After being slammed for a massive battery recall disaster this year, Sony has recalled up to 1 million digital cameras worldwide, even though the malfunction is not likely to appear in non-tropical regions like Korea.

Sony Korea said Monday that eight of its Cyber-shot digital camera models might not work in warm and humid areas. The cameras may have trouble taking photos, and pictures may be distorted on the display screen, it said.

The firm’s Korean branch said on its Web site that it will repair any affected cameras free of charge, even though such a malfunction has never been reported in South Korea.

``The camera malfunction was only reported in hot and humid areas,’’ Sony Korea’s spokesman Park Jung-hoon said. ``But we have become more active in responding to such issues since the battery accident happened,’’ he said, citing the disastrous laptop battery recall case, which is estimated to cost the firm $440 million this year.

The affected cameras were manufactured between September 2003 and January 2005. The models are DSC-T1, DSC-T11, DSC-T3, DSC-T33, DSC-U40, DSC-U50, DSC-F88 and DSC-M1.

The company estimates about 4,000 of the 1 million units sold could need repairs. Sony Korea didn’t say how many of them were sold in South Korea.

Sony’s net profit for the July to September quarter fell by 95 percent to $14 million from $240 million a year ago. The annual profit is expected to constitute a mere 0.6 percent of total revenue, compared to 2.5 percent last year, according to LG Economic Research Institute.

As the woes continue, rumors have again arisen in South Korea that Samsung Electronics, which is Sony’s main rival in the consumer electronics sector, may take over the troubled Japanese firm within a few years.

However, Sony’s bold decision to recall the cameras contrasts with trends among Korean companies, which consider product recalls as a big disgrace.

Samsung last year was blamed for hiding repairs to washing machines after they were reported to catch fire while operating.

The company ordered its service shops to replace an electric condenser built into about 400,000 washing machines, but it never officially announced the replacement policy to consumers. Later the company explained that it was a typical after-purchase service and was not a recall of the products.

Robin Sheen
Staff Reporter

WASHINGTON — A federal judge in Greenville, S.C., has permanently barred John Howard Alexander of Greenville from promoting several tax-fraud schemes, the Justice Department announced today. The civil injunction order, to which Alexander consented, bars him from promoting schemes that promise tax benefits based on statements to customers that U.S. citizens are not subject to tax, that residents of South Carolina are not required to file federal tax returns while working in the United States, and that customers can escape tax by revoking or rescinding their Social Security numbers. District Judge Henry F. Floyd of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina signed the order.

The government complaint in the case alleged that Alexander and his ex-wife, Heather Ferguson, operated a business in Greenville promoting the so-called “861 Argument.” Named after the section of the Internal Revenue Code that it misinterprets, the 861 Argument is a frivolous position that courts across the country repeatedly have rejected. The court permanently barred Ferguson last July. That injunction required Ferguson to notify her and Alexander’s customers of the injunction, and Ferguson provided a list of the customers to the Justice Department. More information can be found at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/txdv06440.htm

According to the government complaint, Alexander also sold sham-trust packages to customers for as much as $2,495 and helped customers hide their income from the IRS using offshore sham trusts. The complaint said that the IRS estimated the loss to the U.S. Treasury from Alexander’s schemes might exceed $48 million. The IRS lists misuse of trusts on its “Dirty Dozen” list of most notorious tax scams. A list of the IRS Dirty Dozen tax schemes can be found at http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=154293,00.html. The injunction bars Alexander from making false or fraudulent statements in connection with selling trusts or other arrangements, and bars him from obstructing IRS investigations.

A federal court in Tampa, Fla. has permanently barred David Marvin Swanson of Sarasota from promoting an illegal tax fraud scheme that involves sham trusts and limited liability companies, the Justice Department announced today. The court found that Swanson, who uses the business name Dynamic Monetary Strategies, promotes a system of sham trusts called “unincorporated business trust organizations” and limited liability companies on his Web site and in a manual he sells to customers.

According to the court, Swanson “falsely advises his customers that by placing the customers’ assets and income into these trusts the customers can avoid federal income tax.” The court concluded that “in organizing and selling his abusive tax schemes, Swanson made false or fraudulent statements regarding the excludibility of income.”

The order requires Swanson to notify his customers of the injunction and to give the Justice Department a list with his customers’ names, addresses, e-mail addresses, Social Security numbers and telephone numbers.

More information about this case is available at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/txdv04111.htm

Jeff Castaldo
Staff Reporter

Gilbert Saldana, Alejandro Martinez and Fernando Cazares—members of the Avenues gang--had been convicted earlier this summer after a jury trial for participating in a to violate the civil rights of African-Americans in the gang’s neighborhood by attacking and sometimes killing the victims. The victims included Christopher Bowser, an African American man who was shot while waiting at a bus stop in Highland Park on December 11, 2000 and Kenneth Kurry Wilson, an African American man who was gunned down while looking for a parking place in Highland Park on April 18, 1999.

Saldana was convicted of being the triggerman in the Wilson murder and is currently serving a life sentence in state prison for another murder. Martinez was convicted of instigating the Wilson murder by using a racial slur and encouraging his fellow gang members to kill Wilson Cazares was convicted of serving as a look-out during the Wilson murder.

A fourth defendant convicted at trial, Porfirio Avila, who is currently serving a life sentence in state court in the murders of Christopher Bowser and another African American man, is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Anderson on Dec. 18, 2006. A fifth defendant, Merced Cambero, who is alleged to have been a part of the murders is currently a fugitive.

“Today’s sentences send a clear message that this type of racial violence, which devastates individuals and entire communities, will not be tolerated in this country,” said Wan J. Kim, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “The Department of Justice is grateful to the victims and witnesses who had the courage to come forward in this case, despite enormous personal sacrifices demanded by the trial, so that the truth about these horrible crimes could come out.”

“Hate crimes are some of the most disturbing offenses prosecuted by this office,” said Acting U.S. Attorney George S. Cardona. “These defendants will now spend the rest of their lives in federal prison for the despicable act of trying to rid their neighborhood of African-Americans.”

Thomas P. O'Brien, Chief of the Criminal Division in the U.S. Attorney's Office, said, “This case demonstrates that this office and the Department of Justice will use all tools available to ensure that the citizens of this District are protected from hate crimes, particularly violent hate crimes of the type committed by these defendants. The multiple life sentences imposed today guarantee that these violent, racist killers will never again be free to attack African-American residents of the Highland Park neighborhood just because they are African-American.”

J. Stephen Tidwell, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI in Los Angeles, said, “Today's sentencing represents the FBI's commitment to the protection of civil rights in the United States, which is listed among the FBI's highest priorities. My office continues to offer a
$20,000 reward for the remaining fugitive charged in the conspiracy, Merced Cambero, so that all of those responsible for these insidious and racist crimes are prosecuted.”

This case was investigated by the FBI and the Los Angeles Police Department, under Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles and the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.

The Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice is committed to vigorously enforcing federal criminal civil rights. The overall conviction rate in FY 2006 was 98 percent--the highest conviction rate recorded in the past two decades.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and Canadian Minister of Public Safety Stockwell Day today signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) at the ninth annual United States-Canada Cross-Border Crime Forum. The agreement allows for the electronic exchange of ballistics information between the two countries.

Prior to the agreement, there was a limited manual exchange of ballistics information, which was time-consuming and cumbersome.  Now, through electronic access, both countries will be able to connect firearms and bullets used in one or more crime scenes across North America. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) will be the lead agencies responsible for implementing this important law enforcement agreement.

"This agreement paves the way for greater law enforcement collaboration between the United States and Canada," said Attorney General Gonzales. "It will aid criminal investigations involving firearms on both sides of the border and will help ensure the safety of citizens of both nations."

"Criminals are not afraid of crossing the border and committing more crimes using the same illegal weapons," said Minister Day. "With today's agreement, our law enforcement agencies will be able to solve more crimes by connecting firearms and bullets used in one or more crime scenes across North America."

This agreement is one instance of a long track record of collaboration between the United States and Canada, including the establishment of the ATF Office of Assistant Country Attaché in Toronto, mutual assistance with firearms tracing, and joint training initiatives.

The United States and Canada have consistently engaged in collaborative efforts to effectively share intelligence and information in an effort to stem the illegal flow of U.S.-sourced firearms to Canada. The two nations have instituted the following measures to help fight transnational crime:

*Sharing Forensic Firearms Data – The MOU signed today by Attorney General Gonzales and Minister Day enhances the ability of the ATF and the RCMP to share forensic ballistics information electronically and in real time through the Integrated Ballistics Identification System (IBIS). IBIS allows law enforcement officials to collect and search images of bullets and cartridge cases recovered from crime scenes and from the test fires of firearms seized by law enforcement officers. Previously, this information could only be shared by the two countries on a case-by-case basis. This agreement will help connect the two systems and will save law enforcement officers time and effort, allowing them to spend more time solving crimes and less time filling out paperwork.

*Assistant Country Attaché – In an effort to properly address the issue of illegal U.S.-sourced firearms in Canada, ATF has expanded its presence in Canada and in August, 2005, assigned an Assistant Country Attaché to focus on the Greater Toronto area’s rise in firearms related violence. ATF works closely with the Provincial Weapons Enforcement Unit (PWEU) to support its mandate of tracing firearms used in crimes. ATF facilitates collateral investigations and coordinates efforts in the U.S. to investigate, arrest, and prosecute individuals who traffic firearms illegally into Canada.

*Comprehensive Gun Analysis and Tracing – In the fall of 2005, in the wake of an increase in gun violence in the Toronto area, ATF and the RCMP signed an agreement that allows RCMP to use ATF’s eTrace system to electronically trace firearms recovered at crime scenes in Canada. Systematic tracing of firearms assists with interdiction efforts of those firearms originating in the U.S. and allows for the identification of sources of such firearms. Canada’s Firearms Tracing and Enforcement Program, which is a PWEU initiative, has been providing analysis on guns sourced to the United States for the past several years. The RCMP’s National Tracing Unit and PWEU are successfully using ATF’s e-Trace to submit requests to ATF’s National Tracing Center Division.

*Joint Collaboration with Initiatives – ATF is currently working with the Crime Gun Analysis Team in Toronto on firearms-related investigations, coordinating any assistance requested by the Ontario PWEU under this new initiative, assisting with firearms tracing, and any collateral investigations requested from ATF in the United States. ATF also coordinates mutual training initiatives with Canadian law enforcement, such as International Firearms Trafficking Schools and the Serial Number Restoration Training.

www.usdoj.com

Robin Sheen

WASHINGTON - A federal grand jury in Pensacola, Fla., has indicted former Pinnellas County Deputy Sheriff, Richard G. Farnham, on federal civil rights charges relating to the assault of a man while on storm patrol in the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan.

The indictment alleges that on Sept. 20, 2004, Farnham, while acting in his capacity as a deputy sheriff, kicked and deployed a taser on an unnamed victim, and in so doing, willfully deprived the victim of his civil rights. The victim suffered bodily injury as a result of the assault.

The charges contained in the indictment carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating this matter. The case is being jointly prosecuted by the Criminal Section of the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division and by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida.

An indictment is merely an accusation and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

USDOJ

WASHINGTON (USDOJ) – Shaun Hansen, former co-owner of Idaho-based telemarketing firm Mylo Enterprises, pleaded guilty today in federal court in New Hampshire for his involvement in a scheme to jam several New Hampshire telephone lines by placing nearly 1000 hang-up calls on Election Day, 2002, the Department of Justice announced today.

Hansen, 34, was charged in a two-count indictment on March 8, 2006. He pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiring to commit interstate telephone harassment and one count of making repeated and continuous interstate phone calls with intent to harass. Chief Judge Steven J. McAuliffe set sentencing for February 20, 2007 at 10:30 a.m. Hansen will face a maximum of seven years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000.

Hansen admitted that he was contacted by others involved in the scheme and asked to assist in making harassing phone calls to five telephone numbers associated with the New Hampshire Democratic Party and one number associated with the Manchester Professional Firefighters Association on Election Day, November 5, 2002. Hansen agreed that, in return for $2,500, employees of Mylo Enterprises would place repeated hang-up calls to those numbers on that day. At Hansen’s direction, employees of Mylo Enterprises in Idaho placed several hundred hang-up calls to those New Hampshire telephone numbers on that morning before the scheme was discontinued.

Hansen was the fourth individual charged in the Department’s investigation. Allen Raymond, former president of a Virginia communications consulting company, and Charles McGee, former Executive Director of the New Hampshire Republican State Committee, each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit telephone harassment. McGee was sentenced to seven months in prison and Raymond was sentenced to three months. James Tobin, former New England Regional Chairman of the Republican National Committee, was convicted after a December 2005 jury trial on for conspiring to commit, and aiding and abetting the commission of, interstate telephone harassment. He was sentenced to 10 months in prison.

The prosecutions have been led by Andrew Levchuk, Senior Counsel, and Lily Chinn, Trial Attorney, with the Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section, and by Nicholas Marsh, Trial Attorney with the Public Integrity Section. The investigation was conducted by Bedford Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New Hampshire State Attorney General’s Office.

Robin Sheen
Staff Reporter