Month: May 2022

Posted on

Security News: Fairfax Man Sentenced To Federal Prison For Charges Of Interfering And Assaulting Flight Attendant

Source: United States Department of Justice News

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Last week, Kameron C. Stone, 30, of Fairfax, Virginia, was sentenced to one year in federal prison for interfering with flight crew and assault by striking and wounding in special aircraft jurisdiction after pleading guilty on February 8, 2022. The sentence was announced by Jason R. Coody, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

“The safety and security of the traveling public and the professionals who provide this service are paramount,” stated U.S. Attorney Coody. “Given the swift actions of the flight attendant, passengers and a Deputy United States Marshal, an incredibly dangerous situation was averted.  Perilous acts such as this will be investigated by our law enforcement partners and vigorously prosecuted by this office.”        

On April 16, 2021, Stone boarded a flight departing from Dulles International Airport in Virginia bound for Pensacola International Airport. During the flight, passengers noticed Stone was behaving obnoxiously and smelled strongly of alcohol. A flight attendant warned Stone on several occasions about his behavior, which included pretending to shoot at passengers, refusing to remain seated or wear a seatbelt, and reaching for the cockpit door. As the flight began its final descent, Stone approached the front of the aircraft and tried to open the cabin and cockpit doors. A flight attendant attempted to prevent Stone from opening the doors and, as a result, Stone pushed her, grabbed her shoulders, and shoved her into the galley wall, injuring her in the process. During the altercation, Stone successfully breached the main cabin door to the external portion of the plane, triggering the alarm and causing the pilots to declare an emergency with the Federal Aviation Administration. The flight attendant prevented Stone from fully opening the door while three passengers, to include an off-duty Deputy United States Marshal, subdued Stone until landing.

FDLE Pensacola Regional Operations Center Special Agent in Charge Chris Williams said, “It is paramount that aviation employees and passengers can trust that the planes flying across our skies are safe and secure.”  “I am proud of the work of our members and our federal partners in ensuring that Stone is held to account for his actions. I hope this case and prison sentence will serve as a warning to anyone who would threaten the safety of those who work or travel in our skies.”

Stone’s prison sentence will be followed by three years of supervised release. The court ordered Stone to pay all civil penalties assessed by the Transportation Security Administration, as well as a fine of $7,500.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Pensacola Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer H. Callahan prosecuted the case.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access available public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.

Posted on

Security News: Two Lebanese Citizens Extradited from Republic of Georgia to Face International Money Laundering Charges

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Mohamad Yassine and Hassan Rahman Sought to Launder Tens of Millions of Dollars for Criminals Worldwide

Mohamad Yassine and Hassan Rahman, citizens of Lebanon, will be arraigned today on money laundering charges for operating an international money laundering organization.  Yassine and Rahman were arrested in September 2021 in the Republic of Georgia and extradited to the United States on April 30, 2022. The defendants are scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Sanket J. Bulsara at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn. 

Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and Susan A. Gibson, Special Agent-in-Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), New Jersey Division announced the extraditions.

“The defendants operated a sophisticated money laundering conspiracy that used the international banking system to move bulk cash by sending wire transfers for criminals throughout the world,” stated United States Attorney Peace.  “This Office is committed to working with our international partners to dismantle the money laundering networks upon which drug traffickers and other criminals rely.” 

Mr. Peace thanked the Georgian Ministry of Justice, the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia, the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs, the DEA’s Country Attaché Office in Georgia, and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs for their assistance with the arrest and extradition.

“Drug traffickers rely on international money laundering organizations in order to further their criminal operations,” stated Special Agent in Charge Gibson. “The defendants in this investigation have helped to fuel the misery felt by so many affected by illegal drug use. The men and women of DEA will continue to work with our international partners to ensure these criminals are brought to justice.”

According to court filings, between approximately June 2017 and March 2018, Yassine and Rahman participated in a sophisticated Lebanon-based money laundering organization.  Yassine led the organization, and Rahman was a member who reported directly to Yassine.  The organization collected, laundered, and repatriated illicit funds, including drug proceeds, throughout Europe, the Middle East, South America, Australia, and the United States, in exchange for a percentage-based commission of the amount laundered.  The organization typically charged a double-digit commission, as high as 17%.  The organization used a network of workers to pick up and deliver bundles of cash, and it used the banking system to launder money through wire transfers.  Some of the funds the defendants laundered originated in Australia, were sent to Turkey, and ultimately transferred into a bank account in Brooklyn. 

The charges in the superseding indictment are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.  If convicted, the defendants face up to 40 years in prison.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section.  Assistant United States Attorneys Francisco J. Navarro, Jonathan P. Lax, Nomi D. Berenson and Tara B. McGrath are in charge of the prosecution. 

The Defendants:

MOHAMAD YASSINE
Age:  51
Majdel Anjar, Lebanon

HASSAN RAHMAN
Age:  38
Majdel Anjar, Lebanon

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 18-CR-137 (S-1) (EK)

Posted on

Security News: DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE RECOGNIZES SOUTH DAKOTA COURT-APPOINTED SPECIAL ADVOCATE WITH VOLUNTEER FOR VICTIMS AWARD

Source: United States Department of Justice News

WASHINGTON ― The Office for Victims of Crime, a component of the Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs, presented the Volunteer for Victims Award to Linda Stambaugh, a Court-Appointed Special Advocate from Newell, South Dakota. The award honors individuals for their extraordinary and selfless efforts resulting in positive and lasting changes in the lives of crime victims.

“Ms. Stambaugh devoted countless hours to securing the safety and well-being of four young children, making the equivalent of a round-trip cross-country drive while their case was open to bring them to school, counseling, court proceedings and supervised visits with their parents,” said Amy L. Solomon, Principal Deputy Attorney General of OJP. “She demonstrated great compassion and incredible perseverance in her heroic work on behalf of these neglected siblings. It is a privilege to honor her volunteer service that went above and beyond.”

Ms. Stambaugh, a Court-Appointed Special Advocate for the Fourth Circuit Court of South Dakota, had only been working for nine days as a volunteer advocate when she received her first child abuse and neglect case. Four siblings between two and six years old had been found wandering the streets unsupervised on several occasions. They were placed in foster care while their parents tried to regain custody.

Ms. Stambaugh made 470 contacts on behalf of the children during the one-and-a-half years the case was open. She facilitated many visits, even transporting the children to sibling visits in two separate foster homes in two different communities so they could spend time together. She also drove the children to supervised visits with their parents, counseling sessions and school, logging more than 7,000 miles. She continued to work with the children and their parents to try to secure a successful reunification at the time of trial. When Stambaugh saw that the children were not thriving in the care of their parents, she effectively communicated this to the court, which ultimately found them a caring family, who adopted them together.

“Ms. Stambaugh was the one constant in these children’s lives during a period of tremendous change, loss, uncertainty and confusion,” said Kristina Rose, Director of OVC. “Her steadfast dedication and support helped stop the cycle of child abuse and neglect for these four children and put them in an environment where they can begin to safely heal and grow.”

Every April, OVC leads communities across the country in observing National Crime Victims’ Rights Week. President Ronald W. Reagan proclaimed the first Victims’ Rights Week in 1981, calling for greater sensitivity to the rights and needs of victims. This year’s observance is taking place April 24-30, and features the theme, “Rights, Access, Equity, for All Victims.”

Posted on

Defense News: Naval Postgraduate School Collaborates With Microsoft To Bring Emerging Technologies To The Fleet

Source: United States Navy

This collaboration will bring together two of the nation’s major centers for innovation and development in a cooperative research effort that aims to tackle several highly complex issues associated with rapidly integrating and adopting new technologies in support of warfighting and national security. It also provides the potential to revolutionize how the services organize, train, equip, fight, and win by combining the best of industry, academia, and the government.

“Today, so much innovation and technological research and development is powered by America’s robust corporate base. The Department of the Navy has been trying to find ways where our organizations can emulate and evolve with the nimble agility of these organizations, and with success,” said Aaron Weis, the Department of the Navy’s Chief Information Officer (DON CIO). “This agreement between NPS and Microsoft takes that initiative to the next level, creating a defined cooperative research collaboration between a global tech giant and the capabilities it brings to bear, with the Navy’s leading science and technological university, where operationalizing innovation is core to their mission.”

Microsoft became the latest industry member to team with NPS following the signing of a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between the two organizations. CRADAs allow U.S. government research facilities to engage in collaborative efforts with non-government entities. These types of cooperative efforts benefit the Department of Defense (DOD) and industry leaders by providing opportunities to conduct joint research and learn from each other.

Under the CRADA, NPS will collaborate with Microsoft on select research efforts. The goal is to leverage the latest in commercial technologies and expertise to advance Navy and Marine Corps operations, while sharing any insights gained with the broader public.  

NPS will utilize the Microsoft Cloud services, including Azure, Office 365 and Teams, to accelerate their digital transformation journey and deploy advanced cloud capabilities to tackle critical mission priorities.

The first areas of shared research under the newly established Cooperative Research Initiative (CRI) will include operational uses for cloud-enhanced networks and edge computing, methods for extending delivery of NPS coursework from the school’s classrooms and labs throughout the fleet and force, and ways in which the Navy and Marine Corps can leverage gaming, exercising, modeling, and simulation (GEMS) to help operational commanders make faster and better decisions.

“For over four decades, we’ve worked with the U.S. Department of Defense on a longstanding and reliable basis in support of its mission to ensure our national security,” said Jason Zander, executive vice president of Microsoft. “This Cooperative Research Initiative with the Naval Postgraduate School will provide a remarkable opportunity for us to work shoulder to shoulder with our nation’s brightest leaders and servicemembers and help them solve the complex challenges they face. And through this collaboration, we look forward to sharing our latest research and furthering our joint efforts to empower our military to make our nation safer.”

The Cooperative Research Initiative will also involve collaboration at an innovation lab on the NPS campus in Monterey, where integrated teams of NPS and Microsoft personnel will work side-by-side exploring several critical topics.

One of the major research areas will explore recent technical breakthroughs in intelligent edge computing solutions and cloud-enhanced networks, as well as how the DOD can leverage these developments for operational purposes.

NPS will also team up with Microsoft to conduct research into how gaming, exercising, modeling and simulation can improve military capability development and the decision-making of Navy and Marine Corps commanders.

Finally, NPS will investigate how it can harness recent advances in digital teaching – including the school’s own distance-learning efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic – to create an NPS “smart campus” capable of delivering critical knowledge and skills to Sailors and Marines worldwide.  

Together, these collaborative research and discovery efforts by NPS and Microsoft will bring together the incredible potential and expertise of both organizations, as well as unique NPS facilities such as the Sea Land Air Military Research (SLAMR) laboratory, to accelerate shared understanding of Navy and Marine Corps challenges and accelerate solutions for how emerging technologies can be employed to tackle the most important operational challenges currently faced by the fleet and force.

“The type of cutting-edge research which will be enabled by this partnership is something that can only happen at NPS,” said the president of NPS, retired Vice Adm. Ann E. Rondeau. “We are, and have always been, a center for excellence and innovation – a catalyst for transformative capabilities and the education of our future Navy and Marine Corps leaders. With this agreement, we look forward to working with our colleagues at Microsoft in an effort to find solutions to all of the challenges facing our fleet and force, now and in the future.”

Further details on the collaboration between NPS and Microsoft will be provided in the coming weeks and months.

The Naval Postgraduate School provides defense-focused graduate education, including classified studies and interdisciplinary research, to advance the operational effectiveness, technological leadership and warfighting advantage of the Naval service. For additional information, visit NPS online at http://www.nps.edu.

 The Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) does not constitute endorsement of Microsoft or its products and services by the Naval Postgraduate School, the Department of the Navy, or the Department of Defense.

Posted on

Defense News: NRL Tech Transfer Continues Forging Partnerships With Sherwin-Williams

Source: United States Navy

NRL has developed polysiloxane nonskid coatings with extended durability. Sherwin-Williams requested a Limited Government Purpose License to make, use, and sell the invention directly and solely to shipyards or contractors performing maintenance, repair, or new construction of vessels owned by the U.S. Government.
 
“The polysiloxane nonskid coating developed by NRL represents a significant advancement in technology over standard products available on the market today,” Mark Schultz, Business Development Manager for Sherwin-Williams Protective & Marine said. “This novel solution with extended durability and excellent color retention, the polysiloxane nonskid coating doesn’t chalk, discolor or fade, and can be rolled or spray-applied – helping minimize waste, increasing efficiencies in the coatings maintenance process, and reducing overcoating for aesthetic purposes. This combination of benefits has been well received by the U.S. Navy.”
 
A key part of NRL’s mission is the development and transition of technologies to support the Navy, and more broadly, the warfighter. NRL’s intellectual property can be used to support those – and other U.S. Government-specific – efforts. NRL offers no-cost GPLs to any of our over 1,200 patented or patent-pending technologies and protected software.
 
“NRL’s wide breadth of intellectual property are available for use at no cost by the private sector in performance of awarded U.S. Government contracts,” Holly Ricks-Laskoski, Ph.D., NRL’s Technology Transfer Office senior partnership manager said. “Leveraging NRL’s intellectual property in this way is an opportunity for cost savings for our government contractor partners.”
 
NRL partners with a wide variety of organizations including industry, academia and other government organizations to accelerate the development and transition of new and innovative technologies for the warfighter.
 
“We are very appreciative of our long-standing partnership with NRL. The innovation, testing and evaluation of forward-looking technologies has produced tangible results for our customers in terms of lowering total ownership cost and effectively maintaining ship schedules,” Bryan Draga, Global Vice President of Marketing for Sherwin-Williams Protective & Marine said. “Sherwin-Williams has been uniquely qualified to bring the MIL-Spec products and technologies to the market thanks to our quality manufacturing processes and MIL-Spec controls.”
 
Sherwin-Williams’ formulation was submitted for the Department of Defense Qualified Products Database evaluation and qualified under military specification MIL-PRF-24667 for a Type V non-skid coating.
 
For those company’s looking to work with NRL, Ricks-Laskoski, said, “NRL is open and we are looking forward to working with you.”
 
The polysiloxane non-skid coating is described and claimed in U.S. Patent Nos. 9,006,307 and 9,034,946 issued 14 April, 2015 and 19 May, 2015, respectively.
 

About the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory

NRL is a scientific and engineering command dedicated to research that drives innovative advances for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps from the seafloor to space and in the information domain. NRL is located in Washington, D.C. with major field sites in Stennis Space Center, Mississippi; Key West, Florida; Monterey, California, and employs approximately 3,000 civilian scientists, engineers and support personnel.
 
For more information, contact NRL Corporate Communications at (202) 480-3746 or nrlpao@nrl.navy.mil.