July 25, 2007 -
TWO CHARGED WITH USING INFORMATION FROM ANTI-SNITCHING WEB SITE TO INTIMIDATE GOVERNMENT WITNESS
Information From www.whosarat.com DistributedThroughout Witness’s Neighborhood
United States Attorney Pat Meehan and F.B.I. Special Agent-in-Charge J.P. Weis announced the indictment* today of Joseph Miles Davis, 39, of New Mexico, and his girlfriend, Adero Mahia Miwo, 24, of Jenkintown, PA, in connection with a conspiracy to tamper with a government witness in a federal drug case. Among the allegations, the defendants obtained the witness’s personal information and photo from www.whosarat.com. The information and photo later appeared on fliers posted throughout the witness’s Philadelphia neighborhood identifying him as a “snitch” “informant” and “rat.” The Web site claims to be “the largest online database of informants and agents.” The site provides detailed information about government witnesses and undercover law enforcement agents, including their photographs and vital statistics. The indictment charges that in an effort to intimidate and corruptly persuade the government witness not to testify at Davis’ federal drug trial, Miwo distributed the fliers to others.
“The sole purpose of this site is to identify and intimidate individuals who cooperate with the government,” said Meehan. “It is a byproduct of a ‘stop-snitching’ culture that we should all find deeply disturbing. Not only does the site pose a physical threat to cooperators and undercover officers but it has the potential to compromise countless prosecutions.”
Davis and D.S., a person known to the grand jury, were charged by a federal grand jury in the District of New Mexico, in a one-count indictment with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 10 grams or more of phencyclidine (PCP). D.S. testified as a government witness at Davis’ trial in New Mexico after which Davis was convicted.
According to the indictment, in an effort to obtain a new trial after his
conviction in federal court in New Mexico, Davis and Miwo tried to persuade
D.S. to retract his sworn trial testimony and to testify falsely at the sentencing
and post-trial hearings that defendant Davis was not involved in the PCP
conspiracy. Davis and Miwo prepared a “script” detailing the
lies the
defendants wanted D.S. to testify about at the hearings. Miwo told D.S.
that when he testified in New Mexico to retract his earlier trial testimony, “You
do have to play the actor...You do have to get your Oscar on.” The
defendants also provided erroneous legal advice to D.S. claiming that he
would not suffer any additional punishment if he committed perjury on their
behalf and promised to pay D.S. $11,000 in cash in return for his false testimony.
Miwo also told D.S. that when he testified at the sentencing and post-trial hearings, he should say that the police threatened and coerced him into making the statements that he had made during Davis’ trial.
When Miwo was arrested as she was about to make the first cash payment to D.S., she was in possession of $1,380 in cash, a handwritten letter to Miwo from Davis, which provided the proposed “script” for D.S. to follow, and a handwritten letter to Miwo from Davis, which provided step-by-step instructions for Miwo to approach D.S. and to enlist his participation in their plan to have defendant Davis’conviction overturned in New Mexico by suborning perjury.
DEFENDANT |
ADDRESS |
AGE [Date of Birth] |
Joseph Miles Davis |
Estancia, New Mexico |
1968 |
Adero Mahia Miwo |
Jenkintown, PA |
1982 |
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration with assistance from the Philadelphia Police Major Crimes Unit, Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, PA Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement, and has been assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Mark Miller.
| UNITED
STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE EASTERN DISTRICT, PENNSYLVANIA Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street Philadelphia, PA 19106 |
Contact: RICH MANIERI Media Contact 215.861.8525 |
*An Indictment or Information is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Benjamin Franklin Photo by B. Krist for the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation