Baghdad church hostage drama ends in bloodbath

At least 37 people have been killed after Iraqi security forces stormed a Catholic church in central Baghdad to free dozens of hostages being held by gunmen there, security sources say. Twenty-five hostages were among the dead, along with seven members of the Iraqi security forces and at least five of the attackers, they told the BBC. About 100 people had been inside Our Lady of Salvation for an evening Mass. The gunmen had reportedly demanded the release of jailed al-Qaeda militants.

The local TV station, al-Baghdadiya, said it had received a phone call from someone claiming to be one of the attackers, who said they were from the Islamic State of Iraq, a Sunni militant umbrella group to which al-Qaeda in Iraq belongs. Reports said the attackers were not Iraqis, but foreign Arabs. The raid came two days after a suicide attack on a cafe in Diyala province left 21 people dead. Security forces later surrounded the church and sealed off the area, with helicopters hovering overhead. Then they stormed the building.

Witnesses nearby said they then heard two explosions from inside the church and more shooting. One eyewitness, who was inside the church, was quoted by the AFP news agency as saying that the gunmen "came into the prayer hall and immediately killed the priest". The witness, who declined to give his name, said the people in the church had huddled into the main prayer hall when the gunbattles began with the security forces. The gunmen reportedly threw grenades and blew their suicide vests. There were no negotiations with the gunmen before the security forces stormed the church.

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Over $3 Billion in Fraud Recoveries Under the False Claims Act in FY 2010

Taxpayers Against Fraud calculates the U.S. Department of Justice recovered over $3.1 billion of America's stolen money in Fiscal Year 2010 thanks to whistleblowers and the federal False Claims Act. More than 80 percent of all successful False Claims Act recoveries are brought to the government by whistleblowers and their lawyers, making the law the most important tool the U.S. Government has in the war against fraud. The False Claims Act provides for triple damages plus statutory fines of up to $11,000 per false claim. Whistleblowers that bring evidence of fraud to the U.S. Government are eligible for awards of 15 to 30 percent of the total amount recovered under the Act.

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Fighting fraud the Canadian Way

Surfing the web is like swimming with sharks. There are scam artists lurking in every shadow, flooding inboxes with bogus requests, phishing for bank account numbers and other personal data. While the fraudsters operate from keyboards in locations around the globe, the Canadian crime fighters trying to shut them down are tucked away in a small office in North Bay. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Call Centre, in the Ministry of Correctional Services building on First Avenue, is the country's hub for collecting information and criminal intelligence on everything from telemarketing and Internet fraud to identity theft. Jointly managed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Ontario Provincial Police and Competition Bureau of Canada, the anti-fraud centre deals with reports involving Canadian content from victims across North America.

But fighting the onslaught is a momentous task that can only be won through public education. That is the No. 1 way to combat this type of fraud," said RCMP Staff Sgt. Paul Proulx, who oversees the operation. The more people who know about fraud, the more they can recognize it." A staff of 24 includes operators who receive complaints and specialists who analyze the information. The centre's role, however, is not to send officers out into the field to make arrests, but rather to identify possible fraud operations and notify the appropriate law enforcement agency. RCMP Cpl. Louis Robertson, who heads up the criminal intelligence unit, has cultivated relationships with agencies around the world, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States, which is under no obligation to co-operate.

Although fraud operations do get shut down as a result of the centre's work, they are often only temporary disruptions." That's why public awareness is such an important weapon. In fact, the centre is planning to launch a public education campaign early next month, complete with a new website at antifraudcentre.ca. The centre receives about 500 e-mails per day from people reporting possible fraud and some 10,000 phone calls each month. And the numbers are growing. Formerly called Project PhoneBusters, the centre was created in 1993 by OPP officer Barry Elliott. At that time, the focus was mainly on telemarketing fraud. But, as Internet technology advanced, the centre evolved along with the scope of the crimes.

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Central hub for Texas police info opens up

Think of it as a central hub allowing law enforcement from across the Lone Star State to fight terror. That's what the new Texas Department of Public Safety Fusion Center will be, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday morning for the new facility got officials of various agencies a step closer to a useful tool in the fight against crime. The idea is to pool intelligence to help prevent terrorist attacks and track organized crime, the like Mexican cartel drug activity. "Every agency has expertise and intelligence analysis. They also have information," said DPS Director Steve McCraw. "By combining that information is the only way you can get an accurate understanding of that threat environment."

Still, critics have called the center a threat to privacy, much like civil liberties groups have protested loudly about the Austin Regional Intelligence Center. The Austin City Council approved using a $150,000 federal grant in August 2009 to run the fusion center, which will allow 10 local law enforcement agencies to share crime information. Critics have said they are worried the information-sharing by law enforcement could lead to personal profiling and undue surveillance. Yet, law enforcement agencies in Travis, Hays and Williamson counties said the goal of the center is to fight organized crime and to track crime trends.

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Top Ten Most Dangerous Places to Leave Your Social Security Number

Cases of identity theft are skyrocketing, and 32% of all ID theft victims had their social security number compromised according to Javelin's 2010 Identity Fraud Survey Report. In honor of National Identity Protection week, McAfee set out to reveal the most dangerous places to leave your social security number. When your Social Security number is used to commit fraud, it feels very personal. It can take hundreds of hours and sometimes thousands of dollars to rectify this violation.

Criminals find these crucial nine digits on discarded files in dumpsters, inside an organizations' file cabinets, in any of the hundreds of databases maintained by government, corporate, and educational institutions, or even in public records, which are freely accessible on the Internet. Robert Siciliano, on behalf of McAfee, analyzed data breaches published by the Identity Theft Resource Center, Privacy Rights Clearinghouse and the Open Security Foundation that involved Social Security number breaches from January 2009 - October 2010 to reveal the riskiest places to lose your ID.

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Firm scammed US by using dementia patients

Federal authorities charged the nation's largest chain of community mental health centers Thursday with Medicare fraud, alleging the Miami-based company preyed on patients with severe dementia to bill $200 million for services it never delivered. Prosecutors allege that American Therapeutic Corp. and its sister companies faked medication and care charts and paid the owners of assisted living facilities and halfway houses to bring patients to their seven mental health centers in south and central Florida for therapy sessions that were never held.

Some patients also cashed in on the scheme by providing their Medicare numbers, while others were "not coherent enough" to demand kickbacks, according to the investigation by the departments of Justice and Health and Human Services. The alleged scam is "unlike anything we've seen before in terms of the nature and size of the scheme," said Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer.

Federal authorities arrested four of the company's owners and top managers Thursday and served search warrants at several of the centers. The grand jury indictment alleges that ATC routinely billed Medicare for therapy and other services for patients suffering from Alzheimer's and severe dementia even though they weren't eligible because their mental capacity was so impaired they couldn't benefit from therapy.

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ICE arrests 20 criminals in international INTERPOL operation

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director John Morton and INTERPOL Washington Director Timothy A. Williams announced that the first-ever joint operation, called "Operation FAR AWAY," has been very successful, resulting in a total of 20 arrests of international fugitives in the United States.

"Operation FAR AWAY" is an intelligence-driven operation designed to target, locate and arrest criminal aliens believed to be in hiding in the United States and in other Western Hemisphere countries. It began Sept. 1 and will extend until Oct. 31, 2010, due to the high number of arrests. The INTERPOL member countries participating in the operation include: Canada, Honduras, El Salvador, Mexico, Costa Rica, Bahamas, Netherland Antilles, Brazil, Guatemala, Peru, Colombia, Barbados, Bolivia, Ecuador and the United States. Of the 20 arrests made in the United States, eight of them were for homicide crimes; two were for crimes against children; three were for robbery; and seven were for other crimes, including human smuggling. Arrests in the United States were made by the ICE Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).

"This operation has been so successful, with the help of our INTERPOL partners, that we have decided to extend it," said Jim Chaparro, ICE Executive Associate Director of ERO. "Operation FAR AWAY enhances public safety in the United States and with our partner nations."

"I am very pleased with the outcome of the operation to date. It is another fine example of what can be accomplished when agencies partner and share resources to further combat transnational crimes," stated Timothy A. Williams, INTERPOL Washington Director. "I look forward to continuing the high level of cooperation and collaboration with ICE ERO, and I extend my gratitude to the leadership at ICE ERO for providing appropriate resources to ensure this operation is a success."

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Price adds to growing popularity of heroin

Staggering figures about heroin show it is quickly becoming the drug of choice among some high school students. From Seattle to Salt Lake County, it appears the availability of stronger and cheaper heroin is a driving factor. Police in the Seattle area say a bag of heroin can cost as little as $5.00. In Utah, that would make heroin cheaper than marijuana and spice. Unified police tell KSL marijuana and spice each sell for $10 to $50 for an eighth of an ounce, depending on the quality.

It's being called an epidemic in the Seattle area. KING 5 News reports 42 students between the ages of 15 and 17 in Stanwood, Wash., are reportedly receiving treatment or are being admitted for the treatment of heroin addiction. One addict points out the painkiller OxyContin costs $60 for a pill while heroin costs only $5.00. Another problem with heroin is the potency. Police in Utah have said in recent months they occasionally see heroin that is 80 to 90 percent pure, rather than 30 to 40 percent pure.

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Chechen warlord may be behind parliament attack

A suicide attack on Chechnya's parliament may have been staged by a shadowy warlord who wants to establish himself as a leader of the Russian region's factionalized Islamist insurgency, officials and analysts said Wednesday. Some observers said they believe there could be an escalation of violence as 40-year-old Khusein Gakayev moves to assert his supremacy over the divided rebels. In the attack, "the goal here is to demonstrate Gakayev's authority," said Yulia Latynina, a Moscow-based columnist and Caucasus expert.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for Tuesday's attack by three suicide attackers, who got inside the tightly guarded parliament complex in the capital, Grozny, as legislators gathered for a session. The attackers opened fire and blew themselves up, killing two police officers and a parliamentary aide and wounded 17 other people. Chechnya's Interior Ministry branch told the ITAR-Tass news agency that it believed the attack was planned by Gakayev to boost his credentials among other rebels and their supporters abroad. It did not offer evidence.

Islamic insurgents have taken root across Russia's predominantly Muslim North Caucasus region and are trying to turn it into an independent emirate that adheres to Shariah, or Islamic law. Since 2007, the movement has been led by the guerrilla leader Doku Umarov, who spread confusion through the rebel ranks in August by first announcing and then annulling his resignation in two videos released three days apart. Analysts say that apparent indecision exacerbated a schism in the rebel leadership between those striving for a new Shariah state in the Caucasus and those focusing on Chechnya's independence. Gakayev, who has never been known to promote pan-Caucasian Islamism, was a little-known lieutenant to more senior rebels who has recently emerged as a leading figure in the insurgency.

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Attack on Chechen parliament in Grozny leaves six dead

Six people were killed and 10 others injured when at least three militants stormed parliament in the restive Russian republic of Chechnya. Shouting Islamist slogans, they launched a bomb and gun attack as deputies arrived for work, and two guards and an official were killed. All of the attackers were killed, according to Ramzan Kadyrov, Chechnya's Kremlin-backed leader. Deputies inside the building managed to escape by moving to an upper floor.

The attack was condemned by the EU foreign policy chief, Baroness Ashton, who was quoted by AFP news agency as saying: "No circumstances can justify the use of terrorist violence and suicide attacks." The EU was, she added, ready to "strengthen co-operation with the Russian Federation in the fight against international terrorism". Correspondents say the incident in the capital Grozny is a reminder that the region is far from stable.

Last year Moscow declared victory against Chechen separatists and there has been a relative lull in the violence under Mr Kadyrov. But the whole North Caucasus is seeing an insurgency led by Islamist rebels, correspondents say. At least one attacker appears to have set off a suicide bomb just outside the building before the others rushed inside, exchanging fire with security guards.

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The Uses and Misuses of Intelligence in Four US Wars

President Harry S. Truman created the Central Intelligence Agency in 1947 to ensure that the policy community would have access to independent intelligence analysis that was free of the policy advocacy of the Department of State and the Department of Defense. The CIA's most important analytic mission was the production of national intelligence estimates (NIEs) and assessments that tracked significant political and military developments and provided premonitory intelligence on looming threats and confrontations.

One gauge for measuring the success of the CIA's intelligence analysis is to measure the Agency's performance before and during four controversial wars: Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Three presidents (Truman, Eisenhower, and Johnson) did not interfere with the production of intelligence analysis in these crises; two presidents (Nixon and George W. Bush) tried to slant intelligence analysis; and now President Obama is fighting a war without benefit of the estimative capabilities of the intelligence community.

President Truman wanted sensitive intelligence with the bark on, and that is what he and President Dwight Eisenhower got from the CIA during the Korean War. Unfortunately, the CIA made a series of fundamental errors in its judgments, including failures to understand the policies and actions of North Korean leader Kim Il Sung, ascertain the nature of Kim's dialogue with the Soviets and the Chinese, provide strategic warning of Kim's decision to go to war, and anticipate China's entry into the war.

As a result of these failures, President Truman named the first civilian director of the CIA - Allen Dulles - and supported the creation of an elite Office of National Estimates (ONE) under Harvard Professor William Langer, a senior Office of Strategic Services (OSS) analyst during World War II. ONE consisted of two offices, an upper tier known as the Board of National Estimates (BNE), composed of senior government and academic officials, and an estimates staff composed of intelligence professionals who drafted NIE's. ONE quickly became the focal point of the CIA's intelligence analysis until it was abolished in 1973 by CIA director James Schlesinger, who shared the Nixon administration's desire to end ONE's independence and its dominance within the intelligence community.

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Europe's biker gangs set on a collision course with the police

In the middle of May this year, thousands of leather-clad bikers from across the Balkans gathered in the Croatian town of Slavonski Brod for a bash celebrating the unbridled joy that comes from tearing up the open road on a powerful two-wheeled hog. The annual Moto Klub Brod motorijada (motor picnic) has become one of the largest gatherings for outlaw motorcycle gangs in the Balkans, taking place on the border of Bosnia-Herzegovina in a Croatian town that was significantly damaged during the war.

Despite the ongoing tensions in the Balkans – and the fact that many bikers are hardened veterans of the successive wars that tore this region apart in the 1990s – the Moto Klub Brod normally passes off without incident. But this year, on the last night of the seven-day festival, a large brawl broke out between a group of Hells Angels and a rival gang from Bosnia known as the "Grevinis".

The fight, which began when a group of bat-wielding Hells Angels attacked a car carrying Grevinis members – and ended in police having to stop an angry crowd from beating up the Hells Angels – had little reason to be reported outside of the local Croatian media. But in the offices of a number of police forces across Europe, the fight caused a buzz of activity and concern.

Those charged with investigating drug trafficking and cross-border gang crime in Europe have watched with trepidation as outlaw motorcycle gangs, dubbed OMCGs, have spread with renewed vigour across Europe, particularly in the Balkans and eastern Europe. Investigators say this increase is no coincidence. Both areas are vital drug-smuggling routes from Central Asia and South-east Asia, where almost all of Europe's heroin and much of its cannabis originate.

According to Europol, the EU-wide agency that collates criminal intelligence on cross-border gangs, Europe is now the continent with the highest increase in new OMCG chapters, many of whom are involved in extortion, racketeering, sex-trafficking and drug smuggling. During the past five years the Bandidos, Hells Angels and the Outlaws have opened more than 120 new chapters, bringing the total number of European chapters to at least 425. By comparison the number of chapters of the same trio of outlaw gangs in the United States and Canada is hovering around the 300 mark.

The threat posed by the expansion of "one percenters" – the term outlaws use to distinguish themselves from the old adage that 99 per cent of bikers are law-abiding – has concerned Europol to such an extent that this week they organised a conference in Dubrovnik gathering officers from across Europe to discuss how to investigate, target and disrupt criminal biker gangs.

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Saudis say al Qaeda targeting France

Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux said on Sunday that French had been warned by Saudi Ara that al Qaeda was targeting Europe and especially France. "Several hours or days ago, there was a new message from the Saudis that said al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was without doubt active or planning to be active in Europe, especially France," he told French radio RTL. "This is not about overestimating the threat or underestimating it," he said. "I am indicating, based on all these elements, that the threat is real." Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), an arm of al Qaeda thought to include Yemenis and Saudis, has stepped up attacks on Yemeni and Western targets since it claimed a failed U.S. airliner bombing in December.

Impoverished Yemen, which is struggling to end a civil war in the north and a separatist rebellion in the south, is trying with U.S. help to crush AQAP, which has been based in Yemen since 2006, when Saudi Arabia mounted a counter-terrorism drive against its Saudi arm. Hortefeux's remarks indicated that the new warning was not connected with the heightened alert in France in late September based on a tip-off that a female suicide bomber was planning to attack its transport system. A police source told Reuters at that time that the information about the threatened attack had come from Algeria.

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Gardai warn of upsurge in gang extortion crime

Gardai have received reports that eight extortion attempts were made on Dublin businesses in the past three months by splinter republican groups. Those targeted included car dealers and publicans, as well as dubious businesses suspected of laundering money for criminals. Garda sources say the figures represent the tip of the iceberg in a recent "upsurge" in criminal racketeering by dissident republican groups, the Real IRA and the INLA. "There has been an upsurge in complaints in the last two to three months," said a senior garda source. "These groups are 'taxing' crime and legitimate businesses."

Four businesses in the south Dublin suburbs of Tallaght and Crumlin were approached for money by dissident republicans in the past three months. The other four extortion attempts occurred in the north and south inner city. In one case, a businessman reported that his children were being watched at school after he refused to pay a cut of his profits to two men claiming to represent the Real IRA. The modus operandi is similar in most cases. In the south Dublin cases, the businesspeople involved were approached directly at their business premises by two brothers, who claimed to represent the Real IRA. They were accompanied by two or three burly minders, but of the reports made to detectives so far, the threats were not explicit. In one case, the dissident republicans asked for 25 per cent of the profits of a business in return for protection.

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Mexican Assassins Headed to Arizona, U.S. Warned

Drug smuggling gangs in Mexico have sent well-armed assassins, or "sicarios," into Arizona to locate and kill bandits who are ambushing and stealing loads of cocaine, marijuana and heroin headed to buyers in the United States, the Department of Homeland Security has warned Arizona law enforcement authorities.

In a memo sent in May and widely circulated since, the department said: "We just received information from a proven credible confidential source who reported that a meeting was held in Puerto Penasco in which every smuggling organization who utilizes the Vekol Valley was told to attend. This included rival groups within the Guzman cartel."

Joaquín Archivaldo Guzman Loera heads what formally is known as the Sinaloa Cartel, which smuggles multi-ton loads of cocaine from Colombia through Mexico to the United States. One of the most powerful and dangerous drug gangs in Mexico, it also is known as the Guzman cartel, which has been tied to the production, smuggling and distribution of Mexican marijuana and heroin and has established transshipment outlets in the United States.

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Two suspected Irish dissidents arrested in Ireland

Two suspected dissident republicans were arrested after authorities found a bomb in their car, Irish police said Saturday. Police stopped the men and searched the car in Waterford late Friday. A "viable improvised explosive device" was spotted and handled by a bomb squad. The suspects are being held under Ireland's anti-terrorism legislation. Irish law allows terror suspects to be held for up to three days without charge.

The Irish Republican Army fought a bloody campaign against British rule in Northern Ireland for decades before starting a process of decommissioning nine years ago. Those who refused to accept the Good Friday Agreement that led to the decommissioning are known as dissident republicans. Irish authorities this month have conducted an anti-terror sweep that has led to the arrests of several individuals in recent days. Last week, the country's top police officer said authorities are continuing to conduct operations meant to disrupt dissident IRA activity.

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Policeman possibly linked to Falcon Lake case beheaded

The head of a Mexican police commander presumed to be investigating the reported pirate attack against David Michael Hartley on Falcon Lake was delivered to Mexican military, sources said Tuesday. State Rep. Aaron Pena, said he was told that Rolando Flores’ head was delivered Tuesday in a suitcase. Ruben Rios, spokesman for the Tamaulipas state prosecutor’s office, told the Associated Press that Flores is the head of state investigators in the border city of Ciudad Miguel Alemán, a small city directly across the border from Roma, Texas. Lesley Lopez, a spokeswoman for U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, said the head was delivered in the vicinity of Miguel Alemán.

The area is known to be under control of the Zeta drug cartel, which fiercely protects the remotely populated ranchland lining the Texas-Mexico border, as well as the Mexican side of the vast Falcon Lake reservoir. Rios also told the Associated Press that the killing was unrelated to Hartley’s investigation. Hartley has been missing since Sept. 30, when he and his wife took their personal watercraft into Mexican waters to photograph a partially submerged town. Investigators have been hampered on this side byby an inability to cross the border. Mexican investigators have meanwhile expressed fears of searching in Zeta turf.

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Cheap, deadly 'cheese' mix of heroin, crushed Tylenol PM aimed at kids

Federal officials are warning New York cops to be on the lookout for a cheap - and potentially deadly - heroin cocktail aimed at teens. Cops across Manhattan were recently told to watch out for "cheese," a mix of heroin and crushed Tylenol PM. Cheese sells for as little as $2 a hit and delivers a euphoric high followed by drowsiness. To keep the high, users need to snort it up to 15 times a day - along with a potentially lethal dosage of acetaminophen.

Cheese, which came on the radar in Dallas in 2005, has not been seen much in New York, but heroin use among teens is on the rise in the city - and the Drug Enforcement Agency fears cheese could be the next step. "It's the makings of a recipe for disaster," said John Gilbride, who heads the Drug Enforcement Agency's New York office. Heroin, associated with hardcore junkies and needles, has lost some of its stigma among teens who snort, rather than inject, the drug, Gilbride said. Dealers are stamping packets with kid-friendly brands such as Mickey Mouse, Lady Gaga, Looney Tunes and Lion King, the office of New York Special Narcotics Prosecutor, Bridget Brennan said.

The percentage of public high school students who have tried heroin increased from 1.3% in 2007 to 2.6% in 2009, the city Health Department said. Despite the small numbers, the DEA says it's recently seen more dealers marketing heroin to a younger audience and more teens busted for using it. Cheese has been blamed for the deaths of more than 20 young users in the Dallas area. "It can ruin lives," said an NYPD commander who recently taught patrol officers how to spot cheese. "You have to jump on the problem right away. This drug is so highly addictive."

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Interpol issues international warning against drug lord 'Sebastian'

The Colombia office of international police organization Interpol on Monday issued an international warning about Medellin paramilitary drug lord, Erick Vargas, alias "Sebastian." The decision to issue the Green Notice was taken because authorities suspect that Sebastian has left Colombia, W Radio reported. Green Notices are published against international criminals who are likely to commit crimes in foreign countries.

The drug lord allegedly took over the "Office of Envigado," a Medellin-based gang previously run by paramilitary "Don Berna," who was extradited to the United States in 2008. Sebastian is also believed to command 25 illegal armed groups comprised of some 2,000 men, mostly active in Medellin and the north of Colombia. In September the Colombian national police announced a $1 million reward for information leading to the capture of Sebastian, despite the fact that there was no warrants out for his arrest.

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California's driver's licenses getting a new look

Long a favorite target for fraud by underage drinkers and illegal immigrants, the California driver's license is getting a high-tech face-lift. The card unveiled Wednesday gains a range of advanced security features, from laser-engraved signatures printed in raised lettering to photos that can be seen only under ultraviolet light - all part of an effort to thwart increasingly sophisticated counterfeiters.

"The new security features, coupled with advanced technology, make California driver licenses and identification cards one of the most secure identification documents in the country," Department of Motor Vehicles director George Valverde said in a statement. Still, some experts remain unconvinced that the new license will stymie every counterfeiter.

Given the lucrative nature of the black market and the high demand for California licenses, someone will eventually figure out a way to duplicate even the most sophisticated features, according to one security expert. "Anything that's designed by man can be duplicated by man - it'll just cost more and take more time to do," said San Fernando Valley-based private detective John Grogan. "I guarantee there will be good-looking copies within weeks.These measures, though, will make it impossible for people who want to do it themselves." Possibly the most dramatic feature of the new license is that cards for drivers under 21 will be designed with a vertical layout making it easier for bars, nightclubs and police to see that the person is underage.

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Does Pakistan Urge On the Taliban

Members of Pakistan's spy agency are pressing Taliban field commanders to fight the U.S. and its allies in Afghanistan, some U.S. officials and Afghan militants say, a development that undercuts a key element of the Pentagon's strategy for ending the war. The explosive accusation is the strongest yet in a series of U.S. criticisms of Pakistan, and shows a deteriorating relationship with an essential ally in the Afghan campaign. The U.S. has provided billions of dollars in military and development aid to Pakistan for its support. The U.S. and Afghanistan have sought to persuade midlevel Taliban commanders to lay down their weapons in exchange for jobs or cash. The most recent Afghan effort at starting a peace process took place this week in Kabul. But few Taliban have given up the fight, officials say. Some Taliban commanders and U.S. officials say militant leaders are being pressured by officers from Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency not to surrender.

"The ISI wants to arrest commanders who are not obeying [ISI] orders," said a Taliban commander in Kunar province. U.S. officials say they have heard similar reports from captured militants and those negotiating to lay down their arms. A senior Pakistani official dismissed the allegation, insisting Islamabad is fighting militants, not aiding them. "Whenever anything goes wrong in Afghanistan, ISI is to be blamed," said the senior Pakistani official. "Honestly, they see ISI agents behind every bush in Afghanistan." The explosive accusations of ISI efforts to keep Taliban commanders on the battlefield are the strongest yet in a series of U.S. criticisms of Pakistan, and show a deteriorating relationship with an essential ally. The U.S. has provided billions of dollars in military and development aid to Pakistan in return for its support for the Afghan war and its own fight against extremists; the reports suggest some Pakistani officials are undermining that strategy.

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State police investigative structure and the adoption of intelligence-led policing

I received this press draft of a paper written by Jerry Ratlcliffe and Ray Guidetti. It has been accepted by Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management. Be on the lookout for the final article but please be aware that the final version may be different due to changes made by the editor or publisher.

Abstract: Prior research conducted in the UK suggests police forces that embraced organizational change were better able to adjust to an intelligence-led policing model of operation. However, significant organizational adaptation to a relatively untried business model raises risks for managers and takes leaders into unfamiliar territory regarding a number of factors. These factors include the increasing influence of analysts, the resistance of detectives required to work in a more collaborative environment, and the selection of new priorities reflecting strategic assessments.

Using a combination of in-depth semi-structured interviews, less formal discussions, and document analysis this paper describes some noteworthy changes undertaken by the New Jersey State Police Investigations Branch to move from an institutional architecture that created significant information silos to one more suited to information sharing and intelligence-led policing. Using extensive quotes from detectives, managers and analysts, the paper uses a large drug-gang investigation as a case study to identify broader organizational issues associated with these structural changes.

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Why Mexican 'pirates' are targeting US tourists on Falcon Lake

The attack that allegedly killed the missing American tourist David Hartley on Sept. 30 while he was jet-skiing with his wife was not the first such incident on the 60-mile-long body of water straddling the United States and Mexico. According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, gunmen armed with AK-47s and AR-15 rifles have attacked US tourists on Lake Falcon in a string of robberies in recent months. Using Argos-type fishing boats, some attackers are dressed as Mexican police, while others have used crude duct-taped signs to disguise their boats as Texas Parks and Wildlife vessels, according to victims' reports.

Since April 30, five incidents of armed robberies or attempted theft have been reported on Falcon Lake: one in April, two in May, and one in August. The fifth ambush allegedly ended in gunfire last week with the possible death of Mr. Hartley. “This is a new situation where [drug-trafficking] groups feel they own public spaces,” says Humberto Palomares, a security expert at the Tamaulipas campus of the Colegio de Frontera Norte (COLEF). Targeting US tourists on an international reservoir is just another sign that the cartels feel more in control of swaths of Mexican territory and don’t have to hide in wait for moments to strike, Mr. Palomares says. Lurking in the night. So dangerous is Lake Falcon, in fact, that Mexican law enforcement refuses to patrol it at night.

Mexican authorities have been searching Falcon Lake since Thursday for the body of Mr. Hartley. Their search is hampered in part by the danger of the lake, says Juan Antonio Jara, a Tamaulipas state prosecutor in the Miguel Aleman municipality office. Once it starts getting dark, he says, police and investigators must return to shore because "it's a high risk area due to [lack of] security." Some report that the bandits attacking tourists and fishermen on Lake Falcon have been brandishing “Z” tattoos, for the ruthless Zetas drug-trafficking group. But questions have emerged over why a well-funded crime syndicate would bother harassing US fishermen for a few hundred dollars, and whether there is only one gang involved. While the Zetas are the most powerful drug cartel in Tamaulipas, the state bordering Falcon Lake, small organizations associated with the Zetas may also be engaging in acts of piracy.

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Sad day for Puerto Rico

US federal agents have arrested more than 70 Puerto Rican police officers on drugs-related charges.In all more than 120 people have been charged, including prison guards and soldiers. The US justice department said the arrests followed "the biggest police corruption investigation in the history of the FBI". About 750 FBI agents were flown into the US Caribbean territory to help round up the suspects. The justice department said that in all, 89 law enforcement officials had been detained: 60 members of the Puerto Rico police department, 16 municipal police officers and 12 prison officers.

Also arrested were three Puerto Rico national guard soldiers, two US army officers, and 30 civilians. The charges were the result of 125 undercover drugs transactions conducted by the FBI in Puerto Rico. Many of the detained police officers are accused of providing armed security for cocaine dealers in return for cash. "The justice department's commitment to rooting out and eradicating alleged corruption in our law enforcement ranks has never been stronger," said US Attorney General Eric Holder.

"This department has one message for anyone willing to abuse the public trust for personal gain: you will be caught, you will be stopped and you will be punished." The island of Puerto Rico is a major hub for smuggling drugs into the US. The reputation of its police department has already been tarnished by allegations of brutality and corruption.

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Who would you believe? Not Chavez, that's for sure!

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez denied an allegation that his government helped train Basque separatists trying to create an independent state. The allegations surfaced Monday, when Spanish media reported that two captured members of the outlawed Basque separatist organization known as ETA told authorities they had received arms training in Venezuela in 2008. Juan Carlos Besance and Xabier Atristain, members of an ETA cell known as Imanol, were arrested September 29.

And a Spanish judge said in March that the Venezuelan government facilitated a long-time cooperation between leftist rebels in Colombia and ETA. Chavez called the accusations a "broken record." "There's a permanent conspiracy against the true democratic processes," Chavez said Monday night on the state-run VTV network. Yes, Mr Chavez, the conspiracy is dircted by you!

El Pais and El Mundo newspapers and other Spanish news outlets reported Monday that Besance and Atristain said they met in Venezuela with Arturo Cubillas Fontan. A Spanish High Court indictment this year alleges that Cubillas has been ETA's leader in Venezuela since 1999 -- in charge of the separatist group's relations with the Colombian rebels known as the FARC. Cubillas became an official in Venezuela's Ministry of Agriculture in 2005, the indictment says.

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Bullying at School

Eleven-year-old Shawn Walsh paid a poignant tribute to the brother, just two years older, that he had lost. Gripping a microphone as he stood at the altar of the First Baptist Church in Tehachapi, California, Shawn joshed that his brother could be "a pain in the butt" at times but that Seth was "the best big brother in the world, no, the galaxy." Wearing a yellow plaid shirt, Seth's favorite color, Shawn then, without mentioning the word, made a heartbreaking reference to bullying, the specter at the heart of his family's mourning for his openly gay brother. "I always wanted to protect him," said Shawn, as sobs broke out in the church. "I just wish people could have been nice to him like my Mom taught me."

People were not always nice to 13-year-old Seth Walsh. Neither his valiant younger brother Shawn, nor his family could protect him from what they insist was chronic teasing. Even before Seth came out as a gay, family and friends claim that he was perpetually picked on for his mannerisms and his style of dressing. The bullying turned Seth Walsh to suicide, one of the spate of such deaths across the country in the last two weeks.

On Sept. 19, his single mother Wendy found him unconscious after he tried to hang himself from a tree in his backyard, after another apparent bullying incident. He lingered on life support for more than a week; his death has since shattered emotions in this rural community 120 miles north of Los Angeles. Close to 600 townspeople crammed into First Baptist on Friday to remember the teen who loved Pokemon, adored French fries above all other food and had an obsession with disco music. The church was so crowded that Pastor Ron Barker had to insist that mourners sit on the floor along the entire length of the middle aisle so that everyone could find room in the church.

• "The Complicated Tale of Phoebe Prince", Newsweek, 10/4/2010.
• "Tyler Clementi suicide: Reaction is swift and widespread", Christian Science Monitor, 10/3/2010.
  
• "The Bullying of Seth Walsh: Requiem for a Small Town Boy", Time, 10/2/2010.
• "Campus Safety Through Community Oriented Policing", COPS website.
  

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Eurasian syndicates target car dealers, credit cards in Las Vegas

FBI agents knew from the moment they began investigating Dimitar Dimitrov that he was not a typical criminal. In secretly recorded conversations, they overheard the Bulgarian-born Dimitrov threaten to cut off the ears of a former associate and use them as cigarette holders. He also suggested tying a witness to a tree, pouring gasoline over him and then standing nearby with cigarettes and a lighter.

Agents believe Dimitrov, a 58-year-old felon, is one of the leaders of a Bulgarian crime ring that defrauded local car dealers out of $1.6 million through an elaborate credit scheme and stole hundreds of thousands of dollars more from ATMs with the help of stolen PINs. This is the new organized crime in Las Vegas, where running numbers and hustling high-interest loans on the street take a back seat to the art of the high-tech scam.

The new organized crime is close-knit and mobile with international connections, especially to mobsters in Eastern Europe and countries that made up the former Soviet Union. Like the traditional Mafia that once ruled the streets of Las Vegas, these groups are capable of violence. But they would rather spend their time reaping the rewards of swiping stolen credit cards on the Strip or using their knowledge of technology to stay ahead of authorities on the computer-assisted crime circuit.

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Here is a recipe for War!

The Nile River and Egypt have nearly always belonged in the same breath. The classic phrase, "He who has drunk from the Nile must return," is Egyptian — not Ugandan, or Ethiopian, or from any other people touched by the river. Egyptians say that two colonial-era agreements forever guarantee them most of the Nile's flow. But other countries in the Nile River basin want more access to the water.

But there are just as many non-Egyptians in the river basin who say they, too, understand the Nile just fine. They chafe at what they perceive as arrogance on the part of Egypt. Patrick Mmayi is a Nile river expert from Kenya who works at the United Nations Environmental Program in Nairobi.

"Egypt should see (the upriver countries) as equal partners. Eventually, you'll find tensions rising up if the status quo remains. No amount of threats will actually stop the upper catchment areas from using these waters, if they want to." Egyptians actively guard their stake in Nile, monitoring the river as closely as they watch over their peach groves, date palms, vineyards and banana trees. Engineers fan over thousands of miles in the basin and make daily readings of the river's many tributaries.

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