Trial: Well, That Was Rather Unusual

Had a trial recently, and the outcome is still pending.

The overview:  Defendant Douche-Bag (DDB from here on in) is a handyman that not only conned a 90-year-old with dementia into doing $100k+ in "renovation" work on her condo, for which Adult Protective Services investigates and substantiates a finding of financial abuse - but nothing is done,  He also secretly obtains the deed top her condo under interesting circumstances.  

But wait, it gets better.

DDB also becomes her guardian - at the nomination of Adult Protective Services!, cuts off family and friends from seeing her, and then bilks the guardianship funds as well, including taking over $3,500 outof the account to clean it out after her death. Oh, and he does not tell anyone that she has died for 12 days, until the day before the hearing to remove him as guardian. But he does record the deed he got to the condo the very day she dies.

The deceased's remote family, who are out of state, then sues him for the money and condo that have been stolen when they find out the extent of what has happend.

The renovation work is, shall we say, sub par.

For example the new dining room floor, which we inspect at the condo during discovery:

Yep, it is that bad, it is also wavy and not level.  Click 'em to embiggen and see the suck-age in all its glory. 

Looks like scrap wood from multiple flooring kits with edges that don't even line up. No pattern at all. Other renovations DDB has done look about as bad - like repainting the bathroom wall and not moving the toilet tank while painting it, so there's a toilet-tank outline behind it in the original paint color that is really visible.

Many other renovations DDB charged for aren't even done at all, and it looks like he was making up the proposal quotes after the fact to cover himself after all the checks were written to him - checks he wrote out and either had her sign or forged her signature.

DDB is also representing himself which causes issues - he fails to comply with discovery leading the judge to sanction him, but the judge also gives him a lot of leeway as is often the case.

So we get to trial.

I had a nice opening argument prepared and the judge states no opening arguments, and to call my first witness.

Ah, well.

So,  I begin with the accountant expert I have and we start going over the accounts.

Lots of interesting things in those accounts as we trace funds he's taken and misappropriated for himself including lots of cash withdrawals, uisng her credit card to pay for his insurance and dog vet bills and more.

About 30 minutes in DDB stands up and asks the judge if we can stop so he can get an attorney as it is "more complicated than he thought".

The judge says no as we're in the middle of a trial, but if he can find an attorney to represent him before we re-start at lunch then that's fine.

DDB's mom, who is in the courtroom rushes out at that and I continue with my questioning.

Soon a fellow walks in up to the Defendant's podium and puts his name as Attorney Quickhire (never seen this guy before at court ever) on the record and states he'll be representing the Defendant.

Welcome to the party, pal.

I happily continue my questions, Attorney Quickhire never says a word, and I get more and more damning info out about the issues with the accounts and money being spent and the Judge asks me to pause.

The judge then states Attorney Quickhire has just left the courtroom.

Yep, he stood there for a bit then walked back to the mom, said something and left the courtroom.

Ooops.

Some of  my witnesses overheard him say to the mom that he can't represent him and that wasn't what they had told Attorney Quickhire this matter was about.  

Who knew that DDB's mom would lie too?  Shocker.

Unfortunately, Attorney Quickhire just committed malpractice and is on record representing DDB.  Not good for him at all.

We continue without him, and after luch the judge again notes Attorney Quickhire is not there.  We get through most of my witnesses on the first day.

Start of the second day, no Attorney Quickhire and Judge has DDB confirm Attorney Quickhire is not representing him.

I get through my witnesses.

DDB then represents himself as his only witness and I cross-examine the heck outta him.  I'll say this DDB is a very smooth liar and given the other person present for much of what went on is dead, the lies are a problem even when at times they defy belief.

I do get him to admit he is not licensed and never puled a single permit for all the work he did - including removing a wall that seems to have been load-bearing. Oopsies.

So, I have a damn nice closing prepared and ready to let it rip.

Of course the judge then says he doesn't want closing arguments.

Dammit, it was really good and I was ready to go. Ah, well.

Instead,  the judge wants very detailed briefs going into various aspects of the case as closing arguments, and he wants the financials presented differently in the closing brief to answer some specifics he wants answered.

Overall, feeling pretty good about where it is going, but one can never tell how a judge will rule but he was not impressed with the "work" DDB did at the condo and I had a lot of good evidence showing the deceased had severe enough dementia at the time, but we will see what happens.

So I get to do that now. That will be due late January, and the decision should be released in mid-February.

In short some helpful general advice: 

1. Don't rip off old ladies, you will get caught (now, if you do this in Oakland County you likely won't be criminally prosecuted as our Democrat progressive prosecuting attorney doesn't like going after such financial crimes - apparently they are too complicated and not headline-generating enough to get her interest);

2. Don't try to represent yourself at trial when you do get caught, for you are fun to play with, and will mess up, a lot;

3. Don't wait to the date of trial to try and find an attorney; and most importantly:

4.  If you're an attorney, Don't, for the love of professional responsibility, jump into a case at trial on the day of trial with no clue as to what is going on.  Nothing good will happen.

Attorney Quickhire didn't do himself any favors and may need to let his malpractice insurance carrier know about the mess he just got himself into. If DDB is bright enough to claim he committed malpractice by representing him and then disappearing without even being released by the court from representing DDB.  Really not good.

This was rather an unusual trial in many ways, and the decision isn't in yet.

Saturday Flyday- Cold And Crisp Approaches

This morning was cold but very clear out.  Winds at 110 degrees at 8-10 knots. So we would get to do Runway 9 approaches.

Went to the airport and met up with Shaun and did the preflight on the Archer.

I then got our VFR flight following setup and took off and headed to Flint.

 A gorgeous day to fly, and the cold air made the plane perform just beautifully - great climb performance, and we were getting 125 knots indicated lots of the time, which was pretty sweet.

 

I did the ILS 9 at Flint and it went well, did the start of it with the autopilot and switched to manual as the autopilot was slow to turn to intercept the localizer.  After that it was a good approach.

The we did the RNAV 9 which was great and I rode that sucker like it was on rails.

Then back to Pontiac and I did the ILS 9R, as we rarely get the 9 side and the opportunity for the ILS at Pontiac. That approach went perfectly and I brought it in to a smooth landing.

Then we taxi'd to Royal Air for fuel and brought the plane back to the hangar.

There was enough blown snow by the hangar that the plane got stuck in it, so I grabbed a shovel and cleared enough for the wheels to get a grip.

That worked.  We then got the plane in and I shoveled the rest of the snow out from in front of the Hangar so hopefully the sun will melt it off. It was a good time and fun flying with Shaun as the safety pilot. 

That's 1.6, 1 hold, 3 approaches, 1.0 simulated instrument time, and a 1 great landing. Instrument currency happily maintained.

First Solid Snowfall of Winter

So you know it's time for bad drivers and special idiot parking season.

What's wrong with this picture?

Mr or Ms. Mercedes is in the middle of the travel row and decided to make his/her own parking space, with tons of open spots available. Probably too entitled to walk an extra 3 feet. S/He will likely be very upset if the Cadillac pulls out and smacks the car as it is trapped by the Mercedes' front end with not enough room to get out (not that they are lined up nicely in their space either, but still).

On top of seeing the parking special when I arrived, it was fun just getting to the parking lot. A lady in a Lincoln decided the best way to drive was centered on the lane divider between two lanes while she toddled along at 23 mph on a 45 mph road. She endeared herself to everyone she was blocking in both lanes for over a mile.

Patience is certainly required when driving and indeed parking in the winter in Michigan, that's for sure.

Biden Talks Tough On Iran, Sends Them Another $10 Bilion

 The Detroit News: Biden approves national security memo on China, Iran, North Korea and Russia ahead of Trump's return

 The document includes four broad recommendations: improving U.S. government interagency cooperation, speeding up the sharing of information with allies about the four adversaries, calibrating the U.S. government's use of sanctions and other economic tools for maximum effectiveness, and bolstering preparation to manage simultaneous crises involving the adversaries.

Yet at the same time as this memo talks tough on Iran, the Biden administration is waiving sanctions and approving Iran getting $10 Billion dollars that it can use for more terrorism:

New York Post: Biden admin quietly renewed controversial $10B Iran sanctions waiver two days after Election Day

Does the left hand know what the farther left hand is doing in regards to Iran?

Is The Detroit Free Press Using AI To Write Headlines?

Here's the headline for the story: The Detroit Free Press: Township of 65,000 people elects new top official by 5-1 landslide vote

Except the "Township of 65,000 people didn't vote 5-1 for a replacement supervisor, the Township Board did.

Legions of fact-checkers and all that.

Not that there's anything wrong with that, and there isn't, but the headline and later the article implies it was the voters of the township that did it, making it appear a lot more impressive a landslide than it was. 

And then he was sworn in. But two days later, Supervisor Steve Kaplan resigned to take another job. What to do?

Following the state constitution, West Bloomfield, a community of about 65,000 residents, elected a new supervisor on Monday afternoon – by a vote of 5-1.

Board members held an unscheduled special meeting, heard comments for an hour, and then elected two-term trustee Jonathan Warshay to the full-time job of running the big, affluent township that's 27 miles northwest of Detroit.

 Even the article is written implying it was a community-wide vote rather than the Board voting 5-1 to appoint one of its members as the new interim supervisor. 

In any case I certainly wish the new Supervisor success, and wish the prior one had not run for re-election if he had no intention of actually serving for another term.  But, Kaplan's running as an incumbent certainly blocked any challengers to the spot, keeping it in Democrat control (which to be fair it likely would have in any case), so that was likely simply politics and gamesmanship on his part to block competitors from the slot.

The article headline and content is still rather misleading as the citizens of West Bloomfield did not get an opportunity to vote for their new Supervisor, much less endorse him by a landslide 5-1 vote.

When The Process Is The Punishment

Daniel Penny was found not guilty of manslaughter in a case that should never have been brought against him.

NBC New York: Daniel Penny found not guilty in Jordan Neely subway chokehold death

The jury appropriately found him not guilty. 

Note that neither of the two men assisting Penny in restraining the attacking Jordan Neely, who had been threading to kill passengers on the subway car, were charged in his death. The fact that one was Black and the other Hispanic clearly had no bearing on there not being charged by the progressive DA Alvin Bragg in this matter. Surely not.

Meanwhile, Mr. Perry’s suffered  legal expenses for his excellent defense by his attorneys, and his life and liberty were put in jeopardy by the two-tiered legal system instituted under the progressive DA's office under Bragg, where viewing crime through a racial lens and "equity" is more important than justice. Under Bragg, actual criminals are given a pass, and law-abiding citizens defending themselves and defending others, as in the case of Penny are prosecuted.

 

Here, the process was the punishment along with a message being sent to other good people.

 

The message is to not intervene against a favored minority committing crimes -- even if someone's life is at stake -- or you'll be prosecuted by the same state that knowingly let the criminals walk free to commit their crimes. 

 

Sunday Flyday

The weather was finally decent enough to get out and go fly.

Mr. B. flew in to Pontiac Airport and I got in his plane and we headed off to Flint to get some approaches in for him. We did three, The ILS 27 and RNAV 27 at Flint and then the RNAV 27L at Pontiac. He did a very nice jonb on all three approaches.

Then we parked his plane and put in a refueling order for it and then headed to get in the flying club's Archer so I could get some approaches in as well.

It took forever and a half to get a takeoff clearance. The controller, a newer one, was dealing with a lot of traffic on the north-side and didn't manage the spacing to get us out.

Verily, a damn Piper Cub lapped the field three times while we were waiting to depart. Nothing against Piper Cubs, but they're slow and there is space to get aircraft out when they're on base or even the beginning of final.

We had four planes stacked behind us and after 10 minutes I politely radioed the controller that we were still holding short, and other planes were stating they were holding in sequence.

We finally got a takeoff clearance.

 Clouds were a tad lower but still no factor, and it was calmer out than forecast

I headed to Flint and did the same approaches as Mr. B:  The ILS 27 and RNAV 27 at Flint and then back to do  the RNAV 27L at Pontiac.  Didn't have time to squeeze a couple more in. While doing the RNAV another aircraft requested priority as they had fumes in the cockpit - he didn't declare an emergency but the controller acted appropriately and got him in and down fast. All was well and they landed safely without incident. That pushed us out a bit more, but that was fine.

The approaches worked out quite well.  I did a very good ILS 27 and then absolutely nailed the RNAV 27 approach and the RNAV 27L at Pontiac ending with a very smooth landing.  We then got a right turn off, were told to cross 27R and was back on the north side and to the hangar in no time.

We then heade dout for a late lunch and then I got Mr. B. back to his plane and he headed home.

That's 1.6 for me, three approaches and one very nice landing and a great time hanging out with Mr. B for an afternoon.

Syrious Change - The Assad Regime Falls

The fall of the despot Bashar Assad has opened new risks and opportunities in the Middle East.

The Detroit News: Jubilation and gunfire as Syrians celebrate end of Assad family's half-century rule

This change, after a 50-year dictatorship passed down from father to son, opens both syrious opportunities and lots of syrious risks.

The big winner - Turkey - who backed the Sunni rebels against the Alawite Assad regime and its Hezbollah, Iranian and Russian Backers. Turkey gets to expand its sphere of influence, and pushes Iran and Russia away from one of its borders.

The big losers - Russia, Hezbollah and Iran.

Russia: Syria was Russia's greatest remaining client state, and that Russia could not preserve the regime, having most of its resources tied up in its ill-chosen war in Ukraine demonstrates Russian weakness to the world.  Expect lesser client states to take note. Russia also loses its warm-water port at Tartus in Syria which is a major blow to Russian maritime strategy, such as it is.

Iran: Iran loses a close ally in the region and a easy transit route to get weapons and support to its client Hezbollah in Lebanon. A stronger Sunni Turkey is a threat to Shiite Iran as both rivals contend to try and lead the Muslim world. 

Hezbollah: Hezbollah loses an easy line of communication to its patron and controller Iran. Hezbollah having been the major puppet force of Iran in propping up the Assad regime weakened itself by its choice to launch a war with Israel that saw its command and control networks neutralized, it's forces being beaten and being on the verge of defeat until Biden, Macron, et al imposed a ceasefire on Israel. It's war with Israel distracted it from propping up the Syrian regime which fell after rebels were heavily supported by Turkey.

The possible winners:  Israel and Lebanon - The Assads kept in power as an Alawite minority in the Sunni nation of Syria by doing the typical dictator move - blame everything bad on the Jews and Israel rather than themselves.  

Israel: A new regime that may be interested in peaceful relations with its neighbors instead of supporting terrorism and continually threatening war would be a very good thing for Israel, reducing tensions on its borders and further hampering Hezbollah from getting support and supplies via an overland route from Iran. 

Lebanon:  Syria heavily supported Hezbollah in Lebanon, preventing the Lebanese from controlling their own destiny. This change may give the rather fragmented and weak Lebanese state a chance to reclaim its control over its own territory and end Syrian and Iranian supported Hezbollah domination.

Or, Syrian could fall apart into civil war with instability and a foothold for the Islamic State and Al Qaeda that would be very bad for all its neighbors, including Israel, Lebanon and Jordan, and indeed the world as Al Qaeda likes to get around.

Time will tell but it will take time before this shakes out and we see who assumes control, who influences them, and what their stance will be on the world stage.  Interesting times indeed, and the maps sure have been all flag-y and arrow-y recently.