Today, the Departments of Justice and Education released two new guidance documents ¨C one for school districts and one for colleges and universities ¨C detailing the flexibility that the Supreme Court has provided to educational institutions to promote diversity and, in the case of elementary and secondary schools, reduce racial isolation among students within the confines of the law.

“The tragedy at Upper Big Branch will never be forgotten, and the families affected by it will never be made completely whole again. Today’s agreement represents the largest-ever resolution in a criminal investigation of a mine disaster and will ensure appropriate steps are taken to improve mine safety now and will fund research to enhance mine safety in the future,” said Attorney General Holder.

Gary Dodson, 32, of Waldron, Ark., pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Little Rock, Ark., to one count of civil rights conspiracy, one count of interference with housing rights due to race and one count of possession of an unregistered firearm/destructive device for his involvement in the Jan. 14, 2011, racially motivated firebombing of the home of an interracial couple in Hardy, Ark.

Ilios Shipping Company S.A., pleaded guilty in federal court in New Orleans for violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) and obstruction of justice, announced Assistant Attorney General Ignacia S. Moreno and U.S. Attorney Jim Letten.

Charles Joseph Bowie Jr., 45, of Georgetown, Texas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez in the Western District of Texas, San Antonio Division.

Charles Ndhlovu, 34, was sentenced on Dec. 12, 2011, by U.S. District Judge William S. Duffey Jr. to 51 months in prison and Scott Ahn, 42, was sentenced yesterday by Judge Duffey to 19 months in prison.

Based on the representations made by the Worker Rights Consortium, the department said that the proposal is unlikely to lessen competition in the collegiate apparel sector.

An indictment was unsealed today charging Jack Ray Carr of Baton Rouge, La., with one count of corruptly interfering with the due administration of the Internal Revenue laws, four counts of filing false income tax returns, and one count of aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false income tax return.

Eagle Recycling was sentenced to pay a $500,000 criminal fine and more than $70,000 in restitution and cleanup costs.

Aon Corporation, a publicly traded corporation headquartered in Chicago and one of the largest insurance brokerage firms in the world, has entered into an agreement with the Department of Justice to pay a $1.76 million penalty to resolve violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

The Department of Justice requires Exelon Corporation and Constellation Energy Group Inc. to divest three electricity generating plants in Maryland in order to proceed with their $7.9 billion merger.

The department filed a criminal information against Magyar Telekom and a two-year deferred prosecution agreement in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia today.

A Pakistani citizen was sentenced today in the District of Columbia to 50 months in prison for conspiracy to provide material support to the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), often referred to as the Pakistani Taliban, a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Eddie Pressley, 41, a former U.S. Army contracting official, was sentenced in Birmingham, Ala., for his participation in a bribery and money laundering scheme related to bribes paid for contracts awarded in support of the Iraq war.

Frederic Alan Gladle, 53, was charged on Dec. 9, 2011, in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles with one count of bankruptcy fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

A former Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy was charged today with agreeing to accept $20,000 in bribes in exchange for smuggling contraband into the Men's Central Jail.

Marubeni Corporation has agreed to pay a $54.6 million criminal penalty to resolve charges related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) for its participation in a decade-long scheme to bribe Nigerian government officials to obtain engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts.

A New Jersey industrial pipe supply company and its owner were sentenced today for participating in a conspiracy to commit fraud and pay bribes to a purchasing manager at Consolidated Edison of New York (Con Ed) in return for the manager’s efforts to steer contracts to the company.

Seven individuals and two corporations have been charged in the United States with running an international organized criminal enterprise allegedly responsible for massive worldwide online piracy of numerous types of copyrighted works, through Megaupload.com and other related sites, generating more than $175 million in criminal proceeds and causing more than half a billion dollars in harm to copyright owners.

"This marks the third time that this extraordinary group of leaders, researchers, front-line practitioners, and federal partners has come together to exchange insights, to share expertise, and to strengthen the essential work that has become not just our shared priority – but our common cause," said Attorney General Holder.

Barnwell, 37, of Evening Shade, Ark., was sentenced in Little Rock, Ark., for his involvement in firebombing the residence of an interracial couple.

"I am confident that this new effort will improve our ability to ensure justice for victims; help restore faith in our financial markets and institutions; and allow us to answer the call that President Obama issued earlier this week, in his State of the Union address," said Attorney General Holder.

Columbus Manufacturing Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Columbus Foods LLC, has agreed to pay a penalty and make significant upgrades to settle Clean Air Act violations.

Smith & Nephew Inc. has entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the Department of Justice to resolve improper payments by the company and certain affiliates in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

Austin Galvan, 30, was charged in a two-count indictment unsealed on Aug. 29, 2011, with wire fraud and obstruction of justice.

The Consumer Protection Working Group, formed under President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF), convened its first meeting in Washington, D.C., today to address consumer fraud, which can financially cripple households and can cause extensive losses to our economy.

Sergeant Amasha M. King, 33, of Forsyth, Ga., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Marc T. Treadwell in Macon, Ga., to criminal information charging her with one count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Department of Defense.

Glenn E. Morgan Jr., 41, of Detroit, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert H. Cleland to three months in prison followed by two years supervised release after pleading guilty to sending a threatening communication through the mail to a Detroit couple.

Julius DeSimone of Rome, N.Y., pleaded guilty today in federal court in Utica, N.Y., for conspiring to violate the Clean Water Act and to defraud the United States, and to making false statements to federal law enforcement.

Angela Palmer and her husband, Warren Palmer, both of Knoxville, Tenn., each pleaded guilty today to two counts of willful failure to file tax returns, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.

Michael George Rutecki, 33, of North Pole, Alaska, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Ralph R. Beistline in the District of Alaska to a criminal information charging him with one count of accepting illegal gratuities.

"Then – and now – he stands as a model of what it means to be a true advocate for, and defender of, justice," said Attorney General Holder.

"For me, and for today’s Department of Justice, protecting American consumers is a top priority. And, as we’ve rededicated ourselves to this work in recent years, we’ve also learned some essential lessons," said Attorney General Holder.

The United States has entered a consent decree against ATF Fitness Products Inc., Manufacturing ATF Dedicated Excellence Inc. (MADE), and the owner and president of both companies, James G. Vercellotti, the Justice Department announced today.

BizJet International Sales and Support Inc., a provider of aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services based in Tulsa, Okla., has agreed to pay an $11.8 million criminal penalty to resolve charges related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) for bribing government officials in Latin America to secure contracts to perform aircraft MRO services for government agencies.

Elmo Antonio George and Nasheba Necia Hunte, formerly from the U.S. Virgin Islands and currently residents of Villa Rica, Ga., were found guilty today by a federal jury in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., of conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and filing false individual income tax returns for 2005 and 2006, the Justice Department and the IRS announced.

The United States has sued Marge L. Cellini and Harry Portnoy of Las Vegas seeking to bar them from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today.

Biomet Inc. has entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the Department of Justice to resolve improper payments by the company and its subsidiaries in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Ilios Shipping Company S.A. was sentenced today in federal court in New Orleans for violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) and obstruction of justice.

The Department of Justice announced today that Gary Dodson, 33, of Waldron, Ark., was sentenced in Little Rock for his involvement in firebombing the residence of an interracial couple. On Dec. 7, 2011, Dodson pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the civil rights, criminal interference with housing rights due to race and possession of an unregistered firearm/destructive device. District Judge Billy Roy Wilson sentenced Dodson to 15 years in prison and 3 years of supervised release for the three counts of conviction.

German A. Posada was sentenced to 18 months in prison following a guilty plea to charges of filing a false 2004 individual income tax return and making a false statement in a bankruptcy proceeding, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.

A former chief engineer from the tuna fishing vessel San Nikunau pleaded guilty today in federal court to violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships.

Four individuals have been charged in the Eastern District of Virginia for their alleged roles in an Internet piracy group that distributed via the Internet copies of movies showing only in theaters.

The Justice Department today announced that it has reached a consent decree with Waupaca County, Wis., to resolve allegations that the county discriminated against an employee by denying her a promotion because of her sex.

Two alleged members of the Philadelphia organized crime family of La Cosa Nostra (LCN) were arrested today on racketeering charges contained in a second superseding indictment.

Integrated Production Services Inc. (IPS), a Houston-based natural gas and oil drilling contractor, was sentenced today in federal court in Muskogee, Okla., to pay a criminal fine of $140,000 for violations of the Clean Water Act at its hydraulic fracturing operation in Atoka County, Okla., the Justice Department announced.

Frederic Alan Gladle, 53, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel.

Mohammad Hassan Khalid, 18, a Pakistani citizen and U.S. lawful permanent resident who resided in Maryland, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, stemming from his participation in a scheme to support, recruit and coordinate members of a conspiracy in their plan to wage violent jihad in and around Europe.

Pharmacia Corporation and Bayer CropScience Inc. have agreed to pay $4.25 million to federal and state natural resource trustees to resolve claims for natural resource damages connected with the Industri-plex Superfund site located in Woburn, Mass.

The city of Unalaska, Alaska, will undertake a major upgrade of its municipal sewage treatment plant under a settlement of a Clean Water Act enforcement action filed against the city and the state of Alaska by the Department of Justice on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).