Goodbye Jim!

Embattled and disgraced U.S. Attorney of the Northern District of Mississippi Jim Greenlee served his last day in office yesterday.  But it ain't over, yet!

Greenlee, one of the Rove Republican Racket's most loyal members racially targeted innocent convenience store owners for having Islamic-sounding names, offered a "sweet deal" of immunity to a corrupt DA named Ed "Pied Piper" Peters, handed out a secret six month (book-writing?) contract to his lying and "retired" Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Dawson, and finally, retaliated against FBI whistleblower Hal Neilson for betraying his loyalty to Greenlee.

Now that he is a private citizen, Greenlee will most likely be deposed over his immunity deal to the Pied Piper Peters that let Peters keep $425,000 of a $1 million bribery pay-off. Peters claimed he had losses.

Patsy R. Brumfield, a Mississippi journalist, reported last week:

Attorneys for attorney Roberts Wilson of Oxford will ask former State Auditor Steven Patterson under oath questions in their quest to get the federal court to turn over $425,000 to Wilson in the aftermath of the Scruggs et al prosecutions. Wilson claims he is owed the money, which allegedly is what’s left of former D.A. Ed Peters’ fees related to his help against Wilson’s lawsuit v. Scruggs, presided over by then-Judge Bobby DeLaughter in Hinds County.

The questioning, called a deposition, is set for Feb. 24-25 at the Federal Prison Camp at Montgomery, Ala., where Patterson is serving his sentence for his guilty plea in the case in which he and others were accused of attempting to bribe Circuit Judge Henry Lackey of Calhoun City. Wilson also has asked to do the same with others accused of knowledge about these cases.

Justice, even in backwards Mississippi, shall prevail.

Greenlee's Retaliation

Retiring and disgraced U.S. Attorney Jim H. Greenlee of the Northern District of Mississippi looks like he retaliated against a whistleblower who broke the code of silence on breaches of ethics and acts of professional misconduct by members of the Rove Republican Racket.

Last week, FBI Agent Hal Nielson of Oxford, Mississippi was indicted for failing to disclose a secret partnership with owners of a property rented by the FBI.

North Mississippi Commentor writes:

According to the indictment, Neilson was involved in both the site selection, the lease, and an increase in the lease spaces. The building was constructed by C&G Partnership which later incorporated as C&G Properties, LLC; while its principals are not identified in the indictment other than by initials (JC, DG, and their lawyer BW), a quick look at the Secretary of State’s web page discloses that C&G Properties was incorporated by member managers John Covington and Dino Grisanti, along with their lawyer Brad Walsh. ....There is no suggestion in the indictment that any of the three did anything wrong, and paragraph 21 alleges “NEILSON falsely assured JC, DG, and BW that he had checked with an FBI agent and had received approval to own an interest in the Oxford FBI building.” There is a puzzling lack of allegations about what Neilson actually did to get an interest in the building.

But why was Neilson REALLY indicted? According to Mississippi journalist Patsy Brumfield:

Neilson reportedly sought whistleblower protection from DOJ a few years ago when he questioned the U.S. Attorney’s Office and U.S. Attorney Jim Greenlee for allegedly seeking information on Muslims throughout the region after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and accused the agency of falsifying evidence in some cases and in entrapment and coercion of witnesses.

Neilson also reportedly raised ethics questions about former assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Dawson’s participation in a book about the office’s investigation and prosecution of then-Oxford attorney Richard “Dickie” Scruggs, who was sentenced to prison on two guilty pleas related to judicial bribery indictments. Before the book was released several weeks ago, a DOJ spokesman said Dawson had retired before he worked on it. Tension between Neilson and the U.S. Attorney’s Office first became public when it was mentioned in the book, although reasons for the problems were not given.

We note again that the other partners were not indicted in this property scheme and their names were hidden with initials on the indictment. Although Greenlee was not directly involved in the indictment (he recused himself and had it transferred to Louisiana), we smell his involvement indirectly which eventually led to the indictment.

Serious questions:

• Did Greenlee violate the Civil Rights of Muslims in his district and walk away from the scene of the crime?
• Did Greenlee help cut JC, DG and  BW a "sweet deal" like he did the Pied Piper Ed Peters so he could retaliate against Nielson and "set the b***h up?"
• Was Greenlee, like his embattled Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Dawson, trying to hide the secret six-month (book writing?) contract he dished out to Dawson days after Dawson's retirement last January?
• Did Greenlee try to silence the fact that he may have knowingly allowed his staff to help Dawson write a book while on the federal payroll clock?

 U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder needs to probe these issues and hold Greenlee and his subordinates accountable.

And if Washington is too timid, then Nielson needs to talk directly to the media.

An Important Question from Mississippi

On Sunday night, the Greenwood (Mississippi) Commonwealth newspaper's editorial asked, "Why isn't Peters facing prison, too?"

Ed Peters is the corrupt DA from Mississippi who we affectionately call the "Pied Piper." Pied Piper Peters plays a tune so wonderfully that he worked out a sweet immunity deal with disgraced and embattled U.S. Attorney Jim Greenlee of the Northern District of Mississippi. The immunity deal has been sealed tight and the U.S. Department of Justice won't provide details.

The Commonwealth correctly opines:

Why has Ed Peters, who was hired by [Richard] Scruggs and his friends to try to bribe [Judge Bobby] DeLaughter, gotten off so lightly? It was Peters who federal prosecutors say dangled the poisoned fruit -- a lifetime judicial appointment in exchange for a favorable ruling in a multimillion-dollar dispute over legal fees -- in front of DeLaughter. It was Peters who was the go-between, ferrying messages and documents between the judge and the Scruggs team. Yet, the former Hinds County district attorney has been able to skirt prosecution by turning on his onetime protegé. Peters’ only penalty, other than losing his law license, was giving back what was left of the $1 million the Scruggs team had paid him.

“I find it rather odd that the man who got $1 million is out fishing, and Bobby DeLaughter is going to prison,” [DeLaughter's lawyer] said. “At least in Chicago we chase the money.”

So have federal prosecutors in Mississippi, except when it comes to Peters. So far, six plaintiffs’ attorneys, three state judges and a former state auditor have drawn prison time in three judicial bribery cases -- some of them for misdeeds that were a lot less culpable than Peters’.

Why did he get such a sweet deal? That’s a question the feds have yet to answer.

Protecting Pied Piper Peters

Last month, we told you how the U.S. Department of Justice is trying to play hide and seek on giving out information on the immunity deal of the Pied Piper of Mississippi, the corrupt former DA, Ed Peters (pictured).

Mississippi Litigation Review (MLR) has been hammering at getting information on this "sweet deal' concocted by disgraced U.S. Attorney Jim Greenlee of backwards Mississippi, who racially targeted convenience store owners with Islamic sounding names,

Greenlee and his friends in the Rove Republican Racket gave Peters an immunity deal and in turn threw a couple of high profile Democratic boosters in jail.

MLR made a SECOND request for the records and got a response this week. MLR writes:

Once again the Justice Department refused to turn over Ed Peters' immunity agreement. Here is the DOJ's response. I received what appears to be a form letter like the one that DOJ sent last time, as discussed in this earlier post. But this time DOJ added a note on the last page:

NOTE: We have received your letter dated Sept. 16, 2009. Is the immunity agreement you seek a public record?

Great. A clue. I take this to mean that DOJ is either trying to be helpful, or playing games. I'm a natural cynic, so it's not much of a question to me. But I'll take the bait anyway and request all public records.

U.S. Attorney Should Resign or be Fired

U. S. Attorney of the Northern District of Mississippi Jim Greenlee has done it again and topped them all!

As you may recall, this same prosecutor recently dropped the ball 27 times in a high-profile criminal case. Greenlee also authorized the ridiculous immunity deal for Pied Piper Ed Peters, a corrupt former DA from Mississippi who has taken everyone for a ride.

Now, today, comes breaking news that Greenlee targeted Middle Eastern business operators in the post 9/11 hysteria even though there were no links to terrorism.

According to the Clarion Ledger:

The U.S. attorney's office in Oxford targeted convenience store operators in north Mississippi, many of Middle Eastern descent, despite a lack of any connection to terrorism, according to documents obtained by The Clarion-Ledger. The Convenience Store Initiative arose from meetings with local law enforcement officers in the years following 9-11 - when Middle Eastern terrorists flew hijacked planes into the Pentagon and World Trade Center Twin Towers.

U.S. Attorney Jim Greenlee of Oxford said the government was "looking to see any links to terrorism, but what we found was criminal conduct." Instead of arrests for alleged terrorist plots, state and federal officials since 2006 have charged more than 60 people in Mississippi with such illegal acts as the sale of excessive amounts of pseudoephedrine - used to make meth. Those who ran the Convenience Store Initiative say the FBI found nothing wrong with the initiative, which arose from tips from local law enforcement. In fact, they say the Justice Department in the Bush administration praised the concept.

Those involved in the initiative say the money from the illegal activity was being sent back overseas, where it couldn't be traced and possibly could have gone to funding terrorism. But they acknowledged the money could have gone to relatives instead. Greenlee denied the suggestion those of Middle Eastern descent were targeted. "Did we look at it from an improper purpose? No," he said.

Improper purpose? Absolutely! These business operators had no links whatsoever to terrorism except being , as they say in backwards Mississippi, "colored."

Instead of finding any problems or links with terrorism, Greenlee busted eight store operators who sold too much cold medicine in an entrapment scheme the feds set up.

This is typical of hillbilly Mississippi: target the "coloreds and foreigners" on a cooked up hysteria terrorism charge and then throw the book at them on something else since you couldn't find anything to begin with.

Greenlee, who probably thought of this "brilliant" idea while buying a cup of coffee from a Middle Eastern looking-fellow at a Kangaroo Express in Oxford, should immediately resign or be fired by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.

Read the full story here.

Hide and Seek on Immunity Deal

The soap opera surrounding the ridiculous immunity deal given to the corrupt former DA from Mississippi, Ed "Pied Piper" Peters took a more interesting turn yesterday.

The Mississippi Litigation Review run by Philip Thomas wrote and posted the following:

A few weeks ago I made a Freedom of Information Act request to the Department of Justice seeking a copy of the government's immunity agreement with Ed Peters. DOJ refused my request. Here is a copy of DOJ's refusal letter. According to the DOJ, I am not entitled to the information because Peters did not consent and there was no showing that the public disclosure outweighs Peters' privacy interests. My request letter to the DOJ did not identify a public interest for the disclosure. My limited research on the topic, however, suggests that this is not the type of private information that the privacy act was designed to protect. In addition, it's my understanding that the government should produce the information with the private information redacted. The suggestion that the public in not interested in the Peters immunity deal is a joke. I suspect that the DOJ does not want to produce the agreement because it is embarrassed that DOJ granted Peters immunity. My informal reading of public opinion both in and outside the bar is that Peters should have been prosecuted.

A joke it is!

As we said in an earlier post, U.S. Attorney Jim Greenlee made a monstrous, Mississippi mistake. Greenlee, the same sloppy prosecutor who recently dropped the ball 27 times in a highly-publicized criminal case, is an agent of the Rove Republican Racket and gave Peters a free ride: 100-percent immunity in a judicial bribery scandal and partial reimbursement of $1 million in proceeds from the same bribe.

Now Greenlee and his staff are hiding their tracks. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder should force the DOJ to release the documents related to this half-baked deal. Read more about the Pied Piper Peters here.

Pied Piper Peters Entangles Eaton Even Further

Remember that corrupt ex-DA from Mississippi named Ed Peters? He's the Pied Piper who plays a beautiful tune that lures lawyers, U.S. Attorneys, and fools of the Rove Republican Racket into a drowning river of deception.

A quick review:

• When he was law license was being revoked by the state bar, Peters arrogantly said he didn't care since he was planning to retire anyway and wouldn't defend the matter.


• Then after his good friend and co-conspirator Judge Bobby DeLaughter struck a plea deal and pleaded guilty to lying to the F.B.I. in a bribery case, we pointed out the monstrous Mississippi mistake when U.S. Attorney Jim Greenlee granted Ed Peters full immunity and only required partial payment of the money Peters earned off the same bribery case.


• Early last month, news reports discussed how Ed Peters was involved with aerospace company Eaton Corporation's lawsuit against another aerospace firm called Frisby for stealing trade secrets being heard by his pal (and now disgraced) Judge DeLaughter. Eaton had a rock solid case against Frisby, until this revelation tainted their case and raised speculation that Eaton corporate executives would be possibly indicted.

Now, this week, the Pied Piper Peters caused an expanding legal fight in the Eaton vs. Frisby case.

From the Jackson Clarion Ledger:

Frisby attorneys allege DeLaughter's rulings favored Eaton once Peters, a former Hinds County district attorney, entered the case on behalf of Eaton. Peters' alleged influence on DeLaughter in the Eaton vs. Frisby case has come up in DeLaughter's unrelated criminal case involving former lawyer Dickie Scruggs. DeLaughter pleaded guilty to a federal obstruction of justice charge in that case. Peters was granted immunity. In motions filed Tuesday, Frisby's legal team asks the judge overseeing DeLaughter's criminal case to release all statements or grand jury testimony made by Peters regarding Eaton vs. Frisby.

"The Frisby litigants are now trying to determine exactly who was involved, along with Peters, in the (alleged) successful attempt to influence Judge DeLaughter's rulings in Eaton v. Frisby," according to court documents. Assistant U.S. Attorney Bob Norman said he wouldn't turn over the information without a court order because grand jury information is kept secret by law. He wouldn't comment further. No ruling has been made on the motions.

Read the full article here.

Pied Piper Plays Eaton's Tune

Previously, we've written about that former DA from Mississippi named Ed Peters, whom we call the Pied Piper.

Looks like he's caused another mess.

Now everyone is asking, "Will the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi do the right thing and criminally prosecute the high-paid executives of Eaton Aerospace?

It seem that Eaton used the Pied Piper to influence a court decision. From yesterday's Clarion Ledger:

[Eaton] the aerospace company alleges former engineers stole trade secrets for military contracts and gave them to their new employer, Frisby Aerospace of North Carolina. Eaton is seeking $350 million in a civil suit. "Ed Peters is expected to testify that he was brought into the case by Eaton, not as counsel of record, but as somebody who could influence DeLaughter," [U.S. Attorneys] said in a document .... Attorneys for Frisby -now known as Triumph Actuation Systems - maintain rulings from DeLaughter began going in Eaton's favor after Peters became one of Eaton's attorneys. Eaton officials called the document reckless. "There are a lot of false statements in here," said Don McGrath, senior vice president of communications for Eaton, said of the document. "In no way did we ask Ed Peters to imply or ask or insinuate that he would do anything improper in trying to influence Judge DeLaughter or any other judge." The prosecutors allege that DeLaughter went against Dunbar's recommendation to sanction Eaton for failing to disclose its use of a paid whistle-blower in the case. "Peters is expected to testify that he recommended to Judge DeLaughter that the court remove Jack Dunbar and find another special master. Ed Peters even took it upon himself to call another attorney to inquire about his availability for appointment as a special master in the case but called back to ask that his name not be mentioned." According to prosecutors, Dunbar didn't hear back from DeLaughter on his recommended sanctions and was removed from the case.... "In short, once Eaton attorneys found themselves in trouble, they brought in Ed Peters into the case to influence DeLaughter," prosecutors wrote. Asked why Eaton decided to hire Peters, a longtime prosecutor, McGrath replied, "There are few Mississippi trial lawyers that have as much experience as Ed Peters."

Experience or influence peddling? McGrath is full of beans.