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From Los Angeles Times

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Un-Occupying L.A.

The LAPD and protesters showed admirable restraint in resolving the City Hall demonstration.

December 1, 2011

After weeks of uncertainty about when and how the endgame would play out, the Occupy L.A. eviction was the best possible outcome, a tribute to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Chief Charlie Beck and a disciplined, creative Los Angeles Police Department. Clearly, the Monday morning dress rehearsal had provided police and protesters ample preparation for the real thing, and both sides showed admirable restraint in the unavoidable confrontation that occurred in the early hours of Wednesday.

This was not merely a case of routine police work well done. What transpired on the City Hall turf, ragged after hundreds of campers had slept there, was a thoughtfully planned and calibrated police show of force against a complicated act of civil disobedience. The result: a peaceful conclusion to what could have ended in violence. No rubber bullets, pepper spray or tear gas were used. Batons were brandished but not used to strike people, according to police. (An Occupier in a treehouse was bean-bagged to bring him down.) No officers arrived on horseback.

There's no question the police presence was deliberately intimidating. There were 1,400 officers on the scene and they arrested 292 people — a fraction of the demonstrators present, according to Cmdr. Andrew Smith.

Over the last two decades, the LAPD has transformed itself into a more sophisticated force, with a unit skilled at handling labor demonstrations. Still, the 2007 May Day melee that left demonstrators and journalists injured was a memorable setback for the department, even after it was well along the road to reform and had changed chiefs three times.

Police officials never intended to evict the occupiers on Monday morning, only to announce the closure of the City Hall grounds — and they wisely hung back, using the time to assess who were simply agitators and who were truly protesters and their patterns of movement. Meanwhile, Occupy L.A. organizers had days to prepare participants for a cooperative confrontation and to remind anyone within hearing range of their tag-team public address system that their movement was not about violence.

In the end, it was something of a triumph of both policing and protesting. Indeed, the subsequent news conference featured the mayor and his chief congratulating one another on a job well done. What a striking contrast to the Los Angeles of 1992, as rioting erupted after the verdicts in the Rodney G. King beating trial. Mayor Tom Bradley wasn't even on speaking terms with Chief Daryl F. Gates, and the city burned. This week's episode was no riot; it was contained and occurred, after all, across the street from police headquarters. But communication between the mayor and the chief and well-planned, well-executed police work saved this city another heartache.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-ed-occupy-20111201,0,7931205,print.story

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Lone killer suspected in New York serial killings

Suffolk County police now believe that one person, rather than multiple killers, is responsible for leaving up to 10 bodies along barrier beaches in Long Island, N.Y.

In a series of interviews timed to the anniversary of the discovery of the first body on Dec. 11, 2010, Suffolk County Police Commissioner Richard Dormer said detectives no longer think that several killers were involved. Previously, officials had indicated that as many as three killers may have been responsible.

Dormer outlined officials' latest thinking in interviews with Newsday, ABC News and the Associated Press.

The bodies of young women, a male transvestite and a toddler were dumped along Long Island's South Shore from 1996 to 2010, officials have said. All of the bodies were wrapped in burlap.

Most of the victims are believed to be prostitutes who advertised on Craigslist. But one victim was a girl, between 18 and 24 months old, who has been linked to one of the adult victims by genetic testing.

The investigation began as a hunt for a New Jersey prostitute, Shannan Gilbert. She is still missing and presumed dead.

Gilbert's DNA does not match any of the recovered remains of the 10 bodies.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/

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McGruff the Crime Dog fights fake fashions, drugs, entertainment

Crime-fighting canine McGruff is looking to take a bite out of counterfeiting.

The talking cartoon dog, sporting his trademark trench coat, is part of a new anti-counterfeiting campaign from the National Crime Prevention Council and the Bureau of Justice Assistance that aims to put a face to the victims of counterfeit movies, fashions, medicine and other goods.

The campaign seeks to dispel any ideas that counterfeiting is a victimless crime. "It costs the U.S. economy tens of billions of dollars each year, deprives people of their livelihoods, encourages criminal activities by gangs and organized crime groups, and sometimes results in serious illness or injury," the campaign webpage explains .

One ad depicts a styishly dressed young woman -- toting fake designer purse, watch, bracelet, scarf and sunglasses -- and asks: "What do your fake fashions say about you?"

"I'm a phony," the ad concludes.

Another ad shows a sad-looking woman holding film equipment. "That pirated movie you just bought ... cost someone her job. Pirated goods put jobs at risk."

The ads appear to alternatively attempt to pluck at the heartstrings, inspire fear or rouse worries of public embarrassment. Its slogan: "Counterfeits hurt. You have the power to stop them."

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/money_co/2011/11/mcgruff-crime-dog-fights-counterfeit.html

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From Google News

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FBI used email sent by Ohio Craigslist victim to trace him after family lost touch

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The FBI used an email sent by a man later found buried in a shallow Ohio grave in a deadly Craigslist robbery scheme to trace his whereabouts, according to a Virginia pastor who knew him well.

David Pauley was excited about the job he'd accepted in southeastern Ohio, even though the details seemed a little fishy, said Kenny Bryant, senior pastor at the Tabernacle Church in Norfolk, Va.

The job, helping run a cattle farm, included a generous salary, a place to live and a vehicle, said Bryant, who found it odd his friend was offered the position after one phone call.

“It just didn't sound right to me, but I was happy for him, and he was glad,” Bryant said Wednesday. “He was really pumped about it, and he was desperate for a job.”

Authorities say Pauley, 51, was killed Oct. 23 in Noble County, where his body was found on property owned by a coal company and often leased to hunters. The cattle ranch advertised on Craigslist doesn't exist.

Authorities have linked two bodies and the shooting of a man who survived to the Craigslist scheme, which targeted single, out-of-work men in their late 40s or early 50s.

A 16-year-old boy, Brogan Rafferty, of Stow, in northeast Ohio, faces juvenile charges of aggravated murder, complicity to aggravated murder, attempted murder and complicity to attempted murder in the death of one man and the shooting of another.

The complaint against the teen says he participated in the crimes with Richard Beasley, a 52-year-old Akron resident said to have acted as his mentor.

Beasley was awaiting trial on prostitution and drug charges when authorities took him into custody this month, and police have said a halfway house he ran in Akron was a front for prostitution. He has not been charged in the Craigslist case.

Rafferty made his first public court appearance in the case Tuesday, appearing dazed as a judge postponed a hearing on whether he should be tried as an adult. He didn't speak during the hearing or afterward as police hustled him away. His mother, Yvette Rafferty, said she was “praying for the families and the victims.”

Attorney Rhonda Kotnik, representing Beasley on the drug and prostitution charges, said Tuesday she wasn't representing him in the Craigslist case, but she pointed out he hadn't been charged in that.

Pauley had grown up in Norfolk, where his son, brother and ex-wife still live, Bryant said. He'd left for Ohio several years ago, then returned in the spring looking for work.

When he couldn't get a job, he lived with his brother and helped Bryant build a youth facility on the church grounds. Eventually, he decided to return to Ohio.

“He didn't want to go back to Ohio. He thought he could find something here,” Bryant said. “When he couldn't find anything here he was ready to go back home.”

In mid-October, Pauley packed up his truck with all his belongings, including the model trains he collected, and drove to Ohio. He sent his brother an email after he arrived, then the family heard nothing more. The family contacted police, who contacted the FBI.

The FBI used the email to find an apartment or house in Ohio where agents found some of Pauley's belongings and began to suspect foul play, Bryant said. He didn't know further details, and the FBI did not immediately return messages Wednesday.

On Nov. 6, a South Carolina man, Scott Davis, told police in Noble County he'd survived a shooting after answering a Craigslist ad for work on a ranch.

On Nov. 11, Pauley's twin sister contacted the county sheriff's office to say she feared her brother had answered the same ad. That tip led authorities back to where Davis had been shot, and four days later they found Pauley's body.

The family has been instructed not to talk about the case, Bryant said.

“They grieve. They're very saddened by what has happened to their brother, but they know that there's hope,” he said. “They know that they'll be reunited with him again one day, and they're trusting God fully to bring about his justice.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/pastor-fbi-used-email-sent-by-ohio-craigslist-victim-to-trace-him-after-family-lost-touch

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Louisiana

NOPD will begin community policing in an effort to reduce crime

The NOPD hopes a new approach to an old idea will help fight crime. It's called community policing.

Morris Kahn is a French Quarter resident who is afraid to take his family out at night because of the violent crime plaguing the city. “When we get in and out of the car, when we're on our way place, we keep an eye on everything around us,” Kahn said.

The New Orleans Business Council and Crime Coalition say they want to erase the fear that residents have and reduce the violent crime, by re-introducing a community policing initiative with the NOPD. “The heart of community policing is that the officers who are working in an area, the people who live there, the people who work there and the people who visit there, come together and collaborate, identify strategies and implement them to make their particular community a safer place,” Michael Cowan, Chairman of the Crime Coalition said.

The Coalition has identified five hot spots in the city, areas with the most violent crime, where officers will focus their attention. They are the French Quarter, St. Roch, the Bywater, Lower Ninth Ward and Central City.

Back in the 90's the concept of community policing was used to reduce crime under former Chief Richard Pennington. But the money for the program ran out. Now, the Business Council is donating $50,000 to the Crime Coalition to get the program up and running again. Dr. George Capowich will be using the money to train 30 officers in a series of workshops. “The community sergeants, the community policing officers and the quality of life officers will all go through those five workshops, they'll be using real data from the police department and from other sources in the city,” Capowich explained.

Police will use the data to identify crime trends. Officers will also learn how to make residents feel more comfortable coming forward if they have information about a crime.

Morris Kahn says the idea sounds like a good one. “We've got to be preventative. We've got to get people to stop doing it,” Kahn said. He's just hoping the program will actually work.

The officers will begin their training on December 12th.

http://www.fox8live.com/news/local/story/NOPD-will-begin-community-policing-in-an-effort/QgGX7c-BREur7qrK4pgAzg.cspx

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From ICE

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Highly sophisticated cross-border drug tunnel discovered near San Diego
Investigators seize nearly $65 million worth of marijuana, arrest 6 suspects

SAN DIEGO – Agencies with the San Diego Tunnel Task Force Wednesday announced the arrest of six suspects and the seizure of more than 32 tons of marijuana following the discovery of the most elaborate smuggling tunnel uncovered along the U.S.-Mexico border in recent years.

Investigators say the passageway, found Tuesday as a result of a six-month investigation by the multi-agency Task Force, connects a warehouse in San Diego's Otay Mesa industrial park with one in neighboring Tijuana, Mexico. The 612-yard long passageway is equipped with electric rail cars, lighting, reinforced walls and wooden floors.

On the Mexican side, the tunnel's entrance is accessed through a hydraulically-controlled steel door and an elevator concealed beneath the warehouse floor. At the bottom of the tunnel shaft is a large storage room where agents recovered approximately three tons of marijuana. Another ton of marijuana was piled in bundles near the tunnel's entrance. Meanwhile, investigators searched the Otay Mesa building that housed the tunnel's U.S. entry point, where they found another 20 tons of marijuana wrapped in plastic and stacked neatly on pallets.

The enforcement actions leading to the tunnel's discovery began unfolding Monday evening when investigators observed a tractor trailer truck leaving the Otay Mesa warehouse. After parking overnight in the Miramar area, a man picked up the rig early Tuesday and headed toward Los Angeles. Canines at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection-Border Patrol checkpoint in San Clemente alerted on the tractor trailer for the presence of drugs. Agents, aware of the ongoing investigation, waived the truck through the checkpoint and the driver proceeded to the City of Industry, Calif. There, he pulled into the parking lot of a warehouse located at 14837 Proctor Ave. and, together with three other individuals, began unloading the trailer's contents.

At that point, agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) moved in, taking custody of four suspects and seizing close to 11 tons of marijuana packed inside the truck's trailer. All told, Tuesday's enforcement actions resulted in the interdiction of more than 32 tons of marijuana with an estimated street value of nearly $65 million.

Two other suspects linked to the scheme were arrested overnight in Baldwin Park, Calif. The six defendants, all Hispanic males, are expected to make their initial appearances in federal court in Los Angeles and San Diego Wednesday afternoon.

Based on the continuing investigation, federal officials believe this latest tunnel had only recently become operational.

"From the conditions inside the passageway and our ongoing investigation, we're confident we've been able to shut this operation down before the perpetrators were able to use it for smuggling narcotics," said Derek Benner, special agent in charge for ICE HSI in San Diego. "It's clear though, from the level of sophistication involved, that the criminal organization responsible for constructing this tunnel had very ambitious plans."

The investigation into this latest cross-border passageway is being conducted by the San Diego Tunnel Task Force. The Task Force is made up of representatives from ICE HSI, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the California Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement. Formed in 2003, the Task Force uses a variety of techniques to detect cross-border tunnels, from state-of-the-art electronic surveillance to old fashioned detective work. That includes following up on tips, many of which come from the public.

"This is yet again an example of what can be achieved when law enforcement agencies join forces to address a common threat," said San Diego Chief Patrol Agent Paul A. Beeson. "It clearly demonstrates that the hard work of the men and women on this interagency taskforce can and will make a significant impact on the security of our nation."

"The Tunnel Task Force, working together with the Government of Mexico, is putting a stranglehold on the cartels' ability to smuggle drugs into the United States," said William R. Sherman, acting special agent in charge of the DEA in San Diego. "Seizing close to 50 tons of marijuana in one month denies the cartels the financial means to continue their operations."

Tuesday's tunnel is the second major cross-border smuggling passageway detected in the San Diego area in the last two weeks. The Tunnel Task Force uncovered another tunnel Nov. 15 that came up inside a warehouse near the Otay Mesa border crossing. That enforcement action resulted in the seizure of more than 14 tons of marijuana. The passageway uncovered Tuesday is the seventh large-scale drug smuggling tunnel discovered in the San Diego area since 2006. In the last four years, federal authorities have detected more than 75 cross-border smuggling tunnels, most of them in California and Arizona.

http://www.ice.gov/news/releases/1111/111130sandiego.htm

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