Disbarred Attorney Pleads Guilty to Guardian Account Thefts
Vesselin Mitev New York Law Journal November 06, 2009
A former Brooklyn, N.Y., lawyer has pleaded guilty to fleecing millions of dollars from guardianship accounts he oversaw for incapacitated seniors and children. Steven T. Rondos and his law firm, Raia & Rondos, were indicted in January on money laundering and grand larceny charges for stealing more than $4 million. On Wednesday, Rondos pleaded guilty to all 19 counts of the indictment, said his lawyer, Franklin A. Rothman.
Rondos, who has been free on bail, “acknowledged fully that he committed some wrongful takings,” Rothman said, but added that the amount taken was “very much in dispute.” He said Rondos had paid back around $1 million before any probes had begun. It was later discovered that at least 16 court examiners who oversaw Rondos had signed off on his reports without detecting any red flags. Five examiners resigned in the wake of the investigation and one was suspended. Rondos, who has since been disbarred, faces six to 18 years in prison when sentenced on Jan. 22.
The law firm has pleaded not guilty; its case is on the calendar for Dec.
Hasan’s finances have been a mystery since last week, when the Army major and psychiatrist allegedly shot and killed 13 colleagues at the sprawling Central Texas military base. Hasan earned more than $90,000 a year and had no dependents, yet lived in an aging one-bedroom apartment that rented for about $300 a month.
“You can bet there is an ongoing, extensive investigation into every single financial transaction he made,” said Matt Orwig, a former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Texas who has no direct knowledge of the Hasan case. “Federal investigative agencies are very good at tracing the flow of money, both to him and from him.”
Authorities know that Hasan sent repeated e-mails, starting some time in December 2008, to a radical Muslim cleric in Yemen. That cleric, Anwar al-Awlaki, formerly served as imam of a large northern Virginia mosque where Hasan worshipped. The U.S.-born cleric praised Hasan after the massacre as “a hero.”
In January, al-Awlaki told readers of his blog about “44 ways to support jihad” – a term often translated as “holy war.” Many of his points dealt with ways to fund such efforts.
“Probably the most important contribution the Muslims of the West could do for Jihad is making Jihad with their wealth,” al-Awlaki wrote. “In many cases the mujahideen are in need of money more than they are in need of men.”
He also stressed the importance of “avoiding the life of luxury.”
A spokesman for the U.S. Justice Department referred questions Wednesday to the FBI, which didn’t return a message seeking comment. FBI officials have said they studied Hasan’s communications with an unnamed radical Muslim and concluded they were a harmless part of his academic research.
Hoekstra said he wants to know whether authorities knew about Hasan’s behavior when they decided his contacts with the Yemeni imam were essentially harmless.
“The conclusion based off just the e-mails might have been perfectly legitimate,” Hoekstra said. “But if the [terrorism] analyst for some reason didn’t have access to all this other information, that might be where the problem is.”
Hard trail to follow?
Matthew Levitt, director of counterterrorism and intelligence at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said wire transfers to Pakistan would be “extremely significant in terms of a potential network for this particular case.”
Tracing money to Pakistan could be easy if Hasan used a formal bank or wire service. It would be more difficult if he sent money under another name or used an informal channel known as hawala that is popular in Pakistan and doesn’t involve paperwork.
“If it turns out the person was radicalized to the point he was sending money to other insurgents or other terrorists, that takes it to another level still,” Levitt said.
Staff writers Brooks Egerton and Jim Landers contributed to this report.
On Saturday November 14th the Ridgewood Police Department will be participating in “Operation Medicine Cabinet”
A Day to Get Rid of Your Unused, Unwanted and Expired Medication
The program is sponsored by the Drug Enforcement Administration NJ Division.
The purpose of the program is to reduce the availability of prescription drugs to teens throughout the state. Abuse of prescription drugs amongst teens is on the rise nation wide, primarily due to the fact that they readily available in the family medicine cabinet. In addition teens are also abusing over-the –counter drugs such as cough medicine. Beyond the dangers associated with the abuse of prescription drugs, many teens may turn to similar street drugs once their family supply ends.
Between the hours of 10am and 2 pm community members will be able to properly dispose of their unused and expired medications. Special containers will be located at the Ridgewood Police Department lobby in Village Hall. Det. Peter Youngberg will be present to answer questions and assist citizens with the disposal process.
The process is anonymous, no questions will be asked or identification requested.
Individuals may dispose of medication either in its original container or by removing the medication from its container and disposing it directly into the drug disposal box.
If the original container is brought for disposal, it will be recommended that the label if it contains personal identifying information. The label should be removed prior to placement into the disposal box.
Liquid products, such as cough, should remain sealed in their original container. The depositor should ensure that the cap is tightly sealed to prevent leakage.
Syringes and other sharp instruments will not be accepted.
If a resident can not make the event date, they can refer to the Operation Medicine Cabinet website (https://www.operationmedicinecabinetnj.com) for further information.
The website provides the Federal Guidelines from the Office of National Drug Control Policy, for proper disposal of prescription drugs when drug take back programs are not available;
1. Remove prescription drugs from their original containers.
2. Mix drugs with undesirable substance, such as cat litter or used coffee grounds.
3. Put the mixture into a disposable container with a lid, such as a margarine tub or into a sealable bag.
4. Conceal or remove any personal information, including Rx number, on the empty containers by covering it with black permanent marker, duct tape or by scratching it off.
5. Place the sealed container with the mixture and the empty drug containers in the trash.
NOVEMBER 16th PLANNING BOARD MEETING ON H ZONE CANCELLED
> The Travel Center/American Express Travel Service Representative Azamara & Celebrity Cruises
invite you to a cruise night at : Blend Restaurant 17 Chestnut Street, Ridgewood, NJ November 18, 2009 6-8 PM Tapas Cocktails at Happy Hour Prices Seating is limited – Reservations required Call The Travel Center 201.447-3311 Special Event Pricing!
THIS FLIER IS CLASSIC AND I HOPE EVERYONE GETS A GOOD LAUGH OUT OF THIS ONE. YOU ONLY TURN 30 ONCE, SO WHY NOT ENJOY IT RIGHT! FREE ADMISSION FOR ANYONE THAT WANTS IT, JUST COME DOWN THIS THURSDAY NIGHT AND CELEBRATE MY 30TH.
LADIES I HAVE FREE CHAMPANGE FOR ANY GROUP OF 6-8 GIRLS THAT RSVP’S, A FREE BOTLLE OF YELLOW OR… PINK CHAMANGE. COMPLEMENTS OF ELITE AND UPSCALE PROMOTIONS.
$5 UV VODKA COCKTAILS ALL NEXT. “TRY THE VIAGRA COCKTAIL ITS ADDICTIVE”
6-9PM DJ RICHIE RICARDO HAPPY HOUR 1/2 PRICE OFF ALL YOUR FAVORTIE COCKTAILS. MUSIC FROM THE 80’s-TODAY (House, Hip-Hop, Rock)
9-12AM DJ SHANT AND DJ RENOWN TEARING UP THE TURN TABLES. (House, Hip-Hop, Rock)
CLOSING OUT THE NIGHT DJ BRIAN EDWARDS PLAYING THE BEST OF THE BEST!Read More
>The Ridgewood blog would like Govenor Christie take a strong stance to assure the fairness of the electoral process and begin an investigation of the flood of absentee ballots received this past election . The state received a 180,000 absentee ballot requests and some 3,000 forms were submitted where signatures didn’t match the one on file with county clerks. New Jersey voters have a right to expect their votes are counted fairly without concerns that they the voters would not be disenfranchised.This would go a long way to assure the sanctity of the electoral process in the future.
the Staff of the Ridgewood blog
Recanvassing shows NY-23 race tightens even as Rep. Bill Owens is sworn into House seat
By Mark Weiner / The Post-Standard November 12, 2009, 6:02AM
Washington — Conservative Doug Hoffman conceded the race in the 23rd Congressional District last week after receiving two pieces of grim news for his campaign: He was down 5,335 votes with 93 percent of the vote counted on election night, and he had barely won his stronghold in Oswego County.
As it turns out, neither was true.
But Hoffman’s concession — based on snafus in Oswego County and elsewhere that left his vote undercounted — set off a chain of events that echoed all the way to Washington, D.C., and helped secure passage of a historic health care reform bill. Democratic Rep. Bill Owens was quickly sworn into office on Friday, a day before the rare weekend vote in the House of Representatives. His support sealed his party’s narrow victory on the health care legislation.
Now a recanvassing in the 11-county district shows that Owens’ lead has narrowed to 3,026 votes over Hoffman, 66,698 to 63,672, according to the latest unofficial results from the state Board of Elections.
In Oswego County, where Hoffman was reported to lead by only 500 votes with 93 percent of the vote counted election night, inspectors found Hoffman actually won by 1,748 votes — 12,748 to 11,000.
The new vote totals mean the race will be decided by absentee ballots, of which about 10,200 were distributed, said John Conklin, communications director for the state Board of Elections.
Under a new law in New York that extended deadlines, military and overseas ballots received by this coming Monday (and postmarked by Nov. 2) will be counted. Standard absentee ballots had to be returned this past Monday.
Conklin said the state sent a letter to the House Clerk last week explaining that no winner had been determined in the 23rd District, and therefore the state had not certified the election. But the letter noted that Owens still led by about 3,000 votes, and that the special election was not contested — two factors that legally allowed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to swear in Owens on Friday.
“We sent a letter to the clerk laying out the totals,” Conklin said. “The key is that Hoffman conceded, which means the race is not contested. However, all ballots will be counted, and if the result changes, Owens will have to be removed.”
Before Owens was sworn in Friday, Rep. John Garamendi, a Democrat who won a special election in California, was sworn in Thursday. The two gave Pelosi the votes she needed to reach a majority of 218 and pass the historic health care reform legislation in the House.
The bill passed 220-215 late Saturday with the support of only one Republican. The Republican, Rep. Anh “Joseph” Cao of Louisiana, said he voted for the legislation only after seeing that Democrats had the 218 votes needed for passage.
Now Hoffman, who campaigned against the health care reform bill, is carefully watching as the 23rd District race tightens and he is left to wonder if he conceded too soon.
“I don’t know if we would have conceded on election night,” Rob Ryan, Hoffman’s campaign spokesman, said Wednesday while discussing the latest results of the recanvassing. “I’m someone who doesn’t like to look back. But would we have taken longer to make a decision on election night? Probably, if we knew it was only 3,000 votes making the difference.”
Ryan, while acknowledging that Hoffman’s chances of pulling off a come-from-behind victory are still remote, said the campaign is looking at its legal options.
“We’re basically watching and waiting,” Ryan said. “We’ve been looking very closely at the recanvass. We’re going to see how this week shapes up, and then we’re going to determine what to do.”
Ryan said an important factor in the decision to concede was the unexpected — and erroneous — close vote in Oswego County, where polls had Hoffman with a double digit percentage point lead heading into Election Day.
“That’s the thing that threw us off,” Ryan said.
Oswego County elections officials blame the mistakes on “chaos” in their call-in center that included a phone system foul-up and inspectors who read numbers incorrectly when phoning in results. Of 245 races in the county — not including the congressional and court races — 84 had incorrect totals reported election night.
In the congressional race, more votes were cast in Oswego County than any other in the 11-county district.
The district’s second biggest voter turnout was in Jefferson County, where Hoffman also has benefited from a turnaround since election night, gaining about 700 votes. Owens led Hoffman by 300 votes on the final election night tally. But after recanvassing, Hoffman now leads by 424 votes, 10,884 to 10,460.
Jerry Eaton, the Republican elections commissioner for Jefferson County, said inspectors found a problem in four districts where Hoffman’s vote total was mistakenly entered as zero.
“Hoffman definitely gained votes where he didn’t have them,” Eaton said.
Jefferson County, home of Fort Drum and the Army’s 10th Mountain Division, distributed 2,299 absentee ballots for the special election. As of this week, 1,303 had been returned but not counted, Eaton said. He said the county will begin counting the absentee ballots earyl next week.
Conklin, of the state Board of Elections, said officials did not have updated absentee ballot totals from the other counties.
When asked about the tightening race, Owens spokesman Jon Boughtin released a statement without directly addressing the election. “Since being elected, Congressman Owens has remained focused on the issues at hand: working with local leaders to address the Champlain Bridge closure, meeting with commanders at Fort Drum and continuing the work to strengthen Upstate New York,” the statement said.
Ryan said the absentee ballots are likely to favor Hoffman because most were likely mailed before Republican Dede Scozzafava suspended her campaign three days before the election.
“For Doug to win, we needed a three-way race,” Ryan said, adding that the campaign’s internal polls showed Hoffman would win with all three candidates.
“Given the majority of these ballots are from a three-way race, we think the ballots are going to break Doug’s way,” Ryan said.
Ryan declined to say what percentage of the absentee vote the campaign believes Hoffman would need to win the race. Nevertheless, Hoffman’s campaign is optimistic.
“When people look back at this race, it was a remote possibility that Doug Hoffman would be a contender,” Ryan said. “But miracles do happen.
Washington correspondent Mark Weiner can be reached at [email protected] or 571-970-3751
Recommended Reading: Saul Alinsky, The American Organizer
Reveille for Radicals by Saul Alinsky Vintage; Reissue edition (October 23, 1989) Buy It
Rules for Radicals by Saul Alinsky Vintage; Reissue edition (October 23, 1989) Buy It
An inspiration to anyone contemplating action in their community! And to every organizer!
Saul Alinsky wrote the book on American radicalism – two books, in fact: a 1945 best-seller, “Reveille for Radicals” and “Rules for Radicals” in 1971. The “Reveille” title page quotes Thomas Paine… “Let them call me rebel and welcome, I feel no concern from it; but I should suffer the misery of devils, were I to make a whore of my soul.”
Saul Alinsky, who was a labor and civil-rights activist from the 1910’s until he died in 1972, has written here a guidebook for those who are out to change things. He sets down what the goal is: a society where people are free to live, and also aren’t starving in the streets. A society where there is legal and economic justice. Then he sets out to say how to get there.
Alinsky spends a lot of time critiquing the idea that “The end does not justify the means.” What end? What means? He feels that there are circumstances where one can and should use means that in other circumstances would be unethical. I am not sure I agree, but Alinsky certainly speaks with the voice of experience.
Alinsky’s goal seems to be to encourage positive social change by equipping activists with a realistic view of the world, a kind of preemptive disillusionment. If a person already knows what evil the world is capable of, then perhaps the surprise factor can be eliminated, making the person a more effective activist. Alinsky further seems to be encouraging the budding activist not to worry to much about getting his or her hands dirty. It’s all a part of the job, he seems to say.
Alinsky, the master political agitator, tactical planner and social organizer didn’t mince words…
“Liberals in their meetings utter bold works; they strut, grimace belligerently, and then issue a weasel-worded statement ‘which has tremendous implications, if read between the lines.’ They sit calmly, dispassionately, studying the issue; judging both sides; they sit and still sit.
“The Radical does not sit frozen by cold objectivity. He sees injustice and strikes at it with hot passion. He is a man of decision and action. There is a saying that the Liberal is one who walks out of the room when the argument turns into a fight.
“Society has good reason to fear the Radical. Every shaking advance of mankind toward equality and justice has come from the Radical. He hits, he hurts, he is dangerous. Conservative interests know that while Liberals are most adept at breaking their own necks with their tongues, Radicals are most adept at breaking the necks of Conservatives.
“Radicals precipitate the social crisis by action – by using power. Liberals may then timidly follow along or else, as in most cases, be swept forward along the course set by Radicals, but all because of forces unloosed by Radical action. They are forced to positive action only in spite of their desires …
“The American Radical will fight privilege and power whether it be inherited or acquired by any small group, whether it be political or financial or organized creed. “He curses a caste system which he recognizes despite all patriotic denials. “He will fight conservatives whether they are business or labor leaders. “He will fight any concentration of power hostile to a broad, popular democracy, whether he finds it in financial circles or in politics. “The Radical recognizes that constant dissension and conflict is and has been the fire under the boiler of democracy. He firmly believes in that brave saying of a brave people, “Better to die on your feet than to live on your knees!” “The Radical may resort to the sword but when he does he is not filled with hatred against those individuals whom he attacks. He hates these individuals not as persons but as symbols representing ideas or interests which he believes to be inimical to the welfare of the people. “That is the reason why Radicals, although frequently embarking upon revolutions, have rarely resorted to personal terrorism.” Alinsky practiced what he preached. He said, “Tactics means doing what you can with what you have … tactics is the art of how to take and how to give.”
He uses eyes, ears and nose for examples…
Eyes “If you have a vast organization, parade it before the enemy, openly show your power.”
Ears “If your organization is small, do what Gideon did: conceal the members in the dark but raise a clamor that will make the listener believe that your organization numbers many more that it does.”
Nose “If your organization is too tiny even for noise, stink up the place.”
Alinsky devised and proved thirteen tactical rules for use against opponents vastly superior in power and wealth.
1. “Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have. 2. “Never go outside the experience of your people. 3. “Wherever possible go outside of the experience of the enemy. 4. “Make the enemy live up to their own book of rules. 5. “Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon. 6. “A good tactic is one that your people enjoy. 7. “A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag. 8. “Keep the pressure on. 9. “The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself. 10. “Major premise for tactics is development of operations that will maintain constant pressure upon the opposition. 11. “If you push a negative hard and deep enough it will break through into its counterside. 12. “The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative. 13. “Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.
“The real action is in the enemy’s reaction. The enemy properly goaded and guided in his reaction will be your major strength. Tactics, like life, require that you move with the action.”
Alinsky was hated and defamed by powerful enemies, proof that his tactics worked. His simple formula for success…
>The “fat” in the school system lies in 1 place…at the top! We have a fat head, so to speak! I work in the school system and I have lived here for 17 years.
My particular school JUST got a new phone system. My 1st day on the job, I walked into a time warp- an antiquated phone that I shared with 4 other teachers and no voice mail. This was 4 years ago.
We (the people responsible for my school’s physical plant) do the best job with the monies available. No squandering.
Where the money flies out the window is with the high salaries of the administrators. Do we need as many? (a guidance counselor per grade? the last school I came from had 1, albeit a smaller student population) TWO crisis intervention specialists? Does a secretary at the ed. center really warrant a 6-figure salary? I make slightly more than 1/2 that and I am in the trenches every day, responsible for teaching my subject matter, dealing with students, etc WHILE doing my paperwork (grade-keeping, providing input for parent/teacher team conferences, input for the child study team, implementing my LEGAL responsibilities in the classroom for my students on 504 plans and IEPs. Does a secretary really provide that much more of a useful service?
We have many, many caring, capable and superb teachers and administrators. I think any fat trimming needs to come from the top. My humble 2 cents.
This Friday Nov. 13 at 10:45 am a protest rally (with pending appointment) will be held in Newark at Senators Lautenberg’s & Menendez’s office at 1 Gateway Center Newark, NJ. If anyone is interested in attending please contact France Kennedy at [email protected] or 908-307-7879 France has volunteered to organize this event and is awaiting reply on a possible appointment with either Senator’s office or both.
If your schedule permits, please join her on Friday at 10:45 am. Please RSVP to France.
ALSO:
November 14, 2009 – Tea Party Against Amnesty 8:00AM to 10:00AM – Bergenfield/Dumont The NJ Tea Party Coalition invites you to attend this event sponsored by United Patriots of America. “Immigration Reform” is an issue that President Obama promises to tackle after completion of Healthcare Reform. We can be sure that the President’s vision of Immigration Reform includes amnesty. This is one of 43 Tea Parties Against Amnesty being held nationally. Info can be found at www.AgainstAmnesty.com
Lets see.. Teachers union: None of you will life a finger. BOE: None of you will run for a position. Action Committees in Local Gov: Zippo Stand up at a BOE meeting and raise the protest voice: Nope.
All hot air.
The problems are real and they need an immediate fix. As bad as it may be, there is FOUND MONEY in this plan, and we should grab it.
Voting YES. Blog away… you cannot stop anyone who has children in our schools and wants to see improvement NOW for our tax dollars.
YES !!!!!
10:34 AM Vote NO !!!!
Found money is the ticket, just like the SCC during the ethically-challenged McGreevey administration. They pissed away funds and bankrupted the SCC through corruption before all of the schools that needed work could get the funds. Does anyone remember that Willard project that was supposed to get SCC funds, hmm? And THAT was during relatively better times. Do you mean to tell me that the $9 mil we are supposed to get will actually make it here while an $8 bil deficit in this start looms next year?
Keep talking 1034 and continue to demean honest citizens of Ridgewood who are tired of paying for the mismanagement.
1039, you are not alone. Voting NO and mobilizing for 2010.
>Freight Container Remains Lodged In Ho-Ho-Kus Brook – Removal Expenses May Be BOE’s Responsibility
A freight container weighing in excess of 10,000 pounds remains lodged in the Ho-Ho-Kus Brook near Ridgewood High School after washing away during Sunday’s torrential downpour and striking the Ridgewood Avenue bridge. The bridge sustained minor structural damage, but was deemed safe for continued pedestrian and motor vehicle use by Village Engineer Christopher Rutishauser.
Despite previous posts on this blog suggesting the container may have washed downstream from a point miles above, it is now believed to have been located on the property of Ridgewood High School. The Village’s engineering staff is currently evaluating methods for the container’s safe removal; unconfirmed reports are that it may be resting on top of a water main. If the container is confirmed to be the property of, or leased by, Ridgewood’s Board of Education, all costs associated with its removal will most likely be billed back to the BOE.
>This morning, Village officials declared RHS’ bleachers adjacent to the Ho-Ho-Kus Brook as being “unsafe.” It is believed that damage caused by Sunday’s flooding was the principal reason for this declaration. The bleachers are now completely cordoned off with caution tape and fencing. Appropriate signage was crafted and installed as well. No details concerning a timeline for repairs are available at this time.
During an exclusive interview with ABC News’ Jake Tapper today, President Obama said that penalties are appropriate for people who try to “free ride” the health care system but stopped short of endorsing the threat of jail time for those who refuse to pay a fine for not having insurance.
“What I think is appropriate is that in the same way that everybody has to get auto insurance and if you don’t, you’re subject to some penalty, that in this situation, if you have the ability to buy insurance, it’s affordable and you choose not to do so, forcing you and me and everybody else to subsidize you, you know, there’s a thousand dollar hidden tax that families all across America are — are burdened by because of the fact that people don’t have health insurance, you know, there’s nothing wrong with a penalty.”
Under the House bill those who can afford to buy insurance and don’t’ pay a fine. If the refuse to pay that fine there’s a threat – as with a lot of tax fines – of jail time. The Senate removed that provision in the Senate Finance Committee.
Mr. Obama said penalties have to be high enough for people to not game the system, but it’s also important to not be “so punitive” that people who are having a hard time find themselves suddenly worse off, thus why hardship exemptions have been built in the legislation.
“I think the general broad principle is simply that people who are paying for their health insurance aren’t subsidizing folks who simply choose not to until they get sick and then suddenly they expect free health insurance. That’s — that’s basic concept of responsibility that I think most Americans abide by,” Mr. Obama said, “penalties are appropriate for people who try to free ride the system and force others to pay for their health insurance.”
The President said that he didn’t think the question over the appropriateness of possible jail time is the “biggest question” the House and Senate are facing right now.
>Alleged Shooter Had “Unexplained Connections” to Others Besides Jihadist Cleric Awlaki By MARTHA RADDATZ, BRIAN ROSS, MARY-ROSE ABRAHAM, and REHAB EL-BURI Nov. 10, 2009 —
A senior government official tells ABC News that investigators have found that alleged Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan had “more unexplained connections to people being tracked by the FBI” than just radical cleric Anwar al Awlaki. The official declined to name the individuals but Congressional sources said their names and countries of origin were likely to emerge soon.
Questions already surround Major Hasan’s contact with Awlaki, a radical cleric based in Yemen whom authorities consider a recruiter for al Qaeda. U.S. officials now confirm Hasan sent as many as 20 e-mails to Awlaki. Authorities intercepted the e-mails but later deemed them innocent or protected by the first amendment.
The FBI said it turned over the information to the Army, but Defense Department officials today denied that. One military investigator on a joint terror task force with the FBI was shown the e-mails, but they were never forwarded in a formal way to more senior officials at the Pentagon, and the Army did not learn of the contacts until after the shootings.
In Texas, an hour before a memorial service for the Fort Hood victims, four FBI agents showed up at the Killeen mosque where Hasan prayed and searched a trash bin outside. The mosque president was clearly upset when he had to return from traveling to the service to sign a document handed to him by agents, apparently authorizing the search.
The FBI would not comment on what the agents were looking for at the mosque a full five days after the shooting, but motivation remains the focus.
“Obviously, the key is did he act alone,” former senior FBI official Brad Garrett told ABC News. “And secondarily is, what evidence might potentially be in the dumpsters or at the mosque.”
“We’re concerned any time a house of worship is searched in this fashion,” said Ibrahim Hooper, national communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Washington, D.C.-based civil rights group. “And we would follow up to see if there was probable cause for the search and if it was carried out in the appropriate and legal manner.”
Agents had already seized Hasan’s computer in a search of this apartment last Thursday night, and all of his internet contacts and writings are under examination.
The Washington Post reported Tuesday that Hasan gave a PowerPoint presentation to fellow Army doctors in 2007 in which he said, “It’s getting harder and harder for Muslims in the service to morally justify being in a military that seems constantly engaged against fellow Muslims.” He recommended that Muslim soldiers be given the option of being released from the military as conscientious objectors to decrease what he called “adverse events.” Under “comments,” he wrote, “We love death more than you love life.”
>My family and I are mid-timers, here for 15 years and 2 kids in school. Every year, we were asked to pass the budget, so we did. In the past 10 years, they floated tens of millions of bonds for expansion and renovations; some schools in the past 2-3 years, and we voted yes. Now, they’re back again for money, saying our schools are exploding with over 500 students in the past 10 years (they are shocked, SHOCKED!) and we need to expand again. They forgot to mention that 70% of the surge came in the first 5 years. Then the economy tanks, 3 dozen storefronts are vacant and they say, “by the way, we need 50 million more – do it for the kids”. Like with any spoiled kid, it’s time to say, you’ve burned through hundreds of millions of dollars so you have to make choices. The spoiled boe says “waaaahhh”. So, I ask you – continue to feed the id and just let the bond ref pass or stand your ground? You and your family are the future and will be stuck with the bills. My family is voting no because they have cried wolf too many times.
