Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice testified at an Oversight Committee hearing focusing on the State Department’s performance on several significant issues relating to the Iraq war, including the impact of the activities of Blackwater USA and corruption within the Iraqi ministries on the prospects of political reconciliation in Iraq.

Lewd and Lascivious Acts Involving Children
Gary Lee Whiteside, age 64, of Spring Valley, California, was arraigned today in State Superior Court, Department 12, on state charges of violating California Penal Code 288 (a), which makes it a crime to commit a lewd and lascivious act upon a child.

Whiteside has been in custody since July 16, 2008, when he was arrested on federal child pornography charges brought forward by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of California, San Diego. Whiteside was arrested by FBI Agents and members of the San Diego Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. The federal arrest warrant charged Whiteside with violation of Title 18, United States Code (U.S.C.), Section 2251(a), sexual exploitation of a child.

WASHINGTON – Two physicians have pleaded guilty to conspiracy for their participation in an Internet pharmacy business that generated more than $126 million in gross revenues from the illegal sale of prescription pharmaceuticals, Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Friedrich of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Karen P. Hewitt for the Southern District of California announced today.

Chandresh Shah, M.D., 51, of Smyrna, Ga., pleaded guilty today in San Diego before U.S. District Judge Irma E. Gonzalez to one count of conspiracy to illegally distribute controlled substances and agreed to forfeit $16,674.

The FBI is seeking the public’s assistance in identifying the individual responsible for robbing the Wells Fargo Bank located at 7080 Broadway in Lemon Grove, California on Monday, August 25, 2008, at approximately 9:30 a.m.

The suspect is described as a white male in his early 30’s, 5’8” – 5’9” with a medium build. He was wearing a light-colored t-shirt and a dark baseball cap.

Memphis, TN- A federal grand jury in Memphis returned five indictments charging a total of twelve people with a total of twenty-seven violations of the federal Controlled Substances Act on Wednesday, August 20, 2008 announced Lawrence J. Laurenzi, Acting United States Attorney, My Harrison Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Memphis Division, Mark Luttrell, Shelby County Sheriff and Larry Godwin, Director of the Memphis Police Department.

On August 20, 2008, Lonny Conway, age 38, of Memphis, Tennessee, was charged in the Western District of Tennessee at Memphis, Tennessee, with one count of violation of the Federal Bank Robbery Statute and one count of violation of Use of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony. Conway was charged in connection with the armed robbery of the SunTrust Bank, 464 South Perkins, Memphis, Tennessee.

Memphis, TN – On August 14, 2008, Dennis O’Connor, 56, of Brighton, Tennessee pled guilty before United States District Court Judge Jon P. McCalla to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and one count of filing a false income tax return announced Lawrence J. Laurenzi, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee. O’Connor faces a maximum penalty of 8 years in prison and fine of $500,000 when he is sentenced on January 8, 2009.

Memphis, TN - Louie Holloway, age 27, was sentenced July 8, 2008 to a sentence of life imprisonment without parole by United States District Judge Samuel H. Mays, Jr. on charges involving the September 8, 2002 attempted robbery and shotgun murder of John Stanbaugh, a Pizza Hut deliveryman in midtown Memphis announced Lawrence J. Laurenzi, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee. Holloway had previously been acquitted of the murder in state court.

Defendant was on Federal Supervised Release for Another Bank Robbery when he Robbed Bank in Grand Prairie, Texas
DALLAS — Collin McCoy Garner was sentenced to 15 years in prison by U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade following his guilty plea in February to one count of bank robbery, announced U.S. Attorney Richard B. Roper of the Northern District of Texas. Garner, 37, of Wylie, Texas, has been in custody since his arrest in December 2007, just days after the bank robbery.

- faces up to 20 years in prison

DALLAS — The owner of a home health care agency, Irene Anderson, 45, of Wylie, Texas, pled guilty yesterday afternoon in federal court before U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle to one count of mail fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Richard B. Roper of the Northern District of Texas. She faces a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. In addition, as part of the plea agreement, Anderson and the government have agreed to a restitution amount of $2,276.622.31. Anderson has agreed to forfeit a 2006 Hummer, a 2002 Suzuki and $8500 in cash that was found in her car when she was arrested on April 18, 2008, in Wylie, Texas. She has been in custody since her arrest.