Customs and Border Protection Officer Charged for Assisting Fugitive to Avoid Apprehension at Port of Entry

United States Attorney Laura E. Duffy announced that Customs and Border Protection Officer Thomas P. Silva was arraigned in federal court in San Diego today before Magistrate Judge William V. Gallo on a complaint charging him with concealing a person from arrest, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1071, and wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343.

As alleged in the complaint, since 2002, Silva has been employed as a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer with the Department of Homeland Security. During this entire time, Silva was stationed at the San Ysidro Port of Entry (POE). Prior to his arrest, Silva’s official duties included screening people and vehicles for lawful admittance into the United States.

As detailed in today’s court proceedings, Silva is charged with two separate and unrelated criminal incidents. The first charge accuses Silva of assisting fugitive Julio Cesar Landaverde-Valdez (Silva’s brother-in-law) to evade arrest at the San Ysidro POE. The complaint alleges that despite knowing that, there was an outstanding warrant for Landaverde-Valdez’s arrest, Silva allowed his brother-in-law and several passengers to pass through his lane at the POE without subjecting them to the required inspection. After verifying that his brother-in-law was still a fugitive, Silva failed to enter his brother-in-law’s personal information into the CBP database at the time his brother-in-law presented himself for inspection at the POE. In addition, Silva did not properly input into the CBP computer system the license plate number of his brother-in-law’s car in order to further avoid arrest by law enforcement officials.

According to court documents, Landaverde-Valdez had previously been convicted in federal court for transportation of illegal aliens. After failing to appear at his designated custodial commitment location, Landaverde-Valdez was charged in a separate indictment with escape, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 751. Landaverde-Valdez remains a fugitive.

In addition to the charge of assisting Landaverde-Valdez to avoid apprehension, Silva is also charged with fraudulently obtaining over $7,000 from Farmers Insurance. According to the complaint, Silva illegally obtained these funds by falsely reporting to Farmers that his Nissan Titan pickup truck had been stolen while parked in Chula Vista, California. Border crossing records, however, demonstrate that Silva’s truck had been driven into Mexico approximately 10 days prior to the alleged theft and had not returned to the United States. The complaint also alleges that in making the insurance claim, Silva falsely inflated the vehicle’s purchase price.

Silva was arrested this past Friday at the San Ysidro Port-of-Entry (POE) by Border Corruption Task Force (BCTF) agents. The BCTF is a federal task force comprised of law enforcement officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, CBP-Internal Affairs, CBP-Field Operations, the Transportation Security Administration, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Magistrate Judge Gallo set a detention hearing for September 12, 2012 at 2:30 p.m.

A complaint is not evidence that the defendant committed the crimes charged. The defendant is presumed innocent until the government meets its burden in court of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

DEFENDANT

Thomas P. Silva Age: 33 Chula Vista, California

Criminal Case No. 12-MJ-3306

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Count 1: Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343 - wire fraud. Maximum penalties: 20 years in custody; $250,000; $100 special assessment; three-year term of supervised release.

Count 2: Title 18, United States Code, Section 1071 - concealing person from arrest. Maximum penalties: five years in custody; $250,000 fine; $100 special assessment; three-year term of supervised release.

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

■Federal Bureau of Investigation

■Customs and Border Protection

■Transportation Security Administration

■Drug Enforcement Administration

St. Francis Woman Pleads Guilty to Concealing Person from Arrest

United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that Jamie Iron Shell, age 26, of St. Francis, South Dakota, appeared before United States District Judge Roberto A. Lange on August 20, 2012, and pled guilty to concealing person from arrest. The maximum penalty upon conviction is one year in custody, a $100,000 fine, or both.

The conviction stems from an incident that took place on March 30, 2012, when federal agents arrived at Iron Shell’s residence to serve an arrest warrant on an individual. Iron Shell told the agents that individual had departed her residence when in fact he was actually inside her residence.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tim Maher.

A presentence investigation was ordered, and a sentencing date was set for November 6, 2012. The defendant was remanded to the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending sentencing.

Catherine Greig Sentenced to Eight Years in Federal Prison for Harboring “Whitey” Bulger

BOSTON—Catherine E. Greig was sentenced today in U.S. District Court for her role in harboring and concealing one of the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted fugitives, James J. “Whitey” Bulger.

In March 2012, Greig, 61, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to harbor a fugitive, conspiracy to commit identity fraud, and identity fraud. Today, U.S. District Judge Douglas P. Woodlock sentenced Greig in the District of Massachusetts to eight years in prison, fined her $150,000, and ordered her to serve three years of supervised release.

“We are pleased with today’s sentence, one of the longest sentences ever imposed for a harboring charge,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Carmen M. Ortiz. “While Ms. Greig may claim that she harbored Mr. Bulger for 16 years out of love, love is no excuse for committing crimes. The felonies that she now stands convicted of impacted the lives of many, and she is now paying the price for her actions.”

“Today, and previously throughout these proceedings, we saw the palpable hurt and pain caused to the families of those harmed by Ms. Greig’s crimes as they waited patiently for justice to be served,“ said Richard Deslauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the Boston Division of the FBI. “Though the Bulger Task Force’s search for Ms. Greig was long and arduous, it was persistent and uncompromising. We did not deviate from our course because we knew from experience that for each and every fugitive, there is a victim of a crime. Each day a fugitive eludes justice is a long day for the victims of their crimes who agonize that while the fugitive enjoys freedom, they remain locked in a state of fear and anguish.”

“As I have said before, although there are those who doubted the FBI’s resolve, it never wavered. We followed every lead, we explored every possibility and when those ran out we did not sit back and wait for the phone to ring. As a result of that unyielding tenacity, I am proud to say the FBI and its Bulger Task Force partners fulfilled their promise to the families victimized by Ms. Greig’s crimes. Today’s sentence demonstrates that justice for Ms. Greig has been served.”

U.S. Marshal John Gibbons said, “The United States Marshals Service was happy to take part in the apprehension of Ms. Greig and James “Whitey” Bulger. We hope that today’s verdict sends a strong message to anyone considering harboring fugitives that this sort of crime will not be tolerated.”

“Catherine Greig aided a violent criminal in delaying justice, causing the families of his victims continued pain and suffering. As the judicial process goes forward, hopefully those families will find some small solace,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Kevin Lane of the Drug Enforcement Administration.

William P. Offord, Special Agent in Charge, IRS-Criminal Investigation said, “The sentencing of Catherine Greig brings to a close a chapter of one of the most notorious criminal cases in Boston’s recent history. IRS Criminal Investigation is proud to have provided its investigative skills to the law enforcement partnership that has brought this case to a successful conclusion.”

From January 1995 through June 22, 2011, Greig conspired with Bulger to take steps to prevent his discovery and arrest, this after learning that a warrant had been issued for his apprehension. Greig and Bulger posed as a married couple under different false identities. They obtained multiple means of identification to conceal their true identities, purchased necessary goods and services such as prescription medication, paid bills under an assumed name, and shopped for groceries and other necessities while living together.

Furthermore, Greig illegally obtained and used multiple identification documents, including Social Security numbers, drivers’ licenses, and birth certificates of other real persons with intent to create false identities. Additionally, authorities seized more than $820,000 cash and 30 firearms hidden inside the apartment shared by Greig and Bulger.

U.S. Attorney Ortiz; Special Agent in Charge DesLauriers; U.S. Marshal Gibbons; Special Agent in Charge Offord; Acting Special Agent in Charge Lane; Commissioner Luis S. Spencer of the Massachusetts Department of Correction; and Colonel Marian McGovern, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, made the announcement today. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts would also like to acknowledge and thank the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General and the Los Angeles offices of the U.S. Attorney and FBI.

The case was prosecuted by First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack W. Pirozzolo; Assistant U.S. Attorney James D. Herbert, Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts’s Organized Crime and Gang Unit; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary B. Murrane, Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts’s Asset Forfeiture Unit.

Redby Woman Sentenced for Being an Accessory to Violent Red Lake Crime

MINNEAPOLIS—Yesterday in federal court in Duluth, a 22-year-old Redby woman was sentenced for attempting to hide a suspect from federal agents. United States District Court Judge Richard H. Kyle sentenced Jerilee Jane Head to 24 months in prison on one count of being an accessory after the fact. Head was indicted on March 8, 2011, and was convicted on January 24, 2012. She was ordered to remain in custody.

According to the indictment and the evidence presented at trial, Head assisted her boyfriend, Donald Leigh Clark, Jr., in his attempt to elude authorities. Clark was hiding from law enforcement after being charged with the November 3, 2010 killing of one man and the wounding of two others on the Red Lake Indian Reservation. Clark was ultimately found hiding under a blanket in the back seat of Head’s vehicle on January 15, 2011, after Head had tried but failed to lure federal agents away from the car.

On February 7, 2012, Clark, age 23, also of Redby, was sentenced to 120 months in prison on one count of discharging a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence, specifically during the shooting of Julian Keith DeMarrias.

This case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Red Lake Tribal Police Department, with assistance from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Headwaters Safe Trails Task Force; and the U.S. Marshals Service. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Clifford B. Wardlaw.

Because the Red Lake Indian Reservation is a federal-jurisdiction reservation, some of the crimes that occur there are investigated by the FBI in conjunction with the Red Lake Tribal Police Department. Those cases are prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.