Criminal Justice News Letter – February 17, 2023

Section I: Political Watch & White Collar Crimes

Articles of political crimes and shenanigans, or as we call them, “High Crimes and Misdemeanors,” and corporate crimes.

Article 1. Mexico’s President Turns a Blind Eye to Its Neighbors – featured story

There is tension between the Mexican leader and his neighbors to the north. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, known as AMLO, is slowly ‘eroding democracy.’ According to Denise Dresser of The Wall Street Journal, “The president has centralized power by removing checks and balances, weakening autonomous institutions and seizing discretionary control of the country’s budget.” By way of constitutional reform, AMLO has created a force known as the National Guard, which replaced the police and operates under the control of the Defense Ministry. The National Guard has no civilian oversight. This causes a huge concern for civil rights advocates who pursue democratic reforms and human rights abuses.

AMLO asserts that his measures are justified and needed because of criminal violence and drug trafficking that has plagued his country. However, these reforms have hardly succeeded. Mexico has one of the worst homicide rates in the Western Hemisphere. Mexico tops the list with the largest number of journalists killed in recent years and Mexican drug cartels are feeding the U.S. with opioids. According The Wall Street Journal, “Last May (2022), Mexico registered more than 100,000 people as missing or disappeared, and criminal organizations operate freely in many states, where executions, kidnappings, and extortion have become routine.”

In May 2020, General Salvador Cienfuegos, Mexico’s former minister of defense, was arrested in Los Angeles on charges of drug trafficking. Negotiations with the Trump administration led to Mr. Cienfuegos to be extradited to Mexico, in which he was exonerated by local authorities. AMLO has also made it extremely impossible for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to operate in Mexico. Joint intelligence operations between the two countries have stalled.

There seems to have been, and is, a quid pro quo at work between AMLO and the administrations of Trump and Biden. That being AMLO will help police the border in exchange for Washington turning a blind eye to Mexico’s increasing lawlessness and democratic erosion. In either case, Mexico is missing out on critical opportunities that could help the region in future growth. As Ms. Dresser concludes, “Mexico holds the key to a more integrated, vibrant, and economically competitive region. But if it is allowed to continue on its current trajectory undeterred – slouching toward autocracy and lawlessness – the great hopes for North America will remain mere rhetoric…Mexico’s backsliding affects U.S. security and Canadian business interests.” – source – The Wall Street Journal

Article 2: U.S. Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) Tips for Fraud

According to the SEC, there are six (6) ways to avoid investment fraud. Researchers have discovered that investment frauders (white collar criminals) hit their targets with a number of persuasive techniques that are tailored to the victim’s psychological profile.

The following are red flags for all to be aware of:

– source – United States Security and Exchange Commission

Section II: The Local Drug Corner

Articles concerning illegal drugs, the business behind illegal drugs, and drug addiction.

Article 1. “Cartel-style” Execution in California

There is something about murder that goes against the laws of man. There is something about an execution style murder of women and children that goes against the laws of humanity.

In the early hours of January 16, 2023, intruders broke into a gray house in a little town called Goshen, California. It is located in California’s San Joaquin Valley. It is believed two intruders broke inside the home and murdered the inhabitants. The victims consisted of a 72 year old women who was asleep in bed; a teenage mother (age 16) and her infant, who were each shot point-blank in their heads; and a 19 year old man who often stayed up late playing video games.

The killings shocked law enforcement officials who are regularly called upon to investigate murder in San Joaquin Valley. Some members of the murdered family were identified as gang members, and law enforcement opines the gruesome nature of the attack is a calling card of Mexican drug cartels. The Mexican cartels are using stash homes located in rural America to move their drugs into and throughout America.

“A lot of cartels are moving into rural areas in the United States,” said Nathan P. Jones, associate professor of security studies at Sam Houston State University in Texas. “They can avoid major metro areas’ drug task forces, find cheap stash houses to keep drugs and be close to highways or interstates,” he said.

It was about 3:38 a.m. on Jan. 16 when the gunmen invaded the Parraz family residence on Harvest Avenue, near the train tracks, abutting Highway 99. The people they killed ranged in age from 10 months to 72 years. One victim, Eladio Parraz Jr., 52, was a documented gang member who had previously been arrested on drug and firearm charges. However according to law enforcement, four of the victims had no gang affiliation: Alissa Parraz, 16, who tried to flee, only to be cornered by a gunman who stood over her as she clutched her baby, Nycholas, and fired rounds into their heads; her grandmother, Rosa Parraz; and Marcos Parraz, 19. Also among the dead was Jennifer Analla, 50, who was the girlfriend of one of the three survivors. An investigation involving federal agencies is underway, and details remain few.

Mike Boudreaux, the Tulare County sheriff, deemed the crime one of the most heinous in his 37 years on the job. He said that the “targeted massacre” pointed to cartel involvement. “These people were given clear directions to kill that entire family,” he reported. “That is what is unique here…Gangs do not prey upon innocent bystanders; women and children are off limits,” the sheriff added. Sheriff Boudreaux also reported that Marcos Parraz had no known connection to any criminal activity. “He just played video games.”

Mexican cartels have come to dominate wholesale distribution in the United States with drugs like fentanyl, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine. The majority of those drugs enter the country in trucks and cars crossing the southern border through official ports of entry. Because of the need to keep traffic flowing, not all vehicles are inspected. If a vehicle is seized by authorities, the cartels believe this is the price of “doing business.” They have so much profit in illegal drug distribution that the loss at the border is expected. For example, fentanyl seizures at the border soared last year and have continued to rise. In addition to that, “we imagine there is a lot that is getting through,” said Earl Wayne, a former U.S. ambassador to Mexico.

However, Mexican cartels are not known for hurting innocent women and children. They try to avoid the notoriety and stay below law enforcement’s radar. “Cartels have been very careful, in general, not to engage in that kind of violence in the U.S.,” Mr. Wayne said. “They know law enforcement and the justice system are more effective than in Mexico.”

Mr. Jones said cartels preferred to subcontract violence to gangs, and he suggested that the deadly rampage in Goshen might have been the work of “an undisciplined soldier or an individual on drugs making irrational decisions.” “Cartels try to avoid big, spectacular acts of violence in the United States,” he said.

“These murders have us all asking, ‘What the heck?’” said Martin Hernandez, 22, who was born and raised in Goshen. “‘Who would kill a grandmother? What did a baby have to do with it?’” He added, “We have gangs, but they don’t do that kind of stuff. Our thoughts went right away to cartels. Only they would do something so ruthless.”

The Drug Enforcement Administration, along with the Federal Bureau of Investigations, have been asked to assist in the murder investigation. – source – The New York Times and CNN

Section III: The Firearms Table

This section of CJ News will explore the business of firearms and crimes that are committed by the use of firearms.

Article 1. Firearms Insurance

San Jose, California, has recently passed a law, the first in the nation, that requires gun owners within the city to have insurance covering costs related to accidental gunshot injuries or deaths. The law does not cover criminal misuse of firearms. Mayor Sam Liccardo, a Democrat, passed the legislation after a series of mass shootings in the area.

Mr. Liccardo, who had to step down because of term limits, believes the law will result in insurers’ offering lower premiums to gun owners who safely store and handle their firearms. His theory centers around auto insurers providing discounts for good driving. “Just as insurance was to dramatically improve road safety…insurance with guns could similarly have that effect,” Mr. Liccardo said.

New Jersey Democratic Governor Phil Murphy signed into law a similar bill akin to San Jose’s insurance law. The New Jersey law requires at least $300,000 in insurance coverage related to injury, death, or property damage for people with permits to carry guns in public. The San Jose law requires all gun owners, regardless of whether or not they are in public, to have coverage.

However, some gun owners report that they have already taken steps to keep their firearms safe. They argue that city officials should spend their time fighting gun violence. These laws are sure to be litigated in local, state, and probably the Supreme Court. – source – The Wall Street Journal

Article 2. U.S. District Judge Blocks Gun Ban in New Jersey

The state of New Jersey cannot enforce bans on concealed weapons in public places such as; public libraries, museums, bars, restaurants, and entertainment facilities. According to U.S. District Judge Renee Marie Bumb, “Together, the new restrictions are so extensive and burdensome that they render Plaintiff’s right to armed self-defense in public a nullity.” Judge Bumb, a President George W. Bush appointee, in so ruling granted a temporary restraining order.

A spokesperson for Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said the state is considering an appeal. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are a collection of people who hold concealed weapons permits and regularly carry firearms while conducting business. – source – The Wall Street Journal

Article 3. ATF Facts and Figures for Fiscal Year 2022

Below are some facts and figures related to the U.S. Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) in the year 2022:

In 2022, ATF employed a total of 5,099 full time employees. Of the total employees, 2,586 were special agents and 1,697 were administrative/professional/technical support.

Cases and defendants: This data presents a snapshot in time of matters proceeding through the various phases of the judicial process. The typical ATF case recommended for prosecution remains open over a period of approximately 4 years:

CASES:*

Defendants:*

• take into account that there could be more than one defendant per case or co-defendants (a case is normally consistent with a docket or court case number).

The ATF National Laboratory incurred 1,437 requests for analysis and testing. ATF Laboratory completed the analysis’ requests of 1,209 firearms.

Section IV: Mental Health and Criminal Profiles

This section of CJ News investigates the motive of criminals and looks at why mental health is becoming synonymous with the criminal justice system.

The pursuit of finding a cure for drug addiction has led to all sorts of behavioral theories and predictions. As a criminal justice professional with over 30 years experience in the business, I can honestly say, “nothing works.” I say it with a fake smile, however, because it pains me to know that is not what mothers, fathers, wives, or husbands want to hear. They want to hear, “send them here and they will be fine,” or, “give them this drug and they will lose the craving.”

Well, sorry it does not work that way. Many of my cases would openly tell me, “I am not ready yet.” They would continue along the path of addiction because it was “fun” and/or their “escape.” It was the life they had and they did not want to change it. So, that is the premise of the book, On Pills and Needles by Rick Van Warner. I urge anyone who has a teenage son or daughter, or anyone who knowns someone who does not wish to break the cycle of addiction, to read this book. And, do not despair.

Please find book review at https://centerofhistoryandpublicpolicy.com/on-pills-and-needles-book-review/.

Mike Constantakos–editor of CJ Newsletter–founder of Center of History and Public Policy