Today a federal judge reversed the racketeering murder convictions against New York’s so called “Mafia Hit Men Cops”, Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa. U.S. District Court Judge Jack Weinstein tossed the murder convictions and granted a new trial on the drug and money laundering allegations. You may rightly argue that perhaps they committed the crime and are getting away with murder. Nobody wants to see justice and retribution derailed. Would we rather see innocents convicted to make sure the guilty are always punished? I hope not! When law enforcement does an investigation and makes an arrest that sets in motion a process that we fight wars to protect. My brothers in law enforcement always fault me for my views that fairness is more important than winning a conviction. Every cop is only a 911 call away from being accused of a disgusting crime by some twisted, police hating moron. The moral of this story is we could get our wish and defendant’s rights are eliminated only to have ou...

“Lootie” or “Beer Looter Dude” became an icon of Hurricane Katrina and popular character to manipulate with the Photoshop computer program. He’s even in a beer commercial with the lovely Jennifer Aniston that you can see here . After convicting three looters of stealing beer and other liquor from a Kenner LA grocery store in the Hurricane Katrina aftermath a judge handed down maximum 15-year prison sentences. Now it’s not so funny. Here’s what CNN published about this case .

So some moron writes a threatening note and puts it in an airliner seat back. Soon, another passenger who is not one bit smarter than the note’s author informs a flight attendant. The result is that the geniuses at the TSA order the flight diverted and jack the passengers around for an entire day. If you ever find a note or even a weapon and feel the urge to turn it in or inform anyone just wait and do so after the aircraft has landed and all the passengers have left the plane. Otherwise you will deserve what you get in the way of major grief and aggravation. The TSA has repeatedly done nothing but anger passengers in their zeal to justify their existence. Perhaps the TSA jerks can pull this garbage enough that nobody will ever want to fly on an airliner again. It happened again today, this time on a Southwest flight to Las Vegas.

LAPD officer, Kristina Rapatti’s story is one of heroism and heartbreak. This young role model is rebuilding her life after being shot by a career predator the Liberal California criminal justice system refused to keep off the streets despite a 33-page rap sheet. Officer Ripatti, and her family have been forced to cope with her paralysis for nearly a month. Today she struggles to move from her bed to her new wheelchair. Just a month ago Rippatti was an athlete and runner who could leap tall buildings. Last night KNBC-TV took viewers into Rippatti’s life as it is today. It’s hard for anyone to watch without tearing up. God bless Kristina Ripatti and please get her back on her feet. KNBC-TV story with latest video is here . Please send love and money here: Officer Kristina Ripatti C/O Los Angeles Police Department Southwest Police Station 1546 West Martin Luther King Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90062 Police Officer Kristina Ripatti Trustee Donation Account C/O Los Angeles Police Federal...

Yes, I love critters. Too often they are far more civilized than the people I know. It's with a sense of sadness that I report on the death of Moose. Dogs don’t have an agenda other than survival, food and getting a little attention. Here is my best K-9 friend Gypsy . A while back I had the good fortune to be personally invited by TV superstar, Kelsey Grammer to attend the last taping of Fraiser for the third season and the Mother Of All Parties, the Wrap Party at Paramount Pictures. One of the heavyweight stars of the show was Moose who played Eddie. Moose was the delightful little Jack Russell terrier that was as proud of his job as any of the two-legged actors on the show. He was focused and rarely failed to deliver his warmth and great gags. During the Wrap Party tape from out takes of the season were shown and Moose got more than his share of laughs. Kelsey’s interactions with Moose were a joy to watch. Make no mistake they were a comedy team. Kelsey is a real dog lover. Readi...

Okay, I’m not a fan of the Drug War. I hate any privacy invasion by government into the affairs of citizens unless there is warrant or probable cause of a real crime. Rush Limbaugh’s sex life is just not the business of government or anyone except Limbaugh. But now millions of Americans have learned that Limbaugh has a limp noodle. Isn’t that too much information? This earth shattering news came as a result of the US Customs examination of Limbaugh’s luggage at the Palm Beach International Airport. This happened upon his return from after from a vacation in the Dominican Republic. Subjecting someone to three hours of detention over a common drug that is not the subject of known abuse is an outrage. Subjecting Limbaugh or anyone to the potential of public humiliation over a lack of sexual prowess is unforgivable. Limbaugh’s detractors are having fun with the news but what if this was some high profile Liberal like Sean Penn or Alec Baldwin? This well publicized non-event should be a ro...

I was doing a little field producing with KNBC during the Robert Blake criminal trial. Reporter, Robert Kovacik was freelancing too. Getting up before the sun in order to report news for his station’s morning news was Kovacik’s duties. After an entirely too long period of time KNBC finally brought Kovacik on board as a full time reporter. Kovacik has perfect diction and the good looks any TV news organization would want to tell their news stories. I enjoyed the short time I worked with him. Since local news is not the least bit competitive in the Los Angeles market this morning provided a real surprise. Kovacik recognized the wanted murder suspect involved the very story he was doing during the middle of a live stand-up. Kovacik kept his cool as he conducted an impromptu, somewhat short but meaningful interview with suspect, Alvaro Williamson. Williamson wanted to set the record straight while he turned himself in to the LAPD station where Kovacik was doing his stand-ups. The suspect w...

For months now I’ve been suggesting that the government has bluffed some big named defendants and their lawyers in the Pellicano wiretapping cases. As a result of the federal puffery some of Pellicano’s indicted clients have fallen on their swords accepting felony convictions and “reduced” sentences by pleading guilty to wiretapping related crimes. Guilty pleas are usually a defendant’s last resort to avoid standing trial. You’d think after such high profile cases like Martha Stewart’s that people would be smart enough not to answer questions from the FBI when our Constitution protects us from having to do that. One small lie to an FBI agent can net you a prison term. That begs the simple question, why should anyone ever say anything at all to the FBI? The natural urge to talk one’s self out of trouble rarely helps. Savvy defense lawyers can usually tell when the government can’t deliver all they’ve threatened with when the discovery material is only slowly provided and proves both red...

Okay, you’re one of my NYPD or a friend from a department forced to carry only a pissy little Glock 9MM instead of a real gun to insure your safety on the job. I’m an advocate for .12 ga or .45 ACP as being minimally adequate for the job. There’s hope for you in the way of a modification! Yes, I support this 9MM Glock!

Okay we’ve heard all of the federal law enforcement bureaucrats tell us this morning how we’ve all been saved by their great work with a tawdry group of non-Arab boys living in Liberty City, FL. Our government is in sore need of any and all justification for their wiretapping and questionable privacy invasions of Americans and this beats having nothing to show for their efforts. Admittedly there was no actual connection to any real know terrorist group. This looks like an informant created plot that snared a bunch of really dumb kids. I’m sure this terror group was led to believe they get lots of money and an exciting Walter Mitty life of adventure. Could they be dangerous? Anyone can be dangerous. I’m sorry, this has been going on at least since April and not one gun, bomb, or can of gasoline was recovered or alleged to be stored for later use. The question that screams for an answer here is, “Where’s the beef?” I suspect we’re going to learn that the “terrorists” here were hoping to ...

Wealthy Reno pawnshop owner, Darren Mack is accused of murdering his wife and presumed by authorities as being the sniper who shot Reno Judge Chuck Weller. Mack has left Reno and is presumed to be on the run. Mack’s choice is clear since Nevada has the death penalty. Today’s latest flash is that Mack is trying to negotiate his surrender in Mexico. The Mexican government frowns on the idea of returning fugitives facing the death penalty. That leaves Mack with a huge advantage since they can’t kill him. As for proving a case of murder or attempted murder against Mack the government has a long way to go without eyewitnesses or strong forensic evidence. If Mack is smart enough to stay out of the police interrogation rooms he may get his life back. This would be a great case for any criminal defense lawyers and private eyes to work on. An update! Word has it that Mack was to turn himself in to the U.S. Consulate in Mexico. Bad idea! Extradition ant-death penalty protection would be non-exi...

This is an awful tale that was caught on tape inside a Chicago supermarket. As one officer struggled for his life with an armed suspect, three others ran away to safety. The officer properly shot and killed the offender. We know we are not supermen and women. We know we should be careful and as safe as we can be but God only knows if we will somehow always overcome our natural fears to do our jobs. Not all of us are cut out to be cops. Overcautious cops are not that extraordinary but firing them is indeed very rare. Two of the disgraced cops were recruit woman officers still within their probationary periods were fired and a third, a male officer who recently completed his probation is now facing action before the Chicago Police Board. I have only one beef here and that is out of four officers sent to deal with a gunman three of them were not seasoned officers. This is like sending the blind to lead the blind. Another issue with some folks is that the two now fired probationary recruit...