BOSTON, Massachusetts, Dec. 21 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: (NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y.) - Niagara County District Attorney Brian D. Seaman, Special Agent in Charge Frank A. Tarentino III of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) New York Division, Niagara Falls Police Department (NFPD) Chief of Police John Faso, and New York State Police (NYSP) Acting Superintendent Dominick Chiumento announced the arres  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Dec. 21 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts issued the following news release on Dec. 20, 2023: A Braintree man pleaded guilty today in connection with an elaborate money laundering conspiracy. Chengzou Liu, 36, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering as well as possession with intent to distribute marijuana. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani scheduled sentencing for April 24, 2024. In July 2022, Liu was charged al  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Dec. 22 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts issued the following news release: Pharmaceutical company Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical, Inc. (Ultragenyx) has agreed to pay $6 million to resolve allegations that it caused the submission of false claims to Medicare and Medicaid. The settlement concerns Ultragenyx paying for free genetic tests for patients and buying test result information to induce prescriptions of Crysvita. Ultragenyx is a phar  more

PASADENA, California, Dec. 21 (TNSres) -- NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory issued the following news: When it comes to influencing climate change, the world's smallest ocean punches above its weight. It's been estimated that the cold waters of the Arctic absorb as much as 180 million metric tons of carbon per year - more than three times what New York City emits annually - making it one of Earth's critical carbon sinks. But recent findings show that thawing permafrost and carbon-rich runoff fro  more

LIVERMORE, California, Dec. 21 -- The U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory issued the following news release on Dec. 20, 2023: Christopher Land has been selected as Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) general counsel, Lab Director Kim Budil announced today. His appointment is effective Jan. 16, 2024. As general counsel, Land will be responsible for providing the legal expertise necessary to support LLNL's national security mission, protect and utilize in  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 22 -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Coast Guard issued the following news: By AJ Pulkkinen, MyCG Team writer The Commandant has directed the creation of new field commands in the marine safety and response communities. Eight National Centers of Expertise (NCOEs) and 18 Marine Safety Units (previously Marine Safety Detachments) will be individual field commands. "These new commands will create greater leadership opportunities ... and provide increased professional d  more

NEW HAVEN, Connecticut, Dec. 21 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut issued the following news release on Dec. 20, 2023: Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that BRANDON BATISTE, also known as "B," 36, last residing in Chicopee, Massachusetts, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Omar A. Williams in Hartford to 504 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for kidnapping and murd  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Dec. 20 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Fourteen members of a major drug organization that trafficked hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and fentanyl in the Charlotte area and illegally possessed firearms in support of that operation were sentenced today, following a two-year investigation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), announced Dena J. King, U.S  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Dec. 21 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: TAMPA, Fla. - United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced that Eliezer De Leon-Lopez (38, Guatemala), a/k/a "Wiro Loco" and "Daniel Martinez," pleaded guilty today to conspiring to import cocaine into the United States. He faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been s  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Dec. 21 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: TAMPA, Fla. - United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced that Nestor Hugo Gomez-Garcia (38, Colombia), a/k/a "Simon," "Guava," and "Guavita," pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute cocaine on vessels subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. He faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison. A  more

MALDEN, Massachusetts, Dec. 22 -- The Massachusetts Executive Office of Education issued the following news release on Dec. 20, 2023: The Healey-Driscoll Administration announced this morning at the Mystic Valley YMCA that they are awarding $850,000 to four organizations to increase access to evidence-based and culturally responsive literacy supports for Massachusetts preschoolers, enhancing school readiness and future academic achievement. These initiatives include coaching and professional de  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Dec. 21 -- Gov. Maura Healey, D-Massachusetts, issued the following news release: Governor Maura T. Healey today nominated Jennifer Currie for Massachusetts Juvenile Court. Her nomination will now be considered by the Governor's Council for confirmation. "I'm excited to nominate Attorney Currie to our Juvenile Court," said Governor Healey. "She is deeply committed to her work and has significant experience supporting both children, families and attorneys involved with th  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Dec. 21 -- The Massachusetts Department of Revenue issued the following mid-month revenue report on Dec. 20, 2023: Mid-Month Revenue reports display how much tax revenue has been collected halfway through a given month by the Massachusetts Department of Revenue. * * * Please note: Revenue collections are uneven and weighted toward month-end, and the brief period covered in the mid-month does not provide sufficient data for comparison to prior years. Therefore, the Depar  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Dec. 21 -- The Massachusetts Department of Transportation issued the following news release: The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is reaching out to vendors to establish a network of reliable fast charging stations for electric vehicles (EV) on state roadways. A Request for Responses (RFR) has been issued which will result in a list of pre-qualified vendors from which MassDOT may select one or more vendors to enter into a pre-development agreement, ob  more

TRENTON, New Jersey, Dec. 21 -- New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin issued the following news release on Dec. 20, 2023: The Office of the Attorney General and the Division of Consumer Affairs today announced that the Bureau of Securities has joined a multi-state settlement with two Florida- based broker-dealers that have agreed to pay at least $8.25 million in refunds to investors who were charged unreasonable commission fees on small-dollar transactions. In New Jersey, investors aff  more

NEW YORK, Dec. 21 -- New York Attorney General Letitia James issued the following news release on Dec. 20, 2023: New York Attorney General Letitia James led a coalition of attorneys general and localities in submitting an amicus brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in the case of Kentucky v. EPA (https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/amicus-curiae/air-pollution-amici-br.pdf) to defend the U.S Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) authority under the Clean Air Act to ensure  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Dec. 21 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: HARTFORD, Conn. - Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that RONIER SANCHEZ ALONSO, 47, of Naucalpan, Mexico, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to 48 months of imprisonment for his role in a cocaine trafficking conspiracy. According to court documents a  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Dec. 20 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - A 54-year-old legal permanent resident of Mexico residing in San Antonio has been sentenced for possession with intent to distribute meth and failure to appear, announced Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux of the Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani. Abel A  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Dec. 21 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: ST. LOUIS - A Slovakian man was indicted this week on charges that accuse him of running a darknet market that sold drugs and stolen personal information. Investigators have shut down the market. Alan Bill, 30, of Bratislava, was charged by complaint in U.S. District Court in St. Louis Dec. 14. Bill was arrested Dec. 15 at the Newark Liberty  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Dec. 20 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - A Springfield, Mo., man has pleaded guilty in federal court to his role in a drug-trafficking conspiracy after receiving a delivery of approximately 30 pounds of methamphetamine from California. Saul Fernandez, 29, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool on Dec. 13, 2023, to one count of conspiracy to   more

NEW YORK, Dec. 21 -- New York Mayor Eric Adams issued the following transcript of a television interview on Dec. 20, 2023, by Errol Louis of NY1's "Inside City Hall": * * * Errol Louis: Welcome back to Inside City Hall. As we told you before the break the City Council passed two high profile bills today. The first requires NYPD officers to report some low level encounters with the public, the second would ban solitary confinement in most forms in city jails. Both of these have veto proof major  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Dec. 21 -- The University of Massachusetts System issued the following news release on Dec. 20, 2023: The University of Massachusetts today announced that the top 10 percent of the Commonwealth's future community college graduates will receive a minimum of $5,000 per year above federal and private financial aid if they enroll at one of the four nationally ranked UMass campuses in Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth and Lowell. The Community College Advantage Scholarship (CCAS) is  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Dec. 21 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: CONCORD, N.H. - A Vermont man pleaded guilty in federal court in Concord to conspiring to distribute a controlled substance in New Hampshire, U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young announces. Lamar Carter, 32, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, namely, cocaine base, also known as crack cocaine. U.S. District  more

BURLINGTON, Vermont, Dec. 22 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Vermont issued the following news release: The United States Attorney's Office stated that Ryan Goodrich, 38, of Athens, Vermont, was sentenced in the United States District Court in Rutland on December 20, 2023, following his guilty plea to being a prohibited person in possession of firearms. Chief United States District Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford sentenced Goodrich to 60 months' imprisonment to be followed by   more