Here we go again with that attorney client privilege shit again!

We've discussed this concept ad nauseum since the inception of our blog.  It's a pretty simple concept, from Wikipedia...

...a legal concept that protects certain communications between a client and his or her attorney and keeps those communications confidential. The attorney-client privilege is one of the oldest recognized privileges for confidential communications.^[1] The United States Supreme Court has stated that by assuring confidentiality the privilege encourages clients to make “full and frank” disclosures to their attorneys, who are then better able to provide candid advice and effective representation.

Simple enough right?  Go into your attorney's, bare your soul and tell your attorney the truth about whatever you're involved in so that that can effectively represent you and possibly get you out of the pickle you've found yourself in.  When you run afoul of the law, you'll tell your attorney things that you wouldn't want the cops or the prosecutors to know about, if you're smart, you'll tell your attorney the truth about what's gone on and hope that they can figure out a proper defense to make sure you stay out of trouble.  


Several months ago we played you a tape of Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein trying to reach out to his client, former Plantation cop Joe Guaracino who was under federal investigation for mortgage fraud at the behest of the feds who were trying to get Guaracino to talk to Rothstein about his pending legal troubles while the feds listened in.


We outlined a "hypothetical" scenario a little over a year ago, take the time and read over that post again.   Problem with that "hypothetical" scenario is that it wasn't hypothetical, it actually happened.  The prosecutor that was running the Bernardo Barrera mortgage fraud case, the first case we discussed on our blog, actually forced one of the targets of his investigation to wear a "body wire" while they were at their attorneys office with other targets in the case discussing the case with their attorney!  From what we had heard at the time, assistant state attorney Bill Kostrzewski had threatened to arrest the individual unless they wore the wire and worse, both Kostrzewski and that assclown mortgage fraud detective Jorge Baluja both threatened this person with arrest if they ever told anyone about wearing the wire!  NICE!  Of course they wouldn't want anyone to know that they were able to listen in on privileged attorney client conversations, the cop could always say that he did it at the direction of the prosecutor, but what excuse would the prosecutor have?


At first I really had no proof other than a rumor I heard that started with a distant relative of the person wearing the wire.  Regardless, for the last three years I kept at it until I finally managed to meet the person who wore the wire who then confirmed the whole story and also confirmed that the wire at the attorneys office was approved by non other than assistant state attorney Bill Kostrzewski himself.


For those of you who don't understand the magnitude of the state listening in on privileged attorney/client conversations regarding a pending criminal matter, talk to an attorney and see what they tell you.  As for our friend Mr. Kostrzewski, get ready, the ride ahead is going to get a bit bumpy, I suspect you'll be hearing from the Florida Bar pretty soon...