Suspect in Russian spy ring vanishes in Cyprus
NEW YORK (AP) — An alleged member of a Russian spy ring that authorities say operated under deep cover in America’s suburbs vanished in Cyprus on Wednesday, a day after being released on bail.
The man, who had gone by the name Christopher Metsos and was wanted in the U.S. on charges he supplied money to the spy ring, had been arrested Tuesday in the Mediterranean island nation as he tried to board a flight for Budapest, Hungary.
On Wednesday, after a Cypriot judge had freed him on $32,500 bail, he failed to show for a required meeting with police, and authorities began searching for him.
The U.S. Justice Department and the FBI — which spent nearly a decade gathering evidence against some of the defendants in the case — refused to comment on Metsos’ disappearance.
On Sunday, 10 other people, most of them believed to be Russians living under assumed names, were arrested across the Northeast, accused of gathering information for Moscow on American business, scientific and political affairs while leading what appeared to be utterly ordinary suburban lives, right down to their well-kept lawns and the barbecues they threw on the Fourth of July.
Nine of the defendants were scheduled to appear before federal judges Thursday in New York, Massachusetts and Virginia. It was unclear whether Metsos’ disappearance while out on bail might affect their own attempts to get out of jail pending trial.
The turn of events raised questions about why Cypriot authorities released Metsos.
“I’m truly surprised that the court issued no such detention order against an individual who is alleged to be a spy,” said Ionas Nicolaou, chairman of Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee.
Andreas Pastellides, one of Metsos’ lawyers in Cyprus, said: “Yes, it was a serious case, but God forbid if someone remains detained for a month until extradition proceedings can begin.” He said Metsos had offered to surrender his passport and appear once a day at a local police station.
In the past, Cyprus been known as a regional hub for spies across the Mideast, since it lies near the meeting point of Europe, Africa and Asia.
To the delight of New York City’s tabloid press, one of the defendants arrested in the U.S. is a young and beautiful Russian redhead who went by the name Anna Chapman, spent time on the party scene in New York City and the Hamptons, and had a penchant for posting sultry photographs of herself on the Internet.
On Wednesday, her mother, Irina Kushchenko, who lives in Moscow, told The Associated Press: “Of course I believe that she’s innocent.” She declined further comment.
The case has left some associates of the defendants wondering whether they might have been among the plot’s targets.
Court papers say one of the alleged spies, who called herself Cynthia Murphy, had been instructed by her handlers to get close to a politically connected New York financier she had met through work. New York venture capitalist Alan Patricof told The Washington Post that he believed he was that person.
He had gotten to know Murphy through her job with Morea Financial Services, a New York tax advisory firm, and was a trustee at Columbia University’s graduate business school, where Murphy got a master’s in business administration this spring.
On Wednesday, Patricof told the AP in a statement: “I highly doubt that I could have been an intended target.”
“I met with her a limited number of times and spoke with her frequently on the phone on matters relating to my personal finances. We never — not once — discussed any matter other than my finances, and certainly she never inquired about, nor did we ever discuss, any matters relating to politics, the government, or world affairs,” he said.
Another one of those arrested, a man who called himself Donald Heathfield, may have stolen the identity of a Canadian who died as a baby in Montreal in 1963. David Heathfield of Canada said his dead younger brother had the same birthdate and name as the alleged Russian spy.
“Initially I thought it was a joke and then it turned to shock,” said David Heathfield, 51. He added: “With the Cold War over, I thought this spy thing was over and done with, but I guess it’s still going on.”
—-
Feds recall more kid jewelry due to toxic cadmium
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Federal regulators said Thursday they have found high levels of the toxic metal cadmium in trinkets that were distributed for free to children at some doctor and dentist offices over the past five years.
The news came as the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a recall of nearly 70,000 charm bracelets and rings — the fourth time this year that the federal government has said cheap Chinese-made jewelry was being pulled from shelves because of cadmium, a known carcinogen.
What stood out about this recall was that kids got the items in places where they are taken to stay healthy or get better.
Cadmium is a naturally occurring metal that, if ingested, can weaken bones and kidneys. The concern from federal regulators is that kids could be exposed if they bite and suck on — and in rare cases, even swallow — the items.
The commission said parents should immediately throw away the approximately 66,200 “Children’s Happy Charm Bracelets” bracelets and 2,200 football rings. The agency has not received any reports of incidents or injuries involving either product.
The charm bracelets have colorful beads and a single metal charm shaped like a butterfly, moon or sun; the rings have a metal football-shaped charm attached to an adjustable metal band. The items were distributed at doctor and dentist offices nationwide between June 2005 and March 2010, the agency said.
The purchasing manager at the firm that imported the charms — Toy Network LLC of Indianola, Iowa — said that testing the company did earlier this year showed cadmium.
Toy Network stopped importing the items “because of testing,” purchasing manager Jessica Dickinson said in a brief interview Thursday. She would not elaborate.
While there are no federal requirements for testing cadmium in children’s jewelry, some firms have started voluntarily looking for it in response to an ongoing investigation by The Associated Press that reported some Chinese manufacturers substituted cadmium when a 2008 federal law effectively banned lead from children’s jewelry.
Testing published by AP in January showed some jewelry was as much as 91 percent cadmium by weight, and that high levels can leach out when items were run through a test that mimics what would happen if a kid swallowed one.
A spokeswoman for the ring importer identified by the CPSC — Fun Express Oriental Trading Company, of Omaha, Neb. — did not return calls or and e-mail seeking comment. The Carlyle Group, a private investment firm that owns Oriental Trading Company, referred a request for comment to the company.
The CPSC said it was orchestrating the recall with the distributor of the items, which it identified as SmileMakers Inc., of Spartanburg, S.C. Calls and e-mails to SmileMakers requesting comment were not returned.
—-
Fla. police seek suspect in deaths of 2 officers
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Police in body armor blanketed Tampa on Wednesday, searching for a man accused of shooting two Tampa officers to death, and officials revealed that the convicted felon was released from prison in April even though he had a warrant for his arrest.
Tampa police were looking into why Dontae Rashawn Morris, 24, was not picked up from prison by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, who wanted him on bad check charges.
“The warrant was issued while he was still in prison,” said Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor.
Morris is accused of killing officers David Curtis and Jeffrey Kocab during an early Tuesday morning traffic stop.
The deaths rocked the area and the 1,000-member police force. Flags throughout the city flew at half mast, and a memorial to the slain officers outside police headquarters was covered in wreaths, candles and cards. Services were to be held for the officers this weekend.
Curtis, 31, was a married father of four. Kocab, 31, was about to become a father for the first time — his wife is nine months pregnant.
“Every person appears to be deeply affected, from the calls I’ve received to the e-mails to the people on the street who come up to me with tears in their eyes,” said Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio.
Department of Corrections spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger said the agency notified Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office that Morris was getting out of prison and they needed to pick him up.
Corrections officers informed Jacksonville authorities of Morris’ impending release last October, prison records showed.
In a statement posted on its Facebook page Wednesday night, Jacksonville Sheriff John Rutherford said there were three worthless check warrants for Morris. One of the warrants was for a felony, and Rutherford said his office was looking into the matter to determine if a clerk missed it.
During the traffic stop Tuesday, Morris was a passenger in a red Toyota driven by Cortnee Brantley, 21, who drove away after Morris shot the officers, leaving him at the scene, police said.
Detectives found Brantley in an apartment complex Tuesday. They questioned her for seven hours and released her.
“We could have charged her last evening, but the decision was made, for the good of the investigation and the focus of taking Dontae Morris into custody, to release her,” Castor said.
There is a “distinct possibility” that Brantley will be charged in the future, the chief said.
Morris is considered to be armed and dangerous. There is a $100,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.
“I am surprised that he has been underground for this amount of time,” Castor said. “Especially with that reward.”
Police are also seeking Morris’ brother, 21-year-old Dwayne Daniel Callaway. He was wanted on two counts of violating probation on a domestic battery charge, and detectives want to question him about his brother.
The police chief said Morris must be getting help from someone, and she had a message for them: “We’ve got a jail cell right next to Mr. Morris.”
—-
Militants kill 11 gendarmes in Algeria
ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — Suspected Islamic militants killed 11 Algerian gendarmes in a mortar and grenade attack near the North African nation’s border with Mali on Wednesday, a security official said.
The gendarmes were carrying out a patrol in 4X4 vehicles in the town of Tinzaouatine when the attackers emerged from behind a rock, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of his department’s policy.
The attack is the most deadly since the start of the year in Algeria, where armed hardline Islamic groups have aligned with al-Qaida to stage bombings and other attacks.
After killing the gendarmes, the attackers stole their weapons and communications devices and set fire to their vehicles, the official said.
Algeria’s conflict began in 1992 after the army canceled the second round of the country’s first-ever multiparty elections, stepping in to prevent a likely victory by the fundamentalist Islamic Salvation Front, commonly known by its French acronym, FIS.
Islamist armed groups worked to force to overthrow the government, and up to 200,000 people were killed in the violence that ensued. The attacks continue today, though they are more sporadic.
In another attack this month, a suicide bomber rammed a truck into the barracks of an elite police unit in a village east of the capital, and at least nine people died.
—-
AP-ML-Israel-Turkey/405Israeli, Turk hold secret meeting to mend tiesMATTI FRIEDMAN,Associated Press Writer
JERUSALEM (AP) — An Israeli Cabinet minister met secretly in Europe with Turkey’s foreign minister on Wednesday in an attempt to improve relations rapidly deteriorating over the recent bloodshed on a Gaza-bound flotilla, Israeli government officials said.
Industry Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer met Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in an unspecified location in Europe, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the government did not officially confirm the details.
Ties between Israel and Turkey have worsened in recent years as Turkey’s government has taken a more critical approach to a country that was one of its closest allies. Relations were dealt a blow last month when nine Turkish activists were killed by Israeli troops in a botched attempt to stop a protest flotilla trying — with the unofficial backing of Turkey’s government — to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza.
The meeting was meant to be secret but became public when it was reported Wednesday evening by Israel’s Channel 2 TV. The station’s reporter gave the location of the meeting as Zurich, Switzerland.
The report drew an unusual and angry response from Israel’s own foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, who said he was not informed and blamed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for what he called a “serious blow to the trust” between them.
Lieberman, who is known for his blunt style, is a divisive figure at home and largely unpopular abroad and is widely seen to have been sidelined in foreign policy by Netanyahu.
Lieberman’s comment, in turn, led Netanyahu’s office to release a statement confirming the meeting but explaining that it was initiated by the Turks and was “unofficial.” The statement did not name the Turkish participant and said the failure to inform Israel’s foreign minister was due to an unspecified “technical reason.”
There was no immediate comment from the Turkish government.
In signs of the heightened tension between the two countries since the May 31 flotilla deaths, Turkey has withdrawn its ambassador to Israel and blocked some Israeli military flights in Turkish airspace. Israel, in turn, has expressed anger at Turkey’s support of the flotilla organizers, charging that they are openly allied with Gaza’s militant Islamic Hamas rulers.—-Contact The Daily Reveille’s news staff at [email protected].