How Mohammed & The Fatboy Got Caught With 225 Pounds Of Marijuana But Beat The Rap (Thanks To Philly D.A. Seth Williams)

Veteran reporter Ralph Cipriano offers a piece at bigtrial.net on the feud between the Philadelphia Police Narcotics Unit and the DA.

On Jan. 17, 2012, the Philadelphia Police Department's Narcotics Field Unit South tailed a suspected drug dealer to a garage, where they confiscated 53 pounds of hydroponic marijuana with a street value of $481,240.

When the cops interviewed the suspect, Mohammed Samhan, 26, of Los Angeles, he decided to cooperate and give up another marijuana dealer. The cops subsequently raided the home of Kit "Fatboy" Poon, 41, of Northeast Philadelphia. This time, they confiscated 172 pounds of hydroponic marijuana with a street value of $1,565,420.

Faced with serious jail time, Poon decided that he too wanted to cooperate. He told the cops he knew about an even bigger future marijuana shipment due to arrive by tractor-trailer.

With the two accused drug dealers in custody, Lt. Robert Otto, supervisor of the narcs, called Chief Jan McDermott of the District Attorney's Dangerous Drug Offenders Unit, and requested that McDermott conduct "proffers" with both suspects. [A proffer is an interview where, in exchange for information about criminal activity, a prosecutor agrees not to use that information against the suspect.]

That's when the system broke down. Two confidential police memorandums obtained by Big Trial lay out the details of what's been described in court papers as a "petty and childish feud" between the narcs and the Philly D.A.'s office. It was an old fashioned turf battle over who sat in on proffers, which law enforcement agency would collect drug forfeiture money, and who got credit for major drug busts.

Seth Williams put an end to the feud when he announced, via a letter leaked to the media -- without a shred of evidence to back him up -- that the district attorney's office would no longer prosecute any drug cases involving Lt. Otto or five of his officers.  The narcs and their supervisor were subsequently transferred out of the narcotics unit.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.bigtrial.net/2016/09/how-two-drug-dealers-who-got-caught-red.html#more

Note: While on assignment for Counterterrorism magazine I went out on drug raids with Lt. Robert Otto and his narcotics unit. You can read the piece via the below link:

 http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2012/05/chasing-drugs-guns-and-violence-night.html

American Hustle II: How A 3-Year Philadelphia Politico Sting Unfolded

Craig R. McCoy, Anglea Couloumbis, and Jennifer Lin at the Philadelphia Inquirer offer a piece on the backstory of the sting operation that caught Philadelphia politicans taking money and gifts on tape.

The sting operation is now controversal, as the case was dropped by the Pennsyvania Attorney General, who, like the politicians caught on tape, is a Democrat.

You can read the story via the below link:

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20140323_A_3-year_saga__How_the_sting_unfolded.html

You can also read a piece in the Philadelphia Inquirer by Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams, also a Democrat, who blasts the PA Attorney General for not prosecuting the case, via the below link:

http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20140323_Kane_s_account_of_case_doesn_t_add_up.html  

And you can read a piece in the Philadelphia Inquirer by Frank Fina, the sting's prosecutor, via the below link:

http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20140323_Kane_should_explain_actions_to_the_public_on_the_record.html

And you can also read an earlier post on the politico sting via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2014/03/committee-of-seventy-urges-pennsylvania.html

Committee Of Seventy Urges Pennsylvania General Assembly To Create An Independent Counsel To Investigate Dismissed Three-Year Philadelphia Sting Operation

The Committee of Seventy, a non-partisan organization, today issued the below release:

The Committee of Seventy today urged the Pennsylvania General Assembly to quickly allow for the creation of an independent counsel to conduct a fair and non-partisan investigation into a dismissed three-year sting operation that allegedly captured on tape four state representatives taking money from an undercover informant. The operation, which also involved a former traffic court judge accepting a bracelet, was reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer yesterday.

... Attorney General Kathleen Kane said she dropped the "botched" and "deeply flawed" sting operation, which took place before she took office, after learning "there may have been a racial focus to the targets of the investigation, improper reporting, inadequate resources and inadmissible evidence." Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams called Kane's suggestion of racism "ridiculous" and "explosive."

You can read the rest of the press release via the below link:

http://www.seventy.org/Downloads/Seventy_urges_Appointment_of_Independent_Counsel_in_AG_probe.pdf

You can also read Angela Couloumbis and Craig R. McCoy's Philadelphia Inquirer piece on the dismissed sting operation via the below link:

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20140316_Kane_shut_down_sting_that_snared_Phila__officials.html

And you can read my Crime Beat column on Philadelphia's corrupt and contented past via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2010/07/politicians-dubious-prison-sentence-bug.html

Note: Above is the official photo of PA Attorney General Kathleen Kane.

Philly D.A.: Abu-Jamal Can Go Rot In Jail

Mensah M. Dean at the Philadelphia Daily News covered yesterday's announcement that the Philadelphia District Attorney would not seek the death penalty for the convicted murderer of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner.

The bitter, divisive and protracted Mumia Abu-Jamal death-penalty case reached its legal conclusion yesterday with District Attorney Seth Williams' decision to not seek a new death sentence for the convicted cop-killer.

Williams' decision - backed by the family of slain Officer Daniel Faulkner - means that Abu-Jamal, a former Black Panther, MOVE sympathizer and radio-talk-show host who became an interational anti-capital-punishment figure while on death row, will remain in prison for the rest of his life without parole.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/pennsylvania/20111208_D_A___Abu-Jamal_can_go_rot_in_cell.html

The above CBS photo is by Steve Tawa.

You can also read my previous post of Mumia Abu-Jamal via the below link:

http://pauldavisoncrime.blogspot.com/2011/12/philly-da-wont-seek-death-penalty-for.html

Philly D.A. Won't Seek Death Penalty For Convicted Cop Killer Mumia Abu-Jamal

With the widow of slain Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner at his side, Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams announced that he will not seek the death penalty for the convicted cop killer Mumia Abu-Jamal  (seen in the above photo).

"Every reviewing court has found the trial fair and the guilty verdict sound," he said. ". . . Our best remaining option is to let Mr. Abu-Jamal to die in prison."

Friday marks 30 years since Abu-Jamal's arrest for the murder of Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner, who was on patrol Dec. 9, 1981 when he was gunned down. A jury unanimously handed down a guilty verdict the following year, and Abu-Jamal was sentenced to death.

Today's announcement was a response to the U.S. Supreme Court's refusal in October hear a petition by Williams' office seeking to reinstate the death penalty against Abu-Jamal.

You can read the rest of the rest of the Philly.com story via the below link:

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20111207_Phila__D_A__to_make_Mumia_Abu-Jamal_announcement_today.html?cmpid=125219969

You can also read my earlier post on the Mumia Abu-Jamal case via the below link:

http://pauldavisoncrime.blogspot.com/2010/11/forman-in-convicted-cop-killer-mumia.html