The United States filed two major Clean Air Act settlements to reduce air emissions from container glass and Portland cement plants throughout the country.

Dennis G. Sartain of Hilliard, Ohio; and Bonnie Helt, of Columbus, Ohio, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to commit mortgage fraud, money laundering and obstruction of justice.

The Department will monitor the Jan. 23, 2010, special municipal election in the city of Hondo, Texas, to ensure compliance with the anti-discrimination and minority language requirements of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The Department's Antitrust Division, along with state attorneys general from Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin, filed a lawsuit today seeking to require Dean Foods to sell the dairy processing plants it acquired from Foremost Farms.

Troy, Mich., physician Toe Myint was convicted today by a Detroit jury of conspiracy to commit health care fraud in a $4.2 million Medicare Fraud scheme.

As part of the Obama Administration’s Open Government Initiative, and in compliance with the Open Government Directive issued by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli today announced the online publication of three high-value sets of data not previously made available by the Department of Justice.

The Department will require Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc. to license its ticketing software, divest ticketing assets and subject itself to anti-retaliation provisions in order to proceed with its proposed merger with Live Nation Inc.

The United States has obtained a $10 million consent judgment against Los Angeles businessman Robert Bourseau and Dr. Rudra Sabaratnam for a Medicare and Medi-Cal fraud scheme arising from their former ownership of the Los Angeles City of Angels Medical Center.

The Department has entered into a settlement agreement with the Metropolitan Government of Nashville, Tenn., and Davidson County, Tenn., to enhance the security of students with disabilities on public school buses.

The Department announced the settlement of a lawsuit alleging that those involved in the design and construction of two multifamily housing complexes in Davenport, Iowa, violated the Fair Housing Act.

The Civil Rights Division has filed a motion for immediate relief to protect individuals confined in seven state-run psychiatric hospitals in Georgia from the imminent and serious threat of harm to their lives, health and safety.

“The budget provides the department with the means necessary to protect our national security, bolster our traditional missions, and prevent and reduce crime in tandem with our state, local, tribal and community partners,” said Attorney General Holder.

President Obama’s FY2011 budget request provides $461 million for OVW to provide communities with resources to combat sexual assault and violence against women.

The Department has reached a settlement agreement with the Alameda County, Calif., Sheriff’s Office, under which it will provide sign language interpreters and other auxiliary aids and services to arrestees, detainees, suspects, victims, witnesses, complainants and visitors who are deaf, hard of hearing or deaf-blind at two jails.

Atlanta real estate firms Coldwell Banker Joe T. Lane Realty Inc., Coldwell Banker Bullard Realty Company Inc. and Rodney Lee Foreman, one of their former real estate agents, have agreed to pay $160,000 to settle allegations that they illegally steered prospective homebuyers toward and away from certain neighborhoods based on race and color.

The National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) has joined its year-long campaign to commemorate the 15 year anniversary of President Bill Clinton signing the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) into law.

The Department has reached a settlement in its lawsuit against MasTec Advanced Technologies on behalf of Eugene C. Burress, a U.S. Army Reserve member, alleging that MasTec willfully violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA).

Benjamin Rowner and Jay H. Soled, former owners of DeltaNet Inc., were also each sentenced to pay $271,716 in restitution, jointly and severally, to the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC).

The Department said that despite the substantial progress reflected in the proposed amended settlement agreement in The Authors Guild Inc. et al. v. Google Inc., class certification, copyright and antitrust issues remain.

The Department it will monitor the Feb.6, 2010, municipal primary election in the city of New Orleans to ensure compliance with the anti-discrimination requirements of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

A federal grand jury in Trenton, N.J., has charged Vincent Johnson of Brick, N.J., with threatening employees of five civil rights organizations that work to improve opportunities for and challenge discrimination against Latinos in the United States.

Attorney General Eric Holder today announced the formation of a new Department of Justice Task Force on Intellectual Property as part of a Department-wide initiative to confront the growing number of domestic and international intellectual property (IP) crimes.

The Justice Department’s plan identifies the steps it will take to develop a comprehensive consultation and coordination policy with tribal nations, after robust tribal input.

“I am pleased to welcome Judge Carbon to the Justice Department and to the Office on Violence Against Women,” said Attorney General Holder.

The Civil Rights Division reached an agreement with the Latvian Tower Condominium Association Inc. and its former president, Karl Tegtmeyer, to settle allegations of discrimination against families with children.

"This is a direct result of what we heard from tribal leaders at the department's listening session. Tribal leaders have made it clear that a single application would significantly improve their ability to apply and receive critical federal funding, which so many of their communities depend on," said Associate Attorney General Perrelli.

"Today, it’s also my pleasure to join you in recognizing Kathleen Straus and in celebrating the example of public service reflected in Wade McCree’s life and career," said Attorney General Holder.

The Department announced a settlement agreement with Sunlight Inc., doing business as Beauty Smart, of Durham, N.C., to resolve allegations of a pattern or practice of discrimination in recruitment and hiring on the basis of national origin.

The Department announced a settlement agreement with The Children’s House Inc. of Broadview Heights, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, to provide services for children with asthma as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The settlement agreement reached today, which is contingent on appropriation by Congress, will provide a total of $1.25 billion to African American farmers who alleged that they suffered racial discrimination in USDA farm loan programs.

"After a thorough review of the evidence, the division has determined that the proposed transaction is not likely to substantially lessen competition in the United States."

I have every expectation that our criminal defense system can, and will, be a source of tremendous national pride. And I know that achieving this requires the best that we, as a profession and as a people, have to offer.

The investigation into the 2001 anthrax attacks, which killed five individuals and sickened 17 others, has formally concluded.

The combined $2.13 million settlement represents the second largest monetary payment ever obtained by the department in a fair housing case alleging housing discrimination in the rental of apartments.

Among other things, Zazi admitted that he brought TATP [Triacetone Triperoxide] explosives to New York on Sept. 10, 2009, as part of plan to attack the New York subway system.

The Department announced a settlement with KeySpan Corporation that requires KeySpan to pay $12 million for violating the antitrust laws by entering into an agreement restraining competition in the New York City electricity capacity market.

Keshawn Deron Wilson of Asbury Park, N.J., pleaded guilty today in Tampa, Fla., to federal charges of using a video camera to record then newly-released motion pictures in a New Jersey theater.

The United States has asked a federal court to stop two Miami-based tax return preparers from improperly claiming the First-Time Home Buyer Credit.

The goals of the workshops are to promote dialogue among interested parties and foster learning with respect to the appropriate legal and economic analyses of these issues, as well as to listen to and learn from parties with experience in the agriculture sector.

A federal inmate pleaded guilty today in Kansas City, Mo., to obstruction of justice by making false statements and creating false evidence related to identity theft in an attempt to lessen penalties for charges in an underlying case.

James E. Haas Jr., a former representative of a New Jersey subcontractor, pleaded guilty in October 2009, to an indictment charging that he engaged in a kickback and fraud conspiracy at the Federal Creosote Superfund site in Manville, N.J.

Based on representations made by MyWire Inc., the department said that the formation and operation of the news service is not likely to reduce competition among Internet publishers and could provide procompetitive benefits to both publishers and consumers.

Without the divestitures, the department said the acquisition would lead to higher prices, lower quality, less favorable supply-chain options, reduced technical support and less innovation.

The Department announced a settlement of its lawsuit alleging that the owners and developers involved in the design and construction of 21 multifamily housing complexes in Tennessee discriminated on the basis of disability.

"I sincerely appreciate the opportunity to meet with my Brazilian enforcement colleagues to discuss the challenges both our countries face in protecting the intellectual property that is so vital to our economic infrastructure and security," said Attorney General Holder.

The Department has reached a settlement in its lawsuit filed on behalf of Wisconsin Army National Guardsman Rocco Sylvester Jr., against Mort’s Concrete Inc. and Kevin Mortimer.

The Department has reached a settlement with the county of Fresno, Calif., on behalf of Navy Reservist Porotesano Faapouli.

The Department will monitor primary elections on March 2, 2010, in Fort Bend, Galveston, Gonzales, Williamson, and Wilson Counties in Texas, to ensure compliance with the minority language requirements of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and other federal voting rights statutes.

“Equal access to housing is a basic necessity and a civil right, and the Fair Housing Act guarantees that all individuals can access that right free from discrimination,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.

A federal jury in Los Angeles convicted a Fresno woman late Friday after it found that she committed Medicare fraud by recruiting patients for the purpose of receiving unnecessary power wheelchairs.