By: Barbara Hollingsworth, Examiner Columnist
12/03/09 3:12 PM EST
LINK
Re: “SEC IG looks into United Airlines bankruptcy,” Nov. 24
For three years, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice have refused to investigate material evidence of a nationwide criminal racket that has allegedly infiltrated state and federal courts and is unlawfully manipulating and exploiting litigants in bankruptcy, family and probate courts.
According to court documents filed in Chicago, the FBI and DOJ turned a blind eye to retaliation against citizens who attempted to expose the corruption, including “kidnapping of children, false incarceration after being ‘framed’ by criminal elements in civil and criminal authorities, impoverishment, coercion under duress, and serious physical injury up to and including death.”
The 2006 affidavit claims that “multiple judges and lawyers are aware of and/or involved in alleged criminal acts,” but have not reported wrongdoing to authorities in violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct. It specifically mentions four federal judges, including Eugene R. Wedoff (see below - Editor) who was appointed chief bankruptcy judge of the Northern District of Illinois in 1986.
Judge Wedoff presided over the 2005 bankruptcy of United Airlines, in which 20 large unsecured creditors lost nearly $18 million. The airline also defaulted on $3.2 billion worth of pension obligations for over 134,000 United employees –the largest pension default in three decades – while its top executives walked off with millions in exit bonuses.
Dan Hanley, public spokesperson the Whistleblowing Airline Employees Association (www.airline-whistleblowers.org) and a former United 777 captain who was forced out of his job, alleges that United management fraudulently withheld information from the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation, which took over their pensions, and that PBGC never conducted the federally mandated analysis of the United pension fund before agreeing to its termination. The Securities and Exchange Commission has recently agreed to look into the matter.
The court affadavit also accuses Wedoff, who recently suffered a mysterious fractured skull, and other allegedly crooked judges of squirreling away $40 million in bribes at LaSalle National Bank in Chicago, Wells Fargo and Northern Trust Bank in Arizona. The affadavit further claims that payoffs to Wedoff eventually wound up in the ERW Living Trust, which purchased Lot 114 of Greenfield Place in Maricopa County, Arizona. The signature of ERW trustee “Richard E. Williams” is allegedly identical to Judge Wedoff’s.
The affidavit further charges that the criminal racketeering enterprise headquartered in Phoenix hacked into INSLAW, a court software program, and “through the systematic code-based creation of fraudulent documents and identity theft,” illegally hijacked it to funnel stolen private and government funds into two trusts – Omega and Anchor Pure Trusts – which ultimately dispersed the hot cash into personal trusts such as ERW, which then used fake mortgages for property that had already been bought with cash to further launder the money.
“Multiple lawyers of prominent law firms are allegedly members” of the racket, which uses phony federal marshal credentials to gain access to the Federal Court Building in Chicago, according to the affidavit.
Another signed affidavit, filed by court qualified document examiner Sidney Perceful, accused Wedoff of allowing a bankruptcy trustee to confiscate and destroy records and transfer “large sums of money” to his account at La Salle, which she called “highly irregular and illegal.”
These allegations, if true, point to a massive criminal infiltration of the federal court system. But so far, neither the FBI nor DOJ have bothered to look into them. The big unanswered question is: Why not?
PROFILE
Eugene R. Wedoff
Bankruptcy judge widely respected as smart, practical
Harriet Chiang, Chronicle Legal Affairs Writer
LINK
Tuesday, December 10, 2002
The federal judge in Chicago who will oversee the fate of United Airlines has one of the best reputations in the nation, a jurist considered by lawyers to be exceptionally suited to handle the largest bankruptcy in aviation history.
Judge Eugene R. Wedoff has been a bankruptcy judge in the Northern District of Illinois for 15 years, widely respected for both his intellect and his practical grasp of the business world.
Although he has handled primarily small bankruptcy cases, lawyers in the field say there's no question that he's up to handling United's financial free- fall.
With Wedoff in charge, "I think United is very lucky," said Douglas Baird, a law professor at the University of Chicago who specializes in bankruptcy law.
"He's not a miracle worker, but he's going to give them his best shot."
Dan Zazove, a Chicago lawyer who represents primarily debtors in bankruptcy cases, said one would be hard-pressed to find something to criticize about Wedoff.
"He's probably one of the better judges in the country," he said.
A tall figure with bushy red hair, Wedoff, 52, is expected to run a tight ship, open to lawyers making their case, but unwilling to let things drag on.
"He's scholarly, but he's not the kind who's going to sit in his office for 40 days," said G. Ray Warner, resident scholar for the American Bankruptcy Institute in Washington, D.C. "He will pull the trigger and get things moving forward."
Wedoff is outspoken and has been a critic of proposed amendments to the bankruptcy code that would restrict debtors' rights.
But lawyers say he's unlikely to favor United over the unions, saying he's extremely even-handed.
A jurist who prides himself on being prepared, Wedoff is expected to be tough on all sides. "He gets right to the point," said Dan Murray, a senior partner at Jenner & Block, one of the pre-eminent law firms in Chicago, where Wedoff practiced law before he took the bench.
Wedoff was born and raised in the Chicago area. He received his undergraduate degree in music from the University of Chicago. He continues to pursue his passion for music, as a classical pianist who has performed some of his own compositions.
He went on to receive his law degree at the school and then went into private practice at Jenner & Block, specializing in business litigation.
Wedoff took the bench in 1987 and became chief judge this year, taking on the administrative challenge of juggling a record number of bankruptcy filings on a bench with three openings. He is married and has four children.
He's on numerous national bankruptcy boards, including the American Bankruptcy Institute and the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges.
Legal experts expect him to be up on the issues facing United because he is a constant student of the law, speaking on numerous panels and writing many articles.
"He works ahead of the curve," Zazove said.
Wedoff also is known for carefully following the law, a trait that won him praise at the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1999, the justices overturned a ruling he made concerning a reorganization issue. But in both the majority and dissenting opinions, justices praised him for his "conscientious handling" of the case.
"He listens, he's smart," Baird said. "And he's passionate about doing his job right."
E-mail the writer at hchiang@sfchronicle.com.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/12/10/MN48836.DTL
This article appeared on page A - 19 of the San Francisco Chronicle
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét