A federal jury yesterday convicted a Baltimore Police Department (BPD) officer, Gregory Mussmacher, on civil rights and obstruction charges related to his physical abuse in 2004 of a then-17-year-old arrestee whom Mussmacher assaulted with a baton while the teen was handcuffed, shackled and temporarily blinded by pepper-spray.

Former Woonsocket, R.I., Police Officer John H. Douglas pleaded guilty today in federal court in Providence, R.I., to a federal criminal civil rights charge for assaulting a juvenile who was in his custody.

A federal grand jury in Mobile, Ala., has returned a three-count indictment charging Thomas Hayward Lewis, 24, of Mobile, with violating and conspiring to violate the civil rights of congregants of the Congregation Tree of Life Messianic Synagogue in Mobile, as well as possession of an unregistered firearm.

A federal jury in Orlando, Fla., found former Bureau of Prisons corrections officer Michael Kennedy guilty late yesterday on felony federal civil rights charges related to the fatal assault of an inmate in March 2005.

A federal grand jury has charged Vernon Wilson, former Chief Deputy of the Washington County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, in a six-count indictment stemming from four separate incidents in which Wilson allegedly assaulted inmates or caused the assault of inmates in the Washington County Jail in the summer and fall of 2005.

A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Mark John Walker, 51, of Eugene, Ore., in an eight-count indictment stemming from multiple incidents in which Walker allegedly sexually abused female offenders who were under his direct supervision as a probation officer, and then obstructed a later investigation to cover up his misconduct.

Leon Pullen pleaded guilty to civil rights violations stemming from several incidents where he sexually assaulted and stole money from women.

Donald Hertz pleaded guilty today in federal court in Spokane to one count of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act and one count of transmitting a threat in interstate commerce.

Two officers with the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) have been charged in a three-count indictment with federal crimes in connection with the beating death of civilian Raymond Robair in July 2005.

Former Choctaw County, Okla., deputy sheriff Ben Westley Milner was sentenced today in Muskogee, Okla., to serve 18 months in prison and two years supervised release for violating the civil rights of three men by assaulting them without legal justification.

A federal grand jury in Shreveport, La., returned an indictment yesterday charging Joshua James Moro, 23; Jeremy Matthew Moro, 33; and Sonya Marie Hart, 31, with offenses related to a cross-burning in Athens, La., in October 2008, near the home of an interracial couple.

A federal grand jury in St. Paul, Minn., returned an indictment today charging Minneapolis Police Officer Jason Andersen, 33, with a felony civil rights crime for assaulting a juvenile during an arrest.

A federal grand jury in Phoenix, Ariz., returned a three-count indictment today charging former Navajo Police Officer Christine Thinn and former Navajo Police Sergeant Phillip Bedonie Jr. with federal crimes in connection with the beating of Newton Charlie in January 2009.

A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Natchez, Miss., Police Department Officers Elvis Prater, 35, and Dewayne Johnson, 32, with civil rights offenses and other offenses related to the beating of two men in custody, the theft of an arrestee’s credit and debit cards, and the officers’ false statements to federal investigators.

John McQueen, 33, a former sergeant and supervisor at the Lexington-Fayette County, Ky., Detention Center (FCDC), and Clarence McCoy, 31, a former corporal at FCDC, were sentenced today in federal court in Lexington, Ky., for their roles in the systematic abuse of detainees at FCDC, the Justice Department announced

Harold Hutcheson, a former captain at the Northwest Correctional Complex (NCC), in Tiptonville, Tenn., and Joshua Ryan Jones and Roger Forrester, former officers at NCC, were sentenced today in federal court in Jackson, Tenn., for violating the civil rights of an inmate and then lying about it during the state and federal investigations.

'RLUIPA was a response by bipartisan members of Congress to what they saw as a threat to one of our most fundamental freedoms," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.

Former Memphis Police Officer sentenced to 18 months in prison, two years supervised release and a $4,000 fine.

A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging former Fresno, Calif., Police Department (FPD) Officers Christopher Coleman, 42; Paul Van Dalen, 44; and Sean Plymale, 41; and current FPD Sergeant Michael Manfredi, 50, with civil rights and obstruction of justice offenses related to the assault of a man in their custody in October 2005.

Vincent Johnson of Brick, N.J., who went by the internet pseudonym “Devilfish,” pleaded guilty in federal court in Trenton, N.J., to multiple charges related to a series of threatening communications he sent to employees of five civil rights organizations that work to improve opportunities for, and challenge discrimination against, Latinos in the United States.

A federal grand jury in Nashville, Tenn., today returned an indictment charging Hickman County, Tenn., Deputy Sheriff Kenneth H. Smith with federal civil rights violations, as well as charges of lying to federal investigators.

"In addition to the arrests and criminal charges that Assistant Attorney General Breuer announced, we are also announcing that we have obtained a Temporary Restraining Order freezing the assets of four corporate entities," said Assistant Attorney General West.

SB Pharmco Puerto Rico Inc., a subsidiary of GlaxoSmithKline, PLC (GSK), has agreed to plead guilty to charges relating to the manufacture and distribution of certain adulterated drugs made at GSK’s now-closed Cidra, Puerto Rico, manufacturing facility.

Oddie Tribble, a former police officer with the Kershaw County, S.C., Sherriff’s Office, was charged today with violating the civil rights of an arrestee on Aug. 5, 2010.

Daniel Lee Jones, a Portland, Ore., white supremacist, was sentenced today to 18 months in prison and three years supervised release for threatening the president of the Lima, Ohio, chapter of the NAACP by mailing him a noose. Jones entered a guilty plea on May 17, 2010, to using the U.S. Postal Service to send a threatening communication.

Benjamin Montgomery, a former correctional officer at the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta pleaded guilty today to a two-count information charging him with civil rights crimes for assaulting an inmate and for subsequently writing a false report about the incident.

Attorney General Holder announced today that the Justice Department has filed a civil lawsuit against nine defendants in the matter of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.

"While oil spill response efforts were underway, the Department of Justice launched both criminal and civil probes into this matter," said Attorney General Holder.

A judge sentenced Feliciano Sanchez, a former officer with the Bell, Calif., Police Department, to nine years in federal prison and three years of supervised release for sexually assaulting a female motorist and violating her civil rights.

In honor of the 50th anniversary of Robert F. Kennedy’s swearing-in as the nation’s 64th Attorney General, the Justice Department today welcomed Kennedy family members, including Ethel Kennedy, renowned civil rights leaders, historians and current and former Justice Department employees to pay tribute to Attorney General Kennedy’s service.

A judge sentenced Thomas Hayward Lewis to 12 months and one day in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for violating the civil rights of congregants of the Congregation Tree of Life Messianic Synagogue, as well as possession of an unregistered firearm.

"I appreciate the opportunity to discuss the work of the Civil Division of the Department of Justice regarding combating fraud and securing the recovery of monies on behalf of American taxpayers."

The Justice Department announced today that former Lucas County Sheriff’s Sergeant John E. Gray was sentenced today by Judge David A. Katz to three years in prison, followed by two years supervised release, for federal civil rights violations and records falsification relating to the in-custody death of a pretrial detainee at the Lucas County Jail.

Leon Pullen, 32, of Foley, Mo., a former police officer employed by the Uplands Park Police Department in suburban St. Louis, was sentenced to 25 years in prison on civil rights violations stemming from several incidents where he sexually assaulted and stole money from women.

A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Choctaw County, Miss., Sheriff’s Deputy Billy C. Scott Jr. with civil rights violations and obstructing justice.

"The MOVE Act’s enactment in 2009 was the most important advancement in the area of military and overseas voter law in more than 20 years," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.

"Central to our mission is the recovery of taxpayer dollars that are lost to fraud, waste and abuse," said Assistant Attorney General West

“Driven by bigotry and hate, the defendants threatened a member of their own family with violence simply because she associated with persons of another race,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.

BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois, a division of Health Care Service Corporation, has agreed to pay the United States and the state of Illinois $25 million to settle False Claims Act allegations.

A jury in Natchez, Miss., yesterday convicted a Natchez Police Department officer of violating the civil rights of an arrestee by stealing credit and debit cards from the arrestee.

A jury in St. Louis today convicted Vernon Wilson, 57, former chief deputy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Department, of violating the civil rights of four former inmates of the Washington County Jail on four separate occasions by beating two of the inmates and by arranging for the beatings of two other inmates.

A federal court in Detroit has ordered Ypsilanti, Mich., property owner and Washtenaw County Commissioner Ronnie Peterson, and his former manager Glen E. Johnson to pay a total of $82,500 in civil penalties in a sexual harassment case.

"It was here that I first learned to be a lawyer; where I learned my most important lessons about law and public service; and where I learned something that all of you already know: that the small steps we take in service can create giant leaps of difference."

A Bexar County, Texas, corrections officer was charged today in a two-count federal indictment with violating the civil rights of two detainees.

"With each new wave of intolerance, our nation has responded – passing new civil rights laws, striking down old laws that sanctioned discrimination, and eventually recognizing the value of diverse communities and embracing those previously shunned," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.

"Our goal with this investigation – as with all of our police pattern and practice investigations – is simple: to ensure that the community has an effective, accountable police department that controls crime, ensures respect for the Constitution, and earns the trust of the public it is charged with protecting."

Two officers with the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) have been convicted of civil rights and obstruction of justice crimes in connection with the beating death of civilian Raymond Robair in July 2005, and a subsequent cover-up.

"President Obama and Attorney General Holder recognize that civil rights enforcement is about protecting individual rights and helping entire communities," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.

Vincent Johnson of Brick, N.J., was sentenced to 50 months in prison and three years supervised release for sending a series of threatening email communications to employees of five civil rights organizations that work to improve opportunities for, and challenge discrimination against, Latinos in the United States.

The Justice Department announced today that Johnny Mathis, 47, of Lecompte, La., pleaded guilty to two federal crimes for shooting at the home of three Hispanic men living across the street from him because of the victims’ race and national origin.