Week In Review – Hammond

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASECONTACT: Mary Hatton

www.usdoj.gov/usao/inn/ CELL: (219) 314-9993

mary.hatton@usdoj.gov

Hammond, Indiana - The United States Attorney’s Office announced the following activity in Federal Court:

PLEAS:

Carl Powers, 54, of Hoffman Estates, Illinois, pled guilty before Chief Judge Philip Simon to the felony offenses of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud.Sentencing has been set for 10/16/13.These charges were filed as a result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jill Koster.

Anthony Stewart, 23, of East Chicago, Indiana, pled guilty before Senior District Judge James Moody to the felony offense of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.This charge was filed as a result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives HIDTA Task Force and the East Chicago Police Department.This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Nozick.

Jose Lechuga-Carrasco, 38, of Cicero, Illinois, pled guilty before Chief Judge Philip Simon to the felony offense of possession with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine.Sentencing has been set for 10/18/13.This charge was filed as a result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Hammond Police Department.This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Kolar.

If convicted in court, any specific sentence to be imposed will be determined by the judge after a consideration of federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

DISPOSITIONS:

Laurie Brezinski, 43, of Schererville, Indiana, was sentenced by District Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen to 36 months imprisonment, $659,048.63 in restitution to Ticor Title Insurance Company and 2 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offenses of embezzlement from 2001 through 2008 and filing false tax returns for tax years 2003 to 2008.This case was the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service.This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jacqueline Jacobs.

Charles Standifer, 37, of Gary, Indiana, was sentenced by Chief Judge Philip Simon to 18 months imprisonment and 1 year of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false tax return.This case was the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service.This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jill Koster.

Tracey R. Tigner, 42, of Gary, Indiana, was sentenced by District Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen to 3 months imprisonment, restitution of $30,462.35 and 3 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of embezzlement of funds from Painters District Council 91 of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, a labor organization.This case was the result of an investigation by the United States Department of Labor.This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Randall Stewart.

Julian Rebeles, 22, of Hammond, Indiana, was sentenced by District Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen to 30 months imprisonment and 2 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.According to documents filed by the government in this case, Rebeles has prior convictions for burglary and resisting law enforcement.This case was the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives HIDTA Task Force and the Hammond Police Department.This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Nozick.

Octavio Alejandre-Mata, 45, of Hobart, Indiana, was sentenced by Senior District Judge Rudy Lozano to 12 months and 1 day imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release, if not deported, after pleading guilty to the felony offense of distribution of cocaine.According to documents filed by the government in this case, Mata had been deported and reentered the U.S. twice and was selling cocaine in and around the Hobart area.This case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation GRIT Task Force.This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jacqueline Jacobs.

Jesus Ramirez, 42, of Chicago, Illinois, was sentenced by Senior District Judge James Moody to 188 months imprisonment, restitution of $20,000 and 2 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of kidnapping.According to documents filed by the government, this case began with the kidnaping of an identified victim in East Chicago, Indiana, on January 14, 2011. The victim was attacked, pinned to the ground, and told that if he did not go with Ramirez and others, his attackers would take not only him, but also members of his family. Multiple ransom calls were made to the victim’s family, including those threatening to kill the victim. Finally, on January 18, 2011, the victim’s family paid the ransom demand. Ramirez was arrested following the ransom payment.Ramirez’ prior criminal activity ranges from traffic violations to burglary, battery and narcotics charges. This case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation GRIT Task Force.This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Kolar.

Mark Ciesiolka, 39, of Columbus, Indiana, was sentenced by Senior District Judge James Moody to 120 months imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of attempted transmission of obscene material to a minor.According to documents filed by the government in this case, in February of 2008, after a trial by jury, Ciesiolka was convicted of coercion and enticement of a minor and sentenced to 300 months incarceration. His conviction was set aside by the Court of Appeals. On November 26, 2012, the defendant pled guilty to a lesser charge of transferring obscene material to a minor. This case was the result of an investigation by the United States Secret Service.This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Philip Benson.

Jazneen Williams, 23, of Gary, Indiana, was sentenced by Chief Judge Philip Simon to 12 months of probation after pleading guilty to the felony offense of making false statements in the purchase of a firearm.According to documents filed by the government in this case, Williams straw-purchased a firearm for another individual who was a convicted felon.This case was the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Chicago Police Department.This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dean Lanter.

Alejandro Marquez, 31, of Chicago, Illinois, was sentenced by Senior District Judge James Moody to 46 months imprisonment and 2 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute marijuana.According to documents filed by the government in this case, Marquez assisted in arranging for the transportation of over 100 kilograms of marijuana from Texas to Indiana.This case was the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration.This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Kolar.