CBS4 News Magazine by CBS4 News Magazine & Newspaper

Gun Bounty Cashes In

A unique crime fighting

program that sounds familiar but is not.

Flunking High School Equivalency

I-Team: Collision Course?

A high school diploma or its equivalent has become almost mandatory for people struggling to find a job.

Do runways that cross each other pose a danger to you when you fly.

FEMAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Elevation Problem?

Residents are paying for mandatory flood insurance even though theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re living in the highest elevations in South Florida.

News Magazine R E A L .

L O C A L .

N E W S .

D E L I V E R E D .

Stealing From The Dead March 2011 | Pinecrest Edition | www.cbs4newsmagazine.com

CBS4 News Magazine | CONTENT Stealing from the dead The I-Team found that many organ donors do not realize that when they agree to be an organ donor, such as when you obtain a Florida Driver’s License, they are automatically consenting to also be a tissue donor. 7

Gun Bounty Cashes In A CBS4 I-Team investigation into your safety takes you behind the scenes of a unique crime fighting program that sounds familiar but is not. 9 Flunking A High School Equivalency CBS4 I-Team investigator Stephen Stock teamed up with the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting (FCIR) to uncover what critics call high school diploma mills issuing virtually worthless diplomas. 11 Audit Reveals Transit Tax Dollars Misspent A recently completed audit found that the cities have spent millions of dollars on projects that have nothing to do with transit or are specifically forbidden. 13 Interest Free Offers May Cost You More Are you planning on making any big purchases soon? Not paying attention to the fine print can cost you big. 13 Fact vs. Fiction When It Comes To Cancer There are a lot of myths about what can and can’t cause cancer. So CBS4 News spoke to an expert to try and separate the fact from fiction. 15 Collision Course? CBS4 I-Team investigator Stephen Stock dug into thousands of pages of data to find out whether active runways that cross each other pose a danger to you when you fly. 17 Pick-Pocketing Crooks Going High Tech It’s the latest battleground between credit card companies trying to make “smart cards” easier to use with more of your financial data and identity thieves trying to rip you off. 19 FEMA’s Elevation Problem The CBS4 I-Team has discovered that thousands of residents are paying for mandatory flood insurance even though they’re living in the highest elevations in South Florida. 20 Nearly 10K Babies Suffer Crib Injuries Yearly Almost 10,000 infants and toddlers are hurt in crib and playpen accidents each year, according to the first nationwide analysis of emergency room treatment for these injuries. 23 Airport X-Ray Scanners A Danger? While many airplane flyers wanted to mutiny this holiday season, outraged over government screeners seeing images of their body parts, the I-Team has been investigating what you can’t see: radiation and what it could mean for you. 39 PRINTED IN THE USA, COPYRIGHT ©2011 BY MARCO G, INC. All rights reserved. The CBS4 News Magazine, a free publication, is published monthly by MARCO G, Inc. Material in this publication must not be stored or reproduced in any form without permission from CBS4. Requests for permission should be directed to info@cbs4newsmagazine.com. CBS4 and its logo (s) are protected through trademark registration. The use of logos, content and/or artwork in whole or in part is strictly prohibited. For more information please contact 305-477-1699.

4 | March 2011 | Pinecrest Edition

5 | March 2011 | Pinecrest Edition

I-Team: Stealing from the Dead “She was just a wonderful little girl.” Chris Truitt smiled remembering the child whose birth and life were nothing short of a miracle. Alyssa Truitt was diagnosed with a severe brain condition. She defied expectations that she would never talk or walk or even survive. But she did, for two treasured years. “There’s so much that goes on in your head when you lose a child. We wanted to do whatever we could to try to help another set of parents, another mom another dad from having to go through what we were going through,” said Truitt. Chris and his wife donated their daughter’s organs and were so moved by meeting the little girl who received Alyssa’s gift of life, they publicly encouraged others to do the same. He even left his career as an emergency medical technician and went to work for a tissue recovery service in Madison, Wisconsin, from where he spoke with CBS4 Chief I- Team Investigator Michele Gillen. “I realized I needed to do something more than just promote it, I needed to become involved in the industry to help other folks,” Truitt said. He had no idea the world he was about to enter; the big business of tissue donation would become, he said, so disturbing that he would eventually speak out against the entire industry. “Tissue banking is kind of like the wild west. There’s no real sheriff in town,” said Truitt. The I-Team found that many organ donors do not realize that when they agree to be an organ donor, such as when you obtain a Florida Driver’s License , they are automatically consenting to also be a tissue donor. That means that their tissues, muscles, skin and bones can be harvested. The demand for it is huge and so is the business.

“The key phrase was maximize the donation, which meant not just take everything that you possibly can, but take everything that you can see,” a disturbed Truitt said. The tissue agency Truitt worked for ultimately went into business with RTI Donor Services, a part of the Floridabased tissue processing giant RTI. The company turned down the I-Team’s request for an interview because of pending litigation. RTI is being sued by Karen Delray and dozens of others whose loved ones bodies were cut up without permission by a now convicted ring of tissue traffickers that then shipped tissue and bones to RTI, among other processors. Because some of it was decayed, diseased, or improperly screened, the FDA recalled thousands of pieces processed by RTI and distributed across the country. “I was in shock,” said Stephanie Berardini, a Denver wife and mother for whom the recall did not come soon enough. She was alerted through a letter from her periodontist that she might have been exposed to an infectious agent during gum surgery, in which donor bone was used. “I received a letter about six months later from my periodontist that said this tissue and bone could possibly be tainted,” she said. The letter suggested she be tested, if she wished to do so.

Tissue Safety at the CDC. “We know that there are risks. We don’t know the level of risk because we don’t have a surveillance system to track problems with tissue. So we are concerned about the problem.” Dr. Kuehnert said tissue donation needs to be treated as carefully as blood donations. He and his team had pioneered a pilot project to show how surveillance and tracking can be improved. Funds are needed to implement it nationally, a step he is passionate to see to fruition because, “When a tissue is recovered from a donor to where it’s implanted into the recipient there needs to be tracking at every stop and that is not happening now.” Currently, if a patient gets sick from suspect tissue or bone, there is a good chance it will go unreported by doctors and hospitals.

“I’m happily married, raising children and now all of a sudden I am going in to be tested for syphilis and AIDS. I was devastated,” said Berardini.

“They are not required to report to the CDC. They are not required to report to anyone. That is a big problem,” said Dr. Kuehnert.

At the Centers for Disease Control there is concern over the burgeoning business of tissue harvesting, legal and illegal, the vulnerability of the current system and potential risks to recipients of infected tissue. How big is that risk?

Truitt, who said he left his job in the industry but not the cause, holds onto the hope that donating the gift of life can be a gift for all.

“We can’t answer that question, “said Dr. Matthew Kuehnert Director, of the office of Blood, Organs and other

“We’ve got to fix this. We can’t stop donation. But we have to fix it,” he said.

7 | March 2011 | Pinecrest Edition

GUN BOUNTY CASHES IN BY GETTING

GUNS OFF STREET An I-Team Investigative Report

MIAMI (CBS4) – A CBS4 I-Team investigation into your safety takes you behind the scenes of a unique crime fighting program that sounds familiar but is not. It’s a program that has been so successful in South Florida that now law enforcement from around the country are coming here to learn how to do it. I-Team investigator Stephen Stock found out how the Gun Bounty program works. Illegally owned and possessed guns are used to commit crimes across South Florida. It’s a problem police have been fighting for years. In 2009, police recovered and the US Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms traced 239,883 guns tied to crime. Of those, the ATF traced 18,714 illegal guns to Florida, 2,852 of them to South Florida. “We’ve seen a number of AK 47?s,” said local Crime Stoppers Executive Director Richard Masten. “We get Glocks, Sig Sauers, Smith and Wesson’s, mp-5?s, all kinds of weapons.” Crime Stoppers of Miami-Dade County oversees the implementation and reward pay-outs of the Gun Bounty program which is actually run by Miami-Dade County’s Police Department.

“Once the person is arrested and we have the gun the citizen gets a thousand dollars,” said Sgt. Packingham. “A thousand dollars no questions asked.” Gun Bounty officials say the program’s success is also a direct result of what Gun Bounty is not. To be clear, this program is not a gun buy-back program. Gun buy-back programs have traditionally not been successful in getting meaningful illegal guns off the street, say nationwide officials. “In a typical gun buy-back (program) people bring in old weapons and you get a combination of rusty revolvers and guns that don’t really pose a threat to the community,” said Masten. Instead, this Gun Bounty program, originated, operated and marketed by Miami-Dade’s Police Department has been so successful at getting dangerous weapons off the streets, the program is now getting attention from law enforcement agencies from around the country who want to copy it.

All of the guns described by Masten were seized due to Gun Bounty and had illegally been on the street. All of those guns were seized after fellow residents on the street anonymously dropped a dime and called a toll-free Gun Bounty hotline, (305) 4718477, to report the illegal weapon or weapons. “The goal is to identify those individuals who have an illegal weapon in their possession and to prevent them from being involved in a gun crime,” said Masten. Take the case of a police-issued Beretta .40 caliber pistol. The Beretta was stolen from a Miami-Dade police patrol car sitting at Sunset High School. A tip to the Gun Bounty hotline ended with cops busting the 17 year-old student who had hidden the stolen weapon in his bedroom in Kendall Lakes. Police also found drugs and other illegal items in the bedroom as well. “The program is simple it’s one arrest, one gun, one grand,” said Sgt. Gloria Packingham, of the MiamiDade Police Department and director of the Gun Bounty Program. Sgt. Packingham directs the Gun Bounty program and has seen it grow exponentially over the years.

“Now the gun bounty program is tied to a suspect most of the time already involved in criminal activity in possession of an illegal weapon a stolen weapon,” said Masten. Since Gun Bounty began in 2007 the program’s success has exceeded almost all expectations. As of February 15, 2011, the program has resulted in 537 illegal guns seized and confiscated, 331 arrests and $2,437,187 worth of drugs and stolen property seized or recovered. “In some cases we’ve made multiple arrests for multiple weapons and sometimes multiple weapons for one individual,” said Masten.

In another case, a recent Gun Bounty tip resulted in not just a cache of illegal guns taken off the street, but a myriad of drugs and other items seized and recovered. The operation’s recovery at a home located at 22635 SW 125 Avenue, on December 9, 2010, looked like small military operation with AK-47 and AR-15 assault rifles and Sig Sauer pistols seized. At the home, police also found garbage bags full of marijuana, heavy-duty military style bullet proof vests, masks and piles of cash. “We’re gearing this towards crime prevention,” said Sgt. Packingham. “We’re trying to save lives. We want the criminal as well as the guns off the street.” The program is working so well that its director believes fellow inmates in jail and prison are dropping dimes anonymously. When they do, even while in jail or prison, they get a thousand bucks while getting illegal guns off the street out of the hands of criminals.

Couture

I-TEAM:

Flunking

In today’s competitive economy getting a high school diploma or its equivalent has become almost mandatory for people struggling to find a job.

But the CBS4 I-Team discovered there’s an entire industry taking advantage of those who need that diploma. And critics warn potential victims to beware, be careful and be smart before paying any on-line fees to a high school equivalency program. CBS4 I-Team investigator Stephen Stock teamed up with the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting (FCIR) to uncover what critics call high school diploma mills issuing virtually worthless diplomas. To anyone who would show up, it looks like a regular run of the mill condominium tucked away just off West Sunrise Boulevard and North University Drive in Plantation. But according to documents listed with the Florida Secretary of State as well as other documents found on Florida’s Department of Education website, the condo located at 8126 NW 17th Manor in Plantation was the address of Stanford National High School.

A High School Equivalency

Georgia. “It’s important for consumers to use an organization like us to verify the quality of the educational options they’re considering for their children (or themselves),” said Dr. Elgart. “Unfortunately, there are a lot of programs on-line that purport to be a GED program or offer GED credentials (that are not legitimate),” said CT Turner, associate director of marketing and public relations for the GED Testing Service out of Washington, D.C. “Some of these programs, it’s a gamble (as to) whether the college or university will accept that credential (or diploma),” said Turner. And that’s the problem. The CBS4 I-Team could find no college or university that accepts Stanford National High School’s equivalency diploma. And the questions surrounding Stanford National High only grow as you dig deeper.

Stanford National High touts itself as an on-line high school equivalency program owned and run by a man named William D. Pepitone.

Stanford High’s website said it’s accredited by a group called the “Regional School Accreditation Association, LLC.”

The website for Stanford National High claimed to be a distance learning school “to complete your high school education.” In other words, the website for Stanford National High School touts it as a legitimate alternative for people who previously dropped out of high school and who now want to get a diploma.

Guess where Regional School Accreditation Association LLC is located?

But experts say consumers must beware of supposed schools that look good on the web but offer little in reality. “Somebody can make a website look professional and the consumer might not be aware of what’s on there (the website),” said Dr. Mark Elgart, President and Chief Executive Officer of AdvancEd, the parent organization of the prestigious Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) a national educational accrediting agency located outside Atlanta,

That’s right, the same place as Stanford National High. Florida State Division of Corporation records list the Regional School Accreditation Association LLC at the same condo address, 8126 NW 17th Manor in Plantation, where Stanford National High School is located. And guess who owns the Regional School Accreditation Association LLC? You passed the quiz: William D. Pepitone is listed as owner and director on Florida Division of Corporation records. Broward County property records show the condo is also Pepitone’s home. When the CBS4 I-Team went to the condo to ask questions, a woman identifying herself as Bill Pepitone’s wife answered the door. “Why don’t you go to his school,” said the woman. I-Team investigator Stephen Stock asked to clarify “Which school? The one on South University?” “4188 South University Drive,” the woman answered. “4188 South University?” Stock said. “I’ll do that.” So the CBS4 I-Team went to that address: 4188 S University Drive in Davie. It is an address that was also once listed on Florida’s Department of Education’s private school directory for Stanford National High School. continued on page 23 11 | March 2011 | Pinecrest Edition

I-Team: Audit Reveals

TRANSIT TAX DOLLARS MISSPENT

Each day Luis navigates the neighborhood streets of Palmetto Bay driving the town’s free I-Bus. “A lot of people got no cars, you know,” Luis explained. Tehka Hill is one of them.

money to buy a garbage truck and pay police officers.

Charles Scurr is the executive director of the Citizens Independent Transit Trust, the agency which makes sure the money is spent appropriately. In cases where

collected, but for years the City of Miami couldn’t decide what type of trolley it wanted to run. It has been sitting on more than $5 million. “I think in some cases our priorities are upside down,” said County Manager George Burgess.

“A lot of times when you have communities like Cutler Bay and Palmetto Bay the regular Metro Dade transportation doesn’t always drive through those neighborhoods,” Hill said as the bus made its rounds. “So community buses like this help make that connection. So it’s very important.”

Burgess said he is worried cities like Palmetto Bay are trying to create their own bus service at the expense of the county

But ridership on the I-Bus is low, leading some to wonder if it is the best use of tax money. The I-Bus is paid for through Palmetto’s Bay share of the county-wide half penny sales tax that voters approved in 2002.

Scurr said his staff has been working with cities like Palmetto Bay to improve ridership.

Each year roughly $175 million is collected. Eighty percent is given to the county to help underwrite the county bus service. The remaining 20 percent – or approximately $35 million a year – is divided among the 31 cities that were incorporated at the time of the vote. A recently completed audit found that the cities have spent millions of dollars on projects that have nothing to do with transit or are specifically forbidden. Miami Lakes spent part of their money for an ondemand taxi service. North Bay Village used the cash to build storm water drains. And Sweetwater used transit

“I would rather see busses serving major corridors than I would see a circulator that is driving around empty,” Burgess said.

“So we think it’s got promise,” he said.

the money was misspent, the CITT can demand repayment. “Our approach has always been to work with cities to try to identify and solve the problems and move forward,” Scurr said. Another problem exposed in the audits – hoarding. The transit tax is supposed to be used the year it was

One reason for Burgess’s concern is that since 2002, three new cities have incorporated — Miami Gardens, Doral, and Cutler Bay. And they are now demanding their share of the transit tax. The 30 cities currently receiving tax money (ultra wealthy Indian Creek turned down the tax money) don’t want to share their piece of the pie with the new cities, arguing the county should pay the cities out of the county portion of the tax. The fight between the cities and the county over how best to divide up the transit tax has been looming for months and the Florida legislature last year demanded that the cities and the county come together to work out a solution. What that solution will entail nobody knows.

Interest-Free Offers

May Cost You More

MIAMI (CBS4) — Are you planning on making any big purchases soon? Those interest-free offers we see advertised from time to time can certainly save you a lot of money, but you better take along a magnifying glass when you shop. Not paying attention to the fine print can cost you big. Justin Miller learned that the hard way when he bought a big new comfortable bed and financed his high-priced purchase with a deal being offered by Citibank. The deal was a Citibank credit plan offering 12 months interest free on their $5,600 purchase. “No interest for a year, is a great deal. It sounded good,” said Miller. But after he made what

he thought was his 12th and final payment, along came a bill from Citibank for $1,300 including a year’s worth of 25percent interest. “I thought this is crazy. Either this is some kind of joke, or some kind of scam,” said Miller.

It turns out Miller’s one year interest-free deal expired on December 2nd, 2010. It says so in tiny type on his monthly statement.

Anita Brown with Consumer Credit Counseling Service.

Brown suggests paying the balance over 11 months. “Just to be on the safe side, and make those payments over those 11 months so that you’ll be sure to pay that off in the 12 month promotional period,” said Brown. Citibank said, “The terms of the deal are clearly explained in the seven-page contract.”

But what Miller considered to be his final payment was due on December 6th, four days later.

Justin Miller doesn’t think so. He’s telling his story on Facebook and hoping to get the last word.

“So, the statement due date was different from what they call the plan due date,” said Miller.

“I’m never going to do business with Citibank again,” said Miller.

Miller believes that’s intentional, a trap to fool customers into making their last payment after the interest free deal expires. “You should always read the fine print, know the terms and conditions,” said

Banks rarely go out of their way to notify you that your interest free deal is about to expire. Miller managed to convince Citibank to “reduce” that penalty interest charge from $1,300 to $650. When asked what happened here, Citibank refused to discuss the specifics, but low and behold they agreed waive the entire interest charge. 13 | March 2011 | Pinecrest Edition

generate fear, but it’s much harder to generate understanding and truth,” he said.

Sorting Fact vs. Fiction When It Comes To Cancer Dangers MIAMI (CBS4) — Can using mouthwash cause cancer? What about drinking diet sodas? There are a lot of myths about what can and can’t cause cancer. So CBS4 News spoke to an expert to try and separate the fact from fiction. Kim and Mike Reeves used to live life without thinking much about what they were putting in their bodies. “Anything and everything,” Mike said of his diet. “Just [ate] what looked good, felt good, and tasted good.” That was until they were hit with a diagnosis that changed everything. Mike was diagnosed with Stage 3 esophageal cancer. Healthy otherwise, his doctor told the couple the cause of his cancer was basically everyday life. “We asked him what was the cause, and his answer was environmental factors – the air we breathe, the food we eat,” explained Mike. Dr. Thomas Froehlich, a cancer researcher, says it’s tough trying to figure out what’s myth and what’s fact. “The real question is, what is safe and what’s not?” Dr. Froehlich said. “I think we’re a long way from fully understanding that.” According to Dr. Froehlich, there are a lot of the myths about cancer development in humans that are based on flimsy studies and a lack of evidence. “It’s easy to

Take artificial sweeteners, for instance. Some studies have shown that sweeteners like saccharin or aspartame, which are found in several diet drinks, could increase your risk for cancer. But, Dr. Froehlich says a lot of these studies were done on mice, which don’t always mimic the complex bodies of humans. Froehlich also says each of the studies had one thing in common. “Some of the early studies were with saccharin, and they were exposing [the mice to] 40 to 100 times the concentration that human beings would ever be exposed to,” he said. The doctor says a problematic study is also to blame for the myth that some deodorants can cause breast cancer. Those studies looked at a compound called parabens, which was found, in some antiperspirants and in some breast tumors. However, he says nobody matched that data with data from normal breast tissue to see if parabens were found there as well. What about mouthwash? Can repeated use of mouthwash cause cancer? Dr. Froehlich says no. He says the basis of this myth was born from an inference made between those who ingest excessive amounts of alcoholic drinks and the occurrence of head and neck cancers. He also says it’s not true that statin drugs, which lower LDL or bad cholesterol, can cause cancer. It was first thought the drugs themselves increased risk for the disease, but new research suggests that’s not the case. It’s more about the actual LDL level than the drug. “You don’t want to get it too low because that could conceivably increase your risk,” said Dr. Froehlich. “It’s not the statin drug itself.”

In the 1990s, a study came out linking bras to breast cancer, but Dr. Froehlich says that’s false, too. He said that study examined overweight or obese women, and believes their cancers were attributed more to their weight than anything else. It was also thought in the 90s that hair dye could be the cause of bladder or brain cancers. While that may have been the case in the 1940s and 50s, Dr. Froehlich says the chemicals used in those early hair dyes have long since been removed, and the chemicals used in today’s dyes have been proven safe. But, there is one cancer myth you might have heard that could prove to be true. Can cell phones cause cancer in your head or brain? While Dr. Froehlich says there has been an increase in brain cancers, the answer is still unknown. “Many, many millions of dollars are being spent to figure out is there a causal link between electromagnetic radiation produced by cell phones, and the rise in incidences in brain tumors,” he said. When it comes to cell phone, Froehlich recommends using ear buds or bluetooth systems, which emit far fewer amounts of the electromagnetic radiation. The doctor says the bottom line is, if you hear that something may increase your risk for cancer, be skeptical about the results of that study until you learn more information. “Unless you have two or more studies that prove the same thing, you probably should disregard it until another study comes out and backs up the findings of the first study,” he advised. For the Reeves family, though, their brush with cancer was enough to make them rethink how they’re living their lives, and what they’re teaching their children. For them, it’s all about making a decision that they believe is right for their family. “They can’t tell me that it doesn’t [cause cancer], but they can’t tell me that it can, you know, and I’m not willing to take that chance anymore,” Kim Reeves said of her viewpoint. “Do the research, do the due diligence, and make the decision that fits you best.”

15 | March 2011 | Pinecrest Edition

I-Team:

MIAMI - It may sound like something out of the wild west or a cattle ranch. Instead, it’s a government acronym that sends shivers down the spines of some airline pilots. It is LAHSO (pronounced “Lasso”) operations at airports nationwide. LAHSO stands for “Land and Hold Short Operations” and it involves safety procedures at dozens of airports around the country where active runways cross each other. CBS4 I-Team investigator Stephen Stock dug into thousands of pages of data to find out whether active runways that cross each other pose a danger to you when you fly. According to the Federal Aviation Administration there are fewer than two dozen major metropolitan airports in the country where runways crossing each other raise safety concerns. Two of those airports are located in South Florida: Miami International Airport and Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport. “The fact that you have crossing runways does not make an airport inherently unsafe,” said James Mariniti, an air traffic controller. Mariniti serves as the president and facility representative for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association in Miami. While he insists that runways which cross each other do not inherently pose a safety danger, Mariniti admits that those airports can pose a danger if the rules aren’t strictly followed by both controllers and pilots. “There are safety issues and there are concerns and there are contingency plans,” said Mariniti. Because of those concerns, in 1997 the FAA adopted the LAHSO rules, which went into effect in the year 2000. “LAHSO operations allow airports that have crossing runways, if they meet certain criteria, to be able to land two aircraft on two separate runways at the same time,” said Mariniti. Even with the new rules, some pilots raise safety issues with crossing runway configurations. Internet chat rooms are filled with pilots’ concerns. And some commercial airlines and all foreign airlines will not allow their pilots to participate in LAHSO operations in America. One pilot who voiced his concern is Ken Edwards.

“There’s just a lot of other things that can go wrong in a short amount of time,” said Edwards. Edwards, who lives in Arizona, piloted for a regional commercial carrier based in South Florida, until disagreements with management over issues of safety ended with him leaving the company. “There’s layers of safety that are that are being pulled back that are being taken away that I don’t think should be taken away,” said Edwards. For the first time since LAHSO was formally put into place by the FAA, the CBS4 I-Team crunched the numbers and went through the data line by line to see how often crossing runways really do pose a safety issue. The I-Team and the Investigative unit at the CBS Evening News obtained thousands of pages of FAA reports and data that show safety incidents at seventeen major airports nationwide. The data covers the years 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 through the middle of 2010. The data shows that while these type of close calls are rare, they do happen because of the layout of crossed runways. According to the FAA data, at least 190 safety incidents involving crossing runways, raised issues or concerns of safety involving moving aircraft. Then there are real time radar images captured and sent by the FAA which show how close things can get. In one case, one airplane on final approach to land has to go around after another plane on a crossing runway gets in the way. In another set of radar images taken at San Francisco International Airport, one shows American Eagle flight 166 landing on runway 28L, right in front of another jet taking off on crossing runway 1L. And another radar image shows Continental flight 1436 landing on runway 28R even while two different airplanes are simultaneously taking off on crossing runways 1L and 1R respectively. One air traffic controller who talked to the I-Team, said this type of close call happens much more often than the public is aware.

each other?” “Feet,” said the air traffic controller. “Feet. Where the pilots actually acknowledged on the radio (after the fact). They’ve come out and said, “that was close. And, it shakes you up.” According to the FAA data, the number of close calls involving crossing runways reached 80 in 2008. The data shows 61 incidents at the 17 airports in the FAA data in 2009. And the data shows 20 incidents at those same airports nationwide halfway through the year 2010. The most incidents took place at Las Vegas’ McCarran Airport which had 75 reported events from 2007 through mid-2010. McCarran is followed, in second place by Miami International Airport which, according to the FAA data, had 25 safety issues involving the crossing runways for the two and a half year period from 2008 thru mid-2010 alone. The problem is acknowledged by some airport designers. Airports such as Denver, Dallas, Atlanta even Miami have built more parallel runways to avoid this safety issue. However, Miami International still has one configuration where runways 27 and 30 intersect on the southeastern side of the airport But building parallel runways remains next to impossible at airports in Chicago or New York where the airports are landlocked. Because of that, experts say Land and Hold Short operations are likely to remain a way of life in America’s aviation system for the foreseeable future. The latest incident reported in the FAA safety data took place early last year when a commercial airline inadvertently crossed onto runway 27 just as another plane was landing onto runway 30 at Miami International Airport. That jet had to execute what’s called a “go around” to avoid colliding with the aircraft on the ground.

“In my experience it’s been feet,” said the controller who asked to remain anonymous, for fear he’d lose his job for speaking out. “Feet.” I-Team investigator Stephen Stock asked the controller to clarify. “They’ve (airplanes) come within feet of hitting 17 | March 2011 | Pinecrest Edition

I-Team:

Pick P ocketing

Crooks Going High Tech

MIAMI (CBS4) – It’s the latest battleground between credit card companies trying to make “smart cards” easier to use with more of your financial data and identity thieves trying to rip you off. “People pick pockets; actually take people’s wallets out of their pocket. This is far easier than that,” said Walt Augustinowicz of Identity Stronghold, a product designed to help you protect your identity. It’s called electronic pick-pocketing: crooks read your account information inside the hitech chips of your latest “smart credit cards”. Rene Hilton worries about identity theft whenever she uses her credit cards. “I’m very nervous about that, I’m telling you I got goosebumps just thinking about something like that. They could pass right by me and they could get all my information just like that. It’s like a robbery. That’s ridiculous,” said Hilton. Innovative technologies like smart cards, speed passes, and intelligent passports all use small circuits to store your most private data. Federal investigators confirm that illegally intercepting the information right out of your pocket is possible. “The owner of the device that has the credit card may not know somebody’s reading it,” said Special Agent James Porter, who works out of the Miami field office of the U-S Secret Service. It’s such a hot topic, electronic pick-pocketing was featured recently on the hit show “NCIS” showing an I-D thief harvesting credit card numbers from victims walking down the street. But the CBS4 I-Team investigation found reality may be a lot different than all the drama. That’s because the technology may be there in the future, but computer security analysts tell CBS4 Chief Consumer Investigator Al Sunshine it’s still not good enough yet to miniaturize a chip scanner into a simple, small device and read smart cards from several feet away without their owners’ permission. But Walt Augustinowicz disagrees. He makes protective envelopes used to protect smart cards from I-D thieves. He says he’s been able to roam the street and intercept card numbers from consumers all over the country, all with their permission.

Augustinowicz. But when the I-Team asked him to sweep his scanner through the crowded streets of downtown Miami without tipping anyone off what he was doing, like an I-D thief, he couldn’t pick up any numbers. He didn’t know if it was because of equipment problems, him being nervous, or no smart credit cards being carried by anyone in Miami. And the U-S Secret Service confirms it’s not aware of any major identity theft rings involving electronic pick-pocketing and investigators discount the potential threat. Agent James Porter adds, “I would be hesitant to say impossible, but impractical”. The credit card companies say they build ”special counter-measures” and security codes into their latest smart cards to make them more difficult copy and use. MasterCard told CBS 4 News, “If their card was ever compromised, they are, as with all Mastercard payment programs, not responsible for unauthorized transactions on their accounts.” And computer crime specialists tell me the cyber-thieves still have plenty of other low-tech ways to steal credit card data, rather than turning to exposing themselves out in public looking for new victims while waving around electronic scanners. Electronic Crimes Specialist James Porter adds, “Right now it’s a more low hanging fruit theory where it’s easier for a criminal to just take somebody’s wallet that has a credit card in it or 5 credit cards in it, than to build a device that cost several hundred dollars in order to take multiple people’s credit cards.” There are metal wallets and envelopes that can block smart cards from being read by ID Crooks. Some new credit cards and high security government I-D’s are even being shipped in special envelopes that can prevent the chips being read by any unauthorized people. Fighting electronic pick-pocketing isn’t much different from protecting your regular credit cards: double check your bills and if you see any unauthorized charges, notify your credit card company immediately. And if you see anyone waving any strange electronic devices on any nearby sidewalks or walkways stay away from them, especially if they seem to be focusing on strangers’ wallets or pocketbooks.

“We’ve done it Indianapolis, Pittsburg, Boston, New York, Toronto, on and on,” said 19 | March 2011 | Pinecrest Edition

Living High On A Hill:

FEMA’s Elevation Problem

The CBS4 I-Team has discovered that thousands of residents are paying for mandatory flood insurance even though they’re living in the highest elevations in South Florida.

CBS4 I-Team investigator Stephen Stock dug through FEMA’s mandatory flood insurance system and found a program underwater. Retired civil engineer Jack Myers remembers every hurricane that’s ripped through South Florida in the two decades he and his wife Irene have lived in Davie. “One of these trees believe it or not broke at 90 degrees with (Hurricane) Andrew,” said Myers. “I got it to grow back believe it or not.” The Myers and their home have weathered South Florida’s worst storms with little to no damage ever since they built back in 1990. “(Hurricane) Irene (left) 17 inches of rain or something,” said Myers. Even with all that rain Myers said he has never seen any flooding or major damage to his home in any of those storms. “I think the water got up into here one time,” said Myers as he pointed to a spot in his yard about eight inches from the edge of a vast drainage retention pond in his planned community. But ever since the Myers built this little slice of heaven off Pine Island Road in Davie, one thing has really bugged them. “We’re right in the middle the perfect spot and every time we hear about (living in) a flood zone it’s like ‘How can we be in a flood zone?’” said Myers. “I can’t imagine how the water could ever get to this level.” That’s right. Even though the Myers live in the highest area of Broward County, they have had to pay for mandatory flood insurance through FEMA’s flood program. And he has the paperwork to prove it. “It’s not a lot of money but it’s just it always comes due on December the 14th and every year you write a check and you send it in and you say ‘Why do we pay flood insurance here?’” said Myers. Just up the street, in the same subdivision, Davie’s Forest Ridge, Carmen Saavedra has been asking the same question as Jack Myers. “We’ve paid flood insurance since day one,” said Saavedra. She said it works out to be about $600 a year in flood insurance. And, like Myers, Saavedra said it’s mandatory. She doesn’t have a choice. “It was outrageous when I learned initially that we had to 20 | March 2011 | Pinecrest Edition

pay flood insurance,” said Saavedra.

Both Saavedra and Myers live here at the foot of the highest natural landmark in all of Broward County, 29 feet high. Only the landfills, the garbage dumps are higher. And both their property’s elevation maps show the lowest point of their homes, their garages, nearly three feet above the FEMA flood zone shown on the FEMA flood maps which is listed at five feet in one zone, six feet in another one neighborhood over.

Because the entire surrounding area is paying for flood insurance so, apparently, does everyone else living in Forest Ridge. “We have a flood

Yet each resident we contacted tells the I-Team they have had pay mandatory FEMA flood insurance every year they’ve lived in Forest Ridge single family community subdivision. “It was crazy,” said Saavedra. I-Team investigator Stephen Stock asked Saavedra: “And you’re in the highest place in Broward County?” “The highest place in Broward County. We’re on the ridge,” said Saavedra. The I-Team examined a half dozen other official surveyor reports which list the lowest elevations of the homes. And the I-Team discovered that it’s not just Carmen Saavedra living at 3275 Maple Lane whose home survey shows the lowest elevation at 6.98 feet and Jack Myers living at 3140 Peachtree Circle, lowest garage elevation of 7.78?, but also the home of a Carmen’s Saavedra’s next door neighbor on Maple Lane, elevation listed as nearly 2 feet above the flood zone at 6.8?. And then there is the home on Beechberry Circle which is nearly 3 feet (7.69?) above the five feet listed by FEMA on its official flood zone map. In fact, as many as 1700 homes in this Forest Ridge Community sitting on both sides of the highest natural peak in Broward County or as many as 3500 people according to the US Census who are mapped into FEMA’s flood zone and thus pay mandatory flood insurance. “They should be held more accountable as to who is paying what,” said Saavedra. “They (FEMA) should update everything. It’s like it seems like it’s been probably 40 or 50 years since they (FEMA) updated the maps.” And that appears to be one of the problems. A CBS4 I-Team investigation examined official FEMA flood maps and discovered the one covering Forest Ridge subdivision has a one hundred year flood level at 5 feet which, as mentioned before, is up to three feet below the elevations of people like Carmen Saavedra and Jack Myers.

protection system that is simply just not working,” said US Senator Bill Nelson of Florida. Senator Nelson has been an outspoken critic of FEMA for years. The senior Senator from Florida says Forest Ridge is just one small example of a FEMA flood program out of control, out of date and often unfair. “We have to get the maps up to date. And then you have to phase it in over time,” said Senator Nelson. But Senator Nelson also points out that other residents living in Florida and around the country often don’t pay enough for flood insurance. That, he said, is why FEMA’s program is now broke. FEMA’s Director, Craig Fugate told Congress in April, 2010, that the agency is $18.7 Billion in debt. “It is unlikely we will ever retire this debt,” Fugate told Congress. “Right now the Federal Government is basically subsidizing the whole thing,” said Senator Nelson. “That means that every other taxpayer is basically paying for those that are susceptible to a flood. So what you’re got to do is create a fair system where people pay their fair share for the risk that they have.”

And the map is old.

Problems with FEMA flood zones affect more than just Broward County.

In fact, the most up to date FEMA map doesn’t show any of Forest Ridge subdivision. The subdivision and the roads in it simply aren’t listed because the map is so old.

Tens of thousands of residents around the country have recently found themselves mapped into high risk flood areas without moving, without any change in geography.

As two FEMA Flood maps from Miami-Dade County show, the flood zones can change with little change in geography and from the perspective of some residents with little rhyme or reason. Compare the two maps to see how it changes. Though FEMA officials say some residents were mapped out of a flood zone those same officials admit many other

And rather than answer questions about how the FEMA flood program worked, FEMA spokespersons claimed FEMA doesn’t communicate directly with residents such as Jack Myers and Carmen Saavedra, even though both showed us official notices and letters sent to them with on FEMA letterhead.

some high points in the middle,” said Vialpando.

“There are a variety of factors that will go into what the new map will look like as compared to the old map,” said Broward County Environmental Engineer Leonard Vialpando.

“Right,” said Vialpando.

Since FEMA wouldn’t explain the flood system the ITeam went to an expert in South Florida, Leonard Vialpando, an engineer for the Broward County’s Development Environmental Regulation office. Vialpando clarified one myth that flood insurance is only required of people living along the coast in danger of being flooded by a hurricane’s storm surge. The Broward County engineer explained that FEMA flood designations also consider a home’s location in topography and whether heavy rains from a hurricane or other storm would run down hill, collect and flood a home or property. “They (FEMA) take the rain generated by (a one hundred year or 1% a year chance) storm and come up with an elevation,” said Vialpando. “And then they compare that number to the existing elevations and every site below that number is in a flood zone. Every site for that zone that is above that number isn’t in a flood zone.” In other words if a home is located at the bottom of a geographic bowl where heavy rainwater might collect it also would be classified as a flood zone. residents now find themselves, for the first time, suddenly mapped into a flood zone. Without moving or a change in geography these residents now find themselves living in a flood zone with little to no warning having to pay for mandatory flood insurance. Several FEMA spokespersons wouldn’t talk to us on camera about how they design and lay out their maps and why some people are mapped into a flood zone and some aren’t.

But that still doesn’t explain why Forest Ridge homes whose elevations are located on the ridge above any geographic low point and whose surveys show them way above the listed official FEMA flood zone still must pay mandatory insurance. “They (FEMA) paint an area with broad brush. They (FEMA) don’t have a survey of every single home. They have a general topographic survey of an area. So it’s possible that that general topographic survey misses

Asked I-Team investigator Stephen Stock, “So there could be people who aren’t really in that one percent (one hundred year) flood zone because it’s painted with such a broad brush?”

When CBS4?s I-Team asked Senator Nelson the same questions, Florida’s senior Senator vowed to hold FEMA accountable. “If somebody is being put into a flood zone that’s not a flood zone according to the FEMA maps then they shouldn’t be paying the flood zone insurance rates,” said Nelson. “And if that is a bureaucratic snafu then we’ll just have to straighten it out.” But so far, Jack Myers, Carmen Saavedra and all the thousands of residents living along the highest ridge in Broward County continue to pay FEMA for flood insurance. Myers said he’s even contacted FEMA but was told he’d have to hire a private surveyor before he could file an appeal. In fact, for anyone who questions their home’s status in a FEMA flood zone, there is an appeals process. But, like Jack Myers found out, it involves a resident spending $500 to a thousand dollars or more to hire a private company to conduct a survey then going back to fight FEMA which can still deny the appeal. Again, FEMA spokespersons would not answer questions on camera about any of these issues or explain how the process works. But late Friday FEMA did release an official statement regarding its flood program saying, in part “FEMA’s top priority is the safety of the communities we serve. The flood risk of a community is determined by a number of factors, including rainfall, elevation, topography, flood control measures and changes in building or development. We are required to update flood maps by the laws passed by Congress.”

21 | March 2011 | Pinecrest Edition

NEARLY 10,000 BABIES SUFFER CRIB INJURIES YEARLY MIAMI (CBS4) – The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has announced that Dorel Juvenile Group (DJG) is recalling thousands of child safety seats due to a faulty harness. The seats affected were manufactured between May 1, 2008 and April 30, 2009. The company says 794,247 booster, convertible and infant seats are included in the recall. DJG says the recall was issued because of defects in the harness locking and release system. On the affected models, the release button, when engaged, does not always return to the locked position. When the button is not in the locked position, the straps of the harness are more likely to slip back through the adjuster, increasing the chance of injury to the child if the seat is involved in a crash.

The company says no injuries have been reported but is urging consumers who own the seats to contact the company to be sent a repair kit. For more information on

the recall, directly contact DJG at (866) 623-3139 or via email to harnessadjustment@djgusa.com.

continued from page 11 At 4188 South University Drive in Davie, the I-Team found another school, Westlake Prep Academy.

the floodgates for all these operations to propagate,” said Torres.

It’s the same school where Pepitone’s son, Bryan, told the I-Team, that William D. Pepitone had once been headmaster and where on the telephone William D. Pepitone had earlier agreed to meet us to speak with us.

“I graduated, supposedly with honors on it (the diploma),” said Rodolfo Rodriguez of Davie.

But when the I-Team investigator arrived at the prearranged time to meet William D. Pepitone a woman who answered the door identifying herself as Robyn said Pepitone had nothing to do with the school. Florida Division of Corporation records list Robyn Pepitone as the registered agent, a director and contact person for Westlake Preparatory School, Inc., 4188 S University Drive, Davie, Fl.

The 24 year-old Rodriguez is an unemployed father who said he spent $350 to get an on-line diploma from another web based high school equivalency program, Continental Academy based in Miramar. Continental’s diploma is accepted by some colleges but not accepted by others. In fact, when Rodriguez went to enroll at one college to get a technical degree he was told the school would not accept the Continental diploma.

“Not today. No,” said “Robyn.”

“I want to better my life for myself,” said Rodriguez. “I want to go to college, you know. And (I want to) start a career. But I haven’t been able (to do that) because of this,” said Rodriguez as he held up the diploma that he hasn’t been able to use.

“The Department of Education does not regulate private schools,” said Mc Nelly Torres, a reporter for the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting, “which I think adds to the problem.”

The CBS4 I-Team confirmed that Florida International University and Miami-Dade College both accept Continental’s on-line equivalency diploma when accepting potential students.

FCIR Reporter McNelly Torres discovered that while dozens of organizations accredit hundreds of distance learning schools around the country… only a handful are officially recognized by the United States higher education community.

But the I-Team also learned schools such as Barry University and the University of Miami do not accept an equivalency diploma from Continental. Torres discovered other universities such as Virginia Tech also do not accept Continental’s equivalency diploma.

I-Team investigator Stock asked, “He (Pepitone) is not here?”

Torres’ investigation found that, often, the many online distance learning businesses issue diplomas that aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on. “We have always heard and seen the stories about high school diploma mills but the Internet has opened

“A lot of the equivalency programs are not approved and they’re not the equivalent of a high school diploma or of a GED,” said Dr. Elgart of AdvancEd and the SACS. Continental’s Chief Administrative Officer Joseph

Aguilera told I-Team Investigator Stephen Stock on the telephone that an actual high school diploma is best and that a GED is a better alternative than an equivalent diploma like Continental’s. But Joseph Aguilera also insisted that an equivalency diploma, such as the one offered by Continental online, serves a purpose for some people. “We’re an alternative,” said Aguilera. The GED Testing Service’s CT Turner said only one high school equivalency diploma is accepted nationwide, the GED. And a GED cannot be completed on-line. “It’s really the only high school equivalency credential that is accepted and is actually awarded by all fifty states,” said Turner. So why not just get a G-E-D? Experts say some high school dropouts find the G-ED to be difficult and time consuming. The GED course work and test cannot be taken online and it takes many hours to complete. For that reason Joseph Aguilera said that on-line equivalency diplomas do have a valid role to play in the future of some people. William D. Pepitone did not return several messages left for him both by telephone and in person asking for his comment. After the CBS4 I-Team began asking questions Stanford National High’s website was taken down and its state business records showed the company dissolved and shut down.

23 | March 2011 | Pinecrest Edition

24 | March 2011 | Pinecrest Edition