Archive for June 3rd, 2016
FBI Has Recovered At Least 2,650 Missing Pieces of Art And Artifacts Since 2004
This Charles Darwin letter was stole in the 1970s and was recently recovered.
The FBI has found at least 2,650 missing art pieces or historical artifacts since 2004, according to a review by News4 Washington.
The bureau's Art Crime Team, a specialized unit to combat art fraud and theft, recovered the pieces.
Agents recently found a stolen historic letter authored by Charles Darwin in 1870s. The letter was stolen from the Smithsonian Archives in Washington D.C. in the 1970s. It was recovered on May 26.
"It is an important part of our heritage," FBI Special Agent Marc Hess said. "It may not be worth a lot monetarily, but it's worth a lot to scholars."
Other cases involve artifacts, paintings and other valuable works of art and history.
The FBI says art theft and fraud is on the rise.
Posted: June 3rd, 2016 under News Story.
Tags: art, art crime team, FBI, paintings
FBI Developing Database to Track, Sort People Base on Their Tattoos
The FBI is working on technology that would allow law enforcement to track and sort people based on their tattoos.
Gizmodo reports the database would help determine "affiliation to gangs, sub-cultures, religious or ritualistic beliefs, or political ideology."
The system would be based on an algorithms and big datasets.
The technology would "map connections between people with similarly themed tattoos or make inferences about people from their tattoos," according to a report by the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
Tags: database, FBI, research, tattoos
Secret Service Agents Rush Stage to Protect Bernie Sanders for Second Time This Week
Secret Service agents rushed to protect Bernie Sanders on a stage for the second time in a week.
Sanders was delivering a speech Thursday in Modesto, Calif., when animal-rights protesters shouted at the senator and unfurled a black banner that read, "Animal Liberation is Social Justice."
Two Secret Service agents jumped on the stage, and the protesters were escorted out.
Secret Service agents also rushed the stage on Monday when at least four people ran toward Sanders.
Tags: bernie sanders, protesters, Secret Service, speech
DEA Arrests Nogales Police Officer on Allegations of Buying, Possessing Narcotics
Danitza Hernandez
The DEA arrested a Nogales, Ariz., police officer for allegedly buying and possessing narcotics.
Tucson News Now reports that Danitza Hernandez was arrested while she off duty on Wednesday.
She was charged with two felony counts of illegal possession of narcotic and use of an electronic device during a drug transaction.
The Nogales Police Department has placed Hernandez on administration suspension.
The police department said it is cooperating with the DEA.
Tags: Arizona, DEA, Drugs, Nogales, police
Somali Man Accused of Leading Mass Executions Works As Airport Security in U.S.
Yusuf Abdi Ali has been accused of leading mass executions and torture during the country's civil war in the 1980s.
Despite the enormity of the allegations, Ali managed to pass FBI and TSA checks to work as a security guard at the Dulles International Airport, Fox News reports.
It appears the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority also was aware of some of the allegations in a lawsuit filed by a human rights group in 2006. He was accused of committing crimes against humanity.
"The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority maintains a contract with Master Security to provide unarmed security services," said Rob Yingling, a spokesperson. "Master Security's employees are subject to the full, federally mandated vetting process in order to be approved for an airport badge, including a criminal history records check by the FBI and a security threat assessment by the TSA."
Ali has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.
"He oversaw some of the most incredible violence that you can imagine," Kathy Roberts, an attorney for the Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA), which is leading the civil lawsuit, told CNN. "He tortured people personally; he oversaw torture."
FBI Kept Demanding Email Records Despite DOJ Order to Get Warrant
Case of 1996 Slayings of Shenandoah Hikers Not Cold to FBI
Doctor, FBI Exchange Verbal Blows During Wednesday Testimony
Justice Department Lawyer Who Defended Obamacare Stepping Down
Man Arrested After Impersonating Border Patrol Agent to Avoid Tickets
Tags: airport, FBI, security, TSA