Former Superintendent of Toms River Regional School District and Insurance Broker Ordered to Pay $4.3 Million in Restitution

TRENTON—Michael J. Ritacco, the former superintendent for the Toms River, New Jersey, Regional School District, and Francis X. Gartland, the former insurance broker for the Toms River Regional School District, have been ordered to pay $4,336,987.91 in restitution to the school district, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Frank D’Alonzo, the former supervisor of Athletics and Special Projects for the School District, was ordered to pay $1,625,952.79 in restitution.
Ritacco, 64, of Seaside Heights, New Jersey; Gartland, 71, of Baltimore, Maryland; and D’Alonzo, 55, of Lavallette, New Jersey, all previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joel A. Pisano in Trenton federal court to charges relating to a bribery and kickback scheme involving themselves and other conspirators, including Frank Cotroneo.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
The bribery and kickback scheme spanned 2002 to 2010, during which time Ritacco accepted $1 million to $2 million in bribes and other benefits from the conspirators in return for Ritacco’s official action and influence in order for Gartland to obtain and maintain insurance contracts at the school district. Ritacco and Gartland were each sentenced to 135 months in prison and D’Alonzo was sentenced to 37 months in prison.
As part of their plea agreements, Ritacco, Gartland, and D’Alonzo agreed to make restitution. Following a hearing on December 12, 2012, Judge Pisano yesterday issued an opinion in which the court concluded that the school district was “unquestionably” the victim of the defendants bribery and kickback scheme and determined the loss from the fraud scheme was $4,336,987.91. The loss consisted of excess money the district paid to Gartland and his entities, which were then passed to Ritacco as bribes, derived from the district’s health insurance coverage and worker’s compensation program. Ritacco and Gartland were ordered to pay the full amount of the school district’s loss, jointly and severally, while D’Alonzo was ordered to pay a portion of the loss consistent with the years in which he was involved actively in the criminal scheme.
In addition to ordering restitution, the court also ordered that Gartland forfeit to the United States a sum of $11 million, which represented all proceeds derived from the fraudulent scheme. D’Alonzo also was ordered to forfeit a sum of $4.3 million, which represented the proceeds derived from the scheme while he was an active participant. Prior to his sentencing on September 14, 2012, Ritacco forfeited to the United States $1 million, a 2010 Mercedes Benz, and $8,950 in cash.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward; and IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Shantelle P. Kitchen, for the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dustin Chao, Harvey Bartle, and Lee M. Cortes, Jr. of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Special Prosecutions Division.

Florida Man Pleads Guilty to Computer Intrusion and Wiretapping Scheme Targeting Celebrities

LOS ANGELES—A Florida man pleaded guilty today to a series of cyber-related crimes relating to his hacking into the personal e-mail accounts of more than 50 individuals associated with the entertainment industry.
Christopher Chaney, 35, of Jacksonville, Florida, pleaded guilty to nine felony counts of a 28-count first superseding indictment, including unauthorized access to protected computers in furtherance of wiretapping and wire fraud, unauthorized damage to protected computers resulting in more than $5,000 loss and physical harm, and wiretapping. At the conclusion of the hearing, United States District Court Judge S. James Otero ordered Chaney taken into custody.
During the hearing, Chaney admitted that from at least November 2010 to October 2011, he hacked into the e-mail accounts of Scarlett Johansson, Mila Kunis, Renee Olstead, and others by taking the victims’ e-mail addresses, clicking on the “Forgot your password?” feature, and then re-setting the victims’ passwords by correctly answering their security questions using publicly available information he found by searching the Internet. Once Chaney gained exclusive control of the victims’ e-mail accounts, he was able to access all of their e-mail boxes. While in the accounts, Chaney also went through their contact lists to find e-mail addresses of potential new hacking targets.
In pleading guilty to the wiretapping charges, Chaney admitted that, for most victims, he also changed their e-mail account settings by inserting his alias e-mail address into the forwarding feature so that a duplicate copy of all incoming e-mails to the victims—including any attachments—would be sent virtually simultaneously to Chaney without the victims’ knowledge. Most victims did not check their account settings, so even after they regained control of their e-mail accounts, Chaney’s alias address remained in their account settings. As a result, for many victims, copies of their incoming e-mails, including attachments, were sent to Chaney for weeks or months without their knowledge, causing Chaney to receive thousands of victim e-mails. In addition, when a victim reset his/her password to regain control of the account, Chaney sometimes hacked into the account again and reset the password, sometimes multiple times, in order to continue illegally accessing that victim’s account.
Chaney admitted that as his hacking scheme became more extensive, he began using a proxy service called “Hide My IP” because he knew what he was doing was illegal and wanted to “cover his tracks” so that law enforcement agents could not trace the hacking back to his home computer. Even after his home computers were seized by law enforcement agents pursuant to a federal search warrant, but before he was arrested, Chaney used another computer to hack into another victim’s e-mail account.
Chaney further admitted that as a result of his hacking scheme, he obtained numerous private communications, private photographs, and confidential documents from the victims’ e-mail accounts. The confidential documents included business contracts, scripts, letters, driver’s license information, and Social Security information. On several occasions, after hacking into victim accounts, Chaney sent e-mails from the hacked accounts to friends of the victims, fraudulently posing as the victims to request more private photographs. Chaney downloaded many of the confidential documents and photographs he stole to his home computer, where he saved them on his hard drive in separate computer file folders. Chaney e-mailed many of the stolen photographs to others, including another hacker and two gossip websites. As a result, some of those stolen photographs, several of which were explicit, were later posted on the Internet.
“Today’s guilty pleas shine a bright light on the dark underworld of computer hacking,” said United States Attorney André Birotte, Jr., whose office prosecuted the case. “This case demonstrates that everyone, even public figures, should take precautions to shield their personal information from the hackers that inhabit that dark underworld. It also demonstrates that the Department of Justice will take whatever steps are necessary to protect Americans from harm in cyberspace.”
“Mr. Chaney’s admission to compromising victim accounts, utilizing both technically and socially engineered means, demonstrates the persistence and extent to which a hacker will go to obtain private information,” said Steven Martinez, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “This case sends an important message to all users of Internet-accessible media that practicing good computer security makes us less vulnerable to this type of attack. The FBI remains committed to investigating cyber adversaries who target protected computers, whether of private citizens or the nation’s critical infrastructure.”
Each charge of unauthorized access to a protected computer carries a maximum of five years in prison, each charge of unauthorized damage to a protected computer carries a maximum charge of 10 years in prison, and each charge of wiretapping carries a maximum of five years in prison. As a result of all of today’s guilty pleas, Chaney faces a total statutory maximum sentence of 60 years in federal prison. In addition to the possible prison term, as part of his plea agreement filed in federal court, Chaney agreed to forfeit his computers and related devices seized during the investigation, to pay restitution to all of the victims for any losses they suffered, and to comply with strict restrictions regarding his future use of computers and computer-related devices. In exchange, the government agreed to dismiss the remaining counts, including nine counts of aggravated identity theft, at the time defendant is sentenced.
Chaney is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge S. James Otero on July 23, 2012.
The investigation of this case was led and conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Suspect Wanted for Five Bank Robberies

Stephen D. Anthony, Special Agent in Charge of the Cleveland Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for the Northern District of Ohio, is seeking information regarding an individual suspected of being responsible for five area bank robberies since October 26, 2012.
The five bank robberies have occurred at the following locations: Dollar Bank, 5201 Wilson Mills Road, Richmond Heights, Ohio, on October 26, 2012; PNC Bank, 2233 Warrensville Center Road, University Heights, Ohio, on October 30, 2012; Ohio Savings Bank, 14033 Cedar Road, South Euclid, Ohio, on November 19, 2012; Dollar Bank, 6563 Brecksville Road, Independence, Ohio, on November 26, 2012; and US Bank, 2211 Lee Road, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, on December 13, 2012.
The subject is believed to be Cetric Sumpter. Sumpter is described as a black male with brown eyes and black hair, 28-years-old, approximately 5’8” tall, and weighing approximately 165 lbs.
Any information regarding the location of Cetric Sumpter should be directed to the Cleveland FBI Field Office at 216-522-1400. Tips can remain anonymous.
A reward is being offered for information leading to the identification and arrest of Cetric Sumpter, the individual believed to be responsible for these five bank robberies.
Any questions regarding this press release should be directed to SA Vicki D. Anderson at 216-522-1400 or vicki.anderson@ic.fbi.gov.
Photos of the suspect, including at robberies, are below.

Robbery at Dollar Bank at 5201 Wilson Mills Rd., Richmond Heights, Ohio, on October 16, 2012
Robbery at PNC Bank st 2233 Warrensville Ctr. Rd. in University Heights, Ohio, on October 30, 2012
Robbery at Ohio Savings Bank at 14033 Cedar Rd., South Euclid, Ohio, on November 19, 2012
Robbery at Dollar Bank at 6563 Brecksville Rd., Independence, Ohio, on November 26, 2012
Robbery at U.S. Bank at 2211 Lee Rd., Cleveland Heights, Ohio, on December 13, 2012

13 victims killed at Columbine High School

The dead. So much pain is brought by their brutal deaths. Friends, family, loved ones and acquaintances mourn the loss of these

bright smiles and the personalities behind them. Even those of us who never knew them shed our tears for them. Everywhere people are impacted by this sad, sad tragedy - worldwide. Never again will mothers and fathers hug these daughters and sons, nor will grandchildren hug granddad goodnight. Never again will a sweet smile or the words 'I love you' be shared by these thirteen people. All that's left are memories, photos... and tears. The information contained in the pages linked below is what has been made available to the public, primarily through the Columbine Report and news. If info seems a sparse in some areas, it's only because the individual's family hasn't come forward with more -- it is not due to my personal lack of interest in the victim or out of any disrespect toward their family. While I have had contact with some of the victims' families, I have not gone out of my way to do so as I know many of them simply wish to put this tragic event behind them and go on living. If anyone related to the people below wants more added, I am more than happy to do so. This section gives detail to the information found on the Events of 4-20-1999 page and goes hand-in-hand with the stories in the pages dedicated to those who were Injured. Click on a picture to read about that victim. Cassie Bernall Steve Curnow Corey DePooter Kelly Fleming Matt Kechter Daniel Mauser Daniel Rohrbough Rachel Scott Isaiah Shoels John Tomlin Lauren Townsend Kyle Velasquez Coach Dave Sanders

http://youtu.be/juPWiyciE7U

Columbine pt. 4

To the policemen, paramedics, family and friends waiting outside, the horror of what was happening unfolded slowly. With 2,000 students attending Columbine High School, no one saw the whole event clearly. Thus, reports from witnesses escaping the school were skewed and fragmentary.
Law enforcement personnel tried to rescue those injured outside but Klebold and Harris shot at them from the library. No one saw the two gunmen commit suicide so no one was sure it was over until police were able to clear the building.
Students that had escaped were sent via school bus over to Leawood Elementary School where they were interviewed by police and then put on a stage for parents to claim. As the day wore on, the parents that remained were those of the victims. Confirmation of those that had been killed did not come until a day later.
Because of the large number of bombs and explosives thrown by the gunmen, the SWAT and police could not immediately enter the building to evacuate the remaining students and faculty that were hiding inside. Some had to wait hours to be rescued. Patrick Ireland, who had been shot two times in the head by the gunmen in the library, attempted to escape at 2:38 p.m. out the library window - two stories up. He fell into the waiting arms of SWAT while T.V. cameras showed the scene across the country. (Miraculously, Ireland survived the ordeal.)
Dave Sanders, the teacher who had helped hundreds of students escape and who had been shot around 11:26 a.m., lay dying in the science room. The students in the room tried to provide first aid, were given instructions over the phone to give emergency aid, and placed signs in the windows to get an emergency crew inside quickly, but no one arrived. It wasn't until 2:47 p.m. when he was just taking his last breaths that SWAT reached his room.
In all, Klebold and Harris killed thirteen people (twelve students and one teacher). Between the two of them, they fired 188 rounds of ammunition (67 by Klebold and 121 by Harris). Of the 76 bombs that Klebold and Harris threw during their 47-minute siege on Columbine, 30 exploded and 46 did not explode. In addition, they had planted 13 bombs in their cars (12 in Klebold's and 1 in Harris') that did not explode and 8 bombs at home. Plus, of course, the two propane bombs they planted in the cafeteria that did not explode.
Who Is to Blame?
No one can say for sure why Klebold and Harris committed such a horrific crime. Many people have come up with theories including being picked on in school, violent video games (Doom), violent movies (Natural Born Killers), music, racism, Goth, problematic parents, depression, and more.
It is hard to pinpoint one trigger that started these two boys on a murderous rampage. They worked hard to fool all those around them for over a year. Surprisingly, about a month before the event, the Klebold family took a four-day road trip to the University of Arizona, where Dylan had been accepted for the following year. During the trip, the Klebold's didn't notice anything strange or unusual about Dylan. Counselors and others also didn't notice anything unusual.
Looking back, there were telltale hints and clues that something was seriously wrong. Videotapes, journals, guns and bombs in their rooms would have been easily found if the parents had looked. Harris had made a website with hateful epithets that could have been followed up on.
The Columbine Massacre changed the way society looked at children and at schools. Violence was no longer just an after-school, inner-city activity. It could happen anywhere.

http://youtu.be/l853KaRheqw

Columbine pt. 3

Dave Sanders, the teacher who had directed students to safety in the cafeteria and elsewhere, was coming up the stairs and rounding a corner when he saw Klebold and Harris with guns raised. He quickly turned around and was about to turn a corner to safety when he was shot. Sanders managed to crawl to the corner and another teacher dragged Sanders into a classroom, where a group of students were already hiding. The students and the teacher spent the next few hours trying to keep Sanders alive.
Klebold and Harris spent the next three minutes indiscriminately shooting and throwing bombs in the hallway outside the library, where Sanders was shot. They threw two pipe bombs down the stairs into the cafeteria. Fifty-two students and four staff were hiding in the cafeteria and could hear the gunshots and explosions.
At 11:29, Klebold and Harris entered the library.
The Library
Klebold and Harris entered the library and shouted "Get up!" Then they asked for anyone wearing a white cap (jocks) to stand up. No one did. Klebold and Harris started firing; one student was injured from flying wood debris.
Walking through the library to the windows, Klebold shot and killed Kyle Velasquez, who was sitting at a computer desk rather than hiding under a table. Klebold and Harris set down their bags and started shooting out the windows toward policemen and escaping students. Klebold then took off his trench coat. One of the gunmen yelled "Yahoo!"
Klebold then turned and shot at three students hiding under a table, injuring all three. Harris turned and shot Steven Curnow and Kacey Reugsegger, killing Curnow. Harris then walked over to a table near him where two girls were hiding underneath. He banged two times on the top of the table and said, "Peek-a-boo!" Then he shot under the table, killing Cassie Bernall. The "kick" from the shot broke his nose.
Harris then asked Bree Pasquale, a student sitting on the floor, if she wanted to die. While pleading for her life, Harris was distracted when Klebold called him to another table because one of the students hiding underneath was black. Klebold grabbed Isaiah Shoels and started dragging him from under the table when Harris shot and killed Shoels. Then Klebold shot under the table and killed Michael Kechter.
Harris disappeared into the book stacks for a minute while Klebold went to the front of the library (near the entrance) and shot out a display cabinet. Then the two of them went on a shooting rampage in the library.
They walked by table after table, shooting non-stop. Injuring many, Klebold and Harris killed Lauren Townsend, John Tomlin, and Kelly Fleming.
Stopping to reload, Harris recognized someone hiding under the table. The student was an acquaintance of Klebold's. The student asked Klebold what he was doing. Klebold answered, "Oh, just killing people."³ Wondering if he too were going to be shot, the student asked Klebold if he was going to be killed. Klebold told the student to leave the library, which the student did.
Harris again shot under a table, injuring several and killing Daniel Mauser and Corey DePooter.
After randomly shooting off a couple more rounds, throwing a Molotov cocktail, taunting a few students, and throwing a chair, Klebold and Harris left the library. In the 7 1/2 minutes they were in the library, they had killed 10 people and injured 12 others. Thirty-four students escaped uninjured.
Back Into the Hall
Klebold and Harris spent about eight minutes walking down the halls, looking into the science classrooms, and making eye contact with some of the students, but they didn't try very hard to get into any of the rooms. Students stay huddled and hidden in many of the classrooms with the doors locked. But locks wouldn't have been much protection if the gunmen had really wanted to get in.
At 11:44, Klebold and Harris headed back downstairs and entered the cafeteria. Harris shot at one of the duffel bags they had placed earlier, trying to get the 20-pound propane bomb to explode, but it didn't. Klebold then went over to the same bag and began fiddling with it. Still there was no explosion. Klebold then stepped back and threw a bomb at the propane bomb. Only the thrown bomb exploded and it started a fire, which triggered the sprinkler system.
Klebold and Harris wandered around the school throwing bombs. They eventually went back to the cafeteria only to see that the propane bombs had not exploded and the sprinkler system had put out the fire. At exactly noon, the two went back upstairs.
They headed back to the library, where nearly all the uninjured students had escaped. Several of the staff remained hidden in cabinets and side rooms. From 12:02 to 12:05, Klebold and Harris shot out the windows toward the policemen and paramedics that were outside.
Sometime between 12:05 and 12:08, Klebold and Harris went to the south side of the library and shot themselves in the head, ending the Columbine massacre.

http://youtu.be/nwFw0feUpxI

Columbine pt. 2

At 11:10 a.m. on Tuesday, April 20, 1999, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris arrived at Columbine High School. Each drove separately and parked in spots in the junior and senior parking lots, flanking the cafeteria. Around 11:14, the boys carried two 20-pound propane bombs (with timers set for 11:17) in duffel bags and placed them near tables in the cafeteria. No one noticed them place the bags; the bags blended in with the hundreds of school bags that the other students had brought with them to lunch. The boys then went back to their cars to wait for the explosion.
Nothing happened. (It is believed that if the bombs had exploded, it is probable that all 488 students in the cafeteria would have been killed.)
The boys waited a few extra minutes for the cafeteria bombs to explode, but still nothing happened. They realized that something must have gone wrong with the timers. Their original plan had failed, but the boys decided to go into the school anyway.
Klebold, wearing cargo pants and a black T-shirt with "Wrath" on the front, was armed with a 9-mm semi-automatic handgun and a 12-gauge double-barrel sawed-off shotgun. Harris, wearing dark-colored pants and a white T-shirt that said "Natural Selection," was armed with a 9-mm carbine rifle and a 12-gauge pump sawed-off shotgun. Both wore black trench coats to hide the weapons they were carrying and utility belts filled with ammunition. Klebold wore a black glove on his left hand; Harris wore a black glove on his right hand. They also carried knives and had a backpack and a duffel bag full of bombs.
At 11:19, the two pipe bombs that Klebold and Harris had set up in an open field several blocks away exploded; they timed the explosion so that it would be a distraction for police officers.
At the same time, Klebold and Harris started firing their first shots at students sitting outside the cafeteria. Almost immediately, 17-year old Rachel Scott was killed and Richard Castaldo was injured. Harris took off his trench coat and both boys kept firing.
Unfortunately, many of the other students didn't realize yet what was happening. It was only a few weeks until graduation for the seniors and as is tradition among many U.S. schools, seniors often pull a "senior prank" before they leave. Many of the students believed that the shootings were just a joke - part of a senior prank - so they didn't immediately flee the area.
Students Sean Graves, Lance Kirklin and Daniel Rohrbough were just leaving the cafeteria when they saw Klebold and Harris with guns. Unfortunately, they thought the guns were paint ball guns and part of the senior prank. So the three kept walking, heading toward Klebold and Harris. All three are wounded.
Klebold and Harris swiveled their guns to the right and then shot at five students who were eating lunch in the grass. At least two were hit - one was able to run to safety while the other was too debilitated to leave the area.
As Klebold and Harris walked, they nearly continually threw small bombs into the area.
Klebold then walked down the stairs, toward the injured Graves, Kirklin and Rohrbough. At close range, Klebold shot Rohrbough and then Kirklin. Rohrbough died instantly; Kirklin survived his wounds. Graves had managed to crawl back down to the cafeteria, but lost strength in the doorway. He pretended to be dead and Klebold walked over him to peer into the cafeteria.
The students in the cafeteria started looking out the windows once they heard gunfire and explosions, but they too thought it was either a senior prank or a film being made. A teacher, William "Dave" Sanders, and two custodians realized that this was not just a senior prank and that there was real danger. They tried to get all the students away from the windows and to get down on the floor. Many of the students evacuated the room by going up the stairs to the second level of the school. Thus, when Klebold peered into the cafeteria, it looked empty.
While Klebold was looking into the cafeteria, Harris continued shooting outside. He hit Anne Marie Hochhalter as she was getting up to flee.
When Harris and Klebold were back together, they turned to enter the school through the west doors, firing as they went. A policeman arrived on the scene and exchanged fire with Harris, but neither Harris nor the policeman was injured. At 11:25, Harris and Klebold entered the school.
Inside the School
Harris and Klebold walked down the north hallway, shooting and laughing as they went. Most of the students not at lunch were still in class and didn't know what was going on. Stephanie Munson, one of several students walking down the hall, saw Harris and Klebold and tried to run out of the building. She was hit in the ankle but managed to make it to safety. Klebold and Harris then turned around and headed back down the hallway (toward the entrance they had gone through to enter the school).

School Shootings Timeline

School Shootings are typically reported episodically rather than thematically, as if they were one of a kind events rather than events occurring at a relatively constant rate. American news coverage typically elides what is most common about them: that they are the product of relatively easy legal access to firearms. 

2012

December 14: Newton, CT: Sandy Hook Elementary School: A gunman dies, 26 dead, 18 of them children

August 27: Perry Hall, MD: Perry Hall High School: 15-year-old student allegedly shoots and wounds 17 year old student. Perry Hall High School Shooting: Student Shot On First Day Of Classes At Maryland School Alex Rodriguez. Huffington Post. August 27, 2012.

August 13: College Station TX: Texas A & M University: Police officer and two others were killed in a shooting near campus. 3 Killed in Shootings Near Texas A&M University CNN. August 13, 2012.

June 15: Edmondton, ON: University of Alberta: 3 G4S Security guards are killed in an armoured car robbery. News Report

April 2: Oakland, CA: Oikos University: 43 year old One Goh, a former nursing student, is suspected of using a .45 caliber pistol to kill 7 and wound 3 in a classroom before being apprehended.

March 24: Starkville, MS: Mississippi State University student John Sanderson is shot to death in his dormitory room.

March 19: Toulose, France: 23 year old Islamist terrorist Mohamed Merah kills four, including three children, in a drive-by shooting at the entrance to the Ozar Hatorah Jewish day school. He later dies in a shootout on March 22 after a 32-hour standoff with police at his apartment building.

March 7: Jacksonville, Florida: After learning that he had been dismissed, 28 year old teacher Shane Schumerth shoots to death Episcopal High School's Head of School, Dale Regan, before killing himself with the same gun. His students reported that the young conservative killer was more interested in talking about Republican politics in the classroom than teaching Spanish. Schumerth used an easy to purchase AK-47 to commit his murder-suicide.

February 27: Chardon, OH - Gunman opens fire inside the cafeteria of Chardon High School, killing three students and wounding two others chosen at random. Ohio School Suspect Says Shooting Was Random Act The Guardian. February 28, 2012

February 24: Bremmerton, WA- Gunman shot an 8 year old girl in class. He was charged with an unlawful possession of a gun, bringing a dangerous weapon to school and thrid degree assault.

2011

December 8: Blacksburg, VA - Radford University student Ross Truett Ashley shoots Virginia Tech University policeman Deriek W. Crouse to death before killing himself with the same handgun. State Police Say They are Confident Va. Tech Gunman Acted Alone in Officer's Killing Chicago Tribune. December 8, 2011.

July 22: Sundvollen, Norway - Norway mourned on Sunday 93 people killed in an atrocity and car bombing by a Norwegian conservative Anders Behring Breivik, who carried out his attacks as "atrocious, but necessary" to defeat liberal immigration policies and the spread of Islam.

April 19: Houston, Texas: Ross Elementary School kindergartner's loaded gun discharges in the cafetaria. Three students injured by fragments. Kindergartner Brings Gun to Texas School, 3 Hurt Juan A. Lozano. Associated Press. April 19, 2011.

April 7: Rio de Janiero, Brazil: Tasso da Silveira School former student 23 year old Wellington Oliveira shoots and kills 11 elementary students before killing himself. 11 Children Killed in Brazil School Shooting Juliana Barbassa. Associated Press and Salon. April 7, 2011.

April 6: Opelika, Alabama: 34 year old man is in custody, suspected of shooting and killing one and wounding three others in domestic violence on the campus of Opelika State Technical College.

March 31: Houston, Texas: Worthing High School: One killed and five others injured in a possible gang related shooting on the football field. 1 dead in Worthing High School Shooting

March 25: Martinsville, Indiana: Martinsville West Middle School student is critically wounded in a shooting and a 15 year old later taken in custody. Student in Critical Condition Following Martinsville School Shooting Indystar.com. March 25, 2011.

February 7: Youngstown, Ohio: 25 year old Youngstown State University senior Jamail E. Johnson is shot to death as he tried to separate two groups at an Omega Psi Phi fraternity house party on campus. Another 11, including a criticalkly injured 17 year old girl, are wounded. In custody are 19 year old Braylon L. Rogers and 22 year old Columbus E. Jones Jr. College Student Shot to Death at Ohio Frat House Thomas A. Sheeran. ABC.News. February 7, 2011.

January 18: Gardena, Los Angeles County, California: two Gardena High School students are in critical condition after the accidental discharge of a gun in the backpack of a third student Police: At Least Three People Shot in L.A.-Area School Shooting CNN. January 18, 2011.

January 18: Jericho, Vermont: 15 year old Mount Mansfield Union High School student dies after shooting himself.

January 5: Omaha, Nebraska: 17 year old Millard South High School student Robert Butler, Jr., the son of an Omaha police detective, shoots and kills Vice Principal Vicki Kaspar and shoots and wounds Principal Curtis Case. After fleeing the scene he takes his own life. Nebraska School Shooting Ends in Two Deaths Associated Press and The New York Times. January 6, 2011.

2010

November 29: Marinette, Wisconsin: 15 year old Samuel Hengel, a Boy Scout and a Baptist, takes his teacher and 23 fellow students hostage for five hours before taking his own life.

October 8: San Diego, California: Brendan O’Rourke, 41, opens fire at Kelley Elementary School with his registered .357 magnum revolver and wounding two girls, six and seven years old. Source: Alleged San Diego Schoolyard Gunman Former Springfield Resident by Julia Watson. The Associated Press and S-J R.Com. October 11, 2010.

September 28: Austin, Texas: Sophomore mathematics major Colton Tooley, armed with an AK-47, fires several shots before entering Perry Castaneda Library and then kills himself on the sixth floor of the building. Gunman at University of Texas Austin Takes Own Life, Lockdown Lifted ABC News. September 28, 2010.

September 23: Ystradgynlais, south Wales: Teacher Darren Jones is shot in the face with pellet gun by a 13 year old at Maesydderwen Comprehensive School. The Press Association

September 22: Myrtle Beach, South Carolina: School Resource officer is wounded in a shooting by a freshman student at Socastee High School after multiple devices (pipe bombs) were found around the school. Bellingham Herald

August 17: McKinley, Texas: Gun battle in front of a police station adjacent to the Colin County Community College results in a campus shutdown. source

March 9: Columbus, Ohio: Shooting in the Ohio State University campus maintenance building left one employee dead and two others wounded, with one suspect taken into custody. News Source

February 23: Littleton, Colorado: 32-year-old unemployed ranchhand named Bruco Strong Eagle Eastwood shoots two students at Deer Creek Middle School: 14-year-old Matt Thieu and 13-year old Reagan Weber.

February 13: Huntsville, Alabama: Three biology faculty (Gopi K. Podila, Maria Ragland Davis and Adriel Johnson) are killed and three others (Luis Cruz-Vera, Leahy, Stephanie Monticello) wounded when a biology professor allegedly opens fire at a faculty meeting at the University of Alabama, Hunsville. MSNBC New Report

2009

June 24: Parkersburg, Iowa: Football coach Ed Thomas is shot to death at Aplington-Parkersburg High School. Former student and football player, 24 year old Mark Daryl Becker is arrested. Des Moines Register News Report

April 26: Hampton, Virginia: Three wounded in a shooting in a dormitory at Hampton University.

April 10: Dearborn, Michigan: man and woman are found shot to death in a classroom at Henry Ford Community College in an apparent muder/suicide.

March 11: Winnenden, near Stuttgart, Germany: Gunman believed to be a 17 year old at Albertville secondary school kills 10. BBC News Report

February 17: Detroit, Michigan: Dajuan Devon Sutton arrested for wounding two non-students at Central High School.

January 7: Budapest, Hungary: A principal and teacher are killed and a security guard wounded when a masked gunman opens fire in a private elementary school in the 21st District. The security guard and the school's finance director are arrested the following day.

2008

November 21: Savannah, Georgia: 19 year old Savannah State University Deven McIntosh students wounds another student.

November 18: Ceres, California: 18 year old Central Valley High School student wounds another student during an argument as they walk out of class.

November 4: Los Angeles, California: 18-year-old former student Luis Gabriel Rosas is shot outside Bell High School gymnasium and then dies before a crowd of 40.

October 27: Conway, Arkansas: two University of Central Arkansas students, 18 year old Ryan Henderson and 19 year old Chavares Block are shot to death. A non-student, Martrevis Norman, is wounded.

September 23: Kauhajoki, Finland: 22-year-old student shoots and kills 9 fellow students and an instructor before committing suicide.

February 14: Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois: Stephen P. Kazmierczak, 27, a former sociology graduate student, opens fire in crowded science lecture hall, kiling 5 and wounding 18, before killing himself. His weapons inluded two handguns, including a Glock, and a shotgun. U.S. news media sources self-censor their news coverage by avoiding any discussion of the easy availability of firearms in the U.S. as a possible cause.

February 14: E.O. Green School, Ventura, California: 14-year-old is arrested after 15 years old Lawrence King is shot to death. Classmates of the slain satated that he had recently proclaimed himself gay and that a verbal confrontation about the victim's sexual orientation the day before the killing had included the arrested 14-year-old.

February 8: Louisiana Technical College, Baton Rouge, Louisiana: A women shoots amd kills two students and then herself.

January 4: Chorwari Village, Madhya Pradesh, India: Drarmu, a 13-year-old student, is shot and killed by a 15 year-old student.

2007

December 11: Gurgaon (suburb of Delhi), India: Abhishek Tyagi, a 14-year-old, was shot and killed at the private Euro International School by two students with an imported .32 Harrison pistol.

November 7: Tuusula, Finland: An 18-year-old student at Jokela High School opened shoots to death seven students and a principal before shooting himself in the head. He died later on the day of the shooting in a hospital in Southern Finland.

October 10: Cleveland, Ohio: 14-year-old shoots and wounds two teachers and two students at SuccessTech Academy alternative high school, before killing himself.

May 23: Toronto, Ontario: 14-year-old student was shot and killed at C.W. Jefferys Collegiate Institute (secondary school). Also, a 14-year-old in New Brunswick was arrested after a bomb was found in his school, and six Ontario teenagers were arrested for bomb threats directed at an elementary school.

April 16: Blacksburg, Virginia: Thirty-two killed at Virginia Tech University by a student who then kills himself.

April 2: Seattle, Washington: murder-suicide at the University of Washington leaves two dead.

March 30: Mytle Beach, South Carolina: 18-year-old student at Mytle Beach High School is shot in the upper thigh with a gun he carried to school in a bag.

March 22: Burlington Township, New Jersey: Burlington Township High School conducts a Columbine event drill but encounters howls of outrage from Christian protestant fundamentalists angry that the two mock shooters were "Christians." Yet another example of Conservative Correctness.

February 15: Newington, Connecticut: sixteen year old arrested in plot to attack 20 students with bombs and firearms at Newington High School. No casualties.

January 3: Tacoma, Washington. Seventeen year old Samnang Kok is shot to death at Henry Foss High School. Eighteen year old Douglas Chanthabouly is arrested. The victim is the father of an 18 month old child.

January 3: Fayetteville, North Carolina. A fourteen year old is arrested after discharging a gun at Westover High School without injuring anyone.

2006

November 20: Emsdetten, North Rhine Westphalia: 18 year old former student Sebastian Bosse enters Geschwister Scholl, fires shots from a pistol wounding 3 students aged 12 to 15, a female teacher and the janitor, takes hostages and sets off smoke bombs. He dies from wounds. Source

November 6: Georgetown, Texas: Two juvenile male students (younger than 17) arrested in school shooting plot aimed at faculty and students in McNeil High School (north of Austin). The two are charged with conspiracy to commit capital murder.

October 9: Joplin, Missouri: Mask wearing 13-year-old male student at Memorial Middle School points an AK-47 at two students and tells them don't "make me do this" before firing the weapon into the ceiling. No casualties.

October 2: Las Vegas, Nevada: Mojave High School and Elizondo Elementary are locked down because of the appearance of a former student armed with an AK-47 on the campus of the former. No shots were fired and the gunman escaped a police dragent of the immediate neighborhood.

October 2: Lancaster County, Pennsylvania: Milk truck driver Charles Carl Roberts IV drops off his own children at school and then drives to the West Nickel Mines Amish School where he uses a 9 mm pistol to shoot and kill three girls aged six to thirteen , another two girls later die, wounds five other girls before shooting and killing himself.

September 29: Rural southwestern Wisconsin: Easy access to guns claimed another victim when a former student armed with several guns enters the Weston School and shoots its principal John Klang.

September 28: Bailey, Colorado: 54-year-old homeless man armed with a revolver and automatic pistol takes 6 girl students hostage at Platte Canyon High School, kills one 16 year old and then kills himself.

September 15: Greenbay, Wisconsin: William C. Cornell and Shawn R. Sturtz, both 17, are arrested for plotting a "columbine style" school shooting at East High School. On September 17, a 18 old year friend of the two and a former East High School student, Bradley Netwal, is also arrested.

September 13: Mississauga, Ontario: 12 year old boy is arrested after a Queen Elizabeth Senior Public School student was shot in the hand with a pellet gun.

September 13: Montreal, Quebec: 25 year old with a Mohawk haircut opened fire in the Dawson College cafeteria, killing a 20 year old woman and wounding 19 others before himself being shot to death by a policeman.

August 31: Hillsborough, North Carolina: 19 year old accused of killing his father is arrested after wounding two students. Pipe bombs and firearms found in his minivan.

August 24: Essex, Vermont: 26-year-old Christopher A. Williams entered Essex Elementary School intending to kill his ex-girlfriend and instead killed one teacher and wounded another. This occurred after he had shot and killed ex-girlfriend's mother dead.

August 4: Modesto, California: "Accidental" discharge of a firearm by a 23-year-old off duty security guard, who was not licensed to carry a concealed weapon, wounds 17-year-old student at California Beauty College. She is paralyzed from the waist down.

June 5: Venice, California: Seventeen year old male student is shot to death in the parking lot of Venice High School at 3:10 in the afternoon. Young male suspect flees into Oakwood area of Venice.

April 24: Puyallup, Washington. Sixteen year old arrested for plotting to shoot people at Rogers High School and then commit suicide "to finally go out in a blaze of hatred and fury."

April 22: North Pole, Alaska. Six Seventh graders students, all aged 13, arrested in plot to curt off North Pole Middle School's power and telephone systems, kill victims and flee the town. The six are among 15 students suspended from school. Alaska Kids' School Shooting Stopped CBS News April 22, 2006

April 20: Platte City, Missouri: Two seventeen year old students arrested in a plot at Platte County R-3 High School to stage a Columbine style atrocity on the anniversary of the event.

April 20: Riverton, Kansas. Five students aged 16 to 18 are arrested in a plot at Riverton High School to stage a Columbine style atrocity on the anniversary of the event.

April 5: Scottsboro, Alabama. Seventh grader is expelled from Scottsboro Junior High School for fabricating a school shooting plot.

April 5: Washington, DC. Two shot outside Roosevelt High School, a 19-year-old and 18-year- old are wounded.

March 23: Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Fifteen year old and 16-year-old Tolman High School students are arrested for allegedly starting rumor of an imminent Columbine-style shooting.

February 23: Douglas County, Oregon. Vincent Wayne Leodoro shot and wounded a fellow student, 16-year-old sophomore Joseph Monti.

2005

December: Lancaster, California: A 17-year-old and 15-year-old are arrested for planning a Valentine's Day attack involving explosives and cutting off the arms of a young woman.

November 9: Jacksboro, Tennessee. A 15-year-old shoots and kills the assistant principal at Campbell County High School and seriously wounds 2 other administrators.

March 21: Red Lake, Minnesota. 16-year-old Jeff Weise kills grandfather and companion, arrives at his school where he kills 1 teacher, 1 security guard, 5 students, and finally himself, leaving a total of 10 dead.

March 14: Reno, Nevada. Later saying that he was tired of being disparaged a 14 year old shoots two school mates at Pine Middle School.

2004

Sept. 28: Carmen de Patagones, Argentina. 14-year-old Argentininan student kills 3 students killed and wounded 5. The handgun he used belonged to his father.

2003

September 24: Cold Spring, Minnesota. 2 students are killed at Rocori High School by 15 year old John Jason McLaughlin.

April 24: Red Lion, Pennsylvania. James Sheets, 14, killed principal Eugene Segro of Red Lion Area Junior High School before killing himself.

April 14: New Orleans, Louisiana. Gang gun fight from 4 teenagers kills 1 and wounds 3 students at John McDonogh High School.

2002

April 29: Vlasenica, Bosnia-Herzegovina. 1 teacher killed and 1 wounded by Dragoslav Petkovic, 17, who then killed himself.

April 26: Erfurt, Germany. 13 teachers, two students, and 1 policeman killed, 10 wounded by Robert Steinhaeuser, 19, at the Johann Gutenberg secondary school. Steinhaeuser then killed himself.

February 19: Freising, Germany. 2 killed in Eching by a man at the factory where he had been fired; he then traveled to Freising and killed the headmaster of the technical school from which he had been expelled. He also wounded another teacher before killing himself.

2001

November 12: Caro, Michigan. Chris Buschbacher, 17, took 2 hostages at the Caro Learning Center before killing himself.

March 30: Gary, Indiana. 1 student killed by Donald R. Burt, Jr., a 17-year-old student who had been expelled from Lew Wallace High School.

March 22: Granite Hills, California. 1 teacher and 3 students wounded by Jason Hoffman, 18, at Granite Hills High School. Hoffman is then shot and killed by a police officer.

March 7: Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Elizabeth Catherine Bush, 14, wounded student Kimberly Marchese in the cafeteria of Bishop Neumann High School; she was depressed and frequently teased.

March 5: Santee, California. 2 killed and 13 wounded by Charles Andrew Williams, 15, firing from a bathroom at Santana High School.

January 18: Jan, Sweden. One student killed by two boys, ages 17 and 19.

January 17: Baltimore, Maryland. One student shot and killed at Lake Clifton Eastern High School.

January 15: New York, N.Y. Teenager wounds 2 students at Martin Luther King Jr. High School.

2000

September 26: New Orleans, Louisiana. 2 students wounded at Woodson Middle School.

June 28: University of Washington, Seattle, Washington: Medical resident Dr. Jian Chen kills his supervisor and then himself in his supervisor's office.

May 26: Lake Worth, Florida. One teacher, Barry Grunow, shot and killed at Lake Worth Middle School by Nate Brazill, 13, with .25-caliber semiautomatic pistol on the last day of classes.

March: Branneburg, Germany One teacher killed by a 15-year-old student, who then shot himself. The shooter has been in a coma ever since.

March 10: Savannah, Georgia. Two students killed by Darrell Ingram, 19, while leaving a dance sponsored by Beach High School.

Feb. 29: Mount Morris Township, Michigan. Six-year-old Kayla Rolland shot dead at Buell Elementary School near Flint, Mich. The assailant was identified as a six-year-old boy with a .32-caliber handgun.

1999

December 7: Veghel, Netherlands. One teacher and three students wounded by a 17-year-old student.

December 6: Fort Gibson, Oklahoma. Four students wounded as Seth Trickey, 13, opened fire with a 9mm semiautomatic handgun at Fort Gibson Middle School.

November 19: Deming, New Mexico. Victor Cordova Jr., 12, shot and killed Araceli Tena, 13, in the lobby of Deming Middle School.

May 20: Conyers, Georgia. Six students injured at Heritage High School by Thomas Solomon, 15, who was reportedly depressed after breaking up with his girlfriend.

April 28: Taber, Alberta, Canada. One student killed, one wounded at W. R. Myers High School in first fatal high school shooting in Canada in 20 years. The suspect, a 14-year-old boy, had dropped out of school after he was severely ostracized by his classmates.

April 20: Littleton, Colorado. 14 students (including killers) and one teacher killed, 24 others wounded at Columbine High School in the nation's deadliest school shooting. Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, had plotted for a year to kill at least 500 and blow up their school. At the end of their hour-long rampage, they turned their guns on themselves.

1998

June 15: Richmond, Virginia: One teacher and one guidance counselor wounded by a 14-year-old boy in the school hallway.

May 21: Springfield, Oregon. Two students killed, 22 others wounded in the cafeteria at Thurston High School by 15-year-old Kip Kinkel. Kinkel had been arrested and released a day earlier for bringing a gun to school. Both of his parents were later found dead at home.

May 19: Fayetteville, Tennessee. One student killed in the parking lot at Lincoln County High School three days before he was to graduate. The victim was dating the ex-girlfriend of his killer, 18-year-old honor student Jacob Davis.

April 24, 1998: Edinboro, Pennsylvania. One teacher, John Gillette, killed, two students wounded at a graduation dance at James W. Parker Middle School. Andrew Wurst, 14, was charged.

April 28: Pomona, California: 14 year old kills 2 and wounds 1.

March 24: Jonesboro, Arkansas. Four students and one teacher killed, ten others wounded outside as Westside Middle School emptied during a false fire alarm. Mitchell Johnson, 13, and Andrew Golden, 11, shot at their classmates and teachers from the woods.

1997

December 15: Stamps, Arkansas. Two students wounded. Colt Todd, 14, was hiding in the woods when he shot the students as they stood in the parking lot.

December 1: West Paducah, Kentucky. Three students killed, five wounded by Michael Carneal, 14, as they participated in a prayer circle at Heath High School.

October 1: Pearl, Mississippi Two students killed and seven wounded by Luke Woodham, 16, who was also accused of killing his mother. He and his friends were said to be outcasts who worshiped Satan.

March: Sanaa, Yemen Eight people (six students and two others) at two schools killed by Mohammad Ahman al-Naziri.

February 19: Bethel, Alaska Principal and one student killed, two others wounded by Evan Ramsey, 16.

1996

March 13: Dunblane, Scotland 16 children and one teacher killed at Dunblane Primary School by Thomas Hamilton, who then killed himself. 10 others wounded in attack.

February 2: Moses Lake, Washington. Two students and one teacher killed, one other wounded when 14-year-old Barry Loukaitis opened fire on his algebra class.

1993

January 18: Grayson, Kentucky: 17-year-old Gary Scott Pennington walked into an English classroom and fatally shot his teacher Deanna McDavid and head custodian Marvin Hicks, and held classmates hostage for fifteen minutes before surrendering to police. Pennington was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 25 years. He is currently imprisoned at the Kentucky State Penitentiary in Eddyville, Kentucky.

1992

May 1: Olivehurst, California: 20 year old Eric Houston kills 4 four and wounds 10 in a seige at his former high school.

1991

November 1: Iowa City, Iowa: a 28 year old Chinese physics graduate student opens fire with a handgun, killing 5, including himself, and wounding 2 at the University of Iowa. The rampage takes place in the Physics Building and the Graduate College.

1989

December 6: Montreal, Quebec: Marc Lepine shoots and kills 14 female engineering students at Ecole Polytechnique.

January 25: Rauma, Finland: a 14-year-old boy shoots and kills two of his fellow pupils, both of them boys, during a lesson at Raumanmeri secondary school. Reportedly, he also tried to shoot a third boy but the bullet missed.

January 17: Stockton, California: 26 year old Patrick Purdy, armed with an AK-47 assault rifle, kills 5 wounds 30 fire in a Stockton elementary school playground. He then kills himself.

1988

September 26: Greenwood, South Carolina: 19 year old man armed with a .22 caliber pistol kills 2 eight-year-olds and wounds 9 other people at Oakland Elementary School. "10 Years Later, Greenwood Shooting Still Affects Those Involved." Assocviated Press. September 27, 1998.

May 20, 1988: Winnetka, Illinois: 30 year old Laurie Dann kills 1, wounds 6 students at a Winnetka elementary school. She then wounds 1 in a nearby house before committing suicide.

1985

January 21: Goddard, Kansas: 14 year old James Alan Kearbey, armed with a M1-A semiautomatic rifle and a .357-caliber handgun, kills principal and wounds 2 teachers and a student at his Goddard junior high school.

1979

January 29: 16 year old Brenda Spencer kills 2 and wounds 7 because she "didn't like Mondays".

1975

May 28: Brampton, Ontario: 16 year old Michael Slobodian shoots and kills a teacher (Mrs. Wright in classroom) and student (John Slinger in first floor washroom), and wounds 13 at Brampton Centennial Secondary School.

1966

August 1: Austin, Texas: Charles Whitman kills 15 and wounds 31 at the University of Texas. 

Aurora Man Convicted of Sexual Contact with Female Passenger Aboard Airline Flight to Chicago

CHICAGO—An Aurora man was convicted today of sexually groping the inner thigh of a Chicago-area woman while they were seated next to each other aboard an airplane from Las Vegas to Chicago in June 2011. The defendant, Srinivasa S. Erramilli, who was convicted twice previously of nearly identical crimes, was found guilty of felony abusive sexual contact by a federal jury following a three-day trial in U.S. District Court.
Erramilli, 45, a software consultant, remains free on bond pending sentencing, which was set for April 26, 2013, by U.S. District Judge Joan H. Lefkow. He faces a maximum sentence of two years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Evidence at the trial showed that Erramilli was the last passenger to board a Southwest Airlines flight to Chicago’s Midway Airport on June 14, 2011, and was seated in the only open seat available between the victim, who had chosen a window seat to sleep during the flight, and her husband, who had chosen an aisle seat to enable easier access during the flight. The couple had traveled to Las Vegas for their 34th wedding anniversary.
The victim, who was wearing shorts during the flight, testified that Erramilli groped her three times aboard the plane. The first time, she awoke to feeling something brush against her thigh; the second time, she testified that she awoke to feeling “pressure” on her thigh. The third time, the victim testified that Erramilli placed his hand up the leg of her shorts and then rubbed and grabbed her inner thigh. She struck Erramilli and yelled at him after realizing that he had been groping her. Other passengers and flight attendants also testified during the trial.
The jury also heard testimony from another victim who was seated in the row in front of Erramilli when he fondled her breast on a flight from Detroit to Chicago in August 1999. Erramilli pleaded guilty to battery in Cook County in 2000 and was sentenced to two years’ probation and five days’ community service. In 2002, Erramilli was sentenced in Federal Court in Detroit to three years’ probation after he was convicted of abusive sexual contact for groping the breast of yet another woman aboard a flight from San Jose, California to Detroit.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bolling W. Haxall and Heather K. McShain.
The verdict was announced by Gary S. Shapiro, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Thomas R. Trautmann, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Chicago Police Department assisted in the investigation.

Las Vegas Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Robbing Three Banks in May 2011

ALBUQUERQUE—This morning in federal court in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Justin A. Wolaver, 27, of Las Vegas, Nevada, was sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment for robbing three banks, including a bank in Raton, New Mexico, in May 2011. Wolaver will be on supervised release for five years after he completes his prison sentence. He also was ordered to pay full restitution to each of the three victim banks.
U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales said that Wolaver pled guilty on July 27, 2012, to (1) the armed robbery of Bank of America in Hudson, Florida, on May 2, 2011; (2) the robbery of Chase Bank in Flagstaff, Arizona, on May 9, 2011; and (3) the armed robbery of the Bank of America in Raton on May 23, 2011.
Court records reflect that Wolaver was arrested after robbing the Bank of America in Raton at gunpoint on May 23, 2011. Wolaver walked into the bank, approached the bank teller, displayed what appeared to be a handgun, and verbally demanded money. After the bank teller provided cash to Wolaver, he fled in a small, white sedan. Officers of the Raton Police Department followed the sedan with lights and sirens as it left the bank. Officers of the New Mexico State Police and Colfax County Sheriff’s Office joined the pursuit when Wolaver tried to outrun the police. Wolaver was apprehended approximately 40 miles south of Raton. After his arrest, Wolaver confessed to robbing the Bank of America in Raton. He also confessed to robbing two other banks earlier that month.
Wolaver has been in federal custody since May 24, 2011. On July 27, 2012, Wolaver agreed to waive his right to be prosecuted in the judicial districts where he committed the out of state crimes and to plead guilty to the bank robberies in Florida and Arizona in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico.
The case was investigated by the Albuquerque Field Office of the FBI, the Raton Police Department, the New Mexico State Police, and the Colfax County Sheriff’s Office and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shammara H. Henderson.

FBI Atlanta Presents Director’s Community Leadership Award

ATLANTA—Today, Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Mark F. Giuliano, FBI Atlanta, presented the Director’s Award for Community Leadership for 2012 to Soumaya Khalifa, founder and executive director of the Islamic Speakers Bureau of Atlanta (ISB). In this role, Ms. Khalifa has facilitated numerous interactive presentations and workshops within the community to provide for a better understanding of American Muslims and how they live their lives. On April 5, 2013, FBI Director Robert S. Mueller will host all of the FBI’s 56 selectees from around the country at a national ceremony to be held at FBI Headquarters with Ms. Khalifa present as Atlanta FBI’s honoree.
Ms. Khalifa, born in Alexandria, Egypt, raised in Texas, and earning degrees at the University of Houston and Georgia State University, saw the need to educate and inform others unfamiliar with the Islamic faith based communities. As an extension of her duties at the ISB, Ms. Khalifa is president of her consulting firm, Khalifa Consulting, which specializes in various diversity based training.
Ms. Khalifa is a recent graduate of the FBI’s Citizens Academy and has added valuable insight into various issues surrounding her community and serves as a conduit to other communities within the Atlanta area. Under her leadership, the ISB is committed to upholding the right to freedom of expression and unconditionally condemns any use of violence as a means to protest offensive or hateful speech.
In addition, Ms. Khalifa works with students, business executives, and even military members in providing an informative lunch time program used to address common stereotypes regarding the Muslim community.

Four-Time Fraudster Sentenced to 44 Months in Prison

BALTIMORE—U.S. District Judge Marvin J. Garbis sentenced Ronald Louis Coleman, age 65, of Baltimore, today to 44 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for using one or more unauthorized credit and/or debit cards. Judge Garbis also ordered Coleman to pay restitution of $102,314.54.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein and Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
According to Coleman’s plea agreement, from March through December 9, 2011, Coleman possessed a skimmer device, which he provided to an employee of a popular Baltimore restaurant so that the employee could obtain the credit card numbers from patrons of the restaurant as they paid their bills. The employee skimmed a number of cards each week and then turned the skimmer over to Coleman, who downloaded the information using a computer. Coleman used the information to encode blank cards with the stolen credit card account number and then he and others used the cards to obtain cash at ATMs and to purchase merchandise and services.
During the same time, Coleman directed other individuals to call American Express, posing as an American Express employee, to obtain access to active and closed accounts in the American Express computer system. In this way, Coleman caused American Express to remove holds that were placed on accounts, to issue unauthorized credit cards, and to have those cards mailed to an address provided by Coleman. Coleman removed the cards from the mail, or directed others to do so, and then he and others used the unauthorized cards to make purchases. A search of Coleman’s home on December 9, 2011, recovered three blank cards encoded with different American Express credit card numbers belonging to individuals living outside Maryland. The investigation showed that at least 10 American Express accounts were compromised, and the total loss to American Express is between $70,000 and $120,000.
At the time of this activity, Coleman was on supervised release for a previous federal conviction related to credit card fraud and had been convicted of similar crimes two other times.
Today’s announcement is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices, and state and local partners, it is the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory, and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state, and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions, and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked the FBI for its work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein praised Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard C. Kay, who is prosecuting the case.