Former New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) officer Robert Barrios pleaded guilty today in federal court to conspiring with fellow officers to obstruct justice by covering up a police-involved shooting that occurred on the Danziger Bridge in the days after Hurricane Katrina.

Houston-area residents Doris Vinitski and John Lachman pleaded guilty today in connection with their roles in a durable medical equipment Medicare fraud scheme.

"I believe we can extend our country’s finest traditions of public service and civic engagement. And I’m certain that we can prepare – and inspire – the next generation of Americans to do the same," said Attorney General Holder.

Schwarz Pharma Inc. will pay $22 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations that the company failed to advise the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that two unapproved products did not qualify for coverage under federal health care programs.

American pharmaceutical manufacturers Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical LLC and Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., both subsidiaries of Johnson & Johnson, have agreed to pay more than $81 million to resolve criminal and civil liability arising from the illegal promotion of the epilepsy drug Topamax.

A federal grand jury in Corpus Christi, Texas, returned an indictment today charging Fleet Management Limited with obstruction of agency proceedings, making false statements and failing to keep accurate pollution control records.

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.

G. David Gordon, a Tulsa, Okla., attorney, and Richard Clark, also of Tulsa, were convicted today by a federal jury of devising and participating in a scheme to defraud investors through the manipulation of publicly traded stocks of three companies.

“Violent crimes, and particularly crimes against women and girls, continue to devastate tribal communities across the country, and the U.S. Attorney community is crucial to the Department of Justice’s response,” Attorney General Holder said. 

The Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA) has agreed to implement major capital improvements and upgrades to resolve alleged longstanding violations of the Clean Water Act at 126 drinking water plants across the island and violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act at three others.

Washington Beef LLC, the operator of a large slaughterhouse in Toppenish, Wash., has agreed to pay a $750,000 civil penalty and will install several pieces of new waste water treatment equipment that the Environmental Protection Agency estimates will cost approximately $3 million to resolve allegations that it violated the Clean Water Act.

The Boeing Company has agreed to undertake two significant habitat restoration projects in Washington state to resolve its liability for natural resource damages caused by hazardous substances released from Boeing facilities along the Duwamish Waterway.

Ciena Capital LLC, a private, non-depository lender located in New York City, has reached an agreement with the United States to settle fraud claims related to its small business lending for $26.3 million.

A New York corporation, whose principal place of business is Newnan, Ga., and its former president have agreed to plead guilty to conspiring to allocate customers for the sale of food service equipment hardware, including walk-in refrigeration equipment.

Operation Network Raider, a domestic and international enforcement initiative targeting the illegal distribution of counterfeit network hardware manufactured in China, has resulted in 30 felony convictions and more than 700 seizures of counterfeit Cisco network hardware and labels with an estimated retail value of more than $143 million.

Attorney General Eric Holder today announced the appointment of four new U.S. Attorneys to serve two-year terms on the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee (AGAC): Loretta E. Lynch, Eastern District of New York; Stephanie M. Rose, Northern District of Iowa; Benjamin B. Wagner, Eastern District of California; and Sally Quillian Yates, Northern District of Georgia.

The Department has filed a lawsuit alleging that the state of Arkansas is systemically violating the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

Rodolfo Rodriguez Cabrera, 43, a Cuban national, and Henry Mantilla, 35, of Cape Coral, Fla., pleaded guilty today in front of U.S. District Court Judge Philip M. Pro in Las Vegas to one count of conspiracy to produce and sell counterfeit International Game Technology video gaming machines, commonly known as slot machines, and counterfeit IGT computer programs.

A federal district judge in Columbia, S.C., has permanently barred Dorothy Lee Anderson of Hopkins, S.C., from preparing federal tax returns for others.

The Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Commerce’s United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced today that they will hold a joint public workshop on the intersection of patent policy and competition policy and its implications for promoting innovation

The former ABN AMRO Bank N.V., now named the Royal Bank of Scotland N.V., has agreed to forfeit $500 million to the United States in connection with a conspiracy to defraud the United States, to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and to violate the Trading with the Enemy Act, as well as a violation of the Bank Secrecy Act.

"I’m proud that, for the first time, the Department is directing resources for the express purpose of reducing childhood exposure to violence and raising awareness of its ramifications, advancing scientific inquiry on its causes and characteristics, and, of course, countering its negative impact," said Attorney General Holder.

The Department announced an agreement with St. Clair County, Ill., to improve access to all aspects of civic life for persons with disabilities.

Vagan Adzhemyan, 41, of Costa Mesa, Calif.; Suren Garibyan, 32, of North Hollywood, Calif.; and Galvin Shaun Gibson, 30, of Mira Loma, Calif., were charged in August 2009 with conspiracy to commit kidnapping and kidnapping.

Joshua James Moro, 23, has been indicted by a federal grand jury for participating in a civil rights conspiracy in connection with an October 2008 cross-burning in Athens, La., near the home of an interracial couple.

Detroit-area residents Tariq Chaudhary, Lura Barrett and Stephen Cartier pleaded guilty today for their participation in a fraudulent Medicare home health scheme.

To resolve long-standing problems with unpermitted sewer overflows, the city of Oswego, N.Y., will invest an estimated $87 million in improvements to its west side sewer system.

The United States has entered into a comprehensive, cooperative agreement with Cook County, Ill., and the Cook County Sheriff that resolves previous findings of unconstitutional conditions at the Cook County Jail.

A federal grand jury in the District of Massachusetts has charged Michael Jacques and Thomas Gleason of Springfield, Mass., in a three-count superseding indictment in relation to the arson of a church.

Yi-Lan Chen, aka Kevin Chen, 40, a Taiwan passport holder, and his Taiwan corporation, Landstar Tech Company Limited, pleaded guilty today in Miami to charges of conspiring to illegally export dual-use commodities to Iran.

"Tonight is testament to the indispensable role the Memorial Fund plays in honoring the service and sacrifice of our nation’s men and women in uniform – not only at this annual vigil but every day of the year," said Attorney General Holder.

– The Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced the schedule and panelists for the second joint public workshop on competition and regulatory issues in agriculture, which will be held on May 21, 2010, in Normal, Ala., at the Ernest L. Knight Reception Center at Alabama A & M University.

An indictment unsealed today in U.S. District Court in Miami charges Flor Crisologo, 58, with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, to cause the submission of false claims to the Medicare program, and to pay health care kickbacks; one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud; and three counts of submitting false claims to the Medicare program.

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).

"To return today, as our Nation’s Attorney General, to the place where I first studied the law, where I first dreamed of both serving the cause of justice and our country’s Department of Justice, is an extraordinary privilege," said Attorney General Holder.

"The future, I believe, demands no less from each of you. And history leaves me with no doubt that I am looking at 487 faces of dreamers and, most importantly, doers who will not merely meet these great expectations, but, like so many other BU Law graduates, will exceed them," said Attorney General Holder.

Daniel Lee Jones, a Portland, Ore., white supremacist, pleaded guilty to using the Postal Service to send a threatening communication to the president of the Lima, Ohio, chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Zhen Zhou Wu aka Alex Wu, Yufeng Wei aka Annie Wei and Chitron Electronics Inc. (Chitron-US), were convicted of unlawfully exporting defense articles and Commerce controlled goods to China on numerous occasions between 2004 and 2007 and conspiring to violate U.S. export laws over a period of ten years.

The city of Kansas City, Mo., has agreed to make extensive improvements to its sewer systems, at a cost estimated to exceed $2.5 billion over 25 years, to eliminate unauthorized overflows of untreated raw sewage and to reduce pollution levels in urban storm water.

An immigration judge in Philadelphia has ordered the removal of Anton Geiser, a resident of Sharon, Pa., who served as an armed SS guard at three Nazi concentration camps in Germany during World War II.

Orlando Moncada entered a guilty plea in Miami federal district court to a charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

William M. Reece Jr., 54, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud before U.S. District Judge David Hittner in U.S. District Court in Houston. 

“Secretary Vilasck and I are committed to improving our understanding of how particular agricultural markets function,” said Attorney General Holder.

"The discussion we’ve gathered to begin reflects an historic collaboration between the Departments of Justice and Agriculture and leaders from across our nation’s agriculture industry," said Attorney General Holder.

"I am also proud to be among the first to welcome you into a profession that will provide countless opportunities for you to hone your new skills, continue your learning process, channel your greatest passions, and improve the world we share," said Attorney General Holder.

According to a one-count felony charge filed on May 6, 2010 in U.S. District Court in Sioux City, Iowa, Kent Robert Stewart, aka Kent Stewart, president of a ready-mix concrete company located in Iowa, participated in a conspiracy to fix prices and rig bids for ready-mix concrete sold to various companies in Iowa between approximately January 2008 and August 2009.

Maria Nela Moreno, 57, was also sentenced by U.S. District Judge John F. Walter of the Central District of California to three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $110,000 in restitution.

William Newton Rudd, 67, of Fullerton, Calif., was sentenced today to 78 months in jail after pleading guilty on Oct. 30, 2009, to one count of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place.

The Department has filed briefs in three separate cases in Florida, Illinois and New Jersey as part of its continuing effort to enforce civil rights laws that require states to end discrimination against and unnecessary segregation of persons with disabilities.

A federal grand jury in Wichita, Kan., returned a 23-count felony indictment charging two brothers with conspiracy and wildlife trafficking stemming from the illegal sale of guided deer hunts.