New York Paralegal

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the indictment of ABACUS FEDERAL SAVINGS BANK (“ABACUS” or the “Bank”) and eleven of its former employees in a false document mortgage fraud scheme resulting in the sale of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of fraudulent loans to the Federal National Mortgage Association, commonly known as “Fannie Mae.” The District Attorney also announced that an additional eight former employees have already waived indictment and admitted their guilt in connection with this conspiracy.

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that DAVID GRIFFITHS, the Executive Director of the Neighborhood Enhancement for Training Services, Inc. (“NETS”), a now non-operating not-for-profit corporation in the Bronx, New York, that provided programs and services for young people and for senior citizens, was found guilty yesterday in Manhattan federal court on all three counts contained in an Information charging him with making false statements to the government, obstruction of justice, and mail fraud. GRIFFITHS was convicted after a four-week jury trial before U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein.

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that the United States has filed and simultaneously settled a civil rights lawsuit in Manhattan federal court against the developer, architect, and current owners of Hudson Crossing, a residential apartment complex in Manhattan, alleging that the apartment complex is inaccessible to disabled people.

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Janice K. Fedarcyk, the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and Jacob Christine, the Special-Agent-in-Charge of the Newark Field Office of the United States Secret Service (“USSS”), announced that KHADDY GARCIA pled guilty yesterday in Manhattan federal court to one count of bank fraud and one count of wire fraud, in connection with a fraudulent scheme to withdraw funds from various business bank accounts, and a second fraudulent scheme to induce a venture capital fund to wire $2 million to an account GARCIA controlled. GARCIA pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Katherine B. Forrest.

URBANA, Ill. – A federal judge has ruled that Cognis Corporation, a German-based part of multinational chemical company BASF, unlawfully retaliated against an employee for refusing to waive his rights to file a discrimination charge, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the filing of criminal charges against PEDRO HERNANDEZ, 51, for the homicide of Etan Patz, 6, on May 25, 1979. HERNANDEZ is charged with Murder in the Second Degree, a class A felony.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., and New York State Department of Financial Services Superintendent Benjamin M. Lawsky announced the arrests of three individuals for defrauding insurance companies and employment health plans of more than $485,000. The defendants are accused of submitting hundreds of false claims for mental health care treatments that they never received. SUDHA KAILAS, 33, HERLINA LUIS, 37, and JANICE SICH, 52, have been charged with Grand Larceny and Insurance Fraud, among other charges.[1]

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that JONATHAN FELIZ, the leader of the Manhattan branch of the “Trinitarios,” a violent street and prison gang, and LOUINSKY MINIER, RUDY SANTANA, and ALBERTO MONTILLA, all of whom are members or associates of the Trinitarios, pled guilty to crimes including racketeering, narcotics trafficking, and firearms offenses. MINIER also pled guilty to causing the death of rival gang member, Roy Abreu, on November 23, 2006. The four defendants were charged along with 39 others in the Southern District of New York in March 2009 and June 2010.FELIZ and SANTANA pled guilty today before United States District Judge George B. Daniels.

One defendant was arraigned today, and another appeared in an ongoing removal hearing, in connection with their roles in a multi-national firearms trafficking investigation being conducted in the Eastern District of New York and elsewhere. A criminal complaint was unsealed earlier this week in federal court in Brooklyn charging Joseph Debose, a resident of North Carolina and Staff Sergeant in a U.S. Special Forces National Guard Unit, with illegal gun dealing and aiding others, including Chinese nationals Zhifu Lin and Lilan Li, in the illegal export of firearms to China.1 Debose was arrested May 20, 2012, in a sting operation by federal agents in Smithfield, North Carolina, when he arrived to provide another shipment of firearms for export. At the time of his arrest, Debose was carrying a loaded .45 caliber pistol. In addition, agents seized twelve other firearms from Debose, which were intended for export.

PHOENIX – Tempe Elementary School District No. 3 will pay $148,092 and furnish other relief to settlean age discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Wilbert L. Plummer, the Acting Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), and Raymond Kelly of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), today announced charges against JULIO CESAR GUERRERO BRITO, HECTOR LUIS VARGAS-PAREDES, JONATHAN CRUZ, VIRGILIO ANTONIO DIAZ GARCIANO, RUBEN ALEXANDER SANTIAGO-GUILLERMO, PLINO RAMOS, EWARD DELROSARIO, AGUSTIN CABREA-GERMAN, and ARTURO LARA for conspiring to distribute oxycodone and oxymorphone. In a second complaint, JENNY GOMEZ, FELIX ABREU, and JOANNA FUERTES are charged with conspiring to distribute oxycodone and oxymorphone, and in a third complaint, WALID ZEYAD ASMAR and HECTOR JIMINEZ are charged with conspiring to distribute oxycodone. The defendants allegedly participated in the distribution of illegally diverted prescription pills through open-air, hand-to-hand, and car sales on certain blocks in U...

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced today that the United States has filed a civil fraud lawsuit against structured employment economic development corporation, or SEEDCO, a national not-for-profit corporation that operated two New York City Workforce1 Career Centers, and ALEX SAAVEDRA, SHOMARI GREENE, ALAN KATZ, TAGEWATEE CHANDARPAUL, SHANDELL SANTIAGO-VELEZ, MITCHELL McCLINTON, and MONIQUE TARRY, former managerial employees of the company (collectively, the “Individual Defendants”), for fraud in connection with a federally-funded program to provide job placement assistance to unemployed and underemployed New York City residents. Workforce1 is a service provided through New York City’s Department of Small Business Services, (“SBS”) that prepares and connects job candidates to job opportunities. According to the Complaint, SEEDCO fraudulently collected millions of dollars in federal funds for job placement services that it did not...

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that SOLOMON KALISH, a health care consultant, was sentenced today in Manhattan federal court to two years in prison for participating in a scheme to bribe New York State Senator Carl Kruger. KALISH pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit honest services fraud in January 2012. He was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff.

Martin Weisberg, a former corporate partner in the New York office of an international law firm, pleaded guilty today to one charge of money laundering and one charge of conspiracy to commit securities fraud. The money laundering charge is based on Weisberg’s theft of money from an escrow account established on behalf of one of his clients for which Weisberg served as escrow agent. The securities fraud conspiracy charge is based on Weisberg’s involvement with a fraudulent scheme in which he received kickback payments from co-conspirators in connection with the issuance of publicly-traded securities by two of Weisberg’s former corporate clients. The guilty pleas arise from unrelated criminal schemes committed by Weisberg as alleged in two separate indictments. The proceedings were held before United States District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis at the United States Courthouse in Brooklyn, New York.

By ADAM KLASFELD MANHATTAN (CN) - A federal judge warned defense attorneys for former Goldman Sachs board member Rajat Gupta that they could not beat insider trading charges by trumpeting their client's history of philanthropy any more than Mother Teresa could use her missionary work to fend off bank robbery charges.

Richard S. Hartunian, United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York, announced today the indictment of Martin S. Kimber, 59, of Ruby, New York. Kimber is charged in three counts with violations of the chemical weapon statute (counts one and two), which prohibits individuals from possessing, stockpiling, or using a toxic chemical as a weapon; and with a violation of the consumer product tampering statute (count three).

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, James T. Hayes, Jr., the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (“ICE”) Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), and Raymond W. Kelly, the Police Commissioner of the City of New York (“NYPD”), announced today the arrest of JOSHUA CONDE for possessing and distributing child pornography. CONDE, 26, a teacher at a children’s daycare and after-school facility in the Bronx, was arrested by HSI agents yesterday morning at his Bronx residence. He was presented yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Theodore H. Katz in Manhattan federal court.

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – A Johnson City-based company that provides nursing home facilities and services violated federal law by discriminating against an employee because of the employee’s HIV-positive status, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it filed today.

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Twelve suspects were taken into custody Tuesday in the culmination of a long-term probe targeting a Bay Area-based heroin trafficking ring by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the California Department of Justice-led South Bay Metro Task Force.

SPRINGFIELD, MO—David M. Ketchmark, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that seven Joplin, Missouri residents and a Lebanon, Missouri man have been indicted by a federal grand jury, in separate and unrelated cases, for fraudulently receiving federal disaster benefits following the May 22, 2011 tornado.

NEWARK, N.J. – A former International Longshoremen’s Association (“ILA”) member admitted today that he conspired to extort ILA Local 1235 longshoremen on the New Jersey piers for Christmastime tribute payments, New Jersey U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman and Eastern District of New York U.S. Attorney Loretta E. Lynch announced.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the indictment of IVAN RAMOS, 22, for violently sexually assaulting a woman on Perry Street in the West Village last month. RAMOS is charged with Rape in the First Degree, Criminal Sexual Act in the First Degree, Assault in the Second Degree, and Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Fourth Degree.[1]

SAN FRANCISCO – Un contratista de trabajadores agrícolas que tiene cientos de empleados por todo el estado, Mid Valley Labor Services, Inc., pagará $150,000 para resolver una demanda por acoso sexual y represalias que presentó la Comisión de Igualdad de Oportunidad de Empleo de Estados Unidos (EEOC), según anunció la agencia hoy.

SAN FRANCISCO – Mid Valley Labor Services, Inc., a statewide farm labor contractor with hundreds of employees, will pay $150,000 to settle a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Janice K. Fedarcyk, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), announced today the arrests of James Monahan, the owner of a real estate investment company called Panam Management Group Inc., and Edward Adams, a New York based attorney, on mail and wire fraud charges for allegedly operating a fraudulent real estate scheme. Monahan and Adams are alleged to have obtained approximately $4.7 million from investors for a real estate development project that Monahan claimed to be constructing in the Dominican Republic.

WASHINGTON – Two members of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT) have been sentenced to federal prison for their role in an aggravated assault that took place in Tomball, Texas, in September 2008, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson of the Southern District of Texas.

PENSACOLA, FL—B Christopher P. Gunn, 31, previously of Walton County, Florida, was indicted today on multiple charges involving the online sextortion and cyberstalking of young girls ranging in age from 13 to 17 years old. The indictment was announced by Pamela C. Marsh, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that CHENG YAN HUANG, the owner of a store in the Chinatown area of Manhattan, pled guilty today in Manhattan federal court to distributing and selling at least 2,010 packages of unregistered and unauthorized pesticides. HUANG was arrested and charged in September 2011 as part of a multi-agency illegal pesticides crackdown that resulted in 12 arrests and the seizure of thousands of packages of unregistered and misbranded pesticides that were sold out of multiple locations in Manhattan.

Following a three-week trial, a federal jury in Central Islip today returned a verdict convicting Christian Gerold Tarantino, a part-owner of Synergy Fitness Clubs located in Farmingdale, Levittown, Franklin Square, Massapequa and Long Beach, of conspiracy to commit the August 2003 obstruction-of-justice murder of Vincent Gargiulo, a former associate who threatened to reveal evidence of the defendant’s participation in two 1994 murders on Long Island. The jury found the defendant not guilty of aiding and abetting in the murder. The conviction was announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Janice K. Fedarcyk, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office.

Earlier today, a federal jury in Brooklyn, New York, returned guilty verdicts against Pedro Espada, Jr. (“Espada”), on four counts of stealing from non-profit medical clinics that received federal funding. The jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict as to the remaining counts against Espada. Espada is a former New York State Senator for the Bronx and served as the New York State Senate Majority Leader from 2009 to 2010. When sentenced, Espada faces up to 10 years’ imprisonment on each count of conviction. The jury deadlocked as to all counts in the indictment against Espada’s son, Pedro Gautier Espada (“Gautier Espada”), who previously served in the New York State Assembly and the New York City Council.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the sentencing of DANIEL EVERRET, 20, to 32 years to life in prison. On March 27, 2012, the defendant was convicted by a jury in New York State Supreme Court on all of the charges in the indictment: Murder in the Second Degree, Assault in the First Degree, and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, for firing seven shots into a crowd in 2008, killing 13-year-old Scotty Scott and injuring two others.

DALLAS — In a ruling issued April 26, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has affirmed a jury’s verdict in favor of a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) disability discrimination lawsuit against Service Temps, Inc. doing business as Smith Personnel Solutions, the federal agency announced on May 10, 2012.

Two days after JP Morgan Chase & Co revealed it lost billions of dollars on bad trades, CEO Jamie Dimon said the embattled bank was "sloppy" and had committed errors in judgment.

JACKSONVILLE, FL—United States Attorney Robert E. O’Neill announces today that Steven Beumel (48, Jacksonville) pleaded guilty to one count of tampering with a consumer product resulting in death, four counts of tampering with a consumer product resulting in serious bodily injury, and five counts of stealing Fentanyl by deception. Beumel faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. He was arrested by FBI agents on May 24, 2011 and has remained in custody since his arrest. A sentencing date has not been yet scheduled.

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Victor W. Lessoff, the Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division (“IRS-CID”), announced today the arrest of MICHAEL LITTLE, a British attorney, on charges that he participated in an 11-year tax fraud scheme in which he advised and helped an American family to defraud the Internal Revenue Service by hiding at least $10 million in overseas Swiss bank accounts and other means.

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Stuart F. Delery, the Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, Helen Kanovsky, General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”), and David A. Montoya, Inspector General of HUD, announced today that the United States has settled a civil fraud lawsuit against DEUTSCHE BANK AG, DB STRUCTURED PRODUCTS, INC., DEUTSCHE BANK SECURITIES, INC. (collectively “DEUTSCHE BANK” or the “DEUTSCHE BANK defendants”) and MORTGAGEIT, INC. (“MORTGAGEIT”).

ALEXANDRIA, VA—Twenty-eight individuals have been arrested for their alleged roles in a cocaine trafficking ring based in Northern Virginia that uses couriers to regularly import large amounts of cocaine from Honduras hidden in shoes and decorative wooden frames. Members of the trafficking ring have allegedly wired more than $1 million from the United States back to cocaine suppliers in Honduras.

DALLAS – Central Freight Lines Inc. has agreed to settle an age discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for $400,000.00 to be paid to eight former dockworkers, the agency announced today.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., announced the trial conviction of FRANCISCO MARTINEZ, 43, a corrections officer, for physically, sexually, and psychologically abusing a woman multiple times over a three-year period. MARTINEZ was convicted of Rape in the Third Degree, Stalking in the First and Second Degrees, and Menacing in the Second Degree. MARTINEZ, who was free on bail, failed to return to court during the trial and is now a fugitive. He was convicted by the jury in absentia, and is expected to be sentenced at a later date.

Emmanuel Tavarez, a former member of the New York City Police Department, was sentenced today to 25 years of imprisonment by United States District Judge Sandra L. Townes at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn. On April 25, 2012, Tavarez pleaded guilty to robbery conspiracy, cocaine and heroin trafficking conspiracy, and firearm charges.

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Janice K. Fedarcyk, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), announced that investor David Blech pled guilty today in Manhattan federal court to two counts of securities fraud arising from schemes to manipulate the market for securities of Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. (“Pluristem”) and Intellect Neurosciences Inc. (“Intellect”) in 2007 and 2008. Blech manipulated the markets for these securities by selling a portion of his holdings in those companies through deceptive and illegal means calculated to hide his selling activity and minimize the downward pressure that his sales would otherwise have had on the value of the Pluristem and Intellect stock that he continued to hold. Blech pled guilty before United States Magistrate Judge Frank Maas.

Earlier today, following a seven-week trial in federal court in Brooklyn, Thomas Gioeli, the former acting boss of the Colombo organized crime family of La Cosa Nostra (the “Colombo family”), and Colombo family soldier Dino Saracino were found guilty of racketeering conspiracy. As part of the conspiracy, the jury found that Gioeli had participated in three murder conspiracies as predicate acts of racketeering and that Saracino had engaged in five racketeering acts, including two murder conspiracies, conspiring to make and making an extortionate extension of credit, witness tampering, and obstruction of justice. Saracino was also found guilty of four additional counts, including charges of conspiring to make an extortionate extension of credit, witness tampering, and obstruction of justice. The jury found the defendants not guilty of the murders in-aid-of racketeering related to the murder of Richard Greaves, the murder of New York City Police Officer Ralph Dols, and the murder of Willi...

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the guilty plea of JASON QUINONES, 22, to Rape in the First Degree and Sexual Abuse in the First Degree, for raping a woman in her East 90th Street apartment on August 13, 2011, and for sexually abusing another woman in her East 83rd Street apartment on July 2, 2011.

WASHINGTON — The National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center), led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), has joined together with the FBI and six major American movie studios to launch an updated anti-piracy warning to be displayed on new releases. The anti-piracy warning will begin appearing in selected DVDs and Blu-rays released this week. The six movie studios, all members of the Motion Picture Association of America, have agreed to utilize the anti-piracy warning.

Veronica Dale and Alchico Grant, who jointly ran a stolen identity refund fraud ring that attempted to defraud the United States of millions of dollars over several years, were sentenced to federal prison today, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. Veronica Dale, of Montgomery, Ala., was sentenced to 334 months and Alchico Grant of Lowndes County, Ala., was sentenced to 310 months in prison. In addition, Dale and Grant were both ordered to pay over $2.8 million in restitution to the IRS.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., announced today the guilty plea of DYSON WILLIAMS, 22, for driving a car that killed a nun and injured four people in Harlem following an early-morning robbery spree in June 2010. The defendant pleaded guilty in New York State Supreme Court to the top charges in the indictment, including Murder in the Second Degree, Robbery in the First Degree, and Assault in the First Degree. WILLIAMS will be sentenced on May 30, 2012. The case against co-defendant WILLIAM ROBBINS, 20, is pending.

PORTLAND, OR—U.S. Attorney Amanda Marshall announced today that Brian D. Stevens, 56, of Bend, Oregon, was sentenced on Friday, May 5, 2012 to 48 months in prison for defrauding clients of his former business, Summit Accomodators Inc., headquartered in Bend. Pursuant to a plea agreement, Stevens had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering violations. Stevens admitted he and others defrauded Summit’s customers from 1999 through 2008, misused over $44 million of customer funds, and caused 91 Summit customers to lose $13.7 million. Stevens’ alleged co-conspirators, CPA Mark A. Neuman, attorney Lane D. Lyons, and Timothy D. Larkin, are charged with the same offenses and are expected to go to trial in February 2013.

Washington, D.C., May 7, 2012 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a former paralegal at a Kalispell, Mont.-based semiconductor company and her father with insider trading on confidential information about the 2009 acquisition of the company.

The Justice Department announced today that it reached an agreement with Imagine Schools Inc., resolving allegations that the company discriminated under the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act, when it fired an employee at its Imagine School in Groveport, Ohio, in connection with a “reverification” of his employment eligibility.

Global Health Care Company Abbott Laboratories Inc. has pleaded guilty and agreed to pay $1.5 billion to resolve its criminal and civil liability arising from the company’s unlawful promotion of the prescription drug Depakote for uses not approved as safe and effective by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Justice Department announced today.

Yesterday (Sunday, May 6, 2012) at approximately 2:00 p.m., Jack Mannino was arrested by the FBI in Brooklyn. He was arrested without incident. Mr. Mannino was wanted for his alleged involvement in the bank robbery of the Capital One Bank branch at 7120 New Utrecht Avenue in Brooklyn on December 29, 2011.

TRENTON—A former research chemist with global pharmaceutical company sanofi-aventis (sanofi) was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for stealing sanofi’s trade secrets and making them available for sale through Abby Pharmatech Inc. (Abby), the U.S. subsidiary of a Chinese chemicals company, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

CLEVELAND — Health Management Group, Inc. (HMG) of Akron, Ohio will pay $260,000 to settle a sex discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that DAVID ROSEN, the former CEO of MediSys Health Network, was sentenced today in Manhattan federal court to three years in prison for participating in a scheme to bribe New York State Senator Carl Kruger, New York State Assemblyman William Boyland, Jr., and former New York State Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio, with hundreds of thousands of dollars in exchange for their official acts. ROSEN was convicted after a three-week bench trial in September 2011 of two counts of honest services fraud, one count of honest services fraud conspiracy, and two counts of conspiracy to commit bribery and to violate the Travel Act. U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff presided over the trial and imposed today’s sentence.

NYCPA Annual Election & General Meeting May 23, 2010 6:30 - 8:30 PM North Star Fund 520 Eighth Avenue, Suite 2203 New York, NY 10018 Between 36th & 37th Street |Subway: 34th Street – Penn Station

BEAUMONT, TX—A federal judge has sentenced a 36-year-old Dallas man in connection with his role in a pair of complex, lucrative oil and gas Ponzi schemes that operated in Michigan and Texas, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas John M. Bales announced today.

MANHATTAN (CN) - Former New York state Sen. Hiram Monserrate pleaded guilty Friday to diverting more than $100,000 in city funds toward his failed 2006 election bid.

Lawrence Etsitty, 30, a former police officer with the Navajo Police Department, pleaded guilty today in federal court to two charges related to the sexual abuse of a woman who was in his custody on Jan. 25, 2009. Etsitty pleaded guilty to violating the civil rights of the victim when he touched and kissed her against her will, while she was handcuffed. Etsitty also pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI in connection with the sexual assault. Etsitty did not enter a plea to the portion of the indictment that alleged the offense included kidnapping.

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Janice K. Fedarcyk, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today the arrest of EVAN ZAUDER for possessing child pornography. ZAUDER, 26, a sixth-grade teacher at a private school in New Jersey, was arrested by FBI agents late in the evening on Monday, May 1, 2012, at his Manhattan residence. He was presented yesterday afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein in Manhattan federal court.

CLEVELAND—Five people were arrested and accused of conspiring to use explosives to destroy a bridge near Cleveland, Steven M. Dettelbach, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, and Stephen D. Anthony, Special Agent in Charge of the Cleveland Division of the FBI, announced today.