Friday, October 4, 2019
The unanimous decision, authored by Associate Justice Beth Robinson, reverses portions of a lower court ruling that, in April 2018, dismissed the lawsuit. The high court's decision means the case can proceed against the state Agency of Commerce and Community Development and two men who ran its EB-5 investor visa program, James Candido and Brent Raymond.
At issue is whether the state bears responsibility for a $200 million fraud allegedly perpetrated by Jay Peak Resort owner Ariel Quiros and several of his business partners. In 2016, federal authorities accused them of operating a "Ponzi-like" scheme and, in May, filed criminal charges against them.
In a June 2017 lawsuit, Tony Sutton and other project investors argued that the state was complicit in the fraud — or at least negligently enabled it. Sutton and the others invested in the developments through the federal EB-5 program, which provides green cards to those who contribute at least $500,000 to qualified projects. In an unusual arrangement, the state operated the "regional center" charged with overseeing Vermont-based EB-5 developments, which made them more attractive to potential investors.
Tags: EB-5 , Vermont , Supreme Court , Tony Sutton , James Candido , Brent Raymond , Web Only , Image
Friday, September 13, 2019
In handcuffs and leg shackles, Aita Gurung spent the hourlong session staring straight ahead as prosecutors and his defense team argued about whether he should be kept in the custody of the state’s Department of Mental Health or Department of Corrections as his case progresses.
He’s been kept in a "locked, secure facility" since his arrest in October 2017, first at the Vermont Psychiatric Care Hospital in Berlin and recently at a facility in Middlesex, his public defender, Sandra Lee, said during the arraignment. She argued for keeping him there.
“It is uncontested that he suffers from a severe mental illness, judge,” Lee said. “And the humane, fair way to address this issue is to have close court oversight and allow the court the opportunity to determine if jail is really necessary before putting him through that for charges that were dismissed previously by the State of Vermont.”
Tags: Aita Gurung , Burlington , meat cleaver , murder , T.J. Donovan , Web Only , Image
Tuesday, September 3, 2019
Rosi O'Connell's lies, which included testimony the judge characterized as "perjury," cost the former postal worker the best job he ever had, put him through a publicized criminal trial, and will cost the U.S. government at least $72,000 in damages.
But they have not cost O'Connell her job.
Tags: Rosi O'Connell , Brian Bowles , United States Postal Service , Hartford Post Office , U.S. Court of Federal Claims , Web Only , Image
Monday, September 2, 2019
Christopher Chase, 39, was discovered in his cell overnight at Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility in Mississippi and pronounced dead at around 1 a.m., the Vermont Department of Corrections said. Officials believe he hanged himself.
Chase had been imprisoned since admitting to shooting his girlfriend, Sara Bragdon, in the head at her Guildhall home in 2008. He was serving a second-degree murder sentence of 20 years to life.
Tags: Christopher Chase , CoreCivic , Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility , Vermont Department of Corrections , inmate suicide , Web Only , Image
Monday, August 26, 2019
As part of his plea agreement, Spilman would also forfeit $50,000 in proceeds from the under-the-table marijuana business he ran from his head shop across Church Street from Burlington City Hall.
U.S. District Judge Christina Reiss said she would decide whether to accept the agreement at a December sentencing hearing.
Tags: Derek Spilman , Good Times Gallery , pot , marijuana , U.S. District Court , Web Only , Image
"This individual is not american, he is dangerous, he wants to carry firearms and I heard him say that he wants to harm individuals with said firearms," said that tip, submitted though an online portal. The agency asked a Vermont State Police trooper to find and interview the man named.
A trooper conducted a vehicle stop. The man was with his wife and their newborn child, according to an affidavit filed by Homeland Security Special Agent Timothy O'Leary.
Tags: Cole Swarkowski , Immigration and Customs Enforcement , racism , University of Vermont Medical Center , U.S. District of Vermont , federal court , harassment , Web Only , Image
Monday, August 19, 2019
A Vermont man who once left Ku Klux Klan recruitment flyers at the homes of two women of color is now wanted by Burlington police for a Monday morning assault at the downtown transit center.
William D. Schenk, 25, allegedly attacked a 33-year-old man at the bus station just before 11 a.m. Video of the incident shows the victim looking at his phone before a man starts talking to him. The man, allegedly Schenk, takes off his backpack and begins to physically fight the victim, throwing several punches as at least one bystander tries to break it up.
Burlington cops said the two men knew each other.
“The suspect also struck the victim with an object believed to be a small glass pipe, causing a laceration to the victim’s head,” cops wrote in a press release. “He then fled the scene.”
The victim was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Tags: William Schenk , KKK , flyers , recruitment , assault , Burlington , bus station , Web Only , Image
Thursday, August 8, 2019
Ferguson was one of two junior officers who helped subdue an intoxicated woman in the police station in March, seconds after Sgt. Jason Lawton punched the handcuffed woman in the face.
Lawton was fired, but only after the American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont asked for video of the incident months later, Seven Days reported this week. Chief Gary Taylor said he opened an investigation into whether the other officers seen in the video were culpable in the abuse.
Tags: St. Albans Police Department , Franklin County Sheriff's Office , Michael Ferguson , Jason Lawton , Web Only , Image
Tuesday, July 16, 2019
Vermont Public Safety Commissioner Tom Anderson announced his resignation in an email to colleagues Tuesday afternoon.
Anderson said he informed Gov. Phil Scott of his decision in late June and will step down effective July 31, citing “personal and family reasons.”
“This has been a very difficult decision,” Anderson wrote. “Leading the fine men and women of the Department of Public Safety for the past 30 months has been the highlight of my career.”
Scott tapped the former U.S. attorney for Vermont in January 2017 to run the Department of Public Safety, which includes the Vermont State Police, as well as divisions for fire safety, crime data and emergency response. At the time Anderson was a deputy general counsel for the U.S. Department of Justice.
Tags: Tom Anderson , Department of Public Safety , Web Only , Image
Monday, July 1, 2019
Judge Helen Toor decided that the video relates to an arrest and cannot be withheld even if investigators believe it might interfere with their work.
The decision is a win for the Burlington Police Officers' Association, which sued on behalf of Officer Cory Campbell. Unless the city appeals to the Vermont Supreme Court, the footage will soon become public and may shed new light on the controversial case.
Tags: body camera , public records , Douglas Kilburn , Cory Campbell , Vermont State Police , Burlington Police , Web Only , Image