Tag: crime

Texas A&M University Employee Arrested on Child Pornography Charges, FBI Uncovers Use of “PIZZA” as Code Word in Chats

A Texas A&M University (TAMU) employee, Clinton Harnden, has been arrested by the FBI on charges related to child pornography.

The arrest came after agents executed a search warrant at Harnden’s residence and found evidence of his involvement in receiving and possessing child pornography materials, KBTX reported.

Harnden held the position of Senior Administrative Coordinator at Texas A&M University. His LinkedIn profile indicates that he had been employed at the university for more than a decade, but only took on the senior administrative role in July 2020.

Harnden’s profile is still available on TAMU’s website.

According to the FBI affidavit obtained by Current Revolt, the investigation began following the arrest of Sarah Chadwick in Michigan on November 8 for possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

During her post-arrest interview, Chadwick revealed her communication with Harnden via WhatsApp, where they exchanged significant amounts of CSAM.

Further analysis of the chat between Chadwick and Harnden revealed that Harnden used the term “pizza” as a code word to discuss CSAM.

According to FBI Special Agent Dimitri Willis, “CHADWICK and HARNDEN used the term “pizza” to talk about CSAM during this interaction. I know from my training and experience that “pizza” and/or “cheese pizza” is a known slang/code-word used by individuals to discuss CSAM in public forums without detection. After sharing the CSAM, CHADWICK asked HARNDEN if he thought she was horrible because of all the “pizza.” HARNDEN replied that “Pizza is one of my favorite foods.””

The investigation further revealed Harnden’s involvement in online communities dedicated to sharing CSAM, including groups on Tumblr and Wickr.

“Agents reviewed HARNDEN’s “ATXAGGIE2007” Tumblr page. The page was filled with posts and responses about pornographic material, including CSAM. One post by HARNDEN on Tumblr asked “Anyone give out free pizza today.” As stated before, I know from my training and experience that “pizza” and/or “cheese pizza” is a known slang/code- word used by individuals to refer to CSAM,” the affidavit read.

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LA gangster who shot and paralyzed a 16-year-old girl now works for  California’s Department of Public Safety after Gavin Newsom slashed his 162 year sentence to just eight years

A former gangster who was sentenced to 162 years in prison for shooting and paralyzing a 16-year-old girl in 2012 is now working in the California capitol.

Jarad Nava, now 28, works as an assistant in the Department of Public Safety and is an advocate of prison reform. He was featured in a Los Angeles Times profile Thursday and credits California’s Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom for his early release.

In 2012, while drunk and high, he shot into a car carrying the relatives of a rival gang member. One of the victims was 16-year-old Yesenia Castro, who was shot in the back. 

The bullet severed her spinal chord and she was paralyzed from the waist down. 

Nava, who was 17 at the time, rejected a plea deal that would have sentenced him to 30 years in prison. 

After trial, he was sentenced to 162 years in prison on four counts of attempted murder. 

In the years that followed, he was featured in a prison reform documentary that highlighted his case and the plight of young offenders who the filmmakers felt had been unfairly represented. 

Yesenia, his victim, was interviewed for the film and said she wanted him to spend 50 years in prison. 

‘When they arrested him, I felt relieved. I don’t want him to be dead or anything, I just want him to pay a price,’ she said.  

Despite that, his sentence was commuted to 10 years by Gavin Newsom. He eventually walked free in 2020, eight years after the shooting.

Film maker Scott Budnick then introduced him to Erika Contreras, the secretary of the State Senate who encouraged him to apply for an internship. 

Now, he works as an assistant on a committee deciding on prison reform initiatives. 

Newsom, gushing over how he has turned his life around, told The L.A. Times that he ‘cried’ when he saw him ‘dressed up’ in his suit working at the state capitol.

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Colombian actor Kevin Munoz who appeared on Netflix and Apple TV is found tied up and tortured to death

A Colombian actor who appeared in a Netflix movie and Apple TV series has been found dead with his hands and feet tied.

The body of Kevin Andres Munoz Tovar was found in La Playita, in the Colombian city of Tulua on Monday. 

The actor was found tied at the hands and feet, and suffered several machete wounds in what appeared to be an act of torture, local media reported. 

A 19-year-old teenager, who has not yet been named, was arrested as a suspect for the murder, according to local police.

Major Nicolas Guillermo Suarez Plata, of the Tulua Police District, said: ‘The Valle Police Department reports that,thanks to the timely information provided by citizens, in an operational deployment of the Police, the capture of a 19-year-old man was achieved who, minutes before, had allegedly participated in the homicide of Kevin Andres Munoz Tovar, a renowned actor from a Colombian film.

‘The subjects who caused the injuries then fled the scene, but thanks to information from the community, one of them was captured.’

Tovar participated as a secondary actor in the 2020 Netflix film titled ‘Lavaperros’, which was called ‘Dogwashers’ when released to Western audiences, directed by Carlos Moreno, which focuses on the conflict of a man in financial trouble with a loan shark looking to kill him.

He also participated in the Apple TV series ‘Echo 3’, in which he also had a secondary role.

The show is about an American scientist in Colombia who is kidnapped, and the attempts by her husband and brother to rescue her. 

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Florida Trantifa activist allegedly murdered man, set his home on fire

Antifa-linked far-left militants are fundraising for the release and legal aid of a Florida far-left trans activist accused of murdering a man, setting fire to his home and burglarizing his property. 

Matthew Daniel Temael, who uses the alias and trans name “Dandelion,” was arrested in September over the March murder of a man in Hawthorne, Putnam County, Fla. The 23-year-old Minnesota native is accused of stabbing Louis Stackhouse to death and then setting his mobile home on fire before going on the run with the victim’s vehicle. Temael was found driving the stolen 2008 Saturn Sky in Tampa during a traffic stop. Temael attempted to flee but was caught.

The website of extremist antifa-linked group, Anarchist Federation, put out a fundraising notice on Nov. 19 about Temael, who uses “she/her” pronouns.

“Dandelion is a transfemme Palauan youth anarchist incarcerated in Florida,” reads the post. “We aim to free her and help support her needs while she is inside.” 

Temael was indicted by a Putnam County grand jury on charges of first-degree homicide, first-degree arson, burglary and vehicle theft. Because a judge denied Temael bond, the far-left activists say funds raised for their comrade will go to “maintaining inside contact, software, or other materials,” as well as support for other “marginalized relatives in captivity with her.” Toward the end of the campaign, it says the money will also go to the unnamed people running the campaign.

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Fears ‘woman with the flower tattoo’ Rita Roberts’ murder could be linked to serial killer known as The Scalp Hunter and The Canal Murderer


The family of “the woman with the flower tattoo” has been told her murder may be linked to a serial killer known as The Scalp Hunter and The Canal Murderer.

John Sweeney dismembered two former girlfriends before dumping their bodies in canals in Rotterdam and London.

He was known to be living in Belgium and Holland at the same time as the body of Rita Roberts was found washed up at a water treatment plant in Antwerp.

Police say she met with an extremely violent death – similar to Sweeney’s two victims who were about the same age as Cardiff-born Rita.

Interpol are already looking at Sweeney who is serving a whole life sentence for hacking to death Melissa Halstead, 33, and Paula Fields, 31.

The remains of Miss Halstead, whose head and hands were missing, were found in the Westersingel canal in Rotterdam after she vanished from her Amsterdam flat in 1990.

She was only identified in 2008 after Dutch detectives carried out a cold case review and matched familial DNA.

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NYPD detective Louis Scarcella dubbed ‘the closer’ is accused of rigging DOZENS of murder cases and costing taxpayers $110 MILLION in settlements to wrongly-convicted prisoners

A retired NYPD detective accused of rigging dozens of murder cases has cost taxpayers $110million in settlements from 14 overturned convictions.

Louis N. Scarcella, known to colleagues as ‘the closer,’ allegedly coerced confessions and made up witness testimony to help secure convictions leading to people spending decades locked up before being exonerated.

The cost to the taxpayer has been colossal. New York City has paid $73.1 million in settlements to people investigated by the former detective, and the state has paid out another $36.9 million, according to The New York Times. 

The city is expected to be on the hook for tens of millions more, as three men cleared last year of burning a subway token clerk alive in 1995 have filed lawsuits. 

A second-generation cop who smoked cigars, ran marathons, worked a side job at a Coney Island amusement park and jokingly put ‘adventurer’ on his business card, Scarcella, now 72, worked in the Brooklyn North homicide squad during the crack epidemic of the eighties and nineties.

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Mystery over ‘the woman with the flower tattoo’ deepens as friend reveals she’d been told of her death 30 years ago – as Rita Roberts’ body was identified this week

The mystery around a British woman murdered in Amsterdam 31-years-ago deepens as an old school friend has come forward with new information. 

31-year-old Rita Roberts, know as the ‘woman with the flower tattoo’, was violently killed and her body was dumped in the Het Groot Schijn river in Antwerp, Belgium, on June 3, 1992.

However, she remained nameless for over three decades until an international appeal for information from Interpol lead to her identification this year because of her distinctive flower tattoo. 

Now an unnamed person has come forward saying they were told she drowned in a canal in Amsterdam thirty years ago. 

‘I was confused to see the stories about Rita because I was told she had drowned in a canal in Amsterdam 30 years ago,’ the school friend told the Mirror.

‘I got on with my life not thinking anything other than it was a tragedy. 

‘I don’t know why this has only come out now.’

This friend is now working with the police to see if it will help catch Ms Roberts killer.  

Ms Roberts had moved there from Cardiff and her last known correspondence was a postcard sent home in May 1992. 

When an appeal to uncover her identity began in May this year, detectives described her as being aged between 20 and 50 years old, around 170cm in height and of a stout build.

She had light-skin and had mid-length dark hair, and was wearing a t-shirt and dark blue Adidas training trousers.

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Stacey Abrams’ brother-in-law arrested in Tampa for human trafficking, attacking teen: police

Jimmie Gardner, the brother-in-law of former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, was arrested on allegations of human trafficking, according to Tampa authorities.

Tampa police said they arrested the 57-year-old Friday for allegedly attempting to engage in sexual acts with a 16-year-old girl.

A release from the Tampa Police Department stated Gardner met the minor at 1:43 a.m. and invited her to his room at the Renaissance Hotel at International Plaza.

The girl accepted his invitation, and when she got there, he allegedly offered her money for sex, police said.

“The victim initially agreed but later told Gardner that she no longer wanted to engage and he became angry,” the release said. “Gardner advised the victim that she needed to leave his hotel room. The two got involved in a verbal altercation that escalated to a physical dispute after Gardner placed his hands around the victim’s neck, impeding her breathing. After the dispute, Gardner left the hotel room, and the victim called 911.”

When officers arrived, Gardner had already left the hotel, but they found the victim at the scene, according to police.

Meanwhile, police said Gardner reported to the Tampa Police District 1 Office. He was arrested on charges of human trafficking for commercial sexual activity (victim less than 18), lewd or lascivious touching of minor 16 or 17 years of age by person 24 years of age or older, and a misdemeanor count of battery.

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FBI digs up two upstate NY horse farms for bodies possibly buried by Gambino crime family members – one week after huge extortion ring linked to garbage trucks was exposed

The FBI is digging up two horse farms in upstate New York as it searches for bodies potentially buried by the notorious Gambino mob crime family.

Federal authorities have turned their attention to the properties in Orange County amid an ongoing investigation into the crime syndicate.

They used shovels and diggers to comb the farm in Campbell Hall on Tuesday and one in Goshen on Wednesday.

It comes after ten people with connections to the Gambino organization were arrested on a slew of racketeering charges last week.

No bodies were found during the search on Wednesday, a source confirmed to NBC New York, however it is scheduled to resume on Thursday.

The FBI declined to reveal who they believe could be buried at the farms, which list a Giovanni DiLorenzo as the property owner, the outlet reports.

Salvatore DiLorenzo was named as among the ten alleged Gambino members on an explosive 16-page indictment which claimed the Sicilian syndicate used violence and intimidation to try and dominate New York’s garbage hauling and demolition businesses.

Others charged were Vito Rappa, 46, and Francesco Vicari, 46 – who is known as ‘Uncle Ciccio.’ 

Vincent Minsquero, 36, known as ‘Vinny Slick,’ Kyle Johnson, 46, known as ‘Twin,’ and Angelo Gradilone, 57, known as ‘Fifi,’ were also arrested. 

The alleged captain of the Gambino crime ring – 52-year-old Joseph Lanni – was also charged with the slew of federal crimes. He is known by nicknames ‘Joe Brooklyn,’ and ‘Mommino.’

Diego ‘Danny’ Tantillo, James LaForte and Robert Brooke were also charged.

The infamous Italian-American crime syndicate made up one of the ‘Five Families’ known for their racketeering, gambling and loansharking. 

The defendants now variously face maximum sentences between 20 and 180 years’ imprisonment if convicted. 

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Full Extent of COVID Fraud Will ‘Never Be Known With Certainty’

A couple claiming to run a farm that employed dozens of people used fake employee records to get more than $1 million in COVID-19 relief payments when they actually employed no one on a farm that did not exist.

A social media influencer created fake documents to score more than $400,000 in COVID-19 funds meant to help small businesses, then used the money to buy cryptocurrency and gifts for his girlfriend.

A state employee whose job was to stop unemployment benefits fraud helped other fraudsters navigate around fraud prevention systems so they could steal more than $1 million, including federal tax dollars made available to states during the pandemic.

Only now, nearly four years after the federal government approved an unprecedented amount of emergency spending in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, are investigators getting a full picture of all the ways that schemers and thieves raided programs. Congress approved about $4.6 trillion in COVID-19 emergency spending, and so much of it was stolen that auditors now say we’ll likely never have a full accounting of it all.

“When the federal government provides emergency assistance, the risk of payment errors—including those attributable to fraud—may increase because the need to provide this assistance quickly can lead agencies to relax or forego effective safeguards,” the Government Accountability Office (GAO) explained in a new report summing up efforts to recoup stolen funds. “Because not all fraud will be identified, investigated, and adjudicated through judicial or other systems, the full extent of fraud associated with the COVID-19 relief funds will never be known with certainty.”

As Reason has previously reported, auditors believe that about $200 billion was fraudulently disbursed from two programs run by the Small Business Administration (SBA) during the pandemic. That’s about one-sixth of all spending run through the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. Additionally, the GAO believes that between $100 billion and $135 billion in federal unemployment funds—provided to states on a temporary basis during the pandemic—were lost to fraud.

One former U.S. attorney has called it “the biggest fraud in a generation.”

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