Mohammed Ali and Me

Back in 1979, when I was a young policeman, I was working uniformed patrol in Hollywood Division.  My partner and I were driving on Hollywood Blvd one evening on a Saturday night in the middle of summer.  It was still light out, and the sidewalks were crowded with the usual tourists and Gawkers that visit Hollywood.  We were stopped at a red light at Hollywood Blvd and McCadden Ave when I looked over at the group of pedestrians bunched up on the corner waiting for the light to change.  There was a crowd of about 10/15 people waiting there, and right in the middle of them, unaware to anyone in the crowd, was the reigning heavyweight champion of the world, Mohammed Ali, and his then wife Veronica Porsche.

I yelled to my partner, “Stop the car,” and bolted towards the crowd.  You can imagine the faces on the people there as they watched a police officer run straight at them.  I ran right up to the Champ, who had this startled look on his face, and said, “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee!” He suddenly relaxed, let out a laugh, and replied, “Rumble young man, Rumble!”  The crowd finally realized who was standing in their midst, let out a great cheer, and began clapping.

The Champ couldn’t have been more gracious.  We chatted for a few minutes and then he signed my officer’s notebook.  You just never know who you’re going to meet on the streets of Hollywood.   

Police Shootings Under the Microscope

Police shootings of suspects has received a lot of attention lately. There are the never ending cries for greater oversight, more scrutiny and stricter policies when it comes to use of force. Police critics want quicker reviews by prosecuting agencies and demand more criminal filings on officers involved in controversial shootings. The shootings themselves are investigated by the police agency itself, the district attorney’s and/or state prosecutors office and oftentimes by the FBI. Each second involved in the incident, from the moment the officer arrived at the scene till the last shot is fired, is minutely gone over.  Police officers feel under siege, and resent the fact that their job, career and freedom could hinge on the view of an appointee to a police board who has never spent a minute in a police car or has ever been confronted by a violent suspect.

I’d like to tell you about a personal experience I had years ago when I was a young police officer.  I was still on probation and working in a high crime area in Los Angeles.  It was late in the afternoon on a warm day when my partner and I received a radio call of a man with a rifle, shots fired. As we drove up and parked near the location, I saw it was a group of about six small bungalows in an inverted U.  The address of the call was one of the middle residences.  As we deployed towards the house, I took the shotgun with me.  If a situation involves a gun and an indication that shots have been fired, you want to be ready if things quickly escalate. 

As I walked towards the center bungalow, out of the corner of my eye I saw movement near the residence to my immediate left.  At the same time, the front screen door of the residence flew open and hit the front of the house.  As I turned towards the movement and the noise, I saw a person in the doorway holding what appeared to be a rifle, followed by an explosion like a gunshot.  As all this was going down, I was instinctively raising the shot gun to my shoulder to engage the shooter and started to pull the trigger.  As I sighted in on the target, I saw it was a seven year old child with a Daisy air rifle. I immediately let go of the trigger. 

To this day I can still remember how weak kneed I felt with the realization that I almost shot a child.  I didn’t have any time to think, it was over in a micro second. I was acting strictly on training and instinct.  It was only by the grace of God that a terrible tragedy was averted.  A dangerous situation, coupled with instinctual reactions is something to ponder the next time you hear about another controversial shooting.  

The Clinton E-Mails, Bryan Pagliano & Immunity

With the current 2016 election season heating up, there has been lengthy scrutiny by the media regarding presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s emails.  More specifically, the question of Confidential and Top Secret information being routed through her private server. The recent turn of events finds the media reporting that Bryan Pagliano, the individual who set up Mrs. Clinton’s private e-mail server, has been granted immunity by the Justice Department lawyers investigating this matter. The first thing to look at is whether the information has come from official sources or from ‘leaked’ sources.  If it’s from the latter, than you can’t tell whether it is true or not. 

What I do know from experience is that an individual and their attorney only approach law enforcement and prosecutors to discuss immunity for two reasons.  The first is that they feel they are or may be criminally exposed to prosecution.  The key words there are ‘criminally’ and ‘prosecution.’  The second is that they have information and/or evidence on other individuals involved, oftentimes at a higher paygrade than themselves, that they feel would enhance the investigation enough that the prosecutor would offer them some type of immunity in exchange for it. 

Whether this is true or not in this case, only time will tell.  

The Kennedy Assassination, Conspiracy Theories, and J.D. Tippit

As a former LAPD Homicide detective, I am always fascinated by the seeming public allure of conspiracy theories.  As a detective, you try to uncover the facts and find proof of who committed the crime.  The emphasis here is on the word 'proof.'  Whether it is through interviews, forensic evidence, witness identification etc., detectives are constantly trying to find who actually did the crime.  The beauty of conspiracy theory adherents is that they don't have to prove anything, just come up with multiple theories to discount whatever evidence or proof has been gathered.  I dare say that there are more conspiracy theories about the Kennedy assassination than probably any crime that was ever committed. 

In almost all of these theories, there is this malevolent unknown mastermind who brilliantly set up the most complex web of deception, including numerous small time bit players, that were not only able assassinate an American president, but then masterfully kill the person who the authorities blamed for the crime, Lee Harvey Oswald.  It's as if Professor Moriarity, Sherlock Holmes arch nemesis, pulled off the greatest crime of the century without anyone knowing of his existence.  

I find it amazing that with all the bit players and innumerable pieces of the puzzle that would have had to be in place to accomplish this, not one person has ever revealed him or herself to be part of the plot or shown any evidence to prove it.  Think of the notoriety, not to mention the financial reward that a person would have if they did this, yet no one has ever come forward.  Conspiracy theorists will usually be quick to mention that the key players were all eliminated.  They would want us to believe that the landscape is full of unsolved murders and mysterious disappearances that law enforcement agencies were not only unable to solve but in actuality were linked to this vast, complex conspiracy.  

I think in many cases the forgotten key to this assassination was the killing of Dallas police officer J.D. Tippit. Immediately after the president was shot, it was believed that the assassin had fired the shots from the Texas Book Depository.  The rifle used to kill Kennedy was recovered from the 6th floor of the building.  A description of the suspect had been broadcast to police units throughout the vicinity.  Officer Tippit stopped a man fitting the assassin's description a few blocks from the residence that Lee Harvey Oswald had rented under an assumed name.  After the officer exited his vehicle and approached him, the suspect shot the officer a number of times and then fled the scene on foot.  Multiple independent witnesses later identified Oswald as the man who shot the officer and fled the scene.  Oswald was later apprehended in a movie theater not far from the Tippit shooting.  During the struggle to arrest him, Oswald attempted to fire a gun but it misfired.  After he was apprehended, it was discovered that Oswald worked in the Texas Book Depository. 

In closing, I think a lot of people who doubt Oswald killed Kennedy find it difficult that such a marginally small and troubled man, and not a vast, complex web of deceit could have so radically changed the course of American history in those few seconds in Dallas, Texas in 1963. 

John Nazarian's Thoughts on Handling Celebrity Clients

I first met John Nazarian years ago at a function for Private Investigators held at the LAPD Academy.  I was just starting out as a Private Investigator and John took me under his wing and taught me the business end of this field, and we have remained good friends ever since.  There is no better businessman in this line of work.  Additionally, He is an investigator that one underestimates at their own peril.  We worked a number of cases together and I have to say, I probably had more laughs working with John then anyone else.  John is larger than life, a key component for attracting and dealing with celebrity clients.  A lot of Private Investigators boast of being 'Investigator to the stars.'  Take it from me, the title is held by John Nazarian.  

Here's John's thoughts on the risk and rewards of celebrity clients:

My thoughts on modern day Private Investigators and the work we do is something of a modern day 'carpet bagger.' The number of 'famous' or 'characters' in the game are a handful and it is that handful that gets some pretty good work.  One area of focus for some is the 'celebrity' and why that is a focus I will never fully understand.  When the rich and miserable have a need it is similar to a baby in need of a diaper change. Loud wailing and when you make things a little better the noise settles down until the next 'dirty diaper.'  For the most part they are thankless and I am happy with that thought, my thanks is in the form of Benjamin Franklins and lots of them.  

I have always said that when the asses of the rich and famous are flaming they will pay whatever is asked of them, once that fire is out, be prepared for the 'boot,' aka Lawyer or Manager to kick you to the curb...... it is just what they do.... I am positive that they enjoy that part of the routine as they feel entitled after paying you! 

And when you are a 'star chaser' you have to also be careful to visit their world and then remember that your world is most likely a lot more fun to live and enjoy.  The smiles you receive are most likely by those who love and respect you...... something MOST celebs will never experience!  So sad, and where is my wallet?

John J. Nazarian, Private Investigator/ Security Provider
http://nazarianandassociates.com/
http://desperateexes.com/
http://www.straighttalkwithjohnjnazarian.com/

Anthony Weiner, John Profumo, and The Road to Redemption

Another scandal has hit former U.S. Congressman Anthony Weiner as he heads into the New York City mayoral primary.  Back in 2011, Weiner was forced to resign from the U.S. Congress for sending sexually suggestive photographs of himself to a woman.  He entered back into public life with his latest mayoral bid, but was thrown into chaos at a press conference a few days ago when he admitted to sending similar pictures to another woman in late 2012.

It was painful to watch Weiner's wife, Huma Abedin, a former long term personal aide to Hillary Clinton, be humiliated in public by not only standing by his side but having to speak in his defense at the press conference.  Despite the current scandal, Weiner vowed to stay in the race.

Watching this take place, I was reminded of another scandal involving a politician.  In the 1960's, at the height of the Cold War, the British Secretary of War, John Profumo, was forced to resign after his name was linked to a model in England.  The subsequent scandal, known as the Profumo Affair, may have been a large factor in the British Conservative government falling from power.  Profumo had his political career destroyed and left office in disgrace.

Profumo's name didn't surface in the press for years.  Many years later, it was learned that he spent his days after the scandal as a volunteer at a charity in the poorest section of East London.  He did menial work, including cleaning toilets.

The lure of high political position is a powerful draw.  The mayor of New York is probably the most high profile mayoral post in the United States.  Anthony Weiner has probably spent numerous hours since this last scandal hit huddling with his political advisers on what moves to make to salvage his campaign.

But it is in those dark, lonely hours when one is alone, looking in the mirror with just himself, his conscience and his demons, that one has to decide which fork in the road to take.  John Profumo took the Road to Redemption.  Only time will tell which one Anthony Weiner takes.

The Zimmerman Verdict

The jury has spoken with a not guilty verdict in the George Zimmerman trial.  It's now the time for the so-called experts to weigh in on the subject.    Let's not forget for a moment that this local shooting in a town in Florida has political implications.  The President of the United States had already commented on the case when it first occurred and later after the verdict was announced.

An interesting comment was made in today's Wall Street Journal by Kenneth Nunn, assistant director of the Criminal Justice Center at the University of Florida's Levin College of Law.  He was quoted as saying, "I think you could make out the case that unconscious racism caused Mr. Zimmerman to profile" Mr. Martin. He went on to add, "But there doesn't seem to be enough there to justify a claim that racial animus was the predicate behind Trayvon Martin's death."

Do you ever wonder like me where a term like 'unconscious racism' came from.  Who is the so-called expert who coined the phrase, and how did it evolve into a theory.  I see talking heads using terms like this and I would love to see someone just one once ask them to not only define the term but question them as to it's factual basis.

Here's my take now on the verdict.  An argument could be made as to whether this case would have even been filed if both parties were of the same race.  Being that it was, the state had a difficult time proving the case that it was murder and not self-defense.  The state's witnesses weren't all that good, and the best independent witnesse placed Mr. Martin on top of Mr. Zimmerman and said it looked like he was punching him.  The medical examiner testified that Zimmerman's injuries were not life threatening, yet you had pictures of him that showed his nose broken and blood streaking down the back of his head.

Pictures tell a thousand words, and that may have been a big reason for the acquittal.

Mr. Zimmerman's legal problems are not over, however.  The Huffington Post reported yesterday that the U.S. Justice Department is reviewing the case to see if any criminal civil rights charges can be filed in the case. 

Crime, Violence, Arrests, and the NFL: An Uneasy Convergence

After the arrest in Massachusetts of New England Patriot Aaron Hernandez for murder, the newspapers were filled with headlines regarding the number of NFL football players who had been arrested in 2013.  With the year just barely past the halfway mark, NFL players have been arrested for, among other things,  gun charges, attempt murder, assault, DUI, Public intoxication, drag racing and resisting arrest, burglary, battery, a prostitution sting, child abuse and domestic violence.

In many cases, you have young men barely out of their teens who suddenly find themselves with lots of money and little, if any, adult supervision.  It seems to me that some have adopted a gang culture mentality, complete with guns, tattoos and an intimidating attitude that we see portrayed in the entertainment media.  In a sport that prides itself on hard hits and physical violence, it's not hard to see how some players might lose their perspective here.

I'm also troubled by the comparison to football games and other sporting events as 'going to war' and 'combat.'  When I was growing up, most of our fathers served in World War II and Korean War and had seen real combat in the South Pacific, Europe and the Korean peninsula.  Many had seen untold carnage and death and lived with those memories.  It would never have crossed anyone's mind in those days to have referred to any sporting event as a war or combat.  Just as today, that comparison cheapens the sacrifice of the men and women of our armed forces who gave so much in Vietnam and Iraq, and are still giving in Afghanistan.

My last comment is on how much sports have changed in my lifetime.  Today I see college players signing million dollar contracts.  As a young boy, I remember that most professional ball players in the 1950's and 60's had to have off-season jobs to supplement their incomes and support their families.

Take for example Hall of Fame quarterback Johnny Unitas of the Baltimore Colts.  He was the originator of the two minute drill and led his Colts to a come from behind victory over my New York Giants in the 1958 NFL championship game. To this day, many still call it the greatest football game ever played.  It's the game that put professional football on the map.  If I ever wanted one quarterback to lead my team down the field with the game on the line, it would be Johnny U.  He was the greatest quarter back I ever saw.

During the off-season, Johnny Unitas laid linoleum.    

American Crime Drama vs European Crime Drama

It's been a long time since I've seen a good American crime drama, whether it be on TV or in the movies.  Two notable exception were the HBO series 'The Wire' and Tom Selleck as 'Jesse Stone.'  It seems that Hollywood and the American entertainment industry is stifled by political correctness and thinks that special effects and violent shootouts with exploding blood is more important than taut plots and character development.  It seems that all the Hollywood script writers can turn out is big explosions, car chases with multiple car wrecks, hi tech gadgets and weapons, and large body counts.

I've taken to watching European crime dramas that I get on both public television or buy from Amazon.com. I find it refreshing to see actors that actually act, plots that make you think, and an emphasis on character development rather than body count.  Maybe because they don't have a big budget like in Hollywood, but I've noticed that they make do with very few people and extras on the screen at any one time.  In one telling scene of one of the series listed below, the horror of a mother and her three young children who were murdered in a house came not from the sight of mutilated corpses with lots of blood but rather from the shocked look on the detectives faces when they entered the crime scene along with the chalked off figures on the floor where the bodies were.

Here's a list of my favorites:

1. Sherlock- I'm a stickler for authenticity, so when I first heard that the BBC was making a Sherlock Holmes series updated to the 21st century, I rolled my eyes.  After I read the excellent  reviews it received, I thought I'd give it a chance.  I'm glad I did because Benedict Cumberpatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as Dr. Watson are simply outstanding.  The writers have updated Conan Doyle's stories into a modern day London and it works beyond all belief.

2. Foyle's War-Michael Kitchen is great as police inspector Christopher Foyle who tracks down criminals on the south coast of England during World War II.  The scenery is beautiful and the period costumes bring you back to a nation fighting for it's very existence.

3.  Agatha Christie's Poirot-David Suchet is wonderful as the eccentric Belgian (not French) detective who solves crimes by using his 'little grey cells' in 1920/30's England.  He is ably assisted by Hugh Fraser as his friend Captain Hastings in a series faithfully adapted from Agatha Christie's books..

4.  Detective Montalbano-Italian actor Luca Zingaretti plays author Andrea Camilleri's Sicilian police detective Salvo Montalbano.  Many of the author's books have been faithfully adapted in this series along with a number of others that are just as good.  You really get a comfortable feeling with his police squad as they solve crimes in the fictitious town of Vigata, Sicily.  The sun drenched scenery of Sicily is absolutely beautiful and is a great travel ad for that island.  The series is in Italian but it is sub-titled in English.  After about five minutes of viewing, you have no trouble following the dialogue.

5.  Luther-Idris Elba plays the lead in this BBC production about a suicidal London Homicide detective.  He has a powerful screen presence and is ably assisted by a squad of detectives as they comb through London for violent criminals.  I guarantee you that after the first five minutes, you will be hooked on this series.  The female antagonist in this series, played by Ruth Wilson, is deliciously evil as she matches wits with Luther.

6.  Inspector Nardone-This is another Italian crime series set in post World War II Italy.  Sergio Assisi is outstanding as the lead character.  The series is based on a real life police detective who along with his hand picked squad, fights both criminals and corruption in Milan.  Here again the period costumes and scenery brings you back to an Italy that was just recovering from the devastation of World War II.  The plots are well written, and the interaction between the actors is exceptional.  Even though it is in Italian with English subtitles, you have no trouble following the dialogue.

7.  The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes-For those who are Sherlock Holmes aficionados, look no further then this BBC adaption with Jeremy Brett as the fictional crime detective.  In my opinion, Brett is the definitive Holmes in all his brilliance and quirks.  The adaptions are faithful to the Conan Doyle stories, right down to the dialogue.  Both of the actors who play Dr Watson in the lengthy series, David Burke and Edward Hardwicke, are great and the chemistry between them and Brett works.  The period costumes, horse drawn cabs and fog laden scenery literally brings you back to 19th century London.   

8.  Single Handed-Owen McDonnell plays an Irish Garda police Sergeant investigating crime on the west coast of Ireland.  Well written and acted, he returns to his home area to find that things are often times not what they seem.  The beautiful yet harsh countryside is also a plus.

9.  Inspector George Gently-Martin Shaw plays the honest and by-the-book lead character in this BBC production about a police inspector set in the 1960's.  His assistant, played by Lee Ingelby, is a young sergeant who is somewhat immature and willing to step over the line.  Despite their differences, the chemistry between the two work as they solve crimes in rural England.   

LAPD Officers Shot

On June 25, 2013 the Los Angeles Times reported that two LAPD officers were ambushed as they were waiting for the gate to open at the station parking lot.  On the same day, in a different part of town, another LAPD officer and a parole agent were shot inside a home during a search.

Although it appeared that both shootings were unrelated, it brings up the dangers that police throughout the United States face on a daily basis.  Both situations were on different ends of the threat level meter.  One occured out of nowhere, while officers are sitting in a relatively safe area in a police vehicle waiting to enter the police parking lot.  They were ambushed from the rear and fired on in a location where the threat level would be considered very low.

In the second shooting, the officer and the parole agent were in a much more heightened  threat level as they searched a residence for a suspect.

Police work is a job that can go from sheer boredom to extreme danger in the blink of an eye.  Cops are always looking, their minds working like a computer that can register things in a nano-second that 'don't seem right' or are 'out of place.'  The work is extremely mentally taxing.

Cops are the ultimate symbol of authority in our society. They are the ones that can take away a person's freedom.  They are the ones who stop people from acting out there worst behavior on others.  There are really bad people out their with a grudge against society and the people that stand between them and us are the police.  These people obey their own code, and shooting a cop is their ultimate defiance against the society they hate.

Whether there uniform cops on patrol or detectives working on cases, once they hit the street, they are always on alert.  Even when off-duty, they're always looking.  You cant turn it off.  The price they pay for that over a career is often high blood pressure, broken marriages and alcoholism.  It comes with the job.  But they are the sheep dogs who protect the sheep from the wolves who would prey on them.

Aaron Hernandez Arrest

New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was arrested yesterday in Massachusetts for murder.  In following the case in news broadcasts and the internet, I was struck by the appearance of the detectives during the multiple searches that were done at Hernandez's residence.  In the videos and photographs I saw of the detectives conducting the searches, I noticed that the majority of them were not wearing a sports jacket.  

When I was a LAPD homicide detective in South Central Los Angeles, my lieutenant was a stickler for us to always wear our sports jackets any time we were at a crime scene or in the public eye.  People even called homicide detectives 'the suits.' It didn't matter how hot it was, whether we were canvassing a neighborhood for witnesses, or baking at a crime scene; he made us wear those jackets.  At the time some thought he was old fashioned and out of touch, but now that I look back on it, he kept up the public image of professionals at work.  Even today as a private investigator, I still wear a sports jacket when doing interviews or witness canvasses.  When people think of police detectives, they think jacket and tie.  Anything less and it minimizes the public perception.  

It was interesting to note that when Hernandez was led out of his house in handcuffs, the two detectives with him both had their jackets and ties on.

The Aaron Hernandez Investigation

Recently New England Patriot's tight end Aaron Hernandez's name has been in the news regarding a criminal investigation.  According to news reports, a number of search warrants have been served at his residence in Massachusetts related to the death of a man not far from Hernandez's home.  ABC News reported that police wanted to know why house cleaners had been hired recently to Hernandez's home.  Stating the obvious, as of yet Mr. Hernandez has not been charged with a crime related to this investigation and should be considered innocent until proven otherwise in a court of law.  News agencies have also been known to get information wrong.  My comment here is only on a possible investigation step by the police related to the alleged aspect of having a professional service clean a house, supposedly after a crime might have occurred in it.

First off, the police would most likely interview the owners of the cleaning service and the actual workers who cleaned the location.  Questions would probably include things like when were you hired, who hired you, what directions were you given, were there specific instructions regarding any problem areas at the location.  They would also be questioned as to what, if any, odd or suspicious things did they encounter in the location.  Regarding any possible blood stains at a location or in a vehicle, even after a thorough cleaning, blood stains oftentimes can still be found.  Blood stains can spatter and still be found on clothing, shoes, etc.  Forensic investigators can utilize chemical sprays that can reveal blood stains invisible to the naked eye.  The bottom line is that blood stain evidence can still be recovered even after someone tries to destroy it.

Death of the Night Stalker

Richard Ramirez, the Night Stalker, died in prison on death row on June 7, 2013.  According to his bio on Wikipedia, He was convicted of 13 murders, 5 attempt murders, 11 sexual assaults and 14 burglaries.  His trial lasted over four years. That was the headlines.  Here’s the reality.  Ramirez’s crime rampage occurred in the spring and summer of 1985.  It was during an extremely hot weather period.  He terrorized the state of California.  People were afraid to open their windows at night, despite the heat, for fear of the Night Stalker.  Although most of his crimes occurred in Los Angeles County, on one weekend he murdered a man and shot his wife in San Francisco and then drove to Orange County were he shot a man and raped his fiancé.  In his long list of crimes, he nearly decapitated one murder victim, gouged out the eyes of another, and on two occasions shot and killed a husband and then raped his wife.  I worked the LAPD Night Stalker task force in the hunt for this serial killer.  He professed allegiance to Lucifer and left pentagrams at crime scenes and on a victim’s body.  Of all the criminals I came in contact with and investigated during my police career, he was the one that was truly evil.  He lived 23 years on death row before he died.  I did not mourn his passing.      

The Fast and Furious Investigation

Let’s start with what we know about the Fast and Furious investigation.  The Alcohol, Tabaco & Firearms Agency (ATF), a law enforcement branch of the federal government, started a ‘gun-running’ operation out of there Phoenix, Arizona office.  Guns were allowed to go across the United States/Mexico border in the hope that they would be able to track them from the US into the hands of the Mexican drug cartels.  There was poor accountability of these weapons and it was a botched operation from the start.  It has been reported that a number of Mexican nationals were killed in Mexico with guns from this operation.  Brian Terry, a US Border Patrol agent, was killed in a fire fight  on US soil on December 10, 2010 in which one of these weapons was found.

 

When a law enforcement officer dies, his department carries on an in-depth investigation into the shooting.  They do this prosecute those involved, to find out went wrong operationally and to find out if anything could have been done differently during the gunfight itself to educate and perhaps save other officers lives in future gunfights.  The heads of departments where officers have lost their lives want to know details of what happened and what went wrong, and they want to know it immediately.  One of the guns tracked by the ATF was  found at the crime scene of Agent Terry’s death.  You would think the head of the US Border Patrol, a federal law enforcement agency, would be screaming for accountability regarding this from the ATF, another federal law enforcement agency that specializes in weapon tracking and violations.  You would also think that major players in federal law enforcement would want to get to the truth of this, and let the chips fall where they may.

 

The Justice department is headed by the Attorney General, the senior law enforcement official in the United States.  That position is currently held by Eric Holder.  The Justice Department initially denied the existence to Congress of the Fast and Furious operation.  Mr. Holder initially stated to Congress in May 2011 that he had only become aware of the operation just a few weeks prior to his testimony.  Note that this is six months after Agent Terry’s death. Six months after that, in November 2011, Holder admitted to Congress that gun walking occurred in Fast and Furious.

 

Let me see if I have this straight.  The senior law enforcement official in the United States, which just happens to have an agent killed on the border in a highly contentious illegal immigrant smuggling area, claims he had just learned of the failed gun walking operation that allowed weapons to go into another sovereign nation on the US border and of which one was found at the crime scene of a federal law enforcement agent, only after about five or six months after the federal agent’s death. He then admits to Congress six months after that testimony that gun walking did occur in Fast and Furious.

 

Am I to belief that the senior law enforcement official in the US, with a large staff of trained lawyers and investigators, would knowingly go before Congress and at best not have his facts right about a federal gun walking operation into another sovereign nation and that was also involved in the death of a federal agent?  Wouldn't you think that with the Mexico/US border being such a sensitive issue, coupled with the death of a federal agent, that Mr. Holder would have used all of his department's resources to get to the bottom of things prior to his testimony?  

 

Here’s another thing.  Are we to believe that a regional field office of a federal law enforcement agency would run an undercover operation allowing guns to go across the border into another sovereign nation, in this case Mexico, without people way, way up in the federal government not knowing about it or signing off on it?

 

Here’s the last thing on this.  When an individual pins on the badge, whether it is a municipal, state or federal law enforcement department, he or she readily knows the risks they take.  They do this with the knowledge that their fellow officers will to come to their aid, no matter how dangerous or mortal the situation.  They also believe that their agency will leave no stone unturned in order to hunt down the killers, thoroughly review the shooting itself and the operation attached to it, and make tactical and operational improvements in order educate and save their fellow officers in future operations.  If killed in the line of duty, they know that their department and employer (city, state or nation) will do everything for their next of kin and family, including giving them all the details of how and why their loved one perished.

 

Mr. and Mrs. Terry, the parents of slain Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, are still waiting for that call.

 

Informants: Working Hard or Hardly Working

When I first started out as a young police detective, I would spend hundreds of hours, often times for naught, trying to solve a heinous or complex crime.  After a while, I discovered that if I spent about fifteen minutes with the right person, in the right place, and maybe throw in a cigarette and a candy bar, I could often crack the case.  In investigating terms, the right person was an informant.  This goes for both police detectives and private investigators.  Often times there is someone out there who has knowledge of the case, but you have to use the right approach and do it in the right location, in order to get the right results. 

Try not to let police movies or TV cloud your vision of how to work an informant.  You don’t approach someone on the street and expect them to talk to you.  By doing this, it also shows your lack of knowledge of the street and you won’t be trusted.  For police detectives, an individual can be interviewed back at the police station or in the lock up. 

I used to scan the daily arrest logs to see if anyone got arrested near one of the crimes I was investigating, or if any of my informants had managed to get themselves locked up.  I’d talk to the detective that was handling the individual’s current arrest to clear it with him, and then I’d go and talk to him.  It’s amazing how many arrestees, knowing that their looking at going back to prison, will talk to you if you have the right approach.  You have to be able to convince them that you will protect them and not reveal their identity.  Start small, and once they give something up that appears to be good, that’s when they get rewarded with the coffee or soda.  The more they give up, and the bigger the case, is when the candy bars and cigarettes come out.  Remember, they get the goodies after they cooperate, not before.

The same holds for private investigators.  You can meet with a possible cooperative informant off-site from his workplace or home.  Whether you’re a cop or a PI, you always pick the time and location.  You want to make sure you’re not being setup.

Different motivations motivate different people to give up information.  It can be fear, revenge, retaliation, power, honesty etc.  You need to find which one is the one that turns your informant.  Find the right one, and your case can be solved.

George Zimmerman - Defendant’s Rights and the Media

On Thursday, June 14, The Daily Breeze (a newspaper here in Southern California) reported that a judge in Orlando, Florida, had ruled that statements made by George Zimmerman to police detectives after he fatally shot Trayvon Martin can be released to the public.  The judge further ruled that the identities of witnesses who had not been identified yet, can stay private.  The article went on to state that both the prosecutors and Zimmerman’s defense attorney had wanted to keep both Zimmerman’s statement and the witnesses identities private.

Additionally, according to the article, the judge said disclosing Zimmerman’s statements to police detectives would not jeopardize his ability to get a fair trial.  Further, the judge ruled that tests given to Zimmerman after the shooting could be released, as well as some crime scene photos and Zimmerman’s recorded telephone calls from jail.

Where do I begin?  The United States Constitution guarantees the accused the right to, among other things, a fair and impartial jury.  This judge’s ruling allows key elements to the case, including Zimmerman’s statement to police, crime scene photographs, and Zimmerman’s recorded telephone calls from jail to be released to the press.  Among other things, this allows the potential jury pool that will sit in judgment of Zimmerman to view  key evidence of the case before it can be argued in court.  Potentially this information can be splashed all over newspapers and be argued by so-called experts on TV talk shows again before a trial even begins.

I note also that the article stated that both the prosecution and the defense attorneys argued against the release of this information.  Ironic that both opposing counsels argued against it but the judge ruled in favor of the news media who wants to have it.  Is it just me that thinks this ruling says that the rights of the news media trumps those of the defendant who is on trial. 

At least the judge ruled against releasing the identities of the witnesses in the case who have not yet been identified.  Can you imagine the circus that would have ensued if he hadn’t?  You would have had news agencies parked out in front of their houses and knocking on their homes or workplaces just to get an exclusive interview.

I am not arguing the guilt or innocence of George Zimmerman here.  That should be done in a court of law with all the evidence presented before a jury of his peers.  What I am saying is that this latest ruling by a Circuit Court judge in Florida troubles me greatly in regards to Mr. Zimmerman chances of getting a fair and impartial jury.

Homicide Rates in the City of Angels

When people talk about homicide rates, I always tell them about the Homicide division I worked in back in the late 1980’s for the Los Angeles Police Department. The police division was the 77^th Street Division, which was located in South Central Los Angeles.  There were seven teams of homicide detectives with a total of 14 detectives along with one detective supervisor.  In 1987 there were 160 murders in that division alone, which is the most for any one police division in the city’s history.  Again, that was not the city wide homicide count; it was just our division’s.  I believe there were 18 LAPD geographical police divisions at the time. It was not uncommon for one team that had the weekend on call in 77^th Division to have two or three homicides over a weekend.

There is no other way to put it, but that 77^th Division was a violent area.  It was the divisional policy to call out a homicide team only if the victim was pronounced dead at the scene.  There were shootings, stabbings, bludgeoning’s and beatings etc. almost daily.  Many of these crimes were gang related with Crips and Blood gangs shooting each other with regularity.  The term ‘drive-by shooting’ became a household word.  On many of these occasions the victim(s) miraculously survived.  Those serious crimes were the victim(s) lived were handled by the crimes against persons (CAPS) unit.  If homicide detectives had to roll out for every serious crime that occurred in the division where the victim was still alive they would have completely worn us out.  It is truly amazing how resilient the human body is and how much punishment it can take. 

I recall on one occasion where we were called out because the victim had been stabbed in the heart and another where the victim had been shot multiple times, including one to the head, and they were still alive but in critical division.   The sergeants at both crime scenes felt that the victims were going to expire and called us out.   We worked all through the night and into the next day conducting the crime scene investigations, canvassing the area and interviewing witnesses.  In both cases the victims survived.  The cases were then turned over to CAPS detectives.  Our case load was too intense to handle anything other than homicides.

It also seemed that no one died till after midnight.  When you had the weekend on-call duty, you’d try not to work overtime on Friday and get home and jump into bed for a few hours’ sleep.  The phone calls from the watch commander’s office notifying us of a murder always seemed to come between midnight and 4:00 AM.  You never got enough sleep, you were always working overtime trying to solve cases, and when you did you were constantly in court for preliminary hearings and murder trials.  

You also knew that you and your partner were the only ones that could obtain justice for the victim.

THE ETAN PATZ CASE

A 33 year old missing person’s case in New York City is again drawing international headlines. On May 25, 1979, six year old Etan Patz disappeared on his way to school.  His photograph was the first missing child to appear on milk cartons.  Although the case has been widely publicized throughout the years, no arrests were ever made.  Recently, however, news reports have stated that NYPD detectives had interviewed an individual in New Jersey and he had confessed to the crime. These same reports stated that the suspect had discarded the victim’s body in a trash bag in the garbage.

From an investigative stand point, this is an extremely difficult case.  First and foremost, you’re dealing with a criminal case that is 33 years old.  Secondly, the victim’s remains have never been recovered.  Witnesses may be difficult to locate, some of the detectives who worked on the case could be deceased, possible crime scenes may have been renovated or destroyed, case files could be misplaced, evidence could be compromised etc.  The neighborhood where the crime took place could be severely altered after so much time has passed.

If the suspect has supposedly confessed to the detectives, probably the most important part of the interrogation from a prosecutorial standpoint is if the suspect told the detectives things that only the killer would know.  Police detectives will always attempt to hold back from the public important details in a crime for just that reason.  It’s not uncommon to have people confess to notorious crimes.  It’s when you get down to specific issues that are unique to that specific crime is how detectives can weed out the sensation seekers from the real suspect.

The job facing the NYPD detectives will be going back and trying to recreate a crime scene from information obtained from the confession.  They will go over everything the suspect told them to see if they can find any type of physical evidence or eyewitness accounts to match his story.  They will be going over New York City Sanitation records to attempt to find out any information regarding trash pickup on the specific date and location that the suspect provided them.  They’ll attempt to locate the truck driver and any sanitation workers that were on the route on that day.  They’ll even go over city dump records in an attempt to locate the specific location in the dump where that specific truck off loaded its contents.

Attempting to file a criminal case against a defendant without any evidence other than a confession would be difficult at best.  The tragedy begins all over again for the victim’s family, who are again thrust into the limelight because of this horrible crime.

Memorial Day

LINDEN, NEW JERSEY:
LCPL WILLIAM JOSEPH BEKSI	SSG THOMAS GEORGE DANOWSKI	PFC GEORGE THOMAS FARAWELL
SP4 JEFFREY CHARLES HAHN	CPL RONALD WAYNE KNOSKY	PFC EUGENE LAW
LCPL MIKOLAW MELNYK	CPL OTTO JOHN OSTENFELD	SGT PETER W SCOTT
LTJG FRANKLIN MICHAEL TUNICK	1LT RONALD LEONARD WARNETT	LCPL EDWARD TYRONE WEST
PFC DAVID RAYMOND WIENCKOSKI

These are the names that are listed on the Vietnam Memorial of the men from my hometown of Linden, NJ who died in that war.  

I grew up with George Farawell.  We played baseball together from Little League through high school.  George had a great sense of humor and was a very good ballplayer.  

Eddie West sat next to me in study hall at Linden High School.  He was a good guy who looked forward to joining the Marines.  

Otto Ostenfelt was from my neighborhood.  He found his niche in the Marines and was going to make it a career.  

Pete Scott was the older brother of one of my best friends.  He introduced us to the music of Bob Dylan and Bo Diddley before he enlisted in the Air Force.

Memorial Day is a special day in which we honor the fallen, those who died in the service of our country.  All of these men had dreams and goals that were never fulfilled.  It is for us, the living, to pause on this day and remember their sacrifice, and to silently thank them for every day we live in freedom.

They will not be forgotten.

Somebody Wrote a Book About It

My father was one of the simplest yet smartest men I ever met.  He always told me that if you don’t know how to do something, somebody who does wrote a book about it.  He taught himself how to type when he was 50 by reading a book and practicing at night after work.  He would read every article and book he could find about his passion, golf.  He not only played golf, he knew golf.

The same goes for investigating.  Want to know the proper way to investigate a crime scene, how to preserve evidence, how to interview someone, how to interrogate a suspect, how to do surveillances etc., there’s some expert out there who wrote a book about it.  

Now with the internet, you can find these books on-line. You can also contact a legal book store near you for assistance. You can also locate the expert authors themselves on-line and contact them directly.  Most of them would be only too willing to share their knowledge and assist you on a case.  The key thing is to be pro active.  So if you want to learn your trade and get good at your craft, read a book about it.