Officer Bob

TAMPA — Retired Chicago PD Commander Jon Burge was picked up by those damn liberals in the FBI today. Guy was minding his own business out in the sun and next thing you know, he’s being hauled in for doing his job back in Chicago.  So he was enthusiastic about interrogations, so what?  Guy was fired in ‘93, what’s the point of dragging up all this old news?  Can’t a guy put a plastic bag over another guy’s head or rig up a guy to a car battery without making a federal case out of it?

A special prosecutors’ report paid for by Cook County and released in 2006 concluded that dozens of suspects had been tortured by Chicago police but that no one could be prosecuted because the statute of limitations had run out.

Today’s indictment gets around that legal problem by charging Burge with perjury, not with any instances of actual torture.

Burge denied any torture took place while answering written questions in 2003 as part of the lawsuit filed by Hobley, one of the alleged victims.

According to the indictment, the Hobley lawsuit included a specific allegation that police officers placed a plastic bag over Hobley’s head until he lost consciousness.

The indictment cites the questions and answers during the civil questioning, noting that Burge was asked whether he ever used torture methods–including beatings, the use of restraints or machines to deliver electric shocks–or whether other officers were involved.

Burge objected to the question as overly broad, and then answered: “I have never used any techniques set forth above as a means of improper coercion of suspects while in detention or during interrogation.”

In January, the city approved a $20 million settlement with four alleged torture victims.

According to the indictment, Burge was a Chicago police officer from 1970 to 1993, a detective at Area 2 police headquarters on the South Side from 1972 to 1974, and an Area 2 sergeant from 1977 to 1980.

From about 1981 to 1986 he was a lieutenant and supervisor of detectives in the Area 2 violent crimes unit. Later, he was commander of the Bomb and Arson Unit and later commander of Area 3 detectives.

SWISSVALE, PA: Gee, great. The FBI is once again investigating some local cops just because they somehow ended up with a corpse on the udder end of their tasers. Like the feds don’t have enough to do what with fighting terrorism and all. All to get some boys in blue. What’s dis country comin’ to anyway? When are we gonna learn that the word of witnesses can’t be trusted when we’re out there puttin’ da force back into law enforcement?

CHICAGO – If you’re like me, the first thing that comes to mind when you think of street crime is a guy in a wheelchair. These rollin’ roustabouts ain’t foolin me – and they didn’t fool the seven Chicago PD officers named in a recent federal lawsuit.

A quadriplegic man sued the Chicago Police Department in federal court Thursday, claiming officers yanked him out of the passenger seat of a car in 2006, dragged him to the ground and beat him up even though he kept yelling “I’m paralyzed.”

“They were kicking me and punching me,” Daniel Casares said. “I was scared for my life.”

Casares, 28, can’t use his legs and his right hand — and his left arm and hand are “significantly paralyzed,” said his attorney, Blake Horwitz.

On Oct. 9, 2006, Casares was a passenger in a car driven by his brother. They were parked in an alley in the 10300 block of Avenue M in the East Side neighborhood.

Casares said he was waiting for a man to bring him money for a car deal when officers approached. The cops suspected the men were smoking marijuana and told them to get out of the car, Horwitz said.

The brother was handcuffed and taken away. Drug charges were later dropped, Horwitz said.

So this guy’s handicapped, but he can still use his arms to dial a phone to call a lawyer?  Come on.

CHICAGO – Officer Michael Ciancio,  anudder blameless defender of the public has been caught up in a FBI sting.  Allegedly, Ciancio is on tape shaking down Chicago tow truck drivers for bribes, diverting buisiness to the drivers in exchange for, uh, “gratuity”.

Allegedly, he’s on tape doin’ it:

At the direction of the FBI, the undercover tow-truck driver began to stall on his payoffs, annoying Ciancio, authorities said.

“I didn’t hear from you, I says what the [expletive] happened, you know,” Ciancio was quoted as saying. “I thought it was like Christmas and I looked under the tree, there was no gift . . . know what I mean?”

Now, come on.  Anybody can see this is a frame up – not to mention a vicious attack on Christmas.

SOUTH FORIDA: A pair of Broward County Sheriff’s Deputies are in custody and facing federal charges of smuggling coke, gold and using their badges to make a few bucks helping along the smuggling ring.  Geez, I guess the FBI has nothing but time on their hands now that they got that terrorism thing all wrapped up?

A Broward Sheriff’s deputy nicknamed “Wingnut” used his badge and expertise to aid a drug smuggling operation, then recruited a fellow deputy he said had a history of drug-dealing to help out, federal prosecutors charged Monday.

Deputy Richard Tauber, a 14-year veteran once fired for cavorting with prostitutes and unsavory characters — but later reinstated — and two civilian friends were charged in federal court with smuggling cocaine, diamonds and Krugerrand gold coins. A separate FBI complaint charged Deputy Kevin “Tattoo” Frankel with running surveillance for one of Tauber’s cocaine deliveries for $3,000.

Tauber, 37, of Boca Raton, was released on $600,000 bail. Frankel, of Lake Worth, is behind bars pending a bail hearing scheduled Thursday in Fort Lauderdale. Both men worked in Deerfield Beach. The two civilians, Robert Baccari, 38, and Christopher Provenzano, 37, both of Boca Raton, also are being held pending a Thursday hearing.

The arrests cap a 16-month month investigation of Tauber, who has a history of problems with the department.

A guy named Brad Hare was shooting some pool in a bar in Henderson, NV, outside of Las Vegas when the talk got a little spirited. At some point, Hare says the guy he was arguing with told him he was pals with the local PD. From the whole story:

At 1:30 a.m., three on-duty officers entered the bar and, without asking Hare or the bartender about the dispute, “violently lifted Mr. Hare off (the) ground and slammed Mr. Hare on the center of the pool table,” according to the lawsuit.

The officers are accused of dragging Hare out of the bar in a “pain-compliance arm-bar hold,” throwing him on the hood of a sport utility vehicle, searching him and asking for his identification. One officer accused Hare of attempting to spit on him.

Turns out this Hare guy is a federal agent and he’s filed a lawsuit. Whoops! Well, that’s what happens when you don’t tell your brother cops that you’re an officer yourself. You might get treated like an average civilian!