Ralph Natale, the boss of the Philadelphia-South Jersey Cosa Nostra organized crime family in the 1990s, has died. He was 87.
Natale, who became the first mob boss to become a cooperating witness for the government, wrote a book called The Last Don: The Secret Life of Mob Boss Ralph Natale.
I interviewed Ralph Natale in 2017. You can read the Q&A with Natale via the below link:
The Washington Times published my On Crime column on Damascus Station, a realistic spy thriller written by David McCloskey (seen in the bottom photo), a former CIA officer.
Former CIA Directors Gen. David Petraeus and
Leon Panetta, as well as Washington Times columnist and former CIA Chief of Middle East Operations,
Daniel N. Hoffman, have all praised David McCloskey’s spy thriller “Damascus Station” for being a realistic
portrayal of CIA overseas operations.
I reached
out to Mr. McCloskey and asked him if presenting a realistic portrayal of
the CIA was one of his reasons for writing
the spy novel.
“The novel
certainly aims for authenticity. This isn’t a shoot ’em up spy story. I wanted
a real CIA case officer as the protagonist and,
within reason, I wanted this to be a bit of a CIA ‘procedural,’ to bring to life the
real world of intelligence, from its operations to its bureaucracy,” Mr.
McCloskey replied. “I was struck while at the Agency at just how dramatic and
intriguing the real-world business of intelligence could be, particularly the
development and recruitment of human assets. The actual business of spying, it
turned out, made a solid foundation for a spy novel. In it I found fertile
ground for exploring the full gamut of human emotion and experience, and, of
course, the opportunity to inject action and intrigue to make the plot
propulsive.”
“That said, there are several spots in the book where I did ultimately sacrifice authenticity either to protect sensitive Agency tradecraft or where I thought it might weaken the storytelling,” he continued. “For example, there is a sequence in which CIA bomb techs test their work on cadavers. I had help creating my fictional bombs from a couple EOD techs, and when they read this part they said, ‘this is totally insane, the U.S. government would never do this.’ I said, I get it, but this is too fun, too cinematic to cut. I left it in.”
You can read the rest of the column via the
below link or the below page:
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/jan/27/boor-review-damascus-station-a-novel/
Philadelphia Weekly published my Crime Beat column on the theft of house title deeds.
You can read the column via the below link or the below page:
House Stealing: The Latest Scam On the Block - Philadelphia Weekly
For many years I was a Defense Department civilian employee doing security work for the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) in Philadelphia, so the press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office Southern District of California was of interest to me.
You can read the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s release below:
SAN DIEGO – Kevin Lee of
Chula Vista pleaded guilty in federal court today to using his position at the
Defense Contract Management Agency (“DCMA”) to steal the identities of at least
37 individuals and using those identities to commit over $240,000 in bank and
loan fraud.
DCMA
is a federal agency responsible for administering contracts for the Department
of Defense and other authorized federal agencies. For his former position at
DCMA, Lee held a Top Secret, Sensitive Compartmentalized Information (TS-SCI)
clearance. Beginning in approximately September 2018 and continuing up to and
including September 2020, Lee devised a scheme to defraud various banks and
loan companies by using stolen identities to apply for and obtain loans, which
he then used to pay personal debts and bills.
According
to his plea agreement, Lee initially used the identities of family members to
apply for and obtain fraudulent loans. In approximately September 2019,
Lee began applying for loans and bank accounts using information he had access
to as a result of his employment at DCMA. Specifically, Lee accessed a
DCMA Sharepoint site called DCMA 360 that contained personal identifying
information belonging to various individuals employed by, or in some way in
contact with, DCMA, including Department of Defense employees and
contractors.
The
plea agreement said the following:
The
information Lee accessed included social security numbers, birth dates,
addresses, and various forms relating to government employment. After
collecting sufficient personal identifying information on an individual, Lee
used that information to apply for bank accounts and loans online. To do
so, Lee created fraudulent identification documents using the stolen
information, including driver’s licenses and passports. Lee additionally
created and/or doctored pay stubs, bank statements, and tax documents to
support his loan applications. In order to qualify for more loan money,
Lee fraudulently increased the salary reflected on some of the documents.
Lee created false email accounts for some of the stolen identities, and used
various Google voice phone numbers to accomplish his fraud.
For
example, Lee created a fake Gmail account for a DCMA employee, D.B. Two
months later, on March 26, 2020, Lee conducted six separate searches for
personal identifying information belonging to D.B. on the DCMA 360 site.
Between March 26-March 30, 2020, Lee then used D.B.’s name, birthdate, address,
and social security number to fraudulently apply for at least eight bank accounts
and loans using D.B.’s identity. Lee created a fake Arizona Driver’s
License using D.B.’s name address and birthdate, which he submitted with the
fraudulent loan applications. Lee successfully obtained three loans in
D.B.’s name, and used the funds for personal expenses. In total, Lee
stole and used or attempted to use the identities of 37 actual individuals at
16 different financial institutions. The total amount of Lee’s actual and
attempted fraud was $244,513.45.
“Government
employees hold positions of public trust,” said U.S. Attorney Randy S.
Grossman. “The identity theft and fraud in this case is particularly
egregious because Mr. Lee violated that public trust for his own selfish
ends. Those who engage in fraud and identity theft will be prosecuted to
the full extent of the law.” Grossman thanked the prosecution team as
well as Defense Criminal Investigative Service and
Defense
Contract Management Agency-Office of Inspector General for their excellent work
on this case.
“The theft of personally identifiable information can significantly harm our military service members, civilian employees, and their families,” said Kenneth A. DeChellis, Special Agent in Charge, DoD Office of Inspector General, DCIS - Cyber Field Office. “This conviction, resulting from the coordinated actions of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Cyber and Western Field Offices, as well as our partner agencies, demonstrates our commitment to swift action against those who attempt to enrich themselves at the expense of our current and prior Department of Defense personnel.
Yet another Navy officer had pled guilty to bribery in the “Fat Leonard” Glenn Francis U.S. Navy bribery and fraud case.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office Southern District of California released the below information:
SAN DIEGO – U.S. Navy Commander Stephen
Shedd pleaded guilty in federal court today to bribery charges, admitting that
he and eight other indicted leaders of the U.S. Navy’s Seventh Fleet received
more than $250,000 in meals, entertainment, travel and hotel expenses, gifts,
cash and the services of prostitutes from foreign defense contractor Leonard
Glenn Francis.
Shedd is one of nine members of the
Seventh Fleet indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2017 for conspiring
with and receiving bribes from Francis, the owner and CEO of Singapore-based
Glenn Defense Marine Asia, which provided services for U.S. Navy ships in port,
including tugboats; fenders; security; food; fuel; water; trash and waste
removal; and transportation.
Shedd is the third of the Seventh Fleet
defendants to plead guilty. The trial of the remaining defendants is scheduled
to begin on February 28, 2022. The remaining six defendants - who are accused
of conspiring to trade military secrets and substantial influence for sex
parties with prostitutes and luxurious dinners and travel, among other lavish
things of value - include U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Bruce Loveless; Captains David
Newland, James Dolan, David Lausman and Donald Hornbeck; and Commander Mario
Herrera.
The overarching fraud and bribery
investigation has resulted in federal criminal charges against 34 U.S. Navy
officials, defense contractors and the GDMA corporation. So far, 28 of those
have pleaded guilty, admitting collectively that they accepted millions of
dollars in luxury travel and accommodations, meals, lavish gifts, or services
of prostitutes, among other things of value, from Francis in exchange for
helping GDMA win and maintain contracts and overbill the Navy by over $35
million.
The U.S. Navy’s Seventh Fleet represents
a vital piece of the United States military’s projection of power as well as
American foreign policy and national security. The largest numbered fleet in
the U.S. Navy, the Seventh Fleet is comprised of 60-70 ships, 200-300 aircraft
and approximately 40,000 sailors and Marines. The Seventh Fleet is responsible
for U.S. Navy ships and subordinate commands that operate in the Western
Pacific throughout Southeast Asia, Pacific Islands, Australia, and Russia and
the Indian Ocean territories, as well ships and personnel from other U.S. Navy
Fleets that enter the Seventh Fleet’s area of responsibility.
According to Shedd’s admissions as set
forth in his plea agreement, the defendants informed Francis of planned U.S.
Navy ship movements by providing Francis with classified U.S. Navy ship
schedules and narrative summaries of those schedules. The defendants provided
Francis with internal, proprietary U.S. Navy information. The defendants took
official acts and exerted pressure on, advocated before, and provided advice to
other U.S. Navy officials, knowing and intending that such advocacy and advice
would form the basis for such other officials' decisions to pay GDMA’s claims,
overlook inflated invoices, quash bid protests filed by GDMA's competitors,
suppress competition in contract awards, and resolve in GDMA’s favor other
questions, matters, and controversies regarding GDMA’s husbanding business.
From November 2006 to October 2008,
Shedd served as the Seventh Fleet’s South Asia Policy and Planning Officer,
where he was, in part, responsible for identifying ports that U.S. Navy ships
would visit. From November 2008 to May 2010, Shedd served as a Personnel
Distribution Officer stationed in Millington, Tennessee, and thereafter, upon
being promoted to Commander, from March 2011 until May 2014, Shedd served as
the Executive Officer and later the Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. Milius.
“The defendant has admitted he was one
of the many whose allegiance was switched from the Navy to Leonard Francis,”
said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “This abdication of the defendant’s duties
to the Navy and the United States comes with heavy consequences.”
“Mr. Shedd's disgraceful actions while
serving in a sensitive position with the U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet betrayed the
standards and expectations of all members of the Armed Forces and jeopardized
the Fleet's safety and security,” said Kelly P. Mayo, the Director of the
Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal
Investigative Service (DCIS). “This lengthy investigation demonstrates
that DCIS and our law enforcement partners will continually strive to fortify
the integrity of the Department of Defense's procurement systems by doggedly
pursuing and rooting-out corruption in the Department.”
“Cmdr. Shedd abused his high-level
position in the Navy by illegally accepting lavish gifts from Mr. Francis in
exchange for providing Mr. Francis classified ship schedules listing numerous
ships, specific ports, and dates for the visits far in advance of ship visits,”
said NCIS Director Omar Lopez. “NCIS and our law enforcement partners are
committed to rooting out bribery and corruption that wastes valuable U.S.
taxpayer money and damages the integrity of the Navy.”
Shedd is scheduled to be sentenced on
July 21, 2022 before U.S. District Judge Janis L. Sammartino.
You can also read my Counterterrorism
magazine piece on the Fat Leonard case via the below link:
Paul Davis On Crime: My Piece On The 'Fat Leonard' U.S. Navy Bribery And Fraud Case
The above photo shows the decommissioned aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk passing The Lone Sailor statute in Long Beach, California as the once great warship is towed to a scrapyard in Texas.
The famous statue of the sailor appears to represent all of the sad and angry former sailors who served on the Kitty Hawk over her nearly 50-year historic history.
I am one of them.
Brandon de Haas took the above photo and posted it on the USS Kitty Hawk CV-63 Facebook Page.
You can read my previous post on the end of the Kitty Hawk via the below link:
Paul Davis On Crime: The Aircraft Carrier Kitty Hawk's Final Voyage
Terri Moon Cronk at the DOD News offers the below piece:
Human trafficking is as old as time and can be found almost anywhere, yet the Defense Department has made significant strides in countering it over the last 20 years, said an official in DOD's Combating Trafficking in Persons Program.
Linda
Dixon, the CTIP program manager, said three elements of human trafficking are
the use of force, fraud or coercion to compel a person into either commercial
sex or labor — the main trafficking issues of concern to DOD officials.
As defenders of peace around the globe, DOD supports
the U.S. government's zero tolerance policy on trafficking, Dixon said. DOD is
also a partner with other federal agencies in the federal government's senior
policy operating group, led by the State Department which meets quarterly to
combat such "horrific" crimes, she added.
In 2021,
DOD had a total of 108 human trafficking in persons cases: 77 were sex
trafficking or related incidents, while the remaining 31 were labor trafficking
or related incidents, Dixon said. There were 160 trafficking or related cases
in 2020; 65 in 2019; 141 in 2018; 63 in 2017; and 41 in 2016. The spike in 2018
was due to sting operations and 2020 saw a spike in violations in Afghanistan,
she added.
While 41 cases in 2016 might seem low, it may reflect a lack
of awareness at the time because DOD personnel didn't know what to watch for,
Dixon said.
Since that
time, DOD has increased awareness, education and training among military and
civilian personnel, beginning with mandatory courses for new employees on
recognizing the signs of human trafficking.
Combating
sex trafficking in DOD came to the forefront some years ago in Korea, Dixon
noted. Some service members married foreigners, which increased troops' pay and
benefits, Dixon said. But some of the foreign spouses were abandoned once they
were in the United States, and a trend developed that led to sex trafficking in
prostitution and other illegal activities, she said.
Since
then, service members have been convicted of sex trafficking by for exploiting
minors younger than 18 and other forms of sexual exploitation, Dixon said.
"Some people don't realize anybody under the age of 18 cannot
consent," she added.
Labor
trafficking has been investigated in DOD, particularly during the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan where U.S. government contractors and subcontractors have been used
as bait to entice underprivileged people from various countries. Traffickers
typically promised U.S. government jobs and good salaries and benefits, but the
reality was thousands of dollars in recruitment fees, cramped housing, and
little pay in nearly labor-camp conditions.
Dixon said DOD has made
strides over the years. In fiscal year 2021, CTIP Program Management Office and
Joint Staff's Joint Knowledge Online developed course materials for military-connected high school students,
parents and educators to warn kids about the perils of sex and labor
trafficking. Also last year, the CTIP PMO introduced "Survivor Voices" on its website in which survivors talk about how they were
exploited in DOD-related incidents of human trafficking.
This year,
CTIP will also:
·
Focus efforts on prevention through awareness
training and outreach, address demand reduction and engage survivors.
·
Work with the office of the undersecretary of
acquisition and sustainment to develop a CTIP resource kit for DOD acquisition
personnel, including any DOD personnel involved in contracting and
procurement.
·
Add to the "Survivor Voices" stories on the
website.
CTIP continues to work diligently on combating human trafficking and bringing awareness to the community because those activities can harm the DOD national security mission, Dixon said. "Human trafficking is everywhere," she said. "It's in your backyard."
The U.S. Attorney’s Office Eastern District of Pennsylvania released the below information:
PHILADELPHIA – United States
Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams (seen in the above photo) announced a series of updates on violent
crime cases being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern
District of Pennsylvania, as the Office continues to emphasize its All Hands On
Deck initiative which brings together federal law enforcement and agency
partners to tackle the serious violent crime problem in the City of
Philadelphia.
“When
I announced the All Hands On Deck initiative in April 2021, I vowed that we
would do all we could to stop the violence ravaging our city and support the
Philadelphia Police Department in its work,” said U.S. Attorney Williams. “I
also put violent criminals on notice that we were doubling down on our efforts
to identify, arrest, and charge them for their crimes. The Indictments and
sentencing result announced today show that we have kept our word to focus on
getting the most violent offenders off the street and behind bars for a long
time, so they cannot hurt anyone else in the community. And with more than 30
homicides so far in just the first 20 days of the year, our diligence and
commitment to this work comes at a critically important time.”
On
January 18, 2022, Eric Long, 52, of Philadelphia, PA, was arrested and charged
by Indictment with one count of attempted Hobbs Act robbery, one count of
possession of a firearm by a felon, and one count of carrying and using a
firearm during a crime of violence. The Indictment alleges that in December
2020, the defendant entered the Express One convenience store on the 2000 block
of East Allegheny Avenue in Philadelphia, demanded money from the store manager
while brandishing a firearm, and then shot the store owner with that firearm
multiple times. Long is also charged with illegally possessing the firearm as a
previously convicted felon. If convicted, defendant Long faces a maximum
possible sentence of life imprisonment, five years of supervised release, a
$750,000 fine, $300 in special assessments, restitution, and forfeiture.
On
January 19, 2022, Dwayne Gary, 36, of Philadelphia, PA, was sentenced to nine
years in prison and five years of supervised release by United States District
Judge Cynthia M. Rufe for his participation in a conspiracy to distribute, and
distribution of, more than 200 grams of heroin in 2017. While engaging in this
drug distribution activity, Gary also organized the sale of a firearm while in
custody on an unrelated criminal charge. The defendant pleaded guilty to this
four-count Indictment in September 2021.
Finally,
on January 20, 2022, Josiah Brown, 19, of Wilmington, DE, was charged by
Indictment with one count of carjacking, and one count of carrying and using a
firearm during a crime of violence in connection with a December 2021 armed
carjacking which occurred at Franklin D. Roosevelt Park in South Philadelphia.
According to the Criminal Complaint filed on December 23, 2021, while the
victim and an associate were speaking near the victim’s vehicle, an SUV pulled
up alongside them and blocked them in. One suspect got out of the SUV, pointed
a gun at the victim and demanded the keys to the vehicle, and then fled from
the area in the stolen vehicle. Investigators tracked and located the vehicle
later that day in Wilmington, and then in New Castle, DE. When multiple
individuals approached the parked vehicle in the parking lot of the Christiana
Fashion Center in New Castle, law enforcement detained five people, including
the defendant who was in possession of the keys to the victim’s vehicle.
“The
FBI is fully committed to protecting the safety of our citizens as we combat
the violent crime problem here in Philadelphia together with our law
enforcement partners,” said Jacqueline Maguire, Special Agent in Charge of the
FBI's Philadelphia Division. “And while our work is far from done, the results
being announced today are significant steps in getting armed criminals off of
Philly’s streets and making our streets safer for all of the innocent citizens
who deserve to live without fear.”
“ATF
continues to work with our local, state, and federal partners to reduce
violence in our communities,” said Matthew Varisco, Special Agent in charge of
ATF’s Philadelphia Field Division. “Facilitating illicit transactions of
firearms and narcotics jeopardizes the safety of our citizens. These
offenses will always be taken seriously and today the community is safer thanks
to the outstanding work by our partners at the U.S Attorney’s Office.”
The
United States v. Eric Long case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation and the Philadelphia Police Department and is being prosecuted by
Assistant United States Attorney Kathryn Deal.
The
United States v. Dwayne Gary case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United
States Attorney Francis A. Weber.
The United States v. Josiah Brown case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Philadelphia Police Department, with assistance from the Delaware State Police, Wilmington Police Department, and the New Castle County Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Justin Oshana.
Happy 85th birthday to Joseph Wambaugh, former LAPD detective sergeant and best-selling author of classic police novels such as The New Centurions, Hollywood Station and The Choirboys, as well as classic true crime books such as The Onion Field, Echoes in the Darkness, and The Blooding.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office Western District of Wisconsin released the below information:
MADISON, WIS. – Timothy M.
O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced
that Craig Klund, 58, Yankton, South Dakota, was sentenced today by U.S.
District Judge James D. Peterson to 10 years in federal prison for wire fraud,
money laundering, and aggravated identity theft.
Klund,
formerly from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, pleaded guilty to wire fraud against
the U.S. Department of Defense, as well as money laundering by moving in
increments over $10,000 the proceeds of his fraud scheme into multiple bank
accounts. Judge Peterson imposed a 96-month sentence on each of these
counts to run concurrently. Klund also pleaded guilty to aggravated identity
theft when he used another’s identity as a nominee owner of one of Klund's
defense contracting entities. Judge Peterson imposed a 24-month sentence as to
this charge to run consecutive to the concurrent 96-month wire fraud and money
laundering sentences. Klund's total prison sentence is 120 months, which
will be followed by three years of supervised release. Judge Peterson also ordered
Klund to pay $435,822.71 in restitution.
According
to the indictment, Klund was a military contractor who supplied electrical
parts to the various branches of the U.S. military, including the U.S. Army for
the Patriot Missile System and the U.S. Air Force for the F-16 jet
fighter. From 2011 through July 17, 2019, Klund executed a scheme to
defraud the DoD by obtaining defense contracts under false pretenses.
Klund's
fraud scheme included: (1) use of 15 shell corporations to hide his control of
entities bidding on DoD contracts; (2) use of multiple aliases; (3) repeated
identity theft; (4) collusive bids submitted by multiple Klund entities on the
same contract; (5) knowingly shipping nonconforming parts and requesting
payment for these parts; (6) signing Federal Acquisition Regulation
certificates using fake names; (7) lying to Defense Contract Management Agency
(DCMA) inspectors by claiming to be someone other than himself; (8) relocating
his business from Wisconsin to South Dakota to evade DCMA inspectors who were
questioning his operations in Wisconsin; (9) concealing receipt of DoD
proceeds by not reporting these monies on his federal income tax returns; and
(10) laundering DoD proceeds by moving the funds between accounts.
Using
15 different shell entities, Klund submitted 5,750 bids and was awarded 1,928
contracts worth $7,468,638. These contracts were for parts for the U.S.
Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps. He was paid $2,905,484 during
the fraud scheme.
At
today's sentencing, after listening to Klund's allocution, Judge Peterson told
Klund he thought Klund was a liar, who lied to the Department of the Defense
over a long period of time, and to the judge as well. The judge also
noted that Klund was an unusual fraud defendant because Klund had three
previous federal felony convictions, two of which were for defense contracting
fraud, making his criminal history a very important factor in the judge's
sentencing analysis.
Judge
Peterson explained that this case involved an extensive fraud scheme that
caused significant harm to the government because it was duped into contracting
with a two-time convicted defense contracting felon and was receiving parts
from someone with whom it did not want to deal. The Court noted that
deserving contractors, who played by the rules, were also victimized by Klund's
criminal conduct.
In
imposing this substantial sentence, Judge Peterson noted the need to protect
the public and the U.S. government from a repeated fraudster who is dishonest,
and who was supplied defective parts to the military that had the capacity to
harm military personnel and the public.
The charges against klung were the result of an investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Defense - Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigation Service; General Services Administration - Office of Inspector General; IRS Criminal Investigation; Air Force Office of Special Investigations; Army Criminal Investigation Command, Major Procurement Fraud Unit; and Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Graber handled the prosecution.
Philadelphia Weekly published my Crime Beat column on Philadelphia Police Commissioner Outlaw's efforts to curb the rise of violent carjacking.
You can read the column via the below link or the below pages:
Police Commissioner’s All In With Curbing Carjacking - Philadelphia Weekly
I recall visiting Japan as an 18-year-old sailor while stationed aboard the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk in 1971. The Kitty Hawk was temporarily relieved from combat operations on “Yankee Station” in the gulf of Tonkin off the coast of North Vietnam by another aircraft carrier and we set sail for Sasebo, Japan for our scheduled R&R period.
The
Japanese had been my father’s bitter enemy, as he served as an Underwater
Demolition Team (UDT) frogman in the Pacific during WWII. The old chief
participated in some grueling and bloody battles on the Japanese-held beaches
and islands, yet he held no rancor against the Japanese, and he appeared to be
as excited as I was about my visit to the Land of the Rising Sun.
I became
particularly interested in Japan in 1965 when I read Ian Fleming’s
thriller You Only Live Twice. Although I later enjoyed the 1967
film, starring Sean Connery as James Bond, I thought the movie was a bit silly
and should have adapted the novel more faithfully. I was disappointed that the
film makers did not make use of the novel’s original plot or tap into the
cultural differences between the West and Japan, as Fleming had done so well in
his novel.
Shortly after the Kitty Hawk docked in Sasebo, I and other sailors headed towards the city’s area known as “Paradise Alley,’ where the bars catered to American sailors.
I was with a fellow sailor who knew Sasebo from the previous Kitty Hawk cruise, and we visited his old bar and drank and danced with the bar girls. After a couple of hours, my friend suggested that we go and have what Americans called a Hotzi bath and massage. We left the bar and visited a nearby public bathhouse, called a Sento.
We first sat in a sauna, where we sweated out the alcohol from our bodies. Then, after a rigorous shower, we slipped into the steaming hot public bath. After a while, we left the bath and went into another room for a massage. There were no “happy endings” here, but the massage was very satisfying.
My massage was administered by a slight and pretty Japanese girl who had the strength of a sumo wrestler. She squeezed, pressed, pounded and applied karate-type blows to my body. When we left the Sento, I felt so good that I thought I could leap over a tall building.
It was a beautiful spring day, so we walked up a narrow street. I spotted a small store that could have been an antique shop or a pawn shop, as I had no idea as the signs were in Japanese. But what I spied in the shop window quickly drew me in.
In the
center of the window was an old and glorious set of Samurai swords. I didn’t
know much about Samurai swords at the time, other than the cursory
knowledge I gleaned from the books I read, but these swords looked authentic to
me. I entered the shop and bowed to the proprietor, an elderly man, and I
pulled out a handful of yen, pointing towards the swords in the window.
His
response was in Japanese, spoken softly as he continued to bow up and down. I
bowed back, having read somewhere that the more you bow, the more humble and
polite you are. Of course, the proprietor was always two bows ahead of me, as
he had a lot more practice at this than I.
Thankfully,
a young woman customer spoke English and she politely informed me that the
swords were not for sale. She explained that the swords belonged to the
proprietor’s ancestors. I bowed again, twice, and quickly bowed out of the
store. (It would be another 25 years before I finally bought a set of Samurai
swords for my collection).
We spent the rest of the day and evening in a bar, and while most Americans were drinking beer or whisky, I was drinking Sake, Japanese rice wine. There is a saying that notes the man drinks the first three cups of Sake, and the next three cups of Sake drink the man.
Well, after five cups of Sake, I needed to get some air and I left the bar. My friend followed me up the street where we saw a small restaurant. The smell coming from the restaurant was enticing. We entered the restaurant and I stepped up to the counter. The menus were banners hanging from a ceiling, and of course they were written in Japanese. A man sitting next me to me was eating steamed vegetables and as I liked the smell, I motioned to the waitress that this was what we wanted. Although I was not big on vegetables, steamed or otherwise, after consuming the Sake, I thought this was a fantastic meal.
I pulled out my money and having no idea the rate of exchange for Japanese yen to dollars, I gave the waitress a stack of yen. As we walked down the street, I heard someone yelling, “American-San! American-San!” (San is an honorific). I turned and saw the waitress coming towards me. She bowed and I bowed back. She bowed again and handed me some yen. I gathered that I gave her too much money for the meal. I bowed and shook my head as I handed her back the bills. She bowed and would not accept the offered bills.
She bowed again and turned and walked back towards the restaurant. I said to my friend, “Can you image any other place in Southeast Asia where this would happen? Only in Japan.”
My friend replied, “In other places, they would come out and cut our throats for the rest of our money.”
We headed back to the bar, where we drank and danced with a couple of beautiful Japanese girls. After drinking much Sake, I ended my night in a nearby hotel.
That was my eventful first day in Sasebo. I also visited Nagasaki for two days. It was a great week to be in Japan.
Then the USS Kitty Hawk shoved off and headed back to Yankee Station and the war.
The piece offers photos, a video, and a look back at the great carrier's illustrious history.
You can read the piece via the below link:
Famed Aircraft Carrier USS Kitty Hawk Is On Her Final Voyage To The Scrapper's Torch (thedrive.com)
The below op-ed by FBI Director Wray was published in the Wall Street Journal on January 13th.
While many Americans celebrated the
holidays with their families in the final week of 2021, law enforcement kept
working. And, tragically, four officers didn’t make it home to their loved ones
that week. They were murdered while doing their job keeping others safe.
Baltimore Police Officer Keona Holley,
ambushed while alone in her car, died on Christmas Eve. Five days later in
Illinois, Wayne County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Riley was killed during a call for
assistance. On Dec. 30, also in Illinois, Bradley Police Department Sgt.
Marlene Rittmanic was shot while attempting to locate the owner of
dogs left in a car. And on New Year’s Eve, Cleveland Police Officer Shane
Bartek was killed in an attempted carjacking.
These four murders brought the total
number of officers feloniously killed in the line of duty in 2021 to 73, the
highest annual number since the 9/11 attacks. That’s the equivalent of one
officer murdered every five days. In a year when homicides and violent crime
reached distressing levels, this 20-year high hasn’t received the attention it
deserves.
Especially troubling is that a record
number of officers killed—nearly half—had no engagement with their assailant
before the attack. Each story is heartbreaking: A 30-year Florida
deputy murdered one shift shy of retirement; an officer ambushed on
his first day on the job, leaving behind a wife and 6-month-old son; a combat
veteran and his police dog killed while serving together.
At the Federal Bureau of Investigation,
we experienced loss in 2021, too. Special Agents
Laura Schwartzenberger and Daniel Alfin were murdered while doing the
difficult job investigating crimes against children. FBI Task Force Officer
Greg Ferency of the Terre Haute, Ind., Police Department was ambushed
and killed outside an FBI office.
When I started as FBI director, I made
it my practice to call the chief or sheriff of every officer intentionally
killed in the line of duty. I have now made more than 200 such calls. Each
conversation reminds me that behind the uniform, the badge, and, yes, sometimes
the flashing lights in your rearview mirror, there are real people. With each
call, I think about the families and friends who lost someone they loved, the
children who will grow up without a parent, and the communities deprived of a
public servant.
We owe it to them to redouble our
efforts to take the most violent offenders off the streets and to make sure
officers have the resources, equipment and training they need to do their jobs
safely. Even more, we need to ensure the brave men and women know that the
communities they serve have their backs.
Every day, officers willingly put
themselves at risk not knowing what dangerous situation or traumatic event they
might encounter. I won’t pretend every person who carries a badge is beyond
reproach, but the overwhelming majority do the job with the professionalism and
commitment to equal justice citizens rightly expect.
I meet frequently with chiefs and
sheriffs across the country, and they are concerned about morale and the challenges
of recruiting the next generation of officers. They understand that trust and
transparency are vital to safety, and they are committed to finding ways to
improve interactions. And while respect must be earned, if we are going to
recruit and retain the kind of people willing to put their lives on the line to
protect others, we have to show that we value their sacrifices.
Civic and business leaders, government
officials and responsible citizens need to consider how we talk about engaging
with law enforcement. When police are miscast as lacking humanity—devoid of
empathy and compassion—everyone suffers. Departments lose good officers who are
hard to replace, and communities are less safe.
As we reflect on 2021, let’s honor the memories of those who lost their lives protecting others. Let’s commit to making communities safer, finding ways to improve interactions between law enforcement and those they serve, holding everyone to the high standards befitting men and women in uniform, and valuing those who do their jobs with honor.
Jim Garamone at the DOD News offers the below piece:
Russia has deployed "a group of operatives" into Ukraine to foment a pretext for another invasion of that country, Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby (seen in the above photo speaking to reporter) said during a news conference today.
Kirby hastened to say that the U.S. government still believes there is room to solve the problem of the Russian build-up on Ukraine's border diplomatically. "No one wants to see another invasion and incursion of Ukraine," he said. "We still … believe that there's time and space for diplomacy."
Still, if Russia does invade its neighbor, the United States "will continue to provide security assistance to Ukraine to help them better defend themselves," Kirby said.
Kirby said the Russian operatives
are a part of Russia's playbook that was used in 2014 when Russia invaded
Crimea and later illegally annexed the area. Kirby could not give many details,
but said the United States does "have information that indicates that
Russia is already working actively to create a pretext for a potential invasion,
for a move on Ukraine."
The Russian operatives are
pre-positioned in Ukraine to conduct "what we call a false flag operation
— an operation designed to look like an attack on … Russian speaking people in
Ukraine, again, as an excuse to go in."
The United States also has
information that Russia is fabricating Ukrainian provocations in state and
social media as some sort of pretext for invasion, he said. "We've seen
this kind of thing before out of Russia," he said. "When there isn't
an actual crisis to suit their needs; they'll make one up. So we're watching
for them."
There were also cyberattacks on
Ukrainian government websites. Kirby said it is too early to attribute those
attacks on Russia but noted that it is also in the Russian playbook.
Kirby wouldn't go into much detail
on the operatives themselves but noted that Russia often "hybridizes"
their personnel drawing them from their intelligence communities, their
security services or their military.
There are American forces in Ukraine working to advise and assist the Ukrainian military. There are less than 200 Florida National Guardsmen assigned to the mission.
Kirby said the United States
believes Russian President Vladimir Putin has not decided on invasion yet. But
if there is an incursion, force protection for American personnel remains
paramount. "We will make all the appropriate and proper decisions to make
sure that our people are safe in any event," Kirby said.
In Brussels, NATO Secretary
General Jens Stoltenberg also said there is room for diplomacy to work. He had
met with Russian officials as part of the NATO-Russia Council at the alliance
headquarters. "We had a very serious and direct exchange on the situation
in and around Ukraine and the implications for European security," he
said. "There are significant differences between NATO allies and Russia on
these issues. Our differences will not be easy to bridge. But it is a positive
sign that all NATO allies and Russia sat down around the same table and
engaged on substantive topics."
One Russian demand is that Ukraine
not become a member of NATO.
"Ukraine is a sovereign
nation," Stoltenberg said. "Ukraine has the right to self-defense.
Ukraine is not a threat to Russia. Russia has the biggest land power in Europe.
They are one of two major nuclear powers. They have invested heavily in new,
modern capabilities over the last years."
Russia has also said Ukraine
threatens Russia. The secretary general said Russia continues to illegally
occupy Crimea and controls the separatists in eastern Ukraine. "The whole
idea that, … Ukraine threatens Russia is absolutely to put the whole thing
upside down," he said. "It is Russia that is the aggressor. It is
Russia that has used force and continues to use force against Ukraine.
"This crisis is [the] making of Russia," he continued. "And therefore, it is important that they de-escalate."
This is a sad day for the former sailors, airmen, and Marines who served on the USS Kitty Hawk over the years.
The once great aircraft carrier left Bremerton, Washington today on her final voyage to Brownsville, Texas, where she will be torn up for scrap metal.
As I've noted here before, my late father took me to the Philadelphia Navy Yard for the USS Kitty Hawk's commissioning in 1961.
In 1970, when I was 17, I reported aboard the Kitty Hawk. I served for two years on the aircraft carrier and was aboard for the warship's 5th Vietnam cruise, serving on "Yankee Station" in the Gulf of Tonkin in the South China Sea off North Vietnam.
During the 1970-1971 WESTPAC cruise, the Kitty Hawk made port of calls to Honolulu, Hawaii, Subic Bay in the Philippines, Sasebo, Japan, and Hong Kong.
The Kitty Hawk returned to Philadelphia in 1987 for an overhaul. I was then the civilian administrative officer for a Defense Department command that oversaw the contractors hired for the overhaul, so I went aboard my old ship several times during her Philadelphia stay.
For all of the military who served aboard her and the civilian yardbirds who worked on her, the USS Kitty Hawk will be remembered fondly.
For nearly half a century, from April 29, 1961 to May 12, 2009, the USS Kitty Hawk projected American power around the world and protected America in war and peace. The USS Kitty Hawk will be remembered well in American History.
Note: The above and below photos of the Kitty Hawk being pulled out were taken by Bruce McDugald, who posted the photos on the USS Kitty Hawk Cv-63 Facebook Page.
Below are photos of the USS Kitty Hawk in Philadelphia in 1987, the USS Kitty Hawk passing the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor on the way to the Vietnam War, and a photo of me at sea.
You can read my earlier posts on the USS Kitty Hawk via the below links:
Paul Davis On Crime: Davis Departing: On this Day in 1971 I Left The USS Kitty Hawk
You can click on the above photos to enlarge.
