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Bob Levinson: Allegedly held hostage by Iran while White House ignores family pleas
2,140 days without freedom.
Retired FBI agent Robert Levinson devoted almost three decades of service to his country and the citizens of the United States. A career that deserved honors has instead resulted in almost six years as a hostage in a foreign country.
Until his disappearance in March 2007, Levinson, 64, resided with his wife and seven children in Coral Springs. Working as a private investigator, he was researching a cigarette smuggling case on Kish Island in Iran when he went missing.
There have been many efforts over the years to locate Levinson and return him home and to his loving family. All have met with disappointing results.
In 2010, the Levinson family received a “proof-of-life” video from his captors. The Federal Bureau of Investigation responded by placing a $1,000,000 reward for information pertaining to his disappearance and whereabouts.
To date, there have been no publicized results and the Levinson family feels all but abandoned.
Family and friends have set up a website and social media accounts under the username of “HelpBobLevinson” on Facebook and Twitter. Spreading awareness by posting updates on Bob Levinson’s “disappearance” in Iran has become priority one.
Levinson’s wife – Christine – released Tuesday five disturbing photos of Bob dressed in an orange prison-type jumpsuit. He had lost weight and has a long grey beard and disheveled hair.
In visibly deteriorating health, Levinson is also seen holding signs pleading for help.
An analysis of the photographs has led authorities to believe that Iran is behind Levinson’s kidnapping. With such knowledge, the family hopes that the United States will exact more pressure on the Iranian government to free Levinson.
According to published reports, the Levinson family received the photos anonymously by email in late 2010 and early 2011. With Tuesday’s release comes a heightened attempt to encourage media awareness and governmental attention.
The Levinson family is now attempting to secure Bob’s freedom through a recently created White House petition process under the Obama Administration’s “We the People” website.
“Make rescuing US Citizen Robert Levinson being held hostage in the Middle East since 2007 a top priority,” states the petition.
The family notes on the website that Levinson is the second-longest-held hostage in American history, second to Terry Anderson, held longer in the Lebanon Hostage Crisis.
As of now, the petition has almost 11,100 signatures. To be successful, it must have 25,000 by January 20th – the day before President Barack Obama’s inauguration in Washington D.C.
“We keep trying to get media attention in the hopes that whoever is holding him can see it, and will reach out to us to try and resolve it,” stated Bob’s son, Doug Levinson. “We also started the petition to try to get the White House to respond to it and make it a top priority.”
When Robert Levinson finally returns home, he will be proud to find his son pursuing the same career path that he took.
“My dad always wanted to be an FBI agent since he was 8 years old,” Levinson said. “None of my brothers or sisters had the desire to go into the FBI, but I have since I can remember. He’s my idol, my hero. Everybody wants to be like their hero, and I’m no different. If I could be half the man my father is, I would be happy.”
The entire community can help the Levinson family by signing the petition and promoting it through social media. In order to warrant an official response from the White House, 14,000 more signatures are required by Sunday.
For more information about Bob Levinson’s disappearance, please visit www.helpboblevinson.com. For more information on the $1,000,000.00 reward being offered by the FBI for information on his disappearance and whereabouts, please visit tips.fbi.gov.
Florida celebrates National AMBER Alert Awareness Day
With pictures of missing children flashing across billboards on our streets and highways, alerts over our televisions or radio, or in an email or text message blast, AMBER Alerts are hard to miss.
On Sunday, Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Gerald Bailey joined Florida’s local, state, federal and private partners to commemorate National AMBER Alert Awareness Day.
January 13th was National AMBER Alert Awareness Day. This year marked the 17th anniversary of the abduction and death of 9-year-old Amber Hagerman of Texas. She is the girl who the system is now named and whose death and abduction the U.S. Department of Justice remembers on this day.
According to an FDLE release, Florida established its AMBER Alert Plan 13 years ago. It was the second state in the nation to do so. Since the start of Florida’s program, the AMBER Plan has expanded to include billboards, dynamic highway message signs, lottery machines, email and text messages and messages through social media.
The FDLE has encouraged Floridians to sign up for free AMBER Alerts to help locate and quickly recover children when they go missing.
“The AMBER Alert has made a huge difference in law enforcement’s ability to find abducted children,” says Gretl Plessinger, spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. “It’s like having thousands of eyes, all at once looking for this child.”
Approximately 40,000 children are reported missing every year in Florida, with the majority of those being reported as runaways. In 2012, the FDLE Missing Endangered Persons Information Clearinghouse issued nine AMBER Alerts and 31 Missing Child Alerts.
“Florida’s citizens have been vital to the success of the Florida AMBER Plan,” Commissioner Bailey said. “We encourage Floridians to take a few moments today to sign up to receive AMBER Alert notifications so they can help law enforcement better protect Florida’s children.”
Through their Facebook page, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement offers tips while encouraging people to sign up for its free AMBER Alerts through its website.
More than 20,000 people have signed up to receive Florida AMBER Alerts at www.missingchildrenalert.com.
Applebee’s hosts ‘Give Back Night’ for Tamarac – North Lauderdale Relay for Life
As part of their commitment to the community, Applebee’s is partnering with the Relay for Life of Tamarac – North Lauderdale and the American Cancer Society (ACS) to help raise funds and generate awareness for cancer research.
To help with the effort, Applebee’s, located at 6005 North University Drive, Tamarac, FL 33321 is hosting a special event Wednesday, January 9th during which 15% of its total sales from 5 p.m. will be donated to the Relay for Life of Tamarac – North Lauderdale.
Throughout the evening, guests are welcome to dine at Applebee’s to support a great cause. Information about the Tamarac – North Lauderdale Relay for Life, the American Cancer Society and the important work of its foundations and community outreach will be available.
The January team meeting of the Relay for Life of Tamarac – North Lauderdale will also be held. Be among the first to learn about their first team fundraising challenge. The meetings are open to all team members and those who are interested in learning more about Relay for Life and the American Cancer Society.
“It’s amazing to think that millions of people will be diagnosed with cancer this year. Someone close to me may be one of them,” stated event chairwoman Julie Fishman. “Our Relay for Life is not only a way to join in the fight back against cancer, but it is also a way to inspire hope by raising funds and awareness to help those facing the disease.”
The Relay for Life of Tamarac – North Lauderdale will be held on May 17th and 18th at Millennium Middle School in Tamarac. For information on the event, you may visit them online, “Like” them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter.
Five Guys Burgers and Fries hosts ‘Give Back Night’ for Tamarac – North Lauderdale Relay for Life
As part of their commitment to the community, Five Guys Burgers and Fries is partnering with the Relay for Life of Tamarac – North Lauderdale and the American Cancer Society (ACS) to help raise funds and generate awareness for cancer research.
To help with the effort, Five Guys Burgers and Fries – located at 5701 North University Drive, Tamarac, FL 33321 – is hosting a special event Thursday night, January 10th, during which 15% of its total sales from 5-9 p.m. will be donated to the Relay for Life of Tamarac – North Lauderdale.
“We’re proud to support the American Cancer Society through the Relay for Life of Tamarac – North Lauderdale,” stated Ed Kelin, manager of Five Guys Burgers and Fries. “This event is part of our commitment to the local communities where we reside.”
Beginning at 5 p.m. and throughout the evening, guests are welcome to dine at Five Guys Burgers and Fries to support a great cause. Information about the Tamarac – North Lauderdale Relay for Life, the American Cancer Society and the important work of its foundations and community outreach will be available.
“It’s amazing to think that millions of people will be diagnosed with cancer this year. Someone close to you or me may be one of them,” stated event chairwoman Julie Fishman. “Our Relay for Life is not only a way to join in the fight back against cancer, but it is also a way to inspire hope by raising funds and awareness to help those facing the disease.”
The Relay for Life of Tamarac – North Lauderdale will be held on May 17th and 18th at Millennium Middle School in Tamarac. For information on the event, you may visit them online, “Like” them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter.
Mortgage foreclosure settlement reached
Ten major mortgage servicers including Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo entered into a $8.5 billion settlement Monday with federal regulators to settle claims related to mortgage foreclosure abuses.
Under the terms of the settlement with the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), $3.3 billion will be paid by banks directly to eligible mortgage borrowers. Over $5.2 billion in other assistance – such as loan modifications and forgiveness of deficiency judgments – will also be available.
The agreement covers 3.8 million borrowers whose homes were in foreclosure in 2009 and 2010 with participating servicers.
The other lenders participating in the settlement are Aurora, MetLife Bank, PNC, Sovereign Bank, SunTrust and U.S. Bank.
By agreeing to the settlement, participating lenders can cease the Independent Foreclosure Review process mandated under an enforcement action entered in April 2011.
Regulators had determined that the foreclosure review process – which involved a case-by-case review of millions of loan files – was proving too expensive, time consuming and ineffective.
“When we began the Independent Foreclosure Review, the OCC pledged to fix what was broken, identify who was harmed, and compensate them for that injury,” Chief Thomas Curry of the OCC stated in a written release. “While today’s announcement represents a significant change in direction, it meets those original objectives by ensuring that consumers are the ones who will benefit, and that they will benefit more quickly and in a more direct manner.”
Monday’s deal follows a separate $26 billion mortgage settlement entered early last year in relation to the “robo-signing” scandal.
Only $1.5 billion of that settlement was in the form of direct cash relief to 750,000 borrowers.
Eligible borrowers under the latest settlement will receive compensation whether or not they filed a request for an independent foreclosure review and mortgage borrowers do not need to take further action to be eligible for compensation.
Borrowers are expected to be contacted by the end of March with specific payment details. They will not be required to execute a waiver of any legal claims that may exist against their servicer as a condition for receiving payment.
In addition, the servicers’ internal complaint process will remain available to borrowers.
“We have learned a great deal from the reviews that have been conducted to date. However, it has become clear that carrying the process through to its conclusion would divert money away from the impacted homeowners and also needlessly delay the dispensation of compensation to affected borrowers. Our new course of action will get more money to more people more quickly, and it will speed recovery in the nation’s housing markets,” Curry concluded.
Back to basics on AM 740 WSBR and The Credit Report with Bill Lewis
Interesting guests and timely topics will be on AM 740 WSBR and AM 1470 WWNN the weekend of December 1st and The Credit Report with Bill Lewis.
As a daily forum for business and financial news, politics, economic trends, and cutting edge issues, The Credit Report with Bill Lewis can be found on AM 740 WSBR in south Florida. Hosted by Bill Lewis, the show broadcasts live weekdays at 7am.
Originally launched on AM 1400 WFTL in 2004, as the “Credit Restoration Consultants Hour,” Bill Lewis provided self-help tips and advice regarding credit repair, finances, and related topics. Throughout the years, Bill’s show strayed from the original concept of providing financial awareness to his listeners.
In an effort to strengthen his listener base and to broaden the topics hosted, Bill launched The Credit Report with Bill Lewis upon moving to AM 1470 WWNN within the Beasley Broadcasting group.
Listeners were searching for help regarding a myriad of topics from credit repair, extreme coupon shopping, and foreclosure matters, but welcomed the political format that Bill introduced locally to a south Florida audience.
Since the show’s inception, Bill Lewis has interviewed some of the country’s leading politicians, including: Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Herman Cain, Chris Christie, Jon Huntsman, Allen West, Rick Scott, George LeMieux, Jeff Atwater, Pam Bondi, Marco Rubio, Sharon Day, Alex Sink, Adam Putnam, Charlie Crist, Bill McCollum, Jeff Kottkamp, Jennifer Carroll, Christine O’Donnell, among others.
In addition, The Credit Report with Bill Lewis has hosted a number of politicians as well as attorneys and financial experts in the south Florida area. Among the dozens that have appeared on the show are Carlos Reyes, Al Lamberti, Chip LaMarca, Adam Hasner, Ellyn Bogdanoff, Tom Rooney, Roger Stone, Bob Davids, Lori Parrish, Richard Denapoli, Rico Petrocelli, Jamie McDonnell, Jim Lewis, Tom Lauder, and John Contini.
The Credit Report with Bill Lewis airs live, Monday through Friday from 7am-8am Eastern Time with an encore presentation Saturday’s at 3pm on AM 740 WSBR. Streaming audio is available at http://www.wsbrradio.com and on air participation is welcome at (888) 721-0074.
If you miss the early broadcast, The Credit Report with Bill Lewis is still available weeknights at 9pm Eastern Time, Saturday’s at 6pm and Sunday’s at 8pm on AM 1470 WWNN by streaming audio at www.wwnnradio.com.
Going head-to-head against Steve Kane and Jimmy Cefalo, Bill Lewis promises more “talk” and fewer commercials.
For daily updates on The Credit Report with Bill Lewis, you can join Bill’s 21,950 plus fans on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/thecreditreportwithbilllewis.
$500 million and counting for Powerball drawing
Now that Powerball officials have boosted the jackpot for Wednesday’s drawing to $500 million, the payout would be the nation’s second largest following the record $656 million Mega Millions drawing in March.
Huge ticket sales nationally may push the payout even higher. A single winner choosing the cash payout will take home $327 million before taxes.
With a one in 175 million chance of winning the Powerball — odds are good for Florida lottery players.
According to the Sun Sentinel, Florida has led the country in sales and winners since joining the Powerball competition in 2009.
Record jackpots encourage players who normally sit on the sidelines to play Powerball. Group purchases from work pools also increase substantially.
“Typically, 60% of sales occur the last day,” stated Chuck Strutt, executive director of the Multi-State Lottery Association. “We’ll see how many people decide to play $500 million.”
Based on soaring Sunday and Monday ticket sales, the MSLA decided early Tuesday to raise the Powerball jackpot from an already record $425 million to a whooping half-billion dollars.
And with ticket sales estimating 6.3 million an hour, the jackpot could go up again according to Strutt.
“We’re saying $500 million – it’ll be higher,” says Strutt. “But you’ve got to stop at a number” for marketing purposes.
Lottery experts say there is a 60 percent chance someone will hit the jackpot Wednesday. If not, the next jackpot would exceed $750 million — an all-time record.
The Powerball drawing will take place in Tallahassee Wednesday night.
Bill Lewis is the principal of William E. Lewis Jr. & Associates and host of “The Credit Report with Bill Lewis” — a daily forum for business and financial news, politics, economic trends and issues on AM 740 WSBR in south Florida.![]()
South Florida political talk radio on AM 740 WSBR and AM 1470 WWNN
Interesting guests and timely topics will be on AM 740 WSBR and AM 1470 WWNN the weekend of November 24th and The Credit Report with Bill Lewis.
As a daily forum for business and financial news, politics, economic trends, and cutting edge issues, The Credit Report with Bill Lewis can be found on AM 740 WSBR in south Florida. Hosted by Bill Lewis, the show broadcasts live weekdays at 7am.
Originally launched on AM 1400 WFTL in 2004, as the “Credit Restoration Consultants Hour,” Bill Lewis provided self-help tips and advice regarding credit repair, finances, and related topics. Throughout the years, Bill’s show strayed from the original concept of providing financial awareness to his listeners.
In an effort to strengthen his listener base and to broaden the topics hosted, Bill launched The Credit Report with Bill Lewis upon moving to AM 1470 WWNN within the Beasley Broadcasting group.
Listeners were searching for help regarding a myriad of topics from credit repair, extreme coupon shopping, and foreclosure matters, but welcomed the political format that Bill introduced locally to a south Florida audience.
Since the show’s inception, Bill Lewis has interviewed some of the country’s leading politicians, including: Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Herman Cain, Chris Christie, Jon Huntsman, Allen West, Rick Scott, George LeMieux, Jeff Atwater, Pam Bondi, Marco Rubio, Sharon Day, Alex Sink, Adam Putnam, Charlie Crist, Bill McCollum, Jeff Kottkamp, Jennifer Carroll, Christine O’Donnell, among others.
In addition, The Credit Report with Bill Lewis has hosted a number of politicians as well as attorneys and financial experts in the south Florida area. Among the dozens that have appeared on the show are Carlos Reyes, Al Lamberti, Chip LaMarca, Adam Hasner, Ellyn Bogdanoff, Tom Rooney, Roger Stone, Bob Davids, Lori Parrish, Richard Denapoli, Rico Petrocelli, Jamie McDonnell, Jim Lewis, Tom Lauder, and John Contini.
The Credit Report with Bill Lewis airs live, Monday through Friday from 7am-8am Eastern Time with an encore presentation Saturday’s at 3pm on AM 740 WSBR. Streaming audio is available at http://www.wsbrradio.com and on air participation is welcome at (888) 721-0074.
If you miss the early broadcast, The Credit Report with Bill Lewis is still available weeknights at 9pm Eastern Time, Saturday’s at 6pm and Sunday’s at 8pm on AM 1470 WWNN by streaming audio at www.wwnnradio.com.
Going head-to-head against Steve Kane and Jimmy Cefalo, Bill Lewis promises more “talk” and fewer commercials.
For daily updates on The Credit Report with Bill Lewis, you can join Bill’s 21,950 plus fans on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/thecreditreportwithbilllewis.
Identity theft protection services are a waste of money
If you are one of the 48 million Americans who purchased some sort of “identity theft protection” service in 2011, you wasted your money.
Identity theft protection services and credit reporting agencies such as Equifax, Experian and Trans Union push statistics like “almost 14 million adults were victims of identity theft in 2011″ and “over 100 million Americans have had their personal identifying information placed at risk of identity theft as a result of governmental and corporate data breaches.”
While true, these statements are nothing but scare tactics so you will purchase a service to protect your good name and reputation within the community.
Some of these “identity theft protection services” cost up to $189 annually.
What the credit reporting agencies fail to tell you is that identity theft protection does not cover prior instances of identity theft, IRS tax return filings, account takeovers, the misuse of credit or debit cards, or the establishment of personal identification (such as a driver’s license or Social Security card) in your name.
Americans are spending an estimated $3.5 billion a year on identity theft protection. Recent reports indicate that by 2015, Americans will be spending in excess of $6 billion to protect their identity from theft.
Most of these services are a waste of money as almost all of the services provided are available at little or no cost to the consumer.
There is no reason to pay a monthly or yearly fee for something you can do yourself for free.
Periodically review your credit report
By keeping close tabs on your consumer credit profile, you can detect signs of identity theft early. If you find an account not opened by you and have positively identified it as fraudulent, enter a dispute directly with the creditor as well as with the credit reporting agencies of Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. You can obtain a free credit report at www.annualcreditreport.com or 877-322-8228. When you pay for identity theft protection, this free credit report is one of the “benefits” they tout.
Place a 90-day initial fraud alert on your credit report
Contact the credit reporting agencies and request a 90-day initial fraud alert on your credit report. Not only will this trigger a free credit report but will advise potential creditors to investigate any application prior to issuing credit, goods, benefits, services and/or employment. Contact Equifax at 800-525-6285, Experian at 888-397-3742 and Trans Union at 800-916-8800. When you pay for identity theft protection, this fraud alert is one of the “benefits” they tout. Just be sure to renew the alert every three months.
Freeze your credit report
Identity thieves are frozen in their tracks without access to your credit report as potential creditors will not have access to your credit history. In most states, you are entitled to temporarily “freeze” access to your credit profile without cost if you are over 65 years of age or are a verified victim of identity theft. All others may be required to pay a small fee. Without access to your credit report, a responsible lender will not issue credit. When you pay for identity theft protection, a credit report freeze is one of the “benefits” they tout.
Stop unsolicited credit card offers
Are you tired of junk mail filling your mail box? Opting out at www.optoutprescreen.com or 888-5OPT-OUT will stop most unsolicited pre-approved applications and reduce the incidence of identity theft. Opting out refers to the process of removing your name and address from lists supplied by the Equifax, Experian, Trans Union and Innovis credit reporting agencies to be used for firm (preapproved/ prescreened) offers of credit or insurance. When paying for identity theft protection, opting out is one of the “benefits” they tout.
Purchase a cross-cut shredder
“Dumpster diving” is still a very popular method of obtaining credit card applications and supporting documentation. Purchase a cross-cut shredder that cuts vertically and horizontally, turning sensitive mail into confetti. If you think a torn up credit card application will be rejected by a credit card company, you have not heard the story of how Chase Bank approved a ripped up application.
Victims of identity theft often feel pressured into purchasing additional identity theft monitoring products when contacting the Equifax, Experian and Trans Union consumer reporting agencies to repair their credit. So much so that the Federal Trade Commission has recently reported the conduct in a 73-page report titled: “An FTC Staff Report on a Survey of Identity Theft Victims.”
What the credit reporting agencies fail to tell you is that identity theft protection does not cover prior instances of identity theft. As such, you are not protected and are wasting your money.
The FTC report also found that the vast majority of Americans dealing with identity theft issues were unaware of their rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. These rights included the ability to request free credit reports when placing a fraud alert, the ability to block fraudulent information from appearing on their credit reports and to receive a notice of these and other important rights directly from creditors and consumer reporting agencies.
While the Credit Card Act of 2009 mandated a number of changes in relation to “free credit reports,” the area of identity theft protection is an area to watch. Reduced fees in one area will only mean enhanced fees in another. There is no reason to pay a monthly or yearly fee for something you can do yourself for free.
Bill Lewis is the principal of William E. Lewis Jr. & Associates and host of “The Credit Report with Bill Lewis” — a daily forum for business and financial news, politics, economic trends and issues on AM 740 WSBR in south Florida.![]()







