Bank robberies influenced by Hollywood movie

Two geared up burglars dressed as nuns skipped a teller countertop in an Ill. bank last Sunday. The bandits made off with an undisclosed quantity of cash. The thievery was shockingly reminiscent of last year’s critically commended Ben Affleck film, “The Town.”

Firing shots not shown in escape

The TCF financial institution in Palos Heights, Ill., was probably the most recent “The Town” burglary. The two burglars, one male and one female, wore rubber masks and traditional nuns’ habits. They were both armed. They had handguns to them. They stuffed a duffel bag with cash while at the bank and before leaving. There was a Chevrolet with tinted windows that they left in. Nobody got hurt since no shots were terminated.

Looks like Ben Affleck’s film

In Affleck’s “The Town,” a male comes from a neighborhood in Boston where a lot of armed burglars come from. The male, played by Affleck, follows in their footsteps but is conflicted over it. Nun masks and habits just like in Illinois are used in the burglary in the movie. Although no confirmation exists, it is apparent the thieves may have been prompted by the movie.

'The Town’ influenced robberies before

The Affleck movie has inspired even more. Another robbery seemed similar to it. 28 year old Kay Faughin, Eddie Solomon, 27, and 29 year old Lee Lubin all worked together on January 4 to rob Financial institution of America. They were wearing Halloween masks into the Delray Beach, Fla., branch. The bank customers were ordered to lie on the floor at gunpoint as the thieves stole $67,000 in cash. They had a Cadillac waiting to get away. Police and news helicopters followed them. Local Television stations followed and covered them really well. All three men were apprehended within a few hours.

The three men did the thievery after “The Town” inspired them. Lubin said this in court.

Citations

Pop Eater

popeater.com/2011/06/02/ben-affleck-the-town-chicago-bank-robbery/

Mail OnlineM

dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1344758/Three-men-dress-Halloween-masks-rob-bank-Florida-inspired-Ben-Affleck-film-The-Town.html

WPBF

wpbf.com/news/26381238/detail.html

‘The Town’ trailer

youtube.com/watch?v=QQ7wcayQQLQ

California woman imprisoned with can with body parts

A California female was detained Sunday for supposedly moving a giant trash can with dismembered human limbs down a residential road. Law enforcement booked her on suspicion of murder and say she remains uncooperative.

She was not even hiding

Carmen Montenegro, 51, of San Bernardino, Calif., was discovered pushing the wheeled container at about 2:30 in the afternoon. The police got tips from residents around there. They either smelt or saw the trash and its content.

Reporters spoke with Ontario Police Detective Jeff Crittendon who said “Officers stopped her leaving the location and in the trash can we found human remains.”

Possible single victim found

Police believe the parts of the body are the partial remains of one male, though the reason for death has not yet been determined. According to Crittendon, “I can’t comment on the condition of the body because I am not sure of the exact extent of the injuries. I do know that it was dismembered. It appears to be a homicide.” Evidently they “had evidence on her that seemed to be consistent that she was involved with disposal of the body.” This is what Crittendon also said.

Hole in the lawn dug

The detective also said that they believe Montenegro disinterred the remains from her previous residence. The arrest was close to her home. It was only about 200 yards away. Law enforcement found a hole dug in the yard after checking out the property.

The way the suspect lived in the home

Local residents report that the home was owned by either Montenegro’s cousin or her mother, and that Montenegro herself had lived in the home on and off for the past 15 years.

Still investigating what happened

The police try to figure out who the victim is. They are working on it. Investigators excavated the property around the home Monday and discovered what they say may be bodily fluids.

Right now, Montenegro is still not cooperating with law enforcement and investigators while staying in Rancho Cucamonga, California.

Information from

MSNBC

msnbc.msn.com/id/43223519/ns/us_news-weird_news/

NY Daily News

nydailynews.com/news/national/2011/05/31/2011-05-31_california_woman_spotted_pushing_trashcan_of_human_body_parts_down_the_street_ar.html

Huffington Post

weirdnews.aol.com/2011/05/31/carmen-montenegro-dismemb_n_869203.html#s284153&title=Dumb_Crime_Masterminds

House prices drop as foreclosure rates go up

The price of homes continues to fall in the U.S. as foreclosure rates grow. This is awesome news for home buyers looking for a deal. Sellers, however, would be advised to give it more time.

FHFA report shows distinct decline

According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, there was a huge decline in the home-price index this quarter. It fell faster than any time since 2008 falls. Prices have fallen 2.5 percent in the last quarter, which is a decline of 5.5 percent from last year. Only homes covered by Fannie Mae or Freddie Macwere in the report. Cash only sales are also not in the list.

Problems brought on by foreclosures

Edward DeMarco is the FHFA director right now. He said, “In many local real estate markets, particularly those hit hard by this cycle, foreclosures and other distressed properties are still a key factor in recorded and anticipated future sales and may be delaying price stability or recovery.” There has been a decrease in the price people are willing to pay for foreclosures. It has been going down substantially, RealtyTrac explained. During the first quarter, the average sale price was $168,321 which dropped 1.46 percent from a year ago and 1.89 percent from the quarter before. And because foreclosures lower the value of other homes in their neighborhood, they affect the rest of the index also.

3rd parties not as involved in foreclosure process

“While foreclosure sales continue to account for an unusually high percentage of all residential home sales, sales volume is well off the peak we saw in the first quarter of 2009, when nearly 350,000 foreclosure properties were sold to third parties,” reported James Saccacio, the CEO of RealtyTrac. There was a 16 percent decline from the last quarter and 36 percent decline from a year ago in the number of homes sold to third parties which was at 158,434 in the first quarter.

Foreclosures in states are different from one another

Foreclosure rates depend on the state. Some have more while others have less. Both Ohio and Illinois had the same. It was 41 percent for both. California and Arizona had foreclosure rates of 45 percent. About 53 percent of the industry was foreclosures in Nevada.

Worry about frauds in the foreclosure business

A lot more foreclosure scams have come about. They are sometimes hard to see. Some businesses promise to protect from foreclosure for an upfront fee. The homeowners end up with nothing. Mortgage reduction plan negotiations can’t have upfront fees anymore with a requirement made in February with the Federal Trade Commission.

Articles cited

Wall Street Journal

blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/2011/05/25/home-prices-fall-at-fastest-pace-since-late-2008/?mod=google_news_blog

DS News

dsnews.com/articles/home-prices-post-biggest-drop-in-two-years-as-foreclosures-depress-market-2011-05-26

DS News

dsnews.com/articles/home-prices-post-biggest-drop-in-two-years-as-foreclosures-depress-market-2011-05-26

Daily Finance

dailyfinance.com/2011/05/27/foreclosure-prices-fall-again-how-your-state-stacks-up/

home-based work benefits employees and employers

A lot of people have to work for income, even if it means being subjected to a program of authoritarian propaganda punctuated by many different moments of frantic efficiency. Entrepreneurship addresses some of the issue, but it demands burning the midnight oil. Working from home is another choice. Hammering out the daily telecommute can benefit both the employer and the employee.

Some businesses are against working at home

The chance of there being a distraction is why businesses are against working remotely sometimes. If there’s a couch and television available, employees aren’t typically productive. It is possible to argue that it is more distracting to work in an office with people talking, supervisors watching, meetings all over the place and uncomfortable surroundings.

The best parts of telecommuting

• Increased production -Large blocks of uninterrupted time are necessary for a worker, especially if that worker is in a creative field. This is possible with dedicated workspace at home. Meet at a bar after you are done for socializing if you need it. Drinking together makes for a stronger group. Sometimes there are advantages to it.
• Increased documentation – To be able to stay above board, telecommuters have to document their work since they are not in the office. With the work you are doing, it can be a good idea to keep track of it anyway. It will keep your boss interested in you as an employee.
• Efficient use of tools – It should be enough to instant message one another during work hours and for work-related topics. If security is an issue, set up a VPN or similar network.
• Trust – When businesses trust that employees can produce without constant supervision, it raises employee morale.
• Living a normal life – A person’s physical and emotional health is at stake when putting them through the unnatural 40 hour workweek from 9 to 5. Most executives find ways to leave the office at almost any time of the day if they have errands to run. This isn’t the case for most workers. They have a strict schedule. These rights should be given to all the workers. They should simply have jobs that have to be completed.

Companies can benefit from it also

A ton of money is put into offices by businesses. This can include rent and furniture. This 20th century relic is far from cost efficient. When trusted employees get the job done remotely, the corporate office doesn’t have to suffer from corporate bloat.

Articles cited

Christian Heilmann’s Blog

wait-till-i.com/2011/05/25/on-working-remotely-and-efficiency/

Read Write Enterprise

readwriteweb.com/enterprise/2011/05/lessons-learned-in-remote-work.php

Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_private_network

How to make work: Leave the office

youtube.com/watch?v=5XD2kNopsUs

Loughner considered incompetent to stand trial

Jared Lee Loughner, the male accused of a Jan 8 shooting spree in Tucson, Ariz., has been ruled incompetent to stand trial. U.S. Marshals dragged Loughner out of the courtroom Wednesday following an angry outburst.

Tucson shooting killed six wounded 13

Gabrielle Giffords is a U.S. Representative who was having a community meeting outside a supermarket where the shooting spree occurred on January 8. A 9 year old girl and U.S. District Judge John Roll were both killed by Loughner as he opened fire. A total of six individuals were killed. There were thirteen individuals total which were injured also. This contains Rep. Giffords (D) who was shot in the head and is still in recovery. A not guilty plea was entered in by Loughner. Because of the January 8 shootings, he was charged with 49 federal charges.

What he mumbled

Although mumbled and unclear, during a pretrial hearing the 22-year-old defendant seemed to say, “Thank you for the freak show. She died in front of me.” It was not clear to whom he referred.

Loughner was asked by U.S. District Judge Larry Burns is he wanted to behave in the court room or watch the court from another room on a TV screen to which Loughner said, “I want to watch the TV screen.”

Needing survivors to view what occurred

At least two survivors of the attack were in the courtroom and heard the episode. Present was Pam Simon, Gifford’s aide, who was shot in the chest and right wrist. Army Col. Bill Badger was also there. He was hit in the back of the head by a bullet. Badger is one of the individuals who helped subdue Loughner after the attack.

Defendant deemed not competent

Today’s hearing was a result of prosecutors asking Judge Burns in March to order an examination to determine whether Loughner was competent enough to endure trial. Burns made his decision after Loughner was examined by a psychologist from the Jail Bureau, as well as a court-appointed expert. Loughner was considered incompetent by both. ”The defendant was not able to comprehend the charges,” according to Burns.

Federal facility to hold Loughner

Loughner will be sent to a federal facility for four months or until doctors are convinced of his competency. September 21 will be when his next hearing happens. He will be able to stay even longer after the four months are up. This is assuming he is considered incompetent still. It doesn’t matter how long he stays there. His stay could be extended several, several times.

How the defense will use this

An insanity defense may very well be used by Loughner’s lawyers. They have described him as a “gravely mentally ill man” and say that the condition will make a difference to the trial in the courtroom filings though.

Articles cited

Huffington Post

huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/25/jared-loughner-tucson-shooting_n_866723.html

Bloomberg

bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-25/giffords-shooting-suspect-loughner-taken-out-of-courtroom-after-outburst.html

CNN

cnn.com/2011/CRIME/05/25/arizona.loughner.competency/?hpt=T1

Personal loans to attend for-profit schools could be risky

Selecting a college is a complex matter, and scholars should be cautious of private, for-profit colleges. The federal government, along with state governments, is often at loggerheads with for-profit institutions, and students that attend them have the highest default rates on student loans. Some schools are great institutions and well worth thinking about. However, prospective scholars should check any out thoroughly before matriculating.

Trump facing possible Indictment

Five companies that work for, for-profit universities will be investigated. The New York Attorney General will be doing the investigation, CNN states. One school that is part of this investigation is the former Trump University. Donald Trump started the for-profit university a few years back. The organization had to rename itself the Trump Entrepreneur Initiative after the New York Department of Education said it could not call itself a school. The New York Times reports that Corinthian Colleges, Bridgepoint Education, Lincoln Educational Services and the Career Education Corporation are the other schools involved. Charges have not yet been filed. They are all being investigated still.

School and state fight

Previous scholars are not very happy that state and federal governments have been coming down on for-profit universities. Right now, Donald Trump is being sued by some scholars in California. They say they were misled by what is now Trump Entrepreneur Initiative. Corinthian’s colleges are also under investigation in Massachusetts, California, Florida and Georgia, according to Reuters. The Apollo Group is also being investigated as it runs the University of Phoenix and Kaplan Career Institute, which the Washington Post Company runs currently. This is the plan for the Massachusetts Attorney General, reports the Boston Globe. Smaller private colleges could be less stable than their megacorporate counterparts, as well. Alpine College in Spokane, Washington shut down unexpectedly. Scholars were left without a degree and thousands in personal loans.

Payments extremely hard to afford

Cost is something individuals must consider when choosing which university to go to. Most for-profit universities are costly. They can cost more than they are worth. Reuters states that 15.2 percent of students who went to a for-profit university defaulted on student loans within a year in 2009, which is twice the 7.3 percent of students who defaulted after going to a public college. The rate was much lower for private, not-for-profit schools. That rate was only at 4.3 percent. About half of total loan defaults come from for-profit university scholars as well. Several individuals have accused for-profit universities of fraudulent advertising and of not preparing students well enough for the job market, thus making it harder for them to meet their loan obligations. The Department of Education is currently attempting to institute a rule that would deny federal loans to students attending a school with a 35 percent default rate or higher.

Citations

CNN

money.cnn.com/2011/05/20/news/companies/trump_university/index.htm

New York Times

nytimes.com/2011/05/20/nyregion/trumps-for-profit-school-said-to-be-under-investigation.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=education

Reuters

reuters.com/article/2011/05/20/education-forprofit-idUSN2028820820110520

Reuters

reuters.com/article/2011/05/20/us-education-idUSTRE74J55O20110520

MSNBC

msnbc.msn.com/id/43130397″>MSNBC

Boston Globe

http://articles.boston.com/2011-05-17/business/29552871_1_college-access-success-college-students-schools”

U.S. Marshals auction Unabomber possessions

The U.S. Marshals Service has decided to auction off some of the personal things of Theodore John “Ted” Kaczynski. Kaczynski is better known as ‘the Unabomber’. The auction will be conducted online and will continue until June 2. The proceeds will go to some of the victims of Kaczynski’s almost 20 yearlong mail bombing spree.

Personal things auctioned

The auction will sell about 60 lots of things found when Kaczynski was captured on April 3, 1996 in his cabin. The hooded sweatshirt and dark glasses he is known for could be found in these items. His driver’s licenses, deeds, checks, transcripts, letters and birth certificate will all be sold. All of his personal documents found will sell. Several photos were found and will sell. Kaczynski’s clothing, books, bows, tools and watches will even all be sold. You can also buy a typewriter he used to write the Unabomber Manifesto, which is what people call it. The real name of it is The Industrial Society and Its Future. There will also be 20,000 pages of the document sold, including hand-written and typed versions.

The catalog, photos and information of all the auction items are available at the GSA auction website.

Who he even was

Kaczynski was a mathematical prodigy after bring born in 1942 in Chicago, Ill. He was accepted to Harvard at age 16, and he received an undergraduate degree. Later he earned a PhD in mathematics from the University of Michigan. It made Kaczynski frustrated when technology became essential to society. It started to rely on technology. In 1971, Kaczynski moved to a remote one-room cabin in the Montana wilderness in a try to become self-sufficient. He got the name Unabomber, because of University and Airline bomber put together, due to his sixteen years old homemade mail bombs he sent to several airlines, universities and other targets between 1978 and 1995. His bombs were responsible for killing three individuals and injuring 23 others. Kaczynski was turned in in 1996 by his brother and sister-in-law after a huge FBI manhunt. Kaczynski is now serving in the “supermax” prison for life without the chance of parole at age 69. This prison can be found in Flore! nce, Colorado.

Using what he hates most

U.S. Marshal Albert Najera spoke with the press. “We will use the technology that Kaczynski railed against in his various manifestos to sell artifacts of his life,” was what he said.

Value uncertain

Nobody knows how much value is really in these items. The Marshals have a spokeswoman names Lynzey Donohue. “This is an unusual type of case,” she said. “It’s really difficult to put a value on these items because of the intrinsic value they have based on his notoriety.”

Information from

NY Daily News

nydailynews.com/news/national/2011/05/18/2011-05-18_unabomber_ted_kaczynskis_belongings_hit_auction_block_sweatshirt_glasses_typewri.html

CNN

articles.cnn.com/2011-05-12/justice/us.unabomber.auction_1_auction-plan-unabomber-ted-kaczynski-auction-website?_s=PM:CRIME

The Sacramento Bee

sacbee.com/2011/05/13/3623703/unabomber-kaczynskis-personal.html

GSA Auctions

gsaauctions.gov/gsaauctions/gsaauctions/