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Federal and Minnesota state investigators are working on dismantling a sophisticated fraud ring. Investigators say that the fraud ring involves about 200 members and could be one of the largest cases of its type in this country.
The organized crime ring has members in the Twin Cities and recruits on Facebook and other social networking web sites. This crime ring steals identities, raids bank and credit card accounts and defrauds businesses and banks nationwide. In addition, they buy stolen identities from employees of check cashing services and Internet data brokers.
The fraud ring has roots in West Africa and Eastern Europe. About thirty to forty percent of fraudulent check activity is in the Twin Cities. Some banks working with investigators are Wells Fargo, TCF Bank and US Bank.
In 2003, the Office of Justice Program’s (OJP) National Institute of Justice (NIJ) began funding major efforts to maximize the use of DNA technology in our criminal justice system. Much of NIJ’s work has focused on developing tools to investigate and solve the cases of missing persons and unidentified decedents. Recently the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) has gone online to help solve the nation’s 100,000 missing persons’ cases.
NamUs, a free online system, is a clearinghouse for missing persons and unidentified decedent records. This system can be searched by medical examiners, coroners, law enforcement officials and the general public to solve cases. By entering information such as description, photos, fingerprints, dental records and DNA information, the database provides potential matches and helps to further investigations.
So far, about 6,200 sets of remains and nearly 2,800 missing people have been entered. However, only about 1,100 of the nearly 17,000 law enforcement agencies nationwide are registered to use the system. This system has helped to solve 16 cases since it became operational last year.
As a result, legislation has been introduced named, “Billy’s Law” after a missing person who vanished five years ago. The bill would help to link NamUs with major FBI crime database. The cost of the bill is $10 million in grants annually to police, sheriffs, medical examiners and coroners to train people to use NamUs and to help cover the costs of entering date into the system. It will also provide another $2.4 million a year to run the system and to ensure permanent funding. The bill has passed the House and is pending in the Senate. Supporters are confident it will easily pass.
According to a recent New York Times article , states nationwide are trimming their budgets by using early releasing programs in their prison populations. As a result, more convicted felons are on the streets and not behind bars.
Take for instance in the state of Illinois. Gov. Patrick J. Quinn, a Democrat, described its early release program as “a big mistake.” This program sent some convicts who had committed violent crimes home from prison in a matter of weeks. Of more than 1,700 prisoners released over three months, more than 50 were soon accused of new violations.
The state of Michigan seems to have the worse case scenario. The state has the fifth largest prison system in the country. Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm of Michigan, a Democrat, has approved 133 commutations, which is more then some of her predecessors. In addition, she has expanded the state’s parole board to 15 members to allow more cases to be considered, and recently proposed a budget that presumes 7,500 fewer prisoners next year for savings of more than $130 million.
However, local prosecutors across the state of Michigan are challenging at least 20 of the parole decisions. Among the 13,541 inmates released on parole in 2009 was Scott W. Hankins, who has been convicted twice in sex cases and was given a thirty-year sentence. He has been accused of molesting other girls he had met at church, some of whom were developmentally disabled. The youngest girl was only seven years old. This man shows no remorse for his actions and should not have been allowed out on parole.
During these tough economic times, state governments still have the responsibility to keep their citizens safe. Cutting budgets in their prison populations should be carefully reviewed and be the last budget item to be cut.
Everyone knows that giving out “sensitive” information about your identity is not the right thing to do. However, when you are dealing with a cell phone carrier, you would think it would be all right to do. They ask many questions in order to verify that you are the person who is authorized on the account.
A recent article in the Star Tribune, shows that you can’t trust anybody. Tom Driscoll of Tonka Bay was adding minutes to his Virgin Mobile USA cell phone account when the call center representative started asking him questions. He asked for his mother’s maiden name and the last three numbers on the back of his credit card. These questions allowed the call center representative the use of Mr. Driscoll’s credit card on a Sony Play Station.
Mr. Driscoll immediately reported the identify theft to Virgin Mobile USA and canceled his credit card. However, the cell phone company didn’t report the incident to their fraud department. In fact, the cell phone company cut off Driscoll’s service when his credit card payments wouldn’t go through. For two months Driscoll tried to work with the cell phone company and got nowhere.
Finally, he contacted the “Whistleblower” and his cell phone was turned on and he received a free month of cell phone service. However, the point of this incident is that there are people out there ready and willing to steal your identity.
This is outrageous! After a Level III sex offender does his time in prison, the system releases him but doesn’t care if he has a place to live or not. Many of them end up homeless and on the streets. Currently, Duluth police are alerting citizens about a freed convict who preyed on teenage girls for sex is now homeless on the streets of downtown Duluth.
Wesley G. Vandell, age 39, is a Level III sex offender and is most likely to reoffend. He is no longer under the supervision of the Department of Corrections, but has to check in once a week to law enforcement. Big deal, he is free to continue whatever activities he wants to.
Along with Vandell, there are 20 other Level III offenders in Minnesota who are homeless. There are 16 in Minneapolis and four in St. Paul. The total number of Level III sex offenders in Minnesota are 176.
Laws need to be changed to make sure that these low-life sex offenders are released to a shelter and not left to shift for themselves on the streets. To the people of Duluth, Minneapolis and St. Paul, be aware of these people and protect yourselves and your family.
The New York Daily News recently reported that a former lingerie model, Angie Valencia, is wanted for running an international drug ring that used other models as mules to bring cocaine from Buenos Aires to Britain. This international arrest warrant is for her masterminding an all-female operation.
Angie Valencia is known as the “Queen of Coffee” in her native Colombia country. The arrest warrant claims that in 2000, she hired only models that appeared “nice, but not flashy” to run her cocaine drug ring. The drug ring moved drugs from Argentina to Cancun, Mexico and then on to England. Everyday her cocaine carrying models boarded a flight from Buenos Aires as part of the operation.
In December, agents arrested one of her drug courier with 55 kilos of cocaine in her luggage and exposed the drug ring. The suspect quickly implicated three other people. Agents tried to arrest Angie Valencia at a posh Buenos Aires hotel; however, she was gone and is still at large.
Ten years ago, Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado saw tragedy hit their quiet suburban school. Two students were responsible for the shooting spree that killed their classmates. Then a couple of years ago, Platte Canyon High School nestled in the southwest foothills, saw a deranged man kill a high school student.
Once again, we have a tragedy in the school system. A deranged man shot at two innocent middle school students.
Bruco Strong Eagle Eastwood age 32 is accused of shooting two students with a high-powered rifle. It was the end of the school day and the kids were leaving school and waiting to board school buses. A man with long hair, wearing a black hat and black jacket walked up to the front of the school and fired several shots. A brave teacher tackled the man and held him down until the Sheriff’s department arrived to arrest him.
The reason for the shooting is not clear. However, Eastwood, the shooter, has an arrest record dating back to 1996. He was involved in three incidents of threatening someone with a weapon. He was also arrested on five assault charges and a domestic violence charges. In fact, his father said that he was having financial problems and he was hearing voices.
Why was this man allowed to be walking around free? Why wasn’t this man in jail or at the very least in a group home where he could be watched over? Once again, our judicial system has failed to keep the bad guys behind bars. Now two innocent middle school students were injured. One student, a girl, was shot in the shoulder and the second one, a boy, is in serious condition with a gun shot to the chest.
You would expect that officers from Homeland Security, ICE and TSA would be more responsible for their guns than the average person is. Not so according to the latest article in Federal Times.
The article reports that Homeland Security officers lost nearly 200 guns and misplaced handguns, shotguns and military rifles that were never found. Some of the weapons ended up in the hands of gang members, criminals, drug users and teenagers according to the Inspector General. From 2006 through 2008, 289 missing firearms were lost because of negligence, or because of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and even some were stolen from safes!
This may be a small number of guns lost when compared to 190,000 firearms issued to these agencies, but even one lost gun shows an appearance of irresponsibility among employees of these agencies.
Several examples of “inappropriate practices” have these agencies beefing up their training for their employees. Take for example, a customs officer who left a firearm in an idling vehicle in the parking lot of a convenience store. The vehicle was stolen while the officer was inside. A local law enforcement officer later recovered the firearm from a suspected gang member and drug smuggler.
Or an ICE officer who left an M-4 rifle and a shotgun unsecured in a closet at his home. Both weapons were stolen in a burglary and later recovered from a felon. Another officer left his firearm in the restroom of a fast-food restaurant, and it was gone when he returned.
Other officers left firearms in places such as a fast food restaurant parking lot, a bowling alley and a clothing store. The best example was the TSA officer who left a firearm in a lunch box on the front seat of an unlocked vehicle. When the officer returned to his car two days later he realized the firearm was stolen.
Some of these officers have been fired or suspended for their actions. Great care and due diligence need to be exercised when a gun is issued to law enforcement. Criminals can find guns anywhere and at anytime if they want a gun. Government law enforcement agencies should not oblige these criminals with an easy path to obtaining a gun.
When you are driving on the highway and see flashing lights from a State Patrol car, remember to Move Over and slow down. Unfortunately, this common sense driving idea has not been followed recently in Newport, Minnesota where two Minnesota State Troopers and a medic were nearly hit by a car.
The troopers and medic were helping a driver after a rollover crash but a passing driver hit a patch of ice, lost control and spun around stopping just inches from the trooper car and a few feet from emergency personnel. This time no one was hurt.
Minnesota’s Move Over Law requires drivers to move one lane over when they see flashing lights. The law was named after Corporal Ted Foss, who was killed during a traffic stop in 2000. Since the Foss incident, six troopers have been hit while responding to roadside emergencies. Sadly, from 2001 to 2005, passing vehicles have injured 126 troopers.
Troopers have ticketed more than 400 people in 2006 for disobeying the Move Over Law. People need to start responding to the law. Crashes can be avoided if everyone simply slows down around accident scenes.
Don’t forget, your State Troopers are out on the highway to help and assist you the motorist everyday. Their enforcement work is just as dangerous as any other police officer. Give them a break, move over, and slow down when you see an accident on the highway.
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