New Discovery Series #BarHunters, Featuring Chicago Restaurateur Tom Powers, Gives Wannabe Bar Owners the Chance to Turn Their Dreams into Reality

Opening a bar is no party. While many people dream of running a bar of their own, at least half of them fail within the first year. Enter renowned bar expert and sommelier Tom Powers, who has helped open more than two dozen successful restaurants and bars.  Now he’s using his expertise to help first-time bar owners find their dream bars in the new series BAR HUNTERS, premiering Monday, October 21, at 10 PM E/P on Discovery.

Each week, Tom will hunt down three high potential spots and reveal how each location can be transformed into the ultimate money making investment. But not all spaces are created equally, with each having its own share of positives and negatives. Tom gives his expert opinion, ranking each space on a scale of one to 10 for success.  But ultimately, the decision is in the hands of the bar newbies who must decide which space fits their budget and concept.

The first two 30-minute episodes will air back-to-back beginning at 10PM on Monday, Oct. 21.  In the first episode, Tom heads out to the college party town of Tempe, Arizona, where he meets longtime pals Ben and Lars who are looking to open a down and dirty, All-American country western bar complete with a mechanical bull.  But can Tom successfully find the right spot without breaking the bank?

Then, in the second episode airing at 10:30PM, Tom meets a father and his two sons looking to open a California beach-themed bar – right in the heart of Dallas, Texas.  Can Tom show this trio the spots that give off the California vibes they’re looking for without having to leave their hometown?

From dive bars and brew houses in Pennsylvania to an Irish pub in the American heartland of Kansas to party and sports bars in America’s top cities, BAR HUNTERS travels the country helping everyday people follow their dream of opening a bar of their very own.

BAR HUNTERS is produced for Discovery Channel by Shooters TV.  For Shooters TV, Natalie Feldman serves as executive producer. For Discovery, Christo Doyle is executive producer, Jim Beard serves as supervising producer with Meagan Davis as producer.

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New Tidbits of Chicago Mob Boss, Al Capone, Revealed in Pismo Beach (Images of America)

Pismo Beach was home to some of Americas earliest people. They thrived in the mild climate and were sustained by abundant natural resources, including the now famous Pismo clam. European settlers developed Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa and Rancho Pismo. With the breakup of the rancho, a small town grew at the beach. The spectacular wide, sandy beach, stretching away from hills and a rugged shoreline, has drawn many photographers to the town, its people, and its progress. An early aerial photograph of Pismo Beach was taken not from an airplane but from kites.

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3rd Annual #ThinkChicago Program Kicks Off

Mayor Rahm Emanuel, University of Illinois, Chicago Ideas Week, and World Business Chicago officially kicked off the 3rd annual ThinkChicago program this week, October 17-19, 2013. The program connects the brightest tech students from Midwestern universities with Chicago innovators by introducing 150 elite students to the leaders of Chicago’s most innovative companies. The program also allows  students to explore Chicago’s flourishing tech scene, and gives them the opportunity to attend select programming at Chicago Ideas Week, where some of the world’s brightest thinkers and leaders inspire and enlighten.

“ThinkChicago is integral in introducing the best and the brightest students from across the country to the top innovators and entrepreneurs in Chicago and establishing a highly talented and highly educated workforce right here in the city,” said Mayor Emanuel. “I am excited to continue this partnership with the University of Illinois and Chicago Ideas Week to attract top talent to Chicago and build on our already thriving technology economy.”

ThinkChicago sought students with outstanding academic track records who demonstrated a commitment to innovation and technology. This year, the 150 students attending the program represent 7 states (including Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Missouri) and 18 different universities. Students will also bring a wide array of majors including Economics, Computer Science, MBA, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Business, Finance, Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Material Science and Engineering, and Entrepreneurship.

This year’s attendees of ThinkChicago Ideas Week program will meet 25 tech companies including GrubHub, Catamaran, Microsoft, AON Center, Ifbyphone, kCura, and Orbitz and hear from business leaders including Max Levchin , co-founder of Paypal and Chairman of Yelp,  Adrian Holovaty, co-creator of Django web framework, and Mike McGee, co-founder of the Starter League. The attendees will also have an opportunity to attend the Chicago Ideas Week “Tech Summit,” attend two Idea Week talks, and visit 1871, Chicago’s premier digital co-working space.

"We’re once again proud to partner with the City of Chicago and the University of Illinois to host the 3rd annual ThinkChicago program,” said Brad Keywell, founder and co-chairman of Chicago Ideas Week.  “By highlighting the thriving tech and innovation landscape of Chicago, we hope to showcase Chicago to exceptional graduates as a city to not only kick off their post-graduate life, but also to build new and exciting ventures.”

"By demonstrating why Chicago is a leading destination for the country’s top tech talent, ThinkChicago is delivering on the city’s Plan for Economic Growth and Jobs," said World Business Chicago President & CEO Jeff Malehorn. "We aim to leverage Chicago's assets such as access to transportation, business climate, and cultural amenities to attract entrepreneurs and talent within emerging industries, and Ideas Week provides a perfect opportunity for us to do this."

The inflow of a highly talented and educated workforce is invaluable to Chicago’s business community and the city’s overall economic health.  Chicago is already home to a rapidly growing start-up community. Last year alone, 197 new startups received an unprecedented $391 million in funding.  Fueled by the flourishing start-up industry, Chicago has climbed from 15th to 10th place in the rankings of the world’s best cities for startups.  ThinkChicago is a testament to the commitment by the city to continue and expand that pattern of growth by attracting and retaining a deep talent pool of highly educated and innovative workers, and subsequently drawing more business, jobs, and innovation to the Chicago.

“The University of Illinois is proud to once again partner with Mayor Emanuel, Chicago Ideas Week, and World Business Chicago on this exciting opportunity to showcase the great talent and activity happening here in Chicago,” said Robert A. Easter, President of the University of Illinois. “We look forward to this bigger and more robust program this year.”

The 3rd annual ThinkChicago program also represents Mayor Emanuel’s continued effort to showcase Chicago as a hub for tech innovation and creative entrepreneurship. Mayor Emanuel and Chicago Ideas Week first launched the program within the Mayor’s first 100 days in office, bringing 50 students from 13 Midwestern universities to Chicago.  The program has expanded since then, bringing 100 students in 2012 and 150 this year.

In line with efforts to recruit the best minds to Chicago, Mayor Emanuel launched a Lollapalooza edition of the ThinkChicago program this past August, which brought 100 students from across the country to Chicago for two days to explore the city’s vibrant innovation ecosystem. Each admitted student also attended all three days of the Lollapalooza 2013 music festival, which included a walk-through of the artist compound and production areas and a Q&A session with the Lollapalooza producers and founders. In addition to the Ideas Week edition of the program, which focuses on retaining talent from top Midwestern universities, ThinkChicago seeks to strengthen Chicago’s workforce by attracting exceptional talent from top universities across the country through its Lollapalooza program.

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Sojin Lim Pleads Guilty to #BankFraud, #MoneyLaundering

Sojin Lim, 60, of East Greenwich, Rhode Island, chief executive officer and vice president of General Technologies Corporation, d/b/a CompUtopia, pled guilty in U.S. District Court in Providence on October 15, 2103, to one count each of bank fraud and money laundering, having defrauded the Rockland Trust Company of more than $5 million, announced United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha; John G. Collins, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Boston Office of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation; Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Boston Field office of the FBI; and Colonel Steven G. O’Donnell, Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police.

Appearing before U.S. District Court Judge John J. McConnell, Jr., Lim admitted that she devised a scheme to defraud Rockland Trust Company in order to satisfy a demand for repayment of a $5 million line of credit with Citizens Bank. Lim admitted to the court that she falsified bank documents and overstated company revenues in order to secure funding from Rockland Trust to finance repayment of the line of credit.

According to information presented to the court, in the spring of 2011, Lim and CompUtopia were informed that their line of credit would no longer be carried by Citizens Bank and that CompUtopia was required to seek funding elsewhere. Lim admitted to the court that she devised a scheme to obtain the funding from Rockland Trust Company by providing false, fraudulent, and fictitious information and documentation. Lim falsely stated CompUtopia’s accounts receivables as $7,066,268.04, when in fact CompUtopia’s accounts receivables were substantially less. In June 2011, based on the information and documents provided to Rockland Trust Company, the bank deposited $4,878,378.85 in an account that benefited CompUtopia. In April 2012, the Rockland Trust Company loan was increased to $5,350,000.

According to information presented to the court, in late June 2011, Lim paid Citizens Bank $5,342,997.72 from funds provided by Rockland Trust and from a $464,610.37 loan taken against personal assets. CompUtopia filed for receivership in June 2012.

At sentencing on January 14, 2014, Lim faces statutory penalties of up to 30 years in federal prison, a fine of $250,000, and five years’ supervised release for bank fraud; and up to 10 years in federal prison, a fine of $250,000, and three years’ supervised release for money laundering.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John P. McAdams and Sandra R. Hebert.

The matter was investigated by Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, the FBI, and Rhode Island State Police.

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

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Euripedes "Caca" Caguana Charged with Federal Murder-for-Hire

A Chicago man was charged today with federal murder-for-hire after he was arrested yesterday without incident by FBI agents and Chicago police officers. The defendant, Euripedes Caguana, also known as “Caca,” 59, of Chicago, allegedly wanted to have killed two individuals he believed were scheduled to testify against his son, who is awaiting trial on murder and related charges in Cook County Circuit Court.

Caguana appeared this morning in U.S. District Court and remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing at 11:30 a.m. next Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Cole.

According to the charges, a cooperating individual told law enforcement that Caguana had called him seeking to have two individuals killed to prevent them from testifying against his son. During the next couple of days, the cooperating individual and an undercover officer, posing as a hitman, engaged in a series of recorded conversations and meetings in which Caguana allegedly provided the cooperating individual with $500 to purchase a gun and offered to pay up to $7,500 to have the two individuals killed.

Murder-for-hire carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If convicted, the court must determine a reasonable sentence to impose under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.

The arrest and charges were announced by Gary S. Shapiro, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Robert J. Shields, Jr., Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Chicago Police Superintendent Garry F. McCarthy.

The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter S. Salib.

A criminal complaint contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

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