View allAll Photos Tagged Forfeitures
Over 120 community safety leaders gathered to recognize their peers with the Community Safety and Crime Prevention awards.
Learn more about the five community crime fighters who were recognized: news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2015JAG0272-001868
The US Marshals and GSA are selling 2,000 dresses and accessories near Baltimore Nov. 18-20, 2015. These dresses were seized by the U.S. Marshals Service in connection with the criminal conviction of an Upper Marlboro, Maryland, woman who had embezzled more than $5 million from her employer in order to, among other things, keep her wedding boutique afloat. She funneled about $1.8 million of the stolen funds into her store. Net proceeds from this sale of bridal dresses and other wedding-related goods from the Couture Miss shop will go back to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the non-profit that employed Ephonia Green.
Photo by Shane T. McCoy / US Marshals
Students at Queen Elizabeth Secondary school in Surrey meet with Solicitor General Mike Farnworth on Feb. 1. The Range Rover unveiled at the school, which the Province has provided to Surrey RCMP, will support the End Gang Life program and Surrey RCMP’s own “Shattering the Image” program, which work to keep young people out of gangs and crime.
Learn more: news.gov.bc.ca/16294
The US Marshals and GSA are selling 2,000 dresses and accessories near Baltimore Nov. 18-20, 2015. These dresses were seized by the U.S. Marshals Service in connection with the criminal conviction of an Upper Marlboro, Maryland, woman who had embezzled more than $5 million from her employer in order to, among other things, keep her wedding boutique afloat. She funneled about $1.8 million of the stolen funds into her store. Net proceeds from this sale of bridal dresses and other wedding-related goods from the Couture Miss shop will go back to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the non-profit that employed Ephonia Green.
Photo by Shane T. McCoy / US Marshals
Know men, present and to come, that I, Thomas Grelle, have given, and granted, and by this, my present charter, have confirmed, to all my Burgesses of Maincestre:
To wit:
1st. That all the Burgesses shall pay, for every one of their Burgages, twelve pence a year, in lieu of all service.
2nd. And, if the Reeve of the Town shall bind over any Burgess to answer upon any action, and the person so bound shall not come into the Laghmot at the day, or any one for him, he forfeits twelve pence to the aforesaid Lord; and the aforesaid Lord may have his action against him in the Porteman-mot.
3rd. Likewise, if any Burgess shall implead any Burgess for any debt, and he the latter shall acknowledge the debt, let the Reeve fix him a day, to wit, the eighth; and if he shall not come at the day, let him pay twelve pence for forfeiture of the day to the aforesaid Lord, and let him pay the debt and eight pence to the Reeve.
4th. And, if any one sets up a claim to any thing, and shall not find Surety and Bondsmen, and is then willing to withdraw his claim, he shall not incur a forfeiture.
5th. Likewise, if any Burgess in the Borough shall wound any Burgess on the Lord's day, or from moon of Saturday even to Monday, he shall incur a forfeiture of twenty shillings: and if on Monday, or on any other days of the week, he shall wound any one, he shall incur a forfeiture of twelve pence to the aforesaid Lord.
6th. Likewise, if any Burgess shall contend with one, and in a passion strike him without drawing blood, and be able to return to his own house, without being bound over to answer for it by the Reeve or the servants, he shall not be impleaded by the Reeve; and if he shall be able to maintain (that is, to justify,) the assault against the person on whom he committed it, it may be properly done; but if he makes peace with him by the counsel of his friends, (that is, by the advice of his Brother Burgesses in open Court,) this also he may do without forfeiture to the Reeve.
7th.
GB127.Broadsides/f1301-1
The US Marshals and GSA are selling 2,000 dresses and accessories near Baltimore Nov. 18-20, 2015. These dresses were seized by the U.S. Marshals Service in connection with the criminal conviction of an Upper Marlboro, Maryland, woman who had embezzled more than $5 million from her employer in order to, among other things, keep her wedding boutique afloat. She funneled about $1.8 million of the stolen funds into her store. Net proceeds from this sale of bridal dresses and other wedding-related goods from the Couture Miss shop will go back to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the non-profit that employed Ephonia Green.
Photo by Shane T. McCoy / US Marshals
The US Marshals and GSA are selling 2,000 dresses and accessories near Baltimore Nov. 18-20, 2015. These dresses were seized by the U.S. Marshals Service in connection with the criminal conviction of an Upper Marlboro, Maryland, woman who had embezzled more than $5 million from her employer in order to, among other things, keep her wedding boutique afloat. She funneled about $1.8 million of the stolen funds into her store. Net proceeds from this sale of bridal dresses and other wedding-related goods from the Couture Miss shop will go back to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the non-profit that employed Ephonia Green.
Photo by Shane T. McCoy / US Marshals
The Province is investing over $5 million in Civil Forfeiture Office (CFO) proceeds to take further action on the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry (MWCI) recommendations and support the prevention of violence against women and youth crime prevention initiatives.
Twelve grants, for a total of more than $845,000, are being provided to key organizations to address the MWCI recommendations including:
More information: www.newsroom.gov.bc.ca/2014/03/over-5-million-to-fund-mwc...
The Province provided a forfeited vehicle to the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit - British Columbia to inform youth that gang life does not pay and means risking everything including your property, your life and the lives of those closest to you.
Learn more: cfseu.bc.ca/en/end-gang-life
The Province celebrated the exceptional, diverse contributions to community safety of four longstanding volunteers and one non-profit organization during Crime Prevention Week, Nov. 1-7, 2016, through the annual Community Safety and Crime Prevention Awards.
Learn more:
The US Marshals and GSA are selling 2,000 dresses and accessories near Baltimore Nov. 18-20, 2015. These dresses were seized by the U.S. Marshals Service in connection with the criminal conviction of an Upper Marlboro, Maryland, woman who had embezzled more than $5 million from her employer in order to, among other things, keep her wedding boutique afloat. She funneled about $1.8 million of the stolen funds into her store. Net proceeds from this sale of bridal dresses and other wedding-related goods from the Couture Miss shop will go back to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the non-profit that employed Ephonia Green.
Photo by Shane T. McCoy / US Marshals
Women, children, and any family members who are affected by domestic violence now have a safe, supportive place to go for help, with a specialized team focused on their protection and transition to safety.
The North Shore Domestic Violence Unit (DVU) is the eighth DVU in BC, and the first in the province to staff a dedicated First Nations Justice Worker.
Learn more: news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2016PSSG0143-001264
The US Marshals and GSA are selling 2,000 dresses and accessories near Baltimore Nov. 18-20, 2015. These dresses were seized by the U.S. Marshals Service in connection with the criminal conviction of an Upper Marlboro, Maryland, woman who had embezzled more than $5 million from her employer in order to, among other things, keep her wedding boutique afloat. She funneled about $1.8 million of the stolen funds into her store. Net proceeds from this sale of bridal dresses and other wedding-related goods from the Couture Miss shop will go back to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the non-profit that employed Ephonia Green.
Photo by Shane T. McCoy / US Marshals
The US Marshals and GSA are selling 2,000 dresses and accessories near Baltimore Nov. 18-20, 2015. These dresses were seized by the U.S. Marshals Service in connection with the criminal conviction of an Upper Marlboro, Maryland, woman who had embezzled more than $5 million from her employer in order to, among other things, keep her wedding boutique afloat. She funneled about $1.8 million of the stolen funds into her store. Net proceeds from this sale of bridal dresses and other wedding-related goods from the Couture Miss shop will go back to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the non-profit that employed Ephonia Green.
Photo by Shane T. McCoy / US Marshals
The Province provided a forfeited vehicle to the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit - British Columbia to help them inform youth that involvement in crime and gangs can hurt your loved ones, land you in jail, and shorten your life. The Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit is the Province's anti-gang agency and includes highly-specialized officers from federal, provincial and municipal police agencies
Learn more: cfseu.bc.ca/en/end-gang-life
Fonte Official Obituary FB Page :
Upon switching their name from Xecutioner to Obituary, the career of one of the most successful and influential Death Metal bands began. Hailing from Florida and featuring John Tardy (vocals), brother Donald Tardy (drums), Trevor Peres (guitar), Allen West (guitar), and Daniel Tucker (bass), the band signed to Roadracer Records, a now defunct division of Roadrunner, for the recording of their debut album—the immense and immeasurably heavy “Slowly We Rot” (1989). The album was engineered by the legendary Scott Burns at Morrisound Studio, which would come to be the most sought after facility for production of albums during 1990’s rise of the Death Metal genre. Unlike much death metal preceding it, the album had a sludgy feel and integrated devastatingly slow passages along with obliterating overtures that reached far beyond any point of mayhem that metal had yet to reach; the result was a carnal pleasure for doom, death and thrash fans alike coupling the adrenaline of a speedball with the slow, degrading measures of a sewer at dusk. Like them or not, Obituary was unlike anything anyone had heard before.
“Slowly We Rot” was chaotic, bass heavy mix of manic guitar solos and crashing drums, but it was undeniably characterized by vocalist John Tardy’s disarmingly horrific, gargling style, that created guttural chasms of dread which though often strived for, to date have been paralleled by none. The ability to augment tempo so drastically became the band’s trademark along with Tardy’s unique vocal style, which distinguished them clearly from the rest of the emerging Florida Death Metal bands; nowhere is this more apparent than on the prophetic title track of their debut. The fact that Obituary refrained from printing lyric sheets with their albums led people to believe that they didn't actually write any lyrics. Some may question the verbosity or absence of documented lyrics, however, any true fan has each grunt, growl and howling grimace committed to memory like an utterance from God in painstaking form—what does not exist can not be remembered, and an Obituary show is testimony to the re-creation of what your ears couldn't believe in the first place. Once again bringing augmentation to irony, Live and Dead worked quite well for the quintet, dividing your conscience yet leaving much to the imagination; not since birth have your senses been so graphically assaulted yet pleased at the same time. While such differing sensations once seemed incongruous, Obituary have proven the ability to merge unlikely dichotomies, from their slow-as-hell-yet-fast-as-fuck style to the non-evil, homegrown approach to what would largely become the satanized, bastardized, make-up wearing movement known as Death Metal.
The maturation of the musicians into songwriters taking more visionary and complex forms would soon be heard world wide as Obituary took metal by storm in 1990. Despite their youth upon release of their sophomore offering, “Cause of Death” embodied the confident swagger of the most fearsome pack-leading hound. From the insidious growls of John’s vocals to the barrage of Donald Tardy’s thunderously-metered explosions of double bass, “Cause of Death” was the intention and method as promised by the early threat of “Slowly We Rot”; for Obituary, Death was just the beginning. Accordingly, the title track alone (“Cause of Death”) would be heard, regurgitated, manipulated, complimented and collapsed—but never duplicated—on third and forth generation death metal albums for years to come. Lovecraftian imagery and aural morbidity aside, even a deaf man found fear when confronted by the formidable visage of guitarist Peres; entering Frank Watkins, the hulking henchman of a bassist from South Florida, finally provided long-needed and powerful rhythm stability to the line up. However, the grinding of the axes would not be complete until the return of Xecutioner veteran Allen West, who, along with Peres and Tardy, crafted the foundation for most of Obituary’s most primordial and historic moments. Attack now whole, Obituary had given birth—sight, sound and feel—to a true horror greater than metal had ever known.
The paradox herein lies that Obituary was anything but a summation to and end, but more an exploratory journey into the infinite dehumanization of all that is known, as confronted brazenly by their best selling release yet, “The End Complete” and later followed by the cynical and dark expedition of “World Demise”. Reunited with songwriter West, the band was conjoined like quintuplets sharing life and a name. Though finality was possibly inferred by these titles, Obituary was anything but finished. Ironically, the images conjured by songs such as “Don’t Care”, “Platonic Disease” and “World Demise” seemingly foretold of the millennium as can now be seen daily, displayed plainly across the screens of CNN and reality TV programs world wide; not bad for a bunch of rednecks from Florida with Budweiser dreams and bongwater nightmares.
2004 brings reason for Obituary fans to rejoice, the sunken eyes and heaving cries have all but abated. Obituary has only aspired to live up to the standard they have set for themselves, one that numerous bands have strived to duplicate, but never attained, falling short both creatively and in lack of the unique talent that each member contributes to the near indescribable Obituary sound. Like a forgotten corpse in the basement, Obituary are back to haunt, taunt and fully pollute your senses. Fermenting like waste in the hot Florida sun, Obituary return from hiatus with the voracity of a starven wretch. The forfeiture of time brings blessings of brutality, and assurance that the Dead shall indeed rise again. Such aural abrasion can only be heard on an Obituary album or the live circumcision of a thirty-year-old man, the choice is yours...
The US Marshals and GSA are selling 2,000 dresses and accessories near Baltimore Nov. 18-20, 2015. These dresses were seized by the U.S. Marshals Service in connection with the criminal conviction of an Upper Marlboro, Maryland, woman who had embezzled more than $5 million from her employer in order to, among other things, keep her wedding boutique afloat. She funneled about $1.8 million of the stolen funds into her store. Net proceeds from this sale of bridal dresses and other wedding-related goods from the Couture Miss shop will go back to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the non-profit that employed Ephonia Green.
Photo by Shane T. McCoy / US Marshals
The Province celebrated the exceptional, diverse contributions to community safety of four longstanding volunteers and one non-profit organization during Crime Prevention Week, Nov. 1-7, 2016, through the annual Community Safety and Crime Prevention Awards.
Learn more:
The US Marshals and GSA are selling 2,000 dresses and accessories near Baltimore Nov. 18-20, 2015. These dresses were seized by the U.S. Marshals Service in connection with the criminal conviction of an Upper Marlboro, Maryland, woman who had embezzled more than $5 million from her employer in order to, among other things, keep her wedding boutique afloat. She funneled about $1.8 million of the stolen funds into her store. Net proceeds from this sale of bridal dresses and other wedding-related goods from the Couture Miss shop will go back to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the non-profit that employed Ephonia Green.
Photo by Shane T. McCoy / US Marshals
The US Marshals and GSA are selling 2,000 dresses and accessories near Baltimore Nov. 18-20, 2015. These dresses were seized by the U.S. Marshals Service in connection with the criminal conviction of an Upper Marlboro, Maryland, woman who had embezzled more than $5 million from her employer in order to, among other things, keep her wedding boutique afloat. She funneled about $1.8 million of the stolen funds into her store. Net proceeds from this sale of bridal dresses and other wedding-related goods from the Couture Miss shop will go back to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the non-profit that employed Ephonia Green.
Photo by Shane T. McCoy / US Marshals
The US Marshals and GSA are selling 2,000 dresses and accessories near Baltimore Nov. 18-20, 2015. These dresses were seized by the U.S. Marshals Service in connection with the criminal conviction of an Upper Marlboro, Maryland, woman who had embezzled more than $5 million from her employer in order to, among other things, keep her wedding boutique afloat. She funneled about $1.8 million of the stolen funds into her store. Net proceeds from this sale of bridal dresses and other wedding-related goods from the Couture Miss shop will go back to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the non-profit that employed Ephonia Green.
Photo by Shane T. McCoy / US Marshals
Women, children, and any family members who are affected by domestic violence now have a safe, supportive place to go for help, with a specialized team focused on their protection and transition to safety.
The North Shore Domestic Violence Unit (DVU) is the eighth DVU in BC, and the first in the province to staff a dedicated First Nations Justice Worker.
Learn more: news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2016PSSG0143-001264
The US Marshals and GSA are selling 2,000 dresses and accessories near Baltimore Nov. 18-20, 2015. These dresses were seized by the U.S. Marshals Service in connection with the criminal conviction of an Upper Marlboro, Maryland, woman who had embezzled more than $5 million from her employer in order to, among other things, keep her wedding boutique afloat. She funneled about $1.8 million of the stolen funds into her store. Net proceeds from this sale of bridal dresses and other wedding-related goods from the Couture Miss shop will go back to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the non-profit that employed Ephonia Green.
Photo by Shane T. McCoy / US Marshals
The US Marshals and GSA are selling 2,000 dresses and accessories near Baltimore Nov. 18-20, 2015. These dresses were seized by the U.S. Marshals Service in connection with the criminal conviction of an Upper Marlboro, Maryland, woman who had embezzled more than $5 million from her employer in order to, among other things, keep her wedding boutique afloat. She funneled about $1.8 million of the stolen funds into her store. Net proceeds from this sale of bridal dresses and other wedding-related goods from the Couture Miss shop will go back to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the non-profit that employed Ephonia Green.
Photo by Shane T. McCoy / US Marshals
The U.S. Marshals Service, district of Puerto Rico, Asset Forfeiture Section conducted a preview of six aircrafts in Aguadilla on Aug. 29, 2012. The aircrafts will be sold in public auction in Aeromod hangar, 2506 North Pliska Drive, Midland International Airport, Midland, Texas on Sept. 5, 2012. A total of seven aircraft were seized by the Drug Enforcement Administration from Santos Seda-Rodriguez, owner and pilot of Jeshua Air Services.
Photo by: Jose A. Figueroa / US Marshals
... aforesaid unless upon receiving the advice of Our Executive Council therein it shall appear to you expedient so to do, but in all such cases you are to decide either to extend or to withhold a pardon or reprieve according to your own deliberate judgement, whether the Members of our said Executive Council concur therein or otherwise, entering nevertheless on the minutes of the said Council a Minute of your reasons at length in case you should decide any such question in opposition to the judgement of the majority of the members thereof.
XX And whereas we have by our said Commission given you power to remit any fines penalties or forfeitures which may become payable to Us, Now it is Our further pleasure that you shall not remit any such fine penalty or forfeiture where the sum shall exceed fifty pounds unless Our pleasure thereon be first signified to you.
XXI And whereas you will receive through one of Our Principal Secretaries of State a Book of Tables in blank commonly called the “Blue Book” to be annually filled up with certain returns relative to the Revenue and expenditure, Militia, Public works, legislation, Civil ...
The US Marshals and GSA are selling 2,000 dresses and accessories near Baltimore Nov. 18-20, 2015. These dresses were seized by the U.S. Marshals Service in connection with the criminal conviction of an Upper Marlboro, Maryland, woman who had embezzled more than $5 million from her employer in order to, among other things, keep her wedding boutique afloat. She funneled about $1.8 million of the stolen funds into her store. Net proceeds from this sale of bridal dresses and other wedding-related goods from the Couture Miss shop will go back to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the non-profit that employed Ephonia Green.
Photo by Shane T. McCoy / US Marshals
The US Marshals and GSA are selling 2,000 dresses and accessories near Baltimore Nov. 18-20, 2015. These dresses were seized by the U.S. Marshals Service in connection with the criminal conviction of an Upper Marlboro, Maryland, woman who had embezzled more than $5 million from her employer in order to, among other things, keep her wedding boutique afloat. She funneled about $1.8 million of the stolen funds into her store. Net proceeds from this sale of bridal dresses and other wedding-related goods from the Couture Miss shop will go back to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the non-profit that employed Ephonia Green.
Photo by Shane T. McCoy / US Marshals
The Province celebrated the exceptional, diverse contributions to community safety of four longstanding volunteers and one non-profit organization during Crime Prevention Week, Nov. 1-7, 2016, through the annual Community Safety and Crime Prevention Awards.
Learn more:
The Morris-Jumel Mansion was built in 1765 as a summer house by Colonel Roger Morris for his wife, Mary Philipse and their family on approximately 135 acres of land that stretched from the Harlem to Hudson rivers between what is now 140th and approximately 18oth streets. Their country estate was named Mount Morris and, being situated on one of the highest points of Manhattan, offered clear views of New Jersey, Connecticut, and all of New York harbor. In addition to serving as a summer retreat, Mount Morris was also a working farm with fruit trees, cows, and sheep in addition to a variety of crops.
With the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, the Morris family abandoned their summer home. Then, in the autumn of 1776, General George Washington and his Patriot officers moved in and made the house their headquarters from September 14th to October 21st. The superb views from Mount Morris made the location ideal for observing troop movements and General Washington used this advantage to plan his army’s first successful victory; the Battle of Harlem Heights. Despite this victory, on October 21st, General Washington was forced to retreat to White Plains. For the remainder of the war, the house was used as a headquarters for both British and Hessian armies.
Following the war, the estate was confiscated under the Forfeiture Laws by the State of New York and sold to cover war debts. For a time, it served as a tavern; however, after some years, the tavern became unsuccessful and the house was abandoned once again. Then on July 10th of 1790, now President George Washington held his first Cabinet dinner at the same place he scored his first victory during the Revolutionary War. n 1810, Eliza and Stephen Jumel purchased Mount Morris, all farmlands, and began a series of alterations to the house. A merchant from the south of France, who emigrated to New York some years earlier, Stephen met and married Eliza Bowen in New York. She grew up in a poor Rhode Island family, a voracious reader and self-educated, she developed into a shrewd businesswoman long before most women worked outside the home, let alone ran businesses. At a moment when Stephen's business was foundering, Eliza applied herself to the real estate trade, buying and selling land and renting properties downtown. Her success made large profits for her husband and herself, making her one of the wealthiest women in New York, after Stephen’s death.
By the 1880s, most of the Jumel land had been sold as the city expanded and fashionable townhouses rose immediately surrounding the Mansion. The City of New York purchased the house and the two acres it sits on creating Roger Morris Park. With the assistance of the DAR, the Mansion was turned into a historic house and museum. The mid-20th Century saw the neighborhood develop into a vibrant home to many artists and celebrities including Paul Robeson, Jackie Robinson, Thurgood Marshall, and Duke Ellington, who once referred to the Morris-Jumel Mansion as “the jewel in the crown of Sugar Hill.” The buildings in this district are protected by the New York Landmarks Commission and must be maintained by their owners reflective of when they were built. Because of this, the appearance of the neighborhood has changed very little since the beginning of the twentieth century.
Today, the Morris-Jumel Mansion is the oldest house in Manhattan and as a museum highlights the art, architecture and lives of the Morris and Jumel families, while celebrating the changing landscape from the now lost Polo Grounds to the contemporary artists who find inspiration from this over 250 year old structure, and culture. We hope to see you soon to experience all that is new at Manhattan’s oldest house.
"As Manhattan’s oldest residence, the Morris-Jumel Mansion Museum presents American life from the colonial era to the present by preserving, collecting, and interpreting history, culture, and the arts to engage and inspire diverse audiences.
Morris-Jumel Mansion, Inc. operates the Morris -Jumel Mansion as a historic house museum and thereby seeks to preserve and interpret Manhattan’s oldest residence, one that has witnessed the evolution of northern Manhattan from rural countryside to a dynamic multicultural community. Through historic site tours and education programs, the museum interprets the mansion in the context of domestic life in New York City from 1765 until 1865, the influx of European immigrants to Washington Heights in the late 1800’s, the City Beautiful movement at the turn of the century, the life of the Jumel Terrace Historic District, and more recent immigration. Morris-Jumel Mansion seeks to serve as a cultural resource for an audience of national and international visitors and, in particular, the diverse audiences of the City of New York."
Fonte Official Obituary FB Page :
Upon switching their name from Xecutioner to Obituary, the career of one of the most successful and influential Death Metal bands began. Hailing from Florida and featuring John Tardy (vocals), brother Donald Tardy (drums), Trevor Peres (guitar), Allen West (guitar), and Daniel Tucker (bass), the band signed to Roadracer Records, a now defunct division of Roadrunner, for the recording of their debut album—the immense and immeasurably heavy “Slowly We Rot” (1989). The album was engineered by the legendary Scott Burns at Morrisound Studio, which would come to be the most sought after facility for production of albums during 1990’s rise of the Death Metal genre. Unlike much death metal preceding it, the album had a sludgy feel and integrated devastatingly slow passages along with obliterating overtures that reached far beyond any point of mayhem that metal had yet to reach; the result was a carnal pleasure for doom, death and thrash fans alike coupling the adrenaline of a speedball with the slow, degrading measures of a sewer at dusk. Like them or not, Obituary was unlike anything anyone had heard before.
“Slowly We Rot” was chaotic, bass heavy mix of manic guitar solos and crashing drums, but it was undeniably characterized by vocalist John Tardy’s disarmingly horrific, gargling style, that created guttural chasms of dread which though often strived for, to date have been paralleled by none. The ability to augment tempo so drastically became the band’s trademark along with Tardy’s unique vocal style, which distinguished them clearly from the rest of the emerging Florida Death Metal bands; nowhere is this more apparent than on the prophetic title track of their debut. The fact that Obituary refrained from printing lyric sheets with their albums led people to believe that they didn't actually write any lyrics. Some may question the verbosity or absence of documented lyrics, however, any true fan has each grunt, growl and howling grimace committed to memory like an utterance from God in painstaking form—what does not exist can not be remembered, and an Obituary show is testimony to the re-creation of what your ears couldn't believe in the first place. Once again bringing augmentation to irony, Live and Dead worked quite well for the quintet, dividing your conscience yet leaving much to the imagination; not since birth have your senses been so graphically assaulted yet pleased at the same time. While such differing sensations once seemed incongruous, Obituary have proven the ability to merge unlikely dichotomies, from their slow-as-hell-yet-fast-as-fuck style to the non-evil, homegrown approach to what would largely become the satanized, bastardized, make-up wearing movement known as Death Metal.
The maturation of the musicians into songwriters taking more visionary and complex forms would soon be heard world wide as Obituary took metal by storm in 1990. Despite their youth upon release of their sophomore offering, “Cause of Death” embodied the confident swagger of the most fearsome pack-leading hound. From the insidious growls of John’s vocals to the barrage of Donald Tardy’s thunderously-metered explosions of double bass, “Cause of Death” was the intention and method as promised by the early threat of “Slowly We Rot”; for Obituary, Death was just the beginning. Accordingly, the title track alone (“Cause of Death”) would be heard, regurgitated, manipulated, complimented and collapsed—but never duplicated—on third and forth generation death metal albums for years to come. Lovecraftian imagery and aural morbidity aside, even a deaf man found fear when confronted by the formidable visage of guitarist Peres; entering Frank Watkins, the hulking henchman of a bassist from South Florida, finally provided long-needed and powerful rhythm stability to the line up. However, the grinding of the axes would not be complete until the return of Xecutioner veteran Allen West, who, along with Peres and Tardy, crafted the foundation for most of Obituary’s most primordial and historic moments. Attack now whole, Obituary had given birth—sight, sound and feel—to a true horror greater than metal had ever known.
The paradox herein lies that Obituary was anything but a summation to and end, but more an exploratory journey into the infinite dehumanization of all that is known, as confronted brazenly by their best selling release yet, “The End Complete” and later followed by the cynical and dark expedition of “World Demise”. Reunited with songwriter West, the band was conjoined like quintuplets sharing life and a name. Though finality was possibly inferred by these titles, Obituary was anything but finished. Ironically, the images conjured by songs such as “Don’t Care”, “Platonic Disease” and “World Demise” seemingly foretold of the millennium as can now be seen daily, displayed plainly across the screens of CNN and reality TV programs world wide; not bad for a bunch of rednecks from Florida with Budweiser dreams and bongwater nightmares.
2004 brings reason for Obituary fans to rejoice, the sunken eyes and heaving cries have all but abated. Obituary has only aspired to live up to the standard they have set for themselves, one that numerous bands have strived to duplicate, but never attained, falling short both creatively and in lack of the unique talent that each member contributes to the near indescribable Obituary sound. Like a forgotten corpse in the basement, Obituary are back to haunt, taunt and fully pollute your senses. Fermenting like waste in the hot Florida sun, Obituary return from hiatus with the voracity of a starven wretch. The forfeiture of time brings blessings of brutality, and assurance that the Dead shall indeed rise again. Such aural abrasion can only be heard on an Obituary album or the live circumcision of a thirty-year-old man, the choice is yours...
The US Marshals and GSA are selling 2,000 dresses and accessories near Baltimore Nov. 18-20, 2015. These dresses were seized by the U.S. Marshals Service in connection with the criminal conviction of an Upper Marlboro, Maryland, woman who had embezzled more than $5 million from her employer in order to, among other things, keep her wedding boutique afloat. She funneled about $1.8 million of the stolen funds into her store. Net proceeds from this sale of bridal dresses and other wedding-related goods from the Couture Miss shop will go back to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the non-profit that employed Ephonia Green.
Photo by Shane T. McCoy / US Marshals
Over 120 community safety leaders gathered to recognize their peers with the Community Safety and Crime Prevention awards.
Learn more about the five community crime fighters who were recognized: news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2015JAG0272-001868
The US Marshals and GSA are selling 2,000 dresses and accessories near Baltimore Nov. 18-20, 2015. These dresses were seized by the U.S. Marshals Service in connection with the criminal conviction of an Upper Marlboro, Maryland, woman who had embezzled more than $5 million from her employer in order to, among other things, keep her wedding boutique afloat. She funneled about $1.8 million of the stolen funds into her store. Net proceeds from this sale of bridal dresses and other wedding-related goods from the Couture Miss shop will go back to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the non-profit that employed Ephonia Green.
Photo by Shane T. McCoy / US Marshals
The US Marshals and GSA are selling 2,000 dresses and accessories near Baltimore Nov. 18-20, 2015. These dresses were seized by the U.S. Marshals Service in connection with the criminal conviction of an Upper Marlboro, Maryland, woman who had embezzled more than $5 million from her employer in order to, among other things, keep her wedding boutique afloat. She funneled about $1.8 million of the stolen funds into her store. Net proceeds from this sale of bridal dresses and other wedding-related goods from the Couture Miss shop will go back to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the non-profit that employed Ephonia Green.
Photo by Shane T. McCoy / US Marshals
Legends of Máire Rua
Maire Rua was born in 1615, or possibly 1616. Her father was Torlach Rua MacMahon, Lord of Clonderlaw and her mother was Mary O'Brien, daughter of the third Earl of Thomond. Her place of birth is unclear. An elegy composed for her gives Bunratty as her birthplace but local tradition claims that she was born at Clonderlaw.
Her first husband was Daniel Neylon of Dysert O'Dea in north Clare. They had three sons, William, Daniel and Michael. William was the father of Baron Francis Patrick O'Neillan. It seems that a fourth son was born but died in infancy. When Daniel Neylon died Maire Rua gained control of the estate.
Around 1639 Maire Rua married Conor O'Brien of Leamaneh. From State documents about Leamaneh it seems that he got a £1,000 fortune with her. In 1648 they built a more comfortable mansion on to the original fifteenth century tower house at Leamaneh. Only the four walls with their mullioned windows are left in what must have been Clare's most magnificent seventeenth century house. Conor and Maire had eight children, Donough (or Donat) ,Teige, Turlough, Murrough, Honora, Mary and two daughters who may have died of the plague that had raged in the Limerick district in the year of the siege.
Conor was killed in 1651 at the Pass of Inchicronan while leading his men against the Cromwellians. There are varied reports of Maire Rua's reaction to Conor's death. One report is that he was taken home in a very weak condition by his followers and that Maire Rua nursed him until he died at nightfall. She would have realised that the punishment for Conor's rebellion was forfeiture of his property. It is reported that immediately after Conor's death she went, richly dressed, to Limerick. In a bid to retain her lands and estates she offered to marry immediately any Cromwellian officer who was willing. This is refuted in other versions of the story which state that Maire Rua didn't marry until 1653, two years after Conor's death.
In either case her third husband was Cornet John Cooper, a Cromwellian soldier. They had a son, Harry (or Henry), and possibly a daughter also. Through this marriage of expediency Maire Rua succeeded in keeping her estates intact for her children. John Cooper left the army and became wealthy through land and property speculation, though he later ran into financial difficulty resulting in the mortgaging of Leamaneh.
In fact and in fable Maire Rua was a formidable woman. Legends have grown up around her, many of them exaggerated with the passage of time and many of them simply untrue. In 1664 she was granted a royal pardon on murder charges brought against her two years previously. These charges related to her supposed involvement with Conor O'Brien's raiding parties in the 1640's. Without doubt, she was a tough, forceful and determined woman but there is no evidence to support the story of her throwing her third husband out of the window of Leamaneh, or of her forcing him to ride his horse over the Cliffs of Moher. In fact, it seems that financially and legally the marriage of convenience lasted for many years although they perhaps lived separate lives later on. She spent the final years of her life at Dromoland Castle. Her son, Donough, had moved the family seat from Leamaneh to Dromoland. He was brought up as a protestant and eventually became the "richest commoner in Ireland."
It is claimed by some that Maire Rua is buried at Coad church in Kilnaboy parish. Her two daughters are buried there and it is thought that Maire had constructed the church there following a dispute with the Rector at Kilnaboy.
Legends about Maire Rua may be exaggerated but documented history shows that she was indeed a remarkable and fearless character.
The Morris-Jumel Mansion was built in 1765 as a summer house by Colonel Roger Morris for his wife, Mary Philipse and their family on approximately 135 acres of land that stretched from the Harlem to Hudson rivers between what is now 140th and approximately 18oth streets. Their country estate was named Mount Morris and, being situated on one of the highest points of Manhattan, offered clear views of New Jersey, Connecticut, and all of New York harbor. In addition to serving as a summer retreat, Mount Morris was also a working farm with fruit trees, cows, and sheep in addition to a variety of crops.
With the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, the Morris family abandoned their summer home. Then, in the autumn of 1776, General George Washington and his Patriot officers moved in and made the house their headquarters from September 14th to October 21st. The superb views from Mount Morris made the location ideal for observing troop movements and General Washington used this advantage to plan his army’s first successful victory; the Battle of Harlem Heights. Despite this victory, on October 21st, General Washington was forced to retreat to White Plains. For the remainder of the war, the house was used as a headquarters for both British and Hessian armies.
Following the war, the estate was confiscated under the Forfeiture Laws by the State of New York and sold to cover war debts. For a time, it served as a tavern; however, after some years, the tavern became unsuccessful and the house was abandoned once again. Then on July 10th of 1790, now President George Washington held his first Cabinet dinner at the same place he scored his first victory during the Revolutionary War. n 1810, Eliza and Stephen Jumel purchased Mount Morris, all farmlands, and began a series of alterations to the house. A merchant from the south of France, who emigrated to New York some years earlier, Stephen met and married Eliza Bowen in New York. She grew up in a poor Rhode Island family, a voracious reader and self-educated, she developed into a shrewd businesswoman long before most women worked outside the home, let alone ran businesses. At a moment when Stephen's business was foundering, Eliza applied herself to the real estate trade, buying and selling land and renting properties downtown. Her success made large profits for her husband and herself, making her one of the wealthiest women in New York, after Stephen’s death.
By the 1880s, most of the Jumel land had been sold as the city expanded and fashionable townhouses rose immediately surrounding the Mansion. The City of New York purchased the house and the two acres it sits on creating Roger Morris Park. With the assistance of the DAR, the Mansion was turned into a historic house and museum. The mid-20th Century saw the neighborhood develop into a vibrant home to many artists and celebrities including Paul Robeson, Jackie Robinson, Thurgood Marshall, and Duke Ellington, who once referred to the Morris-Jumel Mansion as “the jewel in the crown of Sugar Hill.” The buildings in this district are protected by the New York Landmarks Commission and must be maintained by their owners reflective of when they were built. Because of this, the appearance of the neighborhood has changed very little since the beginning of the twentieth century.
Today, the Morris-Jumel Mansion is the oldest house in Manhattan and as a museum highlights the art, architecture and lives of the Morris and Jumel families, while celebrating the changing landscape from the now lost Polo Grounds to the contemporary artists who find inspiration from this over 250 year old structure, and culture. We hope to see you soon to experience all that is new at Manhattan’s oldest house.
"As Manhattan’s oldest residence, the Morris-Jumel Mansion Museum presents American life from the colonial era to the present by preserving, collecting, and interpreting history, culture, and the arts to engage and inspire diverse audiences.
Morris-Jumel Mansion, Inc. operates the Morris -Jumel Mansion as a historic house museum and thereby seeks to preserve and interpret Manhattan’s oldest residence, one that has witnessed the evolution of northern Manhattan from rural countryside to a dynamic multicultural community. Through historic site tours and education programs, the museum interprets the mansion in the context of domestic life in New York City from 1765 until 1865, the influx of European immigrants to Washington Heights in the late 1800’s, the City Beautiful movement at the turn of the century, the life of the Jumel Terrace Historic District, and more recent immigration. Morris-Jumel Mansion seeks to serve as a cultural resource for an audience of national and international visitors and, in particular, the diverse audiences of the City of New York."
The US Marshals and GSA are selling 2,000 dresses and accessories near Baltimore Nov. 18-20, 2015. These dresses were seized by the U.S. Marshals Service in connection with the criminal conviction of an Upper Marlboro, Maryland, woman who had embezzled more than $5 million from her employer in order to, among other things, keep her wedding boutique afloat. She funneled about $1.8 million of the stolen funds into her store. Net proceeds from this sale of bridal dresses and other wedding-related goods from the Couture Miss shop will go back to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the non-profit that employed Ephonia Green.
Photo by Shane T. McCoy / US Marshals
Students at Queen Elizabeth Secondary school in Surrey meet with Solicitor General Mike Farnworth on Feb. 1. The Range Rover unveiled at the school, which the Province has provided to Surrey RCMP, will support the End Gang Life program and Surrey RCMP’s own “Shattering the Image” program, which work to keep young people out of gangs and crime.
Learn more: news.gov.bc.ca/16294
Students at Queen Elizabeth Secondary school in Surrey meet with Solicitor General Mike Farnworth on Feb. 1. The Range Rover unveiled at the school, which the Province has provided to Surrey RCMP, will support the End Gang Life program and Surrey RCMP’s own “Shattering the Image” program, which work to keep young people out of gangs and crime.
Learn more: news.gov.bc.ca/16294
2016 Vancouver International Autoshow.
Three former gangster-owned vehicles are already in use by police forces around B.C.; a Nissan 350z sports car by the Kelowna RCMP; a BMW SUV by the CFSEU-BC; and a Hummer by the Abbotsford Police.
Over the past eight years of the civil forfeiture program, approximately 250 vehicles have been forfeited, most with links to drugs, gangs or organized crime.
The Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit – British Columbia is the province's anti-gang agency.
For the video; youtu.be/DV-TFteZ04o
globalnews.ca/news/1603048/more-forfeited-gangster-vehicl...
The US Marshals and GSA are selling 2,000 dresses and accessories near Baltimore Nov. 18-20, 2015. These dresses were seized by the U.S. Marshals Service in connection with the criminal conviction of an Upper Marlboro, Maryland, woman who had embezzled more than $5 million from her employer in order to, among other things, keep her wedding boutique afloat. She funneled about $1.8 million of the stolen funds into her store. Net proceeds from this sale of bridal dresses and other wedding-related goods from the Couture Miss shop will go back to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the non-profit that employed Ephonia Green.
Photo by Shane T. McCoy / US Marshals
The US Marshals and GSA are selling 2,000 dresses and accessories near Baltimore Nov. 18-20, 2015. These dresses were seized by the U.S. Marshals Service in connection with the criminal conviction of an Upper Marlboro, Maryland, woman who had embezzled more than $5 million from her employer in order to, among other things, keep her wedding boutique afloat. She funneled about $1.8 million of the stolen funds into her store. Net proceeds from this sale of bridal dresses and other wedding-related goods from the Couture Miss shop will go back to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the non-profit that employed Ephonia Green.
Photo by Shane T. McCoy / US Marshals
The US Marshals and GSA are selling 2,000 dresses and accessories near Baltimore Nov. 18-20, 2015. These dresses were seized by the U.S. Marshals Service in connection with the criminal conviction of an Upper Marlboro, Maryland, woman who had embezzled more than $5 million from her employer in order to, among other things, keep her wedding boutique afloat. She funneled about $1.8 million of the stolen funds into her store. Net proceeds from this sale of bridal dresses and other wedding-related goods from the Couture Miss shop will go back to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the non-profit that employed Ephonia Green.
Photo by Shane T. McCoy / US Marshals
The Morris-Jumel Mansion was built in 1765 as a summer house by Colonel Roger Morris for his wife, Mary Philipse and their family on approximately 135 acres of land that stretched from the Harlem to Hudson rivers between what is now 140th and approximately 18oth streets. Their country estate was named Mount Morris and, being situated on one of the highest points of Manhattan, offered clear views of New Jersey, Connecticut, and all of New York harbor. In addition to serving as a summer retreat, Mount Morris was also a working farm with fruit trees, cows, and sheep in addition to a variety of crops.
With the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, the Morris family abandoned their summer home. Then, in the autumn of 1776, General George Washington and his Patriot officers moved in and made the house their headquarters from September 14th to October 21st. The superb views from Mount Morris made the location ideal for observing troop movements and General Washington used this advantage to plan his army’s first successful victory; the Battle of Harlem Heights. Despite this victory, on October 21st, General Washington was forced to retreat to White Plains. For the remainder of the war, the house was used as a headquarters for both British and Hessian armies.
Following the war, the estate was confiscated under the Forfeiture Laws by the State of New York and sold to cover war debts. For a time, it served as a tavern; however, after some years, the tavern became unsuccessful and the house was abandoned once again. Then on July 10th of 1790, now President George Washington held his first Cabinet dinner at the same place he scored his first victory during the Revolutionary War. n 1810, Eliza and Stephen Jumel purchased Mount Morris, all farmlands, and began a series of alterations to the house. A merchant from the south of France, who emigrated to New York some years earlier, Stephen met and married Eliza Bowen in New York. She grew up in a poor Rhode Island family, a voracious reader and self-educated, she developed into a shrewd businesswoman long before most women worked outside the home, let alone ran businesses. At a moment when Stephen's business was foundering, Eliza applied herself to the real estate trade, buying and selling land and renting properties downtown. Her success made large profits for her husband and herself, making her one of the wealthiest women in New York, after Stephen’s death.
By the 1880s, most of the Jumel land had been sold as the city expanded and fashionable townhouses rose immediately surrounding the Mansion. The City of New York purchased the house and the two acres it sits on creating Roger Morris Park. With the assistance of the DAR, the Mansion was turned into a historic house and museum. The mid-20th Century saw the neighborhood develop into a vibrant home to many artists and celebrities including Paul Robeson, Jackie Robinson, Thurgood Marshall, and Duke Ellington, who once referred to the Morris-Jumel Mansion as “the jewel in the crown of Sugar Hill.” The buildings in this district are protected by the New York Landmarks Commission and must be maintained by their owners reflective of when they were built. Because of this, the appearance of the neighborhood has changed very little since the beginning of the twentieth century.
Today, the Morris-Jumel Mansion is the oldest house in Manhattan and as a museum highlights the art, architecture and lives of the Morris and Jumel families, while celebrating the changing landscape from the now lost Polo Grounds to the contemporary artists who find inspiration from this over 250 year old structure, and culture. We hope to see you soon to experience all that is new at Manhattan’s oldest house.
"As Manhattan’s oldest residence, the Morris-Jumel Mansion Museum presents American life from the colonial era to the present by preserving, collecting, and interpreting history, culture, and the arts to engage and inspire diverse audiences.
Morris-Jumel Mansion, Inc. operates the Morris -Jumel Mansion as a historic house museum and thereby seeks to preserve and interpret Manhattan’s oldest residence, one that has witnessed the evolution of northern Manhattan from rural countryside to a dynamic multicultural community. Through historic site tours and education programs, the museum interprets the mansion in the context of domestic life in New York City from 1765 until 1865, the influx of European immigrants to Washington Heights in the late 1800’s, the City Beautiful movement at the turn of the century, the life of the Jumel Terrace Historic District, and more recent immigration. Morris-Jumel Mansion seeks to serve as a cultural resource for an audience of national and international visitors and, in particular, the diverse audiences of the City of New York."
The room where "Hamilton" was written by Lin Manuel Miranda:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KIGWTPTbV4&list=PLjjudGdjGHa...
The Morris-Jumel Mansion was built in 1765 as a summer house by Colonel Roger Morris for his wife, Mary Philipse and their family on approximately 135 acres of land that stretched from the Harlem to Hudson rivers between what is now 140th and approximately 18oth streets. Their country estate was named Mount Morris and, being situated on one of the highest points of Manhattan, offered clear views of New Jersey, Connecticut, and all of New York harbor. In addition to serving as a summer retreat, Mount Morris was also a working farm with fruit trees, cows, and sheep in addition to a variety of crops.
With the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, the Morris family abandoned their summer home. Then, in the autumn of 1776, General George Washington and his Patriot officers moved in and made the house their headquarters from September 14th to October 21st. The superb views from Mount Morris made the location ideal for observing troop movements and General Washington used this advantage to plan his army’s first successful victory; the Battle of Harlem Heights. Despite this victory, on October 21st, General Washington was forced to retreat to White Plains. For the remainder of the war, the house was used as a headquarters for both British and Hessian armies.
Following the war, the estate was confiscated under the Forfeiture Laws by the State of New York and sold to cover war debts. For a time, it served as a tavern; however, after some years, the tavern became unsuccessful and the house was abandoned once again. Then on July 10th of 1790, now President George Washington held his first Cabinet dinner at the same place he scored his first victory during the Revolutionary War. n 1810, Eliza and Stephen Jumel purchased Mount Morris, all farmlands, and began a series of alterations to the house. A merchant from the south of France, who emigrated to New York some years earlier, Stephen met and married Eliza Bowen in New York. She grew up in a poor Rhode Island family, a voracious reader and self-educated, she developed into a shrewd businesswoman long before most women worked outside the home, let alone ran businesses. At a moment when Stephen's business was foundering, Eliza applied herself to the real estate trade, buying and selling land and renting properties downtown. Her success made large profits for her husband and herself, making her one of the wealthiest women in New York, after Stephen’s death.
By the 1880s, most of the Jumel land had been sold as the city expanded and fashionable townhouses rose immediately surrounding the Mansion. The City of New York purchased the house and the two acres it sits on creating Roger Morris Park. With the assistance of the DAR, the Mansion was turned into a historic house and museum. The mid-20th Century saw the neighborhood develop into a vibrant home to many artists and celebrities including Paul Robeson, Jackie Robinson, Thurgood Marshall, and Duke Ellington, who once referred to the Morris-Jumel Mansion as “the jewel in the crown of Sugar Hill.” The buildings in this district are protected by the New York Landmarks Commission and must be maintained by their owners reflective of when they were built. Because of this, the appearance of the neighborhood has changed very little since the beginning of the twentieth century.
Today, the Morris-Jumel Mansion is the oldest house in Manhattan and as a museum highlights the art, architecture and lives of the Morris and Jumel families, while celebrating the changing landscape from the now lost Polo Grounds to the contemporary artists who find inspiration from this over 250 year old structure, and culture. We hope to see you soon to experience all that is new at Manhattan’s oldest house.
"As Manhattan’s oldest residence, the Morris-Jumel Mansion Museum presents American life from the colonial era to the present by preserving, collecting, and interpreting history, culture, and the arts to engage and inspire diverse audiences.
Morris-Jumel Mansion, Inc. operates the Morris -Jumel Mansion as a historic house museum and thereby seeks to preserve and interpret Manhattan’s oldest residence, one that has witnessed the evolution of northern Manhattan from rural countryside to a dynamic multicultural community. Through historic site tours and education programs, the museum interprets the mansion in the context of domestic life in New York City from 1765 until 1865, the influx of European immigrants to Washington Heights in the late 1800’s, the City Beautiful movement at the turn of the century, the life of the Jumel Terrace Historic District, and more recent immigration. Morris-Jumel Mansion seeks to serve as a cultural resource for an audience of national and international visitors and, in particular, the diverse audiences of the City of New York."
The DeKalb Recorders Court is in line for a major shake up following the recent grand jury investigation that found a crisis of leadership, lack of accountability and pervasive staffing and physical problems at the court.
CEO Burrell Ellis said his administration is already making changes at the court that processes more than 230,000 traffic and misdemeanor citations a year and that he will install new leadership when Chief Judge R. Joy Walker’s current four-year term ends on Dec. 31.
“I agree with the grand jury that we need new leadership at the court,” he said Tuesday.
But on other issues pertaining to technology improvements, and renovations and expansion of the court, he said he did not want to be pinned down now about what might or might not be include in his proposed 2010 budget.
“We are considering all options at this point,” he said.
Ellis said that he and the Board of Commissioners will work collaboratively to address the concerns raised in the grand jury report and that Public Safety director William Miller is already at work clarifying the management and leadership issues raised by the grand jury.
DeKalb Commissioner Sharon Barnes Sutton, who chairs the BOC’s Public Safety Committee, said she is anticipating a complete overhaul of the Recorder’s Court and is now scouring the grand jury’s recommendations to come up with policies that will eliminate the Court’s problems.
“We are going one by one at these recommendations,” she said. “At this point, it is still a work in progress. It is not a fast process.”
Barnes Sutton, who represents District 4, said many of the grand jury’s recommendations will require expenditures at a time when the county is cutting back in the face of declining revenues, but that changes at the Court has to be a top priority.
“It is something that has to be addressed,” she said. “We have to make it work.”
The court, which collects fines for traffic and code violations, projects revenues of $21.4 million in 2009. But Barnes Sutton cautions that while it is tempting to view Recorder’s Court as a revenue source, that it is court of law.
“We can’t look at every ticket as revenue,” she said.
If the Court is operating properly, the District Four Commissioner said the county will have a more realistic expectation of its operations.
The grand jury investigation came in the wake of recent indictments of three former Recorders Court employees for a ticket-fixing scam while they worked at the court; a study that found an estimated $20 million in uncollected revenue since 2000, and chronic long lines, crowded and cramped conditions at the court on Camp Circle in Decatur.
It found widespread breakdown in the court’s operations and identified a failure to address ticket fixing inside the court, exercise due diligence, adequately account for funds, follow the law and properly assess fines and enforce warrants.
Walker, who has been the chief judge since 2002 declined to speak about the report.
“Unfortunately, I am forbidden by the current administration from making any statements to the press,” she said in an e-mail.
Even though Ellis said Walker was mistaken about being forbidden to speak to a reporter, he did not give her permission to speak.
Instead in an Oct. 21 email, his communication director Shelia Trapier Edwards said that Ellis is preparing responses to the issues raised by the grand jury report.
“He wanted me to remind you that prior to issuing their report, the grand jury interviewed Judge Walker and the information obtained from her was utilized in drafting their report,” she said.
Ellis promised to provide a copy of his responses once it has been submitted to the grand jury.
Competency of leadership
In its report to DeKalb Superior Court judges at the end of its term in August, the grand jury said the Recorder’s Court’s “dysfunctional organization” precluded it from being able “to clearly fix accountability and responsibility.”
It said the employer-employee relationship between Walker and Clerk of Court Joyce Head makes it impossible “to determine where the Clerk of Court’s role and duties begin and end versus that of the Chief Judge.”
It pointed out that the current relationship between the two officials, who are both appointed by the Board of Commissioners on the CEO’s recommendations, violates DeKalb County Code, which sets the chief judge’s primary duty as the oversight of the adjudication process, and requires the clerk to keep all records of the Court, collect all costs, fines and forfeitures and remit the same within 72 hours to county’s director of finance.
“We are unable to conclude why the Clerk’s duties and responsibilities had become a part of the Chief Judge’s overall duties,” it said.
The grand jury identified the following factors it said have given rise to how important it will be address the “competency of leadership and management at the court”:
Series of failures
- Failure to address ticket fixing inside the Recorder’s Court:
The grand jury said the testimony of the Chief Judge and the Clerk provided no assurances that there had been any policy, procedural or security measures taken by the Court after the indictment of some employees for “ticket fixing.”
“The Chief Judge indicated that she had not contacted anyone concerning the matter and that no one had contacted her,” the report said. “Clearly no ‘check and balance’ system was in place at the time of the alleged criminal actions, and frankly, the grand jury finds it deleterious for the head of Recorder’s Court to fail to take any initiative, action or corrective step once her former employees were implicated.
“These corrective actions should also have included a means to better supervise probation collections to make sure no wrongdoing occurs at that point in the process.”
- Failure to exercise due dilgence:
“We are unable to understand why the Chief Judge would dismiss more than 11,000 warrants of probationers solel;y upon the recommendation of JCS probation service therby resulting in a loss of revenue (fees and fines) to the County estimated to be $2.7 million.
- Failure to adequately account for funds:
The investigation found undeposited checks amounting to more than $3.5 million that were held Recorder’s Court for more than 16 months.
“When we posed questions to the Clerk of Court as to the reasons why probation checks that were received from the previous probation company were held and not deposited, her response was they were held so the checks could be reconciled to the indvidual probationer’s file.
“However, this same documentation indicated that less than 10 percent of the probation activities were properly posted to individual defendant’s cases.
- Failure to follow the law and properly assess fines/fees:
The grand jury found that the Court was not collecting from defendants and depositing the correct fees in the Sheriff’s Retirement Fund, despite a 2004 change in the law that increased the amount from $1 to $2. It said that Recorder’s Court was still only submitting $1 to the fund despite the training the Clerk received. It also said that the monies being paid into the fund were coming from other sources, but not actually being assessed to the individual defendants resulting in loss to the county.
“We are unable to estimate how much DeKalb may owe this fund or why the delay in paying $2 into the fund,” it said.
- Technology, technology, technology:
The grand jury said the Court’s existing SAS computer system produced unreliable data but it was unable to determine if the unreliable data is due to lack of training of staff or if the system lacks the capacity to handle the volume of information. It said the fact that a former clerk from a county with similar caseload as DeKalb Recorder’s Court praised the SAS system, leads it to think the problem in DeKalb may be untrained or improperly trained staff and not the system.
- Failure to appear in court and warrants enforcement
The grand jury called for improvements for these functions of the court. It asked for a letter to be developed and mailed to any citizen who fails to appear and or pay their fines to the court. It said the the letter should inform the citizen that a warrant may be issued or their driver’s license may be suspended if the matter is not resolved. It said the Chief Judge said such a letter was tried as pilot program and resulted in 20 percent return.
“The grand jury is of the opinion that 20 percent is far better than zero percent and would encourage the Court to reconsider its refusal to institute this program.”
- Physical structure:
The Grant Jury recommends refurbishment of the current courthouse and that a fourth courtroom be acquired and staffed so that all full-time judges have a courtroom.
“There is need for considerable cleaning and painting of the facility,” it said.
- Inadequate oversight by internal audit
The grand jury said that audits of the Recorder’s Court in 2005, 2006 and 2007 by the DeKalb County Internal Audit Division were insufficient and had allowed the problems at the court to exacerbate.
“We recommend future audits be far more comprehensive and thorough.”
Noting that it had spent considerable time reviewing Recorder’s Court, the grand jury said it would be greatly disappointed “to see our work end up in a file drawer gathering dust.”
“As importantly, Recorder’s Court requires the attention of the CEO and the County Commission,” it said.
The US Marshals and GSA are selling 2,000 dresses and accessories near Baltimore Nov. 18-20, 2015. These dresses were seized by the U.S. Marshals Service in connection with the criminal conviction of an Upper Marlboro, Maryland, woman who had embezzled more than $5 million from her employer in order to, among other things, keep her wedding boutique afloat. She funneled about $1.8 million of the stolen funds into her store. Net proceeds from this sale of bridal dresses and other wedding-related goods from the Couture Miss shop will go back to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the non-profit that employed Ephonia Green.
Photo by Shane T. McCoy / US Marshals
The US Marshals and GSA are selling 2,000 dresses and accessories near Baltimore Nov. 18-20, 2015. These dresses were seized by the U.S. Marshals Service in connection with the criminal conviction of an Upper Marlboro, Maryland, woman who had embezzled more than $5 million from her employer in order to, among other things, keep her wedding boutique afloat. She funneled about $1.8 million of the stolen funds into her store. Net proceeds from this sale of bridal dresses and other wedding-related goods from the Couture Miss shop will go back to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the non-profit that employed Ephonia Green.
Photo by Shane T. McCoy / US Marshals