The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa says three Omaha, NE residents were sentenced this week in U-S District Court in Council Bluffs, in association with sex trafficking crimes. 39-year old Parrish Jason Casebier, 41-year old Cheryl Elaine Tucker, and 26-year old Kentrell Vertner, were convicted for their participation in crimes relating to sex trafficking and interstate transportation for prostitution. Judge John A. Jarvey sentenced Parrish Jason Casebier to 300 months imprisonment, and Cheryl Elaine Tucker to 120 months imprisonment for conspiracy to commit sex trafficking. Kentrell Vertner was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for his role in conspiracy to transport individuals in interstate commerce for prostitution.

Judge Jarvey also sentenced Casebier and Tucker to 5 years of supervised release following their respective terms of imprisonment, and sentenced Vertner to 3 years of supervised release following his imprisonment. Each defendant was also ordered to pay a $100.00 special assessment for the Crime Victims Fund, and ordered to remain in the custody of the United States Marshal pending designation to a Federal Bureau of Prison facility at which he or she will serve that defendant’s federal sentence.

Casebier was found to be the leader of the prostitution operation, and to have committed the acts of physical and sexual abuse against the victims. Tucker was Casebier’s girlfriend and served as his manager of the prostitution operation. Vertner played a much lesser role in the prostitution operation, primarily associated with at times posting internet solicitations for prostitution and assisting with transporting various of the other individuals for prostitution.

The investigation arose out of a Council Bluffs Police Department (PD) response to a June 8th, 2010 request for help regarding an alleged kidnapping at a motel in Council Bluffs. As a result of Council Bluffs PD’s quick response to the call for help, a 19 year old
woman was rescued and another woman taken into protective custody. At that time, Casebier was arrested and charged by the Pottawattamie County Attorney’s Office with kidnaping. The State of Iowa charges were later dismissed, and a federal investigation was begun by the FBI and the Council Bluffs PD.

In February of 2011, as part of the continuing federal investigation, the FBI and Council Bluffs PD conducted a prostitution sting in Council Bluffs. As a result of the sting, a third woman was taken into custody and removed from Casebier’s control. Ultimately, four women were identified as victims of the defendants. The record shows that three of the four victims were originally induced by false promises to join the prostitution operation, and then coerced to participate in prostitution by Casebier’s acts of physical and
sexual abuse and threats of abuse. The fourth victim, a woman who had just turned 19 years of age, was enticed away from a homeless shelter by Casebier with promises of assistance, deceived or forced into being taken by Tucker from Omaha to Council Bluffs, and then coerced by Casebier to engage in acts of prostitution for just over one day until the victim was able to make a call for help without Casebier knowing. The conspiracy lasted from early in 2009, to June 1, 2011, ending with the arrest, on a federal warrant, of Casebier and Tucker by the Iowa State Patrol in eastern Iowa.

The case was investigated by the FBI, the SouthWest Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force, the Council Bluffs, Iowa, Police Department and the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Department, with later assistance by the Pottawattamie County Attorney’s Office. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

Lenox Police Chief John Huggins is offering some advice on how to prevent getting scammed when it comes to making your vacation plans. Even though summer is a ways off yet,many people have begun to think about where they would like to vacation. Don’t let your vacation turn into a nightmare because someone takes advantage of you! There are a lot of vacation scams out there. It makes sense, when you think about it: we all want to save money, and with the economy in its current state, many people are working hard, long hours without any hope of a holiday. The idea of two weeks in Paradise for absolutely free is hard to resist.

Unfortunately, there are many unscrupulous individuals who prey on those exact desires. Their jobs are to lure you in with promises of a free vacation and then get money out of you any way they can. Fortunately, you’re too smart for them (you’re reading this, after all!). Here’s how to spot a vacation scam before it goes too far. There are many warning signs that you’re dealing with a vacation scam. Of course, there are legitimate opportunities to win a free vacation, but usually these require you to actively enter. For example, a travel agency might offer a drawing for a free vacation in order to drum up business.

Unsolicited emails and phone calls, on the other hand, usually aren’t going to hand you a free holiday. Here’s how the scam works: you get a phone call or an email informing you that you have a limited time offer to win a free vacation, or to purchase a vacation at a ridiculously discounted price. All you have to do is answer a few survey questions. So you phone the toll free number and talk to someone who asks you a few routine questions to make the operation look legit. They then congratulate you on winning a free vacation and tell you it’s a limited time offer with only a few vacations remaining, and they need your credit card immediately to pay for port taxes or the like. Once you give them that information, they may or may not tell you that the package is non-refundable. You probably won’t get that money back without involving a lawyer. Here’s what happens next.

There are a variety of free vacation scams, but they all work in more or less the same way:

-You arrive at your destination to find that the food is terrible and the accommodations are dirty and cramped. When you complain, you find that they can give you an upgrade for a ludicrously inflated price.

– You arrive at your destination to find that the food is terrible and the accommodations are dirty and cramped. When you complain, you find that if you choose to move to a new hotel, they will not pay for your return airfare.

-You arrive at your destination to find that your ‘holiday’ will consist at least 50% of time share presentations and high pressure sales tactics.

-Even before you arrive, the fees start to appear: $100 in taxes here, $200 in supplemental fees there.

Here’s the unfortunate truth: it’s very rare to get something for nothing. A free vacation is no exception. Protect yourself from free vacation scams by practicing a healthy dose of skepticism.

The Anita Volunteer Fire Department is one of five departments from across Iowa awarded a total of $941,355 from the U-S Department of Homeland Security’s “Assistance to Firefighters Grants” (AFT) Program. The Anita Fire Department’s share, $213, 750, will be used for a vehicle acquisition. Other departments will use their funds for vehicle acquisition, safety, and operations. The grants were announced today (Wednesday), by Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, who is a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, which funds the Department of Homeland Security.

The Page County Sheriff’s Office is warning residents about recent, attempted phone scams that have been happening in the area. Sheriff Lyle Palmer says one of the attempted scams has a the caller is posing as a law enforcement, court or other, public official, from another country.  The caller says your relative in another country and is in trouble, whether with the court system, law enforcement, or needing money for another reason.  The caller pleads with the resident to send money to keep their relative out of jail, prison, or other legal problems including being stranded. This is a new twist on the old “grandchild in trouble with the law” phone scam. Palmer says fortunately, everyone that has contacted the Page County Sheriff’s Office has not fallen for the scam. 

Another attempted scam that has been reported recently has to do with personal financial issues.  The caller claims to be from a debt collection agency and demands money be sent immediately or the resident will be arrested.  Sheriff Palmer says this is definitely a false accusation as immediate arrests don’t come from debt collection agencies.  They come from court orders or active investigations and are not done over the phone.  Law Enforcement does not call on the phone to collect a debt from a private individual / company.   Law Enforcement will show up in person with a court order from a previous court judgment that was rendered.

 If anyone calls you and wants money sent immediately, always be cautious.  Ask for a phone number to return a call.  If it is a legitimate call, you should have no problem getting one.  Check out the alleged reason for sending money with other relatives, no matter what the caller tells you, even if they claim to be a relative.  Call Law Enforcement to report the call and the details before you would comply with the requests. If someone wants money immediately, it is usually a good indicator of a scam.  Always be cautious about giving any financial information over the phone / internet as it could be “seen” by more than the intended viewer and your information compromised.

The Chair of the Cass County Democratic Committee said today (Wednesday), the County Democratic Central Committee Tuesday elected its new Executive Committee. Sherry Toelle  says she was re-elected as Chairperson. Also elected was: Kathy Kerns, Vice Chair; and, Cheryl Wessels, Secretary. Dale Whittaker was elected to the Treasurer’s Post, following the retirement of former Treasurer Helen Pigg. Elected officers will serve a two-year term (2012 & 2013).

U-S Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt said today (Wednesday), a Mexican citizen, Luis Conde-Alcala, was sentenced Tuesday to 40-months in prison, for being an illegal alien found in the United States after deportation, without proper consent. In handing down the sentence in Council Bluffs, U-S District Judge John Jarvey also ordered Conde-Alcala to serve a three-year term of supervised release, following his incarceration. Conde-Alcala pled guilty to being in the U-S illegally, on May 5th, 2011.

Immigration officials found the man in the Pottawattamie County Jail, on September 8th, 2010, awaiting disposition on a state criminal charge. A check of immigration records showed he had been deported from the U-S on several occasions prior to being found in the Pott. County Jail, with the last time being on September 4th, 2008. The records also revealed Conde-Alcala had not applied for readmission from the Department of Homeland Security, as required.

The investigation was conducted by the U-S Department of Homeland Security, officials with ICE, and prosecuted by the U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa reports 41-year old Gary Eldred Kremer, of Council Bluffs, was sentenced Tuesday to 20-years in prison, after he was convicted on Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine and Possessing a Sawed-off shotgun in furtherance of drug trafficking, charges. Judge John Jarvey sentenced Kremer to 120-months in jail on each charge, with the sentences to be served consecutively. Kremer pled guilty to the charges on September 8th, 2011.

The judge also ordered Kremer to serve 5-years of supervised release following his incarceration, and he must pay a $200 special assessment to the Crime Victims Fund. Kremer will remain the custody of the U-S Marshal’s Service pending designation of a Federal Bureau of Prison facility at which he will serve his federal sentence.

The case against Kremer arose from the execution of a search warrant at his residence in Council Bluffs on January 18, 2011. The search was conducted by the Southwest Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force (SWINE). Co-defendant, 30-year old Shannon Hardisty, who was living in the home at the time, was sentenced in November 2011, to 14-years in prison for his role in the methamphetamine conspiracy. Officials say Kremer and Hardisty had conspired to distribute about 1.4-kilograms of a mixture or substance containing meth from about the Summer of 2010 to January 18th, 2011.

The Atlantic Police Department reports 47-year old Douglas Bissell, of Atlantic, was arrested Tuesday. Bissell was taken into custody on a warrant out of Sarpy County, Nebraska, for Failure to Appear while on Bail, on a felony charge of Making Terroristic Threats. Bissell was released from the Cass County Jail late this (Wednesday) morning, on his own recognizance, per Nebraska authorities.

Despite one area residents’ concerns the City of Atlantic’s well water might be contaminated with oil, the Cass County Board of Supervisors today (Wednesday) approved the rezoning of a small section of  land just outside of the Atlantic City limits, from General Agricultural, to light industrial. John Dvorak made the request to the County’s Zoning Commission last month, in order to expand his tire repair and automotive service business. The Commission approved the request at its February 9th meeting, and forwarded its recommendation to the Board for final approval.  During a public hearing this morning, Zoning Commissioner Rich Hansen explained where land was located. Hansen says the 4.5-acres of land is near the intersection of Olive Street and Great River Road, near the KJAN studios.

Hansen says Dvorak does not need a DNR permit for waste oil disposal, because there would need to be over 1,300 gallons of it on site in order for a permit to be necessary. Dvorak said during the meeting there wouldn’t be anymore than 160-gallons on-hand at any given time. The oil will not be stored underground. Instead it will be stored in approved plastic “totes.” Used oil and Tires at the facility will be properly disposed of using local sources, so there won’t be the “eyesore” of tires piled-up around the business or on the property. Paul Lundquist said while the business serves a need in the area, and he “salutes” Dvorak’s idea to expand his business, he was concerned about the possible effects of well water contamination. He says the business, while located on high ground, will be located over the only source of water for the City of Atlantic. He wanted the Supervisors to get more data on how any potential pollution created by the business could affect the water.

Hansen said because the property is located south and west of the wells, any drainage would flow to the southwest, away from the wells, which are about 1,000-feet away. Hansen said Cass-Adair-Audubon and Guthrie County Sanitarian Steve Patterson has conducted extensive surveys of the land and the possible effect on the wells, and determined there’s no problem with the drainage, or concerns over contamination. Supervisor Chuck Rieken said that’s good enough for him, because Patterson is well qualified to make that determination. He said Patterson is very strict, and “By the Book,” when it comes to environmental safety, and he would never have  recommended approval to the Zoning Board, the plans if they threatened the water.

The Board then voted 4-to-nothing, with Supervisor Frank Waters absent, to approve the zoning change. Afterward, Lundquist said the Board “Made a mistake,” but thanked them for looking into it.

The Cass County Board of Supervisors today (Wednesday), unanimously agreed to pass a Resolution abating property taxes erroneously levied on patrons of the CAM Community School District. Cass County Attorney Dan Feistner and Auditor Dale Sunderman explained the abatement would be for a period of one-year only, due to a line-item error on the 2011-2012 budget. Sunderman says rather than writing a refund check to every person affected, which would be impractical,  they would rebate the amounts paid through the tax process. Sunderman says the State Auditor’s Office approved of the plan as long as the County Attorney agreed, which he did.