District of Maine

Contact: Craig M. Wolff
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257

Portland, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Jody G. Moczara, 34, of Sabattus, Maine pled guilty today in U.S. District Court to receiving child pornography.

According to court records, in June 2015, Moczara used the internet and a file-sharing program to download several child pornography videos to his computer. Information obtained from his computer showed that he used the file-sharing program to search for child pornography. Many child pornography video files and still images were found on the computer.
     
He faces between five and 20 years in prison, between five years and life on supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.
     
The investigation was conducted by the Maine State Police Computer Crimes Unit and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.

Contact: Julia M. Lipez
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257

Portland, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Robert Joiner, Jr., 30, of Detroit, Michigan was sentenced today to three years in prison and five years of supervised release for conspiring to distribute 28 grams or more of cocaine base, often referred to as crack cocaine, and distribution of crack cocaine.  Joiner entered a guilty plea to the charges on May 29, 2015.

Court records reveal that between December 2013 and January 2015, Joiner conspired with others, including Russell Gordon and Marco Gordon, to sell crack cocaine in Portland. Russell Gordon would arrange for the acquisition of drugs out of state.  Once the drugs were transported to Maine, they were provided to retail distributors who would sell the drugs in the Portland area, and then return the cash proceeds to Russell Gordon.  During the course of the investigation, law enforcement officers conducted controlled purchases of crack cocaine from Joiner and other members of the conspiracy.

Russell Gordon and Marco Gordon have both entered guilty pleas and await sentencing.

This case was investigated by the Southern Maine Gang Task Force, which is comprised of investigators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Portland Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.  The Biddeford and Lewiston Police Departments, the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Maine State Police also assisted with the investigation.

The case also results from the ongoing effort of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.  The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.

Contact: Halsey B. Frank
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257

Portland, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Clyde M. Hall Jr., 50, most recently of Bangor, Maine, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court for failing to register as a federal sex offender.

According to court documents, the defendant was required to register as a sex offender because of a 1989 Maine state conviction for unlawful sexual contact and gross sexual misconduct, a 1999 New York state conviction for endangering the welfare of a child, and a 2000 federal conviction in New York for possession of child pornography.
     
In March 2012, Hall was released from federal prison, but failed show up at an Albany, New York halfway house as he was directed.  A warrant issued for his arrest. 
     
On October 3, 2013, Deputy U.S. Marshals arrested Hall on Congress Street in Portland.  He told the marshals that he had been in Maine for the previous 18 months, mostly in the Bangor-Orono area, and that knew he was supposed to register, but did not.
     
Hall faces up to ten years in jail and a $250,000 fine.  He will be sentenced after completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Marshals Service.

Contact: Donald E. Clark
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257

Portland, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Russell W. Brace, a/k/a “Rusty,” 82, of Camden, Maine, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Judge George Z. Singal to four years in prison and two years of supervised release for mail and tax fraud. He was also ordered to pay full restitution.  He pled guilty on May 29, 2015.

According to court records, between about July 1999 and September 25, 2014, Brace, the president and director of United Mid-Coast Charities, Inc. (“UMCC”), fraudulently obtained $4,646,636.45 by claiming that monies donated to UMCC, would be used for UMCC’s charitable purposes and not diverted for the defendant’s personal expenses or benefit.  In fact, Brace diverted the funds into his own accounts and used them for his benefit and to pay personal expenses.  To execute the scheme, he used the U.S. Postal Service to mail donation request letters, UMCC brochures, self-mailer remittance envelopes and thank-you letters.  The investigation also revealed that he failed to report the money he obtained as income on annual federal tax returns thus failing to pay almost $390,000 in taxes and that he also filed false non-profit income tax returns for UMCC in which he failed to disclose the funds he illegally obtained.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division.

Contact: Benjamin M. Block
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257

Portland, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Robert Pinkham, 20, of Buxton, Maine, pled guilty today in U.S. District Court to conspiracy to possess stolen firearms and possession of stolen firearms.  On Monday, October 5, 2015, co-defendants Dale Pinkham Jr., 25, and Raymond Pinkham, 21, pled guilty to conspiracy to possess stolen firearms.  In addition, Raymond pled guilty to possessing stolen firearms and Dale Jr. pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute heroin and illegally possessing firearms while a drug user.

According to court records, from around November 2012 until November 2014, Dale Jr. conspired to distribute heroin.  On December 6, 2013, a search warrant executed at the Pinkhams’ residence in Buxton resulted in the seizure of about 20 grams of heroin and numerous firearms in Dale Jr.’s bedroom. Dale Jr. was then prohibited from possessing guns due to his illegal drug use. Agents also recovered a stolen firearm from a vehicle operated by Raymond that day.  Between about August and November 2014, Dale Jr., Raymond and Robert also conspired to possess and possessed stolen firearms.  On October 11, 2014, a search warrant executed at the Pinkhams’ Buxton residence resulted in the seizure of seven stolen firearms from Robert’s bedroom.

The defendants face up to five years in prison on the firearms conspiracy charge and up to 10 years on the firearms possession charges.  They also face fines of up to $250,000 on each charge.  Dale Jr. faces up to twenty years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine on the drug conspiracy charge.  They will be sentenced after the completion of presentence investigation reports by the U.S. Probation Office.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency; the Maine State Police; and the Office of the Maine Attorney General; with assistance from the Buxton Police Department and Cumberland and York County Sheriff’s Offices.

Contact: Andrew McCormack
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 945-0373

Bangor, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Daniel Lajoie, Jr., 46, of Oakland, Maine, pleaded guilty today in U.S District Court to possession of child pornography.

According to court records and proceedings, between April 29, 2012 and June 3, 2012, the defendant used a computer and peer-to-peer software to make available for sharing videos of child pornography.  A federal agent, acting in an undercover capacity, downloaded seven of those videos and eventually traced the online activity to a computer Lajoie possessed at a residence in Randolph, Maine. Lajoie’s computer was seized and examined and investigators found over 50 images and 110 videos of child pornography.

Lajoie faces up to ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.

The investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Maine State Police Computer Crimes Task Force.

Contact: Chris Ruge
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 945-0373

Bangor, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Robert Jerome Bond, 46, recently of Gardiner, Maine, pled guilty today in U.S. District Court to theft of public money and aggravated identity theft.

According to court records, on about January 19, 2011, Bond applied for and was granted Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (“SNAP”) benefits using the name of an actual U.S. citizen. SNAP offers nutrition assistance to eligible, low-income individuals. Bond, a Canadian citizen, was not eligible for SNAP benefits at the time of application and improperly received over $5,900 in SNAP benefits.

Bond faces up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine for benefit fraud and a mandatory additional two years in prison for aggravated identity theft.

The investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Maine Office of the Attorney General, and the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.

Contact: Darcie N. McElwee
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257

Portland, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Adam Mack, 39, of Portland, Maine, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Judge D. Brock Hornby to 13 months in prison and three years of supervised release for aiding and abetting visa and marriage fraud and making false statements.  The defendant pleaded guilty on March 30, 2015.  He was also sentenced to a consecutive 4 months in prison for violating the terms of supervised release imposed on him following a 2013 federal conviction for equity skimming.

According to court records, between October 2009 and January 2012, Mack unlawfully assisted foreign nationals who were seeking to become lawful permanent residents, or green card holders, by engaging in marriage and visa fraud and he made false statements regarding his employment of them to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service.
     
In imposing sentence, Judge Hornby said: "You have been cheating the system all along consistently.  It's the deterrence, both general and specific, and just punishment that I think are critical."
     
"It's always sad to see a former public servant fall so far from the path of public service," said Special Agent in Charge Matthew Etre of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Boston.  "But today's sentencing shows that no matter who you are, what position in the community you've held or what influence you thought you had, we will not hesitate to bring you to justice. HSI will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to stop marriage and visa fraud."
 
The investigation was conducted by HSI and the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security.

Contact: Donald E. Clark
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257

Portland, Maine: Thomas E. Delahanty II, United States Attorney for the District of Maine, Janet T. Mills, Maine Attorney General, and John E. Morris, Maine Commissioner for the Department of Public Safety, will host a press conference to discuss the new Anti-Heroin Opiate Initiative on Thursday, October 8, 2015 at 11:15 a.m. at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Munjoy Hill Conference Room, 7th Floor, 100 Middle Street, Portland.

U.S. Attorney Delahanty, Attorney General Mills and Commissioner Morris will introduce individuals who have agreed to serve as team leaders and members of three working groups to address issues concerning:  law enforcement,  public education/harm reduction and treatment/rehabilitation.

Members of the media should plan to arrive at least 15 minutes before the scheduled conference time, entering the office on the 6th Floor to proceed through security screening.   
     
The press conference will be video-conferenced to the U.S. Attorney’s Office at 202 Harlow Street, Bangor and media members can view it there.

Contact: Halsey B. Frank
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257

Portland, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Jason A. McIntyre, 41, of Biddeford, Maine was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court by Judge Nancy Torresen to one year of probation for destruction of mail.  He was also fined $500. McIntyre pleaded guilty on June 16, 2015.

According to court documents, in September 2013, the United States Postal Service (USPS) hired McIntyre to be an Assistant City Letter Carrier working out of the Saco Annex in Saco, Maine.  On November 19th, 21st, 23rd and 25th, 2013, instead of delivering all of the mail on his route, McIntyre threw 576 pieces of mail addressed to 115 addresses into the trash at the Saco Valley Shopping Center where it was discovered by a maintenance man. When confronted, McIntyre admitted to throwing out the mail to avoid having to bring it back to the Annex and face management. 
     
In pronouncing sentence, Judge Torresen observed that McIntyre made a poor decision that caused a lot of inconvenience and could have been worse being that the mail sometimes contains irreplaceable items. 
     
The investigation was conducted by the USPS’s Office of Inspector General.

Contact: Karen E. Kelly
Assistant Chief, U.S Department of Justice, Tax Division
James W. Chapman, Jr.
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257

Portland, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II and Acting Assistant Attorney General of the U.S. Department of Justice, Tax Division, Caroline D. Ciraolo, announced that David E. Robinson, 79, of Brunswick, Maine, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Judge D. Brock Hornby to four months in prison and one year of supervised release, including four months of home confinement, for conspiracy to defraud the U.S. by impeding and impairing the Internal Revenue Services (IRS).  The defendant and co-conspirator F. William Messier were convicted on April 3, 2015, after a five-day jury trial. 

According to trial testimony, Messier, doing business as Oak Hill Communications, earned substantial income on leases from telecommunication towers located on his Brunswick property.  In 2012, after the IRS assessed taxes and interest against Messier totaling $172,094 for the tax years 2000 to 2004, Messier enlisted the help of Robinson who had written several books promoting anti-government and "sovereign citizen" theories.  According to the testimony of witnesses, after the IRS sent Notices of Levy to Messier's customers, Robinson and Messier took a number of steps to obstruct and impede the IRS in the collection of the assessment against Messier, including presenting the IRS with a fake and worthless money order for the amount due by Messier. They also sent harassing and misleading correspondence to Messier's customers falsely stating that the customers would be breaking the law if they cooperated with the IRS.  In addition, Robinson, who claimed to be "Interim Attorney General" of the "Maine Republic Free State," drafted and filed two frivolous lawsuits on behalf of himself and Messier against some of Messier's customers and against employees of the IRS.  These lawsuits were dismissed in separate proceedings.

In imposing sentence, Judge Hornby said that the notion that people do not have to pay federal taxes "is a fantasy."

On August 27, 2015, Judge Hornby sentenced Messier to one year and one day in prison, a fine of $15,000, and ordered Messier to file all delinquent returns and pay any taxes owed to the IRS. 
          
The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney James W. Chapman, and Karen E. Kelly, Assistant Chief at the Tax Division prosecuted the case.

Contact: Andrew McCormack
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 945-0373

Bangor, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Dushko Venelinov Vulchev, 38, of Houlton, Maine, and originally from Bulgaria, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to threatening a foreign official and was sentenced by U.S. Magistrate Judge John C. Nivison to time-served.  The defendant was arrested on March 29, 2015 and has been detained since that date.

According to court records, on February 5, 2015, the defendant sent an email from his home in Houlton to a Bulgarian Vice-President of the European Commission, and others at the European Commission.  The European Commission is located in Brussels, Belgium.  The email was written in Bulgarian and made certain demands.  The defendant wrote that if those demands were not met he would physically harm the Bulgarian Vice-President of the European Commission and others at the European Commission. 
       
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Houlton Police Department.  The Justice Department's Office of International Affairs and the government of Bulgaria provided substantial assistance.

Contact: Donald E. Clark
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257

Portland, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that WILLIAM J. MURPHY, 75, of Gray, Maine, pled guilty today in U.S. District Court to making false entries in credit union records.

According to court records, the defendant was the chief financial officer, a loan officer, the bookkeeper and an employee of the Portland Police Department Federal Credit Union ("PPDFCU"), a federal credit union whose deposits were federally insured.  In that capacity, the defendant had access to PPDFCU bank accounts and was responsible for drafting and auditing the general ledger and preparing and submitting certified quarterly call reports to the National Credit Union Administration ("NCUA").  Between 2009 and 2013, the defendant filed false quarterly call reports in which he overstated the PPDFCU’s net worth to make it appear that PPDFCU was sufficiently capitalized, when in truth and in fact, as he well knew, the PPDFCU was not sufficiently capitalized.  As a result, on December 1, 2014, the NCUA facilitated the acquisition of the PPDFCU by a much larger federal credit union.
     
Murphy faces up to 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release and a $1,000,000 fine.  He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Contact: Halsey B. Frank
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257

Portland, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Marie Angel Michaud, formerly Marie Angel Broad, 43, of Rumford, Maine, was sentenced in U.S. District Court by Judge Jon D. Levy to three years of probation with six months of home confinement for Social Security fraud.  She was also ordered to pay $19,978 in restitution. Michaud pleaded guilty on April 22, 2015.

According to court documents, in January 2002, Michaud was granted and began receiving Social Security Supplemental Security Income ("SSI") benefits.  SSI pays benefits to persons who are aged, blind or disabled and who have proven financial need.  Recipients of SSI are responsible for reporting material changes in their situation such as changes in their household composition and marital status.  In November of 2010, Broad married but did not report that change to the Social Security Administration ("SSA").  Thereafter, during periodic redeterminations for continued eligibility for benefits, Michaud did not disclose her marital status and falsely stated that she was not married. As a result of her concealment, Broad received benefits to which she was not entitled.
     
In pronouncing sentence, Judge Levy observed that Social Security fraud is a serious crime that is difficult to detect and that is costly for the public and for government. 
     
The case was investigated by the SSA’s Office of Inspector General.

Contact: David B. Joyce
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257

Portland, Maine: The United States Attorney’s Office announced that James Winbrone, 32, of Brooklyn, New York, was found guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court by Judge D. Brock Hornby of possession with intent to distribute heroin and distributing cocaine base, also known as crack cocaine, following a two-day bench trial.
     
Court records reveal that on April 10, 2014 and October 28, 2014, the defendant was involved in the distribution of heroin and crack cocaine in Lewiston.  On January 14, 2015, a search warrant executed at a Lewiston apartment used by the defendant resulted in the seizure of cocaine and heroin.
     
Winbrone faces up to 30 years in prison and a $2,000,000 fine. Based on prior convictions for drug trafficking, he may also be subject to an enhanced sentence as a career offender.
     
The investigation was conducted by the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, the Maine State Police, and the Southern Maine Gang Task Force, which is comprised of agents and officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Portland and Biddeford Police Departments; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.  Assistance was also provided by the Lewiston and Auburn Police Departments and the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office.

Contact: Julia M. Lipez
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257

Portland, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Leo Grondin, 49, of Biddeford, Maine, pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court to transporting an individual in interstate commerce with the intent that she engage in prostitution.

Court records reveal that on July 15, 2015, Grondin drove a woman from southern Maine to Dover, New Hampshire, where the woman performed sexual services for clients for money.  On July 17, 2015, law enforcement officers located an online advertisement for escort services that listed a contact phone number associated with Grondin and a location in Dover, New Hampshire.  Law enforcement tracked Grondin and the woman to a hotel in Dover, where Grondin was taken into custody on a pending state warrant.

Grondin faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.  He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations Human Trafficking Task Force; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and the Biddeford and Dover Police Departments.

Contact: Benjamin M. Block
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257

Portland, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Chris Michaud, 23, of Limerick, Maine, and Cole Meserve, 21, of Standish, Maine, pled guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court to conspiracy to possess stolen firearms and possession of stolen firearms.

According to court records, between about May and November 2014, Michaud and Meserve engaged in a series of burglaries in which they stole items to sell for cash or trade for drugs.  Beginning on October 1, 2014, Michaud, Meserve and another conspirator committed burglaries in which they stole firearms that they sold for cash and illegal drugs.  On November 21, 2014, during the execution of search warrants, agents recovered several stolen firearms at a storage unit in Limerick that was rented by Michaud.

The defendants face up to five years in prison on the conspiracy charge and up to 10 years on the firearms charge.  They also face fines of up to $250,000 on each charge. They will be sentenced after the completion of presentence investigation reports by the U.S. Probation Office.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency; the Maine State Police; and the Office of the Maine Attorney General; with assistance from the Buxton Police Department and Cumberland and York County Sheriff’s Offices.

Contact: Benjamin M. Block
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257

Portland, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Adam Hill, 34, of Sanford, Maine, pled guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court to possession with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine.

According to court records, on April 10, 2015, Hill was arrested while in possession of about 43 grams of heroin and 20 grams of cocaine. 

Hill faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine.   He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.

The case was investigated by the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, the Sanford Police Department, and the Office of the Maine Attorney General, with assistance from the Maine State Police and South Berwick Police Department.

Contact: Julia M. Lipez
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257

Portland, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that James Levesque, 54, of Sanford, Maine pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court to distribution of oxycodone.

Court records reveal that on March 7, 2014, in Sanford, Levesque sold forty 80-milligram oxycodone pills, through a middleman, to an individual working with law enforcement.

Levesque faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine.  He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the York County Sheriff’s Office.

Contact: Darcie N. McElwee
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257

Portland, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Makwan Jaff, 35, of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to interstate stalking.

According to the criminal complaint affidavit and evidence introduced at the plea hearing, Jaff previously attended medical school in Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis (“St. Kitts”). Between February 11, 2014 and June 25, 2014, with the intent to harass or intimidate a female former medical school classmate, Jaff created about five Facebook accounts in the victim’s name (or variations of her name with added words, such as “slut” and “whore”) and put pictures of her in them without her knowledge or permission. Once the Facebook accounts were deleted by the victim, Jaff sent threatening email and Facebook private messages to her and her immediate family. During these communications from St. Kitts, Jaff threatened to harm the victim and another classmate who were attending school in Scarborough, Maine from May 2014 until June 2014.
           
During some of the communication sent to the victim while she was in Maine, Jaff threatened: “Let me tell you what I am gonna do when I get home; rent a car first thing and come to [M]ain[e]….It is only a 24 hours drive...I won’t stop believe me I will f**k your world upside down!...I will turn your life in to a living hell…I will not go away I will f**k with you for the rest of your f**ken life…Keep thinking I am playing game till I hit where it f**ken hurts!”

Jaff’s conduct caused substantial emotional distress to the victim and her immediate family.  Jaff also sent hundreds of email messages to the classmate about the victim, many of which were similarly threatening and harassing.
     
Jaff faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He will be sentenced after completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office. 
     
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Contact: Julia M. Lipez
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257

Portland, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Jeffrey P. Wheeler, Jr., 31, of Sebago, Maine, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to theft from interstate shipments of goods.

Court records reveal that between December 2013 and February 2014, Wheeler was employed as a delivery truck driver for United Parcel Service (UPS).  During this period, Wheeler stole several shipments of prescription narcotic medications that had been shipped via UPS from the Veterans Administration medical facility in Togus, Maine to outpatient veteran clients.

Wheeler faces up to three years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.  He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.

This case was investigated by the Criminal Investigations Division of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General.

Contact: Donald E. Clark
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257

Portland, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Rana J. Clarizio, 46, of Oak Brook, Illinois, and formerly of Kittery, Maine, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Judge George Z. Singal to 366 days years in prison and three years of supervised release for bankruptcy fraud.  She was also ordered to pay about $185,000 in restitution.  She pled guilty on May 11, 2015.

According to court records, on March 21, 2014, the defendant filed for bankruptcy in Maine.  On April 4, 2014, she filed Schedules of Assets and Liabilities ("schedules") and a Statement of Financial Affairs ("SOFA") under the penalty of perjury in which she failed to disclose about $185,000 worth of property of the bankruptcy estate.  On May 2, 2014, she falsely testified under oath at a meeting of her creditors that her schedules and SOFA were true and correct.  In addition, in anticipation of the bankruptcy filing, she transferred and concealed over $125,000 worth of property of the estate that she failed to disclose in her April schedules and SOFA.
       
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Contact: Chris Ruge
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 945-0373

Bangor, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Lawrence A. Stewart, 48, of Wayne, Maine, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr. to two years of probation and fined $8,000 for theft of public money.  He was also ordered to pay $53,852.72 in restitution to the Veterans Administration ("VA"), which he paid prior to sentencing.  The defendant pled guilty on April 8, 2015.

According to court records, from about October 2011 until January 2015, Stewart received additional VA disability compensation based on unemployability when he was, in fact, gainfully employed.  Stewart repeatedly provided falsified documentation to the VA, underreporting the extent of his employment and the income he received.

"By taking money you were not entitled to, you took it from the sole agency whose purpose it to serve veterans," Judge Woodcock told the defendant before imposing the sentence.

The investigation was conducted by the VA Office of the Inspector General.

Contact: Benjamin M. Block
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257

Portland, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Conrad Neal Freeman, 21, of Hope, Maine, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Judge Nancy Torresen to 70 months in prison and 7 years of supervised release for transporting child pornography and for possession of child pornography. Abbott pleaded guilty to the charges on May 21, 2015.

According to court records, in January 2014, Freeman engaged in an online chat with an undercover Special Agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in California.  In that conversation, Freeman agreed to send the undercover agent images of child pornography in exchange for the opportunity to observe the agent engage in sexual acts with the agent’s purported 11-year-old daughter.  Freeman then sent the undercover agent 10 images and 1 video containing child pornography.  A search warrant later executed at Freeman’s residence in Hope resulted in the recovery of a laptop containing 65 images and 5 videos containing child pornography.
     
The investigation was conducted by HSI. The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the "resources" tab for information about Internet safety education.

Contact: F. Todd Lowell
Andrew McCormack
Assistant United States Attorneys
Tel: (207) 945-0373

Bangor, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Timothy S. Klimas, 27, of Bangor, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to using children to produce child pornography and to distributing child pornography.

Court records reveal that between 2012 and 2014 the defendant sexually abused three minor children and used a digital camera and his cell phone’s camera to record sexually explicit images of them.  He posted many of those images to a website.  He was arrested in August 2014.

Klimas faces at least 15 years and up to 110 years in prison and up to a $1,000,000 fine.  He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.

The investigation was conducted jointly by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bangor and Newport Police Departments.

Contact: Donald E. Clark
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257

Washington, DC—Today, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) funding awards to four municipalities and one county in the District of Maine aimed at creating five law enforcement positions. Over $107 million will be awarded nationally, through the COPS Hiring Program (CHP), including $625,000 in Maine.

The list of this year’s grantees includes:  the Cumberland County Sheriff's Department and the municipalities of Fort Kent, Norway, Old Town and Winslow.

“The COPS Office is pleased to assist local law enforcement agencies throughout the country in addressing their most critical public safety issues,” said Ronald L. Davis, Director of the COPS Office. “These grants are not simply about putting more officers on the street, they are about expanding the capacity of law enforcement agencies to engage in community policing.”

CHP provides grants to state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to hire or rehire community policing officers. The program provides salaries and benefits for officer and deputy hires for three years.

Thomas E. Delahanty II, United States Attorney for the District of Maine, said that COPS has been a highly successful program for 20 years and that Maine law enforcement agencies have received many grants that have provided much needed resources for a variety of projects. The five grants to Maine agencies this year will be used to assist the agencies in different ways.

Naldo Gagnon, Chief Deputy Sheriff for Cumberland County, said that they will use to funds to provide a School Resource Officer for the Town of Gray which does not have its own police department.  It will be of great assistance to that town.

Thomas Pelletier, Chief of Police of Fort Kent, said that the grant will allow Fort Kent to add an officer increasing the size of the department by 25 percent.  The police have had a noticeable increase in calls for assistance over the past few years, but the town has been unable to finance an additional officer.  The police assist with security at the community hospital which serves the region and responds to calls from the University of Maine at Fort Kent and at the border, given the town's proximity to a major border crossing.

Together with the Norway, Old Town and Winslow Police Departments, the five recipients will receive a total of $650,000, at $125,000 for each position.

Priority consideration was given this year to agencies that selected any of the Building Trust focus areas or School Based Policing through School Resource Officers.  All applicants were encouraged to refer to the report of the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing for suggested actions to incorporate into their proposed community policing strategy.

The COPS Office is a federal agency responsible for advancing community policing nationwide. Since 1995, COPS has invested over $14 billion to advance community policing, including grants awarded to more than 13,000 state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies to fund the hiring and redeployment of approximately 127,000 officers and provide a variety of knowledge resource products including publications, training, and technical assistance.

For the entire list of grantees and additional information about the 2015 COPS Hiring Program, visit the COPS website at www.cops.usdoj.gov.

Contact: Michael J. Conley
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257

Portland, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Jeffrey Kingman, 51, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, pled guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court to failing to pay child support.  Federal law makes it a crime to maintain a residence in state different than the residence of your children if you owe more than $10,000 in child support.

According to evidence introduced at the plea hearing, Kingman was ordered to pay $216 per week in child support as part of his January 2007 Maine divorce judgment.  Between August 2007 and March 2011, he made 57 reduced and variable child support payments totaling $12,150.  As of October 2012, he owed $60,112 in child support. He did not make any child support payments since then.  As of March 4, 2015, he owned over $90,000 in child support.

Kingman faces up to 2 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.  He will be sentenced after completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General and the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Support Enforcement and Recovery.

Contact: Andrew McCormack
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 945-0373

Bangor, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Preston Brown, Sr., 51, of Woodland, Maine, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute bath salts.

According to court records, between about June 2012 and June 2014, Brown conspired with others in Aroostook County to obtain and distribute bath salts.  On multiple occasions, Brown ordered bath salts over the internet from China for personal use and to sell to other conspirators. 

The defendant faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency with assistance from the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Contact: James M. Moore
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 945-0373

Bangor, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Mark P. Durinski, 63, of Limestone, Maine, pleaded guilty on Monday in U.S. District Court to making false statements and entries in annual reports filed with the U.S. Department of Labor.

Court records reveal that Durinski was employed by the Defense Finance Accounting Service (“DFAS”) in Limestone and was also the president of the local union that represented DFAS employees.  In his capacity as local president, he signed and certified as true annual Labor Department reports that failed to disclose that he received over $50,000 from the local to reimburse him for travel and other expenditures for which he was also reimbursed by U.S. Department of Defense or another source.

Durinski faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each charge.  He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards.

Contact: Donald E. Clark
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257

Washington, DC – The Department of Justice today announced 206 awards, totaling more than $97 million, to American Indian tribes, Alaska Native villages, tribal consortia and tribal designees. The announcement was made at the 2015 Tribal Leader Briefing, sponsored by the National Congress of American Indians, and included Tribal leaders, Members of Congress and Administration officials.

The Aroostook Band of Micmacs was awarded $894,553 for its Violence Against Women Tribal Government Program.  The Penobscot Nation was awarded $876,889 for its Violence Against Women Tribal Government Program and $307,891 for its Juvenile Healing to Wellness Courts.
 
The awards are made through the Department’s Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS), a single application for tribal-specific grant programs.  The Department developed CTAS through its Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, Office of Justice Programs and Office on Violence Against Women, and administered the first round of consolidated grants in September 2010. 
 
Todd Lowell, the Tribal Liaison for the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Maine said: “these awards to support efforts to reduce domestic and dating violence and to promote wellness and healing for tribal youth will undoubtedly help make these two Maine tribal communities safer and healthier.”
 
“For the past five years, the CTAS program has helped tribes develop their own comprehensive approaches to making their communities safer and healthier,” said Acting Associate Attorney General Stuart F. Delery. “CTAS grants have funded hundreds of programs to better serve crime victims, promote community policing, and strengthen justice systems.  This year’s awards also support efforts to reduce domestic and dating violence, and promote wellness and healing for tribal youth, among many other programs.”
 
Since then, more than 1,400 grants totaling more than $620 million have been provided to enhance law enforcement practices, victim services, and sustain crime prevention and intervention efforts in nine purpose areas; public safety and community policing; justice systems planning: alcohol and substance abuse; corrections and correctional alternatives; children’s justice act partnerships; services for victims of crime; violence against women; juvenile justice; and tribal youth programs.
 
American Indians and Alaska Natives experience disproportionate rates of violence and victimization and often encounter significant obstacles to identifying and accessing culturally relevant services.  CTAS funding helps tribes to develop and strengthen tribal justice systems’ response to crime, while significantly increasing programs and services available to them.
 
A listing of today’s awards is available at www.justice.gov/tribal/. 
 
Today’s announcement is part of the Justice Department’s ongoing initiative to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in American Indian and Alaska Native communities.

Contact: Andrew McCormack
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 945-0373

Bangor, Maine: United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Clifford Sprague, 37, of Exeter, Maine, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to making false statements to obtain Social Security Disability Insurance (“SSDI”) benefits.  SSDI benefits are paid by the Social Security Administration (“SSA”) to people with disabilities.

According to court records, from March 2011 until March 2012, the defendant received $12,864 in SSDI benefits for himself and his three dependent children.  In November 2011, the defendant was required to undergo a Continuing Disability Review to determine if he was still disabled.  During this review, the defendant told his representative payee to falsely represent that the defendant did not work outside the house and required someone to clean, bathe, dress and cook for him.  In truth and fact, the defendant did not have disabilities that required someone else to clean, bathe, dress and cook for him.  The defendant did a significant amount of work outside the house including working as a scrap metal dealer, carpenter and woodcutter.

The defendant faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.  He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.

The investigation was conducted by the SSA’s Office of the Inspector General.

Contact: Andrew McCormack
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 945-0373

Bangor, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Clifford Sprague, 37, of Exeter, Maine, pled guilty today in U.S. District Court to being an accessory after the fact to a pharmacy robbery.   An accessory after the fact is a person who, knowing that an offense against the United States has been committed, comforts or assists the offender in order to hinder or prevent his apprehension, trial or punishment.

According to court records, on March 10, 2012, Michael Thompson entered the Rite Aid pharmacy in Guilford, Maine wearing a bandana, a hood, sunglasses and gloves.  He jumped over the pharmacy counter, brandished a large hunting style knife and demanded narcotics.  A pharmacist opened the locker containing narcotics and Thompson filled his back pack with more than $5000 worth of them.  After the robbery, Thompson called Sprague, told him that he had robbed the pharmacy and asked Sprague to pick him up in his car.  Sprague did so.  Shortly after picking up Thompson, Sprague saw a Somerset County Sheriff’s Office vehicle.  Sprague slowed down his vehicle and told Thompson he needed to get out.  Thompson got out of Sprague’s vehicle and fled into the woods.  Later, Sprague used and sold some of the narcotics Thompson stole.

On June 29, 2015, Thompson was sentenced to 82 months in prison for his role in the pharmacy robbery.

The defendant faces up to ten years in prison and a $125,000 fine.  He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.

The investigation was conducted by the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Office, the Maine State Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office.

Contact: James M. Moore
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 945-0373

Bangor, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that George D. LaCasse, 35, of Caribou, Maine, was sentenced in U.S. District Court by Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr. to 35 months in prison and three years of supervised release by for his unlawful possession of firearms.  LaCasse pleaded guilty on April 11, 2015.

Court records reveal that on May 23, 2014, LaCasse arranged for another person to purchase a 9mm pistol for him from Ben’s Trading Post in Presque Isle, Maine.  LaCasse was at the Trading Post when the firearm was purchased.  Witnesses saw him with the pistol.  He admitted to others that he had a gun.  Federal agents also recovered 9mm casings and other evidence that LaCasse had used the firearm for target practice.  LaCasse was prohibited from possessing firearms because he had felony convictions in Massachusetts in 2009.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the Caribou Police Department.

Contact: F. Todd Lowell
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 945-0373

Bangor, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Steven C. Chaput, 39, of Mount Vernon, Maine pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to pharmacy robberies charges.  Rudger S. Ellis, 22, of Gardiner, Maine pleaded guilty to the same charges on August 12, 2015.

On February 7, 2015, Ellis entered the Rite Aid Pharmacy located on North Belfast Avenue in Augusta, Maine, wearing a hooded gray sweatshirt, blue and white athletic pants, and gloves and covering his face with a plaid cloth.  Ellis approached the counter and demanded that the pharmacist give him oxycodone, oxycontin, and Ritalin.  He told the pharmacy employees to hurry up.  Ellis absconded with six bottles containing oxycodone.

On February 18, 2015, Ellis robbed the Rite Aid Pharmacy located on Spring Street in Gardiner, again wearing a hooded sweatshirt and gloves and covering his face with a plaid cloth.  He approached the pharmacy counter and demanded oxycodone 30 milligram pills.  He repeatedly told pharmacy employees to “hurry” and several times commanded: “now, now, now!” Ellis absconded with 11 bottles of oxycodone.

Chaput and Ellis had planned the pharmacy robberies together.  Chaput was the getaway driver for both robberies, parking near each pharmacy and waiting as Ellis robbed them. 

The defendants face up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and restitution.  They will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.

The investigation was conducted by the Augusta and Gardiner Police Departments and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Contact: Craig M. Wolff
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257

Portland, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Wayne Niski, 28, of South Portland, Maine, pled guilty today in U.S. District Court to sexually exploiting a minor.

According to court records, in 2013, Niski took several sexually explicit photographs of an eight-year-old girl. In March 2015, investigators executed a search warrant at Niski’s residence in South Portland. Among the items found in the residence was a USB flash drive that contained copies of the images that Niski had taken in 2013.
     
Niski faces a sentence of no less than 15 years and up to 30 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and supervised release for life. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.
     
The investigation was conducted by the Maine State Police Computer Crimes Unit and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.

Contact: Julia M. Lipez
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257

Portland, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Samuel Collins, 46, of Portland, Maine, pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court to conspiring to distribute cocaine base, often referred to as crack cocaine.

Court records reveal that between December 2013 and January 2015, Collins conspired with others to sell crack cocaine in Portland, Maine.  Members of the conspiracy would arrange for the acquisition of drugs out of state.  Once the drugs were transported to Maine, they were provided to retail distributors, including Collins, who would sell the drugs in the Portland area.  During the course of the investigation, law enforcement officers conducted controlled purchases of crack cocaine from Collins and determined that Collins let other members of the conspiracy sell drugs from his apartment.

Collins faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine.  He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.   

This case was investigated by the Southern Maine Gang Task Force, which is comprised of investigators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Portland Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.  The Biddeford and Lewiston Police Departments, the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Maine State Police also assisted with the investigation.

The case also results from the ongoing effort of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.  The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.

Contact: Joel B. Casey
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 945-0373

Bangor, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that five individuals charged in separate federal complaints were arrested on Thursday evening in Bangor. Specifically,

Mario Lee, 40, of Bangor, was arrested on a federal criminal complaint charging him with four counts of distribution of heroin.

Kliton Xhemali, 34, of Bangor, was arrested on a federal criminal complaint charging him with two counts of distribution of cocaine.

Antonio Gordon, 32, of Bangor, was arrested on a federal criminal complaint charging him with three counts of distribution of cocaine base (“crack”).

Syrian Baldwin, 29, of Bangor, was arrested on a federal criminal complaint charging him with two counts of distribution of cocaine base (“crack”).

Tawana Greene, 23, of Bangor, was arrested on a federal criminal complaint charging her with two counts of distribution of cocaine base (“crack”).

On the drug distribution charges, each defendant faces up to twenty years in prison, a $1,000,000 fine, or both.

The cases resulted from a year-long joint investigation among the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bangor Police Department into the activities of drug trafficking organizations operating in the Bangor area.  DEA Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Ferguson said: “These arrests demonstrate the strength and continued commitment of our federal, state and local law enforcement partners to work together to address a continuing drug problem in the Bangor area."

A complaint is merely a written allegation of criminal conduct.  All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Contact: Joel B. Casey
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 945-0373

Bangor, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Christian Turner, a/k/a “P”, 29, of Bangor pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and to distribute 280 grams of a mixture or substance containing cocaine base, commonly referred to as “crack,” and conspiracy to violate the federal gun laws. 

According to court records, between January 2010 and August 2013, the defendant sold crack in Penobscot County and elsewhere.  He sold half-gram bags for $40 and gram bags for $80. Other members of the conspiracy also sold bags of crack for him.  He transferred the proceeds of the sales to his source of supply in the New Haven, Connecticut area and got cash and crack in exchange.  The crack was transported from Connecticut to the Bangor area by other conspirators.

During the same period of time, the defendant also conspired to violate the federal gun laws. He had others fraudulently obtain fourteen firearms through “straw purchases” at pawnshops in Bangor and Brewer and acquired seven more firearms through private transactions.  He paid cash or drugs for the guns and sent them back to New Haven, Connecticut for distribution to others.

The defendant faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine on the drug charge and up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the gun charge.  He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.  He is one of eleven defendants charged in the indictment.

The case was investigated by the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (New Haven Office); and the New Haven Police Department.

Contact: Chris Ruge
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 945-0373

Bangor, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Robert Kinney, Jr., 41, of Blaine, Maine, pled guilty today in U.S. District Court to transporting child pornography.

According to court records, on about August 20 and 21, 2014, Kinney emailed at least nine videos and 15 images of child pornography as he traded with others over the internet.  The defendant’s trade in child pornography supported, and was supported by, his personal collection of images and videos depicting the sexual exploitation of young children.

Kinney faces between five and 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and between five years and a lifetime of supervised release. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.

The investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Maine State Police.

Contact: Joel B. Casey
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 945-0373

Bangor, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that David Chaisson, 23, of Bangor pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and to distribute 280 grams of a mixture or substance containing cocaine base, commonly referred to as “crack.” 

According to court records, between January 2010 and August 2013, the defendant sold crack in Penobscot County and elsewhere.  He sold half-gram bags for $50 and gram bags for $100. He transferred the proceeds of the sales to his source of supply in the New Haven, Connecticut area and got cash and crack in exchange.  The crack was transported from Connecticut to the Bangor area by other conspirators.

The defendant faces up to twenty years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine.  He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.  He is one of eleven defendants charged in the indictment.

The case was investigated by the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (New Haven Office).

Contact: Jonathan R. Chapman
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257

Portland, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Owen R. Adair, 23, of Vinalhaven, Maine, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Chief Judge Nancy Torresen to one year in prison, up to one year in community confinement and three years of supervised release for making false distress calls to the U.S. Coast Guard.  Adair was also ordered to repay the Coast Guard $15,000 for the costs associated with the search that it conducted in response to the hoax calls.  Adair pled guilty to the charge on April 15, 2015. 

According to court records, on September 30, 2014, the defendant initiated a two-way radio call using a VHF radio with a radio operator at U.S. Coast Guard Sector Northern New England.  In the initial radio transmission to the Coast Guard, the defendant stated: “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday.”  In a lengthy conversation, the defendant then repeatedly told the Coast Guard operator that he urgently needed assistance because a crewman on his fishing vessel sustained a serious injury to his neck and was bleeding badly.  The Coast Guard operator repeatedly attempted to determine the position from which the defendant was calling, but the defendant gave false location information.  In fact, the defendant was not aboard a vessel, but was on Vinalhaven Island and was using a VHF radio in his truck.  There was also no injured person needing assistance from the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard dispatched a search and rescue vessel from Rockland.  After a seven-hour search, the Coast Guard suspended the search.

"What is important to understand about this hoax call is that lives were unnecessarily put at risk while a boat crew searched seven hours offshore for a situation that did not exist," said Rear Admiral Linda Fagan, commander, First U.S. Coast Guard District. "In addition to our Coast Guard responders, multiple agencies and individuals, including medical personnel, police dispatch, harbormasters, mariners, and the Maine Marine Patrol, devoted time and resources to this case and each made extensive preparations to assist with a case that was simply a hoax."

The case was investigated by the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service.

Contact: Karen E. Kelly
Assistant Chief, U.S. Department of Justice, Tax Division
James W. Chapman, Jr.
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257

Portland, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II and Acting Assistant Attorney General of the U.S. Department of Justice, Tax Division, Caroline D. Ciraolo, announced that F. William Messier, 71, of Brunswick, Maine, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court  by Judge D. Brock Hornby to one year and a day in prison and three years of supervised release for conspiracy to defraud the U.S. by impeding and impairing the Internal Revenue Services (IRS) and corruptly endeavoring to impede the lawful administration of the tax laws.  He was also fined $15,000 and ordered to file tax returns and to pay income taxes going back to 2005, which was estimated by the government to be $168,376, not including interest and penalties.   The defendant and co-conspirator David E. Robinson were convicted on April 3, 2015, after a five-day jury trial.

According to trial testimony, Messier, doing business as Oak Hill Communications, earned income generated on leases from telecommunication towers located on his Brunswick property.  From 1999 through 2014, Messier engaged in conduct intended to obstruct the enforcement of the Revenue laws, including providing false tax documents to customers, obstructing IRS collection activities and the extensive use of cash.  In 2012, the IRS assessed taxes and interest against Messier totaling $172,094 for the tax years 2000 to 2004.  Robinson claimed to be the “Interim Attorney General” of the “Maine Republic Free State” and advocated that people not pay federal and state taxes.  According to the testimony of witnesses, after the IRS sent Notices of Levy to Messier’s customers, Robinson and Messier took a number of steps to obstruct and impede the IRS in the collection of the assessment, including presenting the IRS with a fake and worthless money order for the amount due by Messier. According to witness testimony, Messier and Robinson urged customers not to honor the levies or to pay the IRS, and further urged customers to pay Messier in cash to conceal their payments from the IRS, sent false documents to the IRS and sent threatening and misleading correspondence to customers of Messier’s business urging them not to cooperate with the IRS.  The two also filed civil lawsuits against some of Messier’s customers and employees of the IRS, which were dismissed in separate proceedings.

In imposing the sentence, Judge Hornby said that the notion that people do not have to pay federal taxes unless they live in the District of Columbia or a federal territory or are federal employees “is a fantasy.”  People who believe this notion need to understand that their conduct is wrong and deserves a prison sentence and a fine. 
          
The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney James W. Chapman, and Karen E. Kelly, Assistant Chief at the Tax Division prosecuted the case.

Contact: Craig M. Wolff
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257

Portland, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Crystal Dinapoli, formerly known as “Crystal Burch,” 23, of Cushing, Maine, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Judge George Z. Singal to one year of probation for making a false statement to a government agent. Dinapoli pleaded guilty to the charge on April 1, 2015.

According to court records, in June 2014, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) was investigating Dinapoli’s then-boyfriend for illegally possessing firearms. In 2013, Dinapoli purchased several handguns from a local firearms dealer.  Agents were investigating whether Dinapoli’s boyfriend had possessed any of them. Dinapoli told an ATF agent that she transferred those handguns to her boyfriend’s father, a statement that was false. Later that day, ATF agents found her boyfriend with two of the handguns.

The investigation was conducted by the ATF.

Contact: Craig M. Wolff
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257

Portland, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Ryan Jeremiah Abbott, 23, of Plymouth, Wisconsin, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Judge Jon D. Levy to 5 years in prison and 7 years of supervised release for transporting child pornography. Abbott pleaded guilty to the charge on April 8, 2015.

According to court records, in October 2014, Abbott, who was in Wisconsin, sent eight email messages to the undercover email account of a Special Agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Maine. Three of the emails contained links to folders maintained on a foreign cloud storage service. The folders contained dozens of videos depicting children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The other five emails attached video files also depicting children engaging in sexually explicit conduct. A search warrant later executed on Abbott’s email account showed that it was almost exclusively dedicated to the solicitation and exchange of child pornography.

The investigation was conducted by HSI. The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about Internet safety education.

Contact: F. Todd Lowell
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 945-0373

Bangor, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Lance M. Szady, 27, of Windsor, Maine was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to seven years and three months in prison and three years of supervised release for aiding and abetting the robbery of a Rite Aid pharmacy in Augusta, Maine on September 2, 2014.  He pleaded guilty to that charge on February 10, 2015.

Court records show that on the evening of September 2, 2014, Dominic J. Pomerleau robbed the Rite Aid Pharmacy located on Hospital Street in Augusta, Maine.  He approached the pharmacy counter with a note that demanded oxycodone and absconded with three bottles of oxycodone.  Szady had planned the robbery with Pomerleau and had driven Pomerleau to the pharmacy and waited for him to complete the robbery.  The robbery was captured on surveillance video and witnesses provided descriptions of Pomerleau and his distinctive arm and neck tattoos.

The investigation was conducted by the Augusta Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Contact: Joel B. Casey
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 945-0373

Bangor, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Torrence Benton, 28, formerly of New Haven, Connecticut (currently serving a state prison sentence in the Maine State Prison) pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Bangor to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and to distribute 280 grams of a mixture or substance containing cocaine base, commonly referred to as “crack.” 

According to court records, the defendant illegally distributed cocaine base in Bangor area between January 2010 and August 2013.  He obtained the cocaine base from other members of the conspiracy.  He sold and distributed the cocaine base in multiple half gram and gram amounts to others.  The half-gram bags were sold for $50 each and the gram bags were sold for $100 each. The ultimate source for the cocaine base was in the New Haven, Connecticut area and it was transported to the Bangor area by others in the conspiracy.  On April 7, 2013, the defendant was arrested by the Old Town Police Department on state charges and was subsequently found in possession of approximately ten grams of cocaine base.

The defendant faces up to twenty years in prison, a $1,000,000 fine, or both prison and a fine.  He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.  He is one of eleven defendants charged in the indictment.

The case was investigated by the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, the New Haven, Connecticut Office of the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, and the New Haven Connecticut Police Department.

Contact: Chris Ruge
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 945-0373

Bangor, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Brian Mulkern, 35, of Waterville, Maine, pled guilty today in U.S. District Court to being a felon in possession of ammunition.

According to court records, on about August 26, 2014, Mulkern was apprehended by police while in possession of 10 rounds of 9-millimeter ammunition.  Mulkern was prohibited from possessing ammunition due to past felony convictions in Maine state courts for burglary, robbery, and drug distribution.

If Mulkern is found to be an Armed Career Criminal because of his past drug trafficking and violent felony convictions, he would face a mandatory minimum of 15 years and a maximum term of life in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release.

The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Winthrop Police Department.

Contact: Andrew K. Lizotte
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257

Portland, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that yesterday U.S. District Judge John D. Levy dismissed a lawsuit brought against the federal government by the State of Maine on behalf of Riverview Psychiatric Center (“Riverview”), a psychiatric hospital operated by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.

On October 3, 2014, Maine filed its lawsuit in U.S. District Court asking the court to review the June 4, 2013 decision by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) terminating Riverview’s Medicare provider agreement effective September 2, 2013.  The termination was due to a number of significant deficiencies related to Riverview’s compliance with health, safety and administrative requirements.  Riverview submitted three plans of correction, two of which were determined to be unacceptable by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services and CMS.  However, Riverview failed to properly challenge the termination decision, even when provided with additional time, until January 3, 2014, to do so.  The federal government moved to dismiss the lawsuit claiming that the State had failed to properly and timely challenge CMS’s termination decision.

Judge Levy agreed that Riverview had failed to properly and timely challenge the termination decision under the Medicare statute and regulations and that CMS had repeatedly reminded Riverview that the submission of plans of correction would not change the termination.  In dismissing the lawsuit, Judge Levy concluded that the State’s arguments stretched the facts of the case, and the relevant statutory and regulatory language, beyond their limits; were “semantic only;” or were unsupported by the Medicare regulations and the administrative record.  “[R]ead in their entirety,” Judge Levy concluded that Medicare’s “regulations offer no support for the proposition that a provider can avoid the effects of an unchallenged termination decision by engaging in a corrective process with CMS.  Here, the State had ample opportunity to challenge the June 4 decision but failed to do so. The consequences flowing from that failure may be harsh, but they are not, in the end, surprising given the regulatory scheme set out in the regulations.”
                    
The federal government was represented by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Office of General Counsel, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

Contact: Chris Ruge
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 945-0373

Bangor, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Sandra Melnick, 52, of Winter Harbor, Maine, pled guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court to theft of more than $1,600 worth of public money.

According to court records, from about May 19 to September 12, 2014, while serving as a Postmaster Relief at the Sullivan, Maine Post Office, Melnick issued a series of money orders without reporting the sale or tendering the money to the Postal Service.  Many of these money orders were cashed by recipients before the defendant reported them as sold.  When Postal Service investigators audited Melnick’s accounts, there were still three previously-cashed money orders outstanding.

Melnick faces up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release.  She will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Postal Service, Office of the Inspector General.

Contact: Chris Ruge
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 945-0373

Bangor, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Jason Robinson, 29, of Orono, Maine, pled guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court to bank and wire fraud conspiracy charges.

According to court records, from about February 2014 to May 2015, Robinson conspired with others to steal merchandise from Walmart, Hannaford, and other stores in Maine, and sell it on eBay; to return stolen merchandise to Lowe’s and Home Depot in return for store credit; and to defraud federally insured financial institutions by depositing worthless checks and withdrawing the money before those checks bounced.

Robinson faces up to 30 years in prison, a $1,000,000 fine, and five years of supervised release on the bank fraud conspiracy, and up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release on the wire fraud conspiracies.  He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.

The investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Maine State Police, the Bangor Police Department, and the Penobscot Sheriff’s Office.