National Constitution Center In Philadelphia Opens ‘America’s Founding’ Gallery

Philly Daily, where my Crime Beat column appears each week, reports that the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia announced the opening of its newest permanent gallery. America’s Founding.

“America’s Founding takes visitors on a journey from the colonies’ growing tensions with Great Britain through the drafting, ratification, and adoption of the Constitution and Bill of Rights,” the National Constitution Center stated.

“The gallery will bring this pivotal era to life through rare artifacts, immersive environments, and digital interactives that reveal how the founding generation defined—and debated—the principles of liberty, equality, and government by consent”. 

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

National Constitution Center Opens ‘America’s Founding’ Gallery - Philly Daily

Mexican National In Philadelphia Sentenced To 14 Months In Prison For Using A Vehicle To Assault, Resist, Oppose, Impede, Intimidate, Or Interfere With A Federal Agent

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Philadelphia released the information below:

United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Cristian Geovanni Rojas Benitez, 37, a Mexican national who overstayed his visa and remained illegally in the United States, was sentenced today to 14 months’ imprisonment by United States District Judge Gail A. Weilheimer for forcibly assaulting, resisting, opposing, impeding, intimidating, or interfering with an officer of the United States, while using a deadly or dangerous weapon — specifically, a motor vehicle — while the officer was engaged in the performance of official duties.

Rojas Benitez was charged by indictment in August of last year and pleaded guilty in October. During his plea hearing, the defendant admitted that he intentionally drove his pickup truck in the direction of a federal agent.

As detailed in court filings and statements, on the morning of June 23, 2025, that Homeland Security Investigations ("HSI") agent and other federal officers were attempting to locate Rojas Benitez and take him into administrative custody after he had violated conditions of his immigration release, including a 2024 conviction in the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas for false identification to law enforcement, operating a vehicle without ignition interlock, knowing and intentional possession of a controlled substance, and driving an unregistered vehicle.

Based on information they had received, the federal officers surveilled a residence in Downingtown, Pennsylvania. At approximately 8:30 a.m., a man matching the description and photograph of Rojas Benitez exited the residence and got into a pickup truck. When the defendant started to drive away, the federal officers quickly conducted a vehicle stop.

Rojas Benitez did not comply with the federal officers’ commands to get out of the vehicle or roll down his window. During this encounter, the HSI agent moved to the front of the vehicle to maintain visibility of the driver. The law enforcement officers told Rojas Benitez that if he did not comply, his window would be broken, and when Rojas Benitez continued not to comply after multiple warnings, one of the federal officers broke the rear driver’s side window of the truck.

The defendant then put the vehicle in drive and drove over the sidewalk in the direction of the HSI agent, who had to push off the truck with his hand and jump out of way to avoid being struck. The defendant also narrowly avoided hitting a passing school bus.

Rojas Benitez then fled the state and was ultimately located by the U.S. Marshals Service on July 24, 2025, in Washington, D.C.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

The case was investigated by HSI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Enforcement and Removal Operations, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.                                                    

My Philly Daily Crime Beat Column: Carjacker Sentenced To Prison For Two Armed Carjackings Days Apart

Philly Daily ran my Crime Beat column on carjacking today. 

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

Davis: Carjacker sentenced to prison for two armed carjackings days apart - Philly Daily  

 When one is young, one often sows the proverbial wild oats.  

When I was 20-years-old back in the summer of 1972, I was attending Penn State at the main campus in State College, Pennsylvania on a special program for Vietnam veterans. I was the youngest of the group of vets, having previously served as a teenager on the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk during the Vietnam War. 

I had a wild time in the Navy and afterwards my time attending classes during the day and partying at night at Penn State was another adventure. 

Richard Pridgen embarked on a different kind of adventure at 20. He became an armed carjacker. 

On February 5, 2026, David Metcalf, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, announced that Richard Pridgen of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 214 months’ imprisonment, five years’ supervised release, and $11,709.82 in restitution for committing two carjackings in the city just days apart.

Pridgen pleaded guilty in October of 2025 to two counts of carjacking and two counts of using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the first carjacking was on July 3, 2023, when Pridgen carjacked a victim who had been sitting in his parked blue Jeep, at gunpoint. Pridgen had at least one co-conspirator who drove him there in a separate vehicle.

“Then, on July 6, 2023, Pridgen and two co-defendants, Raheem Bivens and Raheim Brown, used the first victim’s blue Jeep to carjack a second victim of his white Jeep. Both Pridgen and Bivens pointed firearms with extended magazines at the victim, demanding the car and keys. Pridgen and Bivens then fled in the second victim’s white Jeep, with Bivens behind the wheel,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office stated. “Philadelphia police located both Jeeps quickly and pursued all three men. Bivens crashed the white Jeep into several other cars, and Brown, who was driving the blue Jeep, crashed into another car. All the men ran, but all were apprehended, and police recovered both guns. Pridgen had the second victim’s identification on him when he was apprehended.

“Pridgen carried out these carjackings right after his release from juvenile state custody for committing several violent gunpoint commercial robberies in 2021.”

Both Bivens and Brown pleaded guilty in 2024 to one count of carjacking and one count of using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. They were each sentenced to 14 years in prison and five years of supervised release, with Bivens also ordered to pay $11,709.82 in restitution.

This case was investigated by the Philadelphia Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Katherine Shulman and Special Assistant United States Attorney Alexander Bowerman.

A while back the Philadelphia Police Department released a guide to help people avoid becoming carjacking victims. 

Below are some key tips provided by the police to enhance safety and prevent carjacking:

·         Be aware of your surroundings: Know where you are, who is near you, and who is approaching you. If you feel uncomfortable or notice an unwelcome stranger approaching your vehicle, leave the area.

·         Enter and exit your vehicle swiftly: Always enter your vehicle swiftly and without hesitation. Park your car in well-lit areas and avoid parking near walls, bushes, or dumpsters.

·         Keep your vehicle locked: Always keep your vehicle locked and windows shut. Avoid taking streets with frequent stops and intersections.

·         Use anti-theft devices: Consider using anti-theft devices like a steering wheel lock or a gearshift column lock to deter thieves.

·         Keep your valuables hidden: Use anti-theft devices like a steering wheel lock or a gearshift column lock to deter thieves.

·         Avoid being alone in high-crime neighborhoods: Don't sit in your car with the door unlocked or the windows rolled down in high-crime neighborhoods and isolated roads.

·         Know your vehicle identification (VIN) number: This will assist the police in recovering your car if it is stolen.

·         Give up your car immediately: If you are approached by a carjacker, give up your car and leave the scene. Avoid verbal or physical confrontations with the carjacker.

·         Let the carjacker know if there’s a child onboard: If there’s a child in the vehicle, make that clear to the carjacker so they don’t drive away with the child.
These tips are designed to help residents stay safe and reduce the risk of becoming a carjacking victim. 

·          

Paul Davis’s Crime Beat column appears here each week. He is also a contributor to Broad + Liberty and Counterterrorism magazine. He can be reached at pauldavisoncrime.com.

Department Of Defense Employee Indicted For Moonlighting As A Money Mule And Laundering Millions Of Dollars For Overseas Scammers

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Philadelphia released the information below:

United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Samuel D. Marcus, 33, of Oreland, Pennsylvania, was arrested and charged by indictment with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, six counts of illegal monetary transactions, and one count of money laundering – illegal concealment, arising from his alleged role as a money mule for a group of Nigerian-based scammers, in which he received, concealed, and laundered millions of dollars in fraud proceeds.

The indictment alleges that, from approximately July 2023 to December 2025, while employed as a Logistics Specialist with the Department of Defense, the defendant was in direct and regular contact with a group of Nigeria-based fraudsters, who operated under the aliases “Rachel Jude” and “Ned McMurray,” among others. These fraudsters engaged in a variety of wire fraud schemes that targeted victims based in the United States, including romance fraud, cyber fraud, tax fraud, financing fraud, and business email compromise schemes, to which victims lost millions of dollars.

The fraudsters employed a network of money mules in the United States to help launder the fraud proceeds, and instructed victims to transfer funds to financial accounts opened and operated by various money mules, including those controlled by Marcus.

The indictment alleges that, under the direction of fraudsters, the defendant and other money mules conducted a series of rapid financial transactions to convert fraud victim funds deposited into their accounts into cryptocurrency and to move those funds into foreign accounts. Marcus personally deposited and transferred millions of dollars of fraudulently obtained money into and through his personal and business accounts, while fully aware that “Rachel Jude” and “Ned McMurray” were scammers who carried out sophisticated fraud schemes. Marcus also affirmatively misled and lied to his financial institutions and law enforcement officers about the laundered funds, to include sending fraudulent invoices to make the transactions appear legitimate.

In fact, the indictment alleges that the defendant continued to work as a money mule for the fraudsters after being informed by FBI agents that the money passing through his accounts had been stolen from other people and that his monetary transfers were consistent with money laundering.

If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 100 years’ imprisonment, three years’ supervised release, and a $2 million fine.

The case was investigated by FBI Philadelphia’s Fort Washington Resident Agency, with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations and the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Samuel S. Dalke.

The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.                                                                                    

Musicians From Marlboro To Perform At Perelman Theater In Philadelphia

Philly Daily, where my Crime Beat column appears each week, reports that the Musicians from Marlboro will perform at the Perelman Theater at the Kimmel Center on Tuesday, February 19, 2026, at 7:30 PM. Tickets are $30.

Musicians from Marlboro are presented annually in Philadelphia by the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society.

“Musicians from Marlboro, the touring extension of the renowned Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont, features exceptional young musicians from the summer festival together with seasoned artists in chamber music programs of rarely heard works and masterpieces of varied instrumentation. Each year, more than 25 outstanding artists take time from their regular activities to bring Musicians from Marlboro concerts to cities around the country”

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

Musicians From Marlboro To Perform at Perelman Theater - Philly Daily 

On This Date 56 Years Ago, I Enlisted In The U.S. Navy

On this date 56 years ago, I enlisted in the United States Navy.

I was 17 years old.

On February 9, 1970, I raised my hand and swore an oath to the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Constitution in Philadelphia, PA. 

I boarded a train to Chicago and then took a bus to the Naval Recruit Training Center at Great Lakes, Illinois.

You can read a fictional account of my time in Boot Camp via the link below:

Paul Davis On Crime: Boots On The Ground

Third Coconspirator In Fatal Benghazi Attacks In U.S. Custody, Charged In Washington D.C. With Murder and Terrorism Counts

On Friday, February 6, 2026, the U.S. Justice Department announced that Zubavar Al-Balkoush was charged with multiple charges concerning the Benghazi Embassy attack in Libya in 2012:

Zubayar Al-Bakoush, an armed coconspirator in the 2012 attack on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya, that killed U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans, was charged in an eight-count indictment unsealed today in U.S. District Court on multiple terrorism and murder counts.

Bakoush, who is in federal custody, is expected to make his initial appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Moxila A. Upadhyaya for the District of Columbia.

“The terrorist attack on our Benghazi Embassy was a dark and tragic day for our nation that robbed us of four American heroes,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “Now, thanks to our brave federal agents, one of its alleged key participants will be prosecuted in an American courtroom on American soil. Under President Trump’s leadership, this Department of Justice will never rest in our mission to Make America Safe Again and deliver swift, severe justice to our enemies.”

"The FBI and our U.S. government partners have worked tirelessly to hold accountable those responsible for the heinous terrorist attacks in Benghazi, Libya that resulted in the deaths of the U.S. Ambassador, J. Christopher Stevens and U.S. government personnel Sean Smith, Tyrone Woods, and Glen Doherty,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “The latest result of our efforts is bringing  Zubayar Al-Bakoush  to the U.S. to face charges for his alleged role in the attacks against our citizens and our facilities in Libya. You can be assured that no matter how long it takes, or where you are located, the FBI remains steadfast in our duty to see justice served against those who harm our citizens. I’m grateful to the men and women of the FBI for their unrelenting efforts to bring us to where we stand today – this defendant will be prosecuted on U.S. soil.”

“Today’s indictment against Zubayar Al-Bakoush is indicative of President Trump’s resolve to hold accountable anyone who harms Americans, no matter where,” said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro for the District of Columbia. “Al-Bakoush is now on U.S. soil, because the FBI and Department of Justice never forgot those Americans who were seemingly forgotten in that outpost in Benghazi, Libya. President Trump, Attorney General Bondi, FBI Director Patel, and I will do whatever it takes, no matter how long it takes, to pursue justice for the victims and their families.”

“Over thirteen years have passed since the 2012 attack in Libya, and over eight since the last arrest in this case, but the Department of Justice’s resolve has not wavered,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “We never forgot those four Americans who were killed in service of our Nation, and we will continue to seek justice for them, their families, and for the United States.”

“In September 2012, Zubayar Al-Bakoush allegedly facilitated the terrorist attack on the United States Mission and Annex in Benghazi in which four Americans – including an ambassador – were murdered in an effort to incite additional violence against our country’s presence in Libya” said James Barnacle, Assistant Director in Charge of New York Field Office. “This bloody campaign waged unnecessary brutality against Americans and forever altered the lives of the victims’ families. May today’s significant disruption send a clear message: the FBI New York’s Joint Terrorism Task Force will never cease its tireless pursuit of any terrorist involved in the massacre of our nation’s citizens, regardless of when or where the onslaught occurred.”

The indictment charges Bakoush with:

• Conspiracy to Provide Material Support and Resources to Terrorists Resulting in Death
• Providing Material Support and Resources to Terrorists Resulting in Death
• Murder of an Internationally Protected Person
• Murder of a United States National Outside of the United States (Two Counts)
• Attempted Murder of a United States National Outside of the United States
• Arson and Placing Lives in Jeopardy Within the Special Maritime and Territorial

Jurisdiction of the United States and Attempting to Do the Same

• Maliciously Destroying and Injuring Property and Placing Lives in Jeopardy within the Special Maritime and Territorial Jurisdiction of the United States and Attempting to Do the Same

The charges stem from the Sept. 11, 2012, terrorist attack on the U.S. Special Mission and nearby CIA Annex that killed Ambassador Stevens and U.S. government personnel Sean Smith, Tyrone Woods, and Glen Doherty.

According to the indictment, Bakoush was a member of Ansar Al Sharia (AAS), an Islamist extremist militia in Benghazi, which had the goal of establishing Sharia law in Libya.

On the evening of Sept. 11, 2012, a group of more than 20 heavily armed men – including Bakoush assembled outside the main gate of the U.S Special Mission in Benghazi.  They were armed with assault rifles, other firearms, and explosive devices.  At about 9:45 p.m., the group of armed men violently breached the main gate of the Mission. Upon entry, the men fanned out across the Mission complex, setting fires to building within the Mission compound.

When the attackers could not gain entry to the secure area of Villa C, the Ambassador’s residence, they set fire to it.  Ambassador Stevens and Mr. Smith suffocated from the thick, black smoke that enveloped the residence. Diplomatic Security Services (DSS) Special Agent Scott Wickland, who had tried to guide Ambassador Stevens and Mr. Smith to safety, was injured and repeatedly took small arms fire while trying to rescue the two Americans.

The extremist group also attacked the Quick Reaction Force building, which was occupied by local Libyans serving as guards for the Mission.

About 10 p.m., Bakoush entered the Mission compound with other conspirators, and conducted surveillance of the Tactical Operation Center and the Villa. After Bakoush attempted to gain entry to vehicles belonging to Mission staff, he and his co-conspirators temporarily retreated to an area just outside the Mission.

About 11:15 p.m., conspirators assembled outside the southern gate and launched a second violent attack on the Mission using AK-type assault rifles, grenades, and rocket-propelled grenades. After 30 minutes, the group entered the compound and plundered the Mission’s office of documents, maps, and computers containing sensitive information about the location of the CIA Annex.

At 12:30 a.m., conspirators attacked the Annex with small arms, assault rifles, and rocket-propelled grenades.

Following the attack at the Mission, in the early hours of September 12, 2012, the violence continued at the CIA Annex, first with gunfire and then with a precision mortar attack. While defending the Annex, Mr. Woods, Mr. Doherty, DSS Special Agent David Ubben, and CIA security specialist Mark Tiegen were hit by a precision mortar attack, leading to the deaths of Mr. Woods and Mr. Doherty. Special Agent Ubben and Mr. Tiegen were seriously wounded but survived.

The Department of Justice previously charged and convicted two leaders in the Benghazi attack on federal terrorism charges and other offenses. Ahmed Abu Khatallah, aka Ahmed Mukatallah was sentenced in June 2018 to 22 years in prison and resentenced in September 2024 to 28 years in prison. Mustafa al-Imam was sentenced in January 2020 to nearly 20 years.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s New York Field Office with substantial assistance from the Department of War, the CIA and the Department of State. The National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section provided additional assistance.

The case is being prosecuted by the National Security Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.                                                                           

Benghazi Terror Suspect Extradited To Face US Charges: Zubayr Al-Bakoush Has Been Charged With Murder, Terror And Arson, All In Relation To The 2012 Attack

Fox News reports that the U.S. has arrested Zubayr Al-Bakoush, alleged to be one of the leaders of the 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi: 

Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced the arrest on Friday. Bondi said that Al-Bakoush was charged with charges of murder, terror and arson, all related to the 2012 attack.

"Zubayr Al-Bakoush will now face American justice on American soil. We will prosecute this alleged terrorist to the fullest extent of the law," Bondi said on Friday. "Let this case serve as a reminder: If you commit a crime against the American people anywhere in this world, President Trump's Justice Department will find you. It might not happen overnight, but it will happen. You can run, but you cannot hide."

Bondi also took a swipe at former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who infamously said "what difference does it make?" when asked in a hearing about the cause of the deadly attack. 

Patel said that Al-Bakoush was arrested "overseas," but did not give details on the exact location where the alleged terrorist was apprehended.

"I'm extremely thankful to the CIA and Director Ratcliffe and our other law enforcement partners for making sure that the world knows that if you kill an American citizen in an act of terrorism, we will hunt you down," Patel said on Friday.

The FBI director credited President Donald Trump's support for law enforcement, saying that the president "has given law enforcement the resources we need to take the fight across the world." Patel noted the department's success in capturing individuals on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.

 

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

Suspect allegedly behind 2012 Benghazi attack arrested, extradited to US | Fox News

    

                                                                                 

The Chamber Of Commerce For Greater Philadelphia’s President & CEO Message To Regional Business Community

Philly Daily, where my Crime Beat column appears each week, reports that the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia’s President and CEO Chellie Cameron released a message to the regional business community on how to work together and achieve the Chamber’s 2028 vision. 

You can read the item via the link below or the following text:

The Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia’s President & CEO Message to Regional Business Community - Philly Daily

Dear Chamber Community, 

2026 is finally here, and excitement is building across our region. We've already captured national attention, most notably with The New York Times naming Philadelphia as the top place to visit this year, and the momentum will only grow as we prepare to host an unprecedented lineup of major events. From the 250th anniversary of our nation's founding to the FIFA World Cup, our city and region have a rare, historic opportunity to shape how the world sees us. As the Chamber, our responsibility is clear: we must leverage these moments to create more jobs, strengthen our competitiveness, and expand opportunities for residents across our region.

That's why our Business Attraction & Expansion team is leading an ambitious initiative to use the 2026 events as powerful economic development engines. Our goal is simple but transformative: to attract new companies and generate jobs that will benefit our region long after the final whistle blows.

To achieve this, we are executing a coordinated series of high‑impact business attraction experiences tied to these major events. During the NCAA Tournament, PGA Championship, and throughout the FIFA World Cup and MLB All‑Star Week, we are partnering with state, city, and county leaders across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware to host immersive activations that highlight our region's innovation ecosystem, talent strengths, affordability, and unmatched quality of life. These experiences include tours of major innovation hubs and industrial sites, as well as opportunities for site selectors to meet directly with business leaders and government officials who can speak firsthand to the advantages of doing business in Greater Philadelphia.

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

2026 Is Here: The Chamber’s Strategy to Drive Regional Growth – The Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia

My Philly Daily Crime Beat Column: ICEbreakers 2 — Larry Krasner And The War On ICE

Philly Daily ran my Crime Beat column on Larry Krasner and the war on ICE.

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

Davis: ICEbreakers 2 — Larry Krasner and the War on ICE - Philly Daily 

In my last column, I covered the war on ICE by the protestors who are disrupting ICE operations and attacking the special agents as the federal officers attempt to rid Minneapolis of the worst of the worst of the illegal aliens who have committed violent crimes in the U.S.

The war on ICE is also engaged closer to home right here in Philadelphia. On January 14^th, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner spoke out against ICE agents.    

Krasner, the progressive activist DA who appears to be more interested in taking on President Trump than prosecuting local criminals, spoke outside City Hall in support of the proposed "ICE OUT" legislation.

"This is a small bunch of wannabe Nazis,” Krasner said to supporters, onlookers and the press. “That’s what they are. In a country of 350 million, we outnumber them.”

As if addressing the ICE special agents, Krasner vowed, “If we have to hunt you down the way they hunted down Nazis for decades, we will find your identities. We will find you. We will achieve justice."

The ICE OUT legislation was the work of City Councilmembers Kendra Brooks and Rue Landau. They introduced a series of bills that would limit how ICE is able to enforce federal immigration laws within city limits.

The proposed legislation, which I hope and trust cooler heads will kill, would bar ICE agents from cooperation between city agencies and federal officers, deny data sharing, and would limit federal agents from access to city libraries, health centers and other public areas without a judicial warrant.

 

Krasner earlier warned that any ICE agent who is going to come to Philly to commit crimes should "get the ‘eff’ out of here." He added that he would arrest and prosecute ICE agents.

On January 29^th, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office issued a press release that stated that Krasner and a group of “reformed” prosecutors around the country launched a coalition to assist in prosecuting federal law enforcement officers who violate state laws.

“The national coalition, which includes locally-elected, top prosecutors, announced the formation of the Project for the “Fight Against Federal Overreach,” or F.A.F.O., an effort to hold federal officials accountable when they exceed their lawful authority, especially in states around the country where federal agents are being surged.

“The coalition launches amid growing concerns about warrantless entries, unlawful detentions, and coercive enforcement tactics by federal agents, and it’s intended to ensure that constitutional limits on federal power are actively enforced through lawful institutions.”

The press release noted that the founding participants include district attorneys from Minneapolis (Mary Moriarty); Philadelphia (Larry Krasner); Austin, TX (Jose Garza); Fairfax, VA (Steve Descano); Falls Church & Arlington, VA; (Parisa Dehghani-Tafti); Portsmouth, VA (Stephanie Morales); Norfolk, VA (Ramin Fatehi); Dallas, TX, (John Creuzot); and Pima County, AZ (Laura Conover).

The press release added that the coalition will share strategies and best practices among prosecutors, provide regular public updates on efforts to rein in unlawful federal conduct and educate the public on what paths are legally available, and coordinate accountability efforts across jurisdictions.

“No agency or officer is above the law,” Krasner stated in the press release. “When federal agents exceed their lawful authority, local prosecutors have both the power and the duty to act. The project exists to ensure that accountability is real, coordinated, and enforced through lawful institutions.”

Krasner’s inflammatory and unrealistic remarks drew criticism from his own party in Pennsylvania, including from Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.

"That kind of rhetoric is unacceptable, it is abhorrent, and it is wrong — period, hard stop, end of sentence," Shapiro said.

Also critical of Krasner is Democratic U.S. Senator John Fetterman. Fetterman, speaking to Fox News, suggested that Krasner "lighten up, Francis," a reference to when actor Warren Oates, portraying an Army drill instructor, says this phrase to a wound-up recruit in the 1981 comedy "Stripes."

Across the Senate aisle, Republican U.S. Senator Dave McCormick called Krasner a disgrace on January 31st. Speaking to Newsmax, Senator McCormick stated that Krasner should be condemned for his rhetoric.

"Larry Krasner in Pennsylvania is an absolute disgrace," McCormick said. “He's the district attorney in Philadelphia and he literally compared those ICE agents to Nazis and said we should hunt them down. That kind of rhetoric has no place, it only leads to violence," he added.

McCormick went on to state that President Trump is leading the charge in fulfilling his primary campaign promise, noting that Trump campaigned on the promise to secure the border and to deport violent illegal alien criminals.

I’m fairly certain that Larry Krasner does mind the criticism from the opposing political party as well as from his own political party, as I suspect he craves national attention. And attacking President Trump and federal ICE agents is a sure way to attract national attention.

Now if only the poor crime victims in Philadelphia could get our District Attorney’s attention.

Paul Davis’s Crime Beat column appears here each week. He is also a contributor to Broad + Liberty and Counterterrorism magazine. He can be reached via pauldavisoncrime.com. 

My Crime Fiction: 'Villotti'

Below is my crime fiction short story Villotti.  

The story originally appeared in American Crime Magazine. 

Villotti

By Paul Davis

 Joseph Villotti was called “Crazy Joe” back in the late-1960s in South Philadelphia for a very good reason. He was criminally insane.

 Joe Villotti was insanely sadistic. He was insanely manipulative. He was insanely violent.

Villotti was 6’2”, lean and muscular with a rough face and dark brown hair. He had a raspy voice and a madman’s laugh. He reminded me of a somewhat thinner version of the actor Marlon Brando in the film On the Waterfront. (See above photo of Brando).

In South Philadelphia back in the late-1960s Crazy Joe Vilotti was legendary. Everyone in South Philly at the time had a Villotti story. I had several, including one story that I recently recounted. I wrote of the time that I witnessed Villotti murder a hoodlum in 1968 in a dispute over drugs.    

I also recall when I was walking down Oregon Avenue in South Philly when I was 15 in 1968. Villotti, who was 19 at the time, pulled his car to the curb and offered me a ride.

“Thanks, Joe, but I like to walk and my house is only two blocks away.”

Villotti, well known for not taking no for an answer, yelled, “Get in, for fuck’s sake. I’ll drive you.”

I got in the car. Villotti swung out onto Oregon Avenue and sped past a red light and headed west. I heard the police sirens behind us and then I saw two police cars swing across the four-lane avenue and block Villotti’s car.

Two additional police cars came up behind Villotti and blocked him from backing up. A plainclothes detective rushed up on the driver’s side and stuck a .38 snub nose revolver in Villotti’s face.

“Keep your hands on the fucking wheel, Joe,” the detective said. “Don’t fucking make a move.”

I was struck by the familiarity of the detective addressing Villotti by his first name.

A second detective opened my passenger side door and pointed his firearm at me.

“No, no,” Villotti said to the detective. “He’s just a kid I picked up.”

The detective looked hard at me and then said, “Get lost, kid.”

I got out of the car as Villotti was yanked out of the car and handcuffed. I walked away as fast as I could.

Back at JP’s luncheonette on 13^th and Oregon, I told everyone the story. There were several theories about why Villotti would stop and pick me up while he was being chased by the police. One was he picked me up thinking that having a passenger might throw the police off from identifying his car. Another theory was that Villotti was plain nuts.

 

Villotti was a member of the Dalton Street and Oregon Avenue street corner gang back then. The teenage street corner gang, known as the “D&O,” was a notorious and troublesome group, well known to the police and other street corner gangs in South Philadelphia.

The street corner crowd at 13^th and Oregon Avenue was not a large or tough group like the D&O and other notorious South Philly street corner gangs, although we had a handful of very tough guys like my older brother Eddie and the Sarcone brothers, Chickie and Stevie. We were known more as a party corner as we always had a crew of local pretty girls who hung out with us.

JP’s luncheonette was located on the corner of 13^th and Oregon Avenue, and we drank coffee and soda and ate cheesesteaks and hoagies in the five booths and at the counter.

We were three block west of the D&O gang’s hangout at George’s Luncheonette. We were friendly with the D&O teenagers as we all went to school together and we freely mixed at the teenage dances.

Villotti began hanging out with us more and more in 1968 as he had worn out his welcome at the D&O. He had a beef with Billy Russo, aka “Samson,” as the teenager was a big, tough guy. Russo was also, by all accounts, a nice guy. Russo objected to Villotti picking on a skinny guy and he confronted Villotti. The two big guys squared off in the Thomas Junior High schoolyard. Russo hit Villotti so hard that Villotti went down. Other D&O guys broke up the fight.

Later, as Russo left his house and walked towards Oregon Avenue, Villotti was waiting with a baseball bat. Villotti repeatedly cracked Russo with the bat and Russo fell to his knees in pain. Villotti continued to strike Russo until several men pulled him away.

Russo was hospitalized with several broken bones and a concussion. Most of the D&O teenagers took Russo’s side as he was a popular guy, but no one confronted Villotti. But Villotti sensed he needed a break from the D&O gang, so he began to hang out with us.

Lucky us.

Villotti was sadistic and a bully with a warped sense of humor. Thankfully, he never picked on me as he was afraid of my older brother Eddie.

Although Villotti was “bat shit” crazy, he was sane enough to know that he could not beat my brother, and Villotti knew that Eddie was a lot tougher than Samson Russo.  

Villotti came to spend more time with us after his beating of Russo and his involvement in a romantic triangle. A teenage girl named Jennifer broke up with a D&O guy named Butchie and she began seeing Eddie Dano. Eddie Dano was a good-looking young guy, and girls liked him, but he was a fool for love.

He would date a girl, quickly fall in love with her, and he would go into debt buying the girl an expensive ring. Inevitability, the new girl would grow tired of Dano’s rapt attention and she would drop him. We called Dano “Captain Cute,” and we called his big tan Buick the “Cutemobile,” a take on Batman’s “Batmobile.”

Butchie complained to Villotti about Dano “stealing” his girl. Villotti talked a group of D&O guys into going up to 13^th and Oregon and beating the shit out of this guy “Eddie.” There were three guys named Eddie on 13^th and Oregon Avenue. There was Eddie Dano, Eddie Pellegrini, and my older brother, Eddie Davis.  

My brother Eddie was three and a half years older than me, the average age of the 13th and Oregon Ave crowd. At 15, I was the baby of the crowd. Eddie had stopped hanging with us on the corner in 1968, as he had graduated to hanging out with our “old heads,” the previous generation of guys who were then in their mid-20s and went clubbing throughout the city. My brother was also seeing a girl named Frannie whom he would later marry.

One of the D&O guys held a grudge against my brother from a few years prior when we all went to the South Philly Boys Club. At 6’3,” lean with an athletic built, with long, strong arms and legs, Eddie was a star basketball player. He was also a genuine tough guy, but he was no bully. In fact, he was the champion of the bullied, as he often came to their defense. He never bullied anyone but me, his little brother.

While during a basketball game at the Boys Club, Jason “Jay” Gianni and his older brother Mark doubled-teamed an opposing player and beat him to the court’s floor. My brother stepped in, pulled the Gianni brothers off the guy and he offered to fight both of the brothers at the same time. The Ginanni brothers walked away.

And now Jay Gianni saw a way to get back at my brother, believing the Eddie that Villotti wanted to have beaten up was my brother.

That night Eddie Dano was warned that the D&O guys were coming for him. So he downed several barbiturates, stating, “When they beat the shit outta me, I won’t feel a thing.”   

I stood out on the corner leaning on my brother’s parked car. I was amused by Dano, who had trouble standing. Also on the corner was “Mikey Head” Tabone.

I saw Jay Gianni and four guys walking up Oregon Avenue. One of the guys in the group was my good friend Alex Agnello, whom I’ve known since junior high school. He walked up to me and said hello.

Gianni and the others seemed to ignore Dano, who leaned against the wall. Just then, my brother Eddie appeared on the corner of Iseminger Street, and he turned and was heading towards his car.

“There he is!” Gianni shouted as he and three others ran towards my brother. I grabbed Alex by his jacket, and he grabbed me as we grappled against my brother’s car.

My brother saw Gianni and the others run towards him and he put up his hands and punched Gianni in the face, knocking the hoodlum to the concrete. The other three hoodlums started to swing at my brother and he hit back, knocking each one down with a single punch. The fight was quickly over and Gianni rose from the payment, bloody and bruised, saying in a shaky voice, “We’re going to get, you son of a bitch!”

“Come and get me now,” my brother replied as the other hoodlums rose with black eyes and bloody noses.

Gianni repeated the threat as he and the others walked away quickly and headed back to Dalton Street. Alex and I let each other go and he too headed back to Dalton Street.

Tabone, who had run into the luncheonette when the fighting started, now came out.

“I went in to get a butcher knife,” Tabone explained as he tried to catch his breath.

My brother just shook his head in disbelief.

I explained quickly to my brother that the D&O guys were after Eddie Dano and not him. My brother just shook his head and drove away.

The next morning, I sat in JP’s drinking a cup of coffee before heading to the South Philadelphia High School, known locally as “Southern.” I was telling my good friend Chickie Sarcone about the fight when my brother walked in. He stopped in before going to work for the Electric Company as he wanted to see Chickie. Sarcone, like my brother, was a genuine tough guy who was respected by the D&O.

“Make sure no one bothers my brother,” he said to Chickie.

“No one will.”

“Thanks.”

That night Villotti and a big fat guy came into JP’s. Thankfully, Dano wasn’t there, as he would have had a heart attack. Villotti sat at the counter and ordered a cup of coffee. A minute or two later, my brother stopped in to buy a pack of cigarettes.

Villotti jumped up and explained to my brother that the previous night had been a misunderstanding and that he was sorry. He said he told Gianni and the other D&O guys that Eddie Davis was not to be bothered anymore.

My brother shrugged as he placed coins in the cigarette machine and extracted his pack of cigarettes.

“It’s all over,” my brother said.

Villotti laughed. “Yeah, it’s over. I heard you knocked down Jay and his boys all by yourself. Good for you.”

Villotti put out his hand to shake, and my brother shook his hand, and then walked out the door.

 

But it was not quite over for Villotti.

The next day after school I went to the Oregon Diner with Eddie Dano and Harry “Bud” Keitel, also known as “Bud the Dud.”

After we ate our cheeseburgers and French fries, we got into Dano’s big Buick and started to pull out of the diner’s parking lot. It was a warm day, so we had all of the car windows down. Suddenly, Villotti rushed up to the driver’s window and punched Dano in the face. Another guy appeared on the passenger side and punched Keitel in the face. A third guy opened the back door, and he was about to strike me with a tire iron when Villotti grabbed the tire iron and said, “No, he’s a good kid. I know his brother.”

Villotti and his friends walked off. Dano slumped over and held his broken nose. Keitel held a handkerchief to his bloody teeth. After a few minutes, Dano was able to drive and we headed back to 13^th and Oregon Avenue. No one spoke of what happened.   

Afterwards, Villotti acted like nothing had happened and he began to hang out with us, especially since my brother no longer came around. Villotti was abusive, cheated at cards, stole, and borrowed money from the guys and never paid them back. No one even asked Villotti to pay them back. They were usually glad that he was picking on a new victim. For those who were immune to Villotti’s bullying, like Chickie Sarcone and I, Villotti was a funny guy.         

Later that summer, as we were driving in Bud’s car on the way to Belmar Lake in South Jersey, Villotti saw a hippie hitchhiker on the side of the road. He ordered Bud to stop the car, pull over, and pick up the hippie. Bud was confused, but he pulled over.

Villotti opened the car door and the hippie with long, stringy blonde hair and a big, goofy grin, bent over and began to climb into the back seat, face first. Sitting next to Villotti in the back seat, I saw Villotti hit the grinning hippie square in the face and the hippie’s head reared back and his body followed, collapsing on the side of the road.

“Go, go, go!” Villotti ordered Bud and Bud sped off.

Looking back, this was a cruel and heartless act, and I felt bad for the hitchhiker. But at the time, we all felt this was a spontaneous and outrageous act, and we roared with laughter.

Villotti had that effect on us.  

Villotti was arrested for attempted murder, and he was sentenced to prison in 1973. A heroin addict, he contracted AIDS in prison, and he died there in 1975.

Even after all these years, whenever two old school South Philly corner boys get together, they will invariably tell Villotti stories.

This was mine.

© 2026 Paul Davis             

 Note: You can read my previous story about Joe Villotti, The Seventh Street Shooting, via the link below:

Paul Davis On Crime: My Crime Fiction: 'The Seventh Street Shooting'

And you can also read my other crime fiction short stories via the link below:  

Paul Davis On Crime: My Crime Fiction Stories