Texas sov tries to arrange hit on Judge McBryde

[Demosthenes]

Elderly tax protester solicited judge's murder, DA says

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Oct 01, 2012
By: Alice Wolke

FORT WORTH, Texas -
A 71-year-old North Texas inmate is accused of trying to hire a hit man to kill a federal judge on the first day of his tax trial.

The U.S. Attorney's office says Phillip Monroe Ballard, now residing in the Federal Corrections Institution in Fort Worth, asked another inmate to kill U.S. District Judge John McBryde last month.

Read more: http://www.myfoxdfw.com/story/19686868/ ... z2856D6Bt1

[Demosthenes]

http://ftpcontent.worldnow.com/kdfw/pdf ... plaint.pdf

[Famspear]

Here's another report:

http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/2012/10 ... udge.html/

According to this story, he also falsely held himself out to be a lawyer. The Texas law is as follows:

Sec. 38.122. FALSELY HOLDING ONESELF OUT AS A LAWYER. (a) A person commits an offense if, with intent to obtain an economic benefit for himself or herself, the person holds himself or herself out as a lawyer, unless he or she is currently licensed to practice law in this state, another state, or a foreign country and is in good standing with the State Bar of Texas and the state bar or licensing authority of any and all other states and foreign countries where licensed.

(b) An offense under Subsection (a) of this section is a felony of the third degree.....

--from Texas Penal Code sec. 38.122.

A third degree felony is punishable by 2 to 10 years imprisonment in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Ann individual adjudged guilty of a felony of the third degree may also be punished by a fine of up $10,000 in addition to the prison time. See Texas Penal Code sec. 12.34.

[Judge Roy Bean]

This buffoon has been thumbing his nose at the law for decades.

Apparently the lack of actual enforcement only emboldened him.

[ArthurWankspittle]

I presume this character has gone from worrying that he'd get 20 years to guaranteeing he'd get at least 20 years.

[Famspear]

Ballard had been arrested in July in Nevada, presumably to face the tax charges in Texas. At a hearing in Federal District Court in Nevada on July 6, 2012, he apparently claimed that his "true name" was "Jeffrey Arthur Roye," apparently in an attempt to prove he was not the person the government alleged he was. In U.S. District Court in Las Vegas, Nevada, this was case no. 2:12-mj-00449-VCF-1 (United States v. Ballard).

By July 12, he was no longer contesting the issue of who he really was.

[Cpt Banjo]

An Arlington man in federal custody, accused of filing false tax returns, was charged Monday with trying to hire a hit man to kill U.S. District Judge John McBryde, according to authorities.

Phillip Monroe Ballard, 71, had been scheduled to go on trial Monday on tax charges.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/10/01 ... rylink=cpy

According to other news reports:

It’s not Ballard’s first run-in with the government, according to federal court records.

In 1987 he was convicted of a felony charge of forcible rescue of seized property. In that case, Ballard gave his Mercedes to a friend as a gift after learning about a federal tax lien against him.

When federal officials tried to seize the car, Ballard got into it and drove away. The Mercedes was never found.

http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/2012/10 ... udge.html/

[Famspear]

Another thread on this guy:

viewtopic.php?f=37&p=147905#p147905

[wserra]

Threads merged.

[Famspear]

For some reason, the government asked that the case against Phillip Monroe Ballard for the alleged murder solicitation be dropped without prejudice, and the Court did dismiss that case.

On the tax charges, Ballard is set to go on trial on May 20, 2013. This is case number 4:11-cr-00038-Y in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas (Fort Worth Division). Judge McBryde was taken off the case and Judge Terry Means has been added.

[Famspear]

Ballard is charged with one count of corruptly attempting to obstruct the administration of the internal revenue laws under 26 USC 7212(a). He faces up to three years and a $5,000 fine if convicted.

He is charged with six counts of aiding or assisting in the preparation and presentation of false and fraudulent tax returns under 26 USC 7206(2). On each charge, he faces up to three years in prison and a $100,000 fine.

[Famspear]

Ballard's trial has been re-set to January 13, 2014.

[Cpt Banjo]

A 72-year-old Fort Worth man facing tax violation charges last year was convicted on Wednesday of attempting to hire a hit man for $100,000 to kill a federal judge who was going to hear the case, federal officials said.

Phillip Monroe Ballard tried to hire a hit man to kill U.S. District Judge John McBryde in September 2012 because he feared the judge would hand down a harsh sentence against him, officials said.

A federal jury convicted Ballard of the charge after less than an hour of deliberation.

Ballard will be sentenced on March 17. He faces a maximum of 20 years in a federal prison and a $250,000 fine. He is currently in federal custody.

A federal inmate and an FBI agent posing as the hit man thwarted the plot in September 2012, federal officials said in a news release.

At that time, Ballard was scheduled to go on trial on charges of false tax returns and corrupt interference with Internal Revenue Service laws.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/12/12 ... rylink=cpy[/quote]

[Cpt Banjo]

Mr. Ballard was sentenced to 20 years in Club Fed yesterday.

http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/03/17 ... to-20.html

[Famspear]

For future reference: The 20 year sentence handed down on March 17, 2014 on the soliciation to commit murder conviction (18 USC section 373) was in case number 4:13-cr-00067, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

Mr. Ballard is still awaiting trial on tax-related charges, set for April 14, 2014, in case number 4:11-cr-00038, in the same court. One count of corrupt interference with the internal revenue laws under 26 USC section 7212(a) and six counts of aiding and assisting in preparation of false and fraudulent tax returns under 26 USC section 7206(2).

[Lambkin]

The full press release

http://www.justice.gov/usao/txs/1News/R ... print.html

DALLAS, Texas - Phillip Monroe Ballard, 72, of Fort Worth, has been ordered to federal prison for 20 years following his conviction in the attempted murder for hire of a federal judge in Texas, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson of the Southern District of Texas. Ballard was convicted by a federal jury Dec. 11, 2013, after approximately two days of trial and less than an hour of deliberation.

U.S. District Judge Donald E. Walter from the Western District of Louisiana presided over the trial and sentencing today. At the hearing, additional evidence was presented including evidence that Ballard was originally indicted on tax charges and was known to use aliases in order to perpetrate his fraudulent tax schemes. Judge Walter ordered Ballard to serve a total of 240 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release.

According to evidence presented at trial, from on or about Sept. 9, 2012 and continuing through Sep. 27, 2012, Ballard solicited the murder for hire of a U.S. District Judge in the Northern District of Texas. The jury heard from four government witnesses, one of whom was an informant who testified he had developed a friendship with Ballard as they both were in custody on unrelated criminal matters. He stated that Ballard had asked him if he would help him arrange the shooting death of the judge, who was presiding over his federal tax case. They eventually negotiated a price of $100,000.

The informant reported the incident to authorities and the plot was foiled before any harm came to the judge.

Ballard’s defense claimed he never had any actual intent to kill the judge. The jury disagreed and convicted him as charged.

Ballard will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The case was investigated by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark McIntyre and Craig Feazel from the Southern District of Texas are prosecuting the case.

[notorial dissent]

Owwitch, a two day trial and it only took four hours to convict. Doesn’t sound like he either put on much of a defense, or else the(more likely) the gov’t got him dead bang to rights. Either way, owwitch. Somehow, after a 20 year sentence, particularly at his advanced age, I think the three years supervised is kind of gilding the lily, always assuming he’ll live that long, and I’m not.

[AndyK]

20 years of incarceration assumes that (if he's found guilty of the other pending charges) any additional sentences will be concurrent.

If not, he will die in prison.

[notorial dissent]

I think at his age and level of stupid, it is a given anyway.

[Famspear]

The government has requested, and has obtained, a Court order dropping the tax charges against Ballard.

See:

Order Granting Motion to Dismiss Indictment, April 10, 2014, entry 68, United States v. Ballard, case no. 4:11-cr-00038, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

I guess that's one way to get tax charges against you dropped: Engage in a plot to kill the judge who is scheduled to hear your case, get caught, tried and convicted for the plot to kill the judge, and get sent to federal prison for so many years that that the government loses interest in prosecuting you for the tax charges.



EDIT: Seventy-three year old Phillip M. Ballard is inmate # 16229-077 at the Federal Correctional Institution at Fort Worth, Texas. No projected release date has yet been announced.