Fogbow

Former Special Agent in Charge of the FBI New York Counterintelligence Division Charged with Violating U.S. Sanctions on Russia
A Russian Court and Government Interpreter Also Charged with Violating U.S. Sanctions on Russia
A former Special Agent in Charge of the FBI New York Counterintelligence Division and a former Soviet and Russian diplomat were arrested Saturday on criminal charges related to their alleged violating and conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and conspiring to commit money laundering and money laundering.

According to court documents, Charles F. McGonigal, 54, of New York City, and Sergey Shestakov, 69, of Morris, Connecticut, are charged in a five-count indictment unsealed today in the Southern District of New York with violating and conspiring to violate the IEEPA, and with conspiring to commit money laundering and money laundering.

According to court documents, on April 6, 2018, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Oleg Deripaska as a Specially Designated National (SDN) in connection with its finding that the actions of the Government of the Russian Federation with respect to Ukraine constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to U.S. national security and foreign policy. According to the U.S. Treasury, Deripaska was sanctioned for having acted or purported to act on behalf of, directly or indirectly, a senior official of the Government of the Russian Federation and for operating in the energy sector of the Russian Federation economy.

Retired FBI Executive Charged with Concealing $225,000 in Cash Received from Former Intelligence Officer
Charles F. McGonigal Arrested in New York

Charles F. McGonigal, 54, a former FBI Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office, has been arrested on charges relating to his receipt of $225,000 in cash from an individual who had business interests in Europe and who had been an employee of a foreign intelligence service, while McGonigal was serving as Special Agent in Charge of FBI counterintelligence efforts in the New York Office. McGonigal retired from the FBI in September of 2018.

According to the nine-count indictment, unsealed today, from August 2017 and continuing through and beyond his retirement from the FBI in September 2018, McGonigal concealed from the FBI the nature of his relationship with a former foreign security officer and businessperson who had ongoing business interests in foreign countries and before foreign governments. Specifically, McGonigal requested and received at least $225,000 in cash from the individual and traveled abroad with the individual and met with foreign nationals. The individual later served as an FBI source in a criminal investigation involving foreign political lobbying over which McGonigal had official supervisory responsibility. McGonigal is accused of engaging in other conduct in his official capacity as an FBI Special Agent in Charge that he believed would benefit the businessperson financially.

Tyre Nichols: five Memphis ex-police officers charged with murder over motorist’s death
Nichols, 29, died three days after a traffic stop turned into a fatal physical attack on 7 January

Fr
Victoria Bekiempis and agencies
Fri 27 Jan 2023 03.28 GMT

Five former Memphis police officers were charged Thursday with murder and other crimes in the killing of Tyre Nichols, a Black motorist in Memphis, Tennessee, who died three days after a 7 January traffic stop spiraled into a fatal physical attack, local jail records indicated.

Shelby county sheriff’s office online records showed that Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr, Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith were in custody. All five were charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression.

“While each of the five individuals played a different role in the incident in question, the actions of all of them resulted in the death of Tyre Nichols and they are all responsible,” Steve Mulroy, the Shelby county district attorney, said during a press conference on Thursday.

David Rausch, director of the Tennessee bureau of investigation, said: “Let me be clear: What happened here does not, at all, reflect proper policing.

“This was wrong,” Rausch said. “This was a crime.”

Nichols’s stepfather, Rodney Wells, told the Associated Press by phone that he and his wife, RowVaughn Wells, who is Nichols’ mother, discussed the second-degree murder charges and are “fine with it”. They had sought first-degree murder charges.

“There’s other charges, so I’m all right with that,” he said.

Nichols, 29, endured a three-minute attack, Mulroy said. An attorney representing his family reportedly said an independent autopsy indicated that he “suffered extensive bleeding caused by a severe beating”.

“He was a human piñata for those police officers,” the family attorney, Antonio Romanucci, told reporters. “Not only was it violent, it was savage.”




https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... rs-custody

I,Hypocrite @lporiginalg wrote: Officer pulls gun instead of taser during traffic stop.

Lawrence settles with driver shot by rookie officer

The city of Lawrence has agreed to pay $80,000 to settle an excessive force lawsuit filed by a man who was shot by a rookie police officer in 2018 during a traffic stop.

Akira Lewis sued the city, two officers, the police department and the police chief after he was shot. He alleged the officers used excessive force and that the traffic stop was racially motivated.

The city contended Lewis caused the confrontation by unreasonably refusing to get out of his car.

Under the settlement approved Friday, neither the city or Lewis accepted liability for the shooting, The Lawrence Journal-World reported.

Lewis was shot when he was pulled over by officers Ian McCann and Brindley Blood. Lewis refused to get out of his car or give the officers his identification. A police video shows McCann trying to pull Lewis from the car.

When Lewis began hitting McCann, Blood shot him. She said later she meant to use her Taser but drew her gun instead. An aggravated battery charge against her was dropped and she later left the force.

Lewis was sentenced to a year of probation after pleading no contest to battery of a law enforcement officer.

Patagoniagirl wrote: ↑Sat Jan 28, 2023 7:33 am I know exactly why we have such prolific police brutality and murder. Body cams and cell phone video. Before that there was none of this kind of nonsense.

Hialeah Officer Accused of Kidnapping, Beating Homeless Man Denied Bond
Rafael Otano and Lorenzo Orfila, who have since been fired, face charges of armed kidnapping and battery

By Steve Litz and Brian Hamacher •
Published January 26, 2023 • Updated on January 27, 2023 at 7:57 pm

A judge again denied bond for one of the Hialeah Police Department officers accused of kidnapping and beating a homeless man. NBC 6’s Steve Litz reports

A judge again denied bond Friday for one of the Hialeah Police Department officers accused of kidnapping a homeless man, driving him to an isolated location, and beating him while he was handcuffed.

Friends and family of Rafael Otano were joined by attorneys in the courtroom for the 27-year-old, hoping he would be able to bond out. This is the second time Otano was denied bond.

"Forcing him to remain in jail with no bail, when so many thousands of career criminals are released on bail, to house arrest, every single day, it's really, really a sad day for the court system," said Michael Pizzi, Otano's attorney.

The officers, Otano and 22-year-old Lorenzo Orfila, turned themselves in to authorities and were booked into the Miami-Dade jail around 9:30 a.m. Thursday, records showed.

Attorneys for Orfila are expected to ask for his release early next month.

The officers are charged with armed kidnapping and battery, and Orfila is also charged with official misconduct, records showed.

A civilian, 45-year-old Ali Amin Saleh, was also arrested in connection with the case for allegedly tampering with the victim, Fernandez Rundle said.

Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle announced the charges during a Thursday afternoon news conference, where she was joined by Hialeah Police Chief George Fuente.

"None of us here today will ever accept the actions that we have outlined here today. We will not allow rogue police officers to abuse their powers and to betray the public that they serve," Fernandez Rundle said.

Fernandez Rundle said the charges stem from an incident on Dec. 17 when the officers responded to a disturbance call at a shopping plaza on W. 60th Street.

The officers encountered Jose Ortega-Gutierrez, who is well known to police as a homeless man who frequents the area, Fernandez Rundle said.




https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/2-h ... n/2959166/

Ex-Greensburg police chief facing federal drug charges

By WPXI.com News Staff
January 25, 2023 at 6:41 pm EST

GREENSBURG, Pa. — Ex-Greensburg police Chief Shawn Denning is facing federal drug charges, according to court documents.

According to Target 11 sources, Denning was escorted out of Greensburg City Hall Tuesday morning by Drug Enforcement Administration agents.


Mayor Robb Bell told Channel 11 news partner the Tribune-Review that Denning “resigned immediately” as he was arrested.

He was taken into custody, but was later released on $250,000 bond.

According to the federal indictment, Denning, 41, is facing six drug counts involving meth and cocaine, including aiding and abetting the distribution of the drugs, aiding and abetting the attempted distribution of the drugs, and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute.

The complaint alleges that Denning “facilitated the acquisition” of cocaine and methamphetamine by a confidential source multiple times from June 2021 to October 2022. The drug deals were part of a sting operation by the DEA, the Trib reports. The drugs were from California and Arizona, then delivered the source through the U.S. mail, according to the complaint.

The case is being investigated by the DEA and FBI.

Denning is a 14-year veteran of the police force and was promoted to chief in March 2022.

Bell issued the following statement to Channel 11:

“We believe it is important that the community know that Mr. Denning is no longer with the City of Greensburg. Captain Sarsfield will be acting chief under further notice. We are conducting a thorough review and assisting the appropriate agencies as we can. There will be no further comment at this time.”

Memphis police disband unit whose officers fatally beat Tyre Nichols
The Scorpion unit has been deactivated after video was released of the brutal beating of the 29-year-old at the hands of officers

Associated Press
Sat 28 Jan 2023 22.22 GMT

The Memphis police chief on Saturday disbanded the unit whose officers beat to death Tyre Nichols as the nation, citing a “cloud of dishonor”, as the city struggled to come to grips with video showing police pummeling the Black motorist.

Police director Cerelyn “CJ” Davis said she listened to Nichols’ relatives, community leaders and uninvolved officers in making the decision.

“It is in the best interest of all to permanently deactivate the Scorpion unit,” she said in a statement. She said the officers currently assigned to the unit “agree unreservedly” with the step.

Protestors marching though downtown Memphis cheered when they heard the unit had been dissolved. The Scorpion unit is composed of three teams of about 30 officers whose stated aim is to target violent offenders in areas beset by high crime. It had been inactive since Nichols’ 7 January arrest.

The footage released Friday left many unanswered questions about the traffic stop involving the Black motorist and about other law enforcement officers who stood by as he lay motionless on the pavement.



https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... -disbanded

When it was launched in 2021, the SCORPION unit – Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods – was heralded as a direct response to some of the city’s worst crime, with a focus on homicides, robberies, assaults and other felonies.

neonzx wrote: ↑Sun Jan 29, 2023 3:48 pm Somebody thought naming a police tactical team "SCORPION" obviously never matured past middle school and Hollywood movies.

AndyinPA wrote: ↑Sun Jan 29, 2023 12:44 pm And it was a real twist to come up with that name.

When it was launched in 2021, the SCORPION unit – Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods – was heralded as a direct response to some of the city’s worst crime, with a focus on homicides, robberies, assaults and other felonies.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/27/us/memph ... index.html

Katie Sponsler @KatieSponsler wrote: I have been taught to yell “stop resisting” and “drop your weapon” after firing a gun, because bystanders will remember you said it and their memory will automatically reverse the order of the events to make it make sense. Their testimony will support yours, because of this.

I have been told to “loosen up and have fun, it’s fun! Why are you so serious?” When doing a shoot/don’t shoot scenario training.

I have been told that deescalation techniques will get me and other officers killed and as a smaller LEO, I was justified escalating my use of force faster than my colleagues because I was always in danger so I should use it.

I’ve been told my only job is to go home at night.

I’ve been told all of these things in formal, controlled and regulated Police Academies. I have gone through 3. I have heard some of these things more than once.

When I questioned these things in my third academy, and stated that they were inconsistent with the ethics of policing, I was kicked out of the academy on my last day. I had completed and excelled at all the graded tasks, but was told “you aren’t what we want in our force.”

I loved my job. I gave a lot to do it for 5 years. In that time, I never broke leather on my holster. I never fired my taser. I put my hands on an individual twice, both times a simple arm bar hold that immediately caused both individuals to comply. Neither individual was hurt.

I have been in many sticky situations in that time. Faced several armed individuals. I worked in a National Park, yes, but in a high crime area. Being a park ranger, means working alone most of the time. I could not afford to escalate a situation, and I didn’t.

In 4 words, a police academy commander ended my career. “You done belong here.” After 16 years of federal service without a single complaint or write up, I lost any chance of working the final 4 years I needed for retirement.

With student loan debt, living in a new city, with a teenager, I lost my job, my insurance, and the ability to use the education and experience I had worked so hard to achieve.

I don’t regret it.

I still believe in resource protection, it matters, but I no longer believe the system of policing we have is the way to achieve it.

During my campaign for the HoD I got lambasted by my Republican opponent for saying, “I know cops, I’ve worked with them, trained with them, and some of them are my friends, some are not, and some of them are murderers.” I know it’s not politically expedient, but…

Some. Of. Them. Are. Murderers.

Katie Sponsler @KatieSponsler wrote: Hi! Just checking in to say to those who are new here that I am an actual person, that’s my real name and picture and yes my real bio I am an actual mother who, even when running for state office, has never had folks pay much attention to my Twitter before yesterday.

So those are my real kids in this feed and, like, I never meant to “go viral” but I’ve not taking anything down, because it’s true and truth needs to be said.

Brian Kilmeade @kilmeade wrote: Whoopi Goldberg's grotesque response to national tragedy:

"Do we need to see white people also get beaten before anybody will do anything?"

Michael Eval @Vegas1000 wrote: White People will get beaten because of what Whoopi Goldberg said this morning on The View.
She and ABC should be held responsible for incitement to violence.
She knew what she was doing.