FBI’s Top Ten News Stories for the Week Ending July 2, 2010

FBI’s Top Ten News Stories for the Week Ending July 2, 2010




New York City/Boston/Newark/Washington Field: Ten Alleged Secret Agents Arrested in the United States



Eight individuals were arrested for allegedly carrying out long-term, “deep-cover” assignments in the United States on behalf of the Russian Federation. Two additional defendants were also arrested for allegedly participating in the same Russian intelligence program within the United States. Full Story

Houston: Technip S.A. Resolves Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Investigation and Agrees to Pay $240 Million Criminal Penalty



Technip S.A., a global engineering, construction, and services company based in Paris, has agreed to pay a $240 million criminal penalty to resolve charges related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act for its participation in a decade-long scheme to bribe Nigerian government officials to obtain engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contracts. The EPC contracts to build liquefied natural gas facilities on Bonny Island, Nigeria, were valued at more than $6 billion. Full Story

Charlotte: North Carolina MS-13 Members Sentenced to Prison for Role in Racketeering Conspiracy



Seven members of the gang known as La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, were sentenced to prison for their participation in a racketeering enterprise. A total of 11 defendants have been sentenced to a total of more than 95 years in prison in this case. Full Story

Kansas City: Work Time Spent at Casinos, on Tennis Court Sends Federal Housing Exec to Prison



A $141,000-a-year executive at the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s office in Kansas City, Kansas, has been sentenced to 12 months and a day in federal prison for taking pay for hours he did not work. Full Story

Chicago: Former Chicago Police Commander Convicted of Perjury, Obstruction of Justice Related to Torture of Suspects



The Justice Department announced that a federal jury in Chicago convicted former Chicago Police Department Commander Jon Burge, 60, of Apollo Beach, Florida, on perjury and obstruction charges related to his denials that he participated in the torture of suspects in police custody decades ago. The jury found that Burge lied and impeded court proceedings in November 2003 when he provided false statements in a civil lawsuit that alleged that he and others tortured and abused people in their custody. Full Story

Birmingham: Federal Grand Jury Indicts Joran van der Sloot for Wire Fraud and Extortion



A federal grand jury indicted Joran Van Der Sloot on charges of wire fraud and extortion for soliciting money from Natalee Holloway’s mother on promises he would reveal the location of her daughter’s remains in Aruba, and the circumstances of her 2005 death. Full Story

San Antonio: Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Assaulting a Border Patrol Agent with His Vehicle



Rigoberto Torres-Gomez, a citizen of El Salvador who was illegally residing in Houston, was sentenced to 55 months in the Bureau of Prisons for assault on a federal officer while in the performance of his official duties by means and use of a dangerous weapon. Torres was arrested after he assaulted a Border Patrol agent with his vehicle on IH-35 near Laredo, Texas, during an attempt to transport 10 illegal aliens. Full Story

Philadelphia: Five Brothers Charged in Human Trafficking Scheme that Smuggled Young Ukrainian Migrants



An indictment unsealed in Philadelphia charged five brothers—Omelyan, Stepan, Mykhalo, Dmytro and Yaroslav Botsvynyuk—with extortion and conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act for their alleged involvement in a human trafficking operation. Full Story



Washington Field: Virginia Resident Sentenced to Prison for Bribing Foreign Government Officials



John Webster Warwick, a Virginia Beach resident, was sentenced to 37 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to pay bribes to former Panamanian government officials to secure maritime contracts. Warwick 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 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. Full Story

San Francisco: Taiwan LCD Producer Agrees to Plead Guilty and Pay $30 Million Fine for Participating in LCD Price-Fixing Conspiracy



A Taiwan thin-film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panel producer and seller agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $30 million criminal fine for its role in a global conspiracy to fix the prices of TFT-LCD panels. According to a one-count felony charge filed, HannStar Display Corporation, based in Taipei, Taiwan, participated in a conspiracy from September 14, 2001 to January 31, 2006 to fix the prices of TFT-LCD panels sold worldwide. According to the plea agreement, HannStar has agreed to cooperate with the department’s ongoing investigation. Full Story