A Bolingbrook man was indicted on federal charges alleging that he violated U.S. export laws by attempting to ship a thermal imaging camera from his company in Schaumburg to a company in Pakistan without obtaining a license from the U.S. Commerce Department.
The case involves a FLIR HRC-U thermal imaging camera, which was on a Commerce Department list of controlled export goods for reasons of national security and regional stability. As a controlled material, a license was required from the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security to export the camera to certain countries, including Pakistan.
The defendant, Bilal Ahmed, 33, was charged with one count of violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and one count of attempted smuggling of goods in violation of U.S. export regulations in a two-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury yesterday. Ahmed was initially charged in a criminal complaint and arrested on March 14, and he was subsequently released on a $100,000 secured bond. No date has been set yet for Ahmed to be arraigned in U.S. District Court in Chicago.
According to the complaint affidavit and the indictment, Ahmed was the owner, president, and registered agent of Trexim Corp., which used the address of a virtual office in Schaumburg. Between November 2013 and February of this year, Ahmed corresponded via e-mail with a company in California and negotiated the purchase of a FLIR HRC-U camera for approximately $102,000, which he paid with two checks in February. Ahmed took delivery of the camera on February 27 at a commercial shipping store in Bolingbrook.
On March 7, Ahmed allegedly took the camera, packaged in two boxes, to a different commercial shipper located in Elk Grove Village and left the packages to be shipped to a company in Pakistan. The waybill included a handwritten note containing the letters “NLR,” meaning “no license required.” A search of U.S. State and Commerce Department databases showed there were no licenses applied for or obtained by Ahmed, Trexim, or any other related individual or company names for the export of a FLIR HRC-U camera from the U.S. to Pakistan, the indictment alleges.
The indictment was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Robert J. Holley, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Ronald B. Orzel, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Export Enforcement, Chicago Field Office. The Justice Department’s National Security Division is providing assistance in the case.
Violating IEEPA carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine, while attempted smuggling of goods carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Friday, May 09, 2014
New Book Chronicles the Provocative Odyssey of Jack Reed, Adventurer, Drug Smuggler and Pilot Extraordinaire
Strategic Media Books announced the publication of Buccaneer: The Provocative Odyssey of Jack Reed, Adventurer, Drug Smuggler and Pilot Extraordinaire. Buccaneer is the exciting, true crime tale of the life and times of Jack Carlton Reed, an All-American boy turned drug smuggler, turned Robinson Crusoe, and then infamous prison inmate. 
For the first time, Jack Reed discloses his extraordinary tabooed journey as a high flying international cocaine smuggler and personal pilot for Carlos Lehder, partner to Pablo Escobar, the drug kingpin founder of the Medellin Cartel.
Reed flew drug runs for Lehder’s cocaine transport empire based at Norman's Cay, a tiny out island in the Bahamas. Having gained notoriety in the late 70s as a staging point for drug smuggling, Norman's Cay was immortalized in Blow, a motion picture starring Johnny Depp. Reed lands in court as Lehder’s co-defendant in the longest running drug trial in U.S. history. Despite the tempting opportunity offered by the prosecution, Reed refused to snitch on Lehder. As Reed explained, “I’m no G*d d***n rat! I’m a player. I’m a pirate. I’m a hedonist; and one hell of good smuggler, but I’m no rat!
The self-proclaimed hedonist co-authored this book with pilot/journalist MayCay Beeler, who would not only help record his life story, but would become a character in Reed's twist of fate ending. The book is the stunning account of Reed’s erotic and provocative life with an unforeseen storybook ending that will make readers believe in destiny.
For the first time, Jack Reed discloses his extraordinary tabooed journey as a high flying international cocaine smuggler and personal pilot for Carlos Lehder, partner to Pablo Escobar, the drug kingpin founder of the Medellin Cartel. Reed flew drug runs for Lehder’s cocaine transport empire based at Norman's Cay, a tiny out island in the Bahamas. Having gained notoriety in the late 70s as a staging point for drug smuggling, Norman's Cay was immortalized in Blow, a motion picture starring Johnny Depp. Reed lands in court as Lehder’s co-defendant in the longest running drug trial in U.S. history. Despite the tempting opportunity offered by the prosecution, Reed refused to snitch on Lehder. As Reed explained, “I’m no G*d d***n rat! I’m a player. I’m a pirate. I’m a hedonist; and one hell of good smuggler, but I’m no rat!
The self-proclaimed hedonist co-authored this book with pilot/journalist MayCay Beeler, who would not only help record his life story, but would become a character in Reed's twist of fate ending. The book is the stunning account of Reed’s erotic and provocative life with an unforeseen storybook ending that will make readers believe in destiny.
Thursday, May 08, 2014
Elliot Goldenberg, Author of The Spy of David (the Jonathan Pollard Spy Case) is Tonight's Guest on Crime Beat Radio
Tonight, 
Elliot Goldenberg, author of Spy of David: The Strange Case of Jonathan Pollard and the Two Decade Battle to Win his Freedom, appears on on Crime Beat Radio.
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.
Elliot Goldenberg, author of Spy of David: The Strange Case of Jonathan Pollard and the Two Decade Battle to Win his Freedom, appears on on Crime Beat Radio.
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.
Former Sheriff’s Deputy Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Unlawfully Detain and Take Money from Motorists
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia announced that Jason Stacks, a former Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) Deputy, pleaded guilty to conspiring to use his law enforcement authority to unlawfully detain and take money from motorists.
In connection with his plea, Stacks admitted that he conspired with two civilians to subject Hispanic motorists to unlawful traffic stops so that the conspirators could demand the motorists pay money in order to avoid arrest and/or deportation. On Aug. 16, 2013, Stacks, while acting as a LCSO Deputy, unlawfully detained at least four motorists. One of the motorists, identified in the plea documents by the initials T.C., was unlawfully detained by Stacks and then approached by Stacks’s two Spanish-speaking co-conspirators, who explained to T.C. that he would be sent to jail or deported if he did not pay $500. When T.C. responded that he did not have $500 in his car, the co-conspirators drove T.C. to his residence and took $300 in cash from him. Stacks and the two co-conspirators divided the $300 among them.
“Mr. Stacks admitted that he conspired to use his badge to unlawfully detain and take money from motorists,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels for the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will continue to vigorously prosecute officers who seek to profit from the violation of civil rights.”
“Today’s guilty plea is another example of the zero tolerance the Department of Justice has for law enforcement officers who violate individuals’ civil rights,” said U.S. Attorney Michael J. Moore for the Middle District of Georgia.
In connection with his plea, Stacks admitted that he conspired with two civilians to subject Hispanic motorists to unlawful traffic stops so that the conspirators could demand the motorists pay money in order to avoid arrest and/or deportation. On Aug. 16, 2013, Stacks, while acting as a LCSO Deputy, unlawfully detained at least four motorists. One of the motorists, identified in the plea documents by the initials T.C., was unlawfully detained by Stacks and then approached by Stacks’s two Spanish-speaking co-conspirators, who explained to T.C. that he would be sent to jail or deported if he did not pay $500. When T.C. responded that he did not have $500 in his car, the co-conspirators drove T.C. to his residence and took $300 in cash from him. Stacks and the two co-conspirators divided the $300 among them.
“Mr. Stacks admitted that he conspired to use his badge to unlawfully detain and take money from motorists,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels for the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will continue to vigorously prosecute officers who seek to profit from the violation of civil rights.”
“Today’s guilty plea is another example of the zero tolerance the Department of Justice has for law enforcement officers who violate individuals’ civil rights,” said U.S. Attorney Michael J. Moore for the Middle District of Georgia.
Roberto Alvarado, Former Fugitive of More Than 23 Years, Sentenced to More Than Six Years in Prison for Drug Trafficking
A former Freeport, Illinois man was sentenced in federal court by U.S. District Judge Frederick J. Kapala on a federal drug trafficking charge. The defendant, Roberto Alvarado, 61, was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. Judge Kapala ordered that at the end of his prison tenn, Alvarado, a citizen of Mexico, surrender to officials with Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation.
Alvarado had been arrested on December 1, 1989, on a drug trafficking charge by FBI special agents. On December 15, 1989, he was released on a $20,000 bond pending trial. However, Alvarado failed to appear for a court appearance on Sept 18, 1990, and fled from Illinois. His bond was forfeited and the assets he had posted for bond were turned over to the United States. An arrest warrant was also issued for him. On June 28, 2013, Alvarado was a passenger in a car that was stopped in Montana by a State Police trooper for speeding. The trooper was able to identify Alvarado as being wanted by the FBI and took him into custody. Alvarado appeared before a federal magistrate, who ordered that Alvarado be detained and transported to Rockford.
Once in Rockford, Magistrate Judge P. Michael Mahoney ordered that Alvarado be detained pending trial. Alvarado pled guilty to the drug trafficking charge on December 4, 2013. In his plea agreement, Alvarado admitted that on December 1, 1989, in Rock Falls, he had attempted to possess with the intent to distribute 1,414 grams of cocaine. At sentencing today, Judge Kapala noted the amount of time that Alvarado had spent as a fugitive and found it to be an aggravating factor in imposing the sentence.
Alvarado had been arrested on December 1, 1989, on a drug trafficking charge by FBI special agents. On December 15, 1989, he was released on a $20,000 bond pending trial. However, Alvarado failed to appear for a court appearance on Sept 18, 1990, and fled from Illinois. His bond was forfeited and the assets he had posted for bond were turned over to the United States. An arrest warrant was also issued for him. On June 28, 2013, Alvarado was a passenger in a car that was stopped in Montana by a State Police trooper for speeding. The trooper was able to identify Alvarado as being wanted by the FBI and took him into custody. Alvarado appeared before a federal magistrate, who ordered that Alvarado be detained and transported to Rockford.
Once in Rockford, Magistrate Judge P. Michael Mahoney ordered that Alvarado be detained pending trial. Alvarado pled guilty to the drug trafficking charge on December 4, 2013. In his plea agreement, Alvarado admitted that on December 1, 1989, in Rock Falls, he had attempted to possess with the intent to distribute 1,414 grams of cocaine. At sentencing today, Judge Kapala noted the amount of time that Alvarado had spent as a fugitive and found it to be an aggravating factor in imposing the sentence.
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