Court Affirms Legality Of Recording Police Officers

wbur.org

Last Friday, the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling that affirmed, stronger than ever, the rights of individuals to openly record the actions of police officers.

In 2007, a young lawyer named Simon Glik was walking through Boston Common when he saw three police officers arresting a teenager. Glik thought the officers were getting a little rough, so he flipped open his cellphone camera and started shooting video.

The officers arrested Glik for, in their minds, violating the state’s wire-tapping law, even though the whole incident happened out in public and Glik didn’t try to conceal the fact that he was recording.

The ACLU took up Glik’s cause and the courts threw out the charges against him. Since then, the Boston Police Department has been instructing personnel that the state’s wiretapping law does not apply to people making unconcealed audio or video recordings in public. But Glik and the ACLU have pressed on, suing the BPD and the individual officers for violating his First Amendment rights.

The officers moved to have the suit dismissed, saying they were just enforcing an interpretation of the law that was handed down to them by their superiors. But on Friday, the federal court disagreed.

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Hacker to be sentenced in LA in 'sextortion' case

LOS ANGELES (AP) — By disguising malicious software as popular songs, hacker Luis Mijangos managed to tap into and control more than 100 computers of young women and teenage girls.

He read their emails, watched them through webcams without their knowledge and most damaging was his discovery of nude photos they had taken of themselves. Mijangos then threatened to post the images online unless his victims were willing to provide more racy photos or videos to him or if they went to police.

Mijangos, 32, of Santa Ana is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday in federal court in what authorities believe is one of the more unusual cases they've seen because they contend Mijangos wasn't interested in getting money. He was motivated by sex.

Prosecutors are asking a judge to impose a seven-year prison sentence against Mijangos, who pleaded guilty in March to one count each of computer hacking and wiretapping.

Calling it "sextortion," authorities said Mijangos infiltrated the most intimate parts of his victims' lives and scarred them for a lifetime.

"He could have hacked into their computers, obtained financial information, deleted the malware and left undetected," prosecutors wrote in court documents. "Instead he made contact with his victims and played psychological games with them intending to inflict emotional harm."

Prosecutors portrayed Mijangos as a savvy and sophisticated computer programmer who monitored every detail of those he watched over the course of 1½ years.

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Hidden video cameras found in apartment

baynews9.com

A couple of tenants said they recently discovered hidden video cameras inside their Hillsborough County apartment.

"We understand that we have camera everywhere. In the bathroom, in our room," said tenant Vanya Samokovareva. "They looks like smoke detectors."

Samokovareva, 22, and her roommate, Ralitsa Dzhambazova, 23, are from Bulgaria. The women said they came to Tampa in May through a work-travel program.

"This is terrible. I never expect that this thing can happen to me or my friend," said Dzhambazova. "We just came here to spend one summer in the United States, to work here."

The tenants said they've been renting the Westchase area apartment for about two months and found the hidden video cameras last weekend. Samokovareva said they taped a piece of paper to block the view of the camera in their bathroom, aimed right at the shower.

"The bathroom and your room, this is the private place and you make, in the bathroom you take a shower, you make everything," she said. "This is, I'm sure that if there is a camera, this is the idea to show us somewhere naked and to show what we make in the bathroom."

The tenants said they followed the cables from the hidden camera in their bedroom underneath the carpet to a locked up closet. They broke the lock off and said they found that all the cameras were feeding into a closed circuit TV box connected to a Wi-Fi router.

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Candidate Catches Hidden Camera

valleycentral.com

Jessica Tetreau is outraged.

She’s a candidate for Brownsville City Commissioner District Two.

She’s also a mother, afraid a surveillance camera is spying on her and her children.

Tetreau discovered the camera Friday.

It’s hidden inside the broken window of a neighbor’s home, pointing at the house of her estranged husband.

Tetreau is separated from her husband, but says she still spends a lot of time at his home.

“This is a very well known area where children play,” said Tetreau.

Tetreau said the discovery of the camera confirmed her fear that she and her children were being watched.

"I had already seen a man taking pictures of my children,” said Tetreau.

Whether the camera is an attempt to sabotage Tetreau, she said she doesn't know.

"It would be very disgusting and disturbing if that's why it was set up,” said Tetreau.

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AC Adapter Hidden Camera

You never know who's watching...JDL

Motion Activated, Ultra Covert Hidden Outlet Camera with Built-in Recording.

The power plug adapter spy cam is an ultra-compact and portable, all-in-one covert video recording system. The cleverly designed AC Adapter houses a hidden camera and DVR; the built-in DVR records video directly onto the included Micro SD Card. All you have to do is plug the device into an electrical power outlet, insert the Micro SD Card into the AC Adapter w/ DVR Memory Card slot to start recording video. The AC Adapter with DVR is designed to look like a common household electronic; no one walking past this AC charger would ever suspect it was a highly-versatile and portable video recording system.

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UTC Student Arrested for Planting Cameras in Rooms

newschannel9.com

A UTC student was arrested for more than a dozen felonies because police said he was breaking into girl's apartments and installing hidden cameras.

This is the second time 23-year-old Bernard V. Morris finds himself in trouble on charges related to stalking women. Three years ago we reported he was under a $1.2-million bond because Judge Bob Meeks thought he was a threat to women. Morris served less than a year in prison in 2007 for stalking and setting at least one house on fire.

Now a chilling story is unfolding on the UTC campus. Morris is back in jail on 12 counts of aggravated burglary and one count of aggravated arson.

UTC police said Morris set up secret cameras and microphones inside several girl's dorms in the the Stophel and Guerry Apartments.

Records show the female students who live there told UTC police when they came back from spring break Sunday night they noticed things were not quite right with their clocks, radios and even a decorative snow globe. When officers inspected the items they found tiny, hidden cameras inside them.

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Boxes of child porn, surveillance video removed from salon owner's home

kfvs12.com

MALDEN, MO (KFVS) - Investigators carried out boxes of surveillance video, porn, and child porn from a Malden man's home and business Monday morning.

Malden Police Chief Jarrett Bullock says this is the largest child porn bust in Malden's history and possibly in the state of the Missouri.

Joseph Layland Jr., 36 faces 10 charges after police found surveillance video of customers in a tanning booth at his tanning salon and child porn.

Layland Jr. is charged with four counts of the Class B felony of possession of child pornography, and six counts of the Class D felony of invasion of privacy.

Class B felonies can carry a sentence of five to 15 years. Class D felonies can carry four years each.

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Jury Awards $476,200 Against IRS Agent for Serially Spying on Female Tenant

stockmarketsreview.com
Landlord has to pay $476,200 for spying on his young female tenants by means of a micro video camera hidden in a DVD player he provided with the rental.

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL, January 18, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- On January 13, 2011, a jury awarded damages of $476,200.00 against Kenneth Wayne Ryals, a landlord who had serially spied on his young female tenants by means of a micro video camera hidden in a DVD player he provided with the rental. Mr. Ryals, who is an Internal Revenue Service agent, had confessed to the Davie Police Department that he had watched Plaintiff for his viewing pleasure In response to discovery in the civil suit, Mr. Ryals repeatedly asserted his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Further, despite the pendency of the lawsuit, Mr. Ryals willfully destroyed all the physical evidence in the case, eleven pieces of electronic equipment, including the spy cam that he had hidden in the plaintiffs bedroom.

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Hidden camera found in gas station bathroom

abcHOUSTON (KTRK) -- A shocking discovery was made inside the bathroom of a gas station in one of the busiest parts of town. A woman was horrified to see her every move was being caught on a hidden camera. The victim tells police she found the camera in the bathroom of a Shell station at the West Loop and Westheimer, right in the heart of the Galleria area. And the bathroom wasn't the only place investigators say a camera was recording women inappropriately.

Investigators don't know for how long the cameras were operational at this busy Shell gas station but they know there were several victims.

"It was set up where he could see the women unrobing, taking their clothes off and using the restroom and filming that," said Donna Hawkins with the Harris County District Attorney's Office.

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Video Baby Monitors Broadcast Images From Inside Homes

justnews.com
Video baby monitors can help parents keep watch over their children, but they also can allow strangers to see what's happening inside of homes.

When Coral Springs parent Allison Lindsey turned on her new video baby monitor, she had to do a double take. Instead of seeing her baby girl, Lindsey saw a boy."I saw my neighbor's boy in his crib," Lindsey said.The wireless camera system pointed at Lindsey's baby's crib was picking up images of 16-month-old Tyler next door.Both systems are on the same frequency. Lindsey said she had no clue when she set up the system that the signal would go beyond the walls of her home.She told Tyler's mom, Stacy Kass, who expressed shock."They don't come with any warnings. It never even crossed my mind," Kass said. "How many times I must have walked in there not dressed appropriately, never thinking for a second that anyone could see what was going on in our home. It's beyond creepy."

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Eavesdropping Threat: CamBall rolls into the US

cg
Personal video camcorders have certainly come a long way since their introduction many years ago, and technologies in such devices have also progressed by leaps and bounds that High Definition recording capability was already achieved a few years back on a pocket-sized device. Well, what else can manufacturers do to up the ante? CamBall, as you can tell by its name, could very well be the next step of evolution for personal video camcorders. After all, it measures roughly the size of a mere golf ball (!) and yet is able shoot video virtually anytime, anywhere. Sure, it will not be able to do High Definition video recording, but that is all right considering the rather minuscule size of the device.

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Looxcie Wearable Bluetooth Camcorder

news.ecoustics.com
Looxcie, Inc. announced today the launch of Looxcie™ (look-see), the first small, light, easy-to-wear camcorder that records everything the user sees. A Bluetooth-enabled headset, Looxcie fits comfortably on the ear and points where the user looks. Because it is always on, always recording video, users never have to worry about pressing a record button or missing a key event. When an unexpected moment occurs, a press of the instant clip button captures the last 30 seconds of video and stores it as a permanent clip on the device. Users can immediately share their clips by email while they're fresh and relevant. The accompanying Looxcie smartphone application also turns the phone into a viewfinder, remote control and editing tool for creating clips up to 30 minutes in length.

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'Bug' found in deputy chief's office, but who planted it?

indystar.com
The angst and turmoil within the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department reached a new level Friday when it was revealed that someone -- and it's not clear who -- has been spying on a deputy police chief.An audio and video recording device -- a bug -- was found in the third-floor office of IMPD Deputy Chief William Benjamin after he ordered a sweep that was conducted Thursday night or Friday morning.

It was unclear what prompted Benjamin to request the sweep; Benjamin did not return a phone call from The Indianapolis Star. And it also remained a mystery who planted the bug -- though some were quick to insist they had nothing to do with it.Amid the disquiet already swirling in the department because of several internal investigations, Chief Paul Ciesielski immediately denied he was spying on one of his own -- before announcing yet another internal probe to get to the bottom of who had placed the device in Benjamin's office.

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Mass. seminarian accused of secretly taping woman

boston.com
HAMILTON, Mass.—A student at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary has been charged with secretly videotaping a female student in her dorm room.

Daniel G. Richards was granted $1,000 bail after pleading not guilty at his arraignment Monday to breaking and entering with intent to commit a felony and unlawful wiretapping. He was also ordered to have no contact with the alleged victim.

Prosecutors say police responded to the woman's dorm room in late July after she found a recording device. A subsequent investigation led to a search of the 24-year-old Richard's room in a different dorm and his car.

A spokesman for the seminary tells The Salem News that Richards had been suspended and is no longer living on campus.

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SECURITY ALERT! Latest New Video Spy Gadget

Note: This "Spy Gadget Security Alert" just in from our friend "Mike", so pay attention! You know the drill. He’d tell where he got this secret information from....but then he'd have to.....well, you know! JDL

mattel.com

Barbie® Video Girl™ Doll

Budding Spymasters, take note: Barbie® doll now doubles as a video camera! Girls (or little Spies in training) can record and play back clips with this multi-tasking doll, which has a video camera built right in. Capture everything from a doll's-eye-view, then watch it instantly or upload to your computer. There's an LCD screen on Barbie® doll's back, and a camera lens hidden discreetly in her necklace. Talk about spying on your enemies in style!



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Official allegedly took lurid photos, bugged offices

boston.com
In stunning allegations that appalled residents and town leaders, authorities accused Town Administrator Kyle J. Keady yesterday of planting a video camera in the ceiling of the women’s restroom in Town Hall, secretly recording conversations in his office, and bugging his assistant and the town accountant.
Keady, a 46-year-old who has been town administrator for seven years, compiled “hundreds, perhaps thousands, of photo images’’ taken with hidden cameras, authorities said. Police said they seized hard drives from Keady’s home and office Monday that contained numerous “close-up photos of various body parts’’ of visitors to his office.

The lurid allegations came to light as Keady was arraigned in Ayer District Court on charges of illegal recording, illegal possession of a recording device, and video recording a person in a state of nudity. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.

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"Creepy" Crime: Trying to Put Spying Eye on Ex

nbcdfw.com

A man broke into a Carrollton home on Tuesday and tried to secretly install hidden cameras to spy on his former wife and her current boyfriend, police said.

But his plan went awry when his former wife’s boyfriend returned home as he was installing the devices, said Carrollton police officer Dustin Bartram.

Pete Cuellar said he noticed a strange bag in his hallway and heard an intruder in a back room when he returned home at about noon from running errands.

"I yelled. I said, 'Who's in there?'” Cuellar said. “It got real quiet. I said, 'I'll be back in a minute.' And that's when I went out and started calling 911."

Officers arrived and arrested James Hebison, 51, of New Mexico, who was still inside Cuellar’s house.

Cuellar identified Hebison as his girlfriend’s former husband. He said they divorced about three years ago.

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Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, caught on tape trying to sell access to ex-husband, Prince Andrew

nydailynews.com

The Duchess of York has been caught on tape trying to make big bucks off Buckingham Palace, selling access to ex-hubby Prince Andrew for more than $700,000.

The pathetic bid for money was completely unknown to the prince, who is the second son of Queen Elizabeth and fourth in line to the throne, according to the News of the World, which set up the sting operation.

Ferguson, a 50-year-old redhead, even says flat out the prince "never does accept a penny for anything," before shaking on the shady deal.

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Personal Surveillance: Video Cameras to Watch Your Home From Afar

foxbusiness.com

Daydreams about getting away for the summer (or for just the weekend) can quickly lead to anxiety: Will my home be safe while I'm away? Will the kids obey the rules or throw some wild party? Is my neighbor really checking on the cats?

Enter the high-tech solution: Video cameras to monitor your place from afar.

While Web cams have been around for many years, they have typically been either expensive standalone systems (meaning professional installation required) or about as much fun to set up as chewing tin foil. Thankfully, a new generation of Web cam monitoring systems promises to be easier to install and easier on the wallet.

The classic approach to monitoring your home on your own is to use a video camera that can be connected directly to a home network without the aid of a PC. Panasonic has long been one of the leaders in this area (the company also makes professional surveillance systems). The company's $200 BL-C210A Network Camera can be plugged directly into a home router and accessed through its own Internet address (supplied for free by Panasonic).

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Professor pervert: Lecturer used hidden camera to spy on female students as they showered

dailymail.co.uk

A university lecturer planted a camera in a bathroom air freshener so he could spy on students as they showered.

Paul Hwang, who has taught and studied at Oxford, Cambridge and Harvard, hid the digital camera in the house he was renting out to six women.

Yesterday the 33-year-old's illustrious teaching career was in ruins after he pleaded guilty to voyeurism.

The married academic was teaching business studies at Birmingham's University College when he installed the camera.

One tenant discovered the device after noticing that an Air Wicks freshener appeared to be 'swinging from side to side' from a gap in the wall in October last year.

Later that day she noticed the freshener, which was directed at the shower cubicle, had gone.

A few days later it reappeared. When the woman took it apart, she was 'shocked and disgusted' to discover a digital camera connected to a battery inside, the court heard.

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