Part Six of a Series
by Sherman H. Skolnick
ANATOMY OF THE BIG COURT FIX
One of the hardest things to understand for poorly informed folks is that the law and the facts are not the controlling factors in important cases in Court. Mind you, not every case is corrupted or "fixed". Too often, however, the big ones show signs there has been a malign, if not corrupt, influence on the Judge or Judges involved.
Our court reform group, targetting court corruption, has been active for four decades. We know what to look for. The assignment of cases, is, to us, a key sign.
We have been writing and commenting, and did a one-hour Cable TV Program, on the corruption in the case against The Coca-Cola Company, in Chicago's notorious federal district court. With no exceptions, every judgeship in the place has been bought and sold over the years. [Visit onur website story, Buying a Judgeship.]
The case against Coca-Cola was brought in January, 1997, by a Nebraska attorney, John DeCamp, with long prior experience with the American CIA. [The plaintiff, Robert E. Kolody, found it difficult to get a local attorney.] DeCamp was in a position to understand plenty. He was in a position to know that this important case in Chicago, involving claims against the soda pop monster for theft of intellectual property, storyboards and designs, would be difficult to continue. Any plaintiff's attorney might get chewed up and spit out, especially by Coca-Cola, a worldwide adjunct and proprietary operation of the American CIA.
By the corrupt process of random magic, instead of random selection, the Coca-Cola case was assigned to Chicago U.S. District Judge Blanche M. Manning [(312) 435-7608]. And the road to reportedly blackmailing her, to favor Coca-Cola, was already built. Running on that road was waste hauler John Christopher who had a criminal past with reputed ties to organized crime. He agreed to be an FBI "mole" and to wear a "wire" to target some of Chicago's City Officials, known as "the best that money can buy". The FBI/U.S. Justice Department project was dubbed "Silver Shovel". Screwing the residents in their own districts with poisonous waste, various city council Aldermen took apparent pay-offs or reportedly extorted pay-offs from Christopher, so he could illegally dump huge waste in their neighborhoods. Left-over construction junk. This was primarily or exclusively in poor black areas, with an empty lot or two, areas without financial or political clout. By the way, after the FBI dust had settled, the U.S. Government did NOT quickly offer to haul away all the toxic mess that Christopher unloaded, often right near populated inner city areas.
"Silver Shovel" was a headlined scandal in the local press starting about January, 1996. By the time the Coca-Cola case got started a year later, City of Chicago Commissioner of Water, John Bolden, was targeted for federal criminal prosecution in "Silver Shovel". His and the soda pop case were both pending before Judge Manning. Commissioner Bolden's defense attorney, James Montgomery, was reportedly a close crony of Judge Manning. It was obvious to savvy sorts what might happen. Montgomery reportedly had ties of some sort over the years with Nevada gambling casino gangsters. Reportedly part of the crime cartel and a big-time owner of gambling casinos, William F. Cellini reportedly had bought the federal judgeship for Manning, paying some one million dollars through then U.S. Senator Carol Moseley-Braun [D., Ill.].
John DeCamp, in a position reportedly to understand a few things about Coca-Cola and the CIA and the Chicago federal judges, withdrew from the newly started case against Coke, in July, 1997. A few weeks later, started the federal criminal trial USA vs. John Bolden. Same Judge.
Anyone knowing a lot about court knows that even trials by jury can be "fixed" or sabotaged by the trial Judge. Such as, by the Judge keeping out key evidence as being "inadmissible", by manipulating the dates and circumstances of the jury procedures. By slanting the court procedures against the prosecutors and in favor of the criminal defendant. By scheduling the jury under peculiar circumstances. In September, 1997, the jury in the Bolden case came back with a split verdict. Guilty on tax evasion, wherein Bolden could get, at most, six months in prison. They acquitted Bolden on the more serious charges of extortion.
John Bolden was a bigshot making as much as 90 thousand dollars a year as Commissioner of Water for City of Chicago. [And perhaps much more as pay-offs to influence his official position.] He was a big fish. The team that helped put together the charges against Bolden were and are livid. Why? They contend that Judge Manning, to go easy on Water Commissioner Bolden, got a financial benefit that some might construe as a bribe. The team, in plain language, grumbles loud enough for others to hear, that U.S. District Judge Blanche M. Manning is a crook, whose chair reportedly was bought for her by a crook, and that she belongs in prison, along with the one who bought her the Judgesghip. ]
To understand this story fully, you have to understand the realities of political and financial power. Those who put together criminal charges are most often NOT concerned about bribes to Judges in CIVIL cases. So, if Judge Manning had been bribed or corruptly influenced or blackmailed in the CIVIL case, the one against Coca-Cola, well, the team is NOT concerned. In the Water Commissioner's case, Judge Manning made the same mistake, however, as Chicago Federal Appeals Judge Otto Kerner, Jr., in 1969. He had reportedly taken a huge bribe in a CIVIL case, involving a five million dollar claim regarding a pet food company. The matter, however, that instigated the federal criminal charges aagainst Judge Kerner was that he had been corrupted to turn loose the Silver-Hi-Jacking Gang, an important federal CRIMINAL case.
A federal judge is a fool to counter the prosecutors in a federal criminal case. A federal judge who takes bribes or financial benefits or is corruptly influenced or blackmailed, in a CIVIL case, most likely stays peacefully and quietly on the bench until he or she retires or croaks.
The other some two dozen U.S. District Judges that sit with Judge Manning in the federal courthouse in Chicago are just as corrupt as Manning. EXCEPT, they do not screw or sabotage or sabotage CRIMINAL cases. [This is not a blanket generality. I could detail their crimes as well, one by one.]
Judge Kerner learned the hard way the number one unwritten law that applies to crooked judges YOU DO NOT SCREW AROUND WITH CRIMINAL CASES,only civil cases.
Our group, by the way, was instrumental in getting Kerner put in prison. He was the highest ranking sitting federal judge to be sent to jail for bribery in U.S. history. Also sent to jail with him, by our work, was his crony, the former Director of the Illinois Department of Revenue, the highest Illinois state tax collector, Theodore J. Isaacs. When I publicly accused Kerner, he tried to get a fellow judge to jail me for contempt of court. Kerner held a press conference and all the local media carried his statement calling me a "liar". But get this, he died an ex-convict. So who was lying after all?
Here are a few questions to think about [1] Were and are Coca-Cola's hotshot Chicago lawyers in a position to know that Judge Manning may be in big trouble and subject to blackmail, such as reportedly by Coke's lawyers, because of her role in the Water Commissioner's case. Coca-Cola's attorneys are Ms Laura Beth Miller, of Brinks, Hofer, Gilson & Lione [(312) 321-4715], E-mail lmiller@brinkshofer.com FAX(312) 321-4299. [2] Why is nothing done about Simon Marketing, a marketing adjunct of Coca-Cola and also defendant with them? The one in court that purports to represent Simon Marketing, reportedly actually represents the insurance carrier. Are they committing a fraud upon the court? Simon Marketing merged with Cyrk, Inc., not shown in the Court record. Purporting to represent Simon Marketing is Jacqueline A. Criswell (312) 627-4000 E-Mail jcriswell@mail.tsmp.com FAX (312) 627-1717, of Tressler, Soderstrom, Maloney & Priess. [3] Why did Judge Manning have six federal police in her courtroom, to intimidate me, when I testified at a hearing as to my investigations in respect to Judge Manning and the Coca-Cola case? [4] The other judges in the federal courthouse with Judge Manning know better than to sabotage or corruptly screw up the prosecutors in a federal criminal case. How is it that she does not realize she on the road to possible disaster? Did she flunk out of Crooked Judge 101? The other crooked judges in her courthouse have all passed the test. They are each as corrupt as her but know how to survive as a corrupt judge.
Cynics claim that the School for training Corrupt Judges how to survive, is financed, in part, by gambling casino loot. Wise bookies are refusing bets, however, on Judge Manning, a judicial school drop-out. Do we know who actually runs such a school? You betcha. Stay tuned.
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