11-02-24 CCMS – California courts’ new case management system – ongoing concerns of serious Human Rights violations // Fraude en las cortes de California // 在加州法院欺诈

 
CCMS must be subjected to publicly and legally accountable validation. 

Los Angeles, February 24 – Following Corporate Counsel’s recent report, “Critics Cry 'Reboot' at Troubled Court Case Management”, [1] regarding the new California courts’ case management system, CCMS, Human Rights Alert has sent corrections and comments to the editor:

1)      Please stand corrected regarding the opening statement: "...clunky legacies of the days when counties, not the state, funded courthouses."

• In the late 2000s, the 70 year old former US prosecutor Richard Fine exposed, publicized, and rebuked the fact that all Los Angeles County Superior Court judges continued to secretly accept payment (~$45,000 per judge per year) for over a decade, failed to list the payments in their annual outcome income disclosures, and failed to disclose the payments to parties in cases involving the payer - Los Angeles County.  In parallel, Richard Fine documented that it became practically impossible to win a case in court against Los Angeles County.  Media described the payments as "bribes".
• In 2008 such payments were ruled as "not permitted".
• On February 20, 2009, the California governor hastily signed "retroactive immunities" ("pardons") for all judges, who received such payments at the behest of the California Judicial Council. Albeit, the California Constitution prohibits retroactive laws.
• On March 4, 2009 Richard Fine was arrested in open court by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Warrant Detail, albeit, with no warrant at all.  He was consequently held for 18 months in solitary confinement, while no judgment, conviction, or sentencing was ever entered in his case. [2]
• In summer 2010, Human Rights Alert's submission regarding conditions in the Los Angeles County courts, including, but not limited to, large scale false imprisonments, [3] housing/financial institution fraud in the courts, and fraud opined in Sustain, the Court's current case management system, [4] led to official United Nations report, referring to "corruption of the courts and the legal profession, and discrimination by law enforcement in California". [5]

2)      The new case management system of the California courts (CCMS) is a cause for serious Human Rights concerns.

In June 2010 Human Rights Alert issued the following statement: The April 12, 2010 Status Report by the California Judicial Council in re: CCMS development and implementation,  must be a reason for grave concerns of Human Rights abuses, and must be subjected to publicly and legally accountable validation. [6]

_____

LINKS:
[1] 11-02-28 Critics Cry 'Reboot' at Troubled Court Case Management (CCMS) - Corporate Counsel

http://www.scribd.com/doc/49449647/

[2] 09-12-17 Richard Isaac Fine - Review
http://www.scribd.com/doc/24729084/
[3] 09-12-17-Rampart-FIPs (Falsely Imprisoned Persons) - Review
http://www.scribd.com/doc/24729660/
[4] 11-02-06 Sustain Technologies - Corruption of the State Courts Has Deep Roots in Los Angeles County, California

http://www.scribd.com/doc/48294934/

[5] 10-04-19 Human Rights Alert (NG0) submission to the  United Nations Human Rights Council  for the 2010 Review (UPR) of Human Rights in the United States as incorporated into the UPR staff report:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/38566837/

[6] 10-06-14 New Case Management System (CCMS) of the California Courts - Serious Human

Rights Concern

http://www.scribd.com/doc/33073055/

______

Human Rights Alert is dedicated to discovering, archiving, and disseminating evidence of Human Rights violations by the justice systems of the State of California and the United States in Los Angeles County, California, and beyond. Human Rights Alert focuses on the unique role of computerized case management systems in the precipitous deterioration of the integrity of the justice system in the United States.

http://twitter.com/inproperinla
http://www.scribd.com/Human_Rights_Alert
http://inproperinla.blogspot.com/ 
http://human-rights-alert.blogspot.com/
http://www.liveleak.com/user/jz12345  
http://www.examiner.com/x-38742-LA-Business-Headlines-Examiner
_______________________
WHAT DID THE EXPERTS SAY ABOUT THE JUSTICE SYSTEM IN THE UNITED STATES?
*  "On July 26, 2010, Laurence Tribe, Senior Counsel for the United States Department of Justice, Access to Justice Initiative, delivered an important speech to the Conference of Chief Justices, challenging them to halt the disintegration of our state justice systems before they become indistinguishable from courts of third world nations."
Prof Laurence Tribe, Harvard Law School (2010), per National Defender Leadership Institute
http://www.nlada.net/library/article/national_dojspeechto%20chiefjustice07-26-2010_gideonalert
_____________________________
WHAT DID THE EXPERTS SAY ABOUT THE JUSTICE SYSTEM IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CALIFORNIA?
*     "Innocent people remain in prison"
*     "...the LA Superior Court and the DA office, the two other parts of the justice system that the Blue Panel Report recommends must be investigated relative to the integrity of the system, have not produced any response that we know of..."
LAPD Blue Ribbon Review Panel Report (2006)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/24902306/
*   "...judges tried and sentenced a staggering number of people for crimes they did not commit."
Prof David Burcham, Dean, Loyola Law School, LA (2001)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/29043589/
*   "This is conduct associated with the most repressive dictators and police states... and judges must share responsibility when innocent people are convicted."    
Prof Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean, Irvine Law School (2001)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/274339
_____________________________
WHAT DID THE UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL STAFF REPORT SAY ABOUT THE JUSTICE SYSTEM IN CALIFORNIA?
*   "...corruption of the courts and the legal profession and discrimination by law enforcement in California."
http://www.scribd.com/doc/38566837/

11-02-24 Ronald Reagan: Unionizing - a God Given Right! // Ronald Reagan: Sindicación - un derecho dado por Dios! // 罗纳德里根：Unionizing-上帝赋予的权利！

TRUTHOUT'S BUZZFLASH DAILY HEADLINES

"One of the most elemental human rights [is] the right to belong to a free trade union." -Ronald Reagan
Question?
In this Ronald Reagan presidential address on October 19, 1982, is President Reagan rebuking the Soviet government of Poland or Scott Walker? Read it and honestly decide if Republican "Saint" Reagan's condemning words equally apply to Walker. They do:

Yesterday the Polish Government, a military dictatorship, took another far-reaching step in their persecution of their own people. They declared Solidarity, the organization of the working men and women of Poland, their free union, illegal.
Yes, I know Poland is a faraway country in Eastern Europe. Still, this action is a matter of profound concern to all the American people and to the free world.
Ever since martial law was brutally imposed last December, Polish authorities have been assuring the world that they're interested in a genuine reconciliation with the Polish people. But the Polish regime's action yesterday reveals the hollowness of its promises. By outlawing Solidarity, a free trade organization to which an overwhelming majority of Polish workers and farmers belong, they have made it clear that they never had any intention of restoring one of the most elemental human rights - the right to belong to a free trade union.
The so-called new trade union legislation under which this contrary and backward step has been taken claims to substitute a structure and framework for the establishment of free trade unions in Poland. But the free world can see this is only a sham. It is clear that such unions, if formed, will be mere extensions of the Polish Communist Party.

BuzzFlash repeats: this is from a Reagan presidential address, the transcript of which you can read here. BuzzFlash repeats this statement from Reagan's address (emphasis added): "They [the Soviet Polish government] have made it clear that they never had any intention of restoring one of the most elemental human rights - the right to belong to a free trade union."
In suppressing trade unionism and collective bargaining, threatening to use the national guard to suppress the tens of thousands trade union protesters in Wisconsin, in sending out the state police to pursue Democrats who are standing up for Regan's words in defense of trade unionism and threatening to fire workers if the unions don't agree to give up collective bargaining - among other betrayals to Reagan's words - Walker is committing the No. 1 unforgivable Republican crime: He's defiling the legacy of Reagan.
In fact, in this 1981 television presidential address (which begins with some warm and fuzzy words about Christmas), Reagan championed the Solidarity trade union and its rights in the most vigorous of words.
In fact, in his 1982 statement, Reagan even discussed how the Solidarity Union sought God-given rights.
So, is Walker not only throwing mud at Reagan, but also defying God?
If you don't think so, don't take it up with BuzzFlash at Truthout. Take it up with Reagan, because he's the one who said it.
Mark Karlin
Editor, BuzzFlash at Truthout

11-02-22 Wisconsin Capitol Shuts Off Comment Line. Is This Libya or America? // Capitolio de Wisconsin Apaga Comentar línea. Este es Libia o Estados Unidos? // 威斯康星州的国会会自动关闭注释行。这是利比亚还是美国？

Wisconsin Legislature Shuts Down Comment Line After Too Many Complaints

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 21, 2011, 5:18PM

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Demonstrators inside the Wisconsin state Capitol, February 16, 2011.

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Wisconsin Protests

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The protesters amassed outside the state capitol in Madison, WI and their supporters across the country have succeeded in getting state Republicans to back down on at least one front: the toll-free Legislative Hotline that the legislature has kept open 24 hours a day for more than 20 years.

After a flood of calls that legislative staff tell TPM came from "unions and other non-profits," the legislature's Sergeant at Arms ordered the number disconnected Friday, a move that according to sources could save the state quite a bit of money as the protests against Gov. Scott Walker's (R) union-busting budget plan rage.

One union source said he didn't know about the call flooding, but he said that Republicans have another think coming if they believe taking down a phone number will silence the frustrated union supporters with their eyes on Madison this week.

During business hours, the Legislative Hotline is answered by a real person, a longtime staffer in the Sergeant at Arms office told me. Normally, people call to ask who their legislator is and how to contact him or her -- usually so the caller can complain about something the state government's up to.

Read the full story:

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/02/wisconsin-legislature-shuts-down-comment-line-after-too-many-complaints.php

11-02-22 Wisconsin: Best Protest signs // Wisconsin: Las mejores señales de protesta //威斯康星：最佳抗议的迹象

View the complete list at:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/the-best-protest-signs-at-the-wisconsin-capitol

11-02-22 Welcome Senegal - Last New Visitor! // Bienvenido Senegal - Visitante Mas Reciente! // 欢迎塞内加尔- 最后的新访问者！

Last New Visitor Senegal Visited February 22, 2011

11-02-21 Welcome Singapore - Last New Visitor! // Bienvenido Singapore - Visitante Mas Reciente! // 欢迎新加坡- 最后的新访问者！

Last New Visitor Singapore Visited February 21, 2011

11-02-20 Welcome China - Last New Visitor ! // Bienvenido China - Visitante Mas Reciente! // 欢迎中国- 最后的新访问者！

Last New Visitor China Visited February 20, 2011

11-02-20 Billboards in Pennsylvania // Vallas publicitarias en Pennsylvania // 在宾夕法尼亚州的广告牌

Billboard on Route 15 southbound near Dillsburg in York County, Pa.

Elkton, Md., billboard

Billboard at Liberty Hill along Route 183 in Austin

Birth certification question hits Buda, Texas, on billboard owned by CBS competitor

Billboard along I-35 near the Highway 59 exit near Ottawa, Kan.

Billboard near Cabela's in Hamburg, Pennsylvania

Billboard on Highway 93 near Kingman, Ariz.

Billboard on Long Beach Freeway near Firestone Blvd.

San Antonio billboard

Billboard in Nashville, Tenn.

Billboard near Panama City, Fla.

Billboard near Navarre, Fla.

Billboard near Talledega, Ala.

Billboard near Bethel, Pa.

Read more:Billboard question returns to Pennsylvaniahttp://www.wnd.com/?pageId=265285#ixzz1EWS4kw4Y

11-02-20 Exoneration of Countrywide’s Angelo Mozilo Signals Ongoing Integrity Crisis of the US Justice System // A gran escala contra el Fraude bancario en los Estados Unidos // 大型银行诈骗在美国

       

Countrywide's        US Attorney General     Bank of America's  
Angelo Mozilo;          Eric Holder                     Brian Moynihan

Exoneration of Countrywide's Angelo Mozilo Signals Ongoing Integrity Crisis of the US Justice System

Unless conduct of the US justice system is addressed, it is unlikely that socio-economic development and civil society conditions in the United States will improve anytime soon.

Los Angeles, February 20 -  News media have reported this week that US prosecutors dropped the criminal investigation of Angelo Mozilo, former Chairman of Countrywide Financial Corporation. [[i]]

In response, Dr Zernik of Human Rights Alert (NGO) issued a statement calling the decision "A clear signal of ongoing integrity crisis of the US justice system, and ongoing dysfunctional banking regulation in the United States."

Dr Zernik added: "Like the Great Depression a century ago, the current financial/economic crisis in its core is an integrity crisis of the US justice system. Unless conduct of the US justice system is addressed, it is unlikely that socio-economic development and civil society conditions in the United States will improve anytime soon."

Starting January 2007 Dr Zernik filed complaints with FBI, Office of Thrift Regulation, and Federal Trade Commission and SEC.  The complaints documented fraud in Countrywide operations as early as 2004:

• Fraud in Countrywide's underwriting monitoring system (EDGE), which enabled underwriting sub-prime loans with no underwriting at all.
• Fraud in fax transmission operations in Countrywide, which bypassed Countrywide's fax server system, and enabled the falsification of loan application (1003s) files.
• Dismantling of internal and external audit systems.
• Direct involvement of ANGELO MOZILO (then Chairman) and SANDOR SAMUELS (then Chief Legal Officer, today - Associate General Counsel of Bank of America) in such conduct.

The complaints alleged violations of banking regulations, wire fraud, large-scale financial institution fraud, and racketeering.  The complaints also projected liability to the US Treasury of hundreds of billions of US dollars through Countrywide's conduct.

US law enforcement and banking regulators refused to investigate the complaints.

Freedom of Information Act responses by SEC, Thrift Regulation, and Trade Commission later documented that the complaints were eliminated from US agencies records, although sufficient evidence was found in the responses that such complaints had existed.

• In January 2008 Countrywide collapsed, and the losses to the US Treasury were materialized.
• In early 2008 complaints were filed with FBI Director and US Attorney General, which documented tight links between Countrywide, and later, Bank of America and its President Brian Moynihan and corruption in the Los Angeles Superior Court, led by California Judge JACQUELINE CONNOR (best known for derailing the First Rampart Trial in 2000).
• In 2008, Fraud Expert, and FBI veteran JAMES WEDICK, who was decorated by US Congress, US Attorney General, and FBI Director, opined real estate fraud, perpetrated by Attorney DAVID PASTERNAK (former President of the Los Angeles County Bar Association), on behalf of Countrywide/Bank of America and the Los Angeles Superior Court. [[ii]]
• In 2008, the Fraud Expert also documented his discussion with FBI on the matter.  The Fraud Expert indicated that while FBI agreed with Dr Zernik's claims, FBI was not going to provide equal protection, since it would require exposing the widespread corruption of the Los Angeles Superior Court. [[iii]]
• In 2008, Congressional Inquiries were filed by Senator DIANNE FEINSTEIN and Congresswoman DIANE WATSON on FBI and US Attorney General: why US law enforcement would not investigate the complaints and the request for equal protection of the 10 million residents of Los Angeles County against alleged racketeering by judges of the Los Angeles Superior Court.
• In 2009, complaint was filed with the office of Inspector General of the US Department of Justice GLENN FINE, claiming fraud by senior US Department of Justice Officers on the US Congress.  The complaint pertained to responses of FBI Assistant Director KENNETH KAISER and then Director of US Attorneys Office KENNETH MELSON to the US Congress Inquiries in 2008.
• The office of US Department of Justice Inspector General refuses to investigate the complain to this date.
• In 2010 complaints were filed with Office of the US Controller of the Currency and SEC, documenting fraud by senior management in Bank of America corporation, including direct involvement of BRIAN MOYNIHAN. [[iv],[v],[vi]]  The US Controller of the Currency and SEC refuse to investigate the complaints to this date.
• In 2010, the civil litigation of SEC v Bank of America Corporation in the US District Court in New York, which was hailed by media as the hallmark of US banking regulation, was opined as fraud on the court by US Judge JED RAKOFF and Clerk RUBY KRAJICK. [[vii],[viii],[ix],[x],[xi]]

During the same period, senior US Department of Justice and banking regulation officers repeatedly provided testimonies before the US Congress, stating that there was no way to predict the sub-prime crisis, that no criminality was found in investigations of sub-prime lenders, and that US banking regulation was "shored up".

Such statements are claimed as fraud on the US Congress and on the people of the United States.

Conduct of the US government is also alleged as serious violation of the Human Rights and of the US government's duties and obligations as a good faith party to the international Basel Accords on banking regulation.

In 2010 Human Rights Alert's submitted a report to the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC), as part of the first ever, 2010 Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Human Rights in the United States.  The report documented a pattern of housing fraud by large financial institutions in collusion with judges of the Los Angeles Superior Court and large law firms, and the refusal of US Department of Justice to provide equal protection. 

The submission was later incorporated into the official Staff Report of the HRC, with reference to "Corruption of the courts and the legal profession and discrimination by law enforcement in California". [[xii]]

News reports during the current financial crisis documented similar conduct throughout the United States.

LINKS:
[i] 11-02-18 US Drops Criminal Probe of Former Country Wide Chief Angelo Mozilo - LATimes
http://www.scribd.com/doc/49151334/
[ii] 07-12-17 Samaan v Zernik (SC087400) David Pasternak: Grant Deeds in re: 320 South Peck Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90212, opined as fraud by James Wedick
http://www.scribd.com/doc/24991238/
[iii] 08-08-21 Samaan v Zernik (SC087400) Email letter by highly decorated FBI veteran James Wedick regarding  FBI's refusal to provide Dr Zernik equal protection
http://www.scribd.com/doc/29713733/
[iv] 10-05-05 Countrywide Bank of America NYSE BAC and its President Brian Moynihan Compilation of Records Evidence of Racketeering
http://www.scribd.com/doc/30975368/
[v] 10-05-05 Chairs of US Congress Committees of the Judiciary and Banking Are Requested to Join Senator Feinstein's Inquiries on Comptroller of the Currency
http://www.scribd.com/doc/30979882/
[vi] 10-07-06 Complaint Filed with US Attorney Office Los Angeles Against Moynihan Bank of America [NYSE:BAC] Bryan Cave LLP Alleging Racketeering
http://www.scribd.com/doc/33971099/
[vii] Zernik, Joseph: Securities and Exchange Commission v Bank of America Corporation - Pretense Litigation and Pretense Banking Regulation in the United States (filed in support of Request No 1 for impeachment of US Judge JED RAKOFF and Clerk RUBY KRAJICK, US District Court, Southern District of New York)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/44663232/  
[viii] 10-12-08 RE: Securities and Exchange Commission v Bank of America Corporation(1:09-cv-06829) - Request No 1 for Investigation, Impeachment of RUBY KRAJICK, Clerk of the Court, US District Court, Southern District of New York
http://www.scribd.com/doc/44908376/
[ix] 10-12-19 RE: Securities and Exchange Commission v Bank of America Corporation (1:09-cv-06829) - Addendum to Request No 1 for Investigation-impeachment of Judge Rakoff and Clerk Krajick
http://www.scribd.com/doc/45644678/
[x] 11-01-10 Request No 1 for investigation/impeachment proceedings, in re: US Judge JED RAKOFF and Clerk RUBY KRAJICK, US District Court, Southern District of New York, Conduct of Securities and Exchange Committee v Bank of America Corporation (1:09-cv-06829)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/46616530/
[xi] 11-02-05 Request No 2 for Impeachment of Judge JED RAKOFF Clerk RUBY KRAJICK, US District Court, Southern District of New York, in Re Conduct of Lindner v Amex (1:10-cv-02228) s
http://www.scribd.com/doc/48244479/
[xii] 10-04-19 Human Rights Alert (NG0) submission to the  United Nations Human Rights Council  for the 2010 Review (UPR) of Human Rights in the United States as incorporated into the UPR staff report:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/38566837/

11-02-20 Continued Integrity Crisis of the US Justice System // Continúa la crisis de la integridad de los EE.UU. Sistema de Justicia // 正直，持续危机的美国司法系统

From: Charles Heckman
Subject: RE: [AMOJ_MAIN] Fwd: TIME CHANGE for Government Corruption Crisis Conference and 1,000,000 People Plan

 

   In an ongoing discrimination lawsuit involving government fraud, I had an exchange of e-mails with the U.S. Attorney representing delinquent agencies yesterday.  He wanted me to agree to give him an extra 30 days to file dispositive motions.  I told him I would agree only if he would guarantee that I received all of the discovery documents he has been promising me since last September.  He promised them for March 4, but there were no enforcement provisions for his agreement.  I said that I would agree if he would sign a formal agreement that any civil servant who refused to release a document that should be released would be prosecuted by the Department of Justice for obstruction of justice.  He said that I should make a "reasonable" proposal.
   I think that says it all.  It is now considered unreasonable for a civil servant to be prosecuted if he or she commits a felony.  This is the current mindset of our government lawyers.  Some people are just above all laws.
Charles Heckman

---

11-02-19 Welcome Cameroon - Newest County! // Bienvenido Camerún - Nuevos Condado! // 欢迎喀麦隆- 最新县！

     
  

Newest Country Cameroon Last Visited February 19, 2011

11-01-19 Wanted! One Honest US Government Official! // ¡Se buscan! Un funcionario de EE.UU. Gobierno honesto! // 通缉！美国政府官员一句实话！

From: "William M. Windsor - LawlessAmerica.com"
To:
Subject: Windsor Government and Judicial  Corruption Update and a Special PhotoDate: Sat, 19 Feb 2011 15:33:11 -0500

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Attached is a photo of the mobile billboard that will be driving all around Capitol Hill, the Mall, the White House, all government agencies, and the DC media’s headquarters on Tuesday, February 22.  I don’t expect many calls because I don’t believe there are many, if any, honest government officials.  I hope the mainstream media will pick this up.  If you have a website, please consider adding this.  My news release will simply say that a group of citizens are searching for one honest government official.  They haven’t been able to find one through regular channels, so they have purchased a mobile billboard that will drive throughout Washington, DC advertising for one to call.  The billboard simply says: “Wanted – 1 Honest Government Official” with a toll-free number and the website www.lawlessAmerica.com.

I spent several days trying to identify every leading website addressing judicial and government corruption.  I have over 500 so far.  I am writing to the owners of the websites and the bloggers offering to help them in any way that I can in this fight we are in, and I am inviting them to participate in the Government Corruption Crisis Online Video Conference on Sunday, February 27, 2011 from 5 to 7 pm. 
Complete details are here --
http://www.lawlessamerica.com/index.php/news/blog-of-william-m-windsor/146-government-corruption-crisis-conference

I have a plan for all of the websites and bloggers to join together to actually make something meaningful happen.   The plan includes specific ways to help each website be even better and reach far more people.  The plan includes a way for us to combine our efforts so we can become a significant media force.  The plan is directed at getting 1 to 5 million people committed to honesty in government and the rights we were all promised in the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

11-02-19 China: Corruption Scandal // China: escándalo de corrupción // 中国：腐败丑闻

Judging by media reporting on government corruption (including judicial corruption), China may be found to have freer press than the US... not to mention the stiff penalties meted out for corruption, compared to the slaps on the wrist, if any, in the United States...
____

Portrait of a femme fatale who brought down China's elite

By Clifford Coonan In Beijing

Saturday, 19 February 2011


Li Wei's story of seducing businessmen is detailed in 'Caijing' magazine

A respected magazine has provided the most detailed picture yet of the complex life of a billionaire businesswoman responsible for the downfall of some China's most powerful figures in a sex-and-corruption saga that has gripped the nation.

Li Wei slept with up to 15 top business and party figures before turning on some of them in a series of corruption cases to save herself from a long prison sentence, according to Caijing business magazine. Her contacts book contained some of the most powerful men in the land, as she used her beauty to break into the secretive bastion of powerful men that tightly control China, according to the magazine.

Ms Li was jailed on tax fraud charges in 2006 but was released early this year and now lives in Hong Kong. The magazine alleges that she was released early because her diary contains fresh allegations of "immoral relationships" with "high-ranking officials", which is code for officials at the most senior levels in the land.

Ms Li reportedly created a vast network of protection and favour in the provinces in Yunnan, Guangdong, Beijing and Qingdao to build a multibillion-pound business empire in return for sexual favours. As her corrupt protectors went to jail, she turned herself in and was given a lenient jail term.

"You cannot invest all your resources and opportunities into one person, you have to construct a huge relationship net, like an umbrella," Ms Li was quoted as saying by Chinese media. Her empire at its peak consisted of more than 20 companies in Beijing, Qingdao, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and overseas, in industries including tobacco, real estate and advertising. She owned 183 petrol stations in Beijing.

A great friend of Wang Yi, vice-chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, her shares and bonds did very well. Her assets were at one point worth about �1bn.

Born in Vietnam in 1963 of mixed French-Vietnamese parentage, she moved at the age of seven with her father to Yunnan province in search of a better life. She sold tobacco as a youngster, but her ability to manipulate the arcane system of building connections, combined with her considerable allure, transformed her into a formidable power broker.

Zheng Shaodong, the former chief investigations officer at the Ministry of Public Security in Guangdong province, got her a residence permit. After earning legitimate resident status, she married a top official at the local tobacco bureau.

Through her husband, Ms Li managed to gain access to former Yunnan governor Li Jiating, who became her lover. She helped him get resident status for his son in Hong Kong in exchange for tobacco export quotas. The governor narrowly escaped the death sentence in 2003 for taking more than �19m in bribes.

Ms Li became involved with Du Shicheng, the former party secretary of the rich city of Qingdao in Shandong province. Through her relationship with Mr Du, she secured top-notch real estate in Qingdao, a coastal city that was once a German protectorate, and soon became one of the city's biggest property developers.

Mr Du introduced her to his good friend, Chen Tonghai, the chairman of Sinopec, China's oil and gas giant. He too became Ms Li's lover, and he gave her gifts of millions of shares in companies owned by Sinopec.

Mr Du's revelations about his friend's corrupt activities precipitated Mr Chen's downfall. He was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve. Ms Li's testimony was central to the conviction of many of the officials she entertained in her boudoir.

Some of her former lovers are serving time in Beijing's Qincheng high-security prison, which primarily houses political prisoners but has been used for corrupt cadres.

Aware that corruption could undermine the rule of the Communist Party, the leadership has organised several high-profile campaigns in the last few years to try to stamp out graft.

According to a survey by state prosecutors, more than 90 per cent of the country's senior officials punished on serious graft charges in the past five years have kept mistresses.

The victims

*Chen Tonghai

Ex-chairman of China's second-largest oil company, Sinopec, given a suspended death penalty in 2009 for taking 196m yuan (�17.5m) in bribes.

*Li Jiating

Ex-governor of Yunnan province, sentenced to death for corruption in 2003. Thought to be in Qincheng Prison, Beijing.

*Liu Zhihua

The ex-vice-mayor of Beijing, who supervised preparations for the 2008 Olympics, was sentenced to death in 2008 for taking $1.45m in bribes. His sentence may be commuted to life imprisonment.

*Zheng Shaodong

Ex-head of China's Economic Criminal Investigation Bureau received a suspended death sentence for corruption.

*Huang Songyou

The ex-deputy head of the Supreme Court is currently serving a life sentence for embezzlement and receiving bribes worth �500,000.