Wilson dismissed the centerpiece of the government's case -- a pair of racketeering convictions that included solicitation of murder. Did we mention soliciation of murder?
SEE ALSO: Did we mention soliciation of murder?
OUTSIDE IT'S AMERICA
"what would be the capacity of law enforcement
and of the courts to SUPRESS this kind of SPEECH?" -Judge A. Howard Matz, PRE-TRIAL HEARING OF KILLERCOP.COM
A QUESTION FOR AMERICA:
Is "pretty good" pretty much like "pretty clear?" Because I'm "pretty sure" it is not. I know, it's complex. (.pdf) But then again, I'm officially nutzzzzzz, until certified (.pdf) un-nutzzzzzz, in a competent court of the law. So I am waiting on the law. It sure is not speedy...
I'm no expert. Anyone seen an expert yet?(.pdf) Maybe the Goblin ate him!! He has our certificate required by the law and I need it to be officially un-nutzzzzzz. But tell him to hurry, 'cause I am about to get legally crazy again, on account of it. But it's a secret.
Here is the rule of law: Wherever Law ends, Tyranny begins. And that's a fact! Why? CauseIsaySo!! You are not entitled to anymore information, 'cause ya got no right to it. Git it? I bet you will soon enough. I'm all a Twitter waiting to see your reaction, to my reaction, to your Treatment. You'll just die when you see what I have in store for everyone in 2010.
Now move along folks, nothing more to see. Make like a Quack and disappear like Dr. Who. |
In light of the tapes, prosecutors told U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson that some of the convictions against Torres should be voided and that those charges would not be refiled. Moments later, Wilson dismissed the centerpiece of the government's case against Torres -- a pair of racketeering convictions that included solicitation of murder.
The overturned convictions were an embarrassing setback for the U.S. attorney's office. During the three-week trial, prosecutors portrayed Torres as a ruthless entrepreneur who had made millions in the grocery business by hiring illegal workers, failing to pay taxes, bribing a public official and even arranging to have people killed when they crossed him. Torres' attorneys argued that the government's case was the result of an overzealous LAPD detective who had a vendetta against Torres. They said the case was held together by convicted felons who were hoping to win early release by cooperating with prosecutors.
Steven G. Madison, Torres' lead attorney, said he and his colleagues suspected that there were missing tapes based on testimony and evidence that came out in the trial. He filed a government misconduct motion and asked that prosecutors search for and turn over any additional recordings. Prosecutors opposed the motion, Madison said, but Wilson ordered them to conduct the search, Madison said.
Madison, who said he was still reviewing the tapes, declined to discuss their contents in detail. He suggested that they contained conversations involving two government informants who made comments potentially helpful to the defense.
Madison said Torres was "elated and gratified" by Wilson's ruling, as were members of his family and supporters.
"There were tears when the verdict came in, and there were tears today," he said. "But today they were tears of a different kind -- tears of joy, and tears of a restored faith in the justice system."
Torres, 52, still faces sentencing on tax, immigration and bribery convictions, but his lawyers have said that they would seek to have those charges dismissed as well because they had been tainted by testimony related to the case's racketeering element.
Either way, Wilson seemed to indicate that Torres' potential time behind bars has been dramatically reduced.
Though he had once been held without bond as a flight risk, the judge released him Tuesday on the promise that he would appear at future hearings in the case. Saying that Torres had already spent two years in federal custody, Wilson said that whatever sentence Torres did receive, it "probably won't be in the range where a rational person would give up an established lifestyle" and flee the jurisdiction.
Neither the prosecution nor the defense would say how much time Torres faces, but representatives from both sides speculated that he was unlikely to be sentenced to much more time than he has already served.
Wilson, a former assistant U.S. attorney, commended prosecutors for "taking the high road" by disclosing the tapes. But he told Chief Assistant U.S. Atty. George Cardona that he had been skeptical of the informants used in the case, as well as their police handler, and that such a development was not "totally unforeseen." He said that if prosecutors had been more careful, "perhaps some of these matters might have come to light earlier."
The convictions thrown out Tuesday stemmed from allegations that Torres had engaged in racketeering by running a so-called "shadow organization" to ensure the success of his Numero Uno supermarket chain.
Prosecutors accused him of orchestrating three murders as part of the enterprise. Jurors convicted him of one, that of gang member Jose "Shorty" Maldonado, who allegedly tried to shake him down for protection money, supposedly on behalf of the Mexican Mafia. Maldonado was fatally shot and his pregnant girlfriend wounded as they walked across the street near Torres' main market on Jefferson Boulevard in 1994.
The racketeering aspect of the government's case relied heavily on the testimony of two former Torres associates, Raul Del Real and Derrick Smith, both of whom are serving lengthy prison sentences for distributing cocaine. The men implicated Torres in solicitation of murder, among other things.
Both also admitted under cross-examination that they had been promised reduced sentences, cash payments and other favors in exchange for their cooperation, despite having earlier testified before a federal grand jury that no such promises had been made.
Madison also took aim at LAPD Det. Greg Kading, whom he accused of improperly manipulating Del Real and Smith into implicating Torres.
The lawyer played a tape for the jury of a conversation between Kading and Smith.
"It's always this way, man," Kading says at one point. "I have to come up with the answers and tell you and then you just say, 'Yeah, you're right.' "
He also played a tape of an imprisoned Del Real talking with his brother in which they discuss a check "with a five and zeros and zeros and zeros" that he expected to receive for his cooperation.
Contempt Of Cop
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Expert Officer displayed 'contempt of cop' reaction Internal Affairs
Contempt Of Cop II
CAMERA IS THE NEW SPEAK FOR GUN IN THE WILD, WILD WEST! - It's more about 'contempt of cop' than the violation of the wiretapping law.
Welcome to America Now step inside the jail cell - The audio exchange in this video was apparently recorded at the U.S. Canada border after a Canadian displayed contempt-of-cop towards the American law enforcement officer asking questions.
Contemptible police tactics - Cops raid the home of a licensed medical marijuanna provider in Washington, handcuff the fourteen year old son and put a gun to his head, and search the nineteen year old daughter and take the contents of her mickey-mouse wallet.
How To Survive Traffic Stops in America Submit, Instantly! - What the cops want is immediate obedience. Many cops are ex-military and view the civilian motorists of America about like they viewed the hapless peasants of Iraq and Afghanistan that is, with contempt, not as fellow citizens deserving of civility and respect. It is a possibly lethal mistake to do anything other than submit, instantly and obey!
My radio interview with Katherine Albrecht - Carlos Miller Photography is Not a Crime is interviewed by Katherine Albrecht, activist, radio host and privacy advocate, Tuesday afternoon where they discussed his blog, his arrests, the situation in the United Kingdom and the spread of contempt of cop cases that are popping up on the internet on a regular basis.
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