Monday, June 30, 2025

Department Of Defense Employee Charged With Unlawful Retention Of Classified Documents

The U.S. Justice Department released the information below:

WASHINGTON — A civilian employee of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) was arrested and made her initial court appearance yesterday to face charges of unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents.

Ewa Maria Ciszak, 64, of Huntsville, Alabama, is charged with knowingly removing and retaining classified documents and materials.

According to court documents unsealed today in the Northern District of Alabama, Ciszak has been employed at the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) since January 2023. As part of her duties, she held a security clearance and had access to classified materials related to the national defense of the United States. Beginning in approximately February 2025, and continuing through June 18, 2025, Ciszak allegedly removed classified documents from MDA facilities without authorization and transported them to her personal residence and vehicle, which were not authorized for classified material storage.

On June 18, 2025, pursuant to a search warrant authorized by the U.S. District Court, federal agents executed a search of Ciszak’s home, person, and vehicle. Agents recovered multiple documents bearing classification markings up to the SECRET level. Some of the documents had been placed in her personal backpack that day and transported directly from MDA to her home.

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg, U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona for the Northern District of Alabama, and Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division made the announcement.

The FBI’s Birmingham Field Office and the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations are investigating the case. Valuable assistant was provided by the FBI Atlanta Field Office’s Savannah Resident Agency and the Missile Defense Agency. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Henry Cornelius for the Northern District of Alabama and Trial Attorneys Chantelle Dial and Adam Barry of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

 


Friday, June 27, 2025

My Crime Fiction: 'Upton "Uppercut" Clarke'

The story below is another chapter in my crime novel-in-progress. 

You can read the earlier chapters via the links at the bottom of the page: 

The story originally appeared in American Crime Magazine. 

Upton “Uppercut” Clarke 

By Paul Davis 

In his day, Upton Clarke, known as “Uppercut,” was a promising heavyweight boxer. 

He was big, strong and fast. Clarke was a huge and ferocious black fighter who was brutal to his opponents. He had a powerful upcut, which often knocked his opponents out cold. He won most of his fights and he was popular with the fight fans. 

But Clarke had a lot of bad habits. He drank, did drugs, got into public bar fights, fought with cops, and got arrested. 

As I sat at Salvatore Stillitano’s grandmother’s kitchen table, we discussed his late father’s involvement with the infamous fighter. Stillitano, the son of Nicodemo “Nick the Broker” Stillitano, had become a federal cooperating witness against other organized crime bosses in the 1980s. After helping to put the crime bosses, who had planned to murder him, in prison, he went into the Witness Protection Program. 

When Salvatore Stillitano returned to South Philadelphia, he contacted me, hoping that I would write his life story. He told me in our first meeting that as I was half-Italian and grew up in the predominantly Italian American South Philly, I would understand him better than most journalists. 

That I was a newspaper crime reporter and columnist who covered organized crime for many years was a clear plus in his eyes. He said he read my columns and magazine pieces, and he was especially fond of an earlier piece of mine in which I wrote about meeting his late father in Palermo, Sicily back in 1975 when I was a young sailor in the U.S. Navy. 

I described Nick Stillitano in the piece some years later as an elderly slim and polite gentleman with dark hair mixed with gray, and large, dark protruding eyes that could, I believe, intimidate people if he had chosen to use them as such. He was intelligent and spoke well. He looked more like a prosperous businessman than a notorious gangster.     

Having previously visited Salvatore Stillitano’s grandmother’s house and interviewed him about his father’s 1960’s rise in the Philadelphia Cosa Nostra organized crime family, Stillitano in this interview session wanted to talk about the early 1970s when as a teenager, he was allowed to shadow his father as he went about doing his various criminal activities. I laid my tape recorder, notebook and pen on the kitchen table. 

Back in the late 1960s, Nick Stillitano was a well-known boxing promoter, gambler, and the Caporegime, or captain, of the Philadelphia Cosa Nostra crime family’s Wildwood, New Jersey crew. Salvatore “Salvy Shotgun” Stillitano was then a teenager who idolizes his father. The son was allowed to accompany his father as he was promoting the sensational boxing match between Clarke and a younger popular heavyweight named Marlon Wilson, known as “The Kid.”      

Clarke was a North Carolina farm boy. The big youngster ran afoul of local law enforcement and his parents sent him to live with his aunt and uncle in North Philadelphia. The city’s black teenagers ridiculed him, calling him a big, dumb black farmer. He endured the taunts stoically, but when one of the teenage hoodlums in the schoolyard pushed him, Clarke beat him and two of his friends brutally. 

The three boys, members of a notorious black drug gang, debated whether to kill Clarke, or to recruit him into the gang. The teenagers put aside their hurt feelings and hurt bodies and invited Clarke to join the gang. As Clarke had no friends in Philadelphia, he agreed. 

His uncle, not liking the way his wayward nephew was heading had Clarke join a local gym and under the tutelage of a former heavyweight southpaw boxer by the name of Arthur “Lefty” Moore. Moore saw real talent in the young man, and he convinced his friend and employer, Gus Frangella to manage him. 

Clarke did not trust Frangella, nor did he trust any white man, but he trusted Lefty, so he signed on with Frangella as his manger and Lefty as his trainer.     

Nick Stillitano often worked out of Rocco’s Passyunk Avenue Gym in South Philadelphia. Stillitano’s partner was a New York mobster named Joseph “Joey Pug” Puglisi, a former professional middleweight fighter. The two promoters ruled the fight game in the late 1960 and early 1970s. 

Stillitano and Puglisi promoted the fights of Upton “Uppercut” Clarke, then a heavyweight contender. Stillitano was able to get Clarke a fight with another up and comer, Marlon Wilson. Wilson, known as “The Kid,” was a glib, good-looking young black fighter. Wilson was lighter and shorter than Clarke, but he was skilled and flashy. 

The upcoming fight was getting a lot of press and fight fans were looking forward to the bout. Newspaper sport writers called the bout “The Beauty and the Beast.” Fight fans and gamblers were betting heavily on the fight. 

But a few weeks before the fight, Clarke got drunk in a North Philadelphia bar and  knocked out the bartender when he refused to serve the intoxicated boxer. Two of the bar’s bouncers came to the bartender’s rescue and Clarke knocked them out as well. The crowded bar’s customers moved away from the fight and huddled together into corners, fearful of the huge, crazy drunken fighter. 

Someone called the police. Sergeant James Monroe received the call as he happened to be talking to an old friend, Detective Bill Bartlett. Bartlett, then-Mayor Frank Rizzo’s bodyguard, stood at 6’3 and weighed over 200 pounds.

Bartlett was quiet and dignified, but he was a powerhouse when he had to be. 

Many people in Philadelphia and beyond considered the former police commissioner and populist mayor to be a racist. But others pointed out that the so-called racist mayor was guarded by two black cops. 

“Rizzo don’t hate black people,” Bartlett often told people who asked him how he could work for Rizzo. “He hates criminals, be they black, white or whatever.” 

Although Bartlett was off duty when Monroe received the call, he accompanied his old sergeant and friend to the bar. 

When Monroe and Bartlett entered the bar they saw the unconscious bodies on the floor, people huddled in corners, and Clarke in the center of the bar threatening two patrol officers. Bartlett stepped in front of the patrol officers and made a show of pulling out his “sap,” a five-inch leather pouch that covered a lead pipe. 

Clarke looked at Bartlett and then looked at his sap. He suddenly sobered up and decided that he didn’t want to fight the big cop. Clarke turned and placed his hands behind his back, allowing one of the patrol officers to place handcuffs on him. Without further resistance, Clarke was taken to the local police station. 

One of the arresting officers called a reporter at the Philadelphia Daily News and told him about Clarke’s arrest. The other news outlets in Philadelphia and across the country picked up the story.        

 

A week later, Nick Stillitano called Clarke to a bar after closing time. With Stillitano were his teenage son, Puglisi, and Stillitano's two constant companions. Anthony Gina was a small man and former welterweight known as “Tony Ball-Peen,” as he hit like a ball-peen hammer. He was known to use the real thing on people after he retired from the ring. 

Stillitano's other constant companion was Dominick “Dom D” Demarko. Demarko was a big, fat former heavyweight who retired after he found out that eating was preferable to fighting in the ring. Both former boxers worked for Stillitano. Also at the meeting were Clarke’s trainer and manager. The men at the table watched Clarke stumble into the closed bar and restaurant. They could see clearly that Clarke had been drinking.

Stillitano, who was seating at a large round table with the other men, pointed to an empty chair and told Clarke to sit.  

“Uppercut, I’ll come right to the point,’ Stillitano said. “It has been decided. You’re going to go down in the fourth round with The Kid.” 

“Shit, fuck,” Clarke responded, slow and angry. “I can beat that punk boy. I’m the heavy favorite. Put your money on me, man.” 

“Uppercut, you’re trouble. It’s all over,” Stillitano said. “You had a good run. We’ll put money down for you. You’ll come out well.” 

“Fuck no, I ain’t gonna do it.” 

Gina stood up and leaned over table, “Listen you big, dumb…” 

Stillitano made a motion for Gina to sit down.   

Clarke looked at Moore and Frangella. “Ain’t you two got nothing to say?” 

Both men sat there still and did not respond. 

“Uppercut, Tony and Dom here were my fighters, and I took care of them,” Stillitano said in a calm voice. “Ask them. I’ll take care of you as well. Do you want to own this bar and restaurant? It’s yours. 

“We can set you up here, have all of your boxing photos on the wall. You can greet the customers and play the tough guy and big shot. You can have a good life. But you’re done as a fighter. You drink. You’re loud. You act crazy. You make newspaper headlines. We can’t have that anymore. So, this is your payday."

"C'mom," Clarke pleaded. "Gives me another chance. I can whip that young boy's ass."

"Uppercut, keep in mind that I have partners. I have bosses," Stillitano responded. "It has been decided. You will lose to The Kid.” 

Clarke hung his head and nodded meekly.

 

The Kid won the fight, as planned, and the mobsters in South Philly and New York cleaned up. Clarke took his last big payday and Stillitano opened the bar and restaurant in the former fighter's name. 

Upton Clarke went on to live a life of alcohol abuse and later became addicted to heroin. Moore found Clarke dead in his apartment. His death was ruled to be a drug overdose. 

But many people in the fight game and the press believed that someone had given Clarke a “hot shot” of heroin and murdered him.  

© 2025 By Paul Davis 

Note: You can read the earlier chapters via the links below:

Paul Davis On Crime: My Crime Fiction: 'The Rigano Murders'

Paul Davis On Crime: My Crime Fiction: 'From South Philly To Sicily'

Paul Davis On Crime: My Crime Fiction: 'Salvie Shotgun' 

Paul Davis On Crime: My Crime Fiction: 'Nick The Broker' 

Mark Twain On Travel

Mark Twain is one of my favorite writers. And he is right about travel. 

While serving in the Navy on an aircraft carrier during the Vietnam War, I traveled all over Southeast Asia. Later, serving on a Navy harbor tugboat at the U.S. nuclear submarine base at Holy Loch, Scotland, I traveled all over the United Kingdom and Continental Europe. 

As a Defense Department civilian for many years, I traveled to Washington D.C. many times, and I traveled all across the country as well.

Since I've been married, I traveled to Jamaica (many times) and other Carribean islands with my wife. We have also traveled to San Antonio, Texas and Sacramento, California to visit our daughter. 

Travel has certainly broadened my outlook on life.

BTW, I happen to now be reading Ron Chernow’s Mark Twain

A fine biography of the late, great humorist and novelist.


Thursday, June 26, 2025

International Arms Dealer Pleads Guilty To Conspiring To Export Firearms To Russia


The U.S. Justice Department released the information below today:

Yesterday in federal court in Brooklyn, Sergei Zharnovnikov, 46, of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit export violations. The defendant exported firearms and ammunition worth over $1.5 million from the United States to Russia, in violation of U.S. law. When sentenced, Zharnovnikov faces up to 20 years in prison.

“By his own admission, Zharnovnikov willfully violated U.S. export controls to smuggle American-made firearms into Russia,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “The National Security Division will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to disrupt illicit arms networks and prosecute those who illegally transfer U.S. weaponry abroad.”

“The defendant admitted that he purchased American-made, military-grade firearms and re-exported them to Russia,” said U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella for the Eastern District of New York. “Today’s guilty plea is the culmination of extensive investigative work, showing that this office will not allow merchants of lethal weapons and Russia to flout U.S. sanctions.”

According to court filings and statements made during the plea proceeding, the defendant is the owner of an arms dealer located in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (Kyrgyzstan Company-1). Since at least March 2020, the defendant, together with others, has conspired to export firearms controlled by the U.S. Department of Commerce from the United States to Russia. The defendant exported $1,582,836.52 worth of U.S.-manufactured firearms and ammunition from the United States to Russia without the required licenses from the Department of Commerce. In one transaction, he entered into a five‑year, $900,000 contract with a company in the United States (U.S. Company‑1) to purchase and export U.S. Company-1 firearms to Kyrgyzstan. DOC issued a license for U.S. Company-1 to export firearms to Kyrgyzstan Company-1. The license, however, explicitly prohibited the export or re-export of the firearms to Russia. Nevertheless, the defendant exported and re-exported U.S. Company‑1 firearms, including semi‑automatic hybrid rifle-pistols, to Russia via Kyrgyzstan without the necessary approvals.

According to an export filing, in connection with the defendant’s contract with U.S. Company-1, U.S. Company-1 exported semi-automatic rifles from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Kyrgyzstan Company-1 on or about July 10, 2022. On or about Nov. 14, 2022, the General Director of a Russian company that is a client of the defendant executed a tax form listing the same semi‑automatic rifle‑pistols that U.S. Company‑1 had exported to Kyrgyzstan Company‑1, the defendant’s company. The defendant did not apply for, obtain, or possess a license to export or re-export the semi‑automatic pistol-rifles to Russia.

The defendant traveled from Kyrgyzstan to the United States on or about Jan. 18, 2025. The defendant traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada, where he attended the Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show to meet with U.S. arms dealers.

The FBI New York Field Office and U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security Office of Export Enforcement are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ellen H. Sise for the Eastern District of New York and Trial Attorney Leslie Esbrook of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case, with assistance from Litigation Analyst Rebecca Roth. 

 

Tuesday, June 24, 2025

Elder Abuse Scams

Broad & Liberty ran my piece today on elder abuse scams. 

You can read the piece via the link below or the text below:

Paul Davis: Elder abuse scams

In my last piece posted here, I recalled a couple of my encounters with victims of elder abuse, and I offered tips from the FBI on how to avoid becoming a victim of elder abuse. 

June 15th was World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, and the FBI released crime prevention tips for senior citizens, their families and caretakers.   

“Elder abuse — whether through fraud, neglect, or exploitation — has a devastating impact on victims, their families, and the broader community,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia field office. “World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is a reminder of our responsibility to protect older Americans. It’s a chance to reaffirm our commitment to investigating those who prey on the vulnerable, to educate the public on how to safeguard themselves and their loved ones, and to encourage victims to come forward and report scams and abuse to the FBI.” 

The FBI explained that the abuse of older Americans can come in various forms, to include physical, emotional, mental, or financial exploitation. According to the 2024 Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) Elder Fraud Report, the FBI received over 147,000 complaints from victims over the age of 60, with reported losses of approximately $4.8 billion. In 2024, Pennsylvanians over the age of 60 filed over 6,300 complaints of various frauds and scams with over $151 million in reported losses. 

Earlier this month, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office Elder Justice Unit announced charges against Quay Fetherson for defrauding fifteen intellectually challenged Philadelphia seniors from 2018 to 2024.

Fetherson’s charges include fifteen counts of Financial Exploitation of a Care Dependent Person, Identity Theft, Theft by Unlawful Taking, Theft by Deception, and Forgery.

According to the District Attorney’s Office, Fetherson, who served as a “fiscal liaison” for Community Options, a non-profit service provider for adults with intellectual disabilities, including those with IQs below 70, used his access to the victims’ bank accounts to enrich himself. 

“Fetherson is alleged to have issued checks from victims’ accounts, had the victims sign checks, forged victims’ signatures, transported victims to the bank to withdraw the funds, and then stolen a portion or the entirety of the withdrawn amount,” the DA’s office stated. “His scheme was uncovered in May 2024 when his replacement performed an audit and discovered discrepancies in the accounts. Fetherson is alleged to have embezzled over $100,000 from his victims.”

Fetherson was arrested on May 27 and arraigned the same day. Unsecured bail was set at a total of $375,000.

“Mr. Fetherson violated the trust placed in him by his employers, his victims, and the larger community,” said Assistant District Attorney Alexander Blumenthal, Supervisor of the DA’s Elder Justice Unit. “I want to thank Community Options for bringing this crime to light, Detective Nicholas Halbherr of the Philadelphia Police Department for thoroughly investigating this complex case, and Assistant District Attorney Gillian Dagress, who assisted with the investigation, charged Mr. Fetherson, and will be prosecuting the case. The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office fully intends to hold this defendant accountable for his brazen and corrupt actions.”

In yet another case of elder abuse fraud, Pranav Patel, a New Jersey resident, was sentenced to prison for his involvement in an elder fraud scheme. 

On June 11th in Tampa, Florida, U.S. District Judge William F. Jung sentenced Patel to six years and three months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering. The court also entered an order of forfeiture in the amount of $1,791,301, the proceeds of the offense. Patel pleaded guilty on December 23, 2024.

According to court documents, between October and December 2023, Patel was involved in a fraud scheme targeting senior citizens. Conspirators involved in the scheme called from call centers abroad and fraudulently identified themselves as government agents such as officers from the United States Department of the Treasury. In some instances, the conspirators told victims that there were outstanding warrants for their arrest, and they needed to pay to clear the warrants. On other occasions, the conspirators told victims that they needed to provide their money and gold to the officers for safekeeping.

“Patel served as a money mule in the fraud scheme. He drove from New Jersey to pick up money and gold from senior citizens in the Middle District of Florida and elsewhere along the east coast of the United States. During the sentencing hearing, one victim from whom Patel picked up fraud proceeds advised the court that because of the scam, he was unable to afford his mortgage payments, had to sell his house, and had to depend on Social Security benefits for all of his living expenses,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Florida stated. 

“In December 2023, Patel traveled to a residence in Hillsborough County to retrieve what he believed was a box of gold. Unbeknownst to Patel, he did so while under law enforcement surveillance, and Patel was promptly arrested after picking up the box. In total, Patel laundered $1,791,301 as part of the fraud scheme.”

Robert Engel, the U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge of the Tampa Field Office, noted, “Preying on vulnerable, unsuspecting elderly victims to rob them of their hard-earned money is despicable. Even worse, the defendant’s co-conspirators posed as government agents to defraud victims of nearly $2 million, threatening them with arrest if they didn’t follow their demands.”

Paul Davis, a Philadelphia writer and frequent contributor to Broad + Liberty, also contributes to Counterterrorism magazine and writes an online Crime Beat column. He can be reached at pauldavisoncrime.com.  

Note: You can read my other Broad & Liberty pieces via the link below: 

You searched for Paul Davis - Broad + Liberty 

Sunday, June 22, 2025

Russia's Man Of War: My Crime Beat Column On Viktor Bout, AKA, 'The Death Merchant'

I doubt that former President Biden read “Trump: The Art of the Deal.” If he had, I suspect that he would not have authorized the swap of Russian international arms dealer Viktor Bout for Brittany Griner, an American woman professional basketball player who was sentenced to a Russian prison for nine years for possession of vape cartridges that contained hashish oil.

Back in April 2012, then-DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart announced that Viktor Bout was sentenced to 25 years in prison for conspiring to sell millions of dollars’ worth of weapons, including hundreds of surface-to-air missiles and over 20,000 AK-47s to the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (the “FARC”), a designated foreign terrorist organization based in Colombia. Bout had been arrested in Thailand after a DEA-led sting operation caught him negotiating a deal with a DEA asset posing as a FARC representative. He had been convicted on November 2, 2011 of all four counts for which he was charged.

According to Ms. Leonhart, Bout understood that the weapons would be used to kill Americans in Colombia.

“The crimes Viktor Bout committed represent the worst-case scenario for modern law enforcement--the merger of criminal international narcotics cartels with their terrorism enablers,” Ms. Leonhart said. “But his sentencing today also reflects the best of modern international law enforcement-- sophisticated, determined, and coordinated. Thanks to the extraordinary efforts of criminal investigators and prosecutors in the United States, Thailand, Romania, Curacao and elsewhere, the ‘Merchant of Death’ has finally been held to account in a court of law for his years of profiteering from death and misery around the world.” 

Cathy Scott-Clark, a British journalist and author, offers an in-depth look at the Russian arms dealer in “Russia’s Man of War: The Extraordinary Viktor Bout.” Traveling to Russia, she secured a series of interviews with Bout, his wife and daughter and some of his associates.

Bout insisted that during the early days, when he flew weapons to dictators and murderous rebel armies all over Africa, he was simply a businessman helping post-colonial proto-communist liberation movements defend themselves in government-to-government deals,” Ms. Scott-Clark writes in the book. “The West was often arming the other side of right-wing regimes and authoritarian rulers. Amid the decay that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union and the atomization of its client states rose warlords and new political fronts. Bout, who flew carriers into these new conflicts, claimed he was not responsible for what warlords and presidents did with the weapons, and he denied profiting from blood diamonds or arming child soldiers. He was simply a logistician, not the buyer, the seller, or the wielder of arms. His specialty was identifying “sweet spot” opportunities to make money with his air fleet, and he had fully intended to continue until someone stopped him.

“The U.S. government saw things differently. The CIA, FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and Departments of the Treasury and Justice blamed Bout for hundreds of thousands of deaths—for arming rampaging militias, who raped and tortured—even though the United States was by far the world’s most prolific arms supplier. By 2023, Washington would be exporting $238 billion in arms a year, including almost unimaginable sums to Israel. In almost all locations where Bout had ventured, the United States had been arming the other side, often using proxies and cut-outs to transship weapons invisibly. Sometimes, they would be competing to assist the same side, and to claim the same assets in payment, mining concessions, or precious stones.”

Ms. Scott-Clark notes that by the time Bout was 30, he was a multimillionaire and was known throughout the world as the “merchant of death.”

“He was a KGB officer, agent, or asset, doing the Kremlin’s bidding and endangering the West, said the White House. He was a terrorist facilitator and fire-lighting numerous conflicts raging across sub-Saharan Africa and beyond, said U.N. weapons inspectors. He was an amoral master criminal and the world’s most prolific arms trafficker, according to the U.S. State Department, Interpol, the CIA, and MI6. At first, he enjoyed the notoriety, but later it cost him his fortune and his liberty. The more Bout protested his innocence, the more the West denounced him. After 9/11, the U.S. National Security Council described him as the second-most dangerous man in the world after Osama bin Laden. In 2005, Nicholas Cage portrayed Bout in the Hollywood blockbuster Lord of War.

Ms. Scott-Clark strikes me as biased against the U.S., but to her credit, she offers a counterbalance to her interviews with Bout with extensive interviews with DEA special agents and other U.S. officials who took Bout down. 

Russia’s Man of War: The Extraordinary Viktor Bout

Cathy Scott-Clark 

Hurst, $34.99, 360pp

Operation Midnight Hammer: Defense Department Officials Laud Success Of U.S. Strike on Iran Nuke Sites

The Defense Department released the photos and information below:

During a press conference at the Pentagon today, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, lauded the success of the U.S. Central Command's overnight strike on three Iranian nuclear facilities. 

Dubbed "Operation Midnight Hammer," Centcom deployed multiple combined assets to inflict significant damage at the sites of Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan. 

"The order we received from our commander in chief was focused, it was powerful and it was clear. We devastated the Iranian nuclear program," Hegseth said at the outset of his remarks, also noting that the operation did not target Iranian troops or citizens. 

"Initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction," Caine told the media. 

After proceeding quietly and with minimal communication for 18 hours from the U.S. to the target area, the first of seven B-2 Spirit stealth bombers dropped two 30,000 GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator "bunker buster" bombs at the Fordo site yesterday at approximately 6:40 p.m. EDT, Caine said.  

The initial mission package also included several decoy aircraft that flew west over the Pacific Ocean as "a deception effort known only to an extremely small number of planners and key leaders here in Washington and CENTCOM commanders," Caine said.

Such tactics were also used in support of the main strike package of aircraft. 

"The U.S. employed several deception tactics — including decoys — as the fourth and fifth generation aircraft pushed out in front of the strike package at high altitude and high speed, sweeping in front of the package for enemy fighters and surface-to-air missile threats," Caine said. 

Following the initial strike on Fordo, the remaining B-2s went on to deploy their ordnance, eventually totaling 14 MOPs hitting the targeted areas.

This was the first operational use of the GBU-57 MOP, Caine noted.  

In addition to the MOPs, Caine said a U.S. submarine operating in Centcom's area of responsibility launched more than two dozen Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles at key infrastructure targets at the Isfahan site, bringing the overall total of precision-guided weapons employed during the operation to approximately 75. 

Caine stated there was no detectable retaliation to the strikes. 

"We are unaware of any shots fired at the package on the way out. Iran's fighters did not fly, and it appears that Iran's surface-to-air missile systems did not see us," he said, adding, "Throughout the mission, we maintained the element of surprise."

Both Hegseth and Caine shared praise for the military personnel who worked to execute the mission. 

"I want to recognize the pilots who flew those bombers, who flew those fighters, who flew those refuelers; warriors. I want to recognize the sailors on those destroyers, in those subs, on those carriers; warriors, all of them," Hegseth said, also recognizing soldiers who conducted air and base defense. 

"Every American involved in this operation performed flawlessly," he added, also giving recognition to the Israeli government for its contribution to the positioning and preparation of the effort." 

"This was a complex and high-risk mission, carried out with exceptional skill and discipline by our joint force," Caine said, also noting that the mission demonstrated the "unmatched reach, coordination and capability of the United States military." 

"In just a matter of weeks, this went from strategic planning to global execution," he said, adding that he concurs with President Donald J. Trump's assessment that "no other military in the world could have done this." 

When asked about the overall intent of the strikes, Hegseth said the mission was specifically focused on preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. 

"This mission was not, and has not been, about regime change. The president authorized a precision operation to neutralize the threats to our national interests posed by the Iranian nuclear program and the collective self-defense of our troops and our ally, Israel," Hegseth said. 

As to the potential for Iran attempting retaliation for the U.S. strikes, Caine said Centcom is operating under elevated force protection measures throughout the Middle East region and that any retaliation by Iran or its proxies would be "an incredibly poor choice." 

"We will defend ourselves. The safety of our service members and civilians remains our highest priority," he said.

Saturday, June 21, 2025

President Trump Bombs Iran

President Trump announced that he ordered the bombing of Iran.

You can listen to a Fox News report via the link below:

BREAKING: US launches attack against Iranian nuclear sites | Fox News Video

 


Friday, June 20, 2025

My Threatcon Column: Another Terrorism Plot Against A U.S. Military Base

My latest Threatcon column was posted on Counterterrorism magazine’s website.

You can read the column via the link below or the text below:

IACSP - ThreatCon Articles

In the latest issue of the Journal, I covered the terrorist plot against the Naval Station Great Lakes in Illinois. Xuanyu Harry Pang, a former U.S, Navy sailor, planned the attack purportedly on behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). 

You can read the piece via the below link:

Paul Davis On Crime: Raven Pleads Guilty: My Counterterrorism Magazine Piece On The Former Navy Sailor Who Planned An Attack On The Great Lakes Naval Station

Pang pleaded guilty to conspiring to and attempting to willfully injure and destroy national defense material, national defense premises, and national defense utilities, with the intent to injure, interfere with, and obstruct the national defense of the United States.

The story was of particular interest to me as I attended “Boot Camp” at the Great Lakes Naval Recruit Training Center in 1970.

I spent more than 37 years living and working on military bases. Beginning with my selling Philadelphia newspapers as a teenager at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in the mid-1960s, I went on to serve as a young, enlisted sailor on a variety of bases both overseas and in America. I later served on military bases as a Defense Department civilian employee. 

Performing security work as the administrative officer of a Defense Department command on the compound of the Defense Personnel Support Center in South Philadelphia, locally known as the “Quartermaster,” and later at the Naval Support Activity in Northeast Philadelphia, I helped plan and execute security policies and procedures to protect the property and personnel on the military bases. 

So, I was concerned when it was reported that yet another man was arrested for planning a terrorist attack on a military base in Michigan. 

Last month the Justice Department announced that Ammar Abdulmajid-Mohamed Said (seen in the above photo), 19, a former member of the Michigan Army National Guard, was arrested  after he attempted to carry out a plan to conduct a mass-shooting at a U.S. military base in Warren, Michigan on behalf of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a foreign terrorist organization.

Said is charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and distributing information related to a destructive device.

“This defendant is charged with planning a deadly attack on a U.S. military base here at home for ISIS,” said Sue J. Bai, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “Thanks to the tireless efforts of law enforcement, we foiled the attack before lives were lost. We will not hesitate to bring the full force of the Department to find and prosecute those who seek to harm our men and women in the military and to protect all Americans.”

U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. for the Eastern District of Michigan added, “ISIS is a brutal terrorist organization which seeks to kill Americans. Helping ISIS or any other terrorist organization prepare or carry out acts of violence is not only a reprehensible crime – it is a threat to our entire nation and way of life. Our office will not tolerate such crimes or threats, and we will use the full weight of the law against anyone who engages in terrorism.”

Assistant Director Donald M. Holstead of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division noted, “The defendant allegedly tried to carry out an attack on a military facility in support of ISIS, which was disrupted thanks to the good work of the FBI and our partners. The FBI is steadfast in our commitment to detect and stop terrorist plans aimed at the American homeland or at U.S. interests overseas.”

According to the Justice Department, Said informed two undercover law enforcement officers of a plan he had devised and formulated to conduct a mass-shooting at the U.S. Army’s Tank-Automotive & Armaments Command (TACOM) facility at the Detroit Arsenal in Warren, Michigan.

“In April 2025, the two undercover officers indicated they intended to carry out Said’s plan at the direction of ISIS. In response, Said provided material assistance to the attack plan, including providing armor-piercing ammunition and magazines for the attack, flying his drone over TACOM to conduct operational reconnaissance, training the undercover employees on firearms and the construction of Molotov cocktails for use during the attack, and planning numerous details of the attack including how to enter TACOM and which building to target,” the Justice Department stated.

“On May 13th, the scheduled day of the attack, Said was arrested after he traveled to an area near TACOM and launched his drone in support of the attack plan,” the Justice Department stated. “He will make his initial court appearance today in the Eastern District of Michigan. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will be asking the court to hold Said in pretrial detention because of his danger to the community and the risk that he will flee.”  

Based on the charges, Said faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each count if convicted.

“The arrest of this former soldier is a sobering reminder of the importance of our counterintelligence efforts to identify and disrupt those who would seek to harm our nation,” said Brigadier General Rhett R. Cox, the commanding general of Army Counterintelligence Command. “I commend the tireless work of our special agents and FBI partners who worked together to investigate and apprehend this individual. We will continue to collaborate with our partners to prevent similar incidents in the future. We urge all soldiers to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to their chain of command, as the safety and security of our Army and our nation depends on our collective efforts to prevent insider threats.”

Paul Davis’ Threatcon column covers crime, espionage and terrorism.

Thursday, June 19, 2025

The Devastating Effects Of Elder Abuse

Broad & Liberty ran my piece on elder abuse. 

You can read the piece via the below link or the below text:

Paul Davis: The devastating effects of elder abuse 

Some years ago, I attended a series of preliminary hearings at the 3rd police district in South Philadelphia as a reporter and crime columnist for the South Philadelphia American weekly newspaper. 

One of the hearings in particular was truly tragic. An elderly man stood sheepishly with his head hung low as his 40ish daughter and her husband were accused of stealing his monthly Social Security checks. As Social Security was his only income, he was left poor, hungry and neglected.

Later, while out on a ride-along with a 1st district sergeant. I accompanied the sergeant as he responded to a 911 call. The emergency call came from an elderly woman who told the sergeant that four young neighborhood men were entering her home without her permission. On several occasions, the men broke into her home and stole her cash and other valuables as she sat there meekly, unable to stop them. She feared for her life, as the men warned her not to call the police or they would hurt her. She was not physically harmed during the home invasions, but the thieves were leaving her without money for food and other necessities. She cried when she told the sergeant her sad story.

“If my husband were still alive, he would beat the crap out of these punks,” she told the sergeant.

The sergeant took her statement and description of the young men. He said that he would pass on his report to South Detectives and they would soon be calling on her. He also said that he would assign patrol officers to check in on her periodically. He assured her that the police would soon round up the heartless thieves. 

After all these years later, elderly people are still becoming the victims of elder abuse crimes.

June 15th was World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, and the FBI reminded us that this type of fraud takes many forms as criminals seek to take advantage of this vulnerable and growing population. 

“The FBI is committed to educating the public about these scams and investigating financial fraud schemes against seniors. Not only are there devastating financial consequences, but these victims and their loved ones can suffer great emotional and mental effects because of these scams,” the FBI stated.  

According to the FBI, the Bureau investigates various types of financial scams targeting seniors, including investment scams, technical/customer support schemes, money mule and romance scams, and others. 

The FBI pointed to the 2024 data from their Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). There was a total of $4.885 billion in losses from 147,127 complaints. This is a 46 percent increase in complaints from 2023, as well as a 43 percent increase in losses. The FBI stated that they will continue to work with local and federal partners to tackle elder fraud and stop those who attempt to harm the elderly. 

“Educating the American public, and specifically our seniors about the devastating effects of elder fraud schemes are critical to protecting them and their hard-earned money,” said Assistant Director Jose A. Perez of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “There are far-reaching consequences of these elaborate schemes, which can decimate the life savings of the elderly. The FBI works with our local and federal partners to make sure our seniors, their caregivers, families and friends know the signs to look for to keep Americans safe from falling victim to these deceitful criminals.” 

According to the FBI, seniors are frequently targeted by criminal actors, as they are often perceived to be more polite and trusting. These actors may also assume that seniors are more financially stable, own real estate, spend a great deal of time alone, and are less likely to report fraud if they feel ashamed or are unfamiliar with reporting channels such as IC3.gov.  

The FBI noted that fraud can happen to anyone, and small steps can be taken to protect yourself and your information:   

·     Search online for the contact information (name, phone number, email, addresses) of any unknown source which reaches out to you, as well as the proposed offer. Verify the legitimacy of businesses on websites such as Better Business Bureau. Other people have likely posted information online about businesses and individuals attempting to run scams.  

·     Resist the pressure to act quickly. Scammers create a sense of urgency to lure victims into immediate action, typically by instilling trust and inducing empathy or fear, or the promise of monetary gains, companionship, or employment opportunities.    

·     Be cautious of unsolicited phone calls, mailings, and door-to-door service offers.  

·     Never give or send to unverified people or businesses any personally identifiable information, money, checks, gift cards, or wire information.  

·     Take precautionary measures to protect your identity should a criminal gain access to your device or account. Immediately contact your financial institutions to place protections on your accounts and monitor them for suspicious activity.   

If you believe you are a victim of fraud, or know a senior who may be—regardless of financial loss—immediately report the incident to your local FBI field office or other law enforcement agency, or by calling 1-800-CALL FBI, or go online at tips.fbi.gov or go to the Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov

Paul Davis, a Philadelphia writer and frequent contributor to Broad + Liberty, also contributes to Counterterrorism magazine and writes an online Crime Beat column. He can be reached at pauldavisoncrime.com.  

Tuesday, June 17, 2025

A Little Humor: Navy Boot Camp Medical Condition

I enlisted in the U.S. Navy when I was 17 in 1970. 

I attended Naval Recruit Training at Great Lakes, Illinois, which sailors call Boot Camp, back in February of 1970. 

I recall suffering through one particularly freezing and grueling day on the grinder, marching and doing strenuous exercises with a 12-pound rifle. 

I finally had enough and I told the drill instructor that I had a medical condition. He told me to report to sick bay. 

I saw a Navy corpsman in sick bay and I told him I had a back problem.

About a half hour later the corpsman ushered me into the Navy doctor's office. 

The doctor consulted a sheet and asked, "You have a back problem?" 

"Yes, Sir," I replied. "I wish I was back home in Philadelphia." 

Monday, June 16, 2025

Meet The FBI’s Newest Class Of Crisis Response Canines

The FBI offers a piece on two new recruits to the Bureau’s Victim Services Division:

The FBI’s Victim Services Division has welcomed two new recruits: yellow English Labradors named Taz and Peg. Taz and Peg join the FBI family as certified crisis response canines (CRCs). These dogs are specially trained to support victims of crime and foster trust among impacted communities. CRCs also help victims find the courage and confidence to share their experiences in sensitive settings, such as investigative interviews and on the witness stand in court.

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

Meet the FBI’s Newest Class of Crisis Response Canines — FBI


Sunday, June 15, 2025

Afghan National Pleads Guilty To Plotting Election Day Terror Attack In The United States


The U.S. Justice Department released the information below:

Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, a native and citizen of Afghanistan, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Oklahoma City to two terrorism-related offenses: conspiring and attempting to provide material support and resources to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization, and receiving, attempting to receive, and conspiring to receive firearms and ammunition in furtherance of a federal crime of terrorism.

“By pledging allegiance to ISIS and plotting an attack against innocent Americans on Election Day, this defendant endangered lives and gravely betrayed the nation that gave him refuge,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “Today’s guilty plea guarantees he will be held accountable, stripped of his immigration status, and permanently removed from the United States, and shows the Justice Department has zero tolerance for those who exploit our freedoms to spread violence.”

“The defendant admits he planned and obtained firearms to carry out a violent terror attack on Election Day in 2024, a plot that was detected and disrupted through the good work of the FBI and our partners,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “Let this serve as notice to anyone who tries to conduct attacks in our homeland for ISIS or any other terror group: we will find you and you’ll face American justice. I want to commend the FBI teams and our partners for their hard work and success in executing the mission.”

“Through incredible law enforcement effort and coordination, a violent terrorist attack on American soil was thwarted, and those responsible are being held accountable,” said U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester for the Western District of Oklahoma. “I commend the outstanding work by the FBI, our law enforcement partners, and prosecutors to diligently discover, thoroughly investigate, and completely foil this terror plot. These guilty pleas serve as an emphatic reminder that the Department of Justice and its law enforcement partners will aggressively pursue those who attempt to harm Americans through terrorist acts.”

“Thanks to outstanding work by the Oklahoma City Joint Terrorism Task Force, the defendant’s plan to kill innocent Americans in a terrorist attack on Election Day was stopped,” said Special Agent in Charge Doug Goodwater of the FBI Oklahoma City Field Office. “The FBI is grateful to all who stand beside us in our fight against terrorism. Together, we will continue to safeguard our communities from those who conspire against the United States.”

According to court documents, Tawhedi admitted that between June 2024 and October 2024 he conspired with at least one other individual to purchase two AK-47 rifles, 500 rounds of ammunition, and 10 magazines, with the intent to carry out a mass-casualty attack on or around Election Day, Nov. 5, 2024, on behalf of ISIS.  According to a criminal complaint affidavit filed in the case, Tawhedi communicated with an ISIS facilitator about his plan to purchase firearms for use in the terror plot, including asking the individual whether 500 rounds of ammunition would be sufficient.

Tawhedi and his co-conspirator, Abdullah Haji Zada, were arrested on Oct. 7, 2024, after purchasing the firearms and ammunition from an undercover FBI employee.  Zada, 18, pleaded guilty in April 2025 to the firearms offense in connection with his role in the terror plot and is awaiting sentencing. Zada, who was 17 at the time of his arrest, entered his guilty plea as an adult and will be sentenced as an adult.

At sentencing, Tawhedi faces a maximum penalty 20 years in prison for the material support charge and up to 15 years in prison for the firearms charge. Zada faces up to 15 years in federal prison. Upon completion of any sentence, Tawhedi and Zada will be permanently removed from the United States and barred from reentry under stipulated judicial orders of removal to Afghanistan. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI Oklahoma City Field Office’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, which includes Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. Marshals Service, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, the Edmond Police Department, the Moore Police Department, the Oklahoma City Police Department, the Oklahoma City Community College Police Department, and the Oklahoma City University Police Department, is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica L. Perry and Matt Dillon for the Western District of Oklahoma; Assistant U.S. Attorney Everett McMillian, who previously served in the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section; and Trial Attorney Jennifer Levy of the Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case. Trial Attorney Mark Stoneman of the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, who previously served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma, also assisted with the prosecution.