Tag Archives: FBI

Coast Guard bill expands cruise crime reporting

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Crew member arrested for assault on HAL ship

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By Tom Stieghorst

A 28-year-old crew member on Holland America Line’s Nieuw Amsterdam ship has been arrested following an assault on a passenger in her cabin last week.

The crew member was taken into custody by the FBI when the ship docked in Fort Lauderdale at the end of a chartered cruise on Feb. 16.

He has been charged with attempted murder and sexual assault, according to South Florida media reports. Court records say the Indonesian man confessed to the attack, and told investigators that he was responding to a perceived insult to himself and his family.

Holland America has fired him.

“No words can adequately express our shock at this event,” Holland America said in a statement. “We continue to work closely with authorities to understand how this incident occurred and what additional actions we can take to help ensure that nothing like this ever happens again.”

The 31-year-old U.S. citizen was cared for and her condition was stabilized in the ship’s hospital, the statement said. She disembarked the ship on Saturday in Roatan, Honduras, and was transferred by air to a hospital in the U.S.

Nieuw Amsterdam left Fort Lauderdale on Feb. 9 for a week-long western Caribbean cruise. It had been chartered by Bare Necessities Tour & Travel, in Austin, Texas, which specializes in clothing-optional vacations.

Holland America Line said the cabin steward was hired in 2012 following a screening that included a clean criminal history check.

He had no performance issues and came with good references, the statement said.

The line reiterated that it asks for a police screening of nearly all shipboard employees in their country of origin, and that virtually all crew members must get a U.S. visa and be screened by the U.S. government prior to employment.

Blasts rock finish line at Boston Marathon

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UPDATED: Blasts rock finish line at Boston Marathon

By Danny King

Two explosions near the Boston Marathon finish line killed at least three people and injured more than 100 people Monday afternoon.

The blasts took place at about 2:50 p.m. Eastern time about 200 feet apart on downtown Boston’s Boylston Street. Federal authorities have been brought to the city to lead the investigation to determine the cause of the incident.

“It is a criminal investigation that is a potential terrorist investigation,” said FBI Special Agent Richard DesLauriers in a press conference broadcast Monday evening.

Additionally, a fire or explosion took place at Boston’s John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum at about 4:15 p.m., though the Boston Police Department said that incident may have been a fire and may not have been related to the first two explosions. No one was injured in that incident.

Many of the blocks surrounding the blast site will be on lockdown through at least Tuesday as federal, state and local investigators canvas the area for additional information, while law enforcement will be conducting random searches on Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority subway lines, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick said during the press conference.

Both the 212-room Lenox Hotel and the 148-room Mandarin Oriental Boston, which are about a half-block and one block west of the finish line, respectively, were evacuated and closed by the Boston Police Department until further notice.

Mandarin Oriental spokeswoman Danielle DeVoe said that no injuries occurred at that hotel.

Additionally, the Fairmont Copley Plaza, which is about a block-and-a-half east of the explosions, is only letting guests and hotel employees into the building, the 383-room hotel said on its Facebook page.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has restricted air space over downtown Boston.

In Washington, Pennsylvania Avenue in the vicinity of the White House was evacuated and closed to pedestrians and vehicles on Monday afternoon as a precaution.

“We will find out who did this. We’ll find out why they did this,” President Barack Obama said in a briefing. “Any responsible individuals, any responsible groups will feel the full weight of justice.”