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Judge Joan Orie Melvin to be Charged Today

First Jane, then Janine. Now it’s Joan’s turn.

According to reports by the Pittsburgh Tribune Review, Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin will be charged today, making her the third Orie sister to be accused of campaign-related crimes.

She faces nine criminal counts, including four felonies.

There are three counts of theft of services, two counts conspiracy and two counts of official oppression. She also faces one count each of solicitation to tamper with or fabricate evidence and misapplication of entrusted property.

Melvin’s sister, state Sen. Jane Orie (R-McCandless) was convicted in March on 14 charges that she misused her staff by having them do campaign work, as well as knowingly submitting forged documents as evidence that caused a mistrial the first time she went to court.

The other sister, Janine Orie, a former Melvin aide, was charged in December with directing both of her sisters’ staff to do political work benefitting the judge. She awaits trial in August.

Melvin was first elected to the court in 2009, and she becomes the first sitting Supreme Court Justice in nearly 20 years to be charged with a crime.

Judge Rolf Larsen was charged in 1993 with illegally obtaining prescription drugs.

With a possible conviction on the horizon, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that the judge’s lawyer William I. Arbuckle III submitted a letter to Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille, informing him that she is “voluntarily recusing herself from all judicial duties pending resolution of the criminal charges.”

Arbuckle was adamant that Melvin is not resigning, despite ongoing calls by some citizen activist groups (some of which began asking for her resignation as early as January) that she should.

This is partly due to the grand jury investigation against her, but also because her vote in a 4-3 GOP-leaning Supreme Court could have been the deciding one in hearings on the proposed legislative redistricting maps.

Her sister’s district would have been affected by the map’s approval.

Melvin’s loss to the bench now evens the judicial playing field for Democrats, 3-3.

One Response

  1. Although it doesn’t appear as though Joan Orie Melvin’s alleged crimes are as egregious as some of the worst crimes that public servants across the country have bombarded the nation with in recent months, this news is nonetheless troubling. These cases of disgraced public servants are appearing in the news more and more (allegedly three episodes in this one family…unbelievable!) Maybe public servants will start to get the message that people are fed-up and that corruption will not be tolerated. We can only hope. However, I’m glad to see tougher public corruption focused legislation being enacted in various states across the U.S.; I truly hope that trend continues.

    Well, the below message was previously posted elsewhere (information was updated on 05/07/2012). However, it also pertains to public corruption—public corruption that has infected yet another part of Florida (so much that the corruption has now also spread to the 2012 election process)—so it is fitting that I share it here. It seems as though yet another Florida election fiasco is on the horizon. The public should be aware of this as well.

    —————————————————

    Next stop Gainesville, Fla. (i.e. “Gator Country”). “Why specifically?”, you ask.

    Because in Alachua County, within recent months, numerous and egregious violations of law have been committed that warrant multiple criminal prosecutions and other severe government sanctions. These crimes have had all types of deleterious effects including, but not limited to, once again placing the integrity of Florida’s election results (for 2012) in jeopardy. A few of the things that are central to this issue are:

    1
    David P. Kreider [Mr. Kreider, a proven criminal, is a corrupt Alachua County Court judge. This criminally-corrupt judge also happens to be both (a) one of the circuit’s former prosecutors and (b) a former Division Chief for the State Attorney’s Office.]

    2
    Robert Roundtree, Chief Judge for Florida’s 8th Judicial Circuit (he recently replaced the embattled Martha Lott who resigned from her chief judge post subsequent to becoming embroiled in this scandal which has started to implode; her resignation was announced on 04/09/2012 and was reported to have gone into effect on 04/05/2012)

    3
    Spencer Mann, Chief Investigator for the State Attorney’s Office of Florida’s 8th Judicial Circuit

    4
    William “Bill” Cervone, State Attorney for Florida’s 8th Judicial Circuit

    5
    The conspiracy / scandal related to the “Gibson Case”

    6
    The two irrefutable reports and extensive corroborating evidence that is in the possession of agencies, including those within Florida’s 8th Judicial Circuit (and the aforementioned Spencer Mann and Chief Judge’s office). The comprehensive reports and evidence span a total of more than 100 pages and in-depthly detail criminal activities carried out under the color of law by criminal/judge David P. Kreider and various other co-conspirators.

    http://www.complaints.com/2012/march/14/Corrupt_Judge_David_P._Kreider_now_taints_the_ele_264712.htm
    [Updated most recently on 05/07/2012. This is the initial url and the complaint at this url will remain online to serve as a referral to the below mandated url.]

    http://www.complaints.com/2012/may/21/Corrupt_Judge_David_P._Kreider_now_taints_the_ele_266368.htm
    [This is where all of the updates following 05/07/2012 will be in the future. As of today (05/22/2012) no post-05/07/2012 information is posted here. See the note at the bottom of this comment.]

    This is the gateway to serious corruption and a major cover-up attempt.

    Note:

    Inexplicably, at this critical time, the ability to update the completely truthful complaint that is displayed at the above listed initial complaints.com url has been blocked (this problem just arose in mid-May 2012). Complaints.com was notified in hopes that the issue would be remedied promptly (especially before the involved co-conspirators made any additional damaging/wrongful maneuvers or inappropriately benefited from the dissemination of any additional misinformation outside of scrutiny). For the most part, as of now (05/22/2012), to the best of my knowledge the report at the initial url is up-to-date and the involved co-conspirators haven’t executed any additional illicit maneuvers that haven’t already at least been touched upon in that initial complaints.com webpage complaint. On 05/19/2012 complaints.com indicated that it would no longer be possible to update the information at the well-publicized initial webpage/url and essentially that the complaint would have to be duplicated and that all future updates would have to me made at a new complaints.com webpage/url.]

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