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The Boston Globe posted a “snapshot” on May 13th reviewing how busy the various Massachusetts are in terms of criminal cases. You can view it here.

As one can see, the number of criminal defendants handled by the different district courts varies widely. Springfield and Worcester, for example, saw more than 11,000 defendants each in 2009. Six courts saw fewer than 1,000. These were Gloucester, Winchendon, Newton, Brookline, Ipswich and Nantucket.

Generally, the busiest courts are the ones nearest metropolitan areas. Thus, Dorchester and Roxbury are liable to be busier than Newburyport or Sandwich.

Depending on the areas, some criminal cases are more prevalent than others. For example, you can expect more homicide cases to be passing through on their way to indictment in the busier courtrooms than someplace like Ipswich.

Another variable that can effect how busy is a certain court is the presence of schools, particularly high school and college. As we have discussed, this is likely to grow given the new bullying law.
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Chef, former Food Network personality, and cookbook author Juan-Carlos Cruz has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder and solicitation to commit murder. Cruz is accused of trying to kill his wife Jennifer Campbell.

According to investigators, Cruz solicited two homeless men, David Walters and David Carrington, and tried to hire them to murder his kill Campbell. However, those close to Cruz are painting a different picture of the former TV host of the show “Calorie Commando.”

Two sources who know Cruz and Campbell say that the couple had been trying to have a child for 20 years. They even underwent fertility treatments that had proved unsuccessful. One of the sources said that Campbell had talked about killing herself but that as a Catholic she considered suicide a sin.

Another friend of Cruz’s, Amy Reiley, says the charges against him don’t make sense. Reiley is the co-author of Cruz’s book The Love Diet.” She told the Associated Press that in addition to having worked with him intensively for the last nine months she has known him for six years. Reiley describes Cruz as a doting husband.

Cruz was arrested after one of the homeless men that he allegedly approached told the authorities about their conversation. The chef remains behind bars in lieu of $2 million in bail. If convicted, Cruz could receive a lifetime prison term.

Former TV chef pleads not guilty to trying to have wife killed, Los Angeles TImes, May 18, 2010
Sources: Inability to have child behind TV chef’s murder scheme, CNN, May 19, 2010
Chef accused in murder plot seen as doting husband, AP/Google, May 20, 2010

Related Web Resource:
Juan-Carlos Cruz
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The Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog has been discussing school campus related crimes of late. Most of these have had to do with the subject of bullying, a topic I just know we will be returning to. Yesterday, we briefly discussed a different kind of criminal behavior by a student. This one is a bit less sympathetic.

The story hails from the home of Altman & Altman LLP’s main office…Cambridge. It involves the legendary Harvard University and an ex-student who allegedly took the subjects of creative writing and social science and twisted them into a pretzel of deceit and larceny. It features the allegations against the former student with contradictory credentials, Adam B. Wheeler…perhaps a young Bernard Madoff in the making.

As you probably have heard, young Mr. Wheeler is facing a plethora of criminal charges and there may be more to come. The 20 indictments against him reflect a successful scheme to bilk Harvard University out of approximately $45,000 through a series of white collar crimes. He is alleged to have falsified documents, plagiarized and lied in order to gain acceptance into Harvard, gain scholarships, win prizes and get a grant.

In fact, should the allegations contain a cyber-fraud element crossing state boundries, which is likely, Young Wheeler could be looking at federal charges as well as those he faces by the Commonwealth.

Of course, now that the news has broken and he has pleaded “Not Guilty”, the ignited debate rages on. Everyone is trying to explain who the young gentleman is and how he did what he (allegedly) did.

For example, a former high school classmate claims that the lad was a class clown who delighted in pranks such as tossing ketchup packets around the halls like little red landmines. Further, she doubts anyone expected him capable of the complex scam that prosecutors say he pulled on some of America’s best brains in Harvard University’s hallowed halls.
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Adam B. Wheeler, a former Harvard student who has been indicted for falsifying information that allowed him to get into the university and receive thousands of dollars in financial aid and grants, has pleaded not guilty to 20 criminal counts of identify fraud, larceny, pretending to hold a degree, and falsifying an endorsement or approval. At the 23-year-old’s arraignment today, his cash bail was set at $5,000. If convicted, Wheeler could be sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison for each felony count and a year for each misdemeanor.

Wheeler is accused of submitting bogus transcripts that showed him attending Phillips Academy and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He also allegedly falsified his perfect SAT test score of 1600 and included fake letters of recommendation with his college application.

Assistant Middlesex District Attorney John Verner says that in fact, Wheeler had actually attended a Delaware high school, earned 1100 on his SAT, and was studying a Bowdoin College before he was suspended for plagiarizing an essay. He then applied to transfer to Harvard after the Spring 2007 semester.

Prosecutors claim that Wheeler plagiarized letters of recommendation and essays and made other allegedly “untruthful” statements when applying for Fulbright and Rhodes Scholarships. They claim that he defrauded Harvard of more than $45,000, including $31,806 in financial aid, $6,000 in English prizes, and $8,000 for a research grant.

It was when he applied for the Rhodes and Fulbright Scholarships in September 2009 that a Harvard professor began to suspect that Wheeler had committed plagiarism. Wheeler then decided to leave Harvard. He is also accused of submitting fraudulent documents, including fake letters of recommendation, to Brown and Yale when he submitted transfer applications to both schools.

Wheeler’s Cambridge criminal defense lawyer says that it is important to remember that the charges against his client are “just allegations” and that Wheeler should be “presumed innocent” until proven guilty. This is the 23-year-old’s first brush with the law.

Parents stepped in after alleged Harvard scammer applied to Yale, Boston.com, May 18, 2010
Ex-Harvard Student, Adam Wheeler, Pleads Not Guilty to Charges of Fabricating Academic History, The Harvard Crmson, May 18, 2010

Related Web Resource:
Harvard University
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Two Pakistani natives, one a Boston taxi driver and the other a Brookline gas station worker, were arrested on Thursday. Federal agents are trying to determine whether they knew that Times Square bombing suspect Faisal Shahzad was going to use the money they gave him to help fund his now failed bomb plot. A third person was detained in Boston but was not arrested.

The two suspects, who are roommates, are being held on immigration violations and currently are not facing any criminal charges related to the botched bombing criminal investigation. They believe that the three suspects were involved in hawala. Law enforcement officials have said that Shahzad may have used the money moving service, comprised of an informal network of brokers who move money easily and quickly over long distances.

Shahzad, who was arrested while trying to leave the country, has confessed to the May 1 plan to detonate a makeshift bomb in Times Square. The 30-year-old, who is a naturalized US citizen, admits that he underwent explosives training in Pakistan for five months. He was charged with attempting to kill and maim persons within the US, attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction, and explosives charges.

Shahzad had parked a Pathfinder SUV that contained enough explosives, fuel, and fertilizer to start a fireball on New York’s W. 4th Street. It turns out that he purchased the wrong kind of fertilizer and the firecrackers he chose weren’t strong enough to detonate the propane and gasoline tanks. A street vendor noticed white smoke coming out of the SUV and contacted the authorities. The bomb squad arrived shortly. Fortunately, the bomb did not go off and no one was injured.

Attorney General Eric Holder says that the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan may be connected to the failed terrorist attack.

Terror hits home as Times Square probe nets arrests, Boston Herald, May 14, 2010
Why FBI is following the money in Times Square bomb case, Christian Science Monitor, May 14, 2010

Related Web Resources:
53 Hours in the Life of a Near Disaster, Newsweek, May 7, 2010
The Hawala System, GDRC.org Continue reading

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Today, the Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog sets its sight a bit further south. We look to Georgia and the case of Tonya Craft, the former kindergarten teacher who was charged with 22 counts of child molestation, aggravated sexual battery and aggravated child molestation. Her daughter along with the other three young accusers testified for the prosecution.

On Tuesday, the jury came back with the verdict of “Not Guilty”.

Hey, great, right? Justice was done and so it is big victory for Ms. Craft, yes?

Well, not so much. You see, win or lose, one’s life is forever altered when such allegations come..

Craft describes that there are no winners in this type of situation. Her career is finished and she remains separated from her children who were taken away because of the allegations. There is also the matter of legal bills, stress on her family and supporters, not to mention stress on herself.

Not bad for a system that presumes innocence in a case where the person, at the end of the trial, remained so, huh?
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In the Boston area, nine young men, ages ranging from 15 to 21 are now in need of criminal defense attorneys. They are accused of horribly assaulting a 19 year old developmentally disabled teenager in Dorchester.

They left him bloodied and screaming for help, the prosecutor said.

Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley issued the statement that ”A crime like this just shocks the conscience…It’s obscene.”

The scene of yesterday’s arraignments was a familiar one. The court read the charges, the prosecutor filled in the blanks, adding the detail and commentary about the allegations and the defense attorneys denied all guilt for their clients who were basically “good kids”.

As is often the case in such matters, there are differing views of what happened. While the defendant is not required to give his this early, or, actually, at all, there are claims that some of the nine defendants were actually trying to help the victim, not attack him.

The attack came to the attention of law enforcement when police were called by a man who apparently witnessed it shortly before 5:00 PM on Monday. His attention was drawn to it when he was working in his back yard and heard a “God-awful scream”.
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22-year-old George Huguely, a member of the University of Virginia’s lacrosse team, has been arrested and charged with the first-degree murder of Yeardley Love, also age 22 and a member of the school’s women’s lacrosse team. According to police, Huguely and Love were romantically involved with each other and had just broken up.

On Monday at around 2:15 am, police were called to Love’s apartment over a possible alcohol overdose. However, Charlottesville Police Chief Tim Longo says that it became obvious that Love, who was found in a pool of blood in her bedroom, had experienced “obvious physical trauma.”

Police say that they found Huguely at his apartment and questioned him. He was arrested later that morning. Huguely has admitted that he and Love were having a disagreement when he shook her. He says that her head struck the wall more than once. The 22-year-old college athlete also admitted to kicking open Love’s bedroom door and taking her computer.

Huguely’s criminal defense lawyer is calling Love’s death a “tragic accident.” Prior to enrolling at the University of Virginia, the 22-year-old was a high school All-American. The university lacrosse team that he belongs to is nationally ranked No. 1 in the U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association coaches’ poll.

Massachusetts College Campus Crimes
If you are a college student who was arrested and charged with committing a crime on or off a Massachusetts college campus, it is important that you obtain legal representation as soon as possible. The outcome of your Boston college campus criminal case could determine whether or not you receive federal funding to cover your education, get into the graduate school of your choice, get a good job after college, or end up with a criminal record for life.

It can be scary to know that the future you’ve been working so hard for may be in jeopardy because you are under investigation or charged with a drug crime, drunk driving, underage drinking, sexual assault, rape, murder, stalking, cyber crime, larceny, assault and battery, larceny, shoplifting, vandalism, or any other criminal activity.

UVA lacrosse player George Huguely admits fight, hiding Yeardley Love’s computer after death: docs, NY Daily News, May 4, 2010
Lacrosse player George Huguely charged in fellow U
Affidavit: Lacrosse Player Killed In Fight fter Breakup, WIBW.com

Related Web Resources:
University of Virginia

University of Virginia Men’s Lacrosse

Virginia Cavaliers
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It is a situation that we have discussed a number of times on the Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog. Yet, particularly since the initial response to getting such a care package from the government is usually panic, it is worth revisiting.

First of all, the good news. What you have received and believe is a criminal complaint is probably not really a criminal complaint.

Although it is not a criminal complaint, it is an extremely important piece of paper that must be treated as such. What you have probably received is a summons to go to court in connection with criminal allegations that are, indeed, being made against you. The summons is likely one of two kinds. You are being summoned to either an arraignment or a clerk magistrate’s hearing.

If you ignore this piece of paper, as further discussed below, you risk being arrested. Plaintly put, you are being summoned to appear in court. Should you ignore or forget about the date the sumons reflects, a warrant will likely be issued by the court, mandating your arrest.
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Just to show you that the Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog is not only focusing on kids these days and their foibles, such as attempted murder, we discuss today a slightly older gentleman in need of counsel…lots of it.

The gentleman, Michael G., 31 (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) hails from Salem and was arrested in Swampscott for operating under the influence as well as one or five other charges. He was apparently not charged for other, somewhat unusual items of interest in his car.

The Defendant was brought to the Lynn District Court where he was charged with operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license, drinking alcohol from an open container in a motor vehicle, marked lanes violation and following too closely.

Swampscott police had been alerted to the Defendant, who is a student at Wentworth in Boston, as he sped by on New Ocean Street around 3:30 a.m. April 30.

As the police followed him, the Defendant is said to have been weaving all over the road and tailgating another vehicle, before he was pulled over on Paradise Road.
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