That Border Patrol Agents Ramos and Compean were sent to prison for lengthy terms for doing their jobs, while illegal immigrant drug-smuggler Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila was given a VISA to testify against them, is the real crime here.

Fire Johnny Sutton!

I didn't go into all the details, RJ, but that's what I was getting at in paragraph 5 of the article before I moved on to the larger issues.

Dave

I know, Dave. Good article. I was just echoing your sentiments.

Fire Johnny Sutton!

Dave -- Good post.

Two talk show hosts here in Southern California have been covering this case and have interviewed the families of the two border agents (John and Ken Show, KFI AM640). Some podcasts may be available at the stations web site for those interested.

They just played bits of a press conference that Bush was holding somewhere. When asked by a questioner if he would consider a pardon for the two agents, he responded with the usual boilerplate about how the jury convicted them, but also strangely emphasized how the result must have be OK because "Johnny Sutton is my friend," once again unintentionally revealing how for Bush personal relationships appears to be more important than the rule of law.

Just a second here. There's no 'rule of law' issue here. Sutton did follow the law to the letter. The legit objection here is that the law is bad. And you absolutely cannot enforce a bad law well.

As for Bush govorning through his friends, there's something endearing about it. He ought to know where to draw the line between personal allegiance and doing the right thing.

Maybe Bush just needs a better class of friends.

Dave

Since the political fallout is almost entirely negative, it's hard to see how there could be a 'political' motive for the prosecution here. [Compare the US attorneys who were fired for being insufficiently Rovian in not pursuing alleged Democratic malfeasance.]

The case is odd enough for me to think there is something else involved, like a personal vendetta of some kind. Or...could the jurors really know best? [Yes, I know, 3 of them have expressed regret now.]

The unusual nature of the case makes it a bad example to use of any prosecutorial 'trend' anyway. This and the headline are in fact almost....Bambenekian.

yeah..i agree the title and some of the screed are classic Bombastekiness...

horror of horrors i find i am in Agreement with the Article and RJ on this one...

not doing your paperwork is reason to0 get fired, involving a firearm...ok, i might see a year jailtime...two tops...

but 11 for one guy and 12 for the other, while the smuggler is free on the first import, and gets caught a second time?

something is seriously fucked in this instance...besides the two Agents, i mean

decent Article overall...credit where it's due

/golfclap

Excelsior?

he unusual nature of the case makes it a bad example to use of any prosecutorial 'trend' anyway. This and the headline are in fact almost

I guess I should have gone on another 500 words or so and looked at some of the other cases involving border patrol agents. This one has gotten a lot of attention, but it's just the worst of many where agents have been punished or sent to jail for actions which most of us would consider part of their job. I agree there may be something more going on here behind the scenes, but I'm not sure what it is or who profits.

As for the political nature of the prosecutorial behavior, that's exactly what leads to this excess. The prosecutor is trying to please higher-ups who are political appointees and get their attention and get promoted. That's the way it works, even in the federal justice department. If he perceives his bosses want him to be a hardass, he comes up with ways to impress them.

Dave

Yeah Nifong is a good example of a prosecutor gone wild.

He was up for re-election in a heavily black district and wanted to give his potential voters a sacrifice of three innocent rich white boys.

It disturbs when an elected official with holds evidence he knows will aquit three innocent college students.

Especially when they are white, right Anthony?

Dave

Lol. Yeah, nothing like that ever happened down Mississipi way.

"Especially when they are white, right Anthony?"

I apoligize, Dave. I don't know what you are getting at.

In this post 60's, Civil Rights Act era have you seen a group of black kids attempted to be prosecuted when the prosecutor knew full well that they were innocent? I am just asking because I haven't seen of such a thing because that would be political suicide...but what I have seen is O.J. Simpson get away with murder and Michael Jackson get away with acts of pedophilia.

AG

Clearly the Mexican Gov't and Mexican drug cartels influenced this prosecution, but both the Bush administration and the Dem hierarchy didn't need to be pushed any, as it went with their insider plan for the SPP-North Aamerican Union, the Amero and open borders.

This case had both a bad prosecutor and a bad judge, and when that occurs it is all too easy for gov't to have its way and so much for the purported checks & balances. For example, recall Sandy Berger? Clearly what Berger did dwarfs the conduct of Ramos & Compean, but Berger d/n spend 1 second behind bars. (Libby's lightening commutation mentioned above, also shows a different, insider, type of justice. Although I believe Fitzgerald should have stopped his inquisition after it was determined there was no crime re Plame, and then that Armitage was the leaker. More striking to me was that Plame could choose her husband Wilson to go to Niger, that he never wrote a report on his mission, and that his writing his NY Times' piece is what "outed" his wife. Here the CIA acted like the Mickey Mouse Club and no one seems to care!)

For 2 further major examples of bad prosecutors/judges/gov't abuse & corruption, see: 1) U.S. v. Edwin P. Wilson, 289 F.Supp.2d 801 (USDC-SD, Texas, 2003) where Judge Lynn Hughes reversed Wilson's conviction (served 17 yrs, 10 in solitaire) and stated: [at 802] "...Because the government knowingly used false evidence against him and suppressed favorable evidence, his conviction will be vacted. ...[809] Honesty comes hard to the government. ... The investigation is a dodge; there was no need to investigate: it knew the affidavit was false before it offered it. ... [811] ...the falsity comes from high public officials ... The evidence, now, shows that the hierarchies of both the Justice Department and CIA were as knowledgable as was the individual talking to the judge and jury .. The court has identified about two dozen government lawyers who actively participated in the original non-disclosure to the defense, the false rebuttal testimony, and the refusal to correct it. ..." (Q? What discipline do you think was meted out to those 2 dozen gov't lawyers? 3 are now sitting federal judges! see: 4/28/05 ABC Nightline exose "The Most Dangerous Man in America-Conviction of former CIA Agent Overturned on False Affidavit" http:/abcnews.go.com/Nightline/print?id+708779)

2) Idaho v. Horiuchi, 253 F.3d 359 (9th Cir. 2001), which castigates Attorney General Janet Reno's failure to prosecute any FBI agents for unconstitutionally changing the Rules of Engagement and declaring war on American citizens - the Randy Weaver family and Kevin Harris. See at ftnt 10, where the majority reversed, finding that immunity was baldly & cavalierly given to the gov't-FBI actors by the district court - without conducting any evidentiary hearing. There Justice Kozinski wrote: "... What's unprecedented about this case is that the taking of human life was planned. ... [FBI sniper] Horiuchi commanded his squad under orders to shoot any armed males he saw, regardless of whether they posed any danger. He testified that the issue of danger had already been decided by his superiors before his men ascended the hill. ..." (Recall that several of the FBI actors initally were given praise & promotions for their illegal conduct at Ruby Ridge, but Reno and her Justice Department was never able to determine "who" at the FBI changed the unconstitutionaly changed the Rules of Engagement!)

Liberty requires constant vigilance. Stay vigilant America. Our Gov't (both parties) is out of control! Wasn't being vigilant - just what Ramos & Compean were doing for us? We must stay vigilant for them! GLZ.

The reason our prisons are bursting at the seams, besides the idiocy of the Drug "War", is the huge number of illegal aliens incarcerated. These folks are committing heinous crimes against Americans and each other. Throw away the key on these criminals and let out the crack smokers and potheads to make room.

As for Sutton, he admitted that the Jury wasn't told about the 10+ year penalty facing Ramos and Compean if convicted -- said it was none of their business. His prosecutors had full discretion as to what charges were brought. However, none of the "co-conspirators" (other Border Control officers and supervisor who were quickly on the scene) were indicted -- that tells me volumes. A drug runner who got shot in the ass but could still run across the border to freedom is no victim. Sutton comes across very sincere about the need to crucify these two men - Pontius Pilate comes to mind - maybe they deserved to be fired, I don't know. But any prison time - that's a crime.

What still needs to really be explained is Sutton's motivation for doing something which seems guaranteed to generate lots of negative publicity.

And btw. Outrageous though ruby ridge was, when you start to rant about it people stop taking u seriously.

7/20/07

[Personal contact info deleted]

Dave Nalle

Dear Dave,

I'm writing to you because my story needs to be told. My family and I have been persecuted by the U.S. Government since late 2001 and counting. In particular by I.R.S. Special Agent Neil Cohen and Assistant U.S. Attorney Burton Ryan, my name is Joseph Castello. I'm a 43 year old male. I've been married since September 8, 1990 to a wonderful woman named Dana and we have two beautiful girls, Sydney 12 and Casey 9. Sydney [Personal contact info deleted] and Casey attend [Personal contact info deleted] public schools in Greenwich, CT. We moved to Greenwich June of 2000 from Park Slope, Brooklyn, N.Y. I attended Xaverian High School in Brooklyn, N.Y. and I'm college educated. I have a clean record. I was a N.Y.C. Lifeguard through High School and College, ran the N.Y.C. Marathon twice and did countless triathlons. I'm an innocent man who was living the American dream of hard honest work and making a better life for my family.

In late 2001, at that time I didn't know it, I became one of the targets of an investigation set up by the Criminal Investigative Unit of the I.R.S. out of Long Island, N.Y. The Unit set up a task force which was to look into the Construction Industry in the New York City area. One of the leaders of the task force was Special Agent Neil Cohen. They were looking into alleged illegal activities such as, paybacks, kickbacks, union fraud, payroll fraud etc, etc and organized crime. My occupation at the time was a corporate check casher. I became involved in the business through my father in-law Sidney Schwartz. I would cash checks for companies for a fee, example 2%, giving the money to the customer and giving the check to one of the offices I brokered for. The office would then charge me 1% and I would make 1% of the gross of the check, in essence I was a check broker. I had hundreds of clients, and was not involved in their companies' day to day operations, I simply cashed their checks. One February morning in 2002 Neil Cohen and another agent knocked on my door at 7:00 a.m. They wanted to ask me some questions. They took me to a nearby McDonald's restaurant and proceeded to question me. After 1 ½ hours Mr. Cohen got up and said "This meeting is over because you've been lying to me". I responded by saying that I have told you nothing but the truth. He responded by saying that "I know the answers to the questions before I ask them". I then responded that someone gave you the wrong answers. He and the other agent then drove me home where they handed me two subpoenas. As Neil Cohen was walking away the other agent spoke and said "It looks like you have a nice family, don't FUCK it up for your family!" I didn't realize that it was the beginning of the end of my life as I would ever know it.

This story is very compelling and takes us to the essence of one of the problems with the judicial system in this country. The government with all its power imposes its will on their target and the truth becomes the first casualty in their dirty war. On the heels of the Duke University case and the disbarment of prosecutor Michael B. Nifong, cases like mine need to be heard so other innocent people can be saved from the senseless downward spiral of their lives and that the system might be improved. At this present time my family is destitute and I'm being evicted from my rental home. I rent the parsonage of a church. There are many interesting story lines i.e. Government taking my mother and fathers money, not being able to afford my own attorney, wearing an electronic ankle bracelet for two years and counting and having to pay for it, getting thrown in county jail for two months, indicting my wife and a lot more, but all through it I stood my ground maintained my innocence and in true David VS Goliath form with my second court appointed attorney, my wife and I won our case, though a hollow victory. How we persevered and finally got to that trial date in late January 2007 and the nightmare that continues is an amazing story. To this date the Government has not let go, the devastation that lies in their wake is amazing i.e. my financial future, my reputation, millions of lost dollars, the constant torture of their lies, the depression, the loneliness, the sleepless nights, the pain and suffering to my wife and children, the lost time that I can never get back, and their contribution to the death of my mom on April 1, 2007. At the end of the day when they all go through the court doors back to their nice safe lives, What door do I go through to get my life back?

Sincerely Yours,
Joseph Castello

A tragic story, but it doesn't sound like some of these things could happen without a trial. What happened there and what did you get convicted of?

"Yeah, nothing like that ever happened down Mississipi way."

Well...just read this:

Last week a federal district judge found direct evidence that the political machine in Noxubee County, Miss., had discriminated against voters with the intent to infringe their rights and that "these abuses have been racially motivated."

Among the abuses catalogued by Judge Tom Lee were the paying of notaries public to visit voters and illegally mark their absentee ballots, manipulation of the registration rolls, importation of illegal candidates to run for county office, and publication of a list of voters, classified by race, who might have their ballots challenged. The judge criticized state political officials for being "remiss" in addressing the abuses. The U.S. Justice Department, which sued Noxubee officials under the Voting Rights Act, has called conditions there "the most extreme case of racial exclusion seen by the [department's] Voting Section in decades."

Explosive stuff, so why haven't you heard about it? Because the Noxubee case doesn't fit the media stereotype for voting rights abuses. The local political machine is run by Ike Brown, a twice-convicted felon. Mr. Brown is black, and the voters who were discriminated against were white.

Judge Lee concluded that Mr. Brown retained his power "by whatever means were necessary." According to the judge, Mr. Brown believed that "blacks, being the majority race in Noxubee County, should hold all elected offices, to the exclusion of whites." (Whites are 30% of the county's 12,500 people, but only two of the 26 elected county officials.) Judge Lee also criticized top officials of the state Democratic Party for "failing to take action to rectify [Mr. Brown's] abuses."

A lot has changed since the early 1960s...which makes sense since that was, you know, over 40 years ago...

Most prosecutors are responsible and follow the law. But too many do not.

The wrongful conviction of innocent defendants, sometimes by prosecutors who bend the law (often by hiding evidence)to gain those convictions, is a plague on the American criminal justice system.

There is significant documentation of such improper convictions, in a series by the Chicago Tribune, in a study by Columbia Law School, in the book "In Spite of Innocence," and in the marvelous work of Barry Scheck and his colleagues in the Innocence Project.

Too many prosecutors abuse their power, and they almost always get away with it.

My second novel, "A Good Conviction," tells the story of a young man wrongfully convicted in a high profile Central Park murder, brought about by a prosecutor who knew the defendant was actually innocent and hid the exculpatory evidence that would have led to a not guilty verdict.

Several prosecutors and criminal appeals attorneys helped me with the legal aspects of a Brady appeal in New York State, and all of them agreed that what I portrayed in my story was both realistic and all too possible.

Readers have found "A Good Conviction" to be fast paced, exciting, and heartbreaking.

Dan Slepian, network producer of many crime and legal news shows, says ... "Having spent countless hours working with detectives, courts, attorneys, and wrongly convicted inmates I was most impressed with how well researched and accurate your narrative was. You really nailed it. In addition, it was a great read."

Judge (ret.) Leslie Crocker Snyder, former Manhattan Assistant District Attorney, first sex crimes prosecutor in the U.S., says ... "A Good Conviction is a well written, well paced, and fascinating tale of prosecutorial abuse in the Manhattan DA's office. Makes one wonder how many other times something like this has occurred and just how high the abuse is actually sanctioned."

Michael Radelet, one of the authors of In Spite of Innocence, a study of over 400 cases of persons wrongly convicted of crimes carrying the death penalty says ... "A Good Conviction is an unusually gripping story of an erroneous conviction and the passionate fight to correct that injustice. Weinstein's account of what a bad prosecutor does to Joshua Blake provides a frightening and realistic parallel to many of the true life cases we documented in our study."

You can find "A Good Conviction" at amazon...

I'd be curious as to your opinion of whether a novel based on truth can be effective in drawing attention to the terrible wrongs done to so many people by prosecutors who abuse their power.

LEW WEINSTEIN

Nice advertisement, Lew...

I see your novel is at #757,504 in Books at Amazon.com ... nice! :-/

Wow, it dropped. Right after he posted the gratuitous add it was in the low 600K range.

Dave

do you think someone returned a copy?

"do you think someone returned a copy?"

LOL...

It's cool that you have a sense of humor about it. I apologize for my snarky comment. I hope your book does well. Just, please, in the future don't use the comments section of BlogCritics as a place to run free ads. Try craigslist instead. :-/