Economic Offenses and Organized Crime

2006-12-12T17:50:00.000-08:00

Blog #12:- Organized Crime- Lashkar-e-Toiba founder released

This article is about the founder of the Lashkar-e-Toiba militant group, Hafiz Mohammad Saeed who was recently released. His release was ordered by a court in Lahore. Saeed runs the controversial Jamaat-ud-Dawa charity, has been in detention since almost the beginning of August. The US has listed Jamaat-ud-Dawa as a terrorist organization saying that the charity is a fundraising front and facade for Lashkar-e-Toiba.

The court ordered the defendant’s release once before on August 28^th, but the Punjab government had him rearrested the same day under some kind of public order law. Pakistan has banned Lashkar-e-Toiba but in the process described Jamaat-ud-Dawa as a legitimate Islamic charity with relief operations in the earthquake hit areas of Kashmir and northern Pakistan. In response to a request challenging Mr Saeed's detention, a government official stated that Saeed's activities and behavior had propensities to damage Pakistan's relations with its neighboring countries. Officials in India linked Lashkar-e-Toiba to the Mumbai/ Bombay train bombings in July in which more than 180 people were killed.

I am also surprised at this article. I usually attempt to pay attention to news particularly that of South and South East Asia, but I have never heard of Lashkar-e-Toiba. It might be a new group or one that has recently risen above the ranks making it more prestigious and prominent. Whatever the case might be, I’m still surprised that I have never heard of it. After reading the article, it seems like I will have to keep my eyes open and be on the lookout for this specific ‘charity’ especially since America has labeled it a terrorist group. I wonder if it’s anything like Hezbollah who I think had its beginnings in attempted government reform. However the charity is smart in that it hides been the fact that it is a supposed charity fundraiser for victims of national disasters. I wonder if it has any ties whatsoever to Hezbollah, Al-Qaeda or the Taliban. I am not surprised that law enforcement and government officials are attributing and holding the recent train bombings to this Lashkar-e-Toiba group. As usual, I need to keep updated about this as I am curious with its current state, involvements and developments.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/6062798.st

2006-12-12T17:30:00.000-08:00

Blog #11:- Economic Offenses/Organized Crime- Late Enron boss's verdict quashed

Following up on my other Enron blogs and current happenings on the hotbed topic, a U.S. court has ruled that the conviction of former Enron boss Kenneth Lay cannot stand or be withheld seeing that he died before he was able to go through with his attempt to appeal against the verdict. He died in July, less than two months after his conviction for fraud and conspiracy in the Enron scandal. He was found guilty of being aware of yet not doing anything to prevent a massive fraud at the company, which lost $60 billion of its market value. A U.S. district judge ruled that the case against him should be wiped out as a dead defendant could not be punished (even as obvious at that might seem). The verdict is likely to hamper and hinder the government's efforts to recover $43.5 million in cash and other financial assets that Lay supposedly stole from the company’s shareholders. However the authorities believe that they can still pursue these claims in a civil court but on the flip side with having to deal and compete with other appellants who include ex-investors and employees of the former company. Lay’s lawyers argued the conviction should be overturned following his death, citing a 2004 appeals court ruling that the state could not punish a dead defendant or their estate unless their case had been heard on appeal.

It has just been interesting and amazing to me that I have been able to follow up most of my blogs articles/events within a short period of time. I just thought/ felt criminal proceedings took a long time but to my surprise, all of these events happened within a short time of each other. Hopefully that means that the criminal justice system is taking things (in this case white collar crime) more seriously. I find it ironic that Lay died unexpectedly like that just two months after his primary conviction if I am not mistaken. He was still fairly young in the early stages of his 60’s. I wonder what the exact cause of death was and if he was physically ill. I would be very surprised if I found out that he died of some stress or anxiety related illness. I cannot believe that this was a suicide of sorts, he was really young and also intended on appealing the case. He also still had the fruits of his ill labor (criminal actions) as well that served as incentives to keep him kicking. The judge just made a good call, it would be expensive and almost not worth it to prosecute a dead person even just for justice’s sake especially since the defendant couldn’t serve the sentence. However my heart does go out that the government didn’t recover the other $43.5 million in cash in time before the debt. One has to wonder what Lay’s widow has to do with this. It crossed my mind that she could have killed him having all that money to gain. I also have to ponder what she is going to do with the money in the future. What more could she want or buy? I’m sure she has everything. Although authorities can still pursue this case, it would probably be futile in that they would have to fight and deal with other Enron accused employees who play the same card pleading the same non-guilty plea lying through their time each time they do it. It would just be a cat and mouse fight, never-ending in a vicious cycle. I am surprised however that the ruling by the appeals court about not being able to punish a dead defendant is fairly new, only two years old. One would have thought this was in the books almost at the beginning of time since it sounds so common-sense.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/business/6060798.stm

2006-12-12T17:17:00.000-08:00

Blog 10:- Economic Offenses/ Organized Crime- Enron Boss Gets 24 Year Sentence Enron’s former boss, Jeffrey Skilling has been sentenced to 24 years for his role in the giant fraud that led to the energy firm's demise and destruction in 2001. Recently in the past six months he along with Kenneth Lay, had been found guilty on 19 counts including fraud, conspiracy and insider trading, and was told to expect between two to three decades in jail. As a recap, the debacle left over 21,000 people jobless and without work, not to mention shaking corporate America where its echoes still reverberate even to this day. Skilling supposedly orchestrated and conducted a series of loss-making deals and financial schemes to try to hide debts from investors. "Crimes of this magnitude deserve severe punishment," US District Court Judge Sim Lake told Skilling before sentencing him to 24 years and four months in jail. Skilling attempted to persuade and convince the judge of the remorse he felt and stated being repentant of his actions yet at the same time claiming his innocence. Before the sentencing the defendant was made to listen to testimony from a number of victims of the Enron fraud. Skilling is in the process of appealing the conviction but in the mean time is confined him to his home by the judge where he is to wear an ankle monitor until he reports to prison. This rings true of the Worldcom Ebbers case, in which the sentences are almost exactly identical. As stated in the previous blog, this could set a precedent, even if just an inadvertent, subtle one for the future and social direction of the law. I find that Skilling has guts and the audacity to keep stating his innocence even after all of criminal cases and proceedings against him. If I were him and that much evidence and a case had built up against me, I would just plead guilty and if not that at least nolo contendre so that I could maybe attempt to come to a settlement or agree on a plea bargain (I don’t know if that is applicable in a case like this one). I am glad that the judge saw past his act and gave him exactly what he deserved and that he got what was coming to him. Feeling remorse and pleading innocence is a paradoxical thing in which only one case could be true. He obviously committed the crimes but did not want to fess up or own up to it. I am also glad that he was coerced into listening to testimonies of victims. He needs to know the ramifications of his actions and the fact that they include and influence so many more than just himself. So many lost life savings and retirement funds and the least he could do is listen to what he helped cause and create. I think he is crazy for attempting to appeal but in his case, he almost has nothing else to lose so in a sense I understand. I’m just wondering when he will report to prison. At least he has a monitor on him to check him at all times. This really is a very mild sentence considering all the damage he has created. He really has nothing to be complaining about. I’ll be waiting for updates on this case.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/business/6079042.stm

2006-12-12T17:16:00.000-08:00

Blog 9:- Economic Offenses- Former Worldcom Boss Bernard Ebbers Reported to Louisiana Prison to start his 25 year sentence

This is a follow up on one of my previous blogs. Ebbers was convicted of fraud and conspiracy for his role in an $11 billion accounting scandal which uncoincidentally also led to the collapse of Worldcom in 2002 and sentence to 25 years. Ebbers will be released is 2028, at the earliest in by which he will be over 85 years old. He has reported to the medium-security Federal Correctional Institution in Oakdale, Louisiana.

The former Worldcom boss was originally sentenced in March 2005 but Ebbers appealed against the decision. A federal appeals court in New York upheld the guilty verdict in July 2006 after a judge found that personal gain had been the chief motivating factor behind Ebbers' actions and unruly behavior. Prosecutors said that Ebbers participated in a plot to falsely boost the value of the company's shares by hiding the true state of the firm's finances. During the technology boom of the 1990s, Ebbers was a star of corporate America as WorldCom’s standing and reputation continually skyrocketed. When Worldcom collapsed, it was the biggest corporate bankruptcy the US had seen, the firm filed for bankruptcy protection, 20,000 employees lost their jobs and shareholders lost about over $180 billion. Ebbers abandoned the firm in 2002 after admitting to borrowing money from the company to hide losses when he bought its shares.

As usual, I concur with the upholding of the conviction and the judgment. Like in many white-collar criminal cases involving corporate executives, greed and personal gain are usually the driving forces and motivating factors. This is almost identical to that of the Enron case except Ebbers has the misfortune of ending up with a harsher sentence of a quarter of a century. I feel that is a good thing and could be the beginning of a new trend in criminal justice where the slap on the wrist/ hand doctrine is abandoned, even just temporarily and white collared crime is viewed as it really is, a crime, not undermined or understated. For far too long, silence has condoned such behavior in society as even acceptable whereas now (hopefully) there is no fear of public chastisement of wrongdoing. I say that Ebbers is unfortunate only because his Enron counterparts have suffered much less than he has (as of right now). I can’t really say I feel sorry for the fellow. Karma like they say, what goes around come around, this time payback bit him in the butt- hard.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/5380458.stm

2006-12-12T17:15:00.000-08:00

Blog #8- Organized Crime- Peru Shining Path Head Gets Life

The founder of Peru's Shining Path Maoist guerrillas has convicted of terrorism at a retrial and sentenced to life imprisonment. Abimael Guzman, a former philosophy professor led a 12-year rebellion in which around 70,000 people died. He was tried after his capture in 1992 by a secret military court, but the verdict and life sentence were thrown out in 2003. Guzman's partner Elena Iparraguirre was also found guilty and given life.

The Shining Path is described as a Maoist guerrilla group, waging a violent campaign to overthrow the Peruvian state/ form of government. A truth and reconciliation commission blamed more than 31,000 killings on the guerrillas.

The year-long hearing was held at the high-security naval base where Guzman has been held since 1993. Guzman had described himself as a "revolutionary combatant" and not a terrorist. His lawyer Manuel Fajardo had argued his client should be granted an amnesty because of violations against his right to due process. Fajardo believes that the verdict was not based on law but by politics. He also believed that the deaths were an inevitable result of the war between the Shining Path and the Peruvian government. Both Guzman and Fajardo intend to appeal.

This was a really interesting article to me in that I had never heard of the ‘Shining Path Head’ before reading it. I’ve never really been exposed to South American crime or at least in this case might even be considered some type or form of a coup d’etat. It is interesting to me that an educated person led this rebellion, not that that means something in particular. I just had the perception that educated people do things in more of a logical and planned, well-thought out manner yet simultaneously one that would affect and bring about change like Gandhi’s nonviolence, not just blatantly seditious. But on the other hand who knows? Desperate times call for desperate measures, these people have been or felt oppressed for so long and something might have just broken inside of them or an event that was the final straw that led them open to rebellion as some kind of last resort. I’m not sure if the charge of terrorism suits the case, I don’t think he intended to harm people, rather advocate change for a new form of political government. That seems a bit harsh. As a criminal justice major, I can’t help but wonder why (since I don’t know all the details) Fajardo and Guzman feel their due process rights have either not been given or violated. At the same time 70,000 dead people is just a massive number. I’m sure that not all of these deaths were necessary, but at the same time I’m not sure if they could have been prevented seeing the violent nature of this cause. Either way, it will be interesting for me to follow up on.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/6048144.stm

2006-12-12T14:36:00.000-08:00

Blog #7

Economic Offenses- Congress Slams Hewlett Packard

Hewlett Packard (HP) has been condemned by US members of Congress at a hearing into corporate spy tactics at the computer and printer maker. The House of Representatives Energy and Commerce subcommittee said HP had slight legal backing for spying on staff and obtaining journalists' phone records. A member even compared it to the Watergate scandal. The HP chief executive gave a "heartfelt apology" for what he said had been "a rogue investigation’.

The main goal of the investigation was to discover which employee was the informant to the press giving out confidential information and reports. Somehow this search for the truth was skewed when investigators got a hold of the phone records and other information of journalists and other HP employees without obtaining prior permission. This has been considered pre-texting which is a common one among private investigators however testing the limits of California state laws. Prosecutors also believe that it violates laws covering identity theft and unauthorized access to computer data.

I concur, applaud and commend Congress for publicly criticizing HP, let alone taking a stand for proper economic and business protocol. It is about time that this take place. It is rare nowadays to see public chastisement especially for such a large company/ corporation. Even if the company had some minor legal justification for its actions, it is still not big enough to serve as its umbrella. What I would like to understand is how phone records of journalists or even HP employees is relevant or pertinent to finding who leaked personal company information. I wonder if there was some kind of hidden agenda by the investigation team. This would carry dire ramifications if it does violate laws concerning identity theft and access to computer data. The laws should probably be more specific, if they are not already.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/business/5389556.stm

2006-10-10T17:31:00.000-07:00

Blog #6

Economic Offenses- Jail for lottery theft MBE Conman

During my daily grind of reading news and drinking coffee in the morning, I found this interesting article about an ex-policeman who conned his way to becoming a member/having a MBE. (For those who don’t know, I didn’t know myself until I researched it; an MBE is part of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire and the British Order of Chivalry). Michael Eke was sentenced to eighteen months of prison for theft and deception, not to mention being disowned by his family. Of course, he rejected the honor because services to the community Norwich Crown Court had heard that he pocketed and kept thousands of pounds in lottery grants that were supposed to be given to youngsters for special events.

The judge who ruled at his sentencing determined that he had gone to “ridiculous lengths” and had “acted shamelessly” to get whatever he desired. He was sentenced to a year and a half of prison for each of the fourteen charges of theft and deception to run simultaneously along with a nine month sentence for forging an MBE application. Eke had plans to get on the honors list to get an audience with the Queen at Buckingham Palace in 2003.

In four short years, he stole over £66,000 by means of selling computers, cameras and other technological devices and electrical goods that he took from the police department and air training corps facilities.

First of all, I was mildly amused when I first read this article. I have never read or come across anything of this nature so at first I thought it was a joke, but it wasn’t. I don’t feel sorry for him in the least bit and being disowned by his family was a small price to pay for what he did to the community and to dishonor himself. I actually feel sorry for him that he felt the need to go through all of those lengths to gain personal recognition from the Queen and the government.

18 months times fourteen plus nine months seems like sufficient punishment for his crimes of theft and deception. I wonder though, since this has been highly publicized if people will take this seriously and if he will be coerced to finish all of his time required. I am glad he relinquished the MBE title; it would have been hilarious and interesting to see what would have unfolded and happened if he fought to keep it. I also wonder if he would have fought to keep it if the court didn’t hear about him stealing lottery funds. That was really low of him to steal funds that were allocated for children. Children are innocent and would have also appreciated and gained much more than he could have from that money- so in this instance, I am infuriated and upset. How can someone be so desperate and steal from children who don’t even pose as threats to him? How selfish can someone be?

For a judge to say that he went to ridiculous lengths and acted shamelessly must have meant that what he did had dire and severe ramifications. I’m glad the judge called him out on his pretensions and punished him instead of the cliché, ever so slight slap on the wrist. What I do not understand is how his application followed through even though it was fraudulent. How can such deceit go undetected for so long? Isn’t there a process and procedure that such things go through, especially one that has something to do with honors given by royalty/government heads? I am curious to ask and ponder about what he was thinking and what he would do if he indeed had an audience with the Queen.

He obviously made a lot of money in four short years. I hope that he had to forfeit it or at least was given to the government for re-allocation to some sort of children’s fund or benefit. I am wondering though how he got his hands on all of those goods without being noticed or people having suspicions. At the same time, I am still glad that justice was served, even though in this particular instance, the case was a bit on the quirky side.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/england/cambridgeshire/5402864.stm

2006-10-03T14:04:00.000-07:00

Blog #5

Organized Crime- Colombian Drug Lords Jailed in the United States

I found this article about Colombian drug lords that were jailed in the United States this week. In the past I haven’t really found a good nor current article about organized crime, but when I ran across this one, I was excited – for a variety of reasons including the fact that I haven’t heard about any major drug busts in a long time, and in the Abadinsky text, the chapter for this week included all sorts of drugs and the article was a perfect supplement of practical and applied knowledge whereas the book was just merely educational and informational aiming to educate and show the reader how to differentiate the different kinds of drugs. I was also tired of covering economic offenses and decided to switch back to organized crime.

Anyways, the article covered that the two brothers (Gilberto and Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela) who led Colombia’s infamous Cali drug cartel each received 30 year sentences in jails in the United States after (reaching a plea agreement) pleading guilty in a federal court in Miami for agreeing/ getting together to import 441,000 pounds of cocaine into America. Under the deal, both have forfeited $2.1 billion and in exchange, money laundering and other similar charges against relative were dropped.

The brothers founded the Cali Cartel which at one point in time and were once considered the world’s most powerful criminals. The cartel used to smuggle more than 4/5s of the cocaine smuggled into the United States and was notorious for hiding and placing cocaine in various items/locations including timber that was hollowed-out, chlorine cylinders and in shipments of frozen vegetables of broccoli and okra.

They were also accused of drug trafficking and money laundering while they were in prison in Colombia since 1995. Abadia, Gilberto’s son also received 20+ years after agreeing to work against his father and uncle but supposedly ran the cartel after the brothers were jailed in Colombia.

First and foremost, as much as I feel sorry for them (since they are old now), I am glad that they were brought to the United States to serve their sentences out here. I feel bad, especially since they have been jailed in Colombia since 1995, which has been 11 years and a very long time. But on the flip side, I mean I don’t know much about Colombian prison but I’m sure since they were infamous there and prestigious, they probably had even a bit of leeway, especially since they still ran illegal activities and the cartel from their prison cell. At least American justice will ensure that they carry out their sentences and that they both will be punished appropriately. Maybe, as idealistic as this sounds, they will learn the error of their ways somehow and find a way to give back to the community. 30 years is a long time, but sounds pretty fair to me considering the gravity and consistency of their crimes even though there is a possibility that they might die before they finish their terms.

I wonder if they didn’t come to a plea agreement if the sentences would be longer but at the same time, they were kind enough to take the crimes of their relatives upon themselves/ their shoulders (since they were going to jail anyways) and let them live their lives. If they forfeited $2.1 billion, how much did they accumulate over time? Crime does pay in this instance. If a person was given the opportunity to make that kind of money doing illegal activities versus being legitimate and legal and barely earning a living, I can see the logic of why and how one can succumb to such temptation.

I also do not know much about drugs/ crime lords or mafias or anything so I am wondering how they fell off the face of the earth and how their once so powerful ring has become nothing but the name in title. Was there competition or did they make errors that impinged and incriminated them? Or is there not so much of a market for drugs now as it was in the past?

I have to give them credit though for being so creative in hiding the cocaine? Frozen vegetables? That I would have never thought of, they must have been very intelligent. I am surprised that the son turned against the father and son, I thought that there would have been some code of honor and loyalty but he probably was looking out for his good (like the Prisoner’s Dilemma) and got bit in the butt in the process because he also received 20 years. Overall I just have to say that at least criminals are being apprehended and our criminal justice system is still attempting to protect society.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5383164.stm

2006-09-29T09:54:00.000-07:00

Blog # 4

More Enron updates and Economic Offenses

This particular blog entry serves mainly as an update for the Enron case, seeing that once again, it pertains to the book that we are currently reading for the class and since I covered it last week.

The article was about Andrew Fastow, who was Enron’s finance executive prior to the financial scandal exposure and how he has been sentenced to six years in prison when he could have had received ten years as a result of his plea agreement. As a recap, Enron went bankrupt in 2001 in which it accumulated over $31.8 billion in debt. Fastow pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering in 2004 and became the chief witness in the trial against Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling (BBC). The ironic twist in the story is that Lay died recently in July, but at least Skilling who was the chief executive of the company will be sentenced within the next month. Among Fastow’s role included conducting multiple loss-making deals and other financial plots to hide debts from investors which he even stated that these actions were fraudulent and allowed him to embezzle from the company (BBC). Other things in his favor included his cooperation with prosecutors, his desire to aid victims looking to regain their losses and visible remorse for what he has done. No fine has been implemented due to the fact that he has given up over $24 million.

It is also interesting that the former WorldCom head, Bernard Ebbers reported to a Louisiana prison to begin a 25 year sentence after being convicted of fraud and conspiracy in an $11 billion scandal that led to the demise of the WorldCom Company. A guilty verdict has been set permanently, especially after it was found out that personal gain was the main motivating factor in all of Ebber’s actions. Involvements in the scandal include participating in a scheme to falsely improve company shares by hiding the status of the firm’s finances. Ramifications of the whole fall include 20,000 employees losing their jobs and losses of over $180 billion for shareholders.

First and foremost, I found it interesting (well more so coincidentally auspicious for my blog) that two articles of the same nature were posted on the same day. I am not surprised that either Fastow or Ebbers actually got prison time. As much as the white-collared/professionals/corporate criminals usually get away with all sorts of preposterous things, I feel that they were punished publicly as scapegoats because these financial scandals were followed so closely and intently by the media, not to mention published and publicized both here on domestic soil and internationally. There would have been an outcry from the international community, but much more so than these, the investors/stockholders who were the victims in these cases and lost everything from investments, profits, lifesavings and retirement funds. So this might be a case where judicial restraint was practiced and applied.

On the other hand, I am surprised for a few reasons. First, I am surprised that the sentence/ punishment for being convicted of one or more crimes, at least financial and corporate crimes, not actually physically harming anyone or being a danger in the eyes of society has such meager ramifications. Ten years is minimal and is the proverbial mere slap on the wrist/hand, not to mention that Fastow only got six years! You would think there would be more dire ramifications. Ebbers, although it seems harsh receiving a sentence of a quarter of a century, is getting what was coming to him and what he deserves. It is a little sad to think that he will be in his 80’s when he will be released, but he should have thought of the consequences of his actions before he did it. Also, why would they be praised for forfeiting money that they stole? Isn’t it just the right thing to do when you steal to give it back, if not pay more for restitution?

I’m not sure how the American public perceives this situation, but hopefully, in the least bit, they feel that justice was at attempted and served. It will be interesting to see if there are public complaints in the nearby future. Also, I wonder if this will set a kind of precedent for white-collared crime and prevent or at least warn people who have propensities or are already involved in similar activities to rethink decisions an actions.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/5380394.stm, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/5380458.stm

2006-09-19T17:21:00.000-07:00

Blog #3
Economic Offenses: Enron Update
For my third blog, I decided to switch the subject matter/topic up a little bit and focus on economic offenses just to keep things interesting and for me to be able to learn and comment on a broader variety of articles. While checking my email, my news alert started flashing on my computer and while browsing through the news updates, I saw an article about the Enron cases/trials. Since we are doing a book review on Conspiracy of Fools in the nearby future, I decided to take advantage of the auspicious coincidence.

For those who are not so well-versed about the business world and such (like myself), I had to do some background reading about Enron. Here are some important facts. According to Wikipedia, Enron is an American energy company based in Texas and founded by Kenneth Lay. It was considered one of the world's leading electricity, natural gas, pulp and paper, and communications companies, and was named "America's Most Innovative Company" by Fortune for a considerable amount of time. In 2001, it filed for bankruptcy, (being the biggest bankruptcy in the United States at the time). The whole scandal was comprised of bribery and payment of monies personally to settle suits, not to mention the eradication of the Arthur Anderson accounting firm. Now it is just seen as an emblem and symbol of corporate fraud/ corruption. (paraphrased and taken from Wikipedia).

The title of the article I happened upon today was that a judge rejects mercy plea in sentencing ex-Enron executive. “A U.S. federal judge rejected a plea for mercy from prosecutors and sentenced a former Enron Corp. executive who testified against Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling to 30 months in prison. David W. Delainey, a Canadian who pleaded guilty to insider trading in 2003 and cooperated extensively with the U.S. Justice Department's Enron Task Force, had been praised by prosecutors for his help in the case. Enron collapsed in a tangle of fraud in 2001, causing investors to lose billions and costing employees their jobs and retirement savings. Delainey's testimony helped convict Lay, the former Enron chairman, and Skilling, the former chief executive, last summer. The sentence handed down by U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt was less than the 33 to 41 months provided under federal sentencing guidelines, but Deputy Task Force Director Kathryn Ruemmler had sought leniency and defense lawyer John Dowd had recommended probation.”

First and foremost, I am definitely glad to hear something about the Enron cases; it’s been a good and long while since I have heard anything worth reading about it and according to this, justice seems to be taking place, even though the process is long and hard. I completely concur with the judge’s decision though. Why is always the case that the white-collared professional is praised when giving insider information about the corporation/company when he himself was involved with the illegal and fraudulent people? Why are we surprised when professionals are caught doing wrong things? How many of them go undetected? The American people shouldn’t be commending him for giving an inside scoop to what really is going on/ or what happened, this is the least that he can do, not to mention his responsibility for deceiving the American people/investors for Enron. We cannot forget that all the while, he was taking part of dishonest business and looking out for his own personal interest and self- gain, not that of the common/public good or for consumers.

In fact the 30 months that Delainey will be serving is a mild one, usually these kinds of sentences run anywhere from about 33 to 41 months as the article stated, not to mention the fact that he has had the privilege of staying at home with his family and working while waiting for his sentence. After the sentence, he will be under supervision for two years. He also got a minimal fine of $60,000 to be paid to Enron victims, which I’m certain is no blow to his pockets, even after surrendering $7 million. The judge gave good reasoning stating that righting wrongs are not sufficient, that he has not endured much suffering at all, and as a top dog in charge of several units, probation was not a feasible option. If you think about it 30 months really is not even that long of a term to serve. After that, he can pick up and return to his normal life. I am glad that this is the decision of the court. It teaches people that money cannot always save you, even if it always seems like that is the case. So hurrah to the underdog, even if it’s just this time around.
Judge Hoyt summed it up best, “There's a difference between consequences of one's acts and punishment for one's acts. If you'd lost every penny, that's simply a consequence, it's not punishment."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060918/ts_nm/energy_enron_delainey_dc&printer=1

2006-09-12T15:41:00.000-07:00

Blog #2 Organized Crime- Hezbollah
For my second blog, I still wanted to focus on different groups/cultures of organized crime and was sifting through some newspapers that have been lying untouched on my bedroom floor; it then hit me that I could finally write something up about the Lebanon/Israeli crisis with particular emphasis on Hezbollah which really intrigues me.

I am not too up-to-date with middle-eastern politics and am quite a novice so in advance I am going to ask you, the reader to pardon me. If I am not mistaken though, Hezbollah is an extremist Shiite group/party, particularly home to Lebanon with three basic agendas/tenets, to remove western influence and footing in the nation, to unite the country as a whole as an Islamic state and to eradicate and expunge the nation of Israel off of the map and the globe for that matter. As most logical and rational people believe them to be a terrorist group, most Islamists (I’m thinking the extremists, I could be mistaken) and Arab people claim it to be otherwise, a valid and legal resistance movement.
Anyways I came across this interesting article in the Washington Post online analyzing Hezbollah as the supposed best guerilla force in the world- analyzing specific topics such as the group’s resilience to zeal, secrecy and Iranian funding .

If I understood it correctly, Israel as an aim of their declaration of war was trying to rid themselves of Hezbollah guerillas. Anyways in mid-July, after the U.N. declared a cease-fire, Hezbollah’s endurance was seen as a success even though all of the Israeli bombings affected Lebanon quite heavily. Their success could be attributed to the fact that they had the home-court advantage in that they hid amongst themselves in Shiite villages and helped by the Lebanese people. (Support from one’s nation is a great help and no doubt one of the reasons for their supposed victory. I mean if it was otherwise, they would have more to worry about looking for allies and other nit-picky things that could all amount to failure if not in their favor) An insider attributes Hezbollah’s successes to their disciplined military science and their zeal/devoutness (which I truly must commend them for, while I can argue that it is used with the wrong motives and purposes, it is hard to find people, let alone here in the West who are so sold out to a cause that they are willing to do anything and everything to achieve their agenda).
Analysts say, “The fighters' Islamic faith and intense indoctrination reduced their fear of death, giving them an advantage in close-quarters combat and in braving air strikes to move munitions from post to post. There is also a Martyr's Institute that guarantees living stipends and education fees for the families of fighters who die on the front”. I wonder if it is a cultural thing, not a religion thing, that cultivates these people (extremists) into who and what they are- people with a sense of purpose, who know why and what they exist for and are willing to do anything to achieve their goals. I wonder what exactly happens in the indoctrination process; are they just troubled people who find a purpose and sense of belonging, thus intensifying their loyalty? The institute also made a smart move on their behalf, if an individual’s family and loved ones were taken care of if they were killed or injured, they would have no reason not to completely compliant, and they would only have themselves to worry about.
The article also said that, “They also have a military and intelligence organization totally separated from the political organization. Nasrallah, the Hezbollah head, with his cleric's turban and student's mien, appearing on the screen in pre-taped broadcasts was the biggest secret of all, hunted by Israeli warplanes and hiding in a location about which the Lebanese could only guess.”

No doubt, their entire operation was carefully planned and extricated. More than anything I am intrigued about their military training and war strategies. I am interested in their underground operations and at the same time worried. They must be very intelligent people to be able to study history so as to prevent similar mistakes from happening and using it to come up with new militaristic moves that would help them attain victory. As big of a threat as they are already, how much more in the future, especially with large support networks? How will this affect how other groups and terrorists in general? I am also anxious to see what the Bush administration is going to do to combat this, along with the U.N. One more thing, as much as I hate to say this, we can learn a thing or two from groups like this, we need to be more committed to fighting for our specific cause, especially since we deem it as the correct one, and need to be more unified instead of dividing up amongst ourselves/factions/ and races.

2006-09-12T15:38:00.000-07:00

Blog #1

Organized Crime: - Chinese Gangs

When I was looking up articles for this blog, especially since this is my first one ever, I was surprised to find that I didn’t know barely anything about organized crime or economic offenses. Browsing around the internet for scholarly sources, I decided to look into the Lexis-Nexis database. Organized crime is such a broad and general subject and it was difficult for me to narrow it into more specific topics that I am actually interested in.

Somehow I saw this article on the database focusing on Chinese gangs and their version of organized crime when it hit me, I have always been interested in crime and how different cultures across the world participated/ are involved in it. First and foremost, most Asian countries, particularly China and Japan (if I am not mistaken) are not publicized or even known for negative societal issues and problems, let alone crime (this is very interesting to me). Usually they are praised for their advancements in technology or are commented on about their current building program (it can be argued that China has the one of the biggest agendas right now). Anyways reading some background information about their gang problems has proven to be informative and more than note worthy.

Recently, towards the end of August, a Chinese gang was finally broken up - they were involved in illegal activity and selling their own generic version of the Tamiflu drug which is essential and critical in fighting the bird flu disease in humans. The group made profits of over 105,000 pounds by selling it online and in other parts of China. Over a dozen people were arrested and seized, along with 46 tons of raw materials and 400 kilos of their homemade drug (paraphrased from Lexis-Nexis). First, it was shocking to me that China even has gangs, maybe because of the way the media portrays the nation as a whole as stated above and also because for some weird reason I assumed that their Communist way of life had some sort of leveling mechanism in which equality of lifestyle would be enforced. But then again, crime always exists, and there is no such thing as an ideal or perfect society.

I read another brief article which was dated back in July about Chinese gangs and Ex-Soviet boats who were involved with migration in Spain. Basically the Canary Islands government is concerned about a possible issue with human trafficking by the Soviets when they found a boatful of illegal Chinese immigrants. It is also widely believed that the head of the operation and quite possibly other operations is Chinese and has major plans for human trafficking. This is quite scary to me- drug trafficking is common, yes, but when it involves human beings, things get complicated (not that they are not complicated enough already). The article was vague and I’m wondering if the human involved had anything to do with prostitution rings or brothels. It is interesting to me though that the Chinese would get involved with the Soviets. I would think that if I was committing a crime, I would handle it by myself or amongst others I trust and are like me (and probably stay within the country/race). I am anxious to find out what this is all about and to see if my hypothesis about the human trafficking for prostitution is right. This again is incredible for me. Never would I have thought China could have such internal problems, only shows/proves that there is no utopian society, no matter how good the intentions of the government (in this case, Communist).

2006-09-05T13:50:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my blog (first-ever). This is for my online class I'm taking CRJS 468- Economic Offenses and Organized Crime at VCU. Thank you for stopping by. Hopefully you'll find this somewhat informational/ and or even perhaps a tad bit interesting.