Western District of Washington

One of two King County residents who was convicted, in absentia, of Conspiracy to Distribute Ecstasy in 2009, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to seven years in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  HARDEEP SINGH, 23, formerly of Kent, Washington, failed to appear after the first day of trial.  His co-defendant.  Kaushal Kainth, 25, formerly of Renton, Washington, also failed to appear following the lunch break on the last day of trial.  SINGH was arrested a year ago in Canada.  At the time he was indicted, SINGH had legal status in the United States.  He likely will be deported to his native India following his prison term.  Kainth remains wanted by law enforcement.  At sentencing today U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones noted that the conspiracy was a “large scale operation involving large amounts of drugs that would have an impact on the lives of many in the community.”

According to testimony at trial and records filed in the case, Kainth and SINGH conspired to distribute large amounts of ecstasy.  Over eight days in early May 2009, the men agreed to pay a third man to deliver large amounts of ecstasy and another drug, BZP, to co-conspirators at the Southcenter Mall in Tukwila, Washington and in San Jose, California.  Kainth and SINGH did not know the man they offered to pay for the delivery was working with law enforcement.  The man recorded both defendants on audio and video.  In all Kainth and SINGH gave the person working with law enforcement some 285,000 pills worth more than $2.8 million.  The pills were all seized by law enforcement.

The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brian Werner.

            A member of a bank fraud scheme who threatened people with a firearm to try to collect debts was sentenced today to six years in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  SON PHAM, 45, pleaded guilty in November 2013 to two counts of Attempted Collection of Extensions of Credit by Extortionate Means, one count of Bank Fraud, and one count of Carrying a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence.  SON PHAM admits he used threats of violence to collect debts and that he had arranged for one of his co-conspirators to be armed with a firearm while the threats were made.  At sentencing U.S. District Judge Robert S. Lasnik ordered PHAM to pay $115,690 in restitution for the bank fraud scheme.

            According to records filed in the case, PHAM conspired with ring leader Chi Ahn Nguyen in a scheme to defraud banks by running up credit card and cash advance debts that they never intended to repay.  The men used the identities of others—many of whom participated in the schemeto access credit cards that he and others involved in the scheme used to purchase jewelry and other consumer goods or for cash advances at casinos.  The men then took a share of the proceeds derived from those transactions.  PHAM also loaned money to people in his community and then used threats of violence to try to collect the debts.  In October 2012, PHAM arranged for one of his cohorts to be armed with a semi-automatic pistol when they confronted an associate of someone owing PHAM $10,000.  The men claimed the victim was responsible for the other man’s debt; they surrounded him at the Macau Casino in Tukwila and demanded the money while brandishing the gun.  In a second instance, also in October 2012, PHAM tried to collect a $2,000 debt by threatening to send people to the victim’s home to “cut him.”

The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigation (HSI).  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Hampton.

            A former Teamster who defrauded the union pension program as well as state and federal disability programs, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to one year in prison, three years of supervised release and more than $295,000 in restitution, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  RICHARD STALKFLEET, 66, of Stanwood, Washington collected disability benefits for eight years, even while he was running a wood chip distribution company that earned more than half a million dollars annually.  STALKFLEET put the business in his stepson’s name to try to hide his participation while he collected Teamsters Union Pension benefits, Washington State Labor and Industries Disability benefits and Social Security Disability benefits of $3,000 per month.  At sentencing U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez said, “he victimized programs specifically designed to help the most needy. . . the very programs that don’t have sufficient funds to help the disabled.”

            According to records filed in the case, STALKFLEET started a business known as Stalkfleet Farms in approximately 2000 and put the business in his stepson’s name.  The company collected wood shavings from lumber mills and distributed them to dairy farms for use in barns.  The company was quite profitable.  Between November 2004 and November 2011, Stalkfleet Farms averaged monthly revenues of $43,000 and annual revenues of $516,000.  The profits went right into STALKFLEET’s bank account.  At the same time as he was running the successful business, STALKFLEET claimed to be disabled and unable to work since 2002, claiming his only daily activities consisted of eating, having coffee, playing with his dog, and doing “a little housework.”  Due to these fraudulent claims, he collected a total of approximately $3,000 a month from the Teamsters Pension Trust, Social Security Administration and Washington State Department of Labor and Industries.

            STALKFLEET fraudulently collected disability benefits between November 2004 and January 2013.  As a result of his fraudulent claims, he collected $134,883 in Workers Compensation benefits, $91,831 in SSA benefits, and $69,188 in Teamsters Pension Plan benefits for a total loss of $295,902.  The fraud was uncovered in 2011 when STALKFLEET had a falling out with his stepson and the stepson’s wife.  L&I investigators conducted surveillance of Stalkfleet Farms and quickly confirmed that STALKFLEET was working there and driving Stalkfleet Farms trucks.  Investigators interviewed more than 10 of Stalkfleet Farms’s customers.  All of them thought of RICHARD STALKFLEET as the business’s true owner and their point of contact.

            In asking for a prison sentence, prosecutors highlighted the length of the fraud and the fact that STALKFLEET was not struggling financially, while he took advantage of programs that are essential for the disabled.  “Each of the programs defendant defrauded is a pool of limited resources intended to support disabled workers who cannot support themselves.  But over the same years defendant took in millions of dollars in business revenues at Stalkfleet Farms, he drained almost $300,000 set aside for those unable to work,” prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memo.

            The case was investigated by the Social Security Office of Inspector General (SSA-OIG) and was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Seth Wilkinson.  Mr. Wilkinson prosecutes Social Security fraud cases in federal court as part of a partnership between the United States Attorney’s Office and the Social Security Administration Office of the General Counsel.

            The former president of a small Pierce County, Washington credit union was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 18 months in prison, three years of supervised release and more than $129,000 in restitution for two counts of wire fraud and two counts of misapplication of credit union funds, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  RENEE J. THOMAS, 45, of Graham, Washington, resigned as president of Community Credit Union on September 1, 2009, just as state authorities were preparing to examine the credit union because of concern about its financial performance.  Following her resignation, the investigation revealed THOMAS had used a variety of means to defraud not only the credit union but an insurance company and credit card companies associated with it.  At sentencing U.S. District Judge Ronald B. Leighton said, “this crime is very serious because it is the type of crime that corrodes faith in our financial system.”

            According to records in the case, THOMAS committed fraud and embezzled funds in four different schemes.  In 2007 THOMAS pressured an employee to falsify records related to nearly $90,000 in car loans so that she and her husband could collect disability insurance.  In December 2007, THOMAS used a credit union customer’s information to take money from his line of credit.  THOMAS applied the $16,500 to her bills.  In August of 2009, shortly before her departure from the credit union, THOMAS forged other employees’ names to increase the limit on her company credit card.  THOMAS used the increased borrowing authority for $22,000 in cash advances and other purchases.  Finally, on one of her last days at the credit union, THOMAS used other employees’ computer privileges to increase a customer’s line of credit and take cash from their account.  She then used some of the cash to make a payment on her credit card.  The loss to the credit union for the conduct charged in the case is $126,469.  

            In asking for a prison sentence prosecutors wrote to the court, “As Community Credit Union’s President, Thomas owed the credit union one thing – responsible stewardship.  Instead, she gave it a two-year fraud “spree,” targeting as her victims, the Credit Union, its customers, and its insurance carrier.  Rather than watching out for the interest of her employees, moreover, Thomas abused her authority over them and involved them in her criminal schemes.”

            The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Arlen Storm.

A 48-year-old University Place, Washington man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 14 years in prison and five years of supervised release for Conspiracy to Kill Persons in a Foreign Country and Solicitation to Commit a Crime of Violence, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  LONG VAN NGUYEN, pleaded guilty in September 2013, admitting that in 2012 he tried to pay to have various people in Vietnam killed.  NGUYEN thought that he was hiring an assassin to carry out the murders when in fact he was dealing with undercover federal law enforcement agents.  At sentencing U.S. District Judge Robert S. Lasnik said, “he committed two very serious offenses. . . you cannot dismiss this as mere puffery.”

According to records in the case, in March 2012 NGUYEN solicited an undercover Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agent to assassinate people in Vietnam.  NGUYEN had told others that he had sent $100,000 to a nephew in Vietnam, instructing him to spend only the interest earned by the money.  Instead, the nephew spent all the money so NGUYEN wanted him killed.  The undercover agent told NGUYEN he had associates in Vietnam who could do the killings.  NGUYEN agreed to a plan whereby his nephew ‘Bon’ would show the ‘assassins’ who NGUYEN wanted killed.  After identifying two proposed victims, NGUYEN then instructed the undercover agent that he wanted the nephew ‘Bon’ killed as well.  An undercover FBI agent posed as a possible assassin in the scheme.  NGUYEN paid the undercover FBI agent additional money for the hit, and added four more people to the list of those he wanted killed.  He provided pictures to the undercover HSI special agent of the four he wanted killed.  NGUYEN was arrested on July 7, 2012 and has been in custody ever since.

“Nguyen was adamant he wanted these people dead,” said Brad Bench special agent in charge of HSI Seattle.  “HSI and Vietnamese authorities had to act fast to save lives.  HSI has more than 70 international offices, and we work closely with foreign law enforcement to bring criminals such as Nguyen to justice.”

The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with assistance from the FBI and Vietnam Ministry of Public Security.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jill Otake and Ye-Ting Woo.

A long-time Seattle investment advisor was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 16 years in prison, three years of supervised release and $19.8 million dollars in restitution for 32 criminal counts including wire fraud, money laundering and investment advisor fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  MARK F. SPANGLER, 58, formerly of Seattle, promised his clients that he would protect their life’s savings by investing it in safe investments.  Instead, SPANGLER diverted their money – without their knowledge or consent – to two risky start-up companies that he controlled and in which he had a significant financial stake.  SPANGLER was convicted in November 2013 following a three week trial.  U. S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez said at sentencing that SPANGLER “touted his ethical foundations . . . But used his clients’ trust against them.  It was a complete betrayal in the worst possible way . . . He became someone willing to lie, cheat and swindle those same clients he described as friends and family.”

“Mark Spangler convinced his clients they were family and he would only do right by them.  But his wealth was built on lies and by defrauding those who trusted him,” said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  “He risked his clients’ retirement funds, money for their children’s education, for charitable giving and for their livelihood, on risky start-up ventures – the very investments they told him they wanted to avoid.  He now has a long time to think about all the harm he has done.”

The evidence at trial demonstrated that SPANGLER repeatedly violated his fiduciary duty as an investment advisor by hiding where his clients’ money was invested, and by providing them with false account statements which, among other things, drastically inflated the value of their investments.  SPANGLER told his clients that their assets were worth over $73 million.  However, after SPANGLER ran out of money and put his business into receivership, only approximately $28 million was recovered for the victims, resulting in a loss of approximately $50 million.

“When you knowingly mix deceit and trickery into the financial well-being of individuals, you create a recipe for devastation that could last a lifetime,” said Kenneth J. Hines, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Seattle Field Office.  “Today's sentencing demonstrates how federal law enforcement will band together to help put an end to the shameful criminal behavior of those who prey on investors for their personal financial gain.  IRS Criminal investigators will continue to use their financial expertise to identify and trace laundered funds in these types of investor fraud schemes.”

“The fraud perpetrated by Mr. Spangler was egregious,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge W. Jay Abbott of the FBI’s Seattle field office.  “As a family investment advisor, he was trusted to invest according to his client’s wishes.  Instead of respecting their sacred trust, Mr. Spangler chose to place his own interests above those of his clients.  Spangler’s deceit resulted in the diversion of tens of millions of his client’s hard-earned savings.  The FBI is committed to holding people like Spangler accountable, and will continue to partner with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, IRS Criminal Investigations, and the Securities Exchange Commission to accomplish this mission.”

Many of the investors who testified in court described how they were told their funds were conservatively invested in publicly traded companies and in bonds.  SPANGLER provided them false quarterly account statements fraudulently inflating the value of their accounts and how the money was invested.  When some investors sought to liquidate their holdings SPANGLER ran a Ponzi scheme seeking new money from investors to pay out the other investors.  Eventually, SPANGLER was unable to raise money to cover all the liquidation requests and was forced to place his investment business into receivership.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ongoing civil litigation underway against SPANGLER in federal court.

The case was investigated by the FBI and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI).  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Mike Lang, and Francis Franze-Nakamura.

            The owner of a Kent, Washington apartment complex and his company, were sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle for violating the Clean Air Act by exposing residents and workers to airborne asbestos, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  STANLEY XU, 53, was sentenced to 15 months in prison, 90 days of home confinement and ordered to make a $75,000 community service payment to the National Environmental Education Foundation.  XU’s company, LONGWELL COMPANY, was fined to $159,850 and placed on five years of probation to ensure it complies with all environmental regulations.  The defendants pleaded guilty in October 2013 for failing to protect residents of the Avante Apartments in Kent from asbestos exposure following a pipe rupture in December 2009.  XU knew the ceiling material that rained into the apartments contained asbestos, but still hired a clean-up contractor who took no steps to protect the apartment residents or workers hired to clean up and dispose of the hazardous waste.  At sentencing U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Zilly said this case concerned him  “because of the terrible risks posed to people exposed to asbestos.”

            “Asbestos has killed scores of people in our country and the rules are meant to protect against its dangers.  Mr. Xu and his company were well aware of the regulations surrounding clean-up and disposal of asbestos contamination, and chose instead to put his tenants and workers at risk,” said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  “Not only had Xu and his company been cited by the state before, he had obtained bids from qualified asbestos contractors; but to put money in his pocket, he instead hired someone on the cheap.  Now he pays a hefty price.”

            According to records filed in the case, in 2006 the Environmental Protection Agency filed complaints against XU for lead paint contamination at another apartment complex he owns.  In 2007, he was cited by the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries for failing to do an asbestos survey before construction work at another complex.  At a hearing in November 2009, XU stated he understood the code and that popcorn ceiling material contains asbestos.  Despite those statements, less than a month later when the pipes burst, he took no steps to ensure the asbestos material that fell into the apartments was disposed of properly.  In fact, after XU’s guilty plea in October 2013, he again failed to protect tenants and workers from airborne asbestos during another apartment repair project.

            “Defendant Xu obstructed a federal investigation, potentially exposed workers and dozens of his tenants, including young families, to harmful asbestos fibers and repeatedly failed to follow the law,” said Tyler Amon, Special Agent in Charge with EPA's Criminal Investigation Division.  “Because there's no safe level of asbestos exposure, business owners who knowingly put others at risk should expect tenacious prosecution.”

            In asking that XU be sentenced to a prison term, prosecutors explained how the apartment residents were put at risk.  “These tenants included families with young children, pregnant mothers, minorities, and low-income individuals.  According to interviews, many of the tenants were specifically told that they were required to clean this asbestos-containing debris from their belongings.  The tenants spent long hours – with their children in tow – over the course of several weeks cleaning and literally shaking this debris from their items.  The apartments, although initially damp, quickly dried out, creating a dusty environment inside.  Several tenants reported that they or their children, some of whom already had asthma, experienced difficulty breathing during this time.  They did all of this never knowing that this “dust” in their apartments likely contained asbestos fibers,” prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memo.

            The community service payment in this case goes to the National Environmental Education Foundation, a Congressionally mandated foundation established and dedicated to advancing environmental education.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kathryn K. Frierson and Special Assistant United States Attorney Karla G. Perrin with the EPA.

The owner and manager of one of three crime infested motels in Tukwila, Washington was sentenced  today to one year in prison and three years of supervised release for conspiracy to maintain drug involved premises, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  KULWINDER SAROYA, 42, of SeaTac, Washington, admitted he and his brother, co-defendant Jaspal Singh, knowingly operated drug involved premises at the Travelers Choice Motel and Great Bear Motor Inn and profited from the drug activity there.  SAROYA and his brother have forfeited the two motels, the family home in SeaTac, more than $265,000 seized from their home and bank accounts and a 2007 Mercedes Benz.  At sentencing U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour noted that SAROYA was being punished with a substantial economic loss, “wiping out 20 years of work.”

“Since we shut these motels, the violent crime rate in the area was cut nearly in half.  This case shows we will use all tools to protect the public and hold people accountable.  This operation shut down a major spawning ground for crime in the community of Tukwila, stripped the defendant of the profits of his crime, and will reunite a neighborhood,” said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  “I applaud the comprehensive work of law enforcement and look forward to a future for these properties that will benefit the community.”

“It’s a new day for Tukwila,” said City Administrator David Cline.  “We‘ve made a commitment to work towards providing a solid foundation and sense of safety in our community.  We are now another step closer to revitalization and redevelopment of the heart of the neighborhood along Tukwila International Boulevard.”

A third defendant, Lakhvir Pawar, 41, the manager of the Boulevard Motel on Tukwila International Boulevard has pleaded guilty and agreed to forfeit any interest in that motel as well as more than $90,000 he accumulated from the criminal activity.  Pawar and Singh will be sentenced in April.

In total the defendants in this case are forfeiting cash and property valued at about $4.5 million.

“Just over six months ago, the collaboration of a number of agencies resulted in the seizure of three motels, arrests and resulting prosecution of defendants, and most importantly, the dramatic improvement of safety along Tukwila International Boulevard,” said Tukwila Police Chief Mike Villa.
 
According to records filed in the case, the Tukwila Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) jointly-led investigation used undercover officers and people working with law enforcement to document criminal activity at the motels and the role the owners and managers played in that activity.  SAROYA and Singh admitted they would collect or would direct their staff to collect a $10 entry fee for those coming on the property seeking drugs or sexual services.  The owners and/or managers would take the money and direct the customer to rooms to purchase drugs or sex.  In some instances the person taking the “fee” would call the motel room to inform the dealer or sex worker that a customer was on the way.  SAROYA and Singh admitted that they collected additional rental fees from the dealer or sex worker based on how many customers were sent to the room over the course of the day.

The investigation, search and seizure operation was led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) and the Tukwila Police Department.  Many additional agencies assisted the investigation including the U.S. Marshals Service; Department of Homeland Security; Drug Enforcement Administration; Federal Bureau of Investigation; Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation; U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General; Washington State Patrol; Seattle, Auburn, Kent, Renton, Federal Way, and Port of Seattle Police Departments; Valley SWAT Team; King County Sheriff’s Office; Washington State Department of Corrections; and Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS).

The case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Justin Arnold, Jill Otake and Richard Cohen.

A resident of Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 30 months in prison and two years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute marijuana, distribution of marijuana and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  ALEJANDRO ANTONIO CASTILLO, 51, came to the attention of law enforcement in March 2013 after a middle school parent reported students were purchasing marijuana from CASTILLO’s home a block north of Ballard High School.  Surveillance of the home and purchases by undercover officers revealed that CASTILLO and his associates were repeatedly selling marijuana to minors including high school and middle school students from area schools.  At sentencing U.S. District Judge James L. Robart said he had reviewed photos of “the parade of kids coming up to the back door and buying drugs…. It is not acceptable to sell marijuana to school kids….  It is not acceptable to have guns at home to protect your drug trade.”

“As Washington moves forward with regulated marijuana, it is critical that we enforce the prohibition on sales to children and on those who use guns to protect their illegal activity,” said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  “This defendant was selling to minors as young as 13 and had previously demonstrated his willingness to use guns to protect his drug business.  The mix of drugs and guns is dangerous for the whole community, including kids who could show up at the door during a drug related robbery.”

According to records in the case, on various dates in April 2013, Seattle Police detectives observed teens from Whitman Middle School and Ballard High School approach the home where CASTILLO lives with his family members and associates.  The teens would go to the back door of the home, be there for a few minutes and leave.  Some were observed to be holding plastic bags of what appeared to be marijuana as they left.  On April 5, 2013, detectives observed 18 teens between the age of 14 and 18 approach the house in a three hour period beginning just before noon.  Most of the teens appeared to come directly from Ballard High School.

On four different occasions, undercover officers posing as juveniles purchased both marijuana and brownies laden with marijuana from CASTILLO or his associates.  On April 24, 2013, Seattle Police served a search warrant at the home and seized approximately 1,200 grams of suspected marijuana which included approximately 99 marijuana cigarettes, nine trays of suspected marijuana brownies, four shotguns, one rifle, six handguns, and $4,755 in U.S. Currency.  According to police reports, the home had previously been targeted in a home invasion robbery.  Two men had fired a shotgun into the house, CASTILLO fired back with one of his firearms, but the robbers fled and no one was hit by gunfire.

            Judge Robart said he questioned CASTILLO’s claims that he only sold drugs because he was “behind on his bills,” noting that more than $4,700 in cash was seized at the house.  “It is necessary that we get out the message: regardless of legalization, you do not sell drugs to minors,” Judge Robart said.

CASTILLO was charged federally in September 2013, and pleaded guilty in December 2013.
The case was investigated by the Seattle Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Stephen Hobbs.  Mr. Hobbs is a Senior Deputy King County Prosecutor specially designated to prosecute gun and drug cases in federal court.

A 22-year-old man who was arrested in July 2013 by University of Washington Police in a stolen truck with stolen firearms, body armor and gasoline incendiary devices, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to three years in prison and three years of supervised release, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  JUSTIN MILES JASPER pleaded guilty to transportation of a stolen vehicle, possession of a stolen firearm and possession of destructive devices in November 2013.  A key provision of the sentence requires JASPER to participate in mental health counseling.  At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez said the investigation revealed JASPER had “no specific plan,” but noted that possession of the weapons and explosives was both alarming and dangerous for the public, law enforcement and the defendant.

JASPER was arrested on July 3, 2013 near the UW campus in Seattle.  He was driving a 1998 Dodge Ram 2500 pick-up truck with Montana plates.  The truck had been reported stolen by the owner in Butte, Montana.  Inside the truck police found a Stevens Model 311A double-barrel 12-gauge shotgun, with no serial number, and a Mauser Model 1895 bolt-action rifle.  Both guns had been stolen from the same owner as the truck.  According to the plea agreement, the truck also contained six destructive devices commonly referred to as “Molotov cocktails.”

According to records filed in the case, the investigation never uncovered any plan by JASPER to use the weapons or explosives.  Both sides recommended that Judge Martinez require mental health counseling while JASPER is on supervised release and will recommend the Bureau of Prisons place JASPER at a facility with mental health treatment while he is incarcerated.

At the close of the sentencing hearing Judge Martinez noted that law enforcement had carefully investigated JASPER’s conduct, and said the investigation led to a better outcome.  Judge Martinez said, “I commend everybody’s effort on this case.”

The case was investigated by the FBI, the UW Police Department, and the Seattle Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Todd Greenberg.

A 52-year old Auburn, Washington woman was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to two years in prison and three years of supervised release for a fraud scheme in which she claimed to be a cancer patient, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  Between May 2009 and September 2012, JULIE ANN DAHLQUIST convinced an elderly Auburn resident to support her financially by claiming the money he gave her would pay for her cancer treatment.  In fact, DAHLQUIST had no cancer diagnosis and used more than $400,000 to support her gambling addiction.  DAHLQUIST pleaded guilty November 15, 2013, to Social Security fraud.  At sentencing U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez ordered her to pay $417,382 in restitution and said the crime was “no less than elder abuse – taking advantage of the victim’s good nature to steal his money.”

According to records filed in the case, DAHLQUIST told the elderly victim that she had been diagnosed with cancer and had no medical insurance or any money for treatment.  The victim, concerned for DAHLQUIST’s welfare, wrote her checks to pay for the non-existent treatment.  The victim wrote checks for as much as $9,000 about three times a month.  In all, the victim wrote 190 checks to DAHLQUIST for more than $400,000.  DAHLQUIST used the money for gambling and other expenses.  DAHLQUIST also defrauded the Social Security Administration disability program.  DAHLQUIST concealed the $400,000 in proceeds from her fraud scheme so that she could collect $8,000 in Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits from the Social Security Administration.  DAHLQUIST also fraudulently collected more than $8,000 in food and medical benefits from the State of Washington.

Writing to the court prosecutors noted that: “This is a truly outrageous fraud that involved exploiting an elderly retiree’s trust and generous intentions.  Julie Dahlquist recognized that (the victim) was a trusting and generous person, and because of those qualities she chose to prey on him.  Furthermore, defendant invoked the serious disease of cancer as part of her fraud.  The psychological harm to the victim is acute:  his family reports that he is “devastated to think that someone he was trying to help would take such extreme advantage of him.”

The case was investigated by the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General (SSA-OIG) and was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Seth Wilkinson as part of a partnership venture between the Social Security Administration Office of General Counsel and the United States Attorney’s Office.

            A felon who attempted to steal a disabled motorcycle from the shoulder of Interstate 5 was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to ten years in prison and three years of supervised release for possession of stolen firearms, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  The investigation revealed that DONOVAN SMITH, 43, possessed eleven firearms – ten of which were stolen in residential burglaries in Texas and Washington.  SMITH committed the Texas burglaries just weeks after his release from a New Mexico prison for a second degree murder conviction.  At sentencing U.S. District Judge Robert S. Lasnik ordered him to participate in drug treatment as part of his supervised release.

            According to records filed in the case, SMITH was taken into custody by the Washington State Patrol following a May 17, 2012, incident on Interstate 5 near Seattle.  The owner of a 1996 motorcycle suffered a flat tire and left the bike on the shoulder of the roadway while he went to get help.  When he returned the motorcycle had been moved about a half mile north, and he saw SMITH attempting to remove the gas cap of the bike using a crow bar.  The ignition of the bike had been damaged and was dangling from the frame.  The victim called 9-1-1 and waited with his friends for the Washington State Patrol.  SMITH and the woman who was driving his car were arrested for theft of a motor vehicle and malicious mischief.  After obtaining a warrant to search SMITH’s car, investigators found the 11 firearms.  When they searched SMITH’s Shoreline, Washington apartment they found other goods stolen in Texas including computers, cameras, and musical instruments (specifically violins and cellos).  Also recovered in the apartment were two rifle scopes and a ballistic vest.  The items recovered have been linked to seventeen residential burglaries in Texas and one residential burglary in Washington.

            SMITH was charged federally on May 24, 2012 and pleaded guilty on March 6, 2013.  SMITH has a lengthy criminal history including being a co-defendant in the 2002 murder of a 21-year-old woman in New Mexico.  SMITH aided and abetted the homicide by fleeing the state with the firearm used to shoot the young woman and attempting to dispose of the gun.  The first burglary connected with this case occurred just two weeks after SMITH was released from prison for the homicide.

            The case was investigated by the Washington State Patrol and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF).

            The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Stephen Hobbs.  Mr. Hobbs is a Senior Deputy King County Prosecutor specially designated to prosecute firearms cases in federal court.

The final defendant of a violent bank robbery team was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  In all, seven defendants have entered guilty pleas and been sentenced for their roles in the string of bank robberies.  CHARLES A. WILLIAMS, 40, of Los Angeles, was sentenced today to eight years in prison and three years of supervised release.  JEANINE M. DANIELS, 32, of Los Angeles, California, was sentenced yesterday to five years in prison and three years of supervised release.  Three other defendants from Los Angeles were sentenced earlier this year:  KEVIN L. BROWN, 38, was sentenced to 16 years in prison; CURTIS W. SMITH, 22, was sentenced to 37 months in prison; and DOUGLAS L. SMITH, 22, was sentenced to 51 months in prison.  JANALISA ESTRADA, 33, of Hollywood, California was sentenced to four years in prison and ANTHONY V. MOSLEY, 46, of Tacoma, Washington was sentenced to 13 years in prison.  U. S. District Judge Richard A. Jones imposed the sentences.

“This was a sophisticated crew of interstate robbers who terrorized bank employees and customers.  They thought they could escape justice, but were badly mistaken,” said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  “I commend the FBI’s South Sound Gang Task Force for their leadership in tracking the group and bringing them to justice.”

According to records filed in the case, various members of the seven member ring participated in one or more of a string of takeover-style bank robberies in Washington, Ohio, Michigan and Colorado.  During the robberies, subjects entered the banks in groups, covered head to toe in loose clothing and gloves, and demanded money while jumping over teller counters.  The four robberies in Washington were: the May 25, 2012 robbery of a Wells Fargo branch on Pacific Avenue South in Tacoma; the September 6, 2012, robbery of a U.S. Bank Branch on Bridgeport Way in Lakewood; the October 22, 2012, robbery of a Wells Fargo Bank branch on Lake City Way in Seattle; and the December 20, 2012, robbery of a Wells Fargo Bank branch on 132nd Avenue NE in Kirkland.  In their plea agreements, various members of the gang pleaded guilty to different robberies in Saline, Ypsilanti, Ann Arbor, Temperance, and Jackson, Michigan, and Toledo, Ohio.

“These brazen criminals didn’t think they’d be caught, as none ever do,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge W. Jay Abbott of the FBI Seattle field office.  “The resolution of this investigation tells others like them that they’re wrong; the FBI and its law enforcement partners will doggedly pursue you, and prosecutors will ensure you face justice for your actions.  The South Sound Gang Task Force is committed to combating gang violence in all its forms, and it will continue to combine the skills of multiple law enforcement agencies for that mission.”

The South Sound Gang Task Force (SSGTF) in Washington arrested five of the subjects on December 22, 2012 on state bank robbery charges.  The SSGTF arrested the subjects as they prepared to board a Greyhound bus to Los Angeles, California.  Investigators were waiting at the bus station, based upon information that the group frequently traveled to Los Angeles by Greyhound bus within days of a bank robbery.

The Tacoma, Washington-based SSGTF investigated the robberies in Washington state in partnership with the Lakewood Police Department’s Gang Unit and the FBI Seattle Safe Streets Task Force.  The SSGTF is composed of members of the FBI Seattle Division, Lakewood and Tacoma Police Departments, the Washington State Patrol, the Washington State Department of Corrections, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). FBI entities nationwide collaborated in the investigation, including the Los Angeles Field Office and the Ann Arbor, Denver, and Toledo Resident Agencies.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Mike Dion and Kate Crisham.

            A 38-year-old Kelso, Washington man was sentenced today to 25 years in prison for production of child pornography, possession of child pornography and distribution of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  JONATHAN SCOTT LEE was arrested in October 2012, after he sent images of child pornography to an undercover officer working in New Zealand.  LEE thought he was communicating with someone who could provide him additional images of child pornography.  Law enforcement was able to trace the photos to LEE and his camera.  They seized his computer and other media storage devices at his Kelso home.  Analysis revealed thousands of images and videos of child pornography on his computer, an external hard drive, and his smartphone.  He pleaded guilty in September 2013 to taking the sexually explicit images of an 11-year-girl.  LEE is required to register as a sex offender and will be on supervised release for the rest of his life following his prison term.

            At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge Ronald B. Leighton said “the production of child pornography is a despicable activity. Exploiting children is the lowest form of cruelty I can imagine.”

            “The production of child pornography—coupled with the physical sexual abuse of children—is a heinous crime with devastating, lifelong impacts on its victims,” said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  “Distributing the photos of these children being molested further victimizes them and warrants this significant prison sentence.”

            According to records filed in the case, investigators were able to identify three young victims involved in LEE’s production of child pornography.  Other images that he possessed were those of victims already identified by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).

            “Not only did the defendant abuse children, he shared his exploitation with predators around the world,” said Brad Bench, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Seattle.  “HSI places a high priority on combating this despicable crime, not only to identify and rescue child victims, but to stop their re-victimization by individuals who view and distribute Internet child pornography.”

The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) and by the Kelso Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Marci Ellsworth.

            Thirteen people were arrested and law enforcement seized 50 pounds of crystal meth, $160,000 of cash and seven guns in the culmination of a lengthy investigation of Pierce County based drug trafficking ring, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  The Drug Enforcement Administration led the wire-tap investigation which identified the members of a criminal conspiracy distributing significant quantities of meth and heroin throughout Western Washington.  The investigation uncovered a conversion lab in Spanaway, Washington where liquid meth was processed into highly addictive crystal methamphetamine.  Twelve of the people arrested appeared in U.S. District Court in Tacoma today, charged with a variety of drug trafficking offenses.

            “This criminal group built a business in moving two drugs, meth and heroin, that destroy lives and families and tear apart communities,” said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  “Through the course of this case, law enforcement took more than 66 pounds of crystal meth off the streets and more than two and a half pounds of heroin.  Federal and local partners working together have dismantled a major pipeline for drugs.”

            “Methamphetamine and heroin are a significant threat to the Pacific Northwest,” stated DEA Special Agent in Charge Matthew G. Barnes.  “This organization was not only distributing heroin and methamphetamine, but was also converting the methamphetamine into a highly addictive form of crystal methamphetamine.  I commend the dedication and hard work of all the law enforcement agencies that brought these drug traffickers to justice.”

            When 17 search warrants were served on Sunday and Monday February 23 and 24, 2014, law enforcement seized 50 pounds of crystal meth and two gallons of liquid meth that was in the process of being converted to crystal meth.  The conversion of liquid meth to crystal meth is a potentially dangerous process involving highly flammable chemicals such as acetone.  Over the year-long course of the investigation law enforcement seized 66 pounds of crystal meth, 2.5 pounds of heroin, a total of $310,000, 25 vehicles (some with hidden compartments for drugs and cash), and seven firearms (three of them stolen).  A photo of liquid meth is attached to this press release.

            Those charged in the case include: LUIS HERNANDEZ, 58, Tacoma, Washington
JUAN HERNANDEZ, 34, Kent, Washington
JAIME HERNANDEZ, 29, Tacoma, Washington
RUVISELA HERNANDEZ, 35, Lakewood, Washington
PEDRO PERALTA, 41, Lakewood, Washington
EZEQUIEL SANCHEZ-CARMONA, 21, Tacoma, Washington
WALTER VARGAS, 38, Tacoma, Washington
ANDREW GARDEE, 23, Puyallup, Washington
BRITNEY SIKKENGA, 21, Puyallup, Washington
MICHAEL ECKENRODE, 38, Tacoma, Washington
GERARDO GARCIA, 20, Oakland, California
CARLOS MESINA-OROZCO, 22, Tacoma, Washington
JORGE OROZCO-MAGANA, 37, Tacoma, Washington

            The charges contained in the complaint are only allegations.  A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

            Due to the large amounts of drugs involved and the presence of firearms, defendants could face mandatory minimums of ten years in prison to life in prison if convicted.

This was an Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation, providing supplemental federal funding to the federal and state agencies involved.  This investigation was led by DEA Tacoma in conjunction with Tahoma Narcotics Enforcement Team, Lakewood Police Department, West Sound Narcotics Team, and Pierce County Sheriff’s Office.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Lisca Borichewski and Brian Werner.

            The owner of ‘Sellin Style’ car dealership in Sequim, Washington was arrested on drug trafficking charges Sunday evening following a high speed chase that ended after two sets of spike strips were placed on the highway, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  TIMOTHY P. SMITH, 29, a long time Clallam County resident was charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, four counts of distribution of methamphetamine and maintaining a drug involved premises.  Two of SMITH’s co-conspirators, KELSEY A. DAVIS and TAMMY R. COBURN were also charged in the case.  SMITH remains detained at the Federal Detention Center at SeaTac, Washington.  DAVIS is in federal custody with a detention hearing Thursday.  COBURN is being sought by law enforcement.

            “The charges in this case follow a lengthy investigation of Timothy Smith’s drug dealing in Clallam County,” said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  “Federal law enforcement officers with ATF, FBI and DEA worked closely with the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office and other local partners to shut down the meth dealing which was a blight on the community.  Smith and his cohorts now face significant federal sentences for their criminal conduct.”

            “I am pleased that this complex investigation involving federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies has resulted in the arrest of a prolific drug dealer in Clallam County,” said Sheriff Bill Benedict.  “This criminal enterprise has fueled too much personal misery and property crime in Clallam County.  I am grateful to our federal partners in the DEA, FBI, ATF, and DOJ, as well as the Washington State Patrol, for the successful outcome in this operation.”

            According to the criminal complaint and police reports on the arrest, SMITH and his cohorts were under investigation by law enforcement as early as February 2012.  On multiple occasions SMITH, DAVIS and COBURN sold methamphetamine to a person working with law enforcement.  SMITH sold methamphetamine on multiple occasions in June, July and August 2013 at his ‘Sellin Style’ car dealership on Old Blyn Highway near Sequim.

As part of an investigation and take down of a larger drug ring, supplying methamphetamine to SMITH and others, law enforcement arrested SMITH as he traveled back to Sequim on Sunday evening February 23, 2014.  Shortly after SMITH and DAVIS’ vehicle crossed the Hood Canal Bridge, the Washington State Patrol pulled the car over.  After initially stopping, SMITH sped away, traveling at speeds nearing 100 mph and weaving into the lane for oncoming traffic.  Troopers noticed white bags tossed from the car.  Inside was 1.6 pounds of suspected methamphetamine.  The car hit one set of spike strips and continued on.  After hitting a second set of spike strips the car came to a halt and SMITH and DAVIS were taken into custody.

            The charges contained in the complaint are only allegations.  A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

            The case was investigated by the FBI, ATF, DEA, and Olympic Peninsula Narcotics Task Force (OPNET) containing officers from Clallam County Sheriff’s Office, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, Port Angeles Police Department, Sequim Police Department, Neah Bay Department of Public Safety, Elwha Klallam Police, LaPush Police, the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Border Patrol, the Washington Department of Corrections, Washington State Patrol and the West Sound Narcotics Enforcement Team (WestNet) which contains officers from the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office and  Poulsbo Police.

            The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Gregory A. Gruber.

            A repeat offender who robbed a postal contract facility was sentenced last week to ten years in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  A few days later a separate defendant was convicted by a Tacoma jury of being a felon in possession of a firearm.  Both cases highlight the focus on illegal weapons possession that is a priority in the Western District of Washington.

            In the first case, CHAUNCEY WILLIAMS, 25, of Lakewood, Washington was sentenced to the ten year prison term for armed robbery and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.  WILLIAMS is one of three men who robbed the Oakbrook Contract Postal Unit in Lakewood on June 7, 2011.  The men pointed a gun at the clerk and demanded the money in the till.  WILLIAMS was convicted by a jury on January 24, 2013.  At the sentencing Monday, February 10, 2014, Judge Benjamin H. Settle said that “Nobody in this courtroom can understand the trauma of having a gun held to them in a robbery… (it was) that conduct that brought great harm to others.”  WILLIAMS was identified as one of the robbers after cashing a money order taken in the robbery while on a trip to Hawaii.

            In the second case, CARLOS CARMONA-GONZALEZ, 23, of Vancouver, Washington, was convicted Wednesday, February 12, 2014, of being a felon in possession of a firearm.  The two day trial revealed that, in July 2013, CARMONA-GONZALEZ was seen by three police officers and one civilian eyewitness, placing a rifle wrapped in a jacket in his friend’s car.  CARMONA-GONZALEZ is a prominent member of the Surenos gang in the Southwest Washington region.  CARMONA-GONZALEZ is prohibited from possessing firearms because he has four previous felony convictions, including possession of MDMA (Clark County 2011), attempted assault (Clark County 2009), Escape (Clark County 2008) and assault (Clark County 2008).  When sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ronald B. Leighton on May 23, 2014, CARMONA-GONZALEZ faces up to ten years in prison.

            The WILLIAMS case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and the Lakewood Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Gregory A. Gruber and David Reese Jennings.

             CARMONA-GONZALEZ was investigated by the Longview Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) with assistance from the Vancouver Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Roscoe Jones and Jill Otake.

“Cash businesses such as marijuana distribution can be a magnet for criminal violence.  Today's guidance seeks to mitigate the public safety concerns created by high volume cash based businesses without access to the banking and financial systems.  The guidance also seeks to prevent criminal organizations from laundering their criminal proceeds beyond the reach of law enforcement.  The guidance reaffirms the expectation that states that have enacted laws authorizing marijuana-related conduct will implement clear, strong and effective regulatory and enforcement systems.  That obligation remains.  This new guidance also makes it clear that banks have an obligation to continue to report and not offer services to businesses that operate outside such strong regulatory and enforcement regimes.”

A PDF copy of the guidance is attached to this release.

The U.S. Department of Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is issuing guidance today entitled “BSA Expectations Regarding Marijuana-Related Businesses,” which is referred to in the attached memorandum from the Deputy Attorney General.  FinCEN's guidance will be available later today on this website:

http://www.fincen.gov/

Three Day Enforcement Operation Concludes with Training for Police, Tribal, and School Staff on Child Safety Information

            A three-day enforcement operation led by the U.S. Marshal Service concluded today with the apprehension of 89 felons including 10 sex offenders in Southwest Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  ‘Operation Safe Harbors’ was aimed at locating wanted felons and checking the status of registered sex offenders in Grays Harbor, Pacific, and Mason Counties.  The operation concludes with a day-long training for local law enforcement, tribal authorities, victim advocates, and school staff about child safety issues related to sex predators and online communication.

            “I commend the leadership of the U.S. Marshal Service working with local law enforcement to remove wanted felons from the community,” said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  “Just one offender can have a significant impact on a smaller community.  Sex offenders in rural areas, just like those in urban settings, need to know that law enforcement is watching.  The training today will ensure that more adults will be attuned to the current threats to the safety of our children.”

            Working with local sheriff and police departments, the U.S. Marshal Service identified felons who were the subject of warrants from various jurisdictions.  Over three days, six teams of law enforcement officers arrested 89 offenders on fugitive warrants.  As part of their sex offender registration responsibilities, the Marshal Service did compliance checks on 101 sex offenders in Grays Harbor County to ensure they are complying with their conditions of release.  The compliance checks also included the collection of DNA samples for the sex offenders who had not yet provided a DNA sample to the data base.

            The work of the Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force led to arrests outside the state of Washington.  Sex offenders with warrants out for their arrest in Grays Harbor County were arrested in Idaho, Oregon, near Reno, Nevada, and in San Diego, California.  A defendant wanted for child molestation in Grays Harbor County was arrested by the task force in Montesano, Washington.

            In a day-long training for local law enforcement, victim advocates, and service providers, experts provided information on identifying and prosecuting child sex trafficking, child pornography, and sex offender failure to register violations.  Speakers discussed internet safety and ways to identify victims of child exploitation.

            Those participating in Operation Safe Harbors include Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force, United States Attorney’s Office, Grays Harbor County Sheriff, Mason County Sheriff, Pacific County Sheriff, Hoquiam Police Department, Washington State Department of Corrections, and Squaxin Island Tribal Police.

            U.S. District Judge James L. Robart today approved a new Crisis Intervention Policy for the Seattle Police Department, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  The policy, developed with local, regional and nationally-recognized experts in the fields of mental health and drug addiction, is designed to improve community safety and provide officers with the guidance and training they need to treat those having a behavioral crisis with dignity and respect, and to resolve crisis incidents by connecting those individuals with community services that can provide long-term stabilizing support.  One key component of the policy calls for officers to de-escalate the situation when feasible and reasonable.

The new policy will become the official policy of the Seattle Police Department on March 3, 2014, and initial training to the policy will begin soon thereafter.   

“SPD’s data shows that far too many situations requiring force involve people suffering from mental health or substance abuse issues. This new policy creates critical new organizational and operational changes for the Seattle Police Department that will guide and help officers when dealing with such individuals,” said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  “The phased approach is a model for urban policing. While all officers will be trained, selected officers will be certified with advanced training to manage the scene when dealing with a person in crisis.  A crisis response team will follow up on criminal investigations where mental illness is suspected.  These organizational and operational changes are recognized as best practices at the best law enforcement agencies in the nation.  We thank the members of the Crisis Intervention Committee (and their sponsoring agencies) for the time they generously spent in diligently and carefully helping to craft these policies.”

            The new policy was developed over months of work by the Crisis Intervention Committee (CIC), composed of mental and behavioral health experts: providers, clinicians, advocates, academics, outside law enforcement representatives, members of the Seattle Police Department (SPD) and the judiciary.  The CIC was created in 2013 to provide a problem-solving forum for interagency issues, including the development of policy, the evaluation of training for SPD’s officers engaged with this population, and the collection of data and other information to track systemic failures in providing the available services.

“People experiencing a behavioral crisis are victims who deserve of our care and attention, and our SPD officers deserve clear expectations for how to approach and interact with those in this kind of situation,” said Seattle Mayor Ed Murray.  “The many lessons learned from the tragic John T. Williams shooting have helped inform the Department’s new crisis intervention policy, which I believe will be of significant help to officers as they face these kinds of encounters in the future.”

            The policy creates the position of a Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) coordinator, Lt. Marty Rivera, who is appointed by the Chief of Police and provides command-level oversight of the Crisis Intervention Program and, who is the primary point of contact for the mental health provider/clinician/advocacy community for the SPD.

The Crisis Intervention Program consists of three distinct levels of expertise: all line patrol officers who will receive basic training on crisis intervention; the “certified” Crisis Intervention officers; and the follow-up Crisis Response Team.  To become a CIT “certified” officer, those officers must take a 40 hour crisis intervention course with a certification exam and complete additional annual training.  A CIT-certified officer will be dispatched to every scene where the police communications center suspects a behavioral crisis and, for the first time, will take primary responsibility at the scene of crisis events.  The Crisis Response Team is tasked with following up on officer encounters with those enduring a crisis to assess that appropriate services are in place.

“The new Crisis Intervention Policy gives my officers clear guidelines and resources when they encounter people who are experiencing behavioral crisis,” said Interim Seattle Police Chief Harry Bailey.  “This policy also provides access and resources to a vulnerable population.  As police officers we are also charged with community care taking duties and this new policy works in concert with that philosophy and will provide officers with the necessary training and tools to help people that are in need of those services.  I want to thank the Crisis Intervention Committee for helping us reach another milestone in the DOJ settlement agreement.”

Also, for the first time, officers will be required to collect data on every encounter they have with individuals in behavioral crisis, again to systematically track and assess the deployment and effectiveness of resources.

The Justice Department’s investigation in 2011 found that SPD’s patterns of excessive force often arose from encounters with persons with mental illnesses or those under the influence of alcohol or drugs.  This finding was particularly troubling because, by its own estimates, 70% of SPD’s use of force during that time period involved these populations.

            A citizen of China was arrested in Seattle on February 10, 2014, after he entered the United States as part of a scheme to obtain restricted parts and illegally smuggle them to China, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  SEE KEE CHIN, a/k/a, Alfred Chin, 56, of Hong Kong appeared in U.S. District Court in Seattle today.  CHIN is charged by complaint with violating the Arms Control Export Act by seeking to obtain and export certain accelerometers that are designated on the United States Munitions List, International Traffic in Arms Regulations.  The accelerometers are designed for low and zero gravity inertial navigation systems that are used in spacecraft.

            According to the criminal complaint, a U.S. company that sells accelerometers reported suspicious contact with a Canadian who wanted to purchase restricted equipment.  Between September 2013 and February 2014, the investigation revealed that the Canadian was inquiring on behalf of CHIN.  CHIN indicated he would personally pick up the order and was arrested in Seattle after he made payment of over $85,000, and picked up the items.

            The penalties for violating the Arms Control Export Act are up to twenty years of imprisonment and up to a million dollar fine.  The charges contained in the complaint are only allegations.  A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The Department of State promulgates the United States Munitions List, which consists of categories of defense articles and services that cannot be exported without a license issued by the Department of State.  The U.S. Munitions List includes the accelerometers ordered in this case. As a result, the export requires an export license.

            The case is being investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigation (HSI).

            The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Thomas Woods.

            A Snohomish County woman who led a ring of gun and drug traffickers was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to nine years in prison and four years of supervised release for conspiracy to illegally deal in firearms, being a felon in possession of a firearm and distribution of methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  HEATHER CHANCEY, a/k/a HEATHER LEE SLATER, 34, of Marysville, Washington was indicted in July 2013 along with three other members of a firearms trafficking ring.  At sentencing, U.S. District Judge James L. Robart said that “the delivery of 49 firearms is an extraordinarily serious offense.”

            “This defendant sold dozens of high powered firearms with no sales record and no concern about where these guns would end up,” said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  “The sales were made in crowded parking lots and other locations with no security, no background checks and no protection for the public. One of our top priorities is to stop the illegal flow of guns into our communities.”

According to records in the case, on multiple occasions between October 2012 and January 2013, HEATHER CHANCEY and her coconspirators sold guns to an undercover law enforcement agent.  Most of the sales occurred in the parking lot of the Tulalip Resort Casino in Marysville, Washington.  Some of the sales occurred in other parking lots of businesses in Marysville or Arlington, Washington or at a Marysville residence.  CHANCEY was prohibited from possessing firearms because of a 2001 conviction for methamphetamine possession.  Some of the guns she possessed and sold in this case include: two sawed off shotguns and 13 regular shotguns – some with no visible serial numbers; 21 rifles – some with obliterated serial numbers; and four handguns.  CHANCEY also sold methamphetamine to the undercover officer.

Two other defendants have already pleaded guilty: James Michaels was sentenced to 10 months in prison for conspiracy to unlawfully sell firearms.  Mark Jenkins is scheduled to be sentenced for conspiracy to unlawfully sell firearms on February 24, 2014. Curtis Van Putten is scheduled for trial next week for conspiracy to sell firearms and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

This investigation was conducted by the Snohomish Regional Gang and Drug Task Force, the Seattle Police Department, and the FBI.  During the investigation, those agencies were assisted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Snohomish County Violent Offender Task Force and the United States Marshal’s Violent Offender Task Force.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kate Crisham.

A repeat offender with a long history of domestic violence was sentenced today to ten years in prison and three years of supervised release for being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  HERBERT D. ZENO, 32, a known gang member from the Vancouver, Washington area was convicted following a three day jury trial in November of 2013.  ZENO was arrested and booked into the Clark County Jail on January 31, 2013.  ZENO was charged federally on February 19, 2013.  At sentencing, U.S. District Judge Ronald B. Leighton said, “You are a walking, talking crime wave…you are a bully and a predator.”

According to testimony presented at trial, on the same day of his arrest on state charges, ZENO tried to get his girlfriend to hide a firearm he had left in his car.  When a court-authorized search warrant was served at ZENO’s home and a relative’s home, the firearm was discovered hidden under a dresser.  ZENO has eight prior felony convictions including drug possession (2003 and 2005), robbery (2002), and illegal firearm possession (2002).  ZENO has five prior convictions for domestic violence.  ZENO’s prior convictions bar him from possessing firearms.  ZENO has tattoos identifying him as a Bloods gang member, and the firearm was found wrapped in a red Bloods bandana – a sign of his ownership.

In asking for a ten year prison term, prosecutors told the court, “This case is the fourth time Zeno has been convicted of unlawful firearm possession.  It is dangerous for any felon to possess a gun.  When the felon is a man like Zeno – a gang member with a history of brutal violence – it is simply terrifying.  His conduct in this case is a continuation of Zeno’s patterns – his pattern of crime, his pattern of gun possession, his pattern of abuse and exploitation of the women in his life.”

The case was investigated by the FBI’s Safe Streets Gang Task Force, which contains officers from the Vancouver Police Department and Clark County Sheriff’s Office.  The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) assisted with the investigation.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael Dion and former Assistant United States Attorney Thomas Bates.

A repeat offender with a long history of domestic violence was sentenced today to ten years in prison and three years of supervised release for being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  HERBERT D. ZENO, 32, a known gang member from the Vancouver, Washington area was convicted following a three day jury trial in November of 2013.  ZENO was arrested and booked into the Clark County Jail on January 31, 2013.  ZENO was charged federally on February 19, 2013.  At sentencing, U.S. District Judge Ronald B. Leighton said, “You are a walking, talking crime wave…you are a bully and a predator.”

According to testimony presented at trial, on the same day of his arrest on state charges, ZENO tried to get his girlfriend to hide a firearm he had left in his car.  When a court-authorized search warrant was served at ZENO’s home and a relative’s home, the firearm was discovered hidden under a dresser.  ZENO has eight prior felony convictions including drug possession (2003 and 2005), robbery (2002), and illegal firearm possession (2002).  ZENO has five prior convictions for domestic violence.  ZENO’s prior convictions bar him from possessing firearms.  ZENO has tattoos identifying him as a Bloods gang member, and the firearm was found wrapped in a red Bloods bandana – a sign of his ownership.

In asking for a ten year prison term, prosecutors told the court, “This case is the fourth time Zeno has been convicted of unlawful firearm possession.  It is dangerous for any felon to possess a gun.  When the felon is a man like Zeno – a gang member with a history of brutal violence – it is simply terrifying.  His conduct in this case is a continuation of Zeno’s patterns – his pattern of crime, his pattern of gun possession, his pattern of abuse and exploitation of the women in his life.”

The case was investigated by the FBI’s Safe Streets Gang Task Force, which contains officers from the Vancouver Police Department and Clark County Sheriff’s Office.  The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) assisted with the investigation.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael Dion and former Assistant United States Attorney Thomas Bates.

A Puyallup, Washington man who shot and killed two men who had entered the garage where he was growing marijuana, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to seven years in prison and three years of supervised release for manufacturing marijuana and possession of a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  JEREMY PETER CAPODANNO, 37, was arrested in April 2013.  Under the terms of the plea agreement, CAPODANNO is forfeiting nearly $670,000 in proceeds from the sale of two properties -- his Puyallup home and a second home in Kent, Washington.  CAPODANNO is also forfeiting a 2008 Mercedes, a 2008 Toyota pickup truck and five firearms seized at the crime scene.  At sentencing U.S. District Judge Ronald B. Leighton said Capodanno had “earned 84 months” in prison.  “There’s no excuse for you to do that, to set the conditions for the fire fight in your garage is inexcusable. . . the conditions were set, the fuse was lit, and the ravage began,” Judge Leighton said.

“This defendant knew the risks of drug dealing, and armed himself with multiple weapons to protect his business.  He invited violence to his child’s home and his community,” said U. S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  “He acted as judge, jury and executioner for the two men who came to rip his illegal operation.  Our federal enforcement focus remains on those who bring violence and use firearms to protect illegal drug businesses.”

On December 6, 2012, CAPODANNO shot two people who had entered the garage of his Puyallup residence – killing both of them.  In the garage loft was a marijuana grow with nearly 200 plants.  When police officers arrived, they found CAPODANNO in possession of a Glock 17, 9mm semiautomatic pistol, which is the gun that CAPODANNO used to kill the two men.  While searching CAPODANNO’s truck, police found additional marijuana as well as other weapons including a Bushmaster XM-15 assault rifle; an Intratec Tec-9 9mm pistol; a Benelli 12 gauge tactical shotgun; and a Professional Ordinance MDL Carbon 15.

Writing to the court, prosecutors described how CAPODANNO left the house (with his minor son still inside), while he took his gun and circled around the side of the house and fired back into the house through a window likely killing one of the intruders.  CAPODANNO is seen on the surveillance system he installed carefully aiming and shooting through the window.  Evidence retrieved at the scene indicates CAPODANNO then went into the garage and continued to fire more than a dozen shots at the two men, killing both.

CAPODANNO “is a long-time drug trafficker, selling large amounts of marijuana for over a decade.  Based on the assets he accumulated, his illegal activity was quite lucrative, letting him live a lifestyle that included expensive real estate, high-powered ski boats, motorcycles, luxury vehicles, and other assets.  Unfortunately, like so many drug dealers, he also possessed a number of firearms.  Unfortunately his vocation also led, as it often does, to violence and death,” prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memo.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS).  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Vince Lombardi and Matthew Thomas.

            The former owner of a San Juan Island coffee shop named “Criminal Coffee,” was found guilty today in U.S. District Court in Seattle of conspiracy, mail fraud and making false statements, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  CORY MICHAEL EGLASH, 52, was found guilty following a four-day jury trial.  The jury deliberated about two hours before convicting EGLASH of conspiracy to defraud the United States, four counts of mail fraud and making false statements to the government.  EGLASH’s long-time girlfriend Ramona Hayes, 41, was also charged in the case.  She pleaded guilty prior to trial.  Sentencing for EGLASH is scheduled before U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez on April 28, 2014.

            According to filings in the case and testimony at trial, both EGLASH and Hayes filed claims with the Social Security Administration stating they were disabled and unable to work.  In addition to his own application, EGLASH made statements as verification for Hayes’s disability claim.  Hayes’s application, filed in early 2011, claimed she was unable to deal with the public and could not venture outside.   EGLASH’s application, filed in November 2011, stated that he was so disabled that he was “almost home-bound,” and could not work or play sports.  The investigation by the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General revealed that both EGLASH and Hayes worked at the coffee shop they owned, and that EGLASH also earned $17 an hour working at a public aquarium on San Juan Island.  In fact, in the same week that he submitted his application saying he could not be physically active, he participated in two full-court pick-up basketball games at the community center.  At trial, prosecutors showed videos of EGLASH and Hayes working at the ‘Criminal Coffee’ shop.

            EGLASH’s application was never approved.  Hayes wrongfully collected more than $42,000 before the fraud was detected.

            Conspiracy to Defraud the United States is punishable by up to ten years in prison, mail fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and making false statements to the government is punishable by up to five years in prison.

            The case was investigated by the Social Security Office of Inspector General (SSA-OIG) and was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Seth Wilkinson and Assistant United States Attorney Thomas Woods.  Mr. Wilkinson prosecutes Social Security fraud cases in federal court as part of a partnership between the United States Attorney’s Office and the Social Security Administration Office of the General Counsel.

            A Mason County resident with multiple prior felony convictions was sentenced today in the U.S. District Court in Seattle to eight years in prison and three years of supervised release for being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  JOHN CHRISTIAN PARKS, 38, of Belfair, Washington was arrested on March 30, 2013 while target shooting in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.  U.S. Forest Service officers heard multiple shots and were directed to the group by a witness who said he had encountered the armed men.  Law enforcement recovered eight firearms, including four assault rifles.  Evidence introduced at trial revealed PARKS had illegally purchased and possessed two of the assault rifles.  PARKS was convicted October 31, 2013.  At sentencing, U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Zilly said this case “illustrates how easy it is for anyone to buy firearms online or on the street.”

            According to records and testimony at trial, PARKS used a false identity to purchase one of the assault rifles over the internet from a seller in Virginia.  Two more high powered guns were purchased locally with witnesses identifying PARKS as the purchaser.  PARKS is prohibited from possessing firearms as a result of eight prior felony convictions, including convictions for: drug possession in Grant County in 2001, Jefferson County in 2001, and King County in 2001 and 2004; drug manufacturing and distribution in Clallam County in 1998 and Pierce County in 2005; and escape in King County in 2004.

            In asking for the maximum ten year sentence, prosecutors wrote “The combination of his drug dealing convictions (whether or not accompanied by drug use), his clear and deliberate attempts to conceal his identity as the purchaser of the charged weapons, and the nature of the firearms themselves (assault rifles capable of accepting extended magazines) demonstrate that Parks has no intention of complying with the law and will likely continue to obtain firearms upon release from incarceration.”

            The case was investigated by the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF).

            The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorneys Stephen Hobbs and Seth Wilkinson.  Mr. Hobbs is a Senior Deputy King County Prosecutor specially designated to prosecute firearms cases in federal court.

“True and effective reform of the Seattle Police Department will require steady work and strong leadership.  Today Mayor Murray continued to show such leadership, making structural changes to ensure compliance and reform efforts are unified and come from the top.  We have met with Interim Chief Harry Bailey and believe he is strongly committed to constitutional and effective policing.  He and the Mayor have made public safety and reform the top priorities of the Department and have set an important tone.  They understand both the challenges police officers face, and that those officers must have public trust to succeed.
 
Next week, the acting Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department (Jocelyn Samuels) and I will be meeting with the Mayor, Chief Bailey and other elected officials of the City of Seattle, along with the Monitor, and members of the police department.  We will work together to identify and agree on the reform goals for 2014, discuss structural changes in SPD, and work to ensure everyone is moving towards the same goals.  The next several months are critical to the reform process, and the commitments by all parts of City government are essential for success.

Done right, the new Chief of Police will have the necessary framework to lead the Seattle Police Department to be the national model for urban policing.”

            A Seattle man has been indicted by the grand jury for sex trafficking and transporting a victim for purposes of prostitution, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  DESMOND TREVAIN MANAGO, 25, will make his initial appearance in U.S. District Court later this week.  According to the indictment, between October and December 2012, MANAGO, through force, fraud and coercion caused a female victim to engage in commercial sex acts.  Count two of the indictment alleges that MANAGO transported the female victim to Idaho, Colorado,  Arizona, and California, and elsewhere, to engage in prostitution and sexual activity.  Sex trafficking is punishable by a mandatory minimum 15 years in prison up to life in prison.  Transporting for purposes of prostitution is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

MANAGO has been in the King County Jail since October 3, 2013 when he was arrested at a traffic stop for outstanding warrants.  He will be transferred to federal custody for arraignment on the indictment.

The charges contained in the indictment are only allegations.  A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The case was investigated by the FBI, King County Sheriff’s Office and Tacoma Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kate Crisham and Ye-Ting Woo.

            Two brothers who were arrested in June 2013 in connection with a conspiracy to illegally ship firearms parts to Thailand, were sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to prison terms for conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  NARES LEKHAKUL, 36, a lawful permanent resident of Bellevue, Washington, was sentenced to two years in prison and three years of supervised release.  His brother, NARIS LEKHAKUL, 42, a Thai citizen arrested in June 2013 at SeaTac Airport was sentenced to three years in prison.  He likely will be deported following his prison term.  At sentencing U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones told NARIS LEKHAKUL, “It was very clear to you … that you were not to engage in this activity… what is very troubling is that you continued to recruit others after being told this conduct was illegal.”

“These defendants used patsies and ruses to hide and protect their scheme to smuggle firearms parts to Thailand,” said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  “They knew they were violating Thai and U.S. laws that seek to prevent smuggling.  Stopping the illegal flow of weapons and weapons parts is a key priority for law enforcement.”

            In their plea agreements the brothers admit that NARIS LEKHAKUL, while living in Thailand, identified the firearms parts he wanted ordered and shipped overseas.  Initially the gun parts were sent to his brother NARES’ home in Bellevue, Washington, where NARES LEKHAKUL attempted to disguise the shipments which were sent on to Thailand.  After one shipment was seized in 2011, NARIS LEKHAKUL recruited four other people to receive the shipments of firearms parts, disguise them, and send them on to Thailand.  The co-conspirators did not obtain appropriate licenses to make the shipments.  The co-conspirators would use fake names and fake invoices to try to avoid detection, and they packed various firearms parts in specific ways to try to avoid detection by x-ray scanners.  Members of the group shipped various firearms parts with false labels.  For example, in one instance they shipped magazines for .45 caliber handguns, while labeling them “Vented steel case for electronic components” or “replacement springs and metal caps for bottling machine.”  Other shipments were labeled as “hobby parts,” or “glow in the dark marker sets.”  In all, the group is believed to be responsible for more than 250 shipments of restricted firearms components, worth more than $750,000.  The defendants did not ship any assembled firearms or entire firearms disassembled.

“These defendants purposely circumvented U.S. arms controls put in place to keep dangerous weapons out of the hands of transnational criminal organizations and foreign enemies,” said Brad Bench, special agent in charge of HSI Seattle. “Enforcing these export laws is a priority mission for our HSI special agents.”

In addition to the LEKHAKUL brothers, four additional defendants have also pleaded guilty.  Witt Sittikornwanish, 24, a U.S. citizen residing in the Los Angeles area was sentenced to 10 months in prison, Sangsit Manowanna, 35, a U.S. citizen residing in the Los Angeles area, was sentenced to ten months in prison and Supanee Saenguthai, 35, a Thai citizen residing in Berkeley, California was sentenced to probation.  Wimol Brumme, 41, a Thai citizen residing in Las Vegas will be sentenced on February 28, 2014.

The Department of State promulgates the United States Munitions List, which consists of categories of defense articles and services that cannot be exported without a license issued by the Department of State.  The U.S. Munitions List includes the firearms’ parts and components shipped in this case.  As a result, the export of firearms components requires an export license.

The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with assistance from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Todd Greenberg and Thomas Woods with assistance from the U.S. Department of Justice National Security Division, Counterespionage Section.

            A Snohomish County man who participated in a wide ranging conspiracy to illegally traffic in protected reptile species was sentenced today to 12 months in prison and three years of supervised release, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  NATHANIEL SWANSON, 36, together with five co-defendants, conspired to smuggle domestic species out of the United States and into Hong Kong and illegally import Asian species into the United States.  One of the co-defendants, TAK MING TSANG, 24, a Hong Kong citizen residing in the United States, was sentenced to six months in prison and two years of supervised release.  A third co-defendant, CHEUK YIN KO, 25, will be sentenced on Friday, January 24, 2014.  Most of the illegally trafficked species were protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the Endangered Species Act.  The estimated market value of the trafficked specimens was between $120,000 and $200,000.  Many of the animals died during transport or shortly thereafter.  At sentencing Chief U.S. District Judge Marsha J. Pechman said, “It is important that the United States participate with its world partners in sending the message that these are serious offenses.”

            “The cruelty of this scheme is evident in the pictures of the turtles wrapped in socks and taped to keep them still and hidden from inspectors and shipping agents,” said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  “Trafficking in wildlife is bad for the environment: it not only decimates endangered populations, it spreads invasive species and disease.  I applaud the delivery service worker who first reported this scheme to law enforcement when she noticed a moving box and discovered a snake inside.  But for that discovery, these traffickers might never have been caught.”      

            According to court filings, trafficking in protected species for commercial gain is an international problem, the full extent of which is unknown due in large part to the deceptive practices undertaken by SWANSON and his co-conspirators.  While law enforcement authorities intercepted several shipments, most went undetected.  Working with two foreign nationals residing in the United States, including his co-defendant TSANG, SWANSON illegally exported Eastern box turtles, North American wood turtles, and ornate box turtles to buyers located in Hong Kong.  Additional domestic species exported by the co-conspirators included Gila monsters, Gulf Coast box turtles, and three-toed box turtles.  SWANSON was also directly involved in importing several protected species directly from Hong Kong, including black-breasted leaf turtles, Chinese striped-necked turtles, big-headed turtles, fly river turtles, and an Arakan forest turtle.  All of these species are protected under CITES.  The Arakan forest turtle is critically endangered, having once been thought to be extinct.  The illegal trafficking spanned a period of approximately four years.

            Animals that survived and were seized by law enforcement have been cared for at local zoos and wildlife rehabilitation centers.  As part of his sentence, SWANSON and his co-defendants will share in the cost of caring for the seized animals – about $28,500.  The defendants forfeited any interest in the animals.

            In asking for an 18 month prison sentence prosecutors argued that “Mr. Swanson and his co-conspirators engaged in a long-term scheme to illegally import and export numerous species of reptiles threatened with extinction and protected under an international convention and the laws of the United States.  The actions of Mr. Swanson and his confederates can only be characterized as a concerted effort to profit from buying and selling contraband.”

                On July 1, 2013, President Obama issued an Executive Order entitled Combating Wildlife Trafficking.  As stated in the Order, “The survival of protected wildlife species such as elephants, rhinos, great apes, tigers, sharks, tuna, and turtles has beneficial economic, social, and environmental impacts that are important to all nations.  Wildlife trafficking reduces those benefits while generating billions of dollars in illicit revenues each year, contributing to the illegal economy, fueling instability, and undermining security.”  Globally, freshwater turtles and tortoises are being collected, traded and consumed in overwhelming numbers with no regard for sustainability of wild populations.  Species are being used for food, pets, and traditional medicines.

            The case was investigated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement, with assistance from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew Diggs and Jim Oesterle.

SEATTLE – U.S. District Judge James L. Robart today approved sweeping new Seattle Police Department policies on biased policing and investigative stops.  The new policies were created by the city of Seattle in conjunction with the Justice Department, and approved the federal Monitor.  The new “Stops and Detentions” and “Bias-Free Policing” policies clarify how officers are to handle street encounters and will help ensure that officers do not engage in discriminatory policing.  For the first time, the policies will require the collection of data to help evaluate trends and address any ongoing concerns.

Consistent with the settlement agreement reached by the Justice Department and the city of Seattle in 2012, both policies were developed with significant input from members of the Community Police Commission (CPC), Seattle Police Department (SPD) and nationally renowned policing and civil rights experts.  The CPC and community members who were engaged through an extensive outreach program played a major role in formulating the policies.  The parties met several times with the CPC, which did extensive community engagement and had a working group on the topic, and incorporated its comments.

The new policies will go into effect on Jan. 31, 2014.  Officer training is currently being developed in consultation with the CPC and will be implemented by the end of summer 2014.  

“Police legitimacy and community trust are built through each encounter that police officers have with the public.  These new policies put the Seattle Police Department at the forefront of law enforcement agencies across the country,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels.  “These policies require that data on each encounter is collected and analyzed to ensure that discriminatory policing is not taking place.  This transparency promotes the accountability of our law enforcement officers and will give the public confidence that policing in Seattle is fair and impartial.”

            “These new policies will set the national standard and are a huge step forward,” said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  “They give police the certainty they need while addressing some of the most consistent and damaging concerns raised by community members.  We want proactive policing; yet negative street encounters and any real or perceived bias can significantly undermine the trust necessary for effective policing in every corner of our community.  Officers will have clear direction and SPD will have the data and tools its needs to ensure progress.  I am very grateful to the CPC for its role in developing these policies and educating the public about them.”

“The perception of racial bias in policing doesn’t just corrode the community’s trust in the police force, it erodes the morale of our officers,” said Seattle Mayor Ed Murray. “Addressing this very real issue is among the most serious and urgent reforms the Police Department must undertake in the consent decree process. The new policies announced today are a great step in that direction -- and the CPC is to be commended for its excellent work. These policies will give our officers clear and consistent direction for effectively handling encounters on the street. Combining in-depth training on these polices with on-going tracking, monitoring and reporting of these encounters is another critical step to ensure SPD is trusted by the community, effective in the community and accountable to the community. And with the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend upon us, I can’t think of a better time for Seattle to step forward on the issue of bias-free policing.”

The department’s investigation in 2011 found that SPD officers often exhibited confusion between a casual, social contact (where a person is free to leave) and an investigative detention short of an arrest, also known as a Terry stop (where a person is not free to leave).  Some data and community input suggested that this confusion – as well as other problems with training and oversight – led to inappropriate pedestrian encounters that may have resulted in a disproportionate number of people of color - in particular youths - being stopped where no offense or other police incident occurred.  Incidents of overt discrimination and the fact that excessive force disproportionately occurred against minorities also gave the department concern and lead to the inclusion of these issues in the settlement agreement.  SPD’s failure to collect and analyze data that could address and respond to allegations compounded the problem.   

The new Stops and Detentions policy lays the foundation to resolve those concerns by:

1. Clarifying the distinction between social contacts and Terry stops.
2. Making clear that a Terry stop occurs any time an officer has restrained the liberty of a citizen; must be based on reasonable suspicion; must be reasonable in scope and duration and has certain limits imposed by law; and must be documented with clearly articulated and objective facts.
3. Ensuring professionalism in such stops.
4. Improving oversight by requiring supervisors to review the documentation of Terry stops before the end of their shift and requiring SPD to collect, for the first time, electronic data about such stops that will permit analysis and identification of trends, patterns and concerns with practices at a systemic level.

The new Bias-Free Policing policy also gives officers clear direction by:

1. Clearly and accurately defining what bias-based policing is.
2. Expanding what “personal characteristics” are covered by the policy, including gender, sexual orientation and homelessness.
3. Identifying expressly prohibited acts and reporting obligations when an officer observes a prohibited act.
4. Improving oversight by requiring a supervisor to go to the scene of any complaint of bias-based policing to investigate, analyze and document such encounters.
5. Requiring SPD to collect, for the first time, data about policies and practices that may have, not an overtly discriminatory intent, but an unwarranted “disparate impact” on certain protected classes.

"This is another major milestone as we move forward in our reform efforts," said Seattle Police Chief Harry Bailey. "I would like to acknowledge the members of the Community Police Commission for their contributions in working with my staff to make these policies a reality. The new policies, when coupled with proper training and supervision, will ensure that our police department will be able to deliver the quality police services that our residents deserve and expect."

“I am excited by the real progress towards reform these new policies evidence,” City Attorney Pete Holmes said. “Numerous different points of view were considered through the hard work of many participants. In the end, we are fortunate to have a federal judge and monitor who help the parties along each stage of the Seattle process to a successful conclusion.”

            A former Seattle resident who committed nearly $600,000 in bank fraud was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to six years in prison, five years of supervised release and -$592,580 in restitution announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  CHI AHN NGUYEN, 45, recruited other members of the Vietnamese community to the scheme to defraud banks by running up credit card and cash advance debts that he never intended to repay.  NGUYEN used the identities of others—many of whom participated in the schemeto access credit cards that he and others involved in the scheme used to purchase jewelry and other consumer goods or for cash advances at casinos.  NGUYEN then took a share of the proceeds derived from those transactions.  At sentencing, U.S. District Judge Robert S. Lasnik ordered NGUYEN to participate in drug treatment and Gamblers Anonymous as part of his supervised release.

            “With the promise of easy money, this defendant led other members of a close community into criminal conduct,” said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  “They may have thought this was a victimless crime – just some big bank that takes a loss – but in fact this conduct raises the cost of credit and banking services for all consumers.”

            According to records filed in the case, NGUYEN gained access to credit cards from Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Discover, Boeing Employees Credit Union (BECU), Chase, U.S. Bank and Capital One.  In April 2011 alone, NGUYEN took cash advances in excess of $16,000 at area casinos.  After exhausting the available creditNGUYEN would then make fraudulent telephone and Internet payments on the accounts so that credit would be restored and additional purchases or cash withdrawals could be made.  NGUYENmade these fraudulent payments using account information that was false or bank accounts that had insufficient funds to cover the payments.  But by the time the banks discovered the payments were fictitious, NGUYEN and his co-schemers had already used the fraudulently obtained credit. Between February 2011 and December 2011, NGUYEN was responsible for losses totaling $588,367.  As part of his plea, NGUYEN also pled guilty to a separate bank fraud scheme that he perpetrated in early 2012 in and around Chicago.NGUYEN was ultimately arrested on these charges in Hartford, Connecticut.

Two of NGUYEN’s co-schemers, Son Pham and Phone Phommavanh, also pled guilty to bank fraud.  Pham pled guilty to bank fraud among other crimes in November 2013 and will be sentenced on February 7, 2014.  Phommavanh pled guilty to bank fraud in December 2013 and will be sentenced on March 7, 2014.

The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigation (HSI).  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Hampton.

            U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan joined federal law enforcement partners warning about a growing problem of identity theft related to tax refund fraud.  Scammers across the country are using other people’s personal information to try to claim income tax refunds.  People may not know they are a victim until they try to file their tax return and it is rejected because someone using their Social Security Number has already filed and claimed a refund.

            “Protecting your personal information has never been more critical,” said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  “Always mail your tax documents from a secure mailbox, or file electronically on a secure network.  Using a trusted tax professional and filing early can also protect you from being a victim.”

            In 2013, nearly 700 Washington residents reported being a victim of tax related identity theft, and there are likely many more people who simply did not report being victimized.  Nationwide tax ID theft fraud is estimated to cost the U.S. Treasury more than $5 billion annually.

            “Stealing identities and trying to file false tax returns not only threatens the integrity of our tax system, it victimizes innocent people.  It can cost victims time and stress when they have done nothing wrong,” said Kenneth J. Hines, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in the Pacific Northwest. “The men and women of IRS, along with our law enforcement partners and the United States Attorney's Office, will continue to pursue fraudsters who try and help themselves to our nation’s tax dollars and who cause so much heartache for the victims of this crime.”

            This week as part of Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week, the Federal Trade Commission and the Internal Revenue Service are teaming up to educate the public about ID theft tax refund fraud.  The FTC is providing a webinar tomorrow to educate tax preparers about the problem and how to assist their clients if they discover they have been the victim of tax refund ID theft.  For those who have had their identities stolen and used for fraud, the IRS will issue a special PIN to use for filing taxes.  More information on the PIN program is available at http://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/IRS-Combats-Identity-Theft-and-Refund-Fraud-on-Many-Fronts-2014

            IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Ken Hines is available to talk further with reporters about the problem of tax ID theft refund fraud.   To arrange an interview please contact Leia Bellis at (206) 464-4920 or Leia.Bellis@ci.irs.gov.

            Both the Federal Trade Commission and the Washington Coalition of Crime Victim Advocates (WCCVA) have resources for victims of identity theft.  Find them at www.ftc.gov and www.wccva.org

            A former Bellevue, Washington resident who collected his deceased mother’s Social Security benefits for more than 20 years was sentenced to prison today for his fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  RAYMOND C. O’DELL, 70, who now resides in Arizona, was sentenced to six months in federal prison, six months of home detention, $188,436 in restitution and a $20,000 fine for theft of government funds.  O’DELL is the last of a series of defendants to be sentenced for illegally collecting Social Security benefits after the true recipient died.  In this case O’DELL collected his mother’s Social Security benefits for 23 years, and on at least two occasions provided false information to the Social Security Administration to continue the fraud.  At sentencing U.S. District Judge James L. Robart said O’DELL’s “decades of criminal behavior” required a prison sentence.

            “Cheaters shred the safety net for those that really need it,” said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  “It is disheartening to see this criminal conduct persist for 23 years even as the defendant built a successful business.  Those who might be tempted to cheat the government of these funds need to know prison and hefty fines wait at the end of the scheme.”

            According to records filed in the case, O’DELL’s mother died in November 1989, but he failed to notify Social Security and benefits continued to be paid into their joint account.  On at least two occasions between November 1989 and June 2012, O’DELL contacted the Social Security Administration to update his mother’s contact information and never informed anyone of her death.  In May of 2012, a Social Security Administration representative attempted to contact O’DELL’s mother by phone.  O’DELL answered and said his mother was visiting a neighbor and promised to schedule a time for O’DELL’s mother to speak with the representative.  Instead, O’DELL contacted a lawyer who contacted the U.S. Attorney’s Office about the criminal conduct.  In fact, O’DELL had not only defrauded Social Security.  He also fraudulently collected $100,000 in pension benefits from the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System.  O’DELL is scheduled to enter a plea and be sentenced for that fraud in Ohio later this week.

Seven other defendants have been charged over the last year with theft of government funds for fraudulently collecting Social Security benefits for years after their parents’ death. As a result of the prosecutions, courts in this district have ordered in excess of $1 million in restitution to the United States.  The following are the longest running of these frauds:

PATTY BUCHANAN, 57 is one of the largest Social Security benefit fraud cases prosecuted as part of the initiative in the Western District of Washington.  BUCHANAN’s father died in May 1993, but she continued to receive and cash his benefit checks using a check cashing business.  She told the outlet her father was infirm and homebound and that she had power of attorney.  Every month for 19 years she cashed the checks – in all, 235 checks for a total of $239,083.  When one of the tellers at the check cashing business became suspicious, BUCHANAN forged a fraudulent power of attorney document.  When staffers at the outlet called to try to speak with BUCHANAN’s father, BUCHANAN had a male friend pretend to be her father.  Ultimately, an anonymous tip to Social Security ended the fraud in December 2012.  BUCHANAN was sentenced to 18 months in prison in June 2013.

DENNIS JAY GORIN, 76, of Eatonville, fraudulently collected about $100,000 in Social Security benefits belonging to his mother following her death in around 2003.  GORIN did not notify federal or state authorities of his mother’s death and personally disposed of his mother’s body on property in a rural area.  Between 2003 and 2013, GORIN forged his mother’s signature to embezzle an estimated $100,000 worth of Social Security benefits.  GORIN pleaded guilty on May 21, 2013, and was sentenced in September 2013 to ten months in prison.

CLAUDIA RUTH GREENAMYER, 72, of University Place, fraudulently collected $219,960 following the death of her mother in 1996 and her father in 2000.  The payments were made to bank accounts GREENAMYER held jointly with her parents.  GREENAMYER continued to use the money without telling Social Security her parents were deceased.  She forged signatures to continue the theft, and when confronted by agents in February 2013, she claimed to have seen her parents one month earlier.  GREENAMYER pleaded guilty to theft of government funds on May 15, 2013 and was sentenced in September 2013 to three months in prison.

DAVID MICHAEL COSTA, 77, of Sammamish, fraudulently collected $297,948 of his mother’s Social Security benefits following her death in 1989.  While COSTA originally thought the payments coming to the joint bank account were from an annuity, in 1992 he learned they were Social Security payments.  Rather than alert authorities and pay back the $40,000 that had wrongly been paid, COSTA continued to collect the benefits for more than 15 years.  COSTA forged his mother’s name on documents and substituted his address for hers on all records, updating it three different times over the years.  COSTA pleaded guilty on June 3, 2013, and was sentenced in September 2013 to ten months in prison.

These cases were investigated by the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General (SSA-OIG) and are being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Seth Wilkinson as part of a partnership venture between the Social Security Administration Office of General Counsel and the United States Attorney’s Office.

            A former member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to eight years in prison for his leadership role in a massive drug trafficking conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  RAPINDER SINGH SIDHU, 46, formerly of Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, was indicted in August 2011 and was extradited to the U.S. in March 2013.  He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to export cocaine in October 2013.  SIDHU is one of 56 people indicted as part of an international drug trafficking investigation.  The leader of the conspiracy, Robert Shannon, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in March 2009.  At sentencing U.S. District Judge Robert S. Lasnik said SIDHU “desired to get money and be part of a major drug conspiracy and be of use to criminals.”

            “This defendant betrayed his community and the law enforcement officers who risk their lives to keep us safe,” said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  “Mr. Sidhu recruited another public servant to the scheme, and used threats of violence to force others into criminal conduct.  His greed led him to become a trusted member of an organized crime conspiracy who sold his specialized knowledge from years in law enforcement.”

            According to records filed in the case, SIDHU left employment with the RCMP disgruntled about his treatment.  Before and during 2007 and 2008 SIDHU used his law enforcement knowledge to assist a criminal conspiracy allied with the Hells Angels to import large loads of cocaine into Canada and to smuggle B.C. Bud marijuana into the U.S.  SIDHU recruited a corrupt border services employee to help get the cocaine through customs check points and into Canada.  The investigation of the criminal ring resulted in the seizure of more than 1700 pounds of cocaine and $3.5 million in currency.

“From the start, this defendant has tried to downplay his role in the scheme,” said Brad Bench, special agent in charge of ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations in Seattle.  “However, it is hard to believe that a former police officer who exploited his police knowledge and contacts to profit from the drug trade, did not know exactly what he was doing.  HSI and our Canadian law enforcement partners are committed to ensuring the U.S.-Canada border is not a barrier to justice.  Criminals who think they can violate our border’s integrity with impunity, can and will be held accountable in a court of law.”

            In asking the court for an eight year prison term, prosecutors wrote SIDHU “organized and choreographed an entire cast of characters who moved enormous quantities of cocaine, with great success, thousands of miles.  Even more troubling, according to several of his co-conspirators, he exploited the violence of the criminal organizations with which he was allied to intimidate them and others into doing his bidding.”

            Two defendants in the case remain fugitives.  Sentences for 54 other defendants have ranged from 20 years for Shannon, and ten and eleven year sentences for some drug smugglers, to probation for some less culpable defendants.

            This was an Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation, providing supplemental federal funding to the federal and state agencies involved. This investigation was led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), with significant support from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the Snohomish Regional Drug Task Force.

            This lengthy case was prosecuted by multiple attorneys including Assistant United States Attorney John Lulejian, now with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Central District of California and Special Assistant United States Attorney Adam Cornell, now with the Snohomish County Prosecutors Office.  Currently the case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Vogel.

U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan announced today that the U.S. Attorney’s Office collected more than $22 million in criminal and civil actions it handled by itself, including $12.3 million from the sale of forfeited assets.  An additional $817 million was collected in cases the U.S. Attorney’s Office handled with other Department of Justice divisions and other U.S. Attorney’s Offices.

“We will hold wrongdoers accountable.  We use every tool available to strip criminals of the proceeds of their crimes, collect significant fines from wrongdoers, protect taxpayers, and support victims,” said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  “Civil litigation and criminal prosecutions help keep communities safe.  Fulfilling our mission of protecting the public includes returning money to taxpayers and victims, and we are able to do that in a way that is fiscally responsible and adds value to the federal treasury.”

Attorney General Eric Holder announced on Thursday that the Justice Department collected approximately $8.1 billion in civil and criminal actions in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2013.  The more than $8 billion in collections in FY 2013 represents nearly three times the appropriated $2.76 billion budget for the 94 U.S. Attorney’s offices and the main litigating divisions in that same period.

“The Department’s enforcement actions help to not only ensure justice is served, but also deliver a valuable return to the American people,” said Attorney General Holder.  “It is critical that Congress provide the resources necessary to match the Department’s mounting caseload.  As these figures show, supporting our federal prosecutors is a sound investment.”

In the past fiscal year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Washington, in partnership with other DOJ components, recovered significant settlements in civil litigation, including more than $184 million in a fair housing case with Wells Fargo Bank, and more than $623 million as its share of a False Claims Act case with Amgen for the marketing and promotion of a misbranded drug.

On the criminal side, the U.S. Attorney’s Office collected $326,630 in connection with U.S. v. Craig James, a case in which James conspired to steal and damage thirty-one old growth western cedar trees on the Olympic National Forest.  Some of the trees were nearly 600 years old.  The office also seized movie deal proceeds of $216,558 for victims of Colton Harris-Moore, the serial aircraft thief who went on an interstate crime spree before being captured in the Bahamas.  The office collected $564,533 in connection with U.S. v. Michelle Bielaski, a case where Bielaski failed to pay the IRS employment taxes that her company withheld from employee paychecks over a ten year period.

In asset forfeiture, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Washington collected $12.3 million in proceeds from the sale of forfeited assets in FY 2013.  Forfeited assets are deposited into the DOJ Assets Forfeiture Fund or the Treasury Forfeiture Fund and are used to restore funds to crime victims and for a variety of law enforcement purposes.  Of those forfeited assets, more than $1 million went to compensate crime victims.  The largest single forfeiture in the Western District of Washington in FY 2013 was $1.2 million from the sale of the former Sugar’s club in Shoreline as part of U.S. v. Colacurcio.

The U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, along with DOJ’s litigating divisions, are responsible for enforcing and collecting civil and criminal debts owed to the U.S. and criminal debts owed to federal crime victims.  The law requires defendants to pay restitution to victims of certain federal crimes who have suffered a physical injury or financial loss.  While restitution is paid to the victim, criminal fines and felony assessments are paid to DOJ’s Crime Victims’ Fund, which distributes the funds to state victim compensation and victim assistance programs.

The largest civil collections were from affirmative civil enforcement cases, in which the United States recovered government money lost to fraud or other misconduct or collected fines imposed on individuals and/or corporations for violations of federal health, safety, civil rights or environmental laws.  In addition, civil debts were collected on behalf of several federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Internal Revenue Service, Small Business Administration and Department of Education.

            Two south King County men on opposite sides of a drug deal gone bad have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Seattle, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  DAVID ROSS, 35, of Renton is charged with three federal felonies: conspiracy to distribute marijuana, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and unlawful possession of a firearm.  LENNY BRIKN, JR, 19, of Federal Way is charged with five federal felonies in connection with the October 17, 2013 incident: conspiracy to commit robbery, attempted robbery, attempted possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and a drug trafficking crime and possession of a stolen firearm.

            “This case is a clear reminder that drugs and guns are a deadly mix and an appropriate target for federal prosecution,” said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  “The violent conduct in this case could have resulted in injuries or death to innocent bystanders.  Working closely with the King County Prosecutors Office we determined federal laws are the best tool to hold these men accountable.”

            According to the records filed in King County Superior Court as well as the indictment, ROSS and an associate arrived at a Federal Way apartment complex to sell marijuana to two men – BRIKN and his brother, Deshawn Boykin.  ROSS was armed with a gun, despite having two previous felony drug convictions that prohibit him from possessing a firearm.  BRIKN and Boykin drew “Mac 10” style semi-automatic pistols, ordered ROSS and his associate to lie on the ground, and attempted to rob them of the marijuana they brought to the drug deal.  BRIKN and Boykin ultimately ran away, and ROSS drew his gun and fired multiple times at the fleeing men.  Boykin was hit twice and died of his wounds at St. Francis Medical Center.

            ROSS was originally charged in King County Superior Court.  BRIKN was charged in King County Superior Court with an unrelated robbery in December 2013.  Both men will be brought to U.S. District Court in Seattle for arraignment later this month.

            ROSS is charged with discharging a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, which carries a mandatory minimum ten year sentence in addition to any other sentence imposed in the case.  BRIKN is charged with brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and a drug trafficking crime, which carries a mandatory minimum seven year sentence in addition to any other sentence imposed in the case.

            The charges contained in the indictment are only allegations.  A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

            The case was investigated by the Federal Way Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Todd Greenberg.

"True and effective reform of the Seattle Police Department will require steady work and strong leadership.  Today Mayor Murray provided that leadership and charted a clear course for moving forward.  I look forward to working with him and interim Chief Harry Bailey,  and welcome their strong commitment to constitutional and effective policing.  I also want to recognize Jim Pugel’s service and leadership.  He has made reform a strong priority throughout his tenure as interim Chief.    I have worked with both Jim Pugel and Harry Bailey, and know they love this City and are dedicated to the officers and mission of the Department.

Together, the Justice Department, the City of Seattle, the Monitor, and members of the police department and our community have identified reforms that must take root at the Seattle Police Department.  The consent decree details how those changes will be implemented.  Over the last several months, we have made strong progress on the building blocks of reform.  There is a new comprehensive use of force policy in place, approved by the federal judge overseeing this process.  We also have agreed on new policies around Stops and Detentions and Biased-Free Policing that have been submitted to the Court and we hope will be approved shortly.

The next several months are critical to the reform process, and the commitment by the Mayor and Chief are essential for success.  Together with the Community Police Commission we are developing new training around all the new policies.  We are also working to develop and adopt a new policy and training for crisis intervention and interactions with those affected by mental illness or substance abuse.   
Done right, the new Chief of Police will have the necessary framework to lead the Seattle Police Department to be the national model for urban policing."

-- Jenny A. Durkan, United States Attorney, Western District of Washington

"True and effective reform of the Seattle Police Department will require steady work and strong leadership.  Today Mayor Murray provided that leadership and charted a clear course for moving forward.  I look forward to working with him and interim Chief Harry Bailey,  and welcome their strong commitment to constitutional and effective policing.  I also want to recognize Jim Pugel’s service and leadership.  He has made reform a strong priority throughout his tenure as interim Chief.    I have worked with both Jim Pugel and Harry Bailey, and know they love this City and are dedicated to the officers and mission of the Department.

Together, the Justice Department, the City of Seattle, the Monitor, and members of the police department and our community have identified reforms that must take root at the Seattle Police Department.  The consent decree details how those changes will be implemented.  Over the last several months, we have made strong progress on the building blocks of reform.  There is a new comprehensive use of force policy in place, approved by the federal judge overseeing this process.  We also have agreed on new policies around Stops and Detentions and Biased-Free Policing that have been submitted to the Court and we hope will be approved shortly.

The next several months are critical to the reform process, and the commitment by the Mayor and Chief are essential for success.  Together with the Community Police Commission we are developing new training around all the new policies.  We are also working to develop and adopt a new policy and training for crisis intervention and interactions with those affected by mental illness or substance abuse.   
Done right, the new Chief of Police will have the necessary framework to lead the Seattle Police Department to be the national model for urban policing."

-- Jenny A. Durkan, United States Attorney, Western District of Washington

            A Palmdale, California resident who defrauded a government program designed to provide computers to needy schools and non-profits pleaded guilty today to three felony charges in the U.S. District Court in Seattle, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  STEVEN ALEXANDER BOLDEN, 50, pleaded guilty to wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and filing a false income tax return.  When sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez on April 3, 2014, BOLDEN faces a mandatory minimum two years in prison on the aggravated identity count in addition to the sentences imposed on the other counts.

            According to the facts admitted in the plea agreement, between 2007 and 2013, BOLDEN defrauded a program called “Computers for Learning,” that transfers excess government and related peripheral equipment directly to qualified schools and educational non-profit organizations.  BOLDEN posed as 14 different non-profits to obtain the computers for free, and then sold them for his personal profit.  Over the course of the scheme, BOLDEN obtained 19,442 items through the system with an original purchase cost of $30.3 million.  Using a standard “fair market value” formula, the computer equipment has a value of about $7.2 million.  BOLDEN also failed to pay the shipping costs associated with the delivery of the computer equipment – more than $100,000.

            The plea agreement details how one transaction occurred.  BOLDEN became acquainted with a person operating a legitimate non-profit in Southern California.  BOLDEN convinced the head of the non-profit to let him review the paperwork for the organization.  Using the non-profit organization’s information, BOLDEN created an account in the Computers for Learning program, and in July of 2010, obtained 41 Dell and HP computers that were made available by the Border Patrol at Blaine, Washington.  BOLDEN claimed the computers and later sold them for his own benefit.  The conviction for aggravated identity theft is based on BOLDEN’s use of the identities of the non-profit organization and his acquaintance.

            Finally, records indicate that BOLDEN failed to report any income from the sale of computers.  In fact, records from a computer recycler in Santa Ana, California show it paid BOLDEN more than $64,892 in 2012.  BOLDEN failed to report the income on his tax return.

            The amount of restitution BOLDEN owes will be determined at sentencing.
The case was investigated by multiple law enforcement partners led by the General Services Administration Office of Inspector General (GSA-OIG), the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General (DOT-OIG), and the FBI.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Reese Jennings.

A former teacher at Tenino Elementary School pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. JAMES DONALD MOBLEY, 47, was arrested in January 2013 on a criminal complaint charging him with receipt and possession of child pornography.   Under the terms of the plea agreement, MOBLEY will undergo a psycho-sexual evaluation, will register as a sex offender and will undergo sexual deviancy treatment.  Both the prosecution and defense will recommend a four year prison term when MOBLEY is sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ronald B. Leighton on March 21, 2014.  Judge Leighton is not bound by the plea agreement and can impose a sentence up to the statutory maximum of 20 years in prison.

According to records filed in the case, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service has been investigating an international company, Azovfilms.com, which distributed child pornography through the mails and via download to personal computers. In May 2011, foreign law enforcement executed a search of the business and seized hundreds of child pornography DVDs and business records. An analysis of those records revealed that on multiple occasions between February 2009 and January 2011, MOBLEY purchased suspected child pornography from the company. In a search of MOBLEY’s home, law enforcement seized a computer, external storage devices, and DVDs of child pornography.  An analysis of the items seized from MOBLEY’s home revealed 650 images of child pornography and 45 videos of child pornography.

MOBLEY was arrested as part of “Project Spade,” the investigation of Azovfilms.com.  The Toronto-based website billed itself as a provider of “naturist films,” but was really a distributor of child pornography.  The investigation, led in the United States by the Postal Inspection Service, has resulted in 386 children rescued from direct abuse and exploitation.   So far MOBLEY is one of 348 people arrested worldwide as a result of the Spade investigation.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and the Tenino Police Department.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Marci Ellsworth.

            A former hospital anesthesiologist pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to distribution of oxycodone, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  HIEU TU LE, 40, of Snohomish, Washington, a medical doctor licensed in Washington State since 2004, operated medical clinics in Seattle and Everett, Washington.  In his plea agreement, LE admits that between March 2012 and July 2013 he wrote oxycodone prescriptions for cash and obtained oxycodone that he distributed for cash, all without a legitimate medical need to do so.  When sentenced by U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Zilly on April 3, 2014, the prosecution and defense will recommend between five and seven years in prison.  Judge Zilly is not bound by the recommendation and can impose any sentence up to the 20 years in prison allowed by law.

            According to records filed in the case and statements made in court today, LE left his job as an anesthesiologist with Valley General Hospital in Monroe, Washington in March 2012.  From March to September 2012, LE operated a medical clinic on Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood providing medical marijuana authorizations.  In September 2012, LE opened a clinic in Everett called Northwest Green Medical.  Beginning in March 2012 and continuing until July 2013, LE wrote multiple oxycodone prescriptions for cash to people who did not need them for legitimate medical purposes.  LE would also hand deliver the prescriptions to an Everett pharmacy, pick up the oxycodone pills, and then sell the pills to people who he knew did not have a legitimate medical need for the pills.  LE knew that some of the people to whom he sold the pills were reselling them to others, feeding drug addiction in the community.  LE’s Everett clinic was the subject of a federal search warrant in July 2013.  At that time, LE voluntarily surrendered his DEA registration, which had authorized him to prescribe controlled substances.

            As part of the plea agreement, LE is forfeiting to the government various brokerage and bank accounts as proceeds of his drug distribution, and a 2009 Toyota Highlander Hybrid purchased with drug distribution proceeds.

            The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Health and Human Services (HHS), and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Mike Lang and Matt Diggs.

            Two Seattle area men were charged today in U.S. District Court in Seattle with 35 counts of insider trading related to their purchases and sales of stock options related to Microsoft Corporation, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  One of the men, BRIAN JORGENSON, 32, of Lynnwood, Washington was employed as a Senior Manager in Microsoft’s Treasury Group.  The other, SEAN STOKKE, 28, of Seattle was a day trader who had previously worked with JORGENSON at an asset management company.  The complaint alleges that the two used non-public information from JORGENSON’s employment at Microsoft to profit on the movement of Microsoft stock and the stock of related companies.  The men are scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Seattle at 3:00 this afternoon.

            “For every stock market winner, there is a loser, and trading on confidential inside information is a cheaters way of gaining at the expense of others,” said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  “This conduct hurts companies, hurts individuals, and shakes faith in our financial markets.  We will vigorously investigate and prosecute this type of conduct.”

            According to the criminal complaint, the men allegedly profited on three distinct instances of insider information:  Microsoft’s investment in Barnes and Noble; Microsoft’s failure to meet earnings estimates in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013; and Microsoft’s increased first quarter earnings in fiscal 2014.  The men allegedly shared their profits by STOKKE providing JORGENSON with envelopes of cash in approximately $10,000 increments.

            Through his employment, JORGENSON became aware in early April 2012 that Microsoft was considering an investment in Barnes and Noble for its digital and college business.  Beginning April 18 and continuing, phone records show JORGENSON and STOKKE were in frequent contact.  STOKKE opened an online options account and on April 20, 2012 began accumulating options on Barnes and Noble stock.  On April 30, Microsoft announced the investment in Barnes and Noble, and the Barnes and Noble stock jumped 49%.  STOKKE sold all his options that day for a profit of more than $184,000.

            In early July 2013, JORGENSON learned through his employment that Microsoft would not meet its earnings estimate.  Phone records show his contact with STOKKE.  Beginning in mid-July, STOKKE bought “put” options on Microsoft stock – essentially betting it would go down.  When Microsoft announced the lower than expected earnings on July 18, the stock did drop and the “put” options resulted in a profit to the two men of more than $195,000.

            The final instance of insider trading charged in the complaint relates to trading in advance of the announcement of better than expected first quarter 2014 earnings.  In October 2013, because of his employment, JORGENSON learned that Microsoft would announce a 17 percent increase in earnings per share over the prior year.  One day before the announcement, STOKKE used brokerage accounts controlled by the two men to purchase call options of a technology sector fund that is influenced by the price of Microsoft stock.  Following the earnings announcement, Microsoft stock and thus the sector fund went up.  The men executed their options and sold the shares for a profit of nearly $13,000.

            “The high density of publicly traded companies in Seattle affords a large number of people access to insider information that can unfairly benefit their investment decisions,” said FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Laura M. Laughlin of the FBI Seattle field office.  “While most employees will never exploit that knowledge, our FBI office is particularly attentive to uncovering when and where this type of fraud occurs.  We have seen many types of schemes and evasion techniques by inside traders, but they all share an erroneous belief that they’ll never be caught.”

JORGENSON is no longer employed by Microsoft.

            Insider trading is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and up to a $5,000,000 fine.

            The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is also filing a civil action against the men today.

            The case was investigated by the FBI and the SEC.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Katheryn Kim Frierson.

            A Longview septic tank pumping business and its owner were found guilty Monday of multiple felony criminal violations of the Clean Water Act, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  RAY CALDWELL, age 60, and his company ALL-OUT SEWER AND DRAIN SERVICE, INC., were found guilty following a bench trial before U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle.  CALDWELL was found guilty of twenty-five counts of violating the Clean Water Act, six counts of mail fraud, and two counts of making false statements.  ALL OUT was found guilty of the same Clean Water Act violations, the same mail fraud charges, and one of the false statement counts.  Sentencing is set for March 10, 2014.  Violations of the Clean Water Act are punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of $5,000 to $50,000 per violation.

            “These defendants engaged in a longstanding scheme of illegally dumping more than two million gallons of pollutants to the sewer system over a period of four and a half years,” said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  “They cheated the public by depriving those public utilities, funded by taxpayers, of hundreds of thousands of dollars in user fees.  Mr. Caldwell put himself and his company’s bottom line above his obligation to comply with environmental requirements and pay for public services.”

            According to records filed in the case, the defendants’ scheme to defraud the City of Longview, Cowlitz County and the Three Rivers Regional Wastewater Authority went on for more than ten years.  ALL-OUT was engaged in the business of pumping, hauling, and disposing of septic tank waste, grease trap waste, and industrial wastewater.  Federal, state and local regulations require that all trucked and hauled wastes of the type handled by ALL OUT be discharged to approved treatment facilities.  It was ALL OUT’s practice to transport the waste to its facility in Longview where it was minimally treated and stored in a 10,000 gallon storage tank.  While some of the tank contents were appropriately trucked to approved treatment facilities, a majority of the commingled waste was routinely dumped down an unauthorized sewer port located on the ALL OUT facility.

Based on video surveillance footage seized by law enforcement authorities, CALDWELL and his business partner, Randy Dingus, undertook the illegal discharges in the early morning hours, under the cover of darkness, to avoid being detected by passersby or unsuspecting employees.  When a records review conducted by the City of Longview in 2010 threatened to expose the scheme, the defendants began submitting false documents underreporting the true volume of trucked and hauled waste.  This deception worked until August 2012 when law enforcement surveillance activities prompted by citizen complaints revealed the early morning dumping.

On August 17, 2012, EPA criminal agents executed a search warrant at the ALL OUT facility and seized video footage from the company’s surveillance system.  The footage depicted twenty-four separate illegal dumping incidents over a six week period in July and August of 2012.  EPA criminal agents returned to the ALL OUT facility in the early morning of December 18, 2012 after receiving reports that the illegal dumping was still occurring.  The agents arrested CALDWELL after observing him using large flexible hoses to dump waste from the storage tank directly into the sewer port.

                CALDWELL was convicted of illegally dumping waste on each of the days captured on the video footage as well as the December 18, 2012 dumping event.  CALDWELL was also convicted of using the mail system to further his scheme of defrauding the public utilities.  Finally, CALDWELL was convicted for making false statements in a mandated user survey seeking information regarding ALL OUT’s discharges to the sewer system and for lying to EPA agents when confronted in August 2012.

            CALDWELL’s business partner, Randy Dingus, 54, had previously pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Water Act for his participation in the illegal dumping scheme and will be sentenced January 27, 2014.

            The case was investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation, with assistance from the Washington State Department of Ecology, Cowlitz County, the City of Longview, and the Three Rivers Regional Wastewater Authority.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jim Oesterle and Lawrence Lincoln.

SEATTLE -- U.S. District Judge James L. Robart today accepted the Seattle Police Department’s new Use of Force policy as consistent with the terms of the Settlement Agreement between the Justice Department and the City of Seattle.  The new policy, which builds on best practices and policies implemented nationwide, was negotiated by the parties and was the product of significant input from the police, policing experts and the Community Police Commission.

Under the new policy, all uses of force by SPD officers above de minimis force must be reported.  The policy defines force itself for the first time, and details when force is appropriate and when it is prohibited.  It establishes when and how to report force, and provides clear lines of authority and accountability for supervisory review and investigation of uses of force.  The review and investigation of force will be more thorough than ever before.  The policy further emphasizes de-escalation – including developing and using alternatives to force – and gives officers clear guidance on the use of specific tools, including a new requirement that officers carry at least one less-lethal tool.  Separate policies and training on crisis intervention and dealing with people in behavioral crisis will also be completed in the near future.

The new use of force policy will go into effect on January 1, 2014.   

“This is a major milestone in the reform process that will help rebuild trust and foster greater accountability.  Clear principles and guidance will enhance officer safety and protect the rights of people in Seattle,” said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  “I am grateful to the contributions of the Community Police Commission and the members of the community it represents and to the City, SPD officers, and policing experts who contributed to shape a policy that is a national model.”

“We are pleased that, together with the City of Seattle and with the important input of the Community Police Commission, we have crafted and agreed upon a use of force policy that will serve as a model for police departments nationwide,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.  “This policy will help ensure that the people of Seattle have a police department that respects the Constitution, secures the safety of the public, and earns the confidence of the community.”

The new policies make clear that officers must “use only the force necessary to perform their duties” and “with minimal reliance upon the use of physical force.”  New emphasis is placed on de-escalation and interaction with people in behavioral crisis.  For the first time, there are policies on every weapon used, like pepper spray and tasers.  Supervisors are given enhanced responsibility for use of force by their officers.  The most serious uses of force – including police shootings – will be investigated by a special team and reviewed by a multi-disciplinary team.

The following is a summary of the new Use of Force policy provisions.  The new policy can be found by clicking here. 

Enhances officer safety and protects rights with clear core principles guiding appropriate use of force: -Officers shall “use only the force necessary to perform their duties” and “with minimal reliance upon the use of physical force.”
-Officers shall de-escalate through the use of  “advisements, warnings, verbal persuasion, and other tactics in order to reduce the need to use force” and recognize that a subject’s lack of compliance is not always a deliberate attempt to resist but may be related to an inability to comply because of medical impairment or a language barrier.
-Sometimes force is unavoidable, but officers should not precipitate an unnecessary use of force and should know that their conduct prior to the need to use force may be a factor the Department will consider in assessing the appropriateness of the force.

Defines force – when it is appropriate and when it is prohibited – and when and how to report force: -“Force means any physical coercion by an officer.”
-“All uses of force other than de minimis are reportable.  Reportable force includes the “intentional pointing of a firearm at a subject.”
-For reporting purposes, force is broken into four types based upon the nature and severity of the incident: de minimis and Types 1, 2, and 3.  [See chart on page one of Section 8.300 (Use of Force Reporting and Investigation) for guidance on distinctions, available here:

-Inappropriate to use force: to punish or retaliate; against individuals who only verbally confront them; against handcuffed or restrained individuals.

Defines and enhances responsibilities for supervisors and creates new Force Investigation Team (FIT): -Supervisors will be responsible for their officers and will review all uses force and further investigate all uses of force categorized as Type 2 and above. 
-Supervisors screen all Type 1s at the scene and respond to the scene in all Type 2 and above.
-Creation of the new independent, inter-disciplinary FIT team for the highest level uses of force (Type 3 and above) and for officer-involved-shootings, in-custody deaths, serious assaults on officers.
-Procedures to protect the integrity of a possible future criminal investigation of the officer.

 

Creates four procedural manuals on: -A first weapon-by-weapon guidance manual on when and how weapons like tasers and peper spray can be used (Section 8.200, available here: -Procedures on the reporting and investigation of uses of force (Section 8.300, available here: -A manual for the new Force Investigation Team, which rolls to the highest levels of force, including officer involved shootings (Force Investigations Unit Procedural Manual, available here: -Procedures of the Use of Force Review Board (Section 8.400, available here: Institutionalizes the UOF Review Board (created by SPD in 2011) (Section 8.400)  
The UOF Review Board reviews all Type 2 and Type 3 UOF to: -confirm that UOF reporting, investigation and review are thorough and complete; -determine whether the findings from the chain of command regarding whether the force used is consistent with law and policy are supported by a preponderance of the evidence; -ensure that all uses of force contrary to law or policy are appropriately addressed; and
-identify trends or patterns of deficiencies regarding policy, training, equipment, or tactics.

A 61-year old Vancouver, Washington man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 30 months in prison for conspiracy to commit arson in connection with a March 2003 fire, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  MARK DUANE FUSTON, also known as “Mau Mau,” pleaded guilty in October 2013, to using propane and various flammable liquids to burn down the ‘Desire Video’ store that was nearing completion on NE 94th Avenue in Vancouver.  The fire destroyed the building causing some $850,000 in damage.  U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle imposed the prison sentence and three years of supervised release saying FUSTON was “an outlaw,” and had been for “way too much of (his) life.”

According to the plea agreement signed in October, FUSTON was hired to torch the building.  FUSTON and another man (now deceased) acted together to commit the arson.  On the night of March 27, 2003, FUSTON rerouted a propane line into the building and placed a remote control incendiary device intended to ignite the propane and destroy the building.  However, when the remote control device malfunctioned, FUSTON returned to the building and left a fuel trail to the building which he later ignited manually.  The fire ignited the propane trapped inside the building causing the explosion and fire.

FUSTON was indicted March 27, 2013.  A hearing will be held in February 2014 to determine the amount of restitution FUSTON must pay.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), the Vancouver Police Department and the Vancouver Fire Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Gregory A. Gruber.

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that U.S. District Court Judge John C. Coughenour sentenced Jamie Larson in connection with the racially-motivated assault of a 50-year-old Sikh man.  Larson, 50, who pled guilty to one count of violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, was sentenced to 40 months incarceration.  Judge Coughenour said the sentence should send the message that this kind of conduct “is absolutely unacceptable…. Larson used the most disgusting, ugly  and racist language that I have heard in 30 years on the bench.”

According to information presented in court, the victim, a taxi driver, drove an intoxicated Larson to a private residence in Federal Way, Washington on October 17, 2012.  After arriving at the residence, Larson grabbed the victim by his beard, and struck him in the face and shoulder many times before pushing him to the ground.  Larson then repeatedly stomped on the victim’s stomach.  During the incident, Larson called the victim a “raghead” and a “towelhead.”  He also screamed various comments to the victim, such as “what are you doing here?” and “why did you come to my country?”  Larson admitted that he attacked the victim, who is from India and a follower of the Sikh religion, because Larson believed the victim was of Middle Eastern descent or ethnicity.

Larson was arrested at the scene of the attack after a witness called 911.  The victim was immediately taken to a hospital and suffered bruising, a loose tooth, sprains and strains to his back and shoulder, and acute kidney failure from the prolonged assault.

“The Department of Justice is fully committed to using all resources at its disposal to thoroughly investigate and vigorously prosecute racially-motivated attacks,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Department’s Civil Rights Division Jocelyn Samuels.  “Violence based on a person’s race or ethnicity should be an unfortunate vestige of the past, but when these bias-motivated attacks occur, the Civil Rights Division will stand ready to swiftly bring justice for the victims.”

“No one in our community should face hate-based danger.  We will use all federal tools to hold defendants accountable,” said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan, Western District of Washington.  “The Pacific Northwest is a diverse community and we will continue to focus our efforts on making sure that diversity is respected and celebrated.”

The Shepard-Byrd law criminalizes acts of physical violence causing bodily injury motivated by any person’s actual or perceived race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or disability.

In addition to the prison term, Larson was sentenced to three years of supervised release.  He also owes restitution to the victim in an amount to be determined at a later date.

The matter was investigated by the Seattle Division of the FBI.  The Federal Way Police Department provided significant support in this prosecution.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bruce F. Miyake of the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Western District of Washington and Trial Attorney Nicholas Durham of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, Criminal Section.

            A federal felon who dealt prescription drugs and possessed a gun while on supervised release was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to eight years in prison and six months of supervised release, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  EDWARD WOODRUFF, aka “Pretty Eddie,” --, was arrested in September 2012 following an investigation by the South Sound Gang Task Force.  The investigation revealed WOODRUFF was selling large quantities of oxycodone pills, and that he possessed a firearm.  WOODRUFF has both state and federal convictions which prohibit him from possessing guns.  U.S. District Judge Ronald B. Leighton imposed the sentence.

            According to records filed in the case, in July 2012 a person working with law enforcement purchased 100 oxycodone pills from WOODRUFF.  In September 2012, court authorized search warrants were executed at a storage locker, WOODRUFF’s residence in Spanaway, an apartment he leased in Lakewood, and another apartment (of a relative) that he frequented in Tacoma.  In the storage locker, law enforcement found a Mercedes Benz that WOODRUFF had been seen driving in connection with drug dealing.  In the car, inside a shopping bag, was over $40,000 cash.  In a plastic storage bin next to the car, police found a .45 caliber MasterPiece Arms semi-automatic pistol and over 100 rounds of .45 caliber ammunition.  Forensic analysis revealed WOODRUFF’s fingerprint on the extended magazine of the gun.  Additional cash, about 57 oxycodone pills and some marijuana, were found inside a safe in the Lakewood apartment.  A bag containing approximately 1200 oxycodone pills was found hidden in a couch at the Tacoma apartment.

            WOODRUFF has prior convictions in state court for drug distribution (1997) and assault (2002).  He has federal convictions for Felon in Possession of a Firearm (two counts) and Possession of Cocaine with Intent to Distribute (2007).  WOODRUFF was on supervised release on those federal convictions when these drug and gun crimes occurred.

The case was investigated by the South Sound Gang Task Force.  The SSGTF is composed of members of the FBI Seattle Division (Tacoma Resident Agency), Lakewood and Tacoma Police Departments, the Washington State Patrol, the Washington State Department of Corrections, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).

            The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Gregory A. Gruber.

            A Tacoma, Washington gang member was sentenced today to 13 years in prison for his role in a violent, take-over style bank robbery ring, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  ANTHONY V. MOSLEY, 46, joined with six other defendants in a series of bank robberies in Washington, Ohio, and Michigan.  Sometimes MOSLEY was the get-away driver, sometimes he was in the robbery team threatening and demanding money in the banks.  He played a key role in the Western Washington robberies providing a place for the LA-based gang to stay, and obtaining rental cars in the names of an innocent associate.  MOSLEY entered into the robbery ring just six weeks after getting out of federal prison for a supervised release violation in connection with a previous bank robbery conviction.  At sentencing U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones said the ring was “highly sophisticated… operating with military precision” and he noted that MOSLEY was a “utility player… whatever role was necessary, you fulfilled that role.”

            “The robberies victimized bank tellers and bank customers – people who are forever changed just because they stood in the way of the defendant and his gang,” said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.  “I commend the FBI and the South Sound Gang Task Force for their innovative work to identify and arrest this bank robbery ring.”

According to records filed in the case, various members of the seven member ring participated in one or more of a string of takeover-style bank robberies in Washington, Ohio and Michigan.  During the robberies, subjects entered the banks in groups, covered head to toe in loose clothing and gloves, and demanded money while jumping over teller counters.  The four robberies in Washington were: the May 25, 2012 robbery of a Wells Fargo branch on Pacific Avenue South in Tacoma; the September 6, 2012, robbery of a U.S. Bank Branch on Bridgeport Way in Lakewood; and the December 20, 2012, robbery of a Wells Fargo Bank branch on 132nd Avenue NE in Kirkland.  In their plea agreements, various members of the gang admitted to participating in different robberies in Saline, Ypsilanti, Ann Arbor, Temperance, and Jackson, Michigan, and Toledo, Ohio.

The other defendants in this case are Jeanine M. Daniels, 32; Charles A. Williams, 40; Kevin L. Brown, 38; Curtis W. Smith, 22; and Douglas L. Smith, 22, all of Los Angeles, California; and Janalisa Estrada, 33, of Hollywood, California.  All have entered guilty pleas and have been sentenced, or will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones over the next few months.

The South Sound Gang Task Force (SSGTF) in Washington arrested five of the subjects on December 22, 2012 on state bank robbery charges.  The SSGTF arrested the subjects as they prepared to board a Greyhound bus to Los Angeles, California.  Investigators were waiting at the bus station, based upon information that the group frequently traveled to Los Angeles by Greyhound bus within days of a bank robbery.

The Tacoma-based SSGTF investigated the robberies in Washington in partnership with the Lakewood Police Department’s Gang Unit and the FBI Seattle Safe Streets Task Force.  The SSGTF is composed of members of the FBI Seattle Division, Lakewood and Tacoma Police Departments, the Washington State Patrol, the Washington State Department of Corrections, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).  FBI entities nationwide collaborated in the investigation, including the Los Angeles Field Office and the Ann Arbor, Denver, and Toledo Resident Agencies.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Michael Dion and Kate Crisham.