New York

Published on: January 22, 2012

DWI Suspect Arrested on Top of Police Cruiser

by Stephen Bilkis

Just when you think you have heard it all, another story comes along that leaves one asking what were they thinking. A New York Criminal Lawyer has learned that a Maryland man was arrested for DWI early Sunday morning. While sadly that is nothing unusual, what makes this a little different is that the suspect backed his truck onto the hood of a police car.

The 26-year old man had reportedly been in an argument with someone at a local bar, when he decided to give chase to the person, he had been arguing with. That chase ended with the man’s truck having pushed the other person’s car into a utility pole. The story gets better. With the man’s judgment heavily impaired due to too much alcohol consumption, and having just been in an adrenaline inducing car chase, and then being involved in an accident, the man took it upon himself to place his vehicle into reverse and back up. The problem with this is that in so doing he backed onto the hood of an unmarked police car that had come upon the accident scene and had attempted to block the driver of the pickup by using his police cruiser as a barricade. The officer’s tactic worked overall, as the police vehicle did stop the truck from leaving the scene. It just was not exactly the way the officer had originally intended.

Luckily, the officer received only minor injuries and was treated and released from the local hospital soon after. The driver of the pickup, however, was not so luck. Although the man was not aware at the time of the presence of the police car beneath his truck, police were able to convince the man to exit his truck where he was then placed under arrest and charged with DWI, reckless driving, negligent driving, and two counts of second-degree assault.

Published on: January 15, 2012

Man killed Girlfriend, Unborn Son

by Stephen Bilkis

A 30-year-old PA veterinarian was arrested Tuesday in connection with last week’s alleged murder of a 27-year-old co-worker and their unborn son. The police reported that the suspect has been charged with one count of criminal homicide and one count of criminal homicide of an unborn child. The suspect was arraigned Tuesday morning and was denied bail.

The woman was last seen alive last week outside her apartment, according to a previous police report. PA State police found her body on Friday morning, after more than a day of searching. According to court documents received by a NY City Criminal Lawyer, the victim had been shot three times, twice in the head and once in the back.

Those court documents also revealed that after the woman was initially reported missing, police received a call concerning a suspicious vehicle left in an area parking lot. After arriving on scene, the authorities determined that the car belonged to the missing woman. More concerning still, court documents confirmed that the car’s windshield was broken and investigators found a large amount of blood, human tissue, and gun-shell casings inside the vehicle.

Published on: January 13, 2012

Crash Kills Solitary Motorist

by Stephen Bilkis

A single vehicle operated by a man 20 years of age rolled several times in the wee hours of the morning in a fatal crash. The driver was transported to a nearby hospital still alive. It was not long after his arrival there when the authorities pronounced the vehicle operator dead, a spokesperson informed a New York Criminal Lawyer.

There were two other people in the car at the time of the accident. They were both the same ages as the vehicle operator. The passengers were injured. No details about their injuries could be furnished to the NYC Criminal Lawyer. The men were treated at the same hospital where the vehicle operator was pronounced dead.

The vehicle operator was driving a newer, mid-sized vehicle. Witness statements and forensics clarified the nature of the car accident. The vehicle operator was driving when his steering became erratic and the vehicle went out of control. The lack of steering control caused the vehicle to move forcefully into an embankment. The vehicle bounced off of the embankment and glanced off a nearby utility services pole. The force of the blow to the vehicle caused the car to flip. The car came to a stop right-side up on all four of its wheels.

Published on: January 8, 2012

Alleged Drunk Driver Knocks Over Power Pole in Texas

by Stephen Bilkis

A Texas man drove his vehicle into a parked car and knocked over a power pole, police reported. Officers responded to a call before 2 a.m. The police explained that the the driver ran his vehicle into another car, then spun around and hit the power pole, which fell onto a tree. Only one customer seems to have lost power, according to Texas officials, and a crew was quickly at work to repair the pole.

Officers said that the driver was taken straight to the hospital. His injuries were non life-threatening. While at the hospital, his blood was drawn for a possible DWI charge. As of this writing, the driver was still hospitalized.

Handling these kind of events are just what a New York Criminal Lawyer is for. Everyone who is accused of a crime requires a legal advocate. It is more than just the law – it is the right of everyone in the United States to have legal representation. Still, such representation comes in many forms. Not all legal counsel are equal. Make sure, if you ever have a date in court, you have only the best speaking for your side of the story. Only a qualified criminal lawyer has the tenacity, integrity, and discretion you need when it comes to a criminal trial.

Published on: January 4, 2012

Former Hedge-Fund Manager Accused of Making Death Threats Against Regulators

by Stephen Bilkis

A former hedge-fund manager sits in a New York City jail today after he was arrested January 13 for making death threats against federal regulators, a collegue discovered. The government alleges that the accused sent emails that were laced with profanity to at least 47 current and former members of the SEC, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTA), the National Futures Association (NFA), and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FIRA).

Sources report to a reporter that U.S. prosecutors further allege that the former 50-year old commodities trader maintained an “execution” list of these regulatory officials on his company website. They are including the words that are alleged to have come from his website, “Go buy a gun, and let’s get to work in taking back our country from these criminals,” and that “I will be the first one to lead by example.” One of the government’s pieces of key evidence is that one of the emails that was reportedly sent by the accused to the NFA’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) reportedly reads, “It wasn’t ever a question of ‘if’ I was going to kill you, it was just a question of when.”

As is always the case, there are two sides to every story, and this story is no different, claims a source. The accused former trader says that these charges are the result of those officials in the regulatory agencies that have a grudge against him that began about 10-years ago after he was acquitted of charges of mail fraud and for allegedly making false statements. Following his acquittal, he applied to have his licenses reinstated, which was denied. Completion of the appeals process would also see the denial of reinstatement of his licenses. Following these denials, the accused had allegedly sent out threats to those involved at that time as well. These threats resulted in the accused agreeing to undergo therapy for anger management.

Published on: December 5, 2011

Ex-Qwest CEO Says That He Will Not Pay for His Lawyer’s Underwear

by Stephen Bilkis

On Wednesday, the former chief executive officer (CEO) of Qwest Communications, filed a lawsuit that alleges the lawyers who represented him during his insider-trading case overbilled him, a newspaper has learned. The legal malpractice lawsuit was filed in state Superior Court in Newark, NJ, seeks punitive and compensatory damages totaling $25 million plus attorney’s fees.

The former CEO is currently located at a federal prison in Pennsylvania, serving a 70-month sentence for using insider information as a basis for selling $52 million in stock in his former employer, the source was told. An appeals court also ordered him to pay a $19 million fine and to forfeit close to $45 million. His conviction was in 2007.

The former CEO’s current attorney has also informed the source that thanks to the law firm named in the suits failure to follow even the most “basic litigation procedures,” his client received not only strict fines, but also a lengthier prison sentence than what was necessary. The attorney also stated that due to these failures, the trial judge barred the defense’s sole expert witness. He also added that the case is sad, since his client not only received inadequate representation during his trial, but he was also overbilled in the process.

Published on: November 18, 2011

Tax Fraud in Georgia is Growing

by Stephen Bilkis

Tax fraud has been a problem almost since people have been required to pay taxes. As a New York Criminal Lawyer also claimed that, the problem has been even more prevalent in the electronic age. This is due, in large part, to the many places that we do business on the Internet that collect our vital information and store it as part of a normal business transaction. Electronic information gathering is not the only method that criminals use to collect our private information, however. Thieves have been scouring trash bins and mailboxes during tax season for many years, and the problem has only grown worse.

Many citizens in one state in particular have been learning of the problem firsthand. Citizens from the State of Georgia have been reporting increasing instances of receiving tax bills that have caught them by surprise. These are also the same citizens who have been filing their taxes regularly and have had no problems either with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or with their Georgia state income tax. Recently it has been learned of one such man who discovered too late that a 26-year old illegal immigrant had been arrested for using his Social Security number when he applied for work in a nearby county. It is also believed that this same illegal immigrant is why the Georgia man had recently received a tax bill from the IRS for $3,434.

Unfortunately, stories like his are not uncommon. During the 2010 tax season, the State of Georgia’s Revenue Department reportedly detected at least 52,000 fraudulent tax returns that totaled approximately $41 million in tax refunds. Those returns are only the returns that were detected; sources indicated.

Published on: November 14, 2011

SEC Accuses Former Goldman Sachs Director of Participating in Insider Trading

by Stephen Bilkis

A former director of financial firm Goldman Sachs has been accused of providing illegal business tips to the head of the Galleon Group, another financial firm. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleges that Rajat K. Gupta provided information about Warren Buffet’s intentions to invest in Goldman Sachs to Raj Rajaratnam hours before the investment was complete. This tip allowed the Galleon Group to earn $900,000 in profits after the company purchased 175,000 Goldman Sachs shares. Providing tips like this to other business people is illegal and unethical, and is charectarized as White Collar Crime.

According to the SEC, this is not the first time Gupta has provided Rajaratnam with trading tips. Gupta, who also sits on the board of Proctor and Gamble (P&G) alerted Rajaratnam of the company’s quarterly earnings early which prompted the Galleon Group to purchase shares right before quarterly earnings announcements. The Galleon Group earned more than $13.6 million in profits.

Gupta and Rajaratnam met about ten years ago during their work with the Indian School of Business. Since then, the two men have shared thousands of phone calls, lunches and formed business alliances such as the New Silk Route, a financial firm specializing in investment opportunities in India. Even though Rajaratnam’s role in New Silk Route is unclear, as he never took an active role in the firm, the two men are linked to the company, states a New York Criminal Lawyer. Gupta’s lawyer insists that the two men are friends and business colleagues and that Gupta has 40 years of experience in business and has never been accused of any illegal activities during this time.

Published on: November 8, 2011

Jurors in Blagojevich Trial Not to Be Named until the Day after the Trial Ends

by Stephen Bilkis

Jurors selected in the retrial of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich will not be named until the day after the trial is over to protect jurors from the onslaught of reporters who allegedly harassed jurors after the first trial. The judge presiding over the retrial said he is withholding the names of jurors because of the way the jurors in the first trial were treated just hours afterwards, reports a New York Criminal Attorney. Apparently, jurors from the first trial were followed by reporters and others in the media, harassed at home at all hours and were unable to go about their normal routines without media interference. Reporters hungry for juror reactions and their recollections from the trial say they were trying to do their jobs and that most in the media were compassionate to jurors while a few went too far.

In high profile court cases like those in New York and even Long Island, it is not unusual for the names of jurors to be withheld until the trial starts or until after the trial ends. Reporters want to know the names of the jurors sooner rather than later. Some reporters claim it is their duty to keep the public informed by learning more about what jurors were thinking and discussing in the deliberation room during a trial to determine if justice was served. Blagojevich is charged with trying to sell President Obama’s former Senate seat, fraud and other illegal activities. During his first trial, he was only convicted of one charge – lying to the FBI. The other 23 charges were dismissed by the jury, claims a reporter.

During the first trial, the jury deliberated for 14 days. Only one juror held out for a not guilty verdict. In the end, the jury was deadlocked on all by one charge and the trial was considered a mistrial. The second trial is scheduled to start on April 20th, says a NY Criminal Lawyer. Blagojevich is being charged with many of the same crimes he was charged with in the first trial. He continues to claim his innocence.

Published on: November 3, 2011

Guilty Plea From Convicted Sex Offender Thought Likely in Kidnapping Case

by Stephen Bilkis

A convicted sex offender on trial for kidnapping and raping an 11-year-old girl and keeping her captive for 18 years was expected to give a guilty plea – until his lawyer asserted the grand jury was improperly selected and acted inappropriately.

The public defender in this case is defending her clients against charges of rape, kidnapping, and other charges in an amended indictment, and she urged them to plead not-guilty.

The public defender did not elaborate on her claims regarding the jury, but did say she had questions about the racial makeup and the geographical makeup of the jury that indicted the couple on trial – the kidnapper and his wife. They were indicted mainly for the kidnapping of the 11-year-old girl, who is now 30. The public defender has been instructed to outline her objections in writing.