Deputies with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (H.I.D.T.A) Task Force and members of Homeland Security Investigations (H.S.I) Tampa Office and U.S. Customs and Border Protection developed information that 47-year-old Maria Rocio Gordillo of Lake Wales was involved in the trafficking of methamphetamine. The investigation is a follow-up from the ongoing “Operation Meth Death Peddlers” investigation where 44 suspects were arrested and 50 pounds of methamphetamine was seized in 2018 and 2019, culminating in numerous arrests in April of 2019. See the Polk County Sheriff’s Office news release here: https://tinyurl.com/y9j7pcxg. Gordillo was the live in spouse of Otoniel Valdez-Mendoza, one of those arrested for conspiracy to traffic methamphetamine during Operation Meth Death Peddlers. He is currently being held on no bond in the Polk County Jail. “These drug dealers have blood on their hands. They make money off the misery of others. They use violence as a means to enforce their trafficking business.” Grady Judd, Sheriff Undercover detectives communicated with Gordillo and arranged two separate methamphetamine transactions. The first transaction occurred on December 3rd; detectives purchased a kilogram of methamphetamine (2.2 pounds) from Gordillo at her residence located at 255 Waverly Loop, Lake Wales. The 2nd transaction occurred on December 9th at her residence. Gordillo gave the detectives three, one gallon sized bags that contained a crystal like substance—a total of about 3 kilograms (6.6 pounds) that tested positive for methamphetamine. Detectives also seized $4,100 U.S currency. Detectives took Gordillo into custody and she was booked into the Polk County Jail on December 9th. She is being held on $71,000 bond. She is charged with 2 counts each of: Trafficking in Methamphetamine; 893.135 (1)(F)1; F1 Possession of a structure/conveyance used to traffic a controlled substance; 893.1351(2); F2Possession of drug paraphernalia; 893.147 (1); M1
Tornado Warning from WED 5:02 PM EST until WED 5:30 PM EST
Action Recommended
Take shelter in place or per instructions
Issued By
Tampa Bay/Ruskin – FL, US, National Weather Service
Affected Area
Polk County
Description
The National Weather Service in Ruskin has issued a Tornado Warning for… Northwestern Polk County in central Florida… Northeastern Hillsborough County in west central Florida… Until 530 PM EST. At 501 PM EST, a tornado producing storm was located north of Plant City, moving east at 30 mph. HAZARD…Damaging tornado. SOURCE…Radar confirmed tornado. IMPACT…Flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without shelter. Mobile homes will be damaged or destroyed. Damage to roofs, windows, and vehicles will occur. Tree damage is likely. This tornadic storm will be near… Combee Settlement around 520 PM EST. Lakeland around 525 PM EST. Fussels Corner around 530 PM EST. Other locations impacted by this tornadic thunderstorm include Kathleen, Gibsonia, Polk City and Winston. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS… To repeat, a tornado is on the ground. TAKE COVER NOW! Move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building. Avoid windows. If you are outdoors, in a mobile home, or in a vehicle, move to the closest substantial shelter and protect yourself from flying debris. Heavy rainfall may hide this tornado. Do not wait to see or hear the tornado. TAKE COVER NOW! TORNADO…OBSERVED; HAIL…0.00IN
Over the weekend several news outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, Reuters and the Washington Post reported that Cyber Security Intrusions were detected across the globe.
The Cyber Incident appears to be the result of hackers who
are believed to be working for foreign governments. These Cyber Criminals were
able to breach the software provider SolarWinds by obtaining ftp credentials
that were exposed publicly on GitHub. SolarWinds is a company known for monitoring,
managing and maintaining core network infrastructure equipment.
Once inside SolarWinds ftp network the Cybercriminal’s deployed malware-laced software updates that infected its Orion software platform. These updates were pushed to users around the globe. Some of these entities include several US Government Networks, Fortune 500 companies, as well as small and medium businesses who use their product.
The infected Orion software updates were laced with malware
that dropped Command and Control agents. This allowed attackers to use the
machines as pivot points to move laterally throughout the victim’s network.
Now the interesting thing here is the fact that Cyber
Criminals were able to silently launch their attacks and potentially setup CNC
(Command and Control) machines on victim’s networks undetected. Industry
research has shown that, on average, advanced attacks nest inside organizations
for 200 days before discovery. That’s a long time for an attacker to stealthily
gather private data, monitor communications and map the network.
According to an analysis reported by Tenable the backdoor
malware resides in a dynamic-link library (DLL) file name
SolarWinds.Orion.Core.BusinessLayer.dll. The file was digitally signed by
SolarWinds with a valid certificate on March 24, meaning it would be trusted by
the underlying operating system and would not raise any alarms.
The backdoored DLL file was seeded as part of SolarWinds
software builds between March and June 2020, which are accessible via the
SolarWinds website. Once an organization installed the malicious software
update, the backdoored DLL file would remain in hibernation for a period of two
weeks before beginning its operation. This is one of the stealthy elements of
this operation. FireEye says in its blog post that the backdoor also managed to
“blend in with legitimate SolarWinds activity” in order to evade
detection.
What makes this even more interesting is the fact that this malware Sunburst, has been in the wild for approximately 9 months before being detected. For many this is scary to think about as many companies have probably had their systems compromised or data ex-filtrated from their environment without ever knowing it. More than likely there is other malware in organizations systems that are ready to launch an attack in the future.
Now is an opportune time to evaluate your network environment and get a health check on where you stand with Obsolete OS’s, Software patching, and most of all dig into SIEM logs and determine what core infrastructure systems are calling out to the internet and why. One way to get an accurate health check is to have a pen test conducted against your environment. A Pen Test is conducted by a white hat hacker that uses a variety of tools to try and gain access to your vital computer systems. Once the pen test is completed by the white hat hacker you will be provided a report that shows what systems are vulnerable to an attack, how an attack could be launched against your organization, and ultimately steps or actions you can take to mitigate your risks.
If you or your organization would like to discuss options to
evaluate, test, or discuss what your organization can do to protect it against
a Cyber Security attack please reach out so we can setup a meeting with one of
our Cyber Security Experts to review options.
You can reach me at [email protected] or call 863-734-8060
to schedule your appointment.
Kip Kirchberg is an International Cyber Security Expert who
has experience building World Class Cyber Security Teams. His experience has
been leveraged by Multiple Fortune 500 organizations to help build, tune, and
enhance their Cyber Security Posture.
Experience includes but is not limited to
Building SIEM platforms, Endpoint Security, 3rd Party Remote Access, Industrial
Control System’s, NextGen Firewall’s, Threat Hunting to Identify Cyber Security
Risks, Generating Executive Reports that lead to actionable data, Build and
maintain Incident Response Team’s, Draft and Adopt Corporate Cyber Security
Governance, Internal and External Pen Testing, Team Building, plus much more…
You can take an important step in protecting yourself from criminals. Those packages that you have can show criminals just what you receive for Christmas. Don’t leave the boxes by the curb.
Take an extra step to protect yourself and utilize one of the temporary recycling locations that have been set up. They will be open starting on Christmas eve.
iTrip Vacations Lakes of Central Florida Celebrates Grand Opening with Ribbon Cutting
by James Coulter
Are you looking to plan your next vacation in Central Florida? Would you prefer staying in your own house rather than settling for a hotel room? Or are you a property owner in Central Florida looking to rent out your property to potential renters? Then consider iTrip Vacations Lakes of Central Florida.
iTrip Vacations Lakes of Central Florida is a full-service short-term rental property management and marketing company. They recently expanded their business to Central Florida with their new facility in Lakeland.
As a full-service property management company, they handle all the short-term rental booking for renters seeking to rent a property for their next big stay in Central Florida, whether it’s for a few nights or weeks or months.
From checking in and out to taking care of the property owner through light maintenance, iTrip Vacations benefits both renter and property owner alike, ensuring that everyone receives the best out of their experience.
“We leverage iTripVacation dynamic marketing platform, so we market globally, but we own locally and list our properties on 80-plus distribution channels, and this translates to increased revenues and conversion rates that are 5x industry standards,” explained owner Charles Gauthier. “Lakeland is one of the cities where we are expanding. We are excited to be part of the community and help homeowners that want to do short term rentals increase their revenues.”
Charles purchased the franchise with his wife, Kim. Through their company, they cover most of the area in Central Florida, including Winter Haven and Lakeland, as well as Brandon, Dade City, Land O’Lakes, Wesley Chapel, and Zephyrhills.
When it comes to having their rental property managed, there are three reasons why property owners choose iTrip, as Charles explains:
1) More Money. iTrip specializes in increasing revenue for their property owners. They can increase their revenue up to 25 percent after their properties are listed on the marketing platform for 12 months, Charles said.
2) More Time. As a full-service short-term rental property management company, iTrip ensures that property owners, especially those who live in Lakeland, can rely on the company to take care of their home and get their time back to doing the things they love.
3) More Attention. As property owners themselves, Kim and Charles both have short-term rental experience and want to provide the best personal boutique level of quality service to the property owners under them and their guests.
“We know what it is like to have our home taken care of, and we want to do the same thing in Lakeland with property owners and provide them with a boutique level of service,” Charles said.
“The key is that we don’t own property: we manage property,” he further elaborated. “We provide that full-service short-termrental property management to our property owners, and so we are looking for property owners who want to leverage our marketing platform while enjoying our personal service for their home.”
As for renters, even during these uncertain times—in fact, primarily because of these uncertain times!—they are considering renting properties as opposed to only booking a hotel room, as they consider the experience more clean and safe, Kim said.
“Right now, during COVID-19, we are finding that this market is expanding just because people want to stay in a private home and not necessarily be in a hotel,” she said. “They are finding it is a lot more comforting and gives them the option to spend their time with family together in one place.”
iTrip Vacations Lakes of Central Florida celebrated their grand opening last Wednesday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony hosted by the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce. They now plan to reach out to real estate agents.
“Since we don’t sell real estate, it’s important for us to have top quality agents to work with when our clients want to sell or buy,” Kim said.
“Our expectation is to grow into Lakeland, to offer that boutique level of service and provide special attention to property owners, and to help property owners in Lakeland increase their revenue because that is what we specialize in,” Charles said.
The ole stuff the clippers down your pants trick! (or maybe inside of the really thick shirt) Either way, it’s theft.
The guy in the video went to Sunny’s Beauty Supply and had an associate assist him with hair clippers that were kept in the display case.
As the associate leans down to retrieve more clippers, the guy turns and stuffs a box of Andis T-Outliner Blackout hair clippers under his shirt (or in the waistband of his pants – it could be either).
Once the clerk stood up, she realized he didn’t hand the box back and didn’t go to the register.
He left in a green Nissan Pathfinder.
Anyone with information on this case or who recognizes him is asked to call Det. Maldonado at 863-291-5676.
Callers wishing to remain anonymous should call Heartland Crime Stoppers at 1-800-226-TIPS (8477). Callers are guaranteed anonymity and could be eligible for a CASH reward.
Straughn Trout Architects has been a proud longtime member of the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce. In fact, the company is assisting the Chamber in designing their new building.
“We are excited to be as involved as we can to support their endeavors and to raise money to do what they do,” said Tim Hoeft, Managing Principal at Straughn Trout Architect.
As a proud advocate for the Chamber, Hoeft and his staff appreciate being able to assist the Chamber in all of its endeavors, whether it’s designing their new building or participating in their Annual Golf Scramble on Monday.
Hoeft loved being able to spend the morning on the golf course, spending quality time with his associates and business networking with fellow chamber members, especially with people he often does not have a chance to see.
His tour on the green proved successful that morning, as he and his team won first place (net). For their victory, they received a trophy, and they each received a certificate for the golf shop.
“I think we had a great team with everybody contributing throughout our time on the course today,” Hoeft said. “The best part about an event like this is to get out of the office and enjoy some fresh air and recharge with people from the office and also partners from the community.”
Safety Solutions & Supply won first place (gross). David Woodward, an employee who led the team, boasted about how fun the event was and how his team members could make great shots, thus ensuring their victory.
His company has donated to the Chamber, and they always take the opportunity to play most of their charity events. They consider the golf scramble to be the most fun.
“We love getting to know the people here,” Woodward said. “Hanging out with people. It is a good community event. It always exceeds expectations. The Chamber does good events.”
The Lakeland Chamber of Commerce hosted their 38th Annual Chamber Golf Scramble on Monday at Lone Palm Golf Club. More than 144 golfers attended the event, spending most of their time on the links before assembling in the country club to have lunch, participate in the raffle, and learn about the winners.
This year’s title sponsor was Two Men and a Truck. Proceeds from the event will go towards funding chamber programming, explained Amber Aaron, VP of Investor Relations and Finance.
Aaron attributes their success this year, especially during these uncertain times, due to their precautions to ensure physical distancing. As an outdoor event, taking such precautions was easy for them to accomplish. Overall, this year’s event more than managed to exceed their expectations, she said.
“People wanted to come out to the event because they had not done it all year long,” she said. “The weather could be better, but it was a good day for people to come out and support the Chamber.”
You’ve heard of a two-timer, right? This woman is a two-time thief. Shoplifter AND thief by taking cash that isn’t hers. (Remember, there’s no such thing as finders-keepers)
The woman in the video enters Walmart (7450 Cypress Gardens Blvd) on Dec. 7 around 2:40 p.m.
She goes to a self-checkout where our first victim rang up his items and selected cash back. He inadvertently walked away before the cash was dispensed. The woman goes to the same checkout and pulls the cash out, sets it aside and rings up “some” of her items.
She then gets the cash and places it in her wallet. THEN, she bags a pack of men’s t-shirts without scanning or paying for the item.
Check out her fancy nails and bling heart-shaped key ring. Yeah, somebody knows her.
Call Sgt. Hall at 863-291-5736. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call Heartland Crime Stoppers at 1-800-226-TIPS (8477). You could be eligible for a CASH reward.
SUN ‘n FUN Celebrates Holiday Flying Festival and Car Show
by James Coulter
As someone who lives 40 miles north of Lakeland in a fly-in community with a grass runway, Sean Reynolds was the key demographic for the inaugural SUN ‘n FUN Holiday Flying Festival and Car Show last weekend.
Reynold owns a Grumman G-44 Widgeon, a vintage twin amphibious airplane. Built in 1942, it was originally a coast guard patrol plane before being converted into a civilian airplane in the 1950s and 1960s.
As his plane is amphibious, serving as both an airplane and boat, maintaining it proves especially difficult, as he is providing maintenance for both types of vehicles. Compounding matters is how parts for the vintage airplane are hard to find, he explained.
“This is a difficult airplane to maintain because parts are hard to come by,” Reynolds said. “Being a twin engine and a seaplane, you are doing more maintenance and engines, but also boat stuff.”
Both good weather and the prospect of better company drew him to the inaugural holiday festival and car show. He loved being able to watch the airshow, see the vintage planes, and mingle with fellow pilots and airplane enthusiasts.
“It is always great to come to Sun n’ Fun,” he said. “Lakeland always puts on amazing events. It is great to have an event like this so close to the house…[I love] Catching up with all my friends who came here, [and] checking out the warbirds and other unique airplanes.”
His seaplane was one of the hundreds of aircraft that arrived atthe SUN ‘n FUN Holiday Flying Festival and Car Show in Lakeland last weekend. Several dozens lined the green lawn outside the Florida Air Museum, while dozens more took to the blue sky during the airshow.
There were big planes and small planes, old planes and new planes, some with one pair of wings and some with two or more. There were also plenty of cars that drove over to participate in the corresponding car show, allowing guests to peruse vintage vehicles on land and in the air.
Gus Rodriguez and his wife, Ida, flew in with their Cessna 182 hydro-purpose airplane. Their craft has six cylinders, with plenty of horsepower than can fly long-range and carry a lot of weight, Rodriguez said.
He and his wife have been piloting for two years. They selected their current craft for its strong landing gear and weight capacity, allowing it to carry up to four passengers. As new pilots, they had difficulty landing at the beginning, so they required a plane with proper landing gear, he said.
As plane enthusiasts, they attend fly-in events across the country. They were drawn to this event due to its variety of aircraft. They both loved being able to see different varieties of aircraft, he said.
“The parking is excellent, the views of both runways are good, and we are happy about it,” he said. “Keep up the good work, and we enjoy coming out every year.”
Sue Losey flew down with her Myers 200, a 1963 model built in Michigan, her home state. She previously lived there before moving down to Fort Myers in 1983, where she lives near friends and family.
She and her family have been coming to Sun n’ Fun for many years. They attend many of its events, so she was certain to attend its inaugural holiday event.
“We watched the championship airplane event, the first time we watched one, and it was really fun,” she said. “It was way better than I thought. The weather was beautiful, [with] plenty of people, and it was much better than I expected.”
Buckler Holiday Art Show Showcases Arts And Crafts For The Holidays
by James Coulter
Sally Collins and her mother, Jane Carpenter, love wearing the mouse ears at Walt Disney World. However, those ears can be quite pricy. So Jane decided to spend less money by crafting her own.
Jane loves to be creative in her designs. She prefers patterns based on Disney properties, including Marvel and Star Wars. She especially loves The Child from “The Mandalorian”, as half her wares are based on the character.
Both Sally and Jane have been creating their ears as well as other craft items like ornaments and car coasters through their small business, Ears4U. The venue allows them to sell their items as well as share their love of Disney.
The mother/daughter team showcased their wares at the Buckler Arts and Craft Show in Lakeland last weekend. They decided to attend the event because the venue they were initially going to attend was canceled, Sally said.
“We saw that this space was still available here,” Sally said. “Lakeland was good for Disney products because it is so close to Disney. So that is why we chose to come here.”
Sally and her mother appreciated being able to reign in the holiday season in the Lakeland area by joining other local artists and craftsmen in selling their holiday-themed crafts.
“I love meeting all the other vendors,” she said. “The unique things that they make. We like to create stuff and create custom items, and I can create anything.”
Sally was one of several dozen vendors to set up shop within the RP Funding Center for the Buckler Arts And Crafts Show last weekend. From ornaments to wreaths, to plush snowmen and woodwork, these local artists and craftsmen showcased their work and helped spread holiday joy.
Mary Beth Hail from Fort Myers showcased several of her handmade snow plushies. Some were appropriately dressed for the holiday season. Others were dressed for the Florida weather, with some ready to go to the beach and others to fish.
She started crafting her snowmen dolls because she knew of somebody interested in them. One doll leads to another, and now she attends events such as these to sell them, she said.
“This is my first experience at any art show, so I am trying it out,” she said. “This is my very first time. It is not raining. A lot of people, very friendly. They are all different and somebody to make someone smile.”
Since 1989, Buckler Shows have been hosting these art shows throughout Florida, from as north as Jacksonville, to as south as Miami, and everywhere else in between, said June Font, the event organizer.
This event was their 28th annual holiday art fair in Lakeland. They previously hosted another event earlier this year in September. They normally host at least two events per year in the city.
The most recent event drew in 60 vendors and countless attendees. To ensure public safety during these uncertain times, everyone was encouraged to wear masks, and booths were set apart far enough to allow everyone enough space to remain physically distanced at least six feet apart.
“This event is a great event,” Font said. “We had a lot of customers come through buying holiday gift items and holiday gift items for everyone on their shopping list. A lot of one-of-a-kind handmade items here.”
For more information about future Buckler Show events, visit their website: http://www.bucklercraftfair.com/
