CRIME BLOG with John G. Brenner

Hate Crime?

2010-05-31T15:01:00.003-04:00

If the roles were reversed, would this-not be a hate crime, a crime based only on race, the perp is speaking French, something about (literally) '.....hitting white women.' I would love to see these punks do this in my presence, the outcome would be somewhat different.

Punk!

Thank You

2010-05-31T13:42:00.003-04:00

Thank-you to those who have have made the ultimate sacrifice and the very brave family members they have left behind.

John

Terrorism In Bridgeport

2010-05-05T22:15:00.006-04:00

I was recently interviewed about the attempted Bomb Attack in NYC by the CT Post, take a look:

BRIDGEPORT -- Faisal Shahzad, the man charged in the attempted bombing in Times Square, is a 2001 graduate of the University of Bridgeport and had lived at multiple addresses in Fairfield and New Haven counties.

Shahzad, who will appear in federal court in Manhattan Tuesday, graduated from U.B. His parents had traveled to Bridgeport from Pakistan to attend his graduation. When Shahzad's name was called, his father proudly whispered, "that's him."

Michael Spitzer, the University of Bridgeport's provost and vice president for academic affairs, said Shahzad earned a bachelor of science in computer applications and information systems in the fall of 2000. He returned to U.B. and graduated with an MBA in the summer of 2005.

Spitzer stated that Shahzad's attendance at the school was of "marginal significance," and reiterated that "the university abhors acts of violence and terrorism. We work to combat racial and ethnic prejudices and animosity and believe that education in an international context is the key to understanding the values and beliefs of people from other cultures."

Shahzad didn't seem to leave much of an impression on any of his professors while earning his MBA, said Ward Thrasher, assistant dean of the University of Bridgeport School of Business, and director of the school's MBA program. Thrasher said he recalled that Shahzad was a student at the school but "he didn't impress me as being overly good or overly bad. He didn't stand out one way or another."

Thrasher said he'd spoken to other professors in the school on Tuesday who tried to figure out whether they knew Shahzad, but no one seemed to have any significant memories of him. As for Thrasher, "I remember his name, but don't remember much about him."

Records also show that Shahzad has lived in the region since May 2001 including addresses in Milford, Norwalk, Bridgeport and Shelton.

In Shelton, Shahzad bought a house at 119 Long Hill Ave. in 2004 and took out a $218,400 mortgage from Chase Home Finance. In February 2009, he obtained a $65,000 home equity loan from Wachovia bank and seven months both banks began foreclosure.

Shahzad became a U.S. citizen on April 17, 2009 in a courthouse ceremony before U.S. Magistrate Judge Holly Fitzsimmons in Bridgeport.

Meanwhile, police and FBI continued their search a 202-204 Sheridan Street home in Bridgeport where Shahzad lived. The search started around 2 a.m. , said agent Kimberly Mertz, who wouldn't answer questions about the search.

Authorities removed several filled plastic bags from the house overnight. A bomb squad came and went without entering as local police and FBI agents gathered in the cordoned-off street.

Investigators removed a fireworks box among other evidence at the Bridgeport property. The box is labeled "Silver Salutes." Those fireworks are similar to the M88s authorities say were found among containers of gasoline and other materials left in an SUV meant to explode in New York City on Saturday night.

Shahzad's neighbors in Bridgeport say federal agents arrived late Monday to his triple-decker with the name "F Shahzad" on the mailbox.

The Federal Aviation Administration ordered a flight restriction over the Bridgeport house to allow for the investigation.

Men in white suits were seen entering and leaving the home that may have been home to Shahzad, a former Shelton resident. A "For Rent" sign can be seen posted on the home, which according to the tax assessor's Web site is owned by Chomiak Stanislaw.

Shahzad, 30, of Pakistani descent who recently traveled to Pakistan, paid cash weeks ago for the SUV parked in Times Square on Saturday. It was found rigged with a crude propane-and-gasoline bomb and had cheap-looking alarm clocks connected to a 16-ounce can filled with fireworks.

Residents living behind the Sheridan Street house, at 33 Bell Street, were told by police to evacuate their home shortly after 2 a.m. "They were banging on my door," said Lavonne Muse who was awakened by a crowd of Bridgeport and State Police and federal agents. Muse said aid they stayed in the auditorium until 4 a.m when they were allowed to return to their home.

The Sheridan Street home is in a densly populated area a few blocks from Bridgeport Hospital.

At 7 a.m., about a half-dozen investigators, most wearing FBI hats or shirts, some in protective white clothing, were examining the second-floor back deck of the house. The process was ongoing at 8 a.m. when investigators went up to the third-floor deck and dropped a blue tarp that blocked the view of the second floor.

Another two FBI agents, one from Washington and one from New York, looked for evidence in the back yard of a house on Bell Street. The backyard, particularly a narrow alley that ran between garages, abutted the Sheridan Street property.

Catreese Heath-Charles, a 21-year-old resident of the Bell Street house, said people living in the Sheridan Street house were quiet.

"You'd see lights go on and off," she said, "but that was about it."

Like others in the neighborhood, she was evacuated early Tuesday morning to Harding High School, just a block from the scene.

Shahzad, 30, is a naturalized U.S. citizen and had recently returned from a five-month trip to Pakistan, where he had a wife, according to law enforcement officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the investigation into the failed car bombing.

The U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan was handling the case and said Shahzad would appear in court Tuesday, but the charges were not made public.

Shahzad was being held in New York overnight and couldn't be contacted. A phone number at a listed address for Shahzad in Shelton wasn't in service.

He used to live in a two-story grayish-brown Colonial with a sloping yard in a working-class neighborhood in Shelton. On Tuesday morning, the home looked as if it had been unoccupied for a while, with grass growing in the driveway and bags of garbage lying about.

Neighbors offered diverging descriptions of Shahzad but agreed that he kept to himself. One, Brenda Thurman, said Shahzad had told her husband he worked on Wall Street, while another neighbor, Audrey Sokol, said she thought he worked in nearby Norwalk.

Thurman, 37, said he lived in Shelton with his wife and two small children until last year.

"He was a little bit strange," she said. "He didn't like to come out during the day."

Sokol, a teacher who lives next door to Shahzad's old house, said that he would wave and say hello and that he seemed normal to her.

Records show that Shahzad has lived at multiple addresses in Fairfield and New Haven counties since March 2000 including addresses in Milford and Norwalk.

Law enforcement officials say Shahzad bought the SUV, a 1993 Nissan Pathfinder, from a Connecticut man about three weeks ago and paid cash. The officials spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the case.

The vehicle identification number had been removed from the Pathfinder's dashboard, but it was stamped on the engine, and investigators used it to find the owner of record, who told them he had sold the vehicle to a stranger. As the SUV buyer came into focus, investigators backed off other leads.

The SUV was parked on Saturday night on a busy midtown Manhattan street near a theater showing "The Lion King." The explosive device inside it had cheap-looking alarm clocks connected to a 16-ounce can filled with fireworks, which were apparently intended to detonate gas cans and set propane tanks afire in a chain reaction "to cause mayhem, to create casualties," police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said.

The FBI is conducting a textbook operation in an effort to gather evidence against alleged terrorist Faisal Shahzad, a former CIA investigator said.

"The first thing they want to find is a connection between this guy and the two residences in Bridgeport and Shelton," said John Brenner, a retired Bridgeport Police lieutenant and investigator for the CIA and Homeland Security, who now owns a forensic consulting business in Westport.

"That's why you see the FBI agents going into the residences wearing Tyvek protective suits, they don't want to bring anything into the residences from outside," he continued. "Once inside they are collecting hairs and even sweat from the keys of a computer to trace him (Shahzad) to the scene."

Brenner said they will then search the residences looking for receipts for the clocks and propane tanks used to make the bomb. "They will be trying to build a case on whether this bomb was built in Bridgeport or Shelton."

All the evidence that is secured will be taken to the FBI's lab in Quantico, Va., he said.

"Then investigators will concentrate on running all the information they have about this man backwards to see where his funding came from. Did the money come from the Middle East or is this guy self-funded?" he said. "It becomes a classic white-collar investigation."

Staff writers Keila Torres, John Burgeson, Michael J. Daly, Amanda Cuda, Daniel Tepfer and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

End

.

Not too bright.....

2010-04-01T10:36:00.001-04:00

(CNN) -- A group of suspected pirates was captured Thursday after attacking a U.S. Navy frigate in the Indian Ocean, according to a statement released by the U.S. Sixth Fleet.

The USS Nicholas reported taking fire from a suspected pirate skiff shortly after midnight local time west of the Seychelles, the statement said. The Nicholas quickly returned fire and began pursuing the skiff, which was eventually disabled. A boarding team from the Nicholas subsequently captured and detained three people, the statement said.

The team discovered ammunition and several cans of fuel aboard the skiff, which was later sunk by the Nicholas.

Two more suspected pirates were captured on a confiscated "mother ship," the statement said. The detainees will "remain in U.S. custody on board Nicholas until a determination is made regarding their disposition," it said.

The Nicholas, based in Norfolk, Virginia, is part of the U.S. military's Africa Command.

The waters off the coast of Somalia -- the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean -- have been plagued by Somali pirates over the last couple of years. To crack down on piracy, the international community has adopted measures including naval escorts and expanded monitoring.

Last week, one pirate was killed and several others were detained after a private security team thwarted an attack against a Panamanian-flagged cargo ship, the MV Almezaan. A European Union naval force was called in to assist the vessel.

Just Wrong

2010-03-30T12:01:00.002-04:00

This disgusts me, there must be full punishment to those involved and those who took no action, shame!!!!!!!!JB

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Group's displeasure of girl's "brief dating relationship" may have sparked harassment
Prosecutor: Suicide of Massachusetts girl, 15, is culmination of months of bullying
Phoebe Prince's body found hanging in family's apartment building
Victim "was subjected to verbal harassment and physical abuse," district attorney says
(CNN) -- Nine Massachusetts teenagers have been charged with involvement in a monthslong campaign of bullying that led to the January suicide of a 15-year-old girl, a prosecutor said.

Phoebe Prince's body was found hanging in the stairway leading to her family's second-floor apartment in South Hadley, Northwestern District Attorney Elizabeth D. Scheibel told reporters Monday in the western Massachusetts town of Northampton.

"It appears that Phoebe's death on January 14 followed a torturous day for her when she was subjected to verbal harassment and physical abuse," Scheibel said.

Earlier that day, Phoebe had been harassed as she studied in the library at South Hadley High School, apparently in the presence of a faculty member and several students, none of whom reported it until after the girl's death, Scheibel said.

Phoebe, who had recently moved to the area with her family from Ireland, also was harassed as she walked through the halls of the school that day and as she walked on the street toward her home, the prosecutor said.

Video: Making bullies accountable

Video: Bullied to death? The harassment that day, by one male and two females, "appears to have been motivated by the group's displeasure with Phoebe's brief dating relationship with a male student that had ended six weeks earlier," she said.

But that day's events were not isolated; they "were the culmination of a nearly three-month campaign of verbally abusive, assaultive behavior and threats of physical harm toward Phoebe on school grounds by several South Hadley students," Scheibel added.

"Their conduct far exceeded the limits of normal teenage relationship-related quarrels. The investigation revealed relentless activity directed toward Phoebe designed to humiliate her and to make it impossible for her to remain at school."

In the indictments, returned Friday but not made public until Monday, the Hampshire County grand jury charged Sean Mulveyhill, 17, of South Hadley with statutory rape, violation of civil rights with bodily injury resulting, criminal harassment and disturbance of a school assembly.

The indictments charged Austin Renaud, 18, of Springfield with statutory rape.

Kayla Narey, 17, of South Hadley was charged with violation of civil rights with bodily injury resulting, criminal harassment and disturbance of a school assembly.

The investigation revealed relentless activity directed toward Phoebe designed to humiliate her.

--Elizabeth D. Scheibel, Northwestern district attorney
RELATED TOPICS
Bullying
Crime
Northampton
CNN was not able to reach any of the three, none of whom has been taken into custody, according to Scheibel. She did not elaborate on the statutory rape charges.

Charges against another three girls included violation of civil rights with bodily injury resulting; two were also charged with stalking.

Three other girls from South Hadley were named in four delinquency complaints from Hampshire Franklin Juvenile Court. Their charges included violation of civil rights with bodily injury resulting, criminal harassment and disturbance of a school assembly, violation of civil rights, criminal harassment and assault by means of a dangerous weapon. One of the juveniles was charged in a separate complaint involving a second victim, Scheibel said.

Though initial news reports blamed Phoebe's suicide on cyberbullying, Scheibel said the students' actions were "primarily conducted on school grounds during school hours and while school was in session." She said any use of electronic social networks was secondary to "commonly understood bullying methods."

The bullying of Phoebe was common knowledge to most of the student body and to certain faculty, staff and administrators, Scheibel said. At least four students and two faculty members had intervened during the harassment, but the school's code of conduct was inconsistently enforced, she said.

Though the faculty, staff and administrators' behavior was not deemed criminal, "the actions, or inactions, of some adults at the school are troublesome," she said.

Scheibel said the Prince family had asked "that the public refrain from vigilantism in favor of allowing the judicial system an opportunity to provide a measure of justice for Phoebe."

CNN was not able to reach the Prince family.

Scheibel said the investigation was continuing and that a 10th person may be charged.

Arraignments will occur "in the near future," she said.

Several of the students remain in the school. In a statement, South Hadley Public Schools Assistant Superintendent Christine Sweklo said school officials would meet with the district attorney to review any new evidence.

"Once we are able to obtain this information, we will be able to make a more comprehensive statement and possibly take further action against the students still attending South Hadley High School," Sweklo said.

The statutory rape charges could result in penalties of up to life in prison, said Elizabeth Farris, a lawyer in the prosecutor's office. A conviction on a violation of civil rights charge could result in 10 years in prison; a conviction for criminal harassment up to 2½ years; a conviction for disturbance of school assembly up to one month, she said.

Those 17 and older will be tried as adults in Hampshire County Superior Court. The juveniles will be tried in juvenile court. A juvenile court judge may choose to institute an adult penalty, a combination of adult and juvenile penalties or a juvenile penalty alone, Farris said.

2010-03-26T08:26:00.001-04:00

2010-03-24T07:04:00.001-04:00

(CNN) -- As Elizabeth Sullivan stood on the field at Comfort Zone Camp, staring out at the "normal" kids playing ice-breaker games and elbow tag, she realized, "It's OK to have fun."

Six months earlier, she lost her father when he collapsed while jogging at night. He died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. The 12-year-old never got to say goodbye.

But not all of the one in seven Americans who lose a parent or sibling before the age of 20 learn to cope the way Sullivan has.

In fact, 73 percent of adults believe that their lives would have been "much better" had their loved ones not died when they were young, according to a survey released Monday by Comfort Zone Camp, a nonprofit provider of childhood bereavement camps, and Matthew Greenwald and Associates Inc.

Of the 1,006 adults surveyed, 110 had lost a parent before the age of 20, 52 lost a sibling, and 13 lost both. Participants had to be at least 25 years old to take part in the poll, which was conducted between November and December via the Internet. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.

FURTHER RESOURCES
hellogrief.org
centering.org
childgrief.org
compassionatefriends.org The majority of participants agreed that they would trade one year of their life for one more day with their departed parent. However, about 59 percent of people who lost a parent at a young age think they have become stronger as a result, saying that losing a loved one gave them a greater appreciation of family relationships.

There is not one way to interpret each individual's idea of "much better," said Pete Shrock, national program director at Comfort Zone. But with any loss, life is going to be different; however, that doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be worse.

"The family is a unit, and everyone plays a significant role in how that family communicates and works. ... It's like a link in a chain," he said. "When you move that link -- it doesn't matter if it's directly in the middle, to the left or the right -- there's a disruption in the chain, and it will never be the same."

About 85 percent of parents who lost a spouse said they wish there were more resources for their grieving children.

When you move that link ... there's a disruption in the chain, and it will never be the same.

--Pete Shrock, national program director, Comfort Zone
Kate Killion does, too.

Killion, 53, who lost her father suddenly when she was 8 years old, said there were very few bereavement services available for children in the 1960s.

"People didn't recognize how children process death and grief," she said. "The adults in my life tried to protect me by not talking about it. They thought I wouldn't think about it as much. That isn't the case. Giving children the chance to express their feelings and help them process [loss] is so important."

Killion started dealing with the loss when she was in her 20s by talking openly about her father -- something she could not do with her mother, who shut down after her father's death.

Killion said her brother, who was 12 at the time, never found the support she found.

"He just closed up. He's that way to this day," she said. "That's how much it changes your life. He was a vulnerable, confused little boy, and he still hasn't dealt with it. It stays with you forever unless you can really go there and deal with it."

Not only do siblings tend to deal with the same loss differently, there are many differences in the ways men and women handle grief, Shrock said.

While 38 percent of the women surveyed for Comfort Zone's study "strongly agreed" that "losing a parent was the toughest thing [they've] had to deal with," only 29 percent of men agreed.

Daddy's little girl is going to react differently to the loss of her father than the young man who just lost the person who was supposed to teach him to play catch and drive a stick shift, Shrock added.

Milestones such as proms, graduations and weddings are among the top concerns for many children and young adults. But for Sullivan, now 23, it's more about the little things, like going to a college football game.

It's all about learning how to cope, she said, which she finally managed to do while making breakfast eight years after her father's death.

She was making pastina, an Italian dish she and her father used to make together.

After cracking an egg over the tiny pieces of pasta and butter in her pot, she began to stir quickly so the egg would spread before everything congealed.

"When we used to make it before I went to school, he would cheer me on and tell me to stir faster, 'stir, stir, stir,' " she said. "Making that pasta and thinking about him cheering me on and laughing was the most connected I've been able to feel to him. That's when I realized how I need to cope: by doing the things that make me feel connected."

There are always going to be good days and bad days, she said.

"I remember a lot of people telling me initially that I should write in a journal. That wasn't for me at the time. It's important not be afraid to try things and figure out what works for you. Be willing to talk to people .... There's not a right or a wrong way to grieve."

Bad Move

2010-03-23T07:55:00.001-04:00

W. Haven teachers get pink slips
Updated: Tuesday, 23 Mar 2010, 5:27 AM EDT
Published : Monday, 22 Mar 2010, 4:36 PM EDT

By: Bob Wilson
West Haven, Conn. (WTNH) - The West Haven Board of Education voted to deliver pink slips to 54 teachers as part of its plan to fix a multi-million dollar budget shortfall.

The BoE made the decision at its meeting Monday night.

"Hurt, disappointment, it's no words," said Ashley Halligan, a teacher who is set to be let go.

"There is not a feeling to describe. I knew ever since I was little that I wanted to do this for the rest of my life and now I'm missing out on an opportunity," said Dana Soderberg, a teacher to be let go.

The number of teachers to be cut is 54 -- but they are not just a number. They have faces and names and are called teacher by dozens of students.

There is another number: $6-million. That's the amount the school board is short. So they are proposing the layoffs and the closure of two schools, one of which received an award for top ten schools in the state.

"We are getting this award because our scores are so high on the CMT yet they are having this meeting because the might close Malloy," said parent Rosemary Russo.

"This is our passion, knowing we are going to change the lives of our kids and now someone took that from us," said Halligan.

And while the budget is going forward, they will not stop fighting -- from the superintendent and to the teachers to the students themselves.

"It's the first inning of a nine inning ball game; hopefully we can do everything to fight for every dollar that we can get. As it goes forward we're talking tonight we're looking at 54 layoffs and two schools closing, that's a plan right now that I am still working on," said Superintendent of Schools Neil Cavallaro.

2010-03-22T08:00:00.000-04:00

Washington (CNN) -- The House passed on Sunday the Senate's health care reform bill and a package of measures meant to reconcile differences between the Senate bill and the one it passed last year.

Here's the latest on what's happening:

11:48 p.m.: President Obama says that the House's vote on health care "wasn't an easy vote but it was the right vote."

Speaking from the East Room of the White House, the president, who made health care reform a priority for his administration, said the vote wasn't a victory for a political party but for the American people.

Obama said the reform plan won't fix everything wrong with the nation's health care system, "but it moves us decisively in the right direction."

11:30 p.m.: The House has passed the package of fixes meant to reconcile differences between the bill the House passed last year and the Senate bill it passed earlier Sunday night.

Those vote was 220-211.

The reconciliation package now heads to the Senate.

11:20 p.m.: The House is voting on passage of the reconciliation bill. This is the final vote of the day on health care reform.

The reconciliation bill is the package of "fixes" to the Senate health care bill that made it more attractive to balking House Democrats.

11:18 p.m.: The House votes down the Republican motion to recommit the bill.

11:08 p.m.: CNN's Brianna Keilar reports: A Republican lawmaker shouted out "baby killer" as Rep. Bart Stupak explained why he would not support the motion to recommit.

Stupak sponsored an amendment in the House bill that included tougher language on restricting federal funding of abortions.

Stupak decided to support the Senate bill after President Obama said he would sign an executive order that would make sure the health care reform law would be consistent with current restrictions on federal funding for abortions.

10:55 p.m.: Republicans have offered a motion to recommit, which is their last chance to kill the bill.

The Republican motion is to amend the language on abortion in the just-passed Senate bill.

10:48 p.m.: The House passes the Senate health care bill, 219-212.

All 178 Republicans opposed it, along with 34 Democrats.

The House then moved on to consider the reconciliation package.

10:31 p.m.: Lawmakers are voting on the health care legislation. The vote will last for 15 minutes.

10:17 p.m.: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi praised the health care legislation for its ability to "unleash tremendous entrepreneurial power into our economy."

Pelosi said the fact that the bill is on the cusp of passing is due to the leadership of President Obama.

She also cited the legacy of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, who wrote in a letter to Obama that health care is the "great unfinished business of our society."

"That is -- until today," she said.

10:07 p.m.: House Minority Leader John Boehner delivers fiery remarks, slamming the contents of the health care bill and the process leading up to the vote.

Video: Obama: This is change

Video: Boehner's fiery plea to House

Video: Pelosi's final pitch

Video: 7 days of debate in 2 minutes
RELATED TOPICS
Health Care Reform
U.S. House of Representatives
U.S. Senate
Democratic Party
Republican Party
Speaking about the way the bill was written, Boehner asked, "Can you say it was done openly, with transparency and accountability? Without backroom deals struck behind closed doors, hidden from the people?

"Hell no you can't!"

10:01 p.m.: CNN's Ed Henry reports: In his remarks after the health care vote, President Obama will be blunt about casting the House's expected passage of his health care legislation as an achievement of historic proportions that shows he's starting to deliver on the dramatic change he promised on the campaign trail, according to Democratic officials familiar with the planned remarks.

"He's going to say we delivered -- that we rose to the challenge," said one of the Democratic officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss Obama's speech before it is delivered. "It's about change, and what change looks like."

9:45 p.m.: Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Virginia, said that when it comes to health care reform, the only bipartisanship he's seen is in the opposition to it.

"We believe this government must stop spending money that it doesn't have," said Cantor, the House minority whip.

"The choice before us is very clear. The choice is whether we want to become a country that is unrecognizable or one that will fulfill the American dream."

9:40 p.m.: Democratic Rep. Allen Boyd, a member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats, said that while the health care bill is not perfect, "the other side has brought us no viable alternatives."

"If not this, then what? If not now, then when?" the Florida lawmaker asked.

8:58 p.m.: Democratic Rep. Tim Bishop of New York said that "amidst angry and at times even hateful rhetoric, amidst the misinformation and scare tactics, there exists one simple truth, and that truth is that the current system is unsustainable."

Last summer, Bishop suspended his town hall meetings following a particularly unruly event.

8:38 p.m.: Republican Rep. Tom Price, a doctor from Georgia, said health care is a "moral endeavor and should be grounded in principle."

"This is a sad day, yes, because there are so many wonderful and positive and patient-centered solutions that could be enacted. You see, we trust patients and families. They trust government," he said.

7:57 p.m.: In an impassioned speech, Rep. John Lewis, D-Georgia, urges his colleagues to pass health care reform.

"This may be the most important vote that we cast as members of this body. We have a moral obligation today, tonight to make health care a right and not a privilege," Lewis said.

"On this day, at this moment, in this chamber, answer the call of history, answer the spirit of history and pass health care. Give the American people a victory. Give health care a chance," he said to applause.

Republican Rep. John Linder, also from Georgia, said he feels "rude trying to inject some fact into this Kabuki Theatre but I'm going to try."

"This has never been about health care. This is about government," he said, arguing that the proposed legislation would destroy health care for those who are happy with the coverage they have.

7:54 p.m.: If House Democrats pass the Senate bill Sunday night, as is expected, a senior administration official said "it won't be signed today," CNN's Dan Lothian reports.

Instead, the president will deliver remarks after the vote in the White House East Room.

7:38 p.m.: Rep. Anh "Joseph" Cao will vote "no" on the health care bill, CNN's Dana Bash reports.

Cao was the one Republican who voted for the House bill in November.

The Louisiana representative said he will not support the Senate bill because of its abortion language.

Cao does not think the executive order goes far enough, his chief of staff said.

7:26 p.m.: Republican and House members are lined up for what might be their last opportunity for a voice in the debate over health care.

Shelton CT

2010-03-20T12:37:00.002-04:00

We support the peaceful and lawful protests by Shelton students in providing for the BOE budget.

Shelton has many problem's right now, and you show great courage in moving Shelton forward.

Well done.

2010-03-18T09:33:00.001-04:00

WTNH) - It's apparently worth big bucks if you have the guts to do it -- stealing prescription drugs and selling them on the black market.

The high price of prescription drugs is on the minds of politicians, the sick, the elderly, and it's on the minds of criminals. Industry experts say pharmaceutical thefts have quadrupled in the last 4 years.

The latest heist happened in Enfield in a warehouse storing Eli Lily products like Prozac and Cymbalta.

Police say early Sunday, the crooks cut a hole in the roof, slid down ropes and made off with enough drugs to fill a tractor trailer. The estimated value of the haul is $75 million. It was a brazen heist, but not that unusual anymore.

Newsweek says this is the tenth pharmaceutical theft this year. In the last two years there were 46 in the U.S. Now mostly those were shipments stolen in transit, breaking into a warehouse is less common, but it has happened before.

Experts say the crooks often change the labels and sell the stolen drugs through wholesalers and online distributors. You would never know if you were getting stolen drugs...unless something went wrong.

For instance, a year ago, some diabetics ended up with dangerously high blood sugar levels because they got some insulin that had been stolen. While they had it, the thieves didn't refrigerate it properly, so it didn't work anymore.

2010-03-13T23:00:00.001-05:00

2010-03-13T08:12:00.001-05:00

(CNN) -- Middle- and high school students may look to their teachers as mentors or even friends. In rare but high-profile cases, experts say, the relationship may go too far, into the sexual realm.

However the situation unfolds, it is always the responsibility of the teacher to keep appropriate boundaries. "It's never the kid's fault," said New York psychologist Judith Alpert.

Amy Beck, a 33-year-old sixth-grade teacher in Burbank, California, is in police custody charged with five counts of unlawful sex with a person under 16. The student in question, a boy, was 14 at the time and has since moved to a different school, officials said.

For some, the case may evoke memories of Mary Kay Letourneau, now Mary Kay Fualaau, who served more than seven years in prison for having sex with a 13-year-old former student. They had two children and married in 2005.

What makes the latest case unusual, police say, is that the teacher turned herself in voluntarily and told detectives she had had inappropriate sexual relations with a student. Police say they went to verify this with the student and he confirmed it.

Beck is married to a police officer and the mother of three children. She recently resigned from her teacher's job and is still in jail. Her arraignment, originally scheduled for Wednesday, was postponed until March 25. If tried and convicted, she could face up to seven years in prison.

Although cases like these involving women attract attention, female teachers are more restrained in their sexual behavior in general, said Karin Meiselman, a psychologist in private practice in Pasadena, California. Cases involving male teachers happen more frequently but aren't as much in the public eye, she said.

The teacher-student relationship mirrors that of the parent and child in the sense of a large power difference between perpetrator and victim, making sexual acts between instructor and pupil related to incest, experts say.

In both situations, the younger person is dependent on the authority figure, said Clare Cosentino, a psychologist in New York. The person in power is unable to see the child's needs clearly and crosses established boundaries, she said.

But usually, the victims of incest are younger than those who are sexually abused by a teacher, Alpert said. If a parent is the perpetrator, the child is more trapped because the abuse occurs at home.

Moreover, there are often threats involved in incest that are not present in teacher-student relations. For example, a man may threaten to burn the house down if his daughter tells anyone about how he abuses her. Students, on the other hand, may simply be vulnerable to the attention of a teacher or even give in to sexual acts for the sake of better grades.

A phenomenon psychologists call transference occurs when people shift the feelings they had about parents to others, such as teachers. For instance, a male teacher may make a female student feel overpowered, just like a father figure, so she gives in, Alpert said.

Even if the student is perceived as flirtatious,"teachers should still keep their boundaries," Meiselman said.

Loneliness or dissatisfaction with one's relationships may be one factor driving teachers to sexually abuse students, Meiselman speculated. Children, being emotionally expressive and appealing, may become a source of emotional gratification and then sexual gratification when a certain line is crossed, she said.

"It's hard to see how they lose track of reality, but people do lose track of reality, especially when they're depressed or maybe abusing substances and things like that," she said.

Teachers who have sex with students may be deeply insecure or have unresolved issues of their own, Cosentino said. They may be having a transitional crisis in their lives and welcome the admiration of a student who essentially puts them on a pedestal.

"They may fool themselves into thinking that this is a real love relationship without really understanding the power differential, the ways in which it's profoundly damaging to the student," she said.

Often, students vulnerable to these situations are also needy and don't relate well to peers their own age, she said.

Some, but not all, adults who abuse minors have sexual abuse in their own histories, Meiselman said. These people may have identified with their abusers and taken on characteristics of the person who abused them, she said.

A student who has had inappropriate relations with a teacher will need therapy, even if the relationship felt consensual to the young person, Cosentino said. The student should explore why he or she felt vulnerable to the attraction of the teacher.

"As much as it may not have been experienced as trauma, it's an abuse of power and crossing of a boundary, a loss of innocence," she said.

There are also parallels between teacher-student sexual abuse and inappropriate relations between priests or other clergy and children, Meiselman said. In both cases, parents tend to trust the figure of authority and may not pick up on signs that something is amiss.

"It's a serious violation of trust, both for the child and for the child's parents," she said.

To help prevent sexual abuse in school, children should be alerted to their rights in any situation involving a sexual predator, Meiselman said. They should be taught that if an adult does something to make them feel uncomfortable, they should tell a parent or other trustworthy person.

"Adults tend to picture sexual predators as weird-looking people in trench coats. A good education program emphasizes it could be anybody," she said.

Schools should also train their staff on how to handle situations that would trigger concerns about possible sexual abuse, experts said.

Parents should be suspicious if the relationship between the teacher and the student seems excessive or obsessive, and seems to be becoming more important than other developmentally appropriate experiences, Cosentino said.

"A sixth-grader should be spending most of their time with other sixth-graders," she said.

Ohio State

2010-03-09T10:03:00.000-05:00

(CNN) -- Three Ohio State University employees were shot, one of them fatally, in an attack early Tuesday on campus, university police said.

The alleged shooter was in custody, said Ohio State University Police Chief Paul Denton.

No students were involved in the shooting, which occurred around 3:30 a.m. ET at the McCracken Power Plant building on West 17th Avenue near Ohio Stadium, Denton said.

The two wounded victims were taken to a hospital; one was in critical condition, he added.

Denton did not release the motive for the shooting or the names of anyone involved.

Ohio State's Web site said the shooting took place at a university maintenance building. The location has been secured, and some traffic restrictions remained in place Tuesday morning, but "the university continues normal operations," the school said. "Classes will be held and normal work schedules are in effect."

E-mail alerts were sent to students warning them about the shooting, the university said.

The shooting comes after the university issued e-mail alerts last week about two alleged sexual assaults and an attempted assault on campus, Ohio State's student newspaper reported.

The student newspaper, The Lantern, published an article Sunday saying that students were questioning the effectiveness of such e-mail alerts after three serious crimes last week.

Students are allowed to choose if they want to receive the e-mail alerts. On the campus of 50,000-plus students, a little more than 2,600 people receive the e-mails, police told the student paper.

A university committee was scheduled to meet this week to determine if changes needed to be made to the notification system, The Lantern reported.

RIP Young Lady

2010-03-08T07:53:00.006-05:00

Gardner you punk, your in deep, you coward, and Ms. BuBois, RIP young lady, I am sorry that you were victimized by this worthless being. JB

CNN) -- The remains of Amber DuBois, a 14-year-old San Diego, California-area girl who was missing for more than a year, have been found, police said Sunday.

Human skeletal remains found early Saturday in Pala -- a rural, rugged area in northern San Diego County, California -- have been positively identified as those of DuBois, Police Chief Jim Maher of Escondido, California, said at a news conference.

DuBois was last seen walking alone to school on February 13, 2009. Her family lives in Escondido, a suburb of San Diego.

Maher did not take questions at the brief news conference, saying the investigation of DuBois' death is ongoing. "Any detail, no matter how slight, would be inappropriate at this time," he said.

The investigation is being handled by Escondido police, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, and the FBI.

Amber DuBois' parents, who police said were notified of their daughter's found remains Saturday, attended the press conference. "We'd like to thank everybody involved in the search for Amber... and above all, our huge volunteer corps," her father, Moe DuBois, said. "They are the most dedicated people you can ever imagine."

"Without them we cannot have done anything," he said.

Authorities said last week they were investigating John Albert Gardner III, who pleaded not guilty Wednesday to raping and murdering Chelsea King -- another San Diego-area teen -- to determine whether he was connected to Amber DuBois' disappearance.

"We have been working closely with San Diego Sheriff's Office, and our investigators are working with theirs in case there is a connection," Lt. Robert Benton with the Escondido Police Department said last week. "We are involved in the daily briefings on the King investigation."

Amber DuBois' father attended Gardner's arraignment on Wednesday.

Maher did not mention any suspects during his brief news conference Sunday.

judge leo bowman

2010-03-06T08:18:00.005-05:00

A disgusting use of the Courts power, Judges must be better policed, it is one of the few professions with no real supervision in regards to thier conduct.

Sex Offenders

2010-03-03T07:11:00.003-05:00

The Courts leniency of convicted sex offenders must stop, max sent as-dictated by law, every time, no exception. No more dead children!

Girl Found.

Burn it-

2010-03-02T07:17:00.000-05:00

Los Angeles, California (CNN) -- The brownish-green suit that O.J. Simpson wore the day he was acquitted of murder in what has often been described as the "trial of the century" will be donated to the Smithsonian Institution -- if the museum wants it.

A judge has approved the transfer Monday, said Fred Goldman, the father of the man the ex-National Football League star was accused of killing.

It ends a years-long battle between Goldman and Simpson's former sports agent, Mike Gilbert, who has the suit.

Simpson stood trial on charges of stabbing to death his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman outside her luxury townhouse in Brentwood on the night of June 12, 1994.

The highly publicized trial lasted more than nine months and ended on October 3, 1995, with a jury finding Simpson not guilty.

Later, Brown and Goldman families took Simpson to civil court to seek damages for wrongful death. That jury found Simpson liable for the deaths and awarded $8.5 million in compensatory damages to the Goldman family and to Ron Goldman's biological mother.

Since then, Fred Goldman has been trying to collect the money. Simpson has consistently said he did not kill the two and should not have to pay.

In 2008, Gilbert, the sports agent, appeared on the "Dr. Phil" television show, claiming he had the suit and pants Simpson wore on the day of the acquittal. He also said the "acquittal suit" -- as it came to be known -- was worth $50,000.

Monday's decision, said Goldman, "takes any option out of the killer's hands or Gilbert's hands to sell it and make money on it."

The Superior Court judge ordered the suit donated to the Smithsonian. If the museum passes on it, it will be offered to another museum.

Meanwhile, Simpson, 62, is serving a nine-year sentence in Nevada after his conviction on robbery and kidnapping charges in an unrelated case.

The case involved a botched attempt in September 2007 by Simpson to retrieve items that he said had been stolen from him by memorabilia dealers.

Cops gone bad?

2010-02-22T10:00:00.002-05:00

When Law Enforcement Breaks the Law-

It’s not an unheard of occurrence; in fact, it’s becoming more common by the day, the news that cops and others in law enforcement have been caught committing crimes. And it’s not just the petty ones like theft or fraud that they’re accused of; there’s mostly murder, rape, violence, and other heinous crimes that are being attributed to those who are supposed to enforce the law but are instead found to be breaking it with alarming regularity. So what happens when law enforcement breaks the law?

Well, for starters, it generates a huge hue and cry, much like when celebrities get caught for breaking laws and committing crimes. People (as in the general public) are up in arms, baying for blood, demanding enquiries and swift justice. It seems like the crime is more serious just because it was perpetrated by someone who is supposed to uphold the law and safeguard citizens from harm. But even with all this adverse publicity, there are people who show a sympathetic side to those in law enforcement who have committed crimes arguing that they are under severe stress because of the nature of their jobs, and they are human too.

But the fact is, if law enforcement officers are stressed out because of their jobs, then it is the wrong profession for them to be in. Every cop knows that the job is fraught with danger and violence. So when they use this as an excuse to commit crime or to justify their instincts and motives, the argument doesn’t hold even a drop of water. The simple truth is that when those in law enforcement break the law, most people lose their faith in the system. They’re not comfortable with the fact that the very people who are supposed to be protecting them end up being the ones to hurt, harm and even kill them. And worst of all, they end up stereotyping the entire department as bad guys just because one or two of them are corrupt or prone to violence.

The situation is aggravated when law enforcement officers who commit crimes are let off with the judicial equivalent of a slap on the wrist. The victims and their families now have to live in the fear of the crime being repeated or of retribution from the officer for turning him/her in. Also, some officers who are accused of crimes have an unfair advantage in that they have access to their own criminal files and are able to tamper with it in order to obstruct justice or get rid of crucial evidence.

All these issues reinforce the seriousness of law enforcement officers breaking the law and show us that while cops and others in the field of law enforcement are not saints and are very much human like the rest of us, they must accept the responsibility and respect that come with their jobs and strive to uphold it at all costs. And when they do stray, they must be judged just like everyone else, neither given an unfair advantage, nor drawn and quartered for who they are.

This guest post is contributed by Brooklyn White, who writes on the topic of Forensic Science Technician Programs.

She can be reached at brookwhite26-AT-Gmail.com.

More in on this blog

Seat Belts + School Bus = Good!

2010-02-18T08:39:00.001-05:00

Parents of killed teen go before lawmakers
Updated: Wednesday, 17 Feb 2010, 7:27 PM EST
Published : Wednesday, 17 Feb 2010, 11:56 AM EST

Story by: Mark Davis
The parents of a Rocky Hill student, killed in a school bus crash last month, spoke out at the State Capitol, Wednesday. They are urging lawmakers to pass legislation that would require seat belts on school buses.

This issue has been brought up repeatedly for nearly two decades, but the effort gained new urgency following the deadly crash January 9th. The school bus collided with another car on I-84 and then fell down an embankment 20 feet below. Vikas Parikh, 16, did not survive the crash.

Parikh's mother said, "Before you vote 'yes' or 'no' just think about it; it could have been your son or your daughter. That's all I have to say."

"I saw my friend; I saw him fly over the seat; I saw him hit his head on the window; I saw him in his last moments when he was just lying there in his own pool of blood. If there was a seat belt, he would have been held down. He wouldn't have flown over those three seats and maybe he would be here with us today," said Sameer Laul.

A YouTube video of a crash in Ohio shows what happens; a similar video exists of the Hartford crash but has not been released.

The State Medical Examiner has seen that video and said there is no doubt in his mind about seat belts.

"The science is clear: strap 'em in, they're gonna be safer. How that's implemented is a political decision," said State Medical Examiner Dr. Wayne Carver.

But the school bus operators have successfully killed the legislation for nearly two decades with their own arguments.

"Say a bus rolled over, the driver cold not help the students if they were trapped upside down," said Leslie Sheldon of All-Star Transportation. "Perhaps there was a fire [or] the bus was under water; we would have substantial injuries and fatalities in that type of situation."

Bus officials say the seat backs have been made higher to make it safer inside.

Still, for those who have lost loved ones, they hope to see a seat belt law pass.

"As you know the children were airborne in the school bus accident," said Parikh's father. "We fully believe our son would be with us today had there been seat belts supporting him."

DCF

2010-02-15T08:07:00.002-05:00

DCF worker charged with sex assault
Updated: Sunday, 14 Feb 2010, 10:53 PM EST
Published : Monday, 15 Feb 2010, 6:38 AM EST

A Department of Children and Families [DCF] case worker, charged with the sexual assault of a young woman, is still under the department's care.

Police arrested 48-year-old Mark Swan of New Fairfield on a number of charges including second degree sexual assault of the 19-year-old.

Authorities say Swan became the social worker for the alleged victim when she was 16-years-old.

He'll face a judge in Danbury on Tuesday.

DCF has released the following statement:

"The employee will be placed on administrative leave and, pending the conclusion of a department investigation, any appropriate disciplinary action, up to and including termination, may be taken."

Fruit

2010-02-13T23:30:00.001-05:00

CNN) -- The biology professor charged in the shooting deaths Friday of three faculty members at the University of Alabama in Huntsville fatally shot her brother more than 23 years ago, police said Saturday.

Amy Bishop Anderson, who was then known as Amy Bishop, was never charged in her brother's death, Braintree, Massachusetts, Police Chief Paul Frazier told reporters. Police records detailing the 1986 incident are missing, and a log of the incident lists it as an accidental shooting, he said.

An officer involved in the case told him that Anderson shot her brother after an argument, Frazier said.

Anderson, a Harvard-educated professor, has been charged with capital murder.

Huntsville Police Chief Henry Reyes said Anderson, 45, was attending a faculty meeting on the third floor of the sciences building Friday afternoon when she shot six colleagues, killing three.

Anderson, a professor and researcher at the university, was arrested as she was leaving the building, Reyes told reporters Saturday. He said a 9 mm handgun was recovered from the second floor of the building late Friday.

Anderson is charged with one count of capital murder, a crime that involved two or more intentional deaths and is eligible for the death penalty in Alabama. Madison County District Attorney Rob Broussard said officials were considering other charges, including attempted murder.

Video: At least three dead in shooting
RELATED TOPICS
Shootings
Alabama
Huntsville
University spokesman Ray Garner has identified the dead as Gopi Podila, chairman of the biological sciences department; Maria Davis, associate professor of biology; and Adriel Johnson, associate professor of biology.

The injured were Joseph Leahy, associate professor of biology, in critical condition; Luis Cruz-Vera, assistant professor of biology, in stable condition; and Stephanie Monticello, staff assistant, also in stable condition. They were taken to Huntsville Hospital.

Authorities have not ruled out the possibility of other suspects in connection with the shooting.

Investigators have interviewed Anderson's husband, Jim.

Anderson had been working at the university since 2003 and was up for tenure, Garner said. However, authorities wouldn't discuss possible motives or whether the issue of tenure may have played a role in the shooting.

Garner said the meeting at Shelby Hall was for faculty and staff in the sciences department, but he gave no other details.

The incident occurred shortly before 4 p.m. (5 p.m. ET), and residence halls were locked down 10 minutes later. An alert notifying the campus about the incident was issued at 4:42 p.m. CT.

Pressed on the amount of time that passed before a campus alert was sent notifying students and faculty about the shooting and the lockdown, university police Chief Chuck Gailes said the lag "didn't impact the safety of people on campus and in the building."

He said there is no specific timeframe that dictates how quickly such an alert is issued, but he said it would be an issue officials will look into.

University President David Williams said there would be a prayer service Sunday.

"We are a resilient community, and we know we will come together to overcome these difficult times," he said.

Williams said the campus would open for employees next week but there would be no classes.

Kourtney Lattimore, a 19-year-old sophomore studying nursing, was one of about 100 students who attended the suspect's anatomy class from 10:20 to 11:15 a.m. Friday., when the subject included neurons.

"Nothing seemed to be off at all," she said about her teacher, who wore a pink sweater in class. "We were all shocked, like, all of us just couldn't believe it."

Lattimore said her anatomy class was not the only one affected by Friday's events. Leahy -- who was wounded in the shooting -- taught her infection and immunity class, she said.

Reached at the couple's home, Jim Anderson told CNN that his wife has an attorney whom he would not identify. He described his wife as a good teacher.

2010-02-13T07:38:00.001-05:00

CNN) -- A Harvard-trained biology professor is facing murder charges in the shooting deaths of three faculty members at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, police said early Saturday.

Authorities said Amy Bishop wounded three other employees Friday. She was arrested outside the sciences building where the shooting occurred, authorities said

Bishop is an assistant professor of biological sciences, according to a profile on the university Web site.

The shooting occurred about 4 p.m. ET in Shelby Hall, which houses the chemistry department, said university spokesman Ray Garner. The building is named after U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama.

Garner identified the dead as Gopi Podila, chairman of the biological sciences department; Maria Davis, associate professor of biology; and Adriel Johnson, .

Authorities have not released a possible motive for the shooting.

A news conference is planned for noon on Saturday, said Trent Willis, chief of staff for the city's mayor.

The university has canceled classes and athletic events next week, and a notice on its Web site said counseling was available.

NYPD

2010-02-09T07:04:00.001-05:00

Mayor Bloomberg defended the accuracy of the NYPD's crime statistics on Monday - even as he acknowledged that some cops manipulate them.

"There's always going to be some fudging of the numbers, but it is tiny," the mayor said. "I have an enormous amount of confidence in the data."

The Daily News reported last week that the NYPD's Quality Assurance Division is probing Brooklyn's 81st Precinct after an officer complained that cops routinely downgraded felonies and refused to take victims' reports to keep numbers low.

Bloomberg complained that a recent survey of hundreds of retired NYPD commanders, which reported widespread pressure to tinker with crime statistics, may have been biased.

"This is a study that you're referring to that was paid for by one of the unions," the mayor said. "So you've got to start wondering whether it was an independent study."

In fact, the survey by two criminologists was done in conjunction with the union for superior officers, but was funded by Molloy College in Rockville Centre, L.I.

Bloomberg said studies by the state controller in 2001 and NYU Prof. Dennis Smith in 2006 validated the NYPD's numbers.

Eli Silverman, one of the two criminologists who surveyed the NYPD retirees, said yesterday the NYU report is based largely on what the department's own auditors said.

"It's a glorified press release masking as a study," Silverman said.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2010/02/09/2010-02-09_mike_doesnt_budge_on_copstat_fudge.html#ixzz0f2VzFO3g

School Buses Seat Belt

2010-02-04T07:23:00.002-05:00

I encourage the CT Legislature to pass seatbelt requirements for school-buses.