One year ago, the Department’s National Security Division (NSD) announced the launch of a significant new national security oversight initiative to meet its increasing responsibilities in conducting oversight of the intelligence activities of the FBI and, as appropriate, other intelligence agencies. (Read more)

Bennett Environmental Inc. (BEI), a Canada-based company that treats and disposes of contaminated soils, pleaded guilty today and has agreed to pay a $1 million criminal fine for participating in a conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at a New Jersey Superfund site. The plea agreement, filed today in U.S. District Court in New Jersey, involves the EPA- designated Superfund site, Federal Creosote, which is located in Manville, N.J. (Read more)

Constance Walton, a former employee of the Defense Logistics Agency, an agency within the Department of Defense (DoD), pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement. According to court filings, Walton failed to disclose to the DoD that she received income from a company that she owned. (Read more)

Malcolm Ewing, a District of Columbia resident, pleaded guilty to a one count information charging him with possession of child pornography. Ewing admitted that he downloaded images of child pornography at his place of employment and transported those images to his residence in the District of Columbia. Furthermore, Ewing admitted the images had been printed and that he knowingly possessed them. (Read more)

The former special assistant to the Associate Director of Minerals Revenue Management, Mineral Management Service (MMS), at the U.S. Department of Interior pleaded guilty to a felony violation of the conflict of interest law. (Read more)

Apex Oil Company Inc. has been ordered to remediate extensive soil and groundwater contamination from its former refinery operations in Hartford, Ill. In a decision issued on July 28, 2008, Apex Oil Company Inc. was ordered to clean up the contamination, at an expected cost of $150 million. (Read more)

Two U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) contractors, both U.S. citizens who previously lived in Prague, Czech Republic, pleaded guilty today to various conspiracy charges related to their business of providing fuel supply services to the DOD. (Read more)

United States Senator Theodore F. Stevens of Alaska was charged today in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia with seven counts of making false statements related to Stevens’ financial disclosure forms. (Read more)

The three founders of the Institute of Global Prosperity (IGP), David Struckman, Daniel Andersen and Lorenzo Lamantia, were sentenced to prison terms for various tax crimes committed while partners in IGP. Two other principals of IGP, Dwayne Robare and Kuldip Singh, were also sentenced for their respective tax crimes. (Read more)

Professor Herbert Hovenkamp will receive the John Sherman Award from the Antitrust Division for his lifetime contributions to the teaching and enforcement of antitrust law and the development of antitrust policy. The award will be presented during a ceremony on July 29, 2008, in the Great Hall of the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building. (Read more)

Oscar Serrano, Escolastico Serrano and Ronald Fuentes - leaders of La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13 - pleaded guilty to participation in a racketeering enterprise. These three individuals admitted that as leaders of the MS-13 gang, they conspired with others to participate in a pattern of racketeering activity in the Nashville metropolitan area. (Read more)

A Milan, Italy-based marine hose manufacturer and the former president of its former U.S. subsidiary have agreed to plead guilty and pay more than $2 million in criminal fines for participating in a conspiracy to rig bids, fix prices, and allocate market shares of marine hose sold in the United States and elsewhere. The former president has agreed to serve jail time. Additionally, an Italian executive of another marine hose manufacturer located in Veniano, Italy has also agreed to plead guilty for participating in the same conspiracy. (Read more)

The former highest-ranking cargo executive in the United States for SAS Cargo Group A/S (SAS), a Scandinavian-based airline, has agreed to plead guilty and serve six months in jail for participating in a conspiracy to fix prices for air cargo rates. (Read more)

Debra Harrison, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, pleaded guilty to honest services wire fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud the Coalition Provisional Authority - South Central Region (CPA-SC) in Al-Hillah, Iraq. (Read more)

The Department settled a lawsuit today against Salem County and the borough of Penns Grove, N.J., alleging violations of the rights of Puerto Rican voters under the Voting Rights Act. The settlement agreement requires the county and borough to ensure that elections are equally open to Latino voters, that Spanish language assistance and materials be available at the polls, and that Spanish-speaking voters be allowed to select the assistor of their choice. (Read more)

"Even as I commend the hard work and collaboration of the Justice Department’s Offices of Inspector General and Professional Responsibility on today’s report, I am of course disturbed by their findings that improper political considerations were used in hiring decisions relating to some career employees." (Read more)

Charles Robert Gorby, 34, pleaded guilty today in Terre Haute, Ind., to one count of transporting child pornography. A forensic examination of Gorby's computer revealed several e-mails between Gorby and other Internet users in which child pornography was exchanged. (Read more)

"Since 1990, the Department has worked vigorously under the Americans with Disabilities Act to protect and create opportunities for persons with disabilities," said Grace Chung Becker, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. (Read more)

The Department entered a settlement agreement today with the Education Management Corporation (EDMC) under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). EDMC is a for-profit business that provides education and training and is one of the largest providers of private post-secondary education (primarily career-focused education) in North America. (Read more)

Cecelia Grimes, a partner in a Pennsylvania-based lobbying firm, pleaded guilty today to destruction of evidence. According to the evidence presented at the plea hearing, Grimes was a registered lobbyist whose firm submitted requests for appropriations to the office of a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives. (Read more)

W.W. Grainger Inc. paid the United States $6 million to settle allegations that it submitted false claims to United States government agencies. The company, based in Lake Forest, Ill., supplies facilities maintenance and other related products in North America. (Read more)

An indictment was unsealed today, charging Ali Amirnazmi, 64, of Berwyn, PA., with numerous crimes relating to his participation in illegal business transactions with Iran between in or about 1996 and in or about July 2008 and lying to federal officials about those transactions.  (Read more)

The Department filed a lawsuit today on behalf of Cynthia Y. Davis, a member of the Alabama National Guard, against the city of Marion, Ala., alleging violations of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA). (Read more)

A California man was charged yesterday by a federal grand jury in San Jose, Calif., with mailing obscene materials and related offenses. According to the indictment, Robert Alan Thomas, of Malpitas, Calif., was charged with three counts of mailing obscene matters and one count of engaging in the business of selling or transferring obscene matters. (Read more)

A federal grand jury in Jacksonville, Fla., indicted a former Florida State Prison correctional officer on federal civil rights charges related to an August 2005 assault on an inmate. Paul Tillis was charged with violating the civil rights of the inmate by intentionally pouring hot water on the inmate, causing bodily injury. If convicted, Tillis faces a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000. (Read more)

An Oregon man was sentenced today for selling counterfeit computer software with a retail value of more than $1 million, and for aggravated identity theft and mail fraud. (Read more)

A federal grand jury in St. Louis, indicted Waquita Wallace, aka Goddess, and April Chaney, aka April Wallace, yesterday on federal sex trafficking charges related to forcing another woman to engage in commercial sex acts in June 2008. If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. (Read more)

Defendant William Bowen, 25, pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the civil rights of an African-American couple and their white friend by spray-painting racial threats and epithets on the home where the three victims lived in Collinsville, Ill. The defendant, who will be sentenced on Oct. 31, 2008, faces a possible maximum sentence of 11 years imprisonment. (Read more)

A Laurel Springs, N.J., wastewater treatment supply company, its owner, and a former contracts administrator pleaded guilty today to bid rigging, fraud and tax charges in connection with sub-contracts for wastewater treatment supplies and services at two Superfund sites in New Jersey. (Read more)

An agreement was made with Humboldt County, Calif., to improve access to all aspects of civic life for persons with disabilities. The agreement was reached under Project Civic Access, a Department initiative to bring state and local governments into full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). (Read more)

Brian D. Hindson, of Carmel, Ind., pleaded guilty today to eleven counts of production of child pornography, four counts of distribution of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. Over a period of approximately 10 years, Hindson hid video cameras in locker rooms, and then secretly videotaped female teenage swimmers while they undressed. (Read more)

A federal grand jury in San Francisco returned a second superseding indictment charging Fleet Management Limited, a Hong Kong ship management company, with negligently causing the discharge of 50,000 gallons of oil from the Cosco Busan and falsifying documents after the crash to cover-up the company’s negligence. (Read more)

Consuelo Carreto Valencia pleaded guilty today to one count of sex trafficking, for benefitting financially from her participation in an organization that transported young Mexican women to the United States and forced them into prostitution. Under the terms of her plea agreement, Carreto Valencia faces a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment, an estimated guideline sentence range of 135 to 168 months, and a fine of $250,000. (Read more)

A suit was filed today to permanently bar Humberto N. Collazo, Maritza Collazo, Humberto Collazo III, Adrian Collazo, Collazo Accounting Group Inc. and Master Tax Service Inc. from preparing federal tax returns. The defendants prepared tax returns that included false information so as to reduce their clients’ tax liabilities. (Read more)

A former employee of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers pleaded guilty to providing sensitive contract information to a bidder seeking to win a multi-billion dollar government contract. David M. Honbo, of Las Vegas, admitted that he provided bid evaluation information to a consultant employed by a multinational consortium trying to obtain a lucrative contract to relocate the U.S. Army base in Yongsan, South Korea. (Read more)

Lester E. Cox Medical Centers, a health care system headquartered in Springfield, Mo., agreed to pay the United States to settle claims that it violated the False Claims Act, the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Statute between 1996 and 2005, by entering into certain financial relationships with referring doctors at a local physician group and engaging in improper billing practices with respect to Medicare. Cox, a not-for-profit healthcare organization, will pay the United States $60 million to resolve these claims. (Read more)

E-Gold Ltd., an Internet-based digital currency business, and its three principal directors and owners, pleaded guilty to criminal charges relating to money laundering and the operation of an illegal money transmitting business. (Read more)

A man recruited to join a domestic terrorist cell that was plotting to attack United States military facilities, “infidels,” and Israeli and Jewish targets in the Los Angeles area as part of a “jihad” was sentenced to more than 12½ years in federal prison. (Read more)

One of my most solemn obligations, especially as we look ahead to the post-2001 transition is to try along with others in our government to make sure that our efforts in this conflict are put on a sound institutional footing so that the next attorney general and the new administration have in place what they need to assure the nation safety. (Read more)

A consent decree was filed today resolving a retaliation lawsuit filed against the City of Colorado Springs under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). (Read more)

The Department awarded $710,500 in grants to 11 groups serving communities throughout the country, to conduct public education programs for workers and employers about immigration-related job discrimination. The grants, which range from $40,000 to $100,000, are being awarded by the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) of the Civil Rights Division. (Read more)

David Clancy has been permanently barred from promoting an employment tax scheme and a sham transaction scheme. According to the government’s complaint in the case, Clancy and another individual promoted a scheme that helped businesses evade federal employment taxes by disguising a portion of employees’ wages as other payments not subject to employment tax. (Read more)

Seven freight forwarding companies agreed to pay the United States $666,237 for allegations of bid rigging in violation of the False Claims Act. The seven companies have contracts with the Defense Department to transport household goods belonging to military and civilian personnel between Europe and the United States. (Read more)

Edward Javier was sentenced to six months in prison in connection with a $1 million scheme to defraud the Export-Import Bank of the United States. In addition to his prison sentence, Javier will serve six months home detention and 36 months of supervised release following his release from prison, and will pay restitution of $684,934 to the Ex-Im Bank. (Read more)

Jesus Perez-Laguna, a citizen of Mexico, was sentenced on July 17, 2008, in federal court in Columbia, S.C., on charges stemming from a sex trafficking ring involving at least one teenage girl. Perez-Laguna was sentenced to over 14 years imprisonment and ordered to pay $52,500 in restitution to his victims. After his release from prison, Perez-Laguna will be on federal supervised release for the rest of his life. (Read more)

The Department of Justice has filed a complaint in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan against the City of Ecorse, Mich., alleging that the city discriminated against two women formerly employed in the city clerk’s office by subjecting them to sexual harassment by their supervisor that created a hostile work environment. (Read more)

Ronald B. Vaughn Jr., 42, a former sergeant for the Fresno County, Calif., Sheriff’s Department was sentenced to serve 168 months in federal prison for child exploitation offenses. Vaughn was also ordered to register as a sex offender and remain on supervised release for 30 years. (Read more)

Air Shunt Instruments Inc., a California aircraft components company, has been sentenced to pay a criminal fine of $250,000 for false statements related to an export of military technology, while agents intensify their search for the company’s Vice President for International Sales, who is a fugitive and has been indicted for numerous illegal exports of military items to the United Arab Emirates and Thailand. (Read more)

An indictment was returned charging former South Carolina Highway Patrol Trooper John B. Sawyer with a federal civil rights violation alledging that on May 28, 2006, in Sumter County, Sawyer unnecessarily struck and repeatedly kicked an arrestee resulting in bodily injury to the man. (Read more)

A lawsuit was filed against Jamarlo K. Gumbaytay, aka Laurence E. Lamar, d/b/a Elite Enterprises Consultant Group, the property manager of numerous rental properties in the Montgomery metropolitan area, alleging a pattern or practice of sexual harassment of female tenants. The suit also names as defendants the owners of these properties: Matthew Bahr, Brett Rosenbaum, Lori Williams, Sean McDonough, Woody D. Franklin, Woody D. Franklin Sr., James F. and Barbara Clark, Frank Cook, and the Estate of Donna Greene. (Read more)

A District of Columbia tax preparer was sentenced to six months incarceration, followed by six months home detention, a $5,000 fine and supervised release. In addition, the 70-year-old man was ordered to perform 200 hours of community service. (Read more)

Iyad Dogmosh, a Jordanian national, was sentenced today to 48 months in prison for trafficking in more than 38,000 counterfeit Viagra tablets. Dogmosh previously pleaded guilty to a two-count criminal information charging him with trafficking in counterfeit goods on two separate occasions. (Read more)

Gary Moss and Devan Klausegger of Medford, Ore., were indicted by a federal grand jury for conspiracy to commit a hate crime, in which they burnt the image of a cross and the letters “KKK” into the front lawn of a biracial couple and their two children. (Read more)

One current and one former top executive for a franchisee that owns 11 McDonald’s restaurants in and around Reno, Nev., and the corporation itself pleaded guilty in federal court in Las Vegas today to federal felony immigration offenses for encouraging illegal aliens to reside in the United States. These charges stem from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) into allegations the company knowingly hired illegal alien workers. (Read more)

George Udeozor, 52, formerly of Darnestown, Md., pleaded guilty to holding a Nigerian girl in involuntary servitude. (Read more)

The Department requested that a federal court in Seattle revoke the U.S. citizenship of a Bellevue, Wash., resident based on evidence of his role in a Nazi unit that participated in the mass murder of more than 17,000 Serbian civilians during World War II. Most of the victims of this mass murder were Jewish men, women and children. (Read more)

“We are pleased with the court’s en banc decision today recognizing the President’s authority to capture and detain al Qaeda agents who, like the 9-11 hijackers, come to this country to commit or facilitate war-like acts against American civilians. That authority is backed by the support of Congress and is a vital tool in protecting the nation against further terrorist attacks. (Read more)

The Department will monitor elections in the Georgia counties of Coffee, Dougherty and Long to ensure compliance with federal voting rights statutes. (Read more)

Lara Coleman, 40, of Richmond, Va., was charged in a superseding indictment with conspiracy, fraud and money laundering charges. The superseding indictment stems from a scheme to defraud and obtain millions of dollars in client funds held by The 1031 Tax Group LLP (1031TG), a qualified intermediary company owned by Edward H. Okun, a co-defendant. (Read more)

W. Patrick Syring, a former foreign service officer with the U.S. Department of State, was sentenced today in federal court in Washington, D.C., on federal civil rights charges for threatening employees of the Arab American Institute (AAI) because of their race and national origin. Syring was sentenced by the Honorable Colleen Kollar-Kotelly to two concurrent sentences of 12 months of imprisonment followed by 3 years of post-release supervision, 100 hours of community service and was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine. (Read more)

Atul Malhotra, a former vice president of imaging and printing services at the Hewlett Packard Company (HP) pleaded guilty today to stealing trade secrets. (Read more)

Gary Jorandby, of Upper Marlboro, Md., pleaded guilty today to one count of receiving child pornography through the Internet. According to his plea agreement, Jorandby was interviewed by investigators in September 2006 and gave consent to search his personal computer and detachable thumb drive. Investigators reviewed these items and found images of child pornography. (Read more)

A Miami-area doctor was sentenced to 41 months in prison for her role in schemes to defraud the Medicare program. At trial, the jury heard testimony that Ana Caos, M.D., wrote prescriptions for medications and durable medical equipment (DME) that Medicare beneficiaries did not want or need, for the purpose of billing Medicare. (Read more)

Gregg William Bergersen, age 51, of Alexandria, Virginia, was sentenced in the Eastern District of Virginia to 57 months in prison and three years of supervised release for conspiracy to disclose national defense information to persons not entitled to receive it, in violation of federal law. (Read more)

Raynor Country Day School, in Long Island, N.Y., has entered into a settlement agreement with the United States to resolve two complaints filed by parents of children with diabetes who were turned down for enrollment in the school’s day camp last summer. (Read more)

Former corrections officer Marquis Young was sentenced today in federal court in New Bern, N.C., on federal civil rights charges related to an assault on an inmate at a corrections facility for federal prisoners. Young was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment followed by 3 years post-release supervision and was ordered to pay a $3,071.63 fine. (Read more)

John Cowdery, a current member of the Alaska state Senate, was indicted on charges arising out of a federal investigation into public corruption in the state of Alaska. A two-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury charges Cowdery with one count of bribery and one count of conspiracy. (Read more)

A federal jury convicted Dr. Richard Carino, 48, a Tampa-based physician, of child pornography receipt and possession charges, Carino is a pain specialist who operated a medical office in that city until his license to practice was indefinitely suspended. (Read more)

Miami resident Aisa Perera, 42, was sentenced today to 30 months in prison for her role in an $11 million scheme to defraud the Medicare program. In addition to the prison sentence, the defendant was ordered to be placed on three years of supervised release following her release from prison and pay $8,289,286 in restitution to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). (Read more)

The Justice Department announced a settlement agreement with West Virginia’s Kanawha County Public Library Board under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The agreement, marking the Department’s 157th such agreement, was signed as part of Project Civic Access, the Department’s nationwide initiative that has broadened opportunities for more than 3 million Americans with disabilities by bringing government entities into full compliance with the requirements of Title II of the ADA. (Read more)

French national Bernard Jean Ternus pleaded guilty today to conspiring to transport in interstate and foreign commerce four stolen paintings knowing that they were stolen. Ternus also pleaded guilty to visa fraud. (Read more)

A federal grand jury in Jackson, Miss., returned a three-count indictment against Frank E. Melton, the mayor of Jackson, Miss., and his two bodyguards, Jackson police officers Michael Recio and Marcus Wright. The three men were charged in connection with a conspiracy to tear down a private home in Jackson and thereby violate the civil rights of the owner and resident of that home. (Read more)

A former ground services coordinator at O’Hare International Airport has been sentenced to two years in prison for using his position at the airport to help smuggle $396,000 in cash and illegally export weapons scopes, military night vision goggles, and a cellular phone “jammer,” announced Patrick Rowan, Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security, and Gary Hartwig, Special Agent-in-Charge for the Chicago Office of Investigations of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). (Read more)

Italian shipping company B.Navi Ship Management Services was sentenced today to pay $1,500,000 and serve three years probation in connection with the illegal dumping of oily sludge, bilge wastes, and oil-contaminated ballast water from the M/V Windsor Castle, a 27,000 gross-ton bulk carrier vessel. (Read more)

A grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico indicted six San Juan Municipal Police Department officers for federal civil rights violations. The indictment alleges that in July 2003, six officers – Eliezer Rivera Gonzalez, Juan Morales Rosado, Jose Pacheco Cruz, Carlos Pagan Ferrer, Elias Perocier Morales, and Aaron Vidal Maldonado – violated Jose Antonio Rivera Robles’ civil rights by kicking, punching and otherwise assaulting him, resulting in his death. (Read more)

The Justice Department today reached a settlement with the Medical Weight Loss Clinic, which is headquartered in Southfield, Mich., under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). It was alleged that Medical Weight Loss Clinic refused to serve a prospective client because she has HIV disease. (Read more)

Bristol-Myers Squibb, an international pharmaceutical manufacturer, has agreed to reduce the output of ozone-depleting refrigerants at multiple industrial facilities around the country at a combined cost of $3.65 million in order to resolve violations of the Clean Air Act. (Read more)

The Department has reached a settlement with New Century Travel, Inc. under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and has filed a complaint and a proposed consent decree in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia. (Read more)

A federal jury returned guilty verdicts against Joseph H. Smith, the former Treasurer, Chief Financial Officer and Legal Secretary for the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland. Smith, an attorney and certified public accountant, was convicted on six tax charges after a six-week trial in a Cleveland federal court. (Read more)

The Department of Justice has reached a settlement that will require Signature Flight Support Corporation (Signature) to divest assets used to provide flight support services at the Indianapolis International Airport in order for Signature to proceed with its acquisition of Hawker Beechcraft’s flight support services business. (Read more)

Kenneth Miller, 43, pleaded guilty to numerous child exploitation offenses and was sentenced to 400 months in prison. In addition, Miller was ordered to serve a life term of supervised release and forfeit all of the computer equipment and pornography involved in his crimes. (Read more)

Gustavo Smith was sentenced to 130 months in prison for his role in schemes to defraud the Medicare program. In addition to the prison sentence, Smith was ordered to serve three years of supervised release following his release from prison, forfeit $287,000 and pay $1,988,969 in restitution to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). (Read more)

One of the Department's highest priorities is to protect voting rights and enforce specific federal laws that help to ensure that all qualified voters have an opportunity to cast their ballots and have them counted. The Ballot Access and Voting Integrity Initiative was established in October 2002 to spearhead the Department’s expanded efforts to address election crimes and voting rights violations. The initiative has two overarching goals: to ensure fair voting access and to protect the integrity of the election process. (Read more)

A federal judge in Miami today issued an order authorizing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to request information from Zurich, Switzerland-based UBS AG about U.S. taxpayers who may be using Swiss bank accounts to evade federal income taxes. (Read more)

Son Hong Johnson, 45, pleaded guilty today in San Diego to conspiring to participate in a racketeering enterprise, the “Tran Organization,” in a scheme to cheat casinos across the country out of millions of dollars. (Read more)

As the result of a Department of Justice antitrust investigation, Visa Inc. has rescinded a rule that required merchants to treat Visa-branded debit cards differently when used as a PIN-debit card (and processed via non-Visa networks) from the same cards when used as signature debit cards and processed on the Visa network (Read more)

The Department of Justice will not challenge a proposal by a New Jersey anti-money laundering consulting company, External Compliance Officer Inc. (ECO), to collect and distribute information relating to the termination of money transmitter agents. (Read more)