Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, announce the conviction of William Garcia, 39, a detective with the Sweetwater Police Department.
On April 21, 2014, a jury in U.S. District Court found Garcia guilty on 12 counts. Specifically, the defendant was found guilty of one count conspiring to produce, use, or traffic in one or more counterfeit access devices, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371; one count of use of a counterfeit access device, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1029(a)(1); and ten counts of aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A(a)(1). Garcia faces a mandatory minimum sentence of two years’ imprisonment and a maximum sentence of 35 years in prison.
At trial, the United States presented evidence documenting Garcia’s improper friendship with a former confidential source. The confidential source, a convicted felon, provided Garcia and another former South Miami Detective Richard Munoz with counterfeit credit cards. During the trial, the source, Munoz, and others testified about Garcia’s possession and use of those cards during shopping trips to Miami-Dade County shopping malls in 2010 and early 2011. During a meeting in late December 2010, Garcia was recorded providing his own personal credit card for use in stealing account numbers and manufacturing counterfeit cards.
Additional evidence at trial showed that Garcia was caught on videotape bringing eight counterfeit credit cards to the residence of the confidential source. During that and other recorded meetings, Garcia explained that he had taken the counterfeit cards from work and that he would share them with the confidential source. During the next two weeks, Garcia was recorded discussing his use of the cards at restaurants, movies, and a mall. Garcia’s presence during the transactions was further documented through use of phone records, placing Garcia’s cell phone in the area of each transaction at the time it occurred.
After the verdict, U.S. District Court Judge Federico Moreno remanded Garcia pending sentencing on June 26, 2014, at 9:30 a.m. in Miami. Munoz, who himself pleaded guilty on March 13, 2014, to related fraud charges, is presently set for sentencing in front of Judge Moreno on May 9, 2014.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI Miami Area Corruption Task Force, the FBI Miami Cyber Task Force, and the Sweetwater Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anthony Lacosta and Sarah Schall.
Showing posts with label FBI. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FBI. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Corrections Officer Terrence Pendergrass Charged with Violating Civil Rights of Mentally Ill Inmate
A New York City correction officer was arrested on Monday by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and charged with violating the civil rights of a mentally ill inmate who died after begging for medical help from his cell for hours.
The officer, Terrence Pendergrass, was supervising the Rikers Island unit where the prisoner was being held and, according to the criminal complaint filed Monday, Mr. Pendergrass ignored subordinates who warned that the prisoner, Jason Echevarria, was in distress and needed aid. Mr. Echevarria, who was 25, was found dead hours later.
The charge in the August 2012 death comes as the city faces mounting scrutiny over conditions on Rikers Island and in particular the treatment of mentally ill inmates, whose numbers have surged in recent years. Mayor Bill de Blasio, in naming his correction commissioner, Joseph Ponte, said this month that the department had “sadly lagged behind other corrections systems.” He has vowed reforms.
Last week, news reports detailed the recent death of a mentally ill inmate who was left unattended for hours in an overheated cell on Rikers, where he was being held on a misdemeanor trespassing charge. Advocates for the mentally ill say that the deaths are emblematic of the neglect and indifference that are common at Rikers, the vast city jail complex in the East River, where violent encounters between inmates and guards have been on the rise in recent years.
The Bronx district attorney’s office periodically brings charges against Rikers guards for excessive force, but the complaint filed on Monday by the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York represents the first time in at least a decade that the office has brought a civil rights prosecution in connection with Rikers.
Charged with one count of deprivation of rights under the color of law, Mr. Pendergrass appeared in Federal District Court in Manhattan on Monday afternoon and was released on $250,000 bond. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
The criminal complaint filed by prosecutors paints a picture of stark official indifference, alleged to have been directed by Mr. Pendergrass, 49, who was a captain at the time but was demoted back to officer after the episode.
On Aug. 18, 2012, Mr. Echevarria swallowed a toxic packet of powdered detergent, known at Rikers as a soap ball, that had been given to inmates to clean out their cells after a leak of raw sewage from the toilets. After ingesting the soap ball, Mr. Echevarria began vomiting and complaining of severe pain.
When a correction officer alerted Captain Pendergrass to Mr. Echevarria’s condition, the captain told the officer not to bother him unless “there was a dead body,” the complaint said.
The medical examiner ruled Mr. Echevarria’s death a homicide, citing “neglect and denial of medical care.” The chemicals in the soap had sloughed off the linings of Mr. Echevarria’s tongue and throat, according to the medical examiner’s post-autopsy report.
Mr. Pendergrass, of Howard Beach, Queens, has denied that the correction officer told him Mr. Echevarria was sick, said Patrick Ferraiuolo, president of the Correction Captains Association. He said several other jail officials who were nearby did nothing to help, and noted that Mr. Echevarria had a history of acting up.
Mr. Echevarria, who suffered from bipolar disorder, had been placed in a solitary confinement unit after several suicide attempts and an attempt to swallow a battery, according to the criminal complaint. The unit where he was housed was reserved for mentally ill inmates.
Over the last five years, about 20 correction officers have been prosecuted in connection with assaults on inmates, according to the Bronx district attorney’s office, which has jurisdiction over Rikers Island.
Anthony J. Girese, counsel to the Bronx district attorney, Robert T. Johnson, said that establishing a direct line of responsibility to Mr. Pendergrass was difficult under state homicide statutes. After ruling out state charges, the Bronx district attorney worked with the United States attorney on filing the case under federal civil rights law.
After the raw sewage leak on Aug. 18, Mr. Echevarria was given a soap ball, a cleaning agent that contained, among other things, ammonium chloride, a chemical that can be life-threatening if ingested, the complaint said.
The medical examiner ruled Mr. Echevarria’s death a homicide, citing “neglect and denial of medical care.” The chemicals in the soap had sloughed off the linings of Mr. Echevarria’s tongue and throat, according to the medical examiner’s post-autopsy report.
Mr. Pendergrass, of Howard Beach, Queens, has denied that the correction officer told him Mr. Echevarria was sick, said Patrick Ferraiuolo, president of the Correction Captains Association. He said several other jail officials who were nearby did nothing to help, and noted that Mr. Echevarria had a history of acting up.
Mr. Echevarria, who suffered from bipolar disorder, had been placed in a solitary confinement unit after several suicide attempts and an attempt to swallow a battery, according to the criminal complaint. The unit where he was housed was reserved for mentally ill inmates.
Over the last five years, about 20 correction officers have been prosecuted in connection with assaults on inmates, according to the Bronx district attorney’s office, which has jurisdiction over Rikers Island.
Anthony J. Girese, counsel to the Bronx district attorney, Robert T. Johnson, said that establishing a direct line of responsibility to Mr. Pendergrass was difficult under state homicide statutes. After ruling out state charges, the Bronx district attorney worked with the United States attorney on filing the case under federal civil rights law.
After the raw sewage leak on Aug. 18, Mr. Echevarria was given a soap ball, a cleaning agent that contained, among other things, ammonium chloride, a chemical that can be life-threatening if ingested, the complaint said.
Under Department of Correction rules, correction officers must dilute the soap balls in several gallons of water before providing them to inmates. But the officer distributing them was new and not aware of the rule, according to the complaint.
About 4:30 p.m. Mr. Echevarria began banging on his cell door, telling a correction officer that he needed help after ingesting the soap ball, according to the complaint. That officer informed Captain Pendergrass of Mr. Echevarria’s condition. Captain Pendergrass told the officer that he should not be bothered “if there were live inmates in cells,” according to the complaint.
A short time later, the correction officer returned to Captain Pendergrass after seeing vomit on the window and floor of Mr. Echevarria’s cell. The captain told the officer that Mr. Echevarria should “hold it,” according to the complaint.
Captain Pendergrass’s shift ended at 11 p.m., and Mr. Echevarria had still received no medical attention, the complaint said. Several other correction officers passed through Mr. Echevarria’s unit that afternoon, evening and overnight. About 8:30 the next morning, he was found dead in his cell.
On Monday, a spokesman for the Correction Department said that immediately after the death, Mr. Pendergrass, who joined the department in 1996, was placed on modified duty. He was demoted in July 2013, and on Monday he was suspended without pay.
One correction officer, Raymond Castro, was fired after Mr. Echevarria’s death. Mr. Castro then filed a wrongful termination suit against the city and the Correction Department, claiming that he alerted Captain Pendergrass several times to Mr. Echevarria’s worsening condition and was rebuffed. In his complaint, he also claimed that he tried to call medical personnel on his own, but was stopped by Captain Pendergrass, who ordered him to return to his post.
Mr. Echevarria’s father, Ramon, filed a lawsuit in 2013 against Mr. Pendergrass and several other Rikers personnel, alleging that they violated his son’s constitutional rights.
Ramon Echevarria declined to speak to a reporter about the case on Monday.
The officer, Terrence Pendergrass, was supervising the Rikers Island unit where the prisoner was being held and, according to the criminal complaint filed Monday, Mr. Pendergrass ignored subordinates who warned that the prisoner, Jason Echevarria, was in distress and needed aid. Mr. Echevarria, who was 25, was found dead hours later.
The charge in the August 2012 death comes as the city faces mounting scrutiny over conditions on Rikers Island and in particular the treatment of mentally ill inmates, whose numbers have surged in recent years. Mayor Bill de Blasio, in naming his correction commissioner, Joseph Ponte, said this month that the department had “sadly lagged behind other corrections systems.” He has vowed reforms.
Last week, news reports detailed the recent death of a mentally ill inmate who was left unattended for hours in an overheated cell on Rikers, where he was being held on a misdemeanor trespassing charge. Advocates for the mentally ill say that the deaths are emblematic of the neglect and indifference that are common at Rikers, the vast city jail complex in the East River, where violent encounters between inmates and guards have been on the rise in recent years.
The Bronx district attorney’s office periodically brings charges against Rikers guards for excessive force, but the complaint filed on Monday by the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York represents the first time in at least a decade that the office has brought a civil rights prosecution in connection with Rikers.
Charged with one count of deprivation of rights under the color of law, Mr. Pendergrass appeared in Federal District Court in Manhattan on Monday afternoon and was released on $250,000 bond. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
The criminal complaint filed by prosecutors paints a picture of stark official indifference, alleged to have been directed by Mr. Pendergrass, 49, who was a captain at the time but was demoted back to officer after the episode.
On Aug. 18, 2012, Mr. Echevarria swallowed a toxic packet of powdered detergent, known at Rikers as a soap ball, that had been given to inmates to clean out their cells after a leak of raw sewage from the toilets. After ingesting the soap ball, Mr. Echevarria began vomiting and complaining of severe pain.
When a correction officer alerted Captain Pendergrass to Mr. Echevarria’s condition, the captain told the officer not to bother him unless “there was a dead body,” the complaint said.
The medical examiner ruled Mr. Echevarria’s death a homicide, citing “neglect and denial of medical care.” The chemicals in the soap had sloughed off the linings of Mr. Echevarria’s tongue and throat, according to the medical examiner’s post-autopsy report.
Mr. Pendergrass, of Howard Beach, Queens, has denied that the correction officer told him Mr. Echevarria was sick, said Patrick Ferraiuolo, president of the Correction Captains Association. He said several other jail officials who were nearby did nothing to help, and noted that Mr. Echevarria had a history of acting up.
Mr. Echevarria, who suffered from bipolar disorder, had been placed in a solitary confinement unit after several suicide attempts and an attempt to swallow a battery, according to the criminal complaint. The unit where he was housed was reserved for mentally ill inmates.
Over the last five years, about 20 correction officers have been prosecuted in connection with assaults on inmates, according to the Bronx district attorney’s office, which has jurisdiction over Rikers Island.
Anthony J. Girese, counsel to the Bronx district attorney, Robert T. Johnson, said that establishing a direct line of responsibility to Mr. Pendergrass was difficult under state homicide statutes. After ruling out state charges, the Bronx district attorney worked with the United States attorney on filing the case under federal civil rights law.
After the raw sewage leak on Aug. 18, Mr. Echevarria was given a soap ball, a cleaning agent that contained, among other things, ammonium chloride, a chemical that can be life-threatening if ingested, the complaint said.
The medical examiner ruled Mr. Echevarria’s death a homicide, citing “neglect and denial of medical care.” The chemicals in the soap had sloughed off the linings of Mr. Echevarria’s tongue and throat, according to the medical examiner’s post-autopsy report.
Mr. Pendergrass, of Howard Beach, Queens, has denied that the correction officer told him Mr. Echevarria was sick, said Patrick Ferraiuolo, president of the Correction Captains Association. He said several other jail officials who were nearby did nothing to help, and noted that Mr. Echevarria had a history of acting up.
Mr. Echevarria, who suffered from bipolar disorder, had been placed in a solitary confinement unit after several suicide attempts and an attempt to swallow a battery, according to the criminal complaint. The unit where he was housed was reserved for mentally ill inmates.
Over the last five years, about 20 correction officers have been prosecuted in connection with assaults on inmates, according to the Bronx district attorney’s office, which has jurisdiction over Rikers Island.
Anthony J. Girese, counsel to the Bronx district attorney, Robert T. Johnson, said that establishing a direct line of responsibility to Mr. Pendergrass was difficult under state homicide statutes. After ruling out state charges, the Bronx district attorney worked with the United States attorney on filing the case under federal civil rights law.
After the raw sewage leak on Aug. 18, Mr. Echevarria was given a soap ball, a cleaning agent that contained, among other things, ammonium chloride, a chemical that can be life-threatening if ingested, the complaint said.
Under Department of Correction rules, correction officers must dilute the soap balls in several gallons of water before providing them to inmates. But the officer distributing them was new and not aware of the rule, according to the complaint.
About 4:30 p.m. Mr. Echevarria began banging on his cell door, telling a correction officer that he needed help after ingesting the soap ball, according to the complaint. That officer informed Captain Pendergrass of Mr. Echevarria’s condition. Captain Pendergrass told the officer that he should not be bothered “if there were live inmates in cells,” according to the complaint.
A short time later, the correction officer returned to Captain Pendergrass after seeing vomit on the window and floor of Mr. Echevarria’s cell. The captain told the officer that Mr. Echevarria should “hold it,” according to the complaint.
Captain Pendergrass’s shift ended at 11 p.m., and Mr. Echevarria had still received no medical attention, the complaint said. Several other correction officers passed through Mr. Echevarria’s unit that afternoon, evening and overnight. About 8:30 the next morning, he was found dead in his cell.
On Monday, a spokesman for the Correction Department said that immediately after the death, Mr. Pendergrass, who joined the department in 1996, was placed on modified duty. He was demoted in July 2013, and on Monday he was suspended without pay.
One correction officer, Raymond Castro, was fired after Mr. Echevarria’s death. Mr. Castro then filed a wrongful termination suit against the city and the Correction Department, claiming that he alerted Captain Pendergrass several times to Mr. Echevarria’s worsening condition and was rebuffed. In his complaint, he also claimed that he tried to call medical personnel on his own, but was stopped by Captain Pendergrass, who ordered him to return to his post.
Mr. Echevarria’s father, Ramon, filed a lawsuit in 2013 against Mr. Pendergrass and several other Rikers personnel, alleging that they violated his son’s constitutional rights.
Ramon Echevarria declined to speak to a reporter about the case on Monday.
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Deputy Darrell Mathis Arrested for Selling Marijuana Out of His Police Car
An undercover sting operation nabbed an Atlanta-area sheriff's deputy
who was selling marijuana out of his patrol car and in uniform, federal
authorities say.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Former Sheriff Wesley Wells Pleads Guilty to Lying to Federal Investigators
Acting United States Attorney Kevin F. McDonald stated today that guilty pleas were entered by former Union County Sheriff Wesley Howard Wells, Former County Tax Assessor Willie E. Randall, Jr., and Union County residents Willard Dee Farr and Lapriest Darnell Beacham to charges stemming from four separate indictments issued by a federal grand jury in September 2009 as a result of a long term investigation into public corruption in Union County.
1. Former Union County Sheriff Wesley Howard Wells pled guilty today in federal court in Spartanburg to lying to federal investigators. Evidence presented at today’s hearing established that Wells made sizeable loans to an individual, resulting in significant interest income to Wells. In March 2009, Wells made false statements to federal law enforcement agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation concerning his involvement in concealing his receipt of taxable interest income and the existence of documents acknowledging the same. Wells faces a maximum possible sentence of five years' imprisonment and a fine of $250,000.
2. Former Union County Tax Assessor Willie E. Randall, Jr., pled guilty to conspiracy, extortion, soliciting and accepting bribes, money laundering, structuring financial transactions to evade federal reporting requirements, and knowingly allowing the Union County Tax Assessor’s Office to be used as a “stash house” for the storage and distribution of cocaine and hydrocodone. Randall faces a maximum possible sentence of 190 years' imprisonment and a fine of $5.25 million dollars.
In addition, Randall also pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and a mixture containing methamphetamine. Randall faces an additional maximum possible sentence of 20 years' imprisonment and a fine of $1 million dollars.
3. Union County Resident Lapriest Darnell Beacham was also named as a co-defendant in a separate indictment along with Willie E. Randall, Jr. Beacham pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Beacham faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years' imprisonment and a fine of $1 million dollars.
4. Union County Resident Willard Dee Farr pled guilty to conspiracy to commit extortion. Farr faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years' imprisonment and a fine of $250,000.
United States District Judge Henry F. Floyd accepted the guilty pleas and will sentence the defendants at a later date.
Mr. McDonald stated that the case was investigated by agents of the FBI, the IRS-Criminal Investigation, and SLED, and that Assistant United States Attorneys Mark C. Moore, Nancy C. Wicker, and J.D. Rowell of the Columbia office prosecuted the cases.
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Information - SC FBI
1. Former Union County Sheriff Wesley Howard Wells pled guilty today in federal court in Spartanburg to lying to federal investigators. Evidence presented at today’s hearing established that Wells made sizeable loans to an individual, resulting in significant interest income to Wells. In March 2009, Wells made false statements to federal law enforcement agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation concerning his involvement in concealing his receipt of taxable interest income and the existence of documents acknowledging the same. Wells faces a maximum possible sentence of five years' imprisonment and a fine of $250,000.
2. Former Union County Tax Assessor Willie E. Randall, Jr., pled guilty to conspiracy, extortion, soliciting and accepting bribes, money laundering, structuring financial transactions to evade federal reporting requirements, and knowingly allowing the Union County Tax Assessor’s Office to be used as a “stash house” for the storage and distribution of cocaine and hydrocodone. Randall faces a maximum possible sentence of 190 years' imprisonment and a fine of $5.25 million dollars.
In addition, Randall also pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and a mixture containing methamphetamine. Randall faces an additional maximum possible sentence of 20 years' imprisonment and a fine of $1 million dollars.
3. Union County Resident Lapriest Darnell Beacham was also named as a co-defendant in a separate indictment along with Willie E. Randall, Jr. Beacham pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Beacham faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years' imprisonment and a fine of $1 million dollars.
4. Union County Resident Willard Dee Farr pled guilty to conspiracy to commit extortion. Farr faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years' imprisonment and a fine of $250,000.
United States District Judge Henry F. Floyd accepted the guilty pleas and will sentence the defendants at a later date.
Mr. McDonald stated that the case was investigated by agents of the FBI, the IRS-Criminal Investigation, and SLED, and that Assistant United States Attorneys Mark C. Moore, Nancy C. Wicker, and J.D. Rowell of the Columbia office prosecuted the cases.
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Information - SC FBI
Thursday, December 10, 2009
FBI Officer Charles Homemma Found Guilty of Watching Girls in Dressing Room
After a daylong bench trial Marion County Magistrate Hank Middlemas found FBI Police Officer Charles Homemma, of Buckhannon guilty of invasion of privacy and not guilty of conspiracy.
Middlemas sentenced Hommema to six months in prison, then suspended that sentence and placed Hommema on a year of probation.
Hommema will also have to pay a $250 fine plus arrest fees and court costs.
Hommema and another officer, Gary Sutton Jr., of New Milton, were arrested in April for using a security camera to watch girls in a dressing room, during the Cinderella Project event held at the Middletown Mall on April 4.
Between 9:34 a.m. and 11 a.m. they pointed the FBI security cameras used in the mall at one of five makeshift dressing rooms set up for the event, court documents say, and caught one of the young women topless.
Sutton pleaded guilty to conspiracy on Nov. 3, and was sentenced to six months on probation.
The Marion County Sheriff's Department arrested the men.
The FBI declined to comment on either man's employment status.
"I spoke to our attorneys and was advised that, until we get the official documentation from the court, we are precluded, by Department of Justice guidelines, from making any comment," said Stephen Fischer
However, an FBI Agent testified during the trial that Sutton resigned his position and Hommema has had his clearance pulled.
Middlemas sentenced Hommema to six months in prison, then suspended that sentence and placed Hommema on a year of probation.
Hommema will also have to pay a $250 fine plus arrest fees and court costs.
Hommema and another officer, Gary Sutton Jr., of New Milton, were arrested in April for using a security camera to watch girls in a dressing room, during the Cinderella Project event held at the Middletown Mall on April 4.
Between 9:34 a.m. and 11 a.m. they pointed the FBI security cameras used in the mall at one of five makeshift dressing rooms set up for the event, court documents say, and caught one of the young women topless.
Sutton pleaded guilty to conspiracy on Nov. 3, and was sentenced to six months on probation.
The Marion County Sheriff's Department arrested the men.
The FBI declined to comment on either man's employment status.
"I spoke to our attorneys and was advised that, until we get the official documentation from the court, we are precluded, by Department of Justice guidelines, from making any comment," said Stephen Fischer
However, an FBI Agent testified during the trial that Sutton resigned his position and Hommema has had his clearance pulled.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Derryl Jenkins Beat by Officers for Speeding
The police chief in Minneapolis says he will ask the FBI to investigate the beating of a man who was stopped for speeding by officers.
The beating was captured on a squad car dash camera and shows six officers punching and kicking the 42-year-old man. Derryl Jenkins was stopped Feb. 19 for allegedly going 15 miles per hour over the speed limit.
Chief Tim Dolan says "the public will want an investigation" into the incident.
Officers said in their police reports that Jenkins resisted arrest so they had to subdue him before placing him in two sets of handcuffs.
Jenkins ended up at North Memorial Medical Center where he had seven stitches above his eye. He was charged with assault and with refusing to submit to alcohol tests, but those charges have been dropped.
Monday, July 20, 2009
FBI Investigate Several DC Officers for Gambling Connected to Homicides
Federal investigators are looking into allegations that several D.C.-area law enforcement officers were involved in a Maryland gambling ring that may also be connected to homicides, the Washington Post reported Sunday.
The probe has targeted five Prince George’s County police officers, a District police official and a former D.C. Housing Authority officer, the report said. The officers allegedly helped protect illegal gambling sites that rotated around Southern Maryland. Sometimes the officers reportedly wore uniforms while providing security for high-stakes craps games with pots as high as $100,000.
Prince George’s County Police Chief Roberto Hylton said he turned over the entire probe to the FBI after he took over the department earlier this year. Three of the suspected officers have retired or are on leave. The probe has been under way since 2007.
The probe has targeted five Prince George’s County police officers, a District police official and a former D.C. Housing Authority officer, the report said. The officers allegedly helped protect illegal gambling sites that rotated around Southern Maryland. Sometimes the officers reportedly wore uniforms while providing security for high-stakes craps games with pots as high as $100,000.
Prince George’s County Police Chief Roberto Hylton said he turned over the entire probe to the FBI after he took over the department earlier this year. Three of the suspected officers have retired or are on leave. The probe has been under way since 2007.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Sgt. Brenda Stevenson Arrested for Using Excessive Force & Lying to FBI
A 45-year-old Highland Park Police Sergeant Brenda Stevenson finds herself on the wrong side of the law, indicted on federal charges for using excessive force and lying to FBI investigators.
The court documents against her indicate she struck and assaulted a victim identified as only V. B. and violated her constitutional rights.
According to the indictment, the woman suffered injuries in a November 2007 incident when Sgt. Stevenson punched her in the face.
The city of Highland Park's Web site still lists Sgt. Stevenson as one of the officers in charge on afternoons. We asked at the police department and mayor's office whether she's still on the job and our questions are not being answered.
"This officer just needs to go. She's in the wrong profession and she needs to be charged and she needs to be sentenced," said Ron Scott of the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality. He applauds the victim for going forward with the case.
In addition to the assault charges, Stevenson is accused of making false statements to the FBI, telling investigators the victim struggled, kicked and fought with officers. The FBI says that never happened.
Stevenson faces up to 15 years in prison and a half a million dollar fine if convicted.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Officer Bernard Hall Jr Arrested for Corruption
A second Benton Harbor police officer was arrested on Friday on similar corruption charges that sent a narcotics officer to prison earlier this year.
The U.S. Attorney’s office for the Western District of Michigan said narcotics supervisor Bernard Hall Jr., 33, of Benton Harbor, faces a three count indictment.
Hall supervised officer Andrew Thomas Collins, who was convicted of planting drug evidence and falsifying search warrants on Jan. 26.
He is serving a 37-month prison sentence.
Hall supervised Collins and other officers in the Benton Harbor Police Department’s narcotics unit, the FBI said.
Hall is accused of working with Collins in falsifying search warrants and planting drug evidence on suspected drug dealers and executing search warrants without proper probable cause.
He also is accused of unlawfully seizing personal property during drug raids and keeping money and property for his own use, Brian Delaney, criminal chief with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, said.
Count two of Hall’s indictment alleges that he made false statements during the federal grand jury investigating Collins.
"In particular the indictment alleges that Hall lied when he testified under oath that ‘I’ve never seen him (Collins) take money from anybody" and "I’ve never witnessed him (Collins) do anything illegal," Delaney said.
The third count alleges that Hall made false statements to the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office when he claimed he had overseen a drug deal by a confidential informant on Feb. 20, 2007 at 849 LaVette St., Delaney said.
"In truth and in fact" there was no drug purchase made at that time at that location, Delaney said.
Hall resigned from the police department and is scheduled for a hearing Friday in federal court in Grand Rapids.
Benton Harbor Police Chief Al Mingo and officials from the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced the charges during a press conference Friday morning.
More than 100 drug cases and convictions that the two officers handled are being reviewed by the Berrien County Prosecutor’s Office and by federal prosecutors for possible dismissal.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Probation Officer Armando Mora Arrested for Cocaine Trafficking
A federal probation officer is expected to a face a judge after being arrested in a cocaine trafficking and bribery case.
U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested Armando Mora on Wednesday.
Authorities said the 36-year-old Edinburg man worked as a federal probation officer in Rio Grande City.
Federal prosecutors told Action 4 News that Mora is accused of taking thousands of dollars in bribes to conduct background checks on truck drivers for a local drug trafficking organization.
Investigators believe that Mora told drug traffickers not to hire two drivers because they were undercover agents.
A third truck driver was not hired because he was an FBI informant who was on probation and supervised by Mora.
Investigators believe Mora worked for the drug trafficking organization between February and June 2009 allowing them to move 738 pounds of cocaine.
The 36-year-old man remains in custody where he is expected to appear before U.S. Magistrate Court Judge Peter Ormsby on Thursday morning.
If convicted, Mora could 10 years up to life in prison and millions of dollars in fines for the drug trafficking charge.
The bribery charge is punishable up to 15 years in prison and thousands in fines.
U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested Armando Mora on Wednesday.
Authorities said the 36-year-old Edinburg man worked as a federal probation officer in Rio Grande City.
Federal prosecutors told Action 4 News that Mora is accused of taking thousands of dollars in bribes to conduct background checks on truck drivers for a local drug trafficking organization.
Investigators believe that Mora told drug traffickers not to hire two drivers because they were undercover agents.
A third truck driver was not hired because he was an FBI informant who was on probation and supervised by Mora.
Investigators believe Mora worked for the drug trafficking organization between February and June 2009 allowing them to move 738 pounds of cocaine.
The 36-year-old man remains in custody where he is expected to appear before U.S. Magistrate Court Judge Peter Ormsby on Thursday morning.
If convicted, Mora could 10 years up to life in prison and millions of dollars in fines for the drug trafficking charge.
The bribery charge is punishable up to 15 years in prison and thousands in fines.
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Two Fulton County Officers Arrested by FBI
DERONTAY ANTON LANGFORD, 34, of Fairburn, Georgia, a Fulton County Sheriff’s Detention Officer, and MITNEE MARKETTE JONES, 46, of Atlanta, Georgia, a Fulton County Deputy Sheriff, both of whom work as officers at the Fulton County Jail, were arrested today by FBI agents following their indictment by a federal grand jury on felony charges of filing a false report, making false statements to federal agents, and obstruction of justice. LANGFORD and JONES are expected to make their initial appearances before United States Magistrate Judge C. Christopher Hagy at 2 p.m. this afternoon.
United States Attorney David E. Nahmias said, “We are continuing to investigate this suspicious inmate death at the Fulton County Jail, as well as other incidents involving the alleged unreasonable use of force against inmates by jail officers. Whether or not we ultimately determine that other officers committed crimes against inmates, any officer who obstructs our efforts to find the truth should expect to be arrested and charged with serious federal felony offenses. Five officers have been charged with obstruction of justice already. Our message to Fulton County jail employees should be clear: you don't want to be next.”
Fulton County Sheriff Ted Jackson said, “This investigation is far from over. Any officer inside this jail who thinks they can beat an inmate or violate an inmate’s civil rights is looking at federal prosecution, and that means being in a federal prison as an inmate. The administration at this jail will continue to hold everyone to the highest professional standards, and that includes truthfulness when asked about any incident inside these walls.”
According to U. S. Attorney Nahmias, the indictment, and information in court: The indictment, unsealed and made public after the arrests today, charges that LANGFORD and JONES aided and abetted one another and former Fulton County Jail Detention Officer CURTIS JEROME BROWN, Jr., in engaging in misleading conduct by allegedly authoring and submitting incident reports that omitted material information regarding an encounter and physical contact with an inmate prior to the inmate’s in-custody death on March 18, 2008. BROWN was fired on October 22, 2008, and was indicted by a federal grand jury on March 24, 2008, for violating civil rights by using excessive force against a different inmate, filing a false report, making false statements to federal agents and obstruction of justice. BROWN’s charges are still pending. The indictment unsealed today also charges LANGFORD and JONES with making false statements to federal agents and obstructing justice by falsifying and concealing material information during their testimony before a federal grand jury.
According to a criminal complaint filed in connection with BROWN’s related charges, on the night of March 18 and into March 19, 2008, a jail inmate was causing a commotion in his cell when BROWN and two other staff members, now identified as LANGFORD and JONES, allegedly entered the cell and engaged in a physical altercation with the inmate. According to eyewitness accounts, the inmate was on the floor when the three staff members left the cell. After they left, the inmate was discovered unresponsive and not breathing on the cell floor and was transported to Grady Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The federal investigation of that in-custody death and other incidents at the Fulton County Jail is continuing. The Fulton County Sheriff’s Department is cooperating in the investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call the FBI at 404-679-9000.
Members of the public are reminded that an indictment contains only allegations. A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government's burden to prove the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
This case is being investigated by Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant United States Attorney Brent Alan Gray and Angela M. Jordan are prosecuting the case.
For further information please contact David E. Nahmias (pronounced NAH-me-us), United States Attorney, or Charysse L. Alexander, Executive Assistant United States Attorney, through Patrick Crosby, Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Attorney's Office, at (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the HomePage for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia is
www.usdoj.gov/usao/gan.
Other Information: http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wabe/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1501991§ionID=1
United States Attorney David E. Nahmias said, “We are continuing to investigate this suspicious inmate death at the Fulton County Jail, as well as other incidents involving the alleged unreasonable use of force against inmates by jail officers. Whether or not we ultimately determine that other officers committed crimes against inmates, any officer who obstructs our efforts to find the truth should expect to be arrested and charged with serious federal felony offenses. Five officers have been charged with obstruction of justice already. Our message to Fulton County jail employees should be clear: you don't want to be next.”
Fulton County Sheriff Ted Jackson said, “This investigation is far from over. Any officer inside this jail who thinks they can beat an inmate or violate an inmate’s civil rights is looking at federal prosecution, and that means being in a federal prison as an inmate. The administration at this jail will continue to hold everyone to the highest professional standards, and that includes truthfulness when asked about any incident inside these walls.”
According to U. S. Attorney Nahmias, the indictment, and information in court: The indictment, unsealed and made public after the arrests today, charges that LANGFORD and JONES aided and abetted one another and former Fulton County Jail Detention Officer CURTIS JEROME BROWN, Jr., in engaging in misleading conduct by allegedly authoring and submitting incident reports that omitted material information regarding an encounter and physical contact with an inmate prior to the inmate’s in-custody death on March 18, 2008. BROWN was fired on October 22, 2008, and was indicted by a federal grand jury on March 24, 2008, for violating civil rights by using excessive force against a different inmate, filing a false report, making false statements to federal agents and obstruction of justice. BROWN’s charges are still pending. The indictment unsealed today also charges LANGFORD and JONES with making false statements to federal agents and obstructing justice by falsifying and concealing material information during their testimony before a federal grand jury.
According to a criminal complaint filed in connection with BROWN’s related charges, on the night of March 18 and into March 19, 2008, a jail inmate was causing a commotion in his cell when BROWN and two other staff members, now identified as LANGFORD and JONES, allegedly entered the cell and engaged in a physical altercation with the inmate. According to eyewitness accounts, the inmate was on the floor when the three staff members left the cell. After they left, the inmate was discovered unresponsive and not breathing on the cell floor and was transported to Grady Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The federal investigation of that in-custody death and other incidents at the Fulton County Jail is continuing. The Fulton County Sheriff’s Department is cooperating in the investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call the FBI at 404-679-9000.
Members of the public are reminded that an indictment contains only allegations. A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government's burden to prove the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
This case is being investigated by Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant United States Attorney Brent Alan Gray and Angela M. Jordan are prosecuting the case.
For further information please contact David E. Nahmias (pronounced NAH-me-us), United States Attorney, or Charysse L. Alexander, Executive Assistant United States Attorney, through Patrick Crosby, Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Attorney's Office, at (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the HomePage for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia is
www.usdoj.gov/usao/gan.
Other Information: http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wabe/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1501991§ionID=1
Friday, January 16, 2009
Former FBI John Connolly Sentenced to 40 Years for Murder
Miami, FL
Former FBI agent John Connolly has been sentenced to 40 years for the 1982 mob-related killing of a Miami gambling executive that was connected to the killing of a Tulsa businessman a year earlier.
Judge Stanford Blake imposed the sentence Thursday after rejecting defense claims that the statute of limitations expired on Connolly's second-degree murder conviction. Prosecutors said that didn't apply because a gun was used in the killing of 45-year-old John Callahan.
Trial testimony showed Connolly provided information to Boston mobsters leading to Callahan's killing by a hit man.
Mob bosses feared Callahan would implicate them in the 1981 killing of businessman Roger Wheeler in Tulsa.
The 68-year-old Connolly is serving a 10-year federal prison sentence for his corrupt dealings with Boston's Winter Hill Gang.
Former FBI agent John Connolly has been sentenced to 40 years for the 1982 mob-related killing of a Miami gambling executive that was connected to the killing of a Tulsa businessman a year earlier.
Judge Stanford Blake imposed the sentence Thursday after rejecting defense claims that the statute of limitations expired on Connolly's second-degree murder conviction. Prosecutors said that didn't apply because a gun was used in the killing of 45-year-old John Callahan.
Trial testimony showed Connolly provided information to Boston mobsters leading to Callahan's killing by a hit man.
Mob bosses feared Callahan would implicate them in the 1981 killing of businessman Roger Wheeler in Tulsa.
The 68-year-old Connolly is serving a 10-year federal prison sentence for his corrupt dealings with Boston's Winter Hill Gang.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Archie Stallworth Said he was Undercover
The feds say Archie Stallworth is a crooked suburban cop who sold out his badge to provide muscle for a drug dealer -- who actually was an undercover FBI agent.
But Stallworth, 36, insists he was simply playing a bad guy, too.
"If he's going to get an Oscar, I should get an Oscar because we were doing the same thing," Stallworth said of the FBI agent.
Stallworth -- who also worked as a Metra train conductor -- says he was also undercover, gathering intelligence on a narcotics ring. He provided the Chicago Sun-Times with police reports that he says prove his innocence by showing that he and a partner were documenting their own investigation months before the FBI arrested Stallworth on Nov. 19.
But a federal grand jury last month indicted Stallworth on charges of drug conspiracy as well as filing fake police reports. He provided the Sun-Times with those same reports but insisted they weren't fake.
Stallworth is among four Harvey officers, 10 Cook County sheriff's corrections officers and a Chicago Police officer who have been charged with drug conspiracy. He says that after his arrest, the FBI asked him to wear a hidden microphone in an attempt to capture remarks by Harvey Mayor Eric Kellogg, but he refused.
On May 27, the undercover FBI agent told Stallworth's partner at the Harvey Police Department that he needed protection for a shipment of up to a kilogram of cocaine, Stallworth said. Stallworth provided the Sun-Times with a document entitled "Harvey Police Persons Incident Report" dated May 28. The report, supposedly written by Stallworth's partner, details the May 27 conversation.
Stallworth says his partner faxed the report to the federal High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program, which coordinates narcotics investigations.
The Harvey Police Department refused to vouch for the authenticity of the police reports, referring questions to the U.S. attorney's office, which declined to comment. Stallworth's partner could not be reached for comment. Stallworth said he was forced to resign from the department but now wants his job back.
According to the charges against Stallworth, he met the undercover FBI agent at a south suburban fast-food restaurant July 26 to provide security for a meeting. Afterward, the agent paid Stallworth $300 and said he needed someone to provide security for drug deals.
Stallworth provided the Sun-Times with a July 27 police report he said he filed after the meeting at the restaurant. The report says he met with a man who "began to speak in detail about his interaction in trafficking narcotics." Stallworth wrote that he planned to contact federal authorities when he received more information on the drug operation.
Prosecutors say Stallworth met with the undercover agent Aug. 11 at DuPage Airport, where he agreed to help make a drug pickup for $1,000. He is accused of moving several duffel bags from a plane to the undercover agent's car. Prosecutors said Stallworth, who was armed with a pistol, thought the bags contained 30 kilograms of cocaine, but it was actually fake.
Stallworth gave the Sun-Times a purported Harvey police report dated Aug. 12 in which he detailed the drug exchange at the airport and said he would store his $1,000 payment in a safe until he could turn it over to federal authorities. Stallworth said he did not make an arrest at the airport because he was worried it might lead to a shoot-out.
http://www.suntimes.com
But Stallworth, 36, insists he was simply playing a bad guy, too.
"If he's going to get an Oscar, I should get an Oscar because we were doing the same thing," Stallworth said of the FBI agent.
Stallworth -- who also worked as a Metra train conductor -- says he was also undercover, gathering intelligence on a narcotics ring. He provided the Chicago Sun-Times with police reports that he says prove his innocence by showing that he and a partner were documenting their own investigation months before the FBI arrested Stallworth on Nov. 19.
But a federal grand jury last month indicted Stallworth on charges of drug conspiracy as well as filing fake police reports. He provided the Sun-Times with those same reports but insisted they weren't fake.
Stallworth is among four Harvey officers, 10 Cook County sheriff's corrections officers and a Chicago Police officer who have been charged with drug conspiracy. He says that after his arrest, the FBI asked him to wear a hidden microphone in an attempt to capture remarks by Harvey Mayor Eric Kellogg, but he refused.
On May 27, the undercover FBI agent told Stallworth's partner at the Harvey Police Department that he needed protection for a shipment of up to a kilogram of cocaine, Stallworth said. Stallworth provided the Sun-Times with a document entitled "Harvey Police Persons Incident Report" dated May 28. The report, supposedly written by Stallworth's partner, details the May 27 conversation.
Stallworth says his partner faxed the report to the federal High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program, which coordinates narcotics investigations.
The Harvey Police Department refused to vouch for the authenticity of the police reports, referring questions to the U.S. attorney's office, which declined to comment. Stallworth's partner could not be reached for comment. Stallworth said he was forced to resign from the department but now wants his job back.
According to the charges against Stallworth, he met the undercover FBI agent at a south suburban fast-food restaurant July 26 to provide security for a meeting. Afterward, the agent paid Stallworth $300 and said he needed someone to provide security for drug deals.
Stallworth provided the Sun-Times with a July 27 police report he said he filed after the meeting at the restaurant. The report says he met with a man who "began to speak in detail about his interaction in trafficking narcotics." Stallworth wrote that he planned to contact federal authorities when he received more information on the drug operation.
Prosecutors say Stallworth met with the undercover agent Aug. 11 at DuPage Airport, where he agreed to help make a drug pickup for $1,000. He is accused of moving several duffel bags from a plane to the undercover agent's car. Prosecutors said Stallworth, who was armed with a pistol, thought the bags contained 30 kilograms of cocaine, but it was actually fake.
Stallworth gave the Sun-Times a purported Harvey police report dated Aug. 12 in which he detailed the drug exchange at the airport and said he would store his $1,000 payment in a safe until he could turn it over to federal authorities. Stallworth said he did not make an arrest at the airport because he was worried it might lead to a shoot-out.
http://www.suntimes.com
Friday, October 31, 2008
Former Police Sergeant Frank Holder Arrested for Bank Robberies
A former Pomona police sergeant has been arrested in connection with a series of bank robberies in Escondido, Glendora and Rancho Cucamonga.
Frank Holder, 61, was arrested Wednesday afternoon in Rancho Cucamonga after he allegedly robbed a bank, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said.
Witnesses inside the bank were able to describe the suspect to deputies at the scene, Eimiller said.
San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies then stopped a vehicle nearby with Holder in it. The suspect description matched Holder.
Holder, a Phelan resident, was identified and booked into Central Detention Center in San Bernardino on suspicion of bank robbery, Eimiller said.
FBI investigators dubbed Holder the "Grandpa Bandit."
Holder got his nickname because witnesses would say, "He appeared to be a grandfatherly figure," Eimiller said.
Holder is set to appear at 2p.m. today in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana.
Pomona Police Chief Joe Romero confirmed Thursday that Holder is a former employee.
Holder transferred in 1974 from the Montclair Police Department to the Pomona Police Department.
He was promoted to senior police officer in 1987 and became a sergeant in 1991, Romero said.
Holder retired from duty in 2004 under honorable circumstances.
"He worked a variety of assignments," Romero said.
News of Holder's arrest came as a shock to people who worked with him, Romero said.
"It is totally out of his character," he said.
http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_10864333
http://cbs2.com/local/Grandpa.Bandit.Holder.2.853486.html
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Two Veteran Miami Officers Charged with Corruption
Two veteran police officers were charged Friday with providing protection for purported shipments of cocaine and stolen goods in what was actually an undercover FBI operation.
Officer Geovani Nunez and Detective Jorge Hernandez are accused in court documents of helping protect shipments of what they thought were stolen televisions and computers and at least 12 kilograms of cocaine — sometimes by using their police cars to escort trucks.
Prosecutors said the 13-year veterans of the Miami Police Department were paid a combined $39,500 by a secret FBI informant they thought was involved in illegal businesses, prosecutors said.
Nunez and Hernandez were released on bail after appearing briefly in court. Nunez's attorney, Michael Catalano, said the allegedly illegal conduct was staged and not real because it was an FBI sting. Catalano also said the officers would fight the charges, which carry potential life sentences.
"They are charged with committing crimes that did not exist," he said.
It was not immediately clear if Hernandez had an attorney.
Police Chief John Timoney said the two officers would be fired.
"These two, as far as I'm concerned, are aberrations," he said.
U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta said the case was particularly disheartening in a year when several South Florida police officers have died in the line of duty.
"It is sad that a handful of individuals choose to repay their colleagues' sacrifice through criminal conduct," Acosta said.
The case is similar to a recent FBI sting that led to guilty pleas from five officers in Hollywood, Fla. Four received lengthy prison sentences.
Officer Geovani Nunez and Detective Jorge Hernandez are accused in court documents of helping protect shipments of what they thought were stolen televisions and computers and at least 12 kilograms of cocaine — sometimes by using their police cars to escort trucks.
Prosecutors said the 13-year veterans of the Miami Police Department were paid a combined $39,500 by a secret FBI informant they thought was involved in illegal businesses, prosecutors said.
Nunez and Hernandez were released on bail after appearing briefly in court. Nunez's attorney, Michael Catalano, said the allegedly illegal conduct was staged and not real because it was an FBI sting. Catalano also said the officers would fight the charges, which carry potential life sentences.
"They are charged with committing crimes that did not exist," he said.
It was not immediately clear if Hernandez had an attorney.
Police Chief John Timoney said the two officers would be fired.
"These two, as far as I'm concerned, are aberrations," he said.
U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta said the case was particularly disheartening in a year when several South Florida police officers have died in the line of duty.
"It is sad that a handful of individuals choose to repay their colleagues' sacrifice through criminal conduct," Acosta said.
The case is similar to a recent FBI sting that led to guilty pleas from five officers in Hollywood, Fla. Four received lengthy prison sentences.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
FBI Agent Says Police Officer Feared Being Labeled a 'RAT'
Arthur Bruce Tesler said he didn't object to lies to get a search warrant and helped cover up the crime after an innocent woman was killed, because he feared retribution from Atlanta police if he became a "rat," an FBI agent said Tuesday.
"He said in 2003 he had tried to report an officer who was involved in excessive force," FBI Agent Joe Robuck told the Fulton County jury Tuesday. "All that resulted in his co-workers thinking of him as a rat and Mr. Tesler being transferred to a less desirable position in the Atlanta Police Department."
The prosecution rested at noon in Tesler's trial in Superior Court. where he faces charges including lying in an official investigation and violating his oath of office for his role in the narcotics raid that resulted in the death of 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston on Nov. 21, 2006.
Tesler's two co-defendants, Gregg Junnier and Jason R. Smith, have already pleaded guilty.
They faced more serious charges, including murder, and agreed to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter.
They have not yet been sentenced. Junnier testified last week and his sentence of up to 10 years is dependant on his cooperation.
He testified that Tesler, 42, participated in the coverup but he wasn't the main instigator of the illegal warrant or the coverup scheme, which Junnier blamed on Smith. In a surprise, the prosecution did not call Smith to testify.
FBI agent Robuck was the main witness Tuesday morning and he described a coverup that reached above Tesler and his two co-defendants. The three detectives briefed their sergeant, Wilbert Stallings, that they were changing their story about which officers witnessed an informant buying crack cocaine at Johnston's house at 933 Neal Street after Johnston was shot to death by narcotics unit officers.
"Sgt. Stallings was told there had been a change in the story and his comment, according to the investigation was, was 'Just pick one and stick to it," Robuck said.
The FBI agent described a police narcotics division that repeatedly lied to get warrants and planted evidence in investigations. Stallings, 44, was later convicted and is in prison on charges from another drug investigation that was turned up during the FBI investigation of the Neal Street case.
Robuck interviewed Tesler twice in the FBI investigation of police actions in getting a no-knock warrant to search for a reputed large stash of cocaine owned by a drug dealer, named "Sam," whom police believe operated from 933 Neal Street.
They had arrested a low-level dealer earlier that day who they said claimed to have seen a kilo of cocaine – 2.2 pounds — in the house that day, Nov. 21, 2006.
Instead, Johnston was waiting with a gun when officers broke down her door without announcing they were police. She fired one shot and was killed in a massive return fire.
Tesler, who was covering the back of the house and did not fire his pistol, was so shaken by the killing that he couldn't write his report, Robuck said.
Tesler told such a detailed lie about how he and his partners met with informant Alex White in the afternoon of the raid that he came across as very credible, Robuck said.
"His demeanor was very convincing," the FBI agent said.
The story matched the one that had been told by his partners. Smith, who lied to the magistrate to get the warrant, prepared a script for the detectives to go over to get their stories straight in the days following the shootings, Robuck said.
"Did you ever give [Tesler] a chance to come clean and tell the truth?" prosecutor Peter Odom asked Robuck of the first FBI interview with Tesler on Dec. 7, 2006.
"He said he didn't think there was anything he wanted to correct," Robuck said.
But White, the informant, had contacted the FBI to tell them he was being pressured to lie for the officers and Junnier, unknown to Tesler and Smith, soon confessed to the FBI.
On Dec. 21, 2006, Tesler told the FBI he would cooperate and gave them a lengthy interview after the holidays on Jan. 4, 2007.
Tesler said he went along with the cover-up story — that a reliable drug buy had been made at the house earlier this day — because "he was the low man on the totem pole," Robuck said.
"Did he ever express the concern that no one would believe him over a senior member of the team?" asked Tesler's lawyer, William McKenney, who was at the interview.
"He did say that," Robuck said.
Tesler said he knew Smith had lied to get the warrant when it was read to the eight-member narcotics team shortly before it raided the Johnston house.
He blamed Smith for planting marijuana in Johnston's basement to help justify the raid and claimed he had shaken his head "No" and walked out of the basement when Smith showed him the dope.
But he acknowledged going along with Smith's claim that cocaine seized from the low-level dealer earlier that day had been the cocaine bought from the Johnston house.
Tesler also was with Smith when they destroyed the rest of the marijuana seized earlier in the day at a different location because part of it was planted at Johnston's house and the samples could be linked through testing, Robuck said.
"They destroyed evidence," Odom said.
"Correct," Robuck said.
"He said in 2003 he had tried to report an officer who was involved in excessive force," FBI Agent Joe Robuck told the Fulton County jury Tuesday. "All that resulted in his co-workers thinking of him as a rat and Mr. Tesler being transferred to a less desirable position in the Atlanta Police Department."
The prosecution rested at noon in Tesler's trial in Superior Court. where he faces charges including lying in an official investigation and violating his oath of office for his role in the narcotics raid that resulted in the death of 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston on Nov. 21, 2006.
Tesler's two co-defendants, Gregg Junnier and Jason R. Smith, have already pleaded guilty.
They faced more serious charges, including murder, and agreed to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter.
They have not yet been sentenced. Junnier testified last week and his sentence of up to 10 years is dependant on his cooperation.
He testified that Tesler, 42, participated in the coverup but he wasn't the main instigator of the illegal warrant or the coverup scheme, which Junnier blamed on Smith. In a surprise, the prosecution did not call Smith to testify.
FBI agent Robuck was the main witness Tuesday morning and he described a coverup that reached above Tesler and his two co-defendants. The three detectives briefed their sergeant, Wilbert Stallings, that they were changing their story about which officers witnessed an informant buying crack cocaine at Johnston's house at 933 Neal Street after Johnston was shot to death by narcotics unit officers.
"Sgt. Stallings was told there had been a change in the story and his comment, according to the investigation was, was 'Just pick one and stick to it," Robuck said.
The FBI agent described a police narcotics division that repeatedly lied to get warrants and planted evidence in investigations. Stallings, 44, was later convicted and is in prison on charges from another drug investigation that was turned up during the FBI investigation of the Neal Street case.
Robuck interviewed Tesler twice in the FBI investigation of police actions in getting a no-knock warrant to search for a reputed large stash of cocaine owned by a drug dealer, named "Sam," whom police believe operated from 933 Neal Street.
They had arrested a low-level dealer earlier that day who they said claimed to have seen a kilo of cocaine – 2.2 pounds — in the house that day, Nov. 21, 2006.
Instead, Johnston was waiting with a gun when officers broke down her door without announcing they were police. She fired one shot and was killed in a massive return fire.
Tesler, who was covering the back of the house and did not fire his pistol, was so shaken by the killing that he couldn't write his report, Robuck said.
Tesler told such a detailed lie about how he and his partners met with informant Alex White in the afternoon of the raid that he came across as very credible, Robuck said.
"His demeanor was very convincing," the FBI agent said.
The story matched the one that had been told by his partners. Smith, who lied to the magistrate to get the warrant, prepared a script for the detectives to go over to get their stories straight in the days following the shootings, Robuck said.
"Did you ever give [Tesler] a chance to come clean and tell the truth?" prosecutor Peter Odom asked Robuck of the first FBI interview with Tesler on Dec. 7, 2006.
"He said he didn't think there was anything he wanted to correct," Robuck said.
But White, the informant, had contacted the FBI to tell them he was being pressured to lie for the officers and Junnier, unknown to Tesler and Smith, soon confessed to the FBI.
On Dec. 21, 2006, Tesler told the FBI he would cooperate and gave them a lengthy interview after the holidays on Jan. 4, 2007.
Tesler said he went along with the cover-up story — that a reliable drug buy had been made at the house earlier this day — because "he was the low man on the totem pole," Robuck said.
"Did he ever express the concern that no one would believe him over a senior member of the team?" asked Tesler's lawyer, William McKenney, who was at the interview.
"He did say that," Robuck said.
Tesler said he knew Smith had lied to get the warrant when it was read to the eight-member narcotics team shortly before it raided the Johnston house.
He blamed Smith for planting marijuana in Johnston's basement to help justify the raid and claimed he had shaken his head "No" and walked out of the basement when Smith showed him the dope.
But he acknowledged going along with Smith's claim that cocaine seized from the low-level dealer earlier that day had been the cocaine bought from the Johnston house.
Tesler also was with Smith when they destroyed the rest of the marijuana seized earlier in the day at a different location because part of it was planted at Johnston's house and the samples could be linked through testing, Robuck said.
"They destroyed evidence," Odom said.
"Correct," Robuck said.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Officer Jose Ortiz Arrested by FBI
Jose Ortiz, a 20-year Boston Police officer has been arrested by the FBI.
The case against Ortiz begun on August 30, 2006, when the cop was caught on a security tape coming into a Boston business. He told the victim that he worked for the ‘Colombian people’ who wanted the victim to pay off an alleged drug debt of $260,000. He told the victim he would kill him and his family if he didn’t corporate. Instead the victim reported the incident to the authorities. For the next few months the victim gave Officer Ortiz thousands of dollars while he was in uniform.
When the FBI went to arrest Ortiz he began screaming, "I'm a cop!" as he was forced to his knees, his hands in the air. The FBI agents cuffed him and pushed him down onto the pavement. Ortiz tried again: "I'm a cop!" But this time, for the first time, that would not be enough to help him get off easy.
After Ortiz went down, Ed Davis joined Lieutenant Detective Frank Mancini, the arresting officer from the anti-corruption unit, in the room where Ortiz was being questioned and booked. For a minute or so, Davis glared at the disgraced cop in his BPD blues. Then he tore the badge off Ortiz's chest, snapping, "You are no longer a Boston police officer. You don't deserve to wear this."
But Davis now admits that Ortiz should have had his badge confiscated long before that day. Prior to his arrest, Ortiz had been suspended from the force six different times, for offenses that included swearing at a commanding officer, lying on police reports, double dipping into overtime, and stealing a sheet from a fellow officer's citation book to write a bothersome neighbor an illegal ticket. Yet for all these violations, Ortiz was never severely punished. The most serious disciplinary action he received was for forging detail slips, for which he got a 70-day unpaid suspension. And even then he served only 20 days.
Worse still, even if everything the FBI says is true, Ortiz is far from the only strike against the BPD, which has seen its reputation sullied by a string of recent scandals: Officer Edgardo Rodriguez pleads guilty to lying to a federal grand jury and distributing steroids. Officer Paul Durkin shoots a cop buddy who tried to take his keys after a night of drinking, and is forced to resign. In January, veteran officer Michael T. Jones is arrested for allegedly robbing a Roslindale gas station at gunpoint. The next month, detective Kevin Guy, a longtime narcotics cop, is hit with a 45-day suspension after testing positive for steroids. Two officers, Windell Josey, who worked with domestic violence victims, and David Murphy, are nabbed by other police departments—one in Randolph and one in Baltimore, Maryland—for allegedly assaulting their girlfriends. At the department's Hyde Park evidence warehouse, a facility only cops are allowed into, a probe finds that drugs from nearly 1,000 cases spanning 16 years have been stolen or improperly discarded.
Now, many law enforcement officials are bracing for the final sentencing hearing for a group of disgraced cops known in the department as "the Three Amigos." All three officers pleaded guilty to drug possession and trafficking charges. One of them, Carlos Pizarro, was sentenced to 13 years in federal prison in December. Another, Nelson Carrasquillo, was sentenced to 18 years last month. According to court documents, the suspected ringleader, Roberto Pulido, was also accused of (though never charged with) involvement in an identity fraud ring and helping to run an illegal after-hours club in Hyde Park, where strippers would perform lap dances for cops in a closed area called "the Boom-Boom Room." He is likely to receive his term in the coming months.
Meanwhile, even more sordid revelations may soon emerge. Pulido's 2002 shooting at the hands of a shadowy assailant will also be reviewed. And the U.S. Attorney's Office has initiated an investigation into allegations of widespread steroid abuse in the BPD.
Back in 2001, Commissioner Paul Evans walked into the District E-13 station house in Jamaica Plain for roll call and presented three awards for exemplary conduct. All three went to the same cop. According to one of the citations, which commended the officer for chasing down and apprehending a robber on Tremont Street, his actions were "indicative of the outstanding professionalism he displays no matter where or when called upon to perform his oath of office." That officer was Roberto Pulido.
Pulido, of course, would later become notorious for allegedly running a series of criminal enterprises that included selling steroids, protecting drug dealers, stealing motorists' identities, and helping manage the Boom-Boom Room in the illegal nightclub not far from the mayor's Hyde Park home. That all this culminated in the biggest BPD scandal in memory is well known. But now even an incident for which Pulido was lauded is getting another look.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John McNeil has issued subpoenas to up to a dozen Boston police officers to appear in front of a grand jury convened to hear evidence on steroid abuse in the BPD. According to a source, three officers, one of them a homicide detective, were transferred after receiving their subpoenas. Two BPD sources, including one with direct knowledge of the investigation, confirmed the ongoing grand jury—where what went on in Pulido's Boom-Boom Room is also likely to be reexamined. And the fact that Pulido's sentencing, originally slated for February, has been pushed back is causing some in the department to wonder whether he is giving up other officers in return for a reduced punishment.
The case against Ortiz begun on August 30, 2006, when the cop was caught on a security tape coming into a Boston business. He told the victim that he worked for the ‘Colombian people’ who wanted the victim to pay off an alleged drug debt of $260,000. He told the victim he would kill him and his family if he didn’t corporate. Instead the victim reported the incident to the authorities. For the next few months the victim gave Officer Ortiz thousands of dollars while he was in uniform.
When the FBI went to arrest Ortiz he began screaming, "I'm a cop!" as he was forced to his knees, his hands in the air. The FBI agents cuffed him and pushed him down onto the pavement. Ortiz tried again: "I'm a cop!" But this time, for the first time, that would not be enough to help him get off easy.
After Ortiz went down, Ed Davis joined Lieutenant Detective Frank Mancini, the arresting officer from the anti-corruption unit, in the room where Ortiz was being questioned and booked. For a minute or so, Davis glared at the disgraced cop in his BPD blues. Then he tore the badge off Ortiz's chest, snapping, "You are no longer a Boston police officer. You don't deserve to wear this."
But Davis now admits that Ortiz should have had his badge confiscated long before that day. Prior to his arrest, Ortiz had been suspended from the force six different times, for offenses that included swearing at a commanding officer, lying on police reports, double dipping into overtime, and stealing a sheet from a fellow officer's citation book to write a bothersome neighbor an illegal ticket. Yet for all these violations, Ortiz was never severely punished. The most serious disciplinary action he received was for forging detail slips, for which he got a 70-day unpaid suspension. And even then he served only 20 days.
Worse still, even if everything the FBI says is true, Ortiz is far from the only strike against the BPD, which has seen its reputation sullied by a string of recent scandals: Officer Edgardo Rodriguez pleads guilty to lying to a federal grand jury and distributing steroids. Officer Paul Durkin shoots a cop buddy who tried to take his keys after a night of drinking, and is forced to resign. In January, veteran officer Michael T. Jones is arrested for allegedly robbing a Roslindale gas station at gunpoint. The next month, detective Kevin Guy, a longtime narcotics cop, is hit with a 45-day suspension after testing positive for steroids. Two officers, Windell Josey, who worked with domestic violence victims, and David Murphy, are nabbed by other police departments—one in Randolph and one in Baltimore, Maryland—for allegedly assaulting their girlfriends. At the department's Hyde Park evidence warehouse, a facility only cops are allowed into, a probe finds that drugs from nearly 1,000 cases spanning 16 years have been stolen or improperly discarded.
Now, many law enforcement officials are bracing for the final sentencing hearing for a group of disgraced cops known in the department as "the Three Amigos." All three officers pleaded guilty to drug possession and trafficking charges. One of them, Carlos Pizarro, was sentenced to 13 years in federal prison in December. Another, Nelson Carrasquillo, was sentenced to 18 years last month. According to court documents, the suspected ringleader, Roberto Pulido, was also accused of (though never charged with) involvement in an identity fraud ring and helping to run an illegal after-hours club in Hyde Park, where strippers would perform lap dances for cops in a closed area called "the Boom-Boom Room." He is likely to receive his term in the coming months.
Meanwhile, even more sordid revelations may soon emerge. Pulido's 2002 shooting at the hands of a shadowy assailant will also be reviewed. And the U.S. Attorney's Office has initiated an investigation into allegations of widespread steroid abuse in the BPD.
Back in 2001, Commissioner Paul Evans walked into the District E-13 station house in Jamaica Plain for roll call and presented three awards for exemplary conduct. All three went to the same cop. According to one of the citations, which commended the officer for chasing down and apprehending a robber on Tremont Street, his actions were "indicative of the outstanding professionalism he displays no matter where or when called upon to perform his oath of office." That officer was Roberto Pulido.
Pulido, of course, would later become notorious for allegedly running a series of criminal enterprises that included selling steroids, protecting drug dealers, stealing motorists' identities, and helping manage the Boom-Boom Room in the illegal nightclub not far from the mayor's Hyde Park home. That all this culminated in the biggest BPD scandal in memory is well known. But now even an incident for which Pulido was lauded is getting another look.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John McNeil has issued subpoenas to up to a dozen Boston police officers to appear in front of a grand jury convened to hear evidence on steroid abuse in the BPD. According to a source, three officers, one of them a homicide detective, were transferred after receiving their subpoenas. Two BPD sources, including one with direct knowledge of the investigation, confirmed the ongoing grand jury—where what went on in Pulido's Boom-Boom Room is also likely to be reexamined. And the fact that Pulido's sentencing, originally slated for February, has been pushed back is causing some in the department to wonder whether he is giving up other officers in return for a reduced punishment.
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