Defense Contractor Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud

A defense contractor has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and has admitted to engaging in other bribery-related conduct in connection with contracts in Iraq. According to the plea agreement filed in the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia on Dec. 18, 2007, and unsealed today, Diana Bakir Demilta, a U.S. citizen, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.

MOB BOSS SENTENCED TO LIFE

The Department of Justice announced on Monday that Colombo organized crime family acting boss Alphonse “Allie Boy” Persico and administration member John “Jackie” DeRoss were sentenced to life imprisonment for their roles in the 1999 murder of Colombo underboss William “Wild Bill” Cutolo, and for tampering with witnesses.

During an eight-week trial in late 2007, the evidence established that Persico and DeRoss ordered that Cutolo be murdered because they believed he was about to take control of the Colombo family from Persico, and to serve as retribution for Cutolo’s actions during the bloody “Colombo War” in the early 1990s. During the war, Cutolo, on behalf of the faction loyal to Vic Orena, tried to wrest control of the Colombo family from Alphonse Persico and his father, Carmine “The Snake” Persico, the family’s official boss. As part of the murder plot, Persico summoned Cutolo to a meeting on the afternoon of May 26, 1999. That afternoon, an auto mechanic dropped Cutolo off at a park near 92nd Street and Shore Road in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, the designated place for the meeting with Persico. Cutolo was never seen or heard from again. That evening, DeRoss kept watch over Cutolo’s crew at Cutolo’s Friendly Bocce Social Club in Brooklyn, where the crew was awaiting Cutolo’s arrival for their traditional Wednesday dinner. When Cutolo failed to show for dinner, DeRoss feigned surprise and directed Cutolo’s son, William Cutolo, Jr., to telephone his father. Early the next morning, May 27, DeRoss, on Persico’s orders, arrived at Cutolo’s home and began questioning Cutolo’s wife, Marguerite Cutolo, about the location of Cutolo’s money.

Persico and DeRoss were also found guilty of tampering with witnesses Marguerite Cutolo (Cutolo’s widow), Barbara Jean Cutolo (one of Cutolo’s daughters), and William Cutolo, Jr., after Cutolo’s disappearance. The trial evidence included a recording that William Cutolo, Jr. secretly made of DeRoss threatening the Cutolo family in March 2000, several months after it was publicly disclosed that the FBI was investigating Persico in connection with the Cutolo murder.

Former L.A. Ram Kicker Charged with Rape

A former pro-football kicker with the L.A. Rams was arrested Thursday on a felony warrant charging him with drugging a female patron at his popular Pomona sports bar and raping her.

Zendejas, who retired in 1995 after playing for 10 seasons with the Los Angeles Rams, Houston Oilers, Atlanta Falcons and San Francisco 49ers, was arrested early this morning at his Yorba Linda home by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s detectives. He is being held on $260,000 bail.

On Jan. 26, Zendejas allegedly gave a female patron at his restaurant and bar a drink which made her groggy. She allegedly woke up in a nearby motel room and reported to authorities she had been raped. L.A. County Sheriff’s detectives launched an investigation.

If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in state prison.

California Man Indicted for Distribution and Possesion of Child Pornography

Michael Edward Turman, 29, Bakersfield, California was indicted by a federal grand jury, charged with one count of receiving and distributing child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography.

According to Assistant United States Attorney Sherrill A. Carvalho, who is prosecuting the case, from September 28, 2006 until June 16, 2008, Turman possessed, received and distributed images involving the sexual exploitation of minors. On June 16, 2008, ICE agents executed a federal search warrant on Turman residence based on information that he “traded” images of child pornography via the Internet. On-site forensic examination revealed numerous images of child pornography depicting the sexual exploitation of minors contained on his computer hard drives.

Turman was arrested on June 16, 2008 on a criminal complaint and taken into federal custody. Following a detention hearing, Turman was ordered released on home confinement at a residence away from his two young children. Furthermore, he was ordered to have no contact with any child under the age of 18 years, including his two young children, without the other adult parent or responsible adult present, and only with the pre-approval of the pretrial services officer. He was also ordered to post a property bond in the amount of $100,000 to secure his appearance at future court hearings.

If convicted, Turman faces up to 20 years in prison and a mandatory minimum of five years in prison for receipt and distribution of material involving the sexual exploitation of minors.

Maryland Man Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Receiving Child Pornography Through the Internet

Scott Carpenter, 44, Dundalk, Maryland, was sentenced yesterday to five years in prison for receipt of child pornography.

Carpenter pleaded guilty on April 15, 2008, one day after his criminal trial in Baltimore began on charges of receipt of child pornography, transportation of child pornography, and possession of child pornography. The charges were developed through an FBI investigation into individuals who use file sharing or peer-to-peer software programs to trade child sexual abuse images and video files over the Internet.

According to Carpenter’s guilty plea, on November 20, 2006, an undercover FBI agent signed on to LimeWire, a peer-to-peer software program, and entered a search term known to be associated with images of child pornography. Among the responses was one from an IP address later identified as belonging to Carpenter, from which the agent downloaded 14 images of child pornography depicting pre-pubescent children engaged in various sexual acts. A federal search warrant was later executed at Carpenter’s home, and the FBI recovered a computer used by Carpenter which contained more than 100 images and videos of children engaged in sexual acts. In his guilty plea, Carpenter admitted to using a file share program to receive child pornography, including a child sexual abuse image on Feb. 23, 2006.

46 Gang Members and Associates Arrested

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested 46 street gang members and associates during a three-day effort in Richmond, Virginia that ended yesterday as part of an ongoing national program called "Operation Community Shield."

Of those arrested, 20 were known gang members and 21 were identified gang associates affiliated with the MS-13, Sur-13, Latin Kings, and Vatos Locos street gangs. Those arrested were from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico. Five search warrants were conducted and numerous cases are being presented for federal and/or state prosecution.

Texas Man sentenced to Prison for Child Pornography

Kevin D. Moore, 45, Grand Prairie, Texas, was sentenced on Thursday to a total of 30 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release. Moore was convicted by a Dallas federal jury in March on one count of transporting and shipping child pornography, and one count of possessing child pornography.

In September 2005, Moore traveled to Ottawa, Canada, with a laptop computer that contained movie files of child pornography. When he arrived at MacDonald-Cartier International Airport in Ottawa, Moore told Canadian Border Services that he was entering the country for five days to install equipment. The immigration officer asked if he had anything prohibited on his computer, and Moore advised that he didn't, but that his brother also uses his laptop. Moore was then referred to secondary screening, where child pornography files were discovered on his laptop computer. He was arrested the same day.

A total of 13 movie files containing child pornography were located on Moore's laptop computer. In addition, the computer had adult pornography and evidence-eliminating software called "History Kill" and "Spyware" software. A disk containing child pornography belonging to Moore was also given to ICE officials by Moore's family. The disk contained adult pornography, child pornography movies and still images.