Month: April 2018

An organization established by an exiled Russian tycoon says it has obtained emails showing collaboration between Russian government officials and the Russian lawyer who met with Donald Trump Jr. in 2016.

The emails the Dossier organization said it was sent suggest Natalia Veselnitskaya worked closely with a top official in Russia’s Prosecutor-General’s Office to fend off a U.S. fraud case against one of her clients.

Veselnitskaya has denied having connections to the Kremlin since her meeting with then-candidate Donald Trump’s son, son-in-law and campaign chairman. 

The encounter took place after Donald Trump Jr. was told she had potentially incriminating information about Trump’s election opponent, Hillary Clinton. 

Veselnitskaya is a well-connected Moscow lawyer, but the extent of her government ties has been unclear. 

Dossier is an arm of tycoon and Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky. 

 
…

The University of Virginia moved Friday to effectively ban the main organizer of last summer’s white nationalist rally from its Charlottesville campus, saying students reported he had threatened and harassed them.

The university issued a no-trespass warning to Jason Kessler on Thursday evening and was in the process of serving him with the warning, the university said in a statement Friday.

“The warning was issued due to multiple reports from students that Mr. Kessler threatened them, targeted them through cyber-bullying and cyber-harassment, and targeted them based on protected characteristics,” said that statement, which identified Kessler as a Charlottesville resident.

UVA also said Kessler had “intentionally and purposefully misled” university police regarding a torchlight rally on campus that he helped organize on Aug. 11, the night before the larger event in downtown Charlottesville.

Kessler, a UVA alumnus, denied the allegations.

A right-wing blogger, Kessler saw his profile rise in the self-described “alt-right” community — an offshoot of conservatism mixing racism, white nationalism and populism — as he publicized his fight to prevent the city from moving a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from a city park.

Hundreds of attendees and counterprotesters fought violently at the event he planned in part to protest the monument’s removal. After authorities forced the crowd to disband, a car plowed into a crowd of counterprotesters, killing a woman and injuring dozens more. A police helicopter that had been involved in monitoring the event later crashed, killing two troopers on board.

Kessler been named in several lawsuits stemming from the event. He said in an interview Friday that he recently went to the university’s law library to study up on defending himself in some of the lawsuits. He said he made two visits and was harassed while there.

He denied that he did anything wrong and called the university’s statement “defamatory.”

“I’m not going to go back onto campus until my attorneys have dealt with this,” he said.

A university spokesman didn’t respond to a request for further details about how Kessler is alleged to have targeted students based on “protected characteristics.”
…

More than three decades after his trail went cold, one of California’s most prolific serial killers and rapists was caught by using online genealogical sites to find a DNA match, prosecutors said Thursday.

Investigators compared the DNA collected from a crime scene of the Golden State Killer to online genetic profiles and found a match: a relative of the man police have identified as Joseph James DeAngelo, 72, who was arrested at his suburban Sacramento home on Tuesday.

Authorities didn’t give the name of the site, one of many that allows people to send in their DNA and find long-lost relatives, like Ancestry and 23andMe.

They also didn’t outline the rest of the investigative process — how they used that match to home in on DeAngelo, the former police officer accused of being California’s notorious Golden State Killer. Despite an outpouring of thousands of tips over the years, DeAngelo’s name had not been on the radar of law enforcement before last week, Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert said.

Contacted Friday, both Ancestry and 23andMe.com said they weren’t involved in the case.

​Suspect in 13th killing, many burglaries

Investigators also revealed Thursday that DeAngelo is the prime suspect in the 1975 killing of a community college teacher, raising the total number of his alleged victims to 13.

Detectives are trying to link Joseph DeAngelo to the slaying and about 100 burglaries that occurred in Visalia, in Central California, while DeAngelo served as a police officer in nearby Exeter, Visalia Police Chief Jason Salazar said.

The police chief said he believes DeAngelo is the so-called Visalia Ransacker, who terrorized the farming community about 40 miles (64 kilometers) south of Fresno from early 1974 until late 1975.

Authorities alleged that he was responsible for 12 murders and dozens of rapes in California from 1976 to 1986. The suspect, they said, was tied to many of those crimes through DNA.

The Ransacker’s crimes have not yet been added to the tally announced Tuesday in Sacramento because there is no DNA evidence connecting DeAngelo to the Visalia crimes, Salazar said.

DeAngelo is suspected of shooting to death journalism teacher Claude Snelling after Snelling caught him trying to kidnap his 16-year-old daughter, Salazar said.

DeAngelo matches the description of Snelling’s killer, and the serial burglar operated the same way DeAngelo is alleged to have operated in the other crimes, Salazar said.

The Visalia suspect used sophisticated “pry tools” to gain entrance to locked homes, just as DeAngelo is alleged to have used in the other crimes, Salazar said.

The Visalia suspect was seen wearing a ski mask and eluded capture because of an apparent deep-knowledge of police work.

“He was very elusive and always had a good escape route,” Salazar said.

Visalia police also have fingerprints and shoe tracks that will be investigated for matches to DeAngelo. Detectives will look to see if items taken during the Visalia burglaries are uncovered during the investigation of DeAngelo, Salazar said.

​Gathering evidence

Also Thursday, investigators searched DeAngelo’s home, looking for class rings, earrings, dishes and other items that were taken from crime scenes.

Authorities were seeking weapons and other items that could link the suspect to the crimes, Sacramento County Sheriff’s Lt. Paul Belli said. He declined to say what, if anything, investigators had found.

Investigators backed two vehicles, a motorcycle and fishing boat out of the home’s three-car garage and installed tarps to block prying eyes and news cameras.

Retired FBI profiler Clint Van Zandt said he and others have speculated that the serial killer had police or military training because of the sophistication of the crimes and the suspect’s ability to elude capture.

DeAngelo had both. He served six years as a police officer after serving for nearly two years in the Navy during the Vietnam War. He worked as an officer in Exeter from 1973 until 1976, when he joined the Auburn Police Department outside Sacramento. Auburn fired him in 1970 after he was caught shoplifting a hammer and dog repellent.

Investigators have linked DeAngelo to 11 murders that occurred after he was fired from the police department.

“There may have been a revenge aspect to it,” Van Zandt said. “He was going to show police that he was smarter than any of them and that it was a mistake to fire him.”

DNA fingerprinting began; killings stopped

​Investigators said DeAngelo appeared to stop killing and raping after 1986 and settled down to steady employment and a middle-class life.

Former profilers said most serial killers usually don’t stop until they die or get arrested, but a few have voluntarily quit.

Scientists developed a way to identify rapists and others through DNA fingerprinting in 1986, the same year as DeAngelo’s last alleged murder.

Experts noted that DeAngelo, who graduated from Sacramento State with a criminal justice degree, most likely knew about the highly publicized DNA breakthrough.

“He knew police techniques,” said John Jay College of Criminal Justice professor Louis Schlesinger. “He was smart.”
…

More than three decades after his trail went cold, one of California’s most prolific serial killers and rapists was caught by using online genealogical sites to find a DNA match, prosecutors said Thursday.

Investigators compared the DNA collected from a crime scene of the Golden State Killer to online genetic profiles and found a match: a relative of the man police have identified as Joseph James DeAngelo, 72, who was arrested at his suburban Sacramento home on Tuesday.

Authorities didn’t give the name of the site, one of many that allows people to send in their DNA and find long-lost relatives, like Ancestry and 23andMe.

They also didn’t outline the rest of the investigative process — how they used that match to home in on DeAngelo, the former police officer accused of being California’s notorious Golden State Killer. Despite an outpouring of thousands of tips over the years, DeAngelo’s name had not been on the radar of law enforcement before last week, Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert said.

Contacted Friday, both Ancestry and 23andMe.com said they weren’t involved in the case.

​Suspect in 13th killing, many burglaries

Investigators also revealed Thursday that DeAngelo is the prime suspect in the 1975 killing of a community college teacher, raising the total number of his alleged victims to 13.

Detectives are trying to link Joseph DeAngelo to the slaying and about 100 burglaries that occurred in Visalia, in Central California, while DeAngelo served as a police officer in nearby Exeter, Visalia Police Chief Jason Salazar said.

The police chief said he believes DeAngelo is the so-called Visalia Ransacker, who terrorized the farming community about 40 miles (64 kilometers) south of Fresno from early 1974 until late 1975.

Authorities alleged that he was responsible for 12 murders and dozens of rapes in California from 1976 to 1986. The suspect, they said, was tied to many of those crimes through DNA.

The Ransacker’s crimes have not yet been added to the tally announced Tuesday in Sacramento because there is no DNA evidence connecting DeAngelo to the Visalia crimes, Salazar said.

DeAngelo is suspected of shooting to death journalism teacher Claude Snelling after Snelling caught him trying to kidnap his 16-year-old daughter, Salazar said.

DeAngelo matches the description of Snelling’s killer, and the serial burglar operated the same way DeAngelo is alleged to have operated in the other crimes, Salazar said.

The Visalia suspect used sophisticated “pry tools” to gain entrance to locked homes, just as DeAngelo is alleged to have used in the other crimes, Salazar said.

The Visalia suspect was seen wearing a ski mask and eluded capture because of an apparent deep-knowledge of police work.

“He was very elusive and always had a good escape route,” Salazar said.

Visalia police also have fingerprints and shoe tracks that will be investigated for matches to DeAngelo. Detectives will look to see if items taken during the Visalia burglaries are uncovered during the investigation of DeAngelo, Salazar said.

​Gathering evidence

Also Thursday, investigators searched DeAngelo’s home, looking for class rings, earrings, dishes and other items that were taken from crime scenes.

Authorities were seeking weapons and other items that could link the suspect to the crimes, Sacramento County Sheriff’s Lt. Paul Belli said. He declined to say what, if anything, investigators had found.

Investigators backed two vehicles, a motorcycle and fishing boat out of the home’s three-car garage and installed tarps to block prying eyes and news cameras.

Retired FBI profiler Clint Van Zandt said he and others have speculated that the serial killer had police or military training because of the sophistication of the crimes and the suspect’s ability to elude capture.

DeAngelo had both. He served six years as a police officer after serving for nearly two years in the Navy during the Vietnam War. He worked as an officer in Exeter from 1973 until 1976, when he joined the Auburn Police Department outside Sacramento. Auburn fired him in 1970 after he was caught shoplifting a hammer and dog repellent.

Investigators have linked DeAngelo to 11 murders that occurred after he was fired from the police department.

“There may have been a revenge aspect to it,” Van Zandt said. “He was going to show police that he was smarter than any of them and that it was a mistake to fire him.”

DNA fingerprinting began; killings stopped

​Investigators said DeAngelo appeared to stop killing and raping after 1986 and settled down to steady employment and a middle-class life.

Former profilers said most serial killers usually don’t stop until they die or get arrested, but a few have voluntarily quit.

Scientists developed a way to identify rapists and others through DNA fingerprinting in 1986, the same year as DeAngelo’s last alleged murder.

Experts noted that DeAngelo, who graduated from Sacramento State with a criminal justice degree, most likely knew about the highly publicized DNA breakthrough.

“He knew police techniques,” said John Jay College of Criminal Justice professor Louis Schlesinger. “He was smart.”
…

The Department of Health and Human Services lost track of nearly 1,500 migrant children it placed with sponsors in the United States, an agency official told a Senate subcommittee Thursday.

The children were taken into government care after they showed up alone at the Southwest border. Most of the children are from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, and were fleeing drug cartels, gang violence and domestic abuse.

The agency learned the 1,475 children could not be found after making follow-up calls to check on their safety, the committee was told. 

The news has raised concern that the children could fall into the hands of human traffickers or be used as laborers by people posing as relatives. 

“You are the worst foster parents in the world. You don’t even know where they are,” said Democratic Senator Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota. “We are failing. I don’t think there is any doubt about it. And when we fail kids, that makes me angry.”

Since the dramatic surge of border crossings in 2013, the federal government has placed more than 180,000 unaccompanied minors with parents or other adult sponsors who are expected to care for the children and help them attend school while they seek legal status in immigration court. 

An AP investigation in 2016 found that more than two dozen of those children had been sent to homes where they were sexually assaulted, starved or forced to work for little or no pay. Since then, the Department Health and Human Services has boosted outreach to at-risk children deemed to need extra protection, and last year offered post-placement services to about one-third of unaccompanied minors. 

But advocates say it is hard to know how many minors may be in dangerous conditions, in part because some disappear before social workers can follow up with them, and they never show up in court. 

Republican Senator Rob Portman of Ohio gave HHS and the Department of Homeland Security until Monday to deliver a time frame for improving monitoring.

“These kids, regardless of their immigration status, deserve to be treated properly, not abused or trafficked,” said Portman, who chairs the subcommittee. “This is all about accountability.”
…

The Department of Health and Human Services lost track of nearly 1,500 migrant children it placed with sponsors in the United States, an agency official told a Senate subcommittee Thursday.

The children were taken into government care after they showed up alone at the Southwest border. Most of the children are from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, and were fleeing drug cartels, gang violence and domestic abuse.

The agency learned the 1,475 children could not be found after making follow-up calls to check on their safety, the committee was told. 

The news has raised concern that the children could fall into the hands of human traffickers or be used as laborers by people posing as relatives. 

“You are the worst foster parents in the world. You don’t even know where they are,” said Democratic Senator Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota. “We are failing. I don’t think there is any doubt about it. And when we fail kids, that makes me angry.”

Since the dramatic surge of border crossings in 2013, the federal government has placed more than 180,000 unaccompanied minors with parents or other adult sponsors who are expected to care for the children and help them attend school while they seek legal status in immigration court. 

An AP investigation in 2016 found that more than two dozen of those children had been sent to homes where they were sexually assaulted, starved or forced to work for little or no pay. Since then, the Department Health and Human Services has boosted outreach to at-risk children deemed to need extra protection, and last year offered post-placement services to about one-third of unaccompanied minors. 

But advocates say it is hard to know how many minors may be in dangerous conditions, in part because some disappear before social workers can follow up with them, and they never show up in court. 

Republican Senator Rob Portman of Ohio gave HHS and the Department of Homeland Security until Monday to deliver a time frame for improving monitoring.

“These kids, regardless of their immigration status, deserve to be treated properly, not abused or trafficked,” said Portman, who chairs the subcommittee. “This is all about accountability.”
…