Sheriff’s Office Deputies, David Benjamin and Jeff Alan Poole, Charged with Conspiracy

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office; José A. Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI); and Scott Israel, Sheriff, Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO), announce the filing of charges against David Benjamin, 48, of Boca Raton, and Jeff Alan Poole, 47, of Weston, for conspiring to commit crimes in connection with the operation of the former Fort Lauderdale law firm of Rothstein, Rosenfeldt and Adler P.A. (RRA).

In a criminal information filed earlier, Benjamin was charged with conspiracy to commit extortion and to violate civil rights, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371. In a separate criminal information, Poole was charged with conspiracy to violate civil rights, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 241. The charges allege that, during the relevant time period, both defendants were employed by the Broward Sheriff’s Office. Benjamin was a lieutenant and served as executive officer to then Sheriff Al Lamberti. Poole was a detective assigned to the Strategic Investigations Division.

The charging documents allege that both defendants agreed to utilize their respective positions within BSO unlawfully to further the interests of RRA, its chairman and CEO Scott W. Rothstein, and other persons associated with Rothstein. Specifically, the charging documents allege that Benjamin received approximately $185,000 in money and other things of value from Rothstein and RRA in return for providing his assistance when needed, including arranging with Poole to arrest the ex-wife of an attorney who was engaged in a child custody dispute with her, arranging to use force and threats of force against the boyfriend of an escort who was threatening to expose the illicit relationship that existed between the escort and one of the partners at RRA, and assisting Rothstein in loading cash and jewelry onto a private airplane that was used by Rothstein to flee to Morocco on October 27, 2009, as the Ponzi scheme being conducted through RRA was beginning to unravel.

U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer stated, “David Benjamin and Jeff Poole used their official positions as law enforcement officers to commit civil rights abuses to further the interests of Scott Rothstein and others associated with Rothstein. When law enforcement officers betray the trust of the people, it strikes at the very core of our democracy. The informations filed today charging Benjamin and Poole should serve as a reminder that no one is above the law. When law enforcement officers violate the public’s trust, they will be held accountable. Benjamin and Poole are the 19th and 20th accomplices, respectively, to be held accountable in Rothstein’s $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme.”

“When David Benjamin and Jeff Alan Poole began to use their official positions to further the illegal schemes of Rothstein and his cronies, they crossed a very bright line,” said William J. Maddalena, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami. “Their criminal misconduct undermined the public’s trust in law enforcement. As such, the FBI will continue to work with our partners to remove those law enforcement officers who violate the law. The FBI, in particular, would like to thank BSO for their close partnership investigating this matter.”

IRS-CI SAC José A. Gonzalez stated, “Law enforcement officers and individuals in positions of our citizens’ trust are held to an even higher standard than the general public. It’s a sad day when a lieutenant and a detective of the Broward County Sheriff’s Office who are sworn to uphold the law, allegedly misuse their positions by engaging in criminal acts. IRS-CI, together with its law enforcement partners, will continue to ensure that no one operates above the law and are held accountable for their actions.”

BSO Sheriff Scott Israel stated, “Every time a law enforcement officer is implicated in a crime, it’s a blow to our profession. This indictment tarnishes the image of honest, hard-working law enforcement officers everywhere. My immediate action after taking office was to suspend Deputy Poole and Lieutenant Benjamin based on an ongoing federal investigation. I applaud the diligence and professionalism displayed by our federal partners, and we will continue working closely with them to ensure justice is served.”

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Brandon James Sentenced to 81 Months in IRS Fraudulent Refund Scheme

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; José A. Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office; and Daniel C. Alexander, Chief, Boca Raton Police Department, announce that Brandon James, of Miami, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Daniel T.K. Hurley to 81 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release. James was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $382,444 and a special assessment of $300.

According to court documents and statements made in court, James was involved in cashing out fraudulent federal income tax refunds that had been placed electronically onto debit cards. James and his co-conspirators, Laron Larkin and Eric Fussell, attempted to defraud the IRS of more than $862,000 in fraudulent income tax refunds based on at least 121 stolen identities. The IRS paid approximately $382,484 on these refund requests.

James pled guilty earlier to conspiracy to steal government monies, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371 (count one), theft of government funds, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 641 (count four), and aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A (count nine).

Co-defendant Larkin was sentenced on October 7, 2013, to 36 months and one day in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Larkin pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to steal monies of the United States, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 641, the conspiracy being a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371; and one count of aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A.

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#Chiraq - Gangs Have Turned Chicago into a War Zone, #MurderCapitalUSA, 45 Shot on Easter Weekend, 37 More the Weekend Before

President Obama may have gotten our troops out of Iraq, but the gunfire in his hometown of Chicago is still earning it a searing nickname coined by young people who live there.

Chiraq.

On Easter weekend, 45 people were shot in the city, six of them children. Five youngsters under the age of 15—four girls and a boy—were shot in a playground where they had gone after Easter services at a nearby church.

Witnesses agree that a car pulled up and one of the occupants asked the youngsters if they were in a gang. There is some dispute about whether the youngsters even got a chance to say no before the people in the car started shooting.

The most seriously wounded, 11-year-old Tymisha Washington, was listed in critical condition with multiple gunshot wounds. She is expected to survive.

“Prayers Going Up Blessings Coming Down,” read a posting on her aunt’s Facebook page.

A Facebook argument had apparently sparked a completely unrelated shooting at the start of the weekend. Best friends Jordan Means, 16, and Anthony Bankhead, 18, got into the online spat with a man in his 30s. The man is said to have followed his final post by appearing in the flesh and shooting the two teens to death.

Two other men were fatally shot later in the weekend as they sat in a car that was also occupied by two kids, ages 3 and 7. The children were physically unharmed but no doubt will join those who are as mentally scarred by living in Chicago as were some combat veterans who returned from the war in Iraq. And this bloody Easter weekend was preceded by a weekend in which 37 people were shot, four of them fatally.

FBI Director James Comey happened to be in Chicago the following Monday, and he ascribed much of the violence to the gang culture so deeply ingrained in the city. But Comey had little to say about what Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy recognizes as the core problem.

“Until we do something about guns, don’t expect things to change overnight,” McCarthy said at a press conference that same day.

McCarthy noted that Chicago cops have seized 1,500 illegal guns so far this year, but the people caught with the weapons are all too often back on the street all too soon. “It’s like running on a hamster wheel,” McCarthy said of the effort to grapple with the problem. “We’re drinking from a fire hose, seizing these guns, and people are back out on the street. They’re not learning that carrying a firearm is going to have a serious impact on their lives.”

McCarthy invoked the memory of Hadiya Pendleton, the 15-year-old who was killed by a stray round in 2013, just days after performing at Obama’s second inauguration. McCarthy noted that her suspected killer had been at liberty despite having been convicted of illegal gun possession just two months before.

“If he’s not out on the street, Hadiya Pendleton is out there being an honor student and continuing on with her life,” McCarthy said.

McCarthy emphasized that the Chicago Police Department is pursuing a wide range of strategies to stem the violence, much of which is gang-related. And the murder rate is actually down this year. But even the smartest policing by the most dedicated cops can only do so much in the absence of effective gun laws.

“If you don’t go to jail for gun possession, you continue to carry guns,” McCarthy said. “You continue to carry guns, and people get shot.”

Other people who have gotten shot in Chicago in recent days include 17-year-old Ronald Hayes, who was expected to be the first in his family to graduate from high school and who had promised to take his mother to the prom because she never had the opportunity to attend one. He was gunned down in February as he shoveled snow outside a neighbor’s home.

There was also 17-year-old Gakirah Barnes. Her Twitter moniker was @tyquannassassin, apparently in honor of a 13-year-old relative named Tyquann Tyler who was killed by a stray bullet in 2012. Barnes reportedly was allied with the rapper Lil Jay and the late rapper Lil JoJo, who was killed in 2012 by a not at all stray round after releasing video dissing Chief Keef, the rapper. Keef’s 30-year-old cousin Mario “BigGlo” Hess was shot to death on April 9. Barnes tweeted a reference to a Notorious B.I.G. lyric the next day.

“u Nobody until Somebody kill u u dats jst real Shyt.”

A friend quickly responded.

“More bodies BITCH This Chiraq.”

The following afternoon, Barnes was herself shot to death, hit as many as nine times. She was to be buried near her father, who reportedly was shot death on an Easter 16 years and thousands of murders ago.

Her death was followed by the April 15 shooting of Lil Jojo’s 16-year-old cousin Keno Blass. Keef’s cousin was buried on Friday, with the star rapper serving as a pallbearer. But if a rap war of sorts is behind some of the recent killings and gang rivalries are behind many more and a Facebook spat led to two of the murders, the common denominator in all the shootings is guns.

The war that now demands the president’s attention is the one in Chiraq.

Thanks to Michael Daly.

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Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan

Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard)is a riveting true-life tale of newspaper noir and Japanese organized crime from an American investigative journalist.

Jake Adelstein is the only American journalist ever to have been admitted to the insular Tokyo Metropolitan Police Press Club, where for twelve years he covered the dark side of Japan: extortion, murder, human trafficking, fiscal corruption, and of course, the yakuza. But when his final scoop exposed a scandal that reverberated all the way from the neon soaked streets of Tokyo to the polished Halls of the FBI and resulted in a death threat for him and his family, Adelstein decided to step down. Then, he fought back. In Tokyo Vice he delivers an unprecedented look at Japanese culture and searing memoir about his rise from cub reporter to seasoned journalist with a price on his head.

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Following Mass Shooting Incidents, Attorney General Holder Urges Congress to Approve $15 Million to Train Law Enforcement Officers for 'Active Shooter' Situations

Following the recent tragedies at a Jewish Community Center outside of Kansas City and at Ft. Hood, Attorney General Eric Holder urged Congress to approve $15 million in funding for active shooter training for law enforcement officers to ensure they have the tools they need to effectively respond to threats, protect themselves, and save innocent lives.

“In the face of this urgent and growing threat – when the lives of innocent people are at stake – those who stand on the front lines need our full and unwavering support," Holder said in a video message posted on the Justice Department's website. "This critical funding would help the Justice Department ensure that America’s police officers have the tools and guidance they need to effectively respond to active shooter incidents whenever and wherever they arise."

“Over the last decade, the Justice Department and the FBI have helped provide cutting-edge active shooter training to 50,000 front-line officers.  In the video message, Holder said continuing this training is critical since the patrol officers who arrive first on the scene are increasingly being relied on to respond directly to active shooters rather than wait for SWAT teams.”

The complete text of the Attorney General’s video message is below:

“Between 2000 and 2008, the United States experienced an average of approximately five active shooter incidents every year.  Since 2009, this annual average has roughly tripled.  Earlier this month, Fort Hood suffered the second mass shooting that community has experienced in just five years.  And in a separate incident over the weekend, a gunman opened fire at a Jewish Community Center just outside of Kansas City.

“The Justice Department has concluded that federal hate crimes charges are appropriate in this case, and in the months ahead, we will do everything in our power to ensure that justice is served for every victim.

“But each of these tragic events is a heartbreaking reminder that mass shootings are all too common.  And they have become increasingly deadly.

“As a nation, we must confront this alarming rise and all of its underlying causes – honestly, factually, and without regard for political consequence.  We must deal with these incidents whenever they happen – but, just as importantly, we must prevent them whenever we can.
“Today’s Department of Justice committed to doing just that.  We’re more determined than ever to prevent mass shootings.  The FBI’s Behavioral Threat Assessment Center, which supports state, local and campus safety stakeholders, has worked diligently to respond to a nearly 200 percent increase in requests for assistance in the last year, and to help detect and mitigate potential active shooter situations.

“But we must also be prepared to respond quickly and effectively to active shooter incidents if and when they do occur.  And in today’s world, the first response must often be led not by SWAT teams or specialized police units – but by the very first patrol officers to arrive on the scene.

“That’s why all law enforcement officers must have the best equipment and most up-to-date training to confront these situations – to stop active shooters in their tracks, to protect themselves, and to save innocent lives.

“Over the last decade, the Justice Department and the FBI have helped provide cutting-edge active shooter training to 50,000 front-line officers, more than 7,000 on-scene commanders, and over 3,000 local, state, and federal agency heads.  This vital work must continue – but to provide training, we need adequate funding.

“Today, I am urging Congress to approve President Obama’s request for $15 million for active shooter training and other officer safety initiatives.  This critical funding would help the Justice Department ensure that America’s police officers have the tools and guidance they need to effectively respond to active shooter incidents whenever and wherever they arise.

“Every day, America’s federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement officials perform their duties with integrity, courage, and extraordinary valor.  In the face of this urgent and growing threat – when the lives of innocent people are at stake – those who stand on the front lines need our full and unwavering support.  The safety of the American people demands it.  And the men, women, and children whose lives are impacted by active shooters every year deserve nothing less.”

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