The four arrested Megaupload defendants, Kim Dotcom (also known as Kim Schmitz and Kim Tim Jim Vestor),Finn Batato, Mathias Ortmann, and Bram van der Kolk, appeared in a New Zealand court yesterday and were detained pending a bond application set for Monday. The U.S. is seeking extradition on the indictment returned in the Eastern District of Virginia, and will oppose bond.

Kim DotCom says they have nothing to hide.

We don't mind if there is press coverage,' Dotcom said to Judge David McNaughton following an application by media to film the court appearance. 'We have nothing to hide.'

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John Edwards has a life-threatening heart condition for which he will undergo surgery next month. His trial has been postponed until at least March 26.

The judge received information from two cardiologists who said "that a trial would "reduce the chance for success." In granting Edwards' request for a continuance, the judge stated there were "real and serious health issues."

Joran Van der Sloot pleaded guilty today to Murder with Aggravated Circumstances and Simple Theft. He's now eligible for up to 10 years off the requested 30 year sentence, but the decision rests with the three judge panel. Larger photo here.

Summary: Joran offered his sincere confession. The trial was concluded and the case moved to "Anticipated Conclusion." (See here for explanation.)

Joran's attorney gave his sentencing statement asking for a lesser sentence since he pleaded guilty under the anticipated conclusion law. In mitigation, he said Joran was only 21 at the time of the crime, had PTSD from being wrongfully accused and hounded by the media for five years over the disappearance of Natalie Holloway and the recent death of his father.

My live blog with a rough transcript of the court hearing is below: [More....]

Joran Van der Sloot's attorney expects he will plead guilty today to the charges of murder with aggravated circumstances (homicidio calificado)and simple theft (hurto simple), for which the prosecution has asked for 30 years.

So far, we are headed in that direction (of a guilty plea), nothing special has changed," said Jimenez, who said he would have a final meeting with the accused before the hearing Wednesday. "You don’t have to be very smart to know where it’s going," he said.

[More...]

Update: The DEA has released a statement defending the money laundering stings.

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The New York Times details the extradition papers of Harold Mauricio Poveda-Ortega, presumably in an effort to show another example of how the DEA is involved in money laundering stings. So what else is new? If you want more details, check out the 15 page magazine article of the magazine that obtained the documents (it's in Spanish.)

What the Times doesn't mention is that Harold Mauricio Poveda-Ortega is charged in federal court with engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise under 21 USC 848, the "kingpin" statute, and facing a potential life sentence when he gets here. [More...]

Joran Van der Sloot didn't plead guilty today. He had intended to plead guilty, making a "sincere confession" which would allow the judge, if he accepted it, to sentence him to 1/3 below the minimum penalty for "qualified murder". He's also charged with simple theft/robbery, which carries 3 years. From my earlier post on the Peruvian statutes available here (using Google translator):

Article 161. Effect of sincere confession confession .- If, additionally, is sincere and spontaneous....the court, specifying reasons make it necessary, may reduce the penalty to prudently in a third below the legal minimum.

But after the prosecutor laid out the facts, there were some Joran disagreed with, so he asked for more time to consider his plea. The judge postponed proceedings until Wednesday, Jan. 12. [More....]

Former Mexican Cartel leader Benjamin Arellano Felix pleaded guilty Wednesday in San Diego. Imprisoned in Mexico since 2002, he was indicted in 2003 and extradited to San Diego in 2011. He's now 58 years old.

The agreed upon charges and plea agreement are here. There is no reference to cooperation, other a requirement he assist the Government with the forfeiture of his assets.

Arellano pleaded guilty to racketeering (RICO) which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years and one count of money laundering conspiracy which carries a maximum of 5 years. He agreed to a forfeiture of $100 million. The Government will ask the terms be imposed consecutively, for a 25 year total. His guidelines call for a life sentence, but the judge cannot by law impose more than the statutory maximum of 25 years. Under the agreement, Arellano cannot ask for a guideline variance or departure, so in essence, he's agreed to the 20 or 25 year sentence. (The agreement does not prevent him from asking that the sentences run concurrent, for a total of 20 years.)

His conditions of confinement at MCC San Diego are abysmal. He was appealing the denial of a motion to modify them, but agreed to dismiss the appeal as part of his plea deal. [More...]

It's that time of year when everyone is doing best of and worst of lists for 2011. Since I haven't found any on the year's most interesting criminal cases and issues that match what I found most interesting, I've prepared my own lists for TalkLeft. (Heads-up: "Most Interesting" is not the same as "Most Important". I will leave "Most Important" lists to others.)

First the court cases, then the cases that didn't make it to court, and then the top issues of the year. (With a few more categories thrown.)

The number one most interesting case of the year is easy: Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Full lists below: [More...]

AntiSec members of Anonymous have struck again, this time hitting the credit card database of a law enforcement and military supply store, Special Forces.com. They say they obtained 14,000 email passwords and 8,000 credit card records fron the site months ago. From #AntiSec's press release on Pastebin, which I'm not linking to because it contains some data (although the release is readily available on Twitter, just search #AntiSec or #lulzxmas or #Anonymous.)

[T]he online piggie supply store SpecialForces.com. Their customer base is comprised primarily of military and law enforcement affiliated individuals, who have for too long enjoyed purchasing tactical combat equipment from their slick and “professional” looking website. What’s that, officer? You get a kick out of pepper-spraying peaceful protesters in public parks? You like to recreationally taser kids? You have a fetish for putting people in plastic zip ties?

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The Mexican Army announced tonight it has captured the chief security guard for Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

The army will name and "present" him to the media tomorrow. He was captured in Culiacan.

The army said the man they had arrested also ran cartel activities in Durango and southern Chihuahua state, and was responsible for carrying out secret burials of cartel victims, kidnapping, extortion and arson. They did not say if the arrest moved the military closer to capturing Guzman, an arrest that would be seen as a major victory for the government of President Felipe Calderon.

Update: The person captured is Felipe Cabrera Sarabia. It was not, as I thought, Manuel Alejandro Aponte Gomez, aka "el Bravo." (The Mexico Attorney General's office (PGR) put out a $2 million reward for Aponte Gomez 3 months ago, referring to him as "an ex-captain of the Mexican army who defected to become the head of security "El Chapo" Guzman." (Reward notice here, Google Translation here.)

At Cameron Douglas' sentencing yesterday for using drugs while in prison, the judge hammered him with a 54 month sentence, consecutive to the 5 year sentence he is already serving for a drug conviction.

“I don’t believe that I have had another case ever...of a defendant who has so recklessly, and flagrantly, and wantonly and criminally acted in as destructive and manipulative a fashion,”

After reading all the recent pleadings on PACER, the judge's 54 month sentence is not all that surprising. It's not just about a judge sentencing a relapsing drug-addicted inmate to a lot of time. The full story, as told by the pleadings of both sides and two other involved defendants, is below. Read it and decide whether you think the sentence was appropriate: [More...]

After three days of bureaucratic wrangling, including being prevented at the airport from boarding a flight, Lori Berenson arrived in Newark, NJ this morning on a flight from Peru.

It is Lori's first time home since her arrest in 1995. She must return to Peru to finish her parole on January 11. Here's a timeline of events in her case.