Alleged Wife-Beating Suspect Goes on the Offense

Jim Cochran, the Chairman of Fair Finance, the Indianapolis company that allegedly duped and mismanaged $200 million from Ohio investors, is now trying to protect his reputation.

His partner and the CEO of Fair Finance, Timothy S. Durham, a big shot Rove Republican donor, has been saved from criminal prosecution by embattled U.S. Attorney Timothy M. Morrison of the Southern District of Indianapolis, another Rove Republican appointed by the Rove Bush Cheney Administration.

Cochran, who made headlines after being arrested for alleged domestic violence against his wife, (mug shot at left) has now gone on the offensive against Fair Finance's bankruptcy trustee.

The Indianapolis Business Journal reports:

 Cochran, who’s ensnared in that same criminal investigation, lets it fly in response to allegations by Brian Bash, Fair’s bankruptcy trustee, that he and other insiders duped the investors, a largely blue-collar lot who purchased unsecured notes with interest rates as high as 9.5 percent.

Bash “utterly fails to identify even a single alleged misrepresentation made by Mr. Cochran,” Cochran’s attorneys said in a filing. Bash relies on “vague and conclusory allegations ... apparently adopting an alchemist’s strategy that repeating the word misrepresentation enough times will magically transform these allegations into a fraud claim.”

Bash counters in a court filing that he provided plenty of particulars to beat back Cochran’s motion to dismiss, especially given that the discovery process, which will unearth additional information, hasn’t begun.

Indiana Republicans Refuse to Refund Retirees

Embattled U.S. Attorney of the Southern District of Indiana Timothy M. Morrison let his Republican pal, Timothy S. Durham, a once pompous Hoosier multimillionaire, skirt away after mismanaging over $200 million of investors' money, most of it from Ohio retirees.

Over $1 million  of the $54 million Durham loaned himself in the scheme went to Rove Republican campaign coffers in Indiana.

After being called on to refund the money, Republican have weasel-worded themselves out of refunding the money with legal gimmicks and double-speak.

The Associated Press reports:

Asheesh Agarwal, an attorney who represents Daniels' Mitch for [Indiana] Governor campaign committee and his Aiming Higher political action committee, said he stood by a statement last week that the organizations do not intend to refund money already spent. "Based on what we know now, it is not out of the question that some of the money could be returned, but we need to see more than a letter from an attorney," Agarwal said in the statement. "In fact, if a court finds wrongdoing, and these funds were the source, a refund of any remaining dollars would be appropriate."

Republican [Indiana] Attorney General Greg Zoeller, who received $11,000 in donations from Durham, said his campaign treasurer created a segregated account for the money. "The reason I did this was to balance my respect for our legal system's presumption of innocence with concerns from my role protecting consumers that there may be future actions that might possibly involve restitution to investors," Zoeller said in an e-mail. "I did receive a letter from the bankruptcy trustee but intend to continue to hold these funds until the U.S. Attorney's Office completes their investigation," Zoeller said.

Morrison's Million Dollar Smoking Gun

We have been puzzled why Bush-leftover and Acting U.S. Attorney of the Southern District of Indiana Timothy M. Morrison has vigorously prosecuted a small-town Democrat but let a high-profile Republican donor, Timothy S. Durham,who allegedly swindled over $200 million  from Ohio retirees, completely off the hook.

Earlier this month, the trustee for the bankrupt Fair Finance Company, the entity in which the "high-risk" fraud occurred, announced he had traced $54 million of the money as a loan to Durham. And in that trace, there laid the smoking gun: $1 million of the money was spent by Durham on Rove Republican candidates, mostly in Indiana, according to the Akron Beacon Journal.

Will the Hoosier Republicans return the money? Will Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, a Bush and Rove square dancer who wants to be President, man up and refund the money he received from his Republican pal? Will Morrison finally get off his rear and prosecute Durham?

Morrison Negotiates a Deal with Republican Pal

With embattled Acting U.S. Attorney Timothy M. Morrison of the Southern District of Indiana doing nothing for eight months and in fact protecting his Republican friends, the FBI finally did something! Finally!

The FBI seized a valuable car collection from former top-Republican donor Timothy S. Durham who allegedly swindled more than $200 million from Ohio retirees. Maybe these poor folks can start recovering something.

(Durham is pictured with his Bugatti Veyron that sells for more than $1.5 million.) 

Morrison, who used his office recently to prosecute a small time city clerk for embezzling $369,000 over three years, has not lifted a finger against Durham who swindled 542 TIMES MORE MONEY. Why? Politics. Durham and Morrison are Republicans and the former city clerk was a Democrat.

Read the article below. Interesting to note how Durham's attorney could easily negotiate an agreement with Morrison. But then again, they're old Republican pals.


The Indianapolis Business Journal reported last week:

Beleaguered Indianapolis businessman Tim Durham on Wednesday voluntarily turned over a Bentley Flying Spur, a Lamborghini, a Ferrari and other high-end rides to the FBI, a move that sets the stage for the cars to be sold by a bankruptcy trustee.  The FBI late in the afternoon was collecting 15 vehicles from Durham’s Geist Reservoir mansion and another three from his home in Los Angeles.

“Today, the FBI is a towing company,” said Larry Mackey, a criminal defense  attorney representing Durham. “We pushed them down the driveway, and the FBI has taken them away.” Mackey said the FBI began gathering the vehicles after he negotiated an agreement earlier in the day with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and a bankruptcy trustee. Under the pact, Durham voluntarily turned them over in return for assurances that proceeds from their sale would go toward mitigating losses suffered by investors in Akron, Ohio-based Fair Finance Co., a Durham-owned firm that collapsed last fall and now is being liquidated.

Morrison's Hypocrisy is 542 Times Greater

Acting U.S. Attorney of the Southern District of Indiana Timothy M. Morrison, a Bush leftover, has shown his enormous political hypocrisy today.

As a Rove Republican Racket member, Morrison looked the other way when high-donating Republicans from Indiana fleeced and robbed Ohio retirees of over $200 million in an alleged Ponzi scheme. Morrison let the Republican masterminds of this scheme keep their cash and assets and even hold an Estate Sale.

Now comes news today that Morrison has used the full weight of his office to come down on a city clerk in Brownstown, Indiana who padded her checks and was overpaid $369,000 in a three and a half period.

Mind you, a crime is a crime is a crime.

However, why would Morrison so aggressively prosecute a small town city clerk who was using the extra cash to pay for the treatment of a mentally ill and drug addicted child (who has since died) but on the same hand let two nouveau-riche Republicans completely off the hook even though they allegedly SWINDLED 542 TIMES MORE MONEY than the clerk?

Well, you see, the city clerk was a Democrat.

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.

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.

$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.

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.

Utterly Looted and Bled Dry

The political friends of embattled Acting U.S. Attorney Timothy M. Morrison of the Southern District of Indiana are accused of looting Fair Finance Company, according to a bankruptcy trustee who filed suit to recover some of the funds last week.

The Akron Beacon Journal reports:

Fair Finance's court-appointed trustee, Brian Bash .... believes Fair Finance was bled dry by large insider loans. ''At the time of the purchase in 2002, the debtor [Fair Finance] was a strong, viable, reputable company. By 2009, the debtor had been utterly looted through insider loans, resulting in the shutdown of the debtor's business after the FBI raid,'' the lawsuit says.

Fair Finance was run by Timothy S. Durham, a top Rove Republican donor in Indianapolis. Morrison allowed Durham to keep his cash and assets last November after an FBI raid.

Morrison also allowed Durham's partner, James Cochran,to hold an estate sale. Cochran was recently charged with domestic violence against his wife.

Ohio residents were duped into buying investment certificates in the alleged Ponzi scheme and have lost over $200 million in the alleged fraud.

Probing Morrison's Investments

Meet Carl Brizzi (pictured), the top prosecutor and Rove Republican Racket member of Marion County, Indiana.

A staunch Republican in Indianapolis political circles, Brizzi, who is not seeking re-election, was asked to resign last Wednesday by the head of the local Republican Party and a Republican candidate seeking Brizzi's open seat.

Why? The Indianapolis Star reports:

Trouble had been brewing for six months. Questions about his connections to [alleged Ponzi scheme operator] Timothy Durham, a friend and campaign fundraiser under federal investigation for fraud, led to scrutiny of Brizzi's own investments. Then he belatedly returned campaign donations to the father of a convicted killer who won an early release last year with his office's consent. Lately, Brizzi has defended a no-jail plea deal -- and the return of $10,000 in seized money -- to a drug defendant whose attorney was also Brizzi's partner in a real estate deal. He has denied any impropriety.

Brizzi and his federal counterpart, Acting U.S. Attorney Timothy M. Morrison, have unscrupulously helped their Republican friend who allegedly defrauded hundreds of Ohio retirees.

Now its time for U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to probe Morrison's investments and see if they are tied in anyway to Durham.

It makes no sense why Morrison let Durham keep all his cash and assets and let an alleged wife beater and Durham co-conspirator hold an estate sale while Ohio retirees screamed for justice.

Morrison's Wife Beater

Embattled Acting U.S. Attorney of Southern Indiana Timothy M. Morrison has even more problems after politically helping his unscrupulous Republican friends.

Last November, Morrison let his Republican pal Timothy S. Durham, the alleged mastermind of an alleged Ponzi scheme that duped Ohio retirees, keep all his cash and assets. Durham was one of the highest donors to Republican campaigns in Indiana. Durham has since moved to California.

To add insult to injury, last January, Morrison let Durham's alleged co-conspirator and partner, James F. Cochran (pictured) conduct an estate sale in Florida even though a Congressman and investors pleaded with Morrison to block the sale.

Now Cochran has returned the favor in the most embarrassing way. Independent Station Channel 6 of Indianapolis reports:

The business partner of embattled investment manager Tim Durham is accused of hitting his wife and son during a domestic dispute. James F. Cochran, 54, was arrested at the family's McCordsville home [last month] on preliminary charges of battery resulting in bodily injury and domestic battery.Susan Cochran told police that she and her husband were arguing when he grabbed her by the arms and threw her into a wall, causing her to hit her head.The couple's son, James R. Cochran, 21, said he came into the room to try and protect his mother, and that his father pushed him and punched him in the eye, telling him "I'm going to [expletive] kill you." James F. Cochran, who appeared to have a cut to the face in his mug shot, denied that any assault took place, and told police that he tripped and fell.

Tripped and fell? Please!

As the world crumbles around them, Jimmy appears to have resorted to violence against those closest to him: his family. Yet, Morrison continues to let these "esteemed" pals run free.

Morrison's Crony Skips Town

Embattled Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana Timothy M. Morrison let alleged Ponzi scheme operator Timothy S. Durham keep all his cash, homes, and assets.

Why? Because Durham was one of the largest donors to the Indiana Republican Party and to the Republican Governor of Indiana, Mitch Daniels. Morrison is a loyal Republican and member of the Rove Republican Racket.

Now comes word from the investigative Team of WISH-TV 8 Indianapolis, a CBS affiliate in the Circle City, that Durham has skipped town and moved to California.

David Barras of WISH, writes:

Durham has moved many of his personal belongings out of his Geist home and into a home in California where he now lives. But in the move, Durham left behind thousands in unpaid property taxes. Documents 24-Hour News 8 got from the Hamilton County Auditor's Office show Durham didn't pay any taxes on his house last year. He owes $47,641.18.

Unlike Morrison, who has let the alleged thieves escape with millions and even have an estate sale, the I-team of WISH-TV have been on top of this story.  This week, WISH uncovered a "car dealership" that Durham owned and used to buy luxury automobiles and owes thousands in back taxes.

Morrison Helps Sink Ohio Investors

As a follow up to Wednesday's posting on the Fair Finance mess, today the news is not pretty for investors.

The Akron Beacon Journal writes:

Nine employees of Fair Finance Co. — all that remains of the Akron firm — are working out of an undisclosed location to try to resurrect the business, a company executive testified Thursday in bankruptcy proceedings. Robert Letham, vice president and director of operations, testified Thursday afternoon in U.S. Bankruptcy Court  [and] was the first Fair Finance executive to make public statements about the company's operations since federal investigators closed the company down late last year.''We are open to a degree,'' Letham said. A certified public accountant with training in fraud investigations testified that the public documents he reviewed basically showed that Fair Finance and Fair Holdings were insolvent.

Letham was not involved at all, according to the news report, with the investor certificates (allegedly a Ponzi scheme) that led to the federal raid.and collapse.

So who was?

Letham said it was his understanding that Indiana businessmen Timothy Durham and James Cochran, the co-owners of Fair Finance and its Ohio parent company, Fair Holdings, made most of the top-level decisions. Letham said he knew little about the part of the business that sold and serviced investment certificates.

Yes, that's right: the two political bedfellows of embattled Bush-appointed U.S. Timothy M. Morrison of the Southern District of Indiana!

Rove Republican Racket member Timothy S. Durham and his co-conspirator James Cochran have been running free like wild foxes. Durham, a major donor in Republican circles in Indiana, was allowed to keep his cash, luxury cars, and mansions by Morrison while Cochran was allowed to have an estate sale and keep the proceeds.

Allegations of running a Ponzi scheme, these multi-millionaires have been laughing at retirees who invested in these junk certificates and making a mockery of the judicial system, all with a little help of Morrison's do-nothing attitude.

Even in their banckruptcy pleading, they blamed the federal government and us (Internet commetators)  for their loses. Phooey!

Eleven Weeks to Point Fingers

Embattled Acting U.S. Attorney Timothy M. Morrison of the Southern District of Indiana let them keep quiet and finally they have started pointing fingers. 

In November, Morrison helped his Rove Republican Racket friend Timothy S. Durham keep all his cash and assets even though Durham allegedly operated a Ponzi scheme that may have defrauded thousands of investors, mostly retirees, of millions.

The alleged scheme was operated through Fair Finance Company of Ohio. The company, since November, has remained quiet until now.

Fair Finance is now headed to bankruptcy court and in court filings Fair Finance blames all its economic woes on...us (yes, us!) and the FBI.

The (Wooster, Ohio) Daily-Record reports today that in the filing, Fair Finance Company lawyers write:

"Until ... FBI agents stormed Fair's home office in Akron and seized the computers and business records that it must have to operate, Fair had never missed a scheduled payment to any of its investment certificate holders," the filing said. "If not for the FBI's surprise raid and the seizure of the tools Fair needs to do business, the company would likely be making timely payments to its certificate holders today. For the past 11 weeks since its offices were raided, Fair, its officers and its affiliates have been subjected to withering -- and false -- attacks from the media, from Internet commentators, from politicians, and from understandably confused and upset certificate holders."

This is pathetic. Pathetic finger pointing.

Durham could have simply called HP, ordered a few new computers and used a back-up drive to set-up shop again. Fair Finance and their shark attorneys appear to be full of it.  In this day and age, to blame millions of dollars in losses on the incapacity to replace a hard drive or computer network in 11 weeks time is just not believable.

Although we have reported the facts including the connection of political bedfellows Morrison and Durham, to blame our commentaries on their losses is beyond pathetic; it is, as the politically incorrect term applies, retarded.

Morrison's Continued Negligence

Embattled Acting U.S. Attorney of the Southern District of Indiana Timothy M. Morrison is sweating a little more under the collar.

Last week, hundreds of defrauded investors of an alleged Ponzi scheme, most of them retirees, attended a town hall meeting in Wooster, Ohio regarding the company Fair Finance.

Morrison, a Rove-Bush-Cheney Republican appointee, has protected the kingpin of this alleged fraud, Timothy S. Durham, who is recognized as one of the biggest contributors to the Republican Party of Indiana and to the current Republican Governor of Indiana, Mitch Daniels.

Morrison has kept a tight lid on everything.

A local television station in Indianapolis reports:

"I have not received one piece of information from Fair Finance," said one woman, echoing the sentiments of dozens of other people. Those in the meeting, mostly older investors, trusted Fair Finance with their investments. The FBI raided Durham's business in Ohio and his office in Indianapolis in November. "What are you doing with our money? Where are you putting it?" said another woman. "Are you investing it in something else?"

In reality, Morrison has done nothing and has let Durham and associates keep their cash and even hold estate sales as investors worry sick.

One investor, so worried sick, died because of the Morrison's negligence with the Fair Finance fraud case.

It's time U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and the U.S. Department of Justice overtake this case and banish Morrison to a dunce's corner.

Death of a Retiree in Ohio

Embattled Acting U.S. Attorney of the Southern District of Indiana, Timothy M. Morrison, should now be held responsible for the death of Willie Pearl Russell.

Morrison has refused to prosecute members of the Rove Republican Racket who allegedly were involved in a Ponzi scheme that swindled millions of dollars from retirees and others in Ohio. Timothy S. Durham, the alleged mastermind of this Ponzi scheme, is one of the highest donors to the Republican Party in Indiana, and Morrison let Durham keep his cash and assets.

A week ago Friday, Morrison let another alleged co-conspirator proceed with an estate sale and keep the proceeds.

Willie Pearl Russell (pictured), a Ohio retiree who invested $125,000 in Fair Finance Co., the alleged Ponzi scheme company operated by Durham, suffered congestive heart failure just days after the raid in November.

The (Wooster, Ohio) Daily Record reported this heart-breaking story yesterday:

Willie Pearl quilted on Mondays for missionaries and loved her flowers. She worked at Yoder Brother Flowers in Barberton for 20 years and was the mother of five children, and grandmother to 11 grandchildren. "She was salt of the earth, is what she was," Don Russell [her son] said. "A fine neighbor, a fine friend."

She was admitted to the hospital two days after Fair Finance's Akron headquarters was raided by the FBI. Doctors said it might be congestive heart failure, Don Russell said. When they asked if she knew why she was in the hospital, Don Russell said his mother told them her money was due. She was due a $100,000 interest payment Dec. 6. She died Dec. 23.

Now, Don Russell, along with his wife, Lori, want answers. They're frustrated with what has happened and the lack of information about the investigation of Fair Finance. Now they've made it their mission to figure out what's going on. "I don't think about anything other than this, 24 hours a day," he said.

Morrison owes Russell's family and the thousands of other investors answers. Morrison dismissed a civil lawsuit in November that let Durham keep his cash and assets.

"I can't believe they are letting them do that," Don Russell said of the dismissal. "That is such a slap in the face."

The slap in the face is also at the legal process for Morrison has a history of protecting Republicans in trouble.

Politics should not let swindlers off the hook no matter how much money they have given to a political party or state governor.

In the name of Mrs. Russell and other retirees who poured their life savings in this scam, our blog will continue reporting and investigating Morrison and his corrupt political friends.

Morrison's Estate Sale

Acting U.S. Attorney of the Southern District of Indiana Timothy M. Morrison, a staunch member of the Rove Republican Racket, is letting investor's money go up in smoke.

In November, Morrison let Timothy S. Durham, a prominent Republican donor who allegedly ran a Pozi scheme, keep his assets, his cash, his house, and his luxury cars.

In December, as investors packed townhall meetings in Ohio (where many investors of the alleged Ponzi scheme were duped), Morrison admitted he had no idea when and if the assets would ever be returned.

Now, another associate of the alleged Ponzi scheme, sold off his assets last Friday in an estate sale and Morrison did nothing. The Indianapolis Star reports:

A key partner in the embattled financial empire of Indianapolis investor Timothy S. Durham sold off furnishings in his Florida vacation home Friday, a day after a congressman urged a federal prosecutor to block the sale. James F. Cochran, who sold the furnishings in an estate sale at his $3.5 million home in Naples, Fla., and Durham own Fair Finance, an Ohio lender the FBI raided Nov. 24. Cochran, part of a group of insiders close to Durham, has never been identified as a target by Morrison, has not been charged with a crime and was not barred from selling his property. U.S. Rep. John Boccieri, D-Ohio, had urged federal authorities to stop the sale by freezing Cochran's assets out of concern that a sale of personal property might deprive Ohio investors of cash to defray possible losses.

So why did Morrison ignore Congressman Boccieri? Why has Morrison ignored the pleas of hundreds of concerned investors? Why has Morrison let Durham and Cochran move, reorganize, and sell their personal assets? Why is Morrison just sitting there scratching his nose as the alleged Ponzi principals laugh at investors?

Because the alleged mastermind of this suspected Ponzi scheme is a high-rolling contributor to Republican causes. 

Morrison's Estate Sale was to satisfy his Republican allies, and Congressman Boccieri ain't a Republican!

Understand, Morrison, a Bush left-over, also appears to have tried to help another Republican donor whose asphalt company was target by protestors. Morrison sloppily issued a subpoena in that case that generated national headlines and forced him to withdraw it.

Newspapers Seek Morrison Search Warrant

Breaking News: The Akron Beacon Journal and Indianapolis Star have filed a motion to unseal the search warrant issued by embattled Acting U.S. Attorney Timothy M. Morrison of the Southern District of Indiana in the case against the Ohio and Indiana companies owned by high-profile Indianapolis Republican donor Timothy S. Durham. 

The motion states, "The sealing of such documents only serves to undermine the integrity of the judicial process and enhance the perception that Mr. Durham’s political connections will save him.”

Read the full-story here and here.

So Yeah, Morrison is a Sloppy Fool

Acting U.S. Attorney Timothy M. Morrison of the Southern District of Indiana, a proud member of the Rove Reublican Racket and a left-over from the Bush years, is more than a partisan politico who helps his well-connected Republican friends.

He also is a sloppy fool.

According to the Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal, Morrison has no idea when materials seized from a company accused of allegedly running a Ponzi scheme will be returned.

No one has been charged criminally and Morrison's civil lawsuit seeking to seize and freeze assets of the operator was voluntarily dropped.

Why?

As we reported earlier, the alleged mastermind of this suspected Ponzi scheme is Timothy S. Durham of Indianapolis, a high-rolling contributor to Republican causes.

Morrison also appears to have tried to help another Republican donor whose asphalt company was target by protestors. Morrison sloppily issued a subpoena in that case that generated national headlines and forced him to withdraw it.

The Beacon Journal writes:

The company's computers will be returned by federal investigators in Indiana who continue to investigate Fair Finance, its co-owner Tim Durham and related Indianapolis business Obsidian Enterprises. In federal court documents, investigators said they suspect Fair Finance was being operated as a Ponzi scheme.

''We have the material we need from the computers. So yeah, they'll get them back,'' Timothy M. Morrison, U.S. Attorney for the southern district of Indiana, said Friday. The computer files were ''forensically copied,'' he said. Morrison said he was unsure when the computers will be returned to Fair Finance. He said his office was legally obligated to return the equipment once the data from the hard drives were obtained and copied. ''The investigation continues,'' Morrison said.

He said he did not know if Fair Finance will also be getting back paper files that FBI agents took out of the East Market Street headquarters. The search warrants used in the raids remain sealed, Morrison said. No one has been charged or arrested in connection with the investigation. Morrison had filed a civil lawsuit containing allegations of a Ponzi scheme on Nov. 24, naming as ''defendants'' some assets of Fair Finance and Durham, but he voluntarily withdrew the suit less than a week later.

Morrison's actions in this case (that could cost investors hundred of millions of dollars in loses) smell like prosecutorial misconduct.