Dr. Frank Kardasz: Misconduct, ethics violations and crimes by public officials often lead us to ask; What was he (or she) thinking?  If the violators had used some logical decision-making processes beforehand, perhaps the ethics violations would not have occurred.  Here is a link to a handy list of decision making process: http://www.kardasz.org/Decision_Making_Tools.html

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Boston - MA - Crooked cop gets 18-year sentence

By Laurel J. Sweet, March 11, 2008. The Boston Herald

Nelson Carrasquillo stood behind his Boston police badge for 10 years, but for his failing grade on a test of loyalty, integrity and smarts, he’ll be staring at prison bars for nearly double that time.

The upbeat expression on a bulked-up Carrasquillo’s face soured rapidly yesterday when U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young sentenced to 18 years the defendant prosecutors dubbed the “middle man” of a trio of corrupt cops. That’s five years longer than the 13 years that fellow former officer Carlos Pizarro was slapped with by Young.

When Roberto “Kiko” Pulido, the ex-motorcycle cop who roped Carrasquillo and Pizarro into side jobs as hired muscle for drug dealers, stands before Young in May, assistant U.S. District Attorney John T. McNeil said yesterday he will recommend a sentence exceeding 20 years for the top-tier traitor.

“Any police officer who steps over the line from protecting people from criminals to being a criminal,” must face “very serious consequences,” McNeil said.

A courtroom packed with family and friends behind him, Carrasquillo apologized to the state “for my lack of judgment.”

Though he believes cops gone bad like Carrasquillo are “rare,” Young nevertheless told the disgraced lawman “the greatest danger” he posed to the public was “that they will come to think - because of what you did for greed and your own personal gratification - that somehow, that reflects on police officers everywhere.”

Carrasquillo pleaded guilty last year to federal indictments charging him with cocaine and heroin possession with intent to distribute. For one Sunday morning’s work keeping a vigil on a drug shipment in April 2006, McNeil said Carrasquillo was paid $10,000 and blew it on clothes, booze and entertainment.

Rather than at least put it toward his mortgage, McNeil said, Carrasquillo was spending his ill-gotten gains “to support his own celebratory habits.”

Retrieved March 11, 2008 from http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/general/view.bg?articleid=1079400

Posted by Dr. Kardasz at 07:41 PM | Permalink

Today a parent asked me, "What is a good tool for preventing unlawful Internet images?"  My tongue-in-cheek answer was, "A black felt-tipped marker pen to blot out the camera lens on your childs cell phone."
 
Many teens are using cell phones equipped with cameras to create and share images and videos of nudism and sexual exploitation.  Sadly, the images created are sometimes felonies.  Young people do not realize that once a digital image is created it can become  difficult to obliterate.  If the image is sent across the Internet it is possible that it will duplicated, sent to others and become impossible to eradicate.

Many parents notify law enforcement agencies after finding unlawful images on their childs' cell phone.  Investigators often learn that the images have been traded back and forth between teen friends.

While parents should monitor cell phone use, obliterating the cell phone camera lens with black felt-tipped marker will truly prevent the creation of unlawful images.  Although the idea may sound like blasphemy to cell phone manufacturers and to cell phone owners, parents should ask themselves; "Does my teen really need a camera-equipped cell phone?"

Posted by Dr. Kardasz at 12:36 AM | Permalink

Dr. Kardasz:
The social networking opportunities provided by the Internet have become part of the fabric of life for many young people. As parents we may underestimate the seductive power of computers and their importance to some children and teens. The following story describes a tragedy involving a depressed 15 year old who shot his father after the youths' Internet privileges were revoked.

Teen who killed dad angry he couldn't use Internet

Jim Walsh, The Arizona Republic, 03/05/08

A 15-year-old boy told Mesa police he shot his father in the back of the head last month because he wouldn't let the teenager use the Internet, saying My Space was his outlet. When Hughstan Schlicker heard officers talking about the investigation, he responded, "Dad came home, I shot him in the head, what investigation?" according to a Mesa police report.

Almost laughing, the teen told police, "along with murder, can you put me down for truancy, I ditched today," the report said. "Can we clean up this before my mom gets home, I don't want her to come home and see my dad dead." Later, he told detectives he was angry with his father but couldn't remember the reason. "But I was mad at him very much and I wish I could take everything back; I wish this was a bad dream but it's not."

Hughstan said during an interview with a homicide detective that he considered committing suicide in front of his father after finding a shotgun and ammunition in the garage of their home, but decided to murder his father instead and then commit suicide. Hughstan apparently surprised his father, Ted Schlicker, who was standing in the kitchen when the boy approached him from behind, aimed the gun and pulled the trigger as the family dog brushed against the teen's leg, the report said.

Police arrested Hughstan after the slaying in the 100 block of South 56th St., Mesa, and accused him of first-degree murder. Ted Schlicker, 49, was found on the floor with his pistol still holstered on his hip.

An officer guarding the homicide scene was approached later that afternoon by Treva and Clayton Crull, who told him that their son was Hughstan's best friend. They told the officer that when they came home from work, they discovered a message on their answering machine from Hughstan saying "he would not see them for a long time because he just killed his father. They said at first they thought it was a joke, but they tried to call Hughstan back several times, but they got no answer," the report said. In a subsequent interview with detectives, Treva Crull said she "thought very highly of Hughstan and said he was a polite boy." She said her son and Hughstan often spent the night at each other's house. The boys met when they were in third grade. Treva Crull said her son told her that Hughstan wasn't at Brimhall Junior High School that day, where they went to school together, but that Hughstan had missed class before and it wasn't unusual.

Hughstan told police that he called in sick to school that day, faking his father's voice, and spent the day lounging around the house.
The Crull's son also told police that Ted Schlicker always carried a handgun, but she never saw him take it out of the holster. The boy also said he never saw Hughstan handle a gun and never "expressed any curiosity with the many guns in the home," the report said.
Police seized numerous guns from the home during the investigation, according to the report.

Hughstan told detectives that he used the Internet to communicate with his friends, and that two of his friends helped him when he tried to commit suicide a couple of weeks earlier. The report had no details. Since his father took the Internet away, Hughstan said he was "just so depressed all the time," the report said. When his father came home, Hughstan said he pointed the 12-gauge shotgun at his father "and I was getting ready to pull the trigger" when his dog walked by and brushed his leg. He said he glanced down at the dog and squeezed the trigger, the report said. "I know it's not an accident I did intentionally kill," he told police. The transcribed tape Hughston's interview with detectives shows his mother entered the room at some point and began participating. "I know, I know it happened, we have to get passed this, it's not going to change anything between you and me," Judy Schlicker said. "You're still my son and I love you no matter what OK? I'll be there whenever you need me." Judy Schlicker then started crying. When she asked Hughstan why he shot his father, he said, "I didn't really mean to. I was just planning to scare him." Hughstan then contradicted what he had told detectives earlier, telling his mother that he accidentally squeezed the trigger and shot his father.

Retrieved March 2, 2008 from http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0305dadmurder0306-on.html

Posted by Dr. Kardasz at 02:24 AM | Permalink

Posted by Dr. Kardasz at 08:52 PM | Permalink