Edward Mezvinsky

Edward Mezvinsky, the former U.S. representative who on Thursday was charged with fraud, yesterday sued the maker of the drug Lariam, the doctor who prescribed it, and the pharmacy that supplied it, contending that the medication caused him to exercise "uncharacteristically poor business judgment" that led to huge amounts of debt. If successful, the suit could break new legal ground. "It means you [could] use the defense of not guilty by reason of medicine in a case where there was no violent crime and where the crime took place over a long period of time," said Thomas Harrison, a lawyer and publisher who tracks legal trends.

After Edward Mezvinsky pleaded not guilty to charges that he defrauded institutions and individuals out of more than $10 million, a federal prosecutor yesterday took a jab at what is likely to be part of the defense: that Mezvinsky's use of an antimalarial drug exacerbated an existing mental condition. "We have investigated it thoroughly," Assistant U.S. District Attorney Robert A. Zauzmer told the court, "and we don't give any credit to that. " Mezvinsky's attorneys say he admits many of the charges outlined in a 66-count indictment handed down last week.

Former U.S. Rep. Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky filed for bankruptcy yesterday, citing financial woes caused by her husband's business ventures. Her filing, in Philadelphia, comes three weeks after Edward Mezvinsky declared bankruptcy amid allegations of fraud and misappropriation of funds. Mezvinsky sidestepped those allegations during a deposition Monday when he repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment rights during several hours of questioning from attorneys for some of his creditors.

Edward Mezvinsky, a former U.S. congressman who filed for bankruptcy last month, invoked his Fifth Amendment right not to testify for several hours yesterday as he was questioned by attorneys for his creditors, said lawyers who attended the deposition. He told his interrogators that, on the advice of his attorney, he could not answer questions for fear that the replies could incriminate him. The deposition was held at the request of attorneys for David G. Sonders, a Virginia businessman who says he was defrauded of $500,000 by Mezvinsky in a scheme that involved moving millions of dollars out of Africa.

Edward Mezvinsky, the former congressman and onetime head of Pennsylvania's Democratic Committee, plans to use a mental-health defense, but not claim insanity, when his trial begins in May on bank fraud and related charges. His lawyer, Thomas A. Bergstrom, submitted papers in federal court this week in which he said the defense will include the contention that Mezvinsky suffers from a bipolar mental disorder that has been untreated for decades. In addition, the papers say, the 64-year-old Mezvinsky has organic brain damage that was revealed during a brain scan in November, and also suffers from brain disease brought on by his use of the anti-malarial drug Larium.

Former U.S. Rep. Edward Mezvinsky agreed yesterday to be placed under house arrest after federal prosecutors revealed new fraud allegations - including charges that he tried to defraud an additional victim and deposit an additional counterfeit check, this one for nearly a half-million dollars. The government asked U.S. District Judge Stewart Dalzell to revoke Mezvinsky's bail after detailing the latest allegations of "new criminal conduct" against the former congressman. Some of the alleged activity took place as recently as last month, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Former U.S. Rep. Edward Mezvinsky agreed yesterday to be placed under house arrest after federal prosecutors revealed new fraud allegations - including charges that he tried to defraud an additional victim and deposit an additional counterfeit check, this one for nearly a half-million dollars. The government asked U.S. District Judge Stewart Dalzell to revoke Mezvinsky's bail after detailing the latest allegations of "new criminal conduct" against the former congressman. Some of the alleged activity took place as recently as last month, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

After five years in the job, Edward Mezvinsky has decided to step down as chairman of the state's Democratic Party. Mezvinsky, 49, a Philadelphia lawyer, said yesterday that he would not seek re-election to the unpaid position. That means a new chairman will be elected by the members of the Democratic State Committee when it meets June 28. "I will miss those round-the-clock sessions; I will miss the pulse and the heartbeat of the party - the haggling and the cheering," Mezvinsky wrote in a letter he sent yesterday to state committee members.

A Penn Valley man has pleaded guilty to liquor-code violations and disorderly conduct in connection with a party at his residence Sept. 20 that resulted in the arrests of 30 teenagers for underage drinking. At a preliminary hearing last week before District Justice Henry J. Schireson, Stewart Young, 28, of the 800 block of Woodbine Avenue, pleaded guilty to three summary offenses in a plea agreement with Lower Merion Township police. Young agreed to pay fines totaling $1,300. The incident occurred at the home of lawyer Edward Mezvinsky, former chairman of the state Democratic Party and a former Iowa congressman.

A Penn Valley man has pleaded guilty to liquor-code violations and disorderly conduct in connection with a party at his residence Sept. 20 that resulted in the arrests of 30 teenagers for underage drinking. At a preliminary hearing Wednesday before District Justice Henry J. Schireson, Stewart Young, 28, of the 800 block of Woodbine Avenue, pleaded guilty to three summary offenses in a plea agreement with Lower Merion Township police. Young agreed to pay fines totaling $1,300. The incident occurred at the home of lawyer Edward Mezvinsky, former chairman of the state Democratic Party and a former Iowa congressman.

A federal judge dealt a serious legal blow yesterday to Edward Mezvinsky, ruling that the former congressman cannot use a mental-health defense at his fraud trial in October. "Mezvinsky's proffered mental-health defenses are founded upon a miasma of ifs, hypotheses and conjectures that have no relevance," U.S. District Judge Stewart Dalzell wrote in a 35-page opinion. The decision leaves Mezvinsky, 65, of Lower Merion, little room to maneuver in fighting government charges that he cheated friends, family and institutions of more than $10 million in what prosecutors say amounted to a series of Ponzi schemes.

Attempting to head off a mental-health defense at Edward Mezvinsky's approaching fraud trial, the government brought two medical experts to court yesterday to debunk his claim that bipolar disorder and an antimalarial drug left the former Democratic congressman unable to tell right from wrong. The nearly four-hour hearing before U.S. District Judge Stewart Dalzell amounted to a lesson in malaria research by Hans Lobel and a seminar in brain function by Ruben Gur. After hearing their testimony, Mezvinsky's lawyer, Thomas Bergstrom, said that he has a "very tough" road ahead to make his case.

Edward Mezvinsky, the former congressman and onetime head of Pennsylvania's Democratic Committee, plans to use a mental-health defense, but not claim insanity, when his trial begins in May on bank fraud and related charges. His lawyer, Thomas A. Bergstrom, submitted papers in federal court this week in which he said the defense will include the contention that Mezvinsky suffers from a bipolar mental disorder that has been untreated for decades. In addition, the papers say, the 64-year-old Mezvinsky has organic brain damage that was revealed during a brain scan in November, and also suffers from brain disease brought on by his use of the anti-malarial drug Larium.

Former U.S. Rep. Edward Mezvinsky agreed yesterday to be placed under house arrest after federal prosecutors revealed new fraud allegations - including charges that he tried to defraud an additional victim and deposit an additional counterfeit check, this one for nearly a half-million dollars. The government asked U.S. District Judge Stewart Dalzell to revoke Mezvinsky's bail after detailing the latest allegations of "new criminal conduct" against the former congressman. Some of the alleged activity took place as recently as last month, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Former U.S. Rep. Edward Mezvinsky agreed yesterday to be placed under house arrest after federal prosecutors revealed new fraud allegations - including charges that he tried to defraud an additional victim and deposit an additional counterfeit check, this one for nearly a half-million dollars. The government asked U.S. District Judge Stewart Dalzell to revoke Mezvinsky's bail after detailing the latest allegations of "new criminal conduct" against the former congressman. Some of the alleged activity took place as recently as last month, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

A federal judge yesterday tightened conditions of bail for Edward Mezvinsky after the government complained that the former U.S. representative appeared to be continuing behavior that led to his indictment on fraud and related charges this year. U.S. District Judge Stewart Dalzell told Mezvinsky that he must alert the pretrial services office three days in advance if he planned to make any financial transaction of $5,000 or more. The office would notify the judge and he would decide whether to tell the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Federal prosecutors have filed a motion seeking to introduce evidence that former U.S. Rep. Edward M. Mezvinsky engaged in a series of fraudulent schemes dating back to the early 1980s. The motion argues that the alleged offenses prove that Mezvinsky, who is outlining an insanity defense, was mentally competent during the time he is charged with defrauding banks and individuals out of millions to cover business losses and personal expenses. The alleged criminal activity in the 1980s is not included in a 66-count indictment filed against Mezvinsky because it occurred outside of the statute of limitations.

Prosecutors see no merit to bankrupt Montgomery County businessman Edward Mezvinsky's claim that anti-malarial drugs caused him to cheat friends, relatives, investors and bankers out of more than $10 million. Mezvinsky, a former Iowa congressman who is married to ex-Pennsylvania congresswoman Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky, pleaded not guilty in federal court yesterday to 66 criminal fraud and related charges. He was released on $50,000 unsecured bail by U.S. Magistrate Judge M. Faith Angell to await trial.

After Edward Mezvinsky pleaded not guilty to charges that he defrauded institutions and individuals out of more than $10 million, a federal prosecutor yesterday took a jab at what is likely to be part of the defense: that Mezvinsky's use of an antimalarial drug exacerbated an existing mental condition. "We have investigated it thoroughly," Assistant U.S. District Attorney Robert A. Zauzmer told the court, "and we don't give any credit to that. " Mezvinsky's attorneys say he admits many of the charges outlined in a 66-count indictment handed down last week.

Edward Mezvinsky, the former U.S. representative who on Thursday was charged with fraud, yesterday sued the maker of the drug Lariam, the doctor who prescribed it, and the pharmacy that supplied it, contending that the medication caused him to exercise "uncharacteristically poor business judgment" that led to huge amounts of debt. If successful, the suit could break new legal ground. "It means you [could] use the defense of not guilty by reason of medicine in a case where there was no violent crime and where the crime took place over a long period of time," said Thomas Harrison, a lawyer and publisher who tracks legal trends.