Month: October 2018

2………..> Dog Fighting Ring: Crushed By The FBI

A federal jury in Trenton, New Jersey convicted four defendants yesterday of violating the animal fighting prohibitions of the federal Animal Welfare Act. The jury deliberated six hours following a nearly four-week-long trial before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan. The four defendants convicted yesterday are the last to be decided in this case, which is part of Operation Grand Champion, an ongoing multi-state dog fighting investigation. The defendants are Justin Love of Sewell, New Jersey; Robert A. Elliott, Sr. of Millville, New Jersey; Dajwan Ware of Fort Wayne, Indiana; and Robert Arellano of Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Each count of conviction carries a maximum of five years in prison and a criminal fine of up to $250,000. The defendants will be sentenced on Feb. 20, 2019. Five other defendants in the case previously pleaded guilty to dogfighting and firearms charges and were sentenced to a total of 153 months in prison.

The jury convicted four defendants of engaging in a conspiracy to sponsor and exhibit dogs in animal fighting ventures and to buy, sell, possess, train, transport, deliver and receive dogs for purposes of having the dogs participate in animal fighting ventures. They also found defendants Love and Arellano guilty of unlawfully trafficking in fighting dogs and defendants Love and Elliott of illegally possessing fighting dogs.

“Under the leadership of Attorney General Sessions, our Division is aggressively pursuing those who engage in the cruel and brutal practice of dog fighting, which is often linked with many forms of violent and organized criminal activity,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.

“Yesterday’s four convictions demonstrate our firm commitment to fight back against those who would abuse these animals, in clear violation of federal law, to satiate bloodthirsty spectators and gamblers. I applaud the law enforcement officers and prosecutors who worked tirelessly to deliver justice in these cases.”

3…………> Chinese Spying: Under Microscope

US Government said on Wednesday it had arrested and indicted a spy for China’s Ministry of State Security on charges of economic espionage and attempting to steal trade secrets from several U.S. aviation and aerospace companies.

Chinese operative Yanjun Xu was detained in Belgium in April after a Federal Bureau of Investigation probe and extradited to the United States on Tuesday.

The Washington Post reported he was lured to Belgium by U.S. agents.

The FBI called it an unprecedented extradition and said the indictment showed the direct oversight of China’s government in economic espionage against the United States.

The charges come as Washington increases pressure on Beijing over its trade policies and alleged theft of U.S. intellectual property.

Cybersecurity experts said the arrest was another sign of the escalating trade tensions between the two countries, adding they had seen increasing espionage by Beijing for business advantage.

https://www.france24.com/en/20181011-usa-arrests-alleged-china-spy-over-theft-aviation-secrets-economic-espionage

4…………> The Bountiful Harvest: China

Farmers reap rice in a rice paddy in Huanghuatang Town of Xuyi County in Huai’an, east China’s Jiangsu Province, Oct. 18, 2018. The rice paddies here feature the combined nurturing of crayfishes with the planting of rice. (Xinhua/Zhou Haijun)

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-10/18/c_137542231.htm