Could Review of Honest-Services Fraud Law Have An Impact on Siegelman Case?

The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments this week on cases involving the honest-services fraud statute that has been used in a number of high-profile corruption cases.

The issues at hand, we suspect, are poorly understood by the public, particularly here in Alabama. So we think a couple of key points need to be made:

* Contrary to a report by the Associated Press, the Supreme Court's ultimate findings will not have an effect on the case of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman--at least not the part involving Siegelman himself.

* Deliberations on the cases are likely to ignore the real problem with the honest-services law, as it was applied in the cases of Siegelman and Paul Minor (Mississippi). In other words, the justices won't want to deal with "the elephant in the room."

The basic mail-fraud statue, 18 U.S. Code 1341, unquestionably is written in a confusing fashion. (The honest-services component is covered at 18 U.S. Code 1346.) But the Associated Press did not do the public any favors when it distributed a story with this headline: U.S. Supreme Court hears fraud law challenge; could affect Siegelman, Scrushy appeals.

The story includes this paragraph:

Former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman and ex-HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy also are appealing their honest services fraud convictions to the Supreme Court.

That information, unfortunately, is incorrect. The U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the honest-services fraud convictions against Siegelman, so that no longer is an issue in his case. His appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court involves bribery and obstruction of justice.

The 11th Circuit upheld the honest-services fraud convictions against Scrushy, so the cases currently before the U.S. Supreme Court could have an impact on his appeal.

What about that elephant in the room, the issue the legal community does not want to touch? The real problem in the Siegelman and Minor cases was not the honest-services mail fraud statute; the problem was that both cases were overseen by corrupt judges.

Yes, the statute is poorly worded. But my research indicates that is the case with many federal statutes. The key to understanding federal law often is to research the case law. And as we noted in an earlier post titled "Mail Fraud: A Primer," the case law is not all that hard to understand. I don't have the first day of law school, and I figured it out--so federal judges certainly should be able to get it right.

But here's the rub: Some federal judges are corrupt. Mark Fuller, who handled the Siegelman case, and Henry Wingate, who handled the Minor case, definitely are corrupt. They gave unlawful jury instructions and did it in ways that almost had to have been intentional. On some counts, the jury instructions did not even come close to the actual law.

Siegelman (and Scrushy) and Minor were convicted of honest-services mail fraud not because the statute is poorly written, but because the judges did not apply the law correctly.

There's little doubt that federal prosecutors also acted corruptly in the Siegelman and Minor cases, and rogue prosecutors can cause great harm to the public. But as we have learned in the case of former U.S. Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) a federal judge has the power to oversee bad prosecutors--and make them pay.

Who is watching over bad judges, federal or state? The answer, for the most part, is no one. And that's the overarching problem with our justice system.

We could use some clarity on the honest-services fraud statute, and perhaps the U.S. Supreme Court will provide it. But until we get control over the likes of Mark Fuller and Henry Wingate, our justice system will continue to churn out injustice.

Evidence of Judicial Corruption Can Be Found On An Alabama Golf Course

After reading about my personal legal case, the one that prompted me to start this blog, a number of folks have asked, "Schnauzer, how did you know the judge in your case was cheating you?"

I didn't know the judge was cheating me until I conducted research at my local law library and discovered that almost every ruling in my case was contrary to the applicable law. But the first strong hint that I was being cheated came when my wife and I found out that the judge was a regular golf buddy with opposing counsel in our case.

I eventually cited this information in a motion to recuse, stating that Shelby County Circuit Judge J. Michael Joiner should step down from the case. Joiner granted the motion, essentially admitting that his cozy relationship with lawyer William E. Swatek presented an appearance of impropriety.

We recently discovered, however, that Joiner and Swatek still play golf together. And my guess is that Joiner still hears cases involving Swatek. The judge probably only recuses himself if the party being cheated challenges him, as we did. But I bet that almost never happens.

That's how "justice" is practiced in our country, folks. A judge admits he has a conflict of interest, but he doesn't disclose it himself from the outset--as he's required by law to do. Then he probably continues to hear other cases in which the same conflict exists--all without saying a word. Parties who come before him continue to get cheated, and they don't even know what's happening.

Our corrupt judge, Mike Joiner, is so blase about his conflicts that he didn't mind them being advertised in our local newspaper. Consider an item that showed up recently in the sports section of The Birmingham News. It was under "Aces," spotlighting holes-in-one made on area golf courses:

Mike Joiner--Timberline Golf Club; No. 10; 189 yards; 5-wood; witnessed by Ferris Ritchey, Bill Swatek, Danny Crowson and Jonathan Spann.

That's the same Mike Joiner who was the judge in my case. And you will notice that his playing partners still include Bill Swatek, opposing counsel in my case. As we have reported previously, Bill Swatek is not just any lawyer. He is one of the sleaziest lawyers in Alabama--and that's saying something--with a 30-year history of ethics problems with the Alabama State Bar. We outlined his legacy of sleaze in posts here and here.

The other three guys in the group are lawyers, too. Ferris Ritchey appears to have his eye on a judgeship. (Playing golf with a guy who's already a judge? Smart guy, that Ferris.) Crowson and Spann are partners in Crowson Morrison & Spann, a firm on Main Street in Columbiana, Alabama, just a stone's throw from the courthouse. They probably have cases before Joiner all the time. And you apparently can catch them on the golf course with the judge on a regular basis.

Some readers might ask, "C'mon, Schnauzer, what's the problem with a judge enjoying a few rounds of golf with lawyers?"

Here's the problem: A guy like Mike Joiner wants to have it both ways. He wants to be a judge, but he also wants to be buddies with the lawyers who come before him. That's not how it's supposed to work. Once Joiner becomes a judge, the law holds him to a higher standard: Does his behavior present the appearance of impropriety?

In my case, Joiner admitted that playing golf regularly with opposing counsel called his impartiality into question. And in fact, he repeatedly ruled unlawfully in the other side's favor--stopping only when I called him on it.

Yet, our little sports item proves that Joiner still ignores the standards that are placed on him, by law, as a judge.

What should a citizen do? If you find yourself in Shelby County court before Judge Mike Joiner--and the opposing party is represented by Swatek, Ritchey, Crowson, or Spann--you should promptly file a motion to get Joiner off the case.

Joiner, by law, should take himself off the case. But history indicates that he won't do it--unless you make him do it.

My guess is that numerous judges around the country behave in the same unethical manner.

Research Fraud Continues to Rear Its Ugly Head at UAB

For the third time this year, a faculty member at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) has been found to have committed scientific research fraud.

This comes on the heels of a massive research-funding fraud lawsuit that UAB settled with the federal government for $3.4 million in 2005. A whistleblower in that case, a forensic accountant, estimated the actual fraud to be about $600 million.

The latest case also comes on the heels of reports that multiple UAB physicians are involved in a physical-therapy company (with Homewood attorney Rob Riley, son of Governor Bob Riley), which faces charges in federal court that it has practiced health-care fraud.

All of the incidents of fraud either started or continued under the leadership of current UAB President Carol Garrison. The most recent incident comes roughly three weeks after UAB announced that Dr. Robert Rich, dean of the School of Medicine, was stepping down.

We speculated at the time that something serious probably was behind Rich's decision. Today's news definitely is serious--but it is far from the only major problem that exists in UAB's biomedical enterprise.

H.M. Krishna Murthy, who worked in the Center for Biophysical Sciences and Engineering, is the latest UAB researcher to have problems with fraud. The Birmingham News reports that UAB has asked that nine of Murthy's research papers be retracted because his experimental findings appear to be false or fabricated. The Journal of Biological Chemistry already has retracted one of Murthy's papers.

In July, UAB researchers Juan R. Contreras and Judith M. Thomas were barred from receiving grants and contracts after falsifying results from animal studies.

Contreras and Thomas no longer work at UAB, and Murthy left the university in February 2009.

Could Head of U.S. Chamber of Commerce Wind Up in the Slammer?

A campaign to bring criminal charges against the CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is gaining steam--and national attention.

Even Fox News has noticed the campaign against Chamber CEO Tom Donohue, which was launched by the progressive advocacy group Velvet Revolution (VR) in October.

VR is offering $200,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of Donohue. This all reminds me of a splendid recent piece by Larisa Alexandrovna of at-Largely, explaining Donohue's plans to undermine the rights of regular Americans on behalf of business interests. They originated with a fascinating memo out of the Nixon years.

The Velvet Revolution campaign got the attention of Roll Call in yesterday's edition. In a statement at its stopthechamber.com site, VR states:

Mr. Donohue and the U.S. Chamber have been publicly accused of criminal activity in complaints filed by attorneys and Attorneys General in numerous states, and also by non-profits such as Citizens for Reform and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and Public Citizen. StopTheChamber.com now seeks direct evidence that will stand up in a court of law--documents, affidavits, and testimony--implicating Mr. Donohue for crimes including fraud, tax violations, campaign finance violations, money laundering, insider trading, election tampering, and criminal manipulations of pension funds. StopTheChamber.com wants to hear from insiders and whistleblowers possessing information not already in the public domain.

Is stopthechamber.com serious about this? You be the judge:

Specifically, StopTheChamber.com is seeking evidence pertaining to the period of Mr. Donohue's tenure at the Chamber and his membership on the boards of Sunrise Senior Living, Union Pacific, Qwest Communications (until 2005) and XM Satellite Radio (until 2008).

Sounds serious to me. And this wanted poster looks serious.

Kevin Zeese, an attorney and spokesperson for stopthechamber.com sure sounds serious:

The Chamber of Commerce, under the leadership of Tom Donohue, has used pay-to-play, opaque, dishonest and unaccountable practices to corrupt all branches of Government and the elections of our representatives. We have been investigating the unethical and criminal conduct of Donohue and the Chamber for quite some time and now we are asking more insiders to come forward with documents and other hard evidence to add to our request for a criminal prosecution. Our reward is meant to assist both law enforcement authorities and those who make the courageous decision to expose the Chamber’s criminal wrongdoing.

Alabama has been a primary testing ground for Donohue's corrupt tactics. And he was in Birmingham just last Friday to address his acolytes at the Business Council of Alabama.

Maybe the next time Donohue visits our fair state, federal authorities will be prepared to arrest his greedy butt. Can you imagine Tom Donohue being handcuffed and dragged off the dais at an Alabama business function? Sort of brings a smile to your face.

If Kevin Zeese has his way, Donohue might be arrested before he returns to Alabama. Reports Roll Call:

Zeese says he’s confident he’ll get the goods on Donohue.

“There are enough people that are angry at [Tom Donohue], they’ll tell us what’s going on,” Zeese said, noting that more ads are in the works. “We’ve begun to get tips, and we’re investigating them.”

What about the Nixon-era memo that inspired Donohue's ruthless campaign on behalf of American business? It was written in 1971 by Lewis Powell, who later was rewarded with a judgeship by President Richard Nixon. Here is how Larisa Alexandrovna explains it:

The Powell memo, named after Lewis Powell, its author--whom Nixon later rewarded with a judgeship--was written in 1971 to the then-director committee at the Chamber,Eugene B. Sydnor. The document essentially argued for a fascist take-over of politics by big business through dirty tricks, front groups designed to influence domestic policy, media ownership and propaganda, and a whole lot more. Powell was himself on the board of 11 different corporations at the time of its authoring:

Though Powell's memo was not the sole influence, the Chamber and corporate activists took his advice to heart and began building a powerful array of institutions designed to shift public attitudes and beliefs over the course of years and decades. The memo influenced or inspired the creation of the Heritage Foundation, the Manhattan Institute, the Cato Institute, Citizens for a Sound Economy, Accuracy in Academe, and other powerful organizations. Their long-term focus began paying off handsomely in the 1980s, in coordination with the Reagan Administration's "hands-off business" philosophy.

You can read the full Lewis Powell memo here. In it, Powell discusses the "enemies" of business and how they should be attacked. The memo had a profound impact on Tom Donohue. Alexandrovna explains:

The culprits Powell is describing as enemies, radicals, "leftists" are people who tried to reform the way business operates, including taxes, consumer safety, and so forth. So Powell and the Chamber set forth to create the "guerrilla warfare" Powell thinks was needed. I suggest you read the whole memo.

Now, Tom Donohue--who is very close friend of Karl Rove and was a key adviser to President Bush on business issues--which has resulted in the massive corruption of unregulated banks and other institutions that we have to deal with now - is a big fan of the Powell memo. More than that even, he is a big fan of laundering political contributions through the Chamber and pouring them into state judicial elections-- against the law in some of these states, including Mississippi.

Before Donohue and Rove combined for a campaign to take over state courts in Mississippi, they did it in Alabama.

Is it a coincidence that the two most prominent political prosecutions of the George W. Bush era--those involving Don Siegelman and Paul Minor--took place in Alabama and Mississippi, respectively? Not at all. Political prosecutions of prominent Democrats are a natural by-product of Donohue's campaign to subvert our justice system. And it all grew out of the Lewis Powell memo.

Does Velvet Revolution have the right man in the crosshairs? Oh, yes. Regular Americans should be pulling for VR to nail him.

Why Is Obama Troubled by Corruption in Afghanistan, but not in U.S.?

We enthusiastically cast our ballots for Barack Obama in November 2008 partly because, after eight years of George W. Bush, we couldn't wait to have a smart guy in the White House again.

Almost one year into the Obama presidency, we still think he's a smart guy. And that's why it pains us when he takes a position that is intellectually inconsistent, if not dishonest.

Obama's weakest position, in our view, has been his determination to "look forward, not backward" regarding the apparent crimes of the Bush administration. That stance has never made sense, and it makes even less sense now that Obama has announced plans to send 30,000 more U.S. troops into Afghanistan.

At the heart of the Obama plan is a push to root out corruption in Afghanistan. And that's ironic because Obama has shown no interest in rooting out corruption here at home.

Why the surge in Afghanistan? Obama hopes to stabilize the country and turn it over to the government of President Hamid Karzai. Unfortunately, the Karzai government is flagrantly corrupt, marked by cronyism and electoral fraud.

Sounds a lot like the Bush administration, doesn't it? But Obama wants Americans to forget all the pain that was inflicted upon our democracy over the past eight years.

Obama is a smart guy, so he should be able to see the irony in headlines like this: "White House Tells Karzai to Fight Corruption or be Left Behind." Consider this report out of France last week:

The White House on Wednesday warned Afghan President Hamid Karzai to fight corruption or see Washington bypass his cabinet and seek out lower level officials to provide essential services to Afghans.

The warning--coming a day after Obama said the US government would no longer give Afghanistan a "blank check" for US aid--turned up the pressure on Karzai to end the corruption seen as fueling the Taliban insurgency.

Here's a key statement from Obama's speech last week at West Point:

"We'll support Afghan ministries, governors, and local leaders that combat corruption and deliver for the people. We expect those who are ineffective or corrupt to be held accountable."

Accountability for corruption? That's exactly what many progressives want to see regarding the Bush administration. But Obama, so far, has turned a deaf ear.

How concerned is the White House about corruption in Afghanistan? Consider this report from The New York Times:

In addition, some American officials and their European counterparts would like at least a few arrests of what one administration official called “the more blatantly corrupt” people in the Afghan government.

The names of some high-profile Afghans have been floated for possible arrest, including Karzai's brother who is suspected of being a major player in the country's illegal opium trade. Writes the Times:

“A couple of high-profile heads on a platter would be nice,” said one European diplomat involved in Afghanistan.

High-profile heads on a platter? What about the ones who are close at hand? Former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, perhaps the most prominent victim of a political prosecution during the Bush era, has pointed to a "high-profile head"--a guy who goes by the name of Karl Rove. But the Obama administration seems to have no platters for such high-profile heads here at home.

The surge in Afghanistan cannot work, Obama seems to be saying, if the people do not have a government they can trust. But the president apparently does not realize that, after eight years under George W. Bush, many Americans see no reason to trust their government. And that could doom Obama's efforts at change.

Which brings us back to our essential question: Why is corruption a problem when it occurs in Afghanistan, but not when it happens in the United States?

How Obama answers that question might largely determine the success or failure of his presidency.

What Are Your Cats Doing When You Are Away?

Most cat owners probably think their "pooties" spend a lot of time sleeping when their "hoomins" aren't at home.

That's what we figured about Baxter and Chloe, our brother/sister Tonkinese duo. But a recent study shows that we were wrong about that. Cat "parents" might be surprised to find how active their kitty kats are when "mom and dad" are away.

Jill Villarreal, an animal behavior scientist, attached collar cameras to 50 house cats, taking a photo every 15 minutes. What did she discover? Only six percent of the cats' time was spent napping. Their favorite activities were looking out the window (22 percent), interacting with other family pets (12 percent), and climbing on chairs, kitty condos, or other objects (8 percent).

And get this: Cats, like people, are heavily into electronics. The study cats spent 6 percent of their time looking at televisions, computers, DVDs, or other forms of media. A few other favorites:

* Hiding under tables, 6 percent;

* Playing with toys, 5 percent;

* Eating or looking at food, 4 percent.

I was curious about all of this, so I decided to run it by our kitty kats. Chloe is like our "perfect child." She is good natured, almost never makes a sound, and shows little interest in getting into things. She spends most of her time looking gorgeous, chilling, and thinking about her next meal. Baxter's a different story; he's our "Dennis the Menace." He's always "talking" and looking for opportunities to get into mischief. He also makes no attempt to hide the results of his misadventures, so I thought I would go to him.

"Hey, Baxter," I said, "have you heard of this story about cameras that catch what cats do when their parents are away?"

"Oh, yeah," he said. "I read it on your computer the other day while you were gone."

"You use the computer while we're gone?"

"Sure. By the way, you're due for an upgrade. And did you know there are some fascinating kitty porn Web sites out there?"

"I didn't know that."

"They'll probably be showing up on your next bill."

"Thanks for the heads up. What else do you do when we're gone?"

"I check out your music. I've never seen so many '60s and '70s albums in one place. You're living in the past, dude."

"Can you actually put the albums on the turntable and listen?"

"No. It would help if you realized it's the 21st century. Have you ever heard of a CD player or an iPod?"

"Which albums do you find most interesting?"

"This band The Byrds . . . I find them intriguing. In fact, I can't take my eyes off their album cover."

"I bet."

"And this guy Cat Stevens. He must be cool."

"Any albums you don't like?"

"Oh, yeah. What's with all this Three Dog Night stuff? That looks lame. I threw all of those out. Hope you don't mind."

"You threw away my Three Dog Night?"

"Heck, yeah. That song about Jeremiah, the bull frog? You ought to thank me that's not around any more."

"Hey, you think I'm square, have you checked out your mother's records? She's got the complete Village People collection."

"I know, I saw it. What a hoot! You guys are hopelessly unhip."

"Anything else you do when we're gone?"

"Oh, yeah, Chloe and I like to turn on the TV and watch old game shows on cable."

"Cats like old game shows? Who knew?"

"Our favorite is To Tell the Truth. What a classic!"

"Why do you like that so much?"

"We love Kitty Carlisle. She is one smart lady. They can never fool her."

"Of course."

Time Magazine Ignores a Key Story in "The Decade From Hell"

The cover story for the current issue of Time magazine (dated December 7, 2009) tells us that we are experiencing probably the worst decade in modern American history.

Time recites a litany of dreadful events that have marked the years 2000-2010, but it goes relatively easy on the guy who occupied the White House for most of that period.

Time even includes an online photo gallery titled "The 10 Worst Things About the Worst Decade Ever." But it fails to mention what might be the most profound debacle of the 2000s: The criminalization of the U.S. justice system. Thanks to the political prosecutions of Don Siegelman (Alabama) and Paul Minor (Mississippi), those of us who live in the Deep South are acutely aware of how the Department of Justice has been used as a political weapon.

What has made the 2000s "The Decade From Hell"? Here's how Time puts it:

Bookended by 9/11 at the start and a financial wipeout at the end, the first 10 years of this century will very likely go down as the most dispiriting and disillusioning decade Americans have lived through in the post–World War II era.

For the most part, we can't blame the miserable decade on wars. Writes Time's Andy Serwer:

Calling the 2000s "the worst" may seem an overwrought label in a decade in which we fought no major wars, in historical terms. It is a sadly appropriate term for the families of the thousands of 9/11 victims and soldiers and others killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. But the lack of a large-scale armed conflict makes these past 10 years stand out that much more. This decade was as awful as any peacetime decade in the nation's entire history.

So why did Time ignore justice issues when examining the 2000s? Editors at Time probably would argue that wrongdoing in the Justice Department has not been proven--and that the perpetrators have not been fully identified. They probably would say that the story is still evolving--and they would have a point.

We would argue that a number of stories on their list--the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the market meltdown, the implosion of the automobile industry--are still evolving. The problem with the justice story, we suspect, is that it is spread out and not easy to grasp in a single view. Plus, much of the skulduggery surely took place behind closed doors, and neither journalists nor oversight groups have unearthed much of it.

But the evidence of gross wrongdoing is there--in the firings of U.S. attorneys, in the transcripts from the Siegelman and Minor trials--and Time should have addressed it.

Most of the events that Time examines, both in print and online, can be placed in three categories:

* International disasters--Afghanistan and Iraq wars; attacks of 9/11

* Natural disasters--Hurricane Katrina; Asian tsunami

* Financial disasters--market meltdown; Bernie Madoff; auto industry

The closest Time comes to political corruption is a brief mention of the Jack Abramoff episode.

Is it a coincidence that all of these events took place while George W. Bush and his band of criminals were in power? To read Time, you would think it was. But for pretty much every disaster that is mentioned, the Bush administration either caused it to happen or failed to manage it properly after it happened.

What makes the justice story so important? It goes to an abuse of our government's basic machinery--and it happened at home, right under our noses. Yes, there was government incompetence both before and after Katrina. And yes, the 9/11 attacks were a colossal failure with international repercussions.

But the criminalization of our justice system is a purely domestic story. And evidence suggests that it goes beyond mere incompetence to truly evil intent. In a scene right out of Josef Stalin's Soviet Union, the Bush administration used our courts to imprison political opponents.

Our guess is that the Bush administration engaged in criminal acts on a number of fronts. But the justice story--where innocent people where prosecuted and imprisoned for purely political reasons--might be the most grotesque criminal enterprise of all.

It goes right to the heart of the ugly Bush years. And that's probably why Time wanted no part of it.

A "Deep Throat" Emerges in the Mike Connell Plane Crash

An anonymous informant has provided information indicating that an airplane piloted by Republican computer expert Mike Connell was sabotaged before it crashed on December 19, 2008, near Akron, Ohio.

One of Connell's sisters says she believes the family will file a wrongful-death lawsuit against Republican strategist Karl Rove if foul play ever is proven in the plane crash.

Those are two of the major revelations in a stunning recent investigative piece at BradBlog, by award-winning television producer and writer Rebecca Abrahams.

Connell, the founder of New Media Communications in Richfield, Ohio, was considered a skilled and experienced pilot. He developed campaign Web sites for a number of Republican clients, including George W. Bush and John McCain.

Connell had been forced to give a deposition in an election-fraud lawsuit on November 3, 2008, the day before the general election. Roughly six weeks later, his plane crashed next to a vacant house in Lake Township, Ohio, as Connell was returning from a business trip to Washington, D.C. The cause of the crash is unknown, and it remains under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.

Why was Mike Connell a central figure in election-fraud issues? And why have questions been raised about the nature of the plane crash that killed him? Abrahams summarizes:

Although mainly un-reported, there's a great deal of controversy surrounding Connell's death--largely in part because he was the architect of many Republican websites including GeorgeWBush.com and GWB43.com, the site Karl Rove used for 95% of his email correspondence. Connell was also considered a key witness in the election fraud lawsuit King Lincoln Bronzeville Neighborhood Association v. Blackwell. The suit implicates Former Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth J. Blackwell, Karl Rove and others of 2004 election night vote rigging.

Attorneys in the case believe that Connell, who had not been accused of any wrongdoing, had firsthand knowledge about the missing White House emails and Rove's alleged wrongdoing with respect to the 2004 Presidential election.

Connell's sister, Shannon, says she believes her brother's work related to politics led to his death. Reports Abrahams:

Although her brother never spoke of his work, Shannon believes that Mike's ties to the Bush Administration and the GOP are somehow related to his death.

"It just seems way too convenient, the timing since he had been deposed. He didn't get to testify. But I don't think he would've perjured himself. When it comes down to it, he was basically an honest person. If push came to shove and he was under oath testifying, I believe that he would've told the truth. I think that there were other people who believed that as well."

The Connell family has received tangible evidence that suggests foul play in the plane crash. Reports Abrahams:

Recently, the Connell family has been dealt another blow--an anonymous memo penned by someone identifying themselves as "Mark Felt" (the name of the man who was ultimately revealed to be "Deep Throat"), cataloguing an order and mission to remotely intercept and rig the instrument panel of Mike Connell's plane then "sanitize" the area.

Heather confirms receipt of this memo, which was cc'd to six unknown recipients.

What does the memo mean? Abrahams reports that it is being taken seriously:

Those close to the case believe the person behind the memo is a real informant with inside knowledge about Connell's plane crash. There are a number of Intelligence officials looking into it, including the FBI. The FBI field agent in charge of the case, Jack Vickery, did not return my calls. But Cliff Arnebeck, the prosecuting attorney in the case and the one who deposed Mike Connell last November, issued the following statement:

We received copies of the "deep throat" letter and redacted report of a jackal that "is not supposed to exist." We passed on to the FBI this and other information we have relevant to the matter. Our impression is that the FBI is doing its job of investigating specific allegations regarding the assassination of a vital witness in our federal election fraud case.

The term "jackal" refers to a hired assassin. And Abramhams quotes an expert on the subject:

Former CIA operative John Perkins wrote about such "jackals" in his book, Confessions of an Economic HitMan, and says while he doesn't have any inside knowledge about Connell's death, he would not be surprised if he was murdered.

"It wouldn't surprise me a bit. They've certainly assassinated a lot of people in this country. The Kennedys were assassinated. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. It's entirely possible that Paul Wellstone was assassinated. We've had a long, long history of assassinations. It's extremely successful in terms of turning politics around and getting people off cases. In a way, Bill Clinton was assassinated but it was a personality assassination. The Connell case is just one more possibility."

Perkins says that the mysterious plane crash long has been a popular tactic with hired assassins:

"It's so easy to cover it up. The evidence is destroyed and everybody knows airplanes are fragile anyway, small airplanes in particular. So it's a very clean type of assassination in terms of ways to do it because the area where the plane crash happens can be quickly cordoned off . . . and the evidence can be cleaned up very quickly and most of it is destroyed anyway. But if there's anything left, it can be disposed of very, very quickly."

The Connell family wants to know the identity of the informant. The family also wants to know more about threats Mike Connell reportedly received in the weeks leading up to his death.

Shannon Connell is quick to say that justice will be difficult to achieve in her brother's death. Reports Abrahams:

Shannon says if there were proof of foul play, she believes her family would file a wrongful death suit against Karl Rove. But she says she's not sure her family will ever know what really happened that day in December.

"I think Mike got caught up in some other people's lives and didn't know how to get out or was trying to get out. You know, I'm real cynical about whether justice will be done. A lot of the government officials probably have gotten away with a lot of things. My position now is what's going to make this different? What's different with my brother's death that's any different than Paul Wellstone's?"

The Man Who Should Be UAB's President

With more than 18,000 employees, the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is our state's largest employer. With some 56,000 jobs statewide related to the university, UAB is one of Alabama's primary economic engines.

But this critically important institution, thanks to the mismanagement of the University of Alabama Board of Trustees, is working on 17 years of failed presidencies. That streak of incompetence is only growing under UAB's current president, Carol Garrison.

Time magazine, however, recently spotlighted a man who could turn UAB's fortunes around. His name is Freeman Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). He grew up in Birmingham, and his home state desperately needs him--or someone very much like him--to get UAB back on the path that made it one of the nation's higher-education success stories.

Time featured Hrabowski in an article about the "10 Best College Presidents in America." E. Gordon Gee, president of The Ohio State University, tops the list, and you can check out the full top 10 here.

Creating lists of the top this or that in higher education seems to be a popular--if dubious--pastime for various news magazines. It's almost impossible to determine what such lists really mean--and if they are accurate.

But it seems clear that Hrabowski is a big-time presence in higher education. And he has deep roots in Alabama, where his kind of leadership is sorely needed.

Hrabowski, an African-American, was jailed as a 12-year-old in the fight for civil rights in early '60s Alabama. His record indicates that he hasn't backed down from many challenges since.

Time notes that Hrabowski has been almost too successful at turning UMBC into a powerhouse in engineering and science, which are areas of strength at UAB:

Freeman Hrabowski has a problem. The president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), has been so successful at cultivating his school's reputation for steering African-American students toward science and engineering — fields in which they have been traditionally under-represented — that he fears the university will be forever typed as a hard-discipline powerhouse at the expense of everything else. "I often say to people that yes, over half of our students are in science fields, but the other half are in arts," says Hrabowski. "We're working to build a university that has first-rate research across all disciplines."

Is Hrabowski a well-rounded guy? Does he know how to get things done? Consider this from his biography:

In 2008, he was named one of America’s Best Leaders by U.S. News & World Report, which in 2009 ranked UMBC the #1 “Up and Coming” university in the nation and fourth among all colleges and universities in the nation for commitment to undergraduate teaching. In 2009, Time magazine named him one of America’s 10 Best College Presidents.

He serves as a consultant to the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the National Academies, and universities and school systems nationally. He also serves on the boards of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, France-Merrick Foundation, Marguerite Casey Foundation (Chair), and The Urban Institute. He also sits on the boards of Constellation Energy Group, McCormick & Company, and the Baltimore Equitable Society. He also served on the board of the Maryland Humanities Council as both a member and Chair.

We highlighted the section about UMBC's commitment to undergraduate teaching because UAB needs a boost in that area. How badly does UAB need the kind of leadership that Hrabowski could provide? Consider its three most recent full-time presidents:

* J. Claude Bennett (1993-1996)--An internal promotion from the UAB Department of Medicine, Bennett resigned after it was discovered that state employees were performing work at his personal residence. Also, Bennett appointed Dr. Ken Roozen as executive vice president and provost, and Roozen managed to alienate huge segments of the campus--before beating a hasty retreat to South Carolina.

* W. Ann Reynolds (1997-2002)--UAB's first female president, Reynolds came from CUNY in New York with a stellar resume and a combustible personality. She was a major source of friction on the campus and exited not long after a whistleblower revealed massive research fraud at UAB. As a parting gift, Reynolds filed a lawsuit against the University of Alabama Board of Trustees, claiming she had been a victim of discrimination.

* Carol Z. Garrison (2002-present)--UAB has been beset by human-resources problems and a variety of research scandals during Garrison's tenure. In her first year on the job, Garrison embarrassed the university by playing a prominent role in a scandal that led to the ouster of University of Tennessee President John Shumaker. (Much more is coming soon at Legal Schnauzer on the Garrison/Shumaker story.) Garrison's unseemly dalliance with Shumaker on multiple occasions involved misappropriation of public funds. She probably should have been fired after only a few months on the job. She probably would have been fired, but the UA board already was expecting a lawsuit from Reynolds and almost certainly did not one to see another one coming from Garrison.

UAB can be viewed as a smaller-scale version of the United States. It's a big, robust institution, and a few bad presidents are not going to ruin it. The US of A, so far, has survived the George W. Bush debacle--and UAB is likely to survive the likes of Bennett, Reynolds, and Garrison.

But there are signs of significant decay at UAB. If you know the institution, and know where to look, you can easily spot them. And like the United States, UAB is not so powerful that it cannot become permanently scarred--and impaired--by an extended period of poor leadership.

Would Freeman Hrabowski consider returning to his hometown to take on the serious challenges facing UAB? On the plus side, he has been president at UMBC since 1992 and might be ready for a new challenge. On the minus side, Hrabowski's deep roots in our state probably give him significant insight into the dysfunctional nature of the University of Alabama Board of Trustees. He might not want any part of working for that board.

Here is the bottom line: UAB is too important to Alabama's future--and its present--to muddle along under incompetent presidents. Alabama citizens, particularly those living in the Birmingham metro area, need to rise up and demand that Carol Garrison be sent packing. And they need to demand that Freeman Hrabowski at least be consulted about the future of Alabama's most important university.

If we can't get Freeman Hrabowski himself, we at least need someone very much like him. And there is no reason that Hrabowski cannot be involved in the process to get UAB back on the right track.

UAB is suffering. And the process to heal a potentially great university needs to start now.

UAB Makes Money Off India, while Cheating Trainees From India

The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) seems to be on a public-relations offensive to tout its financial and medical connections to India, which has one of the world's fastest-growing economies.

Is this an effort to mask the blatant discrimination medical trainees from India have experienced at UAB? While striking deals with business and political leaders from India, does UAB mention that it has treated international medical graduates (IMGs) from India in a shameful fashion? Does UAB mention that a federal jury recently found that it had discriminated against Dr. Seema Gupta, an IMG from India, because of her Hindu faith?

Somehow, I'm guessing that subject doesn't come up in these high-level international discussions. But it has come up here at Legal Schnauzer. And we will continue to take an in-depth look at rampant discrimination against IMGs--from India, Pakistan, Germany--at UAB's family-medicine residency program in Huntsville.

UAB seems to have no qualms about mistreating its own trainees from India. But when the university has an opportunity to make money off India--or to score PR points with a "feel good" story about a sports hero from India--hey, it's full speed ahead.

What have we learned in recent days? UAB announced that it and Birmingham-based Southern Research Institute have entered into a drug-discovery joint venture with an Indian firm called Jubilant Organosys. Richard Marchase, UAB's vice president for research, says the deal could be extremely lucrative. "If we can get a steady stream of millions of dollars a year, we'd count it as a success."

Ashok Singhal, president of CFS Research Corp. in Huntsville and president of Alabama India Business Partnerships, says he expects to see more such partnerships down the road.

Marchase apparently can't wait. He notes that a blockbuster drug at Emory University had a payoff price of $500 million and hints that the Indian firm could help UAB achieve such a payday. "The upside potential is almost unlimited," Marchase said.

Ah yes, the sweet smell of money. UAB always likes that.

UAB also likes the sweet taste of "feel good" PR connected to India. That came yesterday in the form of a front-page news article about Baljit Singh, a goalie for India's national field-hockey team. Singh, considered one of the top goalies in his sport, recently received treatment at UAB for a possible career-ending eye injury. The story featured a photo of Singh wearing a UAB cap.

How cute.

What's not so cute is UAB's established record of discriminating against its own trainees from India. And the university has done it while exhibiting breath-taking arrogance and hypocrisy. Get a load of this quote from Marchase, the research director who hopes the Jubilant deal will help UAB recruit against other top research universities: "We hope it will be an important recruitment tool and a potential retention tool."

Uh right, like the "retention tool" you used with Dr. Seema Gupta and at least two other IMGs from India in the UAB family-medicine residency program?

Speaking of arrogance, UAB continues to wine and dine prominent Indian leaders while trying its best to sweep the jury verdict in the Seema Gupta case under the proverbial carpet.

A number of UAB folks, including Provost Eli Capilouto, recently attended a reception that was part of a three-day visit in Alabama from Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, former president of India.

Kalam was here to help announce that an Indian software company, Congruent Solutions Inc., plans to establish headquarters in Birmingham. News reports stated that the law firm of Haskell Slaughter Young & Rediker, and the University of Alabama System, helped arrange the trip.

Someone evidently has done a splendid job of pulling the wool over Kalam's eyes. Consider this from The Birmingham News:

Economic ties with Alabama fit in Kalam's plan to help decrease poverty in India by the year 2020.

"The state is very progressive," Kalam said of Alabama. "The people are very happy people and hard-working."

Alabama, and its flagship university system, progressive? Dr. Kalam might want to check with Dr. Seema Gupta about that. He also might want to learn about what a federal jury found regarding UAB's treatment of IMGs from India.

In fact, one wonders if Dr. Kalam is aware of the discrimination that Dr. Gupta and other IMGs from India faced at UAB. Perhaps it's time he finds out.