Month: August 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Earlier today, in federal court in Central Islip, Richard Michel, also known as “G-Light” and “Gangsta Light,” the leader of the Red Lane Gorillas “set” of the Bloods street gang, was sentenced by United States District Judge Joanna Seybert to 30 years’ imprisonment for racketeering and predicate acts including the October 2011 kidnapping and assault of a rival gang member and another man in Hempstead, the July 15, 2012 murder of Anthony Richard in Baldwin Harbor, and the September 2016 attempted murder of a disloyal Bloods gang member in Uniondale.  Michel pleaded guilty to the charges in December 2021 along with co-defendant Dylan Cruz.

Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, announced the sentence.

“For the murder, kidnapping, and assaults of Michel’s victims, the pain to their loved ones, and the violence Michel brought to our communities, today’s sentence is justice served,” stated United States Attorney Peace.  “As a result of the hard work of our prosecutors and law enforcement partners, Michel’s gang has been dismantled. And, we will not rest until all violent criminal enterprises on Long Island are eliminated.”

Mr. Peace thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office, the Nassau County Police Department, and the New York City Police Department for their outstanding investigative work on the case.

Michel, along with other members of the Red Lane Gorillas, engaged in a violent gang war against rival gangs, including the Crips and the 5-9 Brims set of the Bloods, in Nassau County and Brooklyn.  To maintain his leadership position in the gang and to keep rival gangs in fear, Michel engaged in extreme violence against anyone suspected of disloyalty or being disrespectful of his gang.

According to court filings and statements made by the defendant at his guilty plea, Michel, among other crimes, admitted his role in the murder of Richard, an individual that he wrongly suspected of assisting the Crips in the 2010 murder of a member of their gang.  Cruz and Michel, together with fellow gang members and associates located the victim, obtained a firearm, and followed the victim’s vehicle to Baldwin Harbor.  Cruz, who was Michel’s top lieutenant, exited the vehicle he was travelling in, walked up to the victim’s car and fired approximately 15 shots into the vehicle at close range, killing Richard and wounding his passenger. Michel also admitted to the October 13, 2011 gunpoint kidnapping and assault of someone he perceived as a disloyal gang member and another man in Hempstead, New York.  Further, Michel admitted pulling the trigger in the September 9, 2016 attempted murder of a fellow Bloods gang member whom he suspected of disloyalty, in which the victim was lured from Brooklyn to Uniondale under the guise of a marijuana deal. Once at an isolated location in Uniondale, Michel shot the man in the back of the neck and left him in the street to die.  The man survived his wounds.  In June 2022, Cruz was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  As part of the program, U.S. Attorneys’ Offices work in partnership with federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement and their local communities to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division.  Assistant United States Attorneys Nicole Boeckmann, Michael Maffei and Oren Gleich are in charge of the prosecution. 

The Defendant:

RiCHARD MICHEL (also known as “G-Light” and “Gangsta Light”)
Age:  41
Brooklyn, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket Nos. 18-CR-664 (S-1) (JS)

Source: United States Department of Justice News

ALBANY, Ga. –  Three individuals involved in an illegal drug ring responsible for distributing approximately ten kilograms of methamphetamine in Southwest Georgia entered guilty pleas in federal court today.

Matthew Bridges, 29, of Albany, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances; Terrance Battle, 41, of Albany, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances; and Quannesha Gatling, of Albany, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. If convicted, each faces a maximum of life imprisonment and a $10,000,000 fine. The pleas were entered today before U.S. District Judge Leslie Gardner. Sentencings have not yet been scheduled.

“Strong work by GBI and Lee County Sheriff’s Office investigators prevented a significant amount of methamphetamine from entering the Southwest Georgia community,” said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office is using every prosecutorial tool at our disposal to reduce criminal activity across the District and make our neighborhoods safer.”

“Drug trafficking at any level will not be tolerated in the state of Georgia. It is paramount that violators of drug laws be held accountable. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is fully committed to working with our local and federal partners in drug enforcement to address these types of crimes,” said GBI Director Vic Reynolds.

“This case demonstrates for the citizens of Lee County and Southwest Georgia that law enforcement is working together to fight drug networks that are pushing the most addictive illegal substances into our communities. We will not tolerate this activity and we will hold them accountable for their crimes,” said Lee County Sheriff Reggie Rachals.

According to court documents, GBI agents debriefed a confidential informant (CI) in Aug. 2021 who advised that Bridges was selling illegal drugs in the Albany area. Between Aug. and Oct. 2021, investigators conducted several controlled buys of methamphetamine and heroin from Bridges and co-defendant Battle. On Oct. 30, Lee County Sheriff’s Office deputies, working with GBI agents, initiated a traffic stop of three vehicles, driven by the co-defendants, who were returning from the Atlanta area. Law enforcement located approximately ten kilograms of methamphetamine and approximately three pounds of marijuana in the vehicle operated by Gatling.

The case was investigated by GBI with assistance from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and DEA. 

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Leah McEwen.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – A California man was sentenced today to two years in prison for assaulting law enforcement officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the presidential election.

            Ricky Christopher Willden, 41, of Oakhurst, California, was sentenced in the District of Columbia.

            According to court documents, on Jan. 6, 2021, Willden was illegally on the Capitol grounds, standing near the East Columbus doors to the Capitol Building. At approximately 2:35 p.m., he raised a small green cannister and sprayed U.S. Capitol Police officers with a chemical irritant. After spraying the irritant, he threw the cannister at the officers. Willden entered the Capitol Building at approximately 3:02 p.m. and remained inside for approximately 18 minutes.

            Willden later posted to Facebook, “I think they got the message from everyone of all ages.”

            Willden was arrested on June 30, 2021, in Oakhurst, California. He pleaded guilty on April 7, 2022, to assaulting, resisting, or impeding law enforcement officers.  Following his prison term, he will be placed on three years of supervised release. He also must pay $2,000 in restitution.

            This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.

            The case was investigated by the FBI’s Sacramento Field Office and its Fresno Resident Agency. Valuable assistance was provided by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the Metropolitan Police Department, and the U.S. Capitol Police.

            In the 18 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 850 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including over 260 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing.  Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

BOSTON – A Weymouth man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to his role in a sophisticated, multi-year market manipulation conspiracy involving securities traded on securities exchanges within the United States, including the New York Stock Exchange and NADSAQ.

Jiali Wang, 44, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled by the Court. Wang was initially charged in October 2019 and subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury on May 24, 2022.

From approximately 2013 through at least 2018, Wang participated in the manipulative trading activity of a group of securities traders located in China and, at times, in Massachusetts. Specifically, Wang and his co-conspirators used multiple brokerage accounts in their names, and in the names of others with whom Wang had a relationship, to artificially depress or inflate the prices of thinly traded securities. They did so by repeatedly placing relatively small sell (or buy) orders designed to send a false signal about a security’s supply (or demand) and to depress (or inflate) the security’s price. Wang and his co-conspirators then immediately placed relatively large buy (or sell) orders on the other side of the market to take advantage of their manipulations. Once the large orders executed, Wang and his co-conspirators cancelled their outstanding manipulative orders.

Pursuant to a plea agreement, Wang agreed to forfeit at least $6.5 million in illicit proceeds from the conspiracy.

United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins and Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney James R. Drabick of Rollins’ Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a Newell, South Dakota, woman convicted of Distribution of a Controlled Substance was sentenced on August 4, 2022, by Judge Karen E. Schreier, U.S. District Court.

Kimberly Rich, age 56, was sentenced to six years and six months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release.  Rich was also ordered to pay $170 restitution to the South Dakota Health Lab and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Rich was indicted by a federal grand jury in February 2022 and pleaded guilty on May 13, 2022.  The conviction stems from Rich knowingly and intentionally distributing a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, a Schedule II controlled substance, in January 2022.

The investigation was conducted by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation and the Meade County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelsey Blair prosecuted the case.

Rich was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.