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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Thursday, July 12, 2007 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Grand Canyon NP Two Indicted For Fraudulently Obtaining Construction Contract A federal grand jury in Phoenix has returned a 29-count indictment against E.M., 66, of Fort Meyers, Florida, and W.H., 53, of La Habra, California, for conspiracy, false claims, mail fraud and false statements. The indictment, returned by a federal grand jury on June 19th, alleges that from 2002 through 2004, E.M., as the owner and president of Pacific General Inc. (PGI), and W.H., as PGI's vice-president, conspired to fraudulently obtain federal construction contracts in the park by submitting false charges to the government for construction bonds and falsely certifying that PGI was paying its subcontractors for work on the projects. E.M. and W.H. were both charged with false claims for submitting invoices containing false bonds charges to the government, and were charged with mail fraud for devising the scheme and mailing the invoices to the government. E.M. was charged with submitting false statements for submitting certifications to the government claiming falsely that PGI had paid its subcontractors for their work on the projects. Defendants have received summons to appear in court. A conviction for conspiracy, false claims and false statements carries a maximum penalty of five years, a conviction for mail fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years, and each conviction carries a fine of $250,000 or both. In determining an actual sentence, the judge will consult the U.S. sentencing guidelines, which provide appropriate sentencing ranges. The judge, however, is not bound by those guidelines in determining a sentence. The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted the Department of the Interior's Office of the Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. [Office of the United States Attorney, District of Arizona] Glacier NP High Speed Pursuit And Arrest M.C., 40, of Bangor, Maine, drove into and around a traffic control sign and up to a closed window at the West Entrance station at 8:45 p.m. on Friday, July 6th. An entrance station employee, suspecting that he was intoxicated, told M.C. to wait there, then called park dispatch. Just as ranger Brad Blickhan arrived, M.C. made a U-turn and headed out of the park at a high rate of speed. Blickhan followed and attempted the stop it by turning on his lights and siren as it reached speeds of 60 mph in a 25 mph zone and exited the park into the crowded area of downtown West Glacier. M.C.'s vehicle slid into a traffic island, nearly colliding with two cars at the intersection of Highway 2, then headed west toward the town of Columbia Falls some 15 miles away. As M.C.'s vehicle reached speeds in excess of 90 mph, Blickhan broke off his pursuit and asked for assistance from the Flathead County Sheriff's Office. Shortly thereafter, a county deputy took up the pursuit and was joined by two Columbia Falls police cars as M.C. roared into their city. A Montana Highway Patrol trooper deployed stop sticks inside the city, but M.C. drove on at about 45 mph with two flat tires. The Columbia Falls police chief joined the pursuit - as he blocked M.C.'s vehicle, his car was struck in the rear end. This collision stopped M.C. and he was taken into custody by the deputy who had been pursuing him. M.C. complained of chest pains, was transported to a local hospital by Three Rivers EMS, then incarcerated by rangers at the Flathead County Detention Center. M.C. has been charged by the NPS with fleeing and eluding, with the case still under investigation and additional charges pending. He has also been charged in Flathead County District Court with two felony counts of criminal endangerment, one count of felony DUI, a misdemeanor count of criminal mischief, and a misdemeanor count of fleeing and eluding police. His bond was set at $75,000 and the state of Maine has an extradition detainer on him for several warrants in that state, including fleeing and eluding police. Local media interest was high. [Steve Dodd, Law Enforcement Specialist] Glacier NP International Team Rescues Injured Climber Rangers from Glacier National Park and wardens from Canada's Banff National Park and Waterton Lakes National Park cooperated in the rescue of an injured hiker on July 3rd. The hiker, D.T., 68, from Whitefish, Montana, had taken a 15-foot pendulum fall while leading a technical rock climb on the “Gendarme” in Glacier late on the afternoon of July 2nd. D.T.'s fall was stopped by his climbing partner. The uninjured partner lowered D.T. a short distance to a ledge and secured him. The partner then left D.T. and descended Little Chief Mountain. At about 11 p.m., the partner reached the Rising Sun Lodge store and reported the accident to Glacier dispatch. Recognizing the extreme technical nature of the incident and D.T.'s emergency medical needs, rangers held search and rescue planning sessions through the early morning hours to coordinate different rescue options. After a reconnaissance flight and a briefing by Glacier park rangers, two Canadian park wardens were each inserted via short haul from a Parks Canada helicopter to D.T.'s location in the notch of the Gendarme. After D.T. was secured, he was short hauled from the ledge, then transferred to ALERT air ambulance and flown to Kalispell Regional Hospital around 9 a.m. Parks Canada utilizes highly trained helicopter pilots and park wardens for technical SAR missions throughout the mountain parks of Canada. Their assistance was critical as they provided the most viable option for D.T.'s immediate rescue. This rescue is an excellent example of the outstanding relationship and true partnership between Parks Canada and the National Park Service at Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park. This relationship is well documented by the Peace Park agreement and is cultivated by frequent contact and cooperation between the two park staffs. Waterton-Glacier is the world's first International Peace Park and 2007 is the 75th anniversary of the Peace Park designation. [Melissa Wilson, Public Affairs Officer] Lassen Volcanic NP Bomb Scare Closes Main Park Road On July 4th, park visitors reported seeing a suspicious device near the park road at Emerald Lake. The visitors described the device as a possible bomb. Rangers quickly responded and found a device composed of three copper-colored metal pipes with sealed end caps tied together with blue wire or twine, each approximately 12 inches long. The device was partially submerged within a culvert underneath the main park road. The rangers immediately closed the road and established a safety perimeter of one half mile around the site. The park's bomb plan was implemented, with fire and EMS units staged at the perimeter while the Shasta County Bomb Squad responded. Upon examination of the device, the decision was made to detonate it per their protocols. Afterward, it was determined that it was not an explosive device. [Kelly Roche, Acting Ranger Operations Supervisor] OTHER NEWS The following stories (among others) can be read on either the InsideNPS web site (if you are within the National Park Service) or at the InsideNPS public ‘news digest' site (if you are outside of the NPS). The web sites appear below: Office of Workforce Management - Director Bomar has approved changing the title of the position of Assistant Director, Human Capital to Assistant Director, Workforce Management. With this change, the Office of Human Capital (2700) will also change to become the Office of Workforce Management (2700). Alaska Region - Ilulissat Park Area, Greenland, and Cape Krusenstern National Monument have entered into a sister park cooperative arrangement. The two areas are rich with Arctic plants and animals and related cultural resources and also face similar management goals and challenges. To see the above articles, go to InsideNPS ( HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/" http://inside.nps.gov/) or NPS Digest ( HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/). For NPS incident reporting standards, go to HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=3363" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=3363 * * * * * Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Edited by Bill Halainen ( Bill_Halainen@nps.gov, 570-426-2430). --- ### --- |