KLAUS P. RICHTER
Assistant U.S.
Attorney
U.S. Attorney’s Office
P.O. Box 1478
Billings, MT 59103
2929 Third Ave. North, Suite 400
Billings, MT 59101
Phone: (406) 657-6101
FAX: (406) 657-6989
ATTORNEY FOR PLAINTIFF
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT
COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MONTANA
BILLINGS DIVISION
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff, CR-03-95 -BLG-RFC
INDICTMENT
vs.
MICHAEL LA FORGE, EMBEZZLEMENT/THEFT
OF GOVERNMENT
PROPERTY (Count I)
Defendant Title 18 U.S.C. § 641
(Penalty:
Ten years imprisonment, $250,000 fine, and three years supervised release)
FRAUD AND FALSE STATEMENTS (Count II)
Title 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(2)
(Penalty:
Five years imprisonment, $250,000 fine, and three years supervised release)
THE GRAND JURY CHARGES:
COUNT 1
That from on or about August 11,
1998, and continuing thereafter until on or about June 7, 1999 at Hardin and
Billings, in the State and District Montana, and other places, the defendant,
MICHAEL LA FORGE, did knowingly and willfully embezzle, steal, purloin or
knowingly convert to his own use twenty—one (21) union dues rebate checks
issued by the United States Treasury, property of the United States with an
aggregate value exceeding $1,000, that is, $14,622, more or less, in violation
of Title 18 U.S.C. § 641.
COUNT II
On or about April 19, 2000, at
Hardin, in the State and District of Montana, and other places, the defendant,
MICHAEL LA FORGE, in a matter within the Jurisdiction of the Department of
Labor, a department of the United States did knowingly and willfully make a
false, fictitious, or fraudulent material statement or representation; that is,
in Block 56 of the 1999 fiscal year Labor Organization Annual Report, Form LM-3,
filed by the National Federation of Federal Employees, AFL-CIO Local Union 224,
the defendant, acting as the union’s president, reported that “$16,401 cash was
stolen from L-224 President Mike La Forge’s parked vehicle,” when in truth and
in fact, as MICHAEL LA FORGE then and there well knew, he had converted union
dues rebate checks to cash and to his own use and benefit and that the money had
not been stolen from his car as claimed, in violation of Title 18 US.C. §
1001(a)(2).
A TRUE BILL.
/SIGNED/________________
FOREPERSON
/SIGNED/________________
WILLIAM W. MERCER
United States Attorney
/SIGNED/________________
Carl E. Rostad
Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MONTANA, BILLINGS DIVISION
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA SUMMONS IN CRIMINAL CASE
vs. Case Number: CR 03-95-BLG-RFC
MICHAEL LaFORGE
YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to appear
before the United States District Court at the place, date and time set forth
below
PLACE: U.S. DISTRICT COURT DATE:
U.S.
COURTHOUSE. COURTROOM III August 18, 2003
316 NORTH 26Th STREET
BILLINGS, MT 59101
BEFORE: HONORABLE RICHARD W. ANDERSON TIME:
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 9:30 AM.
To answer the Indictment charging you with a violation of
Title 18:641 and 1001(a)(2) United States Code.
Brief description of offense: Embezzlement of Government
Property & Fraud & False
Statements.
CERTIFIED COPY OF CHARGING DOCUMENT ATTACHED.
Assigned to: AUSA Klaus P. Richter
/SIGNED/__________________
Signature of Issuing Officer Date:
July 17, 2003
RAYNA M. WEISS, DEPUTY CLERK
Name and Title of Issuing Officer
RETURN
THIS SUMMONS WAS SERVED ON THE ABOVE NAMED DEFENDANT AT:
DATE OF SERVICE: Dwight
MacKay
RETURNED ON: UNITED
STATES
BY: Deputy U.S. Marshal
MARSHAL
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MONTANA
BILLINGS DIVISION
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff, Cause No. CR 03-95-BLG-RFC
vs. ORDER
MICHAEL LA FORGE,
Defendant.
Pursuant to arraignment
proceedings held in open court on August 18, 2000, defendant’s plea of not
guilty to Counts I and II of the Indictment, and the Court’s ruling from the
bench,
IT IS ORDERED:
1. David Duke 1s appointed to
represent defendant for all proceedings upon the condition that, upon
application by the government, defendant reimburse the government for the costs
of his defense.
2. Following processing by the United States Marshals Service, defendant is
released on his own recognizance. Defendant’s release shall be subject to the written
conditions of pretrial release to be provided to him by the Pretrial Services
Office. Immediately after his release, defendant shall meet with his Pretrial
Services Officer, who shall explain the written conditions of pretrial release,
which defendant shall read and acknowledge by his signature. Upon defendant‘s
acknowledgment, the written conditions shall be deemed a part of this order and
shall, by this reference, be incorporated herein. Failure to promptly appear at
the Pretrial Services Office shall be grounds to revoke defendant’s release.
3. In addition to the written
conditions of pretrial release provided by Pretrial Services, defendant shall
abide by the following conditions of release: He shall not violate any federal,
state, or local law, and he shall timely make all future court appearances.
4. Should defendant violate any
condition of release, a warrant may issue and he may be incarcerated until his
trial and may be prosecuted for contempt of court.
5. Defendant is advised that,
under 18 U.S.C. § 3147, the commision of any offense while on pretrial release may
result in an additional sentence upon conviction of such offense. Such sentence
shall be consecutive to any other Sentence and must be imposed in addition to
the sentence received for the offense itself.
Defendant is further advised that
it is a criminal offense under 18 U.S.C. § 3146 to knowingly fail to make any
future court appearances or to surrender for the service of a sentence pursuant
to a court order. A term of imprisonment imposed for failure to appear or
surrender shall be consecutive to the sentence of imprisonment for any other
offense.
Defendant is advised that 18
U.S.C. § 1503 makes it a criminal offense to intimidate or attempt to
intimidate a witness, juror or officer of the court; 18 U.S.C. § 1510 makes it
a criminal offense to obstruct a criminal investigation; 18 U.S.C. § 1512 makes
is a criminal offense to tamper with a witness, victim, or informant; and 18
U.S.C. § 1513 makes it a criminal offense to retaliate against a witness,
victim or informant, or threaten to attempt to do so.
Done and dated this _18th_
day of August, 2003.
/SIGNED/________________
RICHARD W. ANDERSON
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT
COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MONTANA
BILLINGS DIVISION
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Cause No- CR-O3-O95-BLG
Plaintiff,
v. SCHEDULING
ORDER
MICHAEL LA FORGE,
Defendant.
It is the policy of this Court not
to conduct criminal pretrial conferences in every criminal case. However, prior
to trial, any party may request a pretrial conference with Judge Cebull to
consider such matters that will promote a fair and expeditious trial The motion
requesting a conference should indicate when both counsel would be available.
If the conference is to be conducted telephonically, the motion should also
indicate who will initiate the call.
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED:
1. The following schedule will
govern all pretrial procedures in this case:
Trial: October 20, 2003 at 9:00 a.m.
Counsel in chambers at 8:00 a.m.
James F. Battin Courthouse
Billings, Montana
Discovery: September 2, 2003
Pretrial Motions
excluding motions in limine: September 22, 2003
Responses: October 3, 2003
Motion for Change of Plea: October 10, 2003
Jury Instructions and Trial
Briefs; October 14, 2003
ANY MOTIONS TO CONTINUE
TRIAL (In Order to Allow the Jury
Clerk Sufficient Time to Notify
Prospective Jurors); failure to
comply
may subject counsel to sanctions. October 15, 2003
Plea Agreement: 48
hours prior to Change of Plea
hearing
This schedule must be strictly adhered to by the parties.
To efficiently prepare for trial within the times set
above,
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED:
2. The parties shall review the revisions to the Federal Rules of Evidence,
which became effective December
1, 2000. This case
will be governed by the new rules.
3. On or before the discovery deadline set above, the government
shall, upon request of the attorneys for the defendants, provide to the
defendant all discoverable materials specified in Rule 16(a) of the Federal
Rules of Criminal Procedure. The government shall make specific disclosure of
its intent to use any statements or confessions made by the defendants. If the
defendants question the admissibility of such statement or confession, the hearing
required by Jackson v. Denno, 378 U.S. 368 (1964), shall be held at
least ten (10) days prior to trial.
4. Upon compliance by the government with the defendants’ discovery
request, defendants shall supply reciprocal discovery pursuant to Fed. R. Crim.
P. 16(b).
5. The parties are under a continuing duty of disclosure and discovery
of materials set forth herein, pursuant to Fed. R. Crim. P. 16(c). If expert
witnesses are engaged, the parties shall fully comply with the requirements
of 16(a)(1)(E) and Rule 16(b)(1)(C), respectively. Unless otherwise ordered by
the Court, compliance with Rule 16 requires that the expert summary shall
contain a complete statement signed by the expert of all opinions to be expressed
and the bases and reasons for the opinions; any data or information considered
by the expert in forming the opinions; the qualifications of the expert,
including a list of all publications by the expert within the past ten years;
and a list of all cases for which the expert has testified as an expert in
trial or by deposition in the past four years.
6. Motions: All pretrial motions, other than motions to
enter a guilty plea, must be filed, along with a brief in support, on or before
the motions deadline indicated above. Motions and briefs must be faxed to the
U. S. Attorney by the motions deadline. A response brief is due ten (10)
calendar days after the filing date of the motion. The U.S. Attorney must fax a
copy of the response brief to defense counsel by the response deadline. An
optional reply brief may be filed within five (5) calendar days of the filing
date of the response brief. These deadlines supplant the briefing schedule
contained in Local Rule 320-1.
Suppression
Motions: To
facilitate hearings on suppression motions, the parties are required
to submit supporting factual documentation with motions to suppress - e.g.,
affidavits, tapes, Miranda waiver forms, etc. Response briefs (and reply
briefs, if submitted) should state with particularity the factual
issues remaining in dispute for resolution at a suppression hearing.
7. All requests for service of subpoenas by the United States Marshal
must be on file in the Clerk of Court’s office no later than ten (10) working
days before trial. Except for good cause shown, service of subpoenas after said
date is the responsibility of counsel. The provision of Rule 17 Fed. R. Crim. Pro.
must be complied with before any subpoena is issued.
8. Calling witnesses at trial: When a witness is called to
testify t trial, counsel shall provide to the clerk of court four (4) copies
of a single page document providing the following information about the
witness: 1) the full name and current address of the witness; 2) whether the
witness has given a statement (taped), a written statement, an interview with
government agents (other than an AUSA), or grand jury testimony; 3) a brief
description of the nature and substance of the witness’s testimony; 4) a
listing of each exhibit to which the witness may refer during direct
examination.
9. Any petition for a writ of habeas corpus ad testificandum or prosequendum
along with a proposed order, must be filed no later than thirty (30) days prior
to the trial date for federal inmates, and no later than ten (10) days prior to
the trial date for state prison or county jail inmates.
10. The United
States may submit a
trial brief at the same time jury instructions are submitted. The defendant may
submit a trial brief. All trial briefs shall include legal authority for the
party’s position on all legal and evidentiary issues. All trial briefs must
be filed with the Clerk of Court and served on the other parties.
11. In the absence of a signed plea agreement by the date specified
in paragraph 1, the Clerk of Court will order a jury. Except for good cause
shown, no plea agreement will be considered by the Court thereafter. Late
filing may result in assessment of costs or the loss of the offense level
reduction available pursuant to U.S.S.G. §3E1.1. Plea agreements shall state
clearly whether they are made pursuant to Rule 11(e)(1)(A) or Rule 11(e)(1)(B),
Fed.R.Crim.P. The Court will not accept plea agreements made pursuant to Rule
11 (e)(1)(C) except in extraordinary circumstances.
12. Originals of proposed questions shall be filed with the Clerk of
Court at the same time as proposed jury instructions, in the Division in which
the case is venued by the date specified above; one working copy shall be faxed
directly to the Chambers of Judge Richard F. Cebull at 406-247-7023.
13. JURY INSTRUCTIONS:
(a) The parties shall jointly prepare a set of jury instruction upon
which they agree (proposed joint instructions). These proposed jury
instructions shall include all necessary stock criminal instructions. If necessary,
each party may also prepare a set of proposed supplemental instructions if
different from the agreed joint instructions. No two instructions shall be
submitted with the same number.
(b) Generally, the Court offers the following stock instructions
taken from the Model 9th Circuit Criminal Jury Instructions in every
criminal trial, as applicable to each individual case: 1.1; 1.2; 1.3; 1.4; 1.5;
1.6; 1.7; 1.8; 1.9; 1.10; 1.11; 2.2; 1.12; 1.14; 2.10; 2.1; 3.1; 3.2; 3.3; 3.4;
3.5; 3.6; 3.7; 3.8; 3.9; 3.10; 4.3; 3.11; 7.1; 7.2; 7.3; 7.4; 7.6; 7.5.
Therefore, it is not necessary for the parties to duplicate these instructions
in their proposed instructions to the Court.
(c) By the date given in Paragraph 1 above, one working copy of the
joint and supplemental instructions shall be filed with the Clerk of the Court
in the Division in which the case is venued. These are the originals and will
be docketed by the Clerk of Court. For this purpose facsimile (FAX)
submissions are not acceptable and will be disregarded by the court.
(d) By the date given in Paragraph 1, one working copy and one clean
copy of the joint and supplemental instructions shall be
submitted to the Clerk of Court in the Division in which the case is venued,
marked for the attention of Judge Cebull. The clean copy should contain no citations
and should not include a signature line for Judge Cebull. Both
parties shall also submit a clean copy of the joint and supplemental
instructions on a 3.5” disc in Wordperfect format. The disc shall also be submitted
to the Clerk of Court in the Division in which the case is venued, marked for
the attention of Judge CebulL
14. FORMAT OF JURY
INSTRUCTIONS
(a) The clean copy shall contain
1) a heading reading “Instruction No.___”;
2) the text of the instruction;
3) no citations or markings other than the text.
(b) The working copy shall contain
1) a heading reading “Instruction No. ___”;
2) the text of the instruction;
3) the number of the proposed joint or supplemental instruction;
4) the legal authority for the instruction;
5) the title
of the instruction; i.e., the issue of law addressed
by the
proposed instruction.
(c) Jury instructions shall be prepared in 12 point typeface.
15. The parties are advised that final instructions for submission to
the jury will be settled in chambers, on the record, prior to closing argument,
at which time counsel may present arguments and make objections.
16. All instructions shall be short, concise, understandable and shall
represent neutral statements of the law. Argumentative instructions are
improper, will not be given, and should not be submitted. The parties are
strongly encouraged to submit proposed instructions taken from the Manual of
Model Criminal Jury Instruction for the Ninth Circuit, 2000 edition.
17. The parties should also note that any modifications of
instructions from statutory authority, Ninth Circuit pattern instructions, or DeVitt
and Blackmar (or any other form instructions), must specifically state
modification made to the original form instruction and the authority supporting
the modification.
18. Exhibits: The United States shall use exhibit numbers l-499 and defendants shall use
500 and up. In no event shall two or more parties use identical exhibit numbers.
19. Failure to comply with any of the above requirements may
subject the non-complying party and/or its attorneys to sanctions.
20. JUDGE’S TRIAL NOTEBOOK:
Each
party shall prepare a notebook for the judge containing the following items for
each witness they intend to call at trial:
a) a
short summary of the nature and substance of the testimony of the witness;
(b) a list of all the exhibits to be used with that particular
witness;
c) a list containing a description of each exhibit to be used with
each
witness;
d) a photocopy of each exhibit (when possible) to be used with each
witness,
The Clerk of Court is directed to notify the parties of
the making of this Order
DATED the _19th_ day of August, 2003
/SIGNED/_____________
Richard F.
Cebull
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
