The Case of the ‘Copy Cat Burglar’

Most people think of toner as just something you curse at when the printer isn’t working. But apparently the stuff is actually black gold.

Manhattan prosecutors on Tuesday unveiled an indictment of a former employee of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP who’s accused of stealing $376,000 worth of toner from the firm.

The district attorney’s office alleged that the man ordered excessive amounts of toner for the office and then resold it for $10 to $15 a box, pocketing the cash.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said that unlike your office toner, these sorts of cases aren’t in short supply.

“It may surprise many New Yorkers to learn that there is a black market for office supplies . . . . .

City’s Argument Is All Wet, Supreme Court Says

The Supreme Court sunk the hopes of a Florida city Tuesday when it ruled that a houseboat was more house than boat.

The definition mattered because while a house is subject to terrestrial law, a boat may be ruled by maritime law.

For Fane Lozman, who lived on a floating domicile formerly moored at Riviera Beach, Fla., the distinction proved critical. After several disputes with Mr. Lozman, city officials seized his property using provisions of maritime law, auctioned it to satisfy his debts and—since the city itself was the winning bidder—destroyed it.

Mr. Lozman argued that his pied-a-eau was no boat, and therefore the city’s entire lawsuit was invalid.

By a 7-2 vote, the Supreme Court agreed. The 60-foot by 12-foot dwelling “consisted of a house-like plywood structure with French doors on three sides,” Justice Stephen Breyer wrote for the court. “It contained a sitting room, bedroom, closet. . . . .

At the urging of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the Senate in Albany approved a gun-control package on Monday night.  (The Assembly is expected to vote on the measure today and kick it up to Mr. Cuomo for signing.) Law Blog jotted down some observations about the lengthy bill. (You can read the text here).

Large-capacity magazine ban: The bill makes it crime to possess  ”large” capacity magazines that can store more than seven rounds of ammunition. The definition of large shrunk from the limit of 10 bullets that states like Hawaii have set. But the bill makes a few exceptions.

If you already have a magazine that can hold seven to 10 bullets, you can still keep it, as long as ….

The AM Roundup: The Winding Road to Armstrong’s Confession

Armstrong confession and fallout: Before he taped his interview with Oprah Winfrey, Lance Armstrong’s legal team had been divided about a possible confession, with some expressing concern about its potential effect on continuing litigation. Several people who have spoken to the cyclist said he expressed regret about his prior tactics of denials and public attacks on his accusers. WSJ

Meanwhile, Justice Department officials have recommended joining a federal whistleblower lawsuit aimed at clawing back sponsorship money from Armstrong. . . . . .

A longtime secretary to a former top Wall Street executive was convicted Monday of stealing more than $1.3 million from him, which prosecutors say was used to purchase luxury automobiles and fund a lavish lifestyle.

Federal prosecutors in Newark, N.J., had alleged that Karen Febles, 48 years old, took advantage of her elderly boss, William R. Salomon, while working as his executive assistant from more than a decade. Mr. Salomon, 98, maintained an office at Citigroup Inc. after his firm, the venerable Salomon Brothers, was acquired by the bank.

A federal jury in Newark on Monday found Ms. Febles guilty of bank fraud and multiple counts of wire fraud. . . . .

The tragic end to the life of Internet activist Aaron Swartz has touched off an impassioned debate about the nature of his alleged crimes — the charges were dismissed following his death — and the wisdom of prosecutors intent on bringing him to justice. Understandably, Swartz’s death has generated more sympathy behind his efforts to fight for what he called “Guerrilla Open Access” to scientific journals.

Among those casting a kinder light on Mr. Swartz’s alleged hacking is the director of Harvard University’s Office for Scholarly Communication, Professor Stuart Shieber.

In 2011, when the Chronicle of Higher Education examined the case. . . . .

Back in August, the former chief information officer for law firm Mayer Brown LLP landed in hot water when he was arrested on federal charges of defrauding the firm of nearly $1 million via a fake billing scheme. The proceeds were allegedly sunk into a 2011 Cadillac DTS, an RV camping trailer and other vehicular goodies.

Turns out that may have been only the tip of the iceberg.

Now federal prosecutors say the former CIO, David Tresch, and his alleged co-conspirator netted nearly $5 million from the firm. . .

Seven-Year Itch: Thomas Breaks Silence

WASHINGTON—Justice Clarence Thomas made history Monday at the Supreme Court, not by what he said but by saying something at all.

For the first time since 2006, Justice Thomas spoke audibly during oral argument, in a case brought by a Louisiana defendant seeking to overturn his murder conviction. The case involves Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial, but it wasn’t a question of constitutional law that prompted the George H.W. Bush appointee to break his silence.

Instead, the conservative justice apparently was moved to rebut a positive reference to his alma mater, Yale Law School, a New Haven, Conn., institution he often has disparaged for the affirmative action program that brought him to its neo-Gothic campus in the 1970s.

Justice Thomas’s remark came during an exchange between Justice Antonin Scalia and Carla Sigler, an assistant district attorney from Lake Charles, La., arguing to keep the defendant, Jonathan Boyer, on death row.

Backing the state’s position that Mr. Boyer received an adequate defense, Justice Scalia sought to extol the qualifications of lawyers who had worked on the defendant’s case. Unfortunately, the transcript appears not to have caught the complete sequence. Judge for yourself: . . . . .

Southern Methodist University has let go its law school’s longtime dean.

In a move that caught alumni and donors by surprise, the university declined to renew the contract of John Attanasio (pictured), dean of the SMU’s Dedman School of Law since 1998, the Dallas Morning News reported.

Mr. Attanasio, a former Notre Dame professor, was wrapping up the last year of a five-year contract. . . . .

A radical imam extradited from the U.K. in October  to face terrorism charges has been placed under special security restrictions by U.S. prison officials in recent weeks, which his lawyers claim make it particularly hard for their disabled client to prepare his defense.

The 54-year-old man known as Abu Hamza was brought to the U.S. to face charges related to an alleged 1998 kidnapping conspiracy in Yemen that led to the deaths of four hostages and to an alleged attempt to set up a terrorist training camp in the U.S. a year later.

It’s not uncommon for terrorism suspects to be held under so-called special administrative measures, or SAMs, while awaiting trial in the U.S., measures, which can include severe limitations on an inmate’s visitors or ability to contact the outside world. . . . .