Results tagged “fbi”

Federal authorities believe former D.C. Taxicab Commission chairman Causton Toney participated in a long-running bribery scheme while he held that position from 2005-2007, the Washington Post reports this morning. A recently unsealed affidavit lays out the FBI's suspicions against Toney, who has not been charged with any crime, but whose home was raided in October.

If you've been following the large-scale FBI investigation into attempts to bribe public officials associated with the D.C. taxicab industry, you've got to read Jason Cherkis's cover story this week in the Washington City Paper. Cherkis spent some time with a few of the 30+ men named in the indictment, and found that federal prosecutors may well be overreaching in their attempts to prosecute some of these guys.

A creepy new development today in the ongoing federal investigation into allegations of widespread bribery attempts inside the D.C. taxicab industry, courtesy the Post's Del Quentin Wilber: court documents released today detail how one of the 39 men charged in the bribery ring, Yitbarek Syume, allegedly threatened to murder FBI informant Abdulaziz Kamus when his name surfaced in media reports shortly after the investigation became public.

The papers reveal that Yitbarek Syume met with an undercover FBI agent and an informant on the day after the top staffer of a prominent D.C. Council member was arrested on bribery charges. The three men discussed the high-profile arrest and how to avoid detection of their scheme, which funneled more than $300,000 to a D.C. government official, prosecutors wrote in court papers, citing a surreptitious recording of the meeting.

More than two dozen people have been indicted in the rapidly expanding federal bribery investigation into the D.C. taxi industry, the Post's Del Quentin Wilber is reporting. That's a whole lotta people. So who, besides Ted Loza, are they? They're "cab drivers or others with financial ties to the industry," most of whom will probably be arrested today, according to anonymous sources. Keep your eye out for handcuffed cab drivers this afternoon!

Even though a new Washington Post report today suggests D.C. Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) may not actually be a target of the corruption investigation that ensnared his chief of staff, the D.C. Republican Committee keeps hounding him like he definitely is.

After first merely postponing a hearing on his recently proposed taxicab legislation in the wake of related federal bribery charges against his chief of staff, Ward 1 D.C. Council member Jim Graham has gone ahead and withdrawn the bill entirely, Tim Craig is reporting at D.C. Wire. In a rich bit of political theater, Graham is also apparently trying to sell reporters on the notion that this decision has "nothing to do" with the charges against Ted Loza. "Graham said he is pulling the bill because of confusion and opposition within the taxicab industry to a medallion system." Suuuuuure.

Two big updates today on the ongoing federal bribery probe into Ted Loza, chief of staff to Ward 1 D.C. Council member Jim Graham.

Last week's arrest and indictment of Ted Loza, Ward 1 D.C. Council member Jim Graham's chief of staff, continues to put Graham in a rather unpleasant spotlight this morning. After WUSA9 first reported on Monday that the FBI investigation was also targeting the councilman, FOX-5 followed up last night with its own story, noting that Graham refused to go on the record all day on Monday in response to the allegations (earlier that morning when we saw him, Graham claimed he still hadn't read the story).

What constitutes a violent crime? That's the question at the root of this report from the Examiner's Scott McCabe, which notes that an FBI report released on Monday shows that violent crime in the District actually increased by 2.3 percent in 2008, despite D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier's triumphant announcement earlier this year that it had dropped by 5 percent. The FBI and the MPD use different measurements, you see, when it comes to counting violent crimes. "Under the D.C. Code, a punch is considered a simple assault; under the FBI's definition, it's considered an aggravated assault, or a violent crime, D.C. police said." So according to the MPD, if someone punches you in the face and steals your wallet, that's not a violent crime? Or a man beating his wife is not a violent crime?

The Examiner has an interesting pair of crime stories today, both of which note dramatic decreases in certain types of crime in the District this year. First is a story that reports the number of carjackings is way down in D.C.: there have been about 200 carjackings in the city this year, compared with approximately 600 in all of 2008. Next is a piece of speculation about whether the correlation of having an oddly cool summer season has been one of the contributing factors to this year's decrease in homicides, both in D.C. and in other American cities.

D.C. Wire is reporting that Yusuf Acar, the Office of the Chief Technology Officer employee who was arrested by the FBI in March for allegedly running an elaborate kickback and bribery scheme, is in talks with prosecutors about a potential plea deal. An Aug. 3 hearing is now set on the progress of the plea agreement for Acar. Another city employee, Farruk Awan, was also arrested in the case, along with businessman Sushil Bansal.

With a tip of the hat to D.C. Wire, here's a YouTube video featuring D.C. Office of the Chief Technology Officer employee Yusuf Acar, who was arrested this morning by federal agents, from a Citywide Job Fair last fall:

FBI agents are searching the One Judiciary Square offices of the D.C. Office of the Chief Technology Officer this morning. The FBI is being tight lipped about what they are searching for, telling Politico only that the search is part of "an ongoing investigation." WTOP's Mark Segraves has been Twittering from the scene, adding that agents have since moved from the 9th floor OCTO offices to the 10th floor of One Judiciary Square, which houses the Office of the Attorney General. Some employees in the building have been sent home, according to Segraves.

The AP has reported that Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) expressed skepticism over the FBI's contention that Bruce Ivins acted alone in the 2001 anthrax attacks.

The Washington Post has their lengthy report up on the evidence released by the FBI this afternoon against Bruce Ivins, the bioweapons researcher who killed himself last week after he had become the government's main suspect in the 2001 anthrax attacks.

Good morning, Washington. It turns out that House Pages don't need lecherous congressmen's help to make scandalous headlines: two have just gotten busted for inappropriate behavior in a House elevator. They've been dismissed, bringing the year's total fired pages to five — two others were caught shoplifting, and one was booted for fighting. Needless to say, it looks like the program — the oversight of which has been in turmoil — will be getting...

Good morning, Washington. Yesterday afternoon Roll Call had the story of a potential suspect finally being identified in all those strange Senate bathroom fires from the last few months. Capitol Police Officer Karen Emory recently has been suspended in connection with the fires, although it still hasn't been confirmed whether she is definitely a suspect in the case. No charges have been filed, but color us a little disappointed if it turns out a...

The enraged D.C. Council on Thursday circulated the first photo released to the media of former Office of Tax and Revenue employee Harriette Walters, who stands accused of masterminding the theft of at least $31 million from the District's property tax coffers. Walters is pictured wearing one of the many dresses she is said to have purchased from Neiman Marcus with her ill-gotten money. You can also see her tax office employee badge. No other...

Fun Fun Fun Fest 2007 Recap from Super!Alright! on Vimeo. Austinist attended a town hall meeting about proposed noise ordinances that could undermine the city's future as the Live Music Capital of the World, and lamented the possible loss of Texas's only feminist bookstore. Throughout the week, they interviewed a bunch of indie fashion designers and D-I-Y websites—Etsy, Ornamental Things, 31 Corn Lane, and Aorta Designs—for the upcoming Stitch Fashion Show. They also did...

The Examiner has some exclusive info on a gun that was recovered that matches the .45 caliber bullets found at the scene of the fatal shooting of 15 year-old DeOnte Rawlings. Police found the gun in the apartment of Clifton Coleman, 18, who was arrested last week for shooting his girlfriend in the face, and was a friend of Rawlings. It's still unclear, however, whether Rawlings fired shots with the gun the night he was...

Happy Tuesday, Washington. The news broke early this morning that Judge Roy Pearson will reportedly lose his job, according to sources cited by the Post. Pearson, who infamously sued the owners of Custom Cleaners first for $65 million and then later for $54 million for misplacing a pair of his pants, is a District administrative law judge who has continued to draw a paycheck despite being taken off of his case work since the...

Written by DCist Contributor Ben Schuman-Stoler We all know about the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, but probably mostly as a stop on the round-the-Mall tour we give visiting family and friends. If they ask, we tell them that a young woman won a competition in the '80s. They say, “Wow, that’s interesting. What a great memorial.” But it remains an emotional site, its message solemn and powerful, which we were reminded of when two acts of...

FOUND Magazine has a knack for revealing the beautiful underbelly of America, the forgotten parts of our everyday lives. Highlighting things like the hateful note you left the person parked in your precious parking spot, your laundry list of to-dos, that love note you didn’t find the courage to send, or those rejection letters that you didn’t want to hold onto, FOUND is the curated hamper for everything not worth collecting. That is unless you...

Good morning, Washington. Does your commute include the Wilson Bridge? If so, enjoy this morning's trip — it's the last speedy one you're likely to have this week. As Fox 5 details, some of the traffic around the bridge will be redirected beginning at 10 a.m. this morning. But the worst will be saved for overnight on Friday, when traffic will be reduced to a single lane. Hateful Vandalism Galore: What the hell is going...

>> Little children don't like President Bush. [YouTube, embedding sadly turned off] >> Director Ridley Scott set off a bomb at Eastern Market yesterday, but Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio were not there, so stop asking us about it. [Reliable Source] >> A U.S. Park Police officer reportedly shot and wounded a driver on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway near Riverdale this afternoon. [WaPo] >> The FBI has launched a new Web site, BankBandits.com, in an...

Once again, the country is in a tizzy over a conservative Republican senator doing naughty things. According to a Post report, Sen. Larry Craig (R-Id.) was arrested earlier this month in an airport bathroom in Minnesota after he became a little touchy with an undercover police officer. (Similar allegations were made against him here, though they allegedly occurred in a Union Station bathroom.) Our favorite part? That during an interview with police after the...

Good morning, D.C. If you missed the news breaking yesterday, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts had a seizure on Monday while on vacation in Maine. While the cause of the seizure is unknown, doctors examined the Chief Justice and determined there was no cause for concern and that Roberts has already fully recovered. It's likely Roberts will now be prescribed some form of anti-seizure medication because he had another similar episode 14 years...

Good morning, Washington. We hope you had a relaxing weekend, and weren't one of the people inconvenienced by the brief closing of a number of Metro stations on Sunday. The story goes that a contractor mistakenly spread commercial-grade rat poisoning in the middle of the day around several stations in D.C. and Maryland. When dozens of birds started dropping dead at the Greenbelt, Anacostia, Naylor Road and Branch Avenue stations on the Green line and the Rhode Island Avenue-Brentwood and Takoma stations on the Red line, an investigation quickly began that included the FBI and local hazardous-materials crews. All of the affected stations were reopened relatively quickly.

>> Larry Flynt has 30 solid leads on potential congressional sex scandals, and was especially shocked to learn something juicy about a yet unnamed senator. [CNN] >> Via Matt Yglesias, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports the latest hilarity in the Duke Cunningham saga: First, he's snitching to the FBI, so look out, Brent Wilkes. Second, he apparently was miffed that Wilkes got the “younger and cuter” of the prostitutes Wilkes hired for them on...

As is usually the case on this day in D.C., there is very little news to roundup, thus our rather loose definition of 'morning' today. We certainly hope you're having a relaxing and fun holiday so far. As you gather up beer and meat (or faux-meat) and head to your respective barbecues, take care. We've mentioned it before, but the entire city will be under added security measures today in the wake of the attempted...