BILL MCCOLLUM REVEALED A NEW BILL DESIGNED TO HELP FIGHT HOME GROWN MARIJUANA CULTIVATION

Hello Everyone,

 

Evelyn here,

 

On October 2, 2007 Attorney General Bill McCollum revealed a new  bill proposal designed to help fight the growth of in-house marijuana cultivation within private and rental homes.   

 

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Attorney General

News Release

October 2, 2007

               

 

MCCOLLUM, LEGISLATORS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT UNVEIL BILL

TO COMBAT MARIJUANA GROW HOUSES

 

 

New Law Would Substantially Toughen Penalties

For Drug Growers

 

                TALLAHASSEE, FL - Attorney General Bill McCollum today unveiled a legislative proposal to fight the increasing threat that marijuana grow houses pose to neighborhoods throughout Florida. The Marijuana Grow House Eradication Act also contains powerful child protection provisions including enhanced penalties for those who have a child present at a grow house and enhanced penalties for those who have illegal drugs in close proximity to children under the age of three.

 

                “As Florida’s Attorney General, my priority is protecting our children and our communities from the devastation of illegal drugs,” said Attorney General McCollum. “This legislation targets those who grow marijuana for profit.”

 

               

Attorney General McCollum is joined by law enforcement and state legislators to announce the new proposed legislation

 

                In 2006, law enforcement detected marijuana grow houses in 41 of Florida’s 67 counties, ranking Florida second only to California in the amount of grow houses. Many marijuana growers have moved from rural fields to sophisticated growing operations in the suburbs of Florida. This cultivation shift has been accompanied by new techniques to vastly increase the drug’s potency. This extremely potent form of marijuana contains up to 15 times the amount of THC, the addictive chemical found in marijuana, than marijuana common 20 years ago. Grow house marijuana has a street value of $4,000-$6,000 per pound and can be traded pound for pound for cocaine.

 

                The legislation, sponsored by Senator Steve Oelrich (R – Gainesville) and Representative Nick Thompson (R – Fort Myers), creates a tough new penalty for those who grow 25 plants or more. This legislative change specifically targets for-profit growers who exploit Florida’s current trafficking standards of 300 plants and the federal threshold of 100 plants to avoid prison time. Additionally, the bill creates a new penalty against those who own a house for the purpose of cultivating marijuana, as well as a new penalty for those who live in or are the caretakers of marijuana grow houses.

 

                “Every time law enforcement can detect a grow house and arrest those involved with it, less crime will be on our streets,” Senator Oelrich said, also stating that the main purpose of this legislation is eliminating the spread of illegal drugs in Florida. “This legislation will provide law enforcement with critical tools to get these narcotics out of our kids’ hands and put drug traffickers behind bars.”

 

                “In Florida, those who use grow houses to traffic drugs belong in prison,” added Representative Thompson. “Under this legislation we are clearly telling drug dealers, ‘if you grow, you go!’"

 

                Currently, law enforcement around the state is required to store cumbersome grow house equipment in order to preserve it as evidence. In order to address this growing storage burden, the bill allows a photograph or video recording of equipment used in the cultivation of a marijuana plant to be considered as evidence in the prosecution of the crime. The bill will also allow law enforcement to destroy grow house equipment upon the completion of all investigations and provides immunity from any civil liability to law enforcement for the destruction of the grow house equipment.

 

                "Whether grown outdoors or in a garage, marijuana today is extremely potent and dangerous and the cultivation of this illicit drug will not be tolerated by DEA," said Mark R. Trouville, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Miami Field Division.

 

                The Marijuana Grow House Eradication Act is expected to be heard during the 2008 Legislative Session. Also inattendance at the event  were LarryHolifield, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Miami Field Division Office,  Cape Coral Chief of Police Rob Petrovich and Major Jeff Taylor of the Lee County Sheriff's Office.

 

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Evelyn out.

THE OAG'S STATEWIDE EXPANSION OF CYBERCRIME UNIT HAS BEGAN

Hello Everyone,

 

Evelyn here,

 

With a press release from the Office of the Attorney General, Bill McCollum, on the expansion of the CyberCrime Unit in Jacksonville Florida.

 

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                                                            Office of the Attorney General

Bill McCollum

Attorney General of Florida

 

PRESS RELEASE

October 4, 2007

                     

 

ATTORNEY GENERAL McCOLLUM OPENS NEWLY EXPANDED CHILD PREDATOR CYBERCRIME UNIT

 

UNIT IS FIRST OF SEVEN OPENING STATEWIDE TO COMBAT

 INCREASING NUMBER OF

CYBERCRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN

 

 

      TALLAHASSEE, FL – Surrounded by law enforcement officials and child advocates, Attorney General Bill McCollum today hosted the grand opening of the newly expanded Child Predator CyberCrime Unit in Jacksonville. The office will serve as the headquarters for the expanded statewide operations. Six more openings will follow in the Orlando, Tampa, Ft. Myers, Tallahassee, Tampa and Pensacola areas.

 

      “The opening of this expanded unit and the offices to follow around Florida will make our state one of the most aggressive in the nation for tracking down and locking up online child predators,” said Attorney General McCollum.  “With increased law enforcement, stricter laws and a comprehensive statewide education effort, we hope to be a model for other states to follow as the nation moves forward to better protect our children.”

 

      The Attorney General’s top budget priority of 2007 was fully funded by the Florida Legislature and signed into law by the Governor, providing $2.3 million to expand the Child Predator CyberCrime Unit throughout Florida. The six-person unit will expand to 56 staff members statewide, providing essential resources for investigating, arresting and prosecuting internet predators and child pornographers.

 

      "I applaud Attorney General Bill McCollum for working to increase the number of Florida's cybercrime fighters. By having more champions involved in the battle to protect Florida's children, more sex offenders will be stopped before they can prey on our children," Governor Charlie Crist said. "Nothing is more important than the safety of Floridians, and we have a duty to protect the children of our state from these predators."

 

      The expansion of the unit will allow the Attorney General’s investigative team and prosecutors to work more closely with local law enforcement agencies around the state. The unit will offer training; support local operations; and provide assistance where the need is great and the resources few.

 

      Originally established in 2005, the unit has been responsible for the arrests of 48 men who possessed, created or distributed child pornography or who sexually solicited children online, some of whom then traveled to meet the person they believed was a child intending to continue the sexual abuse. Current statistics show that more than 77 million children use the internet every day and of those, one in seven between the ages of 10 and 17 will be sexually solicited online.  Florida ranks fourth in the nation for the volume of child pornography.

 

      On Monday, the CyberCrimes Against Children Act of 2007 went into effect. The new law substantially increases the penalties for various types of cybercrime and creates a new separate criminal charge against predators who communicate online with a child or someone they believe to be a child and then travel to meet that person for the purpose of further sexually abusing him or her. Individuals who cross circuit lines to meet their intended victims are often prosecuted by attorneys with the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution in coordination with the CyberCrime Unit.

 

      In addition to enhancing penalties for child predators who travel to meet their victims, the law includes new penalties for “grooming,” a behavior which occurs when internet child predators lie about their age to entice their victims. Florida is currently the only state in the nation with a law specifically targeting grooming.

 

More information on the Attorney General’s cybercrime initiative is available online at http://www.safeflorida.net/safesurf.

 

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Evelyn out.

Gangs, Drugs, and Family Crime

Hello Everyone,

Evelyn Here,

I have been working on other projects and trying get my personal life into some kind of order.  So, I have not posted many articles of late on this site.  However, I have written an article in response to a news release from the Attorney General Office and dated September 17, 2007. Below is my response. Please read with consideration of the overall concern I possess for this issue.

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It has been nearly three years since my neighbors, my husband and I were witnesses to the brutal beating that included stomping of a young teenage boy, and whose family has deep illegal drug connection. To recap that evening, it was to our horror, that the teenage boys who live in one of the houses the corner was brutality victimized by more than twenty of his peers and at least one adult male. Those of us who were witnesses to this act were in near panic before the horror of it truly hit us. Finally, my husband had enough and reported the beating to the police department. While we were all waiting for the police to arrive, it was easy to see from the postures and attitudes of the victim’s attackers that they did not care if anyone was watching them, and that their act was an overt show of their evil power over that young boy and his family.

The sheer number of teenagers involved in that beating confirmed for me that they were a gang and the adult who led them and started the attack had a very evil and criminal mentality. It is no secret that at least two of the houses on that corner are occupied by branches of the same family and that using teenagers to the sell drugs is not new to them.

Since that evening, I have often wondered about how many other families on our block and up the street from that corner picked of a phone and made a police report. Being the person that I am, I still want to think that a few of them did make a call, and yes. Moreover, the struggle to keep that corner and our block drug free has continued. Although it has been quieter on this block, their illegal drug activities are still out there somewhere, and it has been moved to another location. I do not believe they have just turned and stopped years and years of crime within such a short time.

The purpose for this resurgent of bad history is that I have posted precautions to parents and those neighbors interested in keeping our streets clean of crime about this growing problem as well as the negative ways their children can be influenced into believing that such crimes will be not hurt them or their futures. When in truth such crimes can destroy their lives just as it can destroy the lives of corrupt adults. It is a fact that our justice system is getting blinder to an offender’s age. This means being a youth and/or a teenager is no longer guarantee of lighter getting a lighter sentence for their crimes This includes crimes of assault, murder, robbery, drug sell and trafficking, and crimes committed without or without a weapon – just to name a few.

Also, bear in mind that although such criminals have families too, they will try to make the innocents and their victims feel guity for their situation after you report their crimes, while at the same time, ignoring the harm to the lives they have destroyed. Keep reporting.

The following newsletter from the Office of The Attorney General, Bill McCollum and dated is a straightforward example of a case where a seventeen-year-old gang member is facing one sentence of 35 years in prison for his crimes.

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And now the Attorney General new release.

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Bill McCollum

Attorney General

News Release

Date:   September 17, 2007   

 

 

 

MANATEE COUNTY GANG LEADER GETS 7 YEARS FOR RACKETEERING

 

 

BROWN PRIDE LOCOS TARGETED BY STATE OFFICIALS FOR ORGANIZED CRIME

 

            TALLAHASSEE, FL – Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced a significant victory in the fight against gang violence with the no contest plea and sentencing of a Manatee County gang leader. Jose Angel Lopez is the leader of the Brown Pride Locos, a violent street gang that has terrorized Manatee County through robberies, assaults, violence against law enforcement and other dangerous crimes. He pleaded no contest today to one charge of criminal racketeering and one count of conspiracy to commit racketeering and was immediately sentenced to seven years in prison, to be followed by five years of probation. Lopez, 19, was prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution in conjunction with the State Attorney’s Office for the 12th Judicial Circuit.

 

            “Myoffice is committed to stopping these organized groups of criminals from running rampant through our communities,” said Attorney General McCollum. “This is a huge victory in our cooperative efforts to run these street gangs out of our state and bring an end to their reign of terror.”

 

            Lopez, known as “Charlie Brown,” was arrested in January with six other gang members – Frank "Magoo" J. Avalos Jr.; Justino "Crazy" Santana Jr.; Fernando "Freddy" Chavez; Jose "Payaso" Luis Rodriguez; Eric "E" J. Santiago; and Alberto Gutierrez. "Pistol" Pete Garcia and Pedro "Perico" were arrested in late February. The arrests were a joint effort by the Office of Statewide Prosecution, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office and Bradenton PD.

 

            “This is a significant step in the right direction as we continue to dismantle this type of organized crime,” said Manatee County Sheriff Brad Steube.

 

            The gang members were charged with criminal racketeering and conspiracy to commit racketeering, a new strategy employed by state prosecutors. Using the racketeering charge, authorities target the gang as an organized criminal enterprise, often useful when witnesses or victims are unwilling to testify against the gang members.        

 

            Two of the gang members, Gutierrez and Garcia, pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit racketeering in late August, agreeing to testify against the other gang members. They could receive sentences up to five years in prison are sentenced at a later date. The charges against the remaining gang members are still pending.

 

            To address the gang issue on a statewide level, the Attorney General’s Office launched a statewide grand jury in August to investigate criminal gang activity including crimes involving narcotics or other dangerous drugs, robbery and gambling, as well as violations of the Florida Racketeer Influenced and Corruption Organization (RICO) Act. The jurors will also study various criminal issues and make recommendations to the legislature on needed laws to deter gang activities and punish those involved in these pursuits.

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Stay Vigilant!

Evelyn out.

 

"A Catholic's Life" Has Moved!

Good Morning Everyone,

"A Catholic's Life" homepage has official moved to the following on the Catholic Web network. 

 A Catholic's Life

For now, old site on AOL will remain 'as is' until further notice.  There is a link to it on the new website, which is a larger site and offers me more room for creativity and building a base that strong and rich my faith. I hope you enjoy and  look to it as doorway as the good as it is intended. This archive continue to function as before.

Attorney General, Bill McCollum, Announces A Statewide CyberCrime Protection Initiative Roll-Out

Hello Everyone,

 

Evelyn here,

 

In this week's edition of the Attorney General's newsletter the Attorney General, Bill McCollum, announces the official roll-out of the statewide initiative to protect Florida’s residents and children against CyberCrimes.

 

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Attorney General, Bill McCollum

News Briefs

September 7, 2007

 

Message from Attorney General Bill McCollum

 

This week, the Attorney General’s Office rolled out a statewide

initiative that targets my top priority - protecting Floridians, and

especially children, against CyberCrime. On Wednesday, I visited

Rampello Downtown Partnership School in Tampa to present the very first

CyberSafety program to nearly 100 children and repeated the program the

next day at Miami Springs Middle School. The 50-minute cybersafety

program will be presented this year to middle and high schools, both

public and private, throughout Florida.

 

This innovative program, presented by victim advocates from the Attorney General’s Child Predator CyberCrime Unit, is designed to empower children to use the internet safely by combining examples of both dangerous and safe internet use. I believe this program and the information it presents is absolutely essential as we protect our children from the internet child predators who are a constant threat.

 

During the presentations, students receive information about internet

dangers as well as the tactics used by online predators. They learn what constitutes a cybercrime and how to report it. Students are also taught to recognize when a friend is in "cyber danger" and what they can do to help. As I unveiled the program to the children in Tampa and Miami Springs, I was reminded of how important this information will be as child after child raised his or her hand to share their internet experiences.

 

Another unique element of the CyberSafety Educational Initiative is that school principals have the ability to request presentations for their schools at a time convenient for their students. This can be done by logging onto http://www.safeflorida.net/safesurf , a website that also includes useful tips for adults and young people on dealing with cyberthreats. This program will then become a part of the school’s

curriculum.

 

The CyberSafety initiative was launched with the assistance of the

Florida Association of District School Superintendents, the Florida

School Resource Officers Association, and the Florida Sheriff’s

Association. Each of theseorganizations and their members have been

instrumental in developing this program and bringing it directly to

students. I appreciate their support, and I anticipate realizing

successes in schools across the state of Florida.

 

Like other crimes that victimize our society, cybercrime is best fought

by engaging the community and educating citizens about how to protect

themselves from predators.  I am excited to be taking this first-of-its

kind effort directly to our students, their parents and Florida’s

educators. Together, we will teach cybersafety skills and keep the

internet safe, secure, enlightening and fun.

 

Thank you.

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Evelyn out.

College Savings Month

Hello Everyone,

Evelyn here,

with the latest from our honorable Governor Charlie Crist and "Notes From the Capital". September being College Savings Month, Governor Crist has centered his talks around the importance of planning ahead to make future college expensives more affordable; he also imparts information on his discussions with other officials on how to reduce greenhouse gases and increase energy efficiency, which has been a constant  threat to the environment for decades.

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Dear Friends,

 

September is College Savings Month in Florida. The opportunity to send a child to college is a wonderful part of the American dream. By planning ahead, college is affordable. Even small amounts of savings, done regularly, add up over time. There is no better or wiser time than now to start saving for your child's college education. It is the best investment you can make in your child's future, or the future of a grandchild.

 

The Florida Prepaid College Board offers two affordable, tax-free options for you to set aside money for a child's future education. The Florida Prepaid College Plan and the Florida College Investment Plan give you the choice and flexibility to reach your college savings goals.

 

Florida Prepaid College Plan

The Florida Prepaid College Plan is the nation's largest plan of its kind. The plan lets you lock-in the cost of your child's future college tuition, at today's prices. So the earlier you start, the more you can save. You can cover the actual costs at any of Florida's universities and our community colleges.

 

Florida College Investment Plan

The Florida College Investment Plan allows families to save for college tuition, fees and housing -- and for other college expenses not covered by the Florida Prepaid College Plan -- including books and graduate school. Saving for a college education is one of the most important things families can do for their children. And the time to begin saving is today.

 

Climate Change Roundtable With Religious Leaders

We must be good stewards of the land, air and water and use renewable resources that can be naturally replenished. This week I held a roundtable discussion on global climate change with religious leaders from Tallahassee. The conversation focused on Florida's effort to reduce greenhouse gases and increase energy efficiency and explored possible climate friendly strategies for partnerships between state governments and the private sector, including faith-based organizations. We cannot thoughtlessly waste what God has so bountifully supplied.

 

May God continue to bless you and the great State of Florida,

 

 

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Evelyn out.

News - Changes Large and Small

Hello Everyone,

Evelyn here,

In the coming weeks there will be a gradual move of the "A Cathlolic's Life" homepage to its own website within the Catholic Web. It will also gain a new name.  Although, "A Cathlolic's Life"  homepage will move and see great changes, the archive page will remain to serve the same purpose as its does now yet under a new name as well.

The first and very noticable change is this update is the photo of me in the "All About Me" column. I hope you like this new version of me. This photo will replace all past images of me now on the web.

Thank you for your viewership.

Evelyn out.