Former El Dorado Hills Man Sentenced for Embezzling from Rancho Cordova Construction Company

SACRAMENTO—Thomas Tanke, 68, previously of El Dorado Hills, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Edward J. Garcia to five years and 10 months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. Judge Garcia ordered Tanke to pay $243,403 in restitution to the victims of his crimes. A federal jury in Sacramento found Tanke guilty in November 2011 of two counts of mail fraud and five counts of bank fraud for embezzling funds from his employer.

This case was the product of an investigation by the FBI and the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant United States Attorneys S. Robert Tice-Raskin and Russell L. Carlberg prosecuted the case.

According to court documents and trial testimony, Tanke was vice president of Azteca Construction Inc. (Azteca) from July 1999 until his resignation in July 2004. He oversaw the company’s East Coast Division operations from Azteca’s corporate office in Rancho Cordova and conducted construction management for various California projects. Construction Equipment Rental & Services (CERS) owned much of the construction equipment and trucks that Azteca leased in its operations.

Tanke used a variety of means to defraud both Azteca and CERS. First, Tanke embezzled funds from Azteca and CERS by depositing checks made out to these companies into his own bank account. Second, he defrauded Azteca by using Azteca checking accounts to pay for his own personal expenses. As part of this fraud, Tanke frequently submitted false invoices and check request forms to suggest that the payments were for legitimate company expenses. Finally, Tanke made a series of unauthorized expenditures using Azteca credit cards, likewise to pay for his own personal expenses. As a result of the fraud, he obtained more than $242,000.

After the fraud, Tanke presented false testimony related to his conduct both to the United States Bankruptcy Court during the course of bankruptcy proceedings related to Azteca and to the United States District Court during his criminal trial for these charges. Tanke continued his fraudulent conduct after leaving Azteca by concealing from an employer a previous fraud conviction from 1981 and falsifying his education credentials.

Tanke has been in custody since the jury returned its verdict. In sentencing, Judge Garcia observed that Tanke committed perjury at trial by offering incredible testimony, which was one reason why it took the jury only a few hours to convict him.

Endangered Missing 2-Year Old: Urgent Alert

Madeline Samaan-Fay, age 2, was abducted by her father in Sacramento, California on Sunday, August 7, 2011.

Madeline is a 2-year-old female, 2’8” tall, about 28 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.

The father is Mourad “Moni” Samaan, age 49, male, U.S. citizen born in Egypt, 5’6” tall, weighing about 160 pounds, with black hair, brown eyes. Samaan is believed to be an accomplished Spanish speaker.

Mourad Samaan is known to drive a Green Toyota 4Runner with California license 3XRM11.

The circumstances of the abduction are particularly concerning and FBI officials believe the child’s life may be in jeopardy.

“In spite of extraordinary efforts by our field agents and local law enforcement, we have been unable to develop any leads on the whereabouts of the child or her father since this Saturday,” said Special Agent in Charge Herbert M. Brown, “We request the public call us at (916) 481-9110 if they see the car, Mr. Samaan, or have any information to assist us.”

“The FBI is aggressively working this in conjunction with our law enforcement partners, including the Sacramento Police Department, the Sacramento County Sheriff, the California Highway Patrol and the California Department of Justice,” added Mr. Brown.

The media is invited to release the below photographs of the child, father, and vehicle.

Sacramento Bank Robber Dubbed the "Goat-Man Bandit" Sentenced to Eight Years and Four Months in Prison

SACRAMENTO, CA—United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that yesterday, United States District Court Judge Kimberly J. Mueller sentenced John Raymond Porter, 42, of Sacramento, to eight years and four months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for serial bank robbery.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Sacramento Violent Crimes Task Force, which includes the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office. Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Rodriguez prosecuted the case.

According to court documents, during the early stages of the investigation, the task force dubbed the perpetrator the "Goat-Man Bandit" because the tellers in some robberies indicated the robber had facial hair in the form of a goatee. Porter was convicted of four counts of bank robbery but admitted to committing nine bank robberies:

1. Wells Fargo Bank, 781 Pleasant Grove Boulevard, Roseville, on October 3, 2008;

2. US Bank, 30 High Street, Auburn, on October 23, 2008;

3. Washington Mutual Bank, 5801 Sunrise Blvd., Citrus Heights, on October 23, 2008;

4. Wachovia Bank, 8477 Auburn Boulevard, Citrus Heights, on December 11, 2008;

5. US Bank, 2360 Grass Valley Highway, Auburn, on December 13, 2008;

6. Bank of America, 900 High Street, Auburn, on December 23, 2008;

7. Bank of America, 2221 Douglas Boulevard, Roseville, on January 6, 2009;

8. Bank of America, 3901 Park Drive, El Dorado Hills, on February 17, 2009; and

9. Wells Fargo Bank, 3291 Coach Lane, Cameron Park, on March 2, 2009.

Porter has agreed to pay restitution for the total loss suffered by all nine banks, which amount will be determined at the restitution hearing scheduled for July 21, 2011.

New England Man Dubbed the “British Bandit” Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that today United States District Judge William B. Shubb sentenced Patrick Edward Doherty, 32, of Boston, to 30 months in prison to be followed by a three-year term of supervised release for bank robbery. He was also ordered to pay restitution.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Sacramento Violent Crimes Task Force, which includes the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office. Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Rodriguez prosecuted the case.

According to court documents, during the early stages of the investigation the task force dubbed the perpetrator "the British Bandit" because tellers indicated the robber used a flamboyant or exaggerated English accent during his robberies. Doherty was arrested when investigators uncovered information regarding his modus operandi and linking his likeness to the surveillance photos. Doherty was charged on November 30, 2009 and on April 5, 2010, pleaded guilty to robbing the following banks:

April 5, 2009, the Tri Counties Bank at

3250 Arena Blvd., Sacramento

;

April 22, 2009, the Bank of America at

1900 Anderson Road, Davis

.

Doherty has remained in custody since his arrest in November 2009.

1000 Pages of Cop Information

Police-Writers.com is a website dedicated to listing state and local police officers who have authored books. With the addition of three police officers turned authors, Ray Biondi, William Delaney and Grady Morrison, the website now contains over 1000 pages of information on 463 police officers, their 968 books and their nearly 200 departments.

Ray Biondi retired from the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department as Lieutenant. During his career he headed up the homicide bureau. He is the author of two crime books: All his father's sins: The trail of terrifying horror that led to Gerald & Charlene Gallego and Dracula Killer. Publisher’s Weekly said of Dracula Killer, “when he graduated to murder, he not only shot his victims but sexually mutilated them. Former Sacramento homicide detective Biondi supplies inside information on the investigation, such as a television crew's discovery of evidence overlooked by police. In addition, he and Hecox produce crime bulletins issued by police and the surprisingly accurate psychological profile detectives prepared of the killer. Luck combined with old-fashioned detective work flushed out Chase, who initially would admit only to killing dogs. But Chase told a fellow prisoner that he drank victims' blood, and after he took the stand in his own defense, jurors decided not to find him insane.”

William Delaney is a former military policeman, San Francisco City College Campus Police Officer, San Francisco Police Department police officer, and candidate for Sheriff of Adams County in Colorado. A graduate of San Francisco City College, San Francisco State University, and attended The University of Texas at Arlington's Graduate School of Criminal Justice, and Urban Affairs, Chabot College in Hayward, California, The University of Maryland Overseas Extension, and The University of California Berkeley's San Francisco Extension.

He has held a California Community College Instructors Certificate since 1972, did extensive undergraduate research in behavior modification, and social learning theory, and has taught at The Community College of Denver, Arapahoe Community College, AT&T, ARCO Coal Company, The U.S. Army Reserve School, and for Evelyn Wood Reading Dynamics. He is the author of three books: How to Avoid being a Chicken Head; Black N Blue; and, his most recent Counterfeit Democracy.

Grady Morrison was a Baltimore Police Department police officer for eleven years. According to the book description of his book, Understanding Police Officers and Staying Out of Trouble, “Reading this book takes the reader up close and personal with understanding the police officer and why it is worth the extra effort to avoid trouble. The author brings this understanding to the reader through facts, discussions, and personal examples from his eleven-year police officer experience. Open the book and read why learning to understand the police officer is much better than fearing and fighting him. The author explains this through strong facts and analogies such as, “having more common sense than to light a match while pumping gas into your vehicle.” This book also serves as a reminder to the reader that learning to stay out of trouble should be a personal goal just like any other worthwhile adventure.”

Police-Writers.com now hosts 463 police officers (representing 195 police departments) and their 968 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.