January 21, 2006

Will Dem's Use Loon's Complaint Against Alito?

This bit broke yesterday on Drudge.

THE DRUDGE REPORT has learned Sen. Ted Kennedy's (D-MA) office is behind a last ditch effort to stop Judge Samuel A. AlitoÕs confirmation before next week's vote using a 2004 recusal request.

THE DRUDGE REPORT has obtained a complaint filed by H. Gerard Heimbecker of Upper Darby, PA accusing Alito of not properly listing the Heimbecker v. 555 Associates case in his Senate questionnaire.

Kennedy legal aide James Flug is behind the efforts to push this latest attack. The veteran aide has been criticized for Sen. Kennedy's misfires during the Alito hearing last week. Flug was reportedly behind the attacks Kennedy used against Alito related to the Concerned Alumni of Princeton (CAP) and Vanguard recusal case.

In the 2004 case, Heimbecker not only filed a request for Alito to recuse himself but also the entire Third Circuit as well.

One Capital Aide aware the situation challenged Heimbecker's credibility. "The individual who filed this complaint is clearly a serial litigant. It will be interesting to see how far the Democrats will push this and what the mainstream media will make of it."

Now I'm not surprised to see Senator Kennedy (D-Who's You're Daddy?)engaged in more desperate attempts to smear a judge he disagrees with.What i am surprised about is his possible willingness to use a bizarre case like this one to do so.

A Delaware County retiree has filed a judicial-misconduct complaint claiming that Supreme Court nominee Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. failed to disclose the man's case in his responses to a U.S. Senate questionnaire.

H. Gerard Heimbecker, 70, of Upper Darby, said Alito should have noted his efforts to have all the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judges, including Alito, recuse themselves from hearing Heimbecker's appeal.

"Judge Alito holds himself and fellow judges above the law and the complainant beneath the law," Heimbecker wrote in the complaint filed Monday. The 3rd Circuit clerk's office docketed the case and said in a letter to Heimbecker that Alito had been given a copy of the complaint on Tuesday.

Heimbecker, a former fireman and sandwich-maker, describes himself as a conservative Catholic and lifelong Republican. He said Alito's alleged omission violates a rule requiring judges to avoid "impropriety and appearance of impropriety."

"He failed to be honest and totally truthful with the committee, for the reasons that he was protecting himself by not having to answer for his actions in covering up the actions of [another] judge," Heimbecker said yestserday.

Heimbecker is acting as his own lawyer in pursuing the complaint against Alito.

Sounds oh-so-serious -- until you look at the facts alleged in the case. This guy didn't just want Judge Alito from hearing his case -- he argued that the entire Third Circuit Court of Appeals was biased against him, and that NONE OF THE JUDGES should be allowed to hear his case.

Heimbecker wanted Alito and the other appeals judges to recuse themselves from presiding over one of a series of legal actions triggered when the landlord of his Bala Cynwyd sandwich shop did not renew his lease.

He asked the 3rd Circuit to recuse itself because of what he described as a witness' relation to a judge and because he claimed the panel was biased and prejudiced against him in not forcing another judge to step aside.

The landlord, 555 Associates, sued Heimbecker for malicious prosecution after he attempted to bring a private criminal complaint against it, said 555 lawyer Gerald E. Arth. The company won a default judgment in Montgomery County against Heimbecker, and he subsequently lost a lawsuit against it, its employees and others that eventually landed in federal court, Arth said.

"He was angry about what had happened in state court, and the resolution of that, and decided to file a lawsuit in federal court which had no merit, was dismissed," Arth said. "He's tried his hardest, I think, to claim that there was a grand conspiracy against him of lawyers, judges, insurance companies and everything else."

Heimbecker described it as "a case of arrogance. They're going to do what they want. I had the facts and the law and they disregarded all of it."

so what it appears we really have is an angry loser in a previous case seeking revenge. There appears to be no substance to his claim -- but since when does lack of substance (or truth) matter to Senator Kennedy (D-What bridge? What car? What dead girl?), who paid a college classmate to take a final for him and who tried to get his cousin to lie about Chappaquidick.

I personally agree with the White house spokesman about the complaint filed against Alito in this case.

"What this proves is that it's very easy in the United States, both to file suit and to file complaints," Schmidt said. "Every American has that right, no matter how frivolous it is."

Posted by: Greg at 05:36 AM | Comments (16) | Add Comment
Post contains 829 words, total size 5 kb.

1 What is it you need to know that Kennedy had NOTHING to do with this?

The entire SJC had the info in front of them. White House had it last month. Kennedy just used it because Hearing was nothing but a "dog and pony show"

The point of the entire matter is WHY would Alito NOT put that case on the Q. 23 list? He was reminded back in early December - so he could amend the application " did ya forget or didn't ya" Alito ignored it. That unlisted case would then get investigated, which would lead to opening up Judge Davis' (D) case involving the resucal request of Davis and his subsequent impeachment filing for false info on his Judicary application ( making up a legal career for the position) when he was appointed and pushed by Specter. ( this is after Clinton tried 2x as Davis was rejected, until the deal was made to appoint 1 Dem for every 2 Rep judges )

Being in Federal Court was not done by HgH but case was forced so Davis could be set up to handle it. Davis was asked to recuse because he worked for the opposing Law firm.

Why were Philly cases put in front of Davis, who then assigned/appointed or just got Specter's son's law firm to represent them and collect the lawyer fee$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

Greg(?) instead of looking for the facts and just taking the easy sounds bits - you've started to use the typical Dem Liberal tactic of Personal Attacks. Now it's against another Republican. Check out the facts first before you blow off and end up looking like a slapped liberal. The guy is a full fledged life time Conservative who has been fighting against the Democratic political machine in PA by himself. Alito got caught in the crossfire. But the full bellied laughter was very enjoyable when Kennedy got credit for this one. Get your act together. Get responsible. Get the facts.

Posted by: JimBD at Sun Jan 22 15:45:50 2006 (GoE0N)

2 Care to supply some sources? Show me that my assessment is wrong and i will concede it -- but right now I see nothing but a semi-literate rant with unsupported assertions.

Posted by: Rhymes With Right at Sun Jan 22 16:15:19 2006 (hozbB)

3 Do you want to talk/email him yourself? I'm not pretending this is a simple case. I can try to contact him and set it up. He has any document you need. I understand the AP interviewed and questioned, and they "got it".

Posted by: JimBD at Sun Jan 22 16:46:22 2006 (GoE0N)

4 http://myopiczeal.blogsome.com/2006/01/20/heimbecker-v-555-associates/

Posted by: JimBD at Sun Jan 22 17:28:25 2006 (GoE0N)

5 Sorry, but I cited the AP article as well as Drudge. The more I read here, the more this guy sounds like a loon -- based upon what AP has to say about the matter. So if you thin they "got it", then how can you claim that what we have here is anything other than a vexatious litigant pursuing a frivolous claim?

I'm not disputing your integrity, Jim -- I'm simply operating on the information I have been able to find on the matter, including the AP article. I would welcome some link to tangible info -- includingg, perhaps, a copy of the complaint filed by H. Gerard Heimbecker against Alito and the initial motion to recuse the entire 3rd Circuit from hearing his case.

Posted by: Rhymes With Right at Sun Jan 22 17:34:42 2006 (MDFbh)

6 Having looked at the sources you and teh website in question cite, I cannot help but conclude that there is no "there" there.

In fact, having read his Democrats.org posting, I can't help but find him quite over teh top.

Posted by: Rhymes With Right at Sun Jan 22 17:59:25 2006 (MDFbh)

7 Can I have the PDF's sent to you at an email address or you can request them from gerheim1@rcn.com No Problem.

Posted by: JimBD at Mon Jan 23 06:50:05 2006 (uW1Q9)

8 =========================

FORWARDED COPY FOLLOWS

=========================



A member's father is involved in a late breaking controversy involving Samual Alito, who has been found to have omitted legally required data from a questionnaire he provided to the Senate Judiciary committee.



As it turns out, the member's dad - H. Gerard Heimbecker - had a case before Alito and the 3rd Circuit appellate court in which Alito along with the rest of the 3rd circuit had been asked to recuse themselves. Mr. Heimbecker has since filed a judicial misconduct complaint against Judge Alito.



The request for recusal by Mr. Heimbecker becomes relevant when viewed in light of the question number 23 of the Senate Judiciary Questionnaire which reads in part as follows:



Please provide a list of any instance during your tenure on the Third Circuit that there has been a request for you to recuse yourself from a case, motion, or matter, or when you have otherwise considered recusing yourself from a case, motion, or matter.



Question 23 is then broken down in outline form into 4 explanatory sub-paragraphs that leaves no doubt whatsoever that any request for recusal whether “real, apparent or asserted” is to be disclosed. Not only is the recusal to be disclosed, but also a detailed explanation must be given as to the procedure followed in the final determination and the reason for the decision to recuse or declining to do so.



The fact that Alito omitted the required data is not in dispute by anyone, including Alito himself. The following is from a Washington Post article on the subject: After news of the complaint became public yesterday, Judge Alito wrote to Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania Republican, and advised him of the case. Also, a clerk on the 3rd Circuit wrote to say he had mistakenly overlooked the case because of a clerical error.



An objective view of the facts would indicate that the claim this omission being a “clerical error” to be dubious at best. Alito’s most recent vote on the case was cast less than three (3) weeks before President Bush had nominated him to the Supreme Court. Not only had Alito’s involvement in “555” been very recent, it had been very protracted. In the time leading up to and directly prior to his nomination, he had voted on it at least 4 times and offered written opinions.



In answering question 23 regarding recusal, Alito and his staff somehow mustered enough clerical efficiency to render a listing of 23 such cases dating as far back as 1990. How is it then that the most recent case which should have been the most fresh in everyone’s mind was somehow omitted? Wouldn’t Judge Alito (or anyone else possessing even a small degree of reading comprehension) have picked up on this glaring “clerical error” immediately through a quick proof-reading of the responses that were submitted?

Posted by: JimBD at Mon Jan 23 14:23:01 2006 (GoE0N)

9 Per your request you've been sent PDF's by email for the 1). Original Motion to dismiss the 3rd Circuit dated Oct 6, 2003, 2). a Request to transfer case to another Circuit sent 1/22/2006, 3). Fax confirmation and letter of Jan 22, 2006 and Dec 16,2005 to WHITE HOUSE informing them of Alito's error, 4). Letter to Alito dated Jan 22, 2006 mentioning Dec 11, 2005 reminder lettter to him about missing recusal case #03-2180. ( What's ironic is that is the letter that inform's him that he either Forgot or didn't - he chose to say "I Forgot". This is a short time before President Bush nominated him for his new post. "Thar's a 'ole lot a fergettin' going on down thar don't ya tink" ) Let me know of ANYTHING else you need concerning this "bizarre case like this one " because you have NO idea HOW right you are and how bizarre it really is. I'll try my best to get it for you. You just CAN'T make this stuff up.

Posted by: JimBD at Tue Jan 24 16:49:28 2006 (GoE0N)

10 While I appreciate your kindness in supplying me with the material in question, I cannot help but find the situation to be what it appeared at first blush -- a vexatious litigant out looking for someone to blame for the failure of his case.

While "loon" may have been a harsh assessment, I do find his initial complaint motion to be without substance and presume that the matter was left off the answer to Q23 because it was not a motion to remove Judge Alito personally, but rather to remove the entire circuit based upon an impersonal claim of institutional bias.

Posted by: Rhymes With Right at Tue Jan 24 17:09:12 2006 (vHH0/)

11 even if the "failure" is not the case itself but the powers that be manipulating the system against you? You may not be aware, but here in Philadelphia we had the tragic Meridian building fire worth billion$$ where 3 of Phillys finest firemen died. Rubin owned that building, Lou Fryman Esq. (brother in law and former partner of Judge Becker from the 3rd Circuit, personal friend of Sen Specter and boss of Gerald Arth at Fox Rothchild law firm )represented Rubin in Real Estate license violations, Rubin also owned part of the 555 Building. What if proper licensing had been enforced - they may still be here today. I wish you'd apply the same 'first blush' style and realize he left off Case #24 03-2180 because it was a problem case. here is his questionaire: http://judiciary.senate.gov/pdf/Alito_Questionnaire.pdf page 51 states it really simple, even Alito NOW admits it ("I FORGOT") because he just sent Specter a letter to address it. Alito authored the court opinions.

Posted by: JimBD at Tue Jan 24 18:45:29 2006 (GoE0N)

12 From: "H G Heimbecker"
To: "JimBD"
Subject: Re: answer
Date: Wednesday, January 25, 2006 5:03 AM

Thank him for his interest and input and advise him that shortly you or I will send him all the substance he can handle. It will make him blush!


JimBD wrote:
"While I appreciate your kindness in supplying me with the material in question, I cannot help but find the situation to be what it appeared
at first blush a vexatious litigant out looking for someone to blame for the failure of his case. While "loon" may have been a harsh assessment, I do find his initial complaint motion to be without substance and presume that the matter was left off the answer to Q23 because it was not a motion to remove Judge Alito personally, but rather to remove the entire circuit based upon an impersonal claim of institutional bias."

Posted by: JimBD at Wed Jan 25 13:02:37 2006 (GoE0N)

13 Gee -- I think that nicely sums up the nature of what has been going on with the complaints filed by Mr. Heimbecker over the years.

Posted by: Rhymes With Right at Wed Jan 25 23:19:07 2006 (DzQuj)

14 "No One Is Above the Law", Alito Says - then you should check out this link: WWW.NoOneisAbovetheLaw.com ......compared to his comments here: http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp?Page=%5CPolitics%5Carchive%5C200601%5CPOL20060109d.html

Posted by: JimBD at Thu Jan 26 13:54:06 2006 (GoE0N)

15 http://www.nooneisabovethelaw.com/pages/8/index.htm

THE MERIDIAN FIRE…the untold story..



The story in back of the Fryman Fix...why the 3rd Circuit including Judge Alito is covering up the perjury of Judge Legrome Davis...investigating Judge Davis will expose Louis Fryman...former law partner and brother-in-law of Former Chief Judge Edward Becker ...best friend of Arlen Specter...all protecting Ronald Rubin.

In the Fall of 1990 Ronald Rubin, an owner of One Meridian Plaza, published an article in his own newspaper, “ Developments”, announcing a major renovation of One Meridian Plaza. The expressed goal was to “create increased identification for the building at street level”. In light of subsequent events he was very successful at increasing the building’s identification. In describing all the upgrades and improvements no mention was made of installing sprinklers, like Comcast had on the 30th to 35th floors, or improving the existing safety systems. (Exhibit 1- “Developments” Fall 1990)

An additional article, in the same publication, profiled one Robert Herbert the Building Manager of One Meridian Plaza. Herbert described in great detail his knowledge of the building and it’s amenities but failed to mention the safety systems. (Exhibit 2- “Developments” Pg 2)

On January 8, 1991, at a hearing in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court, Mellon Bank charged that Ronald Rubin reneged on an agreement to purchase Two Mellon Bank Center, the building adjacent to One Meridian Plaza. In it’s suit against Rubin, Mellon alleged concerns about the financial health of the Rubin Company. (Exhibit 3- Phila. Inq. 1/9/91).

Failure to complete the settlement on Two Mellon Bank Center would prove to be fortuitous for Rubin for just 47 days later, on February 24, 1991, a disaster would strike! On that date, a devastating fire claimed the lives of three brave Philadelphia Firemen and the cause of their death was the lack of enough sprinklers and the failure of other safety systems according to former Fire Commissioner William Richmond, who blamed the tragedy on too few sprinklers. (Exhibit 4- Phila. Inq. 2/25/91 )

On March 13, 1991, Fire Commissioner Roger Ulshafer charged negligence and detailed Rubin’s lack of cooperation. (Exhibit 5-Phila.Inq. 3/13/91).

On April 3, 1991, Fire Commissioner Roger Ulshafer charged L & I was too corrupt to be trusted. (Exhibit 6- Phila. Inq. 4/3/91)

In July of 1991, five months after the Meridian fire, one of Rubin’s Building managers was questioned about his Real Estate license status in an unrelated matter. The manager was unlicensed. A cover-up was orchestrated to stop this inquiry because the manager of the Meridian at the time of the fire, Robert Herbert, was also unlicensed and therefore legally incompetent to be managing the Meridian. At risk was not only the insurance coverage of the Meridian but also Rubin’s Real Estate Broker’s license and his reputation. Rubin needed a report of a thorough investigation and no evidence of criminal wrongdoing to maintain the Insurance coverage.

On December 5,1991, in a press conference, the District Attorney announced that no criminal charges will be brought against anyone. She also claimed “We didn’t close our eyes to anything”. After she was pressed on how her investigation could be conducted thoroughly without interviewing key witnesses, the District Attorney ended the news conference and walked out. (Exhibit 7- Phila. Inq. 12/5/91)

On December 5,1991, the following issues were in play. Rubin had engaged in a pattern of illegal conduct by employing unlicensed, and therefore legally incompetent, personnel to engage in real estate namely; property management and leasing. That day the District Attorney absolved Ronald Rubin of any criminal conduct and he went on to deal with Aetna Insurance Company in the largest fire loss in that Company’s history. How did Rubin respond?

On February 13, 1993, Rubin filed suit against 21 Companies alleging they were all to blame, not him, and demanded Four Hundred Million Dollars.

Incredibly, after District Attorney Abraham had taken Rubin off the hook, he actually BLAMED THE FIRE COMMANDERS FOR THE DEATH OF THEIR MEN (Exhibit 8- Phila. Inq. 2/13/93).

Eleven days later, on February 24, 1993, a suit was filed against Rubin. It charged that greed set Meridian Plaza Policy. It alleged that Rubin and several others “personally decided to place life safety and fire prevention behind cosmetic and aesthetic improvements so that rents would improve and their economic bottom line enhanced at the expense of the public interest.” If this conduct is not risking a catastrophe it surely rises to the level of failing to prevent one. (PA Code 3302-3303). An attorney for Rubin responded that the allegations were baseless and said “It is pure harassment and we will respond vigorously.” (Exhibit 9-Phila Daily News 2/24/93)

Rubin settled the baseless suit for Fifteen Million Dollars. Shortly thereafter, in July 1994, with the insurance lawsuits still pending, the original licensing problems of July 1991 resurfaced. The 1994 requests by Heimbecker for real estate licenses precipitated what can only be described as a “white collar & judicial crime wave” that is ongoing today

Several years later. On March 13, 1996, tires were set on fire under Interstate 95. Two days later, March 15, 1996, District Attorney Abraham charged the owner, Daniel Carr, with illegal dumping, causing or risking a catastrophe, conspiracy and environmental law violations. (Exhibit 10- Phila. Daily News 3/15/96 )

On December 9, 1996, Carr’s defense attorney asked the jury not to punish Carr because he lacked political clout. The District Attorney urged the jury not to let Carr walk away from creating “a horrible situation”. Carr was convicted. Carr’s bail was revoked and the judge commented that the case was “very serious and had been committed” strictly for financial gain. The judge said tens of thousands of people had been inconvenienced and pointed out that the lives of firefighters had been jeopardized. (Exhibit 11- Daily News 12/10/96)

On January 23, 1997 Daniel Carr was sentenced to seven to fourteen years in jail for risking a catastrophe. The judge told Carr “Your motive is greed. Thank God nobody was killed, and that was just some stroke of luck”. (Exhibit 12-Phila. Daily News 1/23/97)

Let’s compare how District Attorney Abraham handled the two cases! Daniel Carr, (a man without political clout) piled tires under I 95. The tires were torched by teen-age fire bugs and the ensuing fire caused 7.5 million in damages. Although Carr did not start the fire and there was no loss of life or serious injuries he was charged with risking a catastrophe, greed being the motive. Carr was convicted and sentenced to 7-14 years in jail. This was accomplished in less than 1 year. Ronald Rubin, (a friend and supporter of Abraham with enormous political clout) made a personal decision NOT to improve the safety systems when undertaking renovations of One Meridian Plaza. A fire occurred shortly thereafter. THREE PHILADELPHIA FIREMEN LOST THEIR LIVES. If the fire had occurred during the work week hundreds may have died. The property losses amounted to an estimated $4 BILLION in civil damage claims. Yet Rubin was absolved, of risking a catastrophe (a felony) and failing to prevent a catastrophe (a misdemeanor), by Abraham on December 5,1991. In summary, although there was no loss of life and compared to the Meridian the property damage was minuscule, Abraham saw the I 95 fire as a catastrophe and a “horrible situation calling for swift and severe punishment”. When it was time to charge a friend and political supporter, contrary to Daniel Carr, Rubin was allowed to walk away. Evidently, the death of three Philadelphia Firemen and the subsequent litigation, which amounted to an estimated $4 BILLION in civil damage claims, didn’t qualify as a catastrophe.

Note: Heimbecker was a Philadelphia Fireman from 1956 to 1962. He was stationed at Ladder 9 2110 Market Street. On the night of March 10,1960 Ladder 9 responded to the Overbrook School for Blind where the fire claimed the lives of Lieutenant Willam Adgie and Fireman David J. Murphy. Upon it's return to service later that night, Ladder 9 responded to an alarm at the Bethany Temple Presbyterian Church. While fighting the fire using a ladder pipe the ladder truck turned over. Captain Rainsford and Fireman Gleason rode the ladder down, narrowly escaping death. Fireman Heimbecker fell off the turntable, narrowly escaping being crushed under the falling turntable. Fireman Harkin, the operator, suffered contusions. Captain Rainsford suffered a broken jaw. Firemen Gleason,Harkin & Heimbecker escaped with minor injuries. Ladder 9 was the first ladder in at the Meridian Fire. Heimbecker took the deaths of Captain Holcombe & Firefighters McAllister & Chapell very seriously. Lest we forget!



Posted by: JimBD at Wed Mar 22 15:41:29 2006 (GoE0N)

16 Jim -- based upon your obsessive posting on this issue, I have to believe that you suffer from serious psychological problems. Please refrain from future postings on this site regarding Alito and/or Heimbecker.

Posted by: Rhymes With Right at Wed Mar 22 17:04:22 2006 (/5s4A)

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