Thursday, November 05, 2009

Cause and Effect: Q&A by Ernie Allen, President and CEO, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

Anthony Sowell, right, stands behind public defender Kathleen DeMetz during his court appearance Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009, in Cleveland. Sowell, 50, has been charged with five counts of aggravated murder and held without bond after 10 bodies were discovered in his home over the past few days. Sowell was ordered held without bond. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan) (Mark Duncan - AP)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2009/11/05/DI2009110502194.html

Ernie Allen, president and CEO of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, was online Thursday, Nov. 5, at 11 a.m. ET to discuss the discovery in Cleveland of 11 bodies in one home in a run-down neighborhood that has relatives of the presumed victims wondering how such a gruesome scene could have gone unnoticed for perhaps years, and they charge that police ignored their missing person reports.

How does something like this happen in plain sight? What can authorities and communities do to protect citizens from registered sex offenders? Who are the victims?

There are as many as 100,000 registered sex offenders in the United States whose whereabouts are unknown, and with the passing of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, NCMEC joined in a partnership with the United States Marshals Service (USMS) in their initiative to apprehend fugitive sex offenders. The primary goal of NCMEC's Sex Offender Tracking Team (SOTT) is to support law enforcement by providing assistance in identifying and locating non-compliant/fugitive registered sex offenders.

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Fairfax, Va.: How does something like this happen in a community without law enforcement checking into it? Wasn't there enough suspicion? Is it a matter of law or is it a breakdown in the enforcement system?

Ernie Allen: The systems for following up on these offenders are simply overwhelmed. And once an offender has completed his parole, there are limitations in terms of what authorities can do. In Sowell's case, Sheriff's deputies showed up at least once a quarter, went to his house and confirmed that he was there. But absent additional evidence and probable cause, they couldn't enter or do additional investigation. Clearly, they didn't look closely enough and neither did the community. In so many of these cases, these most serious offenders are simply hiding in plain sight. It is not acceptable and we have to do a lot more, including increasing the resources when these guys are released into the community.

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Phoenix, Ariz.: It's like an episode of "Criminal Minds." You take people that no one will miss -- homeless, prostitutes, junkies, for instance.

The pig farmer in Canada killed 49 that way. Comments?

Ernie Allen: Typically, the offender is known to the victim, at least casually. While we don't know all the details yet, it is hard to imagine that there aren't families or loved ones somewhere who have been looking for at least some of these victims. From what we know, he seduced or lured most of his victims, getting them into a situation in which they were unable to escape. It is far more typical than the stereotypical fears that many have about snatched off the streets. In most of these cases, they are more "seduction" than "abduction."

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Washington, D.C.: What does the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children do in cases like this? Do you look for adults that are missing?

Ernie Allen: Our involvement in these kinds of cases is focused on the offender. We do not work missing adult cases, unless the adult is between 18 and 21 and we are asked to assist by law enforcement. The premise under the law is that adults have a right to be missing, juveniles do not. However, we are very active in the effort to track down missing or noncompliant sex offenders. Of America's 686,000 registered sex offenders (as of our last national survey in July), at least 100,000 are missing or noncompliant. We have a Sex Offender Tracking Team at NCMEC which is using public record databases and other similar tools to try to locate these guys. We do this in support of the US Marshals Service and at the request of state and local law enforcement.

Obviously, Mr. Sowell was compliant with his registration obligations, a fact which was confirmed on a quarterly basis by law enforcement. However, somehow nobody saw what his real preoccupation was. There were no public suspicions or tips reported to authorities (to our knowledge) and law enforcement did not pick up any clues as to his behavior.

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Boston, Mass.: Could/should police have walked a cadaver sniffing dog around the street by the house in question when neighbors complained of a "dead body" smell? They wouldn't have needed a search warrant just to do that right? And then, what if the dog smelled a cadaver in that house's yard? Is that enough probable cause for the police to enter the property and start digging?

Ernie Allen: That's right. Just as in the Garrido/Jaycee Duggard case in California, this information was in plain view (or scent). You don't need a search warrant to look over a back fence. When there were complaints of the dead body smell, clearly additional investigation should have taken place. The backyard is private property, but I am confident that enough information could have been generated (particularly considering Sowell's criminal history) to meet the probable cause standard and obtain a warrant for more extensive searching.

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Annapolis, Md.: How does this Cleveland case rank in the hierarchy of similar cases nationwide?

Ernie Allen: It is a really bad one. I don't how one rates or ranks these kinds of atrocities, but it is well up the list. America has a long history of serial killers, including people like Ted Bundy and others. The number of victims is outrageous, and particularly troubling is that he apparently conducted all of these crimes in and around his home in the middle of a city. Certainly, the investigation is on-going and it is not inconceivable that authorities will learn more, and that we have not yet identified the full scope of what Sowell has done.

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Richmond, Va.: I heard that there was a sausage manufacturer near the house, so that could have provided an excuse for the smell.

Ernie Allen: There are always excuses and explanations, particularly in cities. People are busy. People look for "normal" explanations for situations that appear "abnormal." The key in cases like this and many others is for people simply to pay attention and if there is something troublesome or that appears unusual, to report it. We at NCMEC get hundreds of calls every day through our hotline 1 (800) THE LOST or our cybertipline, www.cybertipline.com. Many of them are from well-meaning people who are concerned about something and let us know. Oftentimes, there is an innocent explanation. However, in case after case, average people doing average things but simply paying attention, are providing information that leads to finding missing children and saving lives. The problem in this case, I suspect, is that there were these kinds of excuses for the smell, and not enough people reached out and expressed their concerns. Some did, and weren't taken completely seriously, but in so many cases, that is how we get resolutions, not from CSI-type wizardry but simply from good citizens speaking up.

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College Park, Md.: Is it true that the victims were people on the "edges" of society, i.e., homeless, prostitutes? Do you think he knew them?

Ernie Allen: It is too early to know with certainty, but overwhelmingly female rape victims know their assailants. These are most often crimes in which offenders win the confidence of their victims, lure them into situations in which they have little opportunity of escape and then victimize them. Our assumption here is that he tricked or seduced his victims, and then raped and killed them.

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Washington, D.C.: Are sex offenders ever completely "cured"? Is incarceration effective? Do they repeat?

Ernie Allen: The key point that we try to make is that all sex offenders are not alike. One of the areas where we need to direct most of our attention is the area of risk assessment. 2/3 of America's sex offenders are not in jails or prisons, they are in our communities. There is contradictory evidence in the research literature, but clearly treatment is effective and beneficial for certain kinds of offenders. However, the treatment needs to be entered into willingly by an offender who accepts responsibility for what he has done and is committed to changing his life. Other offenders, including offenders against children, we are more skeptical about. For some of these offenders, these offenses are not lapses of judgment, they are a lifestyle. Recidivism research offers some encouragement, but our skepticism is that recidivism measures the numbers of offenders arrested and convicted. Most of these crimes are not even reported, particularly by child victims. And these offenders tend not to be monogamous. They tend to have multiple victims. So, it is a complex challenge for society that requires more serious sentencing for the most serious offenders, more robust and effective follow up and monitoring in the community post-release, treatment as a matter of privilege, not right, and a serious, comprehensive national strategy to do something about this problem.

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Woodbridge, Va.: Why does this happen over and over? I am so tired of criminals getting the benefit of the doubt until disaster strikes.

This guy had already done a 15-year stretch for rape, so he has a history of violence. When the neighbors began to suspect something through the stench of decay, law enforcement should have been able to investigate it FROM THE BEGINNING.

Do they really need an invitation from the court system, even when they have "reason to suspect?"

Ernie Allen: The problem is that the greatest leverage that we have over these criminals is when there are specific conditions applied as part of their probation or parole. Once they escape those conditions through the end of their parole period, law enforcement is much more limited in terms of what it can do. In Sowell's case, Sheriff's Deputies went to his home at least quarterly, but they could not go beyond the front door without probable cause and a warrant. We believe fervently in the rule of law, but you are right, the concern about Sowell wasn't because of who he is or what he thinks, it was because of what he had already done. The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.

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Lima, Ohio: Doesn't this case exhibit the shallowness of the registration laws? Legislators can take a bow because it looks like they're doing "something," but in reality all it represents is busy work for bureaucrats.

Ernie Allen: We think registration laws are absolutely essential. At a minimum authorities need to know where these offenders are and what they are doing. But like all laws, they are only as effective as they are implemented. The big challenge we face as a nation is that there are now 686,000 registered sex offenders. It is like triage in a battlefield situation. You can't do brain surgery on everybody. You have to set priorities. You have to identify those who represent the greatest risk and focus greater resources and attention on them. In our sex offender registries in some states, we have registered offenders convicted of Romeo and Juliet-type offenses; i.e., statutory rape in which a 19 year old had sex with his 15 year old girl friend. That is unlawful, but I am not terribly concerned about him as a threat to the community. Similarly, the guy arrested for public urination at Mardi Gras probably isn't the same level of risk as Sowell, a convicted violent rapist or Garrido, a convicted kidnapper/rapist. We need to do much better in not only identifying those offenders likely to represent the greatest levels of risk, but also educating the public about them. That is why we pushed for a provision in the Adam Walsh Act for every state to implement a system with tiers of risk in the sex offender registries. Tier IIIs are the most serious, highest risk. Tier IIs represent less risk, and Tier Is represent relatively minor risk. It is not perfect, but we need to do a better job of differentiation.

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Washington, D.C.: In other words, they are among us. Isn't the problem that victims -- if they survive -- don't like the stigma of having had abuse affect them? Is it a personal decision to just "keep it in" and not report it?

Ernie Allen: Absolutely. For example, among children the leading research indicates that we are up to about 1 in 3 reporting sexual abuse, a dramatic increase over 20 years ago. But that still means that 2 out of every 3 victims never tell anybody. Rape victimization data for adult women is comparable. So, when you consider the fact that there are 686,000 registered sex offenders, you must also remember that that only represents those who have been arrested and convicted in a court of law. It doesn't include those whose victims never reported, and it doesn't include those who for some reason were not convicted. There is trauma associated with victimization, and many victims are reluctant to put themselves through the ordeal of the criminal justice process in a quest for justice. We are doing better but it remains a huge challenge.

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Baltimore, Md.: Once an offender is released, how often is he monitored?

Ernie Allen: It varies state to state. In the recent Adam Walsh Act, the Congress increased the penalty for failure to be compliant to a felony. It had been a misdemeanor in 25 states. That means that when they don't comply, there is an opportunity to have their parole revoked and have then sent back to prison. Under the Adam Walsh Act, states are supposed to do personal visits/confirmations of the most serious offenders at least quarterly, the Tier IIs at least every six months, and the Tier Is annually. However, again, states are overwhelmed and need help. In many states historically, the way in which an offender was determined to be complaint was by mail, hardly a very effective way of ensuring that the offender is where he is supposed to be and is doing what he is supposed to do. The primary and most intensive oversight occurs when these offenders are on parole and have specific limitations and conditions imposed by the court. However, the parole period runs out. We need to dramatically intensify the system at the back-end to ensure follow up monitoring and supervision. It is not only in the best interests of society, it is also in the best interests of the offender. The last thing a child molester needs is to be told to go forth and sin no more. They tend to be model prisoners, but when they get back on the streets, they begin to encounter children, or the rapists begin to encounter women. They start to fantasize. Society needs them to have meaningful oversight, and not to simply drift into anonymity where nobody knows where they are or what they are doing.

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Bel Air, Md.: What tier would Sowell be classified in?

Ernie Allen: I don't know with certainty how he was classified in Ohio. Based on the severity of his crime (violent rape), he should have been classified as a Tier III, the most serious.

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Lusby, Md.: I dont' think police and the media take the cases of missing African Americans seriously as they do with white women. You never see the national news reporting on the disappearance of a woman of color like they do white women. You would think we never go missing. When is the disparity going to end?

Ernie Allen: What we are trying to ascertain in this case is whether there were missing persons reports filed on these women. There is no question but that the level of response to missing adult cases is not as intense as with missing children. However, I am convinced that there are reports out there on these victims and that they have loved ones looking for them somewhere. The process of identifying the victims will answer a lot of those questions.

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Alexandria, Va.: Don't they have some sniff-alyzer, which can tell rotting corpses apart from sewage?

Ernie Allen: There are a variety of new forensic tools that can be used in these kinds of cases. I am not sure what Cleveland authorities used in these cases, but one of the things that NCMEC's Cold Case Unit does on a lot of these cases is use new technology to try to locate and identify remains. The technology advancements in this area are phenomenal.

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Alexandria, Va.: What causes someone to do this kind of crime? And repeatedly? What is in the psyche? Is it a childhood trauma? To what can this be attributed?

Ernie Allen: I wish we knew more. Certainly, we know that many of these kinds of offenders suffered abuse as a child. However, it is important to point out that the vast majority of abuse victims do not go on to become abusers themselves. There is long-standing debate in this country regarding accountability for these kinds of acts; i.e., is this evidence of mental disease or defect, or is it criminality? Our view is that while it is important to focus on causation and how a particular offender turned out the way he did, we do not believe that it is exculpatory. Ultimately, we believe that adults are responsible for their acts. Help them, try to change them, but don't excuse these kinds of crimes.

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Washington, D.C.: What is the standard that is used to heighten the search for an adult who may be missing? As I understand it, in this country people do have the right to simply be left alone.

Ernie Allen: Exactly, and that is the problem. Adults have the right to be missing. So, typically, the cases of missing adults that are taken most seriously are those where there are actual witnesses or physical evidence that suggests foul play. One of the challenges is that in many of these cases, there is no evidence, there are no witnesses. It is important that law enforcement take these disappearances seriously and conduct investigations. Because of the growing number of young adults who have become victims, we were asked a couple of years ago to take on the cases of 18 -- 21 year olds when asked by the police to assist. The rationale was that in many of these cases, the fact that a victim became an adult one month before and was abducted at the age of 18 years and 1 month instead of 17 years and 11 months seems pretty arbitrary. It is still a child to his or her parents. So, I think the response in these cases is getting better, but as you point out, there are legal hurdles.

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Anacostia, D.C.: In the CBS TV show "Without a Trace," they always put up a picture of someone who has gone missing at the end of the show. In reality, is this effective? Have any of the people posted been found?

Ernie Allen: Yes, and you make a really important point. NCMEC disseminates the photos of missing children through a network of 400 private sector partners. There are missing child bulletin boards in every Walmart store (200 kids have been recovered as a direct result of Walmart shoppers). We work with media. We have one partner that has distributed missing child photos in mailers into 85 million homes each week in America for 24 years. It works. Somebody knows. We recover 1 in 6 of those kids as a direct result of that photograph. What 'Without A Trace' has done in using prime time, expensive airtime to create visibility for these cases is huge. When Jaycee Dugard was recovered, it became clear to me that there are many more of these kids out there who are recoverable. We currently have 800 long-term missing stranger abducted kids for whom we are searching. I simply do not believe that through some accident of fate, we have now recovered every one of them who is still alive through the recoveries of Jaycee, Elizabeth Smart and Shawn Hornbeck. The public is the key.

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Betehsda, Md.: Do you think that part of the reason the system is so overwhelmed is because of the broad definition of "sex offender?" Would smarter laws help us determine the potential dangerous repeat offenders and keep better tabs on them? It seems to me that no one would ever have the political will to do something like this for fear of appearing "soft on crime."

Ernie Allen: That is the whole premise of requiring states to categorize sex offenders by tiers of risk. The problem and the challenge is that it is hard and not scientifically precise to do that. Ultimately, our view is that the best predictor of future behavior is what you have already done. There are those who argue for more in-depth psychological analysis and similar techniques. That is great, but how are you going to do that with 686,000 offenders. Clearly, this challenge can't be fixed with "one size fits all" and our approach has been a "triage-based" system, a comprehensive approach that prioritizes offenders and develops an array of techniques more tailored to the unique needs and challenges of each one.

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Wasahington, D.C.: Were you surprised about the Jaycee Duggard case, being in the backyard all those years and nobody noticing or realizing she was being held and abused for so long? What is her current condition? How is Elizabeth Smart now? Others?

Ernie Allen: Jaycee is doing great. NCMEC has provided a psychologist from our Outreach Network who is working with Jaycee and her family. This is not a quick or easy process. It really is a life-long process of recovery. You can't erase those 18 years. We are trying to achieve a new normal for her. I was not only surprised but discouraged that Jaycee was not identified and Garrido not apprehended over those 18 years. If you have seen the age progression photo our forensic artists did of Jaycee, it is right on. All we needed was for somebody to look at the picture, generate that one key lead, and Jaycee should have been recovered long ago. Nonetheless, the good news is that she is alive, she is young, she has two young kids to focus on and care about. There is real hope for her future. Regarding Elizabeth, she is an amazing young woman. If you read the articles and transcript of her testimony in the recent hearing on Brian Mitchell, her abductor, you can appreciate what courage this young woman has. Elizabeth, Jaycee, Shawn Hornbeck and others give me real hope for so many of these kids. The human spirit is resilient. These kids figured out how to survive, and we are hopeful about their futures.

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Phoenix, Ariz.: Ernie said: "...it is hard to imagine that there aren't families or loved ones somewhere who have been looking for at least some of these victims."

While this is true, the 'community' may very well not notice if there are a few less homeless or other street people. That was the original question -- How can a community not know this is happening?

Ernie Allen: A police officer said to me once, "the only not to find this problem in any city is simply not to look for it." I really believe that we have made enormous progress in this country and that America has begun to look. However, a story like this makes it abundantly clear how far we have yet to go. I don't know how a community can not know that this is happening. We live in a time in which in many places we have lost that sense of neighborhood, people looking out for each other. In many communities, people don't even know who their neighbors are. This is a human tragedy and hopefully, will awaken people everywhere to what else needs to be done.

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Washington, D.C.: I can't help but think this tragic situation is due in part because the victims were black women, SOME of them with other challenges in their lives. Thus, they are/were "perfect" victims; some people in the community don't care about such people and sadly, the police, who we the taxpayers pay, didn't care about such people either. So to me, this smacks of racism, sexism and classism, not only on the part of the police, but SOME community members as well. Lastly, do you know what kind of rape crisis services are in this city? Thanks.

Ernie Allen: We know that African-American, Hispanic and other minorities are victimized disproportionately with these kinds of crimes. We know that there are growing numbers of people in our society who have become anonymous, the homeless, the forgotten. In our work at NCMEC, we are seeing growing numbers of kids on the streets of American cities. In a New York Times series last week (am I allowed to say New York Times on this site?), it pointed out the stories of the new American homeless, runaway kids struggling to survive on the streets and being subjected to sexual victimization. Two weeks ago, NCMEC joined with the FBI in a national sweep focusing on child sexual trafficking and child prostitution. To date, we have rescued 900 kids and prosecuted 500 offenders who prey upon kids. In so many ways, we still have "hidden victims," victims who somehow nobody sees. I remain convinced that that police officer was right. First and foremost, you have to look for it and then do something about it.

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Washington, D.C.: I heard on cable news that Mr. Sowell stated his aunt with whom he lived was in a nursing home. Did authorities every find her? Could she be among the missing?

Ernie Allen: We don't know that answer right now.

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Washington, D.C.: You said that there are 686,000 registered sex offenders. Do you know many of them are non-violent or convicted because of consensual acts (e.g., the 18-year-old boyfriend of a 14-year-old girl)? Given the reality of limited monitoring resources, wouldn't it be more effective to have law-enforcement personnel focus on violent offenders like Anthony Sowell?

Ernie Allen: Absolutely. That is why we argued for and Congress included in the 2006 Adam Walsh Act a "Romeo and Juliet" provision that excludes those kinds of cases. However, that doesn't mean that some states don't include them. The goal is to prioritize these offenders based upon their level of risk to the community, and focus our limited resources on the most dangerous.

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Ernie Allen: Thank you for all of the great questions. I have really enjoyed chatting with you this morning, and feel the same sense of anger and indignation that you do about the Cleveland tragedy. I am convinced that average people can make a difference. First, if you see something, or suspect something, or know something, report it, including reporting it to NCMEC at 1 (800) THE LOST. If you want free information about to keep your children and your family safe, visit our NCMEC website at www.missingkids.com. Finally, be a strong loud voice on behalf of these victims. Let your elected officials know that you would like to see the Adam Walsh Act implemented in every state. Interestingly, only one state has been found compliant so far, Ohio. We have a lot more to do, and your voice, your concern can help make it a reality. Thank you. Ernie

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Ernie Allen: Hi, I am Ernie Allen, President of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. I know that millions of people are outraged about the tragedy in Cleveland and are concerned about our ability as a nation to cope with, monitor and oversee the 686,515 registered sex offenders in the United States. We at NCMEC are trying to do something about it. I welcome your questions about what can be done and what you can do as a parent or citizen to keep our children and families safe.

62 comments:

Jerusalem Magistrates Court said...

The Jerusalem Magistrates Court extended the remand of "abusive rabbi" Elior Chen by five days.


According to the police, the indictment will be issued Monday for conspiring to commit a crime, inflicting severe damage on a minor, and physical and emotional abuse of a minor at the hands of a caretaker. The prosecution will likely ask from Brazilian authorities to add attempted murder to the list of charges against Chen. (Efrat Weiss)

cbsnews said...

CLEVELAND (CBS/AP) Anthony Sowell, the registered sex-offender facing five counts of aggravated murder, would offer free barbecue to his neighbors, even as corpses were lying around his three-story Cleveland home, according to the Associated Press.

PICTURES: Anthony Sowell's Home of Horror

Residents said that in retrospect the smell alone should have raised questions. It wafted down the street, sometimes forcing employees at the sausage shop near his home to abandon the store on hot summer days.

No one is sure how long Sowell had been living in the home with rotting bodies, but police have unearthed the remains of eleven victims in the living room, crawl spaces and backyard graves. There was even a skull in the basement.

Sowell's street, Imperial Avenue, is lined with occupied homes sandwiched between vacant, boarded-up houses and scattered small businesses with a steady stream of customers.

It smelled like a dead dog, neighbors say. Like sewage. Like rotting meat.

"It was smelling so bad, horrible, putrid," said Kenneth Broader, a postal carrier who delivers mail to the street where horrors have been unearthed body upon body since last weekend.

Before that, sewage lines were replaced. Equipment was scrubbed. On more than one occasion, city utility officials even came to investigate the smell.

But the stench lingered.

examiner said...

11 bodies have been found in Anthony Sowell’s house in Cleveland, Ohio. The police have requested a search warrant to tear down the Sowell’s house to search inside the structure of the house. It has now been determined that 8 of the women died from strangulation, and several still had a rope around the neck; the 2 other bodies are too badly decomposed to determine a cause of death, officials stated.

The first of the 11 bodies has been identified as Tonia Carmichael. Yesterday, the daughter of Tonia, Danita said when they first started to uncover the bodies she knew that her mom’s body was in that house. Tonia Carmichael has been missing for a year and her mother said that she had been addicted to crack and has disappeared for several days in the past, but this time she missed picking up two paychecks so she knew something was wrong.

A month ago, Anthony Sowell was accused of rape and felonious assault, an arrest warrant was issued for Sowell and then a search warrant for his house. Last Thursday, the police entered his house and found several decomposed bodies. Over the last week, the police have discovered 11 bodies hidden inside the house and in the backyard. Sowell is a convicted sex offender, who spent time in jail, but was off probation.

The police arrested Anthony Sowell on Saturday, and he appeared in court yesterday. The judge denied Sowell bond, and stated that the charges are the most gruesome he has even seen. To view the original story for this case, click here.

In a similar case in 2007, two men in Utah went missing for over a month until their bodies were discovered buried under a shed in a shallow grave. The entire area was surrounded with junk that the owner collected. The police suspected a registered sex offender, Martin Nelson that was already in jail at the time the bodies were found. Nelson has been convicted of the two men's deaths. Another young man disappeared around the same time, and it was suspected that Nelson was also responsible for his disappearance, according to KSL.

clevelandleader said...

During their 11 o' clock broadcast, WKYC reported that suspected serial killer Anthony Sowell may be linked to a handful of murders that occurred in East Cleveland prior to his incarceration in 1990. The murders involved prostitutes who were also linked to drug use and the circumstances are eerily similar to the victims on Imperial Ave.

Sowell happened to live in East Cleveland at the time. All of the victims also died by strangulation, and the deaths stopped around the same time he began to serve his 15-year prison sentence.

Two detectives are now working on re-opening the cold case files. All of the detectives that worked on the case at the time are now retired, but will be contacted and consulted about the cases.

While linking him to these cases is pure speculation at this point, the similarities between the cases cannot be ignored.

margo said...

i vood veer di shert iv dey heve mey seize 75+xxxx
-

Man makes living by selling the shirt on his back
Fri Nov 6, 10:31 am ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A T-shirt a day has kept unemployment at bay for an American man who is making about $85,000 a year by selling advertising space on his torso.

Jason Sadler, 26, a former marketing professional from Florida, founded his own company, www.iwearyourshirt.com, in 2008 with the idea to wear a T-shirt supplied by any company and then use social media tools to promote the firm.

For his human billboard service, Sadler charges the "face value" of the day so January 1 costs $1, while December 31 costs $365.

Sadler said this may not sound like a lot but it adds up to $66,795 a year if he sells out every day, which he did this year. He also sells monthly sponsorships for $1,500, adding another $18,000 to his income.

"I walk around, take photos, wear the shirt all day ... I blog about those photos, I put 'em up on Twitter, I change my Facebook profile ... and then I do a Youtube video," he told Reuters Television.

"I made about $83,000 this year."

The average U.S. wage is about $615 a week or about $32,000 a year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Sadler has already begun filling his 2010 calendar so, in true entrepreneurial fashion, he is expanding services by hiring another individual to wear a shirt a day on the west coast of the United States -- and is doubling his price.

Anonymous said...

(IsraelNN.com) A Be'er Sheva youth has been arrested on suspicion he planned to stab Rabbi Elazar Abuhatzeira. It was announced on Thursday that last Shabbat, the youth tried to enter the rabbi's house but left after being searched by a security guard.

The youth then went to the synagogue next door, where the kabbalist was among the worshippers. One of the worshippers was suspicious and summoned police, who arrested the suspect. The rabbi refused to file a complaint so his associates filed it for him. Police are investigating the background of the incident.

Pancreatic cancer said...

In memory of my mom, Barbara Hersh, who died from pancreatic cancer five short months after diagnosis, I would like to bring your attention to the fact that November is National Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month.

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth-leading cause of cancer deaths and is the least funded. Pancreatic cancer deaths have increased while overall cancer death rates have declined. Pancreatic cancer is one of the worst cancers in terms of pain and quality of life. Something needs to be done to find a cure, which will start with early detection. Unlike breast or prostate cancer, there are no early detection tests available for pancreatic cancer. Funding is urgently needed to make this happen.

Please raise your voice with me about this matter by asking your representatives to pass HR 7045, which was introduced last year but has never passed. To learn more, go to www.pancan.org.

Michelle Hersh

Overland Park

Al-Ahram Weekly said...

All this hateful bigotry against Israel was written to mask atrocities committed by our own people. Don't tell anyone we said so.

http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2009/971/op1.htm

same can be said about the jews said...

If I was on the Hill, I'd make this a debate about the Catholic Bishops and what they've done to children. Those hypocrites can't talk about the "sanctity of life" when they've destroyed so many. Check out the website of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) and ask if you want the Catholic Bishops setting policy for America. If you don't want the Bishops dictating policy, call the House and urge your member to oppose the Stupak Amendment. The main number is 202-224-3121.

The Rofeh Cholim Dinner Committee said...

Let's storm the Gates of Heaven Together!

Hundreds of seriously ill men, women and children from our communities are crying out desperately to Hashem. Recently, the number of Jewish cancer patients has increased drastically, reaching epidemic proportions r"l. Let us join together in prayer and plead for their refuah.

In the name of the Gedolim of Eretz Yisroel and America, we are forming a public tefillah gathering, preceding the giving of tzedaka on behalf of the ill of Klal Yisroel.

We therefore invite the entire community to the

Rachmei Shomayim GATHERING

Headed by the esteemed Rabbonim of our community
In conjunction with the
2nd Annual Flatbush Dinner
Wednesday, Nov. 11,2009
Ateres Chynka

7:30 SHARP
WORDS OF INSPIRATION
BY Rabbi Moshe Tuvia Lieff Shlita
Rav of Agudas Yisroel Bais Binyomin

7:40 SHARP
TEHILLIM
BY Rabbi Eliezer Ginzburg Shlita
Rav of Agudas Yisroel Zichron Shmuel

"Our Father, our King, send a full recovery to the sick of your nation!"

May Our tefillos be answered and may all cholei yisroel merit a speedy recovery.

Don't underestimate the power of your tefillos!

We look forward to seeing you,

The Rofeh Cholim Dinner Committee

Brooklyn Jew said...

>7:40 SHARP
>TEHILLIM
>BY Rabbi Eliezer Ginzburg Shlita
>Rav of Agudas Yisroel Zichron Shmuel


So Ginzburg who defends child molesters (i.e. Stefan Colmar) is going to lead.. Humm.. This is hard to take.

cancer said...

What about the cancer of
sweeping under the rug when they try
to hide accusations of "frum" child molesters?

What about the cancer created by these VERY SAME LEADERS and RABBONIM mentioned?

What about a GATHERING for all the VICTIMS who suffered shameful abuse only to be laughed and shunned on by AGUDAH?

Agudah pig said...

I got one of these fliers and will only go if Agudah provides an array of deli-delights and some schnapps.

Rabbi Eliezer Ginzburg Shlita said...

Deep in his yiddeshe heart stefen colmer is a geshmackeh yid and this is why i decided to collect gelt for his pidyon shvuyim.

Rabbi Yaakov "Jackoff" Mandel said...

My specialty during my tenure as YOB menhael of the yeshiva ketana involved sadism and pulling boys pants down below their knees in order to embarrass them.

That's why Rav Ginzburg was mechubed with being sandek at my son's bris. He kind of overlooks these little miscues.

Rabbi Shloime 'crocodile tears' Mandel said...

Yankel my brother, I know Rav Ginsburg longer than you, and he was there by my son's bris too.

ynet said...

'Abusive rabbi' won't face attempted murder charges

Prosecution says evidence does not support including charge in indictment against Elior Chen. Indictment to include multiple counts of abuse, assault of a helpless minor
Aviad Glickman

Elior Chen, the self-professed rabbi suspected of multiple counts of abuse, will not face attempted murder charges, the Jerusalem District Prosecution said Sunday.


The prosecution intends to charge Chen, who allegedly instructed his followers to abuse their children, with multiple counts of abuse and assault of a helpless minor.


Due Process
Attorney says abusive 'rabbi' innocent / Efrat Weiss
Elior Chen, accused of ordering followers to abuse children, lands in Israel Wednesday after extradition from Brazil; passengers hurl insults at him during flight, dub him 'scum'. Attorney says acts attributed to Chen 'never happened'
Full story
Upon Chen's extradition to Israel from Brazil two weeks ago, the prosecution said it was planning to include attempted murder charges in his indictment, but a legal source told Ynet prosecutors were unable to substantiate the allegation.



The source added that should further evidence come to light and support such a charge, the prosecution will amend the indictment.



Such a move would also require Brazil's consent, since it was not included in the original extradition motion.


Chen has been questioned by Jerusalem Police investigators several times but has been exercising his right to remain silent.


Attorney Ariel Atari, representing Chen, told Ynet that his client "welcomes the indictment, since it marks the beginning of the trail – he will finally be able to refute all these charges in a court of law."

muslim fears justified said...

They missed a bundle of red flags and now in some twist it is the people who are biased and scared of islamic terror? let us get real. Maj. Nidal M. Hasan was a ticking time bomb. His blowup could have happened anywhere.

Leah said...

PRINTED FROM OFFICIALWIRE

Protect Your Daughter From Sexual Predators And Child Molesters

We Must Protect our Daughters from Sexual Predators

by MrPressRelease.com

SAVANNAH, GA -- (MrPressRelease.com and OfficialWire) -- 11/08/09 --

Child molesters and sexual predators are on the rise now more than ever, and your daughter is more vulnerable to sexual predators now more than you know.

Sexual predators and child molesters are very much on the loose and there are more than 500,000 registered sexual predators. Many of the sexual predators have slipped through the legal system, and may be your daughter's teacher, baby sitter, the parent of her best friend, or even a relative.

Child molesters and sexual predators have ruined the lives of countless innocent children, many of whom are psychologically and emotionally scarred for life.

Protecting your daughter from child molesters and sexual predators is the responsibility of the parents and society in general.

We recently witnessed an incredible story in the news of a girl named Jaycee Dugard, now 29 years old, who was kidnapped 18 years ago in South Lake Tahoe, California.

The man who kidnapped her, Phillip Garrido, was a registered sex offender. Jaycee Dugard now has 2 children by Phillip Garrido.

This story is a sobering wake-up call to the fact that we must protect our daughters from child molesters and sexual predators.

You can discover simple ways to protect your daughter from sexual predators and other real dangers by going to:

www.ProtectYourDaughter.info

Where in the world is Avrom Monderovitch? said...

And you think your sons are safe?

Avrohom Mondrowitz said...

Who wanted to know my whereabouts? Call up Ohel or Rav Dovid Cohen or the Ger Rebbe or Agudah and ask them.

I'm sure they'll tell you they never ever want to see me extradited from Israel to the U.S. and open up a can of worms better left unopened.
----------------------------------------
http://theawarenesscenter.org/Mondrowitz_Avrohom.html

Stefan Colmer said...

Passaic got wind of me causing me to flee to Israel. If it weren't for some big mouths I'd still be operating in Brooklyn too.

My best memories are of families inviting me to their shabbos table and letting me sleep in the same bedroom as their children where I ran the smoothest of operations undetected.

NY POST said...

Groom death plunge

By LIZ SADLER and KIRSTEN FLEMING

Last Updated: 2:58 PM, November 6, 2009

Posted: 3:23 AM, November 6, 2009

A newlywed groom on his honeymoon yesterday plunged to his death from a Brooklyn hotel in an apparent suicide -- as his bride slept, unaware of the tragedy, sources said.

Motty Borger, 24, died at Lutheran Medical Center after the seven-story plunge from The Avenue Plaza Hotel in Borough Park -- just two days after marrying his love, Mali, in a lavish ceremony, according two sources.

Borger's bride was sleeping in the room when her husband, who worked with his videographer dad, opened a window, stepped onto the balcony and jumped at 6:45 a.m.

Mali didn't know what had happened until she was awakened by the hotel concierge.

Friends were shocked at the young man's death, saying there was no sign at Borger's wedding in Williamsburg on Tuesday that he'd try to end his life.

"He sang, he danced, he was the happiest kid on the planet," said a friend who was at the wedding among 500 pals and loved ones.

"The guy was super energetic," said another reveler.

The couple shared a meal of boiled salmon Wednesday night in a postwedding celebration and seemed to be in good spirits.

"They were both happy," said a waiter.

"They were laughing, talking about what they should order."

Detectives were poring over security video, including a clip that shows an agitated Borger in an elevator with his wife.

A police source described Borger as "emotionally disturbed."

The apparent suicide stunned family members who just 48 hours earlier were celebrating the young couple's union.

"The guy was so full of life," a friend said. "He was so happy to marry her."

Friends said they couldn't believe Borger would want to kill himself or that there could have been any marital strife.

"She's a nice, sweet girl," a friend said of the bride. "They have money, so that wasn't a problem."

kirsten.fleming@nypost.com

boro park yenta said...

Motty Borger was molested as a child. He couldn't perform on his wedding night.

Some friends who knew him are confirming this as a possible motive to his suicide.

penetration scheinberg said...

Any penetration involving the deceased should be brought to my attention immediately, either by Lepold Margulies or Yaakov Applegrad. Thank You.

Rabbi Yaakov Applegrad said...

This is years and many lives ago. I thought by living in Lakewood people would forget my role as enabler.

http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/2006/12/kolko_pleads_in.html

reuvein said...

There has to be more to this story than meets the eye. Very puzzling circumstances to go from the heights of marriage to the dooms of hell. I don't know. Just thinking out loud.


Tears in Brooklyn for suicide-plunge groom

By REBECCA ROSENBERG

Last Updated: 1:16 PM, November 9, 2009

Posted: 3:35 AM, November 7, 2009

Friends and loved ones bid a tearful farewell yesterday to the groom who jumped from a Brooklyn hotel room window just two days after his wedding.

"You know what it is for a father to be at his son's wedding and then to be here," said Shmuel Borger, the father of 24-year-old suicide victim Motty Borger. "This wedding was not in vain. It was not in vain. From sadness will come happiness."

Motty's widow, Mali, arrived on her mother's arm for the ceremony at the Shomrei Hachomos funeral home in Brooklyn.

Borger plunged seven stories from a balcony at the Avenue Plaza Hotel in Borough Park at 6:45 a.m. Thursday. His wife, who had married him at a lavish Williamsburg ceremony two days earlier, was asleep nearby.

"I was in the hospital last night and Mali asked me, 'Do you think it's the evil eye after having such a beautiful wedding?' " her father, Avraham Gutman, told the mourners.

He said he replied, "It is what God wanted."

Some refused to believe it was suicide. Rabbi Moishe Mayer Weiss said Borger may have gone onto the balcony for air and gotten disoriented. Sources close to the probe told The Post that there was no way he could have fallen without deliberate action.

Anonymous said...

Motty Borger Levaya

http://www.yideotube.com/2009/11/motty-borger-levaya.html

Agudath Isreal of America said...

Donkeys of America invite all brainwashed followers for a humongous fress-a-thon November 26-29.

As side entertainment our esteemed ass-scholars of the bible will fill your heart with thoughts so real and true.

Your Truly....

Donkeys Managment

Agudath Isreal of America said...

We know the headliner is outrageous Obviously. If we had anyK’vod Shomayim In Business & Personal Dealings we would acted responsibly and not have swept it under the carpet.

-----------------------------------

http://theyeshivaworld.com/news/General+News/41830/K%27vod+Shomayim+In+Business+&+Personal+Dealings+to+be+Focus+of+Thursday+Night+at+Agudah+Convention.html

K’vod Shomayim In Business & Personal Dealings to be Focus of Thursday Night at Agudah Convention
November 9, 2009

Rabbi Yaakov Perlow, the Novominsker Rebbe and Rosh Agudas Yisroel; and Rabbi Matisyahu Salomon, Mashgiach, Bais Medrash Govoha, will be the featured speakers at the Thursday night plenary session of Agudath Israel of America’s upcoming 87th national convention. The convention will take place November 26-29 at a new location – the Hilton in East Brunswick, New Jersey.

Both the Thursday night session and the Motzoei Shabbos keynote session, which are open to the public free of charge, traditionally draw thousands of participants from throughout the tri-state area. And given the close proximity of this year’s venue to many Orthodox communities on the East Coast – and the timeliness of the session topics — record-breaking crowds are expected to fill the hotel auditorium on both evenings.

The Thursday night session is entitled, “Yisroel Asher Becho Espo’or: Promoting K’vod Shomayim in Our Business and Interpersonal Dealings.”

“The Gemara teaches us,” says Agudath Israel executive vice president Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, “that the eyes of the world are focused on religious Jews, and that the impressions we convey through our conduct create either kiddush Hashem or cholila its opposite.”

Never has the truth of this ma’amar Chazal been more apparent than in our own times, the Agudah leader observes.

“It seems as if Orthodox Jews are constantly in the headlines, all too often in a negative light. The eyes of the world are indeed upon us, and we have the responsibility of making Hashem’s Holy Name beloved through our actions. Our Thursday night session, at which we will have the special privilege of hearing from two of our most revered leaders, will highlight how we can discharge that awesome responsibility.”

The program will also feature video excerpts from classic drashos of Rav Shimon Schwab and Rav Avrohom Pam zecher tzadikim l’vrocha, whose lives epitomized the ideal of ribuy k’vod Shomayim.

“This promises to be a very important evening,” says Rabbi Zwiebel. “And a session that no one can afford to miss.”

(YWN Desk - NYC)

child molester enabler shlomo mandel said...

Sounds familiar to me. I like to say the same about Nussbaum.
________________________________________

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1257455218178&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Cult-shmult, it's one big bluff," he said. "The whole thing has been made up."

Adam Melzer said...

In case you're wondering, here's how Adam Melzer got two pairs of teenage boys to take naked pictures of themselves.

The Blackmail Lie
Melzer, a trusted basketball coach at Rosenbaum Yeshiva of North Jersey (a Jewish middle school) told the boys that blackmailers had been following them with telephoto lenses and had taken pictures of them naked already.

To prevent the blackmailers from spreading the pictures all over the place, the boys must take more naked pictures of themselves and give them to the blackmailers.

They believed that?!
Yes.

They believed it so much, that they didn't even report Melzer when he told them the blackmailers also wanted pictures of their mothers and sisters in various states of undress.

In fact Melzer gave them the cameras himself and told them he would forward the pictures to the blackmailers.

How did he get caught?
Melzer did this to two pairs of boys in two consecutive years. Now all four boys have graduated from the middle school and attend the same high school.

(Adam Melzer pictured above)

One of the boys heard one of the other boys telling the story. They compared notes and got wise. Hence Melzer was busted.

http://www.zimbio.com/Adam+Melzer/articles/2/Adam+Melzer+Executed+Sketchiest+Scam+EVER

shlomo bozo mandel said...

Who in their right mind can believe the shmootz coming out of Passaic anyway?

It's not like I need to send Yudel Nussbaum out there for some grocery shopping or anything.

And even if I did send Yudel there for a shabbos, on what grounds will Eisenmann kick him out, that some boys said he did this and that to them b'erech 20 years ago? I don't see any stirah here.

yudel nussbaum said...

So many boys in Passaic probably need bar-mitzvah lessons or have underwear with shatnez that I should remove.

exposemolesters said...

Kindly set aside a few minutes to read an invigorating spread.

A Haredi Town Confronts Abuse From The Inside

Agudath Israel "Hate Crimes" division said...

No No No No No No.... Our Rabbonim said child molestation is not a hate crime (if even a "crime" at all).

But.......

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes.... Our Rabbonim all nodded in assent that this qualifies as a hate crime.

http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/crime/archives/2009/11/authorities-che.html

Cops investigate synagogue vandalism as possible hate crime

Anonymous said...

To bad they don't do this to child molesters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RR9e1kHNzrM

Photographer and videographer Katie Falkenberg records the events leading up to the execution of D.C. sniper John Allen Muhammad.

Shafranspeak said...

Notice how Avi Shafran blames others while exonerating the organization he works for.

He neglects to cite any reason why Agudath Israel protects pedophiles by lobbying against the Child Victims Act of New York.
----------------------------------

http://www.5tjt.com/news/read.asp?Id=5123

The image of Jews—particularly those who are readily identifiable as such—has been tarnished over recent years. That is partly because of the observant Jewish community’s growth—rendering its failures more numerous and more visible—and partly because of a media ethic that seems to have updated “if it bleeds, it leads” to something like “if it’s a scandal, it gets a handle.” That’s the fourth estate’s approach to any group or individual, but the media take particular glee in making sure that a religious person—extra credit if he’s a religious Jew—who has done something wrong gets top billing. And then there are the farther reaches of Blogistan, where facts don’t even matter, and a toxic mix of venom, imaginativeness, and psychopathy serves as the local currency.

Avi Shafran is a fraud said...

Excerpt*

Relieved, I returned the smile (which I only then noticed), told the businessman how happy I was that “my people” were acting as we are supposed to, and wished him well.

Excerpt*

The actions of most observant Jews, though—the “daily Jews” who invest their quotidian lives with behavior becoming members of a holy people—reflect Jewish ideals in all that they do. That was the scarf man’s experience—and also that of the man at the bus stop mere days earlier who asked me how my holidays had been.

Why thank you Avi for such a gripping tale. You're an absolute moron, but who should be surprised, we already knew that.

You're hashkafah is so convoluted; you have proven beyond a reasonable doubt that halacha is secondary to mercenary. Need I remind you of your infamous gaff on the whole Yudi Kolko mess?

What, suddenly your big fat mouth had nothing to comment on? It had plenty to say about heroes. You don't seem to run out of words when attacking the truth. Your intent is to bury the facts where it's submerged in a vessel of denial for eternity.

Naturally, your warped process uses a defense mechanism which causes you to lash out at the media and the "Blogistan."

You pray this will preserve an unstained image with a constant flow of money to all your beneficiaries.

This even at a steep price where kids are sexually abused, and the monsters and enablers are let off the hook quicker than the speed of light.

It also explains your partisanship in relation to the whole Rubashkin fiasco.

Only a twisted twerp puts on a facade so callus and deceitful. Your buddies, Perlow and Zwiebel, represent a phony baloney operation, and you serve as the mouthpiece who flies with the wind. Wonderful!

Every man has his price. Yours entails fermenting a fence, sort of like a safe haven, around all negative or illegal acts committed by observant Jews.

This ensures the good name of Agudah and its umbrella.

You should be very proud of yourself for earning a name for yourself as the "artificial Jew."

I'm assuming you would categorize yourself and your Agudah offspring as "daily jews," now isn't that surprising?

Rabbi Elyashiv, Gerrer Rebbe said...

Haredim launch 'Shabbat war' against Intel

Leading ultra-Orthodox rabbis urge public to attend mass Jerusalem rally in protest of electronic chip maker's plan to employ dozens of workers in its Har Hotzvim plant on weekends. Rabbi Elyashiv, Gerrer Rebbe endorse protest
Kobi Nahshoni

Another front opens in the fight for Shabbat. Leading ultra-Orthodox rabbis are calling on the public to participate in a mass rally to be held on Saturday in the Har Hotzvim industrial area in Jerusalem.



The haredim are protesting against Intel Corp's plan to employ dozens of workers on weekends in its plant, which is adjacent to neighborhoods with large concentrations of haredi residents.
New Factory
Intel to open Jerusalem plant next week / Reuters
World's biggest electronic chip maker says will open its new die preparation factory in capital on Sunday
Full story



Thousands are expected to take part in the protest as a result of a rare collaboration between leaders of the Eda Haredit and mainstream ultra-Orthodox rabbis.



The campaign is being led by Knesset Member Uri Maklev (United Torah Judaism) and "the rabbis' committee for the sanctity of Shabbat" headed by Rabbi Yosef Elyashiv and the Gerrer Rebbe.



In contrast, the protest against the opening of the Karta parking lot on Saturdays is organized by members of the Eda Haredit alone and has seen a small number of participants in recent weeks.



Haredi newspapers Yated Ne'eman and Hamodia have also joined the campaign and reported Thursday of a "severe violation of Shabbat."



They claimed that Intel is ignoring "faithful Judaism's decisive demand" by insisting on opening its plant during Saturdays, which amounts to "crude trampling of the sanctity of Shabbat."



It was further reported that negotiations between MK Maklev and Intel officials failed to achieve results.



Hamodia also reported that "faithful Judasim" would not rest until the "shame" is lifted and stated that thousands of the ultra-Orthodox community of all factions would not let Shabbat be desecrated.

around the blogs said...

FailedMessiah---

Letter from Agudah:
We Have Spoken Out On Scandal

exposemolesters said...

The audacious misconduct by Agudah personnel will never cease unless they are boycotted by the masses.

Thousands of zombies lend legitimacy by attending their annual convention, sending a strong message of corruption tolerance.

Merely putting the onus all on Agudah doesn't do justice for the guilty parties with affiliation to other detestable ranks of orthodoxy.

That however does not excuse or absolve Agudath Israel in any way - other than realizing the coats and black hatters come in various camouflage every day of the year.

Don't be fooled by the mask and facade. Logic and history have taught us that important lesson. Orthodoxy is only relevant if Derech Eretz is observed as a prerequisite.

Without it, dump all Daf-Yomi, Shulchan Aruch, and Chazal knowledge at your nearest defecating center, or have a truck haul it on November 26-29 – to the main dumpster - at the Hilton in East Brunswick, New Jersey.

EM

Margo's psychiatrist said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lavn5ceWlF4

HAARETZ said...

Cruel and unusual punishment
By Benny Ziffer

Among the most recent details released in the affair of ultra-Orthodox guru Elior Chen, it has been reported that he stuffed a skullcap into a little boy's mouth and then shut the child into a suitcase for an entire day. That he burned a boy's feet on a radiator and forced children to feed feces to one another. No doubt a voice from heaven commanded him to fulfill this obligation, since he himself, according to the testimonies of his father and his brother, both of whom came forward to defend his good name in the corridors of the courthouse, "couldn't hurt a fly."

And now, in the name of the obligation to report journalistically, which is perceived by those who engage in the profession as a supreme commitment equivalent to Elior's commitment to fulfill a divine command - the entire public, on television, on radio and on paper, is being force-fed the metaphorical feces called the Elior Chen affair and all its filth. I have heard that appalled listeners, people with children, have phoned in to the radio station and demanded that it stop rehashing these deeds. And rightly, because spreading the story of an abomination is in essence just as despicable as the abomination itself. Only the degree of perversion is different.

'rabbi' avi shafran the putz said...

And now, in the name of the obligation to report journalistically

If Chen was an avid Agudah junkie, I would gladly invest in more ink to pen an article in his defense. Luckily I only get paid to do damage-control when the need arises to cover-up child molestation etc. in our community.

I feel the Blogistan, blogmeisters - or whatever you want to call them, do not report journalistically. Even the Pakistani, who I later found out is an Indian, told me my smile and dust-free Borsalino hat, convinced him I am in fact a daily Jew.

munkatch rabbi said...

Moty Borger was molested as a child by some of our members
and we actively hushed it up.

Our mikvah molesters have a thriving business and donate a lot of cash, so nothing we can do to stop it.


Tell Nuchum Rosenberg he's on our shit list. He outs the whole world.

Case of Adam Melzer said...

http://www.theawarenesscenter.org/Melzer_Adam.html

Cops: N.J. Coach Culled Nude Pics from Boys

1010 WINS - July 21, 2008

http://www.1010wins.com/Cops--N-J--Coach-Culled-Nude-Pics-from-Boys/2635664

TEANECK, N.J. (NorthJersey.com) -- A volunteer youth basketball coach from Teaneck convinced several local teenage boys to give him naked pictures of themselves, authorities said Monday.

Adam Melzer, 34, a married salesman, was ordered held on $50,000 bail, charged with several counts of child endangerment. An arraignment is scheduled tomorrow afternoon in Hackensack.

Four boys, aged 16 to 18, told authorities that Melzer "persuaded them to provide him with naked photos of themselves" while he was a supervisor at a youth basketball program in River Edge, where they served also volunteers, said Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli.

Mr. Melzer also was a coach on various basketball teams that the victims had played on at one time, the prosecutor said.

Each youngster gave investigators a formal statements were obtained from each victim, he said.

Melzer, accompanied by his attorney, surrendered at the prosecutor's office in Paramus on Friday, Molinelli said.

Forward Top 50 said...

David Zwiebel
The chilly relationship between American Jewry’s liberal mainstream and its traditionalist Orthodox wing could be headed for a welcome thaw. The reason: David Zwiebel, 57, newly appointed executive vice president of Agudath Israel of America, the powerful social-service and advocacy agency that represents Orthodoxy’s black-garbed right flank. A committee had run the organization since the 1998 death of its iron-willed longtime president, Moshe Sherer. Zwiebel inherits a full plate of crises: fallout from business and child-molestation scandals, deep rifts with other Jewish denominations and a private school system swamped by an unending baby boom. The soft-spoken Zwiebel, a constitutional lawyer and ordained rabbi, has been handling crises for two decades as Agudath Israel’s general counsel and government affairs director. Since becoming chief in January, he’s moved swiftly to set a new tone. In September, he convened the first in a series of seminars on legal compliance procedures for school and charity administrators. In October, his staff reached a compromise with Congress that allowed the movement to drop its long-standing opposition to gay rights legislation, clearing the way for passage of a historic hate-crimes bill. Perhaps most telling, he attended and mingled with other agency heads, including liberal activists and Reform rabbis, at a reception for Jerry Silverman, the new chief of the Jewish Federations of North America.

Forward Top 50 said...

Joel Engelman
As Orthodox communities around the country slowly wake up to the realities of child sexual abuse, it’s not their spiritual and communal leaders who are leading the charge to protect the most vulnerable. Instead, a small but determined group of sexual abuse survivors have dragged the issue from the shadows into the light, often at great personal cost. Joel Engelman, 24, is one such survivor, a reliably levelheaded and soft-spoken presence at conferences, protests, and rallies, where emotions inevitably run high. A founding member of the advocacy group Survivors for Justice, Engelman went public with his story after suing his former yeshiva, the Satmar-run United Talmudical Academy in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, and former principal Rabbi Avrohom Reichman, who continues to teach despite facing several abuse allegations. Engelman is one of many survivors who have made a difference by speaking out publicly. They’re battling not only the stigma of sexual abuse, but also an entrenched power system that all too often spends more time worrying about the reputations of accused molesters than about their responsibility to protect children.

Forward Top 50 said...

Bernard Madoff
Bernard Madoff leapt this past year from relative obscurity to prominence: He’s probably the most hated landsman in American Jewish history. Meyer Lansky had his gang; the Rosenbergs had their comrades and supporters. Madoff, 71, has only his fellow inmates in the North Carolina federal prison where he’ll spend the rest of his life. Madoff, who founded his own Wall Street investment firm in 1960, pleaded guilty in March to operating what has been called the largest financial scam in history. He admitted that he had spent years running a gigantic Ponzi scheme, taking cash from new clients to pay off earlier ones without ever investing their money. As a result, thousands of ordinary people lost their life savings. “I knew what I was doing was wrong, indeed criminal,” he said in his plea allocution. Madoff contended that he began his scam in 1991 and acted alone. However, others — including his brother, Peter; his sons, Mark and Andrew; and a niece, Shana — are suspected of involvement. Also suspected: hedge-fund manager J. Ezra Merkin, a prominent Jewish philanthropist who had associated with Madoff since the early 1990s. Neither Merkin nor Madoff family members have been charged, and all have denied any wrongdoing. Madoff’s scheme collapsed late in 2008, just months after the financial crisis hit and new clients dried up. It is estimated that clients lost a staggering $65 billion (at least $45 billion of it in paper losses from fake profits). Among the hardest-hit were Jewish institutions he had worked with, including Yeshiva University and Hadassah. Several private foundations collapsed altogether, in turn wreaking havoc among the charities they supported. The only people left with kind thoughts of Madoff were the late-night comics who have turned his name into a perpetual punch line.

J. Ezra Merkin
When the Madoff scandal broke last December, questions arose about the actions of J. Ezra Merkin, scion of a family of major Modern Orthodox philanthropists, chairman of GMAC, and money manager to a slew of prominent Jews and Jewish institutions. Investors in his funds claimed to have had no idea that Merkin, 55, had entrusted $2.4 billion of their money to Bernard Madoff. This year, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, New York University and New York Law School are among those who are suing Merkin for his alleged role in funneling money to Madoff. They allege that Merkin got rich off investment fees while feeding billions of dollars from non-profit endowments and individual fortunes into Madoff’s billowing Ponzi scheme. Since the scandal broke, Merkin has lost control of his hedge funds, stepped down as chairman of GMAC, resigned as president of the prestigious Fifth Avenue Synagogue, and sold off his extensive collection of paintings by the artist Mark Rothko. He also resigned his seat on the board of directors at Yeshiva University, where the influential Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik once held a chair sponsored by Merkin’s father, Hermann. But some question who is truly at fault here — Merkin or the credulous investors who didn’t question their steady returns. And what about the Ramaz School and Y.U., which saw no conflict of interest in allowing Merkin to serve on their boards and, in Y.U.’s case, on its investment committees, while allowing him to “manage” — and earn fees on — millions of dollars worth of their donated income? As the legal process unfolds, Merkin’s apparent role as a conduit between Madoff and Jewish institutions is likely to take center stage.

Rabbi Ahron Feldman said...

The Baltimore Shabbos squad are on the lookout for Jews who desecrate the day of rest.

Our spies will report their findings and make them available to myself or Rabbi Moshe Eismann.

Yeshiva Lane dwellers are asked to keep their eyes alert at all times for any suspicious ffb's no longer keeping shabbos, and with nareshkeit excuses - like they were molested at NIRC, what have you.

avi shafran said...

My hero, Bernie Madoff, made the Forward's top 50.

agudas israel hate crimes division said...

We consulted with our Rabbanim who advised hate against gays/lesbians - is in fact - love, not hate, and certainly not a crime.

__________________________

In 2008, in the lead up to the Prop 8 [1] ballot fight, hate crimes [2] against gays [3] and lesbians [4] rose significantly. While hate crimes against two specific groups rose significantly, biased motivated crimes over all dropped. Hate crimes rose by two percent in California in 2008 over 2007. Of the increase, the largest was against LGBT [5]-Americans [6] and Jews. Hate crimes against LGBT-Americans rose by twenty-eight percent, and accounted for almost a third of all the crimes.

As a note of caution, hate crimes are not simple categories. A person may fit into multiple categories and the hate crimes may fall into several categories. For instance it is possible for someone to be African-American [7], gay, and Jewish [8]. Thus, adding up all the numbers from the different categories might result in a number far in excess of the 1,397 reported crimes.

More than half the crimes were committed based upon a person’s race or ethnicity, with the majority of those being against African-Americans.

Of the two categories which saw the biggest rise, hate crimes against Jews rose the most. In 2008, there were 184 threats and assaults against Jews in California, a rise of thirty-seven percent. Crimes against LGBT-Americans rose to 440 crimes.

The rise in hate crimes against these two groups likely has different origins. The rise in crimes against Jews likely has its roots in the economic uncertainty of the last year. While the stereotypes of the wealthy Jewish business mogul are inaccurate, many people tend to believe them. Thus, they tend to blame Jews for the economic problems that they, themselves, are facing.

Hate crimes against LGBT-Americans have more to do with the push for marriage equality [9] rather than economics. When it comes to civil rights [10] pushes, there tends to be a push back irregardless of economic situation. Often times, those perpetrating hate crimes often seek to punish the minority trying to gain equality. This is usually meant to make sure that the group caves in on its demands regarding equality and silently slinks back into the shadows.

All statistics are those released by the office of California Attorney General Jerry Brown.

Yuri Foreman said...

"For Yuri Foreman, it is more than a fantasy. It is a dream that started when he was bullied as a 7-year-old kid at the swimming pool in Belarus, nurtured while working out alongside Arabs in Haifa, Israel, as a teenager, and burnished in Brooklyn as he won a Daily News Golden Gloves title and rose through the professional ranks."

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more_sports/2009/11/13/2009-11-13_yuri_foreman_believes_in_title_shot_.html#ixzz0WxShGyK4

Amen said...

Fuck all the Arabs, baby killers, murderers of civilians, who cowardly use their own people as human shields.

Their justification for unspeakable acts of barbarism is we are "Zionists."

Israel has shown more restraint and discipline than all other nations combined.
-----------------------------------

The Israeli Army's chief rabbi has called on military students to 'show no mercy' when they fight a war or they will be "damned."

"In times of war, whoever doesn't fight with all his heart and soul is damned, if he keeps his sword from bloodshed, if he shows mercy toward his enemy when no mercy should be shown," The Israeli daily Haaretz quoted Brig. Gen. Avichai Rontzki as saying at the Hesder yeshiva in the occupied West Bank.

"Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord with a slack hand, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood," added the rabbi.

Regarding the Israeli three week war on the Gaza Strip last December, the army rabbi hailed the military's performance which led to the death of at least 1,350 people including women and children.

"Everyone fought with all their heart and soul, and that includes bravery of course, but also fighting with all the resources one has, to fight as if to truly determine the mission," he reiterated.

Rontzki, who had also sanctioned the killing of Palestinian civilians during the Gaza war, drew harsh criticism form human rights groups.

During the war, some other leading rabbis also issued rulings that gave free hands to Israeli commanders to attack the civilian population in Gaza.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=111363&sectionid=351020202

Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv said...

Rabbi Elyashiv to authorize Shabbat elevators

Month and a half after ruling that designated Sabbath elevators are not to be used on Shabbat, Lithuanian leader modifies his position, expected to allow elderly, sick, pregnant women to ride lift on holy day

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3804294,00.html

New York Post said...

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/suicide_groom_twist_pa15C1Z5nGPyHIYj18xCNI


Suicide groom twist

By SUSAN EDELMAN and KIRSTEN FLEMING

Last Updated: 7:21 AM, November 15, 2009

Posted: 4:05 AM, November 15, 2009

A Brooklyn newlywed who jumped to his death from a hotel balcony the night after his wedding was tormented by memories of being sexually molested as a Jewish student, sources say.

After joyfully singing and dancing at their lavish celebration in Williamsburg on Nov. 3, Motty Borger, 24, bared his secret anguish to his bride, Mali Gutman, the next day -- and the revelation caused a strain, a source close to the family told The Post.

"That entire day he discussed it with her. He told her the story of his life, how he felt so awful and he couldn't go near her," the source said. The couple had met just last July, after a matchmaker set them up.

"When he got married, he realized he couldn't face up to it, and he told his wife that he needed help."

The stunned bride responded, "So, why did you marry me?"

Borger reportedly answered, "You are absolutely right. It was not right of me to get married."

At 6:45 a.m., while Mali slept, Borger climbed a railing outside their seventh-floor room at Avenue Plaza Hotel and leaped, police say. He died hours later at a hospital.

Friends insist that Borger -- described as fun-loving, smiling and cheerful -- wouldn't take his own life.

"I know Motty, and I know he didn't jump. It was an accident," one said. The rabbi who spoke at his funeral called reports of suicide "wickedness."

A security video at the hotel shows him looking "agitated" in an elevator with his wife, cops said.

The city Medical Examiner ruled his death a suicide. The NYPD is investigating the sex-abuse allegations, said a police official.

A source familiar with the tragedy said Borger had confided in close relatives that he was molested while a teen attending a yeshiva, possibly by a rabbi, but they never went to police.

Additional reporting by Rebecca Rosenberg, Liz Sadler and Reuven Blau

susan.edelman@nypost.com

Comments

rachel

11/15/2009 1:50 PM

As an extremely close friend to Motty and his family, what fascinates me about this story is that now I know to NEVER believe anything written by The Post. This story was completely fabricated to sell more papers. This paper should be renamed NEW YORK FICTION. Hey NEW YORK FICTION....i've got one for you. Motty Borger was a CIA agent killed in the line of duty by Iranian agents that intended for his death to be an apparent suicide. Try that one in tomorrow's paper.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/suicide_groom_twist_pa15C1Z5nGPyHIYj18xCNI#ixzz0WxZINJ72

HLH

11/15/2009 10:54 AM

Only a very close friend or family member would know these details and a close friend or family member wouldnt ever share such details with the POST OR ANYONE ELSE.

Has the New York Post become New York Mind Readers?

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/suicide_groom_twist_pa15C1Z5nGPyHIYj18xCNI#ixzz0WxZNGt57

molester yudel nussbaum from yob said...

Moyrodick!

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/11/14/missouri.child.sexual.abuse/

Eli said...

My recollection of Nussbaum is of an extremely cruel individual. He derived pleasure by physically causing pain to students and watching their reaction.

He achieved this with his bare hands and a thick wooden ruler. He was a freak of nature. Always went out of his way to humiliate boys.

He had a sick policy of reusing the sand paper for blowing your nose on every square inch of it and demanding the same from students. Same thing for drying hands.

All in all a merciless prick who also had his hands all over the bodies of boys, forever groping and feeling them up, mushing his filthy beard against their innocent bodies, kissing and acting inappropriately.

So accusations of him being a child molester does not surprise me, there were rumors even back then.

The most frightening about all this is he STILL TEACHES AT YOB. The police should raid this joint and also arrest Shlomo Mandel for enabling Nussbaum, but also for his part in many vicious beatings of boys he felt were not frum enough for his liking.

Rabbi Meir Kahane was right said...

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2009/11/israel-kahane-draft.html
--------------------------------------

Two decades after his party was banned from running for seats in the parliament, Rabbi Meir Kahane and his ideas are once more on its agenda.

Recently, right-wing legislator Michael Ben-Ari asked to hold a discussion in parliament in memory of Kahane, an American-born rabbi who had founded the Jewish Defense League before moving to Israel and founding the militantly nationalist Kach movement that advocated removal of Arabs from biblical Israel. In 1988, Israeli law was amended to bar candidates who incited racism from running for parliament. Kahane, who had held a seat for four years at the time, was banned, and the party was outlawed altogether in 1994.

Kahane was assassinated in New York in 1990; some still subscribe to his views.

Ben-Ari filed a motion for a memorial discussion in parliament to mark the assassination anniversary. A reporter spotted it on the list and queried parliament speaker Rubi (Reuven) Rivlin, who removed it, calling it a provocation. Ben-Ari has challenged Rivlin's decision and has brought it up before a parliamentary committee that will vote on it coming few days.

www.haaretz.com said...

Fantastic Article.

Guess who funds the rabbi who endorses killing gentile babies?
By Akiva Eldar

Right-wing spokesmen, including some elected officials, rushed to place Yaakov "Jack" Teitel in the fringe group alongside Yigal Amir, Eden Natan Zada, Eliran Golan, Asher Weisgan, Danny Tikman and a few other "political/ideological" murderers.

True, they acknowledge, there are among us several lunatic rabbis who agitate to violence. Really, just a handful; even a toddler could count them.

The more stringent will note that unlike the Hamas government, our government does not pay the salaries of rabbis who advocate the killing of babies.

Is that so? Not really...

avi shafran has no comment said...

http://www.rantrave.com/Rant/A-Wedding-and-a-Suicide.aspx

It should have been a joyous occasion. But for one young man, the night of his wedding brought back haunting memories of being molested as a young student. The orthodox Jewish world was reeling from reports that a young newlywed committed suicide by jumping off a hotel balcony two days after his wedding in the early morning hours. No one could come up with a plausible reason why a man with a winning personality and a promising future would take his own life. Surveillance videos were a crack in the idyllic picture, as were troubling phrases in police communications such as "emotionally disturbed". It was getting harder with time to dismiss the tragic occurrence as an accidental fall.

Now it turns out that Motty Borger may have been tormented by memories as molestation that haunted him as he started out life as a married man. The New York Post reported as follows yesterday on the troubling case....

About Me

My photo
It is unfortunate that it has come to this. It is a big darn shame it has come to this. It is very hurtful that it has come to this. But yet, IT HAS COME TO THIS. It has come at the price of a GREAT CHILUL HASHEM. It has come to Hashem having to allow his holy name to be DESECRATED so that his CHILDREN remain SAFE. Shame on all those responsible for enabling and permitting Hashem's name to be desecrated! When you save children you save the future. You save the future you save generations. You save generations you save lives. You save lives you have saved the world!!!!!!!