Assistant Attorney General Rachel Brand Announces Departure from Justice Department’s Office of Legal Policy (07-478)

Rachel Brand, Assistant Attorney General for Legal Policy, has announced her resignation from the Department of Justice, effective July 9, 2007. President Bush nominated Ms. Brand to the position on March 29, 2005, and the Senate confirmed her appointment in July 2005. (Read more)

Statement of Assistant Attorney General Wan J. Kim on the Decision in United States v. Ike Brown, et al. (07-477)

"Every American has the right to vote free from racial discrimination. The Court’s ruling is another victory in the Department's vigorous efforts to protect the voting rights of all Americans.” (Read more)

Acuity Specialty Products Group Pleads Guilty to Violating Clean Water Act (07-476)

Acuity Specialty Products, Inc., (Acuity) a company that has a manufacturing plant in Atlanta pleaded guilty to a one-count information charging it with a knowing violation of the Clean Water Act. Per the terms of the plea agreement, U.S. District Judge Marvin H. Shoob imposed a sentence of three years of probation and a fine of $3.8 million. (Read more)

Former Senior Officer of Schnitzer Steel Industries Inc. Subsidiary Pleads Guilty to Foreign Bribes (07-474)

Si Chan Wooh, a former senior officer of SSI International, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Schnitzer Steel Industries Inc. until 2006, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division announced today. (Read more)

Former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman and Former Healthsouth CEO Richard Scrushy Sentenced on Bribery, Conspiracy and Fraud Charges (07-473)

Former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman and former HealthSouth Chief Executive Officer Richard Scrushy were sentenced to prison terms today for their roles in a bribery, conspiracy and fraud scheme, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Louis V. Franklin Sr. of the Middle District of Alabama announced today. (Read more)

Medicare Fraud Strike Force Convicts Owner of Miami Durable Medical Equipment Company of Defrauding Medicare (07-472)

The owner of a Miami health care company has been convicted on charges of defrauding the Medicare program of millions of dollars, the Department of Justice announced today. (Read more)

Federal Grand Jury In Salt Lake City Charges Cleveland Men with Obscenity Violations (07-471)

Two Cleveland men have been charged by a federal grand jury in Salt Lake City with operating an obscenity distribution business and related offenses, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Brett Tolman of the District of Utah announced today. (Read more)

Statement of Brian Roehrkasse, Acting Director of Public Affairs, Regarding Today’s Supreme Court Decision in Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No.1 and Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Education (07-470)

“We are pleased with the Court's decision, which reaffirms Brown v. Board of Education’s ruling that states must ‘achieve a system of determining admission to the public schools on a nonracial basis.’" (Read more)

Mellon Bank to Pay United States $16.5 Million for Destruction of Tax Returns and Checks (07-469)

Mellon Bank, N.A., has agreed to pay an additional $16.5 million to settle claims related to the destruction of tens of thousands of individual tax returns and checks in 2001 that the bank was supposed to process as an agent for the Treasury Department, the Justice Department announced today. (Read more)

Statement from Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on Mary Beth Buchanan (07-468)

"Mary Beth Buchanan has always had and continues to have my full confidence and support as the U.S. Attorney in the Western District of Pennsylvania." (Read more)

Federal Superfund Settlement Will Ensure Cleanup of Foote Mineral Site (07-467)

The Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a settlement that will ensure the expedited cleanup of the Foote Mineral Superfund Site, in Chester County, Pa. The settling defendant, which has expended approximately $7 million on cleanup actions already, will pay approximately $15 million to complete cleanup work of the site. In addition, the settling defendant has agreed to reimburse the EPA for a portion of the cleanup costs incurred for response actions at the site. (Read more)

Former Arizona Commercial Refrigeration Company Manager Pleads Guilty to Participating in Bid-Rigging Conspiracy (07-466)

A former Arizona refrigeration company manager pleaded guilty today and admitted his role in a conspiracy to rig bids on contracts for the installation of commercial refrigeration equipment in Safeway Inc. grocery stores in the Phoenix metropolitan area, the Department of Justice announced. (Read more)

Justice Department Alerts Public about Fraudulent Spam Email (07-465)

The Department of Justice has recently become aware of fraudulent spam e-mail messages claiming to be from DOJ. Based upon complaints from the public, it is believed that the fraudulent messages are addressed “Dear Citizen.” The messages are believed to assert that the recipients or their businesses have been the subject of complaints filed with DOJ and also forwarded to the Internal Revenue Service. THESE EMAIL MESSAGES ARE A HOAX. DO NOT RESPOND. (Read more)

Former Executive of Window Blind Slat Manufacturing Company Agrees to Plead Guilty for Role in Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud (07-464)

A former chief operating officer of a window blind slat manufacturing company has agreed to plead guilty for his role in a conspiracy to defraud customers, the Department of Justice announced today. (Read more)

Citgo Petroleum and Subsidiary Found Guilty of Environmental Crimes (07-463)

A federal jury in Corpus Christi, Texas, found CITGO Petroleum Corp., and its subsidiary, CITGO Refining and Chemicals Co. (collectively CITGO) guilty of two felony criminal violations of the Clean Air Act, the Justice Department announced today. (Read more)

American Samoan Corrections Officer Pleads Guilty to Civil Rights Violation (07-462)

Siaumau Mapu, a former corrections officer at the Tafuna Correctional Facility in Pago Pago, American Samoa, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Honolulu to a felony civil rights charge and to making false statements to federal agents. (Read more)

California Man Sentenced for Environmental Crimes (07-461)

Jeffrey Andrew Diaz, operator of a bird abatement business which uses captive raptors to scare nuisance birds from client sites, was sentenced to prison yesterday in the Northern District of California for smuggling Eurasian Eagle Owl eggs into the United States from Austria. (Read more)

Florida Company Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Rig Bids at U.S. Postal Service Auction in Atlanta (07-460)

A Florida company today pleaded guilty to conspiring to rig bids on merchandise offered at a U.S. Postal Service (USPS) auction in Atlanta, the Department of Justice announced. (Read more)

Former President of Domecq Importers Inc. Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy Charges (07-459)

The former president and co-owner of Domecq Importers Inc. of Larchmont, N.Y., and Old Greenwich, Conn., today pleaded guilty and has agreed to serve 10 years in prison for conspiring to commit tax fraud and to defraud Allied Domecq PLC, the Department of Justice announced. (Read more)

United States Sues Japanese Firm & American Subsidiary for Defective Zylon Bullet-Proof Vests (07-458)

The United States has filed a False Claims Act lawsuit against Toyobo Co. Ltd. of Japan and its American subsidiary, Toyobo America Inc., for their roles in the manufacture and sale of defective Zylon bullet-proof vests to U.S., state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies, the Justice Department announced today. According to the suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the vests were paid for by federal funds. (Read more)

Former Interior Deputy Secretary Steven Griles Sentenced to 10 Months in Prison for Obstructing U.S. Senate Investigation into Abramoff Corruption Scandal (07-455)

James Steven Griles, the former Deputy Secretary of the Department of the Interior (DOI), has been sentenced to 10 months in prison for obstructing the U.S. Senate’s investigation into the corruption allegations surrounding former Washington lobbyist Jack A. Abramoff, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division announced today. (Read more)

Former White County, Tennessee Corrections Officer Sentenced for Civil Rights Violations (07-454)

Donald Wilson, a former corrections officer at the White County Jail in Sparta, Tenn., was sentenced today in federal court in Nashville to 33 months in prison for violating the civil rights of an inmate. Wilson will be on federal supervised release for two years after his release from prison. (Read more)

Jury Convicts Two Men for Running International Pornographic Spamming Business (07-453)

A federal jury in Phoenix convicted two men today on all counts, including conspiracy, fraud, money laundering, and transportation of obscene materials, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher for the Criminal Division and Interim U.S. Attorney Dan Knauss of the District of Arizona announced today. (Read more)

Two Convicted of Selling $6 Million Worth of Counterfeit Software on eBay (07-451)

Two more defendants pleaded guilty in Milwaukee to charges of criminal copyright infringement as a result of their selling counterfeit software on eBay, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher for the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Steven M. Biskupic for the Eastern District of Wiscon­sin announced today. (Read more)

Former DOD Contractor Sentenced in Case Involving Bribery, Fraud and Money Laundering Scheme in al-Hillah, Iraq (07-449)

A former Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Army Reserves was sentenced to 21 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy and money laundering scheme involving contracts in the reconstruction of Iraq, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division announced today. (Read more)

Telephone Company in Pennsylvania Eliminates Provisions Restricting Competition to Address Justice Department Concerns (07-448)

The Department of Justice announced today that Citizens Communications has agreed to remove restrictive terms from settlement agreements that Commonwealth Telephone Enterprises had previously entered into with two cable companies in Pennsylvania, Blue Ridge and Service Electric, in order to alleviate antitrust concerns raised by the Department. The settlement terms limited the cable companies’ ability to compete with Commonwealth, which was recently acquired by Citizens. (Read more)

U.S. Intervenes in Case Alleging Delivery of Defective Flares on Government Contracts (07-447)

The United States has intervened in a whistleblower suit accusing Alliant Techsystems Inc., aka ATK Thiokol Inc. (ATK), of delivering defective illumination flares used in critical search and rescue and combat operations to the U.S. military, including operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Justice Department announced today. (Read more)

Philadelphia Woman Pleads Guilty to Federal Hate Crime (07-446)

A Philadelphia woman, Kia Reid, pleaded guilty today to committing a federal hate crime by sending a note threatening violence to her Arab-American supervisor at work, in an attempt to interfere with the supervisor’s federally protected employment activity. The announcement was made jointly by Wan J. Kim, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Patrick L. Meehan, for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Oct. 24, 2007. (Read more)

Former Pacific Consolidated Industries LP Executive Arrested for Conspiring to Bribe U.K. Ministry of Defence Official (07-445)

A former executive of Santa Ana, Calif.-based Pacific Consolidated Industries LP (PCI) has been arrested for allegedly violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) as part of a conspiracy to bribe a United Kingdom Ministry of Defence official in order to obtain lucrative contracts with the U.K. Royal Air Force, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney George S. Cardona of the Central District of California announced today. (Read more)

Extradited Software Piracy Ringleader Sentenced to 51 Months in Prison (07-444)

The leader of one of the oldest and most infamous Internet software piracy groups was sentenced today to 51 months in prison on one count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Chuck Rosenberg for the Eastern District of Virginia announced today. (Read more)

Justice Department Asks Federal Court to Bar Two New Yorkers from Preparing Tax Returns for Others (07-443)

The United States has filed a suit in Brooklyn federal court seeking to bar Archie J. Pugh Jr. and his brother Theodore Pugh from preparing federal income tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today. (Read more)

Five Charged in San Antonio Trafficking Ring (07-442)

A federal grand jury in San Antonio, Texas, late yesterday charged five individuals with sex trafficking of juvenile girls. Timothy Michael Gereb, Brent Andrew Stephens, Maria De Jesus Ochoa, Consuelo Pilar Ochoa, and Isabel Ochoa were charged with obtaining two minors to engage in commercial sex acts, and were further charged with using force, fraud and coercion to cause the two juveniles, as well as another victim, to engage in commercial sex acts. (Read more)

Prepared Statement of Wan J. Kim, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, Before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Civil Rights Division Oversight ()

"I am pleased to report on some outstanding accomplishments in the Civil Rights Division since I last appeared before the Committee seven months ago. I am proud of the professional attorneys and staff in the Division whose talents, dedication and hard work made these accomplishments possible." (Read more)

U.S. Oil Tanker Firm to Pay $10 Million as Part of Largest-Ever Penalty for Concealing Vessel Pollution (07-441)

Overseas Shipholding Group Inc. (OSG) was sentenced today in Beaumont, Texas, to pay $10 million as part of a $37 million criminal settlement with the United States involving 33 felony counts, 12 oil tankers and ports located in Beaumont, Boston, Mass., Portland, Maine, San Francisco, Calif., and Wilmington, N.C., announced Ronald J. Tenpas, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment & Natural Resources Division and John L. Ratcliffe, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas. (Read more)

Justice Department Appoints National Export Control Coordinator as Part of Enhanced Counter-Proliferation Effort (07-440)

The Justice Department has appointed Steven W. Pelak, an 18-year veteran federal prosecutor, to serve as the Justice Department’s first-ever National Export Control Coordinator to improve the investigation and prosecution of illegal exports of U.S. arms and sensitive technology, Kenneth L. Wainstein, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, announced today. (Read more)

Justice Department Files Joint Status Report on Microsoft’s Compliance with the Final Judgments (07-437)

The Department of Justice told the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that it has reached an agreement with Microsoft Corporation to resolve a complaint by Google regarding Microsoft’s desktop search function in Windows Vista. (Read more)

Department of Justice Settles Lawsuit Against Federation of Physicians and Dentists (07-436)

The Department of Justice today reached a settlement with the Florida-based Federation of Physicians and Dentists (Federation) and one of its employees that would prevent the Federation from coordinating members’ negotiations for fees and terms that resulted in increased fees among Cincinnati-area OB-GYNs. (Read more)

Houston Firm Pays U.S. to Resolve Allegations of Overcharging for Container Shipments to Iraq (07-435)

EGL, Inc., operating as Eagle Global Logistics, has paid the United States $300,000 to settle allegations that the company’s local agent in Kuwait overcharged the military for rental charges on shipping containers to Iraq for the period from January through June of 2006, the Justice Department announced today. (Read more)

Justice Department Seeks to Bar Two North Carolinians from Preparing Tax Returns for Others (07-434)

The United States has sued two federal income tax preparers and their business, seeking to bar them from preparing federal income tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today. (Read more)

Former Enron Broadband Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Rice Sentenced on Securities Fraud Charge (07-433)

Kenneth Rice, a former chief executive officer of Enron Broadband Services (EBS), was sentenced to 27 months in prison and ordered to forfeit approximately $15 million to be used to compensate victims of the Enron fraud, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division announced today. (Read more)

Federal Corrections Officer Pleads Guilty to Civil Rights Violation (07-432)

Former Bureau of Prisons Officer Christopher Conner pleaded guilty today to a one-count felony information charging him with depriving an inmate of his constitutional rights, the Justice Department announced. (Read more)

Former Klansman, James Ford Seale Found Guilty for Role in 1964 Kidnapping and Murder of Two African-American Men (07-431)

“Today’s conviction of James Ford Seale brings some long overdue justice to the families of Henry Dee and Charles Moore, who were brutally murdered more than 40 years ago,” said Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales. “Racially motivated violence—whenever it occurred—will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. I would like to thank the dedicated professionals at the FBI, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and the Civil Rights Division for their hard work in seeing that justice was done in this case.” (Read more)

U.S. Announces $60.7 Million Clean Air Act Settlement with Nevada Power (07-429)

The Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a $60.7 million Clean Air Act settlement with Nevada Power Company that will improve air quality in the Clark County/Las Vegas, Nev. area by requiring the company to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx), a harmful air pollutant, from its Clark Generating Station by about 2,300 tons annually. (Read more)

Statement of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales on Report to the President on Issues Raised By the Virginia Tech Tragedy (07-428)

"The tragedy on the campus of Virginia Tech was deeply unsettling to me and millions of Americans. At the direction of President Bush, I along with Secretaries Leavitt and Spellings, traveled to communities across the country to lead a national dialogue and receive input from government and community leaders who have been grappling with the difficult balances to be struck between public safety, mental health policy, and individual liberty and privacy." (Read more)

Justice Department Reaches Agreement Requiring Divestitures in Merger of First Busey Corporation and Main Street Trust Inc. (07-426)

The Department of Justice announced today that First Busey Corporation and Main Street Trust Inc. have agreed to sell five branch offices with approximately $110 million in deposits in Champaign County, Ill., in order to resolve antitrust concerns about the companies’ pending merger. After an investigation, the Department concluded that without the divestitures the merger likely would adversely affect competition in the local markets for commercial banking and retail banking services. The proposed merger will combine two major local banks based in central Illinois, Busey Bank of Urbana and Main Street Bank & Trust of Champaign. The merged bank will have approximately $3.6 billion in assets and $2.7 billion in total deposits. (Read more)

Statement of the Department of Justice Antitrust Division on Its Decision to Close Its Investigation of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc.’s Acquisition of CBOT Holdings Inc. (07-422)

“After an extensive investigation of both the Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s (CME) proposed acquisition of CBOT and the 2003 agreement under which CME provides clearing services to CBOT, the Antitrust Division determined that the evidence does not indicate that either the transaction or the clearing agreement is likely to reduce competition substantially." (Read more)

National Ambulance Provider Rural/Metro Corporation to Pay U.S. $2.5 Million for Violating False Claims Act (07-420)

Rural/Metro Corporation, one of the nation’s largest ambulance providers, has agreed to pay the United States over $2.5 million to resolve allegations that the company violated the False Claims Act, the Justice Department announced today. The government alleged that the ambulance company provided illegal inducements to hospitals in Texas in exchange for referrals. (Read more)

Justice Department Settles Employment Discrimination Lawsuit Against the City of Chesapeake, Virginia Police Department (07-418)

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached an agreement with the City of Chesapeake, Va. regarding an employment discrimination lawsuit filed in 2006. Pending court approval, the consent decree will settle the government’s lawsuit that alleged that the city’s hiring practices for entry-level police officers have an unlawful disparate impact on African-American and Hispanic applicants, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. 2000 et sec. (Read more)

Former Department of Defense Official Sentenced for Stealing Over $100,000 in DOD Intelligence Funds (07-416)

A former Intelligence Contingency Funds (ICF) officer for the Department of Defense, was sentenced to 12 months in prison for stealing over $100,000 in intelligence funds from his former employer, Assistant Attorney General Alice Fisher for the Criminal Division announced today. (Read more)

Italia Federici Pleads Guilty to Evading Taxes and Obstructing Senate Investigation into Abramoff Corruption Scandal (07-415)

Italia Federici, the president of the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy (CREA), pleaded guilty to one count of income tax evasion and one count of obstructing the U.S. Senate’s investigation into the corruption scandal surrounding former lobbyist Jack A. Abramoff, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and Assistant Attorney General Eileen J. O’Connor of the Tax Division announced today. (Read more)

Tanker Company and Second Engineer Indicted for Dumping Oil and Obstruction of Justice (07-414)

Ionia Management, a Greek company that manages a fleet of tanker vessels, was indicted today for its role in overboard dumping of waste oil from the M/T Kriton into international waters and their efforts to impede the United States Coast Guard and other authorities from learning of the illegal conduct. (Read more)

Two Individuals Arrested for Conspiracy to Import Falsely Labeled Fish (07-413)

Two individuals, David S. Wong and David Chu, were arrested today in Chicago and San Francisco, respectively, for charges related to conspiracy to import falsely labeled fish, the Justice Department announced. (Read more)

Assistant Attorney General Eileen J. O’connor Announces Departure from Justice Department’s Tax Division (07-412)

Eileen J. O’Connor, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Tax Division since 2001, has announced her resignation, effective the end of June. President Bush nominated Ms. O’Connor to the position on May 24, 2001, and the Senate confirmed her appointment in July of that year. As Assistant Attorney General for the Tax Division, Ms. O’Connor has been a member of the President’s Corporate Fraud Task Force. (Read more)

Former Alcatel Executive Pleads Guilty to Participation in Payment of $2.5 Million in Bribes to Senior Costa Rican Officials to Obtain a Mobile Telephone Contract (07-411)

A former Alcatel CIT executive pleaded guilty to participating in the payment of more than $2.5 million in bribes to senior Costa Rican government officials in order to obtain a mobile telephone contract from Costa Rica’s state-owned telecommunications authority, in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the Department of Justice announced today. (Read more)

Foreign Operator of Obscene Web Sites Pleads Guilty to Obscenity Charges (07-410)

Danilo Simoes Croce, 43, of Sao Paulo, Brazil, an officer of Lex Multimedia, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to an obscenity-related charge in U.S. District Court in Orlando, the Justice Department announced today. (Read more)

Justice Department Names New Director of Office of Justice for Victims of Overseas Terrorism (07-408)

Heather L. Cartwright, a veteran federal prosecutor and victim witness coordinator, has been appointed to be the new Director of the Office of Justice for Victims of Overseas Terrorism (OJVOT), Assistant Attorney General for National Security Kenneth L. Wainstein announced today. (Read more)

Virginia Executive Agrees to Plead Guilty to Bid Rigging on Contracts with the U.S. Navy and Others (07-407)

former chief financial officer of a Virginia marine products company has agreed to plead guilty, serve 18 months in prison, and pay a $75,000 criminal fine for his role in a conspiracy to rig bids and allocate customers with respect to marine products purchased by the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Coast Guard, and other public and private entities, the Department of Justice announced today. The executive, Donald Murray, was also charged for his role in a conspiracy to embezzle money from his former Clearbrook, Va., employer. (Read more)

Former DOD Employee Pleads Guilty to Charges Involving Fraud and Theft from the Army (07-406)

A former civilian employee of the Department of Defense (DOD) and former member of the California Army National Guard, has pleaded guilty to defrauding the United States and conspiring with four other individuals to do the same, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division announced today. (Read more)

Three Salvadoran Nationals Indicted on Racketeering Charges for Participation in Violent International Gang (07-405)

A federal grand jury in Greenbelt, Md., has charged leaders of the violent street gang known as MS-13 with federal racketeering crimes, including two men who allegedly ordered murders inside the United States from their prison cells in El Salvador, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales announced today. (Read more)

Justice Department to Monitor Elections in New Jersey and South Carolina (07-403)

The Justice Department today announced that on June 5, 2007, it will monitor local elections in Bergen County, Edison, and Penns Grove, N.J., and in Hollywood, S.C., to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act. (Read more)

Congressman William Jefferson Indicted On Bribery, Racketeering, Money Laundering, Obstruction of Justice, and Related Charges (07-402)

United States Congressman William J. Jefferson was indicted today by a federal grand jury on charges including bribery and racketeering for allegedly using his office to corruptly solicit bribes and for paying bribes to a foreign official, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Chuck Rosenberg for the Eastern District of Virginia announced today. (Read more)

Department of Justice and EPA Announce Proposed $4.6 Million Settlement with Midamerican Energy Company and the City of Le Mars, Iowa (07-400)

The Department of Justice on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that a proposed consent decree was lodged today with the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa in United States v. MidAmerican Energy Company and the City of Le Mars, Iowa. (Read more)

Federal Officials Close Investigation into Fatal Shooting of Dr. Salvatore J. Culosi Jr. by Fairfax County Police Officer (07-399)

The Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the Eastern District of Virginia, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced today that there is insufficient evidence to pursue federal criminal civil rights charges against a Fairfax County Police Department officer who shot and killed Dr. Salvatore J. Culosi Jr. on January 24, 2006. (Read more)

Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales Announces Expansion of Justice Department Efforts and Proposes New Legislation to Help Prevent and Combat Violent Crime (07-398)

Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales today, speaking before employees at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), unveiled new cities designated for targeted federal violent crime task forces and announced new comprehensive legislation that strengthens federal laws targeting violent criminals as part of the Department’s expanding efforts to fight violent crime. (Read more)

International Competition Network Presents Report on Unilateral Conduct and Announces Merger Convergence Project (07-397)

Assistant Attorney General Thomas O. Barnett Promotes Antitrust Convergence on Substantive Merger Review Issues (Read more)

Former Department of Defense Employee Sentenced to 12 Months in Prison on Corruption Charges (07-396)

A former Department of Defense (DOD) employee was sentenced to 12 months in prison for accepting illegal gratuities from a government contractor, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division announced today. (Read more)