 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(January 2024) |
Big Apple Oriental Tours was a travel agency based in New York City. It was criticized for its promotion of sex tourism. In 2013, the operator was convicted in a prostitution sting. [1] [2]
The company was founded in 1993. [3] It offered all-inclusive trips to Thailand, the Philippines and Cambodia. Advertising highlighted the erotic atmosphere and easy availability of women in these regions. Tour guides would meet the men upon arrival, explain everything, and transport them to the local bars and brothels.
In 1996, Equality Now, a human rights and feminist group, lobbied the local District Attorney to take action against the company, complaining about promotion of prostitution and possible exploitation of minors. [4] The District Attorney declined to prosecute in 2000, stating that the alleged acts did not occur in New York and were thus beyond the reach of state law. Supported by Gloria Steinem and Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney, Equality Now then contacted Attorney General of New York Eliot Spitzer in 2002. [4] Spitzer filed a civil suit against Big Apple Oriental Tours and obtained a restraining order in July 2003, in effect preventing the company from advertising. [4]
Spitzer then made two unsuccessful attempts to charge owners Norman Barabash and Douglas Allen with promoting prostitution. The Attorney General's office obtained the first indictment of Barabash and Allen in February 2004. The case was dismissed in August 2004, because the grand jury had been presented with hearsay evidence and because the judge did not find the law applicable. The dismissal was upheld on appeal based on the hearsay argument. The case was returned to the grand jury and Barabash and Allen were indicted for the same crime again in October 2005. These charges were dismissed in January 2006. The court held that according to the evidence, "What the tour customer did when he arrived at the location is not part of the Big Apple Oriental Tours enterprise." [5]
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization.
Nolle prosequi, abbreviated nol or nolle pros, is legal Latin meaning "to be unwilling to pursue". It is a type of prosecutorial discretion in common law, used for prosecutors' declarations that they are voluntarily ending a criminal case before trial or before a verdict is rendered; it is a kind of motion to dismiss and contrasts with an involuntary dismissal.
Ronald Dale Earle was an American politician and judge who was, from January 1977 to January 2009, the District Attorney for Travis County, Texas. He became nationally known for filing charges against House majority leader Tom DeLay in September 2005 for conspiring to violate Texas' election law and/or to launder money. In Texas, Earle was known for his criminal justice reform efforts which focused on crime prevention, alternative sentencing, victim advocacy, and the reintegration of former offenders into society. In 1983, Earle – an Eagle Scout – prosecuted himself for an election law violation after missing a campaign finance filing deadline by one day; he was fined $212. Earle was a fixture in Travis County politics and served in public office there for more than 30 years, joking that he was asked if he was the "District Eternity".
Tom DeLay, a Republican U.S. Representative from Texas from 1979–83, and from 1985–2006 and the House Majority Leader from 2003–05, was convicted in 2010 of money laundering and conspiracy charges related to illegal campaign finance activities aimed at helping Republican candidates for Texas state office in the 2002 elections. In 2013, a Texas Court of Appeals panel acquitted DeLay when it overturned his conviction. This decision was affirmed by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on October 1, 2014. DeLay had three years from that date, i.e. until October 1, 2017, to file any lawsuits for wrongful action.
Final Exit Network, Inc. (FEN) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit right to die advocacy group incorporated under Florida law. It holds that mentally competent adults who suffer from a terminal illness, intractable pain, or irreversible physical conditions have a right to voluntarily end their lives. In cases deemed valid, Final Exit Network arranges what it refers to as "self deliverances". Typically, the network assigns two "exit guides" to a client and are present when they die, but the network states, and has proven in court, that it does not provide physical assistance in anyone's death; rather, their role is that of compassionate advisors and witnesses.
Michael John Garcia is an American attorney and former government official. Since February 2016, he has served as an Associate Judge of the New York Court of Appeals, that state's highest court. He is a former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York (2005–2008). Between his service as United States Attorney and his appointment to the Court of Appeals, Garcia was a partner at the law firm Kirkland & Ellis. He has also served as chairman of El Museo del Barrio.
Emperors Club VIP was an international escort agency based in New York City, founded in 2004 by Israeli national Mark Brener and his partner, Cecil Suwal and operated from the bank accounts of QAT Consulting Group, Inc., and QAT International, Inc. The agency was shut down in March 2008 following a federal investigation into suspicious money transfers from New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, which led to the discovery of its operation as an illegal prostitution ring. Following public reports of Spitzer's patronage as client #9, he resigned from office.
The Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides: "[N]or shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb..." The four essential protections included are prohibitions against, for the same offense:
Cyrus Roberts Vance Jr. is an American attorney and politician who served as the District Attorney of New York County, New York. He was previously a principal partner at the law firm of Morvillo, Abramowitz, Grand, Iason, Anello, & Bohrer, P.C. He is the son of Cyrus Vance, former Secretary of State under President Jimmy Carter. Vance did not seek reelection as District Attorney in the 2021 election, and was succeeded by Alvin Bragg. He is currently a partner at Baker McKenzie.
Illegal is a 1955 American film noir directed by Lewis Allen. It stars Edward G. Robinson, Nina Foch, Hugh Marlowe and Jayne Mansfield. It is the third film adaptation of the 1929 play "The Mouthpiece" by Frank J. Collins, following The Mouthpiece and The Man Who Talked Too Much.
Glasser v. United States, 315 U.S. 60 (1942), was a landmark decision of the US Supreme Court on two issues of constitutional criminal procedure. Glasser was the first Supreme Court decision to hold that the Assistance of Counsel Clause of the Sixth Amendment required the reversal of a criminal defendant's conviction if his lawyer's representation of him was limited by a conflict of interest.
Backpage was a classified advertising website founded in 2004 by the alternative newspaper chain New Times Inc./New Times Media as a rival to Craigslist.
Burton v. United States is the name of two appeals to the Supreme Court of the United States by Senator Joseph R. Burton (R-KS) following his conviction for compensated representation of a party in a proceeding in which the United States was interested: Burton v. United States, 196 U.S. 283 (1905) and Burton v. United States, 202 U.S. 344 (1906). Burton was convicted of acting as counsel to Rialto Grain and Securities Company in the United States Postmaster General's investigation of Rialto for mail fraud.
Richard Kling is a Clinical Professor of Law at the Chicago–Kent College of Law in Chicago, Illinois, where he has been teaching since 1981. He teaches evidence, forensic science, and professional responsibility. He has personally tried over 500 jury trials, including 28 capital cases, and currently has a full-time Clinical Criminal practice through the Law Offices of the Chicago-Kent College of Law. Richard Kling is well respected in the Chicago legal community and is regularly featured in Chicago local news to discuss legal news topics ranging from the Rod Blagojevich corruption charges to the Drew Peterson murder trial.
On August 15, 2014, Texas Governor Rick Perry was indicted by a Travis County grand jury, but has since been cleared on all charges. The first charge of the indictment was abuse of official capacity, a first-degree felony, for threatening to veto $7.5 million in funding for the Public Integrity Unit, a state public corruption prosecutors department. The second charge, which has since been ruled unconstitutional, was coercion of a public servant, a third-degree felony, for seeking the resignation of Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg, a Democrat, after she was convicted of drunk driving and incarcerated. Lehmberg was a district attorney in Travis County, Texas, and the Travis County DA's office managed the Public Integrity Unit's operations. The veto was seen as retribution for Lehmberg not stepping down. Perry pleaded not guilty to both charges.
David Robert Daleiden is an American anti-abortion activist who worked for Live Action before founding the Irvine, California-based Center for Medical Progress in 2013.
The Center for Medical Progress (CMP) is an anti-abortion organization founded by David Daleiden in 2013. The CMP is best known for producing undercover recordings that prompted a controversy over Planned Parenthood in 2015; CMP established a fake company to pose as buyers of fetal tissue and secretly recorded Planned Parenthood officials during meetings.
Ralph Allan Lee Shortey is an American convicted sex offender and former politician and businessman. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected to the Oklahoma Senate in 2010, defeating several challengers in primary elections, re-elected in 2014 and served his term until 2017. During his tenure, he established a Republican consulting firm. Shortey was the state campaign chair for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election.
James Anthony Larkin was an American publisher and journalist in Phoenix, Arizona, known for his influence in the alternative newspaper industry. He was largely responsible, along with business partner Michael Lacey, for his work with the Phoenix New Times, also known as New Times Inc.
Alvin Leonard Bragg Jr. is an American politician and lawyer who serves as the New York County District Attorney, covering Manhattan. In 2021, he became the first African American elected to that office. Bragg had previously served as Chief Deputy Attorney General of New York and as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York. In 2024, he became the first and only district attorney to secure a conviction of a former United States president.