Fidel Urbina, via FBI

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

The FBI and local police had been looking for Fidel Urbina since 1998, when he is accused of bludgeoning a 22-year-old woman while he was on bond on charges of kidnapping, beating and sexually assaulting a different woman in Chicago.

Urbina was placed on the FBI’s Top 10 Most Wanted list in June 2012, prompting Mexican authorities to arrest him in September in the Mexican state of Chihuahua, The Chicago Sun-Times reports. 

Urbina is expected to arrive in Chicago on Tuesday after the extradition process is complete.

He is charged with sexually assaulting both women and murdering Gabriella Torres.

“Many family members have waited a long time for this day to come and they deserve the opportunity to face the accused in a court of law,” Michael J. Anderson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Chicago Field Office, said following the arrest.

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

Americans who were victimized by crime perpetuated by undocumented immigrants will have a new resource under the Homeland Security Department.

The Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) is expected to open today. The idea is to inform victims of the immigration proceedings of suspects, the Associated Press reports.

The office is part of an executive order by President Trump, who pledged to open the office during a speech to Congress in February.

Critics question the motive behind the office because studies have indicated that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than native-born U.S. citizens.

Retired Marine Gen. Randolph Alles, via CBP.

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

The beleaguered Secret Service has a new leader.

On Tuesday, the White House announced that Randolph D. “Tex” Alles will become the Secret Service’s 25th director.

Alles, a senior customs official and retired Marine Corps general with 35 years of service, was serving as the acting deputy commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Alles arrives at a time when the Secret Service has been criticized for lax security around the White House complex. The agency also has had trouble protecting President Trump and his family. Trump frequently flies between Washington D.C. and Florida, and his wife and 11-year-old son still live at their private residence in New York.

“I applaud the Trump administration and Secretary Kelly for choosing someone from outside the agency who is well qualified to lead the Secret Service,” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said in a statement to the Washington Post. “General Alles is being called upon to use all his command and managerial skills to address the cultural and operational issues currently facing the Service. I look forward to working with General Alles to help him succeed in his new role.”

Rod Rosenstein, deputy attorney general.

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

Rod J. Rosenstein, a veteran prosecutor, was overwhelmingly supported by the Senate to become the No. 2 official at the Justice Department, a position that places him in charge of the investigation into connections between Russia and President’s Trump campaign staff, the Los Angeles Times reports. 

The 52-year-old, who impressed the Senate with his record of fighting crime as the U.S. attorney for Maryland for the past 12 years, was confirmed to become the deputy attorney general.

Ultimately, Rosentstein will determine whether criminal charges should be filed against any of Trump’s aides or turn the case over to an independent prosecutor.

Rosentstein still has not said wether he would bring in special counsel.

Nevertheless, Rosenstein said he had “no reason to doubt” that Russian authorities tried to influence the presidential race.

President George W. Bush appointed Rosenstein, a 27-year veteran of the Justice Department, as U.S. attorney. 

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• FBI Investigating Berkeley County Chamber of Commerce
• ICE Removes Former Colombian Director of Intelligence

By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

The FBI is investigating a Rochester police officer after he was captured on video choking a handcuffed suspect.

The officer, a 27-year veteran whose name has not been released. was suspended with pay, the Democrat & Chronicle reports.

The FBI is trying to determine whether the civil rights of the dirt bike driver was violated by police when he was thrown to the ground following a traffic stop.

Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren called the video, captured by a police body camera, “disturbing.”

“It does appear the individual was handcuffed and choked,” the mayor said. ” His civil rights could have been violated.”

The Rochester office of the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s office “have opened a civil rights investigation into the (April 14) Rochester police department incident,” said FBI spokeswoman Maureen Dempsey.

“The FBI will collect all available facts and evidence and will ensure the investigation is conducted in a fair, thorough and impartial manner,” she said.

The arrest happened when police were responding to a large fight in the early hours of April 14.

Council President Loretta Scott, who viewed the video, said it sounded like the suspect was struggling to breathe.

The suspect was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.