On Q Professional Investigations

A security guard’s post isn’t for the faint of heart. Employers hire security officers to help protect against fire, theft, vandalism, terrorism, and other illegal actions. Security guards ensure safety by actively patrolling or using security systems to keep a watchful eye over a facility. Like police officers, a number of security guards are armed with a weapon. Responsibilities vary depending on the setting—transportation guards use detectors to screen passengers, while security guards at casinos survey for cheating and underage gamblers. Although movies frequently depict security guards sleeping on the job, there’s little down time in this line of work, as guards must remain alert to monitor for any suspicious activity.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects a steady job growth of 18.8 percent for the profession between 2010 and 2020, as concern about crime, vandalism, and terrorism continue to increase the need for security. During that time period, 195,000 jobs will be added.

Salary

According to the BLS, in 2011, security guards earned a median average salary of $23,900. The best-paid earned about $41,860, while the lowest-paid made approximately $17,260. The highest earners worked in the metropolitan areas of Ithaca, N.Y., San Luis Obispo, Calif., and Amarillo, Texas.

Salary Range

75th Percentile – $31,150
Median – $23,900
25th Percentile – $19,600

Training

While no universal set of qualifications exists for security guards, many employers prefer to hire individuals with a high school diploma. Previous law enforcement or military experience is definitely a plus. Employers frequently run background checks on potential candidates, so a clean criminal record is important. Employers may also conduct drug tests before hiring a candidate. New employees receive an on-site orientation from their employer about their role and responsibilities. Armed security guards do require the proper certification for carrying a weapon and undergo more thorough on-the-job training. States possess different weapon policies, so be sure to get the proper license to retain your weapon. Additionally, state governments have begun to register security guards. This licensing procedure usually involves a background check and some classroom training independent of your employer.

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WASHINGTON — In a major ruling on press freedoms, a divided federal appeals court on Friday ruled that James Risen, an author and a reporter for The New York Times, must testify in the criminal trial of a former Central Intelligence Agency official charged with providing him with classified information.

In a 118-page set of opinions, two members of a three-judge panel for the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, in Richmond, Va., ruled that the First Amendment does not protect reporters who receive unauthorized leaks from being forced to testify against the people suspected of leaking to them. A district court judge who had ruled in Mr. Risen’s case had said that it did.

“Clearly, Risen’s direct, firsthand account of the criminal conduct indicted by the grand jury cannot be obtained by alternative means, as Risen is without dispute the only witness who can offer this critical testimony,” wrote Chief Judge William Byrd Traxler Jr., who was joined by Judge Albert Diaz in Friday’s ruling.

Mr. Risen has vowed to go to prison rather than testify about his sources and to carry any appeal as far as the Supreme Court. But some legal specialists said an appeal to the full appeals court was a likely first step. Mr. Risen referred a request to comment to his lawyer, Joel Kurtzberg, who wrote in an e-mail: “We are disappointed by and disagree with the court’s decision. We are currently evaluating our next steps.”

Judge Roger Gregory, the third member of the panel, filed a vigorous dissent, portraying his colleagues’ decision as “sad” and a serious threat to investigative journalism.

“Under the majority’s articulation of the reporter’s privilege, or lack thereof, absent a showing of bad faith by the government, a reporter can always be compelled against her will to reveal her confidential sources in a criminal trial,” he wrote. “The majority exalts the interests of the government while unduly trampling those of the press, and in doing so, severely impinges on the press and the free flow of information in our society.”

Friday’s ruling establishes a precedent that applies only to the Fourth Circuit, but that circuit includes Maryland and Virginia, where most national security agencies like the Pentagon and the Central Intelligence Agency are. As a result, if it stands, it could have a significant impact on investigative journalism about national security matters.

It has long been unclear whether the Constitution protects reporters from being forced to testify against their sources in criminal trials. The principal Supreme Court precedent in that area, which is more than 40 years old, concerns grand jury investigations, not trials, and many legal scholars consider its reasoning to be ambiguous.

“We agree with the decision,” said Peter Carr, a Justice Department spokesman. “We are examining the next steps in the prosecution of this case.”

The ruling was awkwardly timed for the Obama administration.

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. has portrayed himself as trying to rebalance the department’s approach to leak investigations in response to the furor over its aggressive investigative tactics, like subpoenaing Associated Press reporters’ phone records and portraying a Fox News reporter as a criminal conspirator in order to obtain a warrant for his e-mails.

Last week, Mr. Holder announced new guidelines for leak investigations that significantly tightened the circumstances in which reporters’ records could be obtained. He also reiterated the Obama administration’s proposal to revive legislation to create a federal media shield law that in some cases would allow judges to quash subpoenas for reporters’ testimony, as many states have.

“It’s very disappointing that as we are making such good progress with the attorney general’s office and with Congress, in getting them to recognize the importance of a reporter’s privilege, the Fourth Circuit has taken such a big step backwards,” said Gregg Leslie, the legal defense director for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

Mr. Risen is a national security reporter for The Times, but the case revolves around material he published in his 2006 book, “State of War,” not in the newspaper. A chapter in the book recounted efforts by the C.I.A. in the Clinton administration to trick Iranian scientists by having a Russian defector give them blueprints for a nuclear triggering device that had been altered with an error. The chapter portrays the operation as reckless and botched in a way that could have helped the Iranians gain accurate information.

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It’s been billed as the “largest domestic bribery and bid-rigging scheme in the history of federal contracting cases.”

Specifically, over a five-year period, more than $30 million was illegally siphoned from federal coffers by a ring of crooked public officials and government contractors in the D.C. area operating via bribes, kickbacks, and other dirty dealings.

A big fix, especially in lean budget times. The plot was thickening, too—a billion-dollar government contract was about to be steered illegally into favored hands in exchange for sizeable payments under the table.

But ultimately the hammer fell, and fell hard, following a massive, multi-year investigation by the FBI and its partners called Five Aces (a reference to cheating by stacking the deck) that came to light in October 2011 after the first arrests. A total of 15 federal employees and contractors—plus one company, Nova Datacom—have since pled guilty. That includes the mastermind of the conspiracy, Kerry Khan, who just last week was sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison.

Khan, while serving as a program manager and contracting officer’s technical representative for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, cooked up the bribery scheme in 2006 with his co-worker Michael Alexander to take their own piece of the contracting pie.

The case evolved into a complicated conspiracy, involving six different companies and several shady practices. The FBI began its investigation in the summer of 2009, when we received a tip indicating that an area business was submitting phony references and evaluations to boost its chances of getting government contracts. The company, we discovered, also had a disabled veteran falsely posing as its owner—which gave it an advantage under federal contracting laws.

We soon learned that Khan and his criminal colleague had created a network of crooked contractors who agreed to pay them bribes and kickbacks in exchange for winning deals. In most of those cases, the contracts were fulfilled and the work done, but often times there were extra charges disguised as “overhead” on the bills…and most of that money ended up in Khan’s pockets. In other instances, Khan awarded contracts to straw subcontractors and paid fake invoices submitted by the fictitious companies.

For the members of the criminal conspiracy, it was a lucrative enterprise—especially for Khan, who was paid, directly and indirectly, more than $12 million. Khan used the money to live large: in addition to paying off his mortgage and remodeling his house, he purchased flat screen TVs, computers, luxury watches, airline tickets, accommodations in five-star hotels, high-end liquor, and a dozen properties in three states. And apparently, money is thicker than blood in some cases—Khan got his son and brother involved in the scheme (both have since pled guilty).

Five Aces was a multi-agency undertaking from the start, with the FBI and its partners uncovering vital evidence using sophisticated investigative techniques, including consensual recordings by cooperating witnesses and court-authorized wiretaps. We heard details about crimes directly from the mouths of the criminals committing them.

Justice has been served, and just as importantly, more than $32 million is being rightfully returned to the U.S. government and the American people. It’s another case in point as to why the FBI continues to focus squarely on public corruption as its top criminal investigative priority.

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It’s no secret that women are one of the fastest growing demographics when it comes to American gun ownership, but very often women in law enforcement don’t see the “fun” side of firearms, and that’s too bad. Yes, your on duty firearm(s) are tools designed to keep yourself and others safe, but that doesn’t mean practicing with them can’t be fun.

Unfortunately, so many of us have been issued a handgun or a shotgun (or both) that’s too big, too long, or just doesn’t fit right. Combine the “fit” issue with an instructor…male or female…that just doesn’t get it, and many women often dread going to the range. Poor scores and lousy instruction often lead to a lack of confidence, which is a disaster for a cop who finds herself in a gunfight.

Firearms issues are always a big discussion point at every “Winning Mind for Women” class we teach, and there are a number of things we recommend to remediate the problem, but I’ve never made the recommendation I’m about to make.

Join the National Rifle Association. There, I said it. I don’t like to recommend political groups, and I’ve not always agreed with the NRA’s stance on a number of issues, but they are definitely at the forefront of bringing shooting sports and firearms education to women. Sometimes you have to get a little outside of your comfort zone to make improvements, and that’s what I aim to do (pun intended). It’s also what I want you to do if you’re looking at improving your shooting.

The National Rifle Association has a law enforcement division that was established in 1960 to help provide police departments with a mechanism to certify their firearms instructors. So much has changed since then, but the NRA is very supportive of police training groups like the International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors (IALEFI, the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association (ILEETA) and the National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA). They also support Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.) and other law enforcement charities.

The NRA’s law enforcement division has great training and support for cops, but if you’re really looking to change the way you view shooting, reach out to the NRA’s Women on Target® program. Since 2008 participation in this civilian program has increased by almost 70 percent, and they offer information and training ranging from tactical to educational to political. Their programming is incredibly diverse, and it’s all geared toward women.

“We’re encouraged about the state of firearms in America by the increasing success and reach of our programs,” says Bill Poole, Managing Director of NRA’s Educational and Training Division. “Providing citizens with ways to safely exercise their Second Amendment rights helps them discover new interests and ensures our shooting traditions will be a lasting heritage passed on to future generations.”

So why turn to a group for “civilians” for firearms instruction? As several of my range instructors have told me, sometimes female police officers who have been less than successful shooters need to go back to the beginning, but that’s hard to do if you’re already a cop. People have certain expectations of you; they expect you to be a female Rambo, so even if you go to all female firearms training event outside of your own department…something I’m a big proponent of…you may not feel entirely comfortable.

The NRA offers Women on Target® Instructional Shooting Clinics throughout the United States. These training classes are where you’ll find everyone from teenagers to grandmothers learning not only how to operate a firearm, but how to safety clean and store it. Participants also learn to appreciate the sporting aspect of gun ownership as well as how to protect themselves and their loved ones. Think about finding one in your area (or one in a vacation spot you’ve always wanted to visit) and signing up. Take your daughter, your niece, your girlfriend, someone you trust and want to have some fun with. Yes, some of it will be incredibly basic for you, but this is the perfect first step to breaking some of those bad habits and learning about the “fun” side of firearms.

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Cuba has admitted being behind a stash of weapons found on board a North Korean ship seized in the Panama Canal.

The Cuban foreign ministry said the ship was carrying obsolete Soviet-era arms from Cuba for repair in North Korea.

The ship was seized by Panama last week after “undeclared military cargo” was found hidden in a shipment of sugar.

United Nations sanctions prohibit the supply of arms to North Korea in the dispute over its nuclear programme.

A Cuban foreign ministry statement said Cuba reaffirmed its commitment to “peace, disarmament, including nuclear disarmament, and respect for international law”.

It said the vessel was carrying 240 tonnes of obsolete defensive weapons – two anti-aircraft missile complexes, nine missiles in parts and spares, two MiG-21bis fighter planes and 15 MiG engines.

The Cuban statement said they were all made in the mid-20th Century and were to be repaired and returned to Cuba.

“The agreements subscribed by Cuba in this field are supported by the need to maintain our defensive capacity in order to preserve national sovereignty,” the statement went on.

Cuba said the ship’s main cargo was 10,000 tonnes of sugar.

The vessel, called Chong Chon Gang, left Russia’s far east on 12 April and travelled across the Pacific Ocean before entering the canal at the start of June, with Cuba as its stated destination.

Panamanian officials said the ship was carrying a cargo of sheet metal on its journey through the canal.

However, the vessel disappeared from satellite tracking systems after it left the Caribbean side of the canal, resurfacing on 11 July.

Experts say this may indicate that the crew switched off the system which automatically communicates details of their location.

Panamanian officials tried to communicate with the vessel, suspecting it could be carrying illegal goods initially thought to be drugs.

The crew did not respond, so the ship was boarded and the weaponry was uncovered.

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MEXICO CITY — Miguel Angel Treviño Morales, or “40,” leader of the brutal Zetas paramilitary drug cartel, has been captured, authorities on both sides of the border confirmed.

Known as much for his brutality as for his binational ties, Treviño Morales, who has ties to the Dallas area, was captured by Mexican marines early Monday near the border town of Nuevo Laredo, signaling the biggest victory against organized crime for the presidency of Enrique Peña Nieto. The Zetas’ rise to power in Mexico changed the dynamics and ushered in a new era of violence across the country.

A picture obtained by The Dallas Morning News showing a beaten and bruised and somewhat overweight Treviño Morales was taken hours after his detention, one official said.

“He had a reputation of leading the most vicious group in Mexico,” said one law enforcement official. “This is a huge symbolic way to end his career.”

The capture of Treviño Morales, 40, drew immediate reactions on both sides of a border he had terrorized for years.

The fact he was captured without a fight caught some, including former FBI agent Arturo Fontes by surprise. Fontes has been tracking Treviño Morales for nearly a decade and believed that he would never be captured alive.

“He had told his closest associates he’d rather be captured dead than alive,” he said, adding that the region and “Mexico in general is breathing a sign of relief today. I’m especially pleased for so many families, so many victims who may now be able to know what happened to their loved ones. Who killed them and why?”

Mexican intelligence officials, with some help from U.S. intelligence, had been monitoring the area for months.

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President Obama called the death of Trayvon Martin a tragedy Sunday, but urged “calm reflection” in the wake of a jury’s verdict finding his killer not guilty.

“We are a nation of laws, and a jury has spoken,” Obama said in a statement posted on the White House web site following a Florida jury’s acquittal of George Zimmerman Saturday.

Obama also used the occasion to renew his call for gun safety legislation, saying, “We should ask ourselves if we’re doing all we can to stem the tide of gun violence that claims too many lives.”

The president’s statement:

“The death of Trayvon Martin was a tragedy. Not just for his family, or for any one community, but for America. I know this case has elicited strong passions. And in the wake of the verdict, I know those passions may be running even higher. But we are a nation of laws, and a jury has spoken. I now ask every American to respect the call for calm reflection from two parents who lost their young son. And as we do, we should ask ourselves if we’re doing all we can to widen the circle of compassion and understanding in our own communities. We should ask ourselves if we’re doing all we can to stem the tide of gun violence that claims too many lives across this country on a daily basis. We should ask ourselves, as individuals and as a society, how we can prevent future tragedies like this. As citizens, that’s a job for all of us. That’s the way to honor Trayvon Martin.”

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When Google hands over e-mail records to the government, it includes basic envelope information, or metadata, that reveals the names and e-mail addresses of senders and recipients in your account. The feds can then mine that information for patterns that might be useful in a law-enforcement investigation.

What kind of relationships do they see in an average account? Thanks to the researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab, now you can find out. They’ve developed a tool called Immersion that taps into your Gmail and displays the results as an interactive graphic. (That’s mine, above).

The chart depicts all of your contacts as nodes, and the gray lines between those nodes represent connections between people by e-mail. The larger the circle, the more prominent that person is in your digital life.

A word of warning for the privacy conscious: To use the service, you need to give MIT permission to analyze your e-mail metadata. Once you’ve done so, it’ll take a few minutes to compile everything. When you’re done, you’re given the option to delete your metadata from MIT’s servers.

What you see in my chart are five and a half years’ worth of e-mails. The yellow circles indicate family and close family friends. All of my college friends are in red, and my D.C. friends are in green. Blue nodes denote my colleagues at The Atlantic; pink, my coworkers at National Journal; and gray, people who generally don’t share connections with the other major networks in my life.

In all, MIT counted 606 “collaborators” in my inbox, totaling some 83,000 e-mails. But you can also break down that data by year, month, or even the past week. Pretty amazing stuff—and a good reminder not only how much information Google knows about you, but what that information can uncover about other people. If you can learn this much just from looking at one account, imagine what crunching hundreds or thousands of interconnected accounts must be like.

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CHICAGO (CBS) — Police on Thursday shot and critically wounded a Chicago firefighter who was described as suicidal and despondent.

The shooting happened at the CVS Pharmacy at 103rd and Pulaski in the Mount Greenwood neighborhood early in the afternoon, according to sources.

The firefighter, who reportedly was on medical leave, was trying to be shot on purpose, in a so-called attempted “suicide by cop,” police union spokesman Pat Camden said. Chicago Police News Affairs said initial reports characterized the subject as suicidal.

The firefighter was known to be despondent. Camden said the man’s wife told 911 dispatchers that he called her shortly before the shooting and said he couldn’t take it anymore.

The firefighter had called his wife and was upset, sources said. She called police, who responded to the scene.

Once police arrived, the man made the sign of the cross and exited his van with a black object in a shooting position. That’s when police shot him.

“Fearing for their lives, officers then discharged their weapons striking the offender,” Chicago Police News Affairs said in a written statement.

Witnesses said they heard about 15 shots. Investigators determined the man did not actually have a gun.

About 12:45 p.m. Fire Department paramedics took an adult male gunshot victim to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in critical condition, according to a Fire Media Affairs spokesman.

Police News Affairs said the matter remains under investigation.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Chillicothe, Mo., woman has been indicted by a federal grand jury for a wire fraud scheme in which she embezzled nearly $4 million from her employer, Burdg, Dunham & Associates Construction Corp. in Hamilton, Mo.

Donna M. Preszler, 60, of Chillicothe, was charged in a 20-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury on June 20, 2013. That indictment was unsealed and made public today upon Preszler’s arrest and initial court appearance.

Preszler was employed at Burdg, Dunham & Associates (BDA) from 2001 until June 2012, working as an accounting manager since 2004. BDA is a general contractor specializing in retail construction of malls, strip centers, family life centers, and other stand-alone projects. BDA serves customers in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Canada, primarily building for national retail organizations.

The indictment alleges that Preszler embezzled $3,912,000 in a wire fraud scheme from June 30, 2006 through June 15, 2012. Preszler allegedly used her employer’s accounting software to create payroll data files that contained unauthorized false and fictitious payments to her bank accounts and others.

Preszler allegedly utilized her role as accounting manager to add false and fictitious non-taxable pay, such as expense reimbursements to herself. Over a six-year period, the indictment says, Preszler transferred approximately $3,912,000 in false and fictitious payments to herself and her family.

Preszler also added false and fictitious overtime hours and overtime pay to her weekly payroll, the indictment says. Preszler allegedly initiated approximately $76,000 in unauthorized overtime payments to herself from November 2004 through June 2006, which were subject to BDA withholding income taxes.

Preszler concealed her transfers by password protecting her payroll information, creating false and fictitious expense accounts and otherwise manipulating BDA’s payroll and accounting records.

The federal indictment charges Preszler with six counts of wire fraud and 14 counts of money laundering.

The indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation, which would require Preszler to forfeit to the government any property derived from the proceeds of the alleged violations, including a money judgment of $3,912,000, her residence on a 3.44-acre tract in Chillicothe as well as three other residential properties, two 14kt diamond rings, 10 vehicles (a 2007 Ford Taurus, a 2007 Mazda CX-7, a 2011 Nissan Versa, a 2010 Nissan 370Z, a 2007 Nissan Altima, a 2011 Ford F150, a 2010 Ford F150, a 2010 Ford Escape, a 2012 Ford Explorer and a 2012 Nissan Rogue), three 2011 Yamaha ATVs and several bank accounts and funeral trust accounts. Most of those items have been seized by law enforcement agents.

Dickinson cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jess E. Michaelsen. It was investigated by the FBI.

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