Tag: FBI

Posted on

FBI says Dylann Roof should not have been cleared to purchase a weapon

DylannStormRoof_theridgewoodblog

By Pamela Brown, Evan Perez and Don Lemon, CNN

(CNN)Dylann Roof, the man who allegedly killed nine people in a Charleston church last month, should not have been able to buy a gun used in the slaughter, the FBI has now determined, contradicting earlier assertions that the background check was done properly, a law enforcement official tells CNN and FBI’s director told reporters in Washington.

FBI Director James Comey told reporters Friday “this rips all of our hearts out” and “we are all sick this happened.” He said he concluded the mistake had been made Thursday night after reviewing the latest information.

What we know about Roof, as told in photographs

Within days after the shooting, agents on the ground knew something was amiss and suspected that Roof’s arrest record should have prohibited the gun purchase, according to law enforcement officials.

Officials began a review, as is common after major shootings. About a week after the shooting, examiners officially denied the Roof application.

Comey said the FBI made the error due to a breakdown in the background check system and confusion with paperwork between the FBI, local police departments and county jurisdictions.

https://www.cnn.com/2015/07/10/politics/dylann-roof-fbi-gun-south-carolina/

Posted on

Lois Lerner, DOJ and FBI Had Meeting About Targeting Obama’s Opponents, Networks ;ABC, NBC, CBS Refuse to Report

pic_giant_052313_Lois-Lerner-Fifth-Amendment

By Geoffrey Dickens | July 8, 2015 | 3:18 PM EDT

What’s it going to take for the networks to start seriously reporting on the IRS scandal again? On Tuesday, Judicial Watch announced the stunning revelation that newly discovered Department of Justice and IRS documents showed there was “an October 2010 meeting between Lois Lerner, DOJ officials and the FBI to plan for the possible criminal prosecution of targeted nonprofit organizations for alleged illegal political activity.” This latest bombshell has yet to be reported on any of the Big Three (ABC, NBC, CBS) networks.

The July 7 Judicial Watch press release added: “The newly obtained records also reveal that the Obama DOJ wanted IRS employees who were going to testify to Congress to turn over documents to the DOJ before giving them to Congress. Records also detail how the Obama IRS gave the FBI 21 computer disks, containing 1.25 million pages of confidential IRS returns from 113,000 nonprofit social 501(c)(4) welfare groups  – or nearly every 501(c)(4) in the United States – as part of its prosecution effort.”

Posted on

FBI admits Patriot Act snooping powers didn’t crack any major terrorism cases

fbi-jackets-generic

POSTED BY Megan Stiles May 22, 2015

FBI agents cannot name a single terrorism-related case that they have solved due to the NSA spying programs authorized in the Patriot Act. Why are we not surprised? From the Washington Times:

FBI agents can’t point to any major terrorism cases they’ve cracked thanks to the key snooping powers in the Patriot Act, the Justice Department’s inspector general said in a report Thursday that could complicate efforts to keep key parts of the law operating.

Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz said that between 2004 and 2009, the FBI tripled its use of bulk collection under Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which allows government agents to compel businesses to turn over records and documents, and increasingly scooped up records of Americans who had no ties to official terrorism investigations

https://www.campaignforliberty.org/national-blog/fbi-admits-patriot-act-snooping-powers-didnt-crack-major-terrorism-cases/

Posted on

FBI forums focus on ISIS recruitment threat in N.J.

ISIS_theridgewoodblog

MAY 18, 2015, 10:28 PM    LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015, 10:31 PM
BY HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

Law enforcement officials, alarmed by Islamic State’s sophisticated online recruitment campaigns and by the rising number of young people they’ve caught trying to join the extremist group, are reaching out to warn community leaders and clergy across New Jersey.

“It is a threat to our young people. It is a threat to the future of all of us,” said William Gale, supervisory special agent for the FBI’s Newark Division, in a recent forum in Wayne.

Aside from delivering warnings about the Islamic State’s luring of young people, meetings between law enforcement and Muslims in metro areas around the country are intended to open lines of communication and provoke an exchange of information, federal agents say. Muslims leaders, who have hosted the talks, say the outreach is a sign of cooperation.

But for Muslims whose forebears built local businesses and institutions, emotions provoked by talk of Islamic extremism mingle with a certain wariness that their communities could be stigmatized by the actions of a few. The worry becomes palpable with fresh memories of undercover spying by NYPD on New Jersey mosques and Muslim student groups.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/fbi-forums-focus-on-isis-recruitment-threat-in-n-j-1.1337318

Posted on

Amtrak Train Possibly Hit Before Wreck

16TRAINWEB2-master180

Photo
An image provided by the SEPTA line shows the shattered windshield of one of its trains, which was struck by an unknown object shortly before the Amtrak derailment.

Amtrak Train Possibly Hit Before Wreck

By DAVE PHILIPPS and EMMA G. FITZSIMMONSMAY 15, 2015

PHILADELPHIA — The Amtrak train that derailed Tuesday, killing eight people and injuring more than 200, may have been struck by an object before it careened off the tracks, an assistant conductor on the train told investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board.

At a news conference on Friday, Robert L. Sumwalt, the safety board official who is leading the investigation, said an assistant conductor had reported that she believed she heard a radio transmission in which an engineer on a regional line said his train had been struck by a projectile and the engineer on the Amtrak train replied that his had been struck, too.

Mr. Sumwalt said that investigators had found a fist-size circular area of impact on the left side of the Amtrak train’s windshield and that they had asked the Federal Bureau of Investigation to analyze it. He said that the F.B.I. had been called in because it has the forensics expertise needed for the investigation, but that it had not yet begun its analysis.

He said that investigators had also interviewed the engineer and found him “extremely cooperative,” and that the engineer had said he was not fatigued or ill at the time of the accident. But he could not remember anything about the derailment.

Investigators asked the engineer, Brandon Bostian, whether he recalled any projectiles, and he said he did not.

“He was specifically asked that question, and he did not recall anything of that sort,” Mr. Sumwalt said. “But then again, he reported that he does not have any recollection of anything past North Philadelphia.”

The assistant conductor, however, who was working in the cafe car, heard Mr. Bostian talking to an engineer on the Septa regional rail line who said his train had been “hit by a rock or shot at,” according to Mr. Sumwalt. She said she thought she heard Mr. Bostian reply that his train had also been struck.

“Right after she recalled hearing this conversation between her engineer and the Septa engineer, she said she felt a rumbling, and her train leaned over and her car went over on its side,” Mr. Sumwalt said.

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/16/us/amtrak-train-may-have-been-struck-before-it-derailed-officials-say.html?_r=0

Posted on

Cop killings have nearly doubled in past year: FBI

111613DeBlasio_gnm21

By Yaron Steinbuch

May 11, 2015 | 1:24pm

The number of cops killed in the line of duty during violent acts has almost doubled in the past year, the FBI said.

In 2014, 51 cops were killed in a felony crime — up from just 27 the year before, which marked a 35-year low,according to preliminary data released Monday by the FBI.

By region, eight cops were killed during the commission of a crime in the Northeast, 17 in the South, 14 in the West, eight in the Midwest and four in Puerto Rico.

An average of 64 officers were killed per year nationwide from 1980 to 2014 in felony cases, the FBI said.

The data come amid spiking tensions between law enforcement and minority communities after deaths of unarmed black men and boys at the hands of cops in Baltimore, Staten Island and Ferguson, Mo.

The recent turmoil also has shed light on the dangers faced by cops across the country.

Among the 51 slain cops, 46 were shot at with handguns, rifles and shotguns; four were run over by vehicles; and one was killed with the offender’s bare hands, the FBI said.

They faced a variety of situations, including 11 who responded to disturbance calls, 10 who were conducting traffic pursuits or stops, eight who were ambushed and six who were investigating suspicious people or situations.

https://nypost.com/2015/05/11/cop-killings-have-nearly-doubled-in-past-year-fbi/?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=NYPFacebook&utm_medium=SocialFlow

Posted on

FBI director says Islamic State influence growing in U.S

islamic_state_of_iraq

Kevin Johnson, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — In a dramatic assessment of the domestic threat posed by the Islamic State, FBI Director James Comey said Thursday there are “hundreds, maybe thousands” of people across the country who are receiving recruitment overtures from the terrorist group or directives to attack the U.S.

Comey said the Islamic State, also known as ISIL, is leveraging social media in unprecedented ways through Twitter and other platforms, directing messages to the smartphones of “disturbed people” who could be pushed to launch assaults on U.S. targets.

“It’s like the devil sitting on their shoulders, saying ‘kill, kill, kill,”’ Comey said in a meeting with reporters.

The FBI director’s comments come in the midst of a federal investigation into a foiled attack in Garland, Texas, involving two ISIL sympathizers, one of whom, Elton Simpson, was long known to federal authorities.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/05/07/isis-attacks-us/70945534/

Posted on

Brother of fugitive Ramsey luxury car dealer Bobby Khan arrested

anil-a-iqbal

PHOTO COURTESY OF RAMSEY POLICE
Anil A. Iqbal

APRIL 1, 2015, 9:35 AM    LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2015, 1:59 PM
BY STEFANIE DAZIO
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

The brother of a fugitive luxury car dealer was arrested in Egg Harbor Township after a motor vehicle stop Monday.

Anil A. Iqbal, 36, of Egg Harbor Township, was wanted by Ramsey police in connection with an April 2014 crime, Ramsey Police Chief Bryan Gurney said in a news release.

Iqbal’s brother is Afzal “Bobby” Khan, who isaccused of bilking dozens of car owners, banks and financing companies in deals involving Bentleys, Lamborghinis and Porsches at his dealership, Emporio Motor Group in Ramsey.

Iqbal was remanded to the Bergen County Jail on $1 million bail. He is charged with conspiracy to commit theft, theft by extortion, theft by deception and fencing.

Iqbal was an employee at the dealership in April 2014 when a victim brought a 2013 Lamborghini into the dealership on a consignment sale, Gurney said. The car was sold to a Nevada resident for $368,274, but the money was never delivered to the original owner.

Ramsey Detective Brad Smith investigated Iqbal’s alleged crime. Officials from Ramsey, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and the FBI have been investigating the Emporio Motor Group and Khan remains a fugitive.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/brother-of-fugitive-ramsey-luxury-car-dealer-bobby-khan-arrested-1.1299892

Posted on

Glen Rock wig-wearing bank robber still at large, gender unknown

bank-suspect

bank-suspect

Glen Rock wig-wearing bank robber still at large, gender unknown

FEBRUARY 19, 2015, 5:42 PM    LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2015, 5:42 PM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

GLEN ROCK — As detectives continue to pursue the wigged robber behind Wednesday’s mid-morning holdup of the Glen Rock Savings Bank, one question remains: Are police on a manhunt or a ladyhunt?

Questions concerning the gender of the stick-up suspect — who wore women’s sunglasses, a rose-colored wig, and carried a handbag to the heist — continue to go unanswered as speculation grows that the robber is in fact a sir.

Early information from officers suggested the robber was female, but police later clarified the sex of the suspect wasn’t entirely clear.

As the robber fled the bank Wednesday with more than $100,0000 in cash, he or she shed the wig and ditched the gun that was used in the crime’s commission.

Police Chief Fred Stahman commented Wednesday that the robber’s gun may have been designed to fire paintballs.

Soon after photos were released of the suspect, Facebook users commented that the robber couldn’t be a woman with that rugged jawline and seemingly receding hairline.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/glen-rock-wig-wearing-bank-robber-still-at-large-gender-unknown-1.1274633

Posted on

Breaking News: Glen Rock Bank Robbed in Broad Daylight

bank-suspect

bank-suspect

The Glen Rock Police Department released a photo of the suspect on its Facebook page.

Breaking News Glen Rock Bank Robbed in Broad Daylight
February 18,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood Nj, Glen Rock Savings was robbed at gun point this morning at 10:45 am . Sources describe that a women in a pink wig ,armed with a gun and an LV ( Louis Vuitton ) bag robbed the Glen Rock Savings of $116,000  on 183 Rock Road. No one was hurt.

FBI agents as well as officers from Glen Rock, Ridgewood and the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene.

Those with information about the robbery are asked to call Glen Rocj Det. James Calaski at (201) 670-3948 or Det. Sgt Eric Reamy at (201) 670-3947.

Coffee.clubshow?id=mjvuF8ceKoQ&bids=363195

Hotwire US

Microsoft Store

Posted on

FBI: NY Assembly speaker Sheldon Silver arrested, to appear in court later

imgres-2

imgres-2

FBI: NY Assembly speaker Sheldon Silver arrested, to appear in court later

JANUARY 22, 2015, 8:56 AM    LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 2015, 8:57 AM
ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who has been one of the most powerful men in Albany for more than two decades, was arrested Thursday.

FBI spokesman Peter Donald confirmed the 70-year-old Silver was taken into custody around 8 a.m. at FBI headquarters in New York City, but he declined to discuss the charges. Silver was expected to make a court appearance later Thursday, and the U.S. attorney’s office was expected to hold a news conference to discuss the case.

Silver’s spokesman Michael Whyland declined to comment before the arrest.
The arrest sent shock waves through New York’s Capitol as a new legislative session has begun, and it came just a day after Silver shared the stage with Gov. Andrew Cuomo during his State of the State address.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara took over the files of New York’s Moreland anti-corruption commission after Cuomo closed it in April. He said in October that investigations into Albany’s pay-to-play politics are continuing.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/fbi-ny-assembly-speaker-sheldon-silver-arrested-to-appear-in-court-later-1.1233146

Posted on

FBI briefed on alternate Sony hack theory : disgruntled employee

JAPAN-SONY

FBI briefed on alternate Sony hack theory : disgruntled employee

By TAL KOPAN

12/29/14 7:41 PM EST

FBI agents investigating the Sony Pictures hack were briefed Monday by a security firm that says its research points to laid-off Sony staff, not North Korea, as the perpetrator — another example of the continuing whodunit blame game around the devastating attack.

Even the unprecedented decision to release details of an ongoing FBI investigation and President Barack Obama publicly blaming the hermit authoritarian regime hasn’t quieted a chorus of well-qualified skeptics who say the evidence just doesn’t add up.

Researchers from the cyber intelligence company Norse have said their own investigation into the data on the Sony attack doesn’t point to North Korea at all and instead indicates some combination of a disgruntled employee and hackers for piracy groups is at fault.

The FBI says it is standing by its conclusions, but the security community says they’ve been open and receptive to help from the private sector throughout the Sony investigation.

Norse, one of the world’s leading cyber intelligence firms, has been researching the hack since it was made public just before Thanksgiving.

Norse’s senior vice president of market development said that just the quickness of the FBI’s conclusion that North Korea was responsible was a red flag.

“When the FBI made the announcement so soon after the initial hack was unveiled, everyone in the [cyber] intelligence community kind of raised their eyebrows at it, because it’s really hard to pin this on anyone within days of the attack,” Kurt Stammberger said in an interview as his company briefed FBI investigators Monday afternoon.

He said the briefing was set up after his company approached the agency with its findings.

Stammberger said after the meeting the FBI was “very open and grateful for our data and assistance” but didn’t share any of its data with Norse, although that was what the company expected.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/story/2014/12/fbi-briefed-on-alternate-sony-hack-theory-113866.html#ixzz3NNfE6sfl

Posted on

FBI Warns Ferguson Decision ‘Will Likely’ Lead to Violence By Extremists Protesters

imgres-3

FBI Warns Ferguson Decision ‘Will Likely’ Lead to Violence By Extremists Protesters

Nov 17, 2014, 6:34 PM ET
By MIKE LEVINE, PIERRE THOMAS, JACK DATE and JACK CLOHERTY

As the nation waits to hear whether a Missouri police officer will face charges for killing unarmed teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., the FBI is warning law enforcement agencies across the country that the decision “will likely” lead some extremist protesters to threaten and even attack police officers or federal agents.

Peaceful protesters could be caught in the middle, and electrical facilities or water treatment plants could also become targets. In addition, so-called “hacktivists” like the group “Anonymous” could try to launch cyber-attacks against authorities.

“The announcement of the grand jury’s decision … will likely be exploited by some individuals to justify threats and attacks against law enforcement and critical infrastructure,” the FBI says in an intelligence bulletin issued in recent days. “This also poses a threat to those civilians engaged in lawful or otherwise constitutionally protected activities.”

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/fbi-warns-ferguson-decision-lead-violence-extremist-protesters/story?id=26980624

Posted on

7 bomb threats made against 4 Bergen County high schools, other public buildings

imgres-2

7 bomb threats made against 4 Bergen County high schools, other public buildings

NOVEMBER 12, 2014, 12:47 PM    LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2014, 11:15 PM
BY ABBOTT KOLOFF AND STEFANIE DAZIO
STAFF WRITERS |
THE RECORD

Authorities are investigating whether a string of six bomb threats that forced the evacuation on Wednesday of seven school buildings in Bergen County and the Garfield police headquarters were part of a coordinated effort and related to a rash of similar incidents in Massachusetts earlier in the day.

FBI agents are participating in the investigation, according to an agency spokeswoman, and Leonia’s police chief, Thomas Rowe, said he planned to ask the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office to get involved because the incidents involve five jurisdictions — Hackensack, Garfield, Fort Lee, Englewood and Leonia.

“We believe there are commonalities between all these bomb threats,” Rowe said. “It looks like it’s the same person or persons involved. … This is a very serious incident.”

By late-afternoon, state and county bomb-detection K-9 units completed sweeps of the Garfield police station, the high schools in Hackensack, Garfield, Englewood and Fort Lee, and all three schools in Leonia, including its high school, determining that no bombs had been planted, county police Capt. James Mullin said. Authorities said there was no safety reason for any of the schools to remain closed today, and officials in Hackensack, Leonia and Fort Lee confirmed they are reopening.

The bomb threat against the Garfield police station was made at 11:22 a.m., and all of the others were made after 1 p.m. over a span of 20 minutes, said Bergen County Police Chief Brian Higgins. Investigators expect to look at whether there are any similarities to bomb threats made against five Massachusetts schools shortly after noon on Wednesday, he said.

“Obviously, this is bigger than Bergen County,” Higgins said.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/7-bomb-threats-made-against-4-bergen-county-high-schools-other-public-buildings-1.1131879

Posted on

The ugly truth about Cory Booker, New Jersey’s golden boy

saint-cory-booker

The ugly truth about Cory Booker, New Jersey’s golden boy

It’s eight o’clock on a Sunday night in Jersey City, and for the first time this October it’s cold enough to see your breath in front of you with a deep exhale of the Hudson River air. It’s curious, given that, to see a group of a few dozen residents and visitors from neighboring towns assembled in a parking lot next to the train station—while the New York Giants are playing, no less. The workout-gear-clad mayor, Steven Fulop, is hopping up and down with his arms crossed over his chest for warmth, asking me when I think “he” will arrive. (Nuzzi/The Daily Beast)

https://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/10/20/the-ugly-truth-about-cory-booker-new-jersey-s-golden-boy.html