Who Watches The Watchers

Leniency for a Uniformed Sexual Predator

"In November 2010, 17-year-old Utah resident Tamsen Reid was stopped by former Box Elder County, Utah, Sheriff’s Deputy Scott Womack. She and her two friends were told to get out of the car, stand barefoot in the snow, and submit to an invasive search. Womack told them to lift their shirts and expose their breasts so he could search for tattoos and body piercings. Reid was singled out for special attention. Womack told her to get in the back of his patrol vehicle, remove her clothes, and spread her legs so he could inspect her for an intimate tattoo. When the teenager refused, Womack warned her that she could either submit or be taken to jail." Continue reading →

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U.S. Navy Petty Officer arrested in California for pimping 17-year-old girl

"A Navy Petty Officer stationed in Lemoore, California is charged with sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl and forcing her to have sex with multiple men. A Porterville Police Department spokesperson told the Bee that Benavidez met the teenager on a social networking site and, knowing that she was underage, traveled to Porterville, California to have sex with her. He made a second visit for similar purposes and on a third, forced the girl to have sex with a second man. Benavidez later transported the girl to his home in Lemoore where she was forced to perform sexual acts with multiple men. Benavidez reportedly filmed and distributed via the Internet." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. Navy Petty Officer arrested in California for pimping 17-year-old girl

Small-Town Mayor’s Millions as Exhibit A on Graft in Spain

"Investigators calculate that she and other family members accumulated about $24 million, mostly from shady land deals during Spain’s boom years. Searching her property, the police had to borrow a bill-counting machine from a local bank to help total up all the cash: $485,000. At a time when Spain, Italy, Greece and Portugal are imposing deficit-cutting austerity plans on their hard-pressed citizens, these revelations of widespread political corruption are stoking bitter resentment, destabilizing governments and undermining the credibility of the political class as a whole." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSmall-Town Mayor’s Millions as Exhibit A on Graft in Spain

Air Force sexual assault prevention officer arrested for fondling woman

"An officer tasked with preventing sexual assault in the U.S. Air Force has been arrested and charged with a sex crime in Arlington, local media reported. According to a crime report, Lt. Col. Jeff Krusinski — described as 'a drunken male' — allegedly approached a women around 12:35 a.m. in a parking lot, and groped her breasts and butt. The women fought him off, but Krusinski tried to grab her again. The victim did not know 41-year-old man. Police arrived at the scene and Krusinski was arrested for sexual battery. He was held on a $5,000 bond." Continue reading →

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Is your webcam spying on you?

"Last week, a Texas judge denied a warrant request from the FBI that would have enabled federal gumshoes to snoop through his webcam, raising a question: Should the FBI be allowed to spy on you through your webcam? An Ars Technica report noted that the practice requested by the bureau was similar to surveillance methods used by an online community called Ratters. Texas Judge Stephen Smith denied the FBI request because the methods used would not only give the FBI access to the camera, but it would give them full control of the suspect’s computer, allowing them to access other files." Continue reading →

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The Next Head of Fannie and Freddie Gutted ‘Audit The Fed’ Legislation

"Now that GSEs Fannie and Freddie are basically government agencies, they are run by FHFA, the GSE regulator. And it looks like the next head of FHFA will be Mel Watt, the Congressman who gutted Ron Paul's Audit the Fed legislation. According to Bloomberg: 'Paul, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, said Mel Watt, a Democrat from North Carolina, has eliminated 'just about everything' while preparing the legislation for formal consideration. Keith Kelly, a spokesman for Watt, declined to comment. Watt’s district includes Charlotte, headquarters of Bank of America Corp., the biggest U.S. lender.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Next Head of Fannie and Freddie Gutted ‘Audit The Fed’ Legislation

NYPD stop-and-frisk whistleblowers facing retribution

"Cops who testified against the New York City Police Department’s stop-and-frisk policy have faced retribution from higher-ups and officers who subscribe to the idea that the controversial tactic, deemed unconstitutional by major courts, is fair and legal. NYPD officer Pedro Serrano told the Associated Press that, along with finding a sticker of a rat pasted to his locker, he says he's been micromanaged - including transferral to a different precinct to work an overnight shift. He also claimed that he was refused overtime hours amid an otherwise erratic schedule." Continue reading →

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Judge Sentenced to 28 Years in Prison for “Selling” Kids to Private Prisons

"Accused of perpetrating a 'profound evil,' former Pennsylvania judge Mark Ciavarella Jr. has been sentenced to 28 years in prison for illegally accepting money from a juvenile-prison developer while he spent years incarcerating thousands of young people. Prosecutors said Ciavarella sent juveniles to jail as part of a 'kids for cash' scheme involving Robert Mericle, builder of the PA and Western PA Child Care juvenile detention centers. The ex-judge was convicted in February of 12 counts that included racketeering, money laundering, mail fraud and tax evasion. In addition to his prison sentence, Ciavarella was ordered to pay nearly $1.2 million in restitution." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJudge Sentenced to 28 Years in Prison for “Selling” Kids to Private Prisons

Princeton grad accused of spying for Cuba while employed by State Department

"Former United States government employee Marta Rita Velazquez ’79 has been accused of espionage for Cuba against the United States, according to an indictment released by the FBI on April 25. Velazquez is charged with passing documents and information regarding national defense to Cuban intelligence. The indictment, which was originally returned by a Washington, D.C. grand jury in 2004 and only unsealed yesterday, also alleges that Velazquez helped recruit U.S. citizens to serve as Cuban agents. One alleged co-conspirator, Ana Belen Montes, pleaded guilty to espionage in 2002 and is now serving a 25-year sentence in the US." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPrinceton grad accused of spying for Cuba while employed by State Department