News published on Federal Newswire in June 2020

News Release: NORFOLK, Va. - A Suffolk man was sentenced today to over nine years in prison for his role in an international fraud conspiracy that stole over $3.9 million from hundreds of victims.

Former Cincinnati City Council president pleads guilty to charge of honest services wire fraud through bribery

News Release: CINCINNATI - Former Cincinnati City Council president pro tem Tamaya Dennard, 40, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to accepting $15,000 in bribe money she sought and accepted as payment in exchange for her vote on a proposal before Council.

‘Secretary’ to Mexican Mafia Member, who Ferried Orders from Imprisoned Gang Leader, Sentenced to over 12½ Years in Prison

News Release: LOS ANGELES - A Whittier woman who was convicted earlier this year on several charges related to her role as a “secretary" to an imprisoned Mexican Mafia member who controlled a street gang was sentenced today to 151 months in federal prison.

Cromwell Man Involved in Auto Loan Fraud Scheme Receives Additional Prison Time

News Release: John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that GEORGE HAJATI, 41, of Cromwell, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson to 21 months of imprisonment for violating the conditions of his supervised release from a prior federal conviction. Judge Thompson ordered the sentence to run consecutively with a 27-month federal sentence imposed on Hajati last week, for a total effective sentence of 48 months of imprisonment.

Jamaican National Sentenced to 40 Months in Federal Prison for Conspiracy to Smuggle Cocaine Aboard a Cargo Ship

News Release: United States Attorney Brandon Fremin announced that United States District Court Judge Brian A. Jackson sentenced Stephano Walkers, age 25, of Jamaica, to serve 40 months in federal prison following his conviction for conspiracy to bring or possess cocaine on board of a vessel arriving in the United States.

Grassley, Walden Request Investigation into COVID-19 Nursing Home Deaths

News Release: Washington - Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Energy and Commerce Committee Republican Leader Greg Walden (R-Ore.) today sent a letter to the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) requesting the OIG initiate an investigation...

Maryland Man Sentenced for Heroin Distribution

News Release: MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA - Gary Thorton, of Baltimore, Maryland, was sentenced today to 33 months incarceration for heroin distribution, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.

ICYMI: NYT on the Status of Prescription Drug Pricing Reform

News Release: When President Trump visited Senate Republicans last month for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began ripping across the country, Senator Charles E. Grassley, the powerful chairman of the Finance Committee, confronted him about whether he still wanted to fulfill his years-old promise of lowering the cost of prescription drugs.

Liberty Ridge Search Confirms Skier Fatality

News Release: The body of a missing climber was located today along the base of Liberty Ridge. Matthew Bunker, 28-years-old of Seattle, was reported missing on Liberty Ridge by the other member of his climbing party on Friday, June 26. Bunker was skiing behind his partner at approximately 10,400 feet in elevation, near Thumb Rock. As they were descending from Thumb Rock, unknown events caused his fall in steep, treacherous terrain.

Woman gored after approaching bison in Yellowstone National Park; Always stay more than 25 yards away from bison

News Release: * After a 72-year-old woman from California approached within 10 feet of a bison multiple times to take its photo, the animal gored her.

Chinese National Guilty of Laundering Millions for Mexican Drug Cartels

News Release: ALEXANDRIA, Va. - A Chinese national pleaded guilty today to laundering more than $4 million in drug proceeds generated by large-scale cocaine trafficking in the United States.

Charleston Doctor Sentenced to More Than Five Years in Federal Prison for Illegal Distribution of Methadone

News Release: CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A Charleston doctor who practiced at Neurology & Pain Center, PLLC was sentenced to prison for illegal distribution of controlled substances that were not for legitimate medical purposes, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart. Muhammed Samer Nasher-Alneam, 48, was sentenced...

Department of Energy Issues Request for Information to Strengthen Battery Critical Materials Supply Chains

By DOE Newswire | Jun 29, 2020

News Release: Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a request for information (RFI) on challenges and opportunities in the upstream and midstream critical-materials battery supply chains.

Senate Unanimously Passes Grassley-Wyden Bill to Keep HHS Repatriation Program Afloat During COVID-19 Crisis

News Release: WASHINGTON - The Senate by unanimous consent today passed the Emergency Aid for Returning Americans Affected by Coronavirus Act authored by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

Lifeguards on Duty at Great Kills Park July 1

News Release: Staten Island, N.Y. - Lifeguards will be on duty at Gateway National Recreation Area’s Great Kills Park beginning Wednesday, July 1. The beach will now be open for swimming.

Pinellas County Man Sentenced For Selling Opioids

News Release: Tampa, Florida - U.S. District Judge John Antoon II has sentenced Jeffrey Saylor (48, St. Petersburg) to 30 months in federal prison for the unlawful distribution of a controlled substance. Saylor had pleaded guilty on Feb. 11, 2020.

Westmoreland County Man Charged with Possessing Fentanyl

News Release: PITTSBURGH,- A resident of Adamsburg, PA, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on a charge of violating federal narcotics laws, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

Man Who Threatened Law Enforcement Officers Sentenced

News Release: COLUMBUS, Ohio - Joseph Michael Bragg, 41, of Columbus, was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to serve 22 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release for sending more than a dozen threats to an Oklahoma sheriff and threatening the Columbus FBI agent who came to his house to interview him.

BLM New Mexico accepting comments for October oil and gas lease sale

News Release: SANTA FE, N.M. - The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) New Mexico is announcing a two-week public comment period on the environmental analysis for its Oct. 29, 2020 oil and gas lease sale. There are 11 parcels (7,730.86 acres) of Federal minerals proposed for lease. The parcels are located in Eddy, Chaves, and Lea counties in New Mexico. The comment period will run from July 6 to 17, 2020.

U.S. Department of Commerce Invests $400,000 in CARES Act Funding to Boost Economic Development Programs Critical to Helping the Kennebec Valley Region of Maine Respond to Coronavirus