Criminal Defense Video

Silk or Real?

Are you a Silk or Real Christian?  

When you look at silk flowers, you know that some are better than others and some are hard to tell without actually touching or smelling but you then quickly learn that the silk is not real. When people see you, do they know if your are silk or real? I'll go a step farther and ask, "Do YOU know if your are silk or real?"  

The only way to know that answer for sure is if your scent is that of LOVE for God's creation and the desire to spend time with your Creator and the symbol of Faith in "action". You may look like a Christian: Goes to church, doesn't practice vulgarity or lewd behaviors, Mostly never lies or cheats, dresses nice, etc. But if that burning passion to actually BE with the Lord by spending time with Him and the desire to help others in His behalf, then maybe your are a silk. I'll tell you this much, "When you are REAL, you'll KNOW it!"

We are Stewards

Psalms 50:10-12 says:  (God says) "Every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.... and the creatures of the field are mine.... the world is mine, and all that is in it."

Colossions 3:17, 23-24 says: Whatsover you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus.... Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.  It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

So, if I "belong" to God, then He has the right to His expectations of me.  God owns EVERYTHING on this planet and all the other planets so that means that everything that I pay for and every child that I bear or raise is really not mine, but His.  It could be viewed as the bank who holds the Note / Deed to your house or your car.  You own it but there is an expectation from the bank, to pay for it.  Otherwise, you won't own it any longer because ultimately the bank owns it until it is paid off.

Our Creator doesn't exactly have those same requirements though.  He merely desires a relationship with you!  He give us 10 commandments (that can really be summed up into one, which is: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself - Mark 12:30) for direction in order that we will live the most fulfilled lives.  He loves us so much that He admits that He is a "jealous God" and doesn't want to share us with other things that we may choose to replace that relationship that He desires to have with us.

I am given the opportunities and blessings here on the earth and I can do with them whatever I want BUT if I take the time to recognize that it all comes from Him and ultimately, I belong to Him then I should desire to ask Him how He would like for me to manage the blessings and opportunities that He has given.  For example: I am blessed with health.  Should I go and subject myself to every poison, toxin, high-fat food or engage in risky foolishness just because it tastes good, feels fun or makes me feel like I am escaping the problems that I face?  NO!  I should be a good steward of the blessing of health and use it wisely so that I can be a better servant for the Kingdom of Heaven.  I should desire to get most out of this blessing so that I can be a bigger blessing to others.  I am blessed with a job or a business:  Should I do my work half-way or just enough to get by, go in late to work, offend people if I'm in a bad mood and complain to others about how much I hate my job/boss/co-worker?  We are all human and it is human nature to do everything I mentioned BUT this is because we are looking at the situation as if it is OURS.  If we belong to God, then ultimately we should be talking to Him and thanking him for the blessings that He gave us.  He knows our hardships and He loves us so much that He allows those hardships for our personal growth or perhaps give us the opportunity to be a "light" to others.  A glimpse of the joy and satisfaction that a Believer can have when their thinking is based on the fact that "I belong to God".  It is not a difficult way to believe and walk because the Believer also knows this verse, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11

As we wake each day, it is important to give our Creator the time to communicate with Him.  He longs to hears from you and desires to open more doors to you than you can even imagine but He doesn't give us more blessings than we can handle nor allows more troubles than we can handle.  We are in the growth process until the day we pass.  We are to learn how to manage every blessing and every trouble with the mindset that we belong to God.

I am SO thankful that He loves me in spite of my poor choices and my lack of attention that I give Him at times,  He waits for me to make the choice to repent and the choice to spend more time with Him and knows that the "well-spring" is there for us to drink from but He will never force us to drink from it.

In closing, I think of the Christmas season that is upon us.  What a blessing we received when God sent us His only Son, knowing that He was sent to be our sacrifice for our sins.  He entrusted Mary to care for Jesus and to teach Jesus so that He would be prepared for the dreadful day of the cross in order to achieve the glorious day of resurrection so that we can live in eternity with Him.  Let's be good stewards of this gift and all the other blessings, opportunities and troubles we receive!

Justice

Justice: "Justice For All" is a part of our Pledge of Allegiance. It is something that Americans believe is a given right by simply being an American citizen. I am very disappointed that we don't all get justice. There are many falsely accused people locked up in our Prison System and sometimes it is the fault of an attorney who really didn't fight for his client but the TRUE INJUSTICE is the lack of investigation by the police officers to find out the whole truth! If a person is charged with a crime, they must pay to bail out (if they can afford the bail), then they must pay for an attorney to represent/defend them (if they can't afford an attorney, the defendant will be appointed an attorney for felony cases) and if the defendant chooses not to accept a plea bargain, most attorneys charge an additional fee for the trial. IF the person has a court appointed attorney, that attorney may be able to get a court-appointed investigator (like myself) to assist him with running leads to prove the defendants innocence, otherwise the defendant pays for this also. When a person is found "Not Guilty" by trial, the defendant is released to resume his life where he left off but NOW, he is financially destitute AND may have problems getting a job because the employer finds out that he was arrested (even though found NOT GUILTY) but the employer may have a struggle with believing that he is truly innocent so he may choose another equally qualified person over the defendant / not guilty person. The friends he once had may also have difficulty believing that he was innocent because a lot of people think "He must have just had a really good attorney".
I have been in law enforcement for over 20 years and know that not every officer is stellar and has the passion for true justice. They are human. They will protect and defend the victim and risk their own lives to save people, but may unintentionally overlook information/evidence at times causing the arrested person to also become a "victim". I have created a Police Course titled "The Injustice System" that I believe will help our officers to look more objectively at the cases they work before charging/arresting a suspect so that they truly arrest the right suspect, who must pay the consequences for their actions.

Protect Yourself From Scams & Frauds

Protect Yourself From Scams & Frauds

There are a number of scams, hoaxes and fraud schemes going around these days.  Here are just a few as examples and I have given a few tips in how to deal with them to protect you.

1. Hoax Scam – Re Injury, Robbery, etc in foreign country – please help.  Here are a few examples:

·         Grandson has been taken hostage while serving US Troops.

o   Correct Action:  Ask someone in the family to contact person directly or contact their military base they are connected with or call the USO.  When speaking to the military base, they will connect you with the Military Police or Counter Intelligence Division or the appropriate entity that will take appropriate measures to confirm or deny the information.

·         How are you doing? Hope you slept well last night? my family and I came down here to Wales, United Kingdom for a short vacation unfortunately we were mugged at the park of the hotel where we stayed, all cash, credit card and cell were stolen off us but luckily for us we still have our passports with us.
We've been to the embassy and the Police here are not helping issues at all and our flight leaves in a couple of hours but we're having problems settling the hotel bills and the hotel manager won't let us leave until we settle the bills, I'm freaked out at the moment.

I need you to help me out.

o   Correct Action:  Contact the person directly to confirm or deny.  They are usually at home or just around the corner.  Notice the grammar / word choices used.  Do they normally use the words “freaked out”, etc.

·         This message is coming to you with great depression due to my state of discomfort. I came down here to Quezon City, Philippines with my family for a short vacation but unfortunately, we were mugged and robbed at the park of the hotel where we stayed. All cash, credit cards and cell phones were stolen off us but luckily for us we still have our lives and passports.

We've been to the embassy and the Police here but they're not helping issues at all and our flight  leaves in less than 12hrs from now but we are having problems settling the hotel bills and the hotel manager won't let us leave until we settle the bills about $1,950. Can you help us out? Get back to me immediately to let you know the easiest way to get the fund to us.

We are depressed at the moment.

o   Correct Action:  Again, contact the person directly to confirm or deny.  They are usually at home or just around the corner.  Notice the grammar / word choices used.  Do they normally use the words “freaked out”, etc. The embassy will assist them to get calls to you directly, not emails and you will be able to get a call back number to verify the information.  Then call information to help you verify if that is the correct number to the American Embassy in the country they are reportedly stranded at.

2. Door to Door Repairs –There are many gypsies and other fraudulent people out there who take advantage of the elderly.  Some will even be willing to allow you to pay only ½ of the bill up front and the other ½ at completion (which never happens).  A reputable company does not take money until the job is competed and signed off.  Ask for credentials and phone number and after you check on them, you’ll call them tomorrow if you choose them. 

Some may offer that you pay upon completion of work and ask you to sign a contract, which is to be expected.  Make sure that the wording in the contract is legal and appropriate. 

3. A person comes to your door & asks to use your phone because they need help – Don’t open the door, just say, “Don’t worry, I just called the police and they are one the way to assist you!”

4. Love Scam/Caretaker Scam – You need a Pre-Relationship Investigation/Background check.  Those who prey on Single mature adults / the elderly are aware that loneliness is one the greatest emotions to target and can cause a person to have unsound judgment.  They quote scriptures and promise the moon and are very attentive to the lonely person and soon, they ask to be married.  Once married, they are placed on the person’s bank accounts and credit accounts to help them out in paying the bills and their final moved is to withdraw their bank account and run up the credit cards before the person is even aware.  It becomes easier for them to conceal as they send in an address change to all the creditors and banks so that the victim will not know their account status.

You can place a “dual signature” requirement on your accounts in order to prevent one person from making a request without the other knowing.  Get a Pre-Relationship investigation conducted on anyone you allow as a caretaker in your home or a personal relationship.  If you have a personal attorney, ask them to review any documents before signing so that you are not accidentally signing a “Power of Attorney” without your knowledge. 

5. Buyers Scams – If you advertise an item for sale in newspaper or online, you may get an offer to pay exactly the amount you asked for or they may even offer a bit more IF you are willing to accept a check or money order and the item be picked up immediately upon receipt of payment thus not giving you the time to have the check clear.  Many of these scammers are issuing stolen or fraudulent checks or money orders in exchange for your jewelry, furs, automobiles, etc.  Accept CASH only if they are not going to give you the time to verify the financial instrument.  The only bank Cashier’s Checks or Money Orders that you should accept are those from local banks that are OPEN so that you can call and confirm its validity prior to acceptance and allowing your sale item to be taken.  The financial institution will ask you for the routing number and account number or other identifiers to confirm the validity. 

Here is an example:

I received this email in response to my Craig’s List ad.  I copied and pasted it exactly as it was received.

            From: Bayon D Toyin <tundares05@gmail.com>
To: Catherine Torrez <stilettospy@yahoo.com>
Sent: Saturday, January 28, 2012 4:12 PM
Subject: Re: Raccoon Fur Coat w/ Fox Collar - $950

Thanks for your response .i will like to buy the items from you and so
please kindly withdrawn the adverts from craigslist site now and i will be
paying you via bank certified check from the company account am working
with,and the payment will be deliver to you via Currier service(FEDEX)
And i will like you to get back to me with the following information
to facilitate the mailing out the check to you....
kindly get back to me with the..


FULL NAME TO WRITE ON THE CHECK........
HOME ADDRESS............
CITY.............
STATE........
ZIP CODE....
CELL PHONE#......


I will make arrangements for the pick up as soon as you have your
money I am completely satisfied with the advert and the payment will
be delivered within 2-3 working days.** I use a hearing impaired phone
# and will receive your calls via email ** N.B UPS and FEDEX does not
deliver to a P.O box addresses.Thank you.

Sent via Black Berry by AT&T

My response:  Sorry but the ad will not be deleted until payment is in hand and no checks are accepted.  Money order only

Additionally, My husband/friend is in the FBI and has offered to review any requests that I receive that are questionable.

6. Lottery, Inheritance or Part Time Job Offers – They usually have a request within their email to you that they will be sending you $1 million and in return they allow you to keep some of the money to issue a check / cashier’s check to them from an American bank.  They only need the money to come from another source ….  OR, they just need you make the deposits into their local bank account for them after you cash it into your account, keep a percentage and deposit the balance into their account.  The checks are fraudulent!  But your money is good!

Just remember that if it sounds too good to be true or too easy, it IS!  Just ignore.  DO NOT reply because they will then know that they have a good email address and that you may be able to be persuaded in a different scam.

www.StilettoSpyInvestigations.com 

Are You on Fire.....

I saw a Video of a Christian Poem written byDavid Boden, titled "No Excuse" that had this line in it that was so well put.  He said, "I see many Christians, but I don't see Christ."  Could that be me or could it be you????

This reminds me of the lyrics in a D C Talk song titled "What If I Stumble".
 Here they are:
"The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today
Is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips
Then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle.
That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable."

So we went out on the streets today to ask people what they were doing as part of their New Year's Resolution in regards to their spiritual growth.  Wow!  It seemed that most of the people appreciated the opportunity to actually think about this because they hadn't given it much thought.  One man said that LAST YEAR he had really focused on that and had started going to church more and being more involved so I asked him, "So, are you on fire?" " Do you feel that your relationship with the Lord is exciting?"  He said, "No".  We were so sad to hear that but how many "Christians" do you know who just go through the motions of being the Christian by title only!  How we miss so many opportunities that the Lord would like to give us but we get so wrapped up in our love of the world that we are blinded to our gifts that are offered.

There is an awesome song by Keith Green called"You Love The World".
"My Word sits there upon your desk.
But you love your books and magazines the best.
You prefer the light of your TV.
You love the world, and you're avoiding me."
These lyrics really put things in perspective.  We seem to choose everything else to spend our time on rather than the ONE who actually has a great plan for your life and real answers that are meaningful.  We usually only go to him when we need something or are in trouble.  

I just don't think that people realize that living the life as a Christian CAN be incredible EVERY DAY!  It is what we choose to make of it!  I urge you to evaluate your relationship and if it NOT on fire for Christ, then pray and ask the Holy Spirit to rain down upon you and make you ALIVE!  He always answers those who really want him and ask! 

Forgiveness is for YOU!

Forgiveness is for YOU!

Forgiveness is not a gift given to others but rather a gift to you.

Forgiveness is more than just releasing the offender of their guilt; rather it is a release for YOU!

We are ALL offenders (as the Bible tells us that “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” Rom 3:23) in some way or another.

Why should I forgive?

First and most importantly, the answer is:  so that YOU can be forgiven by God.

“Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven”.  Luke 6:37

So, if you refuse to forgive others, then God can’t forgive you.

Secondly, you have to forgive for your own health.  Unforgiveness leads to anger and bitterness.  People who live under these conditions end up with heart problems, stomach problems, muscular tension (which leads to an onslaught of pain), trouble with wounds healing properly due to lack of proper blood flow and so many other physical ailments.

Thirdly, you will be emotionally wounded as you allow the anger and bitterness to grow and THIS will affect every relationship you are involved in. 

It makes NO sense to refuse to forgive when the person who is harmed the most is YOU! 

It’s not always easy to forgive but it becomes a bit easier when you begin to realize that you yourself are capable of doing the greatest of evils if only circumstances were different.   We don’t know EVERYTHING that the person who offended you has withstood in their lifetime that has formed their belief system and their emotions and the decisions that they make.  If God had placed us in their situation, we cannot guarantee that we would not have made the same mistake or poor choice.  “Except for the grace of God, there go I.”  I live by this statement and it has helped me to forgive some horrific abuse and meanness that I have had to endure.  Some people believe that forgiveness means that we then go back and embrace the person and pull them back into a close relationship again.  It doesn’t always mean that.  Sometimes it just means that we accept the fact that “Except for the grace of God, there go I”s and to wish no harm but only God’s perfect plan for them.  It allows us freedom from the hate and anguish and suffering that we submit ourselves to when we CHOOSE to hold on to the unforgiveness!

Just ask God for the strength, love and mercy to make the choice to forgive!

                                                                                                                          Catherine Smit-Torrez