Archive
FBI arrest two Starr County sheriff’s deputies for bribery, drugs www.privateofficer.com
McALLEN TX July 15 2012 — Federal investigators say two Starr County sheriff’s deputies accepted more than $10,000 in bribes to tip off an eight-liner casino owner to law enforcement raids and attempted to work out a deal that would send automatic weapons to Mexico in exchange for marijuana and cocaine.
Starr County sheriff’s Deputy Nazario Solis III appeared in federal court Friday for arraignment bribery, extortion and drug charges.
Another Starr County deputy, employed since December 2004 but not yet named in court documents that were partially unsealed on Friday, apparently has not been detained.
A third person, identified only as “Individual A,” is described in the indictment as the operator of an underground gambling operation that featured eight-liner machines, locally known as “maquinitas.”
Solis and the unnamed deputy are accused of soliciting and accepting more than $10,000 worth of cash and valuables in March 2011 as bribes for protecting the underground casino.
Federal prosecutors say the deputies tipped off the casino operator as to when authorities had planned raids on the illegal business.
Specifically, the casino operator paid Solis and the other deputy a $1,500 cash bribe on March 25, 2011, for a tip on law enforcement investigating the eight-liner operation, the indictment states. Prosecutors say Solis was to receive a $1,100 share of the $1,500 bribe.
The information given to the casino owner allowed him to remove money and employees from the business before authorities raided in late March 2011, the indictment states. Federal agents recorded conversations between the casino owner and Solis after the thwarted raid.
The unnamed deputy also is on tape confirming the tipoff that foiled the law enforcement operation, authorities said.
FBI agents arrested Solis late Thursday afternoon at the Starr County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff Rene Fuentes did not return calls Friday seeking comment, though he did say he was “surprised, of course” when interviewed Thursday evening about Solis’ arrest.
GUNS FOR DRUGS?
Solis and the unnamed deputy also face allegations of a drug conspiracy and attempt to swap guns for marijuana and cocaine in April 2011.
Prosecutors say Solis tried to obtain 3 kilograms (about 6.6 pounds) of cocaine that he could trade for semiautomatic and fully automatic guns that would be sent into Mexico.
The unnamed deputy faces two counts of a marijuana conspiracy alongside Solis, who faces an addi-tional count of attempting to possess with intent to distribute cocaine.
Agents recorded conversations Solis allegedly conducted that set up the drugs-for-guns trade, naming off .308-caliber, M-4 and .223-caliber assault rifles.
“I’m going to be looking for ‘semi’ only,” Solis said, according to the indictment, complaining that automatic weapons waste too much ammunition. “We kill one bird and we shoot seven times. That’s not, that’s not very good mathematics.”
Solis was recorded saying he was waiting to receive the “green light” from his boss — not named in court papers — to go ahead with the deal.
“You could say that I’m the one in charge over here” on the U.S. side of the border, Solis said, according to the indictment.
Solis faces five to 40 years in prison if convicted of attempting to possess cocaine. The most serious of the other charges lodged against the two deputies carry maximum sentences of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine upon conviction.
Source:Brownsville Herald
Operation Thunder nets Atlanta police guns, drugs, 868 traffic tickets and 178 arrests www.privateofficer.com
Atlanta GA Nov 21 2011 A cracked windshield led to the seizure of 15 pounds of marijuana and $5,000 in cash, police said, during a crackdown on Atlanta motorists.
Operation Thunder, a three-day sweep of traffic scofflaws featuring road blocks and an influx of officers trained to spot drivers impaired by drugs or alcohol, resulted in the numerous arrests and drug seizures, said officials with the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.
Operation Thunder was a joint venture with the Atlanta Police Department and included 100 additional officers from as far away as Bainbridge, said GOHS spokeswoman Katie Fallon.
The campaign kicked off Thursday and ended Saturday. Atlanta police provided the following statistics, which do not include arrests by officers from other agencies:
868 traffic citations
178 arrests (19 felonies)
81 seatbelt violations
61 DUI arrests
3 stolen vehicles recovered
Drug seizures included heroin, crack cocaine and marijuana. Those arrested included an armed robbery suspect, a motorist with counterfeit IRS refund checks, and a suspect wanted on a Secret Service warrant, said Fallon.
“The success of this collaboration with out law enforcement partners is evident in these impressive numbers,” said Atlanta police Chief George Turner. “We are grateful to the many officers, deputies and troopers from the Atlanta Police Department, from the metro Atlanta area, and from around the state, who worked tirelessly the past few days to ensure our streets are safer for our citizens. Special thanks go out to the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety for spearheading such a powerful and effective law enforcement initiative.”
DC police stage mass drug arrests seizing money, drugs, weapons www.priuvateofficer.com
July 16 2010 Armed with 46 arrest warrants, more than 200 police and drug enforcement officers rounded up hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of narcotics in a citywide drug bust Thursday.
Law enforcement officers also issued 21 search warrants, seized seven guns and confiscated more than $200,000 worth of narcotics, which included cocaine, PCP, marijuana and Oxycotin, said officials from the D.C. police and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration at a news conference at the Kennedy Recreation Center in Northwest Washington.
The operation targeted Trinidad and the area around Rosedale Street in Northeast and Seventh and O streets in Northwest, said D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier.
At least two of the arrests made Thursday are connected to recent shootings, Lanier said, adding that “significant progress” has been made in many of the investigations related to the bust.
“The arrests and the people we targeted are involved in drug distribution and much of the violence that surrounds that drug distribution,” she said.
The bust, which involved about 240 officers, began about 5 a.m. Thursday and was expected to continue throughout the day.
Owner of security company arrested for drug thefts www.privateofficer.com
Owner of security company arrested for drug thefts http://www.privateofficer.com
A man who operates a local security company was arrested Tuesday after allegedly stealing thousands of dollars’ worth of prescription drugs from a pharmacy two months ago.
Stephen R. Macon, 29, is charged with second-degree burglary and two counts of felony stealing. He remained today at the Boone County Jail with bond set at $150,000.
Macon is accused of breaking into Kilgore’s Medical Pharmacy, 1608 Chapel Hill Road, over the Labor Day weekend and taking 73 types of medications and $25 in cash, according to a probable cause statement by Columbia police Detective Joe Jackson.
Kilgore’s co-owner Ann Bromstedt valued the stolen medications at $25,000 and said they included narcotics like morphine, Oxycontin and Percocet as well as Aderall, a stimulant.
“It’s major,” Bromstedt said of the burglary. “And not to mention the far-reaching implications on the community if these medications were able to get into the hands of children.”
Bromstedt said Macon’s company, Tiger Security, was responsible for security at the pharmacy’s Providence Road store for about a year before the company discovered Macon’s criminal record. The company never was responsible for the Chapel Hill shop’s security, she said.
Macon has felony convictions in Boone County on charges of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and stealing that date to 1996. His name is listed on Tiger Security ownership filings with the Missouri Secretary of State’s office. Those documents also list William McClaren III and Michael McClaren.
Mike McClaren did not return a phone call seeking comment this morning.
“As far as I know, he was managing the business,” Bromstedt said of Macon.
The burglar gained entry to the pharmacy by prying open a drive-through window, Sgt. Ken Hammond said.
Bromstedt said she suspects Macon used his expertise with security systems to compromise the store’s system, but she declined to elaborate.
“I would say we thought our security was adequate,” she said, adding that the store does not have surveillance cameras.
The business thinks the break-in occurred on the night of Aug. 30, Bromstedt said, and she reported it to police Sept. 2.
The police investigation, aided by a cooperating citizen, led to a search on Oct. 10 of 553 E. Chris Drive, where police seized multiple prescription drugs, according to the probable cause statement. Two residents of the home, Jason M. Kroner, 30, and Katherine A. Casey, 30, were arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and felony receiving stolen property.
Police searched Macon’s residence on Oct. 15 and found a computer disc and hard drive that belonged to the pharmacy, but Macon was out of town, Hammond said. Officers arrested Macon on Tuesday.
JOIN THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PRIVATE OFFICERS
Join us at www.myspace.com/privateofficernews
Come be part of our social network! http://www.privateofficer.com
84 Year old man charged with trying to smuggle drugs into prison www.privateofficer.com
84 Year old man charged with trying to smuggle drugs into prison http://www.privateofficer.com
William J. Gladstone, 84, of Astoria, was trying to gain access to the visiting room at the maximum security prison when officers found him in possession of marijuana and cash, police said. An investigation by the Department of Corrections Inspector General’s Office and State Police found that Gladstone planned to pass the drugs to inmates.
The report did not say exactly who the inmates were or if he had relatives in the prison nor did it include details of how he was smuggling the drugs into the prison.
Gladstone was charged with a felony for promoting prison contraband.
Get news alerts, officer down, weather emergency news in your mailbox! Sign up;
adminassist@privateofficer.comJoin us at www.myspace.com/privateofficernews
Come be part of our social network! http://www.privateofficer.com
