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From LA Times

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Bill would require witnesses to report violent crimes

A California lawmaker is trying to make it a crime for witnesses not to report homicides, rapes and other violent attacks.

The legislation, sponsored by Assemblyman Pedro Nava (D-Santa Barbara), was prompted by the gang rape of a 16-year-old Richmond High School student who was attacked for about two hours while at least a dozen witnesses failed to call police. (Richmond police initially said the girl was 15.)

"It is a horrible, horrible indictment on the state of affairs when a 16-year-old blameless girl can be viciously assaulted and anywhere from 10 to 14 witnesses don't do anything about it," Nava said in an interview. "That is shameful."

He said the legislation would close a loophole in a state law that makes it illegal for witnesses not to report a crime against a child under age 14.

"Why should you not have the same obligation if a victim is 60?" said Nava, a former prosecutor.

His measure, called the "Witness Responsibility Act," would require witnesses to call authorities during violent crimes.

In the Richmond case, police said at least seven males took part in the Oct. 24 rape, which began about 9:30 p.m. and lasted two to 2 1/2 hours.  Some of the attackers allegedly laughed and took photos of the girl as she was raped and beaten in a dark alley near campus after leaving a homecoming dance, police said.

A woman who heard about the attack from her friends finally called a 911 operator, saying that "nobody wants to call the cops."

Six males — three adults and three juveniles — were charged in the rape and have pleaded not guilty. The three juveniles are being tried as adults, authorities said.

The crime sparked outrage and focused national attention on Richmond, northeast of San Francisco.

Richmond Police Lt. Mark Gagan said the proposed law would be helpful when dealing with violent crimes such as the gang rape."It's another tool for law enforcement," he said.

Nava said he has "fast-tracked" the legislation, meaning he has incorporated it into an existing bill that will allow it to be considered in January. He said he expects the bill to be supported by his fellow lawmakers.

"This is fresh on people's minds," he said. "Everybody I know is outraged by this."

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/12/richmond.html#more

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New sketches released of serial killer in South L.A.

In the ongoing search for a serial killer who has claimed at least 11 lives in South Los Angeles since 1985, LAPD officials today released a series of sketches that picture what the killer might look like today.

The three new sketches of the aged man were based on a description given to police in 1988 by the only woman known to have survived an attack by the assailant.

Deputy Chief Jim McDonnell, head of detectives for the Los Angeles Police Department, said he hopes the images will jog the memory of someone familiar with the killer.

“We believe this case is very solvable. Someone out there has a piece of information that we need,” he said. “It may seem to them so insignificant, so small ... to us it might be the missing piece of the puzzle that we've been looking for.”

Despite McDonnell's optimism, there has been little reason so far to be hopeful that police will someday  catch the killer. Long stretches of time between known slayings and a disjointed, often dormant investigation that spanned different generations of detectives left police unclear for years that a single man was responsible for the string of killings.

All the victims, except one man, were young, black women often involved in drugs and prostitution. When the killer was linked through DNA tests to another victim in 2007, a task force of veteran LAPD homicide detectives was formed to hunt for the killer.

Searches of DNA felon databases for the man or his family members and painstaking efforts to track down the prostitutes, pimps, drug dealers and others who may know him have turned up little in the way of clues.

The release of sketches showing a graying and heavier man is the latest effort by detectives and elected officials to keep the story in the media spotlight to generate tips from the public.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/12/new-sketches-released-of-man-who-killed-11-people-in-south-la-since-1985.html#more

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Healthy Families insurance program gets reprieve from feds

California won a reprieve today from a federal threat to undercut a funding scheme that has kept nearly 700,000 children from being yanked from a state health insurance program for the working poor.

Cindy Mann, director of the federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, told state officials in a midday e-mail that her agency would delay a final decision until at least mid-2011.

That will allow the state's Healthy Families program to continue operating under a plan adopted by the Legislature in September and signed into law by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The plan included raising cash by extending a 2.35% tax to health insurance programs for the poor, a scheme that federal officials had said might not meet regulatory muster.

State officials said the delay in a decision will at least allow California some breathing room, including an opportunity to regain some fiscal footing -- and the tax receipts needed to fund programs like Healthy Families -- if the economy revives.

In addition, by the time a decision is made, the full effect of the looming federal healthcare overhaul will be clear, potentially providing additional funding.

Mann's notice comes one day after Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders dispatched a letter to her boss, the Obama administration's Health and Human Services secretary, Kathleen Sebelius. In the letter, they challenged Mann's preliminary ruling against the state's funding plan and asked for at least a delay in a final decree because of the state's budget problems.

Those include a projected deficit of nearly $21 billion over the next year and a half.

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

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MEXICO UNDER SIEGE

Drug cartel chief is dead, but now what?

Mexico officials herald the killing of Arturo Beltran Leyva of Sinaloa as a coup. Still, the violence could grow.

by Ken Ellingwood

December 18, 2009

Reporting from Mexico City

He was one of Mexico's most notorious drug traffickers, embroiled in fights to the death with rival gangsters and the Mexican military. His crude signature -- proclaiming him the "boss of bosses" -- showed up regularly next to the headless bodies of his foes.

So when Arturo Beltran Leyva fell dead Wednesday night during a frenzied gunfight with Mexican naval commandos, authorities declared a major blow struck against one of Mexico's meanest smuggling groups.

"This action represents an important achievement for the people and government of Mexico and a heavy blow against one of the most dangerous criminal organizations in Mexico," President Felipe Calderon said Thursday from Copenhagen, where he was attending an international climate conference.

"His death has dealt a crippling blow to one of the most violent cartels in the world," said Michele Leonhart, acting director of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

But amid the messy landscape of narcotics trafficking in Mexico, it is not clear what effect the kingpin's fall will have on his group or the wider drug underworld. The result could be more killing in Mexico if Beltran Leyva's absence sparks a succession war or inspires rivals to move in forcefully on his group's lucrative turf.

"It's an important step but, at the end of the day, you're not going to reduce the market," said Alberto Islas, a Mexico City-based security analyst. "You take out one guy and somebody else will take his place. But this is violent."

Mexico's attorney general, Arturo Chavez, acknowledged the possibility of more bloodshed, saying Beltran Leyva's killing could prompt his enemies in Sinaloa to act.

"The weakening of any cartel can be seen as an opportunity by another that is fighting for territory," Chavez said. "If they see [their rival] as weak, they will probably try to step up their actions to advance."

Chavez also warned of a possible succession fight inside the Beltran Leyva group.

About 15,000 people have died in Mexico since Calderon launched his crackdown on drug traffickers three years ago. Most of the slayings have resulted from fighting between rival gangs or power struggles within the groups. The Beltran Leyva gang has been a key part of that bloody panorama.

The group has been locked in a ferocious war with rivals led by Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman, a former ally, since early last year. Beltran Leyva held Guzman responsible for tipping off authorities who captured his brother Alfredo Beltran Leyva in January 2008.

That feuding, which has left hundreds dead, could intensify if members of Arturo Beltran Leyva's gang suspect Guzman's group of helping authorities track him down. Or the gang could retaliate directly against federal officials.

"I think we're going to see blowback," said Scott Stewart, vice president for tactical analysis at Stratfor, a global intelligence firm based in Austin, Texas.

The Beltran Leyva gang, which has been allied with another violent group, the Zetas, has battled rivals along the Pacific coast, a key smuggling corridor. Hand-lettered posters signed "the boss of bosses" have increasingly shown up alongside decapitated or dismembered bodies.

"Beltran Leyva was responsible for some of the most heinous acts of violence in Mexico's recent history," U.S. Ambassador Carlos Pascual said in a statement. "We congratulate the Calderon administration and the brave members of its military forces on this successful and highly significant operation."

The killing does not yet diminish the formidable financial resources or logistical reach of the Beltran Leyva gang, which U.S. authorities say has smuggled tons of cocaine into the United States from Colombia. But analysts agreed that it could prove a lasting blow.

Beltran Leyva, also known as "The Bearded One," is the first Mexican cartel leader slain by authorities since Tijuana kingpin Ramon Arellano Felix was shot by police in 2002.

That death and the arrest the same year of Arellano Felix's brother Benjamin marked the start of fraying in the Tijuana group, which has been beset by infighting and poaching by rival gangs.

Still, Mexican drug gangs have a long history of weathering the loss of their leaders, and it seemed unlikely that Beltran Leyva's death would disable his far-flung group any time soon. This month, the U.S. Treasury Department froze U.S.-based assets of 22 people and 10 companies with ties to the gang. Possible Beltran Leyva successors include another brother, Hector, who also goes by Mario Alberto and was already playing a leadership role. He was listed with Arturo Beltran Leyva this year among the country's 24 most-wanted drug traffickers.

Analysts said the man allegedly in charge of the gang's gunmen, Edgar Valdez Villarreal, also could vie for leadership.

Beltran Leyva, whose age is reported as 51, had been a main target of Mexican authorities since the arrest of his brother Alfredo last year, but he always managed to get away.

The trail had grown hotter in recent days.

DEA and FBI agents received information about a week ago on Beltran Leyva's whereabouts in the city of Puebla, southeast of Mexico City, and shared it with Mexican naval officials, according to a DEA official in Washington.

But Beltran Leyva and his bodyguards escaped a navy raid on the Puebla location, said the DEA official, who was not authorized to discuss the operation publicly.

Early the next morning, Mexican forces raided a Christmas party in the picturesque southern Mexico City suburb of Tepoztlan in search of cartel members. They arrested dozens of attendees and entertainers, including Latin Grammy-winning accordionist and singer Ramon Ayala.

Chavez said residents in nearby Cuernavaca reported the presence of heavily armed men in their neighborhood. The DEA official said U.S. and Mexican agents received information that the Beltran Leyva group had fled to a Cuernavaca high-rise.

Mexican forces moved residents, including teens at a party, to a gym in the complex. Helicopters circled low. Witnesses described a ferocious gun battle lasting an hour or more after troops charged in.

"What an experience," one resident told Mexican television. "Explosions! Grenades! Machine guns! I would never have imagined something like this happening in Mexico City, and much less Cuernavaca."

Six bodyguards and a Mexican marine also died in the shootout. The navy has played a growing role in the government's military-led drug war.

Authorities said one of the gunmen committed suicide to avoid capture. Three people were arrested.

Chavez said investigators identified Beltran Leyva's body based on statements by arrestees and comparisons with photographs. But he said they planned to conduct DNA tests.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-fg-mexico-shootout18-2009dec18,0,984342,print.story

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From the Washington Times

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Fort Hood suspect recovering

ASSOCIATED PRESS

FORT WORTH, Texas -- The Army psychiatrist charged in last month's deadly shooting at Fort Hood has been moved from a hospital's intensive care unit to a private room, his attorney said.

Maj. Nidal Hasan remains under guard at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio and is rehabilitating from wounds that left him paralyzed from the waist down, attorney John Galligan said. He said he was notified about the transfer Tuesday.

Doctors have said Maj. Hasan needs to be hospitalized at least two more months while he learns to care for himself, Mr. Galligan said.

Mr. Galligan said he filed a motion to have Maj. Hasan transferred to a hospital closer to his office near Fort Hood so that he would have better access to his attorneys. Fort Hood is about 125 miles northeast of San Antonio.

Officials from the military hospital and Fort Hood did not immediately return phone messages seeking comment.

Maj. Hasan has been charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder in the Nov. 5 attack. Army officials have not said whether they will seek the death penalty.

Army prosecutors have said doctors will evaluate Maj. Hasan by mid-January to determine if he is competent to stand trial and to determine his mental state at the time of the shooting.

Maj. Hasan has been ordered to remain in custody until his military trial.

Mr. Galligan said Maj. Hasan is allowed to see only his attorneys and relatives. His phone conversations can be recorded, his relatives' visits must be supervised, and all communication during visits must be in English or be delayed until a translator is brought in. Maj. Hasan also has been barred from watching or reading news reports, and his private room has no television, the attorney said.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/dec/17/attorney-fort-hood-suspect-recovering//print/

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Terrorism Service Administration

THE WASHINGTON TIMES

On too many days, it is easy to forget that the T and the S in TSA stand for "Transportation Security." More to the point would be "Totally Squandered" credibility, "Terminally Sloppy" screening and - most recently - "Transparent Secrets."

The TSA has wasted millions of dollars on untested equipment that it turns out can't stop explosives from passing through its airport checkpoints. The agency's baggage screeners fail skills tests so often that employee representatives are pressing to abandon the tests. Now we learn agency officials approved the posting of documents online that outline standard operating procedures for screening airplane passengers. This snafu offers a road map for slipping through airport security.

The information was posted in March and removed only this month, although it is now reproduced across the Web. The document details who is exempt from secondary screenings, which foreign travelers automatically get a second screening, as well as the frequency and methods for ID verification during peak travel periods and the circumstances when airport screeners allow police, fire or emergency personnel past a checkpoint.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who oversees TSA, went so far as to tell the House Homeland Security Committee that "the security of the traveling public has never been put at risk." All right, add "Truly Specious" to the list of sobriquets that apply to this bureaucracy.

The agency published easy-to-copy examples of federal air marshal, congressional and CIA identification cards. They also provided details about the calibration process for airport metal detectors and specifics about the gauge of wires that may not be detected by airport machines, information that wouldn't change unless we upgraded or replaced them all.

Both TSA and the House Homeland Security Committee have opened investigations into the matter. But no matter what they turn up, there's no getting the information back - and the real problem at the agency isn't one of failure, but a culture of incompetence.

If the George W. Bush administration had one historic achievement, it was preventing terrorists from striking at the United States for seven years after Sept. 11, 2001. If President Obama and his administration hope to build on the Bush accomplishments, transforming TSA into an agency that advances "transportation security" will be critical.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/dec/18/terrorism-service-administration//print/

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From the Wall Street Journal

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Training for the Civilian Surge

Stresses of Afghanistan Deployment Are Simulated at Rural Indiana Facility

MUSCATATUCK, Ind. -- A former mental hospital in the woods is the staging ground for one of the biggest deployments of U.S. civilians since the Vietnam War.

Dozens of U.S. agriculturists, legal experts and development-aid administrators pass through elaborate mock-ups of foreign courtrooms and bazaars here each week -- part of training for nation-building work in some of Afghanistan's most unruly provinces.

"We want civilian representation in every military deployment" across Afghanistan, said Paul Jones, deputy to Richard Holbrooke, the Obama administration's point man on Afghanistan. "Our mission is defined by how we build Afghan capacity."

The Obama administration set up the one-week training course to prepare civilian personnel for hazardous duty, as well as expose them to Afghan culture and practices, U.S. officials said. The civilians are often paired with members of the Indiana National Guard, who are preparing for their own deployment in Afghanistan.

Trainees spend a week on a make-believe forward operating base in the forest, where they go through military operations with the National Guard as if they were already deployed in Afghanistan. The civilian recruits learn to perform their own security functions. And they get schooled on Afghan language, politics and culture.

Congress has authorized the State Department to spend $6 billion in Afghanistan through 2010, but U.S. officials said executing the White House's civilian surge has been a challenge.

The State Department and U.S. development agencies are short of employees conversant in Dari, Pashto and other languages spoken in Afghanistan. Civilian agencies in Washington also have less flexibility than the Pentagon to mobilize staff -- such as diplomats and farming experts -- for duty in war zones. More seasoned U.S. bureaucrats also are wary to part from their families for prolonged overseas missions, said U.S. officials.

As a result, the civilians taking part in security and cultural exercises at the Muscatatuck Urban Training Center are often private contractors with extensive experience working overseas.

One such person is Harry Wheeler, 58 years old. He was running a nonprofit development organization in Washington before he was recruited by contacts in the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Mr. Wheeler has worked in such countries as Indonesia and Haiti, so he is accustomed to sometimes dangerous environments. His expertise in developing small-scale businesses and farming enterprises for rural populations is in line with the Obama administration's goal of creating jobs for Afghans.

"I'm getting more confident as we train with the military," said Mr. Wheeler over lunch at Muscatatuck, where he was under the constant threat of a mock attack or kidnapping by program trainers. "Once you're in development, it's in your blood."

Mr. Wheeler is scheduled to deploy as a general-development officer with a Provincial Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan's south or east. PRTs are normally made up of between 60 and 100 U.S. soldiers, with one to three civilians. The Obama administration, however, hopes to increase the civilian component and potentially allow the PRTs to be headed by nonmilitary personnel.

Donna Moll and her husband, David, are among the growing number of married couples recruited in recent months. They are farmers plucked from the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Athens, Ga., to help devise irrigation systems, alternative crops and new produce markets for Afghan villagers. Like a number of other civilian volunteers, Mr. Moll, 59, served multiple tours in the Vietnam War.

"Our family is supportive, but a little worried," said Mrs. Moll. She and her husband have six children.

An important part of the training involves Americans acting out crisis scenarios they might face in Afghanistan. The Afghan participants in these "vignettes" are either drawn from expatriate populations in the U.S., or from Kabul. Included are Afghan bureaucrats and a man with an uncanny resemblance to Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

On a recent afternoon, Mr. Wheeler and Mrs. Moll sat in a dilapidated room with a gathering of ersatz Afghan tribal leaders. The Americans were told to meet with their Afghan counterparts following a bombing in a remote Afghan village that killed a teenager. The Americans offered compensation to the village leaders for the loss of life.

"Money cannot buy the blood of the individual," an Afghan elder barked at the Americans, slamming his fist on a table. "We can't trust you people anymore!"

Such emotionally fraught scenarios are meant to simulate the sorts of crises soldiers routinely encounter in the field, but civilian bureaucrats seldom face.

American military personnel have complained in the past that State Department staff stationed in Iraq or Afghanistan were ill-equipped to operate in areas outside of Baghdad or Kabul. U.S. diplomats, meanwhile, have argued that the Pentagon in recent years has developed a disproportionate influence over U.S. foreign policy.

To bulk up the capacities of civilian personnel, the program gives trainees a taste of "what they experience in the field," said Jim McKellar, an administrator of the Muscatatuck course. Trainees should arrive in Afghanistan feeling "very, very comfortable," he said.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126109820281496435.html#printMode

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U.S. Health Officials Urge H1N1 Shots for All Groups

WASHINGTON -- Top federal health officials urged all Americans – not just those at high risk -- to get vaccinated against the H1N1 influenza virus to prevent another wave of illnesses after the holidays.

"We finally have enough vaccine that for most of you, it's your turn," Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said at news conference Thursday.

Initially, H1N1 vaccines were limited to pregnant women, children, young adults and health-care workers, or the groups at the highest risk of becoming ill. Now with nearly 100 million doses of vaccine that have been shipped to the U.S. and more coming each day, many states have lifted those restrictions.

Illnesses from the H1N1 virus have fallen sharply in recent weeks with just 14 states reporting widespread influenza activity in the week that ended Dec. 5, down from 48 states that had reported widespread activity in mid-October. Health officials, however, fear there could be a resurgence of H1N1 illnesses starting in January following the holiday-travel season.

During the 1957-58 influenza pandemic there was a wave of illness in the late summer and early fall and then a decline before another wave of illness was seen in January and February. Officials are concerned the same thing could happen again and said getting vaccinated could prevent or slow the spread of another round of H1N1 illnesses. So far, H1N1 or swine flu has sickened at least 47 million Americans and killed nearly 10,000.

"We have the chance to lessen the impact or prevent a third wave," Ms. Sebelius said. The first wave of influenza started last spring before it waned over the summer and resurged after schools started in September and October.

Drugstore chains like Walgreen Co., CVS Caremark Corp. and Rite Aid Corp. have started offering H1N1 vaccine at some of their stores. Walgreen's said it would be offering the vaccine nationwide by the end of the month.

Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said most influenza illnesses are being caused by the H1N1 virus and not the seasonal influenza strains. However, he said seasonal influenza strains usually don't start circulating until now, with a typical peak in February.

The U.S. has ordered about 250 million vaccine doses from five companies with the largest producers being Novartis AG and Sanofi-Aventis SA, although health officials said they don't think the U.S. will need that much and have given back a portion of an order so that it can be sold to other countries.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126106973839395771.html#printMode

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From ICE

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Brownsville couple sentenced for smuggling aliens for prostitution

A local hotel was used as the headquarters for the prostitution criminal enterprise

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - A local man and woman were sentenced Wednesday for their roles in smuggling illegal aliens into the United States for purposes of prostitution. The sentences were announced by U.S. Attorney Tim Johnson, Southern District of Texas. The investigation was led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Juan Luis Coronado, aka Hernandez, 37, and Lee Ann Zieger, 40, both of Brownsville were sentenced to 87 months and 24 months, respectively, for their roles in a scheme to illegally bring in aliens for purposes of prostitution. The sentences were imposed by U.S. District Judge Hilda Tagle at Wednesday's hearing.

Coronado pleaded guilty on Sept. 9 to one count of attempting to import a minor alien for prostitution purposes. In addition to the more than seven-year term of imprisonment, Judge Tagle ordered Coronado to serve a three-year term of supervised release. As part of his supervised release conditions, Coronado will be required to register as a sex offender and follow other sex offender-related conditions, such as no unsupervised contact with minors.

Zieger also pleaded guilty on Sept.9 to two counts of harboring aliens for purposes of prostitution. She too will be required to serve a three-year-term of supervised release after her two-year prison term. Zieger's sentence includes the court's consideration of her communications with Coronado while he was in custody, in violation of her conditions of release.

Coronado previously admitted to directing a prostitute to work for him in order to bring a 14-year-old minor from Mexico to work for him as a prostitute in October 2008. He also admitted to bringing in and managing at least two other alien prostitutes. Zieger took on many roles in this case. She was in charge of transporting, recruiting providing food and clothing, and collecting money from the prostitutes on at least one occasion. In total, the prostitution ring involved more than five people, which was considered by the court in determining the ultimate sentence imposed on Coronado.

The record of the case establishes that the prostitutes were housed in a Brownsville hotel where Coronado's girlfriend, co-defendant Zieger, was the manager and provided him with rooms to use in the prostitution enterprise. Coronado used a room key labeled "Property Manager" during the course of the prostitution scheme which had been provided to him by Zieger.

ICE also learned that Coronado had the smuggled women working at two other locations: Bike Fest at South Padre Island and downtown Brownsville.

Coronado has been in custody since his arrest and will remain in custody to begin serving his 87-month prison term. However, Zieger was permitted to remain on bond pending the issuance of an order to surrender to the U.S. Marshals Service to begin serving her sentence.

The case resulted from a 14-month investigation conducted by ICE and U.S Customs and Border Protection.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Leonardo, Southern District of Texas, prosecuted this case.

http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/0912/091217brownsville.htm

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Guyanese national charged with smuggling Indian nationals into United States

MIAMI - A Guyanese national has been indicted on charges of conspiracy and alien smuggling in connection with her role in the smuggling or attempted smuggling of four Indian nationals into the United States following an investigation led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Investigations in Miami.

Annita Devi Gerald, aka Annita Rampersad, 52, was charged in a nine-count indictment filed on Wednesday by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Texas on charges of conspiracy, encouraging and inducing aliens to come to the United States for profit, and bringing aliens to the United States for profit. Gerald was arrested by ICE special agents in Houston on Nov. 17 and has been held without bond since that time.

In July 2008, ICE special agents in Miami obtained information that Gerald was the alleged leader of an alien smuggling organization and initiated an investigation.

According to the indictment, from approximately April 2009 to Nov. 17, Gerald and others conspired to smuggle four Indian nationals into the United States. Allegedly, Gerald and her co-conspirators fraudulently obtained Belizean visas for the Indian nationals and escorted them from India to Belize, moving through various countries in Central and South America. Gerald allegedly provided lodging for all four Indian nationals in Belize while further smuggling arrangements were made.

In August 2009, Gerald allegedly arranged transportation for one of the Indian nationals to cross the border from Belize into Mexico where he met with Gerald's co-conspirator, Dhanraj Samuel, 52, of Trinidad and Tobago, who escorted him through Mexico. In Monterrey, Mexico, Gerald's co-conspirator paid a Mexico-based smuggler to illegally transport the individual across the Mexico-U.S. border to Houston. After making these arrangements, Gerald's co-conspirator allegedly flew to Houston where the co-conspirator received the Indian national at a motel approximately 10 days later. The smugglers who delivered the Indian national to Gerald's co-conspirator in Houston allegedly demanded and received a smuggling payment prior to releasing him. The Indian national smuggled to Houston is currently being detained by ICE pending removal. The whereabouts of the other three Indian nationals allegedly harbored by Gerald in Belize is currently unknown.

On Aug. 25, ICE special agents arrested Gerald's co-conspirator, Dhanraj Samuel, in Pompano Beach, Fla. for violations of bringing aliens to the U.S. for profit and aiding and abetting and conspiracy.

If convicted, Gerald faces a maximum prison sentence of five years for conspiracy and 10 years for each of the four counts of encouraging and inducing aliens to come to the United States for profit. Additionally, she faces the maximum penalty for each of the four counts of bringing aliens to the United States for profit, which is 10 years for a first or second violation and 15 years for any other violation. She also faces a fine of up to $250,000.

The investigation was conducted by ICE's Office of Investigations in Miami and Houston, with the critical assistance of the ICE Attaché offices in El Salvador, Ecuador, Brazil, Singapore and Panama, as well as the ICE Office of Intelligence in Washington, and the Alien Smuggling Interdiction Unit of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in Washington. El Salvadoran authorities, particularly the Direción General de Migración y Extranjería (El Salvador Immigrations) and the Grupo Especial de Investigaciones Nacionales e Internacionales (El Salvador Police-GEINI) also provided invaluable assistance.

The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Dept. of Justice Trial Attorneys Jerry Massie and Jessica Morris of the Criminal Division's Domestic Security Section with the assistance of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Edward Gallagher and Douglas Davis of the Southern District of Texas

http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/0912/091217miami.htm

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ICE issues new procedures for asylum seekers as part of ongoing detention reform initiatives

WASHINGTON-U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Assistant Secretary John Morton today announced that ICE will generally release from detention arriving asylum seekers who have a credible fear of persecution or torture if certain criteria are met-part of ICE's ongoing immigration detention reform efforts.

"ICE is committed to detention reform that ensures criminal and violent aliens remain in custody while establishing effective alternatives for non-violent, non-criminal detainees commensurate with the risk they present," said Assistant Secretary Morton. "These new parole procedures for asylum seekers will help ICE focus both on protecting against major threats to public safety and implementing common-sense detention policies."

The revised guidelines announced today, effective Jan. 4, 2010, will permit parole from detention-which temporarily authorizes aliens to enter the United States without being formally admitted or granted immigration status-of aliens arriving at U.S. ports of entry who establish their identities, pose neither a flight risk nor a danger to the community, have a credible fear of persecution or torture, and have no additional factors that weigh against their release. The new guidelines also mandate that all such arriving aliens should automatically be considered for parole--a significant change from prior guidance that required aliens to request parole in writing.

In addition, the new policy adds heightened quality assurance safeguards, including monthly reporting by ICE field offices and headquarters analysis of parole rates and decision-making, as well as a review of compliance rates for paroled aliens.

U.S. immigration laws generally require aliens who arrive in the United States without valid entry documents to be immediately removed without further hearing; however, arriving aliens can pursue protection in the United States if they are first found by a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) asylum officer or an immigration judge to have a credible fear of persecution or torture in their home country.

When the policy becomes effective, USCIS asylum officers will explain the new process to arriving aliens who have been determined to have a credible fear of persecution or torture, including providing information regarding appropriate documentation the aliens may provide to help establish their eligibility for release.

On Aug. 6 and Oct. 6, Secretary Napolitano and Assistant Secretary Morton outlined the Department's overall approach to its ongoing immigration detention reform effort.

For more information, visit www.dhs.gov or www.ice.gov

http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/0912/091216washington.htm

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Arlington, Texas, man pleads guilty to federal child pornography charge

FORT WORTH, Texas - An Arlington, Texas, resident pleaded guilty on Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles Bleil to one count of possessing child pornography. This plea was announced by U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks, Northern District of Texas; the case is being investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Tung Ngo, 43, has been in custody since his arrest in late August 2009. He faces a maximum statutory sentence of 10 years in prison, a lifetime of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. He will be required to register as a sex offender. Sentencing is set for April 12 before U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means.

On Aug. 28, an ICE agent visited Ngo's residence based on a lead from a local ICE undercover investigation. The lead concerned a target at the Ngo residence who allowed child pornography to be viewed via the Internet. Ngo allowed the agents to search his computer and related storage media where they discovered child pornography. Ngo admitted he knowingly possessed and acquired child pornography on his computer from the Internet. He admitted using the search terms "PTHC" and "preteen hardcore" in acquiring his child pornography.

This investigation is part of Operation Predator, a nationwide ICE initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders, and child sex traffickers. Since Operation Predator was launched in July 2003, ICE agents have arrested more than 12,000 individuals.

ICE encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity 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 and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com .

This case is being prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov .

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex C. Lewis, Northern District of Texas, is prosecuting the case.

http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/0912/091216ftworth.htm

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From ABC News

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Car of Kidnap Suspect Jean Philippe Lacombe Seen Heading Into Mexico

Suspect Allegedly Presented Document in Spanish Saying It Gave Him Custody

Dec. 17, 2009 —

An international manhunt is on for a father whose car was last seen crossing the Texas border into Mexico after he allegedly tricked a court to give him custody of his 10-year-old son.

The boy can be seen on a videotape pleading with police "please, please, please" to not force him to go with his father.

Jean Philippe Lacombe, 41, allegedly fooled the court into helping him get custody of his son by presenting documents in Spanish that he said gave him legal custody of his son Jean Paul. The document was actually a warrant from Mexico for his arrest, but the court couldn't read it and believed Lacombe, a lawyer for the boy's mother told ABCNews.com.

"Authorities have told me that Lacombe's car was seen crossing into Mexico back in October, but we aren't sure if he was in it," said Texas' Bexer County District Attorney Susan Reed.

Felony arrest warrants have been issued for Lacombe, who is accused of misrepresenting court documents to "unlawfully obtain possession of the child" and then disappearing with his son , according to Reed.

Reed said Lacombe obtained an order to take temporary custody of his son on Oct 15. The very next day, authorities helped the father take the boy from a school bus. They were both supposed to appear in court on Oct. 19, never showed up.

Miquel Ortiz, the lawyer for the boy's mother, Berenice Diaz, says they believe the boy is in danger and is also without his medication.

"The child is on daily medication for emotional problems stemming from the first kidnapping and now he's not taking it. That's our main concern," said Ortiz. "He has also made claims that his father physically abuses him."

According to Ortiz, Lacombe kidnapped his son once before in 2005, fleeing from Mexico to France with the boy before Diaz regained custody.

The claims of abuse by Lacombe were recorded by the school bus surveillance camera when Jean Paul was removed from the bus. The boy's mother authorized the release of the video to garner attention to her son's alleged kidnapping.

On the video, Jean Paul is seen crying in the aisle of the school bus as he tells authorities trying to coax him outside, "No no, please help me. He's not my dad. I don't want to live with him."

Jean Philippe Lacombe Allegedly Tricked Texas Court

Asked why he doesn't think Lacombe is his dad, the child responds, "Because he hits me a lot of times. I don't want to live with him." The boy backs away from the police and down the aisle of the bus.

The cop, who is unnamed in the video, assures the boy that they won't let his father hurt him, but the child continues to resist.

Then Lacombe himself starts trying to get his son to get off the bus, saying, "Come with me, Honey" and "You're scaring your brother."

"I want to go with my mom. I want to stay with my mom, please, please, please," cries Jean Paul.

Diaz' attorney Ortiz claims that Lacombe tricked the court by giving them a document in Spanish, one that was actually a warrant for his arrest in Mexico, and claimed it was proof that the mother was not to have custody of Jean Paul.

"He told the court that the document said [the mother] was not supposed to have access to the child, but really the document was a warrant for his arrest," said Ortiz. "Because the document was in Spanish, the court didn't know what it said."

Ortiz says District Court Judge Sol Casseb just "believed the papers" when he ruled in favor of Lacombe.

Diaz, who Ortiz says is "devastated," last saw her son on Oct. 17 at the San Antonio airport.

http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=9363173

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