Selling flak jackets in the cyberwars

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – When the Israeli army and Hamas trade virtual blows in cyberspace, or when hacker groups like Anonymous rise from the digital ether, or when WikiLeaks dumps a trove of classified documents, some see a lawless Internet.

But Matthew Prince, chief executive at CloudFlare, a little-known Internet start-up that serves some of the Web’s most controversial characters, sees a business opportunity.

Founded in 2010, CloudFlare markets itself as an Internet intermediary that shields websites from distributed denial-of-service, or DDoS, attacks, the crude but effective weapon that hackers use to bludgeon websites until they go dark. The 40-person company claims to route up to 5 percent of all Internet traffic through its global network.

Prince calls his company the “Switzerland” of cyberspace – assiduously neutral and open to all comers. But just as companies like Twitter, YouTube and Facebook have faced profound questions about the balance between free speech and openness on the Internet and national security and law enforcement concerns, CloudFlare‘s business has posed another thorny question: what kinds of services, if any, should an American company be allowed to offer designated terrorists and cyber criminals?

CloudFlare’s unusual position at the heart of this debate came to the fore last month, when the Israel Defense Forces sought help from CloudFlare after its website was struck by attackers based in Gaza. The IDF was turning to the same company that provides those services to Hamas and the al-Quds Brigades, according to publicly searchable domain information. Both Hamas and al-Quds, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, are designated by the United States as terrorist groups.

Under the USA Patriot Act, U.S. firms are forbidden from providing “material support” to groups deemed foreign terrorist organizations. But what constitutes material support – like many other facets of the law itself – has been subject to intense debate.

CloudFlare’s dealings have attracted heated criticism in the blogosphere from both Israelis and Palestinians, but Prince defended his company as a champion of free speech.

“Both sides have an absolute right to tell their story,” said Prince, a 38-year old former lawyer. “We’re not providing material support for anybody. We’re not sending money, or helping people arm themselves.”

Prince noted that his company only provides defensive capabilities that enable websites to stay online.

“We can’t be sitting in a role where we decide what is good or what is bad based on our own personal biases,” he said. “That’s a huge slippery slope.”

Many U.S. agencies are customers, but so is WikiLeaks, the whistle-blowing organization. CloudFlare has consulted for many Wall Street institutions, yet also protects Anonymous, the “hacktivist” group associated with the Occupy movement.

Prince‘s stance could be tested at a time when some lawmakers in the United States and Europe, armed with evidence that militant groups rely on the Web for critical operations and recruitment purposes, have pressured Internet companies to censor content or cut off customers.

Last month, conservative political lobbies, as well as seven lawmakers led by Ted Poe, a Republican from Texas, urged the FBI to shut down the Hamas Twitter account. The account remains active; Twitter declined to comment.

MATERIAL SUPPORT

Although it has never prosecuted an Internet company under the Patriot Act, the government’s use of the material support argument has steadily risen since 2006. Since September 11, 2001, more than 260 cases have been charged under the provision, according to Fordham Law School’s Terrorism Trends database.

Catherine Lotrionte, the director of Georgetown University’s Institute for Law, Science and Global Security and a former Central Intelligence Agency lawyer, argued that Internet companies should be more closely regulated.

“Material support includes web services,” Lotrionte said. “Denying them services makes it more costly for the terrorists. You’re cornering them.”

But others have warned that an aggressive government approach would have a chilling effect on free speech.

“We’re resurrecting the kind of broad-brush approaches we used in the McCarthy era,” said David Cole, who represented the Humanitarian Law Project, a non-profit organization that was charged by the Justice Department for teaching law to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which is designated by the United States as a terrorist group. The group took its case to the Supreme Court but lost in 2010.

The material support law is vague and ill-crafted, to the point where basic telecom providers, for instance, could be found guilty by association if a terrorist logs onto the Web to plot an attack, Cole said.

In that case, he asked, “Do we really think that AT&T or Google should be held accountable?”

CloudFlare said it has not been contacted about its services by the U.S. government. Spokespeople for Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, told Reuters they contracted a cyber-security company in Gaza that out-sources work to foreign companies, but declined to comment further. The IDF confirmed it had hired CloudFlare, but declined to discuss “internal security” matters.

CloudFlare offers many of its services for free, but the company says websites seeking advanced protection and features can see their bill rise to more than $ 3,000 a month. Prince declined to discuss the business arrangements with specific customers.

While not yet profitable, CloudFlare has more than doubled its revenue in the past four months, according to Prince, and is picking up 3,000 new customers a month. The company has raked in more than $ 22 million from venture capital firms including New Enterprise Associates, Venrock and Pelion Venture Partners.

Prince, a Midwestern native with mussed brown hair who holds a law degree from the University of Chicago, said he has a track record of working on the right side of the law.

A decade ago, Prince provided free legal aid to Spamhaus, an international group that tracked email spammers and identity thieves. He went on to create Project Honey Pot, an open source spam-tracking endeavor that turned over findings to police.

Prince’s latest company, CloudFlare, has been hailed by groups such as the Committee to Protect Journalists for protecting speech. Another client, the World Economic Forum, named CloudFlare among its 2012 “technology pioneers” for its work. But it also owes its profile to its most controversial customers.

CloudFlare has hosted 4Chan, the online messaging community that spawned Anonymous. LulzSec, the hacker group best known for targeting Sony Corp, is another customer. And since last May, the company has propped up WikiLeaks after a vigilante hacker group crashed the document repository.

Last year, members of the hacker collective UgNazi, whose exploits include pilfering user account information from eBay and crashing the CIA.gov website, broke into Prince’s cell phone and email accounts.

“It was a personal affront,” Prince said. “But we never kicked them off either.”

Prince said CloudFlare would comply with a valid court order to remove a customer, but that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has never requested a takedown. The company has agreed to turn over information to authorities on “exceedingly rare” occasions, he acknowledged, declining to elaborate.

“Any company that doesn’t do that won’t be in business long,” Prince said. But in an email, he added: “We have a deep and abiding respect for our users’ privacy, disclose to our users whenever possible if we are ordered to turn over information and would fight an order that we believed was not proper.”

Juliannne Sohn, an FBI spokeswoman, declined to comment.

Michael Sussmann, a former Justice Department lawyer who prosecuted computer crimes, said U.S. law enforcement agencies may in fact prefer that the Web’s most wanted are parked behind CloudFlare rather than a foreign service over which they have no jurisdiction.

Federal investigators “want to gather information from as many sources as they can, and they’re happy to get it,” Sussmann said.

In an era of rampant cyber warfare, Prince acknowledged he is something of a war profiteer, but with a wrinkle.

“We’re not selling bullets,” he said. “We’re selling flak jackets.”

(Reporting By Gerry Shih in San Francisco and Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza; editing by Jonathan Weber and Claudia Parsons)

Internet News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Jon Stewart Says Hugh Grant is Least Favorite Guest Ever

Looks like Hugh Grant, 52, and Jon Stewart, 50, won't be crossing paths again soon if Stewart can help it -- The Daily Show host revealed in a recent interview that not only is the British actor his least favorite guest ever, but that we won't be seeing him on his hit Comedy Central show ever again.

Grant appeared on The Daily Show in December of 2009 to promote his romantic comedy Did You Hear About the Morgans? opposite Sarah Jessica Parker, and though there were no signs of visible tension between the two during the televised interview, according to Stewart, Grant displayed diva-like behavior when he didn't like the clip provided by the film's publicist.

Video: Jon Stewart to R Patz: Kick Her to the Curb!

"He's giving everyone s*** the whole time, and he's a big pain in the a**," Stewart told Stephen Colbert in an interview for a fundraiser for the Montclair Film Festival in New Jersey. Grant reportedly complained, 'What is that clip? It's a terrible clip,' to which Stewart replied, "Well, then make a better f***ing movie."

He concluded that he would "never let" Grant back on The Daily Show.

Related: Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert Throw 'Sanity' Rally in D.C.

During the candid chat before a sold-out crowd, Stewart also admitted to nearly quitting the show when he took over for Craig Killborn in 1999.

"I walk in the door, into a room with the writers and producers, and the first thing they say is, 'This isn't some MTV bull****.' ... And then I was told not to change the jokes or improvise," he recalled about initially feeling unwelcome. "[I told my agent] get me the f*** out of this. These people are insane ... I had to be talked down from a moderately high cliff ... What I did not realize is, a lot of the people who worked there were a**holes."

Related: Lessons Learned From the Biggest Celebrity Sex Scandals

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'Drunk' driver in fatal Queensboro Bridge crash faces up to 25 years in jail after turning down plea deal

A man who turned down a six-month plea deal after cops said he drunkenly drove his car off a Queensboro Bridge ramp -- killing a pedestrian and destroying two businesses – now faces up to 25 years in jail .

Grant Riddell, 38, was indicted on drunk driving, vehicular manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and vehicular assault charges in the March 28, 2011 incident -- the first of two deadly car crashes off of the newly named Ed Koch Bridge.

Riddell’s car flew off the bridge's exit ramp and slammed into Anthony Buscemi walking on the sidewalk below. His attorney entered a "not guilty" plea today.

Ellis Kaplan

Grant Riddell in court in August

The 68-year-old Buscemi was pronounced dead at a local hospital and Riddell, a DJ who also goes by the name Kiwi, lost his left arm.

The fatal crash also destroyed two businesses on Queens Plaza South, Villa De Beaute and Espinal's Caribbean Restaurant, the owners have a pending $1 million lawsuit against the city for the "poor construction" of the ramp – and Riddell.

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Regulators agree to give FPL four-year rate deal

TALLAHASSEE The Public Service Commission on Thursday agreed to award Florida Power & Light a $358 million base rate request that includes a series of rate increases over four years and rejected a call from the public counsel that the company scale back its rates.

After a morning hearing discussing the nuts and bolts of a proposed settlement, the five-member commission appears on track to vote 4-1 to modify the settlement agreement presented by the company, and allow FPL to received guaranteed profits of between 9.5 to 11.5 percent through 2016.

The settlement is less than the $543 million the company originally sought in its first settlement offer, but the profit level – which would guarantee a midpoint return on equity of 10.5 percent – is higher than the 10 percent the PSC staff recommended in a draft recommendation.

Commissioner Eduardo Balbis, who supported giving the company the 10.5 percent return on equity, expressed interest in demanding that the company also make a concession to collect at least $10 million less from consumers in other areas. No other commissioners would agree

FPL, a regulated monopoly with 4.6 million customers in Florida, is currently making profits at about 11 percent, the most allowed under current law. But the company’s rate agreement ends in January and it has asked the PSC to allow it to collect more money from customers to pay back the costs of the Cape Canaveral power plant, scheduled to go into service in June.

The company has scheduled two other power plants to go online in 2014 and 2016 and has joined with its largest power users to offer up a settlement that will allow it the flexibility to raise its rates for those plants without PSC oversight, and the expensive and contested rate case that would come with it.

The decision by the PSC to approve much of the settlement effectively shuts down the argument of the Office of Public Counsel, the state agency that represents customers in rate cases. The public counsel has vigorously opposed the settlement deal and instead has argued that the company is making about $253 million more than it should and wants the PSC to lower FPL's rate of return and charge customers less money.

The PSC decision Thursday marks the first time the PSC has moved forward on a rate settlement without the public counsel’s consent.

J.R. Kelly, the state’s chief public counsel, told the Herald/Times that a ruling in favor of the proposed settlement could work against the public in future cases because it would give an incentive for utility companies in the future to do as FPL did and circumvent his office.

FPL side-stepped the public counsel when it entered into its agreement with Florida Industrial Power Users Group, the South Florida Hospital and Healthcare Association and the Federal Executive Agencies and announced the settlement just as the company’s rate case was scheduled to begin in August.

The groups represent about a half of one percent of FPL’s 4.6 million customers but use nearly half of all the electricity generated. Under the deal, they would get lower rates than regular residential customers.

This is also the first major rate case decided by this commission for FPL, the states’s largest utility, since the legislature unseated four members of the previous commission when it rejected most of a $1 billion rate increase request in 2009.

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Crime Watch: Be careful when giving to charities

Many of our neighbors in South Florida have fallen on hard times, and there are many organizations trying to help those with great needs such as food, school supplies, clothing and toys now for the holidays.

Well, we all need to be extra careful to make sure we are dealing with real charitable organizations and not phony solicitations, and many of you asked what to look for.

Let’s look at some of the techniques once again that are questionable — and in some cases, illegal. Prize offers: Potential donors are told that they have won a contest and are eligible for a prize — usually worthless — if they make a donation to a charity.

Chain letters: Unsolicited appeals, usually in the form of e-mails, ask potential donors not only to contribute to an organization but also to forward the e-mail to friends and family members.

Like- sounding names: Fraudulent charities take names that are very similar to those of high-profile charities that are known and trusted by the public.

Another scam that is very prevalent in our community during this time is that they will come to your door selling magazine or gift items in the name of a school or charity for the holidays . First of all, don’t let anyone in your house who is selling anything. Sometimes these people will come with small children, so that you assume it’s safe to let them in. Well unfortunately, some of these little kids cute as a button, will ask to use the restroom while they are in your home, they then go into the bedroom to take whatever they can put in their pockets. You don’t even notice it until they have left your home. So please again don’t let anyone into your home. If they refuse to leave, call the police and give the best description you can.

Here are ways you can prevent being a victim of charity fraud:

• Ask how your money will be used, such as what percentage will go to the actual programs versus the administrative and fundraising cost.

• Request written information that gives the full name, address and phone numbers of the organization, as well as a description of the programs it supports.

• Check out any charity you don’t know with the local charity registration office, Better Business Bureau or a charity watchdog group such as www.charitywatch.org, www.give.org, or www.guidestar.org.

• Don’t be fooled by a name that closely resembles the name of a respected and well-known charity.

• Ask for the charity’s tax-exempt letter indicating its IRS status. You can’t claim a tax-deductible donation if the charity does not have one.

• Never give cash. Make your contribution by check payable to the full name of the charity once you are certain it’s a charitable organization.

• Don’t give out your Social Security number. A charity does not need it in order for you to claim a tax deduction.

• Charity-related fraud should be reported to local law enforcement or the local postmaster. Complaints can also be filed online with the Better Business Bureau at www.bbb.org.

We all want to be helpful, but we need to make sure that we are helping those that truly are helping.

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Most Googled in 2012: Whitney, PSY, Sandy

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The world’s attention wavered between the tragic and the silly in 2012, and along the way, millions of people searched the Web to find out about a royal princess, the latest iPad, and a record-breaking skydiver.

Whitney Houston was the “top trending” search of the year, according to Google Inc.’s year-end “zeitgeist” report. Google‘s 12th annual roundup is “an in-depth look at the spirit of the times as seen through the billions of searches on Google over the past year,” the company said in a blog post Wednesday.

People around the globe searched en masse for news about Houston‘s accidental drowning in a bathtub just before she was to perform at a pre-Grammy Awards party in February.

Google defines topics as “trending” when they garner a high amount of traffic over a sustained period of time.

Korean rapper PSY’s “Gangnam Style” music video trotted into second spot, a testament to his self-deprecating giddy-up dance move. The video is approaching a billion views on YouTube.

Superstorm Sandy, the damaging storm that knocked out power and flooded parts of the East Coast in the midst of a U.S. presidential campaign, was third.

The next biggest trending searches globally were a pair of threes: the iPad 3 tablet from Apple Inc. and Diablo 3, a popular video game.

Rounding out the Top 10 were Kate Middleton, who made news with scandalous photos and a royal pregnancy; the 2012 Olympics in London; Amanda Todd, a Canadian teen who was found dead of an apparent suicide in October after being bullied online; Michael Clarke Duncan, the “Green Mile” actor who died of a heart attack in September at age 54; and “BBB12,” the 12th edition of “Big Brother Brasil,” a reality show featuring scantily clad men and women living together.

Some trending people, according to Google, were:

— Felix Baumgartner, an Austrian skydiver who became the first to break the sound barrier without a vehicle with a 24-mile plummet from Earth’s stratosphere;

— Jeremy Lin, the undrafted NBA star who exploded off the New York Knicks bench and sparked a wave of “Linsanity”;

— Morgan Freeman, the actor whose untimely death turned out not to be true.

The Internet also continued its rise as a popular tool for spreading addictive ideas and phrases known as “memes.” Remember LOL? If you don’t know what it means by now, someone may “Laugh Out Loud” at you.

This year, Facebook said its top memes included “TBH (To Be Honest),” ”YOLO (You Only Live Once),” ”SMH (Shake My Head).” Thanks to an endlessly fascinating U.S. presidential campaign, “Big Bird” made the list after Republican candidate Mitt Romney said he might consider cutting some funds for public broadcasting.

Yahoo said its own top-searched memes for the year included “Kony 2012,” a reference to the short film and campaign against Ugandan militia leader Joseph Kony; “stingray photobomb” for an unusual vacation snapshot that went viral; and “binders full of women,” another nod to Romney for his awkward description of his search for women cabinet members as Massachusetts’ governor.

And people were happy to pass on popular Twitter posts by retweeting them. According to Twitter, the year’s most popular retweets were President Barack Obama‘s “Four more years,” and Justin Bieber’s farewell to six-year-old fan Avalanna Routh, who died of a rare form of brain cancer: “RIP Avalanna. i love you”.

Gadgets News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Alan Arkin 07 Oscars Flashback

Appearing in at least one film nearly every year since 1966, Alan Arkin's name has become virtually ubiquitous in Hollywood.

While his respected career has earned him a great deal of recognition, it wasn't until 2007 that Arkin actually took home an Oscar of his own. In fact, Arkin hadn't even been nominated for an Oscar since 1969, for his role in The Heart is a Lonely Hunter.

But 38 years later, Arkin would have his night. The long-awaited victory was thanks almost entirely to his moving performance as grandfather to Abigail Breslin in Little Miss Sunshine, whom Arkin called working with a "sheer delight."

RELATED: Ensemble Argo Cast Getting More Kudos

The film received four nominations that night, including Best Picture and one acting nod for Breslin, which she somehow didn't win, despite being unyieldingly adorable. It would however take home Best Original Screenplay, as well as Alan Arkin's Best Supporting Actor win.

Just don't tell Arkin he deserved it.

In the press room, Arkin joked morbidly that, "I think it's because of my age. Everybody thinks I'm gonna keel over in a year or two...they'll give me a little bonus."

Despite his statements, he couldn't fool ET, who got Arkin to later admit that he was choked up when finally accepting his Oscar.

"Yeah, I didn't expect it either," said Arkin in regards to the teary moment in his acceptance speech, adding, "I was moved."

With any luck, Arkin can repeat his Oscar magic with his supporting role in Argo with Ben Affleck when The 85th Annual Academy Awards air Sunday, February 24th, 2013 on ABC.

RELATED: The Secrets Behind the Incredible True Tale 'Argo'

For more moments from Arkin's big night, see the video above.

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Cops find getaway car used in brazen Midtown hit

The NYPD have found the getaway car linked to the execution-style slaying of a Los Angeles man in broad daylight in midtown Manhattan, cops said today.

The car has been found in Queens after police questioned the couple who rented the car early this morning, according to NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly.

Investigators told The Post they don't believe the couple was driving it — but they are looking at the possibility they may have loaned it to someone who then used it in the crime.

New York investigators are examining three phones carried by Brandon Lincoln Woodard when he flew to New York on Sunday.

The NYPD yesterday released a dramatic series of surveillance photos that show a killer about to gun down his unsuspecting target on a busy Midtown street.

Woodard, 31, had just checked out of the swank 6 Columbus hotel near Columbus Circle when he was followed by the assassin on West 58th Street and killed near Seventh Avenue Monday afternoon.

1. A silver Lincoln MKX sedan pulls up along West 58th Street and parks in an open spot near Seventh Avenue. Wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, the hit man (circled) exits through the passenger door, looks around and paces back and forth next to the sedan. He's 20 minutes early and his victim, Brandon Woodward, 31, is still checking out of the swanky 6 Columbus hotel.

2. The killer pulls his sweat-shirt hood over his head. At about 1:15 p.m., Woodward walks east on the north side of West 58th Street and crosses Broadway. He checks his smartphone, as if looking for directions, and passes right next to his assassin, who is waiting for an opportunity to strike.

3. Woodward turns around and walks west. He glances over his shoulder at the hooded man but seems not to recognize the killer and keeps going. The assassin approaches from behind, pulls a gun and blasts Woodward at close range with a single 9mm shot to the head. The 31-year-old father crumples to the ground. The shooter enters the Lincoln sedan and is whisked away by his getaway driver.

The assassin escaped in the now-found getaway car.

Earlier on that fateful day, the law student appeared nervous as he had what turned out to be his final breakfast, at the La Parisienne diner.

“He ate breakfast at the counter but he was always looking over his shoulder,” said cashier Dimitrios Drimalitis, 61. “He looked scared and afraid of something.”

Woodard returned to his hotel and then left at 1:15 p.m., possibly lured away by the killer and drawn into a trap, Kelly said.

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Amid investigation, Homestead kicks out nonprofit business center

Homestead officials have kicked out the operator of its Carrie P. Meek business center amid a county investigation into the center’s director.

But Miami-Dade Commissioner Dennis Moss has asked city officials to hand over operation of the center to a non-profit which is considering employing the scrutinized director.

The Meek center, also known as the Business and Technology Development Corp., is under investigation by the Miami-Dade County Inspector General’s Office for suspicion of grand theft and money laundering, according to Homestead City Manager George Gretsas.

Run by Hilda B. Hall-Dennis, the Meek center has operated rent-free out of a city-owned building on Civic Court in Homestead. It’s supposed to provide help and subsidized office space for businesses starting up in the area.

The center’s lease with Homestead’s Community Redevelopment Agency expired Sept. 30, but it has continued to work out of the building. Now, Hall-Dennis has until Dec. 14 to get out, according to a letter sent to her by the CRA.

The CRA, a special taxing district which helps fix up blighted areas, will run the center until a new, permanent operator can be found.

Moss, according to a letter sent to city officials, hopes that the new operator will be NANA, the Neighbors and Neighbors Association.

NANA on its website says it started the Mom and Pop Small Business Grant Program and the City of Miami Micro-Enterprise Assistance Grant Program. The organization is funded with county and city of Miami money, according to its website.

NANA director Leroy Jones said that Hall-Dennis has worked for the association in the past as a paid consultant, conducting training and workshops. He said his organization’s board is currently considering whether to hire her again as a contractor, or to give her a job.

Jones said Hall-Dennis would not be given any position that handles money.

“To be perfectly honest with you, I would love Hilda to work for me. And I understand what’s out there, but I also understand that she has not been found guilty,” Jones said.

He added: “For doing workshops and trainings for businesses, she’s very good at that. I know that because we’ve been doing trainings and workshops since at least 1998. ... If we bring her on board, that’s what she’ll be doing.”

Jones said he is considering submitting a proposal to the city to run the Meek center.

Commissioner Moss had faith in both NANA and Hall-Dennis, he said.

“NANA is an organization that has a credible track record in this community,” the commissioner said. “They will do an excellent job of running the center.”

In a letter to the city of Homestead, the center’s namesake, former U.S. Rep. Carrie P. Meek praised Hall-Dennis. Meek has no affiliation with the center, other than its name and her help in first securing the money for the center.

“I am extremely proud of the center and the work that Hilda Hall-Dennis has done,” she wrote.

Homestead’s Meek center has landed $898,000 in federal grant money since 2008, according to an IG memo. As a condition of receiving the money, which is dispersed by the county, the Meek center is supposed to be registered as a non-profit and carry various types of insurance.

But the center lost its non-profit status in 2010 for not filing returns for three consecutive years, and the state issued a stop-work order on the center in September for failing to carry the required insurance. The stop-work order means that the Meek center is not allowed to do any business until it resolves the insurance issue.

After going “missing in action” for months, according to city manager Gretsas, Hall-Dennis appeared at a CRA meeting on Dec. 4 to defend herself.

She summed up the IRS issue as a mistake, because, she claims, she did mail in her taxes every year. She also said that the stop-work order had been taken care of.

A spokeswoman for the state confirmed in an email on Tuesday that the stop-work order has been lifted and a $2,300-fine has been levied. The fine had not been paid as of Tuesday, the spokeswoman wrote.

Hall-Dennis said at the meeting that many of her problems stem from the county not reimbursing her in a timely way for the center’s expenses.

“I’ve taken my own money to make sure that the staff was paid. I’ve taken money from my family. I’ve taken loans,” she said.

The center also has a trail of unpaid bills and judgments against it from payroll companies and banks, totaling more than $250,000, Gretsas said.

“It’s embarrassing. The more the facts come out, the worse it gets. And I think we just need to move on. This doesn’t look good for the city,” he said.

Follow @Cveiga on Twitter.

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FBI investigating Miami cops in bookmaking case

At least a half-dozen Miami Police officers have been targeted by the FBI for their alleged roles in providing protection for a Liberty City sports gambling operation that was uncovered more than a year ago, according to authorities familiar with the case.

At least one Miami officer has been relieved of duty in connection with the investigation into the bookmaking business, which has been shut down, authorities said.

The initial probe by the FBI, which has been assisted by the police department, evolved into a broader investigation involving some of the officers. Arrests of at least six Miami officers — and possibly more — are expected as early as January, according to authorities.

The Miami Police Department did not return calls for comment. Both the police department and city attorney’s office refused to provide The Miami Herald with requested information on the number of police officers recently relieved of duty.

Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado said he did not know details of the investigation. But he tried to cast it in a positive light.

“To me, this investigation is not a black eye to the city or the police department. It’s a good thing. It means we’re moving forward with a better police force,” Regalado told The Miami Herald.

“In a police force as big as this one, some officers will do the wrong thing. But it is good to invite investigation. It shows that the police force wants to move forward and get rid of the bad apples.”

The Liberty City gambling house investigation began more than a year ago when Miami police, under then-Chief Miguel Exposito, told the FBI what it had learned. Surveillance, in an unincorporated area of Liberty City, led to the spotting of a Miami officer who allegedly showed up regularly to protect the illicit business.

The Miami Police Department, with roughly 1,100 sworn officers, has seen numerous officers suspended and ultimately fired in recent years because of their involvement in criminal activity, from ripping off drugs and money from dealers to fencing contraband such as stolen Bluetooth headsets.

The police department’s morale has been low of late, but not necessarily because of the criminal investigations. The police union has been battling the city over pay raises, health benefits and pension obligations for three straight years, though it did reach a recent agreement on salary hikes for next year.

Unrelated to the Miami police probe, the FBI is also investigating a handful of officers in other law-enforcement departments around Miami-Dade County in connection with identity-theft and tax-refund scams.

The officers are suspected of swiping personal identity information, such as Social Security numbers and dates of birth, to file fraudulent tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service — a crime that has penetrated all aspects of society, including hospitals.

South Florida is considered one of the nation’s hardest-hit regions for ID theft and tax fraud, according to the Department of Treasury.

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