California to keep closer watch on sex offenders

After criticism over high-profile lapses, state parole officials issue new rules that increase monitoring of sex offenders.

By Tony Barboza

March 20, 2010

California parole officials issued new rules this week that increase monitoring of thousands of sex offenders already required to wear global positioning system tracking devices, a move that comes after sharp criticism of high-profile lapses by the department.

Parole agents must now track the whereabouts of the state's nearly 5,000 low-level sex offenders through ankle monitors at least four days a month. Previously, no policy mandated how often low-level offenders had to be tracked.

An additional 2,000 high-risk sex offenders, who already are supposed to be monitored daily, must be visited by a parole officer at their homes twice a month, up from one monthly visit.

"We've never claimed that GPS monitoring is a cure-all -- it can't prevent a crime from happening or tell us what a parolee is doing, " said Gordon Hinkle, press secretary for the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. "But it can tell us where they are."

The changes, issued in a Thursday policy memo, were spurred by a review of the parole agency in the wake of the Jaycee Lee Dugard case. The review found that parole agents for Phillip Garrido, who has been charged with Dugard's kidnapping, missed numerous clues over the course of a decade that could have led them to Dugard far sooner.

Dugard was 11 when she disappeared in 1991 from outside her South Lake Tahoe home.

She was 29 when she was found last year in Garrido's Antioch backyard, where he allegedly confined her to a ramshackle set of buildings and tents.

The new parole policies also require agents to investigate and document each time a device is unable to acquire a signal or is detected in a prohibited zone. The more stringent reporting requirements are designed to alert authorities to misbehavior that might signal a crime is in the works, officials said.

Parole agents also must notify local law enforcement when an offender is released from parole.

The supervision of sex offenders came under renewed scrutiny this month after it was reported that the man charged with killing 17-year-old Chelsea King of Poway had violated parole in 2007 by living near a school. But state officials decided not to send John Albert Gardner III -- who was on parole after serving five years in prison for molesting a 13-year-old girl -- back to prison because he complied with orders to relocate.

King's body was found in a shallow grave this month, just days after Gardner was arrested in connection with her disappearance.

San Diego state Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher, with the backing of King's family, has said he will propose a new law in Chelsea's name, which could include extending sentences and upping parole requirements for sex offenders.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-sex-offenders20-2010mar20,0,5079803,print.story

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L.A. County Sheriff's Department ordered to name deputies in three killings

Superior Court judge rules that California confidentiality law does not bar disclosure of such information.

By Jack Leonard

March 20, 2010

A Los Angeles County judge ordered the Sheriff's Department on Friday to make public the names of deputies involved in three controversial shootings, concluding that state law generally requires law enforcement agencies to disclose the identities of officers who use deadly force.

Superior Court Judge James C. Chalfant made the ruling in response to a court filing by The Times that sought the names, ranks, assignments and years of employment of the deputies in the three deadly confrontations last year. In at least two of the shootings, suspects were unarmed when they were fatally shot.

Advocates of open government hailed Friday's decision as an important ruling on a contentious issue that has pitted the privacy rights of police officers against the public's right to hold government accountable.

"It is a very significant case," said Terry Francke, general counsel of Californians Aware, a nonprofit group that seeks open access to government meetings and records. "When someone shoots -- or shoots at -- another person, the name of the shooter has to be available to the public no matter who he or she is."

Chalfant concluded that the identities of officers involved in critical incidents must be disclosed under the California Public Records Act unless doing so would compromise a criminal investigation or reveal the identity of an undercover officer or jeopardize an officer's safety. Chalfant rejected the county's arguments that state laws protecting the confidentiality of police officer personnel files prohibit the release of an officer's name after a shooting.

"It hardly needs mentioning that there is an important public interest in the disclosure of the identities of officers involved in a shooting incident," Chalfant wrote.

County officials said they believed that conflicts between earlier court rulings raised doubts about whether the deputies' names should be disclosed.

In an unrelated case, Superior Court Judge David P. Yaffe last year issued a preliminary injunction barring the city of Pasadena from releasing the names of two officers who shot and killed a man armed with a handgun. A court ruling on whether to make the injunction permanent is pending. The Times' attorneys have argued to lift the injunction. The newspaper reported the officers' names in February.

In the county's case, Sheriff Lee Baca wanted the court to clarify the law and provide guidance in how to handle The Times' request, said sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore. He said the department would not appeal the ruling.

Rick Brouwer, a principal deputy county counsel who represented the Sheriff's Department in the case, said the deputies' names, ranks, assignments and years of employment could be made public as early as next week.

Representatives of the deputy sheriff's union could not be reached for comment.

The Times sought the identities of deputies involved in the fatal shootings of Avery Cody Jr., who was killed July 5 in Compton; Woodrow Player Jr., who was killed July 10 in unincorporated Athens; and Darrick Collins, who was killed Sept. 14, also in Athens. Sheriff's officials said Player and Collins were unarmed when shot.

In Cody's shooting, a deputy told investigators he fired his weapon during a foot chase after Cody, 16, turned and pointed a handgun at the deputy. Cody's parents have sued the department, alleging that Cody was unarmed and that race -- he was black -- was a motivating factor.

The three incidents were part of a string of officer-involved shootings last year that led Baca to convene a panel of department veterans to determine whether deputies needed additional training.

Last month, Baca ordered deputies to be more cautious and seek backup when pursuing suspects they believe are armed.

The Times argued in its lawsuit that disclosure of the deputies' names was "critical to counter public suspicion that secrecy is being used to mask misconduct."

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-sheriff-ruling20-2010mar20,0,6567600,print.story

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Texas death row inmate's final request: DNA testing

His odds look poor, but a murder convict hopes the Supreme Court makes Texas put off his execution.

By David G. Savage

7:14 PM PDT, March 19, 2010

Reporting from Washington

Texas death row inmate Hank Skinner, convicted of murdering his girlfriend and her two sons 16 years ago, has only one request before he is executed next week.

He says the state should be required to do DNA tests of evidence from the victim, such as semen and blood under her fingernails, that could prove, once and for all, who was the real killer. His lawyers do not say they are certain he is innocent. They are certain, however, that no one should be put to death without testing crucial evidence that could show the wrong man was convicted.

Skinner has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block the execution, set for Wednesday, to permit time for the testing.

Skinner was an obvious suspect in the murder of Twila Busby on New Year's Eve 1993. He had been drunk and asleep on her couch shortly before she was strangled and clubbed to death in the same room. Her blood as well as that of one of her dead sons was found on his clothes. Skinner insists he awoke in a stupor to find his girlfriend murdered, and he maintains that her uncle was the killer.

"The state of Texas is trying to kill me for something I didn't do," Skinner said in a recent taped interview from prison. "We are asking to test all the evidence they identified as important."

Skinner left a trail of blood as he staggered from Busby's house in the north Texas town of Pampa. He said he had cut his hand on a broken bottle when he fell off the couch, and his bloody palm prints were found near the victims.

But police and prosecutors did not test other evidence from the crime scene, including a vaginal swab from the victim and her fingernail clippings. It appeared as though she had been raped and struggled with her killer.

Busby had left a New Year's Eve party before midnight after her drunken uncle made rude sexual advances.

Two bloody knives also went untested, even though her 20- and 22-year-old sons had been stabbed to death. Skinner's appointed defense lawyer could have had this evidence tested prior to the trial, but he did not do so.

"In any investigation today, all of this evidence would have been tested for DNA," said Rob Owen, a University of Texas law professor who now represents Skinner. "But why not do the testing now?"

Prosecutors declined to comment. But they, and some of the judges who have ruled on his appeals, said that because Skinner's trial lawyer did not ask for the extra DNA testing, it was too late now. Other judges said that because they saw "ample evidence" of his guilt, no further testing was required. In January, a magistrate rejected Skinner's final appeal.

Doubt arose about Skinner's guilt 10 years ago after an investigation by students from the Medill Innocence Project at Northwestern University. They found another ex-girlfriend who had seen Skinner shortly after the murders and said he was too drunk and disoriented to have killed three people, including one son who stood 6-feet-6 and weighed 225 pounds. She also said Skinner did not have cuts or scratch marks, as would have been expected after a struggle.

The students also found a neighbor of the uncle who said he had cleaned his van and removed the carpet a day after the killings. The uncle did not come under investigation, and later died in an auto accident.

Skinner's current lawyers have asked Gov. Rick Perry to postpone the execution for a month to allow for the testing. They also asked the high court for an emergency order to block the execution.

Owen said that if blood or skin from the victim's fingernails has DNA matching Skinner's, it would confirm his guilt. If the test finds the DNA of another man, "I think that exonerates him," he said.

Skinner's appeals run squarely into a 5-4 ruling from the Supreme Court last year saying the Constitution does not give convicts the right to demand DNA testing of crime-scene evidence. But that case involved a paroled rapist in Alaska, not a prisoner facing execution with evidence still untested.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-court-dna20-2010mar20,0,6164031,print.story

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Did you feel that quake? Online survey helps USGS seismologists

Feedback from Web surfers about what they feel during quakes is proving valuable to scientists and emergency responders.

By Amina Khan

March 20, 2010

When a magnitude 4.4 earthquake shook Southern Californians awake in the predawn hours Tuesday, many rushed to their computers to learn about it from the U.S. Geological Survey website.

Those bleary-eyed Web surfers may not have realized they were giving information as well as getting it.

The "Did You Feel It?" online questionnaire, which asks people to detail the intensity of the shaking and report any damage, received more than 17,800 responses after Tuesday's relatively minor shaker. In operation since 1999, it is helping experts learn more about the nature of earthquakes, how people react to them and -- in places without earthquake-sensing equipment -- where emergency efforts should be focused.

"It's a two-way street -- we learn from people as much as they learn from us," said survey geophysicist David Wald, who designed the system after the 1994 Northridge quake.

At the time of that 6.7 temblor, seismic instruments around Los Angeles were not designed to measure earthquakes that large. "Because of the instrumentation at the time, everybody was blind," said Robert Herrmann, a geophysicist at St. Louis University in Missouri.

Wald and other scientists realized that if they could tap into online reaction from the affected population, they could quickly pinpoint the most damaged areas where emergency response was most needed.

Now, Wald said, the online survey draws on feedback from thousands of people in real time, and on earthquakes smaller than could have been documented before. It is particularly useful for regions where quakes and quake-measuring equipment are rare.

In Illinois, 26,500 people weighed in on a 5.2 temblor in 2008 -- crucial data, because the instruments in the ground there weren't equipped to send data immediately, Wald said.

A magnitude 3.8 in that state in February drew 19,000 responses over a broad area. It demonstrated how quakes on the plains are often felt much more widely than in places such as California, where multiple fault lines disrupt quake energy as it travels through Earth.

And in a 2003 shaker in Alabama, "Did You Feel It?" input from citizens tested a theory held by some geophysicists about the movement of earthquake energy.

Called the Moho Bounce, the theory says there should be an increase in seismic activity about 60 miles from the quake epicenter, caused by the earthquake energy bouncing off the junction between the Earth's upper and lower crusts.

The magnitude 4.6 quake was in fact felt much more strongly than expected at that distance, thus lending support to the theory.

The online questionnaire is the latest in a long tradition in seismology of using personal accounts to more accurately measure earthquakes.

Throughout the 20th century, government officials routinely sent questionnaires to regional postmasters to fill out after quakes.

Before seismographs came into use a little more than a century ago, newspapers, personal diaries and other accounts provided an important level of detail.

In his diary in 1821, preacher Daniel Banks, recalling a series of earthquakes that took place in Missouri in 1811 and 1812, wrote of "a boiling spring in the bed of lost river which throws up a volum of water as large as a mans body."

Today, scientists can compare those personal historical reports with the ones logged online today on "Did You Feel It?" -- and thus get a sense of how big those historical quakes were.

That is helping clear up some old debates, said Nancy King, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey's Pasadena office.

For example, to this day there is uncertainty about the 1811-12 Missouri earthquakes.

"There's a scientific controversy -- were they a magnitude 7, magnitude 8, a high 6?" King said. "A lot of people are going back to historical records and diaries and museums to figure that out."

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-sci-quake-report20-2010mar20,0,1544271,print.story

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Shooting unsettles Utah neighborhood

In the Salt Lake City suburb of Bluffdale, two neighbors on the lookout for troublemakers find themselves in a standoff, with guns. Now one is paralyzed and the other is facing trial.

By Nicholas Riccardi

March 20, 2010

Reporting from Bluffdale, Utah

Before the shooting, David Serbeck and Reginald Campos were pillars of their community, living at opposite ends of an unfinished development here at the edge of Salt Lake City's sprawl.

Serbeck, a genial 37-year-old father of two and former Army sniper, welcomed new arrivals to the neighborhood by offering to help install their sprinkler systems or work on their yards.

Campos, a 43-year-old CPA and father of four, tried to forge a community in his neighborhood by warning new residents about a spate of mailbox thefts and lobbying authorities to investigate the incidents.

The two men did not meet until one night last July, when Serbeck was patrolling the area in his SUV, looking for whoever was behind the thefts.

Campos was in his SUV too, looking for a suspicious car, and nearly collided with Serbeck. Both men were armed. Shots were fired.

Now one man is in a wheelchair, paralyzed from the chest down. The other is scheduled to stand trial in July, charged with attempted murder.

"It's divided people and changed a lot of people's lives," said Trevor Roberts, 40, who lives near Campos but is also friends with Serbeck. "It's just a tragedy for both of them."

An agricultural town turned bedroom community, Bluffdale has a mix of newer homes and older houses with cows and chickens in the yards. On its south end lies the 190-acre Parry Farms development.

Buffered by scrubland and reached via narrow onetime country lanes, Parry Farms consists of large split-level homes on curlicued streets carved out of the bluffs above the Jordan River. Many houses were never occupied or fell into foreclosure, and the area is dotted with vacant lots.

"It's super-secluded," said resident Kevin Swensen. "You'd have to get lost to find this place."

The Serbecks were among the first families in phase one of the development. They moved in three years ago, and David Serbeck quickly began greeting the young families that followed.

"He seriously has been the glue in our neighborhood," said Amanda Groff, 29, who lives across the street.

When he wasn't helping out in yards or on cars, Serbeck, whose wife is a Salt Lake County sheriff's deputy, was often seen tooling around the winding streets on his motorcycle or taking his ATV off on some excursion. So it seemed natural that Troy Peterson, his neighbor and president of the homeowners' association, turn to Serbeck for help patrolling the night of July 21.

Both Serbeck and Campos declined to be interviewed. But according to court records, Peterson told Serbeck that there had been a rash of home burglaries, and residents feared the perpetrators could be living in some of the empty, foreclosed homes.

A friend of Peterson's at the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Department had given him surveillance photos of cars that authorities thought could be tied to local criminals. The two hopped into Serbeck's Chevy Tahoe and began to patrol the streets, looking for the cars.

They had to stop abruptly, however, to avoid hitting two teenage girls who suddenly walked out of some brush and into the street. Serbeck testified at a hearing last year that he simply told the girls, "Be safe going home."

Minutes later, the pair spotted a light-colored car that seemed to match the photos of suspicious vehicles. They began to follow it.

Serbeck testified that he tried to edge close enough to see the license plate number but that the driver played "cat and mouse" with them -- speeding up, slowing down and weaving through Parry Farms' twisty streets. When the car eventually sped onto one of the main streets of town, Serbeck and Peterson decided not to give chase and returned to their block.

Later that night, Serbeck was tinkering with his motorcycle in his driveway when he saw the light-colored car go by again. He called out to Peterson and they climbed back into Serbeck's car. This time, Serbeck brought his .45 pistol, for which he has a concealed weapons permit.

"It was dark," Serbeck said in court. It was just before midnight.

Serbeck drove to phase two -- the newer part of the development, separated from his part by a small hill. A Toyota SUV suddenly pulled up from behind, swerved around him and stopped, cutting him off.

A man jumped out with a gun in his hand, Serbeck testified. It was Campos.

Campos had bought his 9-millimeter pistol more than 20 years ago when he was applying for jobs with the FBI and Internal Revenue Service, a career track he later abandoned. The gun had "been buried since then," said his brother, Conrad Campos.

But events in the prior weeks had led Reginald Campos to bring the weapon out of storage. First there were the mailbox break- ins. Then someone broke into the Campos' garage. While the family slept, the burglar forced open three cars and stole credit cards, and later used them at local stores.

Then, late on July 21, Campos got a call from his 16-year-old daughter, Stephanie, according to court records. A strange man in a car was chasing her.

Stephanie and a friend had left a party on Serbeck's block earlier that night when they were cut off by an SUV as they walked home. Stephanie was disturbed by the exchange with the driver.

When she reached her house, she took the family's light-sky-blue Chrysler Sebring and drove back to the party to pick up two more friends. The same SUV began following her, and Stephanie only shook the car by heading to one of the main streets.

She called her father, who told her to come home, then join him as he set out looking for the offending vehicle, court records show. "He just wanted to defend himself, his family, his neighborhood," Conrad Campos said of his brother.

When Campos jumped out of his SUV, Serbeck, the former sniper, got out as well. Serbeck's body was partly shielded by the driver's side door, which also concealed the gun he held in his hand.

What happened next is in dispute.

Serbeck testified that Campos angrily asked why he and Peterson were following his daughter. Serbeck replied that he was with neighborhood watch and that he was going to put his own gun down. He testified that he held the gun by the barrel, pointed down, dropped it to the pavement and kicked it away.

"Let's talk," he said, according to his testimony.

Serbeck said he then heard a girl in Campos' SUV screaming: "Don't listen to him! He's lying, he's lying!"

"And then, from that point on, he looked at me and said, 'How stupid do you think I am?' " Serbeck testified. "And then I just heard gunshots."

A tape of the 911 call Campos placed described a very different encounter: "He got out of his car, pulled a gun on me and cocked it, and I let him have it."

Campos later told investigators that he had emerged from his car with his gun in his back pocket. He drew and fired at least twice, Campos said, when he heard Serbeck rack his own gun in preparation to fire.

One bullet passed through Serbeck's lung and pierced his spine. He was evacuated by helicopter, and sheriff's deputies arrested Campos. He was charged with attempted murder and held in jail for a week until he posted $100,000 bail.

In court documents summarizing why Campos was held, prosecutors noted that Serbeck's gun was found with its safety on, meaning it could not have been racked or fired. However, during a court hearing in October, detectives acknowledged that the weapon had a bullet in the chamber, implying that it had been racked earlier. But exactly when and how that happened is unclear.

Peterson has testified that he never saw Serbeck point a gun at Campos and that Campos emerged from his SUV with his gun already drawn.

"We were presented with two scenarios," said Alicia Cook, a spokeswoman for the Salt Lake County district attorney's office. "The scenario by Mr. Serbeck was the one that was more substantiated."

If convicted, Campos could be sentenced to life in prison.

But Campos' attorney, Greg Skordas, contends that the real guilty party is Utah's gun culture. Many residents own firearms and believe in their right to use them for protection.

"Both men jumped out and both had guns, which I suppose was the worst thing," Skordas said. "If you and I jumped out of our cars [unarmed], we shove each other, maybe walk away embarrassed. But they had to make a decision."

It's been an awkward and painful time in Parry Farms since the shooting.

Serbeck's and Campos' children attend the same schools. The Campos children trick-or-treated on Serbeck's block on Halloween. Campos' wife attends homeowner association meetings, where Serbeck's neighbors try to give her a wide berth.

In phase one, Campos' name is met with scowls. "People in the neighborhood all hope he hangs for this," said Reed Atkin, a neighbor of Serbeck's.

Other neighbors look with dismay at what happened to Serbeck. "He was just a guy who lived life to the fullest," neighbor Lisa Madden said. "Of all the people to put in a wheelchair."

Escalating the tensions is a lawsuit that Campos' attorney filed on behalf of a 19-year-old woman who says that Serbeck seduced her when she was 16 and threatened to kill her friends if they learned of the relationship. Serbeck has told neighbors the claim is false. Still, when they criticize Campos, Serbeck urges sympathy, they say.

"Dave says, 'Oh, he's protecting his daughter,' " Madden said. "Dave's not said bad things. But we are all pissed off."

In phase two, many residents have sympathy for Serbeck. But some are also standing by their own neighbor. "My heart and prayers went out to Dave and his family, but he's not the only victim here," said Campos' next-door neighbor, KanaMarie Poulson.

Poulson said that she was surprised to learn that Campos owned a gun. "You don't look at Reggie and think he's a hunter or a gun-toting NRA member," she said. "He's just quiet and reserved."

The thefts have stopped at Parry Farms. Federal authorities say that, partly thanks to earlier reports from Campos, they are close to indicting four suspects.

At a recent homeowners association meeting, residents talked about trying to start a neighborhood watch program that would be more formal than Serbeck's and Peterson's improvised late-night patrol. But the conversation was brief.

"We just moved on," Madden said.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-utah-shooting20-2010mar20,0,898107,print.story

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In just 24 hours, 763 pounds of drugs are seized at 2 border crossings

Customs officers intercepted 12 alleged drug smugglers in a 24-hour period at the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa border crossings and seized 763 pounds of marijuana, methamphetamine and cocaine worth an estimated $1.16 million, authorities said Friday.

The spate of arrests took place between 6 a.m. Thursday and 6 a.m Friday.

In three cases, authorities said the alleged smugglers were U.S. citizens who tried to walk across the San Ysidro border crossing with marijuana strapped to their bodies.

About 7 a.m. Thursday, customs officers working with a drug-sniffing dog arrested a 19-year-old man -- a U.S. citizen who lives in Tijuana -- after he allegedly was found to be carrying four pounds of marijuana duct-taped to his sides and back.

Less than 15 minutes later, customs officials said another officer working with a dog discovered another U.S. citizen -- a 30-year-old woman who also lives in Tijuana -- with two packages of marijuana strapped to her body under a girdle.

Just after midnight Friday, officers stopped a 16-year-old girl from Chula Vista, discovering five packages of marijuana hidden in her shoes, stuffed in her bra and strapped around her stomach.

Each suspect was arrested and booked into a local jail or juvenile hall, according to a news release issued by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials.

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

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Serial killer's photos of women could identify more victims; police flooded with calls

Huntington Beach police detectives have been flooded with phone calls from people who believe they can identify one of the dozens of women in photos linked to convicted serial killer Rodney James Alcala .

Since the photos were released last week, the department assigned 10 investigators to look into tips based on the photos.

“Between the time we left late last night and the time we came in this morning we had 45 messages on the hot line,” Huntington Beach Police Capt. Chuck Thomas said Thursday.

In all, the department has gotten about 400 phone calls, Thomas said. Many can be easily eliminated because they are linked to people who went missing after Alcala was jailed for the 1979 killing of 12-year-old Robin Samsoe of Huntington Beach. He has been in prison ever since.

Others require more investigation. Six photos have potentially been linked to missing women who might be tied to Alcala, authorities said. None have been proved yet and it could be a long time before anything is positively confirmed, Thomas said.

Alcala, a onetime photographer and "Dating Game" contestant who briefly worked for The Times as a typesetter, was convicted in February of murdering Samsoe and four Los Angeles county women in the late 1970s.

Anyone with information about the photos is asked to contact Sgt. Aaron Smith at (714) 536-5947 or Det. Patrick Ellis at (714) 536-5947 of the Huntington Beach Police Department.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/03/serial-killers-photos-could-indentify-more-victims-police-flooded-with-calls.html#more

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EDITORIAL

Real immigration reform, now

The Schumer-Graham framework could help the U.S. end the political and social turmoil.

March 20, 2010

Until President Obama gave his State of the Union speech in January, immigration advocates, Latino leaders and millions who voted for him based on his promise to push for comprehensive reform were hopeful that he would soon lead the charge on the issue. They waited while the economic crisis demanded the president's attention, as did the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Then came healthcare reform, and more waiting.

But when the best Obama could do was to pay lip service to immigration reform in his speech -- just 36 words making no specific promises, saying only that the country must secure its borders and ensure that "people who play by the rules can contribute to our economy and enrich our nation" -- advocates decided it was time to change tactics. No more waiting.

On Sunday, tens of thousands of people are expected to converge on the National Mall to demand action in Congress and personal leadership from the president. More than 800 buses from 33 states are en route to the March for America; other marchers are carpooling or traveling by plane. A delegation from New York is walking. Many are United States citizens -- the children, spouses and co-workers of undocumented immigrants -- and alongside them will be immigration advocates, members of labor unions and representatives of dozens of faith organizations and civil rights groups.

It is time to turn up the heat on the issue. It is time to remind the nation of the economic, political and moral imperative of reforming the immigration system. All Americans are less secure because millions of people are living in the shadows -- the country should know, as precisely as possible, who is here. Illegal immigrants labor in an underground economy, essential to our workforce but vulnerable to exploitation. Thousands of our best and brightest students, brought to this country as small children, have limited access to higher education and legal employment.

It is also time, advocates say, to remind Washington of Latino political power. If reform does not pass, they say, those who stand in the way will pay at the polls. And lest the president forget, they add that he won 67% of Latino voters and carried states he could not have won without their ballots, including Florida, Nevada and New Mexico.

Still, the political reality is that reform will be a steep challenge, not least because Democrats, seriously threatened in the November elections, have more incentive to be cautious than courageous.

Marchers, however, want progress now, and they're already showing that they cannot be ignored. On Thursday, Sens. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) announced the details of a reform plan they've been working on for months, which many march organizers would like to see as the basis for legislation. And that same afternoon, Obama finally pledged to move reform forward "this year."

The Graham-Schumer framework is promising. It not only addresses the way the United States deals with undocumented immigrants already living here, but takes serious steps to manage the future flow of illegal immigrants -- something Congress did not do in the 1986 amnesty or in the proposed reform that failed to pass in 2006.

Real reform means ending the cycle of Band-Aid fixes, more illegal immigration and political turmoil. We can do that by creating mechanisms to match U.S. demand for labor with supply, such as the establishment of a guest-worker program. We can address the backlog of family reunification requests so that people who are eligible to come legally don't despair at the decade-long wait and enter the country on their own. And vigorous employer enforcement -- Schumer and Graham suggest biometric Social Security cards -- is also key.

The marchers are correct: Reform is urgently needed. All that's missing is the political will to do what is right.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-immigration20-2010mar20,0,2457204,print.story

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OPINION

A blind eye to children's suffering

The L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services still seems willing to sacrifice those in its care.

Tim Rutten

March 20, 2010

When it comes to local government, we too often shrug over things that ought to enrage us.

A month ago, readers of this column may recall a paragraph citing Times reports that 31 children in the care of L.A. County's child-welfare system have died from abuse or neglect over the last two years. It went on to note that "Trish Ploehn, who directs the responsible agency -- the Department of Children and Family Services -- says that in 18 of those cases, the social worker charged with safeguarding the child's welfare committed serious errors. At least some of those mishandled cases are among the 12 most recent deaths. Ploehn, however, backed by myopic county lawyers who seem determined to treat a life-and-death public issue like a product liability case, refuses to release any information on these last dozen deaths."

That column ended with a rhetorical question: "At some point, the five supervisors need to ask just how long we're going to go on sacrificing some of our most vulnerable children on the dubious altar of bureaucratic convenience."

Well, now we know they were willing to go on sacrificing poor children for at least another month, because the body count has mounted to 32.

This time, it doesn't really matter much how deftly Ploehn and her enablers in the county counsel's office -- people who behave more like mob lawyers than attorneys employed in the public service -- want to play hide the ball. The facts of this latest case are so brutally shocking, and Children and Family Services' response so utterly inadequate, as to permit no conclusion but incompetence.

Two-year-old Viola Vanclief was one of those children inexplicably consigned by providence to birth -- and death -- in pain. County authorities took her from her mother, a violent, drug-abusing schizophrenic who refused to take her medications and neglected her infant. As it turned out, little Viola might have come to feel that simple neglect was a blessing. The county placed her with a foster mother named Kiana Barker -- against whom five complaints of physically and sexually abusing children in her care had been lodged over the last few years. In 2002, she was found to have severely neglected her own child. Her live-in boyfriend, James Julian, is a convicted armed robber.

Barker claims that on March 4, Viola became trapped in a bed frame and that she inadvertently struck the toddler with a hammer while trying to free her. (Trapped in a bed frame? Freed with a hammer?) According to coroner's records, the child had multiple bruises on her body and her death was a homicide caused by blunt-force trauma. Police arrested Barker and Julian on suspicion of murder, then released them both on the district attorney's request for further investigation. Angry yet?

Well, try this: Barker, despite her history, and despite the presence in her home of a man legally barred from being involved with foster children, was a state-licensed employee of United Care Inc., which the county contracts with for the care of 216 helpless and vulnerable foster children, like the tragic Viola, in 88 homes. It sounds, though, as if Barker must have fit right in there, since the Department of Children and Family Services goes right on doing business with United Care even though -- as The Times' Garrett Therolf reported this week -- the company "repeatedly has been cited in recent years after caregivers choked, hit and whipped their charges with a belt. In 2007, a foster child under the agency's care drowned by swimming unsupervised in a pool."

Eighteen days after Viola apparently was beaten to death with a hammer, the county employee ultimately responsible for her care -- Ploehn -- still can't explain how the toddler was sent to live with a known child abuser and a convicted felon. "I'm still in the information-gathering phase," she said. "I'm still pulling the state regs to determine who was responsible to assess the history and who was responsible to follow up following the subsequent hotline calls [regarding Barker's allegedly abusive behavior]. It's a complicated and complex analysis."

No it's not, because the fact that the head of the Department of Children and Family Services doesn't know who in her own department follows up abuse complaints pretty much tells the rest of us who live on planet Earth what's wrong here.

Here's a suggestion. Why don't the five county supervisors and new County Counsel Andrea Ordin go over to the morgue and ask the coroner to walk them through his autopsy of Viola Vanclief? And after they've had a good look at her battered and now dissected little body, why don't they call Trish Ploehn in front of a public session of the board and ask her to explain exactly what's "complicated" about this case -- and precisely why she should keep her job?

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-rutten20-2010mar20,0,6781531,print.column

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From the Wall Street Journal

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Cartel Wars Gut Juárez, a Onetime Boom Town

CIUDAD JUÁREZ, Mexico—This violent border city is turning into a ghost town.

Bloodshed from Mexico's warring drug cartels has sent those with means fleeing this former boomtown. Restaurants have moved north to Texas. The dentists who served Americans with their cheap procedures have taken their equipment south. Even the music is dying here.

"The musicians haven't left yet, but they do their shows in El Paso now," says Alfonso Quiñones, a Juárez concert promoter who is trying to organize a jazz festival in the city.

No solid number exists for the exodus, a matter of debate among Juárez's leaders. But the city's planning department estimates 116,000 homes are now abandoned. Measured against the average household size of the last census, the population who inhabited the empty homes alone could be as high as 400,000 people, representing one-third of the city before the violence began.

That would mark one of Mexico's largest single exoduses in decades.

"The problem is that we don't have the rule of law here," says Lucinda Vargas, an economist who runs a civic group called Plan Estratégico de Juárez.

Juárez finds itself in the crossfire between two rival drug gangs, the local Juárez cartel and the powerful Sinaloa cartel, both of whom want to control the city to smuggle drugs into the U.S., the world's biggest drug-consuming market, and capture a lucrative and growing local drug market.

In 2008, roughly 1,600 people were killed here, up from a few hundred annually in previous years. President Felipe Calderón decided to send federal police and some 7,000 troops to quell the dispute. The move hasn't worked: Last year, the death toll reached 2,600 people, making it Mexico's most violent city. There have been an estimated 500 homicides this year.

The latest high-profile blow to the city came on March 13, when three people associated with the U.S. Consulate in Juárez were gunned down in an incident that drew outrage from presidents on both side of the border.

Juárez isn't alone in its troubles with drug gangs, which operate with near complete impunity in much of northern and western Mexico. On Friday, residents of Mexico's northern business capital, Monterrey, awoke to nightmarish traffic after heavily armed men believed to be linked to drug gangs commandeered several trucks and buses and used them to block eight strategic traffic points around the city.

Juárez's gradual emptying has been hastened and deepened by a recession in a border economy that is hogtied to that of the U.S.

Just 2½ years ago, Juárez was one of Mexico's engines of growth, a magnet of manufacturing with an easy entry point into the U.S. The North American Free Trade Agreement had helped to expand Juárez into the base for assembly plants that accepted parts for everything from consumer electronics to plush toys, and shipped the finished products back to America tariff-free.

Since 2005, 10,600 businesses—roughly 40% of Juárez's businesses—have closed their doors, according to the country's group representing local chambers of commerce.

Ciudad Juárez's new reality is told on its empty streets. Along residential block in a subdivision called Villas de Salvarcar, hardly a home appears left occupied.

"I don't know when they left," said a woman selling clothes in a garage sale for her few remaining neighbors. She declined to give her name, simply pointing to the block behind her where 15 teenagers were killed on Jan. 31 while they watched a football game. The massacre was a case of mistaken identity: Drug gangs had been targeting another party, authorities later said.

Down the street, the bloodstained walls of the home had been washed clean a few days ago, residents said. But bullet holes remained in the walls and neighbors nervously kicked at the dirt as a police car, permanently stationed along the block, rolled by.

The rising towers of El Paso, visible from downtown Juárez, offer a stark contrast along with a promise of security just across the border bridge. Among those with a home in El Paso is Juárez's mayor, José Reyes Ferriz. Mr. Reyes uses the home only for his work as an attorney on the other side of the border, his spokesman said. But he added: "It's very common to have a [second] house in El Paso."

Guillermo Marcedo, 70 years old, keeps to one side of the border. Born in Juárez, he now drives a taxi in El Paso. Like many of his colleagues, he will rarely take clients to Mexico, fearing an attack.

Having arrived in the 1990s when the border had been quiet, Mr. Marcedo has moved as many relatives as he can into the U.S. "I had to think of my family," he says from behind the wheel on a recent day. Two weeks ago, the last member of his immediate circle, a son who works as a psychologist for the Juárez government, received permission from the U.S. to make the move.

Not all who want to leave, especially the poor, have been so lucky. With bank loans more difficult to get and mortgage interest rates high, the Texas town has fallen out of reach for even some well-heeled Mexicans.

"A lot of them do not have established credit [because] they had no intention of ever living here," says Sandie Leal, an El Paso real-estate agent who recently struggled to cobble together bank statements and other documents for a Mexican client. The client was offered an interest rate of 9%, Ms. Leal says, which he turned down, but has opted to rent in the city.

Whether they rent or buy across the border, much of the town's middle class has left it, says Oscar Cantú, publisher of the local newspaper El Norte. Two weeks ago he sent reporters knocking door-to-door in the town's wealthy neighborhoods, and says they turned up roughly 3,000 empty homes. "There was a lot of speculation about how many people had gone—we counted," he said.

In one such subdivision, residents had scrawled graffiti, pleading with the government for help. "Defend us, I want to live," says one. "We had been the hope, the light," reads another. "Don't lie to us, Calderón."

It remains to be seen when—if ever—Juárez's departed residents return. Ms. Vargas, the economist, expects many will cross back from El Paso when the drug situation calms and the economy picks up. "They're waiting it out," she says.

But for his part, Mr. Marcedo, the driver, says he intends to die in the United States.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703580904575132004265333546.html?mod=WSJ_World_LEFTSecondNews#printMode

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More Ex-Cons on the Streets, Fewer Jobs

States Release More Inmates to Save Money Amid the Worst Employment Climate in Years; One Man Sends Out 500 Résumés

BALTIMORE—Out of prison after serving 7 1/2 years for drug-dealing and armed robbery, Cedric Petteway is struggling to find a job in the worst economy in decades.

The 32-year-old father of two says he has submitted more than 500 resumés for entry-level jobs in the past seven months, to no avail.

"There are times when I think about going back to selling narcotics," says Mr. Petteway, who estimates he used to earn more than $40,000 a month running a cocaine-dealing operation in West Baltimore. "It's going to take a lot of determination, but I can't resort back to that."

Cash-strapped states from California to Maryland are releasing thousands of prisoners as they seek to trim ballooning prison budgets. But the same squeeze compelling them to free more inmates makes it tougher for those ex-convicts to start a new life, and is fueling a debate about how best to prevent them from returning to crime.

"Even in the best of times some of these prisoners don't do well when they get out," says David Pate, a social-work professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. "Now they have even greater challenges to face."

Some policy makers are pushing states to help ex-convicts assimilate. "The battle here and in other states has been whether money saved by reducing incarceration will then be reinvested into programs designed to keep people safely out of prison," says Michigan Republican state Sen. Alan Cropsey, who supports devoting more resources to counseling parolees.

The U.S. ranks as the world's incarceration leader with 2.3 million people, or 0.8% of its population, in prisons and jails. In the past two decades, tough-on-crime laws have caused state corrections budgets to more than quadruple, to $52 billion in 2008. But recidivism remains high; about two of three people freed from state prisons are rearrested in three years, according to a 2002 study by the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Lately, some states have warmed to the idea that rehabilitation outside prison can be cheaper and more effective. The math on these sorts of initiatives is simple, says Adam Gelb, a public-safety specialist at the Pew Center on the States: A day in prison costs $79 on average; a day on probation costs $3.42. "States can substantially beef up supervision in the community and do it at a fraction of the cost of a prison cell," he says.

In 2009, the total state prison population actually dropped for the first time in 38 years, according to the Pew Center. California, with the largest state-prison population, enacted a law in January that is projected to reduce its prison population by as much as 6,500 this year, partly by allowing some inmates to cut more of their terms with good behavior. Oregon and Colorado have made similar moves, while Michigan and New Hampshire are considering the possibility. Others, such as Maryland, have lifted parole rates by releasing more low-risk prisoners.

The wave of releases comes as the recession has slammed labor-intensive sectors that typically hire ex-cons. The unemployment rate for construction workers, for example, was 27.1% in February, nearly three times the average for all sectors. With competition fierce, employers can afford to be picky. The U.S. Census Bureau said it won't hire most types of ex-convicts for one of the biggest drivers of job growth this year: the 2010 Census.

Beth Stevens, who has been helping felons find jobs in Riverside County, Calif., for more than two decades, says she can't recall a tougher environment. Her employer, the Riverside County Probation Department, faces budget cuts even as added releases increase its workload. "When [offenders] have no means to support themselves and no place to live, they tend to resort to their old ways," she says.

Some experts say concerns about ex-cons returning to crime are overblown. "The premise that the numbers of people released from prison affects the crime rate is wrong," says James Austin, president of the JFA Institute, a nonprofit that advises states on prison policy. Recidivism rates for California prisoners released in 2006, he says, suggest that shortening terms by four months for all eligible prisoners would boost the number of arrests by less than 1% during the year of their release.

Some states are trying to do more to monitor and help ex-cons. Michigan, which has reduced its prison population by more than 6,500 in the past three years, allocated an extra $30 million in this year's budget for measures such as 175 new parole agents, 2,000 new global-positioning system electronic monitors and beefed-up job training and counseling for parolees. In New Hampshire, legislation was introduced to authorize inmates' early release and calls for resulting savings to be reinvested in rehabilitation programs.

In most cases, though, ex-cons still get no more than a bus ticket and pocket money when they emerge from prison—and are often immediately burdened with parole fees and child-support debts.

In Baltimore, Mr. Petteway turned to the Center for Urban Families, a nonprofit that trains and supports job seekers. The center has had a good success rate finding jobs, but it's getting harder. Lenny Robinson, president of janitorial firm At Once Cleaning Services, which the center has approached, says he is worried that hiring ex-convicts might hurt relations with his clients.

"In this environment, because unemployment is so high, the employer is in the driver's seat," Mr. Robinson says. "If I have two people looking for a job and I do a background check on each, I'm going to hire the one with the clean record."

Intelligent, friendly and well-spoken, Mr. Petteway says he managed to cut his prison term in part by earning a high-school degree and some college credits in abnormal psychology. For someone who used to run his own business, the warehouse and data-processing jobs he has applied for are hardly challenging. But he says he is going to make it work for his daughters' sake.

"I want to give a positive testimony one day," he says.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704534904575131620998489624.html?mod=WSJ_WSJ_US_News_5#printMode

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From the New York Times

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Florida Case Blocks Parole for Molester in California

MIAMI — A convicted child molester held a young girl captive for more than 15 years in the 1970s and '80s, fathering her baby and forcing her to have four abortions, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court that blocked his release from prison.

The man, George Joseph England, 65, is currently being held in California after serving a sentence on child molesting charges dating to 1977. He was scheduled to be released on parole last week until Florida prosecutors filed the complaint detailing the accusations made by the woman, who is now 42.

In an extensive interview this month with an F.B.I. agent in Miami, the woman told the authorities that Mr. England had bought her from her mother in Vietnam in the early 1970s, when she was 5 years old. At the time, Mr. England was working in Southeast Asia as a civilian contractor.

Mr. England then moved to California, taking the young girl with him. Mr. England was convicted in California in 1977 on charges of molesting three girls who were friends of his accuser. But he fled to Florida with his accuser before he was sentenced, California authorities said.

In Florida, he lived under an assumed name for more than 25 years. During that time, Mr. England sexually molested the girl up to five times a week, and encouraged her “to play sex games with other children as he watched through a hole he had drilled in the wall,” according to the criminal complaint. The first pregnancy occurred when she was 13, according to her interview, and the baby was given up for adoption. The other pregnancies were terminated, she said.

Mr. England told her that she would never be adopted because she was too old and that if she ever testified against him, she would be forced into a life of prostitution, she said in her statement to the F.B.I. She said she lived with Mr. England until 1988, when she was 21. But it was not until 2004 that she alerted federal authorities of Mr. England's whereabouts and the alias under which he was living in Florida. She did not explain in the complaint why she had not earlier alerted the authorities.

In 2005, federal authorities arrested Mr. England, who was living in Fort Lauderdale, on charges of obtaining and using a passport by fraud. After serving a short sentence in federal prison in California, he went to a state prison to serve out his six-year sentence for the 1977 molesting charges.

Federal prosecutors in South Florida said that Mr. England would be transported to Florida in the coming days to face charges of trafficking a minor across state lines for sexual purposes.

These “charges will likely prevent a notorious convicted child molester from preying on other children,” said Jeffrey H. Sloman, United States attorney for the Southern District of Florida.

If convicted on the additional charges, Mr. England could face life in prison.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/20/us/20miami.html?ref=us&pagewanted=print

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Killer of Malcolm X Is Granted Parole

After being turned down for parole 16 times, Malcolm X 's only confessed assassin is about to gain his freedom.

Thomas Hagan has been held since moments after shots rang out in the Audubon Ballroom in 1965. He has been on work release for more than two decades, but he still spends two days a week locked up at the Lincoln Correctional Facility on West 110th Street in Manhattan.

On March 3, however, on his 17th try, Mr. Hagan was granted parole, the State Division of Parole said. His final release date is tentatively scheduled for April 28. The news was reported Thursday on The Village Voice's Runnin' Scared blog.

Mr. Hagan, who turned 69 in jail on Tuesday, was a militant member of the Nation of Islam on Feb. 21, 1965, when Malcolm X was shot while giving a speech at the Audubon, in Washington Heights. Mr. Hagan, then known as Talmadge X. Hayer, was captured by the crowd and shot at and beaten before being rescued by the police.

Two other men, Muhammad Abdul Aziz (then known as Norman 3X Butler) and Kahlil Islam (then Thomas 15X Johnson), were also charged with the murder. They maintained their innocence. Mr. Hagan did not, testifying at his trial in 1966 that he was responsible for the murder and that his co-defendants were innocent.

All three men were sentenced to 20 years to life.

Mr. Hagan said in a 1977 affidavit that he and several accomplices (not Mr. Aziz or Mr. Islam) decided to kill Malcolm X because he was a “hypocrite” who had “gone against the leader of the Nation of Islam,” Elijah Muhammad. Mr. Hagan said that after one man shot Malcolm X in the chest with a shotgun, he and another man fired several more rounds at him.

Mr. Aziz was paroled in 1985, and in 1998 was named by Louis Farrakhan to be chief of security for the Harlem mosque that Malcolm X once headed. Mr. Islam was paroled in 1987.

Mr. Hagan, who earned a master's degree while in prison, according to a 2008 profile in The New York Post, was placed on work release in 1988. In 2008, he was spending his free days with his wife and children in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, and working in a fast food restaurant.

“I've been incarcerated for 40 years, and I've had a good record all around,” he told The Post. “I don't see any reason for holding me.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/20/nyregion/20parole.html?ref=us&pagewanted=print

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New Threat Puts Hemet Officers on Heightened Alert

HEMET, Calif. (AP) -- The tense atmosphere surrounding a California police department plagued by booby trap attacks has been stepped up a notch following the latest threat against officers.

Someone called 911 at about 5:45 p.m. Friday saying a police car would be blown up in the Hemet-San Jacinto area in the next 24 to 48 hours, Hemet Police Chief Richard Dana said.

''We're heightening the alert,'' Dana told The Press-Enterprise. The caller said the attack would be in retaliation for the law enforcement sweep against the Vagos Motorcycle Club earlier this week.

The Riverside County Sheriff's Department has not been able to confirm the threat, Deputy Herlinda Valenzuela said.

About 30 members of the Vagos, California's largest motorcycle gang, were arrested in Riverside County on Wednesday, as part of a crackdown across the state and in Arizona, Nevada and Utah. The gang specializes in methamphetamine sales, identity theft and violence, Riverside County sheriff's Capt. Walter Meyer said.

Dana said someone he believes may have been a gang member tried to get into a news conference Thursday at the district attorney's office in Riverside. The person was turned away, he said, because he didn't have a press credential.

At that news conference, Dana, District Attorney Rod Pacheco, state Attorney General Brown and others announced a $200,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the Hemet-area booby traps aimed at officers in recent weeks.

First, a natural gas pipe was shoved through a hole drilled into the roof of the gang enforcement unit's headquarters. The building filled with flammable vapor but an officer smelled the danger before anyone was hurt.

Then, a ballistic contraption was attached to a sliding security fence around the building. An officer opening the black steel gate triggered the mechanism, which sent a bullet within eight inches of his face.

In another attempted booby trap attack, some kind of explosive device was attached to a police officer's unmarked car while he went into a convenience store.

Gang enforcement officers appear to be the target of the assassination attempts, though Dana noted the devices were indiscriminate by nature and could have killed any police or law enforcement officer.

A prevalent theory for the attacks is that Vagos members were angered when members of Hemet's anti-gang task force monitored them at a funeral in a church opposite the task force's former headquarters.

The incidents have shaken a close-knit police department already demoralized by steep budget cuts that last year saw its officer numbers slashed by a quarter to 68. Officers are checking under cars for bombs and scouting for other potential hazards.

''I would call the mood tense,'' Capt. Marghis said. ''Everyone is being very vigilant about their surroundings and the environment.''

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/03/20/us/AP-US-Police-Booby-Traps.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print

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Judge: $575M Settlement Rejected for 9 / 11 'Heroes'

NEW YORK (AP) -- A federal judge rejected a multimillion dollar settlement for people sickened by ash and dust from the World Trade Center, saying the deal to compensate 10,000 police officers, firefighters and other laborers didn't contain enough money.

U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein on Friday rejected a legal settlement that would have given at least $575 million to the victims, saying the deal shortchanged ground zero workers whom he called heroes.

''In my judgment, this settlement is not enough,'' said U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who delivered his pronouncement to a stunned gallery at a federal courthouse in Manhattan.

Rising from his chair, the 76-year-old jurist said he feared police officers, firefighters and other laborers who cleared rubble after the 9/11 terror attacks were being pushed into signing a deal few of them understood.

Under the terms of the settlement, workers had been given just 90 days to say yes or no to a deal that would have assigned them payments based on a point system that Hellerstein said was complicated enough to make a Talmudic scholar's head spin.

''I will not preside over a settlement that is based on fear or ignorance,'' he said.

Of the proposed settlement of $575 million to $657 million, workers stood to get amounts ranging from a few thousand dollars to more than $1 million.

Hellerstein said the deal should be richer. Too much of it would be eaten up by legal fees, he said.

A third or more of the money set aside for the workers was expected to go to their lawyers. Some plaintiffs had agreed at the start of the case to give as much as 40 percent of any judgment to cover fees and expenses. That might have meant $200 million or more going to attorneys.

Hellerstein, who presides over all federal court litigation related to the terror attacks, ripped into the agreement after hearing several ground zero responders speak tearfully of their illnesses and after receiving letters and phone calls from others expressing confusion about the deal.

He said he was speaking ''from the heart'' out of great compassion for the thousands of men and women who spent time at ground zero.

It wasn't immediately clear whether the judge's actions would kill the settlement entirely.

The deal had taken years to negotiate and was announced March 11, with about two months to go until the first trials.

A spokeswoman for the law partnership that negotiated the settlement on behalf of the workers said she had no comment on the judge's remarks.

Christine LaSala, president of the WTC Captive Insurance Co., a special insurance entity created by Congress to represent the city in the lawsuit, said the judge ''has now made it more difficult, if not impossible, for the people bringing these claims to obtain compensation and a settlement.''

She said the lawyers would confer with city officials and ''try to find a way forward.''

New York City's chief lawyer, Michael Cardozo, said, ''We have great respect for Judge Hellerstein and will consider his comments, but his reaction to the settlement will make it extremely difficult to resolve these cases.''

Hellerstein laid out a number of proposed fixes for what he saw as deficiencies in the settlement and told the two sides to resume negotiations.

He rejected the idea that a third or more of the money should go to the plaintiffs' lawyers and said the legal fees should be paid by the WTC Captive, not the workers.

Hellerstein said workers should have ample opportunities to ask questions and get answers about the settlement, and he offered to go on a mini-speaking tour to get information to the plaintiffs.

''I will make myself available in union halls, fire department houses, police precincts and schools,'' Hellerstein said.

He said more money should be set aside for people who later develop cancer that may be linked to ground zero toxins. He said he wanted to retain ultimate control over which workers were entitled to have claims paid.

Hellerstein acknowledged that he felt a personal connection to the case, calling it ''the greatest burden in my life,'' but insisted that his unusual intervention was legally and morally necessary, given the importance of 9/11 to the country.

''This is no ego trip for me. This is work,'' he said.

Hellerstein spoke after several ground zero recovery workers had risen in court to describe a litany of health problems they believe are linked to inhaling the ash and dust left by the collapse of the World Trade Center.

The settlement rejected by the judge would have created a pool of at least $575 million for sick workers. That amount could rise to as much as $657 million if enough people accept the deal. Injured workers would get a payment in exchange for dropping their suits against New York City and the dozens of construction contractors it hired to handle the cleanup.

Money for the settlement would be funded with nearly $1 billion in federal taxpayer money that has already been appropriated.

The deal covers a broad list of ailments suspected of being linked to trade center dust, including asthma, chronic coughing and interstitial lung disease, which involves scarring of lung tissue. Some types of cancer are also covered.

For the plaintiffs with relatively minor ailments, payments would have ranged from $3,250 to $9,760. William Groner, an attorney on the team that negotiated the settlement, estimated that 40 percent to 60 percent of the workers would fall into that category.

The rest were to have divided the remaining millions in the pot, with a handful of the sickest getting $1 million or more. The amount they got would have been based on a complicated scoring system that ranks each illness by severity.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/03/20/us/AP-US-Attacks-Health-Trials.html?pagewanted=print

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From ICE

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Joint international manhunt leads to arrest of fugitive wanted in three countries

WASHINGTON - An international manhunt has ended with the capture of Jorge Torres-Puello aka Jorge Torres Orellana. After a coordinated effort between the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and multiple law enforcement agencies in the United States and overseas, Torres-Puello was located in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and arrested without incident by local authorities there Thursday at 8 p.m.

Torres-Puello is wanted in El Salvador for crimes against children, sexual exploitation of minors for pornography and prostitution, organized crime and human trafficking. In the United States, he is wanted in Vermont on alien smuggling offenses and in Philadelphia for probation violations for fraud. He is also wanted in Canada. Before and after his previous arrests in the United States and Canada, Torres-Puello assumed several fraudulent identities and was known by several aliases.

"The location and arrest of this fugitive, wanted by three countries on some of the most egregious charges that ICE investigates, is an example of top-notch cooperation among law enforcement agencies in all these countries and our colleagues at INTERPOL," said John Morton, assistant secretary of Homeland Security for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). "Hiding behind fake names or using phony identifications and passports will not protect those who prey on the most vulnerable in our societies. Together we will find you and bring you to justice."

"The capture of Jorge Torres-Puello is an exceptional example of the effective cooperation between law enforcement agencies across numerous borders and jurisdictions," said Director John F. Clark of the United States Marshals Service. "When we all come together for a common purpose, the world becomes a very small place for a fugitive to hide. I offer my sincere thanks to our many international and domestic partners who played a part in this arrest."

"This is a great example of how we work with our law enforcement partners to pursue individuals who have fled to international jurisdictions after their involvement in criminal activity and bring them to justice," said INTERPOL Washington Director Timothy Williams.

Torres-Puello's downfall started just after Haitian authorities detained 10 U.S. missionaries and held them on kidnapping and abduction charges. Shortly after their arrest, Torres-Puello contacted their church in Idaho and said he was a legal authority on Haitian and Dominican law. He obtained monetary retainer from the families of the missionaries and began representing himself to the Haitian court and international media as the attorney/spokesman for the detained Americans.

In February, law enforcement authorities in El Salvador were notified the individual acting as the legal advisor to the U.S. missionaries bore a strong resemblance to Jorge Torres Orellana, the man wanted by El Salvadorian authorities. Authorities in El Salvador requested the assistance of INTERPOL, and an INTERPOL Red Notice was issued to law enforcement agencies worldwide.

INTERPOL Washington, having previously been in communication with authorities in El Salvador, immediately confirmed Jorge Torres Orellana was in fact a fugitive from justice also wanted in Canada and the United States. INTERPOL Washington served as the intermediary in coordinating efforts between multiple agencies in the United States and overseas, resulting in the apprehension of Torres-Puello.

ICE and the USMS International Investigations Branch spearheaded the two-month long joint investigation along with law enforcement officials in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Canada and El Salvador.

Continued efforts and participation from the Direccion Nacional de Control de Drogas in the Dominican Republic along with the assistance of INTERPOL Santo Domingo, D.R., proved to be essential assets in the investigation.

A combined effort by the agencies mentioned above, along with the indispensable participation of the U.S. Department of Justice Office of International Affairs; U.S. Department of State; U.S. Attorney Offices in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the District of Vermont; Dominican Republic Office of the Attorney General; and the Embassy of the Dominican Republic in Washington, D.C. culminated in this arrest.

http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/1003/100319washingtondc.htm

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Kansas man charged with sexually exploiting a 2-year-old girl

KANSAS CITY, Kan. - A local man accused of sexually exploiting a 2-year-old girl to produce child pornography was arrested and charged in federal court on Thursday. The charges resulted from an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Larry Howard, 41, of Olathe, Kan., was arrested March 18 and charged in the District of Kansas with producing child pornography.

According to the criminal complaint, Howard allegedly took sexually explicit photos of a 2-year-old girl and traded those images over the Internet to obtain more child pornography. The investigation began in September 2009 when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a tip that a man in Australia had uploaded child pornography to a website. The Australian Capital Territory Police identified an Australian man, Troy White, as the user who posted the photos. White is currently facing child pornography charges in Australia.

Investigators learned White had been producing child pornography and trading files via the Internet with other child pornography producers around the world. Among White's contacts was an individual in the United States who used the alias "Blyndman68." Australian Federal Police shared the information with ICE agents, who followed the electronic trail to Howard.

On March 18, ICE agents served a federal search warrant at Howard's home, resulting in his arrest. ICE was assisted in the investigation by the Olathe Police Department and the U.S. Marshals Service.

"Sexually exploiting children is a crime that has traumatic effects on the most vulnerable members of our society," said Gay Hartwig, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Chicago "ICE and its law enforcement partners work tirelessly to investigate child predators who seek to sexually exploit innocent children."

If convicted, Howard faces a minimum of 15 years and up to 30 years in federal prison, and a fine up to $250,000. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kim Marin, District of Kansas, is prosecuting the case.

In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments filed merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.

This investigation was 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 .

http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/1003/100319kansascity.htm

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From the FBI

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Dr. Saeed Fahia of Minneapolis is presented his Director's Community Leadership Award. - Video: Recipients Talk About Their Programs - Gallery: Reception at FBI Headquarters - Profiles: Learn More About the Recipients

MAKING COMMUNITIES SAFER Civic Leaders Honored by the FBI 03/19/10 “You did not simply lament the problems you saw. You came up with solutions for them and went out and took action.” Sounds like a definition of leadership—so it's not surprising that it's how Director Robert Mueller characterized the latest winners of the Director's Community Leadership Award in a Friday ceremony at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. For the second straight year, the Director personally presented the awards to more than 50 individuals and organizations that went above and beyond to make their communities safer and stronger. Each of the FBI's field offices has the opportunity to select one winner annually, recognizing achievements in preventing and/or educating the public on crimes like terrorism, cyber fraud, illegal drugs, gangs, and violence. The award was launched in 1990.  The individual story of each recipient shows what a difference a single person or organization can make. By publicizing their achievements, we hope that others will be inspired to use their time and talents for the good of their communities.

Here are highlights from some of those individual stories:

• A man from Vermont, whose 13-year-old son took his own life after being victimized by cyber bullys, became a tireless advocate for young teens and convinced his state to pass an anti-bullying law.
  
  
• A circuit court judge in Arkansas holds a special drug court at area high schools and middle schools, where students observe official court proceedings and get a first-hand look at where drug abuse can take them.
  
  
• An imam in Sacramento—a passionate advocate of interfaith dialogue to build a better society—has devoted much of his time to educating the community about the religion of Islam working with other faith-based organizations.
  
  
• A journalist in Los Angeles launched a Spanish-language website for the Latino community that has become a trusted source of crime information in areas like Internet safety, wanted fugitives, missing children, cold cases, fraud prevention, hate crime, and terrorism threats.
  
  
• A women's group in Alaska, dedicated to educating the public on domestic violence, provides a safe shelter for women and children victims of violence and delivers comprehensive services to victims of human sex trafficking.
  
  
• An Alabama pastor responded to an increase in violence within his community by reaching out to young people and sponsoring activities—with other pastors, political leaders, and school officials—that fostered understanding and respect for one another.
  
  
• The executive director of a Somali organization in Minnesota provides a multitude of services to help settle immigrants and refugees and serves as a bridge between the Somali community and entities like law enforcement, the health care system, and the schools.
  

On our website, we have posted a complete list of the recipients and full descriptions of their achievements—along with high-resolution pictures of each attendee with Director Mueller. Congratulations to all the winners!

http://www.fbi.gov/page2/mar10/dcla_031910.html

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From the DEA

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Authorities in El Paso Arrest Seven in Connection with Kidnapping/Murder Investigation

Federal charges include conspiracy to commit murder, murder for hire, kidnapping, drug distribution and Interstate transportation in aid of racketeering

MAR 18 - Law enforcement officials arrested seven individuals charged in two separate indictments returned by a federal grand jury in El Paso. The indictments arise from a kidnapping in El Paso and a murder in Juarez following the seizure of almost 700 pounds of marijuana in August 2009.

United States Attorney John E. Murphy, DEA Special Agent in Charge Joseph M. Arabit, FBI Special Agent in Charge David Cuthbertson, U.S. Border Patrol Marfa Sector Chief Patrol Agent John Smietana and El Paso Sector Acting Chief Patrol Agent Randy Hill, El Paso County District Attorney Jaime Esparza and El Paso County Sheriff Richard Wiles made the announcement Thursday.

Those arrested include: Rafael Vega, age 26, of Tornillo; Cesar Obregon-Reyes, age 21, a Mexican citizen residing in Tornillo; Omar Obregon-Ortiz, age 21, a Mexican citizen residing in Tornillo; Joey Albert Ashley, age 39, of El Paso; Manuel Hernandez, age 46, of El Paso; David Vasquez Pena, age 42, of El Paso; and, David Octavio Calleros, age 26, of El Paso.

One indictment charges Ashley, Hernandez, Pena and Calleros with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 100 kilograms of marijuana and one count of possession with intent to distribute more than 100 kilograms of marijuana. The charges stem from the August 5, 2009, seizure of 670 pounds of marijuana hidden inside a tractor-trailer rig driven by Ashley and Hernandez. Border Patrol agents made the seizure at the Sierra Blanca checkpoint. It is alleged that Pena and Calleros were responsible for loading the marijuana into the tractor-trailer rig in El Paso.

A separate, but related indictment charges Vega, Obregon-Reyes, and Obregon-Ortiz with kidnapping; conspiracy to kidnap, kill or maim in a foreign country; use of an interstate communication facility in commission of murder for hire; and, interstate and foreign travel in aid of racketeering. Vega is also charged in this indictment with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 100 kilograms of marijuana. These charges stem from the September 3, 2009, kidnapping of Sergio Saucedo from his home in Horizon City, Texas. The kidnapers took Saucedo to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, where he was murdered and mutilated in retaliation for the loss of the marijuana load seized at the Sierra Blanca checkpoint.

“Nothing is more important than the safety and security of our community. DEA, and our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners in El Paso, will remain relentless in our pursuit of the vicious criminal individuals and drug trafficking organizations who threaten our safety and stability. These arrests send a strong and unified message that these crimes will not be tolerated in our community and those who commit these offenses will be brought to justice,” stated DEA Special Agent in Charge Joseph M. Arabit.

“These indictments demonstrate the continuing commitment of federal and local law enforcement officials in working together to combat the drug trafficking cartels. The charges of kidnapping and murder should send the clear message that such violence will not be tolerated in the United States. We will aggressively prosecute all provable acts of violence committed within our jurisdiction, and those engaged in such acts will be severely punished,” stated United States Attorney John E. Murphy.

Upon conviction, Vega, Cesar Obregon and Omar Obregon could be sentenced to life in federal prison; if they are convicted of the kidnapping or murder for hire, the law provides that they shall be sentenced to death or life imprisonment. Ashley, Hernandez, Pena and Calleros face between five and 40 years in prison if convicted.

“These arrests demonstrate that when spillover violence does rarely happen in our city, law enforcement makes every effort to bring to justice those people who committed these crimes,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge David Cuthbertson.

“The Horizon City kidnapping incident that occurred in September of 2009 was a high profile case that received national attention. The excellent work of Sheriff's Office Crime Against Persons Detectives led to the arrest of three individuals involved in the crime. The latest arrests show our continued willingness to assist federal agencies in any investigation. All individuals arrested have now been charged federally which shows the seriousness of charges on those who commit crimes in our community - If you break the law you must be held accountable,” said El Paso County Sheriff Richard Wiles.

This case was investigated by agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Border Patrol, and the El Paso County Sheriff's Department.

An indictment is merely a charge and should not be considered as evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven in guilty in a court of law.

http://www.justice.gov/dea/pubs/states/newsrel/2010/elpaso031810.html

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