Former CrimeStoppers Head, Veteran Dallas Cop Theadora Ross, Sentenced After Stealing $250,000 From CrimeStoppers Reward Fund

From 2006 to 2010, Dallas police officer Theadora Ross was the respected head of the Dallas area Crime Stoppers program.  You know Crime Stoppers:  there are branches of Crime Stoppers all over the world, dedicated to solving crimes by allowing people to provide information that may lead to an arrest of an evildoer without having to directly deal with the police face to face. 

Crime Stoppers Organizations Are Big Deals These Days, With Big Reward Funds

Being able to share what someone knows without having to give their name has proven to be an invaluable tool to law enforcement, and Crime Stoppers is viewed as a major crime-fighting tool in most law enforcement circles.  Part of its reputation has come from the ability of Crime Stoppers to bring new information to police when investigations don't have much to go on, using money:  Crime Stoppers offers rewards to folk who come forward and spill what they know.  You've probably seen an advertisement or two, where a reward is offered for information in an unsolved case. 

Dallas Cop Sentenced for Taking $250,000 From Dallas Crime Stoppers' Pot of Reward Money

Which means that Crime Stoppers has money in a pot for those rewards, something that Theadora Ross found just too, too tempting there at the Dallas Crime Stoppers office.  Never mind that Theadora Ross was a Dallas police officer, who had sworn to perserve, protect, and defend:  Officer Ross was sentenced this week to 46 months incarceration in a federal pen for income tax evasion and conspiracy to commit wire fraud (she pled guilty back in August 2012, there was no trial). 

Dallas Police Department Senior Corporal Theodora Ross was arrested back in June 2010 by Dallas police while setting in her Crime Stoppers office; seems her pal, Malva Delley, spilled the beans on Ross after Delley was questioned by police.  How did the cops find out?  An observant bank teller became suspicious after seeing Delley collecting more than one CrimeStoppers reward, and picked up a phone.

Delley and Ross were both arrested, and Delley pled guilty back to one count of conspiracy to make a false statement to a financial institution in May 2011. 

While Dallas citizens (and Dallas police) trusted Theodora Ross to run Crime Stoppers, seems that the Dallas police officer was busy creating fake tip numbers to be paid on Crime Stopper cases.  These tip numbers are the tools to allow CrimeStoppers to pay rewards to anonymous tippers: present the tip number to the bank, and you are paid the reward in cash.  It was an easy scheme:  Delley would use Ross's fake tip number to collect the money from the bank as a Crime Stoppers reward. 

The rewards added up.  By the time that these two grifters were caught, they had taken a quarter of a million dollars from the North Texas Crime Commission, which funds the Dallas Crime Stoppers (along with Dallas court fines, Collin County court fines, fundraising efforts and charitable donations to Crime Stoppers).  That's right:  $250,000.00.

Ross Ordered to Pay Back the Money and To Pay Her Income Taxes, Too

Luckily, the money may be recouped.  Ross has been ordered to pay $274,304.00 in restitution as part of her sentencing.  That's covering losses to Crime Stoppers as well as taxes due:  over a four year time period, it was found that Officer Ross failed to pay around $38,000 in income taxes on the $175,000 of income she received in her conning.  That's right:  the IRS expects to be paid even if the income is from an illegal grift.

Here's a question that hasn't been answered in the news coverage or the court opinions or FBI press releases:  is that bank teller whose tip lead to the discovery of this huge fraud on CrimeStoppers going to get a reward for calling in her suspicions?  Just wondering. 

Dallas Police Officer Shoots Man 41 Times, Other Officers Investigated for Taking and Trying to Destroy Witness's Video and Photo Evidence

Last month here in the Dallas area -- actually, in the city of Mesquite, which sets smack dab inside Dallas' city limits -- a man named Michael Vincent Allen got into a high speed car chase with the police and it's reported that there were times that speeds exceeded 100 mph as police cars from various law enforcement jurisdictions joined in the chase.

Police Officer Crashes Patrol Car Into Suspect's Vehicle - And Shoots Him 41 Times

It lasted around 30 minutes, according to news reports - Mr. Allen behind the wheel of a pickup, speeding along - and it ended when Mr. Allen turned into a cul-de-sac and, according to the police officers that were there, then tried to exit the cul-de-sac by slamming his pick up through two police sedans that had slammed into position, blocking the cul-de-sac's exit.   Mr. Allen's truck didn't push aside the two patrol cars, and the chase was over.  However, other reports are that after Mr. Allen turned the truck around in the cul-de-sac, a Garland police officer named Patrick Tuter slammed into the pickup to prevent Allen from driving any further.

This second version of things has been verified by the police in an updated version of events issued several days later, with confirmation that Tuter's dashcam video confirmed the patrol car crashed into the pick up truck to stop it, and that Allen didn't try to slam his GMC pickup into the police car.


That was not the end of the story.  Because then Mr. Allen died - died after being shot there in the driver's seat of his pick-up truck, blocked by the patrol cars in a Mesquite cul-de-sac.  He was shot by Officer Tuter who fired over and over and over again: Mr. Allen was shot with police bullets FORTY-ONE TIMES.  (You can see video of the truck in the aftermath online here.)

41 times: it means that the police officer had to stop, think, reload his weapon, and keep shooting.  Some reports are that this took three clips from Officer Tuter's gun to achieve.  Which means he reloaded TWICE.   It's not disputed that Mr. Allen was not armed.  There was no gun in the pickup truck.  No one shot first at an officer. 

Officer Tuter defends his actions as not being excessive force but instead a reasonable response as he feared for his life.  (Read about Texas law and excessive force on our web site reference pages.)  Right now, he's on restricted duty.

However, as bad as this story is - and it's very bad - it gets worse.

Police Officers Take Mobile Phone From Witness -- and Destroy Video/Photos On It

Because other police officers on the scene are alleged to have tried to destroy evidence of what happened on that cul-de-sac.  Seems a man who lived in that cul-de-sac not only watched what was going on, but took video and photographed the event.  According to this man, Mitchell Wallace, he didn't see the shooting but he did see the female passenger (who was not hit by the bullets, wow) being pulled from the truck's cab by the cops and he did see the police send their dog into the cab, where the dog bit Mr. Allen on the neck and then drug him out of the truck to lay face down on the street.  Wallace documented all of this, plus the police turning the body over to check for a pulse.

Here's the thing:  Wallace's mobile phone video and photos were taken by law enforcement at the scene, and when the phone was returned to him, this stuff was missing from it.  Gone.  Erased. 

So now there are other law enforcement officers being investigated for messing with evidence.  As well as destroying property that didn't belong to them.  (There's some stories that the evidence may still be available and some investigator just took the SIM card out of Mr. Wallace's phone.)

Under Texas law, the police do not have the right to take personal property like Mr. Wallace's phone or anything inside it unless there is probable cause to believe it's been part of a crime that has been committed.  No one is arguing that Mitchell Wallace, using his phone from his own home to document what was happening on the street outside, was committing any crime.

It's being called not only a case of Excessive Force against a Texas citizen on a summer night here in Dallas that ended in a man dead on the street, but a cover up by his colleagues who didn't want to have filmed evidence of what happened that night. 

For more information, read our posts:

• Dallas Has Record Number of Police Shootings in 2012
• Dallas County Sheriff Arrests Motorcyclist For Refusing to Turn Over His Helmet Cam Video of Police

Do not let these stories stop you from using your phone to document things that you believe are important to record.  

Texas Highway Patrol Troopers Abuses: How to Control Troopers Subject of Inspector General Report

The Texas Highway Patrol has been around for a long time; most Texans recognize a Trooper on the roads when they see one.  Part of the State of Texas Department of Public Safety, the Texas Highway Patrol works on over 225,544 miles of rural highways, as well as being responsible for other areas of law enforcement, including directing traffic; investigating traffic accidents; helping during emergencies and public disasters; and partnering with other agencies in criminal investigations such as drug law enforcement.  (For details on what all the Troopers handle, check out their web site.)

In the future, the Troopers may be known as the Texas Navy.  That's because it is the Texas Highway Patrol that will be manning those new boats that will be zipping up and down the Rio Grande as part of our state's border protection.  (See Grits for Breakfast for details here including a photo of the boats they've be using.) 

So, the Texas Highway Patrol Troopers are a Big Deal in Texas Law Enforcement.  

Nevertheless, in recent years,  Troopers have come under scrutiny and criticism with some folk arguing that the Highway Patrol needs more personnel; others arguing that the Troopers need an internal affairs division to keep things in hand; and still others arguing that the Highway Patrol budget just needs more cash.

At least everyone agrees that something needs to be done.  Why?

Troopers can do bad things.  For example, read our earlier post "Texas Highway Patrolman Mistakes US Army 1st Cavalry for Gang/Drug Organization" or watch the video here.   Another post detailing bad acts by the DPS Highway Patrol: "Texas DPS Officers Indicted for Manhandling Hays County Jail Inmate."

Now, however, it appears that the Powers that Be are checking out the Texas Highway Patrol and trying to figure out what action needs to be taken.  

Houston Chronicle Exposes Details of New Report on Texas Highway Patrol Troopers

Recently, the Houston Chronicle's James Pinkerton wrote a story that detailed a report of the Inspector General that details things that IG Stuart Platt thinks needs to be done within the Texas Highway Patrol.

Curious by its absence is much media coverage about this report and the Chronicle's work at getting a copy of it.  

In its April 1, 2012, article entitled "Report says Texas troopers need more supervision," the IG report is not provided in its entirety, but it is reported to include:

• an opinion that the DPS Highway Patrol should be given funds to hire more supervisors for the Troopers (i.e., sergeants); 
• a schedule showing that the complaints about Trooper activity made up almost 70% of all the complaints received against the DPS personnel overall (68%); and 
• the most common complaint against the Troopers was driving drunk (DWI). 

Here's the thing: does anyone think that these numbers accurately reflect the reality of what Troopers are doing, out there on Texas roads?  Watch that DPS video (above) and think -- how many complains go unreported? How free do Troopers think they are to do as they wish, out there on patrol alone in their black patrol car on a rural Texas roadway?

Texas Rangers Investigating Another Case of Police Brutality and Excessive Force

The news started trickling out over the Labor Day Weekend that the Texas Rangers had been contacted by the family of a South Texas man who was comatose in a Corpus Christi hospital, another victim of excessive force by law enforcement.  Sure enough, the Rangers are on the job, investigating the family's belief that their loved one, Martin Garcia Ortiz, had sustained his injuries in a vicious beating by a Texas law enforcement officer.

That's right:  another case of police brutality in Texas.  And another instance where either the FBI or the Texas Rangers has had to come into the area to find out the truth of things.  It's something that happens far too often here in Texas: law enforcement using excessive force against people - something that we report about regularly. 

What happened in this case of alleged police brutality?  

According to news reports, 48 year old Martin Ortiz had been at a local bar in Aransas Pass.  No worries about a DWI arrest here:  Mr. Ortiz left the bar on his bicycle, to ride his way home.  It wasn't far.  He had no weapon, unless you are afraid of bicycles. 

Things took a bad turn around midnight on August 10th.  Seems Mr. Ortiz, there on the roadside on his bicycle, was stopped by an Aransas Pass police officer  -- and according to family members, the cop pushed Ortiz off the bike only to then beat Ortiz after the man was laying on the ground beside (some reports say underneath) the bicycle.

The Texas Rangers have reported that their investigation reveals three police cars zipped to the scene (that must have been a very scary bicycle) and that some of these officers are now witnesses to the incident.  They also report that Ortiz was purportedly stopped because he was weaving as he rode the bike, and his bike didn't have a headlight. 

Guess what?  All this may be on video.  Seems that Aransas Pass police cars are equipped with dash cams, so sooner or later, some member of the press is going to get ahold of those videos and we'll all see what happened.

Right now, we know that Martin Ortiz lies, seriously injured, in Corpus Christi's Christus Spohn Hospital where he spent ten days on life support in a coma before starting to come out of it.  It's not known at this time whether or not he will suffer permanent harm from this attack -- like traumatic brain injuries or spinal injuries.

The Texas Rangers are asking anyone who may have information about what happened to Martin Ortiz to come forward, and if you have any information about the Martin Ortiz case, you can call the Texas Rangers directly at 361-364-6239 or 512- 424-2160. 

DPS Trooper Busted for Selling Real Texas Drivers' Licenses to Illegal Immigrants

A Houston Federal Grand Jury Indictment, unsealed yesterday by U.S. Attorney Juan Angel Moreno, gives the details behind the arrests of Department of Public Safety (DPS) trooper Mark DeArza, DPS clerk Lidia Gutierrez, and service station manager Maen Bittar, each charged with conspiracy to produce illegal identifications by selling fraudulent Texas drivers' licenses to illegal immigrants.

Apparently, this profitable DPS moonlighting business had been operating since last March. No news yet on how many Texas driver's licenses were sold. And, while they were fraudulently obtained, these weren't fake IDs made with the latest computer technology or some copier gizmo. Nope.

These buyers got the real thing: actual Texas Drivers' Licenses were being sold here. Real Ones. Just like the one in your wallet.

Smooth: Pay at the Gas Station, Scoot Over to the DPS Station and Get Your License

Apparently, they thought this through, and things were efficient: the service station guy sold the fake licenses to illegal immigrants from his gas station. Price? $3000 per license. Once he had the cash, he would send the buyers over to the nearby DPS office.

That's right: they walked right into the DPS office, where the clerk and the trooper would process them -- complete with driving test -- nevermind that they had no legal paperwork to establish citizenship, identity, or anything else.

These three are all out on bail right now ($50,000 each). If convicted of these federal charges, they may get 15 years in a federal facility along with a big, big fine of $250,000.00.

How Much Money Did They Make -- We Don't Know.

Let's see. Setting aside the illegally gotten gains here and just considering numbers: $250,000 equals 83 sales of $3000 Licenses. Wonder how much these folk made since March? Did they each sell over 14 licenses a month? Does this fine look that big to them? Just something to ponder.

COP WATCH: North Texas Sheriff Cops a Plea in Fed Court, Faces 10 Yrs in Pen

The feds got themselves another Texas Sheriff last week.

Montague Sheriff Bill Keating Pled Guilty and Faces 10 Years in Prison, $250K in Fines

Last Thursday, Montague County Sheriff Bill Keating - a man who has worn a badge for the past forty years - accepted a plea deal offered by federal prosecutors, pleading guilty in federal court for violating the civil rights of a woman and facing a maximum fine of $250,000 and 10 years in federal prison.

"Civil rights violation" sounds pretty tame, doesn't it? Well, actually it is kinda reminiscent of the old Al Capone case, where the feds got Capone on tax evasion. Those federal crimes sound kind of dull and dry, until you find out all the details behind them.

The Backstory on Sheriff Bill

The real story behind Sheriff Bill Keating, 62, is a nasty one. As reported by the Feds, it seems the sheriff and his crew went out to some guy's house, with a warrant, to arrest him. When they got there, the man and his girlfriend were at the house. Rather than just taking the guy in, the Sheriff's posse looked around and found some drug paraphernalia along with the dregs of some methamphetamine.

Sexual Assault On More Than One Occasion Equals Violation of Federal Civil Rights

And here's where the story gets really bad. Seems Sheriff Keating took the girlfriend aside and threatened to bust her, too, unless she had sex with him. Authorities report that the two, the Sheriff and the girlfriend, drove in his pickup truck to some back road where she performed oral sex on Sheriff Bill.

It wasn't over then, though. The Feds report that Sheriff Bill went back to the girlfriend on several occasions with the same demands for sexual favors, and that he also forced her to agree to become an informant for the Sheriff's Department.

This is the stuff of bad B movies. The only good thing? That woman had the courage to tell the truth about what was happening to her. Good for her. That took guts, to go against a Texas Sheriff and his whole department.

Now, the State District Attorney Has His Turn at Bat: More Charges Are Expected

While the Feds have made their case based upon constitutional violations, the State of Texas still has a turn at bat. And, the Montague County District Attorney has announced he's looking to file charges against Sheriff Bill Keating, along with assorted deputies, for having sex with inmates in the county jail along with allowing contraband into the facility.

And, get this -- things were so bad in that jail under Sheriff Bill's command, that some of the jail cells had recliners in them. Recliners. Think about that.

Look for the State indictments to hit sometime later this month.

Betcha we're gonna here lots more bad stuff about ol' Sheriff Bill: that fed story about the girlfriend? Tip of the iceberg. Betcha.

And, betcha we're gonna see some civil lawsuits popping up sometime soon, too. You know, civil damages for the Sheriff's bad actions, and the assertions of an immunity defense.

Sources:

Associated Press
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g6FG_8F8-Kdg5r_VIRh9X6tBOIUQD9612ED00

Dallas Morning News
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/politics/state/stories/DN-sheriff_30tex.ART.State.Edition1.46fda64.html

Cop Watch: KopBusters Traps Corrupt Odessa Cops and You Can Watch on YouTube

Barry Cooper used to be a cop. Now, he's a KopBuster.

Barry's big on civil liberties and he's making a living these days by exposing corruption - you can peruse his site, Never Get Busted Again, where products like the DVDs "Never Get Raided" and "Never Get Busted Again" are sold for $24.95 (they're even cheaper now, apparently Barry's got a Christmas special going on this month).

Barry Cooper and KopBusters Set Up Corrupt Odessa Cops

This Odessa story began when Barry Cooper and his company, KopBusters, were contacted by the father of Yolanda Madden, name of Raymond Madden, who was trying hard to free his daughter from prison. Seems Yolanda Madden, who hails from Odessa, Texas, had been convicted back in 2005 for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.

Yolanda's dad reports that a key witness in her case admitted in court to planting the drugs -- didn't matter. Yolanda got convicted and was sent off to the Big House.

Seems that Raymond Madden learned of Barry Cooper and asked him to help. And, Barry Cooper and KopBusters said they'd be happy to do what they could.

What did KopBusters Do? Here's the Story, in Barry's Own Words

Barry gave the details of his operation on his website, explaining:

"KopBusters rented a house in Odessa, Texas and began growing two small Christmas trees under a grow light similar to those used for growing marijuana. When faced with a suspected marijuana grow, the police usually use illegal FLIR cameras and/or lie on the search warrant affidavit claiming they have probable cause to raid the house. Instead of conducting a proper investigation which usually leads to no probable cause, the Kops lie on the affidavit claiming a confidential informant saw the plants and/or the police could smell marijuana coming from the suspected house.

"The trap was set and less than 24 hours later, the Odessa narcotics unit raided the house only to find KopBuster's attorney waiting under a system of complex gadgetry and spy cameras that streamed online to the KopBuster's secret mobile office nearby."

Watch it Yourself



What Happens Now?

What happens now for Yolanda Madden? For the Odessa Police Department? For those cops on the video? For Barry Cooper and KopBusters?

Well, let's all watch and see.

Source:

Houston Examiner

http://www.examiner.com/x-536-Civil-Liberties-Examiner~y2008m12d6-Trap-springs-on-corrupt-cops-in-Odessa-Texas

COP WATCH: Dallas Cop Allegedly Robs Sam's Club, Stops Himself

This story is really going to make you feel safe.

About three weeks ago, a Dallas Police Department officer thwarted an armed robber who was trying to hold up a local Sam's Club.

Officer Al Coleman, who was off-duty as a Dallas cop and working his second job as a security officer at the Sam's Club on West Wheatland Road, told NBC-5 that " ' he [the robber] just told me the last part of his plan and I didn't agree with it. Says he was gonna kill me.'"

According to Officer Coleman, this evildoing Masked Man rushed Sam's and took Coleman hostage - yes, hostage! - whereupon Coleman fought back. Guns were drawn. Guns!! Shots were fired. Shots!! Coleman was hit in the chest ... luckily, he had on a bullet-proof vest.

The robbery was prevented and Officer Coleman, what a hero, right?

Well, no.

Dallas Police Department detectives now report that all the evidence, which includes store surveillance tape, shows that Coleman is lying.

Turns out that Coleman was in on the whole thing with the getaway driver parked out front in Coleman's car while their pal, the Masked Man, came into the store. They're all three facing robbery charges today.

Who really stopped the robbery? The Sam's employees -- who barricaded the door, preventing Coleman and the Masked Man from gaining access to the vault.

Sources:
WISTV (www.wistv.com)
WFAA (www.wfaa.com)

Law Enforcement: This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories

Drug War News

Here is a good summary of the latest in embarassing law enforcement foul ups in pursuit of America's War on Drugs.