Category: MIL-OSI

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

PROVIDENCE – A Warwick man has pleaded guilty in federal court in Rhode Island for production and possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), announced Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom.

Jeremy Giguere, 38, pleaded guilty on December 11, 2025, to four counts of production of child pornography and one count of possession of prepubescent child pornography. Giguere will be sentenced on February 26, 2026. The sentences imposed will be determined by a federal district judge after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

According to court documents, in September 2024, the Rhode Island Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force received a report regarding disturbing CSAM videos uploaded to Giguere’s online photo storage account, linked to devices belonging to the defendant. A state search warrant was executed at his residence on October 16, 2024. As a result of the search and through their investigation, almost five hundred CSAM videos and images were found on the defendant’s personal devices.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Julie M. White.

The matter was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Rhode Island State Police, and the Rhode Island Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc

To report suspected online child sexual exploitation and/or abuse, call the Know2Project Tipline at 1-833-591-KNOW (5669) or visit the NCMEC CyberTipline® at https://report.cybertip.org/.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

PROVIDENCE – An Irish National who was living unlawfully in the United States has pleaded guilty in federal court in Rhode Island on charges related to his role in a scheme to defraud homeowners in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, said Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom.

John O’Brien, 28, pleaded guilty on December 10,2025, to wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. O’Brien will be sentenced on March 11, 2026. The sentence imposed will be determined by a federal district judge after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

According to court documents, O’Brien and his co-conspirators induced homeowners to pay for home repairs that were unnecessary and often not completed. O’Brien falsely claimed structural problems, overstated repair needs, and misrepresented the need for the repairs and services, as well as the qualifications of his purported construction companies, including Traditional Masonry & Construction.  Investigators estimate that the scheme defrauded homeowners of more than $1.5 million.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Taylor A. Dean and Sandra R. Hebert.

The matter was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Warwick and East Providence Police Departments.

This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Rhode Island comprises agents and officers from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Marshals Service, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, U.S. Department of Labor-Office of Inspector General, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Intelligence & Analysis, and Rhode Island Police Departments in Warwick, Newport, Providence, East Providence, and Lincoln, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Rhode Island.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

MIAMI – A federal grand jury in Miami has returned a superseding indictment unsealed today charging 24 defendants with conspiring to traffic large quantities of cocaine in and around Miami-Dade County and elsewhere in the Southern District of Florida.

The eight-count superseding indictment charges the following defendants—each a resident of Miami unless otherwise indicated—with drug trafficking conspiracy and related offenses: Bienvenido Leo Rodriguez, 73; Roberto Rodriguez, 52; Alberto Leandro Curiel, 72; Pedro Gonzalez Alvarez, 48; Claudio Alberto Barrios, 55, of Miami Beach; Raimundo Antonio Roca-Naranjo, 72, of Miami Lakes; Roberto Jimenez, 53; Luis Alejandro Salcedo Rey, 54; Rolando Rodriguez Lugo, 57; Diego Diaz De La Cruz, 47; Lucia Cuadrado, 65, of Hialeah; Jorge Mahique Pareta, 64, of Hialeah; Miguel Marquez Romero, 29, of Naples; Heinrich Castillo Diaz, 47; Jose Arnaldo Bermudez, Jr., 42; Paulo Sabon Montero, 54, of Naples; Valerio Alvarez Abreu, 73, of Hialeah; Santos Saavedra, 81; Eustaquio Luis Cardoso Veliz, 63; Glenis Perez Martinez, 54; Yovanis Fernandez, 51, of Hialeah; Manuel Nuez, 55; Livan Padron Duque, 49; and Jorge Falla, 50.

“These defendants are alleged to have operated a violent drug trafficking enterprise that planned a murder for hire and smuggled kilograms of cocaine into the United States,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Violent drug trafficking organizations fuel addiction, violence and instability in American communities. The Criminal Division will aggressively pursue drug trafficking organizations that use drugs to poison our citizens and violence to protect their profits.”

“This indictment reflects months of coordinated investigative work by federal agents and the City of Miami Police Department, under Chief Morales’s leadership, targeting a large-scale cocaine trafficking conspiracy operating in South Florida,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida. “Through close, sustained collaboration, investigators disrupted a network that moved multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine, trafficked in cash and firearms, and posed a real threat to public safety. The seizures in this case and the early intervention to prevent further violence demonstrate the effectiveness of focused, partnership-driven enforcement and our shared commitment to protecting this community.”

“This takedown sends a clear and unmistakable message: drug trafficking and the violence that follows it will not be tolerated in Miami,” said Chief of Police Manuel A. Morales of the Miami Police Department. “I am extremely proud of our narcotics detectives from the Special Investigations Section and grateful for the hundreds of hours of tireless, often undercover work that led to today’s safe and successful operation. Their dedication, combined with outstanding collaboration with our partners at the FBI, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, and State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle and her team at the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, made these results possible.”

According to court records, including previously filed criminal complaints, the defendants conspired to distribute multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine throughout South Florida. During the investigation, law enforcement seized approximately seven kilograms of cocaine on April 1 and an additional 10 kilograms of cocaine on May 27.

The investigation also resulted in the seizure of significant proceeds and firearms. From Bienvenido Rodriguez’s residence, law enforcement recovered $58,214 in cash and two firearms. From Roca-Naranjo’s residence, agents seized $62,520 in cash, two firearms, and more than 100 rounds of assorted ammunition.

Roca-Naranjo, a previously convicted felon, is additionally charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon.

The superseding indictment also contains a general forfeiture allegation seeking the forfeiture of proceeds and property traceable to the charged offenses.

If convicted, Bienvenido Rodriguez, Roberto Rodriguez, Curiel, Gonzalez Alvarez, Barrios, Jimenez, Marquez Romero, Castillo Diaz, Bermudez, Jr., Cardoso Veliz, Perez Martinez, and Fernandez face up to life imprisonment.  If convicted, Salcedo Rey, Rodriguez Lugo, Diaz De La Cruz, Cuadrado, Mahique Pareta, Alvarez Abreu, and Nuez face up to 40 years in prison.  If convicted, Roca-Naranjo, Sabon Montero, Saavedra, Padron Duque, and Falla face up to 20 years in prison.

The investigation also disrupted a murder-for-hire plot in Fort Myers. According to court documents filed in the Middle District of Florida, between April 16 and 17, Marquez Romero and Sabon Montero discussed killing an individual identified by a co-conspirator in exchange for up to $30,000. Investigators learned that the co-conspirator had been hired by the intended victim’s brother to carry out the plot. Marquez Romero, Sabon Montero, and the co-conspirator exchanged multiple phone calls and arranged an in-person meeting to discuss the plan. On April 17, the conspirators met in a grocery store parking lot in Naples, where they were apprehended by the FBI with the assistance of law enforcement partners.

U.S. Attorney Reding Quiñones, Acting Assistant Attorney General Galeotti, Special Agent in Charge Brett D. Skiles of FBI, Miami Field Office, and Chief of Police Manuel A. Morales of the Miami Police Department made the announcement.

FBI Miami is investigating the case in conjunction with the City of Miami Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert J. Emery for the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorneys Jessica A. Massey and Alieu Kargbo of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section are prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney G. Raemy Charest-Turken is handling asset forfeiture.

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Miami comprises agents and officers from the FBI and the City of Miami Police Department with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.

This case is also part of DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Violent Crime Initiative to prosecute violent crimes in Miami.  The Criminal Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida have partnered, along with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, to confront violent crimes committed by gang members and associates through the enforcement of federal laws and use of federal resources to prosecute offenders and prevent violence.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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  25-cr-20253.

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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that TASHIA BRIDGES, also known as “Cheena,” 35, of Torrington and Waterbury, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 84 months of imprisonment and four years of supervised release for her role in a drug trafficking conspiracy that operated out of New Britain car dealership.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in 2024, the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force and New Britain Police Department conducted an investigation into a drug trafficking organization, headed by Wilfredo Ortiz and Michael Luisi, that was operating out of Supreme Automotive, a car dealership located at 494 Main Street in New Britain.  The investigation included the use of court-authorized wiretaps, physical and electronic surveillance, and controlled purchases of narcotics, primarily cocaine.

The investigation revealed that Bridges regularly purchased approximately 400 to 500 grams of cocaine from Luisi and then sold crack and powder cocaine to her own customers.

Bridges, Ortiz, Luisi, and several other co-conspirators were arrested on November 14, 2024.  On that date, investigators conducted court authorized searches of Supreme Automotive and other locations connected to the drug trafficking organization and seized more than five kilograms of cocaine, more than 200 grams of fentanyl, approximately 30 grams of heroin, a kilogram press, seven firearms, ammunition, approximately $75,000 in cash, and 26 vehicles.  Searches of Bridges’ residences in Torrington and Waterbury revealed nearly 250 grams of crack cocaine, a small quantity of powder cocaine, a digital scale, a 9mm firearm with an obliterated serial number, and more than $14,000 in cash.

On March 6, 2025, Bridges pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine.  She has been detained since September 11, 2025, when her federal bond was revoked after she was arrested by the Connecticut State Police and charged with drug distribution and related offenses.

Ortiz and Luisi have pleaded guilty and await sentencing.

This investigation has been conducted by the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force, Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, the U.S. Marshal Service, the Connecticut State Police, the Connecticut Department of Correction, the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles Police, and the New Britain, Hartford, West Hartford, Waterbury, Naugatuck, East Hartford, Brookfield, Milford, Norwich, Orange, North Haven, Meriden, Berlin, and Manchester Police Departments. 

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Natasha Freismuth, Reed Durham, and David Nelson.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

FAIRBANKS, Alaska – A Florida man was sentenced last week to 13 years in prison for leading a conspiracy to distribute controlled substances in Fairbanks.

According to court documents, Willie Lewis Wilson Jr., 41, of Madison, Florida, conspired with others to operate a drug trafficking organization in Fairbanks. Wilson was the leader of the organization and set up several residences for his co-conspirators to sell cocaine and methamphetamine.

In April 2025, multiple search warrants were authorized for various locations associated with the organization. Law enforcement discovered a safe maintained by Wilson filled with over 3,000 grams of methamphetamine and cocaine. Wilson used his stockpile to supply other members of the organization. 

“Mr. Wilson moved from Florida to Alaska intending to operate a drug trafficking organization and profit at the expense of our communities. That was a mistake. He will now spend over a dozen years behind bars,” said U.S. Attorney Michael J. Heyman for the District of Alaska. “My office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners and exhaust all available resources to stop the flow of dangerous drugs into Alaska.”

“Drug traffickers like Mr. Wilson prey on our communities for money and without regard for the lives they ruin,” said David F. Reames, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Seattle. “This time, the ruined life was his own as he spends the next 13 years paying his debt to society.”

Wilson’s co-defendants in this case are as follows:

Tremain Wilson, 38, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances on Oct. 30, 2025, and is scheduled to be sentenced for their role in the conspiracy on Jan. 30, 2026.

Jarkese Pridgeon, 29, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances on Oct. 30, 2025, and is scheduled to be sentenced for their role in the conspiracy on January 30, 2026.

The DEA Anchorage District Office investigated the case, with assistance from the North Pole Police Department, Fairbanks Police Department, High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Fairbanks Areawide Narcotics Team (FANT) and Anchorage Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Carly Vosacek prosecuted the case.

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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

ALBUQUERQUE – A federal jury convicted Jose Ramirez for his role in the brutal 2018 kidnapping and carjacking of his former employer in Placitas, New Mexico, following a five-day trial and approximately three hours of deliberation. The conviction comes after Ramirez evaded capture for seven years before being apprehended by law enforcement in California.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Jose Ramirez, 37, orchestrated the violent attack on July 26, 2018. A day before the incident, Ramirez met with his co-defendants in Albuquerque to recruit them for what he described as a job to “get back at his boss for firing him” and “take his boss for all he had.” At the time of the crime, Ramirez was under court supervision and wearing a GPS ankle monitoring bracelet. Hours before the kidnapping, Ramirez cut off his ankle monitor.

In the early morning hours of July 26, 2018, Ramirez and his co-defendant ambushed the victim as he left his Placitas residence. Ramirez placed the victim in a headlock with a knife to his throat while his co-defendant pistol-whipped him multiple times in the face. The victim was bound, placed in the bed of his own Ford Ranger truck, and driven to a remote compound on Pajarito Mesa. There, Ramirez held the victim captive in a shed for approximately 15 hours while attempting to extort ransom money from the victim’s family and force wire transfers to Mexico.

Late that evening, the victim was dropped off in southwest Albuquerque. He walked to a nearby gas station and asked the clerk to call 911. Following the crime, Ramirez fled and evaded capture for seven years before being arrested by law enforcement in California for drug possession.

Ramirez was convicted of conspiracy to kidnap, kidnapping, conspiracy to carjack, carjacking, using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and extortion. Following the verdict, the Court ordered that Ramirez remain in custody pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled. At sentencing, Ramirez faces no less than five years and up to life in prison.

Acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

The FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Valencia County Sheriff’s Office, Albuquerque Police Department and New Mexico Corrections Department Probation and Parole. Assistant United States Attorneys Jack E. Burkhead and Sarah Mease are prosecuting the case.