Published: October 11. 2010 12:01AM

Police officers teach Erie children how to swim

More than 30 Erie children are getting an education in swimming and water safety from city police officers.

A program funded by the Erie Weed and Seed program and the Erie County District Attorney's Office is teaching kids ages 10 to 15 how to swim each Thursday afternoon. The classes are taught in three sessions, beginning at 3:30 p.m. at the East High School Natatorium.


"It's an opportunity for these kids who haven't had a chance to take formal swim lessons. And the key is for them to work with police officers," said Erie police Detective Sgt. Jim Daniel, who teaches the free classes with Erie police Sgt. Jeff Dahlstrand.


-- Tim Hahn Erie Times.

Published: September 29. 2010 1:16AM Erie Times News.

Police announce results of aggressive driving campaigns

State and local police issued several traffic citations during their latest aggressive driving enforcement efforts.

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Erie police made 207 traffic stops during an enforcement period that ran from July through late September, Erie police Lt. Kirk Werner said.

Police cited 89 motorists for speeding, 53 for failing to obey traffic control signs and five for careless driving, he said. An additional 13 motorists were charged with driving with a suspended license, and 11 people were picked up on arrest warrants, Werner said.

Pennsylvania State Police Troop E joined other troopers in the state, along with the U.S. Border Patrol and state police in Ohio, New York and West Virginia, in a summerlong enforcement effort called "Operation Safety Net."

There were 3,206 citations issued for speeding and other traffic violations, nine arrests for driving under the influence and 18 drug arrests, state police spokesman Sgt. Mark Zaleski said.

Officers also inspected 1,381 commercial vehicles and issued 734 citations, Zaleski said.

Subject: National Prescription Dug "Take-Back" Day - Sept. 25


On September 25, 2010, DEA will coordinate a collaborative effort with state and local law enforcement agencies to remove potentially dangerous controlled substances from our nation’s medicine cabinets. Collection activities will take place from 10:00 a.m. through 2:00 p.m. at sites established throughout the country. The National Take-Back Day provides an opportunity for the public to surrender expired, unwanted, or unused pharmaceutical controlled substances and other medications for destruction. These drugs are a potential source of supply for illegal use and an unacceptable risk to public health and safety.

This one-day effort is intended to bring national focus to the issue of increasing pharmaceutical controlled substance abuse. A few key points:

· The program is anonymous.

· Prescription and over the counter solid dosage medications, i.e. tablets and capsules will be accepted.

· Intra-venous solutions, liquid medications (e.g. – cough syrup), injectables, and needles will not be accepted.

· Illicit substances such as marijuana or methamphetamine are not a part of this initiative.



The Philadelphia Division of DEA, in conjunction with municipal police agencies, the Pennsylvania State Police, Penna. Chief of Police Association and Pennsylvania National Guard are coordinating the effort in the Commonwealth to give citizens a safe, convenient, legal, and “no-questions-asked” means of disposing of expired, unused, no-longer-needed drugs they may have in their households. Erie Bureau of Police and Pennsylvania State Police in Lawrence Park will be serving as collection points.

Erie County wins $25,000 grant for neighborhood watch groups, scholarships

Erie County has won a $25,000 grant to put police radios in the hands of neighborhood watch leaders and give scholarships to college students who help police.

Markham Vineyards will award the "Mark of Distinction" grant, which aims to assist community revitalization efforts.
Erie County beat eight other finalists to win the money.
The winners also will be toasted at Markham's Napa Valley winery. A wine will also be created in honor of the Erie program.

In the grant application, Erie County Chief Detective Larry Dombrowski and Erie County District Attorney Jack Daneri had cited the recent rash of juvenile crime and gun violence in Erie County. They had said that if they win the grant, they will use the money to obtain technology that will allow for greater cooperation between residents and law enforcement.

They proposed to buy police radios or cell phones to place neighborhood crime watch leaders in direct contact with police. They also want to award $1,000 scholarships to 10 local criminal-justice majors. The scholarship recipients will be required to listen to portable police scanners and post summaries of those calls on the ErieAlert.com website and on "eriealerts" at the Twitter social-networking site.

Published: September 01. 2010 1:15AM
Cell records probed in I-90 fatal crash
By LISA THOMPSON
lisa.thompson@timesnews.com

Police are turning to a new kind of witness to track down the person who struck and killed a Chicago woman in a midnight hit-and-run crash on Interstate 90.


This witness, tall and silent, cannot describe the make and model of the two trucks involved in the crash or visually identify the drivers.


What it might tell police, however, is whose cell phones passed along the darkened highway at the time of the accident that claimed the life of Xiaoxia Zhang, a 30-year-old mother of two.

Investigators have gone to court to obtain data from four towers that transmit cell phone signals along the stretch of I-90 where Zhang was killed on Aug. 20 after one tractor-trailer rear-ended her family's car, throwing her from the vehicle, and another truck ran over her.

The move is part of a growing trend in which law enforcement look to electronic cell-phone data to aid in criminal investigations.
"This information is necessary to the investigating officers in order to develop any suspects or witnesses to a traffic fatality," Erie County Chief Detective Larry Dombrowski said in the motions.


The filing of the requests in Erie County Court was one of two developments in the probe to surface Tuesday.


State police also released a sketch of a truck driver they believe left the scene of the crash.


They said the man, in his 40s with dark hair and dark eyes, spoke with an accent, stood about 5 feet, 6 inches tall, and weighed about 150 pounds. He may have been driving a blue 9000 Series International truck that clipped the rear of the Volkswagen Passat station wagon in which Zhang was riding. The truck will have damage to its right front fender and grill, police said. It may have mirrors mounted on the fenders.


As the Passat spun, Zhang was thrown from the car and landed on the highway, where the second tractor-trailer ran over her.


She died instantly. The drivers of both trucks fled the scene, police said.


Zhang's husband, a graduate student who had been bound for studies in Canada, and two children, a daughter, 3, and son, 2, were injured. Shang's husband, Fengning Liu, has since said he plans to return to China.


Investigators put up a reward of $1,000 for information leading to an arrest.


The cell-phone records might help them make the connections that so far have not been forthcoming from witnesses.


Dombrowski said in a motion that the towers log cell-phone numbers of those who travel through a tower's service area.

He obtained a court order requiring four of the nation's largest cell-phone-service providers to release electronic records detailing what cell phones passed through the service area near I-90 and Williams Road in North East between 12:40 and 12:55 a.m. on Aug. 20.


The tower, as a user travels from location to location, contacts the subscriber's phone with a signal to indicate that the phone is ready to make or accept calls, Dombrowski said.


He said the data does not track calls made in a service area at a given time, just the phone numbers that have passed through the service area. Some phones also have global positioning satellite or GPS capabilities that would make it possible to pinpoint a phone's exact location at a given time, he said.


Erie County President Judge Ernest J. DiSantis Jr. signed the orders directing Verizon Wireless, AT&T, T-Mobile and Nextel Partners to release the data requested by Dombrowski. It is not known how long it will take to retrieve the information

Published: August 17. 2010 1:15AM

District Attorney Daneri clears Erie officer in shooting
By JOHN GUERRIERO
john.guerriero@timesnews.com

An Erie police officer will return to duty now that Erie County District Attorney Jack Daneri cleared him of any wrongdoing in the shooting of a 17-year-old robbery and burglary suspect.

Daneri said that Lt. Steve Goozdich, a 21-year veteran and patrol supervisor with "an exemplary record,'' acted appropriately under the circumstances. The use of extreme force is justified when an officer believes he or others are in danger, Daneri said Monday.

Goozdich used his service revolver to shoot Jose R. Diaz outside an apartment at 255 Crandall St., where police responded to a reported home invasion involving three people late Aug. 10.

Diaz suffered a wound to the lower back, just above the waistline, Daneri said. Diaz is a patient at Hamot Medical Center, where he is in the custody of corrections officers.

Hamot is not releasing information on Diaz's condition at the request of Diaz and his family, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Goozdich had been on paid administrative leave.

Erie Police Chief Steve Franklin said that Goozdich will return to work Wednesday after his regularly scheduled days off.

Goozdich and other officers believed that Diaz had a gun in his right hand, but Daneri wouldn't comment whether the suspect had a gun.

Diaz was shot after he came out a ground-level window, refused police orders to get on the ground, struggled with Goozdich, broke free and ran, Daneri said.

Goozdich and other officers shouted numerous times for the suspect to stop and surrender, he said.

Diaz turned toward the officers and raised his right arm in the air, and Goozdich and the other officers believed they were going to be fired upon, Daneri said.

Another officer behind Goozdich was preparing to use his service revolver, too, Daneri said.

Goozdich fired at the suspect, who continued to run a short way until police found him on his knees, Daneri said. He surrendered and fell to his stomach, the district attorney said.

Police saw that Diaz had been shot while they were advising him of his arrest, Daneri said.

Diaz admitted then to police that he was the person who came out the window, Daneri said.

The other officers and an individual not connected to law enforcement corroborated Goozdich's version of events, Daneri said.

Goozdich could not be reached for comment.

The officers responded to the apartment at 11:30 p.m., and had been told that Diaz and two other people inside the house were masked and had guns, Daneri said.

Police told them numerous times to come out of the house and surrender, he said. Goozdich, the other officer who had been prepared to use his revolver and the independent eyewitness all believed that Diaz had a gun when he came out the window, Daneri said.

Daneri assigned Chief Erie County Detective Larry Dombrowski to investigate.

Diaz's parents, meanwhile, met Monday with Daneri to inquire about visiting their son in the hospital. Hamot has said that patients in the custody of corrections officers are not allowed visitors.

Daneri said he told the parents that they must contact Erie County Prison Warden James Veshecco to see if it's possible to make arrangements to see their son.

Family members have protested outside of Hamot about being refused access, and they have questioned police statements about the shooting.


JOHN GUERRIERO can be reached at 870-1690 or by e-mail.

Business robberies seemed to be happening often in recent weeks. Here are some tips that could say your life:

Try to stay calm. Don't make any sudden movements to upset the robber.

Do exactly as you are told. DO NOT RESIST!

Activate your alarm ONLY if you can do so secretly.

Tell the robber about anything that might surprise him, such as someone who is expected to arrive soon.

If you have to move or reach, tell the robber what you are going to do and why.

Try to get a good look at the robber so you can describe him later.

Don't be a hero. It's better to lose your money than your life.

Give the robber time to leave.

Note his direction of travel when he leaves.

Try to get a description of his vehicle ONLY if you can do so without exposing yourself to harm.

July 6, 2010:

There are numerous reports of laptop computers being stolen from automobiles. Everyone should remember to remove their valuables from their vehicles and lock all locks when leaving the vehicle.

Hackers Using the Final Episode Of "Lost" To Spread The MySecurityEngine Fake Antivirus

Recent death of rock singer Ronnie James Dio is also being used to distribute fake antivirus programs

By
May 19, 2010
URL:http://www.darkreading.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=224900454

ORLANDO, Fla. May 19, 2010 – – PandaLabs, Panda Security’s antimalware laboratory, has in the last few hours, detected the proliferation in search engines of numerous Web pages distributing the MySecurityEngine fake antivirus. The ‘bait’ used in this case has been the much anticipated final episode of the popular ABC series “Lost.”

There is nothing new about the way this infection operates. When someone searches for information relating to this series on the Internet, such as news on the final episode or how to view it via streaming video, fake Web pages which have been expertly indexed to appear in the leading positions among the results are listed (image available at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/panda_security/4621101704/). If users click these links, they will be prompted to accept the download of a file, such as a codec, and the fake antivirus will be installed on the computers (image available at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/panda_security/4621101736/).

PandaLabs has also discovered that in addition to “Lost,” similar techniques to lure potential victims have been detected with other popular shows and searches including “Glee,” “The Family Guy” and the recently released film, “Iron Man 2.”

The recent death of the Rainbow and Black Sabbath rock singer, Ronnie James Dio, has also been exploited by hackers to deploy a powerful Black Hat SEO attack across the Web.

According to Luis Corrons, Technical Director of PandaLabs, “What continues to surprise us is the speed with which the numerous websites are created and then indexed and positioned on the Internet. As the screening of the final episode of “Lost” approaches we expect the number of malicious links to double or triple.”

With this in mind, PandaLabs recommend users (particularly fans of the series) to be wary when visiting websites through search engines, and try to make sure the pages they visit are reliable. If users should be directed to fake websites, it is essential that no downloads are accepted. “Using your common sense and having good up-to-date protection installed are the two best ways of staying safe from these threats,” adds Corrons.

About PandaLabs

Since 1990, its mission has been to detect and eliminate new threats as rapidly as possible to offer our clients maximum security. To do so, PandaLabs has an innovative automated system that analyzes and classifies thousands of new samples a day and returns automatic verdicts (malware or goodware). This system is the basis of Collective Intelligence, Panda Security’s new security model which can even detect malware that has evaded other security solutions.

Currently, 99.4 percent of malware detected by PandaLabs is analyzed through this system of Collective Intelligence. This is complemented through the effort of several teams, each specialized in a specific type of malware (viruses, worms, Trojans, spyware, phishing, spam, etc), working 24/7 to provide global coverage. This translates into more secure, simpler and more resource-friendly solutions for clients.

More information is available in the PandaLabs blog: http://www.pandalabs.com.

For more information, visit http://www.pandasecurity.com/.


Copyright © 2007 CMP Media LLC

May 17, 2010:

Christian Schultz of Edinboro was sentenced to 24 months probation and restitution of more than $3100 for the theft of computer equipment by Erie County Common Pleas Judge Shad Connelly. Schultz was a former IT department employee at Erie Insurance. County Detective Jennifer Runstedler investigated the theft of numerous pieces of computer equipment and the unlawful use of two cellular modem cards by Schultz. Runstedler served a search warrant on the defendant's residence in November of 2009 and recovered approximately $24,000 of equipment stolen from the Erie Insurance Group.