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Nevada U.S. District Court Judge James Mahan Sides With Sex Offenders, Orders Stop To New Law That Would Have Exposed Them To The World
July 2nd, 2008
NEVADA - A federal judge issued a last-minute order Monday that stopped Nevada’s new sex offender law from going into effect until constitutional challenges are resolved.
U.S. District Judge James Mahan said he was concerned that if the law goes into effect today as planned, low-level sex offenders would be incorrectly and publicly identified when their information is posted on the state’s sex offender Web sites. They would not be able to regain their anonymity if the law is later found unconstitutional, he said.
The cat, Mahan said, would already be out of the bag.
“It’s a matter of due process,” said the judge, who will hear arguments on whether the law is constitutional on Aug. 26.
The federal challenge to the new sex offender law was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada and local defense attorney Robert Langford on behalf of 12 sex offenders. They argue that the law punishes sex offenders again for crimes they already paid for, is cruel and unusual punishment, and is restrictive.
Read MoreKentucky Attorney Melbourne Mills Jr., Jailed For A Year On Bogus Federal Charges, Found Not Guilty By Jury And Released - Was Too Drunk To Have Taken Part In A Criminal Conspiracy
July 2nd, 2008
COVINGTON, KENTUCKY — For the first time in almost a year, Lexington-area lawyer Melbourne Mills Jr. will wake up today in his own bed.
After six days of deliberation, a jury on Tuesday found Mills –who argued that he was too drunk to take part in a criminal conspiracy — not guilty of taking millions from his former clients in a $200 million fen-phen settlement.
Mills’ face broke into a wide grin and he mouthed “thank you, thank you” to the jury after the verdict was read.
Mills was released from the Boone County Jail about 1 p.m. Tuesday. James Shuffett, his attorney, said Mills will most likely return to his Lexington-area home.
Mills, 77, who had to be hospitalized during the trial because of heart problems, had been in custody since August, when U.S. District Judge William Bertelsman jailed him and co-defendants William Gallion and Shirley Cunningham Jr., saying they were too much of a flight risk.
Read MoreAmericans Are Ranked As The Worlds Top Drug Users - After Its Federal Government Pissed Away Hundreds Of Billions Of Tax Dollars On The So-Called “War On Drugs”
July 1st, 2008
WASHINGTON, DC - Americans are the world’s top consumers of cannabis and cocaine despite punitive US drug laws, according to an international study published in the online scientific magazine PLoS Medicine.
The study, released Monday, revealed that 16.2 percent of Americans had tried cocaine at least once, and 42.4 percent had used marijuana.
In second-place New Zealand, just 4.3 percent of study participants had used cocaine, and 41.9 percent marijuana.
The research was conducted at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, based on World Health Organization data from 54,068 people in 17 countries.
Rates of participation differed from country to country, and researchers noted uncertainty over how honestly people report their own drug use.
“Nevertheless, the findings present comprehensive data on the patterns of drug use from national samples representing all regions of the world,” a PLoS statement said.
Read MoreCrazed Mount Juliet Tennessee Police Officer Bill Cosby Nearly Choked Handcuffed Motorist To Death - Judge Dismisses All Of Officer’s Pending Cases, Will Dismiss Future Cases, As The Disgraced Officer Is No Longer Welcome In His Court - Worthless Cop Remains On Duty - Caught On Video
July 1st, 2008
MOUNT JULIET, TENNESSEE - A Midstate man said a police officer nearly choked him to death during a traffic stop.
The incident was caught on tape.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating how Mount Juliet Cpl. Bill Cosby officer interacted with James Anders, Jr.
Cosby stopped the 26-year-old Wilson County man in April.
Cosby suspected Anders hid marijuana in his mouth. The officer used a vascular restraint technique to keep Anders from swallowing.
On the video recorded inside Cosby’s patrol car, Cosby said he smelled marijuana and handcuffed Anders and his passenger.
The video also showed the officer putting his hands around Anders’ neck. He applied pressure and told Anders to stick out his tongue. This happened for nearly two minutes before Anders lost consciousness.
Photographs released by Anders’ attorney showed injuries he sustained when he fell to the pavement.
Read MoreFederal Appeals Court Judges Reviewing Evidence From Bush’s Guantanamo Bay Torture Prison’s Kangaroo Court Compare His Administration’s Legal Theories To A Hapless, Dimwitted Character In 19th Century Nonsense “The Hunting Of The Snark” Poem
June 30th, 2008
WASHINGTON, DC - A federal appeals court reviewing evidence at Guantanamo Bay compared a Bush administration legal argument to one made by a hapless, dimwitted character in a 19th century nonsense poem by Lewis Carroll.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit cited the 1876 poem, “The Hunting of the Snark,” in ruling that the military improperly labeled a Chinese Muslim as an enemy combatant. The ruling was issued last week but an unclassified version of the opinion was released only Monday.
It was the first time a court has reviewed the military’s decision-making and considered whether a detainee should be held. The ruling provides guidance to federal district judges, who are about to begin reviewing dozens of such cases now that the Supreme Court says detainees can challenge their detention in federal court.
Read MoreHomeless Mentally Ill Man With HIV Sentenced To 5 Years In Federal Prison For Threats Against Criminal U.S. President G.W. Bush - Our Tax Dollars At Work
June 30th, 2008
TAMPA, FLORIDA - A mentally ill homeless man will serve 57 months in federal prison for threats he made against President Bush.
Timothy Wade Pinkston threatened in August to go to Washington and shoot Bush. At the time, the 48-year-old was committed to a hospital psychiatric unit.
Court records say he repeated the threat to Secret Service agents, saying he didn’t like the president’s foreign policy or his handling of the war in Iraq.
Pinkston told a federal judge in Tampa on Wednesday that he is HIV-positive and bipolar and has a substance abuse problem. He said he’d been taking drugs and drinking when he made the threat and didn’t know what he was saying.
He was previously charged with threatening the president in 1991 and also sent threatening letters to the governor of Georgia. Appeared Here
Update: Suspect In Killing Of Prince George’s County Maryland Police Officer Was Choked To Death In His Solitary Maximum Security Cell
June 30th, 2008
PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, MARYLAND - The man accused of running down and killing a Prince George’s County police officer on Friday was choked to death in his cell over the weekend, according to sources who have seen the medical examiner’s report.
Sources tell ABC 7 reporter Brad Bell that Ronnie White was apparently choked to death Sunday morning while in his cell in the maximum security wing of the Prince George’s County Correctional Center. The sources, who saw the Medical Examiner’s report, say the cause of death was listed as asphyxiation, and that White had two small broken bones in his neck.
Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Glenn Ivey promised a thorough investigation into what happened.
“I understand that there are going to be differing views out there no matter what the decision is, but we just have to move forward and hand it the way we normally do and let the evidence and the law make the final determination,” said Ivey.
Read MoreUS Addiction To Incarceration Puts 2.3 Million In Prison - Our Tax Dollars At Work
June 30th, 2008
NEW YORK, NEW YORK -For years, the United States has held the dubious distinction of incarcerating more people and at a higher rate than any other peacetime nation in the world. Yet its appalling addiction to incarceration continues. According to statistics released today by the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics (Prisoners in 2005), the number of US residents behind bars has now reached more than 2.3 million. The rate of incarceration has risen to 491 sentenced inmates per 100,000 US residents, up from 411 a decade ago. Four states – Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Oklahoma – have incarceration rates of more than 650 per 100,000, with Louisiana soaring above all other states with the astonishing rate of 797.
Read MoreDouble Standard: Appeals Court Won’t Allow Attorney’s Complaint Against New Jersey State Police Troopers Involved In Governor Corzine Crash To Proceed
June 30th, 2008
TRENTON, NEW JERSEY - A state appeals court panel today rejected a bid to ticket the state troopers who were involved in Gov. Corzine’s near-fatal 2007 car crash.
The two-judge panel upheld a state Superior Court judge’s decision denying Atlantic County attorney Seth Grossman’s bid to file a citizen’s complaint against the troopers.
Superior Court Judge Albert Garofolo in May 2007 ruled Grossman failed to file the required certification and court motion that would allow him to act for the municipal prosecutor.
“Thus, you lack standing to pursue this appeal and your application is denied,” Garofolo wrote.
The appeals court cited the same reasoning for denying Grossman’s appeal.
Grossman tried to file a speeding, careless driving and reckless driving complaint against Corzine’s driver, Robert Rasinski, and Erin Smith, who was driving a vehicle that was following Rasinski’s sport utility vehicle.
Read MoreMan Convicted Of Robbing 5 Banks After Breaking Out Of Cook County Illinois Jail
June 30th, 2008
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - A man accused of breaking out of the Cook County Jail wearing a stolen guard’s uniform was convicted Monday of robbing five banks in Chicago’s Loop — including one heist while wearing the lifted uniform.
Randy Rencher, 39, looked on blank faced as the jury convicted him after only two hours of deliberation. Prosecutors said he faces a potential sentence of 32 years to life in federal prison when he is sentenced Sept. 26.
Rencher admitted three times that he was the robber, witnesses said. Police found a money wrapper from one of the robberies in his room, along with $6,000, and Rencher’s picture was captured on bank video.
Victimized bank tellers also took the stand to identify him.
“They were very clear that they had seen the bank robber, had memorized his face and were able to identify him,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward Siskel, who prosecuted the case along with Assistant U.S. Attorney M. David Weisman, told reporters after the verdict.
Read MoreState Of California’s Death Penalty System “Dysfunctional” And In Danger Of Collapse - $100 Million Tax Dollars A Year Tossed Into A Black Hole
June 30th, 2008
CALIFORNIA - The California death penalty system, plagued by backlogs in appeals that routinely delay executions by more than two decades, is “dysfunctional” and in danger of collapse, a state commission concluded Monday.
The report by the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice offered a blistering indictment of the system, saying the state has fostered a “disrespect for the rule of law and weakened any possible deterrent benefits of capital punishment.”
In the state that maintains the largest death row — currently 669 condemned inmates — the report determined that California could save up to $100 million a year by abolishing the death penalty. Yet the 22-member panel stopped short of recommending its elimination.
“Although outright abolition would be the cleanest, most definitive approach to death penalty reform … we recognize that, ultimately, a political judgment must be made about whether the time is right to seek a fresh electoral choice on whether California ought to have a death penalty,” the report said.
Read MoreWestchester County New York District Attorney Janet DiFiore Botched Handling Of Case Where Yonkers Police Officer Wayne Simoes Brutally Beat Woman At Restaurant
June 30th, 2008
WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NEW YORK - Westchester County’s district attorney admitted that her office mishandled the case of a Yonkers police officer who was captured on camera body-slamming a woman during an arrest.
D.A. Janet DiFiore said her office was not aware of the tape.
It shows officer Wayne Simoes throwing Irma Marquez to the floor at a Yonkers restaurant last year.
Marquez suffered a fractured jaw and a concussion. She was later acquitted, and now has an $11 million lawsuit pending against the Yonkers Police Department.
An internal investigation cleared Simoes, but he now faces federal civil rights charges.
On Saturday, Westchester officials met with concerned citizens and the Rev. Al Sharpton to discuss the relationship between the police department and the community.
Wayne County New York Sheriff’s Deputies Give Special Treament To Illegal Alien Invaders
June 30th, 2008
WAYNE COUNTY, NEW YORK - Juan Casarubia-Rendon, an illegal entrant, was stopped for DWI with a blood alcohol level of .32%, no license, no insurance, released on an appearance ticket and driven home by deputies
Some farmers won’t admit it publicly, but things are changing. Years ago, Mexican migrant workers travelled the planting and harvest seasons across the country without much notice. Area farmers could rely on many of the same migrant workers returning to Wayne County and to the same farms year after year. There was no denying, the Mexican workers were hard working and filling a job sector locals shunned away from.
Of all the migrant trade, Mexicans were the most reliable, most consistent and the group with the fewest problems for local authorities. Over the past several years, local police agencies have seen a change among the transient groups. Stabbings, prostitution, drugs, check schemes and especially crimes involving driving are notably on the rise. It was estimated by one law enforcement administrator that as many as half of migrants may be operating vehicles illegally.
Read MoreGeorgia Runs Out Of Money, Closes Diversion Centers - Low Cost Facilities Closed, Leaving Few Alternatives To High-Dollar Prison Incarceration
June 30th, 2008
ALBANY, GEORGIA - Georgia judges can no longer sentence defendants to diversion centers that aimed to rehabilitate criminals by keeping them out of prison.
Because of budget cuts, the Georgia Department of Corrections shut down six centers including this one in Albany. They served as middle-ground between prison and probation. Offenders held jobs during the day and had to report back to the facility each night.
The President of the Council of Superior Court judges told us that judges liked having the diversion center option, but he admits they were underused.
“Any time that the state cuts back on any sentencing option for judges, we typically are not in favor of it. Simply because it gives us another alternative,” said Judge Stephen Goss, Dougherty County Superior Court.
Judge Goss says one problem with Albany’s diversion center was that defendants were required to pay room and board, but often didn’t have the money to do so.
Read MoreAtlanta Georgia Police Stalk Critical Mass Bike Riders After Atlanta Journal-Constitution Article Appears- Our Tax Dollars At Work
June 30th, 2008
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - After many months of peaceful coexistence, Atlanta police decided to pursue and ticket the monthly Critical Mass bike ride.
While other cities have had much more confrontational episodes between police and Critical Mass, Atlanta has usually been a very hospitable town for this loosely organized pro-bicycle demonstration. After an article about Critical Mass appeared in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution after last month’s ride, there was a sudden, visible shift in APD policy.
A phalanx of police was waiting for the riders at Centennial Olympic Park and dogged them all the way through Midtown, Virginia-Highlands, Little Five Points, and the Old Fourth Ward for an hour. While things didn’t get particularly ugly between police and the Mass this time, the sudden interest of the law may mark the beginning of the end of a long-standing friendly (and peaceful) coexistence.
Bogus Murder Conviction Tossed After Man Spent 13 Years In Prison - He Was Watching TV When Another Man Committed Murder - Confession From Killer
June 29th, 2008
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - A Queens man who spent about 13 years behind bars has had his murder conviction tossed out after his lawyers obtained a confession from another man.
A judge ordered a retrial Friday for 40-year-old Kareem Bellamy, who was convicted of stabbing James Abbott to death in 1994.
Bellamy’s lawyers say they obtained a confession from a man who claims he killed Abbott over a woman.
Prosecutors say they will appeal the judge’s decision.
Bellamy had been sentenced to 25 years to life. His father says Bellamy was watching “Soul Train” with him when the slaying took place.
Bellamy’s case was aired on Court TV.
Judge Tells Crime Victim To Arm Herself, That Chattanooga Tennessee Police Can No Longer Protect The Public
June 28th, 2008
CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE - General Sessions Court Judge Bob Moon said Friday that crime in Chattanooga “has become so rampant that it is no longer possible for the police department to protect our citizens.”
He told a woman who had been pulled from her car and beaten in the head that she or her mother needed to “purchase a weapon, obtain a gun permit and learn to protect yourself.” The woman moved back in with her mother after the May 4 incident on E. 17th Street.
Judge Moon said, “The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that all citizens have a right to purchase a weapon to defend themselves, their families and their homes - unless there is some disqualification that prevents them from owning a weapon.”
He said, “All area of our city are subject to crime, and some areas have very high crime rates and need to be ‘overpoliced.’”
Read MorePhiladelphia Pennsylvania Security Guard Arrested For Anti-Police YouTube Video
June 28th, 2008
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - t took just a few weeks for Andre Moore to go from YouTube to the slammer.
Members of the state attorney general’s Gun Violence Task Force announced Moore’s abrupt career change yesterday morning by smashing a battering ram through the door of his West Philadelphia apartment.
The 44-year-old was arrested for calling for the murder of 18th District police officers in a video titled “Dissin’ Philly Cops” that he posted on YouTube on June 6, law-enforcement officials said.
Moore, who’s now been suspended from his job as a security guard at Albert Einstein Medical Center, was less than subtle in his performance.
While waving a gun through the air, Moore said, “I rejoice whenever they shoot a cop in Philadelphia because I hate them,” according to a court affidavit containing a transcript of the video.
Read MoreU.S. Government Forks Over Big Bucks After Bogus Anthrax Attack Allegations Against Scientist, Still Doesn’t Have A Clue Who Killed 5 And Sickened 17 Others
June 27th, 2008
WASHINGTON, DC - A former Army scientist who was named a “person of interest” in the deadly 2001 anthrax attacks has reached a multimillion-dollar settlement with the Justice Department.
Steven Hatfill sued former Attorney General John Ashcroft and the department in 2003, claiming that his privacy was violated when his name was leaked to the media in connection with an investigation into the biological attacks in the eastern United States.
Five people were killed and 17 became seriously ill in the attacks.
Hatfill, a former Army bioweapons researcher, has steadfastly denied involvement in the attacks and was never charged in the investigation.
In a statement released Friday afternoon, department officials said Steven Hatfill will receive a one-time payment of $2.825 million and a $150,000 annuity.
Read MoreFake Cop Pulls Over San Antonio Texas Police Officer, Makes A Clean Getaway
June 26th, 2008
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - San Antonio police are searching for a man suspected of impersonating a police officer.
Authorities said a man driving a black Ford Crown Victoria with emergency lights embedded in the grille recently pulled over an off-duty San Antonio police officer.
The driver fled after the officer pulled out his badge to identify himself.
Sandy Gutierrez, an SAPD spokeswoman, said police have not heard of any other incidents involving this man, but authorities are urging the public to contact police with any information about him.
“We have a lot of stealth vehicles with decals and SAPD logos,” Gutierrez said. “This vehicle did not have decals or logos.”
Anyone unsure while being pulled over by an unmarked vehicle is urged to stop at a busy area near other people.
Read MoreTennessee Highway Patrol Announces Effort To Piss Away Tax Dollars On Overtime For State Police Troopers
June 26th, 2008
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - Consider yourself warned! The Tennessee Highway Patrol has kicked off their 100 Days of Summer HEAT.
The three month long program was created to keep summer motorists safe by monitoring speeders, impaired drivers and those who are not buckled in.
THP said speeders, impaired drivers and not buckling up have been the top three causes of deadly crashes, so THP decided to dedicate 500 overtime hours for 100 Days of Summer HEAT program to help catch dangerous drivers.
New York City Police Assault And Detain Building Superintendent Who Was Chasing A Burglar
June 26th, 2008
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - An alleged New York City burglar nearly got away clean after he yelled for help, causing two police officers to tackle the super of the building instead.
Police sources told the New York Post the Manhattan Community College officers grabbed Bobby Gardocki as Gardocki was chasing the suspect, who was screaming that a “crazy guy” was trying to kill him.
“The guy was yelling at no one in particular, ‘Stop this crazy guy. He’s trying to kill me!’” said Gardocki, who admitted he did look a little strange since he was chasing the guy in his pajamas.
A building tenant happened upon the scene and quickly convinced the officer they had the wrong man. The suspect, Michael Estrada of Queens, was picked up a short distance away and charged with stealing $3,000 in jewelry from an apartment. Appeared Here
Empty And Unarmed Hurst Texas Wonder Bread Bakery Store Surrenders Peacefully To Police SWAT Team After Standoff
June 26th, 2008
HURST, TEXAS - After standing outside a bakery outlet following a 911 call about a woman armed with a gun seen inside the store, SWAT officers swarmed inside only to find the store empty.
Before entering the store, SWAT officers were poised with guns aimed as they stood outside the Wonder Bread Hostess outlet store in the 800 block of West Precinct Line Road.
Police interviewed employees and customers who evacuated the bakery outlet. They were also able to get a diagram of the store.
As SWAT officers set up tactical positions around the store, a large group of onlookers gathered in the parking lot across the street.
SWAT officers could be seen entering the back of the store shortly before 5:30 p.m. They later reported that no one was found inside.
Obvious: TSA Screener Positions Are A “Dead End Job” - So Says Their Boss Kip Hawley
June 25th, 2008
WASHINGTON, DC - Low morale among the nation’s airport screeners may be compromising security and forcing screeners to quit their jobs, a controversial government report said Tuesday.
The 29-page report by Homeland Security Department Inspector General Richard Skinner is the latest to chronicle personnel problems among the nation’s 48,000 airport screeners. The workforce has some of the highest turnover and injury rates in the federal government.
Unlike past workplace reports, this one says security could suffer as a result.
“Given their frustration, employees may be distracted and less focused on their security and screening responsibilities,” Skinner’s report says.
Transportation Security Administration chief Kip Hawley ripped Tuesday’s report, saying it relies on disgruntled screeners at a few airports. “This results in flawed conclusions,” Hawley wrote in a sharp, point-by-point rebuttal.
Read MoreStudent Charged By Bellefonte Pennsylvania Police With Mooning Streakers From Dorm Room Window
June 25th, 2008
BELLEFONTE, PENNSYLVANIA — Charges against a Penn State student accused of appearing naked in his dorm window and pressing his buttocks against the glass were ordered bound for trial Wednesday after a preliminary hearing before District Judge Leslie Dutchcot.
Brian M.I. Block, 19, of 1729 Ridgeway Road, Havertown, is charged with open lewdness and disorderly conduct after the incident at 12:39 a.m. May 5 in a window above where the annual Mifflin Streak was taking place, according to court documents.
The Mifflin Streak is a tradition held before finals week every spring in which students run through crowds of students on Mifflin Road at about midnight. Block was spotted naked in his dorm window by a residence life coordinator, police said.
Read More12 Year Old Girl Charged By Westport Connecticut Police With Distributing A Nude Photo Of Classmate
June 25th, 2008
WESTPORT, CONNECTICUT - A 12-year-old Westport girl has been charged with distributing a nude photo of a classmate to fellow students.
The investigation began on May 12 when the incident was reported to Westport police after word circulated throughout Coleytown Middle School that a nude snapshot was taken during a video chat and distributed to others.
The girl is being referred to Juvenile Court in Norwalk on a charge of second-degree breach of peace, which involves the distribution of offensive and indecent material. Her name is not being released because of her age.
Read MoreFive Barnegat New Jersey Schools Locked Down After Ninja Sighting
June 25th, 2008
BARNEGAT, NEW JERSEY — A report of a ninja sighting in the woods near the Robert L. Horbelt elementary School prompted a brief lockdown of the township’s public schools before
authorities realized the suspect in question was actually a camp counselor heading toward a costume party.
Shortly after 9 a.m., police received a call from a librarian at the local Ocean
County Library branch on Burr Street reporting that a man dressed as a ninja, carrying a large sword, was running through the woods, Lt. Patrick Shaffery said. Police than initiated a lock-down of the five schools as a precaution, police said.
The lock-down — which restricts movement in and out of school buildings — was lifted by 9:30 a.m. after police learned the man in question was actually a camp counselor on his way to a costume-themed day at the Russell O. Brackman Middle School. The counselor, who was wearing a black karate gi and carrying a plastic sword, was running late and decided to take a short cut through the woods, Shaffery said. Appeared Here
Man Sentenced In Kennebec County Maine Superior Court To 9 Months In Jail After Women Visits Him In Jail - Judge And County Officials Seen Standing Around A Huge Bonfire Watching Our Tax Dollars Go Up In Smoke
June 25th, 2008
AUGUSTA, MAINE — As soon as an inmate from Vassalboro had a visitor at the Kennebec County jail in Augusta, he was violating a court order.
Marshall Crandall IV, of Vassalboro, was sentenced to serve nine months in jail Tuesday at a Kennebec County Superior Court hearing after he pleaded guilty to three counts of violating conditions of release for having contact with the visitor.
Crandall, 39, had been arrested April 4 and charged with domestic assault. That charge was dropped Tuesday in exchange for his plea to violating the court order.
A condition of release on the domestic assault charge banned him from contact with the woman — the same woman who visited him at the jail.
The violations occurred April 5, 10 and 15, when the woman named as the assault victim visited Crandall, according to jail records.
Read MoreFBI Kept File On Pulitzer Columnist Who Said FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover Didn’t Exist And Was A Phantom Named After The Vacuum Cleaner
June 25th, 2008
WASHINGTON, DC - Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Art Buchwald poked fun at the powerful during his storied career - but one frequent target, longtime FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, wasn’t laughing.
Hoover, who ran the federal law enforcement agency for nearly a half century, ordered agents to keep close tabs on the humorist - even having one G-man report on a Buchwald interview in Playboy, the columnist’s FBI file reveals.
Buchwald’s columns - including one in which he suggested Hoover didn’t exist and was a phantom named after the vacuum cleaner company - apparently rankled the FBI boss. Hoover repeatedly referred to Buchwald as a “sick comic,” according to the file, amassed over nearly two decades.
The 239-page file was obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, which allows such documents to become public after the subject dies. Buchwald, whose Washington Post-based column was syndicated for decades, died in January 2007. Appeared Here
U.S. Supreme Court Sides With Child Rapists - No Executions For Those Who Deserve It The Most - Our Tax Dollars At Work
June 25th, 2008
WASHINGTON, DC — The Supreme Court has struck down a Louisiana law that allows the execution of people convicted of a raping a child.
[BCN: Despite the fact that child molesters and rapists must be killed or otherwise permanently segregated from society the do-nothing justices on the Supreme Court will go any distance to see that it doesn't happen.]
In a 5-4 vote, the court says the law allowing the death penalty to be imposed in cases of child rape violates the Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
Elsewhere:
Court rejects death penalty for raping children
WASHINGTON, DC - The Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down a law that allows the execution of people convicted of a raping a child.
Read MoreU.S. Customs Agents Seize Reporter’s Laptop Computer At Dulles International Airport
June 25th, 2008
WASHINGTON, DC - Returning from a brief vacation to Germany in February, Bill Hogan was selected for additional screening by customs officials at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C. Agents searched Hogan’s luggage and then popped an unexpected question: Was he carrying any digital media cards or drives in his pockets? “Then they told me that they were impounding my laptop,” says Hogan, a freelance investigative reporter whose recent stories have ranged from the origins of the Iraq war to the impact of money in presidential politics.
Shaken by the encounter, Hogan says he left the airport and examined his bags, finding that the agents had also removed and inspected the memory card from his digital camera. “It was fortunate that I didn’t use that machine for work or I would have had to call up all my sources and tell them that the government had just seized their information,” he said. When customs offered to return the machine nearly two weeks later, Hogan told them to ship it to his lawyer.
Read MoreState Supreme Court Rules That Tennessee Police Officers Can Now Stop Motorists For Driving SLOWER Than Posted Speed Limit - Our Tax Dollars At Work
June 24th, 2008
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - The state Supreme Court ruled that police can stop a vehicle for driving too slowly.
Chattanooga police arrested three people for possession of cocaine and marijuana with intent to sell or deliver after they were pulled over in 2005 for driving 20 miles an hour in a 35-miles-an-hour zone.
The trial court judge in Hamilton County had earlier ruled that the stop and subsequent search were illegal because the car didn’t come to a complete stop and impede traffic.
The state argued that the slow-moving vehicle did impede traffic because other cars had to brake quickly and move into another lane to avoid the car.
In a unanimous ruling filed Monday, the Tennessee Supreme Court sided with the state. It reversed the lower court’s ruling and sent the drug case back for a new hearing. Appeared Here
London UK Mayor Investigated For Bogus Iraqi War Crime, While Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Tony Blair, And Crew Remain Uncharged
June 24th, 2008
LONDON, UK - London Mayor Boris Johnson poured scorn Tuesday on a “ludicrous” police investigation into how he came into possession of a cigar case belonging to former Iraqi deputy premier Tariq Aziz.
Johnson, who took office last month as the opposition Conservatives’ most powerful politician, accused the governing Labour Party of triggering the probe, which he jokingly likened to a “war crime”.
The former journalist admitted to having found the red leather cigar case among the bombed-out debris of Aziz’s home while visiting Iraq as a reporter in 2003. He wrote about it at the time, and kept it as a trophy of his trip.
Little more was said about it — until Labour aides unearthed the story during recent campaigning for London mayor, which saw a close-fought race between him and veteran Labour mayor Ken Livingstone.
Read MoreSteroid Using And Dealing Tennessee State Probation Officer Mike Lankford Suspended After Admitting To Using And Selling Drugs
June 24th, 2008
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - The Channel 4 I-Team reported that someone hired by the state to keep drug users on the right path admitted to using and selling steroids.
State probation officer Mike Lankford was placed on administrative leave after admitting to using and selling steroids to investigators, the I-Team’s Jeremy Finley reported on Monday.
Finley said the officer also has ties to the chief suspected dealer in a steroid investigation that has a number of law enforcement officers caught up in it.
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“Whenever there’s any kind of allegations of illegal activities, it bothers us,” said Office of Probation and Parole representative Jack Elder.
In a Metro police investigative report obtained by the I-Team, Lankford told investigators he purchased steroids, injected them into himself and sold them.
In the report, Lankford names Scott Haines, the trainer charged with selling steroids to officers in middle Tennessee.
Read MoreTaxpayer Dollars Go Down The Drain For Funeral For Seaside Heights New Jersey Police Capt. Dave Szalkowski - Hero’s Send Off For Officer Who Died After Lung Transplant - Our Tax Dollars At Work
June 23rd, 2008
TOMS RIVER, NEW JERSEY — Hundreds of police officers from throughout the state were part of a somber send-off for Seaside Heights Police Capt. Dave Szalkowski who was laid to rest today at St. Joseph’s Cemetery on Hooper Avenue.
Szalkowski, 44, died last week following a double-lung transplant. He was married to his high-school sweetheart. They had two children.
His wife, Elayne, supported her husband’s many friends and family during the ceremony.
The funeral Mass was held at 9:30 a.m., and a hearse was escorted by a police motorcade and a State Police helicopter flying overhead. The procession included hundreds of cars.
Along the path of the funeral procession, people stood with their hands on their hearts. The procession, marked by sirens and flashing lights, went by the Seaside Heights police station, where Szalkowski had worked for 18 years. He was a lifelong resident of Toms River.
Read MoreManhattan Beach California Lifeguard Runs Over Beachgoer With Truck
June 22nd, 2008
MANHATTAN BEACH, CALIFORNIA - A woman treated for leg injuries has been released from a South Bay hospital, and the lifeguard who drove over her on the sand at El Porto Saturday is on desk duty.
Manhattan Beach police said their traffic investigators will handle the mishap, where the beachgoer was hit by a yellow county truck on a crowded beach. The 26-year-old woman’s name was not released, nor was the name of the lifeguard.
The woman was partially-buried in the sand at the time of the accident, on the beach in El Porto near the western end of Rosecrans Avenue, Los Angeles County firefighter-lifeguards said.
One of the woman’s legs was run over by one tire, they said.
“There is an ongoing investigation,” a county lifeguard statement said. “One of our lifeguards was pulled to administrative duty yesterday.”
Read MoreInmate Walks Out Of Dallas Texas Police Department’s Jail
June 22nd, 2008
DALLAS, TEXAS - Dallas officials are looking for an inmate who escaped from the jail Wednesday night.
Robert Sampson faced illegal drug charges before he escaped from the Dallas PD headquarters.
There is now a warrant out for the 48-year-old that includes the escape charge.
Dallas police said they will conduct an internal review of the officers’ actions and take action, if needed. No one had been
“A review of departmental policy will also be conducted to determine if any changes need to be made there as well,” explained Sr. Cpl. Kevin Janse.
No officers are on any type of restricted duty at this time, he added.
Nearly 4000 Inmates Sue Suffolk County Massachusetts House Of Correction After Being Locked In Cells Without Toilets Or Sinks
June 22nd, 2008
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - Nearly 4,000 current and former inmates are suing the Suffolk House of Correction for failing to provide timely access to bathrooms.
U.S. District Judge Nathaniel Gorton has allowed the class action case to move forward. He ruled that anyone held in Building Four of the jail since August 2003 could be a plaintiff.
The lawsuit was filed in August 2006 by three former inmates. It alleges the jail housed prisoners in cells without toilets or sinks and required them to ask guards for permission to use the bathroom.
The suit says the practice amounted to cruel and unusual punishment. It alleges some prisoners were forced to rely on plastic bags and empty shampoo bottles when they were unable to use the bathroom.
Attempts to reach the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department for comment were unsuccessful.
Innocent Reporter Falsely Targeted By A Dumb Blonde At New York Airport For Taking A Vitamin, Assaulted By A Cop And Searched
June 22nd, 2008
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - “So. Turns out, I’m the security threat,” I told my editor, calling him from my airline seat. The police with their assault rifles had left, along with the cop who moments before had shoved me against a jetway wall.
Like many regular fliers, I have a finely honed security routine. Lotions and hand sanitizer in the little plastic bag. Laptop in a form-fitting case for X-ray adventures. My shoes almost untie themselves.
But I found there are still things you can’t predict. More than half a dozen years after Sept. 11, 2001, little may prevent an innocent traveler from becoming an imagined threat.
On June 16, I flew JetBlue from New York to Las Vegas to report on a telecommunications conference.
It was the day after Father’s Day. I had my 3-year-old son in my thoughts and the gift of a blue tie in my luggage.
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