http://www.corpcounsel-digital.com/corpcounsel/sample/?pg=16#pg16

According to this article, entitled “sour homecomig”, Mr. Givens, a former general counsel and chief of staff Edwin Givens for SC State University apparently was engage in a phone conversation where other school officials discussed the details of some matter pertaining to taking bribes from other companies for homecoming 2011 activies.

While Mr. Givens did not take any money, and was not part of the bribes, he was nonetheless part of a phone conversation or conversations where bribes were discussed and planned, he did not report the felonious activities, and when the players were indicted for their bribing activities, the feds decided that not reporting these felonious activities was a crime in and of itself.

Givens received only $500, which he donated to a charity.  His excuse (which did not serve him much at all), he didn’t take a dime of a bribe for his own personal accounts.

In all, it is reported that 8 employees were fired over taking bribes, and it seems many were at a high level (general counsel, an university board chairman, and other university leaders). It is said that not only did Mr. Given fail to report these authorities, but he took steps to cover them up (i.e., he denied the activities).

Ken and I have heard of a ratness of felonious activities in probate. We report to the authorities, with numerous communications to the FBI, states attorneys, the ARDC, JIB, you name it, and we find 18 USC sec. 4 all over the place.

And all Mr. Givens had to do to avoid all of this is, once he got off the phone, all he had to do is send one simple email to “askdoj@doj.gov” and enlighten them as to the contents of the phone call.  Yep, one two or three sentence email could have saved his butt, his career and his sanity.

The article admits that use of “misprison of felony” is rare, and where many states had state laws, they repealed them, but 18 USC sec 4 is very much alive and now some fed prosecutors are actively using this law to combat corruption.

The only activity cited in this article was one phone call Mr. Givens was party to. Many attorneys in probate have been a party to conversations relating strings of felonies committed against the disableds and their families and also worked to cover up the crimes. The ARDC and JIB were often informed, and they have not publicly affirmed they report to the FBI– and I doubt that the DOJ will excuse any of those attorneys on the basis they received nothing personally of value either.

I looked up “misprison of felony” on Fastcase and found 12 instances of misprison of felony being mention in connection with it’s use or convictions.

I don’t think that 12 times in the Fed. App. database is rare enough to make those that fit the crime right here, right now in Illinois to feel very safe.

However, Ken and my continued emails, faxes and letters to askdoj will serve us well when it becomes acknowledged that crimes have occurred, that many knew and only Ken and I reported.

While Misprison of Felony might be rare today to mention, perhaps with the public’s disgust for rampant corruption, a spate of complaints using this federal law may soon be in order.

JoAnne