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Mad-dog Prosecutors and Other Hazards of American Business

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Most people know about the criminal justice system primarily through television shows and newspapers. Those depictions fail to capture the real risk that any citizen is exposed to if government bureaucrats and prosecutors are inundated with accusations against you. Naturally, those who receive the letters assume that where there's smoke, there's fire. Unless you are very lucky, you will end up doing jail time.

I appreciate Mr. Zinn's taking the time to expose what happened to him, so that everyone else can understand the risk that the current system brings to us all. I think you will find his tale to be one that everyone should know.

Although he thought he was relying on legal advice about how to raise money for a political candidate, he was actually being led down the garden path. As CEO of a company under attack from hostile shareholders, the opposing shareholders used the resulting mistakes to get federal prosecutors and the IRS after him. In the process, a company which violated the law more than his company did was given immunity to get testimony against Mr. Zinn. Although this doesn't seem fair, it certainly is the way the system works. Prosecutors also relied on the accusations of people who were trying to negotiate favorable settlements from the company on other matters.

Faced with many unpalatable choices and on the advice of legal counsel, Mr. Zinn chose not to explain himself to the prosecutors. They threw the book at him. Even after he plea bargained to a reduced sentence to get "easy" time in a low security facility, they harrassed him with grand jury dates which meant he had to spend most of this time in maximum security lock-ups and in very uncomfortable transporation.

After he got out of jail, he still had the scheming shareholders to deal with. It turned out that they had found every possible ally who would work with them, and had been stealing information from the company to make running the company harder.

All the shareholders were actually hurt by this because the legal and accounting costs of these investigations ran into the millions of dollars over the years. Also, management attention was diverted from making money.

Despite this, Mr. Zinn did succeed in helping the shareholders make a bundle. Some people made more than 30 times their investment, as a result.

Consider that Mr. Zinn is obviously a very talented, intelligent, and aggressive person. He also had a lot of personal and corporate money to help defend him. If he couldn't figure out what to do and avoid a lot of unpleasantness, what are your chances? Not very good, I'm afraid.

The strength of this book is that Mr. Zinn takes you inside his experiences that led up to and through the problems so you can consider what you would have done. He also shares the emotional turmoil and pain associated with the problems, for him, his family, and for those he worked with.

If you know of anyone who is being investigated, I suggest that you give them a copy of this book. I would also encourage anyone in that situation to find a way to explain themselves to those who are conducting the investigation. Before everyone has drawn a lot of conclusions, there may be some lattitude to avoid worse problems.

There are many other new laws on the books (not discussed in this book) that make the rights of ordinary citizens quite small. I encourage you to become familiar with these risks so that you can conduct your life in ways that will reduce those risks, while finding appropriate ways to get the laws changed.

Live free!

If the facts are as presented by Mr. Zinn, then the insulated and complacent world I have managed to surround myself with has just blown up on me! You must read this book, because if this debacle has happened to one person, you may depend upon the fact that it has happened to others, and could happen to you. Remember, "Forearmed is forewarned!"

Our Federal Government has become large and sluggish. Many Founding Fathers of our "illustrious" nation fought bitterly against a strong central government, fearing the abuse of individual liberties. Their concerns are being realized. In Mr. Zinn's example, a Federal Prosecutor was negligent in fully reviewing a case before deciding the feasibility of pursuing allegations. If it were my decision, I would not even have bothered with Mr. Zinn, as I am sure there were bigger fish to fry, and more appropriate places to spend taxpayer's money.

I am distressed by the nightmare Mr. Zinn and his family were subjected to. I am disgusted at the total waste of money. And I am scared to death that this type of unfairness is happening more frequently. Whatever happened to Truth, Justice, and the American Way?

Mr. Zinn's true story is one most will have a difficult time believing. This is due first to the press coverage at the time of his experience and second because it runs contrary to our educated belief in the American way. Mr. Zinn is an excellent writer and he quickly draws the reader into the twisted horror of his not so unfamiliar yet bizarre tale. Much like an action thriller, this story moves very fast. It is however, a real life drama that plays out in unforgiving, believable and frightening text. I am amazed that Mr. Zinn has survived this aggressive business and personal attack and manages to write with such calm passion. I can only hope for a very wide audience so the messages he sends out in his last chapter are heard by a significant segment of our population. Read this book. Wake up to its truth. Participate in the electoral process. This book drives you to act, not complain; to go beyond newspapers and TV; to participate in the details of your life. A must read for all who wish to save the American systems we were taught were ours as citizens of the U.S.

As a law student with an eye towards criminal practice, I read with interest the experience of Mr. Zinn. Anyone who believes that the criminal justice system is always interested in justice should read this first hand account of the problems a target of a federal investigation is likely to encounter. An over zealous prosecutor often becomes blinded with the need to convict regardless of the facts of a case. Here Zinn exposes the system with all of its flaws. Great reading!

The quote on the cover by Alan Dershowitz grabs your attention -- a wake up call about how our cherished legal system can go awry and with devastating effect.

Yet, this book provides a number of lessons not just about our legal system. When you finish this book you reflect on how entrepreneurial success in this country can often come at a high personal cost. Mr Zinn shows how professional and personal attacks can come from a variety of fronts: legal, financial, political, and from within his own company.

The author has struck a remarkable balance between disturbing the reader while providing a fascinating, gripping account of unfortunate events. For example, Mr. Zinn's accounts of the pitfalls of taking his company public and of being transported within the penal system are especially intriguing. You may even find yourself rooting for the author and his small victories, all the while knowing the final unfortunate outcome.

You nevertheless come away with an overall sense that so much what happened could have been avoided.

Mr. Zinn has done the American public a service by sharing what appears to be an almost unbearable personal story in the apparent hope of giving us a wake up call about much of what we may take for granted in this country.

All my life I was taught respect for the law and the enforcers of the law. I would say that I have a much higher than average respect for the law because I was raised by a Police Officer. I have always held the FBI and the United States Attorney's Office in the highest esteem.

We read about people who are prosecuted by the federal government and the normal thing is for us to think "well, they must be bad people and have broken the law. Why else would the FBI and the US Attorney's be prosecuting them?

Wake up America! You just won't understand until it happens to you or someone in your family. Michael Zinn's book hits it right on the head.

This book is very well written and very truthful and does not exaggerate the injustices in our Federal Justice System? How do I know? Our family has lived through the same situation. If it makes Mr. Zinn feel better, my husband did not agree to a plea bargain because he did not want to tell a lie by admitting to a crime he did not commit. He wound up with a 33 month sentence. Mr. Zinn's book not only told the legal story, but, showed the devastating emotional side as well. The description of the effect on his daughter made me cry as we have a daughter about the same age who sat in the court room day after day and, along with her two brothers was heartbroken to see this happen to her Daddy. I hope this book helps to open the flood gates of those of us who have been attacked by these MAD DOGS!

Michael Zinn takes the position that "no one no matter how prominent, public spirited, or well intentioned, is safe from unfair prosecution." This is not an exaggeration. It happened to my family. Like Mr. Zinn, it came as a terrible shock to us to find out that my husband and son were targets of an FBI investigation. We soon discovered that being under investigation means one is presumed guilty. Like a "dog with a bone," the Prosecutor was intent on winning. The Draconian Mandatory Sentencing Guidelines gave the Prosecutor awesome power to extort a plea bargain. Like Mr. Zinn, we found that our civil rights were compromised because the stakes were too high to risk a trial. Both my husband and son were sentenced to a Federal Prison Camp for a relatively minor business offense, which was enhanced by the Prosecutor, for the purpose of imposing a jail sentence. Mr. Zinn passionately exposes the police state tactics used by unscrupulous, careerist, prosecutors whose goal is not to search for the truth, but to get a conviction at all costs.

Mad-dog Prosecutors and Other Hazards of American Business

REVIEW FROM MEXICO

I read Mad-dog Prosecutors and Other Hazards of American Business at the suggestion of a close friend. I live in Mexico, so this is not a book I am likely to find in my local English language bookstore. However, after reading it, I think that any US Citizen here would find it very interesting. The author's report of how the American justice system actually delivers `justice' to it's citizens is very clear. It is particularly interesting to an US born reader, located in this, the third world home of the `perfect monarchy' .

Mexico is so called, since, for over 70 years the President has ruled with authoritarian powers, which include appointing his successor. Recent democratic changes have not yet affected criminal justice system. It is the model for the justice system described in Mr. Zinn's book.

The difference is that, here, we know that the system is a mess, but, in the USA , people like to feel that it is democratic and clean. Mr. Zinn has drawn back the curtains. Bravo.

I liked reading the book; it is very clean and clear in it's style. The author drew me into his private life, and showed me the nightmare that it became. Although the content is not light or pleasant, it certainly caught and held my attention; I enjoyed this book and hope that Michael Zinn will continue to publish more of his writing.

If the facts are as presented by Mr. Zinn, then the insulated and complacent world I have managed to surround myself with has just blown up on me! You must read this book, because if this debacle has happened to one person, you may depend upon the fact that it has happened to others, and could happen to you. Remember, "Forewarned is forearmed!"

Our Federal Government has become large and sluggish. Many Founding Fathers of our "illustrious" nation fought bitterly against a strong central government, fearing the abuse of individual liberties. Their concerns are being realized. In Mr. Zinn's example, a Federal Prosecutor was negligent in fully reviewing a case before deciding the feasibility of pursuing allegations. If it were my decision, I would not even have bothered with Mr. Zinn, as I am sure there were bigger fish to fry, and more appropriate places to spend taxpayer's money.

I am distressed by the nightmare Mr. Zinn and his family were subjected to. I am disgusted at the total waste of money. And I am scared to death that this type of unfairness is happening more frequently. Whatever happened to Truth, Justice, and the American Way?