Tag Archives: FBI

More about the hack of the Astros

Posted on February 1, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Fascinating stuff. A federal judge has unsealed details about former St. Louis Cardinals executive Chris Correa’s hacking of the Astros’ email and player evaluation databases, clearing the way for Major League Baseball to impose sanctions against the Cardinals as soon … Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Super Bowl security

Posted on December 30, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

There will be a lot. You may or may not get to hear about it. When an expected 1  million people descend on Houston for 10 days of Super Bowl concerts, contests and championship football, they will be protected – and … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

“Unholstered”

Posted on September 6, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Some really good work by the Trib here. The Texas Tribune spent almost a year attempting to collect information on police shootings from departments in the state’s 36 largest cities, which have a population of 100,000 or more, and was … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

DNA mixtures

Posted on October 1, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Grits reports on the latest developments in forensics at a hearing of the Texas Forensic Science Commission, and what it means to the legal system in Texas and elsewhere. First, a bit of background. DNA testing looks at two metrics … Continue reading →

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What happened to Sandra Bland?

Posted on July 17, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This is horrible. There are big questions about the final hours of Sandra Bland’s life. The official story is that the 28-year old committed suicide by hanging herself in a Waller County jail cell. Her family doesn’t buy it. Bland, … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

How many crimes does your police department solve?

Posted on April 13, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Fewer than you think, unfortunately. Violent crime in America has been falling for two decades. That’s the good news. The bad news is, when crimes occur, they mostly go unpunished. In fact, for most major crimes, police don’t even make … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

The Lykos era officially ends

Posted on March 21, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

That’s all she wrote. A grand jury scrutinizing former District Attorney Pat Lykos and her administration declined Thursday to indict Lykos regarding allegations of misuse of public resources. The Harris County grand jury’s decision to end its term without action … Continue reading →

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CD34 candidate Villalobos busted by the feds

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

This is not the sort of news one wants to make as a candidate. Cameron County District Attorney Armando R. Villalobos vowed Monday to fight a federal indictment filed against him and his former law partner Eduardo “Eddie” Lucio. Villalobos, … Continue reading →

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Check your DNS

Posted on May 6, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Your computer may be infected with a virus that will cause it to lose connectivity to the Internet in July. For computer users, a few mouse clicks could mean the difference between staying online and losing Internet connections this summer. … Continue reading →

Posted in Websurfing | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

FBI looking into DA’s office over grand jury “investigation”

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, boy. Eyewitness News learned from people interviewed that the FBI and Texas Rangers are asking questions inside the DA’s office. The questions aren’t about BAT vans, but about the DA and her team and how they reacted once the … Continue reading →

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Abercia arrested

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Well, this explains a lot. Longtime Harris County Precinct One Constable Jack Abercia and two of his staffers were arrested Thursday morning on suspicion of violating several federal laws, including conspiring to accept bribes and using the county office for … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Murder by numbers

Posted on January 6, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

There were a lot fewer murders committed in Houston last year than in recent years. HPD recorded 195 murders for the year as of Friday, a 27.5 percent decrease from the previous year’s total of 269. The preliminary figure doesn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Investigations all around

Posted on December 17, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

There’s a second grand jury looking into Harris County DA Pat Lykos. Sources close to the investigation said a special prosecutor was appointed last week to look into claims by Shirley Cornelius, a 27-year-veteran of the office, that she was … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

FBI investigation of HCC

Posted on September 11, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Any time the FBI comes to town to investigate possible corruption in your business, it’s not a good thing. The FBI is investigating possible corruption at Houston Community College, an inquiry that appears to involve its former chief financial officer … Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

FBI smacks down Riddle and Gohmert

Posted on August 12, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The whole “terrorist babies” delusion is so mind-bendingly stupid that it doesn’t even belong on late night public access TV, but such is the nature of our discourse that it was featured on Anderson Cooper 360 Tuesday. Thankfully, Cooper took … Continue reading →

Posted in La Migra | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

SWAT team

Posted on January 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’m not sure about this. The Harris County Sheriff’s Office is starting an elite “high-risk” squad with the aim of developing it into a full-fledged SWAT team. Maj. Bob Doguim began soliciting applications for the eight-member team two weeks ago, … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Play politics first, ask questions later

Posted on January 2, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The number of homicides increased in unincorporated Harris County last year while declining in Houston. With only a few hours left in the year, 86 murders had occurred in the county’s unincorporated areas in 2009, up from 69 in 2008. … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Eversole running for re-election

Posted on October 31, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Surprise! Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Jerry Eversole announced on Friday that he will run for re-election, potentially pitting him against a term-limited Houston city councilwoman and, perhaps, his own tarnished reputation. Eversole, 66, who was hit with a $75,000 … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Ethics reform is hard

Posted on June 18, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

It’s been a long and winding road for ethics reform in Harris County, and it isn’t getting any easier. Harris County Commissioner’s Court next week will consider a series of ethics reforms aimed at increasing accountability for and disclosure of … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Terri Hodge draws a challenger

Posted on June 12, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

State Rep. Terri Hodge, a fixture in HD100 since 1996, has drawn a challenger for next year. Dallas lawyer Eric Johnson announced [Friday] that he is running for the District 100 seat in the Texas House. That’s the seat currently … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Tweet it! The cops!

Posted on April 26, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

New frontiers in social networking and law enforcement. Milwaukee’s department is one of a growing number of police and fire agencies turning to social networking Web sites such as Twitter, which lets users send text-message “tweets” to a mass audience … Continue reading →

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