Julie Kay at the Daily

Julie Kay at the Daily Business Review tells us that both St. Petersburg Times reporter William Levesque, who is suffering from cancer, and Orlando attorney David Hendriz are being forced to testify today in a fraud trial today in Miami. In other words, U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez got...

By Bob Norman

November 9, 2006

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Julie Kay at the Daily Business Review tells us that both St. Petersburg Times reporter William Levesque, who is suffering from cancer, and Orlando attorney David Hendriz are being forced to testify today in a fraud trial today in Miami.

In other words, U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez got himself a two-fer: He's taking a dump on age-old privileges held by both attorneys and reporters.

Kay describes the 2004 story in the Times about defendant Michael Scarpon that prompted the Levesque subpoena:

In Levesque's November 2004 article, shortly after Layne was arrested, Scarpon was quoted as saying that none of his clients ever received a penny of the more than $3 billion in financing they sought. He blamed a poor economy and problems with a lender.

In the article, Scarpon said all his clients were sophisticated people who should have known that seeking venture capital is risky. "Caveat emptor is the law of the land," he was quoted as saying.

I'm sorry but I'm not seeing the reason to drag a sick journalist into court here. This isn't a confession; it's the opposite of one.

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Journalist Bob Norman has been raking the muck of South Florida for the past 25 years. His work has led to criminal cases against corrupt politicians, the ouster of bad judges from the bench, and has garnered dozens of state, regional, and national awards.

Contact: Bob Norman