FBI Top 10 Week Ending January 8, 2010

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Press Release

For Immediate Release January 8, 2010 Washington D.C. FBI National Press Office (202) 324-3691 FBI’s Top Ten News Stories January 8, 2010 Detroit: Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab Indicted for Attempted Bombing of Flight 253 on Christmas Day Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was charged in a six-count criminal indictment returned in the Eastern District of Michigan for his alleged role in the attempted Christmas day bombing of Northwest Airlines flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit. Abdulmutallab faces life in prison if convicted. Full Story Washington Field: Former Department of Defense Contractors Charged with Murder of Two Afghan Nationals Justin Cannon of Corpus Christi, Texas and Christopher Drotleff of Virginia Beach, Virginia were charged with crimes including second-degree murder, attempted murder, and firearms offenses while working as contractors for the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) in Afghanistan. Cannon and Drotleff were charged under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act. The 13-count indictment alleges that on May 5, 2009, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Cannon and Drotleff shot and killed two Afghanistan nationals and wounded a third. The indictment alleges that at the time of the shootings, Cannon and Drotleff were DOD contractors employed by Paravant LLC, which is a subsidiary of Xe (formerly known as Blackwater Worldwide). Full Story   St. Louis: Missouri State Representative Sentenced on Federal Bribery Charges Talibdin El-Amin, a member of the Missouri House of Representatives for the 57th Missouri District, was sentenced to 18 months in prison on federal bribery charges. In addition to his prison sentence, he was also ordered to pay $2,100 in restitution. Full Story New York: Former Yonkers Councilwoman, Two Others Charged in Public Corruption Case Sandy Annabi, the former Democratic majority leader of the Yonkers City Council, was charged with conspiracy, bribery, extortion, false statements, and tax crimes. The indictment also charges Zehy Jereis, the former head of the Yonkers Republican Party, and Anthony Mangone, a Westchester County attorney, with conspiracy, bribery, and extortion in connection with two real estate development projects within the City of Yonkers that were pending before Annabi. Full Story Birmingham/Mobile: Nine Suspicious White Powder Letters Received at Offices of U.S. Senators and Representatives Throughout Alabama The FBI is investigating nine suspicious white powder letters received at the offices of four U.S. Senators and Representatives throughout the state of Alabama. The handwritten letters, which also contained a white powder, were sent to the offices of U.S. Senators Richard Shelby and Jeff Sessions, and U.S. Representatives Jo Bonner and Mike Rogers, in Montgomery, Birmingham, Mobile, Foley, and Anniston, Alabama. The white powder substance has been field screened and the tests have met with negative results for hazardous materials. Full Story - Birmingham | Full Story - Mobile Seattle: Former Army Ranger Pleads Guilty to Assault and Trying to Hire a Hit Man Barely one year after he was sentenced to 24 years in prison on bank robbery charges, former U.S. Army Ranger Luke Elliott Sommer, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada, pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon and solicitation of a crime of violence. Full Story New York: FBI Participates in New Year’s Eve Security Operations The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, in cooperation with other law enforcement agencies, conducted security operations for the New Year’s Eve celebration in New York City. The FBI deployed more than 100 agents, analysts, professional staff, and task force members to assist with security efforts, and was in place to enact the FBI’s crisis response plan in the event of a terrorist incident. Full Story Miami: Miami-Dade County Resident Charged in $55 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme Ihosvany Marquez was charged with conspiracy to commit Medicare fraud, Medicare fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, money laundering, and aggravated identity theft. Marquez, together with Michel De Jesus Huarte and other unnamed conspirators, allegedly operated and controlled seven purported medical clinics in Miami-Dade and Orange counties. These clinics submitted at least $55 million in false claims to Medicare and based on these fraudulent claims, Medicare paid Marquez and his conspirators approximately $21.6 million. Full Story Sacramento: Fremont Man Charged in Connection with Ongoing Tomato Industry Corruption Case Michael Chavez, a former purchasing manager for Safeway Inc., was charged with two counts of wire fraud in connection with an ongoing federal investigation into various illicit activities in the tomato processing industry. Chavez is the latest corporate purchasing manager to plead guilty to receiving bribes from SK Foods, formerly a California-based grower and processor of tomato and other food products for sale to food product manufacturers, food service distributors and marketers, and retail outlets nationwide. Full Story New Haven: Former Stamford Hedge Fund Manager Pleads Guilty Francesco Rusciano pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. Rusciano operated the Ponta Negra Fund I, LLC and the Ponta Negra Offshore Fund, LTD. As a result of various misrepresentations, Rusciano’s investors placed approximately $24 million in principal with the funds during their time of operation and, in turn, investors redeemed approximately $9 million before his scheme was discovered. Full Story

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