Felicity Huffman Plus 13 Will Plead Guilty To College Scandal

Felicity Huffman (image via Wikimedia)

Former Desperate Housewives star Felicity Huffman will plead guilty in the recent college admissions scandal.

According to Variety, Huffman was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. The criminal complaint alleges she paid $15,000 to a college admissions consultant, William Singer, to improve her daughter’s SAT score.

Huffman arranged to have her daughter take the SAT at the West Hollywood Test Center, which Singer controlled.

Huffman was also able to obtain extra time for her daughter to take the test. Singer admitted to hiring a proctor to correct answers on students’ exams.

Huffman’s daughter got a 1420 on the test, a 400 point improvement on her PSAT result.

The Oscar-nominated actress issued a statement about the guilty plea:

“I am in full acceptance of my guilt, and with deep regret and shame over what I have done, I accept full responsibility for my actions and will accept the consequences that stem from those actions.

“I am ashamed of the pain I have caused my daughter, my family, my friends, my colleagues and the educational community. I want to apologize to them and, especially, I want to apologize to the students who work hard every day to get into college, and to their parents who make tremendous sacrifices to support their children and do so honestly.”

"My daughter knew absolutely nothing about my actions, and in my misguided and profoundly wrong way, I have betrayed her. This transgression toward her and the public I will carry for the rest of my life. My desire to help my daughter is no excuse to break the law or engage in dishonesty."

JUST IN: Statement from Felicity Huffman: "I am in full acceptance of my guilt...My daughter knew absolutely nothing about my actions, and in my misguided and profoundly wrong way, I have betrayed her." https://t.co/HKQ9XinwiZ pic.twitter.com/90egA9cmGW

— ABC News (@ABC) April 8, 2019

(image by Angela George, CC BY-SA 3.0)

Former NV Senate Majority Leader Pleads Guilty To Spending $250K Of Campaign Funds For Personal Use

Former Nevada lawmaker Kelvin Atkinson

Former Nevada Senate Majority Leader Kelvin Atkinson pleaded guilty today to withdrawing nearly $250,000 from campaign funds for his personal use.

Atkinson resigned from his Senate seat last week. He was Nevada's first openly gay Senate leader, and only the third African-American  to hold the position.

From Fox5Vegas:

Prosecutors said Atkinson used the funds to operate a Las Vegas night club, make payments on personal credit cards and lease a luxury car, among other expenses, the release said.

Atkinson, 49, represented District 4. He was elected to the Nevada Senate in November 2012 and named majority leader in November 2018, the release said.

Atkinson admitted that between January 2010 to December 2017, he devised a scheme to mislead donors contributing to his campaign by falsely telling them he would use the donations for lawful campaign purposes, but instead used his campaign account for personal expenses, the release said.

Because of the manner in which Atkinson withdrew the money, an exact amount is not known, the release said. But Atkinson admitted to spending nearly $250,000 of unreported withdrawals on personal expenses. His personal spending of campaign funds included $100,000 in payments on his personal credit cards, $75,000 toward opening and operating a night club and $20,000 on leasing a Jaguar SUV, among other expenses.

The statutory maximum sentence for wire fraud is 20 years, the release said. Atkinson has agreed to pay $249,900 in restitution.

Sentencing is scheduled for July 11.

Atkinson famously came out during a 2013 debate in the Senate regarding repealing Nevada’s ban on same-sex marriage.

The following year, he and his husband were among the first same-sex couples to be married in Nevada.

As a proud gay Democratic Nevadan, living in Las Vegas for 15 years, I'm disgusted that Atkinson would be so unethical.

There are no excuses for such a blatant disregard for the law and personal integrity.

Florida Man Pleads Guilty To Secretly Recording Hookups And Selling To Porn Sites

Bryan

Earlier this summer, I reported on the arrest of Bryan Deneumostier, a Florida man who tricked men into being blindfolded for sexual encounters he secretly filmed for a porn website.

According to the Miami Herald, the victims would connect with Deneumostier via Craigslist and then head to a home in South Miami-Dade for an anonymous sex-capade with a 'bored military housewife.'

The men apparently agreed ahead of time to be blindfolded or wear blackout goggles. What they didn’t realize was the ‘bored housewife’ was actually 33-year-old Deneumostier who, once the men were unable to see and had their hands tied to a chair, would perform various sex acts like oral sex and record the episodes for a website called ‘Straightboyz.’

Over the course of four years, Deneumostier was paid $3,000 a month for video content by the porn site.

The Miami New Times now reports that Deneumostier admits that more than 80 of the men didn’t know they were being recorded.

In June, Deneumostier was charged with two felony counts of recording people without their consent, as well as three counts of keeping improper records for his porn site.

However, on Thursday, he agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors which only included charges of recording two victims in May and July 2015.

Deneumostier now faces up to ten years in prison.

That’s not the end of legal woes for Deneumostier, though.

In May, police arrested the 33-year-old in a hotel room with an underage boy who had been reported missing.

After seeing leather handcuffs, lubricant and other sex toys in the room, Deneumostier copped to spending two days having sex with the boy after giving him alcohol and drugs.

He was charged in state court for having sex with a minor.

Manafort Plea Deal Single-Handedly Pays For Special Counsel Investigation

Donald Trump

For over a year, Donald Trump has ranted that the investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller is a "witch hunt" and an expensive waste of taxpayer money.

....At what point does this soon to be $20,000,000 Witch Hunt, composed of 13 Angry and Heavily Conflicted Democrats and two people who have worked for Obama for 8 years, STOP! They have found no Collussion with Russia, No Obstruction, but they aren’t looking at the corruption...

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 20, 2018

Actually, that "witch hunt" has now seen FIVE Trump associates plead guilty to felony charges.

A lot of witches out there, huh?

This week, former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort joined that elite group of Trumpers who have copped to felony charges.

The previous four are: Michael D. Cohen, the president’s longtime personal lawyer; Michael T. Flynn, the former national security adviser; Rick Gates, the former deputy campaign chairman; and George Papadopoulos, a former campaign adviser.

And about that "waste of money" charge?

Check this from NY Magazine - a little nugget that was slightly overlooked by many in the heat of the news of Paul Manafort's plea deal this week.

Manafort will forfeit many of his assets as part of the deal, including money in several bank accounts, an apartment in Trump Tower, and one in downtown Manhattan; worth about $46 million, these assets single-handedly cover the cost of the Mueller investigation.

When your investigation costs $17m but you get $46m in forfeitures from Manafort. pic.twitter.com/PZFIMaa35O

— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) September 14, 2018

Here is how bad it is. Mueller got Manafort to plead guilty, flip on Trump AND give up 46 MILLION in assets. Best witch hunt ever.

— Christopher Titus (@TitusNation) September 14, 2018

Keep in mind, at last count, Trump's excessive golf habit has cost the American taxpayers $77 million in less than two years.

Trump Campaign Chair Paul Manafort To Plead Guilty To Reduced Charges

Former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort

UPDATE - Looks like I spoke too soon.

Talking Points Memo reports that the plea deal between Manafort and Special Counsel Robert Mueller includes an agreement to cooperate with the ongoing investigation.

That will not sit well with the Trumpster.

******************************************

Donald Trump's former campaign chair, Paul Manafort, will plead guilty to reduced charges today in an effort to avoid a second high-profile, costly trial.

According to reports, he will cop to one count of conspiracy against the U.S. and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice.

This would make Manafort the fifth Trump campaign team member to plead guilty to criminal charges.

The charges stem from his work as a political consultant in Ukraine.

From The New York Times:

In documents filed with the United States District Court in Washington, prosecutors from Mr. Mueller’s office charged Mr. Manafort with one count of conspiracy and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice. The prosecutors dropped five other charges encompassing money laundering and violations of a lobbying disclosure law.

So far, four former Trump aides have pleaded guilty to charges related to the special counsel investigation: Michael D. Cohen, the president’s longtime personal lawyer; Michael T. Flynn, the former national security adviser; Rick Gates, the former deputy campaign chairman; and George Papadopoulos, a former campaign adviser.

Mr. Manafort, who has repeatedly insisted that he would not cooperate with the special counsel, has been reassessing his legal risks after last month’s trial. He was found guilty in that case of eight counts of tax fraud, bank fraud and failure to report a foreign bank account, crimes that legal experts predicted were likely to result in a prison term of six to 12 years.

The Times goes on to say the agreement will include government seizure of four of Manafort's homes as well as the funds in several bank accounts.

A document filed by federal prosecutors indicates Manafort will admit to funneling millions of dollars in payments into offshore accounts to conceal his income from the Internal Revenue Service which resulted in "cheating the United States out of over $15 million in taxes."

There have been no reports that Manafort plans to cooperate with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's ongoing-investigation.

I maintain that Manafort is "keeping his nose clean" in regard to his relationship with Donald Trump with the expectation that the president will step in and pardon Manafort.

Mark my words.

1/ We haven’t seen the plea agreement yet, but the new charges against Manafort indicate that a benefit to Manafort in the plea deal will be that his sentence is capped at ten years because he is pleading to two counts with a maximum sentence of five years each.

— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) September 14, 2018

Paul Manafort was not a coffee boy.
He was not a low-level aide.
He was not some hanger-on.
He was the CHAIRMAN OF TRUMP'S CAMPAIGN.
... and he just pleaded guilty to conspiracy against the United States.

Take a moment to consider how profound and unprecedented this is. https://t.co/E41MlgVDO6

— Caroline O. (@RVAwonk) September 14, 2018

Guess we’ll know more soon from plea deal but is it possible that Manafort pleaded guilty to a reduced charge without promising cooperation while awaiting a pardon he has every reason to believe is in the offing?

— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) September 14, 2018

ABC News Reports Manafort Reaches Plea Deal With Special Counsel Robert Mueller

Paul Manafort

ABC News is reporting former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort may have come to a plea deal with Special Counsel Robert Mueller just before his second trial is to begin.

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort has tentatively agreed to a plea deal with special counsel Robert Mueller that will head off his upcoming trial, sources familiar with the negotiations tell ABC News.

The deal is expected to be announced in court Friday, but it remains unclear whether Manafort has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors or is simply conceding to a guilty plea, which would allow him to avoid the stress and expense of trial, according to three sources with knowledge of the discussions.

Manafort was found guilty of 8 felony charges last month.

I still say Manafort is counting on a pardon from Donald Trump.

Former Trump "Coffee Boy" Sentenced To 14 Days In Prison

George Papadopoulos (via Alexandria, VA, Sheriff's dept)

Former Trump campaign foreign policy consultant George Papadopoulos, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI a year ago about his activities with the campaign, was sentenced today to 14 days in prison.

From ABC News:

In a DC federal courtroom, Papadopoulos was handed 14 days in prison and 12 months of supervised release by U.S. Judge Randolph Moss. Papadopoulos was also given 200 hours of community service and a $9,500 fine.

Papadopoulos's attorney, Tom Breen, told the court that "the president of the United States hindered this investigation more than George Papadopoulos" by declaring the Russia investigation fake news. Breen said Papadopoulos was following Trump's lead.

A week later when he was questioned by FBI in Chicago, his motive for lying was "loyalty to his career and a future with the Trump administration."

Papadopoulos was the first Trump associate to be arrested.

In the aftermath of his arrest, Donald Trump diminished any importance Papadopoulos might have had down to merely "coffee boy" status.

#Ouch

Rick Gates, Former Trump Aide, Will Plead Guilty To Fraud And Testify Against Paul Manafort

Former Trump aide Rick Gates has agreed to plead guilty to fraud-related charges and will testify against former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort according to The LA Times:

The change of heart by Trump's former deputy campaign manager, Richard W. Gates III, who had pleaded not guilty after being indicted in October on charges similar to Manafort's, was described in interviews by people familiar with the case.

"Rick Gates is going to change his plea to guilty,'' said a person with direct knowledge of the new developments, adding that the revised plea will be presented in federal court in Washington "within the next few days.''

Mueller is heading the prosecutions of Gates and Manafort as part of the wide-ranging investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and whether Trump or his aides committed crimes before, during or since the campaign.

The imminent change of Gates' plea follows negotiations over the last several weeks between Green and two of Mueller's prosecutors – senior assistant special counsels Andrew Weissmann and Greg D. Andres.

According to a person familiar with those talks, Gates, a longtime political consultant, can expect "a substantial reduction in his sentence'' if he fully cooperates with the investigation. He said that Gates is apt to serve about 18 months in prison.

With Gates turned state evidence Manafort will plead soon. He will give up Trump, Kushner & Trump jr for a deal. Mueller’s Money laundering end game could come as fast in 60-90 days. Does not mean impeachment but will open up Trump’s tax returns. https://t.co/ik7pDRyTE3

— Malcolm Nance (@MalcolmNance) February 18, 2018

BREAKING: Trump campaign staffer Rick Gates plans to plead guilty for fraud & is willing to testify against Paul Manafort in Mueller’s Russia probe. This is the fourth guilty plea in the probe, 18 total indictments & counting. I would guess by the end 85 people will be indicted.

— Scott Dworkin (@funder) February 18, 2018

Manafort is underwater. But according to this leak, Gates has nothing on Trump. I suspect Manafort does, however. https://t.co/bsK2hUMleY

— John Dean (@JohnWDean) February 18, 2018

News Round-Up - Week of September 7, 2014

The UK's Stuart Hatton named Mr. Gay World 2014

• 28 year old Stuart Hatton, Mr. Gay U.K. 2014, ascended to the global throne when he was recently crowned Mr. Gay World 2014


• Anti-gay former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and wife found guilty of taking over $165,000 in "gifts"

• The 30 day stay on Broward County ruling for marriage equality has passed. Will marriage licenses be issued soon?

• Tennessee pastor doubles down on homophobia; says gays "must be put to death"

• Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson has a foreign policy plan to deal with ISIS: "Convert them or kill them"

• This is the worst AirBNB rental in the universe

• Something special about Robin Williams you probably didn't know

One more pic of Stuart Hatton, Mr. Gay World 2014