Federal Bureau of Investigation

St. Louis Parks Officials Indicted on Fraud Charges, Allegedly Embezzled Funds For Years

Two St. Louis parks officials allegedly stole around half a million dollars from the city by submitting false invoices since 2005, according to a federal indictment announced this morning. Joseph Vacca, deputy commissioner of the St. Louis Parks Division, and Thomas Stritzel, chief of the St. Loui ... More >>

FBI Detains East St. Louis Police Detective Orlando Ward; Chief Says, "This Is A Shock"

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has taken an East St. Louis police detective into custody -- and the chief of the department says it was a complete surprise to him and his colleagues. "I am dumbfounded," East St. Louis Police Chief Michael Floore tells Daily RFT this morning. "I'm upset about ... More >>

Dangerous American Neighborhoods: Chief Sam Dotson Slams Study With St. Louis in Top Spots

This week, a site called NeighborhoodScout.com released its list of "Top 25 Most Dangerous Neighborhoods in America" with St. Louis claiming two of the spots. Similarly to when other national crime rankings have put St. Louis at the top, local politicians and law enforcement officials are criticizin ... More >>

St. Louis Native Martyl Langsdorf, Designer of the Doomsday Clock, Dead at 96

Late last month, Martyl Langsdorf -- the famed painter, designer and native St. Louisan -- died at a hospital in the Chicago area. She was 96 years old and according to family fell ill with a lung infection. Her best-known creation was likely the Doomsday Clock, a symbolic representation of how clo ... More >>

Former Teacher and Tennis Coach Gets 12 Years for Child Porn

Richard "Dick" Ambler is 50 years old and (until recently) a Florissant resident. He is married and has two children. He used to coach tennis at Lutheran North High and would sometimes sub in the Parkway School District. Also, by the time the FBI caught up with him this year, he'd managed assemble a ... More >>

The Ten Most Psychopathic Juggalos at Last Night's Twiztid Show

Horrorcore duo Twiztid stopped by Pop's Nighclub last night, bringing out the local contingent of the Psychopathic Records Family. As usual, this was an occasion for celebration in the form of face paint, fake blood and hatchet men aplenty. Our own Jon Gitchoff was there to brave the Faygo and meet ... More >>

East Side Tow Trucker Ensared by "Integrity Test." Isn't That Entrapment?

On February 12, 2011, the FBI and East St. Louis Police set a trap for Eddie Johnson. Johnson is now a 47-year-old from Cahokia Illinois. Back on that fateful day, he was also a tow truck operator. There were rumors at the time of tow truck company corruption on that side of the river, so the FBI de ... More >>

What To Do If You Witness Shady Voting Activities on Election Day

Seems like every election, conservatives fear voter fraud. Liberals fear voter discrimination. (Daily RFT fears other voters, who are strangers and not be trusted.) What should you do if you witness fraud, discrimination or other malfeasance?

Beware of BOB

Code Dead: Do the encrypted writings of Ricky McCormick hold the key to his mysterious death?

Jeannine Buford: St. Louis Woman Made Killing Off Fake Hermés Purses

A St. Louis woman is facing a two-year prison sentence and must forfeit her 2012 Porsche Cayenne and 2010 Chevy Camaro to the federal government after pleading guilty yesterday to a handbag scam that netted her hundreds of thousands of dollars. Federal prosecutors say that 34-year-old Jeannine Bufor ... More >>

Judy Goffman Cutler Wins Long Court Battle for Stolen Rockwell Painting

​After more than five years of legal wrangling, art dealer Judy Goffman Cutler has won the right of ownership of a 1967 Norman Rockwell painting stolen from a St. Louis gallery way back in 1973. The 9th Court of U.S. Appeals ruled on Tuesday that the painting, Russian Schoolroom, is legally Goffma ... More >>

Ten Suspects Netted in FBI Heroin Sting

Members of an FBI task force blanketed the St. Louis metropolitan region during the early hours of yesterday morning in a three-county sting operation in attempt to dismantle a heroin trafficking ring. The roundup resulted in ten arrests in the City of St. Louis, St. Louis County and St. Charles C ... More >>

If Juggalos Are A Gang, Why Are They Starting Charities?

​The FBI's National Gang Threat Assessment update has been making the rounds today and one part of it has been particularly eye-catching: The inclusion of Juggalos, about which the FBI has this to say: The Juggalos, a loosely-organized hybrid gang, are rapidly expanding into many US communi ... More >>

St. Louis Stays Off FBI's Cop-Killer List for 2010

​Newsflash from the most dangerous city in the country: 56 on-duty law enforcement officers were killed during felonious acts in 2010, and not one of those killings occurred in St. Louis. The Federal Bureau of Investigation yesterday published its annual report tracking the number of such de ... More >>

Violent Crime Down Nationally, in St. Louis, FBI Stats Show

Violent crime in St. Louis dropped 15 percent in the last year -- a steeper decline than the national average.​Violent crime continued to plummet last year across the nation, according to newly released statistics from the FBI -- and St. Louis was no exception.The number of violent crimes known to ... More >>

Unofficial 2010 Homicide Totals for St. Louis: 142 Dead

​St. Louis police have released the preliminary body count for 2010. According to police, at least 142 people were murdered inside city limits in 2010. That's one fewer than last year. Then again, the number could still change. Police say it won't be until mid-January until the FBI verifies the da ... More >>

Dennis L. Baker: New Boss of St. Louis FBI

Dennis Baker​The FBI this morning announced that Dennis L. Baker will take over as "special agent in charge" of the agency's St. Louis division. Baker replaces Roland Corvington, who served just 11 months in the position before retiring to take over as the director of public safety for Saint Louis ... More >>

St. Louis Is Second Most Dangerous City in the U.S.? Really, Forbes?

Okay, okay. We get it. We're all obsessed with where we rank, even if the data that fuels these most/best/worst cities' lists is contrived at best and completely unreliable at worst. So we can't blame Forbes for riding the trend with its newly-released "Most Dangerous Cities" list.Nope. Doesn't look ... More >>

Undercover Video Footage: Biggest Dogfighting Bust in U.S. History

illustration by Brian Stauffer​At 6 a.m. on July 9, 2009, agents from the FBI, the USDA, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the U.S. Marshals Service and myriad local police departments raided 29 properties in 8 states, including Missouri, Illinois, Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Iowa. They sei ... More >>

Rod Blagojevich Saved By One Stubborn Female Juror

Image viaDoes this look like the face of a criminal?​After a jury deadlocked on all but one of 24 corruption charges against Rod Blagojevich -- convicting him only of the relatively minor offense of lying to the FBI -- the former Illinois governor declared victory. Standing on the courthouse steps ... More >>

Five Hollywood Heist Movies That Resemble Yesterday's ATM Solutions Robbery In St. Louis

Image source​Several local news outlets have already donned their deerstalker hats and done their best Sherlock Holmes impressions by connecting the robbery of ATM Solutions Inc. in Midtown yesterday with two other similar burglaries of armored cars in 1999 and 1992.In the heist yesterday, four ma ... More >>

Leon Pullen: Former Cop Pleads Guilty to Charges Involving Prostitutes

​Leon Pullen, 32, a former police officer employed by the north St. Louis County suburb of Uplands Park has pleaded guilty to civil rights violations stemming from several incidents where he sexually assaulted and stole money from prostitutes. According to court documents, on July 15, 2009 Pu ... More >>

Ruby, Don't Take Your Gun to Town

More on Kenneth Kyle, Professor Accused of Sex Crimes with St. Louis Infant

Kenneth Kyle​Kenneth Kyle, a 46-year-old college professor in California, is the other party named in sex crimes charges announced Thursday by St. Louis County Police involving a 13-month-old girl. Kyle and Tessa Vanvlerah, 20, of Ballwin, met on the Internet and arranged a sex rendez-vous involvi ... More >>

Missouri Ranks Second in U.S. for Black Homicides

Image viaThe dubious distinction was bestowed upon the Show-Me State by the Violence Policy Center, a Washington D.C.-based non-profit in a report published today on black victims of violence.With 235 African-American homicide victims in 2007 (a per capita rate of 34.8 per 100,000), Missouri t ... More >>

Warning: Don't Let a Con Artist Steal Your Donation to Haiti Earthquake Victims

Photo: Matthew Marek, American Red Cross​The F.B.I. issued a media alert yesterday warning people of potential scams surrounding the massive relief effort underway to aid the victims of Tuesday's devastating earthquake in Haiti. So how do you know which agency is legit and which is a scam? Recogni ... More >>

First Robber of the Year Hits St. Louis Bank; Daily RFT Spots Trend, Offers Solution

The St. Louis bureau of the FBI reported the first local bank robbery of 2010 on Wednesday. ​The heist occurred at the Neighbors Credit Union on New Halls Ferry Road in Florissant. Other than the robber's skin tone, below is the full description of the perp as stated on BanditTrackerStLouis.com, a ... More >>

Man Pleads Guilty for Trying to Have Sex with Minor in Front of Judge

The headline above, what does it imply? 1. A man tried to commit a heinous act in the presence of a judge, or2. A man pleaded guilty to a judge for attempting to commit a heinous act.Mmm, judgy likey.​If you answered No. 1, you'd be correct -- grammatically speaking. Of course, most criminals woul ... More >>

No Justice: We've bailed out the banks. When do we go after the crooks behind our financial collapse?

Blown to Peaces: Weather Underground leaders claimed their bombings were devised to avoid bloodshed. But FBI agents suspect the radical '70s group killed a cop in the name of revolution.

Former East St. Louis Deputy Liquor Commissioner Indicted on Extortion Charges

perfectsubstitute.blogspot.com​Former East St. Louis deputy liquor commissioner Walter D. Hill was indicted yesterday on federal extortion charges, the Belleville News-Democrat reports. Hill is accused of using his position with the city to extort money, liquor, and sex. He is also accused of lyin ... More >>

FBI on Online Auction Fraud: Don't Let it Happen to You!

flickr.com/photos/jusumCan't you imagine this headline getting read in a sonorous voice? Maybe even by McGruff? Anyway, our friends at the FBI are always eager to help us out, which is why they've sent out this press release about how to avoid online auction fraud. Now if only they could tell us how ... More >>

Last Call?: East St. Louis nightclubs under siege

East St. Louis Mayor: The FBI Raiding My Office Is Actually a Good Thing

photo by Keegan HamiltonHundreds of concerned East St. Louis citizens gathered Tuesday for an "Emergency Town Hall Meeting" called by Mayor Alvin Parks Jr. to discuss the recent FBI raid of Parks' office and pending investigation and the controversy regarding the hours of the city's late-night bars ... More >>

Rockwell Revisited

If not Steven Spielberg, who legally owns Russian Schoolroom?

Test My Balls of Fury

Lazy review or lazy movie?

The Mystery of Lloyd Gaines

A St. Louis civil-rights pioneer vanished without a trace almost 70 years ago. Now, the NAACP wants the feds to find him.

Director Billy Ray takes on another liar: FBI traitor Robert Hanssen.

Breach

Strong Safety

Has the NFL gone too far trying to monitor players' off-field antics?

The Gang That Couldn't Dress Straight

Meet the cross-dressing bank robbers who confounded cops for years

Capsule Reviews

Dennis Brown and Deanna Jent suss out local theater

A Lute Proposition

Pipa at the Gates of Dawn

Redemption Thong

Salma's shorts get top billing in an otherwise unwatchable caper

Look Who Didn't Trust the Feds

A blast from the past in the war on terrorism

Is It Safe Yet?

For Muslims in St. Louis, politics gets personal as fear dominates their lives

Gunning for Gun Control

Ashcroft fires a shot in the name of NRA paranoia

Anti-Community Policing

St. Louis County cops earn the distrust of African-Americans

Howard's End

After nearly three decades on the run, a fugitive from the raucous anti-war era is outed

Lost in America

When the feds busted the "Black String Gang," they scratched the surface of the Vietnamese youth problem in South St. Louis. But no one's bothered to dig deeper into how it started.