DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ US judge throws out two soccer bribery convictions
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-02 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNEW YORK, Sept 2 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge has thrown out the convictions of a former Fox executive and an Argentine sports marketing company for attempting to bribe soccer officials in exchange for lucrative broadcasting contracts. In a Friday night decision, U.S. District Judge Pamela Chen in Brooklyn said the March 9 convictions of Hernan Lopez and Full Play Group could not stand because the federal law governing honest services wire fraud did not cover foreign commercial bribery. The judge also voided Lopez's and Full Play's money laundering convictions, because they were predicated on the fraud convictions. David Sarratt, a lawyer for Lopez, said: "We are obviously pleased with Judge Chen's thorough and correct decision. At least 31 people and corporate entities pleaded guilty, and two soccer officials were convicted in a 2017 jury trial.

Persons: Hernan Lopez, Brendan McDermid, Pamela Chen, Joseph Percoco, Andrew Cuomo, Chen, Lopez's, Attorney Breon, David Sarratt, Lopez, Chen's, Carlos Ortiz, Ortiz, Prosecutors, Carlos Martinez, Alejandro Burzaco, Torneos, Jonathan Stempel, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Century Fox, Court, REUTERS, Fox, U.S, New, Attorney, Saturday, U.S . Department of Justice, FIFA, Fox International, South, CONMEBOL, Copa Libertadores, North, CONCACAF, Argentine, Thomson Locations: Brooklyn New York City, U.S, Argentine, Brooklyn, U.S ., South American, North American, New York

☆ Factbox: A look at the US Supreme Court's major rulings this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Industry Insight | Corporate Attorneys Don T Want To Pay Law Firms For Chatgpt When They Could Use It Themselves | Zach Warren | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Here is a look at some of the rulings issued by the court this term. STUDENT LOANSThe justices on June 30 blocked President Joe Biden's plan to cancel $430 billion in student loan debt. The court elected not to further roll back protections contained in the Voting Rights Act as it had done in two major rulings in the past decade. The ruling against Republican state legislators stemmed from a legal fight over their map of North Carolina's 14 U.S. House districts. The court ruled that state prosecutors had not shown that he was aware of the "threatening nature" of his statements.

Persons: Kevin Lamarque, Constitution's, Joe Biden's, Donald Trump, Biden, Joseph Percoco, Andrew Cuomo, Louis Ciminelli, John Kruzel, Andrew Chung, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, REUTERS, Harvard University, University of North, Harvard, UNC, Black, Republican, U.S . House, U.S . Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, Biden, Democratic, Postal Service, New, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, University of North Carolina, Alabama, U.S, Idaho, Texas, Louisiana, Washington, Colorado

☆ US Supreme Court backs three men in Cuomo-era New York corruption cases
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Joseph Percoco (L), former aid to New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, walks out of the Manhattan Federal Courthouse in New York, September 22, 2016. The court has limited prosecutors in a series of political corruption cases in recent years. In overturning Ciminelli's guilty verdict, the justices said that theory of fraud, known as "right to control," is "inconsistent with the structure and history of the federal fraud statutes." The Supreme Court, which has a conservative majority, increasingly has limited prosecutors in political corruption cases. Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Will DunhamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Clarence Thomas, who accepted lavish gifts from a billionaire, argued that a law prohibiting taking bribes is too vague to be fairly enforced
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Rebecca Cohen | Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas — who accepted lavish gifts and luxury vacations from a billionaire for years — signed off on a Supreme Court opinion Thursday arguing that a law prohibiting taking bribes is too vague to be fairly enforced. Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in a concurring opinion — on which Thomas signed off — that a federal anti-bribery law wasn't clear enough. "To this day, no one knows what 'honest-services fraud' encompasses," Gorsuch wrote. Crow described Thomas as a friend and insisted he never sought to influence the conservative Supreme Court justice. Additionally, the Senate Judiciary Committee asked Crow for a list of any gifts he's given to a Supreme Court justice or their family.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday questioned whether an ex-aide to former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was lawfully convicted on a bribery charge as it considered narrowing the scope of a federal law aimed at curbing public corruption. Percoco says that because he was not working for the government at the time, he had no duty to provide honest services. The court on Monday is also hearing a second case arising from the same New York corruption investigation. Several others targeted in the investigation, including Aiello, have their own appeals pending at the Supreme Court.

[1/2] The U.S. Supreme Court building is seen in Washington, U.S., June 26, 2022. The Supreme Court in recent years has limited the latitude of prosecutors in political corruption cases. The charges against Percoco and Ciminelli were brought in 2016 by former Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, who also pursued corruption cases against top state lawmakers including former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. They also have asked the Supreme Court to reverse their convictions. A trial judge in July allowed him to be released from prison on bail after the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.

The Supreme Court in recent years has hemmed in prosecutors in political corruption cases including a 2020 decision to toss the convictions of two aides to Republican former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie relating to the "Bridgegate" political scandal. The charges against Percoco and Ciminelli were brought in 2016 by then-Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, who also pursued corruption cases against top state lawmakers including former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. They also have asked the Supreme Court to reverse their convictions. A judge in July allowed all four to be released from prison on bail after the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case. Ciminelli's lawyers said such intangible information could not qualify as a "property fraud" under Supreme Court's precedents.

☆ The Supreme Court Gets a Fraud Test
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

George Washington Plunkitt ’s quip about the difference between honest and dishonest graft comes to mind in two important public corruption cases the Supreme Court will hear on Monday. Defendants are asking the Court to throw out their convictions for sleazy conduct that they argue isn’t illegal under U.S. fraud laws. The first case (Percoco v. U.S.) involves the ill-defined honest-services fraud statute. Joseph Percoco , a former state official who was at the time serving as campaign manager for former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo , was paid $35,000 by a real-estate developer, allegedly to help obtain government approval for a project that didn’t have a labor peace agreement with local unions.

Search resuls for: "Joseph Percoco"

8 mentions found