Michael Wolff’s Spotty Record Raises Questions About Trump Tell-All, 'Fire And Fury: Inside The Trump White House'

Bradford Richardson at the Washington Times offers a piece on the "spotty" reputation of journalist Michael Wolf, the author of Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.

This isn’t the first time author/journalist Michael Wolff has been accused of fabricating quotes.

A caustic gossip columnist more accustomed to taking down New York media moguls than Washington politicians, Mr. Wolff trained his fire on President Trump and his inner circle in “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,” an incendiary tell-all that has the president and his supporters fuming.

In excerpts from the book given to outlets where Mr. Wolff’s byline regularly appears — The Guardian, The Hollywood Reporter, New York magazine and the British version of GQ — the White House is portrayed as full of disorder, backbiting and infighting.

The book, which will be published Friday after its release date was sped up to meet heightened demand, relies on what Mr. Wolff, 64, describes as “extensive access to the White House and more than 200 interviews with Trump and senior staff over a period of 18 months.”

Mr. Wolff’s witty, provocative style has earned him accolades over the years — as well as criticism and controversy.

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

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/jan/4/michael-wolffs-spotty-record-raises-questions-abou/ 

Don't Mess With An Italian Dad's Daughter: 'Goodfellas' Actor Paul Sorvino Threatens To Kill Harvey Weinstein For Blacklisting Daughter Mira

Sasha Savitsky at Fox News offers a piece on Paul Sorvino discovering that  Harvey Weinstein blacklisted his actress daughter Mira.

Paul Sorvino threatened disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, saying he'll whack the accused sexual predator for blacklisting his daughter.

"If I meet him on the street, he ought to hope he goes to jail because if we come across, I think he'll be lying on the floor somehow magically," Sorvino told TMZ on Wednesday. "I will kill the motherf---er."

Sorvino was reacting to the news from last month that Harvey and Bob Weinstein discouraged director Terry Zwigoff from casting actress Mira Sorvino in his movie.

The "Goodfellas" actor told the gossip site he "did not know the extent" of Weinstein's alleged behavior.

"Bad Santa" director Terry Zwigoff revealed in December he was strongly discouraged from casting Mira Sorvino in his movie.  (Reuters)

"If I had known it, he would not...be walking. He'd be in a wheelchair," he said adding his was "absolutely furious" when he heard the news about Weinstein.

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

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2018/01/03/paul-sorvino-threatens-to-kill-harvey-weinstein-for-blacklisting-daughter-mira.html  

On This Day In History Samuel Colt Sold His First Revolvers To The U.S. Government: 'God Made Some Men Big And Others Small, But Sam Colt Made Them All Equal'

As History.com notes, on this day in 1847 Samuel Colt first sold his revolvers to the U.S. government.

Samuel Colt rescues the future of his faltering gun company by winning a contract to provide the U.S. government with 1,000 of his .44 caliber revolvers.

Before Colt began mass-producing his popular revolvers in 1847, handguns had not played a significant role in the history of either the American West or the nation as a whole. Expensive and inaccurate, short-barreled handguns were impractical for the majority of Americans, though a handful of elite still insisted on using dueling pistols to solve disputes in highly formalized combat. When choosing a practical weapon for self-defense and close-quarter fighting, most Americans preferred knives, and western pioneers especially favored the deadly and versatile Bowie knife.

That began to change when Samuel Colt patented his percussion-repeating revolver in 1836. The heart of Colt’s invention was a mechanism that combined a single rifled barrel with a revolving chamber that held five or six shots. When the weapon was cocked for firing, the chamber revolved automatically to bring the next shot into line with the barrel.

… Yet most cowboys, gamblers, and gunslingers could never have afforded such a revolver if not for the de facto subsidy the federal government provided to Colt by purchasing his revolvers in such great quantities. After the first batch of revolvers proved popular with soldiers, the federal government became one of Colt’s biggest customers, providing him with the much-needed capital to improve his production facilities.

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

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/colt-sells-his-first-revolvers-to-the-u-s-government?cmpid=email-hist-tdih-2018-0104-01042018&om_rid=de5e4076c942a595dbda53f758321d197499484f6d117f61b6ac5c08e0d6f0aa&om_mid=297601766&kx_EmailCampaignID=17784&kx_EmailCampaignName=email-hist-tdih-2018-0104-01042018&kx_EmailRecipientID=de5e4076c942a595dbda53f758321d197499484f6d117f61b6ac5c08e0d6f0aa 

Bada Bing! Philadelphia 'Mafia King' Skinny Joey Merlino Is Released On $5m Bail, Ordered To Wear An Ankle Bracelet And Confined To His Mansion And The Italian Restaurant He Owns

The Daily Mail offers a piece on reputed Philadelphia Cosa Nostra crime family boss Joseph Merlino (seen in the above photo) being released on bail

Joseph Merlino, also known as 'Skinny Joey', may soon have to get used to a steady diet of prison food.

The man who is widely believed to be the head of Philadelphia's largest organized crime ring was likely to be released on Friday after a federal judge granted him $5million bail, according to the Associated Press.

Merlino, 54, has been ordered to stay at his home in Boca Raton, Florida, where he will be required to wear an ankle monitor so that authorities can monitor his movements.

US Magistrate Judge William Matthewson said Merlino can work from 7am to 7pm at the local restaurant that bears his name, Merlino's, which he says will reopen in October, and travel to New York City, New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania, including to attend a family day at his two daughters' university. Merlino is expected to be released from Palm Beach County jail later Friday.

Merlino - one of the more flamboyant figures in the American underworld - has already spent nearly half of his life - 20 years - in prison for various criminal offenses, including armed robbery, fraud, and racketeering.

Matthewson asked Merlino for assurances that he will obey the conditions of his release, saying he didn't want to issue a warrant for his arrest.

'Don't worry your honor, you won't,' replied the unshaven Merlino, who was dressed in dark blue jail overalls and shackled at the wrists and ankles. Merlino faces up to 20 years in prison on charges that he was part of a health care fraud scheme where conspirators got corrupt doctors to bill insurers for unnecessary and excessive prescriptions for expensive compound creams in exchange for kickbacks.

He was one of nearly four dozen reputed members of an East Coast crime syndicate who were charged last week with racketeering and various crimes including extortion, loansharking, casino-style gambling, sports gambling, credit card fraud and health care fraud.

Federal prosecutors say the syndicate operated in New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Florida and New Jersey.

Prosecutors agreed to Merlino's release, a 180-degree turn from documents filed last week that called him a 'danger to the community' and requested that he be held without bail.

… The massive syndicate - known as the 'East Coast La Cosa Nostra Enterprise' - was formed from a rare pact between the powerful families.

The mob bust saw 46 people - including alleged members of some of New York's biggest Mafia families - indicted on charges including extortion, gun-running and assault, federal officials say.

The FBI and local police swooped on suspected organized crime members last week in a states-spanning bust that sees each suspect facing at least one racketeering charge with a maximum 20-year sentence.

In addition to Merlino, alleged members of the Genoveses, Gambinos, Lucheses and Bonannos - four of the New York mob's infamous 'five families' - were arrested.

You can read the rest of the piece, watch a video clip and view photos, via the below link: 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3737342/BADA-BING-Reputed-Philadelphia-mafia-king-Skinny-Joey-makes-bail-looks-like-return-slammer-awaits.html 

U.S. Special Operations Command HEROs Combat Human Trafficking To Save Children Around The Globe

Shannon Collins at the DoD News offers the below piece:

WASHINGTON, Jan. 2, 2018 — January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, and the Defense Department has teams who work year-round to combat these crimes worldwide.

The Human Exploitation Rescue Operative, or HERO, Child-Rescue Corps is a program developed by U.S. Special Operations Command, Warrior Care Program-Career Transition, the National Association to Protect Children and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said Army Col. Kimberly Moros, chief of Socom's career transition initiatives.

“The HERO Child-Rescue Corps Program is designed for wounded, injured and ill transitioning service members and veterans who receive training in high-tech computer forensics and law enforcement skills to assist federal agents in the fight against online child sexual exploitation,” she said. “Upon successful completion of the program, HERO interns will have the knowledge, skills and experience to apply for careers with federal, state and local police agencies and other organizations in the field of computer forensics.”

Since 2013, more than 130 veterans and transitioning service members have entered the HERO program. Of the successful graduates, 74 have been offered careers in federal law enforcement and another 31 are in internships, Moros said.

“HEROs and HERO interns now make up over 25 percent of the Homeland Security computer forensics workforce,” said Robert Kurtz, unit chief for HERO at Homeland Security Investigations.

Human Trafficking

“Human trafficking includes using force, fraud or coercion to compel a person to provide labor, services or sex. It’s a violation of basic human rights,” said Linda Dixon, DoD Combating Trafficking in Persons Office Program Manager. “Combating trafficking in persons is a duty that DoD takes seriously as we do in other situations that bring harm to our nation. It is a global concern, and our goal is to educate every member of DoD on how to recognize and report human trafficking in the U.S. as well as around the world.”

The three most common forms of trafficking, according to DoD's Combating Trafficking in Persons office, are forced labor, sex trafficking, and child soldiering.

Moros said the idea behind the HERO Corps is a simple one.

“When it comes to hunting those who prey on the innocent, who better than our nation’s most highly trained military veterans?” she said. “Much of today’s human trafficking and child sexual exploitation is technology facilitated. Offenders utilize the internet and digital technologies to coordinate their activity, advertise, share information and hide evidence. HEROs receive training in counter-child exploitation as well as digital forensics and victim identification. And they are then embedded with federal law enforcement.”

She said the HERO Child-Rescue Corps save children in several ways. “As law enforcement first responders, they are at every crime scene, searching for critical clues that might provide evidence for an arrest or to find a victim,” Moros said.

Back at the forensic lab, the HERO is the lead digital investigator, searching out clues that can lead to organized criminal rings, evidence of sexual assault or production of child abuse imagery, she said.

“In many cases, it has been the relentless focus and military mindset that has allowed HEROs to go beyond the digging that might be done in traditional law enforcement to find a victim,” she added.

Kurtz said federal law enforcement is just beginning to track rescues. In 2016, Homeland Security Investigations identified and rescued 820 known child victims from sexual exploitation.

“But the real number is undoubtedly many times greater,” Moros said. “As a major segment of the digital forensic workforce, and one especially dedicated to combatting child sexual exploitation and trafficking, they have been instrumental in working hundreds of those cases.” 

‘First Navy Jack’ Flies In Hawaii To Honor 17 Sailors Lost In Collisions

U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Corwin Colbert offers the below piece:

JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii, Jan. 3, 2018 — As sailors hoisted the colors here Jan. 1 to start out the new year, the “First Navy Jack” rose under Old Glory, as it will throughout 2018 in honor of the 17 sailors lost when the guided missile destroyers USS Fitzgerald and USS John S. McCain collided with merchant ships in separate incidents last year.

The First Navy Jack is a flag consisting of a rattlesnake superimposed across 13 horizontal alternating red and white stripes with the motto, “Don't Tread On Me.” Commodore Esek Hopkins first employed it in 1775 as he readied the Continental Navy in the Delaware River during the Revolutionary War.

In recent years, the Navy has used the flag during difficult times to signify resolve.

Navy Rear Adm. Brian P. Fort, commander of Navy Region Hawaii and Naval Surface Group Middle Pacific, said the First Navy Jack is a reminder that the Navy’s warfighting edge not only is back, but also is renewed and forged with purpose.

“Here in Pearl Harbor, we rose to the challenge 76 years ago, as ‘Remember Pearl Harbor’ sharpened our warfighting culture,” he said. “In the wake of 9/11, when our culture was tested, we rose to the challenge once more. At the direction of the Secretary of the Navy Gordon England, we returned to our First Navy Jack, ‘Don’t Tread on Me,’ on the jack staffs of all Navy warships as a historic reminder of the nation’s and Navy’s origins and our will to persevere and triumph.”

Symbol of Resolve

Navy Command Master Chief Petty Officer Allen Keller, the base’s command master chief, said flying of the First Navy Jack is a symbol of resolve. He challenged the joint base family, service members and civilians alike, to move forward and build on the history and legacy of the country and the Navy.

“2017 was a challenging year for the Navy,” Keller said. “We as an installation will fly the Navy First Jack as a reminder to every airman, sailor, civilian and family member to get back to basics, honor our country and remember our history.” 

My Washington Times Piece On Crime And Safety In New York City

The Washington Times published my piece on crime and safety in New York City.

“There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics,” Mark Twain reportedly said.

While most of the major felonies, including murder, rape, robbery, burglary, and felony assault, have decreased in New York City according to the latest reported crime statistics, many people there don’t feel safe.

And many, including New York Mayor Bill de Blasio’s former mayoral opponents and many police officers, dispute the veracity of the crime statistics.

Former mayoral candidate and retired NYPD detective Richard “Bo” Dietl, one of the most highly decorated detectives in NYPD history and the former co-chairman of the National Crime Commission, doesn’t buy the rosy crime stats.

“A man is mugged at knifepoint in front of St. Patrick’s Cathedral on 5th Avenue at 10 a.m. This is de Blasio’s New York,” Mr. Dietl said during the mayoral race. “The mayor fudges police statistics so he can tell people the city its safer but anyone with eyes and ears can tell New York is sliding back to the ‘bad old days,’ where crime was king and disarray ruled the day.” 

... Legendary former NYPD detective Randy Jurgensen, the author of “Circle of Six,” noted that the recent crime stats did not tell the entire story. “Police today don’t arrest or even issue court summonses to people for public urination and other quality of life crimes.” 

... Former New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly (seen in the above photo), who oversaw a historic decrease in crime during his time as commissioner, stated on a New York radio program in 2015 that the NYPD was manipulating crime statistics. He disputed Mayor de Blasio’s claim that New York City remained the safest big city in America.

“You have to take a hard look at those numbers, and I can tell you, people don’t feel safer in this city,” Mr. Kelly told the radio host. “People say this to me all the time. And perception is reality in many instances”

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

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/jan/1/new-york-city-crime-statistics-show-a-safe-city-bu/ 

You can also read my Counterterrorism magazine Q&A with Ray Kelly via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2016/03/my-q-with-former-new-york-city-police.html