NO CRIME? NO PROBLEM! WE'LL FABRICATE ONE AND YOU'LL ADMIT YOU'RE GUILTY OR SERVE 24 YEARS IN PRISON!
Could this be a relevant hypothetical of the East Texas Federal Judicial system in its current operational status?
A successful businessman & law abiding citizen sends a fax-form request to make a wire transfer from the bank he has completed millions of dollars of transactions with over a period of many years. The transfer does not take place so he calls the person at the bank who is in charge of this type of transaction. He is told by the officer that all his funds, in all of his accounts, have been frozen by the FBI, therefore no funds are available for the transfer.
He calls his attorney in hope that he can explain this mystery to him. His attorney tells him that the FBI has accused him of robbing a different bank, and that - during the robbery - 3 bank employees & 4 customers were wounded, and that he got $200,000 during the hold up. The accused person is shocked beyond words, knowing that all of this is a lie. He denies everything to his attorney, asking him if he knows which bank was robbed & who the victims were, as well as if the missing money has been confirmed as missing, or has it been found? His attorney tells him that the FBI said they did not know which bank was robbed, nor did they have any information confirming the identity of the injured. Stunned, the accused citizen asks his attorney if he knew how that the FBI could seize his funds unless they knew which bank was held up & at least someone who was injured. His attorney informs him that - in order to freeze all of a businessman's money, take his cars, home & property, all the FBI has to do is write up a petition that they "think" all of this occurred & present it to a Federal Judge. That the judge will look it over for 5 minutes or so & sign it. Then the FBI agent can take this to the bank & seize every dime the person has. In other words, the accused is GUILTY, with no trial or admission of guilt, until he is, possibly, proven LATER - to be INNOCENT.
The businessman simply cannot believe that this is the way the Federal Justice system, that he has always believed in, works! He asks his attorney for advice, & is told that he has 2 choices:
1) Admit Guilt, (Called a PLEA BARGAIN) or
2) GO to trial.
The Citizen tells his attorney that since he absolutely did NOT Commit ANY wrong-doing, he cannot plead guilty. He asks his attorney what will happen to him if he pleads guilty, as well as what will happen if he refuses to tell a lie by saying he's guilty. His attorney's response is that he will probably go to prison for only 3-5 years if he pleads guilty & agrees to work with the FBI to involve other people in this crime that he never committed - & that there has not been one witness, not one complaint nor any identification that any such bank robbery or shooting has EVER occurred. His attorney says, "well, if you plead guilty, & agree to help the government get some other people involved, it could save you 20 years in prison, because you see that the government already considers you to be guilty, and, believe me, the government wins 99 times out of a hundred if a person refuses to plead guilty & help them to hurt even more persons by coming up with more charges. So, if you value 20 years of your life, you had better think about lying & saying you're guilty & also about coming up with some stories that will help the government prosecute a lot more people."
The desperate businessman says, "Well I just can't see me admitting guilt to something that - not only I didn't do - but to a bank robbery, & shooting that NEVER even happened! Even though my chances are only 1 in 100, I feel I have to fight them. But, as you know, they have taken all of my money. I can't afford to hire an attorney, & I understand that only Civil attorneys work on a contingency basis, that criminal attorney's have to be paid a lot of money, & all of it must be paid up front; win, lose or draw. Is that correct?" "I'm afraid that's right", his attorney replies. "Well, do you think the government will release enough of my money for me to hire an attorney?" "I've never heard of them doing that, but I guess you can ask," the attorney replies. As the Citizen absorbs all of this incredible information, he becomes more & more confused and angry. He says, "Let me see if I understand what you're telling me. In effect, the government has 'declared war' on me, for doing something that I don't even know what they're talking about. They've taken all of my money, so I can't hire a good attorney and they have confiscated all of my computers so I don't have any records to prove my innocence, I understand they have about 250,000 of my documents and are ready to spend millions of us taxpayers money and unlimited time and resources to convict me unless I lie by pleading guilty, and make up some crazy stories to involve other persons in a crime that ALL evidence shows, never occurred. Surely I'm not seeing this clearly? Why anyone can see why they win 99 times out of a hundred if one of their victims chooses to go to court. They've got unlimited money, all of my records & documents, unlimited computers & technology. I have no money, records or attorney. It's like they're saying, "Let's go to war now. Our courts will be our battlefield. We've got all your money & weapons, plus our unlimited resources. By the way, we're going to tie one of your hands behind your back, and now we're ready to fight. Do you still think you can beat us? Well, you don't want to plead guilty and help us hurt some other people, huh? If that's your decision, we're ready to make sure that you spend your life in prison!"
Then you say, "But you & I both know that there was no holdup, no shooting, no $200,000 robbery & no victims! How can you possibly accuse me of doing something when you can't find even one person who will testify that I ever robbed a bank or hurt anyone?" The attorney replies, "I've been down this road before. The gov't will get a grand jury to indict you for robbing a bank, stealing $200,000 & shooting & injuring 7 people. Then if you still refuse to plead guilty, they'll spend millions to take you to court with the odds 99 to 1 against you, especially since they have robbed you & tied one hand behind your back, and therefore you can't afford to realistically defend yourself. Then, when you get to court & every witness, including their witnesses, testifies that there was no holdup, shooting or crime of any kind, if they can't somehow come up with anyone who'll say that you have actually COMMITTED any crime, here's what they'll do, & how they'll beat you.
"As you know, it's a crime to INTEND to do anything like they're accusing you of. So they'll try to find someone who will say that you were a 'conspirator' to rob a bank & shoot some people. THEN, since you never have even had a 'brush with the law' during your 69 years, and since you've never in your life even talked to anyone about INTENDING to break the law, the Feds won't be able to find anyone that can truthfully say you ever INTENDED to break the law, much less rob a bank. So unless they can find someone that they can intimidate, threaten or bribe to lie and testify against you & accuse you of INTENDING to hold up a bank, it'll be hard for them to prosecute you for INTENT.
However, just because they can't prove that you robbed a bank that was never robbed, & shot some people who are alive & well & were never shot, nor that you stole $200,000 that is still in their 'imaginary bank'; no victim, or ONE person who will accuse you of doing these things, or of INTENDING to do these things, (They call that a 'Conspiracy to Commit a Crime'), in other words, just because they can't convict you of COMMITTING or INTENDING to rob a bank, they won't stop there! By the way, even though they have no testimony or evidence that you committed a crime, the government prosecution will immediately begin to issue PRESS RELEASES to the media that will tell the public that you HAVE robbed a bank, shot 7 persons & absconded with $200,000. But they will never mention which bank was robbed & who was shot, because of course no bank was held up & no one was shot. And you may find it hard to believe, but the Citizens will believe the government's lies & think what a wonderful job the government is doing with my tax dollars to protect me.
Now, here's the tragic 'kicker', if the government can't find any evidence or anyone that will testify that you either committed, or intended to commit a crime, if they can't come up with any proof that you committed or intended to commit a crime by the time of your trial, even THAT won't stop them from convicting you. Here's what they'll do to you at your trial. Of course the Federal Government knows, or has access to, 'FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES'. So they'll get in touch with one of their 'friends', say - for example - one of the 'experts' they may call to help them convict you, although they have no testimony or evidence against you, is the former chancellor of and currently a professor at, the University of Texas. He's one of the slickest salesmen, & in my opinion, con man, that I've ever seen! You've heard of the kind of talker who could 'sell fleas to a dog'? Well that describes one of their expert witnesses, Prof William Cunningham. Here's what he'll do: With his charisma, education & credentials, he'll convince the jury that you're guilty, even though you did not commit or intend to commit, any illegal activity. What he'll do is come up with a profile of some famous serial bank robber, say Jesse James. Then he'll compare your PERSONALITY traits, like your speech, energy, ability to get things done, your ability to overcome obstacles & solve problems, as well as the fact that you're a leader; he'll compare your PERSONALITY traits with that of a convicted bank robber & killer. Their 'expert witness' will IGNORE the FACT that JESSE JAMES' PERSONALITY traits, like I just mentioned, are common - not only to you - but to millions of other men. And, he'll be SURE & IGNORE the total Lack of any similarities between your CHARACTER - a man who has never even had a brush with the law in his 69 years - and the CHARACTER of a criminal who was a bank robber & killer most of his life! Then, after Cunningham has - illegally - 'PROFILED' you to the jury into the image of a serial bank robber & killer, here's what will usually take place: He'll FACE THE JURY, LOOK THEM STRAIGHT IN THE EYE and tell them; "AS I'VE PROVEN TO YOU JUST NOW, the defendant is the SAME KIND OF PERSON THAT JESSE JAMES WAS! THEREFORE HE HAS THE POTENTIAL TO ROB BANKS and KILL PEOPLE. THIS IS THE REASON YOU MUST FIND THE DEFENDANT GUILTY OF THE COUNTS IN HIS INDICTMENT. BECAUSE, UNLESS YOU FIND HIM GUILTY OF SOMETHING HE DID NOT DO, AND LET US PUT HIM AWAY FOR LIFE, (He's 69, at his age, 24 years oughta do it!), IT'S JUST A FACT THAT SOMEDAY - SINCE HE IS NOTHING BUT ANOTHER JESSE JAMES, I HAVE PROVEN THAT TO YOU, UNLESS YOU FIND HIM GUILTY ON ALL 98 COUNTS, SOMEDAY HE WILL ROB A BANK AND SHOOT SOME INNOCENT BYSTANDERS! NOW, WOULDN'T YOU FEEL GUILTY IF YOU LET THAT HAPPEN?"
I know that what I just told you 'borders on' science fiction, but it happens every day! Now you can see why that 97 out of every 100 persons the government accuses of crime, that they PLEAD GUILTY, whether they ever committed a crime or not. And you can understand how that the government convicts 99 out of 100 persons out of that 3% who defy their 'JUST-US' by daring to challenge them in court before a jury! If you realize that everything I've told you is true, including the fact that, instead of going to court against a government who has UNLIMITED FUNDS, RESOURCES, TIME & PERSONNEL, and that they have stolen all of your funds, as well as 'tying ONE HAND BEHIND YOUR BACK' by stealing all of your business records you'll need to defend yourself. And that the odds are overwhelming - 99 to 1 - that you'll lose in court, & that means you'll spend at least 24 years IN PRISON and PROBABLY DIE THERE, WITH NO FRIENDS, CHILDREN or GRANDCHILDREN being allowed to even go to your funeral; that when you consider that all you have to do to cut that sentence down to 3 or 4 years is to tell a lie by saying you're GUILTY & then come up with some wild stories against some of your friends so the government can - in lieu of you spending 24 years in prison - you can help the government send some of your friends to prison for 24 years, & then the government will brag about getting you to plead guilty to their 'crime that never happened'; Now you understand why that, as your attorney & friend, I'm advising you to at least think about lying & pleading guilty. It'll save you 20 years or more of your life."
DEFENDANT: I must admit that, & I have no reason to not believe you, that most people in my shoes would lie & plead guilty. But, as I told you, I'd rather tell the truth, that
is, I did NOT do anything illegal, & take my 1% chance in court, & possibly spend the rest of my life in prison, than to knowingly LIE - say I'm guilty, & then LIE about others, & spend ETERNITY in HELL. That's a NO-BRAINER,' Let's go to court & get a jury!"
(The above is a fictional - hypothetical, based on the, 'too-real' facts of the government's case: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA vs AL PETTY CASE NO. 6:02CR45)
Listed below are facts, from Al Petty's case, upon which the preceding hypothetical was based.
1) NO TESTIMONY OR EVIDENCE WAS EVER PRESENTED BY THE PROSECUTION THAT EVEN INDICATED THAT A CRIME, OR ANY ILLEGAL ACTIVITY HAD OCCURRED BY ANYONE.
2) THEREFORE THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE OR TESTIMONY, OR EVEN
A COMPLAINT, FROM 3,000 TELECOM2000 BUSINESS OWNERS OF ANY DECEIT, FRAUD, MONEY LAUNDERING, OR ILLEGAL ACTIVITY BY AL PETTY.
3) ALL OF AL PETTY'S, AS WELL AS HIS BUSINESS, TELECOM2000'S, FUNDS AND ASSETS WERE SEIZED, JUST AS IF HE HAD BEEN FOUND GUILTY OF CRIMINAL ACTIVITY. THIS SEIZURE OCCURRED BEFORE AL PETTY WAS EVEN NOTIFIED OF ANY SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY, AND CERTAINLY THE GOVERNMENT'S THEFT OCCURRED BEFORE AL PETTY WAS EVEN TRIED. THEREFORE, ACCORDING TO THE WRITTEN LAW, AL PETTY WAS LEGALLY INNOCENT. THIS MEANS THAT THE GOVERNMENT STOLE THE FUNDS AND ASSETS OF AL PETTY AND 3,000 OTHER INNOCENT VICTIMS.
4) As in the above hypothetical, although no crime had even occurred, THE GOVERNMENT FABRICATED THE FOLLOWING LIES AND THEY WERE PUBLISHED IN THE MEDIA - ESPECIALLY IN THE LOCAL EAST TEXAS AREA, FROM WHICH A JURY WOULD BE SELECTED, UNLESS AL PETTY LIED, & PLED GUILTY, (which he refused to do):
NEWS RELEASE EXCERPTS
A) "AL PETTY USED THE FUNDS OF HIS INVESTORS FOR PERSONAL THINGS" (He did NOT!)
B) "AL PETTY WAS BEHIND $36,000,000 IN HIS PAYMENTS TO HIS INVESTORS" (There had never been a complaint or a charge by even one of the thousands of TELECOM2000 Business Owners that Al Petty was behind a dime, certainly not $36,000,000! Another bold LIE by the government!)
C) "AL PETTY'S FUNDS WERE FROZEN BECAUSE THE GOVERNMENT HAD CAUSE TO BELIEVE THAT AL PETTY WOULD ABSCOND WITH THE FUNDS UNLESS THE GOVERNMENT FROZE THEM." (In all of his 69 years, Al Petty NEVER 'absconded' with anyone's money. In fact he had spent $600,000, during the 3 month period prior to the government's theft of his funds, for digital technology to ENSURE that his operation would become even MORE incredibly successful. And, if he intended to abscond with the funds, he would not have been near completion of a million dollar structure to function as a "Home-Office-Parsonage"!)
5) Al Petty was unable to get the government to release ANY funds for an adequate defense with a capable attorney, such as Richard, (Race Horse), Haynes. THE GOVERNMENT THEREFORE, HAD ALL OF THE GUNS, i.e. COMPUTERS, MONEY, TECHNOLOGY, RESOURCES TO DEFEAT AL PETTY IN COURT, OR BETTER STILL, TO INTIMIDATE HIM INTO LYING & PLEADING GUILTY. HOWEVER THEY MADE SURE THAT THEY STRIPPED AL PETTY OF ALL OF HIS ASSETS BEFORE THE BATTLE EVEN STARTED. THEN DURING THE TRIAL, THE JUDGE AND AL PETTY'S COUNSEL CONVINCED HIM THAT HE SHOULD NOT UTILIZE THE ONE MOST POWERFUL WEAPON THAT THE GOVERNMENT DID NOT TAKE - HIS PERSONAL TESTIMONY AND DETAILED EXPLANATION OF HIS DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATION! THE ONE WEAPON THAT HE STILL HAD IN HIS 'ARSENAL', HIS TRUTHFUL TESTIMONY, WAS TAKEN FROM HIM AT THE LAST MOMENT! THERE IS ADEQUATE INFORMATION TO PROVE THIS ACTION WAS TAKEN BY AL PETTY'S INEFFECTIVE COUNSEL, JOHN R. SMITH, as well as by JUDGE HANNAH, NOT ONLY TO ENHANCE THE GOVERNMENT'S CASE AGAINST AL PETTY, BUT THAT AL PETTY SPECIFICALLY WAS PREVENTED FROM TESTIFYING TO MAKE SURE THEY COULD BE 'ON THE DEER LEASE', IN SMITH'S HOME COUNTY OF CENTER, TEXAS ON THURSDAY, OPENING DAY OF THE DEER SEASON. AL PETTY'S TESTIMONY WOULD HAVE CONTINUED FOR SEVERAL DAYS. THIS WOULD HAVE CAUSED THEM TO MISS OPENING DAY OF DEER SEASON. THERE IS EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT THE 100% VALIDITY OF THIS CLAIM!
6) PROFESSOR CUNNINGHAM, as in the hypothetical, WAS HIRED AS THE GOVERNMENT'S "EXPERT WITNESS". IN AL PETTY'S TRIAL HE DID EXACTLY AS HE IS PORTRAYED IN THE HYPOTHETICAL. CUNNINGHAM USED HUGE CHARTS, LABELED 'PETTY' & 'PONZI' to ILLEGALLY CREATE A PROFILE OF THE PERSONALITIES OF AL PETTY & CHARLES PONZI, (who was a lifetime-scheming criminal!)
7) THE CONSPIRATORIAL STRATEGIES OF THE PROSECUTORS AND CUNNINGHAM RESULTED IN THE JURY'S CONVICTION OF AL PETTY ON ALL 98 COUNTS.
8) The CONSTITUTIONALLY ILLEGAL CONSPIRACY BETWEEN THE PROSECUTION, THE JUDGE & THE PROBATION OFFICER RESULTED IN 'POST-TRIAL ENHANCEMENTS' TO AL PETTY'S SENTENCE THAT ENABLED JUDGE HANNAH TO SENTENCE AL PETTY TO 24 YEARS IN PRISON. THESE ENHANCEMENTS BY 'NON-JURY-DECISIONS' AND 'POST-CONVICTION-COLLUSION' BETWEEN THE PROSECUTION, PROBATION OFFICER & FEDERAL JUDGE HAVE NOW BEEN DECLARED, BY THE SUPREME COURT, A VIOLATION OF THE SIXTH AMENDMENT, YET AL PETTY IS CURRENTLY SERVING THE THIRD YEAR OF HIS 24 YEAR SENTENCE IN PRISON, ALTHOUGH HIS 2255 PROVES THAT 22 OF HIS 24 YEARS SENTENCE WAS ILLEGALLY INFLICTED ON HIM! SURELY GEORGE WASHINGTON, ABE LINCOLN & THOMAS JEFFERSON ARE 'TURNING OVER IN THEIR GRAVES'! MAY THEIR SPIRITS, ALONG WITH THE SPIRITS OF THE OTHER PIONEERS WHO BUILT OUR GREAT NATION, ENTER INTO THE HEARTS AND MINDS OF LIKE-MINDED-TRUE AMERICAN PATRIOTS OF TODAY, AND MAY THEY ABOLISH THE CURRENT TRAVESTY OF JUSTICE THAT OUR FEDERAL JUSTICE SYSTEM HAS DEGENERATED INTO!
P.S. "INSULT HAS BEEN ADDED TO INJURY"! On Nov.. 10, 2004, Al Petty's PROSECUTORS, TRACI KENNER AND GREGG MARCHESSHAULT; THE FBI AGENT, JAMES HERSLEY; AND IRS AGENT, BARRY HERRARA; were flown to Washington, D.C. There they were presented with the distinguished "DIRECTOR'S AWARD", by the ATTORNEY GENERAL! What a horrible example! They were presented this award of achievement for actually fabricating the case against Al Petty, & special praise was bestowed upon them for giving Al Petty the longest PRISON SENTENCE IN THE HISTORY OF TELEMARKETING FRAUD! AND AL PETTY COMMITTED NO FRAUD, NOR WAS HE EVEN ON TRIAL FOR TELEMARKETING OR PONZI.
A fair analogy of this facade would be to give an award of bravery, skill & achievement to 5 thugs for Robbing, Beating up & stealing $3.85 from a 95 year old senile man! WOW! QUITE AN ACCOMPLISHMENT!
CLOSING NOTE FROM AL PETTY:
To my knowledge, the above hypothetical never occurred. However EVERY FACTOR in it was based on the facts of my case. It is my sincere prayer & hope that someone somewhere will become aware of the REALITY of the disgraceful & damaging condition that the Federal Justice system has degenerated into, and that those who CAN DO WHATEVER IS NECESSARY to CORRECT this National disgrace will do so. Feel free to write me, or email me, & your message will be forwarded to me via U.S. Mail.
In appreciation of your efforts to rectify this wrong,
AL PETTY
09638-078
c/o FCI
P.O. Box 26020
Beaumont, TX 77720-6020
alpetty@alpettytrial.com
