Friday, July 15, 2011

Congressional Affidavit in Support of Investigation of Colgan Air 3407 Congressional Hearing Held on June 17, 2009

AFFIDAVIT OF DANIEL W. HANLEY IN SUPPORT OF

CRIMINAL  INVESTIGATION OF ALLEGED

VIOLATIONS OF FEDERAL AVIATION LAW

I, Daniel W. Hanley, being first duly sworn, on oath, states as follows:

1. I am of legal age and competent. This affidavit is made on my personal knowledge of all matters set forth and referenced herein. If sworn and called as a witness in this case, I could, and I would, testify competently as to each fact set forth and incorporated herein by reference.

2. The alleged facts supported with evidence are true and correct to the best of my personal knowledge of the facts, evidence, information and belief.

3. I am of information and belief that I was terminated from active employment in a medically grounded status as a United Airlines B-777 Captain on December 30, 2003 directly as a result of submission of federally-mandated Flight Safety Awareness Reports under the auspices of the Aviation Safety Awareness Program (ASAP) outlined in the United Airlines Flight Operations Manual (FOM), which is intrinsically a legal part by Federal Aviation Regulations, Part 121, Operating Requirements: Domestic, Flag, and Supplemental Operations.

4. I am in possession of physical evidence that supports allegations of this criminal activity, which includes witness testimony, letters and emails, copies of filed reports, medical and psychological reports, and other information pertaining to this matter.

5. I am of information and belief that commencing in 2002, after numerous phone calls, emails, letters, and face-to-face conversations with both United management and Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) officials, (the union that represents United pilots), as well as the persistent stonewalling of filed internal federal company reports addressing critical safety matters, that potential illegal ambiguities existed in the normally afforded federal communicative processes for reporting said issues, which existed prior to 9/11.

6. I am of information and belief that prior to 9/11, United Airlines maintained an open-door communications policy that enabled any employee to address areas of concern to any level manager within the company. Because my previously addressed safety issues were not addressed and I was informed by an ALPA MEC safety official during a phone conversation in early 2003 that upper-level management considered me a "big-mouth whistle blower" and wanted me to "go away", I forwarded an advance copy of a July 23, 2003 letter to ALPA attorneys in Chicago for review of legal content, that I intended to mail to United CEO Glenn Tilton addressing my safety concerns regarding the stifling of federal reports by management. Additionally, in the letter, I had expressed concern that perhaps the financial pressures exerted with the airline in Chapter 11 bankruptcy might somehow be thwarting union efforts to legally safeguard reporting pilot?s efforts.

7. On July 27, 2003, I received a joint phone call from a United ALPA attorney and ALPA Grievance Committee Chairman in Chicago advising me that they had read my proposed letter to CEO Tilton, agreed that the content of the letter did not violate United Airlines company policy or the ALPA Code of Ethics, but recommended that I not send the letter.  When I queried their reason(s), the United ALPA Grievance Committee Chairman stated, “Go ahead and send that letter in if you never want to fly another United aircraft again in your life”. I was then further advised that United Airlines management would somehow remove me from scheduled flight operations as a pilot on professional, medical, psychological, or other grounds, as they had observed done with other pilots in the past. When I further questioned the ALPA attorney how far into this process I could expect ALPA legal representation, he responded by saying “not very far”.

8. On August 18, 2003, I received a phone call from my New York ALPA Council representative informing me that he had been directed by ALPA legal to send me an email letter response through his ALPA National Herndon, Va email address that would automatically illicit a receipt that I had opened the letter. He went on to tell me that he understood and agreed with what I was doing, but to "watch it, Dan…these guys are nasty". When I queried him as to whom "these guys" were, he told me he couldn't say. I had previously been advised by this individual through another captain associate of mine that "if you take this thing to the next level, you're going to get hurt". I then advised my council representative that if I had to, sometime in the future I would file suit against ALPA just to get him on a witness stand under oath to testify as to who "these guys" were, to which he responded by saying "you get me on that stand and I'll give you names, places, and dates".

9. From the outset, and throughout this process, I did not desire to bring these matters to public light through outside legal action that might draw public and media attention, as United Airlines was financially compromised in bankruptcy court, and I didn't want to potentially jeopardize the jobs of the hundred thousand United Airline employees by doing so. Since all previously filed reports, letters, and emails sent were strictly internal within the company, and because I still desired to address these issues, a decision was reached by me on September 14, 2003 to file a series of federal ASAP reports addressing the same concerns as those outlined in the letter to CEO Tilton with the intent of drawing the United Airlines FAA Principle Operations Inspector (POI) into the communications loop to address my concerns. Additional reports were sent through September 18th as well.

10. On September 19, 2003 I called the United ALPA Central Air Safety Vice-Chairman who had served on the Event Review Committee (ERC) that reviewed my reports, which is comprised of three members, one each from United management, ALPA, and the FAA POI, to inquire specifically as to the POI's, response to my allegations that previously submitted federal reports had been stonewalled by upper-level United Airlines management. He informed me that the POI expressed concern and wanted to respond, pending further investigation into the matter.

11. On September 30, 2003, I received a call from my JFK Assistant Chief Pilot advising me that I had been removed from scheduled flight operations by upper-level United Airlines management because of the reports submitted and that I would be required to fly to New York to meet with him before I would be permitted to fly again. When I reminding him that the issues addressed within the reports were concerns that I had expressed numerous times face-to-face and on the phone with both him and my Chief Pilot, he told me that he had orders from above. Additionally, I suggested that the integrity of the ASAP program had been violated in that reports submitted supposedly guaranteed anonymity and impunity, both of which had been compromised, he gave me a direct order. I explained that since an ALPA attorney had already advised me that ALPA would not follow me in on this "very far", for me to legally protect my career, my personal attorney would be required in attendance of any scheduled meeting and the transcripts recorded for my protection, to which he refused. I was informed that a conference call was currently underway between a management captain at the United Airlines Training
Center in Denver, United Airlines attorneys in Chicago, United Airlines Human Resource personnel, and the JFK Flight office concerning my filed reports.

12. Subsequent to this, through September and into October, numerous phone calls were made by me to United Airline management, an ALPA attorney in Chicago, my union representatives, and others trying to draw a compromise without bringing these issues to public light, while still protecting my legal interests and career, to no avail. I was insistent that I be represented by my own legal counsel at proposed meetings, which was denied on all counts.

13. Digressing momentarily, because I had been forewarned early on by ALPA captain associates that the typical process employed by management to remove "dissident" pilots was through dismissal via the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) on psychological or other grounds, wherein the pilot lost his medical certification required to fly aircraft, early in 2003, I employed the assistance of competent mental health professionals in the Atlanta area to confirm soundness of my mental health through consultation and testing, which I have continued through today for that very reason. On one occasion during this time frame, after I was removed from schedule, I was invited by both United Airlines management and ALPA personnel to fly to New York to visit their mental health professionals, wherein I would be grounded for "psychological reasons", but I politely declined this invitation, for reasons stated above. It was not my goal or desire to seek a medical grounding, but to address the issues contained in my ASAP reports.

14. At some later point in time, I received a phone call from my JFK Chief Pilot who informed me that Dr. Gary Kohn, United Airlines Chief Flight Surgeon, had seen him face-to-face at the Denver Flight Training Center and ordered him to “put that (expletive deleted) on sick list”. This was done without warrant or my having had a medical evaluation by any member of the United Airlines medical team. When my Chief Pilot queried as to the justification for this action, he was informed that it came from higher up in management. Having known him for years, my Chief Pilot apologized saying that "my hands are tied on this one, Dan".

15. Running out of sick leave, with nowhere else to turn within the organization for legal assistance or compromise, on October 6, 2003, I called my JFK Chief Pilot to inquire as to my options at this point in time. He suggested that I submit to EAP, as it was endorsed by the FAA, would protect my career, and guarantee future income. Because I had already consulted mental health professionals and because I had done nothing wrong (quite to the contrary, I believed that what I was doing was the right thing for an airline pilot to do), I agreed to submit to this program and file an FAA Whistle Blower Protection Report at a later date with the evidence I possessed of alleged criminal wrongdoing. My Chief Pilot kept repeatedly insisting that it was the "right thing to do" (by submitting to EAP). It should be emphasized that I was informed in this phone conversation that program participation obliged me to comply with any request made by company EAP or medical professionals for continuance in the program to guarantee future income.

16. On October 7, 2003, I was given a first-class positive space ticket from Atlanta, my home domicile, to Chicago O'Hare and reported to a United EAP representative Mary Ann Sheppard at the O'Hare Medical Department. During this visit, Dr. McGuffen, the United Flight Surgeon at O'Hare, interviewed me in the presence of the EAP representative, the O'Hare Chief Pilot, and an ALPA EAP representative. I advised him of the sequence of events that led me to his office and that I had already been apprised by others that EAP was a method of expulsion of pilots. I also informed him that I had been previously consulting with mental health professionals in the Atlanta area and offered to let him speak with one of them on the phone, which he did. Afterwards, Dr. McGuffen asked me if I would be willing to travel to a mental health facility of their choosing for a psychological examination, which I agreed to do because of the advisement of cooperation by my Chief Pilot the previous day. The O'Hare Chief Pilot and ALPA EAP representative then drove me to Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital in Hoffman Estates, Illinois for said evaluation. On the drive there, I apprised both of these captains of the details of my legal dilemma and advised them of my intent to file an FAA Whistle Blower Protection report with the FAA the next day. After checking in at the facility, we were ushered to a conference room where I consulted with a psychologist, a Catholic nun, in the presence of the two other pilots. She advised me that it would be necessary for me to consult with a psychiatrist but, because it was late in the day, I would have to wait till the first thing in the morning. She told me that arrangements could be made for my stay in the facility with the promise of an early morning meeting, to which I mistakenly agreed to do as discussed below. I was directed to a second floor check-in desk where all my personal belongings were locked in a safe and I was given a room with another individual who was paranoid-schizophrenic. I did not realize at the time of check-in, that once one admits oneself to such a facility, the state has the legal right to retain you for up to five days. I was also told to check to ensure that no one was hiding beneath my bed or in my bathroom before going to bed, as women patients in the coed wing might attempt to sexually molest me during the night. When I insisted that I be permitted to lock my door, the request was denied since orderlies had to check on patients during the night. Unbeknownst to me, sometime during the afternoon, my children were informed that their father was interned at a mental health facility in Chicago. Additionally, my wife, who is still an active United Airlines flight attendant, had just arrived at her London layover hotel and was immediately returned to Chicago via New York with advisement that "something has happened to Dan" and that I was in a mental facility in Chicago. In the evening, I was ordered to report to the dispensary, as the facility wanted to provide me with sleep medication, which I wanted to refuse, as I was exhausted already from an already long day, but they insisted. I should point out that I was very calm and rational throughout the day, in spite of trying circumstances. I discovered the next day that the medication that I was given was Adavan.

17. Very early in the morning of October 8, 2003, I was discovered unconscious on the floor of my room with medical attendants surrounding me, with my blood pressure at 60 over 40 and the side of my face very swollen from a fall. I had gotten up to use the bathroom and had passed out on the floor from the medication. The next morning they rushed me to medical where an extensive physical examination was performed. Subsequently, I was required to attend and participate in group therapy sessions with extremely psychotic patients and dine with them as well. My wife arrived that afternoon and I apprised her of the situation and told her that I needed to consult with the psychiatrist to cover myself legally, while complying with EAP requirements. I had also attempted to console my children, but the stigmatized damage was already done. Their dad was in a mental institution in Chicago. That afternoon, I met with both a psychologist and a psychiatrist in my room and was asked to spend one more night for additional consultation, to which I reluctantly agreed, but refused any medication that night.

18. Very early in the morning of October 9th, because I could not sleep due to the loud snoring of my roommate, I left my room to read a book at a couch under the light at the end of the hall. I was approached by a well-dressed African-American gentleman who did not identify himself, but knew my name and why I was interned. Initially, I assumed that he was a physician, as he wore a very nice suit, but did not understand why he came down to talk to me. During our brief conversation he said to me, "C'mon Dan, why don't you just drop what you've been doing?". I informed him that I believed what I had done was appropriate pilot behavior and he left. Later in the morning, after our group therapy session, I met once again with the Dr. Mohinder Chadha, MD, and attempted to explicitly detail the events that led me to her facility, but since she was not familiar with the complexities of the aviation safety issues that I was addressing such as ASAPs, she could not fully comprehend my current legal dilemma. In the end, she consented to release me with her own clinical diagnosis and an agreement that I would consult with my
Atlanta mental health professionals, which I did. That evening, I reunited with my wife at a Chicago hotel and was advised that she had been in contact with a United ALPA attorney who had given her the name and phone number of Dr. Donald Hudson, the ALPA Aeromedical Advisor, whose office was located in Denver.

19. On October 13th, my wife and I flew to Denver to pay a surprise visit to the office of Dr. Hudson. During our one hour consultation, I apprised him of the details of my situation, but surmised that he had already been briefed by ALPA legal in Chicago. I told him that by submitting ASAPs, I was fulfilling my obligation as a captain and that I felt that my previously submitted reports had been stonewalled by upper-level management. He responded by saying "we don't do business that way anymore", to which I replied “I do”. He told me that ALPA was awaiting the clinical diagnosis from the Alexian Behavioral Health Hospital psychiatrist and that he would be in touch with me and FAA medical personnel for administrative disposition of my case. Purely speculative on my part, but I surmised at this point in time that the legal and political skids had already been greased and hence, would have to legally fight this battle at another time, on another day via an FAA Whistle Blower Protection report once United Airlines emerged from bankruptcy.

20. On November 4, 2003, I received a phone call from my JFK Chief Pilot advising me that he was receiving much pressure from upper-level United Airlines management in administratively discharging me through "medical grounding" with insistence that I proceed with the administrative requirements for doing so.

21. After much phone call deliberation with both company and union management personnel, on November 11, 2003 I paid a visit to my Atlanta psychiatrist wherein I accepted his clinical diagnosis and prescriptive medication, which in no way denigrates the validity of my previous claims or actions as an airline pilot. Unbeknownst to me at the time, the medication prescribed grounded me for life as a pilot, which I did not discover until later. In accordance with contractual provisions and company policy, I filed for short-term medical disability.

22. On December 22, 2003, I called Dr. Bernie Weiss, the JFK Flight Surgeon to question the status of my letter application for short-term disability and was advised that upper-level management had already informed him that my long-term disability had already been approved. When I attempted to discuss details of my termination, he advised me that he was merely following company directives, and did not discuss the issues any further.

23. On December 30, 2003, I was placed in a permanently medically grounded status, thus ending a thirty-five year career in both Naval and commercial aviation, as a result of attempting to be honest in the reporting of safety issues.

24. On April 6, 2006, shortly after United Airlines emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, I filed an electronic FAA Whistle Blower Protection Report alleging criminality as stated above. Additionally, I wrote to then Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta the same. To date, I have not received a response from the Department of Transportation or the Federal Aviation Administration.

25. On November 8, 2006 at 8 pm, in a phone conversation with the former United ALPA Grievance Committee Chairman included in the phone conversation of July 27, 2003, it was admitted to me that I had, in fact, been "railroaded" off the property at United Airlines.

26. I am of information and belief that there are other airline pilots whose careers have met the same demise on similar issues regarding the reporting of unsafe conditions in the commercial aviation arena via ASAP reports or other means. The current absence of ASAP programs by unions at both UsAir and American Airlines as a result of
recriminations against reporting pilots in some instances, smacks of similar, although less harsh, recriminations imposed on myself and my family.

27. I am of opinion and belief that there exists other retired ALPA airline pilots who have either observed or participated in the above described process of "elimination" of active line pilots, and who would be willing to provide witness testimony in this matter.

28. I seek no financial restitution, compensatory damage claims, or restoration to my pilot job at United Airlines in providing the aforementioned horror story. It my hope that by divulging the details of this horrific event in my aviation career, it will somehow preclude any other airline industry pilot from ever having to endure the same for himself or his family, and pray for the restitution of honor, dignity, and respect of commercial airline pilots as safety professionals within the industry with the added hope that political and financial pressures will never be brought to bear, which denigrates safety in the future.

29. My involvement in these matters has created much disharmony within my loving family. We are shouldering this cross with our faith and trust in God, our political leaders, justice system, law enforcement agencies, and our Constitutional rights of freedom of speech.

30. Further affiant sayeth naught.

__________________________
DANIEL W. HANLEY
SWORN before me on This 16th day of February 2009
_______________________________
NOTARY PUBLIC

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Department of Justice Stonewalls Captain Hanley Again by Passing the Buck to DOT regarding Federal Tort Claims Act Suit Against the U.S. Government


Please take the time to review the pages of our blog below before reading this Department of Justice 'buck passing' response to Captain Dan Hanley regarding his filing of a Form 95 under the Federal Tort Claims Act for the upcoming $20-million suit against the U.S. government for dereliction of duties under federal law:  








Sunday, June 26, 2011

Charitable Gifts!


Tax deductible charitable gift offerings to the Whistleblowing Airline Employees Association International cause may be donated by mailing a check or money order to:

Captain Dan Hanley - International Public Spokesperson
Whistleblowing Airline Employees Association International
P.O. Box 3231
Peachtree City, Georgia 30269
             
Monies received will be forwarded by family members to Captain Hanley who currently resides in Islamabad, Pakistan to help defray legal expenses and the cost of printing/mailing materials to Washington, DC.   A donation as little as $1.00 will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much!

Captain Dan Hanley
International Public Spokesperson
Whistleblowing Airline Employees Association International
Islamabad, Pakistan

 


Saturday, June 25, 2011

2006 Whistleblower Letter to Senators Reid, Durbin, and Obama




Exhibit 11

                                                  
                                                                        November 18, 2006
                                                       4204 Lakeside Way
                                                       Newnan, Georgia 30265


Senator Harry Reid
526 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
  
Senator Richard Durbin
332 Dirksen Senate Building
Washington, D.C. 20510

Senator Barack Obama 

715 Hart Senate Office Building

Washington, D.C. 20510

Gentlemen,

First, please allow me to congratulate all of you and your staff members on your tremendous success and the welcomed triumph of our party in the recent congressional midterm elections.  My trust and faith in government and the election process has been restored.  However, certain aspects of the GOP culture of corruption survived the election and must be expeditiously exposed and removed from political power, if we, as a nation are to restore our once-enviable and prestigious position in the global political/economic arena.  With a Democratic-controlled Congress, I am highly confident that you will be the leaders that forge the way in this direction.

On a much more personal note, my parents and the Catholic nuns and priests who taught me tried to instill in me a deep sense of honesty, fairness, and compassion for my fellow human beings on this planet. In this regard, I believe they were somewhat successful, as my embracement of these virtues has placed me in my current legal/political dilemma.  Unfortunately, my schooling in Civics 101 did not include such issues as PAC money, extortion, bribes, deceit, illegal collusion, and mob assassination contracts, all of which we have sadly observed within the GOP culture-of-corruption the past several years.

I have included a copy of a letter that I recently sent to Congressman Henry Waxman.  For Senator Durbin and Senator Obama, since criminal allegations made within this correspondence implicate the Seventh Circuit Court system and also one of the largest employers in your state, United Airlines, I felt both compelled and obliged to at least provide you with a courtesy “heads up” on these serious legal matters.

I personally am not an idealist; I recognize our current legal and political system are both far from being perfect, but I also know that I should not have had to put my family or myself through what has tragically transpired the past few years since 9/11.  Nor should a respectable Chicago businessman, Mr. Michael Lynch, be forced to have 24-hour/day armed bodyguards to protect his family and himself while holed up in his Lake Forest, Illinois home because there is a mob contract out on him. His family has received death threats as well.  And why?  All because he has been honestly and actively attempting to help restore some semblance of “Civics 101” in this country by exposing illegal governmental collusion, extortion, bribery and a potentially corrupt judiciary.  Somewhere along the line our entire system has been derailed and collectively, we are ALL to blame for passively allowing our system of checks and balances to degenerate to this pathetic level.

Additionally, I have included a joint letter that I had mailed to the Departments of Justice, Homeland Security, and Transportation in April 2006.  There was no meaningful action on their part.  There have been many agencies and news outlets the past several years that have ignored my plea to hear the cry of airline employees and other industry workers with regard to meaningful pension legislation and other issues.  Our petitions have gone unheeded…till now.

A few nights ago, Mr. Lynch and myself had the good fortune of an interested and sympathetic ear at CBS News.  We have both told our stories and presented meaningful legal evidence to substantiate our claims.  We are both very optimistic with regard to federal grand jury potentiality in this matter.  We want the truth told and justice served in an honest system of government. Additionally, tens-of-thousands of airline industry and other workers have circulated nationwide the letters that had been previously sent to both the cabinet members and Congressman Waxman.  Our army of concerned workers and retirees is growing by the hour as is evidenced by email responses we are receiving from every corner of the country and even distant countries abroad.  Our collective voice will be heard; our story will be told; the truth will be exposed; justice will be served.  We need your help in this matter.

Gentlemen, as you well know, there are 40-million workers in this country who are covered by over 30,000 defined–benefit pension plans, all of which are in jeopardy in the current legal/political scheme of things.  The recent pension legislation passed into law is not worth the paper it is written on, but was endorsed by the GOP rubber-stamp Congress for obvious reasons.  There are much broader issues and concerns here than just the McCook Metals and United Airlines ‘forced’ bankruptcies that resulted in the distress-termination of employee pensions and the gutting of labor contracts.  There is an overlying immoral stench that permeates throughout this entire travesty of justice and must be corrected.  You three distinguished gentlemen have the power to effect the necessary changes in legislation to help vaporize the stench.

Here is our heartfelt plea; kindly do not allow it to once again fall on deaf ears.  After a review of the enclosed correspondence and your subsequent staff investigation into these matters, and consultation with your distinguished colleagues in the Senate, would you kindly give just consideration to a full Congressional inquiry into these matters in the name of all that is good and honest in our government and representative of the pristine dream our forefathers envisioned before we began this death-spiral into our existing culture of corruption. 

Your consideration of our plight is greatly appreciated by many honest and hard-working American citizens.  I will patiently await your response.

              
                                             Very Respectfully,

                                             Dan Hanley

cc:  Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi
       Congressman Henry Waxman
       Congressman George Miller
       Congressman John Conyers
       Congressman Jerry Costello





        

Thursday, June 23, 2011

2006 Affidavit of McCook Metals Michael W. Lynch to Department of Justice




Exhibit 8

                                                                                                        
AFFIDAVIT OF MICHAEL W. LYNCH IN SUPPORT OF CRIMINAL

INVESTIGATION OF STATE AND FEDERAL TRIAL, BANKRUPTCY, AND

REVIEWING COURTS IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS



I, Michael W. Lynch, being first duly sworn, on oath, states as follows:

  1. I am of legal age and competent.  This affidavit is made on my personal knowledge of all matters set forth and referenced herein.  If sworn and called as a witness in this case, I could, and I would, testify competently as to each fact set forth and incorporated herein by reference.

2.     The alleged facts supported with attached evidence are true and correct to the best of my personal knowledge of the facts and evidence.

3.     The alleged facts stated without attached evidence I believe to be true and correct to the best of my personal knowledge, information and belief.

4.     With the assistance of local and national organizations and individuals, I have caused to have turned over to civil and criminal authorities and multiple media entities material evidence confirming the existence of an alleged organized, nation-wide criminal enterprise involving officers of state and federal courts who exploit litigants for their personal financial gain and who unlawfully manipulate and exploit the judicial system at the expense of state and federal taxpayers as well as for their personal financial gain in violation of state and federal tax laws.

5.     I am of information and belief that multiple judges and lawyers are aware of and/or are involved in the alleged criminal acts by state and federal court agents.  That in alleged violation of Illinois Supreme Court Code of Judicial Conduct Rule 63(B)(3)(a) and/or Rules of Professional Conduct Rules 8.3 and 8.4, these members of the bench and bar have not reported these alleged illegal acts to the appropriate authorities, thereby conspiring with same, and/or have directly committed these alleged acts.  By law, all should have their law licenses permanently revoked and/or be removed from the bench instanter

6.     I am of information and belief that American citizens have been retaliated against for attempting to obey their civil and moral duties as members of a free democracy to expose these unlawful acts by state and federal court agents including but not limited to retaliation by means of judicial kidnapping of children, false incarceration after being “framed” by criminal elements in civil and criminal authorities, impoverishment, coercion under duress, and serious physical injury up to and including death.

7.     I am of information and belief that alleged criminal elements in the state and federal courts located in Chicago, Illinois have targeted myself and my family, specifically, my wife, my children, and my brother, Kevin, for alleged illegal acts in retaliation for my apparent exposure of their alleged criminal acts in my state and federal court records and to the media.

8.     Myself and my family are experiencing significant psychological stress and emotional distress as a result of apparent actions by state and federal court agents which I am of information and belief meet the elements of tampering with and retaliating against witnesses in current and potential civil and/or criminal official proceedings. 

9.     We are shouldering this cross with our faith and trust in God.

  1. The June 19, 2006 national press release of the organization, Illinois Family Court Accountability Advocates (IFCAA), of which I am a member and have accepted a position on the board, resulted in a significant response.  With the help of hired professionals and multiple courageous individuals and organizations within Illinois and across the country from New York to California, I have discovered and released to multiple entities the bank accounts, real estate holdings, trust accounts, and fake real estate deeds of multiple allegedly corrupt judges and attorneys involved in IFCAA members’ cases.

11.  I have material evidence to prove the factual allegation that organized crime has infiltrated state and federal trial, bankruptcy and reviewing courts in Chicago, Illinois.  Said alleged systemic corruption involves courts in which criminal elements of the bench and bar in partnership with an organized crime enterprise have access to private and government funds, namely, the bankruptcy, family, and probate courts.

  1. I am of information and belief that the Operation Greylord investigation and convictions only touched a percentage of the total number of allegedly corrupt state and federal court agents in Chicago. Evidence indicates that an alleged organized criminal enterprise has evolved with judges and other state and federal court agents in partnership with the “X” Family of Phoenix, Arizona which is now dominating ongoing judicial bribery rackets in Illinois.

  1. I am of information and belief that the Arizona family founded by “X,” who was originally from another area of the country, relocated to Arizona to allegedly expand the criminal rackets within that state. For many years, the mafia held to their traditional lines of business. This generation of the “X” Family is referred to as the “Old Guard.” (“OG”)

  1. I am of information and belief that, subsequently, the sons of “X,” specifically, “X” and “X,” allegedly moved into traditional white collar crimes involving government monies and government officials including but not limited to judges. Evidence currently validates that fixing cases for large corporations was a far more lucrative enterprise and relatively unopposed and safe as compared to the traditional illicit “sin” rackets, e.g., prostitution, gambling, et al.

  1. I am of information and belief that the “X” Sons allegedly developed a thriving business of buying off attorneys, judges, and other state and federal court agents to fix cases. However, this new enterprise created a unique problem.  It created large amount of monies that had to be hidden from the federal agents and the IRS in new and ingenious ways.

  1. I am of information and belief that to solve said problem, the family allegedly expanded and non-traditional, non-Italians became partners with the Arizona-based “X” Family.  Allegedly seven individuals with expertise in the areas now needed by the “X” Family, e.g., expertise in the law, real estate, and traditional financial vehicles, joined the “X” Family business.  This next generation criminal spin-off was born and named the East Valley Group. (“EG”)  It is allegedly composed of the following individuals:

1.     Lieutenant “A”
2.     Lieutenant “B”
3.     Attorney Lieutenant “C”
4.     Attorney Lieutenant “D”
5.     Lieutenant “E”
6.     Lieutenant “F”
7.     Lieutenant “G”

  1. I am of information and belief that the “X” Family allegedly hacked into the INSLAW software program and utilized its capabilities to wash private and government funds illegally accessed and obtained via the court system through traditional financial vehicles involving real estate properties across the country.  This is allegedly accomplished primarily though the systematic code-based creation of fraudulent documents and identity theft

18.  I am of information and belief that an alleged criminal pattern of practice constituting a racketeering enterprise is replicated across all courts in the nation in which state and federal court agents have access to private and/or government funds, namely, the bankruptcy, family, and probate courts.  These court agents or “players” include judges, lawyers, and court-appointed individuals, e.g., U.S.  Trustees, estate conservators, child attorneys, custody evaluators, therapists, supervised visitation services, etc.

  1. I am of information and belief that my fellow American, Dr. Sheila Mannix, has created a detailed summary supported with material evidence of the component of the organized criminal enterprise that has infiltrated family courts and child protective services across the country.  Alleged criminal acts have resulted in alleged fraud against the U.S. Government through gross misappropriation of government funds for personal financial gain.  Said binder of information has been distributed to multiple individuals including but not limited to civil and criminal authorities, including a connection to the Senate Judiciary Committee, and media contacts.

  1. I am of information and belief that alleged criminal judges and other players from the various state and federal courts co-mingle and funnel their illicit monies through two main Pure Trusts [Omega and Anchor], and then, ultimately, into personal individual Pure Trusts.

  1. With regard to my cases, I am of information and belief that the Chief Bankruptcy Judge of the Northern District of Illinois, Eugene R. Wedoff, allegedly joined the Arizona-based “X” Family in 1981 after he left the law firm of Jenner & Block. Over the years, Albert Jenner has represented many members of organized crime.  Previously, John B. Swartz was Chief Bankruptcy Judge for the Northern District of Illinois. At the same time he held that position, he sat on the Board of the Bank of Cicero. Then, during the Clinton Administration, Judge Sonderby was appointed Chief Judge. However, in 1986, in a forced ouster lead by Judge Marvin Aspen, Judge Wedoff was appointed Chief Judge.

  1. I am of information and belief that in August 2001, my company, McCook Metals, was forced into bankruptcy by General Electric and my law firm, Seyfarth Shaw. After suing Seyfarth Shaw in May 2002, I discovered evidence that my law firm was allegedly paid handsomely by Alcoa via the “X” Family to conspire with Alcoa and General Electric to force McCook Metals into bankruptcy and wrest control of the company from me.  Said alleged criminal acts have resulted in alleged fraud against the U.S. Government.

  1. I am of information and belief that in December 2004, I sat through five days of trial in the Seyfarth Shaw malpractice case during which witness testimony and evidence confirm the alleged malpractice and conspiracy claims against Seyfarth Shaw, GE and Alcoa.

  1. I am of information and belief that in August 2005, in the McCook Bankruptcy Case, Judge Wedoff issued a Memorandum of Opinion which he did not write.  I am of information and belief that Seyfarth Shaw’s attorneys at Miller, Shakman & Beem along with the members of the “X” Family allegedly wrote the opinion and e-mailed it to Judge Wedoff for his signature.

  1. I am of information and belief that Judge Robert Gettlemen was removed from my litigation against Seyfarth Shaw by the Chief Judge Charles Kokoras and was replaced by Judge Mark Filip, an alleged member of organized crime.

  1. The ruling from Judge Wedoff’s bankruptcy court combined with the Judge Filip ruling in my malpractice case dramatically diminished my faith in the U.S. judicial system.  Prior, my belief in the system was well-grounded given the fact that in 1999, as Chairman of McCook Metals, I sued Alcoa for anti-trust and won. In June 2005, I confronted my attorneys, Gene Murphy, Roy Brandys, Tom Cronin, Robert Crummins and Michael Duffy specifically about the probability of judicial corruption in Illinois being the cause of the unlawful rulings of Judges Wedoff and Filip.  My attorneys acknowledged that there was corruption and, moreover, that it was systemic.  However, they acknowledged that they thought that the Seyfarth Shaw case would settle due to the overwhelming amount of evidence and testimony against the firm.

  1. I requested that Gene Murphy, a former Assistant State’s Attorney, and Robert Cummins, former Board Member of the Judicial Inquiry Board, to go to the US Attorney’s office to report the judicial corruption. They refused to do so and resigned from representation of me.

  1. I am of information and belief that the gross judicial misconduct of federal trial court Judge James B. Zagel outlined in my “Verified Motion to Vacate the Orders of the Honorable James B. Zagel Entered on July 25, 2006 & August 2, 2006 Concerning the Defendant, Cummins & Cronin, LLC, and Other Relief” entered in Case No. 1:06-cv-03751 highlights the alleged illicit relationships between bench and bar.  Judge Zagel recused himself on August 7, 2006.  The August 2, 2006 order granted the Motion to Dismiss by my former law firm, Cummins & Cronin, with prejudice and met the level of fraud upon the Court as the order stated that a motions hearing had taken place which was an abject falsehood.  The matter had been removed from the motions call on said day. 

  1. In early 2006, I hired an expert in federal fraud to investigate the McCook Bankruptcy records and the expert found some stunning alleged facts including but not limited to the following:

1)     McCook Metals was never sold to the French Aluminum Company, Pechiney.
2)     Alcoa via Chairman Alain Belda and his brother Ricardo are funneling bribery monies to the “X” Family to pay off the corrupt Judges and attorneys in the McCook Metals, Longview Aluminum and Scottsboro Aluminum cases.
3)     Jenner & Block represented Pechiney in its ‘false” acquisition of McCook assets.
4)     Alcoa owns all of the manufacturing assets of McCook Metals and Scottsboro Aluminum.
5)     None of the creditors of McCook Metals have been paid.
6)     There exists a $40 million ‘Bribery Fund” that will be deposited into Judge Wedoff bank accounts.  This fund is increasing.
7)     Judge Wedoff has established a Pure Trust called ERW to hide his bribery monies from federal authorities.
8)     The US Trustees office in Chicago has been infiltrated by organized crime. US Trustees Joselph Baldi (formerly Baldini ), David Leibowitz, Gus Palioan, and former director of the US Trustees office, Ira Bodenstein.
9)     A Pure Trust named Flagship has been established buy the US Trustee Joseph Baldi to move the funds out of the McCook Metals bank account into said trust.
10) The McCook case file was opened months before the official August 2001 filing of the bankruptcy case.  This was done by Judge Wedoff, Alcoa, and Seyfarth Shaw attorneys.
11) Many key records have been put under seal by Judge Wedoff.
12) Alcoa and its officers, Alain Belda and his brother, Richardo Belda, are funding the bribery monies to Judge Wedoff.
13) US Trustee for McCook Metals Joe Baldi (formerly Baldini) is a member of the organized crime family. He has established a Pure Trust call “On Fire Investments” in Nevada to wash his bribery monies.

  1. I am of information and belief that Judge Wedoff (and other judges) allegedly use LaSalle Bank in Chicago and Wells Fargo and Northern Trust Bank in Arizona to hold and process their alleged illicit monies.  A family member of the “X” Family is allegedly employed by LaSalle Bank.  Money is allegedly wired or deposited into LaSalle Bank and then allegedly washed into real estate and Pure Trusts in Arizona. Wells Fargo Bank is allegedly the depositary bank in Arizona.  Allegedly fraudulent corporations and individuals open bank accounts and the illicit monies are allegedly deposited into these bank accounts. The alleged illicit monies are then allegedly laundered through real estate as mortgages that really never exist. All the real estate having been allegedly bought with cash via the alleged bribery funds. The alleged illicit money is then further washed from the fake mortgage proceeds into an alleged illicit Pure Trust. Those alleged illicit monies from the alleged illicit Pure Trust are allegedly used by the corrupt judges, attorneys, other court agents, or the mafia. Allegedly through the illicit use of the INSLAW software, these records conveniently disappear. Allegedly no taxes are ever paid. 

  1. I am of information and belief that in my McCook Metals’ Bankruptcy Case, the $40 million “Wedoff Bribery Fund” sits at LaSalle Bank in an account whose number I have turned over to multiple entities.

  1. I am of information and belief that these funds will be dispersed only after the “Lynch Group” opposition has been suppressed and the case is closed.  The “Lynch Group” is the name that has allegedly been given to the courageous Americans who have taken on the apparent infiltration of organized crime in the U.S judiciary.

  1. I am of information and belief that the EG is very active in Judge Wedoff’s bankruptcy courtroom and allegedly engaged in allegedly illegal acts with Judge Wedoff in the United Airlines bankruptcy case at great cost to the American people.

  1. I am of information and belief that Lieutenant “A” and Alcoa attorneys, John Wilson and Russ Porter, write and edit Chief Bankruptcy Judge Wedoff rulings including but not limited to the Memorandum of Opinions in my personal bankruptcy case and the bankruptcy cases of my companies, Longview Aluminum and McCook Metals.

  1. I am of information and belief that Lieutenant “B” has access to the Federal Court Building via false Federal Marshall credentials.

  1. I am of information and belief that US Trustees Joseph Baldi , David Leibowitz and Gus Palioan are allegedly active partners with the EG and Judge Wedoff.

  1. I am of information and belief that Chief Bankruptcy Judge Wedoff allegedly hides his bribery monies in Pure Trust called ERW and uses the alias of John Williams, as his own trustee.

  1. I am of information and belief that Chief Bankruptcy Judge Wedoff also is a participant with other judges in Pure Trusts called Anchor and Omega Holdings.

  1. I am of information and belief that multiple lawyers of prominent law firms are allegedly members with multiple judges in the Arizona-based organized crime enterprise.

  1. I am of information and belief that organized crime has allegedly infiltrated not only the U.S. judiciary but has also allegedly infiltrated federal criminal investigation and prosecution agencies.  I have disseminated evidence regarding the identities of these individuals.

  1. I have attached to this affidavit a smattering of material evidence which support my factual allegations herein.

  1. I am of information and belief that the following individuals are allegedly engaged in criminal acts in concert with an alleged organized crime enterprise:

Judges:
            State Court:
Karen G. Shields
James G. Donegan
James F. Henry
Alexander P. White
Barbara Disko
Stuart Nudelman

Federal Court:
Eugene R. Wedoff
John B. Swartz
Mark R. Filip
William Bauer

Attorneys:
Enrico Mirabelli
Robert Cummins
Gene Murphy
Joseph Baldi
David Leibowitz
Michael Braun
David Wessel
Richard Ungaretti

Chicago Businessmen:
            Mario D’Agostino
            Dominic Forte
            Businessman #3

43.  Further affiant sayeth naught.
______________________
MICHAEL W. LYNCH

SUBSCRIBED and SWORN before me on
this ­­­11th day of October,2006.

_____________________________
NOTARY PUBLIC


ATTACHED:
Two Affidavits by federal fraud investigator, Sydney Perceful
Anchor, Omega, and ERW trusts.