U.S. Department of Justice

Belleville Martial Arts Instructor Accused of Sexually Exploiting Kids, Filming the Abuse

Christopher Horton, a twenty-year-old Belleville martial-arts instructor, is accused of sexually exploiting three minors -- ages six, eight and ten -- and filming the abuse. A new complaint against Horton says that he confessed to the sexual assault and attempted to get a fourth minor to engage in s ... More >>

Sue Gibson, HIV Patient in Castlewood Case: Other Patients May Have Been Denied Care

The Department of Justice agreed last week that a St. Louis eating disorder clinic discriminated against an HIV-positive woman by intentionally delaying her admittance and denying her treatment. Castlewood Treatment Center for Eating Disorders has been ordered to pay a $140,000 settlement, the secon ... More >>

Castlewood Eating Disorder Clinic: Sue Gibson Denied Treatment Because of HIV Status

In a statement released late yesterday afternoon, the Department of Justice announced it reached a settlement with Castlewood Treatment Center for Eating Disorders over its refusal to treat an HIV-positive woman suffering from anorexia. Susan Gibson, a mid-Missouri resident, tried to gain acceptanc ... More >>

Country Club Sopranos: American banks are on a massive crime spree. Obama and Romney hope you won't notice.

Are Child-Porn Cartoons Good for Society?

On Monday, a 36-year-old from southwestern Missouri named Christjan Bee pleaded-guilty to having some filthy porn inside his computer. His wife had discovered it, then tipped off the local police department in their hometown of Monett. According to news reports, police seized Bee's computer and ... More >>

Show Your Support for Mitt Romney by Shopping at Guitar Center! The Power of Passive Endorsement

Are you a musician? Is your group having issues? Ask Fan Landers! Critic Jessica Hopper has played in and managed bands, toured internationally, booked shows, produced records, worked as a publicist, and is the author of The Girls' Guide to Rocking, a how-to for teen ladies. She is here to help you ... More >>

[Kim Dotcom Arrest Video: Update] The Eight Most Eyebrow-Raising Elements of the Megaupload Shutdown

Editor's Update, 8/9/12: Video of the raid on former Megaupload CEO Kim Dotcom's enormous New Zealand home in January has just emerged -- you can watch it above. The report, from 3 News in New Zealand, includes testimony from Dotcom -- who is accused of the largest copyright infringement in U.S. hi ... More >>

Attention: AG Chris Koster Will Not Give You One Million Dollars

You may receive a letter from Attorney General Chris Koster in the near future announcing that you've won $1 million (or some other large amount of money), but you have to pay your taxes on it first, in accordance with Missouri law. Or maybe the letter comes from the FBI, or the Department of Justic ... More >>

Jim Crow's Alive and Well in 2012

The Gay Selma: Schools ignore gay bullying at their own peril

The Eight Most Eyebrow-Raising Elements of the Megaupload Shutdown

This FBI notice is all the content that remains on the now-shuttered Megaupload.com domain.​SOPA and PIPA have been the talk of the internet for weeks, if not months now. Several major websites blacked out their content in opposition to the controversial bills this past Wednesday. On Thursday, ... More >>

SOPA Protests Keep Kids From Researching SummerSlam

​Attention, high school students: You have to read the book now. Tonight at midnight, Wikipedia shuts down for 24 hours to protest both House Bill 3261, more commonly known as the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), and its related bill in the Senate, the PROTECT IP ACT (PIPA). SOPA and PIPA have raise ... More >>

Lost Boy Child Pornography Case: Court Documents

​The Los Angeles-led FBI investigation into the online child pornography group known as "Lost Boy" resulted in the indictments of 19 Americans and fourteen defendants abroad. The men were charged collectively for running a child exploitation enterprise, among other crimes. The investigation, a ... More >>

Inmates More Likely to Die in Missouri Jails Than in 42* Other States

John Gotti died of throat cancer while incarcerated at the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri.​The Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics released a bunch of numbers yesterday offering an exhaustive demographic account of inmates who are dying in p ... More >>

Missouri Fares Well in Avoiding Arrest-Related Deaths

​For many cops, shooting a suspect during the course of a crime means shooting to kill, and it's an action to be used only in matters of imminent danger. With that in mind it's heartening that from 2003 to 2009 Missouri witnessed just 26 arrest-related deaths, well below the national average ... More >>

Eastern District of Missouri Sees Surge in Bank Fraud Prosecutions, Bucking National Trend

Federal prosecutions against financial institutions are ticking downward across the country, but the Eastern District of Missouri is defying that trend, nearly matching New York City's district in per-capita charges against banks so far this year. A report released last week by the Transactional Re ... More >>

Lost Boys: New research demolishes the stereotype of the underage sex worker — and sparks an outbreak of denial among child-sex-trafficking alarmists nationwide

Martin Sigillito's Co-Defendants Plead Guilty

Image viaJ. Scott Brown and Derek Smith admitted to joining in a huge Ponzi scheme worth $52 million.​Bishop/attorney Martin Sigillito has chosen to continue fighting federal charges that he ran a $52 million Ponzi scheme -- perhaps the biggest in state history (see our feature here). But now he s ... More >>

Dems to Ask Justice Department For Photo ID Investigation

Marcia Fudge: The Cleveland congresswoman wants the Justice Department to investigate photo ID laws like the one planned for Missouri ballots in 2012​Next year, Missouri voters will be asked to consider an amendment to the state's constitution, requiring voters to bring an unexpired Missouri or fe ... More >>

Drug Givebacks Scheduled Across the Region

Give those vicodins back, Dr. House.​Got some delicious Vicodin squirreled away for a rainy day after that root canal? The U.S. Department of Justice wants you to give 'em up.Next weekend, four St. Charles county locations are accepting leftover prescription drugs in a project coordinated by the D ... More >>

Attorney for Camp Zoe Calls Property Seizure "Fundamentally Unfair"

Image viaAttorney Dan Viets​One day after Daily RFT broke the news that federal law enforcement agencies and the Missouri State Highway Patrol are attempting to seize Camp Zoe, a 350-acre campground in central Missouri that hosts the Schwagstock music festivals, the attorney for the property owner ... More >>

Update: Attorney for Camp Zoe Calls Property Seizure "Fundamentally Unfair"

Image viaAttorney Dan Viets​One day after A to Z broke the news that federal law enforcement agencies and the Missouri State Highway Patrol are attempting to seize Camp Zoe, a 350-acre campground in central Missouri that hosts the Schwagstock music festivals, the attorney for the property own ... More >>

Justice Department Sues Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Early Endorser of Ed Martin

Sheriff Joe​The Department of Justice today filed a lawsuit alleging that Arizona lawman Joe Arpaio is blocking its investigation into possible civil rights violations within his Maricopa County Sheriff's Department. Arpaio is well known in Arizona -- and increasingly nationwide -- for his sweeps ... More >>

Bishop Sigillito's Lawyers Blast Government Tactics as "Illegal" and "Frightening"

Click here to read the filing!​Clayton attorney and American Anglican bishop Marty Sigillito stands accused in civil court of running a $45 million Ponzi scheme. He's currently under federal investigation. See our feature, "White Collar Crime." Bishop Marty Sigillito wants his stuff back. The fed ... More >>

Asylum Denied: Only a fraction of Mexicans get U.S. asylum.

Get Out!: Arizona and America Join Joe Arpaio in Rushing to Inquire: Are Your Papers in Order?

Serious Weight: Dealer Sentenced for Moving 8.5 Tons of Pot Over 5 Years

So, exactly how much is 8.5 tons of pot? Obligatory photograph of pot.Answer: 17,000 pounds or 7,711 kilograms or 103 Michael Phelpses or 38,555 copies of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon or 453,592 Twinkies or 131,949 White Castle Sliders. That's how much mary jane an East St. Louis drug de ... More >>

St. Louis City Heroin Overdoses Increased Last Year

St. Louis city was one of 26 counties nationwide that reported an increase of heroin overdoses last year, according to the U.S. Department of Justice's annual "Drug Threat Assessment" released yesterday.Here's the DOJ's map showing the other counties where dope fiends died in higher numbers:via U.S. ... More >>

Missouri Public Defenders Fight for Right Not to Represent All Accused Criminals

​Any good cop TV show has the same line. Just as the criminal is being placed in shackles, the police officer states: "You have a right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, the state will provide you one." Did you know, though, that that line isn't necessarily true? At least not in Mi ... More >>

No Justice: We've bailed out the banks. When do we go after the crooks behind our financial collapse?

Congressman Clay Asks Department of Justice to Investigate Baggy-Pants-Gate

Add Missouri Congressman William Lacy Clay to the number of folks outraged that a bar in Chicago refused to allow entry to six African-American students from Washington University. Sounds like a job for Bagg'ns.​Today the the congressman asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the alle ... More >>

Your Coke Connection Might Be "Cerrado": Ten St. Louisans Busted In Nationwide Sting

In a two-day bodyslam of the Mexican drug cartel, "La Familia," law enforcers in 19 different states arrested 303 individuals, including 10 from the St. Louis area. ​Five of the locals put in bracelets were Mexican nationals: Wlfrado Navarrete-Hernandez, 36, St. Ann, MOMaria Valazquez, 40, St. Ann ... More >>

Feds Let Online Gamblers Lay Claim to BETonSPORTS' Founder Gary Kaplan's $43 Million, Beginning Today

​Gary Kaplan, founder of the now-defunct online gambling business BETonSPORTS, delivered a big win to the U.S. Department of Justice last week when he pleaded guilty to racketeering and fraud. Part of the plea-bargain included Kaplan's forfeiture of more than $43.65 million in proceeds he acquired ... More >>

St. Louis Labeled as "Not Fun City" Approved for Government Travel

What's not fun about all this stuff?  Several branches of the federal government have revised their travel policies so as not to appear as though they're misusing tax dollars during these tough economic times. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Department of Agriculture and Department of ... More >>

¡Ask A Mexican!: Ssssh — Whitey's finding out we call 'em gabachos!

ACLU Decries Conditions in St. Louis City Jails; Sends Report to Justice Department

kwamebuildinggroup.comThe Justice Center on Tucker Blvd. was completed in 2002 at a cost of around $80 million.The American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri released a report today condemning conditions at two St. Louis City jails -- the City Justice Center and the Medium Security Institute ... More >>

Joe Buck, Fox Colleagues, Got Free Government Escorts

Joe Buck, Tim McCarver and Troy Aikman got free U.S. Marshal Service rides and escorts to sporting events, according to Web site The Smoking Gun. In a report issued late last week, the Department of Justice's inspector general found that an attorney for the marshal service, David Band, arranged for ... More >>

Janet Napolitano’s Sorry Service in Arizona Makes Her a Terrible Choice for Homeland Security Secretary

Spend an Afternoon in a Gitmo Detention Cell ... at the Airport Hilton

The Morning Brew: Tuesday, 8.19

Dial Uno for English

No news is good news.

The questions Steven Colbert didn't ask.

Dirty Little Secrets

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department keeps a tight lid on internal affairs. Even if it means breaking the law.

Two-Steppin'

The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether a Missouri cop could justifiably dance around Miranda

Dying to Get Out

Some inmates tell horror stories about healthcare at the women's prison in Vandalia. Some didn't live to tell their tales.

Herky Jerk

Doe Run's owner has done this before -- and that has regulators braced for trouble

Empty Promises

Missouri has been pouring millions into prisons that aren't being used. But stay tuned: If politicians have their way, there will be plenty of inmates to go around.

Look Who Didn't Trust the Feds

A blast from the past in the war on terrorism

Jerome Ruffin's Last Run

At 22, Jerome Maurice Ruffin had four children and no job, and the police were after him — again. Then a cop shot and killed him in an alley. Witnesses, family and friends want to know why. The cops aren't talking.

News of the Weird