FRESNO, Calif. - United States District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill sentenced Jose Alcaraz Palacio, 33, of Torrance, today to five years and three months in federal prison, Drug Enforcement Administration Acting Special Agent in Charge Bruce C. Balzano and United States Attorney Benjamin Wagner announced. According to court documents, on...

SAN FRANCISCO - United Parcel Service, Inc. (“UPS”) and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of (“USAO-NDCA”) entered into a Non-Prosecution (“NPA”) today in which UPS agreed to forfeit $40 million in payments it has received from illicit online pharmacies and to implement a compliance program designed...

SAN FRANCISCO - Nine defendants were sentenced over the last two days for their roles in illegally distributing controlled substances to customers who bought the drugs from illicit Internet pharmacies, United States Attorney Melinda Haag and Drug Enforcement Administration Acting Special Agent in Charge Bruce C. Balzano announced. The defendants...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Tien Le, 47, of Sacramento, was found guilty today of conspiracy to manufacture marijuana following a six-day jury trial before United States District Judge William B. Shubb, Drug Enforcement Administration Acting Special Agent in Charge Bruce C. Balzano and United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. The...

NEWARK, N.J. - A federal jury has convicted Paul W. Bergrin, 57, of Nutley, N.J., of all 23 counts on which he was tried, including conspiracy to murder a witness and other racketeering, cocaine and prostitution offenses. The verdict was announced today by New Jersey U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - William Robert Barsanti, 27, of Junction City, Calif., pleaded guilty in federal court to growing marijuana, Drug Enforcement Administration Acting Special Agent in Charge Bruce C. Balzano and United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. According to court documents, sheriff’s deputies searched three Trinity County properties owned...

FRESNO, Calif. - Two large-scale marijuana cultivators pleaded guilty and one was sentenced today in federal court, according to Drug Enforcement Administration Acting Special Agent in Charge Bruce C. Balzano and U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner. The defendants were involved in separate marijuana cultivation operations in Kern, Kings, and Stanislaus...

FRESNO, Calif. - Manuel Vasquez, 30, a Fresno bail bondsman who resided in Selma, pleaded guilty today to participating in a long-term methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy and aiding and abetting a convicted felon, Edwan Dablan, 37, of Kingsburg, to possess multiple firearms, Drug Enforcement Administration Acting Special Agent in Charge Bruce...

FRESNO, Calif. - Operation Mercury, a multicounty marijuana initiative focusing on agricultural marijuana grows, has resulted in the guilty plea today of Christopher Gallegos, 19, of Temecula, and the sentencing today of Ramon Manjarrez Del Vaal, 37, of Sinaloa, Mexico, Drug Enforcement Administration Acting Special Agent in Charge Bruce C...

FRESNO, Calif. - Joseph Taylor, 53, of Thousand Oaks, and Dustin York, 35, of Newbury, were sentenced to prison today for their involvement in a conspiracy to cultivate marijuana in a warehouse on South Union Avenue in Bakersfield, Drug Enforcement Administration Acting Special Agent in Charge Bruce C. Balzano and...