International Investigation Dismantles Criminal Enterprise

FBI PRESS RELEASE 02/02/15

For years, Alvaro Lopez Tardón, a Spanish national, was living the high life in Miami—fancy cars, seaside condos, designer jewelry, and expensive leather goods. But it all came crashing down in the summer of 2011 when he was named in a U.S. federal money laundering indictment as the head of an international narcotics trafficking enterprise. His illicit enterprise was believed responsible for distributing more than 7,500 kilos of South American cocaine in Spain and laundering more than $14 million in illegal drug proceeds in the United States.

BROOKLAWN NJ –On 01-27-2015 at approximately 9:00 PM, Brooklawn Police Officers were dispatched to the Swap Shop for a report of a robbery that just occurred. The first arriving officer quickly determined that it was not a robbery that occurred, but a burglary at Ron Todd Automotive. A witness reported seeing a male crawling out of a first floor window with a television and laptop computer. The suspect left the stolen property behind prior to fleeing on foot towards Westbrook Lanes. Several patrol units saturated the area in an attempt to locate the male, but were met with negative results.

However, what 2015 HAS given us is a voice. I say this because I just saw American Sniper yesterday. I’m not going to get into Chris Kyle as a man. I never had the privilege of knowing him. I have a few friends that operated with him, and had nothing but great things to say about him. I’m not going to sit and bitch about any Hollywood inconstancies that arise when flash and pomp take precedence over authenticity.

I am, however, going to talk about the precedence this film set for veterans and the direction I’m hoping the population of this country will take.

American Sniper, though being marketed as a hero movie, goes far beyond that. It isn’t an action movie. Yes, there IS action in the film; but it’s not the sole focus. I can see a lot of people leaving the movie disappointed because there wasn’t as much running and gunning as in say, Act of Valor or Lone Survivor.

We are at a new moment for Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Camden, one shared by the Church here in the United States and throughout the world. This October we will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Second Vatican Council’s Declaration on Christian Education, Gravissimum Educationis. This document states that \”the Church’s role is especially evident in the Catholic School.\” Catholic schools are a vital ministry of the Church and I would add a vital ministry for every parish in this diocese.