Posted On: July 31, 2009

Hollywood, Florida Police Officers Caught in Cover-Up

Four Hollywood Florida Police Officers are being accused of faking a crash report. The entire incident was accidently caught by the on board dash camera. They were identified Tuesday as Dewey Pressley, Joel Francisco, Andrew Diaz and Karim Thomas. They're on administrative duty pending an investigation.

It is alleged that Officer Joel Francisco accidently rear ended a vehicle. The Officer then placed the individual under arrest for drunken driving related charges. A video depicts the Officers apparently attempting to create a story in which blame for the accident could be placed on the other driver. Apparently, the Officers were unaware that the entire incident was being recorded. The accident report written by Officer Pressly states that the driver of the other vehicle was distracted when a cat sitting on her lap caused her to loose control striking the officers vehicle. The Broward County Office of the State Attorney has agreed to drop the driving under the influence charges stemming from this incident.

ANSARA RESPONDS
It appears that the Broward County Office of the State Attorney has taken the initiative to drop all charges stemming from the incident involving these Hollywood Police Officers in this particular case. However, what is the Broward County Office of the State Attorney doing to investigate other arrests by these officers? It appears to me that the Broward County Office of the State Attorney has a duty to further investigate pending and prior arrests involving these officers. The Hollywood Police Department is no stranger to scandal. Recently the Department was shaken when the FBI arrested fellow Hollywood Police Officers. The FBI posed as an underground criminal ring and used the Hollywood Police Officers as protection during drug transports.

Retired FBI agent Jack Garcia was one of the undercover operatives and gave his account of the investigation in a book published last year. In an interview last October, he said of his dealings with the Hollywood Police Department: "What was amazing to me is that it was so easy to get cops to look the other way, to guard trucks for us, no questions asked. I'd never seen anything like it."

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Posted On: July 28, 2009

UBS Client Pleads Guilty in Fort Lauderdale Federal Court

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Jeffrey P. Chernick of Stanfordville, N.Y., pled guilty today on the charge of filing a false tax return in Fort Lauderdale, Florida Federal Court. This is the result of an ongoing attempt by the United States Government's efforts to force the United Bank of Switzerland (UBS) to divulge the names of thousands of wealthy American's who may have large amounts of money in UBS accounts.

Arrests for South Florida UBS white collar crimes have already occurred and it seems likely that other arrest are sure to follow.

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Posted On: July 14, 2009

Weston Man Charged with Operating $14M Commodities Fraud

The Commodities Future Trading Commission alleges that Weston resident Sean Nathan Healy ran and operated a multi-million dollar securities scheme. The civil complaint alleges that Sean Nathan Healy defrauded 44 investors of approximately $14 million dollars.
The Broward County man is accused of operating the white collar scheme in order to make extravagant purchases such as a $2.5 million home, luxury cars, gold bullions, and a $500,000 home theater. On Monday a Federal Judge issued an order freezing Healy's assets.

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Posted On: July 13, 2009

Fort Lauderdale Police Chief's Wife Spared Mandatory 20 year Prison Sentence

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The wife of Fort Lauderdale police chief Frank Adderley has been spared a 20 year minimum mandatory sentence by the Office of the State Attorney for Broward County. Eleanor Adderley was originally charged with aggravated assault with a firearm which carries a stiff 20 year minimum sentence. However, the charge was amended to aggravated assault without a firearm. Bizarrely, her plea also includes the charge of using a gun in an occupied building.

After negotiations with Jeff Marcus, chief of the felony division for the Broward State Attorney's Office, Eleanor Adderley was offered a plea deal that would effectively bypass the 20 year minimum sentence. Marcus said the bargain was a practical way of tailoring the punishment to the crime.
"It's in essence a legal fiction," Marcus said. "Did she discharge the weapon? Of course she did, right? But if we deem that the mandatory sentence would not be appropriate, then we would amend those words out." It's a means to "the right result," Marcus said.

Regardless, many are left to wonder why such an exception was made in this case. "My first impression is that the counts of the plea bargain are internally inconsistent and incompatible, because one of the counts omits the presence of the firearm, while the other presumes the presence of a firearm," said Tony Alfieri, director of the University of Miami law school's Center for Ethics and Public Service. "My second impression is that the plea bargain not only mocks the notion of even-handed criminal justice but also undermines public confidence in the fair and unbiased enforcement of the law."

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