District of New Hampshire

            CONCORD, N.H. – Michael Smith, 35, of Sanbornton, New Hampshire, was sentenced to 96 months in federal prison after pleading guilty in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to a federal indictment charging him with eight counts of distribution and one count of conspiracy to distribute the Schedule I controlled substance heroin and the Schedule II controlled substance fentanyl, announced United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice.  

            According to court documents, during a law enforcement investigation, a cooperating individual purchased heroin and/or fentanyl from the defendant on eight occasions. Lab results confirmed that over 20 grams of the substance purchase contained fentanyl, over 57 grams contained heroin and over 19 grams contained a mixture of heroin and fentanyl. Smith obtained controlled substances from multiple sources and distributed to multiple customers, participating in the conspiracy since at least June, 2015.

            U.S. District Judge Paul J. Barbadoro sentenced Smith. In addition to the term of incarceration, Judge Barbadoro ordered Smith to serve, upon his release from prison, a term of supervised release of 3 years.

            The case was investigated by the New Hampshire Drug Task Force and the Drug Enforcement Administration and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Georgiana L. Konesky and Donald Feith.

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            CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE:   Allen Langlois, 49, of Newport, New Hampshire, was sentenced in the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire, for possessing child pornography.  According to United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice, the Court imposed a sentence of 42 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release.

             In the fall of 2015, after a lengthy investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation found a collection of hundreds of still images of child pornography on the defendant’s personal computer.  The defendant admitted to downloading child pornography content from several different internet websites, including sites on the dark web.

            The FBI was assisted in this case by the Police Departments of Newport, Manchester, and Nashua, New Hampshire, as well as the New Hampshire State Police. 

            The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nick Abramson.

            In February 2006, the Department of Justice introduced Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

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            CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE:   Richard Sullivan, 24, of Goffstown, New Hampshire, was sentenced on Thursday in the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire, for possessing child pornography.  According to United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice, the Court imposed a sentence of 24 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by 7 years of supervised release.

            In 2015, investigators determined that an individual residing at Sullivan’s Goffstown residence had uploaded several images of child pornography to an internet bulletin board.  A federal search warrant was obtained, and a forensic analysis of three of Sullivan’s personal electronic devices revealed a collection of approximately thirty still images of child pornography.  Sullivan admitted to investigators that he had been viewing child pornography for eighteen months.

            The investigation was jointly conducted by the Homeland Security Investigations Manchester (HSI), the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (NH ICAC), and the police departments of Goffstown, Bedford, Hampton, Portsmouth, and Manchester, New Hampshire.

            The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nick Abramson.

             In February 2006, the Department of Justice introduced Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

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            CONCORD – United States Attorney, Emily Gray Rice announced that Mark Ross, 42, of Gonic, New Hampshire, and Leslie Aberle, 32, of Salisbury, Massachusetts appeared yesterday before United States District Court Judge Landya McCafferty and pleaded guilty to distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death. 

            According to documents that were filed in United States District Court and statements in the plea proceeding, Aberle drove Mark Ross from Rochester, New Hampshire to Lawrence, Massachusetts on October 16, 2015 for the purpose of obtaining heroin.  Ross acquired the heroin.  Ross and Aberle returned to the Riviera Motel in Rochester where Ross was staying with Jazzmyn Rood and Rood’s daughter Evangelique Tarmey.  Ross provided a quantity of the drug to Tarmey.  The following morning, Tarmey was found dead in the motel room.  The New Hampshire Medical Examiner later found that Ms. Tarmey died of acute fentanyl intoxication.  

            New Hampshire has the third-highest rate of per capita drug overdose deaths in the United States.  More than half of the drug overdose deaths in New Hampshire in 2015 were the result of fentanyl, either alone or in combination with other drugs.

            United States Attorney Rice said, “I want to thank the Rochester Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration for their work on this case.  Fighting the opioid epidemic is a multi-pronged, team effort.  One facet of our attack is to prosecute those who are criminally responsible for causing drug overdoses.   We will continue to work with law enforcement agencies to identify and prosecute the individuals who distribute drugs that cause overdose deaths.  Any drug distribution has the potential to be deadly, regardless of the quantity of drugs involved.  When a drug distribution causes an overdose death, my office will seek to hold the distributor accountable.”

            In April 2016, the United States Attorney’s Office and the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office announced the formation of an inter-office team of prosecutors who will work together to prosecute individuals who cause opiate overdoses in New Hampshire.  This prosecution, initiated before the creation of the joint team, is an example of the type of case that will be generated by the team.

            The case was investigated by the Rochester Police Department.  The Drug Enforcement Administration assisted in the investigation.  The case was prosecuted by First Assistant United States Attorney Don Feith.

            A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for October 28, 2016 in each case.

            CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE - John P. Howe, Jr., 34, of Troy, New Hampshire, was sentenced on Friday in the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire for possessing child pornography, announced United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice.  The Court imposed a sentence of 78 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release. 

            In 2014, the Federal Bureau of Investigation obtained information indicating that websites devoted to the exploitation of children had been accessed by a computer at the defendant’s Troy, New Hampshire residence.  When a federal search warrant for that residence was executed in September 2014, authorities located a collection of videos and still images of child pornography on one of the defendant’s personal electronic devices, including a number of images depicting sadistic and masochistic acts. 

            The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in conjunction with Homeland Security Investigations, the New Hampshire State Police, the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (NH ICAC), and the Troy, New Hampshire Police Department. 

            This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nick Abramson.

            In February 2006, the Department of Justice introduced Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorneys Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

CONCORD, N.H. – United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice announced that Anthony Elton Cook was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison based upon his plea of guilty to charges arising from possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute and his unlawful possession of a firearm in connection with his drug trafficking activity.  Cook previously had pleaded guilty to one count of Possession of Fentanyl with Intent to Distribute, Possession of a Firearm in Connection with a Drug Trafficking Offense and Unlawful Possession of a Firearm.  Cook, 26 years old, lived in Rochester, New Hampshire before he was taken into custody on related charges in January. 

          According to court documents, testimony and statements Cook made in earlier proceedings, a Rochester, N.H., police patrol officer pulled Cook over for a suspected motor vehicle violation on July 12, 2015.  An ensuing search of Cook’s car and person yielded, among other things, a distribution quantity of fentanyl, a hand gun and ammunition.  Cook previously had been convicted of a felony and therefore was prohibited under federal firearms laws from possessing a gun.  The police also recovered from Cook $1900 in small cash denominations. 

          U.S. District Judge Paul J. Barbadoro sentenced Cook.  In addition to the term of incarceration, Judge Barbadoro ordered Cook to serve, upon his release from prison, a term of supervised release of 5 years.  While on supervised release, Cook will be required to abide by certain rules and conditions established by the court.  If he fails to abide by those rules and conditions, he could be returned to prison to serve additional time.  Finally, Judge Barbadoro forfeited Cook’s interest in the $1900 cash and ordered Cook to pay an additional $300 in administrative court fees.

          This matter was investigated by the Rochester (N.H.) Police Department with support from the Bedford, N.H., field office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Bill Morse.

CONCORD, N.H. – United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice announced that Sherman C. Bolling was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison based upon his plea of guilty to charges arising from his role in a counterfeit traveler’s check scheme.  Bolling previously had pleaded guilty to one count of Possessing Counterfeit Traveler’s Checks.  Bolling, 68 years old, lived in Hempstead, New York, before he was taken into custody on related charges in January. 

            According to court documents, testimony and statements Bolling and an accomplice made in earlier proceedings, Bolling was caught by police fleeing in his car from the parking lot of a retail box store in Tilton, N.H.  Bolling began fleeing when police arrived at the store to investigate a report from the store’s loss prevention staff that a woman was attempting to purchase high value merchandise with counterfeit traveler’s checks.  After they intercepted Bolling, the police discovered in his possession 96 counterfeit traveler’s checks – 12 in $200 denominations and 84 in $100 denominations.  When Bolling fled, he left the woman, later identified as Kadejdra Marda, at the store to deal with the police on her own.  Marda eventually admitted that she was an accomplice of Bolling, that he had driven her to the store and that, before he left her behind, Bolling had been waiting for her in his car while she was in the store trying to pass the bad traveler’s checks. 

            Bolling was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Paul J. Barbadoro.  In addition to the term of incarceration, Judge Barbadoro ordered Bolling to serve, upon his release from prison, a term of supervised release of 3 years.  While on supervised release, Bolling will be required to abide by certain rules and conditions established by the court.  If he fails to abide by those rules and conditions, he could be returned to prison to serve additional time.

            Judge Barbadoro previously sentenced Marda, who also pleaded guilty, to time served (which had been approximately three months).   Like Bolling, Marda also will be required to serve a three-year term of supervised release.  Among the conditions of Marda’s supervised release are that she be detained in her home, and be subject to electronic monitoring, for three months.

            This matter was investigated by the Tilton (N.H.) Police Department with support from the Manchester, N.H., Field Office of the United States Secret Service.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Bill Morse.

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CONCORD, N.H. – William M. Richmond, 60, formerly of Atkinson, New Hampshire, was sentenced to 24 months in prison for tax evasion, reports United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice.

            In 2006 through 2008 Richmond failed to report and pay taxes on more than $743,000 he stole through a wire fraud scheme.  From about May 18, 2005, through about April 2009, Richmond held a durable power of attorney for Richard Piller. The power of attorney gave Richmond unrestricted access to Piller’s finances. Richmond was supposed to manage Piller’s personal and business affairs while Piller and his then-wife, Joan Ettelson, were out of the country for extended periods. Richmond used the power of attorney to commit a wire fraud scheme through which he stole more than $743,000 from Piller and Ettelson. Richmond failed to disclose that criminally derived income on his tax returns for 2006, 2007, and 2008, and he failed to list the substantial additional taxes he owed for each year based on that income. Instead, Richmond falsely claimed that his only income was taxable interest and that he owed no taxes for each of the three years.

            Richmond pleaded guilty to three counts of tax evasion on July 17, 2015.

            In addition to a two-year prison sentence, Richmond was ordered to pay $743,171.59 in restitution to Piller and Ettelson.

            This case was investigated by special agents of the FBI and the IRS – Criminal Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark S. Zuckerman.

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            CONCORD – United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice announced that Rigoberto Ramirez  Aldava, 40, of 345 Putnam Street, Apartment #1, Manchester, New Hampshire, appeared today before United States Magistrate Daniel Lynch and was arraigned on a criminal complaint which charges him with conspiracy to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 846 and distribution of controlled substances, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 841(a)(1).

               According to documents that were filed in United States District Court and statements in the court proceeding, Ramirez Aldava, a citizen of Mexico, operated El Patron Sports Bar and Grill, LLC, located at 253 Wilson Street, Manchester, New Hampshire. 

              As part of the investigation, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) received information that Ramirez Aldava was in possession of multiple kilograms of methamphetamine. On June 21, 2016, an undercover DEA Task Force Officer met with Ramirez Aldava at a location in Manchester, where Ramirez Aldava provided the undercover officer with a sample of approximately 34 grams of methamphetamine. On June 29, 2016, the undercover officer met with Ramirez Aldava at the same location in Manchester and purchased approximately 372 grams of methamphetamine for $8,000. On July 11, 2016, Ramirez Aldava was arrested as he travelled to a pre-arranged location in Manchester where he intended to sell the undercover officer approximately ten pounds of methamphetamine for $85,000. Approximately 5.13 kilograms were recovered from Ramirez Aldava’s vehicle at the time of his arrest.

            A search of El Patron Sports Bar and Grill resulted in the seizure of approximately 2.03 kilograms of methamphetamine. A second search at Ramiez Aldava’s Putnam Street apartment resulted in the seizure of $6,000 of the serialized DEA currency utilized in the June 29th drug sale.

            DEA reports that in this area, one gram of methamphetamine typically sells for between $150 to $200 dollars, and in the Northeast, larger quantities of the drug can sell for as much as $50,000 to $60,000 per kilogram.

            “Methamphetamine is a highly addictive stimulant that damages the central nervous system and can cause paranoia often associated with violent behavior,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Ferguson. “This record-setting seizure of methamphetamine in New Hampshire demonstrates DEA’s commitment to disrupt and dismantle Mexican drug trafficking organizations who have become the primary manufacturers and distributors of methamphetamine to cities throughout the United States.  DEA and its local, state and federal partners are committed to bringing to justice those that distribute this lethal drug.”

            United States Attorney Rice said, “I want to thank the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Manchester and Nashua Police Departments for their work on this case.  The United States Attorney’s Office is committed to working with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners to continue to target drug trafficking organizations which are responsible for the importation of large quantities of controlled substances into New Hampshire from source countries such as Mexico, and to bringing traffickers to justice.”            

            Magistrate Judge Lynch ordered Ramirez Aldava detained pending trial. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Cole Davis.

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            CONCORD – United States Attorney, Emily Gray Rice announced that Geoffrey McIntosh, 36, was sentenced by United States District Judge Paul Barbadoro to serve 100 months in federal prison for his participation in an oxycodone distribution scheme.

            McIntosh, most recently of Derry, New Hampshire, pleaded guilty on March 25, 2016, to participating in a conspiracy to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute, oxycodone.

            According to documents that were filed in United States District Court and statements in court proceedings, McIntosh and others passed dozens of false prescriptions for OxyContin pills at pharmacies in the Manchester and Nashua areas.  McIntosh arranged for runners to pass these fraudulent prescriptions at pharmacies.  The runners would then provide the pills to McIntosh in exchange for pills or cash.  McIntosh would then sell the pills or have others sell them on his behalf.  During the investigation, law enforcement officers identified over 100 fraudulent prescriptions for OxyContin, which were filled in 2009 and 2010.

            The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from other law enforcement agencies, including the Nashua Police Department, Manchester Police Department, Merrimack Police Department, and the New Hampshire State Police.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John J. Farley.

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            CONCORD – United States Attorney, Emily Gray Rice announced that James Donnelly, 34, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute, oxycodone before United States District Court Judge Landya B. McCafferty.

            According to documents that were filed in United States District Court and statements in the plea proceeding, Donnelly, Geoffrey McIntosh, and others arranged to pass dozens of false prescriptions for OxyContin pills at pharmacies in the Manchester and Nashua areas.  These prescriptions contained falsified signatures of a physician.  Donnelly admitted that he arranged for runners to pass these fraudulent prescriptions at pharmacies.  The runners would then be provided with pills or cash as payment for passing the fraudulent prescriptions.  McIntosh would then sell the pills or have others sell them on his behalf.  During the investigation, law enforcement officers identified over 100 fraudulent prescriptions for OxyContin, which were filled in 2009 and 2010.

            A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for October 13, 2016.   The court will determine the sentence to be imposed after it has the opportunity to review a presentence report prepared by the United States Probation & Pretrial Services Office.

            The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from other law enforcement agencies, including the Nashua Police Department, Manchester Police Department, Merrimack Police Department, and the New Hampshire State Police.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John J. Farley.

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          CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE –United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice announced that Victor Lopez, of the Dominican Republic, was sentenced to ten months in prison after pleading guilty to illegally reentering the United States after having been previously deported.

            On February 15, 2016, an ICE-ERO Deportation Officer received a request for assistance form a New Hampshire State Police Trooper who he had stopped a vehicle for speeding on I-93 north bound in Windham.  There were five individuals in the vehicle, two of whom provided the Trooper with foreign ID cards. The defendant and two other individuals refused to provide identification and refused to answer any questions.  The Trooper requested that ICE-ERO assist with the identification of those three individuals in the vehicle.

            An ICE-ERO Deportation Officer submitted the defendant’s fingerprints to databases of known fingerprints for comparison.  The comparison identified the defendant as Victor Lopez and established that Lopez had been deported from the United States to Guatemala in 2012.

            The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the New Hampshire State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alfred Rubega prosecuted the case.

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            Concord, N.H.—Emily Gray Rice, United States Attorney for the District of New Hampshire, announced that Parrish Powell, 27, previously of Mount Vernon, New York, was sentenced for possessing a weapon at a federal correctional institution in July 2015.  United States District Judge Landya B. McCafferty imposed a sentence of 15 months’ imprisonment and a mandatory $100 special assessment.

            According to the indictment, statements made in court, and other public records in the case, in 2014 Powell was convicted in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York for the illegal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.  He was sentenced to 37 months’ imprisonment and 2 years of supervised release on that charge.  The Federal Bureau of Prisons assigned Powell to the federal correctional institute in Berlin, New Hampshire (“FCI Berlin”).   On July 17, 2015, Powell was subject to a routine search by an FCI Berlin correctional officer.   The officer discovered in Powell’s boot a knife or “shiv” fashioned out a yellow plastic eating utensil, sharpened to a point at one end, with black electrical tape wrapped around the other end, forming a makeshift handle.  A federal indictment charging Powell with possessing a weapon while an inmate at a federal prison, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1791(a)(2) and (d)(1)(B), was returned on December 16, 2015, and Powell pleaded guilty on February 29, 2016.

            By statute, Powell’s new sentence of 15 months must run consecutive to his existing sentence on the 2014 charges in New York. He will be subject to a period of 2 years supervised release upon release from prison as a result of the sentence imposed in 2014. 

            The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles L. Rombeau.

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            CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE:   John Martin Favor, 49, of Plainfield, New Hampshire, was sentenced on Monday to 66 months in prison by the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire, announced United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice.

            In May 2015, authorities determined that an individual was uploading images of child pornography to an online bulletin board from the defendant’s Plainfield, New Hampshire residence.  When a federal search warrant for that residence was subsequently executed, a large collection of child pornography – more than 500 videos and 300 still images – was located on the defendant’s personal electronic devices, and the defendant confessed to law enforcement that he had been viewing child pornography for close to fifteen years.

            “Protecting children from sexual exploitation is a top priority of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Hampshire,” said U.S. Attorney Emily Gray Rice, “and prosecuting those who possess child pornography is crucial to destabilizing this black market and undermining the normalization of child sexual abuse.”

            The investigation was a collaborative effort between federal, state, and local authorities, which included Homeland Security Investigations Manchester, the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Police Departments of Hinsdale, Hampton, Plainfield, Rochester, and Portsmouth, New Hampshire, as well as the New Hampshire State Police.

            The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nick Abramson.

            In February 2006, the Department of Justice introduced Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.  Led, in each district, by the United States Attorney’s Office, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

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          CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE –United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice announced today that Alexander Alcerro-Romero, of Honduras, pleaded guilty to a one-count indictment alleging that he illegally reentered the United States after having been previously deported. 

            In March of 2016, an ICE ERO Deportation Officer developed information which indicated that the defendant, a Honduran national, was illegally present in the United States after having been deported on two previous occasions.  On April 11, 2016, the defendant was observed by ICE-ERO Deportation Officers entering a silver sedan that was parked directly in front of the defendant’s residence in Nashua, New Hampshire. 

            A vehicle stop was conducted during which the Deportation Officer approached the defendant and asked him in English if he had a driver’s license.  The defendant responded “not one from this country” and presented the Deportation Officer with a Honduran identity document.  After verbally confirming that the defendant was a Honduran national, the deportation Officer asked the defendant if he had any immigration documents that allowed him to be in the U.S.  The defendant responded “no”, and was then taken into ICE custody for being illegally present in the United States and transported to the ERO-MAN office for administrative processing.

            Fingerprint impressions taken at the time of processing were compared to fingerprints on record with the Department of Homeland Security.  The fingerprint comparison confirmed that the defendant had been deported from the United States to Honduras in 2005 and 2008. 

            Alcerro-Romero will be sentenced at 10:00 AM on November 15, 2016, and will be deported after serving his sentence.

            The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Alfred Rubega is prosecuting this case.

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CONCORD, N.H. – Audi N. Sumilat, a resident of El Paso, Texas, pleaded guilty in federal court to participating in a scheme to illegally buy numerous guns and then smuggle them out of the country for the benefit of members of the protective security detail of the President and the Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia -- also known as the Indonesian Presidential Guard.  Sumilat pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to make false statements in connection with the acquisition of firearms, to make false statements in records required to be kept by federal firearms dealers and to smuggle firearms from the U.S.  Sumilat is 36 years old.

            According to statements made during his plea hearing, Sumilat joined a conspiracy to buy guns in Texas and New Hampshire for members of the Indonesian Presidential Guard with the understanding that the guns then would be smuggled out of the U.S.  Specifically, Sumilat – on active duty with the U.S. Army – admitted that he and three members of the Presidential Guard came up with the plan in October 2014, when they were all stationed together for training in Fort Benning, Georgia.  Sumilat further admitted that in September and October 2015, as part of the plan, he purchased guns in Texas for members of the Indonesian Presidential Guard that members of that protective detail could not lawfully buy in the U.S. themselves.  Sumilat also admitted that, to facilitate those purchases, he certified to the gun dealers from which he bought the guns that he was the actual buyer of the guns even though the actual buyers were the members of the Presidential Guard.  Sumilat further admitted that he then shipped the guns to a co-conspirator, Feky R. Sumual, in New Hampshire who delivered them and other firearms to members and representatives of members of the Presidential Guard, who were in the U.S. on official state visits both in Washington, D.C., and with the U.N. General Assembly in New York, N.Y.  Finally, Sumilat acknowledged that, he understood that the members of the Presidential Guard then would smuggle the illegally purchased guns from the U.S. to Indonesia.  Lawfully exporting the guns – which were included as defense articles on the U.S. Munitions List – required both an exporter’s license and a license covering the specific guns exported.  No such licenses had been issued.

            United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice commented, “The consequences of international gun trafficking can be grave.  Firearms exported overseas illegally can easily end up in the wrong hands.  International gun trafficking will be prosecuted to the fullest extent possible to protect innocent individuals, both American and foreign, from the criminal use of U.S. weapons abroad.”  United States Attorney Rice added, “The fact that members of another country’s security force were the immediate beneficiaries of this scheme presented some unique challenges to this investigation.  I am grateful for the incredibly valuable work of our law enforcement partners in detecting this scheme and in developing the evidence needed to shut it down.”

            Lawrence Panetta, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Boston Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms stated, “Straw purchasing of firearms is one of the ways firearms are trafficked from legal to illegal commerce.  With its federal, state and local law enforcement partners, ATF will continue to pursue and arrest anyone who commits this criminal act; where firearms are surreptitiously purchased, possessed and unlawfully transferred into the hands of those wanting to commit more crime.”

            Sumilat will be sentenced on October 11, 2016.  He faces a maximum sentence of five years and a fine of $250,000.  One of Sumilat’s co-conspirators, Feky R. Sumual, also has been charged and is presently scheduled for trial on July 19, 2016.

            This matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in both Manchester, N.H., and in El Paso, Texas, as well as Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, in Manchester, N.H.  The Bureau of Diplomatic Security of the U.S. Department of State, the Dover (N.H.) Police Department and the Indonesian National Police provided important support.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Bill Morse.

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CONCORD, N.H. – Ricardo Mejia, 25, a resident of Manchester, New Hampshire, pleaded guilty in the United States District Court to robbing a Manchester branch of the Northway Savings Bank. 

            According to documents filed in connection with Mejia’s plea, on September 19, 2015, Mejia entered a branch of the bank at 29 Cilley Road, Manchester N.H., wearing a dreadlock-style wig. Approaching the teller counter, Mejia reportedly instructed the teller to “[G]ive me all 100’s, 50’s, 20’s.  I have a gun.  Don’t give me any tainted money or I’ll come back and shoot you.”  (Mejia did not display a gun.)  The teller handed over cash in the requested denominations, and Mejia fled with the cash. 

            The court will determine Mejia’s sentence after it reviews a presentence investigation report prepared by the United States Probation & Pretrial Services Office.  He will be sentenced on October 13, 2016.  Mejia has been in custody since his arrest on related state charges and will remain in custody pending sentencing.

            This case was investigated by the Manchester Police Department with the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Bill Morse.

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            United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice announced that two New Ipswich, New Hampshire, residents have been indicted on charges that they conspired to distribute misbranded prescription drugs, including controlled substances, from India.

            John and Plabplueng Hayes were each charged with one felony count of conspiracy to introduce misbranded drugs into interstate commerce and one felony count of conspiracy to use a communications facility, the United States mail, to facilitate a drug trafficking offense. 

            According to the indictment, the defendants were part of a multi-national drug distribution operation.  The defendants allegedly conspired with each other, and with co-conspirators in India and North Carolina, to receive hundreds of thousands of prescription drugs, including controlled substances, from India and other foreign locations.  The defendants received these drugs at U.S. Post Office boxes throughout New Hampshire and Massachusetts, stored the drugs at their residence in New Ipswich and reshipped them in smaller parcels to individual customers throughout the United States based on instructions from the co-conspirator located in India.

            “Consumers rely on the FDA to ensure that their medications are safe and effective. When misbranded drugs are introduced into the U.S. marketplace, the potential danger to the public's health is great," said Jeffrey J. Ebersole, Special Agent in Charge, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations' New York Field Office. "The FDA will continue to pursue and bring to justice those who place the public's health at risk.”

            This case was investigated by FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Arnold Huftalen and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Kaplan.

Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt.  Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

            CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE:   Robert Ervin, 20, of Marlborough, New Hampshire, was sentenced on Thursday in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire on federal charges of distributing heroin, possessing heroin with the intent to distribute it, and possessing a firearm as a regular user of heroin, announced United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice.  The Court imposed a four-year term of imprisonment, to be followed by a period of supervised release.

            On October 8, 2015, law enforcement officers observed Ervin engaging in what appeared to be a suspicious hand-to-hand transaction in Keene, New Hampshire.  When approached by the officers, Ervin admitted that he had just sold a small quantity of heroin, and a search of Ervin’s person and vehicle revealed the presence of additional heroin and a loaded firearm.

            Several departments and agencies were involved in the investigation and prosecution, including the Keene, New Hampshire Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Manchester, the New Hampshire State Police, the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Drug Task Force, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).

           The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nick Abramson.

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            CONCORD – United States Attorney, Emily Gray Rice announced that United States District Court Judge Landya McCafferty sentenced Tiffany Ramos to serve 60 months in federal prison.   Ramos, who resided in Manchester prior to arrest, previously pleaded guilty to distributing controlled substances and possessing a controlled substance with intent to distribute.  

            According to documents that were filed in United States District Court and statements in court proceedings, Ramos, 27, sold heroin and fentanyl to a cooperating witness on three occasions in May and June of 2015.  She was arrested on June 12, 2015, and found to be in possession of over 128 grams of fentanyl.  Contrary to some media reports, the distribution charge to which Ramos pleaded guilty did not involve an overdose death.

            According to statistics maintained by the State of New Hampshire, over half of the drug overdose deaths in New Hampshire in 2015 were related to fentanyl.  Because a single gram of heroin or fentanyl can be used to create multiple individual dosage units that can be sold “on the street,” the quantity of fentanyl involved in this case could have generated hundreds of individual doses of fentanyl, each of which had the potential to cause a fatal overdose.

            The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from other law enforcement agencies, including the New Hampshire State Police and the Manchester Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Debra Walsh and John J. Farley.

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            CONCORD, N.H. –  Andrew Dufresne, 44, of Manchester, New Hampshire, pleaded guilty in the United States District Court to robbing the People’s United Bank, 1750 Elm Street, Manchester, New Hampshire on April 9, 2014.   

            In the course of the robbery, Dufresne walked into the bank and handed the teller a note demanding money.  He then went behind the teller’s desk and reached into the teller’s cash drawer, taking bundles of bills in various denominations.  Dufresne was arrested on April 11, 2014 in Methuen after crashing a stolen car in that city.

            A sentencing hearing is scheduled for October 11, 2016.  The court will sentence Dufresne after it reviews a presentence investigation report prepared by the United States Probation & Pretrial Services Office.

            This case was investigated by the Manchester Police Department with the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Helen White Fitzgibbon.

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            Concord, N.H.—Emily Gray Rice, United States Attorney for the District of New Hampshire, announced that Jordan Caruso, 41, previously of Manchester, New Hampshire, was sentenced today for the robbery of a Bank of America branch location in September 2015.  Senior United States District Judge Steven J. McAuliffe sentenced Caruso to prison for 48 months.  Caruso was also sentenced to three years of supervised release that will begin after he is released from prison, restitution to the bank, and a mandatory $100 special assessment.

            According to the indictment, statements made in court, and other public records in the case, on September 28, 2015, Caruso robbed a Bank of America branch location at 1000 South Willow Street, Manchester, New Hampshire.  Although not actually armed, Caruso disguised himself with a hat, sunglasses, and tape on his nose and approached the teller with a demand note stating “I gotta gun, no die packs, money now, don’t play with me.”  The teller complied, providing Caruso approximately $3,411 in bank funds.  Caruso then fled the bank, discarding his disguise and retrieving his parked vehicle from a nearby location.  Law enforcement was able to identify Caruso from bank and other surveillance with the assistance of several civilian resources.  He was arrested about ten days later in Connecticut.  A federal indictment charging Caruso with bank robbery in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2113(a), was returned on December 16, 2015, and Caruso pleaded guilty on February 3, 2016.

            The case was investigated by the Manchester Police Department with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles L. Rombeau.

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            CONCORD, N.H. – Scott McNutt, 57, pleaded guilty in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to a federal indictment charging him with one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person in violation of federal law, announced United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice. 

            On November 28, 2014, the defendant was stopped for a traffic violation and found in possession of a stolen firearm. McNutt was prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition because he was previously convicted of felony possession of a Class A substance with intent to distribute, a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year.

            McNutt’s plea agreement includes a binding stipulated sentence of 12 months’ incarceration. A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for October 11, 2016 in front of Chief United States District Judge Joseph LaPlante. At that time, the Court will decide whether to accept the plea agreement and impose the agreed-upon period of incarceration.

            The case was investigated by the Exeter, New Hampshire Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Georgiana L. Konesky.  

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CONCORD, N.H. – Juan A. Pichardo Mendez, 35, of Manchester, New Hampshire, was sentenced to 37 months in prison for charges stemming from his attempted possession of crack cocaine with the intent to distribute, reports United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice.

            On August 1, 2014, Pichardo Mendez attempted to take possession of a box shipped from the Dominican Republic to a residential address in Manchester. The box was intercepted by Customs and Border Protection Agents in Puerto Rico when it passed through a Federal Express terminal at an airport. The agents found packages concealed in the flaps of the box that contained crack cocaine.

            The Customs and Border Protection Agents sent the box on to Homeland Security Investigation agents in Manchester. On August 1, 2014, a Homeland Security Special Agent posing as a Federal Express employee delivered the box to the Manchester address. A man who lived at the premises accepted the delivery. At that point, other Homeland Security agents interviewed the man. He admitted accepting the box for Pichardo Mendez, who was waiting to hear when the box arrived. In the agents’ presence, the man sent a message to Pichardo Mendez that the box had arrived. Pichardo Mendez arrived at the premises shortly after he received the message, but before he retrieved the package he learned investigators were there and he left the area. Further investigation revealed evidence indicating that Pichardo Mendez had tracked the package from the time it was shipped from the Dominican Republic.

            On May 20, 2015, a federal grand jury indicted Pichardo Mendez for attempted possession of crack cocaine with the intent to distribute and unlawful use of a communication facility for tracking the box over the internet. Pichardo Mendez pleaded guilty to both charges on March 16, 2016.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Debra M. Walsh and Mark S. Zuckerman.

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CONCORD, N.H. – Tonya Dailey, 44, of Franklin, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to Social Security Fraud, announced United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice.

            Dailey began receiving Social Security disability benefits in 1999.  In June 2010, Dailey returned to self-employment, earning sufficient income to render her ineligible to receive any disability benefits.  Although she reported her receipt of nominal earnings from a local Veterans of Foreign Wars Post during a review with the Social Security Administration (SSA) in 2014, Dailey did not report her income from self-employment to SSA.  In May 2015, Dailey admitted to investigators that she concealed her self-employment from SSA because she knew her earnings would have disqualified her from receiving Social Security disability benefits.  As a result of her concealment, Dailey received $30,230.78 in disability benefits that she would not have received if she had properly disclosed her self-employment income.

            Dailey is facing a maximum sentence of five years in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced on October 4, 2016.  She was released on conditions pending sentencing.        

            The case was investigated by the Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General and prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Karen Burzycki.

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CONCORD, N.H. – Okello Odongo, 36, of Snellville, Georgia, was sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered to pay $34,822 in restitution to the IRS for filing 19 false tax returns and fraudulently obtaining tax refunds reports United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice.

            Odongo is a former resident of Manchester, New Hampshire, where he operated a tax return preparation business called Tax Smart Solutions Co. As a tax preparer, Odongo was authorized by the IRS to file tax returns electronically for his customers. One of the forms he filed electronically was an Allocation of Refund Form that instructed the IRS to directly deposit refunds into specified bank accounts. The form allowed a refund to be allocated to two or more bank accounts.

            In 2011 and 2012 Odongo filed false tax returns on behalf of some of his customers that fraudulently overstated the amounts of the tax refunds they were entitled to claim. Odongo also filed Allocation of Refund Forms that directed the IRS to electronically deposit the fraudulent portions of the refunds to bank accounts Odongo held or had access to. None of Odongo’s customers knew that he used their doctored tax returns as a vehicle to defraud the IRS. 

            This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark S. Zuckerman.

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            CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE –United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice announced today that Alberto Martinez, of the Dominican Republic pleaded guilty to a two-count indictment charging him with misrepresenting a social security number and falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen.  He was sentenced to time served.

            On November 5, 2015, the defendant attempted to renew a New Hampshire driver’s license that he had acquired under a false identity in which he used a social security number that was not assigned to him.  When a New Hampshire State Trooper began questioning him, Martinez claimed to be a United States Citizen born in Puerto Rico.  Martinez had completed a license renewal form on which he affirmatively stated that he was a United States Citizen.

            Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrived to assist the New Hampshire State Police.  After the defendant was informed that ICE intended to take his fingerprints for comparison to known fingerprints maintained by ICE, the defendant admitted that his true name was Alberto Martinez, that he is a citizen of the Dominican Republic born in the Dominican Republic in August 1965, and he stated he illegally entered the United States in 2009 by walking across the United States border with Mexico.

            ICE officers proceeded to fingerprint the defendant.  IAFIS indicated that the fingerprint impressions submitted were an exact match to a defendant with a criminal history in Massachusetts under the false name the defendant had been using.

            The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the New Hampshire State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alfred Rubega prosecuted this case.

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            CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE –United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice announced  today that Jose Zepeda-Del Toro, 35, of Mexico, pleaded guilty today to illegally reentering the United States after having been previously deported.  Zepeda-Del Toro was sentenced to time served since his arrest on March 24, 2016.  He will now be deported.

            On March 24, 2016, Deportation Officers encountered Zepeda-Del Toro in Nashua, New Hampshire as part of an investigation involving the defendant’s brother.  One of the Deportation Officers asked the defendant if he was legally present in the United States, whereupon the defendant admitted he was not, and that he last entered the U.S. illegally sometime after April of 2014.  Zepeda-Del Toro was then taken into ICE custody for being illegally present in the U.S. and transported to the ICE-ERO office in Manchester, New Hampshire for administrative processing.

            Fingerprints taken at the time of the defendant’s arrest were compared to known fingerprints of the defendant on file as the result of previous deportations.   The defendant’s prints matched the known prints and identified the defendant as having been deported on April 19, 2014 and again on April 25, 2014.

            The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alfred Rubega. 

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            CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE –United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice announced  today that Elismar Dasilva-Gomes, 40, of Brazil, pleaded guilty to illegally reentering the United States after having been previously deported.  He was sentenced to the time served since his arrest on February 29, 2016.  Dasilva-Gomes will now be deported.

            A law enforcement officer conducting a routine investigation observed the defendant’s vehicle backed right up to the front door of a Verizon Wireless store.  The officer approached the defendant, who was employed at the store, and asked for identification.  Dasilva-Gomes provided a   Brazilian passport as his only form of identification.

            The officer sought the assistance of Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Enforcement and Removal Operations in positively identifying the defendant. An ICE-ERO officer ran complete criminal and immigration histories and found a record for a Brazilian national who was arrested and deported in 2005. The ICE-ERO officer sent a photo of the individual who was deported in 2005 to the local law enforcement officer, who confirmed that it matched the defendant. 

            On February 29, 2016, Dasilva-Gomes was booked and processed at the ICE office in Manchester.  Fingerprints obtained from at that time were compared to fingerprints on file with ICE and were determined to match known fingerprints of the defendant on the occasion of his previous deportation in 2005. 

            The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alfred Rubega. 

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            CONCORD, N.H. – Eric Michael D’Aoust, 30, of Manchester, New Hampshire, appeared in U.S. District Court today and was sentenced to 63 months in federal prison for committing three bank robberies in Manchester, New Hampshire in November of last year. 

            The defendant, who was identified by bank personnel and through surveillance video, robbed the Granite State Credit Union at 1415 Elm Street on November 9, 2015.  On November 12, 2015 D’Aoust robbed the TD Bank at 300 Franklin Street and on November 13, 2015 D’Aoust robbed the TD Bank at 1255 South Willow Street.  In the course of each robbery, the defendant entered the bank and passed a note to the teller demanding that the teller give him all the cash in the drawers. 

            The defendant was arrested on November 13, 2015 in the area of the TD Bank on South Willow Street shortly after the robbery.  At the time of his arrest, the defendant had an amount of money on his person consistent with the amount stolen from the TD Bank.   In January, 2016, the defendant was indicted by a Federal Grand Jury and on March 8, 2016, D’Aoust pled guilty before United States Chief Judge, Joseph Laplante.

            The defendant will be supervised by United States Probation for a period of three years after his release from prison. 

            This case was investigated by the Manchester Police Department with the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Helen White Fitzgibbon.

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            CONCORD – United States Attorney, Emily Gray Rice announced today that Nana Kofi Baffoe, 63, appeared before United States District Court Chief Judge Joseph Laplante and pleaded guilty to two charges of making false statements related to the purchase of firearms.

            According to documents that were filed in United States District Court and statements in the plea proceeding, on February 4, 2015, Baffoe purchased two Ruger .45 caliber pistols from a federally licensed firearms dealer in Hudson, New Hampshire.  In purchasing these handguns, Baffoe filled out a form where he stated that he resided at a location in Manchester, New Hampshire.  A subsequent law enforcement investigation showed that this statement was false.  At the time of the purchase, Baffoe was residing in Canada and never resided at the address in Manchester.  Under federal law, the firearms dealer could not have lawfully sold the firearms to the defendant if he was not a resident of New Hampshire.

            Baffoe was originally arrested on May 26, 2015.  According to an affidavit previously filed in federal court, Baffoe entered the United States from Canada at a border crossing on May 18, 2015.  A few days later, he met with a firearms dealer in Nashua, New Hampshire and sought to purchase 100 handguns.  However, that subsequent transaction did not take place.

           This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with assistance from the Manchester Police Department, Nashua Police Department, the New Hampshire State Police, Office of Inspector General of the Social Security Administration, the U.S. Department of Commerce, Homeland Security Investigations, and the U.S. State Department.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John J. Farley.

            A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for September 19, 2016. 

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CONCORD, N.H. – United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice announced that Judith Bayly, 64, formerly of Amherst, was convicted yesterday by a jury in the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire on one count of Social Security Fraud and one count of Theft of Public Funds.

            Bayly applied for Social Security disability benefits in August 2008.  Eligibility for disability benefits under the Supplemental Security Income program is based, in part, on the applicant having limited income and resources.  At the time she applied, Bayly was receiving monthly alimony payments from her former spouse in an amount that would have rendered her ineligible for any benefits, but she failed to disclose this income to Social Security.  As part of a review of her claim by Social Security in February 2013, Bayly underreported the amount of alimony she received and falsely reported that her alimony payments had begun one month prior in order to continue to receive disability benefits.  She concealed the true value of her alimony payments from the Social Security Administration from the time of her application in 2008 until her fraud was uncovered by an investigation in March 2014.  As a result of her concealment, Bayly fraudulently received $17,728 in Supplemental Security Income benefits that she would not have received if she had truthfully reported her receipt of alimony.

            Bayly is scheduled to be sentenced on October 4, 2016.  She was released on conditions pending sentencing.         

            This case was investigated by the Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General and prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Karen Burzycki.

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            CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE –United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice announced  today that Juan Martinez, of Mexico, pleaded guilty today to illegally reentering the United States after having been previously deported.  Under the U.S. Attorney’s accelerated sentencing program for reentry cases, the defendant was sentenced to time served since his arrest on April 15, 2016. The defendant will now be deported.

           On March 24, 2016 Manchester, NH ICE ERO Officers were in Nashua, New Hampshire conducting surveillance of a vehicle that the defendant was known to operate.  At approximately 9:30 p.m., the defendant exited a house in the area of Palm Street and entered the driver’s side of a black BMW.  The defendant was then approached by an ICE Deportation Officer, who conducted a brief interview in Spanish during which he confirmed the defendant’s name was Juan Martinez, that he was a citizen of Mexico and that he had illegally entered the United States.  At this time the Deportation Officer placed the defendant into ICE custody for immigration violations.

            At the Manchester ICE office, a full set of digital fingerprint impressions were obtained from the defendant for comparison to known fingerprints maintained in HIS and FBI databases.  The comparison revealed that the defendant’s fingerprints were an exact match to fingerprints obtained from the defendant at the time of his deportation from the Brownsville, Texas to Mexico on February 18, 2011.

            The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alfred Rubega. 

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            CONCORD – United States Attorney, Emily Gray Rice announced today that Benjamin Rogers, 31, appeared before United States District Court Chief Judge Joseph Laplante and pleaded guilty to distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death. 

            According to documents that were filed in United States District Court and statements in the plea proceeding, Rogers worked at a restaurant in Portsmouth, New Hampshire with the victim, Cassie Clermont, 30.  On October 17, 2014, Rogers arranged to provide a quantity of drugs to Ms. Clermont.  Text messages and witness statements showed that Rogers left the restaurant and later returned to the restaurant parking lot, where he met with Ms. Clermont and provided her with a quantity of drugs.  Ms. Clermont later left the restaurant and went to her apartment in Portsmouth. She was found dead the next day, with fentanyl and drug paraphernalia near her body.

           The New Hampshire Medical Examiner later found that Ms. Clermont died of acute fentanyl intoxication.  New Hampshire has the third-highest rate of per capita drug overdose deaths in the United States.  More than half of the drug overdose deaths in New Hampshire in 2015 were the result of fentanyl, either alone or in combination with other drugs.

           United States Attorney Rice said, “I want to thank the Portsmouth Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Newmarket Police Department, the New Hampshire Medical Examiner’s Office and the Rockingham County Attorney’s Office for their work on this case.  Fighting the opioid epidemic is a multi-pronged, team effort.  One facet of our attack is to prosecute those who are criminally responsible for causing drug overdoses.   We will continue to work with law enforcement agencies to identify and prosecute the individuals who distribute drugs that cause overdose deaths.  Any drug distribution has the potential to be deadly, regardless of the quantity of drugs involved.  When a drug distribution causes an overdose death, my office will seek to hold the distributor accountable.”

            In April 2016, the United States Attorney’s Office and the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office announced the formation of an inter-office team of prosecutors who will  work together to prosecute individuals who cause opiate overdoses in New Hampshire.  This prosecution, initiated before the creation of the joint team, is an example of the type of case that will be generated by the team.

           The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John J. Farley.

           A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for September 19, 2016.  

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          Concord, N.H.—Emily Gray Rice, United States Attorney for the District of New Hampshire, announced that Marjorie Hendrie, 42, previously of Manchester, New Hampshire, was sentenced for the robbery of a TD Bank branch location in March 2015. United States District Judge Paul Barbadoro imposed a sentence of 37 months’ imprisonment, three years supervised release, restitution to the Bank, and a mandatory $100 special assessment.

          According to the indictment, statements made in court, and other public records in the case, on March 16, 2015, Hendrie robbed a TD Bank branch location at 1255 South Willow Street, Manchester, New Hampshire. Although not actually armed, Hendrie approached the teller with a demand note stating, “I have a gun – give me the money and no one will be shot.” The teller complied, providing Hendrie approximately $6,048 in bank funds. Hendrie briefly fled on foot before retrieving her parked vehicle from an adjacent hotel parking lot. Bank personnel observed her getting into the vehicle and provided a description to Manchester Police. Responding officers located the vehicle almost immediately and stopped Hendrie in a nearby parking lot, recovering all of the stolen funds.

           A federal indictment charging Hendrie with bank robbery in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2113(a), was returned on July 1, 2015, and Hendrie pleaded guilty on February 29, 2016.

          The case was investigated by the Manchester Police Department with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles L. Rombeau.

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            CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE:   Robert Grant, 60, of Concord, New Hampshire, was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison by the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire after pleading guilty to one count of failing to register as a sex offender, announced United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice. 

            In July 2013, Grant was interviewed by the Concord Police Department.  Grant advised that he was homeless and understood that he was required to register as a sex offender.  After several more contacts with the Concord Police, Grant registered as a sex offender in December 2013.

           Grant left New Hampshire shortly thereafter.  In December 2015, a grand jury for the District of New Hampshire charged Grant with violating the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.  Grant was found in Colorado and was arrested there in January 2016.  He was returned to New Hampshire and pleaded guilty to the charge on February 26, 2016. 

           Grant was also sentenced to five years of supervised release that will begin after he is released from prison.  During the period of supervised release, the United States Probation and Pretrial Services Office will monitor Grant’s behavior.

           The case was investigated by the United States Marshal and the Concord Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Helen Fitzgibbon.

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            CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE – United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice announced  that Jose Villavazo-Gutierrez, 25, of Mexico, pleaded guilty to illegally reentering the United States after having been previously deported.  Villavazo-Gutierrez, was arrested on February 17, 2016.  He was sentenced to time served and is subject to deportation.

            On February 17, 2016, ICE-ERO Deportation Officers encountered the defendant when they were at a residence in Nashua, New Hampshire, during an attempt to locate another individual at the  residence.  The defendant was an occupant at the residence.  The defendant did not have any identification, told the agents that he was from Mexico, and admitted that he did not have any immigration documents which would allow him to be legally in the United States.

            The Deportation Officers submitted the defendant’s fingerprints for comparison to databases of known fingerprints.  The fingerprint impressions submitted were a match to those taken from the defendant on the occasion of his previous deportations from the United States to Mexico in 2014.

            The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alfred Rubega. 

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            CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE:   Matthew Castricone, 27, of Salem, New Hampshire, was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison by the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire after pleading guilty to one count of possessing child pornography, announced United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice.

             A federal investigation revealed that an individual had accessed a website devoted to child pornography from the defendant’s Salem residence.  When a search warrant was subsequently obtained and executed at the defendant’s residence in October 2015, agents discovered dozens of videos of child pornography on the defendant’s personal computer.   

            The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (Boston and New Hampshire offices), and the Salem New Hampshire Police Department. 

            The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nick Abramson.

            In February 2006, the Department of Justice introduced Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorneys Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

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CONCORD, N.H. – Ronald Mason, age 47, has pleaded guilty to a mail fraud scheme that involved the theft of more than $625,000 from five New Hampshire residents, announced United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice.

          In October 2004, Mason was sentenced by a United States District Court in Texas to 33 months in prison and three years of supervised release.  While Mason was serving that sentence, Scott Farrar, and Farrar’s business associate, Donald Dodge, who operated under the name Financial Resources Management (FRM), pled guilty in U.S. District Court in New Hampshire to a Ponzi scheme that involved the theft of more than $30 million from FRM’s customers.  Farrar and Dodge falsely promised some of FRM’s investors that their money would be used to finance the construction of a condominium complex in Concord, New Hampshire. 

            After being released from prison, Mason absconded from supervision and a warrant was issued for his arrest.  Mason used a false last name, Budalucci, and moved to Concord, New Hampshire.

            Mason caused letters to be delivered by the United States Postal Service to more than 100 people whom Farrar and Dodge defrauded by falsely promising to invest their money in the same condominium project in Concord.  The letter invited these victims to participate in a plan by which additional condominiums would be constructed and sold.  Three former victims responded to the letter and met with Mason.  Unaware that Mason was a fugitive from justice, the victims provided more than $475,000 to Mason over a 30-month period because he falsely promised that their money would be used to build and sell condominiums and for other income-producing real estate projects in New Hampshire.

            During the same period, Mason borrowed more than $150,000 from two other residents of New Hampshire by concealing his status as a fugitive and falsely promising that he would repay the loans with money he would receive from incoming-producing real estate projects in New Hampshire.

            A sentencing hearing  is scheduled for September 13, 2016.

            The case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and the United States Postal Inspection Service.  The case was prosecuted by AUSA Robert Kinsella.

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          CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE – United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice announced today that Jason Daigle, age 39, of Nelson, New Hampshire has been sentenced by United States District Judge Joseph A. DiClerico to 87 months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 846 and 841(b)(1)(A)(i). The Grand Jury for the District of New Hampshire indicted Daigle for the crime September 23, 2015. Daigle pleaded guilty to the charge on January 11, 2016.

          After a lengthy investigation, law enforcement determined that Daigle was employed as a runner for a drug trafficking organization headed, authorities allege, by Ross Gould, age 28, of Richmond, New Hampshire. Daigle distributed heroin for Gould to individuals in and around Keene. As part of the conspiracy, Daigle also met with Gould’s Lawrence, Massachusetts-based sources of heroin at the Rockingham Mall, Salem, New Hampshire to take delivery of up to two kilograms of heroin, which Daigle then transported back to Gould for distribution.

          On March 10, 2015, a search by law enforcement of a locked safe Gould maintained at Daigle’s residence resulted in the seizure of over a kilogram of heroin and large quantities of cocaine and prescription pills. The same day, a search executed at Gould’s Richmond, New Hampshire residence resulted in the seizure of additional narcotics, currency and 14 firearms.

          On March 16, 2015, Gould was charged federally with possession with the intent to distribute heroin.

          “The United States Attorney’s Office is committed to working with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners to address the significant presence of heroin in New Hampshire, by continuing to target drug trafficking organizations which are responsible for the importation of large quantities of heroin into New Hampshire,” stated United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice. 

           The investigation was conducted by the: (1) Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations; (2) New Hampshire Attorney General’s Drug Task Force; (3) Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; (4) New Hampshire State Police; (5) Keene, New Hampshire Police Department; (6) Richmond, New Hampshire Police Department; and (7) Salem, New Hampshire Police Department.  Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Cole Davis is prosecuting the case.

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            CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE –United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice announced  that Juvenal Aguilar-Gonzalez, 33, of Mexico, pleaded guilty to illegally reentering the United States after having been previously deported.  Aguilar-Gonzalez, who was arrested on March 18, 2016, was immediately sentenced to time served.

            Juvenal Aguilar-Gonzalez, using the name Javier Mandujano-Aguilar, was arrested by the Nashua Police Department on March 8, 2016 for operating a vehicle without a valid license.  A set of fingerprints taken by the Nashua Police while booking Aguilar-Gonzalez were submitted to Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE-ERO)  and were found to match fingerprints associated with a record of the defendant’s previous deportation in 2011.  A Deportation Officer checked ICE indices and reviewed excerpts from the defendant’s alien file and learned that the defendant had been previously deported from the United States to Mexico. A comparison of the Nashua Police booking photograph to photographs found in the defendant’s alien file was also a match.

            On March 18, 2016, ICE ERO Officers were conducting surveillance on the last known address of the defendant.  At approximately 5:35 a.m., Deportation Officers identified Aguilar-Gonzalez as he exited the residence and entered the passenger side of a white Ford Pick-up truck the defendant has been known to operate in the past. 

            The defendant was approached by a Deportation Officer who asked the defendant his name to which he replied “Javier.” The Deportation Officer then asked the defendant in Spanish if he had any documents to be in the U.S. legally to which the defendant replied “no.”  Aguilar-Gonzalez was then taken into ICE custody for being illegally present in the U.S. and transported to the Manchester ICE office for administrative processing. The defendant will now be deported.

            The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alfred Rubega. 

CONCORD, N.H. – Suzan Harbinson, a 52-year-old resident of Goffstown, New Hampshire, and an owner of ATA Martial Arts of Southern New Hampshire, LLC, in Bedford, has been sentenced to 27 months in prison for stealing more than $1 million, announced United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice.

            Harbinson worked as a part-time bookkeeper for Henry’s Collision Center in Manchester from January 2010 to January 2015.  Part of her duties included preparing checks drawn on the company’s operating account for the company’s owner to sign.  From December 2010 to January 2015, Harbinson forged the owner’s signature on 145 checks that totaled $1,005,754.83.  In effort to conceal her embezzlement scheme, Harbinson falsely reported in the company’s check register that the forged checks were “voided” due to mistakes she made while preparing them.   Harbinson also stole $2,245 from the company by forging the company owner’s signature on three checks that were issued to “Cash,” negotiating the checks, and using the money for her personal benefit. 

            The forged checks were deposited by Harbinson to the martial art school’s bank account.  As the deposits were made, Harbinson caused checks drawn on the school’s account to be mailed to the school’s creditors and used the remainder of the stolen money for her personal benefit.             

            In addition to the period of imprisonment, Chief United States District Court Judge Joseph Laplante ordered Harbinson to make restitution payments totaling $1,007,999.83 to the victim.

            The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  It was prosecuted by AUSA Robert M. Kinsella.

            CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE –United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice announced  today that Alex Velasquez-Avila, of Honduras, pleaded guilty to illegally reentering the United States after having been previously deported and was sentenced to time served.  Velasquez-Avila was arrested on March 3, 2016.

            In October of 2015, a Deportation Officer developed information which indicated that the defendant, Honduran national Alex Velasquez-Avila, was present in the United States after having been deported on one previous occasion.   On February 2, 2016 the Deportation Officer recognized Velasquez-Avila as he exited the Two Guys Food Market on Union Street in Manchester, New Hampshire.

            The Deportation Officer approached Velasquez-Avila and identified himself as a U.S. Immigration Officer.  A brief verbal conversation was conducted in Spanish with the defendant who confirmed that his name was Alex Velasquez-Avila and that he was illegally present in the U.S. without any immigration documents.  The defendant was then taken into ICE custody for being illegally present in the U.S. and transported to the ICE-ERO office in Manchester, New Hampshire for administrative processing.  Subsequent fingerprint analysis identified the defendant as having been previously deported. 

            The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alfred Rubega. 

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            CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE –United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice announced  today that Hilmar Chavez-Sanchez, of Guatemala, pleaded guilty to illegally reentering the United States after having been previously deported and was sentenced to time served.   Chavez-Sanchez was arrested on March 3, 2016. 

            On February 15, 2016, an ICE-ERO Deportation Officer received a duty call from a New Hampshire State Police Trooper who stated that that he had stopped a vehicle for speeding on I-93. The vehicle was occupied by five individuals, three of whom refused to provide identification or answer the Trooper’s questions. 

            Two ICE-ERO officers traveled to the scene to provide assistance.  Upon arriving, they observed the New Hampshire State Trooper in a foot pursuit of the defendant.  The Trooper pursued the defendant for approximately 150 to 200 yards before apprehending him to discover that the defendant was not in possession of a valid driver license.  The defendant was then transported to the Rockingham County Department of Corrections.  

            A search incident to arrest led to the discovery of a Guatemalan drivers’ license in the name of Hilmar Chavez-Sanchez.  The ICE-ERO officers were able to determine that Chavez-Sanchez had been previously deported in 2009 and again in 2011. 

            Chavez-Sanchez will again be deported.

            The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alfred Rubega. 

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            CONCORD – United States Attorney, Emily Gray Rice announced today that United States District Court Judge Steven J. McAuliffe sentenced Hector Bienvenido Mateo-Beltre to serve 51 months in federal prison.   Mateo-Beltre previously had pleaded guilty to possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute.

            According to documents that were filed in United States District Court and statements in the plea proceeding, Mateo-Beltre was arrested on July 12, 2015, after he attempted to deliver over 200 grams of fentanyl to a customer in Manchester, New Hampshire.  After his arrest, Mateo-Beltre falsely claimed to be “Kevin Morales” of Dorchester, Massachusetts.  Law enforcement officers later determined his true name.

            According to statistics maintained by the State of New Hampshire, over half of the drug overdose deaths in New Hampshire in 2015 were related to fentanyl.  Because a single gram of heroin or fentanyl can be used to create multiple individual dosage units that can be sold “on the street,” the quantity of fentanyl involved in this case could have generated hundreds of individual doses of fentanyl, each of which had the potential to cause a fatal overdose.

            The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from other law enforcement agencies, including the New Hampshire State Police and the Manchester Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Debra Walsh and John J. Farley.

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          CONCORD – United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice announced today that Mara Morillo, 40, of Haverhill, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute, oxycodone and cocaine.  Morillo appeared before United States District Court Judge Steven J. McAuliffe to enter her guilty plea.

            According to documents that were filed in United States District Court and statements in the plea proceeding, Morillo admitted that she sold oxycodone to a cooperating individual in Haverhill, Massachusetts and admitted that she participated in the distribution of cocaine and oxycodone with others individuals in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.  Over $18,000 in cash was seized from her residence during the execution of a search warrant in August 2015.

            A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for August 30, 2016.

            Morillo is one of six individuals indicted by a federal grand jury on September 23, 2015, and charged with conspiracy to distribute, and possession controlled substances with the intent to distribute.  The other defendants are:  Franklyn Morillo, 41, of Haverhill, Massachusetts; Juan Rojas, 31, of Haverhill, Massachusetts; Justin Bartimus, 35, formerly of Methuen, Massachusetts; Jorge Medina, 25, of Haverhill, Massachusetts; and Michael Lally, 28, of Salem, New Hampshire.

            Lally pleaded guilty on March 22, 2016 and his sentencing is scheduled for June 29, 2016.  Bartimus pleaded guilty on May 4, 2016 and his sentencing is scheduled for August 30, 2016.  The remaining defendants in the drug conspiracy case are scheduled for trial on September 20, 2016.

            This case was supported by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).  The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations.   The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Tactical Diversion Squad led the investigation with assistance from the Haverhill, Massachusetts Police Department, the Methuen, Massachusetts Police Department, and the Massachusetts State Police.   It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John J. Farley.

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          Concord, N.H.—Emily Gray Rice, United States Attorney for the District of New Hampshire, today announced that Scott Lojko, 40, of Concord, New Hampshire, pleaded guilty to a federal indictment charging him with bank robbery in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2113(a).

          According to the indictment, statements made in court, and other public records in the case, Lojko robbed a Bank of New Hampshire branch location at 167 N. Main Street, Concord, New Hampshire on May 18, 2015.  Lojko approached the teller with a demand note directing her to “relax and act normal” and to hand over “all the money.”  The teller complied, providing Lojko approximately $6,090 in bank funds.  Lojko fled the bank by foot before retrieving his parked vehicle on nearby Court Street.  Concord Police detectives were able to identify Lojko from bank and other surveillance with the assistance of several civilian resources.  A few days later, a search warrant executed at Lojko’s Concord residence led to the recovery of the clothes Lojko wore during the robbery as well as $4,510 in U.S. currency that constituted the remaining proceeds of the robbery.  A federal indictment charging Lojko with bank robbery was returned by a grand jury sitting in Concord on August 21, 2015.

          Lojko’s plea agreement includes a binding stipulated sentence of 48 months’ incarceration.  A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for August 23, 2016, in front of U.S. District Judge Landya McCafferty.  At that time, the Court will decide whether to accept the plea agreement and impose the agreed-upon period of incarceration, as well as any other conditions of Lojko’s sentence.  Lojko also faces a mandatory restitution order to the Bank of New Hampshire.

          The case was investigated by the Concord Police Department with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles L. Rombeau.

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            CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE:   Gene Mondalto, 37, of Kingston, New Hampshire, was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison by the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire after pleading guilty to one count of possessing child pornography, announced United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice.

            Information provided by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) led federal and state investigators to Mondalto’s Kingston, New Hampshire residence, where they discovered hundreds of videos and still images of child pornography on Mondalto’s personal computer.

            The case was investigated by the New Hampshire Crimes Against Children Task Force in conjunction Homeland Security Investigations Manchester, and the police departments of Kingston, Hampton, Allenstown, Litchfield, Manchester, Portsmouth, Rye, and Salem, New Hampshire.

            The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nick Abramson.

             In February 2006, the Department of Justice introduced Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorneys Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

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            CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE –United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice announced  that Milson Reyes-Alvarez, of Honduras, was sentenced to time already served since his arrest on February 10, 2016, following his  guilty plea to illegally reentering the United States after having been previously deported.  Reyes-Alvarez’s plea and sentencing were held the same day under a program used by the United States Attorney’s Office to quickly sentence and deport defendants found in New Hampshire after having been previously deported.

            In December of 2015, a Deportation Officer developed information which indicated that Milson Reyes-Alvarez was present in the United States after having been deported on one previous occasion.  In order to confirm this information, the Deportation Officer interviewed Reyes-Alvarez on February 10, 2016.  The defendant confirmed his true name and that he was illegally present in the United States without any immigration documents.  Reyes-Alvarez was then taken into ICE custody. A subsequent fingerprint comparison definitively identified Reyes-Alvarez as having been previously deported.

            The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alfred Rubega. 

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            CONCORD – United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice announced that Justin Bartimus, 35, formerly of Methuen, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty on May 4, 2016 to: (1) conspiracy to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute, oxycodone and cocaine and (2) distribution of oxycodone.  Bartimus appeared before United States District Court Judge Steven J. McAuliffe to enter his guilty plea.

            According to documents that were filed in United States District Court and statements in the plea proceeding, Bartimus admitted that he sold oxycodone to a cooperating individual in Haverhill and Methuen, Massachusetts and in Salem, New Hampshire.  He also admitted that he participated in the distribution of cocaine and oxycodone with others individuals.

            A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for August 30, 2016.  

            Bartimus is one of six individuals indicted by a federal grand jury on September 23, 2015, and charged with conspiracy to distribute, and possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute.  The other defendants are:  Mara Morillo, 40, of Haverhill, Massachusetts, Franklyn Morillo, 41, of Haverhill, Massachusetts, Juan Rojas, 31, of Haverhill, Massachusetts, Jorge Medina, 25, of Haverhill, Massachusetts, and Michael Lally, 28, of Salem, New Hampshire.

            In addition to the above charges, Rojas also was charged with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.  Rojas is further charged with conspiracy to possess a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence in a separate indictment.  Lally pleaded guilty on March 22, 2016.  His sentencing is scheduled for June 29, 2016.  The remaining defendants in the drug conspiracy case are scheduled for trial on September 20, 2016.

           This case was supported by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).  The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations.   The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Tactical Diversion Squad led the investigation with assistance from the Haverhill, Massachusetts Police Department.   It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John J. Farley.

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