Archive
Former River Rouge School Official Sentenced to Prison www.privateofficer.com
Southfield MI May 23 2013
Dolores Reid, 53, of Southfield, the former director of state and federal programs for the River Rouge School District, was sentenced to five years in prison today by United States District Judge Bernard A. Friedman.
Physical Therapy Owner and Employees Charged with Fraud www.privateofficer.com
BOSTON MA May 17 2013—A Brockton woman and three of her employees were charged with defrauding insurance companies in connection with physical therapy services.
Walkyria Massie, a/k/a Vicky Lopes, 37, of Brockton; Edward Rossi, 53, of Rochester; Deidre Chouinard, 36, of North Attleboro; and Manuela Andrade, 24, of Brockton, were charged in an indictment unsealed yesterday with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and three separate instances of mail fraud.
The indictment alleges that Massie was the owner and operator of Westgate Physical Therapy in Brockton. Patients would seek treatment at Westgate for minor injuries, generally sustained in car accidents. Massie employed Chouinard, a physical therapist; Rossi, a physical therapy assistant; and Andrade, an office manager. The indictment alleges that Massie, Rossi, Chouinard, and Andrade conspired together to falsify patient treatment charts to reflect therapy that was either never given, or was performed by unlicensed personnel, including Massie herself. Massie caused these fraudulent physical therapy claims to be submitted by mail to private insurance companies for payment. Various insurance companies paid more than $400,000 in bodily injury claims to Westgate and its patients during a two-year period, based on these fraudulent submissions.
On the charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and mail fraud, the defendants face a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and Anthony DiPaolo, Vice President/Chief of Investigations of the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts, made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shelbey Wright of Ortiz’s Health Care Fraud Unit.
The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendants are presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Trucking Company Owners Sentenced for $800,000 Scheme to Defraud Tracker Marine www.privateofficer.com
SPRINGFIELD, MO May 15 2013—Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that that the owners of a Lebanon, Missouri trucking company have been sentenced for their roles in a conspiracy to defraud Tracker Marine, a Springfield, Missouri-based manufacturer of boats and trailers sold throughout North America.
James Keith Ivey, 53, and his wife, Melinda Kay Ivey, 43, both of Lebanon, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner on Friday, May 10, 2013. James Ivey was sentenced to five years and 10 months in federal prison without parole. Melinda Ivey was sentenced to two years and six months in federal prison without parole. The Iveys are jointly and severally liable to pay $797,325 in restitution.
On August 15, 2012, the Iveys were found guilty following a bench trial before U.S. District Judge Richard E. Dorr. The Iveys and co-defendant Paul Ray Hunting, 40, of Paso Robles, California, devised a scheme to defraud Tracker Marine LLC from January 2006 to April 2009 by inflating purchase orders and shipping invoices. During that time, the Iveys and Hunting caused more than 2,550 fraudulent invoices to be submitted to Tracker, which created a total loss of at least $797,325 to Tracker.
The Iveys owned and operated J&M Trucking Inc. in Lebanon. Tracker contracted with J&M to transport boats and trailers to Tracker’s dealers located throughout North America. Hunting, formerly of Laclede County, Missouri, was promoted to transportation manager for Tracker in 2006.
Hunting pleaded guilty to his role in both a wire fraud conspiracy and a money laundering conspiracy as well as to failing to file an income tax return. Hunting, who was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison, was ordered to pay $294,496 in restitution.
J&M’s compensation from Tracker was determined primarily by the distance its trucks traveled. Hunting caused Tracker to make payments to J&M in excess of the contract amount by listing an inflated and false number of billable miles on purchase orders. In exchange, James Ivey paid Hunting a portion of the revenue generated by the fraudulently increased billable miles in cash. From 2006 to 2008, James Ivey paid Hunting a total of $265,775.
At the beginning of the scheme, there was no set amount for Hunting’s increases to the billable miles on purchase orders. However, in April 2006, James Ivey and Hunting agreed on a set amount of 158 miles as being the amount Hunting would add to each purchase order, because when multiplied by the then-applicable reimbursement rate of $1.90 per mile, the result was an additional $300 per trip. This amount allowed for an even three-way split between Hunting, James Ivey, and Melinda Ivey. The defendants continued the practice of inflating billable miles by 158 miles per trip, even after the reimbursement rate was increased to $2.10 per mile in January 2007.
However, J&M paid its drivers for the actual miles they drove, not the number of miles for which J&M invoiced Tracker.
In addition to the fraud conspiracy, James and Melinda Ivey were found guilty of a money laundering conspiracy related to the cash payments to Hunting, which involved the proceeds of the mail and wire fraud conspiracy. Approximately every two weeks, James Ivey, often accompanied by Melinda Ivey, met Hunting (usually in a parking lot in Lebanon) and paid Hunting his share of the proceeds generated from the fraudulent invoices, in cash. Hunting claimed some of those payments on his federal income tax return as income from a catering business, which was false. The Iveys claimed the payments represented a percentage of revenue generated by two trucks they claimed Hunting owned and was leasing to J&M, which was also false.
In addition to the fraud and money laundering conspiracies, James and Melinda Ivey were convicted together in nine counts of wire fraud, and James Ivey was convicted of 10 additional counts of wire fraud. The Iveys were each convicted of one count of making false statements to federal agents.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Mohlhenrich. It was investigated by the FBI and IRS-Criminal Investigation.
This news release, as well as additional information about the office of the United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, is available online at http://www.justice.gov/usao/mow/index.html.
Alert Hard Rock Hotel & Casino security officers lead police to major drug bust www.privateofficer.com
TULSA OK April 15 2013-
Hard Rock Hotel and Casino security responded to a smoke alarm in a seventh-floor hotel room, where 31-year-old Raven Holmes was found smoking meth, according to arrest affidavits.
The officers found that Holmes had more than a pound of meth, scales and other drugs packaged for sale in the room.
Hard Rock officials then called for police backup, which, with the help of local, county and federal law enforcement, set up a sting that netted seven suspects.
The suspected buyers were all arrested for charges ranging from possession of a controlled substance to endeavoring to traffic drugs.
John Hunt, 68, Gene Miller, 53, Shelley Boothe, 30, Carol Fogelman, 30, Ayla Jones, 20, Charles Yahola, 24, and John Cooper, 34, were busted trying to buy large amounts of meth at The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa last week.
All seven, with the exception of Cooper, are listed as Tulsa residents.
Holmes and 35-year-old Gonzalo Ponce-Arturez of Austin, Texas, were indicted on federal drug charges Monday.
According to court documents, Holmes admitted to selling large amounts of meth out of Tulsa hotels on several occasions. She claims to have sold the drugs for a man who is member of a Mexican drug cartel.
“This is a plague in our community,” said Rogers County District Attorney Janice Steidley. “With the efforts of all the law enforcement and the casino security staff, that were involved, we got that off the streets of Rogers County. That’s something we are quite proud of.”
Rock Hotel & Casino meth suspects await prosecution www.privateofficer.com
TULSA OK April 5 2013 – Seven suspected methamphetamine users are awaiting prosecution after a sting at a Green Country casino led to their arrest.
John Hunt, 68, Gene Miller, 53, Shelley Boothe, 30, Carol Fogelman, 30, Ayla Jones, 20, Charles Yahola, 24, and John Cooper, 34, were busted trying to buy large amounts of meth at The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa last week.
Casino security first responded to a smoke alarm in a seventh-floor hotel room, where 31-year-old Raven Holmes was found smoking meth, according to arrest affidavits. The documents go on to state Holmes had more than a pound of meth, scales and other drugs packaged for sale in the room.
Hard Rock officials then reportedly called for police backup, which, with the help of local, county and federal law enforcement, set up a sting that netted the seven suspects.
The suspected buyers were all arrested for charges ranging from possession of a controlled substance to endeavoring to traffic drugs.
All seven, with the exception of Cooper, are listed as Tulsa residents.
Holmes and 35-year-old Gonzalo Ponce-Arturez of Austin, Texas, were indicted on federal drug charges Monday.
According to court documents, Holmes admitted to selling large amounts of meth out of Tulsa hotels on several occasions. She claims to have sold the drugs for a man who is member of a Mexican drug cartel.
“This is a plague in our community,” said Rogers County District Attorney Janice Steidley. “With the efforts of all the law enforcement involved, we got that off the streets of Rogers County. That’s something we are quite proud of.”
Steidley’s office is expected to prosecute the suspected buyers.
source- http://www.kjrh.com/
Pa. Pickpocket arrested after stealing wallet, biting security guard www.privateofficer.com
Bensalem A March 20 2013 A New York woman has been accused of stealing a senior citizen’s wallet and then biting a store security guard who confronted her in Macy’s at the Neshaminy Mall in Bensalem.
Dawn Boykin, 53, of Mount Vernon, was rummaging through the stolen wallet on Friday when the security officer approached her, according to Bensalem police. She tried to run, but didn’t get far, they added. So she started kicking and throwing her arms around, then dropped to the ground and kicked some more, according to court documents. The security guard claimed that Boykin bit him on his hand and leg while he was detaining her until police arrived, according to a probable cause affidavit. The entire incident was recorded on closed-circuit camera, police added. Macy’s security workers said they had observed Boykin following senior citizens and, when they were distracted, she would try to lift their wallets out of their purses, court documents show. Police said when they arrived and arrested her, they recovered a wax paper package labeled “Bomb” and containing an off-white powder suspected to be heroin. Boykin was arraigned before Bensalem District Judge Joseph Falcone on charges of robbery with immediate threat of injury, simple assault, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property and drug possession. She was released after posting 10 percent of her $7,000 bail.
Source-phillyburbs.com
Four Defendants Sentenced in Timeshare Fraud www.privateofficer.com
Press Release
Defendant Chiaramonte was sentenced to 51 months in prison; defendant Higgins was sentenced to one year and one day in prison; defendant McFarlane was sentenced to 90 months in prison; and defendant Tomasso was sentenced to 42 months in prison.
These defendants participated in a telemarketing boiler room through which telemarketers negotiated to purchase victim-owned timeshares on condition that the victim paid an advanced fee to cover such things as a title search. This fee ranged as high as tens of thousands of dollars. The victims were also told that this fee would be refunded to them at closing together with the money the conspirators were to pay them for the timeshares. None of these purchases ever occurred. In total, the conspiracy victimized over 1,000 people, many of whom were senior citizens, and cost the victims, in aggregate, more than $2.5 million.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI and the Boca Raton Police Department. This case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kerry S. Baron.
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 www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.
Local Businessman Convicted in $19 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme www.privateofficer.com
HOUSTON TX Feb 27 2013—Joseph Edem, 53, of Richmond, has been convicted of conspiracy to commit health care fraud relating to medically unnecessary diagnostic testing and physical therapy, United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced today.
Edem was originally indicted with former doctor Donald Gibson, II, 56, of Sugarland. That indictment alleged Gibson ordered, prescribed, and authorized medically unnecessary diagnostic tests and other procedures which included allergy tests, pulmonary function tests, vestibular tests, urodynamic tests, and physical therapy, among others. These services were then billed to Medicare and Medicaid for payment under Gibson’s billing number, according to the indictment.
From January 2007 through January 2012, Gibson allegedly caused more than $19.4 million in medical claims to the Medicare and Texas Medicaid Programs. As a result, Medicare deposited approximately $8.5 million into a bank account owned and controlled by Gibson.
Edem operated medical clinics under the names of other individuals to conceal his financial interest in the businesses. Edem admitted today that he conspired to cause the submission of false claims to the Medicare and Medicaid programs and share in the proceeds. Edem admitted he paid patient recruiters for referring Medicare/Medicaid beneficiaries and also paid Medicare beneficiaries for showing up at the medical clinics.
U.S. District Court Judge Lynne N. Hughes, who accepted the guilty plea today, has set sentencing for May 28, 2013, at which time Edem faces up to 10 years in federal prison, as well as a possible $250,000 fine.
The case against Gibson is pending. He is presumed innocent unless and until convicted through due process of law.
This case is the result of a joint investigation involving multiple federal and state agencies including agents and investigators of the Railroad Retirement Board, Secret Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, the Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Blan and Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Leuchtmann are prosecuting this case.
Bensalem investigation leads to arrest of 20 people in theft of more than $1.5 million www.privateofficer.com
Bensalem PA Feb 14 2013 A year-long corruption investigation culminated in the arrest of 20 people associated with the theft of more than $1.5 million from the Bensalem School District, police announced Tuesday morning.
Bensalem investigators made the arrests after they launched two separate investigations into alleged misdoings involving district staff. One investigation focused on “ghost employees,” the other on theft and illegal distribution of vehicles and related parts, township Public Safety Director Fred Harran said.
District Attorney David Heckler and Harran both said the investigation is not finished and more arrests are possible.
Jack Myers, the retired Bensalem School District business manager, was among those arrested in the corruption probe. He is charged with misapplication of entrusted property. Law enforcement said the 63-year-old Philadelphia resident knew of the many thefts occurring in the district and even participated in some of the activity.
The district’s current facilities manager, Robert Moseley, 61, of Bensalem was arrested and charged with misapplication of entrusted property for his part in the ghost employee investigation. In that case, police said multiple ground crew workers were getting paid for shifts they did not work. One employee did not report for work for up to three years, police said.
Head mechanic Fred Lange, 68, of Croydon was charged in August after it was uncovered he led the theft scheme being operated out of the bus garage, police said. Authorities called Lange the operations mastermind.
District mechanics Martin Chappell and Patrick Hammond were also arrested along with Lange.
Detectives told Patch that Chappell’s home garage was found to have a large surplus of vehicle parts suspected of being purchased with taxpayer money. One box of headlights was even addressed to the school district.
Hammond is suspected to have played a smaller role in the thefts. A search of his personal garage uncovered several small items believed to have been purchased using district funds.
One aspect of the crime involved ordering equipment through the district’s discounted consortium rates and then selling them out the figurative back door for less, keeping all the profits. Between nearly 7,000 bus tires and close to 2,200 batteries, the thieves are said to have swindled the district of over $1 million, police said. More money is alleged to have been spent on windshield wipers, oil filters and engine fluids, Harran explained during a late morning press conference.
Another angle involved Myers and Lange turning over the titles of 30 district buses, vans and pick-up trucks to Joel Zober, who owns a junkyard in Pipersville, police said. The vehicles were given to the junkyard and a group of classic car enthusiasts were able to pick other vehicles at the junkyard for free. Police called the group “The Breakfast Club,” due to their regular breakfast trips.
“All their people, their friends got to go to that junkyard and get parts free of charge,” Harran said. “There was a definite monetary value back.”
Harran called the group “very organized.”
Joseph Bound, owner of Bound Beverages on Bristol Pike in Bensalem, told police he bought items to maintain his vehicle fleet from Lange for the past 10 years. He said he paid cash for tires, synthetic transmission oil and transmission filters order by the school district, according to an affidavit.
“When gone unchecked for years, [the suspects] continued to do it. Those days are over,” Harran told reporters.
All of the suspects arrested on Wednesday were lead from the police station to District Justice Leonard Brown’s courthouse where they were arraigned.
Below is a list of the people arrested by authorities on Wednesday:
Current and Former District Employees
Former 28-year district business manager Jack Myers, 63, Hendrix Street, Philadelphia: misapplication of entrusted property
Facilities manager Robert Moseley, 61, Byberry Road, Bensalem: misapplication of entrusted property.
District bus mechanic Patrick Hammon, 53, of West Bensalem Avenue, Bensalem: theft and receiving stolen property
Mechanic Roland “Tex” Angle, 72, of Mildred Avenue, Bensalem: conspiracy, theft and receiving stolen property
“Ghost Employees”
Former Groundskeeper Supervisor Joseph Dyer, 43, of West Bensalem Avenue, Bensalem: theft and criminal conspiracy
Former Groundskeeper Shannon Dyer, 39, of West Bensalem Avenue, Bensalem: theft and criminal conspiracy
Groundskeeper Anthony Ruggiero, 38, of Ogden Avenue, Bensalem: theft and criminal conspiracy
Stolen Property Receivers and Distributors
William “Gill” Slowe, 73, of Crescent Avenue, Bensalem: criminal conspiracy, theft and receiving stolen property
Alfred Venturino, 59, of Fourth Avenue, Croydon: criminal conspiracy, theft and receiving stolen property
Robert Lord Sr., 64, of Dunksferry Road, Bensalem: criminal conspiracy, theft and receiving stolen property
Bound Beverages owner Joseph Bound, 65, of Ford Avenue, Middletown: criminal conspiracy, theft and receiving stolen property
Smith’s Auto Repair owner Elwyn Smith, 56, of Ritter Avenue, Bristol: criminal conspiracy, theft and receiving stolen property
Classic car club member William Klosz, 63, of Hawthorne Avenue, Bensalem: criminal conspiracy, theft and receiving stolen property
Classic car club member Leo Cannon, 65, of Hampton Court, Newtown: criminal conspiracy, theft and receiving stolen property
Classic car club member Wiliam O’Hara, 56, of Ash Avenue, Bensalem: criminal conspiracy, theft and receiving stolen property
Classic car club member Ronald Stoud, 69, of Cliff Road, Bensalem: criminal conspiracy, theft and receiving stolen property
Upper Bucks County junkyard owner Joel Zober, 70, of Magnolia Drive, Croydon: criminal conspiracy, theft and receiving stolen property
Tow truck operator Wilson Lopez, 29, of Lincoln Avenue, Bristol: criminal conspiracy, theft and receiving stolen property
Source: Bensalem Patch
Wilmington security officer killed during robbery www.privateofficer.com
WILMINGTON DE Feb 8 2013 — A security officer who was walking to his car Wednesday night was shot to death in Wilmington.
Wilmington police Cpl. Jamaine Crawford said today Ioannis Kostikidis, 53, of Townsend was walking to his car in the 600 block of Tatnall St. when he was accosted and killed by two men just before 9 p.m. He worked at the American Beauty Academy at 200 W. 9th St.
Police found him lying in a parking lot. He was taken by ambulance to Christiana Hospital, where he died of his injuries. .
Cpl. Jamaine Crawford said Kostikidis was shot once in the upper torso.
Crawford said police are looking for the two men seen running south on Tatnall.
Former Dockworker Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison for Extortion Conspiracy Involving Christmastime Tribute Payments www.privateofficer.com
FBI PRESS RELEASE
U.S. Attorney’s Office January 29, 2013
NEWARK NJ JAN 30 2013 —A former International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) member was sentenced to 30 months in prison today for conspiring to extort ILA Local 1235 longshoremen on the New Jersey piers for Christmastime tribute payments, New Jersey U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman and Eastern District of New York U.S. Attorney Loretta E. Lynch announced.
Edward Aulisi, 53,of Flemington, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Dennis M. Cavanaugh in Newark federal court to conspiring to extort Christmastime tributes from the ILA Local 1235 members—count three of the second superseding indictment against him.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Edward Aulisi conspired with his father, Vincent Aulisi—the former president of ILA Local 1235 who succeeded another co-defendant, Albert Cernadas—and Michael Coppola, a Genovese organized crime family captain, in the scheme. Coppola was convicted in July 2009 following a trial in the Eastern District of New York of racketeering and racketeering conspiracy, based in part on acts relating to extortion and wire fraud concerning ILA Local 1235.
Edward Aulisi admitted he participated in telephone calls in furtherance of the extortion conspiracy in March 2007 with Coppola—who was then a fugitive from a New Jersey state murder after having been served with a summons to provide DNA in 1996. Edward Aulisi agreed that he passed information to Coppola on the calls—specifically that Cernadas had told Vincent Aulisi the Christmastime extortion scheme would cease once Cernadas left the presidency, and Vincent Aulisi stated it would continue. Edward Aulisi also admitted Vincent Aulisi had asked him to tell Coppola the Christmastime extortion collections had almost doubled.
Edward Aulisi admitted it had been his intention to deliver Christmastime tribute money extorted from ILA Local 1235 members to Coppola had Coppola not been arrested shortly after the phone calls.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Cavanaugh sentenced Edward Aulisi to two years of supervised release and fined him $10,000.
Coppola is serving a 16-year prison term on his conviction.
U.S. Attorneys Fishman and Lynch credited the FBI in New Jersey and New York and the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jacquelyn M. Kasulis and Jack Dennehy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of New York, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Mahajan, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey.
Mom arrested after son brings guns, ammo to school www.privateofficer.com
New York City NY Jan 21 2013 A New York mother of four was arrested Friday after her 7-year-old son unwittingly brought an unlicensed .22-caliber semi-automatic pistol, ammunition and a flare gun to his school.
Deborah Farley, 53, of Queens, was charged with criminal possession of a weapon, other weapons charges and endangering the welfare of a child.
Police say Farley told them she had placed the guns and ammunition in her son’s Batman backpack Wednesday night and went out walking in her Far Rockaway neighborhood. She claimed she forgot to remove before her son went to school the next morning, according to news reports.
It was not clear why Farley would take a flare gun on a walk.
Farley came to Wave Preparatory Elementary School on Thursday morning to try to retrieve the weapons, saying she needed to take her son to the dentist. Asked about “the gun,” the boy apparently thought his mother meant the flare gun, which he said he had given to a classmate. The Phoenix Arms .22, however, was still in the bottom of his bag.
Fearing another second grader had the .22, police said, Farley confessed to the principal, who announced a lockdown, terrifying students and teachers.
“They made us turn off the lights and hide behind the teacher’s desk next to the closets,” 8-year-old Shakyla Howard told the New York Daily News, adding that her classroom door did not have a lock. “Our teacher almost started crying because she didn’t want us to get hurt.”
School security officials first found the unloaded flare gun, then discovered the .22 in Farley’s son’s bag.
Besides the guns, police recovered a magazine with 10 .22-caliber rounds and 14 other bullets in a plastic bag. Police found additional ammunition and seven small bags of marijuana in Farley’s apartment.
The boys were placed into protective care.
Their father, Walter Orozco, 56, denied that either he or Farley owned a gun and that neither they nor their 7-year-old son knew how the weapon got into the boy’s bag, The New York Times reports.
Police said Farley recanted her initial statement that her 9 year old saw his younger brother take the gun.
Farley also has sons who are 27 and 21. Police sources told the Daily News that investigators planned to question the 21 year old, who has a criminal record and may own the gun.
Source-USA TODAY
Jefferson county women face workforce development program fraud charges www.privateofficer.com
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama Jan 9 2013 — Two Jefferson County women face federal fraud and embezzlement charges related to a county workforce development program.
Yvonne Marie Foreman, 59, of Fultondale, and Darlene Powell Cockrell, 53, of Midfield, have been charged with frauds and swindles, and theft or embezzlement from manpower funds. Foreman was charged in a Nov. 29 federal grand jury indictment, which was not made public until last week. Cockrell was charged through a document filed Dec. 21.
Foreman is to be arraigned Thursday at the Hugo L Black US Courthouse before U.S. Magistrate Judge Madeline H. Haikala. Cockrell has entered a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorneys Office. She has a change of plea hearing set for 9 a.m. Jan. 28 before U.S. District Court Judge Inge P Johnson in Florence.
Under her plea agreement, Cockrell agrees to pay $52,539 in restitution to the Jefferson County Commission.
According to court documents charging her, Foreman obtained federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA) contracts through the Jefferson County Commission for a group called A Plus.
As the program director of A Plus, Foreman signed three WIA contracts, with a total value of more than $250,000, between A Plus and the county commission. The contract periods were: July 1, 2006, through June 30, 2007; June 12, 2007, through August 14, 2007; and for July 1, 2007, through June 30, 2008.
Under each contract, A Plus was to be paid primarily by means of reimbursement for costs submitted by A Plus to the Commission in the form of periodic requisitions, according to court documents. Those costs included, but were not limited to, pay for staff and contract workers; WIA-related activities and programs that A Plus delegated to others; and stipends for program enrollees, according to court records.
The indictment against Foreman states that she submitted requisitions and supporting documents to the commission requesting payment for expenses A Plus had not actually incurred. Under the scheme, the indictment states, misrepresentations were made about the hours staff worked on WIA-related programs, training and materials provided to program enrollees, and stipends paid to enrollees.
The indictment against Foreman states that an unnamed person, identified as “Person A”, and others helped her create fraudulent documentation to submit in support of the false and fraudulent requisitions.
Cockrell helped Foreman in the commission of the offense and received some financial benefit from that, said Cockrell’s attorney, Charles Scott Linton. “My client was charged out of the same facts and circumstances as Foreman.”
Linton described Foreman as the leader and organizer of the conspiracy. “My client benefited from her acts and the acts of Foreman.”
Source-al.com
Teacher kills ex-wife during church service www.privateofficer.com
Multi-state drug ring busted in Nashville-29 people arrested www.privateofficer.com
Detention Services Officer arrested for shooting man at bar www.privateofficer.com
Covina CA Sept 11 2012 Police arrested a juvenile hall detention officer Sunday on suspicion of shooting another man during an argument at a Covina bar last month.
Detectives arrested Michael Sanchez, 53, of Ontario on suspicion of attempted murder shortly after 3 p.m. when he showed up for work at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey, according to Covina police and Los Angeles County booking records. Sanchez works as a Senior Detention Services Officer for the Los Angeles County Probation Department.
Sanchez is accused of shooting a 34-year-old man during a dispute Aug. 26 at Katie Jakes Bar & Grill, 750 S. Terrado Plaza, Covina police Sgt. Ray Marquez said.
Investigators obtained clear images of a man and woman believed to be involved in the shooting from a surveillance camera, the sergeant said. Unable to identify the potential suspects, police released the images to the public Wednesday.
“After the images were released, Covina detectives were provided information that identified both the female and male,” Covina police officials said in a written statement. “Detectives quickly ruled out the female as being involved in the crime; however continued focusing on the male.”
Probation officials and investigators from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office Justice System Integrity Division assisted Covina police in the investigation once detectives realized the suspect was a juvenile hall detention officer.
Probation officials also helped Covina police take Sanchez into custody safely, authorities said.
“In this particular case, the allegations involve an off-duty probation officer. But let me be clear; when one of our employees is suspected of being involved in criminal activity we will take swift and appropriate action,” Chief Probation Officer Jerry Powers said.
The shooting took place just after the men became involved in an argument and both were escorted from the bar by security, investigators said.
The wounded man was struck in the upper torso and has since been released from the hospital, police said Sunday. He was expected to recover from his injury.
Sanchez was immediately placed on administrative leave at the time of his arrest, and his “county-assigned equipment” was taken away, according to the police statement. It was not immediately clear if that equipment included a gun.
Booking records indicated Sanchez was being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Inmate Reception Center in Los Angeles. Information on his initial court appearance was not available late Sunday.
Couple charged with passing counterfeit money at Sevierville Flea Market www.privateofficer.com
SEVIERVILLE TN Aug 28 2012- Police arrested a couple accused of making and using counterfeit money Sunday morning at a Sevierville flea market.
Officers responded to Paradise Flea Market at 10:45 a.m. when vendors reported a couple paying them with fake money.
Apparently, a vendor paid for a drink from another vendor at the market with a $20 bill. The second vendor noticed the money was counterfeit.
The first vendor told police they received the money from a couple that was identified and arrested at the flea market.
Melissa Hayes, 33, and Berlin Saylor, 53, both of Sevier County, are charged with criminal simulation.
Police said they recovered $220 worth of counterfeit bills. Some of it was in the flea market and some was still in the couple’s possession.
Investigators believe the couple made the money with regular copy paper and printed it on a home copier. They’re also suspected of passing a counterfeit $10 bill at a local McDonald’s earlier this year.
Source:WATE
Former Niles police employee pleads guilty to theft www.privateofficer.com
NILES IL Aug 9 2012 — A former employee of the Niles Police Department who was accused of faking a 2011 robbery pleaded guilty Aug. 6 to felony theft and official misconduct.
Gary Amato, 53, of Niles, who had worked as a civilian employee of the Police Department, was sentenced in Cook County Circuit Court in Skokie to two years probation and 100 hours of community service, according to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Amato will also be required to pay the village of Niles restitution totaling $5,037, the Police Department said.
Amato was arrested in July 2011 following a police investigation of an armed robbery that Amato reported in January of that year. Amato had alleged that three men robbed him of $44,000 in Niles bank deposits while he was driving a village-owned car to a bank near Golf Mill Shopping Center. Most of the deposits were in check form, police said.
Amato also reported that he had been pepper-sprayed and stabbed in the arm, but authorities later said the stab wound appeared self-inflicted and that Amato made up the story of the robbery in order to steal from the village and establish a workmen’s-compensation case or disability claim.
Source:sun times media
NC housekeeper arrested for stealing from employer www.privateofficer.com
LINCOLN COUNTY, N.C. July 6 2012
A housekeeper is accused of stealing thousands of dollars worth of jewelry from her employer, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said.
The victim reported several items missing, including rings, necklaces, earrings and a silver utensil set, investigators said. A warrant lists the value of the items at more than $36,000, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Mubeen Davis, 53, was charged with one felony charge each of larceny and possession of stolen goods. Davis was arrested Tuesday, officials said.
The Sheriff’s Office said the only item recovered during the investigation was a Rolex watch valued at approximately $10,000. The items were allegedly sold to a jewelry store in Huntersville, according to investigators.
According to a statement from the Cornelius Police Department, Davis is also wanted in connection to a crime there.
Police said a woman told them jewelry was missing from her home and she thought her housekeeper, Davis, was at fault. Cornelius police arrested Davis on June 19, and charged her with felony larceny.
She was taken to the Mecklenburg County Jail and later released on a $2,500 bond, police said.
Anyone with information on this case is asked to call Cornelius Police Detectives at 704-892-7773.
Source:WSOC
Retired Henrico VA deputy sentenced for viewing child pornography www.privateofficer.com
Richmond VA June 30 2012 A retired Henrico County sheriff’s deputy will serve 95 months in prison, a month short of eight years, for viewing child pornography on the Internet.
U.S. District Court Judge Henry E. Hudson imposed the punishment this morning in Richmond against John Harlan Mullins, 53, agreeing to a downward departure from sentencing guidelines because Mullins had not dispersed the images elsewhere and because only a fraction of the images — seven of 1,561 — depicted bestiality or sadomasochism, which elevate sentencing.
Mullins retired last June as a deputy of 22 years in Henrico, a month after federal agents executed a search warrant at his apartment in the 9000 block of Patterson Avenue.
Christopher Collins, Mullins’ lawyer, argued this morning that Mullins had never forwarded the images to other users and said that Mullins never actually viewed the images involving the more egregious acts. Mullins told the court that he had first viewed pornogrpahy as a 14 year-old and became addicted some eight years ago.
Henrico authorities realized in 2004 that Mullins was viewing pornographic images and referred him to counseling but allowed him to remain on the job, accoridng to information presented in court today. Many of the children in the images have been identified by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Mullins, who faced up to 20 years under the original guidelines, apologized in court and asked for leniency, saying he would be unable to care for his aging parents.
Source:Richmond Times Dispatch
Jersey City shoplifter arrested 50 times, steals again www.privateofficer.com
Jersey City NJ June 29 2012 A Jersey City woman charged with shoplifting at Macy’s in the Newport Centre Mall in Jersey City last week has 27 prior convictions for the offense and Tuesday’s arrest was her 50th, officials said.
Bail was set at $20,000 with a 10 percent option when Pamela Miller, 53, of Dales Avenue, made her first court appearance on the charge on Wednesday.
Miller tried to steal eight shirts worth $360, three headphones worth $300, a shoulder bag worth $108, two cushion sets worth $200 and jewelry worth $100, the complaint says. She attempted to conceal the items and leave the store with them, the complaint says.
Miller has nine aliases and was in state prison from Aug. 22, 2001 to March 11, 2003 and Aug. 15, 2003 to Oct. 3, 2003 for robbery, corrections records say. She also has criminal convictions for another robbery count, court officials said.
She made her first appearance on the new charge in Central Judicial Processing court in Jersey City via video link from Hudson County jail in Kearny.
Kevin Ryan, a spokesman for Newport Centre Mall, said it is up to individual stores to take measures to prevent shoplifting.
Asked about steps Macy’s takes to track and recognize shoplifters, the store’s security manager said, “We collect information and do in-store reports.”
Source:NJ.com
Houston pastor-wife gambled away $430,000 of church money www.privateofficer.com
HOUSTON TX June 26 2012 – A Houston pastor and his wife are in the Harris County jail charged with bilking their former congregation out of more than $400,000 and using that money for gambling trips to Louisiana.
Charles Gilford, 58, and Adriane Gilford, 53, were indicted Wednesday by a Harris County grand jury and charged with aggregate theft and “misapplication of fiduciary property.”
Prosecutors allege the Gilfords used at least $430,000 in church funds to gamble at the Coushatta Casino near Lake Charles between 2004 and 2007. They were pastor and first lady of Bethel Institutional Missionary Baptist Church (BIMBC) on Selinsky Road in southeast Houston at the time.
“Over that three-year period of time as fiduciaries there, they were able to take that total of $430,000 from that little Baptist church,” said Amy McCauley with the white collar crimes section of the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
At that little Baptist church, a fixture in this neighborhood for decades, the current leadership told us they didn’t want to comment on the case. The Gilford’s left BIMBC five years ago.
But close friends say they have trouble believing the couple would steal from their congregation.
“And when I tell you impeccable people, outstanding people willing to help, I just, this is a little bit too much for me,” said friend Regina Davis when she learned about the arrests.
“It doesn’t make sense,” added her son Freddie Davis. “As far as I know, they are really genuine people, both pastor Gilford and sister Gilford. They have been courteous and amazing over the years.”
But after pouring over boxes and boxes of financial records, prosecutors convinced a grand jury to indict the pair on charges that carry anywhere from 5 years to life in prison.
Adriane Gilford was also arrested by Pearland police in 2010 on a felony charge of writing bad checks in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana. She and her husband lived in Pearland at the time.
Charles and Adriane Gilford are each held on $800,000 bail in the Harris County Jail. They are due in court on Monday.
Source:KHOU
Nashville mental health patient dies in beating from another patient www.privateofficer.com
NASHVILLE, TN April 22 2012 - Metro police are investigating the beating death of a patient at Middle Tennessee Mental Health Institute on Stewarts Ferry Pike on Thursday morning.
James M. Hodge, 53, was attacked by another patient just after 6 a.m., according to detectives.
“It was a very quick, calculated attack,” said Metro police spokesman Don Aaron.
Hodge was taken by ambulance to Summit Medical Center with severe head injuries and died during surgery Thursday afternoon.
Police said the death is being classified as a homicide.
Hodge and another patient, Thaddeus Odom, 60, became involved in a fight around 2 a.m. Thursday. Police said they were separated by staff and placed in different rooms in the same wing of the facility.
However, at 6:05 a.m., Hodge walked from his bedroom to a nearby room. Odom then reportedly walked into that room and attacked Hodge.
The assault was witnessed by two nearby staff members, who came to Hodge’s aid.
“As the staff members attempted to respond, Odom inflicted the injury to Hodge and was walking out as they were rushing to Mr. Hodge,” said Aaron.
Odom has been placed in a separate area of the mental health facility pending the outcome of the police investigation.
The deadly attack may raise some of the same questions about supervision the Channel 4 I-Team started asking the institution’s CEO more than a month ago.
The I-Team found dozens of employees fired, suspended or disciplined for failing to manage patients at risk and for abuse and neglect of patients.
One case involved a man unmonitored long enough to plan and pull off an elaborate death, drowning himself inside an overflowing toilet after securing the bathroom door shut with a bedsheet.
An internal record also showed a nurse fired for failing to check on two patients for nearly an hour – patients who were supposed to be under intense observation.
It’s unclear whether there was adequate supervision when Hodge was attacked.
“But MTMHI administration and staff are being fully cooperative and have allowed our detectives access to everything they need,” said Aaron.
The leaders at the facility sent us a statement, saying in part that they take all incidents like this “very seriously and will fully investigate.”
Source: WSMV
Former KY daycare worker stole $320,000 from employer www.privateofficer.com
Nicholasville KY April 102 2012 A former employee of a Nicholasville day care center is accused of stealing $320,000 from the business in the eight years she worked there, police said Friday. Pamela Sandlin, 53, of Nicholasville was charged Tuesday with eight felony counts of theft by unlawful taking over $10,000, Nicholasville police said in a release. Sandlin is accused of taking the money from Kids Connection Learning Center on Southview Drive. Sandlin worked the front desk there, said Nicholasville police Sgt. Scott Harvey. “She did end up taking over the books for them as part of her job,” Harvey said. “It really did put the day care in a lot of financial trouble. There are a lot of issues going on there that could have been prevented had this money been turned in the way it was supposed to be.” Police were called to investigate after the day-care administration “felt like there was some money missing, and that’s how they brought it to our attention,” Harvey said. None of the money has been recovered, police said in the news release. Viola Sewell, an owner and director of Kids Connection, declined to comment Friday on the matter. Sandlin was released Wednesday on an unsecured $10,000 bond from the Jessamine County Detention Center. A district court date had not been scheduled as of Friday morning.
Source:kentucky.com
Veteran St. Lucie County firefighter found dead at a fire station www.privateofficer.com
St. Lucie Fla March 6 2012 A veteran St. Lucie County firefighter was found dead at a fire station by crewmembers Sunday night.
Lt. Mark Morrison, 53, was found unresponsive at Station 3 on Ravenwood Road around 5:49 p.m. and was declared dead at St. Lucie Medical Center after attempts to revive him were unsuccessful, according to TCPalm.com.
An autopsy is being performed to determine the exact cause of death.
“This is a very sad day for all of the St. Lucie County Fire District family as we lost one of our own,” Fire Chief Ron Parrish told the newspaper. “Mark was a committed firefighter and officer. He was a mentor to those who served with him and a friend to so many.”
The 25-year veteran is survived by his wife and two daughters.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
Pennsylvania Sewer Employees Arrested for Theft Scheme www.privateofficer.com
Burlington County PA Feb 19 2012 Police arrested several employees of the Cinnaminson Sewerage Authority on Wednesday after they allegedly stole authority equipment. Police also say the employees created fraudulent invoices to order items such as televisions for personal use and operated a private business that used materials and supplies paid for by the authority.
Police also arrested a CSA mechanical subcontractor and his father, along with the employees.
Police say an investigation revealed that Paul Phillips, 54, William Yannarella, 53, Jeffrey Lehman, 22, and Carmelo Colon, 26, were all involved in the operation of J&B Environmental Services. Police say it was a private environmental company that provided sewer maintenance to the Wyndham Hotel in Mount Laurel.
Police say in some cases the maintenance was performed by CSA employees under the direction of Phillips, the CSA Superintendent, during regular work hours for the sewerage authority. Parts and supplies were ordered by Phillips and paid for by the CSA that were specifically intended to be used at the Wyndham Hotel, according to investigators. In one case in November 2011, police say a CSA employee took a 55-gallon drum of more than $1800 in chemicals from CSA’s stock and used it to service the hotel’s system.
Police also say Phillips used CSA funds to fraudulently order items for his and other CSA employees’ personal use from Contractor Services, a business in Camden. Investigators say a sales manager at the business helped with the fraud though no charges have been filed yet against that person.
Police say the items included GPS units, speakers, vacuum cleaners, televisions and George Foreman grills.
Police say Phillips illegally received around $44,000 in merchandise and services ordered through Contractor Services.
Phillips is charged with falsifying/tampering with records, conspiracy, theft and other related offenses.
CSA Assistnat Superintendent William Yannarella, CSA employee Carmelo Colon and CSA employee Mike Colon are all charged with theft, conspiracy and other related offenses.
In addition, CSA employee Jeffrey Lehman, 22, CSA Mechanical subcontractor Joseph B. Lehman, 26, and their father, Joseph L. Lehman, 62, are all charged with illegally taking possession of a CSA backhoe and taking it to their home for personal use and work-for-hire purposes.
Police say the defendants who are unable to post bail must appear in Superior Court in Burlington County on Thursday.
Cource:NBC Philadelphia News
Father-son charged in Cookeville shoplifting www.privateofficer.com
COOKEVILLE TN Feb 11 2012 — A father and son were arrested for shoplifting at a department store here on Monday, police said.
Roger Leroy Wheaton, 53, and Michael Allen Wheaton, 18, both of Crescent Drive, Cookeville, were taken to the Putnam County jail after Cookeville Police Officer Anthony Reep investigated an incident at Kohl’s Department store on W. Jackson Street.
A loss prevention worker there had called police after seeing two men in the store “conceal a $65 pair of jeans each,” the officer’s report says.
The worker detained the two and waited for an officer to arrive.
Officer Reep questioned the two and learned that they are father and son, but he encountered some doubt and confusion when trying to determine their identity, the report says.
“I asked for identification. Michael Wheaton stated that he did not have any identification. He also stated that his birth certificate did not have the correct name on it. He said that his parents had ‘messed up’ his birth certificate.
“Roger Wheaton, Michael’s father, stated that he did not have identification. He stated that he had a birth certificate. He also said that he had been living in Florida.”
“Due to the risk of the subjects failing to satisfy a citation in lieu of continued custody, I placed both subjects under arrest for shoplifting and took them to the Putnam County Sheriff’s office,” the report says.
In another recent case, Kellie Ray Smith, 24, of Dietz Drive, Cookeville, was cited for shoplifting at the Walmart store on February 6 after Sgt. Jeff Glass made an investigation.
Allegedly, she attempted to leave the store without paying for $110 worth of clothing and other items
Source:Herald Citizen
Florida shoplifter assaults officer, takes Taser www.privateofficer.com
SATELLITE BEACH Fla Jan 8 2012 — A Satellite Beach police officer was punched in the face and lost control of his Taser before a Samaritan helped subdue a shoplifting suspect on Thursday afternoon, according to the police department.
Michael L. Horton, 53, of Satellite Beach was arrested on felony charges of battery on an officer, depriving an officer of means of protection, assault on an officer, resisting arrest with violence and two misdemeanor counts of retail theft, according to police.
Officer Matt Messer responded to a report of shoplifting at the Publix supermarket at 1024 State Road A1A and confronted the suspect in the parking lot at 12:45 p.m.
The man suspected in multiple shoplifting incidents at Publix punched Messer in the face and wrestle away his Taser. It took a nearby storeowner’s help to bring the suspect under control.
