Baltimore human resources giant Administaff named in religious discrimination suit

BALTIMORE (AP) The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed a religious discrimination lawsuit against human resources giant Administaff Inc. and a small cable television service company in Maryland.
The lawsuit claims that two employees of the cable company were harassed physically and verbally because they are Jewish.
The plaintiffs, brothers Scott and Joey Jacobson, say they were called “dirty Jew” and “dumb Jew.” Scott Jacobson says a swastika was painted on his vehicle and that he was forced into a trash bin for the amusement of managers.
Texas-based Administaff has severed its relationship with the cable company, Conn-X LLC. An Administaff spokesman says the company has a strict anti-harassment lawsuit and will defend itself against the allegations.

 

Twitter co-founder Biz Stone expected to visit Israel

Twitter co-founder Biz Stone expected to visit Israel

Biz Stone, the co-founder and creative officer of the popular micro-blogging Web site Twitter, is due in Israel later this month.

Stone will be a guest of The College of Management’s alumni conference that is scheduled to take place on November 24 in Tel Aviv. He will discuss the utilization of social networking sites to derive personal benefit.

The Twitter co-founder will spend just one day in the country. In addition to his participation in the alumni conference, he is also scheduled to take part in the christening of a new executives club for graduates of the College of Management’s Academic Studies program.

The christening will be limited to just 12 corporate executives who completed their studies with COMAS.

Stone is also expected to appear at a social networking conference in Tel Aviv Port. The event, which is being held under the banner of “NETWORKING 2009″, focuses on current trends in social networking and how they impact the business world.

Stone established the site along with software engineer Evan Williams and internet entrepreneur Jack Dorsey. Last month, Twitter is estimated to have attracted some 58.4 million visitors, a 6.7 percent increase compared to August.

http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1125345.html

Marc Dreier Co-Conspirator Kosta Kovachev Pleads Guilty To Fraud Charges In Manhattan Federal Court

PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that KOSTA KOVACHEV, formerly a registered broker with the National Association of Securities Dealers, pleaded guilty this morning to one count of conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud and one count of wire fraud stemming from his participation with MARC DREIER in the sale of over $100 million dollars in fictitious promissory notes to various hedge funds, as part of a larger fraud perpetrated by DREIER.

MARC DREIER CO-CONSPIRATOR KOSTA KOVACHEV PLEADS GUILTY

TO FRAUD CHARGES IN MANHATTAN FEDERAL COURT

PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the

Southern District of New York, announced that KOSTA KOVACHEV,

formerly a registered broker with the National Association of

Securities Dealers, pleaded guilty this morning to one count of

conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud and one count of

wire fraud stemming from his participation with MARC DREIER in

the sale of over $100 million dollars in fictitious promissory

notes to various hedge funds, as part of a larger fraud

perpetrated by DREIER. The plea was entered in Manhattan federal

court before United States District Judge NAOMI REICE BUCHWALD.

According to the criminal Information previously filed

against KOVACHEV, other documents filed in this case, and

statements made during KOVACHEV’s plea proceeding:

During 2006 and 2007, MARC DREIER, the founder and

managing partner of the law firm Dreier LLP, sold to a New York

City hedge fund various promissory notes with a face value of

approximately $115 million. The notes were purportedly issued by

a New York City real estate development company (the

“Developer”). In September 2008, after the notes were not repaid

on time, an employee of the hedge fund asked to meet with

representatives of the Developer at the Developer’s offices.

DREIER agreed, and on October 15, 2008, when employees of the

hedge fund went to the Developer’s offices, DREIER brought them

into a conference room and introduced KOVACHEV, who pretended

that he worked in the finance department of the Developer and

falsely answered questions about the Developer’s finances.

That same month, KOVACHEV directly contacted the

founder of another hedge fund to tell him about notes that DREIER

had for sale. KOVACHEV thereafter introduced DREIER to employees

of that hedge fund, which ultimately purchased for $13.5 million

fictitious promissory notes purportedly issued by the Developer.

Also in October 2008, DREIER informed a third hedge

fund that it could buy the Developer’s notes at a discount. When

employees of the fund asked to speak with someone at the

Developer about financial statements DREIER had supplied, DREIER

arranged a conference call among himself, the hedge fund

employees, and KOVACHEV, who falsely pretended to be the

Developer’s CEO. During the call, KOVACHEV discussed the

financial statements, which were fictitious, and falsely answered

questions about the Developer’s finances. That third hedge fund

subsequently bought fictitious notes from DREIER for

approximately $100 million.

During October and November 2008, DREIER paid KOVACHEV

a total of approximately $215,000 for engaging in the

impersonations and assisting in the sale of fictitious promissory

notes.

KOVACHEV pleaded guilty today to Count One of the

Information, which charged him with conspiracy to commit

securities fraud and wire fraud, and to Count Three of the

Information, which charged him with wire fraud. He is scheduled

to be sentenced by Judge BUCHWALD on March 5, 2010, at 2:30 p.m.

Following a guilty plea, DREIER was sentenced in July

to 20 years in prison by Judge JED S. RAKOFF, and ordered to pay

$387,675,303.32 in restitution and to forfeit $746,460,000 in

proceeds of his offenses.

KOVACHEV, 58, faces a maximum sentence of 5 years in

prison on the conspiracy charge and a maximum sentence of 20

years in prison on the wire fraud charge. Each of those charges

also carries a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain

or loss from the offense. KOVACHEV agreed as part of his plea to

forfeit the funds he received from DREIER as payment for his

fraudulent activities.

United States Attorney BHARARA stated: “Kosta Kovachev

flagrantly disregarded the law when he impersonated others to

induce purchases of fictitious notes. Unfortunately, Kovachev’s

play-acting caused millions of dollars of real losses to real

victims.”

Mr. BHARARA praised the work of the Criminal

Investigators of the United States Attorney’s Office and thanked

the United States Securities and Exchange Commission for its

assistance in the case.

Assistant United States Attorneys JONATHAN R. STREETER

and ANNA ARREOLA are in charge of the prosecution.

09-355

###

2 arrested, Torah still missing in Sherman, TX synagogue burglary

SHERMAN, TX — Two men are in jail accused of stealing a sacred document worth thousands of dollars. Sherman Police are closer to finding a local synagogue’s Torah that was stolen last week. Maddie Garrett reports live from the Temple Beth Emeth with an update on the recent arrests.

It was a week ago Friday that the temple on Rusk Street was reported burglarized and vandalized. Now two Sherman men believed to have stolen their most sacred possession–their Torah–have been arrested.

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Derrick Randall Nelms, 19 (pictured, left, above), and James William Wilsford, 23 (pictured, right, above), were arrested Thursday night. They are now in the Grayson County Jail. Both Nelms and Wilsford live at 628 South Ricketts Street in Sherman. Sherman Police obtained enough evidence in their investigation to obtain a search warrant at that residence.

But police say the Torah is still missing. Their search recovered no property at this time, and police say they are actively working on locating the stolen scrolls. The Temple Beth Emeth was also vandalized last Friday. The only item stolen was the Torah, which is valued at $40,000.

Police do not believe this was a hate crime, but rather a random or isolated incident, and believe the evidence against Nelms and Wilsford is very strong.

“Our investigation produced very detailed and accurate information which led to the identification of two suspects believed to be responsible for these crimes,” Detective Rob Ballew of the Sherman Police Department said.

While the Torah is still missing, police are doing everything in their power to recover the stolen book

Video Here

http://www.kxii.com/home/headlines/67782147.html

Council Candidate Issues Fake Parking Tickets in Borough Park, Irks Voters

If you awoke this morning with a parking ticket on your windshield, look closely, because the reviled orange and white leaflet might actually be a piece of last-minute campaign literature. In what he calls “guerilla campaigning,” Republican City Council candidate Joe Nardiello has been placing fake parking tickets that double as campaign literature on cars in Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Park Slope, Kensington, Windsor Terrace and Borough Park.

For the past five nights from midnight to 7 am, Nardiello has walked the streets and distributed the ads  which from a distance closely resemble real parking tickets to voice his opposition to residential permit parking. “Want to pay $200 annually for just parking on this street?” the front of the flyer reads. “Politicians think this has been ‘free’ for too long. But, you can stop this. Vote on Nov. 3 to stop ‘parking permits.’” Unsurprisingly, the promotional tactic struck some residents of the district which is currently represented by Councilman and soon-to-be Public Advocate Bill de Blasio as both infuriating and underhanded. “Thank you for giving me a very clear favorite in this election – your opponent,” a tipster from the South Slope wrote to Gothamist. “I’ll make sure to spread the word.”

For his part, Nardiello told Gothamist that the faux parking tickets were inspired by a similar stunt attempted by failed Comptroller candidate Councilman David Yassky whose car-window campaigning became a gaffe when it rained and his literature got stuck to voters’ windshields. Nardiello said he learned from Yassky’s mistake by checking weather reports before placing the flyers on car windows. “When you have a chance to shake people up and get them to go to the polls to effect change, you have to do it and you have to do it in a way that is going to rattle their cages,” said Nardiello, who in tomorrow’s election will face Democratic frontrunner Brad Lander and Green Party candidate David Pechefsky. “There is nothing that effects people more to anger and movement than when they see a parking ticket.”

That said, Nardiello acknowledged that the flyers might have irked some residents of the district. In fact, a lengthy answering machine recording on his campaign’s phone number alludes to angry messages he has received, stating: “There is a promotion that people are reacting to, I don’t want your anger… don’t displace your anger to me please, because this is what made me run in the first place.” But Nardiello maintains that his strategy won’t backfire on the eve of the election. “Anger towards me could be assuaged by the fact that I am the only one who is fighting against this,” he said. “I could be the person to defend them from against absurd ideas that take money from their pocketbooks, like residential parking permits.”

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Jewish News via SMS
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Europe’s leading low-fares airline easyJet launches London-Tel Aviv route

easyJet launches London-Tel Aviv route

Today Europe’s leading low-fares airline launches new London Tel Aviv route.

easyJet, Europe’s leading low-fares airline, celebrates today the launch of the London Luton – Tel Aviv route in the Ben Gurion Airport with the British Ambassador to Israel Tom Phillips, the company’s top officials and the first 171 passengers arriving on the first flight from London to Tel Aviv.  

With 100,000 passengers expected for the first year, easyJet is operating a brand new Airbus A320 and will be flying 6 days a week (excluding Friday’s). Paul Simmons, UK Regional General Manager said: “As the only low fares airline for the London – Tel Aviv route, easyJet offers great opportunities to both British and Israeli travellers. With expected 100,000 passengers a year easyJet will provide a significant contribution to the Israeli tourism industry”.

Sophie Dekkers, UK Commercial Manager said: “With such competitive fares easyJet’s entry to the Israeli market will open a window for many Israelis to discover London and make London more accessible to both business and leisure travellers.”

British Ambassador Tom Phillips said: “I am delighted to be at Ben Gurion Airport today to welcome easyJet’s inaugural flight to Tel Aviv. easyJet’s entry into the exciting Israeli market is one that will benefit both our economies and is a further welcome example of the many and varied people and business links between our two nations.”

In addition to the London Tel Aviv route, easyJet introduced 25 new routes across its network over the coming winter. 

Burglars are going holiday shopping early, Williamsburg and Bushwick burglaries up 22 percent this year

Criminals are going holiday shopping

Burglars are going holiday shopping early this year in Williamsburg and Bushwick, with burglaries up 22 percent this year — and 36 percent over the last two years — in the neighborhoods’ 90th Precinct

Cops say that the crooks are jacking small, mobile, and expensive items that are easy to carry so that the thieves avoid looking conspicuous. The booty stolen over the last year has been mostly jewelry, laptops, iPods, and cameras.

So far this year, there have been 384 reported burglaries, up from 315 through the same date last year.

Overall, major crime is down 9.6 percent throughout the precinct, including a 25-percent drop in robbery.

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The cause for the boost in breakins is partly the recession, but mostly tenants’ laziness, said Thomas Brown, the precinct’s crime prevention officer.

“We’re seeing unlocked doors, windows, and air conditioners being removed to gain access to a person’s home,” said Brown. “No matter how long you’ll be gone, lock your doors and windows.”

Tenants maybe “lazy,” but crooks can be creative. Last week, one thief used a hot dog cart to boost him through a window.

Many others have used the fire escape.

“You need to be detailed oriented,” Brown said. “If you see a Dumpster under your fire escape, move it. You need to protect your house yourself.”

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/criminals_are_going_holiday_shopping_POORlOBgKeTT7lIcsjtpIO

Former KGB agent, Israeli businessman reportedly shot in Moscow while sitting in his Mercedes

Ex-spy Kalmanovich murdered in Moscow

Former KGB agent, Israeli businessman reportedly shot while sitting in his Mercedes

 

Businessman and former spy Shabtai Kalmanovich was murdered by an assassin in Moscow, Russian news agency Interfax reported Monday.

 

According to the report, Kalmanovich was shot near his home in Russia’s capital while sitting in his Mercedes. Shots rang out from a passing vehicle, seriously wounding the ex-spy’s driver as well.

 

Kalmanovich was born in Lithuania in 1947 and moved to Israel with his Zionist family in 1971. According to foreign reports, Kalmanovich agreed to join the KGB as a sleeper agent in exchange for an immigration permit.

The former spy was active within the Labor party’s ranks and worked in the Government’s Press Office. He later secured a position as a parliamentary aide in the Knesset. Kalmanovich was also known for his ties with numerous politicians, including late Prime Minister Golda Meir.

 

According to the indictment against him, Kalmanovich was handing over information to the Russian intelligence service for 17 years. He spent five years in an Israeli prison before his release, due to medical problems. In recent years he sponsored an Israeli female basketball team and also returned to Russia to promote his business career.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3799226,00.html

Cage containing 60 Cockatiels Seized in Handbag at Ben Gurion Airport

(IsraelNN.com) A traveller from Holland who aroused the suspicion of authorities at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv was detained for a drug test. During a search of the traveller’s handbag, the authorities found a cage containing 60 cockatiels, valued at an estimated thousands of shekels on the local market.

In addition to customs charges, the birds are liable to bring pests and sickness into the country and were quarantined. The traveller was investigated by drug officials of the customs department as well as veterinary officials.

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Monroe Man enters State Police Monroe Station while in possession of Marijuana

Monroe Man enters SP Monroe Station while in possession of Marijuana

 

On Sunday November 1, 2009 at approximately 3:30 PM, Robert A Perez JR, 21 years old, from Monroe, NY walks into the SP Monroe station to make a complaint.

 

While speaking to the State Police regarding his complaint, the Trooper’s detected an odor of marijuana emanating from Perez.  The Trooper’s then observed a clear plastic baggy containing marijuana, hanging out of Perez’s sweatshirt pocket.

 

Perez was placed under arrest for Unlawful Possession of Marijuana, and issued an Appearance Ticket returnable to the Town of Monroe Court.