I filed a complaint with the “bar” in Nebraska against Joseph Howard because he ignored several of my requests for my file since August 2025. Lets break this down:
- My Guilty Plea was based on fundamentally false evidence; because, the conviction rested entirely on a fabricated MySQL table that was created and populated by an FBI contractor. That means that the core evidence was not merely flawed, it was entirely manufactured.
- Dr. Podhradsky’s team knew that this database table was nonexistent in the website’s online code base repository, yet their June 2015 report claims that this database table was part of that website’s code base. That’s perjury.
- That means that my plea wasn’t just “uninformed” – it was induced by evidence that never really existed. That rules out that their perjury was caused by incompetence and proves that they lied on purpose to help the prosecution hide the fatal defect in their case against me.
- Defense counsel (Jospeh Howard) actively helped them (Podhradsky’s team) obscure the truth before and after my conviction. (FOIA documents prove that Howard allowed Podhradsky’s team to collude with Becker.)
Thus we shouldn’t be surprised that Howard is actively obstructing my efforts to get answers to my questions. A few weeks after my complaint was filed, Howard sent me this letter:
Dear Mr. Cottom:
I write in response to your recent correspondence requesting materials from your case file. I will send you all documents from my files that I still have and that I am legally permitted to provide.
With respect to discovery produced by the government in the criminal matter, any items that constitute government discovery will need to be obtained from the government.
Please be advised that emails from over six years ago may no longer be available; our routine retention practices may not have preserved email beyond that period.
I will review my archived and legacy files and will transmit to you what I am legally allowed to share.
Good luck with your ongoing matters.