Volume 16, Issue 3 Fall 2006

Great Visit, Old Friends...

GREENVILLE, PA — Thomas Ridge, former two term governor and the first Homeland Security Directors of the Unites States, visited with Harvey and Uta Childs recently. Tom Ridge and Harvey are long time friends going back 25 years. Childs was very active in Tom Ridge s first congressional campaign which he won by 180 votes with 180,000 votes cast. Childs recalls how he called on every political IOU he had, which were many, in this election. Political periodicals in the area gave him credit for the victory. Ridge was assistant district attorney before running for congress on a Republican ticket in a heavy Democratic district. Childs, an active Republican has always been well-liked among many Democratic powers to be in the area. Ridge after seven terms in congress ran for governor in a heavily Democratic state and was easily elected to a second term. Tom has never forgotten his roots or his friends and always remained the same person. Harvey Childs thinks he would make an excellent United States Senator, and the saga of Tom Ridge is not over if you listen to bondsman leader Harvey Childs. Incidentally, Ridge knows and understands the function of a bondsman very well. He has a good background in this as he was once part of the legal system and remains pro bail.

GREENVILLE, PA — Cheryl Burns, President & CEO, recently had a meeting with her good friends Senator Bob Robbins and PA Attorney General Tom Corbett. Corbett is the former United States Attorney for Western Pennsylvania. He wants to institute a sensible bail policy in the commonwealth and end the revolving door of easy release in different parts of the state. DOG DAYS

HONOLULU, — It was a bad week for The Dog . Chapman the bounty hunger has become an icon over the last three years with his TV program. It is the most viewed program in history on the popular channel A & E. They call it a series. He was flying high until he was bit by the nation of who feels that justice must be served as they now wish to extradite him back to Mexico to face charges of jumping bail. Bounty hunting is illegal in Mexico. On a Thursday morning he was seized by the US Marshalls who placed him in chains and took him to jail. The next day he was released on a $300,000.00 bail and placed on electronic monitoring. He will face an extradition hearing. It appears he is a pawn in an international game of chess between the United States and Mexico. Mexico is one of the richest, but most corrupt, nations in the world. One half of the population lives below the poverty level. Justice like everything else there is for sale. There are many promises made by officials, but in the end they take your money and stick it to you. There drug policy and promise to our county to help stop the illegal flow of drugs coming into this county is a joke. Police rob motorist. The Pittsburgh Steelers played a exhibition football game in Mexico in 2002 and were told not to leave the hotel after dinner. This is Mexico. The final story of the Dog in Mexico will be watched closely with much interest.

The week after the arrest of Dog (Duane Chapman) the , one of the most credible of the tabloids, came out with a two page article by a woman who claims to be the Dog s ex-lover and drug buddy, she claims she could blow the lid off the A & E star s carefully crafted born again anti-drug image. She tells how they met years ago and claims in 2005 the Dog visited her and they used drugs and had sex. The Enquire quotes her as saying here he is praying for druggies to get clean and he s using. He is such a hypocrite . The lady passed a polygraph test that was administered by the Enquirer. When contacted by the Enquirer for comments, Duane said I just feel sorry for the woman. I had a relationship years ago and I tried to help her since then. I have been and will always remain faithful to my wife Beth. We will not dignify her false accusations with any further comment. There are several pictures in the article of the twosome and also one of a tattoo on the Dog s forearm with her name. It is a case of he said, she said.

2 REMINDER FROM THE CHAIRMAN Bondsman leader Harvey Childs has heard many stories about bounty hunters who went to Mexico and had certain generals and public officials in their pocket. Childs has two diploma s, one being from the University of Seville in Hispanic Studies in Spain and one from the cultural institute of San Lorenzo, he is fluent in Spanish. Harvey played football in Mexico in the 1950 s. Five years ago he decided to go to Mexico. He was accompanied by Tim Burns, husband of Bail USA CEO & President. They went underground for three weeks, they saw hunger in the south along the Guatemalan border, corruption in the north, and were robbed at gun point by the police in Mexico City at a truck stop 50 miles north of Mexico City. They complained to public officials. Their reply was so what else is new . They found misery, hunger and desperation throughout the whole country. To sum it up, for the last five years Childs has been warning skip tracers to stay out of Mexico. You can t take any information coming from Mexico as viable information.

LONGTIME JUSTICE he will return to a private law practice after a brief respite and will continue performing marriages through next OF PEACE TO RETIRE year; a function retired justice can carry out. He earned a $14,400 annual salary as an active justice of the peace BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA — Steve Mortillaro, a and was allowed by state law to charge additional fees longtime justice of the peace who was scrutinized but for services such as marriages. not indicted in the FBI s marathon inquiry into judicial A federal grand just last year ordered Mortillaro to turn corruption in Jefferson Parish, announced Monday that over documents showing gifts or campaign contributions he will retie at the end of the year. he received from Louis and Lori Marcotte, the siblings Mortillaro, 65, said personal circumstances, namely the who controlled the Jefferson bail bonds market through deep emotional and physical stress of losing his Metairie a scheme to bribe judges and correctional officers. office to Hurricane Katrina, prompted the difficult Documents from their company, Bail Bonds Unlimited, decision to step down. The time is now right, after 25 showed the Mortillaro accepted free lunches and was years of service to my constituents, for a new face to listed for free admission to a deep-sea fishing tournament enter the arena and for me and my family to turn over in July 1999. Records show the company also bought your trust and support to my successor at the end of the year. He said in a prepared statement. Mortillaro said Continued on Page 6...

3 CONVENTION 2006 ¥ Albuquerque, New Mexico

4 5 COPS SHOULDN’T SKIP OUT ON WARRANT DUTY ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO — As long as warrants are an order from the court. Judges on fugitives are brought to justice, it shouldn t make the Metropolitan and District Court benches agree much difference whether they re brought by law officers should execute warrants no matter who calls. enforcement officers doing their duty or by private- And no matter which law enforcement agency picks sector operators pursuing profits. up the phone. Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren But until now, the Albuquerque Police Department White says his deputies respond once a warrant is policy has generally been against assisting bail confirmed; Amigo Bail Bonds owner Gary Gutierrez bondsmen or bounty hunters executing arrest says that earlier this month deputies refused to warrants. Or, apparently, picking up the detritus respond to a report that a fugitive wanted on drug that is a fugitive s social circle. charges was holed up in a North Valley home with family members. Robert Turner says he s called APD when he s found his target hanging out with other We are not asking them to do our job, Gutierrez fugitives not on his list. Police officer standing by says. We just want them there to help us keep the would make his job less dangerous, and his tip could peace when bounty hunters try to catch a fugitive turn the tedious work of tracking down nasty fugitives who has skipped out on his bond. into shooting fish in a barrel. But over the last few There s no question that bounty hunters are picking years the cops have blown his calls off and some 50 up fugitives to make a buck — but law enforcement fugitives have gotten away. should be in there somewhere to keep the area safe. That appears about to change. White says, What is important is that a bad guy is locked up. APD and the Sheriff s Department need Deputy Chief Paul Chavez says the department will to put those words into practice. look at its policy and likely revamp it because

Continued Pg.3 — Longtime Justice of Peace to Retire tickets for Mortillaro and his wife, along with several other Jefferson jurists, to a Cirque de Soleil performance at a Mississippi casino on the same weekend as the fishing tournament. The tab for the 26 tickets was $963. Mortillaro has acknowledged the lunches but said in 2005 that he did not receive tickets to the fishing tournament or to the Cirque de Soleil show. He said he complied with the documents request but was never questions by the grand jury. Prosecutors never pegged him with criminal charges, and he denied Monday that they forced him out of the office he held since 1982.

6 OPPOSING THE “DOG’S” EXTRADITION PASCAGOULA, MISSISSIPPI — A local bail bond agent She wants fans of the show to visit Dog s web site to wants fans of to oppose the sign a petition and e-mail U.S. officials in hopes they television star s extradition to Mexico to face charges will fight extradition. involving the capture of a serial rapist three years ago. Carpenter plans to visit Hawaii to give her son and his Dianne Carpenter, owner of A-Sonshine Bail Bonds in friends moral support. Her other son, Russ, who helps Pascagoula, is the mother of one of the co-stars who run her business, worked with Dog s team before the was arrested last week along with the reality series reality series was created. star, Duane Dog Chapman. I ve known Dog for 30 years, she said. He and the guys Her son, , 41, no relation to Dog, faces never should have been charged in the first place. They the same charges as Dog and Dog s son, Leland. went after a dangerous man and brought him to justice. They re accused of violating a law The Professional Bail Agents that prohibits bounty hunting in Association of Mississippi declined to Mexico. comment on the case because it is The men and a film crew made pending, said Walter Thornton, a vice headlines in 2003 after their capture president. However, Thornton, a of Andrew Luster, the Max Factor Pascagoula bail bondsman, said he cosmetic company heir who fled has a personal opinion. during his trial in Ventura, . I applaud (Dog) for picking up a The Chapmans were arrested in felon, Thornton said, but on the Mexico with Luster in tow, and flip side, he went to an area where charged with deprivation of liberty bounty hunting isn t allowed. I hope and illegal seizure. Luster was he has a good attorney. convicted and sentenced to 124 years in prison for drugging, raping and videotaping Don Bear, owner of Bear Bail Bonding in Gulfport, his female victims. said the case and the series reflect poorly on the bail bonding industry. The bounty hunters, released on bond, apparently thought their ordeal was over. Though it launched Dog went to Mexico with a cameraman, preaching it their A & E series, the capture has come back to haunt was all for justice, Bear said. He went to make a them. Federal marshals arrested them last week in name for himself and he did. But it s a publicity thing. , where their bail enforcement business is It s entertainment. What he s doing isn t reality. He s located. They await extradition proceedings, each putting on a show. wearing an electronic monitoring device on an ankle.

They re not the bad guys, said Carpenter, who lives in George County. Their Mexican attorney told them (in 2003) that they could make bail and would probably never hear about it again.

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