State as a Con Artist

I wrote about the big MBI con in Operation Plastic Empire (MBI) and Skeletons in the Closet and figure that it is time for an update and a plea to the current representatives of the State of Florida in the case to resolve the argument. It is a simple argument, after all is said and done, at least in the case of Trevor Banks Campbell. It's also a 1996 case, so let's get to work for true justice people. No more excuses and hidden agendas; those days are over. The case that I am referring to is Orange County, Florida case # 1996-CF-011913-B – the "B" means that Trevor is defendant B out of A through I.

I sometimes doubt that Trevor is still speaking to me as he really does not want me to write about the case until it is resolved with the conviction and sentence judgment vacated. But then it was my reference to this case in Memoirs that prompted him to contact me, listen to my legal points and advice to retain an attorney, and finally do something about this con job by the State of Florida. I am a prolific legal researcher, and absolutely enjoy aggravating the guilty parties herein.

Trevor did speak with an attorney that obviously agreed with my points as the case is now reopened and motions are filed. The case is currently in front of Orange County Circuit Court Judge Bob Wattles. From what I do know of Judge Wattles he is a fair man, so it is unlikely that this case will be swept under a rug as it was in the past. I knew his nephew Wayne; however, have not spoken to him in many years. I once bailed Wayne out of jail on a DUI charge. He said that he was the black sheep of the family and spoke very highly of his uncle. That is a good sign for this long overdue pursuit of justice in the referenced case.

The defendants in Operation Plastic Empire were arrested on a slew of felony charges in relation to an MBI-created false case. The main problem that I have with the entire mess is that none of the many defense attorneys involved exposed the con job. I have since been told that an attorney takes their life in their hands when they go against these false prosecutions, but is that really an excuse? Maybe I should have gone to law school and just let the cards fall wherever they were supposed to.

These defendants were prosecuted and pled guilty to charges based on an MBI operation that sought to prosecute for a legal activity. Okay, so prosecutors managed to coerce guilty pleas to non-offenses by setting excessive bonds and/or holding each defendant indefinitely in jail while awaiting trial. The resulting guilty plea, at least in Trevor's case, involved getting out of jail with a time served sentence that included probation. It was the better option at the moment, no doubt, as he spent over a year sitting in a jail cell.

The remedy today is simple too, and any attorney reading this knows that I am correct. I defer to the Michael J. Peter case. There is no time limitation when the conduct with which he (Trevor) was charged is not proscribed by the statute he was convicted of violating.

The Peter case revealed the remedy, but it was a Tampa area State of Florida case that exposed the con job of the entire operational agenda of criminally charging a non-offense. "Credit card factoring" and "money laundering" were the base(less) offenses of the "racketeering" and "conspiracy to commit racketeering (RICO)" charges. The MBI, in Operation Plastic Empire, solicited the commercial business of each defendant in the case as each operated escort services. The defendants were prosecuted for what was really only commercial behavior. In the Hillsborough County (Tampa), Florida case the state lost when the defendants appealed their convictions. The cases that were consolidated are: 2D98-3398; 2D98-3581; and 2D98-3634. The convictions and sentences were reversed by the Second District Court of Appeal.

The wheels of justice do indeed grind slow – it has been 14 years now. Better fix it people, because it won't go away, and I am getting ready to contact each defendant in the case. Trevor only contacted me as a result of what he read in Memoirs.