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Thursday, September 25, 2014

3rd Colombian National Pleads Guilty in Kidnapping and Murder of DEA Agent Terry Watson

A third Colombian man extradited to the Eastern District of Virginia pleaded guilty for his involvement in the kidnapping and murder of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent James Terry Watson in Bogotá, Colombia, on June 20, 2013.

Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia, Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office, DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart and Director Bill A. Miller of the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) made the announcement.

“This development marks yet another significant step forward in our effort to achieve justice for Special Agent Terry Watson, who gave his life in the service of his country,” said Attorney General Eric Holder. “This nation owes Special Agent Watson, and all of our fallen law enforcement personnel, a debt of gratitude we can never hope to repay. But we will never rest in our commitment to hold accountable all those responsible for his murder. That effort will continue. And his example will continue to guide and inspire us.”

Héctor Leonardo López, 34, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee of the Eastern District of Virginia to aiding and abetting the murder of an internationally protected person and conspiracy to kidnap an internationally protected person. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 12, 2014.

In a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, López admitted that he and his conspirators agreed to conduct a “paseo milionario” or “millionaire’s ride” in which victims who were perceived as wealthy were lured into taxi cabs, kidnapped and then robbed. López admitted that he was part of the group of individuals that targeted and picked up Special Agent Watson, outside of a restaurant in Bogotá. Soon after, two conspirators entered the taxi carrying Special Agent Watson, and one used a stun gun to shock Special Agent Watson and the other stabbed him. Special Agent Watson was able to escape from the taxi, but he later collapsed and died from his injuries. López admitted that he drove the second taxi, which carried the two individuals who attacked Special Agent Watson. López also admitted that part of his role in the robbery crew was to receive stolen bank cards and use them at various banks to take out money.

Six other defendants were charged in this case for their alleged involvement in the murder of Special Agent Watson. Gerardo Figueroa Sepúlveda, 39; Omar Fabián Valdes Gualtero, 27; and Édgar Javier Bello Murillo, 27, are each charged by indictment with second degree murder, kidnapping and conspiracy to kidnap. Wilson Daniel Peralta Bocachica, 31, was charged for his alleged efforts to destroy evidence associated with the murder of Special Agent Watson.

On Sept. 3, 2014, Julio Estiven Gracia Ramírez, 31, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the murder of an internationally protected person and conspiracy to kidnap an internationally protected person. Sentencing for Gracia Ramírez is scheduled for Dec. 5, 2014. On Sept. 17, 2014, Andrés Álvaro Oviedo García, 22, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the murder of an internationally protected person and conspiracy to kidnap an internationally protected person. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 12, 2014.

Trial for the remaining defendants is set for Jan. 12, 2015.

Mel Ayton, Author of "Beyond a Reasonable Doubt" Guests Tonight on Crime Beat Radio

Mel Ayton discusses his latest book, "Beyond a Reasonable Doubt: The Warren Report and Lee harvey Oswald's Guilt and Motive 50 Years On", tonight on Crime Beat Radio.

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt examines how conspiracy theories developed after publication of the Warren Commission's 1964 report into the circumstances surrounding the JFK assassination. Using the evidence compiled by the commissioners, the authors demonstrate how and why the report was rejected by the American public over the past five decades. The book also provides new and compelling evidence which reveals not only Oswald s guilt, by this clear motive which was never satisfactorily addressed by the Warren investigation. The book also looks at the way in which conspiracy writers have succeeded in persuading a majority of the American public that Lee Harvey Oswald was either an innocent Patsy or acted in conjunction with others to assassinate the president. In an examination of the modus operandi of conspiracy writers, Ayton and Von Pien reveal how the public was manipulated into accepting conspiracy allegations and of how their theories were built around nothing more than misinterpretations and misrepresentation of the evidence and crude speculation.

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.

Sunday, September 21, 2014

USA Freedom Act Would Curtail Government Surveillance Programs

Americans are justifiably proud of our military, intelligence, and law enforcement forces.  Their bravery, dedication, and sacrifice help keep this nation safe and free. They have the gratitude of the NRA, its members, and the American people.

Americans can also take pride that the nation’s commitment to a free and open society has largely survived efforts to enhance security and intelligence-gathering both abroad and throughout the homeland. This preservation of important principles has required sustained and dedicated efforts on the part of many, including the NRA. The NRA takes a backseat to no one in their support of the men and women of America’s Armed Forces and law enforcement communities. They also understand that the constitutional safeguards our Founding Fathers built into the American system of government were designed as much for challenging times of upheaval and insecurity as for times of peace and calm.

For these reasons, the NRA has been actively involved in efforts to ensure the incredible technological and surveillance capabilities that have arisen in the last decade do not overwhelm fundamental civil liberties, including the privacy of your Second Amendment choices. As reported in January, the NRA has been participating in a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) that challenges the National Security Administration’s mass collection of communication data under Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act.

Specifically, the litigation asserts that the data collection is not authorized by that act and violates Americans’ First and Fourth Amendment rights. In its original friend-of-the-court brief and a follow-up filing with the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the NRA has argued that NSA’s data collection program violates the First Amendment rights of NRA members by potentially chilling their willingness to communicate. It also asserts that the NSA program could use sophisticated metadata analysis to circumvent statutory protections barring the federal government from collecting gun ownership records.    

While the ACLU case continues to make its way through the federal courts, Congress has also responded to the privacy concerns raised by a broad coalition of civil rights and privacy advocates with legislation aimed at curbing the excesses of NSA’s runaway data collection.  The USA FREEDOM Act of 2014, sponsored by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.), strengthens safeguards against abuse of the surveillance activities targeted by the ACLU litigation. It requires enhanced justification for these activities, limits their scope and duration, requires destruction of information collected that is not relevant to foreign terrorist activity, and enhances executive and judicial oversight of data collection.

The NRA supports the USA FREEDOM Act--currently pending as S. 2685 and H.R. 3361--as a positive step toward protecting the privacy of innocent Americans and ensuring that surveillance activities are properly and narrowly focused on actual threats to the nation’s security.  As well as the NRA and the ACLU, the bill is supported by a diverse range of interest groups, including the American Library Association, the Center for Democracy and Technology, the Center for National Security Studies, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and the Sunlight Foundation.

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Al Quaeda Terrorism Defendant Pleads Guilty in Federal Court

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Carlin and United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara announced that Adel Abdel Bary, aka “Adel Mohammed Abdul Almagid Abdel Bary,” aka “Abbas,” aka “Abu Dia,” aka “Adel” (“Bary”), pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court to international terrorism charges in connection with Bary’s work on behalf of al Qaeda and the Egyptian Islamic Jihad.  Bary was extradited to the United States from the United Kingdom on Oct. 6, 2012.  Bary pleaded guilty to a three-count superseding information charging him with conspiring to kill U.S. nationals, conspiring to make a threat to kill, injure, intimidate, and damage and destroy property by means of an explosive, and making such a threat.  Following the defendant’s plea of guilty, Judge Lewis A. Kaplan asked for further information regarding the basis of the plea agreement which the parties will provide within a week.

According to the indictment on which Bary’s extradition was based, the superseding information to which he pled, other documents filed in Manhattan federal court, and statements made at today’s guilty plea:

In 1997 and 1998, Bary led the London cell of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad (“EIJ”) organization.  EIJ, which was led for years by co-defendant Ayman al Zawahiri, was dedicated to the forceful overthrow of the Egyptian Government and to violent opposition of the United States, in part, for its support of the Government in Egypt.  By February 1998, EIJ had effectively merged with al Qaeda and EIJ joined with al Qaeda in targeting American civilians.  To that end, in February 1998, indicted co-defendant Usama Bin Laden and Zawahiri endorsed a purported fatwah under the banner of the “International Islamic Front for Jihad on the Jews and Crusaders.”  This fatwah stated that Muslims should kill Americans – including civilians – anywhere in the world where they can be found.  Then again, on Aug. 4, 1998, EIJ published a statement threatening to retaliate against America for its claimed involvement in the apprehension of EIJ members.  A copy of this statement was found in an office used by Bary and his London-based co-conspirators.

While in London, Bary pledged his commitment to pursue the goals of EIJ and to follow the orders of the leadership of the group.  Many of the leading members of EIJ became influential members of al Qaeda, including indicted co-defendants Ayman al Zawahiri and indicted co-defendant Muhammad Atef, both of whom later sat on the majlis al shura (or consultation council) of al Qaeda.  Zawahiri is now the declared leader of al Qaeda.

On Aug. 7, 1998, three days after EIJ published its threat to retaliate against America, al Qaeda operatives bombed the United States Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killing 224 people.  Bary transmitted, via international telephone calls to the media, the contents of al Qaeda’s claims of responsibility for the Aug. 7, 1998, bombings.  These claims of responsibility included threats of future terrorist attacks by al Qaeda and its allies, and were sent from London, England, to media organizations in France, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on Aug. 8, 1998 – the day after the embassy bombings.

In August 1998, both before and after the bombings, Bary additionally arranged for messages to be transmitted from members of the media to his co-conspirators, including Bin Laden and Zawahiri, and conveyed messages from his co-conspirators, including Bin Laden and Zawahiri, to members of the media.  Bary also used an office in London, which he shared with co-conspirators, to store documents, including the claims of responsibility described above, as well as for other conduct related to the conspiracy to murder U.S. nationals.

*                *                *

In connection with his role in transmitting al Qaeda’s claims of responsibility for the bombings of the U.S. Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Bary pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to make a threat to kill, injure, intimidate, and damage and destroy property by means of an explosive, which carries a maximum term of 10 years in prison, and one count of making such a threat, which carries a maximum term of 10 years in prison.  In connection with his role in the conspiracy—led by Bin Laden and Zawahiri—to attack American targets around the world, Bary pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to kill U.S. nationals, which carries a maximum term of five years in prison.  The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

Two co-defendants, Khalid al Fawwaz, aka “Khaled Abdul Rahman Hamad al Fawwaz,” aka “Abu Omar,” aka “Hamad,” and Anas al Liby, aka “Nazih al Raghie,” aka “Anas al Sebai,” are scheduled to commence trial on Nov. 3, 2014, before Judge Kaplan.  The charges contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Friday, September 19, 2014

Former County Sheriff’s Deputy Sentenced to 50 Years in Federal Prison for Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation

A former McHenry County sheriff’s deputy who was that department’s representative on the state’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force was sentenced to 50 years in federal prison for child sexual abuse and exploitation. The defendant, GREGORY M. PYLE, 39, of Crest Hills, Ill., formerly of Crystal Lake, Ill., was also placed on lifetime supervision after release from custody by U.S. District Comi Judge Frederick J. Kapala, who imposed the sentence in Federal Comi in Rockford.

Pyle, a sheriff’s deputy for more than a decade, pleaded guilty on Jan. 3 of this year, admitting that he crossed a state line with intent to engage in a sexual act with a minor. The sentencing hearing will be completed at 2:30 p.m. on Oct 21, 2014, when restitution and special conditions of supervised release will be imposed.

“For over five years, [Pyle] was entrusted with the efforts of the McHemy County Sheriff’s Office to protect children from exploitation and abuse. When he knew he was under investigation, [Pyle] successfully obstructed investigators determining the full scope of his criminal conduct,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Love argued in requesting a 50-year sentence.

In pleading guilty, Pyle admitted that on Dec. 13, 2008, he had custody of a child under 12 years of age, when he drove the child from Crystal Lake, Ill. to Milwaukee, Wis., intending to engage in sexual acts with the child and to produce visual depictions of the sexual conduct. Pyle admitted that he stayed overnight in a Milwaukee hotel and engaged in sexual acts with the child that were sadistic, masochistic, and violent. The defendant produced images of the child engaged in these sexual acts and later distributed the images over the Internet.

Traveling Vice Lords Gang Leader Sentenced for Murdering @Chicago_Police Detective

A high-ranking leader of the Traveling Vice Lords street gang who directed a violent west side drug-trafficking conspiracy was sentenced to 35 years in federal prison after a judge ruled that he “very likely” murdered an off-duty Chicago police detective and a woman in August 2008.

“Your drug trafficking activities were a scourge on your community,” Judge Lefkow said.


The judge also ruled that the government met its burden in proving by a preponderance of evidence that it was “very likely” that Austin committed the murders of Det. Robert Soto and Kathryn Romberg on Aug. 13, 2008, and then subsequently attempted to obstruct the murder investigation. The victims were shot as they sat in a parked car in the 3000 block of West Franklin, about three blocks east Kedzie and one block south of Ohio. During a sentencing hearing that began last month, the government presented evidence that Austin shot and killed the pair after mistaking them from for a rival drug dealer and the drug dealer’s companion.

“We are gratified that the Court found Austin responsible for the murders of Detective Soto and Ms. Romberg. Jason Austin is a violent drug dealer, and today’s 35-year sentence provides a modest measure of justice,” said Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.

“Jason Austin sold heroin and crack cocaine in the area of Kedzie and Ohio for years. He ran the block, had employees who worked for him, and he sold thousands of dollars of heroin a day. Austin controlled his territory through fear, violence, and threats of violence. He kept guns at the ready to stave off the competition. Austin thought of Kedzie and Ohio as his,” Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maribel Fernandez-Harvath and Matthew Madden argued in seeking a significant sentence.

Austin and 30 other members and associates of the Traveling Vice Lords were arrested in November 2010 as part of Operation Blue Knight, which focused on around-the-clock retail street sales of crack cocaine and heroin in the area of Kedzie and Ohio, known as “KO.” Significant amounts of crack cocaine and heroin were seized during the two-year investigation, which the Chicago Police Department’s Organized Crime Division began in 2008 and the Federal Bureau of Investigation joined several months later. Overall, their efforts resulted in a total of 104 defendants being arrested on state and federal charges in this and related investigations.

The evidence at trial showed that Austin conspired with others to distribute heroin to customers via hand-to-hand transactions in the “KO.” The heroin, named “Blue Magic,” alone accounted for as much as $8,000 a day in sales, between approximately 6 a.m. and 11 p.m., seven days a week. During the investigation, law enforcement officers repeatedly observed the conduct of co-conspirators at KO. Surveillance, often video recorded, documented hand-to-hand drug transactions, controlled purchases of narcotics by undercover Chicago police officers, and controlled purchases of narcotics by confidential sources.

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Author of "S Street Rising: Crack, Murder, and Redemption in D.C.", @RCastanedaWP, will appear tonight on Crime Beat Radio.

Ruben Casteneda, author of "S Street Rising: Crack, Murder, and Redemption in D.C." will appear tonight on Crime Beat Radio.

An award-winning journalist’s gritty, redeeming, page-turning memoir of a city on the brink.

During the height of the crack epidemic that decimated the streets of DC, Ruben Castaneda covered the crime beat for the Washington Post. The first in his family to graduate from college, he had landed a job at one of the country’s premier newspapers. But his apparent success masked a devastating secret: he was a crack addict. Even as he covered the drug-fueled violence that was destroying large swaths of the city, he was prowling S Street, a 24-7 open-air crack market, during his off hours, looking for his next fix.

Castaneda’s remarkable book, S Street Rising, is more than a memoir; it’s a portrait of a city in crisis. It’s the adrenalin-infused story of the street where Castaneda quickly became a regular, and where a fledgling church led by a charismatic and streetwise pastor was protected by the local drug kingpin, a dangerous man who followed an old-school code of honor. It’s the story of Castaneda’s friendship with an exceptional police homicide commander whose career was derailed when he ran afoul of Mayor Marion Barry and his political cronies. And it’s a study of the city itself as it tried to rise above the bloody crack epidemic and the corrosive politics of the Barry era. S Street Rising is “The Wire” meets the Oscar-winning movie Crash. And it’s all true.

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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