White House Official Caught Plagiarizing

February 29, 2008 3:10 PM

Justin Rood Reports:

A special assistant to President Bush has admitted lifting passages from a 1998 article he did not write and using them in his own newspaper column, as bloggers continue to uncover what they say are examples of further plagiarizing.

Timothy Goeglein, 43, of the White House Office of Public Liaison, admitted to lifting passages from a Dartmouth Review article by another author in a column published under his name in the Fort Wayne (Ind.) News-Sentinel.  Goeglein has written for the paper since the mid-1980s.

Since then, readers at a freelance writer's blog have identified at least four other instances of what appear to be plagiarism, where Goeglein's columns mimicked passages from earlier articles from the Washington Post, the New York Sun, the National Review, and the Catholic magazine Crisis.

"We were just made aware about Tim's column and his actions this morning," said White House spokeswoman Emily Lawrimore.  "Obviously this is not acceptable."  Lawrimore would not comment on whether the president would ask Goeglein to resign, saying the White House was still "looking into the details."

As a special assistant to the president, Goeglein has served as a "virtual middleman" between Bush and conservative groups, according to a 2004 Washington Post article.  The paper credited Goeglein with helping push "values" to the fore of Bush's presidential agenda.

The first instance of plagiarism was originally noted by Michigan-based blogger and freelance writer Nancy Nall.  "I started to read [Goeglein's recent column] and a name jumped out at me -- 'Eugene Rosenstock-Hussey,'" Nall wrote on her blog this morning.  The name "was so goofy, just for the hell of it, I Googled it," she said.

The search engine returned a 1998 essay by Jeffrey Hart which contained passages nearly identical to Goeglein's piece.

The News-Sentinel confronted Goeglein, who confessed. "It is true," the paper reported he wrote them in an e-mail. "I am entirely at fault. It was wrong of me. There are no excuses."

Since then, Nall's site, nancynall.com, has become a repository for further examples.

Update: Goeglein resigns, apologizes to President Bush. Total plagiarism count, according to the newspaper: 20 of 38 columns.

Photo of Timothy Goeglein courtesy of Fort Wayne News-Sentinel.  

February 29, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (34)

U.S. Watch List at Record High, FBI Confirms

February 29, 2008 10:54 AM

Justin Rood Reports:

The FBI's terror watch list contains roughly 900,000 records, a bureau spokesman said Thursday, confirming an earlier estimate by the American Civil Liberties Union.

Earlier this week, FBI spokesman Chad Kolton had indicated the database contained records on 300,000 individuals.

"That [information] was a little more dated than I thought," Kolton said Thursday.

Those records, however, connect to about 450,000 individuals, the spokesman said. The spokesman stressed that records may be aliases, nicknames or other differing data on a single individual.

Separate reported birthdates for the same individual would be stored as separate records, according to Kolton.

Ninety-five percent of the individuals in the database are not U.S. persons, the spokesman said.

The National Counterterrorism Center, which is responsible for maintaining watch list entries for individuals known or suspected to have ties to foreign terrorist groups, said earlier this week their list contained 500,000 records on roughly 400,000 people.

The NCTC list forms the basis of the FBI's list.  The bureau adds records connected to individuals believed to be terrorists who have no ties to foreign groups.

Asked about the apparent discrepancy in records between the NCTC list and the FBI's list, Kolton said it was likely because of differences in how the different systems count discrete records.

February 29, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (0)

In Baghdad, U.S. Embassy Project Faces New Scrutiny

February 28, 2008 3:28 PM

Justin Rood Reports:

The State Department has ordered a "top-to-bottom" examination of its beleaguered Baghdad embassy project, and it has pushed back the date for the complex's opening, McClatchy reports.

Already tens of millions of dollars over budget, the project is the subject of two other State Department probes and a Justice Department criminal investigation.  Virtually since its inception, the project has been the reported victim of cost overruns, shoddy workmanship, and allegations of human trafficking and fraud.

Though the complex was originally scheduled to open last September, State's construction chief Richard Shinnick told McClatchy he hopes to complete the new review, fix all problems and open the facility by March 31.

Shinnick is not calling that a "target date," though, he said. Past deadlines have led the builders to rush work on the project. "That's not the message I want to send."

February 28, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (3)

Guilty Plea in NFL Dirty Bomb Hoax

February 28, 2008 12:13 PM

Richard Esposito Reports:

A Wisconsin man pleaded guilty in New Jersey federal court today to repeatedly posting a dirty bomb threat to the Internet -- one that claimed terrorists would detonate radiation-spewing truck bombs at seven football stadiums.

Jake J. Brahm, of Wauwatosa, Wis., pleaded guilty to a one-count indictment charging him with willfully conveying false information indicating that the seven stadiums would be attacked by terrorists with weapons of mass destruction and radiological dispersal devices. He is free on a $100,000 bond until sentencing on June 5.

According to U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Chris Christie, Brahm admitted "composing and posting a message approximately 40 times throughout September and October 2006, stating that on Oct. 22, 2006, seven 'dirty' explosive devices would be detonated during football games at stadiums in Miami, Atlanta, Seattle, Houston, Oakland, Cleveland and New York City." Brahm has admitted the New York City arena was Giants Stadium, in East Rutherford, N.J.

The terror posting threatened to kill 100,000 from the initial blasts. The message Brahm posted went on to say that the bombs would be delivered by trucks.

The postings also said that "the stadium explosions would be lauded by Osama bin Laden as 'America's Hiroshima' and that global conflicts would erupt in their wake," according to the U.S. attorney.

According to the federal indictment filed subsequent to Brahm's arrest on a criminal complaint in October 2006, the posting stated, "The bombs themselves will be delivered via trucks. These trucks will pull up to stadiums hosting NFL games in each respective city. All stadiums to be targeted are open air arenas, excluding Atlanta's Georgia Dome, the only enclosed stadium to be hit. Due to the open air, the radiological fallout will destroy those not killed in the initial explosion. The explosions will be near simultaneous, with the cities specifically chosen in different time zones to allow for multiple attacks at the same time. The 22nd of October will mark the final day of Ramadan as it would fall in Mecca. Al-Qaida will automatically be blamed for the attacks. Later, through Al-Jazeera, Osama bin Laden will issue a video message claiming responsibility for what he dubs 'America's Hiroshima.' In the aftermath civil wars will erupt across the world, both in the Middle East and within the United States. Global economies will screech to a halt. General chaos will rule."

Brahm surrendered on Oct. 20 2006, after a federal criminal complaint and arrest warrant had been issued. He was indicted on Feb. 28, 2007. He faces a maximum prison term of five years and a fine of $250,000.

"As the presentencing report develops, I think it will become clear that he meant no harm. He was a kid in northern Wisconsin playing games," Brahms' attorney Walter A. Lesnevich said. "Yes, he broke the law...that is what he did...He is two years older now, very apologetic, and he never dreamt this all would happen." Lesnevich said he hoped the sentencing judge would take these factors into account.

Click Here for Full Blotter Coverage.

February 28, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (8)

Aid Groups in Pakistan Pack Up After Execution-Style Attack

February 28, 2008 9:26 AM

Gretchen Peters and Habibullah Khan Report:

About half of the aid groups operating in Mansehra district of northwest Pakistan have pulled out or shut down after gunmen staged a brazen and highly sophisticated attack that killed four local employees of a British aid group, according to aid workers and Pakistani officials. 

No one has claimed responsibility for Monday's incident, said Mazhar Ul Haq Kakakhel, the police chief for Mansehra district. Pro-Taliban militants have been increasingly active in Pakistan's Northwest Frontier Province where the execution-style killings took place.

A dozen attackers wearing fatigues and carrying automatic rifles stormed the offices of Plan International and opened fire on its employees. Then they tossed a bomb into the compound and set the place ablaze. Survivors of the attack said two of the assailants appeared to be older and to be commanding the operation.

Violent attacks on aid groups are common in Afghanistan's troubled provinces. This was the first of its kind in Pakistan.

"The general feeling in the aid community is that this wasn't an isolated event," said Graham Strong, who chairs the Pakistan Humanitarian Forum. "We are worried there will be more."

The 21-group forum said the "outrageous" attack disrupted relief work aimed at helping "vulnerable Pakistani children and their families." Dozens of aid groups moved into Mansehra following the 2005 earthquake that killed more than 73,000 people in the Northwest Frontier Province and in Pakistani-held Kashmir.

Plan International, which has operated in the area for 12 years, provides education assistance, the group said in a statement. The group is still considering whether to continue work there.

Amid rising Taliban violence in the frontier, Western aid groups in Mansehra have been told previously to remove female staff, and co-ed schools have received anonymous threat letters, saying girls must wear burqas to school or face "serious consequences."

Click Here for Full Blotter Coverage.

February 28, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (2)

ACLU: 900,000 Names on U.S. Terror Watch Lists

February 27, 2008 12:40 PM

Justin Rood Reports:

The FBI now keeps a list of over 900,000 names belonging to known or suspected terrorists, the American Civil Liberties Union said today.

If that number is accurate, it would be an all-time high, exponentially more than the 100,000 names on the list several years ago.  But the number needs to be taken with a grain of salt: after all, the ACLU doesn't keep the list, the FBI does, and the bureau doesn't generally like to talk about it.  (Indeed, the FBI has not yet responded to a request for comment for this post.)

But if the ACLU's figure isn't accurate, it's also unlikely to be off by that much.  Last September, the ACLU notes, the Department of Justice's Inspector General reported the FBI watch list was at 700,000 names, and growing at 20,000 names per month.

The ACLU says they "extrapolated" from those figures to determine the list's current size. ACLU's Barry Steinhardt added that the group had spoken privately with people familiar with the watch list, who told them the 900,000 figure was not outlandish.

In the past, The FBI has told ABC News that the size of its watch list is classified. Despite that, both the bureau and the DoJ Inspector General have published the total figure in unclassified reports.

There's no doubt the FBI's list is growing: just last June, ABC News reported it was at 509,000 names, based on information in an unclassified FBI budget document. 

But strangely, the list may be growing not because of swelling legions of foreign terrorists. Instead, it appears the FBI may be adding tens of thousands of names belonging to U.S. persons it suspects of being domestic terrorists -- people who have no known ties to international terrorist organizations.

A separate entity, the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), keeps a list of all names believed to belong to terrorists linked to international terror groups.  That list, which was at 100,000 names in 2003, grew to 465,000 names by last June – but since then has grown only modestly, according to NCTC spokesman Carl Kropf.  Today, Kropf said that list stands at roughly 500,000 names. (Unlike the FBI, the NCTC does not maintain that the size of its watch list is classified information.)

The FBI takes that list and adds to it a new collection of names which belong to U.S. persons believed to be domestic terrorists: people who have links to terrorism but not to any international group.

Last June, the NCTC was responsible for putting 465,000 names on the watch list, and the FBI appeared to add an additional 44,000.  By September, extrapolating from the DoJ Inspector General's report, the FBI's contribution appears to have grown to somewhere north of 200,000 names.

Today – if the ACLU is to be believed – the FBI's contribution may be as high as 417,000 names.  Which would raise a new question: Where are so many domestic terrorists coming from?  Or do they simply use more aliases than foreign terrorists?

Update: The FBI responded late Wednesday afternoon. Spokesman Chad Kolton did not dispute the ACLU's figure, but noted that the watch list contains names, aliases and name variations for individuals. The number of people on the watch list, he said, was around 300,000, and only 5 percent are U.S. persons.  Kolton noted that the list is "regularly reviewed for accuracy." Last year the bureau removed 100,000 records "related to people cleared of any nexus with terrorism," Kolton said.

February 27, 2008 in FBI | Permalink | User Comments (39)

Public Broadcasting Activists Refute McCain Campaign 'Facts' on FCC Letters

February 26, 2008 2:04 PM

Avni Patel Reports:

A public broadcasting activist is accusing Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign of lying in its statements rebutting last week's New York Times story about McCain's connections to Washington lobbyist Vicki Iseman.

After the story broke, the McCain campaign distributed a lengthy document stating that the senator's commerce committee staff "met with public broadcasting activists from the Pittsburgh area" who opposed a controversial license swap involving Iseman's client, Paxson Communications, before it sent two letters to the Federal Communication Commission urging the commissioners to vote on the issue.

"It never happened," said Jerold Starr, who led the grassroots opposition to the deal as the co-chairman of the Save Pittsburgh Public Television Campaign. "Moreover, we had no idea that McCain had any interest in our local matter."

Starr's co-chair on the campaign, Linda Wambaugh, said that she and Starr handled all the lobbying for campaign.

"We were it. Anything would have come through us," said Wambaugh. "There was absolutely no contact whatsoever -- no meetings, no phone calls, no correspondence."

The McCain response document also claimed that both Paxson's lobbyists and the public broadcasting activists "expressed to staff members their frustration that the proceeding had been before the FCC for over two years. Both parties asked the staff to contact the FCC regarding the proceeding."

"That's a bold-faced lie," said Starr, who wrote about his experience leading the campaign in his 2000 book "Air Wars." "The longer it took, the better our chances were. It meant that the FCC was paying serious attention to our complaint."

The McCain campaign questioned how Starr would be able to remember every meeting from nine years ago, though it says its own statement was based on the recollections of the Commerce Committee staff at the time.

The McCain letters, sent on Nov. 17 and Dec. 10 of 1999, came weeks before Paxson's deal to swap licenses with religious broadcaster Cornerstone Communications was set to expire.

Angela Campbell, a Washington lawyer who represented the Pittsburgh activists, says the timing of the letters was "clearly in Paxson's interest," although the letters included a disclaimer stating that the senator took no position on the vote. 

Questions have been raised about other statements contained in the McCain response to the Times story over the past few days. Newsweek.com reported on Friday that a 2002 deposition indicated that McCain recalled discussing the Pittsburgh deal with Lowell "Bud" Paxson prior to sending the letters -- an apparent contradiction of the campaign's statement that the senator never personally discussed the matter with Paxson or his lobbyists.

Paxson told the Washington Post on Saturday that he recalled discussing the matter with McCain in the senator's office weeks before the letters were sent. Another Paxson lobbyist, Dean Goodman, later told the Associated Press that he doubted Paxson's recollection.   

Click Here for Full Blotter Coverage.

February 26, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (16)

Despite Charges, Renzi Will Stay On

February 25, 2008 6:31 PM

Justin Rood Reports:

Thirty-five counts won't keep Rick Renzi down.

The Arizona congressman will not step down in the face of a federal indictment handed down last Friday, he announced in a press release late Monday evening. Prosecutors charged him with money laundering, extortion, fraud and conspiracy stemming from deals involving government land.

"I will not resign and take on the cloak of guilt because I am innocent," the statement read. "My legal team. . .will handle these legal issues while I continue to serve my constituents."

Renzi is one of two congressmen serving while under indictment. Federal prosecutors indicted Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., last June, and he’s still around.  He may even try to get re-elected, even as he fights accusations he took half a million dollars in bribes.

The move likely won't be embraced by his party's leadership.  House Republican Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio said last Friday that Renzi should “seriously consider” whether he could still do his job in the wake of the indictment. "I expect to meet with Rep. Renzi at the earliest possible opportunity," Boehner said.

A spokesman for Boehner declined to comment publicly on Renzi's statement Monday evening. "We’re going to schedule a face-to-face meeting."

February 25, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (8)

Out of the Mouths of Babes: Woman Steals From Infant Nutrition Program

February 25, 2008 6:12 PM

From The Blotter:

A federal jury in New York found the director of a program that provides nutritional counseling to expectant mothers and mothers of small children guilty of defrauding the program of hundreds of thousands of dollars by submitting false expense accounts and fake invoices and by granting an office cleaning contract in return for having her own home cleaned twice a week.

Carole Peirce, director of the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program at the prestigious New York Presbyterian Hospital, was found guilty late Friday.   

The program, which Peirce is convicted of defrauding, provides mothers and expectant mothers with vouchers to purchase milk, formula and baby cereal.  It also provides nutritional counseling.

The jury found she used her WIC Program American Express card to purchase tens of thousands of dollars' worth of home furnishings and other items and services, including "airfare from New York to Florida; car rentals; home improvement and building supplies; home decorations including a stained glass ceiling lamp, a bordeaux bench, and a wall sculpture," according to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. She then doctored her expense reports claiming the expenses were legitimate.

The jury also found that she arranged for her secretary, Miriam Colgan, to submit for payment about $15,275 worth of bodega invoices for groceries that were never in fact received. Instead, when the WIC Program paid the invoices the bodega kicked the money back to Colgan, who has separately pleaded guilty to a theft and a conspiracy charge.

And Peirce paid a cleaning company, ProGlow, owned and operated by Colgan, $311,000 to clean the WIC offices at New York Presbyterian. In exchange, Peirce's own home was cleaned about twice a week. Peirce and Colgan each have been convicted on one count of mail fraud in connection with the ProGlow scheme.

Click Here for Full Blotter Coverage.

February 25, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (5)

Despite Downturn, Lobbyists Raking In Record Revenues

February 25, 2008 1:11 PM

Justin Rood Reports:

For many Americans, the nation's economic downturn is causing serious pain: the housing market is collapsing, employment is slowing, credit is tightening. But in Washington, the lobbyists who push their wealthy clients' interests before lawmakers and government officials are making more money than ever.

The capital city's influence firms rang up record revenues in 2007, according to Roll Call newspaper, which crunched the figures for the town's biggest players.

The top 25 lobbying firms reported revenues of over $440 million last year, Roll Call found. That's a nine percent bump from what those same lobbyists earned in 2006, and nearly 50 percent more than the $304 million they collected in 2002, according to the paper’s historical figures.

"Clearly, the lobbying industry has not been affected by the economic downturn," said Roll Call's Tory Newmyer, who covers the lobbying industry.

While the rising tide lifted nearly all boats, Newmyer said that firms with better access to Democrats tended to fare even better than those whose lobbyists were more closer to Republican lawmakers, because Democrats control both the House and Senate.

Newmyer also observed that increased scrutiny of "earmarking" – spending on pet projects by lawmakers – has hurt lobby firms who specialized in winning earmarks for their clients.  Firms which worked to influence tax, telecommunications and energy policies did very well, as well as those involved in swaying Congress' efforts on climate change.

"What you're seeing is solid growth," Newmyer said.

February 25, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (4)

Pressure Mounts on Renzi to Resign

February 22, 2008 3:37 PM

Justin Rood Reports:

Republicans in Congress are impatiently tapping their fingers, as hours slip by without a resignation announcement from Rep. Rick Renzi, R-Ariz., who was indicted this morning on federal charges.

Federal prosecutors Friday morning dropped a 35-count indictment on Renzi, alleging money laundering, extortion, fraud and conspiracy.  But by 3:30 p.m. Renzi's office had not made or scheduled any announcement, and would not respond to inquiries about whether the lawmaker was going to remain in office.

In a statement released to the media this afternoon, House Republican Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, made his impatience known.

"I have made it clear that I will hold our Members to the highest standards of ethical conduct," Boehner said. "The charges contained in this indictment are completely unacceptable for a Member of Congress, and I strongly urge Rep. Renzi to seriously consider whether her can continue to effectively represent his constituents under these circumstances."

Responding to an emailed question about whether Renzi will step down, Renzi's press office replied that inquiries "regarding legal matters" were being handled by Renzi's lawyer, Reid Weingarten. Weingarten did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Last April, following reports that the FBI had raided a business belonging to his wife, the lawmaker stepped down from his committee assignments. At the time, he told reporters he was "looking at" the prospect of resigning.  He since announced he would not seek re-election.

Update: Boehner's sentiments were echoed -- with mixed metaphor -- by Howard Shanker, an Arizona Democrat running for Renzi's open seat in the fall. "It is. . . time for Mr. Renzi to pass the mantle of leadership and justice to a stronger and more capable arm," Shanker said in a statement. (A mantle is typically worn on the shoulders.)

February 22, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (11)

2nd McCain Official to Face Federal Charges

February 22, 2008 1:53 PM

Justin Rood Reports:

When Rep. Rick Renzi, R-Ariz., was indicted today on fraud, conspiracy and money laundering charges, he became the second official for the John McCain presidential campaign to face federal charges.

Renzi, a co-chair of McCain's Arizona campaign, joins Bob Allen, a Florida state representative who was busted last July for soliciting sex in a public bathroom, on the short – but growing – list of volunteer officials to Sen. McCain's White House bid.  Allen, co-chair of McCain’s Florida effort, was convicted in November and sentenced to a fine and six months' probation.

Together, Renzi and Allen appear to put McCain in the lead of White House contenders with support from federally indicted officials.  McCain's competitor for the Republican nomination, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, has not been reported to have any campaign officials or major fundraisers facing federal charges.

The Democratic challengers are hardly crime-free, of course.  An apparently tireless fundraiser for Hillary Clinton's bid, Norman Hsu, was revealed last fall to be a wanted felon.  Hsu had reportedly raised over $1 million for Hillary, and lesser amounts for Barack Obama and other Democrats. 

Obama has in the past enjoyed the generous financial support of indicted businessman Antoin "Tony" Rezko, although the Chicago-area entrepreneur has reportedly given no money to Obama's presidential campaign.  Obama has given back nearly $150,000 in earlier donations from Rezko and his associates.

For Congress-watchers, Renzi's indictment is a separate milestone: He is the fourth lawmaker since 2005 to be indicted or plead guilty. He was preceded by former Reps. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Calif.; Bob Ney, R-Ohio; and William Jefferson, D-La.

Click Here for Full Blotter Coverage.

February 22, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (66)

Ameriquest Owner to Quit Post as Ambassador to the Netherlands

February 22, 2008 12:47 PM

Joseph Rhee Reports:

Roland Arnall, the embattled founder of the subprime mortgage company Ameriquest, is giving up his position as U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands, the Los Angeles Times reports today. According to the Times, Arnall submitted his resignation to President Bush last month and will step down on March 7. 

Arnall's company Ameriquest was accused by attorneys general across the country of fraudulent, misleading and deceptive practices in arranging mortgages for hundreds of thousands of homeowners. While admitting no wrongdoing, Ameriquest paid $325 million to settle lawsuits brought by 49 states. There is also a current class-action lawsuit against Ameriquest brought on behalf of thousands of homeowners who claim they were defrauded by the company.

Meanwhile, profits from Ameriquest made Arnall one of America's wealthiest men. Arnall was a major contributor to President Bush's reelection campaign, and the president nominated him as U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands in 2005. According to Arnall's most recent financial disclosure report, he has huge real estate holdings worldwide as well as extensive investments in film, oil and communication companies.

Class-action attorneys are currently attempting to sue Arnall individually, claiming that he became a billionaire on the backs of defrauded borrowers.  According to attorney Jill Bowman, "Mr. Arnall knew or should have known that the practices he put in place would result in this kind of conduct. He didn't have to see any of the fallout; he just got to sit at the top and collect the profits."

Read the Blotter's previous report on Arnall.

February 22, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (2)

Cop Shooter 'Loco Larry' Slain in Jail

February 21, 2008 3:34 PM

Richard Esposito Reports:

Larry Davis was a 20-year-old thug known on the street for his temper and his flash when he shot six New York City cops one night in 1986 and then evaded a massive police manhunt for 17 days before surrendering.

He had become a 41-year-old inmate with a discipline problem who was serving 30 to life before he was stabbed to death in a maximum security prison Wednesday night, corrections officials said.

"You knew the guy was going to go that way anyhow. Whether he went to jail, or he got out of jail and joined the circus, he still going to get killed somewhere," Donald O'Sullivan, one of the cops Davis shot, told WABC in New York.

"The guy was a killer, and he killed a lot of people. He killed at least 20 to 23 people. He raped women. He would tie up people, shoot them in the head. Everybody was a shot in the head," said O'Sullivan, now retired.

Dubbed "Loco Larry" on the streets of the Bronx, Davis was Inmate No. 88T2550 at the maximum security Shawangunk Correctional Facility in upstate New York. He died Tuesday night at 7:58 p.m. from wounds inflicted by another inmate armed with a 9.5-inch by 1.25-inch flat metal shank, prison officials said.

On Nov. 19, 1986, Davis, a suspect in a quadruple homicide, gunned down six cops who had cornered him. With a shotgun and a .45 pistol, Davis blasted his way to freedom wounding his hunters in the process.

Police officials called it the worst shooting of police in the history of the city -- they did so in a year when 21 cops were shot, and three were killed.

"I can't say off the top of my head, but I believe this may be the worst shooting in the police department's history," then-Chief of Department Robert J. Johnston told the newspaper I worked for at the time.

Davis, a high school dropout, had flash, said his friends on the street, but before he fled, he told his sister that against the weight of the police, he didn't stand a chance.

"If I'm caught on the street, the police will shoot me," Lewis said her brother told her. "I'll shoot them first. I want to die." 

He didn't really mean it. After a 17-day manhunt, Davis spent five hours negotiating with police, confessed he was afraid and surrendered. It was Dec. 6, 1986.

"Inmate Davis was 41 years old and serving a 30-years-to-life sentence out of Bronx County for multiple counts of murder and weapons and one count of attempted robbery. He would have been eligible for parole consideration in 2016," New York State Prison spokesperson, Erik Kriss, said in a statement.

"Inmate Davis was pronounced dead at the facility at 7:58 p.m. He received multiple stab wounds to his head, chest, arms, back and legs."  He had allegedly been assaulted by Inmate No. 3B2677, Luis Rosado, who is expected to face criminal charges.

In addition to Det. O'Sullivan, five officers were shot and wounded by Davis. They were: Capt. John J. Ridge, 57; Det. Thomas J. McCarren, 43; Officer John G. O'Hara, 26; Officer Mary E. Buckley, 40; and Sgt. Edward J. Coulter, 44; all recovered from their wounds. 

During his 17 days as a fugitive, Davis briefly became something of a folk hero in a racially divided city; a symbol of the anger against a police department perceived as pervasively racist. At trial, Davis was acquitted of murdering the drug dealers. In a separate trial, he was acquitted of attempting to murder the cops -- and three other cops -- despite overwhelming evidence that he did. The verdict sparked angry police protests. He was convicted of weapons charges and had remained in jail ever since. In 1991, he was convicted of a murder.

"When he was on the news this morning, believe me, I didn't cry a tear," O'Sullivan told WABC's Jeff Rossen. "He had a legend, but it was a legend in his own mind. He wasn't a legend to decent people. If other people want to call him a hero, go ahead and call him a hero. Anybody that puts two young babies in front of them and starts shooting a gun and a shotgun; it's hard to call him a hero. And anybody who shoots an officer, the officer's a hero."

This post has been updated.

February 21, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (21)

Refco Exec Admits to Role in $2.4 Billion Fraud

February 21, 2008 10:04 AM

Rehab El-Buri Reports:

Former Refco CFO Robert Trosten pleaded guilty to cheating customers out of $2.4 billion fraud, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced Wednesday.

Trosten's plea comes nearly a week after Refco's CEO Philip Bennett pleaded guilty for his role in a scheme to mask the company's losses as debt owed from a company Bennett controlled.

The U.S. attorney says the scheme began in 1998 and extended to 2004, with big Refco executives hiding their losses from auditors, banks and investors.

Trosten pleaded guilty to five counts including securities fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering.

Refco Inc. was a New York-based financial service giant that Trosten, Bennett and others drove into bankruptcy in 2005.

Click Here for Full Blotter Coverage.

February 21, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (5)

Catching up With the Duke Cunningham Scandal

February 19, 2008 11:27 AM

Justin Rood Reports:

Two and a half years after the feds busted then-Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Calif., for bribery and corruption, the sprawling federal probe into the scandal rolls on.

Duke is safely behind bars, where he can no longer earmark millions in classified government funds for corrupt defense contractors (one admitted, one convicted), which formed the meaty heart of his saga.

But the cases of others whose fates came crashing down with Duke are still resolving themselves. The fate of Brent Wilkes, a former defense contractor convicted late last year of bribing Cunningham, has seen some recent developments that have sparked speculation.

Prosecutors last week said they were dropping all charges against Wilkes in a second case related to the scandal. That surprised some, coming just two months after the feds wrapped up what many considered a no-holds-barred prosecution of the San Diego businessman, who is awaiting sentencing. Prosecutors have asked for 25 years, which would be the harshest sentence doled out to any recent scandal figure.

Though the government's lawyers never commented on their strategy, conventional wisdom held that they once considered Wilkes a possible key witness in their investigation. But he steadfastly refused to admit guilt and play the patsy, which explained for many why the government came down as hard as it did.

Which raises questions for some as to why they would suddenly go easy on Wilkes in his second trial, which revolves around favors he allegedly provided for former top CIA official Kyle "Dusty" Foggo and contracts Foggo illegally routed to Wilkes' companies in return.

Here's another curiosity: At the same time prosecutors announced they were dropping charges against Wilkes in the Foggo case, they reportedly said they had "recently uncovered" new evidence to support new charges against Foggo.

Where did the new evidence come from? Prosecutors did not respond to voicemail messages. Wilkes' lawyer, Mark Geragos, did not comment.

February 19, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (4)

Source: Former Refco CEO Will Plead Guilty

February 15, 2008 5:34 PM

Rehab El-Buri and Joanna Jennings Report:

A source close to the case says the former CEO of Refco Inc, Philip Bennett is expected to plead guilty today to a slew of charges revolving around a conspiracy to swindle more than 250 people out of $2.4 billion.

The charges against Bennett include conspiracy to commit securities fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, money laundering, and making false filings with the SEC.

Prosecutors say Bennett tried to sweep millions in company losses under the rug by disguising it as debt owed from another Bennett-controlled company, Refco Group Holdings Inc.

Bennett and others drove the former giant financial services company into bankruptcy in October 2005.
The maximum sentence for all of the counts combined against Bennett totals 315 years. Bennett will enter his plea at the U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Friday afternoon.

Bennett has no prior criminal history or convictions.

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February 15, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (3)

Lawsuit Against 'American Gangster' Dismissed

February 15, 2008 5:03 PM

From The Blotter:

The lawyer for a group of former federal drug agents who filed a class-action suit against NBC Universal for its film "American Gangster" told ABC News they were "disappointed" by a judge's ruling to dismiss their suit.

"While we appreciate the judge finding that the legend was false, we intend to appeal her conclusion that NBC is not liable for the lie," attorney Dominic Amoroso told ABC News.

The class-action lawsuit brought by the group of former federal drug enforcement agents against NBC Universal asserted the agents were defamed by the blockbuster film "American Gangster," as ABCNews.com previously reported.   

As the final credits roll on the flick starring Denzel Washington as Harlem drug thug Frank Lucas, a screen appears that states three-quarters of the drug enforcement agents assigned to New York were convicted as a result of Lucas' cooperation with "outcast cop" Richie Roberts, portrayed by Russell Crowe in the movie.

There were no such convictions, Drug Enforcement Administration officials told ABC News.

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February 15, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (1)

New Book Shows Symbols From a Secret World

February 15, 2008 9:26 AM

Justin Rood Reports:

The U.S. Department of Defense goes to great lengths to keep its secrets. It has built a complex barrier of "classified" stamps, passwords, biometric scanners and other security regimes to make sure the nation's secrets do not slip out.

But the patches on the uniforms of the men and women who work on the programs can contain some secrets of their own, San Francisco Bay area graduate student and art professor Trevor Paglen discovered. And you can find them, as he did, in the collections of the people who once worked in the field, and collect them the way others collect postage stamps or campaign buttons.

In conversations with former workers from top-secret projects, Paglen told ABC News, he found out that the insignia patches for programs to develop pilotless drones, spy satellites and other high-tech wizardry are largely unclassified, despite the fact that some tell details their wearers could be punished for discussing publicly, according to Paglen.

In a new book, "I Could Tell You But Then You Would Have to Be Destroyed by Me," Paglen shows off an impressive collection of patches that appear to belong to a slew of secretive intelligence programs from the past 25 years.  Their imagery is sometimes cryptic, sometimes quite literal, and often humorous.

In one, the hilt of a sword represented the design of a top secret aircraft designed by contractor Boeing's "Phantom Works," whose appearance had never been made public.

That project, known as the Bird of Prey, was declassified in 2002, projects identified by other patches in the book are still secret, Paglen asserted in an interview with ABC News.

For example, he cited the patch for a program called "Desert Prowler." The imagery - a demonic genie rising from inside a book, a crow on its right shoulder and the roman numbers for "9" and "11" on either side - is cryptic.

The stars - five on top and one on the bottom - may indicate the project is taking place in Area 51, according to Paglen, who said the project was for an unmanned plane being developed by Lockheed Martin.

A spokesman for Lockheed Martin said he had no information on the program. The Pentagon referred questions to the Army's Institute of Heraldry, which said that it could not discuss insignia relating to organizations considered top secret, and noted that some units create their own "unauthorized" designs.

Humor is in evidence in the patches. One example, which Paglen says came from an Air Force Special Projects office that managed the F-117A stealth fighter program, bears a picture of a mushroom. The motto around it, "Semper en Obscurus," translates to "Always in the Dark." (Some Latin scholars may quibble that the motto's correct spelling is "Semper in obscuris.")

Some are even more direct: One black patch sports a question mark in the center beneath a crescent moon, and the letters "NOYFB" below.  Paglen notes that is the acronym for "None of Your F---ing Business."

According to Paglen, the patch was used by a California flight squadron, which replaced their usual heraldry with it when flying classified missions to pick up secret aircraft for testing.

The book is Paglen's second.  In his first, "Torture Taxi," he and co-author A.C. Thompson revealed details about the CIA's secretive "rendition" programs which kidnapped terrorist suspects and flew them to secret locations.

Coincidentally, Paglen grew up around top secret projects - his father was an Air Force doctor who worked with test pilots for spy planes.  But if anything, Paglen said, his childhood experiences inured him to the classified world.  "One day we drove a friend's dad to work," whom he later learned was employed by a classified government organization.  "We drove him to the middle of a cornfield, he got out and walked into the corn," he said.

"You just don't realize it when you're around it."

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February 15, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (11)

Saudi Blogger: 'This Country Needs Controversy'

February 14, 2008 6:28 PM

Rehab El-Buri Reports:

On Dec. 10, Saudi security agents arrested Saudi blogger Fouad al-Farhan (pictured), nicknamed "The Godfather" for his online prominence and popularity in Saudi Arabia. Saudi officials say Farhan was detained for "non-security reasons." Saudi officials did not respond to requests for comment. Many Saudis believe Farhan was arrested for writing about Saudi political prisoners and political reform.

Farhan was one of the first Saudi bloggers to blog under his real name, rather than a pseudonym. Saudi officials have yet to charge Farhan. He remains in detention where he's been since early December. ABC News corresponded with Farhan's close friend and fellow Saudi blogger Ahmed al-Omran, who helped launch a campaign to free Farhan.

How long have you known Fouad?

I have known Fouad for about two years. We started by reading and commenting on each others' blogs. We met in Riyadh in early 2006, and we kept in touch through phone and online until he was arrested. Since then, no one has been able to contact him.

Why do you choose to use your real names when using a pseudonym could be safer in Saudi Arabia?

We believe that reforming our country is a just cause worth fighting for, even it means taking the risk that is associated with using our real names. When we use our real names, it means that we stand by what we believe in and are totally responsible for what we are saying. This makes others take us more seriously than if we were hiding behind pseudonyms.

What do you expect to gain by blogging about subjects that some may view as controversial in Saudi Arabia?

I think this country needs controversy. Our country has been controlled by one mindset for a long time, and now is the time for those who think differently to speak out and ask questions -- even if it sparks some controversy. I say, let's talk and discuss our issues, it could be controversial and unsettling for some, but this is the only way out. Ignoring our problems and shoving them under the rug will not solve them.

What has the Saudi response been to your efforts to free Fouad?

People sympathize with him and say he should be released immediately. Very few people have said he deserved what happened to him because they think he went too far. Most people say he only exercised his God-given right of free speech, and there is no reason he should be detained.

Do you think this is a step back for freedom of speech in Saudi Arabia?

The margin for freedom of expression in the country has been expanding over the past few years, and I believe there is no way we can go back in that regard. But then you have a case like this, and you start to wonder if the country is serious about the commitment to reforms that free speech is a part of. I believe this incident is a test for the country, where it can demonstrate if it's committed to reforms.

Do you have any way of communicating with Fouad?

Unfortunately, no one has been able to contact him since his arrest. His father-in-law was allowed to visit him for one hour last month, but no one has been allowed to visit him since. I talked briefly with his wife after he was arrested, and she was clearly terrified and scared.

Do you think you are at risk of being arrested?

Even before Fouad was arrested, I knew that there was a possibility that I might get arrested. But I was willing to take that risk because I truly believe in the cause I'm fighting for.

Have you communicated with Saudi officials about Fouad's detention?

No, I have not. It took the government more than a week to respond to the media's requests to confirm his detention. Are they going to respond to a fellow blogger's questions about him? I don't think so.

Check out the Free Fouad Web site and Ahmed al-Omran's Web site.

This post has been updated.

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February 14, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (5)

Shocked - Shocked to Find Earmarking in This Congress!

February 14, 2008 10:38 AM

Justin Rood Reports:

Here's something sure to raise an eyebrow: A spokesman for Rep. John Murtha, D-Penn., swears in the New York Times this morning that there is no connection at all between his boss' choice of companies to whom he directs billions in federal dollars, and companies who give money to his boss' re-election campaign.

"Absolutely not. None at all," said Matt Mazonkey.

A study last year found that every private organization which received an earmark for federal money from Murtha in 2007 was also a contributor to his campaign war chest.  Every single one.

Not every company who gave money to Murtha got an earmark. But if a company didn't give, the company didn't get, the study showed.  Or, as Keith Ashdown of Taxpayers for Common Sense put it this morning, "You can't win if you don't play."  (Ashdown's group conducted the study, along with Roll Call newspaper.)

In a career that spans three decades, Murtha has directed over $2 billion to recipients in his district, many of whom are large defense contractors headquartered elsewhere who opened offices in Murtha's rural Pennsylvania region.  Many of the projects Murtha funded, according to the Wall Street Journal, were never requested by any federal agency.

February 14, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (21)

Toxic Gas Purchase Raises Cloud of Doubt

February 13, 2008 6:31 PM

Richard Esposito Reports:

New York City cops were able to purchase toxic chlorine gas with such ease and no proof of identity that it raises grave concerns over how well-protected the public is from the potential terrorist use of chlorine in a chemical attack, officials said Wednesday.

To obtain liquefied chlorine, the New York City police set up a fake business and purchased the chemical online -- and accepted delivery in a highly developed area -- all without proof of identity.

A video of the security exercise, "Operation Green Cloud," was shown Wednesday to private sector executives and members of the media to demonstrate the ease with which the chemicals were acquired.

And New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said that a copy of the video had been sent to the Department of Homeland Security two weeks ago.

DHS is drafting regulations for security at chlorine manufacturing plants, and Kelly said he would hope that the new rules included "strict know-your-customer" protocols.

The video's narrator explained why, "Our objective is to defend the City in the most comprehensive, effective and innovative manner possible. Over the past year, the NYPD Counterterrorism Bureau has intensified its investigation of potential terrorist threats involving weapons of mass destruction: chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear. What follows is a report on one recent NYPD investigation into the terrorist risk posed by one particular type of chemical weapon. The chemical we looked at was chlorine, a common industrial chemical that also presents grave toxic inhalation hazards. The investigation was called Operation Green Cloud. The primary objective was to assess the ease or difficulty with which a terrorist inside the United States could acquire large quantities of chlorine without being detected by law enforcement or intelligence agencies. Our principal finding was that, at the present time, few, if any, barriers stand in his way."

In his remarks, Kelly noted that al Qaeda in Iraq has made several attempts to use chlorine outdoors in an effort to increase casualties caused by their bombs.

To date the use of chlorine gas has not added to IED fatalities, however, when it is well properly used on a battlefield or in a confined space, the effects of chlorine can be lethal.

In the video, Elana DeLozier, an intelligence research specialist at the NYPD Counterterrorism Bureau notes, "In World War I, the German Army released 168 tons of chlorine on French troops. Chlorine was used several more times in World War I, causing thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands of casualties."

More recently, in the first half of 2007, terrorists and insurgents in Iraq used chlorine in conjunction with truck bombs on at least a dozen occasions, afflicting hundreds of people with chlorine-induced symptoms. To date, these chlorine attacks have only occurred in Iraq and have not produced mass fatalities.

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February 13, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (3)

Once Hidden, Iraq Rape Numbers Emerging

February 13, 2008 1:06 PM

Justin Rood Reports:

The New York Times' Jim Risen today gives us a new detail on rapes in Iraq: The Army says it has investigated 124 reported sexual assaults and rapes in Iraq involving Americans between 2005 and 2007.

We confirmed the numbers independently.

Those 124 investigations are only a fraction of the investigated sex assault cases from Iraq, however. Other outfits have also investigated rape allegations in Iraq, from the State Department to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and we don't have numbers on those investigations.

We know that over 2,200 rape/sex assault claims involving servicemembers were probed in 2006, but we don't know how many were in Iraq.

February 13, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (6)

LUV 2 INFECT U

February 13, 2008 10:18 AM

Lauren Linakis Reports:

Before you click on that e-card from your sweetie this Valentine's Day, read this.

Millions of e-mails disguised as e-cards, but actually containing a computer virus believed to be from Russia, are sent out on various holidays throughout the year.

Innocent and lonely computer users looking for a little romance on Valentine's Day click on the e-card hoping for a love note from their special someone, and instead their computer is immediately, but secretly, infiltrated by the virus. The computer is then controlled by the people who sent the virus, and they can launch commands to send more spam e-mails or other criminal activity such as identity theft.

The virus has been around for years, but experts say spammers take advantage of the holidays hoping people will be more likely to open e-cards.

"This virus always occurs around the holidays because people are more likely to click on a link that says they've received an e-card," said Korin Munsterman, the director of the Office of Technology at American University.

So tomorrow, consider saying, "I love you" the old-fashioned way, in person.

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February 13, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (5)

Halliburton Gang-Rape Victim To Testify on Hill Today

February 12, 2008 11:07 AM

Maddy Sauer Reports:

A Houston, Texas woman who says she was gang-raped by co-workers at a Halliburton/KBR camp in Baghdad will testify on Capitol Hill this afternoon before the House Committee on Education and Labor.

Jamie Leigh Jones plans to tell Congress members that she and other women are being forced to argue their cases of sexual harassment, assault and rape before secretive arbitration panels rather than in open court before a judge and jury.

Developing...

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February 12, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (3)

2007 World Photo of the Year: 'Exhaustion of a Man...of a Nation'

February 12, 2008 9:45 AM

From The Blotter:

A British photographer who traveled to Afghanistan to portray U.S. soldiers on that battlefront for ABC News and "Vanity Fair" received World Press Photo's top prize for his work there.

The photograph taken Sept. 16, 2007 by Tim Hetherington shows an exhausted U.S. soldier resting at "Restrepo" bunker, which was named after a fallen comrade.

"This image represents the exhaustion of a man -- and the exhaustion of a nation," Gary Knight, who chaired the jury that judged the contest, said.

"There's a human quality to this picture," said fellow juror Mary Anne Golon. "It says that conflict is the basis of this man's life."

Hetherington's work was seen on ABC News this past November in several reports on ABC News programs and on ABCNews.com. Those reports showed dramatic video of how American soldiers in Afghanistan are being set up for deadly ambushes after trying to make peace with village leaders in Taliban-controlled areas.

The footage used -- and taken by Tim Hetherington -- profiled the 2nd Platoon, Battle (b) company of the 173rd Airborne then stationed in the dangerous Korengal Valley of Kunar Province. During that assignment, Hetherington broke his foot during a nighttime mission with the platoon but continued to walk on it for hours as the platoon tried to evade an ambush by Taliban forces.

The honored photograph was part of a picture story by Hetherington that was also awarded second prize in General News Stories.

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February 12, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (5)

Reports: Bribed Ex-Lawmaker to Leave Prison Soon

February 11, 2008 6:17 PM

Justin Rood Reports:

Former Congressman Bob Ney, Republican from Ohio, is set to be moved from a prison cell to a halfway house, according to news accounts.

Ney went in to federal prison in Morganton, W. Va. last March (as inmate number 28882-016) to serve a 30-month sentence for taking bribes from and doing favors for disgraced superlobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Following his conviction in late 2006, Ney revealed an addiction to alcohol which he said contributed to his criminal ways. He disappeared from public view into a rehabilitation facility.

Ney's revelation was supported by former staffers, one of whom later wrote to tell Ney's sentencing judge that while in Congress, his former boss "would often begin drinking beers as early as 7:30 a.m."

Ney's admission of alcoholism also opened up the possibility he could qualify for a rehabilitation program outside of federal prison that could shorten his time in a cell by up to a year,.

That fact that was not overlooked by Ney's lawyer. In a court filing shortly after his client's confession, Mark Tuohey asked the judge to find that "Mr. Ney’s alcohol addiction contributed to the conduct he has admitted."

"Mr. Ney would benefit from participation in the Residential Drug Abuse Program offered by the Bureau of Prisons during any term of imprisonment," wrote Tuohey.

February 11, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (2)

Masons Have National Treasures Too

February 11, 2008 12:05 PM

From The Blotter:

Members of the secretive Freemasons in Washington, D.C., whose hidden symbols in government buildings are featured in two hit "National Treasure" movies, have found a way to cash in on the popularity of the films by giving their own public tours of the Capitol.

Disney's box-office smash "National Treasure" (Gross $347,000,000) and big-grossing sequel ($212,800,000 plus) "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" are filled with references to the Masons, including the "all-seeing eye" and pyramid that dominate the official Web site. And in both flicks, Benjamin Franklin Gates (Nicholas Cage) and his cohorts freely use clues and symbols associated with the secretive group to "unearth hidden history and treasure." Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

The excitement generated by the films has prompted members of the Washington, D.C. Freemasons Lodge to market their own tour of the Capitol www.masonictours.com and to point out the dozens and dozens of Masonic symbols that are interwoven in the history of the city and visible in its monuments. 
Those include:

White House: On Oct. 12, 1792, the Freemasons of Georgetown in a Masonic ceremony laid the cornerstone of the president's house. During the renovation of the White House (1949–1952), President and Freemason Harry S. Truman gave an original White House stone to each Grand Lodge in the United States. "I place in your hands a stone taken from the White House...These evidences of the number of members of the Craft who built the President's official residence so intimately aligns Freemasonry with the formation and the founding of our Government that I believe your Grand Lodge will cherish this link between the Fraternity and the Government of the Nation, of which the White House is a symbol," he said. 

Capitol: On Sept. 18, 1793, President and Freemason George Washington, wearing his Masonic apron, laid in a Masonic ceremony the cornerstone of the United States Capitol. According to to Grand Master of the D.C. Freemasons, Akram Elias, the ancient ceremony of laying the Capitol cornerstone "was of great significance and was conducted to so that of members of Congress should remember edifice that their mission should be the promotion of prosperity, happiness and peace.

Washington Monument: The Egyptian-styled obelisk was designed by Freemason Robert Mills in honor of George Washington. On July 4, 1848, the Grand Master of Masons of the District of Columbia Benjamin Brown French led the cornerstone laying ceremony in the presence of President Polk and numerous dignitaries with these words to architect Mills, "I now present to you, my Brother, the square, level, and plumb, which are the working tools you are to use in the erection of this monument. You, as a Freemason, know to what they morally allude...Look well to the erection of this National Monument; see that every stone is well squared, and that it is placed in its position both level and plumb, that the noble offering of a nation to commemorate greatness, patriotism, and virtue, may stand until the end of time." 

Lincoln Memorial: The structure was designed by architect and Freemason Henry Bacon.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt: A very active Freemason. Following Washington, more than a dozen presidents were members of the Masons, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, James Polk, James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, James Garfield, William McKinley, Teddy Roosevelt, William Taft, Warren Harding, Harry Truman and Gerald Ford.

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February 11, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (2)

The Other Mob Case

February 08, 2008 2:10 PM

Richard Esposito Reports:

Alongside the landscape-changing federal conspiracy case that charged 62 mobsters with crimes over a 30-year span, New York's Queens County Prosecutor announced the indictment of 26 alleged mob associates and alleged Gambino capo Nicholas Corozzo on charges of operating a highly sophisticated illegal gambling enterprise "that booked nearly $10 million in wagers over a two-year period on professional and college basketball and football, professional baseball and hockey and other sporting events."

According to district attorney Richard Brown, 20 of the defendants were in custody and six were being sought.

At the press conference announcing his indictments alongside the federal case, Brown called illegal gambling "the bread and butter moneymaker" for organized crime. In a written statement, he said the profits from gambling provided "the fuel that allows organized crime to operate."

"Today's arrests close down a highly lucrative gambling operation that benefited the Gambino crime family to the tune of millions of dollars each year and send a loud and clear message that law enforcement will keep up the pressure," Brown said.

In his own remarks, New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly noted that New York City detectives "today arrested top Gambino crime family members and scores of other organized crime suspects for murders that spanned three decades and for gambling that helped fuel the bloodshed." The NYPD was involved in both the federal and the state cases. "Detectives have long memories, as was evident in these investigations," Kelly said. The defendants in the state's 25-count enterprise corruption case are charged with violation of New York State's Organized Crime Control Act as well as promoting gambling, criminal usury, grand larceny and conspiracy. The defendants face up to 25 years in prison, if convicted.

Read about the arrests of top Gambino crime family members.

February 8, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (1)

In U.S. Military, Sex Crimes on the Rise?

February 08, 2008 12:43 PM

Justin Rood Reports:

Nearly 3,000 members of the U.S. armed forces were involved in reported sex crimes in 2006, the most recent year for which statistics are available.

That looks to be an increase from 2005, when the Pentagon says it received 2,374 reports of attempted or actual rapes or sexual assaults. But, it cautions, comparisons are difficult because its reporting process is new.

Those numbers are of interest to several of our readers and viewers, who wrote in following our coverage of the rape and sexual assault allegations by KBR/Halliburton contract employees in Iraq.

What was the prevalence of sex crimes in the military? They wondered.

Even with these statistics, it's a tough question to answer.  First, experts warn that sex crimes are notoriously underreported, and that may be even more true for crimes involving members of the military – particularly in war zones.  Working in close quarters or in isolated units, victims may be less likely to report a crime for fear of ostracization or retaliation.

Second, of the 2,974 cases reported in 2006, the military investigated only 2,277. That's because it allows victims to report a rape or sexual assault but request it be kept confidential.  The option may lower an alleged victim's fear of reprisal, if he or she can keep investigators from interrogating fellow unit members and collecting other evidence.

Of the cases investigated, nearly 1,200 involved servicemembers allegedly assaulting fellow servicemembers.  Some 82 involved servicemembers being assaulted by civilians. In 370 investigations, the alleged assailant was "unidentified" as either military or civilian.  A civilian was the subject and a servicemember the perpetrator of the alleged crime in 658 of the reports probed.

According to the Pentagon's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, rape and sexual assault in its ranks may be increasing, although it warns its data is incomplete: it received 2,374 reports of actual or attempted rapes and sexual assaults in 2005, the first year complete statistics were kept.  The previous year, its data show 1,700 reports.

February 8, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (8)

I Got a Crush. . . on Condoleezza

February 07, 2008 3:40 PM

Justin Rood Reports:

The State Department is defeating terrorism one "strong, engaging" online video at a time.

While many agencies in Washington expect their budgets to be cut, the State Department’s Office of Public Diplomacy is looking for an extra $36 million in 2009, according to new administration budget documents. That would boost the office's budget above $400 million. (It's spent roughly $350 million a year in 2007 and 2008.)

What will they spend the money on?  The administration showcases the office’s Video Production Team, “which creates strong, engaging web-based video that communicates key U.S. values and counters terrorist ideologies,” in documents provided to Congress.

Strong? Judge for yourself: here’s the Office of Public Diplomacy's video report on Obama Girl and the “Hillary 1984” ad.

Engaging? a handful of videos created by the team and posted to YouTube have been viewed about 200 times.

By comparison, Obama Girl’s music video, “I Got a Crush. . . on Obama,” has been viewed an estimated 100 million times. And it cost $2,000 to make, according to its creator, Ben Relles.

February 7, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (0)

Senate to Examine "Tool for Cover-Up"

February 07, 2008 11:18 AM

Justin Rood Reports:

Despite all but admitting it kidnapped and interrogated the wrong guy, the Bush administration shut down the alleged victim’s civil suit against it by declaring the his ordeal to be a state secret that could not be discussed in court.

For civil liberties advocates, the derailment of German citizen Khaled El-Masri’s claim against the CIA is one of the administration’s more egregious misuses of a power known as the state secrets privilege. It allows the administration to petition a judge to dismiss a case on the grounds that it could disclose information that is vital to national security.

Judges can overrule the administration’s concerns, but experts on the matter say they rarely do. And that’s how alleged victims like El-Masri, who says CIA agents kidnapped him, held for five months and beat him, forever lose their day in court.

It’s the kind of vital constitutional question that Americans and the media rarely fail to ignore.  But the Senate Judiciary Committee next week is going to take a closer look at the power -- what Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., has called "a tool for cover-up" -- as well as a bipartisan bill that backers hope will guide judges in considering future state secrets claims.

A Justice Department official will testify at the hearing, slated for Feb. 13, and is expected to defend keeping the authority as broad as possible.  He will be joined by several legal scholars.  Both the panel's chairman, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and its ranking member, Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., are sponsors on the state secrets reform bill, along with Kennedy.  It should be interesting.

February 7, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (7)

Wal-Mart Update: More Ties to Clinton

February 06, 2008 1:50 PM

Justin Rood Reports:

Hillary Clinton probably thought she’d heard the last on her ties to Wal-Mart courtesy the Brian Ross Unit.  Here's a brief detail that didn’t get fleshed out in the Good Morning America segment last week: While publicly distancing herself from the company, Clinton has involved two Wal-Mart lobbyists in her campaign.

Clinton named two Wal-Mart lobbyists to her Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Steering Committee last June.  Ingrid Duran and Catherine Pino, the “D” and “P” of D & P Creative Strategies, are registered to lobby Senate offices on behalf of the Arkansas-based megaretailer.

While Clinton returned $5,000 she received from Wal-Mart’s political action committee in 2005, she has held on to roughly $20,000 she was given last year by Wal-Mart executives and lobbyists, as Brian noted in last week's piece.  More than half of that money came from Duran, Pino, and a third Wal-Mart lobbyist, Tony Podesta, according to campaign finance records.

Clinton spokesperson Howard Wolfson told Brian "there is no basis to return" those donations.

Clinton declined to be interviewed for last week’s piece, but she has said she does not share Wal-Mart’s values.  The campaign didn't respond to a subsequent request for comment.

A call to D&P Creative Strategies went unreturned Wednesday.  A spokeswoman for Podesta said that while his wife threw a fundraiser for Hillary, Tony Podesta is not involved in the Clinton campaign.  While he gave $2,300 to her campaign, he gave equal amounts to the (now-failed) presidential campaigns of Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.

February 6, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (20)

In '07, Dems Raked In Corporate Cash

February 04, 2008 10:34 AM

Justin Rood Reports:

Does big business favor Republicans? Not so much, these days.

It was once so.  For the last several years, corporate money groups gave Congressional Republicans two dollars for every buck it handed to Democrats.  But since the Democrats took over the House and Senate in 2006, Big Business has been more equitable with its handouts, according to Roll Call newspaper (sub. req.) this morning.

Last year, Dems harvested money from corporate PACs at a downright Republican rate, according to an independent Campaign Finance Institute analysis cited by the paper.  In 2007, Dems pocketed nearly $30 million from the corporate groups, compared to roughly $32 million taken by GOP candidates and committees.

Anonymous insiders tell the paper Dems are likely to be tickled by their new shower of corporate cash.  “They’re usually happy if they can get it to 50/50,” says one.  They would probably like even more, the source said, but they probably don’t think they’re “entitled” to that much.

February 4, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (6)

GOP Group Reports Possible Fraud to FBI

February 01, 2008 3:28 PM

Justin Rood Reports:

The National Republican Congressional Committee announced Friday it has alerted the FBI of possible fraud in its bookkeeping.

In a statement, NRCC Chairman Tom Cole (Okla.) said:

"As part of our ongoing efforts to institute and strengthen financial controls at the National Republican Congressional Committee, we learned earlier this week of irregularities in our financial audit process. Since these irregularities may include fraud, we have notified the appropriate law enforcement authorities. We are aggressively and thoroughly investigating the matter and, while we determine the details, we have terminated our relationship with a former employee who was engaged as an outside vendor."

The NRCC is the primary campaign fundraising group working to elect Republicans to seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.  The Politico newspaper reported the possible fraud may involve "a former vendor [which] engaged in fraudulent activity with regard to the committee's financial audit process."

The NRCC spokesperson declined to comment further on this story.

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February 1, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (15)