Computer crimes inundate state task force; funds needed

LEWISTON – Maine’s fledgling computer crimes task force, already overwhelmed by more cases than it can handle, is facing financial uncertainty.

In its first six months, the four-member force has analyzed evidence from 94 computers for police departments across Maine, executed 14 search warrants and obtained seven federal and two state indictments. Only a few cases have been prosecuted so far, but in each one the suspect pleaded guilty without going to trial.

The unit is overwhelmed with work, turning away three cases for each one it accepts. But it could be in jeopardy unless it finds a continuing source of money because the two-year $125,000 grant runs out this year. It paid for training and start-up computer equipment and software.

The task force, with headquarters at the Lewiston Police Department, targets people who use their computers and the Internet for crimes ranging from stalking and child pornography to robbery and drug trafficking.

“The general public doesn’t understand the magnitude of the problem,” said Lewiston Police Chief William Welch. “We didn’t either until we started this project.”

Welch has submitted legislation through Rep. Judith Peavey, a member of the Legislature’s Criminal Justice Committee, seeking state funding. The unit was not included in Gov. Angus King’s proposed budget, but King’s spokesman, John Ripley, said that state officials hope Maine’s congressional delegation can secure federal funding.

Randy Harriman, law enforcement coordinator for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, said the federal government typically provides start-up money and leaves it to state and local government to sustain the projects.

“Probably at a minimum, there have to be three of these task forces,” in Maine, Harriman said. “But there’s so many other things that law enforcement has to do, trying to get the increased funding is going to be hard to do.”

The task force got its start when Welch returned from a conference on child abuse and exploitation last year. By chance, Patrolman Michael Webber had just learned about a federal grant to help police departments establish computer crime units.

Welch wasn’t convinced that Maine had a problem, but allowed Webber and detective James Rioux to go undercover in Internet chat rooms for three days. The two men, posing as children, were solicited for sex 12 times by Internet users in Maine.

The department then secured the federal funds and volunteered as the state’s pilot site.

Webber, a former computer technician and troubleshooter, and Rioux, a 17-year department veteran who worked as an arson and white-collar crimes investigator, are joined by Maine State Police Trooper Tom Bureau. Inez Dudley, an officer lent to the task force by Brunswick police, works with them one day a week.

The officers collect evidence from computer hard drives and can trace just about any activity, including chat room conversations.

In one case, a Louisiana woman called police to tell them of an Eastport man who had posted ads on the Internet looking for someone to kidnap and rape his 12-year-old daughter, take photos of the assault and e-mail them to him.

The officers got the evidence needed to bring charges against Harry N. Munson, 37, who has been indicted and is awaiting trial.

Many of the most horrific cases deal with child pornography, but the officers also handle other kinds of cases. They’ve worked with state police in a murder investigation and the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency in drug trafficking cases. They’ve also investigated threats made in chat rooms and a case in which a man routed his ex-girlfriend’s e-mail to him and used her credit cards to ruin her credit rating.

The unit also holds workshops for police and private citizens. They’ve taught about 500 people about protecting their children from predators on the Internet and showed more than 800 officers about computers and law enforcement.

“Two years ago, if you went on a drug raid, you’d ignore that computer in the corner,” Webber said. Nowadays, he said, police know that all sorts of clues can be left on hard drives.