by Diane Dimond on February 6, 2012
NFL Commish Goddell
I wonder if the National Football Commissioner Roger Goodell knows the information I’m about to tell you? If not, may I be the one to clue him in to the shocking criminal background of a guy named Gary who is prominently featured at NFL games … including this year’s Super Bowl?
Around 1980, when Gary was in his mid-30’s he was charged with having sex with an underage 14 year old girl named Allison. He was acquitted.
For the entire decade of the 80’s Gary was considered to be such a dangerous and chronic drunk driver that authorities banned him from getting behind the wheel for ten years. [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…]
by Diane Dimond on January 16, 2012
How Many Are There in America?
It was a small but horrifying item in the Los Angeles Times. “Police are asking for the public’s help in identifying what they call a ‘serious, dangerous serial killer operating in Orange County. Police believe one person is responsible for stabbing three middle-aged homeless men. He is (considered) extremely dangerous to the public.”
Another serial killer, I thought. And then the question: How many serial killers are out there in America?
John Douglas, a former Chief of the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit and author of [click to continue…]
by Diane Dimond on January 9, 2012
Some Schoolyard Bullies Never Change
Nobody likes a bully – especially me. But what if it is the United States Government that is the bully? What if certain people in Washington decide to target a citizen and then use all the resources available to them to crush that person? I must tell you about a story I researched recently because millions of your tax dollars were used to wage an eight year war against Robert Lorsch a successful California businessman and philanthropist who loves animals. I mean, this guy gets all weepy when he talks about helping animals and he and his wife, Kira, have donated astounding amounts of money to animal causes – like the 36 acre Wildlife WayStation refuge in Topanga Canyon, California. [click to continue…]
by Diane Dimond on January 3, 2012
What Road Will The New Year Take?
Time for New Year resolutions. Mine take the form of wishes and hopes focused on how to make our crime and justice system safer, saner and more evenhanded for all.
I know some of my wishes are unlikely to come true. But I also know many of them could if we were all determined to make society work better.
I hope that the coach Jerry Sandusky scandal at Penn State University gives strength and solace to the millions of victims of child sexual abuse everywhere, no matter how old they are now. May each of them understand that society condemns every person who preys on children and that the shame isn’t theirs, it rests solely on the molester. [click to continue…]
by Diane Dimond on December 26, 2011
A Christmas Trend
It’s been a chore trying to figure out an uplifting topic for this Christmas-time column. In a space usually dedicated to the negative aspects of human nature I can think of no better time to highlight the positive.
I’m always on the lookout for trends in crime – troubled veterans returning home and becoming entangled in the justice system, questionable prisoner releases from overcrowded institutions and the recent reported decline in state’s use of the death penalty to name just a few.
But the latest trend I spotted is as far away from crime as I can imagine – and since it is so positively pervasively Christmas-y in its effect – I think it earns a mention. [click to continue…]
by Diane Dimond on December 12, 2011
Shop On Line? Beware of Scams!
Okay, so the shopping days left until Christmas and Hanukkah are dwindling. You haven’t gotten half of what you need to get done finished yet! The malls are crammed, the weather turns lousy just at the time you want to go shopping and between the cost of gasoline and parking … well, it just seems easier to stay inside and hit the computer for some get-‘er-done time on the internet.
If you decide to do your holiday shopping on-line instead of standing in line at your local department store beware of the criminal element you might encounter.
Those designer sunglasses for 60% off? The NBA jerseys or golf equipment for half price? Popular Ugg brand boots, Louis Vuitton handbags or Hollywood movie box sets at deep discounts? Realize that they could very well be counterfeit or pirated products.
Besides your chance of getting a second-rate product, you might also plunk down your credit card and be charged for items you never receive. [click to continue…]
by Diane Dimond on December 5, 2011
A Jury Says He Killed Michael Jackson
You may not have been the least bit interested in the recent trial of Dr. Conrad Murray who was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of entertainer Michael Jackson. He has now been sentenced to the maximum – four years behind bars for giving Jackson the hospital-only anesthesia Propofol in his home every night for at least two months.
Here’s why the case is important.
The case riveted doctors across the nation. Especially doctors in celebrity studded areas of the country like Los Angeles and New York, Aspen and Nashville, Atlanta and New Mexico where concerts and movie shoots attract some of the biggest divas in the entertainment business.
As the old Hollywood saying goes, “Where there’s a star there are drugs.” [click to continue…]
by Diane Dimond on November 28, 2011
Occupiers Accomplished Nothing
Somebody has to say it so I will.
Dear Occupiers,
Grow up, will ya’?
In case you haven’t noticed times are tough. And it’s not just here in America. All over the world economies are circling the drain. Whole countries are teetering on the brink of total financial collapse, the gap between the haves and the have-nots continues to widen. Unemployment is rampant almost everywhere and every preconception you’ve had about what this country owes you is hereby cancelled. [click to continue…]
by Diane Dimond on November 21, 2011
The Fight Against Child Abuse Needs A Plan
Those who fight to stop child abuse need to get some pizzazz in their campaign. They need a marketing strategy. They’ve got no slogan or badge or colored ribbon for supporters to display to acknowledge their solidarity in trying to wipe out this criminal scourge.
As everyone knows the crippling psychological effects of childhood abuse and neglect often lasts a lifetime. And if the abuse is of a sexual nature a victim can grow up to victimize others in a similar fashion. It’s an awful cycle.
Those on the front line of this fight – abuse survivors, law enforcement’s first responders, social workers, prosecutors and medical experts need an enthusiastic movement like the one launched by the family of the late Susan G. Komen who died of breast cancer in 1980. [click to continue…]
