WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER SETS RECORD VISITS FOR YEAR 7,017,658 VISITS! 2,098,003 VISITORS MADE 6 VISITS A DAY EVERY DAY. 63,330 UNIQUE VISITORS MADE 133,730 VISITS IN DECEMBER. WPCNR AVERAGED 17,284 VISITORS A WEEK, VISITING 31,270 TIMES.

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WPCNR WHITE PLAINS LAW JOURNAL. Special to WPCNR from Nancy King. November 17, 2011 UPDATED 12:20 A.M.November 18, 2011 UPDATED 2:20 P.M. E.S.T. UPDATED 4:15 P.M. E.S.T.  UPDATED 4:35 P.M. E.S.T.:

Nancy King reported Thursday evening that Adam Bradley, after appearing before Judge Susan Capeche Thursday afternoon, may turn himself in to White Plains police Friday morning at for alleged violations of his terms of probation.

Since her report, four hours later WPCNR has learned from Mr. Bradley that his coming to the White Plains Police Department may or may not take place depending on how the matter is handled Friday morning by the White Plains Police. Adam Bradley, speaking to WPCNR at midnight, when asked would neither confirm nor deny that he was committed to go in to the police Friday.

Lucien Chalfen, spokesman for the Westchester District Attorney advised WPCNR Friday afternoon at 4:30 P.M., that at the present time, whether or not Adam Bradley is arrested is up to the White Plains Police. He said he had no knowledge of whether Family Court has asked for Mr. Bradley to be investigated for violating the terms of his probation. He said it is up to the White Plains Police to make the investigation 

As of 2:30 P.M., asked for an update on the Adam Bradley situation, Commissioner Chong wrote in a statement,

“Not yet, probably later.”

Commissioner of Public Safety David Chong issued this statement to WPCNR Friday morning:

“As of this writing 0850 AM Friday, the Police Department has not received formal charges, instructions or requests from the District Attorney or the Court to pick up Mr. Bradley.

The Court could, within its own right, ask Mr. Bradley to appear to face any violations of existing court orders or conditions of probation and so could the Department of Probation.

The police would be involved if and when there were any new charges filed or if Mr. Bradley failed to appear as ordered in court. “

Mr. Bradley was convicted December 9,2010 of attempted assault, contempt, and three charges of harassment involving his wife. Mr. Bradley was also subject to an order of protection prohibiting him from seeing his wife, Fumiko Bradley for five years, subject to modification for custody and visitation purposes.

King reported Thursday evening that Bradley was reported by his wife, Fumiko Bradley as having called her by cellphone three times, a violation of  Bradley’s term of probation. King reports that Bradley said the calls  were made on his cellphone three times in a short period of time and were accidental while exercising. King says that Bradley may face 60 to 90 days in jail.

Mr. Bradley, Mayor of White Plains from January 2010 to February 2011, when he resigned after being convicted of attempted assault on his wife among other charges, was under probation terms forbidding him any contact with his wife.

King says that Fumiko Bradley reported the calls being made to her.

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WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER By Nancy King, WPCNR County Roving Correspondent. November 15, 2011:

County Executive Rob Astorino presented his 2012 Budget Projection this morning. While again making good on his promise of not raising the property taxes of Westchester residents, it comes with a hefty price tag…elimination of jobs.  

Astorino explained that although the tax levy of 548 million dollars remained the same as the previous year’s budget, he also offered up that  even with reductions made in staffing last year, that the cost of salaries and benefits had risen another 9 million dollars this year.

The County Executive will be  reducing the work force by about 360.  150 of those positions will be lost through attrition while the remaining 250 employees will be laid off.  It is expected that those layoffs will come from the departments of recreation, and the DPW.  No layoffs are currently planned for the Westchester County Police Department of the Department of Corrections.  

During the press conference, Mr. Astorino stated that the proposed cuts are in response to the union’s  lack of concessions concerning their health care benefits.  County workers currently do not contribute to their health care.  It was unclear as to whether Mr. Astorino was asking  union officials to open their contract now.  Their new contract will be negotiated in 2012.`

The upcoming year will also see an increase of $2.00 at county golf courses, the elimination of 24 hour police protection at the County Office Building and the end of a non mandated contract with three community health centers. 

Cornell Cooperative Extension lost 990,000 and the Arts Council saw their budget decrease by 750,000. 

Astorino is also venturing into the area of public/private partnerships and is seeking private donors to help fund cultural events and the annual Fourth of July fireworks at the Kensico Dam. 

Astorino is also asking child care contributions to be increased by 35% for next year.

To preserve the County’s bond rating, Astorino stated very clearly that the fund balance would not be touched thus allowing Westchester to keep it’s Triple A bond rating.  This is a bit confusing though since it was reported several months ago that Westchester had been downgraded to a Double A rating. 

It was unclear as to whether there has been multiple bond ratings for the county.  Mr. Astorino also expects that there will be little or no revenue growth next year as the economic  health of the county remains fragile.

Not so surprising was the return of Playland. 

While it is alleged that the park is a consistent money loser every year, it now is the home of the controversial Children’s Museum which will pay the county an annual rent of $1.00. 

Astorino,  who waxed that he has had a difficult 684 days in office is most likely to continue having those difficult days.  The Westchester County Board of Legislators must first approve this budget.  Last year the CBOL overrode the Astorino administration 240 times.   The Board will be holding a public meeting at New Rochelle High School on November 22^nd to discuss it.

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WPCNR POLICE GAZETTE. November 14, 2011:

The Department of Public Safety promoted four new cornerstones  to build the future of the Department this morning at Public Safety Headquarters.

First Public Safety Promotions in Two Years, Building the Future. Promoted today at the Department of Public Safety: Far  left, Newly promoted Captain Joseph Castelli of the Police Department; Third from left, Lieutenant Brian Hickey of the Fire Bureau; Commissioner of Public Safety David Chong; new Police Sergeant Kevin Farrelly, and new Police Lieutenant Dennis Doherty. Mayor Thomas Roach is second from left.

Mayor Thomas Roach observing, in his remarks said the promotions were a testimony to the fine men and women in the department and the men honored with promotion today were a legacy that was part of building the department  for the future.

Commissioner of Public Safety David Chong swears in Brian Hickey to the rank of Lieutenant in the Fire Bureau, after only six years with the Bureau.

Commissioner Chong recalled when  Hickey was asked during his hiring interview where he hoped to be in the bureau in six years, said, “The Rescue Truck(Engine 88).” Chong said this answer indicated his commitment to the mission of the department. Chong said Hickey’s rise to Lieutenant after only six years in the bureau was remarkable.

Commissioner Chong swore in Joseph Castelli to the rank of  Captain in the Police Department, whom he welcomed as a key member of the Captains’ contingent. Chong pointed out police department captains are part of his executive staff. Dennis Doherty was promoted to Lieutenant, and  Kevin Farrelly was promoted to Sergeant.

Commissioner Chong in his remarks said he felt the White Plains Department of Public Safety was the finest department anywhere, saying “Not a day goes by that I do not  get a call from someone praising the department.” To Commissioner Chong’s left are James Bradley, Chief of Police, Deputy Chief of the Fire Bureau, and Mayor Thomas Roach.

Chong said to the wives, children and proud parents attending that he thanked them for their understanding of the difficulties of  the jobs their husbands and sons do every day. Chong said that from his own personnel experience,   police officers and fire personnel  have to deal with difficult circumstances in the line of duty and their families are special in order to deal with that duty stress.

An overflow crowd of colleagues and family members attended the ceremony and a feeling of good will, pride and happiness lit up the room.

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WPCNR MR. AND MRS.WHITE PLAINS POLL. NOVEMBER 10, 2011:

Tonight the League of Women Voters will sponsor a debate between a representative of the French American School of New York, Michael Zarin, and a major opponent of the project, Robert Stackpole, in an effort to focus on the issues involving the school plan to build a 1,200-student campus on the failed Ridgeway Country Club property in the heart of White Plains upscale southend of town.

Steven Silverberg, the City of White Plains consulting attorney on the city effort to craft an ordinance restricting what any school organization could do on the property will outline the process of the environmental review now underway. After the debate, the two protagonists will take written questions from the floor. The debate is at 7 PM at the Ridgeway Country Club.

The debate takes place a day after a candidate with strong opposition to the FASNY project and development in neighborhoods generally, Terence Guerriere, a resident of the Gedney Farms neighborhood where FASNY is planning to develop its campus, was defeated for Common Council by 500 votes (at this time).

It raises a question of whether the vast majority of the city 30,000 registered voters and 57,000 residents really is that passionately concerned that the city not allow the FASNY project, or whether the Common Council is paying too much attention to a small minority of citizerns who have their ear by earmarking about a half a million dollars of city money to studying,crafting and devising an ordinance and study that would hinder development of golf courses in general.

So WPCNR  has devised the accompanying poll at the rightto sample the community’s passion index on the FASNY project.

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WPCNR FBI REPORT. From the Federal Bureau of Investigation.(Edited) November9,2011:

Today the FBI announced charges against six Estonian nationals and one Russian national for engaging in a massive and sophisticated Internet fraud scheme that infected with malware more than four million computers located in over 100 countries.

Of the computers infected with malware, at least 500,000 were in the United States, including computers belonging to U.S. government agencies, such as NASA; educational institutions; non-profit organizations; commercial businesses; and individuals.

The malware secretly altered the settings on infected computers enabling the defendants to digitally hijack Internet searches and re-route computers to certain websites and advertisements, which entitled the defendants to be paid. The defendants subsequently received fees each time these websites or ads were clicked on or viewed by users. The malware also prevented the installation of anti-virus software and operating system updates on infected computers, leaving those computers and their users unable to detect or stop the defendants’ malware, and exposing them to attacks by other viruses.

Schemes included name sites including:

• When the user of an infected computer clicked on the domain name link for the official website of Apple-iTunes, the user was instead taken to a website for a business unaffiliated with Apple Inc. that purported to sell Apple software.
  
• 
  
• When the user of an infected computer clicked on a domain name link for Netflix, the user was instead taken to a website for an unrelated business called “BudgetMatch.”
  
• 
  
• When the user of an infected computer clicked on the domain name link for the official government website of the Internal Revenue Service, the user was instead taken to the website for H&R Block, a major tax preparation business.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney PREET BHARARA said: “These defendants gave new meaning to the term, ‘false advertising.’ As alleged, they were international cyber bandits who hijacked millions of computers at will and re-routed them to Internet websites and advertisements of their own choosing—collecting millions in undeserved commissions for all the hijacked computer clicks and Internet ads they fraudulently engineered.

“The international cyber threat is perhaps the most significant challenge faced by law enforcement and national security agencies today, and this case is just perhaps the tip of the Internet iceberg. It is also an example of the success that can be achieved when international law enforcement works together to root out internet crime. We are committed to continuing our vigilance and efforts—it is essential to our national security, our economic security, and our citizens’ personal security.”

FBI Assistant Director in Charge JANICE K. FEDARCYK said:

“The defendants hijacked 4 million computers in a hundred countries, including half a million computers in the United States, rerouting Internet traffic and generating $14 million in illegitimate income. The globalization of the legitimate economy was the inspiration for Thomas Friedman’s The World Is Flat.

“The global reach of these cyber thieves demonstrates that the criminal world is also flat. The Internet is pervasive because it is such a useful tool, but it is a tool that can be exploited by those with bad intentions and a little know-how. In this context, international law enforcement cooperation and strong public-private partnerships are absolute necessities, and the FBI is committed to both.”

NASA Inspector General PAUL MARTIN said: “These arrests illustrate the level of cooperation needed to confront the growing worldwide threat of cyber crime. We will continue working with our national and international colleagues to help protect governments, U.S. agencies like NASA, businesses, and individual users of the Internet from fraud and theft.”

The Cyber-Fraud Scheme

According to the Indictment unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:

Internet advertising is a multi-billion-dollar industry in which website owners sell advertising space on their sites. Because of the vast number of website operators—also referred to as publishers—and advertisers on the Internet, advertisers often rely on third party “ad brokers” to contract with and deliver their advertisements to publishers. Similarly, rather than contract with ad brokers individually, website publishers often join together and form “publisher networks” to contract with ad brokers collectively.

As alleged in the Indictment, from 2007 until October 2011, the defendants controlled and operated various companies that masqueraded as legitimate publisher networks (the “Publisher Networks”) in the Internet advertising industry.

The Publisher Networks entered into agreements with ad brokers under which they were paid based on the number of times that Internet users clicked on the links for certain websites or advertisements, or based on the number of times that certain advertisements were displayed on certain websites. Thus, the more traffic to the advertisers’ websites and display ads, the more money the defendants earned under their agreements with the ad brokers.

As alleged in the Indictment, the defendants fraudulently increased the traffic to the websites and advertisements that would earn them money. They accomplished this by making it appear to advertisers that the Internet traffic came from legitimate clicks and ad displays on the defendants’ Publisher Networks when, in actuality, it had not.

To carry out the scheme, the defendants and their co-conspirators used what are known as “rogue” Domain Name System (“DNS”) servers, and malware (“the Malware”) that was designed to alter the DNS server settings on infected computers. Victims’ computers became infected with the Malware when they visited certain websites or downloaded certain software to view videos online.

The Malware altered the DNS server settings on victims’ computers to route the infected computers to rogue DNS servers controlled and operated by the defendants and their co-conspirators.

The re-routing took two forms that are described in detail below: “click hijacking” and “advertising replacement fraud.” The Malware also prevented the infected computers from receiving anti-virus software updates or operating system updates that otherwise might have detected the Malware and stopped it. In addition, the infected computers were also left vulnerable to infections by other viruses.

Click Hijacking

When the user of an infected computer clicked on a search result link displayed through a search engine query, the Malware caused the computer to be re-routed to a different website. Instead of being brought to the website to which the user asked to go, the user was brought to a website designated by the defendants.

Each “click” triggered payment to the defendants under their advertising agreements. This click hijacking occurred for clicks on unpaid links that appear in response to a user’s query as well as clicks on “sponsored” links or advertisements that appear in response to a user’s query—often at the top of, or to the right of, the search results—thus causing the search engines to lose money. Several examples of click hijacking illustrated in the Indictment include:

• When the user of an infected computer clicked on the domain name link for the official website of Apple-iTunes, the user was instead taken to a website for a business unaffiliated with Apple Inc. that purported to sell Apple software.
  
• 
  
• When the user of an infected computer clicked on a domain name link for Netflix, the user was instead taken to a website for an unrelated business called “BudgetMatch.”
  
• 
  
• When the user of an infected computer clicked on the domain name link for the official government website of the Internal Revenue Service, the user was instead taken to the website for H&R Block, a major tax preparation business.

Advertising Replacement Fraud

Using the DNS Changer Malware and rogue DNS servers, the defendants also replaced legitimate advertisements on websites with substituted advertisements that triggered payments to the defendants. Several examples of the advertising replacement fraud illustrated in the Indictment include:

• When the user of an infected computer visited the home page of the Wall Street Journal, a featured advertisement for the American Express “Plum Card” had been fraudulently replaced with an ad for “Fashion Girl LA.”
  
• When the user of an infected computer visited the Amazon.com website, a prominent advertisement for Windows Internet Explorer 8 had been fraudulently replaced with an ad for an email marketing business.
  
• When the user of an infected computer visited the ESPN website, a prominent advertisement for “Dr. Pepper Ten” had been fraudulently replaced with an ad for a timeshare business.

The defendants earned millions of dollars under their advertising agreements, not by legitimately displaying advertisements through their Publisher Networks, but rather by using the Malware to fraudulently drive Internet traffic to the websites and ads that would earn them more money. As a result, the defendants and their co-conspirators earned at least $14 million in ill-gotten gains through click hijacking and advertisement replacement fraud. The Indictment further alleges that the defendants laundered the proceeds of the scheme through numerous companies including, among others, Rove Digital, an Estonian corporation, and others listed in the Indictment.

The defendants’ scheme also deprived legitimate website operators and advertisers of substantial monies and advertising revenue. In addition to search engines losing revenue as a result of click hijacking on their sponsored search result listings, advertisers lost money by paying for clicks that they believed came from interested computer users, but which were in fact fraudulently engineered by the defendants. Furthermore, the defendants’ conduct risked reputational harm to businesses that paid to advertise on the Internet—but that had no knowledge or desire for computer users to be directed to their websites or advertisements through the fraudulent means used by the defendants.

* * *

Each defendant is charged with five counts of wire and computer intrusion crimes (see below chart). In addition, TSASTSIN is charged with 22 counts of money laundering.

Remediation Efforts

In conjunction with the arrests yesterday, authorities in the United States seized computers at various locations, froze the defendants’ financial accounts, and disabled their network of U.S.-based computers—including dozens of rogue DNS servers located in New York and Chicago. Additionally, authorities in the United States took steps with their foreign counterparts to freeze the defendants’ assets located in other countries. Remediation efforts were immediately undertaken to minimize any disruption of Internet service to the users of computers infected with the Malware. This remediation was necessary because the dismantling of the defendants’ rogue DNS servers—to which millions of computers worldwide had been redirected—would potentially have caused all of those computers, for all practical purposes, to lose access to websites.

The remediation effort is being carried out pursuant to the order of a Manhattan federal court judge. As part of that order, the defendant’s rogue DNS servers have been replaced with legitimate ones. Internet Systems Consortium (“ISC”), a not-for-profit entity, was appointed by the court to act as a third-party receiver for a limited period of 120 days during which time it will administer the replacement DNS servers. Although the replacement DNS servers will provide continuity of Internet service to victims, those replacement servers will not remove the Malware from the infected computers. Users who believe their computers may be infected can find additional information at FBI.gov.

Mr. BHARARA praised the investigative work of the FBI, NASA OIG, and the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board. Mr. BHARARA also specially thanked the National High Tech Crime Unit of the Dutch National Police Agency. The FBI and NASA OIG received assistance from multiple domestic and international private sector partners, including Georgia Tech University, Internet Systems Consortium, Mandiant, National Cyber-Forensics and Training Alliance, Neustar, Spamhaus, Team Cymru, Trend Micro, University of Alabama at Birmingham and members of an ad hoc group of subject matter experts known as the DNS Changer Working Group (DCWG).

The Office’s Complex Frauds and Asset Forfeiture Units are handling this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys SARAH LAI, JAMES PASTORE, and ALEXANDER J. WILSON are in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

U.S. v. Tsastsin, et al.