Tag Archives | Crime

Supreme Court Considers Whether Government Has Right To Log DNA Samples Of Anyone Arrested

By on March 5, 2013 in News 15

Does your arrest allow the government to access your genetic information? Conservatives, and the Obama administration, say yes. Via CNN:

The U.S. Supreme Court offered a surprising amount of concern about states laws allowing police to collect a DNA sample of anyone arrested — but not yet convicted — of serious crimes. A ruling will be issued within a few months, and could have wide-reaching implications in the rapidly evolving technology surrounding criminal procedure.

Privacy rights groups [say] the state’s “trust us” promise not to abuse the technology does not ease their concerns that someone’s biological makeup could soon be applied for a variety of non-criminal purposes.

“There is something inherently dangerous about DNA collection that is not the same as fingerprinting,” said Justice Sonia Sotomayor. “How far do we let the state go each time it has some form of custody over you in schools, in workplaces, wherever else the state has control over your person?”

And civil liberties groups worry inadequate DNA testing by overwhelmed lab technicians can lead to errors, such as the one that sent Dwayne Jackson to prison for armed robbery.

… Read the rest

Continue Reading · 15

The Manufacture of “Surveillance by Consent”

By on March 4, 2013 in News 0

“the CCTV proposals in the Protection of Freedoms Bill are really about manufacturing consent”
No CCTV article ‘The Freedom Committee, CCTV / ANPR and the Manufacture of Consent’ (2nd May 2011) [1]

One nation under CCTV
Image by T.J.Blackwell

It’s not often that you get to witness the birth of a new philosophy but that is what we are told is at the heart of the new Surveillance Camera Code of Practice published by the UK’s Home Office this month [2]. Drum roll please, here it is, the new philosophy – “Surveillance by Consent”.

Now as new philosophies go it’s not the best and it’s not really new, nor is it a philosophy. In fact it’s more of a slogan, or more precisely a propaganda slogan. And what it contains a ready-made judgement to save you the trouble of thinking about the issue at hand, in this case surveillance. Surveillance you are told is by consent.… Read the rest

Continue Reading · 0

Russian Police Arrest Serial Killer Known As A Psychic And ‘Wizard’

By on February 27, 2013 in News 18

Why do a significant portion of serial killers seem to dabble in paranormal powers? Russia Today reports:

Moscow police have detained a psychic, who they suspect killed three photo models. All the victims, young ladies also allegedly engaged in prostitution, knew about the man’s ‘paranormal powers’ and are said to have visited him to cleanse their karma.

Forty-two-year old Georgy Martirosyan, was a well-known “karma cleanser” within a narrow circle of Moscow magicians and psychics, and is said to have called himself a “wizard”.

The young women are thought to have visited Martirosyan believing that he could clear their souls, as well as add to their wealth. Tempted with the victims’ savings, he is said to have killed and robbed three of his clients as well as the mother of one girl.

… Read the rest

Continue Reading · 18

Game Of Surveillance Camera Destruction Hits The United States

By on February 20, 2013 in News 9

The previously discussed trend of making a game out of breaking as many public surveillance cameras as possible, known as Camover, appears to have crossed the Atlantic, with a team calling themselves the Barefoot Bandit Brigade claiming a score of 17 in Washington state:

17 Security Cameras Disabled and Destroyed in Puget Sound Region — In the opening weeks of February, 2013, we have removed and destroyed 17 security cameras throughout the Puget Sound region. This act is concrete sabotage against the system of surveillance and control. It is also a message of solidarity and a wish of strength to the Seattle Grand Jury Resisters, those currently incarcerated and those not. Finally, this act announces our participation in the game of CAMOVER, called for by comrades in Germany.

… Read the rest

Continue Reading · 9

Cross-Dressing Priest Who Led Meth-Dealing Gang Arrested In Connecticut

By on January 19, 2013 in News 8

A reminder never to take religious authorities too seriously when they admonish you to behave properly. Via the Daily Mail:

A Connecticut priest at the center of a meth drug-dealing gang has been suspended over allegations he had sex in his rectory. Monsignor Kevin Wallin was relieved of his duties in May last year after complaints were made by staff at his residence in Bridgeport.

The priest also faces charges of helping run a cross-country methamphetamine distribution ring. According to his indictment he was selling around $9,000 of meth a week at one stage.

Msgr Wallin, 61, is alleged to have bought an ‘adult entertainment store’ which investigators believe helped him launder thousands of dollars in weekly profits. Rectory staff are believed to have notified the local diocese after the priest allegedly ‘dressed as a woman and engaged in ‘sex acts.’

… Read the rest

Continue Reading · 8

Was Lead Pollution The Main Cause Of High Crime And Violence In 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s America?

By on January 8, 2013 in News 8

It wasn’t crack cocaine, poverty, or the breakdown of the nuclear family that caused the spike in violent criminality. Most likely, it was automobile fumes. Mother Jones has a bombshell story:

In city after city, violent crime peaked in the early ’90s and then began a steady and spectacular decline. By 2010, violent crime rates in New York City had plunged 75 percent from their peak in the early ’90s. Washington, DC['s] violent crime rate has dropped 58 percent since its peak. Dallas’ has fallen 70 percent. Newark: 74 percent. Los Angeles: 78 percent.

Lead emissions from tailpipes rose steadily from the early ’40s through the early ’70s, nearly quadrupling over that period. Then, as unleaded gasoline began to replace leaded gasoline, emissions plummeted. Intriguingly, violent crime rates followed the same pattern. The only thing different was the time period: the two curves looked eerily identical, but were offset by about 20 years.

… Read the rest

Continue Reading · 8

Scientology Charged With Illegal Medicine, Breaches Of Privacy And Extortion

By on December 31, 2012 in News 1

Founding Church of Scientology in Washington DC. Photo: Ben Schumin (CC)

So what is this, unfair persecution of a religion or finally a justice system willing to take on a criminal enterprise cloaked as a church? From the Daily Mail:

Belgian federal prosecutors are preparing to bring charges against the Church of Scientology as a ‘criminal organisation’, it has today been reported.

It is believed the charges of fraud, illegal medicine, breaches of privacy and extortion have been drawn up against the Church and two senior executives.

It is believed the charges relate to employment contracts issued to recruit volunteers and members in breach of Belgium’s strict employment laws, the Telegraph reports.

Prosecutors are investigating claims of extortion, illegal use of ‘pseudo-medicine’ and the keeping of records that go against privacy laws.

According to De Standaard, raids on Scientology offices in Belgium allegedly revealed evidence that the group had spied on and extorted money from converts.

… Read the rest

Continue Reading · 1

Texas Man Arrested For Carving Pentagram Into His Son On 12/12/12 ‘Holy Day’

By on December 14, 2012 in News 12

CNN reports a case with all the telltale signs of demonic possession, or the impending end of the world:

A Texas man appears to have interpreted the date of 12/12/12 as a reason to carry out a grotesque and sinister act. “I shed some innocent blood,” Brent Troy Bartel told a police dispatcher from the Fort Worth suburb of Richland Hills in a phone call just after midnight.

When the dispatcher asked him to clarify, Bartel responded in a matter-of-fact tone, “I inscribed a pentagram on my son…’Cause it’s a holy day.”

When police officers arrived at the home, they say they found the traumatized boy standing shirtless with a large red pentagram carved into the skin on his back. His blood was smeared on the front door of the house. They arrested Bartel, whose manner was flat and emotionless. What exactly may have motivated Bartel, who is being held in local jail on a $500,000 bond, remains unclear.

… Read the rest

Continue Reading · 12

Banking Giant HSBC Settles For $1.9 Billion Over Laundering Billions For Mexican Drug Cartels, Saudi Terrorists, And Iran

By on December 11, 2012 in News 13

Is the second-largest bank on the planet also one of the most far-reaching criminal organizations? The New York Times reports:

Federal and state authorities plan to announce a record $1.9 billion settlement with HSBC on Tuesday, a major victory in the government’s broad crackdown on money laundering at banks.

The settlement with HSBC stems from accusations that the British banking giant transferred billions of dollars on behalf of sanctioned nations like Iran and enabled Mexican drug cartels to launder money through the American financial system, according to officials briefed on the matter. Prosecutors found that the bank had facilitated money laundering by cartels and had moved tainted money for Saudi Arabian banks tied to terrorist organizations.

Since January 2009, the Justice and Treasury Departments and Manhattan prosecutors have charged six foreign banks, including Credit Suisse and Barclays. In June, ING Bank reached a $619 million settlement to resolve claims that it had transferred billions of dollars in the United States for Cuba and Iran.

… Read the rest

Continue Reading · 13

Seven Sentenced To Prison In Case Of Teenager Who Sold His Kidney For An iPad

By on December 5, 2012 in News 5

Was it worth it? Shanghai Daily reports:

A surgeon and six others were jailed yesterday over their involvement in the case of a teenager who sold a kidney to buy an iPhone and iPad. He Wei, who organized the illegal transaction, was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment, and Song Zhongyu, the transplant surgeon, was sentenced to three years with a reprieve of five years.

Wang Shangkun, a 17-year-old high school student from Anhui Province, agreed to sell one of his kidneys after he found the group through an online chatroom. His kidney was transplanted to a recipient in Chenzhou on April 28, 2011. Wang was given 22,000 yuan (US$3,529) and bought an iPhone and an iPad with the money. But he later suffered renal failure and told his mother what had happened.

Human organ trade and organ donations from living donors, except for close family members such as spouses and blood relatives, are illegal in China.

… Read the rest

Continue Reading · 5