The Department and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that they will solicit public comment and hold joint public workshops to explore the possibility of updating the Horizontal Merger Guidelines that are used by both agencies to evaluate the potential competitive effects of mergers and acquisitions.

Four owners of Costa Rica-based telemarketing call centers, an employee and a Texas-based list broker have been sentenced for their roles in defrauding thousands of U.S. victims of more than $20 million through a phony sweepstakes scheme.

The all-day workshops, which will begin in March 2010, will be held in Alabama, Colorado, Iowa, Washington, D.C. and Wisconsin.

The lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, alleges that since 2003, defendants have violated the False Claims Act.

As a part of the tax conspiracy, Ronald Boyarsky assisted in paying approximately $2.6 million in commissions earned by a printing services broker to third parties, so that the broker and his companies could avoid paying taxes on the income they earned.

The goals of the workshops are to promote dialogue among interested parties and foster learning with respect to the appropriate legal and economic analyses of these issues, as well as to listen to and learn from parties with experience in the agriculture sector.

The federal government announced today that it would remove the remaining 52 ships that currently sit in the Suisun Bay as part of an agreement with environmental groups that was filed in federal court in Sacramento, Calif.

Anthony G. Merlo, a resident of Portsmouth, N.H., was sentenced to 51 months of imprisonment for conspiring to defraud the United States.

The Department has entered into a consent decree with Synapse Data and Telecom Inc., and Matthew Mossbarger, the owner of Synapse, to resolve the Department’s complaint filed on behalf of Utah National Guard member Jose A. Ortega, alleging violations of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA).

Three men, a father and two sons, were sentenced to prison today in federal court in Syracuse, N.Y., for multiple violations of asbestos-related environmental laws.

Today we are here talking about community policing – that’s a term that is used a lot and captures much of what the Houston Police Department has done for decades, but is not often explained.

The Department of Justice, the Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Attorney’s Office announced today, the settlement of claims against ConocoPhillips Company and Sasol North America Inc. to resolve their liability to EPA under CERCLA for contamination in the Calcasieu Estuary of Louisiana.

Richard A. Muto of Buffalo, N.Y., has pleaded guilty to corruptly endeavoring to obstruct and impede the administration of the internal revenue laws.

One hundred and two members and associates of transnational organized criminal groups operating in the United States have been charged in indictments unsealed today in Los Angeles; Santa Ana, Calif.; Miami and Denver.

Patrick Carney of Manchester, N.H., 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.

The Department of Justice today filed a lawsuit on behalf of Jon Fultz, a U.S. Marine Corps reservist, against the city of Winchester, Va., alleging that it violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) by failing to properly reemploy Fultz in September 2009 when he returned from military service during which he sustained a knee injury.

Lieze Associates, dba Eagle Recycling of New Jersey, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Utica, N.Y., for conspiring to violate the Clean Water Act and to defraud the United States.

Four members of a Pittsburgh Crips street gang pleaded guilty this week in federal court to charges of conspiring to conduct a racketeering enterprise.

Bryant Mathis, who served in a leadership role as a member of a Pittsburgh Crips street gang, was sentenced today in federal court in Pittsburgh to 20 years in prison on charges of conspiring to conduct a racketeering enterprise.

"Throughout my life and career, I have seen the devastating effects that violence can have on young people. As Attorney General – and, above all, as the father of three teenage children – I am determined to help find the solutions – and to forge the partnerships – that we need to prevent and combat children’s exposure to violence."

A Pennsylvania man pleaded guilty today in federal court to charges of conspiring to conduct a racketeering enterprise related to his membership in a Pittsburgh Crips criminal enterprise.

The owner of a New Jersey solid waste management company and three of his associates were arrested today on federal charges that they conspired to transport and dump thousands of tons of asbestos contaminated debris at an upstate New York farm containing wetlands.

A Pittsburgh man has pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of conspiring to conduct a racketeering enterprise related to his membership in a Pittsburgh Crips gang

A Pittsburgh man was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for conspiring to conduct a racketeering enterprise related to his membership in a Pittsburgh Crips gang.

A Pittsburgh man was sentenced today to 72 months in prison for conspiring to conduct a racketeering enterprise related to his membership in a Pittsburgh Crips gang.

A Miami-area psychiatrist pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Miami for his part in a fraud scheme that resulted in the submission of more than $200 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare.

Lawrence R. Marino, a 41-year-old from Goffstown, N.H., pleaded guilty today in federal court to computer intrusion, stemming from his repeated hacks into his former employer’s computer systems.

A Pittsburgh man was sentenced today to 128 months in prison for conspiring to conduct a racketeering enterprise related to his membership in a Pittsburgh Crips gang, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney David J. Hickton of the Western District of Pennsylvania.

An ongoing Internet fraud scheme conducted by several networks of organized cyber criminals in Romania and the United States has been disrupted as a result of a series of law enforcement actions coordinated since 2010 between Romanian and U.S. law enforcement, including numerous arrests and searches that took place yesterday in Romania.

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.

A Peace Corps volunteer was arrested today and charged in a federal criminal complaint with traveling from the United States to South Africa to engage in illicit sexual conduct with multiple children who were all younger than six years of age.

Robert Colbert, of Pittsburgh, pleaded guilty today in federal court to charges of conspiring to conduct a racketeering enterprise.

Eric Scott Hamilton, 40, of Pelzer, S.C., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge J. Michelle Childs in the District of South Carolina to a criminal information charging him with two counts of conspiracy to steal public property.

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

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.

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.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced today that it has reached a settlement with the city of Winchester, Va., to resolve allegations that the city violated the reemployment rights of U.S. Marine Corps reservist Jon Fultz.

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

Today, in response to a letter from the Justice Department, the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted to grant the Commissioner of Education authority to draft state regulations that will require training of all Sheltered English Immersion teachers who instruct English Language Learner students.

Aaron Ford, 22, aka “.40 Cal.,” pleaded guilty on July 12, 2011, to one count of conspiracy to engage in a racketeering enterprise before Senior U.S. District Judge Gustave Diamond.

Mine S. Pase, 62, of Pago Pago, American Samoa, pleaded guilty to a one-count criminal information in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia before U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton.

The Justice Department today announced an agreement with Upshur County, Texas, to improve access to all aspects of civic life for people with disabilities.

The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK), the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska and employees of UNK for violating the Fair Housing Act by discriminating against students with disabilities.

Thomas Aram Manok, 51, of Chantilly, Va., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga.

Jamar Pharr, 27, aka “Brownway,” was sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Judge Gustave Diamond to 10 years in prison.

Eagle Recycling was sentenced to pay a $500,000 criminal fine and more than $70,000 in restitution and cleanup costs.

Terrance Clark, 22, aka “Doo Wop,” was sentenced to 154 months in prison and three years of supervised release and Lamon Street, 20, aka “M-Dot,” was sentenced to 120 months in prison and three years of supervised release.

A former U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) gunnery sergeant was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for conspiring to steal at least 55 electrical generators from USMC bases in Iraq in 2008.

Julius DeSimone of Rome, N.Y., pleaded guilty today in federal court in Utica, N.Y., for conspiring to violate the Clean Water Act and to defraud the United States, and to making false statements to federal law enforcement.

The Justice Department today moved to intervene in Lynn E. v. Lynch, a recently-filed lawsuit alleging that the state of New Hampshire fails to provide mental health services to people with disabilities in community settings in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.