A call for reason and fairness in the case of
U.S. vs. Walter Anderson

by Walt Anderson

Last week on April 19, 2006, at 5:30, I learned that my appeal related to my pre-trial incarceration prior to my trial next January, was denied.  This means I will have to remain in jail until my trial.

Am I dangerous to the community?  Violent?  Did I take a single action to attempt to flee to avoid a trial in relation to the tax matter the government had been investigating?  Had I done anything but try to continue to do my job and pursue my normal life in the three years I knew about the investigation and in anticipation of an indictment?  The answer to all of the above is NO!

The reason I am here is that a Federal Prosecutor repeatedly lied to Federal Judges.  I was indicted prior to my return from overseas travel.  I was taken prisoner at the airport upon my return and, a few days later, after being kept without adequate food and water, I was brought in front of Federal Magistrate Kay for arraignment.

A few minutes before the arraignment began the Federal Prosecutors delivered a “Detention Memorandum” with the intention of convincing the court that I should be held in jail prior to my trial. This was a big surprise to my legal counsel since I had been cooperating with the Court.  My counsel and I had appeared at a number of hearings relating to the evidentiary issues in the investigation and my counsel believed that they had an understanding with the prosecution to allow me to self surrender and be released on my personal recognizance which is common procedure.

The pre-trial services organization which works for the court system had done two investigations relating to my pre-trial disposition.  Both investigations concluded that I should be released prior to trial solely on my own promise to appear at trial.  This decision was in part due to my long-time connection to the Washington, DC area (family, friends, and business) and my prior history with the courts which was spotless.

The Federal Prosecutor, a Ms. Menzer, both in the written “Detention Memorandum” and in her oral arguments made outrageous statements that she had to know were not true.  One of the most transparent lies was her claim that “Mr. Anderson has no connection to the United States” and “nothing to hold him here”.  This statement was made in a crowded courtroom, only a few feet away from my parents (who live in the DC area), numerous business associates, friends and others who knew me professionally in the community for many years.  This lie was followed by others just as bold and obviously false.  My legal counsel pointed out my family and others in the courtroom as well as other evidence of my long time connection to Washington, DC to the Magistrate.  The Magistrate even noted some of the attempts by the Prosecutor to mislead him.  But, instead of being concerned about this intentional perjury and fraud in his court, he stated at one point “I believe you” to the Prosecutor.  He decided that he would rather deny me my liberty than acknowledge that the Prosecutor, his colleague, Ms. Menzer, was a liar and had committed multiple and obvious perjuries.

This was the beginning of a corrupt legal process that most of the legal professionals associated with my case say was not at all unusual other than for it to be happening in such a high profile case.  They said that they often experienced prosecutorial misconduct and judges who would look the other way, but usually it was not so blatant.

I have been in the Washington DC Corrections system since February 26th, 2005.  Fourteen months away from my normal life activities.  My trial is scheduled for the end of January 2007 and is planned to take at least three months.  So, when the jury ultimately finds me Not Guilty (as I expect), I will have spent two years and two months in jail.

“Innocent until proven guilty” is just a fantasy in high school civics classes.  I am being severely punished right now and also have been prevented from effectively preparing in my defense.  The effects of this pre-trial incarceration on my present and future life are immense.

PERSONAL LIFE

My “personal” life is gone.  I cannot see my family and friends and associates (except for extremely limited visiting times).  I cannot take care of my obligations to my aging parents and other family members.  I can not attend family events like graduations, weddings and holiday gatherings.  I can not even make a private phone call.  All my calls and visits are recorded.  The conditions of my incarceration are designed to destroy the connections with my family and friends.

This is not Justice.

PROFESSIONAL LIFE

At the time of my indictment I was the President of a company that I founded.  If I had been released prior to trial, I could have arranged an orderly transition of management.  I was forced to resign immediately, my salary which was supporting me was, of course, cut off and my associates in that company were forced to take emergency actions to secure the company’s future.

My other duties as the senior manager of the Smaller World Foundation were also impossible to carry out while in jail.  I was in the final stages of refinancing a company in the United Kingdom.  This company had substantial assets but needed some operating capital.  The deal was almost done but fell through after the bank officials found I was in jail.  Twenty-four people lost their jobs when the company went out of business a few months later.

I have not been able, through donations of time and funds, to continue to support a number of not-for-profit organizations.  A few days after my indictment, I was supposed to donate my time to assist a well-known Washington research institution to redesign their telecom system to take advantage of the convergence of the telecom industry and voice over internet technology (VOIP).  I, of course, was not able to keep this commitment.

The prosecutors and investigators have intimidated and threatened many of my business associates whenever they did not get the answers they wanted to their enquiries.  They have even knowingly suborned perjury in front of a Federal Grand Jury in their heavy handed investigative efforts.  They are trying to improve a losing case which lacks any evidence of wrongdoing on my part.

In spite of six years of investigation into the last 15 years of my professional life they have not uncovered any financial improprieties, financial scandal or other improper actions related to their alleged tax fraud.  After wasting six years their careers are now on the line, but they have not been able to discover damaging information or testimony to secure their case against me.

These heavy handed, thug like tactics are not Justice.

CIVIL LEGAL MATTERS

Shortly after my incarceration a legal matter that was largely settled was brought back up.  Since I was in a weak position a weak case could now possibly prevail.  The Prosecution improperly and illegally provided confidential information to help this civil party tie up funds belonging to me and other organizations which I have been associated with.

This case has been brought before a Federal Judge in the same courthouse as my criminal case is to be heard.  The prejudice against me is so great that the Judge in this case refused to allow me additional time of a few weeks to replace the documents and exhibits which I had laboriously assembled after these files were taken from me by the prison authorities.  This Judge actually told me in open court that I should have prepared in some way for this eventuality (having my entire case file taken away a few days prior to my hearing).  He refused to give me any time to replace the files and proceeded with the hearing.  It is not a surprise that in this matter where I could not ever participate that the other side prevailed.

CRIMINAL CASE

Defending myself against the criminal charge of tax fraud is my highest priority.  The charges made by the Prosecutors in this case are serious.  They are also completely untrue and unsupported by evidence.  I am confident that if the facts are presented to a jury I will be completely exonerated.  The problem is I can not effectively assist my legal counsel in a complicated case involving hundreds of thousands of paper and computer documents and which spans the last fifteen years of my busy professional life while locked up in jail.

The Prosecution knows that I was actively prepared to defend myself against these charges.  I have been working with and taking the advice of legal counsel since I learned about the investigation in March of 2002.  The prosecution has not only put me in jail, they have communicated with the jail administration and taken other steps to make sure that I am being held under the worst possible conditions in “the Hole” (Isolation Cell) of the old DC Jail.

My legal counsel has suggested that the prosecution may be simply trying to compensate for their weak case and attempting to increase the odds of their success at trial.  They know as I do that I can not effectively assist my counsel to prepare for a complicated case involving thousands of documents, the complicated Internal Revenue Service Regulations and events which happened many years ago without being out and free to access my files and computers.

This is not Justice.

PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH

The prosecution has arranged for me to be moved from the extremely uncomfortable and restricted “General Population” to “the Hole” in the old DC Jail.  This means that I remain in a small room 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  Two or three times a week I get to go a few meters down the hall for a quick shower.  A few times a week I am allowed to use the phone for a few minutes (if the phone is working).  I have been in “the Hole” now going on seven months.  This is in violation of the DC Department of Corrections Federal Standards and Human Rights.  It is torture seemingly without purpose.

I am doing my best to retain my physical and mental health under impossible conditions.  The lack of exercise, human interaction, sleep deprivation (the lights are always on in the hallways and the other inmates are seldom quiet in nearby rooms), the non-responsive or poor medical care, poor food, lack of vitamins and an overall abusive environment (surrounded by violent offenders and crazy people) add up to a nightmare experience which makes it difficult to maintain focus on my priorities.

This is a crime and a serious injustice.

CONCLUSION

"Innocent until Proven Guilty" is supposed to be one of the basic tenets of the United States Criminal Justice System.  Like many basic rights, this is no longer respected.  It appears that any time a Prosecutor wants to they can override the intentions of the 1984 Bail Bond Reform Act and put someone in prison even if they have not taken a single action to justify incarceration.  Violent offenders (murderers, rapists, armed robbers) are out on the street waiting for their trials while I am held.

Falsus en Parte et falsus en omnia (Latin: False in one thing, false in everything) is a common premise in the courtroom.   Once an individual lies to the court or makes claims which do not seem to have a basis in fact, the Judge will often discount or ignore future claims from this individual.

Apparently the U.S. Prosecutors are immune to this practice.  No matter how many times they lie or how transparently bold their unsupported claims judges continue to “believe” them.  A defendant or witness is not so lucky.  This has been demonstrated by the many high profile prosecutions for perjury (often when the investigation fails to reveal any other crime).

Truth and Justice should not be the victims of a dishonest vicious and ambitious prosecutor or their protectors in order to justify six years of unsuccessful investigation.

I will continue to do my best to work with my lawyers to prepare for my trial.   I know I did not commit the crime of tax fraud or any other criminal act.  For over 25 years, I have tried to operate honest, well run businesses which benefited their shareholders, employees, customers and surrounding communities.  I hope that the U.S. Justice System will not continue to deny me justice and liberty.

If I am allowed to have this case heard by a jury in an unbiased court, I am confident I will be completely exonerated.  I hope that I will not be prevented from obtaining a fair trial by the terrible conditions I am under.

Once I am exonerated I can try to get my personal and professional life back.  That would be a small amount of Justice.

[WEBMASTER'S NOTE: All articles submitted by Walt Anderson are handwritten by him, and either mailed to me directly, or transcribed by a volunteer third party, then e-mailed to me for placement in a web template. These articles are only spell-checked and style-edited. They are never edited for content - these are Walt's own words, and are respected as such.]

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