GSA Announces Sites Under Consideration for New Federal Courthouse in Chattanooga, TN

Source: United States General Services Administration

January 4, 2023

ATLANTA, Georgia — The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) today announced the sites that are under consideration as the potential location for a new federal courthouse in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Earlier this year, GSA received Congressional authorization in the amount of $218,381,000 for the site acquisition, design and construction of a new 186,000-gross square-foot Chattanooga Federal courthouse.

After issuing a Request for Expressions of Interest seeking potential sites and conducting initial due diligence including site visits, GSA has identified three sites for further analysis. Ordered from north to south, the sites are:

  • A portion of (specific size and location to be determined) 201, 203, 205, and 301 Power Alley.
  • The property bounded by Lindsay St on the west, E. 8th St on the north, Houston St on the east, and extending south to (and including) 814 Lindsay St.
  • A portion of (specific size and location to be determined) the property bounded by W. 11th St on the north, Market St on the east, W. 12th St on the south, and Chestnut St on the west.

“As GSA moves forward with the project, we will continue our partnership with the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, and the City of Chattanooga,” said Region 4 Public Buildings Service Commissioner and Acting Regional Administrator Kevin Kerns. “We look forward to delivering a successful project for the Court, the American people and the City of Chattanooga.”

GSA will further analyze these sites and seek public comment as part of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) assessment. GSA anticipates the NEPA process starting by the end of the first quarter of the calendar year 2023. For more information and updates, please visit: gsa.gov/chattanoogacourthouse.

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About GSA: GSA provides centralized procurement for the federal government, managing a nationwide real estate portfolio of nearly 370 million rentable square feet and overseeing approximately $75 billion in annual contracts. GSA’s mission is to deliver the best value in real estate, acquisition, and technology services across government, in support of the Biden-Harris administration’s priorities.

For more information, visit gsa.gov or join the conversation on social media @US_GSAR4 and other platforms.

Federal Inmate Convicted of Indecent Exposure to a Prison Staff Member

Source: United States Department of Justice News

OKLAHOMA CITY – Last week, JAMES M. LYNCH, 46, of Washington, D.C., was convicted of one felony count of indecent exposure, announced U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester.

Public records reflect that, on December 16, 2020, James M. Lynch was charged with one count of indecent exposure while he was an inmate at the Federal Transfer Center (FTC) in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  FTC is a penal institution operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the Department of Justice, that primarily houses offenders and parole violators who have yet to be assigned to a permanent prison facility. 

According to evidence presented at a bench trial held on December 13, 2022, Lynch willfully exposed his genitalia and engaged in masturbatory acts in front of a female FTC employee.  The trial lasted four hours.  On December 28, 2022, Chief U.S. District Court Judge Timothy DeGiusti found Griffin guilty of Indecent Exposure. 

A sentencing hearing will take place in approximately 90 days.  At sentencing, Lynch faces no less than 30 days and up to 10 years in prison, up to a $250,000 fine, and up to three years of supervised release. 

This case was the result of an investigation by the Special Investigative Services at the Federal Transfer Center and the FBI Oklahoma City Field Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mary E. Walters and D.H. Dilbeck prosecuted the case. 

Reference is made to court filings for further information.

Sharon Man Sentenced to Prison for Distributing Crack

Source: United States Department of Justice News

PITTSBURGH – Jeronte Robinson was sentenced to 24 months in prison for conspiring to distribute crack cocaine, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.
Robinson, age 27 of Sharon, Pennsylvania, was sentenced by United States District Judge Cathy Bissoon. Judge Bissoon ordered Robinson to serve three years of supervised release after his prison sentence.

Robinson’s sentence is a result of conduct between June 2020 and June 2021. During that time period, Robinson and co-conspirators frequently distributed crack cocaine from Robinson’s residence on Euclid Avenue in Sharon, Pennsylvania. Robinson’s sentencing guideline range was increased because he possessed a gun when he was conspiring to distribute crack cocaine.

Assistant United States Attorney Craig W. Haller prosecuted this case on behalf of the United States.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Pennsylvania State Police, the Lawrence County Drug Task Force, the Mercer County Drug Task Force, the New Castle Police Department, the Sharon Police Department, the Hermitage Police Department, and the Farrell Police Department led the investigation in this case.

This prosecution is a result of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles high-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten communities throughout the United States. OCDETF uses a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

Honduran National Admits Illegally Reentering the U.S.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that MARLON AMAYA-LOPEZ, also known as Elder Figueroa, 35, a citizen of Honduras last residing in Bridgeport, pleaded guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven to one count of illegally reentering the U.S. after being deported.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Amaya-Lopez was previously deported and removed from the U.S. to Honduras following a felony conviction in April 2007 in Connecticut Superior Court for attempted robbery in the second degree.  He reentered the U.S. and returned to Connecticut without obtaining the consent of the Attorney General of the United States or his successor, the Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, to reapply for admission into the U.S.

Judge Arterton scheduled sentencing for March 28, 2023, at which time Amaya-Lopez faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.  The penalties in this matter are enhanced based on his prior conviction.

Amaya-Lopez has been detained since his arrest on November 30, 2022.

This matter is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Neeraj N. Patel, Anastasia E. King and Stephanie T. Levick.

Wexford Woman Sentenced for Failing to File Business and Personal Taxes

Source: United States Department of Justice News

PITTSBURGH, PA A resident of Wexford, PA, has been sentenced in federal court to three years’ probation and 180 days home confinement on her conviction of various violations of the Internal Revenue Code, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.

United States District Judge W. Scott Hardy imposed the sentence on Shelley L. Fant, 52.

According to information presented to the court, Fant both failed to collect and to pay over FICA taxes to the Internal Revenue Service, in violation of Title 26, United States Code, Section 7202, and also failed to file personal income tax returns, in violation of Title 26, United States Code, Section 7203.

The Court also ordered restitution payable to the IRS totaling $658,895.

Assistant United States Attorney Gregory C. Melucci prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

United States Attorney Chung commended the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Fant.