The Department of Justice today announced the 24 recipients of the annual Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Achievement Awards in a ceremony hosted by Acting Deputy Attorney General Gary G. Grindler at the PSN national conference in New Orleans.

A former corrections officer for the Washington County Sheriff’s Department in Potosi, Mo., pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of obstruction of justice, admitting that she intentionally misled law enforcement officials about her role in the assault of an inmate housed in the Washington County Jail.

The United States has entered into a comprehensive agreement with the State of New York and the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) that resolves previous findings of unconstitutional conditions at four juvenile justice facilities.

The Justice Department today announced the filing and settlement of a lawsuit against the Pasco County Fair Association Inc. for allegedly discriminating against Hispanic patrons in the rental of a reception hall on its fairgrounds in Dade City, Fla.

The Justice Department today announced a comprehensive settlement under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with QuikTrip Corporation, a private company that owns and operates more than 550 gas stations, convenience stores, travel centers, and truck stops in the Midwest, South and Southwestern United States. 

The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against the owner, management company and former manager of Summerhill Place Apartments, a 268-unit apartment complex in Renton, Wash., for violating the Fair Housing Act by discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin and familial status in the rental of apartments.

The Justice Department today announced a consent decree resolving a lawsuit filed against Ventura County, Calif., alleging that the county violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when it refused to hire a qualified applicant for a children’s social services position because she is deaf and required reasonable accommodations.

The Justice Department today announced a settlement agreement under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with Blockbuster Inc. to ensure equal access to its stores nationwide for individuals with disabilities who use service animals.

“I commend public officials in the town of Pomfret for making this important commitment to ensuring equal access to civic life for individuals with disabilities,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.

The Justice Department today announced an agreement with Wilson County, N.C., to improve access to all aspects of civic life for persons with disabilities.

The Justice Department today announced an agreement with Pearl River County, Miss., to improve access to all aspects of civic life for persons with disabilities.

"It’s an honor to salute your contributions and to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the ADA – and the 15th Anniversary of the AAPD – with so many friends, colleagues and partners," said Attorney General Holder.

The Justice Department publishes four new Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) proposals addressing the accessibility of websites, the provision of captioning and video description in movies shown in theaters, accessible equipment and furniture, and the ability of 9-1-1 centers to take text and video calls from individuals with disabilities.

Paula Whitfield, a patient recruiter for a Houston durable medical equipment company, was sentenced today to 21 months in prison in connection with a $3 million power wheelchair fraud scheme.

"Today, we commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the legacy of progress that the ADA helped to create," said Attorney General Holder.

A federal jury in Philadelphia today convicted Ian P. Norris, the former CEO of The Morgan Crucible Company plc, a United Kingdom corporation, of conspiring with others to obstruct justice.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, charges that the township discriminated against persons with disabilities based on its treatment of a group home for persons recovering from drug and alcohol addiction and its failure to grant a reasonable accommodation or modification to the owner of the group home.

Attorney General Eric Holder today announced that the Department of Justice released its first-ever National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction.

The Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today additional details for the August 27, 2010, public workshop in Fort Collins, Colo., which will examine competition in the livestock industry.

The Department of Justice and the Rainbow River Child Development Center of Hawthorne, Calif., have joined in a settlement agreement to assure that children with diabetes will receive appropriate care so that they may participate fully in the programs and activities at the center.

The United States has sued Gwenn Wycoff and Frank Ozak of Los Angeles seeking to bar them from promoting the formation and operation of “common-law” trusts for the purpose of tax avoidance.

Plains All American Pipeline L.P. and several of its operating subsidiaries will spend approximately $41 million over the next three years to prevent and remediate corrosion, improve leak detection practices and capabilities, and enhance pipeline oversight on 10,420 miles of crude oil pipeline operated in the United States.

“Since 1991, federal law has required that new multi-family housing complexes with four or more units be built with certain accessible features.  There is no excuse for developers and design professionals to fail to comply,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.

Today’s passage by Congress of the Border Security Appropriations Bill provides $196 million for the Department of Justice to surge federal law enforcement efforts in high crime areas in the Southwest Border region.

The Justice Department filed a consent decree today resolving claims of religious discrimination against the Lucky Joy restaurant, located in Flushing, N.Y. In the consent decree, the restaurant’s owner, Lucky Joy Restaurant Inc., and its president, Xiao Rong Wu, admit that the restaurant engaged in a pattern or practice of wrongfully ejecting Falun Gong practitioners from the premises.

The civil injunction suit alleges that Charlie Wilson and his Chicago business, CBD Tax Service, claim bogus deductions and credits on customers’ federal tax returns.

The Justice Department today issued a letter to chief justices and administrators of state courts clarifying the obligation of courts that receive federal financial assistance to provide oral interpretation, written translation and other language services to people who are limited English proficient.

A New York corporation, whose principal place of business is Newnan, Ga., was sentenced to pay a $3.3 million criminal fine for conspiring to allocate customers in the food service equipment hardware market, including walk-in refrigeration equipment.

The Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued today revised Horizontal Merger Guidelines that outline how the federal antitrust agencies evaluate the likely competitive impact of mergers and whether those mergers comply with U.S. antitrust law.

The Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced today the agenda and panelists for the Aug. 27, 2010, joint public workshop in Fort Collins, Colo., on competition in the livestock industry.

The Justice Department today announced that it will monitor the primary elections on Aug. 24, 2010, in Apache and Navajo Counties, Ariz., to ensure compliance with the minority language requirements of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and other federal voting rights statutes.

The United States has asked a federal court to permanently bar a California man from promoting alleged sham pension-plan and welfare-benefit-plan tax fraud schemes.

The civil injunction suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, seeks to permanently bar Christopher Musyoki and Samuel Nganga from preparing federal returns for others.

The Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Agriculture today held the fourth of five joint public workshops to explore the appropriate role for antitrust and regulatory enforcement in American agriculture.

The Department of Justice announced today that in light of the agreement by United Airlines Inc. and Continental Airlines Inc. to transfer takeoff and landing rights (slots) and other assets at Newark Liberty Airport to Southwest Airlines Co., the department has closed its investigation into the proposed merger of UAL Corporation, the parent of United, and Continental.

The United States has asked a federal court to permanently bar a Birmingham, Ala., man from preparing federal tax returns for customers, the Justice Department announced today. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Birmingham, alleges that Douglas E. Dent fabricates large tax withholdings that result in large bogus refund claims on customers’ tax returns.

The Justice Department announced today a settlement with Cuyahoga County, Ohio, to protect the rights of Spanish-speaking Puerto Rican voters under Section 4(e) of the Voting Rights Act.

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit today against the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), Maricopa County, and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio for refusing full cooperation with the department’s investigation of alleged national origin discrimination in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The Justice Department today announced that the Housing Authority for the city of Eastman, Ga., (EHA) has agreed to pay up to $320,000 to resolve allegations that it engaged in a pattern or practice of discriminating against applicants for housing and tenants based on race.

The Justice Department today announced a comprehensive settlement agreement with McNeese State University and the Board of Supervisors of the University of Louisiana System under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The Justice Department today announced that it has reached an agreement with Wisconsin officials to help ensure that military service members and U.S. citizens living overseas have an opportunity to participate fully in the Nov. 2, 2010, federal general election.

The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against the city of Walnut, Calif., alleging that the city violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA), when, in 2008, it denied a conditional use permit to the Chung Tai Zen Center so that it could build and operate a Buddhist house of worship at property it then owned in the city.

Hundreds of American Indian and Alaskan Native communities will receive almost $127 million to enhance law enforcement, bolster justice systems, prevent youth substance abuse, serve sexual assault and elder victims, and support other efforts to combat crime.

The Justice Department today announced that it has reached an agreement with Alaska officials to help ensure that military service members and other U.S. citizens living overseas have an opportunity to participate fully in the Nov. 2, 2010, federal general election. The agreement was necessary to ensure Alaska’s compliance with the 2009 Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (MOVE Act)

Paul Solofa, the director of the school lunch program for the government of the U.S. Territory of American Samoa, has been arrested on charges of witness tampering and obstruction of justice.

The Justice Department today settled a lawsuit against the city of Satsuma, Ala., and the city’s Board of Adjustment, alleging housing discrimination against individuals with disabilities.

The Justice Department today announced that it has reached agreements with Colorado, District of Columbia, U.S. Virgin Islands and Hawaii officials to help ensure that military service members and U.S. citizens living overseas have an opportunity to participate fully in the Nov. 2, 2010 federal general election.

The Justice Department today issued a report marking the 10th anniversary of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), showing that the law has had a positive impact on protecting the religious freedom of a wide range of faith groups, and had a particularly significant impact protecting the religious freedom of minorities.

The United States has filed a complaint asking a Virginia federal court to permanently bar three firms and three men from promoting a nationwide “HedgeLoan” scheme that the complaint alleges involves the disguised sale of more than $268 million in securities.

Three individuals pleaded guilty today in connection with a Medicare fraud scheme operated out of a Houston-area durable medical equipment (DME) company.