Tag: philadelphia

Multiple Law Enforcement Organizations Launch Large-Scale Operation Targeting Drugs In Philly

In a big victory for Philadelphia—specifically Kensington residents—24 suspected members of the Weymouth Street Drug Trafficking Organization were arrested on Friday, resulting in the Justice Department announcing 33 indictments.

In addition to the 24 arrests, eight defendants were already in custody, and one remains at-large. The arrests were synchronized to simultaneously target suspected gang members and their affiliates in Puerto Rico, Delaware, and New Jersey.

Weymouth Street has long been known to harbor significant trafficking of Kensington’s open-air drug market—especially fentanyl, heroine, and cocaine which are the focus of many of the suspects’ charges.

Firearms violations will likely follow as the investigation continues—demonstrated in wretched images obtained by the DOJ depicting suspects brandishing weapons.

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Stabbed 20 Times in Back of Neck and HeadOfficials Re-Confirm … Suicide

Ellen Greenberg’s 2011 death is officially ruled a suicide — again — the ruling coming after the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office dug back in for a second look at the case in which a woman was found with multiple stab wounds in the back of her head and neck.

The ruling is sure to spark major controversy … Greenberg, a 27-year-old Philly teacher, was found dead by her fiancé in 2011 … she’d been stabbed 20 times in the back of her neck and head, with a knife protruding from her chest. Her death was initially ruled a homicide … but after a meeting with Philly PD, assistant Medical Examiner Dr. Marlon Osbourne determined she died by suicide.

Fast-forward to February 2025 … under pressure from Greenberg’s family, the medical examiner’s office revisited the case … and is maintaining the same manner of death.

Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Lindsay Simon re-examined the case and, in a 32-page report released Oct. 10, concluded, “while the distribution of injuries is admittedly unusual, the fact remains that Ellen would be capable of inflicting these injuries herself.”

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports Simon discovered 20 more bruises on Greenberg’s body, and three more “perforations in the skin” that hadn’t been documented in the original autopsy … but still ruled her death a suicide.

The decision is definitely stirring the pot again … people are asking the obvious — how does someone stab themselves over and over in the back and head and call it suicide?

TMZ reached out to the Medical Examiner for an explanation on how they think Ellen could’ve done it herself … so far, no word back.

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Chinese Flag Raised Over Philadelphia

On September 30, the flag of China was raised over the birthplace of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. The flag was raised by Philadelphia’s Office of Immigrant Affairs to commemorate the founding of the Chinese Communist Party, in what was advertised as a harmless gesture of goodwill honoring the Chinese immigrant community.

Not surprisingly, the move drew sharp criticism, including from Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), who pointed out that the flag is not merely a national symbol, but represents China’s oppressive totalitarian regime, which not only broadly persecutes and oppresses its own citizens, but is America’s avowed enemy besides.

Honoring Diversity

The flag-raising ceremony, which has been done at least twice in the recent past, was approved by the Philadelphia Honors Diversity Flag Raising Program, which was established in 2018. According to Philadelphia City Solicitor Renee Garcia, speaking with Newsweek, “In accordance with First Amendment precedent, the City of Philadelphia’s flag-raising policy applies objective, viewpoint-neutral criteria, specifically, a foreign nation’s flag may be raised if the country maintains a Consulate or Embassy in the United States or is recognized by the U.S. Department of State. The People’s Republic of China meets both criteria.”

Disgrace to Our Values

Congressman Moolenaar, by contrast, said, “Raising the flag of the People’s Republic of China over Philadelphia is a disgrace to our nation’s founding values and flies in the face of all the courageous dissidents and human rights advocates who tirelessly work to bring freedom to the Chinese people.” And Rushan Abbas, advocate for China’s oppressed Uighurs, said that “Philadelphia, the birthplace of the U.S. Constitution, should not be used as a platform for authoritarian propaganda.”

Alas, these are the kinds of needless moral dilemmas that arise when we continue to allow our political and industrial leaders to have it both ways: to benefit economically from continued engagement with communist China, even as that regime continues to turn our own resources against us and works to subvert and destroy us. With the deadliest regime in human history, there can be no middle ground.

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Two Former USPS Employees Indicted For Stealing $80 Million In Treasury Checks

Missing your tax return check and living near Philadelphia? We might have an idea of what’s gone wrong…

That’s because two former employees of the U.S. Postal Service in Philadelphia have been indicted for their roles in a scheme involving the theft of over $80 million in U.S. Treasury checks, the Department of Justice announced Wednesday.

According to federal prosecutors, Tauheed Tucker, 23, and Saahir Irby, 27, both previously employed as mail processing clerks at the USPS Philadelphia Processing and Distribution Center, are accused of stealing thousands of envelopes containing Treasury checks, according to NBC Philadelphia.

The indictment further alleges that Tucker and Irby sold the stolen checks to two other individuals—Cory Scott, 25, of Ardmore, and Alexander Telewoda, 25, of Clifton Heights. Scott and Telewoda are said to have advertised the checks for sale via the messaging app Telegram.

NBC Philadelphia writes that once payments were received from interested buyers, Scott and Telewoda allegedly mailed the checks out. According to prosecutors, those buyers then attempted to cash the checks, unaware they had been stolen.

Officials report that while the total face value of the stolen checks exceeded $80 million, approximately $11 million worth were successfully negotiated at banks by the buyers.

All four men—Tucker, Irby, Scott, and Telewoda—face charges including conspiracy to steal government funds, theft of government property, and mail theft. Each could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

In addition, Irby is facing separate charges of mail theft in connection with another incident involving stolen Treasury checks.

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Philadelphia schools will allow trans athletes to compete, rejecting Trump executive order

The Philadelphia School District has announced that it will not follow an executive order from Donald Trump, and that it will instead continue to allow transgender athletes to compete on teams that align with their gender identity.

Trump’s executive order, the so-called “No Men in Women’s Sports” policy, prohibits transgender Americans from participating in sports if the team or category does not align with their sex at birth. The order threatens to withhold federal funding from schools that do not comply.

Philadelphia School District officials said in a statement Tuesday via The Philadelphia Inquirer that that their schools “strive to ensure safety, equity and justice for all students regardless of gender identity or gender expression so that they can imagine and realize any future they desire.”

“The district will continue to align its practices to support its LGBTQ+ students in accordance with Board Policy 252 for transgender and gender non-conforming students,” officials said.

Philadelphia’s Policy 252 forbids the forced outing of LGBTQ+ students to their guardians, and also states that “transgender and gender nonconforming students shall be permitted to participate in physical education classes and intramural sports in a manner consistent with their gender identity. Participation in competitive athletic activities and contact sports will be resolved on a case-by-case basis.”

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Philly DA considers charging freed J6ers at state level

Progressive Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner has announced that he is looking into filing state charges against area Jan. 6 defendants who President Donald Trump pardoned. Trump issued the pardon order on Monday, his first day in office. 

Krasner told CNN that after Trump granted pardons and clemency for over 1,500 people involved in the riot at the US Capitol four years ago, “To the extent the federal charges encompass everything we’re talking about, then this argument probably fails. But I am very doubtful that it encompasses everything.” He added, “Those of us who actually believe in the rule of law … intend to preserve the values, traditions, laws, and Constitution of the United States.”

The Democrat said he is investigating if assaults on police or conspiracies involving groups, such as the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, might fall outside the scope of federal charges and suggested that some actions, including using technology to commit crimes, violating state conspiracy laws, or infringing on state election statutes.

Krasner’s targets might include Zach Rehl, a former leader of the Proud Boys, Ryan Samsel, Phillip and David Walker, Brian Healion, Isaiah Giddings, and Freedom Vy. Rehl, who was released on Tuesday, had been sentenced to 15 years in prison for his role in the riot, and was among 14 people whose sentences were commuted by Trump.

Former federal prosecutor and defense attorney David Gelman told the Washington Examiner, “The fact that there is no state action that could possibly take place here makes this a very steep climb.”

According to the outlet, presidential pardons cover federal offenses but not state crimes. Additionally, Krasner could run into constitutional protections against double jeopardy, as occurred when judges cited those protections when ruling during Trump’s first term that the state court couldn’t prosecute Paul Manafort.

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Soros-Backed DA Seeks to Bring Charges Against Jan 6 Prisoners Despite Trump Pardon

Radical progressive Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner is now scrambling to find ways to bring state charges against January 6 prisoners who were pardoned by President Donald Trump.

Krasner is exploring the possibility of bringing charges against Pennsylvania residents, CNN’s Marshall Cohen reported.

The Soros-backed district attorney’s plans to charge the J6 protesters would likely face significant legal hurdles, such as double jeopardy.

However, he maintains, “You can have a state prosecution for conduct that was not fully encompassed in the federal prosecution.”

Past attempts to bring state charges against individuals are usually unsuccessful due to constitutional protections against double jeopardy.

Krasner said he is now scouring over federal charging documents in order to find prosecutable conduct that was not covered in the January 6 prosecutions.

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A Year After The Police Killing Of Eddie Irizarry, Charges Dropped Against Killer Cop

On Sunday, August 11, members of the Philadelphia community rallied to demand that first-degree murder charges against former officer Mark Dial be reinstated for the police killing of Eddie Irizarry. On August 8 of this year, the first-degree murder charge specifically was dropped, and former officer Dial was released on bail.

This follows a long legal saga last year, in which Dial was charged with multiple crimes including first-degree murder on September 8, 2023. The judge overseeing the case, Municipal Court Judge Wendy L. Pew, dismissed all charges against Dial on September 26, but charges were refiled mere hours later. Dial had all his charges reinstated on October 25 of last year by State Judge Lillian Ransom, and was again taken into custody without bail.

In the United States, it is incredibly rare for police officers to be charged for killing civilians. According to data from Philip Stinson, a criminal justice expert at Bowling Green State University, less than 2% of officers who kill in the line of duty are charged with a crime.

“Dropping the charge of first degree murder is a slap in the face to Eddie’s family and to all Philadelphia residents who do not want to live under police terror. Killer cops belong behind bars, not on our streets,” said Kensington community organizer Xiomara Torres, part of the grassroots Justice for Eddie campaign.

Local housing activist Timour Kamran believes it is important to “refuse to allow Philadelphia to be another city where police murder Black and Latino residents with impunity.” He added, “The community is united in calling for Dial to be charged to the fullest extent.”

27-year-old Irizarry was shot and killed on August 14, 2023. Immediately after he was shot, Philadelphia police began to tell the media a series of events that later turned out to be false. Police initially claimed that what prompted Irizarry’s shooting was him lunging out of his vehicle towards officers, wielding a knife. Police had to quickly change this narrative, however, after it became clear that body camera footage would prove otherwise. “The body-worn camera footage made it very clear what we initially reported was not actually what happened,” said then Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw at the time.

Body camera footage, released on September 8, 2023, revealed a truth that was even more damning than expected. Dial was shown running to Irizarry’s car, shouting “I will f-cking shoot you!” only a few seconds before firing six shots into the car. Dial then placed handcuffs on Irizarry’s dead body before dragging him to the police vehicle.

Irizarry reportedly had a knife by his right leg, however, this could not have been visible to Dial. Dial’s lawyer claimed that the officer fired shots because he believe that Irizarry had a gun, although no gun is seen in the body camera footage.

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Philly DA’s comments about ‘flat-out unscientific’ people come back to haunt in lawsuit over COVID-19 vaccine mandate, possible ‘anti-religious hostility’

A federal appeals court ruled Monday that the progressive Philadelphia District Attorney must face a lawsuit by an Orthodox Jewish former Assistant District Attorney for denying her religious exemption to the office’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate. Because it was unclear whether the office’s policy was rooted in hostility toward religion, the matter was sent for a jury to decide.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit unanimously overturned a lower court ruling that dismissed Rachel Spivack’s case against Larry Krasner (D), the elected District Attorney of Philadelphia whose 2022 impeachment was overturned as constitutionally unsound. As a result, the case will move toward trial.

The panel included Barack Obama appointee U.S. Circuit Judge Cheryl Ann Krause, and Joe Biden appointees U.S. Circuit Judges Arianna J. Freeman and Tamika Montgomery-Reeves. Freeman penned the 42-page ruling for the panel.

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36 Years Ago Today, Police Fire Bombed a Neighborhood in Philly, Killing Women & Children

Since the beginning of time, there has been a constant struggle between people who want to be free and those who seek to control them. It is an unending war that that rages just beneath the surface of “civilized” society, waiting to reach a boiling point where violence can erupt on the streets between police and citizens—or the oppressor and the oppressed.

Since our history is passed down by those who seek to control us, this struggle is framed in a way where the oppressors are always the innocent victims, and the oppressed the senseless terrorists when in reality, the opposite is usually true.

Nowhere is this situation more obvious than in the media coverage and cultural myths surrounding the American Civil Rights movement. Police would regularly raid the offices and homes of civil rights leaders, shooting first and asking questions later. In fact, many civil rights leaders did not make it through the 60s and 70s alive, and most of the original Black Panthers were either killed by police or imprisoned for life. Yet this aspect of the situation was entirely absent from the media reports of the day and is even rarely discussed in modern times.

One of the worst acts of police terrorism against the Civil Rights movement occurred on May 13, 1985, when the Philadelphia Police Department bombed the homes of a black liberation group called MOVE, killing 11 people, five of whom were children.

MOVE was a Philadelphia-based organization formed by Civil Rights leader John Africa in 1972, with the goal of creating a radical change in society by creating communities that lived according to their own rules and values, instead of under the authority of the federal government. MOVE crowdfunded the purchase of multiple adjacent homes in the city to build their headquarters, where members of the group lived communally and planned protests. Unfortunately, it was not long before they caught the attention of local police, who were threatened by their philosophy and their presence in the community.

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