~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From the Los Angeles Times

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Corruption sweep in Mexico's Michoacan unravels in the courts

An examination of the sealed case file shows prosecutors relied on evidence that didn't hold up under judicial scrutiny and on three anonymous paid informants whose testimony was largely hearsay.

by Ken Ellingwood and Tracy Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times

December 12, 2010

Reporting from Mexico City and Morelia, Mexico

When 35 mayors, prosecutors, police chiefs and other officials in the state of Michoacan were hauled into jail and accused of taking bribes from a cartel last year, it looked as if the federal government was finally attacking the political collusion that has long nurtured the drug gangs.

But instead of heralding a bold new front in Mexican President Felipe Calderon's 4-year-old drug war, the case has turned out to be an embarrassing example of how that offensive is failing.

More than a year later, the prosecution is in ruins.

Judges ruled that the evidence was too flimsy, and all but one of the suspects has been freed. Many have returned to their old jobs, accusing the government of a politically motivated witch hunt during an election season.

The high-profile collapse underscores fundamental defects in the Mexican criminal justice system, including the country's ministerios publicos , a combination detective and prosecutor. These officials are poorly paid, frequently lack professional training and have been known to throw cases in exchange for bribes or to escape possible retribution.

"This is the weak link of the Mexican criminal justice system," said John Mill Ackerman, a law professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and editor in chief of the Mexican Law Review. "If the ministerio publico doesn't do its job right — even if you have an honest judge — you're not going to be able to convict."

An examination of the sealed case file shows that prosecutors relied on circumstantial evidence that didn't hold up under judicial scrutiny and on three anonymous paid informants whose testimony consisted largely of hearsay.

Court files in criminal cases in Mexico, unlike in the United States, are not public. The Times obtained the file from participants in the case, opening a rare window onto the workings of the Mexican judiciary.

Some suspects were accused of accepting tens of thousands of dollars a month from La Familia, the dominant cartel in Michoacan, according to the court filings. But there was no sign that investigators found or even looked for proof in the accused officials' financial holdings or telephone records.

In affidavits, Mexican federal police described stakeouts in which they watched alleged drug figures hand suitcases and envelopes to people the officers said they believed to be corrupt officials. But investigators were not sure of the identities of the recipients, and the file contains no evidence that they ever determined what was in the bundles. The accused officials denied they were at such meetings.

The disintegration of the case has added to skepticism among Mexicans already mistrustful of the justice system. The Calderon government's suggestion that judges acted improperly won't do much for public confidence either.

"If even a case with so much resonance and so much attention can't end in conviction," political analyst Alfonso Zarate asked, "what can we expect from the rest of the cases that don't claim as much attention?"

++

La Familia, one of Mexico's newest drug cartels, has grown steadily in ruthless power and influence in Michoacan, Calderon's picturesque home state.

Unlike other criminal organizations, La Familia has deep roots in society, projects a cult-like aura and sees itself as a political player. It has penetrated city halls and police departments while maintaining tight control over methamphetamine labs and vast marijuana fields.

It had long been an open secret that numerous Michoacan officials took money to facilitate La Familia's operations or turn a blind eye. The arrests last year stunned many who thought so-called narcopoliticos were untouchable.

Ignacio Mendoza, then deputy state prosecutor for Michoacan, was on vacation in Las Vegas with his wife and friends when Mexican soldiers and federal police swept into the state May 26, 2009, in a surprise roundup. When he got word that he was among those wanted, Mendoza went home the next day and turned himself in.

He says he assumed he would give a statement and be done. Instead, he was bundled off to a row of small cells where he found his boss, state prosecutor Miguel Garcia Hurtado, and a who's who of Michoacan's political and law enforcement elite.

The indictment accused Mendoza of accepting $20,000 a month to provide La Familia with protection and to inform its henchmen about pending military operations, information to which Mendoza says he did not have access.

In an affidavit, four federal agents said they watched from a neighboring table as Mendoza and a police commander met in a Sanborn's restaurant in the state capital, Morelia, with an alleged La Familia leader known as "El Tio," or "Uncle." At the end of a 15-minute meeting, the alleged drug boss handed over a black suitcase. Its contents were not revealed, and it was not clear from the court documents examined by The Times whether any photographs were taken.

Mendoza insists the meeting never happened.

After Mendoza had spent eight months in prison, a judge threw out the case, saying the testimony by the prosecution witnesses was vague and contradictory and didn't meet legal standards of proof.

"Their case was full of inconsistencies and lies. We are not the Sisters of Charity, but what they accused us of was not true," Mendoza said in an interview.

He said the case was riddled with errors, including mistaken names of suspects, reports of surveillance at locations that didn't exist, and an allegation that dirty money financed a political candidate who was appointed to office, not elected.

A witness who claimed Mendoza met with cartel leader Jose de Jesus "El Chango" Mendez later could not recognize Mendoza's photograph when police showed it to him, according to the court file.

In bits and pieces, the broader prosecution unraveled as district judges and appeals courts examined the evidence.

Three suspects were freed almost immediately and nine others eventually acquitted. In 22 other cases, judges set aside charges or granted injunctions halting proceedings.

"Once I got out of prison, I knew we would all get out," Mendoza said. "The kernels were falling from the cob."

Mendoza, 39, whose family has strong ties to the opposition Democratic Revolution Party, or PRD, said he is convinced he was targeted because of his politics. He has not returned to the prosecutor's office but is working as a special advisor to leftist Michoacan Gov. Leonel Godoy of the PRD.

One of the last to be freed was Mario Bautista, who at the time of his arrest was commander of the Michoacan state police. He was one of the nine detainees acquitted by a judge.

"I was a police officer for 32 years, and in 10 minutes they destroyed my life," said Bautista, who was accused of accepting $20,000 a month from La Familia's reputed boss, Nazario Moreno. "We had to prove our innocence."

Among those accused was also Genaro Guizar, mayor of the remote city of Apatzingan, a stronghold of La Familia. Guizar is a U.S. citizen who lived for many years in San Jose, where he made a small fortune operating restaurants and liquor stores. He returned to his native Michoacan in 2004.

In court filings, prosecutors alleged that Guizar was point man for the importation of chemicals used in La Familia's methamphetamine labs and for distributing the finished product.

In an interview, Guizar, 63, said the charges were politically motivated and presumed he had powers he did not. Guizar, who owns a 400-acre lime farm in semitropical flatlands around Apatzingan, was freed in April after a judge declared him not guilty. He is back at work, inaugurating hospitals, meeting voters and even attending a meeting with Calderon.

"Calderon just had to try to impress the world, to prove that he was catching traffickers," Guizar said. "But we are all out now. So you tell me what he achieved."

Some of the former prisoners strain credulity in denying any knowledge of or dealings with La Familia. Mendoza claimed he'd never heard of Servando "La Tuta" Gomez Martinez, one of Mexico's most notorious drug suspects, until he was questioned in jail. Bautista said it wasn't his job to investigate the cartel because drug trafficking is a federal crime, not a state offense. Guizar said, essentially, that one survives by not noticing.

Guizar noted proudly that he moved about without the bodyguards who escort most officials: "If you don't get involved, you shouldn't be afraid."

++

The piece of evidence that federal authorities regarded as a smoking gun was discovered when police captured Luis Gomez, the son of "La Tuta," in January 2009.

In the younger man's Cheyenne truck, police testified, was an Excel spreadsheet listing La Familia payoffs to 28 mayors, police commanders and other officials. Judges said prosecutors never proved a direct link between La Familia and the suspects, rendering the spreadsheet meaningless.

Much of the case was based on the testimony of three witnesses identified in court records with code names: "Ricardo," "Emilio" and "Paco."

Far from bolstering the prosecution, these paid informants contributed to its unraveling. Judges said they found it improbable that the informants could know all they claimed to know about so many defendants, and that much of their testimony was mere hearsay.

"Ricardo," a former Michoacan police officer who said he had worked as a bagman for La Familia, offered a lengthy list of officials to whom he allegedly delivered cash. But defense attorneys say "Ricardo," once charged with kidnapping, became an oft-used government witness in 2005 — before much of what he testified to happened.

In case after case, evidence was thrown out on the ground that it was hearsay or came from unqualified witnesses, such as street vendors speaking about payments to top officials.

Calderon's office and the federal attorney general's office did not respond to requests for comment for this article.

In public comments in October, Mexican officials accused the Michoacan judge, Efrain Cazares, of ignoring evidence and overstepping his power. Some officials hinted at judicial misconduct. Calderon, a lawyer, called the judge's standards "absurd," saying Cazares erred in rejecting testimony from the unnamed witnesses.

The government's heavy reliance on unnamed "cooperating witnesses" was a fundamental flaw, analysts said.

"This is where the process broke down," said Pedro Jose Penaloza, a criminologist who teaches at the Ibero-American University in Mexico City.

In the same case, charges are pending against a federal congressman, Julio Cesar Godoy, half brother of the Michoacan governor. Accused before his July 2009 election victory of having ties to La Familia, he vanished for 15 months. Then, in September, he slipped past police surrounding the Chamber of Deputies to take the oath of office.

As a congressman, Godoy is immune from prosecution.

Federal prosecutors are trying to strip Godoy's immunity. But that decision rests with his fellow congressmen — far from the reach of Mexican law enforcement.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-mexico-michoacan-20101212,0,7367730,print.story

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Despite police assurances, doubts linger that Ronni Chasen slaying has been solved

Friends and crime buffs alike question investigators' explanation of a botched robbery. 'It doesn't add up,' one longtime friend and associate says.

by Harriet Ryan and Andrew Blankstein, Los Angeles Times

December 12, 2010

The day after Beverly Hills police said they believed Ronni Chasen's slaying was a botched robbery committed by a petty crook, the movie publicist's closest friends gathered for dinner at Kate Mantilini, the entertainment industry hangout.

Around the table there were tears, memories and a deep concern that police might have gotten it wrong.

"The consensus was there are still just too many unanswered questions," said Vivian Mayer Siskind, a longtime friend who got her start as a publicist working for Chasen. "Those unanswered questions led us to really speculate as to whether this crime is solved, and we believe it is not."

Another of the Hollywood veterans in attendance was more blunt: "It's ridiculous, just ridiculous. It doesn't add up and I haven't talked to anyone who thinks it does," said New York publicist Kathie Berlin, a friend of Chasen's for four decades.

Police have dismissed such doubts and railed against erroneous press reports for fueling conspiracy theories. Investigators say ballistic evidence clearly connects Harold Martin Smith to the gun that killed Chasen.

"I can tell you the scenario our detectives presented is very plausible and very real. I think the media doesn't want this so-called murder mystery to end this way," department spokesman Lt. Tony Lee said Friday.

Still, from Chasen's inner circle to neighborhood bar stools to talk radio phone lines, many people said they could not accept that a stunning Sunset Boulevard homicide that had sparked talk of mob hits and military-trained assassins was the work of small-time criminal on a bicycle who killed himself before police could question him.

"The case took so many twists and turns," said Ken Chiampou, co-host of the John and Ken Show on KFI-AM 640. "[Listeners] can't believe it's that simple and that over. It's like a novel. We are all waiting for one more twist."

The skepticism began before Wednesday's police news conference had even ended, with reporters shouting increasingly frantic questions about possible conspirators as Chief Dave Snowden and lead investigator Mike Publicker insisted their evidence indicated there were none. Smith, acting alone, biked up to Chasen's Mercedes while she waited at a traffic light, they said.

Publicker estimated that the investigation was only "60% to 70%" completed, but police indicated they were strongly convinced of Smith's guilt by interviews suggesting he was becoming increasingly desperate for money and by preliminary ballistic tests showing that the weapon Smith used to shoot himself Dec. 1 — a .38-caliber revolver, according to two law enforcement sources — matched the gun that killed Chasen Nov. 16.

The department has refused to answer many questions about the case. Police will not say whether video surveillance captured Chasen, Smith, his bike or the shooting itself. Or where a bike recovered in Beverly Hills was found. Or if there is evidence that it belonged to Smith. They have remained mum about his activities and location in the days leading up to the shooting. And they have said little about the "America's Most Wanted" tipster who prompted them to approach the 43-year-old in the lobby of a Hollywood apartment building.

"We're hoping to close this soon, and we're asking everyone to remain patient," Lee said.

With so little official information, much of the skepticism about Smith's role appears to be based on press reports. Neighbors in the apartment building told reporters that Smith, who had been evicted, had bragged about an anticipated windfall of $10,000.

"So who was paying him that $10,000 if he acted alone?" Berlin said.

In the days after Smith's death, several news outlets citing unnamed sources reported that the suicide gun did not match the gun used to kill Chasen, apparently incorrect information that many quickly accepted as fact in the obsessive coverage of the case.

Helen Harlan, a bartender at Lucky Baldwin's in Pasadena, said she and many regular customers had followed the investigation closely and were confused by the conflicting reports.

"How could they let that information out if it wasn't true, if the guns did match?" she said.

Like many skeptical about the official version of the case, she said the scenario painted by police seemed farfetched and even comical.

"A black guy with a gun on a bike in Beverly Hills and somehow he managed to get away? I don't see that," she said.

Smith, who had a long rap sheet including a robbery conviction in Beverly Hills, appeared to have few community ties. It took coroner's officials several days to track down relatives and Smith's body remained unclaimed at the county morgue late last week.

Lee declined to comment on the specifics of the case, but said, "I can tell you from personal experience that using a bicycle as a mode of transportation is extremely prevalent with criminals. You can't copy a license plate; they get in and out of traffic; hide into the shadows of the night, through alleyways; and can dump the bike and can jump into a bus. It occurs all the time."

Police have described the killing as a robbery gone wrong, but some following the case said they did not understand why Smith would shoot out Chasen's passenger window, but not reach into her car and take her purse.

Those who expressed doubts acknowledged that they had no better theory of the killing. "All the rumors — gambling debts, the art world, etc. — all turned out to be wrong," Berlin said.

Mayer Siskind, who helped plan Chasen's funeral, said her friends were grateful for the work the police have done so far, but worried that the investigation hasn't gone far enough.

"We were baffled before and we remain baffled," Mayer Siskind said. "Ronni meant the world to me and we will not rest easy until this crime has been fully resolved to everyone's satisfaction."

Steve Katz, co-executive producer of "America's Most Wanted," said random acts of violence were always hard to stomach, but perhaps more so in Chasen's case given her milieu.

"Hollywood is a town that makes its money on good imagination. If you find it hard to accept that a person you love was taken away in this totally unfair way, you search for answers and you think there has to be some better explanation than, 'This lowlife killed my friend,' " he said.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-ronni-chasen-20101212,0,1387914,print.story

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

David Busch, who is homeless, joins in Saturday's march in Venice.

Homeless advocates march in Venice Activists allege police are unfairly targeting people who live in RVs and on the street. by Martha Groves and Mike Anton, Los Angeles Times December 12, 2010 Beating a drum and carrying signs reading "RVs Save Lives" and "Terror Is Having No Home," about two dozen homeless people and their advocates marched in Venice on Saturday to protest what they say is an unwarranted crackdown on the homeless in the funky but gentrifying beach town. "It's just a continuation of the pressure to move the poor of Venice out of town — long-term residents who don't fit the desires of the new population that's moving in," said Pete White of the Los Angeles Community Action Network. Activists allege that police have been targeting people living in recreational vehicles or on the streets for citation and arrest. Over the last two months, an additional 21 officers have been stationed in neighborhoods near Venice Beach, tripling the number of officers assigned to combat what Pacific Division Capt. Jon Peters described as "significant increases" in crime. Peters said that although officers have impounded vehicles because of leaking sewage, expired registrations or other violations, "RVs are such a small part of what we're doing down there."

Last month several RV dwellers whose vehicles bear license plates or placards for the disabled filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court alleging Los Angeles police were targeting their vehicles for selective enforcement in Venice because they are homeless.

The lawsuit said plaintiffs had been subjected to "harassing stops" prompted by "bogus assertions of equipment failures," such as a nonfunctioning taillight.

"I think it's particularly pernicious that the police department and the city would violate the law by discriminating against people with disabilities," who are exempt from many parking restrictions, said Carol A. Sobel, a Santa Monica attorney who helped file the suit.

Venice property owners have for years prodded the city to enforce the law against sleeping overnight in vehicles. They complain that occupants use alleys for bathrooms, party late into the night and dump waste into storm drains.

But other residents and homeless advocates argue that homelessness is being criminalized in Venice.

"It's become a huge, tension-filled issue," said Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, who represents the community and has been caught in the cross-fire between opposing factions.

The City Council recently approved an ordinance prohibiting "oversize" vehicles from parking on the street between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. City street crews are expected to begin installing signs in areas where two-thirds of residents have signed petitions favoring the restrictions.

"People should be mad at the city," Sobel said. "They should ask why it is we spend so much money on police when it would be far cheaper to house people."

For two years Rosendahl has promoted a "vehicles-to-homes" plan, modeled on a Santa Barbara program, that would allow RV dwellers to stay overnight in designated lots if they took advantage of programs aimed at getting them into permanent housing.

But critics say the program has been too slow to come to fruition at a time when the city has too few shelter beds to accommodate the need.

A summer survey in Venice and nearby areas identified more than 250 vehicles that appeared to be domiciles, according to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.

But stepped-up enforcement has pushed hundreds of people into adjoining neighborhoods and farther from the social service resources they need, said Steve Clare, executive director of the Venice Community Housing Corp.

"The city has to take up this issue on a citywide level," Clare said.

The death of longtime Venice resident James Hunter, whose body was found Dec. 1 in his Ford van, spurred homeless advocates to meet Thursday with Rosendahl to urge him to impose a holiday moratorium on citations of RV dwellers and homeless individuals.

Rosendahl said he was opposed to such a move.

"There will be no moratorium" on the ordinance forbidding overnight sleeping in vehicles, he said. "The law is the law."

But on the streets, the death of Hunter, who earned money as a sign painter, is being seen as fallout from the recent crackdown.

"It really woke me up," said David Busch, 55, who said he has been homeless in and around Venice for the last dozen years.

Hunter "was a friendly, a quiet, gentle guy," Busch said. "But the man had a heart condition and was terrified that he would be targeted. All these punitive measures — it's just snowballed and gotten out of control."

Busch said he joined the protest Saturday to appeal to residents of Venice who want to address the homeless problem, not kick it out of town.

"Show your love Venice!" Busch shouted. "Stop the homeless kick-out — now!"

The group headed north banging a drum through the theater of the beach boardwalk. Past the medical marijuana hawkers, jugglers and musicians who gave them thumbs up. Past tourists who snapped photos. And past a disheveled man sitting on the ground who seemed oblivious to the police vehicle inching toward him from behind.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-homeless-parking-20101212,0,7121745,print.story

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mother with four children in car arrested, accused of carrying cocaine across U.S.-Mexico border

A 33-year-old woman with her four children in the car and 50 pounds of cocaine in the car's spare tire was arrested attempting to cross into the U.S. at Tecate, Mexico, Customs and Border Protection officials said.

The woman, in a 2004 Chevrolet TrailBlazer, approached the border crossing early Thursday with her daughters, ages 8 and 18, and sons, 9 and 12, officials said.

Officials said a drug-sniffing dog detected the presence of drugs underneath the vehicle. Inside the spare tire were 14 packages wrapped in duct tape, they said. The cocaine is worth approximately $500,000.

The driver was taken into custody and booked at the federal jail in downtown San Diego. The three minor children were turned over to the county's Child Protective Services, officials said.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/12/mother-with-four-children-car-arrested-for-cocaine-smuggling-at-border.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From the New York Times

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stockholm Hit by Blasts After E-Mail Warning

STOCKHOLM — One man was killed and two other people were injured when two explosions hit the heart of Stockholm's city-center shopping district on Saturday evening, the police in the Swedish capital said. The country's foreign minister called the blasts a terrorist attack, and an e-mail to news organizations minutes before the blasts seemed to link them to anger over anti-Islamic cartoons and the war in Afghanistan.

The police said that a car parked near the busy shopping street of Drottninggatan exploded first, shortly before 5 p.m. Stockholm time, and that the wreckage of the vehicle included gas canisters. A second blast followed minutes later, and about 200 yards from the first. A man's body, with blast injuries to his abdomen, was discovered after the second explosion.

Swedish newspapers portrayed the dead man as a suicide bomber, and the newspaper Aftonbladet said on its Web site that he had been carrying pipe bombs and a backpack full of nails. But the police declined to confirm this. “We are in the middle of a technical investigation, and we are working methodically to find out what happened,” said a police spokeswoman, Petra Sjolander, who refused to speculate about whether the blasts were a terrorist attack.

Still, comments from Foreign Minister Carl Bildt on his Twitter account did not attempt to hedge the issue. His post read: “Most worrying attempt at terrorist attack in crowded part of central Stockholm. Failed — but could have been truly catastrophic...”

An editor at the Swedish news agency Tidningarnas Telegrambyra, Dan Skeppe, said the agency had received an e-mail minutes before the blasts; it was also addressed to Sweden's security police, and included a sound recording addressed to “Sweden and the Swedish people.” Mr. Skeppe said the recording cited Swedish “silence” over cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad drawn by the artist Lars Vilks, criticized Sweden's 500-soldier military contingent in northern Afghanistan and threatened attacks on Swedes.

“Now, your children — daughters and sisters — will die like our brothers and sisters and children die,” it continued. “Our actions will speak for themselves. As long as you do not end your war against Islam and the insult against the prophet and your stupid support for that pig Vilks.”

The Stockholm blasts seemed certain to cause widespread shock in Sweden. The country has long prided itself on having created a stable and peaceful society at home, and on having avoided involvement in the upheavals that have ravaged much of the rest of Europe in modern times, including World War II.

It has previously escaped the types of bombings mounted elsewhere in Europe since the 9/11 attacks in the United States. The Swedish military's current deployment in Afghanistan, adding signals intelligence specialists to a NATO-led combat mission under American command, is a rare departure from the country's usual pattern of avoiding involvement in military alliances.

Another major change has been the impact of heavy immigration, especially Muslims. Their growing numbers, and the furor surrounding Mr. Vilks, have contributed to a rise in tensions that have led to increased support for a right-wing anti-immigration party, the Sweden Democrats, which won 20 seats this summer in a general election. The party, blaming immigration for increased crime rates, has focused its ire on the Muslim population, which accounts for about 5 percent of Sweden's 9.3 million people.

The recorded message sent to Swedish news organizations demanded that Muslims in Sweden “stop sucking up and degrading yourselves,” and broadened the appeal to “all mujahedeen,” or holy warriors, in Europe. “Now it's time to attack,” it said. “Do not wait any longer. Come forth with whatever you have, even if it is a knife, and I know that you can bring more than knives. Fear no one. Do not be afraid of jail. Do not fear death.”

Mr. Skeppe said the address in the e-mail indicated it had also been sent to Sweden's security police, but there was no indication what sort of an attack was planned, or when. “They didn't mention that anything specific would happen at all,” he said.

Several Swedish news organizations described the e-mail as having been sent anonymously, but Mr. Skeppe declined to confirm that, or to say whether the e-mail named the individual or organization who sent it. The e-mail's reference to Mr. Vilks, a 64-year-old artist and free-speech activist, pointed to the deep anger in the Muslim world over Mr. Vilks' drawings of the Prophet Muhammad in 2007.

Publication of the drawings in Swedish newspapers drew widespread condemnation in the Muslim world and death threats against Mr. Vilks, who has since lived under police protection. In March this year, Colleen R. LaRose , an American who has converted to Islam and used the pseudonym JihadJane, was charged with trying to recruit Islamic terrorists to kill Mr. Vilks.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/12/world/europe/12sweden.html?_r=1&ref=world

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Massacre Shows Power of Gangs in Rural Russia

KUSHCHEVSKAYA, Russia — The flowers outside the Ametov family's house in this small farm town have wilted, but two jumpy police officers standing sentry by the wrought-iron gate offer fresh testimony to the horror of what occurred inside.

Twelve people, including four children, were killed at a holiday gathering here last month. Almost all of them were stabbed or strangled and then set on fire. The community's distress at the brutality was compounded when investigators said that the suspects in the killings were members of a local gang that had sown terror here, unchecked, for years and, worse, had forged close relationships with the local government. Some of the suspects were even current or former elected officials.

As a result of the killings, Kushchevskaya has become a symbol of the epidemic of lawlessness in provincial Russia, a problem rooted in the collusion of bandits and corrupt bureaucrats.

“With every passing day it becomes more and more clear that the fusion of government and criminals, what is now called the Kushchevskaya model, is not unique,” Valery D. Zorkin, the chairman of Russia's Constitutional Court, wrote in an opinion article on Friday in the government newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta. Should the situation continue, he said, “our citizens will become divided between predators, free in the criminal jungle, and subhumans, conscious that they are only prey.”

Such corruption has never been secret, but since the killings the problem has moved from mere kitchen-table conversations to the level of national discourse. President Dmitri A. Medvedev acknowledged it in his annual state of the nation speech last month when he warned local law enforcement officials not “to hide in offices and observe as criminals grow and become insolent on their territories.”

“Unfortunately, there have been a series of tragic events in which our citizens have died or were killed,” he said. “The reasons for this include laxity in the activities of law enforcement and other government agencies and, frequently, their direct merger with criminals.”

The discussion has been picked up in the national media, including on each of the major government-controlled television channels, which have broadcast frequent updates as well as special reports about the Kushchevskaya killings.

Uncomfortable questions have also been raised about the viability of the system of consolidated power built over the past decade by Russia's paramount leader, Vladimir V. Putin, now the prime minister. Senior authorities, Mr. Putin included, have explained restrictions on the media and on political freedoms as necessary to restore order in the wake of the Soviet Union's collapse and the chaos that followed. While Mr. Putin has largely brought Russia's upper echelons to heel, many of the far-flung regions remain out of Moscow's control.

Kushchevskaya, which is about 700 miles from the capital amid the undulating, fertile fields of the Russian south, has a long history of freewheeling banditry. A kind of Russian Dodge City, it was founded by Cossack horsemen in 1794 as a frontier settlement. The Cossacks eventually submitted to the Soviet commissars, who built collective farms here that fed the nation. With the collapse of the Communist regime, a frontier lawlessness re-emerged in the race to control the region's agricultural bounty.

It was in this setting that the gang suspected of committing the Kushchevskaya murders was born. Led by Sergei Tsapok, a businessman and a onetime member of the town's legislature, the band has spent nearly a decade plundering, raping and murdering with impunity, often with the aid, tacit or otherwise, of local and regional officials, according to prosecutors and witnesses.

Mr. Tsapok, now in jail in connection with the 12 killings, is from the wealthy family that owns Arteks Agro, one of the region's largest and most profitable agricultural concerns. Kushchevskaya's residents spoke of Mr. Tsapok as the unchallenged authority in town, backed by a group of several dozen young men whom everyone knew but no one dared cross.

“Just the name Tsapok provoked fear,” said Galina V. Bukhanenko, 64, who was selling hats at the town market.

Residents said the gang's members kept the town and its 35,000 people in a state of anxiety.

“Once, three of these guys got into my cab and put a screwdriver to my ribs and made me drive around all night,” said a 54-year-old taxi driver who would not give his name because he feared for his safety. “In the morning they didn't even say thank you.” Another time, he said, they used a gun.

Complaints to the police were often rebuffed or met with further harassment, the driver and others said.

Olga A. Kutovaya, the editor in chief of the local newspaper, Vperyod, said she had held public round tables at which officials were pelted with questions about the group's flagrant criminality.

“The answers were always the same: ‘There are no criminal groups here,' ” she said.

Exactly how Server Ametov, a successful farmer, ran afoul of Mr. Tsapok is unclear. Investigators have suggested that a business dispute, or perhaps a desire for revenge, provoked the gang to kill him and 11 others early on Nov. 5.

Mr. Tsapok's older brother, Nikolai, had been killed in 2002, and there had been talk that Mr. Ametov was involved.

The viciousness of the latest killings surprised even this violence-weary community. In addition to Mr. Ametov, his wife, Galina, and daughter-in-law Yelena were killed, as were several neighbors and out-of-town guests who had gathered to celebrate People's Unity Day, which marks the liberation of Moscow from Polish troops in 1612. Two of the children who were killed had not celebrated their first birthdays, and other victims were 5 and 14.

At least 10 members of the gang, including Mr. Tsapok, were arrested after federal detectives arrived from Moscow to take over the investigation. Several other suspects were still being sought.

As the suspects were interrogated, investigators uncovered dozens of other crimes that they said were linked to the gang. Prosecutors have opened investigations into at least 10 unsolved murders, as well as kidnappings, robberies and at least 25 rapes. The police were also looking into whether Arteks Agro, which is owned by Mr. Tsapok's mother, had used Ukrainians as slave laborers.

Local officials either ignored or profited from the lawlessness, said investigators, who have found at least 242 crimes that they said local law enforcement agencies had covered up.

One police official, Aleksandr Khodych, the leader of the local antiextremism department, appears to have been jailed. Others have been fired, including the Krasnodar region's police chief and prosecutor.

The case has inspired people in other towns to speak out. In Gus-Khrustalny, east of Moscow, residents sent a letter to Mr. Putin complaining that government-backed criminal gangs had been terrorizing businessmen. The police are investigating.

In Kushchevskaya, the national attention has given some residents hope that the worst might be over.

“This is of course a tragedy, a terrible tragedy for everyone,” said Oleg I. Petrakin, a farmer. “But with this tragedy we know that everything will go back to normal. This chaos cannot last forever.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/12/world/europe/12russia.html?ref=world

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He Found Bag of Cash, But Did the Unexpected

TEMPE, Ariz. — For a homeless man like Dave Tally, the $3,300 in cash that he found in an abandoned backpack a few weeks ago would have gone a long way. Food. Shelter. Repairs to his bicycle. Spending it would not have been a problem.

But Mr. Tally, who is recovering from drug and alcohol addictions, transformed his life in a different way: by turning the money in.

He gave the backpack to the Tempe Community Action Agency, the social service organization where he volunteers, whose officials managed to trace it to Bryan Belanger, an Arizona State University student who lost the money while on his way to buy a used car.

In news accounts, Mr. Tally has been praised as a homeless hero. People moved by his selflessness have sent him checks — totaling far more than was in the backpack — and have offered him jobs to help him get on his feet.

On Thursday night, Mayor Hugh Hallman read a proclamation declaring it Dave Tally Day. Mr. Tally was taciturn, having recently undergone dental surgery in preparation for a whole new set of teeth donated by a local dentist. A lawyer stepped forward, too, to help Mr. Tally try to handle an old court case.

“I never imagined all this,” Mr. Tally, 49, said as he emerged from City Hall and went out onto the streets where he has scraped by for the past decade. “I just thought we'd turn the backpack over and it would be over with.”

Mr. Belanger was the first to thank Mr. Tally for his good deed with a reward. “It's humbling,” Mr. Belanger told The Arizona Republic, “and it puts things into perspective.”

Mr. Tally's decision to turn in the money has prompted animated discussions on the streets of Tempe, where many of the drifters know him.

“I would have spent every last cent,” said Will Colby, 30, who was sitting on a bench with friends trying to get enough spare change for a motel room. “I'd be in a resort in Mexico right now.”

His companion, a woman who identified herself as E.T., said she once found $1,400 in cash in an envelope next to an A.T.M. and did not think twice about keeping it. “I stayed in a motel for a long time on that money,” she said.

But Mark Mullins, who lost his job and was playing the guitar to try to raise money for his children, said there was inspiration in what Mr. Tally had done. “You do what's right,” he said, “and everything turns out all right.”

Mr. Tally's downward spiral began in 1999 when his driver's license was suspended after he was arrested on a drunken-driving charge. He then lost his job as a supervisor of a landscape firm. Then he lost his house.

“I never gave much thought to homeless people,” Mr. Tally said. “I never imagined myself that way. I worked every day. I had a place to live. But all that changed fast.”

Mr. Tally said he had set up a savings account for the donations, which already exceed $8,000. He is working with counselors to develop a plan for the money, which he imagines will involve computer training. He is also sifting through the job offers.

The best part of his decision, he said, is that he may have helped change the negative image of homeless people. Mr. Tally recounted how one of his friends from the street called out to him the other day: “Thanks, man. You made us all look good.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/12/us/12backpack.html?ref=us

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Prisoners Strike in Georgia

In a protest apparently assembled largely through a network of banned cellphones, inmates across at least six prisons in Georgia have been on strike since Thursday, calling for better conditions and compensation, several inmates and an outside advocate said.

Inmates have refused to leave their cells or perform their jobs, in a demonstration that seems to transcend racial and gang factions that do not often cooperate.

“Their general rage found a home among them — common ground — and they set aside their differences to make an incredible statement,” said Elaine Brown, a former Black Panther leader who has taken up the inmates' cause. She said that different factions' leaders recruited members to participate, but the movement lacks a definitive torchbearer.

Ms. Brown said thousands of inmates were participating in the strike.

The Georgia Department of Corrections could not be reached for comment Saturday night.

“We're not coming out until something is done. We're not going to work until something is done,” said one inmate at Rogers State Prison in Reidsville. He refused to give his name because he was speaking on a banned cellphone.

Several inmates, who used cellphones to call The Times from their cells, said they found out about the protest from text messages and did not know whether specific individuals were behind it.

“This is a pretty much organic effort on their part,” said Ms. Brown, a longtime prisoner advocate, who distilled the inmates' complaints into a list of demands. “They did it, and then they reached out to me.” Ms. Brown, the founder of the National Alliance for Radical Prison Reform in Locust Grove, Ga., said she has spoken to more than 200 prisoners over the past two days.

The Corrections Department placed several of the facilities where inmates planned to strike under indefinite lockdown on Thursday, according to local reports.

“We're hearing in the news they're putting it down as we're starting a riot, so they locked all the prison down,” said a 20-year-old inmate at Hays State Prison in Trion, who also refused to give his name. But, he said, “We locked ourselves down.”

Even if the Corrections Department did want to sit down at the table with the inmates, the spontaneous nature of the strike has left the prisoners without a representative to serve as negotiator, Ms. Brown said.

Ms. Brown, who lives in Oakland, Calif., said she planned to gather legal and advocacy groups on Monday to help coordinate a strategy for the inmates.

Chief among the prisoners' demands is that they be compensated for jailhouse labor. They are also demanding better educational opportunities, nutrition, and access to their families.

“We committed the crime, we're here for a reason,” said the Hays inmate. “But at the same time we're men. We can't be treated like animals.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/12/us/12prison.html?ref=us

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From the Washington Examiner

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Susan Estrich: Sometimes, crime is just random

A blonde in a black Mercedes found shot multiple times in her car on Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills on her way home from a movie premiere.

A 60-something veteran who was in her fourth decade of walking clients down the red carpet, as she had been doing earlier that night.

Who?

A spurned lover? An angry client? No.

A crime wave of black men in Beverly Hills (a theory that had to be officially denied because it got so much attention)? No.

A professional hit by a trained sniper? No, or at least not necessarily.

Police have concluded that in all likelihood it was a crazy man, a longtime petty criminal desperate for money, a botched robbery by a guy on a bicycle -- his only means of transportation.

One of those stupid, random, wrong time, wrong place, "no way you can live your life to avoid them" moments in which cause and effect are not connected.

Oh, we could try to find something in the story that is now getting detailed: Did she slow down when she should have sped up? Did she roll down the window, perhaps? Is it possible we could protect ourselves just by keeping the windows up or hitting the horn?

The answer, of course, is no.

It makes absolutely no sense that Chasen was killed by a career petty criminal on a bike in Beverly Hills. And because it makes no sense, there is literally nothing to be done to prevent it.

The man who police believe shot Ronni Chasen is Harold Martin Smith. He was found through a tipster to "America's Most Wanted," who had reportedly heard him brag about his role and expected payoff. When Beverly Hills police arrived to execute their warrant, Smith turned the gun (that he allegedly used on Chasen) on himself.

At first, it wasn't clear whether Smith had anything to do with the Chasen killing, or whether he was one of those crazy people who puts himself in the middle of such things, literally using it as a backdrop for suicide. Had the police been played? Apparently not.

The word as I write this is that the ballistics match. Smith, they believe, was acting alone. And riding a bicycle.

Chasen deserved better, of course -- not a better villain, but a long life without one. And the stark realization that a person as big as Chasen could be struck down and that a community with as much power as Hollywood could be brought to its knees by this guy is humbling to say the least.

What can you do about it? Nothing.

A senseless death is just that. There is no lesson to be learned, and that, ultimately, is the hardest lesson of them all.

There are bad guys in cars and trucks and planes and, yes, even on bikes. If you can't avoid them on Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills, you can't avoid them anywhere.

http://washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/2010/12/susan-estrich-sometimes-crime-just-random

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From Google News

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Body of missing Alabama girl believed to be found

Searchers near Citronelle, about 50 miles north of Mobile, found skeletal remains believed to belong to Natalie DeBlase, 4, whose father is accused of killing the girl and her brother Jonathan Chase DeBlase, 3, said Mobile Police Maj. Kara Rose.

Authorities on Wednesday found what they suspect are the brother's remains near Vancleave, Mississippi.

The father gave authorities general information on where the bodies might be found in the past week, Rose said.

The discovery of the remains believed to be Natalie DeBlase's was made in a densely wooded area around 9 a.m. Saturday.

John Joseph DeBlase, 27, is charged with two counts of murder and two counts of abuse of a corpse -- the latter because, Mobile Police spokesman Christopher Levy said, of his "disposing of the bodies in the woods."

DeBlase's girlfriend, Heather Keaton, was arrested last week, charged with two counts of willful abuse and neglect of a child.

Keaton waived extradition in Louisville, Kentucky, and is expected to arrive in Mobile on Sunday, Rose said.

"If it's appropriate to upgrade charges against Heather Keaton, they will be upgraded," Rose said.

Investigators continue to look at evidence and conduct interviews.

"It's a tough case," Rose said. "It has touched most of us."

The cause of death for both sets of remains has not yet been determined, police said.

Natalie, was last seen in March, when authorities believe she was killed. Jonathan DeBlase had not been seen since June, police said. Investigators believe he was slain around that time.

Police, who did not know the children were missing until November 19, contend that the elder DeBlase allowed Keaton to abuse the children by restraining them with tape, putting socks in their mouths and confining them.

Police believe both children died in Mobile, Levy said.

DeBlase and Keaton blame each other for the siblings' deaths, authorities said.

The investigation kicked off November 18, when Keaton told Louisville, Kentucky, police that she needed protection from DeBlase, who she claimed was holding her against her will.

According to the domestic violence petition, signed "Heather L. Leavell-Keaton," she said, "I feel he may have murdered his children, because he said they were non-responsive. He would not let me check on them."

She said DeBlase had told her "choices were made... and he had to do what he had to do."

According to a police complaint, DeBlase between March 1 and November 19 allowed Keaton to tape Natalie's hands and feet, put a sock in her mouth and place her in a suitcase that was put in a closet for 14 hours.

He also allowed Keaton to tape Jonathan's hands to the side of his legs, tape a broom handle to his back, place a sock in his mouth and then make the child stand in a corner all night when the couple went to bed, according to the complaint.

The complaints were related to aggravated abuse allegations against DeBlase that were dropped and are now part of the murder charges.

DeBlase and Keaton have one infant daughter together, according to Keaton's account in the Kentucky police report. Police said one reason Keaton claimed she needed protection from DeBlase was that she feared for the safety of the infant, who was with her in Kentucky.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/12/11/alabama.children.remains/?hpt=Sbin

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Elizabeth Smart during an episode of "Larry King Live" May 4, 2006, in Los Angeles. Smart was abducted on June 5, 2002. Nine months later, Elizabeth was found walking in a Salt Lake City suburb.

Smart's triumph may empower other victims by Rosemary Winters The Salt Lake Tribune December 11, 2010 When Elizabeth Smart emerged from a federal courthouse Friday in Salt Lake City, she celebrated not only her own triumph but also the possibility of justice for all victims. Eight years after Brian David Mitchell kidnapped her and subjected her to near-daily rapes, a jury found Mitchell guilty. “I am so thrilled to stand before the people of America today,” said Smart, 23, “and give hope to other victims who have not spoken out about what's happened to them.” Advocates for survivors of sexual violence say Smart's willingness to confront her offender under the nation's gaze will help empower other victims and dispel the stigma often associated with rape.

Other observers say they have been inspired simply by her courage, poise and strength.

“There is such shame associated with sexual violence, and to have it being talked about so openly and publicly is almost a relief to some,” said Heather Stringfellow, executive director of the Rape Recovery Center in Salt Lake City. “[Smart] held [Mitchell] accountable, and that's a very powerful message.”

In Utah, 29 percent of women older than 18 have experienced some type of sexual assault, according to a 2007 survey by the Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice. One in nine sexual assault incidents is reported to the police.

Survivors often fear they won't be believed or that their own behavior will be questioned, said Alana Kindness, executive director of the Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault.

“I've been really impressed with [Smart's] candor and her ability to express herself and talk openly about her experiences,” Kindness said. “It does give an opportunity for people to see that you can talk about it and that you can talk about it and be supported.”

After Smart began her testimony in Mitchell's trial on Nov. 8, detailing her repeated experiences of rape as a 14-year-old girl, the Rape Recovery Center saw a spike in calls and drop-in visits for a two-week period, Stringfellow said.

“I hadn't anticipated the fact that so many people would be triggered by listening to her testimony and reading about the case,” she said. “We've been overwhelmed by calls to our crisis line and people who needed assistance because her experience reminded them of their own.”

Mitchell's violence against Smart, an “all-American girl,” highlights how tragically common violence against girls and women is, said Theresa Martinez, a sociology professor at the University of Utah.

“The way the family handled it, the way she handled it has given us a vision of healing,” Martinez said. “[Smart] can be a positive role model for young people. If such things are going to happen, people need to understand they can come through such an experience and survive.”

Smart and her parents have not been advocates by example alone. Ed Smart has championed the creation of a national alert system for kidnappings and family preparedness to prevent child abductions.

In 2006, Elizabeth Smart and her father lobbied Congress to pass a law to create a national sex-offender registry. She watched President George W. Bush sign the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act into law.

In 2008, Smart shared her experience and words of encouragement in a booklet published by the U.S. Department of Justice, “You're Not Alone,” for survivors of abduction.

“It is important to remember that just because something bad happened to you, it doesn't mean you are bad,” Smart wrote. “You are still entitled to every possible happiness in life.”

After Friday's verdict, Smart's mother, Lois, spoke of the power of mothers, women and daughters to move forward, leaving their offenders behind.

“It is an exceptionally victorious day for us all,” she said.

Since her abduction, Elizabeth Smart has graduated from high school, studied music at Brigham Young University and soon will return to serving an LDS mission in Paris, France. She has projected a calm and confident demeanor in her public appearances.

“[Mitchell] could have totally ruined her life. Yet she had the strength to say, ‘No. I'm going to define my own life,'?” said Kalyn Denny, a Salt Lake City resident and retired teacher who has followed Smart's story. “I can't imagine that any young girl wouldn't be totally in awe of her courage and her determination.”

For Denny, 62, the day Smart was found and returned to her family on March 12, 2003, is burned in her memory. In the same way Denny remembers where she was when she heard about the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and John Lennon, she remembers the day another teacher hurried into her classroom at West Bountiful Elementary to share the remarkable news that Smart had been found alive.

“We were both just so excited. Neither one of us could believe they found her,” Denny recalled. “I don't think brave even begins to convey the strength that [Smart] showed. She was just amazing.”

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/50851353-76/smart-sexual-elizabeth-utah.html.csp?page=1

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Civil War's 150th anniversary stirs debate on race

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — At South Carolina's Secession Gala, men in frock coats and militia uniforms and women in hoopskirts will sip mint juleps as a band called Unreconstructed plays "Dixie." In Georgia, they will re-enact the state's 1861 secession convention. And Alabama will hold a mock swearing-in of Confederate President Jefferson Davis.

Across the South, preparations are under way for the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. And while many organizations are working to incorporate both the black and the white experience, there are complaints that some events will glorify the Old South and the Lost Cause while overlooking the fundamental reason for the war: slavery.

"It's almost like celebrating the Holocaust," said Benard Simelton, president of the Alabama conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. "Our rights were taken away and we were treated as less than human beings. To relive that in a celebratory way I don't think is right."

Mark Simpson, commander of the South Carolina Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, acknowledged that an event such as the Dec. 20 Secession Gala in Charleston is seen by some Americans as politically incorrect. But "to us it's part of our nature and our culture and our heritage."

"Slavery was a very big issue. Anyone who denies that has his head in a hole somewhere," said Simpson, a Spartanburg businessman who counts 32 ancestors who fought for the South. "But slavery was not the single nor primary cause, and that's where the line gets drawn."

Simpson said the primary cause was states' rights — the purported right of states to nullify federal laws and freely leave the Union they voluntarily joined.

Many historians would disagree, and strongly.

"Slavery was the principal cause of the Civil War, period," said Bob Sutton, chief historian for the National Park Service. "Yes, politics was important. Yes, economics were important. Yes, social issues were important. But when you get to the core of why all these things were important, it was slavery."

A few weeks before the first shots of the war were fired at Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens called slavery "the immediate cause of the late rupture and present revolution."

But as the war progressed, the Confederate government shifted its rationale to states' rights because Davis knew neither England nor other third powers would support the South in a war to preserve slavery, Sutton said.

And after the war, writers and historians who were part of what became known as the Lost Cause movement contended it was fought not over slavery — which they characterized as a benign institution — but over states' rights.

"The interesting thing about the Civil War, unlike almost any other war, is generally the victor is the one who controls the story," Sutton said. "The Civil War is different in that the Lost Cause really was the message about the Civil War well into the 20th century."

That interpretation lingered through the Civil War centennial in the 1960s, during the height of the civil rights movement. The 100th anniversary commemorations tended to focus on the military genius of the South's generals and the valor of its troops in battle. Slavery was largely ignored.

"The centennial was very popular in the South, in part because Southerners saw that as a real opportunity to dull the civil rights movement," Sutton said.

For the 150th anniversary, some commemorations are being conducted under state auspices, while others are being privately organized, such as the mock swearing-in in Alabama and the $100-a-head Charleston gala, which will mark the day South Carolina became the first state to secede, Dec. 20, 1860.

The state's NAACP chapter plans a protest march and vigil outside the city-owned auditorium where the party will be held.

"I don't care how they try to dress it up — that term 'putting lipstick on a pig, it's still a pig' — they are going to be hard-pressed to find a mixed audience for what they are putting on," Joe McGill, a black historian from Charleston, said of the Secession Gala.

McGill, who portrays a soldier from the Union's famed black 54th Massachusetts during re-enactments, sees the 150th anniversary as an opportunity to tell stories that weren't told 50 years ago, those of blacks and the black units who fought for the Union.

"That is the story we will tell and that is the story African-Americans want to hear," he said.

During the next four years, there are plans in South Carolina for events that will commemorate the freeing of slaves and the seizure of a Confederate ship by a slave. In Virginia, a conference this fall was called "Race, Slavery and the Civil War: The Tough Stuff of American History." And last month, black re-enactors from 13 states marched through Harrisburg, Pa., commemorating a similar parade there at the end of the Civil War.

In the run-up to the secession commemorations, South Carolina's Ordinance of Secession has been displayed around the state.

David Rutledge, a descendant of David Jamison, who was president of the state's secession convention, said he nearly cried when he first read it.

"It wasn't what I expected — a sense of pride — but a sense of sadness because I knew that it came at a very great price and brought on war with all its horrors," said Rutledge, a lawyer from Greenville whose great-great grandfather was killed in the Battle of the Wilderness.

Rutledge said the war's entire history should be remembered.

"It is the war of soldiers who fought through it, and they shouldn't be denigrated because they fought on the wrong side," he said. "I honor not the Ordinance of Secession itself, but I honor the courage it took to sign it because it came at a terrible price."

Eric Emerson, director of the South Carolina Department of Archives and History, said he hopes the anniversary events deepen people's understanding of the war. But he conceded the divide over the war will remain.

"It's kind of understandable. People want a short answer to everything. That's why people are hitting each other with these buzzwords: slavery and states' rights," he said.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g02LT3cnj71haIQ8NXfRM-jR69yQ?docId=17de1f3fa7fe4a6999feb41ff12de8a1

.