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New Orleans FBI agent accuses Justice Department of 'systemic corruption'
Posted on 3/21/17 at 9:14 pm
Posted on 3/21/17 at 9:14 pm
In 31-page letter, New Orleans FBI agent accuses Justice Department of 'systemic corruption'
Copy of FBI Agent's Letter
A local FBI agent who investigated former St. Charles Parish District Attorney Harry Morel told a judge last year that he has been hamstrung by "systemic corruption" within the U.S. Department of Justice, saying he's come under pressure at times to cover up the misconduct of federal prosecutors.
The agent, Michael Zummer, outlined those grievances and others in a 31-page letter he wrote last year to U.S. District Judge Kurt Engelhardt before the judge sentenced Morel for attempting to derail a years-long FBI probe into the former district attorney's sexual misconduct.
Zummer, a former Marine and a Stanford-educated attorney, has long ruffled feathers at the bureau, and he recently persuaded the influential Senate Judiciary Committee to open an inquiry into the Morel case.
Thank god we still have good people trying to make a difference in Government. This FBI agent deserves a medal for exposing the massive and systemic corruption at the New Orleans USAOs. Suspended without pay and subjected to threats of criminal charges for uncovering the truth is beyond disturbing.
This guy needs to be the US Attorney for the EDLA!
Copy of FBI Agent's Letter
A local FBI agent who investigated former St. Charles Parish District Attorney Harry Morel told a judge last year that he has been hamstrung by "systemic corruption" within the U.S. Department of Justice, saying he's come under pressure at times to cover up the misconduct of federal prosecutors.
The agent, Michael Zummer, outlined those grievances and others in a 31-page letter he wrote last year to U.S. District Judge Kurt Engelhardt before the judge sentenced Morel for attempting to derail a years-long FBI probe into the former district attorney's sexual misconduct.
Zummer, a former Marine and a Stanford-educated attorney, has long ruffled feathers at the bureau, and he recently persuaded the influential Senate Judiciary Committee to open an inquiry into the Morel case.
Thank god we still have good people trying to make a difference in Government. This FBI agent deserves a medal for exposing the massive and systemic corruption at the New Orleans USAOs. Suspended without pay and subjected to threats of criminal charges for uncovering the truth is beyond disturbing.
This guy needs to be the US Attorney for the EDLA!
9
Posted on 3/21/17 at 9:17 pm to ihometiger
Read this earlier and, frankly, the issues discussed are too complex for the OT. Tinfoil will fly and fingers will be pointed. The Bureau is already painting this guy as a rogue nut case. Much of what he says is based in truth but some of it is pure hubris.
Posted on 3/21/17 at 9:21 pm to ihometiger
Lets wait and see how this plays out. Maybe he is just trying to get a head any way he can. Maybe he's right, maybe he's full of BS. I'm not sure yet.
Posted on 3/21/17 at 9:21 pm to ihometiger
The NOLA judicial system is corrupt as frick. It's only new to outsiders.
Posted on 3/21/17 at 9:24 pm to jbgleason
I didn't realize the Senate Judiciary Committee opened an investigation into this and clearly found the information disturbing to say the least.
Senator questions FBI response to 'whistleblowing' agent
After the letter was sent, Grassley said, the FBI suspended Zummer's security clearance and indefinitely suspended him from work without pay. "That looks like it could be a misuse of the security clearance process to mask retaliation for protected whistleblowing," Grassley wrote to the FBI director.
Grassley requests information on how the Justice Department responded to Zummer's "whistleblowing" statements that a friendship between Capitelli and Harper might have led to an agreement in which Morel was allowed to plead guilty to just one count of obstruction of justice.
Senator questions FBI response to 'whistleblowing' agent
After the letter was sent, Grassley said, the FBI suspended Zummer's security clearance and indefinitely suspended him from work without pay. "That looks like it could be a misuse of the security clearance process to mask retaliation for protected whistleblowing," Grassley wrote to the FBI director.
Grassley requests information on how the Justice Department responded to Zummer's "whistleblowing" statements that a friendship between Capitelli and Harper might have led to an agreement in which Morel was allowed to plead guilty to just one count of obstruction of justice.
Posted on 3/21/17 at 9:30 pm to ihometiger
quote:
Capitelli
New Orleans guy.
Posted on 3/21/17 at 9:34 pm to ihometiger
Well, 97% of Justice dept employee political party contributions go to one party. You may draw your own conclusions
Posted on 3/21/17 at 9:36 pm to BRgetthenet
Capitelli and Harper previously owned a condominium on the Gulf Coast together, an arrangement Zummer has pointed to in questioning the impartiality of the U.S. Attorney's Office.
That Capitelli and Harper owned a condo together was hardly a secret. It was the focus of an item in a 2008 political column in The Times-Picayune, and records of the purchase were available publicly. Ethics expert Dane Ciolino said at the time that the arrangement did not raise red flags.
Grassley sent letters to Comey and Lynch last month demanding to know whether the Justice Department has investigated Harper's relationship to Capitelli. The senator also asked for the FBI to provide "all documentation and communications related to" the bureau's suspension of Zummer.
Zummer told the Judiciary Committee that after raising his concerns with the Justice Department's inspector general, he faced retaliation including from assistant U.S. attorneys in New Orleans who refused to prosecute his cases.
That Capitelli and Harper owned a condo together was hardly a secret. It was the focus of an item in a 2008 political column in The Times-Picayune, and records of the purchase were available publicly. Ethics expert Dane Ciolino said at the time that the arrangement did not raise red flags.
Grassley sent letters to Comey and Lynch last month demanding to know whether the Justice Department has investigated Harper's relationship to Capitelli. The senator also asked for the FBI to provide "all documentation and communications related to" the bureau's suspension of Zummer.
Zummer told the Judiciary Committee that after raising his concerns with the Justice Department's inspector general, he faced retaliation including from assistant U.S. attorneys in New Orleans who refused to prosecute his cases.
Posted on 3/21/17 at 9:36 pm to ihometiger
Breaking news, New Orleans is seriously corrupt.
Posted on 3/21/17 at 9:39 pm to notiger1997
quote:
These are Feds homie
No shite? Well that's something new for NOLA.
Posted on 3/21/17 at 9:44 pm to LSUTigersVCURams
quote:
Breaking news, New Orleans is seriously corrupt.
The whole state is seriously fricking corrupt
Posted on 3/21/17 at 9:46 pm to drewnbrla
Indicted Attorney Alleges Misconduct at U.S. Attorney’s Office in Louisiana
This would be the second time this AUSA has been accused of corruption by an attorney.
Property Transactions by an AUSA
One of Perdigao’s allegations can be checked out, in part, by reference to property records. Perdigao alleges:
That the AUSA had acquired joint ownership of property in Alabama with Guidry’s defense counsel while the Edwards case was still in litigation. The AUSA also failed to make proper disclosures on his Public Disclosure Forms with the Department of Justice.
Perdigao does not name the AUSA or Guidry’s defense counsel. However, he does state that the AUSA “became the Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division.” The Times-Picayune article linked above indicates that the AUSA in question is Fred Harper:
Perdigao’s motion alleges that Letten’s office, too, is riddled with conflicts and corruption. It says that, at some point during the Edwards case, Guidry bribed the prosecutor who is now deputy chief of the office’s criminal division in hopes of getting leniency.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred Harper, a veteran prosecutor, holds that position now.
Perdigao also declines to name Guidry’s defense counsel — the one who supposedly “acquired joint ownership of property in Alabama” with the AUSA (whom the Times-Picayune suggests is Fred Harper). However, a published court decision tells us that one of Guidry’s defense lawyers was a man named Ralph Capitelli.
So, did Fred Harper acquire joint ownership of property in Alabama with Ralph Capitelli? Public records suggest that he did.
Property records for Baldwin County, Alabama, reveal that a Fred Harper, sometimes referred to as Fred Harper Jr., owns or has owned at least two pieces of property jointly with a Ralph Capitelli. Those records show that on May 10, 2005, four individuals, Fred P. Harper, Laura Jean Todaro, and Ralph and Linda Capitelli, purchased a piece of property in Baldwin County. On the same date, those same 4 people jointly took out a mortgage in the amount of $355,500. The records also show that those same 4 people bought what appears to be a second piece of land on July 15, 2005, with a down payment of $280,000.
At the time of those property purchases (May and July 2005), litigation over a petition for habeas corpus filed by Edwards was still pending. Edwards’ habeas filing was not resolved until this ruling of the U.S. Fifth Circuit dated March 1, 2006. That appeal must have been filed some time shortly after December 14, 2004, when, according to sources cited at White Collar Crime Prof Blog, a district court judge ruled on a motion to clear the way for the appeal.
It is not clear whether Harper played any role in opposing the habeas petition filed by Edwards. The Fifth Circuit opinion lists only a Stephen Higginson representing the United States in the appeal. A DoJ press release indicates that Higginson is an Assistant U.S. Attorney in New Orleans who was on the team, with Fred Harper, that prosecuted Edwards. It was not until September 13, 2006 that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Orleans recused itself from handling the allegations made by Perdigao, according to a letter filed along with U.S. Attorney Letten’s response to Perdigao’s motion.
Was the “Fred Harper” whose name appears on the property records the same Fred Harper who worked for the U.S. Attorney’s office in the Eastern District of Louisiana? It would appear so. The key fact here is that one of the names listed on the deed with Harper was Laura Jean Todaro. It turns out that Laura Jean Todaro was Harper’s girlfriend.
This would be the second time this AUSA has been accused of corruption by an attorney.
Property Transactions by an AUSA
One of Perdigao’s allegations can be checked out, in part, by reference to property records. Perdigao alleges:
That the AUSA had acquired joint ownership of property in Alabama with Guidry’s defense counsel while the Edwards case was still in litigation. The AUSA also failed to make proper disclosures on his Public Disclosure Forms with the Department of Justice.
Perdigao does not name the AUSA or Guidry’s defense counsel. However, he does state that the AUSA “became the Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division.” The Times-Picayune article linked above indicates that the AUSA in question is Fred Harper:
Perdigao’s motion alleges that Letten’s office, too, is riddled with conflicts and corruption. It says that, at some point during the Edwards case, Guidry bribed the prosecutor who is now deputy chief of the office’s criminal division in hopes of getting leniency.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred Harper, a veteran prosecutor, holds that position now.
Perdigao also declines to name Guidry’s defense counsel — the one who supposedly “acquired joint ownership of property in Alabama” with the AUSA (whom the Times-Picayune suggests is Fred Harper). However, a published court decision tells us that one of Guidry’s defense lawyers was a man named Ralph Capitelli.
So, did Fred Harper acquire joint ownership of property in Alabama with Ralph Capitelli? Public records suggest that he did.
Property records for Baldwin County, Alabama, reveal that a Fred Harper, sometimes referred to as Fred Harper Jr., owns or has owned at least two pieces of property jointly with a Ralph Capitelli. Those records show that on May 10, 2005, four individuals, Fred P. Harper, Laura Jean Todaro, and Ralph and Linda Capitelli, purchased a piece of property in Baldwin County. On the same date, those same 4 people jointly took out a mortgage in the amount of $355,500. The records also show that those same 4 people bought what appears to be a second piece of land on July 15, 2005, with a down payment of $280,000.
At the time of those property purchases (May and July 2005), litigation over a petition for habeas corpus filed by Edwards was still pending. Edwards’ habeas filing was not resolved until this ruling of the U.S. Fifth Circuit dated March 1, 2006. That appeal must have been filed some time shortly after December 14, 2004, when, according to sources cited at White Collar Crime Prof Blog, a district court judge ruled on a motion to clear the way for the appeal.
It is not clear whether Harper played any role in opposing the habeas petition filed by Edwards. The Fifth Circuit opinion lists only a Stephen Higginson representing the United States in the appeal. A DoJ press release indicates that Higginson is an Assistant U.S. Attorney in New Orleans who was on the team, with Fred Harper, that prosecuted Edwards. It was not until September 13, 2006 that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Orleans recused itself from handling the allegations made by Perdigao, according to a letter filed along with U.S. Attorney Letten’s response to Perdigao’s motion.
Was the “Fred Harper” whose name appears on the property records the same Fred Harper who worked for the U.S. Attorney’s office in the Eastern District of Louisiana? It would appear so. The key fact here is that one of the names listed on the deed with Harper was Laura Jean Todaro. It turns out that Laura Jean Todaro was Harper’s girlfriend.
This post was edited on 3/21/17 at 9:47 pm
Posted on 3/21/17 at 9:58 pm to ihometiger
quote:
Thank god we still have good people trying to make a difference in Government.
The problem is, even the FBI is a political tool.
And when you have people like this agent, that uncovers something like this, they are usually silenced. Be it by transfer, firing, or some other nonsense. Look at what happened to that Houma PD officer last year that exposed the sheriff.
Posted on 3/21/17 at 10:09 pm to ihometiger
quote:
Ralph Capitelli
Ran against Leon Cannizzaro for NO District Attorney. Glad he lost.
Posted on 3/21/17 at 10:10 pm to Sid in Lakeshore
Ralph coached my touch football team when I was at St. Pius X in 1986.
He was a jerk then.
He was a jerk then.
Posted on 3/21/17 at 10:45 pm to ihometiger
Laura Jean Todaro, lol.
Posted on 3/21/17 at 10:51 pm to BRgetthenet
quote:
St. Pius X
Posted on 3/21/17 at 11:09 pm to ihometiger
OK. So ihometiger is the FBI agent. Wow. Good details and pretty damning evidence.
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