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Cleveland security officer shoots-kills 2 men who attacked him www.privateofficer.com
Police were called to the bar (6702 St. Clair) at approximately 1 a.m. Thursday. Upon arrival, officers found two men with gunshot wounds to the chest.
Emergency crews responded to the scene and found both men — Roosevelt Guins, 33, of Cleveland, and Alexander Burks, 25, of Cleveland — unresponsive. Cleveland Police Sgt. Sammy Morris says that the victims were pronounced dead on the scene.
A preliminary investigation reveals that Guins, Burks and approximately 8-10 others were assaulting a bar security guard. During the assault, they attempted to take the security officer’s gun and drag him into a restroom. As the guard, Byron Gilson, was being assaulted and dragged, he fired his weapon, wounding the two victims.
The other men eventually fled the scene. As a result of the investigation, however, one of the men who attempted to take Gilson’s weapon was arrested for aggravated robbery. The suspect has been identified as Clarence Flowers, 32, of Cleveland.
Gilson was transported to Euclid Hospital, where he was treated for his injuries.
Guins’ father, Michael Hutchins, tells Fox 8 News that his son was a father of four.
“(It’s) sad, very sad,” Hutchins said.
A friend who was at Top Cats with Guins said the victim had a winning lottery ticket worth $15,000 on his person, but he does not believe that it had anything to do with the altercation and subsequent shooting.
This investigation is being handled by the Cleveland Division of Police Homicide Unit. Authorities are asking that anyone with any information about this incident to contact the Homicide Unit at (216) 623-5464.
The official cause of death will be determined by the Cuyahoga County Coroner’s Office.
Retired security officer honored after 20 years at school www.privateofficer.com
JACKSON NJ June 9 2011 — There is a new sign at Jackson Memorial High School honoring “Joe’s Corner.” That is the place where Joe Newman, who retired from his position as a school security officer on Oct. 7, 2010, could be found come rain, shine, sleet or snow.
Newman, 84, worked in the Jackson School District for 20 years, He was honored on May 17 by students, faculty members and friends.
Newman said that when he arrived in the school district, he was assigned to the middle schools and some of the elementary schools. He spent his final 14 years in Jackson at Jackson Memorial High School.
Newman became a school security guard after he concluded his career as a police officer.
Jackson Superintendent of Schools Thomas Gialanella said, “The kids loved him. He did a great job for us He’s an experienced police officer and he knew how to handle all kinds of situations. We all miss him, but we are glad to see him here today.”
Jackson Memorial High School Principal Kevin DiEugenio said that when he was teaching social studies at the high school in the 1990s, Newman would come into his class to discuss his military service in World War II.
“I loved having Joe and the kids loved having him in class. He is a real part of the Jackson Memorial High School culture,” DiEugenio said. “Joe has been a wonderful supporter of all the children in Jackson. We have so many memories of Joe, who has touched so many people here at Jackson Memorial. His reach has been endless. He is certainly part of the Jaguar Nation.”
During the ceremony, the Junior ROTC presented the colors and the Jackson Memorial High School band played “God Bless America” and other selections.
Former Jackson Memorial High School Principal Bernie Reider said Newman had great judgment and instinct as a school security officer and he said Newman could read the students very well.
“He was a constant here for all those years,” Reider said. “He was always steady and he really knew how to look at a situation, analyze it, and he could sniff it out in just a few minutes.”
Reider recalled one such incident, which lasted only 30 minutes.
“When I was principal, I would take a half-hour and go out to the deli just to get away from the phones for a while. I was on my way back and I saw fire trucks coming toward the school and I thought some kid had pulled the fire alarm. I said to myself, ‘They don’t need me for that,’ so I had my sandwich and I came back. What did I find? There was a fire in the auditorium,” Reider said .
He said he learned that Newman had helped to put out the fire. In fact, Newman was taken to a hospital to determine if he had suffered smoke inhalation.
“We were lucky to have him,” Reider said, adding that Newman made an impact on the lives of students and teachers.
Director of Security John Lamela said the word that should be used to describe Newman is “pride.”
“He had the ability to defuse situations and he had the ability to care,” Lamela said. “I could set my watch by Joe going by to go outside in rain, sleet or snow. He had it over the mailman, and I was proud to have him here, because he had that pride which he wore every day to work.”
Turning to Newman, Lamela said, “The impact you have had here is longlasting, and years from now I know they are going to mention your name in all the right contexts. I am proud to be a part of that and I am glad that you are a part of this community.”
Source:Tri-town News
Georgia susbstitute teacher pregnant with student’s twin babies www.privateofficer.com
Police said the teacher, Rene Frank, 27, also told them she is pregnant with twins and the 17-year-old student is the father.
Channel 2′s Tom Jones was in the courtroom for Frank’s first court appearance.
Jones said Frank walked in and immediately began crying.
A judge denied bond for Frank, at which point Jones said she began to cry again. Frank is charged with sexual assault against a person under supervision in a school.
According to police documents and an arrest warrant, Frank taught math at Charles Drew High School in Riverdale. Officers said the 17-year-old student told a teacher he was involved in a sexual relationship with Frank. That teacher told the principal and police were called.
Officers said they questioned Frank and she admitted the allegations were true. Police said she told officers that the student’s father asked her to give his son a ride to school and that’s when the relationship progressed. The sex took place in Frank’s car off campus, police said.
Students at the school said they heard about the relationship, but not the pregnancy.
“It’s crazy. Nasty,” said Drew High School student David Grier.
A parent of another Drew High School student was disgusted after hearing about the allegations.
“Well, it’s kind of sickening, you know. You send the kids up here for education and then this type of thing going on in the schools,” parent Carlotta Thornton said. “It’s crazy. If I was the parent, I’d be upset. I would be totally upset.”
According to police records, another Drew High School student told police he also had a sexual relationship with Frank, but Frank denied that. Police said their investigation continues.
Frank’s attorney, Meg Strickler, said her client is innocent until proven guilty, and people should let the court process work.
A Clayton County School System spokesman said he couldn’t comment because it is a personnel issue. Frank told police she is now unemployed.
The 17-year-old student’s mother said the relationship with the teacher has had an adverse affect on him and that he is trying to get his life together.
Source:WSBTV
Former Georgia prosecutor caught with gun at airport www.privateofficer.com
CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga.June 9 2011 — A former high-ranking Clayton County official talked exclusively to Channel 2 Action News about how a lapse in memory landed him in jail on weapons charges.
As former Clayton County Executive Assistant District Attorney under Jewel Scott’s administration, John Turner helped put dozens of murderers in the Clayton County Jail. But he did not expect to spend a night there behind bars.
Turner told investigative reporter Mark Winne he forgot to remove his gun from his waist pack when he went through the security checkpoint at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Wednesday.
Turner said, “There’s no defense for a lapse of memory. I mean it is what it is. I forgot. I paid a price for forgetting.”
Turner indicated he typically kept his gun in a concealed weapon portion of his waist pack and he forgot it was even there as he passed through airport security.
“It was only after they brought it through and unzipped it that I saw the firearm myself,” said Turner.
Turner said he has a permit for the gun and carried the weapon in his waist pack the night before while walking his dogs.
“There’s nobody else out on the street, so traditionally I put my firearm in my fanny pack,” said Turner.
That is the same waist pack Turner used to carry his wallet and other valuables as he often does while traveling and wearing warm-up suit pants. Turner said he simply forgot the gun was there.
Turner said, “When the officer arrived I asked her to give me a copy of charges and she said she couldn’t do that, that their policy was zero tolerance.”
Turner said he has been treated fairly.
“If I’m treated as a first offender, that’s a normal process,” said Turner.
Solicitor General Mosley said Turner is entitled to first offender treatment.
“Mr. Turner will be treated just like anybody else that we offer pretrial intervention to,” said Mosley.
Mosley said her office has handled about 140 cases of guns at the airport since ’09 and she indicated she believes most of those defendants truly just forgot.
Source:WSBTV.com
Woman found with loaded gun at NY airport www.privateofficer.com
A Westtown, N.Y. woman was arrested Tuesday at Stewart International Airport in Orange County.
The State Police were called by Federal Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents to investigate what appeared to be a handgun in a piece of checked baggage.
Officers searched the bag and found a loaded .25 caliber handgun and an electronic stun gun.
Sonia Del Toro Valentine, 63, of Westtown, N.Y. was arrested. The state police reports that she was also carrying fake identification documents.
She faces multiple criminal possession of a weapon charges and was to be arraigned.
Police charge teens with golf carts theft www.privateofficer.com
Police say a security guard detained Christopher A. Isaacs, 18, and a 17-year-old male when he discovered the duo with two golf carts near the driving range at the Gibson Bay Gold Course around 4 a.m. Police say an investigation determined the pair stole the golf carts and drove them to Dixie Plaza. They removed the roof and windshields, then picked up two female juveniles and took them for a ride. They teens eventually returned to the golf course where the security guard discovered them.
Police arrested Isaacs and the juvenile and charged them with receiving stolen property and criminal mischief. Isaacs was taken to the Madison County Detention Center. The male juvenile and both females were released to their guardians.
Erie man charged with assaulting hospital security www.privateofficer.com
Erie County PA June 9 2011 An Erie man is behind bars after police accused him of assaulting a hospital security guard.
27-year-old David Schwalm is charged with assault and disorderly conduct after police say he punched a security guard in the eye during a disturbance in the waiting area at Saint Vincent Hospital.
Schwalm was jailed at Erie County Prison on $7500 bond.
Man charged with assaulting Cap Cod campground security officer www.privateofficer.com
Barnestable MA June 9 2011 Police were called to a local campground after a security officer reported being assaulted.
The private security guard reported having been attacked by a man later identified as Brendon J Carey,29 of Centerville because he was denied entry onto the property.
When approached by police, Carey first attempted to flee, then turned around and challenged them while reaching into his sweatshirt pocket. Police tasered Carey, then arrested him.
Carey is charged with assault; assault on 60+/disabled person; threatening to commit a crime.
A pretrial conference is scheduled for June 24 and a competency evaluation has ordered.
Comcast is getting into the home security business www.privateofficer.com
Atlanta GA June 9 2011 The company plans to announce tomorrow that it’s expanding its Xfinity Home Security service. Last year the company began testing the service in Houston. Now it’s adding six more cities. Additional cities that will get the new service include parts of Philadelphia; Portland, Ore.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Sarasota/Naples, Fla.; Chattanooga, Tenn.; and Nashville.
The Xfinity Home Security service offers traditional home security features, such as police and fire alarm protection with 24-hour monitoring. It also offers some home automation functions, such as the ability to adjust thermostats and lights remotely. And when people are not home, they can also watch live video streams from wireless cameras that are positioned in and around their home.
The technology behind the system is slightly different from traditional home security systems from companies, such as ADT. The Comcast Xfinity Home Security system works over a broadband connection rather than a phone connection. And as a result it’s able to offer the video service and remote management. The company uses cellular networks as a back up to the broadband connectivity to ensure uptime.
The home security market is worth about $8 billion annually, according to Parks Associates. Comcast executive Mitch Bowling wouldn’t say how big he expects the new home security business to be for Comcast in particular. But he said that Comcast sees it as its fourth anchor business, alongside cable TV, broadband, and voice services. That said, the company doesn’t expect to sell Xfinity Home Security as part of a quadruple play bundle.
Instead, Bowling said Comcast sees the business as an opportunity to expand its business into areas that are adjacent to its existing core businesses. A good idea considering that Comcast, like other cable operators, has been losing basic cable TV subscribers. In the first quarter that ended in March, Comcast reported it had lost 39,000 basic cable subscribers, bringing its TV subscriber total to 22.6 million.
Bowling said only a fraction of the company’s customer base today already uses a home security system. He hopes that Comcast can win over these customers. But he also believes the company can expand the business and win new customers, who may not consider traditional home security systems.
“We are targeting existing home security customers,” he said. “But we’re also looking to expand the market.”
Bowling said that it’s too soon to talk about penetration rates. But in Houston, where the service has been available for almost a year, 50 percent of its sales have been to existing home security customers switching to the Comcast service. And the other 50 percent have been customers, who have never had a home security system.
Bowling believes that the system will appeal to people interested in conserving energy as well as gadget-savvy people who just want more control of what happens in their homes when they aren’t around.
The service costs $39.95 per month. This price includes a touch-screen control device, four window/door sensors, and a key chain remote control. Additional monitors can be purchased.
Customers can also get a free iPhone and iPad app that allows them to access the features remotely, including the video stream. The touch-screen control panel that comes with the service not only allows for the service to be managed, but it also includes widgets to get the latest weather, news, traffic, and sports scores.
Customers can customize the settings for the service to receive e-mails or text message alerts based on certain events. For example, if a parent expects her children to come home from school between 3:15 p.m. and 3:45 p.m., she can write a rule that the system sends her a text alert if the front door is not opened sometime in that time period.
Comcast is requiring all customers signing up for the service to agree to a three-year contract. The early termination fee starts at $1,110 and is prorated after every quarter.
Source:cnet.com
State insurance investigators murdered by fraud suspect www.privateofficer.com
VILLE PLATTE LA June 9 2011- Louisiana Department of Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon will hold a press conference this afternoon to address the loss of two state insurance fraud investigators who were killed on the job.
The two veteran investigators, Rhett Jeansonne and Kim Sledge, were shot and killed Tuesday while trying to collect information from an agent who was found dead barricading himself in his business where the shooting happened, authorities said.
After John Melvin Lavergne barricaded himself inside the agency, more than 100 officers including a SWAT team and negotiators surrounded the building for hours.
Investigators sent in a robot that took pictures of Lavergne’s body and SWAT members soon burst in to find him, said Louisiana State Police Superintendent Michael Edmonson.
The state Department of Insurance in 2009 had suspended Lavergne’s insurance license and fined him $16,500, saying he provided fraudulent proofs of vehicle insurance several times. He was 64 at the time.
Donelon said in a news release then that Lavergne had been in business for almost 40 years and held both casualty, property and vehicle physical damage licenses and a life, accident and health license.
In January, state police arrested Lavergne, who was charged with unfair trade practices. In October 2010, police received complaints that Lavergne was not sending payments from his customers to their insurance companies, according to a news release. As a result, at least four customers had seven of their policies cancelled, police said.
West Virginia teacher charged with embezzlement www.privateofficer.com
Last month, West Virginia State Police arrested Christine Wilson of Washington for embezzlement. Wilson, who served as treasurer of a band boosters club, is alleged to have taken almost $9,000.
The 39-year-old was arrested May 6 by the Wirt County detachment of the West Virginia State Police. Sgt. C.E. Boring is the investigating officer.
According to the criminal complaint, Wilson took over duties as treasurer for the Wirt County Band Boosters in July and held the post until February. Boring states he received information from the Wirt County Board of Education regarding discrepancies in the boosters’ account.
“The band booster accounts were audited by Wirt County Board of Education Treasurer Karen S. Cummings,” the complaint states. “Ms. Cummings provided (Boring) with a report which advised there was a potential loss of $8,890 from the band booster account.”
In the complaint, Boring stated he met with Wilson who admitted to taking $3,600 from the money collected by the Wirt County Band Boosters.
Wilson was charged with embezzlement and released on $2,500 surety bond. Her preliminary hearing is set for June 13 before Wirt County Magistrate C. David Roberts. Wilson’s attorney is William Summers.
If convicted, Wilson faces a minimum of 10 years in prison.
Wilson, a teacher at the Wirt County Primary Center, also serves as the high school softball coach.
Wirt County Superintendent of Schools Dan Metz declined to comment on the arrest, citing personnel issues. Metz did say the teacher has been suspended pending the outcome of investigation.
Deputy sheriff shoots out tires of stolen tractor driven by son www.privateofficer.com
Opelousas La. June 9 2011 Lukie was not so lucky.
First, no less than four law-enforcement agencies were in pursuit of Lukie Dominic Ledet Jr. as he allegedly drove a stolen tractor through the streets of Eunice and down Highway 13.
And, finally, the deputy who fired bullets into the tractor’s tires to stop the suspect’s destructive late-night ride turned out to be none other than Ledet’s father, a member of the Acadia Sheriff’s Office.
Maxine Trahan, public information officer for the sheriff’s office, confirmed Tuesday that Ledet’s father is the law-enforcement officer who discharged his weapon in an attempt to stop the tractor on its path of destruction that included totaling a Louisiana State Police cruiser.
“He tried to disable the tractor,” Trahan said. “He shot at the tractor’s wheel” not at his son.
Ledet eventually stopped the tractor on his own and was taken into custody. He remains in the Acadia Parish jail.
Despite confirming Ledet Jr.’s father was the deputy who took shots at the tractor, Trahan would not officially provide the deputy’s name.
She said the suspect’s father was called to the scene, but she could not say if he was brought to the scene because authorities knew it was his son who they believed had stolen the tractor.
Trahan said despite the deputy’s involvement in the arrest of his son, the suspect has received no special treatment. The deputy has been placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard procedure following the discharge of a weapon while on duty.
“It didn’t change a thing,” she said. “He was treated like anybody else. There was no special handling.”
The incident happened around 1 a.m. Saturday and involved multiple law-enforcement agencies in pursuit of the tractor. Originally, the Eunice Police Department started the pursuit after getting a call about a large tractor with flashing lights traveling on Mill and Ardoin streets.
Police Chief Ronald Dies said his officers called Acadia Parish for assistance once Ledet left St. Landry Parish on Highway 13 and entered Acadia Parish.
Dies said he doesn’t believe law-enforcement officers were aware of Ledet’s identity as a deputy’s son until he stopped the tractor and was arrested.
“I don’t think anyone knew he was his son,” Dies said. “He was up in the tractor, at least six feet up, with lights flashing.”
The tractor was a used John Deere stolen, authorities said, from Progressive Tractor in Eunice. Employee Linda Perron said the tractor “was a big one.”
“I don’t know if (Ledet) had a key or what,” Perron said. “I’m not sure. I think he had worked for a farmer at one time, so that’s probably how he knew how to drive it. The average person could not drive it.”
O’Neal Higginbotham, a co-owner of Progressive Tractor, said he had the tractor on the books valued at $190,000. He said he had “eyeballed” the tractor and the only damage was from the shot-out tires.
Higginbotham said he believes Ledet had a key, possibly from another tractor of the same model.
Source:Daily World
Chicago area security officers collect $200,000 in back wages www.privateofficer.com
U.S. Department of Labor officials said in a release Tuesday that Judge Virginia M. Kendall’s ruling against International Detective & Protective Services included more than $101,577 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages.
The judgment also imposed a permanent injunction that forbids the company from violating in the future the overtime and record-keeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Authorities say the company misclassified employees in an attempt to avoid paying time-and-a-half overtime.
A telephone listing for a Chicago office of International Detective & Protective Services was disconnected Tuesday.
West Seneca substitute teacher arrested with child porn www.privateofficer.com
WEST SENECA, NY June 9 2011- A former, long-term substitute teacher in West Seneca, Timothy Bek, has been arrested and charged with felony possession of computer images of child pornography.
The FBI says Bek had at least one fake Facebook account with the name “Sarah Grayson” to get in touch with minors. Feds claim he would use that account to get explicit pictures of minors, and possibly even blackmail children to send even more photos.
Bek appeared in U.S. District Court yesterday to answer to the charges.
The West Seneca Central School District sent a letter to parents this week informing them of an on-going investigation. “We would like to assure you that the District is working with law enforcement to fully investigate the matter to protect the safety and health of our students,” said Dr. Mark J. Crawford, Superintendent.
On Thursday, Crawford said, “the whole district is traumatized by what has happened.”
He then said that Bek allegedly got three male students to send him photos.
Bek last worked as a substitute English teacher at West Seneca West High School on May 27, 2011.
Police want parents to contact them if their children experienced any problems with the teacher that is under investigation. Detectives can be reached at (716) 674-3154
Source:WGRZ.com
Police say West Virginia teacher solicited teen via Internet www.privateofficer.com
COAL CITY WV June 9 2011 – A teacher at Independence Middle School was arrested Wednesday morning.
Michael Dickens, 33, was arrested early Wednesday morning on charges of soliciting a minor by way of computer.
West Virginia State troopers said the allegations involve a 14-year-old girl and Facebook.
Dickens was taken to the Southern Regional Jail, awaiting arraignment.
The incident is under investigation by Sgt. M.K. Summers with the West Virginia Crimes Against Children Unit.
Hilton Head security shoot suspicious vehicle www.privateofficer.com
Hilton Head SC June 9 2011 A security officer shot at a fleeing SUV in Hilton Head Plantation on Tuesday night before the vehicle struck another officer’s leg, according to a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office news release.
Philip Maximilian Natoli, 18, was charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature and failure to stop when signaled.
The incident started when a security officer patrolling the Adventure Galley Lane area saw a white 1999 Ford Explorer stopped in the middle of the road, according to the release. Upon seeing the officer, the driver backed into a private driveway, damaging some landscaping.
The officer requested backup and approached the vehicle. A second officer, who was coming into work and still in his personal vehicle, responded. As the backup officer began walking to the stopped SUV, its driver suddenly pulled out of the driveway, the release said.
The first officer, fearing his partner would be struck by the SUV, discharged his firearm into the rear driver’s side tire of the SUV, the release said. The backup officer jumped out of the path of the vehicle, but was lightly struck in the left leg as it passed. He was uninjured.
Responding sheriff’s personnel secured the scene and located the SUV at a nearby home on Pheasant Run, where Natoli was identified as the driver and arrested, the release said.
The Sheriff’s Office investigation of this incident remains active.
Source:www.islandpacket.com
Murder Solved After 65 Years www.privateofficer.com
The 1946 killing of Felix Gulje, the head of a construction company who at the time was being considered for a high political post, roiled the Netherlands, and the failure to find the assassin became a point of contention among political parties.
On Wednesday, the mayor of Leiden, Henri Lenferink, said a woman has confessed to the killing, saying it happened in the mistaken belief that Gulje had collaborated with the Nazis.
Lenferink said he received a letter from the woman, whom he identified as Atie Ridder-Visser, on Jan. 1. Two subsequent interviews with her and a review of the historical archives persuaded him that her story was true.
On the cold sleeting night of March 1, 1946, Atie Visser rang Gulje’s doorbell in Leiden, and told his wife that she had a letter to give to her husband. When he came to the door she shot him in the chest. He died in the ambulance, the mayor said, reading a lengthy statement at a news conference.
Visser had been a member of the resistance during the 1940-1945 Nazi occupation. Rumors had been circulating that Gulje was working with the occupation authorities, and he had been targeted in the underground press. His company did regular business with the Germans, and several employees belonged to a pro-Nazi organization.
He was arrested after the war, but acquitted.
After his death it emerged that Gulje had sheltered some Jews and had given money to help hide others with other families. A banned Catholic association also held secret meetings in his home, Lenferink said.
Visser moved to Indonesia after the war, where she met and married Herman Ridder. Childless, they moved back to the Netherlands several years later, also spending a few years in Spain.
Lenferink said police never suspected the woman in the killing.
After disclosing her role, Ridder-Visser met two grandchildren of her victim last month to explain what happened and why she did it, the mayor said. He did not disclose details of that conversation.
Ridder-Visser will not be prosecuted, he said. Although the 18-year statute of limitations was lifted for serious crimes in 2006, prosecutors ruled that the change in law would not apply in this case.
“Even now, after 65 years, the murder should be strongly condemned,” Lenferink said. “It is a case of vigilantism, and is unacceptable.”
But he appealed to reporters to leave her alone. “Mrs. Ridder-Visser is a very old, very frail woman who hears poorly, is disabled and needs help,” he said.
Memphis police hunt armed shoplifters www.privateofficer.com
Memphis TN June 9 2011 Area police are on the hunt for a violent group who has robbed three stores in as many months.
Investigators say two men were inside the Macy’s at the Wolfchase Galleria on April 30, when they were seen stuffing merchandise into garbage bags. Officers say when security guards tried to stop the pair, one of the men pulled a pistol out and fired a single shot at the guards.
Fortunately no one was injured, but the thieves were able to escape in a blue sedan.
The crooks are both described as being black males, about 25-years-old. Police say one of the men was around 5-feet-8-inches tall, and weighed about 170 pounds. The other man was about 5-feet-6-inches tall and about 206 pounds.
A few days later, on May 5, a man and woman filled garbage bags with items while they were inside a TJ Maxx store in the 7900 block of Giacosa. When employees tried to stop them, the male thief pointed a handgun at the workers.
The thieves both hopped in a blue sedan driven by a third person and sped away.
Witnesses say the man with the pistol was about 5-feet-8-inches tall and weighed about 250 pounds. The woman was described as weighing 240 pounds. Both robbers and the getaway driver were around 30-year-old.
On June 4, two men loaded a trash bag full of clothes at the Marshall’s in the 6400 block of Winchester. As they left, one of the men pointed a gun at a worker and ordered her not to call security.
The men escaped in a white, four-door sedan driven by a woman.
The men are both described as about 25-years-old. One of the men was about 5-feet-8-inches tall, 180 pounds. The other man was described as 5-feet-9-inches and 250 pounds. The driver was a woman.
If you know anything that could help solve this case, call Crime Stoppers at 528-CASH.
FBI investigating Charlotte taxicab services for fraudently billing social services agency www.privateofficer.com
At the same time documents in a federal civil lawsuit reveal several drivers at one of the companies billed taxpayers for trips they did not make.
The Mecklenburg Department of Social Services paid more than $7 million for taxicab service in 2009 alone, according to a spreadsheet DSS provided to the I-Team under the state’s Open Records Act.
To read the Mecklenburg County DSS Transportation statement click here.
The spreadsheet shows that most of that money went for transporting clients from home to healthcare providers under the Medicaid program.
The two cab companies made up about two-thirds of the DSS billing in 2009, Crown Cab and AA Prestige Taxicab, which billed $5.2 million.
Now sworn testimony and documents made public in a federal civil lawsuit between Crown Cab and its insurance company, Travelers Indemnity, reveal multiple drivers at Crown billed taxpayers for trips they did not make.
In a sworn deposition taken on January 14, 2011, former Crown General Manager Bhanu Contractor was asked if he recalled drivers who were “…essentially defrauding DSS…?” His answer: “Yes.”
Another Crown supervisor, Jeffrey Hinkelman, testified in his January 11 deposition, “There was (sic) some drivers that had built up some serious falsifications to the DSS that a couple of them I believe got suspended for – for falsifying their – the work that they claimed they had done.”
In a letter dated February 9, 2010 attached as an exhibit in the civil case, Bhanu Contractor wrote to a third driver documenting 63 trips for one DSS client and 20 trips for a second client that “…you did not do.”
Mecklenburg DSS Director Mary Wilson issued a statement through a County spokesman saying the agency had only detected one instance of fraud involving taxicabs in the last four years. Wilson’s statement says DSS has adopted multiple checks to detect fraud and to train employees to look for “red flags.”
Crown Cab Vice-President Mayur Khandelwal serves on Charlotte’s taxicab licensing board, called the Passenger Vehicle for Hire or PVH board, alongside former Crown General Manager Bhanu Contractor.
Khandelwal said, “Anytime there was in incident (of drivers billing for rides they did not give), we were proactive with DSS to pursue remedies.” When asked how often such instances occurred, Khandalwal replied, “You hope these things are isolated.”
To read a statement from Vice-President Mayur Khandelwal click here.
But in the case of the driver who billed for 83 cab rides she never made, according to the letter from Bhanu Contractor, the company merely suspended the driver for a week and asked her to pay the money back, plus a DSS fine of $50 for each instance. Crown Cab even set up a kind of installment plan for the driver to repay the company in $150 increments, according to the letter.
Knowledgeable sources tell the I-Team the FBI is now investigating Crown Cab and AA Prestige Taxicab on North Tryon Street. AA Prestige billed $2.6 million in 2009, almost as much as Crown. The I-Team called and visited AA Prestige to speak to its operator, Zebene Mesele, but he did not return repeated calls.
Crown Cab lost its contract with DSS last year. The agency contends the company turned in its bid just minutes after the deadline. Crown is now suing DSS in state court over the decision.
After much criticism, DSS has sharply reduced the amount it pays for taxicab service for its clients and is instead relying much more on CATS for public transportation.
In another controversial public contract, a committee at the Charlotte Douglas Airport including airport director Jerry Orr is recommending Crown Cab as one of three taxicab companies serving the airport. That contract is already the subject of multiple lawsuits.
