Willamette Week | News | Crime & Justice | AAN.org

The Russian Mob Comes to Town with a New Scam: Medical Identity Theftnew

The ease with which Alexandr Shcherbakov and at least one other Russian in Portland bilked the feds illustrates in part why healthcare costs are soaring. "Medical identity theft is the new frontier for organized crime," says Alex Johnson, a former FBI agent who investigates fraud for Regence BlueShield.

Willamette Week | Nigel Jaquiss | 07-09-2008 | Crime & Justice

Tags: FBI, Medicare, crime & justice, medical fraud, medical identity theft, Russian mob

Why Doesn't Oregon Let Bounty Hunters Chase Down its Most Wanted?new

Since 1974, this state has banned bail bondsmen from operating inside its borders -- one of only four states in the country to do so. Critics say it's no coincidence that in Portland alone, there are thousands of wanted criminals walking the streets.

Willamette Week | James Pitkin | 07-02-2008 | Crime & Justice

Tags: Oregon, bail bondsmen, law enforcement, crime & justice, bounty hunters

The Death of a Landlordnew

Plenty of people want to kill their landlord. Not many are accused of actually doing it, hacking him to pieces, offing a roommate at the same time, then dumping both bodies 30 miles away in the sticks.

Willamette Week | James Pitkin | 06-11-2008 | Crime & Justice

Tags: murder, Portland, crime & justice, landlords, tenants

Environmental Icon to Plead Guilty to Arson and Conspiracynew

Tre Arrow's decision last week to plead guilty to the longstanding federal charges comes as a blow to his fellow activists, some of whom have spent years fighting for his release while Arrow proclaimed his innocence.

Willamette Week | James Pitkin | 05-28-2008 | Crime & Justice

Tags: activism, environment, FBI, crime & justice, Tre Arrow

The 30-Year Secretnew

A crime, a cover-up and the way it shaped Oregon.

Willamette Week | Nigel Jaquiss | 04-21-2008 | Crime & Justice

Tags: media, crime & justice

New Lawsuit Targets Cops Who Killed Man on 'Shroomsnew

Give a 20-year-old enough magic mushrooms to make 30 people trip hard. Then put him up against three cops armed with Tasers, beanbag guns and Glocks. It's a recipe for disaster, and that's exactly what happened.

Willamette Week | James Pitkin | 04-02-2008 | Crime & Justice

Tags: crime & justice

Trade Offnew

What happens to prison job training if voters OK a measure to add even more inmates?

Willamette Week | Mark Noack | 03-05-2008 | Crime & Justice

Tags: crime & justice

FBI Agent Uses His Daughter's Pic to Lure Accused Predatornew

It's a case straight out of crime TV. A high-powered Seattle lawyer finds a 14-year-old girl in an internet chat room and talks her into meeting him for some kinky sex in a hotel. But when he shows up at a Portland MAX stop for the promised spanking session, he gets handcuffed by FBI agents, who were posing as the girl online to snare sexual predators.

Willamette Week | James Pitkin | 02-13-2008 | Crime & Justice

Tags: crime & justice

The Debt Effectnew

One of Oregon’s biggest collection lawyers faces new troubles from the debtors he’s sued.

Willamette Week | James Pitkin | 02-06-2008 | Crime & Justice

Tags: crime & justice

Killing Time: Dead Men Waiting on Oregon's Death Rownew

The state's machinery of death is clearly in place. But since the U.S. Supreme Court allowed states to resume executions in 1976, Oregon has killed only two men. Meanwhile, 35 men sit alone this week in their cells on death row.

Willamette Week | James Pitkin | 01-23-2008 | Crime & Justice

Tags: death penalty, death row, crime & justice