First Chicago Homeowner Links Security Cameras to Cops

Charles Hill, a private Chicago homeowner, has become the first private citizen to agree to link his five surveillance cameras to Chicago's 911 center. Two months ago, The City of Chicago made an offer to all Chicago homeowners and businesses to link their surveillance cameras to their 911 emergency center. Mr. Hill decided to take the city up on on it's offer after local kids broke $3,700 in windows outside his new house he is building in West Chatham. The city has set up a secure internet web hookup that will transmit fully encrypted video that cannot be hacked or compromised by anyone. Almost a dozen colleges, businesses and high rises have agreed to share their video surveillance with the city. Once set up, this network promises to provide an almost panoramic view of the entire city. The entities that have agree to join this network include, Boeing, Macy's, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the Chicago Board Options Exchange, Blue Cross-Blue Shield, Golub & Company, JPMorgan Chase Bank, Sears Tower, Prudential Plaza, the Cook County Administration Building, Rush Hospital, Columbia College, Harold Washington College, St. Xavier University, DePaul University, Roosevelt University, Ike Sims Village and a group of State Street merchants.

City officials are confident that they will eventually have hundreds of additional volunteers based on the enthusiastic response they have received thus far.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Courts Not Yet Enforcing Camera Speeding Tickets

In a rather interesting article in today's Chicago Tribune, there is a report that courts are not enforcing tickets issued by van's equipped with cameras that record speeders and mail them tickets with photographs of their vehicle. So far this year, Cook County has not recorded a single conviction for any such traffic tickets issued. The Illinois Vehicle Code provides for hefty and painful penalties for motorist convicted of speeding in a work zone. The mandatory fine for speeding in a 45 m.p.h. work zone is $375, approximately $300 in court costs and a conviction that would remain on a motorists permanent driving record. This could cause a motorist's auto insurance premiums to be increased. So far this year, 814 such tickets have been issued in Cook County. 59.3% have been dismissed and the remainder have been reduced to regular speeding offenses. In 2007, 1,136 such tickets were issued and only 4.9% were convicted. In 2006, 1,528 such tickets were issued and only 4.8% were convicted. Cases get dismissed because the pictures are not clear enough to convict or police files do not come to court in time. Judge Walter Williams, the supervising traffic court judge, expressed suprise at the numbers and indicated that nobody had bought this to his attention.

Chicago motorists should anticipate that prosecutors and judges will make a greater effort to crack down on these tickets now that this article has been published and come to the public's attention.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Feds Conduct Major Drug Sweep

Today, federal agents descended on the Little Village neighborhood attempting to arrest approximately 40 members of the Latin Kings street gang. Many of the gang members charged today are high ranking members of the gang. Officers today arrested 29 individuals and are searching for 11 more. Federal agents had apparently infiltrated the street gang with audio and video surveillance and informants. In a meeting in 2007, these high ranking members were ordered to sell at least a quarter ounce of cocaine per month to supply the gang with money. At that meeting, each of the individuals attending was patted down to make sure that they did not have a wire. However, it turns out that the individual doing the pat down was actually the informant.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Kane County Sting Nabs Drivers Leaving Court

In an elaborate sting in Kane County, motorists driving on suspended or revoked licenses were nabbed by police as they were leaving the Kane County courthouse in St. Charles. Police and prosecutors identified 38 defendants who were scheduled to appear in court today and had their licenses either suspended or revoked. Then, using a combination of undercover officers and spotters stationed on surrounding office buildings, officials followed the drivers as they drove into the parking lot and entered the courthouse. Officials would then follow them as they exited the courthouse and then called officers, mostly Illinois State Police, who would curb the vehicle and arrest the offenders.

Such stings frequently take place in Cook County. A few months ago, one of our attorneys appeared in the Markham courthouse for a client charged with Driving on a Suspended License. The attorney worked out a plea agreement for the client and as the attorney was leaving the Markham Courthouse, he saw that his client had been pulled over by a Cook County Sheriff's Deputy as he was driving out of the parking lot of the courthouse.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Executions Drop to 13 Year Low

The Death Penalty Information Center, a Washington based group that is opposed to the death penalty, has released figures which show that forty-two people were put to death this year. This is the lowest number of executions since 1999 when 98 inmates were put to death. And the figures for next year are expected to drop even further. On January 7 the United States Supreme Court will hear oral arguments about whether the way lethal injections are administered in 36 of the 37 states that use the death penalty are constitutional or whether they violate the prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. The argument is that the mixture of chemicals used in lethal injection may cause excruciating pain to inmates who are unable to express their discomfort. If the Supreme Court finds lethal injection to be unconstitutional, it will take years before states can come up with procedures that would be acceptable. Also, stays of executions have been issued in several states pending a decision in this case. Even if the Supreme Court finds lethal injections to be constitutional, it will take months for new execution dates to be set in the cases where stays have been issued. There are no more executions scheduled in the United States this year.

The vast majority of executions were in the South with 86% of the executions. Texas leads the nation with 62% of the executions.

The number of executions have been declining in recent years. And there appears to be a movement to eliminate the death penalty altogether. Last week, New Jersey's legislature outlawed the death penalty and the Governor of New Jersey, John Corzine, signed the bill into law this past Monday. Similar bills in Nebraska, New Mexico and Montana were introduced in the state legislatures but failed. State legislators are considering submitting similar bills in Maryland, Colorado, North Carolina, Tennessee and California.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Violent Crime Rates Drop Nationally

On Monday, the U.S. Department of Justice released a report indicating that violent crime rates have decreased. According to the Department of Justice, the violent crime rate dropped 0.7% from 2006 to 2007. This drop follows two years of increases in the violent crime rate. In 2005 the violent crime rate increased 2.3% and in 2006 it increased 1.3%. Between 2006 and 2007, the rate of rapes dropped 2.5%. The number of murders dropped 0.6%, aggravated assaults dropped by 0.6% and robberies decreased by 0.5%. Additionally, the violent crime rate dropped in every region of the country except for the South, where the violent crime rate actually increased by 1.6%. These numbers fly in the face of our blog of August 7, 2008 which talked about the violent crime statistics released by the Chicago Police Department which points to a big increase in violent crime rates in the City of Chicago. As a matter of fact, the City of Chicago is on pace to set a new murder record for 2008.

For information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Wisconsin Woman Arrested For Not Paying Library Fines

In a complete waste of police and court resources, a Wisconsin woman was arrested on an outstanding warrant for not paying $30 in overdue library fees. The Defendant, Heidi Dalibor, 20, admits that she ignored phone calls from the library, notices in the mail and a notice to appear in court. The police knocked on her door with an arrest warrant in hand, handcuffed her and took her to the police station for fingerprints and photographs. The police officials state that they treated her the same way they treat everyone arrested on an outstanding arrest warrant and the library officials state that about two dozen people a year are cited for failing to pay their library fines.

This incident cost Heidi Dalibor $30 for the overdue fees and her mother $172 to get her out of jail. The cost to the county government is unknown but was probably much more than the overdue fees owed.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

New York Man Charged With Making Plate Disappear

A New York motorist is charged with making his front license plate intentionally disappear as he went through the toll plaza without paying the toll so he would not be caught. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is in charge of collecting tolls at many of the toll roads in New York and New Jersey. The authorities say that Orlando Payano ran a cable from his front license plate to his cigarette lighter and when he passed the toll plaza without paying he would activate the cable and it would flip the front license plate under his vehicle thereby avoiding being identified when a camera would take a picture of the vehicle as it passed through the toll plaza without paying the toll.

Orlando Payano has denied the allegations and denied that he even had a cable in his vehicle.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

State Court Rules No Wrongful Death for In Vitro Embryos

In a decision from the Illinois Court of Appeals in a civil matter involving the Illinois Wrongful Death Act that could have implications for criminal cases, the court ruled that a couple cannot sue a fertility clinic for the wrongful destruction of their frozen embryos. In January of 2000, a Chicago couple created and stored 9 frozen embryos through in vitro vertilization at the Center for Human Reproduction of Chicago. In June of 2000, they called the Center to request that the frozen embryos be transferred to another facility and were told that the embryos had been destroyed by mistake. They sued the Center for Human Reproduction under the Illinois Wrongful Death Act. They sued under a specific provision of the Act which provides for monetary damages from someone who harms a fetus in the womb by an attack or accident of some type. Initially, 2 Cook County Circuit Court Judges denied the claim but another Cook County Judge reversed those decisions and ruled that the couple could continue with their lawsuit. The Center appealed to the Illinois Court of Appeals and the court ruled that since the Act does not specifically address in vitro fertilization, the court could not legislate from the bench and give the Plaintiff's a right that the legislature did not specifically grant in the Act. The court went on to rule that whether frozen embryos should be covered by the Act is something that legislators should address, not judges.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Feds Raid Lawyers Office Raising Attorney Client Concerns

Only July 28, federal agents raided the office of Ohio attorney George Argie. You would think that they were investigating Mr. Argie, but instead, the agents wanted information on Argie's representation of a client, Steve Pumper. In almost all cases involving the search of a lawyer's office, the target of the investigation is usually the lawyer himself. But not in this case. And this case has raised concerns about the attorney client privilege. There are concerns that this could have a chilling effect on the defense bar. This move by the federal government infringes on the most basic part of legal representation; the attorney-client privilege, the principle that what clients tell their attorney stays secret. It is very extraordinary for authorities to do what they did in this case. The usual standard for obtaining a search warrant is probable cause. But when it comes to raiding a lawyers office, a higher standard is required to be met. Prosecutors need the approval from a very high ranking official of the U.S. Attorney General's office to do something like this. Attorney George Argie has also been served with a Grand Jury Subpoena demanding that he produce documents related to his representation of Steve Pumper. Attorney Argie denies that he is the target of the investigation and maintains that he represented Steve Pumper legally and ethically.

We will keep an eye on this case to see what develops.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

State Program Assisting Victims of Domestic Violence Eliminated

A state sponsored program that provides tuition assitance and career counseling to hundreds of victims of domestic violence has been eliminated by Governor Rod Blagojevich due to budget cuts. The program is known as the Displaced Homemaker Program. A total of 10 community colleges throughout the State of Illinois offer the program which was funded by the State of Illinois. The 30 year old program assists more than 1,500 female victims of domestic violence who have lost their main source of income because of a divorce, separation or death of a spouse. Governor Blagojevich cut the program with a line item veto. The total amount spent by the State of Illinois to run the program was $621,300. The Governor's office said that this line item veto was necessary because of the state budget deficit.

The Illinois House of Representatives has passed legislation restoring the funding but it is unclear if the Illinois Senate will follow suit.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Not Guilty for Domestic Battery After Trial in Maywood

Chicago criminal defense attorney, James Dimeas, obtained a Not Guilty verdict for a Domestic Battery in the Maywood courthouse. Mr. Dimeas's client was charged with a Domestic Battery and with Interference With Reporting a Domestic Battery involving his 17 year old daughter. The client had been divorced from his wife. He arranged to meet his 17 year old daughter, and her dog, at a park close to the daughter's home. The client and the daughter walked with the dog in the park and the client then placed the dog inside his jacket to keep it warm. The client decided to go into his car to keep warm. The daughter thought that the client was trying to take her dog and attempted to stop him from getting into his car. The daughter testified that she tried to grab the dog as the client was holding it inside his dog. A struggle ensued and a couple of motorists stopped to render assistance and to call the police. A witness testified that she saw the daughter pinned against the vehicle but thought that she was witnessing an abduction. The daughter testified that the dog belonged to her and her father. She also testified that her father pinned her arm against the car but that she was determined to not let him take her dog.

At the close of the state's case, Chicago criminal defense attorney, James Dimeas, moved for a Directed Verdict, arguing that the state had failed to produce enough evidence for the case to continue. Mr. Dimeas argued that the daughter was the aggressor and that she provoked the client by grabbing at the dog as the client was holding it to his chest, close to his neck and face. In addition, the daughter had testified that the dog belonged to her and her father. The court agreed with Chicago criminal defense attorney James Dimeas and found in favor of his client and dismissed all the charges against him.

The client was extremely grateful for the efforts of Chicago criminal defense attorney, James Dimeas's efforts. The client had no criminal record. He is an accomplished Engineer who holds several patents and has published several professional works of literature.

This victory by Chicago criminal defense attorney, James Dimeas, keeps his unbeaten streak in Maywood alive!

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call as anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

New York Criminal Defense Attorney Charged With Trying to Kill Witness

A prominent New York criminal defense attorney has been charged with conspiring to have a witnesses in a drug trial killed. Robert Simels, a well known New York criminal defense attorney, was working for Shaheed Khan. Mr. Khan is in jail awaiting trial on gun charges. Mr. Khan runs an international cocaine ring with a paramilitary unit in the country of Guyana that has murdered people and committed acts of violence at Mr. Khan's direction. Federal authorities had been working with a confidential informant who secretly recorded conversions with attorney Simels. In those recordings, Simels is recorded telling the informant that "any witness you can eliminate is a good thing." According to the Criminal Complaint, Mr. Simels told the witness that Mr. Khan would be willing to pay whatever amount of money was required to keep the witness from testifying. He offered to give the informant the home and work address of one key witness and apparently is recorded as saying that "if she didn't testify, refused to testify, that would be good." He also apparently said that if they could "eliminate" another witness it would be "very good." During a meeting in June, Mr. Simels allegedly paid the informant $1,000 and told the informant that Mr. Khan requested the he do whatever needs to be done.

Mr. Simels served as a special assistant attorney general for the New York Special Prosecutors Office which investigated corruption by officials working in the New York city criminal justice system. He has represented known drug lords, the Murder Inc. record label, New York Jets player Mark Gastinueau and former mobster Henry Hill. Mr. Simels is charged with Witness Tampering and Obstruction of Justice. He is free on a $3.5 million bond.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call as anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Chicago Cop Charged With Framing Woman

A Chicago police officer has been charged with helping his friend frame the friend's wife with a phony gun and drug case. On April 1, 2007, Bogdan Mazur, met with Chicago police officer, Slawomir Plewa at a parking garage near the police station at Grand and Central, and told him that he knew that there were guns and drugs in his wife's car. In Officer Plewa's presence, Mazur called his wife and told her that his car was not working and she needed to come over and pick him and their two young children up. Mazur had placed a gun and cocaine in the spare tire compartment of the trunk. When she arrived, Officer Plewa stopped her car and asked for consent to search her vehicle. She agreed and he discovered 44.5 grams of cocaine, 62 grams of cannabis and a gun. Prosecutors are alleging that Officer Plewa knew that Mazur had planted the gun and drugs in his wife's car and the plan was to split the wife's assets with all the conspirators after she was convicted. Officer Plewa testified before the grand jury and at trial that an anonymous informant had given him the information which led to the wife's arrest. The wife was acquitted at the trial. After the trial, the wife's attorney went to prosecutors with his suspiscions that the wife had been framed and an investigation was launched which led to the present charges.

Officer Plewa is a seven year veteran officer assigned to the gang-narcotics team for most of that time. He is charged with Official Misconduct, Perjury, Obstruction of Justice, Unlawful Restraint and False Reporting.

Bogdan Mazur, a Polish citizen illegally in the United States, is charged with Filing a False Police Report, Obstruction of Justice, Conspiracy to Manufacture or Deliver Cocaine and Cannabis, and Conspiracy to Commit Unlawful Use of a Weapon.

Bond was set at $250,000 for both men.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call as anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Hidden Cameras Found In New York Apartment

Two women had just rented a second floor apartment in New York. They decided to have the smoke alarms checked to make sure they were in working order. That's when they discovered digital spy cameras hidden in the smoke alarms in their bedrooms. The landlord, Michael Muratore, 44, who also lives on the first floor of the apartment building, was arrested and charged with placing the cameras in the bedroom smoke alarms.

Chicago criminal defense attorney James Dimeas, filed one of the first such lawsuits in Illinois in 1999. Mr. Dimeas's case was the lead story on the WGN Channel 9 Nightly News and was interviewed on television for the story after he filed the lawsuit. The lawsuit was eventually settled and dismissed.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Would Be Robber Walks When Store Owner Fails to Show Up In Court

Earlier this year, Efrain S. Castanon walked into a Crystal Lake store with three other men armed with a gun and tied up the store owner, Rafael Diaz and his wife while robbing them. Rafael Diaz broke free from the restraints, retrieved a handgun he kept hidden in the store, and chased the robbers out the store firing shots in their direction as they fled down a busy Route 14. Two of the robbers fled and were never found. Efrain S. Castanon was found and charged with Attempted Armed Robbery, Attempted Aggravated Robbery and Attempted Robbery. These are all Class 1 felonies and he was facing up to 15 years in prison. Because Rafael Diaz fired a gun at the men as they fled down busy Route 14, Rafael Diaz was charged with Aggravated Battery with a Firearm, a felony that was more serious than the charges faced by Castanon. Diaz posted $10,000 in bond money and has not been seen since. The case was set for trial on Monday in McHenry County, and prosecutors were forced to reduce the charges faced by Castanon and he received probation. The prosecutors informed the Judge that Diaz had fled the jurisdiction and was unavailable to testify. There is an outstanding warrant for Rafael Diaz. Efrain Castanon is still locked up in the McHenry County Jail because of a hold by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.

Chicago Boot Proposal Off - For Now

The Chicago Finance Committee did not take any action today on a proposal by Mayor Daley to drop the number of unpaid parking tickets needed to be eligible to have the boot used from three to two. Mayor Daley made this proposal in an attempt to squeeze $48 million dollars from motorists to try to attack a $420 million budget shortfall in the City of Chicago budget. According to newspaper reports, the Chicago Finance Committee did not take any action on the proposal because there were not enough votes to pass the proposal. Supporters of the proposal vow to rewrite and reintroduce the proposal "to make it more politically palatable."

In 2002, the drop in the boot threshold was dropped from five parking tickets to three. The City was able to raise more than $8.2 million and settled some 242,000 parking tickets in a six week amnesty program shortly after the threshold was lowered.

Critics of the proposal to drop the threshold from 3 to 2 argue that poor people would be affected unfairly. They don't have money to pay their parking tickets, they can't afford to pay to have the boot removed and then have their car destroyed by the city. In addition, there have been numerous complaints from motorists that they were not properly ticketed or that motorists living in the suburbs receiving tickets from the City of Chicago when they have never been to the City of Chicago.

We will keep you informed of any developments as they become available.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.