HOMELAND SECURITY OIG SPECIAL AGENT INDICTED FOR CONSPIRACY, OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE AND RECORDS FALSIFICATION

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Former Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General Special Agent in Charge Indicted in Texas for Role in Records Falsification Scheme

A former U.S. Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (DHS-OIG) special agent in charge and another special agent were indicted in the Southern District of Texas late yesterday for their roles in a scheme to falsify records and to obstruct an internal field office inspection, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Special Agent in Charge Armando Fernandez of the FBI San Antonio Field Office.

The indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Brownsville, Texas, charges Eugenio Pedraza, 49, of McAllen, Texas, with six counts of falsification of records in federal investigations, five counts of obstructing an agency proceeding, one count of obstruction of justice and one count of conspiracy. The indictment also charges Marco Rodriguez, 40, of Mission, Texas, with two counts of falsification of records in federal investigations, two counts of obstructing an agency proceeding and one count of conspiracy.

DHS-OIG is the principal component within DHS with the responsibility to investigate alleged criminal activity by DHS employees, including corruption affecting the integrity of U.S. borders.

According to the indictment, in September 2011, DHS-OIG conducted an internal inspection of its McAllen Field Office to evaluate whether its internal investigative standards and policies were being followed. At that time, Pedraza was the special agent in charge of the McAllen Field Office, and Rodriguez was a special agent stationed there. According to the indictment, in anticipation of the inspection, Pedraza allegedly directed Rodriguez and other DHS-OIG employees to engage in a scheme to falsify documents in open criminal investigative case files, including numerous investigations in which DHS employees were suspected of participating in the unlawful smuggling of undocumented aliens and/or narcotics into the United States.

More specifically, the indictment charges that at Pedraza’s direction, DHS-OIG employees allegedly created and placed into these investigative files backdated memoranda of activity that falsely reflected investigative activity by agents that had not occurred; backdated case review worksheets that falsely reflected supervisory case reviews that Pedraza had not conducted with his subordinate agents; and backdated, unsent letters that were signed by Pedraza and purported to inform the FBI of the opening of a DHS-OIG investigation.

According to the indictment, the scheme’s purpose was to conceal severe lapses in DHS-OIG’s investigative standards from individuals conducting an internal field office inspection. The scheme was allegedly devised to conceal Pedraza’s failure to ensure that investigations were being conducted promptly and thoroughly, his failure to provide his subordinates with adequate training and supervision, and his failure to ensure that the FBI was being timely notified of DHS-OIG’s investigations.

The indictment also charges Pedraza with allegedly directing two DHS-OIG employees to falsify memoranda of activity on additional occasions, and with obstructing justice by removing the falsified supervisory case review sheets that he had created from DHS-OIG files after becoming aware of the FBI and grand jury investigation into his conduct.

In a related case, on Jan. 17, 2013, Wayne Ball, a former DHS-OIG special agent, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas before U.S. District Judge Randy Crane to one count of a multi-object conspiracy to falsify records in federal investigations and to obstruct an agency proceeding for his participation in the scheme. Ball is scheduled to be sentenced on July 31, 2013.

The charge of falsification of records in federal investigations carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. The charge of obstructing an agency proceeding carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. The charge of obstruction of justice carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. The charge of conspiracy carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Each of these charges carry a maximum fine of $250,000.

An indictment is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Eric L. Gibson and Timothy J. Kelly of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section. The case is being investigated by agents of the FBI, San Antonio Division.

TWO POLICE OFFICERS CHARGED WITH SOLICITING A BRIBE FROM A DEFENDANT

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

WASHINGTON – Two former police officers with the Police of Puerto Rico were charged with allegedly attempting to extort a commonwealth defendant and soliciting bribe payments of $50,000, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division announced today.

Abimael Arroyo-Cruz, 30, of Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, and Josue Becerril-Ramos, 36, of Carolina, Puerto Rico, were both charged in an indictment returned yesterday in the District of Puerto Rico with one count of conspiracy, one count of federal programs bribery, one count of conspiracy to commit extortion and one count of attempted extortion.

According to the indictment, Arroyo and Becerril arrested eight individuals for possession of unregistered firearms and marijuana on Aug. 2, 2012. The officers then allegedly solicited from one defendant a bribe payment of $50,000 to have his case dismissed. Beginning on Sept. 11, 2012, both officers allegedly spoke with the commonwealth defendant multiple times over the telephone, discussing payment details and strategies for dismissing the commonwealth defendant’s case.

The indictment alleges that Arroyo and Becerril collected approximately $35,000, of the $50,000 demanded, from the commonwealth defendant in two different payment installments. Unbeknownst to the officers, however, the individuals who dropped off the payments were cooperating with federal law enforcement.

In exchange for the bribes, the indictment alleges, Arroyo and Becerril devised a plan whereby the officers would misidentify a co-defendant in court, leading to dismissal of the commonwealth defendant’s case. According to the indictment, when asked under oath at the preliminary hearing to identify the commonwealth defendant, Arroyo instead identified a co-defendant. The indictment alleges that Arroyo confirmed to the commonwealth defendant following the hearing that he deliberately misidentified the co-defendant as part of the plan to have the commonwealth defendant’s case dismissed.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Henwood of the District of Puerto Rico and Trial Attorneys Menaka Kalaskar and Marquest J. Meeks of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section. The case was investigated by the FBI’s San Juan Field Office.

FORMER POLICE OFFICER ARRESTED FOR STEALING FROM MOTORISTS

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Former Fort Deposit, Alabama, Police Officer Arrested for Stealing Money from Motorists and Obstructing Justice
Former Fort Deposit, Ala., Police Officer Carlos Tyson Bennett was arrested today on charges of stealing money from motorists on Interstate 65 in central Alabama and subsequently trying to conceal his criminal activity, announced the Justice Department.

Bennett, 36, of Greenville, Ala., was charged in an eight-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the Middle District of Alabama and unsealed today.   He is charged with one count of conspiracy against rights, four counts of deprivation of rights under color of law, and three counts of obstruction of justice.

The indictment alleges that between April 2009 and July 1, 2009, Bennett conspired with a fellow officer to stop vehicles under the guise of legitimate law enforcement activity and to steal cash from drivers and passengers in violation of their constitutional right to be free from unreasonable seizures of property.   The indictment further alleges four specific thefts in which Bennett, aided and abetted by the other officer, stole between $100 and $200 per victim.   In addition, Bennett is charged with obstructing justice on three separate occasions.   According to the indictment, Bennett also provided a fabricated story to a law enforcement official and sought to prevent the communication of information relating to these offenses to law enforcement officers.

If convicted, Bennett could face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 on the conspiracy charge; one year in prison and a fine of $100,000 on each of the deprivation of rights charges; and 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 on each of the obstruction charges.

This case is being investigated by the Alabama Bureau of Investigation; the Butler County, Ala., Sheriff’s Office; and the Lowndes County, Ala., Sheriff’s Office.   The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Monica Stump for the Middle District of Alabama and Trial Attorney Chiraag Bains from the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

An indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.