Deceased Ranger, Derek Boogaard's Brother Arrested for Narcotics Possession
Aaron Boogaard, brother of deceased New York Rangers defenseman Derek Boogaard, was arrested for possession of narcotics earlier this week. Derek Boogaard died in his Minnesota apartment in May due to a mix of alcohol and drugs, and prosecutors claim Aaron gave him a narcotic painkiller the day before. Boogaard has since been charged with felony sale of a controlled dangerous substance and misdemeanor interference with the scene of a death.
Although knowing that he may have given his brother the drug that ultimately killed him must be devastating, nobody but Aaron really knows the actual circumstances. It has been reported that Derek had an addiction, and Aaron was administering the intake. However, Aaron has not been charged in connection with the death, and is not expected to face any jail time. Although prosecutors considered charging Aaron with manslaughter, it would have been an extremely tough case. Derek had many substances in his system, all of which could have killed him - not necessarily the narcotic provided by Aaron. Additionally, a conviction of involuntary manslaughter requires reckless behavior or gross negligence amounting to depraved indifference of human life, and that would be difficult to prove under these circumstances.
Bryan Stow Update: New Suspects
In a strange twist to the Bryan Stow story, the LA Times is reporting that Giovanni Ramirez, who had been arrested in May in connection with the beating, has been released. In his place, two new suspects have been arrested. The LAPD has not confirmed this strange twist, but it is not entirely surprising, given that Ramirez still had not been charged as a result of the incident. Hopefully, the LAPD has more evidence against the two new suspects than witness identifications.
As for Stow, he had to have emergency surgery due to a 30 second seizure earlier this week. However, the recent updates to the website maintained by Stow's friends and family are mostly positive, with Stow opening his eyes and making slight movements, and even responding to certain stimuli. In June, Stow's condition was upgraded from critical to serious.
University of Georgia; Another Day Another Scandal
It seems like everyday some major college is embroiled in scandal for one reason or another, and UGA is trying real hard to claim the top prize in athletic scandals. First it was Jim Harrick in 2003, when Georgia found that there was academic fraud committed involving Jim Harrick Jr., who granted credit hours to three players who did not attend the class in basketball strategy he was teaching, and now former football coach Jim Donnan is allegedly involved in a failed Ponzi scheme which has enevloped coaches from Virigina to Texas. It has been alleged that Donnan who formed GLC Enterprises in March 2004, solicited investments from more than 50 individuals and entities and made commissions ranging from 15 percent to 20 percent for any new investments solicited. According to court documents, investors contributed nearly $82 million into GLC Enterprises, but less than $12 million was spent on inventory and at least $13 million in investor money remains unaccounted for. As revenues declined, it is alleged that GLC eventually used money from new investors to pay old investors, which, according to the court documents, constituted a Ponzi scheme. At this time, Donnan's role in GLC is disputed as court documents indicate the Donnan informed potential investors that he was an officer in the company and indicated he was the vice president and secretary on different occassions. This is an assertion which Donnan's attorney denies. The Donnan's have invested over $5.4 million in the company and have offered to pay GLC's creditors $5 million of the $8.25 million demanded, and when that amount was not accepted, the Donnan's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. While, this alleged Ponzi scheme will never be compared to the Madoff scandal, it serves as another black eye on the college athletics landscape, especially as high profile current head coaches are involved. At this point, there has been no independent investigation undertaken by UGA and there probably will not be one as there are no allegations that any criminal activity occurred when Donnan was coach from 1996 to 2000.
The Clemens Trial Begins: Let's Get Technical
Finally, after about a week of jury selection, a jury has been chosen to serve in the case of the United States of America v. Roger Clemens. According to the court, opening statements are to begin today.
Opening statements, unlike closing arguments, are not supposed to be about fireworks. An opening statement is designed to be a calmly delivered road map of the evidence an attorney expects the jury to hear.
Opening statements rarely win cases but they can lost them. If a lawyer tells a jury about the evidence that he expects them to hear and it doesn't happen, disaster can strike. Juries often punish lawyers (and their clients) who don't keep their promises and don't deliver the goods.
So when you open, be careful that you don't over-promise and that your word is good.
Dodger Bankruptcy Update: No Dragging the MLB through the Mud
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A Delaware bankruptcy judge has cut Dodger owner, Frank McCourt, off at the discovery pass.
McCourt has sought to challenge the way the MLB has acted during the takeover of his team and the subsequent bankruptcy proceeding. McCourt claims that he has been treated unfairly and different that other troubled owners (i.e. the Mets', Fred Wilpon).
But the problem for McCourt is that the bankrupcy court does not really care. The issues in bankruptcy are what is the best way for the team to reorganize, pay off its debts and move forward. Unfortunately, for McCourt, the issue is not whether he believes that he has been wronged in the process.
Because of the this, the court denied McCourt's requests to conduct discovery from the MLB and take the deposition of Commissioner Bud Selig. Instead, the court's focus will be to determine, possibly by July 20th, whether McCourt will own the team or be left in the dust.
Clemens Trial: The Rocket is Blasting off a Cliff
If you listen to the Congressmen who presided over Roger Clemens’ ill-fated hearing, you will learn that Clemens demanded to testify to clear his name. Instead of exonerating himself, the Rocket coined the “misremember” phrase and got himself indicted. Nice work.
Now, as I write this, a jury is being selected to decide whether Clemens is guilty of perjury. The case is being tried in front of Judge Walton who is famous for sending convicted felons to jail (even if it’s only for a few months). This is the reality of the situation that may being glossed over the media.
We know that criminal juries can be unpredictable (see Casey Anthony), but that’s the nature of this business. There are no absolutes and it’s not a perfect science.
Clemens may get a favorable ruling that former players Andy Pettitte and Chuch Knoblauch can not testify that they got illegal PED’s from Brian McNamee. The judge apparently is fearful that this type of testimony could lead to a prejudicial “guilt by association” finding by the jury. Either way, Pettitte will be called to testify about what Clemens told him what his PED use and what he saw Clemens do.
Roger Clemens has always been a competitor but this is a very different arena and his fastball will not get him out of a jam.
Illinois Lineman Chris Jones Arrested for Aggravated Battery
Adding to the laundry list of recent misbehaving college athletes, Illinois lineman Chris Jones was arrested on Sunday after allegedly assaulting two men because of their sexual orientations. Jones, 6 foot 5 and 310 lbs., shouted homophobic slurs at the two much smaller men from a car, and then punched them outside of a bar. Although the injuries were minor, Jones will be charged with aggravated battery.
In June of 2010, Jones pled guilty to felony possession of cocaine. He is now suspended pending the University's review of the alleged incident.
Alex Rodriguez's Attempts to Keep Poker Face
Amidst reports that he participated in illegal high stakes poker games in a Beverly Hills hotel with other celebrities, Alex Rodriguez has refused to comment. His spokesman Richard Rubenstein, however, denied that Rodriguez played poker with Tobey Maguire, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in a game that cost $40,000 to enter.
The alleged poker games were brought to light after Tobey Maguire was sued by a trustee attempting to recover money lost in a Ponzi scheme, and the circumstances surrounding the poker games were revealed therein. There are apparently several sources confirming that Rodriguez plays a lot of poker, including poker player Adam Bilzerian, who told The Star that Rodriguez is a "good poker player," and he won a "bunch of money" at a game at a private home a year and a half ago.
In 2005, Rodriguez was playing poker at New York clubs, and it was reported that Commissioner Bud Selig was not happy with Rodriguez, although no action was taken.
It is very unlikely that anything will happen to Rodriguez from a legal perspective, although Major League Baseball will investigate these allegations, as it takes gambling very seriously. Still, if the allegations are true, Rodriguez is again showing poor judgment, as there are plenty of places to play poker legally. This will not help his image, already tarnished from lying about his steroid use, which he only admitted to after reporter Selena Roberts uncovered that Rodriguez tested positive for steroids in 2003.
Mark Cuban's Motion to Dismiss
Our firm has put out a few brilliant motions to dismiss, but the attorney's that work with Mark Cuban have laid laid out an attorney's dream in their recent submission to Dallas County Court. Two years ago, former Mavericks owner and current partial owner (5%) Ross Perot, Jr. decided to file a lawsuit against Mark Cuban for mismanaging the Dallas Mavericks. Even though the Mavericks have enjoyed multiple playoff runs since Cuban took over the team, Perot went ahead with the suit. One of Perot's claims in the lawsuit was that Cuban was putting too much money back in the team and not paying the owners out enough money.
Well how the tides have changed. Shortly after the Mavs defeated the "Big Three" and the Heat, Cuban and his attorneys have gone ahead to file a motion to dismiss the suit brought about by Perot. Not only did Cuban file the motion, but he did it in typical Cuban style with visuals. Not only did the Motion contain a celebration picture of the team, the Motion went on to say, "Under Hillwood's ownership, the team was deemed the "worst franchise" in all of professional sports. Under Cuban's stewardship the Mavericks have become one of the league's most successful teams and are now NBA championships".
If that doesn't bring a smile to your face, I don't know what will.
My name is Christopher Fusco. I am the managing partner of Callahan & Fusco, LLC with offices in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.