Todays Threats to Watch

Homeland Security Cancels Plans For Virtual Fence Along Arizona-Mexico Border

Posted: 23 Apr 2008 02:43 AM CDT



The government will replace its highly touted “virtual fence” on the Arizona-Mexico border with new towers, radars, cameras and computer software, scrapping the brand-new $20 million system because it doesn’t work sufficiently, officials said.

The move comes just two months after Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff officially accepted the completed fence from The Boeing Co.

With the decision, Customs and Border Protection officials are acknowledging that the pilot program to detect illegal immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border doesn’t work well enough to keep or to continue tweaking.

Chertoff accepted the program on Feb. 22 after Boeing apparently resolved software glitches. But less than a week later, the Government Accountability Office told Congress it “did not fully meet user needs and the project’s design will not be used as the basis for future” developments.
The project is made up of nine towers along a 28-mile (45-kilometer) section of border straddling the border crossing at Sasabe, southwest of Tucson.

DHS will put in about 17 new towers, some holding just communications gear, others featuring new cameras or new radars, at an undetermined cost.

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Probation For Police Sergeant In Terrorism Case - Provided Info To Member of Mosque - Fairfax VA

Posted: 22 Apr 2008 11:14 PM CDT



A Fairfax County police sergeant was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Alexandria to two years’ probation for his admission that he checked police databases for someone who was the target of a federal terrorism case.

Sgt. Weiss Rasool, 31, initially faced up to six months in jail, but federal prosecutors urged U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry R. Poretz to consider as much as a year of jail time after Rasool took a lie-detector test last week and “was not fully compliant” with the test procedures. Prosecutors also said in a motion filed with the court that FBI agents “do not believe that he has been truthful.”

Before sentencing, Rasool stood and wept as he admitted breaking the law.

“If I could turn back time, I would maybe do things different,” he said. “It was an error in judgment. I never intended for things to turn out this way. I don’t know what to say to you or anyone. . . . I admit I made errors of judgment. But I never intended to put anybody’s life at risk.”

The police sergeant said after the sentencing that he hopes to remain with the Fairfax department. A misdemeanor conviction does not automatically disqualify him from continuing with the force. Rasool remains on administrative leave with pay pending the outcome of an internal investigation, Fairfax police said.

In June 2005, when federal agents had a Fairfax man under surveillance, the man apparently asked Rasool to check the license plates of three vehicles he thought were following him. Rasool’s lawyer described the man as a member of Rasool’s mosque.

According to court records, Rasool checked the databases and left the following voice-mail message for the man:

“Umm, as I told you, I can only tell you if it comes back to a person or not a person, and all three vehicles did not come back to an individual person. So, I just wanted to give you that much.”

The three vehicles were undercover FBI vehicles, according to a letter from the FBI filed in court yesterday, and Rasool’s message “likely alerted the subject of the FBI investigation which had a disruptive effect on the pending counterterrorism case.” Prosecutors said the vehicles were listed with a leasing company, which an experienced officer might have known was an indicator of law enforcement vehicles.

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Man Indicted on Federal Ricin Charges in Las Vegas

Posted: 22 Apr 2008 11:01 PM CDT

A man suspected to have been poisoned by ricin found later in his hotel room was indicted Tuesday on federal charges that include possession of a biological toxin.

Roger Bergendorff and his lawyer, Paul Riddle, did not appear when U.S. District Court Magistrate Peggy Leen unsealed the indictment and scheduled Bergendorff for an arraignment and plea May 2, federal prosecutor Gregory Damm said.

Damm declined to comment further, and Riddle did not immediately respond to messages.

Bergendorff, 57, also was charged with possession of unregistered firearms and possession of firearms not identified by serial number. The charges against him carry a possible penalty of 30 years in federal prison and a $750,000 fine.

The unemployed graphic designer was hospitalized Feb. 14 and spent several weeks in what authorities variously described as a coma and heavy sedation before he was released from a Las Vegas hospital April 16 into the waiting arms of FBI agents.

Vials containing about 4 grams of powdered ricin were found in Bergendorff’s extended-stay motel room several blocks off the Las Vegas Strip about two weeks after he was admitted to the hospital. Authorities say illegal firearms also were found in the room.

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2 Taken To Hospital After Opening Letter With Suspicious Substance

Posted: 22 Apr 2008 10:58 PM CDT

Toledo police Tuesday were investigating a letter containing death threats and a suspicious powdery substance with a strong odor that left two people feeling sick after they opened the letter at their central city residence Monday, authorities said.

Leola Green-Haynes and Oscar Haynes, both of Forest Avenue, called 911 after opening the letter. When they complained of feeling nauseous and light-headed, they were taken to and admitted to St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center, police said.

Mr. Haynes and Ms. Green-Haynes were listed in fair condition Tuesday, a hospital spokesman said.

The incident occurred about 3 p.m. in the 1800 block of Forest. The Toledo Fire Department’s hazardous material unit and police arrived a short time later, took control of the scene, and removed the letter, officers said.

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Strange, Mystery Lights Appear Over Phoenix

Posted: 22 Apr 2008 09:43 AM CDT

Several people reported seeing four lights forming various formations above the Valley Monday night.

Tony Toporek was talking with his neighbors in north Phoenix when the lights appeared at about 8 p.m.

He grabbed his video camera and started taping.

Witnesses reported that the lights formed a vertical line, then formed a diamond-shape, followed by a u-shape.

The lights reportedly moved from side to side and upward before disappearing one by one.

Toporek said the last light vanished and then briefly reappeared before disappearing again.

ABC15 contacted several agencies Monday night, including the FAA, Sky Harbor, Luke Air Force Base, and the Phoenix Police Department. No one could explain what the lights are.

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