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To: who cares? who wrote (10953)	1/17/2003 12:52:27 PM
From: StockDung	Respond to of 19428

Drivers license spam scam busted Friday, January 17, 2003 Posted: 9:45 AM EST (1445 GMT) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Story Tools -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Several unscrupulous "spammers" have been shut down after bombarding Internet users with e-mail offers for allegedly bogus international drivers' licenses, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said Thursday. The move should put the brakes on a common scam that has evolved into one of the most prevalent forms of unwanted junk e-mail over the past several years. The FTC charged six online marketers with selling international drivers' licenses that actually are not recognized by any government, targeting immigrants and those who have had their real licenses revoked. No such privileges The alleged scam artists -- who operated under a variety of names -- charged up to $375 for a license that could supposedly win back suspended driving privileges and make holders immune to speeding tickets or other traffic violations, the watchdog agency said. Legitimate international licenses confer no such privileges, but only translate an existing state-issued license into a number of different languages, said Howard Beales, head of the FTC's consumer-protection division. "These scam artists act as if they have a license to deceive customers," Beales said. Spam not illegal Drivers presenting these fake international licenses to police could face fines and a "custodial environment," said Mike Muth, an assistant director at Interpol, the international police organization. Five of those named have had their assets frozen by U.S. courts, Beales said, while a court decision on the sixth defendant is expected within several days. Although spam is widely regarded as one of the top nuisances on the Internet, it is not illegal under U.S. law. The FTC pursues spammers who violate existing laws against deceptive and unfair trade practices, and has announced roughly 150 settlements over the past year. Consumers are encouraged to forward spam to the FTC for analysis and possible prosecution. The agency currently collects roughly 75,000 spam messages a day, an aide said. Congressional efforts to limit spam have stumbled over opposition from direct marketers who say their activities would be unfairly limited, but lawmakers, notably Montana Republican Sen. Conrad Burns, are vowing to try again this year. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2003 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

To: who cares? who wrote (10953)	1/18/2003 12:06:15 PM
From: StockDung	Respond to of 19428

BRIBE-FLAP PRISON FIRM HELPED CITY POLS: PROBE By FREDRIC U. DICKER January 18, 2003 -- EXCLUSIVE ALBANY - A secret federal report alleges that a half-dozen prominent New York Democrats -- including Mario Cuomo, David Dinkins and the Rev. Al Sharpton -- received campaign help from a prison-services company at the center of a growing scandal, The Post has learned. The feds' bombshell 50-page probe has been turned over to the Legislature's Ethics Committee for further investigation, sources said. Prepared by investigators for the U.S. Justice Department with the help of the FBI, the report was handed over to the committee on Wednesday, two government sources said. That's the same day The Post disclosed that Brooklyn Assemblyman Roger Green admitted receiving gifts from a correctional-services company that former Bronx Assemblywoman Gloria Davis admitted had given her bribes. Davis resigned from the state Legislature earlier this month after pleading guilty to bribery. The still-secret federal report, completed in the late 1990s, focuses on the role of Florida-based Correctional Services Corp. (CSC) and its Long Island-based predecessor, Esmor Correctional Services, in allegedly providing campaign services to prominent politicians. Those cited in the report as benefiting from the company's help include Cuomo, Dinkins, Sharpton, Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-Brooklyn) and Green, sources familiar with the report said. The report says CSC and Esmor routinely provided politicians and their political organizations with dozens of campaign workers, petition carriers, vans, cars and other assistance over a period of years. The firm used employees on the payroll of its three New York City halfway houses - operated under contract with the state and the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the sources said. No allegations have been made against any of the politicians cited in the report or their campaigns and the report contains no evidence that the candidates were aware of any possible involvement in their campaigns by CSC. The federal probe began after company employees complained that they were forced to work for the campaigns under threat of being fired, according to the sources. The report - which was described to The Post by two sources who said they had first-hand knowledge of its contents - contains the accounts of many company employees who charged they were forced to engage in conduct officials believe could be illegal under New York law. Employees told probers they were ordered to work on campaigns because the company wanted to retain state and federal contracts, the sources said. The report says Esmor dispatched 50 of its workers and three rented 18-passenger vans to work for months on Dinkins' 1993 mayoral re-election campaign, the sources said. Esmor employees also said they were required to help in Cuomo's 1994 unsuccessful re-election bid, as well as in Sharpton's losing primary challenge that year to then-U.S. Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, sources said. The report also found that CSC provided "many services," including transportation and "security" to the Black and Puerto Rican Legislative Caucus in Albany in what investigators believe was an effort to gain influence, a source said. The services for the Caucus were provided at the request of Meeks, who was then a state assemblyman, said a source citing the report. Sharpton denied to The Post ever receiving help from Esmor, saying that local Brooklyn Democrats who had ties to the company were backing Moynihan. Cuomo, Dinkins and Meeks could not be reached. The investigation was closed after the federal authorities concluded there were no violations of federal law, sources said. But New York election law requires that non-cash, "in-kind" contributions - such as campaign workers and transportation - be disclosed on campaign-expenditure statements. Sources believe that the campaigns in question did not make proper disclosure of the assistance received from the company. "That's why the report is being made available" to the legislative Ethics Committee, said a source. State Board of Elections spokesman Lee Daghlian said, "It is a violation of law to have received in-kind contributions and then not report them." Repeated attempts to reach a CSC spokesman have been unsuccessful. The company issued a statement earlier in the week in response to questions in the related investigation of Assemblywoman Davis, saying it is cooperating with a related investigation of possibly illegal lobbying activities being conducted by the state Lobbying Commission. The Brooklyn and Manhattan DAs are probing CSC. Both are expected to review the report, sources said. Green admitted last week to receiving free CSC transport from his home to the Capitol and back, but he refused to provide specifics.