Big Dan's Big News Feb 20, 2009

BEHOLD!!!!!!

Even MORE arrests in the Luzerne County courthouse corruption dragnet!!!!!!!!

Sandra Brulo - from the Courthouse of Corruption - yesterday we had mobsters...this is MASSIVE, baby!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sandra M. Brulo, a high-ranking Luzerne County probation services official, was charged this afternoon by federal prosecutors with one count of tampering, altering or destroying an official record, a felony.

A criminal complaint filed by federal prosecutors alleged Brulo “knowingly, intentionally and corruptly” altered or destroyed a record and document “with the intent to impair the object’s integrity and availability for use in an official proceeding.”

The alleged tampering occurred within the last three weeks, prosecutors said, and at least a week after federal prosecutors filed corruption charges against former President Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. and decertified Senior Judge Michael T. Conahan and an embezzlement charge against Court Administrator William T. Sharkey Sr.

Feds say probation worker modified juvenile record

Authorities charge county probation official with altering record

Read the class-action lawsuit

View stories, documents and videos related to the court corruption probe

Now there's mobsters involved in the Juvie Brothers Scandal!!!

THE CITIZENS’ VOICE FILE A petition filed on behalf of The Citizens’ Voice states then-President Judge Michael T. Conahan, right, and his cousin, Court Administrator William T. Sharkey Sr., ‘steered’ a defamation case involving the newspaper into the courtroom of Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr., left.

NEPA: A witness will testify that one or both of the disgraced Luzerne County judges who’ve pleaded guilty to accepting millions in kickbacks have “direct connections” to jailed mobster William “Big Billy” D’Elia, according to a petition filed Thursday in the state Supreme Court by lawyers for the owners of The Citizens’ Voice.

D’Elia, 62, the longtime reputed head of the Bufalino crime family, is serving nine years in federal prison for money laundering and witness tampering.

Lawsuit ties judges to reputed mobster

8-month road trip for Sharkey? The suspended official kept a county car since a June conference, the court believes.



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Two Wall Street firms that received at least $60 billion in government bailout funds will be rewarding their financial advisers with controversial retention payments, the terms of which one senior executive described as "very generous" in audio obtained by the Huffington Post.

The soon-to-be-merged financial giants -- Morgan Stanley and Citigroup's Smith Barney -- announced the payments during an internal conference call last week, but warned advisers against describing them in terms that would cause PR headaches.

"There will be a retention award. Please do not call it a bonus," said James Gorman, co-president of Morgan Stanley. "It is not a bonus. It is an award. And it recognizes the importance of keeping our team in place as we go through this integration."

Bailed-Out Firms Distributing Cash Rewards: "Please Do Not Call It A Bonus"

Cenk Uygur from Meet the Bloggers and Young Turks: "They're bleeding the banks every single day that we allow it. They're taking OUR money, putting it in THEIR pockets, and running for the hills. We've got to end this - TODAY!!!"

Corporate CEOs Caught Scheming on Tape



This is CRIMINAL! Charging to check the balance of your unemployment! And repeal Reagan's TAX ON UNEMPLOYMENT! Why isn't this being done? Did you know you have to pay tax on unemployment? Because of Ronald Reagan?

First, Arthur Santa-Maria called Bank of America to ask how to check the balance of his new unemployment benefits debit card. The bank charged him 50 cents.

He chose not to complain. That would have cost another 50 cents.

So he took out some of the money and then decided to pull out the rest. But that made two withdrawals on the same day, and that was $1.50.

For hundreds of thousands of workers losing their jobs during the recession, there's a new twist to their financial pain: Even when they're collecting unemployment benefits, they're paying the bank just to get the money — or even to call customer service to complain about it.

Jobless hit with bank fees to determine benefits balance on Unemp debit cards

...more screwing over the little guy:

Although many homeowners have tried to take advantage of the recent record-low interest rates on home loans, some have been turned down because their credit scores are not high enough.

As many as 50 percent of companies owned by private-equity firms may default by 2011

Finance Capitalism Hits a Wall. The Oligarchs’ Escape Plan – at the Treasury’s Expense

Stanford Employees Yelled "Ponzi Scheme!" 3 Years Ago

CNBS Telegraphing Geithner’s Next Punch?

Get Ready for Mass Retail Closings

DeadMalls.com

Bank of America, AmEx May Suffer on Card Defaults

DollarCollapse.com

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NYU Students Occupy School Cafeteria

In New York, several dozen student activists have barricaded themselves inside a cafeteria at New York University. The group Take Back NYU has submitted several demands, including the establishment of a socially responsible committee, a full disclosure of the school’s annual budget and support for Palestinian students in the Gaza Strip.

Student: “The first two orders of the socially responsible finance committee will be an in-depth investigation of all investments in war and genocide profiteers, as well as companies profiting from the occupation of Palestine.”

NYTimes: Students Protest at N.Y.U.



Countdown: Bachmann Returns



CNN - "Penis Being Served on Northwest Airlines" (this woman apparently has PENIS on the brain!)