by Diane Dimond on April 23, 2012
Fast Growing Crime Scene - Pharmacies
They used to be the friendly neighborhood place where you went to get razor blades or Band-Aids, toiletries or the occasional prescription the doctor gave you. Today, as America’s population uses more prescription medications than at any other time in history, the face of America’s pharmacies is changing. And, in some sinister cases the activity taking place inside these stores is far from legitimate.
You’ve probably noticed that your pharmacy now has a video surveillance system, maybe a uniformed guard and the pharmacist may have to retrieve your order from a locked safe. At closing time they might roll down a metal cage to cover the counter or let loose guard dogs to patrol inside the store. This isn’t your father’s pharmacy anymore and the reason is a shame: Prescription drug abuse has now become an epidemic in America. It’s become a much bigger problem than street sales of drugs like heroin, marijuana and cocaine. [click to continue…]
by Diane Dimond on April 16, 2012
Annie McCann Was Just 16
How did 16 year old honor roll student Annie McCann die? Her parents have been agonizing over that heart wrenching question for too long. Definitive answers have been few but these determined parents refuse to give up asking.
On October 31, 2008 Annie left a note in her bedroom which mentioned suicide but she had also added the hope-filled line, “But I realized I can start over instead. . . . If you really love me, you’ll let me go.” Then, she inexplicably ran away, taking $1,000 in cash, jewelry and the family Volvo. It was a shock to Dan and Mary Jane McCann whose daughter was a devout Catholic, quiet and studious – a child who had never given them any trouble.
Two excruciating days later the McCann’s got a phone call informing them Annie’s body had been found at a housing project in Baltimore, Maryland about seventy miles from their home. They were dumbfounded. [click to continue…]
by Diane Dimond on March 19, 2012
Proving Who You Are to Get What You Want
Welcome to the 21st Century. In this day and age you can’t write a check, use a credit card, set up a bank account, get on an airplane, rent a hotel room or a car or even get a library card without first showing your photo identification – usually a driver’s license.
It is a pain, but we dig into our wallets and pull out the old ID card (with the photo we wish we could change) because, well… because that’s the way it is. Today, we have to prove who we are to get what we want.
So, why are some people so aghast at the idea that when we vote we should have to show a photo ID? [click to continue…]
by Diane Dimond on March 12, 2012
Original 10 Most Wanted Captivated Me
In the unlikely event they make a movie of my life story a good place for the opening scene would be the post office in Albuquerque where my Mother used to take me as a child.
Scene one, act one, would be me making a bee-line to the bulletin board displaying the FBI’s 10 most wanted list. The future crime writer transfixed.
“So that’s what a murderer looks like,” I always thought to myself, leaning in to the grainy black and white photos. I would peer deep into the eyes of the fugitive bank robber or kidnapper to try to find a clue as to what made these men turn so bad. (Back then, the list was all men) I admit it – I was a strange child.
[click to continue…]
by Diane Dimond on March 5, 2012
Equality For All People, Right?
I have never written a column about the state of North Dakota, a state from which my parents hailed and where I still have close relatives. The state’s motto is, “Liberty and Union Now and Forever, One and Inseparable.”
But that’s not necessarily so if you are a Black American.
North Dakota has no anti-bias or hate crimes on the books, no independent Human Rights Commission** (as most states do) and no easy, reliable system for those who feel they have been wronged to seek relief. The issue is important because minorities are pouring in to the state to work in the newly lucrative oil fields. The industry’s six-figure salaries have trickled down to create many more jobs in the housing, restaurant, hotel and home furnishings sectors and people of color are responding in droves. [click to continue…]
by Diane Dimond on February 27, 2012
Prolonged Isolation Destroys the Mind
Americans were once riveted by the horrific news of U.S. soldiers and military contractor’s treatment of enemy combatants at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad. Media reports beginning in 2004 made us cringe with shame when we realized Americans had humiliated, raped and even killed prisoners of war – and casually taken snapshots of their own crimes.
Today, I believe there is another atrocity taking place inside our own American prison system. Oh, it doesn’t involve naked inmates being paraded around on a dog collar as happened in Baghdad but the end result is just as appalling – if not more so. [click to continue…]
by Diane Dimond on February 20, 2012
Teachers Can Be Sexual Predators Too
This is not a column you want your children to read unless you are prepared to have a very important and personal discussion. Then again, maybe that’s why I think it’s important to write this column.
Recent events underscore the need to talk to our kids (again) about the sanctity of their own bodies.
In Los Angeles County, California an elementary school teacher named Mark Berndt was arrested after a clerk reported developing disturbing photographs for the 61 year old man. The clerk showed police photos of blindfolded young school children with their mouths covered with tape and some of the children had “large, live Madagascar-type cockroaches on their faces and mouths,” according to the Sheriff’s Department. Other pictures showed [click to continue…]
by Diane Dimond on February 13, 2012
Fr. James Manship, courtesy New Haven Independent
In a day when the words “Catholic” and “priest” often conjure up negative thoughts I want to tell you a story about a man who saw injustice and took on an entire police department to try to set things right. He would be the first to tell you he didn’t do it alone.
Father James Manship leads the flock at the New Haven, Connecticut St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church. He had been ministering to this mostly Latino congregation for a short time when, in the summer of 2008, his congregants began telling him stories about rogue police officers who made their lives miserable.
Their tales of harassment, unwarranted traffic stops, needless arrests and beatings while in custody were mind boggling to this young priest, the nephew of a veteran State Police trooper. [click to continue…]
by Diane Dimond on January 30, 2012
In Olden Times This Caught Criminals
Back in the Wild West days law enforcement officers like Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson had few tools to keep the peace. Guile and a gun on their hip were about all they possessed in the face of trouble.
Today’s officers have many more ways of tracking down and capturing the bad guys. That makes their job much easier than in days of old but also more complicated. A recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court may have just made modern day law enforcement more complex.
Bear with me a moment here and I’ll explain why.
First, you should know that the Supreme Court decision I speak of stems from the case of Antoine Jones, a nightclub owner in Washington, D.C. who was suspected of being a part of a massive cocaine selling ring. [click to continue…]
by Diane Dimond on January 23, 2012
Police Stops Net Stolen Goods Galore
The scene: Flashing police lights and officers pull over a suspect van. Two thieves are found inside along with cartons of stolen electronics and computers.
The scene: A bare-bones apartment where police respond to a domestic dispute. After calming the situation they discover a horde of stolen jewelry and expensive Rolex watches.
The scene: Officers respond to a 9-11 home invasion call and are lucky enough to catch the perp red-handed. A subsequent search of his storage locker reveals reams of stolen goods, including fur coats, coin collections and framed pieces of fine art. [click to continue…]
