Former Cop Admint to Child Pornography

Department of Justice Press Release
For Immediate Release
February 11, 2009 Ralph J. Marra, Acting U.S. Attorney
District of New Jersey -  Contact: Greg Reinert, (856) 757-5233

Former N.Y.P.D. Dispatcher Admits to Traveling to New Jersey
for Purpose of Having Sex with a Minor and Distributing Child Pornography

CAMDEN –A former New York Police Department dispatcher pleaded guilty today to a two-count Information that charges him with traveling to the Deptford Mall in Gloucester County for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with an individual whom he believed was a 14-year-old female and distribution of child pornography, Acting U.S. Attorney Ralph J. Marra, Jr., announced. Ira Shimshi, 56, of New York, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joseph E. Irenas, who scheduled sentencing for May 22. Shimshi, who has been held in federal custody since his arrest on Aug. 15, 2008, will remain detained pending sentencing. At his plea hearing, Shimshi admitted that from September 2007 until Aug. 15, 2008, he communicated via email and telephone with an individual he knew as "Angie" and believed was a 14-year-old girl. Shimshi stated that he later learned that the individual was actually an undercover law enforcement officer. Shimshi admitted that during the communications he discussed his wish to engage in illicit sexual conduct with "Angie." During the course of their communications, Shimshi arranged to meet "Angie" at the Deptford Mall on Aug. 15, 2008, he admitted. In anticipation of the meeting, Shimshi admitted that he reserved a hotel room in the area of the Deptford Mall.

On the day of the scheduled meeting, Shimshi drove a rental vehicle from New York to the Deptford Mall and then proceeded to an area inside the mall where he and "Angie" had arranged to meet. Shimshi admitted that he brought condoms, personal lubricant and a digital camcorder from New York. Furthermore, on Feb. 6, 2008, Shimshi sent two separate videos containing child pornography via email from his computer to "Angie" in New Jersey, he admitted. The charge contained in Count One, distribution of child pornography, carries a statutory mandatory minimum prison sentence of 5 years and a maximum sentence of 20 years, and a fine of $250,000. Count Two, which charges traveling in interstate commerce for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a person whom he believed was a minor, carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

In determining an actual sentence, Judge Irenas will consult the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide appropriate sentencing ranges that take into account the severity and characteristics of the offense, the defendant's criminal history, if any, and other factors. While the judge is not bound by those guidelines in determining a sentence, he is bound by the statutory mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years for the charge of distributing child pornography in Count One. Parole has been abolished in the federal system. Defendants who are given custodial terms must serve nearly all that time. Marra credited Special Agents of the FBI's South Jersey Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Janice K. Fedarcyk, with the investigation leading to the guilty plea. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacqueline M. Carle of the Criminal Division in Camden. Defense Attorney: Christopher J. O'Malley, Esq. Assistant Federal Public Defender

COP WILL SURRENDER IN BEATING

COP WILL SURRENDER IN BEATING
The New York Post by LARRY CELONA and DOUGLAS MONTERO - February 11, 2009

A disgraced NYPD cop is expected to turn himself in today on charges he beat a handcuffed suspect with his baton in the lobby of an Upper West Side building - then tried to cover it up, The Post has learned. Surveillance cameras allegedly caught Officer David London, 43, repeatedly whacking Walter Harvin, 28, as he lay on the ground in the vestibule of the De Hostos Apartments on West 93rd Street on July 18. Harvin had been stopped for acting suspiciously and was asked for proof he belonged in the building. The veteran cop has already turned in his badge and gun. He faces charges of assault and filing a false report, the source said. "I just remember the beating and that's about it," said Harvin, an Iraq war veteran who proudly showed off his dog tags yesterday in his mother's apartment in the building where the assault took place.

Sheriff's Staffers Sentenced in Corruption Case

Judge scolds, sentences two Ramsey County sheriff's staffers in corruption case

TwinCities.Com by David Hanners - February 7, 2009
dhanners@pioneerpress.com

Cops don't flinch, even when being sent to prison.

After getting a stern lecture from a federal judge for his "staggering" abuse of trust, former St. Paul police officer Timothy Rehak refused to give up even a hint of emotion Friday as he was sentenced to 35 months in prison on his conviction in a police corruption case. Moments later, his co-conspirator in the case, former Ramsey County sheriff's spokesman Mark Naylon, showed similar stoicism as the judge lectured him and then sentenced him to 30 months for taking $6,000 in an FBI sting operation.

"This isn't about the money. It's never been about the money," U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz said. "What this is about is an egregious, shameful betrayal of the trust placed in you. You weren't some junkie who stole copper pipes out of a federal building. You were a police officer." Society endows "staggering" powers on police officers, the judge said, "and when they abuse those powers, the harm is staggering." "That makes the job of all the good cops that much harder, and that makes all of us less safe," the judge said. Schiltz gave both men a chance to speak before he sentenced them; both men declined. As they were sentenced, family and friends — who filled the St. Paul courtroom and overflowed into an adjoining courtroom — remained quiet, except for the occasional sound of a sniffle amid tears.

Attorneys for both men had asked for probation, while prosecutors had sought the harshest sentences federal guidelines allow for the crimes; in Rehak's case, that was 41 months, in Naylon's case, 33 months. Rehak and Naylon, both 48 years old and close friends and confidants of Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher, were convicted last summer of taking money they'd been told had been left in a St. Paul hotel room by a drug dealer. They were part of the sheriff's special investigations unit (even though Naylon isn't a licensed peace officer) and were following up on a lead from one of the informants Rehak had developed in more than two decades as a St. Paul street cop. In reality, the informant was working for the FBI, and agents had placed the money in the room as part of an "integrity test" to see whether the men were honest. There was $13,500 in the room, and the two men took $6,000 of it, leaving the rest to be recovered by their supervisor. Later that night, Rehak and Naylon called the supervisor and reported they'd gone back to the room and found an extra $6,000 under the mattress.

At trial, Rehak testified they were playing a practical joke on the supervisor, who they said had a reputation for leaving work early. The joke: They'd let the man get home and in bed, then call him and force him to trudge down to the office to inventory the newfound money. Instead, according to testimony, he told them to log in the money in the morning. Prosecutors painted a different picture of the men's behavior. They said they'd grabbed the money with the intent to steal it, but when they couldn't find the drug dealer's name in any law enforcement databases (the FBI had forgotten to create a record for the fictitious dealer), they began to suspect they were being set up. Only then did they turn the money in, prosecutors argued. Jurors didn't buy the practical-joke story and convicted them of theft of government funds and conspiracy to violate civil rights. Schiltz made clear he didn't buy the practical joke defense, either, saying that no policeman "in his right mind" would mishandle evidence the way Rehak and Naylon did.

Rehak's attorney, Paul Engh, made an impassioned plea that his client had been convicted of violating a law that doesn't exist. In a lengthy legal argument, Engh argued there had been no theft because the FBI's bait money was returned, and that, because the money didn't belong to anyone, nobody's civil rights had been violated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Dixon retorted that Engh was missing the point. "This is not a theft case," he told the judge. "This was a law enforcement officer, a police officer, who was using his position to do what he was sworn to protect against." Dixon's colleague, Assistant U.S. Attorney John Marti, had harsh words for Naylon when it came time for his sentencing. He noted that Naylon often engaged in police work but lacked a license.

"Mr. Naylon exercised police powers, but at every step, he worked to avoid accountability," Marti said. "Mr. Naylon wanted to operate outside the law. He wanted the power. He did not want the accountability." Both men resigned from the sheriff's office on the day they were convicted. A spokesman for Fletcher did not return a call for comment Friday. Schiltz also fined both men $7,500, and each must spend two years on supervised probation after they're released from prison. The judge allowed both men to remain free, and they are to turn themselves in to the U.S. Marshals Service on March 9. Schiltz said he would recommend that both men serve their time at the federal prison in Duluth. David Hanners can be reached at 612-338-6516.

Deputy Cleared in death of 91-year-old

Collier deputy exonerated in death of 91-year-old blind Alzheimer’s patient
Naples News by LIZ FREEMAN, RYAN MILLS - February 7, 2009

NAPLES, FL — The Collier County Sheriff’s Office exonerated a former deputy of any wrongdoing in the death of a 91-year-old man with Alzheimer’s disease who fell and hit his head after being pushed by the deputy outside an assisted living facility more than a year ago. Former Cpl. Karl Meier’s actions were “reasonable under the circumstances,” the Sheriff’s Office reported. However, Ted Zelman, an attorney representing the 91-year-old’s family, said that Meier acted negligently, and is demanding $200,000 in damages from the Sheriff’s Office. “Our claim is that this particular deputy acted intemperately,” Zelman said. “He had no reason to push a 91-year-old blind man, and that his doing so was in law negligent behavior.” Meier was dispatched to the Encore Senior Village, 1155 Encore Way in North Naples, just before 8 a.m. on Dec. 13, 2007, after resident Henry Dean broke through a metal gate outside his cottage, the Sheriff’s Office reported.

Dean, who had Alzheimer’s disease and was legally blind, broke off an aluminum bar in the gate outside his cottage, swung it around, and then slid through the gate, reports said. “At that point he said he wanted a gun and he wanted to shoot himself and others,” said Barbara Linebaur, Encore’s assistant program director. Linebaur instructed staff members to stay a safe distance from Dean because she “didn’t want anybody to get hurt,” according to a recently completed investigation. When Meier arrived, he asked employees what they wanted to do with Dean, who he knew from a previous encounter two weeks earlier when Dean escaped from the center and struck Linebaur and another employee, the Sheriff’s Office reported.

Dean, who was wearing blue pajamas and brown shoes, approached Meier with his hands raised above his waist, and touched Meier in the chest. “I think he wanted to feel the officer’s badge,” Encore employee Robert Mercer said. Linebaur said Dean pushed Meier. Meier told investigators he extended his elbows and pushed Dean back “maybe two inches at the most.” “Once I made contact with him, Henry either didn’t have the capability with the age, but his legs didn’t seem to come back, you know, his forward momentum was still coming toward me,” Meier told investigators. “When I made contact with his chest, like I said, I drove it back approximately two inches, if that. “He went straight down to the ground.” Employees heard Dean’s head crack on the concrete. He was transported to NCH North Naples Hospital, where he died of a blunt force head injury that night. Several employees told investigators that they believed Meier “used a little too much force.”

Sheriff’s Chief Jim Williams said most of the evidence supported Meier’s actions as lawful, proper and reasonable. Deputies don’t have to allow themselves to be injured, which can make a situation more dangerous, Williams said. “Mr. Dean came toward the deputy. The deputy put up his hands to keep him from closing in on him,” Williams said. Zelman said Dean had no ability to hurt anyone, and that all Meier had to do was retreat. “To me, it’s pretty apparent that what he should have done is try to defuse the situation and not make it worse,” Zelman said.

Though deputies can retreat if the situation calls for it, Williams said Meier was there to help control the situation. “He was called there because Mr. Dean was not able to be controlled by the staff of the facility,” Williams said. In August 2008, Meier resigned from the Sheriff’s Office, not in good standing, after he was accused of insubordination during another case. Records indicate he was going to be fired. Meier started with the Sheriff’s Office in 1995, and had a long history of reprimands. In 1997 he was reprimanded for stepping on the neck of a DRILL (juvenile academy) candidate, and in 2003 he was reprimanded for lying about driving his patrol car while intoxicated.

He now works in loss prevention at a local Wal-Mart. Attempts to reach him for comment were unsuccessful. “The question is, should he have been out there responding to calls like this?” Zelman asked. The State Attorney’s Office declined to file charges against Meier. In September, Zelman submitted a six-month notice to the Sheriff’s Office claiming $200,000 in damages on behalf of Dean’s widow and estate. Zelman declined to discuss his dealings with Encore. “All differences between my clients and Encore have been settled, and the terms of the settlement are confidential,” he said. Chuck Pollard, president of the Alzheimer’s Support Network in Collier County, said he had spoken directly to then-Sheriff Don Hunter about what happened at Encore. “He was 100 percent behind Meier,” Pollard said.

Hunter considered Meier one of the most capable deputies to interact with someone with dementia because the deputy had just put his own mother on an airplane to go live in an assisted-living facility somewhere, Pollard said. “I should have said he was an exhausted caregiver and shouldn’t have been (on duty),” Pollard said. Meier knew Dean was frail and had dementia, Pollard said. “This thing has bugged me for a long time and it shouldn’t have happened,” he said. The Sheriff’s Office used to be good about how deputies handled calls to nursing homes and assisted living facilities with dementia patients but that’s all fallen by the wayside, along with the dismantling of its senior services program, Pollard said.

Officials with the state Agency for Health Care Administration conducted its investigation of Encore shortly after Dean’s death and cited the assisted-living center for five deficiencies for noncompliance with standards and regulations. The citations involved failure to keep detailed accounts of major adverse incidents and failure to report them to the state agency, for not updating risk assessments of residents and for not keeping the premises in safe and sound condition. Dean escaped a first time on Nov. 29 when he pulled out a hollow aluminum bar from an exterior gate and a maintenance supervisor reinstalled the bent bar. It was the same bent bar that Dean pulled out during his second escape that led to his death. The maintenance supervisor admitted to the state health inspectors that the aluminum bar was weakened from being bent the first time.

In addition, the state inspectors found a bottom plate was missing from a gate key pad, which enabled a 73-year-old resident to escape by pulling out a wire in June 2007. Including that incident, there were four escape attempts in 2007, according to the state reports. Encore in Naples was sold in October to Juniper Communities, based in Bloomfield, N.J., and renamed Juniper Village at Naples. Officials with Encore, headquartered in Portland, Ore., couldn’t be reached for comment. “I think this whole thing did Encore in,” Pollard said. “It is just speculative. If I was found with the problem, I would clean house and get out.”

Former Cop Pleads Guilty to Sodomizing 12-year-old boy

Former NYPD officer from Nanuet pleads guilty in Manhattan court to sodomizing boy, 12
The Jourmal News by Steve Lieberman - February 10, 2009

MANHATTAN - A former New York police sergeant from Nanuet today pleaded guilty to having sex with an underage boy. Jaime Katz's plea came several weeks after pleading guilty to sex charges involving the same boy in County Court in New City. He will face a maximum of five years in state prison for befriending an orphaned 12-year-old boy and sodomizing him. Katz, 39, an advocate for gay police officers, pleaded guilty in Manhattan Supreme Court to a felony count of second-degree sodomy and a misdemeanor count of endangering the welfare of a child, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office said. On Jan. 28, Katz pleaded guilty to first-degree attempted sodomy before County Court Judge Victor Alfieri. Katz admitted in court he tried to have oral sex with the then 12-year-old on Feb. 14, 2003, at his family's house on Norwood Place in Nanuet. As part of the joint pleas, Katz would serve a concurrent sentence capped at five years in state prison. He faces sentencing in Rockland on March 23. His sentencing in Manhattan is scheduled for March 31.

Call for Investigation into 'Free" Parking Tickets

4 council members ask for ticket probe
They want investigation into parking citations that carried no fine
The Albany Times Union by TIM O'BRIEN - February 10, 2009

ALBANY, NEW YORK — Common Council members called Monday for a full investigation into the no-fine parking tickets issued to VIPs, police union members and their families and friends. Corey Ellis was joined by council colleagues Barbara Smith, Dominick Calsolaro and Willard Timmons at a news conference outside City Hall. Ellis said he also has support from Council Majority Leader Carolyn McLaughlin and member Michael O'Brien. A Times Union investigation revealed in November that "bull's-eye" stickers issued by the Albany Police Officers Union resulted in tickets written that carried no fine. The recipients included officers, their wives, friends and even a bar owner. The newspaper also found that the license plates of both public officials and private citizens were entered into the city's parking enforcement computer system, resulting in some VIPs not avoiding fines for parking offenses. "We have committed to working together to make sure we have a full investigation of the no-fine parking tickets," said Ellis, a first-term council member who is considering running for mayor this fall. 

Last week, he sought to subpoena Christian Mesley, a police officer and union president, to testify. The motion was tabled until the council's Feb. 19 meeting. This week, the council will caucus at 5:30 p.m. Thursday to discuss how to proceed. Council President Pro Tempore Richard Conti didn't attend the news conference, but said afterward he and other council members also want a full investigation.

Conti said the council can only require current employees to testify, and Mesley might argue that any questions about what he does as a union official are off-limits. Conti proposed that the state comptroller investigate because that office would have greater subpoena power than the council. Ellis said he has support of six of the 15 members to conduct a council investigation. A majority of those present must approve any resolution, which would require eight votes if all 15 members attend the meeting. Ellis and his allies said they want testimony under oath and hope the council will decide Thursday which employees to question. Mayor Jerry Jennings said he supports Conti's request for an audit by the state comptroller. "I'd rather put it in the hands of professionals," he said. The mayor said he had been unaware of the VIP system but has stopped the policy. "The breakdown of the number of private officials on the list is very small," he said. "Nothing here is a widespread abuse."

The city is creating a placard system to identify cars on city business that can be parked without being ticketed, he said. "It was brought to our attention, and we'll correct it. It goes back years and years and years. We didn't lose all the revenue people are calculating. It wouldn't help my upcoming $10 million deficit," said Jennings. The mayor is expected to seek re-election to a fifth four-year term this year. "You may have some political agendas entering the picture here," he said. Ellis was skeptical of the mayor's ability to end a practice when he contends he doesn't know who authorized the entry of private license numbers into the city's ticketing system. "We cannot end a policy unless we know how it began," he said. Staff writer Tim O'Brien can be reached at 454-5092 or by e-mail at tobrien@timesunion.com.

Public Pays Big Bucks for Police Aggression

May Day payoff
The DailyBreeze.Com by Daniel Weintraub - February 8, 2009

If reforms have been enacted, why such an expensive settlement for 2007 rally? After the city of Los Angeles paid $5 million to protesters and bystanders roughed up by police during the 2000 Democratic National Convention, you would think the Los Angeles Police Department had learned from the mistake.

Unfortunately, not quite. In 2007, police officers again responded with undue aggression to disperse a public demonstration - this one the May 1 pro-immigration rally in MacArthur Park. And while it appears that Police Chief William Bratton has finally set the LAPD on the right track, the City Council hasn't gotten the memo. Last week, the City Council unanimously approved a $12.85 million settlement with 297 people injured or affected by the May Day melee. Yes, Bratton had immediately apologized, admitted errors and accepted fault in how his department handled the clash, so the city probably would have fared poorly in court. But does that mean the council members and mayor have to open the city wallet and say take what you want?

It's understandable that the mayor and city leaders want to put this embarrassing event behind them - especially with re-election a few weeks away. However, we wonder if, in their haste to settle, they stuck the city's taxpayers with an inflated bill. (Remember the $18 million the city has already paid for various Fire Department discrimination settlements and judgments, including the infamous Tennie Pierce case? The $90 million for the Rampart police corruption cases?) Granted, the May Day melee was an appalling incident. On that day, thousands of people gathered in MacArthur Park after the pro-immigration rallies and marches. Some rocks and bottles were thrown at officers, and the LAPD issued an order to disperse. But some people didn't hear the order or were slow to move and LAPD officers began forcefully removing men, women and children from the park, using batons and rubber bullets on people trying to leave the park. Some 246 people reported injuries ranging from broken bones and bruises to emotional distress, according to the LAPD. Some 297 people joined the class-action lawsuit against the city. With the $12.85 million payout, that equals about $43,000 per litigant. Attorneys for the victims said payments will be based on injury and will likely begin at $3,000.

While these payouts are probably meant to be punitive and ensure the LAPD has learned its lesson, Chief Bratton has already punished or demoted the officers involved and begun training officers on how to handle crowd control in a safe, humane way. Attorneys for the victims have acknowledged and praised Bratton for the reforms enacted after May Day. So why such a huge payout - the nation's largest single settlement stemming from a demonstration? As we saw after the Democratic National Convention - a big settlement doesn't ensure lasting reform. Strong Police Department oversight and a culture of respect among officers do. That's Bratton's job, and he's faced it head on. The City Council's responsibility is to stop handing out multimillion-dollar settlements with taxpayer money just to make unpleasantness go away.

Police Chief Guilty of Accessory After Fact in Officer's Attempted Extortion

Selectmen to continue Cachopa hearing next Friday
Selectmen place Cachopa on upaid leave
The Enterprise by Allan Stein - February 6, 2009

STOUGHTON, MA — Selectmen on Friday granted Police Chief Manual J. Cachopa a one-week stay of his dismissal hearing and placed him on unpaid administrative leave until then. The five-person board went into closed session Friday at Town Hall and emerged 20 minutes later with its decision. “In terms of protecting the town’s rights we have continued the hearing,” selectmen Chairman John Kowalczyk said. Kowalczyk said the board decided to continue the disciplinary hearing no later than Friday after Cachopa’s attorney, Robert George, was unable to represent him at the first hearing. Cachopa also did not attend Friday’s hearing. Kowalczyk said that Cachopa will no longer be receiving his $139,000 salary, effective immediately.

In January, a Norfolk Superior Court jury found Cachopa, 57, guilty of being an accessory after the fact to attempted extortion by a subordinate officer. The jury found Cachopa not guilty of a lesser charge of public corruption. Cachopa is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 26 and faces up to seven years in state prison on the felony conviction. He also stands to lose his public pension. In July 2007, a jury convicted former Stoughton Police Sgt. David M. Cohen, 42, of four public corruption charges stemming from an incident on April 30, 2002, in which Cohen placed a former Stoughton businessman in handcuffs while attempting to collect a $10,000 debt owed to a friend. The charges against Cachopa stemmed from the same incident. A third police officer was acquitted.

'DWI' COP MOWS DOWN WOMAN, INJURES MAN: POLICE

The New York Daily News by CHRISTINA CARREGA, JOHN DOYLE and TOM LIDDY - February 8, 2009

A drunken Jersey City cop plowed his car into a young couple as they crossed a downtown street early yesterday, killing the woman and leaving her boyfriend in intensive care, sources said. Officer Martin Abreu, 25, from Jersey City, who was off-duty, allegedly mowed down law school grad Marilyn Huang Feng and her hedge-fund analyst boyfriend, Dennis Loffredo, both 26, as they walked across West Street, at Albany Street, in the Financial District. The pair, who had been dating for two years, had just left the tango lessons they take each week when they were struck by Abreu's Toyota Camry at about 3:40 a.m. Feng, who graduated New York University Law School in 2007 and lived nearby, died immediately, cops said. "She's a very sweet, soft-spoken, lovely very petite and darling girl," Loffredo's tearful mom, Diane, told The Post last night. Feng, who was studying for the bar, came to New York from Shanghai to study law and was about to start a new job tomorrow. "She was hoping to just make her life better in the US," Loffredo's mom added. Her son was rushed to St. Vincent's Hospital, where he was listed in critical, but stable condition. He is expected to undergo surgery today for a badly broken leg. Loffredo's childhood pal, Roger An, 28, said his friend was devastated to learn of Feng's death. "Dennis is being very strong," the pal said. "This is the worst thing that has every happened to him." An said that Feng and Loffredo loved to dance. "She was very active in the tango community," he told The Post. "They go there every weekend just to dance. She loved dancing with her boyfriend." Abreu was hit with a slew of charges last night at his arraignment including aggravated vehicular homicide and DWI.

Corrupt U.S. Agents Aid Human Smuggling at Border

Corrupt U.S. Agents Aid Human Smuggling at Border
New America Media, News Report, Annette Fuentes, Posted: Feb 06, 2009

Editor’s Note: High demand and a lack of oversight by the Department of Homeland Security have created the conditions necessary for an underground market on the border in which corrupt U.S. customs and border agents are complicit in the flow of migrants.

Aurora Torres' voice is off-key but audible as she sings "Happy Birthday" to Mike Gilliland, her paramour and partner in a human smuggling operation. Gilliland, a former Marine, was a border and customs officer at a crossing east of San Diego. Torres was a San Diego-based human trafficker. Neither party knew their telephone communications and movements were being recorded by FBI agents investigating allegations of corruption among agents who permitted smugglers like Torres to bring Mexican migrants into the United States in exchange for thousands in bribes. "Greed and sex are powerful motivations for corruption," said Lowell Bergman, an investigative journalist. The phone recording was part of a documentary on smuggling that Bergman produced, and he played a clip of it during a recent briefing about his reporting on corruption among U.S. border agents at UC Berkeley. While news media and policymakers have focused on undocumented immigrants from Mexico, the underreported story is the complicity of U.S. customs and border agents in the flow of migrants. "If you clamp down on the borders, as we have done with drugs and people, what does that do to the criminal element?" Bergman said. "Building a fence and wall at the border and putting more border agents down there creates a bigger pool of potential corruption targets."

The build-up of security agents on the border, especially since Sept. 11, 2001, hasn't slowed illegal migration, Bergman said. It's simply made it more sophisticated and organized. Those who would have tried crossing alone are more likely to pay a smuggler to shepherd them across. "If people try to get across the border, they eventually get across," he said. "Part of the fee to the smuggler is the guarantee that they'll get you across. If they fail the first time, they'll try again." Bergman noted that the U.S. government has no intelligent estimate of the number of people coming through border checkpoints illegally. "The only number they have is apprehensions and [those apprehended] aren't necessarily interviewed on how they got across," he said. But one estimate cited in his documentary states that one in five of those who enter the United States illegally do so through border ports. Proponents of the militarization of the border have used the threat of terrorist attacks in the wake of Sept. 11, 2001 to justify the build-up. But Bergman noted that there is no evidence that terrorists have ever entered through the Mexico-U.S. border. Of all those apprehended at border crossings, there is no record of non-Mexicans. In fact, the smugglers would be the last ones to assist potential terrorists to enter the United States, because it would be bad for business.

Corruption of U.S. border officials has flourished in part, Bergman argued, because there has been no effective internal oversight of border agents since the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. Multiple agencies, each with some responsibilities for immigration, customs and law enforcement, have meant no coordinated approach to investigations. "They completely lost any idea of what was going on," Bergman said. "Only now are they beginning to find out, and they are overwhelmed by the number of leads and cases to follow up on." The FBI, which prosecuted Gilliland and Torres, finally realized there was a systemic problem three years ago and acted to establish and staff an office of inspector general to handle corruption cases. The agency now has about 200 open cases of human smuggling involving corrupt border agents. But the agency is swimming against the tide. "People coming through checkpoints," Bergman said, "is still a growth industry."

Cop in Drug Scandal Takes Plea, And Talks

NYPD officer caught in drug scandal takes plea, dishes on corrupt cops
The New York Daily News by SCOTT SHIFREL, JOHN MARZULLI AND ALISON GENDAR - February 6, 2009

An NYPD officer snared in a drug scandal took a plea Thursday and started dishing dirt about other corrupt cops, sources said. Police officer Jerry Bowens, 42, accepted the deal yesterday in a closed Brooklyn courtroom, police and law enforcement sources said. The 13-year veteran was indicted in June as part of a corruption probe into the Brooklyn South narcotics squad. "It was a pretty dirty place, with a lot of cops doing lots of things, and he knows about it," a law enforcement source said.

Bowens, lawyer Edward Mandery and prosecutors were behind closed doors for about 20 minutes in Brooklyn Supreme Court. Details of the plea were not made public. Bowens and Sgt. Michael Arenella, 32, were charged last year with stealing crack off a drug suspect and giving cash and crack to an informant. The "suspect" was an undercover NYPD officer running a sting. "Sgt. Arenella did nothing wrong," insisted his lawyer, Andrew Quinn, yesterday. Bowens was accused of having sex with, and giving drugs to, an informant who told the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau.

Bowens and four other cops were arrested, another 15 officers were put on desk duty during the probe, and NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly reshuffled the command of Brooklyn South. The Brooklyn District Attorney's office reviewed 500 Brooklyn South drug cases after the scandal broke. Charges in one of Bowens' arrests were dismissed last year, with the city agreeing to pay $80,000 to two defendants arrested in 2007. "The city is under a moral obligation to compensate the innocent victims of rogue police officers," said Richard Cardinale, lawyer for the two men. "The NYPD's narcotics divisions are infested with rogues." agendar@nydailynews.com

Ex-NYPD cop indicted on charges he drugged, raped woman

Ex-NYPD cop indicted on charges he drugged, raped woman
The Journal News by Shawn Cohen - February 6, 2009

WHITE PLAINS - A retired New York City police detective accused of drugging and raping a woman at a Greenburgh motel was indicted on felony kidnapping, rape and assault charges, authorities announced today. Jose Arroyo of the Bronx, 47, pleaded not guilty during his arraignment today on a five-count indictment. He would face up to 25 years in state prison if convicted on the top counts, Westchester District Attorney Janet DiFiore said.

Arroyo is accused of chatting up the 31-year-old Texas woman at Doyle's Pub in the Bronx on Nov. 14 and slipping a drug in her drink that caused her to pass out. He then took the unconscious woman to the Alexander Motel on Tarrytown Road in Greenburgh, where he allegedly raped her, DiFiore stated. The woman, after waking up the next morning, called Greenburgh police, who made the arrest. While she is adamant that she was raped, Arroyo claims the sex was consensual. DiFiore, in a statement, said the victim was "incapable of consent by reason of being physically helpless due to the drug the defendant placed in her drink." Prosecutors say they have videotape showing Arroyo spiking the woman's drink, stirring it up and handing her the glass when she returned to the bar. Following his arraigment this morning in Westchester County Court, Arroyo is free on $100,000 bail. He is due back in court Feb. 17. Arroyo is a former Marine who used to train and recruit other security guards, authorities said. His lawyer described Arroyo as a 23-year officer and respected detective who has held a job for two years managing 30 apartment buildings for a city real estate firm.

Honest Cop Railroaded by Corrupt Politicians

Bonura 'forced' to retire
The Journal News by Shawn Cohen - February 5, 2009

PLEASANTVILLE, NEW YORK - Village Detective Sgt. Stephen Bonura has filed for retirement, potentially short-circuiting a disciplinary hearing in which the village's prosecutor is seeking to have him fired. Bonura's wife and his lawyer said the detective, a 27-year veteran of the department, decided to retire because the village suspended his pay in October and he had no doubt he would be fired as a result of the disciplinary hearing now under way. His retirement papers, filed Jan. 21, take effect Feb. 20. "We feel he's being forced to leave," Lisa Bonura said yesterday. "He's disgusted. This is not how he wanted to leave. "We had no other options, financially, to get some money coming into the household," she said, noting that they have five children to support. "It's been extremely difficult since he hasn't been paid for over three months."

Bonura, who served as head of detectives and as department spokesman, was suspended by the Pleasantville police chief in May after he told The Journal News about the arrest of career criminal Kahlil Gonzalez on a burglary charge. He said he was frustrated with how Gonzalez kept getting out of trouble by cutting deals with prosecutors. The comments prompted an Internal Affairs probe that resulted in 60 departmental charges related to his statements and alleged mistreatment of Gonzalez and his girlfriend. The village contends Bonura put Gonzalez's life in danger by exposing him as an informant. Bonura's offer to forfeit 101 days of pay was rejected. The disciplinary hearing, which began in December, is expected to resume Monday in Village Hall. The Pleasantville Board of Trustees, which serves as the board of police commissioners, has yet to cancel the proceedings. "You're not retired until you're retired," said Mayor Bernard Gordon, who serves on the board. "There's still a hearing going on, still a hearing scheduled."

Bonura's lawyer, Jonathan Lovett, announced the planned retirement yesterday during a hearing in federal court in White Plains, where Bonura has filed a $5 million lawsuit accusing the village of violating his free-speech rights. "He can't get another job while he's a cop," Lovett said. "They refuse to pay him anything. They're destroying him financially." The retirement makes him eligible for his police pension and frees him to find another job. Lovett called this a "forced" retirement by the village. "That's what they wanted, and that's what they got," Lovett said. "They got rid of Bonura. These fools, I hope Kahlil Gonzalez hits their house next. I really do. Let them wish they had a good detective on the job." The village's attorney, Terry O'Neil, is seeking to have Bonura held in contempt of court for refusing to testify at the disciplinary hearing. A judge is expected to rule tomorrow whether he must testify.

O'Neil, responding to Bonura's lawyer, said, "Lovett's statements really sound like the rantings of a desperate person who's about to lose three cases he's involved in: the disciplinary hearing, the contempt proceeding and the federal lawsuit." Pleasantville police Sgt. Erik Grutzner, president of his department's union, said he had been confident Bonura would be exonerated. "It's devastating," Grutzner said. "I think all of us were looking forward to the possibility of Steve coming back to work. He has been the heart and soul of our department since I got here in 1994. He has always trained the new guys how to do things the right way. Whenever he did leave, it was going to leave a void in our department. If this is the way it's allowed to end, it's a terrible day for the department, the union and the people who live in Pleasantville."

NYPD Police Sergeant Pleads Guilty

NEW YORK CITY POLICE SERGEANT PLEADS GUILTY TO ACCESSING AN DISSEMINATING INFORMATION FROM TERRORIST WATCH LIST

United States Attorney Southern District of New York

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: U.S. ATTORNEY’S OFFICE
JANUARY 14, 2009 YUSILL SCRIBNER - REBEKAH CARMICHAEL
JANICE OH -  PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE  (212) 637-2600

LEV L. DASSIN, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that New York City Police Department ("NYPD") sergeant HAYTHAM KHALIL pleaded guilty today in Manhattan federal court to a charge stemming from the unauthorized access and dissemination of information from the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI") National Crime Information Center ("NCIC"). According to the criminal Complaint, Information, and statements made during today's guilty plea proceeding: The FBI maintains sensitive law enforcement data in the NCIC. The NCIC also contains information derived from the FBI's "Terrorist Screening Center" regarding individuals listed on a terrorist watch list. The information is then shared for authorized use by state and local law enforcement authorities throughout the United States. New York State maintains an electronic database system ("E-Justice") that is designed to give users from qualified law enforcement agencies a single point of access to computerized law enforcement information within and beyond New York State. Qualified state and local law enforcement personnel in New York have access to various forms of information maintained in EJustice including watch list files, such as the terrorist watch list maintained by the FBI and available in NCIC.

KHALIL exceeded his authorization by accessing the EJustice system through an NYPD computer. KHALIL, who did not have an E-Justice account, used another NYPD officer's E-Justice account and obtained an NCIC document identifying an individualas being on a terrorist watch list. KHALIL then forwarded the NCIC document to an acquaintance involved in a custody dispute in Canada. KHALIL, 34, of Brooklyn, New York, pleaded guilty before United States Magistrate Judge MICHAEL H. DOLINGER to accessing a computer and as a result exceeding his authority by obtaining information belonging to a department and agency of the United States. KHALIL is scheduled to be sentenced on April 14,2009, at 10 a.m. by Magistrate Judge DOLINGER. The charge to which KHALIL pleaded guilty is a misdemeanor under which he faces a maximum sentence of one year in prison, a fine of the greater of $100,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense,and a maximum term of supervised release of one year. Mr. DASSIN praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI and NYPD. This case is being prosecuted by the Office's Public Corruption Unit. Assistant United States Attorney LOYAAN A. EGAL is in charge of this prosecution.

Friends of Cops Get "Free" Tickets

'Ghost ticket' subpoena sought
Albany council member wants leader of police union to testify
The Albany Times Union by TIM O'BRIEN - February 3, 2009

ALBANY — Council member Corey Ellis wants to subpoena the leader of the police union over the issuance of "ghost tickets" that carry no fine. His resolution to subpoena Christian Mesley, president of the Albany Police Officers Union, prompted a heated debate at Monday's council meeting. Ellis sought to have Mesley appear at the council's March 2 meeting to answer questions under oath. But the council put off voting on the proposal until later this month. "We want to know how does a city employee implement a policy, and no one holds them accountable for it," Ellis said. In November, a Times Union investigation revealed thousands of ''free'' tickets were being issued annually, including those to vehicles that carried a coded windshield sticker distributed by the Albany Police Officers Union. The newspaper's investigation uncovered numerous instances in which the no-fine tickets were being issued to vehicles registered to the girlfriends and spouses of police officers, bar owners, retired officers and others.

The amount of free tickets being issued was equal to several hundred thousand dollars per year in fines under a system that dates at least to the early 1990s. Council President Pro Tempore Richard Conti made a motion to postpone Ellis's resolution until the council's Feb. 19 meeting. That would enable the council to discuss the process for issuing a subpoena and who they might seek to testify at a caucus at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 12, he said. While the council has the legal power to require people to give testimony, members never invoke it. "I'm expressing no position on the merits of the motion," Conti insisted. "I think it appropriate we have that discussion, that we set out a procedure that is sane, rational and orderly so we know where we're going." Ellis decried the motion, saying repeatedly it was an attempt to "squash" the subpoena. The council has a long history of allowing police to address the council without being sworn, he said, and then letting issues go. "I sat here for three years and watched people sit before us and not give us the whole story," Ellis said. "We should vote yes or no if we want to subpoena someone. You need to have a discussion on whether to put someone under oath?"

The existence of the ghost tickets was made public in November, Ellis said. While Conti issued a letter raising questions right away, Ellis said, he waited until Monday to invite Mesley to speak to the council without being under oath. Reached after the meeting, Mesley said he would talk to his lawyer first but "I don't see any reason why we wouldn't fully cooperate." At the meeting, Conti and others said Ellis could have talked to other members first, but instead brought his motion Monday without advance notice. "The first time anyone saw it was when they sat down at their desks," he said. "Whether this is the first place to go, I'm not sure."

Council member Michael O'Brien said he is glad Ellis raised the issue. "I appreciate the fact there is a need to take action about a practice that is improper whose origins may have been in some kind of union activity," he said. "I think there is a lot more common ground than the emotion of the moment would indicate." The council voted 10-3, with two members absent, to set the motion aside until the next meeting. Ellis was joined in opposition by members Barbara Smith and Dominick Calsolaro. "This has been going on now since November," Calsolaro said. "There comes a time where you have to take a stand and say, 'Enough is enough. We asked for this information, and we want it.' " Tim O'Brien can be reached at 454-5092 or by e-mail at tobrien@timesunion.com.

Jailed Ex-Police Chief Continues to Receive $36,096 Pension

Two years for ex-chief
Kaczmarek is sentenced for role in drug ring; his wife is given six months
The Albany Times Union by PAUL NELSON - February 3, 2009

SCHENECTADY -- A year to the day after Gregory T. Kaczmarek and his wife were spotted buying cocaine outside a local video rental store, the city's ex-police chief was handcuffed and hauled off to start a two-year prison sentence for his role in a major drug ring.
At his sentencing Monday in Schenectady County Court for criminal possession of a controlled substance, Kaczmarek apologized to people in "law enforcement and the legal system." "It is my fault, my responsibility, and I accept that," he said before Judge Karen Drago meted out the sentence. Later, in the same courtroom, Lisa Kaczmarek, 49, the former chief's wife, received a six-month jail term for attempted criminal possession of a controlled substance. Her voice trailed off and she wept as she apologized for her wrongdoing. Lisa Kaczmarek, who wore orange prison garb, had turned herself in last month to begin her incarceration at Warren County Jail. Her sentence includes probation for up to five years.

The husband and wife were part of a group of some two dozen people who funneled large quantities of cocaine and heroin from Long Island and Manhattan onto the streets of Schenectady. The ringleaders, Kerry Kirkem and Oscar Mora, pleaded guilty to more serious charges and are serving stiff prison terms. All but three of the guilty defendants have now been sentenced. One man charged in the ring remains at large. A probe led by the state attorney general's office initially ensnared Lisa Kaczmarek and her son Miles Smith in May 2008. Gregory Kaczmarek was charged in September. The Kaczmareks at first faced longer sentences on more serious charges. His attorney had said that Kaczmarek pleaded guilty to protect his wife from having to go to prison. On Monday, Assistant Attorney General Michael Sharpe disputed that contention. He said that on Feb. 2 and 6, 2008, Kaczmarek ordered two "eight-balls of cocaine" outside the video rental store and that the Kaczmareks used some of the cocaine and sold some of it.

State investigators amassed hours of secretly recorded telephone conversations. In one, Lisa Kaczmarek is heard pleading for a shipment of cocaine with Kirkem for her husband's 56th birthday. In another recorded call, she suggested the ex-chief could transport cocaine for the ring and would "flash his badge" if there was trouble. While Sharpe characterized the couple as members of the drug organization's "lower echelon," he said when Gregory Kaczmarek became aware of the mounting evidence against him he realized it was in his best interest to start talking with authorities about his involvement. Drago said it was "enormously disappointing" to have the former police chief in her court, but she also pointed out that the sentences the couple received were appropriate because they had no prior criminal history and never received pay from the drug dealing. She disagreed with Sharpe that Kaczmarek had a greater moral responsibility to uphold the law because of his job and rank. "The position of being chief doesn't in and of itself warrant a harsher sentence," Drago said.

Kaczmarek, whose sentence included a year of postrelease supervision, had previously surrendered his badge, weapons and nurse's license. He will continue to receive his $36,096 annual police pension. He retired in September 2002, according to the state comptroller's office. In court, Greg Kaczmarek defended former Mayor Albert P. Jurczynski, who was chastised in 1996 when he made Kaczmarek the city's top cop at a time when rumors swirled about his drug use. Lisa Kaczmarek's lawyer, Kevin Luibrand, called her behavior "aberrational." The judge noted that Lisa Kaczmarek relapsed after the family restaurant business closed down. "Your demise is your relapse," Drago said, adding the case illustrates that drug addiction affects people in all walks of life. Paul Nelson can be reached at 454-5347 or by e-mail at pnelson@timesunion.com.

Former Police Chief Sentenced to Two Years

Kaczmarek sentenced to two years in prison
Wife serving 6 months for couple's 'lower echelon' roles in cocaine, heroin operation
The Albany Times Union by PAUL NELSON  - February 2, 2009

SCHENECTADY — Disgraced ex-Police Chief Gregory T. Kaczmarek was sentenced to two years in prison today and his wife was sentenced to six months in jail for their role in a large-scaled drug ring that pumped cocaine and heroin into the city streets that the chief once swore to protect. Kaczmarek apologized to the court and law enforcement and defended the former mayor, Al Jurczynski. who promoted him to chief 12 years ago despite rumors that Kaczmarek had used drugs. "Any criticism of him or current law enforcement is not fair," Kaczmarek said. "It is my fault, my responsibility." The ex-chief pleaded guilty to third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. As Lisa Kaczmarek apologized in court, her voice trailed off and she cried. She began serving her sentence last month after surrendering early to the authorities on her plea to attempted criminal possession of a controlled substance. The sentence includes five years of post-release supervision.

Greg Kaczmarek's sentence, which includes a year of post-release supervision, came exactly one year after prosecutors say he consorted with a known drug dealer who was his cocaine supplier. Assistant state Attorney General Michael Sharpe said Gregory Kaczmarek on two occasions, Feb. 2 and 6, 2008, ordered two "eight balls of cocaine" in front of a local video rental store. Sharpe said the Kaczmareks used some of the cocaine and sold some of it. He and and his wife faced charges that could have landed them behind bars for a long time for their role in the drug distribution ring headed by Kerry "Slim" Kirkem. Kirkem pleaded guilty to running the enterprise that funneled the drugs heroin and cocaine from Long Island and Manhattan to Schenectady. Judge Karen Drago expressed disappointment that the former chief was in court for his crime. She said his sentence was appropriate because Kaczmarek did not accept money from the criminal ring and had no prior criminal record. "The position of police chief doesn't in itself warrant a harsher sentence," she said. Assistant Attorney General Michael Sharpe said the Kaczmareks "fall into the lower echelon of the organization."

When Kaczmarek pleaded guilty Dec. 2, he agreed to give up his police badge, any weapons he has and his nursing license, but will get to keep his pension. Kaczmarek's attorney, Thomas O'Hern, had said his client essentially took the deal to spare his wife a prison term. Sharpe countered that, saying he believed Kaczmarek accepted the plea deal "in light of evidence against him and his own best self-interest." The 13-month state attorney general-led probe, dubbed "Operation Slim Chance," initially ensnared Lisa Kaczmarek and her son Miles Smith along with 22 others in May, and Gregory Kaczmarek in September. State investigators amassed hours of secretly recorded telephone conversations. In one, Lisa Kaczmarek is heard pleading for a shipment of cocaine with another drug dealer for her husband's 56th birthday. In another recorded call, she suggested the ex-chief could transport cocaine for the ring and would "flash his badge" if there was trouble.

When Police Officers Lie

Legal System Struggles With How to React When Police Officers Lie
The Wall Street Journal by AMIR EFRATI -  January 29, 2009

It's one of the most common accusations by defendants and defense attorneys -- that police officers don't tell the truth on the witness stand. Of course, defendants themselves can be the ones lying, but the problem of police perjury -- and what can be done about it -- is being debated anew. Fueling the discussion are recent court cases in New York City and Boston that indicated officers may have lied and a U.S. Supreme Court ruling this month that could have broader implications for cases in which improperly obtained evidence is in dispute.

Questionable testimony by police comes up most often in firearm- or drug-possession cases in which officers often testify that a defendant had a bulge in his pocket -- which they thought might be a gun -- or dropped drugs in plain sight as they approached him, giving the officers the right to seize the contraband. Defense lawyers say in many of these cases, officers are "testilying" and that the guns or drugs were actually discovered when their clients were unjustly frisked by officers. They also say testilying frequently occurs in more serious cases. In Boston, a federal judge last week ruled that a police officer there falsely testified at a pretrial hearing in a gun-possession case about the circumstances of the defendant's arrest. The judge, Mark Wolf, is considering sanctions against the prosecutor for not immediately disclosing that the officer's testimony contradicted what he told prosecutors beforehand.

A federal judge in Brooklyn, N.Y., last fall ruled that a U.S. marshal and a New York City police officer lied when they testified that a defendant dropped two bags of drugs in front of them and then invited the officers to his apartment, where he revealed a large cache of cocaine. Though few officers will confess to lying -- after all, it's a crime -- work by researchers and a 1990s commission appointed to examine police corruption shows there's a tacit agreement among many officers that lying about how evidence is seized keeps criminals off the street. To stem the problem, some criminal-justice researchers and academic experts have called for doing polygraphs on officers who take the stand or requiring officers to tape their searches.

A Supreme Court ruling this month, however, suggests that a simpler, though controversial, solution may be to weaken a longstanding part of U.S. law, known as the exclusionary rule. The 5-4 ruling in Herring v. U.S. that evidence obtained from certain unlawful arrests may nevertheless be used against a criminal defendant could indicate the U.S. is inching closer to a system in which officers might not be tempted to lie to prevent evidence from being thrown out. Criminal-justice researchers say it's difficult to quantify how often perjury is being committed. According to a 1992 survey, prosecutors, defense attorneys and judges in Chicago said they thought that, on average, perjury by police occurs 20% of the time in which defendants claim evidence was illegally seized. "It is an open secret long shared by prosecutors, defense lawyers and judges that perjury is widespread among law enforcement officers," though it's difficult to detect in specific cases, said Alex Kozinski, a federal appeals-court judge, in the 1990s. That's because the exclusionary rule "sets up a great incentive for...police to lie."

Police officers don't necessarily agree, says Eugene O'Donnell, a former police officer and prosecutor who teaches law and police studies in New York. "Perjury is endemic in the court system, but officers lie less than defendants do because generally they aren't heavily invested in the outcome of the cases," he says. Testilying may have taken off after a 1961 Supreme Court decision boosted the exclusionary rule by requiring state courts to exclude -- or throw out -- some evidence seized in illegal searches, such as when police frisk people without probable cause or search a residence without a warrant. Immediately after the decision, Mapp v. Ohio, studies showed that the number of annual drug arrests in the U.S. -- most cases are prosecuted in state court -- didn't change much but there was a sharp increase in officers claiming that suspects dropped drugs on the ground. "Either drug users were suddenly dropping bags all over the place or the cops were still frisking but saying the guy dropped the drugs," says John Kleinig, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

This month's Supreme Court decision added an exception to the exclusionary rule by holding that the prosecution of an Alabama man for drug- and firearm-possession charges was valid, even though the contraband was found after the man was wrongly arrested and searched. Police officers had mistakenly thought he was subject to an arrest warrant. Throwing out evidence because of wrongful searches and arrests "is not an individual right and applies only where its deterrent effect outweighs the substantial cost of letting guilty and possibly dangerous defendants go free," wrote Chief Justice John Roberts. Civil liberties advocates and defense lawyers say losing the exclusionary rule would harm the public. "We'd risk far greater invasions of privacy because officers would have carte blanche to do outrageous activity and act on hunches all the time," says JaneAnne Murray, a criminal defense lawyer in New York. Write to Amir Efrati at amir.efrati@wsj.com

Police Officer Embroiled in Corruption Case is Suspended

Minneapolis police officer embroiled in corruption case is suspended
The Star Tribune by TONY KENNEDY, PAUL McENROE and DAVID CHANEN - January 30, 2009

A Minneapolis police lieutenant, who was cleared of criminal wrongdoing in a federal corruption investigation, has been suspended without pay for related departmental violations. Lt. Lee Edwards, 51, began the suspension this week, but the length of the disciplinary action was not disclosed. The department's Internal Affairs Unit found that Edwards violated codes of conduct and ethics in dealing with a high-ranking member of the Gangster Disciples street gang. He faced six Internal Affairs allegations; four of them were sustained in a report completed last summer. Edwards was the main target in an FBI probe of police corruption as alleged by Taylor Trump, the gang member. Trump, a convicted drug dealer who is awaiting sentencing on federal mortgage fraud and drug charges, told authorities in June 2007 that he had knowledge of at least six Minneapolis officers who gave him information to protect his criminal enterprises. Edwards, a former commander in the Homicide Unit and inspector in the Fourth Precinct on the city's North Side, was taped by the FBI conversing with Trump and providing him with the license plate number of a city-owned vehicle.

The Internal Affairs report stated, "Edwards should know that a vehicle listing to the City of Minneapolis Equipment Division is likely to be an unmarked squad and that revealing this information to a known gang member and drug dealer could result in physical harm or death to an undercover police officer." In that instance, Edwards was found to have violated the department's code of ethics by providing a gang member with information related to an unmarked police vehicle. The three other sustained findings are closely related to the one in which Edwards provided secured information to Trump. Edwards, for his part, has maintained that he was conversing with Trump only because he sought to turn the gang member into a confidential informant. He said that, at the time, he did not know that the FBI was already using Trump as an informant. Trump was directed by the FBI in the summer of 2007 to get close to Edwards in an attempt to find whether Edwards would take money in return for providing information. But while Edwards provided Trump with information, no bribe money was offered by Trump. Three weeks ago, Edwards was cleared of any criminal wrongdoing by the Anoka County Attorney's office. Minneapolis police investigators involved in the FBI investigation had asked the Anoka County Attorney's office to determine whether criminal charges should be filed.

The Anoka County review found that Edwards' communications with Trump were "rather innocuous" and he never received any tangible benefits or rewards. Anoka County Attorney Robert M.A. Johnson said in his letter explaining the decision not to file charges that Edwards released information to Trump "solely because he and Trump had been acquainted with each other since the early 1980s while attending college in Mankato." Edwards, who recently was promoted to run the department's Training Unit, could not be reached for comment. He is expected to appeal the unpaid suspension. Edwards is one of five black Minneapolis police officers who filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against Chief Tim Dolan and the City of Minneapolis in December 2007. The lawsuit is pending. Sgt. Bill Palmer, Minneapolis Police spokesman, declined to comment. When asked about Edwards' suspension, Palmer said, "it's a non-public personnel matter.'' According to the Internal Affairs report, a key allegation against Edwards was not sustained. That allegation, made by Trump, was that Edwards had accepted bribe payments over the years of approximately $5,000 for providing information related to on-going criminal investigations. "With the exception of the statement of Taylor Trump, there is no evidence to support the allegation that Lt. Lee Edwards violated the professional code of conduct as it relates to this specific allegation," the report stated. Paul McEnroe 612-673-1745 Tony Kennedy 612-673-4213 David Chanen 612-673-4465

Arrested Memphis Police Officer Resigns

Arrested Memphis police officer resigns
WZTV -  Nashville, TN - January 30, 2009 

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- A Memphis police officer has resigned the day after he was arrested on criminal charges. Memphis Police spokeswoman Monique Martin said 36-year-old patrol officer Ravell Slayton resigned Friday. Police said the 36-year-old Slayton was charged with official misconduct and theft. He is accused of buying large-screen TVs that he knew were stolen. Slayton is also accused of being in uniform in a police car outside a residence where he knew illegal drugs were being sold. He is free on $5,000 bond. More than 40 Memphis law enforcement officers have been charged with corruption-related charges over the last five years.

Two Cops Arrested in Separate Investigations

2 Memphis police officers charged in separate investigations
The Commercial Appeal by Hank Dudding - Janury 29, 2009

Two Memphis police officers were walked to squad cars in handcuffs Thursday after their arrests in separate criminal investigations. Both men were jailed and relieved of duty with pay pending administrative hearings. "Corruption has no place in the Memphis Police Department," said Director Larry Godwin. "As far as I'm concerned, that's two criminals off the streets." Lt. Billy Smallwood, 45, was charged by a federal grand jury with accessing law enforcement databases and selling the information to a third party. Patrol officer Ravell Slayton, 36, was charged by a Shelby County grand jury with two counts of official misconduct, one count of theft and another count of attempted theft. He was involved in buying and selling stolen property, Godwin said. Slayton also admitted being in uniform in a patrol car outside a house where he knew his brother was selling drugs at least 50 times.

The charges were announced during back-to-back news conferences Thursday afternoon attended by Godwin, Dist. Atty. Gen. Bill Gibbons, FBI Special Agent in Charge My Harrison, U.S. Atty. Larry Laurenzi and Shelby County Sheriff Mark Luttrell. The federal indictment alleges that Smallwood used a fake name to access information on Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and Federal Bureau of Investigation databases. The databases include criminal histories and other personal information and are restricted for official law enforcement use. He's charged with three counts of wire fraud, one count of creating a false document in a matter within FBI jurisdiction and another count of computer fraud. Laurenzi wouldn't say who Smallwood sold the information to, nor how much he was paid. Smallwood, who is free on $5,000 bond, was assigned to auto theft under Investigative Services and has been with the MPD since 1989. The Smallwood case was investigated by the Tarnished Blue Task Force, which is made up of FBI agents, Memphis police officers and Shelby County deputies.

Over the past five years, Tarnished Blue investigations have resulted in the arrests of 48 law enforcement officers, including 18 with the Memphis Police Department. Slayton, who is free on $2,500 bond, was picked up at his home Thursday as police rounded up suspects who'd been indicted during an investigation targeting street-level drug sales. He joined the department in 2001 and was assigned to Airways Station. Responding to a tip, undercover officers on Jan. 15 sold Slayton three 52-inch televisions he thought were stolen, police said. Slayton and his brother, Talvayentez Williams, 33, are believed to have profited from items stolen in the Chickasaw Gardens area by another man, Marcus Guy, 32. Police raided Williams' home at 1196 Aubra on Jan. 15, seizing drugs, weapons and a scale. He's free on $40,000 bond. Guy was also arrested Thursday, but no bond had been set. Godwin said the arrests will solve a number of burglaries in the Chickasaw Gardens area. "It clears it up tremendously," he said. "What you hate is to know that a police officer was involved in it." Smallwood -- who was arrested while attending a class at the training academy -- and Slayton got no special treatment from their fellow officers, Godwin said. "They were handcuffed, put into the back of a squad car and arrested," he said. "If you're going to commit a criminal act, you're going to be treated like any other criminal we arrest." -- Hank Dudding: 529-2565

FBI says Cop Took $100 Per Towed Car

FBI says Chicago cop took $100 per towed car
The Chicago Sun-Times by Frank Main - January 28, 2009

A Chicago Police scandal widened today with the unsealing of federal charges against an officer for allegedly taking bribes from tow-truck operators — at least the fourth cop ensnared in the corruption probe. Officer Jimmie Akins is charged with attempted extortion for allegedly taking bribes in 2006 and 2007. Akins accepted bribes to let tow-truck operators remove vehicles from accident scenes the officer was responsible for in the Near North District, according to an affidavit by FBI Agent Craig Henderson. Akins would use his cell phone to alert the tow truck operators about accidents, Henderson said. Under police rules, cops are prohibited from advising tow operators that their services might be needed — and from recommending services to car accident victims. An informant who owns a towing company told the feds he met Akins at a nightclub in 2004 and they began a crooked business relationship, according to the affidavit. The informant allegedly started paying Akins $100 per towed car and told the FBI he towed about 20 cars from accident scenes in downtown Chicago. The informant also said he paid Akins $500 to pay off the officer’s cell phone bill.

In 2006, Akins was secretly recorded by the FBI demanding $2,300 from the informant for vehicles the informant had towed in 2005, according to the FBI. “We did one hundred a car — I got you 38 cars,” Akins allegedly told the informant. “So from the 38 cars, out of those you gave me $1,500. So the change is $2,300.” On April 21, 2006, they met at a McDonald’s and the informant paid Akins $1,000. The meeting was secretly recorded, according to the FBI. The informant paid Akins the remaining $500 about a week later, the FBI says. Meanwhile, another tow-truck operator said Akins was angry at him for not paying for tows from accident scenes. In April 2006, Akins allegedly tried to get the tow-truck operator to leave an accident scene. Akins wound up hitting the tow-truck operator, handcuffing him to a steering wheel and arresting him on charges of theft, illegally using a cell phone in a vehicle and resisting a peace officer, records show. Those charges were later thrown out. In 2007, they apparently had repaired their relationship and the tow-truck operator paid Akins at least $1,800 in exchange for towing jobs, the FBI said.

Even after the Chicago Police Department stripped Akins of his police powers because of the FBI investigation, he continued to call the tow-truck driver and inquire about accident scenes, the FBI said. Akins was still interested in getting paid for towing jobs, according to the FBI. In one secretly recorded meeting with the second tow-truck operator, Akins told him that he expected an additional $2,000 for billings on repairs to vehicles towed from accident scenes, the FBI said. Three other cops have been charged in the corruption investigation, which involves at least five Chicago Police districts and began in 2003. In April 2008, federal prosecutors charged Chicago Police Officer Scott Campbell with setting up a scheme to make it look as if someone had stolen his 1996 green Volkswagen Passat.

Federal prosecutors said Campbell arranged to have the car taken and sold in pieces. State Farm Insurance paid Campbell about $4,000 for what they believed was a stolen vehicle. Joseph DeMichael of Chicago was charged with scheming with Campbell by taking the car home, dismantling it and selling the parts. In March 2008, Chicago Police Officer Michael J. Ciancio, who also served as an assistant athletic director at a west suburban high school, was accused of extorting up to $800 a week from a tow truck company. He pleaded guilty in federal court earlier this month and is awaiting sentencing May 13. Chicago Police Officer Joseph Grillo and Collision Towing owner Jim “Meatball” Athans were previously charged in the investigation. Grillo and Athans were charged with helping Campbell carry out the insurance scam. Grillo, who pleaded not guilty, is scheduled to change his plea on Feb. 17, records show.

Former Police Officers Set to Face Drug Trial

Former South Bend police officer Jamie Buford and former St. Joseph County police officers Andrew Taghon and Ryan Huston are set to face trial Monday.

The Tribune by Erin Blasko - January 27, 2009

A 2007 federal indictment charges the three with aiding and abetting wire fraud and conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute the drug. Taghon also is charged with selling a firearm to a felon and sale of a stolen firearm. A fourth man, Daniel Alvarez, also is included in the indictment. Alvarez pleaded guilty in February 2008 to selling two stolen guns linked to Taghon and has agreed to testify for the prosecution. On the eve of the trial, the documents outline to a degree not previously known the intricacies of the alleged conspiracy, including its origins, the players involved, and the twists and turns that led to its eventual unraveling. What unfolds is a tale of greed, betrayal and gross abuse of power.

The Trailers

The case against the three officers centers on the alleged theft and subsequent sale of drugs and other items from two South Bend trailers — one located in Clear Water Mobile Village and the other near South Bend Regional Airport. William Speybroeck, a childhood friend of Taghon and a convicted felon, allegedly assisted the men in the criminal enterprise. He fenced many of the items by placing them for sale on eBay, prosecutors allege, and then split the profits with the officers. He also allegedly attempted to locate people willing to take drugs off the officers’ hands. In October 2007, Speybroeck spoke to The Tribune from prison about his role. At the time, David Capp, acting U.S. attorney for Northern Indiana, would neither confirm nor deny Speybroeck was involved in the conspiracy. Prosecutors allege that in July 2004, Buford visited one of the trailers and attempted to serve a phony warrant to its owner, a man he knew to be a possible drug dealer. He was allegedly accompanied by another officer, and a third officer arrived later. Without proof of the warrant, however, the man would not let the officers inside and they eventually left. Later that same month, the owner of the trailers was arrested. While in custody, Taghon and Huston allegedly broke into both trailers and stole several items. The two allegedly brought the items to Speybroeck’s home in a police vehicle. They told him from where they came, prosecutors allege, and Speybroeck agreed to buy two desktop computers and two flip-down television monitors. Huston allegedly kept a plasma television. He hung it above his fireplace, and Speybroeck later helped him connect to it a surround-sound system. Before leaving, Taghon and Huston allegedly told Speybroeck items of value remained in the trailers, and suggested he loot them.

Beaten to the punch

Soon, Speybroeck enlisted the help of another man, prosecutors allege, and with Taghon guiding him by cell phone, drove to the Clear Water trailer at night. When the two arrived, however, several people were already removing items from the trailer. Taghon, by cell phone again, allegedly told Speybroeck and his accomplice to wait for the people to leave and then follow their vehicle. They did, but were eluded. The two then returned to the trailer and broke in, prosecutors allege, but found nothing of value inside. The next day, Speybroeck allegedly enlisted the help of another man and drove to the second trailer during the day. Finding it locked, they allegedly called Taghon and were told Taghon’s "partner" was on the way to assess the situation. While waiting for the partner, however, several people arrived and, as with the first trailer, began removing items. Speybroeck and his accomplice left, prosecutors allege. They met Taghon in a parking lot, where he allegedly told them he had already taken some items from the second trailer.

The cocaine

About a week later, Taghon and Huston allegedly visited Speybroeck again and asked whether he knew of anyone who might be able to take some cocaine off their hands. They then allegedly opened the trunk of their squad car and revealed to Speybroeck cocaine they claimed had been stolen from one of the trailers. Daniel Alvarez, the fourth indicted person, was allegedly contacted by Speybroeck about buying the drugs at a very low price, but eventually declined. Alvarez later pleaded guilty to selling two stolen guns traced back to Taghon. The weapons were allegedly used in the shooting of an undercover South Bend police officer in 2004. The gun charges against Taghon allegedly stem from his original sale of the weapons to a known felon. Several days later, Buford allegedly contacted a confidential informant about selling the cocaine as part of the informant’s ongoing work with police. On two separate occasions, prosecutors allege, the informant was given 9 ounces of cocaine. After selling the drugs, he handed the proceeds over to Buford and Huston.

The recordings

Speybroeck allegedly continued working with Taghon and Huston throughout the summer and fall of 2004. He listed stolen items for them on eBay, and then transferred money from the sales to their accounts, committing wire fraud. In 2005, however, Speybroeck learned he was under investigation by federal authorities for interstate transportation of stolen property. When Taghon learned of the investigation, he allegedly advised Speybroeck to seek leniency by informing on a firearms dealer who illegally sold a gun to Speybroeck. The plan backfired, prosecutors allege, and instead of leniency, Speybroeck found himself facing gun charges as well.

In May 2005, Speybroeck was charged with firearms and interstate theft offenses by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Indiana. He pleaded guilty and agreed to provide information concerning other crimes in the district, including those involving the officers. Speybroeck and his wife were both given concealed audio recorders, and over several months allegedly recorded phone and face-to-face conversations with Taghon, Alvarez and Speybroeck’s two accomplices in the trailer burglaries. His wife’s recorded conversations were mostly with Taghon, prosecutors allege, and occurred during the time that Speybroeck was still in state custody, before he reported to federal prison. The conversations mostly consisted of Taghon’s efforts to help the family out financially by purchasing from them stolen goods, prosecutors allege. But Taghon also allegedly inquired routinely about the extent to which Speybroeck was cooperating with federal authorities to "work some of his time off." Speybroeck’s recordings were allegedly made between September 2005, when he was released from state custody, and mid-October 2005, when he reported to federal prison. To get Taghon to talk about the conspiracy, Speybroeck allegedly lied and said he had heard a county police officer had testified against him to the federal grand jury, and that he feared that officer might be Huston.

In the recorded conversations, the two allegedly talk not only about Huston, but Buford, Alvarez and several others involved either directly or indirectly in the conspiracy. At the same time, Taghon allegedly continued to press Speybroeck about his time in custody and the extent of his cooperation with authorities. The two last spoke on Oct. 10, 2005, the day before Speybroeck was scheduled to report to prison, prosecutors allege. At one point during the conversation, Taghon allegedly passed a note to Speybroeck that read, "Do me and (Huston) have anything to worry about?" Speybroeck allegedly said no, and Taghon asked if he was sure. When Speybroeck asked why Taghon had posed the question in writing, Taghon allegedly said, "Well, you were asking some pretty f-----’ weird questions the other night, man …" Speybroeck allegedly explained he had been trying to determine who had testified against him to the grand jury. "It ain’t me and it ain’t Huston," Taghon allegedly said. "It ain’t nobody else." The next day, Speybroeck went to prison. Two years later, federal agents arrested Taghon, Huston and Buford. Staff writer Erin Blasko: eblasko@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6187

Grifter claims NYPD officer paid him $50,000 to kill ex-wife

Grifter claims NYPD officer paid him $50,000 to kill ex-wife

The New York Daily News by SIMONE WEICHSELBAUM, ALISON GENDAR, WIL CRUZ AND JOTHAM SEDERSTROM - January 25, 2009

An NYPD officer was suspended from duty Saturday after a Long Island grifter claimed the Queens cop paid him $5,000 to kill his ex-wife, police sources said. Officer Anthony Battisti, 42, was suspended Saturday as police investigate claims by Timothy Gersbeck, 34, that the 17-year veteran hired the man to kill his ex-wife, sources said. Battisti has not been charged with any crime. Gersbeck was arrested Friday after he plunged a screwdriver into the neck of the woman in front of the Franklin Square home she once shared with Battisti. Police sources said Battisti was jealous of a new relationship his ex-wife had been pursuing and may have paid Gersbeck to kill the 44-year-old Long Island woman. Gersbeck, who was arrested on insurance fraud charges in 2005, had done odd jobs for Battisti, including some house painting and car repairs, police sources said. The victim, whose identity the Daily News is withholding, was in serious condition Saturday night at a Nassau County hospital.

Three Jail Guards Indicted in Prisoner Death

15 INDICTMENTS IN RIKERS BEATING DEATH
The New York Post by IKIMULISA LIVINGSTON and ANDY GELLER - January 22, 2009

Three guards and 12 inmates have been indicted in connection with the beating death of an 18-year-old prisoner at Rikers Island, Bronx prosecutors said today.Two of the guards, Michael McKie and Khalid Nelson, were arraigned on enterprise corruption charges for allegedly running a scheme that allowed inmates to run a cellblock and beat up other prisoners to keep order. This made the lazy guards' jobs easier, prosecutors said. The slain prisoner, Christopher Robinson, who was in Rikers on a parole violation charge, was found dead in his cell last Oct. 18. He was covered with bruises.

Prosecutors said three inmates beat and stomped him to death when he refused to go along with the policing scheme, called "the program." McKie, 31, of Brooklyn and Nelson, 34, of Staten Island were ordered held on $200,000 bail. A third guard, Denise Albright, 43, of Manhattan, was charged with conspiracy and assault and held on $50,000 bail. The 12 inmates are to be arraigned tomorrow. Three of them are facing manslaughter charges for beating and stomping Robinson to death, prosecutors said. They were identified as Joseph "Pop Brim" Hutchinson, 18, of Manhattan, Anquant "Ant Luv" Bryant, 18, of The Bronx and Shaddon "Fire" Beswick, 18, of The Bronx. Robinson's mother, Charnel, who has filed a $20 million wrongful death suit against the city, called the indictment "fair and just." "It's extremely painful to know my son was placed in their care. They blatantly ignored any signs of abuse," she said outside court. "It's very soothing for the agony and pain that I have to deal with on a constant basis." Robinson's was the first homicide in city jails in four years.