Rep. Charles B. Rangel [D-NY-15] has asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for a leave of absence from his position as chairman of powerful Committee on Ways and Means due to recent findings of the House Ethics Committee. Congressman Rangel, 79, a twenty term member of Congress, has long been regarded as one of its most powerful members. This committee has often had jurisdiction over issues of concern to investigative professionals and over the years the ISPLA’s director of government relations has submitted testimony in opposition to SSN ban legislation before it.  Stay tuned…

 

And in the Senate…

 

S. 3037, “Enhancing Oversight and Security at United States Missions Act of 2010”, a bill to increase oversight of private security contractors and establish the proper ratio of U.S. Government security personnel to private security contractors at U.S. missions where Armed Forces are engaged in conflict operations was introduced February 24^th by Sen. Claire McCaskill [D-MO]. It is cosponsored by Sen. Russell D. Feingold [D-WI] and Sen. Patrick B. Leahy [D-VT] and has been referred to the Committee of Foreign Relations.

 

S 2950, “Criminal History Background Checks Pilot Extension Act of 2009”, a bill extension sponsored by Sen. Charles E. Schumer [D-NY], was passed by the House and Senate to amend the Protect Act to extend by 14 months the Child Safety Pilot Program allowing certain volunteer organizations to obtain national and state criminal history checks on their volunteers.  It became Public Law No.: 111-143 on March 1.

 

S 3029, “StartUp Visa Act of 2010”, was introduced on February 24^th by Sen. John F.  Kerry [D-MA] and cosponsored by Sen. Richard G. Lugar [R-IN] and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. The purpose of the bill is to establish an employment-based visa for alien entrepreneurs who have received significant capital from investors to establish a business in the U.S.

 

In the U.S. Supreme Court…

The U.S. Supreme Court appears poised to extend the Second Amendment guarantee of a right to own a gun, according to an ABA publication reviewed today. But the high court in McDonald v. City of Chicago also seems likely to allow municipalities some authority to regulate that right. The dominant sentiment on the court may be to extend the amendment beyond the federal level, based on the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of "due process."

The focus of the court's initial debate may be how extensively the right to keep and bear arms should be spelled out. "An attempt by an attorney for the cities of Chicago and Oak Park , Ill. , defending local bans on handguns in those communities, to prevent any application of the constitutional gun right to states, counties and cities looked forlorn and even doomed."

ISPLA has previously commented on this case as well as the Supreme Court case of DC v Heller in which Al Cavasin, Peter Psarouthakis and Bruce Hulme, all now members of ISPLA’s Executive Committee, were instrumental in persuading several state and national investigative and security associations to join in an amicus brief on behalf of a District of Columbia security officer. The 2008 successful verdict in that litigation became the precursor to the current Supreme Court case of McDonald v. City of Chicago

 

A Final Comment…

 

President Obama today endorsed reconciliation, a tactic he plans to use to push his healthcare overhaul wherein passage may be accomplished by simple majority. In such a scenario the House passes the health bill passed in the Senate and the Senate then uses reconciliation to pass fixes in the bill agreeable to the House thus thereby passing Republicans and eliminating their ability to filibuster passing the changes with just a simple majority vote.

 

Investigative & Security Professionals for Legislative Action

 

The mission of ISPLA is to monitor and identify critical legislative and regulatory issues in order to provide a forum for debate and discussion within the investigative and security professions and to serve as an advocate for these professions. To support and join us in this mission go to www.ISPLA.org

 

ISPLA Executive Committee

235 N. Pine Street

Lansing, MI 48933

Tel: (734) 428 9663

German High Court Overturns Law on Telephone and Email Data

March 2, 2010, Karlshruhe, Germany – The German Federal Constitutional Court, claiming that a law ordering that data on calls made on cellular and landline telephones, as well as email messages, be retained for six months for possible use by criminal investigation authorities, ruled such a law violates the constitutional right of privacy of correspondence of Germans. The law evolved from a 2006 EU anti-terrorism directive.

The German high court ruled that the law failed to balance privacy rights against the need to provide security, thus overturning this anti-terror law.  It comes on the heels of recent  European attempts to limit Google’s Street View maps and U.S. tracking of bank transfers to investigate terror cells, as previously reported by ISPLA professional association listservs.

This past week the Senate, by unanimous consent, passed S 30, the “Truth in Caller ID Act of 2009”, to amend the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit manipulation of caller identification. This is an anti-spoofing bill making it unlawful for any person within the U.S., in connection with any telecommunication service or IP-enabled voice service (VOIP), to cause any caller identification service to knowingly transmit misleading or inaccurate caller identification information with intent to defraud, cause harm, or wrongfully obtain anything of value, unless such transmission is exempted pursuant to paragraph (3)(B)…”  

This Senate bill, which has now been sent over to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, is a bill with which our profession feels it can abide with the “Intent” provision as set forth above.  That House committee has an identical bill pending, HR 1238 sponsored by Rep. Eliot Engel [D-NY-17] and Ranking member Rep. Joe Barton [R-TX-6].

Without the necessity of hyperbole since the truth is a bigger story, volunteers from ISPLA at their own expense, met with Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott [D-VA-3]  during their recent visit to Washington to participate in the Department of Justice Symposium on Indigent Defense.  In addition to our discussing with Rep. Scott his interest in addressing problems regarding the criminal justice system, we were also aware that has an anti-spoofing bill.  He sponsored HR 1110, the “Preventing Harassment through Outbound Number Enforcement Act of 2009” or “Phone Act” which passed in the House on December 16^th by a vote of 418 to1.

The “PHONE Act of 2009” would provide federal criminal penalties for certain types of caller ID spoofing, which occurs when a caller uses a false caller ID during a telephone call in order to hide the caller's true identity.  The bill would prohibit the use of false caller ID information in order to wrongfully obtain anything of value.   It would also prohibit the use of a person's caller ID without their consent and with the intent to deceive the recipient of the call. 

The bill would not affect legitimate business or personal disguise of one's true caller ID.  Use of a single number or name for multiple callers, "Private Caller", or other disguises where there is no purpose to wrongfully obtain something of value from the person called or where it is not a knowing use of an actual person's caller ID with intent to deceive another, would continue to be legal.

"This bill is an important means of preventing identity theft and ensuring the privacy of our citizens while allowing continued disguises of a caller's identity for privacy or other legitimate purposes," said Congressman Scott. 

In recent years, spoofing has become more commonplace, leading to increased security vulnerabilities and identity theft.  Spoofing technology has become readily available, either through the purchase of Internet telephone equipment or through Web sites specifically set up to spoof.  Because caller ID spoofing can make a call appear to come from any phone number, it has the ability to cause fraud, damaged credit and financial ruin.  Call recipients sometimes divulge personal and private information to the spoofer, under the mistaken belief that it is a legitimate call.  However, use of such technology is a legitimate investigative tool when not used to defraud or cause harm.

At the invitation of the U.S. Department of Justice, Investigative & Security Professionals for Legislative Action board member Nicole Bocra and government affairs director Bruce Hulme participated in the National Symposium on Indigent Defense last week in Washington, D.C.  The symposium was organized to correct deficiencies presently existing in the legal representation of the indigent, which has been documented by the American Bar Association and others to be “a system that lacks fundamental fairness and places poor persons at constant risk of wrongful convictions.”

 

More than 45 years have passed since the Gideon decision of the U.S. Supreme Court and decades since it extended to juveniles the right to counsel.  The symposium had some 140 presenters and more than 800 attendees, who took part in five plenary sessions and 37 workshops.  The event provided an overview of the advances and setbacks in implementing the Sixth Amendment right to counsel in America over the past decade.  An effort was made to find solutions to the current crisis in indigent defense through litigation and legislation.  A disparate group of concerned individuals and organizations gathered to present their views--judges, prosecutors, public defenders, defense attorneys, law school academics, forensic organizations, policy and advocacy groups, and ISPLA, representing investigative professionals.  Panelists expressed concerns with areas of criminal defense, particularly those affecting the indigent and wrongly accused.

 

ISPLA members include some of the most experienced defense investigators in the U.S. and have assisted both national and state professional associations on federal regulatory and legislative affairs.  ISPLA welcomed the opportunity to provide input on behalf of the profession to many of the participants present, calling attention to the important role played by investigators as an integral part of the criminal justice system.

 

Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr. was the keynote speaker.  Several Assistant Attorneys General and one Associate Attorney General, all heads of important divisions, were also speakers during the symposium.  They were:

 

• Assistant Attorney General Laurie O. Robinson – Office of Justice Programs

• Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez - Civil Rights Division

• Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer – Criminal Division

• Associate Attorney General Thomas J. Perrelli – Civil Division’s Federal Programs Branch

Other high ranking Department of Justice speakers or panelists included Duren Banks, Chief of Prosecution and Adjudication Statistics Unit; Kristina Rose, Acting Director of National Institute of Justice (NIJ); Michael G. Sheppo, Director of Investigative and Forensic Services of NIJ; and Edwin Zedlewski, Director of the International Center of NIJ.

 

Nicole Bocra of ISPLA, an expert in her own right on aspects of investigative technologies, was afforded the opportunity to discuss the latest trends in pretrial and post conviction DNA, impression evidence, and other investigative technologies such as GPS, fingerprints, cell phones and video.  Technical presenters in various areas of expertise included attorney Barry Scheck of The Innocence Project; Lisa Kreiger-Norman, U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory; Randall Murch, Associate Director, Research Program Development, Virginia Tech Center for Technology, Security, and Policy; Professor Paul C. Gianelli, Case Western Reserve University; Michael Fields, Bureau Chief, Dallas County, Texas District Attorney’s Office of Conviction Integrity; Gary Perkinson, Agent in Charge, Special Investigations Unit, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation; and Miles Brissette, an assistant criminal district attorney, Tarrant County, Texas and former Testing and Certifications Chair for the IACP Digital Video Systems Minimum Performance Specifications for In-Car Video and member of NIJ’s Sensors and Surveillance Technology Technical Working Group and Multimedia Evidence Systems Standards panel.

 

The interaction between science, technology, law, and criminal justice has produced as many questions as advances in evidence analysis.  In reviewing the most cutting-edge investigative technologies, experts demand commensurate standards, admissibility, and other criminal case issues. 

 

The symposium discussed the controversial 2009 National Academy of Sciences (NAS) report recommendations to create an independent agency and to separate crime labs from law enforcement.  Even before the NAS report, actual innocence cases resulted in more than 240 exonerations through post-conviction DNA analysis by testing evidence either not tested at the time of trial or analyzed using less discriminating technology.  Crime scene samples once thought to be unsuitable for testing now yield DNA profiles.  Courts may weigh the probative value of DNA evidence in determining whether to grant a motion requesting post-conviction relief.

 

Bruce Hulme, ISPLA’s director of government affairs, in his conversations with representatives of indigent defense groups, cited his personal experience as court-appointed investigator in federal capital cases and assured them that the resources of ISPLA and the other professional investigative associations working with us can be of invaluable assistance in addressing the issues associated with indigent defense. 

 

He met with leaders of the National Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLDA), National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, The Constitution Project, National Juvenile Defender Center, National juvenile Defender Center, National Criminal Justice Association (NCJA), The Innocence Project, Brennan Center for Justice, Southern Center for Civil Rights, Juvenile Justice Clinic of Georgetown University Law Center, Children’s Justice Clinic of Rutgers School of Law, American Bar Association Death Penalty Representation Project, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), The Ford Foundation, Equal Justice Works and the Campaign for Justice.

 

ISPLA has been hard at work forging alliances with like-minded stakeholders on specific issues affecting professional investigators and their clients.  The National Symposium on Indigent Defense brought together a wide range of organizations to address and seek solutions to an important problem.  No one organization can do it alone!  The same holds true when responding to ill-conceived federal and state regulations and legislation.  This event is but one more example of the areas of interest and work undertaken by ISPLA in the last 12 months.  We are proactive in responding to critical issues.

 

 

Investigative & Security Professionals for Legislative Action continues to stay abreast of issues in Washington with regard to regulation and legislation affecting this profession. ISPLA is singularly focused to protect the interests of the investigative and security professions at the federal level, and at the state level when specifically requested by state professional associations. As part of its government affairs program, ISPLA has been monitoring the activities of the Federal Trade Commission in their workshops on privacy issues, meeting with officials of that agency having jurisdiction over certain aspects of activities conducted by professional investigators, and reviewing testimony given by the agency concerning its enforcement activities.

The FTC advised the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation that they have stepped up their efforts to protect consumers affected by the economic downtown, and that additional authority would make the agency even more effective.

The testimony presented by FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz described the agency’s efforts to prosecute financial fraud and deception, including working with states to bring hundreds of cases against mortgage relief scams in 2009. The testimony also discussed the FTC’s rulemaking and consumer education initiatives, how additional authority will enhance the agency’s effectiveness, and the FTC’s perspective on recent proposals to create a consumer financial protection agency as part of a broader reform of the financial services regulatory system.

As stated in the testimony, during the past five years the FTC has targeted financial services providers in more than 100 actions and, over the past decade, obtained nearly half a billion dollars in redress for consumers. As the economic downturn has taken hold, the FTC’s highest priority has become targeting frauds that prey on consumers made vulnerable by the financial crisis. The agency has shifted more of its consumer protection staff to the area of financial services, while continuing to carry out its broader consumer protection mission. In addition to prosecuting mortgage foreclosure and loan modification scams – working with state attorneys general more than 200 lawsuits were brought last year – the FTC has targeted a variety of other deceptive and fraudulent schemes, including those in mortgage servicing, debt relief services, credit repair, economic stimulus scams, debt collection, advance-fee loans, payday lending, and credit card marketing, as well as fake get-rich-quick schemes, work-at-home offers, and job-hunting ads.

Describing other FTC efforts in the financial area, the testimony noted that it is in the process of formulating new rules to address unfair or deceptive practices in: 1) mortgage relief services, 2) mortgage advertising and servicing, 3) debt relief services. Also, in conjunction with the federal banking agencies, the FTC is considering additional rules to protect the privacy of consumers’ sensitive financial information. The testimony also recounted the FTC’s many education campaigns to help consumers manage their resources and avoid scams, including a major effort on mortgage relief services scams.

According to the testimony, new enforcement and regulatory tools would strengthen the FTC’s ability to anticipate and respond to financial fraud. The agency encourages Congress to give it explicit authority to act against those who assist others they know, or consciously avoid knowing, are engaged in unfair or deceptive practices under the FTC Act. The FTC has asked Congress for authority to use more efficient rulemaking procedures to address consumer protection issues and enhance the agency’s ability to stop financial fraud. In addition, the FTC would like the authority to seek civil penalties for violations of the FTC Act, and to prosecute civil penalty cases in federal court in its own name so that it can bring cases more quickly and more effectively.

Regarding President Obama’s proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency, the testimony expressed FTC support for the goal of making consumer financial protection more effective while ensuring that the FTC’s authority and ability to protect consumers remains uneroded and clear. It states they should remain active and effective in policing financial and nonfinancial products and services.

The Commission vote authorizing the testimony was 4-0. Commissioner Kovacic dissents from that portion of the testimony that seeks across-the-board authority for the Commission to use, for promulgating all rules respecting unfair or deceptive acts or practices under the Federal Trade Commission Act, the notice and comment procedures of the Administrative Procedure Act, although he would be willing to consider whether all the procedures currently required to issue, repeal, or amend these rules are necessary. Commissioner Kovacic also dissents from the Commission's endorsement of across-the-board civil penalty authority.

Bruce Hulme

Director of Government Affairs

FEC Statement on the Supreme Court’s Decision in Citizens United v. FEC

Washington, DC – Feb. 5, 2010 - The Federal Election Commission announced that, due to the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. FEC, it will no longer enforce statutory and regulatory provisions prohibiting corporations and labor unions from making either independent expenditures or electioneering communications. The Commission also listed several actions it is taking to fully implement the Citizens United decision.

In Citizens United v. FEC, issued on January 21, 2010, the Supreme Court held that the prohibitions in the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) against corporate spending on independent expenditures or electioneering communications are unconstitutional.  The Supreme Court upheld statutory provisions that require political ads to contain disclaimers and be reported to the Commission.  Provisions addressed by the decision are described below.

• The Court struck down 2 U.S.C. 441b, which prohibits, in part, corporations and labor organizations from making electioneering communications and from making independent expendituresundefinedcommunications to the general public that expressly advocate the election or defeat of clearly identified federal candidates.

• The Court upheld 2 U.S.C. 441d, which requires that political advertising consisting of independent expenditures or electioneering communications contain a disclaimer clearly stating who paid for such communication.

• The Court upheld 2 U.S.C. 434, which requires certain information about electioneering communications and independent expenditures, and the contributions received for such spending, to be disclosed to the Commission and to be made public.

The Commission is taking the following steps to conform to the Supreme Court's decision.

• The Commission will no longer enforce the statutory provisions or its regulations prohibiting corporations and labor organizations from making independent expenditures and electioneering communications.

• The Commission is reviewing all pending enforcement matters to determine which matters may be affected by the Citizens United decision and will no longer pursue claims involving violations of the invalidated provisions.  In addition, the Commission will no longer pursue information requests or audit issues with respect to the invalidated provisions. 

• The Commission is considering the effect of the Citizens United decision on its ongoing litigation.

• The Commission intends to initiate a rulemaking to implement the Citizens United opinion.  It is reviewing the regulations affected by the invalidated provisions, including but not necessarily limited to the following:

1. 11CFR114.2(b)(2) and (3), which implement the FECA’s prohibition on corporate and labor organization independent expenditures and electioneering communications;
2. 11 CFR 114.4, which restricts the types of communications corporations and labor organizations may make to those not within their restricted class;
3. 11 CFR 114.10, which permits certain qualified nonprofit corporations to use their treasury funds to make independent expenditures and electioneering communications under certain conditions;
4. 11 CFR 114.14, which places restrictions on the use of corporate and labor union funds for electioneering communications; and
5. 11 CFR 114.15, which the Commission adopted to implement the Supreme Court's decision in Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc. v. FEC. 

• The Commission is also considering the effect of Citizens United on the ongoing Coordinated Communications rulemaking. 74 FR 53893 (Oct. 21, 2009). The Commission is issuing a Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking so that interested persons may submit comments regarding issues presented by Citizens United. The additional comment period will close on February 24, 2010. The Commission intends to hold a hearing on the Coordinated Communications rulemaking on March 2 and 3, 2010.

• Revisions to Commission reporting requirements, forms, instructions, and electronic software, may be required. 

Corporations and labor organizations that intend to finance independent expenditures or electioneering communications should:

• Include disclaimers on their communications, consistent with FEC regulations at 11 CFR 110.11;
• Disclose independent expenditures on FEC Form 5, consistent with FEC regulations at 11 CFR 109.10; and
• Disclose electioneering communications on FEC Form 9, consistent with FEC regulations at 11 CFR 104.20.

The Commission notes that the prohibitions on corporations or labor organizations making contributions contained in 2 U.S.C. 441b remain in effect. 

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent regulatory agency that administers and enforces federal campaign finance laws. The FEC has jurisdiction over the financing of campaigns for the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, the Presidency and the Vice Presidency. Established in 1975, the FEC is composed of six Commissioners who are nominated by the President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

Investigations Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Keeping Foreign Corruption Out of the United States: Four Case Histories

Corrupt foreign officials and their relatives have used gaps in U.S. law and the assistance of U.S. professionals to funnel millions of dollars in illicit money into the United States, an investigation by the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has found.

“For the United States, which has so much riding on global stability, corruption is a direct threat to our national interest,” said Sen. Carl Levin, [D-MI] subcommittee chairman.  “That’s why the United States is engaged in a relentless, worldwide battle to stop the flow of illegal money into and within places like Iraq and Afghanistan.  Laundered money is used to train and provide support for terrorists and terrorism.  If we want to credibly lead efforts to stop illegal money abroad, we’ve got to stop it here at home as well.”

A 330-page bipartisan report to be released by Levin and subcommittee ranking member Sen. Tom Coburn, [R-OK], at today’s hearing shows that politically powerful foreign officials, and those close to them, have found ways to use the U.S. financial system to protect and enhance their ill-gotten gains.  The report exposes how those powerful individuals – known internationally as “politically exposed persons” or PEPs – have used the services of U.S. lawyers, lobbyists, real estate and escrow agents, and other professionals who currently have no obligation under U.S. regulations to establish anti-money laundering (“AML”) programs, know their customers, or evaluate the source of funds transferred into the United States.  Banks, in contrast, are subject to AML obligations and for the most part have honored them.  But glaring gaps have undermined the overall effectiveness of U.S. AML laws.

Four Case Histories.  The report presents four case histories, each with multiple stories exposing the tactics being used by PEPs to use our financial system to protect and enhance their illicit funds.  They include the following:

·       $110 Million.  Teodoro Obiang, the 40-year old son of the President of Equatorial Guinea, is currently under investigation by the Justice Department for corruption and other misconduct.  Between 2004 and 2008, Mr. Obiang used U.S. lawyers, bankers, and real estate and escrow agents to move more than $110 million in suspect funds through U.S. bank accounts, including $30 million to purchase a residence in Malibu and $38.5 million to purchase an aircraft.   

·       Third Party Accounts.  Mr. Obiang used shell company, attorney-client, and law office accounts controlled by his attorneys to bring suspect funds into the United States and conduct transactions through U.S. banks without their knowing of his activity, including at banks that had made it clear they did not want his business.

·       Lost Escrow Business.  An escrow agent who refused to complete the purchase of a $38.5 million Gulfstream jet without information on the source of the funds being supplied by Mr. Obiang, lost out to a competitor willing to complete the transaction with no questions asked.

·       $18 Million Through Lobbyist Account.  Omar Bongo, President of Gabon for 41 years until his death last year, and his eldest son, Ali Bongo, Minister of Defense until he took his father’s place as President of the country, amassed substantial wealth while in office, amid the extreme poverty of its citizens.  In 2006, $18 million in funds from Gabon were wired to the U.S. corporate bank accounts of a U.S. lobbyist who then distributed the funds within the United States and across the globe as directed by President Bongo in connection with two projects to support his regime, buying U.S.-made armored cars and C-130 military cargo planes.  Among the funds the lobbyist distributed was $9.2 million which he wire transferred to an account for President Omar Bongo – not in Gabon – but in the country of Malta.

·       $1 Million Shrink Wrapped.  In 2007, President Omar Bongo brought $1 million in shrink-wrapped $100 bills into the United States under cover of diplomatic immunity without declaring the cash to U.S. authorities as required by law.  His daughter, who told her bank that she was an unemployed student, deposited the cash in a U.S. safe deposit box and later into her bank account.

·       U.S. Trust Accounts.  President Ali Bongo’s wife formed a U.S. trust under her maiden name, and used the trust to open U.S. bank and securities accounts in California.

·       Offshore Wire Transfers.  Jennifer Douglas, a U.S. citizen and the fourth wife of Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President and former presidential candidate in Nigeria, helped her husband bring more than $40 million in suspect funds into the United States from 2000 to 2008, through wire transfers from offshore corporations.  The Securities and Exchange Commission has alleged in a 2008 civil complaint that Ms. Douglas received $2.8 million in bribe payments from a German conglomerate, Siemens AG, which has acknowledged making the payments.

·       Arms Dealer.  Pierre Falcone, a notorious Angolan arms dealer with a history of run-ins with the law and who is currently serving a 6-year prison sentence, had open access to more than 30 U.S. bank accounts in Arizona for 18 years.

·       Central Banker.  Aguinaldo Jaime, former head of the Central Bank of Angola, tried twice to transfer $50 million in Angolan government funds to a private account in the United States, only to have the transfers reversed by U.S. financial institutions who became suspicious.  The corruption concerns raised by his actions caused Citibank to close all accounts for Angolan government agencies and to close down its office in Angola.

·       Private Angolan Bank.  Banco Africano Investimentos (“BAI”), a $7 billion private Angolan bank which caters to PEPs, gained access to the U.S. financial system through HSBC in New York, despite troubling information about its ownership and failure to provide a copy of its anti-money laundering policies and procedures.

Recommendations.  To combat the abuses, the report makes several recommendations, including:

• World Bank PEP Controls.  Implementing stronger controls on PEP accounts as laid out in a recent World Bank report, including by requiring banks to use reliable databases to screen clients for PEPs, requiring beneficial ownership forms for bank accounts so hidden PEPs are exposed, and conducting annual reviews of PEP accounts to detect suspicious activity.
• Beneficial Owners.  Requiring U.S. corporations to identify their beneficial owners, in order to thwart the use of shell companies with hidden PEP owners.
• Ending Exemptions.  Ending the exemptions Treasury granted in 2002 to the Patriot Act’s anti-money laundering requirements, so that real estate and escrow agents will have to know their customers, evaluate the source of their funds, and turn away suspect clients.  Also requiring Treasury to instruct banks to subject attorney-client and law office accounts to greater oversight and stop their use to shield PEPs from scrutiny.
• Immigration and Visa Criteria.  Toughening immigration and visa rules to make foreign corruption a legal basis for barring entry into the United States and for removing PEPs already here.  Increasing law enforcement support for Presidential Proclamation 7750 to identify corrupt foreign officials who should be barred from the United States.
• Stronger FATF Recommendations.  Encouraging U.S. professional organizations to issue anti-money laundering and anti-corruption guidance to their members.

“Stopping the flow of illegal money is critical, because foreign corruption damages civil society, undermines the rule of law, and threatens our security,” said Levin. 

HR 4061 Cybersecurity Enhancement Act Passes House

HR 4061, the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act, which combined the Cybersecurity Coordination and Awareness Act and the Cybersecurity Research and Development Amendments Act, passed the House today by a vote of 422 to 5.  The primary sponsor was Rep. Daniel Lipinski [D-IL].  In a statement he said: “The amount of time all of us spend on the Internet, the vulnerabilities that are out there, hopefully through this work, we can make things better, so we have fewer problems with attacks, not just on government but on individuals.”  The measure goes to the Senate.

Included in the bill's provisions are:

• Increases the role of the National Institute of Standards and Technology in developing international cybersecurity technical standards. The measure also charges the NIST with creating IT security awareness and education campaigns for the public, improving the interoperability of identity management systems to encourage more widespread use and developing an IT security checklist for agencies to use before acquiring IT wares. An amendment by Rep. Michael McCaul, [R.-TX], was adopted to clarify that use of the checklist is voluntary.
• Orders agencies to develop, update and implement a strategic plan for cybersecurity research and development based on an assessment of cybersecurity risk, and that it specify and prioritize near-term, mid-term and long-term research objectives, describing how the near-term objectives complement R&D occurring in the private sector.
• Establishes a scholarship fund, administrated by the National Science Foundation, in which student recipients promise to work as IT security professionals in government in an equal number of years in which they received the grant. The NSF program also would fund faculty professional development and cybersecurity curricula development programs at U.S. colleges and university. The funding would be spread equally around the country, and would encourage minority students to pursue careers in cybersecurity.
• Directs the National Science Foundation to support research on the social and behavioral aspects of cybersecurity as part of their total cybersecurity research portfolio
• Directs NSF to establish a postdoctoral fellowship program in cybersecurity. The measure also would reauthorize the NSF cybersecurity research program and includes identity management as one of the research areas support. Another provision would reauthorize NSF programs that provide funding for capacity building grants, graduate student fellowships, graduate student traineeships and research centers in cybersecurity.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates provisions of the bill to costs $643 million for fiscal years 2010 through 2014 and $320 million thereafter. 

Bruce Hulme, ISPLA Director of Government Relations

February 4, 2010

Former New York City Police Department Sergeant Sentenced to Six Months' Imprisonment for Making False Statements to Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agents
Defendant Provided Vehicle Registration Information for Law Enforcement Surveillance Vehicles to Narcotics Trafficker

FEB 02 -- (Brooklyn, NY) Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Central Islip, New York, Roosevelt Green, formerly a Sergeant with the New York City Police Department was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment for making false statements to Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agents during a narcotics investigation. The sentence was imposed by United States District Judge Joseph F. Bianco and announced by Benton J. Campbell, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

On June 16, 2009, as jury selection was about to commence in his trial, Green pleaded guilty to lying to DEA agents on May 22, 2007. As Green’s guilty plea, indictment, and underlying complaint reveal, he used NYPD computers to obtain vehicle registration information for two DEA surveillance vehicles and provided that information to Frank "Big Bananas" Wilson, a long-time Wyandanch narcotics trafficker. 1 In a May 22, 2007 interview with DEA agents, Green falsely stated that he did not provide the vehicle registration information to Wilson.

In February 2007, the DEA, Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD), Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department (SCSD), and the United States Attorney’s Office commenced a court authorized wiretap investigation of Wilson’s narcotics trafficking organization, which had been distributing cocaine and “crack” cocaine in Suffolk County for more than a decade. Law enforcement officers intercepted a series of conversations between Green and Wilson, which revealed that Wilson asked Green to check license plates on two vehicles Wilson thought might have been used to follow him. The intercepted conversations further revealed that, while on duty in an NYPD patrol car on March 31, 2007, Green used NYPD computers to obtain vehicle registration information for two vehicles and provided that information to Wilson. Both those vehicles had been used to conduct surveillance of Wilson and his co-conspirators during the wiretap investigation. In a subsequent conversation, Green told Wilson that he wanted a warm-up suit and a pair of sneakers in exchange for the information.

On May 22, 2007, DEA agents and NYPD detectives executed a federal search warrant at Green’s Wyandanch residence. A number of items were seized, including sneakers and other articles of clothing Green admitted receiving from Wilson. At that time, Green told the DEA agents that he had had conversations with Wilson and that he was aware that Wilson was a drug dealer, but denied having obtained vehicle registration information for him.

As a condition of his plea agreement with the government, Green, a 12-year veteran, resigned from the NYPD immediately after his guilty plea on June 16, 2009 and agreed not to seek future employment with any federal, state or local law enforcement agency.

“Law enforcement officers have the responsibility to serve the public and protect their communities. This defendant abused that responsibility and used his position to obtain sensitive information that he provided to a known drug dealer,” stated United States Attorney Campbell. “By doing so, he not only violated his duties as a police officer, but also endangered fellow law enforcement officers and the public through his actions.” Mr. Campbell thanked the DEA, SCPD, and SCSD for their efforts during this prosecution. Mr. Campbell also thanked the NYPD for its cooperation and assistance during the investigation.

The government’s case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John J. Durham.

The Defendant: ROOSEVELT GREEN

Age: 47

In May 2007, Wilson and 14 co-defendants were arrested for conspiring to distribute cocaine and “crack” cocaine and were subsequently indicted on narcotics and weapons charges. All 15 defendants have pleaded guilty and have been sentenced or are awaiting sentencing in the Eastern District of New York.