Another prosecution overturned
By Bob Martin
In a case reeking with prosecutorial abuse and misconduct the United States Department of Justice has been ordered by a federal judge in Birmingham to pay a Huntsville businessman a half million dollars in restitution for a wrongful prosecution and seizure of his property.

The award to Alex Latifiwas ordered by U. S. District Judge Inge Johnson under federal law which gives business owners innocent of any wrongdoing the right to recover their property after illegal government seizures.

Cliff Burns, an arms-export expert with the Washington law firm Powell Goldstein, told The Birmingham News that the award is unprecedented. "No one I know of has ever recovered legal fees against the federal government in an armsexport case." Latifi, an engineer, and his business, Axion Corporation, were accused of sending a schematic drawing of the Army's Black Hawk utility helicopter to a prospective subcontractor in China. His main accuser, however, was a disgruntled employee who began informing on him only after she had stolen thousands of dollars and was facing prosecution for forging checks.

After four years of investigation and two raids by federal agents, Johnson dismissed the charges after a seven-day trial last October, saying the main government witness lacked credibility, the drawings Latifiwas accused of sending to China weren't marked classified anywhere, were available on the Internet, and the technology was hardly a secret to China, which already owned more than 20 of the freight and troop transporters made by Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation.

"I can't understand destroying someone's life for no reason," Latifi, a 1973 immigrant who became a citizen in 1980, told the News. "All I can be thankful for is that I am not in jail." Latififaced 25 years in prison for his alleged crimes. His Huntsville machine shops are silent after government business disappeared. Axion had been making machined parts for the U.S. military since 1984. "It was terrible," said Beth Latifi, Alex's wife. "They treated us like terrorists. There were pistols everywhere, trying to scare us."

Latifi's lawyers had told the court they had a significant amount of evidence that would show misconduct by U. S. Attorney Alice Martin and her office which was to be produced at a hearing scheduled this week.

Johnson's ruling in ordering the Justice Department to pay restitution said the U. S. Attorney's office had withdrawn its request for a certification from the court endorsing the seizure of Latifi's property as having had a reasonable cause. That eliminates any chances for Latifi's lawyers to demand a hearing to examine the Justice Department's memos, legal papers and investigative methods which they had planned to request. Perhaps they have another avenue to bring any abuse by Martin's office to light.

Gov. Riley's popularity remains high

The latest Survey USA polling in Alabama shows that Gov. Bob Riley's popularity numbers remain in the upper stratosphere, getting favorable ratings above 50% from whites and blacks. The governor has an overall approval rating of 68% vs. a disapproval number of 30%. Blacks polled give him 56% favorable and 40 percent unfavorable. For whites it's 71% favorable, 27% unfavorable.

The polling samples, conducted in March, shows that overall just 45% of Alabamians approve of President Bush, while 54% percent disapprove. However, there is a huge disparity in his numbers between blacks, 10% approve, 89% disapprove; and whites, 55% approve, 43% disapprove...

NOTE: U. S. Attorney Martin has e-mailed me, suggesting I made false comments about her in a recent column regarding the investigation by the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) concerning an accusation that she had perjured herself on the witness stand in a hearing over a discrimination complaint filed against her. She stated that "investigations by the OPR and the Alabama State Bar both found no substance to the allegation some time ago. "Those investigations are closed," she stated. With regard to the OPR matter, I replied as follows:

The OPR placed you under investigation or inquiry regarding the Deirdra J. Brown matter on April 16, 2007. In June, 2007 your office would not comment on the matter nor would OPR. I have requested from OPR and DOJ within the past month information confirming or denying that such an investigation remained ongoing. I have received no reply. If you would provide me any written confirmation from either OPR or the Alabama State Bar verifying that they found "no substance to the allegations" and that the investigations are closed, I will certainly report that information in all my publications and all publications which subscribe to my column.

As of April 6th, I had not received a reply.

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