Harris County Authorization Letter: Fill & Download for Free

He sits there in a daze all day in a tiny cell, sometimes staring out the tiny hole in the wall, the only window to the outside world. He spends his days daydreaming, sometimes planning outlandish but ingenious schemes. Anything to take his mind off the 144-year sentence he’s serving.He spends 23 hours a day in total isolation, only getting out for an hour a day. The state of Texas wasn’t taking any chances with this inmate and they certainly weren't going to be fooled by him again.For the first few decades of Steven Russell's life, he might have been considered an upstanding businessman. He lived in the Tidewater region of Virginia and worked in his father's produce-wholesaling business in Norfolk. He had friends in law enforcement and his uncle was a retired district attorney. So, when Steven was arrested in 1990 for stealing $11,000 from a Jewellers, it probably came as a surprise to a few.Whether it was a strange reaction to a mid-life crisis, or maybe it was just his first time getting caught, this crime was a turning point in Steve’s life. While waiting for the outcome of his court case he left his wife and moved to Houston and quickly started racking up fraud charges.The Charges ranged from making false claims on a passport to insurance fraud. He was eventually sentenced to 6 months in prison. For most con artists 6 months would be considered a slap on the wrist, but for Steven, he considered it a joke. He didn’t plan on staying very long and decided he was going to just walk out the prison doors and the guards were going to let him.Steven managed to get a hold of some civilian clothes and a walkie-talkie. Dressed as a workman he tapped on the window of the guard station and the officer on duty opened the door and Russell walked to freedom.His new adventure as a fugitive from the law was short-lived and he was caught three days later boarding a flight to Mexico. The judge set his bail at $20,000, but somehow, he managed to post it and he went on the lam again. This time, freedom for Russell lasted a bit longer, and he managed to elude the police for another two and a half years. He claims that during this time he worked in Chicago as an executive for Nutra Sweet until he was arrested with another man in 1994 on Federal bank fraud charges.According to the indictment, when Russell went to work for Nutra Sweet, he used his friend James Kemple's birthdate and Social Security number to obtain insurance through the company. His friend James was dying of Aids and used his medical records to get an advanced payment of $200,000. They were caught as the money was being wired to them from the insurance company.After the arrest, a company called Medical Diagnostic Centre of Philadelphia sent a letter to the court. A Dr. Richard Kone wrote that Russelll had been diagnosed with AIDS in 1990: "It is with great sadness I tell you, Mr. Russelll is in the final stages of his illness and will soon succumb to it within the next months." Since the money from the insurance scam was returned and the fact, he didn’t have long to live they decided to drop the case and extradite him to Houston. He was never dying and the whole thing was fabricated.On his return to Houston, he was given a 3-year prison sentence for his previous escape attempt. Feeling a bit more subdued at the time and the fact he was only going to serve a year and a half, he decided to stay, but the real reason for his change of attitude was, in his words, “Love.”It was in the law library of the Harris County Jail when he first set eyes on Phillip Morris. Morris, a blond, bony petty criminal, was trying to reach a book on a high shelf when Russell intervened and got it for him. It was love at first sight and the two of them began writing to each other every day.Their romance soon blossomed, and Russell got more obsessed and protective over Morris, eventually managing to get transferred to Phillip’s cellblock. Russell had started off the relationship with a few white lies, telling Phillip he worked as an attorney and he was only in prison because he refused to rat on the Mafia. Russell always seemed to have access to large amounts of cash and hired an attorney for Morris and put money in his commissary account. Morris was all too happy to sit under the protective wing of Russell and not question anything. He even paid people to beat up a guy who was keeping Morris awake at night with his incessant screaming. Although this didn’t turn out well for the pair and the prison authorities had them separated. Apart from a 72-hour prison van Journey together, they wouldn’t see each other again until they were both free.Russell was paroled in 1995 and began setting up a life for himself and Morris. The young Morris was soon paroled and they both ended up sharing a two-bedroom apartment in Clear Lake Houston. Russell had decided he was going to give Phillip everything he wanted. He continued with the lie that he was an attorney and even defended friends in personal civil cases. He wrote an impressive C.V. with an outstanding education and work background, none of it true. He took his C.V. to a headhunting firm that didn’t even bother checking his background and in January 1996, he was hired as the Chief Financial officer of North American Medical Management.The Job came with a $90,000 a year salary but still didn’t seem enough for the high living pair of ex-cons. They bought and moved into a patio home on Burwood Way in Clear Lake. Spent hundreds and thousands doing it up. They both drove around in expensive cars bought and wore high-end clothes and Jewellery. Even with a $90,000 salary, it was still hard to explain where all the money was coming from.Russell’s criminal genius saw no bounds and he managed to get Morris and another friend of his on the company’s payroll. After 5 months of working at NAMM, he stole over a Million Dollars, and when he wasn’t stealing, he did a pretty good job as a financial manager, according to company sources. By now the jig was up and Russell left the company. Russell hoped that the company would be too embarrassed to prosecute, but unfortunately for Steven, they quickly began filling fraud charges against him. Russell tried to control the damage by making a series of bizarre phone calls pretending to be a Judge. Eventually, he was tracked down to his address and arrested.When he was arrested, he was already thinking ahead and planning his next escape. He told the officers he was diabetic and needed an insulin shot, not true of course, and when the cops were questioning him at the station, he went into Insulin shock and was rushed to the hospital, but unfortunately for Russell, the security at the hospital was too tight, and he couldn’t escape.Russell was a criminal mastermind and continued to manipulate the Jail system from behind bars. He managed to get his bail slashed from $900,000 to $45,000 through a series of bogus calls he made using collect-call from the prison phone. He then managed to get a rookie Bail Bondsman to post his bail with a check that later bounced. He even got the Bails Bondsman to drive him from the prison to his house, stopping on the way to buy him a soft drink.On the lam again he persuaded Morris to Jump bail and meet him at the bus station so they could flee to Florida. It wasn’t meant to be for Russell and his lover, and he was arrested before he got the chance to see him again.After his arrest, the authorities made every precaution to prevent him from escaping, but as soon as he was arrested, he was already putting plans in motion. As soon as he got to state prison, he put his plans to work. He tried to blend in with a work crew, fixing elevators in the prison, but he was quickly rumbled. He wasn’t dismayed and managed to get hold of a green felt-tip-marker that he soaked in the water allowing him to dye his clothes green to look like surgical scrubs.He donned the scrubs and walked up to one of the officers on duty, thinking he was the prison doctor she opened the door for him, allowing him to walk free. He soon met up with Morris and they finally managed to get to Florida. They somehow managed to elude the police for some time while working in Florida. While there he did what he did best and conned people out of their hard-earned cash. It didn’t take people long to realize who Russell was and after a tip-off, led police to Russell, he and Morris were soon behind bars.In total, for his crimes, he was given 144 years in prison. He sits in Maximum security Prison, under strict conditions, where he gets periodically moved from cells to prevent him from escaping. He’s 15 years into his sentence with his last parole hearing being denied. He was asked recently if he ever plans on leaving prison early. “I do, when the Parole board says I can,” he says with a cat-like smile.

As a service to Veterans and their families, The Law Office of Robert B. Goss, P.C. is pleased to present the following information about specialty license plates for Texas Veterans and their families.Advantages of a “Disabled Veteran” (DV) & Certain Military Specialty License PlatesTxTag toll waiver for Veterans with a Texas DV, Purple Heart, or Legion of Valor (Air Force Cross, Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross) specialty license plateFee waivers on other tolling agencies in Texas, including Harris County Toll Road Authority’s EZ-Tag (once you register the EZ-Tag pass/license with EZ-Tag)DV, Purple Heart, and Meritorious Service Medal recipients are also eligible for parking-fee exemptions in certain instances.Qualifying Veterans pay only $3 for their Disabled Veteran (DV) or Purple Heart license plate, and nothing for a Legion of Valor license plate. TxDOT has other categories of free or significantly discounted license plates for Texas Veterans as well as for their surviving spouses and family members.Eligibility Requirements for a Texas “Disabled Veteran” License Plate50% service-connected disability, certified by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) OR40% service-connected disability due to amputation of a lower extremity, certified by VA ANDHave been honorably discharged.Eligibility Requirements for a Texas Purple Heart or Legion of Valor Recipient License PlateRecipient of the Purple HeartRecipient of Legion of Valor (Air Force Cross, Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross)How to ApplyComplete Texas Department of Motor Vehicles Form VTR-615.You will need either a Certified Letter from VA (certifying your disability percentage) ORHave a VA representative sign and certify your qualifications directly on the Form VTR-615.(For Purple Heart or Legion of Valor) – Check the appropriate box identifying your medal type. Provide proof, such as your DD-214, that you are the recipient of the medal indicated.TxTAG InformationYou DO NOT need a TxTag to be eligible for TxTag’s toll-waiver program. If your vehicle has the Texas DV, Purple Heart, or Legion of Valor specialty license plate, TxTag automatically knows that information.The TxTag toll waiver is good on many – BUT NOT ALL – TxTag toll roads.Eligible TxTag toll roads in the Austin area are:Loop 1, SH45 North, SH 45 Southeast, and SH 130 (Segments 1-4) from I-35, north of Georgetown to US 183 south of AustinOther eligible TxTag toll roads are:Camino Colombia toll road, which is SH 255 near Laredo andThe Grand Parkway (SH 99 Segments E and I-2)EZ TAG (Harris County Toll Road Authority) InformationToll waiver for vehicles registered with the State of Texas and displaying any of the following qualifying specialty license plates:Disabled VeteranPurple HeartMedal of HonorLegion of ValorIf you have one of these plates, you DO NOT need an EZ TAG. However, if you do not have an EZ TAG, you must use the “EZ TAG-Only” lanes. Otherwise, you will have to pay – cash – in the other lanes.If, for some reason, you receive a toll bill when you were driving with your valid, qualifying specialty license plate, you can contact the EZ TAG offices to get the matter resolved.It is difficult to keep up with all the discounts, advantages, and requirements associated with benefits for Veterans. As a Veteran with advanced degrees in both Health Law and Intellectual Property & Information Law, Robert B. Goss has created a legal team dedicated to supporting and representing U.S. Veterans and their families.The Law Office of Robert B. Goss, P.C. is dedicated to serving Veterans and their families. Don’t miss out on benefits!

(Caution: the answer below is unfortunately graphic)I can't tell you from personal experience, as I meet neither requirement, but I did some research, since there are plenty of articles about it online, and, barring a transgender inmate posting an answer, that's probably the closest we're likely to get. The answer, unsurprisingly, is that it's bad, and that there's a lot we could do to fix it.For a first hand account, go here (this discusses what it's like to be placed in solitary for one's own protection): Voices from Solitary: Cruel and Unusual Punishment for Transgender WomenIt does not, however, describe why she was put in solitary, and what she needed protection from.Here's what's happening:Over the past several months, Solitary Watch has been in contact with seven transgender women currently or formerly incarcerated in New York’s men’s correctional facilities. They each described enduring long-term solitary confinement as a result of identifying or being perceived as female/feminine instead of male, the sex they were assigned at birth. And about half of the transwomen interviewed by Solitary Watch specifically disclosed being sexually assaulted by guards in isolation, and described the psychological distress of enduring such brutality while locked up alone. (Transgender Women in New York State Prisons Face Solitary Confinement and Sexual Assault)Prison guards have chastised Olvera for acting too feminine, looking in the mirror and posingVogue-style for photos. Disciplinary records say one guard called her “bitch” and “that thing” and refused to hand her mail, instead flinging it at her in front of other inmates. She says most inmates accept her, but some call her “tramp” or murmur, “It calls itself Kristina.” (Kristina Olvera Says She is a Woman. The Prison System Says He is a Man.)Geri, 48, a German-born transwoman who asked that her last name be withheld, is twenty years into a twenty-five year sentence for second-degree manslaughter. In series of letters to Solitary Watch, she described how she spent the first 17 years of her sentence in the closet–until one day, when three gang members assaulted her. She wrote:“[W]hile I fought, I was quickly beaten to shower floor. Cold, hard, wet–slippery. Kicked and incapacitated. So fast, with kaleidoscope of images and thought swirl in my overwhelmed mind.” She goes on to describe the rape in detail. (Transgender Women in New York State Prisons Face Solitary Confinement and Sexual Assault)At first Gonzales was placed at the front of the tier. Then, one night, a CO moved her to a cell at the very end of the corridor, out of sight from the bubble where other guards would stand watch. A few nights later, the same guard returned and informed her he would be searching her cell, ordering her to stand in front of her bed and strip. Then, the CO came towards her.“I remember, he punched me so hard in my ribs, that I could barely breathe… he hit me so hard that I grabbed myself on the bed and that’s when he came behind me and he was grabbing me, choking me and hitting me, pinning me down… there was a point I couldn’t even move.”“He made me give him oral sex and he turned me around and that’s when he attacked me sexually – he raped me and this went on for a few weeks.”Gonzales also told Solitary Watch that she never received medical attention. “When I tried to complain to the captain he told me that I was lying. So I had to endure that for a long period of time when I was in the box.(Transgender Women in New York State Prisons Face Solitary Confinement and Sexual Assault)But after Saldana had the audacity to file a complaint about being being forced into oral sex with a corrections officer, prison officials listened into Saldana's phone conversations with her mother and learned that she is transgender.She was immediately transferred to a men's prison and the investigation is apparently in jeopardy. Lorenzo North, president of the union representing corrections officers, asserted that the fact that Saldana is transgender proves that the accused officer is innocent. As if being transgender means that one cannot be forced into oral sex.Corrections officials have quickly closed ranks, and a source close to the prison system, who asked not to be identified, asserted that Saldana tallied at least two infractions for fighting with other inmates, although the story does not indicate whether "fighting" includes physical force or injuries.The accused officer was transferred to another prison after Saldana's recent complaint. "I'm trying to get him back to RCF [Riverside] as soon as possible, because he didn't do anything wrong," North said.The actions and statements of the officers in the story would seem to give rise to an inference of retaliation against a sexual assault victim. Given the discrimination often experienced by transgender inmates, that is not a far-fetched inference, but we will have to await more details before forming a conclusion. (Trans Inmate Transferred From Female to Male Prison)So things are clearly horrible. The big question is what should be done:(Remember, this is a bureaucratic system, so change unfortunately happens extremely slowly)The settlement with inmate Linda P. Thompson has forced corrections officials to spell out the steps they will take to identify and assess each inmate who might be transgender. For example, inmates might be allowed different underwear and to shower separately from other inmates.“Everyone doesn’t fit into a nice, neat box,” says Heidi Steward, superintendent of Coffee Creek Correctional Facility and lead author of the new policy. “Years ago we said, ‘If you were born a male, you’re placed in a male institution. Figure out how to live.’ We moved away from that model quite a while ago.”(Kristina Olvera Says She is a Woman. The Prison System Says He is a Man.)A federal judge in Wisconsin in 2011 ordered the state’s prison system to provide treatment to transgender inmates deemed necessary by medical experts. Federal judges in Massachusetts in 2011 and this year went further, saying the state must also provide “medically necessary” surgery.Following a 2009 inmate lawsuit, the Federal Bureau of Prisons implemented a policy that allows transgender inmates in its system to receive treatment regardless of whether they were diagnosed before or after incarceration.In 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice wrote guidelines for state prisons dealing with transgender inmates.“Medical experts do not view transitional treatments for transgender people as dangerous or experimental,” the guide reads, adding that the American Medical Association and theAmerican Psychological Association “agree that these transition-related treatments are effective and medically necessary for individuals who have been appropriately evaluated.”Some institutions have implemented policies even without the threat of litigation, including those in Harris County, Texas, and Cook County, Ill., both in 2013.Dr. Nneka S. Jones at the Cook County Sheriff’s Office says inmates can meet with medical experts in transgender care. The jail provides underwear that fit a person’s perceived gender and special shaving gels for inmates who want to get rid of their body hair.(Kristina Olvera Says She is a Woman. The Prison System Says He is a Man.)As a result, some advocates have suggested that the answer to keeping transwomen safe is creating policies for them to be more easily housed in women’s facilities, as has been done in a number of cities and states, including Denver, Washington, DC, and elsewhere. And certainly being transferred to a women’s facility is a priority for many transwomen locked up in New York and across the country. Under PREA, correctional facilities are supposed to determine housing for trans people on a case-by-case basis, taking into account where the individual feels they would be safest.When asked, however, most of the transwomen in touch with Solitary Watch named a different solution–creating specific pods, floors or even entire facilities dedicated to housing LGBT prisoners. (Transgender Women in New York State Prisons Face Solitary Confinement and Sexual Assault)Change is happening. Unfortunately, it's not happening quickly enough for many transgender inmates. Let us hope that changes.