Budweiser tribute to 9-11

Posted by Pebi Services President Tyra Hearns

Only 1 background check now needed to work at 3 South Florida ports

By Patrick Danner
The MIami Herald

Port workers and truck drivers will only need one Florida criminal background check to work at South Florida's three seaports.
Port directors at Port Everglades, the Port of Miami and the Port of Palm Beach signed a memorandum of understanding Wednesday to begin accepting one background check for entry into all three seaports.
Previously, workers had to pay for and complete a separate Florida criminal background check at each seaport to obtain access. Workers who already have had the background check and have access cards from one of the seaports should go to the other ports' ID offices to obtain an access card.

Posted by Pebi Services President Tyra Hearns

Mayor wants Commissioner to resign over background investigation scandal

By Deborah Highland
The Tennessean

Mayor Linda Elam on Monday night asked that Wilson County Commissioner Chris Sorey resign from office because a TBI audit showed he had used a state Web site to run unauthorized background checks on her and other city workers and elected officials.

Vice Mayor Will Sellers, whose records also were checked, asked that Sorey be ousted from office and be brought up on ethics charges by his fellow county commissioners.

Sorey was elected in August to his first term on the Wilson County Commission representing District 2, which includes part of Mt. Juliet.

Elam and Sellers made the public statements after the Mt. Juliet commission met in a secret "executive" session before the public meeting.

Sorey was working as a police officer for the Smyrna/Rutherford County Airport Police when he misused the state's Criminal Justice Portal to look at private records, TBI spokeswoman Kristin Helm said last month.

The TBI found the misuse during an audit of the portal and notified Smyrna Airport police.

Helm would not identify those whose information was sought, but Mt. Juliet's city manager, Randy Robertson, confirmed that his records, along with those of Elam, Sellers, storm-water coordinator Gary Gaskin, public-works secretary Amy Rooker, assistant public-works director Shannon Joiner, public-works project manager Casey Binion and chief building inspector Gary Branham were checked.

Elam added during Monday's meeting that the records of another county commissioner also were sought through the portal. She did not name that commissioner.

"I have no idea why Commissioner Sorey would want to have any background information on me, especially my Social Security number … ," Sellers said. "I and my wife feel that Commissioner Sorey has invaded our very private lives and has compromised our identities and financial security."

Sellers called for Sorey and his former employer to be prosecuted.
The Web site is the same site fired state trooper Ronnie Shirley is accused of using to run unauthorized checks on as many as 182 private citizens and state employees.

Sorey says he is victim

Sorey said late last month that the TBI audit was "nothing more than political payback" after he raised concerns over adherence to fire codes in homebuilding in Mt. Juliet.

"There is no reason or rationale for running a background check on the mayor, who is never involved day-to-day in city business," Elam said after the Smyrna Airport police notified her that her records had been checked.

Sorey was placed on unpaid administrative leave Nov. 6, said John Black, executive director of the Smyrna/Rutherford County Airport Authority. On Nov. 13, Sorey resigned, saying he was taking a higher-paying job. He said he was no longer working in law enforcement.

No charges pending

The TBI gave its information to Rutherford County District Attorney William Whitesell, who said no charges are pending. The TBI removed the airport police department's access to the site, Helm said.

Black did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment. He said in late November that Sorey was a good employee who worked for the airport for more than two years.

The TBI audit was sparked by a request from Mt. Juliet Police Chief Andy Garrett, who had received a copy of an e-mail from Gaskin, who was concerned that his personal information had been compromised.

Gaskin sent the e-mail after he was notified through the human resources department that Sorey had asked to see his personnel records. Gaskin's job is not related to fire codes inspections.

"I was the guy who blew the lid off of the fire codes issues in Mt. Juliet," Sorey said late last month.

"Any activity that has taken place regarding the alleged misuses of the integrated criminal justice portal system was done in connection with my investigation of the past and ongoing fire code violations" in Mt. Juliet, he said then. "I am very concerned that I now seem to be the subject of the investigation instead of officials addressing any possible safety issues."

Robertson said fire code issues were brought to the city's attention last summer, and the city has been inspecting every home built between 2006 and 2008. As of Nov. 21, the city had inspected 909 homes, 49 of which were in violation of one specific code. Robertson said builders have corrected the problems in 36 homes.

Posted by Pebi Services President Tyra Hearns

Police Officer facing discipline over background checks

Lisle Illinois officials want to fire a former police officer of the year after allegations surfaced that he made numerous illegal background checks for a school district and worked a private job when he should have been at Lisle High School or home on sick leave, records show.

Officer Brett Lauten, a 10-year veteran of the force, was suspended without pay after a Lisle Fire and Police Board meeting Nov. 7.

The Police Department liaison at Lisle High School from 2004 through at least 2007, Lauten also has worked as a private security guard for the Olive Trees Condominium Association in Naperville since 2005, according to an administrative complaint released to the Tribune under the Freedom of Information Act.

Lauten, 32, of Naperville, referred questions to his attorney, Richard Reimer, who declined to comment.

The officer's "egregious" actions make up "a pattern of continuing misrepresentation" that calls "into question Officer Lauten's honesty and integrity," according to the complaint, filed by Police Chief Michael Damico.

Lauten did background checks on behalf of Lisle School District 202 personnel through a state police database that legally can only be used for law-enforcement purposes, according to the complaint. Through Lauten, district personnel used the database as a "back door" way of quickly checking on people working for the district, coming into school buildings or contracting with the district.

Records showed that Lauten ran 91 such checks, although when questioned by police officials, he claimed to have made 8 to 10.

"Lauten circumvented ... state law" and helped district employees shirk "their legal obligations to the children attending their schools," the complaint states.

Use of the database bypassed a slower method of checking fingerprints that state law requires school districts to follow.

Lauten called in sick "numerous days" that he worked as a security guard for the condo association, adding up to almost four weeks in 2006 alone, according to the complaint. He was paid for the sick days and for work by the condo association, as well as for working at the high school and the condo complex at the same time, the complaint states.

Damico and Lisle High School Principal Ron Logeman declined to comment. Lisle Community Unit School District 202 officials did not return calls for comment Friday.

The Fire and Police Board must hold a hearing on the charges within 30 days.

The allegations regarding the state database have been referred to state police for investigation. In the past, the DuPage County state's attorney's office has filed criminal charges in similar cases, a spokesman said.

Lauten was one of two police officers of the year in Lisle in 2005 and honored in 2000 along with another officer for saving a man's life after the man had a heart attack, according to news reports

Posted by Pebi Services President Tyra Hearns

Policing the air marshals: Crimes within the ranks raises questions about agency's hiring

A recent article published in the Novemeber 13th edition of USAToday, concerning the hiring and background selection process of U.S Air Marshals, paints a disturbing picture of who is policing the friendly skies, and even more disturbing how they were hired. You can see the entire article by clicking HERE


Posted by Pebi Services President Tyra Hearns

Nearly 100 security guards at immigration facility hired without background investigations

By Gene Johnson
Seattle Times

A privately run immigration lockup in Tacoma hired nearly 100 security guards without background investigations, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement didn't catch the practice for two years, court documents show.

Sylvia Wong, an administrator in charge of hiring at the Northwest Detention Center, pleaded guilty this week in federal court in Tacoma to one count of making a false statement, for lying to investigators. In her plea agreement, she admitted that soon after starting work in November 2005, she began hiring guards without background investigations "because of the pressure she felt to get security personnel hired at the NWDC as quickly as possible."

ICE auditors discovered early this year that 92 guards had been hired without the checks. The agency acknowledges that some of the guards have been fired following subsequent background checks, but won't say how many.

"In response to this investigation we have implemented a multi-tiered vetting process ... so that no contractor or federal employee has sole responsibility to process and approve employment documents," ICE spokeswoman Lorie Dankers said Thursday. "We have taken proactive steps to prevent this from happening again."

The Northwest Detention Center opened in 2004 and holds about 1,000 people accused of immigration violations, mainly detainees from Alaska, Oregon and Washington. It's run by the for-profit, Florida-based GEO Group Inc., with yearly reviews to ensure the facility meets ICE standards.

A GEO Group spokesman has not returned several inquiries from the AP about Wong's case, the latest on Thursday. Her lawyer did not immediately return a call.

On Thursday, ICE announced that 10,602 aliens had been deported from Alaska, Oregon and Washington in fiscal 2008 - a one-year record for the region and a jump of more than 35 percent from the previous year.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Brown said any pressure that Wong felt to hire guards quickly was self-imposed and did not come from higher-ups. If anything, he said, she was mostly trying "to make people happy."

When guards are hired at the detention center, they are supposed to undergo a preliminary background check. If they pass, they are given "entry on duty" forms allowing them to begin work pending a more thorough check, which can take several months to more than a year.

The plea agreement said that when Wong hired the guards, she fabricated "entry on duty" forms, allowing them to start work without any background check.

In February, ICE discovered that the guards had been hired without the checks and searched Wong's office. The next month, when agents questioned her, she insisted she had not manufactured the forms - hence, the "false statement" charge against her.

Brown said he did not know precisely how many of the guards Wong hired had been fired, but characterized the number as relatively small.

Asked what the number was, Dankers said, "I'm going to decline comment on that." Asked why, she replied, "Because I am."

She later called back to say policies prohibited her from discussing staffing levels - even though the number of fired guards has nothing to do with current staffing.

According to the plea agreement, the detention center has up to 200 security, administrative, medical, food service and maintenance workers.

Wong faces zero to six months when she is sentenced in February.

Posted by Pebi Services President Tyra Hearns

New Jersey Senate passes new background investigation bill

By Lauren Mortenson
The New Jersey Senate unanimously passed a bill last week that will revise the current background check requirements for all school employees who come in contact with students.

Sponsored by Sens. Loretta Weinberg, Barbara Buono and Shirley K. Turner, bill S-110 will revise the current criminal background investigation requirements for employees by requesting that all teachers and school district employees undergo a criminal background check. Besides the faculty and administration, people who are considered school employees also include bus drivers, cafeteria workers and janitorial staff.

The bill revises criminal history record checks for public and nonpublic school employees and bus drivers, and expands the list of offenses that would disqualify an employee from working at a school.

Buono said revisions to background check procedures are something she had been thinking about for a while.

"There were loopholes that needed to be closed," she said.

Since 1986, candidates for employment in New Jersey schools have been required to submit to criminal history background checks.

The bill states that "in order to assure the safety of school students and others in our schools, persons who come in contact with students or school property must possess the character and integrity necessary for their positions."

The bill also states that it is imperative that all employees, including those hired prior to 1986, and candidates for employment undergo criminal history record checks that are updated regularly.

All employees hired prior to 1986 as well as those hired before 2003 (before fingerprints were able to be taken electronically) would have two years to be fingerprinted by the state Bureau of Investigation.

The original criminal history background investigation was established in 1986, and the law at the time included a "grandfather" provision that said employees of a district who were hired before that date did not have to have their records checked.

According to the senators, applicants were fingerprinted before 2003, but once the background checks were complete, the files were destroyed.

Currently, the federal government does not have an electronic fingerprint database, so federal criminal background checks would be required every two years.

Additions were made to the list of offenses that would disqualify applicants and employees from working in schools. The current law provided that all first- and second degree crimes and other specified crimes would permanently disqualify a person from working in schools.

The senators added the crimes of leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, human trafficking, peering [peering into windows or other openings of dwelling places], violating the Anti-TerrorismAct, and employing a juvenile in the commission of a crime.

"It's to protect our children from any form of danger," she said. "That's what the expansion clarifies."

The bill also adds an additional regulation to school bus drivers.

Information on all drivers or substitute drivers of vehicles operated by the Board of Education must be filed by the secretary of the board with the executive county and superintendent of schools. The information must include each driver's name, Social Security number, certification of a valid school bus driver's license, a criminal history record check, and evidence of a check for the driver's record of any alcohol- or drug-related motor vehicle violations.

The school bus driver will be permanently disqualified from his or her job if any offenses during employment result in conviction.

If any employee currently working in a New Jersey school facility is found with a criminal record that interferes with the provisions of the bill, he or she will be fired.

"Unless their crimes were expunged, which varies on the severity of the crime, they would be terminated," said Buono.

The reasons for employee termination will be identified in a written notice. Any employee who fails to comply can be subject to a fine of up to $500 for each incidence of noncompliance.

The bill is now headed to the Assembly for consideration. Buono said she is hopeful that it will pass and is encouraging that it be considered as soon as possible.

Posted by Pebi Services President Tyra Hearns