Work In Progress

This week’s Top 10 stories from the FBI is highlighted by a hate crime indictment against four Texas men.

1. Houston: Four Men Indicted on Hate Crime Charges

   A federal grand jury indicted four individuals on federal hate crime charges related to a racially motivated assault of a 29-year-old African-American man. Full Story

2. Oklahoma City: Fort Sill Soldier Sentenced for Bringing Fake Bomb into Commander’s Office

   James Dabrowski was sentenced to serve 12 months and one day in prison and to pay more than $19,563 in restitution for making a hoax regarding an explosive device he brought inside Snow Hall on Fort Sill. Full Story 

3. New York: Seven Investment Professionals Charged in Massive Insider Trading Scheme

   Seven investment professionals were charged for their roles in an insider trading scheme that allegedly netted more than $61.8 million in illegal profits. Full Story

4.  San Juan: Ten Defendants Indicted, Arrested for Roles in Health Care Fraud Scheme

   A federal grand jury returned two indictments against 10 individuals for their roles in an extensive health care fraud conspiracy. Full Story

5. El Paso: Barrio Azteca Gang Member Pleads Guilty to Racketeering Conspiracy

   Ricardo Gonzalez pled guilty to racketeering conspiracy charges in connection with his alleged role in distributing cocaine, marijuana, and heroin, as well as collecting extortion fees from drug dealers operating on Barrio Azteca turf, knowing that the fees were funneled to jailed Barrio Azteca leaders. Full Story

6. Richmond: Two Men Sentenced to More Than 50 Years Each for Armed Robbery

   Warren Brown and Winston Oliver were sentenced to 51 years and 52.5 years in prison, respectively, for attempting to carry out an armed robbery of a Mr. Fuel Truck Plaza in Caroline County, which was thwarted by a customer who attacked the gunman threatening the store clerks. Full Story

7. New Haven: Man Admits Defrauding Individuals, Lenders Out of More than $1.5 Million

   John Voloshin pled guilty to one count of mail fraud stemming from his operation of multiple schemes that caused losses of more than $1.5 million to individuals and lenders. Full Story

8. Charlotte: Fort Bragg Soldier Pleads Guilty to Scheme to Defraud the Government

   Jimmy Negron, a Fort Bragg soldier, pled guilty to submitting false and inflated travel claims that included travel that had not occurred or inflated expenses for travel that had occurred.Full Story

9. Atlanta: Owner of Doraville Medical Clinic Indicted for Health Care Fraud

   David Song Sen Cui was indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly fraudulently billing over $5.5 million in false claims to Medicare. Full Story

10. Philadelphia: Two Drug Traffickers Sentenced 

    Marcus Holder and Michael F. Bruce were each sentenced to seven years in prison for conspiring to distribute more than 400 grams of heroin and more than 112 grams of crack cocaine as well as possessing firearms in relation to drug trafficking and distributing controlled substances on numerous occasions. Full Story

A picture from 1969 shows that I’ve been an Orioles fan for life.

My mom found the picture, which has my 4-year-old head sticking out of a cutout. To my right is a cutout of Hall of Famer Frank Robinson and to my left is Paul Blair.

I don’t remember the photo being taken, but I’ve enjoyed looking at it for the past few days. Here it is:

If you like unsolved crime stories, here’s one you probably know something about, but not all the details.

From the FBI files:

lizabeth Ann Short was last seen 65 years ago today, January 9, 1947. Less tha a week later, a brutally mutilated female corpse was found in Los Angeles.

Short—dubbed the “Black Dahlia” by the press for her rumored penchant for sheer black clothes and for a movie at that time—was found sliced clean in half at the waist by a mother walking her child in an L.A. neighborhood just before 11 a.m. on January 15, 1947. The body was just a few feet from the sidewalk and posed in the grass in such a way that the woman reportedly thought it was a mannequin at first. Despite the extensive mutilation and cuts on the body, there wasn’t a drop of blood at the scene, indicating Short had been killed elsewhere. An extensive manhunt followed, but the killer has never been identified.

Through fingerprints, the FBI identified the aspiring actress. FBI files detail the FBI’s assistance to the Los Angeles Police Department, which investigated the murder, between 1947 and 1948.

View the files | Background

1. The FBI will make revisions to how the crime of rape is reported.
2. DOJ: Attorney General Eric Holder Announces Revisions to the Uniform Crime Report’s Definition of Rape

   Attorney General Eric Holder announced revisions to the Uniform Crime Report’s definition of rape, which will lead to a more comprehensive statistical reporting of rape nationwide. Full Story

3. New York: Four Israeli Defendants Charged in Multi-Million-Dollar Phony “Lottery Prize” Schemes Extradited

   Four defendants were extradited from Israel on charges relating to their participation in multiple lottery telemarketing fraud schemes. The schemes targeted elderly victims in the United States and netted the defendants millions of dollars in profits. Full Story

4. Miami: Fort Lauderdale Police Officer Charged with Wire Fraud

   David Michael McElligott, who is currently stationed at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, was charged in connection with allegedly submitting falsified military leave and earnings statements and military orders to the Fort Lauderdale Police Department and the city of Fort Lauderdale. Full Story

5. Norfolk: Bounty Hunter Bloods Gang Members Sentenced for Racketeering Acts

   Amaad Jamaal Brantley was sentenced to 12 years in prison for participating in a pattern of racketeering activity which included attempted murder, home invasion, robbery and conspiring to distribute controlled substances, and to the charge of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. Two other co-defendants were also sentenced. Full Story

6. Los Angeles: Man Sentenced to 12 Years in Federal Prison for Running Investment Fraud Scheme Involving Wind Energy Technology

   A Carson man was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for running a $1 million scheme that bilked dozens of victims—including a U.S. Army staff sergeant who was serving on active duty in Afghanistan—who thought they were investing in a legitimate wind energy technology business. Full Story

7. Albany: OGK Gang Member Sentencing

   Derrick Ruffin was sentenced to an additional 106 months in prison on a racketeering conspiracy charge relating to his involvement in the criminal activities of the Original Gangster Killers. Full Story

8.  Las Vegas: Man Pleads Guilty to Role in $3.4 Million Mortgage Fraud Scheme

   The secretary of Las Vegas-based CPT Real Estate Investments pled guilty to his role in a $3.4 million mortgage fraud scheme involving victims in the Las Vegas area. Full Story

9. Kansas City: Man Serving Time for Kidnapping Sentenced to 20 Years for Bank Robbery

   A Kansas man who is already in prison for abducting a store clerk in Viola was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison on a bank robbery charge. Full Story 

10. Houston: Last of Those Convicted in Insurance Company Scam Sentenced to Federal Prison

    Shane Ladell Rhodes was sentenced to 15 months in prison for his participation in a wire fraud conspiracy involving more than $1 million in potential loss to Columbia Lloyd’s, a small local insurance company. Full Story

11. Springfield: Business Owner Sentenced to 16 Months in Federal Prison for Fraud Scheme

    A former Mattoon, Illinois woman was ordered to serve 16 months in federal prison and pay restitution of more than $400,000 for defrauding a local bank and the Illinois Department of Revenue. Full Story

I think my neighbor’s kid is going to make something of himself.

This morning I offered to pay him a couple of bucks to roll my garbage can back up the drive. I didn’t specify which day, but I meant Wednesday, which is our neighborhood trash day. I’ll be out of town that day.

Well, I give him my token of appreciation and he jumps out of his mom’s van to roll up the new recycling bin the city delivered on Monday.

First, it shows he was ready to do the job. Second, it shows he was paying enough attention to know there was already one trash bin that needed rolling up.

He’s a good guy and not even in middle school yet.

Washington – The U.S. Marshals Service has announced the addition of Edward Salas to its 15 Most Wanted fugitive list. A convicted child killer, Salas escaped from the Curry County Detention Center in Clovis, New Mexico, on August 28, 2008, and has been on the lam ever since. At the time of his escape, he was serving a life sentence plus 56 years for his role in the murder of 10-year-old Carlos Perez.

On September 15, 2005, Salas, along with his brothers Orlando Salas and Demetrio Salas and two other individuals, planned to murder Ruben Perez during the night, reportedly in retaliation for an argument that occurred earlier that day at the Clovis High School. Instead they killed his brother, Carlos, who was sleeping in the same bedroom. The child died just one day before his 11th birthday.

“Salas was party to a horrific crime, the murder of an innocent young child, and has been on the run for far too long,” said Geoffrey S. Shank, Acting Assistant Director for Investigative Operations. “There is no hiding from the long arm of the law. We will employ every available resource to locate, arrest, and return Salas to prison so that he can serve the remainder of his sentence.”

Nearly three years into his prison term, Salas and seven other prisoners escaped from the Detention Center. He made his way to Friona, Texas, where he stayed under the radar until November 27, 2008, when he was spooked from his hideout by law enforcement activity in the area. A fellow escapee, Luis Chaves, was arrested, but Salas disappeared.

“Salas committed a dastardly violent act against an innocent child and for this very reason every law enforcement agency within the District of New Mexico will relentlessly pursue justice against him,” said Conrad E. Candelaria, U.S. Marshal for the District of New Mexico. “This pursuit is now rippling with a wave of support throughout the entire United States; every Marshals Service office in 94 Districts will work collectively to ensure justice is served against this child killer.”

Orlando Salas, Demetrio Salas, David Griego, and Noe Torres were identified as Salas’ accomplices in this crime. Three of the four were tried and convicted. Authorities believe that Torres, who is also wanted for involvement in the murder, has fled the United States.

Salas is 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs 180 pounds. He has brown hair, brown eyes, and scars on both arms.

A reward of up to $25,000 is offered for information leading directly to Salas’ arrest. Anyone with information is urged to contact the nearest U.S. Marshals office, American Embassy/Consulate, or the U.S. Marshals Service Communications Center at 1-800-336-0102.

Additional information about the U.S. Marshals Service can be found at http://www.usmarshals.go

College and high school students can win one of 22 scholarships for $5,000 just for saying why freedom of expression is important to them.

The American Society of Newspaper Editors is administering a contest Thursday on the 220th anniversary of our right to free expresssion, which is also the national Bill of Rights Day.

To enter, go on twitter and use the hashtag #freetotweet and say why the First Amendment is important to you.

The Gazette would love to curate some of your feelings and publish them so we are asking that you also use the hashtag #gg.

Want to know more about the First Amendment and this contest? Go to the website 1forall.us.

Or read the book “Congress Shall Make No Law” by NY Times columnist Anthony Lewis. The book helped shape my views on the First Amendment.

Public officials are a tricky bunch.

You must watch them all the time.

They will disobey the law.

They will disregard the law.

They will push for laws that favor secrecy.

Yet the mandates for open government are strong.

I didn't say those words first.

Think sunshine laws are just for the media?

Think of Addison Lanham.