Month: April 2023

Source: United States Department of Justice News

PROVIDENCE – A Providence man who acted as a supplier of fentanyl to a mid-level drug trafficker was sentenced today to nearly six-and-a-half years in federal prison, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.

Keven Restrepo, 32, formerly of Kissimmee, FL, was arrested in September 2021, as the result of a wide-ranging FBI Safe Streets Gang Task Force and Providence Police Department drug trafficking investigation in Rhode Island that resulted in the arrest of sixteen individuals.

According to court documents and information presented to the court, Restrepo set up multiple deliveries of fentanyl to a Providence man, and instructed him on how to “cut,” or increase the weight of fentanyl he was selling to him to increase its volume and provide a greater profit. On at least two occasions Restrepo set-up deliveries that totaled 70 grams of fentanyl.

According to court documents, with judicial approval, law enforcement monitored and recorded telephone conversations in which Restrepo boasted of supplying significant quantities of drugs to others in the past; detailed how to “cut” and increase the volume of drugs; and discussed obtaining a firearm.

At the time of his arrest on federal drug trafficking charges, Restrepo was on bail and awaiting sentencing in Rhode Island state court, having been convicted of multiple firearm and assault charges in a case in which an individual was shot in a gang-related incident and suffered serious injuries.

In the matter charged in federal District Court, Restrepo pleaded guilty on December 12, 2022, to a charge of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl. He was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Mary S. McElroy to seventy-seven months in federal prison to be followed by four years of federal supervised release.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stacey A. Erickson.

The Rhode Island FBI Safe Streets Gang Task Force consists of agents and law enforcement officers from the FBI, United States Marshals Service, Central Falls Police Department, Cranston Police Department, Pawtucket Police Department, Providence Police Department, West Warwick Police Department, Woonsocket Police Department, and Rhode Island State Police.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

PROVIDENCE –Elmhurst Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center (“Elmhurst”) has entered into an agreement with the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Rhode Island, resolving allegations that Elmhurst failed to furnish sign language interpreting services during interactions with a resident who is deaf, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.

Under the settlement agreement, Elmhurst will adopt new ADA policies and practices, train its staff on those policies, will report any future complaints, and agrees to cooperate with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to ensure ongoing compliance with the terms of the settlement agreement. Elmhurst will also pay a settlement of $30,000 to the complainant and a $5,000 civil penalty.

 “When deaf Rhode Islanders seek medical care, they shouldn’t have to worry whether a lack of legally required interpreter services will keep them from communicating effectively with their healthcare providers,” remarked U.S. Attorney Cunha. “Today’s settlement ensures that those services will be provided, as the law requires, for all patients.”

Elmhurst is a private medical practice that provides skilled nursing services, post-acute medical services, and rehabilitation programs in Providence. Title III of the ADA prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in places of public accommodations, such as medical centers. The ADA requires places of public accommodation to provide the necessary auxiliary aids and services to ensure that communication is effective. Such aids and services can include American Sign Language interpreters for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing and must be paid for by the place of public accommodation.

The matter was litigated by Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy R. Romero.

The Department of Justice has a number of publications available to assist entities in complying with the ADA, including Effective Communication and a Business Brief on Communicating with People Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing in Hospital Settings. For more information on the ADA and to access these publications, visit www.ada.gov or call the Justice Department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 or 800-514-0383 (TDD).

Any member of the public who wishes to file a complaint alleging that a place of public accommodation or public entity in Rhode Island is not accessible to persons with disabilities may contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office at  (401) 709-5000 or by email at USARI.CivilRightsComplaint@.gov.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

The Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced that Tesoro Refining and Marketing Company will pay a $27.5 million penalty for violating a 2016 consent decree ordering the company to reduce air pollution at its petroleum refinery in Martinez, California. In particular, according to today’s settlement, Tesoro failed to limit air emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOX), a pollutant that contributes to smog.

The settlement requires Tesoro to adhere to strict pollution controls at the facility. The facility is currently undergoing conversion into a renewable fuels plant, which will use renewable sources such as vegetable oils to produce fuels instead of crude oil. The settlement also sets up a framework for additional pollutant reductions, including significant climate co-benefits. Specifically, the settlement requires Tesoro to forego hundreds of annual emission credits that it could otherwise sell to area sources who could then increase their emissions.

“Today, we are holding Tesoro accountable for its failure to implement court-ordered pollution controls,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “This settlement requires Tesoro to forfeit substantially more air emission credits than the excess emissions associated with its violations, resulting in cleaner air for those who live and work in the San Francisco area.”

“Tesoro did not meet the consent decree pollution limit because it did not install adequate pollution controls,” said Acting Assistant Administrator Larry Starfield for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “As this settlement shows, EPA will seek substantial penalties when companies delay installing appropriate pollution controls to meet environmental obligations.”

In May 2020, Tesoro suspended operations at the Martinez refinery and then announced its plan to convert the refinery to a renewable fuels plant. Today’s agreement includes requirements to limit air pollution from the future renewable fuels plant. The agreement does not prohibit Tesoro from resuming petroleum refining, but if it does so, Tesoro must install specific air pollution control technology, at an expected cost of $125 million, to ensure stringent NOX emission limits are met.

“Tesoro failed to meet its requirement to reduce air pollution at the Martinez refinery, and EPA is now taking firm action to hold Tesoro accountable,” said Regional Administrator Martha Guzman of the EPA Pacific Southwest. “This settlement ensures that Tesoro complies with stringent air pollution limits, to protect neighboring communities regardless of fuel type.”

To mitigate pollution resulting from its violation of the 2016 consent decree, Tesoro agreed to surrender most of its existing NOX emission trading credits. Tesoro also agreed to forego almost all trading credits from the shutdown of petroleum refining equipment should it convert to a renewable fuels plant. A company can receive emission credits by shutting down equipment and then apply such credits to offset emissions from new projects or trade such credits to other companies for their use. By requiring Tesoro to surrender existing credits and forego petroleum-related shutdown credits if it converts to a renewable fuels plant, the settlement prevents Tesoro and other local sources from using these credits. As a result, the settlement filed today will limit emissions in the San Francisco Bay area.

Specifically, if Tesoro resumes petroleum refining, the settlement requirements will reduce annual air emissions by about 261 metric tons of NOX. If Tesoro converts the facility to a renewable fuels plant, the settlement will result in annual air emissions reductions of about 440 tons of NOX, 327 tons of sulfur dioxide, 697 tons of carbon monoxide, 69 tons of volatile organic compounds, 301 tons of fine particulate matter and the equivalent of 1,342,025 tons of carbon dioxide. 

The terms of a 2016 federal consent decree, which resolved Clean Air Act violations at the Martinez refinery and five other refineries nationwide, established emission limits for multiple pollutants including NOX. The settlement announced today, which will modify the 2016 settlement, includes new requirements that apply whether Tesoro chooses to reopen the Martinez facility as a petroleum refinery or a renewable fuels plant.

There will be a 30-day public comment period on the modification to the 2016 settlement. Information on how to comment on the modification will be available in the Federal Register and at www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees.

For more information on the 2016 federal consent decree and today’s agreement, go to 2023 Tesoro Martinez Clean Air Act Settlement Information Sheet | US EPA.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett today sentenced Justin Kuchta, age 40, of Annapolis, Maryland, to four months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, for threatening to murder a United States Member of Congress. 

The sentence was announced by Erek L. Barron, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland; Chief J. Thomas Manger of the United States Capitol Police; and Superintendent of the Maryland State Police, Colonel Roland L. Butler, Jr.

According to his plea agreement, Kuchta made threats to murder a Member of the U.S. Congress.  Specifically, a U.S. Member of Congress’ district office in Texas reported that on July 18, 2022, it received a threatening message via an event management website.  The website was being used by an event planner to coordinate an event held in the State of Missouri, being attended by Member of Congress 1.  The Subject line of that email read, in relevant part: “Rally in Missouri – Featured Guest [Member of Congress 1], [Individual 1], and [Individual 2].”  The message stated, “Thank you for the address!!! I’m coming to murder all of you Satanist f*ckers!!! Especially the chuckle-f*ck Zodiak [sic] Killer [Member of Congress 1]!! That fat fake f*cker ass will be the first on the gallows!! SEE ALL OF YOU F*CKERS REALLY SOON!!! With my fresh militia and weapons!!! Thanks for the info f*ckers!!!”  The Member of Congress’ Washington office reported that a similar message was sent on July 22, 2022, using the same event management website.

As detailed in the plea agreement, an investigation revealed that the IP address was registered to a private high-speed network operated by the State of Maryland.  Network records revealed that the IP address originated from a Virtual Private Network and computer assigned to Kuchta.  Kuchta was subsequently interviewed, after being advised of his rights, by Special Agents with the U.S. Capitol Police and investigators assigned to the Maryland State Police Computer Crimes Unit at his place of employment in Annapolis, Maryland.  While Kuchta initially denied sending the email messages, he ultimately admitted that he sent the July 18, 2022, threatening message over the website.    

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the United States Capitol Police and the Maryland State Police for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney P. Michael Cunningham, who prosecuted the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, and its efforts to protect national security, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/anti-terrorism.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

PROVIDENCE – Tao Jiang, the president and owner of Broad Tech System, Inc., a California-based electronics distribution company, and his company were both sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island for concealing information from the U.S. Department of Commerce and from U.S. Customs and Border Protection as part of a scheme to illegally export chemicals manufactured and/or distributed by a Rhode Island-based company to a technology company in China with ties to the Chinese military, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.

Tao Jiang, aka Jason Jiang, 53, of Riverside, CA, and Broad Tech Systems pleaded guilty on January 11, 2023, to charges of conspiracy, violation of the Export Control Act, and money laundering conspiracy. Jiang was ordered by U.S. District Court Chief Judge John J. McConnell, Jr., to serve one year of federal probation, to pay a fine of $5,500, and to perform 100 hours of community service; Broad Tech Systems was placed on federal probation for one year and ordered to pay a fine of $120,000.

Additionally, Jiang and Broad Tech Systems were ordered to implement ethics and training programs for all officers and employees of Mr. Jiang and his companies; and to hire an employee whose responsibility is to monitor Broad Tech, and all companies owned by Mr. Jiang, to ensure that his companies and his employees are in full compliance with U.S. laws and regulations.

In pleading guilty, Jiang and Broad Tech System admitted to a federal judge that they conspired together, as well as with Bohr Winn-Shih, an engineer employed at Broad Tech System, to order the chemicals Photoresist and HPRD (Developer) from a North Kingstown-based manufacturer, and then knowingly submitted false and misleading documentation to the U.S. Government and to shipping companies in an effort to have those products illegally shipped to a company in China, in violation of the Export Control Reform Act. 

The intended recipient of the shipment, a state-owned Chinese entity in Nanjing, China, mainly engages in the manufacturing of electronic components and research, development and production of core chips and key components that are used in China’s military strategic early warning systems, air defense systems, airborne fire control systems, manned space systems, and other large-scale national projects. Photoresist and HPRD are essential to the chip manufacturing process.

The Chinese company that was intended to receive these products is on a U.S. government list of businesses that are not permitted to receive products manufactured in the United States.

In October 2018, the Customs and Border Protection National Targeting Center alerted the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) of an intended export of 58 gallons of Photoresist to the China-based company.  The product was returned to the manufacturer. Several days after the shipment was halted, the Rhode Island manufacturer received a call from Jiang, acting on behalf of Broad Tech System, seeking to purchase 94 gallons of Photoresist, and asking that it be shipped to a different China-based company. The manufacturer communicated to DOC agents that they found this to be suspicious because they had not done business with Broad Tech in the past; the quantity of Photoresist ordered was unusually significant; and the request came just days after the first shipment had been recalled. It was determined by DOC agents that Jiang, Shih and Broad Tech concealed the intended recipient, and that the shipment’s final destination was actually the Nanjing-based company controlled by the Chinese government.  

On January 29, 2019, Broad Tech received a wire transfer of $65,984 to its bank account within the United States, representing payment for the 58 gallons of Photoresist. It was determined that the wire transfer originated from an account controlled by the Nanjing, China-based company.

Bohr Winn-Shih, 65, of Ontario, CA, pleaded guilty on May 11, 2021. Winn-Shih was sentenced on August 3, 2021, to one year of probation.

The cases were prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul F. Daly, Jr.

The matter was investigated by the U.S. Department of Commerce and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

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