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43-398: On April 5, 2005, US Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald described The Mickey Cobras (few in numbers compared to other partys with same power) as one of several "super-gangs" that constitute a sizable portion. Some of their rivals would be Gangster Disciples, Black Disciples and sometimes other People affiliates. The Egyptian Cobras formed in the year 1954 on Chicago's west side. The founder of

86-634: A $ 250,000 fine, 2 years of probation and a 2½ year prison term. After a court of appeals rejected Libby's attempt to delay the prison sentence while he appealed the verdict, President George W. Bush commuted the prison portion of Libby's sentence but did not commute the fine. Two days after the verdict, Congressman Henry Waxman , chair of the U.S. House Committee on Government Reform , announced that his committee would ask Plame to testify on March 16, in an effort by his committee to look into "whether White House officials followed appropriate procedures for safeguarding Plame's identity." In March 2007, Fitzgerald

129-838: A foothold and reputation in Chicago. In 1966 the Cobras new leader Henry (Mickey) Cogwell held second highest position in the Main 21 alliance, comprising the leaders of different gangs within the Black P. Stone Nation (BPSN). The Cobras and the Black P. Stone Nation allied against the Disciple Alliance and later the Gangster Nation. The Egyptian Cobras then changed their name to the Cobras Stones in 1966. Mickey Cogwell and

172-561: A network of political bribery and gift-giving, and leading to more than 60 indictments. Ryan was indicted in December 2003. At the conclusion of the trial in April 2006, Ryan was found guilty on all eighteen counts against him. Ryan's co-defendant, Chicago businessman Larry Warner, then 67 years old, was convicted of racketeering conspiracy, fraud, attempted extortion, and money laundering. The two were sentenced on September 6, 2006: Ryan received

215-483: A number of top aides to Democrat Richard M. Daley , the mayor of Chicago , on charges of mail fraud , alleging numerous instances of corruption in hiring practices at City Hall. In March 2006, former Chicago City Clerk James Laski pleaded guilty to pocketing nearly $ 50,000 in bribes for steering city business to two trucking companies. Laski was the highest-ranking Chicago official and Daley administration employee brought down by Fitzgerald's office in conjunction with

258-532: A sentence of six and one half years, and Warner received a sentence of three years and five months. Against criticism that these cases were based on circumstantial evidence, Fitzgerald responded: "People now know that if you're part of a corrupt conduct, where one hand is taking care of the other and contracts are going to people, you don't have to say the word 'bribe' out loud. And I think people need to understand we won't be afraid to take strong circumstantial cases into court." On July 18, 2005, his office indicted

301-806: A statement on his decision to commute Libby's prison sentence and noted: After the investigation was under way, the Justice Department appointed United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois Patrick Fitzgerald as a Special Counsel in charge of the case. Mr. Fitzgerald is a highly qualified, professional prosecutor who carried out his responsibilities as charged. Libby was eventually pardoned by President Donald Trump on April 13, 2018. On November 17, 2005, Fitzgerald brought criminal fraud charges against former Canadian media mogul Conrad Black , as well as against three other Hollinger executives. The trial of Black began at

344-547: A week in profit from his drug sales. After Green and the others were indicted in May, Green had many assets that he owned including a house, furnished with hand carved Italian furniture and a home theatre, as well as several luxury vehicles and fur coats which he in turn had to give up as part of his plea bargain. The final total in cost of assets lost to the plea bargain is unknown. Today the Mickey Cobras are known formally as

387-526: Is lost. If we were to walk away from this, we might as well hand in our jobs." Robert Novak 's testimony in Libby's perjury trial made it known that the two senior administration sources he cited in his article were Richard Armitage and Karl Rove . A month later Armitage claimed Fitzgerald had instructed him not to go public with this information. Journalist Michael Isikoff received confirmation from Rove's lawyer and from lobbyist Richard F. Hohlt that Rove

430-429: Is not from Chicago; Patrick said that he had visited Chicago only one day, for a wedding in 1982, before his selection. Soon after becoming U.S. Attorney for Northern Illinois, Fitzgerald began an investigation of political appointees of Republican Illinois Governor George Ryan , who were suspected of accepting bribes to give licenses to unqualified truck drivers. Fitzgerald soon expanded this investigation, uncovering

473-413: Is to take the role of associate partner before becoming a partner in some consulting services. Many major investment banks were historically structured as partnerships, and some such as Goldman Sachs maintain a class of "partners" at the top of their corporate hierarchy. In such firms, the "partners" are typically the highest-compensated managing directors as well as more senior executives. The term

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516-462: Is typically a "probationary" status for associates (or former equity partners who do not generate enough revenue to maintain equity partner status). The distinction between equity and non-equity partners is often internal to the firm and not disclosed to clients, although a typical equity partner could be compensated three times as much as a non-equity partner billing at the same hourly rate. In America, senior lawyers not on track for partnership often use

559-799: The Chicago Tribune to fire editors critical of the Blagojevich administration in exchange for state assistance in selling Wrigley Field . Fitzgerald said at the news conference that, "I laid [ sic ] awake at night", worrying about the possible firing of Tribune editors. In 2014, Fitzgerald was hired by Michigan State University to conduct an internal investigation to discover whether and when university officials knew about sexual assault allegations against Dr. Larry Nassar . Fitzgerald reported to university officials that no MSU official "believed" that Nassar had committed sexual assault, but did not provide any written report detailing

602-514: The 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania . On September 1, 2001, Fitzgerald was nominated for the position of U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois on the recommendation of U.S. Senator Peter Fitzgerald (no relation), a Republican from Illinois . On October 24, 2001, the nomination was confirmed by the Senate. The Senator urged the selection because Patrick Fitzgerald

645-653: The Chicago Outfit . On February 25, 1977, Mickey Cogwell was assassinated by Jeff Fort because he did not want to be an El Rukn and his followers changed their organization's name again in late '70s or early '80s, becoming the Mickey Cobras in his honor. The Mickey Cobras are mainly in Chicago and surrounding suburbs: their neighborhood is particularly in the area around Fuller Park , and the Austin neighborhood. The gang has been involved in many drug related criminal activities as well as criminal activities that surround

688-495: The Hired Truck Program scandal. Beginning in April 2007, Fitzgerald oversaw Operation Crooked Code , the investigation and prosecution of over two dozen defendants for bribery and related charges in Chicago's Department of Buildings and Zoning. On December 9, 2008, federal agents arrested Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich for conspiring to profit from his authority to appoint President Barack Obama 's successor to

731-800: The Hired Truck Program , and Chicago police detective and torturer Jon Burge . Fitzgerald was born into a Roman Catholic family of Irish descent in Brooklyn . His father (also named Patrick Fitzgerald) worked as a doorman in Manhattan and a security guard at the 1964 New York World's Fair in Flushing, Queens . Fitzgerald attended Our Lady Help of Christians grammar school, before going on to Regis High School . He received degrees in economics and mathematics from Amherst College , Phi Beta Kappa , before receiving his JD from Harvard Law School in 1985. He played rugby at Amherst and at Harvard he

774-519: The U.S. Department of Justice Office of Special Counsel in charge of the investigation. Fitzgerald was well-known to Comey and was in fact already godfather to one of Comey's children. On December 30, 2003, three months after the start of the Plame investigation, Fitzgerald was appointed Special Counsel . Through this, Fitzgerald was delegated "all the authority of the Attorney General" in

817-623: The "Mickey". In their original identity, they were known as the Egyptian King Cobras. After three generations, the group has come to have a strong Islamic influence. The Mickey Cobras now has its own unique written constitution and by-laws, which show a strong Islamic influence, just like those of the modern-day BPSN. In the Illinois prison system, it is a part of the People Nation. The collective name of joined gangs under

860-814: The Board of Trustees for the University of Illinois . Fitzgerald joined Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in the firm's Chicago office as a partner. In June of 2023, Fitzgerald retired from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom . On December 30, 2003, after then- Attorney General John Ashcroft recused himself from the CIA leak grand jury investigation of the Plame affair due to conflicts of interest , Deputy Attorney General James B. Comey , acting as Attorney General in Ashcroft's place, appointed Fitzgerald to

903-822: The Clovers organized and became the Vice Lords . When the Vice Lords returned to Lawndale in the year 1958, they soon swelled into a force to be reckoned with. The Vice Lords were very aggressive and the dominant gang in Lawndale. By 1960 the Egyptian Cobras sought better opportunities on the South Side of Chicago. They relocated to the Woodlawn community. Cogwell led the Egyptian King Cobras as they gained

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946-669: The Cobras policed the police in their communities, receiving government grants to feed kids breakfast in Fuller Park area before public schools offered meals - the template for school free lunch programs all over America - and worked as an organizer for a south side union. In 1970, the commander of the Gang Intelligence Unit for the Chicago Police Department portrayed they were. Cogwell as the link between gangs and organized crime , particularly

989-456: The Egyptian Cobras was James Cogwell. During the mid-1950s the Egyptian Cobras fought heavily with a gang called the 14th Street Clovers. The 14th Street Clovers were the gang that later became the Vice Lords in the late 1950s. After several members of the 14th Street Clovers were incarcerated by 1957, the Egyptian Cobras had less competition. While incarcerated in the St. Charles Reformatory for Boys,

1032-454: The FBI early that morning on charges of corruption. Fitzgerald described Blagojevich's actions as the "kind of conduct [that] would make Lincoln roll over in his grave." Blagojevich was charged with mail fraud and solicitation of a bribe . According to Fitzgerald, Blagojevich attempted to sell off President-elect Barack Obama 's open U.S. Senate seat to the highest bidder, as well as pressuring

1075-474: The Plame scandal. On May 23, 2012, Fitzgerald held a press conference informing the public that he was stepping down from his position and retiring as the US Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois Federal Court effective June 30, 2012. Long-time prosecutor Gary S. Shapiro was named US Attorney until a replacement was selected. In 2013, Fitzgerald was appointed by Governor Patrick Quinn (D-IL) to

1118-702: The Southern District of New York from 1988 to 2001, and as Chief of the Organized Crime-Terrorism Unit since December 1995, where he participated in the prosecutions of Osama bin Laden , Omar Abdel-Rahman , and Ramzi Yousef . As special counsel for the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Special Counsel, Fitzgerald was the federal prosecutor in charge of the investigation of the Valerie Plame Affair , which led to

1161-467: The U.S. Senate. Fitzgerald said Blagojevich "put a 'for sale' sign on the naming of a United States Senator." Senator Peter Fitzgerald chose not to run for reelection in 2004, leaving Patrick Fitzgerald without a congressional patron. In the summer of 2005, there were rumors that he would not be reappointed to a second four-year term in retaliation for his investigations into corruption in Illinois and Chicago government, as well as for his investigation of

1204-517: The evidence for this claim. Partner (business rank) A partner in a law firm , accounting firm, consulting firm , or financial firm is a highly ranked position, traditionally indicating co-ownership of a partnership in which the partners were entitled to a share of the profits as " equity partners ". The title can also be used in corporate entities where equity is held by shareholders . In law firms , partners are primarily those senior lawyers who are responsible for generating

1247-461: The federal court in Chicago in March 2007. Black was convicted on July 13, 2007 and was later sentenced to serve 78 months in federal prison, pay Hollinger $ 6.1 million and a fine of $ 125,000. On February 1, 2006, the U.S. Attorney's Office under Fitzgerald announced that it was indicting nineteen members of Risciso , a software and movie piracy ring, in U.S. District Court in Chicago. The prosecution

1290-423: The firm's revenue. The standards for equity partnership vary from firm to firm. Many law firms have a "two-tiered" partnership structure, in which some partners are designated as "salaried partners" or "non-equity" partners, and are allowed to use the "partner" title but do not share in profits. This position is often given to lawyers on track to become equity partners so that they can more easily generate business; it

1333-593: The five-point star banner (V.L.,B.P.S.,L.K., M.C.,4.C.H.,). Patrick J. Fitzgerald Patrick J. Fitzgerald (born December 22, 1960) is an American lawyer and former partner at the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom . For more than a decade, until June 30, 2012, Fitzgerald was the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois . Prior to his appointment, he served as Assistant U.S. Attorney in

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1376-597: The gang lifestyle such as homicide, extortion and robbery. Cornell Green was the second-highest ranked "king" in the Mickey Cobras street gang. Federal agents in the United States wanted Green to cooperate, and reports are falsely accusing him of doing so, although he refused. He was sentenced in September 2001 to 30 years in prison for the operation of a large-scale heroin operation on the South side of Chicago. Green

1419-704: The matter. In February 2004, Acting Attorney General Comey clarified the delegated authority and stated that Fitzgerald has plenary authority . Comey also wrote "further, my conferral on you of the title of 'Special Counsel' in this matter should not be misunderstood to suggest that your position and authorities are defined and limited by 28 CFR Part 600." On October 28, 2005, Fitzgerald brought an indictment for five counts of false statements, perjury, and obstruction of justice against Lewis "Scooter" Libby , U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney 's Chief of Staff. Libby resigned to prepare for his legal defense. In his first press conference after announcing Libby's indictment, Fitzgerald

1462-454: The profits. Today, the financial and consulting services firms which originated from accounting firms, such as the Big Four accounting firms , retain the title of Partner as a senior position and to indicate a profit-sharing status. To become a partner is considered a significant career milestone. Based on the role, tradition or local regulations partners may include the A modern procedure

1505-401: The prosecution and conviction in 2007 of Vice President Dick Cheney 's chief of staff Scooter Libby for perjury and obstruction of justice. As a federal prosecutor, he led a number of high-profile investigations, including those which led to convictions of Illinois Governors Rod Blagojevich and George Ryan , media mogul Conrad Black , several aides to Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley in

1548-537: The prosecutor in the case against Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman and 11 others charged in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing . In 1996, Fitzgerald became the National Security Coordinator for the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York . There, he served on a team of prosecutors investigating Osama bin Laden . He also served as chief counsel in prosecutions related to

1591-543: The title " of counsel ", whilst their equivalents in Britain use the title " Senior Counsel ". Partner compensation varies considerably. A 2012 survey by Major, Lindsey & Africa found that law firm partners' average annual compensation was $ 681,000 ($ 896,000 for equity partners, $ 335,000 for non-equity partners) and tended to go up based on number of years in the partnership: Accounting firms were traditionally established as legal partnerships with partners sharing

1634-659: Was a member of the Harvard Business School Rugby Club . Fitzgerald married Jennifer Letzkus in June 2008. After practicing civil law , Fitzgerald became an Assistant United States Attorney in New York City in 1988. He handled drug trafficking cases and in 1993 assisted in the prosecution of Mafia figure John Gambino , a boss of the Gambino crime family . In 1994, Fitzgerald became

1677-407: Was also faxed an advance copy of the article several days before it was published. On March 6, 2007, Libby was convicted of 4 out of 5 charges of lying under oath. Fitzgerald announced on the courthouse steps that while he is always open to receiving new information related to the case, he expects to file no further charges, and the prosecutors would "return to their day jobs". Libby was sentenced to

1720-439: Was among 15 people who were prosecuted as part of this drug ring. Some of the other members prosecuted involved: Prosecutors stated that the drug trafficking operation ran by Green used street sellers with cell phones to keep customers posted on their changing locations. Between 1993 and early 2001 it was said that the gang had sold hundreds of "dime" bags (2/10 to 3/10 of a gram) for $ 10 per bag, and that Green made over $ 100,000

1763-400: Was asked about comments by Republicans such as Kay Bailey Hutchison , who said "I certainly hope that if there is going to be an indictment that says something happened, that it is an indictment on a crime and not some perjury technicality," to which Fitzgerald responded, "That talking point won't fly. The truth is the engine of our judicial system. If you compromise the truth, the whole process

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1806-646: Was ranked among prosecutors who "had not distinguished themselves" as opposed to "strong U.S. Attorneys who exhibited loyalty to the administration" on a Justice Department chart sent to the White House in March 2005. This was revealed in light of an investigation of the December 2006 firings of several U.S. Attorneys by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, perceived as being politically motivated and despite Fitzgerald's previous Attorney General's Award for Distinguished Service in 2002. Two other prosecutors so ranked were dismissed. On July 2, 2007, President Bush provided

1849-624: Was the result of an undercover investigation, Operation Jolly Roger, that was part of Operation Site Down —an initiative by the FBI and law enforcement agents from ten other countries to disrupt and dismantle many of the leading warez groups that distribute and trade in copyrighted software, movies, music, and games on the Internet. On December 9, 2008, Fitzgerald confirmed in a press conference in Chicago that Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John Harris, had been arrested by

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