdated (nunc pro tunc). So obviously, by the time of the secret hearing, he had already done some of his 'work' and could testify without a court reporter being present (This pattern of 'nunc pro tunc' secret hirings and hearings was repeated many times over the years)
— Bear Stearns' name is nowhere mentioned in the "application," even though they paid Riley for his 'work.'
— There are no other traces of Riley, on or off the bankruptcy record, including bills, applications to approve specific payments by the bankruptcy estate to Mr. Riley, orders approving any payment for submitted bills. Mr. Riley's secret testimony and 'officer of the court' status simply vanished from view. In short, Mr. Riley's 'hiring' was a sham designed to give him 'officer of the court' status and allow him to testify against me without a court record and reporter, without a chance to confront him, and without his identity ever being known.
— Mr. Singerman's lead co-attorney, James H. Fierberg, through his affidavit attached to the Riley papers, and his unknown testimony at the secret hearing, became a principal sworn secret witness against me. Those accusations were perjured. Mr. Fierberg swore to the testimony of numerous witnesses that I threatened many people, including children, in order to force false testimony from them. Every one of those purported witnesses was readily available for deposing and the obtaining of sworn statements. If the many purported witnesses had really spoken to Mr. Fierberg, then there is no reason they would not have given truthful statements and testimony about those fictitious events.
— The correct (and required) procedure, in the face of the serious accusations made, was to immediately refer the matter to the U.S. Attorney's Office ... not to hire a questionable P.I. using bizarre and illegal secret procedures.
At about the time the above events were occurring, I had informally been told by one of the key alleged witnesses (my accountant and a personal friend for years) that he believed he was being pressured to give false testimony by persons connected to the trustee. I never paid much attention since the issue never went further and I did not know of the secret testimony that was being given against me by Mr. Fierberg and Mr. Riley.
I have no doubt that the reason Mr. Singerman and Mr. Fierberg did not refer the Fierberg and Riley secret testimony/information to the USAO — as required by law — was their fear they could themselves be facing perjury and obstruction of justice charges.
After I discovered the existence of Mr. Riley, I was in no way surprised that the Palm Beach Police Department accused him of intimidating the child victims of billionaire pedophile Jeffery Epstein — history was just repeating itself.
The Bear Stearns -- Jeffrey Epstein Hedge Fund Connections:
One unexplored aspect of the handling of the Jeffery Epstein case is Epstein's intimate connections with Bear Stearns. He was both a former Bear Stearns insider and a mammoth player in the Bear Stearns Cayman Islands CMO hedge fund scandal. Based on my intimate knowledge of how Bear Stearns operated, I believe there existed an extensive symbiotic relationship between Bear Stearns and Jeffrey Epstein: Bear Stearns promoting Epstein to potential clients and Epstein, in turn investing heavily in Bear Stearns deals.
Was special inside information or treatment given by Bear Stearns to Epstein that wasn't given to the public victims of those Cayman Island funds? The USAO, at least publicly, believed Epstein to be a good asset in the criminal prosecution of the Bear Stearns' Cayman Islands hedge fund managers. Indeed, Epstein was taking virtually daily, all-day long — and much criticized — "furloughs" to his attorneys' offices ... purportedly to "aid" the Government in the hedge fund prosecutions.
However, the sweetheart deal given Epstein does not square with the thousands of prosecutions I saw at the FDC Miami. The USAO, almost without exception, is ruthless in placing pressure on defendants to obtain pleas. Prisoners, looking to alleviate long potential sentences, regularly scramble to turn on co-defendants. The type of threats against individuals at the USAO, that the Daily Beast article hinted at, would normally be met with immediate, ruthless, and extensive reaction — through either new indictments or added charges.
In late 2004, after I first obtained access to the sealed bankruptcy court record, I began notifying the USAO, through filings, that extensive protected law enforcement material had been stolen through their office and funneled to senior Bear Stearns management — serious criminal offenses. I identified Juval Aviv as being a key link in the theft and passing of the stolen information to Bear Stearns management. Mr. Aviv is a mysterious self-proclaimed Israeli 'hit man' cum assassin who had been indicted and prosecuted by the US Government. Mr. Aviv — amazingly — had also become a secret, protected 'officer of the bankruptcy court' in the same manner Mr. Riley had, and as a result, was supervising the USAO in the illegal phone surveillance of myself, my attorneys, my family, my friends, and reporters I was in communications with. He was also a key figure in secretly funneling the stolen information he had access to, directly and indirectly to Bear Stearns senior management.
In 2006, I filed a federal court complaint (also sent to the USAO) that, again, clearly outlined and supported allegations that Mr. Aviv was repeating crimes similar to those he had been previously prosecuted for and other serious crimes for Bear Stearns senior management. I received no response. I also notified the Office of Professional Responsibility and was met with a stone wall. I filed a Freedom of Information Request to determine the full extent of the thefts of materials related to myself. Again, I was met with a stone wall.
Whatever the extent of influence pedophile Jeffrey Epstein has, Bear Stearns has similar influence to a much larger degree. Bear Stearns (through its successor) and former management had, and continue to have, enormous incentive to protect Jeffrey Epstein from turning against them — a very likely event if Jeffrey Epstein was facing 40 years in prison, as he should have been. If, as intimated in the Daily Beast, the USAO responded to threats of embarrassing disclosures with a sweetheart deal, Bear Stearns' and Berger Singerman's successful infiltration of the USAO, to facilitate the theft and funneling of extensive law enforcement materials and the results of unlawful wiretapping to Bear Stearns, presented a parallel embarrassing incentive to take the pressure off of Bear Stearns by taking the pressure off the key potential insider witness against Bear Stearns, Jeffrey Epstein.
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