Bilecki Exonerates Army SSG After Multi-Year Battle over BAH Fraud Charges
May 17, 2013
OUTCOME: Result: All Charges Dismissed Days Prior to Trial. No Federal Conviction. Retained at Separation Board
This was an extremely complex BAH fraud case that involved years of investigation, over a half dozen trips to Korea, and depositions in Atlanta, Georgia and Pensacola and Tampa, Florida. After a hard-f...ought battle between Tim Bilecki, a court martial defense attorney in Korea, and the prosecution, the government dismissed all charges and specifications prior to trial.
Unhappy with the government’s inability to obtain a conviction in a BAH fraud case that had taken on notoriety in Korea, the Command attempted to separate Mr. Bilecki’s client through an Administrative Separation Board for the same charges they dismissed prior to trial.
Bilecki remained relentless in his dedication to the client and traveled back to Korea, something he had done over a half dozen times prior in this case, and represented the Soldier at the Administrative Separation Board. At the conclusion of the Board, which was more like a trial, the Board members refused to separate the Soldier and retained him in the Army. Mr. Bilecki was finally able to exonerate his client after a multi-year battle with the government.
Military law
Army SSG Gets with a Wife of Abusive Soldier, Bilecki Fights Rape Charges
May 03, 2013
OUTCOME: At the close of the case, the jury fully acquitted the Staff Sergeant, finding him not guilty of all charges and specifications.
An Army Staff Sergeant was charged with sexual assault for allegedly forcing his penis into the mouth of a married dependent of another Soldier. The Sergeant chose to invoke his rights to counsel and r...etained the legal services of Tim Bilecki, an Article 120 UCMJ sexual assault lawyer in Hawaii. After an extensive investigation by Bilecki and his investigator, it became apparent this was yet another case of a false allegation of sexual assault that should not be prosecuted.
This case began when the Sergeant was drinking with a woman, and the two of them ended up drinking at the house of the alleged victim, who was a friend of the woman with the Sergeant. While drinking at the house, it became apparent that the alleged victim, who was married, was in an abusive relationship with her husband, who was in the house.
Throughout the night, the Staff Sergeant witnessed the alleged victim’s husband (who was also a Soldier, later incarcerated) physically abuse the children in the house and then attempt to punch his wife (the alleged victim) in the face. After witnessing the abusive husband, the Sergeant, his female friend and the alleged victim left the house to continue drinking at the home of the Sergeant’s friend.
The three continued to drink that evening, and multiple times that night, the abusive husband came over to the house and threatened his wife with violence. Each time, the Sergeant intervened. By early morning, all three individuals were fairly intoxicated. The wife of the abusive Soldier started kissing the Sergeant while grabbing his crotch area and performed oral sex on him. After the oral sex, the two fell asleep in the living room.
The next morning, the alleged victim, who had performed oral sex on our client the night before, went home to her husband but did not tell him, probably for a valid reason, that she had fooled around with the Sergeant the night before. The next day, worried that her husband might find out that she was not faithful and fearful that he might physically abuse her if he found out, she made the allegation that she was sexually assaulted.
After the allegation, CID conducted their investigation and determined that the alleged victim’s DNA was found on the inside crotch of the underwear the Staff Sergeant wore that evening. The Staff Sergeant had also made a statement to law enforcement prior to retaining Mr. Bilecki, admitting that the alleged victim performed oral sex on him.
Given the evidence available, Bilecki and his defense team investigated the case, seeking evidence that the oral sex was consensual and that the alleged victim was fabricating the story because she was fearful of her abusive husband.
By utilizing the information the investigator obtained, the defense showed, at trial, that the victim’s allegations were motivated by her fear of her husband and that her story did not match up with the physical evidence in the case or the evidence obtained by the defense investigators.
At the close of the case, the jury fully acquitted the Staff Sergeant, finding him not guilty of all charges and specifications. Interestingly, only days after the verdict, the alleged victim made allegations that her abusive husband also sexually assaulted her. He was later prosecuted and received two years in confinement.
Military law
Army MP Accused of Sexual Assault on Intoxicated Victim, Fully Acquitted
Apr 05, 2013
OUTCOME: The jury found our client not guilty of all charges and specifications.
A Military Police Officer was charged with having sex with a girl who claimed she was too drunk to consent. The MP invoked his rights to counsel and retained Tim Bilecki, a recognized Article 120 UCMJ ...sexual offense lawyer in Hawaii.
Following a house party held by fellow Marines, the MP, a member of a muscle car club on Oahu, ended up hooking up with the car club president’s fiancé.
In this case, the alleged victim was flirting with the MP throughout the night, dancing with him and coming on to him. She was seen toward the end of the night walking up the stairs to one of the bedrooms, and our client was seen following her. Once inside the bedroom, the two made out and had consensual sex. She became alarmed when the MP ejaculated inside of her. She got upset and left the room. Worried that her fiancé, the president of the muscle car club, might find out she cheated on him, she claimed rape. As part of her claim, she alleged that she was so drunk that she passed out, could not consent and could not take any accountability for her actions.
The text messages and phone records uncovered by Bilecki’s investigator told a different story. Even though she claimed to be passed out drunk the night she hooked up with the MP, she made dozens of phone calls and text messages throughout the night, which clearly showed that she was not passed out.
At trial, Mr. Bilecki conducted a hard-nosed cross-examination of the government witnesses and showed the jury that the alleged victim was not drunk but rather had fabricated the sexual assault allegation so that her fiancé would not discover she had cheated on him. The jury found our client not guilty of all charges and specifications.
Military law
Airman Accused of 10K Theft Guilty of Stealing a Shirt, Stays with Air Force
Mar 15, 2013
OUTCOME: At the end of the trial, the Airman was found not guilty of all of the felony charges against him and only found guilty of stealing and conspiracy to steal a polo shirt.
In this case, the government believed an Airman to be the mastermind behind a large-scale larceny ring responsible for the theft of over $10,000 worth of items from the NEX. Unfortunately for the Airma...n, a CCTV showed him switching price tags on items, and he and his fellow Airman were stopped and questioned by NEX security. The Airman wisely invoked his rights to a lawyer and retained Tim Bilecki, a noted court martial defense attorney in Hawaii, but his buddy took a different avenue and provided statements incriminating the Airmen. Those statements led investigators to an extensive investigation into a large-scale conspiracy and larceny operation amounting to over $10,000 of stolen property.
Law enforcement pressured numerous other Airmen involved, who eventually snitched on the defendant. Despite what appeared to be damning video evidence and extensive snitch testimony, Bilecki’s client refused to be an informant and snitch, turned down all deals to plead guilty, and the case went to trial.
Prior to trial, Bilecki had his investigator conduct extensive background investigations into the snitches and learned that several of them had criminal records and also that they sold narcotics and were involved in other criminal conspiracies.
At trial, the powerhouse Bilecki team essentially put on a clinic on how to cross-examine snitches and exposed the government informants as liars whose testimony was bought through immunity and promises of leniency. At the end of the trial, the Airman was found not guilty of all of the felony charges against him and only found guilty of stealing and conspiracy to steal a polo shirt. He received a one-grade reduction, a reprimand and no punitive discharge.
OUTCOME: At the end of the weeklong trial, the young Marine was found not guilty of the sexual assault but guilty of the forcible sodomy that allegedly occurred after the sex.
A Lance Corporal in the Marine Corps was charged with sexual assault and forcible oral sodomy after giving a video confession to NCIS.
Facing an uphill battle, the defense, led by Tim Bilecki, an Ar...ticle 120 UCMJ sexual assault attorney in Hawaii, investigated the case and learned that, on the weekend the alleged sexual assault occurred, the Corporal flew from Hawaii to California and proposed to his then-girlfriend (now alleged victim) and gave her an engagement ring, which she accepted. The couple then traveled to Los Angeles, California, where the Corporal introduced his fiancé to his family.
After fooling around on the night of their engagement and fooling around the following day, the Corporal began having sex with his fiancé. She told him to stop because she wanted to wait until they were married. He then performed oral sex on her. She told him to stop, and he continued for about a minute.
Unfortunately for the Marine, his girlfriend turned fiancé, turned victim, was a self-proclaimed virgin who wanted to wait until she was married to have sex.
Unbelievably, the following day, she cried rape and baited her fiancé into making admissions by sending him numerous text messages. A few weeks later, and while working with NCIS, she then placed a deceitful pretext phone call to her fiancé, with NCIS on the line, and asked him repeatedly what happened on the night in question and that she just wanted to hear from him in his own words “what you think you did.” On this recorded phone call, the naïve Corporal made additional admissions that were used against him in court.
More problematic, the Corporal continued to send dozens of text messages back and forth to the alleged victim after the event occurred that contained several admissions and apologies. All of which were used against him in court.
At trial, Bilecki attacked the case and put on a ‘consent and mistake of fact as to consent’ defense. During the cross-examination of the alleged victim, Mr. Bilecki caught her in many lies and got her to admit that she previously perjured herself at a prior hearing. Of course, she was never prosecuted for perjury.
At the end of the weeklong trial, the young Marine was found not guilty of the sexual assault but guilty of the forcible sodomy that allegedly occurred after the sex. He was sentenced to 12 months confinement and a Bad Conduct Discharge.
This case, again, serves as a prime example of why you should seek immediate legal counsel if accused of a crime, and in particular, sexual assault.
Bilecki’s defense team firmly believes this conviction would not have occurred if the client had secured counsel early on to protect him from the incriminating text messages, the pretext phone call and, most importantly, the videotaped confession to NCIS.
Military law
LCpl Investigated for Stealing Panties and Child Porn, Avoids Offender Register
Feb 01, 2013
OUTCOME: Sentenced to 150 days confinement, reduction to E-1, and a bad conduct discharge. No sex offender registration.
A male Lance Corporal in the Marine Corps was found passed out in the day room of his barracks with a pair of female panties covering his genitals. Interestingly, one of the female Marines who found hi...m in the day room was actually the owner of the panties. This, of course, caused a stir, and the First Sergeant was notified, and a command authorization to search the Marine's room was given.
The search uncovered dozens of pairs of panties hidden in the Marines' room. The Command then conducted a "panty lineup" and had all of the females in the Barracks identify their panties, the majority of which turned out to be stolen from the laundry room. After the panty lineup, the Lance Corporal was called into the Commander's office, where he confessed to stealing many of the panties from the laundry room.
Based on the admissions of the Marine, and in our opinion, without probable cause, NCIS seized his hard drive and had it forensically searched for child pornography. According to NCIS, limited amounts of teen erotica and teen pornography were found on the computer. Worse yet for this Marine, after allegations of stealing panties came to light, another female Marine then made an allegation that several months earlier, she was sexually assaulted in her barracks room by the Marine.
The Lance Corporal was charged, and Bilecki's defense team immediately litigated the validity of the search and seizure of the computer as well as what appeared to be baseless allegations of sexual assault. By fully litigating the Article 32 hearing and litigating an extensive suppression motion, the defense gained a power position and negotiated a plea agreement whereby the Marine would plead guilty to the theft of the panties in exchange for the government dropping the child pornography and sexual assault charges.
After the guilty plea, the defendant was sentenced to 150 days confinement and a Bad Conduct Discharge and will not have to register as a sex offender.
Military law
Army Lt. Colonel Accused of Sexual Assault for Touching, Receives GOMOR
Jan 25, 2013
OUTCOME: After presenting the information from Bilecki’s investigation, the government elected not to bring criminal charges against the accused but instead only to issue a General Officer Letter of Reprimand (GOMOR).
An Army Lieutenant Colonel was investigated for wrongful sexual contact and sexual harassment for allegedly coming on to a female subordinate during a TDY to Manila, Philippines, and on the flight back... from Manila, allegedly sexually touching her without her consent.
Tim Bilecki, a recognized Article 120 UCMJ sexual assault attorney in Hawaii, was retained after the commander’s initial investigation and began defending the case by interviewing individuals who were also on the TDY trip to Manila. It was learned that the alleged victim, who was married at the time, had extramarital affairs with several other military personnel who were on the exercise. Bilecki also had his team conduct a forensic review of the Lieutenant Colonel’s cellular phone and computer and learned that the client and the alleged victim had what appeared to be a completely professional relationship during the trip to Manila as well as after their return to Hawaii.
The defense also believed that the accusations could be related to the Lieutenant Colonel’s knowledge that the alleged victim behaved inappropriately while in Manila and that she wanted to discredit him before any report against her was made.
After presenting the information from Bilecki’s investigation, the government elected not to bring criminal charges against the accused but instead only to issue a General Officer Letter of Reprimand (GOMOR).
Military law
Former Sailor of the Year Charged for Marijuana, Charges Kept at Captain’s Mast
Jan 18, 2013
OUTCOME: Former Sailor of the Year Charged for Marijuana, Charges Kept at Captain’s Mast
The accused was a former Sailor of the Year recipient, responsible for overseeing the nuclear reactor on a nuclear submarine. After a positive reading for marijuana on a urinalysis, law enforcement inv...estigated the Sailor’s illegal use of marijuana. The investigation uncovered several other Sailors with whom he had allegedly smoked marijuana.
After learning that charges would likely be preferred against him, the Sailor retained court a martial lawyer for UCMJ Article 112a, Tim Bilecki. By working with the government, Mr. Bilecki managed to keep all charges at Captain Mast, which ultimately led to an Administrative Separation Board.
Mr. Bilecki represented the Sailor at the Administrative Separation Board; however, given his position of responsibility on a nuclear submarine, the Board discharged the Sailor with an Other Than Honorable Discharge.
Military law
Bilecki Negotiates Plea for Navy NCO Charged with $100K Fraud, Saves Retirement
Jan 11, 2013
OUTCOME: Results: Less than 4 Months Confinement, No Punitive Discharge. Multi-million Dollar Retirement Saved.
A Navy Senior Chief was accused of conspiring with another Sailor, to use the DTS system for defrauding the government of nearly $100,000. The two Sailors were alleged to have created travel authorizat...ions for missions that did not exist, charging the government for personal travels. These alleged fraudulent trips involved travel to Manila, Bahrain, Los Angeles and other places around the world.
An external audit of the Command uncovered the alleged scheme wherein our client and the alleged co-conspirator were both the approving and authorizing officials for each other in the DTS system. That allowed the two to authorize and approve each other’s trips. After an extensive government investigation, the government charged both Sailors with dozens of specifications of conspiracy and larceny.
After the Senior Chief retained Tim Bilecki, a court martial defense attorney in Hawaii, a team of experienced investigators began combing through thousands of pages of financial records in order to build a defense. Bilecki investigated the Command and discovered that it woefully lacked oversight into the DTS system and was replete with officer misconduct similar to what the client was accused of.
The complex case took nearly eighteen months to get to trial, and then, just a few weeks before trial, the co-accused cut a deal to become a snitch and testify against the client. Given the overwhelming amount of documented evidence against the Senior Chief, Bilecki brokered a plea deal with the government to drop many of the charges and allow the Senior Chief to retire, which was the ultimate goal in the case.
The Senior Chief received the benefit of the plea deal: four months of confinement, honorable discharge, and retention of his military retirement.
Military law
Bilecki Negotiates 18-Month Plea for Sailor in Long-Delayed Child Porn Case
Dec 21, 2012
OUTCOME: 18-month plea deal negotiated in child pornography case with confession.
While on leave at home, the Petty Officer was caught in an online Internet sting operation called "GridCop," which targeted IP addresses associated with downloading known images of child pornography.
...Based on information obtained through the online sting operation, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials obtained and executed a search warrant on the house associated with the IP address. When the search warrant was executed, the Petty Officer was no longer at the residence; he was on his way back to the base where he was stationed.
After questioning members of the family who lived in the home, the Petty Officer immediately became a suspect, and ICE contacted NCIS requesting assistance with the investigation. He was then called into NCIS offices, where they interrogated the Sailor, at which time he made a full confession to downloading the child pornography and obstruction of justice. The government alleged that immediately after the Sailor learned of the investigation, he threw his laptop over the side of the ship.
Interestingly, after obtaining the confession, NCIS apparently forgot about the case, and the state and federal prosecutors declined to prosecute it. Nearly two years elapsed with the Sailor hearing nothing about his case. Then, less than one month prior to EAS'ing from the Navy, the Sailor voluntarily went to NCIS to check on the status of the case.
The Petty Officer's inquiry was followed by NCIS reopening the nearly two-year-old investigation, and he was immediately placed on legal hold and not allowed to leave the Navy. Tim Bilecki was then contacted and retained to represent the Sailor as an Article 134 UCMJ child pornography defense lawyer in the case. The prosecution continued its investigation and was able to link the Client to downloading child pornography in other locations at various other times.
After conducting a thorough investigation, litigating the speedy trial motion, and running down all possible leads and alibis, the defense consulted with Bilecki's computer forensic expert, and our law firm's investigator. The conclusion was that the risks to the Client from trying the case in front of a jury were too high, so the defense negotiated a plea agreement hours before jury selection was to begin.
In the plea agreement, the government agreed to 18 months confinement versus the five or more years of prison time that would likely have resulted had the case been tried.
