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Beware of Dirty Debt Collection Practices Getting the Money at All Costs Causes Some Debt Collectors to Break the Law By JENNIFER PIRONE and LEE FERRAN

Nov. 1, 2008 —

 

In tough economic times, millions of Americans are in debt. Some of them have been contacted by collections agencies.

Many of those interactions have been far less than pleasant for the consumer and, sometimes, they're even illegal.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, consumer complaints about debt collectors are on the rise. Americans have reported being harassed, threatened and even coerced into paying debts that are not their own.

Collections agents often do not work directly for the company to which the consumer owes money. Rather, they are outside professionals with a single goal: collect the outstanding debt.

Buffalo news reporter Fred Williams spent three months working undercover as a collector to see what some collectors are trained to do, and found that some of the tactics were dishonest or illegal.

According to Williams, he was taught to use "implied threats, misrepresentation, pretending to be someone you're not [and] pretending to be law enforcement."

"People would misrepresent themselves, claim to be connected with a law firm or even imply that they were with law enforcement," he said.

Williams added that what bothered him the most was a perfectly legal collection strategy.

"We were coached to tell them to take money out of their IRA, which is very expensive," he said, "or even skip a mortgage payment and use that money to pay their debt to us. ... It was perfectly legal to give people really bad financial advice.

"They treat everyone like deadbeats," Williams said. "I'm going to assume you're lying and try to get the money because that's my job."

Heather Thomas claims she was a victim of such intimidation tactics.

Thomas answered her ringing doorbell one day to find her neighbor in tears. The neighbor told her that a debt collector had just called and claimed that the police were coming to arrest Thomas.

"She just wanted to let me know that they were on their way," Thomas told "Good Morning America." "Right after that, the phones started ringing and it was a debt collector."

Thomas did not know it is illegal for debt collectors to tell anyone -- including neighbors -- about someone's debt.

In a voice mail, the debt collector said that she should call back by 5:00 p.m. or they would call "the detectives."

"I panicked," Thomas said. "I started crying. I didn't know what to do."

Terrified, Thomas searched the Internet for a lawyer and found Jerry Jarzombek.

At Jarzombek's request, Thomas started recording the calls. In one, the debt collector said Thomas had broken the law and that they could take her to court.

"Right now, we have the ability to file charges against you with the evidence that we have," the collector said. "You did, you did break the law, whether you admit it or not."

"It's one of the worst I've seen," Jarzombek told "Good Morning America." "You cannot be arrested for non-payment of a consumer debt."

It is also illegal for collectors to threaten jail time.

"They are trained to manipulate you into being scared," she said, "so afraid that you'll do anything. It was all a lie. It was all just to scare me. Intimidate me."

According to the ACA International, the association that represents debt collectors, good collectors denounce unethical practices and treat consumers with dignity and respect while educating them about their rights and responsibilities.

But not all agencies are "good collectors." According to "Good Morning America" consumer correspondent Elisabeth Leamy, there are several other rules that debt collectors have reportedly broken.

They are not allowed to call before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m.

They must mail you a letter giving the details of your debt within five days of calling.

It is illegal for collectors to threaten anyone with violence.

Regardless of their tactics, however, Leamy said there is a simple way to get the calls to stop all together.

"All you have to do is ask for the name and address of their company," she said. "Then write a letter saying, 'Do not call me anymore,' and send it certified mail. By law, they must obey your wishes. The debt does not go away, but the harassment does."

 

 

CHAPEL HILL -- Shawn Turschak of Chapel Hill was tired of someone stealing McCain-Palin campaign signs from his yard.

 

So the man with a degree in electrical engineering hooked up a third sign to a power source for an electric pet fence Monday. Turschak also put up a surveillance camera.

The News & Observer of Raleigh reports that Tuesday, a 9-year-old boy with an Obama-Biden sign grabbed the McCain-Palin sign and got a jolt.

The boy's father, Andrew Noble, then showed up at the Turschak's door, upset his son had been shocked. Soon an Orange County sheriff's deputy also showed up at the Turschak's home.

Noble says his son just wanted to see how the sign was put together. Turschak says the boy intended to swap out the signs.

Sheriff Lindy Pendergrass said he doesn't plan to file charges.

89-year-old charged with keeping kids' ball

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Mon Oct 20, 3:07 pm ET Play Video AP  – Elderly woman charged after taking boy's ball

BLUE ASH, Ohio – Police in Ohio say an 89-year-old woman is facing a charge of petty theft because neighborhood children accuse her of refusing to give back their football.

Edna Jester was arrested last week in the Cincinnati suburb of Blue Ash.

Police say one child's father complained that Jester kept the youngsters' ball after it landed in her yard. Police Capt. James Schaffer says there has been an ongoing dispute in the neighborhood over kids' balls landing in the woman's yard.

Jester said Monday she has received many calls and didn't have time to discuss the matter any more.

Jester is to appear in court next month. The maximum penalty for a petty theft conviction in Ohio is six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.

http://www.gunbanobama.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYBYjM7nMoA

Texas evacuees ask for 'Nagin special' by Jaquetta White, The Times-Picayune Friday September 12, 2008, 10:15 PM Matthew Hinton / The Times-PicayuneMayor Ray Nagin in August

Mary Jane Bernard arrived at the Best Western French Quarter Hotel on Rampart Street on Friday morning with what she thought was a simple request.

"When we got there, we asked for the Ray Nagin special, " said Bernard, a Baytown, Texas, resident who was evacuating in advance of Hurricane Ike with her sister. What she got, though, was a perplexed front desk worker and the opportunity to star in a scene replayed at least a few times Friday.

• Click here to view the note the Great New Orleans Hotel & Lodging Association sent to its members Friday morning

In a news conference Thursday afternoon, Mayor Ray Nagin had encouraged Texas evacuees to book hotel rooms in New Orleans by requesting the "Mayor Ray Nagin special rate."

The offer was designed, the mayor said, "to say to our friends in Houston and Texas that we want to take care of you, since you have taken care of us, " according to a transcript of his remarks. Thousands of New Orleanians evacuated to Texas shelters and hotels because of Hurricane Katrina.

Trouble is, as Bernard found out, the special rate doesn't exist.

In fact, it is against federal anti-trust laws for hotels to collectively agree upon rates. It also is impractical to set a flat rate citywide because hotels vary in size and services, said Stephen Perry, president of the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Association.

Perry said he and Nagin had discussed those issues before the news conference and that the mayor's comment was meant to direct guests to ask for a hotel's "best rate."

"What the mayor was trying to say . . . was to ask for the very best rate at the hotel, " Perry said. "We have very good late-summer rates right now."

Calling it the "Nagin special rate" was the mayor's attempt to lighten the mood, Perry said.

Nagin spokeswoman Ceeon Quiett did not reply to e-mail seeking comment.

Evacuee not laughing

The humor was lost on Bernard, who said she was told that the mayor was only kidding when she called City Hall on Friday to inquire about why the Best Western wasn't offering Nagin's special.

"The woman I spoke to said he was just saying that in jest and that I was taking it too seriously, " Bernard said. "For them to say we're taking things too seriously is just unconscionable. It's not a joking matter when you're running for your life just like the people here did three years ago."

The mayor's comments and ensuing calls from potential guests requesting the special rate caused the Greater New Orleans Hotel & Lodging Association to issue a harried e-mail to hotels urging them "in the spirit of cooperation" to make any appropriate accommodation they could to callers requesting Nagin's rate.

"While there is, of course, neither a mandate nor a law to give 'special rates' to evacuees in this instance, we know that you recognize the impact of any major hurricane on its citizens, and the necessity of evacuation to a safe place, " the association's president and executive director wrote in a joint statement sent to 101 hotel properties.

Some hotels have offered up discounted rates as a result.

The Astor Crowne Plaza is offering an $89 rate, down from the current going rate of $129, to Houston-area evacuees, said Don Zimmer, the hotel's director of sales and marketing. The hotel's sales team has also been reaching out to corporate clients in Houston in the hope of booking a few groups.

Those efforts have netted one group, Zimmer said. But the Astor hasn't turned up any business from individuals looking for rooms.

"If anything we've experienced cancellations from groups that were scheduled that were concerned about New Orleans' close (proximity) to Texas, " Zimmer said.

'Few and far between'

The Hilton-New Orleans Airport also has not had many calls from Ike evacuees.

"It's been steady, not an overwhelming amount, " said Kenneth Jackson, director of front office operations. People asking for the Nagin rate have been "few and far between, " Jackson said.

No one has asked for the discount at the Hilton Garden Inn-Kenner, front desk clerk Sarah Williamson said.

"We were advised that he had made that comment, " Williamson said. "But we're offering the standard rate."

The Sheraton New Orleans and two other Starwood properties in downtown New Orleans also haven't booked much evacuee business, the properties' general manager, Bill McCreary, said. But he said that might change if people drive into the city without having booked reservations in advance. The Sheraton is offering rooms for $119 to evacuees, the same price available online at Hotels.com.

"That's a very low rate considering the fact that we've got a convention in town, " McCreary said. "This is a good season for getting good discounts in the city."

Bernard said she was able to secure the Best Western's best rate: $89 per night and $27 for parking. But the episode has left her cold.

"We came here because Mayor Nagin said there were 10,000 rooms and we thought we'd be treated in a reciprocal manner as the New Orleans evacuees were in Houston, " Bernard said. "It's absolutely not about the money; it's about the way we were treated."

. . . . . . .

I have a question, why the hell does it take so long for the police to ask for the publics help in some cases, especially missing person and robberies,and now we have a case of some pervert fondling boys at a local Wal-Mart from July.I know that they have to make sure it's just not a case of a runaway,but when it's weeks and in some cases months is ridiculous especially in cases where the person is disabled or needs medicine,not to mention violent crimes like robberies and in the afore mentioned case of a sexual predator.

Bank customer shoots man in attempted robbery

A bank customer shot another man who apparently was attempting to rob him about 9 a.m. today, police said.

The alleged robber, who was wounded in the head, this afternoon is in stable condition, police said.

A man and a woman, described as an older couple, were using the ATM at the Bank of America at North Oak Trafficway and Barry Road, police said, when a man approached with a gun and robbed them.

A couple was stopped at the ATM.

The robber was walking away when the male victim got out of the car with his gun and yelled for him to stop, said Sgt. Chris Lantz of the department’s robbery unit.

The robber turned around and pointed his gun at the man, Lantz said. The robbery victim fired his gun, hitting the robber in the head, he said.

At the scene investigators earlier today investigators were collecting evidence from a dark sedan parked next to the ATM machine. An object that looked like a hand gun was lying on the pavement. Nearby were apparent blood stains.

The couple and witnesses were interviewed by police.

The man had a permit to carry a concealed gun, Lantz said. Under the circumstances, Lantz said, that would not matter, because he could legally carry the weapon in his car.

It is unusual where a robbery victim defends themselves with a fire arm.

“You don’t see that very often,” Lantz said.

Police ask that anyone who witnessed the incident call the TIPS Hotline, 816-474-TIPS (816) 474-8477.

nation and world Chinese buried Korean War POW Officials admit for the first time that a captured U.S. soldier was moved into Chinese territory. By Robert Burns
The Associated Press Article Last Updated: 06/19/2008 11:42:48 PM MDT
The Pentagon was told about the fate of Army Sgt. Richard G. Desautels in 2003 after the Chinese said they found a record in classified archives. ( The Associated Press )

WASHINGTON — After decades of denials, the Chinese have acknowledged burying an American prisoner of war in China, telling the U.S. that a teenage soldier captured in the Korean War died a week after he "became mentally ill," according to documents provided to The Associated Press.

China had long insisted that all POW questions were answered at the conclusion of the war in 1953 and that no Americans were moved to Chinese territory from North Korea.

The little-known case of Army Sgt. Richard G. Desautels, of Shoreham, Vt., opens another chapter in this story and raises the possibility that new details concerning the fate of other POWs might eventually surface.

Chinese authorities gave Pentagon officials intriguing details about Desautels in a March 2003 meeting in Beijing, saying they had found "a complete record of 9-10 pages" in classified archives.

Until now, this new information had been kept quiet; a Pentagon spokesman said it was intended only for Desautels' family members.

The details were provided to Desautels' brother, Rolland, who passed them to a POW-MIA advocacy group, the National Alliance of Families, which gave them to AP.

In a telephone interview Thursday, the brother said he did not follow up on the information he got in 2003 because he did not believe it. He was not aware that it marked the first time China had acknowledged taking a U.S. POW from North Korea into Chinese territory or burying an American there.

The revelation raises the possibility that wartime Chinese records could shed light on the fate of other U.S. captives who were known to be held in Chinese-run POW camps but did not return when the fighting ended in 1953.

And it appears to undercut the Pentagon's public stance that China returned all POWs it held inside China. The Pentagon has focused more on the related issue of China's management of POW camps inside North Korea during the war, which Chinese troops entered in the fall of 1950 on North Korea's side.

Larry Greer, a spokesman for the POW-MIA office at the Pentagon, said Thursday that he did not know whether U.S. officials received additional information after the March 2003 meeting.

Mexico pursues appeal to stay executions in US By ARTHUR MAX, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 52 minutes ago



THE HAGUE, Netherlands - Mexico made an emergency appeal to the U.N.'s highest court Thursday to block the execution of its citizens on death row in the U.S.

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Mexico's chief advocate Juan Manuel Gomez-Robledo said the U.S. was "in breach of its international obligations" by disregarding a 2004 judgment by the U.N.'s International Court of Justice, which ruled Mexicans were denied the right to consular advice after their arrests, as guaranteed by an international treaty.

The court, informally known as the World Court, has ruled that the Mexicans were entitled to "review and reconsideration" of their trials and sentences to determine whether the violation of the 1963 Vienna Convention affected their cases.

President Bush accepted the judgment and asked state courts to review the cases.

Texas refused, and the issue went to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled last March by a 6-3 vote that Bush lacked the authority to compel state courts to comply with the judgment from The Hague. The Vienna Convention cannot be binding on the states unless Congress enacts legislation enforcing it as federal law, the Supreme Court said.

Mexico asked the World Court for an "interpretation" of its earlier ruling to clarify what it meant when it asked the U.S. to "review and reconsider" the cases of the condemned prisoners, and in the meantime to order the halt of the execution timetable.

Gomez-Robledo said that without urgent action now, five Mexican nationals "will be executed before the conclusion of these proceedings."

U.S. representatives were due to respond later Thursday before the 13-member tribunal.

Sandra Babcock, representing Mexico, said the World Court's decision four years ago referred to 51 Mexican nationals. Since then, 33 had sought reviews of their cases in state courts.

Only one request was granted, Babcock said. A second inmate accepted a life sentence in exchange for waiving his claim for a review.

"All other efforts to enforce the judgment have failed," she said.

Mexico listed five of its citizens slated to die. The first, on Aug. 5, is Jose Medellin, 33, condemned in the gang rape and murder of two teenage girls 15 years ago.

Texas authorities have said Medellin's case has been reviewed by state and federal courts and that he had been given the same right as any American citizen.

But Mexico said in its appeal to the World Court that the U.S. obligation to follow international law also applies to individual states. "The United States cannot invoke municipal law as justification for failure to perform its international legal obligations," it said.

The International Court of Justice is the U.N.'s judicial arm for resolving legal disputes among member states. Its decisions are binding and not subject to appeal, and only rarely have they been defied. Though it has no power of enforcement, the court can report any failure to abide by its decisions to the Security Council.

Posted on Sat, May. 24, 2008 Clinton apologizes for RFK assassination remark By DEVLIN BARRETT
Associated Press Writer

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton quickly apologized Friday after citing the June 1968 assassination of Robert F. Kennedy in defending her decision to keep running for the Democratic presidential nomination despite increasingly long odds.

"I regret that if my referencing that moment of trauma for our entire nation and in particular the Kennedy family was in any way offensive. I certainly had no intention of that whatsoever," the former first lady said.

The episode occurred as Clinton campaigned in advance of the June 3 South Dakota primary.

Responding to a question from the Sioux Falls Argus Leader editorial board about calls for her to drop out of the race, she said: "My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. You know I just, I don't understand it," she said, dismissing the idea of abandoning the race.

Clinton said she didn't understand why, given this history, some Democrats were calling for her to quit.

Her remark about an assassination during a primary campaign drew a quick response from aides to Democratic presidential front-runner Barack Obama.

"Senator Clinton's statement before the Argus Leader editorial board was unfortunate and has no place in this campaign," said Obama spokesman Bill Burton.

Clinton spokesman Mo Elleithee said the senator was only referring to her husband and Kennedy "as historical examples of the nominating process going well into the summer and any reading into it beyond that would be inaccurate and outrageous."

She has said much the same thing before. In a March interview with Time magazine, she said: "Primary contests used to last a lot longer. We all remember the great tragedy of Bobby Kennedy being assassinated in June in L.A. My husband didn't wrap up the nomination in 1992 until June, also in California. Having a primary contest go through June is nothing particularly unusual."

Within a couple hours of the South Dakota remarks drawing attention, Clinton decided to make a personal apology.

"I was discussing the Democratic primary history and in the course of that discussion mentioned the campaigns of both my husband and Senator (Robert) Kennedy waged in California in June in 1992 and 1968 and I was referencing those to make the point that we have had nomination primary contests that go into June. That's a historic fact," she said.

"The Kennedys have been much on my mind the last days because of Senator Kennedy," she added, referring to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's recent diagnosis of a brain tumor. "I regret that if my referencing that moment of trauma for our entire nation and in particular the Kennedy family was in any way offensive. I certainly had no intention of that whatsoever.

"My view is that we have to look to the past to our leaders who have inspired us, give us a lot to live up to, and I'm honored to hold Senator Kennedy's seat in the United States Senate from the state of New York and have the highest regard for the Kennedy family," she said.

A close Obama ally in the Senate, Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, said he accepted her explanation.

"I know Hillary Clinton, and the last thing in the world she'd ever want is to wish misfortune on anybody. She and Barack are friends," Durbin said. "It was ... a careless remark and we'll leave it at that."

In the same editorial board meeting, Clinton said "it is unprecedented in history" for political activists to urge a candidate to withdraw when his or her chances of winning the nomination appear remote. In fact, such events have happened several times.

Three months ago, Republican hopeful Mike Huckabee angered Sen. John McCain by lingering in the GOP race after McCain's nomination seemed all but assured. "Of course I would like for him to withdraw today," McCain said at the time. A McCain campaign memo, which was leaked to the media, said the campaign was being forced to spend money in upcoming primary states merely to avoid being embarrassed by the underfunded Huckabee.

Clinton also said her campaign has had no discussions with Obama's aides about her possibly becoming his vice presidential pick.

"It is flatly untrue and it is not anything I'm entertaining. It is nothing I have planned and it is nothing I am prepared to engage in. I am still vigorously campaigning."

The Obama campaign also dismissed reports that there were talks going on between the two campaigns about putting Clinton on the ticket.

Obama has an almost 200-delegate lead over Clinton and is just 56 delegates short of the number needed to clinch the nomination, making Clinton's goal of catching him more difficult by the day. The primaries end June 3.

Clinton spent the day campaigning in South Dakota, which holds one of two June 3 primaries. At stake are 15 delegates.

Recent reports suggested she may be discussing ways to end her campaign by being offered the vice presidential slot underneath Obama, but she rejected that and said she suspected the talk was coming from Obama aides.

"I would look to the camp of my opponent for the source of these stories," she said. "People have been trying to push me out of this ever since Iowa."

Two of those recent reports, however, were attributed by CNN and The New York Times to supporters of Clinton.

Meanwhile, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., a staunch Clinton supporter, said Friday that she believes that if Obama becomes the nominee he should select Clinton as his running mate.

"I think as this race has emerged each one of them has garnered a different constituency and different states, and therefore when you put the two of them together it forms, I believe, the strongest ticket," she told The Associated Press in a phone interview.

"Women feel very strongly about Hillary and African-Americans feel very strongly about Barack, and the election results show that, and the young versus old, the higher educated versus the working person. ... All these things are sort of separated out into one or the other so there is a logic in combining the two constituencies."

Associated Press writer Erica Werner, Charles Babington and Laurie Kellman in Washington contributed to this report.

Man wins $340,000 in bottled fly lawsuit
winsdor star ^ | 4 26 05 | Chris Thompson

Posted on Wednesday, April 27, 2005 12:51:32 PM by freepatriot32

A Windsor hairstylist who suffered "recognizable psychological injury" after discovering a dead fly in a bottle of Culligan water has been awarded more than $340,000 in damages.

Waddah (Martin) Mustapha, who operates two outlets of Martin's Coiffure and Spa at the Radisson Hotel and Casino Windsor, claimed "nervous shock, emotional distress and resulting anxiety, depression and physical and psychological conditions" arising from a breach of contract with Culligan.

"It's long overdue," Mustapha said of the settlement.

On Nov. 21, 2001 Mustapha and his wife Lynn, who was seven months pregnant, were preparing a new bottle of Culligan water to put in their dispenser when she saw something dark in the bottle. Both looked closely and saw legs and wings and realized it was a dead fly.

Lynn Mustapha vomited immediately and Martin vomited later in the evening.

Justice John Brockenshire heard that after discovering the fly Mustapha "could not get the fly in the bottle out of his mind."

Mustapha told court he would have nightmares about falling into a ditch face down in water and he could not sleep more than four hours a night.

LOST SENSE OF HUMOUR

He also testified that he lost his sense of humour and became argumentative and edgy.

Mustapha did not see a doctor until January 2002 and told the doctor that his salon clients were "asking what was wrong with him and whether he was OK."

The doctor prescribed anti-depressants to help him relax and sleep.

He was also prescribed stool softeners for constipation which Mustapha attributed to the fact that he used to drink eight glasses of water a day and now drank none.

Since the incident, Mustapha said he was unable to get the image of the fly out of his mind, and often pictured flies walking on animal feces or rotten food and then being in his bottled water.

Prior to the fly incident Mustapha would shower daily, singing while doing so.

Afterward Mustapha would stand in the bathroom contemplating whether to shower or not and would often just get dressed and leave or wipe a cloth under his arms before applying deodorant.

Following therapy Mustapha was able to stick his head under the water so it would not touch his face and later had therapy where he would stand in the dry shower in a bathing suit.

After the incident Mustapha began drinking coffee made with only warm milk and instant coffee but after therapy was able to drink coffee made in the traditional manner.

Mustapha was unable to resume drinking water by itself.

Mustapha's lawyer Pat Ducharme said the case is unique in Canada.

"I found precedence that had to do with people who consumed elements but never a case where someone had seen something in a bottle and developed a severe depression," said Ducharme.

He said the case was successful because of the number of doctors who examined Mustapha.

SEVERE DEPRESSION

"All of them came to the same conclusion that he was suffering from a severe depression because of seeing the fly in the bottle," said Ducharme.

Another contributing factor was that a psychiatrist hired by Culligan examined Mustapha for 10 minutes and deemed his claims bogus, Ducharme said, an assertion that Brockenshire rejected.

Culligan's water distributed in Windsor comes from a plant in Woodstock.

The company testified that it has extensive filtering and purification systems but that flies could enter the so-called "clean room" and enter a bottle before or during its filling.

"I am prepared to accept that the odds against this happening are very high," Brockenshire wrote in his decision.

"However, it should not have happened at all."

Culligan operates water purification companies in more than 90 countries.

The company has 30 days to appeal the decision.

After the incident Mustapha's business at the Radisson, where he spent the majority of his time, suffered greatly.

Mustapha was awarded $80,000 in general damages, past and future special damages of $24,174.58 and past and future economic damages of $237,600.

citation profile medal of honor battlescape video resources PROFILEBiography Unit History Photo Album MySpace Army News

Spc. Ross Andrew McGinnis will receive the Medal of Honor posthumously during a White House ceremony June 2, 2008.

The Story of PFC Ross A. McGinnis 1st Platoon, C Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division (attached to 2nd BCT, 2ID)

Parents: Tom and Romayne McGinnis
Siblings: Becky Gorman and Katie McGinnis
Hometown: Knox, Pennsylvania

Enlisted: Delayed Entry Program June 14, 2004 at the Pittsburgh MEPS. Completed initial entry training at Fort Benning, Georgia

Assignments: 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment (Schweinfurt, Germany)

Deployments: Operation Iraqi Freedom

Spc. McGinnis’ dedication to duty and love for his fellow Soldiers were embodied in a statement issued by his parents shortly after his death:

“Ross did not become our hero by dying to save his fellow Soldiers from a grenade. He was a hero to us long before he died, because he was willing to risk his life to protect the ideals of freedom and justice that America represents. He has been recommended for the Medal of Honor… That is not why he gave his life. The lives of four men who were his Army brothers outweighed the value of his one life. It was just a matter of simple kindergarten arithmetic. Four means more than one. It didn’t matter to Ross that he could have escaped the situation without a scratch. Nobody would have questioned such a reflex reaction. What mattered to him were the four men placed in his care on a moment’s notice. One moment he was responsible for defending the rear of a convoy from enemy fire; the next moment he held the lives of four of his friends in his hands. The choice for Ross was simple, but simple does not mean easy. His straightforward answer to a simple but difficult choice should stand as a shining example for the rest of us. We all face simple choices, but how often do we choose to make a sacrifice to get the right answer? The right choice sometimes requires honor.”

Ross Andrew McGinnis was born June 14, 1987 in Meadville, PA. His family moved to Knox, northeast of Pittsburgh, when he was three. There he attended Clarion County public schools, and was a member of the Boy Scouts as a boy. Growing up he played basketball and soccer through the YMCA, and Little League baseball. Ross was a member of the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Knox, and a 2005 graduate of Keystone Junior-Senior High School.

Ross’s interests included video games and mountain biking. He was also a car enthusiast, and took classes at the Clarion County Career Center in automotive technology. He also worked part-time at McDonald’s after school.

His mother, Romayne, said Ross wanted to be a Soldier early in life. When asked to draw a picture of what he wanted to be when he grew up, Ross McGinnis, the kindergartner, drew a picture of a Soldier.

On his 17th birthday, June 14, 2004, Ross went to the Army recruiting station and joined through the delayed entry program.

After initial entry training at Fort Benning, Georgia, McGinnis was assigned to 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment in Schweinfurt, Germany. According to fellow Soldiers, he loved Soldiering and took his job seriously, but he also loved to make people laugh. One fellow Soldier commented that every time McGinnis left a room, he left the Soldiers in it laughing.

The unit deployed to Eastern Baghdad in August 2006, where sectarian violence was rampant. Ross was serving as an M2 .50 caliber machine gunner in 1st Platoon, C Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment is support of operations against insurgents in Adhamiyah, Iraq.

According to the official report, on the afternoon of Dec. 4, 2006, McGinnis’ platoon was on mounted patrol in Adhamiyah to restrict enemy movement and quell sectarian violence. During the course of the patrol, an unidentified insurgent positioned on a rooftop nearby threw a fragmentation grenade into the Humvee. Without hesitation or regard for his own life, McGinnis threw his back over the grenade, pinning it between his body and the Humvee’s radio mount. McGinnis absorbed all lethal fragments and the concussive effects of the grenade with his own body. McGinnis, who was a private first class at the time, was posthumously promoted to specialist. Spc. McGinnis’s heroic actions and tragic death are detailed in the battlescape section of this website and in his Medal of Honor Citation.

Army Decorations: Medal of Honor (to be presented to Tom and Romayne McGinnis at a June 2, 2008 White House Ceremony), Silver Star (awarded for valor exhibited during the events of Dec. 4, 2006, pending processing and approval of Medal of Honor), Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, and Combat Infantryman Badge.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/05/14/photos.rock
etman/index.html

Austin man ticketed for using cell phone during flight An associate said the man forgot to turn his phone off and received a message that his father was in dire health.

By Miguel Liscano
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Dallas police ticketed a Southwest Airlines passenger Monday morning after he refused to stop talking on his cell phone during a flight from Austin to Dallas, an airline spokeswoman said.

Flight attendants asked Joe David Jones, 50, president of Austin environmental technology company Skyonic Corp., to put away his phone after they noticed him using it during the flight's descent, Southwest spokeswoman Brandy King said.

An associate of Jones said he refused because Jones had received a message that his father was in dire health.

Police were called to meet flight 958 at Love Field when it landed, King said. Jones was ticketed on a disorderly conduct charge, a class C misdemeanor that carries up to a $500 fine, a Dallas police spokeswoman said.

Federal Aviation Administration regulations bar cell phone use on planes because it could interfere with the flight's navigation system, King said. She said airlines can be fined at least $25,000 for allowing cell phone use during flights.

"He was clear on the regulation; he just chose not to abide by the request," King said.

Jones had forgotten to turn off his phone during takeoff and received the message about his father as the plane moved closer to Dallas, said Mark Clayton, Skyonic's vice president of corporate relations.

"His father's heart had stopped," Clayton said. "The cardiac unit requested a call immediately to discuss decisions regarding his father's immediate care.

"So Mr. Jones attempted to call them back. And it took several tries.

"He expresses regret for the inconvenience that it caused the airline and its passengers, but he felt compelled because of the life and death nature of it to make that call."

According to a police report, Jones was on his cell phone for about 20 minutes at the end of the flight.

The report said Jones, when asked to turn his phone off, responded with an obscenity.

Clayton said Jones did not mention what was said by him and the flight attendants during the incident.

Jones was unavailable for comment Monday because he was on his way to be with his father, Clayton said.

Skyonic specializes in cleaning emissions from coal-fired power plants, Clayton said.

mliscano@statesman.com; 445-3629

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