Santa
Fe cop arrested for printing counterfeit $100 bills
Former Santa Fe police officer Anthony Rivera and brother
Dominic were arrested Sunday and charged with overseeing the production of fake
$100 bills, created using $20′s that were stripped of their color using paint
thinner.
The two men, 44 and 34 respectively, were arrested along
with 20-year-old Tyler Ament and accused of creating more than $1,200 in
counterfeit currency in recent months, The Santa Fe New Mexican reported
Tuesday.
Police broke the case last week after Ament tried to use one
of the bills at a gas station and a clerk turned him away. Ament returned to
the gas station for cigarettes after buying jeans at a local Kohls and officers
were waiting for him.
Ament ultimately told police that Dominic ran the
counterfeiting operation while Anthony approved the bills that went out,
according to KRQE-TV. They used paint thinner to strip $20′s of their color and
printed $100 bills onto the remaining material.
Police confirmed Monday that Anthony Rivera left the Santa
Fe Police Department in 2011 after two decades on the force. He currently works
for the Tesuque Tribal Police Department, which did not respond to a request
for comment.
Lorain
officer suspended and demoted for bad time cards
LORAIN — A Lorain
police officer has been suspended and demoted for manipulating the hours he
worked in order to get a three-day workweek.
Jeff Jackson has been demoted from sergeant to patrolman and
given a 14-day suspension without pay, according to a Feb. 22 letter sent by
Lorain Safety/Service Director Robert Fowler.
“This misrepresentation of one’s time and modification of
records to reflect hours that were not worked is very troubling,” Fowler wrote.
“The sheer disregard for the public trust that is essential in the position of
a public safety officer is also very troubling.”
Lorain County Prosecutor Dennis Will said Wednesday that the
investigation into Jackson’s actions has been forwarded to his office for
review.
Officer
charged with stealing gasoline
A Hingham police officer has been charged with stealing
nearly $500 in gasoline from the town to fill up his own car, the department
said Monday. Officer Thomas Cadigan, 61, a 34-year veteran of the Police
Department, was charged in Wareham District Court Monday with nine counts of
larceny. He has resigned and paid the town for the gas. “I think anybody that’s
going to commit any crime, whether they be town employees or otherwise, would
know if they get caught, they will be charged,” said Police Chief Michael
Peraino. Cadigan admitted to sufficient facts. The case was continued without
finding for six months, and Cadigan was put on probation.
Former
and Current Philadelphia Police Officers Charged in Alleged Loan-Sharking
Scheme
- PHILADELPHIA—One former and one active Philadelphia police
officer were charged by indictment, unsealed today, with extortion in an
alleged loan-sharking scheme. According to the indictment, Gary Cottrell, 46, a
former 14th district police officer, made high interest loans to others,
including Cheryl L. Stephens, 46, an active 18th district police officer.
Cottrell, who was arrested this morning, is charged with four counts of making
an extortionate extension of credit, four counts of collecting an extension of
credit by extortionate means, and eight counts of obstruction; Stephens is
charged with two counts of making false statements to the grand jury. The
charges were announced today by United States Attorney Zane David Memeger and
FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge John Brosnan.
The indictment alleges that during the time he worked as a
police officer and for a time after he left the Philadelphia Police Department,
Cottrell operated a business in which he extended credit to borrowers,
typically in amounts ranging from several hundred dollars to several thousand
dollars. He allegedly required each borrower to repay the amount of money he
loaned to them plus interest. The interest generally was in an amount equal to
$25 for every $100 borrowed and generally had to be repaid in four weeks. The
interest rate on these loans was substantially greater than the legally
enforceable rate of 25 percent per annum. The indictment further alleges that
some of the individuals borrowing money from Cottrell understood that he would
use force, if necessary, to collect the money he loaned them plus the interest,
and Cottrell did use force and the threat of force to collect money from
borrowers. At times Cottrell allegedly sent threats of force to the borrowers
via text messages.
It is further alleged Stephens falsely testified that
Cottrell did not charge interest on her loan from him and did not tell her to
deny paying interest when talking to law enforcement officers.
If convicted, Cottrell faces a maximum statutory sentence of
320 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a $4 million fine, and
a $1,600 special assessment. Stephens faces a maximum statutory sentence of 10
years in prison, three years of supervised release, a $500,000 fine, and a $200
special assessment.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation/Philadelphia Police Department Public Corruption Task Force and
the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office. It is being prosecuted by
Assistant United States Attorney Anthony J. Wzorek and Special Assistant United
States Attorney Vicki J. Markovitz.
Miami
Police Officers Charged with Identity Theft
Former Miami police officers Malinsky Bazile, 28, and Vital
Frederick, 26, were recently arrested and charged with identity theft and tax
fraud.
"Bazile and Frederick allegedly misused their access to
the D.A.V.I.D. (DAVID) driver’s license database to find identity information
to be used for tax refund fraud," DataBreaches.net reports. "Bazile
allegedly systematically ran searches on the database for women in a particular
age range, e.g., he would run a search on DAVID for females in Florida aged 57
to 61 with first names beginning with 'A' and last name 'Martinez.'"
"Then he took their personal information and filed
bogus federal income-tax returns, all to score stolen refunds," writes The
Miami Herald's Jay Weaver. "Bazile and fellow officer Vital Frederick,
separately accused of tapping into the same database, were both arrested
Thursday in the first-ever federal prosecution of identity theft and tax-refund
fraud involving South Florida law enforcement."
"The perpetrators of this type of fraud have been as
diverse as the victims they prey upon," Miami U.S. Attorney Wifredo said
in a statement. "To date, we have prosecuted Social Security office
employees, hospital employees, clinic workers, former NFL players, gang members
and violent criminals, to name a few. Today, we sadly add law enforcement to the
list of thieves."
Former
Law Enforcement Officers Plead Guilty to Theft of Government Funds
JACKSON, MS—Watson Jackson, a former deputy with the Madison County Sheriff’s
Office; Zach Robinson, a former deputy with the Hinds County Sheriff’s Office;
and Kent Daniels, a former Jackson Police officer and investigator for the
Hinds County District Attorney’s Office, pled guilty in U.S. District Court
today to theft of government funds and property.
On September 30, 2011, defendants Robinson and Daniels, along
with an FBI informant, drove to a motel to rob a room they thought was being
used by a drug dealer. They discussed detailed plans of the robbery and how
they would divide the money among themselves. However, the FBI had previously
rented the motel room and placed $23,000 in cash and seven iPads in the room.
Jackson drove in a separate vehicle to the motel and acted as a lookout.
Upon arrival at the motel, the FBI informant and Robinson
entered the motel room and took the $23,000 and seven iPads. After taking the
cash and the iPads, they met up with defendant Daniels in order to count the
money. At the time, they did not believe they had taken all the money, so
Jackson and the FBI informant went back to the motel room and looked for
additional money. After the robbery, defendants Robinson, Daniels, Jackson and
the FBI informant divided the money and iPads among them.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jerry Rushing and Mike
Hurst.
The defendants will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Tom
S. Lee on May 23, 2013, at 9:00 a.m. They each face a maximum sentence of 10
years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Tulsa
dodges lawsuit tidal wave after police corruption investigation
Attorneys representing Tulsa against civil lawsuits related
to police corruption said the city is emerging better than expected from what
was predicted to be a tidal wave of lawsuits.
At least 48 people have been freed from prison or had their
cases modified due to alleged falsified search warrants or other civil rights
violations by police, and 16 lawsuits for 15 defendants have been filed against
the city to date, according to court records.
The federal corruption investigation resulted in charges
against six current or former Tulsa police officers and a federal agent, as
well as accusations of criminal behavior against five officers who were not
charged.
"That fear that it was going to be something really
crippling to the city - it has never hit that," said Attorney Guy Fortney,
who represents the city. "There just aren't that many cases left that the
statute of limitations hasn't already run out on."
Fortney's firm, Brewster & DeAngelis Law Offices,
pledged to donate $1.2 million in legal fees to help defend the city as cases
were filed - though Fortney said his office has never approached that amount.
The city of Tulsa has paid for expenses involved in the
defense, such as expert witnesses and mailings, Fortney said.
Gerald Bender, Litigation Division manager for the city of
Tulsa, said the low number of suits filed against the city is due to the quick
and aggressive approach Fortney and attorney Clark Brewster used on each
lawsuit.
"We determined right up front that we weren't going to
spend a dime in settlements," which was a decision Mayor Dewey Bartlett
made, Bender said.
Many attorneys who were prepared to file lawsuits have told
Bender that the city's defense from Brewster and Fortney made the cases simply
"not worth it," Bender said.
"We just continue to be really aggressive in our
response," Fortney said.
While 16 lawsuits have been filed, seven are closed in
regards to the city - either in a judgment or dismissal, records show.
Nine remain open, and four of those have pending motions to
dismiss the city, which Fortney said he is confident will be granted.
Those cases with pending motions to dismiss are filed by
Edward Johnson, who served two years of a 10-year sentence; Marvin Barber, who
served more than five years of a 17-year sentence; Lindell Pointer, who served
about two years of a 14-year sentence; and Thomas Ranes, who served all of his
two-year sentence before filing a motion to have his sentence vacated.
Of the nine cases, one case has a pending motion for summary
judgment.
The remaining four open cases have survived city- dismissal
challenges.
Of those four, one involves allegations that law enforcement
officers framed Larry Wayne Barnes Sr. and Larita Annette Barnes in 2007,
records show. The Barneses were convicted of selling drugs and sentenced to
federal prison.
They were freed in 2009 after an informant in the case said
he worked with ATF agent Brandon McFadden and Officer Jeff Henderson to frame
them, court records show.
The Barneses served more than a year in prison before being
freed due to the police corruption probe.
"I don't think we can say we're in the clear,"
Bender said. "I think we've established some excellent laws and some
excellent decisions. ... I think it looks very good."
The federal corruption investigation resulted in charges
against six current or former Tulsa police officers and a federal agent, as
well as accusations of criminal behavior against five officers who were not
charged.
Three Tulsa police officers and the federal agent were
convicted.
At least 48 people have been freed from prison or had their
cases modified because of civil rights violations or potential problems with
their cases stemming from the police corruption.
The law enforcement defendants:
Jeff Henderson, who was hired by the Tulsa Police Department
in 1995, was convicted on two counts of civil rights violations and six counts
of perjury. He was acquitted on 45 counts of perjury, civil rights violations,
drug conspiracy and witness tampering. Henderson was sentenced to 42 months in
prison, which he is serving in South Dakota. Three months were added to that
prison time Wednesday for contempt of court.
Brandon McFadden, hired as an agent for the U.S. Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in 2002, was sentenced to 21 months
in a Texas prison after pleading guilty to drug conspiracy. McFadden cooperated
with prosecutors.
John K. "J.J." Gray, hired by the Tulsa Police
Department in 1990, pleaded guilty to stealing money and was sentenced to four
months in a Louisiana prison. Gray cooperated with prosecutors.
Harold R. Wells, hired as a Tulsa police officer in 1975,
was convicted on five counts, but a federal judge later dismissed one count.
Wells was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, which he is serving in
Minnesota.
Three police officers - Nick DeBruin, Bruce Bonham and Bill
Yelton - were acquitted on civil rights violations in two cases.
Bonham was charged with five counts and DeBruin was charged
with six counts related to theft of U.S. funds, civil rights violations, drug
possession and possession of firearms. The Tulsa Police Department fired the
two for failing to follow policies regarding "conduct unbecoming an
officer" and "duty to be truthful and obedient."
Yelton retired about nine months after police announced that
an internal investigation was under way.
Arizona
anti-police-corruption bill gains
A bill giving counties power to take control of corrupt
police departments and primarily aimed at the polygamist enclave of Colorado
City passed the Arizona House by an overwhelming majority Thursday.
House Bill 2648, which still needs a Senate vote, would
allow county supervisors to appoint a neutral, third-party administrator to
take over a police department determined by the state’s law-enforcement
advisory board to have systemic misconduct or mismanagement.
Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne has pushed for the
measure as part of his attempts to reduce the power of the Fundamentalist
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which controls the town government
of Colorado City.
Rep. Michelle Ugenti, R-Scottsdale, primary sponsor of the
bill, said she introduced the measure to “give the public an option when
there’s been a violation of their trust and confidence from those who have
taken an oath to serve and protect.”
Authorities in Arizona and Utah have struggled for decades
to deal with underage marriages, fraud, banishment of young males and other
FLDS practices.
But lawmakers from Mohave County say that whatever
corruption may have occurred in Colorado City has been eradicated in the
absence of imprisoned FLDS leader Warren Jeffs.
“I would challenge someone to give me documentation to
suggest Colorado City is a rogue department and we have to create an entire
system of police oversight,” said Rep. Doris Goodale, R-Kingman. “There is
none. It’s all built on hearsay and conjecture by the attorney’s office, who
promulgated last year’s bill.”
Last year, Horne asked state lawmakers to pass legislation
voiding the Colorado City marshal’s authority while providing funds for
sheriff’s deputies to patrol the community. The measure failed, in part,
because Mohave County lawmakers opposed it. Horne provided $420,000 from his
budget to pay for sheriff’s patrols.
To meet the threshhold for the current bill, a police
department has to have a certain percentage of its force stripped of police
certifications in a five-year period; the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and
Training Board has to determine that gross misconduct occurred; and a
supermajority of county supervisors must agree with the policing board’s recommendation.
“If you’re cleaning up the department, you have nothing to
worry about,” Ugenti said, adding that if what Mohave County lawmakers say is
true about Colorado City, “no one is going to find a systemic issue, and this
process will not be triggered.”