Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "fbi"

Review: Public Enemies

2009-07-04T00:15:19Z

Public Enemies
Directed by Michael Mann

By Tony Sheppard
Capitol Weekly

“Public Enemies” tells the story of bank robber John Dillinger (Johnny Depp), who became both the nemesis and the inspiration for J. Edgar Hoover as he was expanding the FBI. It’s a film that I would expect to enjoy, despite not being a big Depp fan, as it has numerous other cast members and the fact that I usually like cops-and-gangsters themes. But there are aspects of the project that took me out of the moment and left the whole experience feeling flat.

I’ve enjoyed the work of Christian Bale (Special Agent Melvin Purvis) and Stephen Dorff since they were both child actors, albeit with some misses, and I especially liked the appearance here of some other favorites in smaller supporting roles: Billy Crudup (as J. Edgar Hoover), Rory Cochrane, and Giovanni Ribisi. But the film takes a somewhat stand-offish tone with the characters. After initially introducing the major protagonists, we don’t seem to be encouraged to sympathize with either side. It’s hard to tell if this is an attempt at being non-partisan or an avoidance of the inherent risk of having an audience side with a doomed character. But the outcome made me feel detached, not really caring too much about anybody’s ultimate fates. And there is a lot of ugly fate at work. In recent years police have lamented the advanced fire power of criminals, but there are enough bullets flying around in “Public Enemies” to destroy vehicles and buildings, as well as human bodies.

My larger problem with the film, and this may have been very personal, was in the manner in which it was shot. There was a turning point in the movie for me, during a scene at the Little Bohemia Lodge, in the woods of Wisconsin (and a historic location in the Dillinger story), when the nature of the action and cinematography suddenly made me acutely aware that I was watching video and not film. I’m not sure why it hadn’t occurred to me sooner than that, but it then bothered me for the rest of the movie. Film and video, depending on quite how the video is shot and what cameras are used, have a different appearance and at times “Public Enemies” felt like an extremely high budget home movie, or at least something that seemed sub-par for a production of this type, more like the video standards of a few years ago.

The story itself seems sound, and the problems I perceived may not bother others. But I came away from it in a strangely ambivalent mood, wondering if I would have liked it even less with a different cast or liked it better with different cameras.

Couple arrested for courthouse keg bomb

2009-05-21T04:17:21Z

A Sacramento couple is in jail Wednesday night on charges related to allegedly hiding an explosive device outside the downtown federal courthouse last weekend.

The FBI on Wednesday arrested Matthew Fraticelli, 30, and Stephanie Ann Shinn, 35, of South Sacramento on charges of attempted arson of a federal facility and possession of an unregistered destructive device.

Wednesday afternoon, the two had an initial appearance in federal court at the Robert T. Matsui Federal Courthouse at 501 I St. -- the same building where the device was found.

Fraticelli was convicted about two years ago in the state court system for possession of a destructive device, said the FBI’s Sacramento Division Special Agent in Charge Drew Parenti. The FBI has not yet uncovered a motive and has no reason to believe the couple is affiliated with a political organization.

The name “Fraticelli” was written in bold black letters on the explosive’s container, said FBI spokesperson Steve Dupre.

“We would describe that as a very useful clue in the investigation,” Parenti said.

The device was built with a five-liter aluminum Heineken keg filled with one gallon of flammable liquid and what appeared to be an M-80 pyrotechnic device with a fuse strapped to the keg with duct tape. The M-80 stuck out of a pill bottle containing a dark powder later found to work as a pyrotechnic material.

“That’s a high-powered firecracker,” Dupre said. “It’s not a little bitty firecracker you light on the Fourth of July. It’s a more powerful device.”

A federal protection service officer on a routine perimeter check discovered the device in front of the door of a small security kiosk on 6th Street just before 5 a.m. Sunday. The kiosk is a one-person booth outside a courthouse security gate. No one was in the kiosk when the bomb was left, Dupre said.

Surveillance cameras showed a couple fitting Fraticelli’s and Shinn’s descriptions near the courthouse, according to a sworn FBI affidavit. The woman was walking behind the man and pushing a stroller with a toddler inside northbound on 6th Street between I and H streets. The man was filmed carrying a brown paper shopping bag on 6th Street and then leaving video surveillance near the guard kiosk.

He soon reappeared on camera, running without the paper bag. He met up with the woman and baby stroller, and they jogged out of view. FBI agents can’t yet comment on why the device was apparently not set off.

Fraticelli and Shinn were arrested just after 7 a.m. after FBI agents tracked them to the house where they appear to live together with other adults and several children.

The FBI believes a 1-year-old child at the house was the one in the stroller. Wednesday afternoon, authorities did not yet know which adults were the parents of the children. Child Protective Services was called in after the couple was arrested.

Fraticelli is being held without bail. Shinn, who doesn’t appear to have a previous record involving explosive devices, has a detention hearing set for May 27, when a judge will determine whether she’s a flight risk or a danger to the community.

The arson charge carries a possible sentence of at least five but no more than 20 years. Possession of a destructive device carries a sentence of up to 10 years, Dupre said.

Fraticelli has a criminal record stretching back to 2000 that includes a report of a possible attack on Shinn on Valentine’s Day, 2009.

Sacramento Police and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives aided in the investigation.

Sunday morning, Sacramento Police investigated another call about a suspicious item found on the street near Denny's at the northeast corner of 3rd and J streets. The item was a water bottle whose top was on fire, said Sacramento Police Sgt. Norm Leong.

On April 30, two “suspicious packages” were reported to have been left on a statue outside the Capitol. One was a paper bag containing clothes. Neither was found to be a bomb.

Incendiary device found at the Federal Court House in Downtown Sacramento

2009-05-17T22:34:34Z

Sacramento, CA
May 17, 2009

Things are quiet now around the Federal Courthouse at 501 I St., in Downtown Sacramento, but around 5 am Sunday morning, there was a hubbub of activity as word spread that an unknown incendiary devise had been located on the west side of the courthouse.

Per Sacramento Police Department, “at 4:47 a.m., Federal Protection Service personnel located a suspicious item on the west side of the Sacramento Federal Courthouse and contacted the Police Department.”

A myriad of agencies are assisting with the investigation to ensure every angle is covered. The agencies involved are: Sacramento City Fire Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Federal Protection Service, U.S. Marshals Service, General Service Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Presently authorities are not releasing a description of the incendiary device. From the outside of the Federal Building, it appears that there is no elevated alert level. The parking garage barriers are not up and there appears to be no additional law enforcement coverage posted around the exterior. We will continue to follow this story and bring you more information as it becomes available.

The Sacramento Police Department urges anyone with information pertaining to this crime to contact Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP or text in a tip to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter SACTIP followed by the tip information. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward up to $1,000