Six Months in Jail for Prosecutorial Sex

Last November,  we wrote about Carl Gabrielse (pictured), the former Holland, Michigan City Attorney who reduced a drunk driving charge of a female defendant in exchange for sex in a courthouse jury room.

A right-wing, Republican and conservative part of Michigan, some of Gabrielse's staunch supporters took offense at the time that we suggested that he could have eventually become a great Republican U.S. Attorney. 

He's now a convicted felon, like many Rove Republicans should be.

Last month, disgraced Gabrielse was sentenced to six-months in jail. The Holland Sentinel reported:

Former deputy city attorney Carl Gabrielse broke more than one vow when he sexually assaulted a woman in a Holland District Court bathroom last November, an Ottawa County judge said.... “I’m sure you know your biggest crime was the violation of your oath to your wife, your oath to your profession and your oath to your employer,” Judge Calvin Bosman said at Gabrielse’s sentencing Monday. Gabrielse, 31, was sentenced to six months in jail and ordered to undergo sex therapy at his sentencing in Ottawa County Circuit Court Monday. He’ll also serve up to a year of probation.The former deputy city attorney admitted to offering a plea deal to a 21-year-old woman in exchange for sex last November. The woman reported that Gabrielse sexually assaulted her. Police wired her with a microphone and recorded several conversations in which Gabrielse attempted to make further plans for sex with the woman, according to a personal-protection order she filed.

The assaulted woman had her original drunk driving case reduced this month after cooperating with authorities. The Holland Sentinel reported:

The victim of an assault by former Holland deputy city attorney Carl Gabrielse was sentenced to nine months of probation and a $750 fine for her own drunken driving charge. The 22-year-old woman pleaded guilty to a count of driving while impaired on Wednesday in Hudsonville District Court. She was sentenced immediately. She is also required to abstain from alcohol during her probation. The woman was originally charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated, but the charge was reduced to driving while impaired due to her cooperation with police in the Gabrielse investigation. She reported that Gabrielse sexually assaulted her after offering a reduced charge in exchange for sex.

Bumbling Brizzi Crashes Golf Cart

Outgoing Rove Republican District Attorney of Indianapolis, Carl Brizzi,whose not so wise hand-picked successor lost in a recent Republican primary, has another scandal to deal with: crashing a golf cart.

Brizzi, who is linked to Republican Timothy S. Durham accused of swindling $200 million from Ohio retirees, has been repeatedly asked to resign by Republican officials but refuses to do so because he'll lose the pension he will receive if he stays until the end of his term late this year.

The Rove Republican Racket drove real justice off the cliff, but Brizzi drove incompetence to the top of the mountain.

Now he can't control a golf cart.


Local Indianapolis NBC affiliate reports:

Metro Police have issued results of an internal investigation involving Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi's security detail. The investigation resulted in the department suspending one of Brizzi's security officers.When Carl Brizzi goes out in public, he is often protected by off-duty IMPD detectives. That was the case in October 2008, when during a golf fundraiser for Brizzi's campaign, a golf cart driven by Brizzi crashed as he was trying to avoid a collision with a vehicle. A member of his security team also in the cart was injured. But in the police report filed by IMPD supervisor Sgt. Michael Thayer, there was no mention that Brizzi was driving the cart. An IMPD investigation launched by public safety director Frank Straub found that although Thayer later learned Brizzi was indeed behind the wheel, he never amended the report. As a result, Thayer is suspended without pay for one day and has been reassigned within the department.

New York Misconduct may Free Murderer

Breaking News....In a stunning admission, state prosecutors may be forced to free a murderer in New York because of prosecutorial misconduct.

Local NBC affiliate WNBC reports:

A federal judge moved closer Tuesday to freeing a Brooklyn rabbi's convicted killer after state prosecutors admitted that they had withheld evidence during his 1995 murder trial. Federal Judge Dora Irizarry chided the Brooklyn District Attorney's office and over their objections, ordered a rare evidentiary hearing Wednesday that could free Jabbar Collins, 37, and bar prosecutors from retrying him for the rabbi's slaying. "What is troubling is that back in 2006 the DA's office didn't take that extra step," said the judge, criticizing Brooklyn prosecutors for failing to thoroughly investigate defense claims of prosecutorial misconduct years ago. Prosecutors did admit a crucial mistake:  not revealing back in 1995 that a key witness against Collins briefly recanted.  He went on to testify against Collins, who was sentenced to 34 years to life in prison for fatally shooting Rabbi Abraham Pollack during a 1995 robbery in Williamsburg.

Another Michigan Militia Member Released

The government's case against some right-wing political nut balls continues to fall apart. Taking a page from the Rove Republican Racket, the Obama Administration is targeting political opponents, a really unfortunate trend.

Last week, we reported how three members were released.

Now a fourth member, Kristopher Sickles (pictured), has been released and comments made to the media demonstrates that the Obama prosecutors may end up looking as stupid as their Rove colleagues.

The Associated Press reports:

 A fourth member of a Midwest militia accused of plotting to overthrow the government was released from jail Wednesday after prosecutors said they were confident that the strict conditions under which he was set free would ensure the public's safety. Kristopher Sickles of Sandusky, Ohio, will be electronically monitored 24 hours a day, like three other members of the Hutaree militia who were released under the same conditions Tuesday. 

In a phone interview from jail on April 17, Sickles told The Associated Press that he had "never hurt anyone or taken steps to do so." He said he joined the group to learn how to protect his family. "As far as any specific plan to overthrow the government, I never heard such things," he said. "There was off-color talk, but there was no set plan to overthrow this or take over that."

Alabama Asst. DA Arrested for Extortion

As the Rove Republican Racket slowly falls apart,  followers of the Rove machine in Republican strongholds like Alabama are screwing up.

Last week, Assistant DA Frank Selman Teel of Alabama (pictured) allegedly tried to shake down millions of dollars from a defendant in a civil matter who could have face capital murder charges in a criminal case.

The defendant was involved in a 1995 explosion that killed two men.

A local NBC affiliate from Montgomery reported:

[Alabama] Attorney General Troy King and the Alabama Bureau of Investigation announced Thursday the arrests of an assistant district attorney in Coosa County, Frank Selman Teel, and a Gadsden attorney, Frank Wayne Bailey, for felony charges of extortion, bribery and ethics violations. The two are accused of using the threat of indictment to force the settlement of a civil lawsuit for millions of dollars, and alternatively, offering to try to keep the man from being charged if he did pay the money. Agents of the Attorney General's Office and the ABI arrested the two men late Wednesday night after they accepted a check for $1 million. This morning they were being held in the Etowah County Jail, with bond totaling $10,000 for each defendant.Teel, 59, of Sylacauga, is an assistant district attorney in Coosa County who also practices private law in Rockford.  Teel and Bailey, 58, were handling a civil lawsuit against a man who could face capital murder charges. Warrants were issued detailing charges in Etowah County District Court against the defendants.

 This is the video report from the same NBC TV station.

California's Conflicting Carr

The case against the Rove Republican Racket District Attorney of Santa Clara County, California, Dolores Carr (pictured)is gaining momentum. As readers may recall, Carr pushed the nuclear button in legal circles and spearheaded the boycott of a sitting judge after the judge tossed out a case for gross prosecutorial misconduct.

Carr now faces a well-financed competitor who currently serves as a Deputy Prosecutor in her office.

The race has heated up and conflicts and controversy are knocking Carr down.

The San Jose Mercury News reports:

Almost from the start of her administration, Carr has been controversial. Earlier this year, she alienated many in the legal community when she ordered her staff to stop bringing criminal cases before Superior Court Judge Andrea Bryan. Two weeks prior, the judge had angered prosecutors by dismissing a sex molestation case after finding that a prosecutor committed misconduct, including giving false testimony. Some legal experts said the extremely rare blanket boycott could have a chilling effect on judicial oversight of overzealous prosecution.

Carr has apologized repeatedly for her misjudgment regarding her husband's involvement in a high-profile murder case. Carr's husband, former San Jose police Lt. John Carr, was paid $14,000 by an attorney for the slain victim's family, who had filed a separate lawsuit against the bank where he was shot. With that payment, the district attorney in effect was receiving income from an advocate for the victim's family, even as she would ultimately decide whether to seek the death penalty in the criminal case. The case eventually was turned over to the state attorney general to prosecute because of the potential conflict of interest. The money was returned and Carr said her husband would confine his work as a consultant to outside the county. But legal experts said she should have known from the outset that was the only ethical choice.

Morrison's "Mere Pittance"

We have repeatedly blogged about embattled Acting U.S. Attorney of the Southern District of Indiana Timothy M. Morrison who let his corrupt Republican friends off the hook while sinking Ohio retirees of $200 million in a scheme involving a company called Fair Finance.

On Monday,  hundreds of investors (pictured) showed up to a creditors meeting to only hear the worse.

The Rove Republican Racket let this happen and let the masterminds of this swindle walk free. 

The Akron Beacon Journal reports:

About 850 people showed up for the first creditors meeting in the bankruptcy case of Fair Finance on Monday, creating the need for two separate programs to address the crowds. The size of the group of mostly older investors surprised attorney Brian Bash, the court-appointed trustee in the bankruptcy case. Bash had reserved the ballroom at the Akron City Centre Hotel, which seats 250 people. Bash said the case may not be resolved for a few years, which drew sighs from the crowd. 

Bash said he has recovered about $270,000 from Fair's cash and checking accounts.''Yeah, that's a mere pittance'' of the $200 million in assets, he said. Ultimately, there's only about $67,000 in accounts receivable because there are other loans and accounts involved, he said. Bash told the audiences he does not have access to information for the parent and affiliate companies of Fair Finance and related company Fair Holdings and said it is apparent that a large number of loans or investments from certificate holders were used to give out loans without collecting back from those other companies. 

Bash said he has sued to try to include all other companies, including Fair Holdings and an Indianapolis-based company called DC Investments (DCI). Court records have shown that more than 5,300 people and organizations, including churches, bought investment certificates totaling about $200 million from the small investment and loan company founded decades ago in Akron. The Fair family sold the company to Tim Durham and Jim Cochran, two Indiana-based businessmen, in 2002. Most of the certificate holders are in the Greater Akron area.

Michigan Militia Case Collapsing

The reality that federal prosecutors do not have a solid case against the so-called Michigan Militia is strongly emerging. Yesterday, three of the nine suspects (pictured) who were tossed in jail because of their outrageous political views were released from prison.

Taking a page from the Rove Republican Racket, Obama's U.S. Attorney in Michigan went after some politically incorrect, right-wing nut balls who espouse some hateful and paranoid free speech.

As we reported earlier this month, the U.S. Attorneys involved in the case against the Michigan Militia were scrambling after a judge found no solid evidence against the suspects. She ordered the suspects released. At the last minute, the U.S. Attorney's Office appealed the decision and was granted a stay.

The Associated Press reported yesterday afternoon:

Three of nine members of a Midwestern militia who are accused of conspiring to overthrow the government likely will be released from jail Tuesday until trial, a defense attorney said. Prosecutors notified attorneys for Tina Stone, David Stone Jr., and Jacob Ward that they intended to withdraw their opposition to a judge's order releasing the three, lawyer Michael Rataj said "I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. They want to let her out," said Rataj, who represents Tina Stone. "Why they approached me and lawyers for two other defendants, I don't know." The three were to appear Tuesday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Detroit, said Rod Hansen, a spokesman for the court.

Cleaning Up New Orleans

We're not talking about the aftermath of Katrina or the BP oil spill. We're talking about the corrupt New Orleans Police Department that has been under fire for over a decade.

The Rove Republican Racket did nothing to the detriment of minorities and low-income neighborhoods. Just look at the photo of New Orleans cops roughing up a housing activist.

The Rove-Bush-Cheney Administration looked the other way and let the abuses continue, especially after the left over mess of Katrina.

Now U.S. Attorney general Eric Holder, the Obama Administration and the local Mayor have taken charge. NPR reports:

Federal prosecutors announced Monday that they are reviewing the long-troubled New Orleans Police Department.The  move comes after Mayor Mitch Landrieu asked the Justice Department to intervene earlier this month, saying the city's police force needed nothing less than a complete transformation. Assistant U.S. Attorney General Tom Perez said the investigation will include lawyers and nonlawyers with broad experience in police issues.The Justice Department's civil rights unit will investigate whether the police engaged in a pattern and practice of discrimination.

"The investigation will examine allegations of excessive force, unconstitutional searches and seizures, racial profiling, failures to provide adequate police services to particular neighborhoods, and related misconduct," Perez said in a letter to Landrieu that was released Monday. 

The arrangements have prompted new training requirements and rules that govern when officers can use firearms. The fresh oversight comes as prosecutors continue to explore the shooting deaths of unarmed people on a New Orleans bridge in 2005, shortly after Hurricane Katrina struck the city. Four officers have pleaded guilty this year in connection with the incident.

$200 Million Up in Smoke

The failure of Acting U.S. Attorney of Southern District of Indiana Timothy M. Morrison to hold and seize the assets of suspected and alleged financial scheme operator Timothy S. Durham last November will go down as the dumbest "help my friend" move by the Rove Republican Racket ever.

Durham, once one of the top donors to the Republican Party and Governor of Indiana, built a fleet of luxury cars and million-dollar mansions on the back of Ohio retirees who gave millions to Durham and his Indianapolis cronies through his investment firm Fair Finance, based near Akron, Ohio.

Tragically, now auditors have confirmed: $200 million has gone up in smoke in personal loans to Durham, James Cochran, who was arrested for allegedly beating up his wife, and others involved in this scheme.


The Akron Beacon Journal reports last Friday:

The investigation into Fair Finance Co. has found assets of $20.9 million and liabilities of more than $220.3 million, according to bankruptcy court documents filed Thursday. More than 5,300 people and organizations that bought uninsured investment certificates from the Akron loan company are owed nearly $218.5 million of the $220.3 million.  While the documents list assets of $20.9 million, other assets are probably out there and listed as ''unknown,'' Fair Finance's court-appointed trustee, Brian Bash, said Thursday. The largest identified asset -valued at more than $17.8 million- was a fully owned subsidiary of Fair Finance called Fair Facility I LLC. (Fair Facility was created to purchase receivables from Fair Finance.)  The ''unknown'' assets include more than $200 million in so-called related party loans Fair Finance made to businesses owned or controlled by Fair Finance's owners, Timothy Durham and James Cochran, to the two individuals and others as well, the documents show.

Falsifying Feds

The case against the federal prosecutors who engaged in prosecutorial misconduct in the wrongful prosecution of former U.S.  Senator Ted Stevens (pictured) took a escalating step up against the feds.

As you may recall, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who was "horrified" by the misconduct, vacated the conviction and strongly denounced the withholding of evidence from Steven's attorneys by federal prosecutors.

The Rove Republican Racket took a severe beating and today it got uglier.

Main Justice reports today:

A special prosecutor sorting through the wreckage of the case against former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens is investigating whether Justice Department lawyers pressured an FBI agent to falsify a summary of his notes from an interview with a government witness, according to people briefed on the matter.The prosecutor, Henry Schuelke III, is examining a discrepancy, which has not been previously disclosed, in two sets of an FBI agent’s notes from an interview with Robert “Rocky” Williams, who helped with renovations to the Alaska Republican’s home, the people said. Schuelke is said to have found differences between the agent’s handwritten notes of the interview and a typewritten summary of the same notes, known in the FBI as a Form 302. Schuelke has focused on whether two Assistant U.S. Attorneys in Alaska, Joseph Bottini and James Goeke, pressed the agent to change Williams’ statements in order to bolster the government’s case, according to those knowledgeable about the inquiry.

Rove Protege Faces Primary Challenger in Arkansas

Rove Republican Racket's anointed chosen son, Tim Griffin, Karl Rove's former hatchet man who looked for dirt on political opponents and discouraged minorities from voting during the Rove-Bush-Cheney Administration, was once viewed as a shoe in for the race for the Republican nomination of the Second Congressional District in Arkansas.

Karl Rove fired the local U.S. Attorney in Little Rock in 2006 to make way for young Griffin but he was never confirmed by the U.S. Senate and resigned months into his new assignment.

However, in his race to be a congressman, Griffin now faces some local grown, down to earth competition, Scott Wallace (pictured).  Even though Griffin has tried to cut his ties with Rove, voters and disgruntled Republicans aren't buying it.

The Arkansas Times opines:

Wallace has the support of a few prominent Arkansas Republicans, including Mike Huckabee, Gay White and John Paul Hammerschmidt, and his own insistence that he's more of an Arkansan than Griffin, whom he calls a Washington insider. It seems hardly a full quiver, but he may not need many arrows. “You have a choice between a Washington, D.C., insider and a hometown businessman who's created hundreds of jobs for Arkansans and been serving his community for a quarter of a century,” Wallace says. “He is the hand-picked establishment candidate, but we've done two different polls and we're leading in both.” Wallace also has a better chance to defeat the Democratic nominee in November, he says. “We don't have the D.C. baggage my opponent has. We won't have to deal with the issues the national Democratic Party is going to raise against him.”

GOP Shaken Up after Sexual Bondage Expenditure

A story that has been in the news has been the fallout by top Republican donors against the lavish spending of the Republican National Committee.

The Rove Republican Racket perfected the ability to engage in wasteful spending. So much for "fiscal responsibility" during the Rove-Bush-Cheney years.

The final straw broke in March when reports came out about a top RNC consultant who bought drinks and appetizers at a lesbian-theme bondage club had submitted the expenditures to the RNC. So much for the Republicans' "traditional family values" so hyped during the Rove-Bush-Cheney years.

The Los Angeles Times reported this on Sunday:

The Republican National Committee's ouster Friday of two top finance officials marks an attempt to rebound from a string of reports on lavish spending, including a $1,946.25 expenditure at a lesbian-theme bondage club in Los Angeles.  RNC Chief of Staff Michael Leavitt announced the reorganization of the finance department late Friday in an e-mail to committee members. RNC Chairman Michael Steele asked for resignations from finance director Rob Bickhart and his deputy, Debbie LeHardy, "to improve on our strong fundraising numbers" and to "help us to provide the necessary resources to defeat Democrats across the country," the e-mail said.

 Looks like Steele is "cracking the whip" and playing "dominatrix" over the situation!

Federal Prosecutors are "Sore Losers"

Some members of the Obama DOJ team are acting like the Rove Republican Racket and have now begun to target right-wing fringe groups because of the hate-speech and anti-government views these groups espouse. Freedom of speech, no matter how politically deplorable, is not a crime.

As we reported last week, the U.S. Attorneys involved in the case against the Michigan Militia were scrambling after a judge found no solid evidence against the suspects. She ordered the suspects released.

At the last minute, the U.S. Attorney's Office appealed the decision and was granted a stay. The nine militia members are still being held in custody.

The Detroit Free Press reports:

Prosecutors immediately asked for -- and got -- a stay until they could get permission to appeal, which happened Wednesday. But [the judge] dissolved the stay late Wednesday, saying the government had failed to change her mind. The defendants were on the verge of being released Thursday morning when prosecutors informed defense lawyers that they had obtained a temporary stay from the Court of Appeals. Defense attorney Mark Satawa, who represents suspect Michael Meeks, said he still expects to prevail."It's unfortunate that the government is such sore losers," Satawa said. "They're only delaying the inevitable."

U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts in Detroit had thoroughly reviewed the evidence against the members and concluded they were neither a danger to the community nor a flight risk and could be freed with more than two dozen bond restrictions, including house arrest, electronic monitoring and curfews.Among other things, federal prosecutors and an FBI agent who was called to testify last week during detention hearings, "could not provide any differentiation between the conduct" of the nine indicted Hutaree members and the 25 unindicted members.

Z Upset in Michigan City, Indiana

Last month, on Tax Day, we wrote about a nasty Democratic primary fight for prosecutor in LaPorte County, Indiana that included racial mudslinging.

The campaign of Bob "Z" Szilagyi (pictured) had taken a page from the Karl Rove political playbook: tar and feather your political opponents.

And this past Tuesday, there was an unexpected upset caused by a mere 400 votes.

The Herald Argus reports:

Pulling off an upset in Tuesday’s primary election, challenger Bob Szilagyi edged out incumbent La Porte County Prosecutor Rob Beckman to win the Democratic nomination.With his victory, Szilagyi beat the three-term incumbent who was first elected in 1998. The race was one of the more controversial county-wide contests. During the campaign, Szilagyi worked to define his opponent as too hot-tempered to be prosecutor. He cited an instance where Beckman went on a profanity-laced tirade against a Michigan City police officer and another in which Beckman used racially charged language during a 2003 court case.

Who said smears and mudslinging don't work? Ask Karl, or better yet, contact Z.

Won't Let it Die in California

The Rove Republican Racket won't let it die.

The charges against executives of Broadcom were tossed out by a federal judge in December. As we reported then, federal prosecutors had leaked information to the media, which led to the stunning acquittal of the charges against Henry Samueli, the co-founder of Broadcom. A few day later, charges against other Broadcom executives were dropped due to a "shameful" campaign by federal prosecutors to intimidate witnesses and obtain unjustified convictions.

The federal prosecutors were slammed hard, but yet the Rove Republicans won't let it die.

 City News Service reports this week:

Federal prosecutors have asked to extend the deadline for a decision whether to appeal the dismissal of stock-option backdating cases against Broadcom co-founders Henry Nicholas III and Henry Samueli, a U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesman said today. The prosecutors filed their motion Friday to move the deadline for filing an appeal from May 10 to about June 10, said Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles. Mrozek said he did not know if the motion was granted.

We think this is an excellent example of federal prosecutors who envy the successful. What a waste of taxpayer's money.

Unwise Wyser Loses

Last week, after posting a story about embattled Marion County District Attorney candidate David Wyser, (pictured upside down like his political campaign) an anonymous critic labeled our post as "Blah blah blah blah" in the comments section.

Wyser, a Rove Republican Racket follower who at one time was a sure thing and only candidate in the Republican primary, was whooped at the election polls yesterday.

Wyser's opponent, Lee Buckingham, entered the race near the qualification deadline. In our previous post, we mentioned how Wyser had threatened Buckingham the day before the deadline to drop out of the race.

Wyser wanted it all and now he has rocks.

The Indianapolis Star reports:

David Wyser, chief trial deputy in the Marion County office, lost to Lee Buckingham, a man who joined the Hamilton County prosecutor's race with only a few months to go and no campaign finances to compete with Wyser's six-figure war chest. Buckingham took about 54 percent of the vote in one of the area's most hotly contested Republican primaries and is in line to win the office in heavily Republican Hamilton County. The race was close until the final votes were tallied. Wyser blamed news coverage for his defeat. He was unopposed until media reports scrutinized a campaign contribution he received -- and eventually returned -- from the father of a convicted murderer whose sentence he modified. He lost some support and acquired an opponent after those reports.

 Wyser now sounds like he's saying "blah, blah, blah, blah."

Wyser lost because he was a political idiot who tried to intimidate his opponents. Wyser lost because like a political  idiot he took pay to play money from "Daddy" of a murderer.Wyser lost because he is what is wrong with the Rove Republican Racket: it's everyone's fault but mine.

Money can't buy you love, David.

Federal Prosecutors "Scrambling" in Michigan Militia Case

Breaking News... The Rove Republican Racket perfected the arrest of people for the crime of being politically incorrect, especially if you were a Democrat.

Now right-wing nuts are being targeted.

Although their "extremist" free speech is full of hate, racism, and right-wing paranoia, the Michigan Militia appears to have been railroaded as well. And guess who's in the center of this mess? The FBI.

The Associated Press reports as of an hour or so ago:

DETROIT — Federal authorities touted the arrests of nine members of a Michigan militia as a pre-emptive strike against homegrown terrorists, declaring at an initial court hearing that the suspects with "dark hearts and evil intent" wanted to go to war against the government. Five weeks later, prosecutors are scrambling to regroup after a judge questioned the strength of their evidence by ordering the so-called rebels released until trial and saying they had a right to "engage in hate-filled, venomous speech." "The government is falling short," said David Griem, a former federal prosecutor who's not involved in the case. "The message that's been sent to the community is there are problems with this case." During two days of hearings last week before U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts, prosecutors tried to show how dangerous they perceived the Hutaree militia to be by playing secretly recorded conversations. Those talks, however, revealed no specific plot. Under questioning by defense attorneys, the FBI's lead agent on the case seemed unprepared. Roberts ordered the nine released from jail under very strict conditions, including electronic tethers and curfews.

Morrison's Tax Evader

Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana Timothy M. Morrison will be remembered for eternity for helping his Republican friend, Timothy S. Durham (pictured), keep his cash and assets while Ohio retirees lost millions in an alleged Ponzi scheme spearheaded by Durham and friends.

One retiree Ohio even died in December from the stress of losing her life savings. Durham was a major contributor to Republican causes in Indiana.

Durham, who allegedly fled to California, now owes a big property tax bill.

A local Indianapolis television station reports:

Tim Durham lives in a $3.5 million waterfront mansion and collects classic cars, but the embattled Indianapolis businessman is nearly $50,000 behind on his property taxes, records show.According to records from the Hamilton County Treasurer's Office, Durham hasn't paid property taxes for the past 18 months, 6News' Jack Rinehart reported.The May tax bill on his Geist Reservoir estate is $21,980, added to delinquent taxes of $47,641, makes the total due May 10 $69,621.