From the Western Standard…
The mandarin, the mogul and the missing millions
Kevin Steel – June 19, 2006=
He went from the legislature to a high life of private jets and caviar parties. They feted him as a brilliant lawyer and philanthropist. Only when the cops came looking for millions in laundered, stolen cash, did Edmonton’s elite discover who Michael Ritter really was.
“Everyone was hiding their true identities.” When Michael Ritter wrote those words to Larry Osaki in August 2002, he knew what he was talking about. Ritter was a man who knew all about how to hide a lot of things, which is why Osaki had tracked him down in the first place. Osaki needed someone who knew how to get a lot of money out of the U.S., and out of the reach of Securities and Exchange Commission authorities who were closing in on his illegal pyramid scheme. Ritter was going to help him relocate his Ponzi scheme somewhere where they couldn’t reach it. Osaki also wanted Ritter to ensure that all the foreign employees knew enough to keep quiet in case they were ever subpoenaed by police, to plead the fifth if they had to. “Will do, Larry,” assured Ritter in an e-mail, adding that it wasn’t likely that would happen anyway, since all the employees would be operating under fake names: “Everyone was hiding their true identities.”
Read the rest here…
As well, here is the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta document (United States of America v. Ritter, 2006 ABQB 398) documenting the Crown’s request to Honourable Madam Justice J.B. Veit that Ritter’s lawyer, Sid Terrabain, be removed as his counsel.
Click here for the complete Michael Ritter Scandal Chronology…
