On October 9, 2012, the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York announced that two men were charged for conspiring to murder a United States District Judge and an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.  The first defendant, Joseph Romano, is currently service a 15-year sentence for committing wire fraud and bank fraud.  The second defendant attempted to hire a hitman in order to kill the judge for Romano’s case and the prosecutor for the case.  

 

Authorities caught wind of the planned murder after an inside informant told officers that Ramano want to torture and kill the judge and prosecutor.  He asked the informant to hire a hitman.  Two undercover officers acted as hitmen and met with Ramano multiple times.  Ramano asked the hitmen to assault someone as a test, and after a staged assault, the hitmen were paid $1,500.  

 

The second defendant, Dejvid Mirkovic, was working along with Ramano the whole time.  He met with the same undercover officers and offered to pay them $40,000 for killing the judge and prosecutor.  After he explained Ramano’s plans for the murder, he gave the undercover officers a $12,000 down payment and another $10,000 for the next week.  He told the undercover agents he would pay the remaining $18,000 after the murders were completed.  Mirkovic was soon arrested and authorities found the remaining amount of cash.  

 

U.S. Attorney Loretta E. Lynch stated, “Ramano thought he was buying revenge.  Instead, he bought the full force of the law, along with a possible life sentence.  By allegedly targeting for death dedicated public servants, the defendants attempted to strike a blow to the heart of our criminal justice system.  Today’s arrests send an unequivocal message that any plot to harm or intimidate our judges and prosecutors will be vigorously investigated and prosecuted.” 

 

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation

On October 5, 2012, the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announced that William DeVencinzi, an East Boston Man, was sentenced after he engaged in several armed bank robberies.  U.S. District Judge Douglas P. Woodlock sentenced DeVencinzi to 210 months in prison and five years of supervised release.  He is also ordered to pay restitution.  

 

The FBI reports that DeVencinzi and the co-defendant, Theodore Sawtelle, robbed the East Boston Savings Bank on Revere Beach Parkway in Everett on March 3, 2011.  They defendants then robbed the Bank of America in Winthrop on March 4, 2011.  A pipe bomb was placed on the teller’s counter during both of the robberies, and $4,900 was obtained in total.  

 

After the two bank robberies occurred, the Violent Crimes Task Force under the FBI made a profile for each of the defendants and submitted the information to the media.  After cooperation from the public, the FBI was able to identify DeVencinzi who was convicted of armed bank robberies and manslaughter in the 1980s.  

 

On March 8, 2011, the FBI was conducting surveillance on DeVencinzi and Sawtelle as they approached the Bank of America on Canal Street.  The FBI saw DeVencinzi change into a New York Yankes windbreaker and put on a hat and pair of sunglasses.  He then placed the pipe bomb in a green bag.  They were spooked by a police officer and fled the scene, only to reappear the next day.  

 

The two men were arrested before they could enter the Bank of America on Canal Street.

 

Sawtelle was sentenced to 48 months in prison and five years of supervised release on September 25, 2012.  The case was investigated by multiple agencies, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth G. Shine prosecuted the case.  

 

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation

On October 9, 2012, the US Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida announced that Linda Gayle Wilson from Baldwin was sentenced to 12 months in federal prison after providing false information that involved a bomb report to authorities.  She was arrested on December 27, 2011, and she pleaded guilty on July 3, 2012.  U.S. District Judge Henry Lee Adams, Jr. sentenced Wilson.  

 

Court documents indicate that between May 9, 2010 and the early morning of May 10, Wilson proceeded to make several phone calls from her residence to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.  On the last call to the Sheriff’s Office, she told authorizes that a female terrorist was on a cruise ship carrying a bomb and the ship was scheduled to arrive in Jacksonville.  She stated the bomb was set to explode before the cruise ship reached port.  

 

Wilson told authorities that the female terrorist was on the cruise ship Carnival Fascination.  Authorities then concluded that the Fascination was returning to the JAXPORT Cruise Terminal after a Mother’s Day cruise throughout the Caribbean.  A total of 2,404 passengers were on board along with another 896 members.  

 

After receiving the bomb threat, the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, and the JAXPORT Security worked with crew members to immediately started bomb search procedures on the cruise ship.  

 

When the cruise ship docked at JAXPORT, federal and local authorities immediately boarded the cruise ship.  After an intense investigation, no bombs were found.  Authorities found that the information provided by Wilson about the bomb and terrorist were completely false.  

 

The FBI, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative service were thanked for their quick response.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin C. Frein and A. Tysen Duva.  

 

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation

On October 9, 2012, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri announced that James A. Griffin of Kansas City was sentenced to seven years and six months in prison without parole for his armed robbery at the Clay County Savings Bank in Smithville, Missouri.  The announcement was made by David M. Ketchmark, the Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri.  

 

Griffin pleaded guilty on March 6, 2012.  During his plea, he admitted to using the firearm to intimidate the teller.  The co-defendant, Ericka Y. Jones of Kansas City, is still awaiting sentencing.  She pleaded guilty on May 20, 2012 for aiding and abetting.  

 

According to the FBI, Griffin and Jones robbed the Clay County Savings Bank located at 1101 S. US Highway 169 in Smithville on November 28, 2011.  Both Griffin and Jones enter the bank at the same time and pointed a handgun at the teller.  The demanded money from the teller, and she placed her drawer on the counter.  Jones and Griffin proceeded to remove the money from the drawer and take the money from another drawer in a similar fashion.  They fled the bank with $9,172.  

 

On November 30, 2011, a confidential informant notified the police that Griffin and Jones were at a Foot Locker store on the same day of the robbery.  They used about $900 in $20 bills to buy clothing and shoes.  Court documents indicate Jones then returned to the store the next day to return some items.  She gave the cashier her name, address, and phone number.  Video surveillance also identified the license plates on Jones’ vehicle.  

 

Jones was arrested on the same day, and Griffin surrendered to authorities on the following day.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney D. Michael Green.  

 

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation

 

The FBI reports that HPD is the biggest municipal developer of affordable housing in the country.  According to complaint documents, Provenzano received bribes numerous $10,000 bribes over a span of several years in return for making inspection reports to the hired contractor.  The FBI also reports that Adorno received a $100,000 bribe from a general contractor in return of awarding the contractor with construction contracts.  

 

FBI Assistant Director in Charge, Mary Galligan, stated: “As alleged, these defendants flouted their responsibilities as city employees to profit personally.  When public employees favor bribe-payers, inevitably the city and the public stand to lose.  The city gets substandard goods or services or pays above market rates for them or the public is otherwise at risk.” 

 

Both Provenzano and Adorno face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.  The investigation was handled by the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in New York, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the New York City Police Department, and the FBI.  United States Attorney Lynch thanks the organizations for their assistance.  

 

DOI Commissioner Gill Hearn commented, “These two ex-employees lost their city jobs and are now felons who have admitted taking bribes.  Their conduct shows the peril and foolishness of corruption.  We will continue to work with our partners in law enforcement and our colleagues in city government to expose, stop, and prevent corruption and protect the city and its taxpayers from this kind of abuse.” 

 

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation

On October 3, 2012, the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York announced that a Russian agent and 10 other members of a procurement network for the Russian Military and Intelligence were arrested while operating in the United States.  The individuals were charged for their part in exporting high-tech microelectronics form the U.S. to Russia.  The agent, Alexander Fishenko, was also charged for operating an unregistered agent for Russia while in the United States. 

 

The microelectronics are strictly controlled by the U.S government because they can be used in military systems like radar, surveillance systems, guidance systems for weapons, and detonation triggers.  

 

According to the indictment, Fishenko founded a company called Arc Electronics Inc. in Houston after he immigrated to the U.S. in 1994.  Between 2002 and before being arrested, Fishenko is believed to have shipped about $50,000,000 worth of microelectronics and other types of technology to Russia.  Fishenko is also part owner of Apex System LLC in Moscow, which is a supplier of military equipment to the Russian government.  

 

In order to export the technologies, the defendants reported false information concerning the purchase of the technology, hid the fact that they were exporters, and falsely identified the technologies in record submitted to the Department of Commerce.  The FBI reports that the defendants used sophisticated techniques to hide their procurement activities with the Russian military.  

 

The Department of Commerce also compiled a list of 165 foreign companies and persons that receives, transported, or allowed for the exportation of the technologies.  The defendants are Arc Electronics Inc., Apex System LLC, Alexander Fishenko, Shavat Abdullaev, Lyudmila Bagdikian, Anastasia Diatlova, Viktoria Klebanova, Sergey Klinov, Alexander Posobilov, Yuri Savin, Dmitriy Shegurov, Sevinj Taghiyeva, Svetalina Zagon.  

 

FBI Special Agent in Charge, Stephen L. Morris, announced, “In this day and time, the ability of foreign countries to illegally acquire sensitive and sophisticated U.S. technology poses a significant threat to both the economic and national security of our nation.”  

 

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation

On October 2, 2012, the Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) under the Immigration and Custom’s Enforcement announced that a Salvadorian man was deported to his home country because he is wanted for murder, organized crime, and extortion.  The man’s name is Walter Fernando Alfaro-Pineda.

 

Officers under the Criminal Alien Program met with Alfaro-Pineda at Lee County Jail in Texas after officers retrieved an Interpol fugitive warrant after his arrest on June 18.  He was then released into custody of the ERO and sentenced by an immigration judge on September 5, 2012.

 

The Salvadorian fugitive was removed by the country on a charter flight by the ERO’s Air Operations Unit (IAO).  The ERO reports that 500 foreign fugitives have been removed from the United States since October 1, 2009.  The fugitives have been accused of serious crimes like rape, kidnapping, major drug offences, murder, and more.

 

David W. Jennings, a field office director at ERO Houston, stated, “This removal is the positive result of ICE’s thorough screening of jails and prisons throughout the nation.  This case is representative of the hard work and service by ERO and our law enforcement partners to ensure public safety.”

 

The Criminal Alien Program under the ERO attempts to identify fugitive aliens that are located in jails and prisons in the United States.  Targeting is mainly accomplished by conducting interviews and reviewing an inmate’s biographical information within their record.  Some of the criminal may stay in U.S. jails to finish their sentencing in this country before being deported and tried in their own country.

 

The ERO decides to hold the criminals or immediately deport the criminals based on their level of risk and the severity of the crimes in the home country.

 

Source: U.S. Immigration and Custom’s Enforcement

On October 4, 2012, the Food and Drug Administration announced that it took action against over 4,100 internet pharmacies that are illegally selling dangerous or unapproved drugs this week.  The FDA partnered with numerous law enforcement and international regulatory agencies.  

 

The FDA reports that this year’s effort to control online sales and distribution is called Operation Pangea V.  The initiative occurred between September 25 and October 2, and over 18,000 illegal pharmaceutical websites were shutdown and more than $10.5 million was seized worldwide.  

 

The FDA identified a large number of illegal medicines sold by the pharmaceutical websites: 

 

• Domperidone: the medicine was removed from the United States in 1998 because it can cause an irregular heartbeat, sudden stop of the heart, and even sudden death.  The medicine is used for increasing milk production in nursing mothers. 

• Isotretinoin (Accutane): the medicine is strictly controlled and used to treat serious nodular acne.  The medicine has serious side effects like birth defects, so the medicine has restrictions in the U.S. 

• Tamiflu: this drug is used to treat the flu and is often sold in its generic form online.  There is no FDA-approved generic version of the drug, and the FDA reports that many generic version contain the wrong active ingredients.  

• Viagra: the drug is used to treat erectile dysfunction and is strictly regulated because it dangerous when used by people with certain heart conditions.  

 

The FDA reports that it also sent warning letter to over 4,100 websites.  According to FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D., “Consumers in the United States and around the world face a real threat from Internet pharmacies that illegally sell potentially substandard, counterfeit, adulterated, or otherwise unsafe medicines.  The week’s efforts show that strong international enforcement efforts are required to combat this global public health concern.” 

 

Source: U.S. Food and Drug Administration

On October 3, 2012, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York stated that Theodore Shulman, a pro-choice supporter, was sentenced in a Manhattan federal court to 41 months in prison after he threatened to kill to pro-life supporters.  The announcement was made by Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.  

 

The FBI reports that Mr. Shulman pled guilty in May of 2012 to “one count of transmitting a threat to injure another person.”  The guilty plea was presented before United States District Judge Paul A. Crotty, who also issued the sentence on October 3.  

 

According to court documents, Mr. Shulman made a threat to two pro-life advocates on January 14, 2010.  Mr. Shulman made the threat by post a message on a blog called “SecondHandSmoke” on the website, FirstThings.com.  The FBI reports that the message read, “If Roeder is acquitted, someone will respond by killing [Victim-1] of [the university] and [Victim-2] of Priests of Life.”  

 

The Roeder comment applied to Scott Roeder.  He was convicted in 2010 for murdering Dr. George Tiller, who provided abortions.  The FBI reports the threat was serious after they found cyanide, castor beans, and rosary peas in Shulman’s possession during his arrest on February of 2011.  

 

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara stated, “The vibrant exchange of ideas that is a hallmark of our society does not include threats.  As Theodore Shulman’s sentence makes clear, advocating one’s point of view through threats of violence is illegal conduct that will be punished.” 

 

Shulman is also sentenced to three years of supervised release.  The FBI was responsible for the investigation.  The prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Kan M. Nawaday and David Miller who were part of the Office’s General Crimes Unit.  

 

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation

On October 3, 2012, the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama announced that Corey L. Hooper, a Birmingham police officer, was convicted by a federal jury after he used excessive force on a handcuffed defendant in 2007.  The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge Robert E. Haley, III.  

 

In July of 2012, the federal jury indicted officer Hooper after he was charged with violating the civil rights of two apprehended individuals while he was on the job.  Both incidents occurred in 2007, and Mr. Hooper is still employed as a Birmingham police officer to this date.  

 

During the trial, it was found the officer Hooper repeatedly struck Martez Gulley with his hands and fists while Gulley was handcuffed and sitting in the backseat of the patrol car.  The incident occurred on September 6, 2007.  After deliberating for less than an hour and a half, the jury found Corey L. Hooper “guilty of depriving the civil rights of Martez Gulley.  Hooper was found not guilty for the second charge where he used a X26 taser stun gun on a handcuffed defendant on August 4, 2007.  

 

U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance stated, “Few police officers violate their oaths to uphold the law and protect the public, but those who do must be held accountable, as this defendant was today.  I thank the FBI for its hard work compiling the evidence in this case.  This was the district’s first civil rights trial since my office formed a Civil Rights Enforcement Unit to expand the office’s work in enforcing civil rights laws.  We are committed to aggressive civil rights enforcement.” 

 

Officer Hooper faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine up to $250,000.  

 

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation