Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that John C. Aldrich, IV, 55, of Palmyra, NY, who was convicted of production of child pornography, was sentenced to serve 30 years prison and 10 years of supervised release by Chief U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Alisha Klinger, 45, Jamestown, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, which carry The charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of 17 years in prison and a maximum of life.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that David Sekerak Ledesma, 52, of Jamestown, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr. to distribution of controlled substances causing serious bodily injury, which carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 20 years in prison, a maximum of life, and a fine of $1,000,000.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
A Pennsylvania man was sentenced today to 38 months in prison and three years of supervised release in connection with his involvement with online groups dedicated to creating and distributing videos depicting acts of extreme violence and sexual abuse against animals.
Robert Berndt, of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty on May 6 to conspiring to create and distribute so-called “animal crush videos.”
According to court documents, Berndt conspired with others to create and distribute videos depicting acts of sadistic violence against baby and adult monkeys. The conspirators used encrypted chat applications to direct money to individuals in Indonesia willing to commit the requested acts of torture on camera.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) and U.S. Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II for the Southern District of Ohio made the announcement.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and FBI investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Mark Romley and Senior Trial Attorney Adam Cullman of ENRD’s Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Pakiz for the Southern District of Ohio are prosecuting the case.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Cahlyl Rollins, 25, of the District of Columbia. was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 60 months in prison for his role in a spree of four bombings in which he detonated explosive devices during the early morning hours outside four separate businesses in Maryland and the District causing thousands of dollars in damage, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
CAPE GIRARDEAU – A former Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper on Tuesday admitted unlawfully searching women’s cell phones during traffic stops to find nude pictures.
David McKnight, 40, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau to nine counts of deprivation of rights under color of law, namely the right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure. He admitted unlawfully searching and seizing photographs from the cell phones of seven women and unlawfully searching the phones of two more women from Sept. 12, 2023, to July 30, 2024, while on duty, in uniform and traveling in a marked Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) vehicle. During separate traffic stops of five of the victims, McKnight took their cell phones away from them and to his patrol car, claiming that he needed to confirm their identification or insurance coverage. He arrested another woman and took possession of her cellular phone incident to her arrest. He encountered another after an accident, one after a breakdown and one when she reported a careless driver. McKnight searched their phones without a warrant or probable cause to find nude images of the victims or their loved ones and then used his own cell phone to take photographs of some of the images he found.
After two victims became suspicious of his actions, they reported him to the MSHP. Forensic analysis revealed that McKnight had searched through their phones going into folders that contained nude photographs of them. Subsequent investigation revealed evidence of the other victims.
McKnight is scheduled to be sentenced on March 24, 2026.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Krug is prosecuting the case.
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
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
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
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.