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☆ Ex-FBI official arrested for alleged money laundering, Russia sanctions, taking money from former foreign agent
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Jonathan_Dienst_Byline.Jpg | Jonathan Dienst | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Charles McGonigal, 55, was arrested on Saturday after arriving at JFK airport in New York on a flight from the Middle East. From August 2017 through his retirement in September 2018, McGonigal allegedly concealed his relationship with this former foreign security officer from the FBI. Charles McGonigal, the former head of counterintelligence for the FBI’s New York office. In 2022, federal prosecutors in New York charged Deripaska with violating sanctions. McGonigal joined the FBI in 1996, and was first assigned to the New York Field Office, where he worked on Russian foreign counterintelligence and organized crime.

Allen Weisselberg, former chief financial officer for the Trump Organization, is scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday for his role in the company's sweeping 15-year tax fraud scheme. As part of his deal with prosecutors, Weisselberg could have faced added time behind bars if he did not testify truthfully at trial, which ended with the Trump Organization being convicted of all counts. Lawyers for the two Trump Organization subsidiaries charged in the case maintained during the trial that Weisselberg was the lone bad actor and the companies shouldn't be held responsible. Had Weisselberg been convicted at trial, he could have faced up to 15 years in prison. At Tuesday's sentencing hearing, the judge will decide whether Weisselberg must go to jail that day or at a later date.

☆ NYPD officers injured in machete attack near Times Square New Year’s Eve event, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Mithil Aggarwal | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Tom_Winter_Nbc_News.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Three New York City police officers were injured after being attacked with a machete near New Year's Eve celebrations in Times Square, authorities said. The suspect approached an officer and attempted to strike him over the head with the machete, Commissioner Keechant Sewell said. Multiple law enforcement officials told NBC News they were looking into whether the suspect had previously posted what they called jihadist writings online and traveled to New York to target police on New Year’s Eve. Four senior law enforcement officials told NBC News that the man had been identified as Trevor Bickford from Wells, Maine. The NYPD mounts a massive security operation every year during New Year’s Eve celebrations, with thousands of officers deployed in the area around Times Square.

A suspect in the slayings of four University of Idaho students has been taken into custody in Pennsylvania, law enforcement sources said Friday. Bryan Christopher Kohberger, 28, was apprehended in Monroe County in northeastern Pennsylvania, law enforcement sources told NBC News. Police in Moscow, Idaho, have scheduled a news conference for 1 p.m. PT, where it is expected they will reveal more details about the November murders that stunned the small college town. Three of the victims shared the home they were killed in — Goncalves, Mogen and Kernodle — while Kernodle’s boyfriend, Chapin, was staying overnight, according to investigators. An arrest comes as a “celebration of life” was planned later Friday for two of the roommates, Goncalves and Mogen.

☆ Federal prosecutors open investigation into Rep.-elect George Santos over congressional campaign
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Michael-Kosnar-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Michael Kosnar | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

Federal prosecutors in New York have opened an investigation into Rep.-elect George Santos, a law enforcement source confirmed to NBC News on Thursday. A spokesperson for Santos did not immediately respond to a request for comment. ABC News first reported the federal investigation into Santos. Last week, the New York attorney general’s office said it is “looking into a number of issues” surrounding him. The office, however, did not confirm whether it had opened an official investigation.

The FBI is analyzing shell casings found near power facilities in North Carolina and South Carolina, a law enforcement memo revealed Friday, after North Carolina gunfire led to nearly 96 hours of darkness in one county. The "target attacks" at two Duke Energy substations in Moore County, North Carolina on Saturday night knocked out power to 45,000 homes and businesses before local electricity was restored Wednesday night. No one lost power in the South Carolina shootings. So far there's no indication whether the North Carolina attacks have any connection to Wednesday night's gunfire in South Carolina, according to a law enforcement memo reviewed by NBC News. Authorities haven't publicly disclosed any possible motive for the North Carolina shooting.

Detectives probing the "targeted attacks" on two power stations last weekend that left thousands of North Carolina residents in the dark have been searching online for a possible motive, two senior law enforcement officials briefed on the matter told NBC News. Officials are also looking at other theories, such as the possibility that the attack was carried out by an ex-employee or another motive that has yet to present itself. Less than an hour later, Emily Rainey wrote on her Facebook page, "The power is out in Moore County and I know why." Patrons dine by candlelight at Red's Corner during the Moore County power outage on Dec. 5, 2022, in Southern Pines, N.C. Kaitlin McKeown / The News & Observer via APOfficials have announced that a $75,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the shooter or shooters. Meanwhile, Duke Energy reported Wednesday that power had been restored to all customers.

"Grateful for the long-overdue release of Brittney Griner today from Russian custody. "Thank you to every single person that kept Brittney Griner’s name alive #WEAREBG," tweeted one of her Phoenix Mercury teammates, Brianna Turner. The Biden administration wasn't able to secure Whelan's release because the Russian government is treating his case differently than Griner's, Biden said. “While we celebrate Brittney’s release, Paul Whelan and his family continue to suffer needlessly,” Blinken said. Share this -Link copiedWho is Viktor Bout, Russian arms dealer that the U.S. exchanged for Brittney Griner?

☆ Brittney Griner live updates: WNBA star released from Russia in a prisoner swap for Viktor Bout
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Tom_Winter_Nbc_News.Jpg | Zoë Richards | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Biden criticized Russia for “treating Paul’s case differently” than Griner’s and said that negotiations are ongoing. Biden’s administration had sought the release of both Griner and Paul Whelan. Griner’s release also marks a stunning turn of events from last month, when she began serving a nine-year sentence at a Russian penal colony more than 200 miles east of Moscow. The Whalen family has publicly criticized the Biden administration for not doing more to secure his release. People familiar with the negotiations for his release say the Russians refused to release Whelan without getting a Russian spy in return.

☆ Feds cite rarely used law to charge 12 with violent scheme to 'monopolize' business at U.S.-Mexico border
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Julia-Ainsley-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Julia Ainsley | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

The Justice Department invoked a rarely used, 132-year-old law on Tuesday to charge 12 people with running a violent and sometimes deadly scheme to “monopolize” the resale of American cars and other goods in Central America by fixing prices and retaliating against those who refused to be extorted. The Justice Department charged the group under the Sherman Act of 1890, an antitrust regulation used to break up American monopolies Standard Oil in the 1920s and AT&T in the 1970s. Those who challenged the group were met with threats, kidnappings and even death, the indictment said. The defendants’ addresses in the indictment range from the Rio Grande Valley in Texas to just across the border in Matamoros, Mexico. The indictment said the group met at the Holiday Inn in Harlingen, Texas, in March 2019 to divide $44,000 in cash.

Prosecutors in the Trump Organization tax fraud trial said in their closing arguments Friday that the former president sanctioned what became a sweeping 15-year scheme to compensate top company executives off the books. “Donald Trump is explicitly sanctioning tax fraud. “This whole narrative that Donald Trump is blissfully ignorant is just not real.”Attorneys for the defense objected to the late-trial move by the prosecution, which also mentioned Trump at the beginning of closing arguments on Thursday. The 15-count indictment in the case charges the company and longtime CFO Allen Weisselberg with scheming to defraud, tax fraud and falsifying records. Donald Trump stands next to Allen Weisselberg at a news conference in the lobby of Trump Tower on Jan. 11, 2017.

The move was criticized by some mental health professionals who said the city should focus on long-term solutions and avoid treating people who refuse. New York Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Donna Lieberman also condemned the plan. New York City continues to contend with crime on public transit. Instead, he said, the city needs sustained engagement, housing, health care support and financial assistance for those in need. “In an ideal situation, you want mental health crisis teams to be the front line.

Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump did not discipline Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg after finding out he'd been cheating on his taxes — and later gave him a raise to make up for the shortfall, the ex-CFO testified Friday. Trump's eldest sons took over control of the company following the 2016 presidential election. He pleaded guilty in August and agreed to testify truthfully against his employer in return for a five month jail sentence. Pressed by prosecutors on Friday, he said, "There was some benefits to the company but primarily it was due to my greed." Did a long time executive pay tax on the use of a company car, or a company apartment, or payments (not even taken by us as a tax deduction!)

Asked by Trump lawyer Alan Futerfas in cross-examination whether Trump or anyone else in the company gave him permission to "commit tax fraud," Weisselberg said, "No." Former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg and attorney Alan Futerfas in court in New York on Thursday. Former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg, left, arrives in court in New York on Thursday. He also agreed “to testify truthfully at the upcoming trial of the Trump Organization” or face up to five to 15 years in prison. He testified earlier Thursday that the Trump Organization cleaned up its business practices after Trump was elected president because of the extra scrutiny it was under.

Rudy Giuliani will not face criminal charges in a grand jury investigation that looked into whether he violated U.S. lobbying laws in his dealings with Ukraine, prosecutors said Monday. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch and whether he ran afoul of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Robert Costello, Giuliani’s attorney, told NBC News that he and his client are pleased with the formal decision not to bring charges in that investigation is now public. Costello, a former U.S. attorney in the office Giuliani once led, said Monday that it was unusual for prosecutors to release letters like the court filing revealing no charges against Giuliani. The judge presiding over that case, Arthur Engoron, said a decision outlining her specific "duties, powers and fees will be "forthcoming shortly."

Former President Donald Trump described in great detail Thursday night how he purportedly delivered a 2018 election win to now-Gov. Ron DeSantis by sending FBI agents to stop "ballot theft" in a major Florida county. Her comment on Twitter was in response to Trump's statement about the Florida elections that year. “The Broward County Supervisor of Elections Office has no documentation of any federal law enforcement presence during the 2018 elections,” Ivan Castro, spokesman for the Broward County Supervisor of Elections, told the newspaper. "We conclude that the November 2018 election was not efficiently and effectively conducted.

Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday reached a settlement with a group of protesters who filed a lawsuit alleging they were assaulted by his security guards outside of Trump Tower in 2015, lawyers for both sides said. We are very pleased with this outcome and are happy to finally put this matter to rest once and for all.”The suit stems from an incident in September 2015, when a group protesting then-candidate Trump’s comments about Mexican immigrants allege Trump’s security guards assaulted them on the sidewalk outside Trump’s Fifth Avenue building. The suit charges that Trump’s head of security punched one of the protesters in the head while trying to wrest away his “Make America racist again” sign. Trump’s testimony that he was in the dark about what his security officers were doing was disputed by his former lawyer Michael Cohen during his own videotaped deposition earlier this year. That testimony was also going to be played for the jury in the now-canceled trial.

The suspect accused of violently attacking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband early Friday appeared to have far-reaching and at times contradictory political positions, according to an early dive into his background. While a motive for the attack against 82-year-old Paul Pelosi was unclear Friday evening, a picture of the suspect, identified by San Francisco police as 42-year-old David DePape, began to emerge. Both DePape and Paul Pelosi held a hammer moments before a violent confrontation, Scott said. U.S. Capitol Police said in a statement that Nancy Pelosi was in Washington, D.C., with her protective detail at the time of the break-in. The family member said once inside, the suspect was trying to tie up Paul Pelosi and said they would wait “until Nancy got home.” When the suspect wasn’t looking, Paul Pelosi called 911.

Dozens of federal grand jury subpoenas have been issued in the past several months as part of the federal criminal investigation involving several people in New Jersey and the powerful Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Bob Menendez, three people familiar with the matter told NBC News. Two people familiar with the matter said one of the entities involved in the investigation is IS EG Halal of Edgewater, New Jersey. According to a filing by Lustberg, federal agents seized cellphones, computers, tablets, USB drives, business documents, notepads, a photo album, $5,943 dollars in cash, jewelry and Hana’s passport. The court filings do not specify why federal investigators conducted the search, and NBC News could not confirm whether it was tied to the current investigation involving Menendez. Federal prosecutors decided in 2018 not to retry him.

WASHINGTON — Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., is under federal criminal investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan, according to two people familiar with the matter and a spokesperson for the senator. "Senator Menendez is aware of an investigation that was reported on today, however he does not know the scope of the investigation," Menendez’s adviser Michael Soliman said Wednesday in a statement. News of the investigation was first reported by the website Semafor. A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York declined to comment. He has served in the Senate since 2006 and previously served in the House.

The Trump Organization and Weisselberg, its longtime chief financial officer, were indicted last year following a yearslong investigation into the company's financial practices by the Manhattan district attorney's office. He also agreed "to testify truthfully at the upcoming trial of the Trump Organization" or face a sentence of up to 5 to 15 years in prison, prosecutors said. Under New York law, the Trump Organization faces up to about $1.6 million in penalties if convicted on all counts. “The scheme also allowed the Trump Organization to evade the payment of payroll taxes that the Trump Organization was required to pay in connection with employee compensation,” the indictment said. The trial comes at an already perilous time for Trump and his company.

The FBI found documents containing classified intelligence regarding Iran and China at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, say two people familiar with the matter. The Washington Post was first to report that the intelligence on Iran and China was found at Trump’s Florida residence and club during the FBI’s recent search of the property. The Post reported, but NBC News has not confirmed, that “at least one of the documents seized by the FBI describes Iran’s missile program.”A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment to NBC News. During its August search of Mar-a-Lago, FBI agents took about 13,000 documents, more than 100 of them classified. Trump has denied wrongdoing in having the documents at Mar-a-Lago, and has said he declassified any documents he has, and can declassify documents by thinking about them.

☆ Russians schemed to send U.S. military technology to Russian defense sector, Justice Department says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Tom_Winter_Nbc_News.Jpg | Tom Winter | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Two Russian nationals were arrested in a scheme to obtain sensitive U.S. military electronics and technology to provide it to the Russian defense sector, prosecutors said Wednesday, noting that some of the items were found on the battlefield in Ukraine. The men sent the items to sanctioned Russian companies that serve the defense sector, according to federal prosecutors. "This network schemed to procure sophisticated technology in direct support of a floundering Russian Federation military industrial complex," Assistant FBI Director Michael Driscoll said in a statement. When Orekhov and Kuzurgasheva sought to buy the sensitive U.S. military and "dual-use technology," they falsely claimed it was going to the Russian space agency Roscosmos. In an exchange with Soto, Orekhov used colorful language to allay his concerns about dealing with Russian companies.

A French cement company has been charged in the U.S. with making $17 million in payments to the Islamic State terror group in exchange for the protection of its plant in Syria, the Justice Department said Tuesday. While no individuals have been charged, Justice Department officials said the investigation is ongoing. "We deeply regret that this conduct occurred and have worked with the U.S. Department of Justice to resolve this matter," the statement added. In 2015, Lafarge was purchased by Holcim, a company in Switzerland. Holcim added that Lafarge concealed the conduct from Holcim before and after the acquisition.

☆ Trump attorneys don't want to disclose which Mar-a-Lago documents he claims to have declassified
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Tom_Winter_Nbc_News.Jpg | Tom Winter | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Donald Trump’s attorneys said in a filing Monday night that they don’t want to disclose to a court-appointed special master which Mar-a-Lago documents they assert the former president may or may not have declassified. In a four-page letter to the special master, Trump's attorneys pushed back against Senior U.S. District Judge Raymond Dearie's apparent proposal that they submit “specific information regarding declassification” to him in the course of his review. Dearie issued an order Friday summoning both parties to the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, for a preliminary conference Tuesday. Trump's attorneys have claimed that until or unless they decide to fight the FBI search warrant or if they decide to offer it as a defense following any potential indictment, they shouldn't have to disclose details about declassification that would also be shared with the Justice Department. On his Truth Social platform last month, Trump said, “It was all declassified.” But legal experts have pointed out that it may be irrelevant whether the documents were declassified or not depending on what, if any, charges are filed.

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