Press and Political Elites Blistered by NRA's CEO Wayne LaPierre at @ACUConservative Conference

National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre delivered a blistering campaign-style speech Thursday, blaming the media and gun-control proponents for a decline in American economic standing and for threatening "God-given" gun rights.

"You feel it in your heart, you know it in your gut: Something has gone wrong" in America, LaPierre told a packed audience at the Conservative Political Action Conference. "Neighborhood streets once filled with skateboards ... and laughter in the air are now filled with silence."

LaPierre, who received the loudest applause of any speakers so far at the conference, put the blame squarely on the media and "political elites," saying that Americans feel their freedoms "slipping away."

Tweet

Evans #Easy Lewis Pleads Guilty to Drug-Related Murder

Evans Lewis, a/k/a “Easy,” 22, a resident of New Orleans, pleaded guilty to the murder of Gregory Keys and shooting of Kendrick Smothers during the course of a drug trafficking crime, announced U.S. Kenneth Allen Polite, Jr. In December 2011, Lewis and co-defendant Gregory Stewart, a/k/a “Rabbit,” a/k/a “D-Nice,” 22, were charged with participating in the homicide of Keys and the shooting of Smothers. Stewart’s trial is scheduled for July 14, 2014.

Lewis’s guilty plea resulted from a multi-year investigation of a heroin trafficking organization that operated in an area known as the “G-Strip” in New Orleans. The G-Strip is an area encompassing the 1300 block of Gallier Street in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans. Many of the members of the G-Strip were also affiliated with a gang known as the 39ers, an alliance of heroin traffickers in the Third and Ninth Wards of New Orleans. To date, 11 individuals related to the G-Strip organization have pleaded guilty to drug trafficking-related offenses.

According to Court records, on or about May 24, 2011, Lewis and Stewart knowingly carried and used two firearms, a 40-caliber semi-automatic handgun and a 7.62-caliber assault rifle, during and in relation to the commission of a drug trafficking crime and, in the course of this violation, caused the death of Keys through the use of a firearm.

Lewis will be sentenced on July 17, 2014, at 10:00 a.m. He faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and a period of supervised release of not more than five years.

Tweet

Transnational #OrganizedCrime Groups Target US-based Attorneys with Debt Collection Wire Fraud Scheme

Organized crime groups are using a sophisticated debt collection scheme to defraud attorneys in the United States, according to a recent FBI report.

The FBI has issued an advisory describing the scam and urging fraud victims to report crimes to a local FBI office or the Internet Crime Complaint Center.

The advisory says transnational organized crime (TOC) groups “hire unwitting attorneys to represent them for a fraudulent legal scenario, solicit them to deposit large counterfeit checks into their client trust accounts, and then persuade them to immediately wire the deposited amount to a foreign bank account controlled by members of the TOC group.”

According to the advisory, the FBI has received numerous complaints from victims nationwide. Members of the TOC group contacted the attorneys misrepresenting themselves as German of English companies in a loan dispute with a U.S. company. Initial contact is often made using email or social networking sites, such as LinkedIn.

“The perpetrator informs the victim that the foreign company is looking for a US-based attorney to help settle debt litigation with a US business,” the advisory states. “The reason for the alleged dispute may relate to defaulted loan repayment or an attempt to recoup losses for a purchase in which the item was never received.”

The perpetrator then informs the attorney that the U.S. business has contacted the foreign business and will immediately make a partial or full payment directly to the victim. The scammer then sends a fake cashier’s check to the lawyer.

The scammer directs the attorney to deposit the check into the lawyer’s trust account and take a retainer fee from the funds. If the attorney deposits the check, the bank may make funds available before the check fully clears.

The perpetrator will then send instructions to quickly wire the deposited money to a foreign bank account, such as accounts in Japan, hoping the transaction will take place before the check clears.

If the scam is successful, the bank will later notify the victimized attorney that the cashier’s check was counterfeit and the lawyer’s trust account suffers the loss.

Lawyers who encounter situations like this should verify a check’s authenticity from bank officials before depositing a check. Lawyers should also independently contact the U.S. business from which the perpetrator purports to be collecting money.

Tweet

Enforcers @Chicago_Police Football Team Kick Off Party at @115Bourbon

The Chicago Police Football Team the “Enforcers” are entering their ninth season. The Enforcers participate in the National Public Safety Football League, which is made up of nineteen teams from all over the country. Head coach Greg Zaragoza welcomes several new and exciting players to the team. The Enforcers are made up primarily of sworn members of the Chicago Police Department and also have players who are Cook County Sheriff Officers and other local agencies. The Enforcers play to raise money for various local charities.

The NPSFL plays full contact football following NCAA rules. The Chicago Police Enforcers are a recognized 501c3 organization.

The Enforcers start the season with their annual Kick-Off party Sunday March 2nd at 115 Bourbon St. 3359 W. 115th St from 3-8 pm. The Enforcers are coming off a 2-2 season in 2013. The Enforcers 5th annual "First Responders Memorial Game" is June 7th, at Brother Rice High School. The First Responders Memorial game is between the Enforcers and the Chicago Fire Department team the Blaze. The First Responders game is always exciting with the Enforcers triumphant in 2 of those games. The game will honor members of both departments who paid the ultimate sacrifice, and also this year the game will honor the 1st Responders from Washington Illinois. The Enforcers are looking forward to making a run at another National Championship. Media members welcome.

Season Schedule 

March 29th, 2014 at Columbus Marauders @ 1pm 
 Canal Winchester High School
Canal Winchester, Ohio

April 12th, 2014 Cleveland Warriors @ 3pm
 St. Rita High School
 7740 S. Western Ave. Chicago IL

May 3rd, 2014 NYDOC Boldest @ 5pm "Gold Star Game" 
 Lane Tech High School
 2501 W. Addison Ave. Chicago, IL

May 17th, 2014 at Philadelphia Blue Flame 
 Northeast High School
 Philadelphia PA.

June 7th, 2014 CFD Blaze @ 3pm "First Responders Game" 
 Brother Rice High School
 10001 S. Pulaski, Chicago, IL

Tweet

Hakim Lowery, Fugitive Member of Bloods Street Gang, Arrested

Aaron T. Ford, the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Newark Field Office; William Fraher, the Acting Chief of Police of the Paterson Police Department; and Gary F. Giardina, the Chief of Police of the Clifton Police Department, announced the arrest of Hakim Lowery, 35, a fugitive and alleged ranking member of the Fruit Town Brims set of the Bloods street gang operating in Passaic County, principally in the town of Paterson, New Jersey.

Lowery is one of 28 members and associates of the Paterson Bloods named in a superseding indictment superseding indictment charges Lowery and others with distribution and possession with the intent to distribute heroin, “crack” cocaine, and powder cocaine. Three of the defendants were also charged with brandishing firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking activity and with being felons unlawfully in possession of firearms.

A number of the defendants were arrested in a weekend sweep in Paterson. As of Monday, Lowery was the only defendant who remained at large. The FBI, Paterson Police Department, and Clifton Police Departments continued their investigation and were able to locate and arrest Lowery on Tuesday evening in Paterson, New Jersey.

Tweet