News Releases and Statements

Peter Picone, 42, of Methuen, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty on June 3, 2014, to conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit military goods. In addition to his prison term, Picone must pay $352,076 in restitution to the 31 companies whose circuitry he counterfeited, and to forfeit $70,050 and 12,960 counterfeit integrated circuits.

Gerald Dean Campbell, 65, from Odessa, Texas, was arrested Sept. 28 by special agents with U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) based on a federal criminal complaint charging him with engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places. The federal charge stems from his alleged activity in the late 1990s and early 2000s when he was general manager at an orphanage in Malawi.

According to the information in the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, Joseph Neil Bronson, 35, responded to an advertisement on an Internet-based website Sept. 30.

According to the information in the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, Joseph Neil Bronson, 35, responded to an advertisement on an Internet-based website Sept. 30. The advertisement was listed as an escort service specializing in young girls in Puerto Rico.

Acting on a tip, BLM rangers discovered the first illegal grow operation Sept. 15 on National System of Public Lands managed by BLM along the Dolores River corridor between Gateway and Naturita, Colorado. They discovered more than 1,200 fully mature marijuana plants, many exceeding six feet tall, along with 211 kilograms (465 pounds) of dried marijuana and a rifle.

Gerald Dean Campbell, 65, from Odessa, Texas, was arrested Sept. 28 by special agents with U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) based on a federal criminal complaint charging him with engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places.

Jose Alvarado is wanted in Coahuila, Mexico, in connection with the 2002 murder of Saul Chavez Rodriguez. The Procuraduria General de Justicia del Estado (PJGE) in Mexico issued a warrant for his arrest March 10, 2015.

Secretary May toured C3 and met with HSI Deputy Executive Associate Director Derek Benner, who said, “It was an honor and pleasure to meet with Secretary May. ICE welcomes dignitaries and visitors who share our interest in protecting not only our own people, but all victims or potential victims of predators and thieves who do their dirty work from cyberspace.

Brian Sze, 34, of Seattle, was arrested Sept. 29 without incident at his residence. He is also facing related state charges in Ohio.

The judge also ordered him to forfeit the laptop computer and cellphone that he had used to commit the offense. Nicholas Mitko Clark, 22, of Yulee, pleaded guilty Jan. 13, 2015.

Jurors heard testimony that Marcos Garcia, 40, was a commercial truck driver.

Samir Wadi, 41, of Sedona, was taken into custody just prior to boarding an outbound flight. Investigators noted that the defendant, who was free on bond awaiting trial on child pornography charges in Yavapai County, was traveling with a large amount of luggage and left his luxury vehicle unlocked in the airport parking lot with the keys inside.

HSI special agents contacted the DPF in Sorocaba, Brazil advising of a male suspect from Sorocaba who allegedly stored more than 10,000 files of child pornography on the Internet.

The indictment and eventual conviction was initiated by a Montana Highway Patrol traffic stop on Angel Iturbe-Gonzales, 37, in Gallatin County in April 2014. During the stop, Gonzales consented to a drug dog being run around his vehicle.

U.S. District Judge George P. Kazen sentenced Anselmo Venegas, 61, from Laredo, Texas to 100 months in federal prison to be followed by 20 years of supervised release. Upon release from prison, Venegas will also be required to register as a sex offender.

Three hundred police officers, prosecutors and corrections officers from the province of Córdoba, Argentina, participated in training last week to help them combat cross border crime. The training was hosted by the ICE HSI Buenos Aires Attaché Office and the Department of State's International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Bureau.

Four different USPHS teams responded to the call and joined thousands of U.S. civilians and military members, as well as individuals from the international community, to contain this rapidly spreading, often fatal, disease. Six IHSC USPHS officers deployed in support of this Ebola mission and on Sept. 29 at ICE headquarters in Washington, D.C., they recounted their experiences.

“I am pleased to welcome our new IMAGE partners,” said Ricardo Mayoral, deputy special agent in charge of HSI San Juan, who has been working closely with company officials in the IMAGE participation process.

ICE officers arrested 21 previously convicted criminal aliens in an enforcement action targeting at-large criminal aliens and individuals who pose a threat to public safety. Officers from ICE's ERO field office in Washington, D.C. made the arrests throughout Virginia from Sept. 20 to 24. Criminal convictions in the group include felony drug charges, driving under the influence, prescription fraud and weapons crimes.

The Centre Pomidou welcomed the 1911 Picasso painting “La Coiffeuse” home last week after a prolonged absence from the museum’s archives.

The investigation into the smuggling ring began in August 2014 after HSI and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) identified a Mexican woman attempting to smuggle four minor unaccompanied children at the San Ysidro Port of Entry.

Leaders from law-enforcement agencies around the world attended the Interpol-led global meeting to discuss negative impacts of counterfeiting, emerging trends in IP theft and best practices to enforce trademark and copyright regulations.

Cesar Amauri Cruz-Marin, 42, was previously removed from the United States in November 2009. According to Salvadoran authorities, after his return to El Salvador, Cruz shot three men in the head in December 2010 and then fled. He subsequently illegally reentered the United States at an unknown time and was arrested by a U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force Oct. 23, 2014, in Madison, Tennessee.

Anthony Pledger, aka “Polo,” “Polo B,” and “Jaden,” 27, and of Boston, Massachusetts, was sentenced to 15 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. In February 2015, Pledger pleaded guilty to two counts of sex trafficking of two minor women after being indicted in February 2014.

ICE's top 5 news stories for the week ending September 25, 2015