joce sterman has the verdict and reaction from the man had pieced it all together. >> it's your fault, your fault. >> reporter: the last time lamondes williams faced a court battle, it didn't end well for him. he was convicted in an apartment scheme in 2005 and spent years in prison. now this seems he will be heading back again. >> i don't believe he thinks he did anything wrong. people were taken advantage of. >> reporter: dan, a former secret service investigators spent six months interviewing dozens of victims and making undercover calls to piece together a huge scheme run by williams. >> he was good at what he did. the volume of victims was extraordinary. he made people believe this was a legitimate operation. >> reporter: it was a rent to own con game put together by williams and run by erica browfnlt they put out ads for cars, getting client phos spend up front -- clients to spend upfront for cash, for a car they could eventually owned but they octobered the money -- pocketed money. in the end the feds say thousands of dwhrars lost to williams along with the cars handed over to

joce sterman, abc2 news. >>> when shopping online, always use a credit card. not a bank cad.they offer better -- card. they he offer better protection when you get scamed. and since many cyber monday deals will come through your smart phone make sure that's updated with the latest security software as well. >>> something to keep in mind heading to the malls. a reminder thieves may be waiting to break into your car. forehorace newman had more than $800 worth of gifts while getting inside and got hit with black friday deals and hit by a black friday robber. >> once i got to the line we came out and window was shattered and trunk was open and everything was missing with the x-box. >> you want to keep -- you want to keep avoiding keeping your gifts in the car in plain sight. >>> people in parts of canada spent the holiday weekend digging out. this is sid joyed from northern new finland -- video from southern new finland. the snow broke records dating back 4 decades i don't think we need this. >> oh come on. >> let's ease into it. we will ease into it. we will get to that later th

joce? >> thanks, wyatt. >>> in tonight's democracy 2012, herm be kane will receive secret service protection. tory, what do we know now about why cain is under protection? >> reporter: according to the secret service it was cain that initially requested this type of protection and then sources inside the government are telling us that it was because of an unspecified number of threats. herman cain is talking about this now. take a listen to what he said. >> it's just that it was time because of the popularity of my campaign. the thing about secret service, things are secret. we don't discuss any details about it because that would not be appropriate. >> reporter: i will tell you this is not the first time this has happened. if you remember when barack obama was running for the presidency, he was actually given that type of protection 18 months before the general election. >> tory, nancy pelosi and rick perry engaged in a war of words this week with pelosi taking shots at the governor. it se

where until you see this joce sterman investigation. diane sawyer is next, big news, dr. dr. dr.onrad murray and we'll see you tonight. have a great night.

abc 2 news joce sterman has been covering la monday das williamson since 2009. he was in court today for the first day of his federal trial. >> reporter: for l.a. mondez williams it's this time it's the federal court house where he'll learn his fate. the rental scam man in is charged by the feds for his role in a car rental scheme. >> i gave him a thousand dollars. >> reporter: that money is gone. >> interview: is gone, the car is gone, it was all a scam. >> reporter: a scam prosecutors say duped more than 90 victims. people like dominic love who claim they paid williams cash up front in a rent to own operation. she says she paid 1,000 bucks to this woman in grey, erica brown, an accomplice and was told she got a car she would pay for monthly payments, she drove it only three days because in reality williams and brown were taking cash for short-term rentals with commercial agencies. >> this is just too good, but after talking to them and they reassuring me and you know, i thought i could trust them, i went along with it. >> reporter: so did dozens of others unti

joce sterman says many are concealing the way they smoke in plain sight. >> reporter: it may be called the same thing and smoke thesame way but one thing marijuana has changed since the 196 as -- 1960s. >> this is not your father's pot. this is, you know, things are different. things are very, very different. >> reporter: addiction specialist mike gimbel says it's not just the dope that's different so are the undercover tools kids use to smoke it. >> now they take drug paraphernalia and turned it into every day items. >> reporter: items that let your kid hide the habit in plain sight these items seem like harmless household stuff but look closer. they are not what they appear. >> a regular magic marker looks very real, but the bottom comes out as a fake bottom and you have a marijuana pipe. >> reporter: from highlighters that are froth being -- thataren't being used from flashlights they use to light up a different way. >> the top comes off very simple, and it goes into the top and you have a pipe. >> reporter: kids make pipes out of makeup, too. this lipstick looks like the real thing

i'm joce sterman. thanks for joining us. we'll see you at 11:00. go ravens.

joce sterman is conducting a battery test. >> reporter: we are mourning the loss of monkey number two. he didn't make. it he bowed out. we know you will buy a ton of toys and you want to know which batteries will last the longest. so in addition to this test where we're testing batteries, we're looking at the top five selling brands. we put them in these magic monkeys to do some scientific testing. coming up, we're going to tell you how these batteries, we're talking about duracell, energizer, how they stack up and let you know which ones will last the longest. when you get these toys for the holidays, if uponly have them for a couple minutes, your kids will be frustrated. in addition to the information we got from our own testing we put them through the test with consumer reports. they will weigh in on all the tests. we'll help you keep watching them. one has bowed out. we've been doing this for three hours. all four have held out. i'm going to put my money on this guy. he seems the jolliest. we'll see how it ends up and let you test the results at 11. back to you guys. >>> somebody

. >>> he has been dodging our questions for months but today joce sterman finally went face to face with an annapolis paver accused of overcharging his customers by thousands. >> reporter: after backing out of a plea deal, tommy clack said nothing, giving -- said nothing regarding a scam. do you think it was fair to charge these people $16,000 or $30,000? our questions were met with silence today as we met face to face with tommy clack after trying to track him down for months. he is charged in more than a half dozen cases for acting as a contractor without a license. that's just the start. clack has been banned from business in two other states and brought his operation here where the maryland home improvement said he has victims. victims said clack showed up with extra materials and offered a discount but in the end bumped up the price by thousands with some paying as much as $30,000 for the work. >> i'm not ashamed. i'm not embarrassed. i'm just stunned at how we allowed this to happen. >> reporter: clack was supposed to enter a guilty plea in those anne arundel cases but prosecutors

joce sterman, abc2 news. >>> the corruption trial of former prince george's county's executive jack johnson is over. on a call, hours before johnson was led away from his home in handcuffs, he and his wife leslie are heard discussing how to hide a check and cash, both of which became evidence. >> what do you want me to do with the money? they are banging. >> put it in your panties and walk out of the house. >> all this cash, jack. >> put it in your panties, leslie. >> oh, my god. >> yeah. stuff it in your panties. >> leslie johnson has pled guilty to her role. jack johnson with witness and evidence tampering, 20-year sentence for each charge. they are both expected to be sentenced next hadn't. >>> he has been silent. jerry sandusky, previously known for his position as a assistant coach at penn state breaks his silence. >> the result was probably not what he was hoping for. sandusky is hoping people won't judge him until he gets his day in court. he told nbc he's not child molesttor. he just likes to horse around. >> i'm innocent. >> reporter: he told bob costas he did not sexually abuse bo

joce sterman has a warning before you hit your computer tonight. >> reporter: forget door busters and the long lines. deal seekers can simply log on to their computers. >> it's a great opportunity and good deals to be had. >> but she said crossing off your list online also gives scammers an opportunity to get your personal information. that's why the bbb is offering tips. >> first, make your computer your friend. by that, you have got have current up to date hasn't spyware, all the information that puts security into your system. >> reporter: going without security puts you at risk. so does shopping on sites that aren't secure. before you buy online, check for two things. >> the padlock in the bottom righthand corn. the url turns to https, for secure. >> reporter: scammers love top send -- to send emails and gain access to your information, making a scam site look like the real thing. sop independently find the sites you want to find and plug in codes for last-minute deals. otherwise, you could be giving scammer as gift. >> when shopping online, always use a credit card, not your bank

joce sterman joins us with the latest. >> reporter: jurors debated for three days before coming back with a guilty verdict for lamondes williams and brown. the scam cost some of those victims their last dime. williams and brown reportedly ran a huge car renting scheme claiming you can rent cars. clients paid up front and told they could buy monthly and eventually owned car. in reality they were pocketing the money and making short-term rentals. a former secret service agent investigated the case. he said womens who was convicted in an apartment scam in 2005 simply thought he could outthought authorities. >> i don't think he thousand dollars he was risking anything. in their mind, the criminal, especially throws who perpetrate these kind of frauds, i don't think they think they're doing anything wrong. they just blame the victim. >> reporter: he spent more than six months investigating that case, making undercover calls and piecing together the scheme that eventually brought down williams on charges of conspiracy and wire fraud. coming up at 6:00 he tells us what he thinks the worse i

joce sterman is here to show how to air your dirty laundry or go digging for dirt. >> reporter: now youun for the computer and put your ex on blast. tonight at 11:00, the website that lets scorned lovers speak their lives and it is harsh, from cheaters, to liars, to home wreckers to losers. you can list them by name and post a picture. we'll show you where and give you the dish why this might not be the best idea. >> we all want to feel better after a breakup. scream to the hills if they did something wrong but you have to look at how this will impact that person down the road. >> reporter: tonight at 11 we're asking men and women to wie in by going to the -- weigh in by going to the website. >>> all right. weather wise, sunset getting earlier these days, absolutely. it is what it is. 612 degrees -- 62 degrees and winds are southeast at time of the clear skies. i think we'll continue to run clear as we go into the next few days. changes towards the end of the week. it doesn't look significant. we'll show you a little bit of the weather across our hd, abc2 weather bug cameras, baltimore.

abc2 news joce sterman had a face to face man in a paving scheme. tommy clack is charged with acting as a contractor without lap license. clack has been banned from business in two other states and clack was supposed to enter a guilty plea in anne arundel county but has backed out. >>> a community in pasadena is upset over a proposal to put hundreds of new homes or apartments along with the commercial development. a zoning change would allow developers to build a large commercial development and housing complex at the intersection of long him and mountain road. development would tear out 26 acres of woods along the long hill area road. neighbors in long him want their councilman to amend the zoning plan, but it has to be done by the 21st. >>> weather wise, things have changed today. the clouds have rolled. the showers have come. the winds have died. we're tracking light to moderate showers right up through havre de grace. temperatures have been running higher. a few spots falling into the purr 50s, lake glenwood. the rest of the evening low 60s. we'

joce, all important, but that weekend, not bad as we warm up into the day on sunday. tomorrow will be warmer, too. just not as warm. >> this morning it was like a shock to the system. i went outside for a run and it blasted you in the face. it was so cold and i was just not ready. >> by the way, what do you think about two ravens logos on one seven-day? that's unusual. >> it's special. >> sunday and thursday. cool stuff. >> good weather for both. >>> one of the most widely used tools for detecting breast cancer might not be as effective as once thought. what it may mean and what doctors once thought for women battling the disease. >>> just because you've been eating cookies and cake for decades doesn't mean you might not suddenly get sick from them. a disease is most commonly diagnosed in childhood. everybody knows the best place for a good time is mississippi. and that's only until they visited us in louisiana. which is a distant second to sunny florida. for beautiful vacation, nothing beats alabama. ok, we'll never agree on who's best. but we can all agree on one th

joce sterman, abc2news. >>> the airforce's top general is taking personal response in the way soldiers remains were mishandled in 2009. the general testified at the senate armed services committee. three supervisors have been suspended. >>> governor martin o'malley has ordered all flags flown at half-staff. >> reporter: on the eve of this veteran's day we get the news that our area has lost army lieutenant colonel david cabrera. he was a social worker and assistant professor of family medicine assigned to the health sciences located in bethesda. he was living in hole ni, survived by his wife, three sons and a dawmplet graduated from high school in houston, graduated from texas a&m. he was the man teaching doctors out in the field how to deal with post-traumatic stress disorder. he landed in afghanistan september 30th. less than a month later he was killed by a suicide bomber. his funeral will be held tomorrow on veteran's day at 11/11/11. i want to take everybody to our website at abc2new.com. we'll be honoring all veterans. we need your help. you have a veteran at home, maybe father,