Can't Blame The Youth

I have met and talked with Harry Thomas a number of times since before he was elected to the DC Council. I know him through baseball. Most recent time I saw him was over the past winter at a baseball practice facility in Maryland. He was there with his son and I was there with my son. These are serious charges; a sad day.

D.C. attorney general: Council’s Thomas diverted public funds

By Mike DeBonis and David Nakamura, Published: June 6

D.C. Council member Harry Thomas Jr. intentionally diverted more than $300,000 in public funds intended for youth baseball programs and spent it on a luxury sport-utility vehicle and personal travel, Attorney General Irvin B. Nathan said Monday.

In a lawsuit filed in D.C. Superior Court, Nathan alleged that Thomas (D-Ward 5) used the funds for his Team Thomas organizations to purchase a $59,000 Audi SUV and pay for jaunts to Las Vegas and Pebble Beach, Calif. Nathan seeks to force Thomas to repay the city money that he is accused of rerouting to his operation, plus damages and other costs totaling more than $1 million. Thomas denied any wrongdoing.

The allegations represent the latest in a series of scandals that have tarnished the District’s top elected officials and given the appearance of a government in disarray. Nathan announced his findings just hours before former mayoral candidate Sulaimon Brown (D) testified under oath at a council hearing that Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D) gave him improper payoffs and a job in a quid pro quo to smear his key opponent.

Several council members also are caught up in political controversies, including neglecting to account for campaign donations, failing to pay taxes and purchasing luxury vehicles with taxpayer funds. The scandals are weighing on a city trying to rebound from an economic slump and last year’s divisive mayoral campaign.

“We are extremely disappointed in this violation of public service by Mr. Thomas,” Nathan said, calling his behavior “willful, intentional and knowing. ”

Nathan has asked U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen to consider filing criminal charges against Thomas. William Miller, Machen’s spokesman, said federal prosecutors have been investigating Thomas.

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office is aware of the referral and will review the information . . . as we continue our investigation,” Miller said in a statement.

Thomas, the son of a respected three-term council member who died in 1999, vowed to fight the allegations. “There is no settlement that I would make that would imply that there was some wrongdoing on my part,” he told reporters in front of the John A. Wilson Building.

Thomas, who arrived at his news conference in the blue Audi, said he would provide proof that the money was spent on sport programs and maintained that his business paid for the vehicle. He added that he would not resign his council seat or step down from his chairmanship of the powerful Economic Development Committee.

Timothy Day, a Republican who first raised the accusations against Thomas during an unsuccessful campaign to unseat him last fall, called his alleged actions “a disgrace” and added that “his lifelong quotes of giving back to the children were false. He clearly gave more to himself.”

D.C. Council Chairman Kwame R. Brown (D) said in a statement that he was “greatly disheartened” by the allegations. Brown met with Thomas on Monday and said he would issue “a plan of action” Tuesday.

Nathan’s allegations again bring unwanted attention to a council marred for months in embarrassing political controversies.

Gray is accused of giving jobs to unqualified campaign supporters. Brown has been rebuked for purchasing a luxury SUV upon assuming office in January and for his failure to report a quarter-million dollars in donations during his 2008 campaign for a council seat. Council member Michael A. Brown (D-At Large) failed to pay city property taxes, and member Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) was censured and stripped of his committee chairmanship last year for giving a city contract to a former girlfriend.

Thomas’s supporters said they would wait until the lawsuit is fully heard before judging the council member.

“From a community perspective, it’s pretty regretful these allegations have been made,” said Angel Sherri Alston, an advisory neighborhood commissioner who is president of the Ward 5 Democrats. “These are very serious allegations, but there is still a presumption of innocence until proven guilty. Until then, we will keep council member Thomas in our prayers.”

The allegations concern two district groups controlled by Thomas: a for-profit business created in 2004, which remains active, and a now-defunct nonprofit group created shortly after Thomas joined the council.

The nonprofit group never obtained federal tax exempt status, the lawsuit alleges, and it was never licensed to accept charitable contributions. Yet it collected some money, largely through a pair of fundraisers held at Langston Golf Course, and Nathan alleges they paid for travel and a Washington Nationals suite worth $696, not the youth sports programs Thomas advertised to donors.

In his report, Nathan also lays out a scheme in which Thomas is alleged to have used his influence to send taxpayer money to his Team Thomas groups.

In 2007, the council voted to budget $400,000 for “youth baseball programs” via the Children and Youth Investment Trust Corp., a public-private intermediary that offers grants to nonprofits serving youths. Although the council did not identify a specific organization to receive the money, Thomas, it is alleged, directed the trust to give it to the Langston Golf Course.

A grant of $392,000 was sent to the course’s foundation, Langston 21, whose board of directors included the longtime resident golf pro and Thomas friend James Garvin. Nathan’s lawsuit alleges that Garvin helped reroute three-quarters of those funds back to the Team Thomas organizations.

Nathan said Monday that Thomas’s council staff fabricated documents for the Langston 21 foundation, describing programs and sports camps that never existed and never mentioning Team Thomas. Yet the council member personally picked up checks from Garvin and Langston 21 President Marshall Banks made out to Team Thomas, Nathan said.

On Feb. 8, two days after picking up two checks worth $75,000, Thomas took a cashier’s check to Tischer Audi in Silver Spring, where he used it to buy a 2008 Audi Q7 4.2 Quattro Premium SUV, Nathan alleges.

The cashier’s check and a $9,000 trade-in for his Dodge Durango weren’t quite enough to complete the purchase. To pay the $1,074 difference, Thomas used the Team Thomas charity’s debit card.

According to Nathan, the vehicle was initially titled under HLT Development, but Thomas had the car retitled in his own name in May 2009. To justify the nearly $60,000 apparently spent on the Audi, a report provided to the Children and Youth Investment Trust included an invoice for $58,472 worth of training equipment. Langston 21, according to the lawsuit, saw none of that equipment.

Last fall, Thomas called the initial allegations against him a “useless fishing expedition,” and he sought to portray himself as a victim of a political vendetta by then-Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) and Peter Nickles, Fenty’s attorney general. Frederick D. Cooke, Thomas’s attorney, called Nickles’s probe “blatant retribution” in one court hearing.

Nathan, appointed by Gray, assumed the investigation in January after Nickles left office. Observers questioned whether Thomas, as a Gray ally, would be subject to as tough a probe under Nathan.

Nathan said the Langston 21 foundation has agreed to pay the city $86,000 for the portion of the earmarked funds that it did not pass on to the Team Thomas groups. Vandy L. Jamison Jr., an attorney for Banks and Garvin, declined to comment.

Staff writer Del Quentin Wilber contributed to this report.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/politics/dc-attorney-general-councils-thomas-diverted-public-funds/2011/06/06/AG1gFdKH_story.html

Teen Crime Changes In DC

D.C. teen crimes shift away from stealing cars but toward more violent offenses

By Allison Klein, Published: May 29

For teenagers who commit crimes in the District, stealing cars is out. Snatching smartphones directly from victims’ hands or breaking into their homes is in.

On average, juveniles were arrested for violent robberies or carjackings at least once a day last year, an almost 50 percent increase from 2007. During the same time, juvenile arrests for riding in stolen cars, a nonviolent crime, dropped by more than 60 percent.

The shift is one troubling indicator that the city’s youngest offenders are growing more aggressive and confrontational: Last year, teens made up 23 percent of all violent crime arrests, more than double the percentage in 2003.

“A number of years ago, car theft was off the scale. It was cool to get a car and joy ride,” said Daniel Okonkwo, executive director of DC Lawyers for Youth. “Now it’s an iPhone4, an iPod. Things you can’t afford when you don’t have money.”

Kip Patrick must have looked like he was a sure bet for having a smartphone in his pocket. He was wearing slacks and a button-down shirt as he walked alone near Ninth and U streets NW in the early morning of April 30 after finishing dinner and drinks.

As he walked by a group of youths, one of them suddenly shoved him, and he found himself rolling on the ground, scuffling with the guy.

“I got scraped up pretty good,” said Patrick, 38, who lives several blocks away.

When his BlackBerry Bold fell out of his pocket, someone in the group picked it up, and another youth pulled Patrick’s attacker off him. Then the whole group ran.

“I guess that’s D.C.,” said Patrick, who added that there had not been an arrest in the case. “But we can’t live in fear. If we do, D.C. isn’t a place anybody’s going to want to live.”

This year, juveniles account for 7 percent of overall arrests in the city — but about 45 percent of all arrests for robbery and carjacking, and 35 percent of burglary arrests, said D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier.

“They are overrepresented in those categories,” said Lanier, who started noticing the trend last year. “Everyone wants an iPhone.”

Teens have represented 6 to 8 percent of total arrests in the District for the past five years. What’s changing is their crime of choice.

Last year, 381 juveniles were arrested in robberies or carjackings, compared with 257 arrested in 2007. Police arrested 186 young people accused of riding in stolen cars last year, compared with 506 in 2007.

One of the main reasons for the shift is that anti-theft devices made it increasingly difficult to steal a car about the same time smartphones started becoming more prevalent.

“Stealing cars got too hot,” said a 21-year-old man who as a youth spent time in the former Oak Hill detention center. “You can grab a phone and go.” He spoke on the condition of anonymity, fearing reprisals at his job.

Snatching smartphones has a somewhat similar appeal to stealing a car: The thief can enjoy it for a while, make calls or access Facebook. Then he can sell it on the street for instant cash. On Craigslist, iPhones sell for about $250.

Teens are breaking into houses more than ever, according to police, contributing to a 14 percent jump in home break-ins across the city.

“Burglary is considered a property crime, but that’s a dangerous assumption,” Lanier said. “It’s a very serious crime. I don’t think the kids realize just how dangerous it is.”

Burglaries can quickly become violent encounters if a homeowner is unexpectedly in the house or a neighbor comes by to check on a strange noise.

Juveniles committing crimes have drawn particular attention in recent weeks: On Saturday, a 15-year-old was suspected of shooting a D.C. police officer several times in Northeast Washington. Last month, a 16-year-old was stabbed, allegedly by another teen, at the National Zoo. Several days before, two teens were shot midafternoon at a busy intersection on U Street, allegedly by other teens.

And five D.C. teens have escaped from secure detention facilities in recent months. One of them beat a guard and was on the run for two weeks.

One tangible way to cut down on juvenile crime, Lanier said, is to reduce truancy. If youths are in school, they’re not committing crimes, she said. She estimated that 80 percent of the city’s home break-ins by teens happen during school hours.

“Truancy is a gateway crime,” Lanier said. “It leads to gang activity, and it leads to crime. It is a huge, huge contributor to juvenile crime.”

During the first semester of the 2010-11 school year, about 3,700 students were considered truant. About 13 percent of the students in grades six through 12 were “chronically truant” that semester, meaning they had 15 or more unexcused absences. When police find youths who are not in class during the day, they take them to school.

Police officers based in schools, called school resource officers, are doing home visits for students who are “on the border of getting in trouble,” Lanier said.

This year, police have made nearly 300 home visits for truancy, she said.

The city has formed a truancy task force with eight agencies, including the police department, the courts, schools and youth services. The point is early intervention, said Paul Quander, deputy mayor for public safety and chief of staff for Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D).

“We don’t want to wait until that child is brought before a judge before we intervene,” Quander said. “Chances are, that child has a sibling or cousin in the same household who also needs help. We are trying to fish further downstream when they’re little minnows, before they become big fish in the criminal justice society.”

Lanier said that when police brass have their morning crime briefings, she can count on most of her commanders standing up and saying iPhones, iPods and iPads had been snatched from outdoor tabletops in the previous 24 hours.

But she said she doesn’t blame victims for using electronics in public.

“I do it personally,” Lanier said. “But I’m usually in uniform, so that probably discourages them.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-teen-crimes-shift-away-from-stealing-cars-but-toward-more-violent-offenses/2011/05/24/AGkEWfEH_print.html

DC Underage Drinking Laws Lax

Washington Post - The Answer Sheet
By Valerie Strauss | November 30, 2009; 12:17 PM ET

Telling teens not to drink isn't enough: One story

It was a typical high school party in Montgomery County: Dozens of teenagers got together to have fun, and as always seems to happen, kids started to drink. In fact, most of them did, and a decent number got good and drunk. Some were doing shots, including one girl who who wound up on the floor, so incoherent that other kids began to worry about her condition.

A boy, one of the few teens who had not been drinking, realized the girl needed help. He and some other kids put her in the backseat of a car, and the boy, afraid to call 911 and expose his friends to possible arrest for underage drinking, called his parents for help.

They instantly gave him first aid advice, found the closest hospital and told him to drive the girl there. They also called the hospital to ask whether the girl’s friends who had been drinking could enter the emergency room without fear of being arrested. The answer was no; there was no guarantee.

So the sober boy, the kid who was responsible enough not to drink and who was smart enough to get help for this girl, took her in, and, may have saved her life. He also contacted the girl’s parents, who showed up at the hospital, grateful to the boy who had kept his wits about him.

The only reason the sober boy knew what to do is because he is responsible and actually talks to his parents. They have discussed what to do in this situation. The parents, instead of simply telling their kid not to drink, explained how to get help when necessary.

That is a lesson that bears repeating, because simply telling kids not to drink is not enough. I’ve looked at rules for parties that some schools have given to parents and that are posted on parenting Web sites, and the ones I saw did not advise parents to tell their kids to call 911 if they or someone they are with gets in trouble.

Some colleges and universities have wised up and are teaching students how to recognize the signs of alcohol poisoning and what to do. But frankly, that’s too late: This information should be taught before high school.

Another thing I wondered was this: Why should kids who want to help another in this kind of situation have to worry about legal trouble when a life may be at stake?

A few years ago in Loudoun County, some kids who were drunk left a friend in a park because they were afraid to get him help--and the boy died, according to Kurt Erickson, president of the Washington Region Alcohol Program, sponsored by Geico, Inc.

That prompted some members of the Virginia legislature to sponsor legislation for a “good Samaritan” law that would essentially let underage drinkers “right a wrong” by helping out another underage drinker without fear of serious penalty. The bill has never passed.

Erickson said that Maryland doesn’t have a “good Samaritan” law either, but the real problem in the greater Washington area is the District.

In the nation’s capital, underage drinking is not a criminal offense, per a 2004 District Superior Court ruling. Unfortunately, the Metropolitan Police Department doesn’t have the ability to pursue civil penalties, so, Erickson said, kids from all over the region come to drink in the District.

“It’s a virtual playground for underage drinking,” he said.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/telling-teens-not-to-drink-isn.html