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Rock Hill Target shoplifters bit worker, hid in trunk of car www.privateofficer.com
ROCK HILL SC April 28 2013 — Two Rock Hill sisters face shoplifting and assault charges after police say they stole from Target and then fled to a gas station before one hid in the trunk of a car and the other bit a store employee Monday.
At about 6:30 p.m., police searched the area between Dave Lyle Boulevard and Tinsley Way after receiving word of two women who shoplifted from Target and then ran toward the gas station on Tinsley Way, according to a Rock Hill Police report.
An officer saw Ladorea White, 32, and her sister, Damaria White, 29, walking behind the gas station’s garbage bin, the report states. Police approached both women and managed to detain Ladorea White, but Damaria White took off running.
Ladorea White struggled with officers and had to be taken to the ground before she was handcuffed, the report states. A bystander told police that Damaria White got into a green Ford Taurus that drove off.
Officers found the Taurus, made a traffic stop and spoke with the front-seat passenger, who said she had nothing to do with the Target theft, according to the report. She said Damaria White jumped into her backseat and said, “Go, go, go,” before she hid in the trunk of the car.
An officer opened the trunk and found Damaria White inside, the report states. The driver didn’t know Damaria White, but a passenger did, said Rock Hill Police Executive Officer Mark Bollinger. When Damaria White saw them, she flagged them down for a ride.
Once in the car, she pulled down the back seat of the Taurus and climbed into the trunk, Bollinger said.
Police took both sisters back to Target at the Manchester Village Shopping Center to identify them, the report states. They found two shirts worth $50 in Ladorea White’s purse, and a baby bottle and accessories worth $34 in Damaria White’s purse.
The loss prevention officer told police that he tried to stop Ladorea White while she was shoplifting but she bit him on his left arm, breaking into his skin, according to the report.
The store employee went to Piedmont Medical Center for evaluation, where doctors gave him shots and antibiotics, said a victim’s advocate during Ladorea White’s Tuesday afternoon bond hearing.
“The injuries you’re charged with caused a great deal of difficulty for this gentleman who was doing his job,” said Rock Hill Magistrate Ray Long before setting Ladorea White’s bond at $28,000.
She is charged with second-degree assault and battery, shoplifting and driving under suspension after police learned her license was suspended when she initially drove her sister to Target.
Damaria White was charged with shoplifting. Police learned that she also had an outstanding warrant for shoplifting in Lancaster. She received a $1,000 bond Tuesday morning before she was taken to the Lancaster County Detention Center, where she received a $5,000 bond. Source- heraldonline.com
Registered Sex Offender Charged with Distributing Images of Child Sexual Abuse from New Jersey Law Office www.privateofficer.com
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Press Release
NEWARK, NJ April 27 2013—A registered sex offender employed at a law office in Paterson, New Jersey will appear in court today following his arrest at the office late yesterday after law enforcement officers discovered alleged child pornography on his work computer, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Kevin Rease, 32, of Hackettstown, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with one count of distributing images of child sex abuse over the Internet. He is scheduled to appear this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael A. Hammer in Newark federal court.
According to the criminal complaint:
On March 12, 2013, an undercover FBI agent downloaded images depicting child sexual abuse from an individual using an assumed name on a public Internet-based peer-to-peer file sharing network. The investigation revealed that the individual was logged onto the network using an Internet protocol (IP) address belonging to the law office where he worked.
The FBI executed a search warrant yesterday at the Paterson law office, seizing digital images depicting child sexual abuse, including material involving prepubescent minors. Rease’s work computer was logged onto the peer-to-peer network at the time under the same assumed name that had offered illegal images for download on March 12.
As a previously convicted sex offender, Rease faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of 40 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine if convicted of the offense.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, Newark Division’s Child Exploitation Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford in Newark, with the investigation leading to the arrest.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Alfonzo Walsman of the U.S. Attorney’s Office General Crimes Unit in Newark.
The charge and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Clinical Laboratory President and New Jersey Doctor, Others Charged with Company in Multi-Million-Dollarl Scheme www.privateofficer.com
NEWARK, NJ April 11 2013—Federal agents arrested the president and part-owner of Parsippany, New Jersey-based Biodiagnostic Laboratory Services LLC (BLS), a New Jersey physician, and two other BLS employees this morning on charges they participated in a long-running scheme to bribe doctors to refer patient blood samples to BLS and to order unnecessary tests, resulting in tens of millions of dollars in profit for the company. The charges were announced today by New Jersey U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman.
BLS president David Nicoll, 39, of Mountain Lakes, New Jersey; Scott Nicoll, 32, of Wayne, New Jersey, a senior BLS employee and David Nicoll’s brother; and Craig Nordman, 34, of Whippany, New Jersey, a BLS employee and the CEO of Advantech Sales LLC—an entity used by BLS to make illegal payments—are charged in a federal complaint with conspiring to bribe physicians over a period of several years. BLS is also charged with the conspiracy.
Frank Santangelo, 43, of Boonton, New Jersey, a New Jersey physician with offices in Montville and Wayne, is charged in the complaint for allegedly accepting bribes to refer patients to BLS and violating his duty of fidelity to his patients. Santangelo allegedly received more than $700,000 in bribe payments from BLS and sent the company more than $4.2 million in blood referrals.
The defendants are scheduled to appear this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Madeline Cox Arleo in Newark federal court.
“People depend on their doctors to make medical decisions about care based solely on medical need,” said U.S. Attorney Fishman. “When doctors order extra tests or choose particular labs in exchange for cash, they abandon their obligation to their patients and to all of us who support our nation’s health care system. No patients should have to worry that their doctors’ loyalty and judgment have been bought by a salesman trying to make a buck.”
“The FBI views health care fraud as a severe crime problem that affects every American,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford. “Fraud and abuse take critical resources out of our health care system and contribute to the rising cost of health care for everyone. Today’s arrests are the result of a long term, multi-agency investigation into a complex health care fraud scheme, requiring substantial investigative resources. The FBI, with its law enforcement partners, will continue to provide a significant amount of expert resources to investigate these crimes.”
“Kickbacks have no place in the healthcare industry. Financial inducements only cloud medical judgment. This elaborate kickback scheme had one goal, and that is greed,” said Tom O’Donnell, Special Agent in Charge for the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Federal and state taxpayers, and vulnerable patients, deserve better.”
According to the complaint unsealed today:
Between 2006 and 2013, BLS and entities it funded paid millions of dollars to physicians to induce them to refer patient blood samples to BLS. From these referrals, BLS received at least tens of millions of dollars from private health insurance companies and Medicare.
Numerous physicians were bribed under the guise of lease, service, and/or consulting agreements. Under the lease and service agreements, between 2006 and 2009, physicians were frequently paid thousands of dollars a month by BLS for space in medical offices that BLS did not need or actually use and to perform routine blood drawing services that had little real dollar value.
In a text message referenced in the complaint, David Nicoll wrote to Santangelo about the status of their referral agreement, stating that BLS “really can’t afford the 40-50,000 [dollars] a month if the girls aren’t going to be drawing any blood,” to which Santangelo responded by stating, “U no u can count on me” and “I never let u down.”
When the state of New Jersey sought to address the problem of laboratories using lease agreements to bribe physicians for referrals—effectively prohibiting all leases between blood laboratories and physicians in 2010—BLS, David Nicoll, Scott Nicoll, and Nordman funded and used at least half a dozen entities to disguise bribe payments to physicians.
In one example from the complaint, a physician was paid $1,500 per month by Nordman—who identified himself as both a BLS employee and the CEO of Advantech—for spending less than two minutes each month filling out a one-page questionnaire asking how often sales representatives visited the physician’s office, which insurance companies were in-network for the physician and which out-of-network insurance companies did the physician bill. In reality, the payments were to refer patients’ blood samples to BLS.
Various recorded conversations are also detailed in the complaint, including one in which Nordman urges another physician to order “more tests,” stating, “That’s where it really is. I mean, if we get 10 bloods for $1,000 as opposed to 10 bloods for $4,000 or five bloods for $4,000, obviously there’s more. We get paid a percentage, obviously.” In a second conversation, Scott Nicoll tells this same physician, “I would like to be able to get you, you know, around 1,500 [dollars] a month if I can, but I need—we would either need more tests or more patients or something along those lines…you’re doing about a $1,000 a bag per patient…if we could, we could somehow get that up in the two’s then I’m looking at making 4,000, and I have no problem paying you know 1,500 [dollars] for it.”
Over the course of the charged conspiracy, BLS has made more than $200 million from the testing of blood specimens and related services. David Nicoll received more than $33 million in distributions from BLS during that same time period, during which he also spent millions on personal items: more than $5 million on high-end and collectible automobiles, including approximately $580,000 for a Yenko Nova and approximately $365,000 for a Yenko Chevelle, approximately $300,000 for a Ferrari, and approximately $291,000 for a Corvette; more than $700,000 to purchase a Manhattan apartment for a female companion; $600,000 on private jet charters; $392,000 on tickets to sporting events; $216,000 at electronics stores; and $154,000 at a gentleman’s club and restaurant.
“It is alleged in today’s complaint that the president and other employees of BLS bribed physicians to refer patients to their lab and order unnecessary lab tests, reaping millions of dollars, all in the name of greed,” stated Shantelle P. Kitchen, Acting Special Agent in Charge, IRS-Criminal Investigation, Newark Field Office. “Medical tests should only be run when medically necessary, not so someone can buy exotic cars and charter private jets. This type of health care fraud will not be tolerated and IRS-Criminal Investigation, along with our law enforcement partners, will vigorously investigate these crimes to bring the perpetrators to justice.”
“Postal Inspectors, along with other law enforcement agents, unraveled a sophisticated false billing scheme that resulted in millions of dollars in losses,” said Acting Inspector in Charge Maria Kelokates, Newark Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. “Postal Inspectors will continue to aggressively pursue investigations in which the U.S. mail is used to facilitate a crime.”
David Nicoll, Scott Nicoll, and Nordman are charged with one count of conspiring to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Federal Travel Act. Santangelo is charged in two counts—with substantive violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Federal Travel Act, for allegedly using the interstate mails in aid of commercial bribery. If convicted, the defendants face a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison on each of the counts with which they are charged. Each count also carries a maximum $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. BLS is also charged with the conspiracy, and faces a maximum potential penalty of five years of probation and a $500,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss.
U.S. Attorney Fishman praised special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Ford; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge O’Donnell; IRS–Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Kitchen, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Acting Inspector in Charge Kelokates.
The government is represented by Senior Litigation Counsel Andrew Leven, Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Jampol and Deputy Chief Jacob T. Elberg of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Health Care and Government Fraud Unit in Newark, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara Ward of the office’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Unit.
Traffic stop ends in jewlery robbery arrests www.privateofficer.com
Kansas City MO April 10 2013 Two men in a car pulled over for speeding in Pleasant Valley had some explaining to do when another motorist stopped to say they had just robbed him.
Russell A. Gordon, 32, of Jefferson City, and Jermaine M. Burnett, 22, of Columbia, are accused of stealing a 2.73-carat diamond ring during a Craigslist sale, authorities said Sunday.
The incident started over the weekend when a man went to meet someone he thought wanted to buy the ring for $3,500.
When the seller showed up at a Wal-Mart parking lot where the sale was supposed to occur, he found two men, one brandishing a pistol, according to court documents. The men allegedly snatched the ring and the seller’s cellphone and fled in a Pontiac.
The seller, who was not identified in the court record, pursued the two in his own vehicle.
The Pontiac was traveling 72 mph in a 35-mph zone when a Pleasant Valley police officer stopped the car. The alleged victim then pulled behind the officer and said the men in the Pontiac had just taken his diamond ring and phone.
A canine unit searched the route. Authorities said they found a gun along the road but no ring or phone.
Gordon and Burnett were charged with robbery and armed criminal action.
Source: Kansas City Star
Salvation Army employee arrested on theft charges www.privateofficer.com
“The investigation began in January and is continuing. Jones said Hill’s employment with the organization has been short-term and the investigation is covering her entire term of employment.
“The Salvation Army has taken every necessary step to ensure that this will not happen again in northeast Louisiana,” Jones said. He would not comment on whether Hill is still an employee of the Salvation Army, citing privacy issues.
Jones said the theft could impact the Salvation Army’s ability to provide services.
“We are grieved because the people that will be hurt by this are not the Salvation Army, but the people we serve,” he said. “There may be people who now can’t keep their lights on or pay their utilities because this money has been stolen or misappropriated.”
Jones believes that the fact that a routine accounting procedure identified the theft should reassure the community that the Salvation Army remains a safe place to make a charitable donation.
“It is testimony to the fact that we pledge to do the most good with the dollars given to the organization,” he said.
The Salvation Army also suffered a loss earlier this year when fire destroyed the building where they housed donated items.
The organization is storing donations at multiple locations while the warehouse is being renovated.
Source: thenewsstar.com
Middle school principal, former “Teacher of Year” charged with child porn www.privateofficer.com
ROCK HILL, SC March 17 2013 A middle school principal, and former “Teacher of the Year,” has been arrested and charged with multiple counts of sex crimes against children.
Darin Pearson, 32, is charged with three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, according to a news release from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
“Had no clue,” Rock Hill School District #3 Spokesperson Elaine Baker said. “No nothing, thought he was a great guy.”
On Thursday, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department received information from the Metro Nashville Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
The information involved Pearson, who was involved in trading child pornography photographs, according to the release.
Police, along with agents from the State Bureau of Investigation searched Pearson’s residence. After the seizure and examination of several electronic devices, evidence was located connecting Pearson to child pornography. Neighbors say Pearson was a likeable guy who loved his career. One man, who didn’t want to be identified, said he saw numerous police when he arrived home from work but didn’t know what exactly was going on. “I just hope it’s not true,” he said.
The school district says officers notified officials on Friday morning about the arrest.
Pearson is an assistant principal at Sullivan Middle School. The school’s website list him as the administrator over the 6th grade class.
Sullivan Middle school parents are concerned. Police alerted the school district about the arrest and then parents were notified about the arrest Friday morning. Parents now plan to talk to their kids about this situation.
“I am going to have a few conversations with them,” Sullivan MS Parent Jessica Alejandro said. “With their father and we are going to talk to them, so they know what’s going on. And if they have anything to say to us then I would like for them to tell me.”
School officials told WBTV that Pearson, who has served as an assistant principal at Sullivan since July 2007, has been placed on administrative leave.
He has also served as a teacher at Sullivan from August 2002 until May 2007 and was a substitute teacher prior to that time.
Pearson was named Sullivan Middle School’s “Teacher of the Year” in 2007.
School officials say they have no evidence students at Sullivan were victims.
“We don’t expect it involves any student at Sullivan,” Baker said. “And we hope it does not.”
According to CMPD, there is currently no information that leads detectives to believe any assaults on children have occurred in Charlotte.
Rock Hill School District officials recommend parents talk with their children and calling police, if necessary.
“Rock Hill school officials will work with the CMPD on their investigation, as requested,” school officials told WBTV. “In a meeting this morning with officials from the Rock Hill Police Dept., district officials were informed that there has not been an investigation in the past or one currently involving Mr. Pearson.”
CMPD is now working with the US Attorney’s officer concerning this case.
Source:WBTV
SC substitute teacher arrested for having sex with student www.privateofficer.com
AYNOR, SC March 14 2013 - An Aynor High School substitute teacher was arrested Tuesday after police said he had sex with a 16-year-old student, sent messages to a second student and kissed another.
The student said she met Love at Wal-Mart in Conway and he kissed her in the parking lot.
Four MS. shoplifters charged with felonies in thefts www.privateofficer.com
Pontotoc MS Feb 24 2013 Police Chief Larry Poole said that two Derma residents and two Calhoun City residents were arrested by officers February 2 and charged with felony shoplifting.
The alleged shoplifting occurred around 2 a.m. at Wal-mart in Pontotoc, Poole reported.
Those arrested and charged with felony shoplifting included:
-Resheka Shonta Stovall, 24, of Underwood Drive, Derma;
-Maurice William Buchanan, 23, of Underwood Drive, Derma;
-Camilla Jean Penson, 26, of Johnson Avenue, Calhoun City;
-and Trane Anastacia Foxx, 32, of Simmons Drive, Calhoun City.
Poole said officers stopped the suspects’ vehicle on McCord Road shortly after they left Wal-Mart.
Poole said that alleged shoplifted items recovered during the arrest included three electric scooters, several children’s Innovation Tablets, household items and clothes.
“The items we retrieved totaled $1,250.16,” Poole reported.
Bond was set at $5,000 each for the four suspects, who will await action of the grand jury in April, he said.
“Foxx is on probation through MDOC and is being held for a probation revocation hearing, and the other three were released on bond,” Poole said.
Source-Pontotoc Progress
Ohio night cub dies of heart attack on duty www.privateofficer.com
Dayton Oh Feb 16 2013 A security guard died Friday morning after suffering a heart attack while on duty at a Dayton club.
The guard, Willie Williams Jr., 32, was working at Vault on North Jefferson Street when he had the medical emergency. Around 2 a.m., workers at the club were attempting to evacuate it so medics could assist Williams, but as medics were trying to make entry, the occupants were trying to get out of the club and several scuffles ensued.
Firefighters and medics were not involved in those scuffles.
One person, Branden D. Smith, 25, was Tased for being disorderly, officials said. He faces a misdemeanor charge of misconduct at the scene of an emergency.
Club officials told News Center 7 they tried to evacuate the club as soon as Williams went down. General Manager LaToya Washington criticized the response time from safety services.
“After about 10 minutes of waiting, I called back again and they said paramedics were on the way,” she said.
A review of regional dispatch center records showed the first firefighters were sent to the club at 1:51 a.m. and they requested help four minutes later. Two minutes after that, an ambulance crew asked for police assistance.
Police attributed any delays to officers having to control Smith. Police said after he was Tased, medics were able to start providing care for Williams.
“Customers need to know that when the fire people are coming in, they need to get out of the way,” said Dayton police Sgt. Damon Caster.
The incident remains under investigation.
Source:WHIO
Former Oklahoma Detention Officer Indicted for Making False Statements to the FBI www.privateofficer.com
WASHINGTON DC Feb 15 2013 —A federal grand jury in Muskogee, Oklahoma has indicted Dennis Frisbie, Jr., 32, a former detention officer at the Muskogee County Jail (MCJ), on one count of making material false statements to the FBI.
According to the indictment, Frisbie falsely reported to the FBI that he had been shot by an unknown individual on or about July 9, 2011, and that he believed he was shot because he had previously been interviewed and cooperated with the FBI regarding an investigation into matters at the MCJ. The indictment alleges that this statement was false because Frisbie knew at the time of his statement to the FBI that he had not been shot by an unknown individual because of his previous cooperation with the FBI.
Frisbie faces a maximum penalty of five years for making material false statements to the FBI.
An indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
This case is being investigated by the Muskogee Resident Agency of the Oklahoma City Division of the FBI and is being prosecuted by Fara Gold and Dana Mulhauser of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Eleven South Florida Residents Charged in $34 Million Stolen Identity Tax Refund Scheme www.privateofficer.com
U.S. Attorney’s Office /FBI
PRESS RELEASE
Miami Fla Feb 13 2013
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Jose A. Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); Michael B. Steinbach, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office; and Paula Reid, Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service (USSS), Miami Field Office, announced the unsealing of a 43-count indictment charging defendants 11 South Florida residents with stolen identity tax refund fraud.
Charged in the indictment are Henry Dorvil, aka “D,” 35, of Hollywood; Herve Wilmore Jr., 29, of Aventura; Dukens Eleazard, aka “DK,” 33, of Pembroke Pines; Marie Eleazard, aka “Fanfan,” 32, of Miami; Jesse Lamar Harrell, 26, of Miramar; Luckner St Fleur, aka “Nene,” 32, of Miami; Ruth Cartwright, aka “Princess,” 30, formerly of Plantation; Miguel Patterson, 35, of Miami; Brandon Johnson, 29, of Miami Gardens; John Similien, 24, of Plantation; and Marc Leroy Saint Juste, 26, of Tamarac. Defendants Dorvil, Harrell, Patterson, Johnson, and Saint Juste made their initial appearances in federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lurana S. Snow in Fort Lauderdale at 1:00 p.m. today. Defendant Cartwright was arrested in the Northern District of Georgia and will make her initial appearance there. Defendants Wilmore, both Eleazards, St Fleur, and Similien remain at large.
Specifically, each defendant is charged with one count of conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service, commit wire fraud, and commit aggravated identity theft, all in violation of Title 18, U.S.C. § 371; as well as two counts of wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, U.S.C., §§ 1343 and 2. In addition, defendants Dorvil, Wilmore, Dukens Eleazard, Marie Eleazard, Harrell, St Fleur, Cartwright, Patterson, Johnson, and Similien are charged with two counts of aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, U.S.C. §§ 1028A(a)(1) and 2. The indictment also seeks the forfeiture of $443,449.07 seized from a bank account; a 2011 Cadillac Escalade EXT Premium Sport and 2010 Nissan Maxima registered to defendant Dukens Eleazard; a 2011 Infiniti M37 registered to defendant Marie Eleazard; and a 2010 Porsche purchased by defendant Wilmore.
According to the indictment, the defendants recruited knowing participants and unknowing victims to put businesses, bank accounts, and Electronic Filing Identification Numbers (EFINs) in the defendants’ names. The defendants used this information to execute their fraud scheme, including tax refund fraud. The defendants also used the personal identification information of real people, including some deceased, to file false income tax returns with the IRS. In this way, the defendants received IRS refund checks [U.S. Treasury checks and Refund Anticipation Loan (RAL) checks] at addresses and bank accounts that they controlled. To avoid having the fraud discovered, the defendants negotiated the fraudulently obtained income tax refund checks at each other’s businesses.
According to the indictment, from about January 2009 through March 2012, the defendants filed with the IRS approximately 6,961 federal income tax returns, requesting refunds totaling approximately $34,096,321. Of the 6,961 field tax returns, 2,763 used the identities of deceased individuals.
U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer, “Stolen identity refund fraud is spreading in South Florida like an out of control wildfire. Two days ago, we announced charges against 14 individuals in six separate cases on charges of stolen identity refund fraud. Today, in just one case, we are charging another 11 individuals who used stolen identities, including that of almost 3,000 deceased persons, to file fraudulent returns seeking close to $35 million in tax refunds. My office, in conjunction with the members of the South Florida Identity Theft Tax Fraud Strike Force, will continue to prosecute these thieves, not just to punish them, but also to deter others from thinking they can get away with stealing honest taxpayers’ hard-earned refunds.”
Special Agent in Charge Jose A. Gonzalez stated, “These defendants conspired to use the personal identification information of taxpayers, including deceased individuals, to file false income tax returns with the IRS. These actions not only pose a serious problem for taxpayers but adversely affect the integrity of our tax system. Together with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to remain vigilant in identifying, investigating, and prosecuting those individuals who seek to willfully defraud the United States Treasury and have a blatant disregard for the victims of their schemes.”
“Unfortunately, this is another example of the rapidly growing wave of stolen identity tax refund fraud,” said Xanthie C. Mangum, Acting Special Agent in Charge of FBI Miami Division. “The FBI continues to actively target these fraudsters who seek illicit gains by victimizing hard-working taxpayers.”
Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Paula Reid stated, “The existence of identity theft in the South Florida region is an unfortunate criminal epidemic. At any time, anyone is subject to being a victim. The investigative efforts of the law enforcement community must remain strong and unwavering as the offenders’ continuous success and harm with this stealthy crime cannot prevail.”
If convicted, the defendants face a possible maximum statutory sentence of five years in prison for the conspiracy count, 20 years in prison for each count of wire fraud and two years consecutive in prison for each count of aggravated identity theft.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI, FBI, and USSS. Mr. Ferrer also thanked the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, Department of Labor, and the Social Security Administration for their help on this matter. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Karadbil.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.
Couple dead on Utah highway-murder-suicide police say www.privateofficer.com
SALT LAKE CITY UT Feb 10 2013 — Two adults found dead Friday inside a vehicle on an I-80 off-ramp were likely killed in a murder-suicide, police said. Utah Highway Patrol troopers said the SUV was parked on the side of the road on I-80 eastbound to Redwood Road. The female driver of the car and her male passenger — later identified as Iris Rodriguez, 32, and Felipe Rodriguez, 37 — both had gunshot wounds to the head. “It appears the driver was shot first, and then the passenger shot himself,” Utah Highway Patrol Lt. Steven Winward said.
“We don’t know the extent of this family, if they had family or what, if they leave behind children or what,” Winward said. “We don’t know the entire situation.” The car was parked under the I-215 overpass and UHP closed the ramp to I-80 eastbound at Redwood Road as well as the southbound I-215 west ramp to I-80 southbound while the investigation was underway. It remained closed until early Friday afternoon.
Source-ksl.com
NC couple arrested for selling cocaine at tanning salon www.privateofficer.com
Fed indicts 17 in $75 million Charlotte mortgage fraud scheme www.privateofficer.com
Two Clark County school teachers arrested for having sex with student www.privateofficer.com
LAS VEGAS NV Sept 11 2012 – Two Clark County school teachers were arrested Monday in connection with having sex with a 16-year-old girl.
Bambi M, Dewey, 32, and John E. Stalmach, 31, were taken into custody and booked into the Henderson Detention Center. They were charged with solicitation of a minor to engage in acts constituting crime against nature charges. Stalmach was also charged with sexual conduct between certain employees of school and pupil.
The girl is a student of Basic High School in Henderson. The sexual conduct is alleged to have taken place in a Henderson house the couple shared, according to Henderson police.
Stalmach is also alleged to have had sex with the girl without Dewey. The sex acts are alleged to have happened between November 2011 and January 2012.
The girl was a student at Brown Junior High School when the couple taught there.
Dewy is being held on a $20,000 bond and Stalmach is being held on a $60,000 bond. They are due in Henderson Justice Court at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Source:8newsnow.com
Loss prevention agents flushes out toilet thief www.privateofficer.com
WINDBER PA Sept 7 2012 — A Windber man has been charged with retail theft after he was observed by a video surveilance allegedly stealing a toilet then directly returning the item for store credit.
Bobby Clifford Smith III, 32, is charged by state police in Somerset with retail theft in the Aug. 28 incident at Lowes on North Center Avenue in the borough.
Police said Smith took an “up flush” toilet and went directly to the return line where he exchanged the toilet, without a receipt, for $677.34 in gift cards. The accused then left the store with the cards, police said in a press release.
Smith was arraigned Tuesday and taken to Somerset County Jail after failing to post $30,000 straight bail.
Source:tribdem.com
Walgreens fires store manager over scuffle with shoplifter www.privateofficer.com
SACRAMENTO, CA Sept 4 2012 - Walgreens has fired a store manager who scuffled with a shoplifter over a stolen stick of deodorant at the store’s entrance.
Chamkaur Sahota, 32, said he was terminated Thursday for violating company policy in the August 17 incident at the store at 1420 Meadowview Road.
“I was terminated for stopping a shoplifter,” Sahota said.
Sahota said he confronted Najiib Ali Jones, 18, after Jones passed the cash registers and headed for the door with the deodorant in his front pocket.
Jones then left the store and dropped the deodorant just outside the sliding glass doors.
Sahota said Jones pushed his arm away as both men reached for the deodorant, and Sahota shoved Jones in response.
“When somebody touches you, you have the right to protect yourself, and that’s what I did,” Sahota insisted.
Sahota, a seven-year Walgreens veteran, said the company brought him in to open the Meadowview store last year because he was a successful manager at stores in other low income neighborhoods.
He said that as a result of his no-nonsense approach to shoplifting, losses at his store were nearly 50 percent lower than Walgreens had projected when the store opened.
Walgreens did not respond to a request for comment, but a company handbook obtained by News10 forbids employees from following shoplifters outside the store.
“While shoplifting is a major casue of lost store profits, Walgreens believes, first and foremost, in the safety of our employees, customers and other possible bystanders,” the policy reads.
Sahota was able to get the license plate of the shoplifter’s car, and Sacramento police later arrested Jones and two companions who were wanted for an outstanding warrant and a parole violation.
“I got two criminals wanted by the cops off the streets,” Sahota said. “And my reward was getting fired.”
Court records show the shoplifter, Najiib Jones, pleaded no contest to misdemeanor theft and battery charges last week and was ordered to serve 90 days on the sheriff’s work project.
Source:news10
Arizona Department of Corrections officer dead in murder-suicide www.privateofficer.com
Phoenix AZ Aug 30 2012 The two north Phoenix women found dead of a suspected murder-suicide fought like cats and dogs, a neighbor said.
Phoenix police found Dallas Augustine, 32, and Jessie McCaskill, 50, Monday night dead of gunshot wounds in the family room of their rental home in the 16000 block of 11th Place. A relative of McCaskill’s called police for a welfare check after the woman was last seen on Thursday.
Augustine, who worked for the Arizona Department of Corrections in Florence, was suspected of shooting McCaskill before killing herself, Sgt. Trent Crump said in a Tuesday news conference. Crump would only say that the weapon used was a handgun, which was recovered from the scene.
The two women have been in a relationship for eight years, Crump said. Interviews with family and friends indicated there were “problems in their relationship,” police said.
Philip Allen, who lives next door to the two women, said the two had loud fights, three to four times a month.
“They fought pretty hard and screamed at each other,” said Allen, 65, who knew the two for about two years. “Sometimes you’ll be inside your house and you can hear them, hear something break once in a while.”
Allen said when the two were outside, they were “nice and easy-going.”
Allen said he didn’t know what the two would argue about and didn’t recall seeing physical injury on either of the women. He doesn’t recalled police ever coming to the house until Monday evening.
He said he heard the two “yelling and screaming at each other” last Wednesday or Thursday but didn’t pay attention to it.
He said the women’s two dogs barked incessantly over the weekend, which was unusual but Augustine’s black Dodge Ram truck was parked in the driveway so that alleviated his concerns.
“They were nice neighbors as far as I was concerned,” Allen said.
The Associated Press reported that Augustine was the daughter of a murdered former Nevada state lawmaker.
Police said it appeared that one of the two women was packing her belongings to leave.
Allen, however, said the lease on the home was up and that both women were moving out to be closer to their jobs.
Augustine’s mother, Nevada Controller Kathy Augustine, died in her Reno home in 2006. Her husband, Chaz Higgs, was later convicted of murdering her by injecting her with a paralytic drug, according to news accounts.
Source:www.azcentral.com
Virginia bounty hunter shot to death www.privateofficer.com
BRISTOL, Tenn. Aug 12 2012
Mike Henegar prayed that the guy on the ground was still alive.
Moments earlier, a pair of gunshots pierced the dull silence of midnight at Brookside Estates mobile home park off of U.S. Highway 421.
Henegar stepped outside and a woman begged to use his cell phone. She dialed 911 but was too hysterical to talk.
That’s when the emergency dispatcher on the line said someone had to check for a pulse. Someone had to see if the man on the ground was still alive.
The man stared unblinking at the sky, his legs twisted, his arms spread in opposite directions with a pistol still clutched in one hand.
“I agreed to do it,” Henegar said of carrying out the dispatcher’s directive. “There was no pulse.”
Bounty hunter Joshua Scott Horne, 32, of Bristol, Tenn., died early Friday of a single shot from his own gun while trying to arrest the wrong person.
Witnesses said Horne ran up to his target, aimed his pistol and yelled that the guy was under arrest. Bristol Tennessee Police said the two men struggled over the weapon and multiple shots were fired.
Police said they are still piecing together the struggle and will let the Sullivan County District Attorney’s Office make the call on whether to file charges. Investigators have not named the second person involved in the shooting.
“There’s too many unanswered questions at this point to make a decision on charges,” Capt. Charlie Thomas said.
A private, home-surveillance video obtained by the Bristol Herald Courier shows a pickup truck driving along the mobile home park’s Madeline Drive just minutes after midnight and vanishing from view. Seconds later, Horne, wearing shorts, can be seen sprinting after the truck.
Dogs are heard barking. Then there’s yelling from somewhere outside of the camera’s view and the dogs go quiet.
Suddenly, a gunshot erupts.
A resident then walks past the camera and disappears in the direction of the truck and Horne.
There’s more yelling, and then a final gunshot.
One bullet grazed Horne’s target just under his right eye, police report, and he’s since been treated at Bristol Regional Medical Center and released.
Police did not say where Horne was struck. But witness William Wesley Henson, the resident seen walking in the video, said Horne was shot in the chest.
The struggle began in the cab of the pickup truck, Henson said. Both men, their hands still on the pistol, then fell to the ground and rolled to rear of the pickup before stopping partially under the truck bed.
“The other guy [the target] had his finger on the trigger and rolled the gun around and Boom! Right in [Horne’s] chest,” Henson said.
Brookside Estates residents said they know the target only as Dave, and that he lives on disability because of medical problems with his legs.
Horne, a freelance bounty hunter, was hunting a fugitive for Kingsport-based Tri-City Bonding. A company official refused to field a reporter’s queries said he had spoken to investigators and referred all questions to police.
A search of Bristol, Va., court records shows that Horne had felony convictions for credit card theft and probation violations. A search of Sullivan County court records shows a string of traffic violations and an Aug. 5, 2012, arrest on a charge of driving on a revoked license.
Residents said Horne first scoped out the mobile home for several hours while waiting for his target to come home from work. The bounty hunter had an arrest warrant with him and showed a copy of the form to anyone who cared to look.
One resident, who requested anonymity, said that Horne promised no one would get hurt that night and said he didn’t have a gun.
Henson said Horne initially arrived with four other men. But the men left and Horne stayed behind in his car, which was parked in Henson’s driveway.
“I knew somebody was going to get hurt,” Henson said. “It never should have happened.”
Henson and his brother, who lives within yards of where the struggle happened and stepped outside after hearing the shots, tackled Horne’s target. Henson, who was bit in the ensuing fight, used a set of handcuffs he spotted near Horne’s body to shackle and subdue the target.
Surveillance video shows the two brothers handing their suspect over to police.
“I left the weapon up there,” one brother yells. “I’ve got him handcuffed.”
The man in the center, wearing handcuffs, then yells to police: “Hey! I want to talk to somebody.”
A police officer strides into the camera’s view.
“Who shot who?” she asks.
The handcuffed man replies: “He shot me first … in the head.”
Source:tri-cities.com
Security guard charged in theft at The Journal News www.privateofficer.com
Peterson Phanor, 32, of 77 Locust Hill Ave., Yonkers, was charged with fourth-degree grand larceny, a felony, in the theft of two iPhones and a phone charger from the second floor of The Journal News building at 1 Gannett Drive.
Cops said the theft took place shortly after 9 p.m. Saturday when Phanor, a former US Security Associates guard who had worked at the newspaper, was let into the building by the guard on duty, along with another man who police said was there to repair the on-duty guard’s personal laptop computer.
Phanor allegedly went to the second floor and took the phones from a desk drawer. He was questioned at Police Headquarters on Thursday and arrested after admitting to the thefts. The security guard who allowed Phanor into the building has been fired, police said.
Phanor was released on $250 bail and is due in Town Court on Tuesday.
Source:lohud.com
Hillsborough County teacher charged with having sex with student www.privateofficer.com
TAMPA Fla July 18 2012
A King High School English teacher in the school’s International Baccalaureate program was arrested Monday, accused of having sex with one of his students after school, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said.
Jeffrey Halle, 32, of Plant City, had sex with a female student in a vacant classroom at King High during the spring semester, deputies said.
He was charged with sexual battery/familiar, traveling to meet a minor and certain prohibited use of computer service and devices. He was charged with sexual battery/familiar because he was in a position of authority and knew the girl, said Larry McKinnon, a sheriff’s office spokesman.
“Even if a child does consent to having sex with an adult, that doesn’t provide immunity for an adult to face criminal prosecution,” McKinnon said.
Sometime after the two had sex on campus, Halle and the girl agreed to meet again in July to have sex, the sheriff’s office said.
When Halle arrived at the girl’s home to pick her up, he was confronted by the girl’s father, the sheriff’s office said. Halle left, but the parents contacted the sheriff’s office.
Halle has been teaching at King High since the 2009-2010 school year. He was hired by the Hillsborough County School District in the 2006-2007 school year and previously taught at Freedom High and Plant City High.
There have been no other similar allegations against him in the past, said Linda Cobbe, a school district spokeswoman.
The school district sent Halle a letter on Monday notifying him he cannot return to King High. If he doesn’t resign, the school board will suspend him without pay at an upcoming meeting, Cobbe said.
Source:tbo
Off-duty Philadelphia police officer riding bicycle deliberately mowed down www.privateofficer.com
Officer Marc Brady, 32, an eight-year veteran of the force assigned to the 22nd District in North Philadelphia, was hit about 11:40 p.m. while riding his bike at Musgrave Street and East Meehan Avenue, police said. He was rushed to Albert Einstein Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 12:05 a.m. today.
Police initially described the death as a hit-and-run, but Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey later told reporters at Police Headquarters that the motorist stopped his white Acura nearby and remained with the vehicle.
Homicide detectives confirmed that they are investigating the possibility the killing was intentional and were questioning a man with whom Brady had argued earlier Sunday. The nature of the argument was not disclosed.
Law enforcement sources said the officer had been wounded in 2010 an off-duty shooting stemming from an unspecified domestic dispute.
The officer’s death comes two days after the police buried another one of their own, Highway Patrol Officer Brian Lorenzo, who was killed early July 8 when his motorcycle was hit by an allegedly drunk man driving his car the wrong way on I-95.
Source:Philly.com
Woman goes biserk -causing several thousand dollars in damage in AZ. store www.privateofficer.com
Amber Gardner, 32, walked into Mesa Food and Deli Store near Home and Broadway Road at about 10 a.m. and began yelling, “This is the United States of America! Obama passed a law yesterday!” Mesa police said.
Police said Gardner continued making racial remarks to employees before pulling out a Stanley stone hammer. Gardner attempted to hit an employee with the hammer before another employee pulled her away, police said.
Gardner proceeded to cause several thousand dollars in damage to the front of the store and its merchandise, according to police.
Gardner was arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault while displaying a deadly weapon, criminal damage and three counts of disorderly conduct, according to a court document.
Source:www.azcentral.com
Orlando police arrest man dressed as security guard committing burglary www.privateofficer.com
Nelson Simmons, 32, Pine Hills was arrested on charges of carrying a concealed weapon, armed burglary of a dwelling, burglary of an occupied dwelling and grand theft.
Police found Simmons on the 15th floor of the downtown high-rise where the purse was taken about 4:15 a.m., they said. Residents had heard someone in the unit and called 911.
The building is at 55 W. Church Street, near the old Church Street Station entertainment complex.
Spource:tribune.com
Brevard Co. teacher arrested, accused of having sex with 14-year-old www.privateofficer.com
Brevard County Fla June 15 2012 A Brevard County science teacher is still in jail, accused of having sex with a 14-year-old student.
Irene Khan, 32, was arrested on Wednesday and booked into the Brevard County Jail.
“Did you have inappropriate contact with one of your students?” WFTV asked as Khan was transported to jail.
The eighth-grade teacher never said a word.
A representative with West Melbourne police told WFTV the two had sex on and off for the past 10 months.
Investigators said the 14-year-old boy’s mother found inappropriate text messages from the teacher on his cellphone and called police.
“I guess the parents of the victim learned and reported the incident to police,” said Steve Wilkinson, Commander of West Melbourne Police Department.
On Wednesday morning, the teenager was taken to police headquarters and questioned. He told detectives that he and Khan had sex in her car on their first meeting and then they stayed at hotels after that.
According to a police report, one time she spent nearly $200 for a night’s stay at a Double Tree hotel right on the beach.
Investigators also believe Khan had sex with him in her own apartment.
The relationship allegedly began when the student jokingly wrote his phone number on a classroom chalkboard for a fellow student in his class.
Apparently, Khan wrote down the number and texted the student, according to officials.
Nearby residents were shocked, and disgusted.
“It’s pathetic, said resident Kathleen Lawla.”People should have more respect.”
Khan worked as a science teacher at the Imagine School in West Melbourne.
Khan was booked on a $50,000 bond.
The Imagine School hasn’t commented.
source-wftv.com
East Baton Rouge detectives arrest couple in brutal death of 8-year-old www.privateofficer.com
BATON ROUGE LA June 14 2012 - A man and a woman were arrested by East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Detectives after a deceased 8-year-old was found with 56 bruises and bite marks, according to EBRSO spokesperson Casey Rayborn Hicks.
Michael Robertson, 46, of 11480 Glenda Drive and Lavaughn Riley, 32, of 8711 Coy Ave. were charged with second-degree cruelty to a juvenile following the death of their 8-year-old son Xzayvion Riley, according to the release.
Hicks says the child’s death is still under investigation, and detectives are awaiting the autopsy. Deputies responded to the Coy Avenue apartment Tuesday afternoon in reference to the unresponsive 8-year-old.
Xzayvion was pronounced dead on arrival at a local hospital, Hicks said.
According to the release, the medical staff documented 56 various bruises, cuts and abrasions on the child, including an adult-size bite mark on his stomach.
Riley admitted causing bruises on the child during a beating and also stated the victim’s father, Robertson, caused bruises and scratches on the victim’s neck.
The victim’s sibling told detectives that Robertson beat the child with his closed fist from noon Monday until Monday evening. The sibling also said they witnessed Robertson bite the child on a regular basis.
Robertson denied any involvement in his son’s injuries. Hicks said more charges could be pending.
source-wbrz.com
Former Nashville TN police officer sentenced to prison for money laundering www.privateofficer.com
Wilson and Wray were indicted on June 15, 2011and both pleaded guilty in January 2012.
According to the indictment, between April 5, 2011 and June 15, 2011, Wilson received cash payments totaling $24,500 for his assistance to individuals he believed to be drug traffickers. Wilson’s assistance included transporting what he believed to be cocaine and drug money to locations in and around Nashville. On three occasions, Wilson was on duty, in uniform, and in an official police vehicle while assisting individuals whom he believed to be drug traffickers.
Wray assisted Wilson in transporting purported cocaine and drug money on two occasions.
Wray’s plea agreement detailed a June 7, 2011, FBI-controlled undercover operation, during which Wilson, while in uniform and on duty, met with Wray and an undercover FBI agent at a local truck stop to obtain a bag containing five kilograms of purported cocaine. Wilson and Wray believed the undercover agent to be a drug trafficker and after obtaining the five kilograms of purported cocaine, Wilson and Wray proceeded to a local restaurant where they met with another undercover FBI agent whom they also believed to be a drug trafficker. During the meeting, that undercover agent gave Wilson and Wray a locked bag containing $15,000 in cash in exchange for the bag containing five kilograms of purported cocaine.
After receiving the bag containing $15,000 in cash, Wilson proceeded to a hotel in Nashville, Tennessee and delivered the $15,000 to undercover agents and was paid $5,000 in cash for transporting the purported cocaine and money in his patrol car. Wray was not with Wilson during the meeting at the hotel, but he was paid part of the $5,000 for his assistance to Wilson.
This case was investigated by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.
The United States was represented by Assistant United States Attorneys Scarlett Singleton and Jimmie Lynn Ramsaur.
Reported by: FBI
Bloomingdale’s security in White Plains nabs man stealing $3,000 worth of watches www.privateofficer.com
Kevin Pedrow, 32, was charged with grand larceny after store security told police they spotted him grab a $295 watch, place it in his pocket, and run from the store on May 7.
Police eventually caught up with Pedrow and arrested him on Bloomingdale Road. According to police, Pedrow was carrying 10 watches when he was arrested, valued at $2,950.
Pedrow, of Manhattan Ave., White Plains, taken to police headquarters where he was charged.
Dead couple found in Toledo home ruled murder-suicide www.privateofficer.com
Dr. Maneesha Pandey, a Lucas County deputy coroner, said Monday the official causes of death for Leslie Waingrow, 32, and her estranged husband, Todd Waingrow, 39, were pending toxicology tests that usually take several weeks to complete.
The preliminary autopsy results are consistent with the police statement that the man apparently shot his wife and then turned the gun on himself, the deputy coroner said. The couple were pronounced dead at a single-family house in the 3900 block of Burnham Avenue about 4:40 p.m. Saturday.
“Unfortunately, it is a domestic situation that tragically turned extreme,” Toledo police Sgt. Joe Heffernan said. “There were indications that the couple were about to end their relationship.”
The couple had been quarreling Friday night, police said. There was no suicide note left, Lucas County Coroner Dr. James Patrick said.
Neighbors said the Waingrows had moved into the house on Burnham Avenue about four months ago and that they kept to themselves. One neighbor said she saw Mrs. Waingrow leave Friday with her three children and return without them.
On Sunday, the Waingrows’ three cars, including a new Kia crossover, remained in the driveway.
There was also a National Rifle Association sticker on the front door. In the front window was a sign that said, “Closed circuit television and audio monitoring on these premises.”
In the front garden, there was a “Home Sweet Home” sign. The couple married Feb. 14, 2005, according to marriage records.
Police responding to a call arrived about 4 p.m. at the house to check on Mrs. Waingrow. Police said a family member told them she had last spoken with Ms. Waingrow the night before but had not been able to contact her or her estranged husband since that time.
Authorities said they found an unlocked window. Once officers opened the window, they said they saw a woman with a gunshot wound to the head.
Officers then forced the rear door to enter the residenceand found the woman’s body on the bed in the bedroom, with the man’s body slumped over on the floor next to the bed.
Mrs. Waingrow leaves behind three children, including the couple’s son, who is 8, and two children from a previous relationship, according to authorities.
Source:Toledoblade.com
Three men charged in theft of $2,000 in electronics and merchandise at Walmart www.privateofficer.com
Red Bluff CA May 13 2012 Three men reportedly tried to walk out with some $2,000 in electronics and merchandise in shopping carts at Walmart Sunday morning.
Security officers at the store watched the crime in progress all before 5 a.m. as the three men gathered the merchandise into shopping carts and pushed them to the front of the store, a Red Bluff Police press release said.
Officers nabbed the suspects just outside the front of the store in their getaway car, a 2008 Kia.
Anthony Richard McIntire, 32, and Shane Christopher Phipps, 37, both of Redding, and Tyler Shaver, 20, were arrested at the store.
The three had gathered computers, televisions and other items in the store and headed for the south side emergency doors, logs said.
Shaver stayed inside the store while McIntire and Phipps went for the car, the release said.
License plate numbers on the vehicle were covered with masking tape.
Officers pulled over the Kia in the parking lot as it pulled near the doors, the release said. Phipps and McIntire were arrested without incident.
Shaver was arrested later when he left the store and tried to blend in with store employees who were taking a break outside, the release said.
Phipps and McIntire were each charged with conspiracy to commit a crime and second degree burglary and booked into Tehama County Jail. Bail was set at $100,000 each.
Shaver was released pending further investigation into similar crimes in other jurisdictions, the release said.
Police are looking into connections between the arrested suspects and other similar cases at the Red Bluff Walmart since January, the release said
Source:Red Bluff Daily News
