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Monday, Nov. 16, 2009 | 2 a.m.
Sun Coverage
At long last, Metro Police are winding down one of the Las Vegas Valley’s most complicated and anticipated criminal investigations in recent years.
After 21 months of investigating, detectives next month expect to turn over to prosecutors the criminal case stemming from last year’s hepatitis C outbreak, courthouse sources said.
The chief target of the investigation is Dr. Dipak Desai, the owner of the now-bankrupt clinics suspected of exposing thousands of patients to the potentially deadly virus during routine colonoscopies. Other medical personnel associated with the clinics, including the anesthetists who injected patients with the sedative propofol during the procedures, are also facing criminal charges, the sources said.
About 5,000 former patients, including roughly 300 who allege the sloppy handling of propofol led to their infections, are suing Desai and the clinics in District Court.
The parallel police investigation, conducted by a team of intelligence detectives, analysts and support staff, has faced numerous obstacles from the beginning.
There was a lack of cooperation from witnesses, many of whom took the Fifth Amendment, and investigators had to pore over 98,000 medical files containing hundreds of thousands of pages of documents.
The decision on whether to file criminal charges will rest with District Attorney David Roger.
•••
THE SUSPECT: Weapons and ammunition were found in Colby Schoolcraft's home, but no criminal complaint has been filed against him.
Sun Archives
- Scientology foe’s arrest raises issue of rights (11-10-2009)
Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Eric Goodman on Thursday ordered Metro Police to return everything they seized in a midnight raid last month at the Las Vegas home of anti-Scientologist Colby Schoolcraft.
Among the items SWAT officers and counterterrorism detectives took were several rifles, including a semi-automatic Yugoslavian AK-47, and numerous boxes and cases of ammunition.
Police arrested Schoolcraft, 23, during the raid for allegedly making threats against the Church of Scientology over the Internet, but the district attorney’s office has not filed a formal criminal complaint.
Schoolcraft is a member of the Internet-fueled group Anonymous, which has embarked on a worldwide campaign to harass the celebrity-laden church.
Lt. Kevin McMahill of Metro’s Counter Terrorism Section said police are disappointed that they have to return the weapons in the middle of the investigation.
“I don’t think it’s a blow to our case, but certainly we would have liked to keep those weapons and ammunition out of his hands at this point,” McMahill said.
Police expect to decide whether to ask the district attorney to file charges against Schoolcraft within the next couple of weeks.
In court papers arguing for the return of the property, which also includes computers and anti-Scientology materials, Schoolcraft’s attorney, Chris Rasmussen, insisted Schoolcraft is just a gun enthusiast who is not planning to commit any acts of violence.
Rasmussen said his client’s Web posting was misinterpreted by police and the Scientology church, which the lawyer alleged has a history of trying to suppress the free speech rights of its critics.
Top attorneys for the Los Angeles-area-based church had asked police to investigate Schoolcraft, a camera buff who has posted videos on YouTube of his group’s protests outside the Las Vegas Scientology church. Both the Web posting and the videos were put up under the screen name “cameranonymous.”
great success!
Better luck next time scientology, law enforcement across the nation is learning how your lawyers manipulate information to use them as your personal army. Your reputation for libel and slander is begining to precede yourself.
"The decision on whether to file criminal charges will rest with District Attorney David Roger."
hey david roger...
just a hunch skippy...
but if charges are not brought against all parties involved in this horrific disaster...
there will be protests outside your office...
on a daily basis...
got that skipster...
This reminds me of the time that Scientology accused the BBC of making a terrorist death threat against them. Yes, the BBC. Those funny little nice British reporters. They tried to get the British police to investigate their claims.
Here is an article on the incident.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/may...
It's sad to see a police force get duped by Scientology into doing their dirty work for them.
Dear Las Vegas Law Enforcement,
I do understand that you cannot ignore these type of calls, no matter how spurious. But, let me tell you a little story.
In Nashville this year, the Scientologists held a Grand Opening for a new building. Anticipating protesters, they got permits to block the sidewalk. They hired off duty police officers from nearby Spring Hill as security. This story got some news coverage:
http://www.wsmv.com/news/19387488/detail...
"The Church of Scientology said it told security these were dangerous people and to do what they needed to do.
"This group has made threats against us. They made bomb threats and death threats, so we had to take it seriously, so we hired some professional security that day," said Brian Fesler, a Church of Scientology representative. "We just trusted what, you know, trusted their judgment."
The above are lies. Anonymous has proven that Scientology has, in fact, issued bomb threats to themselves. They used this tactic back in the 1970s to frame journalist Paulette Cooper, who had written a book critical of the cult.
The FBI has stated we are not a "terrorist group." Our weapons are information and education, not instruments of destruction. I'm sure many of you enjoy recreational shooting. To say you "caught" him loading guns into his car is hyperbolic. If I were going fishing, you'd "catch" me loading rods and tackle into my car.
LVPD, please consider the source of your information next time, and don't react with such rabid hysteria. You were lied to by the Scientologists. They have training routines that drill people in lying effectively.
Scientology used your force as their private army. I can tell you one thing; this is going to open a whole can of legal worms. The best thing you can do is implicate the people responsible for giving the department faulty and misleading information. Google 'Scientology lies abuses.'
You cannot even imagine how bad this really is!
Bottom line is this......
"...Chris Rasmussen, insisted Schoolcraft is just a gun enthusiast who is not planning to commit any acts of violence.
Rasmussen said his client's Web posting was misinterpreted by police and the Scientology church, which the lawyer alleged has a history of trying to suppress the free speech rights of its critics."
Moxon was an un-indited co-conspirator of Operation:Snow white http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_s...
Anyone who thinks his intentions in this case was other than Fair Game is either brain dead or a scientologist.
THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!
There masked criminal terrorists are doing anything possiple to accerate this planet's downward spiral into drugs and madness!
This Colby Scoolcroft is a criminal who commits crimes, probably more crimes than "mere" terrorism, secret crimes like murder or worse, because he a dangerous supressive person.
Supressives are dangerously confused and and actively working against the only ones who can help: Scientology and Hubbard's 100% workable tech.
Las vegas Metro, I seriously hope you reconsider re-arming this criminal masked terrorist hatemonger.
Thanks for the update Sun, however, just a personal thing, I don't like saying that Anonymous is on a world-wide campaign to 'harass' Scientology. It's much more about arming the public with knowledge. Also, as far as the Phoenix faction, we're not staunchly 'anti-Scientology', we're more 'Scientology critics'. Just my 2 cents worth though.
This whole situation with the police and Moxon just smacks of past tactics used by Scientology.
Lets hope the courts and the police see that scientologists are scamming them and end this quickly.
UK charity commision report on the cult of scientology
http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/Lib...
also
QUOTE.
Schoolcraft is a member of the Internet-fueled group Anonymous, which has embarked on a worldwide campaign to harass the celebrity-laden church.
NO protesting is not harasing please get your facts right.
The police got duped again by the $cilons of Idiotology?
Wow, what a waste of resources. You'd think by now, they'd be more smarter since they get bombarded with false complaints by the Church constantly in order to hinder "free speech" from their protesting critics. Great job, Metro.