From the Los Angeles Times

More than 12,000 killed in Mexican drug war this year, officials say

The overall death toll in the 4-year-old war is said to be 30,196, but it could be higher. A top official says recent operations against cartels have weakened them.

By Ken Ellingwood, Los Angeles Times

December 16, 2010

Reporting from Mexico City

More than 12,000 people have died this year in Mexico's drug war, officials said Thursday, making it the deadliest year since President Felipe Calderon launched a government crackdown against traffickers in 2006.

The federal attorney general's office said 12,456 people were killed through Nov. 30.

The overall death toll since the launch of the drug war stands at 30,196, according to figures given to reporters during a year-end breakfast session with Atty. Gen. Arturo Chavez Chavez.

But that figure appeared to underestimate the toll. Federal officials announced in August that 28,228 had been killed in the war, meaning the death rate would have to have slowed considerably since then. But there has been no sign of easing violence as cartels have remained locked in fierce turf battles that have most contributed to the rising toll.

Estimates by Mexican intelligence put the death count at about 32,000.

The rising toll represents a political drag on Calderon, who has sought to assure a jittery public that the crackdown is depleting the cartels' power as they lose bosses to death and arrest.

Although the administration has contended that the vast majority of those killed are drug gang henchmen, the bloodletting has left many Mexicans convinced that the government has lost control of entire regions, such as the crime-ridden northern border state of Tamaulipas.

In a recent survey by the Mitofsky polling firm, 59% of respondents said organized-crime groups were winning the war against federal forces. In a separate poll, 4 in 5 respondents said the country was more violent than a year before.

On Thursday, more than 30 business and civic groups took out full-page advertisements in newspapers pleading with the country's leaders to bring the mayhem under control.

Chavez told reporters that arrests and killings by Mexican forces of top underworld figures, including the reported slaying last week of a reputed drug lord in the western state of Michoacan, were taking a toll on the groups. Chavez said "a lot of evidence" suggested that Nazario Moreno Gonzalez, alleged leader of the cult-like La Familia group, was killed in skirmishing with federal forces, though no body was recovered.

In November, marines killed Ezequiel Cardenas Guillen, an alleged leader of the Gulf cartel, during a battle in Tamaulipas.

"What is clear is that there is a significant weakening of these criminal structures," Chavez said.

In other developments, Chavez said, officials had not located a fugitive lawmaker from Michoacan, Julio Cesar Godoy, who this week was stripped of congressional immunity from charges that he offered protection and laundered money for La Familia.

Chavez said Mexican authorities would seek the help of Interpol in the search for Godoy, a member of the left-leaning Democratic Revolution Party elected in July 2009. The party's congressional delegation said it had not been in contact with Godoy for at least a week.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-mexico-death-toll-20101217,0,6679008,print.story

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

Awaiting DREAM Act, illegal student in U.S. compares himself to Superman

"Once, when I was seven, I fell asleep in Michoacan and woke in Boyle Heights. No joke."

This is how a young writer and journalist in East Los Angeles named Erick Huerta begins telling his story. Huerta, 26, is a student and undocumented immigrant, stuck in a legal and cultural bind between two countries. He was born in Mexico and brought to the U.S. illegally as a child, like many others whose parents were lured to the U.S. by economic prospects. He finished high school, entered college and is now as culturally "American" as anyone else.

Should he be deported to a country he doesn't know, or should his status be normalized under the DREAM Act?

The proposed law, built around an energetic grass-roots effort, would give certain undocumented students like Huerta -- or those entering the U.S. military -- conditional legal status in the United States.

Huerta, in an essay published by Zocalo Public Square, writes that his experience has made him analogous to ... Superman? He explains:

I guess I should be inspired by Superman, arguably the most accomplished of all "illegal aliens." Literally, in his case, as he came from another planet as an infant because his parents wanted to give him a better life when his home world was annihilated. He landed on earth and was raised in the Midwest by a loving couple to become a symbol for truth, justice and the American way. Last time I checked, he was still working at the Daily Planet, getting by under the name of "Clark Kent." I hope that the e-verify system doesn't catch up with him someday; where would ICE deport him?

Huerta uses humor to address a serious and complex issue that directly affects his future and that of thousands like him. But the DREAM Act's own future is uncertain. It's had a long and nail-biting journey through Congress, tabled and revived several times, a political ping-pong ball In the bitter and often hate-filled debate over reforming the country's "badly broken immigration system."

Those are President Obama's exact words, in a statement congratulating the House of Representatives for passing the DREAM Act Dec. 8. Despite strong grass-roots opposition to the DREAM Act among Republicans, the House passed it by a vote of 216 to 198. Obama and most Democrats in Congress want the DREAM Act passed before the end of this year's lame-duck session. The bill is now before the Senate.

A Republican filibuster would require all of the chamber's 57 Democrats to join at least three Republicans or independents to pass the DREAM Act. The bill is currently delayed pending a future vote.

Read Erick Huerta's entire essay here.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/laplaza/2010/12/dream-act-illegal-immigrant-student-opinion-erick-huerta.html

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

Proximity to freeways increases autism risk, study finds

More research is needed, but the report suggests air pollution could be a factor.

By Shari Roan, Los Angeles Times

December 16, 2010

Children born to mothers who live close to freeways have twice the risk of autism, researchers reported Thursday. The study, its authors say, adds to evidence suggesting that certain environmental exposures could play a role in causing the disorder in some children.

"This study isn't saying exposure to air pollution or exposure to traffic causes autism," said Heather Volk, lead author of the paper and a researcher at the Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital Los Angeles. "But it could be one of the factors that are contributing to its increase."

Reported cases of autism cases increased by 57% between 2002 and 2006, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, although professionals still debate whether rates have actually risen or a greater proportion of autistic children is being diagnosed. An estimated 1 in 110 children is diagnosed with autism today. There is no cure, although research has shown that various therapies can mitigate some symptoms, especially if begun early in life.

In the current study, published online in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, researchers looked at 304 children with autism and, for comparison, 259 children who were developing normally. The children, between the ages of 24 months and 60 months at the start of the study, lived in communities around Los Angeles, San Francisco and Sacramento.

Each family was evaluated in person, and all of the children received developmental assessments. Researchers collected data on where each child's mother lived during pregnancy and at the time of birth, and the proximity of the homes to a major road or freeway.

Children living about 1,000 feet from a freeway at birth — about 10% of the sample — had a two-fold increase in autism risk. The link held up even after researchers controlled for other factors that may influence development, such as ethnicity, parental education, maternal age and exposure to tobacco smoke.

The study did not find a link between autism development and proximity to a major road, as opposed to a freeway. That may be due to the type and quantity of chemicals dispersed on freeways compared with major roads, Volk said. In Los Angeles, some freeways carry more than 300,000 vehicles daily.

Gayle Windham, chief of the epidemiology surveillance unit with the California Department of Health Services Environmental Investigations Branch, said the study did not directly implicate air pollution as a risk factor for autism because it did not have a way of measuring how much pollution the mothers were exposed to during pregnancy.

"They are using a proxy measure for air pollution, which is distance to a freeway," she said. "But you still don't know how much time the women spent at home or working or commuting." Windham was not involved in the study.

Windham was the lead author of a 2006 study, also published in Environmental Health Perspectives, that found that children with autism were about 50% more likely to have a birth residence in an area with hazardous air pollutants. The study was based on air pollution data from the Environmental Protection Agency that was matched to birth records in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Research like this suggests environmental factors need more attention, said Clara Lajonchere, vice president of clinical programs for the advocacy group Autism Speaks. Lajonchere was not involved in the study.

"The implication could be very far reaching in terms of prevention and public health concerns," Lajonchere said. "I think it's pretty well established that genes play a huge role in autism. But there is something going on beyond genetics."

Chronic exposure to air pollution during pregnancy is thought to have physical effects on the fetus. High levels of carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter have been linked to a higher risk of preterm birth and low birth weight. Chemicals such as ozone, sulfur dioxide and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, have also been identified as harmful to a developing fetus.

"We know there are some chemicals in air pollution coming from diesel exhaust that might be a good forerunner to look at," Volk said. "But right now we really don't know what it is about air pollution that is associated with autism."

Families residing close to freeways may have to wait for more research before scientists can issue advice or recommendations on what to do about this potential risk, Volk said. For one thing, this study requires replication, she said. In addition, future studies will attempt to identify the level of exposure to particular pollutants.

http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-autism-20101217,0,1133581,print.story

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

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, left, and Councilman Bernard C. Parks walk by the array of photos after a news conference at LAPD headquarters.

Grim Sleeper suspect's photos of women released LAPD seeks the public's aid in identifying about 160 women whose images were found on the property of accused serial killer Lonnie Franklin Jr. by Andrew Blankstein and Joel Rubin Los Angeles Times December 17, 2010 In July, when Los Angeles police arrested Lonnie Franklin Jr., the suspected Grim Sleeper serial killer, they scoured his South L.A. property for evidence. Among the unsettling discoveries was a cache of about 1,000 photographs and hundreds of hours of home video showing women, many of them partly or fully nude and striking sexually graphic poses. It was an eerie find in a case involving a man who is thought to have sexually assaulted his victims before or after killing them. Police also cannot account for large swaths of Franklin's life, including a 14-year gap between his alleged killings, during which investigators suspect he killed other women.

Detectives set out to identify the women on the film and tape, knowing that some could be additional homicide victims.

There were several photos of each woman, and police whittled the collection down to 180 images. They believe that about 20 of the pictures show women also captured in the other photographs.

PHOTOS: Images found in possession of 'Grim Sleeper' suspect

For months they slogged through images in missing persons databases and coroner records, hoping for lucky matches. The work proved fruitless. With the detectives no closer to identifying the women, police turned to the public Thursday for help. At a news conference, they released cropped versions of the images that show the women's faces, hoping the women themselves, their family members or acquaintances will recognize them and contact investigators.

Police said they were sensitive to the harm and embarrassment the release of the photographs could cause women who never told their family or friends about the encounters. In the end, however, they decided that the need to identify the women outweighed the potential harm. For similar reasons, the Times has decided to publish the photographs on its website.

"As a police department, we have an obligation to account for the welfare of these women," said veteran homicide Det. Dennis Kilcoyne, who headed the task force that hunted Franklin. "We're trying to fill in the life and times of Lonnie Franklin over the past 30 years, and talking to people is a big part of that. These are obviously women who had a conversation or two with this guy.... I won't be surprised if we find some of them were his victims."

Police have employed the strategy before in other high-profile serial cases. Most notably, investigators went public earlier this year with a trove of photographs of women and girls taken by killer Rodney James Alcala. But with Alcala's and some other similar cases, police waited until after the killers had been convicted before releasing images.

LAPD officials decided they could not wait. With little known about Franklin, they hope the women will be able to provide answers that have so far eluded detectives.

"The question of the day is, 'Why?' " Kilcoyne said. 'What was he doing to get these women to do this sort of stuff on film? Typically, people use drugs as leverage, but we didn't find one iota of evidence that he was into that."

Franklin is accused of murdering 10 women and attempting to kill another who survived. Authorities say they have linked Franklin, 58, to the killings through a combination of DNA and ballistics evidence. The former city sanitation worker and LAPD garage attendant has pleaded not guilty and remains in custody.

Louisa Pensanti, Franklin's attorney, expressed concern about the release of the photographs, saying prosecutors have not yet provided her with copies of the images as part of the legal proceedings. She added that the move will make it difficult for Franklin to receive a fair trial. "I think it's proper that they try to find out everything they need to, but to do it now, and in this way, will taint the jury pool," Pensanti said.

The discovery of the photographs came at the end of a long, frustrating search for the killer, whom the LA Weekly dubbed the Grim Sleeper for the long stretch between killings.

The killer's first known slaying occurred in the summer of 1985, when a 29-year-old woman was shot three times in the chest and her body left in an alley near West Gage Avenue, police said. Three years passed before ballistics tests alerted police that the same handgun used to kill the first woman had been used in seven other killings.

The case went cold until 2004, when DNA testing linked the earlier killings to genetic evidence found on the body of a 14-year-old girl found strangled and beaten in an Inglewood alley in March 2002 and a woman killed in 2003. Then, in January 2007, DNA tests linked the killer to another woman's slaying.

The killer's DNA profile did not match any of the millions taken from convicted felons and arrestees that are kept in law enforcement databases. Kilcoyne and half a dozen detectives painstakingly tried to track down prostitutes, drug dealers and pimps who were active in the area during both periods of killings, hoping someone would be able to lead them to the killer. Several tantalizing leads went nowhere.

The break came this summer when a new, controversial form of DNA matching that searched for potential relatives of the killer led detectives to Franklin's son. Undercover officers trailed Franklin for days until they surreptitiously collected a DNA sample that, police said, tied Franklin to the killings.

Authorities combed his house, as well as a garage, vehicles and a trailer in the backyard, finding most of the photos in the trailer. The people in the images appear to span a wide range of ages, from teenagers to women in their 40s or older. Many of the subjects are smiling. In some, however, the women appear dead, heavily drugged or asleep.

Steve Katz, co-executive producer of the TV show "America's Most Wanted," said Thursday that police have long been releasing photos of possible victims of crimes. The reach of the Internet, he said, has made the strategy more effective. "In days gone by, it would be a local story, maybe picked up by the national networks," Katz said. "It was difficult to get those pictures out in front of a wide audience."

Last week, police in Albuquerque, N.M., released photographs of seven unidentified women thought to be connected to a serial killer who is linked to the murders of 11 other women.

In 2008, Los Angeles County sheriff's homicide investigators released pictures of 47 women. The photos had been taken in the 1980s by William Bradford, a professional photographer, who was convicted in 1987 of the slayings of two models. In the two weeks after the release of the images, sheriff's officials fielded more than 2,000 calls from around the country and Europe. Most of the women or family members confirmed the subjects in the photos were alive, although investigators could not account for about a dozen of them and believe strongly they may have been murdered.

"We'll never know," said retired Sheriff's Capt. Ray Peavy.

In the Alcala case, detectives seized hundreds of images from a storage locker the convicted killer rented, but waited three decades to release them as prosecutors struggled through several trials for a conviction.

Detectives have already fielded a wave of phone calls in the Grim Sleeper case. After Franklin's arrest, family and friends of about 75 missing women called, wanting to know if he could have been responsible for their disappearances.

Detectives were able to dismiss Franklin as a suspect in most of those cases but are pursuing the possibility that he's tied to a handful of them, Kilcoyne said.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-grim-sleeper-20101217,0,3354006,print.story

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

14 alleged white supremacists arrested in O.C. sweep

Fourteen alleged white supremacists have been arrested and more than two dozen firearms seized by law enforcement agents in Orange County, authorities said Thursday.

The sweep, called Operation Stormfront, was touted by authorities as being the largest such raid ever made in Orange County involving federal, state and local law enforcement agents.

The agencies joined forces in a covert sting to buy guns, drugs, credit profiles and other fraudulent items from members of various alleged white supremacist criminal streets gangs, according to the Orange County district attorney's office. The gangs were not identified.

“It is our policy not to name the gangs,” said Farrah Emami, a spokeswoman for the Orange County district attorney's office. “By naming them, it gives them notoriety.”

The investigation yielded three related indictments against the 14 defendants, involving extortion, conspiracy, solicitation of aggravated assault and murder, the district attorney's office said.

Of the 27 firearms seized, one was identified as a gun used during an attempted murder being prosecuted in Orange County, authorities said.

The suspects -- 13 men and one woman -- face maximum sentences of life in state prison.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/12/white-supremacists.html

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

Death of man shot by Long Beach police is ruled a homicide

The death of a 35-year-old Long Beach man shot by police officers was ruled a homicide by coroner's officials on Thursday.

Douglas Zerby suffered multiple gunshot wounds when Long Beach police officers shot at him Sunday, believing the water nozzle he was holding was a gun, according to authorities. He was carrying the metal-tipped object, grabbed it with two hands and pointed it at them, authorities said.

The coroner's definition of a homicide means that it was a death at the hands of another. It does not necessarily mean that a crime was committed. An autopsy was conducted Wednesday, but a complete report will not be available for another two weeks, said Ed Winter, a coroner's spokesman.

Winter did not have a complete count of the gunshot wounds or where they were located in Zerby's body.

Zerby's family has retained an attorney and plans to reveal the results of their independent investigation into the shooting on Friday.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/12/death-of-man-killed-by-long-beach-police-ruled-a-homicide.html

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

Santa Ana man shot by police in front of wife and child

Santa Ana police shot and killed a man Thursday who was high on drugs but posed no threat to officers or his family, the victim's sister-in-law said.

She identified the dead man as Elmer Alexander Perez, 27, who lived with his parents, wife and son in an apartment in the 3000 block of South Bradford Place. Authorities have not confirmed the man's name.

The 5:45 a.m. shooting occurred in front of Perez's wife, who is seven months pregnant, and the couple's 2-year-old son, said Jessica Gomez, who identified herself as the wife of Perez's brother.

Gomez was not in the apartment at the time, but she said she talked with family members about the incident.

“The baby saw when they shot his daddy,” said Gomez, who had the boy with her after the shooting. “He tells us in Spanish that his daddy fell down. But he doesn't know his daddy is dead already, and he's never going to see his dad no more.”

“Officers knocked on the door and could hear the violence inside,"  said Cpl. Anthony Bertagna in an interview as he was heading toward the scene.  "Then they forced their way into the house.”

He added more details in a later interview on KABC-7 TV. The officers could "hear the altercation both verbally and physically," he said. "They heard the individual talk about killing himself."

As officers approached, Perez turned toward them holding a weapon.

"Obviously, they felt they needed to act on behalf of the female," Bertagna said.

In an e-mail Thursday afternoon, Bertagna said Perez had "a replica firearm, with a metal frame, similar in appearance to a Berretta semiauto. There were no safety markings on the gun to indicate it was anything but a real gun."

The family disputes these details.

Gomez said police were called because Perez was acting strangely but not violently. Still, they were afraid that in his uncontrolled state he posed a risk to his pregnant wife and child.

“He was just like imagining things, saying like, ‘I see a cat and you guys have cameras here,'” she said. “But he wasn't violent to us.”

She also claimed officers did not have to forcefully enter the apartment and that they were told Perez was brandishing only a toy gun.

Gomez described Perez as unemployed and struggling with drug problems but also friendly and interested in computers.

“Calling the cops was the worst mistake ever because they shot our loved one,” she said.

Another family member interviewed on KABC gave a similar account.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/12/santa-ana-man-shot-unnecessarily-in-front-of-wife-and-child-familiy-member-claims.html

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

From the New York Times

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

Customs Agent Charged in Drug and Gun Smuggling Case

ATLANTA — A United States Customs agent was charged Thursday with trying to smuggle large quantities of drug money and guns through Atlanta's busy airport in a case that led undercover federal investigators to millions of dollars' worth of the drug Ecstasy.

Fourteen people were charged in a suspected scheme to transport drugs, cash and weapons between Jamaica and suburban Atlanta. Federal investigators said a federal Customs and Border Security employee, Devon Samuels, 45, acted as the group's insider, using his badge to bypass security and avoid screening at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta.

A three-month investigation also led to the discovery of $2.8 million worth of Ecstasy, one of the largest seizures of the drug ever, the United States attorney Sally Quillian Yates said.

“The law enforcement community here in Atlanta and around the country are committed to weeding out those whose acts tarnish the image of the many officers and agents who work tirelessly to keep our communities and country safe,” said David P. D'Amato, a special agent with the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

Mr. Samuels was charged with accepting more than $90,000 from undercover agents to launder drug money, smuggle cash by plane to Jamaica and try to bring weapons onto an aircraft. His wife, Keisha Jones, a Delta Air Lines employee in Atlanta, was also charged with money laundering and smuggling.

Their defense lawyers could not be reached for comment.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/17/us/17agent.html?_r=1&ref=us&pagewanted=print

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

Muslim ‘Radicalization' Is Focus of Planned Inquiry

WASHINGTON — The Republican who will head the House committee that oversees domestic security is planning to open a Congressional inquiry into what he calls “the radicalization” of the Muslim community when his party takes over the House next year.

Representative Peter T. King of New York, who will become the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said he was responding to what he has described as frequent concerns raised by law enforcement officials that Muslim leaders have been uncooperative in terror investigations.

He cited the case of Najibullah Zazi, an Afghan man and a legal resident of the United States, who was arrested last year for plotting to bomb the New York subway system. Mr. King said that Ahmad Wais Afzali, an imam in Queens who had been a police informant, had warned Mr. Zazi before his arrest that he was the target of a terror investigation.

“When I meet with law enforcement, they are constantly telling me how little cooperation they get from Muslim leaders,” Mr. King said.

The move by Mr. King, who said he was planning to open a hearing on the matter beginning early next year, is the latest example of the new direction that the House will take under the incoming Republican majority.

Indeed, Mr. King, a nine-term incumbent from Long Island, said that he had sought to raise the issue when Democrats had control of Congress, but was “denounced for it.” He added: “It is controversial. But to me, it is something that has to be discussed.”

Mr. King's proposal comes amid signs that deep anxieties about Muslims persist in the United States nine years after the 9/11 terror attacks and an outcry this year over a proposed Islamic center near ground zero in New York City.

Told of Mr. King's plan, Muslim leaders expressed strong opposition, describing the move as a prejudiced act that was akin to racial profiling and that would unfairly cast suspicion on an entire group.

Abed A. Ayoub, the legal director for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, said Mr. King's effort ignored that Muslim leaders around the country had been working closely with law enforcement officials since the 2001 terror attacks.

“We are disturbed that this representative who is in a leadership position does not have the understanding and knowledge of what the realities are on the ground,” Mr. Ayoub said, adding that Mr. King's proposal “has bigoted intentions.”

Salam al-Marayati, the executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, also expressed deep concern and noted that his group would be holding a convention this weekend at which members would discuss the impact that the Republican takeover of Congress could have on Muslims.

“He basically wants to treat the Muslim-American community as a suspect community,” Mr. Marayati said of Mr. King. He added that Mr. King was potentially undermining the relationship that Muslim leaders had sought to build with law enforcement officials around the country. Tensions have occasionally erupted in recent years over counterterrorism measures that civil rights groups and others said had gone too far.

In 2007, for example, the Los Angeles Police Department was forced to abandon a plan to create a map detailing the city's Muslim communities after civil rights advocates and Muslim leaders denounced the effort as a form of racial profiling.

Mr. King has used his position on the House Homeland Security Committee to elevate similar issues. In 2006, when his party controlled the House and he was chairman of the committee, Mr. King was the first Republican in Congress to break ranks publicly with President Bush over the president's plan to give a company in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, control of six American ports. Mr. King joined Democrats in calling the port deal a potential threat to national security, and the deal eventually collapsed.

Mr. King also opposed the plan to build an Islamic center near ground zero, urging the developers of the project to meet with 9/11 families to identify a more appropriate location for the center.

“This is such a raw wound, and they are just pouring salt into it,” he said, referring to the developers of the proposed Islamic center.

Mr. King, who has conveyed his intentions to Republican leaders in the House, said he would seek comment from mainstream Muslim leaders so that the hearings he was planning to hold were not one-sided, with only people critical of Muslims.

But Mr. King suggested that Muslim leaders had minimized the extent of the problem he said he had identified. “They try to tell me that it is not as bad as it seems,” he said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/17/nyregion/17king.html?ref=us&pagewanted=print

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

Police to Begin Searching Some Bags in Metro System

Random bag inspections are starting on the Washington subway system, the Washington Metro Transit Police said Thursday. Metrorail police officers plan to select bags randomly before passengers enter subway stations and then will swab them or have them checked by dogs trained to sniff out explosives.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/17/us/17brfs-Metrorail.html?ref=us

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

New Mexico: Billy the Kid May Get a Pardon

Gov. Bill Richardson said Thursday that he had received a formal petition to pardon Billy the Kid, and that he would make a decision before he left office at the end of the year.

Some believe that Lew Wallace, then the territorial governor, promised Billy the Kid a pardon in return for his testimony in a murder trial.

Randi McGinn, a trial lawyer in Albuquerque, submitted a petition on Tuesday.

Billy the Kid, the legendary outlaw whose real name was William Bonney, had written Wallace, volunteering to testify at the murder trial of three men if Wallace annulled pending charges against him, including an indictment for murder in the 1878 shooting death of Sheriff William Brady.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/17/us/17brfs-Billykid.html?ref=us&pagewanted=print

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

OPINION

Can Congress Force You to Be Healthy?

HENRY E. HUDSON, the federal judge in Virginia who ruled this week that the individual mandate provision of the new health care law is unconstitutional, has become the object of widespread derision. Judge Hudson explained that whatever else Congress might be able to do, it cannot force people to engage in a commercial activity, in this case buying an insurance policy.

Critics contend that Judge Hudson has unduly restricted Congress's authority to regulate interstate commerce, the principal basis on which the government defends the law. Some also claim that he ignored the “necessary and proper” clause of the Constitution, which allows Congress leeway to choose how to put in place national economic programs. Yet a closer reading shows that Judge Hudson's analysis could prove irresistible to the Supreme Court and that there is a reasonable chance it will agree that the insurance mandate is invalid.

For the last century the Supreme Court has struggled to define the limits of Congress's interstate-commerce power. In the early decades of the 20th century, the court experimented with a variety of distinctions: Congress could regulate trade but not the manufacturing process (in a child-labor case); Congress could regulate anything that directly affected interstate commerce but not where the effect was indirect (in a labor dispute involving coal miners); Congress could regulate goods in the stream of commerce but not before they entered or after they left that stream (in a ruling on chicken farming).

These distinctions, however, proved unworkable in a time of industrial growth and expanding national markets. And in the 1930s, confronted with the surge of governmental power during the New Deal, the court abandoned them all.

Beginning in the mid-1990s, however, the court took up the project anew. In invalidating a federal gun possession law and the provision of the Violence Against Women Act that allowed victims to sue their attackers, Chief Justice William Rehnquist and his colleagues held that while Congress could regulate local economic behavior because of its national economic effects, Congress could not on the same theory regulate non-economic behavior like possessing a gun or committing an act of violence.

When the health care law makes it to the Supreme Court, the justices will ask, with varying degrees of concern, this age-old question: How do we define the limits, because limits there must be, on this federal power?

Judge Hudson has presented a way for the court to finally answer this question. His opinion is the first prominent judgment to say that Congress can use its power over interstate commerce only to regulate “activity,” as opposed to a lack of action. This strikes many as a bold assertion, but it has a lot going for it. All of the Supreme Court cases upholding Congress's power under the Constitution's interstate commerce clause have involved Congress regulating some kind of activity that is already occurring.

Indeed, the court has never confronted a federal statute that forces people to engage in some action like this. The conservative justices in particular will no doubt wonder what else Congress can make Americans do if it can make us buy health insurance. Can Congress tell us to join a gym because fit people have fewer chronic diseases? Can Congress direct us to purchase a new Chrysler to help Detroit get back on its feet?

In addition, parsing the distinction between activity and inactivity provides a way for the justices to strike down the individual mandate without having to overturn any precedent. As shown by its ruling this year that corporations have a First Amendment right to pay for political ads, the Roberts court is masterly at generating new rules while saying it is faithfully following established law. Indeed, there is a hint that at least one member of the court already sees things in the same way as Judge Hudson. When the court held in 2005 that the interstate commerce clause permitted Congress to outlaw the cultivation and possession of marijuana for personal medical use, Justice Antonin Scalia wrote a concurring opinion that is a mini-treatise explaining why the relevant precedents commanded this result. In describing what Congress could regulate, Justice Scalia used the words “activity” and “activities” 42 times.

Judge Hudson's critics say that a distinction between action and inaction is unworkable. After all, individuals who do not purchase health insurance engage in activity when they go to an emergency room for care. Yet a Supreme Court that for more than a century has struggled to define the limits of federal commerce power might, like Judge Hudson, refuse to find actions beyond the insurance market itself pertinent to an analysis of the law.

Judge Hudson's distinction also has allure because United States law in other ways already treats actions differently from inaction. Criminal law punishes things people do, not things they do not do. Tort law makes us liable for our actions that cause injury; outside of special relationships like that between a parent and a child, there is no duty to act. To drive a car, you must first purchase insurance, but you can choose to forgo auto insurance and use public transport instead.

While nobody knows for sure what the Supreme Court will do in any particular case, there is now a serious question as to whether the individual mandate will ultimately survive. Judge Hudson has offered the justices a ready-made limit on Congressional power, a limit that makes sense of past cases, is steeped in the law's traditions and allows the court to complete the task it began a century ago.

Jason Mazzone is a professor at Brooklyn Law School.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/17/opinion/17mazzone.html?ref=opinion&pagewanted=print

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

From Google News

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

N.Korea vows to strike back if South holds island drill

by Nam You-Sun (AFP)

December 17, 2010

SEOUL — North Korea's military threatened Friday to strike back if South Korea goes ahead with an imminent live-fire drill on a border island which the communist state shelled last month.

The North "will deal the second and third unpredictable self-defensive blow" to protect its territorial waters if the South holds the one-day drill scheduled between Saturday and Tuesday, it said.

"It will be deadlier than what was made on November 23 in terms of the powerfulness and sphere of the strike," according to the military statement carried by the English-language service of the North's official news agency.

The bombardment of Yeonpyeong island last month killed two marines and two civilians, injured 18 people and damaged dozens of homes.

The South, outraged at the first shelling of civilian areas since the 1950-53 war, has fortified Yeonpyeong with more troops and artillery and vowed to use air power against any future attack.

Its military has said its artillery will be aimed away from the North as usual during the upcoming drill, but it will respond strongly if provoked.

Members of the US-led United Nations Command are scheduled to observe the drill and about 20 US soldiers will play a supporting role.

But a top US general Thursday voiced concern over a possible "chain reaction".

General James Cartwright, vice chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the drill was being held on a "well-established and well-used" range in a transparent way, but could draw a North Korean reaction.

"What we worry about obviously is... if North Korea were to react to that in a negative way and fire back at those firing positions on the islands, that would start potentially a chain reaction," Cartwright told reporters.

"What you don't want to have happen out of that is for... us to lose control of the escalation."

Seoul military spokesmen had no immediate comment on whether the drill would go ahead despite the latest warning.

The South's defence ministry, in a statement, suggested it would be held.

"Our military's stance is that we do not need to react to every single threat and unreasonable statement," it said.

The ministry said it had given a warning to shipping about the drill and made its plans for the exercise public.

Yeonpyeong is just south of the Yellow Sea border drawn by United Nations forces after the war, which the North refuses to recognise. It claims the seas around the island as its own maritime territory.

A firing drill into the Yellow Sea by South Korean marines based on the island on November 23 was answered by the North's deadly bombardment.

"The waters off Yeonpyoong island, the target of their shelling, are the inviolable territorial waters of the DPRK (North Korea)," the North's statement said.

In an earlier message, Pyongyang's official website Uriminzokkiri warned that another war with South Korea would involve nuclear weapons.

"Because of the South Koreans' reckless war policies, it is not about war or peace on the Korean peninsula but when the war will break out," the website said.

"If war breaks out, it will lead to nuclear warfare and not be limited to the Korean peninsula," it said in a posting dated Thursday.

The North frequently claims nuclear war is imminent. But conventional forces are on high alert after last month's shelling.

Pyongyang's disclosure last month of an apparently working uranium enrichment plant -- a potential new source of bomb-making material -- also heightened regional security fears.

Prominent US politician Bill Richardson, a veteran troubleshooter with North Korea, is paying a private visit to Pyongyang to try to ease tensions.

And the US envoy to stalled six-party talks on the North's nuclear disarmament, Sung Kim, held talks in Seoul Friday with his South Korean counterpart Wi Sung-Lac. They made no comments to reporters.

In Beijing a US delegation led by Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg wrapped up three days of "useful" discussions on the Korean peninsula situation, the US embassy said.

The United States, China, the two Koreas, Japan and Russia are members of the denuclearisation forum which the North abandoned in April 2009, a month before its second atomic weapons test.

Host China along with Russia is trying to revive the forum to ease the crisis, and the North says it is willing to talk. But the United States, South Korea and Japan say it must first mend ties with the South and show genuine seriousness about abandoning its nuclear drive.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gFsThd9oPD6DcdukyK-8LKqTWPkQ?docId=CNG.4fb1629dc68392c48ffbd287f0cd9a66.931

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

Dennis Clark HUNT FOR CLUES: A K-9 unit yesterday searches the Long Island beachfront area where four bodies have been found and where missing hooker Shannan Gilbert was last seen in May by Gustav Coletti.

Missing NJ hooker not found dead on Long Island beach by Kieran Crowley, Selim Algar and Josh Margolin New York Post December 17, 2010 A missing New Jersey hooker is not among the dead women found on a sleepy stretch of Long Island beach -- dealing cops a major setback in their increasingly frustrating serial-killer probe. The surprise announcement from police detectives came after buzzing helicopters and cadaver dogs spent another day searching for more bodies and clues leading to the identification of the four women whose skeletal remains have turned a normally quiet oceanfront area upside down. "None of the human remains found in Gilgo Beach during the past week are that of Shannan Gilbert, 24, who was reported missing in May," Suffolk County cops said in a statement last night. A law-enforcement source told The Post that Gilbert was eliminated as a match through X-rays of the four bodies. "We knew she was unlikely pretty early because of the state of the body, but we just couldn't be sure," said another source. Gilbert's mother found little solace in the news. "I'm confused. Where is she?" Mari Gilbert said at her home in upstate Ellenville. "I still miss her and I want her home, and she's still not here." Police still haven't concluded whether any of the bodies is Megan Waterman, a 22-year-old hooker from Maine who disappeared last June after arranging to meet a john in Suffolk County.

Waterman's mother supplied investigators with a fresh DNA sample on Wednesday but said she hasn't heard anything since.

Sources believe Waterman, too, will be eliminated because the remains appear to date back further than the summer.

"You can imagine, this is a difficult case," Suffolk Police Commissioner Richard Dormer said. Still, he insisted, "I don't want anyone to think we have Jack the Ripper running around Suffolk County with a knife dripping with blood."

The New York City Medical Examiner's Office is aiding Suffolk authorities in the forensic investigation.

One body was received at their Manhattan lab Wednesday and the rest arrived yesterday, a source said. From the bones, an anthropologist will attempt to determine age, sex and race, as well as bodily trauma such as a gunshot or knife wound.

Before yesterday's announcement, investigators were focusing their attention on Gilbert -- a Jersey City woman with histories of prostitution, mental illness and drug use -- and the strange series of events that occurred before she disappeared May 1.

Cops quickly trained their sights on Joseph Brewer, 46, a local businessman who was the last john to see Gilbert alive after arranging to have sex with her through Craigslist. They searched his home and confiscated his Jeep Cherokee on Wednesday.

Brewer was relieved after The Post told him Gilbert was ruled out as a victim.

"I said this from the beginning, that I was innocent, that I didn't do anything, and now it's come out," said Brewer, who called the episode a "nightmare."

"I'm praying for those four girls and for the family of Shannan Gilbert as well," he said. "This has been a rough time for me, but I'm not the victim here. Those four girls are the real victims. I just hope there is some sort of ending that will give these families some peace."

Brewer's neighbor, Gustav Coletti, whose home Gilbert ran to after fleeing from Brewer's house on May 1, said he always doubted Brewer was involved with the serial killings.

"What guy would murder four people and dump them right outside the door here? That would be a pretty stupid thing to do," Coletti said. "I guess we'll see what happens."

Investigators widened their search area by 10 miles yesterday and have been in touch with their counterparts as far away as Atlantic City, NJ, where four hooker homicides from 2006 remain unsolved.

Yesterday's beach search did turn up some possible evidence, a police spokesman said, though he declined to elaborate on what was recovered. K-9 teams and detectives will resume the search today

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/li_bodies_case_hits_dead_end_dO9Dwr5g7afnDjQ9NL5qMJ

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

From the Department of Homeland Security

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

Readout of Secretary Napolitano's Remarks at The Atlantic's Cybersecurity Forum

December 16, 2010

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
Contact: 202-282-8010

Washington, D.C. — Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano today delivered remarks about the Department's ongoing efforts to strengthen the nation's cybersecurity at The Atlantic and Government Executive 's Cyber Security Forum.

“Cybersecurity is about effective partnerships and shared security,” said Secretary Napolitano. “The Obama administration is committed to working closely with our partners across government and in the private sector to achieve a cyberspace that is safe and resilient, and that remains a source of opportunity and growth”

During her remarks, Secretary Napolitano underscored the Department's efforts to protect federal civilian networks, improve the nation's intrusion detection capabilities, and create more robust and resilient cyber systems that are better equipped to prevent and withstand attacks.

She also highlighted DHS' continued engagement with the private sector and the American public through initiatives such as the “Stop. Think. Connect” public cybersecurity awareness campaign -- launched in October to encourage the American public to establish smart cyber habits.

Additionally, Secretary Napolitano highlighted the partnership between DHS and the Department of Defense to work together to combat cyber threats. In October, Secretary Napolitano and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates signed an agreement aligning and enhancing America's capabilities to protect against threats to our critical civilian and military computer systems and networks.

http://www.dhs.gov/ynews/releases/pr_1292520627125.shtm

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

From ICE

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

ICE arrests 13 on document fraud, conspiracy, identity theft charges

3 previously deported criminal aliens among those arrested

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Thirteen individuals charged in four different criminal complaints with conspiracy, document fraud, aggravated identity theft, and reentering the United States after being deported, were arrested this morning by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents with the assistance of the San Juan Municipal Police and Puerto Rico Police Department.

Juan J. Pereira-Pereira, 50, Santos Leon-Tarkington, 29, Josephine M. Diaz, 27, and Hector M. Rodriguez-Rosado, 35, were arrested for their alleged participation in a scheme to sell fraudulent Puerto Rico driver's licenses for up to $800 at the Department of Motor Vehicles in Carolina, Puerto Rico. The four defendants are U.S. citizens.

Luis Lorenzo-Santana, 39, Joel Paulino-Tineo, 32, Francisco Baez-Tejada, 31, Angel Gutierrez, 47, and Mercedes Caraballo, 25, all nationals of the Dominican Republic, were arrested for visa fraud. According to the ICE HSI investigation, the defendants allegedly participated in a fraudulent scheme involving the use of altered Forms I-94, Arrival-Departure Record, and U.S. non-immigrant visas to obtain lawful permanent resident status in the United States.

Samuel Vasquez-Vilorio, 43, and Nelson Santiago-Cruz, 27, of the Dominican Republic, were arrested for reentering the United States after being deported. Reentry after deportation constitutes a criminal offense with a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison. Jose Antonio Paredes-Cabrera, 42, was charged with the same offense but remains at large.

Ramon Antonio Gonzalez-Gonzalez, 26, and Carmen Cedano, 31, of the Dominican Republic, were arrested for passport fraud and identity theft respectively. According to the criminal complaint, Gonzalez-Gonzalez used the passport of his deceased brother Luis Gonzalez-Gonzalez to enter the United States and obtain immigration benefits and Cedano unlawfully obtained a Puerto Rico driver's license using a stolen birth certificate of a U.S. citizen.

"ICE HSI aggressively investigates document fraud and those who commit identity theft to circumvent our nation's immigration laws," said Roberto Escobar-Vargas, special agent in charge of ICE HSI in Puerto Rico. "Identity theft is a growing problem that directly threatens national security and undermines the integrity of our national immigration system. Today's charges reflect ICE's commitment to investigating document fraud and those who assume other people's identities to skirt the law."

Document and benefit fraud pose a severe threat to national security and public safety because they create a vulnerability that may enable terrorists, criminals, and illegal aliens to gain entry to and remain in the United States. One of the ways ICE HSI addresses the infrastructure of illegal immigration is by detecting and deterring fraud before it erodes the integrity of the immigration process.

Established in April 2006, the Document and Benefit Fraud Task Forces (DBFTFs) focus their efforts on detecting, deterring and disrupting document and benefit fraud. Investigators from a variety of agencies with expertise in different aspects of fraud collaborate with U.S. Attorneys' Offices around the country to formulate a comprehensive approach in targeting the criminal organizations and the beneficiaries behind these fraudulent schemes.

This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugenio Lomba.

http://www.ice.gov/news/releases/1012/101216sanjuan.htm

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

California man charged with attempting to export military items to Iran

WILMINGTON, Del. - David C. Weiss, U.S. attorney for the District of Delaware, John P. Kelleghan, special agent in charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Philadelphia, and Edward T. Bradley, special agent in charge, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Northeast Field Office, announced that Marc Knapp, 35, of Simi Valley, Calif., has been charged in a two-count felony Information with attempting to export controlled technology to Iran and other countries.

The information charges that Knapp engaged in a seven-month course of criminal conduct involving illegal exports to Hungary and attempted exports to the Islamic Republic of Iran and Russia.

The Information charges Knapp with one count of violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, Title 50, United States Code, Sections 1702 and 1705(c), and Executive Order 13222, and Title 31, Code of Federal Regulations, Sections 560.204-560.205, and one count of violating the Arms Export Control Act, Title 22, United States Code, Sections 2778(b)(2) and 2778(c), and Title 22, Code of Federal Regulations, Sections 121.1, 123.1, and 127.1.

Knapp faces a maximum statutory sentence of 40 years incarceration, followed by three years supervised release, a $2 million fine, forfeiture, and a $200 mandatory special assessment. 

"This case demonstrates the threat to our national security posed by those, like Knapp, who are willing to trade with Iran and attempt to provide that nation with American goods and technology, particularly military components," said U.S. Attorney Weiss. "I applaud our law enforcement partners for their exceptional dedication in pursuing this major investigation. I would like to thank the government of Hungary and particularly the National Customs and Tax Bureau for their invaluable assistance."

"Homeland Security Investigations will continue to pursue those who are willing to put America's national security at risk," said Special Agent in Charge Kelleghan. "The export of technology to Iran is prohibited so that our innovations cannot be used to harm Americans or our allies. Enforcing export laws is one of HSI's top priorities and we will continue to work with our partners to ensure that sensitive military technology does not end up in the wrong hands. As shown here today, those who choose to violate these laws will be held accountable."

"The Defense Criminal Investigative Service remains vigilant for offenders both within and outside our borders who intend to harm our nation's security," said Special Agent in Charge Bradley. "The unlawful sale of sensitive Defense technology increases hostile nations' ability to injure U.S. military forces. Our mission of protecting America's warfighters remains paramount and is substantially furthered by these cooperative, priority investigations."

As set forth in the Information, as well as affidavits accompanying a Criminal Complaint and various search warrants, Knapp's conduct involved the illegal export and attempted export of the following U.S. defense articles: 

• an F-5B Tiger II fighter jet;
• five (5) CSU-13 anti-gravity (Anti-G) flight suits, which are worn by pilots to counteract the forces of gravity and acceleration;
• one F-14 NATOPS emergency procedures manual, which is designed for use by pilots during in-flight emergencies in F-14A and B (Tomcat), F-5 (Tiger II) and F-4B (Phantom) fighter jets;
• three (3) electronic versions of the NATOPS emergency procedures manual;
• four (4) AN/PRC-149 survival radios, which are hand-held search and rescue radios used primarily by U.S. Navy pilots as an emergency locator beacon; and
• two (2) F-14 (GRU-7A) ejection seats.

According to court documents that have been unsealed, a cooperating defendant introduced Knapp to an undercover ICE HSI special agent (UC). The UC met with Knapp on several occasions, at locations in California, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Budapest, Hungary. During the meetings, Knapp informed the UC that he had various defense items for sale. He also admitted to procuring an F-14 (GRU-7A ejection seat), which was sold to the UC by another source. Over the course of their interaction, Knapp provided the UC with various lists containing items for sale, and he sent photographs and descriptions to the UC via email.

On two occasions, Knapp exported items outside the United States. On Feb. 22, 2010, Knapp exported two (2) CSU-13Anti-Gravity flight suits and a NATOPS emergency procedures manual to an address in Hungary; and on May 13, 2010, Knapp exported an additional three CSU-13 Anti-Gravity flight suits to an address in Hungary. On a third occasion, Knapp sold the UC an F-14 (GRU-7A) ejection seat, which the UC indicated would be forwarded to Iran. On March 17, 2010, Knapp delivered the seat to a shipping company located in California. Knapp identified the item to the shipping company as a "museum display chair," and he provided the shipping company with a consignee's address in Denmark. After Knapp left the shipping company HSI agents seized the ejection seat prior to its export outside the United States. 

Knapp first broached the idea of obtaining an F-5 fighter jet from a source in California to sell to the UC in January 2010. Knapp told the UC that the "Iranians" might be interested in various items, including the F-5 fighter jet, and stated that he was not concerned whether the jet or the other items ended up in Iran. According to Knapp, he was able to "compartmentalize" selling the UC products that would end up in Iran because the United States would "shoot down" anything provided to them. During a January 2010 meeting in California, Knapp took the UC to an airport to inspect the aircraft, and, over the course of the next several months, the UC and Knapp had several conversations regarding transporting the aircraft from California to a freight forwarder in Delaware; determining appropriate transshipment points to Iran; and devising a payment scheme. They also arranged to meet in Budapest, Hungary, to discuss the purchase.

On April 29-30, 2010, the UC and another undercover law enforcement officer posing as an Iranian intermediary, met with Knapp in Budapest. During the meetings, Knapp explained that he would have a contact fly the F-5 from California to the East Coast, where it would subsequently be crated and shipped to Hungary for transshipment to Iran. Knapp also displayed additional photographs of the F-5 on his laptop computer.

On July 9, 2010, Knapp sent a contract for the F-5 fighter jet to the UC via the United States mail. The body of the contract (titled "Contract for acquisition and transport of F-5B from CA to DE") set forth in detail the purchase price and terms for the sale of the aircraft. The contract further set forth the timing (approximately four weeks) in which the aircraft would be flown to Delaware after UCA1 transferred $3.25 million into a bank account specified by Knapp. In addition, the contract provided terms for insurance, registration, and operational costs of flying the aircraft from California to Delaware. Knapp further noted that his requested commission would be $500,000, "with 50% paid on the date of arrival and landing of the aircraft at the DE (New Castle) or other agreed on airport, and 50% paid at the time of arrival at destination." 

On July 20, 2010, Knapp met with the UC at a location in Wilmington, Del. Knapp brought to the meeting various defense items, including the four AN/PRC-149 handheld search and rescue radios, which the UC agreed to purchase for $11,000. The UC informed Knapp that the radios would be shipped to Russia. 

Knapp and the UC then discussed the logistics of flying the F-5 fighter jet from California to Delaware, and preparing the jet for transshipment to Iran. UC told Knapp that the Iranians expected Knapp to make a personal guarantee that the aircraft would arrive in Iran and that it would be operational. Knapp explained that the Iranians would know that it was in working order based upon his transport of the plane from California to Delaware. He further stated that what the Iranians had already seen in photographs was what they would get. According to Knapp, the only thing he would not be able to test was the weapons systems. The UC asked whether he could tell the Iranians that Marc Knapp personally guaranteed the aircraft, to which Knapp replied that he could. The parties then signed the contract. Following the meeting, HSI and DCIS agents placed defendant under arrest. 

The Information is merely an accusation, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty. This case is being prosecuted by David L. Hall and Robert F. Kravetz, assistant U.S. attorneys.

http://www.ice.gov/news/releases/1012/101216wilmington.htm

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

From the FBI

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

The FBI Versus the Klan

Part 5: Trouble in Texas

12/16/10

A husband and wife chatted as they passed an energy plant in north Texas.

“I hate to be that way, but if it has to be…” the wife said matter-of-factly after she and her husband realized that blowing up the natural gas processing facility would kill many people, including young children at a nearby school.

The year was 1997. The couple belonged a regional extremist group called the True Knights of the Ku Klux Klan and was casing the plant for a Klan operation. Along with two other True Knights, their plan was to build a homemade bomb—like the one used in Oklahoma City two years earlier—and explode it near large storage tanks at the facility. They hoped that the resulting explosion would release a cloud of hydrogen sulfide—so-called “sour gas”—that would kill hundreds of people. The children were just collateral damage.

As grisly as that sounds, it was just the beginning of their plan. The bombing was simply a cover to distract law enforcement while the Klan robbed an armored car of some $2 million on the other side of town. In fact, to add to the chaos and help clear the way for the robbery and getaway, the plot called for detonating a second bomb when law enforcement and first responders arrived at the scene of the explosion.

And the point of the robbery? To raise money to go to war with the U.S. government in the run-up to the millennium, when paranoia among homegrown extremists was rising.

It was no idle talk. “They were building and testing improved explosive devices,” says Special Agent John Fraga, who led the Operation Sour Gas investigation while supervising our North Texas Joint Terrorism Task Force and is now the acting head of the Terrorist Explosive Device Analytical Center in the FBI Laboratory. “They knew how to rupture the tanks.”

What the Klan members didn't know was that the FBI office in Dallas was well aware of the entire scheme—thanks to a well-placed source within the True Knights. Its multi-agency terror task force was watching the group's every step and had even bugged the cab of the couple's truck as they callously dismissed the possible outcome of the attack while driving past the facility.

With plenty of evidence in hand, we arrested all four conspirators in April 1997 before they could carry out their sinister plot. Each pled guilty by early October and was ultimately sentenced to jail.

“This case was one of the Bureau's first weapons of mass destruction preventions,” says Fraga. And it was yet another successful victory in the FBI's fight against the KKK, which started in the years prior to World War I and continues to this day.

Over that time, the Klan has continued to morph and change. Today, it's a shadow of its brazen, lawless self in the 1950s and 1960s—thanks in large part to the dogged work of the FBI and its partners during that era—but as the Texas case demonstrates, the threat remains.

As always, the FBI remains committed to protecting the civil rights of all Americans—whether from crimes of hatred or acts of terror—carried out by the KKK and like-minded extremists. Look to this website in the future for more news and information on this continuing effort…

Resources:
- The FBI Versus the Klan: Part I | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2010/december/klan_121610/klan_121610

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

Seeking Information in Alternate Billing Corporation Matter

Our inquiry is ongoing, and while we can't provide any additional information at this time, we do need to hear from persons who believe they were improperly billed.

What we need to know:

1. Your basic contact information, including name, phone numbers, address, and e-mail address;
2. A list of which company/companies or service(s) billed you;
3. An estimate of your monetary loss; and
4. Whether or not you can provide documentation if requested in the future, such as copies of your telephone bills.

How to provide the above information:

1. Preferred Method— Via an online form on the FBI.gov website: http://forms.fbi.gov/alternate-billing-corp
2. Via a dedicated e-mail address: telephone.victim@ic.fbi.gov; or
3. If you do not have access to a computer, you may mail your information to:

FBI Indianapolis
Alternate Billing Corporation Matter
575 N. Pennsylvania Street, Room 679
Indianapolis, IN 46204

If you have investigative information that might help with this matter, please use our electronic public leads and tips form at: https://tips.fbi.gov/

• You may also file complaints with the Minnesota Attorney General's Office, 651-296-3353 or 800-657-3787 ; or

• You mail your information to:

Attorney General's Office
1400 Bremer Tower
445 Minnesota Street
St. Paul, MN 55101

If we determine that you are a victim, we will be in touch with you. Please note: Due to the number of expected responses, it may be some time before you hear back from us.

You may also call our toll-free hotline at 1-855-235-6633 for recorded information regarding this issue. At this time, we are unable to accept messages on this line because of the expected call volume.

Updates, as available, will be provided via FBI.gov and the outgoing message on the toll-free line. We thank you for your patience as we conduct a thorough investigation and work to obtain victims' information.

http://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/billing_121610

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

From the DEA

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

Federal Officer Indicted with 13 Others for Smuggling Guns and Money in the Airport

“Operation Rude Beast” Leads To One of the Largest Ecstasy Pill Seizures in United States History and Charges in Multiple Criminal Schemes

DEC 16 -- ATLANTA, GA – DEA and other law enforcement officials today announced that a federal customs officer based at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport has been arrested and charged along with 13 others for alleged drug trafficking in a large-scale investigation code-named “Operation Rude Beast.” At least four locations in the metro Atlanta area were the targets of search warrants executed today, as part of the investigation.

“The Drug Enforcement Administration is dedicated to working with federal, state and local law enforcement, not only to rid the streets of drugs, but to also to ensure the integrity of those who dedicate their lives to protecting the citizens of the United States,” DEA Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Rodney G. Benson said.  “Today's arrests show the continuing efforts by law enforcement to combat corruption and dismantle a major drug organization.”       

“This investigation involved a corrupt federal law enforcement officer at the airport who allegedly acted as a paid revolving door for drug money and criminal activity,” Ms. Yates said. “The amount of ecstasy in this case is staggering. It appears to be one of the largest such seizures in the country.  The criminal activity was allegedly so spread out that our law enforcement partners formed a task force just for this case. It ranges from large scale drug distribution to an illegal marriage fraud scheme.”

“Today's indictment reflects the outstanding law enforcement cooperation in this case that unmasked the illicit acts of a CBP officer,” said David P. D'Amato, Special Agent in Charge of the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility for the Southeast. “The law enforcement community here in Atlanta and around the country are committed to weeding out those whose acts tarnish the image of the many officers and agents who work tirelessly to keep our communities and country safe.”

In Jamaica, Assistant Police Commissioner Justin Felice of the Jamaican Constabulary Force, Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) said, “This case demonstrates the strong partnership between law enforcement agencies in the United States and Jamaica to combat corruption and bring those who would tarnish their public oaths to uphold the law to justice. The citizens of all countries need to know international cooperation between U.S. law enforcement agencies and the ACB is essential to reduce levels of transnational crime and maintain public confidence with law enforcement. Integrity is non-negotiable.”

“This investigation demonstrates the effectiveness and commitment of law enforcement agencies to prevent drugs from continuing to infiltrate our communities. The multi-jurisdictional cooperation exhibited in this investigation is evidence that pooled resources can make significant inroads in identifying and prosecuting individuals violating the law,”said DeKalb County Police Chief William O'Brien.

CBP Director of Field Operations Robert Gomez said, “Vigilance, Service to Country and Integrity are the core values central to carrying out our mission. One corrupt officer is too many. I applaud the great cooperation of all agencies who worked this case.”

IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Reginael D. McDaniel said, “The indictments handed down on Operation Rude Beast are another testament to what can be accomplished when all levels of law enforcement work together.  Allegations involving the laundering of drug proceeds constitute a serious threat to our community,  to the integrity of our financial system, as well to our national security.”

A federal grand jury has returned three indictments related to “Operation Rude Beast,” which were all unsealed on Thursday, December 16, 2010.

In the first indictment, the following individuals were charged with offenses including conspiring to launder drug money, with bulk cash smuggling, and with attempting to bring a weapon on to an aircraft:

• DEVON SAMUELS, a/k/a “Smokey;” 45, a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer, of Stockbridge, Georgia;
• MARK TOMLINSON, a/k/a “Supa,” 36, of Stone Mountain, Georgia; and
• KEISHA JONES, a/k/a “Platinum,” 30, a Delta employee, of Stockbridge, Georgia.

        In the second indictment, the following individuals were charged with offenses including conspiracy to traffic MDMA (ecstasy) and marijuana, and firearms violations:

•         JEROME BUSHAY, a/k/a “Romey;” 32, of  Norcross, Georgia;
•         FNU LNU, a/k/a “Otis,” age and place of residence unknown;
•         CHRISTOPHER DIXON, a/k/a “Yardman,” 37, of  Lithonia, Georgia;
•         MARK TOMLINSON, a/k/a “Supa,”36, of Stone Mountain, Georgia;
•         ROSHAUN HOOD, a/k/a “Shaun,” 29, of Atlanta, Georgia;
•         CURTIS HERNANDEZ, a/k/a “Kurt Hernandez,” 38, of  Decatur, Georgia;
•         NIGEL EDWARDS, a/k/a “Nigel the Barber,” 33, of Stone Mountain, Georgia;
•         JERMAINE CAMPBELL, a/k/a “Fatman,” 30, of  DeKalb County, Georgia;
•         RICARDO DUNCAN, a/k/a “Ricky,” 27, of Lithonia, Georgia;
•         DAVE GRANT, a/k/a David Clarke, a/k/a “Scratchy,” age unknown, of Lithonia, Georgia;
•         CHRISTOPHER WILLIAMS, a/k/a “Eric Washington,” “Bobby,” “Beagle,” and “Apachee,” 33, of Snellville, Georgia;
•         DAMIEN AARONS, a/k/a “Damage,” 35, of Covington, Georgia; and
•         FNU LNU, a/k/a “Fowley,” age and place of residence unknown.

        In the third indictment, the following individuals were charged with offenses including conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and making false statements on immigration documents:

• DEVON SAMUELS, a/k/a “Smokey,” 45, of Stockbridge, Georgia
• CARLTON FERGUSON, a/k/a “Fergie,” 35, of Decatur, Georgia; and
• DAHLIA MCLAREN, a/k/a “Dahlia McLaren Ferguson,” 29, of Decatur, Georgia.

According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges and other information presented in court: In November 2010, SAMUELS, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer, was allegedly involved in three undercover sting operations to smuggle alleged drug money and guns through Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. 

On November 3, 2010, an undercover officer, posing as a drug money launderer, gave SAMUELS approximately $22,000 in money represented to be from the sale of drugs. With the alleged assistance of his associate, TOMLINSON, and by unlawfully utilizing his badge to bypass security and avoid screening, SAMUELS smuggled the money through Atlanta's airport to Jamaica. Once in Jamaica, SAMUELS delivered the money to a Jamaican  undercover police officer, who was posing as an international drug trafficker. 

On November 19, 2010, SAMUELS allegedly accepted $50,000 in alleged drug money from another undercover officer.  SAMUELS and KEISHA JONES (his wife,  a Delta Airlines employee) then traveled from Atlanta to Jamaica, where SAMUELS and JONES delivered the money to Jamaican undercover police officers. The indictment alleges that  while in Atlanta's airport, SAMUELS unlawfully used his badge to bypass security and avoid being screened.

On November 30, 2010, SAMUELS allegedly accepted five firearms and approximately $20,000 in alleged drug money from an undercover police officer.  SAMUELS went directly to the airport with the firearms and money and unlawfully used his badge to bypass security again, smuggling the money and guns into the airport.  Once inside the airport, SAMUELS allegedly gave the firearms and money to a second undercover officer who was allegedly going to transport the firearms and money  to Arizona for a meeting with members of a Mexican drug cartel.

The indictment also alleges that on several occasions,  SAMUELS unlawfully used his access to government computers to determine whether he or his associates where under federal investigation. SAMUELS allegedly ran a computer check on an individual involved in a separate drug investigation named JEROME BUSHAY.

In a related investigation beginning in approximately February 2010, federal law enforcement officers began investigating a specific MDMA (ecstasy) and marijuana drug trafficking organization operating in the metro Atlanta area and elsewhere.  This organization was led by JEROME BUSHAY and an individual known only as “OTIS.” BUSHAY and OTIS allegedly used several distributors, brokers, and couriers to facilitate their drug distribution, including: DAMIEN AARONS, MARK TOMLINSON, CURTIS HERNANDEZ, CHRISTOPHER DIXON,  RICARDO DUNCAN,  CHRISTOPHER WILLIAMS, and ROSHAUN HOOD. These individuals then distributed the drugs to various individuals throughout the United States.  On October 1, 2010, pursuant to a search warrant, law enforcement officers seized approximately 700,000 tablets of ecstasy in one of the largest domestic seizures of MDMA (ecstasy) in U.S. history. The tablets were seized at a house at 1855 8 th Street, in Chamblee, Georgia. Agents found the pills hidden in various places throughout the house, including in the insulation of the walls and in a crawl space near a bedroom. Those tablets have been held for evidence  by the DEA. The street value of the ecstasy is estimated at $2.8 million.

Law enforcement agencies investigating the alleged criminal activity by SAMUELS began to follow evidence of the officer allegedly using his position to further a marriage fraud scheme. Beginning in November 2009, and in exchange for a fee, SAMUELS allegedly used his knowledge of immigration practices to assist CARLTON FERGUSON and DAHLIA MCLAREN in deceiving U.S. immigration authorities into believing that FERGUSON's and MCLAREN's sham marriage was genuine. Further investigation revealed that  FERGUSON and MCLAREN married simply so that MCLAREN could obtain United States citizenship. The indictment alleges that SAMUELS was paid at least $500 for his assistance in that scheme.

The indictments also contain forfeiture provisions seeking to forfeit any and all ill-gotten gains from the criminal activity, including properties, vehicles, and weapons:

• 6746 Grey Rock Way, Lithonia, Georgia;
• 4425 Amy Drive, Snellville, Georgia;
• A 2001 Ford Explorer Sport Trac;
• A blue 2007 Audi Q7, 4.2 Quattro Prem S-line;
• A silver 2007 Mercedes Benz S550;
• A white 2007 Audi Q7; and
• One Springfield XD-40 .40 caliber handgun one Glock 26 handgun

This case was investigated by Special Agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Office of Professional Responsibility; U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General; U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations; Anti-Corruption Branch, Jamaican Constabulary Force; DeKalb County Police Department; Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs ( I.N.L.) U. S. State Department, and the United States Marshal Service, with assistance from Delta Airlines Corporate Security.

Assistant United States Attorneys Jeffrey W. Davis, Cassandra Schansman, L. Skye Davis, and Michael J. Brown are prosecuting the case.

For further information please contact Sally Q. Yates, United States Attorney, or Charysse L. Alexander, Executive Assistant United States Attorney, through Patrick Crosby, Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Attorney's Office, at (404) 581-6016 .  The Internet address for the HomePage for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia is: www.usdoj.gov/usao/gan

http://www.justice.gov/dea/pubs/states/newsrel/2010/atlanta121610.html

.