FBI'S Top Ten News Stories
For the Week Ending October 19, 2007

1. FBI Participates in TOPOFF 4 National Preparedness Exercise

From October 15-19, 2007, the FBI took part in a multi-agency national preparedness exercise known as Top Officials, or TOPOFF. The exercise is the fourth segment of the TOPOFF series of congressionally mandated exercises administrated by the Department of Homeland Security and designed to strengthen the nation’s capacity to prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from large-scale terrorist attacks. The exercise simulated the response to a radiological dispersal device attack.

2. Anchorage: Former State Representative Sentenced

Thomas T. Anderson, former member of the Alaska State House of Representatives, was sentenced to 60 months in prison for extortion, conspiracy, bribery, and money laundering.

3. New York: Hedge Fund Manager Sentenced to Prison for $88 Million Securities Fraud Scheme

Former hedge fund manager John H. Whittier was sentenced to 36 months in prison following his May 2007 guilty plea to charges of securities fraud stemming from a scheme that resulted in investor losses of approximately $88 million. The case was investigated jointly by the SEC and the FBI.

4. Boston: New Jersey Man Convicted of Wire Fraud for Advance Fee Loan Scheme

Michael Wyatt of Plainfield, NJ, was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud based upon an advance-fee loan scheme that he participated in with Larry and Christopher Stallings of Watauga, Texas, and others. The Stallings were previously convicted for their role in the scheme. The conspirators collected over $2 million in advance payments during the course of the scheme, which they spent on personal purchases.

5. San Francisco: “Chinese Inheritance” Scam Warning

Shiu Chau Wang pleaded guilty to money laundering by using the “Chinese Inheritance” scam, in which a victim is told he has received an inheritance from a relative in China, but before receiving it, must pay an “inheritance tax” to the U.S. government. The scam is common in the San Francisco area.

6. Sacramento: Man Sentenced to More than 33 Years on Child Pornography Charges

Richard Matuck was sentenced to 405 months in prison based on his guilty pleas on three counts of production by a custodial person of visual depictions of his minor son engaging in sexually explicit conduct, and one count of possession of such visual depictions. The case is part of an extensive investigation by the Marysville Police Department, the Yuba County Sheriff’s Office, the Yuba County District Attorney’s Office, and the FBI’s Chico Safe Streets Task Force as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood initiative.

7. Chicago: Reward Offered in Chicago Kidnapping

The Chicago Division of the FBI announced a $25,000 reward for information leading to the identification and arrest of the individuals responsible for the September 2007 kidnapping and murder of two men and a 13-year-old boy from the northwest side of Chicago.

8. Salt Lake City: First ‘Two Strikes and You’re Out’ Life Sentence in Montana for a Recidivist Sex Offender

William J. Gallerando was sentenced to life in prison for sexual exploitation of children and to a concurrent sentence of 240 months for possession of child pornography. Gallenardo is the first recidivist sex offender sentenced to life in prison in Montana pursuant to the “two strikes and you’re out” law.

9. New Haven: FBI Asks for Public Assistance in Locating Serial Bank Robber

The FBI and multiple police departments in Connecticut and New York are seeking public assistance in locating a serial bank robber believed responsible for nine bank robberies.

10. Cincinnati: Former NCFE President and Associate Arrested for Witness Tampering, Conspiracy, and Obstruction of Justice

Lance K. Poulsen and Karl A. Demmler were arrested on federal conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and witness tampering charges. Poulsen, the former president and chief finance officer of National Century Financial Enterprises, used Demmler to attempt to bribe a witness to prevent her from giving damaging testimony against Poulsen in his fraud trial scheduled for February 2008.