U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella, Jr., Announces New Leadership for the Office’s Long Island Division and Criminal Section

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, announced today the appointment of Catherine Mirabile as Chief of the Long Island Division and Chief of the Criminal Section of the Long Island Division.  Additionally, Megan Farrell has been appointed as a Deputy Chief of the Long Island Criminal Section, joining current Deputy Chiefs Justina Geraci and Michael Maffei.

Federal Correctional Officer Convicted of Bribery, Smuggling, and Drug Conspiracy

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Following a six-day trial, a federal jury convicted Patrick Shackelford, a former federal correctional officer, for accepting bribes and conspiring with inmates to smuggle narcotics and other contraband into the U.S. Penitentiary Atlanta (“USP-Atlanta”) using an elaborate scheme through which visitors introduced contraband into the prison through a secret hole in the visitation area. Shackelford was immediately taken into federal custody upon entry of the jury’s verdict on April 2.

McNairy County Man Sentenced to Over Eight Years in Prison for Possession of Child Pornography

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Jackson, TN – Clint Allen Wolf, 34, of Selmer, Tennessee, has been sentenced to 100 months in federal prison for possession of child pornography.  D. Michael Dunavant, United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, announced the sentence today.The investigation in this case began in August 2024 when a cyber tip was sent to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) regarding the transmission of 22 files containing child sexual abuse material on a social media application.  The report was assigned to… 

Plant City Man Arrested for Threatening to Kill the President of the United States

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Tampa, FL – Nick Guadalupe Cruz-Lopez (20, Plant City, FL) has been arrested and charged by criminal complaint with making a threat to kill the President of the United States. If convicted, Cruz-Lopez faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.

Hawaii Woman Sentenced to Federal Prison for Stealing Disaster Relief Funds Intended for Lahaina and Pacific Palisades Fire Victims

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

HONOLULU – United States Attorney Ken Sorenson announced that Chelsea Johnson, 32, of Honolulu, Hawaii, was sentenced yesterday to four months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release (the first four months to be served as home confinement), along with $60,458 in restitution to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (“FEMA”), following her guilty plea to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Tifton Man Sentenced to Prison for Armed Fentanyl Trafficking

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

ALBANY, Ga. – A Tifton, Georgia, man who sold heroin mixed with fentanyl from an outdoor table—maintaining a burn barrel to quickly destroy drugs if needed and offering discounts or trades for wood pallets to keep the fire burning—has been sentenced to prison for armed fentanyl distribution. Kabryen Sharrod Ross, aka “Juice,” 33, of Tifton, was sentenced to serve 120 months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release by Senior U.S. District Judge W. Louis Sands on April 2, after he previously pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of fentanyl and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime on July 30, 2025. There is no parole in the federal system. 

Executive of Indian Chemical Company Pleads Guilty to Distributing and Smuggling Fentanyl Precursor Chemicals

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Bhavesh Lathiya pleaded guilty today to distributing and smuggling fentanyl precursor chemicals to the United States.  Lathiya was the leader and founder of Raxuter Chemicals, a company based in Surat, India, that illegally sold and smuggled more than 50 pounds of chemicals commonly used to manufacture fentanyl.  This guilty plea marks the first felony conviction of an India-based supplier of fentanyl precursor chemicals.  Today’s proceeding was held before United States District Judge Pamela K. Chen. When sentenced, Lathiya faces up to 40 years’ imprisonment. 

U.S. Marshals Service Locates Fugitive in Mexico, Extradition Process to Bring Defendant Back to West Tennessee

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Memphis, TN – Today, D. Michael Dunavant, United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, and Tyreece L. Miller, United States Marshal for the Western District of Tennessee, announced that a fugitive has been arrested in Mexico.According to information presented in court, Angelica Escobedo Bernal, 33, of Tamaulipas, Mexico, was indicted in the Western District of Tennessee on February 6, 2024 for Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine and Aiding and Abetting the Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine.On December 11, 2024, Bernal…

New Orleans Man Guilty of Drug-Trafficking Crimes and Machinegun Possession

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA –BRANDON DUNN (“DUNN”), age 20, pleaded guilty on April 1, 2026 before U.S. District Judge Greg G. Guidry to conspiracy to distribute, and possession with intent to distribute, marijuana, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(D), and 846, and possession of a machinegun, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(o) and 924(a)(2).