The director of the school lunch program for the government of the U.S. Territory of American Samoa was convicted last week on charges of witness tampering and obstruction of justice in relation to a bribery scheme investigated by the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Education, the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of the Interior and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Hawaii, according to a news release distributed by the Department of Justice.

A D.C. federal jury found Paul Solofa guilty of one count of witness tampering and one count of obstruction of justice after a four-day trial.

Federal authorities began investigating allegations of cash bribes and kickbacks paid by vendors to American Samoa government officials in relation to the purchase of school bus parts and services, according to evidence presented at trial.

According to trial evidence, Solofa met with a school bus parts vendor in early 2009 who informed Solofa that the FBI planned to interview the vendor regarding the bus parts investigation. Solofa allegedly told the vendor in a recorded conversation, "They cannot do anything with cash. Nothing. They cannot do anything with cash. . . . So you know, but the best thing for you to do is ‘nope, I never give them any cash'. . . . All you do is just tell them ‘no, yes, no, yes."

Several days after the recorded conversation, Solofa again met with the bus parts vendor who informed Solofa that a grand jury subpoena would be issued requiring production of specific documents and records relating to the bus parts kickbacks scheme. Solofa told the vendor that, in regards to documents he did not want to produce, "[t]he only way to do it with those copies is burn it. That way, they won't see it, and you won't worry that they might see it, you know. . . . Just burn it, and nobody has a copy."

Sentencing is scheduled for late April. Solofa faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 on the witness tampering charge and 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the obstruction of justice charge.

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Robert Mueller named Ralph Boelter assistant director of the FBI's Counterterrorism Division, according to a recent FBI news release.

Boelter first became a special agent with the FBI in 1991 in the FBI's Boston Division where he was charged with investigating white-collar crime, violent crime and criminal enterprise matters. Boelter was later promoted in 1997 to the FBI's Criminal Investigative Division where he oversaw violent crime investigations, FBI said.

In March 2000, Boelter was transferred to FBI's Los Angeles Division to supervise the Long Beach Resident Agency's Violent Crime and Criminal Enterprise Branch. The next year, Boelter was named acting assistant special agent in charge of the branch.

Boelter was later promoted to an inspector position at FBI Headquarters in 2005 where he would oversee the assessments of FBI offices worldwide. He also served as special agent in charge of the Minneapolis Division and most recently served as acting assistant director of the Counterterrorism Division.

Baltimore City police officers Jimmy Shetterly, Frank Schneider and Manuel Moro were on patrol when they pulled over a car in which Travis Gaines was a passenger. Noticing that Gaines was attempting to climb over the seat, officers immediately directed him to exit the vehicle and patted him down and discovered that Gaines had a firearm in the process. A scuffle followed in which Gaines struck two of the officers and Gaines' firearm fell out of his waistband. Gaines was charged in state court on assault charges and in federal court on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm. However, because it was found that the initial stop of the vehicle and the pat down of Gaines were unlawful, the gun evidence was suppressed.

On Jan. 26, 2010, Baltimore City police officers Shetterly, Schneider and Moro were on patrol in a marked police cruiser in Baltimore, Md. The officers observed a passing white Ford Crown Victoria. The officers activated their emergency lights and pulled the vehicle over. The officers later testified that the vehicle had a cracked windshield, which they claimed served as their justification for initiating a stop. After activating their lights, the officers observed Gaines, who had been a passenger, attempting to climb over the front seats. Officers directed Gaines to exit the vehicle. Gaines complied and Shetterly immediately initiated a pat down.

During the pat down, Shetterly felt the trigger guard and handle of a firearm and yelled "gun" to alert the other officers of the potential danger. Gaines then struck Shetterly in the face and turned to flee; at this time, Shetterly visually observed what he clearly identified as an exposed silver and black firearm protruding from Gaines' waistband. In the ensuing scuffle, the officers pushed Gaines into the open trunk of the Crown Victoria and were able to handcuff him. Gaines' firearm, a .380 semi-automatic pistol, fell into the trunk.

Before the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, Gaines was indicted on one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). Prior to trial, Gaines moved to suppress the firearm on the grounds that the initial stop and subsequent search violated the Fourth Amendment.

The district court granted the motion to suppress, holding that the traffic stop was not supported by reasonable suspicion and was accordingly unlawful. The court found that the officers could not have seen the very slight crack in the lower right portion of the Crown Victoria's windshield. The district court further ruled that "Gaines' assault of Officers Shetterly and Schneider did not purge the taint of the unlawful stop in a manner sufficient to allow the gun to be admitted into evidence against Gaines. Critical to the court's analysis was the ‘clear and undisputed' sequence of events that led to the seizure of the firearm: Gaines was ordered out of the vehicle and patted down, the gun was discovered, and only then did Gaines attack the officers."

The government appealed the suppression to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The court of appeals affirmed the district court's ruling.

On appeal, the government conceded that the initial stop was unlawful. However, the government argued that because Gaines had subsequently engaged in a new, distinct crime by assaulting officers, evidence of Gaines' gun possession attained subsequent to the assault was admissible. The government supported its proposition by citing precedent stating that where an "arrest for [a] new, distinct crime is lawful, evidence seized in a search incident to that lawful arrest is admissible." United States v.Sprinkle, 106 F.3d 613, 619 (4th Cir. 1997). Thus, the Government asserted, Gaines' assault on officers purged any taint caused by the unlawful nature of the initial stop.

Gaines, however, argued that the firearm was discovered before any illegal activity and thus discovery of the gun could not be attenuated by an intervening criminal act.

The court of appeals agreed with Gaines, finding that not only had the discovery of the gun been made before the subsequent illegal act, but the unlawful discovery of the gun had in fact been the cause of the subsequent illegal act.

Accordingly, the court of appeals held that the discovery of the gun could not be admitted into evidence against Gaines because the causal chain originating with an illegal stop had not been broken.

However, the court of appeals found it important to note that despite suppression of the gun evidence, assault charges had been brought against Gaines in the Maryland state courts, and took no action which would appear to halt those proceedings. Thus, although the gun evidence was inadmissible, it appeared to the court of appeals that the state court assault charges could remain as a result of Gaines' subsequent illegal act.

The case, United States v. Gaines, can be read here.

Date: Thursday, February 9, 2012
Time: Noon Eastern
Duration: 15 Minutes, Followed by a Question-and-Answer Session

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The Funniest Fed column series features interviews with current and former participants in the Funniest Fed Competition, a comedy competition where federal employees and members of the military perform original standup routines in front of a live, voting audience in an effort to nab the title of "D.C.'s Funniest Federal Employee."

This week we meet Sean Whitfield, a Fed for the last four and a half years at the Department of Defense and a two-time Funniest Fed competitor.

How and why did you get into comedy?

It goes back to high school. I never did straight-up, standup comedy, but I was on the student council so I was constantly giving speeches. I would use humor to 1) get elected and 2) get people to listen to what I was saying.

Then I realized the only part I liked was the actual speaking part. I got into the D.C. Improv's Funniest College Competition, made it to the finals pretty much every year. It was just something that I off and on like to do, not regularly like some of the other people up there.

Could you tell us about your experience with the Funniest Fed competition?

The Funniest Fed competition has been an awesome experience to be a part of. I've watched people get on stage for the first time ever, and, in the same show, see some of the funniest people in the area perform. And they all happen to work for the government! It's an interesting theme for a competition since government workers are typical seen as boring bureaucrats and here are a whole bunch of them cracking up an audience of people. Everyone has always been welcome, no matter the level of experience and everyone has come away with a cool story to tell.

Can you give us an example of one of your "clean" jokes?

Actually most of my jokes are fairly clean; I have to be able to say them in front of my mom. She will come to these events and she is very, very conservative.

How do you calm your nerves before going on stage?

Usually I listen to music; I have my headphones and zone out, not really talk to anyone.

Sometimes I listen to the other comedians. It's just good to hear everyone in that laughing mood. Listening to jokes, sometimes that's just enough to get loosened up.

Do you have any other hobbies or interests?

Well, I am one of the biggest nerds I've ever known. So, anything that's considered nerdy I find myself getting interested in, whether it's comic books, movies, Harry Potter.

And Star Wars. Definitely Star Wars.

What was your favorite childhood costume?

When I was a kid I was a ninja turtle three years in a row. But this past year I went as Zombie Colonel Sanders. The year before that I was Zombie Santa.

There's a theme, obviously.

Do you think there is a fashion trend that should be brought back - or one that should be killed now?

Well that's actually one of my jokes that I have. When I was in high school I weighed about 110 pounds and the trend was to wear pants as baggy as possible. Now I'm 220 pounds and the trend is to wear pants as tight as possible. So I'm pretty sure fashion hates me.

You can see Sean compete live at the 2012 Funniest Fed competition.

2012 Funniest Fed® Competition Dates:

May 9, 2012: Round 1 at the Riot Act
May 16, 2012: Round 2 at the Riot Act
May 30, 2012: Round 3 at the Riot Act
June 13, 2012: Semifinals at the Riot Act
June 22, 2012: Finals (Location TBD) in D.C.

Funniest Fed® is still accepting applications for the 2012 competition but slots fill up quickly. To apply, please visit the Funniest Fed website.

Auditions will take place the first two weekends in March at the Riot Act Comedy Club in D.C., located at 801 E St. N.W., Washington, D.C.

The Funniest Fed® is brought to you by GEICO. But there is nothing funny about our federal discount. Tell GEICO you are a federal employee and see how much you could save on auto insurance.