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New York seeks probe of Wal-Mart for surveillance
Business | 2007/04/11 09:01

New York City is seeking a probe of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) over the retailer's reported surveillance of shareholders who submitted proxy petitions that could potentially disrupt the company's annual meeting. New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr. sent letters to the U.S. Attorney General's office and the Securities and Exchange Commission, asking for an investigation into the world's largest retailer for what he called "ill-considered and possibly illegal surveillance operations."

"As New York City's Chief Financial Officer and the Chief Investment Advisor to the City's Pension Funds, I am particularly troubled by reports that Wal-Mart engaged in chilling and truly outrageous surveillance activities," Thompson wrote. Copies of the letters were posted on the comptroller's Web site.

Wal-Mart could not immediately comment on the story. The SEC declined to comment.

Last week, a report in The Wall Street Journal said an internal Wal-Mart security group was asked to investigate the potential threat of those submitting proposals to its June shareholder meeting.

Following the article's publication, Tom Hyde, Wal-Mart's top legal officer, sent a letter to shareholder proponents saying that while the article implied that the company had initiated an intrusive "threat assessment" of shareholders who submitted proposals for inclusion in Wal-Mart's annual proxy statement, that was not true.

"In spite of a January 2007 memo referenced in the article, there were no inquiries made with respect to the proponents of shareholder proposals," he wrote in the letter, a copy of which Wal-Mart provided. "Given the nature of the matters proposed and our familiarity with the individual proponents, the request contained in the memo was not acted upon."

The New York City Pension Funds represent nearly 600,000 active members, beneficiaries and retirees and are valued at nearly $100 billion, according the Web site.

Wal-Mart shares fell 24 cents to $47.70 in morning New York Stock Exchange trade.



Man pleads guilty in massive mortgage fraud scheme
Court Watch | 2007/04/11 08:56

A man accused of stealing the identities of children, the homeless and people in drug rehab as part of a massive mortgage fraud scheme pleaded guilty to federal charges in three states Tuesday. Matthew Cox, 37, faces up to 54 years in prison and $2 million in fines at his Aug. 22 sentencing, but will likely not receive that stiff a punishment.

As part of a deal Cox struck with the government, prosecutors have agreed to recommend that U.S. District Judge Timothy Batten sentence Cox at the low end of federal guidelines. The exact range has not been determined.

Cox pleaded guilty to six charges that were leveled in Georgia, Florida and Tennessee: bank fraud, identity theft, passport fraud, two counts of mortgage fraud conspiracy, and violating his probation for a previous mortgage fraud conviction.

Forty-one other counts against him in Georgia will be dropped as part of his plea agreement.

Prosecutors say Cox and Rebecca Marie Hauck rented properties, fraudulently erased mortgage liens on the properties and then stole the owners’ identities and fraudulently took out multiple new mortgage loans.

They also used stolen identities to obtain driver’s licenses, purchase vehicles, lease mail drops, rent apartments and open bank accounts to receive proceeds from their schemes in Georgia, Florida, Alabama, South Carolina and North Carolina, authorities said.



California diocese threatened with contempt
Breaking Legal News | 2007/04/11 08:54

A federal bankruptcy judge is threatening the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego with contempt for allegedly attempting to hide assets to avoid payment to clergy sexual abuse victims. Judge Louise DeCarl Adler ordered the diocese's lead attorney into court Wednesday to explain why she and her colleagues should not be sanctioned. Adler cited a March 29 letter sent by a diocese parish organization to pastors urging them to get new taxpayer identification numbers and transfer funds to new accounts. The threat Monday came six weeks after the diocese sought bankruptcy protection amid lawsuits by more than 140 people who accuse priests of sexual abuse.

The judge said any post-bankruptcy transfers between the diocese and parishes outside of normal cash operations violate her ruling against shifting the diocese's assets while the bankruptcy case is pending. She said any transfers require court approval.

In a sternly worded order, Adler said attorneys Susan Boswell, Jeffry Davis and Victor Vilaplana appear to have "conspired with parishes" to create new bank accounts separate from the diocese.

Boswell wrote in court documents Tuesday that no intentional misrepresentations or misstatements had been made. She said the diocese has "no access or control" over money in more than 770 bank accounts opened by parishes and parochial schools under the diocese's taxpayer identification number.

Davis wrote in court papers that he thought comments Adler made in an earlier hearing suggested that parishes should obtain their own taxpayer identification numbers for clarity in the bankruptcy case.

Attorneys for the alleged victims have repeatedly accused the church of trying to hide assets to reduce the overall sum available for potential settlements. They estimate that a fair settlement would total about $200 million.

In March, the diocese proposed a $95 million settlement schedule for victims that would offer plaintiffs anywhere from $10,000 to $800,000.

San Diego was the fifth U.S. diocese to file for bankruptcy. The other dioceses that have filed for bankruptcy protection are Davenport, Iowa; Portland, Ore.; Spokane, Wash.; and Tucson, Ariz. Tucson has emerged from bankruptcy protection, while proposed settlements are awaiting final approval in Portland and Spokane.



O'Connor named Gonzalez's chief of staff
Legal Careers News | 2007/04/11 08:52

Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales today named Kevin J. O'Connor, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut, as his Chief of Staff. In this role, O'Connor will assist the Attorney General and senior Department of Justice staff in managing and implementing the Department's policy initiatives and priorities. Mr. O'Connor will officially start April 26, 2007. Chuck Rosenberg will return, as planned, to the Eastern District of Virginia where he serves as the U.S. Attorney, following six weeks of service as the Department's interim Chief of Staff.

"I extend my sincere gratitude to Chuck Rosenberg who stepped in to serve the Department admirably during a challenging transitional period," said Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales. "I am very pleased that Kevin has agreed to serve as my Chief of Staff. He is an outstanding lawyer and as U.S. Attorney in Connecticut demonstrated that he is a strong manager and leader."

Mr. O'Connor was appointed by President George W. Bush and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Connecticut's 48th U.S. Attorney in 2002. In January 2006, Mr. O'Connor also began serving in the Department's headquarters as the Associate Deputy Attorney General to oversee violent crime and gang-related policy initiatives for the Department.

Prior to his appointment as U.S. Attorney, Mr. O'Connor was a partner in the law firm of Day, Berry & Howard in Hartford, Conn. Mr. O'Connor also served as Corporation Counsel for the Town of West Hartford, Conn. from 1999 to 2001.

From 1995 to 1997, Mr. O'Connor served as Staff Attorney and Senior Counsel in the Division of Enforcement of the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C. From 1993 to 1995, Mr. O'Connor was a litigation associate with the law firm of Cahill Gordon & Reindel in New York City. From 1992 to 1993, Mr. O'Connor served as a law clerk to the Honorable William H. Timbers of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit.

He is a 1992 graduate, with high honors, from the University of Connecticut School of Law and a 1989 graduate, with honors, from the University of Notre Dame.

Mr. O'Connor will remain the U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut. After four to six months, he and the Attorney General will determine whether he continues to hold both positions.



SEC action alleges Spear & Jackson stock scheme
Securities | 2007/04/11 07:58

U.S. securities regulators have started enforcement proceedings against a broker-dealer and its principal accused of helping inflate the price of tool maker Spear & Jackson Inc.'s (SJCK.PK: Quote, Profile, Research) shares and executing orders to sell them. The Securities and Exchange Commission said the proceedings would determine what remedial actions, such as civil penalties, are appropriate against Winter Park, Florida-based broker-dealer Park Financial Group Inc. and its principal, Gordon Cantley.

Spear & Jackson's former chief executive, Dennis Crowley, has already settled with the SEC in a related fraud case, agreeing to pay more than $6.1 million.

Lawyers for Park and Cantley did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment.

Spear & Jackson manufactures and distributes hand tools, lawn and garden tools, industrial magnets and meteorology tools.

The SEC said that between February 2002 and July 2003, Park and Cantley executed numerous trades in Spear & Jackson stock, despite obvious red flags. Proceeds from the trades were about $2.5 million.

On several occasions, former CEO Crowley gave Park and Cantley sell orders on Spear & Jackson stock for three British Virgin Islands companies that he secretly controlled, the SEC said.

The SEC said Park and Cantley filled the orders knowing that Crowley was the CEO of Spear & Jackson and that the British Virgin Islands companies' accounts traded only in the stock, often buying and selling shares on a daily basis.



Portugal president signs abortion liberalization law
International | 2007/04/11 07:07

Portuguese President Anibal Cavaco Silva Tuesday approved a law permitting abortions during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy. The Portuguese parliament passed the law last month after a February referendum on the issue failed due to low voter turnout. Approximately 60 percent of those who voted in the referendum supported a reform of the former law, which only permitted abortion in cases of rape, fetal malformation, or risk to the mother’s health.

The law was passed despite staunch opposition from the Catholic Church, to which 90% of Portuguese belong. The new law imposes a three-day waiting period on women seeking abortions and requires that they receive information about adoption as an alternative. Portugal's reform leaves Ireland, Poland, and Malta as the only remaining EU member states that outlaw abortion.



Sunderland man found guilty of killing eagle
Court Watch | 2007/04/11 04:56

The owner of a Sunderland trout hatchery, who pleaded guilty last month to killing herons and ospreys that were feeding at his fish pools, also was convicted on Tuesday of killing a bald eagle. U.S. District Judge Michael Ponsor in a nonjury trial found Michael Zak, 59, guilty of one count of shooting and killing an eagle, and one count of violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which provides protection for migratory birds through international cooperation and treaties.

Zak, owner of the Mohawk Trout Hatchery, had pleaded guilty on March 26 to two counts of violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and one count of conspiracy.

His attorney, Vincent Bongiorni, said then his client was not willing to accept a guilty plea for the eagle charge.

"There was a factual basis to support those two counts and our claim is that it doesn't support the bald eagle count," he said.

Zak's employee, Timothy Lloyd, 30, of Easthampton, pleaded guilty March 23 to two counts of violating the migratory bird act and one count of conspiracy.

Federal investigators said they found more than 250 great blue heron carcasses, as well as carcasses of ospreys and a bald eagle on hatchery property. Tests showed the birds were killed by gunshots.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agents say they staked out the hatchery periodically and saw Zak shoot at a heron with a scoped rifle and Lloyd shoot and kill an osprey.

The men are to be sentenced on June 27. Zak faces up to three years in prison and Lloyd faces up to 18 months.



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