Blue State Graft Watch: Securities Firm Run by Former New Jersey Governor and Obama Bundler John Corzine to be Probed by FBI

The MF Global Securities firm run by former New Jersey Governor and Goldman Sachs [NYSE: GS] chairman John Corzine will be investigated by the FBI to determine if the firms actions violated criminal laws after filing for bankruptcy protection on Monday. MF's bankruptcy was reportedly the 8th largest filing in US History.

After taking over MF Global last year, Corzine led MF Global to make more trades for the company's own profits, a practice known as proprietary trading. Proprietary trading helped turn Goldman into a trading powerhouse in recent years.

Under Corzine's leadership, MF Global bet $6.3 billion on debt issued by Italy, Spain and other European nations with troubled economies. Those bonds have lost value in recent weeks as fears have intensified that some European countries might default.

Regulators said in September that MF Global was overvaluing some of its European debt investments. It required the company to raise more cash, according to court papers filed on Monday.

Corzine reportedly continued to use clients money as losses from the European sovereign debt MF invested in increased.

Reports had also been circulating as recently as a few months ago that Corzine was a possible replacement for current US Treasury secretary Tim Geithner should President Obama win a second term. In fact, these rumors led to an oddly specific stipulation in a $325 million bond offering from MF.

MF creditors were so concerned that Corzine might quit to take a White House post that they demanded an “Obama clause” be inserted in a $325 million bond offering -- in which MF would shell out an extra 1 percent in interest if Corzine left for a government post by 2013.

Oddly, the regulator in charge of investigating the wreckage of Corzine's securities firm worked at Goldman Sachs with Corzine and donated $10,000 the the Democrat party of New Jersey when Corzine was running for governor in 2005.

In 2009, Corzine lost re-election to Republican challenger and former US Attorney Chris Christie despite a number of high profile campaign appearances with President Obama stumping on behalf of the incumbent.

More recently, however, Corzine has gone on to become one of the top bundlers for Obama's 2012 campaign, raising at least $500,000 by many estimates.

A recent list of top “bundlers” or elite fundraisers released by Obama’s campaign listed Corzine in the highest category -- reporting that he had raised more than $500,000 for the campaign. A substantial chunk of those funds were collected at a $35,800 per ticket fundraiser that Corzine hosted at his wife’s spacious Fifth Avenue apartment last April -- an event that was touted at the time as part of a concerted effort by the president’s campaign team to reach out to well-heeled Wall Street donors who had been alienated by some of his policies and previous public comments.

In the meantime, an estimated $700 million in funds from MF Securities remains unaccounted for.

The Obama Administration had promised to return monetary donations from Corzine [although they didn't clarify if it was Corzine's $5000 maximum individual contribution or the contributions in excess of $500,000 that Corzine helped bundle from other wealthy donors- NANESB!] earlier this week.

I find it quite telling that the whole #Occupy Wall Street movement claimed they had taken to the streets to protest nationwide about the greed and excess on Wall Street embodied by Corzine's actions at MF Securities, but have remained remarkably silent about Corzine and the primary benefactor of his largess, President Obama.

NY Mayor Bloomberg Donates $150,000 to Pro Gun Control Virginia Politicians- After NYPD Cops Nabbed In Gunrunning Sting

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has opened up his checkbook for six Democrats running for the state office in Virginia ahead of Old Dominion's November 8th elections for state Senate and House of Delegates.

Bloomberg has donated $25,000 apiece to the campaigns of six Democratic candidates for the Virginia state Senate who share his strict beliefs on gun control, officials told the Daily News Friday.

The deep-pocketed mayor, who drew the ire of the Virginia attorney general when he ran gun stings there five years ago, will travel to Old Dominion to campaign for the candidates next week, the officials said.

What happens in the Virginia Legislature will directly affect the public safety of New Yorkers, said John Feinblatt, the mayor s Criminal Justice Coordinator.

Bloomberg was slammed by Virginia's then-attorney general - and now governor - Bob McDonnell for the 2006 stings.

The announcement comes a few days after 8 current and former NYPD officers were arrested by the FBI in a gunrunning sting where the officers are accused of trafficking in stolen property and purchasing guns from an undercover FBI agent before filing off the serial numbers.

The investigation into the conspiracy began in 2009, when an FBI informant was introduced to one cop, William Masso of the 68th Precinct, "as a person who could 'fix' the [informant's] traffic tickets," according to court papers obtained by the Post. But a law-enforcement official tells the tabloid that the probe was "totally unrelated" to the NYPD ticket-fixing scandal currently under investigation by the Bronx DA, who is expected to charge 16 officers soon.

In this case, the officers are accused of buying inoperable weapons, including an M-4 assault rifle, from an undercover FBI agent. They then allegedly filed off the serial numbers so they couldn't be traced, and transported them over state lines. Masso allegedly told his conspirators that they should carry their police badges, and if they ran into trouble with non-corrupt cops, to say they were cops working off-duty "delivering items purchased at auction."

"The criminal complaint lays out a scheme of brazen misconduct that include the illegal transportation of stolen cigarettes and stolen slot machines, the illegal transportation firearms, and the illegal transportation of defaced firearms," FBI's Special Agent in Charge, Diego Rodriguez, said in a statement this morning. "All of these crimes were seemingly committed for one simple reason: money. For their participation in the various schemes—cigarettes, slot machines, guns—the defendants were paid handsomely."

Interestingly, while the news of crooked NYPD cops allegedly trafficking black market guns with the serial numbers filed off was the most dramatic accusation made against them, the cigarette smuggling scheme the accused were reportedly involved in was their most lucrative.

The demand for cheap cigarettes in New York—which has the nation's highest tax levy, $6.46 a pack in the city—has fueled a burgeoning underground market that costs the city about $200 million a year and the state $525 million, city, state and federal officials said.

"Over the past decade we have seen a marked increase in contraband cigarettes coming into the greater New York area," Joseph Green, a spokesman for the ATF's New York office, said Wednesday.

The cigarette-smuggling operation actually made the defendants more money: Undercover investigators paid the defendants about three times as much money—about $92,000—for moving cigarettes than for the guns, the complaint said.

And unlike the guns the defendants sold in the federal sting operation, some of the 2.4 million cigarettes they allegedly smuggled appear to have made their way into the New York market, the complaint suggests.

According to recorded conversations cited by federal prosecutors, Mr. Masso was long familiar with cigarette smuggling. He told undercover investigators that he used to acquire cigarettes from a woman who bought them from Native American reservations and put bogus tax stamps on the cigarette boxes, a criminal complaint said.

He allegedly told the informant that he made $5,000 a week on the scheme and ruminated about again finding the woman and getting a tax stamp.

By May of this year, Mr. Masso and the group of officers and civilians he recruited allegedly had participated in the smuggling and sale of more than $600,000 worth of cigarettes, moving them from Virginia and New Jersey into the New York City area, authorities said. In one case, a group broke into box trucks in Virginia and stole the cigarettes, authorities said.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg's felon-riddled gun control advocacy group has begun lobbying in earnest against national conceal-carry reciprocity legislation that has been working its way through Congress. Members of the organization claim the legislation would undercut state's rights, which is pretty interesting considering how much Bloomberg himself had attempted to influence firearms legislation in Virginia and Arizona.

Blue State Graft Watch: Maryland State Senator Won't Testify in His Own Defense in Corruption Trial

A 4-term Democrat state senator representing Prince George's county does not plan on testifying on his own behalf as his Federal corruption trial is coming to an end, according to his lawyers.

Attorneys for Currie had held out the possibility that he might testify, but it is rare for defendants in criminal cases to take the stand, and Currie and his defense team indicated that he will not.

The announcement in U.S. District Court in Baltimore by defense attorney Joseph L. Evans came during a full day of testimony in the trial, now in its fifth week. The 74-year-old senator is accused of taking bribes in exchange for a series of government favors for Shoppers Food Warehouse.

Currie has also been charged with making false statements to the FBI during an interview at the time of the early-morning raid of his home.

Instead, the defense has made the claim that Currie's memory and mental capacity has been diminished by injections of a drug called Lupron stemming from his 2008 treatment for prostate cancer.

In May 2008, the FBI searched his District Heights, MD home and seized documents pertaining to his consultation work with Shoppers Food Warehouse. Currie was indicted by a federal grand jury in September 2010.

A federal grand jury has indicted Maryland State Senator Ulysses S. Currie, age 73, of Forestville, Maryland; and Shoppers Food Warehouse Corp. (SFW) executives—former president William J. White, age 67, of Annapolis, Maryland and Jupiter, Florida; and former vice president for real estate development R. Kevin Small, age 55, of Lewisburg, Pennsylvania—in connection with a scheme from 2002 to 2008 in which the supermarket chain allegedly paid Senator Currrie in exchange for using his official position and influence in matters benefitting White, Small, and the supermarket chain. In addition, a separate criminal information was filed against Shoppers Food Warehouse Corp., which has agreed to enter into a deferred prosecution agreement.

The 18-count indictment alleges that soon after Ulysses Currie became chair of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee in 2002, he asked to be placed on the payroll of Shoppers Food Warehouse Corporation and agreed to use his government office and authority to pursue specific state action to benefit his private employer. Chairman Currie allegedly signed contracts reflecting the cover story that he would provide services unrelated to his government office; failed to file legally required conflict-of-interest statements with the Maryland General Assembly’s Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics; and lied under oath on public financial disclosure forms filed with the Maryland State Ethics Commission for five consecutive years, in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008. Meanwhile, Chairman Currie caused to be introduced and voted on legislation to benefit the corporation and sought benefits on its behalf from state officials. The indictment alleges that Chairman Currie prepared a list of 12 specific projects in which he used his Senate office and influence to benefit the supermarket chain, and offered to bring “many more” government benefits in the future. Chairman Currie allegedly wrote that he was “in a unique position to assist” the supermarket chain “in expanding its mission and increasing its bottom line.”

The indictment alleges that Currie received payments of $3,000 per month beginning in February 2003, raised to $3,416.67 in July 2004, to $3,800 in June 2007, and ultimately to $7,600 per month in December 2007. In order to conceal his arrangement with White, Small and the corporation, the indictment charges that Chairman Currie did not disclose any income from the corporation on five separate annual ethics disclosures, from 2004 through 2008.

In a separate deferred prosecution agreement, Shoppers Food Warehouse was assessed $12.5 million in fines.

Campaign Treasurer's Arrest Leaves California Democrats Scrambling

California Democrat officeholders and party officials have been left frantic and scrambling since the arrest of prominent Democrat campaign financier Kinde Durkee last month. [BREAKING: I can't seem to find my world's tiniest violin; I think it's in the shop for its 20,000 sad sad song tune-up- NANESB!]

Durkee was arrested at her Burbank, CA offices on September 3rd by the FBI on charges of mail fraud. Durkee allegedly used funds raised from Democrat party donors to pay her own mortgage, travel expenses and American Express credit card bill.

Since the arrest, donors and candidates are trying to assess the full extent of the losses while attempting to raise money to replenish funds misappropriated by Kinder or frozen by the state's Fair Political Practices Commission. Complicating matters is that Durkee co-mingled money from the nearly 400 different accounts she controlled at First California Bank, making it difficult to determine exactly how much funding each campaign had available.

In late September, multimillionaire Senator Dianne Feinstein filed suit against both Durkee and First California Bank, alleging fraud and estimating her campaign's losses to be in the neighborhood of $5 million (much of that self-funded). In the meantime, much to the chagrin of statewide Democrat Party officials, First California has reportedly turned over the accounts under Durkee's control to a California court to determine who exactly has claim to what.

The bank angered clients when it handed over control of the 398 bank accounts associated with Durkee to a California state court on September 23, recusing itself from sorting out how much of the recovered money should be doled out to whom.

"In yet another attempt to escape liability for the fiasco that they helped create, First California Bank has turned most of the accounts that Durkee controlled over to the courts," the Los Angeles County Democratic Party said.

Hmm....Perhaps we touched on another reason why Congressman Dennis Cardoza (D- CA18) announced that he had decided not to run for another term this week.

Let me be honest- I can't say that this story makes me sad, because it doesn't. Not in the least. I grew up in a very blue state controlled by Democrats and aside from a stint in the US Army, I've spent the majority of my adult life in another dark blue state largely controlled by Democrats. The way the democrats have engaged in class warfare and the politics of envy and avarice while simultaneously representing the wealthiest ZIP codes in the United States would be laughable at face value if they didn't keep getting elected by the same cadre of vapid, wealthy elitists who whine endlessly that wealthy people like Rupert Murdoch or the Koch Brothers are bad for America.

All of a sudden, this Durkee decides to help herself to their millions and out come the lawyers and sob stories when in reality, Durkee pretty much personified the end result of what passes for economic policy from the Democrat party these days- find an entity with lots and money and help yourself to it while convincing them you're doing them some sort of service.

FBI Investigating Death Threats Against Illinois Congressman Bobby Schilling

The FBI along with local and U.S. Capitol Police are investigating an online threat made against western Illinois congressman Bobby Schilling this week.

Schilling learned of the threat against him in an email alert Tuesday night, according to his spokeswoman, Andrea Pivarunas. Sherriff’s deputies reportedly responded to the congressman’s district home, and have passed the matter on to the FBI and Capitol Police.

“After receiving a very concerning email alert Tuesday evening, Rep. Schilling and his family are taking recommended precautions while the situation is investigated by relevant authorities,” wrote Pivarunas in an email to The Hill.



“He is grateful for the professionalism of local law enforcement in responding to this situation,” she added.



The email threat against Schilling states, "I will pay $75,000 for ASSASSINATING Illinois Congresswoman (sic) Bobby Schilling and any US Congressman, US Senator and FBI, CIA and NSA DIRECTORS and their FAMILY MEMBERS regardless of their age,” according to local news reports.



In late September, a Google user offered up to $100,000 for killing the president and his immediate family, as well as George W. Bush, several members of his administration and Congress, The New York Times reported Thursday.

“KILL the MASS MURDERERS, TERRORISTS, SADISTS, PERVERTS and PSYCHOPATHS George Bush, [Donald] Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, Dick Cheney, FBI director Robert Mueller III, NSA Director Keith Alexander, CIA Director David Patraeus, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and National Intelligence director Dennis Blair,” according to the posting obtained by the Hill.

The messages were posted by Google user FBInCIAnNSATerroristSlayer, and contain language parallel to that of the threat made against Schilling. Other messages included in the user’s profile include threats against FBI, CIA and NSA agents, as well as a $75,000 reward to assassinate Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.).

Schilling, a former pizzeria owner who enjoyed backing from the Tea Party during the 2010 midterms is a freshman who's western Illinois district includes the Rock Island Arsenal, the Illinois part of the Quad Cities and part of the state capitol of Springfield.

On Thursday, Schilling announced on his Congressional that he would be visiting towns in the district via his 'Mobile Office' starting in November.

Feds Disrupt Iranian-Backed Plot to Bomb Israeli Embassy, Assasinate Saudi Envoy to USA

Agents from the FBI and DEA have reportedly disrupted a terror plot liked directly to Iran's Quds force that involved simultaneous attacks against the Israeli and Saudi embassies in Washington D.C.

Federal investigatos allege that an Iranian American identified as 56 year old Mansour Arbabsiar, a Corpus Christi TX used car salesman as the man who approached what he thought was a member of the Los Zetas cartel with a proposal to kill the Saudi ambassador to the USA and bomb the Israeli embassy in Washington D.C. in exchange for $1.5 million and an undisclosed amount of opium.

Arbabsiar and the informant met twice in Reynosa in the northern Mexican state of Tamaulipas, across the border from McAllen, TX [interestingly, observers note that Reynosa is in territory still under control of the Gulf Cartel, but the accused was meeting with what he thought was an enforcer from the archrival Los Zetas- NANESB!] where Arbabsiar bragged that he had a cousin who was a high-ranking member of the Quds force of Iran's Revolutionary Guard and that they were being directed by senior-level officials of the Iranian regime.

The five count criminal complaint names Gohlam Shakuri, an Iranian based member of the Quds force still at large in Iran, as a co-conspirator in the plot. Arbabsiar and the informant negotiated a $1.5 million payment to carry out the attacks, with the accused wiring two seperate payments of $49,960 into a dummy FBI bank account. Arbabsiar also told the informant that his contacts in Iran couild provide Los Zetas with 'tons' of opium if they were interested.

Federal agents said they recorded a number of phone calls and meeting with the informant and Arbabsiar, some of the calls coming from Iran. In late September, when Arbabsiar was flying to Mexico City from Iran via Frankfurt, he was refused entry into Mexico by immigration officers at Arturo Beneitez international airport and was put on a flight to New York where he was taken into custody.

Not surprisingly, Iran has denied the charges against their regime, claiming the case is a 'prefabricated scenario' and propaganda against the Islamic regime.

Interestingly, even though Arbabsiar was taken into custody nearly two weeks ago, Attorney General Eric Holder's press conference announcing the disruption of the plot came a day before House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chariman, Darrell Issa (R- CA49) issued Holder a subpoena in regards to their ongoing Fast & Furious probe in which the ATF allowed firearms to be trafficked from the USA to Mexican drug cartels. In fact, one of the reporters brought up Fast & Furious during the press conference, only to have Holder dismiss it with a boilerplate statement about turning over the relelvant documents before walking out.

There is precedent for Iranian-backed groups co-ordinating attacks out of Latin America. In 1992, 29 people were killed when a truck bomb exploded outside the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires. A group with links to the Iranian back Hezbollah terrorist group and Iran called the Islamic Jihad organization claimed responsibility. The Isreali Embassy attacks were followed up by the 1994 bombing of the AMIA (Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina) building in Buenos Aires, which killed 85 people. Argentine investigators believe that both operations were planned and financed in the Tri-Border area where the boundaries of Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil meet near Iguazu Falls and where Hezbollah has been active over the last two decades. More recently, Mexican intelligence has been aware of a Hezbollah presence in Tijuana and Durango.

Boston Globe: Former Miss Iceland Was Tipster That Led FBI To Whitey Bulger's Santa Moncia, CA Condo

Anna Bjornsdottir after winning Miss Iceland in 1974- Pageantlover.com Photo

If Whitey Bulger was a cat person before his arrest, he probably isn't now.

A 57 year old yoga instructor and former Miss Iceland is reportedly the tipster who notified the FBI of fugitive Boston mobster Whitey Bulger's whereabouts, according to an article in the Boston Globe. The FBI captured the 81 year old former Winter Hill Gang leader with his 60 year old girlfriend Catherine Greig at their Santa Monica, CA condo in June of this year after 16 years on the run.

Bulger is facing prosecution on multiple counts of drug trafficking, extortion and his role in at least 19 homicides in Massachusetts, Florida and Oklahoma. Bulger operated the south Boston Winter Hill Gang throughout the 1970s and 80s while enjoying protection from the FBI thanks in large part to Agent John Connolly who was a childhood friend of Bulger's. Bulger also used his status as a confidential informant for the FBI to undercut operations of the rival Patriarcha crime family, only to step into the vacuum left behind when their leaders were incarcerated, under surveillance or in hiding.

Recent photos of Bulger (R) and Bjornsdottir (L)- AP

Greig and Bjornsdottir reportedly met while caring for the same stray cat on the grounds of their Santa Monica condo. The former model and Miss Iceland did not recognize the couple until a recent trip back to Iceland when she saw a televised bulletin put out by the FBI regarding the couple.

For 15 years, the FBI investigation into Bulger's whereabouts went almost nowhere. There were miscellaneous reports circulating that Bulger was hiding out in British Columbia or Costa Rica, but the last reputable sighting of him was at a London, England hotel in 2002. However, by shifting the focus to Bulger's travelling companion Greig and broadcasting bulletins during daytime TV shows, an arrest was made in less than a month.

Now, however, there's some concern over both Mrs. Bjornsdottir's safety and the integrity of the FBI's tipline for those who wish to remain anonymous. The former Icelandic beauty queen did not come forward on her how volition- details about her identity and personal life were leaked and then published in the Boston Globe.

While there are those in the media and law-enforcement who feel that Bjornsdottir is in no imminent danger owing to the fact that Bulger's few remaining friends and allies are dead or incarcerated, law enforcement can no longer guarantee her safety now that the Globe has published her personal information.

“They can’t guarantee her 100 percent safety going forward,” said former U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan. “It’s unnecessary publicity and unnecessary harassment.

“There is a huge risk to the (tipster) program, generally, to be able to cultivate informants if their identification is at risk,” added Sullivan, a partner in the Ashcroft Law Firm. “It has a chilling effect.”

When I first heard this story earlier today, I initially thought that Anna revealed herself as the tipster that broke the case on her own volition.

Now that it's becoming apparent this information was leaked by somebody other than Bjornsdottir, aside from the obvious questionable judgement the Globe had demonstrated in publishing her photo, most recent whereabouts and amount received from the reward money, there's also some serious questions regarding the FBI's ability to protect the identity of anonymous tipsters. Think about it- how many witnesses would be willing to come forward with information that could break a particularly difficult case wide open will have second thoughts now?

Solyndra Raided by FBI After Bankruptct Filing

Remember what I was saying about this not being a good month for Federally subsidised solar panel manufacturers? Looks like it's about to get worse for California-based Solyndra, Inc.

Federal agents executed a search warrant at the Northern California headquarters of solar panel manufacturer Solyndra Inc., which filed for bankruptcy protection this week despite receiving $535 million in federal stimulus loan guarantees.

The FBI and Department of Energy's Office of Inspector General confirmed that their agents were involved in the raid Thursday at Solyndra's offices in Fremont but declined to discuss what they were investigating. FBI spokesman Peter D. Lee said documents related to the search had been sealed.

Last week, Solyndra abruptly announced that it was ceasing operations and laying off 1,100 employees, a move the company attributed to intense foreign competition and a "global oversupply of solar panels." The company filed for bankruptcy Tuesday.

Solyndra spokesman Dave Miller said the federal raid came as a surprise but that the company was "fully cooperating" with investigators.

He said he did not know what the federal agents were looking for but speculated it could be related to the $535-million loan guarantee, of which the company drew $527 million.

A skeleton team of about 100 employees is still working at the factory during a "wind-down" process, Miller said.

The raid came about 16 months after Obama visited Solyndra and praised the federal government's investments in clean energy and other sectors.

It's also been revealed that company officials from Solyndra made no less than 20 trips to the White House between March 2009 and April 2011, underscoring the cozy relationship between the company and the Obama Administration.

In late May 2011, the White House highlighted Solyndra as a success story thanks to the 2009 stimulus- also known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act- in a short video on the White House website.


It was also reported on Friday that officials from the Administration and Department of Energy sat in on Solyndra's company meetings.

The Energy Department was keeping a close eye on Solyndra during those crucial months – sitting in on board meetings as an observer as part of the loan restructuring, iWatch News and ABC reported Thursday. That raises key questions: Did DOE miss obvious warning signs of the company's troubles in the final months before its collapse?

Last month, after receiving close to $60 million in aid from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts before moving their facilities to China, Evergreen Solar filed for bankruptcy protection. Less than a week later, Intel spinoff SpectraWatt had also filed for bankruptcy.

[Hat tip- Gateway Pundit]

Blue State Graft Watch: Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich Guilty on 17 of 20 Corruption Charges in Second Trial

Former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich was found guilty on 17 of 20 counts of corruption at the Federal Courthouse in Chicago Monday afternoon.

This was the former governor's second trial. In 2010, Blagojevich was found not guilty on 23 of 24 charges faced, with the jury finding that the former Land of Lincoln governor guilty of lying to the FBI.

CHICAGO—A federal jury on Monday found former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich guilty of 17 counts of corruption, including trying to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama.

The jury found Mr. Blagojevich not guilty on one of 20 corruption counts in his second trial and deadlocked on two other counts. The verdicts came more than two years after Mr. Blagojevich, 54 years old, was arrested by federal agents.

The verdict was a victory for U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, who initiated "Operation Board Games" just a few months after Mr. Blagojevich took office. In the hours after the then-governor's arrest, Mr. Fitzgerald said he had "interrupted a political corruption crime spree" and that Mr. Blagojevich had "put a for-sale sign on the naming of a United States Senator."

Mr. Blagojevich is the second consecutive Illinois governor to be convicted of corruption. Gov. George Ryan is currently serving a 6½-year sentence.

Unlike his first trial, in which the former Chicago congressman escaped conviction on 20 of 21 counts, Mr. Blagojevich testified for seven days at his second trial. He said his intent was to use the seat as leverage to pass legislation that would have benefited the residents of Illinois.

Blagojevich appointed Roland Burris to fill President Obama's then vacant senate seat in late 2008- an appointment that came after federal investigators recorded a call between the two where Burris was offering to raise funds for the governor in exchange for the Senate seat.

Report: Fugitive Octagenarian Irish Mobster Whitey Bulger Arrested in California

Reports are circulating on the Wednesday night that 81 year old fugitive Winter Hill Gang leader James 'Whitey' Bulger was arrested in the Los Angeles area with his 60 year old girlfriend, Catherine Greig.

The two were arrested without incident, the FBI said. The FBI had been conducting a surveillance operation in the area where the arrest was made, Santa Monica police Sgt. Rudy Flores said.

Bulger- or "the guy who's picture is up at the Post Office" as he's been referred to for most of my adult life- was the leader of the Winter Hill Gang when he fled in January 1995 after being tipped by a former Boston FBI agent that he was about to be indicted. Bulger was a top-echelon FBI informant.

Over the years, the FBI battled a public perception that it had not tried very hard to find Bulger, who became a huge source of embarrassment for the agency after the extent of his crimes and the FBI's role in overlooking them became public.

Prosecutors said he went on the run after being warned by John Connolly Jr., an FBI agent who had made Bulger an FBI informant 20 years earlier. Connolly was convicted of racketeering in May 2002 for protecting Bulger and his cohort, Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi, also an FBI informant.

As head of the Winter Hill gang, Bulger would provide information to the FBI about the rival Patriarcha family out of Providence, RI while enjoying a degree of protection from the Boston office of the FBI thanks to former Agent Connolly.

Bulger had been on the run for the last 16 years and was on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list for his suspected role in at least 19 murders. Since then, there has been sporadic reports of Bulger browsing bookstores in western Canada or dying of natural causes and being cremated in Central America. The last reliable sighting of Whitey Bulger was reportedly in London in 2002 when a British businessman who had met Bulger a few years prior saw the fugitive in a hotel gym.

Most recently, the FBI manhunt focused on Bulger's girlfriend, with TV bulletins showing Greig and Bulger together.

Bulger's younger brother William was elected to the state senate and President of UMass, while the FBI suspected he might've been aware of his older brother's criminal activities and may have sporadically been in contact with him.

Report: 81 Year Old Fugitive Whitey Bulger Dead, Cremated in Central America

Reports are circulating over the weekend that fugitive octigenarian extortionist, murderer and drug trafficker James J. 'Whitey' Bulger had recently died of a heart attack in Costa Rica and his girlfriend had the remains cremated.

A fugutive since December 1994 and on the FBI's 10 most wanted list since 1999, Bulger is wanted by the Justice Department and prosecutors in Boston for multiple counts of murder, drug trafficking, extortion and RICO viloations.

Throughout the 1980s, Bulger leveraged his relationship with FBI agent John Connolly and Massachusetts State Police Lt. Richard Schneiderhan as well as his own status as an informant to eliminate rivals or informants and consolidate power as his Providence, RI-based rivals in the Patriarca crime family were left reeling after a series of Federal indictments.

A year ago, FBI agents and police in British Columbia, Canada were canvassing bookstores around the city of Victoria on Vancouver Island in search of Bulger. So far, the FBI has remained skeptical regarding the latest rumor about Bulger's death and cremation in Central America.

Here is the official statement from the Boston FBI office, as delivered by Special Agent Gregory Comcowich:

“The FBI has no credible information to indicate that Bulger is deceased. Until the FBI receives credible verified information that he has died, the FBI will continue its fugitive investigation.”

As one of Whitey's victims put it: “If I were Whitey, this is exactly the story I’d want out there. Not only is he dead, but the body is gone.” But then again, considering that it was almost a year ago to the day that the Feds were looking for Bulger in Canada, this latest rumor could be a hoax pulled off by the remnants of the Winter Hill gang or Bulger himself.

[Hat Tip: Howie Carr; Friends of Ours]

Feds Arrest Saudi National in Texas Bomb Plot

A 20 year old Saudi man was arrested late last week after a chemical company in North Carolina reported suspicious purchases he had been making to the FBI.

Federal prosecutors say [Khalid] Aldawsari had been researching online how to construct an improvised explosive device using several chemicals as ingredients. Authorities say Aldawsari's diary indicated the young man had been plotting an attack for years and obtained a scholarship so he could come directly to the United State to carry out jihad.

"After mastering the English language, learning how to build explosives and continuous planning to target the infidel Americans, it is time for jihad," the student wrote in his journal, according to court documents.

In e-mails Aldawsari apparently sent himself, he listed the names of 12 reservoir dams in Colorado and California. He also wrote an e-mail that mentioned "Tyrant's House" with the address of President Bush's home. The FBI's affidavit said he considered using infant dolls to hide explosives and was possibly targeting a nightclub with a backpack filled with explosives.

Employees at Carolina Biological Supply and Con-Way, Inc. alerted the authorities after Aldawsari purchased ten 500 milliliter bottles. The tip led federal investigators to track other purchases the 20 year old Saudi made online. The North Carolina supplier sells chemicals and equipment for classroom use from kindergarten up through the university level.

Maryland Man Arrested in Attempt to Bomb Recruiting Center

Federal authorities alleged that a recent convert to Islam attempted to blow up a military recruiting station in Catonsville, MD in what turned out to be an FBI sting operation.

Federal authorities said Antonio Martinez, a recent convert to Islam who called himself Muhammad Hussain, watched videos of Osama bin Laden and mused about "dying for the cause" by joining militant forces overseas.

Unable to afford to travel to Pakistan or Afghanistan, Martinez instead proposed hitting local military installations to send a message. Officials say those plans culminated when he parked an SUV equipped with a dummy bomb in a suburban parking lot not far from his home.

Martinez was described by authorities as a 'lone wolf' with no known ties to terrorist groups.

The Wednesday arrest comes only a few weeks after a Somali immigrant attempted to blow up a van parked near a crowd gathered for a Christmas Tree lighting ceremony in Oregon in a similar sting.

Feds Arrest Somali Immigrant in Oregon Terrorism Plot

A 19 year old Somali-born immigrant was arrested by the Feds in a sting on Friday after twice dialling a number on a cell phone he believed would detonate explosives in a van parked adjacent to a crowd gathered to watch a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Portland, OR.

U.S. Attorney Dwight Holton released federal court documents to The Associated Press and the Oregonian newspaper that show the sting operation began in June after an undercover agent learned that 19-year-old Mohamed Osman Mohamud had been in regular e-mail contact with an "unindicted associate" in Pakistan's northwest, a frontier region where Al Qaeda and Afghanistan's Taliban insurgents are strong.

An FBI document reveals that Mohamud had contact with the suspected terrorist in Aug. 2009. In Dec. 2009, Mohamud discussed the possibility of traveling to Pakistan to engage in violent jihad.

Mohamud was arrested at 5:40 p.m. Friday just after he dialed a cell phone that he thought would set off the blast but instead brought federal agents and police swooping down on him. The bomb was an elaborate fake supplied by the agents and the public was never in danger, authorities said.

Already there are sob stories circulating of how poor young Mohamud was the victim of entrapment. For those of you who feel that way, ask yourself if you would feel the same if the lad's name was Billy Jo from Tennessee who had been corresponding regularly with senior members of the KKK or Aryan Nation plotting to do the exact same thing.

Germany's Reichstag Dome Closed off in Face of 'Credible' Terror Threat

German authorities have closed the top of Berlin's Reichstag building and stepped up security after an informant and Western intelligence agencies have passed along intelligence regarding a suspected Islamic Jihadi plot to storm the Reichstag building and take hostages while demanding Germany's withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Germany's interior minister raised the country's threat level and the FBI forwarded intelligence to the Germans warning that an Indian crime lord residing in Pakistan and with ties to radical Islamic groups could be dispatching operatives to Germany to take part in attacks against targets in that country.

According to the information, two operatives are already in the Berlin area while 54 year old Dawood Ibrahim- on the run from authorities in India since a spate of 1993 bombings in Mumbai that he was allegedly the mastermind of which killed 257- will attempt to smuggle the remaining members of the cell into Europe via the United Arab Emirates.

Equipment the German cell allegedly requires for the possible Reichstag attack reportedly had to be brought in from the Balkans, while an informant said that at least four other men were in the advanced stages of training at an al Qadea camp in Pakistan.

Feds Arrest Suspects in Northern Virginia, Hawaii in Seperate Alleged Terror Plots

Hmmm.....must be those dangerous Tea Party activists, healthcare opponents or the various and sundry right-wingers that the Department of Homeland Security and Mayor Bloomberg warned us about.

Farooque Ahmed, 34, of Ashburn, conspired with people he believed to be al-Qaeda operatives to attack the stations at Arlington National Cemetery, Pentagon City, Crystal City and Court House, the indictment said.

An administration official said Ahmed, a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in Pakistan, first drew the attention of law enforcement officials by seeking to obtain unspecified materials. He later became the target of an undercover sting operation, officials said.

According to the indictment, in April Ahmed began to meet in hotels in Northern Virginia with people he believed to be affiliated with a terrorist organization. He agreed to conduct video surveillance of the stations, suggested the best time to attack and the best place to place explosives to maximize casualties, the indictment alleges.

Meanwhile in Hawaii, the FBI arrested a 21-year old man who had been turned away from Jordan and Pakistan who was hoping to link up with jihadi groups to learn guerrilla warfare tactics and bomb-making.

The 21-year-old [Abdel Hameed Shehadeh] born and raised in New York created websites and posted threats of radical Islamic violence, including one from another American expatriate, Anwar al Awlaki. Then Shehadeh flew to Hawaii and allegedly started taking target practice.

FBI agents said he wanted to join a jihadist group to learn “guerrilla warfare and bomb-making.” Had he been welcomed into the U.S. army, they said, his plan was to defect in Iraq and turn against his comrades.

Shehadeh’s journeys ended last Friday. He was arrested in Honolulu and accused in a federal criminal complaint, unsealed Monday, of making false statements in an international terrorism case

Wait....what? They're not with the Tea Parties? That can't be right....I mean it's not like the SPLC or NAACP would lie about or exaggerate such things.

[Hat tip: Eat It or Wear It]