It was reported about an hour ago that the FBI and the IRS conducted an announced raid on Senator Mellow's house and office. The Times Leader notified the public about the raid in this story this afternoon.
HARRISBURG -- Lisa Scullin, a spokesman for Sen. Robert J. Mellow, D-Peckville, said that the Federal Bureau of Investigation contacted Mellow this morning prior to their visits to his home and district office informing him of their intentions.
The FBI and Internal Revenue Service arrived at his Peckville office and Blakely home just after 9 a.m. with search warrants. They did not show up at Mellow's Mount Pocono or Harrisburg offices.
"We don't know what their inquiry is in relation to," Scullin said, noting that Mellow was already scheduled to be in the district for the day. "The senator is cooperating fully with all their requests and is willing to provide any information to help them with their inquiry." She said she was unaware if agents had taken anything.
"Sen. Mellow is confident that in his 40 years serving Northeast Pennsylvania, he's done nothing wrong," Scullin said.
A dedication to Mellow
Showing posts with label search warrant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label search warrant. Show all posts
Friday, June 18, 2010
Friday, April 9, 2010
The FBI Removes Items From Senator Musto's Home
Unlike the veteran reporters who are writing about the FBI's visit to Senator Ray Musto's home in Pittston Township SOP will not say that "evidence" was removed from the premises. As far as we know there was no crime committed at the residence. The most that should be responsibly said is that "items" were removed from the residence in accordance with the provisions of the search warrant.
In this article from the Times Leader the caption under the photograph reads FBI agents carry plastic garbage bags of evidence they gathered Thursday during a search of state Sen. Ray Musto’s Pittston Township house and cars. Another article that appeared in the Citizen's Voice reads State Sen. Raphael Musto said he sat on his back porch and "enjoyed the sun" Thursday as federal agents spent more than two hours searching his Pittston Township home, removing three trash bags of evidence from the house and a satellite radio from his car.
At best the agents removed articles of interest that will be appropriately processed to see if they support the commission of a crime. In law, evidence are various things presented in court for the purpose of proving or disproving a matter brought before it for judgement. Evidence includes testimony, documents, photographs, maps and video tapes. Items can be excluded or stricken which is not evidence.
Musto said the agents contacted him at his Pittston district office about a half-hour before they arrived at his home. He said he had no prior contact with the agents beforeThursday. Speculation abounds over the search but the fact of the matter is not one person other than the agents really know why they executed the visit.
Somewhere in the near future we may glean the probable cause that justified the issuance of the search warrant. According to Wikipedia:
The most well-known definition of probable cause is "a reasonable belief that a person has committed a crime".[1] Another common definition is "a reasonable amount of suspicion, supported by circumstances sufficiently strong to justify a prudent and cautious person's belief that certain facts are probably true".[2]
In either case probable cause is a long way from actual charges. To date Senator Musto has not been charged by any authority. Only time will play out the scenes in this drama to reveal the need for the search to the public.
In this article from the Times Leader the caption under the photograph reads FBI agents carry plastic garbage bags of evidence they gathered Thursday during a search of state Sen. Ray Musto’s Pittston Township house and cars. Another article that appeared in the Citizen's Voice reads State Sen. Raphael Musto said he sat on his back porch and "enjoyed the sun" Thursday as federal agents spent more than two hours searching his Pittston Township home, removing three trash bags of evidence from the house and a satellite radio from his car.
At best the agents removed articles of interest that will be appropriately processed to see if they support the commission of a crime. In law, evidence are various things presented in court for the purpose of proving or disproving a matter brought before it for judgement. Evidence includes testimony, documents, photographs, maps and video tapes. Items can be excluded or stricken which is not evidence.
Musto said the agents contacted him at his Pittston district office about a half-hour before they arrived at his home. He said he had no prior contact with the agents beforeThursday. Speculation abounds over the search but the fact of the matter is not one person other than the agents really know why they executed the visit.
Somewhere in the near future we may glean the probable cause that justified the issuance of the search warrant. According to Wikipedia:
The most well-known definition of probable cause is "a reasonable belief that a person has committed a crime".[1] Another common definition is "a reasonable amount of suspicion, supported by circumstances sufficiently strong to justify a prudent and cautious person's belief that certain facts are probably true".[2]
In either case probable cause is a long way from actual charges. To date Senator Musto has not been charged by any authority. Only time will play out the scenes in this drama to reveal the need for the search to the public.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Report- Senator Ray Musto's Home Being Searched by FBI
The Eyewitness News Team is reporting on its website that the FBI executed a search warrant on the home of Senator Ray Musto. I-Team Investigator Andy Mehalshick spoke with the Senator after he arrived home.
Senator Ray Musto is Luzerne County District Attorney Jackie Musto Carroll's uncle.
More to come.
Senator Ray Musto is Luzerne County District Attorney Jackie Musto Carroll's uncle.
More to come.
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