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Korean Executive Agrees to Plead Guilty and Serve One Year in Prison for Participation in LCD Price-Fixing Conspiracy

A high-level Korean executive from LG Display Co. Ltd. (LG) has agreed to plead guilty and serve a year in jail in the United States for participating in a global conspiracy to fix prices in the sale of Thin Film Transistor-Liquid Crystal Display (TFT-LCD) panels.



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Three Brothers Sentenced to Life Prison Terms for Conspiring to Kill U.S. Soldiers

Three brothers who were convicted of plotting to kill members of the U.S. military during an armed attack on a military base were sentenced today to life prison terms. U.S. District Judge Robert B. Kugler sentenced Dritan Duka and Shain Duka to prison terms of life plus an additional, consecutive 30 years. The third brother, Eljvir Duka, received a life prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.



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Dutch Airline Executive Agrees to Plead Guilty for Fixing Prices on Air Cargo Shipments

A Dutch citizen and executive of Martinair Holland N.V. (Martinair) has agreed to plead guilty, serve time in jail and pay a criminal fine for participating in a conspiracy to fix cargo rates for international air shipments. Including today’s charge, a total of 15 airlines and four executives have pleaded guilty or agreed to plead guilty in the Justice Department’s ongoing investigation into price fixing in the air transportation industry.



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Three South Carolina Men Indicted on Federal Civil Rights Charges

A federal grand jury in Florence, S.C., indicted three men from Marlboro County, S.C., on charges relating to their attack on an African-American man and two white men in December 2007.



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U.S. Intervenes in Suit Against Former Beef Suppliers to National School Lunch Program

The United States has intervened in a civil lawsuit against two former suppliers to the National School Lunch Program – Hallmark Meat Packing Company and Westland Meat Company Inc. – for submitting false and fraudulent claims to the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). All ground beef containing defendants’ products was recalled by USDA as of Feb. 16, 2008, and defendants no longer supply beef to the National School Lunch Program or AMS.



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Three Teamsters Local 743 Workers in Chicago Convicted of Labor Fraud and Theft of Union Ballots in Bid to Rig Contested 2004 Elections

A former officer and two employees of Teamsters Local 743 (Local 743) were convicted today in federal court in Chicago of federal labor fraud and theft charges in connection with stealing union ballots in an effort to rig two elections in favor of an incumbent slate of officers in 2004. A federal jury returned guilty verdicts today, after deliberating since April 29, 2009, against the three defendants whose trial began on April 6, 2009.



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Three Ohio Residents Plead Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud for Fraudulent Real Estate Loan Scheme

Todd Gongwer of Dublin, Ohio; Lance Parker of Dublin, Ohio; and Joel Lee, of Galena, Ohio, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Gongwer, a licensed real estate agent, also pleaded guilty to tax evasion in the hearing before Judge Michael H. Watson in Columbus, Ohio. Parker also pleaded guilty to illegally structuring cash transactions.



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MS-13 Leader Sentenced to 60 Years in Federal Prison for Racketeering Conspiracy, Armed Robbery and Gun Violation

U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow today sentenced Victor Ramirez, a/k/a “Mousey,” age 30, a native of El Salvador who resided in Hyattsville, Md., to 60 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release.



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Chief Engineer Sentenced for Concealing Vessel Pollution

Carmelo Oria, a Spanish citizen who was the chief engineer on the Cyprus-flagged M/T Nautilus, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts for maintaining inaccurate records that concealed a discharge of oil-contaminated water from the bilges of the M/T Nautilus. Oria was sentenced to one month in prison, to be followed by supervised release for a term of two years and a $3,000 fine.



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Anadarko Petroleum Co., Agrees to Pay Penalty for Oil Spills in Wyoming

Anadarko Petroleum Co., and two related oil production companies have agreed to pay a civil penalty of more than $1 million and implement injunctive relief, develop facility response plans, and revise spill prevention as well as containment plans at a cost of more than $8 million during the term of the settlement in order to resolve violations of the Clean Water Act.



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Justice Department Seeks to Bar New York Attorney from Using Employment Taxes as Working Capital

The United States has filed a lawsuit against New York attorney Thomas B. Pruzan, d/b/a the Pruzan Law Firm, seeking to put an end to Mr. Pruzan’s repeated failure to timely deposit and pay the employment and unemployment taxes due from his law firm, as well as his failure to timely file employment and unemployment tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service.



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Eric Holder at the Howard University School of Law Hooding and Degree Ceremony

"With power and wealth must come responsibility and caring. You must realize that you possess real and symbolic power as lawyers and understand that you can change the whole of America for the better."




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Novo Nordisk Agrees to Pay $9 Million Fine in Connection with Payment of $1.4 Million in Kickbacks Through the United Nations Oil-for-food Program

Novo Nordisk A/S (Novo), a Danish corporation based in Bagsvaerd, Denmark, has agreed to pay a $9 million penalty for illegal kickbacks paid to the former Iraqi government.



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Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli Before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary in a Hearing Entitled “Helping State and Local Law Enforcement”

"If our partnership with state, local and tribal law enforcement is to endure, federal financial support cannot be a one time occurrence. This country is facing prolonged problems that require steadfast commitment and long-term cooperation."




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Three Former Kentucky Jailers Plead Guilty to Systematic Detainee Abuse and Coverup

Three former jailers at the Lexington-Fayette County Detention Center (FCDC) pleaded guilty today to civil rights charges in federal court in Lexington, Ky.



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Georgia-Pacific Agrees to Perform Cleanup Activities at the Kalamazoo Superfund Site in Michigan

Georgia-Pacific, a manufacturing company headquartered in Atlanta, has agreed to perform remedial work at an estimated cost of nearly $13 million to contain two former disposal areas within the Kalamazoo River Superfund site in Allegan and Kalamazoo Counties, Mich.



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Eight Uzbekistan Nationals Among 12 Charged with Racketeering, Human Trafficking & Immigration Violations in Scheme to Employ Illegal Aliens in 14 States

Twelve defendants, including eight Uzbekistan nationals, have been charged in a 45-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on May 6, 2009, on RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) charges related to labor racketeering, forced labor trafficking and immigration and other violations in 14 states.



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Massachusetts Man Indicted for Trafficking in Illegally-Imported Sperm Whale Teeth

A Massachusetts man has been charged in U.S. District Court in Boston with crimes related to the illegal importation and illegal trafficking of sperm whale teeth. On May 13, 2009, a federal grand jury sitting in Boston, returned an indictment that was unsealed today against David L. Place of Nantucket, Mass.



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Eight “Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation” Gang Members Plead Guilty to Drug Conspiracy and Related Charges

Eight members of the violent gang known as the "Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation" (ALKQN) have pleaded guilty to a variety of charges, including drug conspiracy and weapons trafficking.



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Former Political Action Committee Contractor Pleads Guilty to Embezzling Funds

Melissa Thomas, 34, pleaded guilty today to one count of forgery in connection with a scheme to embezzle more than $17,000 from a political action committee (PAC), which was a client of her employer.



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Thirty-Six Companies Agree to Clean up Breslube-Penn Superfund Site in Coraopolis, Pa.

Thirty-six companies allegedly responsible for hazardous contamination of soil and groundwater at the Breslube-Penn Superfund Site in Coraopolis, Pa., have agreed to cleanup up the site. According to the settlement filed in U.S. District Court in the Western District of Pennsylvania, the companies have agreed to fund and/or complete a $12 million cleanup at the seven-acre site.



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Fraudulent Telemarketers Who Claimed U.S. Victims Won Large Sweepstakes Sentenced to Prison for Roles in Scheme

The owner of a Costa Rica-based telemarketing call center and two employees of another Costa Rica call center were sentenced for their roles in schemes that targeted and defrauded thousands of American victims of more than $10 million.



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Three Colombian Nationals Arrested, Charged in Alien Smuggling and Visa Fraud Scheme

Three Colombian nationals have been arrested in Colombia on charges of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling for profit, alien smuggling for profit, and conspiracy to commit visa fraud in connection with their alleged roles in an extensive and sophisticated visa fraud scheme against the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá, Colombia.



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Attorney General Vacates Compean Order, Initiates New Rulemaking to Govern Immigration Removal Proceedings

Attorney General Eric Holder today vacated the order issued in Matter of Compean by Attorney General Mukasey in January and announced his intention to initiate a new rulemaking proceeding for regulations to govern claims of ineffective assistance of counsel in removal proceedings.



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Deputy Attorney General David W. Ogden at the Compliance Week Keynote Address

"The current financial crisis requires a well-coordinated, proactive law enforcement response that draws on all the resources of the federal government. The appropriate role of the Department of Justice in responding to this crisis is clear: We will be relentless in our investigation of corporate wrongdoing, and will not hesitate to bring charges, where appropriate, for criminal misconduct on the part of businesses and business executives."




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Former Employee at U.S. Embassy in Haiti Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for Theft of More Than $800,000

A former employee at the U.S. Embassy in Haiti was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for stealing more than $800,000 from the U.S. Department of State.



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Fact Sheet: Prosecuting and Detaining Terror Suspects in the U.S. Criminal Justice System

Since the 1990s, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) has investigated and successfully prosecuted a wide range of international and domestic terrorism cases — including the bombings of the World Trade Center and U.S. Embassies in East Africa in the 1990s.



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United States Resettles Four Uighur Detainees from Guantanamo Bay to the Government of Bermuda

Four detainees, Chinese nationals of Uighur ethnicity who had been held at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, have been resettled in Bermuda.



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United States Transfers Two Guantanamo Detainees to Foreign Nations

The Department today announced that one national of Iraq and one national of Chad have been transferred from the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay to their home countries.



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Chicago Police Officer Sentenced for Violating Federal Civil Rights of a Man Beaten While Restrained in a Wheelchair

William Cozzi, a Chicago police officer, was sentenced today to 40 months in federal prison for violating the federal civil rights of a man whom the officer struck repeatedly with a dangerous weapon while the man was handcuffed and shackled in a wheelchair.



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United States Transfers Three Guantanamo Detainees to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Three Saudi nationals were transferred today from the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under appropriate security measures.



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Joint Statement by Secretary Napolitano and Attorney General Eric Holder on Today’s Signing of a DEA-ICE Drug Trafficking Enforcement Agreement

"Giving ICE agents the authority to investigate drug trafficking cases, enhancing information sharing capabilities between ICE and the DEA, and ensuring full participation in intelligence centers will strengthen our efforts to combat international narcotics smuggling, streamline operations and bring better intelligence to our front line personnel."



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City of Duluth, Minnesota, and Western Lake Superior Sanitary District Agree to Eliminate Sewer Overflows

The city of Duluth, Minn., and the Western Lake Superior Sanitary District have agreed to make improvements to the area’s sewer system, estimated to cost about $130 million, to eliminate sanitary sewer overflows in an agreement filed today in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, Minn.



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Former Memphis, Tennessee, Police Officer Convicted of Civil Rights Violations

Carlton Moore, formerly an officer with the Memphis Police Department, pleaded guilty on Thursday in federal court in Memphis, Tenn., to three counts of violating civil rights for stealing money from motorists while acting under color of law. Moore faces up to three years in prison.



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Dallas Independent School District Agrees to Settle False Claims Allegations Involving E-Rate Program

The Dallas Independent School District (DISD) has agreed to settle claims that the school district violated the False Claims Act in connection with the Federal Communications Commission’s E-Rate program. Under the terms of the settlement, the DISD will relinquish more than $150 million in requests for federal funds, and will pay a total of $750,000.



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Former National Archives Employee Pleads Guilty to Conflict of Interest

Jeffrey Davis, a former employee of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Atlanta to engaging in a felony conflict of interest by collecting fees from customers of a company he owned and operated for services he performed as part of his official duties at NARA.



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Former Owner of the Largest Chrysotile Asbestos Mine and Mill in the U.S. Agrees to Address Contamination at Vermont Site

As part of a multi-site settlement, G-I Holdings Inc. has agreed to address asbestos contamination caused by its past operation of the largest chrysotile asbestos mine and mill in the country. The 1,673-acre abandoned mine site in Vermont, known as the Vermont Asbestos Group Mine Site (VAG Site) is the most significant of the contaminated sites covered by the settlement, which includes 12 other industrial sites across the country where G-I may have disposed of hazardous waste.



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Former Florida State Corrections Officer Sentenced to Three Years in Prison for Assaulting an Inmate

Paul Tillis, a former Florida Department of Corrections officer, was sentenced today in federal court in Jacksonville, Fla., on a federal civil rights charge related to assaulting an inmate.



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Justice Department Files Suit Against Cheese Manufacturer

The U.S. Department of Justice, on behalf of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, filed a complaint seeking injunctive relief against Peregrina Cheese Inc., Brooklyn, N.Y., and two of its officers: Javier Peregrina and Isabel Peregrina. The company prepares and processes a variety of cheeses, sour cream, flan and gelatin products and distributes them to specialty grocery stores in northeastern Pennsylvania and in the New York City area.



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Former State Department Employee Sentenced for Illegally Accessing Confidential Passport Files

A former State Department employee was sentenced today to one year of probation and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine for illegally accessing more than 50 confidential passport application files.



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Justice Department Files Lawsuit Against City of Milwaukee to Enforce Employment Rights of Member of the Air National Guard

The Department filed a lawsuit against the city of Milwaukee alleging it violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) by refusing to provide Michael Crivello, then an incumbent Milwaukee police officer, with a make-up promotional examination for detective that he missed while away on active duty military service with the Air National Guard and thereby failing to properly determine his reemployment status as a police officer eligible for promotion to detective.



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United States, UBS and Switzerland Request Stay in Court Proceedings

The Department of Justice, UBS and the Swiss government have requested a stay with a rescheduled hearing date of Aug. 3, 2009, in the proceedings for enforcement of the summons ordering UBS to turn over records of account holders.



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New Jersey Electrical Services Company Employee Sentenced to 20 Months in Jail for Kickback and Fraud Scheme

An employee of a Sewell, N.J., sub-contractor that provided temporary electrical services was sentenced today to serve 20 months in jail for his role in a kickback and fraud scheme at an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-designated Superfund site in New Jersey. The sub-contractor was also ordered to pay $154,597 in restitution to the EPA, jointly and severally with his co-conspirators.



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Former Boeing Engineer Convicted of Economic Espionage in Theft of Space Shuttle Secrets for China

A former Rockwell and Boeing engineer from Orange County, Calif., was remanded into custody this morning after a federal judge convicted him of charges of economic espionage and acting as an agent of the People’s Republic of China, for whom he stole restricted technology and Boeing trade secrets, including information related to the Space Shuttle program and Delta IV rocket.



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Justice Department Releases New Fact Sheet on the Rights of Persons with HIV or AIDS to Obtain Occupational Training and State Licensing

The Department released a new technical assistance fact sheet on legal requirements relating to admitting individuals with HIV or AIDS to occupational training schools and granting state licensure in occupations such as barbering, massage therapy and home health care assistance.



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Justice Department Seeks to Close Miami-Area Tax Firm

The United States has sued four Hialeah, Fla., tax return preparers –Alberto Alem, Beatriz Sardinas and Pilar Medina and their company, PCPS Corp. – seeking to put them out of business. The civil injunction suit was filed in Miami with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. According to the civil injunction complaint, the defendants prepare federal income tax returns with fabricated claims for the federal fuel tax credit.



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Chief Engineer and Second Engineer Plead Guilty to Concealing Vessel Pollution

Panagiotis Stamatakis, the chief engineer on the Cyprus-flagged M/V Myron N, and the second engineer, Dimitrios Papadakis, both citizens of Greece, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Trenton, N.J., to using falsified records that concealed improper discharges of untreated bilge waste from the cargo ship.



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Tampa Bay Doctor Agrees to Pay United States $1.7 Million to Resolve Medicare Fraud Allegations

Dr. Gabriel DeCandido, a physician practicing internal medicine in Largo, Fla., has agreed to pay the United States $1.7 million to settle allegations that he defrauded the Medicare program. In a complaint filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, United States ex rel. Michael Flanery v. Dr. Gabriel DeCandido, et al., the United States alleged that Dr. DeCandido violated the False Claims Act by billing the Medicare program for higher levels of service than he actually rendered to patients and by billing for services not provided.



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Georgia Temp Company and Its Owner/President Agree to Plead Guilty to Making a False Statement to the U.S. Small Business Administration

A Georgia temporary staffing company and its owner/president have agreed to plead guilty to making a false statement to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Patriot Services Inc. and its owner/president, Stephanie Blackmon, have each agreed to plead guilty to a one-count charge of making a false statement to the SBA, which was filed today in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan.



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Colorado Interstate Gas Agrees to Resolve Clean Air Act Violations in Utah

Colorado Interstate Gas Company (CIG), the operator of the Natural Buttes Compressor Station located on the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation near Vernal, Utah, has agreed to pay more than $1 million and install environmental controls at its facility as part of a consent decree that resolves violations of the Clean Air Act.



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