Fugitive Task Force Nabs Homicide Suspect

Pittsburgh, PA – Allegheny County homicide suspect Bradley Kemp was apprehended at approximately 10:50 am this morning by members of the United States Marshals Service Western Pennsylvania Fugitive Task Force and Allegheny County Sheriff’s Detectives. Kemp, age 22, was charged by the Allegheny County Police Department on July 3, 2014 with Criminal Homicide, Conspiracy-Criminal Homicide and Robbery. These charges stem from a November 1, 2013 incident in which Kemp and co-defendant Rasheim Wallace are alleged to have shot and killed 39 year old Thomas Cassano during a home invasion robbery in Coraopolis, PA.

Kemp was arrested by U.S. Marshals Task Force officers and Allegheny County Sheriff’s Detectives at an address in the 500 block of Sickles Street in Pittsburgh. Task force members had to breech the back door of the residence to make entry and subsequently located Kemp hiding in the basement where he was arrested without further incident. Kemp was turned over to Allegheny County Homicide Detectives. Rasheim Wallace remains a fugitive to date and anyone with information concerning his whereabouts are asked to call the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force at (412) 422-4722.

The U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force is comprised of officers from the Pennsylvania State Police, Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole, Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, Allegheny County Sheriffs, and Westmoreland County. These agencies, along with the United States Attorney’s Office, are participating members of the U.S. Marshals Western Pennsylvania Fugitive Task Force.

U.S. Marshals Arrest Four Dangerous Individuals in One Day

Norfolk, VA – “As many of us have our eyes on the Major League Baseball postseason, the USMS in Norfolk, along with their local law enforcement partners, hit a Grand Slam yesterday,” said United States Marshal Bobby Mathieson.

On Tuesday, four individuals were arrested throughout Hampton Roads and in Georgia. Trudale Terry was wanted out of Newport News for a homicide that occurred in June, 2014. Demarcus Twyman was wanted out of the Western District of Virginia for malicious wounding, which later resulted in the death of the victim, and Maurice Moore was wanted out of Norfolk for a rape, forcible sodomy and other sex crimes related to an offense that occurred in August. Lavan Platt was wanted out of Norfolk for armed robbery and possession of a firearm by felon.

At approximately 12 p.m., Trudale Terry was taken into custody at a house in the 100 block of Alleghany Road, Hampton, VA. Investigation into Terry revealed that he was possible hiding out in Hampton. Deputies and task force agents were able to pinpoint Terry’s location and take him into custody without incident. Terry is currently housed in a local facility awaiting his first court appearance.

At approximately 2 p.m., Deputies and task force agents were able to identify Demarcus Twyman exiting a residence in Newport News. Agents were able to positively identify Twyman, and were able to apprehend him without incident. Twyman is currently in a local facility awaiting extradition back to the Western District of Virginia.

Finally, at 5 p.m., deputies, task force agents and detectives were able to gather information that Maurice Moore was hiding out at an address in the 600 block of 34th street in Norfolk. After coordinating with all the participating agencies, deputy Marshals made a decision to surround the residence and call Moore out. After a brief wait, Moore appeared and was apprehended without incident. Moore is currently awaiting his first court appearance in Norfolk.

In addition to the aforementioned arrests, deputies from Norfolk developed information that Lavan Platt was residing in Atlanta, GA. Deputies, in conjunction with Norfolk Police Fugitive Squad detectives, were able to cross reference the data that was received and relay that information to deputies in Atlanta. Platt was arrested Tuesday without incident. He is currently awaiting extradition back to Norfolk.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the professionalism, dedication and investigative prowess of my deputy Marshals and our partner agencies. The streets of Hampton Roads are safer today because of the actions of these brave men and women,” said Marshal Mathieson.

The U.S. Marshals led task force consists of law enforcement officers from the U.S. Marshals, Chesapeake Sheriff’s Department, Newport News Police Department, Portsmouth Police Department and Norfolk Police Department. The main objective of the task force is to seek out and arrest violent offenders with outstanding federal and state warrants.

The U.S. Marshals Service, America’s oldest Federal Law Enforcement Agency recently celebrated their 225th anniversary September 24. The Marshals arrested more than 36,050 federal fugitives, 74,000 state and local fugitives and 11,800 sex offenders in 2013. The agency’s investigative network and capabilities allow for the unique ability to track and apprehend any fugitive who attempts to evade police capture, anywhere in the country.

Global access can also mean global cyber crime

By Airman 1st Class Zade C. Vadnais, 18th Wing Public Affairs / Published October 01, 2014

KADENA AIR BASE, Japan (AFNS) -- October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month, which has become increasingly important in recent years as global Internet use continues to grow exponentially.

It is estimated that about eight new users access the Internet every minute as technology spreads to developing countries. On average, there are one million victims of cyber-crime across the globe every day, and most of them are new Internet users who could have avoided the attack if they were more educated on cyber security.

"The goal of cyber awareness month is to take steps to make sure you are not one of those victims in your professional network life and your home network life," said 2nd Lt. Kristoff Kalau, 18th Communications Squadron officer in charge of cyberspace support systems.

According to Kalau, the most common and easily detected cyber-crime is phishing. Phishing is a malicious attempt by hackers to acquire sensitive information, such as passwords and credit card numbers, through electronic media. Hackers often pretend to represent a bank or other trusted source in order to lure victims into disclosing information the hacker can then use to access their finances.

Kalau said the most common indicator of a phishing email is spelling and grammatical errors, which would likely not be found in an official email from a reputable organization to its customers. Unreasonable time limits are common as well, as hackers often try to panic users into disclosing sensitive information by claiming their credit card will be deactivated or their credit score will be negatively impacted if they do not act immediately.

Users who suspect they have received a phishing email in their work inbox should take action immediately to ensure the incident is logged and the threat can be monitored. The squadron-level information assurance officer can take the information from the email and forward it to the wing IAO, who will compile base-wide statistics and determine what action needs to be taken.

"It is purported that this is a $113 billion industry across the globe," Kalau said. "It's very serious because it can attack your personal finances, your work relationships, destroy your personal life, cause embarrassment; things that ultimately make you less capable of performing your job."

Although an estimated $38 million in damages was caused by cyber-crime in the U.S. alone last year, hackers generally pick up low-hanging fruit and are unlikely to exert a lot of effort to hack into someone's personal files or finances unless the target is a celebrity or a billionaire. National Cyber Security Awareness Month aims to spread awareness about hackers and their techniques in order to reduce the number of victims in future years and stop the number from rising this year.

Former FBI Special Agent and Co-Defendant Plead Guilty to Conspiracy, Bribery, and Obstruction of Justice Scheme

A former FBI special agent and a conspirator pleaded guilty in the District of Utah yesterday and today to participating in a bribery scheme to obstruct a grand jury investigation in exchange for the promise of cash and multimillion dollar business contracts offered by a businessman under investigation.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Carlie Christensen of the District of Utah and Justice Department Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz made the announcement after the guilty pleas were accepted by U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell.

“No one is above the law, no matter what rank or badge a person might hold,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell.  “Corruption by those entrusted to enforce the law strikes at the heart of our criminal justice system, and it will not be tolerated.  This case lays bare a disgraceful attempt by a veteran FBI agent to get rich by thwarting an ongoing investigation.  The Justice Department will fight corruption wherever we find it, even within the ranks of federal law enforcement.”

“These plea agreements demonstrate that Federal law enforcement officers who sell their badges for cash and frustrate the administration of justice will be held accountable for their actions,” said Inspector General Horowitz.  “Department employees are held to the highest standards, and we cannot permit our criminal justice system to be stained by such bribery and corruption.”

“When a law enforcement officer violates his oath and the public’s trust by breaking the law, he must be held accountable,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Christensen.  “In this case, former Agent Lustyik’s decision to enter into a conspiracy to obstruct a significant fraud investigation in Utah is a troubling reminder that corruption may exist even among those we entrust with protecting our citizens and upholding our laws.”

A 24-year veteran of the FBI, Robert Lustyik Jr., 51, of Sleepy Hollow, New York, pleaded guilty on Sept. 30, 2014, to an 11-count indictment charging him with conspiracy, eight counts of honest services wire fraud, obstruction of a grand jury proceeding, and obstruction of an agency proceeding.  A childhood friend of Lustyik, Johannes Thaler, 50, of New Fairfield, Connecticut, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit bribery, obstruction of a grand jury proceeding and obstruction of an agency proceeding.  Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 5, 2015.

In court documents and at the plea hearings, Lustyik and Thaler admitted that from October 2011 to September 2012, Lustyik, while employed as an FBI counterintelligence special agent, and Thaler conspired to use Lustyik’s official position to obstruct a criminal investigation into Michael Taylor, a businessman who owned and operated American International Security Corporation and was under investigation for paying kickbacks to obtain a series of contracts from the Department of Defense worth approximately $54 million.  Taylor promised Lustyik and Thaler that in exchange for their help, he would provide them cash and multimillion dollar business contracts.  Taylor told the two men: “I’ll make you guys more money than you can believe, provided they don’t think I’m a bad guy and put me in jail.”

Court documents state that Lustyik attempted to obstruct the investigation into Taylor by opening Taylor as an official FBI source in an effort to persuade the FBI, the Justice Department and the prosecutors and law enforcement agents investigating Taylor that Taylor’s usefulness as a source outweighed the government’s interest in prosecuting him.  Lustyik also advocated on Taylor’s behalf directly to the prosecutors and law enforcement agents, urging them to use Taylor as a cooperating witness and emphasizing that indicting Taylor would threaten the nation’s security.

According to court documents, while Lustyik was obstructing the investigation into Taylor, Lustyik suggested that Thaler “blatantly” ask Taylor for money, emphasizing “he knows we are keeping him outta jail.”  Lustyik explained to Thaler that on his upcoming trip to meet Taylor in Lebanon, “Taylor is gonna hand you cash in Lebanon,” “[l]ike 150 gs.”  When Thaler asked Lustyik how he was supposed to bring that much cash back to the United States, Lustyik instructed him “[i]n your pants.  Or wire it?  They won’t stop 2 white guys at customs without a reason, [o]r I meet you at customs at JFK and cred you in.”

Court records state that during the conspiracy, Lustyik and Thaler acknowledged that Taylor was probably guilty, but they boasted about their success in using Lustyik’s official position to obstruct the investigation into Taylor, with Lustyik texting Thaler, “at this point IF he is indicted there is NO WAY he gets convicted even though he Prob did it.”  During the conspiracy, Lustyik texted Thaler, “I think we are rich by Christmas!!”  When Thaler asked why, Lustyik responded, “he [Taylor] is gonna be free!!!!!!!!” 

Taylor pleaded guilty in the District of Utah to honest services wire fraud for his role in the scheme on Nov. 27, 2013.  He is scheduled for sentencing on Jan. 5, 2015.

The investigation was conducted by Assistant Special Agent in Charge Tom Hopkins of the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Inspector General.  The case is being prosecuted by Deputy Chief Peter Koski and Trial Attorney Maria Lerner of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section, and Trial Attorney Ann Marie Blaylock of the Criminal Division’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section.  Scott Ferber of the Counterespionage Section of the National Security Division also assisted in the prosecution.