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Saturday, October 17, 2009
Frank Kratovil Votes to Bring Guantanamo Detainees to US
Rep. Frank Kratovil (D-MD) voted on Thursday to bring terrorists to the US to stand trail. HR2898, an appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security, allows for Guantanamo detainees to be brought to the US for trial.
Kratovil, who claims to be the “most independent Democrat in the House”, will undoubtedly claim that he voted against allowing detainees to come to the US. Technically this is true. In the spirit of John Kerry (“I voted against the war before I voted for it”) Kratovil voted in favor of recommitting the conference report with instructions. In plain English that means that the motion to re-commit included language that would have blocked the Obama administration’s plans to bring terrorist detainees into the US. However, Kratovil being the loyal Obamanista that he is, immediately turned around and VOTED FOR the bill, even though it included the provision to bring terrorists to our shores.
This should be expected from people like Kratovil and Obama. Remember, Kratovil voted AGAINST the Obama PORKULUS bill BEFORE he voted FOR it. This is the bill that was promised to stop unemployment at 8%. Now our national unemployment rate is at 10% – AND RISING. With a federal deficit of $1.42 TRILLION – AND ALSO RISING – Blue Dog Democrats like Frank Kratovil really must think that their constituents back home are dumber than the proverbial sack of hair.
from Delmarva Dealings
Found Dog
Found this morning at 130 Marvel Road Salisbury, MD
Please help me find the owner – he is a sweet old Bulldog
Call Heather at, 443-235-0981
It Couldn't Happen Here - Part IV
Bulletin
0435
In a quiet and daring raid on the WCDC compound, uniformed armed attackers have taken over the building and grounds, disabled some thirty law enforcement vehicles and removed the alleged perpetrators to what have been described as “ eight or nine black Tahoe or Escalade type SUVs with Virginia tags.” Stunned officers from all eight agencies, once relieved of their sidearms, backup weapons, cellphones and radios, looked at one another as if to say, “I thought he was one of yours.” The sound of zip cuffs filled their stony silence, and infiltrators emptied cells and interrogation rooms of suspects while law enforcement officials sat on the linoleum tile, cuffed three at a time, back to back.
0446
Twitter reports from the Salisbury bypass indicate that the vehicles are on their way past the Route 50 interchange, possibly on their way to the airport. Yes, it looks like it will be the airport, as we have a report of a similar group of individuals taking over the area around The Barrie T. Those individuals have evidently been successful in capturing all of the crime scene investigators at the site, herding them to a nearby hangar. They have pirated The Barrie T and seem to be readying it for flight.
And, from the Salisbury State Police Barrack, we're told that some 2,800 pounds of marijuana, 1100 pounds of cocaine, 800 pounds of heroin and 23,000 cartons of Newport cigarettes
have been recovered from the ground and waters along the route The Barrie T took from Assateague to Salisbury last night. Both MSP and VSP report that many potential witnesses were found at the scenes, and say that they will testify that they saw large parcels being jettisoned from The Barrie T under its floodlights as it made its way toward Salisbury. We hope to speak with at least one of those witnesses soon.
0522
Eyewitness Account of Hobart Waldron Collard, Jr., Accomack County, VA:
We are fortunate to have this witness with us on the phone. Would you tell us what you saw?
"It was nigh-on dark. I seen him out there while I was sittin' on the bank fishin', him settin' the fire to the grass with one of them little blowtorches. You know the ones – about a foot and a half long you get tanks fer down at the hardware. Anyway, he goes down the hedgerow, stands up tall, an' licks his finger an' holds it up to get a reckonin' on the wind, an' then he lights that little torch an' then walks a line, settin' the marshgrass alight as he goes. I lose him in the smoke, him walkin' away from me, even tho' he's wearin' his yeller fire suit an' helmet. An' 'bout ten minutes later here comes the blimp, ya know, that Salisbury one that got so much flap after the movie people sued the city fer ten million dollars fer showin' two year's worth a the movies to the public ever' Sunday night without a license or somethin'. They won, too, so I hear, or they settled with the city fer some gawd awful sum. A lot to pay to see some movies, even if it is on the side of a blimp, in my opinion.
Well, anyway, by that time the marsh was ablazin' under a five knot breeze, and all the critters with a prayer at survivin' were either diggin' in or headin' for better breathin' places. The blimp's about a hunnert feet up and it's followin' the wind. It's all lit up inside and there's some real loud music comin' out of it. You know that music they played in that Vietnam war movie with the helicopters? The same music. All of a sudden, Bang! Bang! There's shots bein' fired from the damn thing. Lots of shots. I look out on the marsh and sees deers fallin', right and left. These jaybobs are huntin' from that airborne rig!. And they's havin' some great luck, too. A 'course the spotlights they're usin' are a big help. Then, out the corner of my eye, I sees a big black pickup come rollin' across the field. It's that fella who set the fire in the first place. He's getting out an' pickin' up the deers an' him an' another fella in a yeller fire suit are throwin' the deers in the truck. This goes on fer about a hour. The marsh grass has pretty much burned isself out, but these fellers swing that odd lookin' thing around over the burnt out meadow and let loose with some kinda fire killin' powder that comes down and turns the whole meadow to lookin' like a Christmas card under a full moon. There's all sorts of whoopin' and hollerin' goin' on up there, like when they's givin' out prizes at the lodge a couple hours after the drinkin' has commenced. They hang around for about a hour or so, soundin' like they's havin' a fine time up there, an' I even hear some ladies' voices, an' then they start to motor off toward the Maryland line. They're headin' fer the horizon and I was just about to go out to the field and pick up all the cans and bottles they threw out their windows when Jimmy Barnes, the local Back Country Ranger feller..... What? No, little Jimmy Barnes... you're thinkin' of his dad. Anyway, Jimmy comes up behind me and asks me all sorts of questions about the blimp and the last couple of hours and if I'd seen 'em there before an' so on. An' he's got these other two fellers with him, one's from the FBI and the other one's from the DOA, and they ask me all the same questions again. And then Jimmy told me that I'd have to come and testify, and that's how come I ended up tellin' you this. Then I went out and picked up those cans and bottles they tossed out of the blimp. It came out to $11.35. Pretty good fer fifteen minutes of bendin' over. Did I see anything else get throwed out of the blimp? Could be, but it was gettin' dark and them guts can be treacherous in the dark if you don't know 'em good. Do I know 'em good? Well, I 'spect I do. 'Scuse me but I have to git back home.”
0605
Our camera feed is coming from the lead Maryland State Police Helicopter. I can see that it's the yellow one, not one of the ones painted like an MSP cruiser. About a half mile ahead of us is The Barrie T, which is now moving east over the western edge of Berlin. Attempts to reach the crew by radio have been fruitless, as have been attempts to reach it by loudspeaker or force it down by helicopters flying in its intended path. Nothing seems to work. Alongside the craft, spotters report that the windows to the blimp have been covered by their reflective shades, not allowing any glimpse whatever into the cockpit.
DEA spokesman Garrett McDonough was the first to speak to what would happen if The Barrie T failed to come around and head back to land. “We count a total of at least seventeen people in there. We don't know if it's a hostage situation or what. We do know that they were broken out of the detention center by people who knew what they were doing and who had practiced for something like this for a long time. We still don't know who they are. Forensics is working on it, but time is running out. We don't know if the ship is still carrying contraband, including what might be tons of illegal drugs and unknown numbers of weapons. We do know that we're just about to do the last thing we know to do. We're going to puncture the skin of the blimp with the hopes that we can bring it down to a fairly controlled stop, somewhere short of international waters. We know the cab is designed to float and float well. If it's not damaged when it sets down, it'll float for an almost unlimited time, enough time to get Coast Guard rescue helicopters from Norfolk and Cape May, who are on their way as I speak, on site for rescue and recovery. Excuse me. We're about to begin.
December 12, 2015
From the report of the Congressional Inquiry regarding The Barry T Incident
December 18, 2022
0435
In a quiet and daring raid on the WCDC compound, uniformed armed attackers have taken over the building and grounds, disabled some thirty law enforcement vehicles and removed the alleged perpetrators to what have been described as “ eight or nine black Tahoe or Escalade type SUVs with Virginia tags.” Stunned officers from all eight agencies, once relieved of their sidearms, backup weapons, cellphones and radios, looked at one another as if to say, “I thought he was one of yours.” The sound of zip cuffs filled their stony silence, and infiltrators emptied cells and interrogation rooms of suspects while law enforcement officials sat on the linoleum tile, cuffed three at a time, back to back.
0446
Twitter reports from the Salisbury bypass indicate that the vehicles are on their way past the Route 50 interchange, possibly on their way to the airport. Yes, it looks like it will be the airport, as we have a report of a similar group of individuals taking over the area around The Barrie T. Those individuals have evidently been successful in capturing all of the crime scene investigators at the site, herding them to a nearby hangar. They have pirated The Barrie T and seem to be readying it for flight.
And, from the Salisbury State Police Barrack, we're told that some 2,800 pounds of marijuana, 1100 pounds of cocaine, 800 pounds of heroin and 23,000 cartons of Newport cigarettes
have been recovered from the ground and waters along the route The Barrie T took from Assateague to Salisbury last night. Both MSP and VSP report that many potential witnesses were found at the scenes, and say that they will testify that they saw large parcels being jettisoned from The Barrie T under its floodlights as it made its way toward Salisbury. We hope to speak with at least one of those witnesses soon.0522
Eyewitness Account of Hobart Waldron Collard, Jr., Accomack County, VA:
We are fortunate to have this witness with us on the phone. Would you tell us what you saw?
"It was nigh-on dark. I seen him out there while I was sittin' on the bank fishin', him settin' the fire to the grass with one of them little blowtorches. You know the ones – about a foot and a half long you get tanks fer down at the hardware. Anyway, he goes down the hedgerow, stands up tall, an' licks his finger an' holds it up to get a reckonin' on the wind, an' then he lights that little torch an' then walks a line, settin' the marshgrass alight as he goes. I lose him in the smoke, him walkin' away from me, even tho' he's wearin' his yeller fire suit an' helmet. An' 'bout ten minutes later here comes the blimp, ya know, that Salisbury one that got so much flap after the movie people sued the city fer ten million dollars fer showin' two year's worth a the movies to the public ever' Sunday night without a license or somethin'. They won, too, so I hear, or they settled with the city fer some gawd awful sum. A lot to pay to see some movies, even if it is on the side of a blimp, in my opinion.
Well, anyway, by that time the marsh was ablazin' under a five knot breeze, and all the critters with a prayer at survivin' were either diggin' in or headin' for better breathin' places. The blimp's about a hunnert feet up and it's followin' the wind. It's all lit up inside and there's some real loud music comin' out of it. You know that music they played in that Vietnam war movie with the helicopters? The same music. All of a sudden, Bang! Bang! There's shots bein' fired from the damn thing. Lots of shots. I look out on the marsh and sees deers fallin', right and left. These jaybobs are huntin' from that airborne rig!. And they's havin' some great luck, too. A 'course the spotlights they're usin' are a big help. Then, out the corner of my eye, I sees a big black pickup come rollin' across the field. It's that fella who set the fire in the first place. He's getting out an' pickin' up the deers an' him an' another fella in a yeller fire suit are throwin' the deers in the truck. This goes on fer about a hour. The marsh grass has pretty much burned isself out, but these fellers swing that odd lookin' thing around over the burnt out meadow and let loose with some kinda fire killin' powder that comes down and turns the whole meadow to lookin' like a Christmas card under a full moon. There's all sorts of whoopin' and hollerin' goin' on up there, like when they's givin' out prizes at the lodge a couple hours after the drinkin' has commenced. They hang around for about a hour or so, soundin' like they's havin' a fine time up there, an' I even hear some ladies' voices, an' then they start to motor off toward the Maryland line. They're headin' fer the horizon and I was just about to go out to the field and pick up all the cans and bottles they threw out their windows when Jimmy Barnes, the local Back Country Ranger feller..... What? No, little Jimmy Barnes... you're thinkin' of his dad. Anyway, Jimmy comes up behind me and asks me all sorts of questions about the blimp and the last couple of hours and if I'd seen 'em there before an' so on. An' he's got these other two fellers with him, one's from the FBI and the other one's from the DOA, and they ask me all the same questions again. And then Jimmy told me that I'd have to come and testify, and that's how come I ended up tellin' you this. Then I went out and picked up those cans and bottles they tossed out of the blimp. It came out to $11.35. Pretty good fer fifteen minutes of bendin' over. Did I see anything else get throwed out of the blimp? Could be, but it was gettin' dark and them guts can be treacherous in the dark if you don't know 'em good. Do I know 'em good? Well, I 'spect I do. 'Scuse me but I have to git back home.”
0605
Our camera feed is coming from the lead Maryland State Police Helicopter. I can see that it's the yellow one, not one of the ones painted like an MSP cruiser. About a half mile ahead of us is The Barrie T, which is now moving east over the western edge of Berlin. Attempts to reach the crew by radio have been fruitless, as have been attempts to reach it by loudspeaker or force it down by helicopters flying in its intended path. Nothing seems to work. Alongside the craft, spotters report that the windows to the blimp have been covered by their reflective shades, not allowing any glimpse whatever into the cockpit.
Bulletin
0612
Salisbury News has learned that a Navy fighter wing squadron from Patuxtent River Air Station has been scrambled to intercept The Barrie T before she reaches international waters. They have an ETA of just over twelve minutes.
0612
Salisbury News has learned that a Navy fighter wing squadron from Patuxtent River Air Station has been scrambled to intercept The Barrie T before she reaches international waters. They have an ETA of just over twelve minutes.
Our resident know-it-all guy, G.A. Harrison, when asked about what the escapees might be trying to accomplish by heading out to sea, said, “The Atlantic Ocean is big. Really big. Not as big as the Pacific, but it's big. And there are beaches in the Atlantic, and in the Caribbean, too, which is connected to the Atlantic by miles of water. And the beaches are connected to countries. And in the countries are people who would pay money, lots of money, to have a craft like the ASCROTM-4F. I'm guessing that the people in the ASCROTM are heading for one of those beaches, and intend to sell the ASCROTM to one of those countries. And if the sellers are smart, they'll include lifetime protection in their bargains, lifetime protection for them, that is, with no threat of extradition. And if they're guilty of even half of the charges, you know they've done some financial planning and are going to be living a pleasant life somewhere that might better be called The Land of Pleasant Living. More pleasant living than where you and I are standing, of that you can be sure.”
0628
The State Police Helicopter that holds our camera is above the Atlantic and we're hovering at about 300 feet. We can see The Barrie T in the distance. She's reached a distance of nearly six miles from shore, and continues on a dead-east heading. DEA-directed Navy F-35 fighters have been buzzing the ASCROTM, attempting to convince the blimp's pilot to turn the craft around and return to land. To this point, the effort seems unsuccessful.
DEA spokesman Garrett McDonough was the first to speak to what would happen if The Barrie T failed to come around and head back to land. “We count a total of at least seventeen people in there. We don't know if it's a hostage situation or what. We do know that they were broken out of the detention center by people who knew what they were doing and who had practiced for something like this for a long time. We still don't know who they are. Forensics is working on it, but time is running out. We don't know if the ship is still carrying contraband, including what might be tons of illegal drugs and unknown numbers of weapons. We do know that we're just about to do the last thing we know to do. We're going to puncture the skin of the blimp with the hopes that we can bring it down to a fairly controlled stop, somewhere short of international waters. We know the cab is designed to float and float well. If it's not damaged when it sets down, it'll float for an almost unlimited time, enough time to get Coast Guard rescue helicopters from Norfolk and Cape May, who are on their way as I speak, on site for rescue and recovery. Excuse me. We're about to begin.
0644
With the final attempt at getting a reaction from the pilot of The Barrie T a seeming waste of effort, Navy jets have positioned themselves for a short strafing run that will serve to puncture the 320 foot blimp's Kevlar skin and release the gas that holds the craft aloft. The first jet is making a slow run from the north as the first light of sunrise begins in the distance ahead of The Barrie T. The pilot is radioing to command for permission to fire. Permission is given. He fires two rounds of non-explosive ordnance from the ship's computer controlled 20 mm cannon from a distance of some 1000 yards. The first of the rounds hits high, but punctures the blimp's skin. The next round is lower, and hits the belly of the blimp, high above the control gondola.
With the final attempt at getting a reaction from the pilot of The Barrie T a seeming waste of effort, Navy jets have positioned themselves for a short strafing run that will serve to puncture the 320 foot blimp's Kevlar skin and release the gas that holds the craft aloft. The first jet is making a slow run from the north as the first light of sunrise begins in the distance ahead of The Barrie T. The pilot is radioing to command for permission to fire. Permission is given. He fires two rounds of non-explosive ordnance from the ship's computer controlled 20 mm cannon from a distance of some 1000 yards. The first of the rounds hits high, but punctures the blimp's skin. The next round is lower, and hits the belly of the blimp, high above the control gondola.
December 12, 2015
From the report of the Congressional Inquiry regarding The Barry T Incident
"Time sequence photographs from the Navy F35's gun cameras and those of Salisbury News have proven beyond a doubt that the massive explosion that in 2014 completely obliterated the blimp, The Barrie T , as it headed toward international waters after a daring escape by seventeen detainees from the Wicomico County Detention Center was not caused by a projectile hit on any of the ship's fuel components or engines. It confirms previous scientific speculation, based upon reliable testimony and inspection of Salisbury Fire headquarters, that the craft and its contents were immolated by the very forceful ignition of the five million cubic feet of hydrogen that were held in the blimp's gas reservoirs, with a secondary explosion of fuel cells vaporizing the blimp, its cargo and passengers.
Federal and state officials, including those of the Navy, whose shots seemingly initiated the conflagration, agreed with FAA officials, who stated on record, “It is the finding of our exhaustive investigation regarding the destruction of the blimp known as The Barrie T, that the explosion of the craft was caused by the ill-advised, even foolish use of hydrogen as a lift gas instead of the recommended gas, helium, which is a stable, non-explosive gas. The use of hydrogen in lighter than air craft has been banned in the United States and throughout the world for so long that regulatory agencies no longer even test for its presence. In keeping with our findings, all law enforcement agencies and the Navy should be considered exonerated from responsibility regarding this tragic circumstance. No bodies or human remains were found at the scene or washed up on regional beaches, and all who were aboard the craft at the time have been declared missing and assumed dead.""
December 18, 20221330
The Salisbury Fire Department is rumored to be the intended recipient of funding from the Department of Homeland Security for the purchase of a 32' fire submarine. Its intended use, say DHS officials, is to “serve as a stealthy, fast-response firefighting craft in the Wicomico River and along the Chesapeake Bay from Annapolis to Cape Charles.” Debate in city council and elsewhere continues, but inside sources say that the craft is “just what we need” and that approval by the mayor and council are merely formalities.
The Salisbury Fire Department is rumored to be the intended recipient of funding from the Department of Homeland Security for the purchase of a 32' fire submarine. Its intended use, say DHS officials, is to “serve as a stealthy, fast-response firefighting craft in the Wicomico River and along the Chesapeake Bay from Annapolis to Cape Charles.” Debate in city council and elsewhere continues, but inside sources say that the craft is “just what we need” and that approval by the mayor and council are merely formalities.
Council President Louise Smith had this to say: "A submarine?
I knew Captain Nemo. Now that was a scrotum!"
And a perhaps curious note:
Unsigned postcards addressed to the Mayor of Salisbury, sent from tropical climes, continue to arrive, but in greater numbers than ever before.
It Couldn't Happen Here - Part III
ASCROTM By Any Other Name, Or How Your ASCROTM Became The Barrie T
Following the launching of the lawsuit against the City by the MPAA and others, the ASCROTM In The Park film series continued, but only by showing movies that were in the public domain, that is, not owned by anyone in particular. After a few weeks of these sometimes “cult” film presentations, it was discovered that while attendance numbers actually dramatically rose, promoters found that the audience was increasingly comprised of “just too many weirdos and ne'er do wells”, according to an SFD Volunteer Auxiliary member. It was then that the film series ended, with scarcely a groan from the public, aside from an isolated "Aw, dude!" or two from affected patrons.
To divorce itself from adverse publicity and the embroiling MPAA litigation, and to perhaps soften the sound of the name and thereby its perception by the public, SFD heads determined that a formal naming ceremony for the ASCROTM-4F would kill several birds with one stone. A commission was created by the mayor, and filled with concerned citizens. A second group of concerned citizens, protesting the makeup of the commission, attempted to put the issue to referendum, but were unable to raise even a quarter of the necessary signatures in their drive. The ASCROTM-4F Naming Commission, or, as it was popularly known, ASCROTMNC, met eight times in early 2012. At the eighth meeting, the name choice was announced. Mayor Shanie Shields read from a prepared statement, “In recognition of her final successful grant-sharing effort while in office, which was the awarding to the Salisbury Fire Department the ASCROTM-4F, a craft that has saved lives and it was given to us free. Because of this the ASCROTM will now be named after Mayor Barrie Parsons Tilghman. We will call it The Barrie T , which is shorter. Thank you. You go out to your left and audience exits after you for drinks and cake in the next room. Remember your sugar.”
Attendees supporting the naming were pleased. “Not only does this fine craft memorialize our beloved mayor, we think it actually looks a bit like her and speaks of her bearing and philosophy. Proud, forward looking, erect. This is a fitting memorial, along with the WWTP, for our favorite mayor.”
It may be remembered by some that former mayor Barrie Parsons Tilghman died in 2011 of undisclosed causes at the Betty Ford Satellite Clinic in Rancho Malario, Panama. She was 61.
0200
Interview With Commandant Leatherbury
Soon to retire Maryland State Police Commandant Ernest Leatherbury, closely involved with the local and regional law enforcement effort surrounding The Barrie T, had this to say about the multi-agency sting, which utilized the talents of no fewer than nine local, county, state and federal law enforcement entities. “We were onboard with the Wicomico County Sheriff's office and the DEA from the start, about four months ago. Once we knew surveillance was involved , we offered our helicopters. When they said that they had that covered, we went into proactive mode and claimed traffic control as our own. We worked with DSP and VSP to be ready to create a fast-access corridor from Cape Charles to Wilmington. We were ready.”
The Maryland State Police continue to offer exceptional traffic control coverage, now maintaining clear roads to and from the Wicomico County Detention Center from Route 13.
Another Interview With Sheriff Lewis
We've always envied the SFD its ASCROTM. Even though it's configured for marsh firefighting, it's a tool that we could use in multiple scenarios: drug surveillance and interdiction, search and rescue, traffic and crash site monitoring and warning, hostage situations, and a bunch I can't even think of right now. Well, as this is a confiscated vehicle, used to transport drugs, illegal cigarettes and illegal weapons across county and state lines, I think it's going to be ours, lock stock and barrel. Once we get that ugly paint off her sides and get some decent countertops in her, we'll be ready to roll. Just kidding, we'll use the countertops she has. No, wait. One more thing. We're going to have to rename her. The Barrie T just isn't going to fly. I don't know why we wouldn't just go back to calling it ASCROTM. It has a ring to it. It sounds official. It sounds like a crewcut looks: professional and official. You know, when you sport a crewcut, people tend to look up and right at you. Same with ASCROTM.”
When asked what he thought of the history of the ASCROTM, now that its true purposes were coming to light, Lewis said, “They shouldn't have abused the privilege of having something as great as this gift. If if you get something you can't afford and have no use for, even if it is a gift, you don't deserve to have it and you're probably taking it from someone who can use it, or who even needs it. People, especially government people, seem to think that you can't say no to the offer of a gift, that every time they do accept a gift it's working toward some sort of automatic progress, even if it's clearly not. In fact, some of them go out of their way to get things that they don't need, and they get other people in along with them, some with the same "I gotta have it" disease and some who are just swayed by people who say they're their friends and protectors. I'm not sure what to call that. Greed? Avarice? Stupidity? I just don't know.”
Interview with Alan Webster, Chief of Police, Salisbury
We became involved with this massive law enforcement effort early on, I think just over a month ago. We had been suspicious of the activities of the SFD when it came to the ASCROTM, but we were cautioned by Mayor Shields to be, as she put it, "Expectable and without glaring infratractionals", which I took to mean that we should put our resources and capabilities elsewhere. I was happy to hear that instruction from Her Honor, as it meant that we could continue to address the slight increase in crimes resulting from the improving economy. I know that sounds paradoxical, but, as you know, the increase in the national debt and the loss of millions of jobs was putting a strain on the lower and middle classes.
Anyway, when this thing came to a head about a month ago, I offered our services to the DEA. We have yet to hear from them, but we'll keep an ear to the ground and be prepared to defend our jurisdiction."
0239
It has been learned that the two detainees Calderon are first cousins, and are allegedly members of the alleged Calderon family Central American drug cartel. The Calderon family has long been seen at as one of the guiding forces of the Columbian drug trade, with ties to the Mid Atlantic Drug Cartel, whose members include many from crime gangs in the City of Salisbury. The Calderons are known for vigorously protecting their own, and have been known to stage violent, bloody raids on jails and holding facilities to effect the release of their family members.
Stay with Salisbury News as we continue this report.
Following the launching of the lawsuit against the City by the MPAA and others, the ASCROTM In The Park film series continued, but only by showing movies that were in the public domain, that is, not owned by anyone in particular. After a few weeks of these sometimes “cult” film presentations, it was discovered that while attendance numbers actually dramatically rose, promoters found that the audience was increasingly comprised of “just too many weirdos and ne'er do wells”, according to an SFD Volunteer Auxiliary member. It was then that the film series ended, with scarcely a groan from the public, aside from an isolated "Aw, dude!" or two from affected patrons.
To divorce itself from adverse publicity and the embroiling MPAA litigation, and to perhaps soften the sound of the name and thereby its perception by the public, SFD heads determined that a formal naming ceremony for the ASCROTM-4F would kill several birds with one stone. A commission was created by the mayor, and filled with concerned citizens. A second group of concerned citizens, protesting the makeup of the commission, attempted to put the issue to referendum, but were unable to raise even a quarter of the necessary signatures in their drive. The ASCROTM-4F Naming Commission, or, as it was popularly known, ASCROTMNC, met eight times in early 2012. At the eighth meeting, the name choice was announced. Mayor Shanie Shields read from a prepared statement, “In recognition of her final successful grant-sharing effort while in office, which was the awarding to the Salisbury Fire Department the ASCROTM-4F, a craft that has saved lives and it was given to us free. Because of this the ASCROTM will now be named after Mayor Barrie Parsons Tilghman. We will call it The Barrie T , which is shorter. Thank you. You go out to your left and audience exits after you for drinks and cake in the next room. Remember your sugar.”
Attendees supporting the naming were pleased. “Not only does this fine craft memorialize our beloved mayor, we think it actually looks a bit like her and speaks of her bearing and philosophy. Proud, forward looking, erect. This is a fitting memorial, along with the WWTP, for our favorite mayor.”
It may be remembered by some that former mayor Barrie Parsons Tilghman died in 2011 of undisclosed causes at the Betty Ford Satellite Clinic in Rancho Malario, Panama. She was 61.
0200
Interview With Commandant Leatherbury
Soon to retire Maryland State Police Commandant Ernest Leatherbury, closely involved with the local and regional law enforcement effort surrounding The Barrie T, had this to say about the multi-agency sting, which utilized the talents of no fewer than nine local, county, state and federal law enforcement entities. “We were onboard with the Wicomico County Sheriff's office and the DEA from the start, about four months ago. Once we knew surveillance was involved , we offered our helicopters. When they said that they had that covered, we went into proactive mode and claimed traffic control as our own. We worked with DSP and VSP to be ready to create a fast-access corridor from Cape Charles to Wilmington. We were ready.”
The Maryland State Police continue to offer exceptional traffic control coverage, now maintaining clear roads to and from the Wicomico County Detention Center from Route 13.
Another Interview With Sheriff Lewis
We've always envied the SFD its ASCROTM. Even though it's configured for marsh firefighting, it's a tool that we could use in multiple scenarios: drug surveillance and interdiction, search and rescue, traffic and crash site monitoring and warning, hostage situations, and a bunch I can't even think of right now. Well, as this is a confiscated vehicle, used to transport drugs, illegal cigarettes and illegal weapons across county and state lines, I think it's going to be ours, lock stock and barrel. Once we get that ugly paint off her sides and get some decent countertops in her, we'll be ready to roll. Just kidding, we'll use the countertops she has. No, wait. One more thing. We're going to have to rename her. The Barrie T just isn't going to fly. I don't know why we wouldn't just go back to calling it ASCROTM. It has a ring to it. It sounds official. It sounds like a crewcut looks: professional and official. You know, when you sport a crewcut, people tend to look up and right at you. Same with ASCROTM.”
When asked what he thought of the history of the ASCROTM, now that its true purposes were coming to light, Lewis said, “They shouldn't have abused the privilege of having something as great as this gift. If if you get something you can't afford and have no use for, even if it is a gift, you don't deserve to have it and you're probably taking it from someone who can use it, or who even needs it. People, especially government people, seem to think that you can't say no to the offer of a gift, that every time they do accept a gift it's working toward some sort of automatic progress, even if it's clearly not. In fact, some of them go out of their way to get things that they don't need, and they get other people in along with them, some with the same "I gotta have it" disease and some who are just swayed by people who say they're their friends and protectors. I'm not sure what to call that. Greed? Avarice? Stupidity? I just don't know.”
Interview with Alan Webster, Chief of Police, Salisbury
We became involved with this massive law enforcement effort early on, I think just over a month ago. We had been suspicious of the activities of the SFD when it came to the ASCROTM, but we were cautioned by Mayor Shields to be, as she put it, "Expectable and without glaring infratractionals", which I took to mean that we should put our resources and capabilities elsewhere. I was happy to hear that instruction from Her Honor, as it meant that we could continue to address the slight increase in crimes resulting from the improving economy. I know that sounds paradoxical, but, as you know, the increase in the national debt and the loss of millions of jobs was putting a strain on the lower and middle classes.
Anyway, when this thing came to a head about a month ago, I offered our services to the DEA. We have yet to hear from them, but we'll keep an ear to the ground and be prepared to defend our jurisdiction."
0239
It has been learned that the two detainees Calderon are first cousins, and are allegedly members of the alleged Calderon family Central American drug cartel. The Calderon family has long been seen at as one of the guiding forces of the Columbian drug trade, with ties to the Mid Atlantic Drug Cartel, whose members include many from crime gangs in the City of Salisbury. The Calderons are known for vigorously protecting their own, and have been known to stage violent, bloody raids on jails and holding facilities to effect the release of their family members.
Stay with Salisbury News as we continue this report.
It Couldn't Happen Here - Part II
November 16, 2014
0045
Interview with Sheriff Mike Lewis
Wicomico County Sheriff Mike Lewis emerged from an interrogation observation room moments ago. He was able to give us these words, which gave us surprising information about the incidents leading to last night's arrests: “We were the original point of contact for complaints having to do with this case, and the first agency to be called with a complaint. This goes back about fourteen months. We got reports of the blimp being seen at all hours of the day and night, and sometimes strangely close to areas where fires had just been reported. We asked the fire department about it, and they verified that they had been doing a lot more mutual aid and training calls than ever before as a part of the grant acceptance requirements. They said that it was sometimes the case that flight hours or weather would keep them overnight in isolated places on the Shore. We later checked the county's 911 logs, and they all seemed to be on the up and up, accurate to a T with what fire officials said. We ceased investigation at that point and treated all blimp sightings as routine. State and Salisbury City Police were doing the same thing. We might never have considered to do anything more with the complaints than reassure the citizens that all was well if it hadn't been for a call from the regional DEA office. Mantenga su escroto, literally, “hold your scrotum,” was a phrase that was being newly used among Hispanic gangs on the East Coast as some sort of drug dealer code phrase. The DEA scratched their heads over this for quite some time, until one sharp agent remembered seeing a Salisbury News item a few years back about the Salisbury Fire Department accepting a blimp from the federal government, the ASCROTM-4F, which was later named The Barrie T. That was when they called me as the head of the Tri-County Drug Task Force. Task Force confidential informants verified the Spanish “hold your scrotum” phrase as locally and regionally used to indicate that limited patience would be necessary to wait for the next big drug delivery from out of state. It was then, too, that we connected the phrase to the acronym to the conflicting reports of The Barrie T's movements. It all clicked. We were able to obtain a federal warrant to place a dedicated signal GPS unit on The Barrie T as she was moored at the airport. With DEA taking the lead, and with the help of the National Security Agency, we were able to get real-time satellite film of The Barrie T when she was in transit. Whenever she moved, we had pictures. This went on for the better part of eleven months. The NSA shot over a thousand hours of useful frames, edited them for time and put them in a chronological series that showed The Barrie T flying into places she shouldn't have been, picking up and delivering suspicious cargo she shouldn't have touched. After the first two months of surveillance, there was enough to take to a Maryland court to get a warrant for video and sound recording gear to be quietly and inconspicuously installed in the blimp's gondola, and for wiretaps on the 911 dispatchers' lines. With a month's worth of surveillance video and audio from inside The Barrie T and uncompromised recordings from 911 Central, we were ready to spring the trap. Eleven months of work has led us to this day. We might not get the big boys, but we're going to deal a blow to the middlemen that will be felt for quite a while. And we're going to blow the lid off the scandal that's been silently building over the past five years, the misuse of the ASCROTM.”
0045
Interview with Sheriff Mike Lewis
Wicomico County Sheriff Mike Lewis emerged from an interrogation observation room moments ago. He was able to give us these words, which gave us surprising information about the incidents leading to last night's arrests: “We were the original point of contact for complaints having to do with this case, and the first agency to be called with a complaint. This goes back about fourteen months. We got reports of the blimp being seen at all hours of the day and night, and sometimes strangely close to areas where fires had just been reported. We asked the fire department about it, and they verified that they had been doing a lot more mutual aid and training calls than ever before as a part of the grant acceptance requirements. They said that it was sometimes the case that flight hours or weather would keep them overnight in isolated places on the Shore. We later checked the county's 911 logs, and they all seemed to be on the up and up, accurate to a T with what fire officials said. We ceased investigation at that point and treated all blimp sightings as routine. State and Salisbury City Police were doing the same thing. We might never have considered to do anything more with the complaints than reassure the citizens that all was well if it hadn't been for a call from the regional DEA office. Mantenga su escroto, literally, “hold your scrotum,” was a phrase that was being newly used among Hispanic gangs on the East Coast as some sort of drug dealer code phrase. The DEA scratched their heads over this for quite some time, until one sharp agent remembered seeing a Salisbury News item a few years back about the Salisbury Fire Department accepting a blimp from the federal government, the ASCROTM-4F, which was later named The Barrie T. That was when they called me as the head of the Tri-County Drug Task Force. Task Force confidential informants verified the Spanish “hold your scrotum” phrase as locally and regionally used to indicate that limited patience would be necessary to wait for the next big drug delivery from out of state. It was then, too, that we connected the phrase to the acronym to the conflicting reports of The Barrie T's movements. It all clicked. We were able to obtain a federal warrant to place a dedicated signal GPS unit on The Barrie T as she was moored at the airport. With DEA taking the lead, and with the help of the National Security Agency, we were able to get real-time satellite film of The Barrie T when she was in transit. Whenever she moved, we had pictures. This went on for the better part of eleven months. The NSA shot over a thousand hours of useful frames, edited them for time and put them in a chronological series that showed The Barrie T flying into places she shouldn't have been, picking up and delivering suspicious cargo she shouldn't have touched. After the first two months of surveillance, there was enough to take to a Maryland court to get a warrant for video and sound recording gear to be quietly and inconspicuously installed in the blimp's gondola, and for wiretaps on the 911 dispatchers' lines. With a month's worth of surveillance video and audio from inside The Barrie T and uncompromised recordings from 911 Central, we were ready to spring the trap. Eleven months of work has led us to this day. We might not get the big boys, but we're going to deal a blow to the middlemen that will be felt for quite a while. And we're going to blow the lid off the scandal that's been silently building over the past five years, the misuse of the ASCROTM.”
A Little ASCROTM History
As many of Salisbury News' readers may have little knowledge or memory of the craft of which Sheriff Lewis spoke, we'll provide a bit of background:
The Barrie T , Salisbury City Fire Department's firefighting blimp, formerly known by its acronym ASCROTM-4F, or simply ASCROTM, was accepted by the city in fall 2009 as a part of a Homeland Security grant program. It was intended to increase the SFD's capabilities and range in fighting marsh fires on and adjacent to the land mass of the Eastern Shore. Grant requirements dictated that the area that the craft and its crews would cover would be from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to Cape Charles, Virginia, a distance of over 170 miles, representing a huge increase in mutual aid response area, which historically had been, with very few exceptions, no more than forty miles from Salisbury. The acceptance of the blimp, which was unsuccessfully contested by Councilwomen Deborah Campbell and Terry Cohen and a scant few taxpayers, changed many things, including the annual expenditures for marsh fire mutual aid calls. This was a constant irritant to the two councilwomen over ensuing years, an ever present reminder that the fiscal responsibility platforms they represented were rendered nearly moot by a perennial 3 to 2 “spend it or lose it” motivated vote in council.
After three and a half years of service, a record of maintenance and operating fees published by the city listed the craft as, for the third year running, the singlemost expensive item of equipment ever owned by the city, bar none. Operating costs were estimated to be as high as $6,600 per hour of the airborne time recorded in official flight records in FY 2011, which, remarkably, is recorded as 1,874 hours, in stark contrast to Assistant Chief Rick Hoppes' prediction that "... based on the use of another fire craft we continually pull out of the water for repairs and draining, we expect that the ASCROTM-4F will run us about $7000 a year in maintenance and everything else."
The hourly cost exceeded even that of the Barrie Parsons Tilghman Wastewater Treatment Plant, whose hourly rate at the time, after years of innumerable unsatisfactory design changes, had topped $5,000.
When questioned about the seemingly excessive cost and why much of it was not borne by other jurisdictions, as 98.3% of flights were logged to rural areas outside Salisbury and Wicomico County, Salisbury Mayor Shanie Shields, replied: “This saves lives. What money cost can you put on a human life?”
Salisbury City Council President Louise Smith said, “You must live, as I do, a life of courtesy and politeness. When all else fails, courtesy will see us through.”
Majority leader and Council Vice President Muir Boda, fresh from his appointment to council after the settlement surrounding Shields' mayoral and council seat win, a result of a newly appreciated oversight by the Wicomico Board of Elections, said last week from his new home on Jersey Road, “We have much bigger things to look at right now, including getting through the 2013 audit. We can't be sidetracked by the rhetoric of the minority.”
Salisbury City Council minority leader Deborah Campbell said, “It's about time we got to knowing where our money is going. After spending over $27 million on this foolishness in about three years, we need to be assured that the next steps we take will be to find out where the money's gone, why so much of it has been spent, and why we have the only marsh fire suppression unit on the entire Eastern Shore. It seems to me that the Homeland Security Administration, and maybe some others, have played the City of Salisbury and its taxpayers for suckers with a piece of equipment no one else wanted or could use. With the results of some of the Freedom of Information Act Request responses I've received, I intend to introduce this as a council work session item at our next meeting, so that we can all read from the same pages, which I hope won't be delivered from the Shields administration ten minutes before the meeting starts.”
Junior minority leader Terry Cohen, a Democratic shoe-in to run for the upcoming Maryland State Senate seat, said, “I hope that the taxpayers of Salisbury have seen the light, and will now overwhelmingly support a thorough housecleaning of its administration, something that seems to have unconscionably and even astoundingly slipped through the cracks for the last two decades.”
City officials were unable to justify expenditures early on, but as the mutual aid system cost share administrators became better at tracking and billing for ASCROTM's forays into the counties of the northern and southern Eastern Shore, expenditures seemed more balanced with reimbursements, but always with substantial payments pending. But this was seen as an easily-to-be-expected lag in payments from state comptrollers. Little did they know an ever increasing number of those reimbursements for mis-documented flights were actually coming from coffers other than those of the states and counties of Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. Some were coming as electronic transfers from offshore accounts in the Caribbean, cloaked in a complex web of internet proxies and computer code, followed by counterfeited paper verification and identification. Early on, some payments were in cash, presented as “donations” charitably and anonymously made for counties who were the alleged recipients of mutual aid calls made by The Barrie T. But in the spring of 2012, the bulk of payments listed in city ledgers as reimbursements for marsh fire mutual aid calls were received from a newly formed 501(c)(3) corporation known to the public only as The Marsh Queen. It was this entity, which turned out to be the philanthropic arm of the Mid Atlantic Drug Cartel, that sponsored dozens of high-profile fund and awareness raisers across the Shore, aiming its message of marshland preservation to the upper middle and upper classes, while producing internet, television and radio advertising to reach the rest of the population. To this end, the organization's video production studios even produced a live cable TV hunting and fishing show featuring a different NASCAR driver every week as a guest hunter or fisherman, and sometimes both. Many may recall the July, 2012 episode of “Where Your Mouth Is - Hunting and Fishing And Having A High Old Time On The Big Sandbar”, as four professional drivers converged on Salisbury to fish the freshly cleaned and recertified Wicomico River. Sadly, as readers may remember, premier driver Darryl Waltrip was the victim of salmonella and acute mercury poisoning from handling and eating a tainted but record-setting 19 1/2 inch, 8 lb. 6 oz. smallmouth bass caught on a red Rebel Floating Frog in six feet of water with four pound test in light weeds and heavy submerged branches on the North Prong, near the site of the failed contaminated land “giveaway” of 2009, which has,since the fishing mishap, been found to be a fresh underground source of mercury in addition to previously discovered petroleum and chemical seepage. In the wake of the incident, the site was archaeologically source-linked to a tanning concern operating in the late 1500s and a small but prolific felt and hat factory of the early to late 1700s, a factory owned, perhaps ironically, by the Parsons family. Since the 2012 event, this and two other adjacent North Prong properties have been the site of massive excavation and remediation, currently to the tune of over $58 million. Following Waltrip's untimely death, “Where Your Mouth Is” ratings soared and several spin-off series emerged, including a wildly popular VIVA! Network derivative entitled, “Mantenga Su Escroto,” roughly based on the classic U.S. shows “The Dukes of Hazzard” and “Jackass”, but with much more bass fishing, décolletage and, regrettably, graffiti. Tourists are often seen at the Darryl Waltrip Monument, located at the head of the North Prong on Isabella Street, where city-owned waterfront property meets that of the Salisbury Monument Company, the last business now occupying the North Prong after the April 2012 relocation of the Perdue Farms grain handling facility.
Once that it seemed that reimbursements for the ASCROTM's mutual aid were consistently being made, and that the city's ASCROTM-related finances appeared to be in balance, public controversy regarding the craft seemed to wither, save for an occasional Salisbury Times Grapevine post asking why the blimp was in the air so often and why its young volunteer crews came home so tired and quiet at night. Comments to those posts were generally dismissive in their tone, citing countless hours of marsh fire control by seasoned volunteers and those under their able mentorship who could have been spending their hours elsewhere, instead choosing public service.
Views from Salisbury's political camps, though, seemed unaffected. Said Councilwoman Campbell, “Something's not right here. If this blimp were a fish, it would be stinking to high heaven by now, and people would smell it all over town. You can stack hundred dollar bills as high as you like over a stinking fish, and you know what you'll get? A stinking fish covered with money and funny looks from bank tellers when you make a deposit. But, eventually, it seems, almost everybody gets used to the smell, one way or another. Almost everybody, that is.”
Council Vice President Boda said, “Like I said before, this is an insignificant issue when compared to others, and doesn't deserve any more of our attention. The money is coming in to justify the ASCROTM, and it has proved its worth on more than one occasion. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the ASCROTM soon proved its value in ways other than firefighting.”
Council President Louise Smith, looking well rested from her vacation at an undisclosed destination, said, “Pour the mixture into a greased pieplate. Cover the edges with tinfoil and bake at 350 until a toothpick comes out clean. I like it when the sun makes the colors on the straightened windowfishings look just so.”
Shanie Shields, although not asked to make a comment, did, saying,”What part of firefightering do you not understand? I trust my department heads when they tell me what's good for them. And that's why I'm the mayor and somebody else isn't. ”
In early 2013, almost prophetically, the Salisbury Fire Department was lauded by the DEA for providing streaming surveillance video, incident to an ASCROTM night training exercise, of a large drug drop off Assateague Island. This event led to the arrest and conviction of nine mid-Shore individuals who were identified as members of an established drug ring now known to have been in direct competition with the Mid Atlantic Cartel. Following this and the subsequent flurry of positive local, regional and national public relations coverage, The Barrie T's activities went virtually without public scrutiny. This affirmation even put to rest the animosity many taxpayers felt after the successful 2011 class action lawsuit launched against the city by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), Twentieth Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, The Cannon Group, Walt Disney Studios, Turner Broadcasting, the Estate of Michael Jackson and thirty-one other film production companies and stakeholders, who charged that the City of Salisbury had, without authorization or recompense, publicly presented over 120 copyrighted films to an appreciative supine audience between October 2009 and November 2011 as part of the city's popular ASCROTM Over The Park film series. The end of this extensive legal battle, it can be remembered, was nearly immediately followed by the resignations of long-time City Attorney Paul Wilber and Assistant City Administrator Lore' Chambers. Chambers, after appearing in a series of direct-to-DVD feature films, is now reported to be preparing for the lead role in an MGM remake of Funny Girl, also featuring veteran actors Michael Clarke Duncan and Ving Rhames, due to begin filming next month. Wilber's exact whereabouts are unknown, but certain city sources believe that a series of unmarked postcards to the mayor's office from tropical destinations might be clues to his currently most recent location. The December 2012 settlement for an undisclosed amount of cash and other considerations was followed in May 2013 by a thirty percent property tax increase, similar to the increase in sewer and water fees levied each year after the 2011 WWTP disaster, when grounds, overburdened by an accumulation of methane in a long-undetected and ever-growing subterranean cesspool beneath the facility, erupted in a huge explosion, causing the buildings and acres of holding ponds to slide into the Wicomico River. Remarkably, no workers were injured, and their water rescue was accomplished by passing kayakers. This rendered the then ongoing WWTP lawsuit moot, as, in the words of an O'Brien & Gere attorney, “You can't have a case without evidence, and in this case, there is neither. Poof!”
Update
0155
It now comes to light that the pilot of the ship, Griffin Delacort Watson, Jr., is only fifteen years of age and one of a dozen or more Salisbury Fire Department cadets and probational volunteer firefighters who were allegedly pressed into service as flight officers, stewards and ground personnel as part of the flight program's rigorous and extensive orientation process. He has been released to the immediate supervision of parents.
0156
New allegations, stemming from Salisbury News' revelations one minute ago, are surfacing, calling for SFD officials to explain the SFD cadet program regulations and practices. The highest of those officials are currently unavailable for comment.
Stick with Salisbury News for more exclusive updates. Is the Daily Times covering this story? Nope! They're at home, in bed. Just Salisbury News is out there for you!
It Couldn't Happen Here - Part I
Salisbury News – Your 24 Hour Really Reliable Opinionated News Source
November 15, 2014
2145
Bulletin
Salisbury News has just learned that several volunteer members of the Salisbury Fire Department, one or more high ranking government officials and about a dozen others are about to be arrested at the Salisbury/Ocean City International Airport. Details are sketchy at this time, but Salisbury News will give continuing updates as provided by our many field reporters.
Bulletin
Salisbury News has just learned that several volunteer members of the Salisbury Fire Department, one or more high ranking government officials and about a dozen others are about to be arrested at the Salisbury/Ocean City International Airport. Details are sketchy at this time, but Salisbury News will give continuing updates as provided by our many field reporters.
2158
Bulletin
Here at the Salisbury/Ocean City International Airport, under the glare of a dozen banks of tactical floodlights, a joint force of over sixty DEA, FBI, BATF, FAA, MD State Police, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Wicomico County Sheriff's Department and Salisbury University agents and officers created a close perimeter around the Salisbury Fire Department ASCROTM-4F, The Barrie T, to take into custody those now inside it. Task force spokesman FBI Special Agent in Charge Levi Townsend said, “What you're about to see is the culmination of over a year's surveillance, hundreds of hours of inter-agency communication and information sharing, and the bringing together of a diverse spectrum of law enforcement professionals to achieve one goal, and that goal is to bring criminals to justice. Here's where that process begins. You see that blimp? Everybody in it is guilty of something.”
Bulletin
Here at the Salisbury/Ocean City International Airport, under the glare of a dozen banks of tactical floodlights, a joint force of over sixty DEA, FBI, BATF, FAA, MD State Police, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Wicomico County Sheriff's Department and Salisbury University agents and officers created a close perimeter around the Salisbury Fire Department ASCROTM-4F, The Barrie T, to take into custody those now inside it. Task force spokesman FBI Special Agent in Charge Levi Townsend said, “What you're about to see is the culmination of over a year's surveillance, hundreds of hours of inter-agency communication and information sharing, and the bringing together of a diverse spectrum of law enforcement professionals to achieve one goal, and that goal is to bring criminals to justice. Here's where that process begins. You see that blimp? Everybody in it is guilty of something.”
Townsend provided Salisbury News with a list of charges to be filed by one or more of the agencies against one or more of the suspects: malfeasance in public office, misappropriation of public funds, fraud, income tax evasion, possession of prohibited firearms, theft of government property, carrying a concealed weapon, possession of untagged deer (MD and VA), possession of greater than the allowed number of deer (MD and VA), hunting out of season (MD and VA), hunting deer with the use of artificial lights (MD and VA), operating an aircraft without a registered flight plan, operating an aircraft without a license, operating an aircraft while under the influence of narcotics or alcohol, interstate transportation of untaxed cigarettes with intent to distribute, possession of controlled narcotics, possession of controlled narcotics with intent to distribute, possession of controlled narcotic paraphernalia, various sex crimes, providing false information to a law enforcement official, providing false identity to a law enforcement official, dumping, littering, thirty-nine counts of conspiracy, and improper exterior lighting on an aircraft.
Townsend added, "If there was a charge for felony stupid, we'd be using it tonight."
2228
Update:
After a very brief standoff evidently involving some alcohol-induced bravado, local, county and state and federal agents and officers took custody of twenty-three individuals, at least one from as far away as Canada. Police spokesmen reported that there were no significant incidents related to the arrests, save for the quiet disarming of several occupants, and that all of those taken into custody will next be delivered to the Wicomico County Detention Center, where questioning will begin. Forensics teams from five agencies have descended upon The Barrie T, and are now swarming the craft's interior, searching for additional evidence, which allegedly includes at least one .50 caliber sniper rifle, several experimental tactical weapons, a number of concussion grenades and an undisclosed amount of illegal drugs and untaxed cigarettes.
2240
Update:
A list of those arrested has been provided to Salisbury News. Arrested, but with charges held pending additional investigation, are:
-Reston Barlow Fleck, 46, Vienna, MD. CEO Fleck Guns & Ammo, Fleck's Shorenuff Hunting Tours
-Armani Elugio Balsatore, 52, Alexandria, VA. Junior Senator from Virginia (D)
-Lieutenant Colonal Richard Leslie Adams, III, 41, Ft. Belvoir, VA. Purchasing Liaison, U.S. Army
-Derrick Scarpatti, 68, Vienna, VA. Lobbyist, American Best Weapons Systems, LLC
-Gary Comegys, 60, Eden, MD. City Administrator and City Councilman, Salisbury, MD
-Michael P. Dunn, 57, Fruitland, MD. Assistant City Administrator, Salisbury, MD
-Thomas J. Maloney, 58, Salisbury, MD. City Attorney, Salisbury, MD
-Glendella L'Cherisa Matthews, 19, Salisbury, MD. Massage Therapist
-Shereashia D'Anieala McBounds, 22, Salisbury, MD. Corporate Hospitality Specialist
-Griffin Delacort Watson, Jr., 18, Delmar, MD. Student and Pilot of The Barrie T
-D'Erick D'Wayne Judson, Brooklyn, NY. Salisbury University Intern, Salisbury Mayor's Office
-Dumond Rothschild Derrier, 62, Vancouver, B.C., Canada. CEO, LTA Concepts Worldwide, LTD
-Tedigonada Hijo de Puta-de Puta, 37, Washington, DC. Diplomatic Courier**
-Raymond Joseph Calderon, 41, Miami, FL. Import-export executive
-Reymundo Jose Calderon, 42, Cartajena, Columbia. Import-export executive
-Richard Hoppes, 57, Lewes, DE. Chief-for-Life, Salisbury Fire Department
-William Gordy, 59, Delmar, DE. Assistant-Chief-for-Life, Salisbury Fire Department
-Jeremy Gordy, 31, Delmar, DE. Second-Assistant-Chief-for-Life, Salisbury Fire Department
-Male Juvenile, 12, Salisbury, MD.
-Male Juvenile, 13, Salisbury, MD.
-Male Juvenile, 15, Salisbury, MD.
-Male Juvenile, 13, Salisbury, MD.
-Male Juvenile, 14, Salisbury, MD.
**Charges held in abeyance pending diplomatic status determination
Update:
A list of those arrested has been provided to Salisbury News. Arrested, but with charges held pending additional investigation, are:
-Reston Barlow Fleck, 46, Vienna, MD. CEO Fleck Guns & Ammo, Fleck's Shorenuff Hunting Tours
-Armani Elugio Balsatore, 52, Alexandria, VA. Junior Senator from Virginia (D)
-Lieutenant Colonal Richard Leslie Adams, III, 41, Ft. Belvoir, VA. Purchasing Liaison, U.S. Army
-Derrick Scarpatti, 68, Vienna, VA. Lobbyist, American Best Weapons Systems, LLC
-Gary Comegys, 60, Eden, MD. City Administrator and City Councilman, Salisbury, MD
-Michael P. Dunn, 57, Fruitland, MD. Assistant City Administrator, Salisbury, MD
-Thomas J. Maloney, 58, Salisbury, MD. City Attorney, Salisbury, MD
-Glendella L'Cherisa Matthews, 19, Salisbury, MD. Massage Therapist
-Shereashia D'Anieala McBounds, 22, Salisbury, MD. Corporate Hospitality Specialist
-Griffin Delacort Watson, Jr., 18, Delmar, MD. Student and Pilot of The Barrie T
-D'Erick D'Wayne Judson, Brooklyn, NY. Salisbury University Intern, Salisbury Mayor's Office
-Dumond Rothschild Derrier, 62, Vancouver, B.C., Canada. CEO, LTA Concepts Worldwide, LTD
-Tedigonada Hijo de Puta-de Puta, 37, Washington, DC. Diplomatic Courier**
-Raymond Joseph Calderon, 41, Miami, FL. Import-export executive
-Reymundo Jose Calderon, 42, Cartajena, Columbia. Import-export executive
-Richard Hoppes, 57, Lewes, DE. Chief-for-Life, Salisbury Fire Department
-William Gordy, 59, Delmar, DE. Assistant-Chief-for-Life, Salisbury Fire Department
-Jeremy Gordy, 31, Delmar, DE. Second-Assistant-Chief-for-Life, Salisbury Fire Department
-Male Juvenile, 12, Salisbury, MD.
-Male Juvenile, 13, Salisbury, MD.
-Male Juvenile, 15, Salisbury, MD.
-Male Juvenile, 13, Salisbury, MD.
-Male Juvenile, 14, Salisbury, MD.
**Charges held in abeyance pending diplomatic status determination
2345
Here at the Wicomico County Detention Center, law enforcement officers fill the halls and drink the coffee as questioning continues in what some are now jokingly calling Blimp Gate. Word has reached us that the five juveniles involved have been released to their parents, pending further investigation of remaining suspects. At this juncture, it appears that the five were a part of a Salisbury Fire Department cadet orientation class, and not knowingly active participants in any illegal activities.
Here at the Wicomico County Detention Center, law enforcement officers fill the halls and drink the coffee as questioning continues in what some are now jokingly calling Blimp Gate. Word has reached us that the five juveniles involved have been released to their parents, pending further investigation of remaining suspects. At this juncture, it appears that the five were a part of a Salisbury Fire Department cadet orientation class, and not knowingly active participants in any illegal activities.
2355
With each passing minute, it seems that another attorney is admitted to the WCDC. Just arriving now is longtime local legal luminary Robin Cockey. We are unable to get through the crush to interview him, but it appears that he is speaking with FBI and DEA officials. Can we assume that he is here to effect the release of his as yet to be named clients? We think so.
We are now informed that one of the detainees in this case has been released, claiming diplomatic immunity from charges readied by police. First identified as Tedigonada Hijo de Puta-de Puta, his name was evidently mistaken in translation at the time of arrest. He left WCDC moments ago. His true name was revealed to law enforcement in a call from the Columbian Consulate, and his identity verified. His identity is, however, not being released to the public, evidently because of diplomatic considerations.
With each passing minute, it seems that another attorney is admitted to the WCDC. Just arriving now is longtime local legal luminary Robin Cockey. We are unable to get through the crush to interview him, but it appears that he is speaking with FBI and DEA officials. Can we assume that he is here to effect the release of his as yet to be named clients? We think so.
We are now informed that one of the detainees in this case has been released, claiming diplomatic immunity from charges readied by police. First identified as Tedigonada Hijo de Puta-de Puta, his name was evidently mistaken in translation at the time of arrest. He left WCDC moments ago. His true name was revealed to law enforcement in a call from the Columbian Consulate, and his identity verified. His identity is, however, not being released to the public, evidently because of diplomatic considerations.
Questioning of other suspects will continue through the night. Salisbury News will be here to report. Stay with us.
Sheriff Joe Arpaio Stares Down Feds In NW Valley Immigration Sweep
Sheriff Joe Arpaio wants Maricopa County (AZ) residents to know he’s not changing how he conducts his crime suppression sweeps, in spite of the federal government’s limitation of the sheriff’s officers to act as federal immigration agents.
“We will continue to do what we have been doing, and target human smuggling, employee sanctions and any criminal activity we come across,” Arpaio told a group of reporters on Friday evening at the District 3 substation in Surprise. “I will be doing the same job, which is to enforce state laws, arrest (criminals) and book them into the county jail.”
The press conference was held in conjunction with the sheriff’s 12th crime suppression operation, which began at noon on Friday and will continue for approximately 48 hours, targeting the Northwest Valley.
As of midnight Thursday, according to the federal government, sheriff personnel may not prosecute those in the country illegally, but instead those suspected of being illegal will be turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for investigation and possible prosecution.
Arpaio and his deputies may now only check the immigration status of jail inmates.
Arpaio is the subject of a Justice Department investigation triggered by complaints of racial profiling, which Arpaio denies.
Arpaio said his department was responsible for investigating arresting and detaining 33,000 suspected illegal immigrants, which represents about 25 percent of the nations’ illegal immigrant arrests.
“We did our job,” Arpaio said.
Arpaio said he is looking into challenging the limitations now imposed on the department and will have the county attorney determine whether state and local laws would supersede federal orders.
“We don’t have to be controlled by Washington in everything we do,” Arpaio said.
The sheriff was nearly drowned out by a small group of protesters who chanted through the entire press conference.
The group, carrying signs that read “We are Human,” used a microphone and protested against Arpaio's alleged human rights violations.
One of them, Jack Gilman, 70, of Surprise, said he was against Arpaio’s alleged racial profiling and treatment of undocumented immigrants.
“They aren’t bothering anyone, they aren’t taking jobs away from Americans,” Gilman said. “And he’s treating them like they are the scum of the earth.”
Arpaio said the crime sweep on Friday had so far garnered the detention of eight suspected illegal immigrants near I17 and Anthem on human smuggling charges.
“And if we don’t have enough to arrest them, we’ll turn them over to ICE,” Arpaio said, adding that the paperwork and manpower that used to be used by the sheriff’s office for those duties is now being shouldered by ICE.
Arpaio said the sheriff’s department will now be using volunteer posse members to ride along and videotape activities of the sheriff’s department employees in response to his critics videotaping similar activities.
He would not say how many cameras would be in operation, nor how much was spent on the equipment, but did say at least part of it was paid for by RICO funds.“We’ll be using video (cameras) to tape the activities of the deputies,” Arpaio said. “They are performing their duties, and we want to show that they don’t do anything wrong.”
Arpaio said Saturday night’s crime suppression sweep “may have some surprises.”
“We’ll be (targeting) all phases of illegal activity,” Arpaio said.
“We will continue to do what we have been doing, and target human smuggling, employee sanctions and any criminal activity we come across,” Arpaio told a group of reporters on Friday evening at the District 3 substation in Surprise. “I will be doing the same job, which is to enforce state laws, arrest (criminals) and book them into the county jail.”
The press conference was held in conjunction with the sheriff’s 12th crime suppression operation, which began at noon on Friday and will continue for approximately 48 hours, targeting the Northwest Valley.
As of midnight Thursday, according to the federal government, sheriff personnel may not prosecute those in the country illegally, but instead those suspected of being illegal will be turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for investigation and possible prosecution.
Arpaio and his deputies may now only check the immigration status of jail inmates.
Arpaio is the subject of a Justice Department investigation triggered by complaints of racial profiling, which Arpaio denies.
Arpaio said his department was responsible for investigating arresting and detaining 33,000 suspected illegal immigrants, which represents about 25 percent of the nations’ illegal immigrant arrests.
“We did our job,” Arpaio said.
Arpaio said he is looking into challenging the limitations now imposed on the department and will have the county attorney determine whether state and local laws would supersede federal orders.
“We don’t have to be controlled by Washington in everything we do,” Arpaio said.
The sheriff was nearly drowned out by a small group of protesters who chanted through the entire press conference.
The group, carrying signs that read “We are Human,” used a microphone and protested against Arpaio's alleged human rights violations.
One of them, Jack Gilman, 70, of Surprise, said he was against Arpaio’s alleged racial profiling and treatment of undocumented immigrants.
“They aren’t bothering anyone, they aren’t taking jobs away from Americans,” Gilman said. “And he’s treating them like they are the scum of the earth.”
Arpaio said the crime sweep on Friday had so far garnered the detention of eight suspected illegal immigrants near I17 and Anthem on human smuggling charges.
“And if we don’t have enough to arrest them, we’ll turn them over to ICE,” Arpaio said, adding that the paperwork and manpower that used to be used by the sheriff’s office for those duties is now being shouldered by ICE.
Arpaio said the sheriff’s department will now be using volunteer posse members to ride along and videotape activities of the sheriff’s department employees in response to his critics videotaping similar activities.
He would not say how many cameras would be in operation, nor how much was spent on the equipment, but did say at least part of it was paid for by RICO funds.“We’ll be using video (cameras) to tape the activities of the deputies,” Arpaio said. “They are performing their duties, and we want to show that they don’t do anything wrong.”
Arpaio said Saturday night’s crime suppression sweep “may have some surprises.”
“We’ll be (targeting) all phases of illegal activity,” Arpaio said.
More about Sheriff Arpaio's law enforcement activities here.
HISTORICAL COMMENTS BY GEORGE CHEVALLIER
FROM OUT OF THE PAST
The following is from The Salisbury Advertiser of February 19, 1876.
At the time, it was published and owned by Lemuel Malone. Mr. Malone was also an attorney and dealer in real estate. A subscription to the Advertiser was $1.00 per annum. It was published every Saturday. Their office was located at 46 Main St. It was destroyed in the Fire of 1886.
The following is from The Salisbury Advertiser of February 19, 1876.
At the time, it was published and owned by Lemuel Malone. Mr. Malone was also an attorney and dealer in real estate. A subscription to the Advertiser was $1.00 per annum. It was published every Saturday. Their office was located at 46 Main St. It was destroyed in the Fire of 1886.
I first became interested in this copy of the old newspaper years ago when I spotted an article about a baseball game. According to the newspaper, “A game of baseball was played on Pea Hill last Monday”. No score, no particulars. Research led me to do a map search of Pea Hill. The best I could come up with was a Pea Hill somewhere between the junction of Cooper Road and Collins Wharf Road. It was out in the country and I thought that was a logical place for a ball field.
Later discoveries proved me wrong in my original placement of Pea Hill. It seems that the plot of land that is now known as the Oaks was a popular recreation area in 1876. The name of the park area was known as Pea Hill. The land is on the Northwest side of the intersection of Isabella and Division Streets. By the 1880’s Elihu Jackson bought the land and built his Mansion on it. But in the 1870’s Pea Hill was a popular gathering place for Salisburians on the weekends to picnic and have the occasional baseball game.
More items from the paper:
Item 1: “We are of the opinion that the “ground hog” story is a barefaced
fraud”. (Remember this paper was published on Feb. 19th and “ground
hog day” was fresh in everybody’s mind.)
Item 2. “The debating society have decided that the Bible should remain
in the public schools. That settles it”. (Where did we go wrong?)
Item 3: “Needed improvements: We are glad to notice that the Town
Commissioners have taken steps to have the breaks in the sidewalk
on Division street placed in proper order. Not only will the pavements
in the front of private property be attended to, but the crossings will
have plank put down. The lumber is now on the ground ready for
using and it will not be long we hope before we shall have a
continuous path walk from Mr. T. Humphreys mill dam to the Park.
The matter should have been attended to long ago”.