Civilian Warriors: The Inside Story Of Blackwater And The Unsung Heroes Of The War On Terror

Gary Anderson offers a good review of Erik Prince's Civilian Warriors: The Inside Story of Blackwater and the Unsung Heroes of the War on Terror in today's Washington Times.

Civilian Warriors” is a spirited defense by Mr. Prince of himself and his company, and nothing in the book dampened my admiration for what he was trying to do, and what he succeeded in doing. It is a good read, because he spins an exciting yarn, but it is also a potential handbook for young entrepreneurs on how to start and grow a company on a shoestring if a person sees a marketing niche for his company.

... When Iraq and Afghanistan happened, Blackwater was uniquely positioned to protect American diplomats and other officials tasked with trying to rebuild those two shattered countries. Using retired special operators, Marines and other combat veterans, Blackwater provided that protection and went beyond the call of duty to assist American troops in both countries when all other means of assistance failed.

The second portion of the book details Blackwater’s fall. Mr. Prince freely admits to mistakes, both personal and professional, but I agree with his assessment that much of its downfall was a result of opportunistic left-wing politicians, hysterical blogging by anti-war pseudo-journalists and ambulance-chasing lawyers. Most disappointing was the company’s betrayal by officials at the State Department. That organization benefited the most from Blackwater’s protection; not one department official that the company guarded was ever killed or seriously wounded under its protection. One has to wonder if Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens might still be alive had Blackwater been around to protect him.

You can read the rest of the review via the below link:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/dec/9/book-review-civilian-warriors/

For Your Eyes Only: Letters Reveal Deepest Secrets Of 007 Creator Ian Fleming... And The Day He Almost Died At A Sunday Times Meeting

Chris Hasting at the British newspaper the Daily Mail offers a piece on the newly revealed Ian Fleming letters.

As the creator of James Bond, Ian Fleming was a master of dreaming up death-defying situations from which the super-spy only just manages to escape. 

But Fleming himself owed his life to the prompt actions of one of his closet friends who spotted he was having a major heart attack.

In previously unseen letters, published for the first time today, Fleming also admitted his impending marriage would cause a "Fleet Street sensation' - and reveals that he regards the genteel pastime of gardening as a 'death trap'.  

Fleming's intimate exchanges with his colleague Denis 'CD' Hamilton form part of an archive of more than 80 letters now on sale for 160, 000 pounds. 

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2519995/For-eyes-Letters-reveal-deepest-secrets-007-creator-Ian-Fleming--day-dropped-dead-Sunday-Times-meeting.html

FBI Undercover Agents Uncover Billion-Dollar Investment Fraud Scheme

The FBI released information regarding a billion-dollar investment fraud scheme.

For a group of financial fraudsters, it seemed like the ultimate get in an investment scam—a victim willing to hand over $1 billion.

However, like victims of financial scams everywhere, these criminals should have paid more attention to the “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is” adage—the wealthy “victim” in this case was actually an undercover FBI agent. And last month, the last three members of this group of con artists were sentenced to federal prison for their role in this scam. Several co-conspirators have previously pled guilty.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2013/december/billion-dollar-investment-fraud 

A Look Back At TV's 'Wiseguy'

Brian Lowry at Variety offers a column on Wiseguy, a clever, well-made TV series that my wife and I enjoyed. 

Reading about Kevin Spacey returning in "House of Cards," watching Jonathan Banks breaking bones on “Breaking Bad” and Steven Bauer in “Ray Donovan,” and seeing Stanley Tucci stealing scenes in the “Hunger Games” sequel, lately it feels like all roads lead to "Wiseguy"

Once in a while there are TV series that in hindsight appear ahead of their time, or that provided a launching pad for an inordinate amount of talent. “Wiseguy,” which aired on CBS from 1987-90, managed to do both.

Starring Ken Wahl as Vinnie Terranova, a cop working undercover as a criminal enforcer, the series introduced Spacey as part of an incestuous brother-and-sister, Tucci as a ruthless mobster and Banks as Wahl’s taciturn boss. Featuring one of composer Mike Post’s best themes (if you know it, you’ll likely be humming it the rest of the day), the Stephen J. Cannell production also proved inordinately adroit – so much so that when Wahl was sidelined by an injury, the producers brought in Tony Denison as a temporary replacement for an arc of episodes (featuring Tucci, Ron Silver and Jerry Lewis) that were among the program’s best.

You can read the rest of the column via the below link:

http://variety.com/2013/tv/columns/kevin-spacey-stanley-tucci-jonathan-banks-all-roads-lead-to-wiseguy-1200920086/

You can also read my Crime Beat column on Wiseguy via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2010/03/wiseguys-goodfellas-and-godfathers.html

A Visit To The Delaware Valley Intelligence Center At The Old Philadelphia Quartermaster

 

I visited the old Defense Department depot commonly called the "Quartermaster" in South Philadelphia yesterday.

 

As a South Philadelphia neighbor of the compound, as well as a former employee there, I recall vividly when the Quartermaster - an 11-square block compound composed of buff-colored buildings centered by a tall clock tower - was a local South Philly mainstay and major employer.

 

Having worked at the Quartermaster for more than 25 years, it was both a sad and uplifting day.

 

It was sad, as the old depot looked like a dilapidated ghost town. I recall when thousands of Defense Department civilian employees and military personnel worked here in support of the armed forces stationed around the world.

 

I also recall the very active social life we had at the Quartermaster. There were celebratory luncheons, fabulous Christmas parties, picnics, and drinking and dancing at the Officer's Club after working hours. The Quartermaster also had a bowling league, a dart league, a men's softball league, and a mixed men and women softball league.

 

I thought of all of the good times as I walked past the abandoned, lifeless buildings.   

 

But my visit was also uplifting, as I ventured to the compound to visit the newly established Delaware Valley Intelligence Center (DVIC). I was pleased to see the beginnings of new life and purpose on the old compound.  

 

 

On assignment for Counterterrorism magazine, I visited the fusion center to interview Philadelphia Police Inspector Walt Smith, the executive director of the DVIC.

 

According to the DVIC, the facility was established to house all of the region's assets together for counterterrorism, crime and natural disasters. The DVIC is an all-hazards, all-crime, information and intelligence collection, analysis and dissemination facility.

 

 

The DVIC's mission is to support and enhance public safety in the four-state Delaware Valley Region that includes 13 counties across Southeastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey, Northern Delaware and Northern Maryland. The DVIC uses a Situational Awareness Portal that contains integration with incident management systems, automatic analysis tools, GIS mapping and visualization capabilites, data mining and advanced data analytics software, and deconfliction capabilities.    

 

Inspector Smith led me on a tour of the center, along with the commanding officer of the Real Time Crime Center, Philadelphia Police Captain Derek Kephart, and Sgt Jay Bowen.     

 

 

After the tour, Inspector Smith gathered a small group of people who work at the DVIC into a conference room, where I was able to ask questions about the operation.

 

Inspector Smith gave an overview of the DVIC and Captain Kephart and Sgt Bowen explained how the Real Time Crime Center operated. I also interviewed Philadelphia Police Captain Raymond Evers, the commanding officer of the Criminal Intelligence Unit, about organized crime, gangs and human trafficking.

 

Also sitting in was Detective Grover Linaweaver from the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) Police Department and transportation analyst Bob Giorgio. The two spoke of the threats to regional transportation and how they worked within the DVIC.

 

I'll post my piece about the DVIC here when it is published in Counterterrorism magazine.

 

You can read my Counterterrorism magazine piece on the planning of the DVIC via the below link:

 

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2010/08/connecting-dots-at-local-level-fusion.html 

Pearl Harbor Day, 2013

Today is December 7th, Pearl Harbor Day.

The U.S. Defense Department offers a fine web page to honor those who fought and died on that date in 1941 when the Imperial Japanese launched a sneak attacked against us.

You can visit the site via the below link:

http://www.defense.gov/home/features/pearl_harbor/index.html

I visited Pearl Harbor in 1970 when the aircraft carrier I was stationed on, the USS Kitty Hawk, made a port-of-call there prior to our sailing on to the Philippines and then on to Yankee Station, off the coast of Vietnam.

While in Hawaii I paid an emotional visit to the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl, like thousands of other American sailors and soldiers on route to the Vietnam War.

I have a large poster photo in a frame hanging in my basement office that shows the USS Kitty Hawk passing the USS Arizona Memorial.
 
December 7th is also the date my father, a World War II Navy veteran, died on in 1976.

My older brother and I noted that my father would have liked the idea of his passing away on December 7th, Pearl Harbor Day, as he was most proud of having served in the U.S. Navy during World War II.

Below is a photo of Chief Petty Officer Edward M. Davis, a World War II Underwater Demolition Team (UDT) 5 frogman who fought against the Japanese in the Pacific:

Philly Mob On Trial: Words And Meanings Argued At Mob Trial

Veteran organized crime reporter George Anastasia is covering the federal organized trial in Philadelphia for Bigtrial.net.

What was said in a taped telephone conversation or written in the letter or Christmas card was not in dispute.

But what the words meant was the focus of nearly four hours of cross-examination today as mob informant Anthony Aponick, 43, spent a second day on the witness stand in the racketeering conspiracy retrial of George Borgesi and his uncle, mob boss Joseph Ligambi.

Aponick, a New York mob associate who was Borgesi's cellmate in a federal prison in Virginia for parts of 2002 and 2003, clashed repeatedly with Christopher Warren, Borgesi's defense attorney.

Warren, trying to underscore in the jury's mind that much of what Aponick has testified to is uncorroborated, came back again and again to a simple query.

"We just have to take your word?" the lawyer asked.

"It's the truth," Aponick responded.

The verbal tap dance went on for most of the day and will likely continued tomorrow when Warren concludes his questioning and Ligambi's lawyer, Edwin Jacobs Jr., takes his turn at discrediting the second key prosecution witness to testify in the case.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.bigtrial.net/2013/12/words-and-meanings-argued-at-mob-trial.html#more