Just moving some cash

"I will like to know if the above item is still available for sale and I will like to buy this item so pleas do withdraw the advert from craigslist. I will also like you to know that I will be paying via check," read the first typo-ridden reply Choi got.

Miriam Choi had decided to move to Kentucky to be with her parents and leave Brooklyn NY. She wanted to sell some of her furniture before the move and placed an ad on the free site, craigslist.org. Choi, a 31 year-old interior designer, was trying to sell bar and cabinet set for $725 when she received that first e-mail.

The site does warn users not to trust buyers from out of town who wish to pay by check, so Choi was skeptical of the buyer, who she only knew by the e-mail name "Heady Heady." The check, issued from City Bank of Florida and signed by someone named John Edwards arrived shortly. Instead of it being for $725, the check from Edwards, whom her buyer explained was his financier, was for $3,050.

Choi was wise enough not to ship the items until the check had cleared her bank and "Heady Heady" had told her to wait and then send whatever was left to his movers. After it had cleared, Choi did just that but after the money had arrived for the movers, the buyer contacted her again and stated he didn't want the item. He asked her to wire back most of the money and keep $135 for her troubles.

She was disappointed that she hadn't made the sale but she did figure that she had at least come out ahead by his giving her that money. Two weeks later though, Choi found out how really lucky she was, he bank contacted her to tell her that the check was counterfeit. Even worse was that they told her she was responsible for the full $3,050.

According to federal law, banks must make the funds available within two days but it may take several weeks to examine a check and find the forgeries. If Choi hadn't withdraw the money, her buyer may have complained angrily but she wouldn't have been responsible. She isn't alone in being scammed, both craigslist and Ebay state that scams abound out there and if you are in a hurry, you may not be as careful as you should be.

If the scammers are not extremely good with computers, large losses of money in these scams can be investigated through the use of the IP address that is on every e-mail sent out. The Internet Service Provider is not likely to give that information to the seller but in case of large theft, the police can be involved in the investigation.

As for Choi... she has listed the set two more times on craigsliat and both inquiries sounded like the same scam that she fell for the first time. It seems that some have discovered how to get trusting individuals to do their money laundering for them.

Nobody wanted to listen then.......

When Dr George E Reardon was fighting the loss of his medical license in the early 1990's, his lawyers and hospital officials dismissed the accusations against him as meritless. Now that the thousands of photographs victims had claimed he took have been found, the West Hartford CT police have been flooded with calls from all over the nation.

Most of those who called and spoke to the detectives just want someone to believe them and listen to what nobody wanted to listen to or believe back then. Several of those who called stated that they had molested when Reardon took them to a cabin in New York. Investigators are now going to visit the cabin he had owned on Brant Lake in Horicon NY in hopes of talking to residents who knew or observed Readon when he brought the boys there.

Dennis Malanchuk, 90 and a neighbor of Readon then had stated that he remembers the boys that Readon brought up there. He added that there were never any women that came along either, no secretaries or nurses while Readon had the boys there fishing and boating. The cabin was sold for $91,000 by his estate after he died.

Reardon had never married and lived at his mother's home on Griswald Dr, that she had bough in the 1950's. After her death in 1982, Reardon took in two brothers and became their legal guardian. He dated their mother and gave her money to pay her bills and she died of a drug overdose in 1983.

One victim, Dr C, has spoken in length of the horror of his time with Reardon. Dr C, a father of four and a pharmaceutical researcher outside Boston, wonders when investigators will find the evidence of his shattered life in the thousands of photos that have been discovered. He still vividly remembers the terror of climbing into Reardon's Cadillac DeVille, Reardon's slicked back hair and the smell of the almost constant cigarettes he smoked on that Sunday 40 years ago.

Dr C managed to bury those memories until he was 30 and had his son and they then returned as nightmares. He had spent hours locked in Reardon's St Francis Hospital office while Reardon fondled his genitals until they hurt, wait for him to clean him off and then had him pose for hundreds of pictures. He remembers that Reardon acted like he had nothing to hide as he brought the then 12 year-old past security guards and up to his office. Twice he was there alone and the third time, Dr C stated that there were two other boys there and he posed them as if they were having sex with each other. Before he took him home, Reardon gave him a gift, of real laboratory equipment since he had been interested in science even then.

Dr C didn't trust his own memories nor did he trust many people through his adult life. He has battled depression without knowing why and he turned to drugs and alcohol to try and quiet the demons. His marriage fell apart but by 1992, he was sober and ready to take action. Today, he is remarried and while he still battles depression, he is reliving his childhood through his children. The one piece of his life that is still unresolved though is his mother's insistance that it had all been his fault.

His dream is that his parents accept what had happened and accept him as he is. A simple wish to soothe what has been lifetimes of doubt and pain........ all because of one man, George E Reardon.

For a related post, go here.


Photos of the cabin in NY & the Griswald Dr home in 1994.

Update: December 13

Just when the West Hartford Police may have thought they were getting a handle on the case of Dr Reardon, the case took another twist. One of his victims states that not only did Reardon photograph him but he also raped him from the time he was 10 until he was 13. He added that he had been raped at the hospital and at other locations..

The new lawsuit brings the total to 18 that claim that the hospital is also responsible for their abuse. They all tell similar stories and St Francis Hospital so far is claiming that they were under the impression that Reardon was conducting a legitimate study and they had no idea of any wrongdoing.

A few victims had received compensation from Reardon's estate but these new lawsuits are the first that name the hospital in connection with his wrongdoing.

She's Precious

She is the third for Bai Yun and Gao Gao, the San Diego Zoo residents since 2003. After waiting the traditional 100 days, their newest baby panda was named Zhen Zhen, meaning Precious.

This particular pair of pandas, on loan from China, already have had Mei Sheng, her big brother, born in 2003, who was returned to China this year to finish growing up and become a part of their breeding program. In 2005, her big sister Su Lin was born to the prolific pair and she too will eventually be returned to China.

Zhen Zhen, who was born August 3 2007 is still kept away from public view with her mother but they can both be watched on the zoo cam. Their website also keeps continued updates as to her growth and developement... an online babybook.

These rare and loveable bears may be finally making headway in preventing extinction with the loan programs from China and the years of study and captive breeding of them. As sad as it may be for them to be returned to China, it is part of a program to ensure that they are kept as genetically diverse as possible and hopefully continue on for generations to enjoy.

For the zoo website, go here.

Sweating yet?

Two of Michael Vick's co-defendents were sentenced today and I would hope that what they received has Vick beginning to sweat a little. For weeks it seemed until Vick finally made his plea deal, the sentences being tossed around were a mere 6 months to maybe a year in jail for him.

Quanis Phillips of Atlanta GA, was facing a recommended 18 to 24 months because of his more extensive criminal record and he received 21 months. Purnell Peace of Virginia Beach VA, had faced a recommended 12 to 18 months and he was sentenced to all 18 months.

The prosecutors had recomended that both be sentenced on the low end of the scale but U S District Judge Henry Hudson stated that the crimes were callous and cruel and sentenced both men on the high end of the recommendation.

Michael Vick has also pleaded guilty of all the charges but the ones that included gambling. According to the court papers, Vick had financed the Bad Newz Kennels entirely and had participated in killing several underperforming dogs. He entered custody on November 19 to begin serving his sentence early and will face Hudson on Dec 10 to learn his entire sentence. Tony Taylor of Hampton VA, will be sentenced on Dec 14.

I would expect that Vick will face much more than 12 months in jail, in view of what his co-defendents just received. The evidence showed that Vick bankrolled the entire operation and participated in it as well.......... it will be a bit difficult to try and paint himself as not having any knowledge of what he was financing on his property.

For related posts, go here.


Update: December 10

Michael Vick will apparently have a few months of "quiet-time" to contemplate how to resurrect his football career. He has been sentenced to 23 months behind bars for his guilty plea in bankrolling the dogfighting operation that was run out of his property.

While there many who felt that Vick would walk out of court with possibly a 6 month sentence, it has become more apparent in recent weeks that he wouldn't. Vick had faced up to 5 years in prison and the sentencing guidelines had suggested one year to 18 months for his guilty plea. U S District Judge Henry E Hudson has been known to be tough in his sentencing and the time two of Vick's co-consiprators just received should have made him start to sweat a bit.

Vick had managed to test positive for marijuana which was a violation of the terms of his release and he was then subjected to a curfew and electronic monitoring. He had insisted that he was innocent of any of the charges but he did suddenly change his plea after the other three arrested had pleaded guilty.

I would expect that Tony Taylor, schedualed to be sentenced on Friday, may walk out of court with the lightest sentence of the four. Sadly though, Vick only managed to grab a couple extra months of prison time over Philips..... even though he was the one who bankrolled the entire operation. All four of them still face charges state dogfighting charges in Virginia and the prosecution has stated that Vick seems to be a lot short on available cash ;ately. If Vick finds that he has no career after this is done, it is through no fault but his own.

Grandma got run over by a lawsuit

Elmo Shropshire may end up in court just in time for the Christmas holidays after he was sued for interfering with a $1 million-plus sales deal. The lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court seeks $2 million in damages from Shropshire.


Both parties though are quite familiar with each other it seems. Shropshire, who lives north of San Francisco in Novata, holds the rights to the now popular Christmas song,"Grandma got run over by a reindeer" that first hit the airwaves in 1979. The Fred Rappoport Company of California has already sued and settled in court in a 2004 court battle with Shropshire. In that decision Rappoport claims they get the rights to use the song in connection with any products they sell related to the 2000 animated TV program based on the song.

Shropshire they claim, sent out two cease-and-desist letters to two companies who had deals with Rappoport to market products featuring the characters. Shropshire contends that he owns the copyright to the song that preceeded the cartoon by 20 years and he is only defending his rights. He adds that Rappoport can use any of the characters from the cartoon for whatever products they are marketing, he just can't use the song without his permission.

Shropshire contends as well that there are a number of companies that license the song from him to make CD's or toys and it isn't fair to them. They are paying for the use of the song and Rappoport is using it for free.

Who would have known that poor "Grandma" would be so popular as to create such a tug of war over the use?

Who does the badge protect?

A new report released states that the Bolingbrook police were called to the home of Drew Peterson and his third wife Kathleen eighteen times in two years. In all of those calls, which were related to domestic violence reports, Kathleen was the only one arrested.

Authorities never arrested Drew but he managed to have her arrested twice, both charges were dismissed later though. Some residents though are beginning to wonder if the department had protected one of their own and possibly allowed the rest of the events to occur.

Some like Pablo Delira, 59, state that they have no doubt that they would have been led from their home in handcuffs if the police had been called 18 times and they find it difficult to now trust the police.Others wonder if both women would be alive today if the police had taken those domestic violence calls more seriously when they occured.

The questions of police protecting their "brothers in blue" were raised when Tacoma WA police Chief David Brame shot his wife Crystal in a Gig Harbor parking lot and then shot himself. Brame had gotten promoted repeatedly by top officials to the post of chief in 2002, even though they knew he had been accused of raping a woman in 1988. They had even defended him and refused to take action when his wife filed for divorce and accused him of choking her four times in the previous year and of pointing a gun at her.

A five month investigation in 2003 by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer found that in the previous five years, 41 officers in just King and Pierce counties had been accused of various offenses. Those would include assaulting, stalking, threatening, or harrassing their wives, children or girlfriends. Most of them paid little, if any professional price and only half of them faced any charges. The Puget Sound area police officials had wanted the public to believe that Brame was a rare case and that officers are held to a higher standard, while following a strict moral code off and on duty.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer report though found very different results, in that many departments were falling short in how they dealt with domestic violence reports against their officers. They concluded that departments had created a double standard in which officers weren't arrested immediately while civilians were routinely jailed for the same charges. They were putting victims at a greater risk by not removing officer's guns when they were accused as per model policies drafted by national experts. They were failing to conduct thorough internal investigations and in some cases, not even conducting them, thus allowing the officers to escape discipline entirely. They lacked specific policies on how to deal with an officer accused of abuse and they rarely determined that there was wrongdoing in domestic violence cases. If they did find wrongdoing, they handed out very minimal discipline.

The P-I identified only one officer of those accused who had been conviceted and that officer had pleaded guilty to phone harrassment of his ex wife. He also kept his job in the department, a fact that federal officials were going to investigate. A domestic violence related conviction is career ending for most officers because federal law prohibits them from carrying a gun.

The report also states that the victims are up against a police culture that has viewed officer involved domestic violence as a private matter. Police officers can also be among the most sophisticated, manipulative batterers, armed with an insiders knowledge of the legal system. They know how to restrain someone without leaving marks. They undermine the credibility of their vicitims by stating they are vindictive or mentally unstable. They often will call 911 first and claim that they are the victim and they certainly know what to say on the witness stand.

They also can many times count on their "brothers in blue" to protect them by gathering incomplete evidence at the scene, failing to take all the statements they should or merely by stating that the incident was mutual combat and not trying to determine who was the primary aggressor. The report by the P-I goes on to include several examples of officers doing just that, escaping domestic violence charges.

Included in those stories is one by Jenifer Rees who stood and watched as deputies handed her intoxicated husband his gun and let him drive away so that he wouldn't miss work the next morning. He had flown into a rage less than two months after their wedding in 2000 and thrown her against a wall. She had shown the deputies a scrape on the side of her head where he had hit her with a dresser drawer he had thrown at her.

Rees had refused to cooperate with the investigation rather than enrage him more and no charges were filed against her cop husband Phil. She believes that there are many silent victims out there like she had been though. Rees also believes that officials have closed their eyes to the problems facing police families, from alcoholism to abuse. She had sought help from her husband's captain, the police chaplain and other officers in an attempt to get his bosses to take his problems seriously.

Jenifer states that her ex husband Phil, who had been accused of abuse in 1998 and 1999, was a walking time bomb. He was still on the force and on the streets in 2003. Not only do the "brothers in blue" have their own website in which they can complain about the unfairness of their receiving traffic tickets, this report in 2003 shows that preferential treatment for officers may be much deeper and widespread. It doesn't seem that difficult to see why the public is now focusing on Drew and his actions in the past and departments nationwide should be focusing on it as well.


For related posts, go here, here, here & here.

Line Up........

There seems to be controversy brewing in the New York Public Library's main 5th Ave branch these days. Oddly though, it isn't about which books shouldn't or should be on the shelves, it concerns an art exhibit that is currently on view there.

The exhibit, "Line Up" by artists Nora Ligorano and Marshall Reese features six doctored photographs of Bush administration members. They each are holding a clapboard like in a standard mugshot that features the date of their "arrest." That date featured is when each member had made "incriminating" statements about the Iraq war. It also features adio clips of the members and the sounds of flashbulbs and a prison door closing.

While some find the exhibit hysterical or bold, others are not amused by the political satire. Matthew Walter, director of communications for the state GOP finds it to be simply inappropriate and feels what he describes as political attack art shouldn't be hanging in a publically funded location such as the library.

Jim Strifler, 54 of Sayville LI NY also feels that it shouldn't be hung in a public library. He added that he felt that the library is neutral grounds and he plans to present the opposing view when he returns with his own version that will feature prominent Democrats.

Roberta Waddell, curator of the library's print collection stated that the exhibit is in keeping with tradition that dates back to 18th century England. She stated that the mugshots in the exhibit that runs until Jan 27 2008, are a relevent example of political commentary.

It seems that libraries will always be the center of kind of controversy, from the books they offer to their not wanting to bend to the public's view of their choices. People should be able to see and read many opposing views there, as a way of possibly learning more about themselves. Our political leaders aren't gods and using their image in artwork is very far from treason I thought in this country.

For the photo gallery, go here.