Do you know what you are doing this summer? To find out what our National Parks have to offer, tune in to FEDtalk this Friday and start planning your trip!

A naturalized US citizen residing in Alexandria, Virginia has been sentenced to 37 months in prison for having fraudulently obtained US citizenship. Mergia Negussie Habteyes, 58, admitted to a series of lies in the naturalization process, including failure to disclose participation in persecution during the Red Terror Period in Ethiopia.

Last year, FEDagent reported on oral argument heard before the Supreme Court in Nieves v. Bartlett. This week, the Supreme Court issued its decision on that case, holding that a law enforcement officer’s probable cause to arrest an individual precludes a citizen’s First Amendment retaliatory arrest claim as a matter of law.

During my tenure as a Civilian Federal Employee, I was tuned into various Federal programs, like the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS), health options during Open Season, and other auxiliary benefits.

Benjamin Jaramillo Hernandez, 70, of Eugene, Oregon, was sentenced yesterday to 15 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release for hate crimes committed against St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Eugene, Oregon. Hernandez also possessed illegal ammunition.

Starting in early February 2015, Ronnie Cornell Cosby used his cell phone to take photos of T.L., a 15-year old runaway, post the photos to the internet, and negotiate with men who then paid Cosby to have sex with the girl in Hammond, Indiana.

As we acknowledge, remember and honor our fallen officers during National Police Week, we must also remember the loss and hardships faced by their families left behind. 

Tantalizing! Sensational! Lurid! True Crime always seems to come with an implicit exclamation point. It is a genre that documents the not normal and emphasizes the extreme. Are people drawn to the dark details of the depraved? Or to the otherness of those who dwell in this mostly hidden underworld? Or are people just relieved that they themselves have avoided these nefarious situations?

Shaun Sullivan of Merrick, New York has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud in a multimillion dollar prize promotion scam aimed at stealing money from the elderly and vulnerable groups. Sullivan sent mailings to individuals which indicated that they could claim a large cash prize in exchange for a modest fee. There was no prize, and yet victims submitted over $30 million in fees.

Recently, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Mitchell v. Wisconsin, which asks whether a state statute permitting a warrantless blood alcohol draw of an unconscious driver is authorized under the Fourth Amendment.

Weighing the pros and cons of various insurance options can be difficult.  Tune into FEDtalk this Friday for a clear explanation of the long term planning and supplemental insurance options available to federal employees.

A criminal complaint filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles alleges that three defendants, currently in German custody, were administering a sophisticated online marketplace to sell illicit goods and substances. These arrests follow a nearly two-year international investigation involving U.S. law enforcement authorities, authorities in Germany, and authorities in the Netherlands.

After waiting years for the adjudication of his case without a quorum at the MSPB, a former federal employee requested relief from the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. On April 30, 2019, the appeals court granted his motion.

The Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA) is continually committed to serving our members and the federal law enforcement community. This Police Week, FLEOA has dedicated special time and attention to pushing policy that helps the law enforcement community protect and serve their community.

Mark Steven Domingo of Reseda, California faces federal charges of providing and attempting to provide material support to terrorists. Undercover FBI agents and cooperatives foiled Domingo’s plans to commit a mass murder with improvised explosive devices (IED) in his area.

A suit against the City of Saginaw and an officer in her personal capacity for “chalking” the plaintiff’s vehicle to issue her parking tickets, alleging a violation of the plaintiff’s Fourth Amendment rights, may proceed, the Sixth Circuit recently held.

National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund releases the list of names of officers being added to the national monument this year.

Last week, President Trump signed an executive order officially moving all security clearance functions under the purview of the Department of Defense.  To find out what this change means for the process, the backlog, and the future, tune in to FEDtalk this Friday to have all of your questions answered.

During the first few weeks of the shutdown, many Feds were disappointed by news of an executive order to freeze pay for Civilian Federal Employees in 2019. Then, in an unexpected turn, Congress passed a federal pay raise in a funding bill on February 15, effectively overturning the freeze.

For over five years, Candace Marie Claiborne received tens of thousands of dollars from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to provide agents with top secret internal information. Claiborne has plead guilty to charges of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government by lying to law enforcement and background investigators and hiding her extensive contacts with and gifts from the PRC.