Recent News From The Homeland Atrocity Department

Recent News From The Homeland Atrocity Department

NOTICE: Some may marvel at the length of this list, but what amazes me is its brevity. In all likelihood, these news items represent the tip of the iceberg of official crime and corruption. However, please remember that these news items were selected from the Google internet news, and that just because something is reported in the news does not mean it is true. By the same token however, just because something is not reported in the news does not mean it did not happen. For all we know every person mentioned here is completely innocent. By inalienable right, a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, even if the government chooses to ignore this right.

Note: The motivations for this compilation of the news are several:

• To highlight the inevitably corrupting effects on society in general and the justice system in particular resulting from the many "victimless crime laws" (laws such as the now repealed Alcohol Prohibition, as well as laws outlawing narcotics, gambling, prostitution, pornography, firearm possession, and every other law restricting contracts or mutually-satisfactory arrangements between consenting adults.)
• To alert citizens to the imminent danger of the encroaching paramilitary police state wherein we sacrifice out liberties and our right to self-defense but find outselves at greater danger from official miscreants and gangsters with badges than we are from terrorists.
• To help shine the light on government's desire to hide in the shadow of official secrecy. The best disinfectant is sunlight!

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Corrections Officer Arrested
WAWS - 5 hours ago
Detectives with the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office’s Organized Crime Unit arrested a 37 year-old, Sheriff’s Office Correctional ...

Anderson County Detention Officer Arrested On Incest, Assault ...
Carolina Channel.com, SC - May 18, 2004
ANDERSON -- An officer at the Anderson County Detention Center is behind bars Tuesday after being charged with one count of incest. Investigators say Lt. ...

Officer arrested for family violence
Conroe Courier, TX - May 18, 2004
Brant Matthew Finley, 26, of Sweet Dream Place, was booked into the Montgomery County Jail Sunday night. Finley allegedly assaulted ...

Police Officer Indicted In Mob Probe
Boston Channel.com, MA - 7 hours ago
BOSTON -- A Fall River, Mass., police officer was charged Wednesday with perjury and obstruction of justice for allegedly lying to a federal grand jury ...

Officer charged with perjury and obstruction of justice
The Herald News, MA - 13 hours ago
BOSTON — The Fall River Police Department was dealt a severe blow Wednesday when another of its officers was indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly ...

Ex-police officer indicted on rape charge
Ironton Tribune, OH - May 18, 2004
A Lawrence County grand jury has hand down indictments against 19 people, including a former Ironton city employee and Coal Grove and Hanging Rock police ...

5 on panel defend SROs
Cedartown Standard, GA - 7 hours ago
... unjustified and vicious.”. The accusations of officer misconduct were brought up by board member Frank Plant. He listed several ...

Judge Questions LAPD's Failure to Enact Reforms
Los Angeles Times (subscription), CA - 13 hours ago
... concerned with how the LAPD processes citizen complaints and with delays in creating a centralized database for tracking officer misconduct and incidents in ...

Policeman's reports are investigated
Ledger Dispatch, CA - May 19, 2004
... language. At prosecutors' request, Judge Leslie Landau on April 12 dismissed all six cases on grounds of officer misconduct. In ...

Cops investigate their own
San Francisco Examiner, CA - May 18, 2004
... The Office of Citizen's Complaints is investigating 35 complaints of officer misconduct during those demonstrations, but only one case, Nelson's, has been ...

Status iffy on decree deadline
Los Angeles Daily News, CA - May 18, 2004
... more regular auditing of divisions and officers, better investigations of officer-involved shootings and stepped-up sting operations to catch officer misconduct ...

Command officer pleads guilty to misdemeanor
Muskegon Chronicle, MI - May 19, 2004
By John S. Hausman. A suspended Muskegon Heights Police command officer has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of domestic violence ...

Former police officer pleads guilty to ramming girlfriend's car
WOOD-TV, MI - May 18, 2004
(Muskegon County, May 18, 2004, 6:13 pm) A former Muskegon Heights police officer accused of ramming his girlfriend's car has pled guilty to the crime. ...

Officer Pleads To Smuggling Heroin Into Jail
Boston Channel.com, MA - May 18, 2004
BOSTON -- A former Bristol County correctional officer pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to corruption and smuggling heroin into the county jail, the US ...

Court officer suspended after arrest in drug sale
Philadelphia Inquirer (subscription), PA - May 19, 2004
By Thomas J. Gibbons Jr. A Common Pleas Court probation officer has been placed on involuntary leave without pay after her arrest ...

Border services officer charged with marijuana smuggling
Montreal Gazette, Canada - 12 hours ago
A Canada Border Services Agency officer and another Canadian citizen have been charged with conspiracy after the officer was arrested while allegedly ... [editorial note: another political prisoner!]

Officer charged with indecent assault
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA - 16 hours ago
A Wilkinsburg police officer was charged Wednesday with indecent assault in a case turned over to the county District Attorney's Office by the borough's former ...

SWAT officer's trial goes to jury
Tallahassee Democrat, FL - May 19, 2004
MIAMI - A police SWAT officer charged with covering up the planting of a toy gun after fatally shooting a suicidal man has become the scapegoat for a botched ...

Newington cop case continued
New Britain Herald, CT - May 19, 2004
NEW BRITAIN -- Pretrial discussions in the case of a town police officer charged with grabbing and restraining a Farmington woman were continued Tuesday in New ...

Officer charged with assault
Durham Herald Sun, NC - May 18, 2004
BY ERIC OLSON : The Herald-Sun. DURHAM -- Durham police charged one of their own officers with assault on a female Tuesday afternoon ...

PROSECUTION OBJECTS; BLACK MAN WAS SHOT IN UNDERCOVER DRUG DEAL ...
Lexington Herald Leader, KY - May 18, 2004
... years. Mattingly is the first officer charged in any of the shootings. As in previous shootings, Newby's death sparked protests. ...

St. Louis Mayor to Name Police Probe Team
The State, SC - 17 hours ago
... suspects. In March, two officers fired a combined 28 shots at a car driven by a suspect. No one was hurt in that incident. Assaults ...

Dallas Officer Fired Following Bribery Charges
NBC5i.com, TX - May 19, 2004
FORT WORTH, Texas -- Dallas police fired officer Frank Hasty after he was arrested and suspended last week on bribery charges. Undercover ...

Board seeks drug-abuse, mental-health funding
Toledo Blade, OH - May 19, 2004
... LIMA, Ohio - A Lima police officer fired in 2001 after breaking down a resident's door without a warrant will get his job back along with back pay. ...

Former deputy arrested in meth case
Oregonian, OR - 8 hours ago
HILLSBORO -- A former Washington County sheriff's deputy was arrested Wednesday on accusations of stealing methamphetamine he seized as a member of the ...

Deputy suspended over alleged assault
Stuart News, FL - 14 hours ago
By Will Greenlee staff writer. ST. LUCIE COUNTY — A St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office correctional deputy received an eight-day ...

Deputy suspended pending court case
Rapid City Journal, SD - 16 hours ago
RAPID CITY — A Pennington County sheriff's deputy has been suspended pending resolution of a felony charge filed against him. ...

Deputy suspended under suspicion of stealing cigarettes
Americus Times-Recorder, GA - 16 hours ago
AMERICUS -- A Sumter County deputy has been suspended pending an inquiry by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation into a shoplifting incident. ...

Sheriff ’ s Office fires deputies
The Advertiser, LA - 15 hours ago
... A 24-year veteran of the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office said he was escorted off the premises Wednesday, one of several deputies fired unexpectedly in ...

Trooper suspended after assault incident at local hotel
The Times and Democrat, SC - May 17, 2004
By RICHARD WALKER, T&D Staff Writer. A South Carolina Highway Patrol trooper was arrested Monday and placed on suspended leave after ...

Off-duty state trooper charged with assault
Myrtle Beach Sun News, SC - May 18, 2004
COLUMBIA - State agents have charged a state trooper with assault after they say he hit a man with the butt of a gun and his car at an Orangeburg County motel ...

Constable Arrested on Drug Charges
WKYT, KY - 21 hours ago
The Letcher County Sheriff's Department says Tommy Joe Pease of Mayking was arrested Tuesday in Perry County by Kentucky State Police and ATF Agents. ...

Oakbrook Terrace Cops Indicted For Shooting, Cover-Up
Officer.com - May 19, 2004
... afternoon. The officers face official misconduct and obstruction of justice charges, each count carrying up to five years in prison. ...

Federal civil rights suit in Tulia case dismissed
Amarillo Globe News, TX - May 19, 2004
... The arrests spurred accusations of racism and official misconduct and eventually led Gov. Rick Perry to issue pardons for nearly all the defendants. ... [Editorial note: this ought to be a bigger story.]

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Federal civil rights suit in Tulia case dismissed
The 46 people arrested in a 1999 drug bust officially ended their parts in the ongoing Tulia saga with the dismissal of a federal civil rights lawsuit.

Following the negotiation of a $6 million settlement by all parties involved in the suit, U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson signed an order dated April 30 dismissing the action, which was filed by two of the Tulia defendants.

The one-page order dismisses the lawsuit and assigns all legal costs to the parties that accrued the costs.

The two women who filed the suit - Tonya White and Zury Bossett - were among 46 people, 39 of them black, who were arrested in 1999 after an 18-month undercover investigation by itinerant lawman Tom Coleman.

The arrests spurred accusations of racism and official misconduct and eventually led Gov. Rick Perry to issue pardons for nearly all the defendants.

The federal lawsuit was filed last year against the 30 cities and counties that made up the Panhandle Regional Narcotics Trafficking Task Force, which supervised the undercover operation.

The city of Amarillo led off the settlement process by agreeing to pay $5 million and disband the task force, which the city headed. The other cities and counties negotiated settlement amounts ranging from $80,000 to $5,000 to make up the remaining $1 million.

Although the lawsuit was filed by only two of the Tulia defendants, the settlement covers everyone who was arrested in the sting.

Adam Levin, an attorney with the Washington law firm of Hogan and Hartson, said the final disposition of the suit gives all the parties involved a chance to move on.

"This case was never solely about the money, it was about bringing closure to our clients whose lives have been tainted by the Tulia drug sting," Levin said. "I hope the dismissal will bring some closure to the residents of the Panhandle while also serving as a lesson for how justice should be administered."

Although the part for the Tulia defendants has ended, other aspects of the controversy are still alive.

Coleman is facing prosecution on three counts of aggravated perjury for allegedly lying under oath in evidentiary hearings. His trial was set for this month, but it has been delayed as prosecutors seek a change of venue.

District Attorney Terry McEachern also will be facing a court date where he will answer a complaint filed by the State Bar of Texas alleging prosecutorial misconduct. McEachern, who lost his bid for re-election in March, could lose his law license if he loses at the trial, which should happen later this year.

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Cops accused of lying after shots fired outside tavern
Chicago Sun Times, IL - May 19, 2004
... Scales was charged with aggravated assault, reckless discharge of a firearm, official misconduct and obstructing justice. Winninger ...

Airport probe may lead to array of charges
Alton Telegraph, IL - May 19, 2004
... block of Sequoia Street, Bethalto, was charged in early April in Madison County Circuit Court with one count of bribery and two counts of official misconduct. ...

Former drug task force director charged with stealing drugs
WTHR, IN - May 18, 2004
... methamphetamine. Former Elkhart County Drug Task Force Director Larry Towns faces 13 charges including theft and official misconduct. ...

Avert tragedy by teaching kids to respect authority
St. Petersburg Times, FL - 13 hours ago
... a local political activist, is facing inciting-to-riot charges because he exercised his First Amendment right to oppose an incident of police brutality that he ...

Brown disabled bodies on streets around the world
San Francisco Bay View, CA - 16 hours ago
... in San Francisco of Cammerin Boyd is another example that the above questions must be looked at by a collective group of police brutality and disability ...

St. Louis Police board OKs Civilian Review Board
Officer.com - May 19, 2004
... But a spokesman for a community group concerned about police brutality called the oversight board "a way to paper over the issue.''. ...

America ’ s enemy is injustice
Final Call, IL - May 18, 2004
... Saddam Hussein didn’t do that. There are mob attacks and police brutality on Black people, racial profiling, which our president has not spoken against. ...

Police Raid at Chicago Housing Projects
Revolutionary Worker Online, IL - May 18, 2004
... As Carl Dix, national spokesperson for the Revolutionary Communist Party, pointed out, "The fact is that the police brutality and oppression of Black and ...

How much Brutality Can The Black Community Take?
Infoshop News - May 18, 2004
... in Cincinnati, OH) and became overwhelmed with frustration. This display was a gruesome reality of the barbaric arrogance of Amerikan police brutality. ...

Informant testifies on behalf of boxer
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA - May 17, 2004
... Clay's lawyer, Robert Del Greco, is arguing in the nonjury trial that police held a grudge against Clay because of a police brutality lawsuit he filed against ...

Degorski sues former jail guard
Pioneer Press Online, IL - 10 hours ago
... civil case, Degorski is suing Wilson as an individual for having no legal cause for punching him multiple times in the face and for excessive force for causing ...

Teen shot by Jupiter officer settles suit
Palm Beach Post, FL - 17 hours ago
... wrong.". The shooting led to allegations that former Jupiter police officer Jonathan Lloyd used excessive force when firing at Smith. ...

Hundreds protest Rafah operation
Maariv International, Israel - May 19, 2004
... Police used excessive force against protestors, the level of violence was shocking”, Attorney Michael Sfarad who represents the “courage to refuse ...  [Editorial Note: This article is not domestic, but demands recognition since it amounts to a continuation of officially sanctioned genocide and ethnic cleansing in Palestine.]

California Briefs
San Mateo Daily Journal, CA - May 18, 2004
... SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco Police Chief Heather Fong has filed charges against an officer accused of using excessive force against a woman whose arm was ... [Editorial Note: the woman whose arm was broken was not holding a fajita at the time...]

LAPD Overseer Requests Larger Staff
Los Angeles Times (subscription), CA - May 18, 2004
... was worked out in 2001 by the city and the Department of Justice after the federal government had accused the LAPD of a pattern of excessive force and false ...

Louisville police may get Tasers
Lexington Herald Leader, KY - 13 hours ago
... McKenzie Mattingly was indicted on charges of murder and wanton endangerment in the death of 19-year-old Michael Newby, who was shot in the back three times in ...

Group stages rally to seek action in probes of people killed by ...
Pittsburgh Post Gazette, PA - 17 hours ago
... also demanded that US Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan release findings in the case of Michael Ellerbe, a 12-year-old boy who was shot in the back and killed in ...

Officials say recruiting efforts will offset retirement wave
GovExec.com - 2 hours ago
... The amendments included allowing agencies to award bonuses more easily, giving employees time off for traveling during off-duty hours and added vacation ... [Editorial note: as my most excellent friend was fond of saying, "Oh, good!"]

Former SFPD chief retires following fight with son in Arizona
KPHO Phoenix, AZ - 6 hours ago
... After his son, then a rookie, and two other off-duty officers were arrested in a street brawl, the elder Fagan and five other high-ranking police officials ... [Editorial Note: Not fajitas again! Doh.Donuts are safer...]

Suspended cop turns in his badge
Canton Repository (subscription), OH - 13 hours ago
... Besides the claims against Pressley and Fowler, a complaint has been filed against police officer Anthony Jackson, who was off-duty and at a bar when he pulled ...

Officers face misconduct charges
WLS, IL - May 19, 2004
... Scales who was off duty and happens to be an owner of Ocean's 11 was holding a patron at gunpoint. The patron was located in a dumpster," said Birkett. ...

Jail supervisor questioned for behavior, arrest warrant
KOB-TV, NM - May 19, 2004
... represents the jail. The metro jail does have a policy about conduct unbecoming of an off-duty officer. A Metropolitan Detention ...

Phoenix firefighter accused of arson released from jail
KVOA.com, AZ - May 19, 2004
... According to the documents, Brewster was owed several thousand dollars by the homeowners for concrete work he had done on the home in an off-duty business. ...

Parma police-pay investigator runs out of money
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH - May 19, 2004
... has said the investigation is taking longer than he first anticipated because he subpoenaed police bank records, income tax statements, off-duty pay records ...

Firefighter questioned in petroleum spill
The Journal News.com, NY - May 19, 2004
... Cappello, who was suspended in March, is accused of refusing a superior officer's order while he was responding to an off-duty fire call and of failing to show ...

Patrol Investigates Second Report
WOWT, NE - May 18, 2004
The Nebraska State Patrol confirms that a second complaint has been filed against an off-duty officer. Channel 6 News reported the ...

Fired officer's libel suit alleges misdeeds by borough police
NEPA News, PA - May 18, 2004
... the allegations. The lawsuit recounts an alleged incident in which an off-duty detective threatened to kill his girlfriend. It also ...

Greenwood-Based State Trooper Charged With Assault
Carolina Channel.com, SC - May 18, 2004
... March. The State Law Enforcement Division says Lt. Danny Webb was off duty when he pulled out a gun and pointed it at a man. SLED ...

Deputy's two shootings under investigation
KHOU, TX - May 18, 2004
... during an arrest. On May 8, Wilkinson shot and wounded another man while working off-duty security at Deerbrook Mall. Wilkinson said ...

Probationary police officer faces DWI charge
The Journal News.com, NY - May 18, 2004
... the force. An Internal Affairs investigation was under way, the chief said. Raynor said Wuttke was off duty at the time. He was ...

COPS: DELI THIEF GETS A KNUCKLE SANDWICH
New York Post, NY - May 18, 2004
May 18, 2004 -- An off-duty public safety officer bent on robbing a Long Island deli apparently bit off more than he could chew when customers and employees ...

Deputy who killed driver had shot man 8 days ago
Houston Chronicle, TX - May 17, 2004
... On May 8, Wilkinson shot and wounded 36-year-old Robert E. Barkley while working off-duty security at Deerbrook Mall. Wilkinson ...

Wilkinsburg officer placed on leave
Pittsburgh Post Gazette, PA - 17 hours ago
A Wilkinsburg police officer under investigation by the Allegheny County district attorney's office has been placed on paid administrative leave. ...

'SHROOMS GET EX-COP TOSSED IN HOLE
New York Post, NY - May 18, 2004
May 18, 2004 -- Saying an ex-cop-turned-drug-felon had wasted his life, a judge yesterday sentenced him to five years to life behind bars for accepting "magic ...

St. John police chief could be picked next week
Gary Post Tribune, IN - May 19, 2004
... job was the subject of an informational picket Monday by former Hammond police officer Ruben Hinojosa, who carried a sign referring to Cory as a “dirty cop ...

Bills to increase public - record access clear panel
Baton Rouge Advocate, LA - 16 hours ago
... Lydia Jackson, D-Shreveport, said she sponsored the citizen complaint bill "because of historical and turbulent relations" between Shreveport citizens and the ...

At least 11 busted in bribery schemes at Registry of Motor ...
Boston Globe, MA - 1 hour ago
... Thirteen people, including six current or former Registry employees, were charged Thursday in connection with the bribery and corruption schemes at the ...

Former USP guard to enter guilty plea
Lompoc Record, CA - 2 hours ago
... The plea agreement between Julio Cesar Vega, 41, of Lompoc, and the US Attorney's Office in Los Angeles stipulates that charges of bribery and possession of ...

State Contracts Trial: Day Three Update
NewsChannel5.com, TN - 4 hours ago
Marcus Burrows took the stand at the federal bribery and fraud trial of Joanna Ediger, who’s accused of lying to steer a $644,000 contract to Workforce ...

Witnesses testify they were troubled by no-bid contract
The Tennessean, TN - 14 hours ago
... Ediger, a former director within the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development, has been charged with wire fraud, mail fraud, bribery and lying to ...

Appeals court upholds Traficant's conviction
Marion Star, OH - 4 hours ago
Traficant, who was ousted from Congress in 2002 after his conviction, is serving an eight-year sentence for bribery, racketeering and fraud in an upstate New ...

9 Month Deal OKd By City
Des Plaines Journal, IL - 19 hours ago
... was a close friend of James Dvorak, the convicted former Cook County undersherriff who spent seven years in prison for income tax evasion and bribery in the ...

Corrupt official gets death penalt
Xinhua, China - 20 hours ago
... State-owned enterprise in Changchun, capital of Northeast China's Jilin Province, was sentenced to death Wednesday for embezzlement and bribery involving huge ... [Editorial Note: Not a domestic story, but inspirational!]

Man pleads in Water Dept. fraud
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH - May 18, 2004
... He knows he helped create the problem.". Sturman becomes the first person convicted in a wide-ranging bribery case in the Water Department. ...

Guy Velella's plea
The Journal News.com, NY - May 18, 2004
... an assemblyman before that, resigned in disgrace Friday before pleading guilty yesterday to one felony charge that was part of a 25-count bribery case brought ...

Final steps in fall
New York Daily News, NY - May 18, 2004
... Toro, a former state housing official, and Manuel Gonzalez, a self-styled community activist, also pleaded guilty yesterday to taking part in the bribery scheme ...

Canton police union requests delay of officer ’ s disciplinary ...
Canton Repository, OH - May 18, 2004
... s union has asked a judge to halt today’s disciplinary hearing of an officer accused of violating department rules against bribery and association with ...

Ex-prison investigator sent to jail
Allentown Morning Call, PA - May 18, 2004
... as a public official to break the law. Prosecutors dropped charges of extortion and bribery. He could have faced up to 39 years ...

Feds Seize Senate Records In Redistricting Probe
Boston Channel.com, MA - May 19, 2004
... Massachusetts, a nonpartisan group for effective government, had asked federal prosecutors in March to investigate whether Finneran committed perjury in his ...

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