The 20 Critical Moments That Changed the Way We Think About Crime

A website called Top Criminal Justice Schools has published an article about "The 20 Critical Moments That Changed the Way We Think About Crime." The piece offers a fascinating and free look at how law enforcement has evolved over the past century and the resulting impacts on society.

The topics chosen for the article are meant as a resource for students who are interested in criminal justice education. Critical moments on the list include:

• Targeting the Mafia Through Tax Evasion Prosecution When Mafia gangsters ruled the streets, the Supreme Court ruled that their illegal income was taxable. Federal authorities gained a new weapon against organized crime.
• The Failure of Alcohol Prohibition In the 1920s, U.S. authorities learned that some laws can create far more negative impacts than positive. Alcohol prohibition increased organized crime and caused many deaths and injuries from homemade alcohol.
• The War on Drugs The U.S. war on drugs has been one of the most costly, deadly and fruitless attempts at law enforcement.
• Advent of Social Media Social media provides untold advantages for law enforcement. Criminal activity is easier to observe, investigate and prevent.
• Rise in Cyber Crime and the Development of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act Laws against computer-related crimes were developed in the 1980s. The article asserts that further regulations are needed to reduce computer fraud.
• Fight Against School Shootings Strict no-tolerance policies often force unreasonable punishments for minor violations, yet the incidents of school violence have not lessened.
• Megan's Law, Jessica's Law, and the Sex Offender Registry The national Sex Offender Registry gives law enforcement better access to sexual offender information and greater capabilities to find and prosecute sexual criminals.
• The Development of the Department of Homeland Security Several U.S. government and military agencies joined forces after 9/11 to share information and work in unison to avert terrorist attacks.
• The USA Patriot Act The launch of the Patriot Act is another moment that changed the way we think about crime. The new law expanded the powers of domestic law enforcement to search private homes and properties without warrants.
• The Rise of Private Prisons and the Questions of Cash Incentives This topic explores the scandal-ridden practice of privatized prisons. According to the article, prisons-for-profit are the cause of major corruption in the justice system. 
• The Use of Drones in Domestic Law Enforcement The use of remote controlled drones for surveillance has become more and more common in the last decade.  While no known instances exist of weaponized drones in domestic use, the possibility has some American citizens and civil liberty experts on edge.
• The NSA and Passive Data Collection Edward Snowden helped expose the NSA's all-encompassing data collection system that includes phone and Internet records for all American citizens.  The legality of the NSA program is still under question and has resulted in strong public backlash.

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New National Language for the United States

The Department of Education vowed Friday to improve student test scores in public schools, which fell last year. Nothing reflects a country's prestige like the quality of its public education. The national language of the United States is now third-grade English.

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The Mob Gets the Tax Man, @TheMobMuseum Receives Donation of Artifacts from the Estate of Famed IRS Investigative Chief Elmer Lincoln Irey

The Mob Museum, The National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, recently added to its Archives a collection of artifacts related to U.S. Treasury Department official Elmer Lincoln Irey (1888–1948), famed chief of the U.S. Treasury Department’s law enforcement agencies. Active from 1919 until his retirement in 1946, Irey eventually oversaw the operations of the U.S. Secret Service, the IRS Intelligence Unit, U.S. Customs and the Bureau of Narcotics, the Alcohol Tax Unit and the U.S. Coast Guard.

Irey led investigations credited with the prosecution of many notorious mobsters, including Al Capone, Waxey Gordon, Leon Gleckman, Johnny Torrio, Enoch “Nucky” Johnson, Moe Annenberg, Tom Pendergast, Frank Nitti, Paul Ricca and Louis Campagna. He is also recognized for the capture of suspected Lindbergh baby kidnapper Bruno Hauptmann. The Irey artifacts, which include newspaper clippings, correspondence between Irey and Charles Lindbergh as well as Franklin D. Roosevelt, photographs and other records, were donated to the Museum by the Gridley family.

The Mob Museum Archives are available to scholars, researchers and working press on an appointment basis. Building an archival collection enables the Museum to serve as a resource for those working in the fields of organized crime and law enforcement.

“We’re extremely grateful to Carole Irey Gridley and the entire Irey family for donating this collection to the Museum,” said Jonathan Ullman, executive director and CEO, The Mob Museum. “Adding important materials such as these to the Museum’s Archives is one of our long-term priorities. Irey’s investigative work for the U.S. Treasury Department was instrumental in apprehending many of the early 20th century’s most infamous Mob figures.”

A new exhibition, including the Irey objects and artifacts, is in development at the Museum with its public opening expected to be announced next year.

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Micky Fawcett Discusses "Krayzy Days, The Story of Britain's Most Notorious Gangsters, The Krays" on #CrimeBeatRadio

On August 22nd, Micky Fawcett, author of Krayzy Days, the story of Britain's most notorious gangsters, the Krays appears on Crime Beat Radio.

Crime Beat is a weekly hour-long radio program that airs every Thursday at 8 p.m. EST. Crime Beat presents fascinating topics that bring listeners closer to the dynamic underbelly of the world of crime. Guests have included ex-mobsters, undercover law enforcement agents, sports officials, informants, prisoners, drug dealers and investigative journalists, who have provided insights and fresh information about the world’s most fascinating subject: crime.

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Part chronicle of tragedy and heroism, part detective story, and part legal thriller - "City of Dust: Illness, Arrogance, and 9/11"

In City of Dust, Anthony DePalma offers the first full accounting of one of the gravest environmental catastrophes in United States history. The destruction on 9/11 of two of the world's largest buildings unleashed a vortex of dust and ash that blotted out the sun and has distorted science, medicine and public policy ever since. The likely dangers of 9/11's massive dust cloud were evident from the beginning, yet thousands chose not to see.

Why?

As the sickening results of exposure became evident, many still refused to recognize them.

Why?

The consequences are still being tallied in the wasted bodies and disrupted lives of thousands who gave their all when the need was greatest, but whose demands for justice have been consumed by years of politics and courtroom maneuvers.

Why?, separating reality from myth - and doing so with exceptional literary style and grace. DePalma covered Ground Zero for The New York Times for four years. DePalma introduces heroic firefighters, dedicated doctors and scientists, obsessive city officials, partisan politicians, aggressive lawyers, and compassionate judges and reveals the individual decisions that destroyed public trust, and the desperate attempts made to rebuild it. The dust that was the World Trade Center has changed everything it touched.

This is the story of that dust, the 9/11 disaster after the disaster, and what it tells us about ourselves and our future.

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Sneak Peak #AmishMafia Video of the New Season of @AmishMafia

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Nine Individuals Indicted in One of the Largest International Penny Stock Frauds and Advance Fee Schemes in History

Earlier today, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested six men in New York, Arizona, New Jersey, Florida, and California for engaging in an international fraud conspiracy that spanned the globe from North America to Europe and Asia. A seventh defendant was also arrested today on a provisional arrest warrant in Ontario, Canada. The arrests resulted from an indictment charging nine defendants with 24 counts of securities fraud, wire fraud, and false personation of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees in connection with the sale of securities and conspiracy (the investigation showed that the identities used were fictitious and that no IRS employees were involved in the scheme). As set forth in court filings, the defendants masterminded securities fraud and advance fee schemes that victimized investors in approximately 35 nations and generated more than $140 million through various brokerage and bank accounts under their control. To uncover the international aspects of the scheme and gather evidence, the FBI used wiretaps in the United States and undercover agents in foreign countries.

The indictment and arrests are the result of one of the largest international penny stock investigations ever conducted by the Department of Justice and the FBI and mark the unveiling of a multi-year, ongoing investigation, which included significant assistance from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), as well as from other U.S. law enforcement agencies and law enforcement authorities in England, as well as assistance from Thailand and China.

The defendants are charged in two separate but interrelated schemes. According to the indictment, the defendants first engaged in an international "pump and dump" scheme during which they fraudulently "pumped up" the share price of worthless penny stocks and then "dumped" billions of shares of those stocks by unloading them on unsuspecting victim investors across the globe. Second, the defendants operated boiler rooms in at least four countries that induced investors in penny stocks, including many of the same victims from the pump and dump scheme, to pay advance fees that the defendants promised would enable the victim-investors to sell their penny stocks and recover losses that they incurred. In reality, the defendants simply stole the fees without providing any services, fraudulently extracting millions of additional dollars from their victims.

The charges and arrests were announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; George Venizelos, Assistant Director in Charge, FBI, New York Field Office; Toni Weirauch, Special Agent in -Charge, IRS, Criminal Investigation, New York; James C. Spero, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, Department of Homeland Security, Buffalo; and Robert O’Malley, Special Agent in Charge, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).

The Pump and Dump Scheme

As alleged in the indictment, defendants Sandy Winick, Gary Kershner, Joseph Manfredonia, Cort Poyner, Songkram Roy Shachaisere, and William Seals orchestrated one of the largest international penny stock frauds in history. First, the defendants gained controlling interests of huge quantities of worthless stock in 11 public companies known in the industry as "file cabinet businesses"—thinly traded companies with minimal assets and non-existent business operations, which in many cases were mere shell companies. They then pumped up the share prices of the companies’ stock by engaging in fraudulent and illegal sales campaigns, which included distributing false press releases, announcing non-existent business ventures and fake mergers, posting false information on social media sites and bribing stock promoters and brokers.

These efforts fraudulently inflated share prices so that the pump and dump defendants could trade billions of shares of penny stocks that they owned and controlled at a profit, ultimately generating more than $120 million worth of fraudulent stock sales in accounts under their control. As a result of the defendants’ efforts, investors in 35 countries were defrauded in connection with their purchase of the companies’ stock.

To avoid detection, the defendants, many of whom operated from outside the United States, were often careful to use “throwaway phones.” In fact, defendant Poyner was intercepted on a wire communication reminding others in the scheme to use such mobile devices to avoid being caught. The defendants also knew that they should not draw attention to their illegal trading scheme. For example, defendant Winick boasted about the superiority of the charged scheme compared to another more obvious scam, stating, “That deal is obviously a pump and dump. We know enough to be subtle.”

The Advance Fee Scheme

As the indictment alleges, defendants Winick, Gregory Curry, Kolt Curry, and Gregory Ellis perpetrated a second scheme in which they fraudulently induced penny stock victims to pay advance fees, on the promise that the victims would then either be able to sell their securities to other waiting investors or join lawsuits to reclaim their losses. In reality, the advance fees were nothing more than a con, as neither the investors nor the lawsuits existed. To hoodwink the penny stock owners, the advance fee defendants invented fake trading companies and a fake law firm and then posed as employees of those entities while soliciting advance fees from the penny stock victims.

To facilitate the scheme, the defendants established boiler rooms or call centers from which members of the conspiracy would solicit advance fees from the unsuspecting penny stock victims. The call centers were located in various locales around the world, including Canada, Thailand, and the United Kingdom. Recently, the defendants began planning to open a new call center in Brooklyn, New York. Some of the victims were told that they either needed to pay the advance fee to remove restrictions that were placed upon their penny stock, which prevented the victims from selling their stock in the market, or to join investors in a pending or anticipated lawsuit to recover losses that they incurred while owning the penny stock. Victims were then told that the advance fees were needed to convert the warrants of their stocks to a saleable security. In several instances, the advance fee defendants even pretended to be IRS employees collecting a bogus advance tax from victim investors before they could unload their penny stocks (the investigation showed that the identities used were fictitious and that no IRS employees were involved in the scheme). The victims were directed to send payment of the advance fees to banks around the world, including bank accounts in New York City. The fraud proceeds were then transferred through a funds transfer network located in Getzville, New York, to an account maintained in Beirut, Lebanon. Ultimately, these defendants generated more than $20 million in fraudulently obtained advance fees.

Defendant Kolt Curry described the advance fee scheme in the following way over an intercepted wire communication: “I would say that 100 percent of these stocks are like uh pink uh...just dumps...so...ya know they’re totally, they’re like, so a lot of these guys are dying...to get rid of this crap....The money is good, it’s easy. It’s easy money. Definitely easy money, and it’s good money.” In fact, while bragging about his prowess as a fraudster, defendant Kolt Curry further stated, “I had a guy send me a million dollars over one phone call....He actually sent me almost two million dollars over the period of the hit....I guess in the industry they coin it as a smash and grab.” As for the group’s recent plans to open a call center in Brooklyn, New York, defendant Kolt Curry said, “I tell you what man...hitting the Americans would be like taking money from a baby.”

“As alleged in the indictment, the defendants used our securities markets as a platform from which to run elaborate fraudulent schemes to victimize unsuspecting investors across the globe. Where others saw citizens of the world, the defendants saw a pool of potential marks. They cheated, lied, and swindled investors into buying billions of shares of worthless stock, then turned around and used a second scam to cheat those investors again. But today, the defendants were the marks, and it was law enforcement that ran the table,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. “As this case shows, we are committed to preserving the rule of law and protecting our investors and markets from fraud. I would like to thank our partners at FBI for their hard work on this important investigation.” Ms. Lynch also thanked the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Financial Crime Intelligence Unit in Vancouver and the Integrated Market Enforcement Team in Toronto, the IRS, the Department of Homeland Security, TIGTA, and the Serious Organized Crime Agency in the United Kingdom. Throughout the course of the investigation, significant assistance was also provided by the United States Embassies in Ottawa, Toronto, London, Bangkok, and Beijing. Ms. Lynch also expressed her grateful appreciation to the Securities and Exchange Commission for its cooperation and assistance in the investigation.

FBI Assistant Director in Charge Venizelos stated, “As alleged in the indictment, the defendants overstated the value of penny stocks and sold them to unwitting investors worldwide. By tricking victims into paying advance fees with the promise of realizing larger gains or recovering losses, some of the defendants dipped into the pockets of those they had betrayed not once, but twice. The investing public has the right to trade in an uncorrupted market, and we have a responsibility to uphold the public’s confidence in the integrity of our financial markets. While the charges announced today are significant, they are but one example of what’s left to come as we continue to work with our partners in this ongoing investigation.”

“The criminals behind this scheme were shameless in heartlessly defrauding hundreds of victims out of their savings and retirement accounts for their own enrichment,” said James C. Spero, special agent in charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Buffalo. “HSI is committed to working with our partners at the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to hold these perpetrators accountable and recover as much money as possible for their victims.”

IRS Special Agent in Charge Weirauch stated, “Illegal activity in the investment industry continues to bring financial ruin to unsuspecting American investors. IRS-Criminal Investigation is proud to be part of the multi-agency team that stopped this international investment scam. We stand ready to bring our forensic accounting skills to the fight against other investment schemes and white-collar crimes.”

“Impersonation of an employee of the Internal Revenue Service is a violation of federal law,” said Robert E. O’Malley, Special Agent in Charge for the TIGTA. “Taxpayers should exercise extreme caution when contacted by individuals representing themselves as IRS employees and immediately verify those individuals’ employment by contacting the IRS through their website at www.irs.gov. If the individuals cannot be verified as IRS employees, they should immediately contact TIGTA.”

The defendants have been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 15 counts of wire fraud, four counts of securities fraud, and two counts of false personation of an officer of the United States. If convicted, the defendants will face up to 20 years’ imprisonment for each count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, substantive wire fraud and substantive securities fraud and up to five years’ imprisonment for conspiracy to commit securities fraud. The defendants face up to three years in prison for each count of false personation of an officer of the United States. In addition, all proceeds of fraudulent schemes are subject to forfeiture. The defendants will be presented for arraignment later today at the United States Courthouses in Brooklyn, New York; Los Angeles, California; Miami, Florida; and Tucson, Arizona. The defendants in Los Angeles, Miami, and Tucson are expected to be removed to Brooklyn.

The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Christopher A. Ott, Sylvia Shweder, and Melanie Hendry.

This prosecution was the result of efforts by President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF), which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, and state and local partners, it is the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory, and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state, and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets; and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions, and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.

Defendants:

SANDY WINICK
Citizenship: Canada
Age: 55
Bangkok, Thailand

GREGORY CURRY
Citizenship: Canada
Age: 63
Bangkok, Thailand

KOLT CURRY
Citizenship: Canada
Age: 38
Ontario, Canada

GREGORY ELLIS
Citizenship: Canada
Age: 46
Ontario, Canada

GARY KERSHNER
Citizenship: United States
Age: 72
Tucson, Arizona

JOSEPH MANFREDONIA
Citizenship: United States
Age: 45
Tom’s River, New Jersey

CORT POYNER
Citizenship: United States
Age: 44
Boca Raton, Florida

SONGKRAM ROY SAHACHAISERE
Citizenship: United States
Age: 43
Huntington Beach, California

WILLIAM SEALS
Citizenship: United States
Age: 51
Fallbrook, California

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It's Official, Federal Jury Convicts Whitey Bulger, Sentencing Set for November, Max Time is Life + 30 Years

Following a two-month long trial in U.S. District Court, a federal jury today convicted James J. Bulger, holding him responsible for the murder of 11 people, as well as numerous counts of extortion, money laundering, drug dealing, and firearms possession.

After deliberating for over 32 hours, over five days, the jury found the former fugitive guilty of racketeering conspiracy and numerous racketeering acts of murder, extortion, narcotics distribution, money laundering, and possession of firearms, including machine guns. With this verdict, the jury has found that Bulger played a role in the murders of Deborah Hussey, Paul McGonagle, Edward Connors, Thomas King, Richard Castucci, Roger Wheeler, Brian Halloran, Michael Donahue, John Callahan, Arthur Barrett, and John McIntyre.

Bulger, the former leader of the Winter Hill Gang, ran a vast criminal network that emanated from South Boston and controlled much of the city and the surrounding areas during the 1970s and 1980s. In order to generate money and maintain dominance among other criminal enterprises, Bulger and his associates engaged in numerous illegal activities such as loansharking, extortion of local business owners and bookmakers, trafficking of narcotics and firearms, and murder. Bulger, and associates under his direction, used violence, threats, and intimidation to carry out these illegal activities.

In late 1994, upon learning of his impending indictment, Bulger fled Massachusetts. On June 22, 2011, Bulger and his companion, Catherine Greig, were arrested in Santa Monica, California, after 16 years on the run. Greig was later convicted of conspiracy to harbor a fugitive and is currently serving eight years in federal prison.

U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled sentencing for November 13. He faces a maximum of up to life, plus 30 years in prison.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Colonel Timothy P. Alben, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; John J. Arvanitis, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Boston Field Division; William P. Offord, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston; Michael E. Horowitz, Inspector General for the Department of Justice; Vincent Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Field Division; and U.S. Marshal John Gibbons made the announcement today.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Fred M. Wyshak, Jr., Brian T. Kelly, and Zachary Hafer of Ortiz’s Public Corruption and Special Prosecutions Unit.

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Mathew Luzi Discusses His Book "The Boys in Chicago Heights: The Forgotten Crew of the Chicago Outfit" on #CrimeBeatRadio

On August 15th, Mathew Luzi, author of The Boys in Chicago Heights: The Forgotten Crew of the Chicago Outfit appears on Crime Beat Radio.

Crime Beat is a weekly hour-long radio program that airs every Thursday at 8 p.m. EST. Crime Beat presents fascinating topics that bring listeners closer to the dynamic underbelly of the world of crime. Guests have included ex-mobsters, undercover law enforcement agents, sports officials, informants, prisoners, drug dealers and investigative journalists, who have provided insights and fresh information about the world’s most fascinating subject: crime.

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Amir George Discusses His Book "Liberating Iraq: The Untold Story of the Assyrian Christians" on #CrimeBeatRadio

On August 15th, Amir George, author of Liberating Iraq: The Untold Story of the Assyrian Christians appears on Crime Beat Radio.

Crime Beat is a weekly hour-long radio program that airs every Thursday at 8 p.m. EST. Crime Beat presents fascinating topics that bring listeners closer to the dynamic underbelly of the world of crime. Guests have included ex-mobsters, undercover law enforcement agents, sports officials, informants, prisoners, drug dealers and investigative journalists, who have provided insights and fresh information about the world’s most fascinating subject: crime.

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Two Men Indicted on Conspiracy to Obstruct Justice Charges in #BostonMarathonBombing Investigation

A federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment against two men previously charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice in the Boston Marathon bombing investigation.

Dias Kadyrbayev, 19, and Azamat Tazhayakov, 19, nationals of Kazakhstan who were residing in New Bedford on student visas, were charged today with conspiracy to obstruct justice and obstructing justice with the intent to impede the Boston Marathon bombing investigation. Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov were originally charged on May 1, 2013 via criminal complaint.

Today’s indictment alleges that on the evening of April 18, 2013, after the FBI posted photographs of the two men suspected of carrying out the Marathon bombings (who were later identified as Tamerlan Tsarnaev and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev), Kadyrbayev received a text message from Dzhokhar Tsarnaev suggesting that he go to Tsarnaev’s “room and take what’s there.” Kadyrbayev, Tazhayakov, and another conspirator, according to the indictment, then went to Tsarnaev’s dormitory room and removed several items, including Tsarnaev’s laptop computer and a backpack containing fireworks, and brought them to Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov’s apartment in New Bedford. Later that night, Kadyrbayev, with Tazhayakov’s knowledge and agreement, placed Tsarnaev’s backpack, which contained several items, including fireworks, in a garbage bag and put it in a trash dumpster outside their New Bedford apartment.

If convicted, Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov face up to 20 years in prison on the obstruction of justice count and up to five years in prison on the conspiracy count, each to be followed by up to three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. Both face the possibility of being deported.

U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. This investigation was conducted by the FBI’s Boston Division, the Massachusetts State Police, and member agencies of the Boston Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), which is composed of more than 30 federal, state, and local enforcement agencies. The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Department of Public Safety, the City of New Bedford, New Bedford Police Department, Dartmouth Police Department, U.S. Department of Transportation-Office of Inspector General, U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), Essex County Sheriff’s Office, and Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations provided assistance in this investigation.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys B. Stephanie Siegmann and John A. Capin of Ortiz’s Anti-Terrorism and National Security Unit with the assistance of the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendants are presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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Alan Beiler of the #AmishMafia Receives Prison Sentence

A Pennsylvania man who stars in the Discovery Channel show "Amish Mafia" has been sentenced to three to 23 months in prison for leading police on a chase that injured a state trooper last summer.

Thirty-five-year-old Alan Beiler received the sentence Thursday in Perry County Court.

Police say the Lancaster County resident led them on a chase after they tried to stop him for an expired car registration. They say he drove against traffic and caused a pursuing state trooper to crash and suffer a concussion.

Beiler pleaded guilty in May to charges of attempting to elude police, drug possession and driving with a suspended license.

Defense attorney Mark Forrest Walmer says his client has turned around his life and has been drug-free for a year.

The show provides a look at the men who protect an Amish community.

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#LiberatingIraq Chronicles The Untold Story of the Assyrian Christians

Liberating Iraq is the story of the Iraqi war written by one of the only people in Iraq without a `minder`. The book provides the unique Assyrian Christian perspective on the Iraq war. Liberating Iraq also reveals what happened to the weapons of mass destruction, and it tells of the horrors experienced by those who worked for the Iraqi government and what life was like under Saddam. The book describes the days leading up to the war, the first relief convoy to cross the border into Iraq following the war, and the tremendous success of the nearly 400,000 Americans who fanned out across Iraq to love and save the nation only to now be on the verge of seeing that success lost.

Liberating Iraq is based on the author’s own personal insights as an Assyrian Christian over a period of several years, which were drawn from meetings with the Iraqi Prime Minister, President, Foreign Minister, top US and international officials, and the Iraqi people themselves. The readers who will be interested in Liberating Iraq include those who served in Iraq and who want the story they experienced told, family members of those who served who want to know the truth, and the general public who want to know what really happened.

"Liberating Iraq tells the story of the many Iraqis who truly did `dance in the streets` at the fall of Saddam's repressive regime and of the Americans, nearly a half million of whom helped liberate and rebuild Iraq. But it also underscores a difficult current  reality; namely, the plight of the Assyrian Christians who still struggle and suffer in today's Iraq. The world must turn its eyes to and raise its voice for the protection and sustainment of this the oldest continuing Christian community in the world!" Stuart Bowen, Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction

"Liberating Iraq tells the “other side” of the story of how the nearly 500,000 Americans who served in Iraq touched a country and changed it for good. In addition, it tells the story of the Assyrian Christians who are in peril as the “victory” in Iraq has been squandered. What has particularly touched me is finally being able to say “thank you” to the families of the nearly 4,500 who gave their lives so that Iraq could be free. The Arab Spring has turned into the Islamic Winter and the Christians of the Middle East have suffered the most." Pat Boone, American Singer, Actor, and Writer.

"Amir George is an Assyrian Christian whose family is from the original Assyrian Homeland in North Iraq. This afforded him a unique vantage from which to view the American war and occupation. No other account of the war and its aftermath offers similar insights. In addition, George brings us more vividly than anyone else the story of the Assyrian Christian community whose decimation is arguably the greatest tragedy of the Iraq war and a terrible omen for the future of the Middle East." Joshua Muravchik, Fellow, the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies

Amir George is an Assyrian Christian whose family is from the Northern Iraqi town of Mahoudi.

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Police Raids Target #MexicanMafia Prison Gang and #LaFamilia Drug Cartel

Raids were carried out in Montebello Tuesday as part of two investigations targeting the Mexican Mafia prison gang.

Authorities say a drug cartel based in Mexico, a South Central Los Angeles street gang and the Mexican Mafia worked together for millions of dollars in drug sales.

The investigations began more than three years ago and involved a number of agencies at the federal, state and local levels. The investigations culminated with the arrests in Montebello.

Authorities busted up what they described as a business merger between La Familia drug cartel, based in Michoacan, Mexico, a South Central Los Angeles street gang and the Mexican Mafia prison gang.

Investigators say apparently, the drug cartel would supply methamphetamine and marijuana, and the street gang would protect the shipments and money. The Mexican Mafia prison gang handled the distribution and proceeds for a fee.

Law enforcement agencies say in the past three years since the investigations began, more than 600 pounds of methamphetamine have been confiscated or seized, with a total street value of just over $19 million.

More than a dozen arrests including members of the South Central street gang and La Familia associates in Southern California have been made from San Diego to Visalia.

A number of alleged gang members were arrested Tuesday and were processed at the Montebello Police Department.

Thanks to Sid Garcia.

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Richard #BigBaldy Uva, Alleged #Gambino Associate, Pleads Guilty to RICO Conspiracy Violation Related to Organized Crime Gambling Ring

Richard "Big Baldy" Uva, 44, of Trumbull, has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act stemming from his involvement in organized-crime controlled gambling businesses.

Deirdre M. Daly, Acting U.S. Attorney for District Connecticut, said Uva, formerly of Stamford, entered the plea before U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas P. Smith in Hartford.

"According to court documents and statements made in court, after a long-term investigation led by the FBI Fairfield County Organized Crime Task Force, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation and the Stamford Police Department, UVA, Dean DePreta and 18 others were charged with various offenses related to their involvement in an illegal Internet sports bookmaking operation and illegal card gambling clubs in Stamford and Hamden," the prosecutor said.

Uva and DePreta are alleged associates of the Gambino organized crime family, Daly said.

The investigation, which included the use of court-authorized wiretaps, revealed that UVA assisted DePreta’s operation of a large-scale sports bookmaking business in which gamblers placed bets with offshore Internet sports-gambling websites, particularly www.44wager.com based in Costa Rica.

"Uva served as the “master agent” for the bookmaking operation. In addition, DePreta, Uva and others operated a card gambling club at 2965 State St. in Hamden, where a house percentage, commonly referred to as a “rake,” was collected from every hand played."

Uva supervised the club’s operation, Daly said. "Uva also admitted that he committed acts of extortion while participating in this racketeering enterprise and collected “tribute” payments from independent sports bookmakers operating in Connecticut, which payments were subsequently delivered to Gambino Family associates in New York," she said.

Uva is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant on Oct. 24, 2013, at which time he faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.  He also has agreed to forfeit $250,000.

Uva has been released on bond since his arrest on June 13, 2012. DePreta has pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing.

FBI analysis of the sports-betting web site utilized by the co-defendants has determined that the total gross revenues of the Stamford-based gambling operation were nearly $1.7 million from October 2010 to June 2011.

To date, the defendants who have pleaded guilty have agreed to forfeit more than $1.3 million.

This matter is being investigated by the FBI Fairfield County Organized Crime Task Force, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, the Stamford Police Department, the Bridgeport Police Department and the Connecticut State Police.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Hal Chen and Peter Jongbloed.

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Federal Police in Brazil Crackdown on Death Squad of Active-duty Law Enforcement Officers

Brazil’s Federal Police arrested 18 people Tuesday in a crackdown on an extermination squad that operated in Natal, capital of the northeastern state of Rio Grande do Norte.

The suspects, who include 11 state and municipal police officers, have been linked to 22 homicides and five attempted homicides, Federal Police spokespersons said.

Besides targeting drug dealers, the death squad engaged in murder-for-hire and killings of witnesses, according to federal authorities. More than 200 Federal Police took part in Tuesday’s arrests.

The suspects will be charged with multiple counts of first-degree murder and with membership in an extermination squad, Federal Police said in a statement. The leaders of the group could face prison sentences of up to 395 years.

This is the third time in two years that Federal Police have moved against a death squad comprising active-duty law enforcement officers.

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Will Legalized Pot Mellow Out Chicago's Murder Rate?

Illinois became the twentieth state in the Union Friday to legalize the medical use of marijuana. The law sets up state-run pot dispensaries statewide. They think it might cut down on the murder rate in Chicago if no one can remember where they left their gun.

Thanks to Argus Hamilton.

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Feds Use Spyware & Hacking Tools Including Remote Activation Recordings Via Cell Phone Microphones to Target Suspects

Law-enforcement officials in the U.S. are expanding the use of tools routinely used by computer hackers to gather information on suspects, bringing the criminal wiretap into the cyber age.

Federal agencies have largely kept quiet about these capabilities, but court documents and interviews with people involved in the programs provide new details about the hacking tools, including spyware delivered to computers and phones through email or Web links—techniques more commonly associated with attacks by criminals.

People familiar with the Federal Bureau of Investigation's programs say that the use of hacking tools under court orders has grown as agents seek to keep up with suspects who use new communications technology, including some types of online chat and encryption tools. The use of such communications, which can't be wiretapped like a phone, is called "going dark" among law enforcement.

A spokeswoman for the FBI declined to comment.

The FBI develops some hacking tools internally and purchases others from the private sector. With such technology, the bureau can remotely activate the microphones in phones running Google Inc.'s GOOG +0.26% Android software to record conversations, one former U.S. official said. It can do the same to microphones in laptops without the user knowing, the person said. Google declined to comment.

The bureau typically uses hacking in cases involving organized crime, child pornography or counterterrorism, a former U.S. official said. It is loath to use these tools when investigating hackers, out of fear the suspect will discover and publicize the technique, the person said.

The FBI has been developing hacking tools for more than a decade, but rarely discloses its techniques publicly in legal cases.

Earlier this year, a federal warrant application in a Texas identity-theft case sought to use software to extract files and covertly take photos using a computer's camera, according to court documents. The judge denied the application, saying, among other things, that he wanted more information on how data collected from the computer would be minimized to remove information on innocent people.

Since at least 2005, the FBI has been using "web bugs" that can gather a computer's Internet address, lists of programs running and other data, according to documents disclosed in 2011. The FBI used that type of tool in 2007 to trace a person who was eventually convicted of emailing bomb threats in Washington state, for example.

The FBI "hires people who have hacking skill, and they purchase tools that are capable of doing these things," said a former official in the agency's cyber division. The tools are used when other surveillance methods won't work: "When you do, it's because you don't have any other choice," the official said.

Surveillance technologies are coming under increased scrutiny after disclosures about data collection by the National Security Agency. The NSA gathers bulk data on millions of Americans, but former U.S. officials say law-enforcement hacking is targeted at very specific cases and used sparingly.

Still, civil-liberties advocates say there should be clear legal guidelines to ensure hacking tools aren't misused. "People should understand that local cops are going to be hacking into surveillance targets," said Christopher Soghoian, principal technologist at the American Civil Liberties Union. "We should have a debate about that."

Mr. Soghoian, who is presenting on the topic Friday at the DefCon hacking conference in Las Vegas, said information about the practice is slipping out as a small industry has emerged to sell hacking tools to law enforcement. He has found posts and resumes on social networks in which people discuss their work at private companies helping the FBI with surveillance.

A search warrant would be required to get content such as files from a suspect's computer, said Mark Eckenwiler, a senior counsel at Perkins Coie LLP who until December was the Justice Department's primary authority on federal criminal surveillance law. Continuing surveillance would necessitate an even stricter standard, the kind used to grant wiretaps. But if the software gathers only communications-routing "metadata"—like Internet protocol addresses or the "to" and "from" lines in emails—a court order under a lower standard might suffice if the program is delivered remotely, such as through an Internet link, he said. That is because nobody is physically touching the suspect's property, he added.

An official at the Justice Department said it determines what legal authority to seek for such surveillance "on a case-by-case basis." But the official added that the department's approach is exemplified by the 2007 Washington bomb-threat case, in which the government sought a warrant even though no agents touched the computer and the spyware gathered only metadata.

In 2001, the FBI faced criticism from civil-liberties advocates for declining to disclose how it installed a program to record the keystrokes on the computer of mobster Nicodemo Scarfo Jr. to capture a password he was using to encrypt a document. He was eventually convicted.

A group at the FBI called the Remote Operations Unit takes a leading role in the bureau's hacking efforts, according to former officials.

Officers often install surveillance tools on computers remotely, using a document or link that loads software when the person clicks or views it. In some cases, the government has secretly gained physical access to suspects' machines and installed malicious software using a thumb drive, a former U.S. official said.

The bureau has controls to ensure only "relevant data" are scooped up, the person said. A screening team goes through all of the data pulled from the hack to determine what is relevant, then hands off that material to the case team and stops working on the case.

The FBI employs a number of hackers who write custom surveillance software, and also buys software from the private sector, former U.S. officials said.

Italian company HackingTeam SRL opened a sales office in Annapolis, Md., more than a year ago to target North and South America. HackingTeam provides software that can extract information from phones and computers and send it back to a monitoring system. The company declined to disclose its clients or say whether any are in the U.S.

U.K.-based Gamma International offers computer exploits, which take advantage of holes in software to deliver spying tools, according to people familiar with the company. Gamma has marketed "0 day exploits"—meaning that the software maker doesn't yet know about the security hole—for software including Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer, those people said. Gamma, which has marketed its products in the U.S., didn't respond to requests for comment, nor did Microsoft.

Thanks to JENNIFER VALENTINO-DEVRIES and DANNY YADRON.

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John Whitehead Discusses "A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State" on #CrimeBeatRadio

On August 8th, Mr. John Whitehead discusses his book "A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State" on Crime Beat Radio.

Crime Beat is a weekly hour-long radio program that airs every Thursday at 8 p.m. EST. Crime Beat presents fascinating topics that bring listeners closer to the dynamic underbelly of the world of crime. Guests have included ex-mobsters, undercover law enforcement agents, sports officials, informants, prisoners, drug dealers and investigative journalists, who have provided insights and fresh information about the world’s most fascinating subject: crime.

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Three Somali Pirates Sentenced to Life in Prison for Murders of Four Americans Aboard SV Quest

Somali nationals Ahmed Muse Salad, a/k/a “Afmagalo,” 25; Abukar Osman Beyle, 20; and Shani Nurani Shiekh Abrar, 29, who were previously found guilty by jury of all 26 counts charged, to include piracy, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, hostage taking resulting in death, kidnapping resulting in death, and multiple firearms offenses, were sentenced by a federal jury. The three defendants were sentenced to life in prison for their roles in the February 22, 2011 murders of four Americans aboard the sailing vessel Quest. The victims included Scott Underwood Adam, Jean Savage Adam, Phyllis Patricia Macay, and Robert Campbell Riggle.

Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; George Venizelos, Assistant Director in Charge (ADIC) of the FBI’s New York Field Office; Royce E. Curtin, Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; and Michael Monroe, Special Agent in Charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), made the announcement after the sentence was accepted by Chief United States District Court Judge Rebecca Beach Smith.

“Four Americans were taken hostage, terrorized, and then murdered. Life in prison is reserved for those who commit heinous crimes—and the jury today decided the execution of four innocent Americans on the high seas meets that high bar,” said United States Attorney Neil H. MacBride. “Scott Adam, Jean Adam, Phyllis Macay, and Robert Riggle lost their lives, and their families lost their loved ones. Nothing can make this right; nothing can make their families whole again—but we hope today’s verdict and sentences will bring some closure to their nightmare that began two years ago on the Indian Ocean.”

“This case exemplifies the ongoing, outstanding cooperation between federal law enforcement and federal prosecutors,” said Norfolk SAC Royce Curtin. “Today’s sentencings should send a clear message to anyone committing acts of criminal violence against American citizens at sea that they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Assistant Director in Charge Venizelos stated, “Pirates armed with AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades took four innocent Americans hostage aboard their own vessel. When negotiations reached an impasse, one pirate launched a grenade at a nearby U.S. Navy ship while others murdered four Americans aboard the Quest. Today’s life sentences provide a vigorous deterrent for armed bandits roaming our seas. The FBI’s commitment to stopping this scourge of violence is unwavering.”

The defendants were previously indicted on July 8, 2011, by a federal grand jury on 26 counts, which included conspiracy to commit hostage taking, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, kidnapping resulting in death, conspiracy to commit violence against maritime navigation resulting in death, piracy, and firearms offenses. The defendants were convicted on all 26 counts on July 8, 2013. According to court records and evidence at trial, Salad, Beyle, Abrar, and others—armed with firearms and a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG)—boarded the Quest while the four Americans slept on February 18, 2011. They gained control of the vessel and took the four American citizens as hostages. Their plan was to take the hostages to Somalia, where they and their additional co-conspirators in Somalia could commence ransom negotiations. While they sailed toward Somalia, the three defendants and their co-conspirators were taking turns standing armed guard over the hostages; at the same time, United States Navy ships headed towards the Quest to aid the hostages and prevent the Quest from proceeding to Somalia.

Beginning on February 19, 2011, communications had been established, and the United States Navy and the FBI began negotiating with the pirates to secure the safe release of the hostages. On February 21, 2011, two co-conspirators representing the pirates onboard the Q, were transferred to the USS Sterett to negotiate. The negotiations reached an impasse when the co-conspirators were told that they were not going to be allowed to take the hostages ashore in Somalia. The decision was made to detain the co-conspirators after they refused to release the hostages and threatened to kill them if they were not allowed to return to Somalia.

Testimony revealed that Abrar fired a shot over the head of Scott Adam and instructed Adam to tell the U.S. Navy that if the military came any closer, the conspirators would kill the hostages.

On February 22, 2011, without provocation and before the hostages could be rescued by members of the military, a co-conspirator fired an RPG in the general direction of the USS Sterett. Witnesses testified that sustained firing came from the Quest and that glass could be seen breaking on the starboard side of the Quest. Witnesses also testified that Salad, Beyle, and Abrar were the shooters and responsible for the deaths of Scott Adam, Jean Adam, Phyllis Macay, and Robert Riggle. After the gun fire died down, the navy dispatched SEALS to the Quest. The pirates aboard the Quest began surrendering, and some were seen throwing AK-47 rifles into the water.

This case was investigated by the FBI and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Assistant United States Attorneys Joseph DePadilla, Brian J. Samuels, and Benjamin L. Hatch prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

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Tomorrow, @PeterLance to Discuss #DealwiththeDevil at @TheMobMuseum, Details Greg Scarpa Sr.'s Relationship with the #FBI

On Saturday, Aug. 3, award-winning author Peter Lance will deliver a presentation and sign his book, “Deal with the Devil” at The Mob Museum, the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement. His presentation, to be aired as part of C-SPAN-Book-TV regular programming, will take place at 1 p.m. with the book signing scheduled to follow at 2:30 p.m.

Since 2001, Lance has been writing investigative books regarding the FBI’s counter-terrorism and organized crime track records. He is a five-time winner of the News & Documentary Emmy award and recipient of the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism award. In addition to “Deal with the Devil,” Lance has written three books for HarperCollins regarding international terrorism and the Green Berets.

Lance’s book details how the government’s relationships with organized crime went all the way to the Kennedy presidency. In more than four decades as a violent gangster, Gregory Scarpa, Sr., served only 30 days in jail during the years when he was "closed" as an FBI source. For more than 30 of those years, a series of FBI agents intervened to keep the so-called Mad Hatter on the street. But that was not the most disturbing aspect of Scarpa's relationship with the government. In light of the 1,150-plus pages of the recently accessed FBI files on Scarpa, Sr., Lance argues the FBI's very playbook against La Cosa Nostra was defined and shaped by what the elder Scarpa fed them-particularly in the years from 1961 to 1972, when J. Edgar Hoover himself was on the receiving end of 34's Airtels. Drawing on secret FBI Airtels never before seen outside the Bureau, it is revealed how Gregory Scarpa, Sr., then a young capo for the Profaci crime family, led J. Edgar Hoover himself into the inner sanctum of the underworld. Once that alliance began, there seemed to be no turning back for the Bureau.

"They enlisted a hyper-violent killer to stop much less capable murderers," says Ellen Resnick, defense attorney, whose work helped expose this unholy alliance. "It was the ultimate ends-justify-the-means relationship."

The event is free with Museum admission but reservations are encouraged and may be made by calling (702) 229-2734 or via www.TheMobMuseum.org.

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Northwestern University Does Not Admit Liability, Yet will Pay Nearly $3 Million to the United States to Settle Cancer Research Grant Fraud Claims

Northwestern University will pay the United States $2.93 million to settle claims of cancer research grant fraud by a former researcher and physician at the university’s Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Center for Cancer in Chicago. Northwestern agreed to the settlement in a federal False Claims Act lawsuit that was unsealed after the government investigated the claims made by a former employee and whistleblower who will receive a portion of the settlement.

Northwestern allegedly allowed one of its researchers, Dr. Charles L. Bennett, to submit false claims under research grants from the National Institutes of Health. The settlement covers improper claims that Dr. Bennett submitted for reimbursement from the federal grants for professional and consulting services, subcontracts, food, hotels, travel, and other expenses that benefited Dr. Bennett, his friends, and family from January 1, 2003, through August 31, 2010.

The allegations were made in a civil lawsuit filed under seal in 2009 by Melissa Theis, a former employee of the Lurie Cancer Center, who will receive $498,100 in settlement proceeds. Her allegations were investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Officeof Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, resulting in the settlement announced today by Gary S. Shapiro, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. At the same time, the whistleblower lawsuit that initiated the case was unsealed. United States, et al., ex rel. Melissa Theis v. Northwestern University, Dr. Charles L. Bennett, et al., No. 09 C 1943 (N.D. Ill.).

Northwestern, which fully cooperated during the investigation, did not admit liability as part of the settlement.

“Allowing researchers to use federal grant money to pay for personal travel, hotels, and meals and to hire unqualified friends and relatives as ‘consultants’ violates the public trust and federal law,” Mr. Shapiro said. “This settlement, combined with the willingness of insiders to report fraud, should help deter such misconduct, but when it doesn’t, federal grant recipients who allow the system to be manipulated should know that we will aggressively pursue all available legal remedies,” he added.

“The mismanagement or improper expenditure of grant funds is unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” said Lamont Pugh, III, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General-Chicago Region. “The OIG will continue to diligently investigate allegations of this nature to ensure that taxpayer dollars are being properly utilized.”

Cory B. Nelson, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said, “The FBI takes allegations of fraud seriously, especially those allegations from insiders who are often in the best position to detect wrongdoing long before it would otherwise come to the attention of law enforcement.”

Northwestern agreed to pay the settlement within 14 business days. The agreement covers allegations that the university submitted false claims to NIH for costs that Dr. Bennett incurred on his grant-funded research projects involving adverse drug-events, multiple myeloma drugs, a blood disorder known as thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, and quality of care for cancer patients. Dr. Bennett allegedly billed those federal grants for family trips, meals and hotels for himself and friends, and “consulting fees” for unqualified friends and family members, including his brother and cousin. At Dr. Bennett’s request, Northwestern also allegedly improperly subcontracted with various universities for services that were paid for by the NIH grants.

The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kurt N. Lindland.

Under the federal False Claims Act, defendants may be liable for triple the amount of actual damages and civil penalties between $5,500 and $11,000 for each violation. Individual whistleblowers may be eligible to receive between 15 and 30 percent of the amount of any recovery.

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Great Reviews for "The Sound of Things Falling" by Juan Gabriel Vasquez #MedellinCartel

From a global literary star comes a prize-winning tour de force – an intimate portrayal of the drug wars in Colombia.

Juan Gabriel Vásquez has been hailed not only as one of South America’s greatest literary stars, but also as one of the most acclaimed writers of his generation. In this gorgeously wrought, award-winning novel, Vásquez confronts the history of his home country, Colombia.

In the city of Bogotá, Antonio Yammara reads an article about a hippo that had escaped from a derelict zoo once owned by legendary Colombian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar. The article transports Antonio back to when the war between Escobar’s Medellín cartel and government forces played out violently in Colombia’s streets and in the skies above. Back then, Antonio witnessed a friend’s murder, an event that haunts him still. As he investigates, he discovers the many ways in which his own life and his friend’s family have been shaped by his country’s recent violent past. His journey leads him all the way back to the 1960s and a world on the brink of change: a time before narco-trafficking trapped a whole generation in a living nightmare.

Vásquez is “one of the most original new voices of Latin American literature,” according to Nobel Prize winner Mario Vargas Llosa, and The Sound of Things Falling is his most personal, most contemporary novel to date, a masterpiece that takes his writing—and will take his literary star—even higher

* One of NPR’s 6 Best Books of the Summer
* Esquire recommends The Sound of Things Falling “if you read only one book this month”
* Starred early reviews from Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Library Journal, and Kirkus
* Lauded by Jonathan Franzen, E. L. Doctorow and many others

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George Willis @NYPost_Willis Discusses "The Bite Fight: Tyson, Holyfield and the Night that Changed Boxing Forever" on #CrimeBeatRadio

On August 1st, George Willis, author of The Bite Fight: Tyson, Holyfield and the Night that Changed Boxing Forever to appear on Crime Beat Radio.

Crime Beat is a weekly hour-long radio program that airs every Thursday at 8 p.m. EST. Crime Beat presents fascinating topics that bring listeners closer to the dynamic underbelly of the world of crime. Guests have included ex-mobsters, undercover law enforcement agents, sports officials, informants, prisoners, drug dealers and investigative journalists, who have provided insights and fresh information about the world’s most fascinating subject: crime.

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An Offer That Can't Be Refused: Experience @TheMobMuseum and @NeonMuseum for Just One Great Price

For the first time, The Mob Museum, the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, and The Neon Museum are partnering to offer guests one ticket to two great museums for $30, an average savings of 30 percent. Guests now have the chance to book one daytime tour for the Neon Museum and then visit the Mob Museum with this special same-day offer. Both attractions are located in downtown Las Vegas, approximately 10 minutes apart from one another.

The Mob Museum presents an exciting and authentic view of organized crime’s impact on Las Vegas history and its unique imprint on the world while the Neon Museum is the world’s largest collection of neon signage displayed in a two-acre Neon Boneyard featuring 150 rescued architectural landmarks from iconic Las Vegas properties ranging from the 1930s to present day.

“We have worked hard to make this collaboration a reality,” says Jonathan Ullman, executive director and chief executive officer, The Mob Museum. “In doing so, our guests will encounter two unique and entertaining perspectives on the incredible events and iconic signage that made this city famous.”

With engaging exhibits, high-tech theater presentations and more than 600 artifacts, The Mob Museum houses the largest collection of Mob and related law enforcement memorabilia under one roof. During the guided Neon Museum tour, guests will learn about the unique stories regarding the personalities who created the signs, their inspirations, where and when the signs were made and the role they played in Las Vegas’ colorful history.

“We know our Museums offer distinct yet complementary versions of Las Vegas history, so it’s a thrill to offer guests one ticket that enables them to experience both sides in one day,” concludes Danielle Kelly, executive director, The Neon Museum.

Currently, The Neon Museum offers day-time guided tours seven days a week at 9 a.m., 9:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. The Mob Museum is also open seven days per week, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

To purchase tickets, go to www.TheMobMuseum.org or call (702) 229-2734.

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Nancy and Lisa Smith of the Big Blend Tour @BigBlendMag to Appear on #CrimeBeatRadio

On July 25th, Nancy and Lisa Smith of the Big Blend Tour appear on Crime Beat Radio.

Crime Beat is a weekly hour-long radio program that airs every Thursday at 8 p.m. EST. Crime Beat presents fascinating topics that bring listeners closer to the dynamic underbelly of the world of crime. Guests have included ex-mobsters, undercover law enforcement agents, sports officials, informants, prisoners, drug dealers and investigative journalists, who have provided insights and fresh information about the world’s most fascinating subject: crime.

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Stephen "Stippo" Rakes, Possible Witness at Whitey Bulger Mob Murder Trial, Found Dead of Disputed Suicide

Stephen "Stippo" Rakes, a possible witness in the murder trial of alleged crime boss James "Whitey" Bulger, has been found dead, authorities said.

The body of Rakes, 59, had "no obvious signs of trauma" and an autopsy is being performed to determine the cause of death, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and Lincoln, Mass., Police Chief Kevin Mooney announced today. The corpse was found on Mill Street in Lincoln yesterday at 1:30 p.m., police said.

Rakes had been on the witness list and had been eager to testify that Bulger threatened his family at gunpoint and forced him to turn his liquor store into a front for the Winter Hill Gang. But earlier this week prosecutors informed Rakes he would not be called to testify, a decision that left Rakes "despondent," a source close to his family told ABC News.

The judge overseeing the Bulger case hunkered down with lawyers in a confidential conference at the South Boston courthouse today where the trial is being held. Bulger, alleged to be a notorious and murderous crime boss and federal informant, is standing trial after being found on the lam in California two years ago.

Federal prosecutors said Rakes was supposed to testify that Bulger and associate Stephen Flemmi threatened his daughter at gunpoint, and took over his South Boston liquor store for Bulger's headquarters. Bulger sidekick Kevin Weeks testified last week Rakes' contention that Bulger's gang put a gun to his daughter's head was bogus.

Rakes comes from a storied South Boston family. His brother Joseph Rakes was photographed in Stanley Forman's Pulitzer Prize winning photograph charging at an African-American man on Boston's City Hall with the sharp end of the American flag – which became the symbol of the racial unrest during the city's anti-busing crisis.

News of his death investigation came on the same day that Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi was slated to take the stand against Bulger. The two men ran the Winter Hill Gang for decades while also working as informants for the FBI, according to prosecutors and courtroom testimony.

Police told the Rakes family the death appeared to be a suicide. But a source close to the Rakes family told ABC News that "he had no phone, no wallet, and police are still looking for his car." The body of the man found in Lincoln was positively identified as Rakes this morning after a fingerprint match, sources said.

Rakes' longtime friend Steve Davis, whose sister Debbie was allegedly murdered by Bulger, had met him for breakfast daily before court. Davis said he last saw Rakes Tuesday in court but then couldn't reach him all night Tuesday and yesterday he did not meet him in the courthouse cafeteria for breakfast.

"Stippo would not kill himself. Absolutely not,'' Davis told ABC News this morning. "He was looking forward to taking the stand. He told me over and over he had a big bombshell to drop. He had everything to live for and was looking forward to his day in court."

Davis - who lost his sister, brother and father to homicide, and whose daughter was killed in a drunk driver accident - was devastated by the news.

"It doesn't make sense,'' Davis said.

Thanks to GMA.

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In the Godfather's Garden: The long Life and Times of Richie 'The Boot" Boiardo on #CrimeBeatRadio

On July 18th, Richard Linnett discusses this book, In the Godfather's Garden: The long Life and Times of Richie 'The Boot" Boiardo, on Crime Beat Radio.

Crime Beat is a weekly hour-long radio program that airs every Thursday at 8 p.m. EST. Crime Beat presents fascinating topics that bring listeners closer to the dynamic underbelly of the world of crime. Guests have included ex-mobsters, undercover law enforcement agents, sports officials, informants, prisoners, drug dealers and investigative journalists, who have provided insights and fresh information about the world’s most fascinating subject: crime.

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Modesto Cruz Sentenced to Prison Drug & Firearm Charges, Plot to Kill a Police Officer Revealed During Investigation

A Lynn, MA man who discussed murdering a Lynn Police officer was sentenced to 188 months in prison.

U.S. District Judge Denise J. Casper sentenced Modesto Cruz, 37, to 188 months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release. In March, Cruz pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute more than 100 grams of heroin, distribution of heroin, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

In 2012, while Cruz was on pretrial release from a 2010 Lynn gun arrest, a cooperating witness working with the FBI’s North Shore Gang Task Force made four controlled buys of over 100 grams of heroin from Cruz. During the course of those recorded buys, Cruz and the cooperating witness talked about Cruz’s plan to kill one of the Lynn Police officers that had arrested him on the gun charge. An undercover law enforcement officer, posing as a hitman, was ultimately introduced to Cruz by the cooperating witness. Cruz and the undercover talked about the price and logistics of the hit on the police officer. Cruz was arrested the next day.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Jeffrey S. Sallet, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett; Colonel Timothy Alben, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Lynn Police Chief Kevin Coppinger; and Essex County Sheriff Frank G. Cousins, Jr. made the announcement today.

The case was investigated by the FBI’s North Shore Gang Task Force, which consists of the FBI; the ATF; the Massachusetts State Police; the Lynn, Chelsea and Revere Police Departments; and the Essex County Sheriff’s Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys in Ortiz’s Organized Crime and Gang Strike Force Unit.

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Book Signing and Presentation by Authors of “The Boston Mob Guide: Hit Men, Hoodlums & Hideouts”

On Fri., Aug. 16, and Sat., Aug. 17, Beverly Ford and Stephanie Schorow, veteran journalists and co-authors of “The Boston Mob Guide: Hit Men, Hoodlums and Hideouts” will sign copies of their book and present at The Mob Museum, the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement. The book signing will take place at the Museum from 12 to 4 p.m. on Fri., Aug. 16 and their presentation will take place on Sat., Aug. 17, from 1 to 2 p.m.

They will discuss the stories behind their books: “The Boston Mob Guide: Hit Men, Hoodlums & Hideouts,” released by The History Press, Inc., is a primer about the wiles of Whitey Bulger, the murderous rages of Joe “The Animal” Barboza and the double dealings of Stephen “The Rifleman” Flemmi. Ford and Schorow profile Boston’s gangsters in crisp clear prose, with helpful cross-references. The Boston Mob Guide travels back to Prohibition with the story of bootlegger Charles “King” Solomon and the murderous standoff between the Irish Gustin Gang and the emerging North End Mafia. The guide unravels the complicated hits of the Winter Hill Gang and the Irish mob wars of the ‘60s and ‘70s.

Beverly Ford is the Boston-based journalist and author who has spent more than 20 years as a reporter and freelance writer for the Boston Herald, the New York Daily News, the London Times, the London Mirror, Access Magazine, Bloomberg News and other publications. She is currently following Bulger’s trial for the New York Daily News.

Stephanie Schorow is the author of “The Crime of the Century: How the Brink’s Robbers Stole Millions” and “The Hearts of Boston; East of Boston: Notes from the Harbor Islands” (The History Press, 2008); “Boston on Fire: A History of Fires and Firefighting in Boston” and “The Cocoanut Grove Fire.” She was the editor of “Boston’s Fire Trail: A Walk Through the City’s Fire and Firefighting History” (The History Press, 2007).

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"Vinny Gorgeous: The Ugly Rise and Fall of a New York Mobster" on Crime Beat Radio

On July 11th, journalist Robert Destafano discusses his new book, Vinny Gorgeous: The Ugly Rise and Fall of a New York Mobster. Also Margaret McClain, Special Correspondent, reports on the Bulger Trial.

Crime Beat is a weekly hour-long radio program that airs every Thursday at 8 p.m. EST. Crime Beat presents fascinating topics that bring listeners closer to the dynamic underbelly of the world of crime. Guests have included ex-mobsters, undercover law enforcement agents, sports officials, informants, prisoners, drug dealers and investigative journalists, who have provided insights and fresh information about the world’s most fascinating subject: crime.

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The Money Noose: The Collapse Of MF Global Was No Accident

Jon Corzine and other leaders at MF Global walked into a disastrous situation with their eyes wide open. Now, respected Wall Street veteran Scott Skyrm offers a detailed account of what really happened, and why. The Money Noose: Jon Corzine and the Collapse of MF Global (Bricktower Press) is like a car wreck: it’s hard to look at, and at the same time, hard to look away.

“MF Global had the wrong business model and the wrong people, at precisely the wrong time….
We did not deal with our central problem of unprofitable core business operations and out-of-control overheads….” A senior member of the MF Fixed Income management team is just one of many sources insider Skyrm has uncovered to explain the self-inflicted collapse of MF Global.

The demise of MF Global is a chaotic story, one in which individual actions taken in and of themselves are relatively minor. But the sum of those individual actions equal the same end result. Skyrm goes further, exploring the question of how investors can protect themselves from this outcome in the future. The best answer, he says, is education. Concise and informed, The Money Noose is a must-read for anyone who takes investing seriously.

Scott E.D. Skyrm is a leading figure in the repo and securities finance markets today, and regularly quoted in The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, Bloomberg News Service, Reuters, Market News, and Dow Jones. He is highly regarded as a former salesman, trader, trading desk manager, and global business head in fixed-income, securities finance, and securities clearing and settlement.

He recently left Newedge, where he was their Global Head of Repo, Money Markets, and Fixed Income Clearing. He is now writing commentaries on the repo market, the short-end of the Treasury market, Federal Reserve policy and general Wall Street topics. He has worked on Wall Street for over 22 years and has taken billion dollar risks on the trading floor, managed a multi-billion dollar balance sheet, and consistently ran one of the most profitable trading groups at every firm where he worked. Prior to Newedge, he managed the repo desk at ING Barings, worked summers at Shearson Lehman/American Express and started his full-time career at The Bank of Tokyo.

For more, please visit the website: www.scottskyrm.com.

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Abdul Walji and Reniero Francisco, CEO and President of Investment Fund, Plead Guilty in Federal Court to Orchestrating Nearly $10 Million Fraud Scheme

Abdul Walji and Reniero Francisco, the chief executive officer and president, respectively, of Arista LLC (Arista), a California investment fund, pleaded guilty in New York federal court to defrauding and misappropriating nearly $10 million from more than 35 investors by misrepresenting the nature and performance of the fund and issuing fraudulent account statements to investors to cover up massive losses, announced Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Walji also pleaded guilty to perpetrating a multi-million-dollar fraudulent scheme with pension plan funds that he managed through three California-based trusts: Allied Benefits Inc., Allied Benefits Trust, and Stone Lamm Trust (collectively, the Trusts). Both defendants were charged in December 2012 and pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Denise Cote.

“Abdul Walji and Reniero Francisco told one lie after another in order to squeeze millions of dollars out of their investors, even as they misappropriated nearly $10 million, including at least $2.7 million solely for their own personal benefit,” said U.S. Attorney Bharara. “Walji even went a step further and orchestrated a second scheme that ultimately cost his victims another approximately $9.5 million. With today’s guilty pleas, they will begin to be held responsible for their actions and repay those wronged by their unlawful conduct.”

According to the three-count superseding information to which Walji pleaded guilty, the indictment to which Francisco pleaded guilty, the defendants’ plea agreements, and other documents in the public record:

The Arista Fraudulent Scheme

Arista began operations as an investment firm in February 2010, with its principal place of business in Newport Coast, California. In April 2011, Arista became a registered commodity pool operator with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission and a National Futures Association member.

In early 2010, Walji and Francisco began to solicit individuals to invest in Arista. From 2010 through 2011, the defendants carried out their fraudulent scheme through three methods. First, Walji and Francisco misrepresented to several Arista investors the nature of the company’s investments and the returns that investors would receive from investing in Arista. For example, Walji and Francisco falsely told investors that their money would be invested in safe, risk-free securities, when in fact, much of the money was invested in options and futures. Second, Walji and Francisco sent fraudulent account performance statements to Arista investors that misrepresented the value of their investments. In an effort to secure additional contributions, the defendants also concealed Arista’s trading losses and told investors that they were profiting from their investments when they were actually losing money. Finally, Walji and Francisco misappropriated at least $2.7 million from Arista’s investors through fees to which they were not entitled and which Walji and Francisco diverted for their own personal benefit. Based on their false representations, Walji and Francisco collected nearly $10 million from over 35 investors, and they ultimately misappropriated a large portion of the money.

From early 2008 through June 2013, Walji also perpetrated a separate fraudulent scheme using pension plan funds that he administered. Similar to the scheme set forth above, Walji executed his fraudulent scheme through three principal methods. First, Walji made oral misrepresentations to existing and potential clients of the Trusts concerning: (i) the nature of the Trusts’ pension plan investments; (ii) the investment value and past performance of the pension plans; and (iii) the source of funds distributed to plan participants who had reached retirement and/or who had requested distributions. Second, Walji distributed fraudulent statements to clients concerning the value of their accounts and the prior performance of their pension plans in order to forestall redemption requests, induce new clients to contribute to the plans, and induce existing clients to make additional contributions. As selected clients reached retirement age or requested disbursements, Walji sent those clients money that he represented to be proceeds of their individual pensions, when in fact, he knew that the purported disbursements were often funds contributed by other clients. Third, Walji misappropriated approximately $300,000 of client funds for his personal use. In total, this scheme caused losses to approximately 35 additional victims in an aggregate amount of approximately $9.5 million.

Walji, 60, of San Juan Capistrano, California, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud, one count of commodities fraud, and one count of securities fraud. The securities fraud charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; the commodities fraud charge carries a maximum sentencing of 10 years in prison; and the conspiracy charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. Francisco, 57, of Newport Coast, California, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud and one count of securities fraud.

In connection with their guilty pleas, Walji consented to forfeit $13.6 million and Francisco consented to forfeit $4.1 million. The defendants also agreed to forfeit the proceeds of several bank and trading accounts.

U.S. Attorney Bharara praised the investigative work of the FBI and also thanked the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission for its assistance.

This case is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David I. Miller and Christopher D. Frey are in charge of the prosecution. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Monteleoni is in charge of the asset forfeiture related to the prosecution.

This case was brought in coordination with President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, on which U.S. Attorney Bharara serves as a co-chair of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Working Group. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices, and state and local partners, it is the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory, and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state, and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets; and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions, and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed nearly 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants, including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.

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Ingrid Lederhaas-Okun, Former Vice President of High-End Jewelry Company, Arrested and Charged with Stealing More Than $1 Million in Jewelry

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and George Venizelos, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), announced the arrest of Ingrid Lederhaas-Okun, a former vice president of Product Development at a high-end jewelry company, for stealing more than $1.3 million worth of jewelry from her former employer. Lederhaas-Okun was arrested this morning at her residence in Darien, Connecticut, and will be presented in Manhattan federal court later today before U.S. Magistrate Judge James C. Francis.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said, “As alleged, Ingrid Lederhaas-Okun went from a vice president at a high-end jewelry company to jewel thief. She abused her access to valuable jewelry in order to steal and then resell over one million dollars’ worth of items that she falsely represented as her own, as the complaint describes. Her arrest shows that no matter how privileged their position in a company, employees who steal will face the full consequences of the law.”

FBI Assistant Director in Charge George Venizelos said, “As alleged, Ingrid Lederhaas-Okun took advantage of the access her employment afforded her to expensive jewelry. She allegedly stole numerous items, sold them for over a million dollars, then engaged in a series of lies in an attempt to cover up the theft. A privileged position in a prestigious company does not insulate a thief from arrest and prosecution.”

According to the allegations in the complaint unsealed in Manhattan federal court:

From at least January 2011 until February 2013, Lederhaas-Okun worked as a vice president of Product Development at the midtown Manhattan headquarters of one of the world’s premier high-end jewelers (the “jewelry company”). Her duties and responsibilities included ensuring that product designs could be manufactured and, to that end, she had authority to check out jewelry belonging to the jewelry company for work-related reasons, such as to provide the jewelry to potential manufacturers to determine the cost of production.

Between November 2012 and February 2013, Lederhaas-Okun abused her position and authority at the jewelry company to check out more than 165 pieces of jewelry with a retail value of over $1.2 million, including numerous diamond bracelets, platinum or gold diamond drop and hoop earrings, platinum diamond rings, and platinum and diamond pendants. She then sold some, if not all, of this jewelry for $1.3 million to another company, a leading international buyer and reseller of jewelry with an office in midtown Manhattan (the “jewelry reseller”). The jewelry reseller paid for the merchandise that Lederhaas-Okun had stolen either by paying her or her husband in transactions arranged either by Lederhaas-Okun or a friend working on her behalf.

In addition to this jewelry, in November 2012, following an announcement by the jewelry company that it was going to undertake a full physical inventory review, Lederhaas-Okun also reported that approximately $1.5 million worth of jewelry that she had checked out would have to be written off. However, none of that jewelry was ever returned to the jewelry company, contrary to the usual practice of accounting for inventory, such as damaged jewelry, that would have to be written off because it had been rendered unusable in some way.

To conceal her theft, Lederhaas-Okun made repeated false statements to the jewelry company. For example, after her termination in February 2013, she told the jewelry company that she had only recently checked out the missing jewelry in anticipation of creating a PowerPoint presentation for her supervisor and that a draft of the presentation could be found on her office computer. However, the missing pieces of jewelry had been checked out months earlier, her supervisor was unaware of any such presentation being worked on by Lederhaas-Okun, and there was no draft presentation on her computer. In addition, Lederhaas-Okun claimed the jewelry in question could be found in a white envelope in her office, but a search of her office shortly after her departure did not yield any white envelope.

Lederhaas-Okun, 46, of Darien, Connecticut, is charged with one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison; and one count of interstate transportation of stolen property, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

Mr. Bharara praised the investigative work of the FBI. Mr. Bharara also noted the investigation is ongoing.

The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds Unit. Assistant United States Attorney Rosemary Nidiry is in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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Jeffrey Liskov Charged in Fraud Scheme That Caused More Than $3 Million in Losses

A Plymouth man was charged yesterday in connection with an investment fraud that caused retired clients more than $3 million in losses.

Jeffrey A. Liskov, 42, was charged in an information with investment adviser fraud.

It is alleged that from November 2008 through August 2010, Liskov defrauded retired advisory clients. In 2008, despite sustaining large personal losses in risky, highly volatile foreign currency exchange trading, Liskov is alleged to have begun advising retired clients with conservative investment goals to allow him to engage in such trading with a portion of their retirement money. Liskov received significant performance fees for conducting this volatile trading on behalf of clients based on short-term gains, without regard to the long-term performance of his trading in the clients’ accounts.

In late 2009, after sustaining large trading losses for long-time clients, Liskov started liquidating securities in the brokerage accounts of these clients and investing the proceeds in foreign currency exchange trading without the clients’ knowledge or authorization. In order to fund these investments behind his clients’ backs, Liskov used white-out correction fluid and other methods to create fraudulent documents that allowed him to open new foreign currency exchange trading accounts and/or to transfer funds from client brokerage accounts to foreign currency exchange trading accounts. This allowed Liskov to secretly engage in additional foreign currency exchange trading on behalf of long-time clients for whom he had already lost significant amounts of money—additional trading from which, in some instances, Liskov was able to pocket large performance fees. The trading Liskov engaged in with the funds from this fraud caused over $3 million in losses to the long-time clients but garnered Liskov over $200,000 in performance fees.

The statutory maximum offense for investment adviser fraud is five years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine, and restitution.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. U.S. Attorney Ortiz expressed appreciation for the significant assistance her office received from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and also acknowledged the cooperation of the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan M. DiSantis of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit.

The details contained in the information are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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Muhammad (M.J.) Shaheed Sentenced to 21 Months in Prison for Participation in Securities Kickback Scheme

A Cleveland man was sentenced in federal court yesterday for using kickbacks in order to trigger investments in a thinly-traded stock.

Muhammad (M.J.) Shaheed, 45, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Douglas P. Woodlock to 21 months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release and forfeiture of $30,000. In February 2013, Shaheed pleaded guilty to mail and wire fraud arising out his participation in an undercover FBI operation. Shaheed admitted to paying secret kickbacks to an investment fund representative in exchange for having the investment fund buy stock in a publicly traded company, Augrid Global Holdings Corporation, of which Shaheed was chief executive officer. The kickbacks were concealed through the use of sham consulting agreements and other fraudulent documents. What Shaheed did not know was that the purported investment fund representative was actually an undercover agent.

The conviction and sentence followed a year-long investigation focusing on preventing fraud in the micro-cap stock markets. Microcap companies are small, publicly traded companies whose stock often trades at pennies a share. Fraud in the microcap markets is of increasing concern to regulators as such markets have proven to be fertile grounds for fraud and abuse. This is, in part, because accurate information about microcap stocks may be difficult for the average investor to find, since many microcap companies do not file financial reports with the SEC.

Shaheed is one of 15 defendants charged criminally with having participated in the undercover operation. Nine of those charged have now pleaded guilty, and two were convicted after a jury trial.

The Securities and Exchange Commission, which conducted a parallel civil investigation alongside the FBI undercover operation, cooperated with criminal authorities throughout the course of the investigation and prosecution.

U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah E. Walters and Vassili Thomadakis of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit.

This case was brought in coordination with President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch and, with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes; ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes; combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets; and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes. For more information about the task force visit www.stopfraud.gov.

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David Albright of the Institute of Science and International Security Provides an Update on Iran's Nuclear Weapons Program on Crime Beat Radio

On July 4th, in a command appearance, David Albright of the Institute of Science and International Security discusses Iran’s suspected nuclear weapons program.

Crime Beat is a weekly hour-long radio program that airs every Thursday at 8 p.m. EST. Crime Beat presents fascinating topics that bring listeners closer to the dynamic underbelly of the world of crime. Guests have included ex-mobsters, undercover law enforcement agents, sports officials, informants, prisoners, drug dealers and investigative journalists, who have provided insights and fresh information about the world’s most fascinating subject: crime.

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