China sacks sex video extortion scandal officials - BBC News

25 January 2013 Last updated at 03:17 ET

Ten Chinese officials have been fired as part of a widening investigation into a sex tape extortion scandal in Chongqing, state media report.

Xinhua news agency said the men were all allegedly filmed by a "criminal ring" which then blackmailed them.

Police in the city had since broken up the ring, said the agency.

Senior Chongqing official Lei Zhengfu was fired last year after he featured in a sex video. He was said to have been entrapped by a construction firm.

The 10 sacked officials include party and government officials in the southwestern city as well as executives in state-owned companies, Xinhua reports, without naming any of them.

It said an investigation into the allegations of extortion had uncovered a "criminal ring" which had "hired women to seduce local officials, covertly filmed their sexual acts and used the videos as tools of extortion".

The blackmailers are alleged to have been property developers seeking favourable construction contracts from influential city officials.

The investigation is part of a wide-ranging anti-corruption drive in Chongqing and across China, in response to rising public anger at official impropriety.

The former party leader of Chongqing, Bo Xilai, is currently awaiting trial on charges of corruption and abuse of power in one of the country's biggest recent scandals.

Mr Bo's wife, Gu Kailai, has been jailed for the death of British businessman Neil Heywood. His former police chief, Wang Lijun, also received a jail term in connection with Mr Heywood's murder.

Xi Jinping, the newly-installed head of China's Communist Party, has said battling corruption in the party is a top priority.

Shandong official dismissed after sex scandal - China Daily

An official who was found to have kept several mistresses was dismissed from his post and expelled from the Communist Party of China in Liaocheng, Shandong province.

A website affiliated with the Liaocheng government broke the news on Tuesday. The news was widely circulated online on other popular websites on Thursday.

Du Zeyong, former union director in the city, began his disgraced fall on Dec 26 when a whistleblower, speaking as Du's mistress, posted intimate photos of him with different women on a micro blog.

The whistleblower claimed to have given birth to a child of Du's and asked if Du had cheated on her by keeping another mistress. The post disclosed Du's full name and his government position.

Disciplinary authorities in Liaocheng launched an investigation into the case.

Li Hongqiang, a spokesman for the Liaocheng government, said if the allegations are verified, Du will be severely disciplined, a major news website in Shandong province reported on Dec 31.

Concerned netizens have expressed suspicion of other corrupt actions by Du, questioning his means to support several mistresses, even families, with his modest income.

Du is among an increasing number of disgraced officials embroiled in sex scandals as their mistresses have aired their grievances using social media. Revealing photos and video clips leaked online have led to their downfall and prompted investigations.

Lei Zhengfu, a district head of Southwest China's Chongqing municipality, was fired in November days after a sex video showing him and his mistress was uploaded on the Internet.

Nasty phone scheme turns obscene - KRQE

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - The New Mexico Attorney General's office is warning about a new and especially nasty telephone scheme hitting New Mexicans.

At least one man claims to be from UPS and tells people they've won big money and cars. It sounds phoney but when you start asking questions, things could get obscene.

The ploy has been dubbed the "Green Dot Scam" because it uses legitimate re-loadable credit cards to get your money. The credit cards are available all over the place and a lot of people use them.

News 13 first heard about the scam from a viewer in La Plata, New Mexico. She said she received three phone calls from a man saying he was with UPS and had an urgent package for her and needed her address. KRQE News 13 got the number from that viewer and it's based in Jamaica.

The AG says they have been contacted by ten people who have received similar calls. 

The AG contacts UPS to make sure they are aware of it and then the Secret Service because the AG doesn't  have jurisdiction outside the U.S.

When KRQE News 13 called the number, the man on the line said I had won $875,000 and a car and all I needed to do was to go to a local pharmacy, buy a Green Dot card for $500, call him with the numbers off the card and my prize would be sent to me.  When KRQE started asking questions about his location, things got very nasty. He said obscene names and described obscene acts.

The AG says these types of calls often increase during the holidays because people are mailing and receiving lots of packages and urges consumers to be cautious and never give out personal information over the phone.
 

13 killed in Damascus bomb attack - Belfast Telegraph

Sunday, 21 October 2012

A taxi rigged with explosives has blown up outside a police station in the Syrian capital, killing at least 13 people.

The bombing occurred as the UN envoy to the nation's crisis was visiting Damascus to push his call for a ceasefire in talks with president Bashar Assad.

The SANA state news agency said 29 people were also wounded in the blast in the Bab Touma neighbourhood, a popular shopping district largely inhabited by Syria's Christian minority.

Once largely immune to the violence that has swept over Syria since the anti-Assad revolt began in March 2011, Damascus has become a frequent target of bombings in recent months.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, but Islamist groups fighting alongside the rebels have sometimes claimed responsibility for bomb attacks against security targets in the capital.

Vegetable vendor Mohammad Hanbali, 27, said several people wounded in the blast were lying on the street.

"It's a cowardly act, carried out by terrorists," said Mr Hanbali, who was hit by a piece of shrapnel in the left leg.

SANA put the death toll at 13, while the anti-regime Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 10 people were killed in the blast.

In another part of capital, UN and Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi met Assad as part of his push for a ceasefire between rebels and government forces for the four-day Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, which begins October 26.

Mr Brahimi told reporters following a closed-door meeting that he met earlier with Syrian opposition groups inside and outside the country to discuss his truce plan. He said he received "promises" but not a "commitment" from them to honour the ceasefire.

');

Raid yields arrests, drugs, guns, alligator - Chicago Sun-Times

BY SAM CHARLES Staff Reporter/scharles@suntimes.com February 9, 2013 10:04PM

Updated: February 9, 2013 11:28PM

Several suspects, drugs, guns, money — even an alligator — were all taken into police custody after search and arrest warrants were executed by various law enforcement agencies on the Southwest Side and a nearby suburb Thursday.

The raid was tied to the December shooting and attempted robbery of an off-duty Chicago police officer who was fired on as he was about to take his 2-year-old son from his car. The 34-year-old decorated officer was shot multiple times, but survived his injuries; the child was not hurt.

Days later, a police informant led Chicago police to Mario Froylen, 27, of Summit, who was arrested in connection with the shooting and was later identified as a member of the Latin Kings. Law enforcement zeroed in on the alleged gunman's street gang, which was suspected in drug activity on Chicago's Southwest Side as well as suburban Summit.

That triggered the raid by members of the FBI, Chicago and Summit police departments and the Cook County Sheriff's Police on Thursday.

Eight people were arrested and charged with a variety of drug and weapons offenses.

Sebena murder sparks conversation about domestic violence - WDJT

MILWAUKEE WI-

Authorities say Benjamin Sebena told them he stalked his wife for several days before going to the Wauwatosa fire department on Christmas Eve, according to the complaint telling police "he laid in wait for her," before shooting his wife 5 times in the head and face.

"It's the case we're always working to prevent," says Carmen Pitre who counsels battered women at the Sojourner Family Peace Center.

While every case is different Pitre says they often follow the same pattern, it's about control.

"They use different tactics, weapons, guns and threats, he had been stalking her, he had been jealous; those are all of the things that we hear from our clients so it's very familiar to us.

Police say earlier this month Jennifer Sebena confided in a fellow officer that her husband had "put a gun to her head."

Pitre's says the fact that Sebena was in law enforcement herself shouldn't come as a surprise, the reality is, abuse doesn't discriminate

"What we know doing the work is that any of us are eligible, it doesn't matter how smart you are or what race you are, all of us eligible to be hurt," said Pitre.

According to Pitre only a small number of cases become deadly, estimating about 18 to 29 deaths a year in the Milwaukee area, but she says she hopes that at the very least these crimes will raise awareness about what is the leading cause of injury to women nationwide: domestic violence.

Pitre says we need to get there sooner.

"We know that violence is a learned behavior so that means we can unlearn it," said Pitre.

Funeral services are scheduled for Jennifer Sebena for Saturday at Elmbrook Church in Brookfield.

Family says murder sends message about domestic violence - WKYT

LONDON, Ky (WKYT) - The living room of a Laurel County home is full of posters and banners…in memory of Pam Bobbit, who police say was killed by her boyfriend.

The message the family wants to share is that Bobbit's death was one that never should have happened. Angel Bobbitt says she witnessed a strained relationship with Sean Messer, who is charged with murder.

"He wouldn't let her leave the house without her doing her hair and makeup. I knew something was wrong," said Bobbitt, the victim's sister in law.

Bobbitt and her mother and brother have started a "Justice for Pam Bobbitt" Facebook page. On Tuesday, they held posters and signs outside the Laurel County Courthouse when Messer was in court. Bobbit's estranged mother-in-law says she witnessed a lot of abuse from Messer, some of it involving her grandchildren.

"He got mad at her one day, took all of their clothes and threw them in the dumpster, they had no clothes on their backs," said Shirley Philpot.

A Laurel county grand jury will consider an indictment next month. He remains in jail on a $250,000 cash bond.

Bobbitt's murder happened in front of her children, Philpot's grandchildren. She says she wants justice not just for them but for others suffering through violent relationships.

"We have to step in and take control (and) help these kids feel safe again," said Philpot.