NY Governor Orders Background Checks of His Staff

Gov. David Paterson has ordered background checks of all executive chamber employees after learning that such a check had not been done on his chief of staff, who came under fire for failing to pay taxes.

Sixty percent of executive chamber employees didn't have completed background checks and some of the material employees submitted for the checks is lost, Paterson said in a statement Wednesday night.

The background checks, which are not required by law, were started by Paterson's predecessor, Gov. Eliot Spitzer.

The checks were designed to discover and avoid any conflicts of interest. Potentially, an employee could lose his or her job if the check discovered a conflict or some other major problem, such as a felony conviction, that the employee hadn't reported to the governor.

A background check had not been completed on Paterson chief of staff Charles O'Byrne, who failed to pay nearly $300,000 in taxes from 2001-2005.

Background Checks Not Required for All Adults that Work With Children

It's a frightening prospect - 21 men, some driving hundreds of miles, to meet your child.

This time, the kids were actually adult decoys and police. The next time, and the time before, it may have been a different story.

When asked by 24 Hour News 8, one of the men arrested in last weekend's Internet predator sting said this was his first attempted encounter with a minor.

"You're telling me that this is the first time that you got into a sexual conversation with an underage person on the Internet?" 24 Hour News 8 asked one of the suspects.

"That I remember," answered 35-year-old Tyson Jenkins, a disabled Gulf War vet from Indiana.

Perhaps more frightening is the jobs some of these men have that put them in direct contact with children.

Eric Wesche was a junior varsity soccer coach in Cedar Springs. Mike Greenberg was a youth hockey league referee in Hazel Park. Michael Shaler worked at a Toys R Us store in Saginaw.

Nothing 24 Hour News 8 discovered in these men's history indicated a previous problem that a background check would have found.

TSA Proposes Background Checks on Private Jet Passengers

Travelers who fly on private corporate jets would have to clear background checks before boarding under a new proposal made Thursday by the Transportation Security Administration.

The TSA is seeking to impose the security requirements on roughly 15,000 corporate jets and 315 small airports that currently have none.

A group of private-plane owners and pilots warned that the proposal could be costly and represent an unprecedented intrusion into private flying. Hundreds of thousands of people travel each year on such jets.

There is no specific threat to corporate jets, but the TSA said in its 260-page proposal that many are the same size and weight as commercial planes "and they could be used effectively to commit a terrorist act." Private jets, possibly packed with explosives, could fly into a building or could transport terrorists or dangerous materials, the TSA said.

"This is an important milestone," said Michal Morgan, TSA head of general aviation security. "It's the evolution of security into a new operating environment."

Law Puts Troops on Fast Track to Citizenship

A new law will help speed up the application process for foreign-born U.S. troops seeking American citizenship.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) introduced the Military Personnel Processing Act, which will reduce FBI background check delays and other red-tape barriers holding back Iraq and Afghanistan service members' citizenship applications. President George W. Bush signed the bill into law yesterday.

"When men and women risk their lives overseas to serve and protect America, it is unconscionable that America would then leave them hanging by a thread for months and years while waiting for citizenship in the country," Schumer said.

City Considers Background Checks for Dog Owners

Sumner dog owners could face police background checks before they could get a pet license under one proposal heard Monday night by the City Council as it considered the city's first dangerous dog ordinance.

Sumner City Councilman Matt Richardson said some procedure is needed to try and spot dangerous dogs coming into the community, saying the ordinance must have "no loopholes." At the very least, he said anyone seeking a pet license must state under pain of perjury whether they have been convicted of a dangerous dog violation in the past.

If one dog owner must get a background check then all dog owners would need one.

Councilman Curt Brown wondered if that meant the person with the little wiener dog would need a background check.

Sumner Police Chief John Galle said his concern is that background checks by the State Patrol would simply mean people won't license their animals. It would also cost $10 and add to the cost of a license.

Policy Change Requires Background Check for Hospital Volunteers

A few weeks ago, a woman walked into Suzanne Gray's office at the Colmery-O'Neil VA Medical Center to offer her volunteer services.

The former Marine had just moved to the area and was excited about volunteering, but when Gray told her she would have to submit to fingerprinting and a background check, the woman became upset and left.

That might not be a common occurrence, but new regulations requiring background checks of hospital volunteers may throw some people off.

"The days of coming in and saying you want to play cards with the veterans that day are gone," said Jim Gleis-berg, spokesman for the VA Eastern Kansas Health Care System.

The Joint Commission, through which medical centers receive their accreditation, changed the rules in January to include volunteers in the category of employees in terms of job application requirements, said Beverly Rice, director of volunteer services at Stormont-Vail Regional Health Center.

Now, if someone goes into Stormont-Vail wanting to give of his or her time, the person has to have a tuberculosis screen and reference check, attend an orientation, and undergo a background check, which takes a few hours, Rice said.

BACKGROUND CHECK AT STATE FAIR LANDS FUGITIVE BEHIND BARS

A fugitive is back behind bars after trying to get a job at the Alabama State Fair in Pelham Monday.
58-year-old Preston Goff is wanted for robbery in Flathead, Montana.
He applied for a job at the fair around noon Monday, and managers ran a background check. When Goff realized the situation, he ran and hid in nearby woods.
Alabama State Fair employees called police, who the launched a 4-hour search for Goff.
Two nearby schools were placed on lockdown.
Goff finally surrendered and is now in the Shelby County Jail, waiting to be extradited back to Montana.
Goff’s criminal record includes armed robbery assaulting a police officer, forgery and vehicle theft.
Alabama State Fair organizers say they always fully screen all applicants.
“We try to run a clean, safe fun fair. We want parents to feel secure about our employees because their picking children up, helping them on and off rides,” says David Renfro of Universal Fairs.
Pelham police, Hoover police, Alabama State Troopers and officers with the Alabama Prison System helped search for Goff.

SUFFOLK CIRCUIT COURT PULLS ITS ONLINE RECORDS SERVICE

Trying to do a background check? Interested in seeing who has filed for divorce?Until recently, it was easy to search Suffolk Circuit Court documents online.Those records were pulled off the Internet in early September, a week after a Virginian-Pilot story pointed out people whose cases were slated to be heard by a grand jury were showing up as indicted before the grand jury had met.Now, those who regularly check Suffolk Circuit Court records must call or visit the clerk's office to access those records.
This should only be temporary, said Randy Carter, clerk of the Circuit Court. His office pulled the records from the Virginia Supreme Court's Web site at courts.state.va.us in order to review what was being posted for the public to see.The records should be back online within seven to 10 days, Carter said. This time, the cases pending before the grand jury won't show up as "true bill," meaning the grand jury found enough evidence for the case to stand trial, until after the grand jury makes that decision, he said.Legally, the clerk's office isn't obligated to make case information available online. Files must be available for inspection if someone comes to the office and requests them, Carter said. The online service was provided as a convenience, he said.And it has been inconvenient for a lot of people who used the records since they were taken offline. Carter said his office fielded "quite a few" calls from companies that do background checks on potential employees, as well as from newspapers and lawyers."Make no mistake about it, it has been an inconvenience for us," said C. Phillips "Phil" Ferguson, Suffolk's commonwealth's attorney. "But we can work with it as long as it is temporary in nature."

HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW THOSE CARING FOR YOUR FAMILY?

92 year old Ilalie Robinson is legally blind. That's why she depended on her in-house nurse, Regina Tatum, to help her out.
"She wrote out my bills for me and I signed the checks...but this check she tried to pass she had tried to sign my name and they knew down there that it wasn't my signature," said Robinson.
Tatum, also known as Regina Jacobs, worked at Jordan Health Services in Longview.
Longview Police say she has been charged with forgery in this case.
Robinson says Tatum opened credit cards in her name.
"When she'd go buy my groceries. She'd buy her some...she brought quite a bit a things at Wal-Mart on my card."
Longview Police say people need to do their homework before hiring someone to help care for family members. A couple of tips - run your own background check, and always ask for references.
"If you can find a family friend or somebody to help with their finances and not having home health care people write checks and not have to deal with that person's financial information that would be all the better," said Kevin Brownlee with the Longview Police Department.
Now, all Robinson has left is her social security money to survive.
"She just...I just can't believe it, still can't believe that she would do that to me."
Jordan's Health Services, where Regina Tatum worked, tells KLTV they did do a background check on Tatum, but her criminal history did not warrant them to not hire her.
After an investigation into the allegations, Tatum was fired.
Longview Police are still investigating this incident and more charges could be filed.

BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR VOLUNTEERS

The ConVal School District is working with area police departments to conduct background checks and collect fingerprint samples from parent and community volunteers.

In accordance with state law, the district has adopted a policy defining a "designated volunteer" as one who has regular or one-on-one contact with students. The law governing employee and volunteer background checks mandates criminal record checks for all school district employees, volunteers, or contractors.

District Superintendent Richard Bergeron plans to distribute a letter to all parents in the district explaining the process.

"We recognize that adherence to this requirement, while not a new regulation, is new to our parent/volunteer community," reads the letter. "However, our purpose is to maintain the safety of all of our students to the best of our ability."

School District to Fingerprint Volunteers

Parent volunteers who work with students in the Higley Unified School District will now be fingerprinted and the district may choose to conduct a background check.

The school board approved the new policy Thursday night that will be piloted through the end of the year. The district wants to assess the costs, which run between $25 and $60 per volunteer, and plans to survey parents and school staff to determine if this is the path the district wants to take, said Denise Birdwell, a district associate superintendent.

“It’s not a requirement to fingerprint parents, but it is our obligation to fingerprint adults working with our kids,” Birdwell said.

Parent volunteers who work in a school office or help under the supervision of a teacher will now be asked to complete a volunteer information form that includes employment and criminal history. Birdwell calls the form an “honesty check.”

The three-tiered policy outlines what checks the district will conduct depending on how much interaction the volunteer has with students.

Volunteers also will now receive a basic orientation including information on the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, first aid and CPR, and guidelines on how best to interact with students and how to avoid false accusations.

The district has been discussing how to change the policy on fingerprinting volunteers after inconsistencies were found on who should and shouldn’t be fingerprinted. The board last talked about the policy in January.

Before this new policy, the district did not fingerprint parents volunteering for field trips or those who work in classrooms, but did fingerprint volunteer coaches.

The district put in place a more stringent employee fingerprint policy last year after a former band assistant, who had not been fingerprinted, was charged with sexually assaulting a student.

Background Check Shows Teacher Is Fugitive

A new Davidson County teacher failed a background check and will be returned to Maryland to face criminal charges.

Arlene Denetta Hudson, 42, of 2324 Copperstone Drive in High Point, had been hired as a teacher by Davidson County Schools. A subsequent check of her fingerprints by the State Bureau of Investigation turned up a warrant for her arrest in Maryland.

According to the Davidson County Sheriff's office, the Maryland State Police wanted Hudson in connection with a September 2005 larceny of a motor vehicle from a Toyota dealership in Westminster, Md.

Counties Fail to Update Cases in Texas's Crime Databases

The state's criminal database, riddled with holes four years ago, has just as many gaps today.

Although officials in Dallas and other poorly reporting counties promised in 2004 to do better, the Department of Public Safety says counties in the most recent assessment submitted outcomes on just 69 percent of criminal charges – the same percentage as before.

"That's astonishing. That's leaving a substantial total number of criminals unreported in the system," said John Bradley, Williamson County district attorney. "That's the biggest threat to public safety that you can imagine, particularly in a post-9/11 time when we rely on databases to protect the public."

Angie Klein, manager of the DPS criminal history records bureau, attributed the counties' lack of progress to slow resolution of many felony cases, and glitches in big urban counties, which can bring down statewide compliance rates.

"It's hard to keep trained personnel," she said.

Dallas Completes Background Check On John Beck

The Cowboys have done a background check on Miami quarterback John Beck, but they have not had talks with the Dolphins regarding a potential trade for the 2007 second rounder, according to two sources. After signing Chad Pennington and drafting Chad Henne in the second round, Beck and Josh McCown are in a fight for the No. 3 quarterback slot. According to the sources, the Dolphins contacted the Cowboys - and other teams - about Beck shortly after coming to terms with Pennington

No bozos!

For Sharon Baker, founder of Teleduction Inc., a 35-year-old Wilmington film production company, recruiting good employees is the cornerstone of an organization's success. To prove it, hire a "bad apple," she said.

Baker knows firsthand. In the 1980s, she hired a worker who came highly recommended. Before long, the employee was showing up late, sometimes dishevelled. The worker's performance became erratic. It didn't take long for Baker to admit it wasn't working out. Worse, she realized the worker's previous employer had glowingly recommended someone "they were desperately trying to get rid of," Baker said.

"It was devastating," Baker said. "The lost salary is a lot of money for a small business. It's demoralizing for the other employees. But I learned a very valuable lesson: There should be a trial period."

The recruitment of key employees is what makes or breaks a business -- even more than financing, say employment specialists and business leaders.

"Today, it's crucial to do a background check. It's too expensive to not do your due diligence," Challenger said.

New Nurses Will Need Criminal Record Check

New nurses in Nova Scotia will soon be forced to undergo criminal record checks.

Starting in August, nurses who haven’t held an active practising licence in this province for two years will also have to undergo the same checks.

"We have an obligation to be aware of all factors that might affect a registered nurse’s ability to practise safely, competently or ethically," said Marie Dauphinee-Booth, a spokeswoman for the College of Registered Nurses of Nova Scotia.

"It’s another measure to enhance public protection."

If a new or returning nurse doesn’t have a clean criminal record, there could be consequences.

"Any time that we determine that a nurse’s ability to practise has been compromised, then we take action," Ms. Dauphinee-Booth said, noting each case would be dealt with on an individual basis.

Retroactive Background Check Requirements Could Result in Loss of Veteran Teachers

They may have taught in Southwest Florida schools for years, but a new law could mean a pink slip for veteran teachers.

Teachers, administrators and others now fall under the Ethics and Education Act, which was passed by the Legislature and went into effect July 1.

The new law requires retroactive checks of the criminal records of teachers and employees in contact with students daily, and bars from employment anyone with any felony conviction for a variety of specified crimes.

United States Bowling Congress Making Changes for Safety of Young Bowlers

The United States Bowling Congress is taking steps to keep the children who participate in its programs safe from predators.

As of Aug. 1, all organizations under its umbrella that run youth bowling programs will be required to enter the USBC's Registered Volunteer Program, which will mandate criminal background screenings and require volunteers to abide by a code of conduct.

Volunteers always have been, and always will be, the backbone of the USBC. Most are dedicated, hard-working, unselfish people who have the sport's best interests at heart. It is extremely important in today's world that all volunteers who work with USBC Youth programs understand that USBC is facing the same problem every youth sports and social organization in America is facing: Protecting our kids against a handful of people who prey on the innocence of children. The only practical way to make youth bowling safe is to identify those persons who refuse to abide by acceptable standards of behavior and conduct, remove them from contact with our young people and establish barriers to prevent other predators from gaining access to children who bowl.

Illegal Immigrant Asks for Background Check

An illegal immigrant was arrested this week in the lobby of the Butler County Sheriff's Office when she allegedly passed fake identification while trying to get a background check for a job, according to sheriff's officials.

Genesis Mahelet Garcia-Garcia, 25, of Sixth Avenue in Hamilton was arrested Wednesday, July 16. She is charged with two counts of forgery and one count of identity fraud.

She is in the country from Mexico illegally, according to deputies. Garcia-Garcia is being held in the Butler County Jail and faces possible deportation.

Ohio Camps Aren't Checking Up On Employees

Just 42 percent of summer day camps surveyed by the state's Department of Job and Family Services have completed mandatory background checks of employees, a newspaper reported on Sunday.

But camps that fail to carry out the checks have little to fear. The state's Department of Job and Family Services has little recourse, since there's no real punishment provision in the state law that requires the checks, department spokesman Dennis Evans said.