Border authorities uncover a cache of weapons inside a vehicle at a checkpoint near San Ysidro

Border authorities inspecting cars heading into Mexico on Saturday discovered a cache of ammunition and weapons, including five machine guns, hidden inside a Nissan, according to officials with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency.

Also concealed inside the speaker box of the vehicle were two handguns, dozens of rounds of ammunition and tactical gear. The weapons were discovered at a checkpoint on Interstate 5 at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, just north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The driver, a 19-year-old man whose identity was not disclosed, was arrested, authorities said.

The inspections are part of an effort by the federal government to curtail the flow of weapons and money fueling the drug war in Mexico. Last week, border authorities arrested a 20-year-old man who was allegedly trying to smuggle two machine guns into Mexico via the border crossing at the Imperial Valley town of Andrade.

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

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Family flees to Mexico, leaves boy with body of dead sister, police say

Bakersfield police Monday were searching for a family suspected of fleeing to Mexico after leaving a 4-year-old boy in their home with the body of his dead 3-year-old sister.

Officers arrived at the home Sunday after receiving a report of a dead child and discovered the boy sleeping in the residence and the body of the 3-year-old, the Bakersfield Police Department said. The girl's body showed signs of trauma, police said.

Police said the children had been under the custody of their uncle, Alberto Garcia, and his wife, Carla Mariela Garcia, both 26. The Garcias had left the home with their three biological children, ages 4 through 10.

The family is believed to have left for Mexico, according to Sgt. Mary DeGeare, who said detectives were working with prosecutors and the FBI to apprehend the Garcias. The couple is wanted for alleged felony child endangerment and questioning in the death of the 3-year-old, DeGeare said.

The family vehicle is described as a white Ford Eddie Bauer Expedition, license plate number 5FLC681, with 17-inch rims. Anyone with information is asked to call police at (661) 327-7111

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

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Whooping cough epidemic spurs calls for the elderly, children and pregnant women to get vaccinated

California public health officials on Monday strongly urged elderly adults, children and pregnant women to get vaccinated against whooping cough, citing an epidemic in the state that is on track to be the worst in 50 years.

Nearly 1,500 cases of whooping cough, or pertussis, have been reported statewide this year, five times the number of cases last year, according to Dr. Gil Chavez, the state's epidemiologist.

Newborns under 6 months old are the most vulnerable, since even those vaccinated have yet to develop immunity, Chavez said. Five infants have died of whooping cough so far this year, all under 3 months old. Two of the deaths were in Los Angeles County.

[ Updated at 2:15 p.m.: An earlier version of this post incorrectly said that none of the deaths occurred in the county. ]

A sixth possible death from whooping cough in L.A. County, also an infant, was still being investigated Monday, Chavez said. Last year, three infants died of the disease.

L.A. County has reported 289 whooping cough cases this year, including 73 confirmed infections and 54 likely infections as of July 16, according to the Department of Public Health. The county had 156 reported cases of whooping cough last year.

Pertussis infections typically peak every five years, Chavez said, and the last outbreak in California was in 2005. Since then, a booster vaccine was developed for adolescents and adults.

“It's time for Californians to help us by getting vaccinated and protecting themselves,” Chavez said.

The California Department of Public Health on Monday recommended vaccinating not only infants but also  children age 7 and older, adults age 64 and older, women of child-bearing age before, during and immediately after pregnancy, and anyone else who may have contact with pregnant women or infants.

Dr. Jack Chou, a Baldwin Park family physician, said he was “heartened” by the new recommendations.

“That will allow us to give this vaccine to grandparents who care for infants,” said Chou, president of the California Academy of Family Physicians.

Dr. Dean Blumberg, an associate professor of pediatric infectious diseases at UC Davis, said three quarters of the infants who catch whopping cough get it from someone in their home.

“That's why it's important to make sure their siblings and caregivers are protected,” Blumberg said.

The California Department of Public Health has been tracking whooping cough cases by county, patient age and ethnicity, Chavez said. They have seen more infections in counties such as Marin, where more parents have opted out of vaccinating children , he said. Latino infants are most likely to get whooping cough, more than twice as likely as white infants, while among adults, whites were more likely to get infected than other ethnicities, followed by Latinos, Chavez said.

Chavez said the department has provided free vaccines to local hospitals and community clinics and held a series of meetings with ethnic media in Northern, Southern and Central California to raise awareness about the importance of vaccinations.

Department officials stressed that the vaccine is safe for pregnant women, is made from a dead virus and is preservative-free.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/07/whooping-cough-pertussis-california-epidemic.html#more

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For terrorism trials, civilian courts are up to the job

Our federal courts are unmatched at putting terrorism suspects on trial, collecting intelligence when possible and sending them away for good.

Dianne Feinstein

July 20, 2010

We haven't heard much lately from the folks who say the Obama administration is making America vulnerable by trying terrorists in federal criminal courts instead of in military commissions.

It's probably because their rhetoric has been dealt a serious blow by the flurry of guilty pleas this year by high-profile terror suspects. They include:

• Faisal Shahzad, who pleaded guilty in June to attempting to blow up a bomb-laden SUV in Times Square in a plot supported by the Pakistani Taliban.

• David Headley, who admitted in March to helping plan the deadly 2008 attacks in Mumbai and to plotting to bomb a Danish newspaper.

• And Najibullah Zazi, who admitted in February to a suicide bomb plot aimed at New York's subways and supported by Al Qaeda.

All three pleaded guilty in federal courts, and all three now face maximum terms of life in federal prison — where there is no possibility of parole. All three are also cooperating with authorities.

In another case, this month, federal prosecutors in Brooklyn unsealed an indictment charging five men in an Al Qaeda plot to attack targets in Britain and the United States, including the New York City subway system. It is believed the indictment was crafted, at least in part, with information supplied by Zazi and a co-defendant.

So much for the claim that our federal courts aren't up to the job.

These cases are not anomalies. They are the latest in a long line of successful terror indictments and prosecutions that underscore our federal criminal justice system's unparalleled ability to elicit intelligence, charge and prosecute terrorists and deliver substantial prison sentences.

Swift guilty pleas and cooperation are hardly the stuff of a weak justice system. And it's important to note that cooperation happens often in federal criminal prosecutions, but not in military commissions. Terrorist conviction statistics, provided by the Justice Department's National Security Division, are impressive:

• By mid-March of this year, 403 terrorism suspects had been tried and convicted in federal district courts since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

• Of these, 159 were convicted of Category I crimes — violations of federal statutes directly related to international terrorism.

• The other 244 were convicted of Category II crimes — violations of fraud, immigration, firearms, drugs and other statutes in cases with identified links to international terrorism.

A dozen of these convicted terrorists were sentenced to life in prison. One was sentenced to 155 years, and 18 others received sentences of 20 years or more.

The average sentence handed down to defendants charged with terrorism, between 2001 and 2009, is 19.7 years, according to the Center on Law and Security at New York University's School of Law.

And the most dangerous have been jailed in the highest-security facilities operated by the Bureau of Prisons. This includes roughly three dozen terrorists, many with ties to Al Qaeda, incarcerated at the "Supermax" prison near Florence, Colo.

How have military commissions done by comparison?

Since 9/11, only four Guantanamo detainees have been prosecuted in military commissions. Two of them received light sentences and are now free.

That's not to say that there may be instances in which a military commission might be a superior venue, such as cases involving attacks aimed at U.S. military facilities.

But results matter. And the lopsided statistics clearly show that military commissions should be the exception, not the rule.

In any event, the decision of the best venue in which to prosecute a terror suspect should be the president's to make, and the call should be made based on facts, not political rhetoric.

Our federal courts have an unmatched record of putting terror suspects on trial, collecting intelligence when possible — and sending them away for good.

Dianne Feinstein is a Democratic U.S. senator from California.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-feinstein-terrorism-20100720,0,5753501,print.story

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From the New York Times

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In Los Angeles, Unsolved Killings Reflected Era

LOS ANGELES — It was the most painful sort of ordinary.

One summer day in 1985, a woman turned up dead in a South Los Angeles alleyway. Almost exactly a year later, another woman with fatal bullet wounds was found, in another alley nearby. And so it went, for nearly 25 years — with a 13-year lull in which the killings seemed to stop — black women, many of whose struggles with drugs had worried or alienated their families, were found dead and discarded around the streets and alleyways of South Los Angeles.

Their killings went unsolved in part because of a lack of witnesses and evidence, but also because Los Angeles County — and particularly the beleaguered corridors south of the 10 Freeway — endured so many murders, some at the hands of other serial killers, it took a long time to confirm that 10 women and one man were killed by the “Grim Sleeper,” so called for his supposed killing hiatus.

“Bodies accumulated,” said Detective Clifford Shepard, who has worked for the Los Angeles Police Department for more than 25 years. “You just didn't have any information back then. It was an insane time.”

Lonnie David Franklin Jr., a mechanic and auto thief who lived among the victims for all those years, was arrested this month after almost a quarter-century of brutality, linked to the killings through a sophisticated use of DNA analysis.

Most of the victims' bodies were found within two miles of Mr. Franklin's home in a fairly circumscribed section of South Los Angeles near the 110 and 105 Freeways. Some were dumped along quiet stretches of south Western Avenue, where single-story homes sit next to ramshackle motels, auto body shops and a park. Others lay in the alleys that cut through residential blocks on either side of Western's commercial strip, an area dotted with fast food restaurants, liquor stores, and churches big and small.

In many ways, the case sums up the long and painful history of a neighborhood where drug crimes, gang violence and an uneasy relationship with the police combined to hinder the arrest of Mr. Franklin, and contributed to the demise of women whose footing in their community was so unsure, there were few left behind to rage for justice. Most were unaware until recently then that their loved one's killer had taken other lives.

“I didn't know about other murders,” said Betty Lowe, the mother of Mary Lowe, the sixth victim. “When the detective was assigned to the case I called practically every day and every day they told me, ‘Nothing yet,' so I thought it was never going to happen for us.”

While South Los Angeles remains one of the more troubled areas of the city, the arrest of Mr. Franklin also illuminates in many ways how far it has come, both through the vast reduction in violence and the evolution of law enforcement technology and tactics.

“The Grim Sleeper case spans all of that history of South L.A.,” said Joe Hicks, vice president of Community Advocates Inc. , who grew up in South Los Angeles. “His activity began in a period of Los Angeles when things were dramatically different, and particularly in the neighborhoods where he operated, and it wasn't unusual to find bodies in the alleys.

“But the way things have changed over the course of years, the ways the later victims were dealt with, the interaction between the police and community, the way that people in the neighborhood decided we are not going to tolerate” crime and violence among young people, he added. “You superimpose the Grim Sleeper on that, and it is very interesting.”

The 1980s and 1990s, when crack use was widespread, marked a time of intense violence in urban America. There were more than 800 people killed in Los Angeles every year but two from 1985 to 1995. By comparison, 314 people were killed here in 2009.

When the first victim, Debra Jackson, 29, turned up dead, the police were already trying to grapple with other killers who preyed on women, largely women who traded sex for drugs — known as strawberries — in South Los Angeles. A South Side Slayer task force, named for another suspected killer or killers of women, was assigned to unravel the murders.

“So many black females were being killed at that time,” said Fred Miller, a retired detective who worked on the early cases, “it was like an epidemic. You'd get a call, get out of bed and go to the alley dumpster.”

While at least three men were tried and convicted of multiple murders during that time, a series of women and one man were killed by someone who evaded detection. The first clue came after a fourth victim, Barbara Ware, turned up in an alley in 1987, about three miles from Mr. Franklin's home. Detectives realized then, through ballistics, that there was a tie between Ms. Ware and two previous female victims.

Yet, leads were few. There was an orange Pinto that the lone survivor described to the police. In 1987, a call was made to 911 from an unknown person describing a body being thrown from a blue-and-white 1976 Dodge van.

Families said they felt largely left out of the loop. They never knew at the time that ballistic evidence linked the victims, or about the 911 call or the blue-and-white van, or often, the simple status of the investigation.

“We didn't know anything about that,” said Sherry Ware Costa, Barbara Ware's aunt. Barbara Ware's father ran a store about nine blocks from Lonnie Franklin 's green house. Had the police been more forthcoming, family members said, leads could have developed.

“My husband was into custom cars,” said Diana Ware, Barbara Ware's stepmother. “He would've noticed a Pinto like they were describing.”

The victims had similar profiles. Friendly, struggling, usually mixed up with drugs. One night in 1988, 18-year-old Alicia Alexander, who had once been picked up by the police, walked out of her parents' house bound for the corner store to get a soda. A few days later her body was found in an alley off Western Avenue.

Save an initial visit by homicide detectives in 1988, Porter Alexander, Alicia's father, said the investigation seemed opaque, and too soon petered out in spite of his many calls to the police. Ms. Ware said detectives visited her husband's furniture store periodically in the late 1980s, but “after that, we didn't hear anything,” until the Grim Sleeper began to kill again.

“In the 1980s and in the '90s there was much less information shared,” said Cmdr. David R. Doan, chief of detectives for the Los Angeles Police Department, largely because of mutual antipathy; the police feared the perpetrator's associates would clue him in to their work, and the community distrusted a police force with historically bad relationships with minorities here.

Not that there wasn't community agitation. In 1984, Margaret Prescod founded the Black Coalition Fighting Back Serial Murders , a group of church and community members eager to pressure the police to solve the South Side Slayer killings. “The fact is that these lives were devalued,” Ms. Prescod said. “If these murders had happened in Beverly Hills, don't you think the response would have been different? The whole world would have known about it.”

In November 1988, after seven women and one man had already been killed, Enietra Washington encountered a man in a Pinto who offered her a ride. She was shot in the chest, and then sexually assaulted and photographed before being pushed from the vehicle into the street, but she survived. “She gives us a lot of things that fit what we physically know about the other crimes,” Commander Doan said. Then, the killing stopped. One theory, Commander Doan said, is that Ms. Washington's survival spooked the murderer. Another was that he simply changed his m.o. and that more deaths will eventually be linked to him.

After the Los Angeles riots, efforts among the police to build relations in South Los Angeles slowly commenced. The South Side task force had been disbanded. The Coalition ground to a near halt. “There wasn't anything we could sink our teeth into,” Ms. Prescod said.

Then, in 2002, Princess Berthomieux, a troubled foster child who sometimes turned to prostitution, was found strangled and beaten in an Inglewood alley. A year and half later, a crossing guard discovered the body of 35-year-old Valerie McCorvey, and then, on Jan. 1, 2007, a homeless man discovered the body of 25-year-old Janecia Peters near a discarded Christmas tree. It seemed the Grim Sleeper had awoken, and the police assembled a new task force.

Several things had happened in the years between the clusters of killings. DNA technology had advanced, and a new state law required felons to give up samples, which was leading to many more connections of violent crimes. Christine Pelisek, a reporter for LA Weekly who coined the Grim Sleeper's nickname, wrote about the case and the pressure was back on.

Another thing had changed: The new task force was much more inclusive of the families..

“Time has taken a lot of the anger away,” Ms. Ware Costa said. “Now we just want to know why. Why would you do this? What kind of evil person is this.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/20/us/20grim.html?hp=&pagewanted=print

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Troops to Go to Mexican Border Aug. 1

Hundreds of National Guard troops will begin deployment to the United States- Mexico border on Aug. 1, part of the Obama administration's effort to increase security and stem the flow of weapons, cash and people into the United States, the administration announced Monday.

In May, President Obama pledged the deployment of 1,200 troops. More than 500 of the soldiers will go to Arizona, and the rest will go to New Mexico, Texas and California.

The announcement of a firm date comes as the debate over illegal immigration intensifies throughout the country. The White House is facing pressure to overhaul federal immigration policy after Arizona enacted a law requiring the police to question the immigration status of anyone they stop for other reasons if they suspect that the person is in the country illegally.

“These troops will provide direct support to federal law enforcement officers and agents working in high-risk areas to disrupt criminal organizations seeking to move people and goods illegally across the southwest border,” Janet Napolitano , the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security , said in a statement.

In a guest column published Monday in The Arizona Republic, Ms. Napolitano, a former Arizona governor, said special security technology like thermal-imaging binoculars and observation aircraft would be used to focus on an area around Tucson that has been widely used by smugglers.

In addition to the National Guard effort, 300 agents and officers from United States Customs and Border Protection will also head to the border to assist in the security efforts, Alan Bersin, Customs and Border Protection commissioner, said at a news conference.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/20/us/20border.html?ref=world&pagewanted=print

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Abuse Allegations Reported in Peacekeeping Missions

By NEIL MacFARQUHAR

There have been 45 allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse against personnel in United Nations peacekeeping and special political missions worldwide this year, with 18 involving minors, according to United Nations statistics. Most cases remain under investigation.

Of the 39 reported to countries that contribute peacekeeping troops, as well as other member states, the United Nations has received responses in just 13. The standard policy is to repatriate the personnel involved, with discipline left to individual governments.

The bulk of the cases, as in previous years, involve peacekeeping troops in the Democratic Republic of Congo. But that might be partly attributed to a particularly aggressive radio campaign by the discipline team there, as well as greater interaction by the troops with the local population than in most missions, the spokesman for peacekeeping operations, Nick Birnback, said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/20/world/20briefs-UNITEDNATIONS.html?ref=world&pagewanted=print

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We're Not Ready

We were told by oil industry executives and their acolytes and enablers in government that deep-water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico would not cause the kind of catastrophe that we've been watching with an acute and painful sense of helplessness for the past three months. Advances in technology, they said, would ward off the worst-case scenarios. Fail-safe systems like the blowout preventer a mile below the surface at the Deepwater Horizon rig site would keep wildlife and the environment safe.

Americans are not particularly good at learning even the most painful lessons. Denial is our default mode. But at the very least this tragedy in the gulf should push us to look much harder at the systems we need to prevent a catastrophic accident at a nuclear power plant, and for responding to such an event if it occurred.

Right now, we're not ready.

Nuclear plants are the new hot energy item. The Obama administration is offering federal loan guarantees to encourage the construction of a handful of new plants in the U.S., the first in decades. Not to be outdone, Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, a certifiable nuke zealot, would like to see 100 new plants built over the next 20 years.

There is no way to overstate how cautiously we need to proceed along this treacherous road. Building nuclear power plants is mind-bogglingly expensive, which is why you need taxpayer money to kick-start the process. But the overriding issues we need to be concerned about, especially in light of our horrendous experience with the oil gushing in the gulf for so long, are safety and security.

We have to be concerned about the very real possibility of a worst-case scenario erupting at one of the many aging nuclear plants already operating (in some cases with safety records that would make your hair stand on end), and at any of the new ones that so many people are calling for.

The problem is that while the most terrible accidents are blessedly rare, when they do occur the consequences are horrific, as we've seen in the gulf. With nuclear plants, the worst-case scenarios are too horrible for most people to want to imagine. Denial takes over with policy makers and the public alike. Something approaching a worst-case accident at a nuclear plant, especially one in a highly populated area, would make the Deepwater Horizon disaster look like a walk in the park.

“We are way, way behind when it comes to the hard work of preventing accidents and responding to these catastrophes when they happen,” said Dr. Irwin Redlener, the director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. “With the deep-water oil drilling, we allowed the technological advances to drive the process at a rate that was unsafe, and we got really badly burned. The potential of a nuclear catastrophe is a major disaster in waiting.”

There are already plenty of problems on the nuclear power front, but they don't get a great deal of media attention. David Lochbaum, the director of the Nuclear Safety Project for the Union of Concerned Scientists, told me last week that there have been 47 instances since 1979 in which nuclear reactors in the U.S. have had to be shut down for more than a year for safety reasons.

“We estimated, in 2005 dollars, that the average price tag for these outages was between $1.5 billion and $2 billion,” said Mr. Lochbaum.

People of a certain age will remember the frightening accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania in 1979, a partial meltdown that came dangerously close to a worst-case scenario. As Mr. Lochbaum put it, “In roughly two hours, conditions at the plant rendered it from a billion-dollar asset to a multibillion-dollar liability. It cost more to clean up than it cost to build it.”

Another frightening accident occurred in 2002 at the Davis-Besse plant at Oak Harbor, Ohio. A hidden leak led to corrosion that caused a near-catastrophe. By the time the problem was discovered, only a thin layer of stainless steel was left to hold back the disaster.

The potential problems with nuclear power abound. No one knows what to do with the dangerous nuclear waste that is building up at the plants. And no one wants to have an extended conversation in polite company about the threat of terrorists who could wreak all manner of mayhem with an attack on a plant.

For many very serious people, our overreliance on foreign oil and the potential dire consequences of global warming make the case for moving more toward nuclear energy a compelling one. But if this is done without a whole lot more serious thought given to matters of safety and rigorous oversight, it's a step we'll undoubtedly come to regret.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/20/opinion/20herbert.html?ref=opinion&pagewanted=print

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Alzheimer's Isn't Up to the Tests

CLEVELAND

A PANEL of medical experts from the National Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer's Association last week proposed changes in the way doctors diagnose Alzheimer's disease — including the use of so-called biomarkers, tests like PET brain scans and analyses of spinal fluids to promote early detection of the disease. Although these recommendations are well intentioned, evidence suggests that it would be a mistake to adopt them at this time. To understand why, it's important to recognize what these tests mean, in what context the information will be used and what experience has shown us.

First, about the diagnostic tests: A PET scan detects clumps of a deformed protein called amyloid beta, commonly known as plaques. The presence of these plaques has been a gold standard of Alzheimer's pathology since 1906, when Dr. Alois Alzheimer first identified them in a patient.

However, we now know that roughly one-third of all elderly adults have such plaques in their brains yet function normally. And eleven clinical trials, recently made public by a group of drug companies, that were aimed at reducing these plaques in Alzheimer's patients all failed to show cognitive improvement, even when the brains were cleared of plaques.

Thus, the presence of plaques cannot predict with any accuracy or specificity that an individual is going to acquire the disease — and researchers are increasingly looking beyond the amyloid hypothesis for an adequate explanation for Alzheimer's.

Another test being recommended by the panel is spinal fluid analysis — which measures the relative levels of two proteins, tau and amyloid beta. This method does seem quite promising, but its predictive potential remains uncertain.

There are also practical issues to be considered, not least of all the high cost of these procedures. What's more, the spinal tap procedure is not easy to perform and is painful to undergo, and it is a long way from becoming a routine diagnostic tool. Dr. Janis Petzel, a geriatric psychiatrist in Maine, has noted how unfeasible this test is in “nonacademic, rural or non-Western settings”: “I pray that cerebrospinal fluid findings will never be part of diagnostic criteria for Alzheimer's disease,” she wrote.

The diagnostic tests themselves can carry a risk of side effects. General imaging scans can expose patients to radiation, for instance; an invasive spinal tap could result in infection or damage to tissue. But there is also the psychological risk of false positives and misdiagnoses that greatly distress patients, at least until further tests show they do not have the disease.

This danger of overdiagnosis is very real, as the history of treatment for prostate cancer shows. A study last year about the prostate-specific antigen test found that in the two decades after the test was introduced, prostate cancer was detected in more than 1 million additional men, many of whom were likely overtreated.

Last, the most dreadful thing about Alzheimer's disease, next to the slow deterioration of cognition, is that we do not yet have a cure and none seems to be on the horizon. So, even if the new recommendations rendered the diagnosis earlier and unassailable, there is no therapeutic avenue to use this information to effectively treat the patient. Many individuals would simply prefer to be spared the emotional trauma of a diagnosis if no treatment exists.

Taken together, these reasons suggest that the panel's recommendations are likely to increase the emotional burden on individuals and the financial burden on society without providing proportional benefits. The doctor's most basic tenet is that of primum non nocere — first, do no harm. Until we have a more definite idea about what causes Alzheimer's, early-detection tests may do patients more harm than good.

Sanjay W. Pimplikar is an associate professor in the department of neurosciences at the Cleveland Clinic's Lerner Research Institute.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/20/opinion/20pimplikar.html?ref=opinion&pagewanted=print

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From the White House

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For First Time, Disaster Survivors Can Apply For Federal Disaster Aid On Smartphones

Back in May, we launched our mobile site, http://m.fema.gov to make it easier than ever for people to access information from FEMA quickly and easily.  This launch was only a first step and I'm glad to announce today a new feature to our mobile site that allows disaster survivors to apply for federal assistance directly on their web-enabled mobile devices after Presidentially declared disasters (such as BlackBerry®, Apple iPhone®, and Windows Mobile® devices).

Registering through the mobile site takes just three easy steps:

1. Go to http://m.fema.gov and click “Apply Online for FEMA Assistance”.  You will be directed to our partner site disasterassistance.gov.
2. Click on “Start Registration.”
3. Fill out the registration form to apply for assistance.

This new addition to our FEMA mobile site will provide disaster survivors with another avenue to quickly apply for assistance, not just from FEMA, but also from the Small Business Administration and our other federal partners.  As smartphones become cheaper and more prevalent, and wireless networks more resilient, these devices are becoming more than just simple communication tools – they can be life lines during emergencies. 

This new addition to m.fema.gov is just another way we are expanding the tools we use to communicate with the most important member of our emergency management team – the public.

For claims regarding the BP oil spill, individuals should continue to visit www.bp.com/claims .

Craig Fugate is the Administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/07/19/first-time-disaster-survivors-can-apply-federal-disaster-aid-smartphones

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Free Preventive Care Coming Soon Thanks to the Affordable Care Act

Starting in September, insurance plans will be required to pay the entire cost of recommended, preventive services.  That means that, without paying a deductible, co-pay or coinsurance, many Americans will be able to take the preventive steps needed to keep themselves and their families healthy

The newly-launched HealthCare.gov not only provides information about the new rule for prevention and what services will be included , it also lets you compare hospital data and shows you a comprehensive list of the insurance options available to you, your family, or your small business.

And a little background on the importance of these new preventative care benefits.  Chronic conditions are impacting America's men, women and children every day.  Nearly one-third of kids are overweight or obese, putting them at risk for conditions such as diabetes and heart disease, and 12% of children have not had a doctor's visit in the past year. About 210,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer will occur among women in the United States during 2010, and an estimated 40,000 women are expected to die from breast cancer this year. But the good news is that, as devastating as these illnesses can be, many of these conditions are preventable.   With expanded access to preventive services, individuals can get the information they need to make the health decisions that are right for them.  Preventing illness before it starts is key to keeping America healthy but it is also an important step in reducing health care costs.   Each year chronic conditions, such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes, are responsible for 7 of 10 deaths among Americans each year and account for 75% of the nation's health spending.

To learn more visit HealthCare.gov .

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/07/19/free-preventive-care-coming-soon-thanks-affordable-care-act

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From the Department of Homeland Security

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Obama Administration Announces Aug. 1 National Guard Deployment to Support Federal Law Enforcement Along the Southwest Border

Release Date: July 19, 2010

Washington, D.C. - Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Defense (DOD) today announced that National Guard deployments to the Southwest border will begin on Aug. 1 as part of the administration's unprecedented efforts to combat the transnational criminal organizations that smuggle weapons, cash and people across our Southwest border.

“Over the past year and a half, this administration has pursued a new border security strategy with an unprecedented sense of urgency, making historic investments in personnel, technology and infrastructure,” said Secretary Napolitano. “These troops will provide direct support to federal law enforcement officers and agents working in high-risk areas to disrupt criminal organizations seeking to move people and goods illegally across the Southwest border.”

In May, the President authorized the deployment of up to an additional 1,200 National Guard troops to the Southwest border to provide support for intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance, and counternarcotics enforcement—providing support for one year as part of the administration's unprecedented efforts to crack down on transnational smuggling and cartel violence, as CBP continues to recruit and train additional officers and agents to serve on the Southwest border.

The National Guard Southwest Border deployments augment CBP and ICE resources and assets already at the border, and include:

• 224 in California
• 524 in Arizona
• 72 in New Mexico
• 250 in Texas
• 130 serving as command and control and other support.

In deploying these personnel, the National Guard Bureau is operating under a request for assistance from DHS. Border security is a law enforcement mission, and these troops will augment the Administration's efforts to crack down on the drug cartels and transnational criminal organizations that operate along our Southwest border.

In agreement with DHS, beginning August 1, selected National Guard Members from Southwest border states will begin the necessary training and integration planning to knit them into our nation's border security operating structure,” said Gen. Craig McKinley, Chief of the National Guard Bureau. “The National Guard is deploying in response to DHS' request for assistance,” he added, “and will serve in law enforcement support roles consistent with the Administration's view that border security is a law enforcement challenge.”

The President has also requested $600 million in supplemental funds for enhanced border protection and law enforcement activities, which are critical to our ongoing efforts.

Last week, Secretary Napolitano announced more than $47 million in fiscal year 2010 Operation Stonegarden grants for the Southwest border states to support law enforcement personnel, overtime, and other related costs to enhance the capabilities of state, local and tribal law enforcement to secure the U.S.-Mexico border. Nearly 80 percent of the fiscal year 2010 funding will go to Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas—up from 59 percent in 2008.

For more information, visit www.dhs.gov or www.ng.mil .

http://www.dhs.gov/ynews/releases/pr_1279557825445.shtm

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From the Department of Justice

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WASHINGTON – Ninety-four people have been charged for their alleged participation in schemes to collectively submit more than $251 million in false claims to the Medicare program in the continuing operation of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force in Miami; Baton Rouge, La.; Brooklyn, N.Y.; Detroit and Houston, announced Attorney General Eric Holder, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, FBI Director Robert Mueller and Daniel R. Levinson, Inspector General of HHS. The operation announced today is the largest federal health care fraud takedown since Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations began in 2007.

The joint DOJ-HHS Medicare Fraud Strike Force is a multi-agency team of federal, state and local investigators designed to combat Medicare fraud through the use of Medicare data analysis techniques and an increased focus on community policing. More than 360 law enforcement agents from the FBI, HHS-Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), multiple Medicaid Fraud Control Units, and other state and local law enforcement agencies participated in today's operation.

"Our continued Strike Force operations reflect the unprecedented commitment that inspired the creation of the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team in May 2009," said Attorney General Holder. "With today's arrests, we're putting would-be criminals on notice: Health care fraud is no longer a safe bet. The federal government is working aggressively – and collaboratively – to pursue health care criminals around the country and to bring these offenders to justice."

"Today's arrests send a strong message that attempts to defraud Medicare will not be tolerated," said Secretary Sebelius.  "With the help of new tools in the Affordable Care Act, including stiffer penalties and better information sharing, we will continue to work with our federal, state and local partners to stamp out Medicare fraud and protect beneficiaries and the American taxpayer."

Charges were unsealed today against 94 individuals who are accused of various Medicare fraud-related offenses, including conspiracy to defraud the Medicare program, criminal false claims, violations of the anti-kickback statutes and money laundering. The charges are based on a variety of fraud schemes, including physical therapy and occupational therapy schemes, home health care schemes, HIV infusion fraud schemes and durable medical equipment (DME) schemes. Thirty-six defendants charged in these schemes have been arrested in Miami, New York, Baton Rouge and Detroit and additional arrests are expected throughout the day.

According to the court documents, the defendants charged today participated in schemes to submit claims to Medicare for treatments that were medically unnecessary and oftentimes, never provided. In many cases, indictments and complaints allege that beneficiaries accepted cash kickbacks in return for allowing providers to submit forms saying they had received the treatments that, in reality, were unnecessary or never provided. Collectively, the doctors, health care company owners, executives and others charged in the indictments and complaints are accused of conspiring to submit more than $251 million in false claims to the Medicare program.

In Miami, 24 defendants were charged for allegedly participating in various fraud schemes that led to approximately $103 million in false billings. According to court documents, the fraud schemes involved fraudulent billing for HIV infusion services, home health care and physical therapy services, DME and pharmaceutical medications. The defendants include owners and operators of companies, doctors, nurses, and patient recruiters, as well as a medical biller who is alleged to have billed approximately $49 million for fraudulent services.

Thirty-one defendants were charged in Baton Rouge for various schemes allegedly involving fraudulent claims for DME totaling approximately $32 million. The defendants include the owners and operators of nine different purported medical services companies and four doctors, 14 patient recruiters and other individuals who allegedly worked at the medical services companies.

Twenty-two defendants were charged in Brooklyn for their alleged participation in schemes to submit fraudulent claims totaling approximately $78 million. These fraud schemes involved false billing for physical and occupational therapy and DME. The defendants include the owners and operators, patient recruiters and employees at three different purported medical clinics and a medical equipment company, as well as three doctors. According to court documents, six of the defendants charged are serial Medicare beneficiaries, who purported to seek medical treatment from numerous providers, causing the submission of multiple claims to Medicare for purported medical treatments.

In Detroit, 11 defendants were charged for their alleged roles in schemes to submit fraudulent claims to Medicare for home health services, nerve conduction tests and injection and infusion therapy sessions. The schemes involved a total alleged fraud of approximately $35 million and five different purported medical services companies.

Four defendants were also charged in Houston for their alleged roles in a $3 million scheme to submit fraudulent claims for DME.

In addition to making arrests around the country, law enforcement agents are executing search warrants in connection with ongoing health care fraud investigations.

"Today's charges allege attempts by individuals to defraud the Medicare program of $251 million," said FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III. "Countless Americans rely on Medicare for their well-being, and the FBI, working in conjunction with our federal agency partners, is resolute in its commitment to stop those who would illegally manipulate the system."

"Today's arrests illustrate how health care fraud schemes can replicate virally and migrate rapidly across communities," said Daniel R. Levinson, Inspector General of HHS. "To combat this fraud, the government's response must also be swift, agile, and organized – a HEAT initiative goal which is well illustrated by today's Strike Force actions."

The Strike Force operations in Miami, Baton Rouge, Brooklyn, Detroit and Houston are part of the Health Care Fraud Prevention & Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), a joint initiative announced in May 2009 between the Department of Justice and HHS to focus their efforts to prevent and deter fraud and enforce current anti-fraud laws around the country. The HEAT task force, co-chaired by Acting Deputy Attorney General Gary G. Grindler and Deputy Secretary Bill Corr, is made up of top-level law enforcement agents, prosecutors and staff from both departments and their operating divisions. In the May 2009 announcement, Attorney General Holder and Secretary Sebelius announced the expansion of the Strike Force into Detroit and Houston to build upon existing partnerships between the agencies in a heightened effort to reduce fraud and recover taxpayer dollars. In December 2009, Strike Force operations were expanded to Brooklyn, Baton Rouge and Tampa.

Since its inception in March 2007 with Phase One in South Florida and continuing through its most recent expansion into Tampa, Fla., the Strike Force has obtained indictments of more than 810 individuals and organizations that collectively have billed the Medicare program for more than $1.85 billion. In addition, HHS's Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

The cases announced today are being prosecuted and investigated by Strike Force teams comprised of attorneys from the Fraud Section in the Justice Department's Criminal Division and from the U.S. Attorneys' Offices for the Southern District of Florida, the Eastern District of New York, the Middle District of Louisiana, the Eastern District of Michigan and the Southern District of Texas; and agents from the FBI and HHS-OIG.

The Railroad Retirement Board Office of Inspector General and the Office of Personnel Management-Office of Inspector General also participated in today's operation.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

To learn more about the HEAT team, go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov .

http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/July/10-ag-821.html

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Good morning, and thank you all for being here.

Today I'm joined by several key leaders and partners in the U.S. government's fight against health care fraud: Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Special Agent in Charge John Gillies of the FBI's Miami Field Office, HHS Inspector General Daniel Levinson and the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Willy Ferrer.

We are here to announce the results of the largest federal health care fraud takedown in our nation's history: 94 people in four cities have been charged for their alleged participation in schemes to submit more than $251 million in false Medicare claims.  Here in Miami, 24 defendants have been charged for their alleged involvement in fraud schemes totaling approximately $103 million.  Additional arrests have been made in Baton Rouge, Brooklyn and Detroit.

Through this operation, we have stopped various large-scale fraud attempts. We have safeguarded precious taxpayer dollars. And we have helped to protect our nation's most essential health care programs – Medicare and Medicaid – which provide critical assistance to elderly, disabled and impoverished Americans.

Today's operation was led by the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, a joint initiative between the Departments of Justice and HHS. More th an 360 la w enforcement agents from the FBI, HHS-Office of Inspector General, multiple Medicaid Fraud Control Units, and other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies participated. And I want to recognize and applaud these agents for this outstanding work.

As today's arrests prove, the federal government is working aggressively – and collaboratively – to pursue health care criminals around the country and to bring these offenders to justice.

Those charged today include physicians, medical assistants, and health care company owners and executives. According to the indictments, these defendants participated in schemes to submit claims to Medicare for treatments that were not medically necessary and, oftentimes, never provided.

Although today marks a critical step forward in combating and deterring such illegal activity, our work is far from over. In addition to making arrests around the country, law enforcement agents are executing search warrants in connection with ongoing health care fraud investigations. We will continue to follow the evidence in these cases wherever it leads us.

Our continued Strike Force operations reflect the unprecedented commitment that inspired the creation of the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team – known as HEAT – in May of last year. Through HEAT, we've ensured that the fight against health care fraud is a Cabinet-level priority. And we are strengthening our capacity to fight health care fraud at every level, most especially through the enhanced use of our joint Medicare Fraud Strike Force.

Since March 2007, when the first phase of the Strike Force was launched here in South Florida, this initiative has re sulted in the indictments of more than 810 organizations and individuals, including those charged today. By improperly billing Medicare for more than $1.85 billion, t hese criminals have siphoned resources from the most vulnerable among us. Their actions have also helped to drive up health care costs nationwide.

With today's arrests, we're putting would-be criminals on notice: Health care fraud is no longer a safe bet. It's no longer easy money. If you choose to engage in health care fraud, you will be found; you will be stopped; and you will be brought to justice.

Once again, I want to thank the agents, investigators, prosecutors, law enforcement officials, and many partners involved in today's takedown. They are the key to our ultimate success in the fight against health care fraud.

http://www.justice.gov/ag/speeches/2010/ag-speech-100716.html

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From ICE

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30 gang members and associates arrested in western Colorado during ICE-led multi-agency operation

GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo. - Assisted by local law enforcement agencies, the local U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) arrested 30 men and women during a five-day operation targeting foreign-born gang members and their associates. This is the latest local effort in an ongoing national ICE initiative to target foreign-born gang members and gang associates.

Garfield County Sheriff's Office and Carbondale, Colo., Police Department provided significant assistance to ICE during the operation. The following other Colorado-area law enforcement agencies also participated: Colorado State Patrol, Eagle County Sheriff's Office, Montrose County Sheriff's Office, Silt Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The ICE Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) is coordinating the detention and deportation of the aliens being returned to their home countries.

The multi-agency operation, which ended July 16, targeted gang members and associates engaged in organized criminal activity. Twenty four of those arrested during this operation are known gang members, six are gang associates. Those arrested are from the following five gangs: Bloods, Mexican Mafia-Azteca, MS 13, SUR 13, and Sureños.

Following is the breakdown by Colorado city of those arrested during the operation: Carbondale - 11, Rifle - 6, El Jebel - 6, Glenwood Springs - 5, Battlement Mesa - 1, and Montrose - 1. Four of those arrested were women.

Two U.S. citizens and two illegal alien gang members were arrested on state criminal warrants or charges. The other gang members and associates in ICE custody are charged with administrative immigration violations and are awaiting deportation. Those held on immigration violations are from El Salvador and Mexico; they are being held at the Park County Jail and the GEO detention facility in Aurora, Colo.

ICE agents discovered that one of the SUR 13 gang members possessed cocaine at the time he was encountered. Another transnational gang member had been convicted of sexually assaulting a minor. Three of the aliens arrested had been previously deported. It is a felony to re-enter the United States after having been deported.

Information received by ICE-HSI and other law enforcement indicates that criminal gangs, such as the Surenos and others, are becoming increasingly involved in Colorado with smuggling and distributing narcotics and other criminal activities.

"By partnering with local law enforcement agencies, we can identify, arrest and remove the criminal gang members from the streets who may be responsible for a significant portion of crime in the area," said Kumar C. Kibble, special agent in charge of the ICE HSI office in Denver. "For many of the transnational gang members, ICE can also ultimately remove them from the country as well." Kibble oversees a four-state area which includes Colorado, Montana, Utah and Wyoming.

"Garfield County Sheriff's Office and our specialized Threat Assessment Group (TAG) played an integral role with ICE in this week's anti-gang operation," said Garfield County Sheriff Lou Vallario. "During the 18 months of its existence, TAG was specifically designed to address gang-related activity, and remove criminal aliens from our streets."

"We appreciate ICE's efforts that resulted in several arrests of suspected gang-affiliated persons which contribute to the improvement of the quality of life within the community," said Gene Schilling, Carbondale, Colo., police chief.

The arrests were made as part of Operation Community Shield, a national initiative whereby ICE partners with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to target the significant public safety threat posed by transnational criminal street gangs. Since Operation Community Shield began in February 2005, ICE agents nationwide have arrested more than 17,500 gang members and associates linked to more than 900 different gangs. More than 200 of those arrested were gang leaders.

The National Gang Unit at ICE identifies violent street gangs and develops intelligence on their membership, associates, criminal activities and international movements to deter, disrupt and dismantle gang operations by tracing and seizing cash, weapons and other assets derived from criminal seized activities.

http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/1007/100716glenwoodsprings.htm

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30 gang members, associates arrested in Northern Virginia

WASHINGTON - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) National Gang Unit announced Monday the arrests of 30 gang members and associates. Agents seized one weapon as part of this three-day law enforcement operation executed in Northern Virginia.

Working side-by-side with more than 60 local law enforcement authorities including deputies from the Fairfax County Sheriff's Office and detectives from the Fairfax County Police Department, this is the latest local effort in an ongoing national ICE-HSI initiative to target foreign-born gang members and gang associates in Northern Virginia.

"The individuals arrested in this operation were targeted because they were gang members and were of concern to law enforcement in Northern Virginia. We use all available law enforcement tools to protect our community from known gang members," said Scot Rittenberg, deputy special agent in charge of the ICE's office of Homeland Security Investigations in Washington, D.C. "ICE will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to target and dismantle transnational gangs to rid our streets of the drugs and violence associated with the gangs."

"This operation highlights the collaborative efforts of federal and local law enforcement in combating criminal street gangs," said Sheriff Stan Barry. "These arrests will have a lasting and positive impact in our community."

Of the 30 arrests, 26 individuals were arrested on administrative immigration violations and nine were arrested for criminal offenses and face prosecution for various federal, state and local crimes including re-entry after deportation, assault, grand larceny, destruction of property and carrying a concealed weapon. Of those arrested, one was a U.S. citizen and 29 were foreign nationals. The 29 face deportation either now or when their criminal prosecution is complete.

Members and associates of MS-13, Mexican Pride and Southside Locos were arrested during this three-day multi-agency operation. Of those arrested, 10 are from Honduras, seven are from El Salvador, nine from Guatemala and three are from Mexico, and one is a U.S. citizen. One of those arrested was a woman.

Among those arrested include the following:

• Ismael Quintana Barrera, 33, a Guatemalan national and a member of MS-13, was arrested in Falls Church for violations of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). His criminal history includes convictions for destruction of property, assault, larceny and disorderly conduct. Quintana Barrera has been placed in removal proceedings.
• Juan Otero Navarro, 30, a Honduran national and a member of MS-13, was arrested in Reston for illegal re-entry after deportation. His criminal history includes convictions for carrying a concealed weapon and destruction of property. Federal criminal prosecution is pending for re-entry of a previously removed alien.
• Jose Portillo Morales, 22, an El Salvadoran national, a legal permanent resident of the United States, and a member of MS-13, was arrested for violations of the INA. His criminal history includes felony convictions for grand larceny, credit card fraud and credit card forgery. Portillo Morales has been placed in removal proceedings.

Across the nation, trans-national street gangs have significant numbers of foreign-national members and many times are involved in a variety of crimes including human smuggling and trafficking; narcotics smuggling and distribution; identity theft and benefit fraud; money laundering and bulk cash smuggling; weapons smuggling and arms trafficking; cyber crimes; export violations; and other crimes with a nexus to the border.

Like any street gang, these transnational gangs also have a propensity toward violence. In the Northern Virginia area, gang members are most likely to commit violent crimes directed towards other gang members and engage in assault and property crimes.
The National Gang Unit at ICE identifies violent street gangs and develops intelligence on their membership, associates, criminal activities and international movements to deter, disrupt and dismantle gang operations by tracing and seizing cash, weapons and other assets derived from criminal activities.

Operation Community Shield partners with existing federal, state and local anti-gang efforts to share intelligence on gang organizations and their leadership, share resources and combine legal authorities to arrest, prosecute, imprison and/or deport transnational gang members.

Since inception in 2005 to date, ICE agents working in conjunction with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies nationwide have arrested 18,039 street gang members and associates. Of those arrested, 217 were gang leaders and 3,164 were MS-13 gang members or associates. Through this initiative, ICE has seized 1,224 firearms. To date, of those arrested, 8,066 have been charged criminally, and 9,973 have been charged with immigration violations and processed for removal.

To report suspicious activity, call ICE's 24-hour toll-free hotline at: 1-866-347-2423 or visit www.ice.gov .

http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/1007/100719fairfax.htm

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105 arrested in Dallas-Fort Worth area during ICE-led anti-gang operation

DALLAS - Assisted by local law enforcement agencies, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) National Gang Unit arrested 105 men and women during a five-day operation targeting foreign-born gang members and their associates throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

The following law enforcement agencies also participated in the operation: Dallas Police Department, Fort Worth Police Department, Arlington Police Department, Carrollton Police Department, Irving Police Department, Farmers Branch Police Department, Dallas County Sheriff's Office, Dallas County District Attorney's Office and the Texas Department of Public Safety. The ICE Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) is coordinating the detention and deportation of the aliens being returned to their home countries.

"Our ICE-HSI special agents routinely partner with local law enforcement agencies to target transnational gang members," said John Chakwin Jr., special agent in charge of the ICE-HSI office in Dallas. "Gangs are responsible for a significant amount of crime throughout the Metroplex and the country. These joint law enforcement operations help reduce this criminal threat to the public." Chakwin oversees 128 counties in north Texas and the State of Oklahoma.

This is the latest local effort in an ongoing national ICE-HSI initiative to target foreign-born gang members and gang associates.

This multi-agency operation, which ended July 17, targeted gang members and associates engaged in organized criminal activity. Sixty seven of those arrested during this operation are documented gang members; five are gang associates from local street gangs. Five additional suspects were apprehended on other criminal and federal immigration charges. Investigation is continuing to determine the gang affiliation of the others and their rank in the gang structure.

Seventy-two were arrested on criminal warrants or charges; 33 were administratively arrested by ICE on immigration violations. Following is the breakdown by city where the arrests took place: Dallas - 57, Fort Worth - 19, Arlington - 17, Carrollton - 5, Irving - 4, Farmers Branch - 2, and Lake Worth, 1.

Of those arrested, 57 are from Mexico, 42 are U.S. citizens, four are from El Salvador, and two are from Honduras. They range in age from 17 to 53 years old; six of those arrested were women.

In addition to the arrests, the following items were also seized: two firearms, U.S. currency, marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, and hydrocodone.

Those in ICE custody are charged with administrative immigration violations and are awaiting deportation. Three of those arrested had been previously deported. Anyone who re-enters the United States after having been formally deported commits a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Some of these gang members are sought or have been arrested for various crimes, including: home invasion robberies, drive-by shootings, aggravated robbery, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession/manufacture of controlled substance, unlawfully carrying a weapon, burglary, theft, evading arrest, and resisting arrest.

Those arrested during this five-day multi-agency operation represent the following 29 gangs: 15th Street, 18th Street, 6417 Melody Lane, Allen St. Crips, Brown Pride, Best for Less Club, Deuce Deuce Beckley, Eastside Homeboyz, Fantasmas, How High Crew, Jokers Only, La Mirada Locos, Lands of Shadow, Latin Kings, Los Pipis 25 in Mexico, Lynch Mob, Mexican Klan Locos, Mexican Society, Money Over Bitches, MS-13, Surenos, Sur-13, Swirving Heights, Tango Blast, Untamed Gorillas, Varrio Centro, Varrio Northside, Varrio Southside, and Webb Chapel Crips.

Information received by ICE-HSI and other law enforcement indicates that criminal gangs are becoming increasingly involved in north Texas with smuggling and distributing narcotics, laundering illicit drug proceeds, and other illegal activities.

The arrests were made as part of Operation Community Shield, a national initiative whereby ICE partners with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to target the significant public safety threat posed by transnational criminal street gangs. Since Operation Community Shield began in February 2005, ICE agents nationwide have arrested more than 17,500 gang members and associates linked to more than 900 different street gangs. More than 200 of those arrested were gang leaders.

The National Gang Unit at ICE identifies violent street gangs and develops intelligence on their membership, associates, criminal activities and international movements to deter, disrupt and dismantle gang operations by tracing and seizing cash, weapons and other assets derived from criminal seized activities.

http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/1007/100719dallas.htm

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31 arrested in San Diego-area ICE-led anti-gang crackdown

SAN DIEGO -U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) announced on July 19 the arrest of 31 men following a multi-agency enforcement operation targeting transnational gang members in the San Diego area.

The week-long operation, which concluded on July 16, is the latest local effort as part of Operation Community Shield, an ongoing ICE HSI initiative to target, investigate and arrest gang members and gang associates operating in our local communities.

Of the 31 individuals taken into custody during the operation, 22 are members or associates of street gangs based in the San Diego, Vista, Escondido and San Marcos. Ten of those individuals are being prosecuted on federal or state criminal charges. The remaining 12 have been charged with administrative immigration violations and are being processed for removal from the United States.

In the course of conducting the operation, authorities also encountered and took custody of nine individuals, who were not documented gang members, but are suspected of criminal charges or administrative immigration violations.

In all, 12 of the 31 persons arrested during the enforcement action are being criminally prosecuted. The charges range from drug offenses and violation of a gang injunction to obstructing law enforcement and illegally reentering the United States after deportation. Four of those arrested are U.S. citizens. The remainder are foreign nationals from five countries, including Mexico, Iraqi, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Among the five suspects charged with re-entry after deportation, two are known gang members from the "South Los" street gang in North County and the "Shelltown 38th Street" in San Diego. Both have violent criminal histories that include possession of a controlled substance, unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor and possession of a concealed weapon.

"Street gangs pose a growing public safety threat to San Diego-area communities," said Mike Carney, acting special agent in charge for ICE HSI in San Diego. "By working closely with our local law enforcement partners and taking deportable gang members off of the street, we are disrupting the gangs' operations and the accompanying scourge of crime and violence."

As part of Operation Community Shield, ICE partners with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to target the significant public safety threat posed by transnational criminal street gangs. Since the initiative began in February 2005, ICE agents nationwide have arrested more than 18,000 gang members and associates linked to more than 900 different gangs.

The National Gang Unit at ICE identifies violent street gangs and develops intelligence on their membership, associates, criminal activities and international movements to deter, disrupt and dismantle gang operations by tracing and seizing cash, weapons and other assets derived from criminal seized activities.

For more information, visit www.ice.gov .

http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/1007/100719sandiego.htm

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Radio broadcast brings understanding about human trafficking to Russian-American audience

ICE Special Agent in Charge in Newark Peter T. Edge gives live interview to news/talk radio program

With audio equipment, staff and a translator in tow, Gregory Davidzon, owner of the Russian radio station WSNR in Brooklyn, N.Y., traveled to the office of Peter T. Edge, special agent in charge (SAC) of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in New Jersey, where he conducted a live interview on January 7, 2010.

The listening audience set their radio dials to WSNR on 620AM for world news, interviews, live press conferences and analysis geared to the Russian-American community from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. In Edge's office, the subject was human trafficking.

During the interview, Edge, a 24-year law enforcement veteran with ICE since its inception in 2003, cleared up misconceptions regarding human trafficking. For instance, one caller was under the impression that human trafficking victims work solely in the service of prostitution. This caller wasn't aware that victims of human trafficking have been discovered in all types of industry or labor including gardening, landscaping, domestic service, farm work and food service. Edge mentioned an ICE case, now concluded, where an African organization smuggled young women into the U.S. where they worked in beauty salons braiding hair .

The common denominators among human traffickers are that they deceive their victims, enslave them and force them to work in inhumane conditions without pay and without the option to quit. Criminals and criminal organizations involved in human trafficking operate from the primary premise of greed and exploitation.

Besides defining the nature of human trafficking and explaining that it is a criminal activity that crosses all ethnic groups, Edge said that ICE "undertakes an open and sincere attempt to help human trafficking victims. Our job doesn't end with the criminal investigation. We try to find psychological support, medical assistance, asylum, home, food and other needed resources to help victims."

Edge urged the listening audience to contact ICE if they notice "something strange going on" that leads to a suspicion of a human trafficking crime being committed.

"If you see any signs pointing to human trafficking, such as young men or girls who are not at school when they should be or who are working at unusual times, please call 1-866-DHS-2ICE ," said Edge.

Davidzon said the program was "exceptionally well received by the audience."

Broadcasting this interview on the Russian-language station with the translator interpreting Edge's remarks helped to publicize this knowledge to a non-English speaking audience, providing "a lifeline that may be the only way out of their problems," Davidzon said.

Read more about ICE human trafficking and human smuggling investigations .

http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/1007/100716newark.htm

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From the FBI

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Montgomery County Man Sentenced to 37 Years in Prison in Sex Trafficking Conspiracy

Underage Girls Drugged and Threatened

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND—U.S. District Judge Alexander Williams, Jr. sentenced Lloyd Mack Royal, III, a/k/a “Blyss,” “B,” and “Furious,” age 29, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, to 37 years in prison followed by 10 years supervised release for conspiracy to commit sex trafficking; sex trafficking of a minor; sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence; conspiracy to distribute drugs; and distribution of drugs to persons under 21, related to a scheme to prostitute three minor females. Judge Williams also ordered that after his release from prison Royal must register as a sex offender where he lives, works, or goes to school. Royal was convicted at trial on March 25, 2010.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland  Rod J. Rosenstein; Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez of the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division; Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department.

“Maryland's human trafficking task force follows a policy of zero tolerance for child prostitution,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. “Anyone who pays for or profits from sex with children should understand that we are standing by to send them to federal prison.”

“The defendant violently preyed upon some of the most vulnerable members of our society,” said Assistant Attorney General Perez. “He sought out troubled young girls and through physical violence, drugs, guns, and lies, coerced them into prostitution for his own benefit. The Department of Justice will continue to vigorously prosecute these cases.”

According to testimony at the two week trial, from April to May 2007 Royal and his co-conspirators coerced a minor girl to engage in sex for pay. In addition, witnesses testified that Royal: coerced two additional minors to engage in sex, for which he was paid; threatened to harm the girls and their families; struck the girls; and held one of the girls at gun point. In order to assert his authority over the girls, Royal would forbid them from contacting certain individuals and forced them to kiss his pinky ring. Royal drove the girls to hotels in Gaithersburg, Maryland, or caused them to be transported from Maryland to the District of Columbia, to have them engage in sex.

On several occasions, testimony showed that Royal gave the girls illegal drugs before forcing them to engage in sex with him in order to test the girls' sexual aptitude. Royal and his co-defendants provided the girls with cocaine, “dippers” or “ciga-wets” (cigarettes dipped in phencyclidine liquid known as PCP), marijuana and alcohol before coercing them to engage in sex with customers, and sometimes sold cocaine to customers. Witnesses testified that Royal gave the girls instructions on pricing for different sexual acts and instructed the girls to lie about their ages.

Paul Raymond Green, a/k/a “PJ,” age 25, of Washington, D.C., and Angela Samantha Bentolila, age 27, were sentenced to 52 months and 15 months in prison, respectively, for their roles in the sex trafficking conspiracy.

The case was investigated by the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force formed in 2007 to discover and rescue victims of human trafficking while identifying and prosecuting offenders. Members include federal, state, and local law enforcement, as well as victim service providers and local community members. For more information about the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force, please visit http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/md/Human-Trafficking/index.html.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein and Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez commended former Assistant United States Attorney Solette A. Magnelli and Trial Attorney James Felte, of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit, who prosecuted the case.

http://baltimore.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel10/ba071910.htm

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Individual #1 Individual #2

FBI and Uganda Police Seek Assistance Identifying 7/11 Bombers On July 11, 2010, Uganda was the target of a series of terrorist attacks in its capital city, Kampala, in which over 70 individuals were killed. The Somali terrorist group Al-Shabaab took responsibility for these attacks. The first bomb exploded at approximately 10:30 p.m. at an Ethiopian restaurant in Kabalagala. The second bomb exploded at approximately 11:20 p.m. at a rugby club. A third bomb also exploded at almost the same time at the rugby club. The first two bombs were thought to have been triggered by suicide bombers. At both venues, victims were gathered to watch the final World Cup soccer match. Following the terrorist attacks, Uganda authorities made a request through the U.S. Embassy in Kampala for a team from the FBI to assist with their investigation. The FBI New York Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) deployed a team of agents, analysts, and forensic experts to assist the Ugandan authorities. Included were members of the FBI from other parts of the country with expertise in specific portions of the investigation such as evidence collection and explosive analysis. The investigation being conducted by Uganda with support from the FBI is ongoing. As part of the investigation, the FBI and Uganda law enforcement officials are seeking information regarding the identity of the two suicide bombers. Photos have been reconstructed to demonstrate how the two suspected male bombers may have appeared. If anyone has information on the attacks or can identity the bombers, they are requested to contact the Uganda Police or the FBI. Major General Kale Kayihura, Inspector General of Police said, "This was a horrific event for the people of Uganda and we are dedicated to tracking down those responsible for this heinous crime. Terrorist activity must be stopped and the police force will do everything possible to keep our citizens and visitors safe. We thank the U.S. Embassy for arranging for the FBI to travel to Uganda and assist us with our critical investigation. I thank the FBI, the British High Commission, New Scotland Yard, and Interpol among the many others nations and agencies that are assisting us at this time. Our teams are working exceptionally well together in all facets of the investigation."

A link to the seeking information poster can be found at http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/seekinfo/uganda.htm .

http://newyork.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel10/nyfo071910.htm

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Former State Department Official Sentenced to Life in Prison for Nearly 30-Year Espionage Conspiracy

Wife of Official Sentenced to Nearly Seven Years in Prison for Her Role

WASHINGTON—Walter Kendall Myers, a former State Department official, and his wife, Gwendolyn Steingraber Myers, have been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole and 81 months in prison, respectively, for their roles in a nearly 30-year conspiracy to provide highly-classified U.S. national defense information to the Republic of Cuba.

The sentences, handed down today by Judge Reggie B. Walton in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, were announced by David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; Ronald C. Machen Jr., U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia; Shawn Henry, Assistant Director for the FBI's Washington Field Office; and Ambassador Eric J. Boswell, Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security.

On Nov. 20, 2009, defendant Kendall Myers, 73, aka “Agent 202,” pleaded guilty to a three-count criminal information charging him with conspiracy to commit espionage and two counts of wire fraud. His wife, Gwendolyn Myers, 72, aka “Agent 123,” and “Agent E-634,” pleaded guilty to a one-count criminal information charging her with conspiracy to gather and transmit national defense information. The defendants, both residents of Washington, D.C., were arrested on June 4, 2009, by FBI agents and have remained in custody ever since.

Both defendants have agreed to the entry of a monetary judgment against them in the amount of $1,735,054. The assets that will be forfeited to the government towards satisfaction of that judgment include the proceeds from the sale of the defendants' apartment and vehicle, and various bank and investment accounts.

“For nearly 30 years, this couple proudly committed espionage on behalf of a long-standing foreign adversary. Today, they are being held accountable for their actions. Their sentences should serve as a clear warning to others who would willingly compromise our nation's most sensitive classified information,” said David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security.

“Kendall and Gwendolyn Myers were brought to justice not because they were careless, but because of an extremely well-planned and executed counterintelligence investigation that required the unprecedented cooperation of multiple agencies of the U.S. government tasked with protecting our national security,” said Ronald C. Machen Jr., U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. “Others like the Myers who are presently betraying the trust that this country has placed in them should know that they are not safe from prosecution regardless of how careful they think they are being. As with Kendall and Gwendolyn Myers, they will be caught and brought to justice.”

Shawn Henry, Assistant Director of the FBI's Washington Field Office, said: “The Myers made a conscious decision to betray the United States and its citizens. The FBI, along with its partners in the U.S. Intelligence Community, will continue to aggressively pursue anyone who seeks to cause the same harm.”

“Walter Kendall Myers betrayed his country. By committing acts of espionage Myers grievously violated the confidence placed in him by the U.S. Department of State and the American people. Today, he has been rightfully sentenced for crimes against our nation,” said Assistant Secretary for State for Diplomatic Security Eric J. Boswell.

Background

According to the sentencing memorandum, plea agreements and other documents filed in court by the United States:

Kendall Myers began working at the State Department in 1977 as a contract instructor at the Department's Foreign Service Institute (FSI) in Arlington, Va. After living briefly with Gwendolyn in South Dakota, he returned to Washington, D.C., and resumed employment as an instructor with FSI. From 1988 to 1999, in addition to his FSI duties, he performed work for the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR). He later worked full-time in INR and, from July 2001 until his retirement in October 2007, was an intelligence analyst for Europe in INR where he specialized on European matters and had daily access to classified information through computer databases and otherwise. He received a “Top Secret” security clearance in 1985 and, in 1999, received access to “Sensitive Compartmental Information.”

Gwendolyn Myers moved to Washington, D.C., in 1980 and married Kendall Myers in May 1982. She later obtained employment with a local bank as an administrative analyst and later as a special assistant. Gwendolyn Myers was never granted a security clearance by the U.S. government.

Recruitment

In December 1978, while an employee of the State Department's FSI, Kendall Myers traveled to Cuba after being invited by a Cuban government official who had made a presentation at FSI. That Cuban official was an intelligence officer for the Cuban Intelligence Service (CuIS). This trip provided CuIS with the opportunity to assess or develop Myers as a Cuban agent. Myers kept a diary of his two-week trip to Cuba in which he explicitly declared his affinity for Fidel Castro and the Cuban government. The diary was recovered by the FBI in the investigation.

In 1979, Kendall and Gwendolyn Myers were visited in South Dakota by the same Cuban intelligence officer who had invited Kendall Myers to Cuba. During the visit, the Cuban intelligence officer recruited both of them to be clandestine agents for Cuba, a role in which they served for the next 30 years. Their recruitment by CuIS as “paired” agents is consistent with CuIS's past practice in the United States. Afterwards, CuIS directed Kendall Myers to pursue a job at the State Department or the CIA to gain access to classified information. Kendall Myers, accompanied by his wife, returned to Washington, D.C., where he pursued a position at the State Department.

During the time frame in which Kendall and Gwendolyn Myers were serving as clandestine agents for Cuba, the CuIS often communicated with its clandestine agents in the United States by broadcasting encrypted radio messages from Cuba on shortwave radio frequencies. Clandestine agents in the United States monitoring the frequency on shortwave radio could decode the messages using a decryption program provided by CuIS. Kendall and Gwendolyn Myers communicated with CuIS by this method. The shortwave radio they used to receive clandestine communications was purchased with money provided by CuIS. The shortwave radio was later recovered by the FBI.

Undercover Operation

According to the court documents, in April 2009, the FBI launched an undercover operation against the pair. Kendall and Gwendolyn Myers met four times with an undercover FBI source, on April 15th, 16th and 30th, and on June 4, 2009. The meetings were all video- and audio-taped.

During the meetings, Kendall and Gwendolyn Myers made a series of statements about their past activities on behalf of CuIS, including how they used code names and how they had transmitted information to their CuIS handlers through personal meetings, “dead drops,” “hand-to-hand” passes, and in at least one case, the exchange of shopping carts in a grocery store. The couple also stated that they had traveled to meet Cuban agents in Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Mexico, Brazil, Ecuador, Argentina and other locations.

When asked by the undercover FBI agent if he had ever transmitted information to CuIS that was classified higher than “Secret,” Kendall Myers replied, “oh yeah…oh yeah.” He said he typically removed information from the State Department by memory or by taking notes, although he did take some classified documents home. Gwendolyn Myers admitted she would process the classified documents at home for delivery to their CuIS handlers. In the final meeting with the FBI source, Kendall Myers disclosed “Top Secret” national defense information related to sources and methods of gathering intelligence. He also admitted that he had previously disclosed the information to CuIS.

Corroboration

The admissions by Kendall and Gwendolyn Myers were corroborated by other evidence collected in the investigation. The FBI seized a shortwave radio in their apartment and confirmed overseas trips by the couple that corresponded to statements they made. The FBI also identified encrypted shortwave radio messages between CuIS and a handler for the couple that were broadcast in 1996 and 1997.

Furthermore, an analysis of Kendall Myers' State Department computer revealed that, from August 22, 2006, until his retirement on Oct. 31, 2007, he viewed more than 200 intelligence reports concerning the subject of Cuba. Of these reports concerning Cuba, the majority was classified and marked “Secret” or “Top Secret.” The FBI also located handwritten notes by Kendall Myers reflecting the gathering and retention of “Top Secret” information which he intended to provide the CuIS, but never did.

Finally, since at least 1983 and until 2007, Kendall Myers made repeated false statements to government investigators responsible for conducting background investigations which determined his continued suitability for a “Top Secret” security clearance. By not disclosing his and his wife's clandestine activity on behalf of CuIS and by making false statements to the State Department about their status as clandestine Cuban agents, he defrauded the United States whenever he received his government salary. Based on these false representations and promises, Kendall Myers obtained at least $1,735,054 in salary from the U.S. government for the benefit of him and his wife.

This investigation was conducted jointly by the FBI's Washington Field Office and the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security. The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney G. Michael Harvey, from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, and Senior Trial Attorney Clifford I. Rones, from the Counterespionage Section of the Justice Department's National Security Division.

http://washingtondc.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel10/wfo071610.htm

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Masked men stole suitcases from a salesman containing jewelry worth $3.7 million. The LA group that pulled off the 2009 robbery commits about 45 heists a year, netting about $15 million.

JEWEL THIEVES, INC. Traveling Salesmen Targeted 07/19/10 It happened in an instant: the jewelry salesman stopped at a restaurant outside Columbus, Ohio after attending a trade show and was sitting in his car in the parking lot when a vehicle pulled up behind him. Masked men jumped from the vehicle, shattered the salesman's driver-side window and held him while their accomplices smashed the back window and grabbed two suitcases containing gems worth $3.7 million. The lightning-fast robbery was just another day's work for gangs of thieves—mostly Colombian nationals in the U.S. illegally—who prey on traveling jewelry salesman. A number of these theft groups operate around the country, and our jewelry and gem program was established in 1992 to help combat the problem. “This type of theft is something of a unique crime category for the FBI,” said Special Agent Frank Aimaro, who supervises our Jewelry and Gem Task Force in Los Angeles in conjunction with the Los Angeles Police Department. “It's a serious issue, resulting in substantial losses.” (The Jewelers' Security Alliance trade group estimates that crimes against U.S. jewelry firms last year resulted in losses of nearly $100 million.)

When they are not planning thefts from the many jewelry merchants who carry their inventory to trade shows and other venues, the crews steal expensive laptop computers or rob bank customers of large withdrawals or deposits. And their girlfriends are often engaged in high-volume shoplifting, known as boosting. “They are always doing something criminal,” Aimaro said.

Special Agent Kristin Cadieux, who worked the case out of our Columbus office, said the quick capture of the thieves and the recovery of the gems was possible because of the L.A. task force. “Their expertise was invaluable,” she said.

Resources:
- Jewelry and Gem Program

http://www.fbi.gov/page2/july10/jewelry_071910.html

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