Five Borough Defense

By MICHAEL RUBINKAM
Associated Press Writer

From Scranton Times-Tribune

January 26, 2009

SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) — Two Pennsylvania judges agreed Monday to plead guilty to fraud charges accusing them of taking $2.6 million in kickbacks in return for placing juvenile offenders into certain detention facilities.

The plea agreements for Luzerne County President Judge Mark Ciavarella and Senior Judge Michael Conahan call for sentences of more than seven years in prison. Ciavarella resigned from the bench in a Jan. 23 letter to Gov. Ed Rendell. Conahan has agreed to resign within 10 days of a judge’s acceptance of the plea.

Authorities say the judges took kickbacks between 2003 and 2007 in exchange for guaranteeing the placement of juvenile offenders into facilities operated by PA Child Care and Western PA Child Care LLC. In some cases, Ciavarella ordered children into detention even when juvenile probation officers did not recommend it.

“They sold their oaths of offices to the highest bidders,” Deron Roberts, chief of the FBI’s Scranton office, said at a news conference Monday.

U.S. Attorney Martin Carlson stressed the charges were “the first developments in an ongoing investigation” into public corruption at the courthouse in Wilkes-Barre.

PA Child Care and Western PA Child Care have not been charged with wrongdoing.

Conahan’s lawyer, Philip Gelso, declined comment.

Ciavarella attorney Al Flora told The Citizen’s Voice of Wilkes-Barre that the charges are just “allegations.” He added that the plea agreement is conditional on the defendants accepting the facts prosecutors present at the plea hearing, which has not yet been scheduled.

“Everything could fall apart,” he told the paper.

Luzerne County District Attorney Jackie Musto Carroll said her office would review cases in which offenders might have been improperly placed into juvenile detention.

The Juvenile Law Center, a Philadelphia-based advocacy group, complained last year to the state Supreme Court about the treatment of children in Luzerne County juvenile court, asking for the nullification of decisions in hundreds of cases. Juveniles were often denied their constitutional right to lawyers and were disproportionately sentenced to ill-advised, out-of-home placements, the group said.

“We feel that it’s a great day for the young people and the youth of this area to see the system really does work, the system really isn’t rigged against them,” said Jack Van Reeth, whose daughter was ordered detained in 2007 by Ciavarella. “It’s just wonderful to see that the scheme of jailing for dollars has come to an end.”

Jessica Van Reeth, then 16, was sent to a juvenile wilderness camp for three months after admitting that she had possessed a cigarette lighter and pipe in school. She told The Associated Press last year that the items were found in a purse she agreed to hold for a friend. The family, expecting probation, waived her right to a lawyer, unaware of the potential consequences.

Jack Van Reeth said Monday his daughter is “extremely happy. She said that this is better than Christmas.”

Excerpt from the State of The City Address:

“Now, will this broad nine-point jobs plan be enough to cure all of our economic ills? Of course not. That will only come as the national economy eventually recovers.

“In fact, the best thing that we can do for Wall Street – and for every corner store in the city – is the second leg of our economic recovery strategy: Continue to improve the quality of life in our neighborhoods. And make no mistake – we will.

“With innovative programs and tools like Operation Impact and the Real Time Crime Center, they have achieved what – seven years ago – no one believed possible. This year, we’re off to another great start: Crime is down 20 percent in the first two weeks of January compared to a year ago. To retain as many jobs as possible, we must continue building on these gains – and continue having zero tolerance for quality-of-life crimes.

“So let me make you this promise now: We won’t cede an inch to the squeegee men, turnstile jumpers, and graffiti vandals who breed a sense of disorder and lawlessness. Not on our watch. Beginning this month, we’ll step up our enforcement efforts against quality-of-life criminals, and we’ll start by identifying the 12 worst repeat quality-of life-offenders in each borough – ‘the Dirty Dozen.’

“Our Criminal Justice Coordinator, John Feinblatt, will work with the five district attorneys to make sure prosecutors and judges know about these ‘worst of the worst’ – and seek the maximum possible penalties. We’ll also propose a new State law increasing the penalties for these repeat offenders. Very simply: commit six or more quality-of-life crimes within a year, and your next one would be a felony – and the revolving door would slam shut.

“We’ll also target the three precincts with the highest murder rates by seeking a public/private partnership that can fund cameras on street corners and problem places. Cameras, as you know, are proven to deter crime and help catch criminals. And for those who say this is a civil liberties issue, you’re absolutely right: it’s about the liberty of innocent civilians to live in peace.

And we won’t rest until that’s true for every single New Yorker.”

For more bombast and foolish, hollywood-style political hyperbole against the poor, click these words you are reading right now.

Johannes Mehserle, the former police officer seen on tape shooting a face-down, unarmed Oscar Grant in the back, has officially been charged with murder. Mehserle was arrested Tuesday night (January 13) in Zephyr Cove, Nevada. The New Year’s Day shooting has sparked outrage and protests in the city of Oakland, with many accusing BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) of having a history of racially motivated violence against young black men. According to Merrick Bobb, executive director of the Police Assessment Resource Center, police officers are rarely charged with murder for killings made in the line of duty. Last week, an Oakland protest resulted in more than 100 arrests. Yesterday (January 14), another protest was completed peacefully with no reports of arrests or property damage. At press time, Mehserle’s attorney Christopher Miller is expected to use a defense centering on the fatal gunshot being an accidental discharge.

Click Here For the full story

Daily News

Thursday, November 20th 2008, 12:51 AM

Cell phone video showing NYPD cops - wearing riot gear - screaming at and swatting revelers in Brooklyn following Barack Obama’s election win circulated on the Internet Wednesday.

An anonymous person recorded the Nov. 5 confrontation on Bedford Ave. and N. 7th St. in Williamsburg as celebrations erupted after Obama gave his victory speech.

“Get that f—ing phone outta my face,” screamed the cop, seconds before lunging at a person.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2008/11/19/2008-11-19_rough_riot_cops_captured_on_camera_after-1.html

November 10, 2008
New York Times
In case you missed it. Also make sure to watch the video to see Arthur Jones, champion of the little man, changing the system from a broom closet on NW 14th St near Downtown Miami. Seriously. The video’s pretty awesome.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/09/us/09defender.html?_r=2&ei=5070&emc=eta1&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

Oct 23, 2008

Preacher Pete Pearlyman scowls as the wretched, fluids-gorged writhing mass of apostates outbid the affections of Suzy, with whom he had had enjoyed an exclusive contract till competition opened the market.  “This is an outrage,” he cried, “an outrage!”  His collar dipped delicately in to his smirnoff martini, then popped up at his sudden animation tossing an errent drop of vodka under his eye.  “This is an outrage,” he repeated in hushed tones, retreating in to the din of the brothel where he used to reign.  Then whispered, “God help us.”   The bartender, an old seminary roommate, refilled his glass after pete laid his head on the bar. 

By the way - this really may happen.  For real.  Read more here.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/10/21/national/a124636D57.DTL

October 14, 2008

Chicago Public Radio

Link to audio interview:

http://www.wbez.org/Content.aspx?audioID=29524

Devine says innocent people who confess to crimes may have personalities where they just want to please people so they simply repeat details they’ve heard from investigators. Devine says there are others who are just playing the odds.

DEVINE: Someone might think I’m going to go down for something. I’d better work out the best deal I can and I can do that by confessing to a limited role in this thing and testifying against others.

Devine says police and prosecutors always need to withhold crucial details to corroborate the truthfulness of confessions. It’s well documented that Chicago Police have tortured some suspects into giving false confessions though Devine didn’t address that. He made his comments today at the Chicago Bar Association in a speech on 12 things he’s learned during his 12 years as the State’s Attorney. It was a farewell speech of sorts for Devine, who leaves office at the end of November.

I’m Robert Wildeboer, Chicago Public Radio.

“It’s getting worse throughout the city,” Poston said.

Actually, scavenging seems to be worsening across the county and nation. Complaints from residents and reports from officials in the waste industry suggest the practice is on the rise.

The trend is difficult to quantify, because most stolen recyclables are brought to scrap yards and recycling businesses that pay cash and don’t ask for personal identification.

Recycling experts said a weak economy and sky-high prices for scrap metal have turned curbside containers into gold mines for everyone from the homeless to quasi-professional thieves, who sweep through neighborhoods with crews and large vehicles.

Over the past five years, the price for scrap aluminum has roughly doubled to nearly $2,000 a ton, while the price for No. 1 plastic – used to make most types of water bottles – has nearly tripled to about $400 a ton, according to the state Department of Conservation.

In cities that charge for garbage and recycling services – San Diego doesn’t for single-family homes – the growing theft could lead to higher bills. That’s because cities and their registered haulers use money from recycling operations to help pay for waste-collection services.

Throughout San Diego County and elsewhere, it’s illegal to take objects from curbside trash and recycling containers. The rules are meant to protect public health and the revenues of companies or agencies handling waste collection.

When waste and recyclables are set at the curb, they generally become the property of the city or designated hauler.

But prohibitions haven’t deterred scavengers such as Terry Pfeiffer, a retired meat cutter from Point Loma.

“I haven’t used the ATM in more than a year. I get money every day” by gathering cans and bottles, Pfeiffer said as he sorted his collection in Ocean Beach one recent day.

He started scavenging about 18 months ago to make money during his early morning walks. His average daily haul is about $20. “It’s like a business to me,” Pfeiffer said. “You have to beat the other guys.”

San Diego’s records show a 70 percent rise in reported incidents of scavenging between fiscal years 2006 and 2008, which ended on June 30.

Chula Vista keeps few records about scavenging, but environmental manager Lynn France said reported increases elsewhere fit the economic pattern. “Any time the economy gets a little tight, scavenging does go up,” she said.

In Oceanside, code-compliance officers are handling roughly twice as many complaints about scavenging as they did before a 2006 crackdown on the practice.

“We get complaints from all quarters of the city, and we respond when we can,” said David Manley, a city code-enforcement official.

Other communities across California have expressed concern about the rising theft of recyclables, including Camarillo, Corona, Napa, Oxnard, Redondo Beach, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Rafael.

Mayors and city councils have discussed it during meetings. Waste officials have asked the state Legislature to pass stronger anti-scavenging measures. And garbage haulers have highlighted the problem in their companies’ newsletters.

Historically, trash companies, waste agencies and prosecutors have paid scant attention to the theft of recyclables. That stance has been driven in part by more pressing priorities and compassion for the poor.

But scavenging can cause fewer residents to participate in curbside recycling programs, said Steve South, president of EDCO, a solid-waste and recycling company based in Lemon Grove.

“A lot of people don’t want their discarded material gone through,” South said.

Brazen and organized teams of recycling raiders are spurring much of the heightened concern from waste officials.

In late August, the Legislature passed a bill that would require scrap yards and recyclers to demand identification and pay only by check for large deposits of recyclables such as cans and newspapers.

The idea is to create a paper trail as a deterrent to “organized crime rings,” said Nick Hardeman, spokesman for Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, D-San Francisco, who wrote the anti-scavenging bill. The governor hasn’t acted on the legislation.

Robert Reed, a spokesman for Sunset Scavenger Co. and Golden Gate Disposal & Recycling in San Francisco, calls those rings and other big-time scavengers “mosquito fleets.” He said his companies are losing nearly $500,000 a year to such operations, which use trucks and vans to haul the loot.

Waste experts said similar outfits operate in San Diego County, mainly in densly populated areas. But the secretive nature of their work – they typically operate at night – makes it hard to gauge their impact.

One thing is clear: Residents are increasingly worried about poaching regardless of who is involved.

In San Diego, the Environmental Services Department received 391 complaints about theft of recyclables in fiscal year 2008, the highest annual total in at least five years. The reported incidents represent a small fraction of all scavenging cases, said city recycling expert Stephen Grealy.

San Diego records show that scavengers are men and women from numerous ethnic groups who rummage through bins in neighborhoods across the socio-economic spectrum.

Poston and her code-enforcement colleagues fan out in search of poachers and violators of other city codes. Her cat-and-mouse searches end only when she spots someone removing articles from garbage or recycling cans.

Poston typically issues a warning if she doesn’t recognize the violator, while repeat offenders are given misdemeanor citations.

Judges set the fines, which start at $100. Poston said very few people have paid fines, in part because it’s often difficult to verify scavengers’ identities and they may not show up for their court hearing.

Public opinion is split on scavenging.

“It doesn’t bother me. If someone can get some use out of the stuff, why not?” said Dean Hollenbeck of Ocean Beach.

On the other side of the debate is Susan Jones of Kensington, who has called the police to complain about scavengers in recent weeks.

“I don’t want people committing a crime in my neighborhood,” she said. “If they are stealing recyclables, they are likely to steal anything.”

BY ALISON GENDAR and JOHN MARZULLI
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Friday, September 19th 2008, 4:00 AM

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2008/09/19/2008-09-19_cops_harass_folks_who_live_in_projects_s.html

Tenant surveys at two city housing projects show a large number of residents report being arrested or stopped and quizzed by cops even though they live there, the Daily News has learned.

The results are in a report to be released tomorrow by New York Lawyers for the Public Interest. It’s based on interviews with 181 residents and their guests of the Thomas Jefferson Houses in East Harlem and Walt Whitman Houses in Fort Greene, Brooklyn.

Of the 106 people surveyed at Thomas Jefferson, 30% said they had been charged with trespassing and 70% said they had been repeatedly stopped by cops demanding identification, the report says.

More than half queried at Walt Whitman said police had stopped them at least once in the last year.

“People of color who are poor are being treated differently than the rest of the city by the police just because the city is their landlord,” said NYLPI director Amanda Masters.

“If you had police patrolling your backyard, your halls, checking your mailboxes and demanding your ID every day, how would you feel?” she said.

The report is dedicated to the memory of Sybil (Michelle) Edwards who was arrested three years ago for trespassing at her Thomas Jefferson building.

Edwards, who died of cancer this summer at the age of 45, was trying to cross the roof from the adjacent building because her elevator was broken, but was arrested anyway.

“When you have this intensive policing and vetting every person in sight, a certain portion of mistakes occur,” Legal Aid Society lawyer Steve Wasserman said.

NYPD spokesman Paul Browne dismissed the study’s findings.

“Collecting anecdotes from anyone who opens the door does not constitute data,” he said, adding that the Jefferson Houses has been targeted for additional patrols because of a 19% spike in crime this year.

Frankly, I am really worried. While different polls give different answers about who is ahead at the moment, they all agree on three things: 1) we have a solid 40-42 per cent; 2) they have a solid 40 to 42 per cent; 3) we are both chasing the remaining 16 to 20 percent. That remaining 16 to 20 percent is made up of voters who a deeply conflicted; they don’t like marriage for same-sex couples, but they also don’t like the idea of voting to take something away.

Our campaign manager, who I think is very good says that the side that is able to frame the debate with television advertising is likely to win. We made a great TV buy early on. But they have now bought a week ahead of us. More ominous, they are now out fundraising us significantly. They have taken in about $17 million compared to our $10 million (and they only pulled ahead post labor day). Just Wednesday, they took in an additional $750,000. On Thursday and Friday they took in over $800,000. And the stuff is pouring in, mostly in $1,000, $2,500 and $5,000 chunks, mostly driven by the LDS church. By contrast, most of our money has come from very large givers. The kind of gifts the Mormons are bringing in just are not coming in our side.

The crazy thing is, we’ve already raised more than has ever been raised on a progressive campaign in California. But the religious groups see this as the Waterloo of the “culture war.”

Right now, most of the polls say we have a modest lead. But if they keep out doing us on money, they will get up on TV first, they will define the issue, and our lead will evaporate. And our chances of winning will become remote.

We can still win this, but our community has got to start supporting the effort in a big way now, or we are done for. Please, give as generously as you can. Here’s a link:

https://secure.ga4.org/01/equalityforall?source=aclunc

I don’t have to tell you how important it is that we defeat Prop. 8. With marriage secure in California, we will be poised to win marriage in critical states like New Jersey and New York in a year or two. We could have the fight for equality more or less finished in less than a generation. But if we lose the largest and most economically important state in the nation, and if we lose because the voters reject marriage, winning be at least an additional generation away.