Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent Charged With Obstruction of Justice, Perjury, Conversion and Other Crimes; Former Task Force Officer Also Charged

A Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) special agent was charged in an indictment unsealed yesterday with obstruction of justice, perjury, falsifying records in a federal investigation, seeking and receiving an illegal gratuity, conversion of property by an officer or employee of the United States and removing property to prevent seizure and conspiracy.  A former DEA task force officer was also charged.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey S. Sallet of the FBI’s New Orleans Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Monte Cason of the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General’s (DOJ-OIG) Dallas Field Office and Chief Inspector Brian M. McKnight of the DEA’s Office of Professional Responsibility (DEA-OPR) made the announcement.

Chad A. Scott, 49, of Covington, Louisiana, the DEA special agent, and Rodney P. Gemar, 41, of Ponchatoula, Louisiana, the former task force officer, were charged in an indictment returned on Sept. 29, in the Eastern District of Louisiana.  Scott is charged with three counts of obstruction of justice, two counts of perjury, one count of falsifying records in a federal investigation, one count of seeking and receiving an illegal gratuity, one count of unlawful conversion of property by a government officer or employee, one count of removing property to prevent seizure and one count of conspiracy to commit conversion to remove property to prevent seizure.  Gemar is charged with two counts of unlawful conversion of property by a government officer or employee, two counts of removing property to prevent seizure and two counts of conspiracy to commit conversion and to remove property to prevent seizure.   According to the indictment, Scott, Gemar and their co-conspirators committed these offenses while serving with the New Orleans Division of the DEA.

Specifically, the indictment alleges that Scott committed obstruction of justice and perjury in connection with a January 2016 trial in the Eastern District of Louisiana, misappropriated the personal property of individuals who were arrested by the New Orleans Division of the DEA and falsified documentation relating to the seizure of a Ford pick-up truck. The indictment further alleges that Gemar also misappropriated personal property from individuals detained by the DEA, as well as money seized from an individual detained by local law enforcement.

Gemar currently serves as a police officer with the Hammond, Louisiana Police Department.

Former DEA task force officer Karl Emmett Newman, 50, of Kentwood, Louisiana, was also charged with numerous offenses in a separate May 13, 2016 indictment and in an Oct. 7, 2016 superseding indictment.  Newman pleaded guilty on July 20, to unlawfully possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and conspiring to misappropriate money seized by the DEA during the execution of a search.  Former DEA task force officer Johnny Jacob Domingue, 28, of Maurepas, Louisiana, was arrested on a criminal complaint on May 12, 2016, and was also charged in an Oct. 7, 2016 superseding indictment with falsifying records in a federal investigation.  Domingue’s case remains pending. Chad Scott’s detention hearing will take place on Oct. 3 at 2:00 p.m. CDT.

The charges and allegations contained in an indictment are only accusations.  The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

This case was initiated by the Louisiana State Police and investigated by the FBI, DOJ-OIG, DEA-OPR and LSP.  Assistant Chief Diidri Robinson and Trial Attorney Antonio Pozos of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

U.S. Postal Service Manager Sentenced to More Than Eight Years for Directing a Federal Corruption and Drug Distribution Scheme

A former U.S. Postal Service (USPS) station manager was sentenced on Oct. 2, to 97 months in prison for his role directing a bribery and drug scheme in which USPS workers delivered hundreds of pounds of marijuana to individuals in the District of Columbia in exchange for cash bribes.  Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division made the announcement.

Deenvaughn Rowe, 48, of Odenton, Maryland, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan.  In addition to the term of prison imposed, U.S. District Court Judge Chutkan ordered Rowe to serve four years of supervised release and to forfeit $64,000.  During the sentencing Judge Chutkan told Rowe, who had immigrated to the United States from Jamaica, “What you have done has betrayed all this country has given you.”  Last month, Judge Chutkan sentenced two of Rowe’s co-conspirators, Kendra Brantley, 32, and Alicia Norman, 39, both of Washington, D.C., to 46 months and 18 months in prison respectively, for using their positions as letter carriers to deliver boxes of marijuana.

According to the evidence presented at trial, Rowe, the then-acting manager of the River Terrace Carrier Annex, used his USPS computer to track packages containing marijuana mailed from the Western United States to the Lamond-Riggs Post Office in Washington, D.C.  The packages were typically addressed to fictitious individuals or non-existent addresses.  The evidence at trial revealed that once the packages arrived at Lamond-Riggs, Rowe coordinated the delivery of the packages with Lamond-Riggs Letter Carriers Brantley and Norman, among others, by cell phone and text message.  Brantley and Norman then delivered the boxes of marijuana on the street to men in expensive cars in exchange for cash bribes.  

This case was investigated by the USPS Office of the Inspector General’s Capital Metro Field Office and the Postal Inspection Service’s Washington Division.  Trial Attorneys Mark J. Cipolletti, Shamiso Maswoswe, Molly Gaston and Nicholas Connor of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section prosecuted the case.

Justice Department Awards More Than $130 Million to Improve Public Safety, Address Violence Against Women and Victim Services for American Indian and Alaska Native People

Awards Include Over $56.3 Million for Responses to Violence Against Women in Indian Country

Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand today announced more than $130 million in Department of Justice grants to combat violence against women, improve public safety, serve victims of crime, and support youth programs in American Indian and Alaska Native communities.

“Supporting our tribal partners as they work to protect their communities remains fundamental to our mission at the Department of Justice,” said Brand. “These awards stand as a clear expression of our support for Native American women and tribal self-determination and reflect the vital role we believe American Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages play in ensuring the safety of all our citizens.”

Associate Attorney General Brand, the Department’s third ranking official, will make the announcement as part of her remarks during the Department’s participation in the 12th Annual Government-to-Government Violence Against Women Tribal Consultation on the reservation of the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation in Fountain Hills, Arizona.

On Wednesday, Associate Attorney General Brand will visit a domestic violence shelter in the Gila River Indian Community. Gila River will receive two grant awards this year: one that supports the tribe’s implementation of special domestic violence jurisdiction under the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act and one to enhance the safety of rural victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking.

More than $101 million was awarded to 125 American Indian tribes, Alaska Native villages, tribal consortia and tribal designees through the Department’s Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS), a streamlined application for tribal-specific grant programs.  Of the $101 million, $47.6 million comes from the Office of Justice Programs (OJP), $34.1 million from the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), and $19.4 million from the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS).

The Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) awarded 101 grants totaling $56.3 million to tribal governments and nonprofit entities to help respond to the crimes of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, stalking and sex trafficking in Indian country.  Of the $56.3 million, $34.1 was awarded through the CTAS application process as noted above and $22.1 million was awarded through other OVW grant programs and special initiatives.

CTAS grants are designed to enhance law enforcement practices, expand victim services and sustain crime prevention and intervention efforts. Awards cover nine purpose areas: public safety and community policing; justice systems planning; alcohol and substance abuse; corrections and correctional alternatives; children’s justice act partnerships; services for victims of crime; violence against women; juvenile justice; and tribal youth programs.

American Indians and Alaska Natives experience disproportionate rates of violence and victimization and often encounter significant obstacles to culturally relevant services. CTAS funding helps tribes develop and strengthen their justice systems’ response to crime, while expanding services to meet their communities’ public safety needs.

Today’s announcement is part of the Justice Department’s ongoing initiative to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in American Indian and Alaska Native communities.

 A listing of today’s CTAS awards is available at www.justice.gov/tribal/awards. Additional tribal grant awards announced by the Office on Violence Against Women and other department components are available at: www.justice.gov/ovw/page/file/1000416/download.