~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From LA Times

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Drone aircraft will patrol drug trafficking routes at sea

The federal government today unveiled an unmanned aerial aircraft that will be used to patrol drug trafficking routes at sea, marking an expansion of predator drone flights by the Department of Homeland Security.

Predator drone aircraft have patrolled the Canadian and Arizona-Mexico border areas for years. The new, modified aircraft, built by Poway-based General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, is equipped with radar for spotting maritime vessels.

The drone, which will be operated from Cape Canaveral Air Force Base in Florida, will begin a test phase next year in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, authorities said. There are no plans in the near future to deploy the aircraft to the California-Mexico border, said Juan A. Munoz Torres, a spokesman for Customs and Border Protection.

The agency currently operates three predator drones in Arizona and two in North Dakota, patrolling for cross-border incursions by drug smugglers and illegal immigrants.

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

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Infant deaths, cleft palates raise concern about toxic landfill in San Joaquin Valley

A mystery has settled on Kettleman City, a small San Joaquin Valley migrant farming community off Interstate 5 that's halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Approximately 20 babies were born in the town during a 14-month period beginning in September 2007. Three of them died; each had been born with a cleft palate and had other health problems. Two others born during that period who survived also have the birth defect.

Some of the community's 1,500 mostly Spanish-speaking residents are blaming the problem on a nearby hazardous waste facility -- the largest landfill of its kind west of Louisiana. They also want the Kings County Board of Supervisors to halt the proposed expansion of Waste Management's landfill pending an investigation into the cleft palate cluster by state and federal regulatory agencies.

But the county, which relies on the landfill for $20 million in annual payroll, purchases, fees and taxes, has refused to request such a probe on the grounds that it is extremely difficult to quantify the relationship between pollution and birth defects. County officials also say the evidence does not support placing blame on the landfill, the only facility in the state licensed to accept carcinogenic PCB's.

Residents will be seeking answers during a special Kings County Board of Supervisors meeting to be held this afternoon in the Hanford Civic Auditorium, about 40 miles east of Kettleman City.

The meeting was called to consider an appeal of the county planning commission's recent approval of the landfill expansion project.

The appeal was filed by environmentalists and residents of the community, which for decades has endured a variety of pesticides and other toxic substances sprayed on surrounding fields and orchards, and tons of chemicals and contaminated soils hauled each day into the landfill.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/12/cleft-palates-raise-concern-about-toxic-landfill-in-san-joaquin-valley.html#more

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gates promises to keep focus on Afghan civilian safety

His comments come during a surprise visit, as the U.S. denies another reported incident of civilian casualties.

by Tony Perry

5:00 AM PST, December 8, 2009

Reporting from Kabul, Afghanistan

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, standing beside Afghan President Hamid Karzai, said today that the buildup of troops ordered by President Obama will not change U.S. policy that stresses the avoidance of civilian casualties during clashes with the Taliban.

Even as it gets increasingly aggressive against the Taliban, the U.S. will continue to put a priority on safeguarding civilians, Gates said at a joint news conference, "unlike the enemies of Afghanistan who target innocent Afghans and lie about it."

The issue of civilian casualties, particularly those caused by aerial bombardment, has occasionally strained the relationship between Karzai and the U.S. The top U.S. military officer in Afghanistan, Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, has made avoiding civilian deaths a major part of his strategy to win the support of the Afghan population.

Gates, on a surprise visit to Afghanistan, also said any reduction in troops will be "based on conditions on the ground," even though Obama has mentioned July 2011 as a possible starting point for withdrawal.

"Our government will not again turn our back on this country," Gates said.

Gates' comments came as the U.S. was denying claims that civilians were killed during a U.S.-Afghan assault on a suspected roadside-bomb factory in Laghman province. Seven insurgents were reported killed, several arrested.

One test of the U.S. policy of confronting the Taliban while avoiding civilian deaths may come in a planned assault in Marja in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan.

U.S. Marine brass have said the assault against the Taliban stronghold may resemble the fierce fighting in the Iraqi city of Fallouja in late 2004. Taliban are thought to be barricaded in homes nestled in residential neighborhoods, raising the possibility of noncombatants being caught in the crossfire.

Gates was not alone in stressing that the surge will not change U.S. policy about civilians.

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made the same point in comments this week to Marines at Camp Lejeune, N.C. A Marine battalion there is set to deploy to Helmand province later this month, the first of the 30,000 additional troops ordered by Obama.

The Marja assault is expected to include Marines and Afghan forces. Part of Obama's recent update of his administration's strategy for Afghanistan is a greater effort by the U.S. to increase the number of Afghan police and soldiers, particularly those capable of taking a front-line role against the Taliban.

An assault that began last week against insurgents in the deserted Now Zad valley involved 900 Marines but only 150 Afghan security personnel.

"When Afghan police and Afghan soldiers are in a fight, they have shown great courage," Gates said. " . . . We'd rather have Afghan security forces in the front. The sooner that happens, the better for all of us."

On a political note, Karzai said he expects to announce his cabinet selections next week. He has been under pressure from the U.S. and political opponents in Afghananistan to purge anyone with suspected ties to rampant corruption here.

Karzai promised to "present a cabinet to the Afghan people that can support and can also be supported by the international community."

Karzai said that it would probably be 15 to 20 years before Afghanistan can sustain its security forces without financial and technical support from the U.S.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-fg-afghanistan-civilians9-2009dec09,0,534751,print.story

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chicago man is charged in Mumbai attacks

A U.S. citizen is accused of conducting surveillance of hotels and other targets in the 2008 assault. He has also been charged with plotting an attack on a Danish newspaper.

by Jeff Coen and Josh Meyer

December 8, 2009

Reporting from Washington and Chicago

Months before a team of terrorists killed about 170 people in coordinated attacks in Mumbai, India, a Chicago man was conducting surveillance of the hotels and other locations that would come under assault, prosecutors said Monday.

David Coleman Headley was charged by federal authorities with conducting surveillance that helped plan the November 2008 attacks. Prosecutors say Headley, a Pakistani American, spent more than two years visiting locations including the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower hotel that was stormed by gunmen.

The criminal complaint said Headley concealed his missions by purporting to be the representative of a business owned by another Chicagoan. He took his pictures and videotapes to Pakistan, where he met with leaders of the terrorist organization blamed for the Mumbai attacks, Lashkar-e-Taiba, according to the complaint.

"In or around March 2008, Headley was instructed to take boat trips in and around the Mumbai harbor and take surveillance video," the criminal complaint said. "Headley met with other co-conspirators, and discussed potential landing sites for a team of attackers who would arrive by sea" in Mumbai.

The 10-man attack team used firearms and grenades to assault two hotels, a cafe, a train station, a Jewish center and other sites. Six Americans were among those killed.

Headley, 49, was one of two Chicago men charged in October with plotting an attack on the Jyllands-Posten newspaper in Denmark over its publication of unflattering cartoons of the prophet Muhammad. He conducted surveillance of the newspaper's offices in Copenhagen as recently as January, officials said, and was arrested at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago as he tried to go to Pakistan with photos from the trip.

Also charged in the newspaper plot was Tahawwur Hussain Rana, who is under investigation for possibly paying for Headley's India missions, said sources who requested anonymity when discussing the ongoing inquiry. Rana, who owns a meatpacking plant outside Chicago and an immigration services business, was not part of the charges detailed Monday.

But added to the newspaper case was Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed, identified as a retired Pakistani army officer who is accused of participating in the planning for the Denmark operation. He is not in custody and is believed to be in Pakistan, officials said.

Several current and former law enforcement and intelligence officials said the Headley case underscored a disconcerting wrinkle in their counter-terrorism efforts: that U.S.-based militants might pose a threat not just domestically but overseas as well.

Kenneth Wainstein, homeland security and counter-terrorism advisor to President George W. Bush, said: "One thing that struck me was the threat everyone has been concerned about has been terrorists making their way to Europe and then staging attacks in the U.S. from there. . . . If the allegations [against Headley] are true, it puts America in the camp of countries that could be a source of terrorist threats to other countries."

Headley, who is cooperating with authorities, was indicted on six counts of conspiracy related to the Mumbai attack and six counts of aiding and abetting the murder of U.S. citizens in India. Officials said he trained in 2001 with Lashkar-e-Taiba, which means "Army of the Pure" and aims to wrest the Kashmir region from Indian control.

The charges -- and affidavits filed in support of them -- raise troubling questions about the links between Lashkar-e-Taiba and Pakistan's army and military intelligence agency.

Pakistan has no extradition policy with the U.S., but the charges against Rehman could force Pakistan to either arrest him or further antagonize India and Washington. India long has charged that senior Pakistani military and intelligence officials use Lashkar-e-Taiba and other militant groups as a proxy fighting force against them and in Afghanistan.

Some U.S. congressional leaders have threatened to withhold billions of dollars in funding for Pakistan over similar concerns.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-chicago-terror8-2009dec08,0,2543423,print.story

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rescued child prostitutes not receiving help

The FBI saved more than 50 in an October crackdown, but experts say the victims need intensive residential treatment, which they aren't getting. Such help is in scant supply.

by Joe Markman

December 8, 2009

Reporting from Washington

More than a month after the FBI announced it had rescued 52 children from "sexual slavery" in a nationwide crackdown on child prostitution, none of the victims is receiving the help experts say is necessary to overcome such trauma and rejoin society.

At least one, a 15-year-old Sacramento girl held on an unrelated charge, remains in a juvenile detention center, according to a Los Angeles Times check of the children's situations. Others have been sent home or into foster care.

The victims need intensive residential treatment, experts say, and only three such programs exist in the country.

Richard Estes, a social policy professor at the University of Pennsylvania and an expert on child sexual exploitation, said the "best fighting chance" for victims is "24/7 residential care for a long period of time."

"This is not a quick-fix situation," he said. "It really is a rebuilding and remolding of personality and character."

Many victims are abused long before they are lured into the sex trade, Estes said. Their symptoms often include guilt, anxiety and inappropriate sexual behavior.

"Most of the girls that have run away and are on the streets have run away because of sexual abuse," he said.

Lois Lee, founder of a 24-bed Los Angeles shelter called Children of the Night, sees the problems firsthand.

"When America's child prostitutes are identified by the FBI or police, they are incarcerated for whatever reason possible, whether it be an unrelated crime or 'material witness hold,' " she said.

"Then they are dumped back in the dysfunctional home, ill-equipped group home or foster care, and [often] disappear back into the underground of prostitution with no voice."

Ian McCaleb, a spokesman for the Justice Department, said the government "uses a victim-centered approach that provides victims with the services they need in order to recover and to fully participate in the criminal justice process."

But some of the local law enforcement officials who worked with the FBI on the October bust echoed Lee's comments. Child victims are often sent home or to foster families after moving through juvenile court, the officials said.

For instance, six children ages 10 to 17 rescued in Toledo, Ohio, were processed through the local children services bureau before ending up in a nonresidential counseling program, Toledo Police Det. Peter Schwartz said.

Experts underscore that sex-trafficking victims struggle to find the care they need once they escape from an industry that may involve at least 100,000 children in the U.S.

Donna M. Hughes, a women's studies professor at the University of Rhode Island who has researched U.S. sex trafficking, argues that domestic victims are shortchanged by the attention authorities and advocacy groups give to the illegal importation of foreign prostitutes.

"We need more treatment programs," Hughes said. "There are a number of different programs that have existed for years, but they need more support."

Lisa Goldblatt Grace, who consulted on a 2007 study for the Health and Human Services Department, said child victims "lack a safe, stable place to live, and that's part of what made them vulnerable to begin with."

Grace is program director of the My Life My Choice Project, a nonprofit focused on reaching out to adolescent girls most vulnerable to commercial sexual exploitation.

The Health and Human Services Department study found only four residential treatment centers in the United States for child prostitutes, with a total of 45 beds.

Interviews with officials at the centers show that beds remain scarce, and that one of the four -- Standing Against Global Exploitation Safe House in San Francisco -- no longer offers overnight accommodations. It does, however, provide nonresidential care for victims and helps place them with foster families.

Mollie Ring, the house's trafficking project manager, said the beds were eliminated because of a money crunch.

The remaining residential programs are:

* L.A.'s Children of the Night, which offers psychological treatment, academic assistance, and personal bedrooms and bathrooms, with 24 beds.

* New York-based Girls Educational and Mentoring Services, founded in 1999 by a former child prostitute, with 12 beds.

* Angela's House, a nonprofit in Georgia run by the Center to End Adolescent Sexual Exploitation, which is expanding from six beds to eight. The house no longer has a waiting list, program manager Melba Robinson said, but funding remains a "huge issue."

That adds up to 44 beds -- one less than two years ago.

It's not nearly enough, said Ernie Allen, president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. He estimated that U.S. child victims numbered between 100,000 and 300,000.

"You can't just take them home," Allen said. "The challenge is there are not enough resources" to help them.

Keith Haight, a former Los Angeles police detective who retired in 2008, spent 22 years on the vice squad. He said despite the push in the last few years to help victims, rather than prosecute them as prostitutes, how to do it remained elusive.

"A lot of places don't want to take responsibility for girls that are known to be sexually active," he said.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-child-prostitution8-2009dec08,0,2730853,print.story

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OPINION

Tora Bora: An opportunity missed

Analysts say it would've taken only 2,000 or so U.S. troops to get Osama bin Laden in 2001, but military leaders failed to use all the firepower available. Our troops have been paying the price since.

by John Kerry

December 8, 2009

Eight years ago this month, Osama bin Laden walked out of the Tora Bora mountains in Afghanistan and disappeared into Pakistan. U.S. intelligence agencies have no real idea where he is today, but it is clear that the world's most wanted man and the terrorist organization he leads have reemerged as a powerful force behind the increasingly deadly insurgencies in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Three senior Obama administration officials warned last week that Al Qaeda is more dangerous than at any time in the last 18 months. They gave the Senate Foreign Relations Committee a frightening bill of particulars: Al Qaeda is providing training and resources for militants attacking U.S. troops in Afghanistan, assisting suicide bombers in Pakistan and helping extremists plot new attacks on India. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton described Bin Laden's Al Qaeda as a "syndicate of terrorism." Underscoring the danger, she said the terrorists are seeking nuclear weapons.

If we had captured or killed Bin Laden, the world would look very different today. His death or imprisonment would not have eliminated the worldwide extremist threat, but our failure to finish the job represents a lost opportunity that altered the course of the conflict in Afghanistan and the future of international terrorism. It left the American people more vulnerable, and it inflamed the strife that now threatens to engulf Pakistan and Afghanistan.

History is filled with examples demonstrating that terrorist organizations are invariably much stronger with their charismatic leaders than without them. The capture of Abdullah Ocalan in 1999 weakened the Kurdistan Workers Party in Turkey, and the imprisonment of Abimael Guzman in 1992 had a similar effect on Peru's Shining Path.

The failure to get Bin Laden was not inevitable. By early December 2001, he and his deputy, Ayman Zawahiri, were cornered in a complex of caves and tunnels carved into the rugged terrain of eastern Afghanistan, just a few miles from the border with Pakistan. They endured days of relentless bombing by U.S. aircraft, and Bin Laden clearly expected to be overrun any day by American troops and their Afghan allies. According to Steve Coll's excellent book on the Bin Laden family, the Al Qaeda leader wrote his will on Dec. 14.

As a recent report by the majority staff of the Foreign Relations Committee made clear, there is no longer any dispute over whether Bin Laden was at Tora Bora. CIA and Delta Force commanders on the scene told the staff that he was there and described intercepting his voice on radio communications. Most authoritatively, Bin Laden's presence was confirmed by the official history of the U.S. Special Operations Command, which oversees Delta Force, the Green Berets, Navy SEALs and similar special forces. "All source reporting corroborated his presence on several days from 9-14 December," said the unclassified version of the history, which was published with little notice in 2007.

The final assault that Bin Laden feared never came. Fewer than 100 U.S. special operations commandos were at Tora Bora, not enough to defeat the entrenched Al Qaeda fighters. Calls for reinforcements were rejected. So were requests for U.S. troops to block the exit routes to sanctuary in Pakistan a few miles away. The vast array of U.S. military power was kept on the sidelines by senior commanders who entrusted one of the primary objectives of the war to airstrikes and unreliable Afghan and Pakistani allies.

Military analysts estimate it would have taken only 2,000 or so American troops to accomplish the mission. Most would have been deployed on the southern side of Tora Bora to block escape routes to Pakistan. About 500 would have carried out the final assault from the north. We had enough troops in or near Afghanistan at the time, and they were trained for this type of unconventional fight in rugged terrain.

More than 1,000 members of two Marine expeditionary units were not far away in Kandahar, but their commander's request to move to Tora Bora to encircle Bin Laden was rejected. Roughly the same number of troops from the Army's 10th Mountain Division was split between southern Uzbekistan and Bagram air base, a short helicopter ride from Tora Bora. Instead, Gen. Tommy Franks left the job to a motley collection of Afghan militiamen and Pakistani Frontier Corps paramilitary fighters who never showed up.

Franks and his boss, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, were determined to succeed in Afghanistan with a light footprint. They justified limiting the number of U.S. troops by saying they wanted to avoid stirring up anti-American sentiment and creating a protracted insurgency. Unfortunately, in failing to get Bin Laden, we wound up with exactly what we had hoped to avoid in Afghanistan -- and a virulent insurgency across the border in Pakistan, a nuclear-armed ally.

Getting Bin Laden at Tora Bora would have been dangerous, and success was not guaranteed. Failing to try meant that we had no chance for success. Our men and women in uniform have been paying the price for eight years and, as 30,000 more of them are preparing to finish the job, we must all remember that we can't ensure our national security by turning our backs on enemies who have sworn to destroy us.

John Kerry (D-Mass.) chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-kerry8-2009dec08,0,6308912,print.story

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From the Wall Street Journal

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NATO, Afghan Officials Disagree Over Civilian Casualties

Associated Press

KABUL -- The Afghan government said North American Treat Organization forces killed six civilians during a predawn operation Tuesday in eastern Afghanistan. NATO disputed the allegation, saying only militants died.

Hundreds of people marched on the provincial capital to protest the raid, and an official said one demonstrator died Tuesday in clashes with police. International forces have pledged to avoid civilian deaths in recent months, but insurgents often live among villagers making them vulnerable during nighttime raids.

Some Afghans have expressed fear that the 30,000 additional U.S. troops slated to start arriving within days will result in more violence and civilian casualties. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates promised Afghans during a visit to the country Tuesday that the U.S. will do all it can to keep civilians out of the line of fire. "Our top priority remains the safety of civilians," he said at a joint news conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

Seven insurgents were killed and four detained after the attack in Laghman province on a compound of a militant leader responsible for directing several suicide strikes in the region, NATO said Tuesday. Afghan and international forces came under fire as they assaulted the compound, sparking a gunbattle, it said.

However, a statement issued by the presidential palace said six civilians were killed during the firefight, including one woman. Provincial officials said 12 people were killed in the clash outside the provincial capital of Mehtar Lam, some of them civilians, but they didn't specify a number.

NATO spokeswoman Capt. Jane Campbell said there were "no operational reports to substantiate those claims of harming civilians, including women and children, during this operation."

About 400 people marched on Mehtar Lam to protest the deaths, carrying bodies of some of the dead, said provincial-government spokesman Said Ahead Safi. Groups of men laid the blanket-wrapped bodies on wooden cots, which they hoisted above them as they walked.

"Whoever came onto the roof of their home, they killed them. Some were killed inside their houses," said Ismail, a villager who only gave one name and said he lost seven members of his family. "All those killed were innocent villagers, farmers. The Americans even killed our women."

The protest turned violent as the demonstrators tried to enter the city. They clashed with police and one protester was killed, Mr. Safi said.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126028010156581811.html#printMode

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From the Department of Homeland Security

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Secretary Napolitano and Mexican Finance Secretary Agustín Carstens Sign
Enhanced Declaration of Principles to Strengthen Bilateral Economic and Security Cooperation

Release Date: December 7, 2009

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

Declaration of Principles Between the Department
of Homeland Security of the United States of America
and the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit
of the United Mexican States
(PDF, 5 pages - 48 KB)

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano and Mexican Secretary of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP) Agustín Carstens today signed an updated and enhanced Declaration of Principles (DOP)—accomplishing the goals they outlined in June to create a joint United States-Mexico framework to improve security along the Southwest border and facilitate the flow of legitimate travel and trade.

"Protecting the interconnected security and economic interests of the United States and Mexico depends on close collaboration between our two nations," said Secretary Napolitano. "Secretary Carstens and I will continue to work together to coordinate efforts to crack down on violent drug cartels along the Southwest border while facilitating the flow of legitimate travel and trade."

"We are building upon a longstanding relationship and cooperation, which have derived extraordinary results, particularly in matters of trade facilitation to legitimate stakeholders and law enforcement," said Secretary Carstens. "However, today's world demands from us a more intelligent and coordinated way to protect our borders and facilitate trade."

Under the updated and enhanced DOP signed today, DHS and the Mexican Ministry of Finance and Public Credit will continue to make progress on existing objectives while also identifying new joint initiatives and long-term programs to augment information-sharing mechanisms and coordinate border management—improving the efficiency of border operations and strengthening law enforcement cooperation.

The DOP serves as a policy framework for engaging on multiple fronts—including emphasizing professionalism among law enforcement personnel through integrity-related training and the sharing of best practices; working toward the full implementation of the World Customs Organization's Framework of Standards; and establishing improved mechanisms for information-sharing.

The DOP also reinforces the importance of the Bilateral Strategic Plan (BSP), signed today by officials representing U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Mexico Customs, which establishes an Executive Steering Committee—comprised of representatives from DHS and Mexico's Ministry of Finance and Public Credit and the Administrator General of Customs—to review coordinated initiatives to further the economic and security interests of both nations.

One such program is the establishment of Bi-National Port Security Committees, which will improve open and regular communication between ports and Port Directors along the Southwest border and address cross-border operational, safety and security issues—a significant step toward deterring violence at and near land ports of entry.

Since January, the U.S and Mexico have signed three agreements building on unprecedented levels of collaboration between the two nations designed to combat transnational crime, increase law enforcement collaboration and increase the secure flow of travel and trade along the Southwest border.

For more information and to view the updated and enhanced DOP, visit www.dhs.gov .

http://www.dhs.gov/ynews/releases/pr_1260207066445.shtm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From the Department of Justice

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WASHINGTON - The United States has reached a $6.75 million settlement with Itochu Corp. of Japan and its American subsidiary, Itochu International Inc., to resolve claims under the False Claims Act in connection with the companies' importation and sale of defective Zylon fiber used as the key ballistic material in bullet-proof vests purchased by the United States for federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies, the Justice Department announced today.

The Itochu companies imported the Zylon fiber on behalf of the Zylon manufacturer, Toyobo Co. Ltd. of Japan. The United States alleged that the Itochu companies were aware that the fiber degraded quickly over time and that the companies knew that this degradation rendered bullet-proof vests containing woven Zylon unfit for use. The government further alleged that, despite this knowledge, Itochu personnel actively participated in the marketing of the Zylon fiber and downplayed the extent of the degradation problem.

"We will not tolerate companies that put the lives of law enforcement officers at risk by providing defective material for bullet-proof vests," said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department's Civil Division. "This agreement resolves our allegations that these defendants wasted taxpayers dollars by failing to address problematic vests even after they were aware of them."

This settlement is part of a larger government investigation of the industry's use of Zylon in body armor. As part of today's agreement, Itochu has pledged its cooperation in the government's ongoing investigation. The United States has previously settled with five other participants in the Zylon body armor industry for over $47 million. Additionally, the United States has pending lawsuits against Toyobo Co., Honeywell Inc., Lincoln Fabrics, Ltd., Second Chance Body Armor Inc., and First Choice Armor Inc. Several former executives of Second Chance and First Choice are also named in those suits.

Assistant Attorney General West acknowledged the contributions of the many federal agencies assisting the government's ongoing investigation of the Zylon body armor industry, including the Justice Department's Civil Division; the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia; the General Services Administration, Office of the Inspector General; the Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General; the Department of the Treasury's Inspector General for Tax Administration; the Defense Criminal Investigative Service; the U.S. Army Criminal Investigative Command; the Air Force Office of Special Investigations; the Department of Energy, Office of the Inspector General; the U.S. Agency for International Development, Office of the Inspector General; the Defense Contracting Audit Agency; and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2009/December/09-civ-1309.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today the release of a new video aimed at educating employers about worker rights and employer responsibilities under the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The anti-discrimination provision forbids citizenship status and national origin discrimination in the workplace.

The half-hour video, available online and in DVD format, describes the types of discrimination prohibited and how employers can avoid discriminatory practices. The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division is distributing the DVD. OSC enforces the anti-discrimination provision. It also staffs telephone hotlines to help employers and workers quickly resolve immigration-related workplace problems.

"We want to ensure that workers know their rights and that employers know their responsibilities under our nation's civil rights laws, which protect documented workers against employment discrimination because of their citizenship status, their accent, their appearance or their national origin," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights.

"While OSC vigorously pursues violators of this law, it also conducts an extensive public education program to train employers about fair employment practices and how to avoid discrimination against authorized workers," adds Perez.

The video is available on the OSC Web site at www.justice.gov/crt/osc/ . In addition, single copies in DVD format can be ordered by calling OSC.

Those interested in ordering the video or seeking assistance from OSC may call its toll-free employer hotline at 800-255-8155 (voice) or 800-237-2515 (TTY) or its worker hotline at 800-235-7688 (voice) or 800-237-2515 (TTY).

http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2009/December/09-crt-1305.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From ICE

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fresno-area man sentenced to 17 1/2 years for producing child pornography

FRESNO, Calif. - A Lemoore, Calif., resident was sentenced Monday to 17 ½ years in federal prison on production of child pornography charges arising from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Lemoore Police Department.

Jess Tedder, 54, came under suspicion after ICE agents learned he purchased access to Web sites selling images of child pornography. When questioned, Tedder told investigators that viewing child pornography was "fun" and something he "enjoyed." While executing a search warrant at Tedder's home, agents found a compact disc containing sexually explicit images of a girl under two years of age. Tedder admitted the toddler was a relative, and that a second minor female assisted in producing the images of the toddler engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

Tedder pleaded guilty October 1 and has been in custody since his arrest on that date. At the October hearing, Tedder admitted he produced the images in Kings County, Calif., in June 2007. The Kings County District Attorney's Office has filed additional charges against Tedder for committing lewd acts with a minor, and those charges remain pending.

Upon completion of his federal prison sentence, Tedder will be required to register as a sex offender and be on supervised release for the remainder of his life.

"Today's sentencing sends a strong message to anyone who would even consider exploiting children in this manner," said Brian Poulsen, resident agent in charge of ICE's Office of Investigations in Fresno. "People who create and possess child pornography are truly putting our children at risk - we're talking about images depicting the sexual abuse and exploitation of children in horrific ways. We will continue to work closely with our local law enforcement partners to seek justice for those who perpetrate these despicable crimes."

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. ICE's participation in the investigation is part of the agency's initiative known as Operation Predator, an ongoing enforcement effort targeting those who sexually exploit children. Since Operation Predator was launched in July 2003, ICE agents have arrested more than 11,600 individuals nationwide.

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/0912/091207fresno.htm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From the FBI

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.fbi.gov/page2/dec09/shivers120709.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From the DEA

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Three Farc Members Arrested and Charged with Hostage-Taking of U.S. Citizen

DEC 4 -- MICHELE M. LEONHART, the Acting Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration ("DEA") joined PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and JOHN V. GILLIES, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the Miami Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI") to announce today the arrest of EDILBERTO BERRIO ORTIZ, a/k/a "El Gavilan," ALEJANDRO PALACIOS RENGIFO, a/k/a "El Gato," a/k/a “Yimi," and ANDERSON CHAMAPURO DOGIRAMA, a/k/a "El Tigre," a/k/a "Dairon," three members of the 57 Front of the Fuerzas Armadas the Revolucionarias de Colombia ("FARC"), a Colombian terrorist group, who are charged with holding a U.S. citizen hostage for over 10 months.

ORTIZ, RENGIFO, and DOGIRAMA were arrested on these charges yesterday by Colombian authorities at different locations by representatives of the Colombian Department of Administrative Security in the Municipality of Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia. ORTIZ, RENGIFO, and DOGIRAMA are charged along with six others for their roles in the kidnapping of an American citizen for ransom in April 2008. The superseding Indictment containing the charges (the "Hostage Taking Indictment") was unsealed in September 2009. The Government simultaneously unsealed another Indictment charging five defendants with providing material support to the FARC (the "Material Support Indictment"), two of whom are also charged in the Hostage Taking Indictment.

As alleged in the Indictments: The FARC was formed in 1964 and is structured as a military organization, with approximately 10,000 armed guerillas organized into seven "blocs," 68 numbered "Fronts" (including the 57 Front), nine named "Fronts," and four urban "militias." The the FARC is dedicated to the violent overthrow of Colombia's democratically-elected government and has been designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the United States Department of State. The 57 Front operates in the territory within the Colombia's Choco Department, which borders Panama, and supports the FARC's terrorist activities through narcotics trafficking and kidnapping for ransom, including the kidnapping of Americans and other foreign nationals.

On April 4, 2008, associates of the 57 Front the kidnapped an American citizen in Panama. ORTIZ, RENGIFO, and DOGIRAMA guarded the victim from approximately April 6, 2008, until approximately February 10, 2009. Other defendants authorized and financed the kidnapping, and demanded ransom from the victim's relatives, informing the relatives that they would never see the victim alive again if the ransom were not paid. The victim was released in February 2009, after a member of the victim's family paid the ransom.

ORTIZ, RENGIFO and DOGIRAMA are each charged with two counts of hostage taking, each of which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. The Hostage Taking Indictment has been assigned to United States District Judge JED S. RAKOFF. Of the defendants charged in that Indictment not arrested yesterday, one is in the custody of Colombian authorities, and the rest remain at large.

"This kidnapping conspiracy shows the world once again that the FARC is a violent, narco-terrorist organization. It is bent on undermining civil society and threatens innocent civilians in Colombia and other countries. Three FARC members allegedly responsible for this kidnapping are now behind bars, and will soon face justice in a U.S. court of law," said DEA Acting Administrator MICHELE M. LEONHART. "DEA and our law enforcement partners will not tolerate hostage-taking, and we remain committed to hunting down narco-related kidnappers and those who assist them in their reprehensible, criminal enterprises."

"The FARC poses a grave threat to the security and stability of the Americas, and these arrests are a further step in our efforts to combat narco-terrorism in this hemisphere. Those who seek to take Americans hostage abroad should know that we will aggressively pursue them wherever in the world they may hide," said United States Attorney PREET BHARARA.

Special Agent-in-Charge JOHN V. GILLIES stated, "The FARC is a terrorist organization that has waged a brutal war on the people of Colombia for 45 years. The FBI is committed to doing its part to bringing to justice those that kidnap and hold hostage innocent U. S. citizens for their own selfish aims."

Mr. BHARARA praised the investigative work of the FBI's Extraterritorial Hostage Taking Squad in Miami, the FBI Attachés in Panama and Colombia, DEA's New York Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Strike Force, the Narco-Terrorism Group of the DEA's Bogota Country Office, the DEA's Panama City Country Office, and the Department of Justice's Office of International Affairs. Mr. BHARARA also thanked the Colombian Department of Administrative Security, the Colombia Attorney General's Office, and the Panamanian National Police for their assistance.

The prosecution is being handled by the Office's International Narcotics Trafficking Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys REBECCA M. RICIGLIANO and JEFFREY A. BROWN are in charge of the prosecution. The charges contained in the Indictments are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

http://www.justice.gov/dea/pubs/pressrel/pr120409.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From the ATF

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Twelve Michigan and California Residents Charged With Being Members of Cocaine & Money Laundering Conspiracies

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – U.S. Attorney Donald A. Davis, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives ( ATF ) Special Agent In-Charge (SAC) Thomas Brandon, Detroit Field Office, and Lansing, Michigan Police Chief Mark Alley announce the arrests of seven defendants in two states in connection with “Operation Holiday Express,” an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force ( OCDETF ) Investigation led by the U.S. Justice Department's ATF in cooperation with the Department's National Drug Intelligence Center in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, the Lansing Police Department, and LA IMPACT, a drug enforcement task force operating in the greater Los Angeles area.

On December 1, 2009, a grand jury in the Western District of Michigan returned a two count First Superseding Indictment in United States v. Alvin Keith Jackson, et al., W.D. Michigan Case No. 1:08-CR-274 [ PLM ], charging 12 individuals in California and Michigan with being members of cocaine and money laundering conspiracies that began in the mid-1990s and continued through 2009. The First Superseding Indictment also includes a criminal forfeiture allegation wherein the government provides notice of its intent to seize and forfeit funds in listed bank accounts, motor vehicles, a boat, and real property owned or controlled by the defendants in the Los Angeles, California and Detroit, Michigan areas. A copy of the First Superseding Indictment, which was “under seal” until the arrests of the defendants, is attached and sets forth in summary form some of the means and methods used in the money laundering conspiracy.

The defendants arrested yesterday are Willie Cornelius Jackson, 78, of Los Angeles, CA ; Robert Edward Wilson, 65, of Los Angeles, CA ; Regina Y. Cawthorne-Shariff, 48, of Moreno Valley, CA ; Owusu Ananeh Firempong, 58, of Los Angeles, CA; James Dylan Hayes, 39, of Macomb Township, MI ; Marlan Micah McRae, 35, of Macomb, MI ; and Alvin Maurice Anderson, 45, of Gross Pointe Farms, MI .

Three other defendants remain at large, including Charles Jackson Sr., 46, of Los Angeles, CA ; Charles Jackson Jr., 27, of Los Angeles, CA ; and Samuel Aaron Collins, 46, of Los Angeles, CA . Simultaneous with the arrests, federal agents served 43 seizure warrants. Funds in 19 bank accounts were seized, along with 24 motor vehicles and a boat. A Notice of Lis Pendens will be filed regarding the real estate listed in the First Superseding Indictment, which, among other purposes, provides notice to potential buyers of the real properties of the federal government's interest in and intent to forfeit these real properties.

Operation Holiday Express began in 2007 after the identification and dismantlement of the AHH DEE AHH drug organization. AHH DEE AHH, which originated in Detroit, operated in the Lansing, Michigan area between 2001 and April 2006, distributing over a thousand kilograms of cocaine, almost 100 kilograms of heroin, and thousands of pounds of marijuana during that time. A significant amount of the powder cocaine they obtained was manufactured into crack cocaine then sold. The organization also was responsible for or involved in at least two kidnapings, several shootings, and other violent crimes in the Lansing area. The investigation of AHH DEE AHH resulted in the conviction of its two leaders, Jamokentayatta Curtis Hampton and Damond Dshan Bean, its New York/New Jersey-based heroin supplier, Daniel Hankinson, and 24 other members and associates of the organization between 2005 and 2007. All 27 defendants pled guilty and 26 agreed to cooperate with law enforcement.

With the assistance of the cooperating defendants and others, in 2007, federal prosecutors indicted and successfully prosecuted the three female Detroit—based cocaine brokers to the AHH DEE AHH drug organization —— Felicia Blake, Tamara Hughes and Larzetta Johnson. In 2008, Lindell Brown, the Las Vegas, Nevada-based organizer for the drug trafficking organization, was indicted and convicted. In November 2008, Alvin Keith Jackson, one of the Los Angeles, California—based cocaine suppliers and three others, including Kelly Burnett Garmon, were indicted and arrested in the Los Angeles area. Alvin Keith Jackson and two of his three codefendants pled guilty and were sentenced in 2009. Kelly Burnett Garmon is the only defendant from the original November 2008 Indictment who has not entered a guilty plea and thus was named in the First Superseding Indictment.

Pursuant to the terms of his written plea agreement with the government earlier this year, Alvin Keith Jackson agreed to the criminal forfeiture of over $730,000 of his assets that were acquired through his cocaine trafficking between California and Michigan from 2004 to January, 2007. Prior to today's seizures, the government has seized over $1,600,000 of assets in this investigation and successfully forfeited over $1,000,000 of drug proceeds.

The Detroit area defendants, James Dylan Hayes, Marlan Micah McRae, and Alvin Maurice Anderson, made their initial appearances in federal court in Grand Rapids, Michigan this afternoon before the Honorable Joseph G. Scoville, U.S. Magistrate Judge. Three defendants arrested in Los Angeles appeared in federal court in Los Angeles, California, yesterday. The fourth defendant Owusu Ananeh Firempong, 58, of Los Angeles, CA, is expected to appear today.

If convicted of the cocaine conspiracy charge in Count One, each defendant faces a mandatory minimum of ten years and a maximum of life in prison, followed by at least five years of supervised release after incarceration. This offense also carries a maximum fine of $4,000,000. If convicted of the money laundering conspiracy set forth in Count Two, each defendant faces a maximum sentence of 20 years followed by not more than three years of supervised release. The maximum fine for this offense is the greater of $250,000 or twice the value of the property involved in the money laundering activity.

ATF SAC Brandon said, “This investigation is an excellent example of law enforcement and prosecutorial tenacity. For five years, ATF , the Lansing Police Department, and the U.S. Attorney's Office followed every bit of evidence to produce today's arrests and seizures. The citizens of Lansing should be proud of their police department in working such a long-term complex investigation that originally stemmed from the streets of Lansing.” Lansing Police Chief Alley agreed, and thanked the ATF and the U.S. Attorney's Office for their dedication.

U.S. Attorney Davis praised the joint efforts of the ATF , the Lansing Police Department and the LA IMPACT (Baldwin Park Police Department, Monrovia Police Department, California Highway Patrol, LaVerne Police Department, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department). U.S. Attorney Davis stated, “Every law enforcement agency involved in this complex investigation is to be commended for their efforts in this multi- year and multi-state investigation. The defendants convicted and sentenced in the prior related cases, along with the defendants charged today, are the result of their dedication and hard work.”

Operation Holiday Express is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian P. Lennon.

The charges in an Indictment are only allegations of criminal conduct, and the defendants are presumed innocent until their guilt is established in court by proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

http://www.atf.gov/press/releases/2009/12/120309-det-twelve-mich-calif-residents-charged.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.