L.A. Gangs Seek Profit in Peace
Violence Ebbs as Criminal Alliances Emerge in New Test for Authorities
By TAMARA AUDI

LOS ANGELES -- After nearly two decades fighting gangs, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Detective Robert Lyons thought he had seen it all. Until he saw members of the Bloods and the Crips -- rival gangs that spent years in brutal conflict -- meeting amiably in a restaurant.

"They were talking. There was hugging and high-fiving. It was unbelievable," Mr. Lyons said. He has heard a refrain from gang members: Red (the Bloods) and blue (the Crips) make green (money).

Left, members of the Bloods and the Crips, rival Los Angeles street gangs, during a truce attempted in 1992 after the acquittal of police officers in the beating of Rodney King. Below, Crips members in Los Angeles in 1988.

Gangs that were once bloody rivals now are cooperating to wring profits from the sale of illegal drugs and weapons, law-enforcement officials and gang experts say. In some cases, gangs that investigators believed to be sworn enemies share neighborhoods and strike business deals. The collaboration even crosses racial lines, remarkable in a gang world where racial divisions are sharp and clashes are often racially motivated.

"You see African-Americans dealing with Hispanics on obtaining narcotics and weapons. We're seeing Hispanic gang members involved with the Eastern European criminal figures," said Robert W. Clark, acting special agent in charge of the criminal division of the Los Angeles field office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. "Where they see opportunities to collaborate, they do."

Gang activity has been one of the most intractable crime problems facing Southern California for decades, terrorizing communities, claiming hundreds of lives a year in some periods and also breeding a nexus of criminal activity that has been exported to other communities. Los Angeles, along with Chicago, has long been considered one of the centers of gang activity in the U.S.

But gang-related violence is at a 30-year low in Los Angeles, according to experts. Gang-related homicides in Los Angeles totaled 128 in through October of this year, compared with 312 in all of 2002. All reported gang-related crimes, including rape, assault and robberies, totaled 4,899 through October, compared with 7,432 in 2002.

The sharp drop is undoubtedly a landmark success for law-enforcement officials and policy makers, who have used aggressive policing and rehabilitation programs to tackle the problem. But the reports of alliances between formerly warring gangs potentially offers a different explanation: Gangs are committing less violence because they are partnering on criminal activity, creating new challenges for law enforcement.

"Now, instead of having 200 guys that are arch-enemies with 200 other guys, you have 400 guys working together against law enforcement," said the sheriff's detective, Mr. Lyons.

There are still plenty of rivalries and violence. One Los Angeles-area Latino gang, Barrio Hawaiian Gardens, was charged this spring with hate crimes against African-Americans -- including targeted shootings.

Tracking the number of gang members is notoriously tricky, and membership is fluid. But a November report from the California Gang Node Advisory Committee, which attempts to track gang membership, put the number of gang members at 85,832 in Los Angeles County, up slightly from recent years.

And the number of gang members has been on the upswing nationally. There were about one million gang members in the U.S. in 2008, up from 800,000 in 2005, according to the National Gang Threat Assessment, compiled by the National Gang Intelligence Center and the National Drug Intelligence Center.

Some regions of the country -- like New England, with 640 gangs -- are seeing an increase in violence as gangs grow and fight for control of neighborhoods and the drug trade, the report said. But there is cohesion in other regions, like Washington and Oregon, where "alliances between gangs may result in the expansion of criminal networks and increased criminal activity in the Northwest Region," the report says.

In Los Angeles, federal and local law-enforcement agencies have launched massive investigations and raids against gangs. In 2009, law-enforcement officials arrested more than 650 gang members in Southern California, according to the FBI.

City officials also credit gang-prevention and rehabilitation programs for the drop in crime. Gang intervention workers -- often former gang members -- work alongside police to prevent retaliatory shootings. Homeboy Industries, a privately funded gang-rehabilitation program in Los Angeles, serves around 12,000 people a year who have left gangs, providing job training, counseling and tattoo removal. And the mayor's office has sponsored activities like basketball games and picnics among neighborhoods that are home to feuding gangs.

But intensifying pressure from police has also prompted gangs to work together, said Jorja Leap, a University of California, Los Angeles professor and gang expert. "They really are united against what they perceive to be a common enemy -- law enforcement," said Ms. Leap, who now advises Los Angeles County Sheriff Leroy Baca on gangs.

Ms. Leap said gangs form links to survive -- and to maximize profits. "The market is tougher and they're consolidating," she said.

Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said gangs are "treating their activities more like businesses than before. In business, you work with whoever you have to."

This collaboration can make tracking gang crime and dismantling gangs more complicated. Members of street gangs are showing up unexpectedly in health-care and credit-card fraud investigations, which have traditionally been run by Eastern European crime rings.

During a two-year investigation of the Athens Park Bloods, an African-American gang entrenched in south Los Angeles, investigators learned the members had formed a pact with a Hispanic gang called Barrio 13. Eventually, 22 people were charged -- 20 African-Americans and two Hispanics.

"They shared the same guns, the same narcotics, the same neighborhood," said Mr. Lyons, the sheriff's detective.

Write to Tamara Audi at tammy.audi@wsj.com
Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page A3

Labels: crips, gangs, graffiti, graffiti removal, help, Latin Kings, NETA, new jersey, pictures, Police, voilence

Knauf Tianjin Plasterboard Co. Ltd., a Chinese drywall manufacturer, is responsible for sending hundreds of thousands of sheets of dangerous drywall into the United States. This Chinese Drywall is responsible for corroding copper wires and pipes in electrical systems and HVACs. The Chinese drywall also contains contaminants that are causing a foul odor of rotten eggs, irritated eyes, respiratory problems, nose bleeds, and headaches that alleviate only when homeowners are away from their homes. One of the hypothesized reasons for the drywall is harmful is as follows; As the Chinese drywall was stored in barges for several months at a time, awaiting entrance into the US, the products soaked in excessive levels of moisture from the sea. When the Chinese drywall was installed into homes, the drywall would dry out and release toxic sulfuric fumes known as hydrogen sulfide.

While the Chinese drywall was first thought to have only been installed in homes in Florida and Virginia, more and more states are reporting homes with Chinese drywall. New Jersey is one of the latest to have homes with the dangerous gypsum board. New Jersey homes that are likely affected by defective Chinese drywall are usually built between the years 2004 and 2007. It is reported that over 550 million pounds of Chinese drywall have been offloaded to U.S. Ports since 2006. This equates to at least 60,000 average sized homes that are likely to be affected

by defective Chinese drywall, many of which could be located in New Jersey. Some analysts place the estimated number of homes affected by defective Chinese drywall over 100,000, making it all more likely that this may become a disaster of colossal magnitude.

If you or a loved one is showing medical symptoms similar to those caused by Chinese drywall, or if copper wiring in the home is turning black and corroded, call Bio-Clean. Our staff can identify if your drywall is in fact dangerous Chinese drywall, then if necessary remove and replace it.

Labels: Chinese Drywall

Check out www.BioCleanRestoration.com for some important information on Sewage Damage!

Labels: bio-clean restoration, Sewage, sewage backup, sewage remediation

Good news for people and the families of people suffering from compulsive hoarding disorder. Bio-Clean's website has been updated to include a Hoarder Help page! Check it out here! And because no blog post is complete without some media, here's a video clip from "Help! I'm a hoarder!"

Labels: crimescenecleaning.net, help, hoarders, hoarding

Whose childhood wasn’t filled with the sound of their Mother saying, “Don’t put those coins in your mouth! Take them out! And stop licking that dollar!”… … … What you guys didn’t constantly lick money as a kid? Jeez, now I feel kind of awkward… WELL – anyway – regardless of whether your mom told you not to put money in your mouth once or on a near hourly basis, she was right to do so! Paper money passes between hundreds of hands, and those hands are frequently also used to cover sneezes and coughs. Money can carry serious diseases… But what diseases? And how serious? And what about H1N1? Well let’s find out!

IS H1N1 ON MY MONEY?

Because H1N1 is a virus, it isn’t able to live long outside of a host body. That means that Swine flu dies within about 20 minutes when outside of an infected person. This means that most dollar bills encountered in your daily life will be free of H1N1. But notice I said most. When H1N1 is suspended within human mucus on paper money, it can live up to TEN DAYS !

Now you may be thinking, “Okay, well, as long as my cash isn’t dripping in snot, it looks like I’m in the clear!” Not so! Four out of Five paper bills are contaminated with at least tract amounts of cocaine. Users of cocaine will roll up bills, insert them in their mucus-rich noses, and snort up the powdery drug. When these bills are put back into circulation, they are able to cross contaminate and spread mucus, bacteria, viruses, and trace amounts of cocaine to other bills. If a few contaminated bills get into a money counting machine, hundreds of bills can all become contaminated within a matter of seconds! The same thing goes for infected bills that are introduced into ATM machines, money tills, or even the one dollar bills your grandmother put in your birthday card!

WHAT ELSE IS ON MY MONEY!?

H1N1 and flu viruses aren’t the only pathogen that can survive and spread via paper currency. “Researchers at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio collected 68 dollar bills from people at a grocery store and a high-school sporting event. According to Dr. Peter Ender, lead researcher, sixty-four (94%) of the bills were contaminated with bacteria known to cause either serious or mild illness. Five bills (7%) were found to be contaminated with bacteria which can cause infections in healthy people. Those bacteria included Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae, both of which can cause pneumonia or blood infections. Fifty-nine bills were contaminated with bacteria that are usually harmless in healthy individuals, but can still trigger serious illness in those with depressed immune systems, such as people undergoing various types of medical treatment or those with HIV.”(From Hawaii Reporter, May 15, 2008)

While those were some staggering statistics and diseases on paper currency are a big problem, on average a dollar bill poses no more of an infectious threat than the average computer keyboard or office doorknob. (Fun Fact – studies have shown that a dollar bill IS dirtier than the average toilet seat!) However, as time progresses, international monetary transactions become more and more commonplace. Your office doorknob has, and will always be, connected to a door in your office. A dollar bill could travel to Hong Kong, then to India, then to Las Vegas, and then to you! The risk of slightly different mutations of common diseases that exist in other continents traveling back to the US is a very real possibility. In this world full of modern, drug resistant germs and bacteria, a treatment-resistant version of a common disease could very well be introduced to the United States from a foreign land via paper money.

IS ANYONE DOING ANYTHING TO MAKE MONEY LESS FILTHY?

Yes there is! But unfortunately, only in Japan. Since the late 1990’s, certain Japanese banks have been introducing new ATM machines designed to dispense clean, sterile money. These special, “clean ATMs,” take in contaminated, wrinkled, old yen. The old bills are then fed through metal rollers heated to 392°F. This kills 90% of all bacteria and leaves the notes flat and crisp. Hitachi invented this sanitization process by accident when trying to create a machine to iron out crumbled bills. When the designers realized that the high temperature required to iron the bills also killed bacteria, the clean ATM was born. Cash is a favored gift at Japanese weddings, and because of Japan’s extremely high regard for cleanliness, no respectable Japanese would give anything but untainted bills.

WHAT CAN I DO ABOUT MY FILTHY MONEY?

If you have any contaminated money you would like to get rid of, please e-mail me, and I can arrange the pickup and disposal of any contaminated bills, from $1 to $100. Hahahaha. Seeing as no one wants to do that, there are other ways you can feel safe about handling money. Day to day money handling won’t lead to a high risk of infection, but for people who handle lots of paper bills a day, like people who work at cash registers, catching something from money can be a real possibility. Keep hand sanitizer with you, and use it often. Until the US gets clean ATMs, washing your hands frequently is the best way to prevent getting sick from your money.

Hopefully this article helped you realize how any why money becomes contaminated. Remember, if you have an outbreak of disease in your home, school, or office, Bio-Clean of New Jersey offers complete decontamination services. For more information on Bio-Clean Disease Decontamination, give us a call or check out our website!

Until the next post, stay healthy- and get that five’r out of your mouth!

Labels: disease, H1N1, H1N1 decontamination, infection control, money

Labels: water damage, water damage restoration, weatherizing

With less than a month before December 21^st, the official start of Winter, it becomes more and more important to make sure that your home is properly weatherized, especially in the case of your water pipes. Every year, 250,000 properties in the United States have at least one room damaged by a burst pipe. When water freezes, it expands by approximately 9%. Because of this, cold winter weather can often cause the water in your pipes to freeze, expand, and burst your pipe. Burst pipes are a serious and all too frequent problem, causing homeowners to file home insurance claims 5x more often than fire damage claims.

That having been said, let’s take a look at how you can protect your home from harsh winter weather. It’s a little colder out than last week, so hopefully your outdoor preparations are complete, and you can go ahead and move indoors.

INDOOR WINTER WEATHER PREPARATION TIP SHEET!

1.) INSULATE YOUR ATTIC
Heat rises, so it’s no surprise that much of the heat from your house can quickly escape through a poorly insulated attic. When this happens, losing money on heating bills could just be your first problem. When snow falls on a roof with a poorly insulated attic underneath, the heat from the home escapes and begins to melt the snow on your roof. The snow then begins to refreeze. As more snow piles on, more snow freezes and refreezes on your roof. This can cause ICE DAMMING, a phenomenon that can cause water seepage (and mold damage down the line) or even a collapsed roof! Make sure your attic is properly insulated this winter.

2.) LOCATE YOUR PLUMBING SYSTEM SHUTOFF VALVE
If a pipe does break and leak inside your home this winter, where your plumbing shutoff valve is located will be a critical piece of information. Some shutoff valves aren’t easy to operate without a pipe wrench, so keep one near your shutoff valve in case of emergency.

3.) KEEP IT HEATED EVEN WHEN YOU’RE AWAY
If you plan on leaving your home for more than a few days in a row this holiday season, make sure to properly prepare your home before you leave. Keep your home heated to at least 65 degrees while you are gone. Open up under-sink cabinets to allow warm air to reach the pipes. Allow your faucets to drip a little to alleviate pressure in potentially frozen pipes. If you follow these steps, you should be able to leave for grandma’s house with confidence that your property will be safe, warm, and dry when you get back.

4.) ROUTINE SERVICING
Late autumn to early winter is a good time to have your heating system, fireplace, chimney, and wood-burning stoves professionally serviced. Annual servicing not only makes your property safer, but it also improves functionality. It’s always better to find a problem with your heater when its warm, as opposed to having your heater shut off unexpectedly in the freezing dead of winter. Clean air ducts means improved heat dispersal throughout your entire property. Have your air ducts cleaned by Bio-Clean of New Jersey this winter!

5.) INSULATE YOUR PIPES
Insulating the pipes in your home is the most critical step in avoiding a catastrophic pipe burst. Exposed pipes are commonly found in basements, unfinished garages, mudrooms, and laundry rooms. Check these pipes for existing leaks and damage, and make sure they are properly insulated. Heat tape, slide-on foam insulators, and and fiberglass insulation are all available at your local home improvement store.

Even if you follow all of these steps, old man Winter can still sometimes find a way into your home, wreaking havoc along the way. If your property suffers a catastrophic pipe burst, call the water damage remediation professionals-- Call Bio-Clean of New Jersey.

Labels: burst pipes, frozen pipes, water damage, water damage restoration, weatherizing

Sewage back-ups can be very dangerous to home and business owners and their loved ones. There are many risks created by infectious agents found in the waste material that runs over into your house or business.

A sewage back up occurs when the drainage pipes that are connected from your house or business to the main drainage pipes become jammed with tree roots or other materials that have been introduced to the system. The materials in those pipes contain microorganisms that are considered to be harmful. It is not only considered dirty, but also toxic because of the presence of harmful bacteria, germs, viruses and fungi in the organic matter. That wastewater is meant to go directly to a treatment plant that eradicates the dangerous germs and pathogens. If it stops anywhere before making it to the treatment plant, it is considered raw sewage and is very dangerous.
If the over-flow is not taken care of immediately waste water can ooze into the walls, carpets and other flooring, making it much more difficult to clean up. Each surface and area that has come in contact with the wastewater must be decontaminated using proper procedures to insure complete eradication of the bacteria and to inhibit the possibility of dangerous mold growth.

Of course you have the option of cleaning it up yourself. However it is a very arduous task that takes a not only a large amount of physical effort, but there are chances of becoming infected from the toxic water if proper equipment and proper procedures are not used. A professional bio-hazard decontamination company (like Bio-Clean of New Jersey) will have the proper equipment and trained staff already in place to handle the problem. They can also assist with the insurance company claim, leaving the home or business owner to deal with other matters.

If you or someone you know has a sewage backup in their property, Check out our Sewage Remediation webpage, and Call Bio-Clean of New Jersey! Don't put yourself through a disgusting, stinky, dirty, and dangerous ordeal; call the professionals-- Call Bio-Clean of New Jersey.

Labels: biohazard, Sewage, sewage backup, sewage remediation