Philly Daily, where my Crime Beat column appears each week, reports that the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia announced that Ben’s birthday bash will be celebrated at the Franklin Institute on Saturday, January 17, 2026, from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm.
PhillyDaily.com ran my Crime Beat column today on the conviction of a Philadelphia teen terrorist.
You can read the column via the link below or the text below"
Teens, terror, and social media - Philly Daily
"Despite the recent assassinations, attempted assassinations and school shootings by mentally unbalanced people, American youth radicalization by overseas Islamic terrorist organizations remains a threat to the United States,” a retired FBI agent said to me recently. “The long arm of social media allows the terrorist groups to reach out across oceans and indoctrinate and communicate with mixed up, impressionable young Americans in a hate and violent philosophy.”
He noted a case in point: Muhyyee-Ud-din Abdul-Rahman (seen in the above mugshot), who was convicted last month of terrorism charges. According to the FBI, the young man communicated via social media with an overseas radical Islamic terrorist group.
Abdul-Rahman, the son of a prominent Philadelphia attorney who ran twice unsuccessfully for judge, was only seventeen when he was arrested in 2023. (I was in the Navy and serving on an aircraft carrier when I was seventeen.)
He was arrested by FBI SWAT agents at his home in West Philadelphia on August 11, 2023, and later held on five million dollars bail while awaiting trial.
Abduk-Rahman’s arrest on terrorism-related charges made news around the world.
Jacqueline Maguire, the FBI Special Agent in Charge of Philadelphia Office in 2023, stated after the arrest of Abdul-Rahman, “Protecting the United States from terrorist attacks is the FBI’s number one priority, and I think it’s very fair to say that lives were saved because of this investigation.”
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner added, “Self-radicalization by young people via the internet is a threat to all families. Parents: Keep an eye out for violent cults that would lure in your kids under the guise of politics or religion, The juvenile is further alleged to have received messages related to construction of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and to have purchased materials online such as chemical cleaners that are used to construct IEDs, as well as outdoor or tactical gear.”
On September 17th, Krasner and First Assistant Robert Listenbee announced that Abdul-Rahman was convicted by a Philadelphia jury of terrorism-related charges. According to the District Attorney’s Office, Abdul-Rahman was found guilty of attempted possession of weapons of mass destruction, possession of explosive or incendiary materials, risking catastrophe, and recklessly endangering another person.
The DA’s office reported that the investigation into Abdul-Rahman’s activities began in 2023, when the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force discovered that he was in frequent communication through social media with a Syrian terror group called Katibat al Tawhid wal Jihad, or KTJ.
As federal investigators began scrutinizing the defendant’s activities more closely, they observed the defendant purchasing tactical gear and bomb-making ingredients and testing homemade explosives near his family’s residence in the city’s Wynnefield section. On one occasion, the defendant also tested a highly unstable and dangerous explosive mixture called TATP, also known as “the Mother of Satan.”
The DA’s Office also stated that federal investigators uncovered evidence of Abdul-Rahman’s intention to attack a variety of possible targets, including the Philadelphia Pride Parade and other local parade routes, Lincoln University, the Army Navy Football game, the Valley Forge Military Academy, nuclear power plants in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
“This defendant posed a serious threat to his community, the city at-large, other jurisdictions, and even overseas locations,” Krasner said. “I want to thank First Assistant Robert Listenbee, who personally tried this case, and Assistant District Attorney Christopher Angelo, Supervisor of the DAO’s Juvenile Unit, for the successful prosecution of this matter. I also thank the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force for their detailed and thorough investigation. I am also grateful to the jury for holding this defendant appropriately accountable for his actions, which could have resulted in unimaginable tragedy if left unchecked.”
Wayne A. Jacobs, the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office, also weighed in, “Protecting the United States from terrorist attacks remains our top priority. The swift and thorough coordination of law enforcement throughout this investigation disrupted a significant threat. Moments like this highlight the strength of our law enforcement partnerships and our unwavering commitment to safeguarding our communities.”
Jacobs added that it was a privilege to serve alongside the FBI’s partners at the Philadelphia Police Department, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, “I want to thank the men and women of the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force for their continued service to our country and their vital role in protecting our city,” Jacobs said.
The retired FBI agent I spoke to told me that we must all be vigilant and look out for other young people who are indoctrinated and radicalized by overseas terrorist organizations.
“If you read radical Islamic posts that advocate violence on social media outlets, you should notify the FBI.”
Paul Davis’s Crime Beat column appears here weekly. He can be reached at pauldavisoncrime.com.
Broad & Liberty ran my piece on potential terrorists from Tajikistan coming across the Southern Border today.
You can read the
piece via the below link or the below text:
Paul Davis: From Tajikistan With Love (broadandliberty.com)
In Ian Fleming’s 1959 classic spy thriller, the Soviet counterterrorism agency SMERSH dispatched a psychopathic murderer named Donovan “Red” Grant to assassinate British intelligence operative James Bond and discredit British intelligence in a sex scandal. With his tongue slightly in cheek, Ian Fleming called his serious, dark, and complicated novel From Russia With Love.
On June 12th,
eight suspected terrorists who reportedly entered the U.S. illegally through
the southern border were arrested in New York, Los Angeles and Philadelphia by
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. The eight apprehended
illegals are suspected of having ties to the terrorist organization ISIS
in Tajikistan. The New York
Post reported that at least one of the suspects was recorded on a
wiretap discussing bombs.
Were the
suspected terrorists sent from Tajikistan “with love” to the United States in
order to commit acts of terrorism? With one of the suspects arrested
here, one wonders if Philadelphia is a potential terrorism target.
“Over the last
few days, ICE agents arrested several non-citizens pursuant to immigration
authorities. The actions were carried out in close coordination with the FBI’s
Joint Terrorism Task Forces. The individuals arrested are detained in ICE
custody pending removal proceedings,” the FBI and the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) noted in a released statement. “As the FBI and DHS have recently
described in public and partner bulletins, the U.S. has been in a heightened
threat environment. The FBI and DHS will continue working around the clock with
our partners to identify, investigate, and disrupt potential threats to
national security.”
According to news
sources, the eight suspects crossed the porous southern border illegally and
were processed through what the U.S. government called a “full vetting” and
then released into the United States after nothing derogatory was reported
against them.
But considering
that most illegal aliens carry no identification and often give fictitious
names, I’ve not much faith in the full vetting process.
According to a
June 25th report by NBC News, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has
identified more than 400 illegal aliens brought into the U.S. by an
ISIS-affiliated network. DHS has labeled these illegals as “subjects of
concern.”
According to a
government official who spoke to NBC, about 50 of them remain in the wind
across the United States, with ICE agents seeking to arrest them on terrorism
charges. About 150 of the illegals have been apprehended and some have
been deported.
“In this case, it
was the information that suggested a potential tie to ISIS because of some of
the individuals involved in smuggling migrants to the border that led us to
want to take extra care,” a senior official said to NBC.
Back in March,
FBI Director Christopher Wray expressed his concern about terrorists crossing
the Southern border, but he said he knew of no specific plot.
Testifying before
the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence during the annual Worldwide Threats
Assessment hearing, Wray said, “Some of the overseas facilitators of the
smuggling network have ties with ISIS that we’re very concerned about, and
we’ve been spending an enormous amount of effort with our partners
investigating,” Wray said. “Exactly what that network is up to is something
that is, again, the subject of our current investigation.”
Back in 2013, I
interviewed then-Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey in his
office at the old Roundhouse police headquarters. I asked Commissioner Ramsey
if Philadelphia was a terrorist target.
He noted that
Philadelphia was geographically located on the Eastern Corridor between New
York City and Washington D.C.
“The harder the
target they make New York, the harder they make D.C., the more attractive
Philadelphia will look to terrorists,” Ramsey said. “The historical monuments
and institutions we have here in Philadelphia make the city a target of value
to someone who wants to psychologically harm the United States, in addition to
actually harming people.”
Ramsey said that
from the standpoint of homeland security, Philadelphia receives millions of
tourist visitors each year, and the city has a major port, an international
airport and many other business, government, historical and cultural
institutions.
“Philadelphia has
a lot going on,” Ramsey said.
That assessment
is still true today.
We need to secure
the southern border to prevent further potential terrorists from entering the
United States, and we need to round up those who have already come through. And
the Philadelphia Police, the Feds, other public officials, and the general public
all need to be diligent in order to prevent a terrorist attack here.
Paul Davis, a Philadelphia writer and frequent contributor to Broad + Liberty, also contributes to Counterterrorism magazine and writes the “On Crime” column for the Washington Times. He can be reached at pauldavisoncrime.com.
Paul Davis: Radical student protestors from the 1960s to today (broadandliberty.com)
I’ve been following the campus unrest and street protests here in Philadelphia and across the nation, as pro-Hamas and anti-Israel protestors block traffic, occupy campus administration buildings and grounds, and fly Hamas flags and anti-Jew banners.
As usual, the clever and
satiric Babylon Bee has the best take on the events. The Bee reported
that student protestors reeled back in horror as the police charged them with
sticks – deodorant sticks.
Here in Philadelphia,
students at Temple University left their classes and marched with other protest
groups all across the city, meeting up at City Hall on April 25th. A hundred or
more pro-Hamas protestors marched through Center City, and they then marched to
West Philly to Drexel University and on to the University of Penn’s campus
where they finally set up an illegal encampment.
The protestors said the
encampment was a symbol of pro-Hamas solidarity. The protestors demanded that
the University of Penn disclose fully its investments as well as divest totally
from Israeli companies.
Jewish students in
Philadelphia and across the country are rightfully frightened, as some of the
pro-Hamas protestors have threatened them physically. Many people see the
pro-Hamas stance as a new burgeoning antisemitism in the United States.
I’m old enough to
remember the anti-Vietnam War protests in the 1960s, when college campuses and
city streets were filled with student protestors waving Viet Cong flags and
burning American flags. There were illegal takeovers of campus administration
buildings, vandalism, and clashes with police.
Films of the campus
riots alternated with films from the fighting in South Vietnam on local and
national TV news programs, and the newspapers carried these stories side by
side in print.
In 1968, when I was a
South Philadelphia High School (Southern) student, I skipped school on several
occasions and took the subway from Snyder Avenue and rode uptown to Temple
University. I stood on the sidelines behind the cops and watched the student radicals
protest the Vietnam War.
My late older brother
was then serving in the U.S. Army in Chu Lai in South Vietnam. According to his
letters, the Viet Cong were launching rocket and mortar fire on Chu Lai daily,
so seeing the student radicals waving Viet Cong flags angered me.
The worst anti-war riots
took place in Chicago during the Democratic National Convention in 1968. Nearly
the whole country watched the TV nightly news in horror and disgust as the
police and student protestors clashed.
President Nixon later
effectively ended the anti-Vietnam War movement simply by abolishing the draft.
The big anti-war protests ended immediately, leaving one to conclude that many
of the anti-war protestors were not so much against the war in Vietnam as they
were against personally being involved in the war.
I attended Penn State
University at State College, Pennsylvania in the summer of 1972 after I was
separated from the U.S. Navy, having served on an aircraft carrier off the
coast of North Vietnam in 1970-1971. Although the war was still going on in
1972, there were few anti-war protests worth noting.
Years later, in 2000, I
covered the Center City riots as a reporter during the Republican National
Convention that selected George W. Bush to be the Republican presidential
candidate.
On assignment for Counterterrorism magazine,
I covered the street protests and the clashes between the protestors and the
police. I recall standing five feet from several MOVE members who sat in the
street and blocked traffic around five o’clock in the evening when hot and
irate workers simply wanted to go home.
Even at the distance of
five feet, I was repulsed by the strong barnyard smell coming from the MOVE
people. I felt sorry for the poor cops who had to lift the MOVE people and
carry them to a parked bus where they housed the arrested protestors. Above and
beyond their call of duty, to be sure.
The protestors included
the Black Bloc, an anarchist group carrying black flags and dressed all in
black, with black bandannas covering their faces. There was also the Clown Bloc
anarchist group, along with other professional agitator groups. Local college
students also joined the street protests.
The protests became
violent with protesters overturning trash dumpsters, vandalizing parked cars
and buildings, and attacking the cops, including assaulting then-Police
Commissioner John Timoney. Timoney was on a bike with another bike cop when
they attempted to stop a small mob of protestors from trying to overturn a
police patrol car. I witnessed a fight that ensued with Timoney and the other
cop taking several blows, but they quickly dispersed the group and handcuffed
and arrested three or four protestors.
Timoney had previously
made the decision to not outfit the police in full riot gear, stating the riot
gear was provocative. Instead, he had the police wear standard bike helmets and
carry their Raleigh Mountain bikes sideways at chest level to barricade, ram,
prod and push back protestors.
So, to me and people of
my age, today’s radical students (and older non-student ringers) who support a
violent and murderous terrorist group like Hamas is nothing new, as the
students in the 1960s supported the Viet Cong, another violent, murderous terrorist
group. And the student rioters in Philadelphia in 2000 supported violent
anarchist groups.
It seems to me that the
student protestors then and now are pleased to have a cause in which they could
feel important, gather in like-minded groups, and avoid the drudgery of
attending class, studying, and writing papers. Marching, shouting slogans, and
waving enemy flags and hate banners is a grand social activity for these
misfits.
And getting arrested is
a badge of honor for them, although they would just cry if they were truly
treated as harshly as hardened criminals were. They would faint if they were
actually locked up with gangbangers, murderers and other career criminals.
With apologies to
Jonathan Swift, I have a modest proposal regarding the pro-Hamas protestors
causing havoc on university campuses in Philadelphia, New York, and the rest of
the country.
I propose that the
pro-Hamas, anti-Israel and anti-Jew student protestors be arrested and forced
to watch Hamas’s own videos of the horrific and brutal murders, rapes and
kidnappings of Israeli defenseless men, women, children, and the elderly on
October 7th.
Then the students should
be made to write a paper on why they support Hamas’s acts of brutality.
But that would be
unconstitutional, as being forced to watch the horrific deeds of Hamas, the
terrorist group they claim to support, would be cruel and unusual
punishment.
Paul Davis, a Philadelphia writer and frequent contributor to Broad + Liberty, also contributes to Counterterrorism magazine and writes the “On Crime” column for the Washington Times. He can be reached at pauldavisoncrime.com.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, released the below information.
PHILADELPHIA
– United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that John Nusslein, 19,
of Philadelphia, PA, pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy to commit
carjacking, one count of carjacking resulting in death, and one count of
carjacking resulting in serious bodily injury.
Nusslein was charged by indictment in June 2022 with these
offenses, in connection with a series of carjackings of food delivery drivers
in Northeast Philadelphia during November and December of 2021.
According to the indictment, the defendant and others committed
two carjackings during the course of the conspiracy that took place between
November 29, 2021, and December 29, 2021. The incidents detailed are as
follows:
“The fact that these carjackers specifically lured two innocent people trying
to make a living is despicable,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “That Nusslein and
the others so brutally beat one driver that his injuries proved fatal is
horrific. We and our partners on the Philadelphia Carjacking Task Force simply
won’t permit violent offenders like Nusslein to victimize people with impunity.
They will be prosecuted, and they will go to prison for a very long time.”
“Carjacking is a serious federal crime with lengthy prison
sentences. This case also demonstrates that carjacking is a deadly dangerous
crime,” said Eric J. DeGree, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ Philadelphia Field Division. “ATF
Philadelphia Field Division is working diligently with our partners in the
Philadelphia Carjacking Task Force, sharing the ATF’s unique forensic and
investigative tools to ensure justice for the victims and to make our communities
safer through federal prosecution.”
“This case is a tragic reminder that carjackings can have deadly
consequences,” said Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin J. Bethel. “The
senseless assault on these food delivery drivers is appalling and unacceptable.
I commend the outstanding collaboration between the Philadelphia Police
Department, the ATF, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for their work in bringing
this case to justice. Our carjacking task force remains vigilant in
investigating these crimes and will continue to work tirelessly to ensure the
safety of Philadelphians.”
Nusslein is set to be sentenced on July 31, 2024, before United
States District Court Judge John M. Younge, and faces a maximum possible
sentence of life in prison.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program
bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve
to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer
for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime
reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering
trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based
organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place,
setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the
results.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Philadelphia Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lauren E. Stram and Assistant United States Attorney Robert E. Eckert.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Philadelphia released the below information:
PHILADELPHIA
– United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Michael Neill, 57,
Marita Crawford, 54, and Niko Rodriguez, 32, all of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
were sentenced this week by United States District Court Judge Jeffrey Schmehl.
The defendants, all former employees of Local 98 of the International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (“Local 98”), had previously pleaded guilty
to stealing Local 98 funds for their personal use.
Michael Neill had
served as the Training Director of Local 98’s Apprentice Training Fund since
2008. In December 2022, he pleaded guilty to four counts of embezzlement of
labor union assets, one count of theft from a union employee benefit plan, and
one count of making and subscribing to a false federal income tax return. As
part of his guilty plea, Neill admitted having Local 98 and the Apprentice
Training Fund pay for construction and maintenance work at his home, at Doc’s
Union Pub, of which he was a part owner, and other personal properties by
causing the submission of false invoices from May 2013 through December 2015.
Neill was sentenced to 13 months in prison, three years of
supervised release, a fine of $10,000, and a mandatory special assessment of
$600. Neill was ordered to pay restitution of $92,733.67 and to forfeit the sum
of $25,259.29.
Marita Crawford had
served as Local 98’s Political Director since November 2011. In December 2022,
she pleaded guilty to four counts of wire fraud, which involved using her Local
98 credit card to pay for personal expenses for the benefit of herself and
others, and, for some of the illegal expenditures, submitting false
business-related explanations of the expenses to the union to disguise the
illegal nature of the transactions. Crawford also admitted illegally using
money from a political action committee (PAC) called “New Gen1,” funded
primarily by contributions from Local 98’s committee on political education
(“COPE”) and by the IBEW’s similar fund in Washington, D.C., for personal
purchases for herself and others.
Crawford was sentenced to 15 days in prison followed by three
months of home confinement, three years of supervised release, a fine of $2,000
and a mandatory special assessment of $400. She was ordered to pay restitution
of $11,903 and to forfeit the sum of $2,777.63.
Niko Rodriguez was
employed by Local 98’s Apprentice Training Fund and by Local 98 since 2011,
primarily serving as a driver and personal assistant to Local 98’s Business
Manager, codefendant John Dougherty. In December 2022, he pleaded guilty to six
counts of embezzlement of labor union assets. As part of his guilty plea,
Rodriguez admitted using Local 98 credit cards to purchase personal goods for
himself and Dougherty.
Rodriguez was sentenced to three years’ probation, 80 hours of
community service, a fine of $5,000, and a mandatory special assessment of
$600. He was ordered to pay restitution of $13,491 and to forfeit the sum of
$1,079.55.
“In using Local 98 funds to pay for personal expenses, these
defendants broke the law, and they stole from the union’s rank and file,” said
U.S. Attorney Romero. “Every one of those hardworking members needs to be able
to trust that the dues they dutifully pay are in fact being used for the
union’s benefit, as intended. When that doesn’t happen, when money is
unlawfully misdirected, we and our partners won’t hesitate to step in and hold
those responsible to account.”
“Investigating public corruption is a priority of the FBI and
this includes ensuring the integrity of labor organizations and protecting the
workers who trust them.” said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of FBI
Philadelphia. “These individuals betrayed the electrical union’s members, those
who rely on them to work with their best interest in mind, not out of greed.
The FBI and our partners will continue to investigate and hold accountable
those that pocket organizational funds for personal profit.”
“IRS-Criminal Investigation is proud to have provided its
financial expertise in this investigation,” said Yury Kruty, Special Agent in
Charge of IRS-Criminal Investigation. “We, along with our law enforcement
partners and the Department of Justice, will continue to aggressively
investigate individuals who engage in money laundering, tax fraud, or other
types of white-collar crimes.”
“Neill’s sentencing sends an important message to all those
entrusted with protecting benefit plan assets. Regardless of title or position,
the U.S. Department of Labor will hold fiduciaries to the highest standards of
accountability to protect the employee benefits of America’s workers,” said
U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration Regional
Director Cristina O’Brien in Philadelphia.
“Most union officials and employees do their work with great
care, but union employees Michael Neill, Marita Crawford and Niko Rodriguez
betrayed the trust and confidence placed in them by members of IBEW Local 98,”
said U.S. Department of Labor Office of Labor-Management Standards Acting
District Director Nicole Spallino in Philadelphia. “We remain committed to
working with our law enforcement partners to identify criminal violations and
pursue legal action when individuals unlawfully exploit their union positions
at the expense of the union and its members.”
Sentencing hearings for codefendants Brian Fiocca, who pleaded
guilty in December 2022, as well as codefendants Brian Burrows and John
Dougherty, who were convicted at trial in December 2023, are scheduled for
March, April, and May 2024, respectively.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration, the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Labor Management Standards, the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, and the Pennsylvania State Police, with assistance from the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Frank Costello, Bea Witzleben, Richard Barrett, Jason Grenell, and Anthony Carissimi.
Broad + Liberty published my piece on “trang,” the newest deadly drug to hit the streets of Philadelphia and around the country.
You can read the piece via
the below link or the below text:
The emerging threat of "tranq" (broadandliberty.com)
As I’ve noted here before, I have a friend who is a retired Philadelphia detective who worked the streets of Kensington before turning in his badge a few years ago.
The former
detective took me on a couple of macabre evening tours of Kensington’s open-air
drug market and the open-air drug user’s street lounge in past years. I recall
seeing the stooped, staggering, and squatting drug addicts inhabiting the
sidewalk amidst trash and garbage.
It looked to me
like a scene from “The Walking Dead.”
While smoking a
cigar recently with the former detective, I mentioned that, having earlier
walked past Broad and McKean Streets in South Philadelphia, I was reminded of
the drug scene in Kensington. Like Kensington, Broad Street sports a small army
of Walking Dead drug addicts.
My friend shook
his head sadly and said that if one thought things could not get worse in
Kensington and other parts of the city, think again.
My detective
friend spoke of “tranq,” also called the “zombie drug,” which is the most
recent harmful drug appearing regularly on the streets of Philadelphia. He said
that tranq, an animal tranquilizer, causes flesh-eating sores as well as
respiratory depression.
He also alerted
me to a federal update on xylazine, known on the street as “tranq.”
The Drug
Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
issued a joint update on xylazine on Sept. 22.
According to the
DEA and DHS, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)
designated fentanyl adulterated or associated with xylazine as an emerging
threat to the United States.
Xylazine is a
powerful non-opiate sedative, analgesic, and muscle relaxant that has only been
approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for veterinary
use. However, xylazine has been increasingly identified as a cutting
agent/adulterant in the illicit drug supply, often mixed with fentanyl, which
increases the risk of fatal drug poisoning.
“DEA and DHS have
identified xylazine intended for illicit human use entering the U.S. in several
ways: in solid form from China and other countries, in liquid form either
diverted from veterinary supply chains or packaged to resemble a veterinary
drug, and, to a lesser degree, mixed with fentanyl seized at the southwest
border,” the joint update stated.
The Feds also
stated that xylazine has also been detected in a growing number of overdose
deaths. It is commonly encountered in combination with fentanyl but has also
been detected in mixtures containing cocaine, heroin, and a variety of other
drugs. Xylazine is most frequently reported in combinations with two or more
substances present.
“Limited
scientific research has been conducted on the effects of xylazine on the human
body, but anecdotal reports indicate that users experience effects similar to
opioids. Xylazine can lead to depression of the central nervous system along
with other adverse effects, as reported in scientific and medical journals. The
presence of xylazine in illicit drug combinations and its detection in fatal
overdoses may be more widespread than reported, as a number of jurisdictions
across the country may not include xylazine in forensic laboratory or
toxicology testing.”
The Feds first
took notice of xylazine as an adulterant in Puerto Rico in the early 2000s
through DEA reporting and laboratory analysis. Around a decade later, it was
documented on the island as a drug of abuse on its own, which has continued to
present. In licit sales for veterinary use, xylazine is available in liquid
form and sold in vials or preloaded syringes. These solutions are prepared at a
concentration appropriate for administration by injection based on the general
size and weight of the species. It is legitimately sold directly through
pharmaceutical distributors and internet sites catering to veterinarians.
“However,
xylazine is also readily available for purchase on other internet sites in
liquid and powder form, often with no association to the veterinary profession
or requirements to prove legitimate need. A kilogram of xylazine powder can be
purchased online from Chinese suppliers with common prices ranging from $6 to
$20 U.S. dollars per kilogram,” the Feds stated. “At this low price, its use as
an adulterant may increase the profit for illicit drug traffickers, as its
psychoactive effects allow them to reduce the amount of fentanyl or heroin used
in a mixture. It may also attract customers looking for a longer high since
xylazine is described as having many of the same effects for users as opioids
but with a longer-lasting effect than fentanyl alone. Some users intentionally
seek out heroin or fentanyl mixed with xylazine, while many are completely
unaware it is included as an adulterant.”
Back in April,
the Philadelphia Department of Public Health released a statement regarding
xylazine.
“Dr. Rahul Gupta,
Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, has
announced officially designating fentanyl adulterated or associated with
xylazine as an emerging threat to the United States,” the Health Department
said. “Over the coming months, the ONDCP is convening an interagency working
group to inform the development of the national response plan. The response
will include work on xylazine testing, treatment, supportive care protocols,
comprehensive data systems (including information on drug sourcing and supply),
strategies to reduce the illicit supply of xylazine, and rapid research (such
as work on the interactions between xylazine and fentanyl).”
In response to
the White House announcement, Philadelphia Health Commissioner Dr. Cheryl
Bettigole said, “We welcome the prospect of federal resources being brought to
a problem causing deep harm to Philadelphians and look forward to working with
federal agencies as the response plan rolls out.”
According to the
Philadelphia Department of Public Health, xylazine has hit Philadelphia
particularly hard, causing increased overdose deaths as well as severe wounds
that can lead to sepsis and amputation.
“As a result, the
Philadelphia Department of Public Health has been working closely with partners
across the city to address this new aspect of the drug overdose epidemic. The
Health Department has worked with local hospital systems and the Department of
Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disability Services to develop
practice-based standards for managing xylazine withdrawal to help prevent
people with xylazine dependence from leaving treatment early due to
uncontrolled symptoms.
“In collaboration
with the Health Federation of Philadelphia and local experts, we are working to
support wound care and to develop best practices for xylazine-associated skin
wounds. The department has updated our overdose response trainings to
incorporate the risk of fatal overdose associated with xylazine use and is
developing communications for people who use drugs to increase awareness of
xylazine. We are continuing to monitor the drug supply with surveillance drug
checking and are planning to distribute xylazine test strips once we have them
available. We are grateful to have a federal partnership on this work and look
forward to the advances that a national focus on preventing further harm from
xylazine can bring.”
As my friend the
former detective noted, just when you thought the drug problem could not get
worse, Philadelphia and the rest of the county are introduced to tranq, the
flesh-eating zombie drug.
Paul Davis, a Philadelphia writer and frequent contributor to Broad + Liberty, also contributes to Counterterrorism magazine and writes the “On Crime” column for the Washington Times. He can be reached at pauldavisoncrime.com.
Some years ago, I attended my late brother’s New Year’s Eve house party.
At the stroke of midnight, we and the other residents of my brother’s South Philly row house block came out on the street to welcome in the New Year.
Along with kissing and hugging, the neighbors enjoyed the fireworks that were launched into the air.
One neighbor, a 20-something young man, celebrated the New Year by pulling out a revolver and firing several rounds into the air. I grabbed his arm and wrist and pointed the gun downward. I told him to stop firing the gun in the air, as my young nieces and other children were on the street.
I know a bit about guns, as I was military-trained on firearms, and I own a couple of handguns. I told the young man that the bullets he fired into the air may come back down and injure someone.
The man, somewhat drunk, apologized, and put his gun away.
Thankfully, no one was injured.
This past 4th of July, two Philadelphia police officers were injured by what was believed to be falling bullets or bullet fragments, so Philadelphia city officials are cautioning partiers to not fire guns into the air on New Year’s Eve.
It's a crime, they said.
Remember, what goes up, must come down.
Happy New Year.
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams announced that Lucy Xi, 44, formerly a resident of Malvern, PA, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal trade secrets from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to benefit a Chinese pharmaceutical company named Renopharma.
Lucy Xi’s co-defendants, Yu Xue, Tao Li
and Yan Mei, established Renopharma supposedly to research and develop
anti-cancer drugs. In reality, though, the company was used as a repository of
information stolen from GSK. Renopharma received financial support and
subsidies from the government of China. At the time, Lucy Xi (who was married
to Yan Mei) and Yu Xue were employed as a scientists at a GSK facility in Upper
Merion, PA, which worked on developing biopharmaceutical products. These products
typically cost in excess of $1 billion to research and develop.
In January 2015, Lucy Xi sent Yan Mei a
GSK document which contained confidential and trade secret data and
information. The document provided a summary of GSK research into monoclonal antibodies
at that time. In the body of the e-mail, Lucy Xi wrote, “You need to understand
it very well. It will help you in your future business [RENOPHARMA].”
Yu Xue, her sister, Tian Xue, and Tao Li
have all pleaded guilty for their roles in this conspiracy. Yan Mei is a
fugitive who currently resides in China.
“This defendant illegally stole trade
secrets to benefit her husband’s company, which was financed by the Chinese
government,” said U.S. Attorney Williams. “The lifeblood of companies like GSK
is its intellectual property, and when that property is stolen and transferred
to a foreign country, it threatens thousands of American jobs and jeopardizes
the strategic benefits brought about through research and development. Such
criminal behavior must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
“Pharmaceutical firms like GSK invest
staggering amounts of time and money to develop new medications and bring them
to market,” said Jacqueline Maguire, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s
Philadelphia Division. “When individuals steal valuable trade secrets
concerning one of these drugs, it’s a threat both to that firm and beyond.
After all, innovation like this propels the U.S. economy. The FBI is committed
to enforcing laws that protect the nation’s businesses from such theft. We will
not permit American research and development to be scavenged for the benefit of
other companies or countries.”
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Robert J. Livermore and J. Jeanette Kang.
You can read the column below:
The Washington Times ran my On Crime column on Allen Abel’s The Short Life of Hughie McLoon.
Veteran
sportswriter, reporter, and author Allen Abel’s “The Short Life of Hughie
McLoon: A True Story of Baseball, Magic, and Murder,” recounts the life of a
deformed youngster who navigates through 19th-century professional baseball,
boxing and organized crime in Philadelphia, my hometown.
As Mr. Abel tells it, the professional athletes at the
time were a superstitious lot, and sports teams adopted human mascots, such as
a short hunchback, as good luck charms.
Hughie McLoon (1902-1928)
was deformed by a fall at the age of 3. He became one of the best-known mascots
after he told Philadelphia Athletics manager Connie Mack in 1916 that he could
break the teams’ losing streak. The legendary baseball manager hired McLoon as
a bat boy and McLoon stayed with Mack for three years and then shifted to
boxing, where he brought good luck to several legendary boxers.
This led to
his becoming a boxing manager and a manager of a Philadelphia speakeasy
during Prohibition for Max “Boo Boo” Hoff, the Philadelphia king of
illegal booze.
I reached out to Allen Abel and asked him why he wrote
the book.
“After a dozen years on the Hill and in the White House
briefing room, writing the 100% true biography of a murdered hunchbacked bat
boy was a delicious change-of-pace,” Mr. Abel said. “Philadelphia was
politically corrupt, morally bankrupt, murderously violent, and too drunk to
care. Philly embraced Prohibition with all the passion of Donald J. Trump
kissing Rosie O’Donnell.”
I asked how
he would describe Hughie McLoon..
“He’s a wise-cracking, street-smart, umpire-baiting, fatherless boy searching for love and acceptance and finding it at the highest level of sport, celebrity, and organized crime — a broken boy who lived a leprechaun’s life and died a gangster’s death.”
You can read the rest of the column below or via the below link:
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/mar/30/book-review-the-short-life-of-hughie-mcloon/
