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Violators will face legal action and possibly a firearm.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Mom arrested for performing oral sex on toddler son
A Denver mother who performed oral sex on her toddler son and emailed photos of it to a friend has been charged with sexual assault and incest.
Police say 31-year-old Alicia Lee of Denver sent the pictures to a friend, who forwarded them to the 2-year-old boy's father. The father then called police.
The mom told her friend in April that she thought about doing the sex act while changing the boy's diapers. The next day, she sent a photo of the act to a friend and said the boy giggled.
The child was placed in foster care last month. Lee is free on $50,000 bond and is due in court Monday. MORE
Inv. D. Brian Blackwell
Police say 31-year-old Alicia Lee of Denver sent the pictures to a friend, who forwarded them to the 2-year-old boy's father. The father then called police.
The mom told her friend in April that she thought about doing the sex act while changing the boy's diapers. The next day, she sent a photo of the act to a friend and said the boy giggled.
The child was placed in foster care last month. Lee is free on $50,000 bond and is due in court Monday. MORE
Inv. D. Brian Blackwell
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Sunday, September 28, 2008
Man arrested 1,000 times
Henry Earl of Lexington, Kentucky has been arrested a thousand times since 1992, and every arrest has been in Lexington.
Arrest number 1,000 came Monday when Earl was arrested for intoxication, the same charge he faced hundreds of times before.
Earl's arrest record has earned him celebrity status. He has been featured on late night talk shows and several Web sites devoted to tracking his arrest record.
Judge Gary Payne sentenced Earl to a thousand days in jail on Tuesday, calling the sentence appropriate, given that it was his thousandth arrest.
Henry Earl's history
- Henry Earl has spent 4, 123 days in jail total
- 35 of his 1,000 arrests have been this year alone, landing him behind bars 189 days in 2008 so far
- On average, Earl is out of jail about two days before he lands back behind bars again
WBKO
Investigator Sara Kilgore
BrianBlackwell.com
Arrest number 1,000 came Monday when Earl was arrested for intoxication, the same charge he faced hundreds of times before.
Earl's arrest record has earned him celebrity status. He has been featured on late night talk shows and several Web sites devoted to tracking his arrest record.
Judge Gary Payne sentenced Earl to a thousand days in jail on Tuesday, calling the sentence appropriate, given that it was his thousandth arrest.
Henry Earl's history
- Henry Earl has spent 4, 123 days in jail total
- 35 of his 1,000 arrests have been this year alone, landing him behind bars 189 days in 2008 so far
- On average, Earl is out of jail about two days before he lands back behind bars again
WBKO
Investigator Sara Kilgore
BrianBlackwell.com
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Saturday, September 27, 2008
'Butt Bandit' makes an impression
A vandal dubbed the "Butt Bandit" is upsetting people in a town by pressing his naked ass where it shouldn't be pressed.
Residents of Valentine, Nebraska, a town of about 2,650 people, say they wish he would find another way to make his mark.
"This is the weirdest case I've ever seen," said Valentine Police Chief Ben McBride.
It began in spring 2007, when the window of a Methodist church was greased with an ass imprint. McBride figured it was a high school prank. But the church kept getting hit, even after police staked it out.
The bandit struck business after business last summer, pressing his naked ass -- sometimes his groin, sometimes both -- on windows.
During one particularly brazen session, nearly all the windows at a local hotel had ass imprints.
Store owners, church workers and school janitors have had to wash lotion and petroleum jelly off the windows he selects.
Chief McBride says no one has reported seeing the Butt Bandit in action.
The only clue is a blurry picture of him caught by a surveillance camera at the middle school last year. The man in the video is 6-feet-tall or slightly taller, and slender. He has dark hair and a dark complexion. His hair is styled in a "80s, feathered look."
Valentine, in remote north-central Nebraska, promotes itself as "The Heart City." Downtown sidewalks are painted with hearts, and locals encourage people from around the country to send their Valentine's Day cards to the local post office so they can be mailed out with the word "Valentine" stamped on them.
News Report
September Hall
BrianBlackwell.com
Residents of Valentine, Nebraska, a town of about 2,650 people, say they wish he would find another way to make his mark.
"This is the weirdest case I've ever seen," said Valentine Police Chief Ben McBride.
It began in spring 2007, when the window of a Methodist church was greased with an ass imprint. McBride figured it was a high school prank. But the church kept getting hit, even after police staked it out.
The bandit struck business after business last summer, pressing his naked ass -- sometimes his groin, sometimes both -- on windows.
During one particularly brazen session, nearly all the windows at a local hotel had ass imprints.
Store owners, church workers and school janitors have had to wash lotion and petroleum jelly off the windows he selects.
Chief McBride says no one has reported seeing the Butt Bandit in action.
The only clue is a blurry picture of him caught by a surveillance camera at the middle school last year. The man in the video is 6-feet-tall or slightly taller, and slender. He has dark hair and a dark complexion. His hair is styled in a "80s, feathered look."
Valentine, in remote north-central Nebraska, promotes itself as "The Heart City." Downtown sidewalks are painted with hearts, and locals encourage people from around the country to send their Valentine's Day cards to the local post office so they can be mailed out with the word "Valentine" stamped on them.
News Report
September Hall
BrianBlackwell.com
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Takeover of WaMu & Wall Street crooks
Washington Mutual, the giant lender that came to symbolize the excesses of the mortgage boom, was seized by federal regulators Thursday night, in what has been the biggest bank failure in American history.
Federal regulators simultaneously brokered an emergency sale of virtually all of Washington Mutual, the nation's largest savings and loan, to JPMorgan Chase for $1.9 billion, averting another potentially huge taxpayer bill for the rescue of a failing financial institution.
Customers of Seattle-based WaMu are unlikely to be affected, although shareholders and some bondholders will be wiped out.
By taking on all of WaMu's troubled mortgages and credit card loans, JPMorgan Chase has absorbed $31 billion that would normally have fallen to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which guarantees account holders up to $100,000.
JPMorgan Chase, which acquired Bear Stearns only six months ago in another shotgun deal brokered by the government, took control of all of WaMu's deposits and bank branches Friday, creating a nationwide retail franchise that rivals only Bank of America.
But JPMorgan Chase also took on WaMu's big portfolio of troubled assets, and plans to shut down at least 10 percent of the combined company's 5,400 branches in markets like New York City and Chicago, where they compete. The bank also plans to raise an additional $8 billion from common stock they issued Friday to pay for the deal.
Washington Mutual, with $307 billion in assets, is the biggest bank failure in history, eclipsing the 1984 failure of Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust in Chicago, an event that presaged the savings and loan crises. IndyMac, which was seized by federal regulators in July, was one-tenth the size of WaMu.
The savings and loan crises of the 1980s and 1990s (commonly referred to as the S&L crises) was the failure of 747 savings and loan associations (S&L's) in the United States. The ultimate cost of the crises is estimated to have totaled around $160.1 billion, about $124.6 billion of which was directly paid for by U.S. taxpayers, which contributed to the largest deficits of the early 1990s.
Silverado Savings and Loan collapsed in 1988, costing U.S. taxpayers $1.3 billion. Neil Bush, son of then vice president George H.W. Bush, was Director of Silverado at the time. It was found that Neil Bush had engaged in numerous "breaches of his fiduciary duties involving multiple conflicts of interest."
Neil Bush made a loan to himself and voted to approve $100 million in what were ultimately bad loans to two of his business partners. And in voting for the loans, he failed to inform fellow board members at Silverado Savings & Loan that the loan applicants were his business partners.
Although Neil Bush was never indicted on criminal charges, a civil action was brought against him and the other Silverado directors by the FDIC; it was settled out of court, with Neil Bush paying a $50,000 fine.
Neil Bush was banned from banking for his role in taking down Silverado, which cost U.S. taxpayers $1.3 billion. A Resolution Trust Corporation lawsuit against Neil Bush and other officers of Silverado was settled in 1991 for $26.5 million. MORE
The seizure of WaMu by the government and the deal arranged with JPMorgan Chase came as a complete shock to Washington Mutual's board, which was kept completely in the dark. WaMu's new CEO, Alan H. Fishman, was in midair, flying from New York City to Seattle at the time the deal was brokered.
The government has been dealing with troubled financial institutions differently. Lehman Brothers and Washington Mutual, which were less entangled with the rest of the financial system, were allowed to collapse. But the government took emergency measures to stabilize Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and insurance giant American International Group (AIG).
U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Jr., who is in charge of the financial bailout, previously served as Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs. Goldman Sachs has been the biggest beneficiary of the government's bailout. Besides being treasury secretary, Paulson also is a member of the International Monetary Fund Board of Governors. MORE
Federal regulators had been trying to broker a deal for Washington Mutual because a takeover by the FDIC would have dealt a crushing blow to the federal government's deposit insurance fund. The fund, which was $45.2 billion at the end of June, has been severely depleted after suffering major losses from the collapse of IndyMac Bank. The failure of WaMu would have cost the FDIC fund $30 billion or more.
The U.S. Congress hasn't been doing its job. Congress is suppose to watch the people working on Wall Street and in the banking industry, but they haven't. There has been very little oversight of Wall Street and the banks.
The financial crises wasn't caused just by bad mortgages (sub-prime home loans). Wall Street and the mortgage lenders engaged in crooked business practices -- falsifying documents and not verifying the customer's income and ability to pay back the loan.
The takover of WaMu by the government and JPMorgan Chase ends WaMu's 119-year run as an independent company and gives JPMorgan Chase branches in California and other markets where it didn't have a big presence.
Until recently, Washington Mutual was one of Wall Street's strongest performers. It reaped big profits quarter after quarter as its then CEO, Kerry K. Killinger, enlarged its presence by buying banks on both coasts and ramping up mortgage lending.
Killinger's goal was to make WaMu the "Wal-Mart of banking," which would cater to lower-and-middle-class consumers that other banks deemed too risky.
WaMu offered complex mortgages and credit cards whose terms made it easy for the least creditworthy borrowers to get financing, a strategy the banks extended in big cities, including Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City. With this plan, Killinger built Washington Mutual into the sixth-largest bank in the United States.
But underneath the hood, WaMu's machinery was failing.
Then the housing market began to crumble. Like so many other financial institutions, WaMu tried to hedge its mortgage bets -- but did poorly. It retrenched on its branch-building ambitions. But none of that was enough to deflate ballooning losses on mortgage loans, nor defuse ticking time bombs like interest-only and pay-option amortization products that had reeled in bottom-grade borrowers.
With rising mortgage payments and higher gas and food bills, WaMu's losses in its big credit card loan portfolio also surged.
By then, WaMu's troubles had set off alarm bells on Wall Street, which ground its stock price down daily.
With options narrowing, WaMu frantically reached out to several banks and big private equity firms, including the Carlyle Group and the Blackstone Group.
In March, JPMorgan Chase saw an opportunity and urged WaMu in a letter to consider a quick deal. On the same weekend that the Bear Stearns takeover by JPMorgan Chase was negotiated, JPMorgan Chase Chairman and CEO James Dimon sent members of his team to Seattle to meet with WaMu executives. JPMorgan Chase offered WaMu $8 a share, largely in stock. But Killinger balked at the deal.
In April, David Bonderman, a founder of the TPG private equity firm, and a group of institutional investors agreed to infuse $7 billion into WaMu. Killinger kept his job, and Bonderman, who had served as a WaMu director from 1997 to 2002, got a board seat and 176 million WaMu shares priced at $8.75 each -- a steep discount of over 25 percent to that day's share price.
While the takeover of WaMu was very sweet for Bonderman, it eroded the value for existing shareholders. They moved on June 2 to strip Killinger of his chairmanship. Bonderman, meanwhile, watched his golden bet turn to dross. MORE
Contact your representative in Congress
Contact your Senator
The U.S. Constitution
Declaration of Independence from government tyranny and your Bill of Rights as a U.S. citizen
U.S. Constitution cases, codes and amendments in a easy to understand format
Contact the news media and talk shows here
American taxpayers should not be forced by the government to pay for the mistakes and bad business practices of Wall Street and the banks. American taxpayers should not be punished for what the crooks on Wall Street did to the financial system.
Investigator D. Brian Blackwell - a correct thinking republican
Director, Brian Blackwell QI Services, Inc. Denver
BrianBlackwell.com
Federal regulators simultaneously brokered an emergency sale of virtually all of Washington Mutual, the nation's largest savings and loan, to JPMorgan Chase for $1.9 billion, averting another potentially huge taxpayer bill for the rescue of a failing financial institution.
Customers of Seattle-based WaMu are unlikely to be affected, although shareholders and some bondholders will be wiped out.
By taking on all of WaMu's troubled mortgages and credit card loans, JPMorgan Chase has absorbed $31 billion that would normally have fallen to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which guarantees account holders up to $100,000.
JPMorgan Chase, which acquired Bear Stearns only six months ago in another shotgun deal brokered by the government, took control of all of WaMu's deposits and bank branches Friday, creating a nationwide retail franchise that rivals only Bank of America.
But JPMorgan Chase also took on WaMu's big portfolio of troubled assets, and plans to shut down at least 10 percent of the combined company's 5,400 branches in markets like New York City and Chicago, where they compete. The bank also plans to raise an additional $8 billion from common stock they issued Friday to pay for the deal.
Washington Mutual, with $307 billion in assets, is the biggest bank failure in history, eclipsing the 1984 failure of Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust in Chicago, an event that presaged the savings and loan crises. IndyMac, which was seized by federal regulators in July, was one-tenth the size of WaMu.
The savings and loan crises of the 1980s and 1990s (commonly referred to as the S&L crises) was the failure of 747 savings and loan associations (S&L's) in the United States. The ultimate cost of the crises is estimated to have totaled around $160.1 billion, about $124.6 billion of which was directly paid for by U.S. taxpayers, which contributed to the largest deficits of the early 1990s.
Silverado Savings and Loan collapsed in 1988, costing U.S. taxpayers $1.3 billion. Neil Bush, son of then vice president George H.W. Bush, was Director of Silverado at the time. It was found that Neil Bush had engaged in numerous "breaches of his fiduciary duties involving multiple conflicts of interest."
Neil Bush made a loan to himself and voted to approve $100 million in what were ultimately bad loans to two of his business partners. And in voting for the loans, he failed to inform fellow board members at Silverado Savings & Loan that the loan applicants were his business partners.
Although Neil Bush was never indicted on criminal charges, a civil action was brought against him and the other Silverado directors by the FDIC; it was settled out of court, with Neil Bush paying a $50,000 fine.
Neil Bush was banned from banking for his role in taking down Silverado, which cost U.S. taxpayers $1.3 billion. A Resolution Trust Corporation lawsuit against Neil Bush and other officers of Silverado was settled in 1991 for $26.5 million. MORE
The seizure of WaMu by the government and the deal arranged with JPMorgan Chase came as a complete shock to Washington Mutual's board, which was kept completely in the dark. WaMu's new CEO, Alan H. Fishman, was in midair, flying from New York City to Seattle at the time the deal was brokered.
The government has been dealing with troubled financial institutions differently. Lehman Brothers and Washington Mutual, which were less entangled with the rest of the financial system, were allowed to collapse. But the government took emergency measures to stabilize Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and insurance giant American International Group (AIG).
U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Jr., who is in charge of the financial bailout, previously served as Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs. Goldman Sachs has been the biggest beneficiary of the government's bailout. Besides being treasury secretary, Paulson also is a member of the International Monetary Fund Board of Governors. MORE
Federal regulators had been trying to broker a deal for Washington Mutual because a takeover by the FDIC would have dealt a crushing blow to the federal government's deposit insurance fund. The fund, which was $45.2 billion at the end of June, has been severely depleted after suffering major losses from the collapse of IndyMac Bank. The failure of WaMu would have cost the FDIC fund $30 billion or more.
The U.S. Congress hasn't been doing its job. Congress is suppose to watch the people working on Wall Street and in the banking industry, but they haven't. There has been very little oversight of Wall Street and the banks.
The financial crises wasn't caused just by bad mortgages (sub-prime home loans). Wall Street and the mortgage lenders engaged in crooked business practices -- falsifying documents and not verifying the customer's income and ability to pay back the loan.
The takover of WaMu by the government and JPMorgan Chase ends WaMu's 119-year run as an independent company and gives JPMorgan Chase branches in California and other markets where it didn't have a big presence.
Until recently, Washington Mutual was one of Wall Street's strongest performers. It reaped big profits quarter after quarter as its then CEO, Kerry K. Killinger, enlarged its presence by buying banks on both coasts and ramping up mortgage lending.
Killinger's goal was to make WaMu the "Wal-Mart of banking," which would cater to lower-and-middle-class consumers that other banks deemed too risky.
WaMu offered complex mortgages and credit cards whose terms made it easy for the least creditworthy borrowers to get financing, a strategy the banks extended in big cities, including Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City. With this plan, Killinger built Washington Mutual into the sixth-largest bank in the United States.
But underneath the hood, WaMu's machinery was failing.
Then the housing market began to crumble. Like so many other financial institutions, WaMu tried to hedge its mortgage bets -- but did poorly. It retrenched on its branch-building ambitions. But none of that was enough to deflate ballooning losses on mortgage loans, nor defuse ticking time bombs like interest-only and pay-option amortization products that had reeled in bottom-grade borrowers.
With rising mortgage payments and higher gas and food bills, WaMu's losses in its big credit card loan portfolio also surged.
By then, WaMu's troubles had set off alarm bells on Wall Street, which ground its stock price down daily.
With options narrowing, WaMu frantically reached out to several banks and big private equity firms, including the Carlyle Group and the Blackstone Group.
In March, JPMorgan Chase saw an opportunity and urged WaMu in a letter to consider a quick deal. On the same weekend that the Bear Stearns takeover by JPMorgan Chase was negotiated, JPMorgan Chase Chairman and CEO James Dimon sent members of his team to Seattle to meet with WaMu executives. JPMorgan Chase offered WaMu $8 a share, largely in stock. But Killinger balked at the deal.
In April, David Bonderman, a founder of the TPG private equity firm, and a group of institutional investors agreed to infuse $7 billion into WaMu. Killinger kept his job, and Bonderman, who had served as a WaMu director from 1997 to 2002, got a board seat and 176 million WaMu shares priced at $8.75 each -- a steep discount of over 25 percent to that day's share price.
While the takeover of WaMu was very sweet for Bonderman, it eroded the value for existing shareholders. They moved on June 2 to strip Killinger of his chairmanship. Bonderman, meanwhile, watched his golden bet turn to dross. MORE
Contact your representative in Congress
Contact your Senator
The U.S. Constitution
Declaration of Independence from government tyranny and your Bill of Rights as a U.S. citizen
U.S. Constitution cases, codes and amendments in a easy to understand format
Contact the news media and talk shows here
American taxpayers should not be forced by the government to pay for the mistakes and bad business practices of Wall Street and the banks. American taxpayers should not be punished for what the crooks on Wall Street did to the financial system.
Investigator D. Brian Blackwell - a correct thinking republican
Director, Brian Blackwell QI Services, Inc. Denver
BrianBlackwell.com
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Thursday, September 25, 2008
11 children, family of 9 abondoned
Eleven children randing in ages from 1 to 17 were left at hospitals in Omaha Wednesday under Nebraska's unique safe haven law, which allows caregivers to abandon youngsters as old as 19 without fear of prosecution.
Nine of the children came from one family. The six boys and three girls were left by their father, who was not identified, at Creighton University Medical Center's emergency room. Unrelated boys ages 11 and 15 also were surrendered Wednesday at Immanuel Medical Center.
The law, which went into effect in July, initially was intended to protect infants. In a compromise with senators worried about arbitrary age limits, the measure was expanded to include the word "child," which wasn't defined. Some have interpreted this to mean anyone under the age of 19.
At least 14 children have been abandoned under the state's safe haven law since it took effect. MORE
D. Brian Blackwell
Nine of the children came from one family. The six boys and three girls were left by their father, who was not identified, at Creighton University Medical Center's emergency room. Unrelated boys ages 11 and 15 also were surrendered Wednesday at Immanuel Medical Center.
The law, which went into effect in July, initially was intended to protect infants. In a compromise with senators worried about arbitrary age limits, the measure was expanded to include the word "child," which wasn't defined. Some have interpreted this to mean anyone under the age of 19.
At least 14 children have been abandoned under the state's safe haven law since it took effect. MORE
D. Brian Blackwell
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Judge orders Cheney to preserve records
Private group is suing the vice president
A federal judge Saturday ordered Dick Cheney to preserve records from his time as vice president.
The decision by U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly is a setback for the Bush administration in its effort to promote a narrow definition of materials that must be safeguarded under the Presidential Records Act.
The Bush administration's legal position "heightens the court's concern" that some records may not be preserved, said Judge Kollar-Kotelly.
A private group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), is suing Cheney and the Executive Office of the President in an effort to ensure that no presidential records are destroyed or handled in a way that makes them unavailable to the public.
In a 22-page opinion, the judge revealed that in recent days, attorneys for the Bush administration balked at a proposed agreement between the two sides on how to proceed with the case.
Cheney and the other defendants "were only willing to agree to a preservation order that tracked their narrowed interpretation" of the Presidential Records Act, wrote Kollar-Kotelly.
The administration, said the judge, wanted any court order on what records are at issue in the suit to cover only the office of the vice president, not Cheney or the other defendants in the lawsuit. The other defendants include the National Archives and the archivist of the United States.
The lawsuit stems from Cheney's position that his office is not part of the executive branch of government.
This summer, Cheney chief of staff David Addington told Congress the vice president belongs to neither the executive nor legislative branch of government, but rather is attached by the Constitution to Congress. The vice president presides over the Senate.
The lawsuit alleges that the Bush administration's actions over the past 7 1/2 years raise questions over whether the White House will turn over records created by Cheney and his staff to the National Archives in January when he and Bush leave office.
In 2003, Cheney asserted that the office of the vice president is not an entity within the executive branch.
Two historians and three groups of historians and archivists joined CREW in filing the lawsuit two weeks ago.
MSNBC News
Inv. D. Brian Blackwell
A federal judge Saturday ordered Dick Cheney to preserve records from his time as vice president.
The decision by U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly is a setback for the Bush administration in its effort to promote a narrow definition of materials that must be safeguarded under the Presidential Records Act.
The Bush administration's legal position "heightens the court's concern" that some records may not be preserved, said Judge Kollar-Kotelly.
A private group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), is suing Cheney and the Executive Office of the President in an effort to ensure that no presidential records are destroyed or handled in a way that makes them unavailable to the public.
In a 22-page opinion, the judge revealed that in recent days, attorneys for the Bush administration balked at a proposed agreement between the two sides on how to proceed with the case.
Cheney and the other defendants "were only willing to agree to a preservation order that tracked their narrowed interpretation" of the Presidential Records Act, wrote Kollar-Kotelly.
The administration, said the judge, wanted any court order on what records are at issue in the suit to cover only the office of the vice president, not Cheney or the other defendants in the lawsuit. The other defendants include the National Archives and the archivist of the United States.
The lawsuit stems from Cheney's position that his office is not part of the executive branch of government.
This summer, Cheney chief of staff David Addington told Congress the vice president belongs to neither the executive nor legislative branch of government, but rather is attached by the Constitution to Congress. The vice president presides over the Senate.
The lawsuit alleges that the Bush administration's actions over the past 7 1/2 years raise questions over whether the White House will turn over records created by Cheney and his staff to the National Archives in January when he and Bush leave office.
In 2003, Cheney asserted that the office of the vice president is not an entity within the executive branch.
Two historians and three groups of historians and archivists joined CREW in filing the lawsuit two weeks ago.
MSNBC News
Inv. D. Brian Blackwell
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Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Bush: "Our entire economy is in danger"
Pressing urgently for a massive financial bailout of Wall Street, President George W. Bush says the nation faces a "long and painful recession."
Bush says "our entire economy is in danger." He is pushing for a fast $700 billion government rescue plan.
"If we don't act quickly, retirement accounts could be wiped out and home foreclosures could rise," says Bush.
President Bush says the goal is to help the government buy up troubled assets so that credit can start flowing again so the economy can have a chance to rebound. MORE
D. Brian Blackwell
Bush says "our entire economy is in danger." He is pushing for a fast $700 billion government rescue plan.
"If we don't act quickly, retirement accounts could be wiped out and home foreclosures could rise," says Bush.
President Bush says the goal is to help the government buy up troubled assets so that credit can start flowing again so the economy can have a chance to rebound. MORE
D. Brian Blackwell
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FBI investigating Lehman Brothers, AIG, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac & 22 others
The FBI is investigating four major U.S. financial institutions whose collaspe helped trigger a $700 billion bailout plan by Congress and the Bush administration.
The FBI is looking at potential fraud by mortgage finance giants Lehman Brothers, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and insurer American International Group (AIG).
The FBI's investigation is focusing on the business practices of the financial institutions and the individuals who ran them.
26 corporate lenders are currently under investigation by the FBI. MORE
Inv. D. Brian Blackwell
The FBI is looking at potential fraud by mortgage finance giants Lehman Brothers, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and insurer American International Group (AIG).
The FBI's investigation is focusing on the business practices of the financial institutions and the individuals who ran them.
26 corporate lenders are currently under investigation by the FBI. MORE
Inv. D. Brian Blackwell
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Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Colorado double-murder case overturned
A six-year-old murder case that has become one of the most complicated legal matters in northern Colorado history has been overturned.
The case involves a double-murder, a mistrial, allegations of Juror malfeasance, a suspect defending himself after firing his attorneys and an investigator whose wife was convicted of a different murder this spring.
The Colorado Court of Appeals Friday overturned the murder conviction of the piece of dung known as Allen Bergerud, who already has been on trial twice for the 2002 shooting deaths of his ex-girlfriend, Linda Cooper, and her new boyfriend, Lon Yeaman, in a Johnstown field near the Berthound exit on Interstate 25.
Bergerud, now 54, was put on trial in 2004, and prosecutors would have sought the death penalty against him if he was convicted. But that case ended in a mistrial on Election Day when one juror refused to convict him; that juror later went on trial himself for misconduct, but he was acquitted.
In a second trial a year later, which was moved to Fort Morgan, Bergerud fired his defense attorneys after opening arguments and chose to represent himself. He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
But last week, the appeals court said that Bergerud wasn't given the opportunity to hire new attorneys who agreed with his theory of his case -- that he was innocent and fired his gun in self-defense.
Now, the 19th Judicial District will have to retry the case -- for a third time.
Key Facts
- Late on April 6, 2002, Allen Bergerud phoned his ex-girlfriend, Linda Cooper, who arrived at a horse pasture in Johnstown after midnight April 7 with her new boyfriend, Lon Yeaman.
Cooper 39, was shot three or four times (testimony centered on that uncertainty) while she was on the phone with 911 dispatchers. Yeaman, 46, was shot seven times as he sat in the driver's seat of his pickup truck.
Cooper had ended her relationship with Bergerud shortly before the shooting. MORE
D. Brian Blackwell
The case involves a double-murder, a mistrial, allegations of Juror malfeasance, a suspect defending himself after firing his attorneys and an investigator whose wife was convicted of a different murder this spring.
The Colorado Court of Appeals Friday overturned the murder conviction of the piece of dung known as Allen Bergerud, who already has been on trial twice for the 2002 shooting deaths of his ex-girlfriend, Linda Cooper, and her new boyfriend, Lon Yeaman, in a Johnstown field near the Berthound exit on Interstate 25.
Bergerud, now 54, was put on trial in 2004, and prosecutors would have sought the death penalty against him if he was convicted. But that case ended in a mistrial on Election Day when one juror refused to convict him; that juror later went on trial himself for misconduct, but he was acquitted.
In a second trial a year later, which was moved to Fort Morgan, Bergerud fired his defense attorneys after opening arguments and chose to represent himself. He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
But last week, the appeals court said that Bergerud wasn't given the opportunity to hire new attorneys who agreed with his theory of his case -- that he was innocent and fired his gun in self-defense.
Now, the 19th Judicial District will have to retry the case -- for a third time.
Key Facts
- Late on April 6, 2002, Allen Bergerud phoned his ex-girlfriend, Linda Cooper, who arrived at a horse pasture in Johnstown after midnight April 7 with her new boyfriend, Lon Yeaman.
Cooper 39, was shot three or four times (testimony centered on that uncertainty) while she was on the phone with 911 dispatchers. Yeaman, 46, was shot seven times as he sat in the driver's seat of his pickup truck.
Cooper had ended her relationship with Bergerud shortly before the shooting. MORE
D. Brian Blackwell
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Colorado Considers Immigration Enforcement
A legislative panel took the first steps Tuesday toward launching an examination into how an illegal immigrant who caused a traffic accident that killed three people was allowed to remain in the country despite his extensive criminal record.
What Lawmakers in Colorado and the news media are not talking about is the fact that Colorado for at least three decades has had an unofficial sanctuary policy on illegal immigration.
The Legislative Audit Committee voted to authorize State Auditor Sally Symanski to do preliminary research on conducting such an audit. Symanski expected that the inquiry would look at how state and local law-enforcement agencies and the judicial system interacted in the case of Francis Hernandez, 23, an illegal immigrant who had been arrested over a dozen times in the past five years and served jail time but was never deported.
Hernandez drove a vehicle that earlier this month in Aurora struck a pickup truck, killing two women, as well as a 3-year-old boy who was in a nearby ice cream shop.
State law requires police to tell federal authorities when they have detained a suspect believed to be an illegal immigrant.
Aurora police reported Hernandez to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in April, but ICE never came to pick him up, and he was released from jail. MORE
Inv. Sara Kilgore
Brian Blackwell QI Services Denver [BrianBlackwell.com]
What Lawmakers in Colorado and the news media are not talking about is the fact that Colorado for at least three decades has had an unofficial sanctuary policy on illegal immigration.
The Legislative Audit Committee voted to authorize State Auditor Sally Symanski to do preliminary research on conducting such an audit. Symanski expected that the inquiry would look at how state and local law-enforcement agencies and the judicial system interacted in the case of Francis Hernandez, 23, an illegal immigrant who had been arrested over a dozen times in the past five years and served jail time but was never deported.
Hernandez drove a vehicle that earlier this month in Aurora struck a pickup truck, killing two women, as well as a 3-year-old boy who was in a nearby ice cream shop.
State law requires police to tell federal authorities when they have detained a suspect believed to be an illegal immigrant.
Aurora police reported Hernandez to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in April, but ICE never came to pick him up, and he was released from jail. MORE
Inv. Sara Kilgore
Brian Blackwell QI Services Denver [BrianBlackwell.com]
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Saturday, September 20, 2008
Evangelist's compound raided in child porn case
FBI agents and state police raided an evangelist's headquarters in Fouke, Arkansas Saturday as part of a child pornography investigation and said they planned to remove several children from the complex, run by a man previously accused of child abuse.
The raid at the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries south of Texarkana started an hour before sunset. Armed guards regularly patrol the ministry headquarters, but there was no resistence as FBI agents and state troopers moved in.
Shortly after the raid began, a sport utility vehicle hauling a trailer backed up to the ministry building's front door. FBI vehicles blocked off a dead-end road.
A Fouke School District bus also pulled up near 12 unmarked vans, SUV's and sedans parked alongside the low-slung ministry headquarters along U.S. 71 just inside the city limits of tiny Fouke.
Arkansas State Police spokesman Bill Sadler said a search would be conducted at the compound headquarters and at Alamo's home nearby.
Alamo's church is a single-story building that looks like a strip mall. A white cross stands atop the structure, with a small steeple to the right side.
Alamo was once accused in California of directing the beating of a church member's 11-year-old son. In 1994, he was sentenced to six years in prison on tax evasion charges filed in Memphis, Tennessee. MORE
Inv. September Hall
Brian Balckwell QI Services Denver
The raid at the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries south of Texarkana started an hour before sunset. Armed guards regularly patrol the ministry headquarters, but there was no resistence as FBI agents and state troopers moved in.
Shortly after the raid began, a sport utility vehicle hauling a trailer backed up to the ministry building's front door. FBI vehicles blocked off a dead-end road.
A Fouke School District bus also pulled up near 12 unmarked vans, SUV's and sedans parked alongside the low-slung ministry headquarters along U.S. 71 just inside the city limits of tiny Fouke.
Arkansas State Police spokesman Bill Sadler said a search would be conducted at the compound headquarters and at Alamo's home nearby.
Alamo's church is a single-story building that looks like a strip mall. A white cross stands atop the structure, with a small steeple to the right side.
Alamo was once accused in California of directing the beating of a church member's 11-year-old son. In 1994, he was sentenced to six years in prison on tax evasion charges filed in Memphis, Tennessee. MORE
Inv. September Hall
Brian Balckwell QI Services Denver
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Friday, September 19, 2008
Two 19 year old Colorado cold cases solved
A Jefferson County jury found a man guilty of murdering two women 19 years after their deaths on Thursday.
Billy Reid, 49, has been convicted of killing Lanell Williams and Lisa Kelly. Their bodies were dumped in the foothills of Jefferson County in 1989.
Jefferson County cold case detectives were able to link Reid to the murders by using DNA technology.
Reid was convicted of sexual assault and first-degree murder in the slaying of Lanell Williams, 28, and Lisa Kelly, 33.
Kelly's decomposed body was found in March 1989 on Lookout Mountain near the Beaver Brook trailhead but wasn't identified until 2005.
Williams' body was found in Clear Creek Canyon on Oct. 14, 1989, two days after she was reported missing.
The jury started deliberations Monday after hearing closing arguments in the two-week trial in Jefferson County District Court. Jurors heard testimony from over 80 witnesses.
The cases were filed after Reid was linked to Williams in 2006 by DNA evidence from semen found on a belt and extension cord used to strangle her.
Both women were drug users and Reid said he had sex with Williams in exchange for supplying her drugs. Kelly had a background of drugs and prostitution, according to trial testimony.
Reid faces 40 years in prison for each murder. He'll be sentenced in December. MORE
Investigator D. Brian Blackwell
BrianBlackwell.com
Billy Reid, 49, has been convicted of killing Lanell Williams and Lisa Kelly. Their bodies were dumped in the foothills of Jefferson County in 1989.
Jefferson County cold case detectives were able to link Reid to the murders by using DNA technology.
Reid was convicted of sexual assault and first-degree murder in the slaying of Lanell Williams, 28, and Lisa Kelly, 33.
Kelly's decomposed body was found in March 1989 on Lookout Mountain near the Beaver Brook trailhead but wasn't identified until 2005.
Williams' body was found in Clear Creek Canyon on Oct. 14, 1989, two days after she was reported missing.
The jury started deliberations Monday after hearing closing arguments in the two-week trial in Jefferson County District Court. Jurors heard testimony from over 80 witnesses.
The cases were filed after Reid was linked to Williams in 2006 by DNA evidence from semen found on a belt and extension cord used to strangle her.
Both women were drug users and Reid said he had sex with Williams in exchange for supplying her drugs. Kelly had a background of drugs and prostitution, according to trial testimony.
Reid faces 40 years in prison for each murder. He'll be sentenced in December. MORE
Investigator D. Brian Blackwell
BrianBlackwell.com
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Thursday, September 18, 2008
59 illegals arrested in Colorado ICE sweep
Federal agents have captured 30 fugitives in 14 Colorado cities who had refused to leave the country after being ordered to do so or who had failed to show up for their immigration hearings.
Twenty of the fugitives apprehended had previous criminal convictions.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents also arrested 29 other people they encountered during the fugitive sweep on other immigration violations.
The five-day operation began last Friday.
Egregious cases of illegal immigrants with criminal backgrounds included:
Twenty of the fugitives apprehended had previous criminal convictions.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents also arrested 29 other people they encountered during the fugitive sweep on other immigration violations.
The five-day operation began last Friday.
Egregious cases of illegal immigrants with criminal backgrounds included:
- Christian D. Sabido Yberri, who was arrested Friday in Cortez. Sabido had been ordered removed from the country and failed to comply. Sabido had a long criminal record.
- Fernando Rios Miramontes, who was arrested Monday in Denver. Rios was in the United States on a visitor visa but overstayed. An arrest warrant was issued for Rios on allegations that while in a position of trust he sexually assaulted a child. He also was one of Garfield County Sheriff's Office most wanted. ICE agents have placed a detainer on him.
- Ivan E. Rodriguez Hernandez, who was arrested Tuesday in Denver after the district attorney's office referred him to federal authorities. Rodriguez was convicted in June for sexual assault and given only 10 years' probation.
- Also arrested with Rodriguez was his brother, Jose. He has a previous conviction for motor vehicle theft and was sentenced to 45 days in jail and one year probation.
Both siblings are expected to undergo immigration hearings and they are being held without bail. The four fugitives are from Mexico.
Since last October, the ICE Fugitive Operations Teams in Colorado and Wyoming have apprehended 405 illegal immigrants who refused to leave the country after being ordered to do so.
Inv. D. Brian Blackwell, BrianBlackwell.com
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ID thief given access to patients' personal info
EVANS, Colo. -- A women convicted of felony identity theft had access to sensitive patient information for four days last month at the Monfort Family Clinic after she was referred to work at the clinic without a background check by the Weld County Workforce Center.
The Weld County Workforce Center referred Jennifer Nino, who pleaded guilty to identity theft in 2007, to work at the Monfort Family Clinic in Evans, where she had access to patients' personal information.
Laura Morris, human resource services director for Sunrise Community Health Services, which operates the Monfort Family Clinic, said Nino was never an official employee of the clinic. Rather, she served as a volunteer through the Colorado Works Community Work Experience program, a program through Colorado workforce to get people off public assistance.
Morris said Sunrise never screened or paid Nino because that is the responsibility of the Weld County Workforce Center. As soon as Sunrise became aware of the situation, Nino was let go, Morris said.
Nino worked at the clinic for four days taking in mail and attaching it to claims. That gave her access to personal information, such as credit cards and social security numbers.
"We do have confidentiality policies. It is not our intention to have issues such as this," said Morris, who said there were no breaches in security as far as she knows. "We are reviewing contracts with the workforce center and saying that will not be tolerated by Sunrise."
[ There was a breach of security by the mere fact that Nino was allowed to work at the clinic. ]
Employers be aware of the following
[ Linda Perez, director of employment services of Weld County, said they do not do regular screening or background checks on the people they refer to employers.
"It's not common practice to do background checks on individuals. The work site (employer) needs to make sure the person being referred is appropriate because we are not requiring it to bring them on." said Perez. ]
In other words, it's the responsibility of the work site to screen and do background checks on individuals they get from the Weld County Workforce Center.
[ Just another example of idiots working in government setting policy. ]
Nino pleaded guilty to felony ID theft possession with the intent to use and was sentenced to two years probation in September 2007. Nino is currently on probation.
Sunrise discovered Nino's felony record when someone complained. MORE
D. Brian Blackwell, Private Investigator
Director, Brian Blackwell QI Services, Inc. Denver
The Weld County Workforce Center referred Jennifer Nino, who pleaded guilty to identity theft in 2007, to work at the Monfort Family Clinic in Evans, where she had access to patients' personal information.
Laura Morris, human resource services director for Sunrise Community Health Services, which operates the Monfort Family Clinic, said Nino was never an official employee of the clinic. Rather, she served as a volunteer through the Colorado Works Community Work Experience program, a program through Colorado workforce to get people off public assistance.
Morris said Sunrise never screened or paid Nino because that is the responsibility of the Weld County Workforce Center. As soon as Sunrise became aware of the situation, Nino was let go, Morris said.
Nino worked at the clinic for four days taking in mail and attaching it to claims. That gave her access to personal information, such as credit cards and social security numbers.
"We do have confidentiality policies. It is not our intention to have issues such as this," said Morris, who said there were no breaches in security as far as she knows. "We are reviewing contracts with the workforce center and saying that will not be tolerated by Sunrise."
[ There was a breach of security by the mere fact that Nino was allowed to work at the clinic. ]
Employers be aware of the following
[ Linda Perez, director of employment services of Weld County, said they do not do regular screening or background checks on the people they refer to employers.
"It's not common practice to do background checks on individuals. The work site (employer) needs to make sure the person being referred is appropriate because we are not requiring it to bring them on." said Perez. ]
In other words, it's the responsibility of the work site to screen and do background checks on individuals they get from the Weld County Workforce Center.
[ Just another example of idiots working in government setting policy. ]
Nino pleaded guilty to felony ID theft possession with the intent to use and was sentenced to two years probation in September 2007. Nino is currently on probation.
Sunrise discovered Nino's felony record when someone complained. MORE
D. Brian Blackwell, Private Investigator
Director, Brian Blackwell QI Services, Inc. Denver
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Friday, September 12, 2008
Sex offenders moving near campuses
As college students settle into the fall semester, they may be surprised to learn that their off-campus neighbors may include paroled sex offenders.
Hundreds of communities in almost half the nation's states have banned registered sex offenders from living close to places frequented by children, such as playgrounds and elementary schools. But in most cases, those laws do not include the areas surrounding university campuses -- so convicted sex offenders have moved in.
Some schools, such as the University of Washington, have sought to push sex offenders out of campus neighborhoods. University of Washington is one of the first in the nation to begin establishing a buffer zone that would be off-limits to sex offenders.
Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire raised concerns earlier this year with a landlord whose tenants included sex offenders. The landlord then ousted 13 of the 25 parolees living near the University of Washington's Seattle campus.
Sex offenders are finding homes near universities nationwide.
In Los Angeles, 60 sex offenders live within a mile of the University of Southern California. 9 live within a mile of Duke University in Durham, N.C. In Chicago, 6 live within a mile of Northwestern University. There are 93 paroled sex offenders living within a two-mile radius of Jacksonville University in Florida.
A 1990 federal law, the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, requires college security to know if there is a registered sex offender living on campus and, upon request, to inform students and staff where they can find that information. MORE
Get a list of sex offenders in your area - CLICK NOW!
Investigator D. Brian Blackwell
Hundreds of communities in almost half the nation's states have banned registered sex offenders from living close to places frequented by children, such as playgrounds and elementary schools. But in most cases, those laws do not include the areas surrounding university campuses -- so convicted sex offenders have moved in.
Some schools, such as the University of Washington, have sought to push sex offenders out of campus neighborhoods. University of Washington is one of the first in the nation to begin establishing a buffer zone that would be off-limits to sex offenders.
Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire raised concerns earlier this year with a landlord whose tenants included sex offenders. The landlord then ousted 13 of the 25 parolees living near the University of Washington's Seattle campus.
Sex offenders are finding homes near universities nationwide.
In Los Angeles, 60 sex offenders live within a mile of the University of Southern California. 9 live within a mile of Duke University in Durham, N.C. In Chicago, 6 live within a mile of Northwestern University. There are 93 paroled sex offenders living within a two-mile radius of Jacksonville University in Florida.
A 1990 federal law, the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, requires college security to know if there is a registered sex offender living on campus and, upon request, to inform students and staff where they can find that information. MORE
Get a list of sex offenders in your area - CLICK NOW!
Investigator D. Brian Blackwell
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Thursday, September 11, 2008
Sex, Drugs & Oil in Denver Fed Office
Your tax dollars at work
Investigation exposes that government employees rigged contracts and consulting jobs; had sex with subordinates, participated in illicit sexual encounters, used illegal drugs and abused alcohol with oil company employees and accepted improper gifts.
Government brokers responsible for collecting billions of dollars in federal oil royalties operated in a "culture of substance abuse and promiscuity" that included having sex with energy company employees, accepting lavish gifts and rigging contracts to favored companies.
The transgressions involve 13 former and current worthless U.S. Interior Department employees in Denver and Washington.
Their improprieties include influencing contracts, working part-time as private oil consultants and having sexual relationships with -- and accepting golf and ski trips, snowboarding lessons and concert tickets from -- oil company employees, according to three reports released Wednesday by the Interior Department's inspector general.
The investigations expose a small group of individuals "wholly lacking in acceptance of or adherence to government ethical standards," wrote Inspector General Earl E. Devaney, whose office spent over two years and $5.3 million on the investigation.
"Sexual relationships with prohibited sources cannot, by definition, be arms-length," Devaney said.
The investigation reports describe a fraternity house atmosphere inside the Denver Minerals Management Service office, which is respoonsible for marketing oil and natural gas that energy companies barter to the government in lieu of cash royalty payments for drilling on federal lands.
The government received $4.3 billion in such royalty-in-kind payments last year. The oil and gas is then resold to energy companies or put in the nation's emergency stockpile.
"During the course of our investigation, we learned that some RIK employees frequently consumed alcohol at industry functions, had used cocaine and marijuana, and had sexual relationships with oil and gas company representatives," the report said.
Two worthless government employees who had to spend the night after a daytime industry function because they were too intoxicated to drive home were commonly referred to by energy traders as the "MMS chicks."
Investigators found that between 2002 and 2006, 19 oil marketers -- nearly a third of the 55-person staff in the Denver office -- received gifts and gratuities from oil and gas companies, including Chevron Corp., Shell, Hess Corp. and Denver-based Gary-Williams Energy Corp.
The investigation focuses on nine employees -- all but one of whom received ethics training -- who attended meals, parties, paintball games and concerts whose value exceded the $20-per-gift limit or $50-a-year thresholds on outside gifts.
In the case of two marketers, gifts were accepted on at least 135 occasions.
The investigation report identifies eight of the employees by name and a ninth only by job description.
One employee admitted having a one-night stand with a Shell employee. That same individual passed out business cards for her sex toy business, Passion Parties Inc., at work, and bragged that her income from that business exceeded her salary at the Interior Department.
Devaney said the investigation took so long because Chevron refused to cooperate. An Interior Department official said Chevron would not allow investigators to interview its employees.
The investigation report says that former head of the Denver royalty-in-kind office, Gregory W. Smith, purchased cocaine from a co-worker, and on one occasion had it delivered to the office.
The report also says that Smith had oral sex with subordinates and steered government contracts to Geomatrix Consultants Inc. and used government databases and e-mail accounts to conduct business for the company, which paid him $30,000 for his work from April 2002 through June 2003. Smith retired in May 2007 after 28 years of so-called federal government service.
The investigation was prompted by a 2006 phone call from an employee in the Denver office who reported ethics violations.
CBS 4 Denver
Inv. D. Brian Blackwell
Director, Brian Blackwell QI Services, Inc.
BrianBlackwell.com
Investigation exposes that government employees rigged contracts and consulting jobs; had sex with subordinates, participated in illicit sexual encounters, used illegal drugs and abused alcohol with oil company employees and accepted improper gifts.
Government brokers responsible for collecting billions of dollars in federal oil royalties operated in a "culture of substance abuse and promiscuity" that included having sex with energy company employees, accepting lavish gifts and rigging contracts to favored companies.
The transgressions involve 13 former and current worthless U.S. Interior Department employees in Denver and Washington.
Their improprieties include influencing contracts, working part-time as private oil consultants and having sexual relationships with -- and accepting golf and ski trips, snowboarding lessons and concert tickets from -- oil company employees, according to three reports released Wednesday by the Interior Department's inspector general.
The investigations expose a small group of individuals "wholly lacking in acceptance of or adherence to government ethical standards," wrote Inspector General Earl E. Devaney, whose office spent over two years and $5.3 million on the investigation.
"Sexual relationships with prohibited sources cannot, by definition, be arms-length," Devaney said.
The investigation reports describe a fraternity house atmosphere inside the Denver Minerals Management Service office, which is respoonsible for marketing oil and natural gas that energy companies barter to the government in lieu of cash royalty payments for drilling on federal lands.
The government received $4.3 billion in such royalty-in-kind payments last year. The oil and gas is then resold to energy companies or put in the nation's emergency stockpile.
"During the course of our investigation, we learned that some RIK employees frequently consumed alcohol at industry functions, had used cocaine and marijuana, and had sexual relationships with oil and gas company representatives," the report said.
Two worthless government employees who had to spend the night after a daytime industry function because they were too intoxicated to drive home were commonly referred to by energy traders as the "MMS chicks."
Investigators found that between 2002 and 2006, 19 oil marketers -- nearly a third of the 55-person staff in the Denver office -- received gifts and gratuities from oil and gas companies, including Chevron Corp., Shell, Hess Corp. and Denver-based Gary-Williams Energy Corp.
The investigation focuses on nine employees -- all but one of whom received ethics training -- who attended meals, parties, paintball games and concerts whose value exceded the $20-per-gift limit or $50-a-year thresholds on outside gifts.
In the case of two marketers, gifts were accepted on at least 135 occasions.
The investigation report identifies eight of the employees by name and a ninth only by job description.
One employee admitted having a one-night stand with a Shell employee. That same individual passed out business cards for her sex toy business, Passion Parties Inc., at work, and bragged that her income from that business exceeded her salary at the Interior Department.
Devaney said the investigation took so long because Chevron refused to cooperate. An Interior Department official said Chevron would not allow investigators to interview its employees.
The investigation report says that former head of the Denver royalty-in-kind office, Gregory W. Smith, purchased cocaine from a co-worker, and on one occasion had it delivered to the office.
The report also says that Smith had oral sex with subordinates and steered government contracts to Geomatrix Consultants Inc. and used government databases and e-mail accounts to conduct business for the company, which paid him $30,000 for his work from April 2002 through June 2003. Smith retired in May 2007 after 28 years of so-called federal government service.
The investigation was prompted by a 2006 phone call from an employee in the Denver office who reported ethics violations.
CBS 4 Denver
Inv. D. Brian Blackwell
Director, Brian Blackwell QI Services, Inc.
BrianBlackwell.com
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Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Judges Censored Over Tim Masters Case
The Colorado Supreme court Tuesday censored two Fort Collins judges for missteps in the now-overturned 1999 murder conviction of Tim Masters.
Judges Terry Gilmore and Jolene Blair, who were prosecutors at the time, were publicly admonished for failing to turn over important evidence to the attorneys who defended Masters in the slaying of Peggy Hettrick.
Masters spent almost 10 years in prison for the murder before he was freed early this year because of DNA evidence.
Hettrick, 37, was found in a south Fort Collins field on Feb. 11, 1987 stabbed to death. Her killer sexually mutilated her, slicing away flesh from her breast.
Within hours, Fort Collins police detectives focused on Masters, a 15-year-old high school student who lived in a mobile home across from the field. But it wasn't until 1998 that police arrested him -- relying largely on a forensic pathologist's interpretations of drawings Master had made.
Gilmore and Blair took the case to a jury in 1999, and Masters was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
Both the Colorado Court of Appeals and the state Supreme Court upheld the verdict.
But attorneys Maria Liu and David Wymore, in a series of hearings in 2007 and 2008, exposed numerous documents that were never turned over to the attorneys who defended Masters at his trial. Those documents included reports that showed serious problems with the circumstantial case against Masters.
Under the rules of conduct, it is the job of prosecutors to make sure that all potentially exculpatory evidence is turned over to the defense.
Masters was finally freed after DNA testing conducted in Holland found genetic material on Hettrick's clothes that did not belong to Masters. It was later linked to an on-and-off boyfriend.
As a result, a judge tossed out the conviction of Masters.
Judges Terry Gilmore and Jolene Blair, who were prosecutors at the time, were publicly admonished for failing to turn over important evidence to the attorneys who defended Masters in the slaying of Peggy Hettrick.
Masters spent almost 10 years in prison for the murder before he was freed early this year because of DNA evidence.
Hettrick, 37, was found in a south Fort Collins field on Feb. 11, 1987 stabbed to death. Her killer sexually mutilated her, slicing away flesh from her breast.
Within hours, Fort Collins police detectives focused on Masters, a 15-year-old high school student who lived in a mobile home across from the field. But it wasn't until 1998 that police arrested him -- relying largely on a forensic pathologist's interpretations of drawings Master had made.
Gilmore and Blair took the case to a jury in 1999, and Masters was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
Both the Colorado Court of Appeals and the state Supreme Court upheld the verdict.
But attorneys Maria Liu and David Wymore, in a series of hearings in 2007 and 2008, exposed numerous documents that were never turned over to the attorneys who defended Masters at his trial. Those documents included reports that showed serious problems with the circumstantial case against Masters.
Under the rules of conduct, it is the job of prosecutors to make sure that all potentially exculpatory evidence is turned over to the defense.
Masters was finally freed after DNA testing conducted in Holland found genetic material on Hettrick's clothes that did not belong to Masters. It was later linked to an on-and-off boyfriend.
As a result, a judge tossed out the conviction of Masters.
Brian Blackwell
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Labels:
Judicial Misconduct,
Tim Masters Case
Monday, September 8, 2008
Illegal who killed 3 had long rap sheet
AURORA, Colo. -- Aurora police were suspicious of Francis Hernandez' immigration status when they arrested him back in the spring.
Hernandez had a Social Security card and said he was born in California, but he had used so many aliases and birth dates that it raised red flags when he was arrested for speeding and driving without a valid license on April 25.
Aurora police alerted the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office, but they never responded.
In fact, Aurora police made over 2,500 referrals to ICE last year, but ICE responded very few times.
"The police are doing their job by arresting and locking him up 16 times," said Bob Friel of the Aurora Police Department. "Time and time again law enforcement has put Hernandez behind bars, but .... it's up to ICE to deport illegal immigrants out of the country, not local law enforcement," he said.
On Thursday, police say Hernandez killed three people in a crash outside an ice cream shop at South Havana and East Mississippi in Aurora.
Police said Hernandez sped through a red light and broadsided a pickup truck, killing Serecky, 51, of Aurora, and Patricia Guntharp, 49, of Centennial.
Also killed was Marten Kudiis, 3, of Aurora, who was in a Baskin Robbins ice cream stor with his parents.
Hernandez who ran from the scene before he was captured at his home in Denver, has been repeatedly arrested over the past five years.
Police are frustrated with the lack of immigration enforcement, and the hit-and-run crash is indicative of a much larger problem.
A 2006 Colorado law requires local police to report suspected illegal immigrants to the federal agency.
Gov. Bill Ritter said in a statement Monday he was outraged that an illegal immigrant with a lengthly rap sheet that Hernandez had remained free "to kill three innocent people."
Denver police who arrested Hernandez in July for not having a visible license plate said they had no probable cause to believe her was here illegally -- even after he ran from police and gave them a false name.
Denver has long been a sanctuary city and Colorado has long been a sanctuary state regardless of what the politicians or police tell you.
Rocky Mountain News
630 KHOW
850 KOA
Inv. D. Brian Blackwell
Director, Brian Blackwell QI Services, Inc.
BrianBlackwell.com
Want to know the sources that private investigators use? Then get the Investigator's Little Black Book and you'll have them at your fingertips!
Hernandez had a Social Security card and said he was born in California, but he had used so many aliases and birth dates that it raised red flags when he was arrested for speeding and driving without a valid license on April 25.
Aurora police alerted the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office, but they never responded.
In fact, Aurora police made over 2,500 referrals to ICE last year, but ICE responded very few times.
"The police are doing their job by arresting and locking him up 16 times," said Bob Friel of the Aurora Police Department. "Time and time again law enforcement has put Hernandez behind bars, but .... it's up to ICE to deport illegal immigrants out of the country, not local law enforcement," he said.
On Thursday, police say Hernandez killed three people in a crash outside an ice cream shop at South Havana and East Mississippi in Aurora.
Police said Hernandez sped through a red light and broadsided a pickup truck, killing Serecky, 51, of Aurora, and Patricia Guntharp, 49, of Centennial.
Also killed was Marten Kudiis, 3, of Aurora, who was in a Baskin Robbins ice cream stor with his parents.
Hernandez who ran from the scene before he was captured at his home in Denver, has been repeatedly arrested over the past five years.
Police are frustrated with the lack of immigration enforcement, and the hit-and-run crash is indicative of a much larger problem.
A 2006 Colorado law requires local police to report suspected illegal immigrants to the federal agency.
Gov. Bill Ritter said in a statement Monday he was outraged that an illegal immigrant with a lengthly rap sheet that Hernandez had remained free "to kill three innocent people."
Denver police who arrested Hernandez in July for not having a visible license plate said they had no probable cause to believe her was here illegally -- even after he ran from police and gave them a false name.
Denver has long been a sanctuary city and Colorado has long been a sanctuary state regardless of what the politicians or police tell you.
Rocky Mountain News
630 KHOW
850 KOA
Inv. D. Brian Blackwell
Director, Brian Blackwell QI Services, Inc.
BrianBlackwell.com
Want to know the sources that private investigators use? Then get the Investigator's Little Black Book and you'll have them at your fingertips!
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Illegal kills three in hit & run accident
The illegal alien who caused a deadly hit and run accident in Aurora, Colorado is being held on a $250,000 bond.
Francis Hernandez, 23, appeared in court Monday morning. A judge advised him of his rights. Federal immigration agents say Hernandez is in the country illegally.
Immigration agents say Hernandez is a native of Guatemala and his photo has matched a file of illegal aliens that had not been checked until recently. That provides no consolation for the man who lost his son while having ice cream at a Baskin Robbins.
The son of a political dissident in the former Soviet Union, Marat Kudiis lost his father to murder in the Ukraine, and now his son, Marten, to the accident in Aurora.
Police say the accident was caused by Hernandez, who is in the U.S. illegally and has been arrested over a dozen times.
Earlier this year, Aurora police arrested Hernandez on a traffic offense. Suspecting he might be in the country illegally, the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office contacted federal immigration authorities, but no detainer was issued.
"The system let him out some kind of crack and the system didn't do what it was supposed to do and my son and the ladies paid the price," Kudiis said.
Hernandez drove through a red light, crashing into a car killing two ladies (Patricia Guntharp and Debra Serecky) inside the car, then he struck a utility box that careened into Baskin Robbins killing Marten Kudiis.
Hernandez ran on foot from the scene. He was captured at his home in Denver. More on the piece of crap named Francis Hernandez here
Inv. D. Brian Blackwell
BrianBlackwell.com
Francis Hernandez, 23, appeared in court Monday morning. A judge advised him of his rights. Federal immigration agents say Hernandez is in the country illegally.
Immigration agents say Hernandez is a native of Guatemala and his photo has matched a file of illegal aliens that had not been checked until recently. That provides no consolation for the man who lost his son while having ice cream at a Baskin Robbins.
The son of a political dissident in the former Soviet Union, Marat Kudiis lost his father to murder in the Ukraine, and now his son, Marten, to the accident in Aurora.
Police say the accident was caused by Hernandez, who is in the U.S. illegally and has been arrested over a dozen times.
Earlier this year, Aurora police arrested Hernandez on a traffic offense. Suspecting he might be in the country illegally, the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office contacted federal immigration authorities, but no detainer was issued.
"The system let him out some kind of crack and the system didn't do what it was supposed to do and my son and the ladies paid the price," Kudiis said.
Hernandez drove through a red light, crashing into a car killing two ladies (Patricia Guntharp and Debra Serecky) inside the car, then he struck a utility box that careened into Baskin Robbins killing Marten Kudiis.
Hernandez ran on foot from the scene. He was captured at his home in Denver. More on the piece of crap named Francis Hernandez here
Inv. D. Brian Blackwell
BrianBlackwell.com
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Sunday, September 7, 2008
Police paid millions during DNC
About $17 million of a $50 million federal grant for security during the Democratic National Convention was budgeted to pay police.
Denver officials Friday released a draft of how the city spent the grant it received to provide security for the convention that ended Aug. 28.
The draft budget shows that roughly $17 million was earmarked for Denver police, including overtime and planning costs. Another $10 million went to pay officers from other jurisdictions who were helping Denver police.
Altogether, about $28 million was set aside for salaries, including for police.
Other costs included $111,000 for riot-control suits, $652,000 for 1,800 ballistic helmets, $22,000 for flex cuffs, $22,000 for riot shields, $37,000 for riot-control batons, $43,500 to buy 61 mountain bikes, and $100,000 for intelligence equipment and training.
Police made 152 arrests between Aug. 23 through the last day of the convention in Denver, compared with more than 800 at the Republican National Convention that ended Thursday in St. Paul, Minnesota. MORE
D. Brian Blackwell
Denver officials Friday released a draft of how the city spent the grant it received to provide security for the convention that ended Aug. 28.
The draft budget shows that roughly $17 million was earmarked for Denver police, including overtime and planning costs. Another $10 million went to pay officers from other jurisdictions who were helping Denver police.
Altogether, about $28 million was set aside for salaries, including for police.
Other costs included $111,000 for riot-control suits, $652,000 for 1,800 ballistic helmets, $22,000 for flex cuffs, $22,000 for riot shields, $37,000 for riot-control batons, $43,500 to buy 61 mountain bikes, and $100,000 for intelligence equipment and training.
Police made 152 arrests between Aug. 23 through the last day of the convention in Denver, compared with more than 800 at the Republican National Convention that ended Thursday in St. Paul, Minnesota. MORE
D. Brian Blackwell
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Saturday, September 6, 2008
818 arrests during RNC
The huge deployment of police in full riot gear across St. Paul for the Republican National Convention this week may have unsettled locals, but it's neither unprecedented nor even unusual in an era in which cities and nations crank up law enforcement operations in the face of mass protests and the possibility of terrorism.
With 3,700 police on the streets and 818 arrests in St. Paul and Minneapolis, including preemptive raids on anarchists' activities, the RNC went off with few hitches at the Xcel Energy Center.
The anarchists were unable to carry out their threats to shut down the convention.
While there were widespread accusations of police overzealousness, including a demand Friday by Amnesty International's Washington, D.C. office for a full-scale investigation, local officials insist they acted appropriately.
St. Paul Assistant Police Chief Matt Bostrom said authorities knew of the likely presence of anarchist groups.
There had been a lot of talk over the Internet weeks before the Republican National Convention about anarchists going to St. Paul to disrupt the convention.
In these times, said Asst. Chief Bostrom, citing the 1999 protests in Seattle against the World Trade Organization as an example, government has no choice but to build massive security operations.
And Bostrom, who along with the Secret Service helped craft the RNC security plan, sees no end to such planning: "Until the anarchists change their methods .... it's probably the only way to do this."
Free speech undermined?
While the convention is over, the debate over security continues to echo. The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota has threatened a lawsuit over allegations that many people were unjustly arrested.
The ACLU says such shows of force stymie free speech.
"Attempts by law enforcement to squelch lawful political speech and stifle the press have no place in our democracy and are unacceptable," Anthony D. Romero, ACLU executive director, said in a statement. "political conventions should be a showcase for free expression, not a venue for bullying and intimidation."
The problem with the the ACLU's argument is that those arrested were not obeying the law. Police did not put a stop to speeches or stifle the press, and did not bully any protesters.
The police had a massive show of force because they were not going to let protesters ruin the convention or destroy the cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
Also, we do not live in a democracy. We live in a democratic republic. There's a huge difference. Romero needs to educate himself on the system of government of the United States of America.
For its on-street security operation, St Paul found no single model to co-opt, Bostrom said. So it grabbed the best ideas from the Department of Homeland Security and other U.S. and European cities.
The end result, he said, was a crowd-control strategy based on mobile field force units, officers moving about subtly "in soccor-mom minivans" and -- police officials had hoped -- "soft uniforms." But they also had riot gear, which had to be used.
St. Paul and Denver each received $50 million in federal funds for policing the conventions. Minneapolis Star Tribune
Antiwar march ends in tense standoff, 396 arrested
D. Brian Blackwell
How To Disappear Without Changing Your Identity
Investigator's Little Black Book
With 3,700 police on the streets and 818 arrests in St. Paul and Minneapolis, including preemptive raids on anarchists' activities, the RNC went off with few hitches at the Xcel Energy Center.
The anarchists were unable to carry out their threats to shut down the convention.
While there were widespread accusations of police overzealousness, including a demand Friday by Amnesty International's Washington, D.C. office for a full-scale investigation, local officials insist they acted appropriately.
St. Paul Assistant Police Chief Matt Bostrom said authorities knew of the likely presence of anarchist groups.
There had been a lot of talk over the Internet weeks before the Republican National Convention about anarchists going to St. Paul to disrupt the convention.
In these times, said Asst. Chief Bostrom, citing the 1999 protests in Seattle against the World Trade Organization as an example, government has no choice but to build massive security operations.
And Bostrom, who along with the Secret Service helped craft the RNC security plan, sees no end to such planning: "Until the anarchists change their methods .... it's probably the only way to do this."
Free speech undermined?
While the convention is over, the debate over security continues to echo. The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota has threatened a lawsuit over allegations that many people were unjustly arrested.
The ACLU says such shows of force stymie free speech.
"Attempts by law enforcement to squelch lawful political speech and stifle the press have no place in our democracy and are unacceptable," Anthony D. Romero, ACLU executive director, said in a statement. "political conventions should be a showcase for free expression, not a venue for bullying and intimidation."
The problem with the the ACLU's argument is that those arrested were not obeying the law. Police did not put a stop to speeches or stifle the press, and did not bully any protesters.
The police had a massive show of force because they were not going to let protesters ruin the convention or destroy the cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
Also, we do not live in a democracy. We live in a democratic republic. There's a huge difference. Romero needs to educate himself on the system of government of the United States of America.
For its on-street security operation, St Paul found no single model to co-opt, Bostrom said. So it grabbed the best ideas from the Department of Homeland Security and other U.S. and European cities.
The end result, he said, was a crowd-control strategy based on mobile field force units, officers moving about subtly "in soccor-mom minivans" and -- police officials had hoped -- "soft uniforms." But they also had riot gear, which had to be used.
St. Paul and Denver each received $50 million in federal funds for policing the conventions. Minneapolis Star Tribune
Antiwar march ends in tense standoff, 396 arrested
D. Brian Blackwell
How To Disappear Without Changing Your Identity
Investigator's Little Black Book
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Thursday, September 4, 2008
RNC 8 protesters charged
Eight members of the RNC Welcoming Committee, a self-described anarchist organization, each face four charges for their plans to disrupt the Republican National Convention.
Each individual was charged Wednesday with second-degree furtherance of terrorism, conspiracy to riot, conspiracy to commit civil disorder and conspiracy to damage property.
Those arrested were Robert Joseph Czernik, Monica Rachel Bicking, Erik Charles Oseland, Garrett Scott Fitzgerald, Nathanial David Secor, Max Jacob Speckton, Luce Guillen-Givens, and Eryn Trimmer.
The eight were arrested after Ramsey County sheriff's deputies raided four homes in Minneapolis and St. Paul on Aug. 30 and 31. They are all being held at the Ramsey County Jail, each on $75,000 bail.
If convicted, each faces up to five year in jail, a $10,000 fine, or both.
In a media release issued by the RNC Welcoming Committee, the group called the charged members the "RNC 8." The group promised to reveal their identities and share their stories behing their message during a question and answer session with the media on Friday.
The sheriff's office said it confiscated weapons, including a machete, hatchet and several throwing knives, empty glass bottles, rags and flammable liquids, homemade devices used to disable buses, metal pipes, axes, bolt cutters, sledge hammers, empty plastic buckets made into shields, an Army helmet, and large amounts of urine.
Deputies also seized laptops, protest literature and sign-making materials, bus schedules, a topographical map of St. Paul, site of Xcel Energy Center, and the convention hall.
The RNC Welcoming Committee has taken credit for several violent protests, resulting in police intervention, during the first two days of the RNC.
View mug shots of the pieces of crap and more here
Inv. D. Brian Blackwell
Each individual was charged Wednesday with second-degree furtherance of terrorism, conspiracy to riot, conspiracy to commit civil disorder and conspiracy to damage property.
Those arrested were Robert Joseph Czernik, Monica Rachel Bicking, Erik Charles Oseland, Garrett Scott Fitzgerald, Nathanial David Secor, Max Jacob Speckton, Luce Guillen-Givens, and Eryn Trimmer.
The eight were arrested after Ramsey County sheriff's deputies raided four homes in Minneapolis and St. Paul on Aug. 30 and 31. They are all being held at the Ramsey County Jail, each on $75,000 bail.
If convicted, each faces up to five year in jail, a $10,000 fine, or both.
In a media release issued by the RNC Welcoming Committee, the group called the charged members the "RNC 8." The group promised to reveal their identities and share their stories behing their message during a question and answer session with the media on Friday.
The sheriff's office said it confiscated weapons, including a machete, hatchet and several throwing knives, empty glass bottles, rags and flammable liquids, homemade devices used to disable buses, metal pipes, axes, bolt cutters, sledge hammers, empty plastic buckets made into shields, an Army helmet, and large amounts of urine.
Deputies also seized laptops, protest literature and sign-making materials, bus schedules, a topographical map of St. Paul, site of Xcel Energy Center, and the convention hall.
The RNC Welcoming Committee has taken credit for several violent protests, resulting in police intervention, during the first two days of the RNC.
View mug shots of the pieces of crap and more here
Inv. D. Brian Blackwell
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Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Man tries to amputate own arm at Denny's
A man tried to amputate his own arm at a Denny's restaurant in Modesto, California because he thought he had injected an air bubble into a vein while shooting cocaine and feared he would die unless he cut off his arm.
Police say 33-year-old Michael Lasiter rushed into Denny's late Friday and started stabbing himself in one arm with a butter knife he grabbed from a table.
When that knife didn't work, Lasiter took a butcher knife from the kitchen and dug it into his arm.
Lasiter told police he thought he needed to amputate his arm to keep himself from dying from the cocaine injection.
Lasiter was taken to a hospital for treatment of severe cuts.
The Denny's closed for the night. MORE
September Hall
Police say 33-year-old Michael Lasiter rushed into Denny's late Friday and started stabbing himself in one arm with a butter knife he grabbed from a table.
When that knife didn't work, Lasiter took a butcher knife from the kitchen and dug it into his arm.
Lasiter told police he thought he needed to amputate his arm to keep himself from dying from the cocaine injection.
Lasiter was taken to a hospital for treatment of severe cuts.
The Denny's closed for the night. MORE
September Hall
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Monday, September 1, 2008
RNC Day 1: 221 arrested, police use tear gas and pepper spray
Shouting "our streets, their war," about 10,000 protesters - a lot less than the 50,000 that was predicted -- flooded into downtown St. Paul's narrow streets on the first day of the Republican National Convention.
While blocks and blocks of marching protesters chanted and peacefully waved signs, the atmosphere turned increasingly ugly as the day wore on.
Before the bulk of the protesters finished their silly march, rogue bands of a few hundred protesters broke away.
Some smashed windows at Macy's and a downtown bank building, others challenged police by blocking roads.
By Monday evening, police said 221 people had been arrested, including 104 on felony charges. Dozens were pepper-sprayed and tear gased.
One police officer was punched in the back. St. Paul hospitals reported nine minor injuries and several heat-related cases in emergency rooms.
Hundreds of police, sweltering in heavy riot gear, swept in to block streets andprotect delegate buses as the St. Paul police requested help from 150 National Guard troops by 3 p.m.
A cross-section of dissent protesters came from across the state and country on what was expected to be the largest protest of the week.
The buffoons (protesters) marched -- after a sun-drenched noontime rally on the State Capitol lawn -- to the Xcel Energy Center as delegates arrived for a session, which was cut short because of Hurricane Gustav.
The peaceful mood started to change after 1:30 p.m., when several groups broke off and began resisting police.
At 3 p.m., about 250 people locked arms to block delegate buses near Robert Street and Kellogg Boulevard.
In a standoff with 100 police officers, authorities warned them to disperse or they would start launching tear gas.
Minutes later, when the group foolishly refused to move, officers had no choice but to toss in tear-gas canisters, making the crowd retreat two blocks down.
Some demonstrators were such morons that they tried to block the street with obstacles, including newspaper bins, sand bags and trash cans, causing police to use concussion grenades and smoke bombs.
At about 2 p.m., protesters dropped bent nails into the intersection at 6th and Wacouta Streets. The group swelled to over 200 as they turned up 4th Street, tossing garbage cans and newspaper kiosks into the road.
Then a few marchers broke off and threw objects, shattering three windows in a bank building at 4th and Minnesota Streets.
A masked marcher -- the biggest moron of them all -- threw his bicycle in front of an approaching line of police squad cars.
Others continued up 6th Street, closely pursued by over a dozen slow-moving police cruisers.
A few officers walked in front of the cars, clearing the barriers the marchers had thrown in the Street.
Basically, the police picked up after adults that were behaving like 4 year olds. The marchers acted like 4 year olds throwing their toys expecting mommy and daddy to pick them up for them.
Some of the marchers smashed out windows at the Macy's store.
Many of the protesters wore handkerchiefs pulled up over their faces. One protester jumped up and down on the roof of a parked police cruiser, breaking its windows. MORE
See video
Inv. D. Brian Blackwell
BrianBlackwell.com
While blocks and blocks of marching protesters chanted and peacefully waved signs, the atmosphere turned increasingly ugly as the day wore on.
Before the bulk of the protesters finished their silly march, rogue bands of a few hundred protesters broke away.
Some smashed windows at Macy's and a downtown bank building, others challenged police by blocking roads.
By Monday evening, police said 221 people had been arrested, including 104 on felony charges. Dozens were pepper-sprayed and tear gased.
One police officer was punched in the back. St. Paul hospitals reported nine minor injuries and several heat-related cases in emergency rooms.
Hundreds of police, sweltering in heavy riot gear, swept in to block streets andprotect delegate buses as the St. Paul police requested help from 150 National Guard troops by 3 p.m.
A cross-section of dissent protesters came from across the state and country on what was expected to be the largest protest of the week.
The buffoons (protesters) marched -- after a sun-drenched noontime rally on the State Capitol lawn -- to the Xcel Energy Center as delegates arrived for a session, which was cut short because of Hurricane Gustav.
The peaceful mood started to change after 1:30 p.m., when several groups broke off and began resisting police.
At 3 p.m., about 250 people locked arms to block delegate buses near Robert Street and Kellogg Boulevard.
In a standoff with 100 police officers, authorities warned them to disperse or they would start launching tear gas.
Minutes later, when the group foolishly refused to move, officers had no choice but to toss in tear-gas canisters, making the crowd retreat two blocks down.
Some demonstrators were such morons that they tried to block the street with obstacles, including newspaper bins, sand bags and trash cans, causing police to use concussion grenades and smoke bombs.
At about 2 p.m., protesters dropped bent nails into the intersection at 6th and Wacouta Streets. The group swelled to over 200 as they turned up 4th Street, tossing garbage cans and newspaper kiosks into the road.
Then a few marchers broke off and threw objects, shattering three windows in a bank building at 4th and Minnesota Streets.
A masked marcher -- the biggest moron of them all -- threw his bicycle in front of an approaching line of police squad cars.
Others continued up 6th Street, closely pursued by over a dozen slow-moving police cruisers.
A few officers walked in front of the cars, clearing the barriers the marchers had thrown in the Street.
Basically, the police picked up after adults that were behaving like 4 year olds. The marchers acted like 4 year olds throwing their toys expecting mommy and daddy to pick them up for them.
Some of the marchers smashed out windows at the Macy's store.
Many of the protesters wore handkerchiefs pulled up over their faces. One protester jumped up and down on the roof of a parked police cruiser, breaking its windows. MORE
See video
Inv. D. Brian Blackwell
BrianBlackwell.com
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