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From LA Times

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Teen testifies against former Compton Dominguez High basketball coach

The teenage athlete whose allegations triggered the firing of decorated Compton Dominguez High School boys basketball coach Russell Otis took the stand before a jury Monday and testified that Otis, the architect of five state championships, tried to persuade him to engage in a sexual “experiment” last year.

The boy, now 17, testified that late on the night of Aug. 30, 2008, the coach drove to the player's home,  met him at the rear alley and showed him a stack of money the coach claimed was $1,500.

Otis "said I can have all this if I do the experiment with him,” the boy testified. The coach “said he'll bet me he'll get me [aroused] within 30 seconds to a minute, and [that] I can have all the money.”

The boy, who The Times has not identified because he is a minor and an alleged victim of a sex crime, testified that he declined the coach's offer but accepted a $100 bill to pay for cellphone minutes.

Otis is standing trial in Compton on felony charges of making an unwanted sexual advance on a minor, and of using an allegedly forged document to help him deposit a $15,000 check from Nike Inc. to the Compton Unified School District into his personal bank account. He was fired as Dominguez's coach and athletic director, but has appealed.

Leonard Levine, Otis' attorney, asked the boy if his allegations emerged because he sought more playing time at a different Southland school: “It was only after learning you needed [a California Interscholastic Federation hardship waiver] that you went to the sheriff, right?”

Law enforcement authorities received a formal complaint more than three weeks after the alleged incident. Levine also told Judge Pat Connolly he intends to introduce witnesses who will address possible personal problems the student, then a junior, was dealing with around that time, and could help explain why the coach and player exchanged more than 300 text messages in the days leading up to the meeting.

The boy testified that all of the texts he and Otis exchanged the day of the incident were wiped from his cellphone memory because the phone was damaged.

A classmate testified that he saw some of Otis' texts to the alleged victim that night.  One said that “If Coach Otis touches [the boy], he'd give him a lot of money,” and “that he could do things to him in a matter of minutes.”

The player testified that he told his grandmother about Otis' visit a few days after it happened, when Otis rebuffed a happy birthday text the boy had sent to the coach. The boy testified that Otis, now 47, urged him not to tell anyone else about the alleged encounter by promising money and shoes and then asked him to change his story.

“He told me to tell Granny it was a lie and that he'd sign papers for me to transfer schools,” the boy testified.

Levine introduced texts from later that month in which the boy told Otis that rumors spreading about inappropriate contact between the pair were “not true.” The boy attended a California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section championship ring ceremony in September 2008 with Otis present.

“I told him that so [Otis] would quit texting me,” the boy testified.

The trial will resume Tuesday and is expected to continue through next week.  It is unclear if Otis will take the stand.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/10/teen-testifies-against-former-compton-dominguez-high-basketball-coach.html#more

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Attorney general will not investigate ex-Assemblyman Michael Duvall

State prosecutors have no plans to investigate whether any laws were broken by former Assemblyman Michael Duvall (R-Yorba Linda), who was recorded bragging that he had sex with a woman believed to be a lobbyist, according to a government spokesman.

"Even if the publicly reported behavior is proven to be true, it would not constitute a violation of California law," said Scott Gerber, a spokesman for state Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown. "Accordingly, unless additional information comes to light, our office intends no further inquiry."

Duvall was vice chairman of the Assembly's utilities committee. The lobbyist works for Sempra energy company.

Gerber's statement comes days after the Assembly's ethics committee was told by legal counsel that it had no authority to investigate Duvall because he had resigned from office.

However, the FBI has talked to at least two of Duvall's former aides in an effort to determine whether his activities warrant an investigation.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/

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Judge orders compassionate release of 89-year-old murder convict

A judge in Long Beach ruled today for the compassionate release of an 89-year-old man convicted of murder because the elderly prisoner is suffering from Alzheimer's disease and unable to care for himself.

Dick Keech, was convicted in 1997 of killing his son-in-law, Nick Candy, and sentenced to life in prison.

"Although Mr. Keech did not show compassion to Mr. Candy, given all the circumstances I believe it is time to exercise compassion now,"  said Judge William T. Garner, who presided over Keech's original case and was brought out of retirement to hear today's arguments.

"For him to spend his remaining time in prison will be expensive to taxpayers with no obvious benefit," Garner continued.

Keech is a World War II veteran who uses a wheelchair and is unable to do anything by himself, said his attorney, Paul Mones. Keech was recommended for release on grounds of being “medically incapacitated” by the state Department of Corrections and the parole board, Mones said.

Keech was sentenced to 35 years to life in prison in 1997 after being convicted of first-degree murder in the death of his son-in-law, Nick Candy, who was involved in child custody disputes with Keech's daughter.

Keech's attorneys at the time argued that the stress of having been a prisoner of war decades earlier caused him to snap when he shot Candy during an argument, followed him down the street and shot him four more times.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/10/compassionate-release.html#more

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Pasadena police chief resigns, heads to Washington D.C.

Pasadena Police Chief Bernard Melekian, who has overseen the city's police department for 13 years, is retiring and will take a job with the U.S. Department of Justice.

He will head the justice department's Community Oriented Policing Services program, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced today in Denver, where national police leaders are meeting.

"He has served the people of Pasadena with tremendous skill since 1996," Holder said. "One of Bernie's most important new missions will be to help lead a drive to innovate in the area of law enforcement operations. We can no longer afford to view technology and data-driven approaches with suspicion, or to stick with established procedures simply because 'that's how it's always been done.' "

He also is a senior adviser for the Police Assessment Resource Center in Los Angeles and was on the panel that examined LAPD's SWAT operation in the wake of a hostage situation that led to a child's death.

Melekian, a former Santa Monica commander, took the helm in the mid-1990s in the wake of a triple homicide on Halloween that made the city rethink its approach to gang crime, which had plagued it for decades. During Melekian's reign, the number of homicides recorded each year decreased significantly.

Melekian also became an outspoken advocate for police working with mental health professionals. Melekian, an active Coast Guard Reserve, served during Operation Desert Storm and was called to serve in 2003 for eight months in the Pacific.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/10/pasadena-police.html

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Outgoing DWP chief Nahai would keep full salary as consultant under proposal

Officials at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power officials plan to give a consulting contract to the outgoing general manager of the power agency that would pay him the same salary he was earning as the DWP's top executive.

Just days after he resigned, David Nahai is slated to receive nearly $6,300 per week as a consultant to the utility.The DWP commission, whose five members are appointed by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, is scheduled to meet Tuesday to discuss the plan.

DWP commission President Lee Kanon Alpert said he personally asked Nahai to stay on as a consultant, saying such agreements are normal when an agency's executives are in transition.

“There's nothing nefarious about it, nothing complex about it. This is a reasonable business decision, nothing more than that,” Alpert said. “David's resigned, and we need his institutional knowledge for the next few months.”

Nahai did not return a call to his home seeking comment. 

Villaraigosa spokesman Matt Szabo confirmed that Nahai will continue to earn his current salary, $326,686.

Under that scenario, Nahai would earn nearly $82,000 by Dec. 31 as a consultant. [ Updated at 2:34 p.m.: The contract would end at the close of 2009.]

Councilman Greig Smith, who represents part of the San Fernando Valley, said he would have a problem with the consulting contract if Nahai was also drawing a salary from the Clinton Climate Initiative, where he has taken a position as a senior adviser.

“I would be opposed to that, because it's double dipping,” he said.

Villaraigosa has asked the commission to name Deputy Mayor S. David Freeman, the former DWP general manager, as the utility's top executive for the next six months. The DWP's media office did not immediately respond to a request for Freeman's proposed salary.

Alpert said Nahai's contract does not require a vote by the commission. Nevertheless, he said he wanted the matter on today's agenda for transparency and described the contract as “a very normal type of business transaction when a general manager of an organization resigns.”

“He may have knowledge we want to pick his brain on,” Alpert said.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/10/outgoing-dwp-executive-nahai-would-keep-full-salary-as-consultant-under-proposal-.html

The Los Angeles Police Department has cut in half a backlog of untested DNA evidence from rapes and sexual assaults, according to police figures.

In late 2008, amid increasing pressure from victims' rights groups and elected officials, LAPD officials acknowledged that nearly 7,500 evidence kits collected from rape and sexual-assault victims were languishing in storage freezers, never having been analyzed.

At the time, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and LAPD Chief William J. Bratton vowed to address the issue, setting aside funds to help the department outsource the evidence to private laboratories at a faster pace and to bolster the LAPD's own understaffed laboratory. Bratton also announced the formation of a task force of police and outside experts to oversee the effort.

In a letter, Bratton and Deputy Chief Charlie Beck, who heads the task force, updated its members, saying  the number of untested evidence kits had fallen to 3,157. At the current pace of testing, the LAPD would erase the backlog by the summer of 2011, Bratton and Beck wrote.

Unexamined evidence kits hold potentially crucial information. Through a complex scientific process, DNA analysts can extract a person's genetic code from the collected samples and compare it to those of known felons stored in state databases.

The LAPD's push to clear the backlog has led to tangible payoffs: Examination of previously untested semen, blood or other genetic evidence matched the profiles of 405 men in the state's databases, the letter said. The department is also on course to hire 26 additional lab staff members by next summer.

In an interview, Beck emphasized that an inventory of the evidence allowed the LAPD to prioritize cases for testing. Evidence from the several hundred cases in which detectives had no known suspects has now been tested, Beck says.

The effort, however, has not been without some setbacks. Plans to build a database to track each evidence kit have been stymied by technical and funding problems, and mandatory furloughs of civilian staff have  hampered work at the LAPD's lab, Beck said.

The LAPD's ability to finish the effort is also not assured. In the letter, Bratton and Beck warned that city officials will need to continue to commit funds to keep the testing on track – a tall order as the city tries to navigate through a fiscal crisis that has left a $400-million budget shortfall.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/10/lapd-cuts-backlog-of-untested-dna-cases-in-half-.html

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Metrolink installs video cameras in locomotives as safety measure

Metrolink officials today announced that video cameras have been installed and activated inside and outside all of the rail system's locomotives, a safety measure enacted as a result of the deadly 2008 Chatsworth crash.

Video records will be stored in a unit similar to an airplane's black box, installed in all 52 locomotive cabs, and the information will be downloaded daily for random review. The purpose of the recorders is to ensure that engineers adhere to bans on cellphones, text messaging and unauthorized passengers in the cab, issues that arose after a Metrolink crash killed two dozen people a year ago and during subsequent National Transportation Safety Board hearings in Washington.

The announcement was made at news conference by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Metrolink board chairman Keith Millhouse at the Metrolink maintenance yard near Elysian Park. Officials said the price to install the cameras was $1 million.

The cameras have not been placed in Metrolink's lead cars -- train cars that are pushed from behind by locomotives on their return trips -- but they will be put into 57 new lead cars that are on order and scheduled to be placed into service next year.

Twenty-five people died and 135 were injured Sept. 12, 2008, when a Metrolink train collided head-on with a Union Pacific freight train in the San Fernando Valley.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/10/metrolink-video.html

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California spends millions in late-payment fees

Taxpayer advocates say the $8 million spent on penalties to vendors over the last two years while essential services are being cut is inexcusable.

By Patrick McGreevy

October 6, 2009

Reporting from Sacramento

Bureaucratic bungling, red tape and political gridlock don't come cheap -- especially when they get in the way of paying California's bills.

The state has shelled out more than $8 million in late-payment penalties to vendors, contractors and others over the last two years because Sacramento did not send the checks when they were owed, records show.

The late budget last year was one reason bills didn't get paid when they were due, but not the only one. Confusion over which offices should make payments, delays in invoices being sent from field offices to headquarters and shortages of staff to pay the bills also are responsible.

At a time when the state is slashing services to parks users, the disabled and domestic violence victims, taxpayer advocates said Monday that the waste of millions of dollars on late fees is inexcusable.

"There shouldn't be any reason why the state can't pay its bills on time," said David Kline, of the watchdog group California Taxpayers' Assn. "It's disappointing that tax dollars are being wasted on penalties that should be avoidable."

The penalties are mandated under the California Prompt Payment Act, which requires state agencies to pay properly submitted, undisputed invoices within 45 calendar days of receipt. Every department is required to report annually how many invoices were paid late and the sum of penalties incurred.

For the two-year period ending June 30, state agencies reported paying more than 38,800 invoices late. With a budget some three months overdue last year and 50 days overdue in 2007 because of political gridlock, the state ran out of cash and stopped paying its bills.

"The Legislature failed to produce an on-time budget after the state controller said for months it would cause late fees," said Aaron McLear, a spokesman for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

That problem was cited by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to explain much of its $3.4 million in late fees during the last two years.

Tardy payments, according to agency spokesman Gordon J. Hinkle, "are unfortunately a reality" in a state with little reserves and constant budget deadlock.

Lawmakers blamed one another Monday. A spokeswoman for Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) said the governor and Republicans dragged their feet on needed budget measures.

Senate minority leader Dennis Hollingsworth (R-Murrieta) responded: "As soon as budget problems became apparent, cuts needed to be made quickly and decisively. Instead, Democrats delayed the inevitable, costing taxpayers millions more."

The Justice Department, which paid $403,000 in late fees during the last two years, estimated that 38% of its penalties last year and 25% the year before were caused by the late budget. But a system that was not sufficiently computerized was also an issue, according to Scott Gerber, a department spokesman.

The department said it has installed an electronic payment processing system for big vendors "to reduce our interest penalties in future years," according to its annual report.

The Department of Health Care Services said its $288,218 in penalties in the 2007-08 fiscal year were caused, at least in part, by "confusion" over which agency should pay the bills after a reorganization split functions between multiple offices.

The Department of Rehabilitation, which serves the disabled, said in its report that $11,790 in penalties were incurred partly because "we were short-staffed."

At the Department of Parks and Recreation, about 6% of the late payments during the last fiscal year, involving 100 invoices, were attributed to "processing issues," according to Sheryl Watson, a spokeswoman for the agency.

"The invoice came to us late from the district office," Watson said, citing one problem. "Or it came to us on time but not all of the documents came with it," or other information was missing.

The problem of late payments has been known for a long time. An internal audit of the state Parks and Recreation Department last year found that it had incurred late payment penalties of $232,000 in the preceding two years.

"The payment of late payment penalties represents resources that could be better used in furtherance of the department mission," the audit said.

McLear said he was unaware of any red-tape problems. "If there are bureaucracy issues that are keeping us from paying our bills on time we will absolutely correct this," he said.

Those who do business with California government say they incur significant inconvenience when the state pays late, even if it also pays a penalty.

"As a small business, when it comes time to make payroll, it makes it very difficult," said John Riley, co-owner of Sacramento Technology Group, which saw delayed payments of about $750,000 in payments on computer-related contracts. "It can cause us to have to borrow money to meet the credit crunch."

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-deadbeat-state6-2009oct06,0,6053678,print.story

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Verification of illegal immigrants is scrutinized amid healthcare debate

L.A. County officials question cost-effectiveness of rules aimed at screening those trying to get public health services.

By Teresa Watanabe

October 6, 2009

Los Angeles County health worker Leonardo Rincon lifts the birth certificate up to the light and expertly scrutinizes it. Do faint watermarks show up? Yes. He rubs his thumb over the official seal to see if it is raised. It is. He checks the number of digits in the document number. Perfect.

Ruth Torres, he decides, has brought in valid U.S. birth certificates for her six children, a valid U.S. passport for her husband and a valid green card for herself, a legal immigrant from Mexico. The family will continue to receive public healthcare benefits, as least for the next year.

Since July 2008, when Los Angeles County began implementing tougher federal verification rules, Rincon and his colleagues have gone back to check the documents of more than 100,000 recipients of Medi-Cal, the public healthcare program for low-income residents.

The county has received nearly $28 million in state and federal funds to cover the cost of the program and posted 81 people in 27 social service department offices to check documents, Walker said.

So far, they have not found one illegal immigrant who posed as a legal resident to get benefits, according to Deborah Walker, the county's Medi-Cal program director. Fewer than 1% of applicants between July 2008 and February 2009 lacked the proper documents, and many of those applicants eventually produced them, she said.

Among new Medi-Cal applicants, county officials have found a relative handful of cheaters under the tougher standards. In the El Monte office, for instance, supervisor Alma Young said that five to eight undocumented immigrants were discovered among about 7,000 applicants in her unit over the last year -- about 0.1% of the total.

"It's been a big effort without a whole lot of payback," Walker said of the program.

As the health insurance debate continues to rage, a key point of contention has been how to screen out illegal immigrants from access to any new public benefits. U.S. citizens and legal residents are entitled to full public health benefits; illegal immigrants are eligible only for emergency and pregnancy care.

Members of Congress have proposed a range of new verification requirements, including presentation of photo identification and checks with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's immigration database. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-New York), has proposed requiring biometric ID cards -- using fingerprints, for instance -- to prove citizenship.

"The point of this is not to catch people, it's to deter them and potentially save tons of money," said Steven A. Camarota of the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington-based research organization that advocates immigration restrictions. "If you don't have these systems, you might have hundreds of thousands of illegals trying to get health benefits."

Immigrant advocates disagree. They argue that stricter verification rules, such as those implemented last year in Los Angeles County, have proven costly, ineffective and ultimately harmful to U.S. citizens who may be deprived of healthcare because they lack the required documents.

The stricter rules were passed as part of the 2005 federal Deficit Reduction Act and require applicants for Medi-Cal to present documents proving citizenship or legal status. Previously, applicants only had to declare their status on affidavits.

Nationally, however, two federal studies have raised questions about the cost-effectiveness of the rules. One congressional oversight committee found that the regulations cost the federal government and six of nine states surveyed this year $16.6 million in new administrative costs but resulted in snagging only eight illegal immigrants.

A 2007 study by the Government Accountability Office found that half of 44 states surveyed said the new requirements had resulted in a decline in Medicaid recipients, but most of those affected were believed to be eligible citizens.

Jennifer Ng'andu of the National Council of La Raza said that as many as 13 million U.S. citizens do not have a driver's license, birth certificate or passport.

"We think there are adequate verification systems in place today, and the consequence of imposing more excessive ones will mean that people could be left out of healthcare reform," she said.

At the county social services department in El Monte, Rincon offered a different view. The bilingual 36-year-old Los Angeles native, whose parents legally immigrated from Mexico, figures he has checked out more than 240,000 documents under the new law since last year.

During that time, Rincon said, he has found only two suspicious citizenship documents -- one with a name handwritten over one whited out, the other with a name different from the one on the applicant's driver's license. But both ultimately checked out with U.S. immigration officials.

Rincon said the only time he caught an illegal immigrant was under the old system, when he noticed the birth certificates that a woman presented for her various children all listed her age as 40. He referred the case to the state's fraud unit, which verified with immigration officials that the children had no legal status. Rincon called her back for a second interview, where he said she admitted the ruse.

But the tougher standards have improved coordination between state and local agencies and resulted in faster response times, Rincon said. Tapping into his computer at the El Monte office's verification desk, he demonstrated the different federal and state systems at his disposal.

If an immigrant's citizenship certificate or green card seems suspect, Rincon said, he will submit an electronic request for verification to Homeland Security's immigration database. If a native-born person's birth certificate needs checking, he will verify it through a state database of vital statistics.

And if applicants are born outside California, he will mail a verification request to officials in their state of birth under an interstate information-sharing agreement. One improvement he said he would like to see is federal legislation authorizing states to link their systems together to eliminate the need for snail mail.

Even though he hasn't caught any cheaters in the last year, Rincon said he still sees value in the tougher standards.

"I think it's a good deterrent for people passing themselves off as U.S. citizens when they are undocumented," Rincon said. "The word of mouth is that you can't pass off these fake documents so easily anymore. Now everything is followed up on."

Torres, for instance, still needs to produce more documentation than just citizenship papers to continue coverage for her whole family. Now that one of her daughters turned 18 this year, Torres will have to present a photo ID that matches her daughter's birth certificate. If she fails to do so within 30 days, a county worker will follow up. Without identification in a year, the daughter's benefits will be downgraded to emergency and pregnancy care only.

Torres, a 50-year-old Baldwin Park resident, said her family has received Medi-Cal benefits for the last eight years, since her husband lost his job repairing conveyor belts. He subsequently found a job maintaining machines for a packaging company, but it does not provide health insurance. She said she is ambivalent about the tougher laws.

"If it relates to health, it shouldn't matter if you have or don't have documents," she said.

But other applicants offered different views.

Thomas Medina, a fourth-generation Mexican American who is applying for Medi-Cal for the first time after his pizza and sandwich business soured, said he doesn't mind requests to produce his birth certificate.

"I want to help them," he said, referring to illegal immigrants. "But if they're overloading the system and hurting those of us who have put into the system for years, it's wrong."

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-immig-health6-2009oct06,0,6721743,print.story

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Council committees recommend LAPD hiring freeze

Members of the budget and public safety panels agree to discontinue a new recruit class and halt police recruiting efforts.

By David Zahniser and Phil Willon

7:00 PM PDT, October 5, 2009

Two committees of the Los Angeles City Council recommended Monday that the city stop hiring police officers starting next month and wait until January to see if the budget picture has improved enough to resume recruitment.

The Budget and Finance and Public Safety committees agreed to discontinue a new recruit class in November as part of the effort to eliminate a $405-million budget shortfall. The committees also voted to halt LAPD recruiting efforts.

The move could slow down Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's effort to add 1,000 officers to the police force. The city's financial woes have already forced him to hold the line on hiring, adding only enough officers to replace those who quit.

Councilman Paul Koretz, who serves on the budget panel, said he couldn't support more hiring as long as police furloughs remain a possibility. Koretz also said some officials have become fixated on reaching 10,000 officers and suggested they could instead deploy the existing force more effectively.

"It's time to go for a little more common sense and a little less P.R., and just recognize we're in difficult budget times," he said.

Although the mayor has been seeking to reach a staffing level of 10,181 -- the number he says will result from 1,000 new hires -- the council has been debating whether to remain at 10,000 amid a financial crisis.

The council's two most vigorous budget hawks -- Bernard Parks, a former LAPD chief, and Greig Smith -- have repeatedly opposed more police hiring because of the city's precarious finances but have been unable to persuade their colleagues to follow their lead. Over the past four years, the mayor has always found the votes to keep hiring.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/crime/la-me-police6-2009oct06,0,1071849,print.story

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Orange County D.A.'s DNA database rapidly growing

The collection run by prosecutors has quadrupled in the last nine months, with about half of the 15,000 profiles coming from low-level offenders who cut deals to have their charges dropped.

By Tami Abdollah

October 5, 2009

The Orange County district attorney's office has nearly quadrupled its DNA database over the last nine months, to about 15,000 individual profiles, and officials say they hope to start using it to identify criminal suspects by early next year.

The agency's effort to build a database exempt from the rules that govern state and national DNA repositories has made Orange County unique among local governments in California. Much of the rapid growth has come from cases in which prosecutors drop charges against low-level offenders who agree to submit DNA samples.

Critics have questioned whether it's appropriate to gather DNA from people not convicted of a crime.

One such defendant is Charlie Wolcott. Early last year, Wolcott nervously walked into Orange County's Central Justice Center in Santa Ana and stepped into Department 46. The software engineer and Gulf War veteran had never appeared in court before or been cited for anything more than a speeding ticket. He had been summoned as a result of a citation he received months earlier for allegedly trespassing on railroad property near the Tustin Metrolink station.

Wolcott says he was innocent because the no-trespassing sign was yards away from where he was stopped by a plainclothes deputy as he walked along a shortcut away from the tracks. But as Judge James H. Poole described court procedures to the roomful of people awaiting their hearings, Wolcott grew increasingly worried about the possibility of being convicted.

"I'm freaking out," he said, recalling the scene.

Before he was called in front of the judge, Wolcott and another defendant, who was facing a felony charge of personal-use possession of marijuana, were called into a soundproof room in the back of the court. There, Deputy Dist. Atty. Nicholas Zovko made them an offer.

"He takes me and one other guy to the back of the courtroom, and says basically, 'The district attorney's office would like to make a deal with you,' " Wolcott said. " 'If you give a DNA sample, we will drop all charges.' "

About half of the samples in the database are from people who have accepted that offer, said Susan Kang Schroeder, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office. People charged with nonviolent misdemeanors such as petty theft or trespassing are allowed to give DNA and have their cases dropped. In January, the option was also extended to those charged with certain personal-use drug possession felonies.

Wolcott's case is "a perfect example of a minor thing, where we gave him an opportunity to dismiss the case without having any further consequences," Shroeder said.

Wolcott, 40, says he regrets his decision. But "I felt I had no choice to get out of this unscathed unless I gave a DNA sample," he said. "It just seems like I was roped into the court system just to get my DNA."

Schroeder, however, said Wolcott "really got the better deal."

"He was explained everything as per the instructions of our office," she said. "Our office isn't interested in taking anything forcibly from anyone. It's completely voluntary."

The program has won support from some defense attorneys and others.

"People that are coming into the system for the very first time don't get a case filed against them," said Carol Lavacot, a defense attorney based in Irvine. "It's a second chance."

Judge Poole has had cases dismissed in his courtroom for a DNA sample. He said he wasn't aware that there was a formal program until recently, but had no objections to the district attorney trying to help clear up a high-volume calendar, save taxpayer money and give people the chance to avoid criminal records.

"It's not an ideal situation, but the program can have some benefits that you just can't ignore," he said.

But the program doesn't sit well with others, who express concern over who gets offered the deal, how the data will be managed and what it will be used for.

The district attorney's database is "highly unusual" because it is not managed by an accredited crime lab, said Beth Greene, president of the American Society of Crime Lab Directors and chief of forensic services at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Pensacola lab.

"This whole concept of voluntary sample-building and getting people to plead for less is not the way state databases are run," she said. "There are no special arrangements made. You get simple samples collected per the law. In our opinion that safeguards the samples in the database."

Some legal observers question whether people would be targeted on low-level technical crimes in an effort to expand the database.

"That seems backward," said UCLA Law School professor Jennifer Mnookin. "I'd like to see what institutional protections they're putting into place."

But Barry Fisher, retired crime lab director for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, said the debate over the use of DNA in courthouse deals is more a public policy issue than a civil liberties one. The Orange County agency makes a compelling argument that it is trying to use the technology to identify those who have not made it into the state or federal databases, he said.

"Prosecutors are forever making these pre-trial deals with defendants. . . . This is just a different version of something that's been going on for just about ever," he said. "The fair question you can ask, and it's a legitimate question: Is the defendant being adequately informed and advised of what the consequences are?"

Jennifer A. Friedman, a Los Angeles County deputy public defender, found it troubling that many of those being offered the option of giving DNA do not have legal representation. "If I was a citizen of Orange County, I would be very interested in the racial and socioeconomic profile of the individuals in that database," she said.

People who accept the deal sign a waiver that explains the rights they are giving up and the fact that their sample will be put in the Orange County district attorney's DNA database, which is separate from the Department of Justice database.

But Friedman believes people need a "physically present" lawyer to answer questions.

"Even a fairly well-educated individual is not going to be aware of what they're going to do with the DNA sample, and the implications down the road," she said. "Not only for you, but for your family members. . . . There's no way to argue this is informed consent."

Those implications include the ability to use partial or familial matching to help solve cases.

Schroeder, however, said the agency is "not doing familial searches and we do not have any plans of doing familial searches."

Friedman acknowledged that it would be a "tough sell" for an attorney to tell someone, even if they are innocent, not to take the dismissal and urge them to continue a time-consuming, possibly costly and ultimately unpredictable legal process.

"To have prosecutors themselves managing forensic science seems to me to be an increasingly risky enterprise," Mnookin said. "It puts a lot of implicit and explicit pressures [on the process], where everybody wants to find the right guy, but boy, everybody wants to find a guy, too."

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-oc-dna-database5-2009oct05,0,4876300,print.story

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'They are the unappreciated patriots'

In Iraq and Afghanistan, contractors like Reggie Lane often face the same dangers as U.S. troops. And make the same terrible sacrifices.

By T. Christian Miller

October 6, 2009

Reporting from Central Point, Ore.

A nurse rocked him awake as pale dawn light crept into the room. "C'mon now, c'mon," the nurse murmured. "Time to get up."

Reggie Lane was once a hulking man of 260 pounds. Friends called him "Big Dad." Now, he weighed less than 200 pounds and his brain was severely damaged. He groaned angry, wordless cries.

The nurse moved fast. Two bursts of deodorant spray under each useless arm. Then he dressed Lane and used a mechanical arm to hoist him into a wheelchair.

He wheeled Big Dad down a hallway and parked the chair in a beige dining room, in front of a picture window. Outside stretched a green valley of pear trees filled with white blossoms.

Lane's head fell forward, his chin buried in his chest. His legs crossed and uncrossed involuntarily. His left index finger was rigid and pointed, as if frozen in permanent accusation.

In 2004, Lane was driving a fuel truck in Iraq for a defense contractor when insurgents attacked his convoy with rocket-propelled grenades. For most of the five years since, Lane, now 60, has spent his days in silence -- a reminder of the hidden costs of relying on civilian contract workers to support the U.S. war effort.

His wife, Linda, said visiting her husband was difficult. They were childhood friends and fiercely loyal to each other. On this spring morning, she caressed his hand and told him she loved him.

"He was a good man. He paid his bills. He took care of his family," she said, her breathing labored from a pulmonary disease. "He's a human being who fought for his country. He doesn't deserve to be thrown away."

In Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. military has depended on contract workers more than in any previous conflict -- to cook meals for troops, wash laundry, deliver supplies and protect diplomats, among other tasks. Tens of thousands of civilians have worked in the two battle zones, often facing the same dangers as U.S. troops and suffering the same kinds of injuries.

Contract workers from the U.S. have been mostly men, primarily middle-aged, many of them military veterans drawn by money, patriotism or both, according to interviews and public records. They are police officers, truck drivers, firefighters, mechanics and craftsmen, mostly from rural corners of America, especially the South.

Nearly 1,600 civilian workers -- both Americans and foreign nationals -- have died in the two war zones. Thousands more have been injured. (More than 5,200 U.S. service members have been killed and 35,000 wounded.)

Many of the civilians have come home as military veterans in all but name, sometimes with lifelong disabilities but without the support network available to returning troops.

There are no veterans' halls for civilian workers, no Gold Star Wives, no military hospitals. Politicians pay little attention to their problems, and the military has not publicized their contributions.

"These guys are like the Vietnam vets of this generation," said Lee Frederiksen, a psychologist who worked for Mission Critical Psychological Services, a Chicago-based firm that provides counseling for war zone workers. "The normal support that you would get if you were injured in the line of duty as a police officer or if you were injured in the military . . . just doesn't exist."

Herbert J. Lanese, former chief executive of DynCorp International, one of the largest employers of civilian workers in Iraq and Afghanistan, said: "These are people who have given their lives in the service of our country. They are the unappreciated patriots of our country at this point in time."

Lane was born in Ventura and moved to Grants Pass, Ore., when he turned 12. He met Linda there, and the two grew up together.

After high school, Reggie enlisted in the Army and went to Vietnam. He and Linda found each other after he returned. By then, each had been married and divorced, and each had a child.

As a pair, they were inseparable. Reggie was steady, strong. Linda was energetic and outgoing. They eventually found work as a truck-driving team, steering tractor-trailers across the country.

His CB radio handle was "Grizzly." Hers was "Wild Cat." He loved country music and Tom Clancy novels, G. Gordon Liddy's talk show and Honda motorcycles. She loved the open road, the speed of the truck.

"We went to see the big wide world driving a truck. What an adventure," Linda recalled.

But work was haphazard, and the pay was modest. Together, they made about $32,000 a year. They had a hard time keeping up with bills and twice filed for bankruptcy.

In the late 1990s, they sold their home in Oregon and moved to Montana, where land was cheaper.

In the fall of 2003, Linda heard that defense contractor KBR Inc. was hiring truck drivers to deliver fuel, food and supplies for the military in Iraq. The salary was $88,000 a year, more than they had ever earned.

"We wouldn't be on easy street," Linda said. "But we wouldn't be stressed."

By November, Reggie was on his way to Iraq. He arrived during a turbulent period, with the insurgency raging. Convoys regularly came under attack. The trucks were not armored.

"He didn't go over there to fight a war. He went over there because [KBR] said, 'You'll have armed guards,' " Linda said. "They promised big money. 'You'll be protected, no problem.' "

On April 9, 2004, Reggie Lane and a friend, Jason Hurd, rolled out of a base south of Baghdad to deliver fuel to Balad, north of the city. The convoy was outside Baghdad when gunfire rang out. Hurd saw Reggie's truck careen to the side of the road.

Hurd pulled over. A rocket-propelled grenade had shattered the windshield. Reggie was lying face-up on the shoulder of the road. His right arm was gone below the elbow. His face was covered in shrapnel wounds. He was drenched in blood.

The rest of the convoy moved ahead, apparently oblivious. Hurd fumbled with Reggie's arm, trying to apply a tourniquet. Then a group of military vehicles pulled over to help.

Soldiers helped stabilize Lane, who shuddered awake and asked for water. An Army helicopter evacuated him to a U.S. base, where he was put on an emergency flight to Germany.

Linda got the news from a military doctor. A few days later, Reggie called. He told her not to worry.

"I still got one arm left to hug you with," he said.

It was the last conversation she would have with her husband.

Two days later, another military doctor in Germany called Linda, asking permission to perform an emergency tracheotomy on Reggie. A blood clot had dislodged, blocking the flow of blood to his brain.

"My head is spinning. I'm trying to digest what they're telling me," Linda said. "I'm deciding this long-distance by phone, and it's someone I love."

Ten days after the attack, Reggie Lane was on a flight back to the U.S., headed to a Houston hospital. KBR paid to have Linda meet her husband in Texas.

She was unprepared for the sight. A raw, red stump was all that remained of his right arm. There was a hole in his throat. She could see his intestines, which were left exposed to aid in cleaning out shrapnel. His body was swollen and purple. He was unresponsive, his pupils mere pinpoints.

Over the next nine months, Linda lived out of a hotel in downtown Houston. She became her husband's advocate, navigating a complex medical world with little guidance.

"It was a lot of one foot in front of the other. I was pretty devastated," she said.

Slowly, Lane's condition improved. Toward the end of his hospital stay, he could respond to questions. He would say: "Love Linda." He was trying to stand up with help.

"By the time he left, he was interacting, communicating," said Dr. Sunil Kothari, a neurosurgeon who coordinated Reggie's care at the Institute for Rehabilitation and Research (TIRR) Memorial Hermann in Houston, one of the country's top rehabilitation hospitals for brain injury. "Near the end, he was beginning to answer questions, starting to vocalize."

In January 2005, doctors cleared Reggie for release. He was going home.

Grants Pass had a handful of nursing homes. They provided physical and speech therapy, but Linda was dissatisfied with the care. She confronted workers at one home, leading to Reggie's discharge. He returned to a hospital.

Linda was dealing with her own health problems. Her weight ballooned. She was admitted to the hospital repeatedly with breathing difficulties.

As Linda searched for a home for her husband, she got into a dispute with American International Group Inc., the insurance carrier for KBR. Linda wanted her husband close to home. She said AIG insisted that he go to a facility in Portland, where care was less expensive than in the hospital.

Troops injured in Iraq are guaranteed care at Veterans Administration facilities. In contrast, contract workers depend on worker's compensation insurance paid for by the federal government under the Defense Base Act. They often must fight with insurers to get medical bills paid.

Linda hired a lawyer, and AIG relented, allowing Reggie to be placed in an adult foster care home near Grants Pass.

The lawyer, Roger Hawkins of Los Angeles, said it was the least Reggie deserved.

"You look in his eyes and you see that somewhere, he realizes what is going on," Hawkins said. "He's sitting there with his arm missing and knowing that he's never going to get better."

AIG and KBR declined to comment on the case.

Reggie's mental state had gradually declined since he'd left Houston. Before, he spoke. Now he descended into long silences broken only by grunts.

Told of Lane's condition, Kothari, who treated him in Houston, expressed concern.

"Decline is not typical," Kothari said. "If someone goes to a nursing facility, if they happen not to get stimuli, it means the brain could not heal as well as it would otherwise."

Jim Gregg, operator of the foster care home where Lane was placed, said the facility was not equipped for advanced physical or speech therapy. In their home on a 4-acre farm, Gregg and his wife provided basic medical care and monitoring to half a dozen elderly patients.

"It's a boring life. He just sits here," Gregg said. "It's not a stimulating environment."

Gregg closed his facility earlier this year, and Lane was moved to another foster home. The total cost of Lane's care for the rest of his life could be as much as $8.9 million, according to an AIG estimate. The bill will be paid by the federal government, which reimburses insurers for combat-related claims from war zone workers.

Linda Lane died July 10. She had been hospitalized after suffering respiratory distress, family members said.

Reggie let out a wail when relatives told him the news. "I had never heard anything like that before," said Bev Glasgow, who runs Lane's current foster home.

Glasgow arranged for a van to take Reggie to a memorial service for his wife. It was held in a state park alongside the Rogue River. Under the shade of scrub oak and aspen, he watched as Linda's family and friends sang "Amazing Grace" and looked at old photos of the couple.

Diane Firestone, Reggie's sister, visited him shortly after Linda's death. She said the family accepted that Reggie's condition was unlikely to change. But, she said, they did not believe his sacrifices had been adequately recognized, by his company or the country.

She knelt beside her brother and asked him about the attack on his convoy.

"Hey, Reg," she said. "Do you know it's been five years? It doesn't seem that long to me. Does it seem that long to you?"

Reggie blinked twice, hard -- his signal for yes.

t.christian.miller@ propublica.org

Times staff photographer Francine Orr contributed to this report.

About This Story

This report was prepared in collaboration with ProPublica, an independent, nonprofit investigative newsroom in New York. T. Christian Miller, a former Times staff writer, is a senior reporter at ProPublica.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-iraq-contractor6-2009oct06,0,1455792,print.story

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(The next two articles are from earlier in the year, but relate to the topic above.)

FORGOTTEN WARRIORS

Injured war zone contractors fight to get care

They're crucial to U.S. military efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, but civilian workers wounded on the job must battle an insurance system marked by long delays and high costs, an investigation finds.

By T. Christian Miller and Doug Smith

April 17, 2009

Reporting from Los Angeles and Washington

Civilian workers who suffered devastating injuries while supporting the U.S. war effort in Iraq and Afghanistan have come home to a grinding battle for basic medical care, artificial limbs, psychological counseling and other services.

ABC News contributed to this investigation. A report will air tonight at 10 on "20/20." The insurance companies responsible for their treatment under taxpayer-funded policies have routinely denied the most serious medical claims. Those insurers -- primarily American International Group (AIG) -- recorded hundreds of millions of dollars in profits on this business.

The civilian contractors have played an indispensable role in the two conflicts, delivering fuel to frontline troops, guarding U.S. diplomats and translating for soldiers during dangerous raids. More than 1,400 civilian workers have died and 31,000 have been wounded or injured in the two war zones.

Yet unlike wounded soldiers, who are offered healthcare, rehabilitation and support services by the military, the civilians have to battle a federally supervised insurance system marked by high costs and excessive delays, an investigation by the Los Angeles Times and ProPublica has found.

In contrast to the public outcry over squalid conditions at some military hospitals, the contractors' plight has drawn little attention.

"It's almost like we're this invisible, discardable military. Once we've done our jobs, they can actually sidetrack us and not worry about us anymore," said Tim Newman, a sheriff's deputy from South Carolina who lost his leg to a roadside bomb in Baghdad. Once back home, he fought an insurance company for a year to get a prosthetic leg that his doctors recommended.

"It's like we're disposable soldiers," said Newman, 44, who worked on a police training program in Iraq.

The insurance system for civilian contractors has generated profits for the providers, primarily AIG, the war zone's dominant player. Insurers collected more than $1.5 billion in premiums paid by U.S. taxpayers and have earned nearly $600 million in profit, according to congressional investigators.

A military audit deemed AIG's premiums "unreasonably high."

Insurance companies initially rejected 44% of claims from contractors involving serious injuries and more than half of all claims related to psychological stress, records show. As a result, civilians maimed or traumatized in the war zone often must wage lengthy court battles for medical care and benefits.

The high denial rate is partly due to government rules that give insurers only 14 days to decide the validity of a claim. Insurers often reject first and investigate later.

Those case-by-case investigations are usually resolved through mediation. When the two sides can't agree -- as has happened in more than 1,000 cases -- the dispute winds up in court. Workers win such appeals in 75% of cases, records show, but the process can last months or years.

Kevin Smith, 38, a truck driver from Abilene, Texas, was severely injured when his supply convoy was ambushed by insurgents outside Baghdad in 2004.

A round pierced his unarmored truck, shattering his left leg. He underwent a series of surgeries and a painful rehabilitation. Back home in Texas, he suffered nightmares and flashbacks. He awoke one night to hear the washing machine thumping and for a moment thought it was insurgent gunfire. A psychologist diagnosed him with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Months later, AIG -- the insurance carrier for Smith's employer, defense contractor KBR -- stopped paying the injured trucker's medical bills, saying his recovery was complete. In November 2007, AIG also stopped disability payments to Smith, although its own hired expert had agreed that he was partially disabled.

With medical bills piling up and a wife and baby to support, Smith went back to work driving a truck, though he said he was in pain and woozy from medication.

In December 2008 -- 4 1/2 years after he was injured in Iraq -- an administrative law judge for the U.S. Department of Labor ordered AIG to pay all Smith's medical bills and disability payments.

Judge C. Richard Avery ruled that the insurer had failed "to offer any medical evidence" supporting its position that Smith's PTSD was not caused by the convoy attack. Smith, the judge said, "has shown extraordinary effort in returning to work against the recommendations of his treating physicians and in spite of considerable physical pain."

AIG has appealed. It has yet to pay Smith's outstanding medical bills.

"We don't want million-dollar bonuses. We want what we deserve. That's it," Smith said. "Anybody, anybody that goes into a war situation and does something for their country deserves some kind of honor, some kind of dignity."

AIG declined to comment on individual cases. But the company defended its overall handling of war zone claims, initially saying it paid 90% of contractors' claims without protest. Questioned about the Times-ProPublica findings, the insurer modified its statement, saying "the vast majority" are paid without dispute "when the proper supporting medical evidence has been received."

Like workers' comp

The insurance program for civilian contractors is roughly equivalent to the workers' compensation programs in which U.S. companies buy insurance to cover workplace injuries.

Under a World War II-era law known as the Defense Base Act, companies working under U.S. contracts in Iraq or Afghanistan must purchase insurance that pays for medical care and disability benefits for workers injured on the job, as well as death benefits for those killed. Taxpayers ultimately pay the cost, because the premiums are built into companies' contracts with the government.

When an injury or death is the result of hostile action, such as a roadside bomb or insurgent ambush, the government directly reimburses the insurer in full for any benefits paid -- plus a 15% processing fee. Such cases are believed to be a small percentage of all war zone claims, but they account for the most serious injuries and the largest medical costs.

The system was created in an era when the U.S. military made sparing use of civilian contractors and handled a few hundred claims a year. Then the U.S. invaded Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003.

In both conflicts, the Pentagon has relied heavily on civilians to guard bases, drive supply trucks, cook meals and do other work once done by soldiers. There were 200,000 contractors in the war zone last year, more than the peak number of military personnel.

The number of civilians filing injury claims under the Defense Base Act soared 20-fold between 2003 and 2007, reaching 11,000 per year before falling to just under 6,000 last year. Total payments for healthcare and other benefits rose 14-fold during the first four years of the Iraq war, to more than $170 million annually.

Before the wars, Defense Base Act insurance typically cost about 2% to 5% of a contractor's payroll, according to Government Accountability Office audits. That cost typically was billed to the government as part of the contract price.

After 2002, insurance companies quadrupled their premiums, according to a 2005 GAO report. Early in the Iraq war, insurance brokers charged prices for premiums that in some cases equaled the salaries of the insured workers. In other words, it cost taxpayers $100,000 per year to insure a civilian paid $100,000 per year.

"It was a market that was out of control," said Sara Payne, a senior vice president for Rutherfoord, an insurance broker.

AIG worked aggressively to be the dominant player. Maurice "Hank" Greenberg, then AIG chief executive, visited Iraq in early 2004, and in 2005 his company opened an office in Dubai to handle injury claims filed by foreigners working on U.S. contracts. Later, the company helped open a clinic in Iraq to treat injured Iraqi contractors.

Greenberg, who left AIG in 2005, said the company's motives were both profit and patriotism.

"I felt that we should begin to provide coverage for those American contractors who were going to operate there," he said in an interview. "Without that kind of coverage, a lot of contractors wouldn't go."

AIG held a near-monopoly on workers' compensation coverage in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2007, the company processed nearly nine of every 10 injured-civilian claims filed in the war zones, records show.

AIG's dominance made it difficult for defense contractors to shop for lower premiums.

"There really was no market," said Jack Martone, a former senior official in the Labor Department. "The market was AIG."

The other major firms providing workers' compensation policies in the two war zones are Continental Casualty Co. (CCC), based in Chicago, ACE Ltd. of Bermuda and the Chubb Group, based in New Jersey.

They and other insurers are responsible for the current and continuing claims of more than 31,000 civilian workers injured in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as for payments to the families of more than 1,400 contractors who died in the war zones.

Congressional investigators calculated last year that insurance companies had collected $1.5 billion in premiums. They estimated that the companies would spend about $900 million in compensation and expenses -- leaving a profit of about $600 million.

An Army Audit Agency report in 2007 said that AIG's premiums were "unreasonably high and excessive." AIG charged contracting giant KBR $284 million in premiums on a single insurance contract from 2003 to 2005. AIG is expected to pay $73 million for the care of injured KBR workers, the audit found.

Insurance officials said the high premiums they charged in the early years of the conflicts reflected uncertainty over the risks of insuring employees in a war zone and on such a large scale.

War zone insurance is unlike any other kind of coverage. Once U.S. military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan ends, the insurers will lack a reliable stream of future premiums to cover the costs of past claims, some of which will require decades of compensation. Thus, the insurers say, they had to charge more up front.

Premiums have declined as underwriters have gained a better understanding of the risks, industry officials noted. Today, companies operating in Iraq and Afghanistan are paying 3% to 17% of their payrolls for insurance -- above historical norms but below the premiums charged initially.

"You don't know when starting out whether the rates are adequate or inadequate. How the hell do you know?" Greenberg said. "We charged what we needed to cover the risk."

'Lack of compliance'

The U.S. Labor Department, which oversees the insurance program for civilian contractors, has struggled to handle a greatly increased workload without adding staff or boosting funding.

The department has fined only a handful of companies, despite indications that scores of worker injuries and deaths have gone unreported in Afghanistan and Iraq. Nor has the department pursued criminal sanctions for companies that failed to obtain workers' compensation insurance, as required by law.

Russell Skoug of Diboll, Texas, who lost part of his leg in a roadside bomb explosion, has had to delay surgery while he fights his employer, Wolfpack Security and Logistics, for compensation. The company failed to purchase the mandatory insurance before Skoug was maimed.

"It's agonizing," said Skoug, a mechanic who repaired air conditioners in Iraq.

Wolfpack President Mark Atwood said he had not known about the insurance requirement. "People coming over there should understand they're not walking down a rose garden," he said. "Don't go crying foul when you've injured yourself."

The company, now out of business, paid some of Skoug's bills after losing a court battle.

Shelby Hallmark, the Labor Department official overseeing the civilian insurance program, said there had been a "complete lack of compliance" in the early days of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Asked why the government has not sought criminal penalties against companies that neglected to purchase war zone insurance, Labor officials said in a statement that they considered referring one such case to the Justice Department, but did not. In the past, Justice has shown a reluctance to prosecute such cases, which are misdemeanors.

"It's not an enforcement kind of program. Enforcement is not the function," Hallmark said.

The department also relies on companies to keep employees informed of insurance benefits available to war zone workers.

Yet Rita Richardson had no idea that she was eligible for compensation after her husband, Rod, was killed by a roadside blast in Iraq while working as a contractor for Falcon Security.

After advice from friends of the former Marine Corps lieutenant colonel, Rita spent a year squabbling with the Labor Department and ACE, the insurer, to receive benefits.

"My husband's blood is the same as anybody else's," she said. "It didn't matter that he didn't have on a uniform. He died serving his country."

ACE declined to comment.

Hallmark acknowledged that the agency was "struggling" to keep up with the flood of claims. He called the Defense Base Act program an "insurance-driven" system in which the Labor Department has little power.

Labor officials "don't have any authority. They can't tell an insurer you must pay," he said. "All they can do is try to encourage people to do the right thing."

Contested cases

AIG said that it pays the "vast majority" of claims without dispute. And the Labor Department has said that only about 8% of claims are contested. However, the Times-ProPublica investigation found those statistics misleading because insurance companies rarely contest minor claims, which account for the vast bulk. They are much more likely to dispute claims involving serious injuries.

When an injury resulted in more than four days of lost work -- about 9,000 of 31,000 total war zone claims -- insurers filed a protest in nearly half of cases. Even when a worker was killed, the companies filed protests in more than a third of cases.

Insurance firms protested more than half of all claims involving PTSD.

The Labor Department has made a priority of resolving disputed war-zone cases through mediation between insurers and workers. Such disputes take an average of six to seven months to be resolved.

A case fought all the way to a courtroom, however, typically takes an average of two years until a final judgment is ordered, according to an analysis of court files.

"The problem that we see a lot is where injuries occur overseas, the knee-jerk reaction is the insurance company says, 'I can't pay right now. I don't have documentation,' " said Miranda Chiu, Labor's director of policy for Defense Base Act claims. "They drop the ball."

The most contentious issue is pay. Disability and death benefits are based upon how much a worker earned during the last year. When contractors are injured or killed after only a few weeks or months in Iraq, disputes often arise over whether payments should be based on what they earned in Iraq or what they were paid previously in the U.S., usually a much lower figure -- or on an average of the two.

Teresa Hyatt's husband, Gene, was killed in an industrial accident in Iraq in 2005, six months after he started working.

AIG began sending her $555 per week. For two years, Hyatt fought the insurer in court, contending that the payments were lower than her husband's salary. She had to sell her home to pay her bills. Finally, in July 2007, a judge determined that AIG had been systematically underpaying. Her payments increased to nearly $900 a week.

"I was degraded, disgraced," Hyatt said. "They took advantage of me wholeheartedly."

t.christian.miller@propublica.org

This is the first in a series of occasional articles on the plight of civilian workers injured in Iraq and Afghanistan. A report based on this project will air Friday at 10 on ABC-TV's "20/20." T. Christian Miller, a former Times staff writer, did much of the reporting for the series before leaving the newspaper last year. He continued to report on the issue for ProPublica, an independent, nonprofit investigative newsroom in New York where he is now a senior reporter. Doug Smith is the Times' director of database reporting.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-contractors17-2009apr17,0,5674252,print.story

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FORGOTTEN WARRIORS

Foreign workers for U.S. are casualties twice over

Contract employees injured in the conflict zones of Iraq and Afghanistan and families of those killed there are covered by American taxpayer-funded insurance, but it often fails to deliver.

By T. Christian Miller

June 21, 2009

Reporting from San Fernando, Philippines

Rey Torres dreamed of a better life for his wife and five children when he left a neighborhood of wooden shacks and burning trash piles to drive a bus on a U.S. military base near Baghdad.

He hoped to send his children to college and build a new home with the $16,000 a year he earned in Iraq -- four times what he could make in the Philippines.

Then, in April 2005, Torres, 31, was killed in an ambush by Iraqi insurgents. His widow and children were supposed to be protected by a war zone insurance system overseen by the U.S. government. They were eligible for about $300,000 in compensation.

But Gorgonia Torres knew nothing about the death benefit and did not apply. When she did learn about the insurance, two years later, it was from a reporter. She has since turned down an insurance company's $22,000 settlement offer. Her only hope of receiving full compensation is a legal fight that could drag on for years.

"He knew it was dangerous. . . . He had second thoughts all the time," she said of her husband. "But he'd say, 'If I don't go, there's no way we'll be able to survive.' "

Torres was among tens of thousands of civilian contract workers from poverty-stricken countries hired to support the U.S. war effort in Iraq and Afghanistan. In case of injury or death, they are supposed to be covered by workers' compensation insurance financed by American taxpayers.

But the program has failed to deliver medical care and other benefits to many foreign workers and their survivors, a Los Angeles Times-ProPublica investigation found.

Previous articles by The Times and ProPublica described how American civilians injured in Iraq have had to battle insurers for medical care, artificial limbs and other services.

An examination of what happened to foreign nationals has uncovered an even more dismal record. Injured workers have gone without medical treatment and compensation because they were never informed of their right to the benefits. Widows and children have not received death payments for the same reason.

The system relies on companies to make employees aware of coverage and to report deaths and injuries to insurers and the federal government. But some employers have shirked those obligations, and the U.S. Department of Labor, which oversees the program, has done little to ensure compliance, punish violators or reach out to injured foreigners or their survivors.

An analysis of Pentagon and Labor Department records indicates that thousands of injured foreigners have fallen through the cracks.

About 200,000 civilians are working in Iraq and Afghanistan under U.S.-funded contracts. Many are so-called third-country nationals, from countries other than the United States, Iraq or Afghanistan. The rate of reported injuries among these workers is much lower than for Americans doing similar jobs.

Nearly 22,000 injury claims were filed by third-country nationals and American workers from 2003 through 2007. Although they outnumbered Americans by about 2-1, the third-country nationals filed just 14% of the total claims.

Insurance experts said the numbers suggest that many wounded foreigners never apply for benefits, even though U.S. taxpayers have paid more than $1.5 billion in premiums for the war-zone insurance.

Those who do apply often confront rejections and resistance from insurers. It can take years for them to receive compensation.

"It's been a big problem," said Jack Martone, a former top Labor Department official. "The Department of Labor is not well equipped to police" the conduct of employers and insurers.

Insurance for civilians working in war zones is required under a World War II-era law known as the Defense Base Act. Companies providing services to the U.S. government must secure a special type of workers' compensation coverage for their employees, both American and foreign.

The insurance covers all injuries and deaths, whether caused by workplace accidents or roadside bombs. Companies bill the cost to U.S. taxpayers as part of their government contracts.

Mobilization of civilians

For decades, this system was overseen by a handful of federal bureaucrats who processed a few hundred claims a year. That changed when the U.S. went to war in Afghanistan in 2001 and later in Iraq.

In both conflicts, the U.S. military has relied on civilian workers to a greater extent than ever before -- to cook meals, clean latrines, deliver fuel and translate for troops, among many other tasks. There are more civilians than uniformed soldiers in the two war zones, and more than 1,400 contract workers have died.

Despite this large-scale mobilization of civilians, the Labor Department did not increase staff or budget to handle Defense Base Act claims and was quickly swamped.

The department stationed no one in Iraq or any other country to help injured foreigners file claims. Nor did it make a serious effort to ensure that companies posted information about workers' rights, as required by law.

"I see a complete absence of claims or payments for foreigners," said Joshua Gillelan, a former Labor Department attorney who now represents injured contract workers. "They are never going to be enforced."

Thousands of companies have worked under U.S. contracts in Iraq, but since the war began in 2003, the department has fined only one, a small security subcontractor, for not reporting worker injuries, according to Labor Department figures.

Similarly, the department has not prosecuted any companies for failing to buy war-zone insurance, although the Times-ProPublica investigation identified at least five cases in which military contractors did not provide coverage for employees.

The department does not even attempt to communicate with injured Iraqis or Afghans for fear that a letter from the United States might imperil their lives. Instead, the department asks employers to forward Labor Department mail informing workers of their rights.

"It's the biggest fiasco. Almost all of it is returned," Richard Robilotti, a department official who oversees many of the claims, said at a recent conference.

Labor Department officials said cultural barriers and war-zone dangers have prevented them from reaching out to injured foreigners.

"There is no mechanism for the Department of Labor to stand around in Baghdad and drum up claims," said Shelby Hallmark, who oversees the department's Defense Base Act program. Officials try "to get the word out down through their chains of subcontractors on how this works. Is it perfect? No, I wouldn't say it is."

Insurers defended their performance. American International Group Inc., the insurance giant that received a huge taxpayer bailout last year after suffering heavy losses in the derivatives market, is the largest provider of workers' compensation coverage in Iraq.

In a statement, the company said it conscientiously fulfilled its obligations to workers injured in the war zone and took "numerous extraordinary measures under very difficult circumstances to locate and pay claimants or their beneficiaries."

AIG opened an office in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to handle claims and translated Labor Department guidelines into Arabic, Turkish and other languages. In some cases, AIG has hired insurance research companies to track down widows and injured workers.

CNA Financial Corp. has the second-largest number of claims in Iraq and Afghanistan. The insurer said it "routinely pays claims made by foreigners" and "is not aware of a problem with regard to foreign workers."

Incident rates differ

KBR Inc. is the largest employer of contract workers in Iraq, with about 16,000, most of them U.S. citizens, according to a July 2007 Pentagon census.

The Houston engineering and construction firm reported more than 700 serious injuries or deaths in the first six months of 2007-- almost 5 incidents for every 100 workers.

Prime Projects International of Dubai was the largest employer of foreigners in Iraq, with about 10,000 civilian workers.

The company reported 43 serious injuries or deaths in the first six months of 2007 -- less than 1 per 100 workers.

The same held for other subcontractors with large foreign workforces, such as Saudi-based Gulf Catering Co. and Tamimi Global Co. and Turkish firm Kulak. None of the companies responded to requests for comment.

"When you're dealing with these subcontractors, a lot of them would just as soon wash their hands and walk away," said Tyler Keagy, vice president of operations for Vetted International Ltd., a North Carolina firm that researches claims for insurance companies. "A lot of claims go unreported and these people just don't get care."

Many of the Middle East firms providing services to the U.S. military in Iraq are subcontractors for KBR. In a statement, KBR said its "top priority is the safety and security of all employees and those the company serves. . . . We expect those we do business with to uphold that same commitment."

When an employer neglects to report an injury or death, it is difficult for foreign workers or their survivors -- assuming they even know about the war-zone insurance -- to persuade U.S.-based insurance companies and federal bureaucrats that they are entitled to benefits.

Gorgonia Torres found that out after losing her husband in Iraq.

Rey Torres had gone to Baghdad in December 2003. Stationed at Camp Victory, a U.S. military complex on the outskirts of the Iraqi capital, he was a jack-of-all-trades, working as a driver, janitor and security guard, his wife said.

On April 17, 2005, Gorgonia got a call from one of Rey's co-workers, who told her he had been killed while traveling through an insurgent-infested neighborhood of Baghdad.

Eleven days later, her husband's remains were delivered to her in a coffin sealed with red wax. Gorgonia took a deep breath when she remembered looking inside.

"Every part of my body was in pain. I felt like I had just run a long distance. I couldn't even feel my legs. Everything hurt," said Gorgonia, 38, a slight woman with high cheekbones and short black hair.

The Philippine government paid Gorgonia about $5,000, a death benefit for citizens working abroad. Her husband's employer, Qatar International Trading Co., made a one-time payment of $16,000, representing a year of his salary.

That was a fraction of what she was due. Under the Defense Base Act, a widow is entitled to as much as half her spouse's salary for the rest of her life -- more if the deceased left children behind. For foreigners, the law allows insurers to calculate a lump sum based on an estimate of the widow's remaining life span, and pay half that amount. (Survivors of U.S. citizens receive the full lump sum or lifetime monthly payments.)

Under the formula, Gorgonia and her children were eligible for as much as $300,000. But until a reporter visited her in 2007 after learning of her case from a Philippine government website, Gorgonia had never heard of the insurance.

Qatar International never told her about it, Gorgonia said. Nor is there any record that the firm reported Rey Torres' death to the U.S. government.

When she finally applied for compensation, the Labor Department sent her a notice in English that she could not read. It said that AIG, Qatar International's insurance carrier, was disputing her claim and wanted more time to investigate the death and verify her husband's employment.

AIG recently offered a one-time payment of $22,000, Torres said. She turned it down. She hired a U.S. lawyer and is pursuing full compensation through the Labor Department's dispute resolution system, a process that can take years.

AIG declined to comment on any individual case.

Qatar International, a logistics and support firm, did not return phone calls and e-mails seeking comment.

Torres used the $21,000 she received after her husband's death to build a two-story, two-room concrete house among tin shacks and rutted roads in a poor area of San Fernando, a provincial capital on Luzon, the Philippines' main island.

The bottom floor houses the family business, a store crammed with sacks of rice, cases of soda and canned squid. Gorgonia and the five children live upstairs.

Business is bad. One December day, Gorgonia fretted that she would not earn enough to put food on the table. One of her children hunted for snails in a ditch for dinner. Another went Christmas caroling in hopes of getting donations to buy pants for school.

"As time goes by, it gets worse and worse," she said.

Claim goes unfiled

Marcelo Salazar, a Filipino from the resort island of Cebu, was killed in Iraq in April 2005 while working as a truck driver. He left behind his partner, Vicky Buhawe, their baby son, and an unfinished house.

Buhawe has no right to benefits under the Defense Base Act because she and Salazar were not married. Their son, John Mark, now 4, is eligible for a one-time payment of about $14,000, based on his father's wages. But Buhawe was unaware that civilians employed in the war zone were covered by insurance and never filed a claim.

There is no record that Kuwait-based El Hoss Engineering and Transport Co., Salazar's employer, reported his death to the Labor Department. The company did pay compensation to Salazar's son by a different relationship, according to a Philippine government news release.

Efforts to reach El Hoss for comment were unsuccessful.

"Sometimes we go to Marcelo's grave and we whisper, 'How will we survive tonight?' " Buhawe said as she held John Mark on her knee. "Tonight, I am not sure where we're going to get dinner."

Another Filipino, Leopoldo Soliman, took a job in a warehouse on a U.S. military base in Iraq in 2003, hoping to save enough to build a home for his wife and children in a village northeast of Manila.

He earned $9,000 a year working for Prime Projects International, a KBR subcontractor. In 2004, he was given a commendation by U.S. soldiers for "hard work and tireless dedication."

Then, in May 2005, a mortar shell fell near his living quarters in Balad, a military logistics hub north of Baghdad. Shrapnel blew a hole in his knee.

Prime Projects paid for his initial medical care in Iraq and the United Arab Emirates and his transportation back to the Philippines, he said. But since then, he has had to pay out of his own pocket for pain medication, follow-up surgery to remove shrapnel and physical therapy.

Soliman said Prime Projects ignored his pleas for help. He said he never received any information about the war-zone insurance and has not filed for benefits.

Prime Projects did not respond to requests for comment.

Soliman said the company "treated me well during the accident.

"After that, when I came home, nothing."

A global workforce

The Defense Base Act was not designed for the complexities of the global contractor workforce now in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Citizens of at least 45 countries are working under U.S. contracts in the two nations. Yet Labor Department notices are printed in English and Arabic, but not Tagalog, Hindi or the many other languages spoken by workers.

Overseas companies often ignore orders from Labor Department administrative law judges to appear in court or pay benefits.

Contracts for support services often involve layers of subcontractors. A Sri Lankan janitor might work for an Indian labor broker hired by a Middle Eastern subcontractor for a U.S. company. The chain is so complex that foreign workers can have trouble proving they were employed in behalf of the U.S. war effort.

In 2004, a dozen Nepalese were killed by insurgents in western Iraq. They had been on their way to work at a U.S. base where Daoud & Partners Co., a Jordanian logistics firm, held a contract. The company denied that it employed the men, foreclosing death benefits for their survivors.

After news reports about the case, attorneys with the Washington law firm of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll volunteered to represent relatives of the slain Nepalese.

Attorney Matthew Handley traveled to Nepal to take witness statements and discovered, by chance, a copy of an employment contract that showed the men worked for Daoud.

In 2008, four years after the killings, a Labor Department judge ruled that Daoud and its insurance provider, CNA, were obliged to pay death benefits. That June, CNA began paying compensation, ranging from $35,000 for dependent parents to $175,000 for young widows of the dead workers.

Daoud did not respond to requests for comment.

"I couldn't imagine anyone without counsel, nevermind somebody from Nepal, trying to navigate through this process," Handley said.

"When it comes to third-country nationals, it becomes a black hole. You're lucky if you're able to get payments."

Survivor's struggles

Even when foreigners know their rights, the system can be daunting.

Daniel Brink, a South African, was working as a security guard in Iraq when his SUV was hit by a string of roadside bombs in December 2005.

Brink, a former police officer, lost his right leg and most of his fingers. He was flown to London, where surgeons used some of his toes to replace some of his lost fingers.

CNA, the insurance carrier for Brink's employer, paid for that treatment. But when he returned to Johannesburg, South Africa, disputes arose over the cost of follow-up surgeries, psychological counseling, an electric wheelchair and related renovations to Brink's house. CNA took months to pay for the surgeries and rejected the other bills, Brink said. His credit rating plunged, his wheelchair was repossessed, and he lost his home to foreclosure.

In May 2007, Brink flew to Chicago, believing he had an appointment to meet with his CNA claims adjuster. When he arrived, Brink said, he was told nobody would meet with him. Security guards escorted him out of CNA headquarters.

Two years later, Brink is pressing his claim in the Labor Department's dispute-resolution system. He said his outstanding medical bills total about $150,000.

CNA said that it "does not have any direct contact with workers," but otherwise declined to comment, saying that individual cases are confidential.

Brink, 39, said scores of South Africans who worked in Iraq are in similar situations. He is now in law school and hopes to represent injured contract workers from his country someday.

"It's not that I want something out of the ordinary," Brink said. "I just want what I'm entitled to, nothing more, nothing less."

t.christian.miller@propublica.org

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iraq-contractors21-2009jun21,0,3444829,print.story

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From the Daily News

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Debate looms over landmark fire station

The opening of Fire Station 39 in Van Nuys in 1939 was overshadowed by a couple of other major projects that year - Union Station and the nation's first freeway, the Arroyo Seco Parkway. In a testament to the workmanship of the day, all three continue to serve the city 70 years later.

But the future of the city's oldest fire station is uncertain as officials look to replace the aging structure despite protests from some local residents and a desire by firefighters to stay.

While recognizing the structure's historic value, City Councilman Tony Cardenas hopes to see the station - among the busiest in the city - replaced in a new location.

"The building is beautiful and we will make sure it is preserved," Cardenas said. "But it's not just the station there that's too small, it's the streets and the surrounding area.

"The streets are too narrow for the large equipment we have now, and the question becomes one of public safety."

Maria Scherzer, who lives near Station 39, wants it to remain in the same spot by the Van Nuys Civic Center.

"I think it's in the ideal location," Scherzer said. "It should remain there and be the foundation and core of any expansion. Yes, we can modernize it and make it state of the art, but it should remain where it is."

The building itself is permeated by history - and perhaps, some think, even a ghost or two.

Plaques at the station commemorate the three firefighters based there who died in the line of duty over the years, while another plaque commemorates its opening.

Fire Capt. Steve Ruda, who worked in the station in 1978 as a rookie, said he became convinced ghosts of former firefighters haunted the station.

"We had an incident where a firefighter was working in a toolshed by himself," Ruda said. "Then, all of a sudden, from a second floor, some emergency service manuals were thrown down with some force. And no one was there. I'm convinced we have some ghosts in the LAFD."

Battalion Chief Jim Cairns, who is in charge of the station now, laughs off Ruda's ideas.

"I don't know of any ghosts," Cairns said. "It might be his imagination. We have a lot of tradition and history here, but no ghosts that I know of."

Cairns said he and other firefighters would like to see the facility remain open, but they recognize the need for a newer building.

"We are comfortable here," Cairns said. "We have had to make adjustments, but we manage."

The building has undergone some changes over the years, most notably for seismic safety, and seen some additions, but is pretty much as it was when it was first built.

Scherzer said she is not concerned about the historical significance of the building - an art modern design - or that it was built with Works Projects Administration funds.

"The point is it's in the community and should stay where it is," Scherzer said.

Lyda Mather, president of the Van Nuys Neighborhood Council, said she is still studying the plans, which are in their initial phase.

"I do recognize there is a concern that this is in the core of Van Nuys and we've seen too much taken away or thrown out," Mather said. "I do think we have to do all we can to save the building itself and find some use for it. And if we can keep it as a fire station, that's all the better."

Battalion Chief Jose Cronenbold, who oversees the department's projects, said the city is still looking for a site for a potential new station.

The work will be funded from savings generated under the $538 million Proposition F bond issue approved by voters in 1998.

"We would not tear the building down," Cronenbold said. "We would turn it over to General Services and they would decide its future."

Other abandoned fire stations have found new life as restaurants, office buildings and, in Hollywood, as a home for the Los Angeles Fire Historical Society.

Cardenas expects the city to impose conditions that would prevent any changes to the building itself once it is declared surplus property.

"This is a long process," Cardenas said. "We still have to find a site and then build a new facility. All that takes time."

http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_13493584

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Hospital moves to secure health

VAN NUYS - Raye Howard arrived at Valley Presbyterian Hospital at 5 a.m. Monday morning to visit his wife, only to be told to "stop right there."

The security guards in the lobby handed him a brief, yet precise questionnaire. Are you here for treatment or care? Do you have symptoms of the flu? Have you been exposed to the flu within the last week?

"Why the questions?" Howard wanted to know.

Had Howard shown signs of illness, he would have been handed a mask or maybe even discouraged from entering the hospital that day.

But Howard was in good health, and after visiting his wife who was resting after surgery, the Acton resident said he liked the idea of being stopped.

"After they told me why they were doing it, I agreed with it," he said. "They've got to protect their patients."

The new procedure at Valley Presbyterian Hospital is the latest way some medical facilities are hoping to prevent the spread of the novel H1N1 flu and educate visitors on how to take precautions.

Using recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the hospital formed a separate task force to remind all visitors of how easily flu is spread.

Banners hang down hallways reminding visitors to wash their hands. Signs posted at doorways tell them they will be asked about their health.

"Our security guards are not screening visitors. They are providing a questionnaire. If a patient has symptoms, they are providing a mask and giving them hand sanitizers so that they don't walk into the hospital and shed virus," said Judy MaassVice President and Chief Nursing Officer at Valley Presbyterian Hospital.

The questionnaires are handed out at four entrances into the hospital. At the critical care areas, nurses will determine if a visitor is healthy enough to see a newborn or other patients deemed especially susceptible.

So far, the response has been positive, said Marcia Hall, supervisor of security.

"There's maybe been only two that weren't too happy about it," Hall said.

"We're not refusing access to anyone to the hospital," Maass said. "What we're doing is giving them information so they can make good decisions."

While the prevention methods at Valley Presbyterian go one step further than some hospitals, nearly all have adopted stringent precautions to combat the spread of the novel strain, dubbed swine flu. Since the outbreak of swine flu in April, the health care sector has been working on ways to limit exposure to H1N1 to those who work, visit, or stay in a hospital.

Some hospitals have set up separate triage areas within the emergency department just for those with H1N1. Others restrict any children under age 16 from visiting.

Others still continue to work on getting their staff vaccinated, not only to prevent H1N1, but also with the seasonal flu vaccine.

"That's a very problematic area," said Jim Lott, executive vice president of the Hospital Association of Southern California.

Lott said an average 50 percent of hospital staff take vaccines against seasonal flu. The hospital association is working on some policies to change that, but it remains a challenge.

"We cannot force a worker to take an H1N1 flu shot," he said.

Meanwhile, 250 million H1N1 flu vaccines are now being prepared for shipment to medical offices across the U.S.

This week, California is expected to get 350,000 doses of H1N1 nasal spray vaccines, with another 4.5 million doses on the way.

Los Angeles county is expected to receive an initial 80,000 to 90,000 of the H1N1 nasal spray doses on Wednesday.

Priority will be given to health care workers, pregnant women, those who care for children under 6, those from 6 months to 24 years old, and those from 25 to 64 with chronic medical conditions.

"There's been a lot of anticipation (for the H1N1 vaccines), but I think there will be enough," said Dr. Jonathan Fielding, public health director for the county's Department of Public Health.

Fielding added that some hospitals are seeing shortages of seasonal flu vaccines, but that so far there have been few reports of the seasonal flu.

While prevention efforts are always good, Fielding said he remains concerned about those who refuse the vaccine because of fears of any unknown side effects.

The H1N1 strain is more likely to sicken younger people and pregnant women than seasonal flu.

"This H1N1 vaccine is another type of seasonal flu shot," he said. "This virus would have been incorporated into the seasonal vaccine, but it came to light just a little bit later," he said. "So people who say I'm concerned because it's new, it's not really new."

http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_13493583

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Drivers: help the crossing guards out

Ernest Baysinger makes $12.29 an hour working one of the toughest, most important jobs in this city: Keeping children safe.

He's a school crossing guard - one of 146 in the San Fernando Valley.

Five days a week, the 69-year-old retired landscaper leaves his Chatsworth home at 6:45 a.m. and drives to the corner of Serrania Avenue and Quedo Drive in Woodland Hills.

By 7:10 a.m. he's ready for work - stop sign held high, helping students safely cross the street to Serrania Avenue Elementary.

By 8:30 a.m. Ernie's driving home to watch some old Westerns on TV with his wife and grab lunch. Then he's back on his corner from 2:13 p.m. to 3:13 p.m., making sure the same kids safely cross his street on their way home.

"I took the job because I love kids," Ernie says. "My No. 1 priority is to protect those children."

But it's been tougher to do that, he says. It's still early in the school year and he's nearly been hit three times already.

Maybe it's cell phones, text messaging, or simple I'm-in-a-hurry-get-out-of-my-way rudeness. But Ernie feels like the target in a video game.

"It's a great school with great kids and parents, but sometimes people just don't stop and think because they're in too big of a rush.

"I don't want anyone to ever have the terrible feeling of hitting a child - or me - for that. Cars are supposed to wait for me to get back onto the curb, but they turn right in front of me.

"One lady just ignored me walking back to the curb with my stop sign, and laughed as she almost hit me. Then she yelled she was sorry as she drove off."

It's not a game. This is deadly serious stuff, says Sgt. SilkaIglesias, who works for the city Department of Transportation and who oversees the 146 crossing guards in the Valley.

"Once parents let their child out of their car, it's dangerous all the way around," she says. "I've seen a child dragged down the street by her own mother.

"She double parked, let her child out on the driver's side, and the girl's backpack caught on the car handle. A car behind her started honking, and the mother just took off, dragging her own child down the street.

"A couple of years ago in Granada Hills, a speeding car hit and severely injured one of our crossing guards, made him a hood ornament. This is serious stuff."

So, for the safety of everybody's young children, leave a little earlier in the morning, moms and dads.

Don't be in a rush and don't double park.

Ernie Baysinger and the 145 other crossing guards in the Valley would appreciate it.

They're only trying to protect your kids.

http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_13493579

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Canoga Park wastewater firm accused of soaking city for $1M

A Canoga Park firm overbilled the city $1 million over a seven-year period under a contract to dispose of wastewater generated by street cleaning and repairs, according to an audit by city controller's office.

Controller Wendy Greuel said the firm of Express Environmental overbilled the city for the disposal of wastewater that contained sludge, tar, grease and other byproduct from city streets by claiming it was disposing of more waste than it was collecting and charging the city its highest rates.

Express Environmental officials did not return telephone calls requesting comment.

"We uncovered serious wrongdoing and negligence, including massive over billing by Express, a lack of oversight by city departments and a poorly negotiated contract by the city," Greuel said.

Investigators from the Controller's Waste, Fraud and Abuse unit compared the amount of wastewater Express claimed to have collected with what was delivered to treatment plans.

"Seventy-five percent of the time, Express delivered less than they billed the city for," Greuel said.

Greuel said she has referred the audit to other city departments to seek repayment.

The contract with the firm has expired and the city is now using a different company to dispose of the waste, Greuel said, adding the review was prompted by a complaint received by the city Ethics Commission.

The city had contracted with Express Environmental beginning in 2002 to dispose of the wastewater at rates ranging from 35-cents per gallon to up to $1.35 per gallon, depending on the materials to be disposed.

She said the firm would work the system to charge the higher rate rather than the lower bulk rate.

Over the years, Express Environmental was paid a total of $12.9 million, while the city failed to adequately monitor how much was actually being disposed, Greuel said.

Both the city's Bureau of Street Services and the General Services Department, which awarded the contract have agreed with her findings and are working to develop more stringent contract language.

http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_13491546

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Sentencing for former immigration officer delayed

Sentencing was delayed on Monday until next month for a former immigration officer who admitted taking a $2,500 bribe from a man seeking a "green card."

Samuel Ciridon Guerrero, 58, of Glassell Park, faces up to 15 years in federal prison when he is sentenced Nov. 16 by U.S. District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez in downtown Los Angeles.

Guerrero, who worked at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' East Los Angeles office between late 2003 until April 2008, went to a Glendale coffee shop in December 2006 with an illegal immigrant seeking a green card.

During that meeting, he told the man that he could access his file for $2,500. At a second meeting at a Glendale supermarket, Guerrero gave the illegal immigrant citizenship documents in exchange for $2,500, according to court documents.

The migrant subsequently was granted permanent legal residency, prosecutors said.

Federal investigators then checked the man's green card application and saw that the adjudicator who approved it used Guerrero's ID number. Guerrero was arrested in May 2008 at his home.

http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_13491691

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From the LAPD

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21st Century Version of Neighborhood Watch Engages Communities in Fight Against Terrorism

Denver, Colorado:  

Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton, acting in his capacity as President of the Major Cities Chiefs Association, unveils the community component of a national terrorism-prevention program.

Today, October 3, 2009, at the annual Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA) meeting and in conjunction with the Annual International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference, LAPD Chief William J. Bratton unveiled the latest tool in the fight against terrorism, iWATCH.  The program, says Bratton, “is the 21st century version of Neighborhood Watch.   iWATCH is designed to enable members of the public to help protect their communities by identifying and reporting suspicious behaviors that have been known to be used by terrorists.  iWATCH is the next evolution in an integrated terrorism-prevention plan that works in conjunction with the Suspicious Activity Reporting System.”

In the months and years following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, local, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement agencies overhauled their processes for responding to threats of terrorism.  The sheer number of local governments created a unique challenge for capturing usable information.  Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) was developed by the LAPD's Counter Terrorism and Criminal Intelligence Bureau (CTCIB) in 2007.  The SAR program sets standards for reporting, categorizing and forwarding information obtained by line-level officers while ensuring that fundamental privacy and civil liberty protections are recognized and implemented appropriately.  

Police officers are trained to recognize behaviors and activities with possible links to terrorism.  Established in December 2008, the National SAR initiative was launched in 12 major agencies in locations such as: Los Angeles, Miami Dade, Boston, Chicago, Albany New York, Virginia, Las Vegas, Houston, Phoenix, Seattle, Washington DC, and Maryland.  The National SAR Initiative established a unified and integrated approach for all agencies, with consistent and clear intra-agency policies.   

iWATCH was developed to complement SAR as law enforcement cannot be everywhere and see everything.  iWATCH adds another tool to assist an agency's predictive and analytical capability by educating community members about specific behaviors and activities that they should report.  “An alert community can act as a deterrent to terrorism, and an educated and trained public can feel more in control of their lives if they partner with law enforcement in the fight against terrorism,” said Bratton.  

iWATCH was developed under the direction of LAPD Commander Joan T. McNamara, who credits a broad range of volunteers, including Reserve Officers, for creating a program that can be used in any community anywhere in the United States.  “iWATCH was made possible by countless volunteer hours by incredibly talented people,” said McNamara.  “iWATCH and its training component were developed with the input from civil liberties and advocacy groups.”        

The iWATCH program is designed to be easily adopted by law enforcement agencies nationwide.  The marketing materials, which include the iWATCH brand, a community training video, Public Service Announcements (PSAs), brochures and posters, can be modified to reflect any particular city or community, and create an iconic image that can become the umbrella program for the nation.  

“Any street cop will tell you that crime prevention occurs best at the local level and terrorist-related crime prevention is no different,” said Chief Bratton. “The problem has always been that individuals have varying thresholds at which they feel compelled to notify authorities when the activity is not overtly terrorist related.  The iWATCH program is a giant leap toward overcoming this problem and literally provides millions of new eyes and ears in the terrorism prevention effort.”  

Each city or agency can create its own iWATCH website where the public can learn more about the program, educate the public on specific behaviors and activities, download videos and brochures, and set up a reporting process.  

For more information contact LAPD Media Relations Section at 213-485-3586.

October 03, 2009

http://lapdblog.typepad.com/lapd_blog/

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From the White House

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Spread the Word, Not the Flu

• Parents and those who are expecting:
  • Information for Parents and Caregivers of Young Children (PDF)
  • Information for Pregnant Women (PDF)
• The office:
  • 10 Ways You Can Stay Healthy at Work (PDF)
• Health professionals:
  • Information for Doctors and Other Health Care Providers (PDF)
• People with health conditions:
  • Information for People with Asthma (PDF)
  • Information for People with Diabetes or Who Have a Weakened Immune System (PDF)
• Everyone:
  • Emergency Warning Signs (PDF)
  • Information for Everyone (PDF)
  • Who's at High Risk for Complications? (PDF)
    

REAL ID Final Rule

The Department of Homeland Security has issued a final rule to establish minimum standards for state-issued driver's licenses and identification cards in accordance with the REAL ID Act of 2005. 

These regulations set standards for states to meet the requirements of the REAL ID Act, including:

• information and security features that must be incorporated into each card;
• proof of identity and lawful status of an applicant;
• verification of the source documents provided by an applicant; and
• security standards for the offices that issue licenses and identification cards.

This final rule also provides a process for states to seek an additional extension of the compliance deadline to May 11, 2011, by demonstrating material compliance with the core requirements of the Act and this rule.

Final Rule

• Minimum Standards for Drivers Licenses and Identification Cards Acceptable by Federal Agencies for Official Purposes: Final Rule - Deadline Extension
  
  
• Minimum Standards for Drivers Licenses and Identification Cards Acceptable by Federal Agencies for Official Purposes: Final Rule

Additional Information

• Comprehensive Regulatory Evaluation of the benefits and costs of the final minimum standards for State-issued drivers' licenses and non-driver identification cards pursuant to the REAL ID Act. (PDF, 205 Pages - 943 KB)
  
• Read More about More Secure Driver's Licenses .
  
• http://www.dhs.gov/files/laws/gc_1172765386179.shtm

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Focus on Fire Safety: Fire Prevention Week 2009: Stay Fire Smart! Don't Get Burned.

Cooking is the leading cause of residential structure fires and injuries. Unattended cooking is the leading factor contributing to cooking-related fires. For these reasons and many others, the theme for Fire Prevention Week, October 4-10, 2009 is “Stay Fire Smart! Don't Get Burned!” In addition to cooking fires, a special emphasis is placed on burn awareness and prevention and keeping homes fire safe.

Here are some tips you can follow to stay fire smart:

• Take care while preparing meals…stay in the kitchen when frying, boiling, or broiling.
• If you smoke, put it out, all the way out, every time.
• Keep all flammables at least three feet away from space heaters…space heaters need space.
• Plan and practice your home fire escape plan.
• Make sure smoke alarms are in good working order.

Kitchen Safety

Wear short or tight-fitting sleeves when cooking.

Fires resulting from cooking continue to be the most common type of fire experienced by U.S. households. Cooking fires are also the leading cause of civilian fire injuries in residences. These fires are preventable by simply being more attentive to the use of cooking materials and equipment.

Safe Cooking Tips:

• Never leave boiling, frying, or broiling food unattended. Stay in the kitchen! If you leave the kitchen for even a short period of time, turn off the stove.
• Regularly check food that is cooking; use a timer to remind yourself that you are cooking.
• Keep anything that can catch fire – oven mitts, wooden utensils, food packaging, towels, or curtains – away from your stovetop.
• Keep the stovetop, burners, and oven clean.
• Wear short, close-fitting, or tightly rolled sleeves when cooking. Loose clothing can dangle onto stove burners and can catch fire if it comes in contact with a gas flame or electric burner.
• Have a “kid-free zone” of at least 3 feet around the stove and areas where hot food or drink is prepared or carried.
• Always use cooking equipment that has the label of a recognized testing laboratory, such as Underwriters Laboratories.
• Follow manufacturer's instructions and code requirements when installing, cleaning, and operating cooking equipment.
• Plug microwave ovens or other cooking appliances directly into an outlet. Never use an extension cord for cooking appliances as it can overload the circuit and cause a fire.
• Check electrical cords for cracks, breaks, or damage.

More information on Kitchen Safety »

Smoking Safety

Soak cigarette butts and ashes in water before throwing them away.

Every year almost 1,000 smokers and non-smokers are killed in home fires caused by cigarettes and other smoking materials. The U.S. Fire Administration is working to help prevent home fire deaths and injuries caused by smoking materials. Fires caused by cigarettes and other smoking materials are preventable . You can make a difference!

Smoking and Home Action Steps:

• If you smoke, smoke outside.
• Wherever you smoke, use deep, sturdy ashtrays.
• Make sure cigarettes and ashes are out.
• Check for cigarette butts in furniture or on the floor.
• Never smoke in a home where oxygen is used.
• If you smoke, fire-safe cigarettes are better.
• Be alert!

More information on Smoking Safety »

Heating Safety

Keep space heaters at least 3 feet away from anything that can burn - including furniture, blankets, curtains, and paper products.

More than one-third of Americans use fireplaces, wood stoves and other fuel-fired appliances as primary heat sources in their homes. Unfortunately, many people are unaware of the fire risks when heating with wood and solid fuels.

Heating fires account for 36% of residential home fires in rural areas every year. Often these fires are due to creosote buildup in chimneys and stovepipes. All home heating systems require regular maintenance to function safety and efficiently.

The U.S. Fire Administration encourages you to practice the following fire safe steps to keep those home fires safely burning. Remember, fire safety is your personal responsibility…..Fire Stops with YOU!

Keep Fireplaces and Wood Stoves Clean

• Have your chimney or wood stove inspected and cleaned annually by a certified chimney specialist.
• Clear the area around the hearth of debris, decorations and flammable materials.
• Always use a metal mesh screen with fireplaces. Leave glass doors open while burning a fire.
• Install stovepipe thermometers to help monitor flue temperatures.
• Keep air inlets on wood stoves open, and never restrict air supply to fireplaces. Otherwise you may cause creosote buildup that could lead to a chimney fire.
• Use fire-resistant materials on walls around wood stoves.

More information on Heating Safety »

Electrical Safety

Don't overload extension cords or wall sockets.

Electrical fires in our homes claim the lives of 485 Americans each year and injure 2,305 more. Some of these fires are caused by electrical system failures and appliance defects, but many more are caused by the misuse and poor maintenance of electrical appliances, incorrectly installed wiring, and overloaded circuits.

Electrical Safety Precautions:

• Routinely check your electrical appliances and wiring.
• Frayed wires can cause fires. Replace all worn, old or damaged appliance cords immediately.
• Use electrical extension cords wisely and don't overload them.
• Keep electrical appliances away from wet floors and counters; pay special care to electrical appliances in the bathroom and kitchen.
• When buying electrical appliances look for products evaluated by a nationally recognized laboratory, such and Underwriter's Laboratories (UL).
• Don't allow children to play with or around electrical appliances like space heaters, irons and hair dryers.
• Keep clothes, curtains and other potentially combustible items at least three feet from all heaters.
• If an appliance has a three-prong plug, only use it in a three-slot outlet. Never force it to fit into a two-slot outlet or extension cord.
• Never overload extension cords or wall sockets.
• Immediately shut off, then professionally replace, light switches that are hot to the touch and lights that flicker.
• Use safety closures to “child-proof” electrical outlets.
• Check your electrical tools regularly for signs of wear.

More information on Electrical Safety »

Escape Plans

Involve children in making and practicing your escape plan.

In the event of a fire, remember - time is the biggest enemy and every second counts! Escape plans help you get out of your home quickly. In less than 30 seconds a small flame can get completely out of control and turn into a major fire. It only takes minutes for a house to fill with thick black smoke and become engulfed in flames.

Practice Escaping From Every Room In The Home

Practice escape plans every month. The best plans have two ways to get out of each room. If the primary way is blocked by fire or smoke, you will need a second way out. A secondary route might be a window onto an adjacent roof or a collapsible ladder - evaluated by a nationally recognized laboratory such as Underwriters Laboratories (UL) - for escape from upper story windows. Make sure that windows are not stuck, screens can be taken out quickly, and that security bars can be properly opened. Also, practice feeling your way out of the house in the dark or with your eyes closed.

More information on Escape Plans »

Adobe Acrobat (PDF) Help

Download Focus on Fire Safety Poster Artwork

• Focus on Fire Safety: Fire Prevention Week 2009 (PDF, 520 Kb) Download and customize this poster for local use.

Related Topics

• Behavioral Mitigation of Cooking Fires
• Carbon Monoxide
• Home Fire Escape Planning for Babies and Toddlers
• Smoking and Home Fires Campaign
• Smoking Fire Safety for Older Americans
• Winter Fire Safety

Related Publications (Free Order)

• Behavioral Mitigation of Cooking Fires
• Behavioral Mitigation of Smoking Fires
• The Seasonal Nature of Fires
• Winter Fires - Safety Tips for the Home
• Escape from Fire - Once You're Out, Stay Out!

Related Publications (Download, Adobe Acrobat (PDF) Help )

• Topical Fire Report Series: Mattress and Bedding Fires in Residential Structures (PDF, 128 Kb)
• Topical Fire Report Series: Residential Smoking Fires and Casualties (PDF, 139 Kb)
• Heating Fires in Residential Buildings (PDF, 2.7 Mb)
• Topical Fire Report Series: Winter Fires (PDF, 146 Kb)

Links of Interest

• American Burn Association
• Burn Awareness and Prevention
• Common Voices
• Fire Safety Features of New Homes
• National Fire Protection Association
• Safety Tips for Turkey Fryers
• Shriners' Hospital – Burn Awareness
• http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/citizens/focus/

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Readout of Secretary Napolitano's Remarks at the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference

Release Date: October 5, 2009

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
Contact: 202-282-8010

Denver—Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano today delivered remarks at the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Conference in Denver, Colo., emphasizing her commitment to enhanced information sharing with state and local law enforcement partners to combat threats of terrorism.

“Effective information sharing is essential to our partnerships with state and local law enforcement as we work together to secure our country,” said Secretary Napolitano. “DHS will continue to strengthen fusion centers and other collaborative initiatives across the country to enhance our capabilities to combat terrorism and serious crime.”

In her remarks, Secretary Napolitano stressed the Department of Homeland Security's role as the central conduit of information for state and local partners regarding all threats to the homeland—including terrorism, drug trafficking and border security.

She discussed the vital role of partnerships between DHS and federal, state and local law enforcement and highlighted the success of collaborative initiatives—including the Joint Terrorism Task Forces that strengthen information-sharing between federal partners and 72 fusions centers nationwide.

Secretary Napolitano also outlined the ways DHS is strengthening these partnerships—from creating a new program management office to coordinate the Department's support of fusion centers to collaborating on the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) initiative that trains frontline officers across the country to identify and document activities possibly linked to terrorism-related crime.

http://www.dhs.gov/ynews/releases/pr_1254771929983.shtm

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From ICE

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October 2, 2009

Top-ranking Mexican mafia members sentenced to lengthy prison terms

LUBBOCK, Texas - The two top-ranking members in command of the Mexican Mafia that operated in San Angelo and Abilene, Texas, were sentenced Friday to lengthy prison terms. The sentences were announced by U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks, Northern District of Texas. The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.

U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings sentenced Eduardo Sosa Martinez Jr., aka "Roro," 33, of San Angelo, to 10 years in federal prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release. Martinez held the ranks of captain and lieutenant. He was responsible for managing the Mexican Mafia's distribution of methamphetamine in San Angelo, Abilene, and throughout North Texas. Martinez pleaded guilty in June to one count of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and one count of money laundering. Second in command, Sammy Garcia, aka "Candyman," 40, of San Angelo, was sentenced Sept. 25 by Judge Cummings to 17½ years in federal prison. He pleaded guilty in May to distributing and possessing methamphetamine, with intent to distribute.

Fifteen defendants, mostly members/associates of the Mexican Mafia, were charged in a 15-count federal indictment with various offenses related to their operating a major methamphetamine-trafficking operation in the Abilene and San Angelo, Texas, areas, as well as throughout North Texas. All defendants pleaded guilty to their roles; two defendants have not yet been sentenced.

The following other defendants from San Angelo, who pleaded guilty earlier this year to methamphetamine offenses, were also sentenced by Judge Cummings on Sept. 25:

• Emilio Lopez Garcia, Jr., 36 - 105 months
• Johnny Sosa Martinez, 49 - 71 months
• Armando Villarreal Jr., aka "Chucky," 32 - 188 months

Earlier this month, Gilbert Anthony Cuellar, aka "Rascal," 26, was sentenced to 20 years in prison following his guilty plea to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

The Mexican Mafia, also known as "Mexikanemi" or "La Eme," is a prison gang that originated in the Texas prison system in the early 1980s. It operates under a hierarchical system with members holding ranks from 'president' down to 'prospect.' The Mexican Mafia is organized geographically so that each geographical area will have a ranking member to coordinate the gang's efforts.

Part of the Mexican Mafia's constitution states: "[i]n being a criminal organization we will function in any aspect of criminal interest for the benefit of advancement of Mexikanemi. We will traffic in drugs, contracts of assassination, prostitution, robbery of high magnitude and in anything we can imagine."

In addition to being actively involved in the methamphetamine trade, the Mexican Mafia imposed a "tax" on other individuals involved in trafficking narcotics by charging individuals who trafficked narcotics in their individual area. Mexican Mafia members often used threats, coercion, intimidation and violence to collect this tax or to prevent other individuals from trafficking narcotics in its geographical area.

In addition to ICE, this case was investigated by the following agencies and organizations: Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF); the FBI; the Texas Department of Public Safety; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the U.S. Marshals Service; the Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigation; the San Angelo Police Department; the Tom Green County Sheriff's Office; the Tom Green County District Attorney's Office; and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's Security Threat Group Gang Intelligence Unit.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey R. Haag, Northern District of Texas Lubbock Office, is prosecuting the case.

http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/0910/091002lubbock.htm

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October 2, 2009

Former youth coach sentenced in child pornography case
King County, Wash., man traded hundreds of images online

SEATTLE - A Woodinville, Wash., man who used the Internet to trade child pornography cross-country was sentenced today to 86 months in prison, following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Richard Lindsay Minifie, 44, was arrested in early June and pleaded guilty a few weeks later to possession of child pornography. Prior to his arrest, he served as a youth coach of neighborhood sports teams.

According to court documents, Minifie came to the attention of ICE agents in March 2008, following the seizure of a computer from a suspected child pornography distributor in Virginia. On the computer, investigators found logs of online chats between the Virginia suspect and a screen name and Internet address belonging to Minifie.

During the online conversations, the two exchanged pictures of children engaged in sexually explicit activity and commented on the photos. The logs indicate Minifie sent more than 330 images to the person in Virginia.

When ICE agents executed a search warrant at Minifie's residence, one of his computers was found to contain more than 600 images of child pornography. He even used an image of child pornography as a screen saver on one computer.

"Child predators often lurk in the shadows of the Internet, falsely believing their illegal actions are concealed from scrutiny," said Special Agent in Charge Leigh Winchell who oversees ICE's Office of Investigations in Seattle. "This case further strengthens our resolve to investigate those who exploit innocent children in this manner."

At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Marsha J. Pechman told Minifie, "You created a market so that children are used as commodities to be traded back and forth." She also noted that more than a hundred different children were pictured in the sexually explicit photos he viewed, saying there were, "137 children whose lives will be forever altered."

Upon completion of his prison term, Minifie will be on supervised release for 20 years. He will also be required to register as a sex offender.

The charges against Minifie are the result of Operation Predator, an ongoing ICE initiative to identify, investigate, and arrest those who prey on children. ICE encourages the reporting of suspected child predators through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE. This hotline is staffed around the clock by investigators. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com .

http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/0910/091002seattle.htm

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October 2, 2009

Convicted drug trafficker sentenced in third largest marijuana seizure at Miami International

MIAMI - A former resident of Broward County was sentenced Oct. 2 to 10 years in prison for his involvement in the third largest importation of marijuana at Miami International Airport with an estimated street value of $4.3 million following a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) investigation.

Ryan Gayle, 32, was sentenced in the Southern District of Florida before District Court Judge Richard W. Goldberg to 121 months in federal prison and five years supervised release.

On Nov. 30, 2006, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Miami International Airport seized approximately 3,540 pounds of marijuana concealed inside cargo manifested as black pepper and seasoning coming from Kingston, Jamaica. The seizure was the result of a long term undercover investigation conducted by ICE special agents in Miami, who determined that the intended recipient of the marijuana was Ryan Gayle.

During the course of the investigation, ICE special agents documented several attempts by Ryan Gayle to unlawfully import other marijuana shipments concealed aboard commercial cargo flights in May 2007 and August 2007 into Miami International Airport.

In August 2008, ICE special agents arrested Gayle on charges related to the conspiracy to import marijuana into the United States with the intent to distribute. Gayle was found guilty following a federal jury trial for importation and conspiracy to import over 1,000 kilograms of marijuana in May.

The investigation was conducted by ICE's Office of Investigations in Miami with the assistance of CBP Field Operations.

Assistant United States Attorney Andrea Hoffman prosecuted the case.

http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/0910/091002miami.htm

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October 5, 2009

Ohio father sentenced on child pornography charges
Transported and distributed child pornography with his adult son

COLUMBUS, Ohio - A Westerville, Ohio man was sentenced Monday to 15 years in federal prison on charges of transporting and distributing child pornography following a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) led investigation.

Christopher Gould, 51, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr. on April 23 to sexually exploiting children by producing child pornography. His son, Adam Gould, 25, pleaded guilty on April 16 to transportation of child pornography and was sentenced in September. He is currently in federal custody.

"This sentence underscores the particularly heinous nature of these crimes," said Brian Moskowitz, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Detroit. "ICE relentlessly pursues predators who sexually abuse children, whether that abuse is physical in nature or if it's accomplished by exploiting their images. "Our agents will continue to police cyberspace to investigate and bring to justice those individuals who exploit the most vulnerable in our society, our children."

On Oct. 29, 2008, ICE special agents and Westerville police officers executed a federal search warrant at Adam Gould's Westerville home. Subsequently, ICE agents seized two laptop computers belonging to him. ICE agents conducted a forensic examination and discovered the two laptops contained more than 2,500 pictures and 78 movies of child pornography.

Agents also seized a briefcase containing photographs Christopher Gould admitted taking of a 12-year-old girl in sexually explicit poses and a computer belonging to Christopher Gould. Forensic analysis of this computer uncovered more than 30 sexually explicit images of the same juvenile and evidence that there had been other photos that Christopher Gould had deleted.

This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide ICE initiative to identify, investigate and arrest those who prey on children, including human traffickers, international sex tourists, Internet pornographers, and foreign national predators whose crimes make them deportable. Launched in July 2003, ICE agents have arrested more than 11,600 individuals through Operation Predator.

ICE encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-347-2423. This hotline is staffed around the clock by investigators.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com/ .

http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/0910/091005columbus.htm

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October 5, 2009

Employer pleads guilty to harboring illegal alien who killed Houston PD officer

HOUSTON - The employer of an illegal alien convicted of capital murder for the shooting death of Houston Police Department (HPD) Officer Rodney Johnson pleaded guilty on Monday to harboring that same illegal alien following an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Investigations in Houston and the HPD.

Robert Lane Camp, 47, the owner of Camp Landscaping in Deer Park, Texas, pleaded guilty Oct. 5 during a hearing before U.S. District Judge Vanessa Gilmore. Camp was initially charged by criminal complaint in January 2008 with encouraging Juan Leonardo Quintero-Perez to unlawfully enter the United States and with harboring him.

Quintero-Perez was convicted by the State of Texas of the capital murder of HPD Officer Rodney Johnson. In September 2006, HPD Officer Johnson pulled over Quintero-Perez while he was driving one of Camp's work vehicles. Quintero-Perez was subsequently arrested for failing to provide a driver's license, handcuffed and placed into the HPD patrol car. Quintero-Perez shot and killed Johnson from the back seat of the patrol car with a gun he had hidden. He is currently serving a life sentence.

According to court documents, Camp helped Quintero-Perez remain in the United States despite the fact that he was charged in 1998 with the state felony offense of indecency with a child. When Quintero-Perez was arrested in 1998, he identified Camp as his employer and Camp posted a $10,000 bond on Quintero-Perez's behalf. Quintero-Perez was convicted and sentenced to probation. Thereafter, he was deported by federal authorities, but illegally reentered the United States in 1999. After Quintero unlawfully returned to the United States, Camp provided him with a job and residence.

ICE Special Agent in Charge Robert Rutt said, "ICE, using our law enforcement authorities and working with the U.S. Attorney's Office, was able to bring this employer to justice. "This tragedy illustrates that hiring illegal aliens is not a victimless crime. "Too often those in the U.S. illegally are desperate to avoid law enforcement and take desperate actions which can turn tragic."

Camp faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine at sentencing on Feb 1. He has been permitted to remain on bond pending that hearing.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jay Hileman and Ryan D. McConnell are prosecuting this case.

http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/0910/091005houston.htm

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From OurLA

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