Judge: Polanski must come to L.A. to be sentenced in child-sex case

A judge has rejected director Roman Polanski's bid to be sentenced in absentia in a three-decade-old child-sex case.

Judge Peter Espinoza ruled that Polanski, 76, will have to come back Los Angeles to be sentenced.

"I have made it clear he needs to surrender," the judge said.

Polanski's attorneys said they would appeal.

The famed film director is under house arrest in Switzerland, where he is waiting to learn whether the Swiss government will extradite him to the U.S. to face sentencing for having sex with a 13-year-old girl.

Polanski received some support this week from his victim.

In papers filed in Superior Court on Thursday, Samantha Geimer's lawyer accused the Los Angeles County district attorney's office of violating state victims' rights statutes by not consulting Geimer before seeking extradition.

Geimer was 13 at the time of the crime and is now a wife and mother living in Hawaii. She has never changed her account of being raped and sodomized by Polanski during a photo shoot at Jack Nicholson's house in 1977, but her stance toward Polanski changed in the years after she and the director settled a civil suit brought against him for sexual assault and other claims.

Under the terms of the 1993 confidential agreement, he agreed to pay her at least $500,000.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/01/roman-polanski-bid-to-be-sentenced-in-absentia-rejected-by-judge-in-child-sex-case-samantha-geimer.html#more

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EDITOIAL

Spare LAPD from the budget knife

Times are tough, but funding the Police Department should remain a priority.

January 23, 2010

The Los Angeles Police Department is the city's largest cost center and has been growing, as Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has worked to increase the numbers of officers. Fiscal reality last year forced police hiring to be scaled back to simply keep pace with attrition. Now, as Villaraigosa and the City Council are confronted by revenues falling even further behind projections, it's understandable that some would consider letting the total number of officers fall backward, at least in the short term. But depleting the ranks of the LAPD must remain, if not a last resort, close to last.

The mayor's critics like to claim that he has jeopardized the city's fiscal health by maintaining police hiring in order to boast that he succeeded where earlier mayors failed, bringing the department to the magic number of 10,000 officers. A larger LAPD, though, has little to do with magic numbers. Villaraigosa's program of police hiring, in an era when new officers better represent the city's population -- a program he reiterated earlier this week -- has helped transform the department from a combative force feared and resented by much of the city to one respected, embraced and far more likely to defuse potentially explosive situations than to spark them. Meanwhile, crime in Los Angeles has steadily decreased, and although the reasons include broader societal changes and, perhaps, just plain good luck, the LAPD has been a driver, not a bystander. The department has a long way to go, and numbers alone won't get it there. But numbers help.

City Hall must set priorities, and there should be little question that public safety should top the list. No jobs or transportation program will be of much use if the city is gripped by crime or undermined by mistrust between residents and law enforcement.

But fiscal responsibility shares the top spot on the priority list. There is little point in expanding the Police Department if doing so drives City Hall into bankruptcy. A bankrupt city can't pay its cops, and therefore can't keep them.

City officials will be tempted to argue that given the current budget situation, police hiring is irresponsible. And if the choice were really between temporarily depleting the LAPD's ranks and fiscal collapse, they'd be right. There's a good chance, though, that what they really mean is that the choice is between depleting the LAPD's ranks and, perhaps, eliminating a favorite city program, or cutting a politically supportive contractor, or laying off members of a union that contributes funds to their campaigns. The facts of life are that many city programs that do some good are unaffordable and must be cut. City leaders must not try to shelter such programs by undermining the continuing transformation, and success, of the LAPD.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-city23-2010jan23,0,200291,print.story

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From the New York Post

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'Gal suicide bomber' alert

by TOM LIDDY

January 23, 2010

Government officials have been told that female suicide bombers may be trying to enter the United States, according to a published report.

At least two of them may have ties to al Qaeda in Yemen, the same group connected to Christmas Day underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, ABC News reported.

An official said those women may not look Arab and might be traveling on a Western passport, according to the network.

The threat was described as "current" as opposed to imminent, but the intelligence comes the same week that an "unusually high" number of people on the no-fly list tried to board flights into or out of the United States.

http://www.nypost.com/f/print/news/international/gal_suicide_bomber_alert_du9Uh48911bMeYSfr56CEL

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UK brothers, aged 11 and 12, sentenced for torture

January 22, 2010

LONDON -- A pair of British children who lured two other youngsters to a secluded area and subjected them to a horrifying catalog of near-fatal abuse were sentenced to at least five years in custody Friday.

The attackers, 10 and 11 at the time, were convicted of robbing, beating, and stabbing their victims with sticks and bricks. One child, 10, had a sink thrown onto his head, while his nephew, 9, was forced to eat nettles. The violence included sexual degradation, Justice Brian Keith said during the sentencing.

"What it amounted to was torture," Keith told the two boys at the end of their lengthy sentencing hearing at Sheffield Crown Court, in northern England.

The defendants were among the youngest people ever charged with such a serious crime in Britain, where the age of criminal responsibility is 10. Though initially charged with attempted murder, prosecutors accepted guilty pleas to a lesser charge, causing grievous bodily harm.

The attack sparked horrified headlines and a national debate about how children so young could inflict such violence. It stirred memories of the death of James Bulger, a 2-year-old abducted from a shopping center near Liverpool in 1993 by two 10-year-olds who punched him, beat him with bricks and hit him with an iron bar before leaving his body on a railroad track.

Neither the victims nor the children sentenced Friday may be named for legal reasons.

Detectives said the attackers showed no remorse when questioned by police. One allegedly told officers he did it because he was bored.

Sgt. Richard Vernon, who discovered the 11-year-old, said the victims had by now recovered physically.

The attackers suffered from a "toxic home life," according to Peter Kelson, who represents the eldest brother. Kelson said his client watched ultra-violent films like the "Saw" series, had access to pornographic DVDs, drank cider, had 10 cigarettes a day and smoked cannabis grown on his father's plot from the age of 9.

Many television bulletins lingered on the sign affixed to the outside of the family's home, which read: "BEWARE OF THE KIDS."

http://www.nypost.com/f/print/news/international/uk_brothers_aged_and_sentenced_for_sKA1lxdUHxyz32UxLri4yL

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Making license plates and terrorists

January 23, 2010

It should come as no surprise that up to three dozen American Islamists re vealed this week to have skipped off to terror training camps in Yemen were radicalized in US prisons.

The surprise would be if corrections officials did anything about it.

According to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, intelligence indicates that some 36 Americans who converted to Islam in prison have departed for the al Qaeda hotbed in the past year, claiming to want to study Arabic.

Intelligence officials told the committee that they'd lost track of some of the men, who they believe have slipped away to al Qaeda training camps.

This is a big problem, the report says, "because of the potential threat from extremists carrying American passports and the related challenges involved in detecting and stopping homegrown operatives."

No kidding.

Indeed, such study-abroad programs for homegrown jihadists seem to be all the rage these days. Last month, five Muslim students from Virginia were arrested in Pakistan as they tried to rendezvous with al Qaeda.

But what's especially outrageous about the Yemen 36 is the very real possibility that they were fed their poison by folks collecting government paychecks as Muslim chaplains.

In 2003, Imam Warith Deen Umar, who until 2000 was essentially in charge of hiring Muslim chaplains for New York's state prisons, told The Wall Street Journal that the 9/11 hijackers should be honored as martyrs.

In 2006, Imam Umar Abdul-Jalil, the city's head Muslim prison chaplain, was caught by The Post preaching against "Zionists in the media" and the "terrorist" President Bush -- and kept his job.

Sure, Warith Deen Umar was dismissed, and the state Correction Department says that, 10 years on, most of the chaplains he hired have left, too.

Still, as the Senate report suggests, the radical factory in America's prisons keeps rolling along.

It's time to put a stick in the spokes.

http://www.nypost.com/f/print/news/opinion/editorials/making_license_plates_and_terrorists_RcNNaVkn44jxT7NNq7oKQO

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From the Wall Street Journal

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India Sees Terrorism Threats

NEW DELHI—India put its security apparatus on high alert following intelligence reports of two possible assaults in the air— one from a plane hijacking, the other from paragliders, officials said.

Also Friday, the U.K. raised its terrorist-threat level to severe from substantial, but declined to say why it was doing so.

Indian Officials said the Pakistan-based terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba was behind both threats. The group was responsible for the November 2008 terrorist siege in Mumbai.

On Friday, the home ministry, which is in charge of internal security, issued a security alert to all airports and airlines following an intelligence notification of a plot to hijack a plane.

"We have reliable information of a planned plane hijack by terrorists. We have advised the civil aviation ministry to take necessary steps," said Omkar Kedia, a home ministry spokesman.

Later Friday, U.K. Bansal, an official at the home ministry, said: "We have intelligence reports that LeT has purchased 50 paragliding kits from Europe with an intention to launch attacks on India." No other details were available.

India celebrates one of its biggest holidays of the year, Republic Day, on Tuesday.

The alerts came two days after U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, traveling in the region, warned of efforts by al Qaeda and its affiliates to destabilize South Asia and trigger a war between India and Pakistan.

India and Pakistan have fought three wars since they became independent nations in 1947. In December 1999, Islamic militants hijacked an Air India flight from Nepal's capital, Katmandu, to Kandahar in southern Afghanistan. It ended when New Delhi released three Islamic terrorists in exchange for 167 passengers and crew.

The U.K.'s move Friday reversed a lowering of the threat level in July. The U.K. reduced the threat level from critical to severe in July 2007. A spokesman for the home office referred questions to a statement from the home secretary.

"The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre has today raised the threat to the U.K. from international terrorism from substanital to severe. This means that a terrorist attack is highly likely, but I should stress that there is no intelligence to suggest than an attack is imminent," said Home Secretary Alan Johnson.

Mr. Johnson said the terror-threat level is under constant review and is based on a wide range of factors.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703699204575018261016131460.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLETopStories#printMode

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Some Guantanamo Detainees Face Trial or Commission

WASHINGTON — At least 80 Guantanamo detainees would be brought to the U.S. to face trial, military commissions or continued imprisonment without charge, under recommendations from a presidential task force, two government officials said Friday.

The two officials said that a task force has recommended 35 Guantanamo Bay detainees for prosecution, either in civilian or military court settings. Attorney General Eric Holder has already decided that five of those will be tried in New York federal court for their alleged roles in the 2001 terror attacks.

Another six have been chosen to face military commissions. A venue for those commissions hasn't been decided yet, but the most likely place is a planned prison facility in Illinois to house terrorism-era detainees. The Obama administration still needs money from Congress to renovate that facility.

As part of President Barack Obama's plan to close the Guantanamo Bay prison, the task force has recommended 47 other detainees be held indefinitely without charge. Another 17 detainees who are Yemenis are likely to be held for some time to come, until U.S. counterterrorism officials can find a secure place in their home country or other foreign countries to send them, the officials said.

They also said that a total of about 110 detainees have been approved for transfer to foreign countries.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the findings of the task force. The new figures were first reported in Friday's editions of the Washington Post.

The group's conclusions are not binding, and could be changed by the National Security Council.

There currently are 196 detainees remaining at Guantanamo. In the past year, the administration has transferred more than 40 inmates, but has fallen far short of its goal of closing Guantanamo by its one year deadline, which came Friday.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704509704575019052083732676.html?mod=WSJ_World_LEFTSecondNews#printMode

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From the Department of Homeland Security

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Secretary Napolitano Meets with Global Airline Industry Leaders in Geneva to Strengthen Aviation Security Standards

Talks Build on Ministerial Consensus Reached Yesterday in Spain to Coordinate on Urgent Enhancement of International Aviation Security Standards

Geneva—Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano today met with members of the International Air Transport Association (IATA)—which represents approximately 230 airlines and more than 90 percent of the world's air traffic—in Geneva as part of the Department's ongoing efforts to work with the airline industry to meet both international and U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) security standards.

“Effective aviation security relies upon close coordination between airlines, government and law enforcement to identify, deter and disrupt threats,” said Secretary Napolitano. “I am committed to working closely with the airline industry and my international counterparts to strengthen global aviation security standards for passengers traveling to the United States and around the world.”

During today's meeting—which included IATA CEO and Director General Giovanni Bisignani and leaders from approximately 20 airlines from across Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and North America—Secretary Napolitano emphasized the airline industry's important role in implementing stronger and more effective international security measures to protect the traveling public.

She outlined four broad areas for international public-private collaboration that will help bolster efforts to protect the aviation system while facilitating legitimate travel: improving information collection and analysis; increasing information sharing and collaboration in passenger vetting; enhancing international security standards; and deploying new screening technology.

Secretary Napolitano also met with officials from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in Geneva on these issues.

Secretary Napolitano's trip began yesterday in Toledo, Spain, where she met with her European counterparts to discuss ways to strengthen international aviation security standards—the first of a series of global meetings intended to bring about broad consensus on new international aviation security standards and procedures.

“Yesterday, my European counterparts and I reached consensus on a way forward to strengthen the international civil aviation system through enhanced information collection and sharing, cooperation on technological development, and modernized aviation security standards,” said Secretary Napolitano.

Earlier this month, Secretary Napolitano dispatched Deputy Secretary Jane Holl Lute, Assistant Secretary for Policy David Heyman and other senior Department officials to meet with government leaders and major international airport executives in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Australia and South America to review airport security procedures and work on ways to collectively bolster our tactics for defeating terrorists.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) does not conduct screening in international airports. All last point of departure flights to the United States must meet minimum standards set by ICAO as well as any additional security standards set by the TSA.

Following the attempted terrorist attack on Dec. 25, TSA issued a new Security Directive, developed in consultation with law enforcement officials and domestic and international partners, which mandates that every individual flying into the U.S. from anywhere in the world who holds a passport issued by or is traveling from or through nations that are state sponsors of terrorism or other countries of interest undergo enhanced screening.

The Directive also increases the use of enhanced screening technologies and mandates threat-based and random additional screening for passengers on U.S.-bound international flights. DHS also bolstered security at domestic airports through additional explosive detection canine teams, law enforcement personnel, Behavior Detection Officers, enhanced screening and other measures both seen and unseen.

For more information, visit www.dhs.gov .

http://www.dhs.gov/ynews/releases/pr_1264178353596.shtm

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From the Department of Justice

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Thank you, Sheriff Zaruba. I appreciate your kind words. I also want to thank you, and the NSA's outstanding leadership team, for inviting and welcoming me here today.

It's good to be among friends. Over the years, I've been privileged to work with many of you, and, today, I'm proud to stand alongside each of you in answering our nation's call to attain justice.

In that effort to attain justice, enforce our laws, and – most importantly – protect the American people, America's sheriffs serve as essential partners to the Justice Department. This morning, I'm eager to discuss the work we share. But I'm also here to ask for your help in building the future we all seek.

In looking toward this future, and to the needs that must be met and challenges that must be faced, I'm reminded of the wisdom that our nation's most iconic sheriff left us. As John Wayne once said, “Tomorrow hopes we've learned something from yesterday.”

It's true that tomorrow's success is informed by our past experiences. And I'm certain it will be defined by our current priorities.

In establishing the Department's agenda for this year and beyond, we are guided by the knowledge that moving forward effectively requires a commitment to getting back to basics. We've begun by reinvigorating the traditional missions of the Justice Department and by re-instilling an ethos of integrity, independence and transparency in everything we do.

Even as we confront the complex challenges posed by global terrorism, and even as we recognize this work as the Department's top priority, we must also embrace the historic and most fundamental roles of law enforcement: fighting crime, protecting civil rights, preserving the environment, and ensuring fairness in the market place.

Your entire membership, indeed every person in this room, can play a role. And your guidance can make a critical difference. In the work of making our neighborhoods and communities safer, you are the front lines. You know what works. You know what doesn't. And you have taught me that there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all answer to the dynamic and evolving problem of crime.

This lesson became clear to me years ago, when I served as a young federal prosecutor. And it's been reinforced by my experiences as a judge, as a U.S. Attorney, as Deputy Attorney General and, today, as Attorney General. I have learned, repeatedly and unequivocally, that good police work is a critical first step to understanding, punishing and preventing crime. It's the cornerstone of sound policy and the basis for effective resource investments.

But good police work is not done in isolation. It's done in partnership. And it's done with a commitment to exchanging information, ideas and experiences.

I know that collaboration is the most powerful law enforcement tool we have. This effort begins with the brave men and women who police our neighborhoods, manage our jails and help secure our borders.

This work – your work – makes a difference in communities, in families, and in individual lives. And it will be a key component in meeting the Justice Department's goals for this year and beyond.

I want to talk more specifically about several of our priorities. And I want to tell you about some of the ways the Justice Department is working to provide much-needed support to sheriffs and other law enforcement personnel.

One of the top priorities of this Justice Department is to re-establish our relationships with state, local and tribal authorities. These partnerships are critical. Yet, in recent years, many of them have suffered, been neglected or been taken for granted. No longer. We are committed to rebuilding these bonds. And we are actively working to open new channels of communication and collaboration.

At every level, we're focused on strengthening the Department's core missions of combating terrorism and fighting crime.

In the months ahead, we plan to give particular emphasis to initiatives aimed at tackling economic crime, international organized crime, youth violence and the exploitation of children.

We will also be focusing on improving our corrections system and ensuring that conditions are secure, humane and aimed at rehabilitation.

There's no question that problems in our jails and prisons are alarming, especially the increased prevalence of sexual assault. The Bureau of Justice Statistics recently found that 12 percent of young offenders in our juvenile facilities have been sexually victimized. This is horrifying. It's also unacceptable.

As we work toward making improvements, many of you have raised practical concerns about some of the recommendations included in the Prison Rape Elimination Act Commission Report. I am committed to working with you. And I'm determined to address this problem effectively, collaboratively, and as quickly as possible.

Sheriffs must be a part of this work. I'm pleased that several of you will be meeting with the Department's PREA Working Group on Monday. And I want each of you to know that there will be additional opportunities to offer input and to comment on proposed regulations.

We'll also be soliciting your assistance in our reinvigorated drug enforcement efforts. This work is driving an enhanced focus on Mexico and on our southwest border. To date, the Department has launched a series of efforts aimed at confronting the threats posed by Mexican cartels, by sophisticated criminal organizations, by smugglers of guns, drugs, and cash, and by those intent on illegally crossing into our country.

Some of you work along our southwest border. You know, as surely as I do, that we simply cannot afford to ignore the problem of illegal immigration. Several of you have reached out to us and to our colleagues across the Administration. You've warned that tension is building. And you've described its consequences: spikes in hate crimes, an increased fear of local law enforcement, and growing concerns for public safety.

We hear you. And we are working to ensure that the federal government lives up to its responsibility to create and enforce effective immigration laws. 

President Obama has signaled his commitment to comprehensive immigration reform. He's engaged the Justice Department in finding a workable solution for the millions who are in our country without lawful status. And he's called on us, as well as the Department of Homeland Security, to provide technical assistance on issues of enforcement, administrative and judicial review, and civil rights.

As we encourage and pursue reforms, let me be clear about two points: We will fulfill our obligation to enforce current immigration laws. And we will also honor our commitment to safeguard civil rights in our border areas, as well as in our workplaces, our housing markets and our voting booths.

I realize that achieving the goals I've laid out will not be easy. Success will depend on how well we support our law enforcement partners. It will also depend on our ability to provide the investments you need to do your jobs well.

In this time of mounting deficits and budget cuts, I know that your work has become more difficult. But it's never been more important. The needs of your offices cannot be ignored or overlooked. You deserve better, and our communities deserve better.

That ' s why, from day one, this Administration has been focused on providing local law enforcement officials with sufficient resources. And the Justice Department is an enthusiastic partner in this work.

Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act alone, we have awarded more than $2 billion through the Office of Justice Programs. And we ' ve allocated more than $1 billion through the office of Community Oriented Policing Services.

M any of you - but not enough of you - have benefited from these investments. As part of our OJP Recovery Act rural law enforcement program, $36 million was awarded to sheriffs' offices. And sheriffs have received nearly $9 million under our Southern Border program.

However, addressing the challenges faced by law enforcement requires more than simply moving money out the door. We must match resources effectively with local needs, something that can only be achieved through strong federal-local partnerships. We must also recognize that, in the work of ensuring public safety, these partnerships go far beyond funding decisions.

We must seek out new ways to deepen and extend these partnerships. This includes participating in each others' task forces. It includes sharing data and research. And it requires taking what we know, and what we have learned from each other, and making sure this information is put to good use.

There's no question that this type of cooperation among law enforcement agencies is vital to fulfilling our missions and responsibilities. And one of our core objectives must be to work together to protect the safety of our law enforcement officers.

A key part of this work is the Department's Body Armor Initiative and our Bulletproof Vest Partnership Program. Through our National Institute of Justice, we run a rigorous standards and testing program to ensure that body armor does what it's supposed to do: keep law enforcement safe. Through our Bureau of Justice Assistance, we've helped law enforcement personnel in more than 13,000 jurisdictions purchase some 800,000 protective vests -- vests that can make a critical difference to our officers in the field.

Unfortunately, in the past, some body armor was poorly manufactured. Some materials degraded to the point of being ineffective against the bullets they were designed to defeat. The Justice Department's Civil Division has been in litigation with several companies over defective vests made from a material called Zylon. In October 2008, one of the companies – Armor Holdings Products – agreed to pay $30 million as part of a settlement.

Today, I'm pleased to announce that $11 million from this and other settlements will be invested in law enforcement officers across the country. These resources will not be going back into the Treasury. They will be pumped into our Bulletproof Vest Partnership Program. And, this year, they will enable us to purchase an estimated 26,000 additional bullet-resistant vests.

Through this and other programs, we will take every step possible to protect your safety.

I want you all to know that violence against law enforcement will not be tolerated. At every level of your Justice Department, and in every corner of our country, acts of violence against law enforcement will be pursued. They will be prosecuted. And they will be punished.

There is nothing more basic, or more important, to our work than keeping our law enforcement officers safe. Recently, our nation, and our law enforcement community, was tragically reminded of this truth.

As you well know, less than two months ago, in a coffee shop in Lakewood, Washington, four police officers sat together, preparing for a work day they would not live to see. At 8:30 that morning, these officers were ambushed by a gunman and killed in cold blood. It's believed that they were targeted, murdered, simply because of the uniforms they wore and the public service they provided.

These victims, of course, were members of Lakewood's 100-member police department. But they were part of something much larger. They were part of a law enforcement community that includes federal, state, local and tribal officials. They were part of our nation's law enforcement family.

Their memorial service was attended by more than 20,000 people. Officers from as far away as New York, Boston and Chicago drove hundreds of miles to be there, creating a processional that lasted nearly three and a half hours.

But tragically, this type of senseless killing of law enforcement officers is not an isolated incident. Just last week, Captain Chad Reed of the Dixie County Sheriff's Office in Dixie County, Florida lost his life in the line of duty during a gunfight with a murder suspect. Captain Reed and his family are in our thoughts and prayers- today and always.

The program from the Lakewood officers' memorial service included the Police Officers' Prayer. A prayer for courage, for strength, for dedication and for compassion. These are the qualities I see and admire in law enforcement officials across our country, and within this room.

It is your gifts, your dedication and your leadership that will enable our Justice Department to make a positive, historic difference.

Let us commit to this work. Let us learn from each other. Let us work in partnership to develop law enforcement programs that are sophisticated, smart, tough and effective. And let us do so today.

I look forward to working with you, and learning from you, over the next several years. Together, we can make a better America. Thank you.

http://www.justice.gov/ag/speeches/2010/ag-speech-100122.html

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From the FBI

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ON THE GRID
Computers Crunch Numbers in Their Sleep

A space management specialist in one of our field offices on the East Coast set off on vacation last February. Before leaving, she made sure to leave her networked computer turned on.

A month earlier, computer scientists at the FBI's Operational Technology Division (OTD) powered up a new program that enlisted every resting Bureau computer to help run calculations tied to criminal and terrorism investigations. By the time she returned from vacation her machine had processed a key bit of data that provided a big break in a case.

“We couldn't have planned that better,” said Special Agent Jason Jarnagin, a unit chief in the Digital Evidence Section of OTD. “She was on vacation and her computer was crunching calculations."

The specific case is still classified because it's ongoing. But the technology, called grid computing, is increasingly common. Large universities and high-tech companies have employed this type of distributed computing for years. The idea is to harness the processing power of many individual computer work stations (the grid) rather than buying, building, and maintaining a single supercomputer. When a computer isn't being used by a person, it's silently running mathematical calculations on behalf of a central server to solve a problem. In the FBI's case, the grid is made up of thousands of desktop workstations at Headquarters and in field offices and resident agencies across the country. The computers are classified “secret” and are separate from the unclassified computers assigned to Bureau staff. Computers in the grid might be called upon to solve large computational problems or sort through massive indexes of data that might otherwise take years—or even decades—to sift and process.

“A lot of FBI elements can certainly make use of it, cases in which intense computational resources may be necessary,” Jarnagin said.

The idea behind the Grid Computing Initiative, as we call it, was hatched in 2004 when the Bureau was in the midst of overhauling technology to better serve investigators and analysts. Jarnagin said the mathematicians and computer scientists in his unit thought, “Wouldn't it be nice if we could use FBI computers in a distributed fashion?”

Because the secret-classified computers are central to our casework, it took time to iron out processes and ensure the integrity of the FBI's network. As new, more powerful computers came online, the grid's computational abilities grew exponentially—a dual-core processor can manage twice the work of a single-core machine, and so on. Economically it made sense too—the amount of energy that would be required just to cool a supercomputer with the grid's capabilities could power a small city, Jarnagin said.

The most well-known grid computing efforts enlist the public's computer horsepower. In 1999, researchers at the University of California at Berkeley launched a program that enlisted the public to help find extraterrestrial life. The program, downloaded onto more than five million home computers, analyzes radio signals from space when the computers are not in use. Similar programs are seeking cures for diseases or solutions to mathematical dilemmas.

OTD Assistant Director Marcus Thomas calls the FBI's effort, which is not open to the public, “the largest supercomputer dedicated solely to law enforcement.”

There have been breaks in other cases since the first one last February. And as more, stronger computers replace earlier models, the grid's capacity only grows.

“Sixteen hours out of a day, on average, nobody's at a computer,” Jarnagin said. “There's so much processing power, it would be a waste for us not to use it, especially when it can help protect the American people.”

http://www.fbi.gov/page2/jan10/grid_012210.html

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Louisiana Man Convicted of Civil Rights Violation in Connection with Cross-Burning

WASHINGTON—Daniel Earl Danforth of Minden, La., was convicted yesterday by a jury in Shreveport, La., of a civil rights conspiracy, use of fire in the commission of a federal felony, and obstruction of justice in connection with a cross-burning near the home of an interracial couple in Athens, La., the Justice Department announced.

Sentencing has been set for April 14, 2010. At sentencing, Danforth, 31, faces a maximum penalty of 10 years for the civil rights conspiracy; 20 years for obstruction of justice; and an additional 10 years for use of fire.

At trial, evidence revealed that on Oct. 23 or 24, 2008, Danforth agreed with his two cousins to build, erect, and burn a cross near the homes of a cousin and her African-American boyfriend (now husband), and other relatives who approved of their interracial relationship. Danforth and his co-conspirators built the cross using two pine trees, wire or cable, and a large nail. One of Danforth's cousins then went to get diesel fuel to use to burn the cross. Meanwhile, Danforth and his other cousin transported the cross to an area adjacent to the victims' homes where, using chainsaw gas, they set the cross on fire in order to intimidate the victims. On Oct. 26, 2008, Danforth telephoned a relative who was living with the victims and directed her to the location of the burned cross.

The evidence also showed that several days later, after the defendant and his co-conspirators learned that the FBI was investigating this crime as a potential civil rights violation, Danforth, his cousin who helped transport and burn the cross, and the cousin's girlfriend formed a plan to get rid of the burned cross to prevent the FBI from discovering it and using it as evidence. Danforth's cousin then drove Danforth to the woods behind the victims' homes, where Danforth removed the cross, disassembled it and hid it in the woods in an effort to thwart the FBI investigation.

“The defendant and his co-conspirators, driven by hatred, threatened a family with violence simply because they associated with persons of another race. Incidents of this kind have no place in this country, but they are regrettably all too common,” said Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division.

“Burning a cross near someone's home to threaten or strike fear and terror in the hearts of other human beings is a criminal act deserving vigorous investigation and punishment. This office will continue to aggressively direct federal law enforcement resources toward investigating and prosecuting those criminals who infringe and violate the civil rights of others,” said William J. Flanagan, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana.

This case was investigated by the FBI. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary J. Mudrick for the Western District of Louisiana and Trial Attorney Erin Aslan from the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division.

http://neworleans.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel10/no012210.htm

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From the ATF

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A Joint Ops Caper: ATF & NOPD – Where the Boyz Are

 You didn't mess with the Cutt Boyz. They controlled half of the B.W. Cooper Housing Project in New Orleans, as well as the residents who lived there. They peddled heroin and cocaine; they robbed, assaulted, and murdered — all in broad daylight.

There was this one guy who got shot 17 times under his car, said Special Agent Ray Connor of ATF 's New Orleans Field Division. Two guys started shooting him, so he got under his car and they kept on shooting him under his car. This happened in late afternoon. I guess it was around dusk. What's worse, there were little kids standing there watching it happen.

The gang was protecting and maintaining their reputation through violent crime, said Special Agent Mike Eberhardt, also of the New Orleans Field Division. Murder and attempted murder, kidnapping, armed robbery, everyone was scared to death of these guys.

As well they should have been. In 2001, close to 30 shootings occurred within “Back of Town” (pronounced Back-a-Town by the locals), the five square block area of the projects owned by the Cutt Boyz.

Meeting The Enemy

The New Orleans Police did their best to keep the violence down, but it was a losing battle.

The locals had little, if any, respect for the police, and in many instances had great contempt for them, Eberhardt explained. Everyone had a friend or family member who'd been arrested, and these arrests were often viewed as unfair or unnecessary. This fostered a distrust of the police. It was a major hurdle we had to overcome during our investigation.

There was a separation between the two cultures, Connor observed. No one wanted to talk to the police.

And so the mayhem continued. The Cutt Boyz did as they pleased, knowing no one in their neighborhood would dare come forward as a witness against them. Terrified of the gang, distrustful of the police, the residents of Back-a-Town were truly prisoners in their own backyards.

Back in 2001 Connor was a New Orleans cop who was familiar with the culture of Back-a-Town. It wasn't until a few years later he made the decision to join ATF , so it made perfect sense for him to be teamed up with Eberhardt to go after the Cutt Boyz organization.

In November of that year, the team of New Orleans Police Detective Ray Connor and ATF Special Agent Mike Eberhardt got into their silver 2002 Crown Victoria and drove straight into the Cutt Boyz' home turf. Little did they know they'd be spending the next two years of their lives there.

We made no secret about who we were or why we were there, Eberhardt said. We told the residents we were there to help them. And we told the Cutt Boyz we were there to put them in jail.

But how do you build a case against a criminal organization if none of their victims will talk to you?

We spun our wheels for maybe three months, Eberhardt said. We weren't getting anywhere. We were getting stonewalled.

We were knocking on doors and trying to talk to people, Conner said. But nobody was talking. One lady actually told us: If they see you standing on my porch, I'm gonna die.

That, right there, told us our approach wasn't going to work, said Eberhardt.

But what approach would?

Getting To Know You

The two investigators decided on the total immersion approach.

We needed to win their trust, Connor explained. To do that, we needed to become part of the community.

A plan of attack had at last materialized — Connor and Eberhardt would become a perpetual presence — by simply hanging out and doing nothing. They'd eventually come to be seen not as cops, not as intruders, but as Ray and Mike. At least that was the idea, but would it work?

We spent nearly every day in that project, Eberhardt said. For months we didn't ask anyone about anything crime-related. We didn't ask them any questions. Little by little, they started to trust us. We wanted them to know we were there to help them, and protect them.

It took many months, but gradually the residents of Back-a-Town began to loosen up, and open up. Their fear began to subside, and their trust in the two investigators began to build. Slowly but surely, Connor and Eberhardt's stock was going up. As they casually cruised the streets of Back-a-Town, they began to notice a change.

We'd be driving around, and people would wave at us, Connor said. That's when we knew we were getting somewhere.

After a while, we knew everything that was going on, said Eberhardt. We were in the loop. If something happened, people would call us and let us know.

The New Orleans cop and the ATF special agent had become such permanent fixtures even the Cutt Boyz began to regard them as an inescapable part of the scenery.

It was a weird situation, Connor said.

As the months rolled by, the duo's patience and persistence began to pay off. Bit by bit, they were collecting a wealth of information about the Cutt Boyz' various criminal activities. The residents of Back-a-Town had, at last, begun to talk.

We spent all of 2002 rounding up witnesses and collecting cold case evidence from previous crimes the New Orleans Police had already worked, Connor explained. The police had collected a lot of evidence already, but they saw all these crimes as separate incidents — a murder here, a kidnapping there.

We saw them as a bigger picture, he continued. We saw them as one long crime spree carried out by a criminal organization.

Take Down Day

As the hot summer of 2003 wore on in New Orleans, Connor and Eberhardt came to the conclusion the endgame was nearing. After nearly 20 months, they'd finally collected the evidence they needed to put the Cutt Boyz out of business.

In August of 2003 we indicted 11 suspects, Eberhardt said. We indicted the core group. We got them on a number of Violent Crime in Aid of Racketeering charges.

With major assistance from the New Orleans Police Department, each of the suspects was taken into custody quickly and quietly, without incident. No dramatic take-downs. No flashing lights and sirens.

All of them knew this day was coming, Eberhardt observed. We told them it was coming. They just didn't know what day it would be.

Eleven Cutt Boyz are now in federal prison.

Two of them were facing the death penalty if convicted at trial, said Eberhardt. These two eventually pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy charges and five separate murders. Both received multiple life sentences.

Another went to trial and was found guilty of one murder and three attempted murders, including the shooting of his girlfriend in the eye, Connor said. He was sentenced to two life terms in prison.

Three Cutt Boyz received 25 years each for their participation in various murders and the narcotics conspiracy. Lesser players received sentences of between seven and 20 years.

We were a good team, Eberhardt said of his old partner, Ray Connor. Ray's laid back; he doesn't get riled up easily. I'm more high-strung. So we kind of played off each other.

Connor agreed. Mike's very aggressive, he said. I'm much more diplomatic. Mike's not diplomatic.

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This article was reprinted, with permission, from the January / February issue of American Cop magazine .

http://www.atf.gov/press/releases/2010/01/012010-atf-where-the-boyz-are.html

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