"The pillars of the division’s work are civil merger and non-merger enforcement, criminal enforcement, competition advocacy, and international activities and we have been active in all those areas," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Pozen.

Wachovia Bank N.A., which is now known as Wells Fargo Bank N.A., has entered into an agreement with the Department of Justice to resolve the company’s role in anticompetitive activity in the municipal bond investments market and has agreed to pay a total of $148 million in restitution, penalties and disgorgement to federal and state agencies.

William Walden, 23, aka “Wild Bill,” pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger in the Middle District of Tennessee to one count of conspiracy to participate in racketeering activity.

The sixth San Francisco-area member of La Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) convicted in August 2011 on racketeering related charges was sentenced today to life in prison.

Patrick W. Boyd, 44, of Gainesville, Fla., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly of the Northern District of Illinois.

The United States has sued Sharon Angulo and Claudia Zuloaga to bar them from promoting an alleged tax fraud scheme and from preparing federal tax returns for others.

A former Consolidated Edison of New York (Con Ed) manager was sentenced today to serve 70 months in prison for participating in schemes to accept approximately $807,000 in bribes from two Con Ed industrial pipe supply vendors.

Ronald Mitchell, 33, an officer with the New Orleans Police Department, was convicted today of obstructing justice and committing perjury during the course of a federal civil suit related to the shooting death of civilian Danny Brumfield in September 2005.

Thomas Aram Manok, 51, of Chantilly, Va., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga.

"You and your team – as well as NLADA’s board members and network of partners and supporters – have had an extraordinary, and transformative, impact on our country," said Attorney General Holder.

A Virginia contractor pleaded guilty today to participating in a scheme to steer contracts to him for repair, maintenance and renovation work at healthcare and nursing home facilities owned by Medical Facilities of America Inc.

Medtronic Inc. of Fridley, Minn., has agreed to pay the United States $23.5 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claim Act by using physician payments related to post-market studies and device registries as kickbacks to induce doctors to implant the company’s pacemakers and defibrillators.

“The dedicated public servants we are recognizing today have each made significant achievements in furthering the mission of the Justice Department,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer.

John Mihalczo, 47, of Homosassa, Fla., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly of the Northern District of Illinois.

Eight former executives and agents of Siemens AG and its subsidiaries have been charged for allegedly engaging in a decade-long scheme to bribe senior Argentine government officials to secure, implement and enforce a $1 billion contract with the Argentine government to produce national identity cards.

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.

Three Korean Hitachi-LG Data Storage Inc. (HLDS) executives have agreed to plead guilty and to serve prison time in the United States for their participation in a series of conspiracies to rig bids and fix prices for the sale of optical disk drives.

The Department of Justice announced today that it has entered into a consent decree that, if approved by the court, will resolve the department’s claims that H.M. Grimmett, sheriff of Bolivar County, Miss., retaliated against Robert E. Brown, a former employee of the sheriff.

"Nearly half a century has passed since a national tragedy catapulted Lyndon Johnson to the Presidency, and at the same time 'launched a new chapter in America’s story. Those of us who lived through those painful days will never forget LBJ’s first Presidential speech – to a nation in mourning, and in desperate need of strong and steady leadership," said Attorney General Holder.

The country’s two biggest tobacco companies have agreed to improve public access to internal tobacco-industry documents and to pay $6.25 million into a court fund that will go to support the country’s largest online collection of tobacco documents.

Azikiwe Aquart, aka “Z” and “Ziggy,” 32, pleaded guilty on Aug. 26, 2011, to three counts of murder in aid of racketeering.

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.

A federal court has permanently barred Carmen Gonzalez from preparing federal tax returns for others.

The Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that CalPortland Company (CPC), a major producer of Portland cement and building materials in the United States, has agreed to pay a $1.425 million penalty to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Air Act at its cement plant in Mojave, Calif.

Pelican Refining Company LLC, was sentenced today to pay $12 million for felony violations of the Clean Air Act and obstruction of justice charges in federal court in Lafayette, La.

Richard Stewart, a resident of Mitchellville, Md., pleaded guilty today for failing to pay over employment taxes in connection with his ownership of Montgomery Mechanical Services.

Lisa A. Dean, 38, of Alexandria, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Gerald Bruce Lee in the Eastern District of Virginia to a criminal information charging her with two counts of making a false claim against the United States.

Jamar Pharr, 27, aka “Brownway,” was sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Judge Gustave Diamond to 10 years in prison.

Comcast Corporation’s CEO Brian L. Roberts will pay a $500,000 civil penalty to settle charges that he violated premerger reporting and waiting requirements when he acquired Comcast voting securities.

An associate of the Barrio Azteca (BA) gang was sentenced today for her participation in a money laundering conspiracy. Yesterday, a BA gang member pleaded guilty, and three additional gang members and associates were sentenced to prison for their respective roles in a racketeering and drug trafficking conspiracy.

The Justice Department filed a motion to intervene in a lawsuit yesterday against Home Care Giver Services Inc., a Florida corporation that provides home health aides, certified nursing assistants, licensed practical nurses and registered nurses to customers who seek home-based care givers.

The $3 billion total for fiscal year 2011 includes a record $2.8 billion in recoveries under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, which is the government’s primary civil remedy to redress false claims for federal money or property, such as Medicare benefits, payments on military contracts, and federal subsidies and loans.

“This result is a victory for the millions of Americans who use mobile wireless telecommunications services,” said Deputy Attorney General Cole.

A federal court in Mobile, Ala., has permanently barred Delois Warren from preparing federal tax returns for others.

Butler Moultrie, 46, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry L. Garber in Miami to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

Shaoxiong Zhou, 42, of Shantou, Guangdong, China, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sandra L. Townes in the Eastern District of New York. Judge Townes also ordered Zhou to pay $20,000 in restitution.

Kevin William Harpham, 37, of Colville, Wash., was sentenced to 32 years in prison for the placement of the improvised explosive device alongside the planned Martin Luther King Jr. Day Unity March held on Jan. 17, 2011, in Spokane, Wash,

The Justice Department today announced that it has reached a consent decree with the town of Rome, Wis., to resolve allegations that the town retaliated against an employee after she made a complaint of discrimination based on sex.

A federal grand jury in Des Moines, Iowa, returned an indictment today charging two former Des Moines Police Department Officers Mersed Dautovic and John Mailander with violations of federal criminal laws related to an incident involving an alleged assault against a civilian on Sept. 13, 2008.

Bureau of Prisons employee Jack Chris Jackson, 45, pleaded guilty today to the charge of sexual abuse of a ward.

Kaman Precision Products Inc., an Orlando, Fla., defense contractor, will pay the United States $4.75 million to resolve allegations that the company submitted false claims for non-conforming fuzes sold to the U.S. Army for use in “bunkerbuster” bombs.

The Justice Department announced today that the city of Brockton, Mass., promoted U.S. Army Reservist Brian Benvie on Dec. 16, 2011, to the position of lieutenant in the city’s police department.

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.

Bruce Gregory Harrison III was convicted yesterday following a jury trial in federal court in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Attorney General Eric Holder today announced the appointment of Charles E. Samuels Jr. as the director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

The Department of Justice today filed its largest residential fair lending settlement in history to resolve allegations that Countrywide Financial Corporation and its subsidiaries engaged in a widespread pattern or practice of discrimination against qualified African-American and Hispanic borrowers in their mortgage lending from 2004 through 2008.

Janika Fernae Bates, a resident of Millbrook, Ala., was sentenced today in the Middle District of Alabama to 94 months in federal prison for stealing identities of student loan borrowers and providing them to a co-conspirator, who used them to file false tax returns.

U.S. District Judge Gloria M. Navarro sentenced Jose Lopez-Buelna, aka “Miguel,” 51, to 20 years in prison, and Erik Dushawn Webster, 47, to 25 years in prison.

The Department of Justice will require Deutsche Börse AG to direct its subsidiary International Securities Exchange Holdings Inc. to sell its 31.5 percent stake in Direct Edge Holdings LLC and agree to other restrictions in order for Deutsche Börse to proceed with its planned $9 billion merger with NYSE Euronext, one of the two largest and most prestigious stock exchange operators in the United States.

The United States today obtained an agreed permanent injunction against a Chicago food processing firm, Triple A Services Inc., and three of its executives after filing a federal lawsuit alleging that Triple A’s ready-to-eat sandwiches and produce were not being prepared in compliance with federal regulations to protect food against contamination.