Jury Convicts Long Island Man of Conspiring to Murder Federal Judge and Federal Prosecutor

BROOKLYN, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that a federal jury convicted Joseph Romano, 51, of Levittown, New York, of conspiring to murder the Assistant United States Attorney who prosecuted him for engaging in an eight-year, multi-million-dollar fraud involving the telemarketing of coins. The jury also convicted the defendant of conspiring to murder the United States District Judge who sentenced him to 15 years in prison for that fraud. The defendant faces a maximum penalty of life in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both, in addition to forfeiture of more than $200,000 when he is sentenced in March.
“A threat against a member of the criminal justice system, such as a Judge or an attorney, is nothing less than an attempt to subvert the system, and as such will not be tolerated,” said U.S. Attorney Hochul.
According to the government’s trial evidence, the defendant agreed to pay $40,000 to an undercover police officer, whom he thought was a hitman, to kill the federal judge and prosecutor. The defendant also requested that the hitman cut off their heads in exchange for a “bonus.” Law enforcement authorities learned of the plot in August 2012 from another inmate at the Nassau County Correctional Center where Romano was being held. During the subsequent investigation, two undercover law enforcement officers, posing as hitmen, met with Romano and co-conspirator Dejvid Mirkovic numerous times at locations on Long Island, including the Correctional Center.
At the first meeting, Romano offered to pay one of the undercover officers $3,000 to assault an individual with whom he had a financial dispute. Co-conspirator Mirkovic then met with one of the undercover officers and paid him $1,500 as a down payment for the assault. After one of the undercover officers showed proof of the purported assault of the intended victim—in fact, a staged photograph and an identification card—Mirkovic paid the undercover officer the $1,500 balance.
Later that same day, Mirkovic again met with the undercover officer, relayed Romano’s instructions to murder the federal judge and prosecutor, and offered $40,000 for the commission of the two murders. In addition, Mirkovic indicated that Romano wanted the federal judge and prosecutor beheaded and the body of the prosecutor mutilated and that he was willing to pay extra for those services. Over the following weeks, the undercover officer received $22,000 in cash down payments for the murders and was promised payment of the final $18,000 when the murders were completed. At the time of the arrests of Romano and Mirkovic on October 9, 2012, law enforcement officers recovered $18,000 in cash and a loaded 9mm semi-automatic handgun at Mirkovic’s residence in Lake Worth, Florida.
In March 2013, Dejvid Mirkovic pleaded guilty to conspiracy to murder and was sentenced to 24 years in prison in August 2013.
Today’s conviction was the latest development in an investigation handled by special agents and Task Force officers of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Office, under the direction of Assistant Director in Charge George Venizelos. The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Marshall L. Miller, Una A. Dean, and Brian Morris of the Eastern District of New York, under the supervision of U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul of the Western District of New York.

Prosecutor: 2 Men Plotted Against Government Sites

A prosecutor says two Georgia men plotted to make poison to use against government officials and federal buildings, while defense attorneys said the pair were simply talking big but committed no crimes.

Jurors heard opening statements Tuesday in the trial of Samuel Crump and Ray Adams.

Crump and Adams were among four men arrested in November 2011 after surveillance by an undercover informant who infiltrated their meetings at homes, during car rides and at a Waffle House restaurant. They face charges of conspiring and attempting to make ricin.

Two other men, Frederick Thomas and Dan Roberts, pleaded guilty in April 2012 to conspiring to get an unregistered explosive and an illegal gun silencer. U.S. District Judge Richard Story sentenced each of them to five years in prison.

Long Island Man Arrested for Attempting to Join al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Conspiring to Commit Murder Overseas

A five-count indictment was unsealed today in United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York charging Marcos Alonso Zea, also known as “Ali Zea,” an American citizen and resident of Brentwood, New York, with conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country, attempting to provide material support to terrorists, attempting to provide material support to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, also known as Ansar al-Sharia (AQAP/AAS), and obstruction and attempted obstruction of justice. Zea was arrested earlier this morning at his home on Long Island and is scheduled to be arraigned later today before United States Magistrate Judge Arlene Lindsay at the federal courthouse in Central Islip, New York.
The charges were announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; John Carlin, Acting Assistant Attorney General, National Security Division; George Venizelos, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), New York Field Office; and Raymond W. Kelly, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD).
As set forth in the indictment and other court filings, beginning in the fall of 2011, Zea conspired with others to travel overseas in order to wage violent jihad on the perceived enemies of Islam, which included the secular government in Yemen. In furtherance of the conspiracy, on January 4, 2012, Zea flew from John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK) in Queens, New York, to London, England, en route to Yemen in an attempt to join and fight alongside members of AQAP/AAS, a designated foreign terrorist organization that has claimed responsibility for several terrorist attacks against the United States, including the attempted Christmas Day 2009 bombing of a Detroit-bound passenger plane.
As set forth in the indictment and other court filings, Zea was intercepted by customs officials in the United Kingdom (UK) in transit to Yemen and returned to the United States. Despite being prevented from traveling to Yemen, Zea continued his participation in the terrorist conspiracy. Specifically, Zea encouraged and supported his co-conspirator, Justin Kaliebe, who also was plotting to travel to Yemen to fight jihad. In August 2012, in a covertly recorded conversation between Zea and Kaliebe, Zea bragged about his lies to UK authorities when he was detained, instructed Kaliebe regarding methods to evade electronic surveillance by law enforcement authorities, and discussed Kaliebe’s plans to fight jihad. On January 21, 2013, Kaliebe attempted to travel from New York to Yemen for the purpose of joining AQAP/AAS but was arrested at JFK by members of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) and the NYPD’s Intelligence Division. (Kaliebe subsequently pled guilty to one count of attempting to provide material support to terrorists and one count of attempting to provide material support to AQAP/AAS. Kaliebe is scheduled to be sentenced on December 6, 2013, by United States District Judge Arthur D. Spatt in United States District Court in Central Islip.) Several days before Kaliebe attempted to travel to Yemen to join AQAQ/AAS, Zea gave Kaliebe money to support his trip. During this meeting, which was covertly recorded, Zea stated, “I just hope, my story, my, the event that happened to me will help you guys move forward, inspire you.”
In April 2013, after learning that he was under investigation by the JTTF, Zea directed an associate to erase the hard drive on Zea’s home computer and provided the associate two additional hard drives that Zea had used previously, which he also requested be destroyed. Despite Zea’s efforts to thwart the investigation, the JTTF obtained the hard drives and conducted a forensic examination, which revealed an assortment of violent Islamic extremist materials. For example, the drives contained issues of Inspire magazine, an AQAP/AAS publication that promotes violent jihad, containing articles such as “Which is Better: Martyrdom or Victory?” “Why did I choose al Qaeda?” “What to Expect in Jihad?” and an interview with “Shaykh Abu Hurairah, The Military Commander of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.” The electronic media also included a video, disseminated by the propaganda wing of al Qaeda in Iraq, depicting the detonation of an explosive device on a vehicle carrying western military personnel. In addition, investigators recovered a semi-automatic rifle that Zea had given to an acquaintance shortly before he departed for Yemen.
“Despite being born and raised in the United States, Zea allegedly betrayed his country and attempted to travel to Yemen in order to join a terrorist organization and commit murder,” stated U.S. Attorney Lynch. “When that plan was thwarted, Zea continued to support terrorism by assisting his co-conspirator’s efforts to travel to Yemen to fight violent jihad. When the defendant sensed investigators from the JTTF closing in, he engaged in a desperate effort to cover his tracks by attempting to destroy evidence—a tactic that only confirmed his violent aims. This case clearly demonstrates how the FBI and the NYPD, along with their partners on the JTTF and overseas, work diligently and effectively to counter the efforts of al Qaeda’s affiliates and their supporters.” Ms. Lynch also expressed her grateful appreciation to the FBI, NYPD, Immigration and Customs Enforcement/Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Nassau County Police Department, the Suffolk County Police Department, the New York State Police, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department for their work on the investigation.
FBI Assistant Director in Charge Venizelos stated, “Inspired by terrorist propaganda, Mr. Zea allegedly traveled abroad in 2012 in a vain attempt to reach Yemen, join al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and fight violent jihad. When his attempt failed, Zea turned to financing and inspiring another Long Island man’s commitment to global terror. And when Zea learned he was under investigation, he feverishly attempted to destroy the incriminating evidence.”
NYPD Commissioner Kelly stated, “Aspirants with lethal intent who seek terror training abroad are of paramount concern. Fortunately, like Kaliebe before him, Zea was stopped due to the close cooperation between the NYPD and FBI.”
The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Seth D. DuCharme, John J. Durham, and Michael P. Canty, with assistance provided by Trial Attorney Kelli Andrews of the Counterterrorism Section of the Department of Justice.
The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Defendant:
Marcos Alonoso Zea (a/k/a “Ali Zea”)
Age: 25
Brentwood, New York

Attorney Paul W. Bergrin Sentenced to Life in Prison for Murder Conspiracy and Racketeering Offenses

NEWARK, NJ—A New Jersey lawyer who turned his law firm and related corporations into a racketeering enterprise was sentenced today in Newark federal court to life in prison, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Paul W. Bergrin, 57, of Nutley, New Jersey, was convicted in March 2013 following a jury trial of all 23 counts on which he was tried—including conspiracy to murder a witness and other racketeering, cocaine, and prostitution offenses.
The jury returned the verdict after two months of trial before U.S. District Judge Dennis M. Cavanaugh, who also imposed sentence today.
“Paul Bergrin’s betrayal of the people he once served, the court, and the rule of law was stunning,” said U.S. Attorney Fishman. “Each criminal choice he made was a step toward life in prison. After all he did to elude punishment for his clients—including orchestrating the murder of witnesses—he could not avoid facing justice for his own crimes.”
According to documents filed in this case, evidence at trial, and statements made in court:
Through his law firm, Bergrin conspired to tamper with witnesses; distribute cocaine; and facilitate drug trafficking, prostitution, and bribery, among other things. He conspired to murder witnesses to protect the drug trafficking enterprise, one of whom was shot to death to prevent him from testifying in court.
As a result of his conviction, Bergrin faced a mandatory sentence of life in prison on each of the following counts: count three, violent crimes in aid of racketeering; count 12, conspiring to murder a federal witness to prevent his testimony at an official proceeding; and count 13, aiding and abetting the murder of a federal witness to prevent testimony at an official proceeding. He also faced a maximum term of life in prison on three other counts.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford; IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Shantelle P. Kitchen; and the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Carl J. Kotowski, with the investigation.
The government is represented by Deputy Chief John Gay and Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph N. Minish of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division and Steven Sanders of the office’s Appeals Division in Newark.