So to start: Paul is back from CrimeCon in Las Vegas, where cops, media, and aficionados gathered at Caesar’s Palace to confer on all things crime-related. He’s back to take a swing at what is gearing up to be yet another series of ICE-related protests by the professional agitator class. Is there a legal basis for holding the organizations backing this stuff accountable?
Then Chris weighs in on Mamdani’s latest undermining of law-and-order in NYC: his appointment of an anti-cop Sheriff (yes, NYC has a Sheriff — and Zo found one who hates police).
And finally, as L.A. voters go to the polls for their mayoral primary, our True Crime Girl surfaces some dark history that incumbent Karen Bass would like voters to forget.
So here we go…!
CrimeCon Report
So this was my second trip to CrimeCon, and I must say, it was enjoyable. Far from being just a gathering of the murder-obsessed, the event has grown into a true fusion of crime-based media, police organizations, and victims’ groups. I’ll admit: not what I expected at all.
There were groups dedicated to solving cold cases; technology firms; writers and publishers; podcast purveyors; and all sorts of interesting media and law enforcement types.
Some highlights on my side: my discussion with my Fox Nation colleagues Josh Ritter, Donna Rotunno, and Mike Ruiz on where the Nancy Guthrie case could be heading:
Also, our broadcast of “The Weekly Rap Sheet Live From CrimeCon,” where we covered everything from the Epstein case to the Bryan Kohberger’s sentencing, the Mackenzie Shirilla appeals, the Kouri Richens case, and more:
Oh — and I met a new patrol partner!
But of course the best part was just the opportunity to meet so many kind fans and students of criminal justice. I truly enjoyed getting to talk to so many cops (retired and otherwise), agents, prosecutors, and others who take an active interest in the issue of safety and security in our nation. As always, they taught me a lot.
So thank you all! (You were certainly kinder to me than the blackjack dealers).
Another Summer of “Love” Upcoming?
So it looks like federal and local authorities have FINALLY had enough of the usual b.s. going on outside the Delaney ICE detention center in New Jersey. But what’s really happening here?
First, let’s understand what “had enough” apparently means. After a full week of rioting, New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill finally sent in state police to establish some order. Meaning: in Governor Sherrill’s eyes, ICE officers enforcing legit federal law under riot conditions were, for a full week, entitled to less protection than is accorded average citizens.
And, as is ALWAYS the case, local Dem politicians blame “outside agitators” for the riots — without ever take steps to identify or disrupt these activists or the groups funding and supporting them.
If Sherrill is so horrified by these “agitators,” we’d like to know: What NJ state charges did they face after arrest? Conspiracy? Riot?
How much do you want to bet the charges were of the low-level “disorderly conduct” type — ripe for dismissal by a sympathetic local state judge in Newark? (I could even see the local prosecutor dismissing the charges).
Second, the “horror” that Dem politicians are projecting over “conditions” in the Delaney facility is purely performative and straight from the left’s usual playbook. Recall how the Guantanamo Bay facility housing al Qaeda terrorists faced the same accusations? Despite the facility offering better food and medical care than the accused there likely ever received in their lives? Including a custom-built soccer field for them to exercise on?
Recall the exact same accusations being made during the Summer of Love riots, as arrestees were incarcerated after disrupting cities around the nation, causing untold damage and even deaths?
Third: Notice that an alternative to the Delaney facility is never even suggested. In fact, Dem Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries instead insists that those operating the facility are the ones that should be prosecuted — not the illegals inside, many of whom are violent felons.
Do the Dems not realize this is one of the major issues they lost on in 2024?
Look, the answer here is simple: for the locals around the country — that’s you, Mikie (Mikie?) — set up protest pens and curfews and enforce them. Rioters who break from these protocols should be prosecuted as fully as possible. Trust us; the “unrest” will end fast.
For the feds: don’t count on any of that happening. Dem politicos around the nation, including Sherrill, are too terrified of their radical base (see Schumer, Chuck) to risk any true law and order. So: get the uniformed federal agencies involved. The Federal Protective Service, ICE agents themselves, FBI uniformed division, the U.S. Marshals… all have enforcement powers regarding the obstruction of federal law.
We need federal arrests of those attempting to overrun ICE facilities. That’s how you build the big cases — from the ground, up. Arrest and debrief. Dump the phones and computers. Penetrate the comms.
It worked against the mafia; it worked against ISIS. It’ll work against these Antifa clowns.
A few big conspiracy cases, and they’ll get the message. Maybe then we can get back to enforcing federal laws that are actually on the books — instead of coddling a bunch of dilettantes like this idiot, who has likely talked his way into nice federal stretch.
Meet Nick Scelfo
Here’s the “idiot” I referred to above, threatening to kill an ICE agent and the agent’s entire family (click the image for the video):
Some things to note regarding Nicholas Scelfo:
Scelfo grew up in Valley Stream, NY — where the median household income is $121,475;
In 2018, when Scelfo would’ve been graduating North Valley Stream High School, Money magazine named Valley Stream the best place to live in New York;
Valley Stream is in Nassau County, one of the wealthiest counties in America and, according to U.S. News and World Report, literally the safest;
He’s apparently been arrested before, but despite crying and making jailhouse promises, decided not to change his ways.
He’s facing up to ten years. Here’s hoping he gets every one of them.
He’ll soon find himself wishing he had the accommodations the ICE detainees in Delaney currently have.
Meet The New Boss — Worse Than The Old Boss…
The New York City Sheriff used to be a minor position in the city’s law enforcement landscape. The Sheriff’s Office falls under the Department of Finance and handles civil enforcement operations such as evictions and tax enforcement. Most cops rarely saw them and almost never interacted with them. Then came the DeBlasio administration, which decriminalized many quality-of-life violations in favor of civil enforcement.
So the Sheriff’s Office expanded to meet this new reality. With the decriminalization of marijuana, its role grew even further as it led enforcement against unlicensed cannabis shops. The office became a significant player in city policing.
When Eric Adams became mayor, he set his sights on a goal: becoming the worst personnel manager in mayoral history. Mission accomplished. Many of his appointees resigned in disgrace, often facing criminal investigations or indictments. One of his most questionable appointments was NYC Sheriff Anthony Miranda.
It would be hard to find someone less qualified. Miranda spent years in the NYPD as a Police Officer, Detective, and Sergeant. He is best known as a rabble-rouser and head of the Latino Officers Association. Not to be confused with the NYPD Hispanic Society, the organization was aligned with Adams’s 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care and focused on rooting out anti-Hispanic bias in the NYPD, whether it existed or not. He had no executive law-enforcement experience.
It would also be hard to find a cop more disliked—or the butt of more jokes. I remember riding a crowded elevator in 1 Police Plaza when the retired Miranda stepped on. When he got off a few floors later, everyone had something to say. “Who let that guy into the building?” and “I thought I’d never have to see him again” were the two politest comments. Nobody even cared whether someone in the elevator might be friends with him—a true sign of his popularity. I’ll leave the more colorful remarks where they belong.
True to the Adams administration’s broader pattern, Miranda soon found himself under investigation by the NYC Department of Investigation. The Sheriff’s Office was suspected of misconduct related to cannabis enforcement and the large amounts of marijuana and cash recovered during raids. DOI searched headquarters, removed money, and reportedly found tens of thousands of dollars alongside a ledger with pages ripped out. The money had been seized—perhaps improperly—from unlicensed cannabis shops. As a former narcotics investigator, Miranda should have known how carefully money and drug seizures must be handled. Somehow, he kept his job.
But now he is gone. Zohran Mamdani fired him and replaced him.
With someone worse.
I didn’t think that was possible.
The new sheriff is former NYPD Lieutenant Edreweene “Edwin” Raymond. Raymond styles himself as a whistleblower against NYPD misconduct. He claimed the department engaged in racist arrest and enforcement quotas and joined a federal lawsuit alleging such practices. The lawsuit went nowhere and much of it was dismissed. That is because it was not true.
Raymond also lacked a distinguished police career or arrest record. Unlike Miranda, he has no discernible investigative experience and no executive experience.
In an ironic twist, Raymond himself has a “Giglio” disclosure letter on file with prosecutors. His own misconduct, stemming from a domestic violence incident he responded to in 2017, must be disclosed before he is even allowed to testify. Raymond was charged with failing to make a mandated arrest of a career criminal who violated an order of protection. He was found guilty internally and lost 20 vacation days.
It would be difficult to find a prosecutor eager to put him on the stand with that record. Notably, it appears Raymond’s own fellow officers reported the misconduct—a telling sign of his standing among the rank and file.
Raymond was bypassed for promotion to lieutenant while the case was pending, which is standard practice in the NYPD. He was promoted after the guilty finding. Yet Raymond went to the media claiming racism. He staged a press conference supporting former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick and later claimed his promotion was delayed because of it. In reality, the far more likely explanation was his open misconduct case.
Eventually Raymond tried to cash in on his reputation as a “whistleblower.” After 15 years, he left the NYPD and wrote An Inconvenient Cop: My Fight to Change Policing in America (2023). He toured the media circuit discussing alleged racism in the department and even compared the NYPD to antebellum slave patrols—a truly absurd comparison.
Raymond has also publicly claimed that the death of Eric Garner was evidence of systemic racism in the NYPD. It was not. Officers were responding to numerous 311 complaints about Garner, a badly overweight, asthmatic repeat offender.
Raymond then landed a position in Letitia James’s Attorney General’s Office (there’s a shock). Despite having no discernible investigative experience, he was given the title of “Social Justice Liaison,” an amorphous six-figure job with equally amorphous responsibilities.
Understand the purpose of a title like that. It’s not to actually accomplish anything. As in other blue cities, it’s to signal to other “fellow travelers” in the NYC government apparatus that this is someone who thinks like you. You can hire him. It’s safe.
And so: he is now the new sheriff in town.
Sheriff is a significant position in today’s New York City. We could name thousands of former cops with stronger résumés, but competence is not what Mamdani is looking for. No, he is more interested in forcing law enforcement to deal with anti-cop race-baiters like Raymond.
And it may work. The NYPD is likely heading toward a personnel crisis unlike any it has seen before.
Our prediction for the new sheriff is simple: he is not a leader, and the men and women of the Sheriff’s Office will not follow him. Eventually he will have to go. And when that happens, he will probably sue the city for—you guessed it!—racism.
CIA’s Gold “Rush”
The CIA suffered yet another black eye this week as one of its supervisors was found to have stolen tens of millions of dollars. In gold.
David Rush, described as an executive-service-level employee, was discovered with $40 million in gold bars, $2 million in cash, and nearly three dozen luxury watches, many of them Rolexes. Rush allegedly obtained the goods simply by requisitioning them from the Agency.
Yup — he just asked for it.
The CIA has remained quiet about the case, not even releasing his rank to the media. Rush was arrested and charged with theft of public money by the FBI after agents raided his home based on information provided by the CIA. The investigation began when money and gold issued by the Agency could not be accounted for during an audit of Rush’s activities and a search of his office. The CIA could not even determine what the gold and cash were supposed to be used for. How typical.
Also disturbing are allegations that Rush falsified his résumé. It claimed degrees from Clemson University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and the Naval Postgraduate School. Sources say those credentials were fabricated and that he never attended any of those institutions.
That points to a serious flaw in the CIA’s hiring and promotion practices. One has to wonder how many foreign spies are inside the Agency if it cannot be bothered to conduct basic background checks. They never asked for school transcripts?
The notoriously leaky spy agency has been down this road before. Russia was famously aware of many CIA operations during the Cold War. Operations in Eastern Europe and China were compromised throughout the 1950s and 1960s and continued to be undermined through the Soviet era by internal moles such as Aldrich Ames. Numerous people died because of those failures, including American assets inside the Soviet Union.
More recently, there have been two major breaches regarding the CIA’s activities in China. Once again, lives are believed to have been lost.
And those are only the failures we know about.
The CIA should have learned its lessons by now, but apparently that is not the case. It still appears unable to conduct basic counterintelligence and administrative reviews.
And it still is not telling us much, as this scandal remains wrapped in secrecy.
CIA officials may have even influenced presidential elections through their involvement in the Russian-collusion narrative and the letter signed by 51 former intelligence officials claiming the Hunter Biden laptop bore the hallmarks of a Russian disinformation operation. It’s why former Director John Brennan was recently referred to DOJ for potential prosecution.
As for intelligence analysis, the CIA — essentially created to work against the Soviets post-WW II — did not even recognize that the Soviet Union was collapsing in the 1980’s. The Agency allegedly learned of the fall of the Berlin Wall from CNN. That may be hyperbole, but it speaks to deeper institutional failures.
What we can be sure of is that the American people will never get the full story about David Rush. Acknowledged, spy agency must keep secrets; but the CIA often appears to keep them to protect its reputation and Congressional funding.
No doubt Rush will eventually take a plea deal and the entire incident will be swept under the rug. Perhaps Congress will finally act and get to the bottom of this scandal, but we doubt it. As Chuck Schumer famously said, “Let me tell you: You take on the intelligence community — they have six ways from Sunday at getting back at you.”
If that is not commentary on an out-of-control agency with too much power and secrecy, I do not know what is.
Hartford “Justice”
Former Hartford Police Officer Joseph Magnano was arrested this month for manslaughter in the death of Steven Jones. On February 27, 2026, Hartford Police were outside Jones’s home when he emerged in a state of emotional disturbance armed with a knife.
Officers on scene showed restraint and repeatedly attempted to persuade Jones to drop the weapon. When those efforts failed, police deployed a Taser in an attempt to disable him. The Taser also failed, allowing Jones to continue walking the streets, ignoring commands while still brandishing the knife.
Rookie Officer Magnano arrived and within seconds found himself confronting a man with a large knife moving in his direction and near civilians. Magnano retreated while pleading with Jones to drop the weapon, but as Jones continued to advance and came close to bystanders, Magnano fired, killing him.
No one would claim that was a positive outcome. Jones was clearly mentally ill, and everyone should feel sympathy for him and his family. It was a tragedy by any measure.
Perhaps Magnano could have done something differently, but he placed himself between the knife-wielding Jones and nearby civilians, then made the instantaneous decision to shoot. Could he have deployed a Taser? Perhaps. But what if it failed? Would he have had time to draw his firearm, or would he—or someone else—have been stabbed? We rely on police officers to make these life-and-death split-second decisions. Based on a review of the body-camera footage, the shooting appears well within legal guidelines.
The Hartford mayor and Connecticut Attorney General — both Democrats, of course — disagreed. Magnano was fired and quickly arrested for manslaughter. Prosecutors emphasized that he had been on scene for only 34 seconds before making the fatal decision. I was not aware that police officers needed a stopwatch before determining whether deadly force was necessary.
There is little in the Attorney General’s report, which can be read here, to justify a manslaughter charge against an officer whose life was undoubtedly under threat. The arrest warrant paints Magnano as reckless, noting that he was not individually dispatched to the scene and drove there at a high rate of speed. It never mentions how close Jones was to Magnano and nearby civilians when the decision to shoot was made. Instead, it cherry-picks facts to make Magnano look bad. A defense attorney will tear it apart.
This use of deadly force is, of course, not popular with Hartford residents—or anyone else, for that matter. But police officers sometimes must make difficult decisions under extreme stress. This shooting appears legally justified. Magnano will likely opt for a bench trial, as many officers do, and ultimately be found not guilty. It is tragedies like this, and the politically motivated machinations that often follow, which make policing the toughest job in the world.
Legal Editor: Why Is It Always Minnesota?
Minnesota is out of its lane. Again.
Hennepin County is now prosecuting an ICE agent for conduct that occurred during a federal immigration operation – ignoring our constitutional structure in pursuit of its aim to be the most out-of-touch performative state in the nation. (Hey Minnesota, we know you’re there – relax). In simple terms: ICE does not work for Minnesota. ICE does not enforce Minnesota policy. ICE enforces federal law. But Minnesota appears to think otherwise.
That is why the Supremacy Clause exists.
Recap: The Constitution makes federal law supreme over conflicting state action because the federal government cannot function if fifty different states can criminally second-guess federal officers every time local officials dislike the mission. Immigration enforcement is not a local option. It is a federal responsibility. And that includes the regulation of federal immigration personnel. Bottom line: whether a federal immigration official broke the law while doing his job is exclusively a federal issue.
Of course this does not mean an ICE agent is above the law in some grand sense – it just means ICE officers are regulated by the feds while engaged in federal ICE business. If an agent steals money from a house during a raid, or sexually assaults someone during a raid, well that is not reasonably related to immigration enforcement, and the officer could be charged by the state. This is a simple enough distinction.
The behavior at issue in this case is a federal ICE official allegedly shooting through a door while conducting an ICE raid. The prosecutor is arguing that this was so outside the norm that the officer should be deemed to have been engaged in non-ICE business.
That’s lawyerly word play. The ICE agent was there to arrest the guy, not for any personal gain. Whether he went over the line is a federal issue.
What this really looks like is an attempt by Minnesota to create a mechanism for supervising federal officers inside the state. In other words, Minnesota wants veto power over federal enforcement. This is the same mindset behind officials telling the Feds to “get the F*** out” of Minnesota. But that is not how federalism works. Minnesota does not get to eject the federal government from Minnesota any more than Trump could tell Minnesota to get out of the country.
If Minnesota can indict a federal agent simply by calling a disputed use of force “assault,” then the Supremacy Clause means nothing.
Minnesota, however, should tread lightly. If Hennepin County is going to use state criminal law to test the outer limits of federal immigration authority, it should not be surprised if this DOJ responds in kind.
Prosecutors have wide discretion and cannot be charged merely for being wrong, aggressive, or political. But that discretion has limits. If state officials knowingly misuse criminal process to obstruct federal authority, target federal officers, fabricate a case, or deprive someone of constitutional rights… Washington can push back. It is rare. It is difficult. But it is not imaginary.
There is precedent for the federal government pushing back HARD when state or local officials use law enforcement to target a particular group or enforce the law in a way Washington says violates federal authority.
The Feds went after Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Maricopa County over immigration sweeps and alleged racial profiling of Latinos, and Arpaio was later held in criminal contempt for continuing those practices in defiance of a federal court order.
The Obama DOJ became focused on regulating Suffolk County, New York after allegations that local police were failing Latino communities; that same federal pressure later widened into criminal prosecutions of both the county police chief and the district attorney.
The DOJ also sued Ferguson, Missouri after finding that its police and municipal-court practices targeted African Americans through discriminatory enforcement, arrests, fines, and local prosecutions.
These cases do not mean Washington can indict every local prosecutor it dislikes. But they prove the larger point: when state or local officials use law enforcement to target a disfavored class or invade federal authority, the federal government has stepped in before. So why could it not stop local officials from targeting ICE officers, especially when Minnesota is barely hiding what it is really trying to do?
Neither side should be trying to prosecute the other over politics. They are supposed to be on the same side. But Minnesota has started the ball rolling the ball.
Stay tuned for DOJ’s response.
True Crime Girl: Bet You Didn’t Know THIS About Karen Bass
The problem with Karen Bass is not that she was once young, idealistic, and wrong.
The problem is that the thing she was wrong about was communism. Castro’s communism. Revolutionary communism. The same ideological world that produced not just bad pamphlets and campus slogans, but bombs, fugitives, prison breaks, and domestic terror.
So as L.A. voters go to the polls tomorrow to choose their next mayor, realize that Bass’s history with Cuba is not rumor. As a young activist in the 1970s, she traveled to Cuba with the Venceremos Brigade, a pro-Castro organization created to bring American leftists to the island in defiance of U.S. policy. She later acknowledged going to Cuba repeatedly, seeing Castro speak, and continuing to return to the island over the years.
That matters because the Venceremos Brigade was not some harmless student exchange program. It emerged from the same radical ecosystem as Students for a Democratic Society, the group that gave rise to the Weather Underground, the 1970’s domestic terror group responsible for hundreds of bombings across the United States, including at the U.S. capitol, NYPD headquarters, Harvard University, the State Department, and the Pentagon.
This was not activism. It was revolutionary violence, and the broader movement around it produced not only bombings, but prison breaks, armed robberies, fugitives, and dead Americans. (For a deeper look at this violent period and the radical networks that came out of it, listen to OpsDesk’s This Week in History episode on the era here.)
The broader network was even darker. The May 19th Communist Organization, a far-left revolutionary group, helped free violent radicals from prison and later bombed the United States Capitol in 1983. Susan Rosenberg, one of M19’s most notorious figures, had traveled to Cuba with the Venceremos Brigade. These circles overlapped. They shared ideology, enemies, and revolutionary fantasies. And they bombed.
Bass says she was not involved in violence. But even if you believe her, that hardly ends the inquiry. The question is not whether Karen Bass personally planted a bomb. The question is why a major American political figure spent years attached to a movement aligned with Castro’s dictatorship and surrounded by groups that treated America as the enemy.
“Youthful indiscretion,” you say?
In 2016, Fidel Castro died. But Bass did not condemn him as a tyrant. She called his death “a great loss to the people of Cuba” and referred to him by his revolutionary title, “Comandante en Jefe”. She later tried walking that back. But her reflex was revealing.
This is the part Los Angeles voters were supposed to forget.
Karen Bass did not merely flirt with the fringe. She was part of it. Her politics were shaped in a radical pro-Castro world where communism was romanticized and revolutionary violence was excused, minimized, or ignored.
That is not youthful experimentation. That is a political origin story.
And now you know why Los Angeles looks as it does.
L.A: You’ve been warned.
And finally…
In light of this story, we return to The Faculty Lounge….
The leftists are gearing up for another George Floyd Summer, and the playbook is familiar: create chaos, blame law enforcement, elevate criminals into victims, and dare officials to restore order. ICE facilities are federal installations enforcing federal law. Anyone trying to overrun them should face serious federal charges, not catch-and-release disorderly conduct in front of friendly local judges. Threatening ICE agents and their families is not protest. It is intimidation. The professional agitator class only stops when consequences become real. The mafia learned that. ISIS learned that. Antifa-adjacent street militants can learn it too. Federal arrests. Digital evidence. Conspiracy cases. Follow the NGOs. Break the machine.