23 posts tagged “tennessee”

Incident Appears to be Murder-Suicide

Updated: Monday, 03 Aug 2009, 10:18 AM CDT
Published : Sunday, 02 Aug 2009, 10:09 PM CDT

• FOX13 Memphis

UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR AND TENNESSEE COMPANY INDICTED FOR ARMS EXPORT CONTROL ACT VIOLATIONS

KNOXVILLE, TN — A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Tennessee returned an 18-count indictment today charging J. Reece Roth, a Professor Emeritus at The University of Tennessee, and Atmospheric Glow Technologies Inc. (AGT), a Knoxville-based technology company, with conspiring to defraud the U.S. Air Force and disclose restricted U.S. military data about Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), or “drones,” to foreign nationals without first obtaining the required U.S. government license or approval.
The indictment was announced today by James R. Dedrick, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee, and Patrick Rowan, Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security. Roth, age 70, currently resides in Knoxville, Tennessee. He is anticipated to make his initial court appearance next week before a U.S. Magistrate Judge.
        Roth is charged in the indictment with one count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Air Force and violate the Arms Export Control Act; 15 counts of violating the Arms Export Control Act, and one count of wire fraud for defrauding the University of Tennessee. AGT is charged in the indictment with one count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Air Force and violate the Arms Export Control Act and 10 counts of violating the Arms Export Control Act.
        According to the indictment, between January 2004 and May 2006, Roth and AGT engaged in a conspiracy to transmit export-controlled technical data related to a restricted U.S. Air Force contract to develop plasma actuators for a munitions-type UAV, or “drone,” to one of more foreign nationals, including a citizen from the People’s Republic of China. The Chinese national was a graduate research assistant at the University of Tennessee.  The University of Tennessee was victimized by the conspirators and cooperated throughout with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) led federal investigation.
          Further, according to the indictment, Roth departed for the People’s Republic of China in May 2006 and carried multiple documents, which were subject to export controls, containing technical data controlled by the International Trafficking in Arms Regulations and related to the above U.S. Air Force contract. 
The indictment also alleges that, in May 2006, Roth directed the wire transmission to an individual in China of a document containing restricted technical data controlled by the International Trafficking in Arms Regulations and related to the above contract.    
Violations of the Arms Export Control Act carry a maximum possible penalty of ten years imprisonment and a $1,000,000 fine. Wire fraud carries a maximum possible penalty of 20 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine, while conspiracy carries a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment and a 250,000 fine.
        United States Attorney Russ Dedrick said, “The protection of United States technology is a continuing priority of the Department of Justice and this District.”
“Whenever restricted U.S. military data is illegally disclosed to foreign nationals, America’s security is put at risk. Today’s indictment demonstrates just how seriously we view such violations,” said Assistant Attorney General Rowan
These investigations were jointly conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations, and the Department of Commerce Office of Export Enforcement. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey Theodore and Will Mackie of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee.
        For additional information, please contact United States Attorney James R. Dedrick, 865-545-4167, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey E. Theodore, 865-545-4167, Assistant U.S. Attorney A. William Mackie, 865-545-4167, or Public Information Officer Sharry Dedman-Beard, 865-545-4167.

UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR AND TENNESSEE COMPANY INDICTED FOR ARMS EXPORT CONTROL ACT VIOLATIONS

KNOXVILLE, TN — A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Tennessee returned an 18-count indictment today charging J. Reece Roth, a Professor Emeritus at The University of Tennessee, and Atmospheric Glow Technologies Inc. (AGT), a Knoxville-based technology company, with conspiring to defraud the U.S. Air Force and disclose restricted U.S. military data about Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), or “drones,” to foreign nationals without first obtaining the required U.S. government license or approval.
The indictment was announced today by James R. Dedrick, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee, and Patrick Rowan, Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security. Roth, age 70, currently resides in Knoxville, Tennessee. He is anticipated to make his initial court appearance next week before a U.S. Magistrate Judge.
        Roth is charged in the indictment with one count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Air Force and violate the Arms Export Control Act; 15 counts of violating the Arms Export Control Act, and one count of wire fraud for defrauding the University of Tennessee. AGT is charged in the indictment with one count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Air Force and violate the Arms Export Control Act and 10 counts of violating the Arms Export Control Act.
        According to the indictment, between January 2004 and May 2006, Roth and AGT engaged in a conspiracy to transmit export-controlled technical data related to a restricted U.S. Air Force contract to develop plasma actuators for a munitions-type UAV, or “drone,” to one of more foreign nationals, including a citizen from the People’s Republic of China. The Chinese national was a graduate research assistant at the University of Tennessee.  The University of Tennessee was victimized by the conspirators and cooperated throughout with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) led federal investigation.
          Further, according to the indictment, Roth departed for the People’s Republic of China in May 2006 and carried multiple documents, which were subject to export controls, containing technical data controlled by the International Trafficking in Arms Regulations and related to the above U.S. Air Force contract. 
The indictment also alleges that, in May 2006, Roth directed the wire transmission to an individual in China of a document containing restricted technical data controlled by the International Trafficking in Arms Regulations and related to the above contract.    
Violations of the Arms Export Control Act carry a maximum possible penalty of ten years imprisonment and a $1,000,000 fine. Wire fraud carries a maximum possible penalty of 20 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine, while conspiracy carries a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment and a 250,000 fine.
        United States Attorney Russ Dedrick said, “The protection of United States technology is a continuing priority of the Department of Justice and this District.”
“Whenever restricted U.S. military data is illegally disclosed to foreign nationals, America’s security is put at risk. Today’s indictment demonstrates just how seriously we view such violations,” said Assistant Attorney General Rowan
These investigations were jointly conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations, and the Department of Commerce Office of Export Enforcement. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey Theodore and Will Mackie of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee.
        For additional information, please contact United States Attorney James R. Dedrick, 865-545-4167, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey E. Theodore, 865-545-4167, Assistant U.S. Attorney A. William Mackie, 865-545-4167, or Public Information Officer Sharry Dedman-Beard, 865-545-4167.

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                                    http://www.thepetitionsite.com/5/in-support-of-lisa-and-bella-smith-2

The Department of Human Services (DHS) is struggling to accurately and timely identify who is qualified to receive assistance, costing the state millions in misspent assistance dollars and millions more in potential federal sanctions and lost incentives, said a report from Auditor General (OAG) Thomas McTavish released on Friday.

DHS, which is responsible for determining eligibility for cash, food assistance, childcare and Medicaid cases, didn't effectively catch or fix errors in determination in the four years reviewed by the audit, from October 2002 through November 2006, the audit said.

Among the chief finds of auditors was that DHS mistakenly sent out payments in fiscal year 2006-06 in 7.5 percent of cases, which the report attributed to ever increasing caseloads from workers.

Although DHS has made strides in its system, the error rate in Michigan in 2005-06 was still 1.5 percent higher than the federal government tolerates, opening the state to economic sanctions much like the $89 million the federal government initiated for the fiscal years 1995-02.

Not only is Michigan inaccurate in its approvals but it's slow, too, the report said.

Michigan ranks 45th in its turnaround time with 81 percent of clients receiving approvals within the 30 days required by the federal government. That compares to Massachusetts , which ranked first and informs nearly 99 percent of its clients about their case status within a month.

In order to progress further, DHS said, it needs more "resources," because, although officials agreed with many of the audit's suggestions, they can't comply with them without more funds.

Among the fixes the department said it would initiate with more money is a study of how many workers it needs to handle caseloads and what tasks could be done by other staff members to increase worker availability for clients.

With more than 75 percent of workers and 87 percent of managers reporting that caseloads are too high, the study will likely find that more staff is needed, but the department said it can't hire more workers without additional funding.

As usual, the Department immediately cries "We need more money! We need more staff!" They told the OAG they would use additional dollars to "do a study". In fact, the OAG said that "DHS did not conduct a workload analysis to determine optimal caseworker staffing levels" and not only did they not do that last year, they hadn't done it in 2001-02 after being told they should by the Auditor General. So now they say they will if we give them more money?

You may read the audit for yourself. Here is the link: http://audgen.michigan.gov/comprpt/docs/r431028505.pdf

Does DHS need more staff? Do they have too many managers and not enough case workers? It is hard to get those answers; the Department is not forthcoming. The bottom line is the Department of Human Services has been woefully inefficient and inept for years and it continues to be in spite of repeated Audit Reports reporting the problem and even suggesting the solution. This is a problem that cannot be fixed by the OAG and it cannot be fixed by the Legislature. It must be addressed by the "Executive". That's right folks; I am talking about the governor and her department heads.

I hate to sound like a broken record, but my Transparency bill, which would expose the entire state budget, including that of the DHS, to the sunshine for everyone to see and closely examine, would go a long way toward resolving many of these issues.

On March 12, 2008, a joint committee of the Legislature met to ask for answers from the Department. What was their answer? We need more staff. We need more time. We are implementing a new program in the NEXT TWO YEARS. Once we have that in place, it will be better.

Here is hoping that Director Ismael Ahmed, the recently appointed Director of DHS can effectively address the issue.

What is Going on in the House?

To keep abreast of bills moving through the House of Representatives, check my blog. I will be posting when the House is in session at www.CorePrinciples.blogspot.com

We only have 175 signatures to go, thank you all so much. I was so surprised to see people from Australia, Germany, Portugal, and even Canada have taken a minute for this important cause, You guys are wonderful. What a great Valentines day gift it would be to have my baby returned.We don't have much time left, this petition will be submitted with court documents. These documents will be ready today or tomorrow, so please keep spreading the word.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/5/in-support-of-lisa-and-bella-smith-2#signatures

Thank You friends,
BellasMom06

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