BALTIMORE, MD—A federal grand jury has indicted Dellando Recardo Campbell, age 31, of Lemoore, California, on charges of interstate domestic violence resulting in the death of a spouse, in connection of the death of Serika Dunkley Holness. The indictment was returned on February 5, 2014. Campbell, who was arrested in California on February 7, 2014, was transported to Maryland. Campbell had an initial appearance today in U.S. District Court in Baltimore and was detained, pending a detention hearing scheduled for Friday, March 25, 2014.
The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Colonel Marcus L. Brown, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police; and Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The indictment alleges that Campbell conspired with Ryan Dave Holness to murder Ryan Holness’ wife, Serika Dunkley Holness. DNA evidence found in Holness’ car, which was recovered in Washington, D.C. the day after the murder, link Campbell to the crime.
According to DNA and other evidence presented at Ryan Holness’ two-week trial, Ryan Holness devised a scheme to bring his wife from New York to Maryland for the murder. On June 4, 2009, Holness and his wife traveled from New York to Maryland. Serika Holness was found murdered, stabbed multiple times in Kent County, Maryland on June 5, 2009. Ryan Holness was convicted of domestic violence resulting in the death of a spouse and sentenced to life in prison.
If convicted, Campbell faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the Maryland State Police and FBI for their work in the investigation and thanked the Kings County, California, District Attorney’s Office for its assistance. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorney John F. Purcell, who is prosecuting the case.
Showing posts with label death. Show all posts
Showing posts with label death. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Federal Judge Sentences Manager of Heroin Conspiracy That Distributed Heroin Resulting in Death to 20 Years in Prison
PORTLAND, OR—On March 18, 2014, U.S. District Court Judge Marco Hernandez sentenced Samuel Navarrette-Aguilar, 41, a citizen of Mexico, to 240 months for his managerial role in a heroin trafficking conspiracy involving a kilogram or more of heroin. A federal jury found the defendant guilty of the conspiracy in June 2013. Judge Hernandez further found by a preponderance of evidence that heroin distributed by the defendant resulted in the death of Erin Freeman, 22, who overdosed on heroin in her Portland residence in June 2012. Judge Hernandez cited this and other factors to support his sentence, including the fact that the defendant committed this crime after escaping from a Washington state prison sentence for drug trafficking and having remained at large since 1999. Although the quantity of heroin subjected the defendant to a statutorily mandated minimum sentence of 20 years, Judge Hernandez indicated he would have pronounced the same sentence independent of the mandatory minimum requirement.
Reaching into the upper echelon of a trafficking conspiracy from the tragic scene of a young woman’s last failure against heroin addiction, required a fast-moving investigation led by the Portland Police Bureau Drugs and Vice Division, with support from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
“This sentence serves justice. In 2012, we lost 147 Oregonians to heroin, many of those, like Erin Freeman, were far too young,” said U.S. Attorney Amanda Marshall. “This defendant and other purveyors of this deadly drug face heavy penalties as Oregon and communities across the nation address the clear and present danger of this heroin epidemic.”
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen Bickers.
Reaching into the upper echelon of a trafficking conspiracy from the tragic scene of a young woman’s last failure against heroin addiction, required a fast-moving investigation led by the Portland Police Bureau Drugs and Vice Division, with support from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
“This sentence serves justice. In 2012, we lost 147 Oregonians to heroin, many of those, like Erin Freeman, were far too young,” said U.S. Attorney Amanda Marshall. “This defendant and other purveyors of this deadly drug face heavy penalties as Oregon and communities across the nation address the clear and present danger of this heroin epidemic.”
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen Bickers.
Friday, January 17, 2014
Playboy model Cassandra Lynn Hensley found dead in Los Angeles home
Former Playboy centerfold Cassandra Lynn Hensley was found dead at a friend's home in Los Angeles, the coroner said Friday.
Hensley was 34.
The autopsy on Playboy's Miss February 2006 was done Thursday, but the determination of the cause of death has been deferred until toxicology testing is completed, Los Angeles County coroner's Lt. Joe Bale said. Lab results usually take several weeks to become available.
The model's body was found at 9 a.m. Wednesday in a home in the Marina Del Rey area, Bale said.
Hensley, who lived in Fairfax, Virginia, told Philadelphia's Metropolis Nights magazine last month that there was "life after Playboy."
"I have been a part of many great experiences: travel shows, magazine covers, and of course giving advice to young impressionable girls who think they need to act a certain way for a chance to be a model -- classy not slutty," she told the magazine.
Hensley was 34.
The autopsy on Playboy's Miss February 2006 was done Thursday, but the determination of the cause of death has been deferred until toxicology testing is completed, Los Angeles County coroner's Lt. Joe Bale said. Lab results usually take several weeks to become available.
The model's body was found at 9 a.m. Wednesday in a home in the Marina Del Rey area, Bale said.
Hensley, who lived in Fairfax, Virginia, told Philadelphia's Metropolis Nights magazine last month that there was "life after Playboy."
"I have been a part of many great experiences: travel shows, magazine covers, and of course giving advice to young impressionable girls who think they need to act a certain way for a chance to be a model -- classy not slutty," she told the magazine.
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Family receives wrong body after mother's death on Caribbean vacation
Rhode Island resident Lisa Kondvar remembers her mother as a beautiful, small and vivacious blonde.
So she was shocked to see the body of a tall brunette woman lying in the open casket at her mother's wake in New Jersey on December 9.
Right away, the tears and the crying stopped. Kondvar and her family immediately closed the casket and left the room, she said.
"It wasn't mom," Kondvar said. "They sent us the wrong body."
Her mother, Margaret Porkka, was vacationing in St. Maarten on the family's annual Thanksgiving trip when Porkka suddenly died after feeling light-headed.
Porkka, 82, was pronounced dead at St. Maarten Medical Center on November 29, the morning after Thanksgiving. Other than a pacemaker and a right hip replacement, Kondvar said, her mother was in good health and very active.
"It didn't make sense. She was full of life," Kondvar said. "My mother was a picture of health. She ran circles around me."
Kondvar said her family was told their mother's body had been taken to Emerald Funeral Home in St. Maarten, where the funeral director denied their request to see their mother and demanded a $7,000 wire-transfer-only fee to send the body back to the United States.
"That gave me a red flag," Kondvar told CNN. "When I hear 'wire transfer,' I get cautious."
Eager to get their mother's body back on American soil and not knowing of any alternative, the family wired the money and left their mother's passport, necessary information for the death certificate, and a set of clothes for the funeral services.
The body that arrived in a casket at the New Jersey funeral home on December 6 was not her mother, Kondvar said. But the body was dressed in Porkka's clothing and was accompanied by her passport and death certificate. The casket also had a small, red-velvet pouch containing jewelry and items that Kondvar said did not belong to her mother.
"There was a medical bracelet that said 'angina.' My mother didn't have angina," she told CNN.
Now, Kondvar and her family want answers, and they want their mother back, she said.
"It pains me that she's gone, and it's even worse because I don't have her and I want to hold her one more time, and I can't do that," Kondvar said.
Repeated calls to St. Maarten Medical Center and Emerald Funeral Home over the weekend were not returned. Kondvar said she hasn't heard from the hospital or the funeral home since leaving St. Maarten.
Kondvar, who is a nurse, said she contacted U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, for help. Reed, a personal friend of Kondvar, has been in touch with the U.S. consulate in St. Maarten and is closely monitoring the situation, according to Reed's spokesman, Chip Unruh.
According to Kondvar, Emerald Funeral Home in St. Maarten was supposed to notify the U.S. consulate of Porkka's death so the office could arrange for the body to be accompanied back to America. That never happened, Kondvar said.
As if the situation weren't already complicated, there's reason to believe that somehow her mother's body was mistakenly sent to a family in Canada and cremated, Kondvar told CNN.
"If it is mom up in Canada, we want her back. We certainly don't hold anything against this family because they're in grief," she said. "I can't even imagine what they're going through."
Unruh said Reed has expedited a DNA test to determine whether the body that was sent to Canada is in fact Kondvar's mother.
"It's a nightmare," Unruh said.
The government of St. Maarten issued a statement on its website explaining some of what happened.
Two women, one Canadian and one American, died on November 29 and were taken to the same funeral home, it said. The government honored the families' requests to send the bodies to their respective homes, and the deceased women were flown to the United States on the same airline.
"Upon collection of the deceased the next of kin of both deceased persons claimed that this was not the body of their respective relatives and have lodged a complaint with the local law enforcement authorities. The body that was flown to Canada has since been cremated," the government website said.
DNA analyses "will be carried out in order to verify conclusively the identity of both bodies. As soon as there is more information available it will be made available through the representatives of the respective Governments, the families of the deceased and the respective media outlets," the government statement said.
As Porkka's family awaits the test results, Kondvar said she has a terrible, gut feeling the body in Canada is not her mother's.
"If it's not her, I don't know where that leaves us," she said.
Kondvar told CNN the St. Maarten government is performing an internal investigation into what went wrong. But Kondvar is wary. She's been in touch with the State Department and wants to hire an international attorney to lead her own investigation.
"I want an outside investigation. I don't trust that government. They've hurt my family," she said.
Kondvar, a resident of Warwick, said she's not sure whether she will ever return to St. Maarten, although she has fond memories of the island and the residents from her family vacations.
"(My mother) loved St. Maarten. That's why it brings me some kind of peace, is that she died in paradise," Kondvar said.
So she was shocked to see the body of a tall brunette woman lying in the open casket at her mother's wake in New Jersey on December 9.
Right away, the tears and the crying stopped. Kondvar and her family immediately closed the casket and left the room, she said.
"It wasn't mom," Kondvar said. "They sent us the wrong body."
Her mother, Margaret Porkka, was vacationing in St. Maarten on the family's annual Thanksgiving trip when Porkka suddenly died after feeling light-headed.
Porkka, 82, was pronounced dead at St. Maarten Medical Center on November 29, the morning after Thanksgiving. Other than a pacemaker and a right hip replacement, Kondvar said, her mother was in good health and very active.
"It didn't make sense. She was full of life," Kondvar said. "My mother was a picture of health. She ran circles around me."
Kondvar said her family was told their mother's body had been taken to Emerald Funeral Home in St. Maarten, where the funeral director denied their request to see their mother and demanded a $7,000 wire-transfer-only fee to send the body back to the United States.
"That gave me a red flag," Kondvar told CNN. "When I hear 'wire transfer,' I get cautious."
Eager to get their mother's body back on American soil and not knowing of any alternative, the family wired the money and left their mother's passport, necessary information for the death certificate, and a set of clothes for the funeral services.
The body that arrived in a casket at the New Jersey funeral home on December 6 was not her mother, Kondvar said. But the body was dressed in Porkka's clothing and was accompanied by her passport and death certificate. The casket also had a small, red-velvet pouch containing jewelry and items that Kondvar said did not belong to her mother.
"There was a medical bracelet that said 'angina.' My mother didn't have angina," she told CNN.
Now, Kondvar and her family want answers, and they want their mother back, she said.
"It pains me that she's gone, and it's even worse because I don't have her and I want to hold her one more time, and I can't do that," Kondvar said.
Repeated calls to St. Maarten Medical Center and Emerald Funeral Home over the weekend were not returned. Kondvar said she hasn't heard from the hospital or the funeral home since leaving St. Maarten.
Kondvar, who is a nurse, said she contacted U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, for help. Reed, a personal friend of Kondvar, has been in touch with the U.S. consulate in St. Maarten and is closely monitoring the situation, according to Reed's spokesman, Chip Unruh.
According to Kondvar, Emerald Funeral Home in St. Maarten was supposed to notify the U.S. consulate of Porkka's death so the office could arrange for the body to be accompanied back to America. That never happened, Kondvar said.
As if the situation weren't already complicated, there's reason to believe that somehow her mother's body was mistakenly sent to a family in Canada and cremated, Kondvar told CNN.
"If it is mom up in Canada, we want her back. We certainly don't hold anything against this family because they're in grief," she said. "I can't even imagine what they're going through."
Unruh said Reed has expedited a DNA test to determine whether the body that was sent to Canada is in fact Kondvar's mother.
"It's a nightmare," Unruh said.
The government of St. Maarten issued a statement on its website explaining some of what happened.
Two women, one Canadian and one American, died on November 29 and were taken to the same funeral home, it said. The government honored the families' requests to send the bodies to their respective homes, and the deceased women were flown to the United States on the same airline.
"Upon collection of the deceased the next of kin of both deceased persons claimed that this was not the body of their respective relatives and have lodged a complaint with the local law enforcement authorities. The body that was flown to Canada has since been cremated," the government website said.
DNA analyses "will be carried out in order to verify conclusively the identity of both bodies. As soon as there is more information available it will be made available through the representatives of the respective Governments, the families of the deceased and the respective media outlets," the government statement said.
As Porkka's family awaits the test results, Kondvar said she has a terrible, gut feeling the body in Canada is not her mother's.
"If it's not her, I don't know where that leaves us," she said.
Kondvar told CNN the St. Maarten government is performing an internal investigation into what went wrong. But Kondvar is wary. She's been in touch with the State Department and wants to hire an international attorney to lead her own investigation.
"I want an outside investigation. I don't trust that government. They've hurt my family," she said.
Kondvar, a resident of Warwick, said she's not sure whether she will ever return to St. Maarten, although she has fond memories of the island and the residents from her family vacations.
"(My mother) loved St. Maarten. That's why it brings me some kind of peace, is that she died in paradise," Kondvar said.
Friday, January 10, 2014
Lightning strike on beach kills 3 in Argentina
A lightning strike killed three people on a beach in Argentina Thursday and injured 22 others, state media reported.
"We were hiding in a tent to take shelter from the storm when we felt an explosion, and then I saw my friend thrown to the ground," Rafael Viñuela told the state-run Telam news agency.
He ran to find a doctor after seeing that his friend's arm was burned.
"When they arrived, they told us that he had died," he told Telam.
The state news agency reported that another victim, a 17-year-old, was playing soccer on the beach when the lightning hit, killing him and injuring several members of his family.
The storm struck the seaside community of Villa Gessell, located about 230 miles (375 km) southeast of the country's capital, around 5 p.m. Thursday. The injured victims included 16 adults and six children, a health official said, according to Telam.
It's summer in Argentina, and several witnesses told the state news agency they were vacationing in the area.
Buenos Aires province Gov. Daniel Sciolio called the incident "a tragedy that surprised families" at the beach.
"We were hiding in a tent to take shelter from the storm when we felt an explosion, and then I saw my friend thrown to the ground," Rafael Viñuela told the state-run Telam news agency.
He ran to find a doctor after seeing that his friend's arm was burned.
"When they arrived, they told us that he had died," he told Telam.
The state news agency reported that another victim, a 17-year-old, was playing soccer on the beach when the lightning hit, killing him and injuring several members of his family.
The storm struck the seaside community of Villa Gessell, located about 230 miles (375 km) southeast of the country's capital, around 5 p.m. Thursday. The injured victims included 16 adults and six children, a health official said, according to Telam.
It's summer in Argentina, and several witnesses told the state news agency they were vacationing in the area.
Buenos Aires province Gov. Daniel Sciolio called the incident "a tragedy that surprised families" at the beach.
Friday, December 27, 2013
Authorities: Divers were trying out new equipment before fatal accident
The two divers that died in an accident Wednesday were trying out new equipment received as a Christmas present.
According to the Hernando County Sheriff's Office, Dillon Sanchez and his father Darrin Spivey were trying out new dive equipment Sanchez had received as a Christmas present. The two went cave diving at the Eagle Nest Sink in the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge.
According to friends, Spivey was a certified diver but not a certified cave diver. Sanchez was not a certified diver.
Spivey's fiancee, Holly King, contacted authorities after not being able to reach him by phone and driving to the wildlife refuge and locating their car.
The father and son were last seen by a hunter around 11 a.m., officials said. The hunter later told authorities the two were suited up and prepared to dive. The hunter returned around 6:30 p.m. and did not see the divers anywhere. He said the car was still there.
According to authorities, Sanchez's body was located by underwater recovery divers in about 70 feet of water, and Spivey's in 127 feet inside the cave. Forensics technicians responded to the scene, took photographs and collected equipment, which will be evaluated at a later time.
The medical examiner took custody of the bodies. No further information has been released about Spivey and Sanchez. The investigation is ongoing.
The system of underwater caves at Eagle Nest Sink is well known for its beauty, as well as danger. The system of caves, which attracts divers from all over the world, has been called an underwater Grand Canyon.
Multiple divers have died there during the past 30 years.
The danger of the caves is described on a sign adjacent to the wooden ramp that leads into the murky water: Cave diving in this area is extremely dangerous - even life threatening. Do not dive unless you are a certified cave diver.
One of the recovery cave divers that recovered the bodies said off camera it looked like the father and son ran out of air.
Sanchez was a student at Hernando High School in Brooksville.
According to the Hernando County Sheriff's Office, Dillon Sanchez and his father Darrin Spivey were trying out new dive equipment Sanchez had received as a Christmas present. The two went cave diving at the Eagle Nest Sink in the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge.
According to friends, Spivey was a certified diver but not a certified cave diver. Sanchez was not a certified diver.
Spivey's fiancee, Holly King, contacted authorities after not being able to reach him by phone and driving to the wildlife refuge and locating their car.
The father and son were last seen by a hunter around 11 a.m., officials said. The hunter later told authorities the two were suited up and prepared to dive. The hunter returned around 6:30 p.m. and did not see the divers anywhere. He said the car was still there.
According to authorities, Sanchez's body was located by underwater recovery divers in about 70 feet of water, and Spivey's in 127 feet inside the cave. Forensics technicians responded to the scene, took photographs and collected equipment, which will be evaluated at a later time.
The medical examiner took custody of the bodies. No further information has been released about Spivey and Sanchez. The investigation is ongoing.
The system of underwater caves at Eagle Nest Sink is well known for its beauty, as well as danger. The system of caves, which attracts divers from all over the world, has been called an underwater Grand Canyon.
Multiple divers have died there during the past 30 years.
The danger of the caves is described on a sign adjacent to the wooden ramp that leads into the murky water: Cave diving in this area is extremely dangerous - even life threatening. Do not dive unless you are a certified cave diver.
One of the recovery cave divers that recovered the bodies said off camera it looked like the father and son ran out of air.
Sanchez was a student at Hernando High School in Brooksville.
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Arrest Made in Death of Taos Pueblo Man
Jorden Medina, Jr., 54, of Taos, has been arrested in connection with the death of Nicholas Concha, 28, of Taos Pueblo.
Medina is expected to appear in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque on Monday, December 2, 2013.
Concha was found dead Saturday night, November 30, 2013, outside the Allsups Convenience Store at 507 Paseo del Pueblo Norte in Taos Pueblo.
Concha had a gunshot wound to the head. An autopsy will determine the exact cause of death.
The FBI, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Taos Pueblo Department of Public Safety, and Taos Police Department are investigating the incident.
No further details will be released until after Medina’s court appearance.
Medina is expected to appear in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque on Monday, December 2, 2013.
Concha was found dead Saturday night, November 30, 2013, outside the Allsups Convenience Store at 507 Paseo del Pueblo Norte in Taos Pueblo.
Concha had a gunshot wound to the head. An autopsy will determine the exact cause of death.
The FBI, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Taos Pueblo Department of Public Safety, and Taos Police Department are investigating the incident.
No further details will be released until after Medina’s court appearance.
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Counterintelligence Awareness
The FBI vigilantly investigates cases of
industrial espionage and theft of intellectual property, but the Bureau
also places great emphasis on preventing such crimes by educating
industry on ways to keep trade secrets safe. One such innovative program
in North Carolina’s Research Triangle is a collaborative effort with
other federal partners called RED DART.
The threat to America’s trade
secrets—and to our national security—is real, whether it comes in the
form of international spies, hackers probing online security systems, or
disgruntled employees out for revenge. RED DART seeks to mitigate the threat by raising counterintelligence awareness.
Through briefings to cleared defense contractors and others in technology-rich North Carolina, RED DART makes executives and employees aware of how counterintelligence works and how they can spot suspicious activity both inside and outside their companies.
“Everybody wants to emulate U.S.
technology,” said Brent Underwood, a special agent with the Naval
Criminal Investigative Service who helped create RED DART. “If countries
can shortcut 10 or 20 years’ worth of research and development by
stealing our technology, that puts them at an obvious advantage.”
Despite the occasional high-profile case where a spy accesses highly classified documents, the majority of stolen technology is unclassified, said FBI Special Agent Lou Velasco, who manages the program out of our Charlotte Division. “With the right amount of information,” he explained, “state actors can reverse-engineer our products or build them from scratch.”
When that happens, our adversaries can be more competitive on the battlefield as well as in the global marketplace. “A big part of our program is putting information out there about the threat so that people understand just how serious it is,” Velasco said. “When a company’s trade secrets are compromised, it can threaten national security, but it can also hurt that company’s bottom line and its ability to keep people employed.”
The threat from inside a company may be employees secretly sent by foreign countries to steal secrets. RED DART briefings help employees spot suspicious behavior, such as a staffer working odd hours, asking inappropriate questions, or making frequent trips overseas. Externally, foreign agents may pose as potential investors or customers to gain access to technical information that could compromise a company’s trade secrets. And weak online security is always an invitation to hackers.
Griff Kundahl, executive director of the Center of Innovation for Nanobiotechnology in North Carolina, a state-funded organization that fosters new technology in the region, has worked closely with the RED DART program to help educate the center’s members.
“Our core constituents are early-stage companies,” Kundahl said. “They developed a product that might treat cancer, for example. They are trying to raise money and get their product to market. They don’t have much time or the resources to consider security risks. If RED DART can get them to understand these risks, it helps everybody. When they realize that all their efforts could be for naught if their technology is stolen or compromised, it can be eye-opening for them.”
“Our challenge is to show how real the threat is,” Velasco said. “We arm people with tools so that they can make appropriate business decisions.”
Michelle Brody, a special agent with the Defense Security Service and a founding member of RED DART, added, “When RED DART helps a company protect itself a little better, it not only helps them, it helps our national security.”
Learn More
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Through briefings to cleared defense contractors and others in technology-rich North Carolina, RED DART makes executives and employees aware of how counterintelligence works and how they can spot suspicious activity both inside and outside their companies.
Protecting Your Business from Espionage
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Despite the occasional high-profile case where a spy accesses highly classified documents, the majority of stolen technology is unclassified, said FBI Special Agent Lou Velasco, who manages the program out of our Charlotte Division. “With the right amount of information,” he explained, “state actors can reverse-engineer our products or build them from scratch.”
When that happens, our adversaries can be more competitive on the battlefield as well as in the global marketplace. “A big part of our program is putting information out there about the threat so that people understand just how serious it is,” Velasco said. “When a company’s trade secrets are compromised, it can threaten national security, but it can also hurt that company’s bottom line and its ability to keep people employed.”
The threat from inside a company may be employees secretly sent by foreign countries to steal secrets. RED DART briefings help employees spot suspicious behavior, such as a staffer working odd hours, asking inappropriate questions, or making frequent trips overseas. Externally, foreign agents may pose as potential investors or customers to gain access to technical information that could compromise a company’s trade secrets. And weak online security is always an invitation to hackers.
Griff Kundahl, executive director of the Center of Innovation for Nanobiotechnology in North Carolina, a state-funded organization that fosters new technology in the region, has worked closely with the RED DART program to help educate the center’s members.
“Our core constituents are early-stage companies,” Kundahl said. “They developed a product that might treat cancer, for example. They are trying to raise money and get their product to market. They don’t have much time or the resources to consider security risks. If RED DART can get them to understand these risks, it helps everybody. When they realize that all their efforts could be for naught if their technology is stolen or compromised, it can be eye-opening for them.”
“Our challenge is to show how real the threat is,” Velasco said. “We arm people with tools so that they can make appropriate business decisions.”
Michelle Brody, a special agent with the Defense Security Service and a founding member of RED DART, added, “When RED DART helps a company protect itself a little better, it not only helps them, it helps our national security.”
Monday, November 19, 2012
Remembering Lou Peters Selfless Actions Brought Down Mob Boss
In 1977, things were going well for Lou
Peters—he was living the American dream with his wife and three
daughters, running a successful Cadillac dealership in Lodi, California.
And in June of that year, he got an offer he couldn’t refuse.
A man approached Peters expressing interest in buying the dealership. When told it wasn’t for sale, the man was insistent, telling Peters to “name any price.” Finally, Peters said he would sell it for $2 million—nearly twice what the business was worth. The man accepted—then told Peters that the buyer was none other than Joseph Bonnano, Sr., head of the Bonnano organized crime family, who wanted the dealership to launder the family’s illegal funds.
Initially taken aback upon learning of mafia involvement, Peters eventually agreed to the sale,
recounting, “I didn’t understand why these people wanted to come into
our county. And I wanted to find out.” He then went to a local police
chief and told him what had happened. When the chief asked what he was
going to do next, Peters replied, “Well, I’m going to the FBI.”
And to the FBI he went, telling all. The FBI saw an opportunity to take down Bonnano and asked Peters for help. He was on board. “I felt it was the right thing to do, and I just did it,” he said.
Over the next nearly two years, Peters played the part of a corrupt businessman, gaining remarkable access to the Bonnano family and even becoming a close companion of Joseph Bonnano, Sr. To gain his confidence, Peters recalled saying something to “the old man” along the lines of, “Well, this should really bring me into the family”—to which Bonnano replied, “Lou, you’re already in the family.”
Through it all, Peters never took his eye off the ball—gathering evidence, secretly recording conversations, and debriefing agents on what he had learned. And his efforts weren’t without personal sacrifice…besides the risk to his life, he had to obtain a (temporary) legal separation from his wife not only to protect his family but also to have a credible reason to move out of his house—and into an apartment that was being monitored by the FBI.
In the end, Peters got what we needed.
When he told Bonnano—during a recorded call—that he had been subpoenaed
to testify before a grand jury regarding his dealings with the family,
the old man directed him to destroy any records that could be linked
back to him and his associates. Peters took the tape to the FBI agent on
the case. While listening to it, the agent jumped up and said, “You got
him!”
Thanks to Lou Peters, Joseph Bonnano, Sr. was found guilty of obstructing justice and sentenced to five years in prison—the first felony conviction in the mob boss’ long life of crime.
To show its appreciation, in October 1980 the FBI presented Peters with an award for his selfless and valiant actions…an award that has been granted annually for the past 30 years as the Louis E. Peters Memorial Service Award, bestowed upon the citizen who best exemplifies the standards set by Peters in providing service to the FBI and the nation.
Shortly before his death in 1981, Peters said, “I was very proud of what I did for my country.” The country is very proud of him, too. Thanks, Lou Peters.
A man approached Peters expressing interest in buying the dealership. When told it wasn’t for sale, the man was insistent, telling Peters to “name any price.” Finally, Peters said he would sell it for $2 million—nearly twice what the business was worth. The man accepted—then told Peters that the buyer was none other than Joseph Bonnano, Sr., head of the Bonnano organized crime family, who wanted the dealership to launder the family’s illegal funds.
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| Lou Peters, left, receives an award from FBI Director William Webster in 1980. |
And to the FBI he went, telling all. The FBI saw an opportunity to take down Bonnano and asked Peters for help. He was on board. “I felt it was the right thing to do, and I just did it,” he said.
Over the next nearly two years, Peters played the part of a corrupt businessman, gaining remarkable access to the Bonnano family and even becoming a close companion of Joseph Bonnano, Sr. To gain his confidence, Peters recalled saying something to “the old man” along the lines of, “Well, this should really bring me into the family”—to which Bonnano replied, “Lou, you’re already in the family.”
Through it all, Peters never took his eye off the ball—gathering evidence, secretly recording conversations, and debriefing agents on what he had learned. And his efforts weren’t without personal sacrifice…besides the risk to his life, he had to obtain a (temporary) legal separation from his wife not only to protect his family but also to have a credible reason to move out of his house—and into an apartment that was being monitored by the FBI.
| “There’s a time, I believe, when you have to stand up and be counted for—and I agree that I probably went the extreme, but that’s my way of life. When I tackle something, I believe in going at it 100 percent.” | ||
|---|---|---|
Thanks to Lou Peters, Joseph Bonnano, Sr. was found guilty of obstructing justice and sentenced to five years in prison—the first felony conviction in the mob boss’ long life of crime.
To show its appreciation, in October 1980 the FBI presented Peters with an award for his selfless and valiant actions…an award that has been granted annually for the past 30 years as the Louis E. Peters Memorial Service Award, bestowed upon the citizen who best exemplifies the standards set by Peters in providing service to the FBI and the nation.
Shortly before his death in 1981, Peters said, “I was very proud of what I did for my country.” The country is very proud of him, too. Thanks, Lou Peters.
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