Lawyer Exposed 'Bush Boys' Corruption --Now Faces Jail

[BreakForNews]

This guy could sure use some help from DU'ers.
He and his wife Lisa (of Indymedia, Tampa) are up against
some good ol' Bush Boys who are playing real hardball.
Fintan

What do you get if you mix a cabal of Florida judges with a Republican-linked
legal firm that boasts of being able to use corrupt influence
to get the legal decisions they want?

Well, you get twelve months in prison -if you're not carefull.

Expecially if you are a legal practictioner with the guts to stand up
and challenge this corruption. That's exactly what Tampa, Florida
lawyer Mark A. Adams did.

Now he's facing bankruptcy and the prospect of a year's imprisonment
for his alleged contempt of a judicial system which he says richly
deserves the contempt of us all.

It's a story about swaggering Republican Battaglia firm lawyers;
about links to controversial Bush ambassadorial appointee, Mel Sembler;
about a cosy nest of judicial legal eagles, grown fat from plunder;
about a relentless vendetta against the man who drew a line in the
sand to say -'no more', and about an imminent decision next week by
Florida's Chief Justice which will put the credibility of the State's
legal system to the test.

It's Fintan Dunne's unmissable exclusive live interview with Mark A. Adams...

Full Interview Here in Stereo DSL or 56k Dialup
http://breakfornews.com/my/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=147&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
"The Next Level" Internet Radio Show
Dateline: Wednesday 12th October 2005

Justice For All or Justice For Sale?
by Mark A. Adams

Did you know that a judge can enter a judgment for several thousand dollars against you without you even being made a party to a lawsuit? Did you know that a judge can bring baseless criminal charges against you, have you arrested, and bring you before him to be tried without a jury?

Of course, most of us realize that injustice like this happens in third world dictatorships, but this is happening right now in the United States in the Tampa Bay Area of Florida. Worst of all, the appellate courts are backing up this judge’s actions rather than exposing judicial corruption. Apparently, the appearance of a fair judicial system is more important than the fundamental right to a fair trial.

Is there justice for all in the United States of America, or just courts that do the bidding of the connected? It seems that the latter is unfortunately true in this case. Please consider the following and make your own decision....Continues
http://www.rule-of-law.info/adams-smith.htm

Vital Links:
Anthony Battaglia & Mel Sembler
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=Battaglia+Sembler&btnG=Search
See Also
http://melvinandbettysembler.blogspot.com/

Contempt Hearing Set In Florida Attorney’s Case
http://www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/092305ContemptHearingFLAtt.html

'Hit Piece' by St. Pete Times
He's sure he's right, but he's all alone
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/01/09/Business/He_s_sure_he_s_right_.shtml
(But See This Also)
http://www.sptimes.com/TampaBay/102598/scientologypart1.html

Anthony Battaglia & the Church of Scientology
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ned=us&q=Battaglia+Scientology+Lisa+Mc+Pherson&btnmeta%3Dsearch%3Dsearch=Search+the+Web

Mark A Adams with Lisa & Family

[texpatriot2004]

1. Intriguing, read later. n.t

[FreedomAngel82]

2. The poor guy

So he tried to do the right thing and they're "getting him back"? :(

[BreakForNews]

5. Re: The Poor Guy

Thanks for the sentiment.
But Mark Adams is a fighter.
He needs our backing more than our empathy.
But both are welcome. : )

[Benhurst]

3. Recommended NT

[firefox]

4. Recommended. Where is the Democratic Party on this?

This is outrageous as the drug war. I want to know where the Democratic Party is on this. They must not care or somebody would be jumping all over this injustice.

[BreakForNews]

12. Jeb Bush Just Appointed Battaglia Lawyer as Judge

Dunno where the Dems are on this,
but meanwhile, Ol' Jeb has no shame.
Despite the controversy, he just picked a
Battaglia firm lawyer --for a judgeship!

Edwin Jagger started in law as Tony Battlagia's
personal law clerk.
Way to go Jeb.

-Fintan

Governor appoints new judges

By WAYNE AYERS 11th October, 2005

PINELLAS COUNTY – Gov. Jeb Bush has chosen three candidates with local ties to serve as judges on Pinellas County courts....

...Edwin Jagger will fill a county judgeship left vacant with the death of William Blackwood. Jagger is a partner with the St. Petersburg law firm Battaglia, Ross, Dicus and Wein, P.A., and lives in Seminole with his wife, Melissa, and son, Jacob.

Jagger has worked for attorney Anthony Battaglia since his graduation from Stetson Law School in 1991, rising through the ranks of Battaglia’s law office to chair its tax, probate, estate and trust department. He is a frequent speaker on the topic of estate planning and sits on the board of directors of several Florida not-for-profit corporations.

Jagger said that he is “excited and honored to receive the appointment” and is looking forward to the new challenge and opportunity to serve on the bench.
http://www.tbnweekly.com/content_articles/101205_fpg-01.txt

Tony Battaglia

[BreakForNews]

16. More on Battaglia : Bush Snr. & Jeb & Sembler & Abscam

Extracted from:
http://thestraights.com/why-success/straight_and_the_judges_and_cops.htm

When George Bush was in Florida in 1994 campaigning for his son Jeb who was running for governor, he stayed at the home of Fred Bullard (Fred B. Bullard, Jr. has been Battaglia's business partner.)

It was Anthony Battaglia who had defended former Pasco County Circuit Court Judge Richard Kelly, then Republican Congressman, in the FBI Abscam sting. Congressman Kelly, the only Republican Congressman to be convicted in Abscam, had been brought into Abscam by Gino Ciuzio whom authorities believe to be a soldier in the Bonanno crime family.

One business venture that Straight co-founder Joseph Zappala teamed-up with Anthony Battaglia was BFZ Development, Inc. Another was the Great Crockett Lake Ranch SALE. In the 1970s Anthony Battaglia and his wife, Straight co-founder Joseph Zappala and his wife, two other couples, and another man bought 973 acres of rural land in Pasco County known as Crockett Lake Ranch for less than $1 million.

Fifteen years later... , the county, inexplicably decided to re-zone it residential/commercial as the owners wished. The property jumped from $2,000 - $3,000 an acre to about $10 million overnight.

Anthony Battaglia successfully represented Straight (Mel Sembler)when it sued the state of Florida giving parents the right to force their children into drug rehabilitation without a court order... When Straight board member Melvin Gross and Diversified Health Services got into trouble for allegations of fraud schemes against the elderly, it was Anthony Battaglia who defended Diversified.

Battaglia has served on the Republican National Committee.

See Also Essential Background on Judge Farnell & Mel Sembler:

"Ray Bradbury's Watergate: Justice Pinellas County Style"
http://www.thestraights.com/articles/bradburytrial88.htm


Jeff Smith and Mark Adams
http://rule-of-law.info/victims.htm
Jeff Smith quit his sales job at Corporate Sports Marketing Group (CSM) in Florida after the company made signature of a non-compete agreement a condition of future employment. Smith claims that CSM then refused to pay $20,000.00 owed him in commissions. Smith retained attorney Mark A. Adams and filed suit in the Pinellas County, Florida state court against CSM for breach of contract.

After many procedural moves and statements by CSM management about how well connected their attorneys (the Battaglia firm) were, the case ended with both the represented party, Smith, and Adams, the attorney, being sanctioned $20,000.00 each by Judge Crockett Farnell. Smith ended up settling by paying $15,000.00. Adams appealed his sanction, using a writ of prohibition.

A Second District Court of Appeals panel quickly issued a stay of proceedings in Judge Farnell's court and ordered Judge Farnell to show cause for his actions. But the clerk did not take action to communicate the show cause order to Judge Farnell. A separate Second District panel then denied the writ of prohibition without writing an opinion, but did not lift the stay issued by the original panel. Judge Farnell then issued an order for the arrest of Adams....

At the trial, which was attended by about 20 witnesses, Judge Farnell agreed that a conflict of interest existed in the fact that the Battaglia firm was both serving as a witness and prosecution in the trial....

On December 20, 2004, after months of emotional strain, lost income, and attorney's fees for the Adams family , one day before the contempt trial for Adams, Judge Farnell recused himself from hearing the contempt charges.

[clichemoth]

15. Hiding so they don't look "soft" as usual.

This is outrageous as the drug war. I want to know where the Democratic Party is on this. They must not care or somebody would be jumping all over this injustice.

Well, it is the drug war. The ONDCP has essentially been controlled by Sembler and his cult in every Repuke administration since Reagan. Most mainstream knowledge of addictions and recovery comes from their warped viewpoint or that of someone very much like them.

Mind you, Straight and its many forks never cared whether a kid had ever actually even used drugs or not. They'd accept kids into their torture,
er, program just for things like talking back and attempting to get away from abusive homes. I wonder if any of the troops at Abu Ghraib or the NYPD officers at Camps Amtrak and Greyhound ever passed through some form of the program. It wouldn't be too surprising if they had.

Of course, if drugs were legal and securely dispensed, right-wing dictatorships in Latin America and Central Asia and their partners in American organized crime would see a substantial decrease in their profit margins, there would be much less of a need for a prison-industrial complex, and they'd have one less racial codeword to toss about in "tough on crime" speeches. The Repuke cabal could care less if 90% of the US population OD'd on heroin. They'd just claim the land for oil drilling.

[DemReadingDU]

6. recommended

[Tigress DEM]

7. Post is HUGE. I'm so tired. What exactly can we do to help?

Let me know. Either in this post or pm me.

[Tigress DEM]

8. Recommended

[In Truth We Trust]

9. Kick- WAAAAAAYYYY past time folks

[Independent_Liberal]

10. Kick!

[napi21]

11. OK, what can we do to help him?

Has he or anyone contacted the DNC? Howard is working on getting the Dem Party working in all states, and I think trying even harder in the toss up ones. Those folks know a lot better, how to deal with this kind of crap! (at least I hope they do, 'cause I sure dont!)

What about contacting Wexler? Maybe Graham? Or Nelson?

I don't have any money, but I'll help him any other way I can!

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

13. Kick!

[cally]

14. We have to figure out a way to help him

Is anyone organizing anything? It seems a letter writing campaign to elected officials and the media might help.