Month: November 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

ERIE, PA – Erie Coke Corporation, along with a corporate officer, have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Erie on among other charges, Violation of the Clean Air Act, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.

The eight-count Indictment, returned on Nov. 15, 2022, and unsealed today, named Erie Coke Corporation, now permanently out of operation, and Anthony Nearhoof, 41, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as the defendants.

According to the Indictment presented to the court, from in and around October 2015 and continuing until in and around December 2019, Erie Coke Corporation and Nearhoof tampered with measurements on heating systems which emitted contaminants and pollutants into the air including volatile gases such as benzene, toluene, and xylene. Erie Coke Corporation was a plant regulated by federal and state statutes and regulations including the Clean Air Act (CAA) administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP), which was located adjacent to numerous private residences, public facilities, and several schools.

Nearhoof was an operator and “responsible corporate officer” at the plant when hazardous air pollutants were being released and directed other plant supervisors and foremen to vent combustion gases directly into the air to avoid the plant’s environmental monitoring system.

“It is important to protect our community from environmental health hazards and to ensure equal access to a healthy environment in which to live, learn, and work,” said U.S. Attorney Chung. “This indictment demonstrates our ongoing commitment to securing environmental justice by holding Erie Coke Corporation and its management responsible for violations of laws meant to protect the environment and the community.”

“Today’s indictment holds Erie Coke Corporation and its management responsible for covering up and lying to federal regulators and the public about their discharges,” said Jennifer Lynn, Special Agent in Charge for the Mid-Central Area Branch. “Through thorough investigative efforts by EPA and its state partner, we were able to uncover the fraudulent scheme.”

The law provides for a maximum total sentence of not more than five years in prison, a fine of $250,000,00, and a term of supervised release of not more than three years. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorneys Nicole Vasquez Schmitt and Michael L. Ivory, and Special Assistant United States Attorneys Perry D. McDaniel and Martin Harrell are prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency conducted the investigation leading to the Indictment in this case.

An Indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Herbert Smith, 33, of Philadelphia, PA, was sentenced to 45 years in prison and lifetime supervised release by United States District Court Judge Eduardo C. Robreno for his extended sexual abuse of a child who was just eight years old when Smith began molesting her. Smith must also register as a convicted child sex offender under state law.

In June 2021, the defendant pleaded guilty to seven counts of manufacturing child pornography. The charges stemmed from an investigation which exposed the defendant’s sexual abuse of this child victim when Philadelphia Police served an arrest warrant for Smith for his sexual assault of a different nine-year-old victim. When police arrested the defendant, officers discovered him lying in bed with the eight-year-old victim. Police seized Smith’s electronic equipment, and the subsequent forensic analysis by the Federal Bureau of Investigation revealed hundreds of images of Smith’s horrific sexual assaults against the eight-year-old child over a period of more than two years, including rape and other sexual abuse of the child after she was given medication to make her sleep. Smith recorded his abuse of the child victim, saved the images and videos on his electronic equipment, and in some cases, uploaded the images to his online storage account.

Smith was taken into custody by Philadelphia Police in August 2019. He has been detained in federal custody since he was indicted federally in September 2019.

“Smith is a predator of young children and has been for years,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “This sentence sends a strong message that victimization of our most vulnerable will be severely punished. Thank you to all of our agency partners who remain determined to identify, prosecute and convict child predators like this defendant.”

“Herbert Smith admitted to unimaginably abhorrent behavior,” said Jacqueline Maguire, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division. “He sexually assaulted multiple children and perpetuated that trauma by recording and reliving it. The harm he has done is vast and this sentence is richly deserved. Locking up depraved predators like Smith is one of the most important things that the FBI and our partners can do to help protect kids, the most vulnerable members of our community.”  

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Philadelphia Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Rotella.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

EVANSVILLE – Omaree Shay Roby, 25, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to carjacking and using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

According to court documents, on September 27, 2020, officers with the Evansville Police Department responded to a residence on East Indiana Street regarding a robbery complaint. The adult female victim, told officers that she had been approached by a man, later identified as Roby, as she sat inside her car while parked on her driveway. When Roby demanded that the victim relinquish her vehicle, the victim refused, and Roby pointed a pistol in the air and fired a shot. At that point, the victim exited her vehicle, and Roby entered the driver’s seat and drove away. While at the scene, officers located one spent .40 caliber shell casing on the victim’s driveway.

Vigo County Sheriff deputies subsequently located Roby traveling northbound through Vigo County in the stolen vehicle, and pursued Roby into Vermillion County. When law enforcement officers deployed stop sticks in Clinton, Indiana, Roby drove through the stop sticks and fired shots at the officers from the stolen vehicle. Roby ultimately came to a stop near State Road 63 and U.S. Highway 36. As he exited the vehicle, Roby raised a firearm at the officers, who returned fire and struck Roby. Roby was transported to the hospital and survived. Upon searching the stolen vehicle, officers recovered a .40 caliber pistol.

Roby had been previously convicted of two counts of armed robbery and one count of conspiracy to commit armed robbery in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, in July 2015.

Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, and Chief Billy Bolin, Evansville Police Department, made the announcement.

The Evansville Police Department, Vigo County Sheriff’s Office, Vermillion County Sheriff’s Office, and the Indiana State Police investigated the case. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Vermillion County Prosecutor’s Office provided valuable assistance. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Richard L. Young. As part of the sentence, Judge Young ordered that Roby be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for three years following his release from federal prison.

U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristian R. Mukoski who prosecuted this case.

This case is 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 gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.