Gunman opens fire at Pentagon entrance, is killed

The gunman intended to enter the building, authorities say, before he and two police officers at the door exchanged gunshots, leaving him dead and the officers wounded.

By Julian E. Barnes

March 5, 2010

Reporting from Washington

A man apparently planning to enter the Pentagon walked up to police officers guarding the doors, pulled out a gun and opened fire Thursday evening, shooting two officers before being mortally wounded himself.

The gunfight took place about 6:40 p.m., yards from the entrance to the giant Defense Department installation as workers were heading home, police said. Employees were ordered back to their offices and the building was locked down for a time, with no one allowed in or out.

"He walked up, very cool. He had no distress, no emotion in his face," said Richard S. Keevill, chief of the Pentagon Force Protection Agency, the civilian police agency that guards the five-sided building. "When he reached in his pocket, they assumed he was going to get his [building] pass out. He came out with a gun."

The gunman began firing, grazing the two officers, who returned fire. The officers and the shooter were taken to a local hospital. The officers' injuries were not considered life-threatening.

Early Friday, the D.C. medical examiner's office said the gunman had died, and it identified him as John Patrick Bedell, 36, the Associated Press said. He was reportedly from California.

The area just outside the Pentagon has a lot of commuters, serving as a transit hub for the Washington Metro railway system and many of the region's buses. The Metro station is one of the busiest in the Washington-area system, with thousands of commuters passing through, transferring from trains to buses.

The Metro entrance is just outside the doors of the Pentagon, meaning anyone can approach the building from the Metro. A force of officers guards the entrance during working hours, and people who work inside must flash badges before entering. Those without badges are ushered to a metal detector to be searched, then are escorted inside.

Officials did not identify the officers or, initially, the armed man.

"We have layers of security, and it worked," Keevill said. "He never got inside the building to hurt anyone."

The Associated Press said investigators were speaking with a second man who might have accompanied the shooter.

Keevill said the gunman was believed to be an American citizen. Officials refused to speculate on his motives.

"We just do not have enough information on the suspect to make those determinations this evening," said Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman.

But Whitman agreed with Keevill that the gunman was trying to get inside.

"He was obviously trying to gain entrance," Whitman said.

Police said no words were exchanged between the gunman and the officers before shots began flying, sending commuters screaming and scrambling for cover, witnesses told local television news stations.

Keevill said the officers were wearing protective vests. He would not describe the assailant's clothing. Keevill would not say whether the man was a Defense Department employee.

Police said a third officer was involved in the incident, but did not say in what way.

President Obama was closely following the case, White House spokesman Nick Shapiro said.

The incident comes about four months after a gunman opened fire at Ft. Hood Army base in Texas, killing 13 and wounding dozens. The suspect in that case is an Army psychiatrist with links to radical Islam; he is in custody.

The only Pentagon police officer to die in the line of duty was James M. Feltis III, who in 2005 was struck by a stolen car driven by a man fleeing police.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-pentagon-shooting5-2010mar05,0,6274388,print.story

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Pentagon shooter apparently doubted 9/11 facts in Web posting

Associated Press

March 5, 2010

Washington

The gunman in the Pentagon shootings may have harbored resentment for the military and had doubts about the facts behind the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

John Patrick Bedell, 36, died after exchanging gunfire with two police officers, both of whom were wounded.

In an Internet posting, a user named JPatrickBedell wrote that he was determined to see justice for the 1991 death of Marine Col. James Sabow in Orange County, which was ruled a suicide but has long been the source of coverup theories. The writer said the case would be a step toward revealing the truth behind the 9/11 "demolitions."

The same posting railed against the government's enforcement of marijuana laws and included links to the author's 2006 court case in Orange County for cultivating marijuana and resisting a police officer.

Court records available online show the date of birth on the case mentioned by the user JPatrickBedell matches that of the John Patrick Bedell who was killed after opening fire outside the Pentagon.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-pentagon-shooting-interne-2010mar05,0,7959773,print.story

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Obama looking to give new life to immigration reform

In an effort to advance a bill through Congress before midterm elections, the president meets with two senators who have spent months trying to craft legislation.

By Peter Nicholas

6:18 PM PST, March 4, 2010

Reporting from Washington

Despite steep odds, the White House has discussed prospects for reviving a major overhaul of the nation's immigration laws, a commitment that President Obama has postponed once already.

Obama took up the issue privately with his staff Monday in a bid to advance a bill through Congress before lawmakers become too distracted by approaching midterm elections.

In the session, Obama and members of his Domestic Policy Council outlined ways to resuscitate the effort in a White House meeting with two senators -- Democrat Charles E. Schumer of New York and Republican Lindsey Graham of South Carolina -- who have spent months trying to craft a bill.

According to a person familiar with the meeting, the White House may ask Schumer and Graham to at least produce a blueprint that could be turned into legislative language.

The basis of a bill would include a path toward citizenship for the 10.8 million people living in the U.S. illegally. Citizenship would not be granted lightly, the White House said. Undocumented workers would need to register, pay taxes and pay a penalty for violating the law. Failure to comply might result in deportation.

Nick Shapiro, a White House spokesman, said the president's support for an immigration bill, which would also include improved border security, was "unwavering."

Participants in the White House gathering also pointed to an immigration rally set for March 21 in Washington as a way to spotlight the issue and build needed momentum.

Though proponents of an immigration overhaul were pleased that the White House wasn't abandoning the effort, they also wanted Obama to take on a more assertive role, rather than leave it to Congress to work out a compromise.

Immigration is a delicate issue for the White House. After promising to revamp in his first year of office what many see as a fractured system, Obama risks angering a growing, politically potent Latino constituency if he defers the goal until 2011.

But with the healthcare debate still unresolved, Democrats are wary of plunging into another polarizing issue.

"Right now we have a little problem with the 'Chicken Little' mentality: The sky is falling and consequently we can't do anything," Rep. Raul M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) said in an interview.

Republicans are unlikely to cooperate. On Capitol Hill, Republicans said that partisan tensions had only gotten worse since Obama signaled this week that he would push forward with a healthcare bill, whether he could get GOP votes or not.

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) said in an interview, "The things you hear from the administration won't be well received."

Schumer, speaking as he walked quickly through the Capitol, said he was having trouble rounding up Republican supporters apart from Graham. "It's tough finding someone, but we're trying," Schumer said.

On Thursday, Schumer met with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who oversees the government's immigration efforts, to strategize over potential Republican co-sponsors.

"We're very hopeful we can get a bill done. We have all the pieces in place. We just need a second Republican," Schumer said in a statement.

Among proponents, there is a consensus that a proposal must move by April or early May to have a realistic chance of passing this year. If that deadline slips, Congress' focus is likely to shift to the November elections, making it impossible to take up major legislation.

"There's no question that this is a heavy lift and the window is narrowing," said Janet Murguia, president and chief executive of the National Council of La Raza, a Latino advocacy group.

When it comes to immigration, Obama's strategy echoes that of healthcare. He has deferred heavily to Congress, leaving it up to Schumer and Graham to reach a breakthrough with the idea that he would put his weight behind the resulting compromise.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-immigration5-2010mar05,0,2106642,print.story

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EDITORIAL

At the Starbucks saloon

Is it a barrista's job to bar customers who are packing? The Brady organization thinks so.

March 4, 2010

Today's quiz: Who are the greater fools, gun-rights enthusiasts strolling into Starbucks outlets with firearms strapped to their waists in order to assert their right to openly carry weapons, or gun-control advocates protesting against Starbucks for not going all Gary Cooper on these postmodern cowboy wannabes and tossing them out of its coffee-saloon doors?

For us, it's a close call. The recent commotion over "open carry," one of the more obscure issues in the gun-control debate, shows that common sense is uncommon on either side.

Apparently, it's legal in 29 states to openly carry a loaded gun, while in another 13 you need a special permit to pretend you're Wyatt Earp in public. That outrages open-carry enthusiasts, a loosely organized group that has been mounting protests in states considered overly restrictive. Among them is California, which, according to the website opencarry.org , is a "rural open-carry state" -- meaning you can walk around armed without a permit only in some unincorporated county areas. Groups of gun-toting men are showing their disdain for such laws by gathering at stores and restaurants in California and elsewhere, with Starbucks being a particularly popular spot (because nothing goes together like caffeine and high-caliber weaponry).

Starbucks, which can be forgiven for not wanting to alienate customers on either side of the gun divide, has been trying to stay above the fray. "The political, policy and legal debates around these issues belong in our legislatures and courts, not in our stores," the company said in a release Wednesday. But its failure to eject armed patrons has goaded the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence to launch a petition drive demanding that it do so. Which makes us wonder: If you were a barrista, would you want to have to tell an armed wingnut he has to leave his shooting iron at the door?

We're not going to delve into the mind-sets of those who feel the need to terrorize the public by flashing firearms, because they don't appear susceptible to rational argument. We'd expect better from the Brady Campaign, though, given its history of promoting sensible gun laws. Although it's true that Starbucks, like any business, has the right to refuse service to anyone and thus would be perfectly justified in tossing out the real-life Yosemite Sams , the chain is only trying to comply with state laws and protect its employees. Instead of taking aim at its true foe, the open-carry crowd, the Brady Campaign is spraying ammo at an innocent bystander.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-guns5-2010mar05,0,3001133,print.story

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From the Daily News

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The disparity of two missing persons cases -- in black and white

IT seems that in order to get the FBI involved in a missing persons case the victim must be the following: white, female, and from a privileged background. Something that 24-year-old Mitrice Richardson isn't.

When 17-year-old Chelsea King went missing in Poway near San Diego last week after she went for a run and never returned home, she became the subject of an extensive search that not only included local police authorities but the Federal Bureau of Investigation as well.

Soon after the manhunt began, her car was found at the Rancho Bernardo Glassman Community Park with her cell phone, iPod and school clothes inside. DNA on a piece of her clothing found along the southern shore of the lake led to the arrest of John Albert Gardner III, a registered sex offender. Search crews looking in the area near where that article of clothing was found, discovered a body Tuesday in a shallow grave in a tributary about 10 feet from the edge of the water. All of this occurred in the span of five days.

Contrast that with the case of Richardson, a black woman who will be 25 years old on April 30. She has been missing for nearly six months now and the trail is cold.

She was last seen alive in Malibu after being arrested for not paying an $89 dinner bill at Geoffrey's restaurant. She was released from custody at 12:30 a.m. on Sept. 17, without her car, from the sheriff's Malibu-Lost Hills Station, and hasn't been seen since.

Despite pleas from her family for the FBI to get involved, to date they have not. Despite pleas to their local congressional representative, Maxine Waters, to step in demand the FBI to get involved, she has not.

Attempts by the both the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department to locate Mitrice have gone stale. Neither agency has had any contact with Michael Richardson, Mitrice's father, in more than a month.

Yet, when a white teenage girl goes missing, no expense is spared to bring in the appropriate law enforcement agencies to locate her.

What happened to Chelsea King is horrible, and what the King family is going through is something that I don't wish for any mother and father. However, the disparities between the response to her disappearance and that of Mitrice Richardson's clearly illustrate, in black and white, the difference in the value of a black woman's life and that of a white woman.

If local law enforcement agencies, with the help of the FBI, could locate Chelsea King within a week of her disappearance, imagine what they might have accomplished had they put forth the same effort when Mitrice first went missing in September.

Now that the King family has closure, local leaders such as County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and Waters, organizations such as the Los Angeles offices of the NAACP and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and every black church and women's group must push for the FBI to get involved in the disappearance of Mitrice Richardson. Now.

http://www.dailynews.com/opinions/ci_14514416

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From the White House

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Giving Peace of Mind Back to the American People

The urgency of health reform couldn't be more clear.

Across the country, working families have been saddled with huge rate increase in their health insurance premiums. In California, consumers were informed of rate hikes as high as 39 percent, and in Michigan, insurers sought a 56 percent increase and this is happening across the country.

This is unacceptable, particularly at a time when families are struggling to make ends meet and the largest insurers took in more than $12 billion in profits last year alone. The American people want to understand why their premiums are skyrocketing while some companies are doing well. And they deserve a clear and accurate explanation.

I just got out of a meeting where I asked leaders from big insurance companies for answers. I hosted a discussion with the CEOs of UnitedHealth Group Inc., WellPoint Inc., Aetna Inc., Health Care Service Corporation and CIGNA HealthCare Inc., along with leaders from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. I asked them to explain why these crushing burdens are being placed on middle-class families and what we can do to lower costs.

I also asked the CEOs to post the actuarial justification for these stunning rate increases online in an easy-to-understand manner, so that consumers can see why premiums are skyrocketing to the point that some people in the individual market can no longer afford coverage. I hope they will act quickly and make this information available to all of us. If insurance companies are going to raise rates, the least they can do is tell us why.

But they don't want to be afraid every time they open a letter from their insurer that their premiums are going up $7,000 a year.  Or that their application has been rejected because they take a medicine for high blood pressure. Or that their insurance is being cancelled because of a mistake on their paperwork.

The point of health insurance is to give people peace of mind, and they're not getting it.  The system we have is failing them.

President Obama has offered a health insurance reform proposal to help working families and small business owners .  It will hold insurance companies accountable by laying out common-sense rules of the road to keep premiums down, prevent insurance industry abuses and outlaw discrimination against Americans with pre-existing conditions.

Reform also includes key provisions that will protect consumers from unjustified premium increases. Building upon existing state practices, the President's plan includes a new Federal authority to force insurers to justify their rate increases, provide additional support for states that already do rate reviews, and help those states that don't currently review increases on their own.

Right now, in 21 states, insurance companies can raise rates without any oversight, no questions asked, and consumers suffer. Reform will change the rules and help stop exorbitant increases.

And the President's plan will help reduce costs and require insurance companies to dedicate more of the premiums dollars they collect to actual care instead of profits, CEO salaries and advertising.  If they don't spend enough on actual care, they'll be required to send rebate checks to consumers.

Comprehensive reform is a necessary step to fix our broken health insurance market. Holding the insurance industry accountable is one step in that direction.

Kathleen Sebelius is Secretary of Health and Human Services

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/03/04/giving-peace-mind-back-american-people

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From the Department of Homeland Security

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Meeting with Airline Industry CEOs on Strengthening International Aviation Security

March 4, 2010

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Napolitano today met with CEOs of the member airlines of the Air Transport Association of America (ATA), the largest airline trade association in the United States, and the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which represents approximately 230 airlines and more than 90 percent of the world's air traffic—part of her ongoing efforts to bring together major domestic and foreign air carriers to work on ways to bolster international aviation security.

"Government and the private sector must work collaboratively to develop and implement enhanced international security measures and standards," said Secretary Napolitano. "Working together with our partners in the aviation industry, we can and will strengthen the global aviation network to protect the traveling public from terrorism and other threats."

During the meeting, Secretary Napolitano and airline CEOs from across the United States and Europe discussed the international airline industry's important role in implementing stronger and more effective international aviation security measures to protect the traveling public.

Secretary Napolitano also highlighted the Department's continued efforts to bolster security measures at domestic airports–including the accelerated deployment of state-of-the-art equipment such as Advanced Imaging Technology and Explosives Trace Detection units to enhance passenger screening–and reiterated DHS' commitment to working with airlines on the deployment of security measures and technology at U.S. and international airports.

Since January, Secretary Napolitano has met frequently with top representatives from airlines and airports from across Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and North America on ways to strengthen the international aviation security system.

Today's meeting builds on recent international summits attended by Secretary Napolitano that have resulted in joint declarations to strengthen the international civil aviation system between the United States and Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Panama on Feb. 17, and between the United State and the European Union on Jan. 21.

For more information, visit www.dhs.gov .

http://www.dhs.gov/ynews/releases/pr_1267744412838.shtm

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From ICE

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26 MS-13 gang members indicted for racketeering

ATLANTA - A federal indictment was unsealed today charging 26 members of the violent street gang called "Mara Salvatrucha" (MS-13) with federal racketeering and related crimes, including seven murders and 14 attempted murders, in metropolitan Atlanta.

This case is being investigated by special agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service, Gwinnett County Police Department, DeKalb County Police Department, Norcross Police Department, Chamblee Police Department, and the Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office.

"Gang members here in Georgia have become a growing problem which law enforcement has been tackling for the past several years and today's indictments represent a victory for the law enforcement community which has been working relentlessly to pursue them and ensure that they feel the full weight of the law," said Kenneth Smith, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Atlanta.

The twenty-nine-count indictment alleges that the defendants conspired to participate in the affairs of MS-13, an international violent criminal organization with approximately 10,000 members in various nations in North America, through a pattern of racketeering activity, which included multiple crimes of murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, and robbery in metropolitan Atlanta. It further alleges that the defendants conspired to preserve and enhance the power and reputation of the organization through acts of violence, to keep victims and community members in fear of the organization through acts and threats of violence, and to obstruct and prevent law enforcement officials from identifying, apprehending, and successfully prosecuting members of the gang for their violent criminal conduct.

"MS-13 is a ruthless street gang that has used violence to spread fear throughout our community," said Sally Quillian Yates, acting U.S. attorney. "These gang members seized every chance they had to kill, shoot and rob. They were not only devoted to wiping out rival gangs, but they showed no hesitation in robbing and shooting innocent victims. Now these gang members have to answer for their criminal behavior. Today's indictment is the product of tremendous cooperation between federal agents and local law enforcement officers. Because of our intensive collaboration to bring these violent gang members to justice, residents in Gwinnett and DeKalb Counties are safer."

 "The case shows the value of collaborative efforts of state and federal agencies to bring to justice a dangerous street gang through our combined efforts," said Danny Porter, Gwinnett County District Attorney. "The Gwinnett County Police Department, working with ICE, was able to bring charges which led to statements which are integral to the pending federal case. My office moved the cases forward while protecting the integrity of the federal investigation. This type of coordination is becoming more necessary as we face these sophisticated criminal organizations."

"I applaud the efforts of United States Attorney Sally Yates, her staff and all of those involved in the bringing forward this important case. This indictment represents the sort of decisive action against criminal street gangs like MS-13 that is critical in protecting our community from criminal street gang violence," said Gwen Keyes Fleming, DeKalb County District Attorney. "My office remains prepared to provide the United States Attorney and her staff with whatever assistance and support they might need in bringing this case to a just conclusion."

Four defendants made their initial appearance in court today and were arraigned on the charges before United States Magistrate Judge Gerrilyn Brill. Nine more defendants are scheduled to make their initial appearance in court and be arraigned on the charges tomorrow. The remaining defendants will make their initial appearance and be arraigned over the next few weeks. The charges were announced at a news conference in Atlanta this afternoon.

According to Acting U.S. Attorney Yates, the charges and other information presented in court: MS-13 is an international criminal gang that has been present in the Atlanta area since at least 2005. At that time, MS-13 staked out Gwinnett and DeKalb Counties as their territory. MS-13 gang members held meetings where they discussed attacking and killing rival gang members, collected money, shared firearms, and disciplined members who broke gang rules. Sixteen of the indicted defendants are charged for their alleged roles in committing seven murders, including four killings of suspected rival gang members, two murders of robbery victims, and one killing of a fellow gang member. These sixteen defendants and others are also charged with shooting eleven suspected rival gang members as well as three persons who were not gang members.

Indicted on Feb. 24 were: Miguel Alvarado-Linares, Ernesto Escobar, Jose Delgado, Victor Pastor, Alex Ferrufino, Joseph Ivan Dias, Dimas Alfaro-Granados, Miguel Guevara, Kenedis Bonilla, Salvador Franco, Edwin Menjivar, William Espinoza, Omar Cubillos, Carlos Mendoza, Emmanual Hidalgo, Jairo Reyna Ozuna, Francisco Ramos, Jose Hernandez, Christopher Castro Ramirez, Enzo Baires, Irvin Mejia-Cruz, Walter Aldana, William Pineda, Elio Marroquin-Lopez, Alejandro Garcia, and Remberto Argueta.

Seven other members of MS-13 have also been charged in separate federal indictments. Francisco Tejada-Landaverde, Alden Onan Espana, Jose Roberto Salazar-Orellana, Ronald Escobar-Aguinada, and Juan Reynaldo Cordova, were indicted by the grand jury on Oct. 27, 2009, for committing five armed robberies of convenience stores in Gwinnett County in March of 2009. And on Feb. 24, 2010, the grand jury indicted Jerson Gomez and Elmer Rodriguez for committing an armed robbery of a taxicab driver on March 1, 2009.

In addition, through the course of this investigation, two other MS-13 members were charged with and sentenced for illegally reentering the United States without authorization. One other MS-13 member was charged with and sentenced for being an alien not lawfully admitted to this country who was in possession of a firearm.

Since October 2007, ICE officials have deported 19 members of MS-13 who were not lawfully present in this country. In addition to the above federal prosecutions, the state has charged and prosecuted 16 MS-13 members for their criminal gang activities.

Members of the public are reminded that the indictment contains only allegations. A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government's burden to prove a defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Todd Alley and Paul Jones are prosecuting the case.

http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/1003/100304atlanta.htm

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Owner, employee of Miami language school charged with immigration fraud

ICE special agents also administratively arrest 81 student visa violators

MIAMI - The owner/operator of a Miami-based foreign language school and one of its employees were indicted on four counts today for conspiring to commit a criminal offense against the United States, following an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Miami Office of Investigations.

Miami residents Lydia Menocal, 58, the owner and director of the Florida Language Institute (FLI), and Ofelia Macia, 75, an employee of the school, are suspected of fraudulently sponsoring foreign students by issuing student status to non immigrants without requiring them to maintain a full course of study as mandated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) federal regulations. ICE investigations uncovered that only about 5 percent of FLI students attended class on any given day.

"This school was fraudulently facilitating the issuance of student visas, as well as allowing foreign nationals to fraudulently maintain their student status and remain in the United States," said Anthony V. Mangione, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Miami. "One of the lessons learned from the September 11 attacks is that the U.S. government must be vigilant and aggressive in conducting investigations into organizations and persons who seek to exploit and corrupt America's legal immigration system for personal gain."

In November 2007, ICE special agents assigned to the ICE Office of Investigations in Miami Compliance Enforcement Group initiated a criminal investigation dubbed, "Operation Class Dismissed," focused on Menocal and the FLI after they received information that the school was allegedly engaged in fraudulently sponsoring foreign students by issuing I-20 AB (Certificates of Eligibility for non-immigrant, F-1, student status for academics and language students) without requiring the students to attend at least 18 hours of classes per week, as they had agreed to do under federal regulations.

On February 26, Menocal and Macia, were indicted on charges of conspiring to commit an offense against the United States, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371. In addition, Menocal was individually charged with making false statements on immigration documents (which allowed foreign nationals to obtain student visas), and making false statements to an executive branch agency, in violation of 18 U.S.C.§§ 1546(a) and 1001(a)(2), respectively. The indictment also seeks the forfeiture of $2.4 million in cash, which represents the proceeds of the criminal activity.

On March 2, ICE special agents executed arrest warrants at the defendants' home and a search warrant at the school, located at 947 S.W. 87th Avenue, Miami, Fla. The defendants made their initial appearances in court the same day and U.S. Magistrate Judge William Turnoff set bond for both defendants. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Ursula Ungaro.

If convicted, the defendants face up to five years imprisonment on the conspiracy charge, and Menocal faces up to 10 years imprisonment on the false statement charges.

In addition to the indictment, ICE conducted a three-day operation, which concluded Thursday morning, and resulted in the administrative arrests of 81 student visa violators that purported to be attending FLI from countries including Thailand, Syria, Honduras, South Korea, Japan, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Indonesia, Venezuela, Brazil and Kyrgyzstan, with the majority being from Thailand. Of those 81 arrested administratively, 39 were residing in Miami-Dade County, 27 in Broward County, nine in Palm Beach County, five in Bradenton and one resided in Altamonte Springs, Fla. Eighty individuals arrested remain in ICE custody pending immigration removal proceedings and one was processed for removal and released on her own recognizance. In these cases, ICE agents and officers exercise discretion by releasing aliens on orders of supervision.

"As we found out too late on September 11, 2001, many of those responsible for the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were foreign nationals who abused the student visa program to enter and stay in the United States illegally," said Jeffrey H. Sloman, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. "In the post-September 11 world, programs that enroll foreign national students must be legitimate and comply with federal law. Failure to do so puts our community and our nation at risk. For this reason, the U.S. Attorney's Office and ICE will continue to vigorously enforce federal laws designed to ensure the integrity of the student visa program and our immigration system as a whole."

Sloman commended the investigative efforts of ICE's Office of Investigations in Miami with the assistance of ICE's Office of Detention and Removal in Miami. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Roy K. Altman and Robert J. Luck.

An indictment is only an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls . Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov/ or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov/ More information on the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) can be found at: http://www.ice.gov/sevis/index.htm .

http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/1003/100304miami.htm

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From the FBI

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THE CYBER THREAT

Using Intelligence to Predict and Prevent 03/04/10

Terrorists plotting and scheming anonymously online—and posting videos on how to build everything from backpack bombs to bio-weapons.

Spies, hired cyber mercenaries, and criminal syndicates worming their way into government networks, attempting to steal our nation's most sensitive secrets.

Criminal hackers using seemingly innocuous information about a business and its employees to create highly-realistic yet bogus e-mails that can give them a back door into a company's network and even a permanent window into everything it does.

On Thursday, FBI Director Robert Mueller talked about these and other cyber threats—along with how we are working with partners around the globe to tackle them—during a keynote address at the annual RSA computer security conference in San Francisco.

The Director said that our intelligence indicates the threat of cyber terror is “real and rapidly expanding,” including the rise of extremist websites that recruit, radicalize, and incite violence.

Terrorists have yet to launch a full-scale cyber strike, but have “executed numerous denial-of-service attacks” and even defaced the website of the U.S. Congress following President Obama's recent State of the Union address. The Director told the crowd of cyber professionals that al Qaeda and other extremists “have shown a clear interest in pursuing hacking skills. And they will either train their own recruits or hire outsiders, with an eye toward combining physical attacks with cyber attacks.”

While the threat is evolving, the FBI's cyber capabilities and range of partnerships and intelligence-driven initiatives continue to grow and mature. According to the Director, today we have:

• Cyber squads in each of our field offices nationwide, with over 1,000 specially trained agents, analysts, and digital forensic examiners who run complex undercover operations, share intelligence with law enforcement and intelligence partners, and provide training to counterparts around the world;
  
  
• More than 60 overseas offices—called legal attachés—that share information and coordinate joint investigations with their host countries;
  
  
• Agents embedded with police forces in Romania, Estonia, the Netherlands, and other countries; and
  
  
• Mobile Cyber Action Teams—highly-trained groups of agents, analysts, and experts in both computer forensics and malicious code who travel the world to respond to fast-moving cyber threats.
  

There's also the National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force —created and led by the FBI—which brings together 17 law enforcement and intelligence agencies to “predict and prevent what is on the horizon and to pursue the enterprises behind these attacks.” The Director indicated that the task force works through “Threat Focus Cells—smaller groups of agents, officers, and analysts from different agencies focused on particular threats.” One cell, for example, targets high-priority botnets that can take over computers and use them to commit all kinds of crimes.

The Director emphasized that our relationship with the private sector is vital and that we count on companies reporting breaches of cyber security. “No one country, company, or agency can stop cyber crime,” he said. “A ‘bar the windows and bolt the doors' mentality will not ensure our collective safety. … We must start at the source; we must find those responsible.”

http://www.fbi.gov/page2/mar10/cyberintel030410.html

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Pair Indicted for Child Sex Trafficking

Nora R. Dannehy, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that a federal grand jury sitting in Hartford has returned an indictment charging JARRELL SANDERSON, 30, of New Britain, and HASSONAH DELIA, 23, of East Hartford, with two counts of sex trafficking of children; two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion; and one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of children.

According to the indictment and statements made in court, between July 14 and 17, 2009, SANDERSON and DELIA are alleged to have recruited and forced two 14-year-old girls to engage in commercial sex acts at hotels in Hartford and East Hartford.

The indictment was returned on February 25, 2010, and unsealed yesterday by United States Magistrate Judge Donna F. Martinez in Hartford after SANDERSON and DELIA were arrested.

SANDERSON and DELIA have pleaded not guilty to the charges. They are detained pending trial.

If convicted of the charges, the defendants face a maximum term of life imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000, on each count.

U.S. Attorney Dannehy stressed that an indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are entitled to a fair trial at which it is the government's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the East Hartford Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David E. Novick.

http://newhaven.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel10/nh030410.htm

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