Nancy Bilyeau
The Crime Report
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Past articles by Nancy:
Stop 'Locking Up' the Drug Problem, Prosecutors Told
In recent years, drug addiction has been described as a public health crisis, but that perspective has mostly been missing in American courtrooms., where prosecutors focus on punishment rather than rehabilitation and care, a webinar at John Jay College was told this week. → Read More
Treasury Chief Yellen Calls Ransomware 'Direct Threat' to Economy
The volume of suspected ransomware payments is likely to double this year, posing a “direct threat” to the U.S. economy, says U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen. Yellen’s comments appeared in a recent Treasury Department report, which linked nearly $600 million in transactions to ransomware payments in “Suspicious Activity Reports” financial services firms have filed to the U.S. government… → Read More
Sex Crime Cases Still Leave Women Waiting for Justice, Despite #MeToo
While the #MeToo movement has had an enormous cultural impact, prosecuting sexual assault cases far from Hollywood leaves too many victims feeling unheard, discriminated against, and bereft of justice, a webinar on the justice system's response to crimes of sexual violence was told this week. → Read More
Individuals Awaiting Trial Represent 77% of Jail Suicides: BJS
Nearly a fifth (19 percent) of the nation’s 1,161 state and federal prisons and a tenth (9 percent) of the 2,845 local jails recorded at least one suicide in 2019, reported the Bureau of Justice Statistics. A second BJS report found that over three-quarters of a million individuals were held in local jails in mid-2019. → Read More
COVID Spurs 'Scourge' of Organized Crime: Report
The majority of people worldwide live in countries with high levels of organized crime, a crisis made worse by COVID-19, according to an index released Tuesday by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. → Read More
The Media and the 'Right to be Forgotten'
At least 11 states now have automatic record expungement laws, but stories of arrests and even mugshots last forever on the internet―unless media outlets and criminal justice advocates can agree on consistent policies to address it. → Read More
Watch Your Driver's License: Cyberscammers Exploit COVID-19
The pandemic has been a fertile opportunity for cyberscammers. In one example, scammers are exploiting online information from expired driver's licenses, a practice described by a spokesperson for the Illinois secretary of state’s office as "despicable.' → Read More
It's Time to Halt Post-9/11 Anti-Terror Sting Operations, Say Critics
After 9/11, the FBI's change from a crime-investigating organization to an intelligence-gathering agency was accompanied by an increased use of sting operations. A new PBS documentary focuses on one operation in Miami that revealed the often-questionable grounds for such operations, and the abuses they fostered. → Read More
After REvil, Who Are the Next Cyber Saboteurs?
Cybercrime experts are asking whether REvil, the notorious group of Russian hackers responsible for million-dollar ransomware attacks worldwide, is feally gone for good--or perating under a new name. A more interesting question: has the group's exposure helped authorities strengthen defenses against future attacks? → Read More
Has the US Fired a Cybershot at Russia?
The mystery over the sudden disappearance of a Russian-speaking cybercrime gang believed responsible for hacking more than 360 targets in the United States in 2021 alone has raised questions about whether the cyber "cold war" between Russia and the U.S. is heating up. → Read More
Secret NSA Surveillance Program Operates with 'No Oversight'
Almost eight years after former CIA contractor Edward Snowden revealed the existence of a massive domestic spying program, the National Security Agency still operates a clandestine surveillance tool that threatens Americans' privacy, according to a dissenting member of a watchdog group that just completed a report on the "XKeyscore program." → Read More
Cheap Clicks: How the Media 'Stigmatizes' Suspects
Recent decisions by some media outlets to shield the names of those arrested for misdemeanors raises questions about the media's longtime reliance on crime news, much of it sensational, writes Jack Shafer, senior media writer for Politico. → Read More
Bribes to Doctors Drove Addiction to Fentanyl-Based Painkillers: Court
The case of Dr. Jeffrey Goldstein, an Upper East Manhattan doctor who was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison last week in connection with a kickback scheme involving Fentanyl, draws back the curtain on a different form of fentanyl abuse. Goldstein was prescribing Subsys, a potent fentanyl-based spray, in exchange for bribes and kickbacks from Subsys’s manufacturer, according to the United… → Read More
Drug Firm Paid $200K to Doctor for Pushing Fentanyl-Based Painkillers: Court Says
The case of Dr. Jeffrey Goldstein, sentenced last week to 57 months in prison, sheds light on a kickback scheme for prescribing fentanyl to patients that included a trip to a NYC strip club. → Read More
World's Largest Meat Supplier Targeted in Cyberattack
The attack on JBS USA affected servers supporting its IT systems in North America and Australia. The company blamed an "organized" group of cybersaboteurs, and warned of temporary shortages. → Read More
SolarWinds Tied to New Cyberattack
Microsoft announced on Thursday that it had observed cyberattacks by the threat actor Nobelium, the same actor behind the SolarWinds 2020 hack, that are targeting government agencies, think tanks, consultants and non-governmental organizations. → Read More
Republicans Try to Block 'Unbalanced' Commission on Capitol Riot
"A lot of the jabbering in the House―for and against the thing―seems like thinly veiled midterm strategy," said Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb). "And if that's all this becomes, it'd be better for historians to take the long view than for politicians to take the short view." → Read More
Former Justice Official Calls for 'Troop Surge' in Fighting Ransomware
The federal government needs to put resources into hiring more cyber prosecutors and agents to conduct long-term, proactive investigations into ransomware gangs and the organizations that enable them, writes Kellen Dwyer, who was in charge of cybersecurity policy and represented the DOJ on the National Security Council. → Read More
Yang Calls Rikers a 'Stain' on NYC, as Crime Fears Complicate Mayoral Race
Andrew Yang, the lead candidate in the race, promised to continue plans to shutter the sprawling jail complex. But rising crime has introduced concerns for public safety into this year's mayoral campaign. → Read More
'Militarization' Distorts US Policing: Paper
The growing use of military gear and tactics by U.S. police over the last 30 years has transformed many aspects of local law enforcement into "national security operations" that have been especially damaging to communities of color, warns a Georgetown University law professor. → Read More