Disbarred Lawyer Sentenced to Over 11 Years in Prison for $9.5 Million Investment Scam

LOS ANGELES—A Beverly Hills man was sentenced this morning to 135 months in federal prison for running an investment scheme that collected more than $9.5 million from victims who were falsely promised huge profits through investments in various oil companies and oil ventures.

Mark Roy Anderson, 57, who was disbarred from the practice of law in Nevada, received the prison sentence this morning from United States District Judge Percy Anderson, who also ordered the defendant to pay more than $9.5 million in restitution, which represents the total amount of losses from Anderson’s fraudulent scheme.

Judge Anderson stated that “this was nothing more than an elaborate and concerted fraud by a professional conman,” noting that the defendant “had prior convictions...[that] came from a decade-long frenzy of fraudulent activity in the 80s.” Judge Anderson called Mark Roy Anderson a “financial predator with little regard for the law or harm he causes,” concluding that he was “solely motivated by greed.”

Mark Roy Anderson was remanded into custody in April 2011 after, according to Judge Anderson, he “brazenly violated court orders.” Mark Roy Anderson pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering last July.

Mark Roy Anderson solicited investments from victims who were told that their money would be invested in various oil companies and oil-related ventures in Oklahoma and California and promised his victims substantial returns on their investments. Instead of using investors’ money for oil ventures, Mark Roy Anderson and his then-wife used investors’ funds for living expenses and personal items. Mark Roy Anderson also used investors’ funds to purchase an interest in the now-closed Prego restaurant in Beverly Hills. In total, approximately 14 victims lost more than $9.5 million.

“Mark Roy Anderson used his knowledge of the oil business to bilk investors and clients and to create a smoke-screen around his criminal activities,” said United States Attorney André Birotte, Jr. “But Mr. Anderson could not outrun the long reach of the law, and the collective efforts of federal and local investigators have brought him to justice.”

The case against Anderson is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and IRS-Criminal Investigation. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission-Division of Enforcement and the Beverly Hills Police Department provided assistance in the investigation.

Public Safety Technology in the News May 1, 2008

IACP Issues Red Light Camera Systems Specifications
The Police Chief, (02/2008)

A performance standard has been created to help law enforcement agencies choose a red light camera system. Because of the increase in the number of agencies using red light cameras, the Enforcement Technologies Advisory Technical Subcommittee of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Highway Safety Committee created a performance standard. The protocols and specifications laid out in the standard are meant to bolster the confidence of agencies, citizens, and courts in the precision and consistency of the camera systems. To obtain the standard, Red Light Camera Systems Minimum Performance Specifications, visit the IACP website www.theiacp.org/profassist/redlight.htm. IACP also maintains a conforming product list that lists systems that have been tested and found to comply with the specifications. www.policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/index.cfm?fuseaction=display_arch&article_id=1423&issue_id=22008

License Plate Recognition Systems Extend the Reach of Patrol Officers
Government Technology, (04/09/2008), Jim McKay

In an area like the United Kingdom, where the number of cameras used for public safety surveillance has grown to more than 4 million and estimates are that citizens get their images captured more than 300 times in a day, license plate recognitions technology is a common tool for law enforcement. Initially, use in the United States was limited to toll plazas on the EZ Pass lanes to capture the license plates of motorists going through the lanes without the required RF transponder equipment. License plate recognition systems are now beginning to take hold in the United States for other purposes, and law enforcement agencies are seeing positive results. Of the 1,800 law enforcement agencies nationwide, 400 have at least one system, and because of the positive results and a drop in prices, more agencies will be able to purchase the technology. www.govtech.com/gt/articles/282014

Met Police Officers to be 'Microchipped' by Top Brass in Big Brother Style Tracking Scheme
The Daily Mail, (04/10/2008)

Met Police will replace the ailing Airwave radio system with a microchip system that will aid in the tracking and movement of the 31,000 officer force. The device, identified as Automated Personal Locations System (APLS) and provided by Telent, will allow dispatchers at the agency's operations center to identify officer locations, whether above or below ground, at any time during the officer's shift. Administrators indicate that the switch to this type of tracking is to improve officer safety and to help the agency be more efficient in responding to incidents. According to Telent, the system will be one of the largest globally, covering approximately 620 miles. www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=558597&in_page_id=1770

Bethlehem Is Ready to Implement Video System in Crime Areas
The Morning Call, (04/08/2008), Pamela Leham

A video showing three teens robbing a drunken man at 3 a.m. led to the teens being caught and prosecuted for the crime. Results like these have prompted the Bethlehem (Pennsylvania) police to acquire six pole-mounted camera systems for use throughout the city for special events and emergency situations. Mayor John Callahan believes these cameras are equal to a 24/7 police presence where the police officer has "a photographic memory" that can be admitted as evidence in court. Allentown, near Bethlehem, has 20 cameras and wants to increase the amount to 80, while Easton Housing Authority hopes to implement video surveillance for use with its Weed and Seed project. www.mcall.com/news/local/all-b1_4camera-r.6349385apr08,0,5186533.story

Ready for Your (Driving) Closeup?
Los Angeles Times, (04/14/2008), Steve Hymon

States like Arizona, Illinois, Maryland, Oregon, and Washington have implemented the use of radar-activated speed enforcement cameras to catch speeders on highways. Now the Beverly Hills Police Department is again attempting to push for legislation that will allow the use of such cameras in California. Officials have been trying since 2006 with no luck, but the growing list of States using the technology may indicate that opposition is decreasing. For the Beverly Hills Police Department, the issue is that police patrol the busy areas and drivers take short cuts through residential areas at high rates of speed. Scottsdale (Arizona) has this problem and instituted the use of cameras, which resulted in a 9 mph decrease in speed. The legislation being pushed in California would implement a pilot mobile unit that could be used in school zones and residential areas where the posted limit is 25 mph. Also, with this pilot project motorists would be provided with ample signage ind! icating the camera system was in use. This past January, the Governors Highway Safety Association indicated that because budget cuts have reduced the number of officers available for speed enforcement, more cameras are needed to aid agencies. www.latimes.com/classified/automotive/highway1/la-me-speedcam14apr14,0,2295257.story

3-D Images - Cordless and Any Time
ScienceDaily, (04/21/2008)

The ability of law enforcement to capture 3-D evidence soon will no longer rely on plaster casts of impressions left at the scene; instead they will be able to rely on a new 3-D device that captures images rapidly. The device is compact and easy to use in any situation because it runs on batteries and requires no direct wiring. Instead it relies on a wireless local area network to transmit images to laptops at the scene. The system, developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF, uses two cameras and a projector that emits a pattern of stripes across the area. The geometry of the space can be inferred from the warp of the stripes. This type of technology is already available, but not in this compact configuration. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080416114413.htm

USFA Highlights Lessons Learned From Minnesota Bridge Collapse
FireRescue1 News, (04/21/2008), Cristi Laquer

The development and release of a report about the August 2007 bridge collapse in Minnesota by the U.S. Fire Administration highlighted the high value of interoperability training. The report established both positive and negative aspects of the incident in an attempt to aid other departments that might face similar issues. The bridge collapse created multiple conditions that had to be considered by first responders, such as victims' locations, possible secondary collapse, and hazmat conditions, along with physical and jurisdictional restrictions. In spite of all of these difficulties, the multiple departments and agencies, as well as civilian support staff, responding to the event were able to effectively and efficiently overcome those obstacles because of joint training and well-developed working relationships. Problems cited in the report include that separate command posts were established, a unified command post was not established until late in the event, a safety of! ficer was not "formally" appointed, and the small size of the Emergency Operations Center. For the full report go to www.usfa.dhs.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/tr_166.pdf. www.firerescue1.com/communications-interoperability/articles/397765-USFA-reports-lessons-learned-from-Minn-bridge-collapse/

Disaster Drill Simulates 'Dirty Bomb' Attack on Long Island
Staton Island Live, (04/26/2008), AP

In an attempt to ascertain the capabilities of authorities to respond to a radioactive event, more than 600 emergency responders participated in a simulated detonation of a "dirty bomb" by a biker gang in a Federal courthouse. The event was staged at the Yaphank fire academy over several days and involved staff from 60 agencies and 10 hospitals, with 100 people "injured" or "killed" in the fake event. Funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security through a grant to Suffolk County Department of Fire, Rescue, and Emergency services, it was called the largest emergency simulation ever for Suffolk County. www.silive.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/news-33/1209234258166600.xml&storylist=simetro

Airport Security From Chaos
ScienceDaily, (04/21/2008)

Random numbers present safety and security, according to a research project from the University of Southern California funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Software is used to capture information relating to routine, random vehicle, and canine searches conducted at an airport. Law enforcement officers input data relating to possible terrorist targets and their importance either daily or based on security violations or suspicious activity. Using mathematical algorithms, the software is able to calculate the chances for attacks on that particular airport and generate a random model for police to use in determining where to go and when. Because of the random nature of the model generated for police security, there is no pattern for terrorists to watch for and take advantage of in planning an attack. The Assistant for Randomized Monitoring and Routes (ARMOR) system has been tested for 6 months at Los Angeles International Airport and has been given the thumbs u! p to be used on a more permanent basis by airport officials. Even in the event terrorists were to acquire ARMOR, the likelihood of them being able to match the random monitoring of law enforcement is very low. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080416161215.htm

Detroit, Beverly Hills and Westerns

Police-Writers.com is a website dedicated to listing state and local police officers who have authored books. Three police officers to the website: Johannes Spreen, Clinton H. Anderson and Dick Clason.

Johannes Spreen, B.S., M.P.A., and Ph.D. (ABD) was in law enforcement from 1941through 1985. He began his career as a New York Police Department police officer, rising to the rank of Inspector. He then served as a Detroit Police Department Commissioner; and, was the Sheriff of Oakland County Sheriff’s Office (Michigan). He has also been a newspaper columnist, and a professor at John Jay College and Mercy College. Johannes Spreen is the author of five books: Who Killed Detroit?: Other Cities Beware; Who Killed New Orleans?: Mother Nature vs. Human Nature; The Saga of Thundercloud and Dancing Star; American Law Enforcement: Does Not Serve Or Protect!; and, American Police Dilemma: Protectors or Enforcers?

According to the book description of Who Killed Detroit: Other Cities Beware, it “explains how the automobile industry, migration of blacks, housing segregation, riot of 1967, rise of radical groups, and the resulting reactions since then have left this great city in shambles. No other American city has offered so much to so many in the first half of the twentieth century. And no other city has collapsed as completely as Detroit in the second half of the twentieth century. Who Killed Detroit explores what can be learned to prevent a similar fate in other cities.

After a 30 year law enforcement career, Clinton H. Anderson retired as the Chief of Police of the Beverly Hills Police Department. A respected law enforcement official of his time, he was also the founding president (1966) of the California Police Chiefs Association. His book, a memoir, has a rather interesting title: Beverly Hills is My Beat: A Famous Career Policeman Recalls His 30 Lively Years on the Police Force of a Unique City That Has more of Everything ... More Money, More Celebrities .. More Glamour, and More New-Making Crimes.

After serving in the Navy, Dick Clason joined the Beverly Hills Police Department. He was on the job for 34 years (1956 – 1990). During his career, he worked a number of assignments including records technician, patrol officer, officer-in-charge of the Identification Bureau, fingerprint expert and as a consultant in the examination of questioned documents. He is the author of three historical westerns; two of which are series called the “Clason Westerns.”

According to the book description of his first western, The Kid from Custer, “A band of rustlers kill a rancher. One rustler marries the rancher's wife; another is named deputy sheriff. The rancher's grief-stricken son eludes stepfather and deputy by escaping into the wilds of the Black Hills. Set in the Dakota Territory in 1880, this tense and gripping adventure is well-grounded in history and generously seeded with humor, violence, romance, and sex.”

Dick Clason also authored a police related book, Echoes from the Beats: Beverly Hills Cops Tell Their Stories, which is a compilation of stories by and about Beverly Hills Police Department police officers. According to David Snowden, Chief of Police of the Beverly Hills Police Department, “Police Officers, both current and retired, will enjoy this book very much. I am sure it will encourage many more stories and perhaps another book. The Beverly Hills Police Department has a long and proud history. Some of it can be relived through these stories.”

Police-Writers.com now hosts 455 police officers (representing 192 police departments) and their 957 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.

A bear of a cop and others

Police-Writers.com, a website dedicated to listing state and local police officers who have authored books added three police officers: Dexter H. Mast, Robert Downey and Larry Murphy.

Dexter H. Mast was an Oakland Police Department police officer for over 30 years, According to the back cover of his first book, Six Gold Stars, “Chuckles and tears from the notebooks of Oakland’s legendary police officer during a career that began in 1939, in the depression. Even the gamblers and whores who were jailed by this bear of a cop liked him. But one day he wrote a ticket to the man who could make or break anyone in Oakland.”

Robert Downey began his law enforcement career with the Oakland Police Department. After his Air Force service during the Korean War, he joined the Beverly Hills Police Department. He advanced through the ranks to Lieutenant and eventually moved to San Juan County, Washington as Undersheriff. He closed out his career as a Senior Special Agent with the Treasury Department U.S. Customs Service. According to the book description of his book, “Beverly Hills Detective, “The magic city of Beverly Hills conjures up images of movie stars, Rodeo Drive, big homes and even the neighboring town of Hollywood. During the late 1950's and 1960's, Robert Downey found himself in the detective bureau of this fascinating city investigating an odd assortment of crimes. This is the story of Robert Downey who goes from rookie cop to seasoned veteran and the cases and people who took him there.”

Larry Murphy was an Oakland Police Department police officer. According to his bio, “he has broad experience in Administration of Justice and, notably, made significant contributions toward revising police recruiting and police training standards following the riots that shook America's cities during the latter part of the 1960s. He was awarded the Oakland, California, Police Department's Medal of Merit for contributions to police training innovations and earned the coveted advanced certificate for law enforcement preparedness issued by the California Department of Justice.”

Larry Murphy’s book, Blackjack and Jive-Five, is the true story of “the day-to-day pressures experienced by a unit of black cops and their white sergeant confronting a white-dominated police culture.” According to Jon J. Sparks, Chief of Police (ret.), “Blackjack and Jive-Five should be required reading for all incoming police recruits. Not only is there a strong social message but the book includes many textbook solutions to a variety of typical disturbance situations and tactical maneuvers for handling potentially dangerous contacts with criminal suspects. I know of no formal written training instrument that tackles these difficult situations with such detail and insight to the human factors involved.”

Police-Writers.com now hosts 353 police officers (representing 146 police departments) and their 785 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.