Month: April 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

DURANGO – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that a federal jury in Durango has found Alonzo Gary Summa, age 36, guilty of assault resulting in serious bodily injury and assault with a dangerous weapon. The judge sentenced him to 96 months in prison. 

At trial, the government presented evidence that on August 11, 2020, Summa cut his half-brother with a knife during an argument in Towoac, Colorado, on the Ute Mountain Ute Indian Reservation. Around the time of the assault, Summa sent the victim a Facebook message that said “I suggest u watch where u go from now And watch your back…I’m comeing [sic] after u.” Summa’s assault left the victim with a seven-inch, permanent scar. Evidence presented at trial showed that the victim feared retaliation from Summa for his participation in the case. At the time of the assault, the defendant was on supervision for a federal conviction for an assault that also involved a knife, 17-cr-00147-REB.

The jury announced its verdict on November 12, 2021.  Summa was sentenced by the Honorable Senior District Court Judge Robert E. Blackburn on February 11, 2022, to serve 78 months in prison, to be followed by a three-year term of supervised release. Summa was also sentenced to serve an additional 18 months in prison for violating his prior federal supervised release, which he was on at the time of this offense.  

“Prosecuting violence inflicted towards family members always presents challenges, especially in a small community such as Towaoc,” said United States Attorney Cole Finegan. “Our office remains committed to holding accountable violent offenders in Indian Country.”    

The Bureau of Indian Affairs at the Ute Mountain Ute Indian Reservation investigated this matter. Assistant United States Attorneys R. Josh Player and Jeffrey K. Graves handled the prosecution.

Case number:  20-cr-00262-REB-GPG

Source: United States Department of Justice News

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A Columbia, Mo., woman was sentenced in federal court today for methamphetamine trafficking after she received a large package of methamphetamine shipped from California to distribute locally.

Cassiopeia Marie Blaise, 37, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to eight years in federal prison without parole.

Blaise pleaded guilty on Aug. 31, 2021, to possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. Co-defendant Bryan Patton Tullous, 39, of Columbia, was sentenced on Feb. 11, 2022, to 10 years and 11 months in federal prison without parole after pleading guilty to participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

On April 26, 2019, law enforcement officers intercepted a package from California that had been shipped to the residence shared by Tullous and Blaise. The package contained approximately 5.6 pounds of methamphetamine in five individual packages that weighed approximately one pound (453 grams) each, for a total of 2.209 kilograms of methamphetamine. Officers conducted surveillance of the residence as the package was delivered to the front porch. Both Tullous and Blaise were outside; Blaise retrieved the package and took it inside the residence while Tullous was in a neighbor’s yard. Officers took both of them into custody and executed a search warrant of the residence. Officers found the opened package hidden under clothing at the foot of the bed in the master bedroom.

Officers also found a dozen firearms in various areas of the residence, including a loaded Smith & Wesson .380-caliber pistol laying near the package in the bedroom. In a safe in the garage, officers found a Mossberg .22-caliber rifle, a Snake Charmer 410 shotgun, a Browning .223-caliber rifle, a Bear River .38-caliber revolver, and a Charter Arms .38-caliber revolver. The Snake Charmer 410 shotgun had the stock cut off, making it useable as a pistol grip-type weapon.

Tullous admitted that he ordered the package and paid $12,000 for the methamphetamine.

This case was prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael S. Oliver. It was investigated by the East Central Drug Task Force, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Columbia, Mo., Police Department.

Source: United States Department of Justice

The Department of Justice today released its Equity Action Plan, in accordance with President Biden’s Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.

The Justice Department’s mission is to ensure equal justice under law. The Equity Action Plan builds on this mission by utilizing resources across the Department to advance equity for underserved communities nationwide. The Equity Action Plan focuses on prioritizing equity and increasing opportunity in five key areas: federal financial assistance, access to grants, language access, stakeholder engagement, and contracting and procurement.

Underserved communities, especially communities of color, experience higher rates of violent crime, especially hate crimes and gun violence, which have devastating effects on victims, their families, and their communities. Such violence affects Black youth, men, and women and other communities of color at disproportionate rates, and is highest in racially segregated, high poverty neighborhoods. The Department has dedicated substantial resources to combating violent crime and gun violence through both vigorous law enforcement efforts and significant investments in evidence-based community programs, such as community-based violence intervention, that can help disrupt violence and strengthen communities. The Equity Action Plan will use cross-departmental resources to aid communities that have experienced inequity, disparity, grief, and adversity, often attributed to violent crime.

“Improving access to Justice Department programs and services is critical to ensuring equal justice under law and promoting public safety,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Department’s Equity Action Plan is designed to increase equity, opportunity, and resources to our most vulnerable communities.”

In order to address the key areas established in the Equity Action Plan, the Department has identified the following action items:

1. Leverage federal funds provided by the Department to (a) encourage grantees to include equity considerations in the provision of federally funded services, (b) enhance data collection to identify and take action to address disparities in access to the Department’s programs or services based on demographic factors, and (c) better ensure that grantees are complying with non-discrimination mandates;
2. Improve access to funding opportunities for organizations that are led by, or primarily serve, historically marginalized and underserved populations;
3. Reduce language barriers that make it difficult for individuals with limited English proficiency to access Department programs or activities, communicate public safety concerns, or vindicate their rights;
4. Improve the Department’s engagement with stakeholders in underserved communities and disadvantaged groups in order to establish enduring relationships with them and enhance the public’s awareness of the Department’s expansive mission and resources; and
5. Increase opportunities for small businesses located in Historically Underutilized Business Zones to secure Department contracts.

Since Jan. 20, 2021, the Department has taken many steps to advance equity for marginalized communities, including by combating hate crimes and hate incidents, revitalizing the Community Relations Service, re-establishing the Office for Access to Justice, ensuring non-discrimination in federal grants, expanding language access, and reforming law enforcement practices. The Department’s Equity Action Plan will build on these ongoing efforts.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

SCRANTON – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Ronald Halko, age 79, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, was indicted on April 12, 2022, by a federal grand jury for tax evasion.

According to United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, the indictment alleges that Halko attempted to evade payment of Trust Fund Recovery Penalty (TFRP) taxes (the collecting of employment taxes by the IRS from the owners or corporate officers of a business that has failed to pay the employment taxes) in the approximate amount of $144,864.43 by concealing sources of income and other assets from the IRS. 

The case was investigated by the IRS Criminal Investigation and Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd K. Hinkley is prosecuting the case.

The maximum penalty under federal law for these offenses is five years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

HARRISBURG – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Michael Anthony Collier, Jr., age 39, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury on mail theft charges.

According to United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, the indictment alleges that on November 2, 2021, Collier took mail packages intended to be delivered through the U.S. Postal Service to victims located in Charlotte, North Carolina and Maryland. Collier was acting as a contractor responsible for transporting mail.  The value of the items taken were in excess of $10,000.

The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Penbrook Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jaime M. Keating is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, the maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is 5 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine.  A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court

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