ASIS-HOUSTON CHAPTER MINUTES

1/26/06

 

The luncheon meeting was held at the Renaissance Hotel with Chairman John Brady presiding.  59 members and guests attended.

 

Pledge and Prayer:  Lewis Eakins CPP

 

COMMITTEE ACTIVITIES

Web: Mike Crocker CPP announced the new web page design.  It is more favorable to our sponsors; removed the “java” requirement to allow the page tabs to work; and allows links to other sites while still remaining connected to our page.  We received 2nd place at the 2005 National Conference for a second year for our category (again San Francisco won first place).

Certifications: Karim Vellani CPP announced the next review class will start on 2/28.  We have a PSP program in place and will offer a review class in May.

Roundtable: Charles Hutchinson announced the next meeting (date TBD) will be a training class on video options.

Golf: Darin Dillon CPP announced the committee met for the first time.  The Annual Tournament will be held at the Longwood Golf Course in Cypress on or about May 17th.

Houses of Worship: Lewis Eakins stated the committee was meeting today to set goals for 2006.

Membership: Ross Johnson invited new members and guests to introduce themselves.  Ross announced he has taken a position with a new company and will be relocating to Canada next month.  We appreciate all his efforts as Membership Committee Chairman this past year.

Treasurer’s report: Distributed on each table.

Public Service Award: 

Our 2005 Law Enforcement Officer of the Year was presented to HPD Officer Heidi Ruiz for her outstanding contributions to the community and the protection of our children.  Officer Ruiz displayed bravery and professionalism in the apprehension of multiple serial sex offenders in Houston.  She was presented with a special engraved trophy, a membership in ASIS, an invitation to our annual Golf Tournament, a weekend stay with complimentary dinner (for her and her husband – also a Houston Police Officer) at one of Houston’s finest hotels and tickets for her family to attend a Houston sporting event of her choice; all donated by ASIS Chapter members.

 

Bill Hart, the Public Service Liaison Committee Chairman announced he has been recalled to active duty and will be leaving for Afghanistan next month.  We had a special presentation for him in honor of his service to the Chapter and to our country.

 

Speaker:

Sgt. Jonnie Jezierski, Texas Department of Public Safety

Topic:  “Organized Retail Theft”

 

Randall’s, alone, was losing one million dollars a year just to the organized theft of infant formula.  Interagency efforts, both public and private, helped with the recovery of thousands of cans of lost product and pushed for new legislation that defined and criminalized the act.  Because of these efforts, in part to the efforts of our speaker, the black market on infant formula was virtually closed in Texas.

 

Most people think shoplifting is a minor issue, but organized retail theft is like comparing T-ball to Major League baseball. 30 billion dollars a year is lost due to organized retail theft mostly due to three criminal elements: the gang MS13; Eastern fences; and terrorism.  We have not been able to have prosecutable evidence to connect the retail theft to Al Qaeda, but there is strong circumstantial evidence the money is a source of funding. 

 

Crews or teams take large amounts of product to sell to wholesalers. For example, $5,000-10,000 worth of OTC medications can be stolen in a single incident.  Enfamil with Iron was a specifically targeted product.  The investigation started ironically on 9/11/2001 when a DPS trooper stopped a truck suspected of carrying a bomb and found an unwarranted amount of infant formula, which ended up stolen.

 

The crews are most often comprised of illegal Honduran or El Salvadorans.  They are continuously connected by cell phone, scoop up product in a trash bag and quickly exit the store to a waiting car.  The thief can often personally be paid $2,000-5,000 a week. We viewed several video tapes of actual incidents.

 

The formula is then sold to wholesalers or “Trading Companies” and improperly stored in storage units.  The majority of the formula was sold to WIC stores.  WIC is a federal program that provides food to underprivileged children. One owner of a “Trading Company” was convicted in October 2005 to 10 years in prison.  Eleven million dollars in illegal profits were traced back to Lebanon.  This same dealer owned three WIC stores and one of his employees was Hani Hanjour, the pilot of the plane that flew into the Pentagon on 9/11.

 

Since March 2003, over $1,000,000 in stolen goods has been recovered.  The Trading Company owner is usually sued civilly rather than criminally to disrupt financial proceeds and put them out of business.  Federal firearms and immigration charges are also served.   From 2002-2004 there was a 70% decrease in formula thefts.  Shipments out of Houston virtually stopped in March 2005.  Congressman John Carter has introduced an amendment to the WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 to make all WIC programs require licensing of their wholesale distributors.  In addition, HR340 is a bill signed on 1/5/2006 that authorizes a new FBI task force, dedicated to investigating organized retail theft.

 

Sgt. Jezierski was awarded a plaque in appreciation of his presentation and dedication to the community.

 

The local chapter meetings are now going to be held on the 3rd Thursday of the month.  The next meeting will be held Thursday Feb. 16th at our usual location; the Renaissance Hotel.