dimanche 31 mars 2013

Good 'n Handy: Doug Handshoe, Coverup, & Fred Goodson: Updated

This past August (2012), the Times-Picayune reported on a particularly raucous public meeting in Pearl River, Louisiana, involving someone closely connected to anti-gay serial defamer and Slabbed blogger Doug Handshoe:

The Pearl River Board of Aldermen, in a split vote, followed the town's Planning Commission recommendation to annex a 6-acre parcel of land off Louisiana 41 as R-1 Residential. However, the decision was not made quickly, nor quietly. 
Discussion began with Planning Commission Chairman Sam Phillips opposing his own commission's recommendation and ended with Mayor James Lavigne threatening to have the Pearl River Police Department escort members of the audience out of the building for a short stay behind bars. 
The parcel of land owned by Le Pauvre Garcon, which includes Toby Lowe, Ross Lagarde and Fred HGoodson, had asked for the 6-acre parcel to be zoned B-2 Commercial, which is the same as the land along Louisiana 41. 
. . .
Goodson and his partners did not shed any light on future business ventures involving the property except to say they were trying to compliment the community and were still marketing the property. A hardware store was mentioned, but Goodson indicated more commercial depth would be necessary for such a development. 
Pearl River resident Sparkman "Sparky" Long said, "We keep hearing (the development) won't be a truck stop or video poker but no one is saying what will be there."
Long's comments were followed by loud discussion with multiple people calling out comments simultaneously, which prompted Lavigne to insist that the crowd cool down. "The next outburst and you will be going to the back," Lavigne said, pointing to the nearby jail area. "The police are here."

It will be remembered that in 1997 Mr. Goodson was convicted of one count of RICO, one count of RICO conspiracy, and two counts of mail fraud (in connection with the 1994 and 1995 Truck Stop Gaming, Ltd. gaming license renewal applications). The jury additionally convicted Goodson of five counts of money laundering and three counts of the use of interstate communications in aid of state bribery. His daughter, Maria, was found guilty of one count of mail fraud in connection with TSG, Ltd.'s 1995 license renewal application. His son Alex was named as involved in the coverup, but never indicted.

Such history explains "Sparky" Long's concerns about Mr. Goodson's current plans for his Pearl River land.




Why the coverup, Mr. Doug?  
Just over the border in Mississippi, avowed anti-gay blogger Doug Handshoe has tried to explain away his past association with Fred H. Goodson, O'Aces Casino, and the Slidell truck stop as simply playing the role of a court-sanctioned accountant liquidating the assets of Truck Stop Gaming, Ltd. --in cooperation with the Department of Justice, no less. But, already, something didn't seem straightforward about Handshoe's representations. As seen in a previous post, his talk of appointment as Liquidating Agent in 1999 neatly glossed over his work as the Goodson's & Truck Stop Gaming's accountant long before then.

But there's more than that. 

In comments on Slabbed, Handshoe makes certain representations, even referring to Real-Malice:
And again in further conversation with "On A Steed":

"A CPA was indicted which was why I was brought in.""I was retained to liquidate assets to satisfy forfeitures." "I was hired after all hell had broken loose . . . "

The only problem with Mr. Handshoe's story is the facts as reported by news media at the time.

Sources say Handshoe became corporate Treasurer of Slidell Motel, Inc. before the criminal indictments in 1996 and the court-ordered liquidation started in 1997.  It was 1995 when Louisiana State Police shut down the video poker operation. Goodson was also in prison, still President of Slidell Motel while Handshoe was Treasurer. As noted, Handshoe was also accountant for Truck Stop Gaming, Ltd. before he was appointed Liquidating Agent. He was registered agent for another Goodson company, H.O.M. of Mississippi, also well before the criminal investigations started in 1995/96.

So why the seeming incapacity to be completely forthcoming in Mr. Handshoe's online explications? Why the whitewash and coverup? What does Mr. Doug mean when he says that he "gained a lifetime client" out of the Goodson criminal prosecution? What does he mean by "that bunch"?

On July 28, 1996, the Baton Rouge Advocate reported on the criminal indictments:

A federal grand jury in New Orleans on Friday indicted a former state senator, a Slidell businessman and his daughter and a New Orleans lawyer on charges of racketeering, conspiracy, bribery and other illegal activities.
...
Fred H. Goodson - A Slidell businessman and a principal in a number of businesses, including FHG Corp., SMFM Management Corp., Magnolia Investments Ltd., Slidell Union 76 Auto/Truck Plaza Inc., Slidell Motel Inc. and Tempico Inc.
. . .
On or about April 8, 1995, Fred Goodson was told by the accountant for Truck Stop Gaming Ltd. that, as a result of the failure to transfer ownership out of the Goodson children's name, there would be serious tax consequences. 
On or about April 10, 1995, Fred Goodson and Cleveland were told by the accountant for Truck Stop Gaming Ltd. that, because of the failure to file periodic tax returns regarding the profits made during 1994 by Truck Stop Gaming Ltd, there would be substantial penalties owned to the Internal Revenue Service. 
On or about April 13, 1995, Cleveland explained to Maria Goodson his plan for evading the payment of "a huge penalty" on the money earned by Truck Stop Gaming Ltd. in 1994. 
On or about April 17, 1995, Cleveland and the Goodsons caused a false and fraudulent "legal bill" and a false and fraudulent "management services bill" to be prepared as part of an effort to eliminate the need to pay income taxes owed.

Reading what Doug Handshoe has to say, you might think that the corporation he was an officer for--Slidell Motel-- had nothing to do with the criminal investigation, prosecutions, convictions, and court-ordered forfeiture. But that doesn't seem to be the case either. On May 16, 1997, the Times-Picayune reported on the playing of FBI tapes of a wire-tapped Fred Goodson during the trial:
According to Goodson, state Rep. Raymond "La La" Lalonde was especially wary of the appearance of taking money from the truck stops. He said Lalonde would take checks from attorneys for other companies related to the truck stop owners in "small amounts" - $250, $350 and $400. 
Goodson explained his own technique for getting campaign donations to legislators who didn't want checks directly from gambling interests. He said he attached his truck stop business card to checks drawn on a Slidell motel he owns.
On July 21, 1997, the Advocate continued its coverage of the conviction of Mr. Handshoe's fellow corporate officer and client: 
Under federal racketeering laws, prosecutors are trying to seize $15.6 million in Goodson -related business interests, including a Slidell motel and truck stop that served as home for O'Aces
Another $1.3 million in profits from O'Aces is targeted under a money laundering seizure. Since O'Aces' true ownership was disguised under the names of Goodson's adult children, it was an illegal gambling operation and its proceeds are subject to seizure, prosecutors contend.
On August 27, 1997, the Times-Picayune reported that the corporation Handshoe was Treasurer for, Slidell Motel, was indeed part of the criminal scheme, and the federal court ordered it forfeit as well:


U.S. District Judge Sarah Vance, who presided over their lengthy trial, also refused to order a new trial for Bankston, father-daughter video poker truck stop owners Fred and Maria Goodson, and the Goodsons' longtime New Orleans attorney, Carl Cleveland.
In addition, Vance ordered Fred Goodson , who once operated the now-defunct O'Aces video poker lounge in Slidell, and Cleveland to forfeit more than $3.7 million apiece in U.S. currency to the government. More than $3.1 million of that $3.7 million figure was O'Aces' net profits from July 1994 through August 1995.
The judge also ordered Fred Goodson to forfeit his interests in O'Aces, Truck Stop Gaming Ltd., the Slidell Union 76 Auto/Truck Plaza and Slidell Motel. She ordered Cleveland to forfeit his interests in Truck Stop Gaming and O'Aces. Fred Goodson's children, Alex and Maria tried hard to get their money out of Truck Stop Gaming, petitioning the court and launching an appeal. Handshoe indeed went to St. Stanislaus High School with Alex, same graduating class in fact, and according to his own statement still acts as a Goodson family accountant.

The next question, beyond why Mr. Doug is covering up his exact role in the Goodson criminal enterprise, is what was Mr. Handshoe doing forming a corporation with the Goodsons in Mississippi in 1997 at the same time as they were all liquidating millions of dollars of assets under court order in western Louisiana? Where did all that money go? What was that "happy ending"?

When you need an accountant who knows all about criminal RICO, who ya gonna call?

vendredi 29 mars 2013

Handshoe & "Concrete Busters." Blogger's lies betrayed, no more hands to stand on for Handshoe -- An Easter Surprise!

An interesting letter from a court filing came to light today. Remember that coincidentally just as the Federal District Court in southern Mississippi was considering enforcing Trout Point Lodge's $427,000 Canadian defamation judgment against homophobic blogger Doug Handshoe, attorneys for Concrete Busters of Louisiana just happened to file an amended lawsuit against federal criminal probe target Frederick Heebe that just coincidentally mentioned Trout Point Lodge as well as that very Mississippi lawsuit?

Here's what Handshoe said at the time on Slabbed:
 

Civil District Court lawsuit filed by Concrete Busters against River Birch terms Trout Point Lodge Ltd. of Nova Scotia a “shell company”

They did folks. In fact Concrete Busters amended complaint filed Wednesday against The River Birch Landfill et al unifies several themes we’ve covered here on Slabbed through time. But alas those nasty Goatherders and I have an outstanding  matter in United States Federal District Court in Gulfport before Judge Louis Guirola that my lawyer, Bobby Truitt has me barred from commenting upon. But that does not mean that we can’t let Concrete Busters tell part of that story . . .
Handshoe published a scan of the entire lawsuit he somehow got the same day it was filed, and that self-same scan also just happened to end up published on nola.com too, giving it really wide exposure. The suit was later removed to federal court, and Handshoe published on that too:

Trout Point Lodge, Cerro Coyote, Aaron Broussard and others named as co-conspirators/defendants in federal racketeering suit.


The Concrete Busters suit really helped shore up Handshoe's credibility. The gist was: "If actual lawyers were making these serious allegations about Trout Point Lodge and its owners, there really must be something to it all." It gave Handshoe an excuse for lots of Slabbed posts full of real malice.

Unfortunately for Trout Point Lodge, Charles Leary, and Vaughn Perret, the federal district court in Gulfport, Mississippi, noticed the Concrete Busters amendment as well, and mentioned it's now clearly false allegations that they were involved with Aaron Broussard in criminal wrongdoing in the December, 2012, Order denying that important summary judgment motion--a case of first impression for the federal SPEECH Act. One might say it played an important role in the judge's decision.

Handshoe also used the Concrete Busters suit to accuse Leary & Perret of crimes in a letter he wrote to a Supreme Court justice in Nova Scotia in February, and has published extensively on it since then.

Well of course Handshoe wanted to let the Concerete Busters suit "tell the story"--because it was his own made-up conspiracy theory reproduced word for word in the lawsuit . . .  and now retracted, laying the blame at Handshoe's feet. Here's the astounding letter:



Talk about an about-face!!! Duping of others in self-interest might be called a theme here.

Concrete Busters was one mighty big piece of seeming justification in Mr. Handshoe's multi-year "campaign to damage" Leary, Perret, Trout Point Lodge, and others. (Those are the words of that Mississippi federal court, which recently also denied Handshoe's request for $60,000 in attorney's fees). Handshoe can probably be held liable for this republication of his false and injurious words too. Surely, Daniel G. Abel--who is suing Handshoe for defamation-- will find this all very intriguing & useful.

Former allegational ringmaster Anne-Marie Vandenweghe, her (sock) puppet Doug Handshoe, and their coincidentally mutual attorney Jack "Bobby" Truitt must not be too happy right now. No wonder Mr. Doug looks so grim . . .
 
Douglas Handshoe, CPA & blogger

Some say public official Vandenweghe had links to people in the U.S. Attorney's Office too, past and present, including some with Italian surnames. . . . including some who, it is said, were once investigating her then-husband Ray Valdes. This was coincidentally the same prosecutors' office pursuing Aaron Broussard and Frederick Heebe. Might she have been duping third parties as well, in the name of self interest?

Vandenweghe surely was connected to federal prosecutors in 2009-10. She was "cooperating" and "informing" for the USAO on alleged Jefferson Parish corruption, according to her own taping of Jefferson Parish President Steve Theriot placing her on administrative leave for blogging on government time about the government back in that year. (As well as in comments made on Slabbed under pseudonyms like "unslabbed"). Vandenweghe's USAO contacts included prosecutors who just happened to also be spearheading the Aaron Broussard prosecution. Could the USAO have been misled and duped by Vandenweghe, just like Handshoe did with Concrete Busters?

Handshoe/Vandenweghe attorney Mr. Truitt was surely really looking forward to his $60,000 in supposed attorney's fees after Trout Point et. al. lost the summary judgement motion. Too bad he didn't get it. Guess that "win at all costs" attitude that federal Judge Englehardt wrote about in the context of the U.S. Attorney blogging scandal might just have transcended the boundaries of that office.

jeudi 14 mars 2013

Federal court says "no" to International Cyber Bully: Appeal not frivolous


Homophobic Blogger Douglas Handshoe
Today Mr. Doug Handshoe is spouting lies again, this time referring to "the frivolous appeal . . . . pending before the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals." Yet for some reason, when a Mississippi federal district court filed its decision February 25, 2013, flatly denying the Slabbed blog publisher's motion for a whopping $60,000.00 "appeal bond," it did not end up published on Slabbed.  

Mr. Handshoe's usual dispatch in publishing court documents had vanished. In fact, some web site in Nova Scotia had to break the news. Wonder why? Slabbed blog publisher Handshoe and his attorney had been unequivocal about their money victory:
"This has been a hard fought and significant victory; but, it is not over, as they will now owe you for your attorney’s fees under the SPEECH Act, and they have submitted to the Court’s jurisdiction." Handshoe attorney Jack "Bobby" Truitt, December 19, 2012 
---
". . . .  a litigation instigating loser pays the fees. . . .  Perret and Leary landed themselves in the position of paying for my excellent lawyer, Bobby Truitt. (Thanks guys) :mrgreen: The bottom line is the federal court system has very efficient ways of dealing with frivolous litigation designed to “sue” a journalist “into bankruptcy”."
. . . . .

"As I understand it the court will require the bond before the appeal can move forward. As I understand it my lawyer intends to enroll the award in every foreign jurisdiction these nuts job have property located plus here in the US.
Jr if not for other people’s money Perret would be in a white coat working for Pip Brennan."
As I understand it the court will require the bond before the appeal can move forward. As I understand it my lawyer intends to enroll the award in every foreign jurisdiction these nuts job have property located plus here in the US.
Jr if not for other people’s money Perret would be in a white coat working for Pip Brennan.
- See more at: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:KrrLI9s5oIIJ:www.slabbed.org/2012/12/28/reality-check-time-for-trout-point-lodge-a-eco-libel-tourism-update/+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=de&client=firefox-a#sthash.NnxuhKKC.dpuf
As I understand it the court will require the bond before the appeal can move forward. As I understand it my lawyer intends to enroll the award in every foreign jurisdiction these nuts job have property located plus here in the US.
Jr if not for other people’s money Perret would be in a white coat working for Pip Brennan.
- See more at: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:KrrLI9s5oIIJ:www.slabbed.org/2012/12/28/reality-check-time-for-trout-point-lodge-a-eco-libel-tourism-update/+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=de&client=firefox-a#sthash.NnxuhKKC.dpuf
As I understand it the court will require the bond before the appeal can move forward. As I understand it my lawyer intends to enroll the award in every foreign jurisdiction these nuts job have property located plus here in the US.
Jr if not for other people’s money Perret would be in a white coat working for Pip Brennan.
- See more at: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:KrrLI9s5oIIJ:www.slabbed.org/2012/12/28/reality-check-time-for-trout-point-lodge-a-eco-libel-tourism-update/+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=de&client=firefox-a#sthash.NnxuhKKC.dpuf
Doug Handshoe, December 28, 2012. 
As I understand it the court will require the bond before the appeal can move forward. As I understand it my lawyer intends to enroll the award in every foreign jurisdiction these nuts job have property located plus here in the US.
Jr if not for other people’s money Perret would be in a white coat working for Pip Brennan.
- See more at: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:KrrLI9s5oIIJ:www.slabbed.org/2012/12/28/reality-check-time-for-trout-point-lodge-a-eco-libel-tourism-update/+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=de&client=firefox-a#sthash.NnxuhKKC.dpuf

Not only did the judge not award any attorney's fees whatsoever, he also awarded no costs--either for the proceeding before him or for the appeal perfected by the Plaintiffs. In fact, Mr. Handshoe had apparently counted his hens before they hatched, promising to pay lawyers for his defense against defamation claims against him in federal district court in Louisiana with monies from his assumed appeal bond victory:

Slabbed New Media is accepting auditions for the fabled legal team

Folks I am spreading the wealth on my travails with the Aaron Broussard’s henchmen as recently laid out on these pages.

Hasn't anyone told Mr. Doug that he should never assume? Mr. Truitt also had more things to say on Twitter, before the decision:

The Handshoe/Truitt motion did not stop the appeal from moving forward. In addition, the decision  made clear that the Chief District Judge for the Southern District of Mississippi did not find the appeal by Charles Leary, Vaughn Perret, and their business Trout Point Lodge to be "frivolous litigation." So much for enrolling "the award in every foreign jurisdiction these nuts job have property." So much for what Mr. Doug "understood." Should Mr. Truitt really be publicly calling Leary & Perret, his client's legal opponents, "cowards"???


Here's key parts of the decision it seems Handshoe would rather that no one see:

ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO REQUIRE COST BOND FOR APPEAL

BEFORE THE COURT is the Defendant Douglas K. Handshoe’s [38] Motion to Require Cost Bond for Appeal Filed by Plaintiffs. Plaintiffs Trout Point Lodge Limited, Vaughn Perret, and Charles  Leary have filed a response, and Defendant Handshoe has filed a reply. The Court finds that the Motion is not well-taken and should be denied.
. . . . .
Handshoe has not provided any documentation or other evidence of his costs in support of his request for a bond in the amount of $60,000.00.
. . . Handshoe argues that attorney’s fees incurred on appeal are not prohibited from inclusion in a Rule 7 bond, but as noted above, the Fifth Circuit has not determined that attorney’s fees should be included in such an order. In any event, Handshoe has not convinced the Court that it should exercise its discretion to order a bond in this case. The Court’s Order on summary judgment involved a matter of first impression for this Court, and there is no suggestion that the appeal was frivolous. . . . Because Handshoe has neither provided support for the amount of security he requests, nor convinced the Court that attorney’s fees are included in Rule 7 “costs,” the Motion will be denied.
In fact, the federal judge never gave Mr. Doug attorney's fees in his original decision. Nor did he ever say that the Nova Scotia judgment against Handshoe was "repugnant." He never called Leary & Perret "libel terrorists" or even libel "tourists." He never criticized the Nova Scotia judge, either. You might think differently reading the homophobic blog "Slabbed."

Mr. Handshoe had crowed
Judge Guirola found both the money judgment and Hood’s injunction repugnant to the constitution of the United States  under the SPEECH Act but Perret and Leary are in full tilt damage control mode after Guirola’s decision.  I’d submit Perret, a self proclaimed Park Avenue lawyer is fooling only himself, beclowning himself in the process.
And:

. . . sophomoric antics work up in Nova Scotia, in fact I was counting on it when I termed NS Justice Hood a twit back in the day. The accompanying loss of professionalism on her part was duly noticed and noted by Judge Guirola in his decision.
The appeal to the 5th Circuit Appeal Court is proceeding, according to PACER.The decision was even published, curiously unlike the one denying the Plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment.