Tweeker Seeker

There’s an interesting article that appeared in the Associated Press today about bail companies that allow criminals to make payments on their bail premium or the fee they pay when they are bailed out of jail. The article talks about the increase in bail-credit because of the slowing economy and brings up several good points about the risks associated with  financing the bail premium. However the article failed to mention that a number of counties in California have increased the number of criminals who are being released on their own recognizance (O.R.). Santa Clara County, for one, has recently increased the number and types of criminals who are released under their ORP and SORP programs. Santa Clara County has also initiated an amnesty program for persons with non-violent, misdemeanor bench warrants. If you get arrested before the end of the year on a qualifying warrant, you are cited and released without having to post bond.

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Federal investigators served out a search warrant at AJ’s Bail Bonds in Modesto as part of an ongoing investigation into the business and its owner, Aleo John Pontillo. Apparently no was arrested and the feds arn’t saying too much about the case. According to local bondsman, AJ’s has been linked to drugs, firearms, kidnappings, extortion and money laundering. We’ll just have to see how this plays out.

Federal agents raid local bail bonds company

Today is Christmas eve and I know this because my 7 year old woke me up at 4:30, she’s had a relapse of what I like to call “Christmas Insomnia”. This “disorder” is the result of torturing your kids for 25 days of the threat of receiving a bag of coal instead of a Nintendo DS or that Barbie Play House. I mean Christmas really is torture for children, isn’t it? You spread the reminders throughout the house in the form of decorations, strategically placed packages under the tree and then hang the advent calendar on the wall – you know the one. Each day the kids get to mark on X on the date or open up a piece of chocolate. Each day of the month they have to wonder what’s in those packages. I know this because my daughter will sit by the tree for hours, looking at and shaking each package, wondering what’s inside. It’s torture I tell you, torture!

Christmas is also a special day for me. This is the day that I get to pick 1 or 2 really special people and show up at their house right in the middle of Christmas dinner. Imagine the surprised look on their faces when I show up. I am very selective about who I visit, too. Like Santa, I save this day for the really special people, the people who have already ran from me or the people who have told me that I will never catch them. I have a list and I check it twice too and tomorrow I have 2 very special people that I’m going to visit. I’m going to surprise them with the gift of silver bracelets and a free ride back to jail. “HO HO HO, Merry Christmas”.

I made a decision that I’m going to try to write shorter articles. I want to write more often but I’ve found that I’m starting to dread it because of how long it takes for me to write each article. I really enjoy this process and I want to increase the frequency in which I write. Otherwise I may get discouraged and stop all together. Writing for me is a tough process. I have no formal training and each paragraph is a painful. I’m still learning how to phrase my thoughts and keep my grammar and syntax errors to a minimum because I can’t spell for shit. Thank God for spell checkers.

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