New York Paralegal Blog

WASHINGTON – An Iowa-based company pleaded guilty today to participating in a price-fixing conspiracy for the sales of ready-mix concrete, the Department of Justice announced.     According to a one-count felony charge filed on June 24, 2011, in U.S. District Court in Sioux City, Iowa, VS Holding Co., which formerly operated as Alliance Concrete Inc., a producer of ready-mix concrete with headquarters in Orange City, Iowa, participated in a conspiracy with another ready-mix concrete company to fix prices for ready-mix concrete sold in the northern district of Iowa.   The department said the company participated in the conspiracy beginning at least as early as January 2006 and continuing until as late as January 2008.   Ready-mix concrete is a product comprised of cement, aggregate (sand and gravel), water and other additives.   The concrete generally is produced in a concrete plant and is transported by concrete-mixer trucks to work...

A former trustee for the Weslaco Independent School District (WISD) has pleaded guilty to accepting a bribe in exchange for using his official capacity to influence the award of a contract on a school renovation project, United States Attorney José Angel Moreno announced today. Joe Marines, 55, of Weslaco, Texas, pleaded guilty today to a Hobbs Act violation. Marines admitted that in August 2006, while serving as a trustee for WISD and the district was involved in the bidding process for the renovation of Roosevelt Elementary School, he met with an FBI informant who was soliciting a contract on the project. Marines admitted he received $500 in exchange for Marines exerting his influence as a trustee to award a subcontracting job on the project. Later that same month, the FBI informant paid Marines an additional $1000 for the same purpose. A conviction for a violation of the Hobbs Act is punishable by no more than 20 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $250,000. U.S. District J...

WASHINGTON – A Pasadena, Texas, man pleaded guilty today to charges related to a homicide that took place in Atascosa County, Texas, in May 2008, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney John E. Murphy for the Western District of Texas.   Frank Lavelle Urbish Jr., 39, aka “Thumper,” pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez to committing a violent crime in aid of racketeering activity.   Specifically, Urbish accepted responsibility for his role in the murder of Mark Davis Byrd Sr.     According to information presented in court, Urbish was a member of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT), a powerful race-based, statewide organization that operates inside and outside of state and federal prisons throughout Texas and the United States.   The ABT enforces its rules and promotes discipline among its members, prospects and associates through m...