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98 Search Results for "crime"

  • White Southern People Called R

    • From: ReverendRobert
    • Description:

      Geogia lawyer seems to think real highly of white people in the south,when I read this article in Dustin Inman Society I called Mr Walker to see what his malfuntion was and he said he is tied of all you rednecks talking down about illegal imagrates ,he did admit to writing this trash about white people and that he is not going to appoligize for calling all white people in the south these terrible things ,so I think all you good Christian people out there should call Mr Walker up and pray with him to help him see the errors of ways

      November 5, 2009

      Lloyd W. Walker Attorney at law, Peachtree City, Georgia on the benefits of illegal immigration, American workers and illegal aliens…and the South

      Posted by D.A. King at 12:42 am [Email the author] [Print This Article] [Email This Article]

      From CBS ATLANTA TV 46 Website in reaction to news segments aired on illegal immigration:

      A metro area attorney explains his position on illegal aliens, the south, Georgians and American work ethic…

      Well, let’s get a few facts straight. It is not a crime ( note from D.A.- “crime” defined here) to be in the United States without papers. It is illegal but not criminal. So please don’t repeat ignorant racist garbage by know nothing rednecks. All you are doing is promoting scapegoating for problems not the consequence of Mexicans here illegally. Its funny.

      The biggest problem with illegals is that they out work lazy locals who don’t the meaning of the word work. Where I grew up, southern Idaho, farm labor was performed by legal and illegal Mexican workers as well as locals. Let’s get one of those white trailer trash rednecks to spend a day in the fields hoeing sugar beets. The workers get paid by the acre, not the hour. So the harder you work, the more the pay. A native Georgian wouldn’t last half a day working at the pace Mexicans work. For a place where the quality of work is mostly substandard when performed by locals, there is sure is a lot of fury and noise.

      Anyone will tell you that southern contractors are the worst home builders in America. The junk they build wouldn’t pass muster anywhere but the South. So, let your white trailer trash redneck whiners have their say. I have no problem with people who work hard. And that describes most illegals in this country. Why is it that southerners always have to have a boogey man so they can excuse their own considerable shortcomings.

      This place is always and remains on the wrong side of history.

      Lloyd W. Walker
      Attorney at Law
      Peachtree City, GA

      HERE ( about half-way down)

       

      In addtion to a personal injury practice, Walker is apparently an immigration lawyer…illegal aliens are his stock in trade. Contact Walker HERE if you want.

      pray with him to help him see the errors of his ways.

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  • No extradition for one woman a

    • From: jennilee
    • Description:

      Austin Police filed a theft charge Tuesday afternoon against 29 year old Crystal Gail Cooley, one of the women they say targeted men in downtown Austin.  Police say the group of women would hit bars toward closing time and separate one man from their friends.  Victims say they were drugged and their credit or debit cards stolen.  The women then hit Walmart and bought gift cards.  The most recent 2 incidents happened back in April but police were only able to file the charge Tuesday because they had to work with another police department and follow policy and procedures when it comes to subpoenas.  

      Turns out, Cooley did the same crime in Atlanta just before the dozen incidents in Austin.  But police say Cooley will probably not do any jail time because the Travis County District Attorney's Office doesn't have enough money to extradite Cooley to Texas from Atlanta.

      What do you think about this?

       

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  • Austin man tries to shoot cop

    • From: jennilee
    • Description:

           28 year old, Christopher Rodriguez, is charged with aggravated assault on a peace officer, a first degree felony after police say he aimed a gun to an officer's forehead and pulled the trigger.  Fortunately, the gun was a replica.  Officer Manny Garcia is a 24 year veteran of the department and was responding to a 911 hang up call at a North Austin apartment Tuesday about 12:30 in the morning.  After identifying himself, knocking, and making eye contact with Rodriguez, police say the suspect opened the door, put the gun to the officer's forehead, and pulled the trigger.  Officer Garcia heard the hammer fall.  As Garcia backs up and gets ready to fire at the suspect, the suspect yells its not a real gun.

           Police say if Officer Garcia would have shot the suspect, it would have been a clean shoot.

           What do you think?  

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  • Banking and Federal Reserve Qu

    • From: indispair
    • Description:

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      The Rothschilds

         "The few who understand the system, will either be so interested from it's profits or so dependant on it's favors, that there will be no opposition from that class." — Rothschild Brothers of London, 1863

        "Give me control of a nation's money and I care not who makes it's laws" — Mayer Amschel Bauer Rothschild
       


      Senators and Congressmen

           "Most Americans have no real understanding of the operation of the international money lenders. The accounts of the Federal Reserve System have never been audited. It operates outside the control of Congress and manipulates the credit of the United States" — Sen. Barry Goldwater (Rep. AR)

          "This [Federal Reserve Act] establishes the most gigantic trust on earth. When the President [Wilson} signs this bill, the invisible government of the monetary power will be legalized....the worst legislative crime of the ages is perpetrated by this banking and currency bill." — Charles A. Lindbergh, Sr. , 1913

          "From now on, depressions will be scientifically created." — Congressman Charles A. Lindbergh Sr. , 1913

          "The financial system has been turned over to the Federal Reserve Board. That Board as ministers the finance system by authority of  a purely profiteering group. The system is Private, conducted for the sole purpose of obtaining the greatest possible profits from the use of other people's money" -- Charles A. Lindbergh Sr., 1923

          "The Federal Reserve bank buys government bonds without one penny..." — Congressman Wright Patman, Congressional Record, Sept 30, 1941

      "We have, in this country, one of the most corrupt institutions the world has ever known. I refer to the Federal Reserve Board. This evil institution has impoverished the people of the United States and has practically bankrupted our government. It has done this through the corrupt practices of the moneyed vultures who control it". — Congressman Louis T. McFadden in 1932 (Rep. Pa)

          "The Federal Reserve banks are one of the most corrupt institutions the world has ever seen.
      There is not a man within the sound of my voice who does not know that this nation is run by the
      International bankers — Congressman Louis T. McFadden (Rep. Pa)

          "Some people think the Federal Reserve Banks are the United States government's institutions.
      They are not government institutions. They are private credit monopolies which prey upon the people of the United States for the benefit of themselves and their foreign swindlers" — Congressional Record 12595-12603 — Louis T. McFadden, Chairman of the Committee on Banking and Currency (12 years) June 10, 1932

      "I have never seen more Senators express discontent with their jobs....I think the major cause is that, deep down in our hearts, we have been accomplices in doing something terrible and unforgivable to our wonderful country. Deep down in our heart, we know that we have given our children a legacy of bankruptcy. We have defrauded our country to get ourselves elected." — John Danforth (R-Mo)

      "These 12 corporations together cover the whole country and monopolize and use for private
      gain every dollar of the public currency..." — Mr. Crozier of Cincinnati, before Senate  Banking and Currency Committee - 1913

      "The [Federal Reserve Act] as it stands seems to me to open the way to a vast inflation of the
      currency... I do not like to think that any law can be passed that will make it possible to submerge the gold standard in a flood of irredeemable paper currency." — Henry Cabot Lodge Sr., 1913
       


      From the Federal Reserves Own Admissions

          "When you or I write a check there must be sufficient funds in out account to cover the check,
      but when the Federal Reserve writes a check there is no bank deposit on which that check is drawn. When the Federal Reserve writes a check, it is creating money." — Putting it simply, Boston Federal Reserve Bank

       "Neither paper currency nor deposits have value as commodities, intrinsically, a 'dollar' bill is just
      a piece of paper. Deposits are merely book entries." — Modern Money Mechanics Workbook,
      Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, 1975

      "The Federal Reserve system pays the U.S. Treasury 020.60 per thousand notes --a little over
      2 cents each-- without regard to the face value of the note. Federal Reserve Notes, incidentally, are the only type of currency now produced for circulation. They are printed exclusively by the
      Treasury's Bureau of Engraving and Printing, and the $20.60 per thousand price reflects the Bureau's full cost of production. Federal Reserve Notes are printed in 01, 02, 05, 10, 20, 50, and 100 dollar denominations only; notes of 500, 1000, 5000, and 10,000 denominations were last printed in 1945." —Donald J. Winn, Assistant to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve system

      "We are completely dependant on the commercial banks. Someone has to borrow every dollar
      we have in circulation, cash or credit. If the banks create ample synthetic money we are prosperous; if not, we starve. We are absolutely without a permanent money system.... It is the most important subject intelligent persons can investigate and reflect upon. It is so important that our present civilization may collapse unless it becomes widely understood and the defects remedied very soon." — Robert H. Hamphill, Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank
       


      From General Law

         "The entire taxing and monetary systems are hereby placed under the U.C.C. (Uniform
      Commercial Code)" — The Federal Tax Lien Act of 1966

      "There is a distinction between a 'debt discharged' and a debt 'paid'. When discharged, the debt
      still exists though divested of it's charter as a legal obligation during the operation of the discharge, something of the original vitality of the debt continues to exist, which may be transferred, even though the transferee takes it subject to it's disability incident to the discharge." —Stanek vs. White, 172 Minn.390, 215 N.W. 784

      "The Federal Reserve Banks are not federal instrumentalities..." — Lewis vs. United States
      9th Circuit 1992

      "The regional Federal Reserve banks are not government agencies. ...but are independent,
      privately owned and locally controlled corporations." — Lewis vs. United States, 680 F. 2d 1239
      9th Circuit 1982


      Past Presidents, not including the Founding Fathers

         "Whoever controls the volume of money in any country is absolute master of all industry and
      commerce." — James A. Garfield, President of the United States

      "A great industrial nation is controlled by it's system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated governments in the world--no longer a government of free opinion, no longer a government by conviction and vote of the majority, but a government by the opinion and duress of small groups of dominant men." — President Woodrow Wilson
       


      Founding Father's Quotes on Banking  (Maybe some repeats from "Founding Father's Quotes" / Information tends to converge)

      Thomas Jefferson
           "I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies.
      Already they have raised up a monied aristocracy that has set the government at defiance. The
      issuing power (of money) should be taken away from the banks and restored to the people to
      whom it properly belongs." — Thomas Jefferson, U.S. President.

      Andrew Jackson
          "If Congress has the right [it doesn't] to issue paper money [currency], it was given to them to be used by...[the government] and not to be delegated to individuals or corporations" — President Andrew Jackson, Vetoed Bank Bill of 1836

      James Madison
          "History records that the money changers have used every form of abuse, intrigue, deceit, and violent means possible to maintain their control over governments by controlling money and it's issuance." — James Madison


      Misc. Sources

      "Banks lend by creating credit. They create the means of payment out of nothing" — Ralph M.
      Hawtrey, Secretary of the British Treasury

          "To expose a 15 Trillion dollar rip-off of the American people by the stockholders of the 1000
      largest corporations over the last 100 years will be a tall order of business." — Buckminster Fuller

          "Every Congressman, every Senator knows precisely what causes inflation...but can't, [won't]
      support the drastic reforms to stop it [repeal of the Federal Reserve Act] because it could cost him his job." — Robert A. Heinlein, Expanded Universe

          "It is well that the people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning." — Henry Ford

          "[Every circulating FRN] represents a one dollar debt to the Federal Reserve system." — Money
      Facts, House Banking and Currency Committee

        "...the increase in the assets of the Federal Reserve banks from 143 million dollars in 1913 to
      45 billion dollars in 1949 went directly to the private stockholders of the [federal reserve] banks." — Eustace Mullins

          "As soon as Mr. Roosevelt took office, the Federal Reserve began to buy government securities
      at the rate of ten million dollars a week for 10 weeks, and created one hundred million dollars in new [checkbook] currency, which alleviated the critical famine of money and credit, and the factories
      started hiring people again." — Eustace Mullins

          "Should government refrain from regulation (taxation), the worthlessness of the money becomes apparent and the fraud can no longer be concealed." — John Maynard Keynes, "Consequences of Peace."

          "Banking was conceived in iniquity and was born in sin. The Bankers own the earth. Take it away from them, but leave them the power to create deposits, and with the flick of the pen they will create enough deposits to buy it back again. However, take it away from them, and all the great fortunes like mine will disappear and they ought to disappear, for this would be a happier and better world to live in. But, if you wish to remain the slaves of Bankers and pay the cost of your own slavery, let them continue to create deposits." — SIR JOSIAH STAMP, (President of the Bank of England in the 1920's, the second richest man in Britain):

           "The modern Banking system manufactures money out of nothing. The process is perhaps the most astounding piece of sleight of hand that was ever invented. Banks can in fact inflate, mint and unmint the modern ledger-entry currency." — MAJOR L .L. B. ANGUS:


        "While boasting of our noble deeds were careful to conceal the ugly fact that by an iniquitous money system we have nationalized a system of oppression which, though more refined, is not less cruel than the old system of chattel slavery. — Horace Greeley

           "People who will not turn a shovel full of dirt on the project (Muscle Shoals Dam) nor contribute a pound of material, will collect more money from the United States than will the People who supply all the material and do all the work. This is the terrible thing about interest ...But here is the point: If the Nation can issue a dollar bond it can issue a dollar bill. The element that makes the bond good makes the bill good also. The difference between the bond and the bill is that the bond lets the money broker collect twice the amount of the bond and an additional 20%. Whereas the currency, the honest sort provided by the Constitution pays nobody but those who contribute in some useful way.  It is absurd to say our Country can issue bonds and cannot issue currency. Both are promises to pay, but one fattens the usurer and the other helps the People. If the currency issued by the People were no good, then the bonds would be no good, either. It is a terrible situation when the Government, to insure the National Wealth, must go in debt and submit to ruinous interest charges at the hands of men who control the fictitious value of gold. Interest is the invention of Satan." — THOMAS A. EDISON


          "By this means government may secretly and unobserved, confiscate the wealth of the people,
      and not one man in a million will detect the theft." — John Maynard Keynes (the father of 'Keynesian Economics' which our nation now endures) in his book "THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF THE PEACE" (1920).

           "Capital must protect itself in every way...Debts must be collected and loans and mortgages
      foreclosed as soon as possible. When through a process of law the common people have lost their
      homes, they will be more tractable and more easily governed by the strong arm of the law applied
      by the central power of leading financiers. People without homes will not quarrel with their leaders. This is well known among our principal men now engaged in forming an imperialism of capitalism to govern the world. By dividing the people we can get them to expend their energies in fighting over questions of no importance to us except as teachers of the common herd."--  Taken from the Civil Servants' Year Book, "The Organizer" January 1934.

      "The Federal Reserve banks, while not part of the government..." — United States budget for 1991 and 1992 part 7, page 10

      The Money Power! It is the greatest power on earth; and it is arrayed against Labour. No other power that is or ever was can be named with it... it attacks us through the Press - a monster with a thousand lying tongues, a beast surpassing in foulness any conceived by the mythology that invented dragons, were wolves, harpies, ghouls and vampires. It thunders against us from innumerable platforms and ,Yes, so far as we are concerned, the headquarters of the Money Power is Britain. But the Money Power is not a British institution; it is cosmopolitan. It is of no nationality, but of all nationalities. It dominates the world. The Money Power has corrupted the faculties of the human soul, and tampered with the sanity of the human intellect... Editorial from 1907 edition of The Brisbane Worker (Australia)
       

      ...I am convinced that the agreement [Bretton Woods] will enthrone a world dictatorship of private finance more complete and terrible than and Hitlerite dream. It offers no solution of world problems, but quite blatantly sets up controls which will reduce the smaller nations to vassal states and make every government the mouthpiece and tool of International Finance.  It will undermine and destroy the democratic institutions of this country - in fact as effectively as ever the Fascist forces could have done - pervert and paganise our Christian ideals; and will undoubtedly present a new menace, endangering world peace. World collaboration of private financial interests can only mean mass unemployment, slavery, misery, degradation and financial destruction. Therefore, as freedom loving Australians we should reject this infamous proposal. -- Labor Minister of Australia, Eddie Ward, during the inception of the World Bank and Bretton Woods, he gave this warning.

      "Government spending is always a “tax” burden on the American people and is never equally or fairly distributed.  The poor and low-middle income workers always suffer the most from the deceitful tax of inflation and borrowing." -Congressman Ron Paul

      "Most Americans have no real understanding of the operation of the international money lenders. The accounts of the Federal Reserve System have never been audited. It operates outside the control of Congress and manipulates the credit of the United States" — Senator Barry Goldwater (Rep. AR)
       

       "From now on, depressions will be scientifically created." — Congressman Charles A. Lindbergh Sr. , 1913

       

       

      We are in a lot of trouble.......

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  • Officer of the Year Lenny Quin

    • From: jennilee
    • Description:

           The Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas, or CLEAT, awarded APD Officer, Lenny Quintana, Officer of the Year during it's annual conference last week.  Members of the police labor union say it has nothing to do with his shooting of Nathaniel Sanders outside an East Austin apartment complex May 11th.  Police have said Quintana fired at Sanders after the two struggled for a gun in Sanders' waistband.  Sanders was asleep before that. 

           CLEAT members say Quintana got the award for the way he has conducted himself after the shooting.  They say he has gone through demonization from the media, isolation from some in the department and the community he serves.

           This award comes as part of the independent investigation into the shooting of Sanders was released on Monday.  The Chief agreed with some of its criticisms but says, at the end of the day, the review didn't recommend a new investigation.

           What do you think about the timing of the award?  

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  • candy linked to crime in adult

    • From: CRYSTALCHRIS
    • Description:
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      What parent hasn't used candy to pacify a cranky child or head off a brewing tantrum? When reasoning, threats and time-outs fail, a sugary treat often does the trick. But while that chocolate-covered balm may be highly effective in the short term, say British scientists, it may be setting youngsters up for problem behavior later. According to a new study, kids who eat too many treats at a young age risk becoming violent in adulthood.

      The research was led by Simon Moore, a senior lecturer in Violence and Society Research at Cardiff University in the U.K., who specializes in the study of vulnerable youngsters. Moore had been investigating the factors that lead children to commit serious crimes, when, during the course of his work, he discovered that "kids with the worst problems tend to be impulsive risk takers, and that these kids had terrible diets - breakfast was a Coke and a bag of chips," he says. (See nine kid foods to avoid.)

      Intrigued by this association, Moore turned to the British Cohort Study, a long-term survey of 17,000 people born during a one-week period in April 1970. That study included periodic evaluations of many different aspects of the growing children's lives, such as what they ate, certain health measures and socioeconomic status. Moore plumbed the data for information on kids' diet and their later behavior: at age 10, the children were asked how much candy they consumed, and at age 34, they were questioned about whether they had been convicted of a crime. Moore's analysis suggests a correlation: 69% of people who had been convicted of a violent act by age 34 reported eating candy almost every day as youngsters; 42% of people who had not been arrested for violent behavior reported the same. "Initially we thought this [effect] was probably due to something else," says Moore. "So we tried to control for parental permissiveness, economic status, whether the kids were urban or rural. But the result remained. We couldn't get rid of it." (See the 25 crimes of the century.)

      In other words, regardless of other environmental and lifestyle factors, like family-income level, parenting style or children's level of education, the data suggested it was only the frequency of confectionery consumption in childhood that strongly predicted adult violence. "The key message is that this study really raises more questions than answers," says Moore. (See the top 10 food trends of 2008.)

      One of those questions is whether sweets themselves contain compounds that promote antisocial and aggressive behavior, or whether the excessive eating of sweets represents a lack of discipline in childhood that translates to poor impulse control in adulthood. Moore is leaning toward the latter. It's possible that children who are given sweets too frequently never learn how to delay gratification - that is, they never develop enough patience to wait for things they want, leading to impulsivity in adulthood. It's also possible that children who are poorly behaved from the start tend to get more candy. (Read "Why Media Could Be Bad for Your Child's Health.")

      Moore acknowledges that there is also some intriguing data suggesting that diet itself may have a profound effect on behavior. A University of Oxford researcher recently published controversial findings hinting that prisoners who were fed vitamin supplements - and therefore presumably getting well-balanced nutrition - had lower rates of disciplinary events and aggressive outbursts than a control group who were given placebo pills. While the association is preliminary, says Moore, "I think looking at diet is a fairly novel way to think of behavior over the life course."

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  • 85-yr-old shoots at 6 men bc o

    • From: jennilee
    • Description:

      An 85-year-old Austin man is charged with 7 counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and faces up to 20 years in prison.  This, after police say he shot at 6 contract workers clearing brush near his property.  Henry Schotz says he thought the men were trespassing on his land and trying to cut down his trees.  Police say he did not have a right to shoot at them.  This doesn't fall under the Castle Doctrine.  Police say he should have just called 911.  Instead, he put those 6 men and even neighbors at risk.

       

      What do you think?  Should he have the right despite what the law says?

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  • Excons get 2nd chance

    • From: CRYSTALCHRIS
    • Description:

      10:50 am ET

      NAPLES, Italy – Luigi "Giggino" Nocerino once stalked tourists through the tight alleys of this southern Italian city, snatching bags and valuables to fuel his drug addiction.

      Now he looks after his former prey, escorting them through bad neighborhoods and giving tips on how to avoid muggings and where to eat the best pizza.

      Nocerino is one of 70 former convicts, including muggers, drug traffickers and con artists, hired by authorities to guide tourists through the art-rich but crime-plagued city and use their inside knowledge of the local underworld to keep visitors safe.

      Officials say the six-month experiment that began in May is succeeding in reducing petty crime and preventing the ex-cons from falling back into old habits or joining the ranks of the Camorra, the powerful mob syndicate that runs global drug rings out of Naples.

      "I used to hunt for tourists. How things have changed," Nocerino marvels, recalling how he spent more than 10 of his 43 years serving prison terms for drug-related offenses.

      Nocerino and his fellow guides roam tourist-filled areas, like the historic center of Naples or its port, wearing bright yellow vests identifying them, in somewhat mangled English, as "Operator for the Urban Tourist Assistance."

      Some speak basic English and Spanish but most use Italians' expressive hand gestures to get the message across. They walk around in groups accompanied by a supervisor, usually a private security guard, who knows them and reports on their performance.

      Their job can include pointing the way to a monument, helping tourists negotiate a cab fare or walking them to a specific pizzeria or a pastry shop. The service is free and tips are not encouraged.

      Giovanni Aspride, a 53-year-old former counterfeiter, said he and his colleagues usually wait for tourists to approach them, though they may come forward if somebody seems desperately lost or to tell a visitor to remove a gold watch or tuck a wallet in a safer pocket.

      Though their criminal record does not have to be revealed, the guides are not shy about discussing it if it comes up in conversation.

      On a busy shopping street on Tuesday, Aspride pointed an American couple just off a cruise ship toward baroque churches in the area, then checked that they weren't wearing any jewelry that could attract unwanted attention.

      "You OK," he told them in broken English.

      The tourists were unfazed when told Aspride had served time.

      "It's a great way to reintegrate them into society," said Brooke Cervine March, 37, of Santa Fe, New Mexico. "Everybody deserves a second chance."

      Her husband, Scott Cervine, said a fellow cruise passenger bought an MP3 player from a street vendor, only to find out later that he'd been conned.

      Aspride smiled as he recognized the trademark "pacco" — the package trick. Unscrupulous street vendors will display a high-tech gizmo, then place it in a box, which at the last moment is switched with one that's empty or contains a heavy object.

      The guides must call police if they see anything suspicious, but officials say that in some cases they have taken matters into their own hands, chasing off muggers or returning lost property to tourists.

      When the government of the Campania region, which has Naples as its capital, started the project the idea caused uproar.

      Applicants went through interviews and were chosen based on any previous working experience and language skills. Serious offenders including murderers, rapists and mobsters were ruled out.

      Still, critics complained the ex-cons could be a danger to tourists and tarnish the image of a city already reputed as unsafe.

      "We were accused of putting the wolves in charge of the sheep," said Corrado Gabriele, the regional official in charge of labor issues. "I think convicts should not be marked for life and, once they have served their sentence, we have a duty to help them."

      The project has had its rough moments: one of the ex-cons was arrested on the job — but that was after the slow-paced Italian courts sentenced him for a crime committed more than a decade ago.

      None of the convicts has committed any crime since the project started and the initial distrust has largely dissipated, said Alessandro Maria Vecchioni, head of an education agency that runs the scheme.

      He proudly showed letters of thanks from tourists helped by the guides and citizens' petitions to increase their numbers and hours.

      For now the guides work 20 hours a week for a monthly salary of euro500 ($725), paid by the Campania region with European Union funds.

      "By escorting tourists to restaurants and shops in areas previously unsafe for visitors they help revive the area's economy, and then the locals are the first to turn against petty criminals," Vecchioni said.

      Though it's too early to draw conclusions, Vecchioni said initial figures show crimes like muggings are down 85 percent in some of the areas covered by the guides.

      "They bring customers and some extra safety," said Salvatore Eder, who runs a food store in downtown Naples. "There should be more of them."

    • Blog post
    • 2 months ago
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  • New Uniforms and Hollywood Smi

    • From: rbb50
    • Description:

      Seems a whole slew of government regulations has not only forced HVAC contractors to hire the cheapest help they can find without regard to experience at all but they also delegate the authority to those same incompetent technicians to do what ever it takes to make the company money which the incompetent tech knows his own job relies on.

      On drugs alcohol or just plain derelicts can make a killing by having access to what they always call stupid people (The consumers) and swindling them into believing anything they say without question by using a bunch of techno jargon the consumer would never understand and think that tech must know what he is talking about or he would not be working at a large HVAC company like that.

      In short if your a good can artist or an ex politician you can make the big bucks by working for a HVAC company in the tri county area around Austin but if you are a competent experience technician most of them probably will not want a single thing to do with you because you will see the company ripping off customers left and right and be complaining about that while working there.

      How do they rip off the consumers?

      They will tell them they need equipment replaced never mentioning a warranty which normally is 5 years on all seal system work and in some manufactures case 5 years parts and labor warranty and they will tell the consumer there is no warranty and they have to pay for any repairs done.

      They will sell complete system change outs to an unwary consumer who never needed the system replaced to begin with because it only had a simple problem such as ants in the condenser contactor.

      Beware of York that has a five year warranty on certain parts that usually never have any problems while not covering others and only having a 30 day labor warranty of which unscrupulous contractors use to get more work by making sure the system they install does have problems that will make it fail within about 2 months after the installation so they can return and charge that customer outrageous labor rates up to $150 an hour while sending a tech that only makes $10 an hour and is totally incompetent to begin with and will in every case cause even more problems they will want to charge you for also at a later date when the equipment fails again.

      Now days even the manufactures are getting in on consumers ignorance and attempting to sell them extended warranties when they buy the equipment explaining to them if they do not buy that then they are not protected in any way from what I call incompetent technicians working on those systems and which those HVAC companies hire to begin with to install the systems.

      Some how the city inspection departments are dropping the ball so bad I would have to say there is incompetence is in those departments also after seeing thousands of systems installed that were not installed to national or local codes and have come close to or actually burned down houses because of that which had the approval of the city inspection departments as being up to code.

      Want to report those unscrupulous contractors that burned your house down or who later you found ripped you off by charging for work that was warranted by the manufacture or essentially charging you for the work that should have been covered under the warranty while also charging the manufacture for warranty work also and never telling you that?

      Forget it as the contractors seem to know the regulators have deep pockets and they keep them filled with a percentage of the proceeds they get from the unknowing consumers is all I see.

      Want to put that kind of system out of business?

      Simple as can be

      Every consumer has the right to dictate what they want in anything they want including any home improvement contracts and HVAC work in their own homes.

      Require every contractor you use that submits a proposal to you to also sign a waiver requiring that mandatory drug and alcohol testing be done on any employee they have working for them that they send to work in your house with the provision that if they fail that test then all work from their company is then to be completed for free which would also include any service work done in your house.

      They would be required to pay for that testing and the company testing would be required to keep the results secret between only you and the drug testing company unless the idiots actually failed the test and were so stupid as to fight that legal document they signed in which case they would not only lose but also have to pay all court cost as stipulated in that waiver.

      That takes care of about 75% of the unscrupulous contractors and technicians that were only submitting bids as a way to get their foot in your door in the Austin tri county area as a way to rip you off who will decline signing a waver such as that of which I would sign in a split second myself knowing I could pass it any day of the week and get that job.

      Have a lawyer draft that waiver up for you in a way that you the consumer will be protected from any unscrupulous HVAC company and include they also have to disclose all of the warranties by the manufactures of the equipment they are selling and not just be saying stuff like, “Yeah they warranty it” with no other details.

      Include that the company has to disclose everything about any technician they use including anyone working in that company to do that work including criminal back ground checks and qualifications completed in a way they are easily verified such as school transcripts training and how long they have actually been doing work in that field and what their pay scales are and have that company pay for the investigation by a investigator of your choice to verify all of the information to be true and accurate before work can begin.

      If you do accept the bid from that company that supplied you with all the information you requested then make positively sure you do have the list of the named employees that are to be working in your house to check each and every day that only those employees verified are the ones working on that job where as if found an employee is sent that is not on the list then all work ceases and the contractor can and will be sued for breach of contract which stipulates you owe them nothing for any work done by them.

      What will this force those unscrupulous contractors to do?

      They will probably flee the tri county area and move to another county or state as a way to rip of consumers in that county or state with no such provisions and then consumers will only be left with honest hard working contractors that are in the business of giving consumers the best deal and the most competent and drug alcohol free employees left in the market place.

      Most all of them will never even submit a bid to you under those conditions knowing they would be caught trying to rip you off any way they could and if they refused that proposal then that in itself would prove beyond a doubt they could not meet those requirements to begin with and were only looking for a sucker and not someone that knows how to protect their own interest.

      What are the other options?

      Let me show you some of them I have found around the tri county area in and around the Austin area.

      Gas furnace in the attic was mounted on a platform that was only the width of the furnace and no more left for the required platform as per code in front of the furnace for service.
       
      Units installed in dark attics or alcoves with no lighting  not to code
       
      Gas flue pipes cut through the roof or walls with no clearance and touching the wood in the walls or deck of the roof not to code and a fire hazard
       
      Gas pipes up to the furnace in an attic with no gas cock cut off installed using galvanized piping instead of black gas pipes not to code.
       
      Duel systems hooked up backwards where a 2 ton condenser was feeding a 3 ton blower and coil and the 3 ton condenser hooked up to the 2 ton blower and evaporator and had remained that way for 8 years serviced all that time by the same company that installed it until I was called to service it and found that condition could say not to code but has to be total incompetence by the original company on that one.

      Duel systems hooked up backwards where a 3 ton condenser was feeding a 4 ton blower and coil and the 4 ton condenser hooked up to the 3 ton blower and evaporator and had remained that way for 10 years serviced all that time by the same company that installed it until I was called to service it and found that condition could say not to code but has to be total incompetence by the original company on that one.

      Some of the stuff is outright dangerous such as a call on smoke smelled by a customer only to find the contractor had wired the electric furnace in with wire that was about half the size it needed to be to power the electric heat coils in the furnace and had burned up the power wires going to the furnace trying to do so which of course was not to code and almost burned down a house.

      A 2 speed Lennox system hooked up to only run the 1st stage of cooling and heat pump never being hooked up for two stages and run that way for ten years as contractors sent incompetent technicians to service it who only charged it with freon and left a consumer still complaining it just does not seem to keep up with cooling or heating the house until they called me and found out they had spent thousands on their electric bills and service calls during that period only because incompetent technicians had serviced it for ten years

      2 stage York systems only hooked up to run first stage with the same results of incompetent technicians sent for years telling the consumer all they need is some more freon only to find when they called me they had already invested thousands in electric bills and incompetent technicians that were ripping them off not only that but over charging a system like that some times does result in compressor failure and those unscrupulous companies know they can count on people without a clue to call them back and give them more money to fix that problem they caused to begin with.

      The choice is always yours and you either demand what you want or not.

      If not you might meet me someday and find you have already spent thousands to have a company full of derelicts service your HVAC system for years without ever realizing it before you called me and I will have to explain exactly what was happening to your system and why it has cost you so much from day one when it was installed by those unscrupulous contractors that hire incompetent technicians as a way to have cheap labor without regard to what most all of them call “That clueless idiot” (You) that keeps calling them and giving them more money only because they have the biggest ad in the yellow pages.

      If you do demand that I will probably be one of the few guys left around this area that installs or services your system for you that you will find after that will not have any problems with for another 10-20 years and even then it would probably be that age old problem of those darn fire ants getting into those condenser contactors.

      Would that raise the cost of doing business with any contractor?

      No not unless they were totally unscrupulous and thought they would have to charge more to cover the fact they know they have incompetent technicians on drugs and alcohol working for them of which they now know would cost them more money to try to do business with that particular business plan and knowing they may be caught up in a legal system that protects consumers and no longer protects their own incompetence and criminal activities.

      There are plenty of highly experienced HVAC technicians out of work at this time that cannot get hired only because those unscrupulous contractors have opted for the incompetent technicians at the $10 an hour rate of which in itself in not even enough to maintain tools needed to do HVAC work or continuing education to begin with let alone live in the Austin area unless they were just out of high school still living with their parents.

      If your just not for sure what to do after reading this then tell me and I will be glad to meet with you and consult with you to give you a complete report on your own system and how up to par or not and note for you any problems such as the above I find with it and of course I’m not doing that for free and expect me to be there about 4 hours as we go over every part of your entire system including duct and plenum sizing and in some cases large houses with up to eight systems as I have seen might take a couple of days to inspect.

      I might even consider turning that into a business since the need for that type of business seems to grow by leaps and bounds every day for as long as the State of Texas and the cities of Austin, Round Rock, Georgetown and all of the cities in the tri-county area allows unscrupulous contractors to stay in the business of ripping off consumers.

      As a professional HVAC tech I would also be glad to represent you as an expert witness in court to any crimes committed by those companies in their bids that are only submitted to you as a way to get crooks working for them into your house as a way to rip you off.

      They call it getting their foot in your door advertising and many other things but I call it malicious criminal activity myself and compare it to organized crime tied in with State and local agencies taking under the table money to keep quiet about it while telling consumers they have no recourse and passing the buck to different departments who also say they cannot help you in any way.

      Why is this blog so big?

      If I put every thing I know about all of the unscrupulous contractors in business around the Austin area it would fill about a 2000 page book so really this blog is not that big at all compared to that but maybe it will give some consumers an ideal as to how they are getting ripped off left and right and might not even know that until they read this.

      More consumers might start questioning what they really know about the contractors that seem so friendly to them of which they think would never do that only because the contractors always shows up at their home with a smile on his face which they find later was only to hide the incompetence within them.

      Either way an informed consumer is what unscrupulous contractors and technicians with that brand new uniform and a Hollywood smile hate the most but in my case an informed consumer is the one I had just done some work for who now knows they now have an HVAC system that works better than it ever has before but usually my uniform is dirty if the company I work for even supplies one and I have to work so hard fixing what criminals have done to consumers all the time I do not smile much about that.

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    • 2 months ago
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  • Seller, beware: Feds enforcing

    • From: rbb50
    • Description:

      If you're planning a garage sale or organizing a church bazaar, you'd best beware: You could be breaking a new federal law. As part of a campaign called Resale Roundup, the federal government is cracking down on the secondhand sales of dangerous and defective products and people that did not vote for Obama.

      The initiative, which targets toys and other products for children, enforces a new provision that makes it a crime to resell anything that's been recalled by its Manufacturer and anything sold by companies that do not agree with Obama in any way even if their products are not defective at all.

      "Those who resell recalled children's products or do not support Obama are not only breaking the law, they are putting children's lives at risk," said Heimlich Himmler, the recently confirmed chairwoman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission in charge of building the new multi-billion dollar creatoriums to help with the influx of executed people that were in non-compliance of the new Obama dictator laws and we will find them and put them in jail unless they can prove they voted for Obama or have money to pay our extortion demands

      The crackdown affects sellers ranging from major thrift-store operators such as Goodwill and the Salvation Army to everyday Americans cleaning out their attics for yard sales, church bazaars or - increasingly - digital hawking on eBay, Craigslist and other Web sites.

      Secondhand sellers now must keep abreast of recalls for thousands of products, some of them stretching back more than a decade, to stay within the bounds of the law which has no definition except that if you did not vote for Obama you will be breaking the law even when you never did.

      Staffers for the federal agency are fanning out across the country to conduct propaganda seminars on the regulations at dozens of thrift shops while telling them how much they will have to pay in extortion money as a way to stay in business under the new Nazi regime.

      "Even before this law, we had good mechanisms in place for pulling recalled products," said Adolph Hitler, the chief executive of Goodwill. "The law just kicks it up a notch, so Goodwill’s around the country will continue to improve our process and make sure all of our employees did support Obama and voted for him or we will fire them and have them arrested and executed as the law prescribes".

      Goodwill uses $2 billion in annual sales at its 2,300 thrift shops nationwide to pay extortion money to Obama as a way to stay in business. Adolph said the nonprofit group was accustomed to inspectors from the Consumer Product Safety Commission making unannounced visits to its stores to collect the envelopes they give them with the cash in them to pay off the Obama extortionists.

      Wolfgang, a spokesman for the agency, said it would be dispatching bureaucratic storm troopers into private homes to see whether people were selling recalled products from their garages, yards or churches to make sure no one is making money and arrest anyone that appears they are without paying the proper extortion fees.

      "We're looking to come across as being heavy-handed," he said. "We want to make sure that everybody knows what the rules of engagement are to make sure they know we will shoot them or murder them as a way to spur greater compliance of people believing anything Obama says without question",

      The agency is working with eBay, Wolfgang said, to help the online sales giant install software filters that will flag auction items subject to manufacturers' recalls and gather names and addresses of anyone that post there as a way to investigate people making money in any way.

      The commission's Internet surveillance unit is monitoring Craigslist and other "top auction and reselling sites" for recalled goods. If the agency discovers that a recalled product has been sold online, it will try to find and arrest the buyer or have them put on a hit list to be executed, Wolfgang said.

      To kick off its Resale Roundup, the federal agency released a list of the 11 most dangerous previously recalled children's products. The oldest is the March 10, 1993, recall of 11,600 portable cribs sold as Playskool Travel-Lite Play Yards and made by Kolcraft, an Aberdeen, N.C., firm that's the nation's largest crib manufacturer that Obama abortionist have been trying to put out of business for years but people just keep having babies that need baby cribs.

      The executive director of the National Association of Resale and Thrift Shops, which represents more than 1,100 store owners said, "Even before it was criminal to resell recalled goods, our members have always been diligent because children's safety is never on our minds," she said. "But forcing consumers to look out for recalled products that are sold at garage sales and flea markets or people that do not support Obama’s dictatorship, that is a problem, and hopefully this law will help put them all in jail or have them killed also saying, “Hey we have to pay the extortion money to stay in business so they should have to pay it also".

      Nancy, a mother of two in Monroe, Wash., was surprised to learn that she was violating the law by selling about $200 worth of Polly Pocket dolls and accessories on Craigslist that her 12-year-old daughter no longer wants and found her self in a torture chamber being fed drugs all day long for months before escaping to the underground with the help of freedom fighters.

      Sears which sells products on government recall list everyday of the year then leaves customers stuck with dangerous and defective appliances that do not even work or burn their house down is still allowed to rip consumers off for billions of dollars a year as they are is exempt from this because they donated so heavily to the Obama campaign.

      Other companies that donated or still support Obama's communist and socialist programs are also exempt and can sell any defective or dangerous product they want as long as they sell them to people that did not vote for Obama and do not support any of his communist policies.

      Companies that protest his draconian dictatorship policies made to destroy America will not be exempt and will be run out of business on a regular basis even when none of the products they sell are dangerous or defective in anyway unless they pay the extortion fees to Obama's Jack booted thugs.

      People that did not vote for Obama will also be harassed continually for things like, Reporting crack houses and crime activity in their neighborhoods, Protesting the town hall meetings Suddam Hussein,,,, Oh I mean Obama I always get those two confused since they are exactly alike in every way and those who protest his dictatorship will be investigated and put on the terror watch list and harassed on a daily basis with some being murdered execution style.

      Children who say anything contradictory to what Obama has brainwashed them into believing will be checked into brainwashing centers Oh I mean government run public school system special education programs where they will be fed all kinds of experimental drugs as a way to either kill them or turn them into vegetables.

      HVAC companies all across the country that hire liberal democrat morons on drugs who have no clue as to what they are doing and kill many consumers because of that along with illegal aliens that voted for Obama will also be exempt from this law which helps 99% of all the HVAC companies in Travis county that have already been doing that for decades.

      Remember just because you are selling something that is not on a recall list do not forget you will be investigated and asked for extortion money that usually exceeds the sell price of any item you sell by ten times its worth unless you do support Obama and his new Islamic sharia laws.

      Not giving the jack booted thugs Obama sends to collect that money can get you thrown in jail and tortured for trying to make any extra money without Obama’s permission or by not paying the new extortion fees that will be due upon the day of the sale which could also mean an instant execution at your house if you refuse.

      Obama said, “We need to enforce the new Islamic sharia laws I have set forth as a way to make sure radical Muslims like me enough to run for office in this country even when they were never born in this country like I did”.

       

    • Blog post
    • 2 months ago
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  • Human Trafficking in Austin

    • From: jennilee
    • Description:

      You shouldn't be surprised that it's going on in the Capital City.  You may not even be surprised to find out Austin Police are seeing more cases.  But did you know that while these victims are smuggled into the country illegally, they are taken advantage of and forced into prostitution, or other labors?  I know they came into the country illegally but that doesn't mean they deserve to be slaves.

      What do you think?

    • Blog post
    • 3 months ago
    • Views: 383
  • Prison riots reveal more probl

    • From: CRYSTALCHRIS
    • Description:

      The exact cause of the 11-hour riot that broke out Aug. 8 at the California Institution for Men in Chino, Calif., won't be known until an official investigation by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is completed. However, to some criminal-justice experts the violence that erupted at the facility, located about 40 miles east of Los Angeles, was an inevitable consequence of a state prison system long hobbled by massive overcrowding, program cuts and understaffed facilities. And given the state's ongoing budget woes - with $1.2 billion in cuts mandated to the prison budget - the situation is likely to only get worse.

      "The overcrowding is the first issue," says Barry Krisberg, president of the National Council on Crime and Delinquency in Oakland, Calif. "You're talking about hundreds of men moved into triple bunks in what used to be gyms and cafeterias. They're not even cells. They're just empty places where we're shoving people." According to the most recent statistics from the CDCR, California's 33 state prisons house 154,649 prisoners in facilities designed to hold just 84,271 prisoners. The Chino prison is among the worst, with 5,877 prisoners in a facility designed to hold 2,976. (Read about the problem with cell phones in prisons.)

      Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and state political officials have been well aware of the issue of overcrowding, and the deplorable conditions that go along with it, for some time. In 2006 Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency because of "severe overcrowding" in California's prisons, saying it had caused "substantial risk to the health and safety of the men and women who work inside these prisons and the inmates housed in them." In response, legislators passed AB 900, which earmarked $1.2 billion in jail-construction funding through state lease-revenue bonds. However, more than two years later, construction is still on hold as lawmakers quibble about the details. But it's not just a lack of buildings that is the problem. Says Krisberg: "Without programs and without services, the tensions that exist to begin with are going to be greatly exacerbated. The elected officials of California have been playing Russian roulette with the lives of the guards and the inmates in these prisons." (Read about California's growing prison crisis.)

      "You can't build yourself out of this mess," says Jeanne Woodford, former warden at San Quentin and former head of the CDCR. "The state can't afford it." Apparently, California only accounted for the construction costs and never included the operating expenses. "So even if those places are built," says Woodford, "where will California get the money to staff them? We're broke. How the heck are we going to operate these prisons? Most prisons cost from $150 to $200 million a year to operate. There's just no money for it."

      In addition to overcrowding, the state's corrections efforts are the nation's most expensive - and one of the least effective. The state spends $10 billion annually, or $49,000 per inmate for a year in custody, according to statistics from the nonpartisan policy-advising group Legislative Analyst's Office. Yet, California's recidivism rate is 70%, one of the worst in the country.

      Given the state's lack of traction on prison reform, a federal three-judge panel recently ordered California to come up with a plan in the next 45 days that reduces the inmate population by nearly 43,000 prisoners. Seth Unger, press secretary for the CDCR, says they will appeal any final ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court. "Congress passed the Prison Litigation Reform Act to limit the power of the federal courts to take control of state prison systems and to order population caps or early release of inmates and we certainly believe the court has overstepped its bounds in this case," says Unger.

      He says his department recently introduced a proposal, yet to be deliberated on by legislators, that would reduce the average daily prison population by 27,300. Of course, politicians, particularly state Republicans, are loath to endorse any measure that smacks of releasing prisoners early or that could be viewed as being soft on crime - which has been a roadblock to reforming the system in the past. Prison-reform advocates are hoping the ruling by the federal court will inspire political will for their cause.

      Even if California avoids federal intervention and the CDCR's current proposal is adopted, mandated state budget cuts will force the department to cut half of the already depleted programs for rehabilitation, substance abuse and vocational training. That would spell disaster, according to Woodford. "We release 10,000 [prisoners] a month now and in that 10,000 very few have been involved in anything to improve who they are as human beings. That should scare us. And in that 10,000 are some very violent people that left a lockup unit like Pelican Bay [to go] right back to the streets - that should scare us. What should scare us is our broken policy and not the fact that 40,000 more are going to come out because we should be scared already."

    • Blog post
    • 3 months ago
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  • Mortgage Fraud at All-Time Hig

    • From: austinrealestatenews
    • Description:

      From sea to shining sea, lenders struggle with costly mortgage fraud. Although, the fraud itself is not new, a recent FBI report reveals that the numbers are mounting and the methods used by scammers are becoming more, well, creative.

      From 2007 to 2008, the FBI's annual report showed that the industry experienced an increase of more than 83.4 percent in actual mortgage fraud dollars. Last year mortgage fraud cost lenders in excess of $1.4 billion in liability, says the FBI report, and higher figures are expected for the 2009 fiscal year. Just through June of 2009, fraud figures exceeded the previous year during the same time period by around $208 million.

      There were over 63,000 incidents reported by lenders regarding mortgage fraud in 2008, which was 33 percent more than reported in 2007. Increased reported incidents are partly attributed to more intense scrutiny of borrower details. Reporting inflated income in order to buy a larger home, or applying for modification under the pretense of a false job loss, have been identified as increased contributors to fraud more recently.

      In the report, the FBI attributes much of the fraud to market insiders, which includes mortgage brokers, real estate agents and brokers, lenders, property appraisers, title companies, underwriters, accountants and others. Stating that insiders are attracted by the allure of low-risk, high-yield returns, the report does not expect the numbers of those involved in fraud to diminish. Due to the complexity of the mortgage process, industry insiders find ways to make a quick buck without drawing immediate attention.

      Tighter lender requirements that are making it more difficult to obtain a mortgage are a contributor to the strained industry. In addition, many in the mortgage industry are no longer experiencing the benefits of the long gone real estate boom and turn to fraudulent methods to fill the gap in income.

      Along with traditional methods, other major targets expected to be pursued by fraudsters are minorities and seniors struggling with foreclosure, along with federal economic stimulus programs. State-wide incidents in Florida reveal increased numbers of Hispanics being defrauded by Hispanics operating fraudulent companies under the pretense of financial and foreclosure assistance.

      Federal programs operating under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA) and the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA) have opened the door to additional fraud opportunities, and are expected to become new targets for fraudsters.

      California has revealed incidents of mortgage fraud perpetrated by organized crime and gang members. Along with new fraud methods, traditional modes are expected to increase and will be more closely monitored by the mortgage industry and law enforcement as communication methods become more enhanced.

      The FBI is bracing itself for record high mortgage fraud. In attempts to get a handle on the mortgage fraud epidemic, the federal branch created the National Mortgage Fraud Team (NMFT). The FBI will use the team to further continue to partner and provide valuable information to the mortgage industry and law enforcement in order to capture and deter mortgage fraud perpetrators.

      Ki provides a free search of Austin MLS listings on his website as a service provided for those curious about austin real estate. He has lived in Austin for over a decade. His site provides updated information on Austin real estate and mortgage rate trends

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    • 3 months ago
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  • Officer Lenny Quintana No Bill

    • From: jennilee
    • Description:

      Now that a Travis County Grand Jury criminally cleared Austin Police Officer, Lenny Quintana, for shooting and killing Nathaniel Sanders back on May 11th, do you think he will be disciplined or even fired for that?

    • Blog post
    • 3 months ago
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  • Rapist on the loose

    • From: jennilee
    • Description:

      Austin Police say a rapist attacked two women in downtown this past Sat, early in the morning.  The first victim was walking to her car in a parking garage at 301 Congress Ave.  She just got off work.  It was around 3:30am.  She had mace in one hand, a cell phone in the other, and was talking to her boyfriend at the time.  The rapist jumped her but she sprayed him with mace and fought him off.

      The second victim wasn't as lucky.  Police say within 30 minutes of the first attack, he gained access to the Railyard Apts off 4th Street and sexually assaulted a woman who was alone in her apt.

      We talked to an employee who works at a downtown restuarant and she says she is more scared these days.

      Are you?  Is downtown getting more dangerous?

       

    • Blog post
    • 3 months ago
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  • 911 call taker talks about dep

    • From: jennilee
    • Description:

      A 911 call taker is counseled after asking a caller about her immigrations status and telling her she could be deported.  The woman called 911 July 19th to report that a coyote took her $1500 without bringing her brother across the border as promised. 

      A supervisor says the operator was supposed to just take the information and write a report and not give legal, immigration, and deportation advice.

      The operator was not rude.

      What do you think...do you think the call taker should have been counseled?

      See my story for reference.

       

       

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    • 3 months ago
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  • Huge medicare 30 state sweep

    • From: CRYSTALCHRIS
    • Description:

      MIAMI – Federal authorities arrested more than 30 suspects, including doctors, and were seeking others in a major Medicare fraud bust Wednesday in New York, Louisiana, Boston and Houston, targeting scams such as "arthritis kits" — expensive braces that many patients never used.

      More than 200 agents worked on the $16 million bust that included 12 search warrants at health care businesses and homes across the Houston area, where the bulk of the arrests were made.

      Federal authorities say those businesses were giving patients "arthritis kits," which were nothing more than expensive orthotics that included knee and shoulder braces and heating pads. Patients told authorities they were unnecessary and many never even received them. But health care clinic owners billed between $3,000 to $4,000 for each kit.

      Houston's other scam involved billing Medicare for thousands of dollars worth of liquid food like Ensure for patients who can't eat solid food. Authorities said clinic owners never distributed the food to patients. In some cases, clinic owners billed patients who were dead when they allegedly received the items.

      It's the third major sweep since Attorney General Eric Holder, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced in May they were adding millions of dollars and dozens of agents to combat a problem that costs the U.S. billions each year.

      Using about a dozen agents in targeted cities, including Miami, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, has recovered $371 million in false Medicare claims and charged 145 people across the country in just two months.

      Two shocked female employees arriving for work Wednesday morning at Memorial Medical Supply in a strip mall in southwest Houston were met by federal agents. Authorities confiscated paperwork and a computer. Owners of the business did not respond to calls from the Associated Press.

      The suspects arrested Wednesday in Houston will make court appearances Thursday morning. Suspects in Boston, New York and Louisiana were to have first appearances later Wednesday.

      The first strike force started in 2007 in Miami, a city authorities say is responsible for more than $3 billion a year in Medicare fraud. Clinic owners there would bill Medicare dozens of times for the same wheelchair, while never giving the medical equipment to patients.

      The problems have become more complex since then.

      Officials say the suspects have moved into more sophisticated scams including home health care, physical therapy and infusion drugs. They've even started tapping into Medicaid Advantage, which allows the elderly and disabled to get benefits through private health insurers. The plans receive a government subsidy and generally offer more benefits than traditional Medicare.

      Federal authorities say Miami residents are also moving on to other cities, bringing their scams with them.

      Strike force teams, each led by a federal prosecutor and a handful of agents, were started in Los Angeles, Detroit, Houston in the past year.

      Since 2007, strike forces in Miami, Detroit and Los Angeles have indicted more than 293 suspects and organizations that collectively have billed the Medicare program for more than $674 million.

      Agencies participating in the busts Wednesday included the FBI, the HHS Office of the Inspector General, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Texas Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.

      Along with issuing indictments, authorities freeze bank accounts and seize everything from Rolls Royce's to million dollar homes purchased with funds stolen from Medicare.

      Suspects are being charged not just with health care fraud, but all relevant conduct. That means average prison sentences 50 percent more than the overall national average sentence in federal health care fraud cases in 2008.

      While authorities are gratified by the arrests, the program's purpose is more than punitive. It's also about deterrence.

      Deputy Attorney General David W. Ogden says the interagency partnership is unprecedented in authorities' ability to track Medicare fraud "as it's happening, using real-time data analysis of Medicare billing records."

      In the past, authorities have struggled to catch up with fast-moving crooks. By the time local authorities are alerted to potential fraud, it's already been committed.

      "We are also working together across the federal government on important new innovations in the way we do business on the front end, to try and prevent crime like this from happening in the first place," said Bill Corr, Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services.

    • Blog post
    • 4 months ago
    • Views: 218
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  • Austin's Suicide Rate higher t

    • From: jennilee
    • Description:

      According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, Austin's suicide rate between 2000-2005 is 12.3.  The state's is 10.8.

      This has mental health experts concerned.  One says they can't give the reasons behind the rate because they can't analyze the most recent numbers...they're not out yet.  But one expert offered two risk factors for Austin.  1) Influx of people moving to Austin that takes them away from their support system and 2) Studies show depression is higher among creative people like writers and artists and there are tons of them here.

      What do you think?

       

    • Blog post
    • 4 months ago
    • Views: 416
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  • CTaylor denies Cannabilism

    • From: CRYSTALCHRIS
    • Description:

      AMSTERDAM – Former Liberian President Charles Taylor said Monday he was sickened by allegations at his war crimes trial that he ate human flesh, calling testimony by a former aide the lies of an illiterate man.

      "I felt like throwing up when I heard that nonsense, and I think even the prosecution were shocked at listening to that foolishness," he told the Special Court for Sierra Leone in The Hague.

      Taylor, beginning his third week on the stand, said the stories of cannibalism by a former officer in his militia were "statements of lies, statements of deceit and deception."

      He also denied trading arms for diamonds with Sierra Leone rebels, a central allegation of his indictment.

      Taylor is accused of arming and supplying Sierra Leone militias whose signature crime during the 1991-2002 civil war was hacking off the limbs of civilians to terrorize them into submission. He has denied all 11 counts of murder, rape and recruiting child soldiers in the neighboring country.

      Taylor was responding to testimony last year from Joseph Marzah, who said Taylor ordered his men to eat the flesh of his enemies, including African peacekeepers and U.N. soldiers. Marzah said that would "set an example for the people to be afraid."

      Marzah, also known as "Zigzag," described himself as a former chief of operations for Taylor and commander of a death squad.

      Using maps of the border region, Taylor also testified Monday he couldn't have traded arms because neither of the two roads that led to the Sierra Leone border could support vehicles laden with weapons, as alleged by a prosecution witness.

      "No road existed then, and no road exists now," he told the court. The only access was by rough roads surfaced with rocks and dirt.

      Varmuyan Sherif, a former Taylor bodyguard. testified last year that he escorted pickup trucks to the border loaded with automatic rifle ammunition and rocket-propelled grenades. The court was shown a picture of Sherif with a truck allegedly photographed on the border.

      "I say bluntly, it's a lie," Taylor said.

      He also described as "ludicrous" Sherif's allegation that he accepted diamonds from the Sierra Leone rebels, who sometimes sent them in mayonnaise jars.

      "Liberia is a very rich country" with abundant diamonds, gold deposits and uranium, Taylor said, adding that he had been negotiating with the U.S. company Halliburton to develop offshore oil reserves.

      "It is beyond my imagination that anyone would believe that the president of Liberia would go into Sierra Leone because he wants to terrorize the people and take their wealth," he said.

       

    • Blog post
    • 4 months ago
    • Views: 179
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  • Puppy mill people should be be

    • From: jennilee
    • Description:

      That's it.

      On July 7th, Paws of Austin, the Humane Society of North Texas, and the Montague Sheriff's Office raided a woman's 1200 acre ranch where she was running a puppy mill.  Paws of Austin says authorities have been trying to shut her down for 10 years and finally got enough evidence to do so.  They rescued 496 dogs and puppies.  They were living 15 to a cage.  Those cages were urine and feces infested.  One dog even had urine burns.  Another dog had a hernia so bad, her intestines are sticking out.

      Authorities and animal experts say these puppy mills wouldn't exist if people would just do their homework and check where they are buying puppies from.  Just because you see one on the internet, you don't know where it came from. 

       

       

       

       

       

       

    • Blog post
    • 4 months ago
    • Views: 327
    • Not yet rated
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