Prison Term for Series of Kidnap-Robberies
MILWAUKEE-A daring bandit who gained access to several credit unions and check-cashing businesses by breaking into employees' homes and threatening them or kidnapping loved ones was sentenced yesterday to 41 years in federal prison.
Among the robberies committed by Lamar Ray, 28, was the December 2002 heist at Educators CU, when he kidnapped vice president Julie Loyo from her West Milwaukee home at gunpoint and bound her husband and five-year-old daughter.
The husband, Hector Loyo was able to contact police by dialing 911 with his tongue, but not before Ray had forced his wife to open the cash vault at the credit union and empty it out.
In another robbery, he broke into the house of the manager of Cashland Check Cashing, telling the man his son had been kidnapped and wouldn't be returned until he turned over money from his workplace. The manager turned over the money, then learned his son actually had not been kidnapped.
LOCFCU Adds Email Encryption
WASHINGTON-Library of Congress FCU has signed with Zix Corp. to implement the company's Email Encryption Service.
Zix Corp.'s network allows seamless encrypted email delivery to companies and institutions, including four of the five federal banking regulators. Zix Corp. is based in Dallas.
Noodles Rings Up Sales by Phone
BROOMFIELD, Colo.-Restaurant chain Noodles & Co. said this it will start letting diners pay for their meals by cell phone.
The service will also allow diners to receive messages from their favorite restaurants and retailers in various formats, including text messages and personalized web pages.
The technology was developed by Feed Tribes, a company based in Boulder that built a proprietary text messaging payment system that works on almost any cell phone. Feed Tribe will charge a flat rate for the service.
Metavante to Lay-Off 180
BROWN DEER, Wis.-Metavante Corp. said it is trimming its workforce by about 180 employees to help reduce costs. The lay-offs were conducted over the last 60 days, the company said.
Metavante is a wholly owned subsidiary of banking holding company Marshall & Ilsley which employs about 5,600.
Canadians Pilot Chip-based Cards
TORONTO-Members of the Canadian payments industry, including payments network Interac Association, Visa Canada and MasterCard, as credit union and bank group, are conducting a test pilot of a chip-based card, in preparation of a national roll-out.
A chip card is a credit or debit card that contains an embedded computer chip, which provides increased security, as well as a platform for a variety of other services. The Canadians will be using the established EMV chip standard, which is currently used by Europay MasterCard.
NY CUs Get Development Grants
ALBANY, N.Y.-Three credit unions will receive a total of $360,000 targeted for women and minorities under New York's Empire State Development program.
The grants will help the credit unions make more loans to women and minority-owned businesses.
The credit unions are: Alternatives FCU, in Ithaca; Syracuse Cooperative FCU and Bethex FCU, in the Bronx.
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