ComEd Pays $200 Million to Resolve Bribery Scheme Amid Reports of Allegedly Arranging Jobs and Contracts for Political Allies of Michael Madigan?

Commonwealth Edison Company (“ComEd”), the largest electric utility in Illinois, has agreed to pay $200 million to resolve a federal criminal investigation into a years-long bribery scheme, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago announced.

The criminal investigation of ComEd is being resolved with a deferred prosecution agreement under which ComEd admitted it arranged jobs, vendor subcontracts, and monetary payments associated with those jobs and subcontracts, for various associates of a high-level elected official for the state of Illinois, to influence and reward the official’s efforts to assist ComEd with respect to legislation concerning ComEd and its business. The U.S. Attorney’s Office today filed a one-count criminal information in U.S. District Court in Chicago charging ComEd with bribery. Under the agreement, the government will defer prosecution on the charge for three years and then seek to dismiss it if ComEd abides by certain conditions, including continuing to cooperate with ongoing investigations of individuals or other entities related to the conduct described in the bribery charge.

The deferred prosecution agreement, which is subject to approval by the U.S. District Court, requires ComEd to pay a $200 million fine. A court date for the approval hearing has not yet been scheduled.

The bribery charge and deferred prosecution agreement were announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the FBI; and Kathy A. Enstrom, Special Agent-in-Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amarjeet S. Bhachu, Diane MacArthur, Timothy J. Chapman, Sarah E. Streicker, Matthew L. Kutcher, and Michelle Kramer.

In addition to the monetary penalty and obligation to continue cooperating with government investigations, ComEd’s obligations under the deferred prosecution agreement include enhancing its compliance program and providing annual reports to the government regarding remediation and implementation of its compliance measures. If ComEd fails to completely perform or fulfill each of its obligations under the agreement during the three-year term, the U.S. Attorney’s Office can initiate prosecution of the charged offense.

ComEd’s admissions regarding the charged conduct are contained in a Statement of Facts attached to the deferred prosecution agreement. ComEd admitted that its efforts to influence and reward the high-level elected official – identified in the Statement of Facts as “Public Official A” – began in or around 2011 and continued through in or around 2019. During that time, the Illinois General Assembly considered bills and passed legislation that had a substantial impact on ComEd’s operations and profitability, including legislation that affected the regulatory process used to determine the electricity rates ComEd charged its customers. Public Official A controlled what measures were called for a vote in the Illinois House of Representatives and exerted substantial influence over fellow lawmakers concerning legislation affecting ComEd. The company admitted that it arranged for jobs and vendor subcontracts for Public Official A’s political allies and workers even in instances where those people performed little or no work that they were purportedly hired by ComEd to perform.

In addition to the jobs and contracts, ComEd further admitted that it undertook other efforts to influence and reward Public Official A, including by appointing an individual to ComEd’s Board of Directors at the request of Public Official A; retaining a particular law firm at the request of Public Official A; and accepting into the company’s internship program a certain amount of students who resided in the Chicago ward where Public Official A was associated.

To date, ComEd has provided substantial cooperation with the federal investigations. Per the terms of the agreement, the company will continue to provide such cooperation until all investigations and prosecutions arising out of the charged conduct are concluded.

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Michael Miske Jr Arrested by Feds as Alleged Organized Crime Boss in Hawaii, 10 Others included on 22 Charge Indictment Including Use of Chemical Weapons

Kenji M. Price, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Hawaii, Eli S. Miranda, Special Agent in Charge of the Honolulu Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), Tom Murdock, Special Agent in Charge of the Seattle Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (“IRS-CI”), Josh Allen, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Office of the Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigative Division (“EPA-CID”), Lucia Cabral-Dearmas, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Honolulu Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), and Aaron Joseph, Regional Agent in Charge of the Seattle Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”) announced the unsealing of a Superseding Indictment charging MICHAEL J. MISKE, JR., and 10 other defendants with racketeering conspiracy and other offenses. The Superseding Indictment includes charges against MISKE for his role in the kidnapping and murder of 21-year-old Johnathan Fraser in July 2016.

A prior Indictment, which charged MISKE and another defendant with participation in a cocaine trafficking conspiracy, was also unsealed.

Eight of the defendants were arrested on Wednesday and as of that day, one defendant has not been arrested and remains at large. Two of the defendants, LANCE BERMUDEZ and DAE HAN MOON, were already in state custody. The case has been assigned to United States District Judge Derrick K. Watson.


As alleged in the Superseding Indictment unsealed in Hawaii federal court[1]:

From at least in or about the late 1990s, up to and including the date of the Superseding Indictment, MICHAEL J. MISKE, JR., aka “Bro,” JOHN B. STANCIL, KAULANA FREITAS, aka “Shorty,” LANCE L. BERMUDEZ, aka “Hammah,” DEA HAN MOON, aka “Dayday,” PRESTON M. KIMOTO, HARRY K. KAUHI, aka “Harry Boy,” NORMAN L. AKAU III, HUNTER J. WILSON, and JARRIN K. YOUNG, the defendants, and others known and unknown, conspired to conduct and participate in the conduct of the affairs of a racketeering enterprise, the “Miske Enterprise,” through a pattern of racketeering activity. The racketeering activity included acts involving murder, kidnapping, arson, and robbery. It also included acts relating to murder-for-hire, chemical weapons, extortionate credit transactions, racketeering, interference with commerce through robbery and extortion, drug trafficking, wire fraud, fraud in connection with identification documents, financial institution fraud, the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act, money laundering, and obstruction of justice.

From at least in or about March 2016 and continuing to on or about July 30, 2016, MISKE conspired with others to kidnap and murder 21-year-old Johnathan Fraser. In March 2016, MISKE instructed a co-conspirator to develop a plan for kidnapping and murdering Fraser, and told that co-conspirator that he/she could name the price for carrying out the murder. In or about June 2016, MISKE arranged for the purchase of a Boston Whaler vessel that could be used to dump Fraser’s body into the ocean after Fraser was kidnapped and killed. On or about July 30, 2016, Fraser was kidnapped and killed. On that same day, another of MISKE’s co-conspirators took Fraser’s significant other on a “spa day,” thereby ensuring that Fraser and his significant other would be separated from each other when Fraser was kidnapped.

MISKE and other members and associates of the Miske Enterprise participated in various other acts of violence:

• In or about 2016, MISKE, STANCIL, BERMUDEZ, MOON, and KAUHI conspired to commit the murder-for-hire of an individual (“Victim-1”) whom MISKE suspected of cooperating with law enforcement.
• On or about May 23, 2017, MISKE and STANCIL attempted to cause the death of another person (“Victim-2”) and committed an assault of Victim-2, and did so using at least one firearm.
• From the late 1990s and continuing to in or about 2018, MISKE, STANCIL, BUNTENBAH, and others known and unknown, conspired to commit assaults in aid of racketeering.
• In or about October 2017, MISKE, KIMOTO, and others known and unknown conspired to kidnap another person (“Victim-3”) in Honolulu, Hawaii. Two of MISKE’s co-conspirators, acting on MISKE’s instructions, kidnapped Victim-3 in Honolulu and restrained him/her in their vehicle.
• In or about 2016, STANCIL, BERMUDEZ, KAUHI, and AKAU participated in a gunpoint robbery of another person (“Victim-4”) during which they robbed Victim-4 of methamphetamine.
• On or about August 24, 2016, BERMUDEZ and WILSON participated in a gunpoint robbery of another person (“Victim-5”) during which they robbed Victim-5 of controlled substances.

In or about March 2017, MISKE, STANCIL, and FREITAS, and others known and unknown, conspired to release a chemical weapon, namely, chloropicrin, into nightclubs in Honolulu, Hawaii. As part of this conspiracy, chloropicrin was released into two different nightclubs.

Multiple defendants conspired to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, including methamphetamine, cocaine, oxycodone, and marijuana.

Between on or about April 21, 2017 and July 3, 2017, MISKE and others participated in a scheme to defraud Bank of Hawaii through the preparation and submission of materially false documents as part of loan applications.

Mr. Price praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI, IRS-CI, EPA-CID, HSI, and ATF. He also thanked the Honolulu Police Department for the work of personnel who participated in this matter in their role as Task Force Officers with the FBI, and thanked the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Coast Guard Investigative Service, the United States Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force, the Hawaii National Guard, 93rd Civil Support Team, and the Office of Investigations–Office of the Inspector General for the Social Security Administration for their assistance.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Nammar, Micah Smith, and Mark A. Inciong are in charge of the prosecution. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marion Percell is in charge of the forfeiture component of the case.

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In order to #KAG, President Trump and William Barr Announce Dismantling of MS-13 Leadership via Terrorism Charges and Seeking of Death Penalty Due to Joint Task Force Vulcan

President Donald J. Trump and Attorney General William P. Barr announced significant cases related to Joint Task Force Vulcan (JTFV), an initiative launched in August 2019 aimed at disrupting, dismantling, and ultimately, destroying MS-13.

President Trump and Attorney General Barr announced a number of significant cases associated with JTFV, including the first time an MS-13 member has been charged with terrorism-related offenses, a coordinated multi-district take down of the leadership of the Hollywood clique of MS-13, and the Attorney General’s decision to seek the death penalty against an MS-13 defendant.


“In 2017, the President directed the Department of Justice to go to war against MS-13, and we did just that,” said Attorney General Barr. “In coordination with our partners at the Department of Homeland Security, the Justice Department’s law enforcement components have successfully investigated, charged, and arrested command and control elements of MS-13 responsible for murder. Joint Task Force Vulcan’s operations have significantly degraded MS-13 capabilities. While there is still work to be done, the Department of Justice remains committed to protecting Americans threatened by MS-13, and we will not rest until we have successfully defeated this transnational criminal organization.”

“Today’s announcements are the result of tremendous teamwork and coordination between prosecutors and law enforcement officers across the United States and Central America,” said JTFV Director John Durham. “MS-13 is a violent transnational criminal organization, whose criminal activities respect no boundaries. The only way to defeat MS-13 is by targeting the organization as a whole, focusing on the leadership structure, and deploying a whole-of-government approach against a common enemy.”

In an indictment unsealed yesterday, Melgar Diaz was charged in the Eastern District of Virginia with conspiring to provide material support to terrorists; conspiring to kill or maim persons overseas; conspiring to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries; conspiring to finance terrorism, and; conspiring to engage in narco-terrorism, in addition to racketeering conspiracy and drug trafficking. This is the first time that an MS-13 member has been charged with terrorism-related offenses.

Alexi Saenz was indicted in 2017 in the Eastern District of New York. It is alleged that between 2016 and 2017 he committed seven murders: the Jan. 28, 2016, murder of Michael Johnson; the April 29, 2016, murder of Oscar Acosta; the Sept. 13, 2016, murders of Kayla Cuevas and Nisa Mickens; the Oct. 10, 2016, murder of Javier Castillo; the Oct. 13, 2016, murder of Dewann Stacks, and; the Jan. 30, 2017, murder of Esteban Alvarado-Bonilla. Two of the victims were Brentwood high school students killed with a machete and baseball bat. The Attorney General has filed a Notice of Intent to Seek the Death Penalty for Saenz.

In a 24 count indictment unsealed yesterday, the Eastern District of New York, charged eight MS-13 members, including leaders of the East Coast Hollywood Program, with Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) and Violent Crimes in Aid of Racketeering (VICAR) charges related to six murders, two attempted murders, kidnapping, narcotics, and related firearms offenses.

In a 21-count indictment unsealed yesterday in the District of Nevada, 13 MS-13 members, including leaders of the “Hollywood Locos” clique and “Los Angeles Program,” were charged with various offenses including Continuing Criminal Enterprise (CCE), narcotics distribution and weapons charges.

In August 2019, Attorney General Barr created JTFV to carry out the recommendations of the MS-13 subcommittee formed under the Attorney General’s Transnational Organized Crime Task Force, which was the result of President Trump’s February 2017 Executive Order directing the Departments of Justice, State, and Homeland Security, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, to coordinate a whole-of-government approach to dismantle transnational criminal organizations, such as MS-13, and restore safety for the American people. The principal purpose of JTFV is to coordinate and lead the efforts of the Justice Department and U.S. law enforcement agencies against MS-13 in order to dismantle the group.

JTFV has successfully implemented the whole-of-government approach to law enforcement relating to MS-13; increased coordination and collaboration with foreign law enforcement partners, including El Salvador, Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala; designated priority MS-13 programs, cliques and leaders, who have the most impact on the U.S., for targeted prosecutions, and; coordinated significant MS-13 indictments in U.S. Attorney’s Offices across the country, such as the Eastern District of New York, the Eastern District of Virginia, and the District of Nevada.

Federal prosecutors from the Department of Justice’s National Security Division and the Criminal Division, as well as 10 U.S. Attorney’s Offices have been assigned to serve JTFV in full-time capacities: the Eastern District of New York; the Eastern District of Virginia; the District of Nevada; the Southern District of California; the District of Massachusetts; the Northern District of Ohio; the District of New Jersey; the Eastern District of Texas; the District of Utah, and; the District of Columbia. In addition, all Department of Justice law enforcement agencies are involved in the effort – the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the U.S. Marshals Service, and; the Bureau of Prisons. The Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations has also played a critical role in JTFV.

Attorney General Barr would also like to thank Attorney General Raul Melara of El Salvador for the assistance of his office, as well as investigators from El Salvador’s Policia Nacional Civil, Centro Antipandilla Transnacional unit for their assistance.

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As Disney Begins their Phased Reopening Tomorrow, Check Out the Story of "Herbert Blitzstein and the Mickey Mouse Mafia" #DisneyMagicMoments

Herbert Blitzstein and the Mickey Mouse Mafia, is a story from the anthology Masters of True Crime, which spans murder cases from the beginning of the 20th century to today.

This is a must-hear for fans of true crime and will also be compelling to mystery and thriller listeners.

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The Vapors: A Southern Family, the New York Mob, and the Rise and Fall of Hot Springs, America's Forgotten Capital of Vice

The Vapors: A Southern Family, the New York Mob, and the Rise and Fall of Hot Springs, America's Forgotten Capital of Vice.

The incredible true story of America's original―and forgotten―capital of vice

Back in the days before Vegas was big, when the Mob was at its peak and neon lights were but a glimmer on the horizon, a little Southern town styled itself as a premier destination for the American leisure class. Hot Springs, Arkansas was home to healing waters, Art Deco splendor, and America’s original national park―as well as horse racing, nearly a dozen illegal casinos, countless backrooms and brothels, and some of the country’s most bald-faced criminals.

Gangsters, gamblers, and gamines: all once flocked to America’s forgotten capital of vice, a place where small-town hustlers and bigtime high-rollers could make their fortunes, and hide from the law. The Vapors is the extraordinary story of three individuals―spanning the golden decades of Hot Springs, from the 1930s through the 1960s―and the lavish casino whose spectacular rise and fall would bring them together before blowing them apart.

Hazel Hill was still a young girl when legendary mobster Owney Madden rolled into town in his convertible, fresh off a crime spree in New York. He quickly established himself as the gentleman Godfather of Hot Springs, cutting barroom deals and buying stakes in the clubs at which Hazel made her living―and drank away her sorrows. Owney’s protégé was Dane Harris, the son of a Cherokee bootlegger who rose through the town’s ranks to become Boss Gambler. It was his idea to build The Vapors, a pleasure palace more spectacular than any the town had ever seen, and an establishment to rival anything on the Vegas Strip or Broadway in sophistication and supercharged glamour.

In this riveting work of forgotten history, native Arkansan David Hill plots the trajectory of everything from organized crime to America’s fraught racial past, examining how a town synonymous with white gangsters supported a burgeoning black middle class. He reveals how the louche underbelly of the South was also home to veterans hospitals and baseball’s spring training grounds, giving rise to everyone from Babe Ruth to President Bill Clinton. Infused with the sights and sounds of America’s entertainment heyday―jazz orchestras and auctioneers, slot machines and suited comedians―The Vapors is an arresting glimpse into a bygone era of American vice.

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