Tucson Customs Agent Faces Federal Charges Tucson, AZ - A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer is accused of accessing federal databases to get personal information about a person he was suing in small claims court. Natan Ben-Shabat, 42, of Tucson, is charged with three counts of unauthorized access to a government computer, according to a news release issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Phoenix. Ben-Shabat has worked for CBP since 2004 and since January 2008 has been assigned to the Tucson Command Center, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court in Tucson. Ben-Shabat used his official password to access the Consular Consolidated Database and the Treasury Enforcement Communication System database between July 2007 and July 2008, and also induced co-workers to access the Arizona Criminal Justice Information System database 105 times between March 2008 and June 30, court documents show. The queries were made in order to obtain information about a citizen of another country who he was suing in Pima County Consolidated Justice Court for allegedly failing to make payments pursuant to a lease, court documents show. If convicted, Ben-Shabat could face up to a year in prison for each charge, the release said. Unwitting Tourists Attend White House Breakfast WASHINGTON — The White House is once again explaining how uninvited guests wound up shaking hands with President Barack Obama. This time, a Georgia couple hoping to tour the White House ended up at an invitation-only Veterans Day breakfast. White House officials say the couple mistakenly showed up a day early and were allowed into the breakfast because there were no public tours available. They say the couple, Harvey and Paula Darden of Hogansville, Ga., were properly screened for security. Harvey Darden, however, said there appeared to be a mix-up. No one told them about the breakfast, he said, and the Dardens thought they were starting their tour until they were ushered into the East Room and offered a buffet.

NAFA Associate Counsel Peters Wins Award FLORIDA - National Association of Federal Agents (NAFA) Associate Counsel Lee I. Peters, Jr. has won Florida’s Craig Stewart Barnard Award for 2009. Peters, division chief in Suwanee, Hamilton and Lafayette counties for more than 20 years, was nominated for the award by Florida Third Circuit Public Defender C. Dennis Roberts who said, “Lee walks the walk of both leadership and concern for his clients which the Craig Stewart Barnard Award stands for.” Following retirement as an ATF supervisory special agent, Peters graduated from law school and began work as a public defender in northern Florida. A few years later he was appointed to also serve as an associate counsel with NAFA’s predecessor organization, the National Association of Treasury Agents (NATA). A Vietnam veteran, Peters retired from the U.S. Army Reserve as a major. Peters received the Barnard award last July in Naples, Florida. In nominating him Public Defender Roberts wrote, “He never tried to ‘over reach’ or take advantage of any situation to make himself look good to his superiors or to the court. When we were unable to resolve a case, he was an extremely capable trial attorney who I new would never ‘pull anything.’” According to Roberts, Peter’s three county area (Suwannee, Hamilton and Lafayette) are the most conservative in the most conservative circuit in the state of Florida. Roberts added, “It is not an area prone to much sympathy to those accused of crimes.” The Craig Stewart Barnard Award is given annually by the Florida Public Defenders Association in honor of the late Craig Barnard, who served as West Palm Beach Chief Assistant Pubic defender until his death in 1989 at age 39. Barnard is viewed as “Florida’s Dean of the death penalty law” and wrote many articles and appeals in support of death penalty defense issue. Congratulations…Lee!     NAFA’s Telephone Number is 1-886-NAFAHELP

 

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