Monday, April 29, 2013

Proceeds of Crime seizures & Cashback for Communities £80m ‘success’ wiped out by £1Billion cost of Crown Office & staff ‘bonus culture’ over last decade

Lord Advocate Frank MulhollandLord Advocate & Crown Office receive £100million annual funding. PROCEEDS OF CRIME legislation created in 2003 by the then Scottish Executive, has, according to claims made by Scotland’s Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) in its latest 2012-2013 annual report on the activities of the Civil Recovery Unit, (CRU) netted around £80 million seized from criminals. However, legal observers have questioned the reliability of the figures provided in the report, which in some cases, relies on “questionable accounting”, ‘staged payments’ from crooked companies, and “speculative figures” relating to cases yet to be decided in the courts.

Unsurprisingly, a fact NOT DISCLOSED in the report is that the total asset seizures announced by the Crown Office yesterday, actually amount to much less than even 10% of the total running cost of the Crown Office over the past ten years, put at a staggering ONE BILLION POUNDS over the last decade, a cost which also includes MASSIVE bonus payments totalling HALF A MILLION POUNDS in just two years, to Crown Office staff and prosecutors.

In the past year, the Crown Office claims about £12m was taken from people involved in activities such as drug dealing, human trafficking and benefit fraud with around £8m of the 2012/13 total coming from convicted criminals. The remaining £4m comes from cash and assets seized through civil court orders. The Crown Office claimed the Proceeds of Crime (Scotland) Act 2002 had become a "powerful tool" against crime.

Lesley Thomson Procurator Fiscal Glasgow

Solicitor General Lesley Thomson Solicitor General Lesley Thomson QC, who announced the figures, said: "By full use of the proceeds of crime legislation, law enforcement can strike at the very heart of criminality in Scotland to ensure that criminal networks big and small are disrupted and dismantled.

"My message is clear - if you try to make a profit from crime, the Crown will use this legislation to the maximum to take that profit from you and ensure it is put it to a much better use in communities across Scotland through the Scottish government's CashBack scheme."

However, the Solicitor General made no reference to the Bonus culture at the Crown Office which has richly rewarded those involved in prosecutions & asset recovery efforts over the years, reported by the media revealing payments totalling £580,000 to Crown Office staff. Media reports also revealed that former Lord Advocate from 2006-2011, Dame Elish Angiolini DBE QC (born McPhilomy) received a taxpayer funded £28,000 ‘golden goodbye’ deal after leaving her job, reported HERE

Since the media report exposing Crown Office bonuses, the practice has been dropped in favour of inflated salaries and generous expenses allowances in an effort to get round further adverse publicity.

Over the last 10 years around £50m has been seized by the Crown Office's Serious and Organised Crime Division (SOCD), which deals with the confiscation of proceeds of crime following a conviction. The remaining £30.5m was secured by the Civil Recovery Unit, headed by Ruaraidh MacNiven, who formerly worked for Lord President Lord Hamilton.The CRU, which has been criticised in court by judges for providing dodgy evidence on previous occasions, can recover proceeds of crime through the civil courts without the need for a criminal conviction.

Commenting further on the figures released in the report, Lindsey Miller, head of the Crown Office's Serious and Organised Crime Division said the £80m that had been seized could otherwise have been reinvested in criminal enterprises.

She said : "We have not become complacent in our success. Crime evolves and we must evolve with it. In the last year alone, we have seen successful confiscation orders against people who have participated in all types of crime, including drug dealing, selling counterfeit goods, embezzlement, human trafficking and benefit fraud. We will continue to use our experience and expertise to maximise disruption to criminal enterprises."

In the past financial year, around £4.3 million was netted from those involved in the so-called "black fish" cases, relating to large-scale undeclared landings of fish in the north of Scotland. Confiscation orders totalling £4,314,290 were made last year against a number of vessel skippers, as well as Shetland Catch Ltd and Fresh Catch Ltd.

James Mangan, 54, Robert Robb, 65, and Craig Hunter, 41, all members of an organised crime network involved in importing Class A drugs, which was unearthed by Strathclyde Police's Operation Trust have also been targeted for asset seizures.

The Civil Recovery Unit (CRU) will eventually recover £5.6m after Aberdeen-based drilling company Abbot Group Ltd accepted it had benefited from corrupt payments made in connection with a 2006 contract entered into by one of its overseas subsidiaries and an overseas oil and gas company. The money is to be paid in three stages to the end of March 2015.

Other examples of asset seizures include the home of gangland figure Kevin "Gerbil" Carroll, who was gunned down in a supermarket car park in 2010, although no reference is made to the fact the Crown Office failed to secure a conviction for the murder of Mr Carroll after a judge ruled the Crown had presented insufficient evidence in the case of an accused suspect.

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill Eager as ever to comment on the Crown Office spin, Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said: "Prosecutors and police are cracking down on organised crime and criminals have nowhere to hide.More than £12m has been confiscated from criminals last year, hitting them where it hurts - their wallets.

MacAskill continued : "Our communities are benefiting from the hard work of prosecutors and police putting ill-gotten gains to good use through our CashBack for Communities Programme, which invests crooks' cash in facilities and activities for our young people and their communities across the length and breadth of the country."

The Cashback for Communities scheme referred to by the Justice Secretary takes money recovered through proceeds of crime legislation and invests it in activities and facilities for young people at risk of turning to a life of crime. The Scottish Government claim more than £50m has been ploughed back into Scottish communities since Cashback began operating in 2007.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

From ‘Axe Nurses First’ crackpot legal aid protests to Commonwealth Law Conference trips to South Africa, Law Society promises CLA delegates warm welcome in 2015

From crackpot protests outside Holyrood to CLA Conference in South Africa - Law Society President Austin Lafferty. AS THE EIGHTEENTH Commonwealth Law Conference came to a close in Cape Town, South Africa last week, Law Society of Scotland President Austin Lafferty promised delegates "the warmest of welcomes and a truly memorable experience" when Glasgow hosts the next conference in 2015.

The Law Society of Scotland said in a Press Release : The Commonwealth Lawyers' Association announced in January plans to bring its biennial conference to Glasgow in 2015. This followed a successful bid put together by the Law Society of Scotland in partnership with the Glasgow City Marketing Bureau and Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC).

The bid also attracted wide support from the Scottish and UK Governments, Faculty of Advocates, VisitScotland and several other Commonwealth Law Societies.

Come 2015, delegates, including judges, lawyers and academics from across the Commonwealth are expected to attend the conference in Glasgow at the SECC, providing a welcome boost to the local economy.

As part of the closing ceremony for this week's conference in Cape Town, the Law Society of Scotland and Glasgow City Marketing Bureau presented Glasgow as an exciting and dynamic city and encouraged commonwealth lawyers to visit.

Speaking to almost 1,000 conference delegates, Law Society President Austin Lafferty said: "Glasgow is a city that offers the best of both worlds. A vibrant, dynamic, friendly place. A city of beautiful architecture, a city rich in culture and art, a city of style.

"It's fitting that the city that will next year host the Commonwealth's greatest sporting event will, less than 12 months later, host the Commonwealth's greatest legal gathering.  It will be a proud moment for my city and for my country.

"I can promise delegates the warmest of welcomes and a truly memorable experience in 2015."

The Advocate General, Lord Wallace of Tankerness attended this week's conference in Cape Town and was a strong public supporter of the Glasgow bid to host the conference.

He said: "Bringing a major international conference like this to Scotland is a major achievement and the Law Society of Scotland has done an excellent job in securing it. There has been a real sense of excitement this week with many Commonwealth lawyers looking forward to visiting Glasgow in 2015, many for the first time.

"Scotland has a proud, historic and distinct legal system. 2015 will provide a great opportunity to showcase the Scots legal profession but also learn from colleagues across the Commonwealth facing many similar challenges and issues in their own countries. It also allows us to show off one of our major cities and Scotland as a whole to professionals from across the globe and I look forward to it being a success in two years' time."

Saturday, April 20, 2013

‘Magic Circle’ of Scottish Judges & rent boys : Scandal Solicitor David Blair Wilson is convicted of attempted smuggling of drugs & mobile phones into Saughton jail

Solicitor David Blair Wilson pictured outside court. DAVID BLAIR WILSON, a crooked solicitor well known for his part in the Magic Circle affair which exposed a sex-for-justice scandal involving liaisons between rent boys and members of Scotland’s judiciary & Crown Office, has been convicted of attempting to smuggle drugs and mobile phones into Saughton Prison during October 2011.

Blair Wilson was found guilty at the High Court in Edinburgh after a six day jury trial which heard the solicitor attempt to blame a younger male friend, identified as Steven Douglas who Blair Wilson told the jury was a drug dealer and who regarded Blair Wilson as a “surrogate dad”.

The trial judge, Lord Burns, granted bail to Blair Wilson until he is sentenced next month.

Sex for justice scandal involved Scottish Judges & male hookers, forced resignation of Lord Dervaird while others escaped. Scottish Law Reporter has featured coverage of the Magic Circle in earlier article HERE and also featured a report on the former Lord Advocate now Dame Elish Angiolini DBE QC (born McPhilomy) key role in what was known at the time as Operation Planet, the drive to catch crooked judges & prosecutors who were swapping boys for favours in Scottish Courts, HERE

Lord Nimmo Smith QC’s REPORT ON MAGIC CIRCLE GAY JUSTICE SCANDAL, widely regarded by many as a whitewash of the corruption in the Scottish judiciary, identifies Dame Elish Angiolini who worked at the Crown Office at the time as a Senior Legal Assistant, under her maiden mane of Elish McPhilomy. It was clear from subsequent discussions, the report played a heavy part in formulating Crown Office policy on the prosecution of judges, lawyers & other members of the legal profession who were engaging in the illegal sex acts with other men & under age boys.

The Daily Mail newspaper has reported on David Blair Wilson’s conviction :

Lawyer tried to take drugs and phones into jail

'Magic Circle' solicitor's career over

By Brian Horne and Jim McBeth

A CROOKED lawyer with a colourful past has been convicted of trying to smuggle drugs and mobile phones into a prison.

David Blair Wilson was found guilty yesterday at the High Court in Edinburgh after a six-day trial.

The court heard the Dunfermline -based lawyer turned up at Saughton Prison, Edin­burgh, in October 2011 to see Lee Brown, 35, who was serving 18 years for attempted murder and other offences.

Prison officer Graham Robertson checked the lawyer's ID and told him to pass his 'bulging' folder through a scanner.

Mr Robertson told the court: 'His body language changed. He became anxious-looking (and), began to fidget.'                  

Blair Wilson, 55, left and went back to his car taut when he returned the file was 'noticeably thinner'. A search of his vehicle by Lothian and Borders Police found the contraband under a seat.

Blair Wilson, who was disciplined by the Law Society ten years ago for being derelict in his duties as a solicitor, claimed it belonged to a drug-dealing friend, Steven Doug­las, and alleged Douglas had used the car the previous evening.

The lawyer said that Douglas, who failed to appear to give evidence, regarded him as a 'surro­gate dad'. He claimed Douglas had lost a valuable packet of heroin belonging to 'heavies' and had been threatened with death.

Blair Wilson said the contraband, worth nearly £3,000 behind bars, had nothing to do with him but admitted it was allegedly to be given to Lee Brown in the hope he would negotiate with the drug dealers on behalf of Douglas.

However, the jury convicted the lawyer by a majority of trying to smuggle three phones and three SIM cards into the jail.

He was also convicted of supply­ing cannabis resin, diazepam and body-building drugs.

The lawyer, whose 30-year career was in tatters last night, is no stranger to controversy.

In the 1980s, he played a key role in the 'Magic Circle' affair - rumours there was a clique of high-ranking homosexuals in the legal profes­sion and that 'gay blackmail' had played a part in high-profile trials. Blair Wilson was the solicitor for fellow lawyer Colin Tucker, cleared of embezzling £50,000 from clients.

Tucker confessed to taking money but said he had been made to do it by a 'boss' who 'had a hold over him because he was gay'.

He is said to have provided his defence team with a list of highly-placed gays in the profession which 'proved' the blackmail claims.

An independent inquiry, headed by Lord Nimmo Smith, concluded 'there was no conspiracy'.

Blair Wilson will be sentenced next month.

Solicitor Advocate Andrew Miller appointed as £130K a year floating sheriff for Grampian, Highlands & Islands

On 20 March 2013 Her Majesty the Queen appointed Mr Andrew Miller, Solicitor Advocate as a floating sheriff for Grampian, Highland and Islands based at Dingwall.

First Minister Alex Salmond nominated Mr Andrew Miller for appointment on the basis of a report by the independent Judicial Appointments Board.

Mr Miller will take up appointment on 29 April 2013.

Andrew Miller was admitted as a solicitor in 1991 following a civil traineeship with Borland, Johnston & Orr, Solicitors, in Glasgow. He then worked as a solicitor in private practice dealing with a wide range of civil and criminal cases before joining the Crown Office as a Procurator Fiscal Depute in 1995. After holding a number of posts within Crown Office he was appointed as Procurator Fiscal for Dumbarton in 2005. He qualified as a Solicitor Advocate in 2003, an Advocate Depute in 2008 and a Senior Advocate Depute in 2010.

The salary of a sheriff is £129,579 per annum.

The Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland was established by Ministers in 2002; and it became an independent advisory non-departmental public body on 1st June 2009. The Board has statutory responsibilities under the Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008. The Board’s role is to recommend for appointment to the office of judge, sheriff principal, sheriff and part-time sheriff.  The First Minister retains the statutory responsibility for making nominations to Her Majesty the Queen.  The First Minister is required by statute to consult the Lord President of the Court of Session before making his nomination to Her Majesty.