Cicero police nab $600,000 in marijuana embedded in clocks (Check out the video)

Cicero police confiscate $600,000 in marijuana; one man charged


Cicero Police Video:Mug shot: Arrest (View evidence video at bottom of blog post)

Cicero Gang/Narcotics officers were notified by ICE officials that they had intercepted a shipment of cannabis in Kentucky that was earmarked to be delivered to an address in Cicero and requested that the Cicero Police Department take over the investigation. On 20 June officers of the Cicero Police Department picked this evidence up and returned to Cicero with it where a Cicero K-9 officer and his dog did an immediate search and received a positive hit on all three packages. 

At this time supervisors of the Cicero Police Department made arrangements to deliver the package to the intended address and with the cooperation of UPS who supplied a vehicle and driver delivered the packages to the address. Upon arrival the officers found a note on the window that told them to deliver all packages to Jose Gomez, the person named on the delivery, to the basement apartment. A Cicero Police Officer posing as a UPS delivery man then made contact with the subject in the basement who advised that he was Jose Gomez and then signed for the delivery. He was immediately taken into custody, identified as Roberto Carlin, then transported to the station for further investigation.

After returning to the police station and contacting the State Attorney’ s office the officers were advised to open the packages at which time they were found to contain 36 wooden clocks. Cicero K-9 units again had positive hits on all of the clocks. The officers were advised by the State’s Attorney to disassemble the clocks at which time the officers found that the cannabis was built into the structure of the clocks, each clock containing between 1500 and 1800 grams of compressed cannabis.

During an interview the subject advised police that he knew that there was cannabis in the packages. 
In custody is; Roberto Carlin, 04/13/73 of 1805 s. 61 ave. Cicero.
Charges; one count of possession of cannabis, one count of possession of cannabis with intent to deliver
Total weight of recovered cannabis; 59875 grams/132 pounds Street value is approximately $600,000. 

The evidence was picked up at UPS, here. They shipped it from Kentucky. The delivery was made to the address listed as the deklivery address. We don't know the address of origin.






Cicero Police Marijuana bust: drugs in clock ($600,000 in drugs) confiscated from Ray Hanania on Vimeo.

Why is it that some have to resort to racism to explain acts of violence?

An Orland Park woman who happens to be Muslim and happens to be Arab tried to attack police who arrested her son claims she was being victimized because she is Arab and the police officer involved in Jewish. Click here to read the story?

That's ridiculous of course, unless the two have had history of confrontation in the past. But aside from that, the response to the woman has been pure racism and bigotry and while I don't condone what she did you have to wonder about the people who are writing and evoking vicious racist hatred at the woman because she is Arab and Muslim. In fact, the attacks against the woman are really attacks against all Muslims and Arabs and that is so ugly, hateful and racist.

This is what was written at one of the region;s most popular Police Blogs. Click here to read the hatred.

I posted a response to the hatred and we'll see how far that goes. But here is the graphic the blog owners posted on their web site:

The comments are ugly and hateful and unbecoming of Orland Park and our community. Can't we get past the racism? So many Arabs and Muslims have served and continue to serve in the U.S. Military it's disgusting that their service and patriotism should be tainted by the unpatriotic viciousness of others.

Did the woman really try to run the police officer's over, as is alleged? Or can it be that the woman was angry and yelling at the police officers and she didn't listen to them and they used their power and clout to punish her for what she did? 

End the hate already and make Orland Park the place it really is.

-- Ray Hanania

www.hanania.com

What's one letter in Orland Township? It can be significant

When Brian Younker ran for Orland Township Highway commissioner in April 2009, he was challenging the incumbent Donald Yunker. It was a slick political trick on Paul O'Grady's part, but O'Grady comes from that long line of slicksters at the 19th Ward who have been licking their chops for decades trying to figure out how to install the Hynes Dynasty as Orland Park's grand old party of royalty.

Younker, with a "u", easily defeated Yunker, without the "U". But the two names were very similar.

Younker has had some recent troubles, but that's life, I guess. (Click to read about them.)

But I'll bet Donald Yunker might argue that one letter can make a difference in life, for sure.

I like some of the people at the Orland Township offices. I;m not sure what all of them do, exactly, that is different from what can be done elsewhere. But my favorite person is the clerk, Cindy Murray. She volunteers with her husband in the local Cub Scouts and that in my book is the most important credential a candidate for office can brag about.

They all moved in to the new building that they criticized the former Township officials for buying. But it turns out that Robert Maher, the former Orland Township Supervisor ousted by the 19th Ward Precinct Captain Paul O'Grady, was right. O'Grady's campaign slammed Maher with all kinds of mud during the campaign. It was unafir, but at least Maher has been vindicated. His plans were the best for the Township. The new location is great. I've been there, to vote. Not sure why I might go there for anything else though.

So it was interesting for my son to come home from the Orland Days Parade last week with some toss-aways. Toss-aways  are the junk that politicians thrown at the kids. Most of the time, it's stuff the kids want, like candy. But sometimes, politicians with troubles ignore the kids and throw out junk, like a magnet that you put on the refrigerator. (My kid screams at me when I call it the ice box -- I can't break the habit. We had one when I was a very young kid living on Chicago's South East side, a wood box with a chunk of ice delivered to the house every three days by a guy in a pushcart. It worked. My kid doesn't believe me.)

But I give my fourth grader high grades for catching this one. Someone tossed him the Orland Township High Way information refrigerator magnet. My son loves magnets, even when they are worthless as gifts like refrigerator cards promoting some political office you might not be interested in ever using -- except to say hello to Murray who is a great person. (Maybe all of the Orland Township officials should volunteer to help the Cub Scouts. That would be a great thing to brag about. Murray, don't let politics bother you. Whatever you do, it will be worth it.)

He pointed something out that many people probably didn't catch. A simple little letter, that made the difference int he last election between Brian Younker and Donald Yunker.

Take a look at the card that my son brought home from the Orland Days Parade: See if you catch it.

Orland Village officials to buy iPads for their trustees and mayor

The Village of Orland Park plans to spend just under $6,000 to purchase 11 iPads that their elected officials will use during board meetings. The Village Manager, Paul Grimes, who I admire, has argued that it is a cost savings move and is a part of the villages' continued efforts towards "Greening." (They purchased the iPad 2s, which are the newer ones from Apple.)

Grimes and Deputy Village Clerk Joe LaMargo -- who I think is the real village clerk in Orland Park based on his leadership and activism -- also explained that the village is providing internet access so the Mayor, Dan McLaughlin, and the trustees can access the Internet to review past village documents.

It's not that it is a bad idea. It's a smart idea in concept. I have an iPad. I used to use it all the time, until my wife and son discovered the real benefit of owning an iPad. You can watch great movies on it and play fun games like "Angry Birds" which is the latest online gaming fad, kind of like Cabbage Patch Kids for the Internet's kids. (You use a sling shot to shoot a bird at a structure that collapses and you get points for destroying things -- something I think politicians would love to do.)

They're cheaper than PCs and laptops, which have gotten to be cheap over the past year, but they have limitations. And the Orland iPads don't have 4G access but instead rely on WiFi -- the 4G iPads are really the best because they allow you to access the internet for only $25 a month from anywhere in the United States (I have AT&T). Orland is providing WiFi to the Officials' iPads through Comcast, who are the most expensive monopoly on cable and internet and poor service one can find.

What will the Mayor, trustees and other officials be doing with their iPads? Well, I know Grimes and LaMargo and they are both professionals so you can bet they'll be scanning documents during the meetings. In fact, they will be sharing iPads which means they probably won't be taking them home to play the online games.

But the rest of the officials? How will we know? Well, just watch their faces. The next time the Village Board of Trustees votes to revoke a property tax rebate, or to increase the costs of vehicle stickers, or to increase water fees, if they are not sad-faced, you can bet their probably deeply involved in a game of Angry Birds.

The only other thing the Orland Park officials will be able to do is connect to the Internet using the unreliable Comcast Internet service and check their web site for updated documents, I guess. Or you might catch them at Starbucks using the gadgets in the free WiFi zone. 

Just check to see if they are smiling. I hear Angry Birds is a lot of fun.

- Ray Hanania

(Update -- the purchases were approved by committee but must be approved by the village board)