http://www.911jobforums.com This is a discussion forum for police, fbi,federal, state trooper,emt,paramedic,firefighter and trainees to discuss all aspects of getting a job and a career within the law enforcement sector en Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:19:22 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.911jobforums.com/images/misc/rss.jpg http://www.911jobforums.com http://www.911jobforums.com/showthread.php?t=62480&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:14:22 GMT Radical Lawyer Convicted of Aiding Terrorist Is Jailed By COLIN MOYNIHAN Published: November 20, 2009 Defiant to the end as she embraced emotional supporters outside the federal courthouse in Lower Manhattan, Lynne F. Stewart, the radical lawyer known for defending unpopular clients, surrendered... Radical Lawyer Convicted of Aiding Terrorist Is Jailed
By COLIN MOYNIHAN
Published: November 20, 2009

Defiant to the end as she embraced emotional supporters outside the federal courthouse in Lower Manhattan, Lynne F. Stewart, the radical lawyer known for defending unpopular clients, surrendered on Thursday evening to begin serving her 28-month sentence for assisting terrorism.

John Marshall Mantel for The New York Times
Lynne F. Stewart with her husband, Ralph Poynter, left, before she surrendered on Thursday.
“This is the day they executed Joe Hill, and his words were, ‘Don’t mourn me, organize,’ ” Ms. Stewart said as she walked toward the courthouse, referring to the labor organizer executed on Nov. 19, 1915, after a controversial trial. “I hope that will be the message that I send, too.”

After a lengthy trial, a jury in 2005 convicted Ms. Stewart, now 70, of providing material aid to terrorism and of lying to the government while helping an imprisoned client, Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, communicate with his followers in Egypt.

The sheik, a blind fundamentalist cleric, was serving a life sentence after his 1995 conviction for organizing a thwarted plot to blow up landmarks in New York. Ms. Stewart assisted him by communicating a statement from him to a reporter in Cairo, which allowed his followers to learn of it.

The start of her prison term was put off while she appealed her conviction and so she could receive treatment for breast cancer. But on Tuesday, a federal appeals court panel upheld the verdict and ordered that Ms. Stewart begin serving her sentence.

The appellate judges, questioning what one called a “breathtakingly low” sentence, also sent the case back to the trial judge, John G. Koeltl of Federal District Court, to determine if Ms. Stewart deserved a longer sentence in light of the seriousness of her conduct and the possibility that she had lied during her trial.

Two co-defendants, Ahmed Abdel Sattar and Mohamed Yousry, were also convicted at the 2005 trial. Mr. Sattar is serving a 24-year sentence. Mr. Yousry, who translated Ms. Stewart’s conversations with her client, was sentenced to 20 months and also surrendered.

Ms. Stewart surrendered to United States marshals at the courthouse. Prosecutors said that it had not been determined where she would be sent. In sentencing Ms. Stewart, Judge Koeltl wrote that she had engaged in “extraordinarily severe” criminal conduct. But he also acknowledged her long record of representing the disadvantaged, the destitute and the despised.

Indeed, over the years, Ms. Stewart often took on cases nobody else wanted. She won an acquittal for Larry Davis, who had been accused of wounding six police officers in a 1986 shootout in the Bronx, and represented David J. Gilbert, a member of the Weather Underground convicted in the 1981 robbery of a Brink’s armored car in Rockland County. Other clients, however, were merely poor and obscure, and Ms. Stewart was a passionate advocate for them.

As she walked slowly toward the courthouse, holding the arm of her husband, Ralph Poynter, she paused to greet friends. More than 100 people chanted “Free Lynne Stewart.”

Then she stood behind metal barricades and gave a farewell speech. She said she would not change much about the past if she could, and urged younger lawyers to defend clients zealously.

“They can put me in jail, but my love, my ideas, my forcefulness I hope will remain with all of you,” she said. “And I will return.” ]]> News Forum SIU http://www.911jobforums.com/showthread.php?t=62480 http://www.911jobforums.com/showthread.php?t=62479&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:10:08 GMT Police Chase Ends In Gunfire; Both Suspects Dead 2 Police Officers Wounded; One Transported To Hospital Posted by Wayne Harrison, Alan Gathright, and Kim Nguyen, Web Editors POSTED: 12:03 pm MST November 19, 2009 UPDATED: 11:13 pm MST November 19, 2009 WESTMINSTER, Colo. -- A blazing gun battle... Police Chase Ends In Gunfire; Both Suspects Dead
2 Police Officers Wounded; One Transported To Hospital
Posted by Wayne Harrison, Alan Gathright, and Kim Nguyen, Web Editors

POSTED: 12:03 pm MST November 19, 2009
UPDATED: 11:13 pm MST November 19, 2009


WESTMINSTER, Colo. -- A blazing gun battle ended in death just after noon Thursday, as police and two bank robbery suspects exchanged gunfire in front of horrified witnesses at a busy strip mall and a major intersection.

By the time the rolling gunfight ended, two suspected bank robbers were dead and two Westminster police officers were wounded. The officers were identified as Deputy Sean Chandler and Deputy Chief Tim Carlson.

According to witnesses who saw the chase end at 120th Avenue and Federal Boulevard, a police officer in a black unmarked car was pursuing a silver car north on Federal when he attempted a "pit maneuver" to spin the car around on 120th Avenue. The police car smashed into the right rear of the silver car, causing it to spin and come to a halt

A female passenger jumped out of the car and fired at police officers and the officers returned fire, hitting the woman, witnesses said. The woman was taken about 12:30 p.m. to St. Anthony's Central Hospital, where she was pronounced dead a short time later.

The driver of the getaway car was also shot and killed. His body was still in the Subaru Impreza, with his seat belt on, more than four hours after the chase ended. The car was riddled with more than two dozen bullet holes. The officers' car windows were shattered and also pockmarked by gunfire.

Chandler and Carlson were both shot. Carlson was treated at the scene, and Chandler was taken to St. Anthony's Central Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to Westminster police spokesman Trevor Materasso.

The identities of the suspects have not been disclosed. It's not clear how many times the suspects and the officers were shot.

More than 30 evidence markers could be seen on 120th Avenue around the cars, marking shell casings and other evidence.

Several witnesses at the nearby Baker Street Pub and Grill were having lunch on the outside patio when they said it sounded like 30 to 50 gunshots were fired between the suspects and the police officers in front of them.

All of the customers dived for the floor, including a woman with a 2-year-old girl.

"I just heard popping -- boom boom boom boom. Between 50 and 100, just continuously," said witness Joyce Crumplar, who said she was terrified for her life when the shots rang out about 100 yards away. "We were scared. She was in her high chair. I just pushed her back in the high chair. I didn't want to get her out. She lay flat and she was quiet, and we just laid there. We just kept staying down on the ground. We didn't feel like moving much."

Suspects Stopped For Gas After Bank Robbery

The incident that started it all was a bank robbery at the 1st Bank at 120th Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard at 11:51 a.m., dispatchers said. The robbers sped away in a silver Subaru Impreza.

A Federal Heights police dispatcher told 7NEWS the pursuit began minutes later when an unmarked Westminster police unit spotted the suspect's vehicle stopped at a Safeway gas station near 103rd Avenue and Federal Boulevard in Federal Heights, about 3.7 miles away.

"The suspects apparently stopped at the gas station at Safeway and the Westminster (police) car just happened to see them there," the police dispatcher said.

The suspect vehicle sped off through the shopping center's parking lot as someone in the suspect's car shot out the back window and began firing through the rear windshield at the unmarked Westminster police car behind it.

"There was one car going down the road here, and a cop was just following him, going fairly slow. When they got right over here, the guy just shot three or four times right in front of us," said Chad Grothe, who was working with a construction crew pouring concrete near the gas station.

"I ran and hid behind that gas station teller, " Grothe said. "You could hear the bullets going into the car, too. Yeah, it was scary ... Not a good day."

Witnesses at that strip mall, which includes a Money Tree, a Chick-Fil-A, a Chipotle and a Dairy Queen, said bullets were virtually flying everywhere, and everyone who heard it was making a mad dash for cover.

A man who had just stepped outside the Ace Hardware said he could hear a bullet whizzing by.

"I heard three pops -- pop, pop, pop -- and then instantly a whistle just came flying by my head," said witness Allen Lawrence.

A Dairy Queen worker said she was getting ready to clean the front window when she saw the commotion and saw everyone outside duck for cover.

"All of a sudden the undercover car turned on its lights and then I see one guy hit the ground and people running around," said Dairy Queen worker Bobbie Brown.

She said when she heard the gunshots, she ran behind the ice cream shop's counter, and threw herself on the ground.

Cara Cordova was outside her apartment, about a quarter mile away, when a bullet punctured her apartment wall.

"I heard a bullet whiz over my head," Cordova said. "I knew exactly what it was. It was very scary."

Westminster police said they could not confirm that their officer fired shots at the car during the chase through the strip mall.

Witnesses See, Hear Volley Of Gunfire

A photo taken by an eyewitness at the end of the chase showed a number of police officers approaching the silver Impreza with guns drawn.

Jeff Reed, 45, was running errands when he found himself with a front-row seat as the deadly shootout erupted.

Reed, a lab technician, was driving westbound on 120th Avenue in his purple Pontiac Grand Prix when the car in front of him suddenly slowed down and veered to the side of the road.

In the eastbound lane, he spotted several police cars surrounding a silver compact pointed the wrong direction and thought it must be a traffic accident.

"Once I saw police officers standing in their shooting positions, I knew it wasn't an accident," he told 7NEWS. "I noticed eight, nine, 10 police officers pointing weapons at the car, so I immediately stopped.

"As I soon as I stopped, I just heard a volley of gunfire. I sat there for what seemed like eternity -- but it was about 10 seconds -- and figured, 'Ahh, I just probably better get out of here,'" he said.

An officer running toward him waved for Reed and other drivers to "get out of there."

Reed made a U-turn and drove away. He and other drivers stopped down the road to share their harrowing experiences.

"One guy said he was sitting at the stop light on a motorcycle and he heard the bullets whizzing over his head. And he got the heck out of there, too," Reed recalled.

The intersection of 120th Avenue and Federal Boulevard remain closed through the evening rush hour, and was reopened just before 7 p.m.

Jim Reuter, president of the data corporation for 1st Bank, said no one inside the bank was harmed during the bank robbery. It's not clear how much, if any, money was taken during the robbery.

Chandler has been with the Westminster Police Department since 1998 and Carlson has been on the force since 1987, Materasso said.

Westminster police were also involved in a shooting in July. Officers shot and killed a man after an incident where two police cars were rammed by a driver in a stolen car. ]]> News Forum RyanRJ http://www.911jobforums.com/showthread.php?t=62479 http://www.911jobforums.com/showthread.php?t=62478&goto=newpost Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:26:24 GMT Judge to Ariz. Officer: Apologize or Go to Jail Story by kpho.com PHOENIX -- A Maricopa County detention officer was found in contempt of court and ordered by a judge to make a public apology. Judge to Ariz. Officer: Apologize or Go to Jail

Story by kpho.com


PHOENIX --


A Maricopa County detention officer was found in contempt of court and ordered by a judge to make a public apology.

Judge Gary Donahoe ruled that officer Adam Stoddard acted in contempt when he removed paperwork from a defense attorney's file during a criminal sentencing hearing.

During his contempt hearing, Stoddard claimed things he read in the documents led him to believe the defendant being sentenced may have posed a security risk. Stoddard said he took the papers to make copies.

The judge ordered Stoddard to hold a news conference in front of the Central Court Building in downtown Phoenix on or before Nov. 30, or face going to jail Dec. 1.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio called the judge's ruling bizarre.

"The judge does not run this office and tell my people to have press conferences," said Arpiao.

The sheriff added, "I back up the detention officer. He did the right thing acting in good faith in that courtroom."

The judge wrote in his order that the detention officer must give a verbal and written apology for invading the defense file and for the damage that his conduct may have caused her professional reputation. In his ruling, Donahoe stated that if the defense attorney does not find apology sufficient, Stoddard would go to jail.

When asked if he would order his detention officer not to comply with the judge's order, Arpaio reiterated, "I am saying that I decide who has the press conferences and who will talk."

A deputy county attorney who represents Stoddard and the sheriff's office in this case said he plans to file an appeal and ask for a stay of the Nov. 30 deadline ]]> News Forum papimike http://www.911jobforums.com/showthread.php?t=62478 http://www.911jobforums.com/showthread.php?t=62477&goto=newpost Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:55:20 GMT Question: Has this forum ever done a member get together? if so how often? if not, is it possible to organize one? Question:
Has this forum ever done a member get together? if so how often? if not, is it possible to organize one? ]]> g6445v http://www.911jobforums.com/showthread.php?t=62477 http://www.911jobforums.com/showthread.php?t=62476&goto=newpost Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:02:54 GMT A few of the guys that are getting laid off at the end of the year are looking at going down to Raleigh, NC. I told them I would see if anyone had any updated information on the dept and area and overall impressions. Some are looking at the lateral process as they have over 2 years and the others... A few of the guys that are getting laid off at the end of the year are looking at going down to Raleigh, NC. I told them I would see if anyone had any updated information on the dept and area and overall impressions. Some are looking at the lateral process as they have over 2 years and the others are looking at having to do the academy due to not having 2 years. Any info out there would be appreciated so I could share with them.

Thanks ]]> Police Questions dutch9277 http://www.911jobforums.com/showthread.php?t=62476 http://www.911jobforums.com/showthread.php?t=62474&goto=newpost Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:47:49 GMT Let this new thread bring us new movement :banger: Let this new thread bring us new movement :banger: ]]> Federal Questions FBI_SA_Jarhead http://www.911jobforums.com/showthread.php?t=62474 http://www.911jobforums.com/showthread.php?t=62472&goto=newpost Mon, 16 Nov 2009 07:27:24 GMT I have often been told a good way to get your foot in the door for the federal system is to try and get on for agencies who do a lot of hiring such as Border Patrol, Customs and so on. Would getting hired as a Bureau of Indian Affairs Police Officer be a good way to get into the federal system? It... I have often been told a good way to get your foot in the door for the federal system is to try and get on for agencies who do a lot of hiring such as Border Patrol, Customs and so on.

Would getting hired as a Bureau of Indian Affairs Police Officer be a good way to get into the federal system? It seems like there are always patrol officer positions. ]]> Federal Questions wildlife97 http://www.911jobforums.com/showthread.php?t=62472 http://www.911jobforums.com/showthread.php?t=62471&goto=newpost Sat, 14 Nov 2009 13:29:32 GMT Russian Officers Turn to YouTube By MANSUR MIROVALEV Associated Press Writer MOSCOW -- When a police officer posted a video on YouTube complaining of rampant abuse in Russian law enforcement, it seemed like a lonely voice in a sea of social media. Russian Officers Turn to YouTube


By MANSUR MIROVALEV
Associated Press Writer


MOSCOW --

When a police officer posted a video on YouTube complaining of rampant abuse in Russian law enforcement, it seemed like a lonely voice in a sea of social media.

Since then, three more officers have come forward with their own YouTube videos making similar accusations - and others are lining up to do the same.

In a country where the rule of law is weak and most traditional media are under government control, social media sites are gaining a role as a place where fed-up citizens can broadcast their grievances.

But in the case of the YouTube cops, things may not be as simple as they seem: The unusual burst of whistle-blowing follows pledges from the Kremlin to clean up Russia's notoriously corrupt police force - and some suspect the Internet campaign may even have sprung from within the halls of power.

A grainy low-resolution video posted last week showed a fair-haired, nervous-looking police officer sitting on a shabby couch saying he promised to jail an innocent man in return for a promotion.

Maj. Alexey Dymovsky, a disgruntled officer from the southern port city of Novorossiisk, started the trend with two YouTube pleas in which he said his bosses forced him to falsely report that unsolved cases had been cracked.

He also said he divorced twice because his wives could not cope with his long hours and low pay.

"I am fighting for the truth," he said, directly addressing Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. "I am a bit scared to address you and the whole country ... but I can't do it any other way."

Dymovsky's postings got 700,000 hits by Monday - the day when he was fired and threatened with a lawsuit for slander. However, the Interior Ministry ordered an investigation into his allegations, and Dymovsky's example quickly found followers.

By Thursday night, three more YouTube pleas decried abuses, trumped-up convictions and corruption.

In two separate clips, ex-deputy prosecutor Grigory Chekalin and former police Maj. Mikhail Yevseyev claimed two innocent men were sentenced to life in prison for a 2005 arson in the northwestern city of Ukhta that killed 25. Yevseyev also alleged Ukhta police fabricated charges against local businessmen in return for bribes from their rivals.

Both resigned after the defendants were convicted.

In another posting, Moscow traffic policeman Vadim Smirnov claimed he was forced to resign after joining a trade union.

The head of Moscow's Police Trade Union, Mikhail Pashkov, told The Associated Press at least another 10 policemen have asked him to help record and post their grievances online.

Russian police normally close ranks in the face of criticism - perhaps confident in their power after decades of authoritarian Soviet-era rule and prominence in the past decade, with the Kremlin placing law and order at the top of its priority list.

But police have come under growing scrutiny, facing public grumbling over corruption and concerns over horrific outbursts of violence. In April, a Moscow police precinct chief killed three people and wounded seven others in a shooting spree in a supermarket and on the street outside, according to authorities.

President Dmitry Medvedev, who has vowed to fight corruption and talked up the importance of the rule of law, praised police at a Kremlin reception in their honor Tuesday but called for "the most energetic measures to cleanse the ranks of the police and special services of unworthy personnel."

Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev said Friday that the Web postings were "part of the purification" and pledged to fight "chaos and indecency ... of certain police officers," the ITAR-Tass agency reported.

Medvedev's comments and the minister's attention have fueled speculation that high-level authorities may be behind the YouTube trend.

Human rights groups say the problem is systemic - that Russian police routinely use trumped-up charges, abuse, blackmail and torture. Media reported cases of enslavement of labor migrants by police, and Kremlin critics claimed police beat up or killed several opposition activists.

Some experts even suggested that the video postings were a scheme by police officials to distract attention from horrors such as the April killings.

"The whole story looks very much like a work of police PR," political analyst Alexei Mukhin told the Gazeta.ru online daily. "Dymovsky does not say anything new, but the Interior Ministry responds immediately, orders investigations, and nobody cares about how they will end."

Dymovsky said, however, that one of the reasons he posted his videos was a 2005 Interior Ministry decree ordering police to solve more crimes. The policy has long been criticized by rights activists and participants of police Internet forums, who say financial rewards and promotions are based on crime-fighting results that can be easily faked and manipulated.

"If there are no grave crimes, no explosives or weapons, (police officers) have to plant them, otherwise they will get sacked or have to bribe their way out," union leader Pashkov said. "This is a Stalinist-era decree."

The Internet remains just about the only uncensored medium accessible to Russians. About 40 million out of the country's population of 143 million use the Internet, mostly young city dwellers. Although broadband Internet access is available only in big cities, cell phones are widely used to spread video files. ]]> News Forum papimike http://www.911jobforums.com/showthread.php?t=62471 http://www.911jobforums.com/showthread.php?t=62470&goto=newpost Sat, 14 Nov 2009 13:22:43 GMT I'm posting this here because I'm looking more for some commentary.

It was announced yesterday that the 9/11 plotters who are at Gitmo, will be tried here in NYC. Many Republicans are outcrying this as a bad decision. hey are saying its a threat to all Americans. Democrats are for it. NYC Police Commissioner Ray Kelly is for it and says bring and that the NYPD is ready for the security challenge and looking forward to it and that they should be tried in the same venue where their deed was carried out.

As a first responder, rescuer, survivor and investigator of those attacks, I want them here too.

If we get technical, I am a victim. This attack almost took my life as the South Tower fell on my team. Fast forward to today, I am very cognizant that I'm a slow ticking time bomb with 9/11 related sicknesses. So, I'm a surviving victim, along with thousands of others from across the U.S. So as a crime victim, a victim of terrorism, I want these SOB's here on my soil for their trial and for their death sentences.

-- And before someone cuts down my analogy, here's how it works:

--- A guy says he wants to kill people. He enters a store and sprays his machine gun in the store while you are in the store. He kills some people, while others survive. He gets charged with murder and attempted murder for those he didn't kill, but wanted to kill. ----- Same situation with 9/11 if you really think about it. ]]> papimike http://www.911jobforums.com/showthread.php?t=62470 http://www.911jobforums.com/showthread.php?t=62469&goto=newpost Sat, 14 Nov 2009 01:34:28 GMT Task force seeks ban on assault weapons Group also wants overhaul of Mexican border agencies By Spencer S. Hsu Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, November 13, 2009 A binational task force on U.S.-Mexico border issues will call Friday on the Obama administration and Congress to reinstate an... Task force seeks ban on assault weapons
Group also wants overhaul of Mexican border agencies

By Spencer S. Hsu
Washington Post Staff Writer

Friday, November 13, 2009

A binational task force on U.S.-Mexico border issues will call Friday on the Obama administration and Congress to reinstate an expired ban on assault weapons and for Mexico to overhaul its frontier police and customs agencies to mirror the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The recommendations are among a broad set of security, trade, development and environmental proposals that come as President Obama and his Mexicans counterpart, Felipe Calderón, move to deepen engagement on issues including economic recovery, climate change, illegal immigration and narcotics trafficking.

Robert C. Bonner, the U.S. co-chairman of the private task force, which included several former senior government officials from both countries, said the changes could be included in a follow-up to the Merida initiative, a $1.4 billion three-year commitment of U.S. aid to support Mexico's crackdown on drug cartels that ends next year.

The proposals "will transform management of the border from a source of contention and frustration into a model of cooperation," states a report by the Los Angeles-based Pacific Council on International Policy and the Mexican Council on Foreign Relations titled, "Rethinking the U.S.-Mexico Border." The 30-member task force blamed lack of collaboration for violence, billions of dollars in lost economic opportunities and a public perception of a "broken" system.

The study comes as Mexico's struggle to combat narco-traffickers and public corruption from the multibillion-dollar North American drug trade has forged a tighter relationship between the neighbors. In reaction, policy analysts and think tanks, most recently the School of the Northern Border in Mexico and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, have developed border development proposals.

Skeptics say U.S. attention to its troubled partner is outpaced by what it spends to combat drugs in places such as Colombia or Afghanistan, while the southbound flow of weapons into Mexico -- where private gun ownership is illegal -- has been a flashpoint as Mexico's death toll from drug-related violence has topped 15,000.

In Mexico City in April, Obama pledged to push the Senate to ratify an inter-American arms-trafficking treaty but backed away from a campaign promise to reinstate a ban on assault weapons that Congress let expire in 2004. Obama said that it would be too difficult politically to enact new gun legislation soon and that enforcing existing measures would have a more immediate effect.

Mexican officials want a ban, saying that 90 percent of guns seized in drug crimes in Mexico and submitted for tracing to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives originate in the United States, including most assault rifles.

Bonner, who led U.S. drug enforcement and customs agencies under Republican administrations from 1990 to 1993 and from 2002 to 2005, said the task force sought to identify bold steps for each side. Bonner took over the panel from Alan D. Bersin, whom Obama has nominated to lead U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Task force co-chairman Andres Rozental, former deputy foreign minister of Mexico, said Mexico should realign and strengthen 16 agencies that share border responsibilities to combat corruption and improve coordination with the DHS, as Canada did after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Mexico has taken some steps, including hiring 1,400 new customs agents.

Mexico is the third-largest U.S. trading partner and the No. 2 destination for U.S. exports, he noted. The panel recommended adding private border crossings that collect tolls and prioritizing jointly planned improvements based on economic benefit.

If the United States legalizes most of its illegal immigrants and allows for a flexible flow of legal workers, Mexico should stop illegal immigration from its side of the border, the panel said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...111211331.html ]]> News Forum CDD http://www.911jobforums.com/showthread.php?t=62469 http://www.911jobforums.com/showthread.php?t=62468&goto=newpost Sat, 14 Nov 2009 01:24:34 GMT ALEXANDRIA, Va. - A former Louisiana congressman who famously hid $90,000 cash in his freezer was sentenced Friday to 13 years in prison for taking bribes, the longest term ever imposed on a congressman for bribery charges. William Jefferson, a Democrat who represented parts of New Orleans for... ALEXANDRIA, Va. - A former Louisiana congressman who famously hid $90,000 cash in his freezer was sentenced Friday to 13 years in prison for taking bribes, the longest term ever imposed on a congressman for bribery charges.

William Jefferson, a Democrat who represented parts of New Orleans for nearly 20 years, was convicted in August of taking roughly $500,000 in bribes and seeking millions more in exchange for using his influence to broker business deals in Africa.

The sentence, while severe, was still far less than what prosecutors had sought.
Agents investigating the case found $90,000 wrapped in foil and hidden in boxes of frozen pie crusts in his freezer.

Prosecutors had asked a judge to follow federal guidelines and sentence him to at least 27 years, though the judge determined Friday that the sentencing guidelines should have been calculated at 22 years instead of 27. The defense asked for less than 10 years, arguing a stiffer sentence would be far longer than those imposed on congressmen convicted of similar crimes in recent years, none of whom was sentenced to more than a decade.

Prosecutor Mark Lytle said that, had Jefferson's schemes come to full fruition, he stood to reap hundreds of millions of dollars in 11 separate bribery schemes.

"His activity represented the most extensive and pervasive pattern of corruption in the history of Congress," Lytle said.

Jefferson's lawyer, Robert Trout, said that while his client acknowledged a level of responsibility for his conduct, he also believed that he was operating within the law. And he urged the judge to consider the fact that Jefferson lifted himself up from poverty to become the first African-American to represent Louisiana in Congress since Reconstruction.

"He has led an extraordinary life," Trout said.

Free pending hearing
U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III said he did take Jefferson's life history into account but that public corruption must be dealt with severely.

"Public corruption is a cancer on the body politic," said Ellis, who lamented that so many other congressmen have been convicted on similar charges. "There must be some sort of greed virus that attacks those in power."

Jefferson said nothing in court after he was sentenced — Trout said he advised Jefferson not to speak because Jefferson is challenging his conviction in appellate court.

When sentenced, the laconic Jefferson showed no visible reaction to the verdict, nor did his wife and five adult daughters who attended the hearing.

Two of the jurors who convicted Jefferson attended the hearing as well, one of whom fought back tears throughout the three-hour hearing. Both declined comment.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33915800...rts/?gt1=43001 ]]> News Forum CDD http://www.911jobforums.com/showthread.php?t=62468 http://www.911jobforums.com/showthread.php?t=62467&goto=newpost Sat, 14 Nov 2009 01:18:48 GMT Title says it all. Just wondering what usually happens if someone starts having medical issues AFTER having the 1811 job for awhile. Medical discharge? Perpetual lite duty? Title says it all. Just wondering what usually happens if someone starts having medical issues AFTER having the 1811 job for awhile. Medical discharge? Perpetual lite duty? ]]> Federal Questions xynder http://www.911jobforums.com/showthread.php?t=62467 http://www.911jobforums.com/showthread.php?t=62466&goto=newpost Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:08:47 GMT FORD ANNOUNCES DEVELOPMENT OF ALL-NEW POLICE INTERCEPTOR FOR LAW ENFORCMENT USE NATIONWIDE

* Ford confirms development plans of an all-new Ford Police Interceptor and affirms continued commitment to the police and municipal vehicle businesses
* New Police Interceptor's durability, safety and performance will exceed the existing Crown Victoria's law enforcement vehicle lineup
* Ford is the market leader in the law enforcement vehicle segment, selling 45,000 of the 60,000 police vehicles sold in each year in the U.S.

Dearborn, Mich., Nov. 13, 2009 – Ford Motor Company announced today it will produce an all-new purpose-built Police Interceptor specially designed and engineered to replace the Ford Crown Victoria law enforcement vehicle lineup in 2011.

The new Ford Police Interceptor is being developed in conjunction with Ford's Police Advisory Board, which provided input during the past 14 months on key vehicle attributes, such as safety, performance, durability, driver convenience and comfort. The new Police Interceptor will be offered without interruption when production of the Ford Crown Victoria ends in late 2011.

"We have heard the repeated requests from the law enforcement community to continue uninterrupted support of the law enforcement community," said Mark Fields, Ford's president of The Americas. "Ford is answering the call with the new Police Interceptor – engineered and built in America."
Ford – which currently controls approximately 75 percent of the police pursuit vehicle business in the U.S. – has invested significantly in designing the purpose-built new police and municipal vehicles to meet the needs of these crucial customers.

The new Police Interceptor is designed to provide municipalities with reduced ownership costs through improved fuel efficiency, quality and the kind of durability police departments nationwide have come to expect from Ford.

"Ford's commitment to the law enforcement community produced the Crown Victoria, the benchmark police vehicle," said Lt. Brian Moran, fleet manager, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and a member of Ford's Police Advisory Board. "This commitment has continued, and Ford has been working closely with the Police Advisory Board on developing the new Police Interceptor. I am confident that the next-generation Ford police vehicle will meet the future needs of the law enforcement community and will set the new standard."

Ford plans to reveal the new model and provide full vehicle specifications in the first quarter of 2010 – in time for law enforcement agencies, police equipment manufacturers and upfitters to develop a transition plan from the Crown Victoria to the new product.

Each year, Ford sells approximately 45,000 police vehicles, making the Blue Oval the nation's largest provider of police and municipal vehicles.

"Ford long has supported our public servants with vehicles that work as hard as they do," said Ken Czubay, Ford vice president, Marketing, Sales and Service. "We intend to build on this legacy with a new generation of municipal and police vehicles that set even higher standards." ]]> News Forum SIU http://www.911jobforums.com/showthread.php?t=62466 http://www.911jobforums.com/showthread.php?t=62465&goto=newpost Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:37:57 GMT http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/nov/13/us-to-seize-mosques-from-iran-charity/ By Ben Conery The U.S. government moved Thursday to seize property and buildings, including a New York skyscraper and four mosques, from a group it says is nothing more than a front for the Iranian government.... http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...-iran-charity/

By Ben Conery

The U.S. government moved Thursday to seize property and buildings, including a New York skyscraper and four mosques, from a group it says is nothing more than a front for the Iranian government.

The request, made by federal prosecutors in New York, could raise First Amendment issues as the government seeks to essentially become the landlord for the mosques, and the move also threatens further strain on tense relations between Washington and Tehran.

The U.S. is asking a federal judge to give it ownership of property and cash from the Alavi Foundation, a nonprofit group formed in the 1970s by the shah of Iran to pursue charitable activities in the U.S., but which authorities say morphed into an extension of the Iranian government after the Islamic Revolution three decades ago.

However, government officials issued a statement Thursday night denying any attempt to take over the houses of worship or any of the other tenants on the land or buildings owned by Alavi.

"No action has been taken against any tenants or occupants of those properties," said Yusill Scribner, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of New York. "The tenants and occupants remain free to use the properties as they have before today's filing. There are no allegations of any wrongdoing on the part of any of these tenants or occupants."

The U.S. government is trying to seize a 36-story office tower on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan and property whose tenants include Islamic centers in New York City, Maryland, California and Texas, as well as more than 100 acres in Virginia.

"For two decades, the Alavi Foundation's affairs have been directed by various Iranian officials, including Iranian ambassadors to the United Nations, in violation of a series of American laws," said Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. "The Alavi Foundation's former president remains under investigation for alleged obstruction of justice, and both the criminal and civil investigations are ongoing."

The former president, Farshid Jahedi, was arrested last year on an obstruction of justice charge accusing him of destroying documents required to be produced under a grand jury subpoena related to the Alavi Foundation's relationship with Bank Melli Iran, a bank controlled by the Iranian government.

Authorities suspect that the bank - through shell companies - and the foundation own the New York skyscraper together. Prosecutors previously filed a request to seize the 40 percent of the building owned by the bank. Thursday's filing seeks the other 60 percent. The other properties sought are owned solely by the Alavi Foundation.

Authorities are not closing any of the mosques or businesses located in the skyscraper. They also did not raid any of the properties but are seeking them through civil procedures. ]]> News Forum Ozymandias http://www.911jobforums.com/showthread.php?t=62465 http://www.911jobforums.com/showthread.php?t=62464&goto=newpost Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:40:02 GMT Here's the deal, I have been in constant thought about what to do with my career. I graduated college in the spring and got a great job with the gov't as an IT specialist over the summer. I am on a federal intern program so I will be a GS-12 after two years. Ultimate goal for me is to be a criminal investigator, and no I am not like some people that look at this forum for 10 minutes and say what are my chances of being an FBI agent. I just think it is the right career for me. Right now I am waiting for a Phase II invite, but know from the information I have read that my odds aren't good with the minimal amount of experience that I have.

Do I stick with what I am doing now and wait it out? which seems like the smart thing to do, but I am absolutely miserable all day. Sitting at a computer terminal all day is the worst thing for me. I was thinking about going to Air Force but people keep telling me I am wasting a degree and all that. The thing is I was going to do ROTC in college because military was always a thought in the back of my mind. I had the opportunity to play college football and did that. Now the reality of joining military is back.

If I am going to do military I am going to try for the best though. I have always made my goals really high and feel like becoming a part of pararescue would be a huge accomplishment and very rewarding. Again I am not just thinking about military to help 1811 resume, but would like some guidance from anyone that could help. It seems from reading here for awhile that there is a lot of military, feds, and some that are both. Just a younger kid looking for some career guidance, not wanting to wake up in 30 years thinking of how I wasted my life as someone behind a computer screen just to get a good retirement check. Thanks and if this isnt the place for this type of thread I'm sorry but it is the one that I read the most and sort of have the best feel for the people that read it as well. ]]> Federal Questions espelm http://www.911jobforums.com/showthread.php?t=62464