CDC REPORT SHOWS PUERTO RICO AS HAVING LOWER RATES OF NEW LUNG, BREAST CANCER

FROM:  U.S. CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION
Puerto Rico has lower rates of new cases of lung and breast cancer than the rest of US

Puerto Rico has the lowest incidence rate of new lung cancer compared with all other races and ethnic groups in the United States, according to a study published today in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.  The report also shows that Puerto Rico has a lower incidence rate of female breast cancer compared with U.S. non-Hispanic white and black women.

The report presents for the first time invasive cancer incidence rates for 2007–2011 among Puerto Rican residents by sex, age, cancer site, and region using U.S. Cancer Statistics data. Puerto Rico has similar incidence rates to U.S. populations for cancer of the colon and rectum. Cancers of the prostate (152 cases per 100,000 men), female breast (84 cases per 100,000 women), and colon and rectum (43 cases per 100,000 persons) are the most common cancer sites among Puerto Rico residents.

"These data underscore the importance of Puerto Ricans getting proper screening for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer to identify them early when they are most treatable," said Guillermo Tortolero-Luna, M.D., Ph.D., director of Cancer Control and Populations Sciences at the University of Puerto Rico and a co-author of the paper.

The differences in reported cancer incidence rates between U.S. and Puerto Rican residents may be partly explained by differences in health behaviors and risk factors associated with cancers. For example, Puerto Rico has lower smoking rates than all American states (with the exception of Utah), which could explain the lower rates of lung cancer.

"We are encouraged to see lower lung cancer incidence rates in Puerto Rico than the rest of the U.S.  However, we must remain diligent in our cancer control efforts to continue progress," said Blythe Ryerson, Ph.D., M.P.H., a lead epidemiologist in CDC's Division of Cancer Prevention and Control and an author of the paper. "We recommend all smokers quit for good."

MAN PLEADS GUILTY FOR PART IN ID TRAFFICKING OF PUERTO RICAN U.S. CITIZENS TO FOREIGN NATIONALS

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Friday, February 27, 2015

Florida Man Pleads Guilty for Role in Puerto Rican Identity Trafficking Ring
A Florida man pleaded guilty today for his role in a large-scale identity trafficking ring, which sold the identities of Puerto Rican U.S. citizens to foreign nationals to allow them to enter or remain in the United States illegally.  To date, a total of 14 individuals have been charged for their roles in this identity trafficking ring, and four have pleaded guilty.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Rosa E. Rodríguez-Vélez of the District of Puerto Rico, Director Sarah R. Saldaña of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Chief Postal Inspector Guy J. Cottrell of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Director Bill A. Miller of the Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) and Chief Richard Weber of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) made the announcement.

Rey David Bravo-Aguirre, 43, of Bartow, Florida, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit identification fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling for financial gain and one count of transferring and possessing means of identification of another person during and in relation to a felony.  A sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 3, 2015, before U.S. District Judge Juan M. Pérez- Giménez of the District of Puerto Rico.

According to his plea agreement, Bravo-Aguirre operated as a broker of Puerto Rican identities and corresponding identity documents out of Bartow, Florida.  In that role, Bravo-Aguirre received identity documents from other members of the conspiracy located in the Caguas-area of Puerto Rico and sold them to individuals unlawfully residing in Florida.  Specifically, Bravo-Aguirre admitted that he provided Social Security cards and corresponding Puerto Rico birth certificates to his customers.

The charges are the result of Operation Island Express II, an ongoing, nationally-coordinated investigation led by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), USPIS, DSS and IRS-CI offices in Chicago, in coordination with the ICE-HSI San Juan Office.  The Illinois Secretary of State Police also provided substantial assistance.  The ICE-HSI Attaché office in the Dominican Republic, National Drug Intelligence Center - Document and Media Exploitation Branch and International Organized Crime Intelligence and Operations Center (IOC-2) provided invaluable assistance, as well as various ICE, USPIS, DSS and IRS CI offices around the country.

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Marianne Shelvey of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and William Kenety of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jorge Ramos of the District of Puerto Rico.

AG HOLDER ANNOUNCES DOJ DESIGNEE CO-CHAIR OF PRESIDENT'S TASK FORCE ON PUERTO RICO

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 
Friday, November 7, 2014

Attorney General Holder Announces Stuart Delery Will Serve as the Department of Justice Designee as Co-Chair of the President’s Task Force on Puerto Rico
Attorney General Eric Holder announced today that Stuart Delery, the Acting Associate Attorney General, will serve as the Department of Justice’s designee as Co-Chair of the President’s Task Force on Puerto Rico.

“Stuart Delery is an exceptional public servant who will continue the work of his predecessors, Tom Perrelli and Tony West, as Co-Chair of the President’s Task Force on Puerto Rico,” said Attorney General Holder.  “Stuart demonstrated his commitment to strengthen our nation’s security and to protect public health and safety in his prior role as Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division.  Stuart will serve the Task Force – and the people of Puerto Rico – well.”

“The ongoing work of the Task Force reflects the Administration’s – and the Department of Justice’s – commitment to the people of Puerto Rico,” said Associate Attorney General Delery.  “I am pleased to have the opportunity to contribute to the Task Force, and look forward to working with my federal colleagues and Commonwealth officials in Puerto Rico and Washington.”

 The President’s Task Force on Puerto Rico, which is co-chaired by the Attorney General’s designee and the White House Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, was created by President Bill Clinton to examine Puerto Rico’s political status and to identify a process by which the people of Puerto Rico could express their views on the subject.  The Task Force continued to address these issues through the Administration of President George Bush.  President Barack Obama expanded the Task Force’s scope and directed it to recommend policies to promote job creation, education, health care, clean energy, and economic development on the island.  The Task Force published its report and recommendations to the President and Congress in March of 2011, and its efforts to implement the recommendations continue today.

MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO BRIBING PUERTO RICO SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE IN HOMICIDE CASE

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Puerto Rico Businessman Pleads Guilty to Bribing a Puerto Rico Superior Court Judge

A Puerto Rico businessman pleaded guilty today to bribing Puerto Rico Superior Court Judge Manuel Acevedo-Hernandez, who presided over the businessman’s vehicular homicide trial and acquitted him of all charges.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez of the District of Puerto Rico and Special Agent in Charge Carlos Cases of the FBI’s San Juan Division made the announcement.

According to court documents, Lutgardo Acevedo-Lopez, 39, was a certified public accountant in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico.   On June 30, 2012, a car driven by Acevedo-Lopez collided with another car, resulting in the death of the other car’s driver.   Acevedo-Lopez was charged with criminal vehicular homicide in connection with the incident.   Acevedo-Hernandez, a supervisory superior court judge in the Aguadilla judicial region of Puerto Rico, presided over the case and acquitted Acevedo-Lopez of all charges.

In his plea agreement, Acevedo-Lopez admitted that he bribed Acevedo-Hernandez to use his official position as a judge for Acevedo-Lopez’s benefit.   Specifically, Acevedo-Lopez admitted that he used an intermediary to bribe Acevedo-Hernandez by paying taxes owed by Acevedo-Hernandez, paying for the construction of a garage for Acevedo-Hernandez, and providing Acevedo-Hernandez with a motorcycle, clothing and accessories, including cufflinks and a watch.   In exchange, Acevedo-Hernandez acquitted Acevedo-Lopez of all charges.

Acevedo-Lopez is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 8, 2014 before Chief U.S. District Judge Aida M. Delgado-Colón in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Charges remain pending against Acevedo-Hernandez, who was charged with bribery-related offenses in an indictment unsealed on May 28, 2014, in the District of Puerto Rico.   The charges contained in an indictment are merely accusations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The case is being investigated by the FBI’s San Juan Division and is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Peter Mason of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Timothy Henwood and Jose Capo of the District of Puerto Rico.

PUERTO RICO JUDGE, BUSINESSMAN INDICTED IN CONSPIRACY AND BRIBERY CASE

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Puerto Rico Superior Court Judge and Local Businessman Indicted on Conspiracy and Federal Programs Bribery Charges

A current Puerto Rico Superior Court Judge and Puerto Rico businessman were charged with orchestrating a criminal scheme in which the businessman paid bribes to the judge presiding over the criminal case against the businessman according to an indictment unsealed today.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez of the District of Puerto Rico, and Special Agent in Charge Carlos Cases of the FBI’s San Juan Division made the announcement.

“The outcome of a criminal case should be determined by the evidence and the law, not by paid-for bias,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell.  “When citizens can’t have faith in the very people who are sworn to uphold the law, confidence in the entire system is shaken.  We are committed to restoring that faith by rooting out corruption wherever it may be found.”

“A fair and impartial criminal justice system is one of the cornerstones of our democracy,” said U.S. Attorney Rodríguez-Vélez.  “Judges, in particular, are expected to protect the public’s trust in the fairness of the judicial system.  Investigations such as the one leading to today’s indictment are crucial to deter corrupt officials influenced by greed from breaking their oath to uphold the rule of law.   This case should serve as a strong warning to those who might consider similar behavior.  No one is above the law and everyone is accountable for their misdeeds.”

“Rogue justice as the one allegedly imparted by Judge Manuel Acevedo-Hernández will not be tolerated by the FBI,” said Special Agent in Charge Cases.   “The FBI will continue vigorously to investigate allegations of corruption at all levels.”

The indictment, returned yesterday by a federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico and unsealed today, charges Manuel Acevedo-Hernandez, 62, and Lutgardo Acevedo-Lopez, 39, with conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery.  Acevedo-Hernandez was also charged with receipt of a bribe by an agent of an organization receiving federal funds, and Acevedo-Lopez was charged with paying a bribe to an agent of an organization receiving federal funds.

According to the indictment, Acevedo-Hernandez, a Supervisory Superior Court Judge in the Aguadilla judicial region of Puerto Rico, allegedly accepted bribes from Acevedo-Lopez and others, knowing that the payments were made so that Acevedo-Hernandez would use his official position as a Superior Court judge for Acevedo-Lopez’s benefit.    In particular, Acevedo-Hernandez presided over a criminal trial of Acevedo-Lopez and acquitted Acevedo-Lopez of all charges pending against him, including vehicular homicide.   In exchange for the acquittal, Acevedo-Lopez, through an intermediary, bribed Acevedo-Hernandez by paying taxes owed by Acevedo-Hernandez, paying for construction of a garage, and providing him with a motorcycle, clothing and accessories, including cufflinks and a watch.

The charges contained in the indictment are merely accusations.   The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The case is being investigated by the FBI’s San Juan Division and is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Peter Mason of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Timothy Henwood and Jose Capo of the District of Puerto Rico.

FORMER PUERTO RICO LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS SENTENCED FOR HEROINE SMUGGLING SCHEME

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Two Former Puerto Rico Law Enforcement Officers Sentenced for Scheme to Smuggle Heroin to Inmates

A former state marshal and a correctional officer in Puerto Rico were sentenced today for attempting to smuggle heroin to inmates in exchange for payment, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez of the District of Puerto Rico.

Joel Torres-Velazquez, 49, of Guánica, Puerto Rico, was sentenced to serve 37 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, by U.S. District Judge Francisco A. Besosa of the District of Puerto Rico.   He pleaded guilty on Nov. 6, 2013, to a one-count indictment charging him with attempt to distribute a controlled substance.

Jessica Moreno-Alicea, 39, of Ponce, Puerto Rico, was sentenced to serve 37 months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release, by U.S. District Judge Daniel R. Dominguez of the District of Puerto Rico.   She pleaded guilty on Dec. 6, 2013, to a one-count indictment charging her with attempt to distribute a controlled substance.

Torres-Velazquez was paid $600 to deliver a package of heroin to an inmate at the Ponce Superior Court, where Torres-Velazquez worked as a state marshal.   On March 30, 2011, Torres-Velazquez met with an undercover agent, who he believed was a drug dealer, and was given what he believed to be a package of heroin.   He delivered the purported heroin to an inmate in the courthouse that same day.

Moreno was paid $800 to deliver a package of heroin to an inmate at the Ponce State Penitentiary, where Moreno worked as a correctional officer.   On Feb. 3, 2011, Moreno met with an undercover agent, who she believed was a drug dealer, and was given what she believed to be heroin.   She delivered the purported heroin to an inmate in the prison on Feb. 8, 2011.

The case was investigated by the FBI’s San Juan Division.   The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Hector Ramirez-Carbó of the District of Puerto Rico and Trial Attorney Menaka Kalaskar of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section.

FORMER PRESIDENT WATER FREIGHT CARRIER COMPANY SENTENCED TO PRISON IN RATE FIXING CASE

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 
Friday, December 6, 2013

Former Sea Star Line President Sentenced to Serve Five Years in Prison for Role in Price-Fixing Conspiracy Involving Coastal Freight Services Between the Continental United States and Puerto Rico

The former president of Sea Star Line LLC, a Jacksonville, Fla.-based water freight carrier, was sentenced to serve five years in prison and to pay a $25,000 criminal fine for his participation in a conspiracy to fix rates and surcharges for freight transported by water between the continental United States and Puerto Rico, the Department of Justice announced today.

Frank Peake was sentenced today by Judge Daniel R. Dominguez in U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico in San Juan.  Peake’s two-week trial took place in January 2013.

“The sentence imposed today reflects the serious harm these conspirators inflicted on American consumers, both in the continental United States and in Puerto Rico,” said Bill Baer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.  “The Antitrust Division will continue to vigorously prosecute executives who collude to fix prices at the expense of consumers.”

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Peake and his co-conspirators conspired through meetings and other communications in the continental United States and Puerto Rico to fix, stabilize and maintain rates and surcharges for Puerto Rico freight services, to allocate customers of Puerto Rico freight services between and among the conspirators and to rig bids submitted to customers of Puerto Rico freight services.  Peake was involved in the conspiracy from at least late 2005 until at least April 2008.

As a result of the ongoing investigation, the three largest water freight carriers serving routes between the continental United States and Puerto Rico, including Peake’s former employer Sea Star, have pleaded guilty and been ordered to pay more than $46 million in criminal fines for their roles in the conspiracy.  Sea Star pleaded guilty on Dec. 20, 2011, and was sentenced by Judge Dominguez to pay a $14.2 million criminal fine.  Sea Star transports a variety of cargo shipments, such as heavy equipment, perishable food items, medicines and consumer goods, on scheduled ocean voyages between the continental United States and Puerto Rico.

Peake and five other individuals have been ordered to serve prison sentences ranging from seven months to five years.  Additionally, Thomas Farmer, the former vice president of price and yield management of Crowley Liner Services, was indicted in March 2013 for his role in the conspiracy and is scheduled to go to trial in May 2014.

This case is part of an ongoing investigation being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s National Criminal Enforcement Section and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service.

THREE SENTENCED IN PUERTO RICO IN OPERATION GUARD SHACK DRUG SECURITY PROSECUTION

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 
Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Three Men Sentenced in Puerto Rico in Operation Guard Shack Prosecution
131 Defendants Have Pleaded Guilty or Been Convicted After Trial 

Two former officers with the Police of Puerto Rico and another individual were sentenced to prison late yesterday for their roles in providing security for drug transactions.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Rosa E. Rodriguez-Velez of the District of Puerto Rico and Special Agent in Charge Carlos Cases of the FBI’s San Juan Field Office made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Carmen Consuelo Cerezo in the District of Puerto Rico.

Former Police of Puerto Rico officers Daviel Salinas-Acevedo, 29, of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, and Miguel Santiago-Cordero, 30, of Lares, Puerto Rico, were each sentenced on July 30, 2013, to serve 181 months in prison. In addition, Wendell Rivera-Ruperto, 38, of Las Marias, Puerto Rico, was also sentenced yesterday to 420 months in prison.

On Jan. 10, 2013, Salinas-Acevedo and Santiago-Cordero were each convicted at trial of one count of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug transaction.  Rivera-Ruperto was convicted of one count of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine, attempting to possess with the intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug transaction.  Rivera-Ruperto had been convicted previously of 15 other counts arising from his participation in other, related drug transactions.

The case against the three defendants arose from the FBI’s undercover operation known as “Operation Guard Shack.”  To date, 131 defendants have pleaded guilty or been convicted at trial, and 123 defendants have been sentenced as a result of the operation.

According to the evidence presented in court, Salinas-Acevedo, Santiago-Cordero and Rivera-Ruperto each provided security for what they believed were illegal cocaine deals that occurred on March 24, April 9 and July 8, 2010, respectively.  In fact, each purported drug transaction was one of dozens of simulated transactions conducted as part of the undercover FBI operation.  The three men performed armed security for the multi-kilogram cocaine deals by frisking the buyer, standing guard as the kilos were counted and inspecting and escorting the buyer in and out of the transaction.

In return for the security they provided, Salinas-Acevedo, Santiago-Cordero and Rivera-Ruperto each received a cash payment of $2,000.  The money was never returned by any of the defendants, and none of the defendants ever reported the transactions.

The case was investigated by the FBI.  The Puerto Rico Department of Justice also provided assistance in this case.

The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Anthony J. Phillips and Edward J. Loya Jr. of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico participated in the investigation and prosecution of this case.

U.S. CRACKS DOWN ON ILLEGAL TRADE IN SEA TURTLES IN PUERTO RICO

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 
Friday, July 19, 2013
Eight Arrested in Puerto Rico on Charges of Illegal Trade in Endangered Sea Turtles for Human Consumption
Federal Agencies Announce Formation of Puerto Rico Environmental Crimes Task Force

Federal authorities arrested eight people in the cities of Arroyo and Patillas, Puerto Rico, yesterday on felony and misdemeanor charges for the illegal take, possession and sale of endangered sea turtles and their parts for human consumption as well as aiding and abetting violations of the Endangered Species and Lacey Act, announced Robert G. Dreher, the Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez, U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico.

Roberto Guzman Herpin, 34, Madelyne Montes Santiago, 37, Edwin Alamo Silva, 50, Juan Soto Rodriguez, 45, Ricardo Dejesus Alamo, 33, Jose Javier Rodriguez Sanchez, 40, Iris Lebron Montanez, 53, and Miguel Rivera Delgado, 55, all residents of Patillas and Arroyo, were arrested Thursday and made their appearances in federal court.

The takedown was led by special agents of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), with assistance from the recently formed Puerto Rico Environmental Crimes Task Force, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Puerto Rico Police Department and the Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources.  Participating agencies of the task force currently include prosecutors from the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico, FWS, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division (EPA-CID), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement- Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the FBI.

In 2011, the FWS initiated an undercover operation to investigate the illegal trade in sea turtles for human consumption. During this investigation, it was determined that these illegal sales of sea turtle meat, confirmed through DNA analysis conducted by the FWS Forensic Lab, have resulted in the illegal take of 15 individual endangered hawksbill sea turtles (Eretmochelys imbricate) and 7 endangered green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas).

 “Hawksbill and green sea turtles are protected by Puerto Rican law, nationally under the Endangered Species Act as well as internationally under CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna),” said U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Resident Agent in Charge David Pharo. “The protection from the illegal take and sale of this and of other marine life organisms is a priority of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and is instrumental to the health of marine ecosystems for where they exist. These charges stem from a collaborative effort amongst law enforcement agencies to achieve a common goal of protecting our nation’s sensitive marine environments. It demonstrates our commitment to pursue those who violate fish & wildlife laws for the purpose of personal and or commercial gain as well as those that drive the illegal trade of marine life nationally and internationally.”

The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Carmen Márquez.  If convicted, the defendants face a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.  Indictments contain only charges and are not evidence of guilt.  Defendants are presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.

The waters around Puerto Rico are designated as a critical habitat for the hawksbill and the green sea turtle.  The most significant nesting for the hawksbill within the U.S. occurs in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  Each year, about 500-1000 hawksbill nests are laid on Mona Island, Puerto Rico.  The green sea turtle population has declined by 48-65 percent over the past century.  Puerto Rico is also home to nesting sites for the endangered leatherback sea turtle, the largest species of turtle in the world.   The leatherback sea turtle suffered a severe population crash due to human harvesting of its meat and eggs, and the destruction of its nesting habitat by beachfront development.

The Puerto Rico Environmental Crimes Task Force

Also today, representatives of federal criminal investigative agencies, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division announced the creation of a Puerto Rico Environmental Crimes Task Force to investigate and prosecute environmental crimes on the island.

The commonwealth of Puerto Rico contains six national wildlife refuges (Cabo Rojo, Culebra, Desecheo, Laguna Cartagena, Navassa Island, Vieques) and is home to 25 endangered and threatened animal species, 21 of which are found nowhere else on earth. For instance, there are only 200 Puerto Rican parrots (Amazona vittata) remaining, with less than 50 left in the wild, making it one of the 10 rarest birds on Earth.  The island is also home to 49 endangered and threatened plant species. There are 37 Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and Superfund cleanup sites on Puerto Rico.

Through the new task force, federal investigative agencies will coordinate their efforts to investigate and prosecute those responsible for committing serious environmental crimes. Federal laws have been enacted to protect the environment, but their enforcement requires the coordinated efforts and involvement of multiple federal law enforcement agencies with the assistance local law enforcement and the citizenry.  The task force has three specific goals:

• Improve investigative coordination among the federal authorities who are responsible for protecting public health and the environment.

• Coordinate the available federal resources and improve the dissemination of information between the federal law enforcement agencies to better protect human health and the environment.

• Improve environmental awareness of the community to recognize violations of federal environmental laws and regulations.

“Through the effective and efficient coordination of federal agencies who will jointly investigate and prosecute environmental crimes on the island, the task force will help preserve the island’s abundant natural resources and wildlife, including endangered sea turtles,” said Robert G. Dreher, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.  “It is our hope and vision that these efforts will raise greater awareness about environmental crime, bring those who knowingly harm the environment to justice, and help preserve the island’s environment for generations to come.”

“With the creation of this Task Force we aim to protect the environment and the public’s health from exposure to environmental hazards, said Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico.  “We will vigorously investigate and prosecute those who do not comply with the environmental laws of the United States.”

“Puerto Rico’s high asthma rates and its incredible natural resources make pollution prevention together with the rigorous enforcement of environmental laws critical to the people of Puerto Rico,” said EPA Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck. “By pooling EPA resources and those of other agencies, the EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division and EPA’s Caribbean Environmental Protection Division can maximize the ability to ensure that those who willfully violate environmental laws are held accountable.”

“The task force will strengthen already existing enforcement partnerships that help protect Puerto Rico’s wildlife and rich wildlife heritage,” said Special Agent in Charge Luis Santiago, who oversees U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement operations in southeastern states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

“This enforcement task force will be a great help for us in our mission to conserve, protect, and manage living marine resources in the commonwealth,” said Otha Easley, Acting Special Agent in Charge of NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement Southeast Division, which covers eight southern states and all U.S. Caribbean territories. “Puerto Rico has a rich and diverse ecosystem, and this partnership is a significant step forward in its protection.”

EL YUNQUE: WORLD WITHOUT END?

Photo:  El Yunque Plant Life.  Credit:  Wikimedia Commons. 

FROM: NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
El Yunque, Majestic Rocky Icon of Puerto Rico: Impervious to the Ravages of Time?
El Yunque. It could be the name of an ancient chieftain. On the island of Puerto Rico, in a sense it is.

El Yunque, Spanish for "the anvil," is a majestic, flat-topped promontory. It stands high above rivers and streams below, and has been an icon since pre-Columbian times.

With Puerto Rico's humid tropical climate, El Yunque should be covered with plant life--and should be eroding rapidly, say scientists. But it isn't.

To solve this mystery, researchers from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Luquillo Critical Zone Observatory (CZO) set out to measure the current rate of the rock's erosion.

El Yunque is usually shrouded by mist from clouds. Swept by the trade winds, it's often buffeted by hurricanes. The barren rock, some 3,412 feet tall, lords it over miles of rainforest that surround it on all sides.

It's showered with rain an average of three times a day--in total, more than 14 feet of rain every year. That rain cascades down El Yunque's headland, then flows through the Luquillo watershed in rivers and rivulets.

The Luquillo CZO is one of six NSF CZOs in watersheds across the nation. In addition to the Luquillo site, CZOs are located in the Southern Sierra Nevada, Christina River Basin on the border of Delaware and Pennsylvania, Susquehanna Shale Hills in Pennsylvania, Boulder Creek in the Colorado Rockies, and the Jemez River and Santa Catalina Mountains in New Mexico and Arizona.

NSF-supported scientists are providing a new understanding of the critical zone--the thin veneer of Earth that extends from the top of the forest canopy to the base of weathered bedrock.

The water cycle, the breakdown of rocks and the eventual formation of soil, the evolution of rivers and valleys, the patterns of plant growth and landforms, all result from processes that take place in the critical zone.

"The critical zone is our living environment," says Enriqueta Barrera, program director in NSF's Division of Earth Sciences, which funds the CZO network. "The CZOs offer us new knowledge about this important zone and its response to climate and land-use change."

The CZOs are the first systems-based observatories dedicated to understanding how Earth's surface processes are coupled, she says. "They will help us predict how the critical zone affects the ecosystem services on which society depends."

Peak of endurance

To find an answer to El Yunque's slow erosion rate, scientists Jane Willenbring, Gilles Brocard and the late Frederick Scatena of the University of Pennsylvania used a new approach to calculate how it has changed over time.

The method involved counting isotopes, or variants, of chemical elements that accumulate in rocks when they're hit by cosmic rays from space.

Using these particular isotopes, called cosmogenic nuclides, the researchers confirmed that forest soils that aren't disturbed by human activity erode at rates of 250 to 500 feet per million years.

Undisturbed forested areas in Puerto Rico, for example, have eroded some 1.6 to 3.2 inches since Europeans first landed there in 1498.

The scientists also found that the presence of forests can greatly reduce erosion, even in a steep environment frequently visited by hurricanes.

An ecological view from El Yunque

The Luquillo critical zone is chemically weathering at a wide range of rates. "But its thick weave of matted roots and vegetation holds in the soil and stabilizes the hillslopes such that they erode more slowly than one would expect," says Willenbring.

On the other hand, Puerto Rico waterfalls such as the well-known La Coca Falls are eroding comparatively quickly. Water rushes in torrents through steep canyons and gullies there, carrying gravel and boulders with it.

"A wave of erosion--whether fast or slow--affects all parts of the critical zone," says Willenbring. "It sets the tempo for how quickly minerals and nutrients are ferried to the surface, which in turn feed the forest above.

"We were surprised by how connected the landscape is. It seems as though even the trees understand geomorphology."

How passive are soil microbes and trees? Do they position themselves where it's best to live, or do they actively change the environment they're already in?

Glimpse of El Yunque's past...and future?

To answer these questions as they apply to El Yunque, cosmogenic nuclides allowed researchers to make the first measurements of the erosion rate of the peak.

El Yunque's surface is eroding about 13 feet every million years; it has lost only 0.08 inches since the Europeans first arrived.

Its relatively slow rate of erosion explains why El Yunque juts above the forest.

"The texture and composition of the rocks that form El Yunque are more erosion-resistant than those of the surrounding landscape," says Willenbring.

Why? El Yunque is a remnant of an ancient supervolcano named Hato Puerco. The volcano was one of the region's largest and most active volcanoes during the Cretaceous period 145-66 million years ago.

"El Yunque's hardness and chemical properties came from being 'cooked' in the chamber of the volcano," says Willenbring. Other rocks weren't subjected to this same heating; they're "softer" and less resistant to chemical breakdown and erosion.

Puerto Rico's icon is a hard-headed cap atop the island, Willenbring says, one that escaped the geologic fate of all other rocks there.

FORMER EXECUTIVE CONVICTED FOR ROLE IN PRICE-FIXING

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

WASHINGTON — Following a two-week trial, a federal jury in Puerto Rico today convicted a former executive of a Florida-based coastal water freight transportation company for his participation in a conspiracy to fix rates and surcharges for water transportation of freight between the continental United States and Puerto Rico, the Department of Justice announced.

Frank Peake, the former president of Sea Star Line LLC, was found guilty today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, of participating in a conspiracy to fix rates and surcharges for water transportation of freight between the continental United States and Puerto Rico from at least as early as late 2005, until at least April 2008.

"The coastal shipping price-fixing conspiracy affected the price of nearly every product that was shipped to and from Puerto Rico during the conspiracy," said Bill Baer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division. "This successful prosecution shows that the division will hold accountable high-level executives who perpetuate these crimes."

Sea Star pleaded guilty on Dec. 20, 2011, and was sentenced by Judge Daniel R. Dominguez to pay a $14.2 million criminal fine for its role in the conspiracy from as early as May 2002, until at least April 2008. Sea Star transports a variety of cargo shipments, such as heavy equipment, perishable food items, medicines and consumer goods, on scheduled ocean voyages between the continental United States and Puerto Rico.

According to evidence presented at trial, Sea Star, Peake and co-conspirators carried out the conspiracy by agreeing during meetings and communications to allocate customers of Puerto Rico freight services and to rig bids and fix the rates and surcharges to be charged to purchasers of water transportation of freight between the continental United States and Puerto Rico. The department said the conspirators also engaged in meetings for the purpose of monitoring and enforcing adherence to the agreed-upon rates and sold Puerto Rico freight services at collusive and noncompetitive rates.

Including today’s jury conviction, as a result of this ongoing investigation, three companies and six individuals have pleaded guilty or been convicted at trial. The five individuals and three companies that have been sentenced have been ordered to serve a total of more than 11 years in prison and to pay more than $46 million in criminal fines.

Peake was convicted of price fixing in violation of the Sherman Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine for individuals. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.

Today’s conviction arose from an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct in the coastal water freight transportation industry, which is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s National Criminal Enforcement Section; the Baltimore Resident Agency of the Department of Defense’s Office of the Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS); the Miami Field Office of the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General; and the Jacksonville Field Office of the FBI.

MAN FROM DOMICAN REPUBLIC SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR ROLE IN IDENTITY TRAFFICKING

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Dominican National Sentenced to 63 Months in Prison for Leading Role in Identity Trafficking Scheme
A Dominican national was sentenced today to 63 months in prison for his leading role in trafficking the identities of Puerto Rican U.S. citizens and corresponding identity documents, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Rosa E. Rodríguez-Vélez of the District of Puerto Rico; Director John Morton of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Chief Postal Inspector Guy J. Cottrell of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS); Gentry Smith, Acting Director of the U.S. State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS); and Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Chief Richard Weber.

Rafael Joaquin Beltre-Beltre, 36, formerly of Caguas, Puerto Rico, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gustavo A. Gelpí, in the District of Puerto Rico. In addition to Beltre-Beltre’s prison term, Judge Gelpí ordered him to forfeit $424,793 in illegal proceeds and ordered the removal of Beltre-Beltre from the United States to the Dominican Republic after the completion of his sentence. On Sept. 4, 2012, Beltre-Beltre pleaded guilty in Puerto Rico to one count of conspiracy to commit identification fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling for financial gain and one count of international money laundering.

Beltre-Beltre was charged in a superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Puerto Rico on March 22, 2012. To date, a total of 53 individuals have been charged for their roles in the identity trafficking scheme, and 25 defendants have pleaded guilty.

Court documents allege that individuals located in the Savarona area of Caguas, Puerto Rico (Savarona suppliers), obtained Puerto Rican identities and corresponding identity documents. Other conspirators located in various cities throughout the United States (identity brokers) allegedly solicited customers and sold Social Security cards and corresponding Puerto Rico birth certificates for prices ranging from $700 to $2,500 per set. The superseding indictment alleges that identity brokers ordered the identity documents from Savarona suppliers, on behalf of the customers, by making coded telephone calls. The conspirators are charged with using text messages, money transfer services and express, priority or regular U.S. mail to complete their illicit transactions.

Court documents allege that some of the conspirators assumed a Puerto Rican identity themselves and used that identity in connection with the trafficking operation. Their customers allegedly generally obtained the identity documents to assume the identity of Puerto Rican U.S. citizens and to obtain additional identification documents, such as legitimate state driver’s licenses. Some customers allegedly obtained the documents to commit financial fraud and attempted to obtain a U.S. passport.

According to court documents, various identity brokers were operating in Rockford, Ill.; DeKalb, Ill.; Aurora, Ill.; Seymour, Ind.; Columbus, Ind.; Indianapolis; Hartford, Conn.; Clewiston, Fla.; Lilburn, Ga.; Norcross, Ga.; Salisbury, Md.; Columbus, Ohio; Fairfield, Ohio; Dorchester, Mass.; Lawrence, Mass.; Salem, Mass.; Worcester, Mass.; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Nebraska City, Neb.; Elizabeth, N.J.; Burlington, N.C.; Hickory, N.C.; Hazelton, Pa.; Philadelphia; Houston; Abingdon, Va.; Albertville, Ala.; and Providence, R.I.

Beltre-Beltre admitted that he operated as a Savarona supplier and was a leader and organizer in the conspiracy. He also admitted that he and his co-conspirators sold personal identifying information pertaining to real Puerto Rican U.S. citizens, including minors, and that he knew some of the identities would be used to commit tax fraud and some would be used to fraudulently apply for U.S. passports. According to court documents, in June 2011, an unauthorized alien in Arlington, Va., applied for a U.S. passport using legitimate Puerto Rico identity documents that had been supplied by Beltre-Beltre. Law enforcement agents uncovered the fraudulent application and prevented the issuance of the U.S. passport.

On Jan. 11, 2012, Beltre-Beltre was arrested and found to be in possession of over 100 legitimate identity documents in other people’s names, in addition to four legitimate but blank Puerto Rico birth certificates. Beltre-Beltre admitted that at the time of his arrest he possessed a firearm with an obliterated serial number in relation to his identity trafficking and alien smuggling operation. Beltre-Beltre is the 12th defendant to be sentenced in this case.

The charges are the result of Operation Island Express, an ongoing, nationally-coordinated investigation led by the ICE-HSI Chicago Office and USPIS, DSS and IRS-CI offices in Chicago, in coordination with the ICE-HSI San Juan Office and the DSS Resident Office in Puerto Rico. The Illinois Secretary of State Police; Elgin, Ill., Police Department; Seymour, Ind., Police Department; and Indiana State Police provided substantial assistance. The ICE-HSI Assistant Attaché office in the Dominican Republic and International Organized Crime Intelligence and Operations Center (IOC-2) as well as various ICE, USPIS, DSS and IRS-CI offices around the country provided invaluable assistance.

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys James S. Yoon, Hope S. Olds, Courtney B. Schaefer and Christina Giffin of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section, with the assistance of Acting Assistant Deputy Chief Jeannette Gunderson of the Criminal Division’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, and the support of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico. The U.S. Attorney’s Offices in the Northern District of Illinois, Southern District of Indiana, District of Connecticut, District of Massachusetts, District of Nebraska, Middle District of North Carolina, Southern District of Ohio, District of Rhode Island, Southern District of Texas and Western District of Virginia provided substantial assistance.

COMPANY PLEADS GUILTY TO PRICE FIXING; WILL PAY $17 MILLION CRIMINAL FINE

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ANTITRUST DIVISION
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Florida-Based Crowley Liner Services Inc. Pleads Guilty to Price Fixing on Freight Services Between U.S. and Puerto Rico

Company Sentenced to Pay $17 Million Criminal Fine

WASHINGTON – Jacksonville, Fla.-based Crowley Liner Services Inc. pleaded guilty and was sentenced to pay a $17 million criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to fix prices in the coastal water freight transportation industry, the Department of Justice announced today.

According to a one-count felony charge filed yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, Crowley Liner Services engaged in a conspiracy to fix base rates for water transportation of certain freight between the continental United States and Puerto Rico from as early as January 2006 until at least April 2008.

Crowley Liner Services transports a variety of cargo shipments, such as heavy equipment, cargo that would not fit into containers, used cars and liquids capable of being transported only in tanker containers, on scheduled ocean voyages between the United States and Puerto Rico.

According to the charges, Crowley Liner Services and co-conspirators carried out the conspiracy by agreeing during meetings and discussions to fix the base rates to be charged to non-government purchasers of water transportation of certain freight between the continental United States and Puerto Rico. The department said that Crowley Liner Services and co-conspirators also engaged in meetings for the purpose of monitoring and enforcing adherence to the agreed-upon rates and sold Puerto Rico freight services at collusive and noncompetitive rates.

"Including this sentencing, as a result of the Antitrust Division’s ongoing investigation, three freight companies have been sentenced to pay criminal fines totaling more than $45 million and five executives have been sentenced to serve prison time totaling more than 11 years," said Scott D. Hammond, Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Antitrust Division’s Criminal Enforcement Program. "By agreeing to fix prices for coastal shipping services to and from Puerto Rico, Crowley Liner Services and its co-conspirators thwarted the competitive process by forcing consumers to pay inflated rates for these services."


On Dec. 20, 2011, Sea Star Line LLC was sentenced to pay a $14.2 million criminal fine. On March 22, 2011, Horizon Lines LLC was sentenced to pay a $15 million criminal fine. Additionally, five shipping company executives—Gabriel Serra, Peter Baci, R. Kevin Gill, Gregory Glova and Alex G. Chisholm—have pleaded guilty. Frank Peake, the former president of Sea Star Line, was charged on Nov. 17, 2011, and is scheduled to stand trial on Jan. 14, 2013.

Crowley Liner Services pleaded guilty to price fixing in violation of the Sherman Act, which carries a maximum fine of $100 million for corporations. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.

This case arose from an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct in the coastal water freight transportation industry, which is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s National Criminal Enforcement Section; the Baltimore Resident Agency of the Department of Defense’s Office of the Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS); and the Miami Field Office of the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General (DOT-OIG).