Adam S. Pretti, a former deputy with the Shelby County, Tenn., Sheriff’s Office, was sentenced today in federal court in Memphis to 18 months in prison and two years of supervised release for using excessive force during an encounter with a citizen. Pretti was also ordered to pay a $4,000 fine and a $100 special assessment.

Robert P. Merz was sentenced to life in prison today for advertising, transporting, receiving and possessing child pornography.

Delmar Dwayne Spier, the chief executive officer and managing director of United States Protection and Investigations, LLC (USPI), today pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to conspiracy, major fraud and wire fraud arising from an alleged scheme to defraud the United States; and his wife, Barbara Edens Spier, the president and owner of USPI, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States in connection with U.S.-sponsored rebuilding efforts in Afghanistan.

The Department today commemorated the 15th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which was signed into law on September 13, 1994.

A federal judge in San Francisco has issued permanent injunctions barring four individuals from promoting what a government lawsuit describes as a complex tax-fraud scheme involving several entities located around the globe.

The former superintendent of a wastewater treatment facility in Rochester, Ind., was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in South Bend, Ind., to serve one year in prison for falsifying discharge monitoring reports that concealed violations of the Clean Water Act.

Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (ALKQN) member Marie Chavez, aka "Shorty," wife of an alleged ALKQN leader, Jose Nava, aka "Chino," was sentenced today, while his brother Luis Nava, aka "Flaco," re-entered a guilty plea to a superseding indictment that charged them and 14 others with various offenses related to alleged narcotics and weapons trafficking, as well as violent activities throughout Texas.

Former Choctaw County, Okla., deputy sheriff Ben Westley Milner was found guilty today by a federal jury in Muskogee, Okla., of violating the civil rights of three men by assaulting them without legal justification. In one incident, which took place on Oct. 31, 2005, defendant Milner physically abused a truck driver following a traffic stop.

James Wilbur Fondren Jr., was convicted by a federal jury today on charges involving providing classified information to a man working with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and lying to the FBI about it.

Donald Collier, 45, was sentenced today to nine years in prison for mailing child pornography.

Erin Sharma, a former corrections officer with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, was sentenced today in federal court in Orlando, Fla., on federal civil rights charges related to the fatal assault of an inmate.

Under the settlement, which must still be approved by the court, 11 defendants will pay all costs related to making the complexes for which they were responsible accessible to persons with disabilities.

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.

Walter Kendall Myers, 72, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit espionage and two counts of wire fraud. His wife, Gwendolyn Steingraber Myers, 71, pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to gather and transmit national defense information.

The complex tax scheme involved numerous entities located around the globe and sales of over $1.25 billion in securities

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

Attorney General Holder and Secretary Janet Napolitano announced two major steps in their efforts to implement reforms to enhance information sharing among federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies and safeguard sensitive information used by the government—designed to expand joint capabilities to protect the United States from terrorist activity, violent crime and other threats to the homeland.

The department announced an agreement with Santa Rosa, Calif., to improve access to all aspects of civic life for persons with disabilities.

Shamai Kedem Leibowitz, aka Samuel Shamai Leibowitz, 39, of Silver Spring, Md., pleaded guilty in federal court in Greenbelt, Md., to a one-count information charging him with knowingly and willfully disclosing to an unauthorized person five FBI documents classified at the "secret" level that contained classified information concerning the communication intelligence activities of the United States.

A federal grand jury in Las Vegas today returned indictments against 10 Nevada-certified emissions testers for falsifying vehicle emissions test reports.

The new directive is part of a larger Justice Department initiative to create better communication and coordination to fight crime and promote justice in Indian Country.

"We must be vigilant in our efforts to safeguard and strengthen the American economy. Our efforts to fight economic crime are a vital component of our broader strategy - a strategy that seeks to foster confidence in our financial system, integrity in our markets, and prosperity for the American people."

Pacific Pipeline Systems LLP, a Long Beach, Calif.-based oil transport company, has agreed to pay a $1.3 million civil penalty and discontinue the use of a section of pipeline through an unstable section of mountains to resolve a Clean Water Act violation.

"Over the years, I’ve been privileged to work with many of you, and, today, I’m proud to stand alongside each of you in answering our nation’s call to attain justice," said Attorney General Holder.

The Department will require Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc. to license its ticketing software, divest ticketing assets and subject itself to anti-retaliation provisions in order to proceed with its proposed merger with Live Nation Inc.

Haroon Amin of Upland, Calif., pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States.

Elden Ray Cibart, 60, was found guilty of one count of possessing and three counts of receiving child pornography.

The Department has reached a settlement agreement with the Alameda County, Calif., Sheriff’s Office, under which it will provide sign language interpreters and other auxiliary aids and services to arrestees, detainees, suspects, victims, witnesses, complainants and visitors who are deaf, hard of hearing or deaf-blind at two jails.

Ather Ali of Diamond Bar, Calif., pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to defraud the United States.

The Department announced a settlement of its lawsuit alleging that the owners and developers involved in the design and construction of 21 multifamily housing complexes in Tennessee discriminated on the basis of disability.

"We must invest today to improve public safety in tribal communities. The problems in tribal communities are severe: American Indian and Alaska Native communities suffer from violent crime at far higher rates than other Americans."

The Department has reached a settlement with the county of Fresno, Calif., on behalf of Navy Reservist Porotesano Faapouli.

A federal jury in Los Angeles convicted a Fresno woman late Friday after it found that she committed Medicare fraud by recruiting patients for the purpose of receiving unnecessary power wheelchairs.

The settlement, which will require legislative and judicial approval to become effective, is fair to the plaintiffs, is responsible for the United States, and provides a path forward for the future.

A federal judge in Sacramento, Calif., has permanently barred Teresa Marty, of Pollock Pines, Calif, and her Placerville, Calif.-based business, Advanced Financial Services LLC, from acting as federal tax return preparers.

The United States has sued a father and two sons, all of Huntington Beach, Calif., seeking to bar them and their business from preparing federal tax returns for others.

"Although unprecedented challenges and new demands have emerged, our key priorities remain clear," Attorney General Holder said.

U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow today sentenced Roberto Antonio Argueta, aka "Alex Antonio Cruz," aka "Buda," 29, of Hyattsville, Md., to life in prison, plus an additional 35 years, for ordering the murder of Nancy Diaz and the attempted murder of another juvenile girl.

A federal jury in Sacramento, Calif., today convicted, Eric Clawson, 28, of San Francisco, of a federal hate crime for assaulting an African-American man in a Chico, Calif. bar.

The former chief of staff for the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Employment Standards Administration pleaded guilty today to falsely certifying his Fiscal Year 2003 Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Report, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division.

The Department announced an agreement with the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, to improve access to all aspects of civic life for persons with disabilities.

The Department will monitor the municipal election on April 13, 2010, in the city of Walnut, Calif., to ensure compliance with the minority language requirements of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

"Today I’ve been asked to report on the Justice Department’s progress, priorities, and goals. I’m proud to tell you what we have accomplished and what we plan to achieve," said Attorney General Holder.

A federal grand jury in the District of Maryland has returned a 10-count indictment charging former National Security Agency (NSA) senior executive Thomas A. Drake with the willful retention of classified information, obstruction of justice and making false statements.

A former captain in the U.S. Army Reserve pleaded guilty today to accepting thousands of dollars in gratuities from a contractor during his deployment to Kuwait.

Michael Shane Minich, 35, a former Lee County, Miss., Sheriff’s Deputy, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock, in Aberdeen, Miss., to depriving citizens of their civil rights under color of law by secretly removing cash from their wallets during traffic stops.

"I also am personally committed to the restoration and transformation of the Civil Rights Division, as is the Attorney General, whose support of the Division has been unwavering and complete," said Assistant Attorney General Perez.

"The Civil Rights Division enforces the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and we have a substantial role in implementing Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act."

The department said the proposed information exchange may reduce health care costs by improving competition among hundreds of hospitals in California and facilitating more informed purchasing decisions by group purchasers of health care services.

"Through our efforts and our partnerships with other Federal agencies and State partners, we will continue to ramp up fair lending enforcement to ensure that all Americans have equal access to credit," said Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez.