Indiana U.S. Attorney Helps Republican Donor

Timothy M. Morrison, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, a left-over of the Rove Republican Racket, has done a huge political favor for a prominent Republican donor,  Timothy S. Durham (pictured), who allegedly ran a million-dollar Ponzi scheme.

He's letting Durham keep his cash and valuable property.

 The Associated Press reports:

The government no longer is suing to seize bank accounts and other assets of an Indianapolis businessman whom it alleged was operating a Ponzi scheme. The U.S. Attorney's office in Indianapolis...filed papers to dismiss a lawsuit to seize property belonging to Timothy Durham, including a 30,000-square-foot home on Geist Reservoir and a 2008 Bugatti sports car. Acting U.S. Attorney Tim Morrison says he dropped the case because he's been assured Durham will not try to shed the assets. FBI agents last [month] raided the offices of Durham businesses, Obsidian Enterprises of Indianapolis and Fair Financial of Akron, Ohio. A recent Indianapolis Business Journal story questioned whether Fair Financial could repay people who bought nearly $200 million in investment certificates.

We think Morrison dropped the case for seizure simply because Durham is a prominent Republican donor who has supported the Rove-Bush-Cheney machine. How else can Durham continue donating if his accounts are frozen?

The Indianapolis Star writes:

[Durham] moves at the top of Republican political circles in Indianapolis. Durham, 47, a former attorney at the prominent Ice Miller law firm, is regarded as a close friend of Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi's and a major contributor to [Indiana] Gov. Mitch Daniels' re-election campaign. He served on Daniels' re-election steering committee.

Doing favors for Republican donors is not new for Morrison.

As we investigated and wrote about last month, it looks like Morrison was pursuing a case against protesters who targeted a shady asphalt company whose CEO contributes heavily to Republican causes. After Morrison served a subpoena on an independent news website, he abruptly withdrew it after being scrutinized by free speech and libertarian advocates for violating DOJ guidelines.

Morrison should have kept those assets frozen and seized everything, regardless of Durham's assurances or political connections.

Yesterday, Consumer Affairs reported this upsetting tidbit:

It has now been nearly two weeks since Fair Finance closed its doors, and investors are becoming increasingly nervous. Last week, Durham's lawyer said that the company planned to reopen today, but so far the offices are still shuttered. Some investors have taken to camping out in the company's parking lots, hoping against hope that someone will show up and open the doors.