The Department has initiated removal proceedings against a Troy, Mich., resident based on his participation in violent acts of persecution while serving as an armed member of the Nazi-sponsored Ukrainian Auxiliary Police (UAP) in occupied L’viv, Ukraine, during World War II.

The vice president of a Missouri pesticide company, HPI Products Inc., pleaded guilty today in federal court in Kansas City, Mo., for violating a federal pesticides law designed to provide proper regulatory oversight and prevent improper storage of pesticides.

A federal court in Newark, N.J., denied Schering-Plough Corp. a $473 million refund in connection with two transactions in which Schering-Plough sought to avoid taxation on $690 million in profits it repatriated from offshore subsidiaries into the United States.

William Garvey, the president of HPI Products Inc., a pesticide company based in St. Joseph, Mo., was sentenced today in federal court in Kansas City, Mo., for violations of the Clean Water Act and hazardous waste storage laws related to the company’s pesticide production.

American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. and its subsidiary Pharmacia &Pfizer”) have agreed to pay $2.3 billion, the largest health care fraud settlement in the history of the Department of Justice, to resolve criminal and civil liability arising from the illegal promotion of certain pharmaceutical products.

Jacob A. Wingo, Richard W. Robbins, Clayton D. Morrison and Darren E. McKim pleaded guilty today and yesterday to conspiring to drive a woman and her children from their home in Donaldson, Ark., because they associated with African Americans. A fifth defendant, Dustin Nix, 21, pleaded guilty to similar charges in July 2009.

A federal judge in Tampa, Fla., has permanently barred a Spring Hill, Fla., tax preparer from preparing federal tax returns. U.S. District Court Judge James D. Whittemore of the Middle District of Florida entered the permanent injunction order against Gerard Mirabella, who consented to it.

Jacques Monsieur, a Belgian national and resident of France suspected of international arms dealing for decades, has been arrested on charges alleging that he conspired to illegally export F-5 fighter jet engines and parts from the United States to Iran.

More than $750,000 in forfeited funds from an embezzlement scheme by a Peruvian military officer have been transferred to the government of Peru.

Denver resident Lil Vargas-Arias pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Detroit to participating in a conspiracy to defraud the Medicare program.

Tax preparer Lawrence Sperling, was sentenced to 33 months in prison today by Judge Deborah Chasanow in Greenbelt, Md., for preparing false tax returns for clients. In April 2009, Sperling pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and assisting in the preparation and presentation of a false tax return.

An Oklahoma man pleaded guilty today for his role in a scheme to solicit kickbacks in connection with the award of a private security services subcontract to protect U.S. government personnel and contractors in Afghanistan. Bryan Lee Burrows, 42, of Wagoner, Okla., pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Court Judge Leonie M. Brinkema in the Eastern District of Virginia to one count of conspiracy to solicit a kickback.

A Liberian-incorporated shipping company pleaded guilty today in federal court in Trenton, N.J., to failing to keep accurate oily water discharge records and using falsified records to conceal the discharge at sea of untreated bilge from one of its cargo ships.

Two former Department of Defense contractors who worked as inspectors at the U.S. Army installation at Ft. Hamilton in Brooklyn, N.Y., pleaded guilty for seeking and receiving bribes in connection with the award and performance of contracts to move and store military household goods. Today’s charges are the first to arise from an ongoing investigation into the moving and storage of military household goods between New York and New Jersey and other states or overseas military installations.

The Department filed a lawsuit in federal court in Los Angeles charging Ventura County, Calif., with discrimination in its employment practices by refusing to hire a qualified applicant because she is deaf.

The former director of sales and marketing for Pacific Consolidated Industries LP (PCI) pleaded guilty today to charges related to the bribery of a U.K. Ministry of Defense (UK-MOD) official in order to obtain lucrative equipment contracts with the U.K. Royal Air Force, in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

"We seek diversity not just for its own sake, but because our nation is stronger when people from all backgrounds participate in the administration of justice."

The Department announced that during the Sept. 8, 2009, municipal election in Cleveland, Ohio, it will monitor polling place activities for compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Attorneys from the Department’s Civil Rights Division will coordinate the federal activities and maintain contact with local election officials.

The Department will not challenge a proposal by Memorial Health Inc. (Memorial), and St. Joseph’s/Candler Health System (St. Joseph’s/Candler) to enter an exclusive joint purchasing agreement with respect to the purchase of certain medical and surgical supplies.

A former Ft. Campbell, Ky., soldier was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Thomas B. Russell to life in prison after being convicted on May 7, 2009, of charges arising out of the rape of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and the murder of the girl and her family.

Defendant Paul Raymond Green was sentenced late last week to 52 months in prison and three years of supervised release for his role in a scheme to prostitute minor females. Green, 23, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking.

The Department filed a lawsuit against an Atlanta condominium association, as well as the owner of a unit and the real estate agent who sold it, for violating the Fair Housing Act by discriminating against families with children.

The Department will not challenge a proposal by seven regional less-than-truckload (LTL) freight transportation companies to bid jointly and engage in other collaborative activity as part of their nationwide LTL truck transportation services joint venture.

Jeffrey Robert Libman, 42, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., pleaded guilty in Miami today to one count of receiving child pornography.

A federal judge in Sacramento, Calif., has barred Placerville, Calif.-based Teresa Marty and her business, Advanced Financial Services, LLC, from acting as a federal tax return preparer. U.S. District Court Judge Frank C. Damrell, Jr., of the Eastern District of California entered the preliminary injunction order, which adopted an earlier recommendation of U.S. Magistrate Judge Edmund F. Brennan.

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.

Richard David Mitchell was arraigned yesterday on sex tourism charges in the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii, after being deported from Cambodia.

Four individuals were indicted today by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia with conspiracy to commit copyright infringement for allegedly obtaining and illegally releasing copyrighted music.

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.

Steven W. Allen, an attorney who operated a legal practice in Mesa, Ariz., and Allen P. Goodmansen, a certified public accountant who operated an accounting practice in Mesa, were indicted Wednesday for conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and for aiding in the filing of false income tax returns for clients of an offshore tax shelter scheme.

Dr. Candido Negron Mella pleaded guilty and was sentenced today for his participation in a corruption scheme involving the 2000 Resident Commissioner campaign of a former governor of Puerto Rico.

The Department announced that four men who committed three hate crime assaults in response to President Barack Obama’s election victory were sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Carol B. Amon in federal court in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Thomas Raffanello, a former global director of security at the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., office of Stanford Financial Group (SFG), has been charged today in a three-count superseding indictment with conspiracy to obstruct a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proceeding and to destroy documents in a federal investigation; obstruction of a proceeding before the SEC; and destruction of records in a federal investigation.

Sexual violence is not just an issue for the victim, or his or her family. We believe the community must be involved in addressing the needs of survivors and holding offenders accountable.

"Judge, there is no question why so many of your friends, associates, and former staff members came to honor you and thank you for your service to our nation, and there is no question today why they have returned. They are here because you not only answered the call to service at a turbulent time for our nation and this Department, but you executed your responsibilities with tremendous skill, honor, and integrity."

An international computer hacker pleaded guilty today to multiple charges relating to hacking activity and credit card fraud. More than 40 million credit and debit card numbers were stolen from major U.S. retailers as a result of the hacking activity. Albert Gonzalez, 28, of Miami, pleaded guilty today to 19 counts of conspiracy, computer fraud, wire fraud, access device fraud and aggravated identity theft relating to hacks into numerous major U.S. retailers.

A Newark grand jury indicted three individuals for their participation in fraud and kickback conspiracies related to contracts at a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-designated Superfund site, Federal Creosote, located in Manville, N.J.

The Department will monitor the Sept. 15, 2009, municipal elections in Springfield, Mass., and Newburgh, N.Y., to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Federal observers will be assigned to monitor polling place activities in Springfield and Newburgh. The observers will watch and record activities during voting hours at polling locations.

Gerald Green and Patricia Green, Los Angeles-area film executives, were found guilty late last Friday of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and money laundering laws of the United States, as well as substantive violations of the FCPA and U.S. money laundering laws in relation to a sophisticated bribery scheme that enabled the defendants to obtain a series of Thai government contracts, including valuable contracts to manage and operate Thailand’s yearly film festival.

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.

A federal grand jury in Miami returned a three-count indictment on Sept. 11, 2009, charging former Dade Correctional Institution (DCI) officers Cordell J. White and Christopher W. Bonnet, current DCI Sergeant Obe D. L’Bert, and former DCI inmate Larry T. Williams with violating, and conspiring to violate, the civil rights of other inmates at DCI.

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.

A federal court has permanently barred Francis Kenneth (Frank) Albert of Sparks, Nev., from preparing federal income tax returns for others. The court found that Albert repeatedly engaged in fraudulent or deceptive conduct in preparing returns.

Timothy L. Lantz was sentenced today to 15 years in prison for transporting child pornography in interstate commerce and failing to update his sex offender registration in violation of the Adam Walsh Act.

Odell Folks, of Brooklyn, N.Y., was sentenced to prison today by District Judge Carol Bagley Amon of the Eastern District of New York for his participation in a false tax return scheme. Folks, who pleaded guilty in March 2009 to mail fraud, a false claims conspiracy, and making and subscribing a false return, was sentenced to 77 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $489,292.

Teresa Vogt, a resident of Anaheim, Calif., pleaded guilty on Sept. 15, 2009, to one count of obstruction of justice before U.S. District Court Judge Dale S. Fischer in Los Angeles. Vogt and eight co-defendants were indicted in May 2005 on tax fraud, conspiracy, money laundering and other charges related to the operation of the Genesis Fund.

James A. Mattatall, of Torrance, Calif., was convicted Tuesday of criminal contempt by a federal district court in Los Angeles. Mattatall’s conviction relates to his violations of a 2004 permanent injunction that barred him from preparing tax returns for others and representing persons before the IRS.

The city of Jeffersonville, Ind., has agreed to make extensive improvements to its sewer systems that will significantly reduce the city’s longstanding sewage overflows into the Ohio River in a comprehensive Clean Water Act settlement with federal and state government.