Hub judge scolds Gonzales for misconduct case pace

[maddezmom]

Source: Boston Herald

By O’Ryan Johnson
Saturday, May 12, 2007

The chief federal judge in Boston sent a scathing letter to U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales yesterday, accusing his office of dragging their feet by taking more than six months to provide records in the investigation of misconduct by a federal prosecutor.

Mark Wolf freed notorious Mafioso Vincent Ferrara in 2005 after he discovered federal prosecutor Jeffrey Auerhahn withheld a statement from a witness disputing Ferrara’s role in a murder.

The First Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Wolf’s decision, calling Auerhahn’s actions “egregious,” “outrageous,” “feckless,” and “painting a grim picture of blatant misconduct,” Wolf wrote in his new letter to Gonzales, mailed yesterday.

“I was bringing the matter to your attention in the hope that further action by me would not be necessary,” Wolf wrote of his initial Dec. 8, 2006, letter to the embattled Gonzales.



Read more: http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=1000823

[salin]

1. More pointing to the falacy of "performance issues" being the reason

for the USAs firings - bad performance wasn't an issue - it seems - unless Rove pointed out a partisan need to replace a particular position.

[Eugene]

2. Update: Prosecutor in mob case given reprimand

Source: Boston Globe

NEW ENGLAND IN BRIEF
Prosecutor in mob case given reprimand

May 30, 2007

After concluding that a federal prosecutor in Boston "engaged in
professional misconduct and exercised poor judgment" in the 1990s
while handling a racketeering case against members of the New
England Mafia, the Justice Department quietly disciplined the
prosecutor last fall with a written reprimand, according to a letter
filed yesterday in federal court. Chief US District Judge Mark L.
Wolf had twice demanded to know what action had been taken
against Assistant US Attorney Jeffrey Auerhahn. In a letter dated
May 11 and made public yesterday, Assistant Deputy Attorney
General David Margolis disclosed that Auerhahn received a
reprimand during disciplinary proceedings that ended in November.
But Margolis urged the judge to keep it confidential. In 2003,
Wolf reduced the prison terms of Mafia capo Vincent Ferrara and
mob associate Pasquale Barone, leading to the release of both
men, after finding that Auerhahn had withheld key evidence
from defense lawyers while prosecuting the men for murder and
racketeering. In an order issued yesterday, Wolf said he is
considering whether he should take further action against
Auerhahn. He could ask the Board of Bar Overseers to suspend
or revoke Auerhahn's license to practice law.

-snip-

Link: http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/05/30/prosecutor_in_mob_case_given_reprimand

---

(emphasis mine)

Article continues with other news stories.

[Up2Late]

3. The guy AG Gonzales should have fired

The guy AG Gonzales should have fired

By Peter Gelzinis
Boston Herald Columnist
Wednesday, May 30, 2007 - Updated: 11:07 AM EST

Commit the mortal sin of not being Republican enough for Alberto Gonzales, and our attorney general will fire you. Rig a murder conviction against a local Mafia capo and you can expect to be slapped on the wrist with a letter of reprimand. So much for our blind Department of Justice.

For the past month or so, a bipartisan panel of Washington pols has been trying to get George Bush’s sock puppet to explain why he fired eight U.S. Attorneys. Now it’s time to change speeds and ask Little Al why he didn’t fire one assistant U.S. Attorney named Jeffrey Auerhahn?

In a unanimous 3-0 decision last year, the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals found that in the matter of United States v. (Vincent) Ferrara, Jeffrey Auerhahn had painted “a grim picture of blatant (prosecutorial) misconduct.” The federal judges went on to use adjectives such as “egregious,” “outrageous” and “feckless” to describe the tactics used by this veteran prosecutor.

But U.S. District Judge Mark L. Wolf, who heard the original case back in 1992 - and ultimately vacated Vinnie Ferrara’s conviction in April 2005 - went a step further. He believed Auerhahn’s “egregious” behavior included perjury.

(more at link) <http://news.bostonherald.com/columnists/view.bg?articleid=1003696&format=text>

[williesgirl]

4. This guy is simply emulating his boss and everyone above him. They all belong in jail.