James Burke, Ex-Suffolk County Police Chief, Pleads Guilty

By ARIELLE DOLLINGER and MARC SANTORAFEB. 26, 2016

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. — The former police chief of Suffolk County pleaded guilty on Friday to federal charges stemming from accusations that he beat a suspect in custody, threatened to kill him and then coerced his fellow officers into covering up the misconduct.

The former chief, James Burke, 51, who was known for his swaggering confidence as the leader of one of the region’s largest police departments, was subdued in Federal District Court here as the charges against him were read aloud.

“I plead guilty, Your Honor,” said Mr. Burke, wearing a drab khaki prison uniform.

Since the federal inquiry into Mr. Burke’s actions began some three years ago, investigators have expanded their inquiries and are now examining the workings of the Police Department and the district attorney’s office.

Robert L. Capers, the United States attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said the investigation was continuing and would seek out those who might have been involved in wrongdoing.

“The defendant violated his oath and responsibilities as a law enforcement officer by exacting personal vengeance, assaulting a handcuffed suspect and abusing his authority as the highest ranking uniformed member of the Suffolk County Police Department,” Mr. Capers said in a statement. “Despite the efforts of the defendant and his co-conspirators to obstruct the federal investigation, he has been brought to justice.”

Joseph Conway, Mr. Burke’s lawyer, later told reporters that he planned to argue for a sentence of less than five years in prison for violating the suspect’s civil rights and conspiring to obstruct justice. The maximum possible sentence for the civil rights charge is 10 years in prison; for the obstruction charge, it is 20 years.

“He realized what he did here, and he wants to own up to it,” Mr. Conway said. “He’s very remorseful.”

The charges against Mr. Burke stemmed from an episode in December 2012 when Christopher Loeb, a heroin addict who financed his $100-a-day habit by breaking into cars, was arrested on suspicion of stealing a duffel bag stuffed with cigars, pornographic DVDs and sex toys from Mr. Burke’s police car.

He was brought to a precinct house and shackled to the floor.

In a 2013 court hearing, Mr. Loeb testified that when he asked for a lawyer, one detective told him, “This isn’t ‘Law & Order’; you’re not going to get an attorney.”

When Mr. Burke entered the interrogation room, Mr. Loeb “was handcuffed and chained to an eyebolt fastened to the floor,” according to prosecutors.

“Chief Burke grabbed me by my cheeks and hit me on the top of my head,” Mr. Loeb testified during his 2013 trial, during which he was found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison.

Mr. Loeb responded to the thrashing by calling Mr. Burke “a pervert” and mocking him for the pornography he found in his car, according to federal prosecutors.

At that point, prosecutors said, Mr. Burke “went out of control, screaming and cursing at Loeb and assaulting him until a detective finally said, ‘Boss, that’s enough, that’s enough.’”

After the interrogation, Mr. Burke pressured the detectives who witnessed the assault to conceal it.

“Those efforts continued even after the F.B.I. and the U.S. attorney’s office opened an investigation of the assault in May 2013,” according to a statement released by prosecutors announcing Mr. Burke’s indictment in December.

After Mr. Burke was arrested, Judge Leonard Wexler took the unusual step of denying him bail, saying he posed a danger to the community.

“I find the corruption of an entire department by this defendant is shocking,” Judge Wexler said in December.

The federal inquiry has since expanded beyond Mr. Burke to look into a broader pattern of possible corruption in both the police department and the office of the Suffolk County district attorney, Thomas J. Spota.

Investigators are looking into the conduct of two of Mr. Spota’s protégés — Mr. Burke and the district attorney’s top anticorruption prosecutor — and any role they may have had in what federal prosecutors have described as a conspiracy to obstruct justice, three officials familiar with the investigation told The New York Times earlier this year.

The new Suffolk police commissioner, Tim Sini, is a former assistant United States attorney from the Southern District of New York, and he has hired a former federal corruption investigator, John Barry, to review the department’s internal affairs files.

At a court hearing after Mr. Burke’s arrest, a federal prosecutor, James Miskiewicz, described a pattern of abuse, including the use of a contractor for the district attorney’s office to install a GPS device on a deputy police commissioner’s car.

Mr. Burke was hoping to “to dig up blackmail dirt on her,” Mr. Miskiewicz testified, calling the episode “something out of the K.G.B.”

Mr. Spota and Mr. Burke have been close for decades, and the district attorney helped Mr. Burke secure his job as the top officer for much of Long Island, despite a sometimes checkered history.

Two decades ago, as a sergeant, Mr. Burke had a sexual relationship with a prostitute, according to an internal affairs investigation that accused Mr. Burke of accidentally leaving his handgun with the woman, Newsday reported.

Mr. Burke not only survived that incident but also thrived. He was named chief in 2012, the highest-ranking uniformed position in the department, which, like New York City’s, is led by a civilian commissioner.

With some 2,700 sworn officers and over 600 civilian members, the department is one of the largest in the region.

Compared with those in other departments, officers in the Suffolk agency are well paid, making $125,000 in base pay. That is about $50,000 more than their counterparts in New York City, and it does not include overtime pay, which can be substantial, or the extra money officers receive for each year on the job.

Detectives and sergeants have been known to earn more than $200,000 a year. The police unions on Long Island are so wealthy they have formed a “super PAC” to flood local elections with campaign donations.

Correction: February 26, 2016

An earlier version of his article misstated James Burke’s appearance when he was in court on Friday. He was wearing a prison uniform, but not ankle chains.

Correction: February 26, 2016

An earlier version of this article misstated what Mr. Burke’s lawyer, Joseph Conway, said about his client’s prison sentence. He said he intended to argue for a sentence of less than five years in prison; it was not the case that he expected that to be the penalty.

Arielle Dollinger reported from Central Islip, and Marc Santora from New York. William K. Rashbaum contributed reporting from New York.

There is an epidemic of rapist cops, no one is doing anything about it, and in large part, they get away with it

2 L.A. cops charged with repeatedly raping, ‘preying on’ vulnerable women

By Michael E. Miller

The woman was walking her dog in Hollywood one day in 2009 when the Volkswagen Jetta pulled up alongside her. Two men inside the car allegedly ordered her to climb in.

She complied. She had to.

The men were police officers.

Despite the undercover car, the woman recognized them as veteran Los Angeles Police narcotics officers. They had arrested her before.

Officer Luis Valenzuela allegedly climbed into the back seat with the woman. Then he allegedly handed her dog to his partner, Officer James C. Nichols, who drove the Jetta to a secluded area.

“Why don’t you cut out that tough girl crap,” Valenzuela said as he “unzipped his pants and forced [her] head down toward his lap,” according to a warrant obtained by the Los Angeles Times.

The policeman then “physically held her head down” as he forced the woman to perform oral sex on him — all while his partner acted as a lookout, according to the warrant.

The woman didn’t immediately report the incident because she was scared, humiliated and felt nobody would believe her.

But on Wednesday, prosecutors charged Valenzuela and Nichols with raping the dog-walker and three other women over the span of several years. According to a felony complaint, the officers repeatedly threatened the women — all of whom had previous drug arrests — with a return to jail unless they agreed to oral or vaginal sex.

In at least one case, Valenzuela allegedly pointed a gun at one of the women to get her to go along with his demands.

“You don’t want to go to jail today, do you?” Nichols allegedly told another woman, removing her handcuffs and exposing himself.

Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck expressed his disgust with the two officers Wednesday.

“These two officers have disgraced themselves, they’ve disgraced this badge, they’ve disgraced their oath of office,” he said during a news conference. “I am extremely troubled by what they’ve done.”

Worst of all was that the two officers “preyed on folks that are sometimes reluctant witnesses, reluctant victims,” Beck said.

“It’s a violation of public trust,” he added. “That’s what makes it so horrific.”

The two officers now face a combined 32 charges. If convicted, they could each face life in prison.

An attorney representing two of the women, who have not been named, hailed the charges as a “wonderful development.”

“It’s a ray of light that these women will finally see some justice,” Dennis Chang told the Los Angeles Times.

But Chang also said the charges were “years overdue.” According to the complaint, the offenses date back to at least 2008. They were reported by multiple women, but the rapes allegedly continued unchecked as an internal investigation floundered for years. It wasn’t until one of the women filed a lawsuit against the officers in 2013 that their fellow LAPD officers moved in, seizing phones and computers belonging to Valenzuela and Nichols. The accused officers have spent the past two years on unpaid leave.

Robert Rico, an attorney representing Nichols in administrative charges of sexual misconduct filed by the LAPD, told CNN that if the criminal charges reflect those in the administrative case, “my client absolutely denies it.”

Bill Seki, a lawyer representing Valenzuela in his own administrative battle, said his client also denied the administrative charges. As for the criminal investigation, Seki said it had dragged on for years and was plagued by “issues of credibility” surrounding the victims, CNN reported.

The allegation that the two officers preyed on vulnerable, easily discreditable women is reminiscent of another high-profile police abuse case.

Last month, former Oklahoma City officer Daniel Holtzclaw was sentenced to 263 years in prison for similar crimes. Holtzclaw, was accused of pulling over and sexually assaulting African American women in low-income neighborhoods in the hope that they would be less likely to report his actions. He was undone, however, when a grandmother of 12 reported him.

In Los Angeles, it is unclear whether race played a factor in how Nichols and Valenzuela chose their victims. The ethnicity of the officers and their alleged victims has not been released.

What is clear, though, is that the two LAPD officers stand accused of sexually preying on women with drug or prostitution habits. Sometimes the officers took turns assaulting the women as the other stood guard, while at other times they acted alone, according to the complaint.

The first alleged rape occurred in 2008, when a woman working as a confidential informant for the police department’s narcotics unit was stopped by Valenzuela and Nichols, who she knew. The cops were dressed in plainclothes and driving a Jetta. Valenzuela threatened to take the woman to jail if she refused to get into the car, according to the warrant obtained by the Times. When she got in, he allegedly exposed himself and made her perform a sex act on him.

When the woman complained to a narcotics unit supervisor in January of 2010, the investigation stalled when a detective was unable to find the woman, according to the Times.

When the woman walking her dog was allegedly assaulted in a similar manner in 2009, she also hesitated to expose the officers. When she finally did come forward, “police noted that the woman displayed erratic behavior while recounting the events,” the Times reported. “Later, she made violent threats while in custody and was transported to the hospital.”

Despite the woman’s erratic behavior, LAPD reopened its investigation into the two officers. This time, an investigator tracked down the dog-walker as well as the woman who said she had been raped in 2008. Both gave statements.

But the investigation into the allegedly crooked cops once again stalled, this time for 18 months. According to the Times, the reason for the delay isn’t clear from the warrant.

During the delay, Valenzuela and Nichols allegedly continued their crimes.

According to the complaint, the two cops were involved in a series of other sexual assaults against two more women from 2009 until 2011. One of the women, identified in the complaint as “Jane Doe #3,” was allegedly assaulted twice in the span of three weeks. Another woman, “Jane Doe #4,” was allegedly raped six times over the span of a year and a half.

One of the women said she had worked as a confidential informant for Valenzuela and Nichols after she was arrested. Valenzuela initially told her that having sex with him would help her avoid jail, according to the warrant. Later, Nichols allegedly told her she could stop informing if she had sex with him. The woman told investigators she had sex with Valenzuela twice for fear or returning to jail if she refused: once when he was off duty at her apartment and a second time in the back seat of his undercover car while he was on duty.

During this time, both officers were reassigned to other divisions, according to the Times.

The internal affairs case against the cops only sprang back to life in July of 2012, when a man left LAPD a phone message saying that he was a member of a neighborhood watch and that a prostitute had told him that cops were picking up working girls and letting them go in exchange for sex, according to the warrant.

When officers belatedly looked into the man’s complaint, they “thought the circumstances and location were very similar” to the previous allegations against Valenzuela and Nichols, according to the warrant.

Even then, the department didn’t act until one of the women filed a lawsuit against the two officers in January of 2013. Fearing that Valenzuela and Nichols would destroy evidence, internal affairs investigators seized their phones and computers and the accused cops were put on unpaid leave, the Times reported.

The woman settled her suit with the city in January of 2014 for $575,000, the Times reported.

“Their power over her was abundantly clear from the get go,” Chang said at the time.

It took more than two additional years for prosecutors to charge the pair of cops. When they finally did Wednesday, Valenzuela and Nichols suffered the ignominy of being arrested by their own colleagues.

The pair are being held on more than $3.5 million bail and are scheduled to appear in court on Thursday, according to prosecutors.

An Associated Press investigation published in November found that at least 1,000 U.S. law enforcement officers had lost their badges due to sexual misconduct — including rape, possession of child pornography, propositioning citizens and having consensual but prohibited on-duty intercourse — between 2009 and 2014.

Although the arrest of Valenzuela and Nichols brought relief to some of their alleged victims, it’s unlikely to satisfy all of them.

Despite the officers’ promises to help her in exchange for sex, one of the four women was sentenced to seven years in April of 2011 for possession of cocaine with the intent to sell, the Times reported.

If she does remain behind bars, then she could soon be joined there by the very men who allegedly abused her.

Yet another drug dealing cop.....

Veteran Reynoldsburg cop faces drug charges

BY SEAN ROWE THURSD

REYNOLDSBURG — Reynoldsburg Police Officer Tye L. Downard was arrested for possession with the intent to distribute and distribution of controlled substances. He appeared in federal court Thursday morning.

According to an affidavit, while Downard worked as a detective at the Reynoldsburg Police Department, the Columbus office of the FBI got word that Downard was using his job to engage in drug trafficking.

The FBI says they've corroborated evidence through recorded conversations, recorded telephone calls, physical surveillance and seizure of narcotics provided to a source in their investigation.

According to the FBI, the informant knew 43-year-old Downard for more than two years and dealt drugs for him for several months. Downard reportedly met the person in 2013 while executing a search warrant at a residence. Downard allegedly coerced the source into working as an informant for him in order to work off additional charges that Downard said he could bring against the informant.

It is alleged that, on 21 occasions between October 2015 and February 2016, Downard delivered drugs to an individual to sell. The complaint further alleges that Downard seized blue-and-white Percocet pills during a search warrant and provided blue-and-white Percocet pills to the individual to sell two days later. Likewise, Downard was involved in the execution of a search warrant that yielded several green glass canning-style jars containing harvested marijuana buds. The next day, Downard allegedly provided the individual with four green glass canning-style jars containing harvested marijuana buds.

Possession with intent to distribute controlled substances is a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison

We need a federal Cop czar to make these ruling uniform, otherwise 400 police departments will come up with 400 ruling on Klan Cops

Fired Cop Testifies Over Alleged Racist Texts

By Joan Murray

FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) — A Fort Lauderdale cop fired over alleged racist text messages testified Friday in an effort to get his job back.

Former Police Officer James Wells spoke for the first time about it on Friday after he and two other officers were fired in March 2015. Investigators said the texts were laced with racial slurs.

He insists he is not racist and was trying to convince an arbitrator his dismissal wasn’t fair and he should be reinstated.

Wells said the “n” word he used in the texts was used a lot on the streets and means different things. He also said his African-American friends called him the “n” word.

Wells said when he used the “n” word he was talking about what he referred to as “the worst of the criminals, not a specific race or gender.. the worst of the worst.”

“Do you have a negative image of African Americans” his attorney asked.

“Absolutely not,” replied Wells.

He said the texts are not who he is.

“I enjoy helping people,” he said.

Wells said some of his texts were taken out of context and often he was quoting from the movie “Django Unchained” which deals with slavery.

“The word hurt means I would arrest them,” said Wells.

When pressed by the city attorney to admit what he said was wrong, Wells acknowledged police officers are held to a higher standard.

“I thought I was assured privacy in those conversations,” Wells said about the messages

The texts were turned over to the Fort Lauderdale police department by the ex-fiance of former officer Alex Alvarez who resigned in January 2015. Alvarez was accused of making a racially charged home video that depicted the Ku Klux Klan and African Americans being mistreated.

Just a day before, the man who fired him, Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Frank Adderley, testified in the case. He called the racism scandal  the worst thing  he had ever seen.

“It was a black eye on the City of Fort Lauderdale,” Adderley said.

Adderley said the messages damaged the trust with the community and the words made it impossible to prosecute some suspects.

Broward prosecutor Tim Donnelly told the arbitrator that his office had to drop 18 cases where Wells was the arresting officer.

Wells maintains he isn’t a racist and the text messages were private conversations made in jest with friends on the force.

The arbitrator isn’t expected to issue a ruling until the spring.

Why the hell is the US Justice Department on this?

ASSOCIATED PRESS

SAN JOSE — A San Jose police officer who was fired last year for posting comments online that threaten those protesting the deaths of unarmed black men in Ferguson, Missouri, and New York is back on the force.

The San Jose Mercury News reported that Phillip White re-joined the San Jose Police Department on Feb. 10 after convincing an independent arbitrator that termination was too harsh a punishment for his actions.

White posted several comments to his Twitter account in December 2014 saying he would kill any anti-police protesters who threatened his family. He appeared to challenge demonstrators to confront him.

The department initially suspended him, and community activists demanded his dismissal. He was fired in October.

SJPD Acting Chief Eddie Garcia says White won't be on patrol and has been assigned to administer the department's body-worn camera program.

Virginia Senate passes bill to keep police officers’ names secret

By Radley Balko

Several years ago, local journalists noticed that three of the largest police agencies in Virginia — the Fairfax County Police Department, the Alexandria Police Department and the Arlington County Police Department — were summarily denying all open-records requests. Virginia actually has pretty decent open-records laws, but these agencies were simply choosing to ignore them. This came to light after a number of police shootings in which the agencies involved had refused to name the officers responsible. Journalist Michael Pope found that the agencies were even declining to release information about cases they were simultaneously touting in press releases.

This was essentially an open defiance of state law. Yet the Alexandria commonwealth’s attorney not only defended the lack of transparency, he blamed the media for wanting such information in the first place, and derisively referred to “the sacred ‘right of the public to know.’ ”

The Virginia Senate responded with some watered-down modifications to the state’s open-record laws. Even those modifications were vigorously opposed by law enforcement agencies across the state.

Fast-forward to this week. The Virginia Senate just passed a horrendous bill.

The Virginia Senate voted 25-15 on Monday to keep the names of all police officers and deputy sheriffs a secret.

SB552 by Sen. John Cosgrove, R-Chesapeake, applies to any local or state officer, including officers from agencies such as the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control and the Virginia Marine Police.

Cosgrove said during an earlier subcommittee hearing that he filed the bill in response to a November court ruling allowing The Virginian-Pilot access to names, agencies and employment dates for current Virginia police officers. The newspaper is examining how often officers who got in trouble were able to find other jobs in law enforcement.

Cosgrove said Monday that his bill, which exempts law enforcement officers from Freedom of Information Act requirements, should be passed to protect officers and their families from being targeted for violence.

“Unfortunately, our culture has changed,” he said. “Many times, police officers are considered fair game.”

Where to begin? Let’s start with the fact that this bill was introduced in direct response to a newspaper investigation into why police officers who are fired for misconduct are permitted to simply go work for another agency. Does Sen. Cosgrove believe that cops who are fired for corruption, misuse of force, or illegal acts should be able to find work at another police agency? Why doesn’t he want the public to know when and how often this happens?

Another Virginia state senator actually cited “ISIS terrorism” as a reason to keep the identities of police officers secret. For the record, Cosgrove claims membership in his local chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police and has been named Legislator of the Year by the FOP and the Virginia State Police Association. He has received campaign contributions from the latter and the Virginia Sheriffs Association.

The notion that “our culture has changed” is also wrong. As we’ve documented over and over again here at The Watch, policing has been getting safer for decades. (Yes, the start of 2016 has seen an inordinate number of killings of police officers. There’s no evidence this is indicative of a trend or is the beginning of a reversal of the generation-long trend toward fewer such killings.) I’m not aware of a single incident in which the publication of a police officer’s name after an officer-involved shooting has led to violence against that police officer or his or her family. In a few very high-profile cases, there have been threats. But to require police agencies to keep all officers’ names secret would essentially remove the ability of the media and watchdog groups to find patterns of officer misconduct. It would mean the public would be completely reliant on law enforcement agencies to police themselves. That’s a massive overreaction to a perceived threat for which there’s little to zero evidence.

It’s worth stating one more time exactly what’s happening here: Virginia’ state Senate thinks the public should be forbidden from knowing the names of the public servants entrusted with the power to detain, arrest and kill.

Let’s hope the Virginia House of Delegates ends this madness and kills the bill.

Radley Balko blogs about criminal justice, the drug war and civil liberties for The Washington Post. He is the author of the book "Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces."

In NYC, they jail and fire cops who murder people. In Fairfax County the Council helps the cops cover murder up

NYPD fires partner of cop convicted of manslaughter in stairwell shooting after victim's family calls for his dismissal

  Shaun Landau was fired after former partner, Peter Liang, was found guilty in the shooting death of unarmed Akai Gurley

   Landau avoided criminal charges by testifying under immunity agreement

  His termination came hours after the Gurley family called for his dismissal

   Liang could face up to 15 years in prison at his sentencing in April

By VALERIE EDWARDS FOR DAILYMAIL.COM and REUTERS

The New York Police Department fired the former partner of ex-cop Peter Liang less than 24 hours after Liang was convicted of shooting an unarmed man in Brooklyn.

Shaun Landau, the terminated officer, testified for the prosecution during Liang's trial.

Liang was convicted of manslaughter and official misconduct on Thursday for firing his gun in a darkened public housing stairwell in November 2014 as the two officers began a so-called 'vertical patrol'.

The bullet ricocheted off a wall and struck Akai Gurley, 28, who had been walking one floor below with his girlfriend.

Neither officer offered medical assistance to Gurley once they realized he had been hit by the shot. Both testified that they felt unqualified to do so because of poor CPR training at the police academy.

Landau avoided criminal charges by agreeing to testify under an immunity agreement. The police department said he had been fired at the discretion of Commissioner Bill Bratton.

Since Landau was a probationary officer — with less than two years on the job — the NYPD does not have to state a reason for the firing beyond 'unsatisfactory probation,' a law-enforcement source said.

His termination came hours after the Gurley family released a statement calling for his dismissal. Liang was fired immediately after the jury's verdict on Thursday.

 At trial, Liang said he was startled by an unidentified sound as he entered the stairwell with his gun drawn, causing his finger to slip onto the trigger and fire.

But 12 Brooklyn jurors agreed that Liang wasn't telling the truth about how the gun actually went off.

Retired candy-store owner and Juror No. 10, Carlton Screen, told the New York Post that when the jurors tested an unloaded gun it led them to conclude that the rookie had lied about not having his finger on the trigger when it fired.

'It was very hard to pull the trigger,' he said.

'They had another safety that's on the trigger itself, so you have to pull it hard enough to release that safety in order for it to fire.'

Liang had tearfully described his horror when he realized minutes later that Gurley had been hit.

But prosecutors accused him of deliberately firing toward the sound and ignoring the fact that only another person could have made such a noise.

They also said he acted recklessly in drawing his weapon in the first place.

Liang faces up to 15 years in prison at his sentencing in April.

Police-reform activists, who have come to expect disappointment any time an officer is accused in a killing, expressed surprise Friday over the conviction of a patrolman who shot an unarmed man in a housing project stairwell but said they don't necessarily see the case as a turning point in the national debate over police accountability.

'It's definitely movement in the right direction,' said Lumumba Bandele, a demonstrator who attended nearly every day of the patrolman's trial.

But, he added, 'It's not a victory in the larger scale of having made significant advances. We have a backlog of cases that have yet to be investigated, much less indicted.'

It was the first time in a decade a New York Police Department officer was held responsible for a line-of-duty killing.

The outcome stood in stark contrast to many other cases around the country in which police have been accused of killing unarmed black men and boys. 

Well said Mr. Statter, well said

From Dave Statter911

http://www.statter911.com/

           

Supervisor Herrity refuses to let colleagues shift blame for coverup in John Geer shooting case

Oct 28, 2015

  

Pat Herrity did what Sharon Bulova, Penny Gross and the rest of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors failed to do for more than two years. Herrity admitted publicly yesterday (Tuesday) it was the Board of Supervisors that approved the coverup in the John Geer police shooting case.

Supervisor Herrity spoke up at a work session after at least two board members tried to pin the cone of silence tactic on Ray Morrogh, the Commonwealth’s Attorney for Fairfax County. Herrity said, “The Board made the decision not to disclose.” He went on to elaborate the type of information that was withheld, which included the police officer’s name and any description of what occurred. Herrity also talked about the withholding of information about “discrepancies”, an apparent reference to the fact that fellow officers who witnessed the incident thought it was a bad shooting.

Chairman Bulova jumped into the conversation to remind Herrity they weren’t there to discuss “who struck John.”  This wasn’t exactly true. As long as the focus was on Ray Morrogh, Bulova was just fine with her fellow supervisors playing the blame game. But when Herrity chimed in with his reality check, the topic suddenly became off limits.

It was an interesting phrase Sharon Bulova used in her effort to divert the conversation away from Herrity’s candor. That’s because it appears Bulova knew a lot about who struck John well before any of us did. The public didn’t learn until January, thanks to significant outside pressure, that it was Officer Adam Torres who actually struck and killed John Geer with a bullet in August of 2013.

Herrity previously criticized the Board of Supervisors for making decisions in the Geer case behind closed doors. But Herrity’s public statement yesterday appears to be the first by someone who was in those closed door meetings, to clearly take full responsibility for the debacle that has harmed the image of the police department and the county government.

The continued lack of candor on this issue by Bulova, Gross and most of their colleagues remains a disgrace. Herrity’s comments are a reminder that instead of continuing to point fingers at others, the Board of Supervisors needs to look inward. It’s long past time for Bulova and company to release all documents and details on the Geer case decision making.

How can we expect to change the culture that will propel the Fairfax County Police Department into an age of transparency when the bosses are still covering up such important information?

If the average citizen knew how dangerous the cops are, they'd hire cops to watch the cops

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney’s Office

Eastern District of Missouri

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, January 28, 2016

Former Pine Lawn Lieutenant Convicted of Federal Charges

St. Louis, MO – Former Pine Lawn Lieutenant STEVEN BLAKENEY was convicted of criminal civil rights charges arising from his arrest in 2013 of a candidate for the office of Mayor of the City of Pine Lawn.

According to testimony presented at trial, on March 31, 2013, Blakeney, while a police officer with the City of Pine Lawn Police Department, conspired with others to cause the arrest of a mayoral candidate based on false allegations and without probable cause. Blakeney ordered another person to falsely report that the mayoral candidate had stolen a campaign poster from a local business and then arranged for the candidate to be arrested.           

Blakeney was convicted of one felony count of conspiracy against rights, one count of deprivation of rights under color of law and one count of falsification of records.  The four-day trial was held before United States District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh, Jr.  Sentencing has been set for May 4, 2016.

These charges carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000. In determining the actual sentence, a judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide recommended sentencing ranges.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Assistant United States Attorneys Reginald Harris and Jennifer Winfield handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.     

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney’s Office

Eastern District of New York

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Recently-Terminated NYPD Officer Arrested For Interstate Transportation Of Prostitutes

Former NYPD Officer Employed More Than Ten Prostitutes

Earlier today, a complaint was unsealed in Brooklyn federal court charging Eduardo Cornejo, a former officer with the New York City Police Department (NYPD) with transporting women in interstate commerce to engage in prostitution.[1]  Until his termination from the NYPD on January 15, 2016, Cornejo was an 11-year veteran of the NYPD who, at the time of the charged conduct, was on modified assignment and was, prior to that, assigned to the 79th Precinct in Brooklyn.  Cornejo is scheduled to be arraigned at 2 p.m. today before United States Magistrate Judge Steven M. Gold at the U.S. Courthouse, 225 Cadman Plaza East, Brooklyn, New York.

The charges were announced by Robert L. Capers, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Diego Rodriguez, Assistant Director-in-Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and William J. Bratton, Commissioner, NYPD.

“As alleged, the defendant betrayed the trust of the residents of the city he swore to protect,” stated United States Attorney Capers.  “Rather than seeking to eradicate crime from the streets of the city, the defendant promoted prostitution and profited from his exploitation of women.”  Mr. Capers praised the joint investigative efforts of the FBI and the Internal Affairs Bureau of the NYPD.   

“Throughout his alleged criminal actions, Cornejo not only abused the public trust given to him as an NYPD officer, but he showed no human decency when he facilitated the exploitation of women for profit.  Police officers, like all public servants, are held to a higher standard, and should not violate the very same laws they are supposed to enforce,” said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Rodriguez.

“I commend our Internal Affairs Bureau which takes a proactive role in investigating serious misconduct among the ranks of the NYPD and works closely with prosecutors in building cases against those who violate the very laws that they have sworn to enforce,” said NYPD Commissioner Bratton.

As detailed in the complaint, members of law enforcement observed Cornejo transporting at least ten different prostitutes he employed to motels throughout the New York metropolitan area, including parts of Long Island and New Jersey.  Cornejo often engaged in this conduct directly after leaving his work with the NYPD.

As further detailed in the complaint, pursuant to a lawfully authorized wiretap, law enforcement intercepted statements by Cornejo that showed his commission of the crime.  For example, in one such statement Cornejo discussed the way he divides monetary proceeds with the prostitutes he employs and also stated that, if he were to stand outside a motel door with “a bunch of girls,” law enforcement would “know what’s up real quick.”

If convicted, Cornejo faces up to ten years of incarceration.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Public Integrity Section.  Assistant United States Attorneys Alexander A. Solomon and Kevin Trowel are in charge of the prosecution.

The Defendant:

EDUARDO CORNEJO

Age: 33

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 16-M-69 (MDG)

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[1]  The charges in the complaint are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

USAO - New York, Eastern

Human Trafficking

Public Corruption

Download Cornejo_Complaint.pdf (521.91 KB)

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney’s Office

Western District of Kentucky

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, February 1, 2016

Former Police Officer And School Administrator Sentenced To 48 Months In Prison For Violating Sex Abuse Laws

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A Grayson County, Kentucky, former police officer and school administrator was sentenced to 48 months in prison followed by ten years of supervised release today, by Chief District Judge Joseph H. McKinley, for violating federal and state sex abuse laws, announced United States Attorney John E. Kuhn, Jr.

Stephen E. Miller, age 45, pleaded guilty to four counts in a superseding information, on July 30, 2015. Miller pleaded guilty to engaging in abusive sexual contact with three female students and third degree sodomy with a fourth female student.  The incidents occurred at Bluegrass Challenge Academy between February and August 2013. Miller is in the custody of the United States Marshall Service.

Miller previously worked as a police officer in Leitchfield, Kentucky.  He resigned the position following complaints of inappropriate conduct toward two women.  Miller then began working at Bluegrass Challenge Academy, a residential, educational program run by the Kentucky National Guard, located on Fort Knox Military Base.   Miller had supervisory authority over the Academy students.

John Smith, who was the director of Bluegrass Challenge Academy during the time, has been indicted for failure to report child abuse.If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of one year in prison, a fine of up to $100,000, and up to one year of supervised release.

Assistant United States Attorneys Amanda E. Gregory and Stephanie M. Zimdahl are prosecuting the case.  The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) with assistance from the Army Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation.

USAO - Kentucky, Western

Project Safe Childhood

Updated February 1, 2016

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney’s Office

Central District of California

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Two L.A. County Sheriff’s Deputies Involved in Use-of-Force Incident Against Shackled Inmate Found Guilty of Obstruction of Justice

           LOS ANGELES – Two Los Angeles Sheriff’s deputies who were assigned to the 3000 Floor of the Men’s Central Jail were found guilty this afternoon of falsifying reports with the intent to obstruct justice. The false reports were filed after an incident in which a shackled inmate was struck, kicked, repeatedly hit by a flashlight, and pepper-sprayed by the defendants.

        Concluding a two-week trial, a federal jury convicted former deputies Joey Aguiar, 28, and Mariano Ramirez, 40. Both men were found guilty of one count of falsifying records with the intent to obstruct justice, a charge that carries a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.

        The jury in the case was unable to reach a unanimous decision on a civil rights offense that alleges the deputies unlawfully beat the victim during the incident on February 11, 2009. The jury reported in open court that it was split 10-2 in favor of guilt.

        The jury acquitted Aguiar and Ramirez of conspiring to violate the inmate’s civil rights.

        United States District Judge Beverly Reid O’Connell scheduled a sentencing date for April 25. Federal prosecutors have yet to decide if they will retry Aguiar and Ramirez on the unresolved civil rights charge.

        Aguiar was convicted of one count of falsification of records for submitting a report that falsely stated the inmate, Bret Phillips, who is now 44, was beaten after he had attempted to headbutt deputy Aguiar’s face and that Phillips violently kicked at Aguiar. Mr. Phillips did neither, according to testimony presented at the trial.

        It was undisputed that Mr. Phillips was waist-chained with handcuffs binding his hands to a chain around his stomach throughout the entire beating.

        During the trial, Chaplin Paulino Juarez, who was an eyewitness to the event, testified that he repeatedly raised concerns about what he had seen with senior LASD officials, but was rebuffed. Chaplin Juarez ultimately relayed his concerns to the ACLU.  The information provided to the ACLU by the chaplain later came to the attention of the FBI.  By this time the FBI had begun a wide-ranging investigation into civil rights abuses by the LASD in custodial settings, particularly excessive uses of force by deputies on the 3000 Floor of the Men’s Central Jail. Another witness, who was an inmate when Mr. Phillips was beaten, testified that he hid in the shower to avoid being seen by LASD personnel as he watched the deputies beat a defenseless and unmoving inmate.

        Ramirez was found guilty of one count of falsification of records for submitting a report that falsely stated the victim had “viciously kicked his legs at deputies.”

        During the incident – which allegedly involved an excessive and unreasonable use of force, according to the still-pending charge in the case – Aguiar and Ramirez punched and kicked the victim before using pepper spray on him and then hitting him repeatedly with a flashlight, according to the testimony at trial.

        Soon after the incident, the deputies wrote the false reports, which formed the basis of a referral to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for potential criminal prosecution of Mr. Phillips.

        “These defendants failed to report accurately the circumstances surrounding the beating of an inmate who was restrained with waist chains in an attempt to obstruct a subsequent investigation,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “This failure to tell the truth and attempt to thwart oversight tarnishes the outstanding work of law enforcement officers everywhere.”

        The case against Aguiar and Ramirez is the result of an investigation by the FBI, and is one in a series of cases resulting from an investigation into corruption and civil rights abuses at county jail facilities in downtown Los Angeles. As a result of the investigation, 17 current or former members of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department have now been convicted of federal charges.

16-020

USAO - California, Central

Updated February 3, 2016

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney’s Office

Central District of California

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Former Chief of Los Angeles Port Police Pleads Guilty to False Statement and Tax Evasion Charges Related to Corruption Case

           LOS ANGELES – The former chief of police for the Port of Los Angeles pleaded guilty today to federal charges of tax evasion and making false statements to FBI agents who were investigating his acceptance of a bribe in connection with the development of a social networking program that would become the official smartphone app for the Port and would then be marketed to other law enforcement agencies.

        Ronald Jerome Boyd, 58, of Torrance, pleaded guilty this afternoon to three offenses and as a result faces a statutory maximum prison term of 11 years in federal prison.

        Boyd pleaded guilty before United States District Judge R. Gary Klausner on the day he was scheduled to go to trial on a 16-count indictment that was returned by a grand jury last year.

        Boyd pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigators about a scheme related to a smartphone app called Portwatch, which was developed to provide information to the public and to allow citizens to report criminal activity at the port.

        In 2011, Boyd and two business partners formed BDB Digital Communications, a company that entered into a revenue-sharing agreement with the company developing Portwatch. The parties involved with BDB intended to generate revenues by marketing and selling a similar app – called Metrowatch – to other government agencies. Boyd was set to receive approximately 13.33 percent of all gross revenues generated by the sale of the Metrowatch application.

        According to the indictment in this case, Boyd received his financial interest in return for guaranteeing that the Portwatch contract would be awarded to the company. Prosecutors and the defense have agreed to submit evidence regarding the bribery arrangement to Judge Klausner at sentencing.

        Boyd pleaded guilty today to making false statements to special agents with the FBI during an interview in October 2014. Boyd admitted that he lied to the investigators when he denied having any financial interest in Metrowatch or having engaged in a conflict of interest.

        “Public officials who use their position of leadership for unlawful personal gain erode the public’s trust in government,” said David Bowdich, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “Law enforcement officials at all levels have an obligation to uphold the law and remain loyal to the citizens they swore to serve.”

        Boyd also pleaded guilty to tax evasion in relation to his personal income tax return for 2011. In his plea agreement, Boyd admitted receiving income from a security business he operated, At Close Range. The income came from the owner of a company doing business with the Port, American Guard Services, and Boyd admitted that he failed to report that income on his personal income tax returns for years 2007 through 2011.

        Additionally, Boyd pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of failing to file a 2011 tax return for At Close Range. While he pleaded guilty to one only count of failing to file a tax return for At Close Range, Boyd admitted in his plea agreement that he failed to file tax returns for the business for years 2007 through 2011.

        The estimated loss of tax revenue to the Internal Revenue Service for Boyd’s conduct was more than $300,000.

        “Our largest enforcement program is directed at the portion of American taxpayers who willfully and intentionally violate their known legal duty of filing and paying their fair share of taxes,” said IRS Criminal Investigation’s Special Agent in Charge Erick Martinez.

        Judge Klausner scheduled a sentenced hearing for July 25.

        The case against Boyd is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and IRS – Criminal Investigation.

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney’s Office

Middle District of Florida

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, February 5, 2016

Former Police Department Employee Pleads Guilty To Computer Intrusion

Tampa, FL – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Tonia Bright (53, Tampa) pleaded guilty today to two counts of obtaining information from a protected computer for a fraudulent purpose.  Each count carries a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.  Her sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the plea agreement, Bright was a civilian employee of the Tampa Police Department and worked as a community service officer.  As part of her authorized duties, Bright took reports from citizens related to incidents not requiring the response of a sworn police officer.  In this capacity, she had access to local, state, and federal law enforcement databases, including the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) computerized index that contains the personally identifiable information (PII) of millions of individuals. Bright’s use of these databases was restricted to the performance of her authorized duties.

Between 2009 and 2014, Bright accessed NCIC and other password-protected law enforcement databases to obtain PII, and then provided it to her friend, Rita Monique Girven, on at least ten occasions. Girven used the information to file fraudulent federal income tax returns and claim refunds to which she was not entitled. When Girven received the fraudulently obtained refunds, she shared some of the proceeds with Bright.  Girven previously pleaded guilty in a separate case. On November 20, 2015, she was sentenced to 12 years in federal.

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, the Tampa Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Mandy Riedel and Megan Kistler.

USAO - Florida, Middle

StopFraud

Updated February 8, 2016

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney’s Office

Western District of Kentucky

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, February 1, 2016

Former Police Officer And School Administrator Sentenced To 48 Months In Prison For Violating Sex Abuse Laws

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A Grayson County, Kentucky, former police officer and school administrator was sentenced to 48 months in prison followed by ten years of supervised release today, by Chief District Judge Joseph H. McKinley, for violating federal and state sex abuse laws, announced United States Attorney John E. Kuhn, Jr.

Stephen E. Miller, age 45, pleaded guilty to four counts in a superseding information, on July 30, 2015. Miller pleaded guilty to engaging in abusive sexual contact with three female students and third degree sodomy with a fourth female student.  The incidents occurred at Bluegrass Challenge Academy between February and August 2013. Miller is in the custody of the United States Marshall Service.

Miller previously worked as a police officer in Leitchfield, Kentucky.  He resigned the position following complaints of inappropriate conduct toward two women.  Miller then began working at Bluegrass Challenge Academy, a residential, educational program run by the Kentucky National Guard, located on Fort Knox Military Base.   Miller had supervisory authority over the Academy students.

John Smith, who was the director of Bluegrass Challenge Academy during the time, has been indicted for failure to report child abuse.If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of one year in prison, a fine of up to $100,000, and up to one year of supervised release.

Assistant United States Attorneys Amanda E. Gregory and Stephanie M. Zimdahl are prosecuting the case.  The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) with assistance from the Army Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation.