License to Pawn: Deals, Steals, and My Life at @GoldSilverPawn

In Las Vegas, there's a family-owned business called the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, run by three generations of the Harrison family: Rick; his son, Big Hoss; and Rick's dad, the Old Man. Now License to Pawn: Deals, Steals, and My Life at the Gold & Silver takes readers behind the scenes of the hit History show Pawn Stars and shares the fascinating life story of its star, Rick Harrison, and the equally intriguing story behind the shop, the customers, and the items for sale.

Rick hasn't had it easy. He was a math whiz at an early age, but developed a similarly uncanny ability to find ever-deepening trouble that nearly ruined his life. With the birth of his son, he sobered up, reconnected with his dad, and they started their booming business together.

License to Pawn: Deals, Steals, and My Life at the Gold & Silver also offers an entertaining walk through the pawn shop's history. It's a captivating look into how the Gold & Silver works, with incredible stories about the crazy customers and the one-of-a-kind items that the shop sells. Rick isn't only a businessman; he's also a historian and keen observer of human nature. For instance, did you know that pimps wear lots of jewelry for a reason? It's because if they're arrested, jewelry doesn't get confiscated like cash does, and ready money will be available for bail. Or that WWII bomber jackets and Zippo lighters can sell for a freakishly high price in Japan? Have you ever heard that the makers of Ormolu clocks, which Rick sells for as much as $15,000 apiece, frequently died before forty thanks to the mercury in the paint?

Rick also reveals the items he loves so much he'll never sell. The shop has three Olympic bronze medals, a Patriots Super Bowl ring, a Samurai sword from 1490, and an original Iwo Jima battle plan. Each object has an incredible story behind it, of course. Rick shares them all, and so much more--there's an irresistible treasure trove of history behind both the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop and the life of Rick Harrison.

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Two Ñetas Gang Members and a Gang Associate Plead Guilty in Connection with the Murders of Two Rival Gang Members

Two members of the Ñetas street gang, Alvaro Cabral, also known as “Boobi,” and Jason Cabral, also known as “J-Live,” pleaded guilty to the 2004 murders of Anthony Marcano and Fabian Mestres. Stephanie DiCarlo-Cabral, an associate of the gang and at the time the girlfriend of Alvaro Cabral, pleaded guilty to robbery and using a firearm in connection with the robbery of Marcano and Mestres. Today’s pleas took place before United States District Judge Joanna Seybert. When sentenced, the defendants face life in prison.

The pleas were announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; George Venizelos, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI); and William J. Bratton, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD).

“These were brutal, senseless gang murders. The defendants stuffed the victims into the trunk of a car in the dog days of August and then drove them to their execution,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. “We hope the victims’ families can take some measure of solace in knowing that the individuals who are responsible for their sons’ murders have been brought to justice.” Ms. Lynch expressed her grateful appreciation to the Suffolk County Police Department, the Tampa Division of the FBI, and United States Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Florida, for their cooperation and assistance in the investigation.

The defendants targeted one of the victims, Anthony Marcano, because of his affiliation with a rival gang, the Latin Kings. On August 10, 2004, at the direction of Jason Cabral, the leader of gang, the defendants devised a plan to rob and kill 17-year-old Marcano. As part of the plan, the defendants lured Marcano to a house in Brentwood. Marcano arrived with 17-year-old Fabian Mestres, a fellow “Pee Wee” member of the Latin Kings street gang. Once inside the house, Marcano and Mestres were restrained with duct tape, and their drugs, money, and jewelry were stolen. The victims were stuffed into the trunk of a car and driven to a warehouse in Queens where Luis Benitez (Luis Benitez pleaded guilty to the murders of Marcano and Mestres on November 7, 2013), with the assistance of Alvaro Cabral, shot them with a shotgun. Mestres was shot once in the head, and Marcano was shot once in the head and once in the back of the neck. Marcano’s and Mestres’s bodies were found behind a warehouse in Queens the following day.

The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Nicole Boeckmann and Christopher C. Caffarone.

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Dr. Hoi Yat Kam Sentenced for His Role in $15 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme

A Queens, New York medical doctor was sentenced to serve 12 months and a day in prison for his role in a scheme that fraudulently billed Medicare more than $15 million for, among other things, physical therapy and lesion removal services that were medically unnecessary and never provided.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Loretta E. Lynch of the Eastern District of New York, Assistant Director in Charge George Venizelos of the FBI’s New York Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Thomas O’Donnell of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) made the announcement.

Hoi Yat Kam, 59, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Edward R. Korman in the Eastern District of New York. In addition to his prison term, Kam was sentenced to serve three years of supervised release and to pay $2,217,656 in restitution.

Kam pleaded guilty on January 9, 2013, to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. According to court documents, Kam conspired with others to execute a fraudulent scheme in which he and others provided a variety of spa services, such as massages and facials, as well as free meals and social activities to Medicare beneficiaries at URI Medical Service PC and Sarang Medical PC to induce those beneficiaries to allow their Medicare numbers to be billed for medical services that were never provided and were not medically necessary. URI and Sarang were two clinics in Queens that purportedly provided physical therapy and lesion removals. In total, Kam and his co-conspirators submitted approximately $15.1 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare.

The case was investigated by HHS-OIG and the FBI and brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. The case was prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney Nicholas Acker and Trial Attorney Bryan D. Fields of the Fraud Section. Trial Attorney Katherine Houston formerly prosecuted the case.

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Sterling Rivers #LittleReal #ViceLords Leader Sentenced to 28 Years in Prison

Sterling Rivers, a/k/a “Little Real,” 26, of Lebanon, Tennessee, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 28 years in prison for conspiring to distribute large quantities of crack cocaine and cocaine, as part of his involvement in a criminal street gang called the Unknown Vice Lords, announced David Rivera, U. S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee.

Rivers was indicted with 16 other individuals in September 2011 following a nearly two-year investigation into a national street gang, the Vice Lords, operating in Wilson and Putnam County, Tennessee, and beyond. Rivers fled following his indictment and was arrested in October 2011 as a fugitive in Texas. Rivers was convicted following a trial in September 2013 in which he represented himself.

“This sentence reaffirms that drug trafficking and organized crime will result in significant prison sentences,” said U.S. Attorney David Rivera. “This and other recent sentences of gang members should send a clear and convincing message that violent gang activity in this district will be vigorously pursued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners.”

The convictions in this case followed a two-week trial, during which Rivers represented himself. Proof at trial established that Rivers was engaged in organizing the Vice Lords Gang throughout the state of Tennessee and had been involved in an array of violent crime, including the robbery of another drug dealer and the shooting of another individual.

Sixteen other defendants were also charged in connection with this investigation, and all have been convicted.

This investigation was conducted by the FBI; the Lebanon Police Department; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation; and the Tennessee Highway Patrol. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Braden H. Boucek and Brent Hannafan.

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Steven M. Dombrowski, formerly with @Allscripts #Healthcare Solutions, Indicted on Securities Fraud Charges for Allegedly Profiting $286,000 from Insider Trading

A certified public accountant who was involved in the auditing process at a publicly traded company based in Chicago was indicted on federal fraud charges for allegedly engaging in insider trading of the company’s securities that made him an illegal profit of more than $286,000 in 2012. The defendant, Steven M. Dombrowski, who was the director of corporate audit for Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc., was charged with 16 counts of securities fraud in an indictment that was returned by a federal grand jury yesterday and announced today.

At the same time, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it filed a civil enforcement action involving the insider trading allegations against Dombrowski yesterday in U.S. District Court in Chicago. Dombrowski, 49, of Chicago, will be arraigned on the criminal charges on a date yet to be determined in Federal Court.

According to the indictment, Dombrowski misused material, non-public information he knew about Allscripts’ performance for the first quarter of 2012 and purchased put options and engaged in short sales of stock through a trading account in his wife’s maiden name that he controlled, which resulted in illegal profits of approximately $286,211. The indictment seeks forfeiture of that amount from Dombrowski.

Dombrowski and the employees he supervised were responsible for auditing and testing the processes and procedures Allscripts used to compute and report its financial performance. Allscripts provides information technology solutions to the health care industry, and its common stock is traded on the NASDAQ stock market under the symbol MDRX.

Between April 10 and April 28, 2012, a quarterly blackout period was in effect at Allscripts. The blackout prohibited certain employees, including Dombrowski, who were given written notice and who had access to material, non-public information, from engaging in insider trading 15 days before the end of a quarter and ending after the second full business day following the company’s quarterly earnings announcement.

Dombrowski allegedly learned in April 2012 through his employment that Allscripts’ first quarter financial results were going to be less favorable than market expectations when they were publicly announced on April 26, 2012. Throughout April, Dombrowski conducted securities transactions that he designed to be profitable if the price of Allscripts stock declined, including purchasing put options and short selling stock, which he knew was prohibited, the indictment alleges. Allscripts’ stock, in fact, declined when its 2012 first quarter announcement revealed lower sales, less revenue, and lower earnings per share than the first quarter of 2011.

After Allscripts stock declined on and after April 26, 2012, Dombrowski allegedly offset his Allscripts securities positions and profited approximately $286,211 from insider trading, the charges allege.

The indictment was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert J. Holley, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The SEC cooperated in the investigation.

The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Clifford C. Histed and Paul H. Tzur.

Each count of securities fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $5 million fine, and restitution is mandatory. If convicted, the court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

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