"We come here for two reasons: To celebrate what has been accomplished since Global Forum One; and – more important -- to recommit ourselves to the task that remains -- the task of fighting corruption wherever it manifests itself. We have made progress in this fight -- but we must do more."

Laurie O. Robinson was sworn in today as Assistant Attorney General in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP).

After conducting a careful investigation of the proposed transaction between Oracle and Sun, the Department’s Antitrust Division concluded that the merger is unlikely to be anticompetitive.

The agreement was reached under “Project Civic Access,” a Justice Department initiative to bring state and local governments into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

A South Korean businessman was sentenced today to five years in prison for his role in a bribery conspiracy involving a $206 million telecommunications contract and employees of the Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES).

Frederic A. Bourke Jr., of Greenwich, Conn., was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Manhattan to one year and one day in prison.

Kaiser Foundation Hospitals - Kaiser Sunnyside Medical Center, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Northwest and Northwest Permanente P.C., Physicians & Surgeons (collectively, Kaiser NW) has agreed to pay the United States $1,830,322.41 to settle False Claims Act liability.

A former consultant for Willbros International Inc. (WII), a subsidiary of Houston-based Willbros Group Inc. (Willbros), pleaded guilty today to engaging in a conspiracy to pay more than $6 million in bribes to government officials of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and officials from a Nigerian political party.

Steven W. Burgess, a former Jackson County, Mo., sheriff’s deputy, pleaded guilty in federal court today to violating the civil rights of a teenage girl whom he sexually assaulted in his patrol car.

The department filed a lawsuit today in federal court for the Eastern District of Missouri alleging a pattern or practice of violations of the Fair Housing Act by the owner and managers of Forum Manor Apartments for refusing to rent to African-Americans and males, refusing to allow tenants to have African-American visitors, sexually harassing female tenants and retaliating against tenants who complained about such discrimination.

The Departments of Justice and Defense today announced forum decisions for ten detainees at Guantanamo Bay whose cases were previously charged in military commissions, including five detainees accused of conspiring to commit the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks and a detainee accused of orchestrating the attack on the USS Cole

Rohullah Farooqi Lodin and Hashmatullah Farooqi were each sentenced today in Alexandria, Va., to four years in prison for their roles in a scheme to offer $1 million in bribes to a U.S. Army contracting official in Afghanistan.

Charles Paul Edward Jumet of Fluvanna County, Va., pleaded guilty today in connection with his role in a conspiracy to pay bribes to Panamanian government officials to secure a maritime contract.

Former U.S. Congressman William J. Jefferson, 62, of New Orleans, La., was sentenced today to 13 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for using his office to corruptly solicit bribes.

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.

“The history of the Environment and Natural Resources Division reminds us of the importance of our nation’s public lands and natural resources to the development of this country, and the important role of the division in protecting these resources for future generations,” said Attorney General Holder.

Scott Anthony Walker, 36, of Australia, pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of Virginia to one count of conspiracy to solicit a kickback.

The agreement was reached under “Project Civic Access,” a Department initiative to bring state and local governments into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

"Today, the Division is bringing its expertise to help our nation meet new challenges, such as addressing the carbon pollution that threatens our climate."

"Let us ensure that we further Justice Brennan’s legacy by maintaining the most basic constitutional protection—the right to have truly effective defense counsel."

“This task force’s mission is not just to hold accountable those who helped bring about the last financial meltdown, but to prevent another meltdown from happening,” Attorney General Eric Holder said.

Daniel Melgoza, a Bexar County, Texas, Corrections Officer, was charged today in a four-count federal indictment with violating the civil rights of two detainees and obstructing justice.

Kristine Lafoe was sentenced to serve one year in prison and two years of supervised release for her role in covering up systematic detainee abuse.

Detroit resident Jaquita Lovelace and Miami resident Timothy Pierce have pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Detroit to participating in conspiracies to defraud the Medicare program.

“Rooting out fraud and safeguarding taxpayers from illegal conduct are among the Justice Department’s highest priorities,” said Tony West, the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division.

A federal grand jury in Greenbelt, Md., has indicted 19 alleged members of the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (Latin Kings) for conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise.

After three years of satisfying obligations under a deferred prosecution agreement, the charges against Statoil ASA for violating the anti-bribery and accounting provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) have been dismissed with prejudice.

A federal court today issued a preliminary injunction barring Karen Liane Miller of Nashville, Tenn., from preparing federal income tax returns for others.

“This officer abandoned his law enforcement role and engaged in a bizarre scheme to target innocent victims for his own personal gain. Officers who abuse their power in this way will be prosecuted to the fullest extent the law allows,” said Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez of the Civil Rights Division.

The former general manager of a Sugar Land, Texas-based business was arrested on Nov. 18, 2009, for his alleged role in a conspiracy to bribe Mexican government officials to secure contracts with the Comisión Federal de Electridad (CFE), a Mexican state-owned utility company.

“The right to worship without fear of this kind of violent interference is among our most fundamental civil rights,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.

Febe Durango-Rueda, 52, a Colombian national, pleaded guilty on Nov. 20, 2009, to participating in a scheme to defraud the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) of more than $1 million.

Ten individuals were indicted today, charged with, among other things, conspiring to export weapons from Philadelphia to the Port of Latakia, Syria.

The agreement was reached under the department’s Project Civic Access initiative to bring localities into full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Both detainees are the subject of outstanding arrest warrants in Italy and will be prosecuted there.

The department filed a lawsuit in federal court in West Virginia alleging that MasTec Advanced Technologies willfully violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 by discriminating against a U.S. Army Reserve member on the basis of his military service and by failing to offer Burress an appropriate reemployment position when he returned from military service.

Late last night, Sabir Lahmar, a native of Algeria, was transferred to the government of France.

Late last night, a detainee originally from the West Bank was transferred to the government of Hungary.

The department announced today that it has entered into a consent decree with the Newark Public Schools (NPS) that will resolve its lawsuit on behalf of George Lawton, a naval reservist, against NPS alleging it violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA).

The Kerlan Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic, a sports medicine clinic in Los Angeles, has agreed to pay the United States $3 million to settle allegations that it received illegal kickbacks from HealthSouth Corporation.

John L. Cockerham, 43, a major in the U.S. Army, was sentenced to 210 months in prison.

Cardale Leon Bates of Birmingham, Ala., was sentenced to 57 months in prison today by U.S. District Court Judge L. Scott Coogler.

A federal court in Boston issued a judgment against Excel Home Care Inc. in the amount of $473,510.76 for unpaid federal employment and unemployment taxes after its owner Diane E. Porter consented to the entry of an order of permanent injunction that prohibits her or anyone else from operating this Tewksbury, Mass., home health care provider.

A Chicago man who was arrested in October for planning terrorist attacks against a Danish newspaper and two of its employees is alleged to have also conducted extensive surveillance of targets in Mumbai for more than two years preceding the November 2008 terrorist attack on India’s largest city that killed approximately 170 people, including six Americans, and injured hundreds more.

Two Florida executives of a Miami-Dade County-based telecommunications company, the president of Florida-based Telecom Consulting Services Corp., and two former Haitian government officials were charged in an indictment unsealed today for their alleged roles in a foreign bribery, wire fraud and money laundering scheme.

The United States has reached a $6.75 million settlement with Itochu Corp. of Japan and its American subsidiary, Itochu International Inc., to resolve claims under the False Claims Act in connection with the companies’ importation and sale of defective Zylon fiber used as the key ballistic material in bullet-proof vests purchased by the United States for federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies.

A Washington, D.C., fish wholesaler and two of its employees have been charged in U.S. District Court in Maryland for the purchase of illegally harvested striped bass, commonly referred to as rockfish, from the Potomac River from 1995 through 2007.

“Over the past thirteen years, the parties have tried to settle this case many, many times, each time unsuccessfully,” said Attorney General Holder.

Clement Calhoun of Cherokee, N.C., pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Asheville, N.C., to federal charges for unlawfully trafficking in bear gall bladders.

“Civic access is a basic and critical civil right, and it ensures individuals with disabilities can play productive, fulfilling roles in their communities,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights.