A second former New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) officer has pleaded guilty to covering up a deadly police shooting in the days after Hurricane Katrina.

According to the charges, Salvatore Scotto-DiVetta, who held various supervisory positions at NYPH, participated in a conspiracy that took place from as early as 2000 until at least March 2005.

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton, a New Jersey-based hospital, has agreed to pay $6.35 million to settle allegations that the hospital defrauded Medicare.

The Attorney General announced that new investments included in the FY 2010 budget will soon be distributed to combat mortgage fraud.

Pamrapo Savings Bank S.L.A., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pamrapo Bancorp Inc., based in Bayonne, N.J., pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey to conspiracy to violate the Bank Secrecy Act and has agreed to forfeit $5 million to the United States

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached an out-of-court settlement in the matter of J.L. v. Mohawk Central School District, a lawsuit which the United States sought to join to address alleged violations of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, both of which prohibit discrimination based on sex, including discrimination based on gender stereotypes

Today Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division announced the formation of the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP), the first new section to be formed in the Criminal Division since 2008.

New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) Officer Michael Hunter was charged today with misprision of a felony (for concealing a known felony) and with conspiring with fellow NOPD officers to obstruct justice by covering up a police-involved shooting in the days after Hurricane Katrina

An indictment by a Manhattan grand jury was unsealed today charging a former contractor for participating in a bid-rigging conspiracy related to contracts at New York Presbyterian Hospital (NYPH) and for filing a false tax return.

The Department of Justice announced today that it supports a proposal by The Associated Press (AP) to develop and operate a voluntary news registry to facilitate the licensing and Internet distribution of news content created by the AP, its members, and other news originators

A two-count bill of information filed today in federal court charges David Ryder of Opelousas, La., with lying to the FBI and with illegally possessing a firearm, announced Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division; Jim Letten, U. S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana; and David Welker, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI New Orleans Field Office.

The indictment charges Mario Perciavalle with engaging in a conspiracy to rig bids on Mount Sinai contracts for maintenance and insulation services between June 2004 and September 2005.

Wall Herald Corporation has agreed to pay approximately $20 million for past and future cleanup costs incurred by the federal government at the Monitor Devices Superfund site in Wall Township, N.J., according to a settlement filed today in federal court in Trenton, N.J.

A one-count bill of information filed today in federal court charges New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) Officer Robert Barrios with conspiring with fellow NOPD officers to obstruct justice by covering up a police-involved shooting in the days after Hurricane Katrina.

Anthony G. Merlo, a resident of Portsmouth, N.H., was sentenced to 51 months of imprisonment for conspiring to defraud the United States.

The Antitrust Division today issued the first ever electronic-only version of its 2010 annual newsletter

Bill Melot, a resident of Hobbs, N.M., was convicted today of tax evasion, failure to file tax returns, making false statements to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and impeding the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) following a four day jury trial before Judge M. Christina Armijo in Albuquerque, N.M.

"This plot, as well as others we have encountered, makes clear we face a continued threat from al-Qaeda and its affiliates overseas," said Attorney General Holder.

As part of the Department of Justice’s ongoing initiative to confront intellectual property (IP) crimes, Acting Deputy Attorney General Gary G. Grindler announced today the appointment of 15 new Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) positions and 20 FBI Special Agents to be dedicated to combating domestic and international IP crimes.

A New York City federal grand jury returned an indictment against four individuals and three corporations for participating in mail and wire fraud conspiracies related to contracts for work performed at New York Presbyterian Hospital.

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.

“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. 

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.

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 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.

The Department will monitor the primary elections on June 1, 2010, in Cibola and Sandoval Counties, N.M., to ensure compliance with the minority language requirements of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and other federal voting rights statutes.

The former managing director of Pamrapo Saving Bank’s investment company was arrested today and charged with allegedly diverting and embezzling more than $600,000.

A federal court in Brooklyn, N.Y., has permanently barred brothers Archie J. Pugh Jr. and Theodore Pugh from promoting tax evasion schemes and preparing federal income tax returns for others.

Former New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) Officer Ignatius Hills pleaded guilty today in federal court to misprision of a felony and to conspiring with fellow officers to obstruct justice by covering up a police-involved shooting that occurred on the Danziger Bridge in the days following Hurricane Katrina.

Metropolitan Ambulance & First Aid Corp. (now known as SEZ Metro Corp.), Metro North Ambulance Corp. (now known as SEZ North Corp.) and Big Apple Ambulance Service Inc. (formerly known as United Ambulance) have paid the United States $2.85 million to resolve false claims made to Medicare.

The Department will monitor elections on June 8, 2010, in the following jurisdictions to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and other federal voting rights statutes: Riverside County, Calif.; Middlesex County, N.J.; and Charles Mix and Shannon Counties, S.D.

Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Kathleen Sebelius today sent a letter to state attorneys general urging them to work with HHS and federal, state and local law enforcement officials to mount a substantial outreach campaign, beginning this summer, to educate seniors and other Medicare beneficiaries about how to prevent scams and fraud.

Three men, a father and two sons, were sentenced to prison today in federal court in Syracuse, N.Y., for multiple violations of asbestos-related environmental laws.

Andres Echevarria, aka “B-Boy” and “King B-Boy,” pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise, in connection with his gang activities as a member of the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (Latin Kings).

A federal grand jury has returned an 11 count federal indictment charging three current and two former New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) officers in connection with the police-involved shooting of Henry Glover, a New Orleans resident shot and killed in the days after Hurricane Katrina.

Chong Lam, 52, and Siu Yung Chan, aka Joyce Chan, 42, both of New York, were convicted yesterday for their participation in one of the largest counterfeit luxury goods operations in the United States.

The Department has reached a consent decree with the township of Green Brook, N.J., that, if approved by the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, will resolve the department’s lawsuit against Green Brook alleging racial discrimination in employment in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended.

The Justice Department today announced that it will monitor the municipal election on June 15, 2010, in the village of Port Chester, N.Y., to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The Department has filed a stipulated settlement agreement resolving a portion of its lawsuit against Erie County, N.Y, regarding the limited issue of suicide prevention and related mental health care.

A Milltown, N.J., man pleaded guilty today to a federal charge of willfully subscribing to a false tax return, admitting he concealed over $2 million in a Swiss bank account.

A federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., has charged Mac Aviation Group, an Irish trading company, and its officers Thomas and Sean McGuinn of Sligo, Ireland, in a superseding indictment with purchasing F-5 fighter aircraft parts, helicopter engines and other aircraft components from U.S. firms and illegally exporting them to Iran.

Six officers with the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) were charged today in connection with the federal investigation of a police-involved shooting on the Danziger Bridge in the days after Hurricane Katrina.

The Justice Department today announced a court-approved consent decree which resolves a lawsuit against the state of New York and its public university systems for their failure to provide voter registration services at offices serving students with disabilities at each public university and college campus in New York State. 

The United States has entered into a comprehensive agreement with the State of New York and the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) that resolves previous findings of unconstitutional conditions at four juvenile justice facilities.

Roland J. Bourgeois Jr., 47, currently a resident of Columbia, Miss., was charged in a five-count indictment with conspiring to commit a hate crime, committing a hate crime with a deadly weapon and with intent to kill, making false statements and obstructing of justice in connection with a shooting that happened in the days after Hurricane Katrina.

Champion Chemical Company, Imperial Oil Company Inc. and Imperial’s two former officers have agreed to pay at least $1.4 million to resolve actions to enforce a prior agreement to reimburse cleanup costs incurred by the federal government at the Imperial Oil Company Inc./Champion Chemical Company Superfund Site in Marlboro Township, N.J.

The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights today issued new technical assistance guidance for medical providers which will help people with mobility disabilities obtain accessible medical care.

The Justice Department publishes four new Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) proposals addressing the accessibility of websites, the provision of captioning and video description in movies shown in theaters, accessible equipment and furniture, and the ability of 9-1-1 centers to take text and video calls from individuals with disabilities.

Two officers with the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) have been charged in a three-count indictment with federal crimes in connection with the beating death of civilian Raymond Robair in July 2005.

– The Mercator Corporation, a merchant bank with offices in New York, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Manhattan, N.Y., to one count of making an unlawful payment to a senior government official of the Republic of Kazakhstan, in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).