Rockland County, NY - Computer Crimes Task Force Casts A Wide Net
Rockland County, NY - It's a criminal world without guns, where faceless thieves steal and strangers prey upon the trust of children. That world is the beat of the Rockland County Sheriff Department's Computer Crime Task Force, one of scores of police agencies investigating illegal activities online.
"Basically, it's technological warfare," said Shlomo Koenig, a Sheriff's Department detective assigned to the task force that was begun six years ago by the Sheriff's Department and District Attorney's Office.
Since 2000, 137 arrests have occurred as a result of investigations by the task force, including 126 cases involving suspected pedophiles chatting up prospective victims on the Internet.
The number of pedophiles has surprised some law-enforcement officials.
All of the cases involving Rockland children have been prosecuted federally after investigations by the local task force.
Since the task force began, it has assisted other police agencies on nearly 700 occasions and conducted nearly 300 forensic examinations of computer hard drives.
Cases have included homicides and even suicides in which law-enforcement agencies sought access to computer files as part of their investigations.
With a few taps of his keyboard, Koenig summons Web sites advertising stolen credit cards, and buyers looking for specific cards. There are driver's licenses offered for sale from every state, and sellers offering thousands of e-mail addresses to spammers. "Companies tell you they're losing sales every day to the Internet," Koenig said. "Well, the criminals are moving there, too."
"Basically, it's technological warfare," said Shlomo Koenig, a Sheriff's Department detective assigned to the task force that was begun six years ago by the Sheriff's Department and District Attorney's Office.
Since 2000, 137 arrests have occurred as a result of investigations by the task force, including 126 cases involving suspected pedophiles chatting up prospective victims on the Internet.
The number of pedophiles has surprised some law-enforcement officials.
All of the cases involving Rockland children have been prosecuted federally after investigations by the local task force.
Since the task force began, it has assisted other police agencies on nearly 700 occasions and conducted nearly 300 forensic examinations of computer hard drives.
Cases have included homicides and even suicides in which law-enforcement agencies sought access to computer files as part of their investigations.
With a few taps of his keyboard, Koenig summons Web sites advertising stolen credit cards, and buyers looking for specific cards. There are driver's licenses offered for sale from every state, and sellers offering thousands of e-mail addresses to spammers. "Companies tell you they're losing sales every day to the Internet," Koenig said. "Well, the criminals are moving there, too."
posted by VOS IZ NEIAS @ 6/18/2006 12:21:00 PM
1 Comments:
At 1:49 PM,
Anonymous said…
Shlomo Koenig is a very interesting man whose acaquaintance I had the pleasure of making some years ago. He is not only frum -- he is actually a Vishnitzer Hasid who about 10 or 15 years ago was a businessman and the mayor of one of the Hasidic villages up there. He became friendly with the Rockland County sheriff, who bemoaned the lack of an Orthodox presence on his police force, at a time when the frum population of Rockland was growing sharply, and suggested Koenig become an officer. After consulting with his rabbonim and being assured that what he was doing would benefit the community and be a kiddush Hashem, he underwent training at the county police academy (he did NOT attend on Shabbos), graduated with flying colors, in fact winning a marksmanship award, and went to work for the RCSO as perhaps the world's only Hasidic police officer -- getting a heter from the rabbis to wear a police uniform and a waiver from the sheriff to allow him to keep his beard and peyos. In addition to his regular police work, including arresting criminals, he has since worked largely as a liason between the RCSO and local police departments up there and the Orthodox community, which makes up a large minority of the county's population. He's a good guy. Glad to see he got his gold shield and is now a detective. Good hunting going after those computer thieves and pedophiles, Shlomo!!!!!
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