A settlement in excess of $36 million has been reached in the litigation related to the catastrophic, August 13, 2008 Riverwalk at Millennium Apartment Complex fire in suburban Conshohocken, attorneys for the residents, their insurance companies, and the defendants jointly announced today.

Robert J. Mongeluzzi of Saltz Mongeluzzi Barrett & Bendesky PC, interim lead counsel for the plaintiffs, and J. Brian O'Neill, the Conshohocken real estate developer, said at a news conference that the $36.25 million global settlement concludes all outstanding litigation on behalf of the fire victims, together with the litigation related to the cost of re-building the two destroyed apartment buildings at Riverwalk. The settlement also concludes the claims brought by the Law Offices of Robert A. Stutman, PC, of Ft. Washington, PA, which served as liaison counsel on behalf of the subrogated insurance company plaintiffs who provided coverage to many of the tenants.

Mongeluzzi said the victims are relieved and generally satisfied with the settlement. "They can finally get on with their lives," he said on behalf of the victims. "While the financial reimbursement does not come close to replacing cherished belongings and memories, the amount recovered is substantial, fair and just. Attorney Stutman, defense counsel, Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas Judge Gerald Corso, and U.S. District Court Judge Petrese B. Tucker, and the court-appointed mediator, the Honorable James Melinson (Ret.), are to be commended for working to help reach this conclusion in very complex litigation. They were diligent, creative and saved valuable time and expense for our citizens."

Robert A. Stutman, Esq., whose law firm concentrates its national practice on insurance company representation in property and worker's compensation matters, teamed on this complex, catastrophic case with Mongeluzzi and SMBB. He noted, "This is an example of an excellent outcome as a result of the pooled resources of our respective attorneys and experts."

The former residents of the apartment complex, located along the Schuylkill River, filed a class action complaint (08-23265, Court of Common Pleas Montgomery County) that alleged negligence on the part of welders employed by an Aston, Delaware County contractor. That contractor was named as a defendant along with others responsible for various roles in the construction, management and development of the complex. O'Neill's company, O'Neill Properties, was the developer of the complex.

On the one-year anniversary of the fire, Mongeluzzi publicly reported little movement toward a settlement. He said Judge Melinson, the mediator, was instrumental in helping to bring the sides together to resolve the matter and avoid what surely would have been a long and costly jury trial. "The mediator helped all of the defendants realize that the risk of going before a jury was much greater than reaching a fair and reasonable settlement," Mongeluzzi explained.

"This has been an incredibly emotional ordeal for our family and we're just happy that there is some closure," said Dr. Irwin Becker, a family doctor whose apartment was destroyed in the fire. "We lost valuables but we've always known that nothing is more valuable than our loved ones, and our knowledge that some good might come from the lessons learned from this horrible tragedy."

The SMBB firm in recent years has successfully represented victims of numerous construction disasters, including the collapses of the Tropicana casino garage, Pier 34, and the Kimmel parking garage.

In addition to Mr. Mongeluzzi, the SMBB counsel team includes Patrick Howard and Larry Bendesky. Mr. Stutman's co-counsel included Michael Hopkins and Daniel Hogan from his firm.

The Stutman firm has represented major insurance companies on large fire losses and mass torts throughout the country, including the 2007 California wildfires, a $50 million refrigeration plant fire in Kentucky, and the catastrophic fire which destroyed the "White Building" at 12th and Sansom Streets in Philadelphia.

SOURCE Saltz, Mongeluzzi, Barrett & Bendesky, PC

James T. Jacks, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, and Robert E. Casey, Jr., Special Agent in Charge for the Dallas Office of the FBI, announced today that Hosam Maher Husein Smadi, 19, has been arrested and charged in a federal criminal complaint with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. Smadi, who was under continuous surveillance by the FBI, was arrested today near Fountain Place, a 60-story glass office tower located at 1445 Ross Avenue in downtown Dallas, after he placed an inert/inactive car bomb at the location. Smadi, a Jordanian citizen in the U.S. illegally, lived and worked in Italy, Texas. He has repeatedly espoused his desire to commit violent Jihad and has been the focus of an undercover FBI investigation.

"The highest priority of the FBI and the Department of Justice remains the prevention of another terrorist attack within the United States," said U.S. Attorney Jacks. "In that effort, it is the job of the FBI to locate and identify individuals intent upon carrying out any type of attack upon this country and its citizens/residents. Whether as part of a group or acting alone, persons contemplating such acts need to know that all components of the government are working together to ferret out their activities and to insure that such individuals face the full measure of the law. The identification and apprehension of this defendant, who was acting alone, is a sobering reminder that there are people among us who want to do us grave harm," Jacks continued.

Special Agent in Charge Casey said, "Today's arrest of Hosam Maher Husein Smadi underscores the FBI's unwavering commitment to bring to justice persons who attempt to bring harm to citizens of this country and significant danger to this community. Smadi made a decision to act to commit a significant conspicuous act of violence under his banner of "self Jihad." He will now face justice. The many agents, detectives, analysts and prosecutors who helped to bring about Thursday's arrest deserve special thanks for their efforts. This case serves as a reminder of the continuing threats of terrorism we face as a nation and the FBI's resolve to meet those threats. The arrest of Smadi is not in any way related to the ongoing terror investigation in New York and Colorado."

"The criminal complaint alleges that Hosam Smadi sought and attempted to bomb the Fountain Place office tower, but a coordinated undercover law enforcement action was able to thwart his efforts and ensure no one was harmed," said David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security.

Smadi will make his initial appearance tomorrow in U.S. District Court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Irma C. Ramirez.

According to affidavits filed today with the complaint and search warrants:

Smadi was discovered by the FBI espousing his desire to commit significant acts of violence. Smadi stood out because of his vehement intention to actually conduct terror attacks in the U.S.

The FBI developed an investigative plan to determine Smadi's true intent while also protecting the public's safety. Smadi made clear his intention to serve as a soldier for Osama Bin Laden and al-Qa'ida, and to conduct violent Jihad. Undercover FBI agents, posing as members of an al-Qa'ida "sleeper" cell, were introduced to Smadi, who repeatedly indicated to them that he came to the U.S. for the specific purpose of committing "Jihad for the sake of God." Smadi clarified that he was interested in "self-Jihad," because it was "the best type of Jihad." Smadi was interested in violent Jihad against those he deemed to be enemies of Islam. The investigation determined Smadi was not associated with other terrorist organizations.

Throughout the investigation, undercover FBI agents repeatedly encouraged Smadi to reevaluate his interpretation of Jihad, counseling him that the obligations a Moslem has to perform Jihad can be satisfied in many ways. Every time this interaction occurred, Smadi aggressively responded that he was going to commit significant, conspicuous acts of violence as his Jihad.

In June 2009, Smadi identified potential targets in the Dallas area; but in mid-July, he notified an undercover FBI agent that he had changed his mind regarding the targets. On July 21, 2009, Smadi met with an undercover FBI agent and directed the agent to drive them to a Wells Fargo Bank in downtown Dallas. Smadi and the undercover FBI agent then drove to 1445 Ross Avenue where the Fountain Place office tower is located. A Wells Fargo Bank is located in that building. Smadi went into the building where he conducted his own reconnaissance.

In late August 2009, while meeting with one of the undercover FBI agents in Dallas, Smadi discussed the logistics and timing of the bombing, stating that he would have preferred to do the attack on "11 September," but decided to wait until after the month of Ramadan, which ended on September 20, 2009. At the conclusion of the meeting, Smadi decided that a vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) would be placed at the foundation of the Fountain Place office tower. Unbeknownst to Smadi, the FBI ensured the VBIED contained only an inert/inactive explosive device which contained no explosive materials.

A federal complaint is a written statement of the essential facts of the offenses charged, and must be made under oath before a magistrate judge. A defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. The offense of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction carries, upon conviction, a maximum statutory sentence of life in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The case is being investigated by the FBI in conjunction with members of the FBI-sponsored North Texas Joint Terrorism Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dayle Elieson is in charge of the prosecution. The Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department's National Security Division is assisting in the prosecution.

Source; U.S. Dept. of Justice

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge today gave final approval to a class action settlement involving Lowes Home Improvement which calls for a maximum payment of $29.5 million. Two former Lowes employees alleged that they, and thousands of other hourly Lowes workers were required to work "off the clock" before and after their normal shifts, for which they were not paid. The action was litigated by Stanley Saltzman, Louis Marlin, Mark Bradley and Christina Humphrey of Marlin & Saltzman, and by R. Rex Parris and Robert Parris of the R. Rex Parris Law Firm. Lowes denied all of the claims raised in the lawsuit.

The case was originally filed in October of 2001. It was litigated for over 7 years, and raised legal issues that were twice resolved by the California Court of Appeal. In one decision, the Court of Appeal confirmed the right of the plaintiffs in a proposed class action to have contact with potential class members in order to obtain information that would assist in the prosecution of the action. That 2003 published decision, Parris vs. Superior Court (Lowes HIW) 104 Cal.App.4th 285, became important precedent in California. The second decision by the Court of Appeal came after the trial court had denied the plaintiffs' motion to certify the case as a class action. Not only did the Court of Appeal reverse the decision by the trial court but, in an unusual move, rather than ordering the lower court to reconsider the issue, actually ordered that the case be granted class certification status.

As the case was preparing for trial, the parties were able to reach a settlement. Today, the final step of the class action settlement approval process took place, with the trial court granting full approval to the settlement on behalf of thousands of class members. It is anticipated that settlement proceeds will be sent to claimants by the end of this year.

SOURCE Marlin & Saltzman, LLP

A lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi today challenging the constitutionality of the current size of the United States House of Representatives. The lawsuit argues that the provision in the United States Code (2 USC section 2a) that freezes the size of the House at 435 members is unconstitutional, egregiously violating the well-established principle of "one person, one vote" affirmed in multiple Supreme Court decisions. At the state level, the implication of "one person, one vote" means that each state must ensure a population variance of less than 1% across all its federal congressional districts so that voter equality is strictly maintained. At the national level, however, this principle has not been applied, and the population variance between the most under-represented congressional district and most over-represented district exceeds 80%. Fortunately, the current disparity and resulting inequity can be remedied by simply adding more members to the House of Representatives.

The five plaintiffs in the case each represent the five most under-represented states and include: Lisa Schea from Delaware, John Tyler Clemons from Mississippi, Jessica Wagner from Montana, Krystal Brunner from South Dakota and Frank Mylar from Utah. Not only do these five plaintiffs suffer from unconstitutionally diminished voting power, but so do all other qualified and registered voters throughout these states. The five most over-represented states are: Iowa, Nebraska, Rhode Island, West Virginia and Wyoming. "Our Constitution was crafted around the idea that all citizens deserve an equal voice in the decisions of their government," Clemons said. "If someone's vote in Iowa or Wyoming counts for more than mine, how is that equality?"

Apportionment.US, Inc. is the non-profit organization coordinating the lawsuit on behalf of the plaintiffs. "The foundation of our constitutional form of government in America is defined by 'We the People,' which demands equal representation across our entire Republic," said Scott Scharpen, founder and president of Apportionment.US. He added, "Whether you are a Democrat, Republican or Independent, working to achieve equal representation is the ultimate non-partisan, grassroots effort that is worthy of support from all Americans."

Despite the U.S. population more than tripling in the last 100 years (from less than 100 million to over 300 million people), the number of House representatives over the same time has remained identical at 435 members. Why has this inequity in voting rights and representation never been formally corrected or challenged? Scharpen answered, "It's not clear. While many scholars and political analysts have raised these important issues, this lawsuit is the first of its kind seeking to correct the inequity, which clearly violates the Framers' intent. We are committed to correcting the injustice perpetrated on the residents of these five states, but we are also working to ensure that both current and future generations of Americans across the land have a representative form of government that maintains structural equality for all."

If this lawsuit is successful, the court will require an increase in House membership to achieve appropriate voter equality across America, and bring about perhaps the most significant change in the federal government structure in nearly a century.

SOURCE Apportionment.US

Twenty-three individuals were indicted on Sept. 9, 2009, by a federal grand jury and arrested today by Bayamon Strike Force teams, as a result of an investigation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), announced United States Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodriguez-Velez during a press conference today. Agents from the Bayamon Strike Force, the Puerto Rico Police Department (PRPD) and the FBI participated during the investigation and arrests this morning.

The four-count indictment charges that the defendants, aiding and abetting each other, participated in a conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute in excess of 9,000 kilograms of cocaine, aboard American Airlines commercial aircrafts. The following defendants are employees of the airline: [1] Wilfredo Rodriguez-Rosado, aka "Mogoyo," aka "Pitin," aka "Mogo," aka "La Gorda;" [6] Manuel Santiago Alvarado, aka "Faria," aka "La Silla;" [7] Wilfredo Santiago Rios, aka "Wilo," aka "La Rubia;" [8] Jose D. Cordero San Miguel, aka "V-8," aka "La Prieta;" [14] Orlando Jimenez Torres, aka "Tony Finger," aka "Tita;" [15] Wilfredo Cancel Garcia, aka "Cancel;" [16] Roberto Rodriguez Cruz, aka "El Tibu," aka "Pucho;" [21] Jose M. Colon Martinez, aka "Many" and [22] Camilo Sanchez Rodriguez.

This drug trafficking organization, lead by defendant Wilfredo Rodriguez Rosado [1], began operating in or about 1999. Rodriguez Rosado recruited and organized a group of American Airlines employees to ensure that suitcases loaded with kilograms of cocaine were smuggled into American Airlines aircrafts and transported to different cities in the continental United States.

Count three charges four defendants with attempt to posses with the intent to distribute approximately 20 kilograms of cocaine in June 2009, a transaction which the defendants were unable to complete for reasons beyond their control. The $18 million forfeiture count includes the following properties: four residences in the municipality of Morovis; two residences in Bayamon; one residence in Barceloneta; one multi apartment complex in Morovis; two business establishments in Morovis; and one business establishment in Bayamon.

"The United States Attorney's Office, along with our state and federal law enforcement counterparts, will continue investigating and prosecuting drug trafficking organizations which use our island as a trans-shipment point for drugs to the U.S. mainland. The use of commercial aircraft to smuggle narcotics in and out of Puerto Rico, also creates a serious threat to our national security," said Rosa Emilia Rodriguez-Velez, U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico.

"Today's arrests are an example of DEAs success in aggressively pursuing those criminal organizations which exploit vulnerabilities in our airports and recruit airline and other air transportation industry employees to facilitate their drug trafficking activities. With these arrests DEA closes another route for thousands of kilograms of cocaine to reach the United States or any other part of the world from Puerto Rico," said DEA Special Agent in Charge Javier F. Pena. "With the cooperation of the airline industry, the Puerto Rico Ports Authority and our law enforcement counterparts DEA will keep drug traffickers away from our airports. By denying the drug traffickers alternate smuggling routes, we disrupt the flow of drugs into Puerto Rico and discourage the use of the island as a transshipment point in the Caribbean."

"The lure of easy money through drug trafficking eventually only leads to time in prison, the seizure of unlawfully gained assets and property, as well as destroys the family nucleus," said Luis S. Fraticelli, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI-San Juan Field Office.

The case was investigated by the Bayamon Strike Force, lead by the DEA, the PRPD, and the FBI, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Olga Castellon and Special Assistant United States Attorney Rosaida Melendez.

If convicted, the defendants face a minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison, with fines of up to $4 million. Criminal indictments are only charges and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Justice

An international computer hacker pleaded guilty today to multiple charges relating to hacking activity and credit card fraud, announced Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division Lanny A. Breuer, Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Michael Loucks, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Benton J. Campbell and Director of the U.S. Secret Service Mark Sullivan. More than 40 million credit and debit card numbers were stolen from major U.S. retailers as a result of the hacking activity.

Albert Gonzalez, 28, of Miami, pleaded guilty today to 19 counts of conspiracy, computer fraud, wire fraud, access device fraud and aggravated identity theft relating to hacks into numerous major U.S. retailers including TJX Companies, BJ's Wholesale Club, OfficeMax, Boston Market, Barnes & Noble and Sports Authority. Gonzalez was indicted in August 2008 in the District of Massachusetts on charges related to these hacks.

Gonzalez also pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud relating to hacks into the Dave & Buster's restaurant chain, which were the subject of a May 2008 indictment in the Eastern District of New York. The pleas in both cases were entered before U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris in federal court in Boston.

"Consumers must be able to trust that the credit and debit cards they use everyday in thousands of stores around the world are safe from unlawful access," said Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division. "Working together with U.S. Attorneys' Offices around the country and with the invaluable support of law enforcement agencies, we will continue our efforts to identify and prosecute hacking and credit card fraud."

"The investigation and prosecution of identity theft is a top priority of the Department," said Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Michael Loucks. "In the past 10 years there has been a dramatic growth in the transfer and storage of credit and debit card data on computer networks. It is thus compellingly important that we work hard to investigate and prosecute the theft of personal identity data that citizens entrust to computer networks every day."

"Computer hacking and identity theft pose serious risks to our commercial, personal and financial security," stated U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Benton J. Campbell. "Hackers, including those who commit their crimes from abroad, will find no refuge from the reach of U.S. criminal justice -- they will be found, prosecuted and convicted."

"Technology has forever changed the way we do business, virtually erasing geographic boundaries," said U.S. Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan. "However, this case demonstrates that even in the cyber world, there is no such thing as anonymity. The Secret Service, in conjunction with its many law enforcement partners across the United States and around the world, continues to successfully combat these crimes by adapting our investigative methodologies. We realize our success in this investigation is due in part to the cooperation of these partners in more than a dozen international law enforcement agencies."

According to the indictments to which Gonzalez pleaded guilty, he and his co-conspirators broke into retail credit card payment systems through a series of sophisticated techniques, including "wardriving" and installation of sniffer programs to capture credit and debit card numbers used at these retail stores. Wardriving involves driving around in a car with a laptop computer looking for accessible wireless computer networks of retailers. Using these techniques, Gonzalez and his co-conspirators were able to steal more than 40 million credit and debit card numbers from retailers. Also according to the indictments, Gonzalez and his co-conspirators sold the numbers to others for their fraudulent use and engaged in ATM fraud by encoding the data on the magnetic stripes of blank cards and withdrawing tens of thousands of dollars at a time from ATMs. According to the indictments, Gonzalez and his co-conspirators concealed and laundered their fraud proceeds by using anonymous Internet-based currencies both within the United States and abroad, and by channeling funds through bank accounts in Eastern Europe.

Based on the terms of the Boston plea agreement, Gonzalez faces a minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 25 years in prison. Based on the New York plea agreement, Gonzalez faces up to 20 years in prison, which the parties have agreed should run concurrently. He also faces a fine of up to twice the pecuniary gain, twice the victims' pecuniary loss or $250,000, whichever is greatest, per count for the Boston case and a maximum fine of $250,000 for the New York case. Gonzalez also agreed to an order of restitution for the loss suffered by his victims, and forfeiture of more than $2.7 million as well as multiple items of real estate and personal property, including a condo in Miami, a 2006 BMW 330i, a Tiffany diamond ring and Rolex watches. Included in the forfeited currency is more than $1 million in cash, which Gonzalez had buried in a container in his backyard. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 8, 2009.

Gonzalez remains under indictment for charges brought in August 2009 by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey of conspiring to hack into computer networks supporting major U.S. retail and financial organizations and steal credit and debit card numbers from those entities. Among the corporate victims named in that indictment are Heartland Payment Systems, a New Jersey-based card payment processor; 7-Eleven Inc., a Texas-based nationwide convenience store chain; and Hannaford Brothers Co. Inc., a Maine-based supermarket chain. Charges in that case remain pending. An indictment is merely an allegation and defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in court. While Gonzalez has pleaded guilty to the Boston and New York charges, he has not pleaded guilty to charges pending in New Jersey and remains presumed innocent of those charges.

The Boston case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen Heymann and Donald Cabell of the District of Massachusetts. The New York case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney William Campos of the Eastern District of New York, and Senior Counsel Kimberly Kiefer Peretti and Trial Attorney Evan Williams of the Criminal Division's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section. All of these cases are being investigated by the U.S. Secret Service.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Justice

A Connecticut Superior Court Judge has ordered UBS AG and UBS SECURITIES, LLC ("UBS") to pledge assets or post a bond in the amount of $35,573,904.53 within 10 days. The Court found "probable cause" that UBS used secret insider information obtained from its special relationship with the ratings agencies (Moody's and S&P) to commit securities fraud in the sale of Collateralized Debt Obligation ("CDO") Notes to a Connecticut hedge fund, Pursuit Partners.

In the 29-page opinion, Superior Court Judge John F. Blawie made several explosive findings, including:

• "Through direct and circumstantial evidence, Pursuit has established probable cause to sustain the validity of a claim that the UBS defendants were in possession of material nonpublic information regarding imminent ratings downgrades on the Notes it sold to the Plaintiffs, information UBS withheld from the Plaintiffs." Order, p. 28.
• "The use of the term 'triggerless', which was used by UBS to entice the Plaintiffs to purchase the same Notes they had earlier rejected, is akin to a representation by UBS that a gun being handed to the Plaintiff is not loaded, when in fact UBS knew the gun was not only loaded, but was about to go off." Order, p. 28.
• "The court takes UBS employees at their word when they referenced their Notes, these purported investment grade securities which they sold, as 'crap' and 'vomit', for UBS alone possessed the knowledge of what their product, their inventory, was truly worth. While UBS would argue that such descriptors lack a precise meaning, the true meaning of these words and the true value of UBS's wares became abundantly clear when the Plaintiffs' multi-million dollar investment was completely wiped out and liquidated by UBS shortly after the last of the Note purchases was consummated." Order, p. 28.
• "That is the difference between a risk that something might happen to change the value of an investment, which is both a fact of life and a risk shared by all parties to any securities transaction, and the undisclosed knowledge that something will happen. That type of nondisclosure, whether it is on the part of a seller or a buyer, can cross the line into actionable securities fraud, and the court finds probable cause to sustain a finding that in this instance, it did." Order, p. 28.
• "On July 11, 2007, the day that Moody's publicly announced it was putting 184 CDO tranches on review for possible downgrade, Morelli [head of the UBS syndicate desk] sent an email simply stating 'put today in your calendar.' In explaining the context of that email, the significance of that day was described to the court by Morelli as, 'Today was essentially the beginning of the end of the CDO business, meaning the bonds were getting downgraded, they were probably going to get downgraded further and we [UBS] were going to lose a lot of money.'" Order, pp. 17-18.
• "UBS failed to disclose and actively concealed the fact that based upon this change, the Notes being marketed by UBS would not maintain their investment grade rating, and would lose a significant amount of value, if not the liquidation of the entire investment." Order, p. 18.
  

The Court's Order was issued at the conclusion of a one-week hearing. The Court took testimony of various UBS employees and reviewed documents, including internal email communications within UBS, and among UBS and the ratings agencies. The evidence showed that UBS was given a private "head's up" that the ratings agencies' ratings were false, and that catastrophic downgrades were imminent months before they actually occurred. UBS had moved to dismiss all of Pursuit's claims at the same hearing, and that motion was denied as to most of the claims in a 66-page order issued by the Court earlier this Summer.

The Plaintiff, Pursuit Partners, is a Connecticut investment fund represented by the national trial firm of Burg Simpson Eldredge Hersh and Jardine, P.C. Burg Simpson has its main office in Englewood, Colorado, and is currently at the national forefront of securities litigation arising out of the 2007 CDO market collapse.

About the order, lead trial counsel Michael S. Burg said "This historic decision is what we believe is the first of many that will reveal the truth as to how American investors suffered hundreds of billions of dollars in losses due to the egregious acts of the world's largest banks and the rating agencies."

"We at Burg Simpson understand that this is only the beginning of a long hard fight," said co-trial counsel David K. TeSelle. "We are committed to this fight for as long as it takes to rightfully compensate those who trusted the banks and the rating agencies, and as a result of the breach of that trust, suffered significant losses in their retirement accounts, college funds and life's savings. It is the right thing to do."

SOURCE Burg Simpson Eldredge Hersh & Jardine, P.C.

Acting Special Agent In Charge Michael P. Gleysteen, of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Lawrence G. Brown, United States Attorney of the Eastern District of California, and Kenton Rainey, Police Chief, Fairfield Police Department, today announced the culmination of an six-month investigation that resulted in the arrest of two "straw purchasers," individuals who falsified information and purchased at least 37 firearms that were subsequently delivered to felons in Colorado Springs and Northern California. To date, 12 of the 37 firearms have been recovered in criminal investigations throughout the San Francisco Bay area.

Special agents from the ATF San Francisco Field Division and Denver Field Division, detectives from the Fairfield Police Department, local officers from the Colorado Springs area, and the United States Attorney's Offices in Sacramento and Denver worked in unison to identify JERRY JONES and SANAE QUIROZ-JONES, of Colorado Springs, Colo., and subsequently, TRAVIS PRICE, a former resident of Fairfield, Calif., and WENDY GARDINER, a former resident of Colorado Springs, Colo., in an illegal interstate firearms trafficking scheme.

JERRY DEAN JONES, 48, and SANAE QUIROZ-JONES, 53, both residents of Colorado Springs, Colo., were arrested on Sept. 2, 2009, at 1 p.m. without incident at the United States Federal Courthouse, 1929 Stout Street, Denver, Colo. In their court appearance in federal court in Denver that same date, both defendants waived their identity hearings and were released on bail pending their initial appearance in the Eastern District of California, Sacramento, Calif., scheduled for Sept. 11, 2009.

TRAVIS PRICE, 33, is currently in state prison in Taft, Calif., pursuant to state felony violations. Federal charges will be pursued based upon the complaint and warrant issued.

WENDY GARDINER, 32, is wanted and currently a fugitive from justice.

PRICE, GARDINER, JONES and QUIROZ-JONES are alleged to have conspired to engage and willfully engage in the business of dealing firearms without a license, and conspired to make and knowingly make false statements to a licensed firearms dealer during the acquisition of firearms. PRICE and GARDINER were also charged with knowingly possessing firearms shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce after having been convicted of an offense punishable by imprisonment exceeding one year.

"Straw purchasers are responsible for illegal diversion of guns. Many of these firearms ended up in the hands of criminals and used in violent crimes," said ATF's Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael Gleysteen. "We must stop the flow of guns from legal commerce to the criminals."

Gleysteen praised his law enforcement partners and thanked the United States Attorney's Offices for their support throughout the investigation.

"No matter where one might fall in the debate over gun control, there is little dispute that firearms must not end up in the hands of convicted felons," said United States Attorney Lawrence Brown.

"Since becoming chief in April 2007, my officers have confiscated 496 firearms which have or could have been used in other crimes. These efforts along with this current joint investigation with ATF will go a long way in making our communities safer," said Chief Kenton Rainey.

The investigation is ongoing and arrests will continue. The public is reminded that these charges are allegations and not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent until they have been convicted.

The government's case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Todd D. Leras.

More information on ATF and its programs is available at http://www.atf.gov

SOURCE Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

A new investigative report from Consumerist.com shines a spotlight on the business practices of Cash4Gold, which bills itself as the "World's #1 Gold Buyer," and on the company's efforts to silence Internet criticism through litigation and financial incentives.

The report adds that the gold-buying company recently sued Consumerist.com by appending the consumer-focused website to existing lawsuits against two former employees. The employees, Michele Liberis and Vielka Nephew, are accused of defamation and disclosing confidential information about the company in public statements and in Liberis' post about Cash4Gold on a consumer-complaint site. That site, ComplaintsBoard.com, was also added to the suits.

The legal action against the Consumerist.com stems from its post last February titled "10 Confessions of a Cash4Gold Employee," which was part of the site's ongoing coverage of the company. The post was based on comments that Liberis, who formerly worked in C4G's customer service department, had submitted anonymously to ComplaintsBoard.com describing how Cash4Gold manages to pay customers a fraction of what their gold is worth.

In its advertising, the Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.-based company had promised "top dollar" to people who send in their valuables to be melted down. But in a test conducted with the help of its sister company, Consumer Reports, Consumerist.com found that Cash4Gold offered as little as 11% of the "melt value" of gold necklaces that were submitted for appraisal. "The results reinforce advice we've offered before," the Consumerist.com report says, "which is that consumers should not use these services because the payments they offer are too low. No matter how nice the person is who gives it to you, a bad deal is still a bad deal."

Led by co-executive editors Ben Popken and Meg Marco, the Consumerist.com investigation is the months-long culmination of reporting that includes interviews with former employees Liberis and Nephew, Cash4Gold customers, the Better Business Bureau, the local fire department and the US Postal Service.

"We follow-up on such challenges conscientiously," says Marc Perton, Executive Editor for Online Media at Consumers Union, "and so we immediately set out to learn whether the company's allegations had merit, both through our own research and through requests to Cash4Gold for more information." The company has declined to cooperate, though, and just this week canceled a scheduled interview with Cash4Gold CEO Jeff Aronson.

The investigation provided support to Consumerist.com's decision to publish the "10 Confessions" post in the first place, and also turned up evidence that supports Liberis' account of certain business practices and working conditions at the firm. But the Consumerist.com also found that Cash4Gold may have made improvements in the time since Liberis worked there last year. For example, Liberis said the firm was shut down temporarily for "health and code violations," a statement the company disputed. Fire department records show that the Cash4Gold location was indeed shut down after a number of violations last year, but that Cash4Gold has accumulated no new violations since moving to a different address earlier this year.

"We're proud of the work that Ben and Meg have done, and we only regret that their report could not include a response from Cash4Gold CEO Jeff Aronson beyond his earlier public comments," Perton said. "We also hope today's post will help lay to rest the idea that blogs don't do investigative reporting."

SOURCE Consumer Reports

The Office of the President and other White House officials are defendants in a free speech lawsuit filed by a prominent physician group, and a non-profit advocate for inner-city poor.

The White House has "unlawfully collected information on political speech," thereby illegally using the power of the White House to chill opposition to its plans for health care reform, according to the complaint filed in District Court for the District of Columbia, by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) and the Coalition for Urban Renewal and Education (CURE)

The lawsuit was prompted by the White House solicitation for the public to report any "fishy" comments to 'flag@whitehouse.gov.' Although the White House slightly revised its data collection procedure last week, the email address still exists, the illegal activity continues, and is part of an "unlawful pattern and practice to collect and maintain information" on the exercise of free speech, which "continues in violation of the Privacy Act and First Amendment even if the Defendants terminate a particular information-collection component due to negative publicity."

The lawsuit outlines how the White House has employed a form of "bait-and-switch" tactic of accusing the Plaintiffs and other opponents of spreading misinformation about the Administration's goals for health care reform, and thereby refusing to 'come clean' about its real agenda.

The lawsuit outlines that the White House knew that the data collection would chill free speech, and in fact, intended to do just that:

        "43.  As part of their effort to advance the White House healthcare
        reform agenda, Defendants have accused opponents (including
        Plaintiffs) of spreading misinformation on issues such as whether
        (a) health reform would provide public funding for abortions, (b) put
        "death panels" in place to deny care to the elderly or infirm,
        (c) amount to a government takeover of healthcare, and (d) increase
        healthcare costs..the Defendants and the administration have spread
        misinformation, semantics, and disinformation on these topics.....

        "45.  By denying and continuing to deny that healthcare reform
        legislation includes "death panels" that make individual life-or-death
        decisions on the elderly or infirm, the Defendants and the current
        administration have ignored and implicitly denied and continue to
        ignore and implicitly to deny both that their healthcare reform agenda
        involves rationing healthcare..."

"My hate mail started shortly after the White House issued the 'fishy' request," said Kathryn Serkes, Director of Policy and Public Affairs for AAPS. "We were quite visible and vocal before then, so it doesn't seem like a coincidence. Who did they share their data with? With whom might they share it?"

AAPS and CURE demand that the White House remove all information already collected, and further, be prohibited from collecting any personal data in the future.

SOURCE Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS)