Archive for October 3rd, 2013

Banana Republicans watch: October 3, 2013.

Thursday, October 3rd, 2013

This is a great day.

Somebody (I believe it was Harlan Ellison) once wrote that the most eloquent speech of Spiro Agnew‘s career in politics was “Nolo contendere“.

Robert “Ratso” Rizzo, former city manager of Bell, gave that same speech today.

Longtime Bell city administrator Robert Rizzo, who became a national symbol for public corruption for alleged graft in the small city, pleaded no contest to 69 charges, prosecutors said Thursday.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey said in a statement that Rizzo had agreed to serve 10 to 12 years in state prison, which she described as the largest sentence ever in an L.A. County public corruption case.

10 to 12 years in state prison. I have only one thing to say about this:

You’re going down in flames, you tax-fattened hyena!

(The comments at the LAT do raise some interesting questions: is this part of a deal where Rizzo is going to roll on the other council members? Remember, all but one of the indicted council members still have retrials pending. Also, Angela Spaccia, Rizzo’s former assistant, is still facing trial; will he roll on her? And there’s no mention in the LAT that Rizzo will have to pay any restitution.)

Edited to add: The LAT is still updating coverage:

Rizzo also plans to testify against his former second-in-command, Angela Spaccia, who is still facing trial on similar charges, according to his attorney, former federal prosecutor James Spertus.

Posted in California Über Alles, Clippings, Law | 1 Comment »

Random notes: October 3, 2013.

Thursday, October 3rd, 2013

Tom Clancy obit roundup: LAT. Appreciation from LAT. NYT. Baltimore Sun. A/V Club. WP.

In other news, the Dread Pirate Roberts graduated from Westlake. I’d also like to direct folks to Popehat, where former federal prosecutor Ken White has posted an analysis of the charges.

And it seems that the Brooklyn DA’s office has found at least one witness who says “the police coached him into giving false testimony”.

The witness, Sharron Ivory, gave crucial evidence in one of roughly 40 trial convictions handled by the detective, Louis Scarcella, that are now being reviewed by the Brooklyn district attorney’s office. The review was prompted by revelations that Mr. Scarcella sometimes engaged in questionable tactics, and may have helped frame an innocent man in another case.

Scarcella is not accused of being the person who got Mr. Ivory to lie:

Records show that it was not Mr. Scarcella who presented the photographs to Mr. Ivory. His role in the case involved obtaining the confession, which the defendant, Sundhe Moses, said he signed only because the detective had become physically abusive. When it came time to testify in court, Mr. Ivory ultimately did not identify Mr. Moses, but the jury, apparently persuaded by the confession, voted to convict.

Posted in Books, Clippings, Cops, Geek, Law, Louis Scarcella, NYPD, Obits | Comments Closed