Campaign Treasurer's Arrest Leaves California Democrats Scrambling

California Democrat officeholders and party officials have been left frantic and scrambling since the arrest of prominent Democrat campaign financier Kinde Durkee last month. [BREAKING: I can't seem to find my world's tiniest violin; I think it's in the shop for its 20,000 sad sad song tune-up- NANESB!]

Durkee was arrested at her Burbank, CA offices on September 3rd by the FBI on charges of mail fraud. Durkee allegedly used funds raised from Democrat party donors to pay her own mortgage, travel expenses and American Express credit card bill.

Since the arrest, donors and candidates are trying to assess the full extent of the losses while attempting to raise money to replenish funds misappropriated by Kinder or frozen by the state's Fair Political Practices Commission. Complicating matters is that Durkee co-mingled money from the nearly 400 different accounts she controlled at First California Bank, making it difficult to determine exactly how much funding each campaign had available.

In late September, multimillionaire Senator Dianne Feinstein filed suit against both Durkee and First California Bank, alleging fraud and estimating her campaign's losses to be in the neighborhood of $5 million (much of that self-funded). In the meantime, much to the chagrin of statewide Democrat Party officials, First California has reportedly turned over the accounts under Durkee's control to a California court to determine who exactly has claim to what.

The bank angered clients when it handed over control of the 398 bank accounts associated with Durkee to a California state court on September 23, recusing itself from sorting out how much of the recovered money should be doled out to whom.

"In yet another attempt to escape liability for the fiasco that they helped create, First California Bank has turned most of the accounts that Durkee controlled over to the courts," the Los Angeles County Democratic Party said.

Hmm....Perhaps we touched on another reason why Congressman Dennis Cardoza (D- CA18) announced that he had decided not to run for another term this week.

Let me be honest- I can't say that this story makes me sad, because it doesn't. Not in the least. I grew up in a very blue state controlled by Democrats and aside from a stint in the US Army, I've spent the majority of my adult life in another dark blue state largely controlled by Democrats. The way the democrats have engaged in class warfare and the politics of envy and avarice while simultaneously representing the wealthiest ZIP codes in the United States would be laughable at face value if they didn't keep getting elected by the same cadre of vapid, wealthy elitists who whine endlessly that wealthy people like Rupert Murdoch or the Koch Brothers are bad for America.

All of a sudden, this Durkee decides to help herself to their millions and out come the lawyers and sob stories when in reality, Durkee pretty much personified the end result of what passes for economic policy from the Democrat party these days- find an entity with lots and money and help yourself to it while convincing them you're doing them some sort of service.

Boston Globe: Former Miss Iceland Was Tipster That Led FBI To Whitey Bulger's Santa Moncia, CA Condo

Anna Bjornsdottir after winning Miss Iceland in 1974- Pageantlover.com Photo

If Whitey Bulger was a cat person before his arrest, he probably isn't now.

A 57 year old yoga instructor and former Miss Iceland is reportedly the tipster who notified the FBI of fugitive Boston mobster Whitey Bulger's whereabouts, according to an article in the Boston Globe. The FBI captured the 81 year old former Winter Hill Gang leader with his 60 year old girlfriend Catherine Greig at their Santa Monica, CA condo in June of this year after 16 years on the run.

Bulger is facing prosecution on multiple counts of drug trafficking, extortion and his role in at least 19 homicides in Massachusetts, Florida and Oklahoma. Bulger operated the south Boston Winter Hill Gang throughout the 1970s and 80s while enjoying protection from the FBI thanks in large part to Agent John Connolly who was a childhood friend of Bulger's. Bulger also used his status as a confidential informant for the FBI to undercut operations of the rival Patriarcha crime family, only to step into the vacuum left behind when their leaders were incarcerated, under surveillance or in hiding.

Recent photos of Bulger (R) and Bjornsdottir (L)- AP

Greig and Bjornsdottir reportedly met while caring for the same stray cat on the grounds of their Santa Monica condo. The former model and Miss Iceland did not recognize the couple until a recent trip back to Iceland when she saw a televised bulletin put out by the FBI regarding the couple.

For 15 years, the FBI investigation into Bulger's whereabouts went almost nowhere. There were miscellaneous reports circulating that Bulger was hiding out in British Columbia or Costa Rica, but the last reputable sighting of him was at a London, England hotel in 2002. However, by shifting the focus to Bulger's travelling companion Greig and broadcasting bulletins during daytime TV shows, an arrest was made in less than a month.

Now, however, there's some concern over both Mrs. Bjornsdottir's safety and the integrity of the FBI's tipline for those who wish to remain anonymous. The former Icelandic beauty queen did not come forward on her how volition- details about her identity and personal life were leaked and then published in the Boston Globe.

While there are those in the media and law-enforcement who feel that Bjornsdottir is in no imminent danger owing to the fact that Bulger's few remaining friends and allies are dead or incarcerated, law enforcement can no longer guarantee her safety now that the Globe has published her personal information.

“They can’t guarantee her 100 percent safety going forward,” said former U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan. “It’s unnecessary publicity and unnecessary harassment.

“There is a huge risk to the (tipster) program, generally, to be able to cultivate informants if their identification is at risk,” added Sullivan, a partner in the Ashcroft Law Firm. “It has a chilling effect.”

When I first heard this story earlier today, I initially thought that Anna revealed herself as the tipster that broke the case on her own volition.

Now that it's becoming apparent this information was leaked by somebody other than Bjornsdottir, aside from the obvious questionable judgement the Globe had demonstrated in publishing her photo, most recent whereabouts and amount received from the reward money, there's also some serious questions regarding the FBI's ability to protect the identity of anonymous tipsters. Think about it- how many witnesses would be willing to come forward with information that could break a particularly difficult case wide open will have second thoughts now?

Standing Up: A Tale of Two Riots and Steps Merchants Took To Protect Their Businesses

It seems almost inevitable that this month's rioting and looting in London would draw comparisons to the 1992 Los Angeles riots.



To be fair, there are some very valid comparisons to be made. One could argue that in both instances, an evaporating police presence and hypersensitivity to the perception of police brutality only served to fuel the rioters brazen aggression in the early going.



Before the first pane of glass was broken in Tottenham, it seemed as though enablers such as Ken Livingstone were prepared to make any number of excuses for the socioeconomic reasons leading up to the unrest while very conveniently ignoring the more immediate consequences of the rioters widespread looting, arson and assaults [one wonders if these same politicians would have such a forgiving outlook if it was their home or business that was picked clean by looters and firebombed- NANESB!].



Growing up in Western New England, I saw televised coverage of the LA riots unfolding pretty close to real time, including the brutal, unprovoked and near-fatal beating of truck driver Reginald Denny.



At the time, I couldn't help but wonder how much further things would spiral out of control. But in the second day of the LA riots, I saw something that was strangely reassuring. Abandoned by the LAPD and with the California National Guard still at least a day away from showing up, Korean merchants armed with pistols, rifles and shotguns began fortifying their shops and exchanging gunfire with approaching looters and roving gang members.



Not surprisingly, the gun-phobic Northeastern press was aghast and horrified at the armed Korean 'vigilantes' defending their livelihoods taking the law into their own hands. A contemporary account from the New York Times reads:

One of the most gripping and, increasingly, controversial television images of the violence was a scene of two Korean merchants firing pistols repeatedly from a military stance. The image seemed to speak of race war, and of vigilantes taking the law into their own hands.

I'll admit that I found it fascinating but not for the inflammatory and just plain wrong reasons the New York Times cited. Having grown up in a fairly liberal state, I was told that keeping a firearm for self-defense was a fallacy and if I did so, I was far more likely to injure or kill a member of the household than an intruder. Yet that particularly dubious statistic unravelled pretty quickly for all the world to see on live TV.



From the looks of it, there were two clear choices of what to do in such a dire situation. Find yourself at the mercy of unchecked thugs and criminals like Reginald Denny and others found themselves, or protect yourself, your business and your family by taking up arms like the Koreans did. Granted some businesses were lost to arson and looting, but by day two of the riots the armed merchants made it clear that rioters bound and determined to burn or loot their businesses would pay a heavy toll.





Fast forward nearly 20 years and on the other side of the Atlantic, the closest thing you have to the defiant Koreans fending off a murderous, rampaging mob are Turkish and Kurdish shopkeepers armed with baseball bats, knives and pool cues greeting the looters in England. Granted it had the desired effect this time around, but one has to wonder what the presence of even an old Lee-Enfield .303 rifle or over-under shotgun might've done to disperse the marauding crowd.



However, the United Kingdom has among the strictest gun control laws in the world- something many gun control advocates were hoping the USA would emulate some day. Yet since the UK's 1997 prohibition on private ownership of handguns, crime has only increased.



Even more problematic, without any debate or consultation the legal standard for what constitutes self-defense in England, hinging on a magistrate or prosecutor's definition of 'reasonable force' ex post facto. Yet many Britons feel that the people who have been engaging in a week-long spree of arson, assault and robbery will get off with a light sentence- if they're ever caught.



For all the complaints about America's supposedly lax gun laws, I'll take my chances with that versus a disarmed society where you're on your own once the police decide they can no longer protect you.

Report: Fugitive Octagenarian Irish Mobster Whitey Bulger Arrested in California

Reports are circulating on the Wednesday night that 81 year old fugitive Winter Hill Gang leader James 'Whitey' Bulger was arrested in the Los Angeles area with his 60 year old girlfriend, Catherine Greig.

The two were arrested without incident, the FBI said. The FBI had been conducting a surveillance operation in the area where the arrest was made, Santa Monica police Sgt. Rudy Flores said.

Bulger- or "the guy who's picture is up at the Post Office" as he's been referred to for most of my adult life- was the leader of the Winter Hill Gang when he fled in January 1995 after being tipped by a former Boston FBI agent that he was about to be indicted. Bulger was a top-echelon FBI informant.

Over the years, the FBI battled a public perception that it had not tried very hard to find Bulger, who became a huge source of embarrassment for the agency after the extent of his crimes and the FBI's role in overlooking them became public.

Prosecutors said he went on the run after being warned by John Connolly Jr., an FBI agent who had made Bulger an FBI informant 20 years earlier. Connolly was convicted of racketeering in May 2002 for protecting Bulger and his cohort, Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi, also an FBI informant.

As head of the Winter Hill gang, Bulger would provide information to the FBI about the rival Patriarcha family out of Providence, RI while enjoying a degree of protection from the Boston office of the FBI thanks to former Agent Connolly.

Bulger had been on the run for the last 16 years and was on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list for his suspected role in at least 19 murders. Since then, there has been sporadic reports of Bulger browsing bookstores in western Canada or dying of natural causes and being cremated in Central America. The last reliable sighting of Whitey Bulger was reportedly in London in 2002 when a British businessman who had met Bulger a few years prior saw the fugitive in a hotel gym.

Most recently, the FBI manhunt focused on Bulger's girlfriend, with TV bulletins showing Greig and Bulger together.

Bulger's younger brother William was elected to the state senate and President of UMass, while the FBI suspected he might've been aware of his older brother's criminal activities and may have sporadically been in contact with him.

Ding Dong Bin Laden's Freakin' DEAD Sports Chowdah Update- Weaver Unraveled @ Fenway; Heat Scorch C's in Game 1; B's Shipping Up to Boston w/ 2-0 Lead

MLB: After a fairly unimpressive continuation of their West Coast road trip where they dropped 2 out of 3 to the Orioles, the Red Sox made their way back to Fenway on Friday to start off an 11-game homestand. That didn't go too well, either- although struggling OF Carl Crawford got his 3rd RBI of the season at Fenway (7th overall) to break a 2-2 deadlock in the bottom of the 9th for a 3-2 Boston win.

AP Photo

On Monday, the Red Sox continued their homestand against one of the few teams they had early success against this season as they played host to the Angels.

However, despite the 4 game sweep on the Angels on the road the Red Sox had yet to face Jered Weaver, who was coming into Monday night's game undefeated in his 6 starts and with a 0.99 ERA.

The Angels took the 2-1 lead in the top of the 5th inning off of Clay Bluccholz but after a 1-out double from the Carl Crawford [should I use the adejctive 'struggling' anymore?- NANESB!] and walking Varitek, Jacoby Ellsbury hit into a fielder's choice ('Tek was out at second). With 2 away, Ellsbury managed to steal second while 2B Dustin Pedroia was fouling pitch after pitch from Weaver off in a tenacious 13-pitch at bat that culminated in a 2-RBI single to put the Red Sox up for good.

Adrian Gonzalez added some considerable insurance with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 7th with a bases-clearing double, followed by Youk bringing in Gonzalez with another RBI double and Big Papi cranking one into the Monster seats to make it 9-2 Boston. The Angels would get a couple of runs back in the top of the 8th and 9th, but Hideki Okajima would close things out and Boston wins by a final of 9-5.

Tonight's matchup will feature Jon Lester (3-1; 2.52 ERA) getting the start against Dan Haren (4-1; 1.23 ERA). First pitch will be at 7:10 ET on NESN.

NHL: After winning game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals by a 7-3 final, the Bruins would need overtime for the 4th time in this year's playoffs.

Philly took the early 2-0 lead on two goals from James Van Riemsdyk about nine minutes apart in the first before the Bruins would tie it up on goals from Chris Kelly and Brad Marchand to close out the first at 2-2.

And that was all the scoring there was in regulation, believe it or not. Philly netminder Brian Boucher would leave halfway through the second with some sort of injury and have Sergei Bobrovsky fill in for him between the pipes until returning in the 3rd period- Bobrovsky would stop all 6 shots faced.

Tim Thomas, on the other hand, stayed in net throughout the entire game stopping 52 out of 54 shots faced, including all 46 shots sent his way by the Flyers after allowing goal #2 in the first.

David Krejci would break the deadlock 6 minutes into the OT, getting one past Boucher even though the lineman signalled 'no goal' and play continued for another 18 seconds. The play was then reviewed by video and Kejci's shot was ruled a goal.

This puts Boston ahead 2 games to none with the series heading back to Boston on Wednesday ngiht. As glad as I am they're up, it's still pretty early to bust out the champagne and start drunkenly slurring 'Na na na na Hey hey hey.....good byyye!' in light of what happened in last year's eastern conference finals and- more recently- the fact that Montreal started off the last series with back to back wins on the road.

The series resumes on Wed, May 4 at the garden at 7PM ET. The game will be televised on the VS network.

Mike Ehrmann/Getty

NBA: With a whole week off before facing their next opponent, it probably wouldn't be too surprising that there would be some rust as the Celtics took on the Miami Heat.

Dwayne Wade had a 38 point night for Miami while Guard James Jones came off the bench for 25 points on Sunday afternoon's game.

Ray Allen led the Celtics scoring with 25 points in the 99-90 loss to Miami in Sunday's game- Paul Pierce had 19- everybody else was held to single digits.

Game 2 will get underway Tuesday Night in Miami at 7PM ET and will be televised on TNT.

NFL: Looks like the on-again off-again NFL lockout is back on again less than a week after a federal judge in Minnesota had it overturned. An appeals court in St. Louis had issued a temporary ruling in the NFL's favor. The 3-judge panel had ruled 2-1 in favor of the league pending a June 3 hearing.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS: The Patriots selcted Colorado University tackle Nate Solder with their first round pick of the 2011 draft. Virginia's Ras-I Dowling at cornerback and Cal RB Shane Vereen picked up in the 2nd round. Of course, there's the whole question of whether or not there's going to be a 2011 season for the Class of 2011, let alone how much playing time they'll get...



OTHER PATRIOTS NEWS: The Daughter of former BC/Patriots QB Doug Flutie has managed to land a spot on the 2011 New England Patriots cheerleading squad (although again- with the lockout looming, whether or not there's a 2011 season will depend on the labor situation).

Flutie, a Miss Massachusetts finalist as well, is currently a resident of Natick, MA



Alexa and the other finalists will be introduced at an event in Foxbourogh on Tuesday night.

ELIZABETH TAYLOR; 1932-2011

Cleopatra demands Mr Bubble!

Actress Elizabeth Taylor passed away at the Cedar Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on Wednesday. She was 79 and had been reportedly suffering from congestive heart failure for the last few years.

Born to American parents in London, Taylor started her film career early in life, most notably depicting a plucky teenager in 1944's National Velvet who trains an unwanted horse to compete in England's Grand National Steeplechase.

In the postwar years, Taylor made the transition to more mainstream, adult roles fairly smoothly and by 1960 had won an Oscar for her portrayal of a promiscuous bachelorette in Manhattan (even though she was unimpressed with the role) and signed a $1 million contract for Cleopatra, making her the highest paid actress in Hollywood at the time (she would reportedly double her salary to $2 million by working overtime on the set).

In 1967, Taylor would win a second Oscar for her role in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolfe?, portraying the belligerent and alcoholic wife of a New England college professor. Taylor's box office appeal would fade by the 1970s, however, and she married a grand total of 8 times with 4 children.

Besides the divorces and treatment for alcoholism, she was seen in her later years making cameos on The Simpsons and the soap opera General Hospital while launching a line of jewelry available through Christie's and fundraising for AIDS research.