[NLRS] Radio Article - OT but of interest.

[S. Earl Jarosh]

Here is the info from the mi.gov site

      AG COX CHARGES FOUR IN SCHEME TO ACCESS MICHIGAN STATE POLICE SECURE
RADIO SYSTEM

      December 17, 2004

                  Lansing, MI - Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox announced
today that he has charged four persons with participating in a scheme to
obtain and sell stolen or illegally manufactured Motorola radios and to
program those radios to access the Michigan State Police 800 MHz radio
system. The 800 MHz system is a secure private radio system that can only be
accessed by law enforcement or other public service agencies that have been
authorized to use it.

                  The charges were filed in the 61st District Court in Grand
Rapids. Those charged are Andrew John Felde, 41, of Grand Rapids, Michigan;
James Edward Werner, 38, of Rockford, Michigan; James Benjamin Brunk, 44, of
Cadillac, Michigan; and Jerry Lee Frick, 63, of Walkerville, Michigan.

                  The charges allege that Felde obtained either stolen or
illegally manufactured Motorola radios. Werner and Brunk, who were Michigan
State Police civilian employees, aided Felde in his efforts to program the
radios to access the 800 MHz system by providing him with otherwise
unobtainable computer software and templates for the radios so that they
would operate on the system. Frick, who is the chief of the Walkerville Fire
Department, then purchased at half-price three of these radios from Felde,
in part with grant money obtained by submitting a fraudulent invoice to
Mason/Oceana 911.

                  "In today's atmosphere where homeland security is
paramount, law enforcement agencies must be able to communicate without the
possibility that others can eavesdrop and hear communications to which they
should not be privy," Cox said. "The 800 MHz system is designed so that law
enforcement and other governmental agencies can communicate with each other
without concern that lawbreakers and others can overhear those
conversations. In this case, efforts were made to compromise the system. It
is fortunate these efforts were stopped before any damage to the system
occurred," Cox added.

                  Felde is charged with one count of receiving and
concealing stolen property between $1,000 and $20,000; one count of
fraudulently accessing a computer network to obtain between $1,000 and
$20,000; and one count of unauthorized access to a computer network, all
five-year felonies; and one count of receiving and concealing stolen
property over $20,000; and one count of using a computer to commit a
ten-year felony, both ten-year felonies.

                  Werner is charged with one count of embezzlement by an
agent or trustee between $1,000 and $20,000; one count of fraudulently
accessing a computer network to obtain between $1,000 and $20,000; and one
count of unauthorized access to a computer network, all five-year felonies.

                  Brunk is charged with one count of fraudulently accessing
a computer network to obtain between $1,000 and $20,000; and one count of
unauthorized access to a computer network, both five-year felonies.

                  Frick is charged with one count of uttering and
publishing, a fourteen-year felony; and one count of misconduct in office, a
five-year felony.