The Department will require AT&T Inc. to divest assets in eight areas in Louisiana and Mississippi in order to proceed with its $944 million acquisition of Centennial Communications Corp.

The United States has reached a settlement with ranchers in a longstanding dispute over livestock trespasses on public lands in Nye and Esmeralda Counties, Nev.

"Listening to the complex needs of the communities, and recognizing their unique responses, is perhaps the most important thing we can do at the Department."

Panagiotis Lekkas, the captain of the cargo ship, M/V Theotokos, was sentenced today in federal court in New Orleans to 10 months confinement.

David H. Safavian was sentenced today to one year in prison on charges of obstruction of justice and making false statements in connection with the investigation into the activities of former Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

The Department announced this week that it has filed a lawsuit against TK Properties L.L.C., its officer, Scott Terveen, and two employees, Ann Wagner and Corey Anderson, for violating the Fair Housing Act by discriminating on the basis of race.

Pine Hills Kiddie Garden of Fort Wayne, Ind., will take necessary steps to ensure that a child’s diabetes care is integrated into the usual routine of its day care center and programs as part of a settlement to resolve allegations that it discriminated on the basis of disability.

The Army Sergeant has agreed to pay $90,000 in restitution to the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and to cooperate with the Department of Justice’s ongoing investigation.

Attorney General Holder recognizes 247 department employees and 39 other individuals outside of the department for their distinguished public service today at the 57th Annual Attorney General Awards Ceremony.

“Members of the military who put their lives on the line to protect our nation deserve to know they will not be penalized for their service and their bravery,” said Thomas Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.

Twenty defendants have been charged in seven cases for allegedly participating in Medicare fraud schemes that resulted in more than $26 million in fraudulent bills to the Medicare program.

The department today announced a comprehensive settlement agreement under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Brookline, Mass., to ensure access to medical facilities and services for individuals with disabilities.

Sims Lawson Jr., a resident of Killen, Ala., was sentenced to 70 months in prison by Judge R. David Proctor.

Daryl Haynor, an accountant who was a tax partner at an accounting firm in Tysons Corner, Va., and Jon Flask, an attorney who was a partner at a law firm in Vienna, Va., were indicted today for conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and for corruptly endeavoring to obstruct and impede the due administration of the internal revenue laws

A former State Department employee was sentenced today to 12 months of probation for illegally accessing more than 75 confidential passport application files.

The United States alleges that the state of New York has failed to house thousands of individuals with mental illness who currently reside in large, institutional “adult homes” in the most integrated setting, in violation of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

The department announced the filing of a consent decree settling a Voting Rights Act lawsuit against the town of Lake Park, Fla., that, subject to court approval, will alter the method of electing the town commission.

While no words can lessen the sorrow being felt today by these families, I hope their loved ones know they have the unending respect and gratitude of this nation. They certainly have mine.

The department has reached a settlement with the city of Marion, Ark., that, if approved by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, will resolve the department’s lawsuit against the city alleging race discrimination in employment in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended.

Two Chicago men have been arrested on federal charges for their alleged roles in conspiracies to provide material support and/or to commit terrorist acts against overseas targets.

The federal suits – filed in Los Angeles; Panama City, Fla.; Salt Lake City; Nashville, Tenn.; and Pocatello, Idaho – allege that the defendants promote a tax fraud scheme designed to siphon hundreds of millions of dollars from the U.S. Treasury through fraudulent tax refund claims.

"Civic access is a civil right, and individuals with disabilities must have the opportunity to participate in public programs, services and activities on an equal basis with their neighbors," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.

"This settlement demonstrates our vigilant protection of the employment rights of our servicemembers, and our commitment to vigorous enforcement of the laws that protect them," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.

A Highland Falls, N.Y., woman pleaded guilty today for her role in a scheme to defraud and embezzle funds from the U.S. government by authorizing nearly $3 million in payments from the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., to a bogus corporation she controlled.

James E. Haas Jr. pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court of New Jersey, to charges that he engaged in a kickback and fraud conspiracy at the Federal Creosote Superfund site in Manville, N.J.

The department announced the release of a new video aimed at educating employers about the employment provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

I authorized this significant step following a careful and thorough review process, and I did so only because I believe there is no way for this case to move forward without jeopardizing ongoing intelligence activities that we rely upon to protect the safety of the American people.

On Nov. 3, 2009, the department will monitor elections in the following jurisdictions to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and other federal voting rights statutes: the cities of Lowell and Springfield, Mass.; the city of Hamtramck, Mich.; Middlesex County and the borough of Penns Grove, N.J.; Orange County and Queens, N.Y., and the city of Philadelphia.

The department announced a settlement agreement with Glynn County, Ga., to improve access to all aspects of civic life for persons with disabilities.

Noel Wayne Jhagroo, 47, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud before U.S. District Judge Vanessa Gilmore in the U.S. District Court in Houston. 

The department announced the largest monetary payment ever obtained by the department in the settlement of a case alleging housing discrimination in the rental of apartments.

The United States has filed a lawsuit against Patric LeHouillier, an attorney based in Colorado Springs, Colo., alleging that he violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by denying a woman with a service animal access to his offices.

Michael Bullard, Richard Armstrong and James Whitewater were sentenced today in federal court in Boise, Idaho, for hate crime and conspiracy charges in connection with the racially-motivated assault of an African-American man outside of a Wal-Mart store in July 2008

The United States has reached a settlement that will resolve its suit filed on behalf of retired Army service member King A. Gatten against Knight Protective Service Inc.

“I am pleased to welcome Ignacia back to the Department and the Environment and Natural Resources Division,” said Attorney General Holder.

The United States has reached a settlement resolving a housing discrimination lawsuit in Tennessee concerning discrimination against families with children, the Justice Department announced.

A federal court in Milwaukee, Wis., today issued a preliminary injunction ordering a Milwaukee heating contractor and its owner and president to comply with federal employment tax payment requirements.

John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods Inc., and John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods of the Carolinas Inc., based in Atlanta, Ga., have agreed to pay a $350,000 civil penalty to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Water Act, the Justice Department and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today.

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.

"My thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the family of Dr. Eduardo Caraveo, a Bureau of Prisons psychologist who was killed Thursday at Ft. Hood, as well as to all those who are grieving the loss of loved ones in this tragic event. No words can ease the pain they are feeling today."

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 government complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Dallas alleges that Travis Nicholas Stenline of Seagoville, Texas, operates a business he calls Nick Tax or Nick’s Taxes that prepares fraudulent returns for customers.

Two companies and the city of St. Maries, Idaho, have agreed to clean up a superfund site in St. Maries at a cost estimated more than $12 million.

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).

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.

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

The all-day workshops, which will begin in March 2010, will be held in Alabama, Colorado, Iowa, Washington, D.C. and Wisconsin.

“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.