News published on Federal Newswire in January 2017

News Release: VAN BUREN, MO: Ozark National Scenic Riverways, in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Conservation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, will be conducting helicopter operations to assist culling feral hogs. All hiking trails, day-use areas, and campgrounds south of Big Spring will be closed January 16 and 17 for public health and safety during this operation.

Ranking Member Grijalva: DOI Report Confirms Federal Coal Program is Broken and Outdated, Highlights Need for Reforms

News Release: Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today hailed the release of the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) scoping report on the review of the federal coal program, which concluded that “modernization of the coal program is warranted.".

Today’s Grijalva Amendment to GOP Deregulatory Bill Would Strip Republican Language Harming Federal Land Management Agencies

News Release: Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) will offer an amendment today to strip language in H.R. 5, the Regulatory Accountability Act, that makes it much more difficult for national land management agencies to protect public resources.

Houston Trucking Dispatcher Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Oklahoma City Company and is Sentenced to Serve 15 Months in Federal Prison

News Release: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma - Today RICHARD V. KELLY, 44, of Houston, Texas, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and was sentenced by United States District Judge Robin J. Cauthron to 15 months in federal prison for using a wire fraud scheme to defraud Oklahoma City company of more than $1.2 million in false billings, announced Mark A. Yancey, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

The BLM Invites the Public to Learn about Lichen

News Release: Jupiter, FL - Looking for something new to do? How about joining the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) at the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse Outstanding Natural Area (ONA) for one of two unique Lichen programs?

Shelton Man Sentenced To 46 Months In Federal Prison For Distributing Heroin To Overdose Victim

News Release: JAN 11 - BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - Michael J. Ferguson Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England and Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that that Jorge Morales, also known as “Capone," 30, of Shelton, was sentenced by U.S.

Second Mesa Man Sentenced to Total of 90 Months for Domestic Violence Offenses

News Release: PHOENIX - This week, Donovan Chaca, 38, of Second Mesa, Ariz., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow to 67 months of imprisonment, in addition to 23 months already served on related prosecutions in the Hopi Tribal Court. Chaca had previously pleaded guilty to assault resulting in substantial bodily injury to a dating partner and assault by strangling or suffocating a dating partner.

Trafficking Nearly 10 Kilos Of Meth Lands Man Hefty Prison Sentence

News Release: CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - A U.S. citizen who was living in Matamoros has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, announced Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Joseph M. Arabit, Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson. Francisco Moreno, 22, pleaded guilty Oct. 3, 2016.

Latin King Gang Leader Sentenced for Illegal Gun Possession and Drug Trafficking

News Release: BOSTON - A member of the Latin Kings man was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court in Boston for drug and gun possession.

Shire PLC Subsidiaries to Pay $350 Million To Settle False Claims Act Allegations

News Release: WASHINGTON - The Justice Department announced today that Shire Pharmaceuticals LLC and other subsidiaries of Shire plc (Shire) will pay $350 million to settle federal and state False Claims Act allegations that Shire and the company it acquired in 2011, Advanced BioHealing (ABH), employed kickbacks and...

Two Shreveport Residents Sentenced for Sex Trafficking a Minor

News Release: SHREVEPORT, La. - United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced a man and woman from Shreveport were sentenced Monday to 32 years and 20 years in prison for having a minor female from Texas engage in prostitution.

Jury Finds Postal Employee Guilty Of Theft Of More Than $2 Million In Social Security Checks From Mail

News Release: Tampa, Florida - United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that a federal jury today found Stacy Darnell Mitchell (48, Tampa) guilty of theft of government property and theft of mail. He faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison. His sentencing date has not yet been set. Mitchell was indicted on March 1, 2016.

Crack Cocaine Sends Local Man to Prison

News Release: CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - A 31-year-old Corpus Christi man has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base, commonly known as crack cocaine, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson. Gilbert Bustamante pleaded guilty Aug. 4, 2016.

Masters of Cosmetology Charge

News Release: FORT WAYNE - The United States Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana, David Capp, announced that an information was filed charging Rachel Crawford, 38, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, with obtaining by fraud and materially false statements, federal financial funds within the jurisdiction of the United...

Bicameral Leaders Request Details on Coverage of Optional State Medicaid Eligibility and Benefit Categories

News Release: WASHINGTON, DC - Bicameral leaders today sent a letter to the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) requesting they analyze the optional Medicaid eligibility and benefit categories that states have chosen to cover and spending for those categories. The letter was sent by full committee...

BLM reschedules public meeting for Jordan Valley due to weather issues

News Release: BOISE, ID - The Bureau of Land Management is rescheduling their Tri-State Fuel Break Project public scoping meeting in Jordan Valley, Ore. that was set for Thursday, Jan. 12.

Barbour County man pleads guilty to illegal possession of firearms

News Release: ELKINS, WEST VIRGINIA - Roy Thomas Schroeder, 46, of Volga, West Virginia, was convicted of illegally possessing firearms, Acting United States Attorney Betsy Steinfeld Jividen, announced.

BLM Seeks Comments on New Mexico Gas Company Taos Mainline Re-route Project

News Release: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Taos Field Office is seeking public comment on the draft environmental assessment (EA) for the proposed relocation of approximately six miles of the New Mexico Gas Company’s Taos Mainline. This is a natural gas utility pipeline that serves as the only purveyor of natural gas to the communities of Taos, Questa, and Red River in Taos County, New Mexico. The public comment period will be open from Jan. 10, 2017, to Feb. 10, 2017.

New York Man Sentenced To 20 Years In Prison For Robbing Bergen County Bank

News Release: NEWARK, N.J. - A Brooklyn, New York, man who was on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted Fugitive List in 1988 was sentenced today to 240 months in prison for robbing a TD Bank in Oakland, New Jersey, in April 2013, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Bicameral Leaders Request Details on Coverage of Optional State Medicaid Eligibility and Benefit Categories