Charles Ndhlovu was convicted today for his participation in a counterfeit DVD and CD ring.

A Pittsburgh man was sentenced today to 125 months in prison for conspiring to conduct a racketeering enterprise related to his membership in a Pittsburgh Crips gang.

The Department of Justice announced today that, in order for VeriFone Systems Inc. to complete its acquisition of Hypercom Corp., it must divest Hypercom’s U.S. point-of-sale terminals business to an entity sponsored by Gores Group LLC, a private equity fund.

Joel Esquenazi and Carlos Rodriguez, former executives of Terra Telecommunications Corp., have been convicted by a federal jury for their roles in a scheme to pay bribes to Haitian government officials at Telecommunications D’Haiti S.A.M.

Phillip A. Hamilton, a former member of the Virginia House of Delegates, was sentenced today to 114 months in prison after he was previously convicted of soliciting employees of Old Dominion University (ODU) for a paid position in exchange for introducing a budget amendment to fund the position, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Levonda J. Selph, 57, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton of the District of Columbia.

The Department of Justice announced today that it has reached a settlement that will require Regal Beloit Corporation (RBC) to divest its U.S. business for electric motors for pool and spa pumps to SNTech Inc. and to divest A.O. Smith Corporation’s (AOS) development work and related assets for draft inducers for high-efficiency furnaces to Revcor Inc., in order to proceed with RBC’s acquisition of AOS’s electric motor business.

A Crips gang member and associate each pleaded guilty today in federal court in Pittsburgh to racketeering charges.

Aurelio Cano-Flores, aka “Yankee” and “Yeyo,” a high-ranking member of the Mexican Gulf Cartel, has been extradited to the United States from Mexico to face drug conspiracy charges.

Rodger Dale DeVries, 73, a resident of Jenison, Mich., has pleaded guilty to illegally importing a polar bear trophy mount in 2007 from Canada into Michigan in violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

A federal jury has convicted three Vice Lord gang members for their various roles in the murder of two individuals, and attempted murders of additional victims.

Tyrone L. Ellis, 56, of Columbus, Ga., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Clay D. Land of the Middle District of Georgia.

Lamon Street, 20, aka “M-Dot,” and Dominique Steele, 21, aka “C-Flack,” pleaded guilty before Senior U.S. District Judge Gustave Diamond to one count of conspiracy to engage in a racketeering enterprise.

Miguel Angel Nevarez, aka “Lentes” and “94,” a member of the Barrio Azteca (BA) gang, has been extradited to the United States from Mexico to face a variety of charges including those related to his alleged participation in the March 13, 2010, murders of three individuals with ties to the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

Rayshawn Malachi, 26, aka “Melly Mel,” pleaded guilty on April 28, 2011, before Senior U.S. District Judge Gustave Diamond to one count of conspiracy to engage in a racketeering enterprise.

After a five-month trial, a federal jury today convicted six members of La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, in federal court in San Francisco of racketeering (RICO) conspiracy and related charges.

A former member of the Arizona Army National Guard was charged today for his role in a widespread bribery and illegal drug trafficking conspiracy that operated from January 2002 through March 2004.

Steven Scott Cantrell, of Crane, Texas, pleaded guilty today to hate crime charges stemming from a series of racially-motivated arsons in December 2010, including the arson of a historic African-American church as part of an effort to murder a disabled African-American man.

Five alleged members of the violent gang known as the East Side Los Guada Bloods (East Side Bloods) have been charged in an indictment returned yesterday in Phoenix with various racketeering and attempted murder charges.

The former campaign treasurer for Representative Frank LoBiondo of New Jersey was sentenced today to 30 months in prison for embezzling more than $450,000 from the congressman’s election and re-election campaign accounts.

Glenn E. Morgan Jr. of Detroit pleaded guilty in federal court to sending a noose and threatening photographs through the mail to a Detroit couple because of their race.

"It is a great honor to go to my job every day and work with the dedicated career attorneys and professionals in the Division to protect and defend the rights guaranteed by some of our nation’s most cherished laws," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.

April Rampton, formerly a resident of Heber City, Utah, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Salt Lake City with 15 counts of presenting false claims to the United States.

Bridgestone Corporation has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $28 million criminal fine for its role in conspiracies to rig bids and to make corrupt payments to foreign government officials in Latin America related to the sale of marine hose and other industrial products manufactured by the company and sold throughout the world.

Former Indianapolis and Marion County, Ind., City-County Councilman Lincoln Plowman was convicted today by a federal jury of attempted extortion and soliciting a bribe.

Thomas Aram Manok, 50, of Chantilly, Va., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga in the Eastern District of Virginia.

Attorney General Eric Holder today joined Belgian Minister of Justice Stefaan De Clerck and Minister of Interior Annemie Turtelboom to sign an agreement on Preventing and Combating Serious Crime (PCSC), which will allow for the exchange of biometric and biographic data of suspected criminals between the United States and Belgium to bolster counterterrorism and law enforcement efforts while protecting individual privacy.

"Over the years, by working together – in common cause, in good faith, and with mutual respect and shared commitment to reciprocity – we have built a safer world," said Attorney General Holder.

Late yesterday, the Justice Department sent to Congress a package of legislative proposals that will significantly enhance the department’s ability to protect the rights of members of the military and their families.

Anthony St. Laurent Sr., 70, was sentenced today to 84 months in prison for his role in an attempted murder-for-hire.

"Our common objective is to deploy the counter terrorist financing tools available to the United States in a coordinated, integrated fashion to effectively disrupt the flow of funds and other material support to terrorist organizations," said Assistant Attorney General Monaco.

After a two day hearing in federal court in Rochester, N.Y., that ended late yesterday, U.S. District Court Judge Charles J. Siragusa sentenced Keith Gordon-Smith, 54, of Rochester, to six years in prison for knowingly violating the Clean Air Act and making false statements to a federal inspector.

Jesus Espino, 43, of El Paso, Texas, and Lorenzo Espino, 51, aka “Lencho,” and “Oso,” of El Paso, each pleaded guilty today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Norbert Garney in the Western District of Texas, El Paso Division, to participating in a racketeering conspiracy.

A former member of the U.S. Army employed by a private security firm was arrested at Miami International Airport today on charges of bribery, fraud and theft of government funds, in connection with the award of a contract to provide services to a U.S. government provincial reconstruction team in Farah, Afghanistan.

The Justice Department today resolved claims made by U.S. Army Reserve member Kyle A. Sharp against ServiceMaster 24-Hour and Gregory Tullar, ServiceMaster’s owner and operator, alleging that they violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994.

I appreciate this opportunity to appear before the Committee on behalf of the Department of Justice to offer the Department’s report on implementation of the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010, Title II of Public Law 111-211 (TLOA).

A former captain in the U.S. Army Reserve stationed in Afghanistan was sentenced today to 120 months in prison for soliciting $1.3 million in bribes from contractors involved in U.S.-funded reconstruction efforts and participating in a conspiracy to traffic heroin from Southeast Asia.

Four alleged members and associates of the New England La Cosa Nostra (LCN), including an alleged Rhode Island leader, have been arrested and charged in a second superseding indictment returned yesterday in federal court in Providence, R.I., with crimes involving racketeering and extortion.

Antonio Washington, 22, aka “T.O.,” of Nashville, also was ordered by U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger to serve five years of supervised release following his prison term.

Nearly 40 members and associates of the Bandido Outlaw Motorcycle Gang (BOMG) were arrested yesterday and today on various firearms and drug-related charges in three judicial districts as part of a coordinated law enforcement effort.

September 11th Victim Compensa¬tion Fund (VCF) Special Master Sheila L. Birnbaum today announced that the fund is officially open for claimants.

The Justice Department announced today that Timothy Lee York, a 35 year-old, self-proclaimed member of the United Aryan Brotherhood, pleaded guilty to violently assaulting a Jewish inmate at a federal correctional facility in Texas.

The Department of Justice announced today that it has entered into a consent decree with the Board of Education of Berkeley School District 87 in Berkeley, Ill. that, if approved by the court, will resolve a religious accommodations lawsuit filed in December 2010.

The Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the European Commission today issued an updated set of “best practices” that they use to coordinate their merger reviews.

The United States has reached a final settlement of a long-running lawsuit by the Osage Tribe of Oklahoma regarding the United States’ accounting and management of the tribe’s trust funds and non-monetary trust assets.

A General Services Administration (GSA) customer service manager was sentenced today to 30 months in prison for his role in a bribery scheme related to payments he received for awarding GSA contracts to various government contractors.

Joel Esquenazi, 52, of Miami, and Carlos Rodriguez, 55, of Davie, Fla., were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez in the Southern District of Florida.

Thirteen individuals, including an alleged member and an associate of the Lucchese organized crime family, are charged with racketeering and related offenses in an indictment unsealed this morning in conjunction with arrests in the case.

"The fight against transnational organized crime is one of the highest enforcement priorities of the Department of Justice and the Administration," said Assistant Attorney General Breuer.

A federal jury today convicted Spokane, Wash., Police Officer Karl F. Thompson Jr., 64, of civil rights and obstruction charges stemming from his March 18, 2006, beating of an unarmed citizen and an extensive cover-up that followed.