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Showing posts with label Europe Counterterrorism Task Force. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Europe Counterterrorism Task Force. Show all posts
Friday, December 27, 2013
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
1st-Italy Earthquake,2nd-Parma Heights,Ohio Water Main Break
Rome (CNN) — At least 15 people were killed and some 200 injured in a 5.8-magnitude earthquake in northern Italy on Tuesday, Italian news agency ANSA reported.
The earthquake came nine days after a 6.0-magnitude quake in the same region killed seven people.
Italian civil protection authorities confirmed at least 10 people had died and predicted the number would rise as rescue workers search for survivors in the rubble. Several people are missing, ANSA reported.
Tuesday’s quake was followed by dozens of aftershocks. Italy’s Institute of Geology said the aftershocks measured 5.3 and 5.1 magnitude. The U.S. Geological Survey recorded one aftershock of 5.6 magnitude just before 1 p.m. local time.
Look at high-res images of the disaster
Tuesday’s earthquake was centered in the province of Modena, near Bologna. The towns of Mirandola and Cavezzo were closest to the epicenter, civil protection authorities said.
Second quake leaves Italians in shock
MAP: ITALY EARTHQUAKE
MAP: ITALY EARTHQUAKE
Quake witness wants to leave Bologna
Eyewitnesses reported on Twitter that Cavezzo was about 70% destroyed. Pictures purportedly from the town, as well as a video stream from Italian newspaper Corriere de la Serra, show a number of damaged buildings and some structures destroyed. The top of one church steeple was missing, and police tape was strung across several areas.
“People are very scared. It’s been shaking nonstop for the past week,” said journalist Andrea Vogt, who was near the epicenter.
“We don’t know how many are still trapped,” she told CNN. “Telephone lines are overloaded. It’s difficult to get through to emergency personnel.”
The earthquakes in the last 10 days have been “a real shock” to locals, she said, adding that no one could remember so many quakes in such a short period of time.
“Factories were full. Many of the workers were working on repairs to the already damaged buildings,” said Vogt, a freelance journalist based in Bologna.
A spokeswoman for the prefecture, or government office, in Modena said as many as 12,000 people could be displaced, including those affected by the previous earthquakes.
“Damages are very serious. The old centers of many villages have been closed down to (the) public and many little villages have been completely evacuated,” she said.
Authorities are already working to set up more tent camps to house those forced from their homes, she said, and many hotels and campsites have also offered space to those in need.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti was in a meeting discussing last week’s earthquake with the head of the civil protection agency and the governor of the region when the new earthquake hit.
“The state will do all what needs to be done, in the quickest way, to assure the return to normal life to such a special and productive region of the country,” Monti said in a televised statement.
“Some buildings that were damaged already in last week’s earthquake were affected again today. San Felice sul Panaro and Mirandola registered most of the damage,” a spokeswoman said.
Eyewitness Violetta Galia said she was afraid to remain in Bologna after the tremors.
“We’ve been having many quakes, so it’s not safe to go back to work. We are having problems with communications, so it’s not easy to get in contact with somebody by phone,” she told CNN via Skype.
“I don’t feel safe — I need to go away, I don’t want to live (in) Bologna. If I don’t leave Bologna, I will never feel safe because we are still having quakes every three or five minutes.”
CNN iReporter Martina Lunardelli, a freelance translator and interpreter, said she was at work in Pieve di Soligo, Italy, when she felt the earthquake.
She described her fear and bewilderment as it struck, saying she heard “that thunder sound and my head spinning fast, as if I was drunk and could not see the others around since they were out of focus. I felt so strange.”
At least 40 other aftershocks, most shallow and with a magnitude of 2 to 3, shook the region Tuesday, according to the Italian geological service.
A spokeswoman for the prefecture in Ferrara province said people were in need of urgent help.
“We need tents. The number of displaced is increasing. It will take time to check if homes are safe, and also people are terrified and don’t want to sleep in their houses,” she said.
“We had enormous damage to all our factories, and there will be dramatic consequences on employment.”
The area’s cultural heritage has also suffered, she said, with two churches destroyed in the village of Cento and another church facade collapsing.
Many buildings that were damaged in the previous earthquake were unable to withstand the latest tremors. Others have been left unsafe, many of them churches and older buildings with ornamental stonework.
Authorities face an additional logistical challenge in helping local communities because emergency supplies are already depleted from the response to the earlier quake.
Some railway routes were affected by the earthquake, but Trenitalia, the Italian train system, said late Tuesday afternoon that all had been reopened and that train circulation was going back to normal.
Some high-speed services from Bologna to Milan and Florence, among others, were running at slower speeds earlier in the day.
Northern Italy is the heartland of the country’s manufacturing industry.
“It’s going to have an economic impact as well as a human impact,” Vogt said of the earthquake.
Water main break prompts closure of Tri-C’s Western Campus – 19 Action News|Cleveland, OH|Breaking News, Weather, Exclusives.
Water main break prompts closure of Tri-C’s Western Campus
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Posted: May 29, 2012 6:42 AM EDT Updated: May 29, 2012 9:32 AM EDT
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PARMA HEIGHTS, OH (WOIO) -Due to a water main break in Parma Heights, Tri-C’s Western Campus is closed for day classes today.
The break happened just before 2 a.m. on York Road between Independence Boulevard and Meadowbrook Drive.
19 Action News has learned one southbound lane and two northbound lanes are open to traffic.
No word on what caused the water main break at this time.
The earthquake came nine days after a 6.0-magnitude quake in the same region killed seven people.
Italian civil protection authorities confirmed at least 10 people had died and predicted the number would rise as rescue workers search for survivors in the rubble. Several people are missing, ANSA reported.
Tuesday’s quake was followed by dozens of aftershocks. Italy’s Institute of Geology said the aftershocks measured 5.3 and 5.1 magnitude. The U.S. Geological Survey recorded one aftershock of 5.6 magnitude just before 1 p.m. local time.
Look at high-res images of the disaster
Tuesday’s earthquake was centered in the province of Modena, near Bologna. The towns of Mirandola and Cavezzo were closest to the epicenter, civil protection authorities said.
Second quake leaves Italians in shock
MAP: ITALY EARTHQUAKE
MAP: ITALY EARTHQUAKE
Quake witness wants to leave Bologna
Eyewitnesses reported on Twitter that Cavezzo was about 70% destroyed. Pictures purportedly from the town, as well as a video stream from Italian newspaper Corriere de la Serra, show a number of damaged buildings and some structures destroyed. The top of one church steeple was missing, and police tape was strung across several areas.
“People are very scared. It’s been shaking nonstop for the past week,” said journalist Andrea Vogt, who was near the epicenter.
“We don’t know how many are still trapped,” she told CNN. “Telephone lines are overloaded. It’s difficult to get through to emergency personnel.”
The earthquakes in the last 10 days have been “a real shock” to locals, she said, adding that no one could remember so many quakes in such a short period of time.
“Factories were full. Many of the workers were working on repairs to the already damaged buildings,” said Vogt, a freelance journalist based in Bologna.
A spokeswoman for the prefecture, or government office, in Modena said as many as 12,000 people could be displaced, including those affected by the previous earthquakes.
“Damages are very serious. The old centers of many villages have been closed down to (the) public and many little villages have been completely evacuated,” she said.
Authorities are already working to set up more tent camps to house those forced from their homes, she said, and many hotels and campsites have also offered space to those in need.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti was in a meeting discussing last week’s earthquake with the head of the civil protection agency and the governor of the region when the new earthquake hit.
“The state will do all what needs to be done, in the quickest way, to assure the return to normal life to such a special and productive region of the country,” Monti said in a televised statement.
“Some buildings that were damaged already in last week’s earthquake were affected again today. San Felice sul Panaro and Mirandola registered most of the damage,” a spokeswoman said.
Eyewitness Violetta Galia said she was afraid to remain in Bologna after the tremors.
“We’ve been having many quakes, so it’s not safe to go back to work. We are having problems with communications, so it’s not easy to get in contact with somebody by phone,” she told CNN via Skype.
“I don’t feel safe — I need to go away, I don’t want to live (in) Bologna. If I don’t leave Bologna, I will never feel safe because we are still having quakes every three or five minutes.”
CNN iReporter Martina Lunardelli, a freelance translator and interpreter, said she was at work in Pieve di Soligo, Italy, when she felt the earthquake.
She described her fear and bewilderment as it struck, saying she heard “that thunder sound and my head spinning fast, as if I was drunk and could not see the others around since they were out of focus. I felt so strange.”
At least 40 other aftershocks, most shallow and with a magnitude of 2 to 3, shook the region Tuesday, according to the Italian geological service.
A spokeswoman for the prefecture in Ferrara province said people were in need of urgent help.
“We need tents. The number of displaced is increasing. It will take time to check if homes are safe, and also people are terrified and don’t want to sleep in their houses,” she said.
“We had enormous damage to all our factories, and there will be dramatic consequences on employment.”
The area’s cultural heritage has also suffered, she said, with two churches destroyed in the village of Cento and another church facade collapsing.
Many buildings that were damaged in the previous earthquake were unable to withstand the latest tremors. Others have been left unsafe, many of them churches and older buildings with ornamental stonework.
Authorities face an additional logistical challenge in helping local communities because emergency supplies are already depleted from the response to the earlier quake.
Some railway routes were affected by the earthquake, but Trenitalia, the Italian train system, said late Tuesday afternoon that all had been reopened and that train circulation was going back to normal.
Some high-speed services from Bologna to Milan and Florence, among others, were running at slower speeds earlier in the day.
Northern Italy is the heartland of the country’s manufacturing industry.
“It’s going to have an economic impact as well as a human impact,” Vogt said of the earthquake.
Water main break prompts closure of Tri-C’s Western Campus – 19 Action News|Cleveland, OH|Breaking News, Weather, Exclusives.
Water main break prompts closure of Tri-C’s Western Campus
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Posted: May 29, 2012 6:42 AM EDT Updated: May 29, 2012 9:32 AM EDT
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PARMA HEIGHTS, OH (WOIO) -Due to a water main break in Parma Heights, Tri-C’s Western Campus is closed for day classes today.
The break happened just before 2 a.m. on York Road between Independence Boulevard and Meadowbrook Drive.
19 Action News has learned one southbound lane and two northbound lanes are open to traffic.
No word on what caused the water main break at this time.
"Misleading Investors"...
Miami Hedge Fund Adviser Charged for Misleading Investors About
“Skin in the Game” and Related-Party Deals
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2012-104
Washington, D.C., May 29, 2012 – The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a Miami-based hedge fund adviser for deceiving investors about whether its executives had personally invested in a Latin America-focused hedge fund.
The SEC’s investigation found that Quantek Asset Management LLC made various misrepresentations about fund managers having “skin in the game” along with investors in the $1 billion Quantek Opportunity Fund. In fact, Quantek’s executives never invested their own money in the fund. The SEC’s investigation also found that Quantek misled investors about the investment process of the funds it managed as well as certain related-party transactions involving its lead executive Javier Guerra and its former parent company Bulltick Capital Markets Holdings LP.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Additional Materials
•SEC Order Against Quantek Asset Management et al.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bulltick, Guerra, and former Quantek operations director Ralph Patino are charged along with Quantek in the SEC’s enforcement action. They agreed to pay more than $3.1 million in total disgorgement and penalties to settle the charges, and Guerra and Patino agreed to securities industry bars.
“When making an investment decision, private fund investors are entitled to the unvarnished truth about material information such as management’s skin in the game or the adviser’s handling of related-party transactions,” said Bruce Karpati, Co-Chief of the SEC Enforcement Division’s Asset Management Unit. “Quantek’s investors deserved better than the misleading information they received in marketing materials, side letters, and other fund documents.”
According to the SEC’s order instituting settled administrative proceedings, fund investors frequently inquire about the extent of the manager’s personal investment during their due diligence process, and many require it in fund selection. Quantek, particularly Patino, misrepresented to investors from 2006 to 2008 that management had skin in the game. These misstatements were made when responding to specific questions posed in due diligence questionnaires that were used to market the funds to new investors. Quantek made similar misrepresentations in side letter agreements executed by Guerra with two sought-after institutional investors.
The SEC’s order also found that Quantek misled investors about certain related-party loans made by the fund to affiliates of Guerra and Bulltick. Because the fund permitted related-party transactions with Bulltick and other Quantek affiliates, investors were wary of deals that were not properly disclosed. In 2006 and 2007, Quantek caused the fund to make related-party loans to affiliates of Guerra and Bulltick that were not properly documented or secured at the outset. Quantek and Bulltick employees later re-created the missing related-party loan documents, but misstated key terms of the loans and backdated the materials to give the appearance that the loans had been sufficiently documented and secured at all times. Quantek and Guerra provided this misleading loan information to the fund’s investors.
“The related-party transactions were problematic to begin with, and the false deal documents left investors in the dark about the adviser’s conflicts of interest,” said Scott Weisman, Assistant Director in the SEC Enforcement Division’s Asset Management Unit.
According to the SEC’s order, Quantek also repeatedly failed to follow the robust investment approval process it had described to investors in the fund. Quantek concealed this deficiency by providing investors with backdated and misleading investment approval memoranda signed by Guerra and other Quantek principals.
Quantek, Guerra, Bulltick, and Patino settled the charges without admitting or denying the findings. Quantek and Guerra agreed jointly to pay more than $2.2 million in disgorgement and pre-judgment interest, and to pay financial penalties of $375,000 and $150,000 respectively. Bulltick agreed to pay a penalty of $300,000, and Patino agreed to a penalty of $50,000. Guerra consented to a five-year securities industry bar, and Patino consented to a securities industry bar of one year. Quantek and Bulltick agreed to censures. They all consented to orders that they cease and desist from committing or causing violations of certain antifraud, compliance, and recordkeeping provisions of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and the Securities Act of 1933.
The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Matthew Rossi in the Enforcement Division’s Asset Management Unit under the supervision of Mr. Weisman.
“Skin in the Game” and Related-Party Deals
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2012-104
Washington, D.C., May 29, 2012 – The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a Miami-based hedge fund adviser for deceiving investors about whether its executives had personally invested in a Latin America-focused hedge fund.
The SEC’s investigation found that Quantek Asset Management LLC made various misrepresentations about fund managers having “skin in the game” along with investors in the $1 billion Quantek Opportunity Fund. In fact, Quantek’s executives never invested their own money in the fund. The SEC’s investigation also found that Quantek misled investors about the investment process of the funds it managed as well as certain related-party transactions involving its lead executive Javier Guerra and its former parent company Bulltick Capital Markets Holdings LP.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Additional Materials
•SEC Order Against Quantek Asset Management et al.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bulltick, Guerra, and former Quantek operations director Ralph Patino are charged along with Quantek in the SEC’s enforcement action. They agreed to pay more than $3.1 million in total disgorgement and penalties to settle the charges, and Guerra and Patino agreed to securities industry bars.
“When making an investment decision, private fund investors are entitled to the unvarnished truth about material information such as management’s skin in the game or the adviser’s handling of related-party transactions,” said Bruce Karpati, Co-Chief of the SEC Enforcement Division’s Asset Management Unit. “Quantek’s investors deserved better than the misleading information they received in marketing materials, side letters, and other fund documents.”
According to the SEC’s order instituting settled administrative proceedings, fund investors frequently inquire about the extent of the manager’s personal investment during their due diligence process, and many require it in fund selection. Quantek, particularly Patino, misrepresented to investors from 2006 to 2008 that management had skin in the game. These misstatements were made when responding to specific questions posed in due diligence questionnaires that were used to market the funds to new investors. Quantek made similar misrepresentations in side letter agreements executed by Guerra with two sought-after institutional investors.
The SEC’s order also found that Quantek misled investors about certain related-party loans made by the fund to affiliates of Guerra and Bulltick. Because the fund permitted related-party transactions with Bulltick and other Quantek affiliates, investors were wary of deals that were not properly disclosed. In 2006 and 2007, Quantek caused the fund to make related-party loans to affiliates of Guerra and Bulltick that were not properly documented or secured at the outset. Quantek and Bulltick employees later re-created the missing related-party loan documents, but misstated key terms of the loans and backdated the materials to give the appearance that the loans had been sufficiently documented and secured at all times. Quantek and Guerra provided this misleading loan information to the fund’s investors.
“The related-party transactions were problematic to begin with, and the false deal documents left investors in the dark about the adviser’s conflicts of interest,” said Scott Weisman, Assistant Director in the SEC Enforcement Division’s Asset Management Unit.
According to the SEC’s order, Quantek also repeatedly failed to follow the robust investment approval process it had described to investors in the fund. Quantek concealed this deficiency by providing investors with backdated and misleading investment approval memoranda signed by Guerra and other Quantek principals.
Quantek, Guerra, Bulltick, and Patino settled the charges without admitting or denying the findings. Quantek and Guerra agreed jointly to pay more than $2.2 million in disgorgement and pre-judgment interest, and to pay financial penalties of $375,000 and $150,000 respectively. Bulltick agreed to pay a penalty of $300,000, and Patino agreed to a penalty of $50,000. Guerra consented to a five-year securities industry bar, and Patino consented to a securities industry bar of one year. Quantek and Bulltick agreed to censures. They all consented to orders that they cease and desist from committing or causing violations of certain antifraud, compliance, and recordkeeping provisions of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and the Securities Act of 1933.
The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Matthew Rossi in the Enforcement Division’s Asset Management Unit under the supervision of Mr. Weisman.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Casino Investigates Bobbi Kristina Gambling Incident
Casino Investigates Bobbi Kristina Gambling Incident:
It seems Bobbi Kristina Brown had a little too much fun over the weekend while in Las Vegas for the Billboard Music Awards’ tribute to her late mother, Whitney Houston. TMZ.com has posted video of Bobbi Kristina gambling on a slot machine alongside her...
Well..Well..Well...How Did I Know...This was Gonna Happen?Gambling Crazy-Ness...Again.
And Before.The "Underage"...Escorts In Cleveland,Ohio...Get out of Hand..They better Investigate The "Fake ID Problem"...Too!Or should i Email..Until my Fingers..Fall Off?
It seems Bobbi Kristina Brown had a little too much fun over the weekend while in Las Vegas for the Billboard Music Awards’ tribute to her late mother, Whitney Houston. TMZ.com has posted video of Bobbi Kristina gambling on a slot machine alongside her...
Well..Well..Well...How Did I Know...This was Gonna Happen?Gambling Crazy-Ness...Again.
And Before.The "Underage"...Escorts In Cleveland,Ohio...Get out of Hand..They better Investigate The "Fake ID Problem"...Too!Or should i Email..Until my Fingers..Fall Off?
Ferrari Crackdown: Italy Declaring War on Tax Cheats - ABC News
Ferrari Crackdown: Italy Declaring War on Tax Cheats - ABC News....This is a Great Idea..Can Someone Share this with the "United States"..Please?
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Dreamboard member found guilty for participating in international criminal network organized to sexually exploit children
Dreamboard member found guilty for participating in international criminal network organized to sexually exploit children....I am Proud to Be Me..Everyday..Allday.Thanks to my 10 uncles,For knowing the Importance Of It All.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Police raid suspected pill mill
Police raid suspected pill mill....Great Job..Baltimore....Great Job..Thank You
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
"WCNC"..Scenario..Again
Illegal immigrant a 20-year worker at NJ airport
Published May 15, 2012
Associated Press
NEWARK, N.J. – For 20 years, co-workers on the security team at one of the nation's busiest airports knew him as Jerry Thomas. His real name, authorities say, was Bimbo Olumuyiwa Oyewole, a Nigerian who used the name of a murder victim to hide his status as an illegal immigrant.
Though there's no indication of any other intent or transgressions, the revelation came the same day a federal report found that Newark Liberty International Airport mishandled security breaches.
Oyewole, 54, worked at the airport, starting in 1992, using the name of Jerry Thomas, who was killed that year in New York City. He was arrested Monday after an anonymous tip at his home in Elizabeth and faced charges including identity theft, authorities said.
At a hearing Tuesday, Oyewole pleaded not guilty to identity theft and the judge raised his bail from $75,000 to $250,000. The only time Oyewole spoke was to say "yes" when the judge asked him if he lived in Elizabeth. Prosecutors say he may have four or five other aliases.
It wasn't immediately known how Thomas' personal information was acquired. Police in New York also didn't say whether Oyewole was a suspect in the July 20, 1992, killing of Thomas in Queens.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the area's main airports and other transit hubs, said Oyewole entered the United States illegally in 1989 and had worked under several contractors at the airport, most recently FJC Security Services, and supervised about 30 guards. The agency said its investigation found no indication that he used the fake identity for any reason other than to live in the United States.
Port Authority leaders had spoken with FJC officials "and will meet with them in the coming days to take every legally permissible step to recheck their security personnel on a regular basis and to protect our customers, employees and facilities," agency spokesman Steve Coleman said.
A message left Monday on Oyewole's home phone was not returned, and no one answered the door at the apartment.
FJC Security, which received an airport contract in 2003, said it conducted a background check on the guard as had New Jersey state police and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
"In all cases, he passed the background checks," FJC spokesman Michael McKeon said. "During his time with FJC, he had nothing in his record or his performance to indicate a cause for concern or a reason to question the state police and federal government's background checks."
McKeon said Oyewole, in his position as tour supervisor, didn't have access to employees' personal information.
In a statement, the TSA said it was reviewing the Port Authority's procedures for validating employee and contractor documents.
"This investigation indicates that the individual's identification documents were presented to the Port Authority for verification about a decade before TSA existed," the statement said.
State police spokesman Lt. Stephen Jones said New Jersey requires security guards to undergo training under the Security Officer Registration Act and be fingerprinted. The fingerprints are run through the state police criminal history database before a guard is certified.
A candidate is disqualified if he or she has a conviction for a fourth-degree offense or higher or a drug offense of any level, Jones said. Oyewole, as Thomas, was certified under SORA, he said.
A spokesman for Customs and Border Protection didn't immediately return a message seeking comment.
An airport employee who was familiar with Oyewole as Thomas said the private security guards he supervised are responsible for manning TSA security checkpoints after passenger gates close for the evening and before they reopen in the morning. The guards also inspect delivery vehicles for possible unauthorized cargo, he said, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about the matter.
A search of public records found evidence of a Bimbo Oyewole and a Jerry Thomas living at the address where Oyewole was arrested.
A report released Monday by the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General found that only 42 percent of reported security breaches from January 2010 to May 2011 led to corrective action, though it also found TSA had worked to improve its response
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/05/15/illegal-immigrant-20-year-worker-at-nj-airport/#comment#ixzz1uxhSpWGi
Published May 15, 2012
Associated Press
NEWARK, N.J. – For 20 years, co-workers on the security team at one of the nation's busiest airports knew him as Jerry Thomas. His real name, authorities say, was Bimbo Olumuyiwa Oyewole, a Nigerian who used the name of a murder victim to hide his status as an illegal immigrant.
Though there's no indication of any other intent or transgressions, the revelation came the same day a federal report found that Newark Liberty International Airport mishandled security breaches.
Oyewole, 54, worked at the airport, starting in 1992, using the name of Jerry Thomas, who was killed that year in New York City. He was arrested Monday after an anonymous tip at his home in Elizabeth and faced charges including identity theft, authorities said.
At a hearing Tuesday, Oyewole pleaded not guilty to identity theft and the judge raised his bail from $75,000 to $250,000. The only time Oyewole spoke was to say "yes" when the judge asked him if he lived in Elizabeth. Prosecutors say he may have four or five other aliases.
It wasn't immediately known how Thomas' personal information was acquired. Police in New York also didn't say whether Oyewole was a suspect in the July 20, 1992, killing of Thomas in Queens.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the area's main airports and other transit hubs, said Oyewole entered the United States illegally in 1989 and had worked under several contractors at the airport, most recently FJC Security Services, and supervised about 30 guards. The agency said its investigation found no indication that he used the fake identity for any reason other than to live in the United States.
Port Authority leaders had spoken with FJC officials "and will meet with them in the coming days to take every legally permissible step to recheck their security personnel on a regular basis and to protect our customers, employees and facilities," agency spokesman Steve Coleman said.
A message left Monday on Oyewole's home phone was not returned, and no one answered the door at the apartment.
FJC Security, which received an airport contract in 2003, said it conducted a background check on the guard as had New Jersey state police and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
"In all cases, he passed the background checks," FJC spokesman Michael McKeon said. "During his time with FJC, he had nothing in his record or his performance to indicate a cause for concern or a reason to question the state police and federal government's background checks."
McKeon said Oyewole, in his position as tour supervisor, didn't have access to employees' personal information.
In a statement, the TSA said it was reviewing the Port Authority's procedures for validating employee and contractor documents.
"This investigation indicates that the individual's identification documents were presented to the Port Authority for verification about a decade before TSA existed," the statement said.
State police spokesman Lt. Stephen Jones said New Jersey requires security guards to undergo training under the Security Officer Registration Act and be fingerprinted. The fingerprints are run through the state police criminal history database before a guard is certified.
A candidate is disqualified if he or she has a conviction for a fourth-degree offense or higher or a drug offense of any level, Jones said. Oyewole, as Thomas, was certified under SORA, he said.
A spokesman for Customs and Border Protection didn't immediately return a message seeking comment.
An airport employee who was familiar with Oyewole as Thomas said the private security guards he supervised are responsible for manning TSA security checkpoints after passenger gates close for the evening and before they reopen in the morning. The guards also inspect delivery vehicles for possible unauthorized cargo, he said, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about the matter.
A search of public records found evidence of a Bimbo Oyewole and a Jerry Thomas living at the address where Oyewole was arrested.
A report released Monday by the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General found that only 42 percent of reported security breaches from January 2010 to May 2011 led to corrective action, though it also found TSA had worked to improve its response
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/05/15/illegal-immigrant-20-year-worker-at-nj-airport/#comment#ixzz1uxhSpWGi
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
"60 Generations,Of the same Problem"Should never happen.
Sinaloa cartel members named kingpinsBy the CNN Wire Staff
updated 1:50 PM EDT, Tue May 8, 2012
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Four Mexican traffickers were added to the kingpin list
Two of them are sons of drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman
Their father was added to the list in 2001
(CNN) -- The U.S. Treasury Department added four figures in the powerful Sinaloa drug cartel to its kingpin list, including two sons of drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.
The department's designation freezes any assets he may have under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibits financial and commercial transactions with them.
Guzman, who is considered the most wanted man in Mexico, had two of his sons designated kingpins.
Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar was once arrested by Mexican authorities for money laundering, but he was later released, the Treasury Department said.
Ovidio Guzman Lopez also has a large role in the cartel, the department said.
The pair join their father, who was placed on the list in 2001.
The designation is made through the Office of Foreign Assets Control at the department.
"OFAC will aggressively target those individuals who facilitate Chapo Guzman's drug trafficking operations, including family members," said OFAC Director Adam J. Szubin. "With the Government of Mexico, we are firm in our resolve to dismantle Chapo Guzman's drug trafficking organization."
The two others added to the list are Noel Salgueiro Nevarez and Ovidio Limon Sanchez. Both are in Mexican custody.
Salgueiro is the head of the Sinaloa cartel in the state of Chihuahua, which includes Ciudad Juarez.
Limon was an operative for the cartel in Sinaloa state, the department said.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
"American Spirit"
BAGHDAD -- Interpol on Tuesday put Iraq's fugitive Sunni vice president on the equivalent of its most-wanted list at the behest of the Shiite-dominated government in Baghdad.
Tariq al-Hashemi, who is currently in Turkey, is being tried in absentia in Baghdad on charges of terrorism as well as guiding and financing death squads that targeted government officials, security forces and Shiite pilgrims. The Iraqi government links him to about 150 bombings, assassinations and other attacks, and says the death squads were largely composed of the vice president's bodyguards and other employees.
The trial was postponed last week after lawyers for al-Hashemi, who has denied the charges, appealed to have parliament create a special court to hear the case. The Sunni vice president has vowed not to return to face what he calls politically motivated charges.
Interpol said on its website that it has issued a so-called "red notice" for al-Hashemi, responding to a request from Baghdad. A red notice by Interpol seeks the arrest of a wanted person with a view to eventual extradition. The subjects of red notices are considered to be on the organization's most-wanted list.
Interpol Secretary General Ronald K. Noble said the red notice for al-Hashemi "will significantly restrict his ability to travel and cross international borders."
"It is a powerful tool that will help authorities around the world locate and arrest him," Interpol's website quoted Noble as saying.
In response, al-Hashemi issued a statement charging that the Interpol notice "was issued on baseless, politically motivated allegations levied upon me" by al-Maliki, and "International justice is being manipulated by sectarian political forces that are hijacking my country from the path of democracy." Al-Hashemi added, "I am not a criminal and I am not on the run."
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters during a visit to Italy that al-Hashemi would likely return to Iraq after finishing medical treatment.
"Mr. al-Hashemi is in our country due to his health problems and to hold talks regarding latest developments," Erdogan said. "I believe, he will return his country following his treatment."
Red notices are based on national warrants, and published at the request of a member state as long as the requests do not violate Interpol regulations. Many member countries consider the notices to be a valid request for the arrest of a suspect, but Interpol cannot demand individual nations make an arrest.
Turkey, which has provided sanctuary to al-Hashemi and is on tense terms with his opponents in the Iraqi government, has not formally responded so far to the Interpol notice.
Al-Hashemi, who has been in Turkey since mid-April, is under the protection of Turkish security agents at a luxury apartment in Istanbul, Turkey's NTV television said. A policeman with a machine gun guards the entrance of his apartment building, and several police cars were parked outside on Tuesday, according to NTV.
In an interview last week in Istanbul, al-Hashemi told The Associated Press that his trial was part of a political vendetta that has wider repercussions for Iraqi unity and sectarian tensions across the Middle East.
He also alleged that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, may have engineered the proceedings to snuff out domestic opposition in case he is threatened by a revolt in Iraq similar to that in neighboring Syria.
Al-Hashemi's representatives maintain he left Iraq for diplomatic meetings with regional leaders, not to escape arrest.
Al-Maliki's media adviser, Ali al-Moussawi, on Tuesday called on al-Hashemi to return to Iraq and face trial.
"After the issuing of this red notice, I think that the best choice for al-Hashemi now is to return to Iraq and stand a fair trial," al-Moussawi told the AP.
___
Associated Press writer Selcan Hacaoglu contributed to this report from
Monday, May 7, 2012
"Craigslist" Again..
Police & FirePolice Blotter:
Craiglist Ad Creates Concern for Resident
Information supplied by the Mayfield Heights Police Department.
An East Miner Road resident in the process of moving advertised items on Craigslist. He called police at 12:19 p.m. April 30 because a man called about a washer and dryer and was upset when he was told that it would not be held for him until he could come and buy it. The text messages then stopped and the man didn't want to file a report.
"Saudi Arabia Intelligence"
7 arrested on hate crime charges
Updated: Monday, 07 May 2012, 5:17 PM EDT
Published : Monday, 07 May 2012, 3:38 PM EDT
OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - Seven people have been arrested on hate crime charges in Osceola County following an FBI investigation of the militia styled American Front (AF), an anti-Semitic, white supremacist organization that is known as a domestic terrorist organization.
The arrests were made following an investigation by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) in partnership with local law enforcement and the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation (MBI) with the assistance of the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and the St. Cloud Police Department.
The following people were arrested:
Jennifer McGowan
Mark McGowan
Diane Stevens
Kent McLellan
Paul Jackson
Marcus Faella
Patricia Faella
Each of them was charged with:
• Paramilitary Training (teaching & demonstrating to other persons the use, application or making of a firearm, techniques capable of causing injury or death to persons)
• Attempt to Shoot into an Occupied Dwelling
• Evidence of Prejudices While Committing Offense
The State Attorney’s Office says the offenses are felony level and criminal charges may vary based on hate crime enhancements.
Read more: http://www.myfoxorlando.com/dpp/news/local/050712-7-arrested-on-hate-crime-charges#.T6gv3uXv2v4.blogger#ixzz1uUJ7iy7D
"The Importance Of it All"
Sanaa, Yemen (CNN) -- A senior operative of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula wanted for his role in the USS Cole bombing was killed by an airstrike in Yemen on Sunday, Yemeni officials said.
Fahd al Quso, 37, was killed while riding in a vehicle in the Rafdh district in Shabwa province, according to the officials.
Al Qaeda members confirmed the death in text messages to local media, saying al Quso died along with a companion identified as Fahd Lakdum.
Drone strike kills 13 suspected militants last week
Al Quso was indicted by a federal grand jury in New York in 2003 on 50 counts of terrorism offenses for his role in the October 12, 2000, bombing of the USS Cole in Aden, Yemen. The bombing killed 17 U.S. sailors.
In addition to al Quso's status as one of the most-wanted terrorists in Yemen, the FBI had offered a $5 million reward for any information leading to his capture.
He had been at large since escaping in April 2003 with eight others from a Yemeni prison, where they had been held on suspicion of involvement in the Cole bombing.
Earlier Sunday, two security officials told CNN that four Yemeni airstrikes killed six suspected al Qaeda militants and wounded two others in Lawder district of Abyan province.
The Defense Ministry said that 10 other suspected militants had been killed since Saturday morning in the same province's Zinjibar district.
The ministry said that the strikes were targeting two locations: a militant hideout and a training site.
Nine troops were wounded in Abyan's capital of Zinjibar when a mortar exploded, a senior Defense Ministry official told CNN. Two of the wounded were in critical condition, he said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the news media.
Local security officials said that the offensive has been the fiercest since last year, when the country began its anti-terrorism efforts.
More than 240 militants have been killed over the last month in Abyan alone, the security officials said.
"Al-Qaeda has been greatly weakened over the last two months and we expect them to evacuate strategic positions over the next two weeks," a senior official in Abyan who is not authorized to speak to the news media told CNN on condition of anonymity.
He said that 24 soldiers were killed during the same period of time.
Yemeni government military planes roam the skies of Abyan throughout the day, residents said.
"We wake up in the morning and see bodies laying on roads or near our farms. Most of the attacks take place late at night or early morning," said Yasser al-Numairi, a resident of Abyan.
The violence comes as newly elected President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi has vowed to increase the pressure on al Qaeda until they are eradicated from every Yemeni village.
"Our fight against al Qaeda will continue until the displaced citizens can return safely to their homes and terrorist operatives surrender and lay their arms," Hadi said Saturday night in a speech broadcast on Yemen Television.
The Interior Ministry said on Sunday that 14 suspected al-Qaeda militants were arrested in April and that it will continue hunting down terrorists nationwide.
Al Qaeda is seeking to take advantage of the political unrest in Yemen to expand into new areas of southern Yemen.
Saturday, May 5, 2012
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