Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley has announced the indictment of 11 current or former officers in the East Cleveland Police Department on charges of unlawful conduct, bringing the total number of officers indicted in the last 6 1/2 months to 16. The charges include felonious assault and violation of civil rights, and the investigation is ongoing. O’Malley has stated that the department is committed to “removing every tentacle of that cancer” in order to rebuild and grow.
Posts published in “Crime”
On Thursday night, a vehicle breached the fence at Wilmington International Airport in North Carolina, crashing through doors and windows of the terminal before being apprehended by the New Hanover County Sheriff's Office. No injuries were reported and the airport is operating normally, but the sheriff's office is still investigating the incident and asking anyone with information to contact them.
Mexican authorities are investigating the violent kidnappings of four Americans that occurred last week in Matamoros, Mexico. A white minivan with North Carolina plates and several bullet holes was found at the crime scene, and the Gulf Cartel has issued an apology letter for the abductions. The investigation is ongoing, and authorities are working to bring the perpetrators to justice, while the families of the victims are hoping for a swift resolution to the case.
Three American tourists and a Mexican woman were tragically killed in an armed kidnapping in Matamoros, Mexico last week. In response, the Gulf Cartel Grupo Escorpiones has issued an apology letter and handed over five of their members to local authorities. The US State Department has also issued a statement condemning the violence and offering its condolences to the families of the victims, while urging US citizens to exercise caution when traveling in Mexico.
Sheldon Thomas, a 35-year-old man wrongfully convicted of murder and imprisoned for 18 years, was released Thursday after Brooklyn's Conviction Review Unit found that his initial arrest was based on a witness identification error. Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez vacated Thomas' conviction, noting that it was a "tragic example of a witness identification gone wrong". Thomas is the first person to be exonerated by the Conviction Review Unit since it was established in 2014 and is now free and reunited with his family.
A jury in Cincinnati has found former Ohio State House Speaker Larry Householder and former Ohio Republican Party Chair Matt Borges guilty of conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise involving bribery and money laundering. This verdict is the result of a $60 million bribery scheme, the largest corruption case in Ohio's history, in which Householder and his associates received money in exchange for Householder's support of a $1 billion bailout. The verdict sends a strong message that illegal acts will not be tolerated in Ohio, and Householder and Borges will face sentencing at a later date with a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Roger Ng, a former Goldman Sachs banker, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Thursday for his role in the embezzlement, laundering, and bribery of Malaysia's 1MDB sovereign wealth fund. The charges stem from $6.5 billion in bonds that Goldman Sachs helped 1MDB sell, of which $4.5 billion was embezzled and used to finance luxury items. Ng denied the charges, but the court's sentence stands as a reminder of the consequences of financial fraud and corruption.
Three women have tragically died and several people were injured after a stampede at a weekend concert by the rapper GloRilla in Rochester, New York. The stampede may have been triggered by unfounded fears of gunfire, but police found no evidence of gunshots. The police are continuing to investigate the incident and are asking anyone with information to come forward. The incident has been a tragedy for the families of the victims and for the community.