13 indicted for selling counterfeit documents at Houston flea markets

HOUSTON - Thirteen individuals were charged by indictment on Monday for allegedly conspiring to possess or obtain counterfeit identity documents. The indictments were announced by U. S. Attorney José Angel Moreno, Southern District of Texas, and Michael Fienberg, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) acting special agent in charge.

"The sale of counterfeit identification documents is a matter of national security," said U. S. Attorney José Angel Moreno. "These types of enforcements actions are necessary to secure our borders and protect our citizens."

Two indictments charging a total of 20 persons returned under seal by a Houston grand jury on July 22 resulted from an 18-month investigation dubbed "Operation Fake I. D.," conducted by the ICE-HSI-led Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force (DBFTF), which includes special agents from the Department of State Diplomatic Security Service and officers of the Houston Police Department. "Operation Fake I. D." focused its investigative efforts on individuals allegedly involved in trafficking counterfeit government identity documents, including U.S. permanent resident cards, at the Sunny, La Tia Pancha and Cintas flea markets in north Houston.

Warrants issued following the return of the indictments were executed by investigating agents beginning July 23 through the weekend, including arrests July 24 at the Sunny, La Tia Pancha and Cintas flea markets. So far, 13 defendants have been arrested. Warrants remain outstanding for those charged but not yet in custody. All defendants in custody are expected to appear before U. S. Magistrate Judge Mary Milloy July 26 when the issue of bond is expected to be raised. The indictments have been ordered unsealed.

"ICE's HSI-led Document and Benefit Task Force provides a comprehensive approach in targeting criminal organizations and individuals involved in illegally manufacturing and selling fraudulent documents," said Michael Fienberg, acting special agent in charge of ICE-HSI in Houston. "HSI and its agency partners are committed to stopping this threat that undermines our nation's security."

The first of the two indictments charges a total of 17 defendants. All 17 are accused of being involved in a conspiracy to solicit customers at the various flea markets in north Houston to purchase counterfeit U.S. permanent resident cards and other identifying documents beginning in or about February 2009 through June 2010. The customers were allegedly photographed and asked to provide other information necessary to complete the counterfeit immigrant and non-immigrant government documents. Once the photograph and information was obtained, the information was communicated via telephone, text messaging or courier to other co-conspirators operating a counterfeit government document production mill which produced the counterfeit documents which were then sold to customers. A conviction for this conspiracy charge carries a maximum punishment of five years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.

The remaining nine counts of the indictment charges individual defendants separately for alleged specific instances of fraud and misuse of visas - knowingly possessing a forged, counterfeited, altered or falsely made form I-551 or U.S. Permanent Resident card - between July 26, 2009 through July 10, 2010. A conviction for any one of these offenses carries a maximum punishment of 10 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.

Two defendants charged in the second indictment and charged in all three counts - conspiracy to solicit customers at the various flea markets in north Houston to purchase counterfeit U.S. Permanent Resident cards and other identifying documents beginning in or about January 2009 through July 2010 and two substantive counts for alleged specific instances of fraud and misusing visas in April and July 2010 - were also arrested on July 24. Both defendants face the same statutory penalties as the defendants in the first indictment upon conviction and are also in federal custody pending a detention hearing.

The defendants charged in the 10 count indictment are ("*" denotes in federal custody): Name, Age, Nationality (LNU = "last name unknown")

•Israel Arroyo-Mora, 37, Mexico "El Tio," true name Salvador Cobos-Lima, 59,
•Mexico Valentin Romero-Cortez, aka "Carlos," 50, Mexico
•Claudia Perez-Luna aka Claudia Del Villar, 53, Mexico
•Juan Carlos Morales-Garcia, aka "Toto," 38, Mexico
•Erika Cortez-Lopez, 35, Mexico
•Leonardo LNU
•"Gordo," true name Dagoberto Cacares, 33, Honduras
•"Baina," true name Carlos Joel Rosario-Solis, 21, Dominican Republic
•Raul Martin Puga, 41, Mexico
•Zeferino Romero-Cortez, 35, Mexico
•FLU LNU (star tattoos on elbows), true name
•Valentin Leonardo Romero-Cortez, 29, Mexico
•Jairo Bravo Luna, 23, U. S. citizen
•Suzanne Marie Ortegon, 23, U. S. citizen
•Cesar Llaguno-Romero, 23, Mexico
•Eulalio David Velazquez-Garduno, 23, Mexico
•Rodolfo Heredia Monroy, 34, Mexico

4 indicted in Washington, D.C. for MS-13 gang activities

WASHINGTON - Three alleged members and associates of the MS-13 gang have been indicted for various violent crimes stemming from a home invasion last year in the District of Columbia in which several persons were held at gunpoint. A fourth alleged member has been indicted for subsequent efforts to threaten potential witnesses in the case.

The indictment was returned Thursday, Sept. 16, 2010, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director John Morton, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., John P. Torres, Special Agent in Charge of the ICE Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Washington, D.C., and Cathy L. Lanier, chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

The indictment names Carlos M. Silva, Omar R. Aguilar, Wilfredo Mejia and Henry Sarba. The defendants previously were charged in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, based on an investigation by ICE agents and MPD. The indictment broadens the case to reflect the serious nature of the violent gang activity that is represented in the new charges and effectively transfers the case to the U.S. District Court.

According to the indictment, Silva, Aguilar and Mejia invaded an apartment in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 11, 2009, and held five occupants at gunpoint. The indictment alleges that the purpose of the invasion was an apparent effort to steal funds from the victims to support the gang's activities. According to the indictment, a female occupant was sexually assaulted during the attack.

Silva, 28, Aguilar 20, and Mejia, 25, subsequently were arrested and originally charged in D.C. Superior Court. Sarba, 20, allegedly began calling potential witnesses sometime after the arrests and made threats.

The indictment charges Silva, Aguilar and Mejia with kidnapping in aid of racketeering, assault with a deadly weapon in aid of racketeering, weapons offenses, and other charges. Silva also is charged with assault with intent to commit first degree sexual abuse while armed and third degree sexual abuse. Sarba was indicted on charges including accessory after the fact, obstructing justice and threatening to injure or kidnap a person.

The indictment states that MS-13 is a racketeering enterprise that constitutes one of the largest street gangs in the United States. MS-13 is a national and international criminal organization, and its members have been found responsible for murders, narcotics distribution and other crimes, the indictment states. The charges carry significant penalties. The statutory penalty for kidnapping in aid of racketeering, for example is 30 years.

"Investigating and prosecuting violent gangs is among the highest priorities of the Department of Justice," said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. "We will not allow violent criminal organizations like MS-13 to terrorize our neighborhoods and communities. The Criminal Division is committed to working with its law enforcement partners to ensure that members of these organizations are brought to justice."

"MS-13 is an extremely violent criminal organization that operates in at least 20 states and the District of Columbia, as well as in Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador," U.S. Attorney Machen stated. "This indictment shows our determination to dismantle MS-13 and other violent gangs that threaten our community. I would like to commend the hard-working men and women who worked on this case, particularly the agents from ICE and the members of the Metropolitan Police Department."

"This indictment demonstrates the resolve of Homeland Security Investigations to aggressively pursue transnational criminal gangs like MS-13," said ICE Director Morton. "We will work with our law enforcement partners to make our communities safer by targeting criminal gang members for prosecution."

"This is the third major indictment in the last week that has involved gangs or drugs," said MPD Chief Lanier. "The message to gang members and other criminals should be clear. We will not tolerate this violence and intimidation in our city."

-- ICE --

12 arrested in ICE-led, multi-agency anti-gang operation

Actions part of agency's national gang enforcement effort -- Operation Community Shield

                       

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - Twelve Mexican nationals with ties to a violent street gang in Santa Maria, Calif., are facing federal criminal charges or deportation following an enforcement operation involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and several local law enforcement agencies, including the Santa Maria Police Department.

The arrests are the culmination of a two-month investigation targeting members of the

West Park Sureños street

gang carried out as part of ICE HSI's ongoing national anti-gang initiative Operation Community Shield. Under this initiative, ICE HSI partners with other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies across the country to target the significant public safety threat posed by transnational street gangs.

In addition to the Santa Maria Police Department, ICE received substantial assistance with the operation from the police departments in Lompoc and Guadalupe; the Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo county sheriff's departments; the Santa Barbara District Attorney's Office; the Santa Barbara County Probation Department; California State Probation and Parole; the FBI; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The 11 men and one woman arrested as part of the enforcement action all have criminal histories, including prior arrests and convictions on charges ranging from drug and weapons violations to robbery and domestic violence. With one exception, they were taken into custody over the course of the last two days.

The exception, Jose Diaz-Diaz, was arrested Sept. 7 at his Santa Maria residence. The previously deported Mexican national, whose criminal record includes past convictions for assault with a deadly weapon and obstructing a peace officer, is being prosecuted for re-entry after deportation, a federal felony violation that carries a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison.

While Diaz-Diaz faces criminal charges, the other individuals arrested during the operation were taken into custody on administrative immigration violations. They will be detained by ICE and scheduled for a deportation hearing before an immigration judge.

"This operation shows our shared resolve to fight back against the street gangs that are threatening our neighborhoods," said David Wales, resident agent in charge of the ICE HSI Office that oversees the agency's operations in Santa Barbara County. "For too long, street gangs here and elsewhere have used violence and intimidation to hold communities hostage to fear. As this operation makes clear, now it's the gang members who should be afraid."

"I want to express my appreciation to all of the agencies involved in this operation, particularly Homeland Security Investigations," said Santa Maria Chief of Police Danny Macagni. "By pooling our resources, intelligence and expertise, we've taken a number of dangerous individuals off of our streets and helped make this a safer environment for everyone."

Since Operation Community Shield began in February 2005, ICE agents have arrested more than 18,900 gang members and gang associates nationwide. That figure includes nearly 400 individuals arrested this fiscal year alone in the seven-county ICE HSI jurisdiction that encompasses the Santa Maria area.

Under Operation Community Shield, ICE HSI is using its powerful immigration and customs authorities in a coordinated, national campaign against criminal street gangs across the country. As part of the effort, HSI's National Gang Unit identifies violent street gangs and develops intelligence on their membership, associates, criminal activities and international movements to deter, disrupt and dismantle gang operations.

Transnational street

gangs have significant numbers of foreign-born members and are frequently involved in human and contraband smuggling, immigration violations and other crimes with a connection to the border.

To report suspicious activity, call ICE's 24-hour toll-free hotline at: 1-866-347-2423 or visit www.ice.gov.

-- ICE --

Former Guatemalan special forces soldier sentenced to 10 years in prison for making false statements on naturalization forms regarding 1982 massacre of Guatemalan villagers

MIAMI - Following an investigation led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Gilberto Jordan, 54, a former Guatemalan special forces soldier, was sentenced today to 120 months in prison and revocation of his U.S. citizenship for unlawfully procuring his U.S. citizenship by lying about his participation in a 1982 massacre at a Guatemalan village known as Dos Erres.

Jordan, of Delray Beach, Fla., pleaded guilty on July 7 to the federal charge before U.S. District Judge William J. Zloch in the Southern District of Florida, where he was also sentenced today by Judge Zloch. After Jordan completes his criminal sentence he will be remanded to ICE custody and placed into removal proceedings.

ICE Director John Morton said, “Today’s sentence sends a message to those human rights violators worldwide. We will not turn a blind eye on the perpetrators of such egregious crimes.  ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations agents will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that human rights violators cannot seek safe haven in the United States.”

According to the indictment and court documents, in approximately November 1982, a Guatemalan guerrilla group ambushed a military convoy near Dos Erres, Guatemala, killing soldiers and taking a number of rifles.  In response, a patrol of approximately 20 Guatemalan special forces soldiers, known as “Kaibiles,” including Jordan, were deployed in December 1982 to the village of Dos Erres to search for the stolen rifles and find suspected guerrillas.  According to court documents, on or about  December 7, 1982, Jordan and the special patrol entered Dos Erres with the support of approximately 40 additional Kaibiles, who created a security perimeter around the village so that no one could escape.  The members of the special patrol searched all of the houses for the missing weapons, forced the villagers from their homes, and separated the women and children from the men.

Court documents further state that members of the special patrol then proceeded to systematically kill the men, women and children at Dos Erres by, among other methods, hitting them in the head with a sledgehammer and then pushing them into the village well.  According to court documents, members of the special patrol also forcibly raped many of the women and girls at Dos Erres before killing them.  Approximately 162 skeletal remains were later exhumed from the village well.

At the hearing on his guilty plea, Jordan admitted that he had been a Kaibil in the Guatemalan military who participated in the massacre at Dos Erres.  Jordan also admitted that the first person he killed at Dos Erres was a baby, whom Jordan murdered by throwing in the well.

According to court documents, when Jordan applied to become a U.S. citizen in September 1996, he falsely denied that he had ever served in the military or committed any crimes for which he had not been arrested.  In July 1999, when Jordan was interviewed by a naturalization examiner in connection with his naturalization application, he falsely swore under oath that the answers he had earlier provided on his application were true and correct.  Jordan was sworn in as a U.S. citizen on Aug. 25, 1999.

“Gilberto Jordan obtained the privilege of U.S. citizenship by lying about his prior military service and concealing his brutal, murderous participation in the Dos Erres massacre,” said Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer. “Over the last 30 years, the Department of Justice has strived to ensure that human rights violators who flee to the United States are found, that their reprehensible past actions are proved, and that they are stripped of their ill-gotten U.S. citizenship.  This case and others like it demonstrate that such perpetrators will not be allowed to make this country their home.”

“The Southern District of Florida is home to many hardworking immigrants who have fled political persecution,” said U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer.  “Today’s  sentencing and the judge’s decision to impose the statutory maximum sentence make clear that perpetrators of human rights abuses cannot hide among us and blend in with their victims.  They will be found, prosecuted, and punished.”

The case was investigated by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations in West Palm Beach, and ICE’s Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Unit and ICE’s Office of International Affairs.  The Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs also provided assistance.

The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Hillary Davidson and Brian Skaret of the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, and Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Marie Villafaña of the Southern District of Florida.

ICE's Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Unit places a high priority in investigating human rights violators, including those who have participated in war crimes and acts of genocide, torture, extrajudicial killings, and violations of religious freedom, who frequently seek to evade justice by seeking shelter in the United States. These individuals may assume fraudulent identities to enter the country, seeking to blend into communities inside the U.S.

Learn more about the ICE Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Unit and recent successful investigations.

Gang suppression effort nets 23 arrests in New York

NEW YORK - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced Thursday the arrests of 23 suspected gang members and gang associates during a two-week suppression effort conducted throughout the Bronx, Brooklyn, Long Island and Queens.

Among those arrested during the enforcement operation which concluded Sept. 15 was an 18-year-old Trinitarios gang member in Brooklyn whose criminal history includes arrests for attempted murder, gang assault and weapons charges. Another was a 32-year-old “MS-13” gang member in Long Island whose criminal history includes arrests for assault on a child, larceny and weapons charges.

Other individuals taken into custody had criminal histories including arrests for rape, narcotics trafficking and distribution, robbery, and false impersonation. Others arrested during the operation were members of the Latin Kings, Wild Chicanos, Niños Malos,

18th Street

and Jamaican Posse. Two loaded firearms were seized during the operation including a .357-caliber revolver and a .9mm semi-automatic handgun.

Agents and officers from the ICE Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and from the ICE Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) conducted the operation. Since May, the ICE Violent Gang Units have arrested a total of 170 suspected gang members and associates in New York City, Westchester County and Long Island.

"Transnational gangs operate as criminal organizations that prey on immigrants as well as citizens in our communities," said James T. Hayes Jr., special agent-in-charge of ICE HSI in New York. "Gang activity often includes a combination of criminal activities, including narcotics and weapons trafficking. ICE’s unique authorities allow us to dismantle transnational gang networks through the enforcement of either criminal or administrative laws. So at the end of any potential jail time, these gang members will be promptly returned to their native countries."

"By partnering with HSI, we can identify, arrest and remove the criminal gang members from the streets who may be responsible for a significant portion of crime in the area," said Christopher Shanahan, field office director for ICE ERO in New York. "We will continue to combine our administrative and criminal authorities to address these threats."

All of the individuals arrested in the operation were foreign nationals. The majority of the foreign nationals were from El Salvador, but the group also includes citizens from Mexico and Jamaica. Those foreign nationals who are not being prosecuted on criminal charges are being processed for removal from the United States.

Since Operation Community Shield began in February 2005, ICE agents nationwide have arrested more than 18,000 gang members and gang associates. As part of the effort, HSI's National Gang Unit (NGU) identifies violent street gangs and develops intelligence on their membership, associates, criminal activities and international movements to deter, disrupt and dismantle gang operations.

Transnational street

gangs have significant numbers of foreign-born members and are frequently involved in human and contraband smuggling, immigration violations and other crimes with a connection to the border.

To report suspicious activity, call ICE's 24-hour toll-free hotline at: 1-866-347-2423 or visit http://www.ice.gov/.

Florida man sentenced in Delaware to 3 years and forfeiture of 1.49 million dollars

WILMINGTON, Del. - Gerard D'Amaro, 39, of Lighthouse Point, Fla., was sentenced on September 8 to a term of three years in federal prison, and further ordered to forfeit $1,490,610 to the United States for his role in a securities fraud and money laundering scheme.

The charges were part of a two-year securities fraud investigation into the manipulation of so-called "penny stocks" traded through the over-the-counter stock markets. The fraud scheme described in the indictment involved efforts to manipulate the prices of publicly traded stocks to create the illusion of market interest in those securities. The goal was to induce the investing public to purchase a stock based on the artificial trading volume, and thus increase the price of the stock. The defendant and his co-conspirators then were able to sell off significant holdings in these stocks, generating millions of dollars in proceeds.

In D'Amaro's case, the securities involved included Playstar Corporation (stock ticker: PLYCF) and INCA Designs, Inc. (stock ticker: IDGI). According to documents filed in court, the fraud scheme involving PLYCF alone generated in excess of $1.3 million in illicit gains.

"People have attempted to manipulate and exploit financial systems since society created them, said John P. Kelleghan, special agent in charge of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Philadelphia. One of ICE's priorities is to work with our law enforcement partners to protect the public and the integrity of our nation's financial system."

"As I stated when this case was indicted, the integrity of our nation's public stock markets requires protection from those greedy few who engage in market manipulation at the expense of many," said David C. Weiss, U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware. "Especially in these challenging economic times, the U.S. Attorney's Office is committed to vigorously prosecuting those who continue to undermine our system of capital markets by committing securities fraud. This sentence should demonstrate the serious consequences facing those who commit financial frauds in this District."

The investigation, which began in 2007, has been pursued jointly by local agents with ICE HSI; the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Criminal Investigation; and the Delaware State Police; with assistance from local and federal investigators in Orange County, Calif., Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and New York City. A separate civil action has been brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The federal charges against D'Amaro and others were unsealed in May 2009.

The case was prosecuted by AUSA Keith M. Rosen, Chief of the U.S. Attorney's Office Criminal Division, and AUSA Shannon T. Hanson.

-- ICE --

Maryland woman sentenced to 45 months in prison for assuming the identity of a disabled victim for 25 years

BALTIMORE - U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Chinyere Etoty, aka "Paulette Etoty," 50, of Cockeysville, Md., to 45 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for social security fraud and aggravated identity theft in connection with a scheme to use stolen identifying information of a disabled victim for 25 years. Judge Blake determined at today's hearing that the amount of loss incurred by the victim as a result of the fraud scheme was $38,721.72 and ordered Etoty to pay restitution in that amount.

The sentence was announced by U. S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge William Winter of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Baltimore; and Special Agent in Charge Michael McGill of the Social Security Administration - Office of Inspector General, Philadelphia Field Division.

For over two decades Chinyere Etoty continued to perpetrate a fraud with no regard or remorse for her crimes against some of our most vulnerable victims. Today she is faced with the consequences of her misdeeds," said Winter. "This sentence concludes a joint investigation with ICE and the Social Security Administration and reflects law enforcement's steadfast commitment to identify, investigate and prosecute individuals who try to exploit and profit from others."

According to testimony at the three day trial, in September 1984 Etoty stole personal identifying information belonging to a disabled resident of Decatur, Ill., to obtain a replacement social security card in the victim's name. Etoty used the fraudulent social security card to impersonate the victim for the next 25 years in order to obtain employment and driver's licenses, open bank accounts and apply for lines of credit.

During this same time period, Etoty also assumed other identities and social security numbers that did not belong to her, and in 1996, she pled guilty in federal court in Florida to 12 counts of using two additional social security numbers that were not assigned to her. At her Florida guilty plea hearing, Etoty fraudulently identified herself using the name, residence and birth date of the victim. Evidence was subsequently presented at Etoty's sentencing hearing in 1996 that she had fraudulently represented herself as the victim at her guilty plea proceeding. Evidence was also presented at the 1996 sentencing that the individual whose identity Etoty had usurped was in fact a disabled adult living in Decatur who was receiving Social Security benefits.

The defendant continued to use the victim's social security number and means of identification following the 1996 sentencing. For example, she applied for and received a duplicate social security card in the victim's name while serving time in a federal correctional facility on her 1996 sentence. Trial evidence further established that after Etoty's release from prison following her 1996 conviction, Etoty relocated her fraudulent scheme to Baltimore where she continued to use the victim's social security number and identification.

Etoty was able to operate undetected until September 2006, when she applied in person for another duplicate social security card with the victim's social security number. Etoty's request was denied when the service representative read from the victim's social security record that Etoty had been using the victim's social security number for some time and had previously been convicted of social security fraud. When confronted by the service representative, Etoty denied being previously convicted for social security fraud or ever using the victim's name.

The case was referred to the SSA's Office of Inspector General which conducted a "sting" operation wherein Etoty was sent a letter informing her that in order to obtain a replacement social security number card, she would need to fill out an application and send in the original supporting identification documentation. Etoty responded a few days later by mailing a replacement card application for the victim's number, which Etoty represented as her own, as well as a birth certificate, social security card and driver's license containing the victim's personal identifying information.

The victim testified at trial that as a result of Etoty's conduct, she has had difficulty opening bank accounts of her own, difficulty receiving her disability benefits and that she has received numerous calls from creditors looking for payment on accounts that the victim did not open.

Assistant U. S. Attorneys Rachel M. Yasser and Mushtaq Gunja prosecuted this case.

-- ICE --

ICE arrests 2 airline employees and accomplice in drug smuggling conspiracy

NEWARK, N.J. - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents arrested two current and one former Continental Airlines employees on Monday and seized 125 kilograms of cocaine in a drug smuggling conspiracy conducted at Newark Liberty International Airport.

Yunior Lopez, 25, of Elizabeth, N.J.; Amaurys Caminero, 29, of Linden, N.J.; and Kerlwin Taveras, 27, of the Bronx, N.Y., were each charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. The arrests are the result of an ICE HSI-led investigation, which include the seizure of over 47 kilograms of cocaine at the airport over the Labor Day weekend. Lopez and Caminero were arrested at the airport Sept. 4, 2010, and Sept. 5, 2010. Taveras was picked up last night in the Bronx, N.Y.

According to the criminal complaints filed today, Lopez and Caminero, baggage handlers at the airport and co-conspirators, including other Continental Airlines employees, conspired to smuggle cocaine into the United States through the airport. The cocaine was put aboard flights in the Dominican Republic, usually packaged in gym bags with hand-written luggage tags that indicated they had been checked at the departing gate. Once the planes landed in Newark, Lopez, Caminero and others arranged to remove the cocaine from the airplanes, take it from the airport, and facilitate its distribution in the New Jersey and New York areas.

Special Agent in Charge of ICE's Homeland Security Investigations in Newark Peter T. Edge stated: "Regardless of their role in a drug trafficking organization, persons engaged in the illegal importation of narcotics into the United States through our nation's airports are on notice that ICE HSI will use all of its investigative resources to disrupt and dismantle these criminal enterprises, large or small, and bring them to justice."

During the investigation, ICE HSI agents intercepted numerous communications in support of the conspiracy and in conjunction with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers made five separate seizures of cocaine, totaling about 125 kilograms.

ICE HSI was assisted in the investigation by CBP officers, under the direction of the Director, Field Operations New York, Robert E. Perez, who stated: "During the course of these events our CBP officers demonstrated the highest level of professionalism, dedication to duty and vigilance in detecting and seizing these illegal narcotics, leading to the apprehension of these conspirators."

The U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman stated: "Criminals may think that having inside operators at airports will save them from detection, but they underestimate our commitment to and focus on the integrity of those who work there. We will continue to come down hard on anyone who tries to comprise the security of the planes on which we fly or try to bring drugs into the neighborhoods in which we live."

-- ICE --

8 arrested in South Carolina gang enforcement action

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Eight associates of the Surenos 13 gang are facing new criminal charges or removal from the United States, following a joint anti-gang enforcement action Wednesday led by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Columbia, the York County Sheriff's Office and the Rock Hill Police Department.

The operation took place in and around the York County/Rock Hill area in South Carolina.

The arrests were made as part of Operation Community Shield, an ongoing initiative by ICE HSI's National Gang Unit, in which the agency uses its powerful immigration and customs enforcement authorities in a coordinated strategy to attack and dismantle criminal street gangs across the country.

"Street gangs pose a threat to public safety in South Carolina," said Brock Nicholson, acting special agent in charge of the ICE HSI office in Atlanta. "With each gang member we arrest and remove from the United States, we're making a positive impact in our communities and improving public safety."

As part of the initiative, ICE partners with other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to target the significant public safety threat posed by transnational gangs.

Agents and officers from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) also assisted in the operation.

One of the individuals arrested will face federal criminal prosecution by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of South Carolina for felony re-entry after deportation, a federal violation that carries a potential penalty of up to 20 years in prison. That individual, a 32-year-old Honduran national, is also an aggravated felon with prior convictions for criminal possession of stolen property and rape.

The other seven are being processed for removal from the United States.

Since Operation Community Shield began in February 2005, ICE agents nationwide have arrested more than 18,000 gang members and gang associates. As part of the effort, ICE HSI's National Gang Unit identifies violent street gangs and develops intelligence on their membership, associates, criminal activities and international movements to deter, disrupt and dismantle gang operations.

Transnational street gangs have significant numbers of foreign-born members and are frequently involved in human and contraband smuggling, immigration violations and other crimes with a connection to the border.

To report suspicious activity, call ICE's 24-hour toll-free hotline at: 1-866-347-2423 or visit www.ice.gov.

-- ICE --

Virginia Resident Sentenced to 37 Months in Prison for Bribing Foreign Government Officials

June 24, 2010 - John Webster Warwick, a Virginia Beach, Va., resident, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Richmond, Va., to 37 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to pay bribes to former Panamanian government officials to secure maritime contracts, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride of the Eastern District of Virginia; Assistant Director in Charge Shawn Henry of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Michael Morehart of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office and Special Agent in Charge John P. Torres of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Washington office.

U.S. District Court Judge Henry E. Hudson also sentenced Warwick to two years of supervised release following his prison term. In addition, Warwick forfeited $331,000 in proceeds of the crime.

On Feb. 10, 2010, Warwick, 64, pleaded guilty to a one-count indictment charging him with conspiring to make corrupt payments to foreign government officials for the purpose of securing business for Ports Engineering Consultants Corporation (PECC) in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Under the FCPA, it is a crime to pay or offer to pay anything of value to a foreign government official in order to obtain or retain business.

According to court documents, Warwick, Charles Jumet and others conspired to pay money secretly to Panamanian government officials for awarding contracts to PECC to maintain lighthouses and buoys along Panama’s waterway. In December 1997, the Panamanian government awarded PECC a no-bid 20-year concession. Upon receipt of the concession, Warwick, Jumet and others authorized corrupt payments to be made to the Panamanian government officials. In total, Warwick, Jumet and others caused corrupt payments of more than $200,000 to be paid to the Panamanian government officials.

In a related case, Jumet pleaded guilty to a two-count criminal information charging him with conspiring to make corrupt payments to foreign government officials for the purpose of securing business for PECC and making a false statement. On April 19, 2010, Jumet was sentenced to 87 months in prison and ordered to pay a fine of $15,000.

This case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Rina Tucker Harris of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael S. Dry of the Eastern District of Virginia. The case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the FBI’s Richmond Field Office, and the Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement.