On September 28, 2012, the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico announced that 66 people were indicted by a federal grand jury for drug trafficking in the Municipality of Ponce.  The investigation was led by the FBI and the Puerto Rico Police Department.  

The defendants face six different counts for possession and intent to distribute crack cocaine, heroin, cocaine, and marijuana.  The members conspired to distribute the drugs around the Dr. Manuel De La Pila Iglesias Public Housing Project and other areas in Ponce, Puerto Rico.  

The FBI and Puerto Rico Police Department believe the crimes started around 2007.  The main leaders of the criminal organization are believed to be Franciso Santiago-Serrano, Edel Lopez, Rafael A Rodriguez-Garcia, Jomar Ramos-Rosado, Isueanette Lopez-Nazario, Wally Gonzalez-Rodriguez, Jesus E. Colon-Salinas, Israel Rodriguez-Zayas, Raymond Santiago Serrano, Justo Bermudez-Stevens, and Teddy Rivera.  These men are believed to have transported wholesale amounts of cocaine to co-conspirators.  

The FBI reports that the criminal organization moved its drug points from location to location in the Dr. Pila Housing Project to avoid investigation from law enforcement.  The organization is reported to have used force and violence in order to deter rival drug organizations.  The indictment found that there were 11 leaders, eight enforcers, nine runners, 31 sellers, one lookout, and six different suppliers.  

The defendants face a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison.  The defendants also face fines up to $10 million.  28 of the defendants face a minimum term of 15 years in prison.  

Rosa Emilia Rodríquez-Vélez, the U.S. Attorney for Puerto Rico, stated: “Violent drug organizations hold our communities hostage and promulgate fear, intimidation, and violence, threatening the well-being of law abiding citizens.  This investigation has taken dangerous criminals off the streets of Puerto Rico and sends a clear message to other violent gangs that we will break their grip on our communities and bring them to justice, no matter where they are.”

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation

On October 1, 2012, the Department of Justice announced that Louis Barretta of Philadelphia was sentenced to 33 months in prison for involvements in the La Cosa Nostra family.  Barretta was sentenced for participation in loan sharking and illegal gambling.  

Barretta is one of 14 members of the La Cosa Nostra family that were charged with crimes like racketeering conspiracy, extortion, loan sharking, illegal gambling, witness tampering, and theft.  These other members were charged in a 52-count superseding indictment: Joseph Ligambi, Joseph Massimino, George Borgesi, Martin Angelina, Anthony Staino, Jr., Gaeton Lucibello, Damion Canalichio, Gary Battaglini, Roberty Verrecchia, Eric Esposito, Robert Ranieri, Joseph Licata, and Louis Fazzini.  

In addition to his prison term, Barretta is also ordered to serve three years of supervised release and pay a fine of $7,500.  The penalties came after a plea where he admitted that he issued loans through usury and collected the loans by means of extortion.  He also admitted to a bookmaking business for sports.  

On August 2, 2012 Lucibello pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and was sentenced to 51 months.  Angelina pleaded guilty to the same charges on August 8, 2012, and received 57 months.  

The Department of Justice states that the trial for Ligambi, Massimino, Borgesi, Staino, Canalichio, Battaglini, Licata, and Fazzini is scheduled for October 9, 2012.  The trial for Verrecchia, Esposito, and Ranieri has not yet been scheduled.  

The investigation was led by the FB, the IRS’s Service-Criminal Investigation, the Pennsylvania State Police, the New Jersey State police, the Philadelphia Police Department, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations, and the U.S. DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration.  Trial attorney John S. Han and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Frank A. Labor, III and Suzanne B. Ercole are prosecuting the case.  

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation

On October 1, 2012, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced that Daniel Bonventre, Annette Bongiorno, Joann Crupi, Jerome O’Hara, and George Perez received additional charges in a superseding indictment.  All of the defendants were long-time employees of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC.  

The first indictment in November of 2010 stated that conspiracy to defraud clients started around 1992.  The superseding indictment alleges that conspiracy started in the 1970s or even earlier.  Two new charges are included in the superseding indictment as well, including bank fraud in connection to corporate and personal loans as well as tax offenses.  

According to the superseding indictment, the defendants acted in the following ways:

Bongiorno was in the Investment Advisory (IA) business for about 40 years and managed accounts with a cumulative balance around $8.5 billion.  Crupi was in the IA business for 25 years and managed BLMIS IA accounts that had a balance around $900 million up to November 30, 2008.  Both of these employees handled false account statements.  

Bonventre was an employee of BLMIS for 40 years and the director of operations.  He was in charge of Financial and Operational Combined Uniform Single Reports with the SEC and knowingly presented inaccurate reports.  He also presented false tax returns to show tax auditors.  

O’Hara and Perez were computer programmers for BLMIS.  They are accused of creating programs hid the nature of the business, changed names of account holders, changed information about shares and transactions, and more.  

Bonventre faces 22 counts, Bongiorno faces 10 counts, Crupi faces 13 counts, O’Hara faces 8 counts, and Perez faces 8 counts.  You can view a chart of the offenses and maximum penalties at the following link: https://www.fbi.gov/newyork/press-releases/2012/manhattan-u.s.-attorney-files-additional-charges-against-former-employees-of-bernard-l.-madoff-investment-securities-llc.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara stated, “As we have said repeatedly since this breathtaking fraud was first discovered four years ago, we will not rest until all the alleged participants and enablers are made to answer for their conduct.”  

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation

On October 1, 2012, the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announced that Minh Cam Luong, aka “Ming Jai,” pleaded guilty to operating an illegal gambling business and using violence to collect money from indebted gamblers.  Luong was scheduled for sentencing on January 14, 2013 by United States District Judge Patti B. Saris.  

During the guilty plea, Luong admitted that he ran an illegal gambling business in dens located in Boston’s Chinatown.  The dens were located on Edinboro Street, Harrison Avenue, and Beach Street, and the dens operated from July 2009 to June 2011.  The dens provided high-stakes gambling on Chinese table games.  The most popular game was call “pai gau” where gamblers actually play against each other instead of the house.  The house would then collect five percent on every winning hand, which ranged from hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars.  

Luong issued large of money to gamblers and other people, but when they could not pay back the debt, Luong and his partners would threaten violence.  Multiple gamblers and owners of other gambling dens in Chinatown were beaten up to collect debts and maintain Luong’s reputation.  

During an intercepted conversation, Luong stated that his Beach Street grambling den made $100,000 in just three days during the Chinese New Year in 2011.  During the same conversation, Luong said the den usually grossed $60,000 to $70,000 every week.  Other intercepted conversations revealed the threatening comments.  

According to the FBI, Luong faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each of the 10 extortionate collections counts.  He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for the illegal gambling business count, and he faces a maximum fine of $250,000 for each of the counts.  

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard L. Hoffman and Timothy E. Moran are prosecuting the case.  

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation

On October 11, 2012, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced that Emilio Fusco received 25 years in prison for racketeering and extortion crimes.  He is part of the Genovese Organized Crime Family of La Cosa Nostra.  

In May of 2012, he was sentenced to one count of conspiring with the Genovese Organized Crime Family, one count of extorting owners of restaurants and strip clubs in Springfield, Massachusetts, and one count of interstate travel for racketeering.  He was also found guilty of the murder of Adolfo Bruno and Gary Westerman in November of 2003.  

Evidence presented at the trial proved that Fusco joined the Genovese Crime Family in Springfield in the mid 1990s.  From then until 2008, he worked with others to extort a business owner in Springfield.  He received about $12,000 every month as a result of the extortion.  

He completed a 33-month sentence in 2006 for former racketeering and money laundering convictions.  He was convicted for extorting multiple businesses in the Springfield area.  

He is believed to have conspired with other members of the Genovese Crime Family in order to murder Adolfo Bruno and Gary Westerman.  At the time of their murders, Bruno was the captain of the family’s Springfield faction and Westerman was a family associate.  Fusco believed Westerman was cooperating with the police.  He was acquitted of the murder charges, but the judge found Fusco committed the murders by preponderance—or weight of the evidence.  

Fusco is also believed to have distributed marijuana.  Court documents also show he was engaged in loan sharking and illegal gambling.  

In addition to his 25 years in prison, Fusco is also ordered to undergo three years of supervised release.  He is ordered to forfeit $260,000 as well.  The co-defendants were sentenced to life in prison.  

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation

On September 25, 2012, the US Attorney’s Office in the District of Alaska announced that Coleman L. Barney of North Pole, Alaska, was sentenced to 5 years in prison for conspiring to possess grenades and silencers and 5 years in prison for the possession of an unregistered destructive device.  U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler stated that the sentences will run concurrently. 

Barney and other defendants were found guilty in federal court in Anchorage on June 18, 2012.  Schaffer Cox, a militia leader, and Lonnie G. Vernon, a member of the militia, were found guilty of conspiring to murder several federal officials.  Barney was also a militia member, but the jury could not reach a verdict for his role in conspiring to murder the federal officials. 

The investigation presented recordings between Vernon, Cox, and Barney that mentioned the murder of several state officials.  The retaliation was motivated by an attempted arrest of Cox.  The sentencing for Vernon and Cox is scheduled for November of 2012.  Conspiring to murder a federal official carries a life sentence. 

U.S. Attorney Loeffler stated, “The actions of Mr. Barney and his co-conspirators presented a very real and dangerous threat to our community.”  She praised the efforts of local law enforcement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Marshals Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Alaska State Troopers. 

The Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Alaska, Mary Rook, stated, “This investigation and prosecution found its genesis in the voice of concerned citizens that a group of people, operating under the auspices of a sovereign militia, were planning to murder state and federal officials.  As a result of the investigation by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Alaska State Troopers, Coleman Barney and his co-conspirators were arrested before they could carry out their murderous plans.”

Source:Federal Bureau of Investigation

On September 25, 2012, the US Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Ohio stated that Nicholas Delbrocco was charged with two counts after he provided items of value to the Ohio and Vicinity Regional Council of Carpenters.  Delbrocco’s intentions were to receive business related to the pension and annuity fund for the union. 

Delbrocco is a resident of North Kingston, Rhode Island.  His official charges were “offering, accepting, or soliciting to influence operations of an employee benefits plan; and conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud.”

Delbrocco was an employee and part owner of several advisory firms, and according to the FBI, he tried to persuade an officer, agent, and employee of the Carpenters’ Union—referred to as PE61.  The crime progressed as follows. 

Michael Forlani and several other people were starting a project to build facilities used by Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Cleveland.  Around 2007 or 2008, Mr. Forlani asked for help from several people, including PE61, to go out and obtain funding for the project. 

Mr. Delbrocco tried to persuade PE61 into administering the pension and annuity funds of the Carpenters’ Union to his business.  The items of value included multiple airline tickets, frequent flyer miles, rental vehicles, hotel rooms, theater tickets, tickets for sporting events, meals, firearms, and help with the development project. 

On May 16, 2006, PE61 voted and approved $25 million of the pension fund to be managed by the Delbrocco’s business.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Antoinette T. Bacon, Ann C. Rowland, and Nancy L. Kelly.  The investigation was led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Labor, and the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division. 

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation

On September 21 and 24, the US Attorney’s Office in the Western District of New York announced charges for two different men in the possession of child pornography.  Jeremy Otrosinka of Buffalo, New York, underwent indictment on September 21, and Thomas Mehegan of Elmira, New York, pleaded guilty on September 24. 

Otrosinka, 32, was charged with three counts of advertising, receipt, and distribution of child pornography.  He created a website that had a “password-protected bulletin board” that was used for discussing and sharing child pornography.  Members could post images and videos of child pornography as well. 

Mehegan was found to possess child pornography during a search and seizure performed by the New York State Police.  The troopers found numerous computers and hard drive containing child pornography.  During an ongoing investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, it was found the Mehegan had setup a secret camera in his home to record his adult-stepdaughter breastfeeding her child. 

Otrosinka faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum penalty of 60 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.  Mehegan received two counts of possession of child pornography before the U.S. District Court Judge David G. Larimer.  Each count of possession of child pornography carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and supervised release for life. 

U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. made the announcements for Jeremy Otrosinka’s and Mehegan’s charges.  Mehegan will be sentenced on December 10, 2012, and Otrosinka’s sentencing is not yet scheduled. 

The case was part of Project Safe Childhood which was started in May of 2006 to prevent child sexual exploitation and abuse.  The project is led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices (specifically the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section), as well as other federal, state, and local authorities. 

Sources: Federal Bureau of Investigation

On September 26, 2012, the US Attorney’s Office in the District of New Jersey stated that Sixing Liu was found guilty of exporting secret U.S. military technology to China.  Liu was also found guilty of stealing trade secrets and lying to federal agents. 

U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman stated, “The jury found that in order to promote himself, Liu took highly sensitive defense information and trade secrets to China, violating the rules of his company and the laws of this county, and then lied about it upon his return to the United States.”

The crime occurred as follows.  Liu worked for L-3 Communications, Space and Navigation Division in 2010 when he stole a huge amount of electronic files.  The files contained information about design and performance of missile guidance systems as well as information about rockets, unmanned aerial vehicles, and target locators. 

Liu is believed to have stolen the files in order to reserve future employment in China.  After stealing the information, he held multiple presentations at universities in China and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.  Liu flew back to Newark Liberty International Airport on November 29, 2010, and federal agents found the computer and secret files. 

The FBI states that Liu can face the following maximum penalties: 20 years in prison and $1 million fine for export violations, 10 years in prison and $250,000 fine for stolen trade secrets violation, 10 years in prison and $250,000 fine for interstate transportation of stolen property, and five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for false statements. 

Andrew McLees, the Special Agent in Charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement under Homeland Security Investigations, states, “Exporting military weapons and technical data and the theft of sensitive technology in violation of the Arms Export Control Act are serious crimes with global consequences.  Illegal foreign procurement networks continue to threaten our safety and this conviction reinforces that HIS has no tolerance for those who try to undermine our nation’s safety and security.”

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation

On September 26, 2012, the US Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Georgia announced that Terry Rivers, Antonio Gore, and Montez Walker were sentenced by a federal grand jury for the robbery that occurred in January of 2012.  All of the defendants pleaded guilty in May of 2012, and the men were sentenced by Senior United States District Judge William C. O’Kelly. 

According to information presented in the court, the three men and an unidentified man robbed an armored car at the Walmart in Oakwood, Georgia.  During the robbery, the men restrained the courier and stole $75,000 before fleeing the scene.  Witnesses of the robbery promptly called police and gave a description of the SUV used for a getaway vehicle. 

As the police pursued the SUB, the men lost control and crashed into a creek on Woodward Mill Road in Suwanee.  The three defendants then proceeded by foot through the woods and creek.  The men were later apprehended by police and canine units, and all of the money was recovered. 

Terry Rivers received six years and six months in prison, and Antonio Gore received the same sentence.  Montez Walker was sentenced to 10 years and 10 months in prison.  The defendants are also required to pay $23,091.50 in restitution for injuries sustained by the courier and lost wages during her time in the hospital. 

U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates stated, “These defendants boldly robbed an armored car at a busy Walmart during business hours.  Their actions endangered not only the courier, but everyone nearby.  The sentences imposed today reflect the seriousness of their crime and the danger that their actions and flight posed to the community.”

Rickey Maxwell, the Acting Special Agent in Charge for the FBI Atlanta Field Office, commended the Hall County Sheriff’s Office, the Gwinnett County Police Department, and the Oakwood Police Department for their help in apprehending the robbers. 

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation