Source: United States Airforce
PACAF Airmen conducted a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System Rapid Insertion training, enabling a bilateral live-fire exercise between the U.S. Marine Corps and the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force.
Defense News in Brief: Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2025: Defend and Fortify Lethality Through Cybersecurity
Source: United States Navy
In today’s cyber environment, federal, state, local governments and private industry are experiencing cyber-attacks daily. Over the past few years, adversaries such as Russia, China, and Iran, and other non-state actors have intensified their campaigns against the United States, probing for vulnerabilities and exploiting weak points wherever they are.
Defense News in Brief: Have tools, will travel: FRCE’s C-130 field teams bring the fix to the fleet
Source: United States Navy
When it’s time for Marine Corps C-130 transport aircraft to undergo advanced scheduled maintenance, squadrons have two options: have the airplane go to a depot, or have a depot come to the airplane.
Defense News in Brief: Bushido Guardian 25: Trilateral exercise kicks off in the Pacific
Source: United States Airforce
The U.S. Air Force, Japan Air Self-Defense Force, and Royal Australian Air Force commenced the first trilateral Exercise Bushido Guardian 25 at Misawa Air Base.
Butler Resident Pleads Guilty to Failure to Pay Payroll Taxes
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A resident of Butler, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of willful failure to collect or pay over tax, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.
Michael D. Funovits, 49, pleaded guilty to four counts before United States District Judge William S. Stickman IV.
In connection with the guilty plea, the Court was advised that, between 2016 and 2023, Funovits failed to pay over to the Internal Revenue Service payroll taxes he collected on behalf of his businesses, PennRo Associates LLC and Penn Exteriors LLC.
Judge Stickman scheduled sentencing for February 17, 2026. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Gregory C. Melucci is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Funovits.
Miami Jury Convicts Argentine National for Producing and Possessing Child Sexual Abuse Material
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
MIAMI – On Sept. 10, a federal jury in Miami convicted Argentine national Osvaldo Daniel Fernandez, 61, of two counts of production and one count of possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Fernandez sexually abused two minor victims and recorded the abuse.
In May 2022, law enforcement opened an investigation into the sexual abuse of two minor victims. Investigators determined that Minor 1 was abused between the ages of 9 and 17, and Minor 2 between the ages of six and 15. During the investigation, Minor 1 disclosed that Fernandez had recorded the abuse.
A search warrant executed at Fernandez’s residence led to the seizure of multiple cellphones and a laptop. The laptop contained over 500 sexually explicit images/videos of Minor 1 between 9 and 17 years of age and several images/videos of Minor 2 at 9 years old. Investigators also discovered more than 900 images of other pre-pubescent children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Fernandez is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 11, and faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison on each of the production counts and 20 years on the possession count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Fernandez is subject to deportation after he is sentenced.
U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Brett D. Skiles of the FBI Miami, Field Office announced the charges.
FBI Miami investigated the case, with substantial assistance from the Miami Beach Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elena Smukler and Audrey Pence Tomanelli are prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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 to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 24-cr-20406.
Las Vegas Man Pleads Guilty To Unlawful Possession Of Privately Manufactured AR-15 Pattern Pistol
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
LAS VEGAS – A Las Vegas resident who has multiple prior felony convictions pleaded guilty today to unlawful possession of an unserialized, privately manufactured AR-15-pattern pistol. A privately manufactured firearm without a serial number is sometimes called a “ghost gun.”
According to court documents and statements made in court, on or about October 20, 2023, Noel Lynn Waters unlawfully possessed a loaded, privately manufactured 5.56x45mm semi-automatic pistol incorporating an AR-15-pattern lower receiver. He further admitted that he pointed the firearm at another person and threatened he was going to “shoot everybody.”
Waters has multiple prior felony convictions in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. He was previously convicted of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person in Clark County, Nevada. Additionally, he was previously convicted of possession of controlled substance for sale; unlawful possession or use of tear gas; felon in possession of a firearm; possession of a controlled substance while armed with a firearm; and transportation, furnishing or sale of controlled substance, all in Los Angeles County. He is prohibited by law from possessing a firearm.
Waters pleaded guilty to one-count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. He faces a maximum statutory penalty of 15 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for January 14, 2026, before United States District Judge James C. Mahan. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting United States Attorney Sigal Chattah for the District of Nevada and Acting Special Agent in Charge Robert Topper, San Francisco Field Division, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) made the announcement.
The ATF and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Dan Cowhig is prosecuting the case.
Anyone with information about unlawful firearms activity should call ATF at 1-888-ATF-TIPS (1-888-283-8477), email ATFTips@atf.gov or submit an anonymous tip at www.reportit.com/.
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Brazilian National Sentenced for Conspiracy to Obtain Driver’s Licenses for Ineligible Applicants
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Defendant conspired to fraudulently apply for driver’s licenses for more than 1,000 individuals who resided in states that prohibited illegal aliens from obtaining licenses
BOSTON – A Brazilian national illegally residing in Waterbury, Conn. was sentenced on Sept. 26, 2025 for conspiring to obtain driver’s licenses for ineligible applicants, principally illegal aliens.
Cesar Agusto Martin Reis, 28, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman to time served (290 days in prison). The defendant is now subject to deportation proceedings. In June 2025, Cesar Agusto Martin Reis pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to unlawfully produce and possess with intent to transfer identification documents and one count of possession with intent to use or transfer unlawfully identification documents. In December 2024, Cesar Agusto Martin Reis was charged along with four co-conspirators.
From in or about November 2020 through in or about September 2024, Cesar Agusto Martin Reis and his alleged co-conspirators fraudulently procured driver’s licenses for illegal alien customers who resided in states that prohibited illegal aliens from obtaining driver’s licenses. Prior to July 2023, illegal aliens residing in Massachusetts were not permitted to obtain Massachusetts driver’s licenses. Beginning in 2019, illegal aliens residing in New York became eligible to obtain New York driver’s licenses. Cesar Agusto Martin Reis and his alleged co-conspirators conspired to fraudulently obtain New York driver’s licenses for illegal alien customers who did not reside in New York, including Massachusetts residents, and after July 2023 to fraudulently obtain Massachusetts driver’s licenses for illegal alien customers who did not reside in Massachusetts. In exchange for fraudulently obtaining the driver’s licenses, Cesar Agusto Martin Reis and his alleged co-conspirators typically charged approximately $1,400 per customer. On Feb. 4, 2024, Cesar Agusto Martin Reis was found with 50 of these fraudulently produced driver’s licenses during a traffic stop in Bedford, Mass.
In New York, before obtaining a driver’s license, applicants were required to pass a written permit test and complete driver’s education coursework from a New York driving school. Online permit test-takers were required by the New York Department of Motor Vehicles (NY DMV) to take a picture of themselves with a web camera during the test. This was to ensure that the test-taker was indeed the applicant and that there was not a person sitting with and helping the applicant with the test.
To avoid the customers having to take the permit tests, Cesar Agusto Martin Reis and his alleged co-conspirators obtained several pictures of the customers sitting down, making it look as if the customers were taking the tests. Cesar Agusto Martin Reis conspired with his alleged co-conspirators to complete the permit tests for the customers online and, when prompted by the NY DMV to take pictures during the tests, and to upload the pictures that the customers previously provided – purporting to show that it was the customers who were taking the tests, not the defendants. The defendants also allegedly created fraudulent driver’s education certificates of completion, purportedly from New York driving schools, forged the signatures of driving school staff on the fake certificates and gave these documents to the customers to provide to the NY DMV.
The NY DMV also required that applicants appear at a NY DMV location and provide documents to prove their identity and residence in New York. Cesar Agusto Martin Reis conspired with his alleged co-conspirators to meet Massachusetts-based customers at locations in Massachusetts – typically several customers at a time – and drive them to NY DMV branch locations. When they arrived at the NY DMV locations, the defendants allegedly gave the customers fraudulent documents falsely purporting to demonstrate that the customers resided in New York. The customers provided these fake records to the NY DMV staff, and the NY DMV relied on the misrepresentations to issue New York driving permits to the customers. Cesar Agusto Martin Reis conspired with his alleged co-conspirators to arrange for the NY DMV to mail the permits to locations in New York that were controlled by the defendants and provided the permits to the customers in-person. Additionally, the defendants allegedly conspired to schedule road driving license tests for the customers with the NY DMV and, again, drive the customers to New York for them to take the road tests. If the customers passed the tests, the NY DMV sent the driver’s licenses to mailing addresses in New York that the defendants allegedly controlled, and the defendants then provided the licenses to the customers.
The defendants allegedly conspired to obtain Massachusetts driver’s licenses for out-of-state residents, in generally the same manner as they allegedly obtained the New York licenses for Massachusetts residents. In Massachusetts, the defendants allegedly conspired to fraudulently obtain purported foreign passports to provide to the customers to use as proof of identity with the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles in support of customer driver’s license applications.
Collectively, Cesar Agusto Martin Reis and his alleged co-conspirators fraudulently applied for licenses for more than 1,000 customers, obtained licenses for more than 600 of the customers, and collected at least hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The charge of conspiracy to unlawfully produce and possess with intent to transfer identification documents carries a sentence of up to five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of possession with intent to use or transfer unlawfully identification documents, carries a sentence up to 15 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; and Kelly Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the NY DMV Division of Field Investigation; the Boston, Danbury (Conn.) and Waterbury (Conn.) Police Departments; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut; and the New York State Inspector General’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan O’Shea of the Worcester Branch Office is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Phoenix Man Charged After Seizure of 36 Pounds of Methamphetamine, Cocaine, and 3 Firearms
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
PHOENIX, Ariz. – Last week, John Avendano, 21, of Phoenix, Arizona, was charged by federal criminal complaint in Phoenix, Arizona with Possession with the Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine.
According to the complaint, on September 22, a Task Force Officer with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) East Valley Drug Enforcement Task Force conducted a traffic stop on a Chevrolet Silverado and identified John Avendano as the driver. Inside the Silverado, investigators seized a firearm and approximately 30 pounds of methamphetamine, which was hidden in a black trash bag in the truck.
Investigators subsequently searched Avendano’s residence and found over 5 pounds of methamphetamine, approximately 250 grams of cocaine, and two additional firearms.
Possession with the Intent to Distribute 500 Grams or More of Methamphetamine carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years to life in prison, and a fine of up to $10,000,000.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
The DEA’s East Valley Drug Enforcement Task Force HIDTA conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stuart Zander, District of Arizona, Phoenix, is handling the prosecution.
A criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
CASE NUMBER: 25-MJ-9417-PHX-ESW
RELEASE NUMBER: 2025-157_Avendano
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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.
Convicted Felon Who Possessed a Gun While Awaiting Sentencing on a Federal Firearms Charge Sentenced to Federal Prison Again
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
A convicted felon who illegally possessed a firearm as a felon was sentenced on September 26, 2025, to nearly five years in federal prison.
Edward Earl Roby, Jr., age 28, from Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after a May 13, 2025 guilty plea to possession of a firearm by a felon.
In July 2021, Waterloo law enforcement officers discovered a gun in Roby’s car during a traffic stop. In December 2021, Roby plead guilty in federal court in Cedar Rapids to being a felon in possession of a gun for the July 2021 incident. Roby was allowed to remain released after his guilty plea.
In February 2022, while he was awaiting sentencing in federal court, law enforcement officers found Roby in a car that had been reported as being involved in a shots fired incident. Shortly after 4:00 a.m. on February 6, 2022, officers responded to the scene of a shooting after a report that the shots had been fired from a red car. Officers saw such a car and attempted to stop it. The car fled from officers. After a short chase, the car stopped. Officers found three people inside, including Roby who was in the backseat.
Law enforcement officers retraced the path of the chase. While doing so, they found a .40 caliber Smith & Wesson handgun in a Crown Royal bag along the path. It was laying on top of a snowbank and appeared to have been thrown there recently. Officers also recovered six .40 caliber shell casings from near the scene of the shooting. The .40 caliber Smith & Wesson had a six-capacity magazine attached to it. The magazine was empty. Later DNA testing revealed that Roby’s DNA was on the slide and grip of the handgun.
Roby was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Dickerson was sentenced to 57 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
In July 2022, Roby was sentenced to 41 months’ imprisonment for the case related to his possession of a firearm in July 2021.
Roby is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Morfitt and investigated by a Federal Task Force composed of the Waterloo Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms assisted by the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office and Cedar Falls Police Department.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file numbers are 21-CR-2057 and 25-CR-02015.
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