Wednesday, November 21, 2001

THE GUNMEN SQUAD

During 1929, there were 21 heavy armored motorcycles with bulletproof windshields. Fifteen had sidecars of which six were kept for the disposal of the "Gunmen's Squad." According to the NYPD's annual report of 1929, the "Gunmen's Squad" was composed of a number of men from each borough for the purpose of driving loafers, criminals, gangsters and disorderly characters from the streets, speakeasies, pool parlors and dance halls. it was reported that they kept 198 known gangsters on the run and "axed "every illegal "still" they found.


INTERESTING WEB SITES

Reverse Telephone Searches
You can do a reverse search all from one page instead of having to go
to every individual web site at:

http://www.freeality.com/findrev.htm

Here�s an interesting site set up for NYPD MOS:

http://www.nypdmos.com/

And yet another site for NYPD MOS

www.nycop.com


FROM THE MEDICAL EXAMINER:

COMPRESSION OF THE NECK: PETECHIAL HEMORRHAGES

Petechial hemorrhages are capillaries that have ruptured because of pressure.

If pressure is put on the neck, the blood backs up and the capillaries, which are the weakest part of the vascular system, rupture.

It takes 60-70 lbs. of pressure to collapse an artery, but only 5 lbs to collapse a vein.

In suffocation, the pressure is primarily on the nose and mouth, not on the neck and usually you do NOT see PETECHIAE. However, when a person struggles this often inadvertently leads to pressure on the neck as well.

Suffocation is a much more rare cause of death than strangulation; there is most often that struggle leading to the pressure on the neck.


PROMOTION CONGRATULATIONS�

Extended to all our friends in Brooklyn North who have been promoted this week, just in time for Thanksgiving.

As mentioned earlier, Joseph Cunneen received a well-deserved promotion to the two-star rank of Assistant Chief, replacing Jim Ward who is retiring as the Borough Commander. At the same time Eddie Young received one-star and promotion to Deputy Chief, and appointed as the XO of Brooklyn North. We couldn�t be any happier for these two true Brooklyn North family members!

Bidding Jim Ward best wishes on his upcoming retirement were many of the Brooklyn North commanders at a luncheon this past week. Jim made a speech from the heart that exemplified the grace of this gentleman, touching all those in attendance. Mentioning bhow he has thirty-six and a half years on the job Patty Boyle was quick to point out he was merely a �youngster�.

Discretionary promotions saw several recipients from Brooklyn North as well. Wishing all those promoted best wishes and good fortune!


GET WELL WISHES�

Extended to Captain of Police Ignatius �Junior� LaBarbera, who is recuperating at home after a bout of chest pains. Good to see you�re at home, Junior; just wondering what the fate of those boxes of Cubans are during this holiday season! We all hope to see you up and about (along with Marty) soon! Now, what about those slippers they made you wear at Jamaica Hospital? You�re Spoiling Me!!!

WISHING ALL A HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Saturday, November 17, 2001

EARLY HIGHWAY PATROL: THE MOTORCYCLE SQUAD

In 1912, the Motorcycle Squad consisted of one sergeant and twenty-three patrolmen. They had twenty-five motorcycles with two in storage. Motorcycle repairs were performed by the Division of Horses and Equipment. The Motorcycle Squad, in 1917, became a Motorcycle Division consisting of three Motorcycle Squads: Squad #1 assigned to the boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx and Richmond; Squad #2 assigned to the borough of Brooklyn; and Squad #3 assigned to the borough of Queens.


WEED AND SEED

Operation Weed and Seed is a US Department of Justice initiative that was started in 1991. The Weed and Seed Strategy integrates federal, state, and local law enforcement and criminal justice efforts aimed at preventing, controlling, and reducing violent crime, drug abuse, and gang activity in targeted high-crime neighborhoods. Weed and Seed sites range in size from several neighborhood blocks to 15 square miles.

In New York City, Weed and Seed sites have been established in East New York and Far Rockaway.

The strategy is a two-pronged approach: law enforcement agencies and prosecutors cooperate in �weeding out� criminals who participate in violent cime and drug abuse, attempting to prevent their return to the targeted area; and �seeding� brings human services to the area, encompassing prevention, intervention, treatment, and neighborhood revitalization.

The US Attorney�s Office assumes a central role in coordinating law enforcement efforts, working with local leaders to leverage public and private resources.

The tools used in the enforcement efforts of �weeding out� criminals includes the federal �RICO� and Continuing Criminal Enterprise (CCE) statutes.

It is noted that this past year Lt. Kevin Yorke, most recently of the Brooklyn North Gang Investigation Squad, served as a �Safe Streets Executive Fellow� with the Department Of Justice, working on the �Weed and Seed� Program out of Washington, DC.


INTERESTING WEB SITES

You can find out more regarding the �Weed and Seed� program at:

www.ojp.usdoj.gov/eows

Computer Crime & Forensics
http://www.unt.edu/cjus/cmpcrme.htm

Police memorial site
http://cire.com/nypd/


MESSAGE FROM THE MINISTER

You Can Help Villanova Womens Lacrosse while doing some on-line shoping at the same time!

Check out the Villanova BLOCK V CLUB ON LINE AUCTION

NOVEMBER 17-DECEMBER 7TH

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Check it out- You never know what you might find!!!

Tuesday, November 13, 2001

MORE FROM THE MEDICAL EXAMINER

Rigor mortis is the stiffening of the body after death. This occurs because the heart is no longer pumping oxygen through the body.

Rigor mortis begins at the lower jaw and neck and spreads downward. That�s why you will see the MI at the scene examine the jaw/mouth area first.

The whole body stiffens within 12 hours after death. This stiffening will begin to disappear 36 hours after death.

Heat, cold, and drugs can affect the way the body changes after death. Heat speeds things up.


THE PROPER BODY-WRAP

Don�t wrap a body in a sheet from the victims house. Doing so could transfer material from another part of the residence into the crime scene, and could cause confusion at an autopsy. Use a clean sheet brought to the scene, so that if anything falls on it you will know it came from the victim, and perhaps whoever came in contact with the victim during those last moments of life.

INTERESTING WEB SITES

�Ear Print Catches Murderer�. A story of a medical examiner using an �ear print� in a murder investigation.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_235000/235721.stm#top

Randy Singer's Attorney's Toolbox
http://www.mother.com/~randy/tools.html


Can anyone tell me how to access the �Baby-Momma Database�?


Friday, November 09, 2001

CONGRATULATIONS CHIEF CUNNEEN:

All of Brooklyn North extend a hearty CONGRATULATIONS to Chief Joseph F.X. Cunneen, on his appointment as Borough Commander!

Chief Cunneen has received a well deserved promotion, and all of us in Brooklyn North Detectives are pleased to serve you.

Best of luck, Chief!

At the same time, we wish Chief James Ward all the best in his upcoming retirement.

Chief Ward is someone who has truly earned the love and respect of all of us here in Brooklyn North, and I speak for many when I wish him all of the best for the future. You are truly a gentleman, in every manner, and deserve nothing but the best!!!

It was a pleasure to have had the opportunity to work for you. GOOD LUCK!!!


FROM THE MEDICAL EXAMINER: NOTES ON AN AUTOPSY

The changes that occur to a body post-death are identified as rigor mortis, algor mortis, and livor mortis.

Because the heart is no longer pumping, muscle cells are deprived of oxygen and they stiffen. This is called RIGOR MORTIS.

The body temperature falls one to two degrees Fahrenheit per hour. This is called ALGOR MORTIS.

Because the heart is no longer churning blood, the red blood cells settle according to gravity and produce the maroon color of death on the skin, known as LIVOR MORTIS.

Lividity appears about 2 hours after death. This can help reveal the time of death, as well as reveal if a body was moved after the person died. In lividity, the normal color is MAROON. A CHERRY PINK color is indicative of carbon monoxide poisoning.


WOODS LIGHT

An ultra-violet light used in crime scene examinations.

This is used to identify signs of semen. Under the Woods Light semen fluoresces, while blood and saliva will not.

PROSPECT PARK PRECINCT

Do most people know that Prospect Park once had it�s own precinct?

The 74th Precinct was the Prospect Park precinct. The building that now houses the Brooklyn South Task Force, known as the �Park House�, was built as the 74th Precinct, which covered Prospect Park.

An August 1946 Manual of Procedure amendment notes that crime complaints occurring �in the 74th Precinct (Prospect Park) be referred to the 72nd Pct. Det. Squad for investigation�.

HEIGHTENED SECURITY??

If it wasn�t true, it would be funny.

Are these some examples of being on �heightened� security watch?

MOS going into Madison Square Garden for a basketball game is searched, and told he is unable to enter the arena with his binoculars. The fact that he is carrying a firearm is never questioned!

An MOS is entering a large-scale public event, and asked to open her pocketbook before being allowed entry. She does so and is then waved in, never being asked about her loaded GLOCK inside the bag, and before having the opportunity to identify herself to security.



YOU CAN CONTACT THE MINISTER OF INVESTIGATION AT:

Ltjac77@yahoo.com

If you have any ideas or suggestions for future postings, please drop an e-mail to me.

Monday, November 05, 2001

LOCARDS EXCHANGE PRINCIPLE

When any two objects come into contact with each other, there is always a transfer from one object to the other. This is the basis of the science of criminalistics.

What was left behind, what was taken away, what was exchanged: Find it and you may solve your crime.


SOFTBALL ANYONE?

I would like to take a moment to note the success this past season the 77 Squad�s Softball Team. Resplendent in their blue uniform shirts, announcing �77th Squad� on the front with a number (no name, of course) on the back, the team looked like a real softball team.

Under the leadership of General Manager John Belfort, and Field Manager Nick Dimonda, the team had an unbeaten season. (Alright, their record was 2-0, and one of those may have been a forfeit, but technically it still is an unbeaten record, right?).

In a note of nostalgia, to the likes of comparing the 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers to the 1999 NY Yankees, etc., it is wondered how the 77 Squad�s team have fared against the Emergency Service Division team of 1946, who beat Harbor Pct by a score of 18-3 for the Commissioner�s Trophy. What do you think about that, Nicky??


EARLY COMMUNITY POLICING

A SPRING issue of 1946 notes a study conducted by a sociologist that sounds a lot like an early community policing study.

It was supposed at that time that in time of trouble people would seek out the neighborhood policeman as one of the persons to whom they could turn for assistance. Remember, also, that the overwhelming majority of police assignments was at the local foot patrolman level, a la community policing.

The study, however, found the policeman was one of the folks scarcely sought by those in trouble. �It may serve as a jolt to the layman and social worker alike when they read the findings�. Even when the services of established social agencies were used, it was found that when families first turn to others for help they turned to the corner druggist, and bartender, more times than the priest, policeman, or political leader!

Friday, November 02, 2001

STRICTLY FOR THE GIRLS (!)

This is the title of a regular column in SPRING 3100 back in the 1940�s. It was the page that was for the patrolman�s wife, as female police officers as we know them today were not around. Remember, back then female�s entering the department did so under the civil service title of Policewoman, and did not perform the same duties as male patrolman did. (Cell matrons, searching of female prisoners, and work with youth groups composed the bulk of their work).

The Sept-Oct 1946 issue provides some advice for throwing a party for friends during crisp fall weekends. �Before you go off for the day, build a good deep fire of anthracite coals in your fireplace basket grate, put a rack from the oven across it, and set a pot of beans on to bake the old fashioned slow way that can�t be beat by any modern method�.

Yea, right! Where�s the microwave??

FROM THE WANTED PAGES

The Wanted Pages posted in SPRING 3100 issues of the 1940�s note the following people of interest:

George Smurra, alias �Blah Blah�

Thomas Nichols, alias �Tommy Nose�, �frequents taverns, swimming pools, and beaches�. (The good life, indeed!).

Andrew Ferraiolo, alias �Andy Boy�, �a neat dresser�.

Jack Parisi, alias �Drop Eyes�, �sewing machine mechanic; poorly dressed�.
(Guess that sewing machine didn�t work for his own clothes!).

Michael Mirandi, alias �Mikey Round�, �height 5 feet 3 inches, weight 200 pounds�
(still wonder where he got his name from?)

Philip Cozzolino, alias �Taramo� (?). �grey tweed suit, dark grey overcoat, black shoes�.
(Does he never change his clothes? Maybe he should see �Andy Boy� and borrow some new pants?

SPORTS, 40�S STYLE

Departmental sports activities were dormant during the period of World War II, and resumed on October 1, 1946 with the opening of the One Wall Singles Handball Tournament. This event took place in the Manhattan Headquarters Gymnasium, and saw 51 devotees entered to compete for the Department Championship.

It is noted that the Department�s Handball Champion was Det. Henry Herz of the 70 Squad! (Let�s hear it for the Detectives!) It was noted in this report that entries for the Four Wall Singles and Doubles Tournament was underway.



INTERESTING WEB SITES

More links for People-Searching

Trackem People Search
http://www.mdvl.net/~rcthomas/trackem.html

Mirror of above Site
http://www.trackem.net/


Drug Smugglers Interviewed.
"Measuring the Deterrent Effect of Enforcement Operations on
Drug Smuggling, 1991-1999" (173 pp.) (NCJ 189988) (available
online only) examines how interdiction and other drug
enforcement activities affect drug smuggling. (ONDCP)
Access full text at:
http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/pdf/measure_deter_effct.pdf


Dept of Criminal Justice Services: On-Line Newsletter

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"WHAT ABOUT THOSE YANKEES..."

At a recent Yankee detail, a certain MOS from the 77 Squad was overheard offering batting tips to Scott Brosius. "So when are you going to break out of that batting slump, Scott" were the precise words overheard. Anyway, it appears he may have listened, as exhibited by his recent his game winning shot. Now we just hope that Andy Pettit took some of those pitching tips offered by the same Detective. (Info has it he has been banned from any future Yankee Details by Joe Torre himslef).