Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JALEN C. VALDERY (“VALDERY”), age 27, was sentenced on June 10, 2026, to two years imprisonment, two years of supervised release, and payment of a $200 mandatory special assessment fee by U.S. District Court Judge Greg G. Guidry, announced United States Attorney David I. Courcelle.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
BOSTON – A Dominican national, unlawfully residing in Lowell, Mass., was convicted by a federal jury in Boston on June 12, 2026 of conspiring to distribute narcotics, possession of fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
WASHINGTON – Today, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the City of Philadelphia, Mayor Cherelle Parker, District Attorney Lawrence Krasner, and City Solicitor Renee Garcia, challenging their unconstitutional attempt to regulate federal law enforcement officers by criminally prohibiting federal officers from wearing masks, requiring individual identifiers, and prohibiting the use of unmarked vehicles in the city. Phila. Bill No. 260060 (“Prohibition on Law Enforcement Secreting Their Identity”).
Not only is the law an illegal attempt to regulate the federal government, but, as alleged in the complaint, the law threatens the safety of federal officers who have faced an unprecedent wave of harassment, doxing, and even violence. Threatening officers with prosecution for simply protecting their identities and their families also chills the enforcement of federal law and compromises sensitive law enforcement operations.
The Bill explicitly states that “It is the intent of this Council to define the structure of the scope of duty, as well as substantive obligations of . . . federal law enforcement operating within the jurisdiction of the City of Philadelphia.” This led to the Mayor and City Solicitor openly questioning the Bill’s “significant legal problems, primarily concerning the City’s authority to regulate the conduct of federal officers when carrying out their duties under federal law.” Indeed, the City Solicitor observed that the Bill “would send an inaccurate signal to the public that the [City] can legally and practically enforce the Bill.” Nevertheless, the Bill is set to take effect next month, absent the relief sought today by the United States.
“Today we regrettably had to sue the birthplace of this great Nation,” said Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward. “But we will not sit by while Philadelphia flagrantly violates our Constitution, seeking to criminally punish our Nation’s law enforcement heroes merely for doing their job.”
“It is disappointing to see the city where our Constitution was born so egregiously violate its separation of powers by criminalizing the work that Federal officers do to keep Philadelphians safe,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Philadelphia may not regulate Federal operations and its unconstitutional attempt to do so must be stopped.”
Acting Attorney General Blanche has instructed the Department’s Civil Division to identify state and local laws, policies, and practices that facilitate violations of federal laws or impede lawful federal operations. Today’s lawsuit is the latest in a series of lawsuits brought by the Civil Division targeting illegal policies designed to thwart federal law enforcement across the country, including in Virginia, Connecticut, New Jersey, and California.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Ocala, Florida – Michael Joseph Vitoff (50, Zephyrhills) has been charged by indictment with attempted enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity and attempted production of child sexual abuse material. If convicted, he faces a minimum sentence of 10 years, up to life, on the attempted enticement offense and a minimum sentence of 15 years, up to 30 years, for the attempted production offense. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
BOSTON – Fifteen individuals, 11 illegal aliens and four U.S. Citizens, have been charged and arrested for benefit fraud in Massachusetts. The defendants are charged with more than $1.4 million in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefit fraud, MassHealth benefit fraud and disability and unemployment benefit fraud, just to name a few.
Source: United States Army
FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. – The Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Training and Innovation Facility soon will undergo modernization changes that will strengthen its readiness to train Soldiers, including creating an innovation classroom, a high-tech classroom, a simulator room, a locker room and a mock urban village for training.
Plans also call for the facility to eventually have a drone racecourse and host competitions.
“We are building this facility out so that everybody is going to get a better level of education,” said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Nathan Shea, the facility’s officer in charge. “We truly are trying to embrace building smarter Soldiers for the future Army. In addition, we’re giving them the tools and training them how to use those tools. The more tools we can put in their back pocket as they move forward, the more ready they’re going to be for future fights.”
The facility has been a beehive of activity over the last few months. On Feb. 19, a team of Soldiers from the facility won the innovation competition at the U.S. Army’s inaugural Best Drone Warfighter Competition in Alabama. Since then, activity at the facility has “exploded,” Shea said.
“We’re going through a massive amount of changes,” said Shea, who is assigned to M Company, 56th Mobile Brigade Combat Team. “This facility has become a massive hub for training, and our lab space has never been busier.”
Since the Best Drone Warfighter Competition, the UAS Training and Innovation Facility has been designated as a training site for the 15X military occupational specialty transition course and as the primary training site for drones selected in the Department of War’s Drone Gauntlet competition.
As a result of these additional programs, construction is underway on upgrades to the facility, and the number of full-time employees has increased from six to 16.
“We’ve had a lot of new people come in, a lot of building changes and a lot of equipment changes,” said Sgt. 1st Class Brent Wehr, course manager for the 15X MOS transition course. “There’s been a lot of big changes here.”
A ‘heavy lift’
The UAS facility was established in 2007. Initially, it was home to 28th Infantry Division units that used the RQ-7 Shadow, a fixed-wing UAS with a 20-foot wingspan, designed for surveillance, reconnaissance and target acquisition.
The Army stopped using Shadows in January 2024, and Soldiers at the facility then began experimenting with small, first-person view, or FPV, drones as they awaited a new mission. New missions arrived this year in the form of the 15X MOS-T course and the Drone Gauntlet training program.
Pennsylvania was selected to be one of two states, along with Mississippi, to host the 15X MOS-T course for the reserve component. The course is part of the effort to merge two MOSs, 15W (Shadow UAS operator) and 15E (UAS maintainer), Shea said.
“The idea moving forward is an operator and a maintainer will be the same thing, and that’s where we get the 15X,” Shea said.
The first class is expected to begin in October, and Shea expects six classes per year to be conducted at the UASTIF.
The Drone Gauntlet competition, meanwhile, is part of the Department of War’s “Drone Dominance” guidance issued in 2025. Through the program, the Unmanned Aircraft System Training and Innovation Facility, or UASTIF, will receive eight drones that are selected during the Drone Gauntlet, and Soldiers at the facility will receive training on the drones from their manufacturers.
The Soldiers will then train Soldiers from active- and reserve-component Army units selected to receive the drones.
The UASTIF was selected for this program because of its close relationship with Tobyhanna Army Depot in northeast Pennsylvania and Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey, as well as the work the facility was already doing in the drone space, Shea said.
“We get the new equipment training from the vendor, and then our job is to train all of active duty as well as some National Guard that have been selected for it,” Shea said. “It’s quite the heavy lift as we go through this.”
Upgrades on the horizon
With the new programs, significant changes are coming to the facility. A maintenance area that was previously converted into an innovation lab will be expanded to become an innovation classroom. The lab currently has several soldering stations and three 3D printers, with two more printers on the way.
“It’s a space where we can instruct in soldering skills, printing skills, everything like that,” Shea said. “It’s designed to be lab space for Soldiers to receive instruction and give our own people the space to work, tear apart systems, repair systems and everything else along those lines.”
The 3D printers are used to prototype drone parts or to print repair parts that may have broken on an existing drone.
Elsewhere in the facility, a high-tech classroom, a simulator room and a locker room are being added, as well as office space for the facility’s full-time personnel.
In addition to changes inside the UASTIF, several upgrades are underway outside. The facility has had an indoor drone obstacle course for about a year and recently built an outdoor course. They are both made primarily from construction materials such as lumber and PVC pipe. The indoor course is where Soldiers first start learning to fly drones, and the outdoor obstacle course was designed to mimic flying through windows and doors in an urban setting, Shea said.
In the coming weeks, a mock urban village made from shipping containers will be moved from elsewhere on Fort Indiantown Gap’s grounds to the facility’s grounds to create a UAS-specific urban operations site. Eventually, Shea said, the facility will have a drone racecourse and host competitions.
An exciting time
Wehr, who has worked at the UASTIF for six years and has been involved in UAS operations for his entire 12-year military career, said it’s an exciting time to be at the facility.
“Shadow was fun back in the day,” said Wehr, who is assigned to M Company, 56th Mobile Brigade Combat Team. “It was a more standard schedule, but with all these changes it’s definitely more exciting and more hands-on than it used to be.”
Today’s UAS operators have to know more than just how to fly one; they need to be able to fix them as well, Wehr said. The UASTIF will help Soldiers learn to do both.
“I think it’s a great facility,” Wehr said. “It’s a perfect place to learn how to fly and how to fix drones.”
The UASTIF was already a great facility, Shea said, and with all the changes coming, it’s going to be even more technologically advanced. He noted that six months ago the facility didn’t have any 3D printers or soldering stations, and its classroom space was limited.
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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Defense contractor LOGZONE Inc. of Huntsville, Alabama has agreed to pay $507,144 to resolve its liability under the False Claims Act for knowingly failing to comply with cybersecurity requirements in contracts with the Department of the Navy.
“Government contractors that obtain sensitive defense information in administering their contracts must follow required cybersecurity standards,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Justice Department will continue to investigate potential violations of these cybersecurity requirements in order to protect this critical information from external threats.”
“The protection of sensitive defense information by government contractors is critical to national security,” said U.S. Attorney Phillip W. Williams Jr. for the Northern District of Alabama. “Adherence to the cybersecurity provisions of contracts with the federal government must be a priority for all contractors, and this enforcement action should serve as a reminder of that.”
“The cybersecurity provisions of federal contracts are critical to protecting sensitive information that may be transmitted in carrying out the mission of the contracts,” said Navy Vice Admiral Stephen Tedford, Director of the Defense Contract Management Agency. “DCMA will continue to ensure that contractors are fulfilling these obligations.”
The settlement resolves allegations under the False Claims Act that LOGZONE knowingly submitted false or fraudulent claims for payment on two Navy contracts for which LOGZONE had not complied with the contracts’ cybersecurity requirements. From May 2021 to March 2025, LOGZONE allegedly failed to implement certain cybersecurity controls in National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication (SP) 800-171 that, if not implemented, could lead to significant exploitation of the system or exfiltration of sensitive defense information. These issues were identified when the Defense Contract Management Agency assessed LOGZONE’s implementation of NIST SP 800-171 security controls, which resulted in LOGZONE receiving a score of -170, at the low end of the possible score range of -203 to 110.
The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama with assistance from the Department of the Navy Office of the General Counsel, NCIS, the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division, and the Defense Contract Management Agency’s Defense Industrial Base Cybersecurity Assessment Center.
This year the Administration launched the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud and the National Fraud Enforcement Division to enhance the Administration’s war on fraud, waste, and abuse in federal programs. When unscrupulous actors exploit these programs for their own financial gain, they defraud the government, harm the people these programs are designed to aid and protect, and undermine American businesses that play by the rules. The Civil Division’s FCA enforcement plays a critical role in combatting such fraudulent schemes, recovering billions of dollars for the American taxpayers, and holding wrongdoers accountable. FCA matters will continue to be on the forefront of the battle against fraud, and the Civil Division’s FCA work will support and advance the mission of the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud and the National Fraud Enforcement Division.
The matter was handled by Fraud Section Trial Attorney Graham D. Welch and Assistant U.S. Attorney Don Long for the Northern District of Alabama.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Robert Spriggs, 38, of the District of Columbia, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 30 months in connection with his role in a conspiracy to distribute marijuana and for his unlawful possession of multiple firearms, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Source: United States Army
WEST POINT, New York -New York Army National Guard Command Sgt. Major Jonathan Cross, a Lakeview resident, is now the top enlisted leader for more than 4,000 Soldiers of the Guard’s 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.
Cross assumed responsibility as new top enlisted leader during a June 14 ceremony at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.
The brigade is headquartered in Syracuse and has units across New York and in Massachusetts.
The 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team has a long lineage of history dating back to World War I where the unit saw its first major action in 1918 in France as the then 27th Infantry Division. Nicknamed the “Orion Brigade” the unit’s name plays off the name of Maj. Gen. John F. O’Ryan, the 27th Division Commander in World War I.
The unit’s patch is designed with seven stars in red on a black circled background with a monogram NYD for New York Division in red. Black stands for iron, the red for blood.
“The mission of the Infantry remains clear, to close with and destroy the enemy,” said Cross. “This brigade exists for one reason, to fight and win our nation’s wars”, he added.
Cross deployed to Iraq in 2004 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom completing his active duty obligation then subsequently joining the New York National Guard from 2005 to 2007 before transferring to the North Carolina National Guard and deploying for a second time in his career to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
This is Cross’ second position as Command Sergeant Major. He previously served as the 2nd Squadron, 101st Cavalry Regiment senior enlisted leader.
Col. Bradley Frank, the outgoing commander of 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, presided over the ceremony and said, “you bring a well rounded foundation that will serve this brigade exceptionally well. You are known for leading from the front and getting into the mud with your Soldiers, exactly the kind of leader this formation needs.”
Frank moved out of the command position, replaced by Col. Matthew Kilgore, following the ceremony.
As brigade command sergeant major, Cross will be responsible for the readiness and training of more than 4,000 enlisted Soldiers within the 27th.
Cross, who is a Hamburg police lieutenant in civilian life, enlisted in the Army in 2002. While on active duty he served with 1st Battalion 509th, Parachute Infantry Regiment (Airborne) before leaving active duty and joining the New York Army National Guard in 2005.
In 2013, Cross transferred back to the New York National Guard serving as a Mortar Section Leader with the Alpha Troop 2nd Squadron, 101st Cavalry Regiment. In 2016, he reached the rank of first sergeant and served as top enlisted leader of Charlie Troop 2nd Squadron, 101st Cavalry Regiment.
His most recent deployment occurred in 2017 when he mobilized to Ukraine in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve, assigned to the Joint Multi-National Training Group-Ukraine.
His awards include the Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the Iraqi Campaign Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the NATO Medal, the Master Combat Infantryman Badge, Air Assault Badge, the Combat Aviation Badge, the Drivers and Mechanics Badge, and the Parachutist Badge.
Cross’ military education includes Airborne School, Warrior Leaders Course, Infantry Mortar Leaders Course, Basic Non-Commissioned Officers Course, Battalion Career Counselor Course, Route Reconnaissance Clearance Course, Maneuver Senior Leaders Course, Air Assault, Reconnaissance and Surveillance Leaders Course, the Cavalry Leaders Course, and the Sergeants Major Course.
He and his wife, Rachel, have two daughters, Alana and Ainslee
Source: United States Army
Back to U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa
VICENZA, Italy — When U.S. Army Master Sgt. Chad Spencer was a young infantry Marine deployed overseas, he wanted something simple: a comfortable place to sleep.
It was one of the small things that mattered most after long days in the field — the kind of thing people take for granted until they don’t have it.
Years later, Spencer carries that memory with him as an Army engineer. Now, when he attends planning events for exercises like Justified Accord, he looks at the mission through the lens of taking care of the next generation of service members.
That mindset helped shape discussions during the Justified Accord 2027 Initial Planning Event that took place June 8-12, when U.S., Kenyan and Tanzanian planners gathered to refine exercise requirements and explore how innovation can improve training, operations and support for multinational forces in the field.
U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) hosted the planning event that gathered U.S. military and interagency planners, as well as representatives from the Dutch army, the Czech army, Kenya Defence Forces and Tanzania People’s Defence Force, to continue developing the framework for Justified Accord 2027.
Led by SETAF-AF, Justified Accord is U.S. Africa Command’s premier exercise in East Africa. The exercise focuses on strengthening multinational readiness, improving crisis-response capabilities and building interoperability among participating forces.
“Collaboration during JA27- IPE goes far beyond event planning,” said Kenyan Brig. Gen. Samuel Kimani, the lead Kenyan planner for Justified Accord 2027. “It translates the conceptual framework established during the concept decision event into concrete, synchronized activities. This is where our practical commitment to interoperability takes root.”
Throughout the week, planners discussed exercise objectives, training locations, movement requirements, logistical support, public affairs coordination and ways to integrate technology and innovation into the exercise.
Innovation does not always mean creating something new from the ground up, according to Spencer. Sometimes, it means finding a better way to solve a familiar problem.
As an Army engineer, Spencer said that planning events provide an opportunity to look at what service members will need in the field and identify practical solutions early. That can include everything from infrastructure and life support, to how units move, communicate and sustain themselves during an exercise.
“I always think back to being a younger service member in the field,” Spencer said. “That experience is why I do what I do now to make sure troops are taken care of.”
Those discussions are especially important during an exercise like Justified Accord, where forces from multiple nations and U.S. government agencies must operate together across different locations and training environments. By identifying requirements early, planners can better support the military personnel and civilian partners who will execute the exercise on the ground.
“Through the deliberate coordination of movements, exercise locations and logistical requirements, planners ensure participants from all contributing nations can operate seamlessly as a unified force,” Kimani said. “The goal remains constant: to prepare our forces for effective and efficient crisis response by drawing on international best practices, integrating technology and innovation, and fostering mutual respect that endures long after the exercise concludes.”
The initial planning event also allowed U.S., Kenyan and Tanzanian planners to continue building relationships ahead of future planning events. Those relationships are central to the success of Justified Accord, where shared understanding and coordination are just as important as the training itself.
“We’re looking forward to working with our Kenyan and Tanzanian partners during Justified Accord,” said U.S. Army Col. Benjamin Roark, SETAF-AF’s G7 director. “During this initial planning event, we made great strides toward building a successful exercise. Bringing our partners and allies together here in Italy, including senior planners from the Kenya Defence Forces and Tanzania People’s Defence Force, helps ensure we are aligned early in the planning process.”
As planning continues, SETAF-AF and partner-nation planners will further refine training objectives, confirm support requirements and continue identifying ways to bring innovation into the exercise.
For Spencer, that work comes back to a simple idea: taking care of the people who will carry out the mission.
The same small details he remembers from his time in the field now inform how he approaches planning for others. Whether that means improved infrastructure, better coordination or new technology, the goal is to ensure participants have what they need to train effectively.
Justified Accord 2027 is scheduled to take place Feb. 19 to March 5, 2027, in Kenya and Tanzania.
About SETAF-AF
U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) prepares Army forces, executes crisis response, enables strategic competition and strengthens partners to achieve U.S. Army Europe and Africa and U.S. Africa Command campaign objectives.
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