September 25, 2002
Page A2
Con Artists Wanted in African American Seniors Scam
P ortlan d P o lice, in c o o p e ra
tion w ith C rim e S to p p ers, are
asking for your help in id e n ti
fying and a p p re h en d in g con
artists w ho are A fric a n -A m e ri
can and appear to be ta rg e tin g
se n io r A fric an -A m erica n s in a
scam know n as "T he Ja m aican
S w itch.”
S ince A ug. 21, P o rtlan d P o
lice have taken th ree rep o rts
from people in n o rth ea st P o rt
land w ho have fallen v ic tim to
th e s c a m . In J u ly , th e
C lac k am a s C o u n ty S h e r iff ’s
O ffice had a c a se w ith som e
sim ilarity.
T he susp ect w ho m akes in i
tial c o n ta c t w ith the victim has
so m e tim es been m ale, so m e
tim es fem ale, b ut the story is
alw ay s the sam e. T hey claim to
be from South A fric a, w here
they say they m ust retu rn im
m e d iately . T h ey also claim to
be in p o sse ssio n o f a large sum
o f cash (so m etim e s as m uch as
se v eral h u n d red th o u san d d o l
lars) and show the victim a large
“ w a d ” o f w hat ap p e ars to be
ro lle d -u p m oney.
T he m oney re p o rted ly c a n
not be ta k e n b ac k to S outh
A fric a, th e re fo re the su sp ect
White Men Stand
Trial in 1969 Murder
(AP) — Jury selection began
Monday in York, Pa., in the m ur
der trial of three white men, in
cluding the city’s former mayor,
accused of the fatal shooting of a
black woman during 10 days of
paralyzing race riots in 1969.
P ro se c u to rs say C h a rlie
Robertson, a young police of
ficer who later became mayor,
gave ammunition to white gangs
that ambushed a car in which
Lillie Belle Allen was riding with
relatives. The other two men are
accused of taking part in the am
bush.
The slayings o f 27-year-old
Allen and a white rookie police
officer during the riots helped
fuel a subsequent effort to build
bridges betw een blacks and
whites, even as the truth of the
killings remained elusive.
“I think it’s important for all
Yorkers to know the truth, to know
what happened in 1969,” said
John Brenner, Y ork’s current
mayor, who was just a year old
when the riots erupted. “I think
we all want the same thing: who
did it, w ho’s responsible for birth
murders. And we want them to be
held accountable.”
A llen's shooting remained un
solved until late 1999, when pros
ecutors say new information sur
faced and investigators reopened
the case.
Since then, 10 white men have
been charged in A llen’s killing.
Charlie Robertson
Six pleaded guilty to shooting
at the car or being gang look
outs. Some may testify. A 10th
man is to be tried separately.
One former white gang member
killed him selfin April 2000 after
talking to prosecutors.
Two black men await trial in
the killing of the white rookie
o ffic e r, 2 2 -y e a r-o ld H enry
Schaad.
Years of tension found a spark
on July 17, 1969, when a black
youth said he had been set on fire
by whites, a story he later re
canted. The same day, white gang
member Robert Messersmith shot
two black youths. Rumors spread
that a white police officer was
responsible for the shootings and
rioting broke out.
has d ec id e d to g iv e it to c h a r
ity and ask s the v ic tim ’s help
in g ettin g it th ere. B ut, b efo re
the su sp ect w ill hand o v er such
a larg e sum o f m oney to the
v ictim , the victim m ust prove
they are h o n est by p u ttin g up
th eir m oney.
As th e victim soon learn s,
the large “ w ad ” o f m oney that
is su p p o se d ly w rap p ed in the
b a n d a n n a th e y h a v e b e e n
giv en tu rn s out to be cu t n e w s
paper.
T he m ale is d e sc rib e d as in
m id-30s, approxim ately 5 feet 8
inches tall, m edium build, short
Police released the sketches above to depict a man and woman
accused of targeting senior African-Americans in a scam known
as "The Jamaican Switch.’
h air and a v ery d ark c o m p le x
ion. T h e fem ale is d escrib ed as
in h er 30s, ap p ro x im ately 5 feet
6 in c h es ta ll, m edium b u ild ,
m edium co m p lex io n , and black
h air th a t is ju s t long en o u g h to
be w orn in a pony ta il. B oth are
alw ay s w ell d ressed .
C rim e S to p p ers is o ffe rin g a
cash rew ard o f up to $ 1,000 fo r
in fo rm atio n , rep o rted to C rim e
S to p p e rs, w hich lead s to an
a rre st in th is ca se , or any u n
so lv ed felo n y crim e, and you
need n ot g iv e y o u r n am e, C all
C rim e S to p p e rs at 5 0 3 -8 2 3 -
HELP.
Terrorism Force Renewed
Complaints of police surveillance fail to sway city leaders
ing p o lice su rv eillan c e raises
co n cern s ab o u t w h eth e r the
city is co n trib u tin g o ffic ers
w ith o u t en su rin g th a t they
u p h o ld sta te civ il lib e rties
g u a ra n te e s.
T he 1981 law re stric ts p o
lice from g ath erin g in fo rm a
tio n a b o u t in d iv id u a ls or
g ro u ps u n less th e re is re a
s o n a b le c a u s e to s u s p e c t
them o f sp e cific crim es.
T he same law brought P o rt
land n atio n al atte n tio n last
fall w hen C ity A tto rn ey Je ff
R o g ers in stru c ted p o lic e not
to q u estio n 23 M iddle E a s t
ern im m ig ran ts on a list p ro
v id ed by the U .S . Ju s tic e
D epartm ent.
P o rtlan d w as the first city
to opt out o f the national drag-
(A P ) — P o rtlan d city co m
m i s s i o n e r s v o te d u n a n i
m ously T h u rsd ay to renew
the city p o lic e 's c o n trib u tio n
to an FBI terro rism task force.
M ayor V era K atz said she
had a “re sp o n sib ility to the
c itiz en s o f P o rtla n d ,” to e n
sure th e ir safety .
T h e C ity P o lice B u reau
c o n trib u te s eig h t o ffic e rs to
the FBI Jo in t T erro rism T ask
F o rce, a gro u p c o o rd in a tin g
federal and local law e n fo rc e
m ent w ork in the m e tro p o li
tan area.
S im ilar arran g em en ts exist
in 55 larg e c itie s, ac co rd in g
to P ortland Police C h ief M ark
Kroeker.
B ut in P o rtla n d ’s c a se , a
state law ag a in st w id e-ran g -
net.
A lso an issu e at the m e e t
ing T h u rsd ay w as the P o rt
lan d P o lice B u re a u ’s C rim i
nal In tellig en ce D iv isio n h is
to ry o f c o lle c tin g file s on
a c tiv ists such as th e B lack
P an th e rs, en v iro n m e n ta lists
an d p ea ce g ro u p s in p a st
d e c a d e s.
Files dating from the 1960s
to the early 1980s from the
d iv isio n w ere tak en illeg a lly
by fo rm er o ffic e r W in field
F alk , w ho died in 1987, and
sto red in a b arn .
T he files in clu d ed su rv e il
la n c e on 5 7 6 g ro u p s an d
m ore than 3 ,000 in d iv id u als.
O ne file h eld a p ic tu re o f a
young V era K atz sp eak in g at
a g rap e b o y c o tt rally .
No Proof in Allegation Against Cleric
Tests show Muslim leader’s bags free of explosive residue
imam at the Islam ic C enter in
Portland, was arrested Sept. 8
as he tried to board a flight to
the United Arab Emirates with
his brother and four children.
K ariye, 41, is accused of
using false inform ation — in
cluding a changed nam e —
w hile applying for and receiv
ing three different Social S e
curity cards between 1983 and
1995. The federal indictm ent
also alleges K ariye used an
(AP) — Tests that found ex
plosive residue on the bags o f a
Muslim cleric arrested at the Port
land International Airport have
been thrown out after they were
reviewed at an FBI crime lab.
Stanley C ohen, a New York
civil rights attorney w ho took
the case o f Sheik M oham ed
A bdirahm an Kariye, said the
FBI tests show ed the bags were
free o f explosives residues.
K ariye, w ho served as an
Giving
our best.
'^
altered birth date in a 1998
asylum application.
Police have not said they
suspect K ariye o f terro r-re
lated offenses, other than to
say that the FB I-led Joint
T errorism Task Force d e
tained him. K ariye’s support
ers question why the task
force w as even involved,
becau se K ariye has been
charged only with Social Se
curity fraud.
Portland Police Chief
Mark Kroeker
Kroeker
Misses
LA Cut
(A P ) — F o r the th ird tim e,
P o rtla n d P o lic e C h ie f M ark
K ro e k er has com e up sh o rt in
an a tte m p t to get the to p jo b
w ith th e L os A n g eles P o lice
D ep artm en t.
K ro e k er liste n e d to the Los
A n g eles P o lice C o m m issio n ’s
a n n o u n c e m e n t v ia h is c e ll
p h o n e T h u rsd ay to fin d o ut he
is not on e o f the th ree fin alists.
“ I’ ve been h o n o red to be the
c h ie f h ere in P o rtlan d an d to
serv e th e p eo p le in P o rtla n d ,”
K ro ek er said . “It ap p e ars I ’m
g o in g to be d o in g ju s t th a t.”
K ro e k er, 58, w as am ong the
13 s e m ifin a lists in te rv ie w e d
th is m o n th .
j
“
Make Your Next M
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