"For me, personally, working with victims has been the most rewarding aspect of my career, bar none. Nothing compares with the satisfaction of helping to restore a sense of dignity and safety to a crime victim – and nothing has greater impact," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Leary.

We live in a nation where education is considered perhaps the single most important factor in determining whether an individual will find success in life. As a government – and as attorneys tasked with protecting our children’s ability to succeed in schools across the country - we have a critical responsibility to work together to break down any barriers a child might face in accessing his or her right to a quality education.

My time at the division has been a remarkable experience and I welcome this opportunity to highlight the division’s great work and achievements on behalf of American consumers.

Anthony L. Dinunzio, 53, of East Boston, Mass., the alleged leader of the New England organized crime family of La Cosa Nostra (NELCN), was arrested today on racketeering and extortion charges.

Former Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s sergeant, Althea Mallisham, 52, has been sentenced to 61 months in prison for civil rights convictions for wrongfully using a Taser against three detainees during separate incidents over a four month period in 2008.

"The racial disparities in the treatment of African-American children raise serious constitutional concerns under the equal protection clause," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.

"Every day, Legal Aid attorneys are in the courtroom – standing up for survivors of domestic violence; helping families facing eviction, and veterans who have been denied their benefits; and making sure adults and children alike have an understanding of the rights and protections to which they are entitled. And, because of your consistent focus on pro bono work, you are helping to rally the entire bar to this cause," said Attorney General Holder.

"Over the past three years, the President and federal agencies throughout the government have taken crucial steps to support LGBT individuals and their families," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Delery.

National Express Corporation and Petermann Partners Inc. will divest several school bus contracts and associated assets in the states of Washington and Texas in order to proceed with their proposed merger.

The Justice Department announced today that former Bryan County, Okla., Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant Kevin Bennett Holt, 48, from Achille, Okla., pleaded guilty in federal court to using a Taser to assault a detainee inside of the Bryan County Jail in Durant, Okla., thereby depriving the detainee of his civil rights.

Curtis Morris, 43, of Elizabeth, Colo., and Richard Kellogg Armstrong, 77, of Prescott, Ariz., were found guilty on April 30, 2012, by a jury for mail fraud, filing false claims against the United States and conspiracy to file false claims against the United States, announced the Justice Department’s Tax Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado and IRS-Criminal Investigation. In addition to these counts, Armstrong was also found guilty of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from the mail fraud. The guilty verdicts were the result of a three week trial before U.S. District Court Judge Robert E. Blackburn. Morris and Armstrong are scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 10, 2012.

"The purpose of the investigation is to determine whether the University and the law enforcement agencies acted promptly, adequately, and fairly to protect the safety of women and whether the university, the police, and the county attorney have comprehensive and integrated systems in place to do so," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.

"From Los Angeles, to Chicago, to Miami, these defendants allegedly submitted over $450 million in fraudulent claims to the Medicare program. This represents the largest Medicare fraud takedown in Department history, as measured by the amount of alleged fraudulent billings," said Assistant Attorney General Breuer.

"Sex trafficking is a big money-maker for criminals and a scourge to society. Traffickers callously seek to furnish their market with women, girls, and boys who have been cast out by society and whose options are few. In many cases, they are young people – not even teenagers – who are looking for the home they’ve never had. What they find, instead, are betrayal, cruelty, and abuse. And sadly, too often our systems of support and justice have offered no quarter," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Leary.

"Today, the Department of Justice did something it has done only once before in the 18-year history of our civil police reform work; we filed a contested lawsuit to stop discriminatory and unconstitutional law enforcement practices," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.

The United States has sued Pete Gutierrez and Jeanette Gutierrez, who do business as Fast Cash Refund Express and Fast Cash Refund Express Electronic Services, seeking to bar them and their companies from preparing any federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today. In addition to the Gutierrezes, the civil injunction suit also named FCRE Inc., and Fast Cash Refund Express Electronic Tax Service LLC, as defendants.

Three defendants in separate cases involving the use of stolen identities to file fraudulent tax returns have pleaded guilty in the Middle District of Alabama, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.

"The Abbott resolution was the most recent result of the President’s initiative to crack down on health care fraud," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Delery.

"It’s been remarkable to witness the way the issue of reentry has taken root in so many communities across the country. And it’s impressive to see how, thanks to visionary leaders in the Administration, in Congress, and in the states, the topic has become so prominent on the nation’s public safety agenda," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Leary

Veniamin Gonikman, 56, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Ukraine, was sentenced today in federal court for his role in an international conspiracy to compel Eastern European women to work in exotic dance clubs in the Detroit metropolitan area. U.S. District Court Judge Victoria A. Roberts sentenced Gonikman to 36 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release. He is the ninth and final member of the charged conspiracy to be sentenced.

"Today, I’m very pleased to announce that we’re awarding almost $27 million to support NCMEC’s great work. The funds will continue all the great programs I just named – and many more, like the national resource center and information clearinghouse," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Leary.

"I’ve spent much of my career – as a prosecutor, in government, and as head of the National Center for Victims of Crime – working to strengthen our responses to victims of all ages. I never cease to marvel at the incredible devotion and resolve of victim advocates," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Leary.

Adrian-Tiberiu Oprea, 28, of Constanta, Romania, was extradited to the United States and appeared in federal court in New Hampshire today, to face federal charges relating to his alleged participation in an international multimillion dollar scheme to remotely hack into and steal payment card data from hundreds of U.S. merchants’ “point of sale” computer systems.

St. Jude Medical Inc. has agreed to pay the United States $3.65 million to resolve civil allegations under the False Claims Act that the company inflated the cost of replacement pacemakers and defibrillators purchased by the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, the Justice Department announced today. St. Paul, Minn.-based St. Jude Medical develops, manufactures and distributes cardiovascular and implantable neurostimulation medical devices.

A federal grand jury in Birmingham, Ala., today returned a five-count indictment charging former city of Tuscaloosa Police Sergeant Jason Glenn Thomas with federal civil rights offenses in connection with the aggravated sexual assault of a Tuscaloosa woman in 2011, announced Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, Joyce White Vance, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, and Patrick J. Maley, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Birmingham Field Office.

"Today’s settlement with SunTrust builds on an unprecedented period of fair lending enforcement by the department. Since the establishment of the Fair lending Unit, thanks to the committed career professionals in the Division, we have brought record numbers of enforcement actions," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.

Fourteen individuals pleaded guilty yesterday in the District of Nevada for their roles in the scheme to fraudulently take control of various home owners’ associations (HOAs) in the Las Vegas area.

On June 1, 2012, after a two-week trial in federal court in Los Angeles, a jury found David James Garrison, 50, guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, six counts of health care fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

Shaun Kuykendall, 32, of South Carolina; Richard Szulborski, 21, of Pennsylvania; Javahn Algere, 23, of Louisiana; and Jeremy Labrec, 22, of Texas, pleaded guilty yesterday before U.S. Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson.

"In the Civil Rights Division, we still see every single day barriers facing individuals with disabilities that stand in the way of allowing all people to maximize the contribution they can make to society," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.

"Protecting taxpayer dollars is one of the Attorney General’s core priorities. This includes a commitment to increase our efforts to reduce fraud at the outset," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Delery.

"The benefits of Plyler are felt by all of us, wherever we or our ancestors were born. Three decades after Plyler, immigrant students have made and continue to make vast and deep contributions to America’s cultural, civic, and economic landscape," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.

Silford Warren, a resident of Queens, N.Y., was sentenced today to 24 months in prison for failure to pay over employment taxes in connection with his ownership of Silford Warren, CPA PC., the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today. Judge William F. Kuntz II of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York also ordered Warren to pay $184,263 in restitution to the IRS.

The Justice Department announced today that Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs Ronald Weich will be leaving the department to join the University of Baltimore School of Law as its new dean.

Derrick L. Shoemake, 50, of Moreno Valley, Calif., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Dolly M. Gee in the Central District of California.

Seven individuals and four check cashing businesses were charged today in the Eastern District of New York and the Central District of California for their alleged roles in separate schemes to violate the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA).

"As we all know, the challenges facing us in criminal justice are considerable. But our knowledge about what works is growing, and the tools and technology we have at our disposal are expanding. We are becoming – every day – more sophisticated, more informed, and more effective," said Assistant Attorney General Leary.

U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton for the District of Columbia sentenced Mine S. Pase to 14 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.

The Justice Department today announced it has reached a consent decree with the town of Davie, Fla., to resolve allegations that Davie engaged in a pattern or practice of intentional discrimination against pregnant firefighters employed by Davie’s fire department.

"The Department’s Olmstead enforcement activities are dynamic and ongoing," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.

The U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) today announced funding awards to over 220 cities and counties, aimed at creating or saving approximately 800 law enforcement positions. The grants will fund over 600 new law enforcement positions and save an additional 200 positions recently lost or in jeopardy of being cut due to local budget cuts.

A federal jury in Elkins, W. Va., convicted Richard Evick, a U.S. Army Sergeant First Class and Non-Commissioned Officer in charge of contracting at a U.S. military base in Kuwait, and his associate, Crystal Martin, of all counts with which they were charged in connection with a bribery and money laundering scheme related to defense contracts awarded in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The Department of Justice today announced that it will not challenge a proposal by seven nuclear power plant operators to share resources and coordinate best practices and other operational activities through a proposed venture to be named the STARS Alliance LLC.

"In our system, antitrust and intellectual property policy function together to provide consumers with high-quality products and services at competitive prices, while at the same time preserving strong incentives for the innovation that creates and improves those products," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Wayland.

"At the core of the complaint is a simple story. If you were African-American or Latino, you were more likely to be placed in a subprime loan or pay more for your mortgage loan, even though you were qualified and deserved better treatment. This is a case about real people-African American and Latino- who suffered real harm as a result of Wells Fargo’s discriminatory lending practices," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.

"The recovery and repatriation of lost and stolen art to its rightful owner – whether to a private citizen or to a foreign government (as in this case) showcases what can be achieved when law enforcement partners from around the globe work together to do the right thing for all involved," said Deputy Attorney General Cole.

Cincinnati landlord Henry E. Bailey agreed to the entry of an $855,000 civil judgment against him, after admitting that he violated the Fair Housing Act as alleged in a complaint filed by the Justice Department in federal court.

"Your role in the executive and legislative branches is unique, and you can use that position to engage with your states and encourage innovative, non-traditional partnerships across government and between local units of government and non-governmental organizations. These partnerships can create dynamic solutions to challenges we see across the country every day," said Acting Director Hanson.

"For too long, our jails and prisons have been thought of as sealed institutions, where all problems – and all dangers – are contained. But that is clearly not the case. Health care is a powerful example of how issues that are unresolved – and, too often, exacerbated – in the corrections setting can lead to public health and public safety risks," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Leary.

“The remarkable public safety achievements of the last 20 years are threatened unless reforms are instituted,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer.