Power plant owner and management compaines to pay $8.5 million to resolve allegations

WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS POWER PLANT OWNER AND MANAGEMENT COMPANIES AGREE TO PLEAD

TO TAMPERING AND FALSE REPORTING; OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE COMPANY

ENTERS INTO CONSENT JUDGMENT

 Companies to pay $8.5 million to resolve allegations

  

BOSTON – Berkshire Power Plant’s owner and management company have agreed to plead guilty to tampering with emissions equipment and submitting false information to both environmental and energy regulators.  The former plant operation and maintenance company also agreed to pay a state civil penalty.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced the resolution today following a joint federal and state investigation into allegations that Berkshire Power Plant in Agawam, Massachusetts tampered with its air pollution monitoring equipment and falsely reported data to environmental and energy regulators regarding its emissions levels and its availability to produce power. 

“This resolution addresses a pattern of behavior by multiple persons and entities in obstructing the enforcement of laws designed to protect the air we breathe,” said United States Attorney Carmen Ortiz.  “The comprehensive resolution, including the first ever criminal charges for false statements to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, demonstrates the seriousness with which we take conduct which undermines environmental compliance and the fair regulation of energy markets.”

“The deliberate scheme Berkshire Power Plant management and staff undertook gave them an unfair competitive advantage over responsible companies, and undermined a system that depends on honest data reporting,” said Tyler Amon, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division in Boston. “Maximizing profit to minimize the cost of controlling pollution is placing greed over protecting nearby communities. EPA will continue to pursue cases that maintain data integrity, so we can do our job to protect clean air.” 

“Fraud against the Commonwealth is very serious and will be aggressively prosecuted, criminally and civilly, by this Office, especially when the consequence of the fraud is to expose the public to health and safety risks,” said Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey.  “This type of conduct can not be tolerated.”

“Reporting environmental information accurately is essential to state and federal efforts to improve air quality. Cases where information is misrepresented will be pursued to the fullest extent to protect the integrity of our air quality programs,” said MassDEP Commissioner Martin Suuberg. “Some of the funds generated by this settlement will support innovative programs to improve air quality in the Commonwealth, including the woodstove change-out and electric vehicle subsidy programs.”

Berkshire Power Co. (“BPC”), the owner of Berkshire Power Plant (“the Plant”), and Power Plant Management Services (“PPMS”) the Plant manager, agreed to plead guilty to felony charges that they violated and conspired to violate the federal Clean Air Act.  These charges arose from air pollution monitoring equipment tampering and related false emissions reporting between 2009 and 2011.  PPMS also agreed to plead guilty to charges that it violated the Federal Power Act, the first ever criminal charges under this statute, for making false statements to the regional power grid administrator, ISO-New England, regarding the Plant’s availability to produce power. 

Under the terms of the plea agreements, BPC and PPMS agree to pay a total of $4.25 million related to the criminal charges.  BPC will pay $2.75 million in criminal fines for the Clean Air Act violations and make a $750,000 community service payment to the American Lung Association to fund a program for the replacement of polluting wood burning stoves in western Massachusetts.  PPMS will pay $500,000 in criminal fines for the Clean Air Act and Federal Power Act violations and make a $250,000 community service payment to the American Lung Association’s wood stove change-out program.  The wood stove program payments would be established only after sentencing.

Between them, BPC, PPMS, and the Plant’s former operation and maintenance company, EthosEnergy Power Plant Services, LLC (formerly Wood Group Power Plant Services, LLC), will also pay over $4 million in civil penalties.  EthosEnergy agreed to resolve allegations that it violated sections of the Commonwealth’s Public Health Law dealing with air pollution stemming from its employees’ involvement with the air pollution monitoring equipment tampering at the Plant.   Under the terms of the state Consent Judgment, EthosEnergy will pay a $1.1 million civil penalty, and make a $200,000 payment to fund the installation of electric vehicle charging stations in the Commonwealth. 

In addition to the criminal fines outlined above, BPC and PPMS have agreed to pay $3,042,563 plus interest to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in civil penalties and disgorgement for their misrepresentations to ISO-New England regarding the Plant’s availability to produce power.

      

According to documents filed in federal and state court, between January 2009 and March 2011, BPC engaged PPMS to manage the Plant, including overseeing day-to-day operations and maintenance and to act as the owner’s representative for the Plant.  A PPMS employee served as the Plant General Manager and as BPC’s on-site representative.  BPC also retained Wood Group during this same time to provide the day-to-day Plant operation and maintenance. 

PPMS and BPC caused the Wood Group employees at the Plant to tamper with the Plant’s air pollution monitoring equipment to conceal the fact that the Plant was emitting air pollutants in excess of permitted levels.  This tampering was accomplished by intentionally biasing the Plant’s Continuous Emissions Monitoring System so it would show lower emissions levels than were actually being produced by the Plant.  BPC and PPMS then used this inaccurate data in filing required emissions reports with United States Environmental Protection Agency (“USEPA”) and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (“MassDEP”).  The purpose of the tampering was to avoid lost revenues that would have resulted from reducing power production to stay within the Plant’s air pollution emissions limits, or by taking the Plant out of service to implement needed repairs of the Plant’s pollution control and other equipment.

Excess nitrogen oxide (“NO_x“) emitted from fossil-fuel-burning power plants and mobile sources, like cars and trucks, combines in the atmosphere with volatile organic compounds emitted from industrial and residential sources to form ground-level ozone.  At ground level, ozone is a respiratory pollutant that can cause many human respiratory effects, and even premature mortality, especially in vulnerable elderly persons and young children.   NO_x emissions also cause environmental damage to coastal waters, aquatic life, and other property, and contribute to the formation in the atmosphere of fine particulates that also harm humans, aquatic life, and vegetation.

During the course of the tampering investigation, criminal investigators also learned that PPMS made and caused staff at the Plant to make false statements to the ISO-New England, about the Plant’s availability to produce power for the New England grid.  They also caused staff at the Plant to falsely claim to the ISO that the Plant was available to produce power when it was not.  PPMS did this to maximize the Plant’s revenues and to minimize repair expenditures. 

In February 2015, Ortiz’s office filed charges against Frederick Baker and Scott Paterson, respectively, a former Wood Group manager and instrument control technician at the Plant at the time the tampering occurred.  It is alleged that Baker had, at the direction of the PPMS on-site General Manager, directed Wood Group employees at the Plant, including Paterson, to tamper with the Continuous Emissions Monitoring System.  In light of the fact Wood Group spearheaded the disclosure of the tampering conduct to USEPA and MassDEP, and provided a high level of cooperation during the case, the case against EthosEnergy is being resolved with a civil settlement.    

The federal criminal case is being prosecuted by Sara Miron Bloom of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit and Daniel Licata, an Assistant Attorney General with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office working as a Special Assistant United States Attorney, with the assistance of Dianne Chabot, USEPA Criminal Enforcement Counsel. 

The case was investigated by USEPA-CID, the Massachusetts Environmental Crimes Strike Force (an interagency investigative team dedicated to developing the most significant environmental enforcement cases) and the Massachusetts Environmental Police, with the technical assistance of attorneys, analysts and engineers from MassDEP and EPA Region 1.

The state civil case is being handled by Assistant Attorney General Frederick Augenstern of Attorney General Healey’s Environmental Protection Division, with assistance from attorneys from MassDEP’s Office of General Counsel, and engineers in MassDEP’s Boston Office.  

The details contained in the criminal information and civil complaint are allegations.  The defendants in the criminal cases are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.  By entering into the Consent Judgment, EthosEnergy does not admit to the truth of the allegations contained in the Complaint.

TICKETS FOR THE 2016 RED SOX HALL OF FAME AND “FENWAY HONORS” GALA NOW AVAILABLE

TICKETS FOR THE 2016 RED SOX HALL OF FAME

AND “FENWAY HONORS” GALA NOW AVAILABLE

Jason Varitek, Tim Wakefield, Ira Flagstead,

and Larry Lucchino to be Inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame;

Red Sox Foundation to Present HP Hood and

Chad and Anne Gifford With First-ever “Fenway Honors” Award

BOSTON, MA – Tickets for the 2016 Red Sox Hall of Fame and “Fenway Honors” gala are now available to the general public at redsox.com/honors. The May 19 gala, benefitting the Red Sox Foundation, introduces the newest members of the Red Sox Hall of Fame and presents members of the community with the “Fenway Honors” award for charitable achievements, the first award of its kind presented by the Red Sox Foundation.

Former Red Sox players Jason Varitek, Tim Wakefield, and the late Ira Flagstead have been selected as the 2016 Red Sox Hall of Fame inductees. Red Sox President/CEO Emeritus Larry Lucchino has been chosen as the non-uniformed inductee. David Ortiz’s 2013 game-tying grand slam in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series against the Detroit Tigers at Fenway Park has been selected as the “Great Red Sox Moment,” a memorable moment in Red Sox history that is regarded for its special significance.  

Additionally, the Red Sox Foundation will recognize HP Hood and Chad and Anne Gifford with the first-ever “Fenway Honors” award, given by the foundation to a business and an individual in recognition of their charitable achievements in the community.

The gala will be held at the Sheraton Boston Hotel starting with a cocktail reception at 6 p.m. followed by dinner and awards presentation at 7 p.m.Additional details and ticket information can be found at redsox.com/honors.

奧巴馬總統大赦 61人減刑

President Obama Grants Commutations

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On March 30, 2016, President Barack Obama granted commutation of sentence to 61 individuals.

The President granted commutations of sentence to the following 61 individuals: 

·         Henry Claude Agnew – Miami, FL
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine base; Southern District of Florida
Sentence: 262 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (November 24, 2003)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         David Lang Akana – Pahala, HI
Offense: Conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine; attempt to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine; attempt to possess with intent to distribute cocaine; possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; District of Hawaii
Sentence: 240 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (February 15, 2006)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         Robert Anthony Anderson – Louisville, KY
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine; attempt to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, aiding and abetting; Western District of Kentucky
Sentence: Life imprisonment (August 8, 1994)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on March 30, 2017.

·         Marvin Bailey – Hollywood, FL
Offense: Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and cocaine base; aiding the travel in interstate commerce to promote the distribution of cocaine; possession with intent to distribute cocaine; Southern District of West Virginia
Sentence: Life imprisonment; $25,000 fine (June 19, 1997)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on March 30, 2017, and unpaid balance of the $25,000 fine remitted.

·         Bernard Beard – Compton, CA
Offense: Conspiracy to distribute cocaine, cocaine base, heroin, and phencyclidine (PCP); felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition; Central District of California
Sentence: 240 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (May 22, 2009)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         Reginald Wendell Boyd, Jr. – Greensboro, NC
Offense: Conspiracy to distribute cocaine hydrochloride; carry a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime; Middle District of North Carolina
Sentence: 180 months' imprisonment; eight years' supervised release (October 31, 2005)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         Carmel Bretous – Miami, FL
Offense: Conspiracy to import at least five kilograms of cocaine; importation of five kilograms of cocaine; conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms of cocaine; possession with intent to distribute five kilograms of cocaine; Southern District of Florida
Sentence: 235 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (November 6, 2001)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         Terry Brown – St. Louis, MO
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and phencyclidine (PCP); Eastern District of Missouri
Sentence: 240 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (July 7, 2005)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         Willie Chevell Cameron – Panama City Beach, FL
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana, a mixture and substance containing cocaine, more than 50 grams of methamphetamine (actual) and more than 50 grams of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine; Northern District of Florida
Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (June 14, 2006)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         Nathan Carter – Memphis, TN
Offense:         1. Possession of 121 grams cocaine with intent to distribute; possession of

65.8 grams cocaine base with intent to distribute; Western District of Tennessee

2. Supervised release violation (attempted possession with intent to distribute cocaine); Western District of Tennessee

Sentence:        1. Life imprisonment; 10 years’ supervised release (April 30, 1999)

2. 30 months' imprisonment; 18 months' supervised release; $10,000 fine (May 5, 1999)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence for both offenses commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         Lewis Clay – College Park, GA
Offense: Possession with intent to distribute and the distribution of at least 50 grams of crack cocaine; possession of cocaine; Northern District of Georgia
Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (May 1, 2003)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         Manuel Colon – Springfield, MA
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, cocaine base, and heroin; possession with intent to distribute cocaine; District of Massachusetts
Sentence: 240 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (January 25, 2007)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         Alvin Cordell – Cincinnati, OH
Offense: Conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana; attempt to possess with intent to distribute cocaine base (crack); Southern District of Ohio
Sentence: Life imprisonment; $50,000 fine (May 5, 1997)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on March 30, 2017, and unpaid balance of the $50,000 fine remitted

·         Kevin County – New Orleans, LA
Offense:         1. Distributing more than 100 grams of heroin; distributing less than 100

                        grams of heroin (two counts); Eastern District of Louisiana

2. Conspiracy to distribute cocaine base and cocaine hydrochloride, distribution of cocaine base, distribution of cocaine hydrochloride, use of a communication facility in furtherance of a drug crime; Eastern District of Louisiana

Sentence:        1. 151 months' imprisonment; six years’ supervised release (December 18, 2002) 

2. 240 months' imprisonment (concurrent); 10 years' supervised release (March 26, 2003)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         Nabar Moneek Criam – Brooklyn, NY
Offense: Possessed with intent to distribute crack; possessed firearms during trafficking crime; Middle District of North Carolina
Sentence: 180 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (March 30, 2007)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         Amos Embress Cyrus – Hemingway, SC
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribution of cocaine base; supervised release violation (Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and possession with intent to distribute cocaine); District of South Carolina
Sentence: 300 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (June 21, 1996)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         Roy Lee Debose – Shreveport, LA
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine hydrochloride; conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine base; Western District of Louisiana
Sentence: 240 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (September 18, 2000)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         Dexter Lanoyd Dickens – Panama City, FL
Offense: Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of a mixture or substance containing cocaine; distribution of a mixture or substance containing cocaine within 1,000 feet of a school (four counts); principal to distribution and possession with intent to distribute a mixture or substance containing cocaine; distribution and possession with intent to distribute a mixture or substance containing cocaine; possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing cocaine; Northern District of Florida
Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (December 17, 2004)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         Andre Ester – Houston, TX
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine base; aiding and abetting the possession with intent to distribute cocaine base; Southern District of Texas
Sentence: 300 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (October 25, 2002)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         Christopher Tim Florence – Chapel Hill, NC
Offense: Possessed with intent to distribute cocaine base (crack); Middle District of North Carolina
Sentence: 268 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (August 9, 2005)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         Ian Kavanaugh Gavin – Eight Mile, AL
Offense: Possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine; using/carrying a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense; Southern District of Alabama
Sentence: 180 months' imprisonment; eight years' supervised release (March 8, 2007)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016, and supervised release term commuted to four years of supervised release.

·         Isadore Gennings – Cincinnati, OH
Offense: Conspiracy to distribute cocaine; interstate travel in aid of racketeering enterprises; possession with intent to distribute in excess of five kilograms of cocaine; Southern District of Ohio
Sentence: 240 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (March 14, 2002)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016, and supervised release term commuted to five years of supervised release.

·         Lamont Durville Glass – Knoxville, TN
Offense: Possession with intent to distribute cocaine base; felon in possession of a firearm; Eastern District of Tennessee
Sentence: 262 months' imprisonment; eight years' supervised release (January 9, 1998)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         Vander Keith Gore – Little River, SC
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine base, five kilograms or more of cocaine, 50 kilograms or more of marijuana, and less than 100 grams of heroin; District of South Carolina
Sentence: 240 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (October 30, 2002)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         George Michael Gray – Springfield, OR
Offense: Conspiracy to manufacture, possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine; manufacture of methamphetamine; possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; possession of firearm in connection with drug trafficking offense; District of Oregon
Sentence: Life imprisonment; five years' supervised release (July 3, 1995)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         Curtis Greer – Rosenberg, TX
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine base; possession with intent to distribute five grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine base (two counts); Southern District of Texas
Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release; $5,000 fine (August 21, 2003)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016, and unpaid balance of the $5,000 fine remitted.

·         Jerome Harris, Jr. – Mobile, AL
Offense: Possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine; possession with intent to distribute cocaine; use/carry/possess a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; Southern District of Alabama
Sentence: 300 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (November 7, 2006)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         Vernon Harris – Philadelphia, PA
Offense: Possession with intent to distribute; possession of firearm by convicted felon; Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (October 25, 1996)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         Kenneth G. Harvey – Los Angeles, CA
Offense: Possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine base; Western District of Missouri
Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release; $10,000 fine (April 5, 1991)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         Andrew Lee Holzendorf – South Bay, FL
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine base; Northern District of Florida
Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (November 14, 1996)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         Tommy Howard – Cincinnati, OH
Offense: Use of a firearm during the commission of a drug trafficking offense; Southern District of Ohio
Sentence: 292 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release; $1,000 fine (January 8, 2004)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         Kenneth Isaacs – Little Rock, AR
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute hydromorphone; Eastern District of Arkansas
Sentence: 180 months' imprisonment; three years' supervised release (May 6, 2004)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         Robert Lee Lane – Bradenton, FL
Offense: Possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine base; Middle District of Florida
Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (May 3, 1990)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         Angela LaPlatney – Casper, WY
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute methamphetamine; concealing a person from arrest; District of Wyoming
Sentence: 240 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release; $1,000 fine (February 17, 2005)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         Anthony Lee Lewis – Tampa, FL
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and crack cocaine; distribution of crack cocaine; possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine; convicted felon in possession of a firearm; possession with intent to distribute cocaine; Middle District of Florida
Sentence: Life imprisonment (September 16, 1994)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on March 30, 2017.

·         Herbert Lewis, Jr. – Okmulgee, OK
Offense: Possession with intent to distribute cocaine (two counts); Eastern District of Oklahoma
Sentence: 240 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release; $2,500 fine (March 7, 2003)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016, and unpaid balance of the $2,500 fine remitted.

·         Byron Lamont McDade – Bowie, MD
Offense: Conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, aiding and abetting; District of Columbia
Sentence: 324 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (May 29, 2002)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         John E. Milton, III – Baton Rouge, LA
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and distribution of cocaine and cocaine base; Middle District of Louisiana
Sentence: 600 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release; $250,000 fine (April 3, 1997)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016, and unpaid balance of the $250,000 fine remitted.

·         Gregory Morgan – Jonesboro, GA
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine base; Northern District of Georgia
Sentence: 225 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (March 11, 2003)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         Michael W. Morris – Fort Worth , TX
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute "crack" cocaine base; Southern District of Indiana
Sentence: 240 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (December 24, 2003)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016, and supervised release term commuted to five years of supervised release.

·         Larry Nokes – Quincy, IL
Offense: Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances; possession of a controlled substance; Central District of Illinois
Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (December 10, 2007)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         Wayne Parker – Miami, FL
Offense: Conspiracy to distribute cocaine and cocaine base; Northern District of Florida
Sentence: 420 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release; $1,500 fine (November 23, 1999); amended to 360 months' imprisonment; six years’ supervised release; $1,500 fine (March 8, 2001)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         Exdonovan Peak – Brooklyn, NY
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine; Southern District of Mississippi
Sentence: 365 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release; $12,000 fine (February 13, 1997)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016, and unpaid balance of the $12,000 fine remitted.

·         Carol Denise Richardson – Texas City, TX
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine base; possession with intent to distribute five grams or more of cocaine base (incorrectly described in the judgment as cocaine); possession with intent to distribute five grams or more of cocaine base; Southern District of Texas
Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (June 16, 2006)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         Jose Ramon Rivera – Chicago, IL
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin; distribution of heroin (two counts); Northern District of Illinois
Sentence: 360 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (November 10, 1993)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         Ismael Rosa – Chicago, IL
Offense: Conspiracy to distribute multiple kilograms of cocaine (four counts); use of communication facility in commission of drug offense (two counts); Northern District of Illinois
Sentence: Life imprisonment (August 8, 1995)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on March 30, 2017.

·         Melissa Ross – Daytona Beach, FL
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine hydrochloride and 50 grams or more of cocaine base; Middle District of Florida
Sentence: 292 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release; $4,000 fine (June 11, 2002); amended to 240 months' imprisonment (January 17, 2009)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016, and unpaid balance of the $4,000 fine remitted.

·         Jeffrey Sapp – Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute crack cocaine; possess with intent to distribute crack cocaine; Southern District of Florida
Sentence: 240 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (January 24, 2003)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         Robin Evette Shoulders – Louisville, KY
Offense: Possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine base; possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine; Western District of Kentucky
Sentence: 240 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (December 16, 2002)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on September 26, 2016.

·         Eric Smith – Memphis, TN
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine base; unlawfully maintaining a residence for the purpose of distributing and using cocaine base; Western District of Tennessee
Sentence: 360 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (April 24, 1995)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         Ernest Spiller – East St. Louis, IL
Offense: Distribution of crack cocaine (two counts); maintaining a crack house; possession of a firearm in further of a drug trafficking crime; felon in possession of a firearm; Southern District of Illinois
Sentence: 352 months' imprisonment; three years' supervised release; $1,000 fine (August 3, 2000)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         Tairone Traniel Stanford – Buna, TX
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a Schedule II controlled substance - cocaine base; possession with intent to distribute a Schedule II controlled substance - cocaine base; Eastern District of Texas
Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (April 22, 1999)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         Alohondra Rey Staton – Greenville, NC
Offense: Possession with the intent to distribute cocaine base (crack); Eastern District of North Carolina
Sentence: 360 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (August 21, 2001)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         Corey R. Thomas – St. Louis, MO
Offense: Possession with the intent to distribute more than 50 grams of cocaine base ("crack"); Eastern District of Missouri
Sentence: Life imprisonment; five years' supervised release (June 9, 2004)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         Damion L. Tripp – Poplar Bluff, MO
Offense: Possession with intent to distribute a substance containing 50 grams or more of cocaine base; possession with intent to distribute a substance containing a detectable amount of marijuana; Eastern District of Missouri
Sentence: 240 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (April 28, 2008)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         Dwayne Twane Walker – Charlottesville, VA
Offense: Conspiracy to distribute cocaine base; Western District of Virginia
Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release; $500 fine (May 27, 1997)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         Jesse Webster – Chicago, IL
Offense: Conspiracy; attempting to possess with intent to distribute cocaine (incorrectly listed on the judgment as conspiracy); filing false income tax return (two counts); Northern District of Illinois
Sentence: Life imprisonment; five years' supervised release; $25,000 fine (March 21, 1996)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on September 26, 2016, and balance of the $25,000 fine remitted.  

·         Shermaine Donnell Whitley – Charleston, SC
Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribution of cocaine and cocaine base (“crack”); District of South Carolina
Sentence: 240 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (May 1, 2003)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         Sammy Lee Woods – Aurora, CO
Offense: Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 or more grams of cocaine base, aiding and abetting; use of a communications facility to possess with intent to distribute cocaine base, aiding and abetting; possession with intent to distribute 1.062 grams of cocaine base, aiding and abetting; District of Colorado
Sentence: 240 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (April 21, 2004)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         Christopher Michael Wright – Elmira, OR
Offense: Conspiracy to manufacture and distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine; District of Oregon
Sentence: 216 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release; $5,000 restitution (May 31, 2006)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.

·         Michael A. Yandal – Murray, KY
Offense: Possession with the intent to distribute approximately 50 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing cocaine base; possession with the intent to distribute marijuana; possession of a firearm in the furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; Western District of Kentucky
Sentence: 195 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (April 24, 2007); amended to 180 months' imprisonment (December 11, 2007)

Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 28, 2016.