Attorney General

FBI, IRS, DEA and SF Prosecutors Shut Down Multi-billion-dollar ‘Hydra’ Cryptocurrency in Darknet

In a stunning announcement this week, Attorney General Merrick Garland revealed that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Francisco is leading the prosecution of a Russia-based mastermind accused of running Hydra, the world’s largest and longest-running illegal 'darknet' crptocurrency market, which federal agencies say they have put out of business.

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Mayor Reed Files Lawsuit over Wording of State Pension Reform Initiative

Backers of Mayor Chuck Reed’s state pension reform initiative filed a lawsuit this morning to change what they call inaccurate ballot language published by the office of Attorney General Kamala Harris. The only recourse to change a ballot summary in California is in court. And since all signature-gathering to place the measure on the 2014 ballot will stop until the case is resolved, it likely won’t make it to voters for another two years.

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Attorney General Clears DA Jeff Rosen of Any Illegal Conduct in Granting Admin Leave

The office of Attorney General Kamala Harris has informed the county that Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen broke no laws when giving some of his top deputies extra admin leave to make up for lost wages. In a letter to County Executive Jeff Smith, who asked the AG to start a civil investigation in April, Alicia Fowler, a senior assistant attorney general in the Employment and Administrative Mandate division, wrote: “Based on all the information that the county provided to us, including extensive documentation and in-person interviews, we have concluded that there has been no violation of law.”

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POA Moves Forward with Measure B Lawsuit

San Jose’s police union filed a lawsuit challenging the city’s authority to impose pension reform. The complaint was filed Monday, a little more than a week after Attorney General Kamala Harris agreed to let the Police Officers Association file for a judicial review.

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War of the Jeffs: District Attorney, County Executive Spar over Pay Bumps

Two years ago, District Attorney Jeff Rosen cleverly cushioned the effects of county-mandated pay cuts for some of his senior prosecutors through an accounting loophole. After his top supervisors were disproportionately affected by the cuts, he started giving them “admin leave” so they could collect vacation time for a payout down the road to replace lost wages. The slick move, legal under county policies, got the attention of County Executive Jeff Smith, who’s now asking Attorney General Kamala Harris to investigate. The question is: What’s really happening here?

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