|
'''Rob Brown''' (born on [[April 10]], [[1968]] in [[Kingston, Ontario|Kingston]], [[Ontario]], [[Canada]]) is a former [[professional]] [[ice hockey]] [[Winger (ice hockey)|right wing]] who played in the [[National Hockey League]] for eleven seasons between [[1987-88 NHL season|1987-88]] and [[1999-00 NHL season|1999-00]].
{{TotallyDisputed}}
{{LaRouche}}
Brown was drafted 67th overall by the [[Pittsburgh Penguins]] in the [[1986 NHL Entry Draft]]. His best statistical NHL season was the [[1988-89 NHL season|1988-89 season]], when he played on a line with [[Mario Lemieux]]; he set career highs with 49 goals, 66 assists, 115 points, 24 power play goals, 6 game-winning goals, and a +27 plus/minus rating.
'''United States v. LaRouche''' refers to the prosecution and conviction of controversial [[United States|American]] political activist [[Lyndon LaRouche]] and several of his associates on charges of mail fraud, conspiracy and tax evasion. LaRouche was sentenced to a prison term of fifteen years which began in [[1989]]. He was paroled in [[1994]] after serving five years.
==FirstCareer trialstatistics==
{| BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="3" CELLSPACING="0" ID="Table3"
In October [[1986]], over 400 armed officers of the [[FBI]], [[Internal Revenue Service|IRS]], other federal agencies, and Virginia state authorities raided the LaRouche headquarters in [[Leesburg, Virginia|Leesburg]] in search of evidence to support the persistent accusations of fraud and extortion made against LaRouche. This led first to the indictment of LaRouche and others on [[June 30]], [[1987]] in Boston, on one count of conspiracy. The trial commenced on [[December 17]] of that year, before Boston Federal Judge Robert E. Keeton. There were numerous revelations, including a search, authorized by Judge Keeton, of the personal files of [[Oliver North]]. According to the LaRouche organization, his search produced a May 1986 telex from [[Iran-Contra]] defendant General [[Richard Secord]] to North, discussing the gathering of information to be used against LaRouche.<ref>{http://www.larouchepub.com/exon/exon_add4_virginia.html "It's Time for Truth-In-Justice in Virginia,"] undated, posted on ''Executive Intelligence Review'' website</ref> After this memo surfaced, Judge Robert Keeton ordered a search of Vice President [[George H. W. Bush|George Bush]]'s office, for documents relating to LaRouche. The judge declared a mistrial on [[May 4]], [[1988]], saying the unexpected length of the trial due to numerous delays made it unlikely that enough jurors would be left at the end to render a verdict.
|- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! ALIGN="center" colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff" |
! ALIGN="center" rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" |
! ALIGN="center" colspan="5" | Regular Season
! ALIGN="center" rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" |
! ALIGN="center" colspan="5" | Playoffs
|- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! ALIGN="center" | Season
! ALIGN="center" | Team
! ALIGN="center" | League
! ALIGN="center" | GP
! ALIGN="center" | G
! ALIGN="center" | A
! ALIGN="center" | Pts
! ALIGN="center" | PIM
! ALIGN="center" | GP
! ALIGN="center" | G
! ALIGN="center" | A
! ALIGN="center" | Pts
! ALIGN="center" | PIM
|- ALIGN="center"
| ALIGN="center" | 1983-84
| ALIGN="center" | Kamloops Jr. Oilers
| ALIGN="center" | WHL
| ALIGN="center" | 50
| ALIGN="center" | 16
| ALIGN="center" | 42
| ALIGN="center" | 58
| ALIGN="center" | 80
| ALIGN="center" | 15
| ALIGN="center" | 1
| ALIGN="center" | 2
| ALIGN="center" | 3
| ALIGN="center" | 17
|- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| ALIGN="center" | 1984-85
| ALIGN="center" | Kamloops Blazers
| ALIGN="center" | WHL
| ALIGN="center" | 60
| ALIGN="center" | 29
| ALIGN="center" | 50
| ALIGN="center" | 79
| ALIGN="center" | 95
| ALIGN="center" | 15
| ALIGN="center" | 8
| ALIGN="center" | 18
| ALIGN="center" | 26
| ALIGN="center" | 28
|- ALIGN="center"
| ALIGN="center" | 1985-86
| ALIGN="center" | Kamloops Blazers
| ALIGN="center" | WHL
| ALIGN="center" | 69
| ALIGN="center" | 58
| ALIGN="center" | 115
| ALIGN="center" | 173
| ALIGN="center" | 171
| ALIGN="center" | 16
| ALIGN="center" | 18
| ALIGN="center" | 28
| ALIGN="center" | 46
| ALIGN="center" | 14
|- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| ALIGN="center" | 1986-87
| ALIGN="center" | Kamloops Blazers
| ALIGN="center" | WHL
| ALIGN="center" | 63
| ALIGN="center" | 76
| ALIGN="center" | 136
| ALIGN="center" | 212
| ALIGN="center" | 101
| ALIGN="center" | 5
| ALIGN="center" | 6
| ALIGN="center" | 5
| ALIGN="center" | 11
| ALIGN="center" | 6
|- ALIGN="center"
| ALIGN="center" | '''1987-88'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''Pittsburgh Penguins'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''NHL'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''51'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''24'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''20'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''44'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''56'''
| ALIGN="center" | --
| ALIGN="center" | --
| ALIGN="center" | --
| ALIGN="center" | --
| ALIGN="center" | --
|- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| ALIGN="center" | '''1988-89'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''Pittsburgh Penguins'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''NHL'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''68'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''49'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''66'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''115'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''118'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''11'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''5'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''3'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''8'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''22'''
|- ALIGN="center"
| ALIGN="center" | '''1989-90'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''Pittsburgh Penguins'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''NHL'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''80'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''33'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''47'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''80'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''102'''
| ALIGN="center" | --
| ALIGN="center" | --
| ALIGN="center" | --
| ALIGN="center" | --
| ALIGN="center" | --
|- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| ALIGN="center" | '''1990-91'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''Pittsburgh Penguins'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''NHL'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''25'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''6'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''10'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''16'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''31'''
| ALIGN="center" | --
| ALIGN="center" | --
| ALIGN="center" | --
| ALIGN="center" | --
| ALIGN="center" | --
|- ALIGN="center"
| ALIGN="center" | '''1990-91'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''Hartford Whalers'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''NHL'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''44'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''18'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''24'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''42'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''101'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''5'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''1'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''0'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''1'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''7'''
|- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| ALIGN="center" | '''1991-92'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''Hartford Whalers'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''NHL'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''42'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''16'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''15'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''31'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''39'''
| ALIGN="center" | --
| ALIGN="center" | --
| ALIGN="center" | --
| ALIGN="center" | --
| ALIGN="center" | --
|- ALIGN="center"
| ALIGN="center" | '''1991-92'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''Chicago Blackhawks'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''NHL'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''25'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''5'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''11'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''16'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''34'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''8'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''2'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''4'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''6'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''4'''
|- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| ALIGN="center" | '''1992-93'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''Chicago Blackhawks'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''NHL'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''15'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''1'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''6'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''7'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''33'''
| ALIGN="center" | --
| ALIGN="center" | --
| ALIGN="center" | --
| ALIGN="center" | --
| ALIGN="center" | --
|- ALIGN="center"
| ALIGN="center" | 1992-93
| ALIGN="center" | Indianapolis Ice
| ALIGN="center" | IHL
| ALIGN="center" | 19
| ALIGN="center" | 14
| ALIGN="center" | 19
| ALIGN="center" | 33
| ALIGN="center" | 32
| ALIGN="center" | 2
| ALIGN="center" | 0
| ALIGN="center" | 1
| ALIGN="center" | 1
| ALIGN="center" | 2
|- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| ALIGN="center" | '''1993-94'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''Dallas Stars'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''NHL'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''1'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''0'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''0'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''0'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''0'''
| ALIGN="center" | --
| ALIGN="center" | --
| ALIGN="center" | --
| ALIGN="center" | --
| ALIGN="center" | --
|- ALIGN="center"
| ALIGN="center" | 1993-94
| ALIGN="center" | Kalamazoo Wings
| ALIGN="center" | IHL
| ALIGN="center" | 79
| ALIGN="center" | 42
| ALIGN="center" | 113
| ALIGN="center" | 155
| ALIGN="center" | 188
| ALIGN="center" | 5
| ALIGN="center" | 1
| ALIGN="center" | 3
| ALIGN="center" | 4
| ALIGN="center" | 6
|- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| ALIGN="center" | 1994-95
| ALIGN="center" | Phoenix Roadrunners
| ALIGN="center" | IHL
| ALIGN="center" | 69
| ALIGN="center" | 34
| ALIGN="center" | 73
| ALIGN="center" | 107
| ALIGN="center" | 135
| ALIGN="center" | 9
| ALIGN="center" | 4
| ALIGN="center" | 12
| ALIGN="center" | 16
| ALIGN="center" | 0
|- ALIGN="center"
| ALIGN="center" | '''1994-95'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''Los Angeles Kings'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''NHL'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''2'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''0'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''0'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''0'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''0'''
| ALIGN="center" | --
| ALIGN="center" | --
| ALIGN="center" | --
| ALIGN="center" | --
| ALIGN="center" | --
|- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| ALIGN="center" | 1995-96
| ALIGN="center" | Chicago Wolves
| ALIGN="center" | IHL
| ALIGN="center" | 79
| ALIGN="center" | 52
| ALIGN="center" | 91
| ALIGN="center" | 143
| ALIGN="center" | 100
| ALIGN="center" | 9
| ALIGN="center" | 4
| ALIGN="center" | 11
| ALIGN="center" | 15
| ALIGN="center" | 6
|- ALIGN="center"
| ALIGN="center" | 1996-97
| ALIGN="center" | Chicago Wolves
| ALIGN="center" | IHL
| ALIGN="center" | 76
| ALIGN="center" | 37
| ALIGN="center" | 80
| ALIGN="center" | 117
| ALIGN="center" | 98
| ALIGN="center" | 4
| ALIGN="center" | 2
| ALIGN="center" | 4
| ALIGN="center" | 6
| ALIGN="center" | 16
|- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| ALIGN="center" | '''1997-98'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''Pittsburgh Penguins'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''NHL'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''82'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''15'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''25'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''40'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''59'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''6'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''1'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''0'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''1'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''4'''
|- ALIGN="center"
| ALIGN="center" | '''1998-99'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''Pittsburgh Penguins'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''NHL'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''58'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''13'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''11'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''24'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''16'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''13'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''2'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''5'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''7'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''8'''
|- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| ALIGN="center" | '''1999-00'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''Pittsburgh Penguins'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''NHL'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''50'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''10'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''13'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''23'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''10'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''11'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''1'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''2'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''3'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''0'''
|- ALIGN="center"
| ALIGN="center" | 2000-01
| ALIGN="center" | Chicago Wolves
| ALIGN="center" | IHL
| ALIGN="center" | 80
| ALIGN="center" | 24
| ALIGN="center" | 53
| ALIGN="center" | 77
| ALIGN="center" | 99
| ALIGN="center" | 16
| ALIGN="center" | 4
| ALIGN="center" | 13
| ALIGN="center" | 17
| ALIGN="center" | 26
|- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| ALIGN="center" | 2001-02
| ALIGN="center" | Chicago Wolves
| ALIGN="center" | AHL
| ALIGN="center" | 80
| ALIGN="center" | 29
| ALIGN="center" | 54
| ALIGN="center" | 83
| ALIGN="center" | 103
| ALIGN="center" | 25
| ALIGN="center" | 7
| ALIGN="center" | 26
| ALIGN="center" | 33
| ALIGN="center" | 34
|- ALIGN="center"
| ALIGN="center" | 2002-03
| ALIGN="center" | Chicago Wolves
| ALIGN="center" | AHL
| ALIGN="center" | 59
| ALIGN="center" | 15
| ALIGN="center" | 48
| ALIGN="center" | 63
| ALIGN="center" | 83
| ALIGN="center" | 9
| ALIGN="center" | 1
| ALIGN="center" | 6
| ALIGN="center" | 7
| ALIGN="center" | 6
|- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" | NHL Totals
! ALIGN="center" | '''543'''
! ALIGN="center" | '''190'''
! ALIGN="center" | '''248'''
! ALIGN="center" | '''438'''
! ALIGN="center" | '''599'''
! ALIGN="center" | '''54'''
! ALIGN="center" | '''12'''
! ALIGN="center" | '''14'''
! ALIGN="center" | '''26'''
! ALIGN="center" | '''45'''
|}
==International play==
Before disbanding, the jurors polled themselves and found all defendants, including LaRouche, "not guilty." According to the ''Boston Herald'' of [[May 5]], [[1988]], one of the jurors described the poll: "It seemed some of the government's people caused the problem, adding that the evidence showed that people working on behalf of the government 'may have been involved in some of this fraud to discredit the campaign.'" The ''National Law Journal'' called the Boston mistrial a "stinging defeat" for the government; LaRouche commented, "I was cheated out of an acquittal." A retrial in Boston was scheduled, but a new case in Virginia came first.<ref> Plaintiffs' Application for a Temporary Restraining Order Civ. No. 88-2977 (filed against DOJ officials Richard Thornburgh, Henry Hudson and Kent Robinson,) published in ''Railroad!'', Edward Spannaus, Commission to Investigate Human Rights Violations, 1989</ref>"
*Played for Team Canada in the 1988 World Junior Championships.
'''International Statistics'''
==Involuntary bankruptcy==
{| BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="3" CELLSPACING="0"
The U.S. Department of Justice filed, on [[April 20]], [[1987]], an [[Involuntary bankruptcy]] petition against two LaRouche-controlled publications companies and a non-profit science foundation, on whose behalf loans had been solicited. The attorneys who represented the LaRouche entities in the bankruptcy filed a brief after the bankruptcy was granted, claiming that the action was unprecedented and improper because it deviated from the standard rules of involuntary bankruptcy, and because members of the Alexandria prosecution team from the second criminal trial were involved in the planning and execution of the bankruptcy. <ref> "Proposed Findings of Fact" in cases 87-0795-A,87-0796-A,87-0797-A, published in ''Railroad!'', Edward Spannaus, Commission to Investigate Human Rights Violations, 1989</ref>
|- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! ALIGN="center" | Year
! ALIGN="center" | Team
! ALIGN="center" | Event
! ALIGN="center" | GP
! ALIGN="center" | G
! ALIGN="center" | A
! ALIGN="center" | Pts
! ALIGN="center" | PIM
|- ALIGN="center"
| ALIGN="center" | 1988
| ALIGN="center" | Canada
| ALIGN="center" | WJC
| ALIGN="center" | 7
| ALIGN="center" | 6
| ALIGN="center" | 2
| ALIGN="center" | 8
| ALIGN="center" | 2
|}
{{start box}}
On [[October 25]], [[1989]], Judge Martin V.B. Bostetter ruled that the government's bankruptcy action was illegal. Bostetter said the government acted in "objective bad faith" and the bankruptcy was obtained by a "constructive fraud on the court."<ref>"Ruling May Help Appeal, LaRouche Backers Say," ''Washington Post'', October 28, 1989</ref>
{{succession box | before = [[Luc Robitaille]] | title = [[CHL Player of the Year]] | years = 1987 | after = [[Joe Sakic]]}}
{{end box}}
[[Category:1968 births|Brown, Rob]]
In testimony to submitted to the [[Senate Judiciary Committee]] on July 13, [[1998]], the LaRouche-affiliated [[Schiller Institute]] claimed that "[t]he inability to repay lenders and other crediters was the consequence of an unprecedented involuntary bankruptcy proceeding initiated by the Justice Department against those companies in 1987, initiated in an [[ex parte]], [[in camera]] proceeding.<ref>[http://american_almanac.tripod.com/dojtest.htm TESTIMONY OF THE SCHILLER INSTITUTE SUBMITTED TO THE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY, UNITED STATES SENATE], published in ''Executive Intelligence Review'', July 31, 1998</ref>
[[Category:Calder Cup champions|Brown, Rob]]
[[Category:Canadian ice hockey right wingers|Brown, Rob]]
==Second trial==
[[Category:Canadians of British descent|Brown, Rob]]
On [[October 14]], [[1988]], LaRouche and six associates were re-indicted, this time in the [[U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia]] in whose district covered LaRouche resides. The court is known as the "Rocket Docket" because it speeds even complicated cases without delay.<ref>http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0206/p03s01-usju.html</ref> The indictments included various [[Conspiracy (crime)|conspiracy]] charges, including conspiracy to commit [[mail fraud]]. LaRouche was also charged with conspiring to hide his personal income since [[1979]], the last year he had filed a federal tax return. On [[December 16]], [[1988]] a federal jury convicted LaRouche and his associates, and LaRouche was sentenced to fifteen years in prison, of which he served five.
[[Category:Chicago Blackhawks players|Brown, Rob]]
[[Category:Dallas Stars players|Brown, Rob]]
===Motion ''in limine''===
[[Category:Hartford Whalers players|Brown, Rob]]
[[Category:Ice hockey personnel from Ontario|Brown, Rob]]
Judge Albert V. Bryan granted a motion ''[[in limine]]'', ruling that the defense would not be permitted to discuss, or even allude to, the fact that the indebted entities had been placed in involuntary bankruptcy. LaRouche's attorneys claimed on appeal that this prevented them from presenting their defense, that being that the LaRouche organization no longer controlled the indebted entities, and that the decision not to repay debts was made by government trustees.
[[Category:Kamloops Blazers alumni|Brown, Rob]]
[[Category:Kamloops Junior Oilers alumni|Brown, Rob]]
===Voir dire===
[[Category:Living people|Brown, Rob]]
[[Category:Los Angeles Kings players|Brown, Rob]]
The defense made a motion for ''[[voir dire]]'' in the second trial; ''voir dire'' is not mandatory in federal court. The request was denied.<ref>"Motion of the defendants for submission of questions to the jury venire," Criminal No. 88-00243-A, published in ''Railroad!'', Edward Spannaus, Commission to Investigate Human Rights Violations, 1989</ref> One of the numerous ''[[Amicus curiae]]'' briefs that were filed on appeal charges that unlike Judge Keeton, who devoted three weeks to jury selection, Alexandria Judge Albert V. Bryan spent two hours, and did not permit individual questioning of prospective jurors. the brief asserts that this contributed to the result that most jurors in the Alexandria trial were present or former government employees. Jury Foreman Buster Horton was the [[U.S. Department of Agriculture]] liaison to the [[Federal Emergency Management Agency]] (FEMA).<ref> Brief Amici Curiae of Burton D. Linne, Jack O. Slater, and John C. Imlay IV, published in ''Railroad!'', Edward Spannaus, Commission to Investigate Human Rights Violations, 1989</ref>
[[Category:National Hockey League 100-point seasons|Brown, Rob]]
[[Category:Ontario sportspeople|Brown, Rob]]
===The prosecution===
[[Category:Pittsburgh Penguins draft picks|Brown, Rob]]
The prosecution presented evidence that LaRouche and his staff solicited loans with false assurances to potential lenders and showed "reckless disregard" of the facts. Assistant U.S. Attorney [[Kent Robinson]] presented evidence that LaRouche's organisation had solicited US$34 million in loans since [[1983]]. LaRouche supporters claim the amount that was not repaid was $294,000, but according to testimony in the Virginia case, reported by the ''Washington Post'' ([[17 December]] [[1988]]), the amount of funds not repaid by 1987 topped $25 million. The most important evidence was the testimony of lenders, many of them elderly retirees, who had lost thousands of dollars in loans to LaRouche that were never repaid. Several witnesses were LaRouche followers who testified under immunity from prosecution.
[[Category:Pittsburgh Penguins players|Brown, Rob]]
[[Category:Chicago Wolves players|Brown, Rob]]
According to an article in the ''Washington Post'':
[[Category:People from Kingston, Ontario|Brown, Rob]]
*Nine lenders, who said they were attracted by what was described as LaRouche's "war on drugs," testified that they gave a total of $661,300 to the organization and were repaid only about $10,000. Those loans are "just a very small portion of unrepaid borrowing" by the group, prosecutor Markham told the jury in his closing argument.
*Of the $4 million collected for LaRouche's 1984 presidential campaign, only half was repaid, and by early 1987, $25 million of the $30 million collected for noncampaign purposes had not been repaid, according to testimony.<ref>LaRouche Convicted Of Mail Fraud, By Caryle Murphy, Washington Post Staff Writer, Saturday, December 17, 1988; Page A01 [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/cult/larouche/larou6.htm]</ref>
LaRouche claimed he had no income, but before and during a court-ordereed involuntary bankruptcy period, LaRouche lived at a 200 acre (800,000 m²) Virginia estate with a pond and horse ring, owned by a LaRouche supporter. In all the LaRouche group spent over US$4 million on Virginia real estate during this period, according to trial testimony reported in the Washington Post ([[17 December]] [[1988]]).
LaRouche was convicted on eleven counts of mail fraud connected to fundraising issues, and also of violating tax laws by hiding his income and failing to file tax returns.
Jury foreman Buster Horton told the ''Washington Post'' ([[17 December]] [[1988]]) that it was the failure of LaRouche aides to repay loans that swayed the jury in the Virginia case, and that the jury "all agreed [LaRouche] was not on trial for his political beliefs. We did not convict him for that. He was convicted for those 13 counts he was on trial for."
LaRouche denied all the charges, calling them "an all-out frame-up by a state and federal task force," and said that the federal government was trying to kill him. "The purpose of this frame-up is not to send me to prison. It's to kill me." LaRouche said. "In prison it's fairly easy to kill me... If this sentence goes through, I'm dead."[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/cult/larouche/larou6.htm] While in prison he released claims that he was tortured prison as part an assassination attempt.[http://www.subgenius.com/subg-digest/v0/0088.html] LaRouche was paroled, alive, in [[1994]] after serving five years of the 15-year sentence.
One of his cellmates during his incarceration was disgraced televangelist [[Jim Bakker]]. Bakker later devoted a chapter of his book, ''I Was Wrong'', to his experience with LaRouche, in which he expressed his astonishment at LaRouche's detailed knowledge of the [[Bible]].<ref>Bakker, Jim, ''I Was Wrong'', Thomas Nelson, 1996</ref>
===Prosecution of LaRouche associates===
LaRouche's chief fund-raiser, [[William Wertz]], was convicted on ten mail fraud counts. LaRouche's legal adviser, [[Edward Spannaus]], along with fundraising operatives Dennis Small, Paul Greenberg, and Joyce Rubinstein, were convicted of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. [[Michael Billington (activist)|Michael Billington]] received a 77 year sentence for "conspiracy to fail to register as a securities broker." Billington served a total of ten years in prison before being released on parole.
<!--
Also Paul Gallagher, Anita Gallagher, Laurence Hecht, and Donald Phau
-->
===Claims of LaRouche supporters===
According to LaRouche and his supporters, the trial was politically motivated.
The convictions of LaRouche and his associates were a defining moment in the history of the LaRouche network. LaRouche supporters and others, including hundreds of elected officials from the US and other countries, insisted that LaRouche was jailed, not for any violation of the law, but for his beliefs (see [[United States v. LaRouche#Attempts at exoneration|attempts at exoneration]].) One of LaRouche's attorneys, former U.S. Attorney General [[Ramsey Clark]], wrote that his case involved "a broader range of deliberate and systematic misconduct and abuse of power over a longer period of time in an effort to destroy a political movement and leader, than any other federal prosecution in my time or to my knowledge."<ref>Clark, Ramsey. [http://larouchein2004.net/exoneration/clarkletter.htm] "Open Letter to [[Janet Reno]]," posted on LaRouche presidential campaign website, 2004.</ref>
LaRouche also alleged systematic government misconduct:
*"The record shows, that for nearly thirty years, elements of the U.S. Department of Justice have been engaged in world-wide political targetting of me and my associates. This includes early 1970s operations run in conjunction with Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger's U.S. State Department.[http://www.larouchepub.com/lar/2000/lar_bad_guy_2710.html#fn0 1] During the last ten years or so of that period, some U.S. officials, and others, have challenged the relevant agencies with some of the evidence which shows, that those prosecutions and correlated harassment of me and my associates, had been clearly fraudulent, politically motivated targetting."<ref>U.S.A. VS. LYNDON LAROUCHE, 'He's a Bad Guy, But We Can't Say Why' by Lyndon H. LaRouche, Jr., February 15, 2000 [http://www.larouchepub.com/lar/2000/lar_bad_guy_2710.html]</ref>
Civil libertarians outside the LaRouche group objected to the government seizure of LaRouche publications as abusive.{{Fact|date=June 2007}} However, this is separate from the issue of fundraising irregularities, for which voluminous evidence was presented in court testimony and by several investigative reports in the media.
LaRouche supporters maintain that, due to the motion ''in limine'' that was granted by Judge Bryan in the Virginia case, the jury never heard LaRouche's actual defense: that the involuntary bankruptcy imposed by the federal government was the sole factor which prevented repayment of loans.{{fact|date=June 2007}} In the book ''Railroad!'' (Edward Spannaus, Commission to Investigate Human Rights Violations, Washington, D.C., 1989, OCLC 23870104, p. 9), the authors write that "...the judge invaded the province of the jury, preventing the jurors from hearing the facts which would enable them to competently determine the question of criminal intention."
Dr. [[Friedrich August Freiherr von der Heydte]], Professor of Constitutional and International law at the University of Mainz in Germany, wrote the following on the case:
:On closer examination of the behavior of the U.S. authorities toward LaRouche, there emerge strong parallels to the infamous [[Dreyfus affair|Dreyfus Affair]] in France, which has gone down in history as a classical example of a political trial....Just as LaRouche was, the French Capt. Alfred Dreyfus was deprived by the structure of the trial procedures, of any opportunity to prove his innocence, and facts critical for his defense were excluded from the trial.
(This paragraph is excerpted from a longer essay by von der Hedydte, which appeared as a full page ad, sponsored by the LaRouche-affiliated Commission to investigate Human Rights Violations, in the ''Washington Times'' on March 1, 1990, and as a half-page ad in the ''Washington Post'' on March 3.)
===Attempts at exoneration===
On [[November 8]], [[1991]], Angelo Vidal d'Almeida Ribeiro, the [[Special Rapporteur]] for the [[United Nations Commission on Human Rights]], filed a request to the US Government for an explanation of its conduct of the LaRouche case. The US government responded by saying that LaRouche had been given due process under the laws of the United States. <ref>[http://www.unhchr.ch/Huridocda/Huridoca.nsf/Symbol/E.CN.4.1993.62.En?Opendocument "IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DECLARATION ON THE ELIMINATION OF ALL FORMS OF INTOLERANCE AND OF DISCRIMINATION BASED ON RELIGION OR BELIEF"], United Nations Commission on Human Rights website, January 6, 1993</ref>
On [[September 18]], [[1996]], a full page advertisement appeared in the ''New Federalist'', a LaRouche publication, as well as the ''[[Washington Post]]'' and ''[[Roll Call]]''. Entitled "Officials Call for LaRouche's Exoneration," ([http://larouchein2004.net/exoneration/exonstatement.htm see text]), It featured signators including [[Arturo Frondizi]], former [[President of Argentina]]; figures from the 1960s [[American Civil Rights Movement]] such as [[Amelia Boynton Robinson]], [[James Bevel]], and [[Rosa Parks]]; former [[Minnesota]] [[United States Senate|Senator]] and Democratic Presidential Candidate [[Eugene McCarthy]]; [[Mervyn M. Dymally]], who chaired the [[Congressional Black Caucus]]; and artists such as classical vocalist [[William Warfield]], and violinist [[Norbert Brainin]], former 1st Violin of the [[Amadeus Quartet]]. LaRouche's Schiller Institute paid for the ad. Amelia Boynton Robinson was at that time a board member of the Institute; James Bevel and William Warfield went on to become active in various LaRouche organizations.
In a [[2003]] interview, former [[Minnesota]] [[United States Senate|Senator]] and [[U.S. presidential election, 1968#Democratic Party nomination|Democratic Presidential candidate]] [[Eugene McCarthy]] was asked about LaRouche:
:'''EIR''': Can't the Democratic Party be changed, in the way you tried to change it in 1968, and Lyn [LaRouche] is trying to change it now?.
:'''McCarthy''': I would hope so, but I doubt it. After 1968, the great fear of the Establishment was that a President might be elected on the basis of a political dialogue of the American people. There was great psychological warfare against me. You know there was great psychological warfare against Lyn. [http://www.larouchepub.com/other/interviews/2003/3017gene_mccarthy2.html]
==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}
==External links==
*[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/cult/larouche/larou6.htm ''Washington Post'' [[17 December]] [[1988]] article on Virginia conviction.]
*[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/cult/larouche/larou3.htm ''Washington Post'' [[13 January]] [[1985]] article on LaRouche mansion and unusual lifestyle]
*[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/cult/larouche/larou7.htm ''Washington Post'' 12/23/90 article on elderly seeking repayment of loans]
**[http://members.tripod.com/~american_almanac/boyd.htm The human rights issues in the Virginia LaRouche cases] LaRouche rebuttal to the ''Washington Post'' articles.
*[http://larouchein2004.net/exoneration/exonerate.htm Summary of the LaRouche cases] on a LaRouche-affiliated site.
*[http://www.etext.org/Politics/LaRouche/053092.tv "Why Lyndon LaRouche is in Jail"] ''transcript of a national broadcast paid for by LaRouche's presidential campaign in 1992''
*[http://www.subgenius.com/subg-digest/v0/0088.html Report on the Mistreatment of Political Prisoner Lyndon LaRouche]
[[Category:LaRouche movement]]
[[Category:United States case law]]
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