At some point Brother Charles purportedly told someone else to ask me to disavow any association, so this blog is now about my experiences and what SHOULD be covered by TOUCH 106.1 FM but which are not. I am critical of the station and of Brother Charles so this blog is covered by Fair Use. Visit KingCast.net/Chris King's 1st Amendment Page: Reel news for real people.
It is a bold and courageous step, and I applaud her for it. What the Division is doing is and has been completely wrong and they have been getting away with it for far too long. People in America have to realize that it is permissible, even allegedly encouraged by The Declaration of Independence, our Constitution and our Bill of Rights to stand up to bad government actors, and this case provides an excellent opportunity to showcase reasonable efforts to put these ideals into Action. Read more, and watch videos here.
Is Martha Coakley corrupt? Is the Division of Banks corrupt? Only time will tell. We as Americans are born with, or inherit Certain Unalienable Rights......
Does anyone have a follow up to this excellent Donna Roberson/Boston Globe April, 2007 story "State fails to curb usurious pawnshop rates" about pawn shop regulation? I will telephone State Rep Quinn's office this morning for more information.
For the last seven years, Massachusetts banking officials have made fitful efforts to stop some of the state's poorest cities from letting pawnshops charge usurious interest rates for loans to the down-and-out.
Yet nothing has changed. Tens of thousands of the state's poorest people continue to pay municipally sanctioned pawnshop interest rates of 7 to 10 percent per month -- 84 to 120 percent a year -- despite a state rule limiting the annual rate to 36 percent.
In one case, it took the state Division of Banks 18 months to hold a hearing on the 10 percent monthly rate approved by Fall River officials.
State and local oversight is so scant that an investigation by the Globe and Fox 25 News found that some pawnshops do as they please.......
Since 2003, [State Rep. John F.] Quinn has filed legislation [H291] three times to place a statewide cap of 36 percent per year on pawnshop interest. If Quinn's legislation became law, it would replace a century-old statute that has caused more squabbling between state and municipal officials than oversight of the industry. The law gives cities and towns the power to set rates, but includes a section that says state banking regulators have to approve the rates.
Finally, Quinn's lonely crusade is drawing attention. On Beacon Hill, where executive power changed hands this year, Daniel Crane, the top consumer official under Governor Deval Patrick, and newly elected Attorney General Martha Coakley expressed anger and chagrin when the Globe and Fox 25 News raised questions about the exorbitant interest rates, and the state's hapless efforts to rein them in.
Back story: As one can read in the thumbnails, in 2007 the NAACP gave Citibank poor marks on everything racial except Community Reinvestment Act work, but on further review the NAACP -- the Nation's Oldest Civil Rights Organization (of which I proudly served as Southern NH Legal Chair) -- says they have apparently failed on that as well. Get your popcorn ready for NAACP v. Ameriquest Mortg. Co., Citigroup et al., 635 F. Supp. 2d 1096 (2009), Motion to Dismiss Second Amended Complaint DENIED.
(March 11, 2008) The NAACP and lead counsel Brian Kabateck filed papers Friday, March 7, that will fast track their federal class action lawsuit against Washington Mutual, Citi, GMAC and 15 other mortgage firms who systematically steered African American borrowers into predatory loans.
"The victims in this case had the same credit, the same income and the same qualifications as the lenders' other customers. The only difference was the color of their skin. That's why they were stuck with abusive loans," said Kabateck, Managing Partner of Kabateck Brown Kellner, LLP.
"Quickly resolving this case is essential for victims who have ruined credit and who are losing their homes. This isn't just about justice for the victims. This case is about making sure that this kind of discrimination is stamped out for good," said NAACP General Counsel Angela Ciccolo.
What this proves of course inter alia, is that Discrimination need not take place all at the same time, as alleged by Morgan Lewis Partner Sam Shaulson in my case of racial discrimination where they refused to open a bank account for me but opened one for my Caucasian girlfriend. Citibank may well be the sleaziest banking operation in the World: Almost every multinational banking scam involves Citibank. I've been listing Enron, Ohio, California, Mexico, Russia and some of the others here.
See generally the Bah, humbug post from this morning about these money-laundering, student-huckstering, TARP-abusing folks that call themselves Citigroup, Citimortgage and Citibank.
We were there today, looking at the 100+ count Indictments. The allegations sound serious, but then so too do the allegations against Cat Gibbons and Miracle Mortgage. I can't say whether the Defendants in this case have been wronged like Ms. Gibbons, but I do note that they are young and 2/5ths of them are clearly minorities. Isn't it interesting that the older fat cats get monetary sanctions only, or even totally overlooked by AG Martha Coakley and the Massachusetts Division of Banks? I passed some information to the Defendants and counsel today, I'm sure they -- and MCAD -- will find it interesting as well.
For more on Cat Gibbons/Miracle Mortgage case with video, read more here. For links to the case heard today and set on a 9-month track, read more here.
I spoke with Defendant Iacoviello's Attorney, Peter B. Krupp this morning, who informs that they are still selecting a Jury. Here is what I have to say:
Query, were the cops wearing their uniforms while they were busy breaking the law? If not, then why wear them now?
There is something fishy in Denmark. You need to look at the entire history of the case, and even if it was a cold-blooded murder (which I tend to doubt) have there ever been any toxicology tests run on the LE and girlfriend who were breaking the law? What, still no punishments for LE who were drinking all day, brandishing weapons and drinking and potentially doing drugs at the schoolyard? Smells like the same gloss-over that's going down with reportedly coke-faced Jake Joey Fasano.
If it was a cold-blooded murder then those facts will be adduced at trial and the punishment should be the maximum permitted by Law.
Okay. I told you on 26 December 2009 about the fact that Jessica Van Sack, the Boston Herald, Channel 7 and other media have left themselves open for a Defamation lawsuit by Joanna Miranova after they accused her of being "bagged" for "having sex" with prison activist and inmate Darrell Jones.
Strange Bedfellows:
There is more to this case than a mere Civil Suit -- I know because I have read several documents from Boston City Hall staff to DOC upper management. In any event, should such a suit be filed, it is not designed to address the "more" piece because that responsibility rests with Commonwealth Governor Deval Patrick and AG (and Senate Hopeful) Martha Coakley. The Civil Suit would most likely be against the Herald and Jessica Van Sack, and I don't exactly see them trying to implead the Commonwealth as a necessary party if you catch my drift, he-heh can't bite the hand that feeds you. They will take this one for the Team, so to speak.
Fortunately a little birdy tells me that Governor Patrick is about to take swift and decisive action here because Community Affairs Director Ron Bell told him all about the case, and he has promoted Mary Beth Heffernan to his cabinet as Secretary of the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS). He no doubt made this appointment because Ms. Heffernan has the sort of direct experience required to help clean up the Massachusetts Correctional System:
After all, Ms. Herrernan has first hand knowledge of this situation as noted in this 29 April, 2009 email between Ms. Heffernan and Ms. Marinova, and I am told she has been poised to take action but was waiting for her formal appointment to the Governor's cabinet, which happened at the close of the year. She wrote:
"Hi, I apologize for not responding sooner. Absolutely, I would be more than happy to receive any information regarding the DOC that you feel would be helpful...."
Therefore whatever purported Bad Blood is going on between Governor Patrick's appointee Harold Clarke (related ACLU request for information) and Commissioner James Bender (related litigation here) needs to get sorted, pronto, so that the Public can find out what really happened here -- and so that appropriate punishment be meted out to all of those who broke the Law in divulging this CORI information to the media, again see Globe Newspaper Co. v. District Attorney for Middle Dist., 439 Mass. 374, 788 NE2d 513 (2003).
Divide and Conquer:
Of the nine (9) men involved in the reform project, only four (4) remain together at Old Colony. Interesting.
Here's the rub:
They are always conducting inquiries and issuing reports (The Harshbarger -- you know him, the former AG -- Report 2004) (Future Search 2009) & (Boston Foundation 2009) a ton of lip service -- some of it well-intentioned, but when somebody does something about it they catch Defamation (Marinova and Jones) or retaliation, like Jones and former Commissioner Kathleen Dennehy, a 30-year veteran. She had a videotape of a cop kicking a prisoner in the face, she fired the guy and the DOC did nothing to support her position and he was resinstated. She stood up to the Union and wrote a letter to Governor Patrick imploring him inter alia, to get truly independent real investigation into abuses like this. Look how far we’ve come! Addendum on Joanna Marinova's Potential Civil Claims:
Her neighbors are about to write Affidavits that Channel 7 walked up to them, unsolicited, and said they wanted to interview her because she had sex with an inmate. I've seen her paperwork and without getting into that publicly, I am 99% certain she lost valuable career opportunities and opportunities to help the community because of this. Similarly, I will not divulge the health consequences that she may have proximately occasioned because of this fiasco. Stay tuned.
TOUCH 106.1 FM claims to be community-minded and to recognize the universal need for social, legal, political and economic fairness for all people.
To that end, TOUCH 106.1 FM has sponsored events or worked with many organizations and corporations.
.......... However, ultimately, the Station does not support any continued and intensive investigation into troubling socio-political issues.
......I was a co-host of many evening drive-time shows called "TOUCH Beat" that received little to no support from Brother Charles, a former Law Enforcement Officer as am I. For some reason, however, he often acts like a gatekeeper but I push the issues with color commentary and in-court video.
C'est la vie.
It is a bold and courageous step, and I applaud her for it. What the Division is doing is and has been completely wrong and they have been getting away with it for far too long. People in America have to realize that it is permissible, even allegedly encouraged by The Declaration of Independence, our Constitution and our Bill of Rights to stand up to bad government actors, and this case provides an excellent opportunity to showcase reasonable efforts to put these ideals into Action. Read more, and watch videos here.
