Notes
371 Notes The notes which follow are mainly for reference purposes for any reader who might wish to consult the file for a particular story in depth. The contents of many files have now been routinely shredded, usually ten years after the file was closed. The files which still exist will be in the clerk’s office of the U.S. District Court in Oxford or at the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans, but many will have been shipped to a faraway federal record storage center. The variety in the case numbering systems comes mainly from the evolution of computer record keeping. The citations to news stories do not reflect undue interest in publicity but an interest in how our cases were presented to the public. In retrospect, the news stories now seem even more useful in the way they encapsulate in brief terms what happened, free of the numbing legal jargon of official court records. Newsmen apparently do a better job of preserving history than lawyers. Preface 1. As I suspected, the “best” criminal careers are in the white-collar area, which require more education, carry shorter prison terms, and promise fewer chances of a violent death. Near the top of the criminal hierarchy, not surprisingly, are identity thieves (fourth), telemarketing scammers (fifth), and counterfeiters (tenth). Number 1 is a type of criminal I encountered only once: drug counterfeiters. They tend to operate mainly from outside the United States, selling bogus Viagra and the like. They are therefore rarely seen, much less caught. We did, however, have one big score out of Clarksdale, another home of the blues, where a couple got rich selling a “natural” product which promised both larger breasts (by two cup sizes) and larger penises. The couple ended up, in addition to being prosecuted by us, as defendants before an outraged Judge Judy on nationwide TV under the title “Bustin’ Loose.” The number 2 “best” crime we also encountered only toward the end of my career. Like most successful crimes it is hard to detect, expensive to investigate, and rarely prosecuted: smuggling contraband cigarettes on the black market. This scam is actually a complex of crimes which can involve everything from substituting cheap tobacco from China for expensive Carolina leaf, but always involves in some way avoiding the 372 Notes heavy federal and state taxes on cigarettes, which can amount to several dollars a pack and millions of dollars a truckload. A brisk trade in counterfeit cigarette stamps has also developed. Add in the tax-free enclaves of Native American reservations, which are legally foreign nations not subject to state taxes, and you have a career richer than untaxed casinos. Chapter 1. Bank Robbers I’ve Known 1. U.S. v. Shabazz, CRG-75-54, CRG-75-55; U.S. v. Walker (Shabazz), 530 F. 2d 975 (5th Cir. 1976). 2. U.S. v. Washam, CRW-74-89. 3. U.S. v. House, CRG-80-37. 4. U.S. v. Craft, CRD-82-2-WK-0; U.S. v. Craft, 691 F. 2d 205 (5th Cir. 1982). 5. U.S. v. Lewis, CRW-91-05-B. 6. U.S. v. Porterfield, 3:02 CR-134; U.S. v. Porterfield, CRW-88-85. 7. U.S. v. Mitchell, 2:94 CR-12-GHD; U.S. v. Mitchell, 3:94 CR-66. 8. U.S. v. Nathaniel Johnson, CRG-82-29-K. 9. U.S. v. James Keith Johnson, 2:95 CR-49. 10. U.S. v. Kelly, CRE-84-50-LS; U.S. v. Kelly, 783 F. 2d 575 (5th Cir. 1986). 11. U.S. v. Franks, 1:93 CR-116; 5th Cir. 94-60132. 12. U.S. v. Webb, 1:02 CR-10. 13. Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, March 16, 2006. 14. U.S. v. Wilson et al., 2:04 CR-114; 5th Cir. 94-60132. Chapter 2. Corruption in Positions of Trust: Lawyers, Judges, Supervisors, and Sheriffs 1. U.S. v. Freshour, 1:99 CR-0015-NBB-1. 2. U.S. v. Nunley, 1:94 CR-00125-NB-B-1. 3. U.S. v. Shuffield, 3:06 CR-127-P-A; Oxford Eagle, October 12, 2006, January 29, 2007. 4. Jackson Clarion-Ledger, January 14, 2000. 5. U.S. v. Pickett, 2:99 CR-8; U.S. v. Ellington, 2:03 CR-100; U.S. v. Starks et al., 2:98 CR-0092-GHD. 6. Oxford Eagle, December 13, 1996. 7. U.S. v. Jones, CRG-88...
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