The Department of Justice today announced the “Place to Worship Initiative,” which will focus on protecting the ability of houses of worship and other religious institutions to build, expand, buy, or rent facilities—as provided by the land use provisions of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA).

In announcing the initiative, Attorney General Sessions provided the following statement:

“The Constitution doesn't just protect freedom to worship in private—it protects the public exercise of religious belief, including where people worship together," Attorney General Sessions said. "Under the laws of this country, government cannot discriminate against people based on their religion--not in law enforcement, not in grant-making, not in hiring, and not in local zoning laws. President Trump is an unwavering defender of the right of free exercise, and under his leadership, the Department of Justice is standing up for the rights of all Americans. By raising awareness about our legal rights, the Place to Worship Initiative will help us bring more civil rights cases, win more cases, and prevent discrimination from happening in the first place."

The Department will work with the United States Attorney’s Offices to strengthen awareness of the land use provisions of RLUIPA by: hosting community outreach events across the country, educating municipal officials and religious organizations about RLUIPA’s requirements, and providing additional training and resources for federal prosecutors. The first community outreach event under the initiative will be held on June 25, in Newark, New Jersey, led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey. 

The Department today is also launching a new web page, including an information page and easily accessible complaint portal, a new Q and A document on RLUIPA, and other materials (https://www.justice.gov/crt/place-worship-initiative).  In addition, the Department has created a new RLUIPA tool kit for Department lawyers working on RLUIPA cases, and is holding a webinar on June 26 for providing training and resources for U.S. Attorney’s offices.

RLUIPA is a federal law that protects religious institutions from unduly burdensome or discriminatory land use regulations. Specifically, RLUIPA bars land use regulations that impose a substantial burden on religious exercise without a compelling justification, requires governments to treat houses of worship as favorably as nonreligious assemblies, and bars governments from discriminating among religions and from totally or unreasonably excluding houses of worship.

The Justice Department also announced today that it brought a RLUIPA complaint against the Borough of Woodcliff Lake and the Woodcliff Lake Zoning Board of Adjustment in New Jersey (https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-files-lawsuit-against-borough-woodcliff-lake-new-jersey-over-denial-zoni-0?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery). 

Persons who believe their rights under RLUIPA have been violated may contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office Civil Rights Hotline at (855) 281-3339, the Civil Rights Division Housing and Civil Enforcement Section at (800) 896-7743, or the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at (305) 961-9327.

More information about RLUIPA, including questions and answers about the law and other documents, may be found at http://www.justice.gov/crt/rluipa. 

            CONCORD - Michael Roman Burghardt, 34, of Manchester, was sentenced to serve 180 months in federal prison for illegally possessing a firearm, United States Attorney Scott W. Murray announced today.

            According to court documents and statements made in court, law enforcement agents began an investigation after receiving information from a reliable source that Burghardt was carrying a firearm. At the time, Burghardt was a previously convicted felon and could not legally possess any firearms.  On arresting Burghardt on an unrelated warrant, agents found him to be carrying a gun consistent with the information they had received.          

            Burghart, who previously pleaded guilty on December 8, 2017, will be on supervised release for three years after serving his sentence.

            “In order to keep our community safe, we must keep guns out of the hands of criminals,” said U.S. Attorney Murray.  “We will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to reduce violence by aggressively enforcing federal law.  I commend the work of the law enforcement officers whose work led to this prosecution.”

            “Today’s sentencing is another example of the importance of law enforcement partnerships and their effectiveness in protecting the safety and security of communities,” said Special Agent in charge Mickey Leadingham of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  “ATF’s top priority is to combat violent crime and keep guns out of the hands of violent offenders and keep criminals off the streets.”

            This matter was investigated by the Manchester Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Dronzek.

            The case is part of ATF’s Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative, which is a federally-funded program intended to reduce gun violence through law enforcement training, public education, and aggressive law enforcement efforts to investigate and prosecute gun-related crimes. 

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HOUSTON – A 43-year-old man residing in Sherman has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction of unlawfully retaining national defense information, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick and Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers.

Weldon Marshall pleaded guilty March 5, 2018.

Today, U.S. District Judge George Hanks handed Marshall a 41-month sentence to be immediately followed by a year of supervised release. In handing down the sentence, the court noted how Marshall violated an important trust the military had placed in him.  

From the early 2000s, Marshall unlawfully retained classified items while he served in the U.S. Navy and while working for a military contractor.

Marshall served in the U.S. Navy from approximately January 1999 to January 2004, during which time he had access to highly sensitive classified material, including documents describing U.S. nuclear command, control and communications. Those classified documents, including other highly sensitive documents classified at the secret level, were downloaded onto a compact disc labeled “My Secret TACAMO Stuff.” He later unlawfully stored the compact disc in a house he owned in Liverpool.

After he left the Navy, until his arrest in January 2017, Marshall worked for various companies that had contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense. While employed with these companies, Marshall provided information technology services on military bases in Afghanistan where he also had access to classified material. During his employment overseas, and particularly while he was located in Afghanistan, Marshall shipped hard drives to his Liverpool, Texas, home. The hard drives contained documents and writings classified at the secret level about flight and ground operations in Afghanistan. 

Marshall has held a top secret security clearance since approximately 2003 and a secret security clearance since approximately 2002. 

Previously released on bond, Marshall was taken into custody following the sentencing today where he will remain pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The Army’s 902d Military Intelligence Group and the FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys (AUSA) Alamdar Hamdani and former AUSA Andrew Leuchtmann prosecuted the case along with Trial Attorney Matthew Walczewski of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.

WASHINGTON – Two federal inmates convicted of killing another inmate at a Beaumont Prisonin the Eastern District of Texas were sentenced to death today.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Joseph D. Brown for the Eastern District of Texas made the announcement.

Ricky Fackrell, 34, of Vernal, Utah, and Christopher Cramer, 36, of Ogden, Utah, were indicted by a federal grand jury on March 3, 2016 and charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder.  They were both convicted by a federal jury of murder in the first degree on May 9, following a six-day trial before U.S. District Judge Marcia Crone.  Today, after about eight hours of deliberation, the jury in Beaumont sentenced both Fackrell and Cramer to death.  Judge Crone immediately sentenced the defendants accordingly.

“White supremacists subscribe to a repugnant, hateful ideology and use it to justify criminal activity,” Attorney General Sessions said.  “The murder committed in this case was an act of senseless, barbaric violence. Now that the jury has spoken, justice will be done.  I want to thank our fabulous prosecutors John Craft, Joseph Batte, and Sonia Jimenez for their hard work. With their help, this Department will continue to prosecute violent criminals with the aggressiveness and relentlessness necessary in cases like these.”

“These defendants had a violent history, and when the murder happens in a prison, it is clear that the defendants are always going to be a danger,” said U.S. Attorney Brown.  “This was an appropriate case for the death penalty and we will continue to seek that punishment in the worst cases.”

According to information presented in court, beginning in March 2014, Cramer and Fackrell, inmates of the U.S. Penitentiary in Beaumont, Texas, conspired to murder fellow inmate, Leo Johns.  On June 9, 2014, Cramer and Fackrell stabbed Leo Johns to death at the federal prison. All three inmates were members of the white supremacy group, Soldiers of the Aryan Culture.

This case was investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Bureau of Prisons Special Investigative Services.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Craft and Joseph R. Batte of the Eastern District of Texas and Trial Attorney Sonia V. Jimenez of the Justice Department’s Capital Case Section.

# # #

GREENVILLE– Robert J. Higdon, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, announces that a federal grand jury in Greenville has returned indictments charging AQUILEO PEREZ-PINEDA, age 48, of Mexico, ABEL RAMIREZ-URIBE, age 33, of Mexico, and PEDRO VICENTE SANCHEZ-JOVEL, age 34, of Guatemala,with Illegal Reentry of a Deported Alien.   

If convicted of Illegal Reentry of a Deported Alien, PEREZ-PINEDA, found in Harnett County, would face maximum penalties of two years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and a term of supervised release following any term of imprisonment.

If convicted of Illegal Reentry Subsequent to a Felony Conviction (possession of a controlled substance), RAMIREZ-URIBE, found in Robeson County, and previously deported twice, would face a maximum imprisonment term of 10 years, a $250,000 fine, and a term of supervised release following any term of imprisonment.

If convicted of Illegal Reentry Subsequent to an Aggravated Felony (conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute in excess of 50 grams of methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute in excess of five grams of methamphetamine),SANCHEZ-JOVEL, found in Wake County, and previously deported twice, would face maximum penalties of 20 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and a term of supervised release following any term of imprisonment.

The charges and allegations contained in the indictments are merely accusations.  The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law. 

The cases are being investigated by ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations.

NEWARK, N.J. – The president of Parsippany, New Jersey-based Biodiagnostic Laboratory Services LLC (BLS) and his brother – a senior employee at the now-defunct company – were sentenced today to federal prison terms for their respective roles in a conspiracy in which millions of dollars in bribes were paid to physicians for blood sample referrals worth more than $100 million to the company, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

David Nicoll, 44, of Mountain Lakes, New Jersey, was sentenced to 72 months in prison; Scott Nicoll, 37, of Wayne, New Jersey, was sentenced to 43 months in prison. Each defendant had previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler to an information charging one count of conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Federal Travel Act and one count of money laundering. Judge Chesler imposed the sentences today in Newark federal court.

“Today, the president of a diagnostic lab company and his brother were sentenced for their leading roles in a scam that led to one of the largest ever prosecutions of medical professionals in a bribery case,” U.S. Attorney Carpenito said. “Medical referrals from a doctor should be based on what’s in the patient’s best interest, not on how much money the doctor is offered in kickbacks. The number of doctors and medical professionals sent to prison in this case should make that message abundantly clear.”

The investigation has resulted in the convictions of 53 defendants – 38 of them of doctors – in connection with the bribery scheme, which its organizers have admitted involved millions of dollars in bribes and resulted in more than $100 million in payments to BLS from Medicare and various private insurance companies. It is believed to be the largest number of medical professionals ever prosecuted in a bribery case. The investigation has recovered more than $15 million through forfeiture. On June 28, 2016, BLS, which is no longer operational, pleaded guilty and was required to forfeit all of its assets.

“The FBI views health care fraud as a severe crime problem that impacts every American,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie said. “Fraud and abuse take critical resources out of our health care system, and contribute to the rising cost of health care for everyone. Today’s sentencing of David Nicoll and his brother Scott Nicoll are the result of a multi-agency investigation into a complex health care fraud scheme, requiring substantial investigative resources. The FBI, with its law enforcement partners, will continue to allocate a significant amount of expert resources to investigate these crimes and prosecute all those that are intent in defrauding the American public.”

“These two individuals masterminded an elaborate health care fraud scheme based on nothing more than greed,” Scott J. Lampert, Special Agent in Charge for the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said. “We trust that the work with our law enforcement partners – especially the U.S. Attorney’s Office, FBI, IRS, and Postal Inspection Service – will send a clear message and dissuade individual health ‘professionals’ from making such corrosive schemes possible.”

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

On April 9, 2013, federal agents arrested BLS president and part owner, David Nicoll; Scott Nicoll, a senior BLS employee and others, who were charged by complaint with bribery conspiracy, along with the BLS company. The conspiracy made millions in illegal profits between 2006 and April of 2013. David and Scott Nicoll admitted that BLS made substantially more than $100 million from Medicare and private insurance companies – just from bills related to blood specimens sent to BLS by bribed doctors.

BLS paid doctors millions of dollars – in cash or under the guise of sham lease, service, and consulting agreements through an elaborate network of shell entities used for that purpose. The defendants also admitted that one component of the bribery scheme was to pay some doctors a fee per test to induce them to increase their ordering of certain tests.

“Health care fraud of this magnitude cannot be tolerated, and today’s sentencings are the direct result of the tremendous investigative skills of all the participating law enforcement agencies,” Bryant Jackson, Acting Special Agent in Charge, IRS - Criminal Investigation, Newark Field Office, said. “IRS - Criminal Investigation is proud to have been a part of this investigative team that helped to bring down and dismantle this massive health care conspiracy.”

“Throughout the course of this long-running investigation, Postal Inspectors, federal prosecutors and our law enforcement partners have diligently worked to unravel this elaborate bribery conspiracy,” Acting Inspector in Charge Judy Ramos of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service said. “Although, the final defendants in this matter face sentencing today, Postal Inspectors will continue to tirelessly investigate complex fraud schemes that target consumers and businesses through the U.S. Mail.”

In addition to the prison terms, Judge Chesler sentenced the Nicolls to one year of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Ehrie; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Lampert; IRS–Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Jackson, and inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Acting Inspector in Charge Ramos, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencings.

The government is represented by Senior Litigation Counsel Joseph N. Minish; Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Alfonzo Walsman, Co-Chief of the Public Protection Unit; Jacob T. Elberg, Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Health Care and Government Fraud Unit in Newark; and Senior Litigation Counsel Barbara Ward of the office’s Asset Recovery and Money Laundering Unit.

Defense counsel:
David Nicoll: John C. Whipple Esq., Chatham, New Jersey
Scott Nicoll: Timothy M. Donohue Esq., West Orange, New Jersey

St. Thomas, USVI – United States Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert for the District of the Virgin Islands announced today that Teron Stevens, 27, of St. Thomas, was indicted on Friday, June 8, 2018, by a federal grand jury charging him with one count of Disaster Fraud and one count of Wire Fraud, in relation to Hurricane Irma Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster relief funds.

According to the indictment, in September of 2017, Stevens applied to FEMA for disaster relief by falsely claiming to be a homeowner of a property damaged by Hurricane Irma. As a result, Stevens received over $27,000 in FEMA assistance to which he was not entitled. If convicted, Stevens faces a maximum sentence of not more than 30 years in prison, and a fine of up to $1,000,000.

On September 6, 2017, Hurricane Irma struck the United States Virgin Islands. In response, on September 7, 2017, President Donald J. Trump issued a major disaster declaration under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. § 5121 et seq. (the "Stafford Act"), for the Virgin Islands. As a result of this declaration, FEMA was authorized to provide assistance to affected residents of St. Thomas and St. John through FEMA’s Individuals and Households Program.

This case is part of the United States Attorney’s Disaster Fraud Task Force, which was announced in October 2017. Members of the public who suspect fraud involving disaster relief efforts, or believe they have been the victim of fraud from a person or organization soliciting relief funds on behalf of disaster victims, should contact the National Disaster Fraud Hotline toll free at (866) 720-5721. The telephone line is staffed by a live operator 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can also fax information to the Center at (225) 334-4707, or email it to disaster@leo.gov. Learn more about the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud at http://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud.

This case is being investigated by the United States Department of Homeland Security-Office of the Inspector General, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Meredith J. Edwards and Mervin A. Bourne, Jr.

United States Attorney Shappert reminds the public that an indictment is merely a formal charging document and is not evidence of guilt. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless found guilty.

U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that Miguel Ortiz-Guevara,age 42, a citizen of Honduras, pleaded guilty today to a one-count indictment for illegal reentry of a removed alien, in violation of Title 8, United States Code, Section 1326(a).

According to court documents, on or about April 16, 2018, Miguel Ortiz-Guevara was found in the United States after having been officially deported and removed on or about September 29, 2011.

After accepting his guilty plea, U.S. District Judge Jay C. Zainey sentenced Miguel Ortiz-Guevara to time served, ordered him to serve one year of supervised release, and pay a special assessment of $100.  Miguel Ortiz-Guevara will be surrendered to the custody of U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement for removal proceedings.

U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans praised the work of the United States Department of Homeland Security in investigating this matter.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Spiro G. Latsis is in charge of the prosecution.

ELBERT MOORE, age 36, of Houma, Louisiana, was sentenced today before the Honorable Susie Morgan. MOORE was charged by way of a bill of information with violating the Federal Controlled Substances Act.

According to the court records, MOORE conspired to possess with the intent to distribute and to distribute 100 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of heroin, a quantity of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine, and a quantity of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine. MOORE admitted to being captured on a Title III wire intercept. 

MOORE was sentenced to 120 months in the Bureau of Prisons and eight years of supervised release following his release from prison.   

This case was investigated by Special Agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).  The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney David Haller.

Gulfport, MS – Juan Luis Cantu a/k/a "Flaco," age 24, of La Joya, Texas, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden to 74 months in federal prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Assistant Special Agent in Charge J. Derryle Smith. Cantu was also ordered to pay a $3,000 fine.

On February 20, 2018, Cantu pled guilty to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and 100 kilograms or more of marijuana. During its investigation into Cantu, the DEA learned from a cooperating source that Cantu was a source of supply for cocaine and marijuana on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Cantu was identified by multiple sources, and said to be instrumental in introducing individuals to each other for the purposes of assisting in the distribution of at least 500 grams of cocaine and 100 grams of marijuana.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathlyn R. Van Buskirk.

BOSTON – A Lowell man was found guilty today by a federal jury in Boston of conspiring with others in the Lawrence and Lowell areas to distribute more than 40 grams of fentanyl. 

Bernaldo Rosario Santiago, a/k/a Bori, 27, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute heroin and at least 40 grams of fentanyl. U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled sentencing for Sept. 19, 2018.

On May 30, 2017, a large scale law enforcement operation dismantled two Lawrence-based drug trafficking organizations, one allegedly run by Juan Anibal Patrone, and another allegedly led by Ramon Gonzalez Nival, who was allegedly a source of supply for Patrone. Santiago was arrested and charged along with Patrone, Gonzalez Nival, and 30 co-conspirators.

According to the evidence at trial, Santiago was a redistributor for the organization and dealt in large quantities of fentanyl, which he acquired from Gonzalez Nival and others. On March 1, 2017, Santiago was stopped in Dracut carrying 89 grams of fentanyl in his pocket. In addition, Santiago was intercepted on court authorized wiretaps discussing drug transactions, including the need to “give it more of the…the fentanyl stuff so that those [expletive] fall asleep.” During the investigation, law enforcement extracted text messages with alleged drug customers from Santiago’s phone, including one text sent to Santiago that read, “Are you coming I’m sick from not doing it.”

Gonzalez Nival pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 5, 2018. Patrone has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to stand trial in October 2018.

Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute 40 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing fentanyl is punishable by a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to 40 years in prison, a fine of up to $50 million, and forfeiture of any proceeds of the offense or property that facilitated the offense. 

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Division; Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Essex County District Attorney Jonathan W. Blodgett; Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Lawrence Police Chief Roy P. Vasque; and Lowell Police Acting Superintendent Jonathan C. Webb made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan G. Winkler of Lelling’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit and David G. Lazarus, Chief of Lelling’s Asset Forfeiture Unit prosecuted the cases.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.   

TRENTON, N.J. - A Closter, New Jersey, man today admitted producing and selling fraudulent massage therapy training certificates for use in various New Jersey massage parlors that engaged in prostitution, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Naresh Rane, 64, pleaded guilty before Senior U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson to Count 1 of an indictment charging him with knowingly and intentionally using and causing the use of facilities in interstate commerce to promote, manage, establish, carry on, and facilitate the business of prostitution in violation of New Jersey law.  

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

 Rane owned and operated Axiom Healthcare Academy, which purported to provide classes in massage therapy training. Rane held himself out as a businessman who, for a fee that ranged from $1,000 to $2,600, could provide massage therapy training certificates to anyone who wished to obtain a massage license without the required training. Rane was also willing to provide phony transcripts listing classes and grades.

Between November 2013 and March 2014, Rane provided 10 fraudulent massage therapy training certificates and transcripts to a former Westwood, New Jersey, councilman who then gave them to prostitutes working in different massage parlors located in Union, Passaic, Hudson and Middlesex Counties. Rane admitted today that he knew the documents he was producing and selling were used to disguise prostitution activities as legitimate massage services.  

The charge to which Rane pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 2, 2018.   

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.

The government is represented by Senior Litigation Counsel Mark J. McCarren of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Special Prosecutions Division in Newark.

Defense counsel: David A. Schwartz Esq., Eatontown

Gulfport, Miss. – Carlos Orozco, 24, of Socorro, Texas, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Sul Ozerden, to serve 7 months in federal prison, followed by 6 months home confinement and three years of supervised release, for using the interstate to travel in aid of an unlawful activity, specifically distribution of marijuana, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Drug Enforcement Administration Assistant Special Agent in Charge J. Derryle Smith. Orozco was also ordered to pay a $5,500 fine. He pled guilty to the charge on February 21, 2018.

On April 6, 2017, a Gulfport Police Criminal Interdiction Officer stopped a vehicle being driven by Victor Alfonso Legarda for a traffic violation. Orozco was a passenger in the vehicle. Upon inquiry by the officer, he learned that Legarda had previously been arrested for marijuana seizures and the vehicle had crossed the United States/Mexico Border the day before the stop. The officer was provided consent to search the vehicle, and during his search, he located numerous vacuum-sealed bags of marijuana throughout the vehicle. In total, the officer located 100 packages that had a gross weight of 55.05 kilograms.

Victor Alfonso Legarda pled guilty on January 19, 2018, to using the interstate to travel in aid of an unlawful activity. He was sentenced to 25 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release and ordered to pay a $3,000 fine.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Gulfport Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kathlyn Van Buskirk.

PHILADELPHIA – U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain announced today that Nafis Mullins, 26, of Philadelphia, has been charged by indictmentwith possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. 

According to the indictment, on May 1, 2018, Mullins was in possession of a Glock, Inc., Model 22, .40 caliber semiautomatic pistol, s/n YC689US, loaded with 16 live rounds of ammunition.

If convicted, Mullins faces a minimum term of fifteen years in prison, up to five years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine, and a $100 special assessment.

The case was investigated by the Philadelphia Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Katherine E. Driscoll.

CAMDEN, N.J. – An Atlantic County, New Jersey, man was arrested and charged today with receiving and distributing images of child sexual abuse, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Carlos Santiago Gomez, 27, of Absecon, New Jersey, turned himself in at the Atlantic City Resident Office of the FBI this morning after returning from a business trip to Texas. He is charged by complaint with one count of receiving child pornography and one count of distributing child pornography. Santiago Gomez made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ann Marie Donio in Camden federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From April 2016 through March 27, 2018, Santiago Gomez allegedly viewed, received and distributed images of child sexual abuse, including images of prepubescent children. Santiago Gomez, who was employed in the IT field, administered a KIK group in which participants traded images and videos of child sexual abuse. (KIK is an instant messaging app). While administering the group, Santiago provided instructions, including:  

“New comers, welcome. There are just some rules to keep in mind when posting and maintaining your position. 1. Girls only 2. No Toddler 3. Videos only, no links no pictures. 4. Goes without saying but be active. Thanks and enjoy.”

“Please don’t post adult videos.”

“If you’re using FREENET, you might as well call the cops and turn yourself in. TOR, though not 100% safe by default, is slow but way better than FREENET.”

On March 27, 2018, law enforcement officers searched Santiago Gomez’ residence and seized numerous computers and electronic devices, including Santiago Gomez’ cellular telephone. Although law enforcement officers have not yet fully completed their analysis of Santiago’s electronic devices, agents have uncovered more than 1,000 images and videos of child sexual abuse. 

Each count of receiving or distributing child pornography carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine. 

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie; and the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Damon G. Tyner, with the investigation leading to today’s charge and arrest.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Diana Vondra Carrig of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Camden.

            The charges and allegations in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Earlier today, in federal court in Central Islip, Eric Smith, also known as “Esama” and “Esco,” a member of the Long Island-based Rollin’ 60s Crips street gang, was sentenced by United States District Judge Joanna Seybert to four consecutive terms of life in prison plus 30 years.  Smith was convicted by a federal jury on June 15, 2017, following five weeks of trial, on 11 counts including murder in-aid-of racketeering, racketeering, Hobbs Act robbery and conspiracy to commit murder.  These charges arose out of Smith’s participation in the Rollin’ 60s set of the Crips that for more than a decade engaged in violent criminal activity in Roosevelt, New York.

Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI); Madeline Singas, Nassau County District Attorney; and Patrick Ryder, Commissioner, Nassau County Police Department (NCPD), announced the sentence.

“Eric Smith took a life for his gang, and now he will be serving life in prison,” stated United States Attorney Donoghue.  “The violence committed by this defendant harmed not only his murder and shooting victims, but also the larger community, which is now significantly safer as a result of the efforts by this Office and our law enforcement partners to dismantle the Rollin’ 60 Crips.  We will continue to work tirelessly to prosecute violent gangs that plague Long Island communities like Roosevelt with violence, drugs and fear.”  Mr. Donoghue extended his grateful appreciation to the law enforcement agencies involved in the investigation, in particular, the FBI’s Long Island Gang Task Force and the Gang Investigations Squad of the NCPD. 

“Eric Smith showed no regard for the life of his victim, and he’ll now pay for his actions by spending the rest of his life in prison,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Sweeney.  “Members of the community in Roosevelt, and neighboring communities, should be able to live in a safe environment, and not fear the endless violence this gang inflicted on them.  The FBI Long Island Gang Task Force has been dogged and diligent in successfully eradicating these criminals from communities that deserve better.”

 “The brutal Rollin’ 60s Crips terrorized the Roosevelt community, and our neighborhoods are safer with this murderer behind bars for life,” stated Nassau County District Attorney Singas.  “Law enforcement at the federal, state, and local levels is united in our commitment to rid Long Island of the violent gangs that have destroyed so many lives, and we will continue our unprecedented collaboration and partnership to keep our communities safe from these predators.”

 “The initial arrest and subsequent sentencing of defendant Smith is a clear sign that this type of gang activity will never be tolerated,” stated NCPD Commissioner Ryder. “The Roosevelt community is a safer place with this arrest and we will continue our efforts to keep all communities safe.  I would also like to thank all of the associated agencies and their investigators on a job well done.”

At trial, the government proved that Smith was a high-ranking member of the Rollin’ 60s set of the Crips, a racketeering enterprise based in Roosevelt that engaged in murder, attempted murder, narcotics trafficking and firearms trafficking to maintain control of their turf for nearly a decade.  Between 2003 and 2013, the gang followed an “on-sight” rule, created by the gang’s leader Raphael Osborne, which required members to attack members of the rival Bloods street gang in the Roosevelt community.  In observance of this rule, Smith participated in over a dozen shootings.  The evidence at trial also established Smith’s participation in robberies with fellow gang members to acquire cash and drugs to be resold on the streets of Roosevelt.  Smith was convicted for his role in two robberies that he committed in the fall of 2010 with fellow gang members.

Smith also was convicted of the December 15, 2010 murder of 19-year-old James McClenic, a member of the rival Bloods street gang.  After hours of searching for McClenic, Smith found him sitting in a parked car at a gas station in Hempstead.  Smith, wearing a black ski mask and armed with a .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol, crept up to McClenic and opened fire at close range killing him.  In the wake of McClenic’s murder, the Bloods retaliated against Smith and other members of the Crips street gang.  Smith and the leader of the Rollin’ 60s dispatched younger members of the Crips to strike back, igniting a gang war on the streets of Roosevelt.  

The government’s investigation has led to the arrest and conviction of more than 20 members and associates of the Rollin’ 60s Crips.  During the 10 months prior to the defendants’ arrests, Roosevelt averaged more than one shooting incident every two weeks.  Following the arrests of these individuals, Roosevelt, New York went 109 days without a shooting incident.  To date, 13 defendants, including Smith, have been sentenced:

• on June 21, 2016, Jahmani Hamilton was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment
   
• on August 4, 2016, Kurtis Philip was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment
   
• on August 5, 2016, Courtney Smith was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment
   
• on September 23, 2016, Merlyn Benitez was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment
   
• on October 13, 2016, Derick Hernandez was sentenced to a term of 20 years’ imprisonment that will run consecutively to a four-year state sentence he is presently serving
   
• on October 19, 2016, Kwame Lake was sentenced to a term of five years’ imprisonment  that will run consecutively to an eight-year state sentence he is presently serving 
   
• on November 4, 2016, Tyshawn Gitto was sentenced to 13 years’ imprisonment
   
• on January 13, 2017, Branden Short was sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment
   
• on January 13, 2017, the gang’s leader Raphael Osborne was convicted after trial and sentenced to three life sentences plus 135 years
   
• on April 21, 2017, Rommel Lobban was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment
   
• on April 25, 2017, Daquanne Nunn was sentenced to  13 years’ imprisonment
   
• on January 12, 2018, Rudy Montour was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment that will run consecutively to a 13-year state sentence he is presently serving.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division.  Assistant United States Attorneys Nicole Boeckmann, Christopher Caffarone and Michael Maffei are in charge of the prosecution.

The Defendant

ERIC SMITH (also known as “Esama” and “Esco”)
Age:  29
Roosevelt, Long Island

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 14-CR-264 (JS), 15-CR428 (JS)

Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that MICHAEL HARRINGTON was sentenced to two years of probation and 180 hours of community service for misapplying police resources while serving in the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”) as, among other things, a Deputy Chief and Executive Officer for the Chief of Department’s Office.  He was sentenced by the U.S. District Judge Gregory H. Woods.

HARRINGTON diverted those police resources – including dispatching police officers and diverting land, sea, and air vehicles intended for the NYPD’s public service usage – for the personal benefit of Jeremy Reichberg, a private citizen, as well as Reichberg’s friends and associates. 

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “After years of service to the NYPD, Michael Harrington abused the sacred trust placed in him by the NYPD and the people of New York by applying the people’s resources, including its officers, to the interests and whims of a connected few.  That Harrington’s behavior has resulted in a felony conviction is a sad but necessary reminder that, along with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to fight this type of corruption.”

In sentencing HARRINGTON, Judge Woods said: “This is a very serious offense.   [T]his does matter.  As a senior official of the NYPD, Mr. Harrington was entrusted to protect the public without fear or favor.  He misused that trust.   . . . .[H]e applied the public’s resources to provide special favors to a select few.  And Mr. Harrington misdirected NYPD resources at the request of [Jeremy] Reichberg while receiving personal benefits from him.”

Reichberg and an additional co-defendant, former NYPD Deputy Inspector James Grant, continue to face honest services fraud, bribery, and conspiracy charges related to an alleged scheme in which Reichberg and another individual provided luxurious benefits to high-ranking members of the NYPD, including Grant and HARRINGTON, so as to be able to call upon those members for police-related assistance for themselves and their associates as opportunities arose.  Reichberg and Grant are to face trial before Judge Woods on October 4, 2018.

According to the Superseding Information, Indictment, and Complaint filed in this case, other court filings, and statements made during court proceedings:         

HARRINGTON was previously an Inspector in Brooklyn North and, beginning around November 2013, the Executive Officer in the NYPD’s Chief of Department’s Office, which is responsible for overseeing all of the Department’s uniformed operations.  After November 2014, HARRINGTON was a Deputy Chief assigned to the NYPD’s Housing Bureau.  Between 2011 and June 2016, HARRINGTON diverted police resources for the benefit of Reichberg and his associates, including another individual, Jona Rechnitz, who has pled guilty and is now cooperating with the Government. 

During the relevant period, Reichberg and Rechnitz provided HARRINGTON with personal benefits and gifts, including tens of thousands of dollars in business to a security company run by HARRINGTON’s family members and friends, thousands of dollars’ worth of meals in high-end restaurants, hundreds of dollars’ worth of premium tickets to sporting events, and a video game system and other gifts for his children.  During the same period, HARRINGTON helped Reichberg and his associates get rides in police cars for non-police purposes, used a helicopter for a flyover at a private event, and secured the use of a police boat for private boat rides at another private event.  He further sent officers to resolve private, civil disputes, pressured other NYPD personnel to respond to requests from Reichberg and Rechnitz, and took steps to assist in the promotion and transfer of NYPD officers handpicked by Reichberg and Rechnitz at their request.

*                *                *

In addition to the probation term, HARRINGTON, 52, of Staten Island, New York, was fined $5,000 and ordered to pay $6,000 in restitution to the NYPD.  

Mr. Berman praised the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York City Police Department, Internal Affairs Bureau.  

This case is being handled by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit.  Assistant United States Attorneys Martin S. Bell, Jessica Lonergan, and Kimberly J. Ravener are in charge of the prosecution.

On June 13, 2018, Cary E. Mosley, 48, of Benton, Illinois, pled guilty to defrauding his former employer, Southern Illinois Healthcare ("SIH"), announced Donald S. Boyce, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois. A federal grand jury had returned an indictment on January 4, 2018, charging Mosley with wire fraud and mail fraud.

From December 1, 2006, through July 13, 2013, Mosley was employed as the manager of SIH’s radiation oncology department. During that same time frame, Mosley held a second job with Q.E.D. Medical Physics, Inc. ("QED"), a contractor based in Lebanon, Tennessee, that provides support services for radiation oncology departments operated by smaller hospitals.

As part of his guilty plea, Mosley admitted that he was paid by QED for work he allegedly performed at SIH, and that he made entries in QED’s electronic timekeeping system which falsely claimed he had performed work at SIH that he had not actually performed. Mosley also admitted to claiming compensation from QED for work he performed as part of his normal employment duties with SIH. Based upon Mosley’s fraudulent timekeeping entries, QED submitted invoices to SIH that were falsely inflated. The indictment alleges that Mosley was paid over $500,000 by QED for work he performed at SIH.

Mosley admitted in his guilty plea that he concealed his fraud scheme by altering the documents that were sent to SIH’s Accounts Payable Department in support of the QED invoices.

Each month, QED sent to SIH an "Hours and Details" sheet, which identified the QED employees who had worked at SIH, the work they had performed, the number of hours they had worked, and the dates they had worked. During the initial portion of his scheme, Mosley altered the "Hours and Details" sheets by removing his name and inserting the names of other QED employees. During the latter portion of his scheme, Mosley simply discarded the "Hours and Details" sheets before the QED invoices were sent to SIH’s Accounts Payable Department.

Mosley pled guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of mail fraud. Both charges carry maximum sentences of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and fines of up to $250,000. In addition, Mosley could be ordered to pay full restitution to SIH.

Mosley’s sentencing is currently scheduled for September 25, 2018, at 9:30 a.m., at the United States District Court in Benton, Illinois.

The case was investigated by agents from the Springfield Division, Fairview Heights Resident Agency, of the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI"). Both SIH and QED have cooperated with the investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Scott A. Verseman.

LUFKIN, Texas - A 32-year-old Houston man has been sentenced to federal prison for drug trafficking violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Joseph D. Brown today.

James Edward Turner pleaded guilty on Mar. 23, 2018, to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and was sentenced to 100 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Ron Clark today.  Turner was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $46,589.74.

                According to information presented in court, on March 30, 2017, a law enforcement officer in Nacogdoches County, Texas stopped a vehicle for a traffic violation.  During the stop, the officer called for a canine and ran the identifications of the passengers through law enforcement databases.  Turner’s information showed a possible burglary warrant outstanding from another state.  During a search of the vehicle, the officer located a laundry bag containing numerous prescription pills still in the bottles.  These pills were determined to have been stolen in a burglary the previous night of a Walgreens pharmacy in Arkansas.  Arkansas police spoke with the Nacogdoches Sheriff’s Office and stated they were currently investigating two Walgreens burglaries in Little Rock.  A check with Walgreens records determined the pills recovered in the traffic stop were from both Walgreens burglaries.  A total of 6,403 oxycodone pills, in various dosage units, were recovered.  Turner was indicted on Sep. 20, 2017 and charged with drug trafficking violations.  

                This case was investigated by the Nacogdoches County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul A. Hable.

MADISON, WIS. -- Scott C. Blader, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that James Unser, 60, Sheldon, Wisconsin, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge William Conley to six years in federal prison for possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute it.  This term of imprisonment is to be followed by four years of supervised release.  Unser pleaded guilty to this charge on March 21, 2018.  

On November 16, 2016, Unser was arrested in Dunn County and found to be in possession of 57 grams of methamphetamine.  While out on bond for that case, he continued to sell drugs, and on December 30, 2017, he was arrested in Rusk County with 120 grams of methamphetamine.

The charge against Unser was the result of an investigation conducted by the Rusk, Dunn, Taylor, and Chippewa County Sheriffs’ Departments and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.  The prosecution of the case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Altman.