FLASHBACK:
"A former fugitive suspected of running a $100 million cross-country scam purporting
to collect donations for Navy veterans has been identified as a
Harvard-trained lawyer wanted on unrelated fraud charges since 1987,
authorities said Monday. 65-year-old John Donald Cody’s true identity
was uncovered through fingerprints in a 1969 military database separate
from the national crime system."
That should soothe the fear and pain of those spying databases for you.
"Ohio trial opens for man accused in Navy veterans scam; Request denied to subpoena House speaker" by Thomas J. Sheeran | Associated Press, October 01, 2013
CLEVELAND — A onetime fugitive charged with organizing a $100 million fraud under the guise of helping veterans went on trial Monday after losing a bid to subpoena US House Speaker John Boehner and other leading Ohio politicians.
A judge in Cleveland rejected the renewed defense request to subpoena the politicians in an effort trying to show that the defendant’s political donations were legal.
The defendant calls himself Bobby Thompson, but authorities have identified him as John Donald Cody, a lawyer and former military intelligence officer.
Thompson, 67, is charged with defrauding people who donated to a reputed charity for Navy veterans called the United States Navy Veterans Association, which was based in Tampa.
The alleged fraud spanned 41 states, including up to $2 million in Ohio. Authorities said little, if any, of the money that was collected by the charity was used to benefit US military veterans.
While he was on the run, investigators tracked Thompson through several states, including Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Washington, and West Virginia.
The defendant had showered politicians, many of them Republicans, with political donations, the prosecution alleged.
Thompson’s attorney, Joseph Patituce, said subpoenas for testimony by Boehner, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, two DeWine predecessors, and many other leading Ohio political figures, most of whom were Republicans, were necessary in order for the defense to prove that the charity’s political contributions were legal.
But Brad Tammaro, an assistant attorney general handling the trial, said that where the money went was unrelated to the charges of money laundering and theft.
Patituce hinted at a defense focused on the CIA and government secrets, but Tammaro said that if ‘‘by some fantasy’’ there actually was such government involvement, it still did not exonerate the defendant.
Good Lord, that is the government basically admitting they were in on this fraud and then cut the guy loose! The whole identity and organization was just another false front for some government scheme and $cam!
The judge indicated that both sides had tried to resolve the case before trial, but, when questioned by the judge, Patituce said nothing had developed.
Thompson was dressed in a suit and tie and passed notes to his attorney during final motions. Jury selection began afterward.
Patituce said he needed more time to prepare and cited the 20,000 documents that must be reviewed. The judge said the trial would move ahead.
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"Different pictures painted of alleged fraud mastermind" Associated Press, October 08, 2013
CLEVELAND — A mysterious onetime fugitive charged with running a $100 million multistate Navy charity fraud was portrayed at his trial Monday by prosecutors as a lying thief and by his defense as a law-abiding fund-raiser.
Assistant Ohio Attorney General Brad Tammaro told the jury that the defendant, who calls himself Bobby Thompson but has been identified by authorities as Harvard-trained lawyer John Donald Cody, 67, was the coordinator of the alleged scam.
But Joseph Patituce, the court-appointed defense lawyer, said the defendant’s work was legal and followed federal tax regulations.
The defendant has been charged with defrauding donors to a reputed charity, the United States Navy Veterans Association in Tampa, Fla.
He showered politicians, often Republicans, with political donations. Last week, the judge rejected a renewed defense request to subpoena testimony from leading Ohio Republicans including US House Speaker John A. Boehner.
‘‘This defendant was responsible for taking millions of dollars out of Ohio,’’ Tammaro said. He was a thief unable to tell the truth, Tammaro said.
Yup, he was working for the government!
Tammaro said that the defendant shifted the money among various accounts, paid fund-raising costs and a small staff, and that the rest disappeared in ATM withdrawals and through checks made out to the defendant or to cash.
Patituce told jurors the prosecution lacked proof of the charges and hinted again the defendant was involved in a secret government project.
Which will not be allowed in.
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