Crime, Background Checks, Foul-Play, Fraud And Investigations

By Brendan Kirby November 08, 2009, 2:04PM Federal prosecutors in Mobile may be close to hammering out a plea bargain with a reputed international arms dealer charged with trying to smuggle jet engine parts into Iran. U.S. District Judge William Steele last week granted a request by the U.S. Attorney’s Office make Jacques Monsieur available at the federal courthouse for an interview and plea negotiation. View full size Jacques Monsieur … negotiating plea bargain with prosecutors. Prosecutors said in the written request to Steele that the Baldwin County Corrections Center, where ... Read Full Story

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Intel Corp was sued by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who accused the world's largest chipmaker of threatening computer makers and paying billions of dollars in kickbacks to maintain its market dominance. The lawsuit accuses Intel of violating state and federal antitrust law through a "systematic worldwide campaign" of bullying and coercion to monopolize the market for personal computer chips, at the expense of rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. Intel's microprocessors power more than 80 percent of the world's PCs. Wednesday's lawsuit comes on the heels of several antitrust probes throughout the world into the Santa Clara, California-based company's ... Read Full Story

A federal grand jury on Friday indicted former New Orleans technology chief Greg Meffert, his wife and a one-time city vendor in an alleged kickback scheme involving contracts for the city's crime surveillance program. The indictments against Meffert, 44; his wife, Linda Meffert, 42; and businessman Mark St. Pierre, 46 include charges of bribery, money laundering conspiracy, wire fraud and conspiracy. The Mefferts also are charged with filing false tax returns and making a false statement to investigators. The 63-count indictment came four days after a civil jury found Greg Meffert and companies owned by St. Pierre conspired with Dell Inc. to unfairly compete ... Read Full Story

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Intel Corp was sued by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who accused the world's largest chipmaker of threatening computer makers and paying billions of dollars in kickbacks to maintain its market dominance. The lawsuit accuses Intel of violating state and federal antitrust law through a "systematic worldwide campaign" of bullying and coercion to monopolize the market for personal computer chips, at the expense of rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. Intel's microprocessors power more than 80 percent of the world's PCs. Wednesday's lawsuit comes on the heels of several antitrust probes throughout the world into the Santa Clara, California-based company's ... Read Full Story

The chairman of the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians has pleaded not guilty to accepting more than $250,000 in bribes from tribal vendors. Soboba Chairman Robert Salgado was placed on administrative leave by the tribal council which met in closed session on Tuesday. He entered the plea Monday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. Salgado is charged in a 36-count indictment with conspiracy, bribery and filing a false tax return. Prosecutors say Salgado accepted bribes from vendors who had business contracts with the tribe, which is based in Riverside County. Abbas Shilleh, who was also charged with bribery in the indictment, pleaded not ... Read Full Story