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Bus Company and Two Individuals Indicted in Bus Crash www.privateofficer.com
HOUSTON TX June 20 2013 —Angel De La Torre, 64, and Carlos Ortuno, 52, both of Houston, have been taken into federal custody on charges related to the crash of a passenger bus near Sherman on August 8, 2008, United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced today.
The sealed indictment, returned May 30, 2013, was unsealed this afternoon as De La Torre made his initial appearance in federal court before U.S. Magistrate Stephen Smith. Ortuno is set for an appearance tomorrow morning.
De La Torre and his bus company, Angel Tours, have been charged with one count of conspiracy to make false statements, four counts of making false statements, and one count of operating a commercial motor vehicle after being placed out of service. Ortuno, an employee of Angel Tours, is charged with one count of conspiracy to make false statements and two counts of making false statements.
The indictment alleges that the defendants made false statements in an Application for Motor Carrier Authority, Form OP-1, and in an Application for U.S. DOT Number, Form MCS-150, filed with the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). De La Torre and Angel Tours also allegedly operated a commercial motor vehicle after being placed out of service due to an unsatisfactory safety rating following a FMCSA inspection that allegedly uncovered numerous record keeping and safety violations.
De La Torre was the president and principal director of Angel Tours, according to the indictment. As such, his duties allegedly included the overall operational and financial management of Angel Tours, including the direct supervision of its employees and independent contractors to ensure its commercial motor vehicle operations were in compliance with FMSCA’s rules and regulations. Additional duties allegedly included scheduling and dispatching the company’s bus drivers on trips and monitoring their locations as well as their fitness to operate a commercial motor vehicle to be in compliance with FMSCA regulations.
According to the indictment, De La Torre had operated a passenger-carrying commercial motor vehicle business since 1994 until on or about August 8, 2008. On that date, the indictment alleges an Angel Tours bus carrying 55 passengers from Houston to Carthage, Missouri, crashed on U.S. Highway 75 near Sherman. Seventeen passengers died in the crash, and 38 passengers suffered serious to minor injuries.
In May 2008, an FMCSA inspection allegedly uncovered numerous violations. As a result of that inspection, the indictment alleges the FMSCA ordered Angel Tours to cease all interstate transportation on June 23, 2008—more than two weeks prior to the fatal crash.
Each conviction of conspiracy and/or making a false statement carries as possible punishment up to five years in federal prison and a possible fine of $250,000. If convicted of continuing to operate after and out of service order, De La Torre and Angell Tours further face a one-year term of imprisonment and a $25,000 fine.
The FBI and Department of Transportation-Office of Inspector General investigated. Assistant United States Attorney Mark McIntyre is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
Brooklyn Bike Patrol shuts down www.privateofficer.com
Woman Wounded in Shooting at Milwaukee Casino www.privateofficer.com
It happened around 1:30 a.m. on Sunday.
The man was arrested at the casino. Police said he will be referred to the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office in the coming days for possible charges.
Witnesses described a chaotic scene inside the casino after the shooting happened. Police told WISN 12 News that multiple people may have suffered very minor injuries while trying to get away from the shooting scene.
source- http://www.wisn.com
Craven County Teacher Arrested For Providing Alcohol To Minors www.privateofficer.com
Craven County NC June 16 2013 A Craven County teacher has been arrested and charged with giving alcohol to individuals under 21.
The Jones County Sheriff’s Office tells WITN they arrested Frank Dolan Friday and charged him with two counts of giving malt beverages to someone under the age of 21 and three counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
WITN obtained a warrant where officers believe Dolan used marijuana with a 16-year-old.
Dolan’s bond was set at $6,000.
Dolan is listed on the New Bern High School website as a teacher of construction technology.
The SBI is also investigating.
Source- WITN
Blast, fire injure 60, kill 1 at Louisiana chemical plant www.privateofficer.com
GEISMAR, Louisiana June 14 2013 (Reuters) – An explosion and fire tore through the Williams Olefins chemical plant in Geismar, Louisiana, on Thursday, injuring 33 people and leading authorities to order people within two miles to remain indoors.
The blast created a huge fireball and column of smoke when it hit at 8:37 a.m. at the plant along the Mississippi River just south of Baton Rouge and about 60 miles up river from New Orleans.
About 600 people were working at the plant at the time, and the fire was still burning three hours later, state police said. There were no immediate reports of fatalities.
“We did an aerial assessment, and our hazmat (hazardous materials) teams were able to get a broad view of the site. Now they’re putting on their bunker gear and going in on foot to the hot zone to do an assessment and determine a plan of action,” Louisiana State Police Captain Doug Cain said.
The blast injured 33 people, said Jean Kelly, a spokeswoman for the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality. Thirty were taken from the plant by ambulance and three by helicopter, Kelly said.
“Emergency shut-down valves have been closed. The unit is isolated,” parent group Williams Cos. said in a statement. “We are in the process of accounting for all personnel.”
Authorities ordered people within a 2-mile (3-km) radius to remain in their homes, in part because of the smoke, said Lester Kenyon, a spokesman for Ascension Parish. Roads leading to the plant were closed, the company said.
The U.S. Coast Guard said traffic on the Mississippi River remained unaffected.
“It’s an active scene. The fire department, the sheriff’s office and hazmat (hazardous materials) team are responding to the explosion at the Williams Olefins plant,” said Amy Johnson, a spokeswoman for the Ascension Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.
The company’s own emergency response crews were assisting at the scene, Williams said.
The plant produces approximately 1.3 billion pounds of ethylene and 90 million pounds of polymer grade propylene, according to the Williams website. These are used in the petrochemical process to make plastics.
“The chemical involved is a flammable, which is good in the sense that it is burning itself off, so there’s no impact outside the fence line of the facility,” Cain said.
Williams operates the plant and holds an 83 percent ownership interest in the Geismar facility, it said.
Shares in Williams Cos. fell as much as 3 percent shortly after the reports and were down about 1 percent in early afternoon trade.
With massive equipment operating under intense pressure and high heat, the petrochemical industry is particularly prone to occasional fires and explosions, most of which are quickly brought under control with limited injury or damage.
Southern Louisiana is home to a large share of the country’s petrochemical facilities and has seen at least two other blasts in the past two years.
Pressure on the industry to improve safety has increased since a blast at the Texas City refinery killed 15 people in 2005, among the worst such industrial accidents in decades.
A blast last month at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, that killed 14 people has also sharpened attention on handling of volatile chemicals.
Court Reporter Pleads Guilty to Charges Related to Obstruction of Justice www.privateofficer.com
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Press Release
ABINGDON, VA June 14 2013—United States Attorney Timothy J. Heaphy announced today that Ernest Julius Benko pled guilty in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Abingdon to charges related to the obstruction of a federal criminal investigation.
Ernest Julius Benko, 67, of Norton, Virginia, entered a plea of guilty to one count of obstruction of an official proceeding and one count of conspiracy to cause false statements and obstruct an official proceeding. Benko faces a potential maximum sentence of up to 25 years’ imprisonment and a potential fine of $500,000.
“Mr. Benko deliberately impeded a federal investigation,” United States Attorney Timothy J. Heaphy said today. “Lying to federal investigators is a serious crime and will be vigorously pursued by this United States Attorney’s Office.”
According to evidence presented at the guilty plea hearing by Assistant United States Attorney Zachary T. Lee, between 2008 and 2013, Ernest Julius Benko was employed as a private investigator, videographer, notary public, and a court reporter for the Circuit Court of Wise County, Virginia, and the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Virginia.
During this time, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Virginia State Police had an ongoing investigation regarding attorney Robert Stuart Collins’ involvement in the illegal possession and distribution of controlled substances. In May 2009, Benko was hired by Collins to record sworn statements from individuals cooperating in the FBI and Virginia State Police’s investigation in which the witnesses were told to falsely represent that Collins had no involvement in anything that was illegal or unethical.
These false statements were conducted in order to obstruct the criminal investigation into Collins. One of the witnesses, whose statement Benko recorded, also was told to falsely state that he had been threatened by an FBI agent in order to secure his cooperation in the FBI’s investigation. At the time of the taking of these false sworn statements, Benko was aware that Collins had a drug problem and had been involved in illegal activity that was the subject of the FBI and Virginia State Police’s criminal investigation. On September 13, 2012, Benko was interviewed by agents of the FBI and Virginia State Police. Benko falsely stated that he had no knowledge of Collins being involved in illicit drug use.
Sentencing has been set for September 10, 2013, at 1:30 p.m. in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Abingdon.
The investigation of this case was conducted by the Virginia State Police, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Wise County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, and the Southwest Virginia Drug Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney Zachary T. Lee is prosecuting the case for the United States.
Former Minneapolis police officer charged with sex assault investigated again www.privateofficer.com
Minneapolis MN June 14 2013 A former Minneapolis police officer charged with sexually assaulting young girls is violating the terms of his release by working as a security manager at an apartment building and mall, according to arguments made in court this week by the attorney prosecuting his case.
Assistant Anoka County Attorney Paul Young said Tuesday in a hearing that Bradley Schnickel’s employment at the Minneapolis establishments allows him to have unsupervised contact with minors. One of the conditions of his release prohibits Schnickel from contact with juvenile females other than supervised visits with his young daughters. “Who would ever think you are going to run into kids at those two places?” Young said sarcastically after the hearing. Young asked District Judge James Cunningham to find Schnickel, 32, in violation of the terms of his release. Cunningham took the motion under advisement. Reached Wednesday afternoon, Schnickel said his conduct has not been in conflict with court orders. His attorney, Fred Bruno, did not return calls for comment. Charges have been mounting against the Andover father since his February arrest. He is accused of soliciting online sex from nearly 20 juvenile girls living in Anoka County and two from Hennepin County. In a few cases, he reportedly met the juveniles in person and engaged in sexual conduct with them. He declined to discuss the allegations facing him Wednesday. “I have my own perspective, but I don’t want to get it spun in the media, so I’d rather keep it to myself,” he said.
Schnickel was dismissed from the Minneapolis Police Department after his arrest. He is out on bail as his case moves through the court system. He was hired three months ago by Sabri Properties as a security supervisor, overseeing the scheduling and work performance of security guards at Karmel Mall, Karmel Village apartment building and other properties, said Basim Sabri, owner of Sabri Properties. Schnickel is not supposed to have contact with minors at any of the buildings. “I am very familiar with the charges against him and I am watching him like a hawk,” Sabri said. “I also believe that people ought to get a second chance. … He knows specifically his limitations and he also knows he cannot violate them.” A Minneapolis police report made by a tenant of the apartment building alleges Schnickel stepped out of his legal bounds when he entered an apartment with a juvenile girl present. According to the June 3 report, a woman called police about 7:30 p.m. to report her son had been assaulted by a security officer. When police arrived, the woman said her son had been pushed out of his apartment building by Schnickel when the boy refused to tell him what apartment he lived in. After kicking the boy out of the building, the woman said, Schnickel went up to her family’s apartment and walked inside, where a 14-year-old girl was by herself at the time, according to the report. According to the report, the woman told police that she was aware of the accusations against Schnickel and “did not feel safe for herself or her family with (Schnickel) working in the apartment building.” Schnickel would not comment on the incident Wednesday. Shirshore Abdi-Salam, the 17-year-old involved in the incident, said his family has since been given an eviction notice. “We did nothing wrong,” Abdi-Salam said. “This man works in our building and at (the mall). … There are kids there. He is an accused sex offender.” Sabri said the family was notified about the eviction weeks before the encounter with Schnickel. It’s unclear when Cunningham will rule on whether Schnickel’s employment violates court orders.
Source -twincities.com
2 officers injured in Obama motorcade in Florida www.privateofficer.com
Miami FLA June 14 2013 AP
Two Miami police officers were injured Wednesday while participating in President Barack Obama’s motorcade in Florida, police said. Neither of the injuries was life-threatening.
The Miami Police Department said Sgt. Rufus Devane III, 42, and Sgt. Santiago Cruz, 49, were traveling on Interstate 95 when they were involved in a crash while approaching an onramp. A preliminary investigation indicated an abandoned vehicle on the shoulder of the road may have contributed to the crash, though the investigation is not complete, police said.
The two officers were brought to a local hospital, where tests were under way to determine the severity of their injuries, police said. Both officers have been with the department for about two decades.
Obama’s motorcade was returning to Miami’s international airport after two Democratic fundraisers the president held Wednesday evening in Miami Beach, Fla. Obama’s itinerary wasn’t affected. Obama left Miami on a return flight to Washington ahead of schedule.
The White House and U.S. Secret Service had no immediate comment.
This isn’t the first time Obama’s motorcade has been involved in an accident in Florida. In September 2012, Bruce St. Laurent of the Jupiter, Fla. police department was struck and killed by a pickup truck in West Palm Beach, Fla., where Obama was traveling for a campaign stop
Virginia father-son charged in burglaries www.privateofficer.com
Source-WTVR
Alabama police say multiple robberies in 3 states connected www.privateofficer.com
DOTHAN, Alabama June 12 2013 — Houston County authorities believe at least 11 robberies committed in the last three months across three states are linked.
Houston County Sheriff Andy Hughes held a press conference Monday and said some of the robberies involved attacks on clerks and shooting out the glass of store’s windows and doors to gain entry, according to a Dothan First report.
Businesses are asked to step up their awareness and be watchful especially around closing time.
Anyone with information about the recent robberies is asked to call Crime-Stoppers or police. A $1,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspects.
The following robberies are believed to be linked:
–Dollar General, West Selma Street, Dothan that occurred March 18.
–Hobo Pantry, Highway 52 at Omussee Road in Dothan that occurred April 14.
–Dollar General, Highway 84 near Cowarts that occurred April 17.
–Hobo Pantry, Ross Clark Circle near Purdue Farms in Dothan that occurred April 19.
–Breeze In Mart, Kinsey, that occurred May 18.
–Hobo Pantry, Damascus, Georgia that occurred May 19.
–BP Store, Highway 431, Abbeville that occurred May 30.
–Hobo Pantry, Enterprise that occurred May 31.
–BP Store, Marianna that occurred June 4.
–Convenience Store, Cedar Springs, GA. that occurred June 8.
–BP Store, Pansey, AL that occurred June 8.
Va. Governor Signs School and Campus Safety Legislation www.privateofficer.com
MIDLOTHIAN, Va. June 12 2013 — At an event at Robious Elementary School here, Gov. Bob McDonnell signed 12 pieces of legislation designed to make Virginia’s schools and campuses safer.
Speaking about the signing, Gov. McDonnell remarked, “In response to the appalling and tragic murders at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., I issued Executive Order 56 on Dec. 20 of last year in order to establish a multidisciplinary taskforce to comprehensively review school and campus safety in Virginia. As a result of the Governor’s Taskforce on School and Campus Safety’s diligent work, and in partnership with the General Assembly, we have identified practical solutions to greater ensure the safety of those who attend, and those who serve on, Virginia schools and campuses.”
In addition to the legislation signed today, Gov. McDonnell this year identified strategic budget investments to improve school and campus safety. Including increased funding for school resource officers and mental health services such as psychiatric and crisis response services, mental health first aid training, and a comprehensive statewide suicide prevention program.
School Safety Legislation Signed:
•HB1871 (McClellan) — Defines “bullying” in the Code of Virginia and requires each school board to include in its code of student conduct policies and procedures that prohibit bullying.
•HB1864 (Robinson) — Clarifies a school may deal with school-based offenses through graduated sanctions or educational programming, unless a delinquency charge is filed after a school principal reports certain acts to the local law-enforcement agency.
•HB2343 (Sherwood) — Creates a special fund to provide grants to localities, subject to local match, for facility upgrades in order to improve security.
•HB2344 (Cole) — Requires each school superintendent to establish a violence prevention committee and threat assessment team similar to those required for Virginia’s public institutions of higher education. The legislation also provides that school systems must annually collect and report quantitative data to the Department of Criminal Justice Services.
•HB2345 (Yost) — Directs the Departments of Criminal Justice Services, Education, Behavioral Health and Development Services, and State Police to develop a model Critical Incident Response training program for school personnel and those providing services to schools.
•HB2346 (Ransone) — Requires each school division to designate an emergency manager to coordinate school preparedness within the division. It also mandates that schools conduct a lockdown drill once each semester.
•HB2347 (Ramadan) — Facilitates the sharing of juvenile law enforcement records by the principal of the school to threat assessment teams.
•SB1376 (Martin) — Expands current Virginia law by extending civil immunity to any person who reports in good faith, information that an individual poses credible danger of serious bodily injury or death to one or more students, school, personnel or others on school property.
•SB0899 (Reeves) — Bumper stickers on school buses. Authorizes local school divisions to place decals on the rear of school buses noting that the buses stop at railroad crossings.
•HB1609 (Hugo) and SB1342(Petersen) — Provides that the governing board of each public four-year institution of higher education shall establish written memoranda of understanding with its local community services board or behavioral health authority and with local hospitals and other local mental health facilities in order to expand the scope of services available to students seeking treatment.
•SB1378 (Garrett) — Provides that a person who engages in the “strawman” purchase of a firearm, where he purchases a firearm with the intent to resell or transport with the intent to resell outside of the Commonwealth to any person he knows is prohibited from purchasing a firearm, is guilty of a Class 4 felony and shall be sentenced to a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of one year.
Cuyahoga County judges to decide commercial court future www.privateofficer.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio June 12 2013– Cuyahoga County judges are wrestling with whether to keep a commercial court in Northeast Ohio for handling business-to-business disputes.
The common pleas judges are scheduled to vote June 26 on the special court for hearing lawsuits involving trade secrets, shareholder claims, non-compete agreements and other business issues. The court has been in operation as a pilot project since 2009.
The commercial court is set up to efficiently handle complicated and time-consuming business cases. Advocates say that efficiency, in turn, makes the region more hospitable to business and strengthens the local economy.
Who could argue with that? The devil is in the details, however, and the vote among Cuyahoga County’s 34 common pleas judges is expected to be close.
Commercial courts opened in 2009 in Cuyahoga, Franklin, Hamilton and Lucas counties, with two judges appointed in each county to handle business cases. The courts had until the end of June to decide whether to keep a commercial docket as a permanent fixture.
Hamilton judges have already endorsed the idea. Franklin judges narrowly defeated it. Judges in Lucas and Cuyahoga counties are in the thick of talks about how to proceed.
Commercial dockets are set up on a separate track from standard dockets (pdf file) so that business lawsuits can be handled by a limited number of judges who can accumulate deeper experience in the complexities of corporate law and decrease lawsuit delays.
Commercial court judges also publish detailed opinions and orders to build a predictable body of business law in Ohio.
Proponents of business-specific venues say they attract companies that want greater sophistication in handling disputes. Others voice concerns that commercial courts create two justice systems: one with expert attention and faster resolutions, and the other with slower caseloads and less resources.
Ohio Chief Justice Thomas Moyer called for creation of commercial courts in 2007, in Ohio’s most populous counties. He made the first appointments, selecting Judges John P. O’Donnell and Richard McMonagle in Cuyahoga County.
Moyer died in April 2010 and Justice Maureen O’Connor, elected as chief justice the following November, will make upcoming commercial court appointments. O’Connor is supportive of the separate business dockets.
Jockeying among judges spelled the end of the commercial court in Franklin County, which decided against it in a 9-8 vote last year.
Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Michael Holbrook, a supporter of the court, said it became a political football because business litigation often attracts premier attorneys — attorneys who can be generous donors to judges who run for election every six years.
“People thought this would make a difference in political campaign contributions,” Holbrook said. “There was severe hostility going on in the back hallways.”
No one described that as an issue in Cuyahoga County. In fact, Administrative Judge Nancy Fuerst said Cuyahoga County judges are “working very hard to find common ground.”
One change advocated by some Cuyahoga County judges calls for rotating judges onto the commercial court instead of making appointments to the court indefinite. Also, some judges think the amount of business litigation filed in Cuyahoga County calls for more than two commercial court judges.
The Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, concerned that the commercial court might not survive if it didn’t make its voice heard, solicited letters from members “to try to make sure it does pass,” President Carter Strang said.
Corporate litigation attorney Tim Collins headed up a bar committee that’s rallied momentum for the commercial court.
“We like the docket,” said Collins. “We’re willing to see changes that are suitable based on the last three and half years of experience.”
The county must conform to Ohio Supreme Court rules that govern the special courts. Fuerst said she thinks Cuyahoga County might have enough flexibility under the rules to increase the number of commercial court judges and rotate judges “every few years,” if those changes are endorsed by a majority of judges who vote later this month.
O’Donnell said the court has achieved its overriding goal — to serve as an economic development tool by assuring companies that litigation will be handled quickly, by judges familiar with sometimes-complex features of their cases.
“As you can imagine, I’m in support of it,” O’Donnell said last week. “I think it’s a success and has served its purposes.”
The Ohio Supreme Court said commercial courts should conclude cases within 18 months, versus a benchmark for judges to dispose of general civil cases within 24 months.
Since the February 2009 launch of the commercial docket in Cuyahoga County, O’Donnell said, he’s wrapped up 1,159 commercial cases that averaged 5.8 months from filing date to a settlement or trial verdict.
source-Cleveland.com
2 Cops Hurt Arresting Man at PA. Bar www.privateofficer.com
Bethlehem PA June 10 2013 A city man denied entry to a South Bethlehem bar early Friday cursed at and threatened the female manager, came back later and sucker-punched a bouncer, then injured two police officers while resisting arrest, court records say.
The case involving suspect Enasio N. Morales, 29, began around 1 a.m. at Molly’s Irish Grille & Sports Pub and ended at 6:35 a.m., when Morales was arraigned and committed to Northampton County Prison.
In between, two officers—Lt. Jeff Herzog and Officer Christopher Kopp—were injured trying to take Morales into custody, the records say.
Herzog had abrasions to both elbows, a chipped bone to his right elbow and strained ligaments to his left hand.
Kopp had abrasions to his right elbow and had to apply “substantial force” to overcome resistance from Morales, the records say.
Ashford AL police chief injured in car crash www.privateofficer.com
Looters roll into tornado damaged Oklahoma www.privateofficer.com
MOORE OK June 10 2013— Arrested with a truck full of copper wire, scrap metal and other items from homes destroyed by the May 20 tornado in Moore, three men told police they came hundreds of miles — all the way from Virginia — for the sole purpose of looting in the disaster area.
Another resident reported that a $50,000 watch was stolen from his home in Moore.
Nearly three weeks since a monster tornado tore through the city, killing more than 20 and wiping entire homes from existence, Moore police continue to investigate looting in the massive disaster area.
Steven Corky Daniels, of Harrisonburg, Va., was arrested Sunday when a Moore police officer spotted him walking near Broadway and SW 8 carrying a “large piece of utility wire in his hand.”
Daniels, 36, claimed to be the owner of recycling company in his home state. He apparently admitted to police why he was in Moore.
“(Daniels) advised he drove from Virginia to Moore … with two other subjects for the purpose of removing steel and copper utility wire from the disaster area,” an affidavit filed in Cleveland County District Court shows.
Daniels was charged with disturbing a disaster area, a misdemeanor, on Monday. He has since posted bail.
Steve Costello, 44, and Justin Wagner, 25, were arrested, along with Daniels. And like Daniels, police say both men admitted why they had driven to Oklahoma when questioned.
Costello was seen standing next to a truck with a trailer filled with “a large amount of steel and copper utility wire,” a police officer wrote in the affidavit. Wagner was spotted “going through disaster debris.”
Costello listed an address in Elmhurst, N.Y., when he was booked into the Cleveland County jail. Wagner is from McGaheysville, Va., arrest records show.
One woman, Norman resident Maria Lopez, was charged May 30 with disturbing a disaster area.
Lopez, 30, was arrested May 29 after members of the National Guard and local residents told police they saw a woman using children to sort through storm debris.
When a police officer caught up with Lopez and the SUV she was driving, several of the stolen items were in “plain view” inside the vehicle, records show.
Edward Dean McDonald, 45, was arrested May 28 after police pulled up to 116 SW 8 and saw him “loading a refrigerator onto a dolly,” a police officer wrote in affidavit.
McDonald, who lives in Moore, told police he had permission to take the items but couldn’t provide documentation. He also couldn’t recall the name of the homeowner or his phone number when questioned by police.
Police said a washer and dryer were loaded onto a trailer near the house, as well.
McDonald was charged May 29 with disturbing a disaster area and has since posted bail.
Another man was arrested on suspicion of looting and later confessed to being in the U.S. illegally.
Police arrested Osbaldo de Jesus Sagastume-Rodas, 59, when an officer saw him loading “metal, copper wires, tool boxes” and other items into a pickup.
When officers approached Sagastume-Rodas and asked him if he spoke English, the suspect apparently began unloading his truck.
Sagastume-Rodas listed an address in Moore, arrest records show.
Residents in Moore have reported numerous items stolen since the May 20 tornadoes. Some of those reports claim high-dollar losses.
One resident, with an address in central Moore, reported more than $70,000 in items stolen.
One of the items reported to be stolen from the residence was a $50,000 Patek Philippe wristwatch. The resident also claimed that a $13,000 Rolex watch, a $2,000 Mont Blanc fountain pen and a jewelry box containing $5,000 in miscellaneous items were missing, as well.
Another resident reported more than $6,000 in items stolen from their home in Moore.
The items include a $1,300 hunting camera, barbecue equipment and a $700 tiller.
source-newsok
Free-shotguns initiative starts in Houston www.privateofficer.com
HOUSTON TX June 9 2013 — Houston resident Cheryl Strain’s inexperience with guns was apparent as she struggled to load shells into a 20-gauge shotgun.
Over the piercing blasts of gunfire in the shooting range, Strain’s instructor, Dan Blackford, patiently directed her on how to use her thumb to shove a shell all the way inside the barrel and feel it click.
“Now we got a round in the chamber ready to go,” Blackford said as he positioned her body on the right way to hold the shotgun. “Look down your sight, put that BB right in the middle of your target and press the trigger.”
Strain’s northwest Houston community of Oak Forest is the first neighborhood in the country being trained and equipped by the Armed Citizen Project, a Houston nonprofit that is giving away free shotguns to single women and residents of neighborhoods with high crime rates.
While many cities have tried gun buy-backs and other tactics in the ongoing national debate on gun control, the nonprofit and its supporters say gun giveaways to responsible owners are actually a better way to deter crime. The organization, which plans to offer training classes in Dallas, San Antonio, and Tucson, Ariz., in the next few weeks, is working to expand its giveaways to 15 cities by the end of the year, including Chicago and New York.
But others in Houston, while expressing support for Second Amendment rights, question whether more guns will result in more gun-related deaths rather than less crime.
Residents of Oak Forest say their neighborhood, made up of older one-story houses and a growing number of new townhomes, has experienced a recent rash of driveway robberies and home burglaries. On a recent Sunday afternoon, a group of 10 residents, including Strain, went through training at Shiloh Shooting, a northwest Houston gun range.
Kyle Coplen, the project’s 29-year-old founder said his group expects to train at least 50 Oak Forest residents and put up signs saying the neighborhood is armed.
“When we have a crime wave, we don’t just say let’s just increase police and that’s all we do. We do multiple things. I see this as one aspect of what we can do,” said Coplen, who graduated from the University of Houston with a master’s degree in public administration.
It costs the organization about $300 to arm and train an individual and about $20,000 for an entire neighborhood. All costs are paid through donations, said Coplen, though he declined to say how much his organization has raised so far.
While some residents in the neighborhood are supportive, several officials have mixed feelings about it.
Sandra Keller, Strain’s neighbor, said she is participating in part because of the helplessness she felt after her furniture store was robbed a couple of years ago.
“If you don’t have a gun, you’re just a walking victim. You’re just waiting for somebody to take advantage of you and your property,” said Keller, 64, after practicing at the shooting range.
But Houston City Councilwoman Ellen Cohen, who represents Oak Forest, said, “I have serious concerns about more guns in homes.”
Cohen said she supports Second Amendment rights and believes that such a responsibility should include proper training and background checks.
David Hemenway, a professor of health policy and management at the Harvard School of Public Health who has written about firearms and health, said studies suggesting gun ownership deters crime have been refuted by many others that say the opposite.
“Mostly what guns seem to do is make situations more lethal because most crime has nothing to do with guns,” he said. “When there is a gun in the mix, there is much more likely to be somebody dying or somebody incredibly hurt.”
Proponents of increased gun ownership point to a variety of statistics to support their argument, including ones showing that some cities with strict gun control laws, like Chicago, still have high murder rates.
Blackford, the firearm instructor in the Oak Forest training, said the group is teaching residents not only how to handle and store a weapon but also when to use deadly force.
“The sad part is most people think if you’re pro-gun, that you’ve got this gunslinger attitude, that you are walking around looking for a gun fight to get into and that is so far from the truth,” said Blackford, a former Secret Service agent.
Harris County Precinct One Constable Alan Rosen, whose deputies patrol Oak Forest, said that while he believes the best deterrent to crime is effective neighborhood watch programs, he believes people should have the right to protect themselves.
“In terms of having a shotgun, after you’ve been properly trained on it, to have that in your home to protect your home, I’m for it,” he said.
Strain, 46, a single mother who has never owned a gun, said she was nervous firing the shotgun but that more training will help. She also had her 12-year-old son Rory practice firing the shotgun so “if God forbid something happens, he could be prepared as well.”
Y-12 security failed to follow procedure, allowed driver to enter site, NNSA says www.privateofficer.com
Oak Ridge TN June 9 2013 Police officers at the Y-12 National Security Complex failed to follow established procedures when they allowed an Oak Ridge woman who did not have permission to be at the nuclear weapons plant to drive through the main entrance at Scarboro Road on Thursday morning, federal officials said.
Brenda L. Haptonstall, 62, told Oak Ridge police she was looking for a new, low-cost apartment complex and followed morning commuters through the east gate at the Y-12 National Security Complex at about 6:10 a.m. Thursday.
An Oak Ridge Police Department report said Haptonstall drove unhindered through the plant before she was stopped by security officers at the west gate. Haptonstall told ORPD Officer Roy J. Heinz that she thought there must have been a crash at Y-12 because there were “nice officers waving her through with illuminated flashlight cones,” the report said.
In a Friday evening statement, Steven Wyatt, spokesman for the National Nuclear Security Administration, said Haptonstall was stopped by Y-12 security personnel quickly after she entered the site, and was subsequently detained and turned over to the Oak Ridge Police Department.
“At no time did she have access to sensitive areas of Y-12 or leave her vehicle, and no material or facilities were ever at risk,” Wyatt said.
He said the NNSA has zero tolerance for security lapses and is ensuring there is “full accountability for this unacceptable incident.”
“Safety and security are NNSA’s top priorities, and the causes of this failure will be reviewed aggressively and corrected quickly,” Wyatt said. “The security police officers involved in this incident have been removed from duty pending the outcome of an investigation. We are also reviewing gate procedures and placing supervisors at each entrance to monitor the work of Y-12 security personnel until further notice.”
The ORPD report said security personnel declined to prosecute Haptonstall. Heinz and ORPD Officer Grant Gouldie escorted her off the property.
Y-12 security has come under increased public scrutiny since three peace protesters, all anti-nuclear weapons activists, broke into the 811-acre plant in July, entered a high-security area, and splashed human blood, spray-painted slogans, and hammered on the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility, where most of the nation’s bomb-grade uranium is stored.
The three protesters—Greg Boertje-Obed, 58; Megan Rice, 83; and Michael Walli, 64—were convicted in federal court in May of willful destruction of government property and injuring national defense premises with the intent to interfere with the national defense. They each face up to 30 years in prison and will be sentenced Sept. 23.
There have been two trespassing incidents since the unprecedented July 28 security breach, and in April, a Washington Post photographer was questioned by a security police officer as she walked toward a federal boundary line while taking pictures for a story about the security breach. Y-12 officials said the photographer never crossed the boundary line, and the Oak Ridge Police Department escorted her back to her vehicle near the intersection of Illinois Avenue and Scarboro Road to retrieve her identification.
In response to the three trespassing incidents involving five people in the past year, the NNSA in April announced plans to erect a fence around an area that has traditionally been used for protests and vigils outside the plant’s main entrance. Federal officials say other security measures have also been taken.
Source-Oak Ridge Today
Seffner Woman Sentenced to Federal Prison for Misprision of Felony Conviction www.privateofficer.com
TAMPA FlA June 8 2013—U.S. District Judge James S. Moody, Jr. today sentenced Courtnee Brantley (of Seffner) to 12 months and one day in federal prison for her felony conviction of misprision of felony. Brantley was found guilty of the crime by a federal jury on January 16, 2013, following a second trial in the case. The first trial resulted in a hung jury.
Brantley’s charge and conviction resulted from her actions following the murders of Tampa Police Officers David Curtis and Jeffrey Kocab on June 29, 2010, by Dontae Morris. Brantley was operating a vehicle without a tag, resulting in Officer Curtis stopping the vehicle and the ensuing fatal encounter. The evidence at the trial revealed that Brantley left the scene of the shooting and concealed her vehicle.
Brantley further communicated with Morris following the murders.
This case was investigated by the Tampa Police Department; Federal Bureau of Investigation; Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office; Florida Department of Law Enforcement; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and other federal and local law enforcement agencies. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney James C. Preston, Jr.
Security guards at Indian Point find loophole in state’s new gun control laws www.privateofficer.com
YONKERS NY June 8 2013 – Security guards at Indian Point have found a loophole in the state’s new gun control laws.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) says it can allow nuclear power plant owners to do what state law doesn’t — arm security staff with military-style weapons.
The ruling from the NRC is not specifically directed at new New York gun laws, which prohibit assault rifles and large capacity ammo clips. It also does not grant permission for security guards to use the military-style weaponry, but it sets up a process where that permission can be granted.
The NRC ruling applies to a number of nuclear plants around the country, in addition to others in New York.
Source news12
Santa Monica College shooting leaves 6 dead www.privateofficer.com
SANTA MONICA, Calif. June 8 2013 Two people were found dead Friday in a burned home near the campus of Santa Monica College, where someone sprayed a street corner with gunfire. The Santa Monica police chief says as many as six people were shot to death.
Police and witnesses said the gunfire began adjacent to the campus and about three miles from where President Barack Obama was attending a fundraising luncheon, just before noon.
Police said a shooter was in custody and the campus was being searched for a possible second shooter.
Jeff Furrows of the Santa Monica Fire Department said there was extensive fire damage inside the nearby home. A woman also was found with a gunshot wound in a car outside the burned home, he said.
Three shooting victims were admitted to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, hospital spokesman Mark Wheeler said. Two were in critical condition and one was in serious condition, said.
Jimes Gillespie, 20, told The Associated Press he was in the college’s library studying when he heard the gunfire, and he and dozens of other students began fleeing the three-story building.
“As I was running down the stairs I saw one of the gunmen,” said Gillespie, who described the shooter as a white man in his 20s, wearing cornrows in his hair and black overalls. He said the man was carrying a shotgun.
Gillespie believes there were two shooters because he heard two kinds of gunfire – a shotgun and a handgun – but only saw one person.
“The shotgun blast was first. It was either him or the partner who shot eight to 10 handgun shots,” Gillespie said. “Then after I saw the gunman I heard more shots and I ran out of the library through the emergency exit.”
As Gillespie ran away across campus, he said he saw a car in front of the English building that was riddled with bullet holes, had shattered windows and a baby’s car seat in the back.
Santa Monica police Sgt. Rudy Flores said numerous witnesses called to report that the shooting began with a man on a street corner near the college firing shots at vehicles, including a bus.
California Highway Patrol Officer Vince Ramirez said his agency began receiving 911 calls just minutes before noon.
“We understand one shooter was taken into custody shortly after we arrived,” he said.
Ramirez said officers were searching the 38-acre campus after witnesses said there may have been a second shooter. He emphasized that those reports were unconfirmed.
Santa Monica College is a two-year college with about 34,000 students in an area of homes and strip malls. It’s a little more than a mile from the coastal city’s beaches and pier, and about 3 miles from where Obama was attending the fundraiser.
Secret Service spokesman Max Milien said the agency was aware of the shooting but it had no impact on the president’s event.
source-www.wjla.com
Homeland Security agent, suspect injured in Lakewood shooting www.privateofficer.com
Source- King5
Cutler Bay Man Sentenced in $12 Million Identity Theft Tax Refund Fraud Scheme
Florida June 7 2013
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Michael J. DePalma, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); Paula A. Reid, Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service (USSS); Ronald Verrochio, Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Miami Field Office; and Michael B. Steinbach, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, announced the sentencing of defendant Jesus Calvo, 30 of Cutler Bay, for his role in an identity theft tax refund fraud scheme, to 58 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. U.S. District Judge Jose Martinez also ordered the defendant to pay $9.2 million in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.
According to the factual proffer, the defendant operated a check cashing store called J&S Taxes in Perrine, Florida. Beginning in or around February 2012 and continuing through in or around June 2012, the defendant cashed thousands of fraudulently obtained United States Department of Treasury income tax refund checks (totaling approximately $12 million) that were brought by co-conspirators. The defendant knew that the checks had been obtained by fraud and without authorization of the true taxpayer.
According to the factual proffer, the defendant received more than the standard fee for cashing the checks because the tax-refund checks had been obtained by fraud. The standard fee for cashing these checks would have been from two to five percent. However, the defendant took much more than that fee and used this money for his own personal expenditures—he purchased two houses, he funded his retirement account, he invested in a “start-up company,” he purchased an investment property, and he purchased cars and other items.
According to the plea agreement and statements made in court, the defendant agreed to forfeit two houses, five cars, three bank accounts, high-end watches, jewelry, and cash. These assets had an estimated value of approximately $2 million.
Mr. Ferrer thanked IRS-CI, USSS, USPIS, and FBI for their work on this case. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael N. Berger, Evelyn Sheehan, and Elijah Levitt.
Bieber’s Security Guards Accused Of Battery In Miami www.privateofficer.com
MIAMI FLA June 7 2013 – First Justin Bieber was slammed on Twitter after his courtside appearance at the NBA Eastern Conference Finals Game 7 in Miami and now Bieber’s bodyguards are being investigated for the alleged battery of a paparazzo.
According to TMZ, two people from Biebs security team approached a photographer who was taking pictures of the skateboarding pop star outside a North Miami recording studio Wednesday night.
Miami-Dade Police Detective Roy Rutland said an officer responded to a report of an assault taking place outside The Hit Factory on 149th Street.The bodyguards reportedly charged the photographer. According to TMZ, one bodyguard choked him while the other took the camera and took out the memory card.
The battery report will need to be passed on to Florida’s State Attorney before a decision on charges is made.
A spokesperson for Bieber has not commented on this matter.
Source- NBC Miami
City council approves ordinance changes on private security officers www.privateofficer.com
Wichita KS June 6 2013 The Wichita city council has approved changes in a city ordinance dealing with private security companies, and the changes will allow private security officers to wear external equipment vests.
Wichita police captain Felicia Norris said the changes were developed with input from local security companies. The vests will have to be labeled on the front and back with the words “private security” and they will have to have the name of the security company along with the last name of the officer. The vests can have up to 5 pouches, and they will have to be on the front of the vest.
The intent is to make it easy to distinguish private security officers from law enforcement officers.
source-kfdi
Murder indictment issued against Va. mother of newborn www.privateofficer.com
RICHMOND VA. June 6 2013 – The mother of a newborn girl found in a Dumpster last week in Richmond was indicted today on one count of first-degree murder.
The Richmond area’s multijurisdictional grand jury indicted Shavaughn Robinson, 27, of Richmond on the charge this morning in the death of her daughter.
Robinson, tears streaming, appeared briefly this afternoon before Circuit Judge Gregory Rupe, who ordered that she continue to be held without bond.
The child’s body was found May 28 in a plastic trash bag in a Dumpster behind the Lee Medical Building on Monument Avenue in the Fan District.
Authorities say Robinson gave birth to the child in a bathroom inside the building, where the mother worked, on the afternoon of May 28. A janitor found the child that evening in the trash bin in an alley behind the building.
Relatives of Robinson said they had no idea she was pregnant until news spread that the dead child had been found.
Robinson was arrested last week on a felony charge of concealing a body and had been held without bond on that charge.
Source-Richmond times daily
100 students ejected from NYC to Atlanta flight www.privateofficer.com
NEW YORK June 5 2013 (AP) — A group of about 100 high school students traveling from New York to Atlanta were thrown off an AirTran flight, along with their chaperones, after the pilot and crew lost patience with some kids who wouldn’t sit down and put away their cellphones.
Seniors from the Yeshiva of Flatbush in Brooklyn were on the flight about 6 a.m. Monday at LaGuardia Airport. AirTran’s parent company, Southwest Airlines, said in a statement that flight attendants asked passengers several times to take their seats and put their mobile devices away.
The airline said that when some didn’t comply, the captain repeated the request. When that didn’t work either, the whole group of students was ordered to disembark for safety reasons, the airline said. The flight was delayed for about 45 minutes while the students filed out of the Boeing 737, which seats about 137 people, leaving the plane mostly empty.
Rabbi Seth Linfield, executive director at Yeshiva of Flatbush, said administrators Tuesday were still looking into the disagreement, but he said in a statement that “preliminarily, it does not appear that the action taken by the flight crew was justified.”
Asked whether he thought 100 teenagers were too many to keep in order on a flight, Linfield said the school has taken similarly sized groups before without any problems.
Southwest spokesman Brad Hawkins wouldn’t get into details as to why the entire group was kicked out, but said “I have no indication that the flight attendants overreacted.”
He said the AirTran cabin crew made “repeated requests” for an unknown number of the students to behave. “The point at which the captain comes on the PA system and says ‘You all need to sit down’ is unusual.”
The students were on a three-day trip that was to include a rafting excursion and a visit to a Six Flags theme park.
The students were then put on other flights, but it took 12 hours for some to reach their destination via transfers that took them as far out of their way as Milwaukee, Wis.
Some of the students posted pictures and video of their journey on social media sites. At least one sent a barrage of Twitter messages to media organizations, complaining that the way they were being treated was a “scandal.”
Linfield said Southwest Airlines offered vouchers to future air travel to faculty and students who were on the plane.
East Bridgewater special police officer commits ethic violations www.privateofficer.com
EAST BRIDGEWATER NJ June 5 2013
The state Ethics Commission has determined a special police officer – also the current selectmen chairman – violated the state conflict of interest law by entering into contracts with the Police Department through his security company.
Selectmen Chairman Brian Connors’ company, Flagship Security Systems, Inc., earned $400,000 from 2008 to 2011 for security-related equipment and services it provided to the police department in connection with the grant, the commission said. It billed the town another $15,000 for renovations to the police dispatch area.
The Ethics Commission on Monday issued a “public education letter” to Connors for the violation.
Then-Police Chief John L. Silva Jr. first appointed Connors to the position of special police officer on July 1, 2004, according to Assistant Town Clerk Paula S. Keefe.
Although Connors was a special police officer, he had no shifts or assigned duties and did not wear a badge or a uniform, the Ethics Commission said.
“Nevertheless, as a result of his appointment to the position of special police officer, Connors became a ‘municipal employee’ for purposes of the conflict of interest law,” the commission said.
In 2007, Connors assisted the police department in applying for a federal Secure Our Schools grant to install security systems in schools and the police department. He also provided information later included in the bid specifications used to award the contract to install the security equipment.
Connors was also a “municipal employee” for the purposes of the conflict of interest law because he provided assistance to the police department regarding the grant and the bid specifications.
From 2008-2011, Flagship invoices indicated that the company earned about $400,000 for security-related equipment and services it provided to the police department in connection with the grant.
In addition, in 2009 Flagship billed the police department about $15,000 for renovations to the police department dispatch area.
“Public officials and employees should understand that individuals who perform services for a municipal agency or who serve in appointed, unpaid municipal positions, including those with limited or ill-defined duties, are not exempt from the conflict of interest law,” the letter to Connors states.
The Ethics Commission issues a “public education letter” if it determines the public interest would be best served by explaining how the conflict of interest law applies in a particular set of circumstances.
By agreeing to the commission’s issuance of the letter, Connors does not admit to violating the conflict-of-interest law.
“The letter is the final resolution of this matter, and the commission will not take any formal action against Connors,” the press release said.
Flagship Security Systems Inc. was formed in 2003 to install and repair security, fire and life safety systems, the letter says.
Connors was reappointed to the special police officer position annually for each fiscal year through 2011, Keefe said. He resigned from the position on Jan. 1, 2012, Keefe said. The town did not immediately provide a copy of Connors’ resignation letter on Monday.
Connors was elected to the Board of Selectmen in April 2011, defeating incumbent Theresa McNulty.
McNulty, at the time, took some heat for using official stationery to ask Cowan and the town accountant for information on a grant that funded security cameras at local schools. Those cameras were installed by Flagship Security Systems of Waltham, owned by Connors.
Connors then decried McNulty’s questioning of the contracts, and her use of town stationery to do it.
During that 2011 campaign, Connors gave his occupation as a “security director” and provided this statement for an election biography story that ran in The Enterprise:
“We need to restore the people’s trust and confidence in the local government. I will restore transparency and accountability to the Board of Selectmen. I want to use my experience running a small business to serve the town. I can run our town with the efficiency of a business and spend our tax dollars wisely.”
When reached Monday, Connors said he was surprised to get the Ethics Commission letter. “If you think about it, it comes down to not filing a disclosure form,” Connors, 46, said.
Connors said he didn’t expect his role as an unpaid, special police officer would pose a conflict with his security company getting the work that earned his company $415,000 from the town.
“If I thought that (it posed a conflict), I certainly would not have done it,” Connors said. “I wasn’t paid. There was no advantage to being a special policeman.”
“A reasonable person wouldn’t expect that kind of conflict existed as a volunteer,” Connors added. He said he no longer does business with the town.
“It’s pretty self explanatory,” Connors said of the letter. “The Ethics Commission reviewed a procurement issue from about six years ago. They found that no fines were merited. The letter just clarifies their opinion and closes the case.”
The state Ethics Commission has determined a special police officer – also the current selectmen chairman – violated the state conflict of interest law by entering into contracts with the Police Department through his security company.
Selectmen Chairman Brian Connors’ company, Flagship Security Systems, Inc., earned $400,000 from 2008 to 2011 for security-related equipment and services it provided to the police department in connection with the grant, the commission said. It billed the town another $15,000 for renovations to the police dispatch area.
The Ethics Commission on Monday issued a “public education letter” to Connors for the violation.
Then-Police Chief John L. Silva Jr. first appointed Connors to the position of special police officer on July 1, 2004, according to Assistant Town Clerk Paula S. Keefe.
Although Connors was a special police officer, he had no shifts or assigned duties and did not wear a badge or a uniform, the Ethics Commission said.
“Nevertheless, as a result of his appointment to the position of special police officer, Connors became a ‘municipal employee’ for purposes of the conflict of interest law,” the commission said.
In 2007, Connors assisted the police department in applying for a federal Secure Our Schools grant to install security systems in schools and the police department. He also provided information later included in the bid specifications used to award the contract to install the security equipment.
Connors was also a “municipal employee” for the purposes of the conflict of interest law because he provided assistance to the police department regarding the grant and the bid specifications.
From 2008-2011, Flagship invoices indicated that the company earned about $400,000 for security-related equipment and services it provided to the police department in connection with the grant.
In addition, in 2009 Flagship billed the police department about $15,000 for renovations to the police department dispatch area.
“Public officials and employees should understand that individuals who perform services for a municipal agency or who serve in appointed, unpaid municipal positions, including those with limited or ill-defined duties, are not exempt from the conflict of interest law,” the letter to Connors states.
The Ethics Commission issues a “public education letter” if it determines the public interest would be best served by explaining how the conflict of interest law applies in a particular set of circumstances.
By agreeing to the commission’s issuance of the letter, Connors does not admit to violating the conflict-of-interest law.
“The letter is the final resolution of this matter, and the commission will not take any formal action against Connors,” the press release said.
Flagship Security Systems Inc. was formed in 2003 to install and repair security, fire and life safety systems, the letter says.
Connors was reappointed to the special police officer position annually for each fiscal year through 2011, Keefe said. He resigned from the position on Jan. 1, 2012, Keefe said. The town did not immediately provide a copy of Connors’ resignation letter on Monday.
Connors was elected to the Board of Selectmen in April 2011, defeating incumbent Theresa McNulty.
McNulty, at the time, took some heat for using official stationery to ask Cowan and the town accountant for information on a grant that funded security cameras at local schools. Those cameras were installed by Flagship Security Systems of Waltham, owned by Connors.
Connors then decried McNulty’s questioning of the contracts, and her use of town stationery to do it.
During that 2011 campaign, Connors gave his occupation as a “security director” and provided this statement for an election biography story that ran in The Enterprise:
“We need to restore the people’s trust and confidence in the local government. I will restore transparency and accountability to the Board of Selectmen. I want to use my experience running a small business to serve the town. I can run our town with the efficiency of a business and spend our tax dollars wisely.”
When reached Monday, Connors said he was surprised to get the Ethics Commission letter. “If you think about it, it comes down to not filing a disclosure form,” Connors, 46, said.
Connors said he didn’t expect his role as an unpaid, special police officer would pose a conflict with his security company getting the work that earned his company $415,000 from the town.
“If I thought that (it posed a conflict), I certainly would not have done it,” Connors said. “I wasn’t paid. There was no advantage to being a special policeman.”
“A reasonable person wouldn’t expect that kind of conflict existed as a volunteer,” Connors added. He said he no longer does business with the town.
“It’s pretty self explanatory,” Connors said of the letter. “The Ethics Commission reviewed a procurement issue from about six years ago. They found that no fines were merited. The letter just clarifies their opinion and closes the case.”
source-www.enterprisenews.com
Va. hazing death leads to arrest of men for involuntary manslaughter www.privateofficer.com
CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. June 5 2013 – Four men arrested in connection with a Virginia State University hazing incident in April that claimed the lives of two students are now facing involuntary manslaughter charges.
James A. Mackey Sr., Eriq K. Benson, Cory D. Baytop and Charles E. Zollicoffer II, were indicted on two counts of involuntary manslaughter on Tuesday. The four were also charged back in April with facing five counts of hazing. The hazing charges are misdemeanors.
Police had said the men were all associated with the Men of Honor, a non-university sanctioned organization that attracts students from VSU and other schools.
Police said the charges stemmed from an incident where seven VSU students tried to cross the Appomattox River around 1:30 a.m. as part of a Men of Honor initiation ritual. The river’s strong current swept the students down river.
Officials said some were pulled to safety and others drifted to shore. However, two students were reported missing and their bodies were pulled from the river days later.
Witnesses also told CBS 6 that Virginia State University freshmen Jauwan Holmes and Marvell Edmondson disappeared in the Appomattox River during a Men of Honor “initiation ritual.”
Source-WTVR
Firearm Safety Initiative Announced www.privateofficer.com
BATON ROUGE, LA June 4 2013—United States Attorney Donald J. Cazayoux, Jr. announced today that the United States Attorney’s Office has partnered with the Baton Rouge City Constable’s Office, East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office, Baton Rouge Police Department, Louisiana State Police, East Baton Rouge District Attorney’s Office, Louisiana Association of Sheriffs, Louisiana Association of Chiefs of Police, Louisiana District Attorneys Association, and Louisiana’s City Marshals and City Constables Association to develop an initiative to educate youth on firearm safety and awareness.
United States Attorney Donald J. Cazayoux, Jr. states, “Our state and local partners are confident that this campaign will be successful in helping to reduce the number of tragic firearm accidents involving our youth that occur simply because of the lack of education and understanding of the dangers and the devastating effects of firearms when they are not handled properly.”
The presentations can be conducted at any community event, summer camp, or school camp and will focus on safety and awareness issues as well as instructions on what to do if a firearm is found. The basic philosophy taught is that upon encountering a firearm children should Stop, Don’t Touch, Leave the Area, and Tell an Adult. Presentations are conducted by POST/FBI Firearms Instructors and will utilize props and a ballistic shoot tank for a live fire demonstration.
The current community event schedule includes:
•Saturday, June 1, 2013 (10:00-4:00): “Obesity for the Birds” BREC Trail Walk/Community Against Drugs and Violence Inc. (CADAV) Pre-Juneteenth Community Outreach Festival Howell Place Gym, 7716 Howell Boulevard, Baton Rouge
•Saturday, June 8, 2013 (9:00-1:00): Shady Grove First Missionary Baptist Church’s Annual Health Fair 16443 Plank Road, Baker
•Saturday, June 15, 2013 (1:00-5:00): Juneteenth Celebration Gus Young Park, 4200 Gus Young Avenue, Baton Rouge
•Saturday, June 29, 2013 (1:00-5:00): One Voice One Dream One Team 4th Annual Pack the Park SAIA BREC Park, 855 North Donmoor Avenue, Baton Rouge
•Saturday, July 27, 2013 (7:00-12:00): Project R.I.D.E., Inc. Back to School Seminar Louisiana State Fairgrounds, 17200 Airline Highway, Baton Rouge
•Saturday, December 7, 2013 (12:00): Community Against Drugs and Violence Inc. (CADAV) Christmas Festival Scotlandville Elementary School, Pembroke at 75th Avenue, Baton Rouge
For more information or to schedule a presentation, contact Holly Sheets, Victim-Witness Coordinator for the United States Attorney’s Office, at 225-389-0443.
Crash involving taxi cab kills 2 passengers in Fairfax County www,privateofficer.com
RESTON, Va June 3 2013 — Two passengers in a taxi cab have been killed in northern Virginia after the vehicle was struck head-on by another car.
source-Washington post
