Florida

I came across this special report by Margaret Craig-Bourdin on CAmagazine.com. It dealt with the International Money Laundering Conference held by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Montreal. Some hard questions were asked about the responsibilities of CAs (Chartered Accountants), lawyers and of the entire economic system. Here is my interpretation. The implication is that the system, the auditors and the lawyers are aware of the money laundering. The auditors and the lawyers often choose to represent the interests of the organizations paying their fees as opposed to rendering an impartial audit. I conclude that, because of the risk involved in these activities, the auditors and the lawyers are benefiting greatly by not blowing the whistle on their clients. (Read the full post about ‘Money Laundering: Are accountants and lawyers potentially just as guilty as the criminals themselves?’…)

TAMPA — A 17-year-old Tampa boy died Sunday morning after an intruder kicked open the front door to the home he was in and shot him, according to Tampa Police.

Levi Dixon was alone in the house at 2536 W Walnut St. at 4:19 a.m. when the incident occurred. Police investigators said Dixon was able to run from the home but died a short distance away.

Police notified Dixon’s mother, Angela M. Pratt, about the death of her only son.

Investigators are sill looking for the suspect.

Times staff writer

SEMINOLE – Pinellas County Sheriff’s deputies are continuing to look into a fatal motorcycle crash Saturday afternoon that killed a St. Petersburg resident.
Investigators have identified the driver, saying Anthony J. Boyle, 50, was on a 1979 Yamaha motorcycle headed east on Bay Pines Boulevard from the Madeira Beach at about 4:45 p.m. Witnesses say he struck the northside guard rail several times before being ejected from his motorcycle as it skidded to a stop. Responding paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.
Anthony Boyle, who was wearing a helmet, was pronounced dead at the scene after he and his motorcycle struck a guard rail several times before he was ejected from the motorcycle as it skidded to a stop.

(Read the full post about ‘Police release name of crash victim’…)

SEMINOLE — A man died in a motorcycle crash Saturday afternoon.

The motorcyclist was headed east on Bay Pines Boulevard from the Madeira Beach Causeway when he struck the guardrail several times and was ejected, witnesses told the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.

He was wearing a helmet, but paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.

Authorities have said he is from the St. Petersburg area, but have not yet notified next of kin.

–Stephanie Garry, Times Staff Writer

TAMPA — A Tampa Police officer was taken to the hospital after he was assaulted tonight at Oregon Ave. N and Chestnut St. W, authorities said. The officer was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital, where he is being treated for a laceration to his neck, said police spokeswoman Andrea Davis.

According to Davis, Officer Ryan Culbertson responded to a disturbance at the North Boulevard homes and was leaving when he encountered a crowd that had formed.

Once at the intersection, he arrested a person and was in the process of cuffing him when he was stabbed in the neck with a sharp object.

The officer, who had called for back-up before making the arrest, was found by officers dazed in the street.

His injuries are not considered life-threatening, Davis said.

(Read the full post about ‘Tampa police officer assaulted’…)

TAMPA — Hillsborough County Sheriff’s officials are investigating the death of a man in an east county home.

According to sheriff’s spokesman J.D. Callaway, authorities were called to a house at 5402 16th Ave. S. about 9:30 p.m. where they found a man who had been killed. There were reports of gunshots, Callaway said.

"We do not know a cause of death, we have no suspect description right now," he said. "The investigation is just getting rolling."

— Dong-Phuong Nguyen

UFO enthusiasts received a boost when a former astronaut, Dr. Edgar Mitchell, claimed on a radio interview “that extra-terrestrials have visited Earth on several occasions”, but that there has been a cover up by governments for six decades. Mitchell was the sixth man to walk on the Moon.
The interviewer was predictably dumbfounded, and I noted that Mitchell’s comments coincided with the opening of the new X-Files movie. Here is a short clip from Mitchell’s interview.

(Read the full post about ‘US Astronaut’s claim: “We Are Being Visited By Aliens And UFOs” coincides with opening of new X-Files Movie’…)

Update on the charges against FCIB Read the entire Jamaica Gleaner story of Friday, July 25, 2008 here. These quotes that will update my earlier post on FCIB:

A court hearing in which FirstCaribbean International Bank (FCIB) in Belize is facing more than 100 charges has been set for September 4 by that country’s Chief Magistrate Margaret McKenzie.

The bank has been indicted on allegations of failing to report suspicious money transactions between 2001 and 2005.

The banking group, which is headquartered in Barbados, is the region’s third largest with assets of US$12.3 billion and 100 branch operations that service some 800,000 accounts.

(Read the full post about ‘FirstCaribbean bank indicted under money laundering law’…)

BROOKSVILLE — A 25-year man was found dead at the bottom of an apartment complex swimming pool early Friday morning, hours after deputies had been called to the complex by residents complaining of a man causing a disturbance at the pool.

Daniel Murphy Foster was a resident of the Suncoast Villa Apartments at 3454 Suncoast Way, Brooksville, said Hernando County sheriff’s spokeswoman Sgt. Donna Black. She said deputies were called to the complex about 8 a.m. with a report of a possible drowning and identified Foster through his wallet and other personal items found on the pool deck.

Black said deputies had gone to the complex around 1 a.m.

(Read the full post about ‘Brooksville man found dead in swimming pool’…)

TAMPA — A former teacher’s aide, cleared of charges that she sexually abused a student, is suing the Tampa Police Department for violating her civil rights, claiming officials misrepresented the truth and cast her in a false light when discussing the case with the media.

State prosecutors dropped charges against Tamika Denise Lane-Gardner, 32, accused of abusing a 6-year-old girl at the Walton Academy of Performing Arts.

Former police spokesman Larry McKinnon told reporters that "there was penetration of the child, and that’s what determines the case of sexual battery as opposed to lewd and lascivious or inappropriate touching."

In dropping the charges in August 2006, prosecutors said the case has too much reasonable doubt for the Hillsborough State Attorney’s Office to proceed.

Lane-Gardner had denied the allegations and passed a polygraph test.

(Read the full post about ‘Former teacher’s aide sues over Tampa police statements’…)