The FBI did a good job of playing the petty card this weekend. Rombom really pissed the feds off by 'interfering' with their case against Santoro - they could have arrested him anytime prior to HOPE6 but chose to do it publicly, in front of a community of his peers, on a Saturday where he would have to stay in jail until Monday. The lack of knowledge about what happened to Rombom also caused an air of uneasiness at HOPE6 - one sure way to upset a community of people who pride themselves on 'knowing things' is to take that away from them.

it sounds like he went overboard with his investigation. he deserves to be prosecuted for impersonating an FBI agent.

Your definition of petty seems a bit warped.
This guy, though apparently popular with
HACKERS, is a crminal.

Funny how hackers that hide behind a veil of electronics don't seem have a clue about what the real life consequences of what they and those they deem "cool" are.

Impersonating a Federal agent with the purpose of locating a person that is in a witness protection program is a SERIOUS offense.

What if that person turned up dead? Of course it would just be like something that happened on TV for most of your ilk that have no idea what real life and death are like.

You should check in with real life once and a while.

Right: he is accused at this point. You realize he hasn't been proven guilty just yet?

Let's not call him a criminal until they prove he is guilty.

The arrest wasn't the petty part of it. The fact that they waited to arrest him, AT the conference, instead of serving the warrant at, say, his hotel that morning, after his speech, or at any number of other times which he could have been arrested inconspicously. This was an intentional slap in the face by the FBI, and it's pretty apparent as such by the way they chose to arrest him. Just another example of the powers that be demonstrating how petty they are.

Take off the tinfoil hats. They arrested him because they knew where and when he was going to be in a public place. Why bother looking for someone if you know where they are going to be??

So he wasn't molested by Emmanuel Goldstein as a teenager? are you sure?

So what if he actually 'did' what he is being accused of? Maybe its 'criminal' to impersonate an FBI agent, but its also pretty naive to just submit to some guy who comes round to you're house flashing some badge of somesort...but if it was him, he did a great job at impersonating the FBI, its just the kind of story they would mock up, just to get you talking!
Give him a medal, and a genuine badge!

>You realize he hasn't been proven guilty just yet?<

And the FBI have a mediocre-to-poor track record on prosecutions.

So what if they waited to arrest him right before his speech. I'm sure that was just as intentional as putting him in the
holding cell and one agent asking the other what his weekend plans were.

I find it sort of funny. If he's guilty, all the better. If he's innocent then he's just been publicly embarrassed. Worse things happen, he'll get over it. At least now he can be a martyr against "the man".

Let's see...

After looking at the www.pallorium.com website, Rombom/Rambam has been an investigator for over 20 years, is a technical advisor to a well known mystery writer, conducts investigations all over the world, is the guest speaker at seminars all over the place, has his hogh profile cases appear on 60 Minutes and America's Most Wanted and if you search the internet, has to be one of the more "in the news" and well known PI's around who does not mind having his picture appear for anyone to see.

According to the documensts I just read here, the witnesses to the alleged impersonation do not speak english (the documents indicate the FBI Agent needed and interpretor during the interview).

Why after all these years would Rombom/Rambam decide to to risk his business, career and freedom when it sounds like the witness was shown identification which was probably Private Investigator, not FBI credentials, and since they did not speak good english either did not know what they were looking at and may have ASSUMED it was FBI not PI, not to mention they are relatives of the informant.

It appears by the way it was publically staged in front of hundreds of witnesses, when the FBI could have arrested him weeks ago, that there are facts missing that would create "reasonable doubt".

I can't wait to read the real story, if it ver comes out, when all the assumptions are filtered out.

Hello I am checking in with real life after living behind a veil of "electronics". Is the police state here yet, or is it too early/late to talk about that?

please...! rombom/rambam is chillin right about now. i'm sure the guy has pretty good lawyers on his side. he won't be severly punished for what was a criminal act. the public arrest will boost his credibility in hacker circles. he'll become another one of the ones they so easily and eagerly worship. he'll write about his time in the bing, he'll speak about it at conferences and user groups. and hackers will eat it up and pay good money for it. hackers are sheep just like all the rest of us. they just buy a different set of propaganda and rhetoric.

i like hackers but sometimes, the stuff they say/do in the name of whatever they do it for is funny. they obviously have brains, but sometimes i wonder whether they use them to actually think logically about things from a joe citizen, "someone just knocked on my door pretending to be an fbi agent" perspective. there's nothing cool about that. and rombom's actions in that case don't go toward achieving in higher hacker calling.

His name was in the hotel registry, people usually sleep in there rooms at night, why not in the morning or the evening arrest him. do what's most efficient. why turn it into theatrics. or how about his home, I am sure the FBI knows where he lives. there is the chance that it is all coincidence and they couldn't do it till they had enough evidence which was at that very moment. But I think that is unlikely

As a taxpayer, I hereby give Steve Rambam (or Rombom, as the FBI misspells it) federal agent status, retroactive to last March.

Good day.

I said good day, Sir!

He thought he was so smart and it cost him big time. Being arrested in public helped him....extra PR for his company and him. Thats why it made this blog. The point is that if the witness protection pragram looks fallable no one will come forward. Thats what pissed the feds off.

Something about this still doesn't add up. Someone with his experience has to know looking for someone under witness protection is a serious crime. So that should mean:

1) He didn't know the informant was under WP.
2) He did know and he allowed himself to be caught and arrested on purpose.

I suppose 2 is possibile if he thinks it'll be easy to worm out of. I'd really like to know the stated reason the Santoro guy hired him though. The only word we have on this is the FBI's when it's entirely possible that Rombom just got duped by Santoro somehow.

"Hello I am checking in with real life after living behind a veil of "electronics". Is the police state here yet, or is it too early/late to talk about that?

Posted by: I love America | July 24, 2006 04:35 PM"

nope not early at all becase it will be illegal to do that then

"He who doesn't take risks, doesn't drink champagne." - alexander lebed.

Well, well...I've gone and stumbled across the 'Innocent Until Proven Guilty' stream of BS, havn;t I?

You people shaking your fists at this guy had best clam up and learn a few things about how our laws are supposed to work.

I am a Private Investigator and know Mr. Rombom. I would like to say everyone is innocent until proven guilty. If he committed this crime he should pay for it.

These types of stories give a bad rap for established and ethical PI's. The public should know 99% of PI's are not like this.

I read the .pdf files listing the charges, they DO NOT say he discovered a person in the Witness Protection Program, this seems to be a rumor.

It does say that a Defense Attorney hired a Private Detective (Rambam) to investigate the FBI's confidential informant.

There is a big difference between a person in the Witness Protection Program and an unidentified witness in a case who the prosecution does not wish to publically release his/her name (confidential informant).

Watch the movie "Witness Protection" to get a feel of what's its like, if you screw up.

You people are amazing. You shake your fists and make noise about a police state, and when your voice gets hoarse, you do an about face and start braying about how petty the Bureau is for the timing of the arrest. Your deep-seated anger is obvious, but I encourage some soul-searching about the source of that anger -- I get the impression some of you don't even know yourselves. Let's stay rational, guys. Take a step back from your anger and breathe.

If in fact Rombom / Rambam is guilty of the crimes with which he's charged, the fact that the warrant was executed at a public event should be the least of his concerns. If you don't believe these charges are even possible in light of a person's otherwise spotless 20 year career, I encourage you to pay slightly more attention to the darker side of human nature.

Also, if you're still in a sour mood about the FBI raining on our collective parade, I cheerfully encourage you to get over it. Go buy a pint of Ben 'n Jerry's, or maybe go for a nice little jog, or both. You'll be fine, I promise.

A little perspective: If we shout injustice in the face of legitimate legal action, who will listen when it's genuinely time to cry foul?

Report from the field (I was at the HOPE conference, where this all happened): Rambam was arrested at the end of a day-long seminar with 15 or so people. He was arrested about an hour before his planned panel discussion at the HOPE conference, after he had led the seminar (which was affiliated with HOPE, but a separate conference) from 8:15 am that day. Rumour has it that there were FBI members who attended the seminar incognito, then participated in the arrest.

The timing is definitely a mystery. Maybe they were waiting to see whether he said or did anything incriminating during the seminar (this seems unlikely based on his presentations at prior HOPE conferences, where the emphasis was always on how all of the stuff he does is perfectly legal, even though it can be scary to see how powerful the databases he uses are).

Because Rambam's business operates in Brooklyn, it seems unlikely that the Hotel Pennsylvania and HOPE conference was the only time the feds could find him.

The conference carried on with the rest of the panelists, who were also at the day long seminar. Speculation about what happened was rampant, but it didn't put a damper on things...with over 100 speaker sessions, there was still a lot going on.

Well I read the charges. He is primarily charged with obstruction of justice, Iam not sure where that comes in unless impersonating a federal agent is in there somewhere.

He is charged with tampering with a withness which would refer to his discussion about the CI's character in front of his in-laws. I will await the jury however, if he is guilty then shame on him and he will pay the price. We, all of who are licensed PI's know better than to flash a badge and and ID and say I am any kind of law enforcement officer. Most PI's are law abiding citizens and done carry badges or guns and certainly do not break the laws intentionally. This hurts all of us in this profession. Im sorry that this happened not just for Steve but for all of the law abiding PIs who will take one on the chin for this.

In many cases when it is 'assumed' that a suspect might normally be arrmed (legally or otherwise), an arrest by surprise in a public area, rather than 'at home' or 'at work' or even in one's home state is often the safest.

Even atempting an arrest in a hotel room puts officers/agents in potential danger as there may be weapons readily accessible in the room, that the suspect might not carry with him.

(Then there are folks like me who have legally carried for decades, and whom it would be rare, indeed, to find unarmed. Again, open public spaces under good control and away from direct interference by others are the safest in that instance, too.)

I see nothing wrong with their tactical and strategic planning in this arrest.

Being public, there are also witnesses to there not being any 'brutality' in the action...

Ektomias

Their is a truth behind all this!! Hopefully it will come out and prove Rombam to be NOT GUILTY.Just doing good PI The Informant has a long record and more than one wife.....

The FBI has a history of these sorts of pointed public arrests at hacking related conferences, this isn't that unusual at all. They like "sending messages" that way.

There isn't any other reason for the timing, and there is no excuse beyond making sure they're doing it in front of an interested audience.

This sort of thing is the hacker-con equivilent of a perp-walk...

Gentry,

Did you see the post by Ektomias? I'm just curious. Because when I read your post, it sounds like you haven't. So I'm just taking this opportunity to point it out to you and anybody else who may be confused by the timing. It was made at 9:05PM, and it's two posts above yours. In it, he outlines several very legitimate reasons for the timing of the arrest. You should read it if you can find the time. If after reading his post you're still unable to make sense of it, I'd be happy to assist you with specific points. Feel free to holler at me at hauntedhouse at aol dot com. If any of the words confuse you, or if the sentence structure is difficult to follow, I personally recommend www dot dictionary dot com -- I use it often and it's extremely helpful. Good luck! :)

Charge him with impersonating a federal agent, but that's all he did wrong. There is NO CRIME in sniffing out government informants, as it is a constitutional right to secure one's privacy from even the federal government.

The government has every right to spy on people, when possible, but only when those people leave themselves open to spying. Assisting someone with privacy measures to prevent spying is no harm no foul.

With all the cameras, electronic surveillance and data mining in contemporary America, the witness protection program is a conundrum. For if the program truly works, then how will they ever catch a real terrorist with all that gadgetry planted so conspicuously wherever you go? Have you ever wondered who is watching all those cameras mounted on poles along the highways? How does a protected witness stop data brokers from gathering personal information and tracking patterns? It may be as simple as the Department of Motor Vehicles selling the informant's new ID data to a broker, who then enters it into a system that can be querried by the secretary working at the law offices of the Mafia's Consiliere... you get the picture (and so will they). No need to be a gumshoe knocking at doors and flashing phony badges -- these days, smart PIs do it all from behind their keyboards.

Thank you Estragon!!!
I've been scraping the heck out of
cyberspace for some decent first
person account reporting to go along
with decent but stodgy Washington Post
stuff.
You've balanced it out beautifully.
again, thanks!!!
marco

A few things to point out

"ROMBOM then entered the house. Upon entering, ROMBOM introduced himself to W-1 as a government investigator, quickly flashed what appeared to be an official government identification, and began to question W-1 about the CI. After W-
1 told ROMBOM that he was the step-father of the CI's spouse, ROMBOM told W-1 to call his wife ("W-2") on her cell phone and
tell her to return to the house. W-1 complied. After some time had passed and W-2 had not returned to the house, ROMBOM directed that W-1 again call W-2 and tell her to hurry up. W-1 complied.
When W-2 arrived at the house, ROMBOM introduced himself to her as an "FBI" agent, quickly flashing a wallet
containing what appeared to W-2 to be a laminated card with an official government gold seal or badge."

How would this woman know what an "official badge" looked like? Can you point out the difference between and official badge and a PI's, by looking at it for a brief moment?

Also the FBI agent stated that he got this information through a translator.

"In or about April and June 2006, assisted by a
translator when necessary, I spoke individually with each member
of the California family. From these conversations and my review
of records, I learned, among other things, the following
information"

To me this sounds like it is possible that the translator could have giving a literal interpretation of what the woman said rather than what was actually said.

This sound like Rambam was doing his job, and the FBI got pissed at him for doing it. Remember he was hired by Santoro's lawyer to investigate the Criminal Informant. None of this is about Santoro directly.

I have personally met Steve and he does come across as being ex military with out ever having to say he is or not. It is entirely possible that this guy and his wife were just doing their best to cooperate with Steve.

Montgomery Burns,
"So what if he actually 'did' what he is being accused of?"
"Give him a medal, and a genuine badge!"

You need to read the affidavit for arrest. It states Steve did the following: "unlawfully, wilfully, knowingly and corruptly did influence, obstruct and impede, and did endeavor to influence, obstruct and impede the due administration of justice, to wit, ROMBOM impersonated an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in order to intimidate a Government confidential informant in a pending criminal matter for which a trial is scheduled."

If he is found guilty of these charges, he is looking at a maximum of 5 years in federal prison, and a maximum $5,000 fine, plus legal fees. And you say, so what?

From what I understand, the press was allowed in the courtroom during Rombom's bond hearing (and who are now scrambling for their next follow-up story on Rombom and the informant), I guess the confidential informant was allowed to be named without being called "an un-named confidedntial informant".

If he was in Witness Protection wouldn't the Judge have prohibited the informants name from being revieled in open court for all to hear?

"You people are amazing. You shake your fists and make noise about a police state, and when your voice gets hoarse, you do an about face and start braying about how petty the Bureau is for the timing of the arrest. Your deep-seated anger is obvious, but I encourage some soul-searching about the source of that anger -- I get the impression some of you don't even know yourselves. Let's stay rational, guys. Take a step back from your anger and breathe.
Posted by: Nick McGurke | July 24, 2006 07:43 PM "

i think my anger is from not being hugged very much as a child so i blame the goverment *shakes fist damn joo* >.> lol
p.s. lol nick get of your high horse and come back down to earth (also a good idea for evaryone else too)

As an attendee of the conference I believe that the feds purposly waited until he was at the conferance to publicly arrest him just to bust the "nuggets" of all the hackers in attendance.

There was a very different atmosphere after the arrest people were definatly a little more on edge. Even Emmanual Goldstein who I heard usually is pretty accessable to the attendees was noticably on edge. Even Jello Biafra who Spoke Sunday Afternoon left right after the speech. (this may be becuase he had a busy schedule) but I heard he like to hang out at the conferance after he does his talk. So if the feds wanted to change the mood of the conferance I belive they suceeded.

The judge was so unimpressed with the government's case against Rombom that he let out Rombom with zero bail, and zero travel restrictions.
For information about the person he was investigating, go to: www.whoisjosefmeyers.com.

How remarkable that there are those that feel perfectly comfortable commenting on things that they are so obviously uninformed or misinformed about. i.e. evil hacker nerds, how the FBI operates (poorly), or any given event that they weren't a party to. Boo on misinformation.

Mr Ohm was molested?

Security at HOPE was stepped up considerably following Rambam's arrest. Though it's not likely anyone would notice unless, of course, you were watching security (or part of them).

They had escorts for all the big name speakers all weekend, and I believe one of them even accompanied Jello Biafra to Brooklyn and back following his speech. (Yes, he returned.)

All of the speculation is funny... Steve Rambam is an arrogant, obnoxious, TURD.. But.. That's not illegal..

Is Steve a criminal? YES! Look at the link below, find his Federal Indictments from 1976. Find out about the one murder he facilitated, and the other attempted murder he was involved in.. Just read the link below:

http://web.archive.org/web/20041013035423/www.ukar.org/rambam.html

Ok, Wise Alecs.. I'll concede that there could have very well been a language barrier and Steve Rambam could have been misunderstood during the interviews in question.. But answer me this.. Why did he not record the interview; at least have made an audio recording? Why did he not take a fellow private investigator along as a witness; at least picked up a fellow private investigator in California to assist him, which would have only taken about 2 hours at the most? Why did he not leave a business card with the people he interviewed; at least a piece of peper with his name, business name, and phone number on it? Why did he not check in with the licensing authority for private investigators in California, before he went to California; at least let it be know what he was doing, so it all looked "above board"?

All of these question should be considered.. Because there is nobody with any common sense that could possibly believe that a private investigator with over 20 years of experience would not have at least taken one of the aforementioned precautions to cover his butt, unless he intended to do something or say something that he did not want witnessed, recorded, or lead back to him.

On one side, we can wonder if perhaps the FBI is attempting to deny a citizen his right to vigorously pursue his own defense by intimidating the private investigator that this citizen hired?

On the other side, we can wonder if Steve Rambam may not have pursued his client's defense a little too vigorously, and perhaps crossed the line?

From what I know of Steve Rambam, and I have spoken to him a few times, he probably did at the very least make the people he was interviewing believe that he was a federal agent. And.. That is enough to have him charged, because that would demonstrate an intent to deceive these people into believing that he was a law enforcement officer, which would warrant the charge...

Why am I so opinionated about this? Because I am a licensed private investigator, and I know the correct procedure for interviewing witnesses.. And I know how odd it is to not C.Y.O.B. when interviewing witnesses for the state or the FEDs...

YaJustDontKnow

This guy seems to want to push the limits on everything he does. Maybe he gets a thrill out of flaunting the system. The more I read on him the more he seems to be a slime ball.

Ultimately I think there is a real fine line he walked in this interview. If he doesn't get in trouble for this, I guarantee he will step further over the line next time.

"Why did he not record the interview; at least have made an audio recording?"

How do you know he didn't?

For more info on the person he was investigating, check out:

www.whoisjosefmeyers.com

In Reply to:

"Why did he not record the interview; at least have made an audio recording?"

How do you know he didn't?"

Because if he would have, he would not be in this mess now.... He'd have never been charged...

YaJustDontKnow.

Recording conversations without ALL PARTIES permission in some states is illegal, California is one of those states that DOES NOT allow surreptitious recording of conversations:

from "The First Amendment Handbook" posted on http://www.rcfp.org/handbook/c03p01.html

"Of the 50 states, 38, as well as the District of Columbia, allow you to record a conversation to which you are a party without informing the other parties you are doing so. Federal wiretap statutes also permit one-party-consent recording of telephone conversations in most circumstances. Twelve states forbid the recording of private conversations without the consent of all parties. Those states are California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Washington."

There is a difference between one party and two party state recording laws as they apply to telephone conversations over a wire device, and the reasonable expectation or privacy and how it applies to covertly recording conversation that one is having face to face with a person.

Steve Rambam could have been perfectly within his rights to make an audio recording of the face to face interviews that he conducted with the three members of the family that he did interview..

Even if audio recording was not possible.. Nobody is asking why an investigator of over 20 years, a technical consultant to an author that writes a book series about a private investigator, a world renowned private investigator, "Nazi Hunter", could not think to cover his butt by simply leaving a business card, which would have shown that he had NO intent to mislead anyone into believing he was an FBI Agent....

Let me pose this question while I am at it.. Since Steve Rambam was working for defense council (supposedly), why didn't he just request that defense council depose the government's witness, instead of going out and trying to personally interview him?

Use some common sense people... There is a preponderance of circumstantial evidence that he at the very least acted inappropriately, and more than likely did in fact impersonate a FBI Agent.

YaJustDontKnow

the recording prohibitions of a two party state, everyone part of the conversation must consent to the recording, such as California, extend to face to face conversations also, they are not limited to telephone conversatons.

LEGAL QUESTIONS:

I have not been able to locate a reliable answer to this question, maybe someone online knows the more about it...

The Court and the Press were apparently notified earlier this week at the hearing, that Rombom discovered that the witness involved in this case is married to his second wife in New York but at the same time he is still legally married to his first wife in Michigan, where the authorities are looking to talk to him for being what I believed is called a "dead-beat dad", owing years back child support from when he abandonned his family years ago...

My question is this, what state, Michigan or New York, would have the authority for pursuing bigomy charges against the witness/husband with two wives and two families?

I don't think the U.S. Authorities have no jurisdiction in bigomy and child support matters, but don't they have an obligation to cooperate with the State Authorities when their witness is involved in this type of crime?

i agree that if u get caught doing something ilegal you must answer for your actions. but why wait for HOPE?

that's unfair to the rest of the ppl that were there many of who mainly for the security and privacy speech that he was going to do

i agree that if u get caught doing something ilegal you must answer for your actions. but why wait for HOPE?

that's unfair to the rest of the ppl that were there many of who mainly for the security and privacy speech that he was going to do

People have no clue what hackers are. The fear perpetrated in these comments so apparent. Obviously, the FBI wanted to stage the arrest to scare hackers. People thought it was funny and most of the gossip at the convention indicated that the PI got arrested at the PI conference on another floor. So the FBI tactic got watered down by a bad game of telephone.

RE: the interview.
Obviously, there was a language barrier in the contact which (when clarified) will show he was just a PI looking for someone. I don't agree with the statements of fear the PI added to his interview, assuming this was even said.

Instead holding an arrignment on Monday, it looks like the charges were withdrawn against Rombom (according to the court docket), once again, my gripe with the media is that whenever someone is arrested it is always such a public and newsworthy event, but when the charges are dismissed, withdrawn or the person is found not guilty, it never makes the news.

Rombom/Rambam recently sued Stephen Joseph Jared aka "Joe Jared", a self-proclaimed anarchist & vigilante anti-spammer. Jared was hit with a California State Franchise Tax Lien on 10-20-05, ONE MONTH after Rambam's appeal- Docket # 2005-00843018 "Jared, Stephen J" County of Orange Recorders Office (Grantor/Grantee Search) - available online. Hmmm, interesting timing. Jared's also paying off $30K in legal defense bills & had to move to Ohio by the following summer of 2006, because he could no longer afford to live in the house he was renting in California. Well, it seems that Rambam gets his man, one way or another. Jared, on the other hand, appears to be left worse off than he started - still with an axe to grind & now in a whole lot more debt. Doesn't anyone wonder why we haven't heard anything about Rambam's appeal? I suspect he KNOWS Jared has a Tax Lien & is in debt. Why hasn't Jared mentioned word one about the appeal? It's been nearly a year now. What's up with that!

These are the facts on Rombom.In 1976 he was arrested and convicted by the FBI for a series of 20 bombings and terrorist shootings. He was arrested and during the trial it came out he had spent 6 years of his childhood in and out on various mental institutions.

Also he is still on federal charges for impersonating an FBI agent, the case was moved to California.In fact during his recent arrest at a bail hearing it came out he has no real offices, his company is a " PO BOX" and he is a one man band,no employees.Because of his lies that he was caught at, the NYPD revoked his gun permit last week .

Now, why did somone who has a conviction on bombing charges manage to get a PI license ?

A person with that serious record should
never be given a PI license !

I know Steve Rombom since the early 1980's. I got documents on him that were supposed to be sealed. Check them out at http://jdo.org/rombom

Joe Jared aka Stephen Joseph Jared - Tax Lien in California 2005 / History of Psychiatric Hospitalizations - he publicly claims a diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder, Alcoholism & Drug Use via the World Wide Web - no way to positively verify that part of background check. Can't imagine why anyone would make that up though.

Arrest Record / Multiple Marriages and/or Co-Habitations in Arizona, California, Nevada, Ohio - Two verified marriages at least - one verified divorce in 1998 - Cheryl Bonner / at least 3 Co-habitations (according to customers & computer-enthusiast "friends" of his). Worked for Michael Grumbine in Santa Fe Springs, CA as Orthotics Apprentice. Did not sign a non-competition agreement & essentially stole family-owned customer base out from under him - Grumbine's business basically crumbled / this is according to several of Jared's current not-so-happy customer's!

His OSIRUSOFT business is a "One-Man Operation" - run out of whatever apartment or house he's renting at the time / sporadically uses a P.O. Box or alternate address to receive mail / uses various aliases relative to anti-spam activism / affiliated with Wicca in past - practice of Witchcraft - according to his very own previous internet postings.

Orthotic industry contacts, estranged NANAE anti-spam activists & estranged BBS folks all eager to give up vital information re: Jared's personal life / Evicted from rental in California / burns bridges all along the way & generally pisses people off.

It sounds like Joe Jared and Steven Rambam aka Steven Rombom have alot in common!

It's hard to tell who's in the wrong anymore. Time will tell.

Rambam operates within the Judicial System, despite a heart-breaking childhood. Joe Jared (a sociopath) created anti-social blacklists that directed law-abiding people and businesses, whom he blocked through his own software, to turn to an anonymous and unreliable Google Group - NANAE, for help in order to be removed from the blacklists.

It's called ...

"Power Without Accountability".

He gave the blacklists the same name as his small business, which gave the unheard of high school drop-out broad and instant exposure over the internet. It's called free advertising.

He's a criminal and a manipulator of both people and situations. He remained unaccountable for his destructive actions. He hid his name for as long as he could get away with it and he continues to hide behind mirrors, aliases and fraudulent business practices.

He is a destructive and violent coward.

Did Joe Jared pay off Rambam and his PI Firm, Pallorium, to settle things out of court? I'd bet money on it.

Neither side is talking yet they BOTH LOVE the spotlight!! No attorneys are making statements. Something is just not right here.

A case that began in October 2003, gets to continue on until September 2006 OR LATER? I've heard of murder trials reaching decisions sooner than that- LMAO!

I really doubt the case is still going on. Joe Jared and his attorney haven't produced ANY further documents or information on their respective websites. Donation efforts appear to have all but ceased.

I wonder if Steve Rambam uncovered something that motivated Joe Jared's silence?

The following post was copied and pasted from Google Groups-NANAE.

From: Joe Jared - view profile
Date: Sat, Oct 1 2005 12:00 am
Email: Joe Jared
Groups: news.admin.net-abuse.email
"They've decided to appeal the ruling"

Copied & Pasted from - Google Groups:

WRITTEN ABOUT EVENTS THAT OCCURRED IN 2003 AT THE TIME PALLORIUM SUED MR. JOSEPH JARED FOR HIS IRRESPONSIBLE BEHAVIORS ON-LINE!!!

GROUPS: Sci/Psychology - Written by Mr. Joe Jared aka Stephen Joseph Jared - moved to Columbus Ohio in Summer 2006 / formerly of Orange, California / born & raised in Riverside, California

" ... Early sobriety was another story. For the first year, [during 2003] half of my network was undergoing a sustained ddos attack, and was rendered useless.

My first 78 days was pure hell. On Day 78, the alpha tweeker who I was evicting formally was arrested, [one of his MANY ex's] and eviction was completed while she was in jail. After that, and one by one, I kicked the other tweekers out. I learned the hard way that when you let one tweeker in, you let at least eight in. She's in prison now, and at least 2 are dead. That's the nature of
addiction to crystal meth. To define the characteristics of the use of
crystal meth, simply look at someone with bipolar I disorder. Meth is a
distilled form of mental illness".

Mr. Jared - MANY PEOPLE go an entire life time without affiliating with criminals &/or drug addicts. Many people seek treatment without harming others. How have YOU made ammends to Pallorium?!?!!!

.
Below is the actual charge on Rombom.This is not his first arrest-conviction either.He was convicted of bombing charges in 1976

Approved:

________________________________

MARCIA ISAACSON/STEVEN D. FELDMAN

Assistant United States Attorneys Before:

HONORABLE THEODORE H. KATZ

United States Magistrate Judge

Southern District of New York

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - x

COMPLAINT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA : Violation of -v.- : 18 U.S.C. §§ 1503 & 2 STEVEN ROMBOM, : a/k/a "Steven Rambam,"

COUNTY OF OFFENSE: : NEW YORK COUNTY

Defendant.
:
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - x
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK, ss.:

THEODORE V. CACIOPPI, being duly sworn, deposes and says that he is a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and charges as follows: COUNT ONE

1. In or about April 2006, in the Southern District of New York and elsewhere, STEVEN ROMBOM, a/k/a "Steven Rambam," the defendant, unlawfully, wilfully, knowingly and corruptly did influence, obstruct and impede, and did endeavor to influence, obstruct and impede the due administration of justice, to wit, ROMBOM impersonated an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in order to intimidate a Government confidential informant in a pending criminal matter for which a trial is scheduled. (Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1503 and 2.)

The bases for my knowledge and for the foregoing charge are, in part, as follows:

2. I am a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI"), and I have been personally involved in the investigation of this matter. This affidavit is based upon my conversations with other law-enforcement agents and others, and my examination of reports and records.

Because this affidavit is being submitted for the limited purpose of establishing probable cause, it does not include all the facts that I have learned during the course of my investigation. Where the contents of documents and the actions, statements and conversations of others are reported herein, they are reported in substance and in part, except where otherwise indicated.

3. Based on my conversations with other agents of the FBI as well as my review of records, I have learned the following:

a. In or about January 2003, a grand jury sitting in the Southern District of New York returned a one count indictment against Albert Santoro, charging him with one count of money laundering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1956(a)(3)(B). Trial in United States v. Santoro, 03 Cr. 484 (TPG) is currently scheduled for August 28, 2006.

b. The indictment was the result of an undercover investigation

that relied, in part, on information that a confidential informant ("CI") provided to the FBI. c. In correspondence and in court proceedings, Santoro's counsel has represented that Santoro's defense centers on the actions of the CI, including the allegation that the CI entrapped Santoro.

d. Santoro, through his attorney, hired Pallorium Inc., a private investigative company whose senior director is STEVEN ROMBOM, a/k/a "STEVEN RAMBAM," the defendant, to investigate the CI.

e. According to Pallorium's website, it has offices and affiliates worldwide.

4. Based on my conversations with the CI, I know that the CI is married. His spouse's mother, step-father and step-sister reside in Rosemead, California. ("The California family.")

5. In or about April and June 2006, assisted by a translator when necessary, I spoke individually with each member of the California family. From these conversations and my review of records, I learned, among other things, the following information:

a. On or about April 21, 2006, ROMBOM went to the California family's house. One of the California family members ("W-1") informed me that he saw ROMBOM exit a mid-sized sedan, which was gold in color, and approach the door to the house. When W-1 answered the door, ROMBOM asked if the CI was present at the house. W-1 told ROMBOM that the CI was not there.

b. ROMBOM then entered the house. Upon entering, ROMBOM introduced himself to W-1 as a government investigator, quickly flashed what appeared to be an official government identification, and began to question W-1 about the CI. After W- 1 told ROMBOM that he was the step-father of the CI's spouse, ROMBOM told W-1 to call his wife ("W-2") on her cell phone and tell her to return to the house. W-1 complied. After some time had passed and W-2 had not returned to the house, ROMBOM directed that W-1 again call W-2 and tell her to hurry up. W-1 complied.

c. When W-2 arrived at the house, ROMBOM introduced himself to her as an "FBI" agent, quickly flashing a wallet containing what appeared to W-2 to be a laminated card with an
official government gold seal or badge.

d. ROMBOM told W-2 that he was investigating the CI and needed to ask W-2 questions about the CI. ROMBOM told W-2 in substance that the CI was a very bad and dangerous person and that there were many things about the CI that W-2 did not know, including that the CI had been in jail many times. ROMBOM showed W-2 what appeared to be a mug shot of the CI.

e. ROMBOM also showed W-2 some black and white photographs that appeared to have been taken recently of the CI and the CI's spouse (W-2's daughter.) W-2 indicated that the photographs appeared to have been taken through the front windows of the CI's apartment in New York, New York. ROMBOM told W-2 that he did not take the photographs personally but had a team of people in New York City who had taken the photographs.

f. ROMBOM also told W-2 information that he knew about the CI and W-2's daughter, including the names of the CI's children (W-2's grandchildren) and where W-2's daughter had gone to high school.

g. ROMBOM told W-2 that her daughter was in danger because of the CI and that ROMBOM was afraid for the safety of W- 2's daughter.

h. ROMBOM repeatedly demanded that W-2 provide him with photographs of the CI and any correspondence to or from the CI. ROMBOM also questioned W-2 about where and how the CI worked.

i. While ROMBOM was questioning W-1 and W-2, the daughter of W-1 and W-2 ("W-3") came home. W-3 informed me that ROMBOM quickly opened and closed a wallet containing what appeared to be an official government identification card and began to ask W-3 questions. According to W-3, ROMBOM stated in substance that the CI was a very bad and dangerous person who had been in jail many times.

j. When ROMBOM left, he did not leave behind any business card or other materials, nor did he leave the California family with any way to contact him.

6. I have reviewed a court transcript that reflects that, at a court proceeding in United States v. Albert Santoro, a lawyer for ROMBOM informed the court that it was ROMBOM who went to the house of the California family.

7. I have reviewed records from a car rental agency that reflect that ROMBOM rented a vehicle on or about April 21, 2006 in the vicinity of the Los Angeles, California International Airport ("LAX"). Rosemead, where the California family lives, is approximately 31 miles from LAX. The records reflect that the car was a Buick LaCrosse, and was gold in color. WHEREFORE, deponent prays that a warrant be issued for STEVEN ROMBOM, a/k/a "Steven Rambam," the above-named defendant, and that he be arrested and imprisoned, or bailed, as the case may be.

______________________________

SHOW US JOE JARED'S RAP SHEET, psych records, high school records .. oh yeah, he dropped out of high school in Riverside, California ...

The MAN who started OSIRUSOFT is a HIGH SCHOOL DROP-OUT with a police record and a psychiatric history! This is the guy who CREATED the blacklists that filtered email WORLD-WIDE. Then he blacklisted everyone, all at once. Google it.

Everyone got so caught up in the issues of "To SPAM or Not to SPAM", they forgot to question the credibility AND CREDENTIALS of those ACTIVELY taking issue!!

EVEN POLICE ARE BOUND BY THE LAW.

JOE JARED TOOK THE LAW INTO HIS OWN HANDS. NO ONE EVEN BACKGROUND-CHECKED HIM BEFORE THEY STARTED USING HIS LISTS!!!! The stupidity of that is astounding AND VERY FRIGHTENING. They all followed him like blind sheep.

HE DOESN'T EVEN HAVE BASIC MEDICAL TRAINING IN ORTHOTICS, his chosen field - NO HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA REMEMBER? - HELLO!!

Like him or not, Rambam figured Joe Jared out AND he did something about it. People in both worlds have taken notice - Spammers and Anti-Spammers alike.

Now, Rombom was concicted of a slew of bombing attacks in 1976 and pled guilty. Read it on Pacer, and it lists his 1976 bombing conviction. (he plead guilty.

Also Rombom is still being chatrged by US Attorney Elizabeth Carpenter out of Los Angeles. The scurrent impersonationg an FBI agent was not dropped but moved .

So with Rombom having a bombing conviction in 1976 how does he get a PI license ?

Anyone know ?

JOE JARED aka "NOSTRADAMUS" - Strange but true .. he uses variations of this nickname in Google Groups and in antispam circles.

This appears to be why Joe Jared was hit with a CA State Income Tax Lien

JOE JARED OPERATING OSIRUSOFT RESEARCH & ENGINEERING WITHOUT A BUSINESS LICENSE IN CA, as evidenced by this Public Record On-Line at:

OCGOV.COM Clerk-Recorders Office

OSIRUSOFT RESEARCH & ENGINEERING
1 20006825551
03/10/2000 [Started] - 03/10/2005 [Expired]
JARED STEPHEN FBN YES

The SAME website reflects a CA Tax Lien for Stephen J. Jared 10-20-05 AND no other business licenses registered under his name.

Joe Jared fled to Columbus,Ohio in late June 2006, WHERE he has received LARGE CONTRIBUTIONS in the past from anti-spammers - as reflected by his "donations list" on HIS OWN VERY OWN website!

The only property he has, comes from the income he generates each month as a result of processing orthotic orders via the internet & by racking up modest royalties as a result of production (according to his clients). Recall that Joe Jared resides AND works out of whatever residential property he RENTS. He has a ton of previous addresses & at least one recent eviction.

Recall that March 2005 was during the heat of battle between Rambam and Jared. I'm guessing that this was some primitive attempt to hide & protect assetts - an act that not only back-fired, but cost Jared his reputation, his credibility, his credit history and the shirt off his back. It leaves you wondering, is this really about the spam?

Why Ohio?? Anti-Spammers??

SPEWS.ORG d/b/a THE HERMES GROUP; SPAMHAUS.ORG d/b/a THE SPAMHAUS PROJECT; CSL GMBH JOKER.COM; STEVE LINFORD; ALAN MURPHY; SUSAN WILSON a/k/a SUSAN GUNN a/k/a SHIKSAA; STEVEN J. SOBOL; CLIFTON T. SHARP; RICHARD C. TIETJENS a/k/a MORLEY DOTES; ADAM BROWER; and STEPHEN JOSEPH JARED a/k/a JOE JARED,
...
Plaintiff, EMARKETERSAMERICA.ORG, INC., a Florida Non Profit Corporation, by and through its undersigned Counsel, hereby files its Complaint for Equitable and Legal Relief and Demand for Jury Trial against Defendants, SPEWS.ORG d/b/a THE HERMES GROUP; SPAMHAUS.ORG d/b/a THE SPAMHAUS PROJECT; CSL GMBH JOKER.COM; STEVE LINFORD; JULIAN LINFORD; ALAN MURPHY; SUSAN WILSON a/k/a SUSAN GUNN a/k/a SHIKSAA; STEVEN J. SOBOL; CLIFTON T. SHARP; RICHARD C. TIETJENS a/k/a MORLEY DOTES; ADAM BROWER; ADAM BROWER; and STEPHEN JOSEPH JARED a/k/a JOE JARED, jointly and severally, and as grounds therefore alleges as follows:
...
10. Defendant, CLIFTON T. SHARP (hereinafter referred to as "SHARP") is an individual and is believed to be a resident and domiciliary of the State of Ohio. SHARP is sui juris before this court. Plaintiff is informed and believes that SHARP is an officer, director and principal of SPAMHAUS and SPEWS.

BRIAN KREBS -

Will you do a Follow-up Story on the
- - - Pallorium vs. Jared Case - - -
"Spam, The Nazi Hunter and Citizen Joe"??
Joe Jared
"Blacklisted the World"
In 2003

The WashingtonPost covered the Story -

It was International News!

Then, it became International News when Pallorium filed a lawsuit against Osirusoft & Joe Jared. Up-to-date information has recently surfaced on this blog (for the first time in nearly a year) and references to public info. exposing Jared's recent actions are here now, too - but NOT ONE PROFESSIONAL ARTICLE on the whole subject has surfaced to serve as follow-up to the International technology-related security events.

RAMBAM haters are surfacing on this blog who seem to have an agenda other than "Computer Security".. what this blog is all about.. and are starting to use the blog as a forum for personal agendas.

Could you simply PLEASE WRITE US A FOLLOW-UP ARTICLE to the Pallorium vs. Jared story?! We know that Pallorium filed an appeal in September 2005 - some info. is posted on Jared's OSIRUSOFT website. What ever happened??

Is Joe Jared, Osirusoft serving time in prison for not paying taxes? It's very uncharacteristic for him to stop posting online for this long.

RAMBAM CATCHES JOE JARED '06- NO BUSINESS LICENSE, RUNS TO OHIO!

I work for an orthotics company. We use Joe Jared's system. He seems like a nice fellow to me. There's a lot of absurd information on the net about him and I suspect it was posted by spammers or litigants in some of his legal cases. I really don't see him as being a "psychopath" or any of the other derogatory things people have called him.

JOE JARED NO BUSINESS LICENSE OSIRUSOFT + TAX LIEN CA FRANCHISE STATE TAX BOARD

LOOK IT UP & MAKE UP YOUR OWN MIND

JOE JARED OPERATING OSIRUSOFT RESEARCH & ENGINEERING WITHOUT A BUSINESS LICENSE IN CA

Public Records On-Line at:

OCGOV.COM Clerk-Recorders Office
Fictitious Business Name Search

OSIRUSOFT RESEARCH & ENGINEERING
1 20006825551
03/10/2000 [Started] - 03/10/2005 [Expired]
JARED STEPHEN FBN YES

Nothing Under Wife- Amy Sue Jared or Amy Hurley-Jared or under Ex-Wife- Cheryl Ann Bonner or Cheryl Jared or Cheryl Bonner-Jared

Tax Lien 10-20-05 Grantee/Grantor Search
Jared, Stephen J.

Never heard of Mr. Jared or his Osirusoft business. If true, then why so many litigants, lawsuits and enemies? Sounds like a person who generates unnecessary drama. Never heard this much bickering over Dr. Scholl's business practices.

So what did ever happened to Rambam, anyone know the status of the case?

Rambam vs JOE JARED 2006 aka "Patlies" OSIRUSOFT Ohio, tax lien ca

"...The profile of a recently joined contributor, who writes as 'patlies'..."
End quote from Useless Knowledge Website - 2006 A reference to Joe Jared Osirusoft, while responding to ...

Amy Sue Jareds Ex-Husband, Pat Hurley 2006 Famous Author of one of the latest easy-to-read Computers-for-Dummies books.

Joe Jared's IDENTITY was EXPOSED as he had to REGISTER in order to respond to Mr. Hurley.

Joe Jared is rumored to be posting in Google Groups under ALIAS "Etaoin Shrdlu"... if unscrambled - Translates to "Doesn't Hu Liar"... is the "Hu" short for HURLEY?? 2006

AMY SUE HURLEY san diego, ca & JOE JARED riverside, ca - shared pics of their September 2004 Wedding with the World, via the Internet. The lovely couple celebrated their Second Anniversary this month of September 2006 in real life in Ohio.

http://irc.oretek.com/images/20040913/dcim/100msdcf/

How do you even know she's still with the guy? Maybe Amy found a way out.

Rambam & Stephen Joe Jared Oct 04, 2006
UPDATE Osirusoft OreTek ORTHOTICS 2006
NOT LISTED AT BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU 2006
NOTHING in Ohio or CA USA Oct 04, 2006
No Business License 2005/6 in CA USA