'Big Book Of Christmas Mysteries' Offers Yule Time Fun And Crime

Patrick Anderson at the Washington Post offers a review of Otto Penzler's Big Book of Christmas Mysteries.

Vicious crime at Christmastime?

Murder most foul as kiddies sing and sleigh bells ring?

Poison in the punch? Cyanide in the pudding?

Ye gods, what unspeakable horror!

But what fun, too, in “The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries,” Otto Penzler's collection of 59 notable Christmas crime stories of past and present!

Penzler, writer, publisher and proprietor of Manhattan’s Mysterious Bookshop, draws on his encyclopedic know­ledge of English-language crime fiction to give us a panoramic look at outstanding stories from the late 19th century to the early 21st. There are celebrated writers here — Thomas Hardy, John D. MacDonald, Ellery Queen, Agatha Christie, Robert Louis Stevenson — and others undeservedly forgotten. Happily, the stories don’t offer much violence and gore; it’s mostly offstage. Indeed, one of the joys of the collection is how many are delightfully funny.

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

http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/book-review-big-book-of-christmas-mysteries-offers-yuletide-fun-and-crime/2013/12/15/4235a956-60e3-11e3-94ad-004fefa61ee6_story.html 

'A Christmas Crime Story'

As the Christmas season is here again, I'd like to once again offer my short story A Christmas Crime Story.   

To get in the true spirit of the Christmas holiday, some people go to church, some people go to the homes of family and friends, and some people go out and shop.

Me? I go to cop bars.

...  As a writer, I’ve talked to cops in station houses, in patrol cars, on the street and in bars. I’ve listened to their concerns, prideful boasts and sorrowful confessions. I’ve accompanied cops on patrol and witnessed them handle insane, intoxicated and incongruous citizens. I’ve observed how they console crime victims and their families. I’ve seen how they cope with the aftermath of criminal violence and man’s inhumanity to man. And I’ve come to appreciate their black humor, which like military humor, is a necessary safety valve to get them through the bad times.

... Cops are generally in good spirits despite the fact that the holiday season is a busy one for them. It’s a sad commentary, but the holiday season is a peak time for crime. Criminals certainly love the holiday season, but not for spiritual or sentimental reasons. It’s simply a time of grand opportunity. And criminals certainly don’t take a Christmas vacation. As joyous and hopeful people go out to worship, shop, dine and visit family and friends, criminal predators go out and pickpocket, shoplift, mug, steal and burglarize.

You can read the rest of the short story via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2011/12/christmas-crime-story.html 

Kansas Man Charged In Plot To Explode Car Bomb At Airport

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

A man has been charged in federal court with attempting to explode a car bomb at Wichita Mid Continent Airport, Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security, John Carlin and U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom announced today. The defendant was arrested as part of an FBI undercover investigation, and the device used by the defendant was, in fact, inert and at no time posed a danger to the public.

Terry Lee Loewen, 58, of Wichita, Kan., is charged in a criminal complaint filed today in U.S. District Court in Wichita with one count of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction, one count of attempting to damage property by means of an explosive and one count of attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.

“There was no breach of Mid-Continent’s Airport’s security,” said U.S. Attorney Grissom.  “At no time was the safety of travelers or members of the public placed in jeopardy.”

Loewen, who works as an avionics technician, is alleged to have spent months developing a plan that involved using his access card to airport grounds to drive a van loaded with explosives to the terminal.  He planned to pull the trigger on the explosives himself and die in the explosion.

Agents arrested Loewen about 5:40 a.m. Friday after he attempted to enter the airport tarmac and deliver a vehicle loaded with what he believed were high explosives.  Members of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) took him into custody without incident.

Loewen has been under investigation by the Wichita Joint Terrorism Task Force since early summer 2013. It is alleged that, prior to his attempted attack, he made statements that he was resolved to commit an act of violent jihad against the United States. Over a period of months, he took a series of actions to advance the plot. According to an affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, Loewen:

 

• studied the layout of the airport and took photographs of access points;
• researched flight schedules;   
• assisted in acquiring components for the car bomb;
• and talked about his commitment to trigger the device and martyr himself.

On Friday, Loewen went to Mid-Continent Airport to detonate the car bomb.  He was taken into custody when he attempted to open a security access gate. FBI Evidence Response Teams are executing search warrants related to the case.  Although the investigation is ongoing, no additional arrests are anticipated.

“Lone wolves - home grown violent extremists remain a very serious threat to our nation’s security, said FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael Kaste.  “Today’s arrest emphasizes the continual need for the public to remain vigilant as law enforcement relies on the public’s assistance.” 

 

If convicted, Loewen would face a maximum penalty of life in federal prison.

The investigation was conducted by the Wichita FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, which includes members from the FBI, Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office and Kansas Highway Patrol. Assisting with the investigation were the FBI Kansas City Division, the Transportation Security Administration, the Wichita Airport Authority, and the Wichita Police Department. 

The case is being handled by prosecutors from the United States Attorney’s Office and the Justice Department’s National Security Division. 

Two Army National Guard Soldiers Pled Guilty In Connection With Bribery And Fraud Schemes To Defraud The U.S. Army National Guard Bureau

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

Two U.S. Army National Guard soldiers pleaded guilty for their roles in bribery and fraud schemes that caused a total of at least $70,000 in losses to the U.S. Army National Guard Bureau.   Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson of the Southern District of Texas made the announcement.

Specialist Edia Antoine, 28, and former Staff Sergeant Ernest Millien, 49, both of Houston, each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of bribery.   The cases against both defendants arise from an investigation involving allegations that former and current military recruiters and U.S. soldiers in the San Antonio and Houston areas engaged in a wide-ranging corruption scheme to illegally obtain fraudulent recruiting bonuses.   To date, the investigation has led to charges against 25 individuals, 19 of whom have pleaded guilty.

According to court documents filed in both cases, in approximately September 2005, the National Guard Bureau entered into a contract with Document and Packaging Broker Inc. (Docupak) to administer the Guard Recruiting Assistance Program (G-RAP).   The G-RAP was a recruiting program that offered monetary incentives to soldiers of the Army National Guard who referred others to join the Army National Guard.   Through this program, a participating soldier could receive up to $3,000 in bonus payments for referring another individual to join.   Based on certain milestones achieved by the referred soldier, a participating soldier would receive payment through direct deposit into the participating soldier’s designated bank account.   To participate in the program, soldiers were required to create online recruiting assistant accounts.

Antoine and Millien both admitted they paid Army National Guard recruiters for the names and Social Security numbers of potential Army National Guard soldiers.   They used the personal identifying information for these potential soldiers to claim that they were responsible for referring these potential soldiers to join the Army National Guard, when in fact they had not referred them.   As a result of these fraudulent representations, Antoine and Millien collected approximately $17,000 and at least $12,500 in fraudulent bonuses, respectively.

The charge of bribery carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the pecuniary gain or loss.   The charge of conspiracy carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the pecuniary gain or loss.

Antoine and Millien are scheduled to be sentenced before U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal of the Southern District of Texas on June 24, 2014.

These cases are being investigated by Special Agents from the San Antonio Fraud Resident Agency of Army Criminal Investigation Command’s Major Procurement Fraud Unit.  The cases are being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Sean F. Mulryne, Mark J. Cipolletti and Heidi Boutros Gesch of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney John Pearson of the Southern District of Texas.   

Flushing Out An FBI Sting Operation

Ralph Cipriano is covering the federal organized crime trial in Philadelphia for Bigtrial.net.

On the FBI surveillance tape played in court, the jury heard the gurgling sounds of men standing at urinals.

In the men's room of the Chop House Restaurant in Gibbsboro, N.J., a tipsy mobster named Anthony Staino was overhead warning a sleazy financial planner named "Dino" what would happen if he didn't repay a $25,000 mob loan with the astronomically high interest rate of 144 percent.

"If you fuck with me, you know what's gonna happen, right?" Staino was overheard telling Dino amid the sounds of flushing urinals. "Don't fuck with me."

  Dino's real name was David Sebastiani; he's a certified public accountant and an undercover FBI agent. And while he was standing at the urinal in 2004, Dino was wearing a wire that not only recorded the watery sounds of the men's room, but also a successful FBI sting operation.
You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.bigtrial.net/2013/12/flushing-out-fbi-sting-operation.html#more

U.S. Navy-China Showdown: Chinese Try To Halt U.S. Cruiser In International Waters

Veteran national security reporter Bill Gertz offers a piece in the Washington Times about the Communist Chinese Navy playing "chicken-of-the-sea" with a U.S. Navy warship.

A Chinese naval vessel tried to force a U.S. guided missile warship to stop in international waters recently, causing a tense military standoff in the latest case of Chinese maritime harassment, according to defense officials.

The guided missile crusier USS Cowpens, which recently took part in disaster relief operations in the Philippines, was confronted by Chinese warships in the South China Sea near Beijing’s new aircraft carrier Liaoning, according to officials familiar with the incident.

“On December 5th, while lawfully operating in international waters in the South China Sea, USS Cowpens and a PLA Navy vessel had an encounter that required maneuvering to avoid a collision,” a Navy official said.

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

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/dec/13/us-navy-china-showdown-chinese-try-halt-us-cruiser/

Goldfinger? Dr No? Not To Worry. James Bond's True Adversary - Too Many Martinis

The British newspaper the Telegraph offers a piece on a study on Ian Fleming's iconic fictional character James Bond and his drinking habits.

James Bond’s love of martinis would have left him both shaken and stirred as he consumed four times the weekly recommended alcohol limit, doctors have said. 
 

Despite his dangerous exploits, the famous spy was more at risk of dying from liver disease or drink driving than a bullet, according to a study in the British Medical Journal. 
 

His high cocktail consumption may have even induced an alcohol-related tremor in his hands preventing him from stirring his drinks and explaining his preference for a shaken martini, the researchers said. 
 

The team read all 14 of Ian Fleming’s novels over six months to test whether the secret agent would have been able to cope with his high octane profession while drinking heavily.

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

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/jamesbond/10515184/James-Bonds-alcohol-intake-leaves-doctors-shaken-and-stirred.html

Note: Have they nothing better to research?

They could have saved time, effort and money by simply  reading Ian Fleming's Thunderball.

In the beginning of Fleming's thriller he has Bond sent to a clinic because he is drinking too much.

Fleming also wrote Bond's (and his own) epithet: "I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time."