I don't know if that's true (I think it is), but, according to hilarious, "all staff can delete or trashcan a thread as long as it is in their jurisdiction".
Jurisdiction means: Section that they moderate. If you look closely, a single moderator couldn't do much in his "personal vendetta" conquest.
Precisely. As I mentioned earlier, you can avoid your theoretical situation happening (by anyone other than a Global Moderator or Administrator) by avoiding the sections moderated by the staff member you do not trust. However, if you do not trust the staff to do their jobs properly it is questionable whether you should be on the forum at all.
It is irrelevant for me, but I wonder whether I am the person who lost the most amount (absolute wise, not percentage wise).
I believe Mitchell lost more than you, did he not?