is there anything more evocative of the good old summertime--the kinda summers we used to have back before everything went to hell--than a good old cream truck rolling slowly along the street, it's cheery nursery rhyme melodies and jingling bells calling kids of all ages forth from their yards and houses?
judging from events being reported in papers throughout the country and as far away as rural india, the good humored vendor of yore is disappearing faster than a rocket pop sun-scorched cement., replaced by career criminal opportunists with no scruples when it comes to pimping their rides...and your neighborhoods.
what follows may cause some pain, but awareness is the best weapon with which to defend yourselves. oh my god it's so sad how far we as a nation--and the ice cream vendor profession--have fallen in just a few years.
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VENDOR CHARGED WITH MOLESTING GIRLS
A 69-year-old man says he is innocent of molesting two 12-year-old girls by enticing them to ride with him in an ice cream truck through Florida Panhandle neighborhoods, his lawyer said Tuesday.
William Stafford of Pace was arrested Friday on more than 100 counts of various lewd and lascivious activities. He was in the Santa Rosa County Jail near Milton in lieu of $500,000 bail Tuesday, and the investigation was continuing.
"He's been covering quite a bit of area in Santa Rosa and Escambia counties, so we think there are a lot more victims out there," said Santa Rosa sheriff's spokesman Jerry Henderson. Link
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ICE CREAM VENDOR CHARGED WITH MOLESTATION IS BACK HOME
An ice cream vendor accused of molesting two girls who worked with him in his ice cream van is back at his Pace home.
William Stafford, 69, was arrested by the Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office on May 20 on 105 charges of lewd and lascivious behavior, conduct and exhibition on a person between 12 and 16 years old. The alleged victims were 12 and 15 years old when the reported incidents occurred.
Stafford was released last Tuesday after Circuit Judge Ron Swanson granted a defense motion to lower the bond, which he reduced from $500,000 to $100,000.
"Mr. Stafford actually has a lot of support in the community by people who know him," said Jim Jenkins, Stafford's attorney. Link
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COMPLAINT IN NEW BERLIN LEADS TO REGISTERED SEX OFFENDER
Associated Press
NEW BERLIN, Wis. - A neighbor's complaint that an ice cream vendor tossed a malt liquor can from his truck led police to determine the vendor was not only intoxicated but also a registered sex offender, authorities said.
Denell Heller said when she found the can that had flown out of the truck onto her front lawn, she gave police a quick call.
"I couldn't tell what it was, but I am just a freak about littering," she said. "I jumped off the couch and called the police. I told them I don't want him in my neighborhood if he's going to litter."
The offending driver had a blood-alcohol level three times the legal limit, according to a New Berlin police report.
The 43-year-old driver was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving and littering. A hearing on the matter was scheduled Tuesday in Waukesha County Circuit Court.
Heller said the offense occurred while the ice cream truck had its usual music, "Pop Goes the Weasel," playing as it cruised through the suburb.
"What an idiot," Heller said. "He's like a beacon with all this sound, and he's going to do that? I literally just called him on littering and he got busted on everything else."
Lt. David Dunn said police were recommending that the district attorney's office charge the man with drunken driving. He said he also will get a municipal ticket for littering.
The state Department of Corrections said the man was convicted in 1987 in Milwaukee County on a charge of second-degree sexual assault of an adult. In 1997, he registered with the state's sex offender registry.
Rodney Jensen, whose Jensen Vending company in Milwaukee owns the ice cream truck, said he wasn't aware of the man's status as a registered sex offender and now has fired him. Link
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LODI MAN DENIED BAIL IN TERRORISM INVESTIGATION
By Andrew LaMar
SACRAMENTO - A federal judge denied bail Friday for a 22-year-old Lodi man accused of being connected to al-Qaida and learning to kill Americans at a Pakistan terrorist camp.
Judge Peter Nowinski ruled that Hamid Hayat should remain in custody because he has motive to leave the area and is a danger to society, given the serious allegations.
Hayat and his father, Umer Hayat, 47, were arrested last weekend after the two allegedly told investigators the son had trained at a terrorist camp and the elder Hayat had helped pay for it. Three others have been detained in connection with the case for immigration violations.
The father, an ice cream vendor, was denied bail Tuesday. The Hayats lived together in a quiet, working-class neighborhood of Lodi, a small agricultural town about 35 miles south of Sacramento. The son worked in a fruit-packing plant.
Hamid Hayat said nothing at the brief court hearing. He appeared shackled and dressed in an orange jump suit.
His attorney, Wazhma Mojaddidi, argued Hayat should be allowed bail because he has a clean record, no history of substance abuse and a job. Hayat is a U.S. citizen who was born in Stockton, has family living in the area and had his passport taken upon his arrest, she said.
Mojaddidi acknowledged that Hayat recently married a woman in Pakistan and built a home there for her.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Lapham said Hayat was a flight risk and had the means to leave the country because of his ties to Pakistan.
Afterward, Majaddidi told reporters that Hayat is "a warm, gentle, kind person" who is "extremely devastated" by the events of the past few days.
Johnny Griffin, who is representing the father, said he anticipates an "uphill battle" to defend his client. Griffin said so far the two have only been accused of lying to investigators.
"I ask everyone to be mindful they have not been charged" with terrorist conduct, Griffin said.
A federal indictment expected to include additional charges is due in coming days. A preliminary hearing in the government's case against the Hayats is scheduled for June 21.
Griffin praised authorities for putting Hayat in special prison housing away from other inmates for his safety.
Asked about the broad, ongoing FBI investigation, Griffin said: "They're doing just what they said they'd do: Leave no stone unturned to determine if they are truly dealing with a terrorist cell here." Link
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HAWKER'S LICENSES ARE EASY TO GET
By REBECCA T. DICKSON
Monitor staff
May 23. 2005 8:00AM
Last March, a Virginia man used an ice cream truck as a prop to lure and eventually molest a 10-year-old girl. In June, a 24-year-old Phoenix ice cream vendor raped and impregnated a 9-year-old girl. On Friday, the Allenstown police arrested the local ice cream man on charges he solicited sex from a 14-year-old boy.
Officials say, by far, most ice cream vendors aren't criminals. But in New Hampshire and elsewhere, no one's required to check. Anyone can pay $50 for a state-issued hawker's and peddler's license, which is all that's needed to drive every kid's favorite truck in summer.
And that's the problem, the police said.
After Gary Brown, 34, of Pembroke, was arrested on felony prostitution charges Friday, his violent criminal record came to light. In 1990, he was found guilty of first degree assault for stabbing his former girlfriend 14 times in the neck, face and arms, according to news reports.
The police say Brown should never have been issued a peddler's license. State law says that such licenses can be revoked if the holder has a violent criminal record. But the same law does not require the secretary of state's office, which issues them, to check criminal backgrounds.
"Anyone - including sex offenders - can drive one of those (ice cream) trucks," said Lt. Shaun Mulholland.
Under the law, even if Brown is found guilty of the prostitution charge, he can buy another hawker's and peddler's license once he is released from prison.
"He can go to work selling ice cream in Manchester or Portsmouth or any place else and nobody would know the difference,"Mulholland said. "The system is broken in many ways. It's got to be fixed."
In other parts of the country, peddler's licenses requirements are mixed. Even in states that do require background checks and fingerprinting, such as Arizona, officials are finding that criminals are simply hitting the streets to vend without licenses.
That was the case with Adriene Cruz, 21, who was found guilty of raping and impregnating a 9-year-old Arizona girl last summer. He has since been sentenced to life in prison. Last August, The Arizona Republic reported unlicensed ice cream vendors were operating nearly unwatched.
The police and city officials there rely on those who want to operate ice cream trucks to apply for permits with the city, where they could be subject to fingerprinting and a background check. But many vendors simply take to the street, the newspaper reported.
"These are people that are going to interact with children dozens of times, so it's incredibly important that they are appropriately licensed," Phoenix Councilman Greg Stanton told the newspaper. "Beyond that, I don't know what could be done on a day-to-day basis."
In nearby Vermont, police Web sites encourage parents to accompany their kids to the ice cream truck. "This lure has been successfully used to abduct children," said the Williston, Vt., police department Web site. "Regardless of the warning to 'stay away from strangers,'many children are abducted and exploited every year. Why? Because predators are not always strangers."
The International Association of Ice Cream Vendors says it voluntarily requests motor vehicle reports and criminal background checks on prospective vendors, according to a recent report from WVEC Channel 13 in Virginia. But the association also acknowledged that not all ice cream truck drivers are members of the organization.
Back in Allenstown, Brown operates two ice cream trucks, which he drives on a route in that town and in Pembroke and Hooksett. It's unclear when he bought his state-issued hawker's and peddler's license. He also holds a similar license in the town of Pembroke, the police said.
Mulholland said the police will ask the court to revoke those licenses today. Link
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ICE CREAM TRUCK DRIVER CHARGED WITH SELLING POT
MEMPHIS, Tenn. Memphis police say an ice cream vendor was dispensing more than frozen treats from his route truck.
Police arrested 27-year-old Marshall Gene Beasley yesterday after undercover officers bought marijuana from him several times in the past two months.
Director David McGriff of the West Tennessee Violent Crime and Drug Task Force says Beasley was selling on neighborhood streets around children.
There's no evidence The Ice Cream Man Company knew its truck was being used in a crime, so the vehicle -- and its legitimate goodies -- weren't seized. Link
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ICE CREAM TRUCK DRIVER ARRESTED IN DOPE SELLING SCHEME
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Three Albuquerque teenagers are being given credit for helping authorities arrest an ice cream vendor accused of selling marijuana from his truck.
The teenagers told Bernalillo County sheriffs they were buying ice cream from the man's truck Monday at Isleta and Barcelona when he asked them if they smoked.
They said they didn't, then they called the police.
"We just wanted to buy some ice cream and a Coke," one of the teenagers told Action 7 News. "He asked us if we smoked anything and we said, 'huh?'"
"He asked us if we wanted to buy crystal meth and we said no," another said. "He asked us if we know how to get rid of it. We said no."
Minutes later, the ice cream vendor was in the back of a squad car, said sheriff's deputy Steven Aragon.
"It's very disheartening," Arragon said. "This is where the kids hang out and the ice cream truck should be something the kids look forward to."
Police said they found two bags of marijuana in the truck. There's no word yet on possible charges to be filed against the driver.
This is the second time in three months that an ice cream truck driver has been arrested for allegedly trying to sell drugs on the job. Link
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ICE CREAM VENDOR PROSECUTED AFTER CALLING TEENAGE CUSTOMER FAT THEN PUNCHING HIM IN THE FACE.
Nazzareno Didiano was given 18 months probation on Tuesday (10.05.05) after a child customer's comments about overpricing led him to push the boy off his bicycle, hit him in the face and slam him into a wall.
The 44-year-old denied hitting the child but admitted insulting him.
He told America's Pittsburgh Tribune Review newspaper: "I told him he didn't need any ice cream anyway because he's fat." Link
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70 KIDS TREATED IN VALLEY AFTER CONSUMING ICE CREAM
JAMMU, June 6 (SANA): Around 70 children were taken ill, five of them critically in Janipur after consuming adulterated and unhygienic ice cream from a street vendor here Sunday.
Reports said, all the children between one year to 12 years of age were rushed to Government Medical College and SMGS Hospital last night where they were undergoing treatment.
Reports added, last evening around 70 children, who had consumed unhygienic ice creams from a street vendor in ward number 37 of Janipur were taken ill, five of them critically, a KT report said on Monday.
Soon after consuming unhygienic ice cream children started vomiting and within no time panic gripped the locality, said reports, adding worried parents rushed their children to SMGS Hospital, GMC Hospital and private nursing homes.
Reports said, considering rise in number of children being brought to both the government hospitals, an emergency was declared and more doctors were requisitioned last night.
Reports said, the affected children were being administered intraveinous fluids and so far 22 children were hospitalized in SMGS Hospital while 10 were hospitalized in GMC Hospital.
However, 32 more children were hospitalized in different private nursing homes in the city. Police said that identity of street vendor, who sold the ice creams to children in Janipur was being ascertained and a case would be registered under 'Prevention of Food Adulteration Act' after arrest of the culprit. Link
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in conclusion, i'd be particularly careful about consuming anything purchased from a guy wearing all white in kansas. while it's highly unlikely a fetus frozen in a paper cup in an abortion clinic would wind up for sale from an ice cream truck, lots of unlikely things seem to happen there.