Month: January 2023

Source: United States Department of Justice 2

Note: This press release has been translated into several languages. See the attached files.

The Justice Department announced today the resolution of a matter involving the Louisiana Supreme Court (LASC) based on actions LASC has taken to improve access to state court proceedings and operations for people with limited English proficiency (LEP).

In May 2019, the Justice Department and LASC entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to address a complaint under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI). Title VI is a federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin by any recipients of federal financial assistance, including state courts. Since the MOA was signed, LASC has taken a number of remedial actions to improve access for court users across Louisiana who are LEP.

“Courts across our country must ensure that the courthouse door is open to all, including people with limited English proficiency,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “We will continue working to ensure that court systems, like the Louisiana Supreme Court, have the policies, practices, interpreters and other resources necessary to ensure access to justice for people with limited English proficiency.”

“With its actions, the Louisiana Supreme Court demonstrated a commitment to ensuring access to state courts in Louisiana for persons who are LEP,” said U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans for the Eastern District of Louisiana. “My office is committed to addressing all forms of discrimination, including discrimination against persons who are LEP.” 

LASC has taken a number of actions to develop and implement a language access program and expand the availability of free language assistance services for people with LEP in Louisiana. LASC established an Office of Language Access and adopted the first Language Access Plan for Louisiana courts. LASC also created a centralized language access complaint system with an online complaint form in several non-English languages. For court staff, LASC developed training programs on language access, a judicial bench card focusing on access to court interpreters, and other language access resources. Further, LASC successfully advocated for a change to a state law that had allowed courts to charge people with LEP for the cost of an interpreter and then adopted new court rules based on that change in state law.

This matter was conducted jointly by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Additional information about the Civil Rights Division is available on its website at www.justice.gov/crt, and information about limited English proficiency and Title VI is available at www.lep.gov. Members of the public may report possible civil rights violations at https://civilrights.justice.gov/report/.

Press Release in Spanish (Español)

Press Release in Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt)

Press Release in French (Français)

Press Release in Arabic ( العربية)

Source: United States Department of Justice News

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – A man from St. Clair County will spend nearly six years in prison for

illegally possessing a firearm. Nicholas A. Briddell, 33, of Belleville, Illinois, was sentenced on Tuesday to 71 months in federal prison for being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm.

According to court documents, on March 6, 2021, officers with the East St. Louis Police Department witnessed Briddell lean out of the passenger window of a vehicle stopped at an intersection near the Visions Night Club in East St. Louis. Briddell was holding a bottle of alcohol in one hand and a handgun in the other. Briddell then proceeded to point the firearm at patrons walking towards the door of the nightclub. ESPLD officers stopped the vehicle, arrested Briddell and found the firearm under the seat where Briddell had been sitting. The gun was loaded with a round in the chamber.

At the time of his arrest, Briddell was a multiple-convicted felon, with prior convictions for armed robbery and possession with intent to distribute cocaine. Federal law prohibits convicted felons from possessing firearms or firearm ammunition. A federal grand jury in East St. Louis indicted Briddell in October 2021, and he pled guilty in September 2022.

“Pointing a loaded handgun at unsuspecting patrons is a bad, reckless decision, and the defendant will have time to think about his actions in federal prison,” said U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe. “It cannot be understated: we’re fortunate to have local, state and federal law enforcement partners promoting public safety in East St. Louis.”

As part of his sentence, Briddell will serve a two-year term of supervised release following his

release from federal prison.

The investigation was conducted by the ESLPD and the Public Safety Enforcement Group of the Illinois State Police. Further assistance in the investigation was provided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ali Burns and David Dean prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Three Texas men were sentenced yesterday for their roles in a conspiracy to pay bribes to two city commissioners in Weslaco in exchange for their official actions in connection with city contracts worth tens of millions of dollars.

Former Hidalgo County Commissioner Arturo C. Cuellar Jr., 69, of Progresso Lakes, was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Ricardo Quintanilla, 57, and John F. Cuellar, 60, both of Weslaco, were sentenced to 200 months and three years in prison, respectively. 

“Americans deserve safe, clean water provided through fair and open contracting, not illicit back-room deals,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “As this prosecution demonstrates, the Department of Justice is committed to prosecuting public officials and their enablers who award infrastructure contracts based on corrupt connections instead of merit.”

“Our office will not turn a blind eye to public corruption, especially when it results in significant burdens to residents within our district,” said U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani for the Southern District of Texas. “Weslaco was warned for years to upgrade its water infrastructure in order to provide potable water. The defendants used this opportunity to participate in a multimillion-dollar scheme that ultimately saddled residents with debt and bribery costs for their drinking water system. We hope the message in today’s sentencings will deter others from committing such crimes and provide some closure to the citizens of Weslaco.”

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Arturo Cuellar and Quintanilla agreed with others to bribe two Weslaco City Commissioners, John Cuellar and Gerardo Tafolla, in exchange for official actions favorable to engineering companies seeking large contracts with the city. From approximately March 2008 through December 2015, one of the participants in the scheme received approximately $4.1 million from two engineering companies and shared nearly $1.4 million with Arturo Cuellar. Arturo Cuellar used a company he controlled to facilitate the payment of approximately $405,000 in bribes to his cousin, John Cuellar, which were disguised as legitimate legal expenses. In exchange for these payments, John Cuellar took several official actions to benefit the companies, including helping to award contracts worth approximately $38.5 million to rehabilitate Weslaco’s water treatment facilities. Quintanilla received approximately $85,000 during the course of the scheme and used that money to pay cash bribes to Tafolla for his official actions to benefit the companies that received the water treatment plant contracts.

Arturo Cuellar and Quintanilla were convicted at trial in the Southern District of Texas in October 2022. Arturo Cuellar was convicted of 61 counts in total, including one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, four counts of honest services wire fraud, one count of federal programs bribery, one count of money laundering conspiracy, 27 counts of money laundering, and 27 counts of Travel Act violations. Quintanilla was convicted of 15 counts in total, including one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, four counts of honest services wire fraud, one count of federal programs bribery, one count of money laundering conspiracy, and eight counts money laundering. John Cuellar pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit honest services fraud in August 2019.

“Today’s sentencing is a testament to the FBI’s commitment to pursue public corruption alongside our law enforcement partners. Any public official who chooses to serve themselves over their constituents will be brought to justice. Rio Grande Valley residents deserve elected leaders who can be trusted,” said Special Agent in Charge Oliver E. Rich Jr. of the FBI San Antonio Field Office. “The FBI would like to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Department of Justice Public Integrity Section, and the IRS for their partnership and dedication to bringing these corrupt individuals to justice.”

“IRS Criminal Investigation remains steadfast in its commitment to quickly unravel public corruption schemes, as these frauds greatly undermine the trust placed by the public in its elected officials,” said Special Agent in Charge Ramsey E. Covington of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Houston Field Office. “No matter how complex the financial fraud, or well-insulated the corrupt officials and individuals or businesses are, our special agents will rigorously work to hold all accountable to face the consequences of their crimes and personal greed. We continuously ask the public to submit allegations of public corruption fraud to IRS-CI, FBI, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.”

Tafolla pleaded guilty in April 2019 and will be sentenced at a later date. 

The FBI San Antonio Field Office and IRS-CI Houston Field Office investigated the case.

Senior Litigation Counsel Marco A. Palmieri and Trial Attorney William J. Gullotta of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section (PIN) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Roberto Lopez Jr. for the Southern District of Texas are prosecuting the case. Deputy Chief of PIN Peter M. Nothstein and former PIN Trial Attorneys Erica O’Brien Waymack and Jessica C. Harvey provided valuable assistance.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

PORTLAND, Maine: Multiple federal and state agencies are collaborating to host a Protecting Houses of Worship event series aimed at helping Maine’s faith-based organizations identify vulnerabilities and strengthen security. The next event will be held on Thursday, January 26, 2023, at the University of Maine at Augusta.

The Protecting Houses of Worship event is open to all Maine faith-based organizations. Local law enforcement and community leaders are also welcome to attend. Registration is required, and a registration form can be found at https://www.justice.gov/usao-me/PHOW. There is no cost to attend.

“Everyone should feel safe when they gather to express their faith or serve their community,” said Dr. T.J. Swenson Jr., DHS-CISA’s Protective Security Advisor (PSA) to the State of Maine. “However, in a complex and dynamic threat environment, no single entity has the full picture of the threat, so it is imperative that we work together across the community to protect against the physical and cyber threats facing our communities and houses of worship.”

The Protecting Houses of Worship event is a collaboration of the Maine Emergency Management Agency (MEMA); Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (DHS-CISA); Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Boston Field Office, Portland Resident Agency; U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Community Relations Service (CRS); and U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Maine, along with the participation of local law enforcement and faith-based partners.

“Faith-based events and houses of worship – churches, synagogues, mosques – are inherently welcoming, with open access and publicly-available services. As we have seen around the country, this welcoming environment can leave them vulnerable,” said U.S. Attorney Darcie N. McElwee. “There are steps that can be taken to reduce risks, and we’re thrilled to collaborate with MEMA, the FBI, DHS-CISA, CRS and local law enforcement to bring this information and resources to Maine’s faith-based community.”

The goal of the event series is to provide practical information, tools and resources (including information on available federal grants) to help bolster emergency preparedness efforts and foster best practices to keep Maine’s faith-based events and houses of worship safe. Topics discussed during the event will include:

• Security, Risk and Vulnerability Assessments
• Active Shooter Preparedness, Response & Resources
• Building Your Own Emergency Operations Plan
• Faith-Based Experiences with Public Safety Issues

 

“No one should feel unsafe in their place of worship or fear becoming a victim of violence because of their religion. In today’s dynamic threat environment, now more than ever, all of us need to work together to safeguard our houses of worship and public spaces where Mainers gather every day,” said Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division. “This event will bring us together to facilitate this very important conversation and allow us to share information and resources in real time.”

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

Defendant Illegally Entered Building, Carrying Flag

            WASHINGTON – A Philadelphia man was sentenced in the District of Columbia on felony and misdemeanor charges for his actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. 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.

            James Douglas Rahm, Jr., 63, was sentenced yesterday to one year in prison for obstruction of an official proceeding, a felony; one year in prison for each of the following misdemeanors: entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, and  disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; and six months in prison for the misdemeanors of disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building. All sentences to run concurrently. Judge Thomas F. Hogan, who found Rahm guilty of the charges on October 13, 2022 following a bench trial, also ordered three years of supervised release and $2,000 in restitution. Rahm will self-surrender at a future date.  

            According to the stipulated facts, on Jan. 6, 2021, Rahm illegally entered the Capitol grounds. After rioters broke through the police line on the east side of the Capitol, he climbed steps and joined a mob outside the East Rotunda Doors. He filmed a video in which he stated, among other things, “We broke the door down. We’re going in.” He also yelled to the crowd, “I think we stopped the vote,” drawing cheers. Rahm entered the Capitol through the East Rotunda Doors at approximately 2:43 p.m., carrying a flag. He filmed another video in which he loudly declared, “we’re in. We’re taking our f—— house back. We’re here.” He moved through Statuary Hall and other non-public areas before exiting the building at approximately 2:53 p.m. 

            Rahm was arrested on Feb. 5, 2021, in Philadelphia.

            This case was 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 Pennsylvania.

            The case was investigated by the FBI’s Newark and Washington Field Offices. Valuable assistance was provided by the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Capitol Police.

            In the 24 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 950 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including over 284 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.