One of My Principles is to Have No Principles

CATEGORY: War Criminals, Prosecution, Law

DIVISION: Modern Evil

EDITORIAL: While one man's evil is another man's sacrament, the moderators in between can only rely on law. In that light, defending dictators, terrorists and war criminals becomes a straight forward job with the added benefit of enormous media profile. And let's face it - you'll very quickly attract the filthiest, richest bastards on the planet. With war never ending, you'll never be out of work.

















INTERVIEW WITH NOTORIOUS LAWYER JACQUES VERGÈS

"There Is No Such Thing as Absolute Evil"

He has met Mao Zedong, Pol Pot and Che Guevara. He defended 'Carlos the Jackal' and Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie. Jacques Vergès, 83, is probably the world's most notorious attorney. His latest client is Khieu Samphan, the former head of state of Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge, who is on trial for war crimes.

SPIEGEL: Mr. Vergès, are you attracted to evil?

Jacques Vergès: Nature is wild, unpredictable and senselessly gruesome. What distinguishes human beings from animals is the ability to speak on behalf of evil. Crime is a symbol of our freedom.

SPIEGEL: That's a cynical worldview.

Vergès: A realistic one.

SPIEGEL: You have defended some of the worst mass murderers in recent history, and you have been called the "devil's advocate." Why do you feel so drawn to clients like Carlos and Klaus Barbie?

Vergès: I believe that everyone, no matter what he may have done, has the right to a fair trial. The public is always quick to assign the label of "monster." But monsters do not exist, just as there is no such thing as absolute evil. My clients are human beings, people with two eyes, two hands, a gender and emotions. That's what makes them so sinister.

SPIEGEL: What do you mean?

Vergès: What was so shocking about Hitler the "monster" was that he loved his dog so much and kissed the hands of his secretaries -- as we know from the literature of the Third Reich and the film "Der Untergang" ("Downfall"). The interesting thing about my clients is discovering what brings them to do these horrific things. My ambition is to illuminate the path that led them to commit these acts. A good trial is like a Shakespeare play, a work of art.

SPIEGEL: You are currently on stage at the Madeleine Theater in Paris, as the main character in a one-person play you wrote.

Vergès: It's about me, of course, about the lawyer's profession and the nature of trials. In every trial, a drama unfolds in front of the public, a duel between the defense and the prosecution. Both tell stories that are not necessarily true, but possible. One is declared the victor in the end, but this doesn't necessarily have anything to do with justice.

SPIEGEL: Are there any people whose defense you would not take on out of principle?

Vergès: One of my principles is to have no principles. That's why I would not turn down anyone.

SPIEGEL: Let's say, Adolf Hitler…


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Leave All Unwanted Kids in Nebraska

CATEGORY: Abandonment, Children, Nebraska

DIVISION: Modern Evil

COMMENT: There are only weeks left, maybe days, before Nebraska changes their Safe Haven Law thereby closing the loophole on legal child abandonment. If you've got an unwanted child of any age, then act now! Dump them at any hospital in Nebraska and run! Out of state drop-offs welcome.












Children Left Under Nebraska's Safe-Haven Law

By The Associated Press

Nebraska's safe-haven law, which doesn't have a specified age limit, lets parents abandon their children at a hospital without fear of prosecution.

Since it went into effect July 18, it has been used to drop off 33 children.

There have been six 17-year-olds, two 16-year-olds, six 15-year-olds, three 14-year-olds, three 13-year-olds, three 12-year-olds, five 11-year-olds, one 9-year-old, one 8-year-old, one 7-year-old, one 6-year-old and one 1-year-old. Five were from out of state.


34th Child Abandoned Under Nebraska's Safe-Haven Law

By The Associated Press

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A 5-year-old boy has been dropped off at an Omaha, Neb., hospital only a day before the state Legislature begins a meeting to change the state's safe-haven law.

The state Department of Health and Human Services said Friday the boy was left at Immanuel Medical Center about 9 p.m. Thursday. He's from Sarpy County near Omaha.

Nebraska's safe-haven law was intended to protect unwanted newborns from being abandoned, but unlike similar laws in other states, Nebraska's doesn't include an age limit.

The Legislature opens a rare special session Friday afternoon to change the law and add an age limit.

As of Friday, 34 children have been abandoned under the law. Five have been from out of state.

More Boy-Bands Please

CATEGORY: Boy-Band Mogul, Ponzi Scheme, Law

DIVISION: Entertainment

EDITORIAL: As the genius behind the BackStreet Boys and other lucrative boy-bands, Lou Pearlman has been a vital purveyor of American Culture. To see him arrested and frog-walked like an Enron Executive is sad for everyone. Who will dare to take his place? And where will the next 'must-hear' boy-band come from? Today, the music industry is a little less fun.

Boy-Band Mogul Lou Pearlman to Appear before Federal Judge

by Pedro Ruz Gutierrez, Scott Powers and Sara K. Clarke

Sentinel Staff Writers

June 14, 2007

Lou Pearlman, the Orlando boy-band mogul, was taken into custody by the FBI early this morning in Indonesia.

Authorities expelled Pearlman and then turned him over to U.S. authorities.

"We are aware that he is in the custody of the FBI," said Steve Cole, a spokesman for the US Attorney's Office in Tampa. "I can't comment beyond that." Pearlman is the subject of several federal and state criminal investigations in Florida involving alleged securities and bank fraud. He was being flown to Guam, the nearest U.S. territory, where he will have an initial appearance before a federal judge.

Indonesian authorities located Pearlman living in a resort hotel in the tourist district of Nusa Dua in Bali. Immigration officials in that country told him he was no longer welcome in their country and then expelled him. In the process, they turned him over to U.S. officials.
On Feb. 15, FBI and IRS agents, using search warrants, raided Pearlman's former corporate headquarters on Church Street and his Isleworth home near Windermere and seized truckloads of documents.

While the federal charges remain publicly unknown, Pearlman has been charged in both state and federal court with civil complaints alleging widespread fraud in an "employee investment savings account " program he ran for more than two decades through his Trans Continental Airlines company.

The civil suits, including one from the Florida Office of Financial Regulation, have alleged he received more than $317 million from more than 1,800 investors who were told their money was going into safe, secured, high-interest accounts. They money instead fueled a huge, long-running Ponzi scheme, in which later investments were used to keep earlier investors happy, the suits allege. In addition, a dozen banks have sued him after foreclosing on more than $130 million in loans.

Attorneys and investigators trying to find the money for the civil cases have found very little; only a few hundred thousand dollars so far.

Reaction among investors and attorneys in Florida was swift and hopeful.

"Number one, he deserves to be arrested and number two, they may find out where the money is," said Clearwater attorney Robert Persante, who sued Pearlman on behalf of investors who claimed to have lost money in Pearlman's savings program.

Joe Madigan of Ocala is among investors wondering what will come of the arrest. He and his wife Jean lost $300,000 in the program, which he said was their life savings. Madigan does not have much hope of getting much, if any, money back. But he does want to see justice.

"I hope that he (Pearlman) does time. He stole money from innocent people who trusted him and put all their life savings into an investment we thought was secure," Madigan said. "Also, I don't think the guys who assisted him in selling these investments should get away scot-free either."

There are dozens of lawsuits pending, including involuntary bankruptcy cases against Pearlman personally and many of his companies. Attorney Denise D. Dell-Powell, who represents court-appointed trustee Soneet Kapila in those bankruptcy cases, said the biggest hope might hinge on whether Pearlman reveals what happened to the money as part of some sort of plea bargain.
"Part of it depends on whether Pearlman will plea out and will provide information that will help us provide restitution for the creditors," Dell-Powell said.

There also is the question of whether any of Pearlman's top executives might also be indicted. If not, with Pearlman's arrest, they might be freer to talk as well, she said.

"You have various people who may be concerned about their own criminal liability, and when the indictments are unsealed and they are not targeted, they may feel they can speak to us more freely, which is helpful," she said. "It could mean nothing to us. I would imagine at this point, he pleads the 5th" Amendment, exercising his right to not speak.

Pearlman was last publicly seen in Orlando in late January. By early February he was in Germany, where he still has a boy band, US5, touring. But within days of his Feb. 1 appearance on German television, he dropped out of sight again. Subsequent sightings have been reported in Russia, Belarus, Germany, Israel, Spain, Panama, Brazil and Indonesia. The first such Indonesia report came in early February when an Orlando attorney received a letter from Pearlman with a Bali, Indonesia, postmark. Since then, the Orlando Sentinel has received at least two more unconnected reports of Pearlman sightings in Bali.

Age is a Defense

CATEGORY: Law, Personal Assault, Addiction

DIVISION: Modern Evil Company

COMMENTARY: Yes, Age IS a defense. In fact, it's a very good defense. Unfortunately, only the very young and the very old can take advantage of it. That said, with all the attention given lately to children soldiers, those in their golden years should re-think their retirement plans and revisit the many options of rowdyism, bullying, and other anti-social behaviors. This could be very therapeutic and bring new purpose to their lives.

Man, 76, on trial in Lend-a-Hand attack

Tue Jun 12, 10:57 PM ET

DAVENPORT, Iowa - Testimony began Tuesday against a 76-year-old man accused of beating his 81-year-old neighbor with a hammer after she refused to give him gambling money.

Richard Edison Johnson is charged with attempted murder and willful injury. He is accused of striking Elizabeth Alwine on March 5, hospitalizing her with serious head injuries.

Both were residents of Lend-a-Hand, a home for elderly and handicapped people in Davenport.

John Fuller, the home's maintenance supervisor, testified that he entered Alwine's apartment after hearing noises and found the two in a bloody struggle over a hammer. He said Johnson then calmed down, while the woman — whose face, arms, and hands were covered in blood — remained hysterical.

Fuller said that as they waited for help, Johnson told him: "I'm old. What are they going to do, lock me up?"

Fuller said Johnson repeatedly admitted to the attack.

Assistant Scott County Attorney Mike Walton told the jury that Johnson hit Alwine several times with a hammer after she refused to loan him money. She was treated and released from a Davenport hospital after getting 19 stitches.

Walton said Johnson had borrowed money from Alwine and her sister about a week earlier. Fuller testified that Johnson had a reputation for borrowing money from residents.