A Greek citizen, Panagiotis Lekkas, the captain of the bulk cargo ship the M/V Theotokos, pleaded guilty today to four felony counts in federal court in New Orleans for violating anti-pollution laws, ship safety laws and obstructing a U.S. Coast Guard investigation.

The niece of a U.S. Army major pleaded guilty today for her role in a conspiracy to cover up her uncle’s role in accepting more than $9 million in bribes as a contracting officer in Kuwait. Nyree Pettaway, 37, of Houston, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas to one count of conspiring with her uncle, John C. Cockerham, Carolyn Blake (her aunt and Cockerham’s sister) and others, to obstruct the investigation of money laundering related to Cockerham’s receipt of bribes.

A federal jury in Orlando, Fla, found Erin Sharma, a Bureau of Prisons corrections officer, guilty today on felony federal civil rights charges related to a fatal assault on an inmate in March 2005.

A Greek citizen who oversaw the engineering department on board a Dominica-flagged bulk cargo ship pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in New Orleans for violating environmental laws designed to prevent pollution from ships and making false statements to the U.S. Coast Guard.

A federal jury today convicted former United States Congressman William J. Jefferson, 62, of New Orleans, La., of using his office to corruptly solicit bribes.

The Boeing Company will pay the United States $25 million to resolve allegations that the company performed defective work on the entire KC-10 Extender fleet. The KC-10 Extender is a mainstay of the Air Force’s aerial refueling fleet in the Iraq and Afghanistan war theaters.

Dynamics Research Corporation (DRC), a defense contractor based in Andover, Mass., has agreed to pay the United States $15 million plus interest to settle allegations that two of its former executives engaged in a fraudulent kickback scheme in connection with two technical services contracts with the Air Force.

A federal jury in San Juan, Puerto Rico, found four San Juan Municipal Police Officers guilty today of felony federal civil rights charges related to the fatal beating of Jose Antonio Rivera Robles.

A pipeline company and two of its former operating firms will jointly pay a civil penalty of $3.65 million to resolve violations of the Clean Water Act resulting from anhydrous ammonia spills in Nebraska and Kansas, the Justice Department and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today. The spills which occurred in 2004 resulted in significant fish kills in surrounding waterways.

A former Congressional staffer and chief of staff in two federal agencies was indicted today by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia on public corruption charges, the Justice Department announced. The five-count indictment charges Horace M. Cooper, 44, of Lorton, Va., with one count of conspiracy, one count of fraudulent concealment, two counts of false statements, and one count of obstruction of an official proceeding. U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan Kay today issued a criminal summons directing Cooper to make an initial appearance in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009, at 1:45 p.m.

A federal grand jury in Denver has charged Donald Hertz with transmitting a threat in interstate commerce and with violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act for allegedly threatening an employee of a Colorado abortion clinic.

James M. Davis, 60, the former chief financial officer of Houston-based Stanford Financial Group (SFG), pleaded guilty today to fraud and obstruction charges related to a $7 billion scheme to defraud investors.

Three members of the violent gang known as the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (ALKQN) were sentenced today for their participation in narcotics and weapons trafficking.

A former Ft. Campbell, Ky., soldier was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Thomas B. Russell to life in prison after being convicted on May 7, 2009, of charges arising out of the rape of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and the murder of the girl and her family.

Delmar Dwayne Spier, the chief executive officer and managing director of United States Protection and Investigations, LLC (USPI), today pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to conspiracy, major fraud and wire fraud arising from an alleged scheme to defraud the United States; and his wife, Barbara Edens Spier, the president and owner of USPI, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States in connection with U.S.-sponsored rebuilding efforts in Afghanistan.

Donald Daniels, Martin William Washburn, Irina Rebegeneau and Tapani Koivunen have been charged in conjunction with a scheme to defraud the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a government lending agency.

The Department today awarded $723,000 in grants to twelve groups serving communities throughout the country.

Polembros Shipping LTD pleaded guilty today for violating anti-pollution laws, ship safety laws, and making false statements during a U.S. Coast Guard investigation of the M/V Theotokos.

A federal district court in Richmond, Va., ruled yesterday that Virginia violated the voting rights of American military personnel and other overseas citizens by failing to mail absentee ballots in sufficient time for them to be counted in the Nov. 4, 2008, general election.

The Army Sergeant has agreed to pay $90,000 in restitution to the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and to cooperate with the Department of Justice’s ongoing investigation.

Tommy Handy, aka “Tom Tom,” waived indictment and pleaded guilty in federal court in Little Rock, Ark., to a federal charge of sex trafficking of an underage female.

Erin Sharma, a former corrections officer with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, was sentenced today in federal court in Orlando, Fla., on federal civil rights charges related to the fatal assault of an inmate.

Robert J. Cabelly, 61, of Washington, D.C., has been indicted in the District of Columbia charging him with conspiracy to violate the Sudanese sanctions regulations and to act as an unregistered agent of a foreign power.

Michael Kennedy was charged with one count of conspiring with others to violate the federal civil rights of inmate Richard Delano and one count of violating Delano’s civil rights by arranging for another inmate to assault Delano.

Kristine Lafoe was sentenced to serve one year in prison and two years of supervised release for her role in covering up systematic detainee abuse.

Ten individuals were indicted today, charged with, among other things, conspiring to export weapons from Philadelphia to the Port of Latakia, Syria.

John L. Cockerham, 43, a major in the U.S. Army, was sentenced to 210 months in prison.

The Department released a new video aimed at educating employers about worker rights and employer responsibilities under the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Polembros Shipping LTD., a ship management company headquartered in Greece, was sentenced today in federal court in New Orleans to pay a $2.7 million criminal fine for violating anti-pollution laws, ship safety laws, and making false statements during a U.S. Coast Guard investigation of the M/V Theotokos, the Justice Department announced.

A federal grand jury has returned multiple indictments arising out of a fatal racially motivated beating and related police corruption in Shenandoah, Pa.

Justin Cannon, 27, of Corpus Christi, Texas, and Christopher Drotleff, 29, of Virginia Beach, Va., have been charged with crimes including second-degree murder, attempted murder and firearms offenses while working as contractors for the U.S. Department of Defense in Afghanistan. Cannon and Drotleff were charged under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA).

Former military contractor Terry Hall, 43, of Snellville, Ga., pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to pay more than $3 million in bribes to U.S. Army contracting officials stationed at Camp Arifjan, an Army base in Kuwait, and to money laundering conspiracy.

A U.S. Army contracting official was charged today with bribery and unlawful salary supplementation in connection with two schemes to solicit more than $30,000 in bribes from an Egyptian businessman in Kuwait.

U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow today sentenced Roberto Antonio Argueta, aka "Alex Antonio Cruz," aka "Buda," 29, of Hyattsville, Md., to life in prison, plus an additional 35 years, for ordering the murder of Nancy Diaz and the attempted murder of another juvenile girl.

U.S. District Court Judge Daniel R. Dominguez sentenced former San Juan, Puerto Rico Police Officers, Carlos Pagan Ferrer, 32, and Juan Morales Rosado, 32, today for their role in the fatal assault by San Juan officers against Jose Rivera Robles, an unarmed civilian.

Christian Rodney Ice, of Mobile, Ala., pleaded guilty today in federal court in Mobile to one count of violating the Church Arson Act by placing threatening graffitti and neo-Nazi markings on a synagogue in Mobile.

Six Michigan residents, along with two residents of Ohio and a resident of Indiana, were indicted by a federal grand jury in Detroit on charges of seditious conspiracy, attempted use of weapons of mass destruction, teaching the use of explosive materials, and possessing a firearm during a crime of violence.

A retired colonel in the U.S. Army pleaded guilty today to accepting thousands of dollars in gratuities from a contractor during his deployment to Iraq as a contracting officer’s representative.

The founder and chief executive officer of Image Entry Inc., pleaded guilty today for his role in a conspiracy to inflate his earnings resulting from the company’s 2001 acquisition by SourceCorp Inc.

A former captain in the U.S. Army Reserve pleaded guilty today to accepting thousands of dollars in gratuities from a contractor during his deployment to Kuwait.

The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices today announced grant funding available for public education programs that provide workers or employers with information about immigration-related employment discrimination under the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

A U.S. Army sergeant pleaded guilty today to accepting approximately $1.4 million in illegal gratuities from private contractors during his deployment to Kuwait in 2002 and 2003.

A 12-person federal jury in Charlotte, N.C., today voted unanimously to impose the death penalty against Alejandro Enrique Ramirez Umana, aka “Wizard,” 25.

U.S. District Court Judge Daniel R. Dominguez sentenced former San Juan, Puerto Rico, Police Officers, Aaron Vidal Maldonado and Jose Pacheco Cruz today for their roles in the fatal assault by San Juan officers against Jose Rivera Robles, an unarmed civilian.

"Thank you for this opportunity to discuss the President’s Fiscal Year 2011 Budget for the Department of Justice and to provide an update on the department’s progress, key priorities and future plans," said Attorney General Holder.

Nine hospitals located in Alabama, Indiana, Florida, Michigan, South Carolina, New York and Minnesota have agreed to pay the United States more than $9.4 million to settle allegations that the health care facilities submitted false claims to Medicare.

Aksat Denizcilik Ve Ticaret A.S., a Turkish corporation that operated the commercial ship M/T Kerim, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Tampa, Fla., to two felony counts for knowingly failing to fully and accurately maintain an oil record book, which tracks pollutant discharge.

Georgi Vasilev Pletnyov, 49, of Svishtov, Bulgaria, was extradited from Poland to the United States on Friday, May 21, 2010. 

Edward Oedewaldt, 47, was arrested in Arcadia, La., on April 23, 2010, after an extensive search involving assistance from law enforcement in the United States and abroad.

Robert Antoine, 62, of Miami and Haiti, was also ordered by U.S. District Court Judge Jose E. Martinez to serve three years of supervised release following his prison term.