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Judi Lynn

(160,219 posts)
Tue Oct 27, 2015, 05:42 PM Oct 2015

'Yes, I Lied': Vindicating Villagers, Star Chevron Witness Busted for Perjury

Source: Common Dreams

'Yes, I Lied': Vindicating Villagers, Star Chevron Witness Busted for Perjury

Published on Tuesday, October 27, 2015
byCommon Dreams

'Chevron has taken the people of Ecuador and the U.S. court system on a ride, full of lies, deliberate delay, and obstruction of justice,' says Amazon Watch

by Deirdre Fulton, staff writer


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"This is vindication for the Ecuadorians...and we now hope Chevron will finally do the right thing and clean up their toxic mess." (Photo: Amazon Watch/Facebook)
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In what is being called "a dramatic turn" in a protracted legal battle, documents publicized Monday reveal that the star witness in a case pitting rainforest villagers against a multinational oil giant has admitted to lying under oath in an effort to help Chevron avoid paying a $9.5 billion judgment for deliberate pollution of the Ecuadorian Amazon.

"Yes sir, I lied there...I wasn't being truthful," ex-judge Alberto Guerra reportedly told an international arbitration tribunal earlier this year when asked about his claim that the plaintiffs' legal team offered him a $300,000 bribe to ghostwrite the ruling in their favor.

Guerra's claim, VICE News explains, provided the underpinnings for New York federal judge Lewis Kaplan's 2014 ruling that the $9.5 billion verdict was obtained by way of fraud and coercion—a victory for Chevron, which had refused to abide by the judgement.

In fact, transcripts (pdf) of the 2014 tribunal proceedings made public on Monday—obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request by Courthouse News with support from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press—shine new light on the extent of Chevron's payments to Guerra for his false testimony, some $12,000 per month plus other perks which included a car, healthcare, and relocating him and his family to the United States.

Read more: http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/10/27/yes-i-lied-vindicating-villagers-star-chevron-witness-busted-perjury.

9 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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'Yes, I Lied': Vindicating Villagers, Star Chevron Witness Busted for Perjury (Original Post) Judi Lynn Oct 2015 OP
So how many chevron execs are going to jail for bribing a judge? Dont call me Shirley Oct 2015 #1
Zero Downwinder Oct 2015 #3
Because Exceptional(ism) chapdrum Oct 2015 #4
k&r nt bananas Oct 2015 #2
Interesting. DirkGently Oct 2015 #5
And the decision should sting any politician relying on the "goodness" of corporations. erronis Oct 2015 #6
They'll probably just deduct it from their taxes. Duppers Oct 2015 #7
Bombshell: Documents Show Witness Lied to Get Chevron out of Billions in Fines Judi Lynn Oct 2015 #8
Chevron's Star Witness In $9.5 Billion Corporate Sovereignty Case Admits He Lied Judi Lynn Nov 2015 #9

erronis

(14,955 posts)
6. And the decision should sting any politician relying on the "goodness" of corporations.
Tue Oct 27, 2015, 08:46 PM
Oct 2015

But may not. Money has already been transferred, thank you.

Judi Lynn

(160,219 posts)
8. Bombshell: Documents Show Witness Lied to Get Chevron out of Billions in Fines
Wed Oct 28, 2015, 09:29 PM
Oct 2015

Bombshell: Documents Show Witness Lied to Get Chevron out of Billions in Fines

Derrick Broze
October 28, 2015

(ANTIMEDIA) A witness who was instrumental in overturning a $9.5 billion (USD) environmental fine levied against Chevron in Ecuador has admitted to lying, according to newly released transcripts.

Nearly two years ago, Alberto Guerra testified in a New York federal court that he bribed judge Nicolas Zambrano to write the multibillion dollar judgement against Chevron for oil damage in the Amazon jungle in Ecuador. Chevron, formerly Texaco, has had oil operations in the Ecuadorian Amazon since the early 1960s.

The oil giant stands accused of deliberately dumping billions of gallons of toxic wastewater into rivers and streams, spilling millions of gallons of crude oil, and abandoning waste in hundreds of open-air pits throughout the region. Ecuador’s highest court previously found the company was liable for $9.5 billion in damages.

However, Chevron appealed the decision in an American court under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, and in March 2014, New York federal Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled the settlement came as the result of fraud and coercion. Kaplan stated the lawyer representing Ecuador, Steven Donzinger, was guilty of mail fraud, engaged in coercion, and paid bribes in order to win judgment against Chevron. The ruling was largely based on the testimony of Alberto Guerra two years ago.

More:
http://theantimedia.org/bombshell-documents-show-witness-lied-to-get-chevron-out-of-billions-in-fines/

Judi Lynn

(160,219 posts)
9. Chevron's Star Witness In $9.5 Billion Corporate Sovereignty Case Admits He Lied
Wed Nov 4, 2015, 05:44 AM
Nov 2015

Chevron's Star Witness In $9.5 Billion Corporate Sovereignty Case Admits He Lied

from the well,-that's-awkward dept

One of Techdirt's earliest posts on corporate sovereignty was back in October 2013, when we wrote about the incredible case of Chevron. It used the investor-state dispute settlement mechanism to suspend the enforcement of a historic $18 billion judgment against the oil corporation made by Ecuador's courts because of the company's responsibility for mass contamination of the Amazonian rain forest. Given the huge sums involved, it's no surprise that things didn't end there. As the site Common Dreams reports, in 2013:


Ecuador's National Court of Justice upheld the verdict but cut the initial mandated payment from $18 billion to $9.5 billion.

Chevron has repeatedly refused to pay the $9.5 billion ordered by Ecuadorian courts and even took the step of removing most of its assets from Ecuador in an apparent effort to avoid paying.

Chevron not only refused to pay, but asked a judge in New York to invalidate the claim. And that's precisely what happened in 2014, as Vice News explains:

California-based oil giant Chevron hailed a sweeping victory in a two-decade long legal battle in the Ecuadorian Amazon. A New York federal judge, Lewis Kaplan, ruled that a $9.5 billion Lago Agrio judgment leveled against the company by the small Andean country's highest court, was obtained by way of fraud and coercion.
More:
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20151103/09480232704/chevrons-star-witness-95-billion-corporate-sovereignty-case-admits-he-lied.shtml
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