Veterans charity's ex-leader guilty of stealing $900G for personal expenses By Bradford Betz | Fox News Patricia, the former director of a military support organization, has been found guilty in connection with a scheme to steal from the charity. (Twitter) The former director of a veterans charity organization was convicted Thursday of stealing money from the nonprofit for personal expenses including jewelry, shopping, and business ventures, according to court documents. Patricia Driscoll, 40, a former girlfriend of NASCAR driver Kurt Busch, was found guilty of wire fraud, tax evasion, and first-degree fraud, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release. Driscoll was the former executive director of the Armed Forces Foundation, a Washington-based charity formed in 2001 to promote quality-of-life for veterans and their families, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. She resigned from the charity in 2016 after allegations of misused funds. The charity disclosed a 2015 federal tax filing which reportedly indicated Driscoll had misspent $900,000 on personal expenses, going back to 2006. The Armed Forces Foundation ceased operations after Driscoll was found guilty in September 2016 of eight felony courts. Three of those charges, however, were dismissed before the trial concluded, according to court records. The charity was co-founded by former Rep. Duncan L. Hunter, whose son Rep. Duncan D. Hunter, R-Alpine, and his wife were indicted in August on charges of illegally converting $250,000 in campaign funds for personal expenses and filing false records. Both pleaded guilty on all charges. Video Court records show Driscoll’s spending included trips to the jewelry store, a dermatologist and more than $65,000 in legal fees related to domestic violence accusations against her ex-boyfriend, NASCAR driver Busch. Prosecutors on Thursday said Driscoll engaged in a scheme in which she stole money from the charity, defrauded donors, and lied to the IRS and the public about her salary and benefits. Driscoll’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for March. She faces a maximum 20 years in prison on the wire fraud charge and a maximum of 10 years for first-degree fraud. Tax evasion carries a statutory maximum of five years. The Associated Press contributed to this report. https://www.foxnews.com/us/former-d...ling-900000-for-personal-expenses-prosecutors
16 Atlanta postal employees convicted of taking bribes to deliver cocaine By Louis Casiano | Fox News Sixteen postal workers in Atlanta have been sentenced to between three and nine years in prison after being convicted of accepting bribes as low as $250 to deliver cocaine on their mail routes, officials said Tuesday. Federal agents learned of the deliveries in 2015 while investigating a drug trafficking ring in the city, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia said in a news release. The mail employees were targeted by traffickers because they believed the workers were less likely to draw attention from law enforcement, the release said. “Postal employees are paid to deliver mail, not drugs,” said Imari R. Niles, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, Capital Metro Area Field Office. “The vast majority of the Postal Service’s 600,000 employees are hard-working, trustworthy individuals." Agents used a confidential source to pose as a drug trafficker looking for postal workers willing to deliver cocaine and marijuana, and recorded the interactions. The workers chose to deliver cocaine instead of marijuana, believing they could charge a higher bribe to make the deliveries, the release said. "When the confidential source asked if they knew any other postal workers who did the same thing, some of the defendants introduced the confidential source to coworkers who also wanted to deliver packages (with the defendant claiming an additional bribe for every package their recruit delivered), the release states. The workers range in age from 26 to 64 and all must pay $1,450 to $10,500 in forfeiture or restitution. https://www.foxnews.com/us/16-atlan...aking-bribes-to-deliver-cocine-on-mail-routes
Very cool, rather similar to the trickery and entrapment that Mueller is using against Trump. Glad to see that you support that this.
Obama's FBI brass hollowed out, after latest resignation of key official By Brooke Singman | Fox News Another top FBI official who helped oversee the Trump-Russia and Clinton email investigations is retiring, as the last traces of the bureau's embattled leadership team that once stood under Barack Obama's presidency disappear. The official, Bill Priestap, will retire from his post as assistant director of the FBI’s counterintelligence division by the end of the year. “Assistant Director Bill Priestap became eligible to retire and has chosen to do so after 20 years of service,” an FBI spokesperson told Fox News on Wednesday. Priestap, who participated in the bureau’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server and the FBI’s initial probe into Russian meddling and potential collusion with Trump campaign associates during the 2016 presidential election, has testified before Congress on multiple occasions regarding the bureau’s handling of both investigations. In this July 26, 2017 photo, Bill Priestap, assistant director of the FBI's Counterintelligence Division, testifies during a Judiciary Committee hearing into alleged collusion between Russian and the Trump campaign. (Reuters) His departure, which reportedly was unrelated to the controversies surrounding those investigations, is significant, as it marks the de facto end of the Obama-era leadership team -- which has been steadily disbanding since the early months of the Trump administration amid a combination of firings and retirements. Here’s a look at other top Obama FBI officials who have since left the bureau, or been removed: Former FBI Director James Comey James Comey, the highest-profile of the lot, was the first to go, though he has remained in the spotlight ever since his departure. President Trump fired Comey on May 9, 2017, after a recommendation from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who pegged his advice on Comey’s handling of the Clinton investigation, though other factors are suspected of playing a role. Comey has been hit with scrutiny from both sides of the aisle over the bureau’s handling of the Clinton probe. Comey first announced in July 2016, during the heat of the presidential race, that he would recommend no charges against the former secretary of state while calling her handling of classified information on her server “extremely careless.” But just days before voters cast their presidential ballots, on Oct. 28 2016, Comey unilaterally announced he would re-open the investigation due to new emails uncovered on the laptop of Anthony Weiner—the husband of Clinton confidante Huma Abedin. One week after Comey was fired, Rosenstein, who oversaw the Justice Department Russia investigation after former Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself, appointed Special Counsel Robert Mueller to investigate. Comey is slated to return to Capitol Hill in the coming days, appearing before the House Judiciary Committee to share his testimony on both the Clinton and Trump probes in a closed-door setting. Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, who was Comey’s No. 2 and tasked with leading the bureau upon his termination, was fired by former Attorney General Jeff Sessions in March, just days before he would have been eligible for a lifetime pension, after it was determined that he lied to investigators reviewing the bureau’s probe of Clinton’s server. Sessions fired McCabe after the DOJ inspector general revealed McCabe had made “an unauthorized disclosure to the news media and lacked candor –including under oath—on multiple occasions.” Inspector General Michael Horowitz determined that McCabe had not been forthcoming in regard to the handling of the probe, which in turn, sparked a disciplinary process that recommended McCabe’s firing. Video That probe, though, was kick-started by Comey, who admitted to ordering the investigation this spring during an interview on his media blitz to promote his memoir. Comey said he believed McCabe was a “good person,” but that he “lied.” McCabe, who served as acting FBI director from May 2017 until August 2017, when FBI Director Christopher Wray was confirmed to his post, was removed as Wray’s deputy in January after months of conflict-of-interest complaints from Republicans, including the president. McCabe also led the bureau during the early months of the Russia investigation. Republicans accused McCabe of abusing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), by signing FISA warrants targeting former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. Peter Strzok and Lisa Page Peter Strzok, a former senior counterintelligence agent, and Lisa Page, who worked as FBI general counsel, both left the bureau after a raging controversy over their apparent political bias. Strzok and Page, who were romantically involved, first fell under intense scrutiny in December 2017, when the Justice Department inspector general revealed the two exchanged numerous anti-Trump text messages, dating back to 2016. The two discussed 2016 campaign politics and repeatedly blasted Trump. Some text messages also reflected apparent concern about being too tough on Clinton during the email probe. One text message from Strzok to Page even vowed to “stop” Trump from becoming president. Page and Strzok both worked on Mueller’s Russia investigation. Page left the special counsel’s office in the summer of 2017 after serving a short detail, and Strzok was removed and reassigned to the FBI’s Human Resources division after the politically charged text messages were uncovered last year. Both Page and Strzok testified on Capitol Hill this summer—Page in a closed-door setting, and Strzok in an hours-long public grilling before the House Oversight Committee. In May, Page resigned from her post at the bureau. Strzok first lost his security clearance, and then was escorted from his FBI office. By August, Strzok was officially fired. The inspector general is currently investigating whether Strzok’s anti-Trump bias factored into the launch of the bureau’s Russia investigation. James Baker James Baker served as FBI’s general counsel and left the bureau on May 4—the same day as Lisa Page. James Baker, former FBI general counsel, left the bureau in May. (FBI) Baker, a top FBI lawyer, was reassigned in late 2017 as an adviser to current FBI Director Wray, after being the subject of a Justice Department investigation on the suspicion of leaking classified information about the salacious anti-Trump dossier to a journalist. Baker currently is a visiting fellow of governance studies at The Brookings Institution. James Rybicki James Rybicki, who served as chief of staff to Comey, left the FBI in January. He served as chief of staff to Wray in the first months of his leadership but left the bureau amid scrutiny over his role in the Clinton email investigation. Former FBI Chief of Staff Jim Rybicki. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Rybicki was not fired. Instead, his departure was “in the works for a while,” according to law enforcement sources. Wray said in January that Rybicki was leaving for “an opportunity in the corporate sector,” and that he would be “dearly missed by the FBI family—and me personally.” Michael Kortan Michael Kortan, assistant director of public affairs at the FBI, retired from his post in February. Michael Kortan, left, departed the FBI after previously serving under James Comey and Robert Mueller. (FBI/Reuters) Kortan worked at the FBI for 33 years. Josh Campbell, James Turgal, Greg Bower, Michael Steinbach, John Giacalone Josh Campbell, a former special assistant to Comey, left the bureau this year and joined CNN as a law enforcement analyst. James Turgal, a former assistant director to the FBI, left the bureau in October 2017 and now works at Deloitte in Cyber Risk Services. Greg Bower, the FBI’s top congressional liaison, left the bureau in April, amid multiple congressional probes and inquiries into the FBI’s Clinton and Russia investigations. Michael Steinbach, the former head of the FBI’s national security division, and his predecessor John Giacalone both left the bureau and have appeared on Capitol Hill for interviews with committees. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ob...-out-after-latest-resignation-of-key-official
Department of Justice U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Columbia FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, December 10, 2018 Former Non-Profit President Pleads Guilty to Scheme to Conceal Foreign Funding of 2013 Congressional Trip WASHINGTON – The former president of a Texas-based non-profit pleaded guilty today for his role in a scheme to conceal the fact that a 2013 Congressional trip to Azerbaijan was funded by the Azerbaijan government. Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu for the District of Columbia, and Assistant Director in Charge Nancy McNamara of the FBI’s Washington Field Office made the announcement. Kemal Oksuz, aka Kevin Oksuz, 49, and previously a resident of Arlington, Virginia, pleaded guilty to one count of devising a scheme to falsify, conceal and cover up material facts from the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ethics. Oksuz will be sentenced on Feb. 11, 2019 before Judge Tanya S. Chutkan of U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. According to admissions made in connection with his guilty plea, Oksuz lied on disclosure forms filed with the Ethics Committee prior to, and following, a privately sponsored Congressional trip to Azerbaijan. Oksuz falsely represented and certified on required disclosure forms that the Turquoise Council of Americans and Eurasions (TCAE), the Houston non-profit for which Oksuz was president, had not accepted funding for the Congressional trip from any outside sources. Oksuz admitted to, in truth, orchestrating a scheme to funnel money to fund the trip from the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), the wholly state-owned national oil and gas company of Azerbaijan, and then concealed the true source of funding, which violated House travel regulations. A five-count indictment was returned earlier this year in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and ordered unsealed in September. Oksuz was recently extradited from Armenia where he was detained by authorities, pursuant to a warrant that was issued for his arrest. The investigation was conducted by the FBI. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Marco Palmieri of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section, Assistant U.S. Attorney David Misler, and Will Mackie of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section. Assistance in the Investigation was provided by Trial Attorney Amanda Vaughn of the Public Integrity Section, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Hooks, and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Bradford of the District of Columbia. Trial Attorney Natalya T. Savransky of the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs handled the extradition request to Armenia. The Office of International Affairs, along with the U.S. Department of State and cooperating Armenian authorities provided substantial assistance with the extradition. https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/...ds-guilty-scheme-conceal-foreign-funding-2013
If we wanted to investigate potential conflicts of interest, maybe these people should disclose their tax records..... oh....
This is proof that the Justice Department is totally corrupt and can't be trusted to administer justice. I suggest using the Proud Boys. Them boys knows justice.
No deeper swamp than San Francisco. San Francisco mayor trying to get brother, a convicted killer, out of lockup 20 years early By Frank Miles | Fox News San Francisco Mayor London Breed sent a letter to departing Gov. Jerry Brown in late October asking him to “consider leniency” and commute the sentence of her older brother, who has served nearly two decades of a 44-year sentence on a manslaughter conviction, according to reports. Her office didn’t respond to Fox News’ request for comment Wednesday night. A spokesman for Brown, Brian Ferguson, on Wednesday told Fox News by email: “Our office does not comment on individual cases/applications. We can certainly keep you posted of any future commutation decisions we announce.” Breed, 44, has spoken out about her rough upbringing in San Francisco public housing. Brown, who is now 46, pushed Lenties White from a getaway car on the Golden Gate Bridge after an armed robbery in June 2000. White, 25, was struck by a vehicle and died. The mayor’s letter was first reported Tuesday night by KNTV. The television news station reported that court records say Brown was recently caught with heroin in prison and had two years added to his sentence, a detail not included in the mayor’s letter to the governor. Sandra McNeil, the mother of the victim, said Brown does not deserve early release. “I don’t think it would be justice,” she said. “She’s the mayor, so she’s got a little power, so she thinks she can get her brother out.” The Associated Press contributed to this report. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/sf...convicted-killer-out-of-lockup-20-years-early
