For Immediate Release
April 17, 2009
Washington D.C.
FBI National Press Office
(202) 324-3691

FBI’s Top Ten News Stories for the Week Ending April 17, 2009

1. Charlotte: Marine Fugitive Brought Back to U.S.

Fugitive U.S. Marine Corps Corporal Cesar Armando Laurean was extradited from Mexico to the United States. Laurean was captured in central Mexico in April 2008 after fleeing the United States in January 2008. Full Story

2. Boston: FBI Safe Streets Gang Task Force Seizes 45 Kilograms of Cocaine in Manchester

Several New Hampshire men were arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Streets Gang Task Force after a three month investigation focusing on the distribution of cocaine. Full Story

3. New Orleans: Man Pleads Guilty To Assault on the High Seas

Cruise ship passenger pleads guilty in federal court to one count of assault within the special maritime jurisdiction of the United States. Full Story

4. New York: Arms Trafficker Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison

Christiaan Spies, a leader of an international arms trafficking operation, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for plotting to smuggle shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles, rocket-propelled grenades, anti-tank guided missiles, and other high-powered military weapons. Full Story

5. Miami: Mother and Two Others Charged with Kidnapping

Mom planned to kidnap her own 17-year-old son and demand the payment of a ransom from her ex-husband. Full Story

6. Houston: Businessman Convicted of Fraud in Iraq Food Contracts

Texas man pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States by misrepresenting the cost to deliver food to U.S. troops in Iraq and Kuwait. Full Story

7. San Antonio: CBP Inspector Pleads Guilty to Drug Trafficking, Alien Smuggling and Bribery

A Customs and Border Protection (CBP) inspector is convicted of drug trafficking, alien smuggling and bribery. Full Story

8. Memphis: Jury Finds MTSU Professor Guilty of Bank and Wire Fraud
Pamela Gail Holder, a nursing professor at the Middle Tennessee State University and the former coordinator of the statewide Tennessee Board of Regents On-Line Degree Program, was convicted by a jury on two counts of wire fraud and two counts of bank fraud. Full Story

9. Washington Field: Iraqi-Born Dutch Citizen Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison for Terrorism Conspiracy Against Americans in Iraq

An Iraqi-born Dutch citizen was sentenced to 25 years in prison today for conspiring to murder Americans overseas, including by planting roadside bombs targeting U.S. soldiers in Fallujah, Iraq, and by demonstrating on video how these explosives would be detonated to destroy American vehicles and their occupants. Full Story

10. Baltimore: Leader of Mortgage Fraud Scheme Confesses and Agrees to Forfeit $2 Million for Targeting Victims with TV Ads

Maryland pleaded guilty today to conspiracy and bankruptcy fraud arising from a scheme in which he and his conspirators offered to help financially vulnerable individuals save their homes from foreclosure, and instead defrauded homeowners and mortgage lenders. Full Story

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