COURT RECORD OF SILVA CASE...

GENERAL DOCKET

U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SEVENTH CIRCUIT

Nsuit: 0 96-4026

USA v. Silva, Tony
Appeal from: United States District Court criminal - criminal - conviction - none.
Filed: 12/4/96
Fee status: informa pauperis
Case Associations
Prior cases:
None
Current cases:
None

Lower Court Information

Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division: 94 CR 760
Court Reporter: Michael Snyder, Court Reporter
Ordering Judge: Elaine E. Bucklo, Judge
Date Filed: 11/29/94
Date order/judgment: 11/26/96
Date NOA filed: 11/26/96

Caption

UNITED STATES OF AMEPICA,

Plaintiff - Appellee

V.

TONY SILVA,

Defendant - Appellant

Counsel Information

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Ellen J. Durkee
Plaintiff Appellee
202/514-4426
[COR LD NTC us]
Jeffrey C. Dobbins
[COR LD NTC us]
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Land & Natural Resources
Division
P.O. Box 23795
L'Enfant Station
Washington, DC 20026
USA

Docket as of October 17, 1997 12:00 pm Page 1

96-4026 USA v. Silva, Tony

TONY SILVA David P. Schippers
Defendant - Appellant
312/263-1200
36th Floor
[COR LD NTC cja]
SCHIPPERS & BAILEY

20 N. Clark Street
Chicago, IL 60602
USA

Docket

12/4/96 Criminal case docketed. [96-4026] [898363-1] Appearance form due on 1/3/97 for Barry Rand Elden, for David P. Schippers. Transcript information sheet due 12/16/96. Appellant's brief due 1/13/97 for Tony Silva. (nanc)

12/4/96 [96-4026] ROA from No. Dist. of Il., E. Div. due 12/10/96. (nanc)

12/4/96 Filed Appellant Tony Silva docketing statement. [96-4026] [898370-1] (nanc)

12/23/96 original record on appeal filed. Contents of record: 1 vol. pleadings; 10 vol. transcripts; 4 envelopes in camera. [96-4026] [901854-1] (fern)

12/23/96 Appearance form filed by attorneys) David P. Schippers for Appellant Tony Silva. [96-4026] [898363-1] (madd)

12/30/96 Filed oversized record in Section 428 of exhibit room: 1 box containing 10 vol. transcripts. [898363-1] [96-4026] (cove)

1/6/97 ORDER: Attorney David P. Schippers is APPOINTED to represent Appellant Tony Silva pursuant to the Criminal Justice Act. [905563-1] DW [96-4026] (chri)

1/8/97 Filed motion by Appellant Tony Silva to extend time to file appellant's brief. [906819-1] [96-4026] (tim)

1/10/97 ORDER issued GRANTING motion for extension of time to file appellant's brief. [906819-1] AK [96-4026] Appellant's brief due 2/12/97 for Tony Silva. 2. The appellees) brief is due on or before 3/14/97 for USA. 3. The reply brief, if any, is due 3/28/97 for Tony Silva. (tim)

1/14/97 Terminated attorney Barry Rand Elden for USA and added attorney Sergio Acosta per appearance form. Appearance form filed for Appellee USA by attorney Sergio E. Acosta. [96-4026] [898363-1] (grac)

2/4/97 Terminated attorney Sergio E. Acosta for USA and added attorney Jeffrey Dobbins and Ellen Durkee per appearance form. Appearance form filed for Appellee USA by attorney Ellen J. Durkee, Jeffrey C. Dobbins. [96-4026] [898363-1] (madd)

2/12/97 Brief deficiency letter sent to Appellant Tony Silva. [898363-1] [96-4026] (tyle)

Docket as of October 17, 1997 12:00 pm Page 2

96 -40 26 USA V. Silva, Tony

2/12/97 Filed 15c appellant's brief by Tony Silva. Disk filed. [96-40261 :920941-11 (tim)

2/26/97 Supplemental record on appeal filed. Contents of record: 1 vol. transcripts; . [96-4026] [921411-1] (fran)

3/6/97 Filed motion by Appellee USA to extend time to file appellees brief. [924810-1] [96~4026] (jame)

3/10/97 ORDER issued GRANTING motion for extension of time to file appellees brief. [924810-1] AK [96-4026] Appelleels brief due 3/28/97 for USA . 3. The reply brief if any is due on 4/11/97 for Tony Silva (cint)

3/27/97 Filed emergency motion bv Appellee USA to extend time to file appellees brief. [931794-1] . [96-4026] [931794-1] (heid)

4/1/97 ORDER issued GRANT ING emergency motion for extension of time to file appellees brief. [931794-1] AK [96-4026] Appellee's brief due 4/11/97 for USA. 3. The reply brief if any is due on 4/25/97 for Tony Silva. (nanc)

4/10/97 Filed district court order dated March 27, 1997: Motion to supplement record on appeal and motion to withdraw guilty plea are cranted. Forwarded to D.W. [96-4026] [898363-1] (bobi)

4/14/97 Filed 15c appellee's brief by USA. Disk filed. [96-4025]1 [937763-1] (heid)

4/16/97 Supplemental record on appeal filed. Contents of record: 1 vol. pleadings; . [96-4026] [20188-1] (odea)

4/18/97 ORDER: Argument set for Monday, May 19, 1997 at 9:30 a.m. Each side limited to 15 minutes. [96-4026] [938729-1] (broo)

4/18/97 Filed motion by Appellant Tony Silva to extend time to file appellant's reply brief. [939892-1] [96-4026] (patb)

4/23/97 ORDER issued GRANTING motion for extension of time to file appellant's reply br. [939892-1] AK [96-4026] Appellant's reply brief due no later than 5/2/97 for Tony Silva. (tim)

5/2/97 Filed 15c appellant's reply brief by Tony Silva. Disk filed. Dist. [96-4026] [944268-1] (orac)

5/12/97 Filed Appellant Tony Silva Citation of Additional Authority, per CR 28(j). Dist. [96-4026] [947907-1] (nanc)

5/19/97 Case heard and taken under advisement by panel: circuit Judge Kenneth F. Ripple, Circuit Judge Michael S. Kanne, Circuit Judge Diane P. Wood. [96-4026] [949318-1] (broo)

5/19/97 Case argued by David P. Schippers for Appellant Tony Silva, Jeffrey C. Dobbins for Appellee USA . [96-4026] [898363-1] (broo)

5/20/97 Supplemental record on appeal filed. Contents of record: 3 vol. transcripts; . [96-4026] [949542-1] (fran)

Docket as of October 17, 1997 12:00 pm Page 3

The government proved deceitful when they erringly stated that my birds were ill and when they lied to get my mother to release their ownership.

Using the argument of dead birds, they list a total of 13 individuals which had died. This number is alarming in itself, yet if the number is dissected it becomes evident that many of the birds were simply not mine.

(The following table did not reproduce well in the converstion to HTML for the internet)

Species name: Mine(Silva's): Not mine(Not Owned by Silva): Government records

Thick-billed Parrots 1 That only one of the dead birds was mine is evident in the goverment's own records (withheld until after 5 years of release).
Yellow-faced Amazon 1
White-bellied Caique 1
Plain Parakeet 1
African Greys 2 Government gave 10 away; Mackman only had 2 from me on loan.
Patagonian Conures 2
Cockatiels 3
Golden Conures 2? Mackman had 3 birds on loan, yet the government disposed of 6.
Totals 6 8

Given that they were deceitful with the numbers of birds that died, attributing them as if they were all mine, I must be made to wonder if the birds that died were indeed mine? This also shows that the disease, if there was one, made it's appearance with the birds that Mackman was trading, as the person that had the birds prior to Mackman taking them on loan had experienced no losses from illness.

The above can be further clarified. Mackman had 2 pairs of Thick-bills belonging to me on loan, yet the government disposed of 4, of which three are mine according to Government records. Was the one that died truly mine?

Mackman had only 1 pair of African Greys of mine on loan, yet the Government disposed of 10. I suspect the two that died were not mine. Mackman was selling illegal African Greys to people. Perhaps he was attempting to entrap them?

Golden Conures. Records show that Mackman had 3 birds on loan, yet the Government disposed of 6, giving a total of 8. What evidence is there that the two that died were mine?

Red-vented Cockatoos. The Government disposed of four. Loan agreement said 4.

White-eared Conures, Blue-throated Conures, Jardine's Parrots and other species bred. Where are the progeny? Why are they not listed? Other birds also bred. Where are the young?

Given the recent case of Fish and Wildlife raiding the Berger ranch in Montana and colluding with CNN (Cable News Network) to give an erring view of what the Bergers were doing and a plethora of other similar cases across the country, one must question their credibility. They say I am not credible. Exclude my views; examine the record and see if you do not get the same numbers and facts as above.

When the Government contacted my lawyer, who got my mother to sign a waiver on my birds without my knowledge, they painted a picture of birds in terrible health, yet they excluded the first comment made by the veterinarian brought in to examine the birds, - that they were overall in good shape. Poor feather, the government claims, suggest they were in poor care when received, yet can I be responsible for the bird's feathers after Mackman had them 2 years? The Government apparently has overlooked the fact that birds molt.

by: Tony Silva

1998 Postings on the Tony Silva case (one covering letter and two letters re a TV news story on the case)

Dear Raymond Hoser,

Tony asked me to write to you and ask you to please publish these two letters on the internet for him.

Thank you - Gerry.

Tony Silva
06402-424

210-220
FPC-Duluth
Box 1000

Duluth, MN 55814-1000

Jack Ford
NBC
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York 10112

5 January 1998

Re: Dateline NBC for 4 January 1998

Dear Mr Ford:

I was the subject of a Dateline interview on 5 January 1998. What I was promised and what aired were as different as day is from night. The producer, Mr Delmonico, promised my attorney, Joseph Ranieri and myself that the interview would be impartial. Nothing was further from the truth, as will become evident if you review the interview tapes. The facts were taken out of context; questions and answers were so edited to prevent the truth from emanating. As an example, I was repeatedly asked why I plead. I stated the following reasons repeatedly, yet one ending comment was used to give the onus for pleading. My reasons for pleading were clearly indicated in the interview, as follows:

1) That the government witheld all of the documents that I could use in my defense, and what little they returned had been picked through to remove evidence that would prove the legality of ALL of the birds.
2) That witnesses were threatened and intimidated by agents to prevent them from testifying.
3) That the government met with my attorney and distorted the facts so greatly that my attorney lost total confidence in me after that meeting. Afterwards he realized the government had lied and that I was telling the truth. He then tried to withdraw the plea.
4) And that after four years of fighting, I was physically and mentally worn.
5) That I did not know what I was doing; the law was never fully explained and I was under the impression - as I so clearly stated in court - that I could prove the truth, under oath, that what I had signed was not the case. How could I have smuggled Blue-throated and Crimson-bellied Conures and a plethora of other species in 1990 when I could prove ownership long before that date? The government was aware of this, and I have maintained my innocense from day one.

The truth in this case would have been far more interesting than the distorted, pro-government version that aired. The promise from Delmonico was broken; as was Chris Hanson's, who assured me that I would get a fair deal and that he had dealt with equally hard with the prosecutor. I can now understand why Mr Delmonico paid no attention to my numerous letters, citing government reports where the agents refute their story; why he failed to send some money for the phone, as promised; and why he never verified the facts before airing, as promised. It was an ill-intentioned attempt to get my confidence and them report falsities and a totally slanted story. Dateline, I believed, was beyond that. I was wrong.

My version of the story never aired. The government's star witness, James Mackman, for example was never mentioned. His accusations against me were, but his name was witheld to protect him. This man is a true pathological liar, as I indicated (by citing very clearly the government reports) in my letters to Mr Delmonico. He claimed I had people murdered, that I smuggled drugs, condoned black-mailing using child sex and even supplied arms to the Contras and the other side of the Nicaraguan conflict. He even claimed to have participated in a meeting where Antonio de Dios of the Philippines was present. We proved that de Dios was in the Philippines, and then he flipped-flopped as to whether the meeting actually occurred. Would it have not been more interesting to report these accusations and my responses? Would it not have been much better to question the government on the credibility of this man? Would it not have been much more interesting to question the government why they did not even investigate these charges? They clearly sent him to Spain, as the record so lucidly shows. but they have gone out of their way to claim that he was requested, summoned. Mr Delmonico had all this and so much more that he could have used, but chose to overlook in favor of the distorted story he put on the air.

Donald Bruning has a long standing feud with me. He has a history of distorting facts, making claims that hold no water. This was cited in my A Monograph of Macaws and Conures. He has claimed that I attempted to bribe officials in the Caribbean, but when questioned admitted that it was pure hearsay. He has been sued for slander. Why not allow my charges against him air, juxtaposed to his?

Thomas Goldsmith's claims regarding the Hyacinth Macaws he supposedly treated clash complete with Mario Trabaue's. He cannot even reference his notes on the treatment, drug dosages or mortality rate and threatened to invoke the 5th Amendmendment if we questioned him under oath on his involvement in Trabaue's drug case. Would my response to his charges, citing his own statements and Trabaue's not have made the show more interesting? Why did he overlook in your interview the fact that he had no evidence the birds came from me -- just hearsay! Clearly Mr Delmonico could not let my response to his charges air, as they would have cast doubt on Goldsmith's credibility.

Mario Trabaue is a drug dealer and murderer. I read from a report by the Bureau of Prisons, written by F.W. Mance, where he is regarded as a liar that is prepared to say whatever is necessary to earn good time. Can this man be credible? Why not juxtapose my charges against his and let the public decide who is more credible.

The photograph of dead Hyacinth Macaws was attributed to me; Dateline was convinced the birds were mine, yet the agents testified under oath that they could not date or place them. They were not mine!

You reference huge sums and assume that they were in US dollars, yet the agents under oath could not indicate what currency was involved or that they were for illegal birds.

You claim that I made as much as $1.5 million in illegal wildlife, yet the agents, per their own testimony under oath, found every bird and they could only claim $169,000.00. This money, by the way, was fully explainable: most of it belonged to the Hyacinth Macaws Trabaue claimed he bought -- they never existed, nor is there any evidence of any transaction for such a sum- and the rest was either legal birds sold and later returned, or money from the sale of birds on loan to me which were not mine and thus the funds were not mine. Reporting this truth would have given a totally different slant. Dateline was given access-- though the offer was never accepted- to conduct an independent investigation of everything. Instead they chose a version far from the truth.

Dateline also failed to indicate that every Hyacinth Macaw I owned was fully accountable, yet they chose to report an erring fact. The pattern clearly showed that there was no investigative reporting-- merely a one sided, totally slanted view was purported.

I am prepared, as I was when Dateline promised that they would air both sides, to face my accusers. The truth in this case is far more interesting than the version reported. I am prepared to sit down with a reporter from Dateline and answer every question posed, should they be prepared to air an impartial program.

I can prove all of my claims and am prepared to send you copies of my letters to Mr Delmonico. The Bureau of Prisons also records all calls and could produce these I am sure to prove that promises of impartiality were never upheld.

Thank you kindly.

Sincerely Yours - Tony Silva

Tony Silva 06402-424
210-220
FPC-Duluth
Box 1000
Duluth, MN 55814-1000

Joe Delmonico
Dateline NBC
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112

6 January 1998

Re: Dateline program for 4 January 1998

Dear Mr Delmonico:

This is to express my outrage and concern that someone at NBC Dateline has abandoned their ethical duties, sacrificed NBC's internal operating guidelines and procedures for fairness and the pursuit of truth, and in so doing maliciously damaged my efforts and those of my lawyer, Richard Kling, to overturn my Constitutionally unfair guilty plea and obtain justice.

Dateline was made aware during the interview that my guilty plea was induced by fraud-- by lying to my attorney, threatening witnesses, witholding evidence and much more. My previous attorney's failed to investigate the evidence they had shown him in a meeting and thus led me to plea. When he realized the truth, he tried to withdraw the plea but the judge refused. He told the Court of Appeals very clearly that the government had lied.

When I agreed to participate in the interview with Dateline, I did so because I had been promised by you and the man that first contacted me, that I would be given a chance to tell my story; that my view would share equal footing with those of the government and that the story would not be distorted or slanted. In other words, that both sides would get to air their their story without favoring one or the other.

None of these promises were kept. In fact, even though Dateline staff knew I was relying on their staff and without the presence of my attorney, I proceeded because I was told that you were in pursuit of the truth. The slanted, distorted review will make it that much wore difficult for me to seek justice. Even Chris Hanson told me in the parking lot that the government had been questioned as intently and when I asked him if the interview to air would be fair, he reported in the affirmative.

I never expected Dateline to jump or pile on where the US Attorney and Fish and Wildlife left off. Dateline was aware of the facts-- indicated in my interview and in my various letters, suggestions that you review the agents reports and other evidence, and even the willingness of people to appear on camera~- but proceeded to report them falsely. Examples include the following:

1) James Mackman did not go to the government to reveal my smuggling but was working for them long before; he did not 'expose' me for my crimes but for money. He was paid over $36,000.00 for his information. He is the true liar in this story, conjuring up stories of child sex, drug smuggling, murder, and even sales of arms to the Contras. Had he been credible, these stories would have been investigated but they were not because the agents were aware that doing so would reveal his lack of credibility. It was he who, in his zeal to make money, claimed perfectly legal birds were illegal, or distorted to truth beyond its limits. Dateline was aware of over 30 such examples!
2) Taped recorded conversations have been altered. Steve Cain analyzed them and his preliminary report suggests they were altered. There is a similar trend seen in Operation Renegade. Dateline was aware of this.
3) Mackman was working as a government agent and thus had the duty to be truthful and honest. He lied and entrapped me and in so doing violated the law.
4) The agents could find no evidence of the use of pvc for smuggling, nor could they point to one bird and claim it was smuggled, nor one illegal money transaction for smuggled birds, nor come up with one illegal bird. Those they witheld as smuggled and forced me to plea as having been smuggled in 1990 were under my ownership prior to 1989, or before... and they were legal!
5) Thomas Goldsmith claims he treated the sick Hyacinth Macaws but could come up with no proof-- no notes, dosages, or anything typically done by a veterinarian. His stories have clashed with those of Trabaue and he has vascilated from his claims. Initially he said he had helped decapitate the birds, then that he did not; that he was sure they came from me, then that he was not; and so forth. If this man is so honest, why would he threaten to invoke the 5th Amendmendment if we questioned him on drugs, Trabaue's principal business and conducted where he worked?
6) Donald Bruning has been sued for slander, and has made it a career to accuse others of ill doing. He and I have long had arguments, and these are clearly indicated in my book. Bruning has long distorted the truth on issues for the press.
7) Mario Trabaue is a murderer, whose credibility is questioned even by the Bureau of Prisons. You were aware of a report by that insitution, which states that he is prepared to say whatever is necessary, inclyding lying, to get good time off. His claims on the Hyacinth Macaws clash directly with Goldsmith's. And does it not raise some doubt in your mind why the agents never once interviewed him, but rather relied on others to do so?
8) The millions I supposedly made do not hold truth when scrutinized. Why can the government claim that I misreported only $169,000.00 after finding every bird sold and buyer? Where are the millions? Why is it that when broken down, the $169,000.00 are fully explainable and the end result is nothing illegal? Here as elsewhere in this case the truth would have been more interesting that the edited, distorted story you aired.
9) Your reference to huge sums is equally erring. The agents under oath could not indicate what currency was involved, nor that the money was for illegal birds, yet you assumed it was dollars and for illegal birds. This is spurious journalism!

Many more cases could be reported.

I could not understand how you could abandon your legal and ethical duties, given the long tradition at Dateline. Surely your staff did not make a deal with the government similar to that made in the Berger case by Fish and Wildlife and the US Attorney and CNN, and so criticized in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals? Kindly retract the falsehoods and let us finish the process so that we can get the whole truth before your viewers, not just falsely juxtaposed questions and answers.

Awaiting your response,

Sincerely yours - Tony Silva

CC:
Jack Ford
Chris Hanson,
Dateline NBC
Parrot Society
Richard Kling
Wolfgang Kiessling
Raymond Hoser
60 Minutes
Bill Rappley
20120
Judy Franklin
Gracia Bennish
Thomas Arndt
Papageien
Silvio Mattacchione
Dansk Fuglehold
Penthouse Magazine
Paul Berger
Geraldo Rivera
Dave Schippers
Rush Limbaugh

From Tony Silva. 16 January 1998

Dear Richard:

I trust that you are well.

Dr Thomas Goldsmith seems to be very vocal about my supposed smuggling and sale of Hyacinth Macaws to Trabaue, yet he overlooks two very important facts: he threatened to invoke the 5th Amendmend if asked about drugs and I have someone prepared to testify that he was selling them anabolic steroids, which are illegal; there are people here doing hard time for such a crime. The good doctor is covering something-- perhaps a large involvement in Trabaue's drug trade (Trabaue has testified that Goldsmith used cocaine with him) or worse-- in exchange for his testimony. He stated under oath that he knew nothing about Trabaue's drug trade, but this sale of anabolic steroids proves that he was at least selling that controlled substance.

This is all for now.

Warmest Regards

Tony Silva

From: Tony Silva
06402-424
210-220
FPC-Duluth

Box 1000
Duluth, MN 55814-1000

22 January 1998
Re: Team Meeting on 22 January 1998

Dear Richard:

Today I had Team Meeting, with the Case Manager, Counselor and Unit Manager. They forced me to raise the amount I contributed to the fine; they said that either I agree and pay more or they would consider me in default. There was no alternative; it was a threat.

The money that I receive is from friends and is used to maintain contact with friends, the press and you, my attorney.

I pointed out that the money that I receive comes from a source that I do not control. They did not care. When I asked if my Counselor could provide calls to my attorney, they said no; that I could write. This is easily said, but as I pointed out questions can arise and to go back and forth could take considerable time. They said you could call, but that this would be infrequent and that it would depend on the Counselor's available time. I would not expect to be given priviledges; I do not want them. All I want is to be able to fight for my freedom. When I pointed out that they were creating obstacles and that I would inform my attorney, they objected. If you do not call this obstacles, I do not know what you can call it!

There is an additional problem to not being able to call you through the Counselorthey record all the calls and as such there is no privacy involved.

I suggest that when you need to contact me, call Mr Art Pulford and advice him that we need to talk confidentially, as I do not expect to have access to you with the current situation.

Thank you for your time.

Warmest regards,

Tony Silva

CC: File
Judy Franklin
Silvio Mattacchione
Antonio Garrido/Tomasso Pannilini

Mr. Hoser,

DEAR RAY!

Tony Silva has suggested that some of this information might be of interest ot you and your audience...

It implicates Newt Gingrich, the Federal Trade Commission and its Commissioners & Inspector General, two federal judges, other members of Congress, and now these legal issues are soon to be submitted to the Supreme Court hoping that Court will take over these claims and help try to restore a sense of Justice in the US...

Judy Franklin has investigated and reviewed most of our evidence, and the US Government has scared or frightened off most of the major media away from our claims...

Now our focus is on how can a government survive when It condones and covers up criminal-misconduct against an innocent Mother and her children, let alone what they have dene to me... at least in trying to discredit me they tried to and got a false indictment and a rigged criminal conviction ... against Diane and the kids the governeant just flat out planned and conducted its own RICO conspiracy and crimes ... as the smoking gun evidence now shows... if you need for info Judy would gladly help, as would
Diane Blodgett at (612)797-9441 or write
Diane at Cliffs Apt 2109
12300 NARION LANE
MINNETONKA MN 55305

I am trying for cert in the Supreme Court and soon a RICO lawsuit will start trying to help us get damages paid for such government criminal misconduct and conspiracy. Yet no one from the US media is willing to print what could be a story only one level below Watergate...

IN the case of US v Nixon, the Supreme Court ruled that Nixon was not above the law ... in the case of Jones v Clinton the Supreme Court again ruled that Clinton was not above the law...

Will the Supreme Court even take our claims, let along rule that Its own federal Judges are not above the law and that the judges themselves have to honor the govenrment's own settlement contracts?

SEVERAL PAGES OF INTERESTING DOCUMENTS CAME WITH THIS LETTER SHOWING GORSS MISCONDUCT BY GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS IN THE USA. IT HAS NOT BEEN POSTED HERE DUE TO PROBLEMS WITH THE OCR PROCESS AND THE FACT THAT THE CASE DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE LINKED TO THAT OF TONY SILVA AND/OR OTHER WILDLIFE MATTERS. REFER ALSO TO LETTER PRODUCED BELOW.

January 20, 1998

TO: Brigid McMenamin & Janet Novack
Forbes Magazine
60 Fifth Ave.
New York, NY 10011

Compliments on your article in the December 1, 1997 Forbes - "The white-collar gestapo"...

those cases are a terrible confirmation of the trend your analysis reveals, but you should know about an even more frightening case or series of cases, which have directly affected my family and me, and show that not only is the trend you spotted real, but it has already been surpassed and was predicted by then JUSTICE REHNQUIST in a dissenting Supreme Court opinion more than 23 years ago!

Your article illustrated how government employees and federal Agencies have powers far bevond what the Constitution intended, or what most citizens have been led believe ... but what most of us believed was predicated upon the separation of powers, the balancing of powers reflected in a long line of Supreme Court cases starting with Marbury Madison, on thru US v Nixon and now Jones v Clinton- al. of which taught essentially two things: no person is above the law, and that it is exclusively the federal Courts, under Article III _I of the Constitution, that are supposed to have the power and authority to say "what the law is"!

In the case of my wife and family, the Federal Trade Commission accused me of fraud in the sale of very high priced, rare American coins, in a "civil suit" filed as # 4-91-638 in US District Court in Minnesota. I tried to defend myself, but due to an assets freeze and initial government overwhelming power and cheating, we reached a consent settlement contract which was later signed by the FTC itself, and then "lodged" by the FTC and then judicially approved by the US District Court Judge. That contract, and what is called parole evidence not filed with the court but just as much a part of our contract with the FTC, promised our family we could keep about $4.5 million dollars of assets including our ERISA Pension Funds and there was no finding or admisson of any wrongdoing, and the FTC had given me a choice, to go out of business and keep millions more or stay in business with FTC monitoring and approval, and keep millions less. I was actively working on at least 1.5 Billion in new orders thru Institutional Investor contacts and seminars all over the world, so I chose to stay in business believing that we could trust the government to honor its own negotiated signed settlement contract under US v Armour & Co - an earlier Supreme Court case, and the FTC's own Rules of Procedure which reflected a long-standing Congressional and judicial policy that settlement is favored over litigation. I learned that more than 90% of all federal court cases are either dismissed, or settled by the government so as not to go to trial. Without such settlements, the federal Courts would grind to a stop - they could not handle the caseload!

After I had started to complain that I thought the FTC's Interim Receiver was doing things wrong, the Judge "replaced" that Receiver after he had wired $350,000 to our lawyers for a "legal defense fund". I kept on complaining and just as the cases in your article revealed, I got falsely indicted and unconstitutionally convicted - having been threatened with 210 - 269 months in jail and turned down a plea agreement offering 72 months.

WHAT'S DIFFERENT ABOUT OUR CLAIMS?

After I was in prison here at FPC Duluth, we got a copy of a deposition taken from that former "fired" FTC Receiver. Iii his deposition, he sworn under oath and admitted against his penal interest- that he was present and dart of an actual conspiracy planned and organized by the US Attorney's Office and the FTC's lawyers, to break the contract my wife and I had signed and to steal our ERISA pension funds and to commit actual crimes against my wife and I and our familv- all in order to conceal their own wrongdoing!

And we also learned that two federal judges seem., to have been involved, to what degree we are not sure, but one of them got promoted to the Sth Circuit seemingly as quid pro quo for her contradictory rulings, her abdication of Article III, _I authority and her assistance (or turning a deaf ear) to help the Executive Branch cover up its criminal misconduct and theft of our ERISA Pension Assets. The other judge had three friends get appointed who were lawyers or prosecutors in our cases, after I lost my appeal.

None of your cases showed actual proof of massive government criminal and civil wrongdoing planned by a US Attorney's Office, carried out by a large federal regulatory agency, and designed to financially destroy and prevent any legal claims from being filed or defended on behalf of an innocent family and innocent convicted federal prisoner.

And even more surprising, JusticeRehnquist joined in that dissenting opinion back in 1975 in US v ITT Continental Baking Co, in which those three dissenters predicted exactly our situation- where not only are federal agencies and lawyers able to get false indictments and unfair convictions, as they did against me, knowing that their own evidence showed I was absolutely factually and legally innocent of all chargesbut where the Federal Courts themselves abdicate the balance of powers and help cover up such wrongdoing!

NO ONE to date has dared publish any information favorable to our claims, and yet the government has refused to deny or contest any of our evidence, including the "smoking gun" deposition testimony and the completely incriminating newly discovered evidence they suppressed and hid until after I was in prison and they could financially destroy my family knowing all about our Confidential Financial Information that they had promised never to reveal to any person or entity- but did back in Jan.uarv 1992 as we learned years too late.

We have powerful evidence, and the wrongdoing is far beyond that of the cases so far reported in your article. Would you be willing to review some of our evidence, especially with the focus on how the government made promises in writing to an innocent family, and even before the FTC had signed the contract the FTC and US Attorney's Office had met in January 1992 at the US Attorney's Office to plan how to break the contract, cheat millions of dollars in ERISA Pension Plans, and then when I fought back - as others described in your article, those two Agencies decided to financially destroy my family- thus ensuring that they never honored even one of their written contractual--promises which legally were binding on the entire United States Government, including the federal courts themselves!

Reh-mquist's prophetic opinion dissenting in that ITT case which itself was a Federal Trade Commission case originally, makes our current legal efforts timely in that we are a lot like the Microsoft case, except the government made sure we had no money left to fight and destroyed our credibility and scared off the media with threats and promises or ????.

An Editor of a magazine, titled ON WINGS, out of the Chicago area, has investigated our case as well as that of Tony Silva, another prisoner here at FPC Duluth. That Editor's name is Judy Franklin, and her address is 415 Central, Northfield Illinois 60093 and she would verify independently all our claims I believe.

My wife's name is Diane Blodgett, and her address is Aliff Apts 2109, 123000Marion Lane, Minnetonka, MN 55305 and her phone is (612) 797-9441 and she can fill you in on her experience and forward out some of our evidence. I am trying for cert pro se and in forma pauperis, and Diane will be part of a RICO suit for damages as well as breach of contract if we can find a 1awyer or law firm to take them on contingency.

Hope this stimulates your interest, and that you at least will look at these materials with reference to my wife and family if not my own claims.

Sincerely

M'ike Blodgett
05707-041 D 210
FPC Duluth, MN 55814

DIANE BLODGETT's ADDRESS IS:-
CLIFFS APTS 2109
12300 MARION LANE
MINNETONKA, MN 55305
PHONE: (612) 797-9441

OUR THREE KIDS ARE DOING WELL, ONE JUST FINISHED COLLEGE AT WHEATON OUTSIDE CHICAGO, AND THE OTHER TWO ARE AT YALE - AT,L THANKS TO THEIR HARD WORK AND GREAT FINANCIAL AID!1 DIANE HAS MANAGED TO GET RE-CERTIFIED AS A TEACHER, SO NOW WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO OBTAIN IS JUSTICE- AND ALONG THE WAY IT SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE WITHOUT SOME FAVORABI,E PUBLICITY TO EXPOSE THE MASSIVE GOVERNMENT WRONGDOING AND COVER--UP THAT LEADS TO JUST ONE NOTCH DOWN FROM THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF 'OIIR GOVERNMENT.

The Article "The White Collar Gestapo" published in Forbes magazine should be read by all concerned people. It can be found in the December 1, 1997 issue on pages 82-97. It was written by Brigid McMenamin and Janet Novak.