The grand-jury indictment of [Miller], who is accused of hiding payments she got from her appearance on the reality TV show, traces back to a night in January 2013 when Judge Thomas Agresti came across Ms. Miller’s “Ultimate Dance Competition” on television, according to court papers.
Ms. Miller had filed for bankruptcy in December 2010, facing $356,466.52 in debt, according to documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Pittsburgh. Her lawyers had said in early court papers that Ms. Miller had the potential to profit from the show, but money from those appearances wasn’t disclosed in the monthly reports that documented her income.
At one point in 2010, Ms. Miller told a court official that the reality show would bring in publicity “but no separate TV revenue,” according to court papers.
Ms. Miller told Judge Agresti that she could only afford to pay back a portion of the money she owes just a few weeks before the channel-surfing moment aired on television.
“I realized that there’s an awful lot of money coming into this plan—this case—and it hasn’t been disclosed,” said Judge Agresti said of that moment, according to a transcript of a Feb. 1, 2013, hearing
Lawyers for Ms. Miller did not immediately return requests for comment. (Source)
(CNN)Former University of Cincinnati Police Officer Ray Tensing pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of murder and voluntary manslaughter in the July 19 shooting death of Samuel DuBose.
At the arraignment, the judge set Tensing's bond at $1 million.
Some inside the courtroom applauded when Judge Megan Shanahan announced the bond, and she quickly admonished them and called for order in the court.
Tensing posted bond later in the day, according to the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts' website. His next court date is set for August 19.
Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters announced the charges at a news conference this week.
"I've been doing this for over 30 years. This is the most asinine act I've ever seen a police officer make -- totally unwarranted," he said. "It's an absolute tragedy in the year 2015 that anyone would behave in this manner. It was senseless."
Deters played body camera footage of the traffic stop shooting that appeared to contradict Tensing's version of what happened.
The prosecutor, who said he was shocked when he first saw the video, was adamant that DuBose, who is black, had not acted aggressively toward Tensing, who is white.
"People want to believe that Mr. DuBose had done something violent towards the officer -- he did not. He did not at all. I feel so sorry for his family and what they lost, and I feel sorry for the community, too," Deters said. (Source)
Sidebar: I refuse to watch the video of Mr. Samuel DuBose's being murder in cold blood by this idiot. I do not need to watch yet another senseless killing of another American at the hands of an incompetent racist cop, who clearly abused his limited police authority. Limited authority meaning a police officer must act within the parameters of the United States Constitution, state law, proper police protocol and human decency.
At approximately 4:30 p.m. on July 10, Bland was driving a silver Hyundai Azera in Waller County, TX near Prairie View A&M University when state trooper Brian Encinia pulled her over for failing to signal a lane change.
What should have been a routine traffic stop quickly escalated to in an illegal and brutal arrest of Bland by Encinia which was caught on the trooper's patrol car dash-cam video.
Bland was subsequently booked at the Waller County Jail for the third-degree felony and was placed alone in a cell that typically accommodates four inmates, according to authorities.
Over the next couple days, Bland called her family several times to assist her with posting her $5,000 bail, relatives said. She also told them she thought her shoulder or arm was broken. Her family began making arrangements to get her released.
In a voice mail to a male friend on the day after her arrest, Bland said: "I'm still just at a loss for words, honestly, about this whole process. How this switching lanes with no signal turned into all of this, I don't even know."
According to Waller County Jail officials, the last time Bland seen alive was about 7 a.m. on Monday, July 13. Just before 8 a.m., she asked about using the phone. An hour later, a guard went to her cell and saw her hanging from a partition with a plastic trash can liner around her neck. Medical workers were alerted, and guards tried to resuscitate her.
Sidebar: If this young woman's death does not facilitate comprehensive police reform and lead to the arrest of Brian Encinia as soon as possible, there is about to be another civil war on American soil.
Americans will not continue to allow rogue police officers to continue to abuse their police powers without immediate repercussions.
Poor police training, lack of appropriate supervision by supervisors and blatant racism have been the leading causes of police brutality against American Blacks.
The Los Angeles Prosecutor has declined to file felony charges against Music and Business Mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs for his alledge physical altercation with a strength and conditioning coach at UCLA last month. From DailyNews.com
Combs, 45, was arrested June 22 at the Acosta Athletic Training Complex at UCLA on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, battery and making terrorist threats. He was released later that night after being taken to the sheriff’s Inmate Reception Center....
According to celebrity website TMZ.com, the elder Combs saw a coach deriding his son, Justin Combs, a Bruin redshirt junior defensive back, and confronted the coach -- allegedly wielding a kettlebell, a type of weight.
UCLA football coach Jim Mora issued a statement last month saying he was “thankful that our staff showed the level of professionalism that they did in handling this situation.” “This is an unfortunate incident for all parties involved. While UCPD continues to review this matter, we will let the legal process run its course ...,” Mora said.
Justin Combs has made four tackles in seven games over two seasons. He posted a photo of himself with his father on Instagram with the caption, “I thank God for having a father that’s always there for me. Love you pops!” (SOURCE)
The case has been referred to the L.A. City Attorney to determine if misdemeanor charges will be filed against Mr. Combs.
NFL broadcaster and Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders and ex-wife Pilar Sanders are back in court Tuesday to resolve issues related to their divorce, which was finalized in June 2013.
A civil suit filed by the former pro athlete alleging defamation by his ex-wife over information she posted on social media is also pending. District Judge Ray Wheless had denied a motion earlier this year to dismiss that suit. He also ordered that all the posts be deleted. That case is scheduled to go to trial in October.
As part of the divorce, Deion Sanders was awarded full custody of the couple’s three children. Pilar Sanders had regular visitation with them.
She had refused to turn over the children, even after deputy constables showed up at her home to get them. Sanders, who appeared in court without an attorney, claimed at that time that she didn’t recognize the jurisdiction of the court. She was sentenced to seven days in jail and lost all visitation rights to her children.
Pilar Sanders has since gotten her visitation rights reinstated. And she now has representation. Her attorney, Bobbie Edmonds, has filed a motion for contempt against Deion Sanders and a motion to modify the custody case.
Deion Sanders is being represented by attorney Rick Robertson.
Both parties are in private discussions now to see what can be resolved without intervention from the judge.
The divorce case was sealed more than three years ago from the public eye. It’s unclear what information, if any, will come out of today’s closed-door discussions. (SOURCE)
Updated: All of the negotiations were done behind closed doors on Tuesday. No resolution was reached. Both sides called it quits just after 3 p.m. The case will be continued.
An emotional and unexpected middle school reunion occurred during a recent arraignment hearing in a Florida courtroom.
Miami, Florida judge, Mindy Glazer, was presiding over the case of a man arrested for burglary and theft on Thursday when she suddenly realized that the suspect was a her former Nautilus Middle School classmate.
Asking the suspect, whose name is Authur Booth, standing before her if he had attended the same middle school she did, the man instantly perked up and seemed to recognize the judge.
Booth breaks into a huge smile when he spots his old pal and then starts sobbing in shame and wails, 'Oh, my goodness! Oh, my goodness!'
According to NBC affiliate WLWT, a pregnant woman and several children were taken to the hospital after they were accused of disorderly conduct at an aquatics center in Fairfield, OH.
The incident occurred last week, when Krystal Dixon dropped eight children off at the pool. After two teens were denied access due to their swimming attire, Dixon was called back. Accounts of what happened next are varied — Dixon, who left her daughter in the car to gather the rest of the kids — was reportedly grabbed by an officer.
Chaos ensued when the pregnant mother was pressed against a gate outside the center. Several children were also detained and pepper sprayed, including a 12-year-old girl in a bathing suit. Dixon and her sister Maya Dixon, 34, were arrested, along with the 12-year-old and a 15-year-old. (SOURCE)
******************* Sidebar: There needs immediate police reform throughout this country, especially with regard to how local and municipal police interact with American Black citizens. All officers should be trained on how not to violate a citizens Constitutional Rights. The Fourth Amendment(AmendmentIV) to the United States Constitution prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures and requires any warrant to be judicially sanctioned and supported by probable cause. It reads: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." The Constitutional Right was made applicable to American Blacks by way of the Fourteenth Amendemant, which states, in part, as follows:
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
The main problem has been that the Executive and Legislative branches of the United States Government have been extremely slow in addressing the continued municipal police violation of the US Constitutional Rights of its Black citizens. There has been an increase in police killing, illegal arrests and assaults of American Blacks, and despite being caught on cell phone video and have a Mulatto President and Black Attorney General, almost none of these killer and rogue cops have been brought to justice for their crimes.
Two Harris County sheriff deputies have been placed on administrative duty pending the outcome of the internal investigation. The deputies, who were not named in a news release announcing the investigation, are the subject of a complaint filed by Torrance Valentine, 24, of Houston.
Valentine, who is black, said he secretly recorded the deputies during a traffic stop they initiated in southwest Houston February 11. Valentine's friend Fredrick Alsandor and Alsandor's 22 month old son were passengers in Valentine's Cadillac STS.
After reviewing the recording, which he said captured the deputies' conversations during the search of his car, Valentine contacted community activist Quanell X. Valentine and Quanell released copies of the recording, which is laced with profanities and racial slurs, to reporters Wednesday. Then he talked about the encounter....
“The[] black deputy comes on the scene and goes from zero to one hundred with his behavior,” Quannel said. “And he brings up, ‘ you smell like marijuana'.”
The recording does capture a lengthy discussion about marijuana.
“Why does your car smell like weed,” a voice is heard asking. Those words are followed by Valentine giving the officer permission to search his car.
“If it smells like weed, I can take the seat out of the car,” the voice is heard saying.
Valentine replied, “You can do whatever. You can do whatever. I don't smoke weed.”
Four and half minutes into the recording the voice is heard saying, “One little seed is all I need, dog.”
Followed by, “If we find one (expletive) leaf, his (expletive) is going to jail.”
Quanell said he was disappointed for a number of reasons.
“It's a shame and appalling that a black deputy will use the language used on that tape,” he said...
Nearly eight minutes into the recording the following words are heard, “(Is the) trunk open? (Expletive) just got his little income tax check. Got a new car.”
At the ten minute mark, the recording captured what appeared to be an exchange between both officers.
“Write that (expletive) a ticket for no driver's license, no insurance. That way we'll be justified for tearing his (expletive) up.”
Valentine, who said his biological father and step-father are both in law enforcement, walked away without a ticket.
“And you didn't even write him a ticket,” Quanell said, “Because they had valid license, valid registration, and they hadn't violated any laws. They didn't even get a ticket.”
“This is a black deputy talking disrespect about black men and black children,” Quanell said. “This is a black deputy.”
The recording ended with the following statement, “back in the day, we'd slap him right in his mouth,” followed by laughter.
“These two deputies should be investigated for their entire tenure as sheriff deputies here in Harris County to see how many people they've have beaten up," Quanell said.
*** Hat Tip to YouTube V-blogger TheAdviseShow for this story.
Brooklyn Rap sensation Bobby Shmurda, whose real name Ackquille Jean Pollard, granted Billboard a recorded 10-minute phone interview from the Manhattan Detention Complex where he has been held since his arrest on December 17, 2014. Shmurda expressed how he feels abandoned by his record label Epic.
Sidebar: Before you sign any record deal with a major or small label, please listen to my interview with Professor Griff (click here to listen) or contact me at info@pinkcottonent.com. There is a $175.00 consultation fee for a 30-minute session.
People in there know who you are, and know "Hot Boy"?
Yeah, everybody. Every time I walk the halls, I see people and they yell out "Ah Ah!" or something.
That's good. I talked to your mom a lot and it sounds like she's working hard to get you out on bail. Are you hopeful about that?
Uhhh… We're trying, but right now I think the DA and the judge and everyone in the court is being biased. It's so crazy. The favoritism, yeah. They don't have no evidence, no nothing on me for the bill to be so high. I haven't been out [as an artist] for a year, I haven't been around for a year. So I didn't make $2 million! [Laughs.] They gave me a bill they know I can't pay. We can pay the 10 percent. And we tried to pay the 10 percent and they told us collateral. And every time we go for bail it's something new.
What do you say about the charges -- that you are a mastermind of GS9?
Bullshit. I'm gonna say shit like that.
You can say that.
That shit is bullshit.
Why do you think they're saying that?
I come from a bad neighborhood. They're mad -- they're upset that somebody my age made it out and is making so much money and stuff like that.
Do you feel like music has been taking you out of the neighborhood? Do you feel like it's a ticket out of this other life?
Yeah, it is. A big ticket. I'm not gonna stop.
Do you have a message for your fans?
Yeah. Keep your head up. Everybody goes through tough times and good times. You know what, tough times don't last forever. I say, "God makes his toughest battles for his strongest soldiers."
I haven't heard that before, that's nice. I was in the courtroom the other day and some other members of GS9 were swaggering into the room. They were smiling. But you looked really serious. What were you thinking in that moment?
When I see the judge and the DA, I just see a bunch of people trying to take my life away for being blessed. That's what I look at when I look at them. It looks like a bunch of haters, when I see the DA and stuff, taking my life away for being blessed.
What changed when you got famous, and what stayed the same?
The cops always trying to lock me up. That's why I don't come to New York like that. I love my home state. I love New York. I love the people of New York. But it's just the laws and stuff. They're trying to lock me up for every little thing. Every little thing. For walking across the street with no ID, they'll try to lock me up. Just to bring me to the precinct, they'll lie to me, like, "Yo, sign a couple autographs for my kids and I'll let you go."
Oh no.
Yeah! I'll sign 20 autographs and they'll still send me to the booking. Every time they have me, they just want to hold me longer to show their partners and the others, "Yo, I locked him up! I locked him up!" So they are kind of biased. It's crazy.
What does GS9 mean to you? Your mom was saying these are kids you've grown up with and known for a long time.
GS9 is our record label: God's Selected Few. God's Sons. We felt like we were extremely blessed, so we're called God's Sons.
When did you come up with the name?
About two years ago, when we started rapping. Yeah.
There's been mixed statements about how much of what you rap about is true. Do you have an answer to that?
Nah. It's fabric. I just want to be like 50 Cent. Or Jay Z. It's fabric. I just want to be like 50 Cent. [Laughs.] I want to be like Biggie, Tupac. Fabric rap. Fiction rap.
Where did you move to when you started getting famous?
I moved out when I was going to clubs. The cops started shutting down my shows, shutting down my shows for no reason.
What was your new neighborhood like?
Um, I lived around a bunch of Koreans. [Laughs.]
[Laughs.] So it was quieter?
There was never no trouble. Yeah, it was quiet.
How do you feel about the other people who are your co-defendants? Have you been in touch with them at all?
Some of them I don't know. Some of them I do know. It's crazy. They just started picking anybody out of the neighborhood. Some of them I don't even know. [Laughs.] They got me locked up with -- I don't know, probably like six people here. I don't even know everybody. It's crazy.
Is Epic standing by you? There was some talk at the arraignment that they were going to bail you out.
No, no. They're not bailing me out. They're not standing by me that much. Every time I call them, there's excuses about [parent company] Sony, this and that. So, nah. It's more people on the streets that's standing by me more than them. I haven't gotten a visit from one of them yet. Nah.
Besides your mother, who have you been in touch with?
I talked to Meek [Mill]. I talked to French [Montana]. I talked to people while I'm in here. I talked to Migos. While I'm in here. I'm still in contact with people. I stay in contact with people.
I'm talking to Uncle Murda on Monday.
Yeah. Shout out to Uncle Murda, man. Shout out to Meek Mill. Shout out to everybody showing love. French. Everybody.
Your friends have said you and your mom are super close. Can you talk about how she's been holding up the past few months?
My moms? She's stressing, but she's staying strong right now for us, because both her kids and her baby father locked up. So you know, she out there on her own, by herself. She's staying strong, though.
I know you have to go soon. But what are you planning to do when you get out? Do you have plans?
Write some platinum songs. [Laughs.] Finish up this deal I got with Epic so they'll get off my back. I'm starting to feel like a slave now.
You want to finish up what you have to give them and then...
Yeah. At first I thought it was love. Now everything is all business.
It sounds like you're disappointed they haven't done more.
I was. I just stopped looking towards them.
You had one of the craziest years -- super high-highs, and this super low in December.
Yeah, it started off good last year and it ended up ass! So hopefully it started off bad this year and end off outrageous and good the end of this year.
That's great. And what was sort of the best moment? Your mom was saying maybe it was the BET Awards. Other people have said they thought it was [Late Night Starring Jimmy] Fallon. Was there a moment where you just felt like that was the best moment of your life?
Oh, everything felt like the best moment of my life. Every day. Every show. Meeting people. Everything.
I was at [an East Flatbush] barbershop and everybody got their phones and showed pictures of you with their kids, smiling.
Yeah. I love kids, man! They love me and I love the kids.
That's nice. It seems like your neighborhood is really family. Or a lot of people, your label -- GS9.
I would say half my neighborhood. Like, they just, I would say, they hating. They just hating. Half the people in my neighborhood love me. Half the people are just hating. It's crazy.
We're running out of time, but anything else about what it's like in jail? There are so many rumors, right, like that you got stabbed.
A lot of people always stressed out, man. It's nothing but rumors, man. I'm good. Everybody knows I'm good. I'm chilling. We over here -- we over here thugging it out, man. [Laughs.] We over here thugging it out. But it's a lot of people stressing, man. A lot of people you see with unfair bids -- [CALL CUTS OFF].
In 18 years as a practicing attorney, Kenneth J. Montgomery has worked both as a prosecutor and a defense attorney. For 5 years Ken has prosecuted thousands of cases as an assistant district attorney in the Kings County District Attorney’s Office and for 13 years Ken has defended hundreds of individuals charged with crimes in both the Federal and State courts.
Ken’s experience has gained him a stellar reputation as a skillful and talented trial attorney. His trial acumen and tireless defense of individuals charged with crimes has resulted in over 50 trial acquittals. Ken has also represented corporations charged with crimes or those under criminal investigation by the federal and state governments.
In addition to criminal prosecution and defense, Ken has also represented hundreds of individuals in suits against the New York Police Department and the City of New York for excessive force, false arrest and malicious prosecution. He has also used his trial skills in criminal litigation and transcended those skills into the area of personal injury working with personal injury giants Gair, Gair, and Conason.
In addition to his work as an attorney, Ken is also a professor at Fordham Law School in the Trial Advocacy department, where he has lectured hundreds of students in Trial Advocacy and Fundamental Lawyering Skills. Humbled by his experiences both in life and as a professional, Ken continues to mentor young men in Brooklyn where he was born and raised.
Chris is a founder and managing member of Brown & Rosen and runs the firm’s litigation and entertainment departments. Chris has represented corporate clients such as DuPont, UPS, Pangea Brands and others in litigation around the country. As the head of the firm’s entertainment group, Chris has represented clients such as Yolanda Adams, Fred Hammond, Bobby Brown, New Edition, Leandria Johnson, Day 26 (Diddy: Making the Band), Trin:i:Tee 5-7, Teddy Riley, Hi-5, Crystal Aikin, Grammy Award Winning Music Producer Dezzle, Brian Courtney Wilson, Television Executive Holly Carter (Preachers of LA), Dawn Robinson (En Vogue/Lucy Pearl), Latin Entertainment (Don Omar/Cuban Link) and others.
Prior to joining Brown & Rosen in 2005, Chris served as Chairman of the Sports and Entertainment Group at Murtha Cullina LLP in Boston. Prior to joining Murtha Cullina in 1999, Mr. Brown was a litigation associate at the New York City law firm of Fisher, Fisher & Berger, P.C.
Chris is also a founder of Orpheus Sports, where he represents professional baseball players. In addition, Chris is an adjunct professor at Boston College Law School, having taught sports and entertainment law.
Chris received a B.A. in Political Science from Colgate University in 1995 and a J.D. from Boston College Law School in 1998. Chris is admitted to the Massachusetts Bar, New York Bar, United States District Court, Massachusetts, and United States District Court, Southern District of New York.
The fatal incident occurred a short while after Knight was told by deputies to leave a film location where he had argued with someone, authorities said.
The cast and crew were taking a break from filming a promotional video for the biopic "Straight Outta Compton," about the rise of N.W.A., according to a person familiar with the project who was not authorized to speak about it publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The argument resumed and escalated a short while later at a fast-food restaurant about two miles away, with Knight and the man exchanging punches through his open window. Knight then struck the man and a friend with his vehicle and fled, said sheriff's Lt. John Corina.
Terry Carter, 55, Knight's friend who authorities do not believe was involved in the altercation, died at a hospital, Corina said. The other man was identified by his manager as Cle "Bone" Sloan, 51, an actor and film consultant. He was hospitalized in stable condition, said manager Jermaine Shelton.
Corina said Knight backed up his pickup truck and knocked Sloan down."Then he puts the truck in drive, drives forward, running over him, and then keeps going forward and keeps on driving, and runs over Carter, who is standing in the parking lot, and keeps on going after that," Corina said.
He said witnesses told investigators it looked like an intentional act.Defense attorney James Blatt said Knight was called to Tam's Burgers in Compton for a meeting and was attacked by four people, including Sloan, as he slowed his truck. The men beat him through his window and threatened to kill him.
Corina said evidence thus far disputed Blatt's account, saying only one man exchanged blows with Knight through the window before he got run over.The incident comes less than six months after Knight was shot six times at a West Hollywood nightclub in August — the second shooting he's survived. No arrests have been made.
Knight punched the gas and fled in fear, Blatt said. He had no idea he hit two men. Corina said that claim is hard to believe.
Knight surrendered early Friday and was booked on suspicion of murder. He was being held on $2 million bail. (SOURCE)
