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    • Brief

    United States v. Viktor Kozeny et al. (Frederic Bourke Jr.)

    Case materials from the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) prosecution of Frederic Bourke Jr., United States v. Kozeny et al., No. 05-CR-518-SAS.


    Argument: In July 2009, after a six-week jury trial in the Southern District of New York, Frederic Bourke Jr., co-founder of Dooney & Bourke, was found guilty of making false statements and violating FCPA. Prosecutors alleged that Bourke knew of a plot by Viktor Kozeny to bribe Azerbaijani officials to let Kozeny's investment group buy a stake in the state’s oil company in the late 1990s. Bourke was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Shira Scheindlin to a year and a day in prison. Judge Scheindlin explained her sentence by stating: “After years of supervising this case, it’s still not entirely clear to me whether Mr. Bourke is a victim or a crook or a little bit of both.” On appeal, defense attorneys for Bourke argued that the prosecutors used perjured testimony in order to obtain a conviction. After several unsuccessful appeals to the Second Circuit, Bourke began his sentence in May 2013. Viktor Kozeny, the apparent orchestrator of the scheme, has avoided extradition to the United States by remaining in the Bahamas.

    More Kozeny and Bourke documents from DOJ

    News

    "Bourke's last stand?," The FCPA Blog, May 10, 2013.

    "Supreme Court denies Bourke review," The FCPA Blog, April 16, 2013.

    "Bourke Alleges False Testimony In New Appeal," The Wall Street Journal, April 12, 2012.

    "Bourke Loses Bid For New FCPA Trial In Second Legal Setback," Bloomberg, December, 15, 2011.

    "Judges Appear Unmoved by Bourke's Arguments on Appeal," Global Investigations Review, February 15, 2011.

    "Jury Finds Frederic Bourke Guilty of Bribery-Related Charges," The Wall Street Journal Law Blog, July 10, 2009.

    • Brief

    United States v. Joseph L. Bruno

    Joseph Bruno was convicted of two counts of mail and wire fraud in December 2009 and filed an appeal with the Second Circuit in January 2010. He was sentenced in May 2010 and was released on bail until the U.S. Supreme Court released its honest services fraud decisions. On July 2, 2010, Bruno submitted a letter to District Court Judge Gary L. Sharpe articulating arguments to remain on bail pending release. Within this letter are substantive arguments concerning the status of his honest services fraud conviction in light of Skilling.


    Argument: On appeal in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals the government has conceded that the court's jury instructions at trial were not proper under Skilling and that reversal is appropriate as a result of that instructional error. The government argued that a remand without prejudice to retry defendant Bruno is appropriate. The defense, however, argued that the government was barred from pursuing any additional charges under the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Constitution and dismissal with prejudice was thus the proper remedy. The court overturned Bruno's conviction, but called for a new trial in November 2011. The court said that the government had presented evidence from which a new jury could potentially conclude that Bruno committed the crime of depriving people of "honest services." Prosecutors refiled two charges on retrial. Bruno was acquitted in May 2014. In December 2014 the Attorney General signed off on the reimbursement of Bruno's legal fees.