Saturday, September 29, 2012
Peruvian reality show contestant slain after TV confession
Peruvian reality show contestant slain after TV confession
By Catherine E. Shoichet and Maria Elena Belaunde, CNN
updated 9:51 PM EDT, Tue September 25, 2012
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
A reality show contestant is found slain more than two months after she appears on TV
Authorities accuse her ex-boyfriend of killing her over prize money
Investigators are looking into what role the show played, Peru's attorney general says
Host: Critics of the show "are giving an alibi to a soulless criminal"
(CNN) -- A Peruvian reality show has become part of a real-life crime drama as authorities investigate the slaying of a contestant who appeared on the program.
Police found Ruth Thalia Sayas Sanchez's body Saturday, more than two months after the 19-year-old's on-air confession that she worked in a nightclub and twice accepted money for sex.
Investigators uncovered evidence of poison in her body and signs that she was strangled, Peruvian Attorney General Jose Pelaez told reporters.
Authorities accuse her ex-boyfriend of killing her because he felt he was entitled to some of the 15,000 soles ($5,700) she won on the show, according to police accounts reported by local media.
Sayas was the first contestant on "The Value of Truth," which features participants answering tough questions about their personal lives in front of an audience and loved ones. Before appearing on the show, contestants are subjected to a polygraph test to verify their responses.
Pelaez said investigators were looking into the role the show could have played in Sayas' death.
"The investigation will determine whether there is some degree of responsibility, even though it seems to me that it would be a responsibility that would not have a causal relation," he told reporters.
The teen's family has said the show did not cause her death.
"This television program has absolutely nothing to do with it,' said Freddy Sanchez Rojas, Sayas' uncle.
On Sunday, the president of Peru's Radio and Television Advisory Council cited Sayas' death as she called on media in the South American country to more closely monitor the contents of their programs.
"I think there is a marked tendency in our media to convert strong and difficult news into a show so everyone can see it. There is a concept of information and news that goes against the very people covered within the report," President Rosa Maria Alfaro said.
Facing increased scrutiny, the show's host has said the program is not responsible for her slaying.
Criticism of the show is unfair, host Beto Ortiz said.
"What they are doing is giving an alibi to the defenders of a soulless criminal, because they are taking away his responsibility by saying that television creates monsters," he said.
The Importance Of It All....Again!
SEPTEMBER 26, 2012NEWARK, NJ
Former employee of New Jersey defense contractor convicted of exporting sensitive military technology to China
NEWARK, N.J. — A federal jury Thursday convicted a former employee of a New Jersey-based defense contractor of exporting sensitive U.S. military technology to China, stealing trade secrets and lying to federal agents. The joint case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the FBI and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Sixing Liu, aka "Steve Liu," 49, a Chinese national, who had recently lived in Flanders, N.J., and Deerfield, Ill., was taken into custody following the verdict, based on risk of flight considerations. He is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 7, 2013 before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler.
"Exporting military weapons and technical data, and the theft of sensitive technology in violation of the Arms Export Control Act, are serious crimes with global consequences," Andrew McLees, special agent in charge of HSI Newark, said. "Illegal foreign procurement networks continue to threaten our safety and this conviction reinforces that HSI has no tolerance for those who try to undermine our nation's safety and security."
"The jury found that in order to promote himself, Liu took highly sensitive defense information and trade secrets to China, violating the rules of his company and the laws of this country, and then lied about it upon his return to the United States," District of New Jersey U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman said. "We will not tolerate the exploitation of this country's opportunities through the theft of our secrets."
"This specific investigation is troubling on many levels," FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward said. "Mr. Liu helped develop technology critical to our military, then took a computer with that information on an unauthorized trip to China to present at a conference sponsored by the Chinese government. The United States spends billions of dollars each year on research and development, and this ‘intellectual capital' is very attractive to others. If they are able to acquire this research, they can save billions and quickly develop their own products to compete against the United States, be it in the world economic market or on the battlefield."
Robert E. Perez, director of field operations for CBP New York, said, "This arrest demonstrates the determination of Customs and Border Protection's frontline officers, who work closely with our law enforcement partners to safeguard the American public from potential threats."
The jury convicted Liu of nine of the 11 counts in the second superseding indictment with which he was charged, including six counts of violating the Arms Export Control Act and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, one count of possessing stolen trade secrets in violation of the Economic Espionage Act of 1996, one count of transporting stolen property in interstate commerce and one count of lying to federal agents. The jury acquitted Liu on two counts of lying to federal agents.
According to court documents, in 2010, Liu stole thousands of electronic files from his employer, L-3 Communications, Space and Navigation Division, located in Budd Lake, N.J. The stolen files detailed the performance and design of guidance systems for missiles, rockets, target locators and unmanned aerial vehicles. Liu stole the files to position and prepare himself for future employment in China. As part of that plan, Liu delivered presentations about the technology at several Chinese universities, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and conferences organized by Chinese government entities. However, Liu was not charged with any crimes related to those presentations.
On Nov. 12, 2010, Liu boarded a flight from Newark Liberty International Airport to China. Upon his return to the United States Nov. 29, 2010, agents found Liu in possession of a non-work-issued computer found to contain the stolen material. The following day, Liu lied to agents of the Department of Homeland Security about the extent of his work on U.S. defense technology, which the jury found to be a criminal false statement.
The U.S. Department of State's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls later verified that several of the stolen files on Liu's computer contained export-controlled technical data that relates to defense items listed on the United States Munitions List (USML). Under federal regulations, items and data covered by the USML may not be exported without a license, which Liu did not obtain. The regulations also provide that it is the policy of the United States to deny licenses to export items and data covered by the USML to countries with which the United States maintains an arms embargo, including China.
The jury heard testimony that Liu's company trained him about the United States' export control laws and told him that most of the company's products were covered by those laws.
After the verdict, Judge Chesler ordered Liu taken into custody, citing the penalties Liu faces, his ties to China and the lack of an extradition treaty with China, among other reasons.
Liu faces the following maximum penalties, per count:
Export violations – 20 years in prison; $1 million fine,
Stolen trade secrets violation – 10 years in prison; $250,000 fine,
Interstate transportation of stolen property – 10 years in prison; $250,000 fine, and
False statement – five years in prison; $250,000 fine.
Operation Overtime...
SEPTEMBER 27, 2012SAN JUAN, PR
Operation Overtime nets 16 arrests for drug trafficking and money laundering
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Sixteen alleged members of a drug trafficking and money laundering organization responsible for the importation of multi-kilograms of cocaine into the United States were arrested Wednesday in several municipalities of Puerto Rico. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents, working jointly with Puerto Rico Police Department (PRPD) and San Juan Police Department (SJPD) officers, launched Operation Overtime as part of law enforcement's overall strategy to combat drug trafficking in the Caribbean.
"The indictment and arrest of these individuals sends a clear message to those involved in drug trafficking and money laundering that HSI will go after them to bring them to justice and will seize the assets produced from their illicit activity," said Angel Meléndez, acting special agent in charge of HSI Puerto Rico.
The sixteen individuals are charged in three separate indictments with conspiring to import cocaine into the United States from the Dominican Republic. One of the sixteen, Nick Irizarry-Rosado, is charged with knowingly transmitting or transferring a Western Union money order for the amount of $1,200 from the United States to the Dominican Republic, with the intent to promote the dealing of controlled substances. Irizarry-Rosado is facing money laundering forfeiture allegations.
All of the defendants charged in the first indictment are facing a narcotics forfeiture allegation which includes several boats and vehicles as well as a parcel of land and residence known as Haciendas de Borinquen located in the Parguera Ward in the municipality of Lajas, Puerto Rico. In addition to Nick Irizarry-Rosado, those arrested from the first indictment are: Pablo Irizarry-Rosado, Luis Sierra-Pardo, Luis Quintana-Rodriguez, Rodolfo Fumero-Galindo, Wilfredo Mendoza, Angel Paz-Alvarez, Luis Marrero-Marrero, Jonathan Delgado-Flores and Angel Colon-Martinez. Those arrested and charged in the second and third indictments are: Elvis Aviles-Vega, Alberto Aviles-Vega, Hiram Quintana-Rodriguez, Rene Ramos-Rivera, Wilberto Morales-De Jesús and Adrian N. Cordero-Rodriguez.
The Importance Of It All...
News Releases
SEPTEMBER 25, 2012HOUSTON, TX
4 charged in Houston human smuggling case involving 82 illegal aliens
HOUSTON — Four Mexican nationals were charged Tuesday in federal court in a massive human smuggling case that resulted in the rescue of 82 illegal aliens in a Houston residence, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson, Southern District of Texas.
The investigation is being conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Houston Police Department.
The criminal complaint, filed Tuesday, charges the following four men with harboring, transporting, and conspiracy to harbor and transport illegal aliens: Luis Trejo-Onofre, 30, Jose Santos-Solorzano, 24, Jose Victor Perez-Olivas, 42, and Gumecindo Jaime-Martinez, 37. They are expected to make their initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge George C. Hanks Wednesday.
On Sept. 18, a Nicaraguan national flagged down a Houston police officer to report that her 17-year-old daughter was being held by an alien smuggling organization that was allegedly extorting additional smuggling fees as a condition of her release. The woman, who had traveled from San Antonio to pick up her daughter from the smuggling organization, was allegedly directed to wire an additional $1,700 to Jalisco, Mexico, via Western Union. According to the complaint, the smugglers told her she better deposit the money if she wanted to see her daughter again.
After several calls, the alleged smuggler told the woman to meet at a local drug store at the intersection of Gessner and Interstate 10, and he would let her have her daughter for $1,500, according to the complaint. An undercover special agent accompanied the woman to the meeting and observed the girl in the suspects' vehicle. Soon after, special agents and officers blocked the vehicle and activated emergency lights and sirens. The complaint indicates Trejo-Onofre and Santos-Solorzano were in the two front seats, but refused to open the doors and rammed one of the vehicles surrounding them.
HSI special agents broke one of the car windows, rescued the girl, and took the suspects into custody. The minor female stated that she was held along with several other illegal aliens, including children, who were allegedly being held by armed smugglers and were often mistreated.
The residence was soon located on the 3400 block of Boxelder in Houston. HSI special agents observed and followed Perez-Olivas as he left to purchase food at a local store and then returned to the residence. Special agents and officers then began to secure the residence and identify those inside.
According to the complaint, most of the male subjects being held in the house were only wearing underwear. One of the agents recognized Perez-Olivas among the group whom several of the aliens pointed out as a smuggler as well as Jaime-Martinez.
Some of the aliens identified the four charged and their alleged actions. The complaint also includes allegations that some of the aliens were hit, kicked, punched and some were locked in a closet for long periods of time and fed minimally. The alleged smugglers, some of whom carried weapons according to the complaint, also ordered some of the aliens to remove their clothing.
Eighty-two aliens were being held in the house from six different countries; eight were juveniles. At the time of the arrests, several weapons were also seized.
If convicted, each of the men charged faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Doug Davis and Celia Moyer, Southern District of Texas, are prosecuting the case.
A criminal complaint is an accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until convicted through due process of law.
Saturday, September 15, 2012
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