Madhatta Asagal Haipe, a citizen of the Philippines and founding member of Al-Harakat Al-Islamiyyah, also known as the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), was sentenced today to 23 years in prison after earlier pleading guilty to four counts of hostage taking in the 1995 abduction of 16 people, including four U.S. citizens, in the Philippines.

Maria Terechina, a national of the Russian Federation, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Columbus, Ohio, for her role in a human trafficking conspiracy involving guestworkers who worked in hotels as housekeepers and laundry workers.

The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against a Gulfport, Miss., newspaper and a landlord and her agent for violating the Fair Housing Act by discriminating against families with children.

The Justice Department today announced the settlement of an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) complaint against Modern Hairstyling Institute Inc. in Bayamón, Puerto Rico.

A comprehensive Clean Water Act settlement with the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) will address the flow of untreated sewage into Cleveland area waterways and Lake Erie.

The United States has sued a Chicago tax return preparer to bar her from preparing federal tax returns for others.

Attorney General Eric Holder announced today that he has appointed Gary G. Grindler to be chief of staff to the Attorney General, effective Jan. 17, 2011.

Marsha Parenteau of Dublin, Ohio, has been sentenced for conspiring to commit money laundering, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.

Roy W. Bradford was sentenced today in federal district court in Dayton, Ohio, for willfully filing a false federal income tax return for 2004.

The Justice Department today announced the settlement of a lawsuit filed to enforce the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) against Nobel Learning Communities, Inc. (NLC), a private, for-profit entity that operates a nationwide network of more than 180 preschools, elementary schools and secondary schools.

The president and co-director of a Florida corporation was sentenced today to 33 months in prison for money laundering related to proceeds generated by the corporation through its distribution of child pornography.

"I wish that Dr. King could be here with us to see the America that he helped to create," said Attorney General Holder.

"Here, in the church that Reverend King called his home, and in houses of worship across America – his spirit lives," said Attorney General Holder.

Attorney General Eric Holder announced today the creation of a new Professional Misconduct Review Unit to handle disciplinary actions for career attorneys at the Department of Justice that arise from Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) investigations and appointed Kevin Ohlson to be its Chief.

The Justice Department announced today that Orland Park, Ill., property owner Terence Flanagan has agreed to pay $35,000 in monetary damages and civil penalties to settle consolidated Fair Housing Act lawsuits against him.

Glenn Duffie Shriver, 29, of Grand Rapids, Mich., was sentenced today to 48 months in prison for conspiring to provide national defense information to intelligence officers of the People’s Republic of China.

Former Chicago Police Department Commander Jon Burge, 63, of Apollo Beach, Fla., was sentenced today to 54 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for lying in a deposition in a civil case about torture and abuse of suspects by Chicago Police Department officers.

The former controller of a Miami-Dade County, Fla., telecommunications company was sentenced to 24 months in prison for his participation in a conspiracy to pay and conceal bribes to former Haitian government officials.

A Michigan businessman pleaded guilty to wire fraud in connection with the federal E-Rate program.

Noshir S. Gowadia, 66, of Maui, Hawaii, was sentenced late yesterday to 32 years in prison for communicating classified national defense information to the People’s Republic of China (PRC), illegally exporting military technical data, as well as money laundering, filing false tax returns and other offenses.

Robert C. Welti, a resident of Ripley, Ohio, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.

"The Defending Childhood Initiative is one of several in the Department where we have sought to enhance how we work together, all with the goal of better helping our partners in cities, towns, reservations, and rural areas throughout the Nation."

Deputy Attorney General James Cole today announced the appointment of Lisa O. Monaco as the Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General and Stuart M. Goldberg as the Chief of Staff to the Deputy Attorney General.

Attorney General Eric Holder today met with Defending Childhood representatives from eight communities across the country to discuss local efforts to address children’s exposure to violence.

A Detroit-area patient recruiter was sentenced today to 40 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to defraud the Medicare program.

"Since I became Assistant Attorney General, in April 2009, I have spoken to many audiences about the recent reinvigoration of our criminal enforcement efforts; and in this era of heightened enforcement, I think organizations like WMACCA, which allow business leaders and lawyers to come together and share ideas, serve an especially important function."

"I am grateful for this opportunity to discuss our shared goals – and your front-line efforts – to prevent, reduce, and combat childhood exposure to violence. The issue of children’s exposure to violence has been both a personal and professional concern for decades. As our nation’s Attorney General, and as a parent of three young children, addressing this crisis – and implementing bold, innovative, and collaborative solutions – is a top priority."

A Rochester, Ill., firefighter pleaded guilty today to one count of production of child pornography, one count of possession of child pornography and one count of destruction of evidence.

Dwain D. Williams, 37, was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge W. Louis Sands to life in prison for child sex abuse offenses.

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.

Stephen Sims was sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Gustave Diamond in the Western District of Pennsylvania to 17 years in prison for engaging in a child exploitation enterprise.

Andrew Kerber, 22, of Chico, Calif., pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill in Fresno, Calif., to violating the civil rights of congregants of Congregation Beth Shalom, a synagogue in Modesto, Calif.

CareSource, CareSource Management Group Co. and CareSource USA Holding Co. have agreed to pay the United States and the state of Ohio $26 million to resolve allegations that they caused Medicaid to make payments for assessments and case managements they failed to provide to children and adults.

An immigration judge in Detroit has ordered John (Ivan) Kalymon of Troy, Mich., removed from the United States because of his participation in Nazi-sponsored acts of persecution while serving during World War II as an armed member of the Ukrainian Auxiliary Police (UAP) in Nazi-occupied L’viv, Ukraine.

Gregory Pfizenmayer of Foley, Ala., has pleaded guilty before Senior U.S. District Court Judge Herman J. Weber in Cincinnati to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in connection with a drug diversion scheme in which he was involved.

CEMEX Inc., one of the largest producers of Portland cement in the United States, will spend an estimated $2 million on pollution controls that will reduce harmful emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulfur dioxide (SO2), pollutants that can lead to childhood asthma, acid rain, smog and impaired visibility in national parks. Under a settlement to resolve Clean Air Act violations at its cement plant in Fairborn, Ohio, CEMEX will also pay a $1.4 million penalty, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today.

Thierno M. Diallo of Cincinnati was sentenced to 24 months in prison by U.S District Court Judge Sandra Beckwith in Cincinnati for aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns.

The Justice Department announced today that Dalton Township, Mich., will pay $62,500 to settle a lawsuit alleging that the township discriminated against a group home for persons recovering from drug and alcohol addiction, in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

A medical assistant was sentenced today to 36 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to defraud the Medicare program, the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services announced.

Ryan Chiles of Hampton, Va., was sentenced today in the Western District of Pennsylvania to 102 months in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for engaging in a child exploitation enterprise.

Erick Roman, aka “Erick Javier Sierra,” “Malian-T” and “King Malian-T,” 34, of Laurel, Md., was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release following his prison term.

Seizure warrants have been executed against 10 domain names of websites engaged in the advertisement and distribution of child pornography.

Fred Woolum of Lexington, Va., was sentenced today in the Western District of Pennsylvania to 15 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for engaging in a child exploitation enterprise.

"Whether it’s an 18-year-old who wants to be the first person in his family to attend college and become a teacher, or a 32-year-old single mother taking evening courses in nursing, or a tribal elder who enjoys participating in courses on tribal history and language, the threads that weave your colleges together with your communities are especially strong and resilient."

"Today, as we commemorate Black History Month, we honor our nation’s past. But we must also reaffirm our vision of the future that we will share and, together, must build."

An Ohio man residing in Switzerland was charged by information in the Northern District of Ohio for filing false personal income tax returns for the years 2004 through 2008, the Department of Justice announced today.

The United States has asked a federal court to stop Cecil Collier, who operates under the trade name “Cairo Fast Tax,” from preparing federal tax returns for others.

Cardiff Marine Inc, a Liberian-registered shipping company, was sentenced today in federal court in Baltimore after pleading guilty to a felony violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships.

Desiree Brown, the former treasurer of a private mortgage lending company, Taylor, Bean & Whitaker (TBW), pleaded guilty today to conspiring to commit bank, wire and securities fraud for her role in a more than $1.9 billion fraud scheme that contributed to the failures of Colonial Bank and TBW

The United States has sued a Chicago tax return preparer seeking to bar her from preparing any more federal tax returns for others.