European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 09, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday August 9, 1993 . The stars and stripes Page 7 officials vow Aid to Illinois towns Prairie Durocher 111. A Federal officials toured flood stricken areas of Southern Illinois on saturday seeking to assure residents their pleas for help will be answered. The officials agriculture Secretary Mike Espy the director of the Federal emergency management Agency actor James Lee Witt rep. Richard a. Gep Hardt do. And rep. Jerry f. Costello d-i11. Flew into this Mississippi River town in an army helicopter after flying Over costello s District. This is a tremendous disaster Espy said after meeting with local officials. In fact it has moved beyond the category of disaster. It is now a  in Prairie Durocher settled by the French in 1722, officials found a Community struggling against the Odds and apparently winning. A Gamble Early last week to dynamite a Mississippi River levee three Miles North West of town in Hopes of draining off floodwaters appeared to have paid off. The water level had fallen about 5 feet since tuesday morning when water was seeping under the main levee North of the town of 540 residents. Despite police orders to stay away tourists have been visiting the levee at a a mannequin sits atop a levee saturday in Ste. ,-mo., As residents tried to preserve their sense of humor last week while waiting for the Mississippi River to Stop rising. The River finally appeared to Crest at 49.6 feet above flood stage on Friday. Spot where a . Flag is flying. They can peer out Over the levee and see the roofs of farmhouses and Grain silos sticking out of water in the distance. At a Grade school local leaders from a seven county area told the Federal officials that homeowners were demanding to know when they could return to their houses and if it would be worthwhile to rebuild. We re going to try. To solve these temporary problems and get you through Mars giving All Clear sign As spacecraft draws near Dena Calif. A Martian launched from Cape canaveral Fuk  la Rii m 1 a 41 of � 1 it a 7 a Xet w 26 shows the red planet. Irs agents put byte on computer tax cheating Stamford Conn. A the internal Revenue service has been training agents to Battle an increasingly popular weapon of tax cheats the computer. Agents have seized More than 1,000 computers and thousands of diskettes in the last three years. Their biggest bust came last month when a Connecticut businessman admitted using a computer to cheat the government out of $6.7 Mil lion in taxes Over 10 years. The irs says computers have proved a double edged sword for tax cheats once the agents get hold of the criminal soft Ware they can turn to computers them selves to expose the schemes. Computers have made the task of detecting tax cheaters More difficult but once a scheme is uncovered the technology makes it easier for us to pull the Case together said Donald k. Vogel the irs assistant commissioner for Crim Inal investigation in Washington. Instead of going through the Labori Ous task of going through invoices we can just reverse it and use their own soft Ware to unravel it he said in a recent interview. The irs began worrying about com instead of going through the laborious ask of going through invoices we can just reverse it and use their own software to unravel it Donald k. Vogel of the irs Puter aided tax cheating in the Early 1980s.when computers began showing up at businesses of All sizes Vogel said. Since 1989, the irs has been training agents in Basic programming techniques and How to break Down a Complex computer program among other things. Eighty seven agents have completed an intensive three week course at the irs Law enforce ment training Center in Georgia. The agents Are known As seized com Puter evidence recovery  Job to protect and unravel data that has been encrypted password protected or hidden in some other Way said Timothy Whitley senior analyst and the program s manager. Computer aided tax scams Are growing More sophisticated requiring the irs to update its training continually said Dori Schulze the chief los computer specialist in a Connecticut computer aided tax fraud Case. Last month Stew Leonard sr., a Dairy and produce store owner in Norwalk who was honoured by president Reagan for his entrepreneurial skills pleaded Gui Tylo skimming $17.1 million from store Sale with the help of a computer. He was seeking to avoid paying $6.7 million in taxes Between 1981 and 1991. The irs said the Leonard Case was the biggest criminal tax Case in . History in which a computer was used As an integral part of an evasion scheme. A former Milkman Leonard built a $100-million-a-year Empire through at Tention to customer service and his store s unusual displays including a pet Ting zoo and robot clogs playing banjos Over the fro in food Case. To cheat the government he used a custom written computer program that reduced sales on an item by item basis using the Universal product code. This As Best As we can Gephardt said we re also going to look at the Long term for the upper Mississippi River Val  Espy said a disaster package passed by Congress on Friday gave his department $2.7 billion for disaster claim payments and he promised to have checks in farm ers hands within two weeks of receiving the applications. It was Nice to hear we re going to get some Federal and state support said Wayne Reinking superintendent of the Prairie Durocher school District. Prairie Durocher officially has been evacuated. But residents Are allowed to come Back to Check on their property. Village trustee Robbie Aubuchon said officials were discouraging anyone from bringing furniture Back to their Homes. Because the City is still far from Safe. Nonetheless the threat of a in ice col lapse did not Stop Ken Schultz from com ing to clean his outdoor swimming Pool while his wife Cut the grass. Schultz said he Felt confident he was out of danger because the 50-foot flood Mark ended at the Edge of his Yard. He said the experience of the flood has not soured him on living in the town. I was born and raised on the River he said. I d be lost without  Clinton picks first nominees for judgeship Washington a president Clinton moved saturday to fill the first of dozens of Federal judgeship left vacant from the Bush administration saying his nominees would help change the face of the Federal judiciary. Clinton announced three nominations for the . Court of appeals and 10 nominees for . District courts. They were his first judicial nominees beyond his Choice of Ruth Bader Ginsburg for the . Supreme court. The Bush administration left behind 99 vacant seats on the Federal Bench and dozens More opened up in the Earl months of the Clinton administration of Fering the president an Opportunity to re shape a generally conservative Federal judiciary. There Are few things that i will do that will have More lasting effect than the appointment of Federal judges Clinton said in a statement. Along with Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the supreme court and the Many other judges yet to be named this outstanding group of jurists will change the face of the Federal courts and help move our country  the Federal appeals court nominations announced saturday were Martha Craig Daughtry a member of inc Tennessee supreme court to the 6ih circuit. Pierre n. Leva Federal judge in the Southern District of new York to the 2nd circuit. M. Plane Michael an attorney in Charleston  the 4ih circuit. The District court Nom Giulioni announced saturday were Leonie m. Drink Cha . Magistrate in Alexandria fur the Eastern District of Virginia. Deborah Chasanow � . Magistrate Tinct 1987, for Maryland. Jennifer it , lawyer spec Ali ing in employment discrimination for the Eastern District of pc Witucky. Peter Messitte Maryland trial court judge fur Mary land. Lawrence Pic sol Sioux fall lawyer in Cicali ing in civil litigation for South Dakota. Thorn Shanahan a Nebraska supreme court jul Jjck for Nebraska. David g. Trager Dean of the Brooklyn Law school for the Eastern District of new Yolk. Martha a que a Santa i e lawyer specializing in Crimi Nal defense and plaintiffs litigation for new Mexico. Alci William Tut i attorney for Prince George county for Maryland. William Wilson a Little r