Month: April 2023

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

Seth, thank you for the kind introduction. I also want to thank the departments and agencies who are attending this event and the NGOs for taking the time to meet with us. I am excited to be with you today to kick off this important event in celebration of Earth Day.

And I want to thank Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) and his whole team for bringing us together today. I have the pleasure of meeting with ENRD every week to discuss their priorities, and the American people are lucky to have such skilled and passionate defenders of the environment at every level of the Division.

For over 50 years, Americans and people across the globe have celebrated Earth Day to celebrate and renew our commitment to a clean and sustainable environment and all the benefits it brings us and our future generations.

The Biden Administration and the Justice Department are committed to addressing some of the most critical environmental challenges of our time: combatting climate change, ensuring clean drinking water, advancing environmental justice, and prosecuting the illegal trafficking of natural resources.

This roundtable event highlights an exciting new interagency initiative at the intersection of many of those challenges: the creation of the Timber Interdiction Membership Board and Enforcement Resource (TIMBER) Working Group. The Working Group’s membership includes the Department of Justice, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of the Interior, and the Department of Homeland Security, as well as the U.S. Council on Transnational Organized Crime’s Strategic Division.

Before I discuss the TIMBER Working Group, I want to take a few minutes to provide context for why the Justice Department and other members of the TIMBER Working Group are prioritizing timber trafficking enforcement.

As many of you know, the United States was the first country to address the issue of the trafficking of plant and plant products, including timber, in international commerce by amending the Lacey Act in 2008. Many of you in this room were involved in that effort and continue to work to stop the illegal trafficking of forest products. These amendments gave law enforcement and prosecutors in the United States a powerful legal tool to deter and prosecute those who illegally commercialize plant and plant products. That includes timber – particularly timber taken in violation of foreign law and then smuggled into the United States.

Since 2008, countries have followed the leadership of the United States and adopted their own legislative approaches to stop the illegal trafficking of plant and timber. Those countries include Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom, and the European Union nations.

There continue to be numerous reports, however, that illegal logging is continuing. And that logging, and the trade associated with it, is worsening climate change, causing habitat and biodiversity loss, deepening political instability, fostering other illicit activities, warping the timber economy, and funding terrorism and conflict.

One study identifies illegally logged timber as the third most lucrative form of transnational crime worldwide; only counterfeiting and illegal drug trafficking are more profitable. INTERPOL has identified the value of forestry crime, including illegal logging and related corporate crimes, at up to $152 billion USD annually. That’s more than the annual budget of most countries.

One of President Biden’s first Executive Orders, Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, recognized the direct links between climate change and deforestation. The United States made a commitment in that executive order to promote the protection of the Amazon rainforest and other such critical ecosystems that have historically served as global carbon sinks, absorbing carbon from the atmosphere. This commitment was reaffirmed when the United States announced the Plan to Conserve Global Forests: Critical Carbon Sinks at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference. The Plan prioritizes conservation work in Amazonia, the Congo Basin, and Southeast Asia.

And in another Executive Order, Establishing the United States Council on Transnational Organized Crime, the Administration recognized the trafficking of natural resources as a type of transnational organized crime that presents a direct and escalating threat to public health, public safety, and national security, and prioritized combatting that crime.

So with this context in mind, let me say how excited I am to announce the new TIMBER Working Group and to describe how it will help the United States achieve its goals to combat deforestation and halt climate change through law enforcement efforts. The Timber Working Group is an interagency collaboration created to: 

• Target available resources across the federal government to identify and investigate complex timber trafficking cases domestically and transnationally;
• Develop new tools and techniques to investigate and prosecute timber trafficking cases; and
• Build the ability of partner governments worldwide to combat this devastating illegal trade.

The members of the Working Group each bring to this important work their particular expertise, their dedication to the rule of law in the environmental arena, and their commitment to their respective agency missions of conservation, environmental protection, and public service.

The Working Group stemmed from their sense that it would take an improved and coordinated effort to make progress in this fight. The Working Group members, and others with whom they will collaborate, will staff the cases, advance our work with counterparts worldwide, mentor our partners, and engage in the creative problem-solving that will need our collective support to successfully combat organized international traffickers and protect our global resources.

We must all ensure that these vital resources are used lawfully and responsibly and that the nation meets its domestic and international goals and commitments to combat deforestation, halt climate change, and protect the rule of law.

I will now turn the program back over to Seth so you can hear directly from the leadership of the TIMBER Working Group. Thank you.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that JOHN MUESER was sentenced to 25 years in prison by United States District Judge Vincent Briccetti for his enticement of a seven-year-old minor to engage in sexual activity and his possession of child pornography.  The sentencing today followed MUESER’s guilty plea on January 10, 2023.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “To the world, John Mueser presented himself as a dedicated teacher.  But in reality, Mueser exploited the trust placed in him as an educator in order to gain access to the victim’s home and to carry out his sickening abuse.  As today’s sentencing underscores, we will continue to use every tool available to law enforcement to prosecute and punish those who exploit children.”

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in related court proceedings:

On May 1, 2019, JOHN MUESER, a private school teacher and a private tutor at the time, induced a 7-year-old minor (“Victim-1”), whom he was tutoring, to engage in sexually explicit conduct and used his iPhone to record the activity.   

MUESER’s iPhone was found to contain hundreds of images, many of which were sexually explicit, of Victim-1. 

In addition to the numerous images of Victim-1 found on MUESER’s phone, MUESER’s phone was also found to contain numerous sexually explicit images and videos of other prepubescent children.

Years before his abuse of Victim-1, MUESER sexually abused two other children.  With respect to both of those victims, the abuse continued for years. 

In imposing the sentence, Judge Briccetti underscored that the defendant’s criminal conduct was “truly reprehensible,” asking “Is there anything more evil than sexually abusing small children for your own sexual gratification?”  Judge Briccetti recognized that the defendant’s “abuse of these children spanned decades.”  He said that the sentence he imposed “might amount to a life sentence,” and “that does not trouble me at all.”

*                *                *

In addition to the prison sentence, MUESER, 72, of Tuckahoe, New York, was sentenced to a lifetime of supervised release.            

Mr. Williams praised the efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Greenwich Police Department in connection with this investigation.                 

The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Marcia S. Cohen is in charge of the prosecution.  

Source: United States Department of Justice News

FAIRBANKS – On April 14, 2023, Senior District Judge Ralph R. Beistline of the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska sentenced Jason Benjamin O’Bryan, 30, of Fairbanks, Alaska, to 121 months of imprisonment followed by five years of supervised release for attempting to distribute 897 grams of methamphetamine and possession of nine firearms.

On March 9, 2021, agents from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) received a suspicious package. USPIS obtained a search warrant for the package and seized 897 grams of methamphetamine. On March 11, 2021, USPIS replaced the 897 grams of methamphetamine with a representative sample and “sham” drugs and performed a controlled delivery. Law enforcement observed Jason O’Bryan retrieved the package and take it inside his residence.  An hour later, surveillance observed O’Bryan leave the residence in his truck; law enforcement initiated a traffic stop and searched the vehicle where they found 50 grams of methamphetamine, 1 gram of heroin, and multiple fentanyl patches and pills. A subsequent search of O’Bryan’s residence resulted in the seizure of additional methamphetamine, heroin, and nine firearms. O’Bryan later confessed that he sold methamphetamine in Fairbanks and intended to distribute the 897 grams. O’Bryan, having a prior felony conviction, also admitted that he knew it was illegal for him to possess the nine firearms.

O’Bryan previously pled guilty to attempted possession and distribution of the 897 grams of methamphetamine and felon in possession of multiple firearms.

U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker of the District of Alaska made the announcement.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), North Slope Borough Police Department, Fairbanks Police Department (FPD), North Pole Police Department (NPD), and Alaska State Troopers (AST) investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan Tansey and Carly Vosacek prosecuted the case.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Ivan J. Arvelo, the Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), and Keechant L. Sewell, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced the filing of a five-count indictment today charging three individuals — WANDER RIVERA, a/k/a “Ciru,” EDWARD PEREZ, a/k/a “Perico,” and RAMON RODRIGUEZ, a/k/a “Pollo” — with certain federal crimes, including racketeering conspiracy, murder, attempted murder, and firearms offenses.  The defendants are charged for their roles in the “Shooting Boys” gang and associated acts of violence, including the June 21, 2021, murder of Milton Grant and attempted murder of another victim in Manhattan during a robbery.  In a coordinated operation, PEREZ and RIVERA were arrested last night and this morning.  Both defendants will be presented later this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jennifer E. Willis in Manhattan federal court.  RODRIGUEZ remains at large.  The case is assigned to United States District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald.    

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “As alleged, these defendants committed crimes with a street gang that has engaged in robbery, murder, drug trafficking, and other acts of violence.  The indictment unsealed today alleges that Milton Grant was murdered as a result of this gang’s wave of violence.  Gang violence is a threat to the safety and security of our neighborhoods, and we will continue to work to end it.  These defendants now face substantial time in federal prison for their crimes.”  

HSI Special Agent in Charge Ivan J. Arvelo said: “As alleged, Shooting Boys gang members Wander Rivera, Edward Perez, and Ramon Rodriguez utilized extreme violence and intimidation in furtherance of their criminal activities, acting without remorse or regard for human life.  Gang members prey upon the communities they live in, committing the most heinous acts against their victims.  The New York City metropolitan area is much safer when criminal gang members are arrested and held to account for their crimes.  We appreciate the critically important work of our partners at the New York City Police Department and remain dedicated to working collaboratively to help rid our communities of these unrepentant criminals.”

NYPD Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell said: “Dismantling gangs to prevent the senseless violence so often associated with their illegal activities is among the highest priorities for the NYPD and our law enforcement partners.  We will continue to target the relatively small percentage of people responsible for a disproportionate amount of the crime and disorder committed in New York City.  I commend and thank everyone in the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and all of the NYPD and HSI investigators involved in this case for their work in leveling these charges today.”

As alleged in the Indictment and other documents filed in federal court and based on statements made in public court proceedings:[1]

The “Shooting Boys” gang is a criminal organization based in the University Heights section of the Bronx.  Since at least 2017, gang members sold drugs, used guns, and committed numerous acts of violence against members of rival gangs.  Originally associated with the “Trinitarios” gang, the Shooting Boys broke off from the “Sunset” chapter of the Trinitarios in about 2018. 

The Shooting Boys sold crack, cocaine, heroin, and marijuana in select areas of the Bronx.  Gang members also specialized in armed robberies, often targeting individuals wearing designer jewelry.  During one early morning robbery, on June 21, 2021, Milton Grant was shot and killed as he sat in his car after exiting a Manhattan nightclub.  After Grant was shot, RODRIGUEZ stole Grant’s Audemars Piguet watch, pictured below: 

Another victim (“Victim-1”), who was with Grant at the time, was also shot during the robbery as he attempted to flee from the robbers.  Victim-1 survived his injuries.   

*                *                *

A chart containing the names, charges, and minimum and maximum penalties for the defendants is set forth below.  The minimum and maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the NYPD and HSI and thanked the New York County District Attorney’s Office for its assistance.    

The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dominic A. Gentile, James Ligtenberg, Adam S. Hobson, and Jamie Bagliebter are in charge of the prosecution.  

The charges in the Indictment are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Charge	Defendants	Minimum and Maximum Penalties
Count One Racketeering Conspiracy	WANDER RIVERA EDWARD PEREZ RAMON RODRIGUEZ	Maximum: Life in prison
Count Two Murder in Aid of Racketeering	WANDER RIVERA EDWARD PEREZ	Mandatory life in prison or death
Count Three Murder through Use of a Firearm	WANDER RIVERA EDWARD PEREZ	Maximum: Life in prison or death Minimum: Five years in prison, which much be consecutive to any other term imposed
Count Four Attempted Murder and Assault with a Dangerous Weapon in Aid of Racketeering	WANDER RIVERA	Maximum: 20 years in prison
Count Five Firearms Offense	WANDER RIVERA	Maximum: Life in prison Minimum: 10 years in prison, which much be consecutive to any other term imposed