The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit granted Senator Robert Menendez’s motion to stay its mandate while he petitions the U.S. Supreme Court to review whether the political corruption charges against him are based on constitutionally protected legislative acts. As previously documented on this blog, Menendez moved to dismiss the indictment filed in the… Read more »
In a prior post, we blogged about the Third Circuit’s ruling that the political case against Senator Bob Menendez can proceed to trial. Now, in a separate civil matter, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has denied a rehearing en banc to the Florida opthamologist from whom Menendez allegedly solicited and received bribes. Vitero Retinal… Read more »
PHILADELPHIA, PA – Marc Stephen Raspanti, Pamela Coyle Brecht and Douglas E. Roberts, attorneys at the law firm Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti, LLP, authored an article titled, “A New Era of Laboratory Fraud, Part 1: Operation LabScam Redux,” that was published in the September 2016 edition of Health Care Compliance Association’s Compliance Today. Part 2 of… Read more »
In Whistleblower 31276-13W v. Commissioner, 147 T.C. No. 4 (Aug. 3, 2016) filed last week, the U.S. Tax Court held that criminal fines and civil forfeitures constitute “collected proceeds” for the purposes of determining an award under IRS’s Whistleblower program. Husband and wife whistleblowers – described only as “Ps” as their identities were under seal –… Read more »
Senator Bob Menendez’s political corruption case will go forward under a ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. In a 22-count indictment, the government alleges that, from 2006 to 2013, Menendez solicited and accepted gifts from a Florida opthalmologist in exchange for, among other favors, (1) influencing an $8.9 million enforcement… Read more »
Christopher A. Iacono will speak at the Pennsylvania Bar Institute’s CLE titled, “Understanding Pennsylvania Grand Jury Practice.” The CLE will take place in Pittsburgh on July 15 and in Philadelphia on July 21, 2016.
South Carolina, in a move that is becoming increasingly common among various state legislatures (or their medical boards), is on the verge of completely re-writing its telemedicine law – including the often murky issue of when it is appropriate for physicians to prescribe medications (especially non-narcotic) via telemedicine visits in the absence of a prior… Read more »
The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees the “right to a speedy and public trial” to those accused in criminal proceedings. Federal and state courts have long grappled with the question whether speedy trial rights protect defendants from inordinate delays in sentencing. Recently, in Betterman v. Montana, Case No. 14-1457, the U.S. Supreme Court answered… Read more »
Recently, news broke that not one but two former high-ranking Pennsylvania state officials—former Treasurer Rob McCord and John Estey, the one-time top aide to Gov. Ed Rendell—secretly recorded conversations, potentially thousands of them, with political and business leaders at the behest of federal law enforcement. These revelations bring focus on the regulations concerning electronic surveillance… Read more »
On Wednesday, May 11, President Obama signed the Defend Trade Secrets Act (“DTSA”) into law. The DTSA revolutionizes trade secrets practice at the federal level. Its passage will likely multiply the number of trade secrets cases litigated in federal court. We provide a few highlights: First, the DTSA allows the owners of trade secrets to… Read more »