By Ron Lee
Investigative Journalist

“You’ve got to fight them, Michael. I believe in you!” Those were Colonel John Lee’s last words to his son-in-law, Michael Quiel, about the now-proven-false criminal charges Michael faced. Colonel Lee knew Michael had to fight for his innocence, no matter what, because it was the only way an innocent man could act. According to Michael, his wife and Colonel Lee’s daughter agreed that fighting was the right thing to do.

Now, over eleven years later, Michael is making good on his pledge to keep up the fight by filing a massive $135,000,000 civil lawsuit against the IRS, IRS agent Cheryl Bradley, Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) Monica Edelstein (who is now a sitting judge in Arizona), AUSA Timothy Stockwell, Michael Quiel’s former tax attorney and legal advisor, Christopher Rusch (now known as Christian Reeves), and others known or unknown.

Ex-Prosecutor, Now Judge, Has No Immunity in Lawsuit

A great many things can be said about Monica Edelstein. She is currently a Maricopa County Judge, presiding over family court. From 2006 to 2013, Edelstein was a trial attorney for the Department of Justice (DOJ) in the Criminal Tax Division. Then, from 2013 to 2020, she was an AUSA based in Phoenix, Arizona. While her bio reads like she has done “good things” to get where she is, the definition of whose “good things” is in question, and it calls into question how honorable Monica Edelstein truly is.

On the surface, Edelstein had a stellar career as a prosecutor, but were her prosecutions truly warranted? Or, like many other prosecutors, were some of those she prosecuted just “lucky enough” to land in front of a driven, unrelenting force that prosecuted at all costs, to hell with justice? Based on the US~Observer investigation into Michael Quiel’s false criminal tax conviction, Monica Edelstein absolutely didn’t care about justice, just convicting her target.

Since becoming a judge, the US~Observer has received numerous calls and emails about Judge Edelstein’s behavior in court proceedings. Complaints range from Edelstein favoring one party over another, regardless of evidence, to taking children from their parents without cause. Given that Edelstein falsely prosecuted Michael Quiel, these complaints are entirely believable.

In the civil rights lawsuit filed by Michael Quiel, who defeated all but one of the now-proven-false charges against him, Edelstein’s involvement in creating an ironclad prosecution presumably meant she also created the sole testimony against him. That testimony came from Quiel’s own tax attorney — a man by the name of Christopher Rusch.

Rusch had “cut a deal” with Edelstein and/or the IRS, but when the presiding judge asked about it, Edelstein said she wasn’t aware of any deal. The truth is, Edelstein must have known Rusch had made the deal.

US~Observer’s Editor-in-Chief, Edward Snook, said Edelstein stepped outside her prosecutorial immunity. He went on to say, “We defeated prosecutorial immunity in the James Faire murder case in Washington State, and I can tell you, our investigation has concluded Edelstein knew that Christopher Rusch was getting preferential treatment, and she lied to the court.”

According to Quiel’s lawsuit, he is suing Monica Edelstein in both her personal and professional capacity.

“I once heard a federal judge say that attorneys lie every day in court,” Michael Quiel somberly stated to Snook on a call. “I know they lied in my case and that’s what my civil suit is all about. They knew I was innocent, and they kept coming anyway. Now, I’m coming for them, because if we don’t have justice in my case, we end up having a pattern of falsely prosecuting other innocent individuals.”

Ex-Tax Attorney Still Scheming

Christopher Rusch, after being disbarred in the State of California, conveniently changed his name to Christian Reeves so he could continue scamming innocent individuals out of their hard-earned money – all under the not-so-watchful eye of the entire “justice system”. In fact, Rusch/Reeves presents himself to prospective clients as an expert in expatriation and the “art” of offshore banking and investing.

Ex-Wife Now Lying in Court

Unfortunately for Michael, his wife has tapped out of the fight and their relationship, saying under oath in their recent divorce proceedings that she originally wanted to settle with the IRS, not fight. Her statement directly contradicts the quote from Colonel John Lee in Michael Quiel’s book “Rigged”.

The suit filed in the United States District Court, District of Arizona on December 25, 2022, alleges Malicious Prosecution, Abuse of Process, Tortious Interference, and RICO. It lays out evidence of collusion between government actors and Michael and his wife’s attorney, Rusch/Reeves, all in an effort to convict Michael and his business partner for crimes that Rusch/Reeves was solely guilty of committing. It proves that prosecutors and Rusch/Reeves conspired to create testimony that would be used to convict Michael and his partner. The racketeering was done in an effort to adhere to the government’s agenda of prosecuting Americans who were using foreign banks as tax shelters, with, or in this case, without factual guilt.

The strongest evidence of Michael Quiel’s innocence was a $500,000.00 overpayment on a tax refund check the IRS paid to Michael and his wife while he was being prosecuted for “trying to get out of paying taxes.” The jury rightly found Michael not guilty of conspiracy, and not guilty of FBAR violations, however, they wrongly found Michael guilty of filing false tax returns – keep in mind, Rusch/Reeves represented Michael and his wife as their tax attorney, and they closely followed all of his advice.

It cost Michael his freedom for over ten months in prison and Michael and his wife countless dollars fighting for his innocence prior to and since. His wife avoided prosecution because Michael acted as her shield. Michael worked for years and finally obtained spousal relief for his wife just months ago. Once his wife’s spousal relief was in place, she planned and then initiated divorce proceedings to end her marriage with Michael. His wife has clearly exposed herself to significant civil liability with the IRS, as the civil side of their tax dispute is still ongoing.

The US~Observer, which has extensively investigated Michael Quiel’s wrongful conviction and Rusch/Reeves’ continued financial scams, will continue to fight for Michael Quiel’s vindication. Read our complete, concise coverage of Michael Quiel’s case at usobserver.com.

Michael Quiel deserves to have his day in court, and for the facts to be justly weighed

Editor’s Note: Anyone with information on wrongdoing on the part of anyone named in this article is urged to contact the US~Observer at 541-474-7885 or by email to editor@usobserver.com.