• Ex-judge's home searched in investigation of Texas prosecutors' killing

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    By Elvira Sakmari and Scott Gordon, NBCDFW.com

    The home of a former Kaufman County, Texas, judge who says he was questioned by agents just hours after District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife were shot to death was searched Friday afternoon.


    Local, state and federal agents were at the home in the 1600 block of Overlook Drive in Kaufman executing a search warrant.

    See original story at NBCDFW.com

    The FBI, Texas Rangers and Kaufman County investigators are gathering evidence related to the killings of McLelland and one of his top aides, Mark Hasse, according to Kaufman County public information officer Lt. Justin Lewis.

    Williams has never been named as  a suspect and no arrest warrant has been issued for Williams.

    In an interview April 3, Williams told NBC 5 he had nothing to do with the McLellands' murder and doesn't even own a gun.

    "If I was in their shoes, I would want to talk to me," Williams said in an interview at his house. "In the investigators' minds, they want to check with me to do their process of elimination."

    Williams, a former Kaufman County justice of the peace, was charged with theft and later convicted in a high-profile trial. He was kicked out of office, and his law license was suspended. He was sentenced to two years' probation and is appealing his conviction.

    Reuters file

    Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland, who was found shot to death with his wife.

    But he said he is not bitter and wouldn't want to harm anyone.

    "I've cooperated with law enforcement," Williams said. "I certainly wish them the best in bringing justice to this incredibly egregious act."

    Williams' name has swirled around the courthouse because his trial was sensational news in this small community, and it included testimony of death threats.

    William said he was contacted Saturday night by investigators -- only about three hours after McLelland and his wife, Cynthia, were found dead inside their Forney home.

    He said he met the agents at a nearby restaurant, where he allowed them to swab his hands for gunpowder residue. He also gave them his and his wife's cellphones, which they returned the next day.

    "I know I didn't do anything," he said. "I know where I was."

    Williams said he was at home with his wife or up the street at his in-laws late Friday and Saturday.

    He expressed shock at the crime and sympathy for the victims' families.

    "I want to say my deepest condolences go out to the McLelland family and all the people at the courthouse," he said.

    Asked if he is angry at prosecutors, he said, "No, I'm not. Obviously that was also a part of them doing their jobs."

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  • Phone records probed after killing of Texas prosecutor and his wife

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    By Alastair Jamieson and Eric McClam, NBC News

    Phone records for two mobile numbers were being examined Monday as investigators probing the killing of a Texas prosecutor and his wife sought possible links to the January slaying of another area district attorney and amid suggestions that a white supremacist was involved.

    Authorities are looking at records for the two mobile numbers between Jan. 1 and Sunday, according to details of a search warrant, made public Monday and reported by NBCDFW.com. No more details were given in the warrant.

    Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife, Cynthia, were gunned down at their home outside Dallas on Saturday. The county’s Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse was shot dead near the county courthouse on his way to work on Jan. 31.

    The search warrant also revealed that the McLellands’ bodies were initially found by a family friend who went to the residence after trying to contact the couple several times without success.

    District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife Cynthia were found shot to death in their home Saturday, just two months after the county's assistant DA, Mark Hasse, was gunned down outside the courthouse. NBC's Gabe Gutierrez reports.

    The slayings have dismayed residents in the county, particularly in its main town, Kaufman.

    "People are in absolute shock here," Joe Gibson, 21, the manager at Moon's Fried Chicken Cafeteria told Reuters.

    Insurance agent Bobby Aga, 68, told Reuters: “We have a strong tradition of law enforcement in this area. The criminal justice system here is something you don't mess with. It's the fabric of our community."

    Authorities have not said the killings are linked and have not announced any leads in the McLellands’ deaths – although a county judge, Bruce Wood, said Monday that "there has to be some connection."

    Several people who are familiar with the case downplayed any possible connection to white supremacist prison gang, the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas, NBCDFW.com reported. Investigators say they have found nothing to indicate the Aryan Brotherhood was involved.

    However, Rep. Ted Poe, a Republican and former Texas prosecutor, told CNN on Monday that he suspected the gang was involved, without saying where he was getting his information.

    On the day Hasse was killed, the Kaufman County DA’s office was named among the investigative bodies involved in a racketeering case against the gang.

    The hate group was suspected of “actively planning retaliation” against police and prosecutors who helped gain indictments in Houston against dozens of its members, the Dallas Morning News reported in February.

    The Aryan Brotherhood has been in the state's prison system since the 1980s, when it began as a white supremacist gang that protected its members and ran illegal activities, including drug distribution, Terry Pelz, a former Texas prison warden and expert on the gang, told the Associated Press.

    Four top leaders of the group were indicted in October for crimes ranging from murder to drug trafficking. Two months later, authorities issued the bulletin warning that the gang might try to retaliate against law enforcement for the investigation that also led to the arrest of 30 other members.

    Hasse's death on Jan. 31 came the same day as the first guilty pleas were entered in the indictment, the AP reported.

    Killing law enforcement representatives would be uncharacteristic of the group, Pelz said.

    "They don't go around killing officials," he said. "They don't draw heat upon themselves."

    Late Monday, Kaufman County Sheriff's office announced that Brandi Fernandez, First Assistant District Attorney, will fill the position of interim DA for a period of 21 days.

    The murders serve as a reminder that officers of courts across the nation continually face threats, although these are rarely carried out.

    Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

    Related:

    Texas community in 'shock' over slaying of DA, wife

    District attorney, wife shot to death in Texas county where assistant DA was killed

     

     

    This story was originally published on Tue Apr 2, 2013 4:53 AM EDT

  • NY prosecutor admits he acted in 1970s porn films

    By The Associated Press

    A district attorney in upstate New York has admitted that he acted in pornographic movies in the 1970s, then lied when questioned about it during his second campaign.

    Mark Suben, the DA in Cortland County near Syracuse since 2008, held a news conference Friday to say he had lied about his past in the days before this year's election.


    "Recently materials have been circulated alleging that I was involved in the adult film industry about 40 years ago in New York. Those allegations are true," he said. "I was an actor in adult films for a short period in the early 70s. I was also an actor in other venues including off Broadway, soap operas and commercial advertisements."

    He apologized for his actions and said he used "bad judgment" by acting in porn and by lying about it. He wouldn't take questions, including whether he should resign. On his way out of the news conference, several people said "You lied to me, Mark."

    Suben's spokeswoman, Aimee Milks, said Suben will not resign.

    "This was nearly 40 years ago. It was not illegal. Mark Suben was not yet married. He was not practicing law and he was not a law student," said Milks. "It has nothing to do with his law practice or his current position as the district attorney of Cortland County."

    "I think the situation is really irrelevant to the campaign," she said. "His record as the DA for the last four years speaks for itself."

    WSTM-TV in Syracuse published a story Friday that said Suben had acted under his name and the pseudonym Gus Thomas. That news story followed a posting on YouTube that compared images of Suben with Thomas.

    "A few weeks ago, when asked, I denied this to members of the press," Suben said. "I regret that and I apologize for it. I was shocked and embarrassed to be confronted with this so many years later. I was embarrassed for my family and friends who have stood by me. I also denied my actions to my family, my friends and my staff."

    The IMDB online database says Suben and Thomas are linked and classified as alternate names. The name Gus Thomas appears in films such as "Lecher," and "The Love Witch." Mark Suben appears in the credits for the non-pornographic 1976 movie "Angels."

    His opponent in the November election, Cortland lawyer Keith Dayton, did not return a call from The Associated Press seeking comment, but told the Syracuse Post-Standard he wasn't concerned about Suben's acting history.

    "I think the more important part is the lying," he told the newspaper.

    Suben has been an acting city court judge, city corporation counsel and a county attorney. He is past president of the Cortland County Bar Association. He graduated from the University of Rochester, the University of Wisconsin and Fordham Law School, according to the biography on his election website. The bio says he worked seven years as an assistant district attorney in Bronx County then moved to Syracuse. He has taught criminal trial practice as an adjunct professor for 17 years at Syracuse University Law School.

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  • Controversial US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald announces resignation

    By Michael Isikoff, NBC News

    Mandel Ngan / AFP - Getty Images file

    U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald takes a question at a Department of Justice news conference on Oct. 28, 2005.

    U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald abruptly announced his resignation Wednesday with no heads up to top officials at the Justice Department and no current plans for new employment, his spokesman said.

    Fitzgerald called Attorney General Eric Holder and U.S. Sens. Richard Durbin and Mark Kirk Wednesday morning to inform them of his plans to retire, just hours before his office publicly announced that he was resigning as of June 30 as U.S. attorney in Chicago. 

    Fitzgerald, 51, was stepping down "for personal reasons," said Randall Samborn, Fitzgerald's longtime spokesman "It's been ten and a half years. It’s a long time."

    Originally nominated in 2001 by President George W. Bush and kept on by President Barack Obama, Fitzgerald was probably the Justice Department's most famous -- and controversial -- prosecutor. He oversaw major corruption investigations that put two lllinois governors -- Republican George Ryan and Democrat Rod Blagojevich -- and top Obama fundraiser Tony Rezko in prison.

    He is best known for serving as special counsel in the CIA leak investigation that led to the conviction of Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice.

    Under Fitzgerald, the U.S. Attorney's Office also convicted media baron Conrad Black.

    More recently, Fitzgerald had been tapped by Holder to head an investigation into the leaking of classified information involving Guantanamo detainees that led to the indictment of former CIA officer John Kiriakou.

    In the announcement of his departure, Fitzgerald thanked his colleagues.

    "I extend my deepest appreciation to the attorneys and staff for their determined commitment to public service. This was a great office when I arrived, and I have no doubt that it will continue to be a great office," he said.

    Holder on Wednesday praised Fitzgerald "as a prosecutor's prosecutor."

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