Under the terms of a settlement filed today in federal court, the city of Newport has agreed to eliminate illegal discharges of sewage into Narragansett Bay from its wastewater treatment plant and wastewater collection system.

Sheena Flores, 34, of Manassas, Va., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee to one count of transmitting in foreign commerce, with intent to extort money, a communication containing a threat to injure another person.

A former owner and operator of a Florida-based airline fuel supply service company and a former owner and operator of an Indiana-based flight management services company pleaded guilty today to participating in separate schemes to defraud Ryan International Airlines, a charter airline company located in Rockford, Ill.

A federal court has permanently barred a woman and her suburban Chicago business from preparing federal tax returns for others.

The United States has reached agreement with the owners and a former operator of an inks and paint products manufacturing facility in Danvers, Mass., that exploded and burned in 2006 the day before Thanksgiving.

In a settlement valued at more than $1.7 million, Clean Harbors of Braintree Inc. has agreed to pay a significant penalty and perform additional projects, to settle a complaint filed by the U.S. Department of Justice on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), regarding numerous violations of hazardous waste management and emergency planning laws at the company’s Braintree, Mass., facility.

Jacinda Jones, 31, of Ypsilanti, Mich., also was ordered by U.S. District Court Judge David M. Lawson in Detroit to serve three years of supervised release following her prison term and to pay $441,035 in restitution.

The United States has filed a lawsuit in an Iowa federal court against a Des Moines, Iowa, metro area company, Advanced Underground Construction LLC and its principal, William David Ward II, the Justice Department announced today.

A 15-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Camden, N.J., was unsealed today following the arrest of six individuals from New Jersey and Maryland, and the seizure or restraint of 10 oyster fishing boats in New Jersey, announced Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, and Paul J. Fishman, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey.

The Justice Department today announced an agreement with Montgomery County, Md., and Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission (MNCPPC), to improve access to all aspects of civic life for persons with disabilities.

“Companies which make false statements to win Coast Guard contracts do a disservice to the men and women securing our borders,” said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division of the Department of Justice.

A federal grand jury in Cincinnati, Ohio, returned a four-count indictment today, charging Allan Wright, 45, of Russellville, Ohio, with trafficking in and making false records for illegally harvested white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in violation of the Lacey Act.

The Department of Justice announced today that it has reached a settlement that will require Regal Beloit Corporation (RBC) to divest its U.S. business for electric motors for pool and spa pumps to SNTech Inc. and to divest A.O. Smith Corporation’s (AOS) development work and related assets for draft inducers for high-efficiency furnaces to Revcor Inc., in order to proceed with RBC’s acquisition of AOS’s electric motor business.

The Department of Justice announced today that Neal Wayne “Bear” Groom, former sheriff of the Worth County, Mo., Sheriff’s Office, pleaded guilty to depriving eight Missouri women of their civil rights by coercing the women to expose parts of their bodies to him, which was in violation of the Fourth Amendment prohibition against unreasonable seizures.

Donald H. Cone, 48, of Frederick, Md., was sentenced today in Alexandria, Va., to 30 months in prison for his role in a sophisticated conspiracy to import and sell counterfeit Cisco-branded computer networking equipment.

David Chui, a resident of Queens, N.Y., pleaded guilty to failing to pay employment taxes in connection with his former ownership of a garment assembly business.

The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a stipulated order of dismissal to resolve its lawsuit concerning conditions of confinement at the Erie County Holding Center, a pre-trial detention center in Buffalo, N.Y., and the Erie County Correctional Facility, a correctional facility in Alden, N.Y.

Paul Beebe and Jesse Sanford of Farmington, N.M., pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque, N.M., to federal hate crime charges related to a racially-motivated assault on a 22-year-old developmentally disabled man of Navajo descent.

"Regrettably, as we have seen here in New Mexico and across the nation, the need for aggressive enforcement remains," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.

Obel Martinez, 39, and Damaris Gil, 30, previously pleaded guilty on May 24, 2010, before U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks in Miami to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

After a six-day trial, a jury in the Southern District of Florida found Judith Negron, 40, guilty of 24 felony counts, including conspiracy to commit health care fraud, health care fraud, conspiracy to pay and receive illegal health care kickbacks, conspiracy to commit money laundering, money laundering and structuring to avoid reporting requirements.

Three financial investors who purchased municipal tax liens at auctions in New Jersey pleaded guilty today for their roles in a conspiracy to rig bids at tax liens auctions held by municipalities.

Abby Beard Hogan, 50, was charged with two counts of making false statements to federal law enforcement officials, one count of witness tampering and four counts of obstruction of justice.

Caridad Guilarte, 54, and Clara Guilarte, 57, each pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

An Iowa ready-mix concrete company pleaded guilty today to participating in a price-fixing and bid-rigging conspiracy for the sales of ready-mix concrete.

A federal jury has convicted three Vice Lord gang members for their various roles in the murder of two individuals, and attempted murders of additional victims.

The Justice Department announced today that a federal grand jury in Eugene, Ore., has indicted Cody Crawford, 24, of Corvallis, Ore., on federal hate crime and arson charges for intentionally setting fire to the Salman Alfarisi Islamic Center.

Jose Rosario, 54, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gerald E. Rosen in the Eastern District of Michigan.

“The Voting Rights Act plays a vital role in our society by ensuring that every American has the right to vote and to have that vote counted," said Attorney General Holder.

Richard Rosaire Routhier of Lake Worth, Fla., was sentenced to 60 months in prison and ordered to pay $1,243,574 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.

The Justice Department filed a complaint today against the city of Lilburn, Ga., alleging that the city violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 when it rejected the Dar-E-Abbas Shia Islamic Center’s requests for rezoning to construct a mosque.

The Department of Justice announced today that it will not challenge the Producers Guild of America’s proposed use of a voluntary certification system for film producers.

The Justice Department today settled a lawsuit with the Puerto Rico Department of Justice to protect the rights of employees with disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The Department of Justice announced today that it has reached a settlement that will require General Electric Company (GE) to divest Converteam Group SAS’s Electric Machinery Holding Company in order to proceed with its acquisition of Converteam.

An Omaha, Neb., man was charged in an indictment unsealed today for allegedly trying to solicit corrupt payments from an individual in return for a promised reduction in the individual’s ultimate prison sentence.

New Orleans landlords Betty Bouchon, the Bouchon Limited Family Partnership and Sapphire Corp., have agreed to pay $70,000 in damages and civil penalties to settle a lawsuit alleging they unlawfully denied housing to African-American prospective renters at a 16-unit apartment building located in New Orleans.

The Department of Justice today announced the appointments of U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota B. Todd Jones to serve as Acting Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and ATF Acting Director Kenneth Melson to become Senior Advisor on forensic science in the Office of Legal Policy.

Onuoha “Iggy” Nwokoro pleaded guilty in federal district court in Washington, D.C., to willfully aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false income tax return for 2004.

Steven Wark, 54, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Lloyd D. George in the District of Nevada to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.

A Gulfport, Miss., newspaper has agreed to pay $15,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by the Justice Department alleging that the newspaper published advertisements for housing that discriminated against families with children.

The Department of Justice today filed a civil antitrust lawsuit to block AT&s proposed acquisition of T-Mobile USA Inc.

Bill Melot, a Hobbs, N.M., farmer, was sentenced to five years in prison yesterday to be followed by three years of supervised release for tax evasion, program fraud and other crimes.

Melinda M. Lambert, a resident of Montgomery County, Ala., pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and assisting the filing of a false tax return.

The Justice Department has reached an agreement with Culpeper County, Va., that, if approved by the court, will allow for the county’s bailout from its status as a “covered jurisdiction” under the special provisions of Voting Rights Act, and thereby exempt the county from the preclearance requirements of Section 5 of the act.

Bernard Joseph Tully, a former Massachusetts state senator, has pleaded guilty for devising a scheme to defraud a Boston-area businessman out of approximately $18,000 by falsely representing that Tully and his co-conspirator were using the funds to bribe public officials.

Thirteen individuals, including five doctors, one pharmacist and one chiropractor, were charged today for their participation in the illegal distribution of pain killers, steroids and human growth hormones through “pill mills” operating in Broward, Palm Beach and Martin Counties in Florida, and through the internet, respectively.

The Justice Department today announced the unsealing of a federal indictment charging former inmate Terry Lashavious McMillian, 26, of Whiteville, N.C., with federal civil rights violations involving the assault of an inmate and related acts of obstruction of justice.

A former member of the Arizona Army National Guard was charged today for his role in a widespread bribery and illegal drug trafficking conspiracy that operated from January 2002 through March 2004.

Steven Scott Cantrell, of Crane, Texas, pleaded guilty today to hate crime charges stemming from a series of racially-motivated arsons in December 2010, including the arson of a historic African-American church as part of an effort to murder a disabled African-American man.

Zachary Beck was sentenced to 51 months in prison for civil rights crimes related to his participation in a racially-motivated attack on an African-American man in Vancouver, Wash., in January 2010.