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Woman arrested for trespassing at casino www.privateofficer.com
A Kingston woman banned from the Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs casino in Plains Township was arrested early Thursday morning for trespassing, state police said in a press release.
Mary Renee Bartholomew, 47, was told in December 2007 she was never allowed to return to the casino or she would face charges, police said.
Around 12:15 a.m. on Thursday, security officers observed Bartholomew in the facility and recognized her as someone who was banned, police said.
Security officers and members of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board confronted Bartholomew and she admitted she was not supposed to be in the casino, police said.
Bartholomew was charged with criminal trespassing and again told not to return to the casino.
It could not be determined Friday why Bartholomew was banned from the casino.
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Police investigate 3 bank robberies during memorial for fallen officers
Pittsburgh police are investigating three bank robberies that happened as many officers attended ceremonies honoring three officers killed in the line of duty.
The most recent happened during the massive police memorial service for Officers Eric Kelly, Paul Sciullo II and Stephen Mayhle on Thursday at the Petersen Events Center.
A man handed a note to the bank teller at the Fidelity Bank in Troy Hill and ordered the teller to put money in a bag without the dye pack.
He did not show a weapon and then ran away after the crime.
Police have now released surveillance pictures of two robberies that happened Wednesday.
The National City Bank on Fifth Avenue robbery occurred as the funeral mass for Officer Sciullo was underway that morning.
The robber handed the teller a note, reading, “Give me all you got in hundreds and twenties.”
He wore a bandana to try to hide his face from the security cameras.
The Northwest Savings Bank on Smithfield Street was robbed just minutes after the public viewing for all three officers began at the City-County Building.
The man handed the teller a note that demanded money and stated, “No alarms. No dye packs.”
He never spoke or showed a weapon.
Police have not said if any of the robberies are connected.
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Retired NYPD officer commits suicide after shooting incident www.privateofficer.com
WEST BABYLON, N.Y. April 12 2009 — A retired New York City police officer shot an off-duty officer he suspected was having an affair with his police officer wife, then killed himself in the driveway of his suburban home, police said Saturday.Cecil Ramsay, 51, shot himself in the head after firing at a car carrying his wife and a friend, both off-duty NYPD officers, Suffolk County police said.
He shot Officer Edwin Shittick in the hand after accusing him “of seeing his wife,” said Suffolk County Police Det. Lt. Jack Fitzpatrick.
“It’s our understanding that that is not the case. They’re just acquaintances,” Fitzpatrick said.
Ramsay fired at least three times at the car as his wife, Officer Belfort Dady, drove away with a wounded Shittick, Fitzpatrick said.
He then put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger in front of several witnesses, Fitzpatrick said.
Dady, 46, and Ramsay have at least one child, Fitzpatrick said. Ramsay had been ill with heart problems and was awaiting a heart transplant, he said.
New York City police wouldn’t comment on the shootings or give information about the officers, referring all questions to Long Island authorities.
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Wackenhut security to be replaced at Miami-Dade Transit www.privateofficer.com
Four years after allegations surfaced that Wackenhut Corp. fraudulently overbilled Miami-Dade Transit for security work it never performed, the county is moving to replace the firm and support a lawsuit aimed at recouping millions paid for alleged ”phantom” workers at Metrorail stops.
County Manager George Burgess, in a memo to commissioners Friday, said he also wants to bar the Palm Beach Gardens-based security firm from doing business with the county in the future.
The move is sure to escalate the testy fight between Miami-Dade County and Wackenhut, which has denied wrongdoing and hired a bevy of lobbyists, including former Congresswoman Carrie Meek, to press its case. Wackenhut has held the contract to patrol mass transit stations for 20 years, although the latest agreement — a no-bid contract that pays the company as much as $17 million a year — expires in November.
Wackenhut issued a written statement late Friday saying it is “shocked that the County Manager has falsely accused us of intentionally overbilling the county.”
It called claims of overcharging both false and unsubstantiated, while asserting the county has “a history of mismanaged audits.”
The county action comes after several years of criticism that Miami-Dade government failed to address allegations of bogus charges for empty guard posts and doctored time sheets. The claims were first raised in an ongoing 2005 lawsuit and later detailed in a 2008 county audit, which initially estimated $6.26 million in overbillings but now pegs the total at $3.4 million.
”The evidence of overbilling has been overwhelming and existing for four years,” said attorney Mark Vieth, who filed the 2005 lawsuit pending in Miami-Dade Circuit Court. He contends that the Wackenhut overcharges are much higher than the county’s number.
After the May 2008 county audit, County Mayor Carlos Alvarez declared that the security firm had 90 days to rebut the findings or repay the county. Wackenhut did neither, yet the county didn’t move until now — with six months left on the contract.
Burgess defended the pace of the audit and the time it’s taken to decide a course of action, calling the issues complex and voluminous.
”The easiest thing to do is hang someone without trying to be thorough,” Burgess said in a Friday interview.
The flap over security guards at Metrorail stops is part of a broader history of waste and mismanagement that has punctuated Miami-Dade County’s stewardship of the transit system.
Perhaps the most glaring example was the creation of a half-penny sales tax in 2002 that the county later frittered away partially on salaries and expenses while failing to deliver on promised bus and rail service.
Some critics have called for creation of a transit authority, removing the county government’s control of the transportation system. The county said a new administration is pressing reforms.
The ”ghost post” Metrorail allegations added a fresh wrinkle to transit’s history.
The allegations arose in the August 2005 lawsuit against Wackenhut filed by a former guard at the county Juvenile Assessment Center, who filed a whistle-blower suit claiming phony billing practices by the security firm.
The complaint is filed under the False Claims Act, which allows private citizens to sue on behalf of government.
But the county has hardly been in accord with the suit. Indeed, Vieth sought, but failed, to depose county auditor Cathy Jackson last year while her long-awaited county audit remained unreleased to the public.
Jackson subsequently published findings that mirrored claims in the lawsuit. The audit prompted Burgess to write to County Mayor Alvarez nearly a year ago that there is ”no disputing” that Miami-Dade Transit is owed for hours not worked by Wackenhut officers.
In Friday’s memo, Burgess outlines the proposed replacements for Wackenhut, citing provisions in the new contracts that “hold the recommended firms accountable for appropriate staffing and accurate billing.”
The county manager is recommending that 50 State Security provide armed officers at all Metrorail and Metromover stations. A joint venture combining Professional Protection and Investigations Inc. and Security Alliance is also proposed to provide unarmed guards at all bus and rail maintenance facilities.
Separately, Allied Barton Security Services is recommended to take over security at the county’s Juvenile Services Department, a job held by Wackenhut since 1998.
The proposals are scheduled to go before the Budget, Planning and Sustainability Committee on May 12 and the County Commission on June 2.
But even if commissioners agree to remove Wackenhut, the security firm may not go before its contract expires in November. The reason: Burgess said a transition to new security firms will take at least three months.
”It doesn’t just happen overnight,” he said.
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Cop accused of double murder on the run www.privateofficer.com
Investigators said they received a tip, which led police to the Greyhound Bus station in downtown shortly after midnight Saturday.
Authorities said they searched buses at the station, but came up empty-handed.
Investigators said Yancey was believed to have boarded a bus heading north to Chicago. Buses leaving the station for Chicago and Cleveland were searched at the next stop in Dalton, Ga., but Yancey wasn’t found.
DeKalb County Sheriff Tom Brown said Yancey disappeared from his mother’s home last week after cutting his tracking bracelet. Authorities said Yancey was being monitored by a private probation company.
“Over the past couple of months, Yancey has been depressed,” said defense attorney Keith Adams in a statement released to Channel 2 Action News.
Yancey is accused of killing his wife, Linda Yancey, and a day laborer, Marcial Puluc, last summer.
A judge had released Yancey on $150,000 bond under the condition that he wear an electronic monitor and remain under house arrest.
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Electronic monitoring changing how companies are protected www.privateofficer.com
Larry Adler, managing partner of Eyewitness, said roughly 100 car dealerships in Maryland rely on his company’s software to monitor an entire site. Apartment complexes and large commercial buildings also make up his clientele.
“The most important thing for us is to have 100 percent coverage of that property,” Adler said.
Eyewitness Surveillance sees and hears anything that happens on a business’s property, he said.
Its software is linked to video cameras that are set up at a client’s site.
The company also installs audio systems, complete with speakers and microphones, that allow Eyewitness employees to speak with anyone on site.
“If we speak to you and you run, obviously you were not there for any good reason,” Adler said.
If Eyewitness employees identify a suspicious person, they immediately call police. And Eyewitness has already made an impact locally.
Brian Fader, owner of Mercedes-Benz of Annapolis in Eastport, said he used to rely on guards as a security measure, but sometimes they wouldn’t even show up.
Since becoming a client of Adler’s firm, Fader said he doesn’t have to worry about crime or reliability.
“This certainly gives us better coverage,” he said. “If they see something going on, they come right on over the loud speaker while they are calling the police. It’s a huge deterrent.”
Adler wouldn’t disclose exact figures, but said his gross income increased 65 percent in 2008 over 2007.
Eyewitness’ income is expected to increase 85 percent this year, he said.
The firm also set up a dealership program April 1 that allows other security companies to sell Eyewitness software and retain the company as a monitoring service, he said.
Security experts said cameras are a cost-effective way to provide security after hours and a novel idea for businesses that have had trouble with guards.
Gee Cosper, president and chief executive officer of Annapolis-based Gee Cosper & Associates, said cameras can be a great tool for law-enforcement officials. But cameras alone are not a deterrent, he said.
Some of the best defense strategies include locking gates, crime-prevention through environmental design tactics and keeping lights on, he said.
“If you don’t have light, you are tempting criminal activity,” he said.
Adler said Eyewitness encourages its clients to keep lights on and doors locked. It also provides video surveillance for its clients during the day, he said.
While the time it takes police to arrive on the scene is the same for Eyewitness as it is if a hired guard called 911, Adler said he’s providing security coverage at a fraction of the cost.
Security guards start at $18 an hour while the price tag for an off-duty police officer can range up to $56 an hour, Adler said.
By comparison, Eyewitness installs cameras as part of an hourly rate that can range from $4 to more than $30, depending on the size and needs of facility.
Companies sign multiyear contracts that can range into the thousands of dollars, he said.
The firm supplies everything from fixed cameras, pan-zoom-tilt cameras as well as covert cameras that can be placed inside a hanging picture or even a thermostat. Companies can order from 16 cameras to 100 or more, he said.
Adler said he spent seven years developing the company’s surveillance software with a business partner and moved the firm to Annapolis in 2002. His staff doesn’t need security experience.
The only requirements are being reliable, trainable and willing to work the night shift. Eyewitness employees also must wear earpieces that beep if they start to snooze even for a second, Adler said.
“If they did, they would be let go,” he said.
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Man charged in hospital thefts www.privateofficer.com
A Bethlehem man admitted breaking into a hospital storage closet and stealing electronic equipment to feed his drug habit, Fountain Hill police said in an arrest affidavit.
Jesse Nunez, 37, of 518 Fiot St. broke into the basement closet at St. Luke’s Hospital-Fountain Hill on three occasions and stole computer equipment valued at about $6,600, police said. A policeman saw Nunez walking in Bethlehem and arrested him based on a description of the thief, leading Nunez to admit stealing the items and claiming he was ”dope sick,” according to the affidavit.
Nunez was charged with burglary, trespass, theft and receiving stolen property. Hospital spokeswoman Sue Ross said the stolen equipment contained no medical records.
”There were absolutely no hard drives taken, only monitors. So no information was lost or stolen,” Ross said
The affidavit says:
Hospital security contacted police March 27, April 2 and Wednesday and told them about the thefts, which were caught on security camera. The thief used a screwdriver to pry open the closet door and take the equipment.
An officer was driving west on Broadway about 10:10 a.m. Wednesday when he noticed Nunez — who fit the description of the man caught on tape stealing from the hospital — walking south on Fiot Street. The officer arrested Nunez and took him to police headquarters.
Nunez admitted stealing the equipment and said he had three monitors at home. He said he couldn’t sell them because they were broken.
Nunez claimed he only took five computers from the hospital and said he did so to sell them for money.
Police went to Nunez’s home and recovered two empty computer boxes, one of which had a label addressed to St. Luke’s Hospital, and two computer monitors.
Slatington District Judge Rod Beck arraigned Nunez on Wednesday and sent him to Lehigh County Prison under $40,000 bail.
