10 Most Pampered Celebrity Prisoners

Posted by Site Administrator on 04/19/2011 | 0 Comments

Celebrities commit the same crimes as regular people, but when they get punished for their wrongdoings it usually includes a gentler sentencing and a sugar-coated jail experience. Whether it’s because of their fame or bribery skills, celebrities can, and often do, live the good life even behind bars. Here are the 10 most pampered celebrity prisoners:

  1. Paris Hilton: Hotel heiress Paris Hilton was thrown in the slammer for violating her probation from a 2006 DUI arrest. On June 5, 2007, Paris checked herself into the Century Regional Detention Facility. Two days later, the LA County Sheriff reassigned her to 40 days of home confinement and electronic monitoring because of an unspecified medical condition. But Hilton was sent back to jail to serve her original sentence of 45 days. Hilton’s mysterious medical condition landed her in solitary confinement in the medical wing. Paris received regular visits from her lawyer and psychiatrist while in jail, and reportedly never had a routine cavity search that other prisoners go through.
  2. Lindsay Lohan: In July 2010, Hollywood bad girl Lindsay Lohan was sentenced to 90 days in jail for violating her terms of probation. Lohan was also ordered to check into an inpatient rehab program after her release from jail. Not only did Lohan get off easy with a short 14-day stay because of prison overcrowding, but she also received preferential treatment behind bars. She continued to receive her usual prescription medications in jail and got to have visitors after official visiting hours. Lohan was also allowed to order food from a special store and could have specific items delivered to the jail that weren’t readily available.
  3. Lil Wayne: In 2010, rapper Lil Wayne was sentenced to one year in prison for his 2007 gun charges. Lil Wayne’s pampering began before he ever stepped foot in prison. His sentencing was pushed back a month because of a dental surgery. Once admitted to Rikers Island, he was placed in a high-class area to keep him separated from the rest of the prisoners. He had his own cell with a window facing outside. Lil Wayne cooked, watched television, became an Uno champion, and described his 8 months behind bars as "not that difficult."
  4. O.J. Simpson: O.J. Simpson may have gotten away with murder, but he’d paid the price for his 2007 robbery that sent him to the slammer. Simpson is currently serving his 33-year sentence at Nevada’s Lovelock Correctional Center. The former football star gets to enjoy watching television in his cell, but has complained about not having HBO. Simpson also plays checkers and cards with his fellow convicts, and gives prison food two thumbs up. Looks like Simpson may be right at home there.
  5. Martha Stewart: In 2004, domestic diva Martha Stewart served five months at Federal Prison Camp, Alderson in West Virginia, for conspiracy, obstruction of an agency proceeding and making false statements to federal investigators. Stewart stayed busy in prison by scrubbing floors and raking leaves. She exercised by walking around the prison grounds and attended nightly yoga classes. Martha didn’t even fall behind on her gardening or craft projects because she was always picking flowers, crocheting, painting ceramics and making Christmas decorations.
  6. Foxy Brown: Female rapper Foxy Brown was pampered like a princess during her time at Rikers Island. Brown served nine months for violating her parole after she assaulted two nail-salon manicurists in 2006. While in jail, she was allowed to wear Gucci sneakers, a Fendi scarf and apply makeup. The rap diva had unlimited TV and phone use and had meals delivered to her cell by prison guards. They even helped her set up an interview and photo shoot for a magazine that promoted her new album.
  7. Joe Francis: In April 2007, Joe Francis, founder of the Girls Gone Wild video empire, was sentenced to 35 days in jail for contempt charges. Francis was admitted to a Panama City, Florida jail, where he was accused of bribery, possession of a controlled substance and introducing contraband into the jail. He allegedly offered a guard $500 for bottled water and had prescription medications in his jail cell. Francis was allowed to keep the medications because they were deemed necessary to his health. According to the sex video mogul, he was "treated like a rock star, a total her" by his fellow inmates.
  8. Plaxico Burress: Former Giants star Plaxico Burress was sentenced to two years in prison for criminal weapons charges and a single count of reckless endangerment after accidentally shooting himself in the thigh with his own gun at a New York nightclub. Burress checked in at Rikers Island to unpleasant taunts and yells from prisoners, but this football star still got the royal treatment behind bars. Burress was immediately separated from the regular inmate population and given his very own cell. As predicted, Burress’ good behavior will get him an early release from prison on June 6, 2011.
  9. Alexis Neiers: Alexis Neiers, the star of the television show, Pretty Wild, went pretty wild when she participated in the celebrity "bling ring" robberies and got caught. Neiers was arrested and sentenced to 180 days behind bars at the Century Regional Detention Facility. The 19-year-old managed to escape some of the standard treatment and procedures prisoners typically go through, such as the ever humiliating cavity search. She also only served 30 days of her sentence, and for the last five days, she was held in a cell next to Lindsay Lohan.
  10. T.I.: On Nov. 1, 2010, rapper T.I. was sentenced to 11 months in federal prison for drug possession charges that violated his terms of probation. The bad boy rapper was admitted to an Arkansas prison where he received some preferential treatment, especially when his wife came to visit. The couple was caught canoodling in a private visiting room outside of the guards’ sight. T.I. has also had the privilege of using prison phones and email liberally.

The 10 Biggest Tax Cheats in U.S. History

Posted by Site Administrator on 04/14/2011 | 0 Comments

Tax Day is looming, and procrastinating yet law-abiding Americans are scrambling to prepare and submit their income tax returns to the federal government. Let’s face it, no one likes to give a portion of their hard-earned money to a group of people who typically seem to find ways to mismanage it. A couple of demographics in particular — single men under the age of 45 and rich folks — tend to have the most difficult time paying all they owe, even though they can afford it. Go figure that a few of the infamous tax cheats listed below fall under the latter demographic. They ultimately paid the price for their misdeeds, proving that Uncle Sam doesn’t take kindly to those who refuse to do their part.

  1. Walter Anderson, Telecommunications Tycoon: The 1990s were a prosperous time for numerous American entrepreneurs, but with many, you wouldn’t even know it. Anderson found creative ways to effectively hide his massive income — $365 million to be exact — using offshore tax havens, drop boxes in the Netherlands and shell companies. In 1998, for example, he paid just $495 in taxes after claiming an income of $67,939, when in reality, he earned more than $126 million. He was so well off that he kept a multimillion-dollar art collection and once considered leasing the Mir space station. Anderson, now serving a nine-year prison sentence, claims he’s innocent despite pleading guilty in 2006.
  2. Al Capone, Mob Boss: Determined to remove the powerful mob boss from the streets of Chicago, the federal government targeted Capone’s violation of prohibition law, and more significantly, his evasion of income taxes. It was Frank Wilson — not Eliot Ness — who conducted the investigation during a three-year period in which he oversaw the infiltration of the Chicago Outfit by federal agents in order to collect information from its accountants and bookkeepers. In 1931, Capone pled guilty to tax evasion charges and was ordered to pay $215,000 plus interest due on back taxes, equivalent to more than $3 million today.
  3. Leona Helmsley, Hotel Operator and Real Estate Investor: Dubbed the "Queen of Mean," Helmsley, the late New York City billionaire, lived up to her reputation, once stating that "We don’t pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes." Of course, "we" meant rich people. In her wake, she left many embittered employees, some of whom testified in her 1989 tax evasion trial, claiming she constantly terrorized them and their coworkers. The indictment was brought forth by Attorney Rudy Giuliani after contractors who worked on her 21-room mansion revealed their work — $8 million-worth — was illegally billed to the Helmsley’s hotels as business expenses. She spent 18 months in federal prison and eventually died a lonely woman, leaving a $12 million trust fund to her dog Trouble.
  4. Wesley Snipes, Actor: Because the case involved an A-list — or former A-list — Hollywood actor, Snipes’ failure to file tax returns is probably the most infamous instance of tax evasion in recent memory. After cheating $12 million from the government, Snipes owes $17 million in back taxes plus penalties and interest, and now he’s serving a three-year prison sentence, one year for each count. Before reporting to McKean Federal Correctional Institution in Pennsylvania, he participated in an interview with Larry King in which he admitted to being nervous about the prison experience.
  5. Willie Nelson, Legendary Country Singer: Nelson was certainly misbehavin’ in the eyes of the taxman in 1990, when essentially everything he owned — including his 44-acre Dripping Springs ranch, Pedernales Country Club and Recording Studio, instruments and memorabilia — was seized by the IRS due to $16.7 million he owed in back taxes. The episode came after the IRS examined his returns dating back to 1972, eventually determining he underpaid taxes for six years. Fortunately for Nelson, though, he had numerous friends who helped him get back on his feet. The American Agriculture Movement, a lobbying group for family farmers, purchased his ranch. Nelson was a well-known supporter of American farmers, raising them millions of dollars through Farm Aid concerts.
  6. Heidi Fleiss, Hollywood Madam: Fleiss became somewhat of an icon of the 1990s when it was revealed that she ran a multi-million dollar prostitution ring featuring a high-profile clientele. Her trial for income tax evasion and laundering call-girl profits in 1996 was highly publicized, and resulted in a 37-month prison sentence. She was required to pay an undisclosed amount in taxes and forfeit more than $550,000 from the sale of her Beverly Hills home, ensuring she was financially crippled.
  7. Dennis Kozlowski, Disgraced CEO: Your typical CEO of an American megacorporation isn’t afraid to exhibit the trappings of his or her success. Kozlowski, the former chairman of Tyco International, was no exception, as he paid $14.7 million for 12 paintings — including a Monet, Renoir and Bouguereau — to proudly display in his Manhattan apartment. The obvious problem: he didn’t pay the accompanying taxes, resulting in his 2002 indictment and eventual agreement to pay $21.2 million to settle charges, $3.2 million of which was in sales tax and interest on the paintings. In the process, Kozlowski and Mark Schwartz, the company’s former financial chief, were convicted of stealing more than $600 million from Tyco. Currently, Kozlowski is serving an 8.33-to 25-year prison sentence.
  8. Reuben Sturman, Pornographer and Businessman: At one time the world’s biggest distributor of pornography, the late Sturman endured three decades of legal problems resulting from his shady business dealings. Not only was he subject to numerous raids during an era in which pornography wasn’t quite as mainstream as it is today, but he was also involved in numerous criminal activities, forging ties with the Gambino crime family. Not surprisingly, he failed to report $2.7 million in income from 1978 to 1982 — in 1979, he reported just $1,237 in taxable income — and accordingly was convicted of tax evasion and sentenced to 10 years in prison in 1989.
  9. OJ Simpson, Former Football Player and Actor: Hardly the model citizen, Simpson has done a lot worse than just skipping out on his taxes — such as rob a hotel for its OJ-related sports memorabilia, which, coincidentally, occurred not long before the state of California declared in 2007 that he owed $1.44 million in back taxes. Now serving a minimum nine-year prison sentence, it appears OJ will escape the repercussions for the foreseeable future.
  10. Edward and Elaine Brown, Dental and Pest Business Owners: Ed and Elaine are heroes to tax-haters everywhere. Their months-long 2007 standoff in their 110-acre home in New Hampshire, where residents "Live Free or Die," made national headlines. The incident occurred after the couple was sentenced to five years and three months in prison for failure to pay federal income tax on $2 million of their income. Fortunately, nobody was injured, even though numerous weapons, ammunition, booby traps and explosive devices were found in their home. Now, Ed and Elaine are serving 37-and 35-year sentences respectively.

10 Infamous Female Serial Killers

Posted by Site Administrator on 04/07/2011 | 0 Comments

It feels weird, in a way, to deal with female serial killers. The type of crime spree that inspires mass murder usually feels like the work of a deranged man, and a majority of the most notorious serial killers of the 20th century have been male: Ted Bundy, Zodiac, John Wayne Gacy. Statistically speaking, serial killers are usually white men in their 20s or 30s who come from lower- or middle-class backgrounds. Yet there are outliers, and it’s impossible to ignore the fact that more than a few women have defied those stats and gone on horrific killing streaks. Their crimes bring with them an added level of shock: surely, people think, a woman couldn’t have done this. But they did, and they have, and they will. These are the most infamous female serial killers:

  1. Lavinia Fisher: Lavinia Fisher has the dubious distinction of being the first female serial killer in the United States, or at least the first one to grip to the public consciousness and earn the title. Her killings were so long ago, though — she was born c. 1792 and died in 1820 — that records about her youth and origin are lost. She and her husband owned and operated a hotel in Charleston, South Carolina, in the early 19th century, and they gained notoriety when men started disappearing. (Rumors about their methods have grown with time, tossing in details like trap doors and elaborate murders, but the most likely truth is that she would poison male guests, her husband would return later in the night to finish them off, and they’d keep whatever cash or goods the guest had.) She and her hsuband were hanged, though reports were that she jumped from the gallows in a technical suicide rather than let the executioner kill her. An appropriately gruesome end.
  2. Aileen Wuornos: It would be impossible to talk about female serial killers without discussing Aileen Wuornos (pictured above), a Florida-based killer and prostitute who murdered seven johns in 1989-1990 and whose actions were later chronicled in documentaries and feature films. She had a phenomenally rotten childhood: she was allegedly beaten and raped, and she conceived at 13 after a stranger assaulted her, and she subsequently gave birth and had the baby placed up for adoption. She started turning tricks at 15, when she was kicked out of her house. Her tragic life pretty much spiraled after that. After small crimes and arrests, she kept working the roads as a prostitute, killing her first john, 51-year-old Richard Mallory, in November 1989 in what she would later claim was self-defense. She killed several more men, and she was eventually caught after getting in a minor accident while driving one of her victim’s cars. She was executed in October 2002.
  3. Belle Gunness: Belle Gunness was a strong and brutal woman who tallied more than 40 victims in her day. Born in Norway in 1859, she emigrated to the U.S. and married and settled in Chicago. Her husband and some of her children died under sad and mysterious circumstances, and when she began dating again, her suitors — wealthy men drawn in by her charms — started disappearing. She had a hired hand named Ray Lamphere who did some dirty work for her, though she eventually turned him out and even managed to turn authorities onto him as a possible threat. Despite her habit of killing men, she managed to have the final laugh. In April 1908, her home went up in flames, and investigators found the bodies of her children next to a headless corpse under the wreckage. However, the dimensions of the headless body didn’t match Gunness’ actual figure, and she was declared missing. Authorities started digging up her land and turning up plenty of corpses.
  4. Jane Toppan: In 1901-02, after she was in custody, Jane Toppan confessed to dozens of murders. She was extremely dangerous and more than a little unhinged: she would spend the rest of her life at Taunton State Hospital, dying in 1938 at the age of 81. Toppan grew up in an orphanage and then as a servant. Her killing spree started in 1885, when she was training to be a nurse. She took to experimenting with patients, using different combinations of medicines and chemicals to tweak their nervous systems and slide them between life and death. She also later admitted to being aroused by the process of killing. Toppan got away with her deeds for a while, especially when she entered private practice, after which she started racking up more victims by killing her landlords and later her foster sister. After killing an elderly man named Alden Davis and two of his daughters, the Davis family requested a toxicology investigation, which turned up traces of the poison Toppan had used. She was eventually charged with multiple murders, but she was found not guilty and declared insane.
  5. Velma Barfield: Velma Barfield has another claim to infamy besides being a serial killer: she was the first woman to be executed in the U.S. after the death penalty was reinstituted in 1977. She was put to death for the murder of Stuart Taylor, her boyfriend; she’d been using his checking account to forge checks and buy prescription pills, and she poisoned his beer to knock him off, though she played at nursing him back to health for a few days. She was caught when an autopsy turned up traces of arsenic. She also confessed to killing her mother in the same manner. All told, she killed five people, but she spent so much time on death row that she found religion and became a devout Christian. Weird but true.
  6. Amelia Dyer: In addition to having what is possibly the creepiest photo on Wikipedia, Amelia Dyer’s also infamous for killing hundreds of victims. That’s right, hundreds. The truly gruesome part is that her victims were infants. Dyer, born in England in 1838, earned her money in the baby farming system, taking in children whose mothers couldn’t afford to feed or raise them and nursing them in exchange for a fee. Babies were killed through neglect and starvation, though many were murdered more quickly in order to allow for greater turnover and higher profits. Dyer was trafficking in pure evil. She even dodged the bullet once after investigators started checking out the number of deaths on her watch; she only did time for neglect. She was eventually found out by police, and though she was only convicted of one murder, it was clear from the pattern of disappearances and the evidence in her home that she’d been doing this for years.
  7. Nannie Doss: Nannie Doss was a lethal wife: all told, she murdered four husbands and a boatload of other relatives, including her sisters, two of her kids, and her own mother. She killed her second husband by poisoning his whiskey the day after he raped her. After her third husband died, his house mysteriously burned down, and the insurance money went to Doss. Her fourth marriage was a two-fer: she murdered her mother when the elderly woman came to live with her, and then she killed her husband a few months later. It wasn’t until her fifth and final husband died that Doss was caught. After he was briefly hospitalized for a digestive tract issue, Doss poisoned him to collect the life insurance. The man’s sudden death after being released tipped the doctors off to foul play, and sure enough, they found arsenic in the man’s body. Doss confessed to the raft of murders but, because she was a woman, wasn’t put to death. She died in prison in 1965, at age 59.
  8. Bertha Gifford: Bertha Gifford’s story is another one built on poison and infidelity. Born around 1876, Gifford lived in Misssouri and garnered a reputation for her desire to care for sick friends and family, many of whom subsequently died. Enough of them died before their time to arouse suspicion, and Gifford was eventually arrested for murder. An exhumation of several bodies led to the discovery of arsenic in the corpses, and Gifford’s game was over. Like all serial killers, regardless of gender, Gifford was deliberate and wide-ranging, and she murdered almost two dozen people. She was found not guilty thanks to an insanity plea, and she spent the rest of her life in a mental hospital.
  9. Jeanne Weber: Although she only lived to 36 — and she died by her own hand in prison — Jeanne Weber was a notorious killer at the turn of the 20th century. She started her killing spree by murdering her sister’s children, killing an 18-month-old girl and her 2-year-old sister in rapid succession. Doctors declared the deaths accidental. She was also to play on her gender and the public’s willingness to forgive a distraught woman for heinous crimes: although she was found trying to choke her nephew, she was acquitted when the defense said she was grief-stricken over the death of her own child. (A death she actually caused.) She was eventually charged with murder and sentenced to imprisonment in an asylum in 1908. Two years later, she hanged herself in her cell. No one was ever able to diagnose the mix of hate and insanity that had plagued her.
  10. Dorothea Puente: The cold and calculating manner with which Sacramento’s Dorothea Puente dispatched her victims is enough to turn anyone’s stomach. After several marriages, Puente started committing fraud in the 1960s by dating older men and cashing their benefit checks. She did time for the deed, but it didn’t dissuade her at all. In the 1980s, Puente ran a boarding house for the elderly and collected their mail, after which she would cash the checks of her tenants and pay them out in a smaller stipend. Tenants started dying and disappearing, as well; in fall 1985, Puente had a handyman dump a box she said was filled with junk near a river; when a fisherman reported the curious item, cops opened it up and found the remains of an old man. Another missing tenant led police to investigate Puente’s facility. The short version: she’d been killing tenants and burying them out back. Puente was sentenced to life in prison, and she always maintained that her tenants had died of natural causes. (Despite the fact that there’s nothing natural about burying them in a yard.) She died in March 2011 at age 82.

9 Scandals That Tarnished America’s Pastime

Posted by Site Administrator on 03/31/2011 | 0 Comments

Toward the end of Field of Dreams, James Earl Jones’ character, Terence Mann, gives an impassioned speech about the power and glory of baseball. He says that baseball is "the one constant through all the years," and that though America has been "erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again," baseball has always "marked the time." It’s a sweet monologue, especially within the film’s story of allowing a man and his father to reconcile while the spiritually shunned Chicago White Sox play for their atonement. But, well, the problem is that Major League Baseball has rarely been so pure or endearing as movies and fuzzy memories make it out to be. The game has been plagued by scandal and rumor almost since its inception, and though it’s often held up as a symbol of American innocence, it’s more accurately a representation of the lengths people will go to just to win. There are some amazing, honest, hard-working players in the game today, just as there always have been. But these black marks on the game’s reputation are impossible to ignore.

  1. The Black Sox Scandal: Easily the most notorious scandal from the classic era of baseball, the "Black Sox" scandal of the 1919 World Series remains one of the worst and most damaging events in baseball history. This was the one that officially robbed the game of its perceived innocence, the same way the quiz show scandals of the 1950s would change the way we look at TV. The series went down in infamy for the way it was fixed to allow the Cincinnati Reds to beat the Chicago White Sox five games to three in a best-of-nine format (one of the few times the series was experimentally extended). Sox first baseman Chick Gandil was the orchestrator of the plot from the inside, leaning on connections like bookie Joseph Sullivan to convince people that the games could indeed be rigged. Arnold Rothstein, a New York gangster who wouldn’t live to see the 1930s, acted as the money man. Gandil was able to recruit players looking for a handout after they’d grown tired of dealing with owner Charles Comiskey, who cultivated a reputation as a tight-fisted spender. Rumors flew about the fix before the series even started, and by 1920, a grand jury was convened. Eight of the players were banned from the game for life.
  2. Pete Rose: Ah, good ol’ Charlie Hustle. In the modern era, the fall of Pete Rose was one of the last MLB scandals to involve age-old temptations like gambling and greed that seem positively quaint next to allegations of juicing and performance-enhancing drugs. His career as a player lasted more than 20 years, starting and ending with the Cincinnati Reds (making for a serendipitous tie to the Black Sox scandal), where he was a player-manager before dropping from the roster and managing full-time. But the show was just about over. Reports circled that Rose had bet on the outcome of Reds games, and a 1989 Sports Illustrated story dug into the matter. Rose was banned from the game but didn’t admit the truth until his 2004 autobiography, the melodramatically titled My Prison Without Bars. He’s still banned from the Hall of Fame, and though some supporters say that his playing prowess should be enough to warrant his inclusion with the greats (he’s the all-time leader in hits, at-bats, outs, and games played), critics say that he still gambled on his own team, which is, well, not remotely OK.
  3. Pittsburgh Drug Trials: Coke was everywhere in the 1980s, and Major League Baseball was no exception. The drug’s use in baseball was far more widespread than the public suspected, but the bad news would go public in 1985 when a grand jury in Pittsburgh called several Pittsburgh Pirates to testify about cocaine in the sport, as well as several other players, including Keith Hernandez and Willie Mays Aikens. That’s pretty much when the other shoe dropped. Testifying in exchange for immunity, the men spoke of buying amphetamines and coke often from other players, and Hernandez copped to the fact that he’d been using cocaine for years. (This makes his later appearance on Seinfeld seem way sadder.) As a result, Curtis Strong was convicted of distributing cocaine, and Strong was sentenced to 12 years in prison, though he only served four. Several players were suspended, fined, and tasked with community service. In terms of scope and PR problems, it was the biggest mess since the Black Sox, and it wouldn’t be topped until the steroid days of the early 21st century.
  4. The Mitchell Report: The official title is a lot longer, but all anyone remembers about the 2007 Mitchell Report is the way it blew the lid off the practice among certain baseball players of using anabolic steroids to improve their game. Sen. George Mitchell (D-Maine) headed up the almost two-year investigation, and the final report named 89 baseball players who allegedly took steroids or similar performance-enhancing drugs. Even casual fans and those who didn’t follow sports knew about the report and the way it was wreaking havoc with players’ reputations, the appearance of games, and the overall vibe of the league. It’s not that cheating was somehow knew; the Black Sox weren’t forgotten. Rather, the reports of steroid use cast shadows of doubt on the achievements of the game’s biggest players, making people wonder how much had been affected by drugs and how much was legitimate. Star players like Roger Clemens were named in the report, as well; Clemens went on to deny the charges, but then he got indicted for perjury for lying about being clean. Some things never change.
  5. The Giants Steal Signs: Everybody knows about the shot heard ’round the world, the homer that Bobby Thomson of the New York Giants hit off Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca to win the National League pennany in the fall of 1951. It’s a classic sports moment that’s been referenced in pop culture for decades. But it turns out that Thomson had some help facing down Branca in the form of a telescope in the manager’s office and a buzzer system connected to the dugout. The telescope let the Giants staff steal signs from the Dodgers, telling them every pitch that was coming before it was thrown. The cheating didn’t come to light for decades; Branca was remarkably low-key about the whole thing, saying he knew about the stealing in ’51 but didn’t want to cheapen Thomson’s legacy. Still, his equivocating aside, it’s a bitter pill to swallow.
  6. BALCO: A lot of baseball’s modern scandals are just variations on the same theme: players trying to juice their way to better games. The steroid issue feels like one scandal, but in a lot of ways, it’s merely a string of smaller ones that add up to a culture of rule-breaking and double-dealing. The BALCO — Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative — meltdown is a prime example. Based near San Francisco, the company was established in the 1980s to provide blood and urine analysis, which led founder Victor Conte to make connections in the athletic arena. By the early 2000s, BALCO was selling tetrahydrogestrinone, a steroid that was undetectable at the time. An anonymous tip to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency started the house of cards tumbling in 2003, and the guy who dropped the dime — sprint coach Trevor Graham — also provided a sample of the clear steroid substance. Once investigators broke it down and knew how to test for it, they caught it in 20 fluid samples from athletes. In September that year, the feds kicked in BALCO’s doors and related facilities, turning up customer lists that cited Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi, and Armando Rios, just to name a few MLBers in the bunch. (The books also included hockey players, outdoor athletes, a boxer, and cyclist.)
  7. Ken Caminiti: Ken Caminiti was one of the many names mentioned in the Mitchell Report, but his sad end brought a tragic tone to pro baseball. He played for years with the Houston Astros before heading to San Diego, then back to Houston, finally finishing with the Texas Rangers and Atlanta Braves in 2001. In 1996, playing for the Padres, he was voted MVP, and he won three Gold Gloves there, too. But Caminiti was on drugs at just about every point in his MLB career. He admitted to Sports Illustrated in 2002 that he’d been on steroids during that MVP season and for years after, a revelation that was the latest in a long line of horrible truths that tainted the reputation of Major League Baseball in the 1990s and 2000s. He faced legal troubles after leaving the game, and he died from a cocaine overdose in October 2004 at age 41.
  8. Al Campanis: Who says players get to have all the fun ruining stuff? Although Al Campanis briefly played second base for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1943, he was famous for managing the Dodgers in L.A. from 1968 to 1987. He didn’t plan to stop managing in 1987; that decision was made for him when he brought the heat down on the organization after some really crude remarks in the press. Campanis appeared on ABC’s Nightline in a bit celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Major League debut of Jackie Robinson. Campanis, born in 1916, was a man steeped in what could kindly be called backward views on race relations and basic human physiology, and when host Ted Koppel asked him to speculate about the dearth of African-American managers in the league, Campanis pontificated that they might not have "some of the necessities" to do the job. He also said that black men couldn’t swim as well as white men because they "don’t have the buoyancy." Koppel, understandably weirded out, asked him to clarify, but Campanis stuck to his guns. He resigned shortly thereafter amid protest, and though he later qualified his statements by saying he was very tired when he made them (so tired he became confusingly racist?), the incident took a while to blow over.
  9. John Rocker: John Rocker: not a smart man. In 2000, he was playing relief pitcher for the Atlanta Braves when he gave a colossally stupid interview to Sports Illustrated in which he detailed the reasons he would never want to play for a New York team. Rather than gripe good-naturedly about the cost of Manhattan real estate or the headaches of New York City traffic, he said that riding the train to the ballpark would require sitting with "some kid with purple hair, next to some queer with AIDS, right next to some dude who just got out of jail for the fourth time, right next to some 20-year-old mom with four kids." As sports fans and Southerners slapped their foreheads, Rocker was torn apart by the press. He left Atlanta in 2001 and went to Cleveland, then Texas, and finally Tampa Bay before heading to the Atlantic League and retiring. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Rocker’s brush with fame only cemented the xenophobia and divisiveness with which he greeted the press. By 2008, he was off selling real estate. His temporarily high profile was enough to hurt the game for a while, especially the Braves.

10 Most Destructive Tsunamis in Human History

Posted by Site Administrator on 03/20/2011 | 0 Comments

Tsunamis are one of Mother Nature’s worst nightmares. These powerful waves can move as fast as a jet airliner and are capable of destroying anything and everything in its path. The most devastating tsunamis have formed after massive earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions. Here are the 10 most destructive tsunamis in human history:

  1. 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami: The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami was one of the deadliest and most destructive natural disasters in human history. The undersea megathrust earthquake struck the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, on Dec. 26, 2004. The earthquake had a magnitude of 9.1-9.3 and is the third largest recorded earthquake. After the powerful earthquake that was said to release the energy of 23,000 Hiroshima-type atomic bombs, a series of tsunamis followed. The 100-feet-high waves sped across the Indian Ocean and devastated 11 coastal countries, including Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand, killing more than 230,000 people.
  2. 1755 Lisbon Earthquake and Tsunami: The 1755 Lisbon earthquake and tsunami was a very destructive natural disaster. The Nov. 1, 1755, megathrust earthquake was centered in the Atlantic Ocean and severely damaged Lisbon, Portugal. Researchers suggest that the quake may have reached a magnitude of 9.0. A deadly tsunami immediately followed the earthquake, washing over the harbor and downtown area. The waves swept up people and debris into the sea, wrecked boats and destroyed homes and buildings. The devastating effects of the tsunami could be felt in most coastal towns throughout Spain, Portugal and North Africa. Approximately 10,000 people in Lisbon died during the natural disaster.
  3. 1868 Arica Tsunami: On Aug. 16, 1868, an 8.5-magnitude earthquake hit the Peru-Chile Trench off the southern coast of Peru, turning the city of Arica into rubble. Following the earthquake, a massive trans-Pacific tsunami formed and came crashing into Arica. The tsunami’s 90-foot waves hit two American ships, killing all but two crewmembers. The port of Arica was also wiped out by the tsunami by knocking down buildings and homes and causing an estimated 25,000 casualties. In total, the tsunami caused about $300 million in damage, and took the lives of 70,000 in South America.
  4. 1908 Messina Earthquake and Tsunami: On Dec. 28, 1908, a 7.5-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Messina, Italy, caused a deadly tsunami to form. Moments later, 40-foot waves came crashing into Messina and other coastal towns. There was no warning about the tsunami and the town was extremely underprepared. The earthquake and the tsunami destroyed almost all of the buildings in Messina, and may have killed as many as 200,000 people, which significantly reduced the city’s population.
  5. 2011 Sendai Earthquake and Tsunami: The Sendai megathrust earthquake recently hit the Pacific Ocean near Northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011. The massive earthquake had a magnitude of 8.9-9.0, which triggered powerful tsunamis around the Pacific Ocean. Within minutes after the quake, 33-foot high waves came ashore along Japan’s coast, damaging roads, railways and causing a dam to collapse. Two nuclear reactors partially melted down, prompting additional evacuations within the Fukushima Prefecture. As of today, the National Police Agency has confirmed 2,414 casualties, but thousands are still missing and the death toll is predicted to increase as more bodies are found.
  6. 1960 Hilo Tsunami: On May 23, 1960, Hilo, Hawaii, was hit by a powerful tsunami that destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses downtown and killed 61 people. The tsunami was caused by an 8.25-8.5-magnitude earthquake off the west coast of South America. About 15 hours later, the 35-foot waves crashed into Hilo Bay and some parts of the island. The tsunami consisted of eight separate waves that ranged from 4 to 14 feet above sea level. The damages reached an upwards of $75 million.
  7. 1896 Honshu Tsunami: On June 16, 1896, a deadly tsunami hit Honshu, Japan, after a 7.6-magnitude earthquake took place at the underwater fault and caused a serious displacement of water. People in Kamaishi and along the Sanriku coast of Honshu felt the quake that happened 120 miles away, but many of them ignored it. Less than 30 minutes later, 115-foot waves came crashing into the town and destroyed many coastal villages. Nearly 27,000 people were killed by the tsunami that day.
  8. 1498 Meio Nankaido Earthquake and Tsunami: On Sept. 20, 1498, an 8.6-magnitude earthquake occurred near the Nankai Trough, which runs parallel to the southern coast of Honshu, and triggered a powerful tsunami that hit the coast of Meio Nankai, Japan. The 56-foot-high waves came ashore and killed an estimated 31,000 people.
  9. 1946 Aleutian Tsunami: On April 1, 1946, a 7.4-magnitude earthquake near the Aleutian Trench in Alaska caused a large section of the seafloor to lift up along the fault and generate a Pacific-wide tsunami. After the earthquake, 100-foot waves came crashing into the U.S. Coast Guard’s lighthouse on Scotch Cap, located on Unimak Island, and destroyed the building, killing all five occupants. The Alaskan mainland was shielded by the Aleutian Islands, but the shorelines of the Hawaii Islands weren’t as lucky. The tsunami destroyed Hilo’s entire waterfront and flooded about half a mile of city, killing 159 people.
  10. 1883 Krakatoa Tsunami: On Aug. 27, 1883, the volcanic island of Krakatoa in the Sunda Strait erupted. After multiple eruptions, the walls of the volcano began to open and sea water poured into the magma chamber, which resulted in a catastrophic explosion that destroyed two-thirds of the island. A deadly series of tsunamis followed the explosion, sending 90-foot-high waves ashore in Indonesia, India and surrounding islands. The powerful tsunami wiped out several coastal settlements and killed more than 36,000 people.

Criminologist Careers – a Different Type of Criminal Justice

Posted by Site Administrator on 08/16/2010 | 0 Comments

Criminologists are often compared to forensic scientists because of the similar work both careers involve, although criminology involves more of the societal aspects of a crime.  Taking a break from the immediate vicinity of the criminal justice system, criminology involves looking at the study, causes, and control of criminal activity in society.  As a result, most careers involve more research than careers in criminal justice, and understanding the behavior of criminals.  Most criminal justice careers involve either apprehending a criminal or determining their guilt.  Criminology careers instead focus on the societal impact of crimes and the reasoning behind criminal actions. 

Because criminology careers involve a deeper understanding of criminal activities and criminal actions, the criminal justice field typically does not have as many career options as do sociology career areas.  However, understandably, criminologists still deal very closely with law enforcement and policy changes that can affect criminal behavior.  The many different schools of thought of criminology help determine which direction the crime will take; societal backgrounds are a great influence to many criminals, and this is one of the main areas of thought for most criminologists.  The more sociological understandings of crime can in turn help law enforcement better prepare for future criminal offenses and future instances of new criminals.

Criminologists play this important role in both criminal justice and sociology because they can help prevent future crimes by determining the reasoning for present crimes.  There are many outside sociological factors that lead to criminal behavior, and it is the job of criminologists to understand these many reasons and seek to prevent them.  It may seem like a difficult career choice to deal with the messy mindset of many dangerous criminals, but it is a far easier career than being on the streets with these criminals like many law enforcement officers are.  Therefore, criminologists work to better prepare law enforcement officers for these dangerous nights on the street by revealing what makes criminals commit certain crimes.

We all know the main gist of most major criminal offenses and the probable reasons behind them: people steal to gain what they don’t have or to make money off the stolen goods; people kill in retaliation or from mental deficiencies.  However, there are many different reasons that people commit certain crimes.  Some stem from outside influences, while others are part of gang initiation.  Depending on the background of the neighborhood, background of the criminal, and the societal impacts, each criminal could have chosen a different way of life.  Criminologists work to get this information from the arrested criminals and help to provide a better way of life for the rest of us. 

 

Forensic Scientists and their Career Futures

Posted by Site Administrator on 08/16/2010 | 0 Comments

Forensic Scientists play an important role in the criminal justice system – they are not the people who collect the evidence or present it in the court room, but are the ones who analyze each bit of evidence, thereby resolving legal issues through scientific methods.  Forensic scientists carefully study evidence found at the scene of the crime, and evidence taken off the accused, in order to determine whether they participated in the crime or are somehow related to the crime.  This is an instrumental career in ensuring that our criminal justice system continues to run smoothly without any mistakes.

Forensics includes many different forms of analysis, stemming from biological samples to controlled substances.  Forensic scientists are typically certified in a specific area of science which is used to detect traces of DNA or can be useful in reconstructing the crime scene through something as small as the splatter of blood.  Many science students do not think of a career in law enforcement while they are in school, but it involves some of the most interesting scientific research that a person can conduct – you will have a person’s life in your hands.  Further analytical techniques include document examination to ensure that every document is authentic and fingerprinting.  While biological analysis is mostly what we hear about in shows like Law and Order, it only comprises a small part of the entirety of forensic analysis.

Forensic scientists regularly deal with the judicial system since they must provide the court with detailed analysis of each discovery they make, and must track their progress for each specific case.  This may seem time consuming, but is extremely relevant and can help make the distinction between criminals and innocents.  After examining the evidence and presenting their findings to the court, forensic scientists may also be called in as expert witnesses for the court and must be ready to withstand cross-examination. 

This type of career within the criminal justice system has only increased in recent years because of the new need for corroborating evidence and the new technology that now plays a major role in most courts.  Career opportunities are plentiful for many students who have a background in biology or science, moreso for students who have advanced degrees.  While most local law enforcement agencies require crime lab technicians such as forensic scientists, there is a heightened demand for higher-level governmental jobs, although these come with stiff competition.  As long as crimes continue to be committed, it seems safe to say that the demand for forensic scientists will only increase. 

 

Criminal Justice Careers without the Pressure of Law Enforcement

Posted by Site Administrator on 08/16/2010 | 0 Comments

For most potential criminal justice students, law enforcement appears to be the end-all career choice at the end of a criminal justice degree plan.  However, despite all pretenses, law enforcement positions do not have to be the only option available with a criminal justice degree.  Career choices are nearly endless because of the vast governmental jobs that are available through the criminal justice system, not to mention the judicial element of criminal justice.  Criminal justice careers include a wide array of specialties throughout many state and local government organizations.  If you enjoy the administrative side of criminal justice without becoming too heavily entangled with the daily encounters with criminals, maybe looking into one of these organizations is the best choice for you.   

There are many different types of regulatory agencies that deal with the criminal justice system on a daily basis.  State commissions on jail standards help regulate county and state jails, encouraging the public to get involved with understanding the jail system.  Public policy debates have dealt with many aspects of the criminal justice system, especially considering the bad press many state and federal jails have recently received.  The overcrowding of jails has taken a toll on the criminal justice system, as well as the confinement of juveniles in adult prisons, albeit for heinous crimes, but still juveniles too young to be inside with adults.  Even more shocking is the accusations of many county jails working too closely with law enforcement, seemingly changing the entirety of most jail systems.  Helping change public policy is one aspect of criminal justice that is ever-changing because of the nature of criminals. 

Legislature is not an easy thing to change and involves mountains of research, as well as deep digging, and it may not always be rewarding.  However, while you may draft legislation that does not get passed in a state’s session, at least you are getting the issue out into the public.  Many members of the public are not aware of the many public policy issues that plague the criminal justice system, and there are countless amounts of them to choose from within every state.  Every state has its own hidden agendas for the criminal justice system, whether that be highly prevalent, or not noticeable at all.  This type of career path can lead you down some interesting roads, without the stress of dealing with criminals on a daily basis, but instead hopefully changing the system for the best. 

 

Top Ranked Criminal Justice Jobs

Posted by Site Administrator on 08/09/2010 | 0 Comments

Entering the criminal justice field is one step that will ensure you will have a stable career for the rest of your time in the industry.  Due to the wide range of options available for criminal justice students, it seems like your options will never run dry for suitable criminal justice jobs.  Many of the top ranked career choices include law enforcement officers, detectives, forensic analysts, probation officers, lawyers, and even criminal justice teachers.  

Law enforcement officers are the most popular criminal justice job to choose from, and one which has a constant need for new recruits every year.  Depending on what type of law enforcement you want to go into will determine what experience and schooling you will need to even apply for the position.  Most local law enforcement positions require some background experience, such as working for a county prison or a criminal justice degree, while federal or state agencies require a more extensive educational background and years of work experience.  Different levels of law enforcement additionally require different types of experience – potential detectives and forensics analysts will typically need to have a firm background in criminal justice before they will be promoted to this level.  However, starting off your criminal justice career with a type of local law enforcement will allow you to gain the experience you need to increase your chances at working with a higher level of law enforcement.

Working with the judicial system is another highly ranked career choice within the criminal justice field. Once again, you will have many options to choose from if you go this route – ranging anywhere from attorneys to paralegals to court reporters.  Every person in the courtroom plays a vital role in the criminal justice system, producing a high need for people who hold the skills necessary for this type of work.  Clerks and court coordinators typically need to only hold a bachelor’s degree and background experience within a court system or even work experience in an office atmosphere.  Many times, simply keeping yourself organized and on task are some of the main job requirements to work in a courtroom.  

Finally, criminal justice teachers are another top choice within criminal justice jobs.  This way, many students of criminal justice are able to keep updated on any new developments within the system and are able to pass on their love of the field to students every year.  While there are job opportunities for both high school students and higher education, the majority of criminal justice teachers are professors at public universities.  The field is in constant need of bright, new graduates, meaning that there will be a constant need for teachers in the field for years to come as well.  

Different Opportunities Through Criminal Justice Degree Jobs

Posted by Site Administrator on 07/30/2010 | 0 Comments

Criminal justice encompasses such a wide variety of subjects that finding a job in the industry is relatively easy – it also affords criminal justice students a wide leeway when they are searching for jobs.  Criminal justice degree jobs can range from law enforcement to the judicial arena, allowing students to pick and choose how much education they wish to fulfill over the course of their lives.  Many choose to go the law route and spend a few more years in law school to become defense attorneys while others realize they can use their criminal justice degree in the courthouse without a J.D. by simply becoming a court reporter, court coordinator, clerk, or bailiff.  While these jobs all require experience, it’s not as demanding as becoming a defense attorney. 

Many criminal justice students start out (after graduation) in the law enforcement division since it is the next logical step for many students who earn a criminal justice degree.  After spending years learning about the criminal mindset, entering law enforcement is the best way to put this knowledge to use through the many different options available.  You can become a police officer, narcotics officer, detective, forensic analyst, and many other jobs depending on your city’s needs.  Your background in criminal justice will help secure you a position on an law enforcement unit, which in turn will allow you to expand your knowledge on the subject.  Additionally, students who take this route find that after a few years they want to practice law or become more involved in the legal side of criminal justice.

For these students who want to experience more of the criminal courts, their background in law enforcement will help them to succeed throughout law school.  Many law students have found that waiting to begin law school affords them many experiences other students don’t have.  Criminal law is especially easy for those students who were previously law enforcement officers: they already know many of the statutes and laws that are in place in their state.  Entering the legal realm of criminal justice also allows students to explore different job opportunities ranging from public defenders to defense attorneys.  Many great judges have experienced both sides of the criminal justice system and have worked as both prosecution and defense.  While not everyone wants to defend both sides during their career, it is the mark of a good attorney when you are able to argue both sides and predict what the other side will argue. 

Criminal justice spans many different jobs and career opportunities for students around the country, and it is only a matter of putting your degree to use.  Just go out there and find something in the field that you enjoy doing!  You can always change your career path down the line to work more with criminal defense or more with criminal prosecution – the field is endless!

 

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