Month: August 2023

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Illinois Man Arrested for Assaulting Law Enforcement During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON — An Illinois man has been arrested on felony and misdemeanor charges, including assaulting law enforcement, related to 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 2020 presidential election.

            Robin Lee Reierson, 68, of Schiller Park, Illinois, is charged in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia with felony offenses of civil disorder and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers. In addition to the felonies, Reierson is charged with multiple misdemeanor offenses, including entering and remaining in any restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct in a Capitol building; and act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings.

            Reierson was arrested on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023, in Schiller Park and made his initial appearance in the Northern District of Illinois.

            According to court documents, law enforcement authorities investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack and breach identified a male, later determined to be Reierson, wearing a brown jacket, gray hoodie, light-colored gloves, jeans, and a black motorcycle helmet who engaged with Metropolitan Police Department officers on the Lower West Terrace of the U.S. Capitol that day.

            Authorities identified Reierson as actively engaged with officers at the police line on the Lowest West Terrace. For instance, while rioters attempted to overwhelm officers by breaching a metal barrier on the Lower West Terrace, Reierson used his back and body to push on the metal barrier that officers were holding to maintain their lines. Reierson is also accused of physically pushing officers using both hands and by lowering his shoulder into the officers. In addition, court documents say that a nearby officer’s body-worn camera captured footage of Reierson grabbing and attempting to take possession of a police officer’s baton.

            This case is being 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 Northern District of Illinois.

            This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Chicago and Washington Field Offices, which identified Reierson as BOLO (Be On the Lookout) #433 on its seeking information photos. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department.

            In the 31 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,106 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 350 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. 

            Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

            A complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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Defense News: Commander, U.S. 2nd Fleet Celebrates 5th Anniversary: Reflecting on a Strong Tradition of Excellence

Source: United States Navy

The fleet’s headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, took a moment of reverence with Sailors, Officers, and staff to honor the achievements and tradition of excellence that have defined the fleet’s operations over the past five years.

Concluding Large-Scale Exercise 2023 (LSE 23), a live, virtual, and constructive, globally-integrated exercise designed to refine the synchronization of maritime operations across six maritime component commands, seven numbered fleets, and 22 time zones. This celebration was a moment of calm.

Originally established during World War II, U.S. 2nd Fleet was reactivated in 2018 to confront emerging security challenges in the North Atlantic and Arctic regions. Renowned for its strategic preparedness during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, the fleet also demonstrated swift responsiveness in Operation Urgent Fury in 1983 and humanitarian proficiency by providing aid to Haiti in 2010 after an earthquake struck the country.

“It’s incredible to see a command with this kind of legacy,” said Chief Master-At-Arms Alexander Knapp, the event’s organizer. “From day one, we were expected to answer the call, and we’ve been there. We haven’t missed a beat.”

Since its re-establishment, the Fleet has guaranteed maritime security through training exercises and upholding a vigilant presence within vital maritime zones. It has further demonstrated its readiness by providing proficient carrier strike and amphibious ready groups to the 4th, 5th, and 6th fleet areas of operations.

Commander, U.S. 2nd Fleet, Vice Adm. Daniel Dwyer, delivered an address to his staff. He compared the re-establishment to a 3-novel series of assembling the team, delivering competent warfighting capabilities, and the prolonged execution of effective command and control over naval forces.

“We are currently in that second book,” Dwyer said. “We stand on the shoulders of giants and are obligated to be the next giants to pass the torch to our successors.”

He emphasized the Fleet’s commitment to safeguarding American interests and allies in the region while adapting to the changing global security landscape.

“We are resurrected from the ashes. Over the past five years, the U.S. 2nd Fleet has showcased its dedication to excellence and readiness. Our sailors have risen to every challenge, demonstrating their unwavering commitment to defending our nation’s maritime interests,” stated Dwyer.

The anniversary celebration included a patch exchange with the command’s most junior sailor, Culinary Specialist Seaman Apprentice Samarian Lewis. Dwyer presented Lewis with 2nd Fleet’s command patch from 1950, commemorating past achievements and a patch of the current command’s crest, all while acknowledging the command’s growth.

“I love the parts of our legacy that live in the tangible pieces of our history, the parts you can reach out and touch,” said Knapp. “Some of that history is entirely personal; A grandfather’s uniform, a vial of sand from a historic battlefield, or a dirt covered patch from a long gone comrade.”

The U.S. 2nd Fleet remains committed to safeguarding American interests and promoting regional security. With its steadfast dedication to excellence and readiness, the Fleet is well-positioned to tackle the evolving challenges of the 21st-century maritime domain. U.S. 2nd Fleet, reestablished in 2018 in response to the changing global security environment, develops and employs maritime forces ready to fight across multiple domains in the Atlantic and Arctic in order to ensure access, deter aggression and defend U.S., allied, and partner interests.

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Defense News: Expeditionary Medical Facility Juliet Conducts First U.S. Navy Orthopedic Surgical Partnership Mission In Honduras

Source: United States Navy

Focusing on enhancing expeditionary core skills, the 10-person team completed 61 individual procedures at a Honduran level 1 trauma center in a resource limited environment with logistical support from Joint Task Force (JTF) Bravo.

“We worked very closely with the hospital and the local liaison on requirements to understand the needs of the local community and subspeciality care,” said Capt. Linda Smith, the commanding officer of EMF-Juliet. “It’s a very multifaceted mission evolution.”

This was also the first time that the U.S. Navy led an orthopedic surgical mission in Honduras, which provided the opportunity to enhance professional knowledge exchanges and strengthen Navy Medicine relationships and capabilities within a partner nation hospital.

“From the moment we arrived, one of the most valuable things from this mission was seeing how quickly we just started working together in the same operating room,” articulated Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Haldeman, an EMF-Juliet anesthesiologist from Allentown, Pennsylvania. “They trusted us immediately as partners.”

With the help of Honduran medical counterparts, cases were selected and prioritized by their complexity, strengthening opportunities for both U.S. and Honduran participants. The team members worked side-by-side with surgeons and residents at Hospital Escuela while alleviating the surgical backlog for many Hondurans in need.

“Once we were in the operating room, I worked with the same three surgeons on separate days,” explained Lt. Cmdr. Vanna Rocchi, an EMF-Juliet pediatric orthopedic surgeon from Oroville, California. “One of the most challenging cases was a severe tibia deformity on the lower leg. We did a deformity correction and the patient ended up with a nearly straight leg, which was the same length as the other side.”

Since 1993, SOUTHCOM and JTF-Bravo have organized and conducted Global Health Engagements throughout Central America and the Caribbean to increase readiness, validate medical expeditionary capabilities and strengthen partner nation relations.

EMF-Juliet leadership is working to expand missions in the U.S. Southern Command area of operations and next month they will support another JTF-Bravo-sponsored mission that will focus on urology.

“This mission has been a true partnership and exchange of knowledge with the Honduran medical professionals that we can also bring back and teach to others,” concluded Smith. “With this opportunity, we continue to be ready to deploy in austere environments with both our partner nations and joint forces.”

EMF-Juliet, established in September of 2022, provides health service support to full range military operations as expeditionary advanced base functional components during ground-based, air and maritime operations.

Naval Medical Forces Atlantic (NMFL), headquartered in Portsmouth, Virginia, delivers operationally focused medical expertise and capabilities to meet Fleet, Marine and Joint Force requirements by providing equipment, sustainment and maintenance of medical forces during combat operations and public health crises. NMFL provides oversight for 21 NMRTCs, logistics, and public health and dental services throughout the U.S. East Coast, U.S. Gulf Coast, Cuba, Europe, and the Middle East.

Navy Medicine – represented by more than 44,000 highly-trained military and civilian health care professionals – provides enduring expeditionary medical support to the warfighter on, below, and above the sea, and ashore.

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North Carolina Man Arrested for Assaulting Law Enforcement During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON — A North Carolina man has been arrested on felony and misdemeanor charges, including assaulting law enforcement officers, related to 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 2020 presidential election.

            Anthony Mastanduno, 60, formerly of Farmingdale, New York and now a resident of Rutherford County, North Carolina, is charged in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia with civil disorder and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon, both felony offenses. In addition to the felonies, Mastanduno is charged with several misdemeanors, including knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct in a Capitol building; act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings; and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.

            Mastanduno was arrested today in Asheville and will make his initial appearance in the Western District of North Carolina.

            According to court documents, Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) footage from Jan. 6, 2021 shows a man, later identified as Mastanduno, unlawfully entering the U.S. Capitol building through the Senate Wing Door while wearing a camouflage jacket, backpack, and a red baseball cap with a patch on the bill and “Trump 2020 Keep America Great!” embroidered in white thread. Mastanduno entered the building approximately four minutes after it was first breached. Mastanduno was also observed in the area near the Memorial Door and at the front of a line of rioters who overwhelmed officers in the Crypt at about 2:23 p.m.

            Mastanduno later traveled outside the Capitol building, engaging with fellow rioters and participating in coordinated attacks on uniformed Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Officers defending the Lower West Terrace tunnel. Court documents allege that videos and still images taken by others in the crowd showed Mastanduno at around 4:30 p.m. as he threw an object toward officers, utilized a telescoping baton to strike at officers in the tunnel, and pushed into the tunnel with a stolen police shield.  

            This case is being 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 Western District of North Carolina.

            This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Charlotte, New York, and Washington Field Offices, which identified Mastanduno as BOLO (Be On the Lookout) #397 on its seeking information photos. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department.

            In the 31 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,106 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 350 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. 

            Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

            A complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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Attorney Arrested on Charges of Insider Trading

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – A Brazilian national, previously working as a visiting international attorney, is charged by complaint, unsealed today, with insider trading. Romero Cabral Da Costa Neto (Costa), 33, of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is a licensed attorney in Brazil who had been working as an international visiting attorney in the United States, on a one-year J-1 Visa, at a U.S. law firm (the Law Firm).  Costa was arrested on August 22, 2023, in Washington, D.C., by agents with the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

            The charges were announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Acting Special Agent in Charge David Geist, of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal and Cyber Division.

            According to the public documents, Costa is an attorney licensed to practice in Brazil and had been working in the United State for the Law Firm since September 2022. During that time, Costa has executed multiple stock trades in companies represented by the Law Firm. As confirmed by the Law Firm records, Costa accessed internal Law Firm files in advance of public market-moving announcement. 

            According to the complaint, one of these trades involved Company B. Company B is a Seattle-based biotech company represented by the Law Firm. In or around April of 2023, Company C, a Swedish international biopharmaceutical company began negotiations to acquire Company B. Both Company B and C were public companies. Company B’s Board of Directors held several meetings throughout April and into early May discussing transaction prices and terms of the sale. Representatives of the Law Firm attended these meetings and prepared documents relating to these meetings.

            In early May 2023, Company B, whose stock was trading at around $4.80 informed Company C that they would sell to Company C for a price above $9.00 per share. On May 9, 2023, Company C relayed an offer to buy all outstanding common stock in Company B for $9.10 per share. The stock was trading at $4.82 on May 9, 2023. The Board of Directors approved the sale at $9.10 and both Company B and C announced the $1.7 billion transaction in the early morning hours of May 10, 2023. Trading in Company B opened at $8.91 per share on May 10, 2023.

            According to public documents, Costa used two online trading firms to purchase 10,400 shares in Company B on May 9, 2023, for $49,976. Costa then sold his holdings in Company B on May 10, 2023, for $92,635.24, resulting in a one-day investment profit of $42,649.13.

            According to the Complaint, Costa improperly accessed Law Firm files related to Company B in the lead up to this merger. Costa was not assigned to this transaction and had no legitimate reason to access and view these files related to this matter. Costa accessed files over 100 times in advance of the sale.

            The complaint further alleges that on June 2, 2023, Costa purchased stock in Company E – another company that was represented by the Law Firm – one day before Company E went public with information about drug treatment for patients with a specific cancer. The stock rose following the announcement. Costa sold his position on June 5, 2023.

            On June 6, 2023, the Law Firm issued an opinion related to a secondary stock offering on behalf of Company E which had the effect of driving down the value of the stock. Costa was able to purchase shares of Company E immediately before a positive market event and then quickly sell before the subsequent negative market event, profiting by approximately $1,000 from these transactions. According to the complaint, Costa improperly accessed Law Firm files related to this matter in the lead up to the announcements. Costa was not assigned to this matter and had no legitimate reason for accessing these files.

            Costa is again alleged to have improperly accessed Law Firm documents and files related to Company F, another firm client. On June 15, 2023, Company F and Company G announced a merger in an all-stock deal to create a $5.4 billion oilfield services firm. Between June 8, 2023, and June 12, 2023, Costa purchased approximately 7,000 shares of Company G in advance of this merger announcement. He subsequently sold the shares and profited approximately $8,500 from the transactions. Costa was not assigned to this matter and had no legitimate reason to access these files.

            Insider trading carries a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison. The charge also carries potential financial penalties. The maximum statutory sentence for federal offenses is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes. The sentencing will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

            This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Rosenberg, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. 

            Today, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Philadelphia Regional Office, which provided invaluable assistance in this matter, filed a parallel civil complaint charging Costa with securities violations. 

            A Complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.