Two New Braunfels Ammo Smugglers Found Guilty on Federal Charges

In Del Rio on Friday evening, a federal jury found 23-year-old Jesus Cardenas of New Braunfels, Texas, and 34-year-old Luis Cardenas guilty on multiple counts of smuggling ammunition from the United States, announced U.S. Attorney Robert Pitman and Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Janice Ayala.
The federal jury convicted the brothers on two counts of smuggling ammunition from the United States. The jury also convicted Jesus Cardenas on two counts of smuggling ammunition and magazines from the United States.
Evidence presented during the three-day trial showed that on two separate occasions between November 2011 and January 2012, Jesus Cardenas purchased, on behalf of an individual in Piedras Negras, Mexico, a total of more than 15,000 rounds of ammunition and 400 assault rifle magazines intended for export to Mexico. Furthermore, Luis Cardenas was paid to transfer the ammunition to an individual who then transported it to Del Rio.
On December 1, 2011, United States Border Patrol agents seized part of the ammunition, along with 23 assault rifles within yards of the Rio Grande River outside Del Rio. Special agents with Homeland Security Investigations seized additional ammunition and magazines in January 2012.
Both remain in custody pending sentencing. Each charge of conviction calls for a maximum of 10 years in federal prison and a maximum $250,000 fine. Sentencing for the case is presently set for August 14, 2014, before U.S. District Judge Alia Moses in Del Rio.
This case resulted from an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), together with United States Customs and Border Protection, United States Border Patrol, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Lewis Thomas and Patrick Burke are prosecuting this case for the government.

Amid corruption inquiry, Turkish prosecutor slams police

A Turkish prosecutor has openly accused police of interfering with a high-level corruption investigation.

"Court orders have not been carried out and there has been open pressure on the judicial process from both the chief prosecutor's office and from the police force, which is supposed to carry out the decisions of the courts," Muammer Akkas said in a Thursday statement.

He spoke one day after three Cabinet ministers resigned their posts, after their sons were arrested or temporarily detained in an anti-graft sting, semiofficial news agency Anadolu reported.

One of them, Urbanization and Environment Minister Erdogan Bayraktar, went further than the other two, not just resigning his Cabinet position but also calling on Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to step down.

Turkish media reported a possible second wave of detentions as imminent late Wednesday, but the raids did not materialize.

Instead, an apparent deadlock within the judiciary emerged as Akkas, the prosecutor, issued his statement saying the judiciary was under the heel of the government.

Akkas accused police and prosecutors of ignoring a decision of the courts by refusing to carry out more raids.

In a televised statement, Chief Istanbul Prosecutor Turan Colakkadi fired back, saying that Akkas had mishandled the investigation and leaked information to the press, leading to his removal from the case.

Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan and Interior Minister Muammer Guler, whose sons were also arrested in the investigation, also resigned Wednesday. Erdogan accepted the resignations, Anadolu reported.

The sons were detained in a roundup that included the head of a public bank, several bureaucrats and high-profile businessmen. The roundup came after a two-year investigation by the Istanbul Prosecutor's Office into allegations of corruption including money laundering, gold smuggling and bribery.

Many analysts see the corruption investigation as a public fight between Erdogan and Fethullah Gulen, an Islamist preacher living in self imposed exile in Pennsylvania.

Erdogan has repeatedly said since the corruption arrests began that international organizations with branches inside Turkey are trying to destabilize the country.

"This country has never been and never will be the operational space of international organizations. We will not allow the interest lobby, the war lobby, the blood lobby to carry out an operation under the guise of a corruption operation," he said Sunday.

Turkey is expected to hold local elections next year, and some analysts see the raids as a test of Erdogan's grip on power, especially after a turbulent year of unprecedented anti-government protests.

Demonstrations continued Thursday, with marches in Istanbul, Mersin, Izmir and Adana, where police used water cannons on marchers.

Protesters chanted: "The ministers are thieves," "Everywhere is bribery, everywhere is corruption," the "Public will clean this dirt" and the "Prime Minister is a thief."

The Prime Minister had been expected to reorganize his Cabinet, because some of his ministers will be running for office in March. Late Wednesday, he announced a Cabinet shuffle, naming 10 new people.

After the announcement, former Culture Minister Ertugrul Gunay tweeted his displeasure.

"I wish success to the new members of the Cabinet. I will suffice to say for now that I don't find the choices for Justice and Interior positions suitable," he wrote Wednesday.

One day later, he and two other members of parliament -- Izmir MP Erdal Kalkan and Ankara MP Haluk Ozdalga -- were sent to Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party's disciplinary committee with a request for their dismissal.

According to Anadolu, the party announced it is taking this disciplinary action against three of its members for "disparaging remarks" against its ideals and core policies.

International Arms Smuggler Sentenced to 180 Months in Prison

WASHINGTON—Siarhei Baltutski, aka Sergey Boltutskiy, 41, of Minsk, Belarus, was sentenced today to serve 180 months in prison for conspiracy to violate the Arms Export Control Act, conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting Assistant Attorney General John Carlin of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, and U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania made the announcement.
Baltutski pleaded guilty on January 25, 2013. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Paul S. Diamond of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ordered Baltutski to serve three years of supervised release.
Between January 1, 2008 and September 21, 2011, Baltutski organized a network of buyers in the United States to obtain and illegally export to Belarus high-tech military hardware such as Scorpion Thermal Weapon Sights, ThOR 2 Thermal Imaging Scopes, Thermal-Eye Renegade 320s, and other night vision targeting devices. During the course of the conspiracy, Baltutski and his associates illegally exported hundreds of these items. Baltutski then arranged for hundreds of thousands of dollars to be secretly wired, via offshore shell companies, to purchase these items, to pay for shipping, and to pay his network of buyers.
The Arms Export Control Act and the International Emergency Economic Power Act prohibit the export of high-tech military technology. Keeping this technology out of the hands of current and potential adversaries is critical to national interest and the safety and success of U.S. service members in combat.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI. The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Jerome Maiatico of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Livermore of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, with assistance from Trial Attorney David Recker of the National Security Division’s Counterespionage Section.