<![CDATA[FBI - Law Offices of William W. Bruzzo]]> https://www.bruzzolaw.com/blog/tags/fbi/ Tue, 15 Oct 2024 00:45:39 GMT en-us <![CDATA[San Diego DMV Employees Arrested for Accepting Bribes for Licenses]]> https://www.bruzzolaw.com/blog/san-diego-dmv-employees-arrested-for-accepting-bribes-for-licenses/ https://www.bruzzolaw.com/blog/san-diego-dmv-employees-arrested-for-accepting-bribes-for-licenses/ Thu, 07 Jun 2012 01:16:00 GMT San Diego County Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) employees have been charged with accepting bribes for issuing driver’s licenses. The FBI arrested and charged several people for accepting or giving the bribes. The allegations are that people were given driver’s licenses without taking the test or who had failed the driving test. People paid $2,500…

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San Diego map
English: Map of San Diego County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

San Diego County Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) employees have been charged with accepting bribes for issuing driver’s licenses. The FBI arrested and charged several people for accepting or giving the bribes. The allegations are that people were given driver’s licenses without taking the test or who had failed the driving test. People paid $2,500 to $3,000 for a commercial license and $400 to $500 for standard license. Four DMV employees have been charged with conspiracy to commit bribery and produce unauthorized identification documents, along with 21 other suspects. Authorities were especially concerned about the unqualified drivers that paid for the commercial licenses. Those drivers are allowed to drive vehicles that tow multiple trailers and move hazardous materials.

To learn more you can watch San Diego’s 10News.com video coverage here. 

Criminal Law Updates Law Offices of Orange County Defense Attorney William W. Bruzzo (714) 547-4636.

]]> <![CDATA[Suspect in Natalie Holloway Case Facing Murder Charge in Peru]]> https://www.bruzzolaw.com/blog/suspect-in-natalie-holloway-case-facing-murder-charge-in-peru/ https://www.bruzzolaw.com/blog/suspect-in-natalie-holloway-case-facing-murder-charge-in-peru/ Thu, 31 Mar 2011 20:54:00 GMT The FBI was scheduled to fly to Peru in order to investigate Joran van der Sloot’s laptop. They will be looking for any evidence connected to the Natalee Holloway case from 2005. Ms. Holloway was found murdered on the island of Aruba during her spring break; her killer has never been found but Mr. van…

]]> The FBI was scheduled to fly to Peru in order to investigate Joran van der Sloot’s laptop. They will be looking for any evidence connected to the Natalee Holloway case from 2005. Ms. Holloway was found murdered on the island of Aruba during her spring break; her killer has never been found but Mr. van der Sloot was a suspect. In Peru, van der Sloot is being accused of first degree murder and robbery involving the death of Stephany Flores in 2009. The suspect met Flores in a hotel in Lima at a gambling table. He has confessed to the killing but refuses to plead guilty to first degree murder. His defense attorney Maximo Alvarez explained that there was no premeditation by his client, and that the incident was out of “violent emotion” as quoted by CNN. Under Peruvian law van der Sloot could plead guilty to a lesser charge, similar to a manslaughter charge. The crime of passion type charge carries 3-5 years in prison in Peru. The Dutch national confessed to killing Flores after she was prying online on his laptop and found his connection to the Holloway case. He said she hit him in the head, and during the incident he elbowed her in the eye, strangled her with his hands and in the end used his shirt to cover her face until she stopped breathing. He then fled to Chile where he was captured by authorities. Van der Sloot faces charges in the US for extortion and wire fraud. Authorities explain that he had asked Holloway’s parents for money in exchange for the location of their daughter’s body. That information turned out to be false.

]]> <![CDATA[The McStay Family Mystery]]> https://www.bruzzolaw.com/blog/the-mcstay-family-mystery/ https://www.bruzzolaw.com/blog/the-mcstay-family-mystery/ Fri, 09 Apr 2010 19:06:00 GMT There has been new information on the possible whereabouts of the McStay family. The four members including two young boys have been missing for three months. Their Fallbrook home had no evidence of their whereabouts or why they left. They have not contacted their relatives or family since early February. Michael McStay, Joseph McStay’s brother,…

]]> There has been new information on the possible whereabouts of the McStay family. The four members including two young boys have been missing for three months. Their Fallbrook home had no evidence of their whereabouts or why they left. They have not contacted their relatives or family since early February. Michael McStay, Joseph McStay’s brother, has received two e-mails explaining that his brother Joseph and his two kids were seen in a store located in an area close to the Gulf of Mexico, another e-mail states they were closer to the Pacific coast of Mexico. Video footage has been collected and there is footage of the family. One is from a surveillance camera from their neighbor’s security camera in Fallbrook. The other footage is from a business close to the Mexican border showing the family crossing into Mexico. The Sheriff’s Department has found that a computer in the McStay house was used to look up traveling to Mexico. The FBI has also joined the search for the family, while Michael McStay has planned to pass out fliers near the border over the weekend.

]]> <![CDATA[Orange County Man Wearing a Bike Helmet Robs Bank]]> https://www.bruzzolaw.com/blog/orange-county-man-wearing-a-bike-helmet-robs-bank/ https://www.bruzzolaw.com/blog/orange-county-man-wearing-a-bike-helmet-robs-bank/ Fri, 15 Jan 2010 18:20:00 GMT Investigators at the Orange County Sheriff’s Department as well as the FBI are investigating a strange robbery that occurred at a U.S. Bank in Lake Forest, Orange County on January 11th. A man wearing a bicycle helmet went inside the bank and held a teller at gunpoint while demanding cash. He handed the teller a…

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Bike Helmet

Investigators at the Orange County Sheriff’s Department as well as the FBI are investigating a strange robbery that occurred at a U.S. Bank in Lake Forest, Orange County on January 11th. A man wearing a bicycle helmet went inside the bank and held a teller at gunpoint while demanding cash. He handed the teller a note and then took the note back and left the bank. He was not seen getting into a vehicle or, more importantly, on any bicycle.

California Penal Code Section 211 defines robbery as “the felonious taking of personal property in the possession of another, from his person or immediate presence, and against his will, accomplished by means of force or fear.” The fear may be either that of an unlawful injury to the person or property of the person robbed or of any relative of his or member of his family; OR the fear of an immediate and unlawful injury to the person or property of anyone in the company of the person robbed at the time of the robbery.

Because the U.S. Bank teller was held at gunpoint, he/she was most likely placed in fear of his/her life, thereby constituting a robbery. When no force or fear is involved in the taking of personal property, it is simply a theft, carrying a less serious punishment.

]]> <![CDATA[Federal Law Does Not Allow Marijuana to Be Sold or Used for Medical Purposes]]> https://www.bruzzolaw.com/blog/federal-law-does-not-allow-marijuana-to-be-sold-or-used-for-medical-purposes/ https://www.bruzzolaw.com/blog/federal-law-does-not-allow-marijuana-to-be-sold-or-used-for-medical-purposes/ Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:55:00 GMT As reported by the Associated Press, Deputy Attorney General David Ogden released a policy memo that outlines suggestions for state attorneys regarding prosecution of medical marijuana users and distributors. Federal law does not allow marijuana to be sold or used for medical purposes even though various states do, California among them. The memo suggests that…

]]> As reported by the Associated Press, Deputy Attorney General David Ogden released a policy memo that outlines suggestions for state attorneys regarding prosecution of medical marijuana users and distributors. Federal law does not allow marijuana to be sold or used for medical purposes even though various states do, California among them. The memo suggests that state prosecutors would make better use of their time by not focusing on prosecuting legitimate marijuana patients or the dispensaries in states that have legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes. This memo was also distributed to the higher rungs of the Drug Enforcement Agency and FBI.

This policy does not prohibit federal agents from making arrests nor does it stop prosecutors from filing charges. The memo draws attention to illegal usage and distribution, or marijuana cases connected to other violations such as money laundering or illegally armed people. One reason for the shifting focus is because of the limited resources the federal agencies have. The article quotes Attorney General Eric Holder “[i]t will not be a priority to use federal resources to prosecute patients with serious illnesses or their caregivers who are complying with state laws on medical marijuana…”. It would appear then that medical marijuana users and providers in California will be less likely to face prosecution from federal authorities. (See California Health and Safety Code Section 11357(b)). Criminal Law Updates from the Law Offices of William W. Bruzzo (714) 547-4636.

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