Posted on

Reward offered in Dawood Robinson murder investigation

Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

Headline: Reward offered in Dawood Robinson murder investigation

Detectives investigating the murder of an Islington man in 2016 have announced a reward of £20,000 has been made available.

David Robinson, also known as Dawood, died after being shot in Sunnyside Road, N19 on Saturday, 20 August 2016.

The reward is on offer to anyone who can provide information which leads to the arrest and prosecution of the person or persons responsible for the murder.

Detective Chief Inspector Dave Whellams of the Homicide and Major Crime Command leads the investigation and said:

“A significant reward is being offered for information that leads to the conviction of those responsible for Dawood’ s murder. It has now been nearly 18 months since Dawood was fatally wounded and his family are still waiting for answers.

“Over this period of time, people’s allegiances may have changed and those who were initially not comfortable speaking to police may now feel in a position to do so.

“I would urge anyone with information who could help us catch Dawood’s killers to contact police immediately.”

An investigation was launched after police were called shortly before 21:00hrs to reports of gunshots heard in Sunnyside Road, N19.

Officers and the London Ambulance Service attended and found 25-year-old Dawood inside the Big House 101 music studio suffering gunshot wounds. He was taken to an east London hospital where he was pronounced dead at around 00:10hrs on 21 August.

Dawood had attended the studio to read and spend time with friends. However, he became involved in an altercation inside the studio which resulted in Dawood being shot.

DCI Whellams added: “We know there were people in the area at the time, both inside and outside the venue, and we have spoken with many of them.

“However, I am sure that some of these people may have more to tell us – they need to be brave and speak to us in confidence about what occurred that evening.

“Anyone that has information that could assist this enquiry is urged to make contact with my officers at the incident room number below. A reward of £20,000 has been authorised that leads to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for this murder.”

Anyone who witnessed the incident or who has information that may assist police is asked to call the incident room on 020 8345 3775. To give information anonymously, Crimestoppers can be contacted on 0800 555 111 or at crimestoppers-uk.org.

+ Four men, all aged in their 20s, have been arrested in connection with the investigation. They have since been released without further action.

Posted on

DNI Coats Directs Intelligence Agencies To Review Tet Offensive-related Documents for Declassification, Release

Source: United States Director of National Intelligence

Headline: DNI Coats Directs Intelligence Agencies To Review Tet Offensive-related Documents for Declassification, Release

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ODNI News Release No. 6-18 
January 31, 2018


DNI Coats Directs Intelligence Agencies
To Review Tet Offensive-related Documents
for Declassification, Release

First in Series of Releases Expected in July, New Transparency Effort To Share Historical Information of Current Relevance

In recognition of the 50th anniversary of the Tet Offensive—which took place on January 30, 1968—Director of National Intelligence Daniel R. Coats directed intelligence agencies to review their holdings to reveal previously classified details to the public.

In December 2016, former DNI James R. Clapper instructed the Intelligence Community Senior Historians Panel to identify topics of historical interest for declassification and release, as a part of the IC’s continuing efforts to enhance public understanding of IC activities.

For the first release of this initiative, the panel recommended documents relating to the Tet Offensive be reviewed for declassification and release in commemoration of the Vietnam War.

The Tet Offensive

The Tet Offensive was a series of surprise attacks launched by the North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong on January 30,1968 throughout South Vietnam that targeted multiple prominent sites, including the Presidential Palace and the U.S. Embassy in Saigon.

While the attacks initially took the U.S. and South Vietnamese forces by surprise, they eventually recovered to repel the Viet Cong.  The dramatic nature of the Tet Offensive began to turn U.S. public opinion against the war and precipitated the U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam.

Review & Declassification

Based on the recommendation of the Historians Panel, DNI Coats has directed that IC elements review their record holdings to identify classified records pertaining to the Tet Offensive and review them for declassification and release.

The declassified documents will be released over a period of 15 months, in three installments, beginning in July 2018. Subsequent releases will take place in January 2019 and April 2019.

How to Learn More

Intelligence.gov will serve as the hub for information on the progress of the Tet Offensive document declassification throughout the process and will provide access to materials sourced from across the IC upon their release. Efforts to declassify historical information of current relevance are rooted in the 2015 transparency implementation plan that led to semi-annual meetings of the IC Historian Panel.  Follow @inteldotgov #TetDeclassified for updates.

###

Posted on

Six Pittsburgh-Area School Districts Win Big

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

Headline: Six Pittsburgh-Area School Districts Win Big

The FBI Citizens Academy Alumni Association teamed up with the Penguins Foundation for FBI Pittsburgh’s annual HOPE (Heroin Outreach Prevention and Education) PSA Contest. Tuesday, six local school districts took home prizes at the Penguins game and even more knowledge about the dangers of opioid and heroin abuse.

The students were tasked with creating videos that raise awareness about the dangers of the increasing drug epidemic in our area. It has reached pandemic levels across Western Pennsylvania, impacting all walks of life, regardless of age, race, or socioeconomic boundaries.

That’s why the FBI Pittsburgh Division partnered with key community stakeholders, including educators, law enforcement, and treatment and rehabilitation facilities. The group is striving to formulate proactive solutions, particularly in the areas of education, prevention, and awareness.

Posted on

FBI Statement on HPSCI Memo

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

Headline: FBI Statement on HPSCI Memo

The FBI takes seriously its obligations to the FISA Court and its compliance with procedures overseen by career professionals in the Department of Justice and the FBI. We are committed to working with the appropriate oversight entities to ensure the continuing integrity of the FISA process.

With regard to the House Intelligence Committee’s memorandum, the FBI was provided a limited opportunity to review this memo the day before the committee voted to release it. As expressed during our initial review, we have grave concerns about material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo’s accuracy.

Posted on

North Carolina man pleads guilty to attempted enticement of a minor

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: North Carolina man pleads guilty to attempted enticement of a minor

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A North Carolina man pleaded guilty today to a federal sex crime involving a minor, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart. Timothy Sean Coogle, 46, of Lexington, entered his guilty plea to attempted enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity. U.S. Attorney Stuart commended the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Violent Crimes Against Children Task Force, the West Virginia State Police, the West Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the FBI in North Carolina.

“There are severe consequences for those who prey on our children, and these penalties should serve as a warning for anyone who even attempts this criminal activity,” said U.S. Attorney Stuart. “The officers working on these cases deserve our thanks. Their work protects our most vulnerable from sexual predators.”

Coogle admitted that from August 12, 2017, through September 22, 2017, he used his cell phone and the Internet to attempt to persuade, induce, and entice a minor residing in the Southern District of West Virginia to engage in sexual activity. Specifically, Coogle admitted that he sent messages to a 13-year-old minor female, commenting on a photo of her. The minor’s mother discovered messages from Coogle and contacted law enforcement. Soon after, Coogle began engaging in sexually explicit conversation with a person he believed to be the minor, but was actually an undercover officer. He additionally requested that the person he believed to be the minor send him sexually explicit photos and video footage, and he also sent a sexually explicit video. Coogle admitted that he engaged in all of this communication in order to persuade the person he believed to be the minor to engage in sexual activity when she visited North Carolina. 

Coogle faces at least 10 years and up to life in federal prison. After his release from prison, Coogle will be required to serve a term of federal supervised release of at least five years and up to life, and he will also be required to register as a sex offender. Sentencing is scheduled for May 2, 2018.

Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Rada Herrald is in charge of the prosecution. The plea hearing was held before United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr.

This case is being prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative of the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Posted on

Final Defendant Pleads Guilty in Nationwide Scheme to Defraud Casinos and Credit Card Companies

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Final Defendant Pleads Guilty in Nationwide Scheme to Defraud Casinos and Credit Card Companies

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Vivian Wang, 54, of Alpharetta, Georgia, pleaded guilty today to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft related to a nationwide casino and credit card scheme, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. 

According to court documents, between August 2008 and August 2014, Wang and co-defendant Frank Luo, 49, of Las Vegas, Nevada, participated in a scheme to defraud casinos and credit card companies across the country. The scheme involved using false identities in the names and Social Security numbers of migrant workers to apply for casino credit called “markers” and to open credit card accounts. A marker is a cash advance provided by a casino to a patron, and it is often secured by a check from the patron’s bank account. Wang and Luo initially timely repaid several markers at different casinos and several credit cards in order to give the impression of creditworthiness to future casinos and credit card companies. Wang and Luo recruited “clients” to participate in the scheme to induce the casinos and credit card companies to part with even more money under fraudulent pretenses.

Wang, and others working with her, coordinated their gambling activity in order to give the appearance of losing money (and thereby encouraging the casinos to issue future markers) when in fact one schemer would “lose” money while another would gain the same. In other instances, one schemer would surreptitiously deliver the issued gambling chips to another in order to give the appearance of having spent them. At the end of the scheme, Wang and her co-schemers did not repay the casino markers or the significant outstanding credit card balances accrued in a short amount of time once creditworthiness had been established. The combined fraud led to over $1.1 million in losses to casinos and credit card companies.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the California Department of Justice’s Bureau of Gambling Control. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Yelovich is prosecuting the case

Co-defendant Luo pleaded guilty, and on August 23, 2017, he was sentenced to three years in prison. Wang is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Kimberly J. Mueller on May 16, 2018. Wang faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for wire fraud, and a mandatory minimum of two years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine for aggravated identity theft. 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.

Posted on

Conman who ran fake advertising scam jailed for over eight years

Source: United Kingdom London Metropolitan Police

Headline: Conman who ran fake advertising scam jailed for over eight years

A prolific conman who ran a UK-wide publishing scam selling fake advertising space for non-existent magazines has been jailed for over eight years following a joint Met and Merseyside Police investigation.

Peter Edward Daly, 39 (15.06.1979), of West Kirby, Merseyside, was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on 29 January for eight counts of fraud having changed his plea to guilty during a trial.

The court heard that between October 2011 and June 2016, Daly cheated around 2,500 small businesses across the UK out of over £2million by cold-calling and offering advertising space for a few hundred pounds a time in various mocked-up magazines, some dubbed ‘Crime and Security Journal’, ‘Front Line’ and ‘Fire and Safety Magazine’.

Daly pretended to the victims that these were quarterly publications sent to emergency services locations and medical facilities.

Upon agreeing to advertise in the magazines many of the victims would be duly invoiced, often on the same day, and given a publication date upon payment. When the date of publication came and copies of the publications did not arrive, the victims were told the dates had been pushed back and given new dates.

When these dates came and the victims contacted Daly to ask where the publications were, their contact would go unanswered, pushing many of the victims to contact Action Fraud and police.

A Met investigation was launched, establishing that Daly was using ‘virtual offices’ based in Islington Kemp House, City Road, EC1and Hatton Garden, EC1, to receive and forward mail onward to an address in Market Street, Birkhenhead, Liverpool, in an apparent attempt to hide his location.

Officers from the Met went to the address in July 2012 with colleagues from Merseyside Police, who were carrying out their own investigation into Daly, and discovered what is commonly referred to as a ‘boiler room’; a premises that is used solely for the purpose of high pressure sales of illicit or illegal products and services to victims.

A total of ten computers, large amounts of documentation and freshly printed copies of the so-called ‘Crime and Security Journal’ were recovered, as well as £3,000 in cash, establishing that this was the operations centre for the scam.

Information was received indicating that Daly would be attending the address on 23 July 2012 to collect property. The information was passed to Merseyside Police and he was duly arrested.

As the investigation unfolded, police uncovered en elaborate network of accounts and company names in which money from victims was funnelled through, despite there being no evidence of legitimate trading; in a six month period, one account belonging to Daly was shown to have a turnover of £470,000, with £376,000 withdrawn as cash.

Daly was charged by postal requisition and summonsed in February 2014 to attend Highbury Magistrates Court on 7 April 2014, at which point he went on the run. He later handed himself into custody in Liverpool in late 2015 where he was charged with eight counts of fraud.

A trial was due to begin in London in March 2016; however after the Met and Merseyside Police decided to link their cases, the judge transferred the trial to be heard at Liverpool Crown Court on 8 January 2018. During the trial, Daly changed his plea to guilty. He was remanded in custody until he was sentenced to eight years and one month imprisonment.

Upon sentencing him the Judge called him a “cocky, arrogant egotistical man who thought he was cleverer than everyone else and could “‘blag’ his way out of any situation”.

DC Alan Stewart of Central North CID, said: “This investigation reminds us all of the due diligence necessary, particularly when responding to ‘cold callers’. I thank the victims for their patience whilst we got this case to trial and would ask anyone concerned that they may have been the victim of fraud to refer to the action fraud website for further advice.”

DCI Christina Jessah of Central North CID, said: “Daly’s sentence reflects the seriousness of his offending and will hopefully act as a deterrent to others. I would like to thank our colleagues from Merseyside Police for their support in securing the right outcome for the victims.”

Posted on

DEA, Pittsburgh Police Investigation Results in Indictment of Pittsburgh Man for Dealing Heroin and Crack Cocaine

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: DEA, Pittsburgh Police Investigation Results in Indictment of Pittsburgh Man for Dealing Heroin and Crack Cocaine

PITTSBURGH – A resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on a charge of possession with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine base, commonly known as crack, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

The one-count indictment, returned on January 30, 2018, named Devon Horne, 31, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

According to the indictment, on or about January 4, 2018, Horne did knowingly and intentionally possess with intent to distribute quantities of heroin and crack cocaine.

For Horne’s offense, the law provides for a maximum total sentence of not more than 30 years in prison, a fine of not more than $2,000,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Brendan T. Conway is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police and the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.

An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Posted on

Bronx Man Admits Transporting Multiple Kilograms Of Heroin As Part Of A Cross-Country Drug Distribution Conspiracy

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Bronx Man Admits Transporting Multiple Kilograms Of Heroin As Part Of A Cross-Country Drug Distribution Conspiracy

TRENTON, N.J. – A Bronx, New York, man who was arrested in Warren County on Christmas Eve in 2014 while transporting 15 kilograms of heroin pleaded guilty today in Trenton federal court, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Vionel Rondon Cortorreal, 29, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan to an information charging him with conspiracy to distribute heroin.   

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

In December 2014, Rondon Cortorreal engaged in a conspiracy with members of a drug trafficking organization to transport and distribute kilogram quantities of heroin. On Dec. 24, 2014, Rondon Cortorreal was arrested after law enforcement seized 15 kilograms of heroin from a hidden compartment in the vehicle that he and another conspirator, Dany Francisco-Valerio, 44, of Bronx, were operating. 

The narcotics charge to which Rondon Cortorreal pleaded guilty carries a maximum penalty of life in prison and a $10 million fine. Sentencing is scheduled for May 30, 2018.

Francisco-Valerio previously pleaded guilty to the same charge before Judge Sheridan on Oct. 26, 2017 and awaits sentencing.      
    
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Valerie Nickerson in Newark, and officers of the N.J. State Police, under the direction of Acting Superintendent Col. Patrick J. Callahan, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.  

Defense counsel: Brian J. Neary Esq., Hackensack, New Jersey