More delays and one hell of a deal on a $600,000 home!

We mentioned yesterday that the defendants in the Bernardo Barrera mortgage fraud case each had court appearances scheduled.  After nearly two years of waiting with bated breath for something meaningful to happen at one of these hearings, we've learned not to expect anything, as before all we got were more delays.  No surprises there.


Moving along, we also found out yesterday that the home that was at the center of the $600,000 mortgage fraud that John Arthur Romney orchestrated was sold at auction for $40,000!  Surprising how a home that Mr. Romney and crew had appraised for $600,000 two years ago has taken a 93% drop in value?!  Naturally the parties that purchased the home at auction are going to resell it, so we took a drive by to see for ourselves...

My, my how times have changed, the new owners are looking to sell it for $68,000.  Seeing the house as it sits today really makes you wonder how anyone could have appraised this home for $600,000.  We'll talk more about the fraud involved in inflating the value a little later.  Be patient.

On another note, while flipping through the channels half asleep last night I came across story whose headline didn't make sense (uh oh), it went something like this...

"...the focus shifted to a mortgage broker. Could his drive to close deals and the pressures of the job lead him to commit a double murder?"

HUH!  Come to find out that police were accusing mortgage broker Ron Santiago of killing two of his clients!  It's an interesting story with some parallels with some of the stories we've been discussing here on our blog, take a look for yourselves and we'll discuss later.

Felony soundings, trial status, etc. WTF?

A quick look at John Arthur Romney's court docket shows that there's a "felony sounding" this morning...

What's a "felony sounding"?  We can't seem to find a definition online, any ideas?  Also, codefendant Delaila Estefano's docket also shows some activity this morning as well...

This docket shows a status hearing, is that any different than a felony sounding?  Who knows.  We'll poke around a bit and maybe find out what happened at these hearings and update a little later in the day.  In the mean time, take a look at this instance of another individual who's a bit frustrated with the judicial system and how he takes out his frustration on a "rat"...

How to interview a key witness according to Detective Jorge Baluja.

Say you're going to interview a key witness in the Bernardo Barrera mortgage fraud case, how would you go about doing it, especially considering that your entire case is based on the testimony that this witness allegedly gave?  Let's think for a moment, you would think that you'd want to make the witness feel calm and at ease, you certainly wouldn't want the witness to feel threatened.  On the contrary, the more relaxed the witness is, the more likely they are to tell you what you want, right?  Although that approach would make sense to a person with a modicum of sense, let's not forget that we're dealing with MDPD's pride and joy, Detective Jorge Baluja.  We've seen several instances over the past year of Detective Baluja coercing witnesses and  instructing witnesses to lie, so is there any doubt that he screwed up this witness interview?

Like we said before, wouldn't you want to make the witness feel comfortable in order to gain their trust?  Let's see how Jorge achieves that trust, from the witness's deposition transcript...

There you go!  What better way to make a witness feel right at home than reading them their Miranda Rights!  Remember, we're not cops nor do we have any policing experience, this could be a standard run of the mill procedure for interviewing a witness (we doubt it), it just seems a bit odd to mirandize a witness that you're trying to elicit favorable testimony out of!  You would think that this would be a great time to tell the good detective to go fcuk himself and call an attorney.  Regardless, nothing has made sense from the inception of this case so there's no reason for anything to make sense now.

Moving right along, now that the witness has been mirandized, what does Detective Baluja do next?  Remember, it's our contention that as a detective you'd want to develop a repertoire with the witness, make them feel at ease so they can tell you everything they know about the crime being investigated, let's take a look at what the good detective does next...

FANTASTIC!  What better way to make the witness feel comfortable than to let them know that you're investigating them!  Hey there witness, I've already looked through your bank records, I've got photo's of you and your husband, run criminal background checks on you and your family and conducted surveillance on you and know what you do with your time, now would you like to answer some questions for me regarding a real estate transaction you were involved in?  Now, if the detective reading you your miranda rights wasn't enough to get you to stop the conversation and call your attorney, this certainly should be!  

Now, you've been mirandized and have now been told that the detective has turned your life upside down and has actually been following you around, assuming you haven't called your attorney by now, what are you going to do?  If you're a young woman that's never been questioned by a cop, especially the way Detective Baluja has handled himself, one can only assume that your going to do everything you can to save your ass, let's see what the witness says...

There you have it.  The witness was going to make sure she wasn't going to be charged with anything.  With the witness now backed into a corner, what good is anything they say?  If indeed the sole objective is "to make sure you were not going to be charged", then what are the chances of getting accurate testimony from the witness?  I for one would say whatever the hell the detective wanted just so I could get the fcuk out of there!

As expected, the testimony that Detective Baluja elicited from this witness is full of problems, big problems.  Did you guys expect any less?

I reckon we got fraud, UH HUH!

Somehow I found myself switching between watching Slingblade on cable last night and reading Detective Jorge Baluja's deposition transcripts from the Bernardo Barrera mortgage fraud case.  Strange combination, as the night wore on the line between the movie and the transcripts started to get blurry until they became one and the same.  From the depo...

Can you picture it?  In case you can't, here's a visual aid...

Back to the depo...

Easy enough right?  Let's try again...

AGAIN?!

JEEZE!  Detective Baluja goes on to say...

You sure about that Jorge?  I mean, you would have to be absolutely positively certain that the facts were as you stated before making the arrests right?  You're suggesting that the attorney fraudulently represented to Citi Mortgage that the earnest money was already received before the closing took place?  Go back and check your file or even better, go sit down with ASA Bill Kostrzewski and have him read it to you.  If you still don't get it, don't worry, I'm going to make sure you understand before I'm done.


It's obvious after following our blog over the last year that investigating mortgage fraud was above Detective Baluja and ASA Kostrzewski's pay grade.  After going through the case files again and again, you almost feel bad for these two, if only investigating these cases was as easy as what you see on TV...

Stay tuned folks, things are about to get much, much more interesting...

The jig is up, MDPD Commander Frank Vecin abruptly retires.

Not exactly a surprise but after a meeting yesterday with MDPD director James Loftus, Frank Vecin tendered his resignation.  We first met Mr. Vecin a few months back when he was at the center of the green fund mismanagement scandal then last Friday we find Mr. Vecin neck deep in another scandal.  Once again from the WFOR story by Jim Defede...

Frank Vecin, the Miami-Dade police commander who has allegedly been paid hundreds of thousands of dollars by developers to expedite their request for permits and provide access to top county administrators, has agreed to retire.

The announcement followed a CBS4 News investigation last week into Vecin's role as a consultant for some of the county's biggest developers. His ties to those developers are also the focus of an ongoing criminal investigation by the Miami-Dade State Attorney and the county's Inspector General.

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez called Vecin's actions on behalf of developers "troubling and disappointing" and said he agreed with Vecin's decision to step down.

"He realized he had become a distraction for the Miami-Dade Police Department, a place he called home for 20 years, and that it was the right thing to do," Alvarez told CBS4 News. "He wasn't kicked out the door, he made that decision."

Following the CBS4 News reports last week, Vecin met with Police Director Jim Loftus Tuesday morning. Vecin then spoke at length with Alvarez, who has been friends with Vecin for nearly two decades.

"He was again very forthright," Alvarez said of his conversation with Vecin. "He said, `You know I realize it's time to go.' He was relieved that he had made the decision and that he was going to get on with his life."

While it is not uncommon for developers to hire consultants to assist them in navigating the maze of county permitting procedures, it is highly unusual for that person to be a current county employee.

At the same time Vecin was assisting various developers as CEO and President of Oak Tree Development he was also in charge of the police department's Intergovernmental Bureau, which is responsible for investigating illegal contractors and criminal violations of the county's building code.

In other words, he was being paid by the very same developers and builders his police unit might be called upon to investigate. Instead it was the developers who found themselves with a valuable friend in the police department.

Alvarez said he had no idea Vecin was working as a consultant for local developers and lobbying county employees on their behalf.

"He made a mistake then there are consequences to pay," Alvarez said.

That's all well and good but don't  you find it strange that considering Mayor Alvarez and Mr. Vecin were friends for over twenty years that the Mayor had no idea what kind of business he was engaged in outside of the police department?

Alvarez said he had no idea Vecin was working as a consultant for local developers and lobbying county employees on their behalf. 

Does that sound plausible?  Anything is possible, but it seems highly unlikely.  Also in the news, MDPD Sgt Dennis Morales gets fined $1500 for working in Panama while on paid leave from the PD.  Morales, former chief of staff for Mayor Alvarez and another member of his inner circle was removed from his post and sent back to work at the PD.  When was the last time this many people close to the mayor started falling by the wayside like this?  First Major Bernie Gonzalez retires amidst allegations of wrong doing, then self styled mortgage fraud czar Glenn Theobald and now Frank Vecin?  For those who doubted that Director Loftus was cleaning house over at the PD, what do you have to say now?  True to form, the Miami Herald just picks up the story of Mr Vecin's consulting business...  WELCOME TO LAST WEEK!

Back to mortgage fraud!  A quick review of John Arthur Romneys court docket shows that Mr. Romney has asked for a modification of his bond while he's awaiting trial...

Come on, give the guy a break, regardless of the fact that he admitted his guilt in the Bernardo Barrera mortgage fraud, let him get on with his life already.

The Miami Herald delivers, FAIL that is...

Well, maybe not this bad...

But almost!  I found myself roaming around the house unable to sleep this morning, so I decided to pick up the iPhone and read our local paper, the Miami Herald.  I scanned the national headlines then came accross this local headline...

WTF?  Anyone familiar with South Florida should be perplexed by this headline, from the headline you're left to wonder, why the hell would there be a "Census Scuffle" at the historic landmark Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables in one of the most affluent areas of the south east United States no less?

Does that make any sense at all?  Why would there be a "census scuffle" in a hotel, let alone the Biltmore?  This puzzling headline now has my undivided attention at 4am while sitting on the can...

The headline leads you to believe that the "scuffle" was at the Biltmore yet the altercation actually took place at the Biltmore II condominium?  Anyone whose ever been to Miami knows that when you say "Biltmore" you're referring to the Biltmore Hotel and not a damn condo that's got nothing to do with the hotel!  WTF?!

We've had our issues with the Herald in the past, from the poorly written and inaccurate article regarding the Bernardo Barrera mortgage fraud arrests to their somewhat lame understanding of the term "Breaking News".  We're not the only ones that have noticed how screwed up the Herald is lately, take a look at this piece by Francisco Alvarado of the Miami New Times.  In the case of this "Biltmore" story, I suppose it was nothing more than a cheap shot to get peoples attention, hardly a big deal but definately an example of how sorry the state of affairs are over at the Herald...

Luxury car theft ring busted. Any luck finding that "Mystery Man" Detective Baluja?

We came across this story the other day on the local news...

From the WSVN website...

NORTH MIAMI-DADE, Fla. (WSVN) -- Police have busted an elaborate stolen rental car ring.

On Wednesday afternoon, Miami-Dade Police surrounded a Mercedes sport utility vehicle at a warehouse whose location they are keeping under wraps as the investigation is ongoing. Police said the SUV was only one of several stolen rental cars they confiscated.

According to police, thousands of dollars worth of vehicles were ripped off from luxury rental agencies, then stored in a warehouse and shipped overseas. "These are high-end vehicles, so they're worth a lot of money. This vehicle right here is worth over $30,000. If they were to sell it for half the price overseas it would be pure profit," said an undercover Miami-Dade Police detective.

Police said someone would rent the cars with a fake ID.

Investigators said, on this day alone, they confiscated cars worth more than $250,000. "This is very serious," said another undercover agent. "As you can tell, these are high-end cars. The cheapest car we recovered here today is worth over $30,000, and we recovered over $250,000 just today. This investigation is still pending. As of right now, we've recovered four, and we're still pending arrests,"

Police said this investigation is far from over noting there are other high-priced cars out there, which were bought using the same scam. "Those are two that we have left here on scene," the officer said pointing to the vehicles. "The other two that we've already removed from the scene was a BMW X5 2010, which alone is worth over $100,000 and an Audi sports utility vehicle, which is about $70,000 to $80,000."

Police are still investigating this case. They said it was a very intricate and expensive operation. The crooks first needed a fake ID to rent the cars, then they needed a fake title. Police said they found several fake titles, so now they are trying to find out who leased and rented these cars and who bought the stolen cars.

Serious stuff, huh?  The crooks would go to a rent a car company and rent a luxury car using a fake identity then haul ass with the car.  Once the car was in their possession, the police allege that they would produce fake paperwork for the cars and send them out of the country.  From what we can deduce from the news story, the police are still trying to find "who leased and rented these cars", in other words, they found the cars, but have no idea who the people who rented the cars with the false identities are.  Hmmm, sound familiar?  Isn't this the same M.O. as mortgage fraudsters stealing peoples identity, producing fake identification then ripping off banks through mortgage fraud?  


We discussed the "mystery man" who allegedly impersonated Bernardo Barrera in the Oak Avenue mortgage fraud, yet somehow nearly two years later the MDPD hasn't been able to locate him even though Detective Baluja tells us during one of his depositions that the impostor was the target of his investigation...

Ok, so how do we go from the "impostor" being the target of the criminal investigation to the guy never even being charged?  Even worse, nearly two years after the Bernardo Barrera mortgage fraud arrests were made and after at least two of the people charged have cut deals, still no impostor?  WTF?  Like we said back in May, this impostor is the guy who's actually guilty of identity theft, yet he still hasn't been arrested or even identified?  Does that make any sense?!  Also take into consideration that these people don't rip off peoples identity from thin air, there's extensive criminal organizations that sell peoples identities as well as produce the fake forms of identification.  If indeed Barrera got his identity stolen (yeah right), who gave it to the people who were charged in the case?  We discussed the possibility of a stolen identity "broker" in the past, so why isn't there any evidence of such a person being investigated?  Surely if the cops were to find this person or ring of people that deal in stolen identities they'd find other frauds involving identity theft, why didn't they investigate this angle?


Considering that MDPD couldn't identify the man who supposedly impersonated Bernardo Barrera and still haven't arrested the impostor even though he was the target of a criminal investigation, does anyone think that the Miami Dade Police Department Auto theft Detectives are going to identify the people who used the fake ID's to rent those luxury cars?  After all, let's not forget who's working Auto Theft these days...

Look who's in the news again, Frank Vecin! Also in the news, more federal mortgage fraud arrests...

You all remember Mr. Vecin of the Miami Dade County Police Department don't you?  We discussed Mr. Vecin and the MDPD Green fund a few months back, now it seems like Mr. Vecin has found himself in quite a mess!  Jim Defede does a great job covering the story here, from the CBS4 story...

A Miami Dade police commander, with close ties to Mayor Carlos Alvarez, has allegedly been paid hundreds of thousands of dollars by developers to expedite their request for permits and provide access to top county administrators, according to a CBS4 News investigation. 

Somewhere in the neighborhood of $625,000 from one developer alone since 2007 to be exact!  Close ties to Mayor Carlos Alvarez no less!

We digress...

Miami Dade Police Chief Frank Vecin is now under criminal investigation by both the Miami Dade State Attorney and the Inspector General's Office. 

That explains all the blog traffic we've been getting from different state and federal law enforcement agencies googling his name.  

Richard Sharpstein, an attorney for The Terra Group, one of the developers that hired Vecin, acknowledged that the developer had recently been served a subpoena for contracts and financial records relating to Terra's involvement with Vecin. 

No es bueno...

...he was also in charge of the police department's Intergovernmental Bureau, which is responsible for investigating illegal contractors and criminal violations of the county's building code. 

Can you say conflict of interest?!

In one instance, according to e-mails obtained by CBS4 News, the Terra Group used Vecin's clout and status inside the police department to initiate an investigation into a condo board member who was giving the developer trouble. 

WHOOPSIE!

...Vecin's fees would range anywhere from $2,500 a month to $50,000 a month depending on what he was asked to do. 

SHAZAM!  When the hell was all this work being done?  Wasn't the PD job a day job?  WTF?

This is not the first time Vecin's conduct has been questioned. Earlier this year, CBS4 News exposed questionable spending by the police department's environmental task force. Vecin was in charge of the fund and monies that were supposed to be used to investigate environmental crimes – such as illegal dumping – were instead used to purchase new computers and hybrid SUVs for police commanders. Vecin even provided one of the SUVs to the mayor. After the news reports surfaced, control of the environmental funds was taken away from Vecin. 

Uh, yeah?!  You all remember former chief legal counsel for the MDPD Glenn Theobald and that "Green Fund" mess don't you?

The county ethics commission even goes so far as to tell Mr. Vecin...

"As a county employee you are not allowed to interact with county officials or county employees representing third party clients,"

In case he didn't get the message the first time, the ethics commission made sure to tell him again the next day...

"I just want to reiterate that you are not permitted to have conversations with county employees or officials at any point in time as a representative of the owners," 

What the hell is going on over at the PD?  How are all these high ranking cops finding the time to fight crime and run other businesses?  Considering that according to this report Mr. Vecin was getting paid as much as $50k per month, is it conceivable that he was doing the work to earn that money during breaks or days off from his job at the PD?  WTF people?!  We're in the throws of one of the worst economic downturns in the history of our country and we have people working part time at the PD while making up to $50k per month at their day job full time at the PD that are pulling down $50k per month on the side?  Come on folks, enough is enough! 

Considering how long Mr. Vecin has been at the PD, the question that begs to be asked is does he have enough dirt on the command staff to stop any kind of meaningful investigation into his "side" business and the allegations of wrong doing or will the director of the Miami Dade Police Department, James Loftus take the initiative and root out this sort of corruption from his department?

Moving along, we've read several press releases stating that there was some sort of huge nationwide mortgage fraud crackdown, one account suggests that nearly 500 people were charged while another suggests that there were 1200 people charged?  Regardless of whether it was 500 or 1200, the feds mean business, this isn't the old Koztrzewski/Baluja dog and pony show we're used to!  In spite of the federal crackdown though, a quick look around Miami Dade county reveals the same characters that orchestrated these frauds still at work ripping people and banks off, just with a different bag of tricks...


Back to mortgage fraud hijinks on Monday, have a great weekend! 

City of Miami public corruption case implodes!

The much hyped City of Miami public corruption case that we discussed back in April has gone BOOM!  Tim Elfrink from the Miami New Times covers it here.  As much as we looked forward to the cops that were alleged of wrong doing having their day in court, it looks like the folks at the state attorneys office aren't going to let that happen, from the article...

Charges against five of the suspects have been dropped. Those cases were so deeply flawed they earned public reprimands from both the State Attorney's Office and the FBI....In dismissing the case against Martinez, prosecutors wrote that "the lack of documentation [and] conflict in testimony" made criminal charges impossible.

No kidding?  Deeply flawed?  Cases dropped for a lack of documentation?  Conflict in testimony?  Let's see what those who testified against one of those arrested had hiding in their closets...

• • Osmel Martinez claimed he had built a $150 handicapped ramp for the GSA chief's mother-in-law. But he had been fired this past February. He had also compiled scores of complaints for verbal abuse and shoddy work. He told an evaluator that his bosses — including Alex Martinez — were trying to kill him in a "conspiracy."
• • Jimenez claimed he'd made the boss a large wooden cross for Easter using city materials. But in 2008, Martinez had caught the GSA worker selling city scrap metal and keeping the profits. Jimenez wrote the city a $400 check in November 2008 and admitted in a signed affidavit that he had kept the money in his "personal bank account" for 40 days.
• • Fernandez claimed to prosecutors he had done handiwork around Martinez's house in exchange for a promised promotion. He had been accused by a co-worker of stealing cast-iron fencing from the city and using it at his home. No criminal charges were ever filed.

A former prosecutor goes on to say...

"Any investigator could have seen that these were not credible witnesses from the outset,"

Interesting.  Even more interesting considering the SAO's position here as compared to the Bernardo Barrera mortgage fraud case isn't it?  For those of you in the know, this quote should hit home...


"It would certainly give anyone pause that a politician appears to be directing a law enforcement agency,"

We're running late, think on it and we'll discuss tomorrow...

An admission of guilt from one of the defendants involved in the Bernardo Barrera mortgage fraud case and an unintelligible riddle courtesy of Assistant State Attorney Bill Kostrzewski.

Just when you think there's nothing else to write about regarding Detective Baluja and ASA Bill Kostrzewski's handling of the Bernardo Barrera mortgage fraud case, somehow something else always pops up.  It's amazing, every time we go through the Bernardo Barrera mortgage fraud case file we find more to write about.  After rereading the transcript of Detective Baluja's second deposition, we accidentally bumped into the Detective telling the attorneys that one of the mortgage fraudsters basically admitted to his involvement in the fraud!  Take a look for yourselves, from the deposition...

John Arthur Romney Admits That He's Guilty of the Crimes He Was Charged With in the Bernardo Barrera Mortga...


Now this is huge isn't it?  Look again...

So according to Detective Baluja's testimony, Mr. Romney incriminated himself.  Great, let's keep going...

Even worse!  Now Mr. Romney admits to knowing that the sale of the property was a fraud!  It get's worse...

Wonderful, now he admits to knowing that the person appearing at the closing was not Bernardo Barrera?  Let's look at the crimes Mr. Romney was charged with back in October 3, 2008:

1. Organized Scheme to Defraud
2. Grand Theft
3. Identity Theft

If indeed Detective Baluja's recollections are correct and Mr. Romney has spilled the beans regarding his involvement in this fraud, according to what we just read, didn't he just confess to being guilty of all the counts that he was charged with?  The question that begs to be asked then is why is it that twenty months after he was initially charged and at least a year and half after this alleged confession hasn't Mr. Romney been sentenced?  Perhaps it's because of some sort of stellar cooperation that he's been giving the state?  That would be plausible if not for this...

Now, isn't that a problem?  Prosecutor Kosztrewski contends that the attorney was the mastermind of this fraud and that it was the attorney who artificially inflated the value of the home three fold yet here we have the man that made nearly $500,000 from this fraud who's admitted his role in the fraud to the police and he can't implicate the attorney?  WTF?  Perhaps sensing the trouble that this alleged confession creates during the deposition, in an effort to save his sinking ship, Assistant State Attorney Kostrzewski presents the witness and the defense attorneys with this riddle...

Billl Kostrzewski Telling Us a Riddle

We've spent nearly a day trying to figure that one out, perhaps it's some sort of code or language that only seasoned veteran economic crimes prosecutors understand?  

The real question that we're left with here today is why the hell isn't John Arthur Romney behind bars?  Nearly two years after he was charged, he's still out on the street, even after his admission of guilt on just about all the crimes he was charged with?  If indeed Detective Baluja's recollection is correct and Mr. Romney did admit to his involvement in the fraud, why would you need to cut a deal with him?  Doesn't this alleged confession make the rumors of Mr. Kostrzewski cutting a deal and giving Mr. Romney probation even more egregious?

More strange witness statements in the Bernardo Barrera mortgage fraud case...

Here we are again with a familiar theme in our blog, strange witness statements regarding the Bernardo Barrera mortgage fraud case.  At first we grew suspicious of some of the witness statements that we found in the case file, they sounded way too precise and to the point, in fact they actually all sounded like they were written by the same person!  Strange, huh?  Last week Detective Baluja tells us during one of the depositions that not only was Assistant State Attorney preparing questions for witnesses and telling the detective what to do but he was apparently also writing witness statements as well!  One has to wonder, why the hell is a prosecutor meddling in an investigation?  Isn't that the Detective and the PD's job?  More important though, why the hell is the prosecutor writing statements for the witnesses?  As far as we know the only person that supposed to author a witness statement is the WITNESS not a cop or a damn prosecutor!


Moving along, every single witness statement that we've found in the Bernardo Barrera case file seems a bit off to us.  How often is it that you find a witness statement that is clear, concise and speaks exactly to the elements of the crime, almost as if written by a lawyer?  Case in point, take a look at this statement that was submitted by a fraud investigator from Citi Mortgage regarding the Bernardo Barrera mortgage fraud case...

Statement From Celia Ritchie From Citi Mortgage Regarding the Bernardo Barrera Mortgage Fraud Case

Now that's as clear and concise as you can get isn't it?  Short and to the point, clearly stating the facts that are relevant to lay the groundwork for the arrest affidavits for the people charged in the fraud.  Brilliant but perhaps a little too clean?  A little too precise?  Doesn't it sound a bit coached?  Maybe even prepared by an attorney?  Break it down...

No $hit huh?  If the bank had known Mr. Barrero's (sic) identity had been stolen, they wouldn't have approved the loan? 

Glad we got that cleared up!  She goes on to state...

Oh, thanks for that!  This statement, specifically these two paragraphs lay the corner stone for the Bernardo Barrera Mortgage fraud case prepared by Detective Baluja and ASA Bill Kostrzewski.  Isn't it convenient that Ms. Richie was so kind as to include these two paragraphs in her statement that speak directly to the elements of the crime that the state is alleging were committed?  You have to appreciate how clear and concise this statement is, short but to the point.  Does that sound like something that would come from a witness on their own or was it something that was dictated to them?  From Detective Baluja's deposition...

Jorge Baluja Saying That He Told Celia Ritchie What to Write the Affidavit She Supplied for the Bernardo Ba...

Isn't that great?  Detective Baluja comes out and admits that he told the witness what to write in the affidavit!  FANTASTIC!  Consider that Detective Baluja isn't very eloquent, yet somehow he seems to appear responsible for writing some very un-Baluja sounding documents in the case file, although we have the detective admitting that he told the witness what to write, is it possible that someone else was telling him what to tell the witness to write?  By now you all surely know the answer to that question.


So here we are again, another instance where the lead detective (and possibly someone else) is telling a witness what to write in their statements, statements that the state will use as the foundation for their criminal case.  We all know that this practice of fabricating evidence and coercing witnesses is not only wrong but is illegal.  All this leads to a far more important question that goes far beyond Detective Baluja and ASA Bill Kostrzewski.  We know that people from the MDPD and the State Attorneys Office are aware of and read our blog, considering the magnitude of our allegations of misconduct, why hasn't anything been done?

Lawyers gone WILD! Why do officers of the court become criminals?

So what is it that makes a lawyer cross over to the dark side?  What could possibly be the motivation for an attorney to violate the very oath that he made to uphold the law?  One could only imagine the motivation for disbarred attorney and convicted ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein...

Perhaps it was the desire to live in a mansion?

Maybe the allure of having a beautiful yacht...

Could it have been the desire to have a multi million dollar car collection?

Or maybe the multi million dollar watch collection?

Was it the desire to see himself in the local media?

Or simply the need to create a self aggrandizing false public persona...

Was it all worth it?  Orchestrating the largest ponzi scheme in the history of South Florida only to bring shame to your family and friends then end up completely broke and in prison for the rest of your life?  Definitely not worth it in our opinion, but at least we can see some of the motivation for attorney Rothstein's criminal actions.

Look back at some of the attorneys that we talked about recently, perhaps greed and the quest for some of the accouterments of wealth were the motivation for their illegal deeds.  Although not justifiable, you can see what helped tempt these officers of the court to break the law.  With that said, we'll leave you with this question to ponder over the weekend, if greed was the motivation for the lawyers that we discussed to break the law, what's the motivation for a prosecutor to break the law and as Judge Cohn who sentenced Mr. Rothstein to 50 years in jail yesterday said are guilty of "perpetrating a fraud on the court?"


Have a great weekend!

Ponzi schemer and disbarred attorney Scott Rothstein get's sentenced to 50 years for his crimes...

Look at that!  Is Scott Rothstein forging a judges signature in that photo?!

Disbarred attorney Scott Rothstein has been discussed ad nauseum throughout the media for his billion dollar plus ponzi scheme, he was finally sentenced yesterday to 50 years and 3 years of supervised release for his crimes (Bob Norman of the New Times provides fantastic coverage here).  His defense attorney asked the judge for 30 years while the prosecution was requesting a 40 year sentence.  Effectively the judge threw the proverbial book at him.  But why?  Aside from running the largest Ponzi scheme in the history of South Florida through his law firm and it's trust accounts, what really set U.S. District Court Judge James Cohn off was that Rothstein had created fake court documents and forged federal judges signatures on those documents to perpetrate his fraud.  Specifically, the judge said that forging judge's signatures on those fake documents are...

 "...the most egregious wrongs a licensed attorney can commit."

He goes on to say...

"There can be no conduct more reviled than a lawyer perpetrating a fraud on the court."

So what's Mr. Rothstein's story and subsequent sentencing have to do with us?  Let's begin by examining the definition of the word "fraud", from Websters dictionary...

fraud

Pronunciation: \ˈfrȯd\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English fraude, from Anglo-French, from Latin fraud-, fraus

Date: 14th century

1 a : deceit, trickery; specifically : intentional perversion of truth in order to induce another to part with something of value or to surrender a legal right b : an act of deceiving or misrepresenting : trick
2 a : a person who is not what he or she pretends to be : impostor; also : one who defrauds : cheat b : one that is not what it seems or is represented to be

That's good!  That perversion of truth part is great isn't it?  Sort of like a prosecutor going before a judge and lying about the facts of the case he's prosecuting?  That fits the definition of fraud doesn't it?  Even better, "the act of deceiving or misrepresenting" part, doesn't that sound like an accurate description of a prosecutor playing hide and go seek with evidence in order to intentionally frustrate the defense?


See folks, you don't have to forge court documents to "defraud the court", simply playing the games that Assistant State Attorney Bill Kostrzewski has played is bad enough.  Take a look at Judge Cohn's words again Bill...

"There can be no conduct more reviled than a lawyer perpetrating a fraud on the court......the most egregious wrongs a licensed attorney can commit"

We have to agree with the honorable Judge Cohn, there is no worse than an officer of the court perpetrating a fraud on the court.  For those among you who doubt our claims, don't worry, we have ASA Bill Kostrzewski's stellar performance in front of Judge Barzee recorded.  Stay tuned...

Straw men want free legal services?

That's right!  You sold your soul for a few bucks then had your co conspirators screw you out of money so now you want free legal representation?  WTF?!  Could that be right?  Take a look at this excerpt from one of the Miami Dade Mortgage Fraud Task Force meetings...

Can you believe the audacity of these fcuks?  Straw buyers looking for free legal help?  What happened poor straw man?  Did your buddies screw you out of your share of the profits?  Boo hoo!  The straw buyer is at the center of the fraud, it couldn't happen without them!  They didn't know what they were getting in to?  WTF?!


Like we said...

The fraudulent deals couldn't happen without them.  DUH!  It get's better...

Exactly!  A prosecutor can indict a ham sandwich, so why the hell do they have so much trouble with nailing the bad guys on mortgage fraud cases?  It's EASY!  Chairman Theobald straightens things out...

Ok!  Fair enough!  We identified millions of dollars worth of fraud, we certainly know that the state attorneys office and the MDPD is reading our blog therefore they've been notified and the way we outlined the frauds we practically gave law enforcement the cases on a silver platter.  Nearly a year later and what do we get?  NADA! 


Best of all...

Yep, there you have it, "the task force is not looking to help straw men".  They're not?  Then how do you explain not only buying Bernardo Barrera's bullshit about his identity being stolen, having ASA Kostrzewski acknowledge that he's committed mortgage fraud in the past (we have the transcripts Bill) then giving him the tools to get the loan discharged from his credit?  Even worse, we've even uncovered the fact that Mr. Barrera may have cashed out a ton of money from that previous mortgage fraud!  WTF is law enforcement waiting for Mr. Barrera to send a fcuking telegram from Panama before they realize what he's done?!

So what's the moral of the story?  If you're a straw buyer and got screwed out of your cut of the ill gotten gains, don't call the cops and tell them so!  Pretend that he had no knowledge of what was going on, or even better, hopefully you changed your signature at closing and you can claim that someone impersonated you at closing!  Tell them your identity got stolen and you're good to go!

Great going task force!