Mayor Throws City Manager & Interim Police Chief Under Bus and Apologizes

After FPD interim chief Kevin Hamilton apologized to the Nordell family and after Mrs. Nordell accepted the apology, Fullerton's Mayor Dick Jones said that it wasn't until the apology was placed on the council's meeting agenda did the council begin to get information.

Mayor Jones went on to blame the lines of communication between the council and police chief are poor. 

"Its not real easy to get information out of departments.  We don't have direct access to them," said Mayor Jones who added "Usually the information chain goes through the City Manager to us."

Mayor Jones apologized as both the Mayor of Fullerton as well as an individual.

The Mayor uses the excuse of poor communication as a way to not apologize for the council's clear lack of concern until a month ago after a year-long bureaucratic ordeal.  The Mayor's admission of poor communication tells us a few other things as well:

1. The Mayor is aware that his department heads and managers are not openly communicating very important information to the council;
2. Our fears of a dysfunctional City Hall are justified;
3. The severity and depth of corruption within the walls of the FPD is being kept from the Fullerton City Council;
4. The Fullerton City Council is ill-informed and, therefore, unable to adequately govern;
5. The Mayor and perhaps other council members do not seek out information on their own from department heads, choosing instead to rely solely on the City staff and the Council's meeting agenda;
6. If the Council is being kept in the dark, how much is being kept from Fullerton residents? 

The City Council should be given progress reports from each department regarding allegations of misconduct.  The Council should know that their were several reports against former Fullerton cop Albert Rincon alleging sexual assault, kidnapping, battery, false imprisonment, etc. all under the color of authority.  And when Federal Judge Andrew Guilford slammed the City saying, "the City’s failure to investigate or punish sexual harassment allegations suggests tacit authorization."

But the Judge didn't stop there. "As stated above, Plaintiffs raise a triable issue of fact as to exactly when the City first learned about allegations against Rincon. The sheer volume of incidents in 2008 alone relative to Rincon’s arrests is sufficient to call into question what exactly the City knew or should have known before November 2008."

It would appear that the command staff of FPD chose not to do anything. 

The sergeants, lieutenants, captains, and chief (McKinley at the time Rincon was implicated) ALL CHOSE TO DO NOTHING.

Last night I suggested the council publicly share what a contract with the Orange County Sheriff's Department might look like.  How much money would we save, not just from law suits but from the actual contract services? $5-million?  $10-million?  More??? 

And if you wondered why the FPD should be scrapped, please read this conclusion from U.S. Judge Andrew Guilford:

You can read the entire Motion for Summary Judgement at FullertonsFuture.org.

seven women certainly raises questions about the City’s custom and practice around sexual assault. Requiring Rincon to attend “pat-down” training is weak sauce that does nothing to hide the unpleasant taste of complicity. At the end of the day, the City put Rincon back onto the streets to continue arresting women despite a pattern of sexual harassment allegations. A reasonable juror could conclude, based on these facts, that the City imply did not care about what its officers did to women during arrest.

Most shocking is the City’s weak “Reprimand” of Rincon. If one woman had brought an allegation of sexual assault, then the Court could understand how the City might have concluded that the allegations were not believable, and find no misconduct on Rincon’s part. But to dismiss the accounts of

Clearly the Fullerton City Council has relinquished their elected authority and are no longer able to effectively communicate or lead.

How long will Fullerton residents allow this to continue before they have had enough?

Do government agencies share information?

Not very well according to a new book out by the National Defense Intelligence College and made available through the National Technical Information Service.  The only thing more obscure than these two federal agencies which few outside the walls of federal institutions have ever heard of, might be this book.

Some in-the-know government agents have put their minds together to look at the way intelligences agencies interact.  Since 9/11 the intel community has struggled to work with one another and divulge information to law enforcement. 

The book is a collage of essays and analysis of various operations around the world.

So, why bring up this book here and now?  For starters, the text on the cover, "CAN'T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG?"  Those words were spoken by Rodney King after surviving a beating by LAPD officers and the riots that ensued after the officers were acquitted.  King walked away with $3.8-million.

Now, in the aftermath of Kelly Thomas's death at the hands of several Fullerton Police officers, I'm wondering how well the Fullerton Police Department, the Orange County District Attorney's Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigations, and the City's hired consultant will share their intel with one another. 

Maybe if the parties involve would just talk to one another, it would be a good start.  However, we are not hearing much of anything from anyone.  Are the Fullerton Officers at the scene on July 5th cooperating with ALL of the investigations?  Are the agencies sharing information with each other?  Are other "incidents" involving the FPD being investigated by the OCDA or FBI? 

Lastly, something the book doesn't address is sharing information with the public. 

Go ahead and keep us in the dark; we'll see how long that lasts!

Seven Real Estate Professionals Indicted for Mortgage Fraud

SACRAMENTO, CA—United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced today the unsealing of an indictment charging seven real estate professionals with conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme. The indictment was returned by a federal grand jury on July 14, 2011.

Charged in the case are Moctezuma Tovar, 42; Manuel Herrera, 31; Ruben Rodriguez, 34; and Jaime Mayorga, 32, all licensed real estate agents residing in Sacramento; Sandra Hermosillo, 49, of Woodland, formerly a loan officer; Jun Michael Dirain, 38, of Antelope, formerly a loan processor; and Christian Parada Renteria, 35, of Sacramento, formerly a loan officer. The indictment alleges that Tovar owned and operated Delta Homes and Lending Inc, a real estate and mortgage lending company where he and the other defendants were employed. Between October 2004 and May 2007, the defendants are alleged to have conspired to obtain home loans from mortgage lenders based upon false and fraudulent loan applications and supporting documents that falsely represented the borrowers’ assets and income, liabilities and debts, employment status, and citizenship status. The indictment alleges that, as part of the scheme, the defendants provided money to borrowers in order to fraudulently inflate the borrowers’ assets and bank account balances. Once the defendants had secured approved loans based upon their fraudulent representations to lenders, the borrowers returned the money the defendants had provided for the scheme. The indictment alleges that mortgage lenders and others suffered losses of at least $4 million, and that the aggregate sales prices of the homes involved in the conspiracy exceeded $10 million.

This case is the product of an extensive investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Dominique N. Thomas is prosecuting the case.

U.S. Attorney Wagner said: “Fraud schemes such as the one alleged in this case, in which real estate professionals submitted false information and phony documents to obtain mortgage loans, are one of the major reasons why this part of California was hit with a foreclosure crisis that negatively impacted home values for many, many homeowners. This office will continue to root out and prosecute fraudsters in the residential real estate industry.”

If convicted, the defendants face a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

The charges are only allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Mortgage fraud is a priority area for the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes. For more information on the task force, visit www.StopFraud.gov.

Source: http://www.fbi.gov/sacramento/press-releases/2011/seven-real-estate-professionals-indicted-for-mortgage-fraud

FBI Seeks La Habra Man

La Habra Man Charged with Defrauding Elderly Couple Considered Fugitive, Wanted by the FBI

A La Habra man charged with defrauding an elderly couple is being sought by the FBI after he failed to appear for a court hearing on June 27th, 2011.

John Arthur Walthall, 55, was arrested by the FBI in 2009 for defrauding an elderly Laguna Nigel couple out of nearly $5 million, according to an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Orange County. Walthall faces charges including multiple counts of wire fraud. The indictment states that the victims, both of whom were in their late 80s, gave Walthall more than $4.7 million dollars to invest in technology aimed at finding gold in abandoned mines.

Walthall’s trial is currently scheduled for September 13, 2011. A recent motion was filed by the government seeking to revoke Walthall’s bond due to findings that he had been exaggerating a medical condition in order to avoid trial. On June 23, 2011, Judge Andrew J. Guilford ordered Walthall to appear at a hearing to address the government’s motion on June 27, 2011 at 3:00p.m. Walthall did not appear at the hearing and Judge Guilford issued a bench warrant for his arrest.

Walthall is described as follows:
Race: White
DOB: 9/13/55
Hair: Brown
Height: 5’8”
Eyes: Hazel
Weight: 195

A Department of Motor Vehicles photograph of Walthall, dated March 2010, is being released to the media.
According to the indictment, Walthall convinced the victims to invest in a partnership called “Advanced Recycling General Partners,” for the purported purpose of searching for and extracting gold from old mines. Walthall allegedly told the elderly couple that he had invested more than $3 million of his own money in more than a decade worth of research in the gold extraction process.

The large majority of the couple’s money was not used for its intended purpose, but was used by Walthall for his own gold investments and personal expenses, including making alimony and child support payments for his four children; paying rent and other living expenses. In addition, Walthall allegedly used investor money to purchase multiple vehicles and luxury items: among them a $10,000 payment to a film school and a hyperbaric oxygen chamber worth approximately $60,000.

When Walthall was arrested in 2009, agents found approximately $500,000 in gold coins under his bed during a search of his residence. Agents also seized three vehicles Walthall had purchased with investor money, including two Ford Excursions and a Ford 450 pick-up truck.

Anyone with information as to the whereabouts of Walthall is urged to contact the FBI 24 hours a day at 888 CANT HIDE (888 226-8443).

This continuing investigation is being conducted by the FBI. Walthall will be prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office in the Central District of California. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

PRESS CONTACT:
FBI Media Relations: Laura Eimiller, 310 996-3343
United States Attorney’s Office: Thom Mrozek, 213 894-6947

BROOKLYN MAN CONVICTED OF CONSPIRACY TO KILL U.S. SOLDIERS

BROOKLYN MAN CONVICTED OF CONSPIRACY TO KILL U.S. SOLDIERS ABROAD AND ATTEMPTING TO PROVIDE MATERIAL SUPPORT TO AL-SHABAAB

BROOKLYN, NY – Following a two-week trial in the Eastern District of New York, a federal jury convicted Betim Kaziu today of conspiring to commit murder overseas, conspiring to provide material support to terrorism, attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, and conspiring to use a machine gun in furtherance of those crimes. The evidence at trial established that the defendant traveled from Brooklyn to Cairo, Egypt, in February 2009 in order to wage violent jihad against United States troops in the Middle East and the Balkans. While in Cairo, the defendant also attempted to acquire automatic weapons and to travel to Somalia to join al-Shabaab, a Somali terrorist organization allied with al-Qaeda. Ultimately, the defendant traveled to Kosovo in an effort to target American troops stationed there, or to travel onward to Pakistan to join al-Qaeda.

While in the Balkans, the defendant recorded a martyrdom video on the Albanian coast of his “last few moments” before he expected to depart for jannah, or paradise reserved for martyrs. Shortly thereafter, on August 27, 2009, the defendant was arrested in Kosovo by the Kosovo Police Service. He was then transferred to the custody of agents and detectives of the New York Joint Terrorism Task Force to face terrorism charges filed in the Eastern District of New York. At the time of his arrest, the defendant had already purchased a ticket to travel to Pakistan on September 15, 2009.

Testimony at trial established that the defendant had been radicalized, in part, by Internet speeches by Anwar al-Awlaki and propaganda videos produced by al-Qaeda and al-Shabaab. The government also introduced at trial evidence from the defendant’s social networking website, including quotes by Osama Bin Laden.

The defendant faces a sentence of up to life in prison. Sentencing has been scheduled for November 4, 2011.

The convictions were announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Joint Terrorism Task Force in New York.

“Through our judicial system, we have brought to justice a homegrown terrorist who conspired to kill U.S. troops overseas,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. “We are committed to using all available tools to combat terrorism wherever it threatens our citizens and our country.” Ms. Lynch thanked the government of Kosovo, the U.S. State Department, the Department of Justice Office of International Affairs, and the New York City Police Department for their assistance.

The government’s case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Shreve Ariail, Seth D. DuCharme and Ali Kazemi, with assistance provided by Joanna Baltes of the National Security Division.

Source: http://www.justice.gov/usao/nye/pr/2011/2011jul07.html

FBI Warns Internet Users of Trojan

Email Impersonating The FBI Containing A Trojan

Another fraudulent email campaign has begun claiming to be from the FBI telling recipients they have visited 40 illegal websites. The IC3 ("Ice Cube") issued warnings about these particular email campaigns in 2005 and 2006 by releasing three PSAs on February 23, 2005, November 22, 2005, and July 24, 2006. The fraudulent email mentioned in the first PSA claimed the FBI logged the recipient's IP address on more than 40 illegal websites. The next two PSAs mentioned the emails that claimed the FBI logged the recipient's IP address on more than 30 illegal websites. All the emails instructed the recipient to answer questions in the attachment, which contained malware.

The PSA from February 23, 2005 stated the FBI has become aware of spam email fraudulently claiming to be from fbi.gov accounts. The email appeared to be sent from the email addresses of police@fbi.gov, fbi@fbi.gov, officer@fbi.gov, and web@fbi.gov. The recipients were told the FBI had logged their IP addresses on more than 40 illegal sites. The email instructed them to answer questions in the attachment, which contained a W32.Sober.K@mm worm.

In 2005, the IC3 began seeing complaints reporting fraudulent emails purportedly from the FBI claiming the recipient went to more than 30 illegal sites. The IC3 received over 5,300 related complaints in that year alone. The number of related complaints drastically dropped the following year to approximately 130 complaints. After 2006, the IC3 has only received two related complaints, one in 2007 and one in 2008.

Also in 2005, the IC3 began seeing complaints reporting fraudulent emails purportedly from the FBI claiming the recipient went to more than 40 illegal sites. That year, a total of approximately 1,600 related complaints were filed. No other complaints were reported until the beginning of this year, with more than 300 so far being filed.

As in the earlier email versions mentioned above, fraudsters are still using spoofed email addresses with an fbi.gov email extension. Recipients are still being told the FBI has logged their IP address on more than 40 illegal sites, and they need to answer the questions in the attachment, which contains malware.

Source: http://www.ic3.gov/media/2011/110714.aspx

Army Private Charged with Attempting to Board Flight While Possessing Small Amount of Explosive

U.S. Attorney’s Office - District of Arizona
July 14, 2011

YUMA, AZ—United States Army Private First Class Christopher Eric Wey, 19, was arrested and charged today with Attempt to Carry an Explosive on an Aircraft and Transportation of a Stolen Explosive.

On Wednesday, July 13, Wey attempted to board a United Airlines flight from Yuma, Ariz., to Los Angeles. During a standard Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screening at the Yuma International Airport, security officers detected the presence of explosives in Wey’s baggage. TSA personnel subsequently found one-half ounce of C4 explosive hidden in a tobacco can inside one of Wey’s bags. Wey was detained for investigation, and interviewed by Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The Complaint alleges that Wey stole the C4 while attending a recent explosive training course. Authorities found no evidence to believe that Wey intended any harm with the small amount of explosives in his possession.

A conviction for Attempt to Carry an Explosive on an Aircraft and Transportation of a Stolen Explosive carries a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment, and a $250,000 fine. In determining an actual sentence, the sentencing judge will consult the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide appropriate sentencing ranges. The judge, however, is not bound by those guidelines in determining a sentence.

A criminal complaint is simply the method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until competent evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The investigation in this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution is being handled by John Boyle, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix.

CASE NUMBER: CR-11-9699-M
RELEASE NUMBER: 2011-149(Wey)

Source: http://www.fbi.gov/phoenix/press-releases/2011/army-private-charged-with-attempting-to-board-flight-while-possessing-small-amount-of-explosive