Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Father Eugene Klein Pleads Not Guilty
Former prison chaplain Eugene Klein has pleaded not guilty to federal charges that he plotted with convicted Chicago mobster Frank Calabrese Sr. to recover a violin reportedly hidden in a hit man's Wisconsin house.
Authorities say Klein, 62, of Springfield, Mo., was released on $20,000 bond after he appeared in a federal courtroom in Chicago on Wednesday.
Klein administered daily communion to Calabrese at the Missouri prison where he's serving a life sentence for 13 murders. He's accused of passing messages with Calabrese and conspiring with two others to try to steal the violin the mobster believed was a Stradivarius worth millions of dollars.
Defense attorney Thomas Anthony Durkin says the case against his client is "preposterous."
Monday, June 20, 2011
Chicago's Violent Crime Task Force - Partnerships Key to Success
As a chilly spring drizzle fell in one of Chicago’s most dangerous neighborhoods, FBI agents and Chicago Police Department officers on the joint Violent Crimes Task Force gathered on a rooftop parking garage for a last-minute briefing before executing a search warrant nearby involving a recently paroled felon.
Members of the task force donned bullet-proof vests and finalized their operational plan. The felon in question was believed to be violating his parole by carrying a sawed-off shotgun, and every safety precaution needed to be taken.
Established in 1989, Chicago’s Violent Crimes Task Force is one of the oldest continuing task force operations in the FBI. The squad, known as VC1, consists of agents and members of the Chicago Police Department (CPD) and Cook County Sheriff’s Office who work side by side and are on call around the clock.
“If something happens,” said Special Agent Mark Quinn, who joined the squad in 1994 and has supervised it since 2006, “we respond. Our first priority is public safety.”
The task force handles a variety of violent crimes such as extortion and murder for hire, but the “big three” offenses it investigates are kidnappings, bank robberies, and fugitive matters.
VC1 is staffed by seasoned investigators like Quinn and CPD’s Sgt. Warren Richards—who was leading the search warrant operation—and young agents learning the ropes and getting valuable street experience.
Special Agent Joe Raschke, an 11-year veteran of the squad, remembers that when he first came to the Chicago Field Office, “VC1 was the squad to be on."
"As a young agent you get great experience,” Raschke said, “not just making arrests but interviewing subjects and victims and learning how to deal with a variety of people and situations.”
Sgt. Richards, CPD’s commanding officer on the task force, added, “I like bringing fugitives to justice and locking up bad guys. On this squad I get to do that almost every day.”
On this particular day, however, there would be no arrest. The team moved into place in unmarked vehicles, setting up to cover the front and back of the house where the felon was living. But when the search warrant was executed, the only people in the residence were a woman and her young daughter. The search did turn up the shotgun, under the felon’s mattress. He was now a fugitive, and would eventually be arrested.
Quinn noted that despite the different law enforcement organizations they belong to, there is a strong bond among VC1 members. “The task force setting breaks down barriers between agencies,” he said. “Everyone works together as a team.”
That teamwork pays dividends beyond the task force, too. Relationships have expanded over time so that agents and detectives working all kinds of cases can pick up the phone and get help from their local and federal partners. “Agents and detectives all over the city have each other on speed dial,” Sgt. Richards said.
And members of the task force are always ready to respond, Quinn said. “Whenever there is a murder, kidnapping, or multiple bank robberies and a call goes out for volunteers, even on weekends and evenings, we always get more people than we need.” He added, “If someone is looking for a 9-to-5 type of job in law enforcement, VC1 is definitely not for them.”
Sunday, June 19, 2011
America's Most Wanted Signs Off Due to Cost Cutting by Fox, John Walsh Vows to be Backing Fighting Injustice
John Walsh has said goodbye and thanked viewers of "America's Most Wanted"
for helping bring almost 1,200 fugitives to justice over more than two decades.Walsh told his audience in brief farewell remarks: "You've saved lives and gotten people justice."
The series aired its last weekly episode on Fox on Saturday. Fox has cited high production costs for pulling the plug on the series, which premiered in 1988. But Walsh vows he'll return to television.
He said earlier this week he has heard from other networks, including Fox News Channel. A decision on a new TV home could be announced within two weeks, he said.
Walsh, 65, launched his crime-busting crusade in the aftermath of the abduction and murder of his 6-year-old son Adam in 1981.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Chicago Police to Reassign 150 More Officers to Its Neighborhoods
Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy announced the deployment of 150 police officers to districts throughout the city as part of a continued effort to improve safety in Chicago’s neighborhoods.
“We are putting them where they can have the best immediate impact on our communities, working with residents – on the beat,” said Mayor Emanuel at a press conference at the Illinois Centennial Monument in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood.
Districts scheduled to receive the additional police officers include 2, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25.
The officers will begin their new assignments next Sunday, June 19th. These assignments are permanent.
At the press conference, Mayor Emanuel praised the “exceptional police work” that went into finding and filing charges against the offender involved in the shooting of two young girls last week. He also noted that 33 arrests have already been made in connection with recent group attacks downtown.
“The identification and apprehension of the offender was a team effort – our officers worked tirelessly across districts and divisions and intimately with the community, which provided solid information to generate leads¸” added Mayor Emanuel. “This type of community partnership is exactly what we want to see happen in Chicago.”
On May 24th, Mayor Emanuel announced that 500 police officers primarily from the Department’s Mobile Strike Force and Targeted Response Unit would be redeployed to districts 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, and 15.
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