Month: October 2022

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Security News: Washington Man Sentenced for Methamphetamine Offense

Source: United States Department of Justice News

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA – Brian James Bell, age 22 of Mount Vernon, Washington, was sentenced on Friday, September 30, 2022, to 66 months in prison following his plea to a charge of Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine.

In June 2021, Bell was involved in a traffic accident on Interstate 29. Law enforcement arrived on the scene and observed Bell carrying a backpack away from the accident site. A During a probable cause search of the vehicle and backpack, law enforcement located 97 grams of methamphetamine and two loaded firearms.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Pottawattamie Sheriff’s Department and Southwest Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force investigated the case.

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Defense News: US and Canada, Exercise in South China Sea to Support Japan Deployment

Source: United States Navy

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) led the exercise in support of their Indo-Pacific deployment.

The exercises included JMSDF’s JS Izumo (DDH 183) and JS Takanami (DD 110). The multi-lateral training for the three maritime forces served to strengthen skills in maritime operations, anti-submarine warfare operations, air warfare operations, live-fire missile events, and advanced maneuvering scenarios.

“Through increased practical exercise, together we improved tactical capabilities and interoperability between the JMSDF, the U.S. Navy and the Royal Canadian Navy, and we promoted cooperative relationship of Japan-U.S.-Canadian naval forces in order to realize a Free and Open Indo-Pacific,” said Rear Adm. HIRATA Toshiyuki, commanding officer of Escort Flotilla 4.

Representing the U.S. Navy was Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins (DDG 76) and fleet replenishment-oiler USNS Rappahannock (T-AO 204).

“Participating in multinational operations over the last month provided a fantastic opportunity to work with our friends and allies in the South China Sea,” said Cmdr. Joseph McGettigan, commanding officer of USS Higgins. “The seamless interoperability between all ships demonstrates the strength of our alliances and goes a long way to promote a free and open Indo-pacific. Thank you to the JMSDF for leading a well-run and professional operation!”

Canada was represented by HMCS Winnipeg (FFH 338) and HMCS Vancouver (FFH 331).

“It has been a pleasure to sail with our partners and allies over the past month,” said Cmdr. Kevin Whiteside, HMCS Vancouver commanding officer. “Working together, we were able to leverage each other’s experience and familiarity operating in the area and build upon it for follow-on deployments. Supporting each other’s separate, yet similar, deployments to the Indo-Pacific demonstrates our common goal of supporting peace, security and prosperity in the region.”

Higgins is assigned to Commander, Task Force 71/Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15, the Navy’s largest forward-deployed DESRON and the U.S. 7th fleet’s principal surface force.

U.S. 7th Fleet is the largest forward-deployed fleet in the world, and with the help of a network of alliances and partners from 35 other maritime-nations, the U.S. Navy has operated in the Indo-Pacific region for more than 70 years, providing credible, ready forces to help preserve peace and prevent conflict.

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Security News: Former Alabama Police Chief Indicted for Excessive Force and Lying to Investigators

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A federal grand jury in the Southern District of Alabama indicted former Citronelle Police Department Chief John Tyler Norris for using excessive force against a man while on duty and for misleading state investigators.

According to the indictment, on June 30, 2021, Norris, 43, while on duty, assaulted I.M., a man in his custody. Norris is also charged with making a misleading statement to local investigators regarding his conduct related to the assault. If convicted, Norris faces a maximum sentence of ten years in prison for the alleged use of force and 20 years in prison for making a misleading statement. 

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello for the Southern District of Alabama and Special Agent in Charge Paul W. Brown for the FBI Mobile Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI Mobile Field Office is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Vicki Davis for the Southern District of Alabama and Trial Attorneys Maura White and MarLa Duncan of Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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Security News: Former Contractor Pleads Guilty to Bid Rigging and Bribery

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Second Guilty Plea in Ongoing Investigation at the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)

A former construction contractor became the second person to plead guilty for participating in a bid-rigging and bribery scheme involving California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) improvement and repair contracts.

According to a plea agreement filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California in Sacramento, William D. Opp engaged in a conspiracy, from early 2015 through at least as late as August 2018, to thwart the competitive bidding process for Caltrans contracts to ensure that companies controlled by co-conspirators or himself submitted the winning bid and would be awarded the contract. As part of the conspiracy, Opp formed a separate construction company, with his wife as the nominal president, to submit sham bids on Caltrans contracts.

“Today’s guilty plea involves crimes affecting industries that receive significant federal funding for infrastructure and transportation,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “The Antitrust Division and its Procurement Collusion Strike Force are redoubling efforts to enforce the law against bid-rigging and fraud that steals taxpayer dollars.”

Opp also pleaded guilty to paying bribes to Choon Foo “Keith” Yong, a former contract manager for Caltrans, a California state agency that receives significant federal funding. On April 11, 2022, Yong pleaded guilty to his role in the bid-rigging and bribery scheme. According to Yong’s plea agreement, he received bribes in the form of cash payments, wine, furniture, and remodeling services on his home. The total value of the payments and benefits Yong received exceeded $800,000.

Opp is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 30 2023, by U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller for the Eastern District of California. For the bid-rigging conspiracy, Opp faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years of incarceration and a fine up to $1 million or twice the gross pecuniary loss resulting from the offense. For bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds, Opp faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years of incarceration and a fine up to $250,000 or twice the gross pecuniary loss resulting from the offense. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Today’s guilty plea is the second to result from a joint investigation by the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California, and the FBI’s Sacramento Division as part of the Justice Department’s Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF).

In November 2019, the Department of Justice created the PCSF, a joint law enforcement effort to combat antitrust crimes and related fraudulent schemes that impact government procurement, grant and program funding at all levels of government – federal, state and local. To learn more about the PCSF, or to report information on market allocation, price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct related to federal government contracts, go to https://www.justice.gov/procurement-collusion-strike-force.

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Security News: U.S. Attorney’s Office Encourages Reporting of Environmental Crimes

Source: United States Department of Justice News

PORTLAND, Ore.—Today, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon joins its partners at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other federal regulatory agencies in encouraging Oregonians to report all known or suspected environmental crimes.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon enforces federal laws to protect environmental quality, human health, and wildlife throughout the State of Oregon. The office works with its partners throughout the Department of Justice to hold those who violate environmental law accountable, prioritizing cases that will reduce environmental harms to historically underserved, overburdened, and marginalized communities.

The district’s environmental crimes and justice coordinators lead efforts to enforce both criminal and civil environmental laws. Intentionally violating environmental laws—including, but not limited to, the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and hazardous waste laws—is a federal crime and can be punishable by incarceration or monetary fines.

Examples of criminal or civil environmental violations include:

  • A landlord who leases a home without disclosing known information about lead-based paint
  • A federal contractor who violates a contractual provision mandating the proper disposal of hazardous waste
  • Illegal asbestos removals that expose and create health risks for workers and the public
  • Illegal handling, transportation, and disposal of hazardous wastes or pesticides
  • Oil spills or other incidents that compromise the fishing rights or practices of indigenous or disadvantaged communities
  • Air emissions of toxic pollutants resulting from inadequate or nonexistent pollution control
  • False statements to the EPA or other regulatory agencies that threaten the integrity of environmental protection programs

If you are in danger, please call 911.

If you or someone you know believe you are the victim of an environmental crime or believe you have witnessed an environmental crime, please contact the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Response Center by calling 1-800-424-8802 or by submitting a tip online at https://echo.epa.gov/report-environmental-violations.

In May 2022, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced a series of actions to secure environmental justice for all Americans. In addition to launching a new Office of Environmental Justice within the Justice Department, Attorney General Garland also announced a new comprehensive environmental justice enforcement strategy to guide the Justice Department’s work and issued an Interim Final Rule that will restore the use of supplemental environmental projects in appropriate circumstances.