Captain Joe perhaps got the greatest measure of recognition he had wanted all along from Judge Glen Davidson in his published opinion on the case where he said:
Despite the government’s promises, Awad did not receive United States citizenship and a passport until June of 2000, over fifteen years after his arrival. And even then he appears to have received his citizenship and passport primarily as a result of his own persistent and extensive efforts.
Thus, Captain Joe did indeed finally become a real American, and in a uniquely American way—by doing it himself.
Notes
The notes which follow are mainly for reference purposes for any reader who might wish to consult the file for a particular story in depth. The contents of many files have now been routinely shredded, usually ten years after the file was closed. The files which still exist will be in the clerk’s office of the U.S. District Court in Oxford or at the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans, but many will have been shipped to a faraway federal record storage center.
The variety in the case numbering systems comes mainly from the evolution of computer record keeping. The citations to news stories do not reflect undue interest in publicity but an interest in how our cases were presented to the public. In retrospect, the news stories now seem even more useful in the way they encapsulate in brief terms what happened, free of the numbing legal jargon of official court records. Newsmen apparently do a better job of preserving history than lawyers.
Preface
1. As I suspected, the “best” criminal careers are in the white-collar area, which require more education, carry shorter prison terms, and promise fewer chances of a violent death. Near the top of the criminal hierarchy, not surprisingly, are identity thieves (fourth), telemarketing scammers (fifth), and counterfeiters (tenth). Number 1 is a type of criminal I encountered only once: drug counterfeiters. They tend to operate mainly from outside the United States, selling bogus Viagra and the like. They are therefore rarely seen, much less caught. We did, however, have one big score out of Clarksdale, another home of the blues, where a couple got rich selling a “natural” product which promised both larger breasts (by two cup sizes) and larger penises. The couple ended up, in addition to being prosecuted by us, as defendants before an outraged Judge Judy on nationwide TV under the title “Bustin’ Loose.”
The number 2 “best” crime we also encountered only toward the end of my career. Like most successful crimes it is hard to detect, expensive to investigate, and rarely prosecuted: smuggling contraband cigarettes on the black market. This scam is actually a complex of crimes which can involve everything from substituting cheap tobacco from China for expensive Carolina leaf, but always involves in some way avoiding the heavy federal and state taxes on cigarettes, which can amount to several dollars a pack and millions of dollars a truckload. A brisk trade in counterfeit cigarette stamps has also developed. Add in the tax-free enclaves of Native American reservations, which are legally foreign nations not subject to state taxes, and you have a career richer than untaxed casinos.
Chapter 1. Bank Robbers I’ve Known
1. U.S. v. Shabazz, CRG-75-54, CRG-75-55; U.S. v. Walker (Shabazz), 530 F. 2d 975 (5th Cir. 1976).
2. U.S. v. Washam, CRW-74-89.
3. U.S. v. House, CRG-80-37.
4. U.S. v. Craft, CRD-82-2-WK-0; U.S. v. Craft, 691 F. 2d 205 (5th Cir. 1982).
5. U.S. v. Lewis, CRW-91-05-B.
6. U.S. v. Porterfield, 3:02 CR-134; U.S. v. Porterfield, CRW-88-85.
7. U.S. v. Mitchell, 2:94 CR-12-GHD; U.S. v. Mitchell, 3:94 CR-66.
8. U.S. v. Nathaniel Johnson, CRG-82-29-K.
9. U.S. v. James Keith Johnson, 2:95 CR-49.
10. U.S. v. Kelly, CRE-84-50-LS; U.S. v. Kelly, 783 F. 2d 575 (5th Cir. 1986).
11. U.S. v. Franks, 1:93 CR-116; 5th Cir. 94-60132.
12. U.S. v. Webb, 1:02 CR-10.
13. Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, March 16, 2006.
14. U.S. v. Wilson et al., 2:04 CR-114; 5th Cir. 94-60132.
Chapter 2. Corruption in Positions of Trust: Lawyers, Judges, Supervisors, and Sheriffs
1. U.S. v. Freshour, 1:99 CR-0015-NBB-1.
2. U.S. v. Nunley, 1:94 CR-00125-NB-B-1.
3. U.S. v. Shuffield, 3:06 CR-127-P-A; Oxford Eagle, October 12, 2006, January 29, 2007.
4. Jackson Clarion-Ledger, January 14, 2000.
5. U.S. v. Pickett, 2:99 CR-8; U.S. v. Ellington, 2:03 CR-100; U.S. v. Starks et al., 2:98 CR-0092-GHD.
6. Oxford Eagle, December 13, 1996.
7. U.S. v. Jones, CRG-88-39-B.
8. U.S. v. Costilow, CRE-82-34-K-P.
9. U.S. v. Burke, Pegues, & Sims, 3:03 CR-120; 5th Cir. 04-60973; U.S. v. Barksdale, 3:03 CR-0083-001; U.S. v. Mitchell, 3:02 CR-151.
10. U.S. v. Miller, 3:03 CR-106; Holly Springs South Reporter, October 16, 2003.
11. U.S. v. Hamilton, CRD-78-36-K; opinion sub nom U.S. v. Bright, 630 F. 2d 804 (5th Cir. 1980).
12. For the full text of his Rose report, see an outstanding law review article by Professor Ron Rychlak at pp. 889-1051 of the Mississippi Law Journal, Vol. 68, No. 3 (Spring 1999).
13. U.S. v. Hamilton, CRD-78-36-K; U.S. v. Reed, CRD-78-37-K.
14. “Dirty Dozen? Tampering with Juries Appeals to Defendants Facing Steep Sentences,” Wall Street Journal, January 30, 1995.
15. U.S. v. Renfro, CRD-79-34-K; U.S. v. Renfro, 620 F. 2d 497 (5th Cir. 1980); U.S. v. Renfro, CRD-80-28-WK-P; Memphis Commercial Appeal, September 9, 1980.
16. U.S. v. Wallace, CRD-79-10-5; U.S. v. Riley, CRD-81-3.
17. U.S. v. Grisham, CR-90-172.
18. Jackson Clarion-Ledger, October 9, 1988.
19. U.S. v. Miller, CRE-87-8.
20. U.S. v. Little, 3 CR-87-0000105; U.S. v. Little, 687 F. Supp. 1042 (N.D. Miss. 1988), affirmed 889 F. 2d 1367 (5th Cir. 1989).
21. U.S. v. Spradling, Crayton, CRE-82-58-WK-P; Itawamba County Times “The Only Paper in the World That Cares Anything about Itawamba County,” October 21, 1982; Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, March 9, 1983; Memphis Commercial Appeal, March 9, 1981–March 28, 1984.
22. U.S. v. Jones et al., 3:93 CR-087-D; 5th Cir. 95-60236; Holly Springs South Reporter, February 2, 1995; U.S. v. Tatum, 4:00 CR-100, 3:05 CR-001.
23. Although usually held confidential under Federal Rule 7, Judge Keady gave me special permission to reveal what happened in the grand jury in this and certain other cases to present to lawyers and students as cautionary tales as long as names were withheld.
24. U.S. v. Glenn, CRE-86-61-LS-D.
25. U.S. v. Stewart, 2:03 CR-48.
26. U.S. v. Hall, 3:06 CR-023-B; Oxford Eagle, August 17, 2007; U.S. v. Carothers, 3:07 CR-001-B-A; Oxford Eagle, August 2, 2007.
27. U.S. v. Caywood, Morehead, Moultrie, 3:08 CR-014; Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, March 26, June 25, 2008, January 9, 2009; Oxford Eagle, August 14, 2008.
28. Jackson Clarion-Ledger, August 19, 2008.
29. Ibid., August 13, 2008.
30. Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, October 11, December 4, 2011; Jeff Amy, “Mississippi Settles Beef Plant Case for $3.9 Million,” Associated Press, April 17, 2012.
31. U.S. v. Scruggs, Scruggs, & Backstrom, 3:07 CR-192-B; Peter Boyer, “The Bribe,” New Yorker, May 19, 2008.
Chapter 3. Civil Rights and Civil Wrongs
1. U.S. v. Beard et al., 1:95 CR-116-GHD.
2. U.S. v. Clayton, 172 F. 3d 347 (5th Cir. 1999).
3. U.S. v. Harrison, CRD-80-17-LS-P; Memphis Press-Scimitar, April 18, 1980; Jackson Clarion-Ledger, April 17, 1980; Memphis Commercial Appeal, July 3, 1980.
4. U.S. v. Dorman et al., CRG-84-12-LS; Jackson Clarion-Ledger, February 17, 1984.
5. U.S. v. Skaggs, 2:93 CR-187-B-O.
6. On July 7, 1996, the Jackson Clarion-Ledger weighed in heavily about the horror of this new scourge, hoping it was not “recreational racism,” as some suggested.
7. Michael Kelly, “Playing with Fire,” New Yorker, July 15, 1996, offers an excellen
t in-depth analysis of motive. See also Gary Fields and Richard Price, “Church Arsons One Year Later: Out of the Ashes: A Sense of Unity,” USA Today, December 23, 1996.
8. U.S. v. Ballinger and Wood, 9948-CR-01-BF. DOJ press releases dated November 9, 1999, and July 11, 2000, detail the charges and districts best. See also a follow-up in the Jackson Clarion-Ledger, December 11, 2010.
9. Jackson Clarion-Ledger, April 17, 1998.
10. U.S. v. Butler, CRW-86-56-GD; 5th Cir. 87-4322; Jackson Clarion-Ledger, May 8, 1987; Memphis Commercial Appeal, May 8, 1987.
11. U.S. v. Cummings, CRW-82-18-WK-P.
12. U.S. v. Winters et al., 4:94 CR-65-LS; U.S. v. Winters, 105 F. 3d 200 (5th Cir. 1997); U.S. v. Winters, 174 F. 3d 478 (5th Cir. 1999); Jet, July 4, 1994.
13. Morris, Ghosts of Medgar Evers, 116.
14. Ibid., 119.
15. http://www.justice.gov/archive/ag/speeches/2007/ag_speech_070227.html.
16. Shaila Dewan, “After Inquiry, Grand Jury Refuses to Issue New Indictments in Till Case,” New York Times, February 28, 2007; “No Indictment in ’55 Emmett Till Slaying,” USA Today, February 27, 2007.
17. A longer version of the summary, including a complete transcript of the trial, is available at http://vault.fbi.gov/Emmett%20Till.
Chapter 4. Killers and Wannabes
1. U.S. Senate, Committee on Armed Services, Transcript of Trial Proceedings.
2. North Carolina v. Alford, 400 U.S. 24 (1970).
3. Brady v. U.S., 397 U.S. 742 (1970).
4. U.S. v. Walton, CRE-72-48-S. “Walton Found Sane,” Oxford Eagle, December 4, 1975.
5. U.S. v. Lampkin, CRE-78-1-K; Starkville Daily News, September 10, 1976, April 10, 1979; Paxton (Ill.) News Gazette, April 6, 2009.
6. U.S. v. Gaines, CRW-76-117-S.
7. U.S. v. Hutcheson, Hinson, 3:95 CR-15-B.
8. U.S. v. Fort, CRE-83-50-LS-P; Memphis Commercial Appeal, August 19, November 12, December 3, 17, 1983; Jackson Clarion-Ledger, November 6, December 7, 1983, June 7, 1992, June 5, 1993; “Fort Pleads Guilty, Fails to Appear for Sentencing, U.S. Marshal Service Declares Him Top 15 Fugitive,” U.S. Marshal Press Release, December 6, 1983; “Fort Has Courtroom Full of Spectators under His Spell,” Chicago Tribune, October 18, 1988; Jeffrey Toobin, “Capone’s Revenge: How Far Can a Prosecutor Go to Secure Crucial Testimony from Plea Bargainers?” New Yorker, May 23, 1994.
9. U.S. v. Harold Shaw, CRG-90-19-B.
10. Taitt v. U.S. et al. [Pruett], District of Colorado 82-M-1731, deposition on March 23, 1983, at the Law Library at Parchman, Mississippi.
11. U.S. v. Leedom, 2:96 CR-136-D-B; Leedom v. State, 1999-KA-1754-SCT.
12. U.S. v. Dillard et al., 1:02 CR-038-P-D.
13. U.S. v. Tohill et al., CRE-89-37-D.
14. U.S. v. Ronald Shaw, CRE-81-2-S; U.S. v. Ronald Shaw, 701 F. 2d 367 (5th Cir. 1983).
Chapter 5. Faraway Places with Strange-Sounding Names: The Age of Terror
1. U.S. v. El-Sarji, 2:00 CR-120; William Finnegan, “The Secret Keeper,” New Yorker, October 19, 2009.
2. U.S. v. Marzook, Salah, Ashqar (N.D. Illinois), 03-CR-978-3.
3. U.S. v. Ahmed, 1:03 CR-030.
5. Awad v. U.S., 1:93 CV-376-D-D; Awad v. U.S., 2001 WL741638 (N.D. Miss. April 2001); 5th Cir. 99-60042; Awad v. U.S., 301 F. 3d 1367 (Fed Cir. 2002); Steven A. Emerson, “Journey into Fear,” Penthouse, March 1991; Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, May 12, 1992; Emerson, Terrorist; Michelle Visser, “Sovereign Immunity and Informant Defectors: The United States’ Refusal to Protect Its Protectors,” Stanford Law Review 58 (November 2005). Daily Journal reporter and current Ole Miss journalism professor Marty Russell wrote an excellent series of stories on our trial that appeared on February 27 and March 1, 2, 6, 7, and 8, 2001. See also U.S. v. Rashid, 234 F. 3d 1280 (D.C. Cir. 2000); Awad v. U.S., 301 F. 3d 1367 (Fed. Cir. 2002); and Awad v. U.S., 61 Fed. Cir. 281 (2004), as well as Douglas Pasternak, “Squeezing Them, Leaving Them,” U.S. News and World Report, July 8, 2002.
Bibliography of Related Readings
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Buchanan, Minor Ferris. Holt Collier: His Life, Roosevelt Hunts, and the Origin of the Teddy Bear. 4th ed. Jackson: Centennial Press of Mississippi, 2002.
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