FBI corruption from Marty on 2008-12-05 (file.mbox)

From: Marty <marty..._at_prodigy.net>
Date: Fri, 5 Dec 2008 07:39:27 -0800 (PST)

Prison officials looking to hang up on inmates

States seek to jam illegal cell phones in violation of federal regulations

By Alex Johnson

Reporter

msnbc.com

updated 6:08 a.m. CT, Mon., Dec. 8, 2008

A persistent death row inmate in Texas could trigger a change in federal law
allowing state and local governments to jam cell phone calls.

After an allegedly threatening call to a state senator led to the discovery
that inmates had made thousands of calls on cell phones, which are banned in
nearly all prisons nationwide, Texas officials have scheduled a test Dec. 18
of a system to jam such transmissions.

In general, federal law prohibits jamming cell phones. While regulators can
make exceptions in certain circumstances for federal law enforcement
agencies, the law specifically bans state and local governments from
blocking the calls.

State prison officials said they were working with members of Congress to
update the law, which they called outdated. Meanwhile, officials in South
Carolina, who tested a jamming system last month at a state prison in
Ridgeville, have filed a petition with the Federal Communications Commission
along the same lines.

The campaigns have shined new light on the problem of cell phones in
prisons, which correction officials say is one of the toughest issues they
face. The phones, smuggled in by guards or family members and activated with
hard-to-trace prepaid calling plans, are a lifeline for criminals and gang
members to order hits, buy drugs and plan escape attempts from behind bars.

"If you've got the ability to have a cell phone, you can go into our
institutions, and whatever illegal activities you were doing outside, you
can continue that uninterrupted," said Walter A. McNeil, secretary of the
Florida Department of Corrections.

Phones get smaller; problem gets bigger

As cell phones get smaller and lighter, they are becoming ever harder to
keep out of prisoners' hands.

Because most components in modern cell phones are plastic, they don't set
off metal detectors. And because the newest phones are so small - one
manufacturer markets a lipstick-size model barely 7 centimeters long - they
can easily be hidden in toilet paper rolls, peanut butter jars, soda cans
and even prisoners' rectums, a practice correction officials dub
"keistering."

Officials in the California prison system confiscated 1,331 cell phones in
the first six months of 2008, almost as many as were found in all of 2007.
In Maryland, prison officials confiscated 849 cell phones during fiscal year
2008, an increase of 76 percent from 2007.

"It's a significant problem that seems to be increasing," said Ricky Bell,
warden of Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, Tenn., where
guards have confiscated 32 contraband phones this year. Statewide, Tennessee
officials have found more than 600 cell phones so far in 2008.

The issue is particularly sensitive in Tennessee, where an inmate at Brushy
Mountain Prison in Petros used a contraband cell phone to plan his escape in
2006. A guard was killed in the attempt.

In Texas, an investigation in October found that more than 2,800 calls had
been made from death row on a single phone held by Richard Tabler, who was
condemned for killing two people over Thanksgiving weekend in 2004.

Tabler triggered the investigation and a statewide prison lockdown when he
placed calls to state Sen. John Whitmire, chairman of the Criminal Justice
Committee, which oversees the prison system.

In one of numerous calls he made to Whitmire and a newspaper reporter,
Tabler told Whitmire that he wanted to report abuses on death row and said
he knew the names of Whitmire's daughters and where they lived.

"It's very scary to have a convicted capital murderer on death row inquiring
about my children by name," Whitmire said after the lockdown and a
cell-by-cell search that found 132 illegal phones in the prison system.

Whitmire said Tabler revealed just how easy it was for inmates to get hold
of contraband phones. Tabler said he had paid a guard $2,100 to smuggle the
phone into the prison, where he shared it with at least nine other death row
inmates. He even helpfully told Whitmire that he had a charging cord.

Tabler's mother was arrested and charged with paying the phone bill.

'We're talking about cell phones on death row'

At a hearing before Whitmire's committee, prison officials revealed that
they had investigated 21 other cases of cell phones' being confiscated on
death row at the Polunsky Unit in Livingston, leading to this frustrated
eruption from Whitmire:

"Jam the damn things and let's see what happens. What are they going to do?
We're talking about cell phones on death row."

What "they" - in this case, the FCC - can do is hit the state with fines of
up to $16,000 a day for violating the 1934 Communications Act, which bars
state and local governments from interfering with federal airwaves, like
those used by cell phones.

FCC officials said they were "open" to requests by Texas and South Carolina
to reconsider the ban, which would require Congress to change the 1934 law.
Until that can happen, several states are turning to phone-sniffing dogs.

In California, Harlen Lambert, a retired Santa Ana police officer, has
trained 19 dogs to detect the aroma of a phone.

"It's just like cooking," Lambert said. "It's like the different spices you
put in food."

Lambert said he had no idea "what alerts in their head," but he said the
dogs' sense of smell was so acute that they could detect the residual scent
of a phone after it had been removed.

Dogs sniffing for banned phones have made unannounced sweeps in all 14 of
New Jersey's prisons since mid-October, while Florida officials have hired
their first dog, named Razor.

"He smells a combination of things within the cell phone," said Kevin Dean,
Razor's trainer. "It's a scent signature that has been identified through
the network of the dog handlers."

The goal is to close off prisoners' every link to the outside criminal
world, said correction officials in Maryland, which also uses dogs and has
fired two prison employees for smuggling cell phones.

"Everyone thinks the fences keep people in, and that's true. That's our No.
1 priority," said J. Michael Stouffer, commissioner of the state Division of
Corrections. "But they're also to keep things out."

C 2008 msnbc.com

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28055424/

MSN Privacy . Legal

C 2008 MSNBC.com

Perry Myers, CFE

President

Myers Services, Inc. DBA

MSI Detective Services

2406 W Fullerton Ave

Chicago, IL 60647

pe..._at_detectiveservices.com

WWW.DETECTIVESERVICES.COM

(773) 404-7400 x 200

------=_NextPart_000_0001_01C9591F.282D3780
Content-Type: text/html;
charset="us-ascii"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

<html xmlns:v=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o=3D"urn:schemas-micr=
osoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" =
xmlns:m=3D"http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns=3D"http:=
//www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">

<head>
<meta http-equiv=3DContent-Type content=3D"text/html; charset=3Dus-ascii">
<meta name=3DGenerator content=3D"Microsoft Word 12 (filtered medium)">
<style>

</style>

</head>

<body lang=3DEN-US link=3Dblue vlink=3Dpurple id=3DMailContainerBody
name=3D"Compose message area">

<div class=3DSection1>

<a href=3D"http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28055424/">http://www=
.msnbc.msn.com/id/28055424/</a><o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

Prison officials looking to hang up on inmates<o:p></o:p></s=
pan>

States seek to jam illegal cell phones in violation of feder=
al
regulations<o:p></o:p>

By Alex Johnson<o:p></o:p>

Reporter<o:p></o:p>

msnbc.com<o:p></o:p>

updated 6:08 a.m. CT, Mon., Dec. 8, 2008<o:p></o:p></=
p>

<o:p> </o:p>

A persistent death row inmate in Texas could trigger a chang=
e in
federal law allowing state and local governments to jam cell phone calls.<o=
:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

After an allegedly threatening call to a state senator led t=
o
the discovery that inmates had made thousands of calls on cell phones, whic=
h
are banned in nearly all prisons nationwide, Texas officials have scheduled=
a
test Dec. 18 of a system to jam such transmissions.<o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

In general, federal law prohibits jamming cell phones. While
regulators can make exceptions in certain circumstances for federal law
enforcement agencies, the law specifically bans state and local governments
from blocking the calls.<o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

State prison officials said they were working with members o=
f
Congress to update the law, which they called outdated. Meanwhile, official=
s in
South Carolina, who tested a jamming system last month at a state prison in
Ridgeville, have filed a petition with the Federal Communications Commissio=
n
along the same lines.<o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

The campaigns have shined new light on the problem of cell
phones in prisons, which correction officials say is one of the toughest is=
sues
they face. The phones, smuggled in by guards or family members and activate=
d
with hard-to-trace prepaid calling plans, are a lifeline for criminals and =
gang
members to order hits, buy drugs and plan escape attempts from behind bars.=
<o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

“If you’ve got the ability to have a cell phone,=
you
can go into our institutions, and whatever illegal activities you were doin=
g
outside, you can continue that uninterrupted,” said Walter A. McNeil,
secretary of the Florida Department of Corrections.<o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

Phones get smaller; problem gets bigger<o:p></o:p></p=
>

As cell phones get smaller and lighter, they are becoming ev=
er
harder to keep out of prisoners’ hands.<o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

Because most components in modern cell phones are plastic, t=
hey
don’t set off metal detectors. And because the newest phones are so s=
mall
— one manufacturer markets a lipstick-size model barely 7 centimeters
long — they can easily be hidden in toilet paper rolls, peanut butter
jars, soda cans and even prisoners’ rectums, a practice correction
officials dub “keistering.”<o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

Officials in the California prison system confiscated 1,331 =
cell
phones in the first six months of 2008, almost as many as were found in all=
of
2007. In Maryland, prison officials confiscated 849 cell phones during fisc=
al
year 2008, an increase of 76 percent from 2007.<o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

“It’s a significant problem that seems to be
increasing,” said Ricky Bell, warden of Riverbend Maximum Security
Institution in Nashville, Tenn., where guards have confiscated 32 contraban=
d
phones this year. Statewide, Tennessee officials have found more than 600 c=
ell
phones so far in 2008.<o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

The issue is particularly sensitive in Tennessee, where an
inmate at Brushy Mountain Prison in Petros used a contraband cell phone to =
plan
his escape in 2006. A guard was killed in the attempt.<o:p></o:p></p=
>

<o:p> </o:p>

In Texas, an investigation in October found that more than 2=
,800
calls had been made from death row on a single phone held by Richard Tabler=
,
who was condemned for killing two people over Thanksgiving weekend in 2004.=
<o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

Tabler triggered the investigation and a statewide prison
lockdown when he placed calls to state Sen. John Whitmire, chairman of the
Criminal Justice Committee, which oversees the prison system.<o:p></o:p></s=
pan>

<o:p> </o:p>

In one of numerous calls he made to Whitmire and a newspaper
reporter, Tabler told Whitmire that he wanted to report abuses on death row=
and
said he knew the names of Whitmire’s daughters and where they lived.<=
o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

“It’s very scary to have a convicted capital
murderer on death row inquiring about my children by name,” Whitmire =
said
after the lockdown and a cell-by-cell search that found 132 illegal phones =
in
the prison system.<o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

Whitmire said Tabler revealed just how easy it was for inmat=
es
to get hold of contraband phones. Tabler said he had paid a guard $2,100 to
smuggle the phone into the prison, where he shared it with at least nine ot=
her
death row inmates. He even helpfully told Whitmire that he had a charging c=
ord.<o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

Tabler’s mother was arrested and charged with paying t=
he
phone bill.<o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

‘We’re talking about cell phones on death row&#8=
217;<o:p></o:p>

At a hearing before Whitmire’s committee, prison offic=
ials
revealed that they had investigated 21 other cases of cell phones’ be=
ing
confiscated on death row at the Polunsky Unit in Livingston, leading to thi=
s
frustrated eruption from Whitmire:<o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

“Jam the damn things and let’s see what happens.
What are they going to do? We’re talking about cell phones on death
row.”<o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

What “they” — in this case, the FCC &#8212=
;
can do is hit the state with fines of up to $16,000 a day for violating the
1934 Communications Act, which bars state and local governments from
interfering with federal airwaves, like those used by cell phones.<o:p></o:=
p>

<o:p> </o:p>

FCC officials said they were “open” to requests =
by
Texas and South Carolina to reconsider the ban, which would require Congres=
s to
change the 1934 law. Until that can happen, several states are turning to
phone-sniffing dogs.<o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

In California, Harlen Lambert, a retired Santa Ana police
officer, has trained 19 dogs to detect the aroma of a phone.<o:p></o:p></sp=
an>

<o:p> </o:p>

“It’s just like cooking,” Lambert said.
“It’s like the different spices you put in food.”<o:p></o=
:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

Lambert said he had no idea “what alerts in their
head,” but he said the dogs’ sense of smell was so acute that t=
hey
could detect the residual scent of a phone after it had been removed.<o:p><=
/o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

Dogs sniffing for banned phones have made unannounced sweeps=
in
all 14 of New Jersey’s prisons since mid-October, while Florida offic=
ials
have hired their first dog, named Razor.<o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

“He smells a combination of things within the cell
phone,” said Kevin Dean, Razor’s trainer. “It’s a s=
cent
signature that has been identified through the network of the dog
handlers.”<o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

The goal is to close off prisoners’ every link to the
outside criminal world, said correction officials in Maryland, which also u=
ses
dogs and has fired two prison employees for smuggling cell phones.<o:p></o:=
p>

<o:p> </o:p>

“Everyone thinks the fences keep people in, and
that’s true. That’s our No. 1 priority,” said J. Michael
Stouffer, commissioner of the state Division of Corrections. “But
they’re also to keep things out.”<o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

© 2008 msnbc.com<o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28055424/<o:p></o:p>=


<o:p> </o:p>

MSN Privacy . Legal<o:p></o:p>

© 2008 MSNBC.com<o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

<div>

<div>

Perry Myers, CFE<o:p></o:p>

President<o:p></o:p>

Myers Services, Inc. DBA<o:p></o:p>

MSI Detective Services<o:p></o:p>

2406 W Fullerton Ave<o:p></o:p>

Chicago, IL 60647<o:p></o:p>

pe..._at_detectiveservices.com<o:p></o:p>

WWW.DETECTIVESERVICES.COM<o:p></o:p>

(773) 404-7400 x 200<o:p></o:p>

</div>

<o:p> </o:p>

</div>

</div>

</body>

</html>

------=_NextPart_000_0001_01C9591F.282D3780--
Received on Sat Mar 02 2024 - 00:57:25 CST

This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.0 : Sat Mar 02 2024 - 01:11:46 CST