Crime

Multi-agency crackdown “Operation Slim Chance” leads to indictment of 24

ALBANY, N.Y. (May 8, 2008) - New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the indictment of 24 New Yorkers accused of taking part in a highly organized narcotics distribution organization operating in the Capitol District and supplied from Long Island.

In the indictment unsealed in Schenectady County Court yesterday, a Grand Jury charged 24 people with possession and/or sale of narcotics and conspiracy to sell narcotics. The majority of arrests stemming from the Indictment occurred this morning throughout the Capitol Region. The indictment is the result of a multi-agency investigation known as “Operation Slim Chance,” led by the Attorney General’s Organized Crime Task Force (OCTF).    » read more »

BALTIMORE, MD (May 8, 2008) - Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced today that Kevin Thomas Forrester, 32, former operator of Forrester Financial Group in Phoenix, pled guilty before the Honorable Robert E. Cahill, Jr. in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County to felony theft and fraudulent securities practices.    » read more »

May 8, 2008 -- TALLAHASSEE, FL – Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced that a Central Florida woman has been sentenced to 18 years in prison to be followed by 10 years of probation for participating in criminal mortgage fraud schemes.

Patricia C. Grant and her daughter, Geisha Morris, were previously found guilty by an Orange County jury for their role in a mortgage fraud ring that operated throughout Central and South Florida. The case was prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution.    » read more »

May 6, 2008 -- TRENTON - Racing Commission Executive Director Frank Zanzuccki announced today that a Racing Commission investigation has resulted in the first positive test results obtained under the state’s recently-expanded testing protocols aimed at detecting the use of performance-enhancing substances in race horses.

Harness racing: Photo by Jill (CC)    » read more »

May 7, 2008 -- Las Vegas, NV -- Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto announced today that District Court Judge Kathy Hardcastle has sentenced Mitchell Adam Chirchick, 40, of Las Vegas, in connection with the sale of bogus travel packages to the NFL’s 2007 Pro Bowl in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Pro Bowl kickoff rally, Hawaii: Photo by Zach Everson (CC)

Chirchick, who pled guilty to three counts of Felony Theft of Property in Excess of $2,500, was sentenced to consecutive terms of 4 to 10 years on Counts One and Two.    » read more »

May 7, 2008 -- Jefferson City, Mo. - Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon says Missourians are receiving letters in the mail offering mortgage insurance, refinancing and other services. He says while many of those solicitations are designed to look like they come from a consumer's mortgage lender, they actually come from a separate, unrelated company.    » read more »

Subcommittee Authorizes Subpoena for Addington

May 6, 2008 -- (Washington, DC)- Today, the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties heard testimony from a panel of witnesses who agreed that there is no "ticking time bomb" that justifies harsh interrogation techniques that were approved in Bush Administration legal memos.

Protest sign, Washington, D.C.: Photo by Giovanni Variottinelli (CC)    » read more »

April 25, 2008 -- SACRAMENTO -- California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced a new DNA search policy that will improve the ability of local law enforcement to investigate unsolved violent crimes by providing new investigative leads.

DNA bands: Photo by Diego Cantalapiedra    » read more »

Senator Says Progress Has Been Made, More Needs To Be Done To Stamp Out Meth, Other Drug Use

April 22, 2008 -- (Washington, D.C.) – Montana’s senior U.S. Senator Max Baucus and others today urged the Senate Appropriations Committee to provide $235 million for the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) Program, which helps drug tasks forces coordinate efforts to curb drug trafficking.

Anti-methamphetamine graffiti on a house near Billings, Montana: Photo by Eric Chan (CC)    » read more »

April 20, 2008 -- The following is the text of Mayor Bloomberg's weekly radio address as prepared for delivery on 1010 WINS News Radio for Sunday, April 20, 2008

"Good Morning. This is Mayor Mike Bloomberg.

"Last Wednesday marked the one-year anniversary of the Virginia Tech shootings, the terrible day when one student killed 32 people and then himself. The pain and shock of that tragedy echoed throughout our entire nation.

Desert Eagle .44: Photo by Keary O. (CC)    » read more »

Bill Would Extend Law To War Fraud Related To Iraq, Afghanistan

WASHINGTON -- April 18, 2008 – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) today introduced legislation to improve the enforcement of contracting fraud in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Soldiers in Chowkay Valley, Afghanistan: Photo by soldiersmediacenter (CC)    » read more »

April 17, 2008 -- (Washington, DC)- Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and Committee Members Linda Sánchez (D-CA), Artur Davis (D-AL), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) announced three critical actions in the Committee's investigation into allegations of selective or poltiically-motivated prosecution in the Justice Department.

Karl Rove protesters: Photo by Ted Swedenburg (CC)    » read more »

April 18, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, DC — Senator Hillary Clinton today issued the following statement on new reports of corruption in the award of a $50 million contract to provide entertainment services at Air Force functions.

“The Bush Administration has again demonstrated its total disregard for transparency and accountability and is once more turning a blind eye to fraud, corruption and abuse of the federal contracting process on the backs of taxpayers.    » read more »

Senator Urges Oversight and Accountability of Out-of-Control Contracting

April 17, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, DC – Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton today called on the Bush Administration to move quickly to close loopholes in proposed rules that would allow federal contractors to hide fraud, waste and abuse.

Hillary Clinton: Photo by Marc Nozell (CC)

In a letter to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Senator Clinton urged quick action to protect American taxpayers from the unchecked excesses of outside contractors and vowed to introduce legislation to ensure stronger oversight and accountability for federal contractors.    » read more »

Grants Will Help Fund Investigations and Victim Services

April 18, 2008 -- New York Governor Paterson today announced $1.17 million in grants to provide communities with increased resources to improve child safety – allowing more thorough investigation and prosecution of child abuse, neglect and maltreatment cases and enhancing victim services. The grants, 12 in total to organizations in various counties across New York State, reinforce the Governor’s commitment to ensuring the health, safety and well-being of New York’s children.    » read more »