New York federal prosecutor Preet Bharara fired by Trump administration
Preet Bharara arrives at Trump Tower Photo: Evan Vucci/AP (Late November 2016 meeting)
The following article appeared in The Washington Post Saturday afternoon March 11.
By Devlin Barrett, Sari Horwitz and Robert Costa March 11 at 3:08 PM
“Preet Bharara, one of the most high-profile federal prosecutors in the country, was fired Saturday after refusing to submit a letter of resignation as part of an ouster of the remaining U.S. attorneys who were holdovers from the Obama administration, according to people familiar with the matter.
“I did not resign,” Bharara said on Twitter. “Moments ago I was fired. Being the US Attorney in SDNY will forever be the greatest honor of my professional life.” [Read more…]
Ramapo: Aaron Troodler pleads guilty to fraud, conspiracy
Aaron Troodler Photo: Kathy Gardner/The Journal News
“Aaron Troodler, the former executive director of the Ramapo Local Development Corporation, pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges he conspired with Ramapo Town Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence in a corruption scheme involving the financing of the town’s baseball stadium and other projects.
Troodler, 42, admitted to committing securities fraud as a part of a scheme to defraud investors in municipal bonds issued by the RLDC and the town, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said. [Read more…]
Ramapo nears breaking point
Front Page of The Journal News Sunday Jan. 8, 2017
On Sunday, The Journal News devoted its entire front section to an examination of the accelerating, crushing growth in the Town of Ramapo. The cautionary lead on the front page was followed by six feature articles in section one, all dealing with the growing crisis in a town with uncontrolled development, a collapsing tax base, and top-level administrators busy working on their legal defenses against scores of federal charges. The dry rot resulting from endemic political corruption threatens the entire community.
The six features in section one are divided by six separate themes:
“It’s Ramapo’s lack of zoning and safety code enforcement, not religion, that has encouraged development chaos and divided the town. [Read more…]
Shalom Lamm and others charged in voter fraud scheme
The following press release is from the Dept. Of Justice:
Three Real Estate Developers Charged In White Plains Federal Court With Conspiracy To Corrupt The Electoral Process In Bloomingburg, New York
Shalom Lamm and Others Charged in Voter Fraud Scheme in Connection with a March 2014 Bloomingburg Election
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and William F. Sweeney Jr., the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), today announced the unsealing of an Indictment charging SHALOM LAMM, KENNETH NAKDIMEN, and VOLVY SMILOWITZ, a/k/a “Zev Smilowitz,” with conspiracy to corrupt the electoral process, in connection with an election in Bloomingburg, New York. Bharara also today announced the guilty plea of HAROLD BAIRD, a former Town Supervisor of Mamakating, New York, to conspiracy to submit false voter registrations, charged in a one-count Information unsealed today. [Read more…]
Bharara agrees to stay as U.S. attorney
Preet Bharara arrives at Trump Tower Photo: Evan Vucci/AP
“U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said Wednesday he plans to stay in his position in the Trump administration.
Bharara emerged from Trump Tower after meeting with the president-elect for about an hour, saying he has agreed to remain in the job.
“We had a good meeting. I said I would absolutely consider staying on. I agreed to stay on,” Bharara said, saying Trump asked him to stay. [Read more…]