On October 1, 2012, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas announced that Phillip Monroe Ballard—an inmate at the Fort Worth Federal Correctional Institute—was charged for soliciting a murder-for-hire.  Ballard was charged for trying to hire an outside party to murder U.S. District Judge John McBryde in the Northern District of Texas.  

According to the FBI, Ballard was incarcerated in Fort Worth for tax charges and was set to go on trial before McBryde on October 1, 2012.  The case was cancelled on September 28, 2012, and Judge McBryde withdrew from the case.  

According to the complaint, an inmate at FCI Fort Worth was approached by Ballard earlier in September.  Ballard has specific requests for killing Judge McBryde because he was going to prison on tax charges.  Ballard believed Judge McBryde would sentence him to over 20 years in prison, so he asked the fellow inmate if he knew anybody on the outside.  Unknown to Ballard, the inmate was working with the FBI and the inmate told Ballard he in fact knew someone on the outside.  

Ballard told the inmate that he would pay $100,000 to have Judge McBryde killed so his case would be transferred.  Ballard gave specific instructions.  He said he wanted Judge McBryde killed with a high caliber rifle, and even offered a backup plan to plant a bomb in the judge’s vehicle.  

The inmate gave Ballard a letter from an undercover agent who was posing as the killer.  The letter stated the job would be fulfilled if Ballard transferred $5,000.  On September 26, 2012, Ballard requested that the $5,000 be sent to the address of the undercover agent.  

If convicted, Ballard faces maximum sentence of 20 years in jail and a fine of $250,000.

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation

On October 12, 2012, the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland announced that Eric Jordon was sentenced to 72 years in prison and 5 years of supervised in connection to three armed robberies around the Baltimore area.  

On April 30, 2012, Jordon was convicted of one count of conspiracy, three counts of robbery, three counts of brandishing a firearm, one count of possession of a firearm by a felon, and one count of possession of an unregistered firearm.  The judge declared Jordan a career offender.  

According to court documents, Jordon and the co-defendant, Aaron Graham, were arrested after they robbed two different fast food restaurants in under an hour.  During the robberies, Jordan drove the getaway vehicle and Graham robbed the restaurants.  Graham brandished a weapon during both robberies, and he pistol whipped the clerk in the first robbery.  

Witnesses identified Graham during the robberies, and they also identified the getaway vehicle as a gray pick-up truck.  During the arrest, police found a .25 caliber semiautomatic pistol and approximately $1,083.56 in cash.  

During the trial, evidence proved that Jordan and Graham, as well as another man, previously robbed a gas station in Gwynn Oak, Maryland on February 1, 2011.  During the robbery, Graham beat the cashier and brandished the same pistol used in the other two crimes.  The other robber assaulted a customer who tried to run away during the robbery, and the same robber carried a sawed-off shotgun.  The sawed-off shotgun was found at Jordon’s residence along with a .357 caliber revolver, ammunition, and the clothing Graham wore during the robbery of the gas station.  

Graham received 147 years in prison for the crimes.

The case was investigated by the FBI, the Baltimore Police Department, the Baltimore County Police Department, and the Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office.  

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation
 

On October 12, 2012, the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia announced that Roberto A Darden of Newport News was sentenced to 50 years for producing child pornography and witness tampering.  

Darden pled guilty to both offenses on November 23, 2011.  Warning: the details of the crime are described below and may offend some readers.  

Darden admitted that he and the co-defendant, Ujima Crudup, received money to have the victim of 13 years of age perform sexual acts.  Both men transported the young girl around hotels in Hampton Roads for prostitution.  They provided the victim with illegal drugs and alcohol, and the defendants videotaped the victim as she engaged in sexual acts.  

Additionally, the defendants blackmailed the young girl into prostitution by using the videotape.  They made her sign a contract that explained the requirements of prostitution and working under the defendants.  

After they forced the young girl into prostitution, the defendants made fliers and other advertisements on the internet.  The young girl was also given a personal cell phone to contact customers for prostitution.  

After Darden was arrested, he contacted a woman from jail and told her to deny knowing him or anything about his business when talking with the investigators.  He also asked the woman to give the female victim money in order to stay quiet.  

United States Attorney Neil H. MacBride stated, “Roberto Darden changed a 13-year-old girl’s life forever by forcing her to endure violent sexual assaults and memorializing them all on video.  Today’s sentence is just punishment for a man who lured this young girl to a hotel, filmed her sexual abuse, and then used the videos to blackmail her into prostitution—a well-rehearsed pattern he has used on young women before this one.”  

Crudup received 30 years in prison for his role in the crime.  

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation

On October 3, 2012, the FBI’s Boston Field Office asked for assistance from the public in locating a wanted terrorist by the name of Ahmad Abousamra.  He is a U.S. citizen and lived in Mansfield, Massachusetts until he left the United States in 2006.  The FBI reports that he may be living in Aleppo, Syria with his wife, a daughter, and other family members.  

On September 27, 2012, the US Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York announced that 11 defendants were indicted for conspiracy to distribute heroin around the area of Poughkeepsie, New York.  Another defendant was also charged for distributing the heroin. 

The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced the distribution ring operated in the following way.  The “Fisher Organization” is believed to have distributed heroin around the Poughkeepsie area from January 2011 to September 2012.  The leaders of the drug ring operated the drug dealing activity from a cell phone store on Main Street.  The store was used to conceal heroin, sell heroin to trusted customers, and direct customers to other locations. 

Shabari Fisher and Shateek Parker were the leaders of the operation and provided heroin to other members like Garen Fisher, Shannon Walker, Tyrell Rudolph, Steven Williams, Rasheed Harrell, Carlos Reyes, Christian Parker, Vaugh McKinney, and Gary Sessoms.

The operation used cell phones from the store that were called “dispatch phones.”  During the transactions, the distributors supplied the heroin in bags that were labeled with brand names like “True Religion,” “Gucci,” “Rated R,” “Red Bull,” “Coors Light,” “Scarface,” and “Bomb.” 

All of the defendants face a maximum sentence of life in prison except for Tony Jarrett.  Jarrett faces a maximum penalty of 80 years in prison. 

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara stated, “At first glance, the cell phone store from which these defendants were allegedly operating looked like any other commercial establishment, but in fact, it was the epicenter of their dangerous, destructive, and potentially lethal heroin operation.” 

Bharara praised the efforts of the FBI, Poughkeepsie Police Department, the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office, the DEA, the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive United, the New York State Police, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, the Newburgh Police Department, the Middle Police Department, the Beacon Police Department, the Dutchess County Probation Office and County Jail, and the New York Department of Correctional Services. 

The investigation into this case is still ongoing. 

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation

The Federal Bureau of Investigation reports that Semion Mogilevich is wanted for participating in a fraud scheme that affected the stock of thousands of investors in Canada.  The company was headquartered in Bucks County, Pennsylvania between 1993 and 1998.  The FBI estimates that the fraud scheme caused investors to lose more than $150 million U.S. dollars.  Mogilevich’s profile appears on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted. 

The image provided here was taken in 2001, and Mogilevich was indicted in April of 2003.  He may go by the following aliases:

·  Seva Moguilevich

·  Semon Yudkovich Palagnyuk

·  Semen Yukovich Telesh

·  Simeon Mogilevitch

·  Semjon Mogilevcs

·  Shimon Makelwitsh

·  Shimon Makhelwitsch

·  Sergei Yurevich Schnaider

·   "Seva"

Mogilevich uses the birth dates of June 30, 1946 and July 5, 1946.  He was born in Kiev, Ukraine.  He about 5’6” tall and weighs about 290 pounds.  He has gray and balding hair, and he has green eyes.  He has a light complexion, and he has pockmarks on his face. 

The FBI reports that Mogilevich may wear facial hair including a mustache.  Former acquaintances of Mogilevich state that he is a very heavy smoker.  Although his primary residence was in Moscow, Russia, he is believed to have an Israeli, Ukrainian, and Greek passport as well. 

The FBI warns that Mogilevich is most likely armed, and he is known to be dangerous.  If you have any information on Mogilevich, you need to contact your local FBI office immediately.  You can also contact the nearest American Embassy or Consulate.  If the information you provide leads to his arrest, you will receive a reward up to $100,000. 

Mogilevich is charged with fraud by wire, mail fraud, money laundering conspiracy, money laundering, RICO Conspiracy, aiding and abetting, filing false registration with the SEC, falsification of books and records, and false filings with the SEC. 

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation

On September 27, 2012, the US Department of Justice announced that a real estate developer, Timothy F. Mobley, and an accountant, Timothy F. Hohl, have pleaded guilty to making unlawful contributions to the Republican Party of Florida.  The contributions went to an elected U.S. Congress member. 

The Department of Justice announced that Mobley pleaded guilty to one count of making illegal conduit and illegal corporate contributions.  Hohl pleaded guilty to three counts of aiding and abetting the illegal contributions.  Each crime is in direct violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA). 

Mobley admitted that he made illegal contributions from March 2006 to October 2008 to an unspecified elected official.  He also admitted that he tried to cover up the contributions by offering money to employees and an employee’s family member, as well as using corporate funds and labeling them bonus compensation.  He made a total of $84,300 in campaign contributions. 

Hohl admitted that he worked as Mobley’s accountant from 2006 to 2008.  He stated that he knew of the scheme, and he also reimbursed certain individuals.  Additionally, Hohl admitted that his received reimbursements for his own contributions and his wife’s contributions. 

For his first count, Mobley faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine up to $632,000.  For his second count, Mobley faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.  Hohl faces a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.

The Department of Justice states that the case is being prosecuted by John P. Pearson and Eric G. Olshan, both trial attorneys under the public Integrity Section of the Justice Department.  The case was investigated by the FBI Jacksonville and Tampa Field Offices and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida. 

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation

On September 21, 2012, the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland announced that two men involved in unrelated bank robberies were sentenced.  The two men are Larry McKnight of Baltimore, 48, and Joseph Dixon of Baltimore, 34. 

Larry McKnight received 81 months in prison and three years of supervised released for the bank robbery that occurred on November 14, 2011.  During his guilty plea, he admitted that he walked into the Bank of America on 2827 Smith Avenue in Towson and demanded money from the teller.  He walked out with $1,101.

Michael Dixon was sentenced to 10 years in prison and three years of supervised released for the bank robbery that occurred on August 2, 2010 and September 9, 2010.  Dixon will serve the sentence concurrently with a three year sentence for robbing a bank in North Carolina, and was also ordered to pay $57,850 in restitution to the banks. 

During his plea agreement, Dixon admitted that his walked into the Regal Bank at 10123 Reistertown Roard in Owings Mills and demanded money from the teller.  The teller removed $8,850 from the drawer and Dixon fled. 

Then on September 9, 2012, Dixon drove Lutrell Williams to the Farmers and Merchants Bank on 15226 Hanover Pike in Upperco, Maryland.  Williams entered the bank and demanded money from the teller.  The teller then proceeded to remove $49,000 from the vault and Williams fled.  Witnesses identified Dixon and Williams driving away in a vehicle, which they later abandoned before driving away in another car. 

One September 17, 2010, police officers performed a search warrant at Dixon’s place of residence.  They found heroin, a pistol and ammunition.  Williams was sentenced to 78 months in prison and is required to pay $50,571 in restitution. 

Sources: Federal Bureau of Investigation

On September 26, 2012, the US Attorney’s office for the Southern District of Illinois announced that Ramon T. Carpenter, a former East St. Louis police officer, pleaded guilty to multiple charges.  He was charged with two counts of making false statements to federal officers when they investigated a civil rights complaint against him. 

On July 10, 2012, Carpenter was fired from the East St. Louis Police Department after a complaint was made that he received oral sex from an intoxicated female driver.  The woman was then released with no charges even though she was driving drunk with a license and was uninsured.  He was indicted by a federal grand jury on July 17, 2012. 

The indictment stated that the woman was driving in the early morning on May 8, 2012.  She was pulled over around the intersection of Louisiana Blvd and 25^th Street in East St. Louis, Illinois.  Carpenter found that the female driver was intoxicated and driving with an open container.  Even though the woman should have been arrested, she was driven to a hidden area in Jones Park in the East St. Louis area and told that she would not be arrested if she performed the oral sex. 

Carpenter lied to federal agents about being in Jones Park during his shift, and he also lied about receiving the oral sex.  Because of the false statements, Carpenter faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and over three years of supervised release.  The sentencing is scheduled for January 3, 2012. 

United State’s Attorney Stephen R. Wigginton stated, “The power to arrest is the power to deprive someone of their liberty.  Used properly and professionally, such power is valid.  However, the conduct described in the indictment deprived this victim of more than her liberty—it also deprived her of her dignity.  This prosecution is a strong reminder to those in law enforcement that police officers are sworn to protect citizens, not prey upon them.” 

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation