MARYLAND MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO CONSPIRACY TO ACT AS AN IRAQI AGENT

Courtesy of the FBI

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

http://www.usdoj.gov   

Defendant Shredded Documents and Lied to FBI Agents

WASHINGTON—Saubhe Jassim Al-Dellemy, age 67, an Iraqi national living in Maryland, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government, specifically, as an agent of Iraq, announced Patrick Rowan, Assistant Attorney General for National Security and U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein.

“Since coalition forces invaded Iraq in 2003, the Justice Department has charged at least a dozen people who served in the United States as illegal agents for the former Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein or its feared intelligence service, the Mukhabbarat. The number of these cases underscores the reach of Saddam’s intelligence service in America and the extent to which the former Iraqi regime was concerned with defectors and expatriate groups here,” said Patrick Rowan, Assistant Attorney General for National Security.

“Documents recovered in Iraq by the United States Military led to Saubhe Jassim Al-Dellemy’s confession that he secretly worked as an agent of the Iraqi Intelligence Service under Saddam Hussein, using his restaurant as a meeting place and passing information to Iraqi agents,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. “Mr. Al-Dellemy lied about his work for Saddam Hussein regime when he was questioned by FBI agents in 2008, long after he became a lawful permanent resident of the United States.”

“The FBI is committed to rooting out and prosecuting those individuals who enjoy the benefits of residing in this country but who are acting on behalf of hostile foreign Intelligence services,” said Amy Jo Lyons, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Baltimore Field Office.

According to the plea agreement, under the regime of Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi Intelligence Service (IIS) routinely recruited individuals, either currently in the United States or to be placed into the United States, to support the IIS and the Government of Iraq. Saubhe Jassim Al-Dellemy, who became a lawful permanent resident of the United States in 2000, was one of these individuals. He was born in Iraq and was a member of the Ba’ath Party. He came to the United States as a student in the 1980s. His education in the United States was paid for by the Ba’ath Party. In exchange, Al-Dellemy was expected to provide information to the Government of Iraq on matters of interest to the government and the IIS.

Following the invasion of Iraq by coalition forces in March 2003, the U.S. military obtained confidential IIS documents establishing that beginning in 1989, and continuing through the Saddam Hussein regime, Al-Dellemy, referred to in many instances by the code name “Adam,” had been providing information to officials of the Government of Iraq and intelligence officers with the IIS. This information included reporting on the identities and activities of individuals and organizations in the United States that were opposed to Saddam Hussein and his regime, and specifics regarding U.S. policy and actions towards the Iraqi government. The seized documents also established that Al-Dellemy periodically received payments from the IIS and the Iraqi government as compensation for his assistance and information.

Specifically, according the plea agreement, throughout the conspiracy Al-Dellemy performed tasks at the Iraqi Embassy and at the Iraqi Interests Section (ISEC), formed in 1991 within the Algerian Embassy in Washington, D.C., after the U.S. severed diplomatic relations with Iraq for invading Kuwait. For example, in 1990, around the time of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, Al-Dellemy assisted in the shredding of Ba’ath Party and other diplomatic documents maintained at the Iraqi Embassy that could compromise the Saddam Hussein regime and identify those individuals in the United States who had been acting as agents of the IIS. Al-Dellemy also attended and organized social gatherings at the Iraqi Embassy and the ISEC, which were used to recruit individuals to work for the IIS; to interact with individuals who were already working with the IIS and Saddam Hussein’s regime; and to maintain the loyalties of the participants to the Ba’ath Party and Saddam Hussein’s regime. Throughout the conspiracy Al-Dellemy made a restaurant he operated in Maryland available as a meeting place for IIS officers and Iraqi government officials, and utilized his restaurant as a means to gather information pertaining to U.S. government agencies near the restaurant, such as the National Security Agency and Fort George G. Meade.

Throughout the conspiracy, Al-Dellemy relied on fellow Ba’ath Party members and/or sympathizers to provide him with information about the Iraqi opposition in the United States, including members of the Iraqi community in Detroit, Michigan. Al-Dellemy also gathered information in Maryland regarding U.S. military training and travel concerning U.S. actions in Iraq.

Al-Dellemy, at the request of Iraqi government officials, sought out individuals for employment at the ISEC and in 2000, arranged for a coconspirator to be employed full-time at the ISEC as an accountant and a driver. This coconspirator continued his employment at the ISEC through March 2003, then resumed his employment at the Iraqi Embassy when it reopened in Washington, D.C., in December 2003. The coconspirator continued to work at the Iraqi embassy until March or April 2004. The coconspirator acted as a conduit between Al-Dellemy, Ba’ath Party members and loyalists in Detroit, and IIS and ISEC officials to transmit information of interest to the IIS, the Saddam Hussein regime, and the Ba’ath Party. Al-Dellemy was never recognized by the Department of State or the Attorney General of the United States as a diplomatic or consular officer of the Government of Iraq, or officially or publicly acknowledged and sponsored as an official, representative, or employee of Iraq.

According to the plea, Al-Dellemy never revealed his affiliation with the Ba’ath Party in applications to the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (now U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) for residency status in the United States, in an effort to conceal his activities as an agent for the Iraqi government. In addition, at the end of March 2003, Al-Dellemy and others destroyed numerous Ba’ath Party documents and related literature in his possession that would have compromised the activities of Al-Dellemy and his coconspirators as agents of the Iraqi government in the United States. On Oct. 13, 2008, during an interview with FBI agents, Al-Dellemy falsely denied passing information to the IIS and the Iraqi government, denied receiving payment from the IIS, and denied collecting information on the Iraqi opposition movement and reporting that information to the IIS.

Al-Dellemy faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for conspiracy to act as an agent for a foreign government. U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett has scheduled sentencing for March 5, 2009 at 2:00 p.m.

Patrick Rowan, Assistant Attorney General for National Security and U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for their investigative work. Mr. Rosenstein commended Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Manuelian, who is prosecuting the case, as well as Senior Trial Attorneys Robert E. Wallace and Clifford I. Rones, from the Counterespionage Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, who provided assistance in the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Harvey E. Eisenberg, Chief of National Security, who supervised this case.

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Technorati tags: al dellemy, baath party, ins, saddam hussein, Saubhe Jassim Al-Dellemy, foreign agents, iraq, conconspirator, Iraqi Intelligence Service (IIS), Mukhabbarat

MAJOR CHILD PORN RING BUSTED

Courtesy of the FBI

MAJOR CHILD PORN RING BUSTED
And 20 Children Rescued Worldwide

03/06/08

“Mala is to die for in those pigtails,” read one message.

“I have a few 5yo [year old] Taras that you do not have,” read another.

“Just dropping in for a hot minute … to help out the dry spell, and to give everyone something to do for an afternoon,” said still one more.

They’re hard comments to read—when you know that they were posted in a massive secret child pornography newsgroup on the web. 

That sordid network was exposed this week, thanks to a global law enforcement operation spanning five countries, three continents, and 11 U.S. states. As part of the continuing investigation, a total of 22 men have been arrested, including 14 in America, four in Germany, and two each in Australia and the U.K. 

Even more satisfying: over the course of the international operation, about 20 victims have been rescued. Investigative efforts to identify and rescue more victims are continuing. 

See the full breakdown of statistics.

The international investigation was groundbreaking in three main ways: 

1) It dismantled one of the largest (more than 400,000 images and videos were posted, traded, and trafficked) and most sophisticated child exploitation rings we’ve ever come across. For example, the group used powerful encryption tools to keep the operation secret and a multi-layered system to vet new members. “These people went to a lot of trouble to keep from being discovered,” said Steve Tidwell, the FBI Executive Assistant Director who oversees our national criminal programs. “They had a level of operational security that we’ve not seen before.”  

For More Information From the FBI newscenter

– Indictment press release
– Innocent Images website
– Innocent Images overview
– Innocent Images statistical accomplishments
– Innocent Images International Task Force

2) It marked the first use in the United States of the “child exploitation enterprise” provisions of the Adam Walsh Act of 2006. The ring, in fact, was run very much like a business, with various players handling different roles, direction coming from the top down, and the sadistic images serving as currency. Again, a sophisticated operation.

3) It involved extensive real-time and high-level global cooperation, with countries sharing not only information and intelligence but actual investigators. The operation began in January 2006 when an officer of the Queensland Police Services in Australia learned about the group. Since a number of the members were living in the U.S., Queensland authorities came to the FBI that June; we launched our investigation two months later, working through our Innocent Images National Initiative. The officer who infiltrated the ring came to U.S. and worked with us directly through our International Innocent Images Task Force in our command center in suburban Maryland. We sent agents to Australia as well. Also participating in the investigation were the BKA Child Pornography Unit in Germany, the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre in the United Kingdom, and the Toronto Police Department in Canada. 

“We have nothing but gratitude for the FBI and its Innocent Images program,” said Chief Superintendent Ross Barnett of the Queensland Police Services. “This operation wouldn’t have been a success without the investigative expertise and support the Bureau brought to the table.” 

And we, in turn, thank Chief Superintendent Barnett and our other global partners for a truly seamless operation that helped take down, in the words of one of the defendants, “the greatest group of pedos to ever gather in one place.”

Technorati tags: FBI, Child molester, Child Porn, Adam Walsh Act of 2006, Child Exploitation. international investigation

FBI Violent Gang Taskforce

 

 About 30,000 violent street gangs, motorcycle gangs, and prison gangs with approximately 800,000 members operate in the U.S. today. Many are sophisticated and well organized; all use violence to control neighborhoods and boost their illegal money-making activities, which include drug trafficking, robbery, theft, fraud, extortion, prostitution rings, and gun trafficking. Here, you’ll find more on the threats posed by gangs, on how you can help spot and prevent gang activity, and on how we’re redoubling our efforts to disrupt and dismantle them through intelligence-driven investigations and new initiatives and partnerships.

Other Resources

• New L.A. Gang Task Force
• Director on Gang Response
• MS-13 Up Close
• How We’re Targeting MS-13
• Fighting Global Gangs

• Recent Statistics
• Violent Gang Task Forces
• Success Stories
• Gallery

• National Gang Threat Assessment (pdf)
• Gang Toolkit for Parents, Educators, Police
• National Youth Gang Center

MS-13 National Gang Task Force

 Based at FBI headquarters, the MS-13 National Gang Task Force combines the expertise, resources, and jurisdiction of federal agencies that investigate this violent international street gang. It focuses on maximizing the flow of information and intelligence, coordinating investigations, and helping state and local law enforcement improve operations and prosecutions targeting MS-13. The task force can be reached by calling (202) 324-5340.

National Gang Intelligence Center

To help curb the growth of gangs and related criminal activity, the FBI spearheaded the creation of the National Gang Intelligence Center (NGIC) in 2005. A multi-agency effort, the NGIC integrates gang intelligence from across federal, state, and local law enforcement on the growth, migration, criminal activity, and association of gangs that pose a significant threat to the U.S. Its mission is to support law enforcement by sharing timely and accurate information and by providing strategic/tactical analysis of intelligence.

Technorati tags: ms-13, violent, la gangs, global gangs, international street gangs, international crime, fbi, united states

The Evolving Terroris Landscape

AL QAEDA TODAY

The Evolving Terrorist Landscape

Courtesy of the FBI

A 22-year-old student—code-named “Irhabi 007”—creating a global virtual support network for terrorist plotters in Canada, Denmark, Bosnia, and the U.S., all from his basement apartment computer in London.

Small but sophisticated groups tapping into the larger al Qaeda brand—perhaps even receiving funding and training from bin Laden & Co.—but operating largely as independent terrorist franchises.

Homegrown, self-radicalized extremists inspired by the violent dogma of al Qaeda germinating plans to gun down soldiers at Fort Dix and blow up a pipeline at J.FK. Airport.

It’s the new shape of terrorism—specifically al Qaeda driven or inspired—as outlined Friday by Director Mueller at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.

In the speech, the Director describes the new three-tiered threat posed by al Qaeda and its diverse band of affiliates and supporters around the world, whether that is in suburban basements, in ungoverned spaces or tribal areas in places like Pakistan and Africa, or in the shadows of the Internet.

“When America’s hammer fell on al Qaeda, al Qaeda broke into a hundred pieces,” the Director said. “Some of our adversaries were stopped, but others spread. The network is now diffuse.”

Especially in cyberspace, which the Director called “terrorism’s new frontier, offering both persuasive inspiration and practical instruction.” In the case of Younis Tsouli—aka “Irhabi 007” or “Terrorist 007”—the web was a tool to teach both the ideology and technology of terrorism. Tsouli, traced through a telephone number found in a terrorist safe house in Bosnia, posted thousands of files online, ranging from “videotaped beheadings to detailed manuals for constructing car bombs and suicide vests.”

And how to respond to this ever-evolving threat? With a united front that transcends national boundaries, agency jurisdictions, and national security disciplines. The Director says the FBI’s goal is to be an “effective bridge” in exactly those areas…and he gave several examples of how we’re filling that role today:

• By working alongside the military in places like Afghanistan and Iraq, operating as a team to “search safe houses, collect biometric evidence, analyze explosive devices, and trace terrorist financing.”
• By becoming a fully integrated member of the Intelligence Community, with stronger than ever relationships with the CIA and the Department of Homeland Security.
• By sharing information “on a daily basis with our intelligence counterparts on every continent, from MI5 in Britain to the Mabahith in Saudi Arabia.”
• By working closely with our 800,000 state and local law enforcement partners in the U.S. and with our counterparts overseas through our international offices now located in 60 capitols worldwide.
• And by being a part of globally coordinated investigations, where in the Tsouli case, for example, many different countries “made joint decisions as to when to move in and disrupt the plots, so as to protect the integrity of each other’s operations.”

To learn more about the new face of terrorism and our role in intersecting the work of militaries, intelligence services, and law enforcement agencies, we encourage you to read the full speech.

Resources:

• Director’s remarks
• FBI Counterterrorism operations

Technorati tags: terror cell, terrorists, Younis Tsouli, Irhabi 007, Terrorist 007, radical Islam, afghanitan, iraq, safe house, bimetric evidence, terrorist financing, internet terrorism, Homegrown, self-radicalized extremists, al Qaeda, Fort Dix, J.FK. Airport, counterterrorism

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Congressman William Jefferson Indicted

CONGRESSMAN WILLIAM JEFFERSON INDICTED ON BRIBERY, etc

Disclaimer:  Criminal indictments are only charges and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.

Courtesy of the FBI: Official Press Release

U.S. Department of Justice
Jeffrey A. Taylor
United States Attorney
for the District of Columbia
Judiciary Center
555 4th Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20530

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For Information, Contact Public Affairs
Channing Phillips (202) 514-6933
June 4, 2007

CONGRESSMAN WILLIAM JEFFERSON INDICTED ON BRIBERY, RACKETEERING, MONEY LAUNDERING, OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE, AND RELATED CHARGES

WASHINGTON – United States Congressman William J. Jefferson was indicted today by a federal grand jury on charges including bribery and racketeering for allegedly using his office to corruptly solicit bribes and for paying bribes to a foreign official, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Chuck Rosenberg for the Eastern District of Virginia announced today.

The 16-count indictment, returned by a federal grand jury in Alexandria, Va., charges Jefferson with solicitation of bribes, honest services wire fraud, money laundering, obstruction of justice, violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, racketeering, and conspiracy. The indictment alleges that from in or about August 2000 through in or about August 2005, Jefferson, while serving as an elected member of the U.S. House of Representatives, used his position and his office to corruptly seek, solicit and direct that things of value be paid to Jefferson and his family members in exchange for his performance of official acts to advance the interests of people and businesses who offered him the bribes.

The things of value allegedly sought and/or received by Jefferson on behalf of his business interests and relatives included hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of bribes in the form of payments from monthly fees or retainers, consulting fees, percentage shares of revenues and profits, flat fees for items sold, and stock ownership in the companies seeking his official assistance.

The official acts allegedly undertaken by Jefferson included leading official business delegations to Africa, corresponding with U.S. and foreign government officials, and utilizing congressional staff members to promote businesses and businesspersons. Business ventures that Congressman Jefferson sought to promote included: telecommunications deals in Nigeria, Ghana, and elsewhere; oil concessions in Equatorial Guinea; satellite transmission contracts in Botswana, Equatorial Guinea, and the Republic of Congo; and development of different plants and facilities in Nigeria.

“The Department of Justice is committed to enforcing the public corruption laws designed to ensure the integrity of our government,” said Assistant Attorney General Fisher. “The Department will continue to hold public officials accountable for corrupt acts such as the bribery schemes outlined in today’s indictment.”
“The schemes charged are complex, but the essence of this case is simple: Mr. Jefferson corruptly traded on his good office, and on the Congress where he served as a Member of the United States House of Representatives, to enrich himself and his family through a pervasive pattern of fraud, bribery and corruption that spanned many years and two continents,” said U.S. Attorney Rosenberg.

“The FBI has made combating public corruption its top criminal investigative priority because American citizens deserve honest and ethical public officials representing their interest,” said Assistant Director Kenneth W. Kaiser, FBI Criminal Investigative Division. “As it is alleged, Congressman Jefferson violated the public’s trust and used his official position and office as a RICO enterprise to corruptly solicit bribes, to pay off a foreign official, and to illegally benefit from overseas business transactions during a five-year period. The FBI will continue to work with our local, state, federal and international partners to combat public corruption across all levels of government as no corrupt public servant is exempt from FBI scrutiny.”

The indictment alleges that Jefferson knowingly conspired with Vernon L. Jackson, a Louisville, Ky., businessman, and Brett M. Pfeffer, a former Jefferson congressional staff member, and others as part of the bribery and corruption scheme. Jefferson allegedly discussed and solicited bribes in return for being influenced in the performance of certain official acts, including receiving things of value from iGate, Jackson’s company. According to the indictment, Jefferson also corruptly sought bribes from an individual identified in the indictment as a Cooperating Witness (CW) to be paid to family members. The indictment alleges, for example, that Jefferson required 5 percent to 7 percent of the CW’s newly formed Nigerian company be given to members of Jefferson’s family in exchange for his assistance. Jefferson allegedly made the request of the CW in December 2004 during a meeting in a congressional dining room.

The indictment further alleges that Jefferson violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by allegedly offering, promising and making payments to a foreign official to advance the various business endeavors in which he and his family had financial interest. Jefferson was allegedly responsible for negotiating, offering and delivering payments of bribes to the official identified in the indictment as “Nigerian Official A.”
According to the indictment, on or about July 18, 2005, Jefferson met with Nigerian Official A at the official’s residence in Potomac, Md., and offered Official A a bribe to induce him to use his position to assist in obtaining commitments from NITEL, the government-controlled main telecommunications service provider in Nigeria. On or before Aug. 3, 2005, at his residence in Washington, D.C., Jefferson allegedly secreted in his freezer $90,000 of the $100,000 in cash provided by the CW as part of the front-end bribe payment to Nigerian Official A. The cash was separated into $10,000 increments, wrapped in aluminum foil, and concealed inside various frozen food containers.

Jefferson faces a maximum of 235 years in prison if convicted on all counts. Jackson was sentenced to 87 months in prison after pleading guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit bribery and the payment of bribes to a public official. Pfeffer was sentenced to 96 months in prison after pleading guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit bribery and aiding and abetting the solicitation of bribes by a member of Congress.
The case is being prosecuted by Mark D. Lytle and Rebeca H. Bellows, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Charles E. Duross of the Fraud Section of the Criminal Division at the U.S. Department of Justice. The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with the assistance of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

Criminal indictments are only charges and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.

 

Technorati tags: william jefferson, indictment, foreign corruption practices act, fincen, financial crimes enforcement network, congressman, democrats, political pundits, politics

American Hiroshima

Nuclear terror: How likely is it? 50% chance of detonation within 10 years, says expert

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Courtesy of WorldNetDaily.comWASHINGTON – How likely is it that terrorists will some day be successful at detonating a nuclear device in a major American city?

That was the question debated in an online forum sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations this week.

And while Harvard’s Graham T. Allison and the CFR’s Michael A. Levi may disagree over the likelihood of such an attack, they agreed it is a serious threat and much more needs to be done to avoid the disastrous consequences.

Levi, the skeptic, said: “Al-Qaeda has grand ambitions and seeks mass casualties. And regardless of the probability of nuclear terrorism, the potential consequences of a successful attack should be enough to prompt us to more urgent action than we are currently taking.”   For the rest of the story:   American Hiroshima

Technorati tags: Hiroshima, Nuke, Nuclear bomb, world net Daily, nuclear device, council on foreign relations, harvard

VIRGINIA TECH SHOOTING: Deadliest Campus Shootings in United States History

This morning  it was reported that 32 people killed and 21 injured at Blacksburg, Virginia campus of Virginia Tech.  This is the the deadliest campus shooting mass murder in United States education history and has now surpassing the horrors of the Columbine High School 8 years ago and the University of Texas 41 years ago. 

The shooter apparently started in a dorm at about 7:15 EDT blended back into the student body and then opened fired in an Engineering Department classroom building a couple of hours later. Source Fox News:  VIRGINIA TECH SHOOTING: Deadliest Campus Shootings in United States History . 

The Columbine High School massacre occurred on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in unincorporated Jefferson County, Colorado, near Denver and Littleton. Two teenage students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, carried out a shooting rampage, killing 12 students and a teacher, as well as wounding 24 others, before committing suicide.  Harris and Klebold were mentally deranged students. 

Perhaps those of us old enough to remember may recall the University of Texas sniper, Charles Joseph Whitman, who ascended the university’s Austin Campus 27-story tower on August 1, 1966, and shot passersbys on the campus below, after having killed his mother and his wife the night before. 

Whitman killed 15 people and wounded 31 others before he was shot dead by Austin police.  A subsequent autopsy of Whitman found that he suffered from a brain tumor affecting the limbic system.

My heart and prayers go out to the parents and victims of this latest senseless tragedy.  Details of the April 16 mass shootings at Virginia Tech are slowly emerging. An FBI behavioral analyst last fall offered some insights into these types of events.  Source:  School Shootings

SCHOOL SHOOTINGS
What You Should Know

10/06/06

FBI behavioral analyst Supervisory Special Agent Mary Ellen O’Toole says that despite media attention, “attacks are relatively rare.”

An unrelated series of shootings at schools in recent weeks has people wondering about the safety of their children and how they can help prevent future attacks. We talked with one of our behavioral analysts, Supervisory Special Agent Mary Ellen O’Toole, Ph.D., to get some insights.

First, be vigilant, especially now, when the events are still generating headlines, says O’Toole, who works in the Behavior Analysis Unit of our Critical Incident Response Group at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. “We do believe a copycat effect takes place after these events.”

That means more than just being watchful and wary of who’s out of place in a neighborhood or school. It also means paying attention to the behavior of the people around you—especially those you know. “Be aware of people’s moods. Don’t depend just on how they answer the question, ‘How are you doing?’”

There can be plenty of signs. Most school shootings are not spur-of-the moment events, she says. They take planning and coordination. Supplies—and weapons—have to be purchased or collected. Some attackers practice firing their gun or scout locations. They often write suicide notes or other correspondence explaining their last acts.

“People who act out violently don’t wake up one morning and snap. There are clues,” O’Toole says.

Second, take all threats seriously, especially those leveled by teens, and have a strategy in place to deal with them. “Adolescents will sometimes alert you ahead of time that they will commit violence,” O’Toole says. “Don’t dismiss it as idle talk.”

In the aftermath of the 1999 Columbine High School killings, most schools in the U.S. have implemented some kind of threat assessment system. Unfortunately, there is no single profile for a potential mass killer, young or old.

“There is no typical school shooter. They don’t fall within a set of traits and characteristics,” she says. “That’s why it is so important for schools to have a fair, rational, and standardized method of evaluating and responding to threats.”

Third, please know that no matter how watchful we may be, some tragedies may simply not be preventable.

“There may not be a single thing that can be done to prevent a mission-oriented person from committing an act of violence,” she says.

“We all want to believe that if we choose just the right community or just the right neighborhood we won’t be a victim of crime,” O’Toole says. “Unfortunately, school shootings can happen anywhere in the country. There is no one location that’s necessarily immune from this kind of violence.”

“But remember,” she says, “despite the images splashed across televisions, the web, and newspapers, these attacks are relatively rare.”

Technorati tags: Virginia Tech, Campus Shooting, United States, School Violence, Gun Control, Columbine, Texas Tower, University of Texas, Eric Harris, Dylan Klebold, Charles Whitman, Sniper, FBI behavioral analyst, FBI Academy Quantico, guns

Additional Links of interest: “The School Shooter: A Threat Assessment Perspective” | Synopsis of Crime in Schools and Colleges|HOPE Columbine Memorial Library| Columbine School Memorial at Find A Grave| The Depressive and the Psychopath: The FBI’s analysis of the killers’ motives|All about the Columbine High School tragedy| Eyewitness accounts of the UT Tower shootings| Charles Whitman: The Texas Tower Sniper| Court TV | Forrest Preece’s personal recount of events| Charles Whitman |  Handbook of Texas | Coverage of the 30th Anniversary of the UT Tower Sniper Attack| The Daily Texan

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Human Smuggling: Under the Noses of DHS – Special Interest Aliens

In 2004, KVOA Tucson ran an investigative report that Muslims/Arabs sneeking across the border in Arizona.  Source: Investigators: Terrorist Alley

I recently had communications with an individual from Arizona who alleges that there is no border control, period.   The individual pointed out that America has a large nuclear plant just west of Phoenix, military bases and a large population center.  Lets face it, Arizona is a “target rich” environment for terrorism.   A person can cross the border and be in Phoenix in less than 3 hours.

Imagine, it would take only one terrorist with a dirty bomb, or a full blown nuclear device or a vial of biological material to ruin the day of a large metropolitan population center. 

In March 2005, according to a NewsMax article, the Federal Bureau of Investigation issued a grim warning regarding special interest aliens.  Then FBI Director Robert Mueller testified before Congress that people from countries with ties to al-Qaeda have crossed into the United States from Mexico, using false identities.

Under persistent questioning from Rep. John Culberson, R-Texas, Mueller said he was aware of one route that takes people to Brazil, where they assume false identities, and then to Mexico before crossing the U.S. border.

He also said that in some instances people with Middle Eastern names have adopted Hispanic last names before trying to get into the United States. Source: FBI Warns of ‘Special Interest’ Aliens

Turn the clock ahead until 2006, in September 2006, a man calling himself Miguel Alfonso Salinas was apprehended off a deserted highway near the U.S.-Mexico border. According to U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security documents that man was really from Egypt. Source: Links between illegal immigration, terrorism, drug trade worry U.S officials

Additional articles regarding Special Interest Aliens:

• Criminal gangsters, revolutionaries and Islamic terrorists are working together to overthrow governments of U.S. neighbors and smuggle operatives into and out of the U.S.
• Financial squeeze pushes al-Qaeda south of border
• Al-Qaeda south of the border
• Terrorist base south of border

My questions are, what is DHS doing about this problem and are they handcuffing their Border Patrol Agents in regards to immigration enforcement?

Technorati tags: Special Interest Aliens, Illegal Aliens, Muslim, Mexico, Criminal, Gangsters, al-Qaeda, Terrorists, South of Border, Brazil, false identities, dirty bomb, Terrorist Alley, border Patrol, dhs, Department of Homeland Security, FBI, Arizona

FBI Warns of Fraudulent Super Bowl XLI Tickets

EMAIL WARNING JUST IN COURTESY OF THE FBI

Investigative Programs

Link to: Cyber Investigations Home

New E-Scams & Warnings

SUPER BOWL XLI TICKET SCAMS

01/31/07—We have received reports of fraudulent ticket sales for Super Bowl XLI at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, on February 4, 2007. The fraudulent selling of tickets for major events is a continuing epidemic.

Previous scams have involved tickets being advertised at well-known online auction and classified advertisement web sites. Interested buyers are instructed to use a wire transfer payment service to send the money quickly in order to secure the tickets. Current scams are using fraudulent escrow services to register and then directing the victim to wire the payment.

Some solicitations are sent from individuals who claim to be traveling outside the U.S., stating they are now unable to use their tickets due to this travel. This explanation could be an attempt to ensure that the requested funds are sent outside the U.S.

Our advice? Be very cautious when purchasing tickets from any source not authorized by the event sponsor. Also be aware of anti-scalping laws as well as the prospect of receiving counterfeit tickets. We urge you not to send cash payments and to use caution when using wire tran sfer services to pay for tickets, particularly to recipients outside the U.S.

If you have been impacted by this scam, please notify the IC3 by filing a complaint at www.ic3.gov .

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Technorati tags: FBI, Crime, Fraud, Solicitations, Scam, Internet fraud, Super Bowl XLI, Ticket scam, anti-scalping

Chicago Terror Suspect plotted mall bombing

A courtroom sketch of the suspect, who appeared in court after arrest on charges of plotting to set off hand grenades in garbage cans at a Rockford shopping mall the Friday before Christmas.  Sketch courtesy of AP

Law enforcement officials say the man was a U.S. citizen, and planned to commit some sort of terrorist attack in Chicago. The man had “ideas and desires, but no means,” law enforcement sources said.

Story Courtesy of National Terror Alert Response Center:

Chicago Terror Plot Suspect Arrested

A Muslim convert plotted to set off hand grenades at a Chicago-area shopping mall in a holiday season terror campaign that was thwarted by federal investigators. According to an FBI affidavit, the suspect told a confidential source that he wanted to “commit violent acts of jihad,” and spoke of killing judges and blowing up public buildings.  Apparently he also declared that he wanted to, “Stab the **** outta  Jews” at a synagogue near the mosque that he attended and in the DeKalb area.

In advance of a planned attack on a Rockford mall, the suspect prepared a martyr’s videotape in which he let the “enemies of Islam” know that “the time for jihad is now.” He added, “This is a warning to those who disbelieve, that we are here for you, and I am ready to give my life…May Allah protect me on this mission we conduct.”

• Affidavit courtesy of The Smoking Gun

Local Chicago Area News Links:

• Rockford Register
• CBS Channel 2 Chicago
• Rock River Times

Other news reports about this incident:

Man arrested in alleged Illinois terrorism plot – Reuters A U.S. man who wanted to carry out a “violent jihad” was arrested after he obtained a gun and four hand grenades from a government informant to attack an Illinois shopping mall, the FBI said on Friday.

Feds: Muslim Convert Plots to Blow Up Mall – NewsMax.Com A Muslim convert who talked about his desire to wage jihad against civilians was charged Friday in a plot to set off hand grenades at a shopping mall during the Christmas rush, authorities said.

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