SEIU Email: "There's a reporter floating around the building trying to write a negative story on President Freeman..."

Ever wonder what it was like inside SEIU’s offices during the final days before the Los Angeles Times broke open the massive corruption scandal involving Tyrone Freeman, Rickman Jackson and other top SEIU officials?

Earlier, Tasty posted an internal email that showed how SEIU’s top DC officials were actively involved in trying to fend off a reporter’s investigation.

Here’s another e-mail from inside SEIU’s offices.

In the email, an SEIU official carefully informs union staffers that anything they say to a reporter will be visible to the whole world… including their purple bosses!

Just an FYI, there’s a reporter floating around the building trying to write a negative story on President Freeman. Be careful on what you say and ask first who they are … you don't want to be quoted in the LA Times.

   Email from SEIU Official to Staffers: Beware of Reporter's Questions about President Tyrone Freeman. J...

SEIU's Tyrone Freeman Spends New Years in Federal Prison

Yankton Federal Prison Camp, South Dakota

SEIU’s Tyrone Freeman rang in the New Year in a federal prison in Yankton, South Dakota, according to court records (see below).

In case you’re not familiar with Yankton, it’s a town of 14,000 people where the temperature was a balmy -5 degrees farenheit on New Years Day. 

Here’s what one writer says about the prison, which houses 825 male inmates: "The winters are tough, and the nearest city of any size is at least an hour away.”

Yankton Prison in the springtime

One of Freeman's fellow inmates is Shawn Merriman. He’s serving 12 years for masterminding a Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors of $20 million between 1995 and 2009. Merriman, who was featured on a TV program "American Greed," is scheduled to be released in 2020.

While Freeman cools his heels in Yankton, a secret source continues to fund Freeman's multi-million-dollar legal bills.

Court records indicate that Mayer Brown LLP -- a global law firm that defended him in his criminal trial -- has parachuted two new attorneys into the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, where they're trying to appeal Freeman's 33-month prison sentence.

Dan Himmelfarb, Mayer Brown LLP

Observers speculate that SEIU is secretly paying Freeman's giant bills as part of a deal to keep him from ratting out his purple co-conspirators such as Andy Stern, Eliseo Medina, Mary Kay Henry and Dave Regan.

One of Freeman's new attorneys is Dan Himmelfarb, a partner in Mayer Brown's DC offices. Himmelfarb specializes in appeals and has “filed more than 200 merits and petition-stage briefs in the US Supreme Court and has argued… 12 cases in the US Supreme Court...,” according to the firm's website. In other words, this guy charges beaucoup bucks -- likely more than $2,000 an hour.

Who's paying the massive bills??

   Court document verfiying that SEIU's Tyrone Freeman has surrendered himself to Yankton Federal Prison...

Tyrone Freeman Appeals His Jail Term and Insiders Ask: “Is SEIU Footing the Bill?"

Is Kelly Kramer, one of Freeman's attorneys, smiling for Purple Dollars?

According to a recent court filing (see below), Tyrone Freeman’s million-dollar attorneys at Mayer Brown have appealed the 33-month jail term handed down by a federal judge in Los Angeles earlier this month.

The appeal, filed with the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, will cost beaucoup bucks… and once again has raised a burning and unresolved question:

Who’s paying Freeman's multi-million dollar legal bills?

One thing’s for certain: it ain’t Freeman. 

After all, when Freeman's wife appeared in court earlier this year during Freeman's criminal trial, she was assigned a Public Defender because she couldn’t afford a private attorney to represent her.

One source who’s carefully watched the trial believes that SEIU is undoubtedly paying Freeman's attorneys. The source says SEIU may be funneling the payments through other organizations as well as a series of law firms in an effort to hide the payments.

Here’s the court document on Freeman’s appeal:

   Records of Tyrone Freeman's Appeal of 33-Month Jail Term for SEIU Corruption Scandal, US Court of Appeals f...

Court Document Spells Out Details of Judge's Criminal Sentence against SEIU's Tyrone Freeman

Here’s a copy of the actual criminal sentence that a federal judge handed down against SEIU’s Tyrone Freeman on October 7.

The judge’s order starts this way…

the Court adjudged the defendant guilty as charged and convicted and ordered that:

Pursuant to the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, it is the judgment of the Court that the defendant is hereby committed to the custody of the Bureau of Prisons to be imprisoned for a term of…

The judge then spells out Freeman’s 33-month jail term, fines, probation, etc... including this provision:

The defendant shall not be employed by, affiliated with, own or control, or otherwise participate, directly or indirectly, in the conduct of the affairs of any labor union

The judge's sentence states:

It is further ordered that the defendant surrender himself to the institution designated by the Bureau of Prisons on or before 12 noon, on December 9, 2013…

The Court recommends defendant be incarcerated, consistent with security and housing concerns within the Bureau of Prisons at Lompoc

Here are two documents issued by the federal judge in Los Angeles.

   Federal Judge's Criminal Sentence against SEIU's Tyrone Freeman 10-7-2013 by tastysternburger

   Court Minutes from a Federal Judge's Sentencing of SEIU's Tyrone Freeman to jail for stealing from healthca...