truesee's Blog

People rally for the repeal of the Rockefeller Drug Laws in Manhattan in March 2009.

 

Hermann for NewsSpecial Prosecutor Bridget Brennan says dealers sell 'cocaine and heroin, but say they are 'addicted.''

 

The revamped Rockefeller drug laws have let hardened drug dealers escape jail by claiming they're marijuana addicts, the city's top drug prosecutor says. 

The goal was to help addicts who sold drugs or committed petty crimes to support their habits, but Special Prosecutor Bridget Brennan said dealers with multiple convictions for non-violent offenses are taking advantage of the reforms. 

A Bloods member with two felony drug convictions was charged last October with overseeing a cocaine operation in a Brooklyn housing project. Instead of prison he's in a drug treatment program for marijuana abuse, after years of denying he ever used drugs. 

A couple arrested for major cocaine dealing was recorded in a phone call discussing smoking pot to buttress their claim of marijuana addiction. 

"If they do wanna be dumb and do offer you a program, you urine need to be dirty," the man says to his wife in the call from Rikers Island. "What they don't realize that they revised, revised Rockefeller drug law, that's why therefore selling drugs is almost legal." 

Brennan said her office fought treatment for people who were "not addicts, but businessmen drug dealers, major managers, gang members ... 

"It's sending the wrong message, not only to the individual defendant who thinks he may be able to game the system, but to the community at large." 

Drug law reform advocates say Brennan is using a few examples to make the program look bad. 

"She's tooth-and-nail against the Rockefeller laws being changed," said Anthony Papa, communications specialist for the Drug Policy Alliance. "She is taking one case and blowing it up ...to affect thousands of other people who should get treatment instead of jail." 

"Special Narcotics still measures success by the number of people they put in jail rather than effectiveness in reducing crime," said William Gibney of the Legal Aid Society.

Last year, the state repealed most of its mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses imposed in the 1970s under the tough Rockefeller laws. 

That allowed the resentencing or release of some prisoners serving exceptionally long sentences, and expanding treatment as an alternative to incarceration. 

Judicial diversion, as it is called, allows a judge to dismiss a case against a drug defendant as long as the offender pleads guilty and completes treatment.

Brennan said 217 defendants applied for judicial diversion since the law took effect Oct. 7. 

Of those, 158 were referred to a judge, and her office objected to 90 of them. Twenty-seven were granted diversion anyway. 

Almost half the people who asked for judicial diversion claimed to be marijuana abusers. 

"They are selling cocaine and heroin, but say they are 'addicted' to marijuana," Brennan said. 

Nestor Ferreiro, chief of the Bronx district attorney's narcotics bureau, said "some people are trying to take advantage of the law." But, he added, "the judges and the diversion staff are pretty good at catching it." 

In Queens, 11 people sought diversion. Prosecutors objected successfully to eight of them, a spokeswoman said. The majority claimed to be pot addicts. 

Police sources said the Bloods gang member in the Brooklyn case was arrested with 49 others in Operation Tidal Wave, a three-month probe launched after some gang-related shootings near the Coney Island Houses. 

A cop involved in the investigation was shocked the man was allowed to go to treatment. 

"He was a manager on the street," the officer said. "If you wanted to purchase narcotics you had to go through him."

Brennan, who said she wanted the man to get at least two years in jail, doesn't blame the judges, saying they are dealing with "a very vague statute." 

Although the couple recorded in the phone call were ruled ineligible for diversion, she called the conversation "troubling." 

"The assumption was all you do is smoke weed and get a program," she said. "It shows people on the street know how the law changed." 

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2010/06/27/2010-06-27_smoke_pot_to_get_out_of_jail_prosecutor_sez_fiends_wrangle_treatment_angle_in_ne.html#ixzz0s2mFRNBJ

http://www.wreg.com/news/wreg-house-shot-up,0,455124.story

Two Census Bureau managers fired for creating at least 10,000 bogus questionnaires to meet deadlines

 

 

Census Bureau managers Alvin Aviles and Sonya Merritt are accused of researching phone books and Internet to fake answers on surveys to meet deadline.

 

Two Census Bureau managers from a Brooklyn field office were fired after their bosses found they faked household surveys to meet deadlines, the Daily News learned. 

Instead of pounding the pavement and knocking on doors, the corner-cutting people-counters mined the phone book and Internet to make up answers to questionnaires, regional director Tony Farthing said. 

The managers - turned in by whistleblower employees - were caught last week. Now, at least 10,000 surveys need to be done or redone, officials said. 

Census officials in Washington only admitted to a string of incomplete forms and poor tracking in disclosing the firings Friday afternoon. But Farthing corroborated worker accounts to the Daily News that managers Alvin Aviles and Sonya Merritt began dummying up responses in the final crush to finish the surveys, which field workers are supposed to compile from in-person household visits. 

"Basically, people were being asked to forge [questionnaires]," said one worker in the North East Brooklyn office, which covers 95,000 households. 

"We went in and did a full investigation," Farthing said. "We found out two managers on the weekend of the 12th of June cheated by using phone books or Internet sources." 

A worker told the Daily News that when field interviewers returned to the office with blank forms, Aviles also enlisted some of them in the scheme. "He had people fill them in," the worker said. 

Aviles and Merritt could not immediately be reached for comment. 

Farthing said he believes the branch's earlier work is kosher, but the pair decided to break the rules at crunch time when they were looking at a huge stack of unfinished surveys, and their bosses were pushing for results, even if it meant more night work. 

"We were telling them to go back on all non-interviews and hit this stuff hard. None of this 9-to-5 stuff, go when they know someone will be home," Farthing said. It was then, Farthing said, that the managers "came up with the bright idea, or not-so-bright idea" - to save time. 

The Census bureau was not able to estimate how much it will cost to redo all the work, but a spokesman said it was not an issue because the bureau was under budget on the massive project. Farthing said the honest workers left in the office are redoing 5,000 or so interviews that may be tainted. 

"We're not happy about what happened," he said, noting that Aviles and Merritt were turned in by the very people they trained. 

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/06/26/2010-06-26_2_census_bigs_axed_for_fakin_it.html#ixzz0s0VU5ZwD

Geoffrey Dunn

June 24, 2010 06:37 PM

Nearly a year after she quit her governorship of Alaska, Sarah Palin was found guilty today of another breach of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act involving her so-called Alaska Fund Trust (AFT), which she established as a private "legal defense fund" while governor.

Timothy Petumenos, independent counsel for the Alaska Personnel Board (and ironically, the same independent counsel who issued the Troopergate findings nearly two years ago while Palin was the GOP vice-presidential nominee), presented the state's Findings, Consent Decree and Settlement Agreement this afternoon from the perfectly named Adventure Room of the Captain Cook Hotel in downtown Anchorage. 

In what is an extremely detailed finding, Petumenos ruled that even though Palin assigned the research of forming the fund to her former spokesperson Meghan Stapleton and even though Palin relied on extensive outside legal counsel, that "the Trust itself, as ultimately conceived, violates the Ethics Act."

 

The finding is a stinging rebuke to Palin, who must now return more than $386,000 in contributions to the AFT.

It also forces her longtime political crony Kirstan Cole to be removed from serving as Trustee of the fund.

Perhaps most significantly, Petumenos demanded that "all donors to the Trust, whether they donated before or after the resignation, as promised in the supporting website information, must be publicly disclosed." Costs of more than $80,000 incurred during Palin's governorship can be defrayed only by contributions made after her resignation. Only $33,546 was contributed to the fund following her resignation.

In April of 2009, while still governor, Palin established the AFT as a means of paying what she alleged were more than $500,000 in legal bills owed to her Anchorage-based attorney Thomas Van Flein. According to its official website:

The Alaska Fund Trust is the official legal fund created to defend Sarah Palin from an onslaught of political attacks launched against her, her Family, and colleagues (sic).

Almost immediately afterwards, Eagle River resident Kim Chatman filed an Ethics Act complaint charging Palin with misusing her official position for political gain and receiving improper gifts.

The fund had the appearance of Palin's formal political action committee, SarahPAC, which was raising funds to fuel Palin's national political ambitions. SarahPAC operates under strict federal guidelines for income and expenditure disclosures. The Alaska Trust Fund, however, is actually a private trust, with no state or federal government oversight.

According to of the Alaska Department of Law's Marjorie Vandor, "There is no executive branch state agency with jurisdiction over private trusts nor does our office handle the administration of private trusts." As such, Palin's AFT is little more than a slush fund with zero public transparency or accountability.

Last July, independent counsel for the Alaska Personnel Board Tom Daniel issued a preliminary "probable cause" finding that:

In light of the evidence that the governor expressly authorized the creation of the trust and the fact the trust website quite openly uses the governor's position to solicit donations, there is probable cause to believe that Governor Palin used, or attempted to use, her official position for personal gain in violation of Alaska statute.

Daniel also found "payment of the governor's legal fees by the Alaska Fund Trust will violate the Ethics Act prohibition against a public officer accepting gifts intended to influence performance of official duties."

 

He particularly cited the troubling political relationship between Palin and Cole, whom Palin had appointed to several state boards in Alaska, including the Agriculture and Conservation Board and the Royalty Oil and Gas Advisory Board. Cole also serves She's also on the board of the controversial state-owned Creamery Corporation (Matanuska Maid). Cole's previous claims that "the governor is not, was not and has not been involved in this trust" simply did not pass the straight-face test. 

Daniel recused himself from continuing with the case because his firm has done work for Democrats; he did not want the findings shrouded in controversy. Apparently Petumenos took over the case sometime in January of this year. 

Andree Mcleod, the Anchorage-based government watchdog who has filed five Ethics Act complaints against Palin and who was recently transferred "power of attorney" on the AFT complaint, issued a statement today:

"Sarah Palin continues to disappoint. Today's finding makes it obvious that she's out for herself. I've spent more than two years trying to shed light on many of Palin's wrongdoings while governor. Her typical response: to vilify and deride Alaskans who only wanted to hold her accountable for her misconduct; this should give people pause."

Immediately following the ruling, Palin posted a new website sticking out a hand for the Sarah Palin Legal Defense Fund. 

Palin's attorney Van Flein of Anchorage, who was to have been the recipient of the ATF's bounty, had foreshadowed today's ruling with an odd posting last night on Palin's Facebook page. "There will be times when Sarah Palin will have to take one for the team," Van Flein wrote, "in order to continue on with her message to the country and simply resolve matters without having to incur crushing personal debt."

 

McLeod was not buying into any of Van Flein's excuses:

"Never has a governor lowered the bar as low as Palin has when she breached the public's trust over and over again. Her arrogance, sense of entitlement and recklessness while doing the people's business sets a very bad precedent.

"For her to be portrayed as a role model by the media is an absolute travesty. The more people find out about Palin...the more they learn that a 'servant's heart' does not beat within her."

 

 

Drunken couple arrested after bayonet found in baby stroller in Ypsilanti

 

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer

 

Just when you thought the illegal immigration fight in Arizona couldn't get any hotter, the governor lobbed a grenade into the fiery controversy, saying that most illegal immigrants are smuggling drugs across the border.

"We all know that the majority of the people that are coming to Arizona and trespassing are now become drug mules," Gov. Jan Brewer told the Arizona Republic Friday. 

"They're coming across our borders in huge numbers. The drug cartels have taken control of the immigration." 

Brewer made similar remarks last week during a televised debate between the states four Republican candidates for governor. 

One of Brewer's opponents suggested the majority of people crossing the border illegally do so to feed their families. Brewer shot back: "They're coming here, and they're bringing drugs." 

Illegal immigrants looking for work are being "accosted" by drug cartels, she said. 

Brewer's comments Friday detonated outcries that the Governor's claims were exaggerated and racist. 

University of Arizona history professor Oscar Martinez challenged Brewer to produce stats to back up her comments. 

"If she has no data and is just mouthing off for political reasons, as I believe she is doing, then she must apologize to the people of Arizona for lying to them so blatantly," he said. 

A spokesman for the U.S. Border Patrol also downplayed the comments. 

"I wouldn't say that every person that is apprehended is being used as a mule," Mario Escalante said. 

Crime rates in Arizona's border towns have been flat for the past 10 years, the Arizona Republic reports, even as drug violence in Mexico intensifies. 

Border Patrol and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency were unable to provide data to support or dispute Brewer. 

However, the president of the Border Patrol union said that since drug charges carry stiffer penalties, few illegal immigrants trying to find work were willing to take the risk of prison time. 

"The majority of people continue to come across in search of work, not to smuggle drugs," T.J. Bonner said. 

In April, Brewer signed the controversial SB 1070 law which allows law enforcement to question a person's immigration status if they have reasonable suspicion the person is in the U.S. illegally. 

The law is scheduled to take effect July 29, barring any legal challenges. 

The Department of Justice says it is exploring the possibility of suing the state. 

According to a recent Rasmussen poll, 61% support Brewer in her race to win the Republican nomination for Governor. Further bolstering Brewer, 89% of GOP voters support the immigration law.

   

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2010/06/26/2010-06-26_arizona_immigration_debate_heats_up_with_gov_jan_brewer_saying_most_illegal_immi.html#ixzz0rzTWTgdM

Jun 25, 6:17 PM EDT

Anger counselor who pulled out gun gets jail

 

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) -- A former priest and anger-management counselor who pulled a gun in a traffic dispute on two men who happened to be U.S. Marshals has been sentenced to a year in prison. Fifty-seven-year-old Jose Luis Avila of Annandale pleaded guilty earlier this year in U.S. District Court to assaulting a federal officer. 

In January, Avila was driving by the marshals near his home. He honked his horn because he believed they were standing in the road. When he thought one of the marshals made an obscene gesture at him, he pulled out a loaded handgun.

The 12-month sentence was in line with what prosecutors had sought. Defense lawyers wanted probation or time served; Avila has been jailed since January. 

Avila has also been ordered to undergo anger management.

Man wounded in shooting after Beach party for Michael Vick

Quanis Phillips, co-defendant in Michael Vick's dogfighting case, was taken to a hospital.

 

 
Kathy Adams
The Virginian-Pilot
June 26, 2010

VIRGINIA BEACH

 

According to guests, hosts and a representative of Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick, the Newport News native came and went from his 30th birthday bash at the Town Center Guadalajara restaurant overnight Thursday without conflict. 

But shortly after his departure from the soiree early Friday, tempers flared and shots were fired around the corner from the club, leaving a man with at least one gunshot wound to his leg. Police declined to say who was shot. 

Quanis Phillips, a childhood friend of Vick's who was a co-defendant with the football player during his dogfighting trial, ended up in a hospital. 

Phillips checked into Virginia Beach General Hospital and was discharged around 3 p.m., said Sentara spokesman Dale Gauding. He would not disclose whether Phillips had been shot. 

Shalamar Davis, 29, who attended the party, said she recognized the shooting victim as Phillips. 

"His friends were dragging him around the corner and blood was everywhere," she said. 

When officers arrived at Guadalajara, the shooting victim was no longer at the scene, police said. He'd been taken in a vehicle, which a Virginia State Police trooper pulled over on Columbus Street near the intersection of Independence Boulevard, according to a police news release. An ambulance then took him to a hospital.

Investigators have made no arrests and say witnesses to the shooting have refused to talk. Vick is not a suspect and "his name has come up nowhere in any of our investigative reports," said Officer Jimmy Barnes, a police spokesman. 

Police have described the shooter only as a black male wearing a white tank top and driving a white Cadillac Escalade. 

Vick and Phillips are on state and federal probation from 2007 and 2008 dogfighting convictions. Phillips cooperated with prosecutors in their case against Vick, signing papers saying the quarterback had helped kill eight pit bulls that performed poorly in fights. He was released from federal prison on Feb. 20, 2009, after serving 21 months. Vick was released from prison in May that year. 

Under the terms of their probation, both men are prohibited from associating with felons unless granted permission by a probation officer. They're also required to notify their probation officers within 72 hours of being questioned by law enforcement. 

A source close to Vick said Phillips was not invited to the party. Officials within the court system and several defense lawyers said they've never seen anyone get a probation violation just for associating with a felon without permission. 

But the shooting has shoved Vick into the limelight once more. Both the Eagles and the NFL said Friday they're looking into the incident. 

"We are already looking into it to determine the facts. And that's really all we can say at this point," said Greg Aiello, the NFL's senior vice president of public relations. "Yes, we're going through the process." 

Aiello said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was aware of the incident but would have no immediate statement. When Goodell reinstated Vick to the NFL last July, he told him in a letter that "among the conditions of this reinstatement, you are required to abide by the terms of the supervised release that were imposed on you by the court, which include not committing any further crime, limits on who you may associate with, prohibitions regarding drug and alcohol use, possession of a firearm or other dangerous weapon, and forbidding you to own, possess or be involved with the sale of any dog." 

But, Aiello said Friday, "there's certainly no way we can address whether any conditions have been violated." 

Vick's party, advertised on Facebook and Twitter as Michael Vick's All White 30th Birthday Bash, was open to the public and drew about 300, organizers said. Celebrities such as LaShawn Merritt, Allen Iverson and Pusha T were invited. Admission was $30 and guests were asked to wear dressy white attire. 

The affair went off peacefully, said party promoter JaPharrii Jones and Guadalajara spokesman Allen Fabijan. 

"It was a flawless evening. No altercations inside the club," Fabijan said. "This was an event where you dress nice. We had no problem with security at all." 

Jones declined to disclose who threw the party. Fabijan said Vick and his entourage of about 10 people, including security, left about 1:55 a.m. The shooting happened about 15 minutes later, police said. 

"He was gone before any of the mayhem had taken place," Jones said. 

Vick's attorney, Lawrence H. Woodward Jr., echoed that statement. 

"Michael was not involved in any shooting there," he said. "Not only wasn't he involved, he wasn't present when any of that happened." 

Phillips, known as "Q," and Vick were both integral parts of a dogfighting operation, dubbed Bad Newz Kennels, started in 2001 on land Vick bought in Surry County. They were convicted in 2007 and 2008 of dogfighting charges connected to the operation. 

Generally, federal judges have wide discretion in sentencing for a probation violation. For minor violations, a defendant will usually not serve time. Crimes of violence and possession of a firearm require mandatory violations that usually result in jail terms. 

During a football camp he's hosting at Hampton University, Vick was asked by a reporter Friday whether he had any comment on the incident. 

"Watch what you do. Pick and choose your friends carefully," he said. "You just can't put yourself in vulnerable situations." 

Pilot writers Cindy Clayton, April Choi, Jen McCaffery, Tim McGlone and Tom Robinson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Lakemoor woman falls three stories, wakes up on neighbor's couch

Lee Filas 

 

Daily Herald Staff

 

6/24/201 11:17 AM | Updated: 6/24/2010 2:33 PM

Lakemoor Police said they are trying to determine how a 30-year-old woman fell out of a third-story window and onto a parked car, then walked into a neighbor's house and slept for two hours. 

Police Chief Mike Marchese said family members believe the woman woke up about 3:30 a.m. in her townhouse on Pondview Lane and attempted to open a third-story window. 

The woman, who police have not identified, may have slipped after opening the window, Marchese said. She crashed through the screen, and landed on the hood of her car in the driveway below, he said. 

She bounced off the car and landed on the pavement, he added. 

"After hitting the ground, she got up and wandered over to the neighbor's house, where he left the garage door open," Marchese said. "She walked through the garage door, into the house, then fell back asleep on the neighbor's couch." 

He said the neighbor saw the woman sleeping on the couch at about 5:30 a.m., two hours after the fall, and phoned 9-1-1. 

She was taken by the McHenry Fire Protection District to Centegra Hospital-McHenry. She was not suffering from any life-threatening injuries, Marchese said, but he did not know her condition.

 

"There is absolutely no indication that alcohol or any drugs played a role in this at all," he said. "There are no signs of foul play or of a break-in or anything. All the circumstances show that this was a freak accident"  Police are investigating, and officials plan to interview the woman after she is released from the hospital, he said.

The "Geezer Bandit" shown in sureveillance video pulling off his 11th

 

California bank robbery.

 

 

Courtesy of the FBIThe FBI and local police say the man, who wears prescription glasses and appears to be in his 70s, has robbed 11 banks.

 

 

Courtesy of the FBIThis bank surveillance video released by the FBI shows the "Geezer Bandit" Monday, Nov.16, 2009.

 

 

The "Geezer Bandit" strikes again! 

The geriatric Butch Cassidy blazing a trail along the Southern California coast pulled off his 11th bank robbery Thursday, the FBI said. 

The elderly robber went through what's become his trademark routine, once again passing a teller a demand note while pointing a small-caliber revolver, FBI spokesman Darrell Foxworth told The San Diego Union-Tribune. 

"The robber carried a leather case which contained a small caliber pistol that he threatened to use, if the teller did not comply with his demands," the FBI said in a statement. 

The latest heist occurred around 1:15 p.m. at a Bank of America in Temecula, a town about 60 miles north of San Diego. 

Surveillance camera images of the robbery suspect show a dapper older gentleman wearing a white newsboy cap, sunglasses and a crisp, white button-down shirt. 

He is estimated to be between 60 and 70 years old and is believed to be responsible for 10 bank robberies in San Diego County, in addition to this latest in Riverside County. 

The suspect has eluded FBI agents for nearly a year. His first robbery was in August 2009 and the most recent before his latest heist was on June 7. 

He has carried a gun in at least two of the robberies, and the FBI says he should be considered dangerous. 

"In these types of crimes, the potential for violence is significant," San Diego FBI spokeswoman April Langwell told CNN. 

The criminal has built a following as he continues to stump law enforcement with his capers.

There are at least two Facebook fan pages devoted to following his daring robberies and a growing mystique around theories that his wrinkles and age spots might be a sophisticated disguise. 

There are at least three rewards totaling $16,000 being offered for information or tips leading to the Geezer Bandit's arrest and conviction. 

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2010/06/25/2010-06-25_geezer_bandit_strikes_again_elderly_robber_pulls_off_11th_california_bank_heist.html#ixzz0rtxhy8vz

http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1642/more-women-without-children

 

(06-24) 22:53 PDT Salinas, Calif.

 

A California couple faces child endangerment charges after police say they tried to sell their 6-month-old baby for $25 outside a Walmart store. 

Salinas police spokesman, Officer Lalo Villegas, said Thursday that Patrick Fousek, 38, and Samantha Tomasini, 20, were arrested early Wednesday, hours after Fousek allegedly approached two women outside Walmart and asked if they'd like to purchase his child. 

The women initially thought Fousek was joking, but when he became persistent, they became suspicious and reported it to police, Villegas said. 

"They did an outstanding job and gave our officers good information. I don't know if they're mothers but they definitely had that instinct to help," Villegas said. 

Fousek and Tomasini were arrested at 1 a.m. Wednesday at their home. Officers said the couple appeared high on methamphetamine and the house was in disarray. A police report also claimed that Tomasini told Child Protective Services, who took the baby, that she had breast-fed the infant while under the influence, Villegas said. 

The couple was also booked on charges of being under the influence of narcotics, and Fousek was also served with an extra charge of violating probation. Villegas did not have details of Fousek's previous brush with the law.

The couple was expected to be in court for an arraignment Friday, at which time they would be assigned public defenders.

 

LINK TO PHOTOS

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/06/24/national/a171426D55.DTL#ixzz0rrOWdGOt

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Deputies search truck, find drugs worth $45M

 Thursday, June 24, 2010

 

(06-24) 18:56 PDT San Bernardino, Calif. (AP) --

 

San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies have uncovered a multimillion-dollar haul of marijuana and other drugs in the back of a big rig. 

The sheriff's department said Thursday that deputies pulled over a tractor-trailer for a traffic violation on Wednesday and noticed an overwhelming smell of marijuana. 

They found the trailer was filled with large cardboard containers on pallets holding thousands of heat sealed packages of narcotics.

Investigators seized approximately 38,000 pounds of marijuana, 2,700 pounds of cocaine and 67 pounds of methamphetamine, valued at $45 million. 

The driver, Fernando Luevano, was arrested and detained in lieu of $5 million bail.

Teen: Baby Bong Picture Was A Joke, Child Services: Not Laughing

Adam Kirk

WOKV

Morning News Producer

June 24, 2010 5:22 AM

 

The Florida Department of Children and Families isn't laughing at a picture of a baby holding a bong circulating on the Internet. The agency said the picture shows the baby, from Keystone Heights, holding a bong up to its mouth as if the infant is using it to smoke marijuana.

John Harrell of DCF told out news partner Channel 4 the agency has launched an investigation into the 11-month-old baby's parents.
"We are alarmed that any parent would take pictures of their child next to what is obviously drug paraphernalia," he said.

The 19-year-old mother posted this message on her Facebook page: "If u look at the picture u can see that there is no bowl in the TABACCO (sic) pipe. And i took a pic to show one (expletive) person and it was a mistake. I would never ever ever let him get high."

DCF investigators said they have already been to the home twice, and the mother could face serious charges if drugs were used by or around the baby.

No one has been charged.

Picture Courtesy Of Our News Partner Channel 4