An ICE-Cold Report On Illegal Immigrant Criminals In The U.S.

Broad & Liberty ran my piece on illegal immigrant criminals today.

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

Paul Davis: An ICE-cold report on illegal immigrant criminals in the U.S. (broadandliberty.com)

Many people were taken aback by last month’s chilling report that as of July 21st, 662,566 illegal immigrants with criminal records illegally crossed over the porous Southern border.

The information about illegal immigrant criminals in our country did not come from a talking head commentator on Fox News employing hyperbole. The data came directly from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

On September 25, Patrick J. Lechleitner, the Deputy Director and Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Director of ICE, responded to a letter about illegal immigrants charged or convicted with a crime that Congressman Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) sent the Department of Homeland Security, ICE’s parent organization. 

In Lechleitner’s letter to Congressman Gonzales, he noted, “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recognizes the importance of its relationships with its law enforcement partners to carry out its mission. In recent years, however, as you know, some jurisdictions have reduced their cooperation with ICE, to include refusal to honor ICE detainer requests, even for noncitizens who have been convicted of serious felonies and pose an ongoing threat to public safety. ICE recognizes that some jurisdictions are concerned that cooperating with federal immigration officials will erode trust with immigrant communities and make it harder for local law enforcement to serve those populations. However, “sanctuary” policies can end up shielding dangerous criminals, who often victimize those same communities.”

The letter went on to state, “Your letter requests the number of noncitizens on ICE’s docket convicted or charged with a crime. As of July 21, 2024, there were 662,566 noncitizens with criminal histories on ICE’s national docket, which includes those detained by ICE, and on the agency’s non-detained docket. Of those, 435,719 are convicted criminals, and 226,847 have pending criminal charges.” 

One person shocked and upset about the illegal immigrant criminals running loose in American towns and cities was House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark E. Green (R-TN). 

His office issued a statement on September 27 that read:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark E. Green, MD (R-TN) issued a statement following the release of new data from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) showing that, as of July 21, 2024, nearly 650,000 criminal illegal aliens were currently on ICE’s Non-Detained Docket (NDD) and roaming free in communities throughout the United States. This figure includes roughly 15,000 individuals convicted of or charged with murder, more than 20,000 of sexual assault, and more than 105,000 of assault.: 
 
“It may be shocking to hear that the Biden-Harris administration is actively releasing tens of thousands of criminal illegal aliens into our communities, but their own numbers conclusively prove this to be the case. This defies all common sense. Under President Biden and his ‘border czar,’ Vice President Harris, DHS law enforcement has been directed to mass-release illegal aliens whom they know have criminal convictions or are facing charges for serious crimes—and these dangerous, destructive individuals are making their way into every city and state in this country. How many more Americans need to die or be victimized before this administration is forced to abide by the laws they swore to uphold?” 

As Lechleitner noted in his letter to Congressman Gonzales, sanctuary cities – and Philadelphia is a sanctuary city – do not cooperate with ICE and refuse to honor ICE detainer requests, even for illegals convicted of serious felonies, and are a threat to the security of the public. 

Lechleitner is quite right that sanctuary policies end up shielding dangerous criminals and those protected illegal immigrant criminals are free to murder, rob, rape and otherwise harm Americans living in the Sanctuary Cities. 

Philadelphia being a sanctuary city is essentially an open invitation for illegal immigrants, including the criminals in the mix, to come here and settle. As if we don’t have enough homegrown criminals in Philadelphia. Do we need to import more criminals? The illegal immigrants eat up tax dollars used to shelter and provide health care for them, and well as to school their children. The added tax burden is bad enough, but now we know that many illegal immigrants are also stone-cold predatory criminals.      

But on a good note, the Enforcement and Removal Operations Philadelphia (ERO), a component of ICE, announced that they have removed Marvin Andres Ciro, a Colombian citizen, on September 16th. 

According to ERO, Echeverri is a foreign fugitive wanted by law enforcement authorities in Colombia for homicide. 

“Removing criminal noncitizens such as Marvin Andres Echeverri Ciro protects the American public and sends a message that the U.S. is no safe haven for criminals,” said ERO Philadelphia Field Office Director Cammilla Wamsley. “Echeverri’s case is a testament to the power of the detainer process and its critical role in national security.”

One down and many more to go.

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.   

Former Civilian Naval Engineer At The Philadelphia Naval Base Sentenced To Prison for Unlawful Disclosure

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Philadelphia announced the below information on October 8^th..

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Nicole K. Schuster, 32, of Naples, Florida was sentenced to one year and one day in prison and ordered to pay a $4,000 fine by United States District Court Judge Paul S. Diamond for unlawfully disclosing to one company the confidential contractor bid, proposal, and source information of another company.

Schuster was a mechanical engineer and “project lead” employed by the United States Department of the Navy (“the Navy”) at the Naval Foundry and Propeller Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (the “NFPC”). The NFPC’s primary mission was to design, manufacture, and repair submarine propellers. In her role with the Navy, Schuster served as a project lead for several multi-million-dollar projects at the NFPC supporting both Columbia Class and Virginia Class naval submarines.

On January 22, 2024, Schuster pleaded guilty to the unlawful disclosure charge in a criminal information that was filed on September 25, 2023. According to that charge, in 2019, Schuster began working as the project lead on a solicitation for a procurement contract for a submarine propeller-making machine known as a VTC. During the contracting and bidding process, Schuster favored one company, identified in the information as “Company 1,” over other competing companies. Schuster urged her superiors to make the contract for this VTC a “sole source” contract for Company 1. That is, she requested that the contracting process should be established in a manner that would ensure that Company 1 would be awarded the procurement contract. The NFPC and DLA agreed to favor Company 1 in this process but did not agree to prevent other companies from pursuing the contract. Rather, they established a process that allowed other contractors to submit information and compete for the contract.

Schuster demonstrated her favoritism for Company 1 in September 2019 when she sent a WhatsApp message to a representative of Company 1 expressing her “loyalty” to Company 1 and attaching to the message Company 2’s confidential and proprietary contractor bid, proposal, and source selection information for its VTC. In a text message to her associate, Schuster expressed that she would be extremely upset if Company 2 obtained the contract for the VTC because she said “it’s not for them,” and that she would “ruin” Company 2 if they interfered with her efforts to help Company 1 obtain the contract. The documents that Schuster provided to this representative of Company 1 were marked “SOURCE SELECTION INFORMATION,” “OFFICIAL USE ONLY,” and “[Company 2] Proprietary information.” The documents included cost and pricing data and proprietary information about manufacturing processes and techniques. This disclosure gave Company 1 a competitive advantage over Company 2 and other companies seeking to obtain the VTC contract.

In April 2020, the procurement contract for the VTC was awarded to Company 1 for a total price of $15,254,608.

Schuster's sentence is evidence that we will hold accountable those who enrich themselves at the expense of our armed forces; this kind of corruption impacts us all: the military, taxpayers, and legitimate businesses," said U.S. Attorney Romero. We continue to ask for assistance in identifying and reporting those engaged in this type of activity, as it bolsters the ability to maintain integrity in the procurement process."

“Investigating individuals who corrupt the integrity of Department of Defense (DoD) procurement is a top priority for the DoD Office of Inspector General’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS). We must help to ensure that the DoD contracting process remains fair and competitive," said Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Hegarty, DCIS Northeast Field Office. “Today’s announcement demonstrates our commitment to work with the Department of Justice and our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who misuse their official positions.”

“It is essential that government procurements are unbiased and devoid of unlawful influence and corruptive practices,” said Special Agent in Charge Greg Gross of the NCIS Economic Crimes Field Office. “NCIS and our investigative partners are committed to thoroughly investigating any person or entity that would disrupt the fair and open competition necessary to ensure our warfighters are fully equipped for superiority on the battlefield.”

The case was investigated by the Department of Defense, Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Economic Crimes Field Office, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Louis D. Lappen. 

Afghan National Arrested For Plotting An Election Day Terrorist Attack In The Name Of ISIS

The Justice Department released the below information on October 8^th:

The Justice Department today announced charges against a citizen of Afghanistan residing in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for conspiring to conduct an Election Day terrorist attack in the United States on behalf of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization (FTO).

According to a criminal complaint filed today, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, conspired and attempted to provide material support to ISIS and obtained firearms and ammunition to conduct a violent attack on U.S. soil in the name of ISIS. As part of the plot, the defendant allegedly took steps to liquidate his family’s assets, resettle members of his family overseas, acquire AK-47 assault rifles and ammunition, and commit a terrorist attack in the United States.

“As charged, the Justice Department foiled the defendant’s plot to acquire semi-automatic weapons and commit a violent attack in the name of ISIS on U.S. soil on Election Day,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “We will continue to combat the ongoing threat that ISIS and its supporters pose to America’s national security, and we will identify, investigate, and prosecute the individuals who seek to terrorize the American people. I am deeply grateful to the public servants of the FBI, National Security Division, and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Oklahoma for their work to disrupt this attack and for the work they do every day to protect our country.”

“This defendant, motivated by ISIS, allegedly conspired to commit a violent attack, on Election Day, here on our homeland," said FBI Director Christopher Wray. "I am proud of the men and women of the FBI who uncovered and stopped the plot before anyone was harmed. Terrorism is still the FBI's number one priority, and we will use every resource to protect the American people."

“Thanks to the relentless efforts of the FBI, National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section, and federal prosecutors in my office, the alleged plan to commit an attack on Election Day was disrupted and Mr. Tawhedi was arrested,” said U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester for the Western District of Oklahoma. “Fighting terrorism remains the top priority of the Justice Department. We will continue to pursue, disrupt, and hold accountable those who plot to commit acts of terrorism against our country and our people.”

According to the criminal complaint, as part of the investigation into Tawhedi, the FBI searched Tawhedi’s phone and obtained communications between Tawhedi and a person who facilitated recruitment, training, and indoctrination of persons who expressed interest in terrorist activity and who Tawhedi understood to be affiliated with ISIS. Tawhedi was also seen in a video recorded on July 20 reading to two children text that describes the rewards a martyr receives in the afterlife. Tawhedi also allegedly accessed, viewed, and saved ISIS propaganda on his iCloud and Google account, participated in pro-ISIS Telegram groups, and contributed to a charity which fronts for and funnels money to ISIS.

The complaint alleges that while liquidating their family’s assets prior to the attack, Tawhedi and his co-conspirator, who is a juvenile, advertised the sale of the family’s personal property on Facebook. At the FBI’s direction, a confidential human source responded to inquire if a computer was still for sale. The FBI source noted that he needed the computer for a new gun business he was starting, which ultimately led Tawhedi and the juvenile to meet with the source and other FBI assets at a rural location to test firearms. Tawhedi expressed interest in purchasing two AK-47 assault rifles, magazines, and ammunition from the source.

According to the criminal complaint, on Oct. 7, Tawhedi and the juvenile met with the FBI assets at a rural location in the Western District of Oklahoma and purchased, received, and took possession of two AK-47 assault rifles, ten magazines, and 500 rounds of ammunition. Upon receipt of the rifles and ammunition, Tawhedi and the juvenile were arrested.

In his seized communications, Tawhedi allegedly indicated that his attack was planned for Election Day, and in a post-arrest interview, Tawhedi allegedly confirmed the attack was planned for Election Day targeting large gatherings of people, during which he and the juvenile were expected to die as martyrs.

Tawhedi was charged with conspiring and attempting to provide material support to ISIS, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years, and receiving a firearm to be used to commit a felony or a federal crime of terrorism, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 15 years, if convicted.

The case is being investigated by the FBI Oklahoma City Field Office, with valuable assistance from the Oklahoma City Police Department and the Moore, Oklahoma Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica L. Perry, Matt Dillon, and Mark Stoneman for the Western District of Oklahoma and Trial Attorneys George C. Kraehe and Everett McMillian of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case.

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

New True Crime Show 'Philly Homicide' Covers Harrowing Murders As Told By City's Toughest Detectives

Gina Salamone at Oxygen.com reports on a new true crime TV series that focuses on Philadelphia homicides detectives covering murder cases in Philadelphia.

As an upcoming true crime series makes clear — Philadelphia is not always the City of Brotherly Love.

The city is the setting for Philly Homicide, a new 10-episode docuseries that will be hosted by Lt. Chris McMullin.

For the series, Oxygen, the home of high-quality, true-crime programming, delves into the twists and turns of the most harrowing murders committed in one of the country’s most historic regions, as told by Philadelphia’s toughest homicide detectives. 

The new docuseries premieres Saturday, October 26 at 9 p.m.

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

Oxygen True Crime's Philly Homicide Covers Troubling Murders | Crime News

Note: I’m looking forward to watching the series as one of my best friends was a Philadelphia homicide detective, and over my years of covering crime as a writer, I’ve interviewed several Philadelphia homicide detectives in the old “Roundhouse” police headquarters. I’ve also been on the scene of a good number of murders, and I've observed how homicide detectives investigate this most awful crime.

A Look Back At The Classic James Bond Film 'Goldfinger' On International James Bond Day

As today is International James Bond day, I’d like to offer again my 2019 Crime Beat column on one of the best James Bond films, Goldfinger. 

You can read the column below:

A Look Back at the Classic James Bond Film Goldfinger

 By Paul Davis

“Mr. Bond, they have a saying in Chicago: 'Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action',” said Auric Goldfinger, a gold-worshiping, gold smuggling, megalomaniac millionaire criminal who cheats at cards and golf, in Ian Fleming's 1959 novel Goldfinger.    

I don’t know why the writers and producers of the film Goldfinger, which was based on Ian Fleming’s seventh James Bond novel, didn’t use this. But they should have. 

The first two James Bond films, Dr. No and From Russia With Love, were successful films, but the third Bond film, Goldfinger, released in 1964, was the one that made James Bond and Ian Fleming (seen in the bottom photo) household names and helped launch the spy mania of the 1960s. 

Directed by Guy Hamilton with a screenplay by Richard Maibaum and Paul Dehen, and starring Sean Connery in his third outing as Bond, the film is often rated as the best Bond film. 

The film opens cleverly with Bond coming up from the water in a diver's dry suit. He climbs over a wall, knocks out a guard and plants explosives inside a converted oil tank that holds a heroin shipment. Climbing back over the wall, Bond casually unzips his dry suit and underneath he is wearing a neatly pressed white dinner jacket. He then places a red carnation in the lapel. 

Walking into a cantina, he glances at his watch - with a closeup of the face of his Rolex Submariner - and nonchalantly lights a cigarette as a huge explosion rocks the cantina. The crowd flees and a beautiful dancer gives Bond a dirty look as she heads off to her dressing room.

Bond walks slowly to the bar and stands next to a man. The man congratulates Bond and notes that a certain Mr. Ramerizes will now be out of business. 

“Well, at least they won’t be using heroin to flavor bananas to finance revolution,” Bond says.

“Don’t go back to your hotel, Mr. Bond,” the man advises. “There is a plane leaving for Miami in an hour.” 

“I’ll be on it, Bond says. “But first I have some unfinished business.”

That unfinished business is the beautiful dancer. 

Bond goes to her dressing room and wraps a towel around her as she gets out of a tub of water. 

He kisses her and she winches and complains about the Walther PPK in his shoulder holster rubbing against her. He takes off the shoulder holster and hangs it on a hook.

“Why do you wear that thing?” she asks.

“I have a slight inferior complex,” he responds with some irony.

He kisses her again and sees in the reflection of her eye a man coming up to him with a club. Bond twirls the girl around and she takes the hit from the club. Bond and the man fight until Bond tosses him into the girl’s bathtub. Bond sees the man reaching for his gun hanging on the hook, so he tosses an electric fan into the tub, which electrocutes the man.

He puts on his shoulder holster and coat calmly, and says, “Shocking.” He glances at the girl on the floor and walking out the door, he says, “Positively shocking.”

I recall the audience in December of 1964 roaring with delight. Was there ever a cooler and tougher man in the movies? 

Goldfinger is a great movie.   

I was already an Ian Fleming aficionado in 1964, having seen the two previous Bonds films, and having read all of Ian Flemings novels and short stories. Having read Goldfinger, I knew this opening scene was expanded from the scene in Ian Fleming’s novel, with a bit of humor added, and I too laughed loudly while the great John Barry Goldfinger theme song played over the opening credits. 

I read many years later in the British newspaper The Telegraph that the dry suit to dinner jacket scene was not as unrealistic and fantastic as viewers believed. 

Paul Dehn, one the Goldfinger screenwriters, was a former World War II intelligence officer like Ian Fleming, and he based the opening sequence on a true espionage case in World War II. 

Jeremy Duns, a British author researching his new book, discovered that a Dutch spy used an almost identical technique to get into Nazi-occupied Netherlands. Duns believes that Paul Dehn, a British scriptwriter and former senior intelligence officer during the Second World War who was called in to polish the screenplay, knew about the Dutch operation and wrote in the scene to give the film a powerful, dramatic opening. 

The late film critic Roger Ebert wrote, “Of all the Bonds, Goldfinger is the best, and can stand as a surrogate for the others. If it is not a great film, it is a great entertainment and contains all the elements of the Bond formula that would work again and again. It's also interesting as the link between the more modest first two Bonds and the later big-budget extravaganzas; after this one, producers Albert "Cubby" Broccoli and Harry Saltzman could be certain that 007 was good for the long run.”

Ebert went on to write that “Goldfinger contains more durable images than any other title in the series, such as the young woman killed by being coated with gold paint; the steel-rimmed bowler of the mute Korean assassin Oddjob (Harold Sakata), the Aston-Martin tricked out with deadly gimmicks and an ejector seat; Bond's sexy karate match with Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman), the villain Goldfinger (Gert Frobe) with his gold-plated Rolls-Royce, and of course the laser beam pointed at that portion of Bond's lower anatomy that he most required if he were to continue as hero of the series.” 

(For the record, it was a judo match, not karate).

Goldfinger offers many other indelible images and unforgettable characters. 

Like the other classic Bond films from the 1960s, I’ve watched Goldfinger again and again over the years. 

In the film, holding Bond as his hostage, Goldfinger briefed a collection of American organized crime leaders on his bold plan to rob Fort Knox, the gold suppository of the United States. 

Some gangsters scoffed at the idea of robbing Fort Knox, and one mob guy, Mr., Solo, wanted to take his money and leave. Oddjob later killed him.

Goldfinger explained to the gangsters that Fort Knox was only a bank, better protected, but still only a bank. 

“Man has climbed Mount Everest, gone to the bottom of the ocean, fired rockets to the moon, split the atom, achieved miracles in every field of human endeavor – except crime!”

Goldfinger then used Delta Nine, the aerial spray he planned to use to kill the soldiers and others around Fort Knox on the gangsters.

(So, why bother to brief them if you planned to kill them all along?) 

Bond, who spied on the “Hoods’ Congress” briefing, corrected Goldfinger by saying that the nerve agent Delta 9 was fatal and not a sleeping agent as Goldfinger told the gangsters. 

“You’ll kill 60,000 people uselessly," Bond said.

"Hah, American motorists kill that many every two years," Goldfinger replied coldly.

In Ian Fleming’s novel Goldfinger the criminal mastermind planned to poison the water at Fort Knox, noting that only drunks and babies will go a full day with drinking some water. He planned to use the gangsters to help him cart away the gold on a train disguised as a medical rescue train. Pussy Galore in the novel was the head of a lesbian gang of cat burglars. Her girls would dress as Red Cross nurses on the train. 

In the film she was a pilot and her team of female pilots were to spray the aerial poison around Fort Knox, while Goldfinger planned to activate s “dirty’ nuclear device to contaminate the Fort Knox gold, thus making his personal collection gold much more valuable.

In Ian Fleming’s novel, Goldfinger explained "Operation Grand Slam," his grand criminal enterprise, to his prisoner, James Bond.

"Man has climbed Everest and he has scraped the depths of the ocean. He has fired rockets into outer space and split the atom. He has invented, devised, created in every realm of human endeavor, and everywhere he has triumphed, broken records, achieved miracles. I said in every realm, but there is one that has been neglected, Mr. Bond. That one is the human activity loosely known as crime. The so-called criminal exploits committed by individual humans - I do not of course refer to their idiotic wars, their clumsy destruction of each other -are of miserable dimensions: little bank robberies, tiny swindles, picayune forgeries. And yet, ready to hand, a few hundred miles from here, opportunity for the greatest crime in history stands waiting. The stage is set, the gigantic prize is offered. Only the actors are missing. But the producer is at last here, Mr. Bond" - Goldfinger raised a finger and tapped his chest - "and he has chosen his cast. This very afternoon the script will be read to the leading actors. Then rehearsals will begin and, in one week, the curtain will go up for the single, the unique performance. And then will come applause, the applause for the greatest extra-legal coup of all time. And, Mr. Bond, the world will rock with that applause for centuries."

Bond asked Goldfinger if he planned to rob the end of the rainbow.

"Yes," Goldfinger nodded. "That is exactly what we are going to do. We are going to burgle fifteen billion dollars' worth of gold bullion, approximately half the supply of mined gold in the world. 

“We are going, Mr. Bond, to take Fort Knox." 

In my interview with Ben Macintyre, the author of Operation Mincemeat and For Your Eyes Only: Ian Fleming and James Bond, he told me that Fleming was fascinated by the interplay between truth and fiction. Many of his ideas for his James Bond thrillers were taken from the real world of crime and espionage.

As a journalist before and after World War II, and as a naval intelligence officer during World War II, Fleming picked up facts, ideas, and stories that he would later use in his series of thrillers.

"Everything I write has a precedent in truth," Fleming had said.

Macintyre noted that in World War II a Nazi agent planned to rob the Bank of England, and perhaps this gave Fleming the idea of Goldfinger’s plans to rob Fort Knox.

Goldfinger is a near perfect film thriller. Unfortunately, the Bond film makers felt that every subsequent film had to top Goldfinger, and this led to a series of over-the-top and often silly films, far removed from Ian Fleming’s novels. 

If you have not seen Goldfinger, I recommend that you do so. If you’ve not seen Goldfinger in some time, I suggest that you watch it again.

And one should also read, or reread, Ian Fleming’s great thriller Goldfinger.     

Youth Mentor With Philadelphia Anti-Gun Violence Organization Sentenced To 10 Years In Prison For Participating In Interstate Gun Trafficking Conspiracy

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

PILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Kyle McLemore, 47, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge Harvey Bartle III to 120 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $300 special assessment for selling illegal firearms from South Carolina on the streets of Philadelphia.

McLemore was one of seven defendants convicted for participating in a scheme to straw purchase nearly 60 firearms in South Carolina and traffic them up the “Iron Pipeline” to Philadelphia. Between approximately November 2020 and February 2021, McLemore worked closely with co-conspirator Terrance Darby in Philadelphia to place orders for firearms with co-conspirator Ontavious Plumer, who was incarcerated in a South Carolina prison. Plumer would then direct other co-conspirators to straw purchase firearms at gun stores in South Carolina and transport them to Philadelphia, where Darby, McLemore, and co-conspirator Cory Brookins would resell them.

McLemore started trafficking firearms with Darby just a few months after he was released on parole from a Pennsylvania state prison after serving 21 years for a 1999 murder conviction. While he was reselling illegal guns in Philadelphia, McLemore worked as a “youth advocate” at the NoMo (New Options More Opportunities) Foundation, an organization that provides children and teens with education, tutoring, mentoring, career readiness training, behavioral health counseling, and other services to reduce the factors that lead to gun violence.

McLemore was charged in a superseding indictment on March 6 of this year with conspiracy, dealing in firearms without a license, and possession of a firearm by a felon. He pleaded guilty to all three counts on May 8. Darby, Plumer, Brookins, and three other co-conspirators have also been convicted and sentenced for their roles in the conspiracy.

“Kyle McLemore sold dozens of guns from South Carolina on the streets of Philadelphia, while pretending to work to reduce gun violence on those same streets,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “My office and the ATF will continue to target gun traffickers for federal prosecution – and federal prison time. Every illegal gun and unlawful seller we put out of commission makes our city that much safer.”

“McLemore knew all too well from his criminal history and community work that illegally trafficked firearms fuel the deadly violence in his community,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Eric DeGree. “Stopping gun trafficking, which puts firearms in the hands of violent criminals and other prohibited people, is a top priority at ATF. We work tirelessly with our local, state and federal partners to dismantle trafficking operations and federally prosecute the criminals that endanger our communities.”

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 is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys J. Jeanette Kang and Matthew T. Newcomer and Special Assistant United States Attorney Alexander B. Bowerman.

On This Day In History Techno-Thriller Novelist Tom Clancy Passes Away At Age 66

Erica Lamberg at Fox News notes that on this day in history thriller author Tom Clancy died. 

Tom Clancy, author of such bestselling novels as "The Hunt for Red October" and "Patriot Games," and a lifelong Republican who counted President Ronald Reagan among his fans, died at the age of 66 on this day in history on Oct. 1, 2013, according to multiple sources. 

 

Clancy was an American author best known for his espionage, military science and technological thrillers, noted Biography.com.  

 

He was the author of 17 New York Times bestsellers — and had his career launched by President Reagan.

"'The Hunt for Red October,' his first novel, had been bought for a lowly $5,000 by the Naval Institute Press. When Reagan pronounced it ‘the perfect yarn’ in 1984, Clancy, then a Maryland insurance agent, was propelled into a hugely successful writing career," said The Guardian.

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

On this day in history, October 1, 2013, techno-thriller novelist Tom Clancy passes away at age 66 | Fox News

Note: I was a huge Tom Clancy fan, and I enjoyed his thrillers and his nonfiction books on the military. I was saddened by his early death.