Georgia Father & Son Sentenced for Violating Lacey Hunting Act

February 3, 2009

Lacey Law Helps To Protect Wildlife Obtained & Transported Illegally

Atlanta, GA - FRED HAND, III, 54, and FRED HAND IV, 24, of Atlanta, Georgia, were both sentenced today by United States Magistrate Judge Linda T. Walker on their guilty pleas to misdemeanor charges of illegally transporting a whitetail deer from Colorado to Georgia, a violation of the Lacey Act, a federal law.

United States Attorney David E. Nahmias said, “We are committed to the protection of wildlife resources. We expect hunters to comply with state and federal wildlife statutes and regulations. There is a market for many game animals and that are highly sought after, particularly in Western states, and we want to make sure that the law is not violated.”

“We take very seriously our mission to support our state counterpart wildlife enforcement agencies,” said James Gale, Special Agent in Charge, Southeast Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement. “We will continue to investigate those who choose to violate state and federal laws. They undermine the proud tradition of fair chase for all hunters.”

According to United States Attorney Nahmias and the information presented in court: In November 2007, FRED HAND, III and his son, FRED HAND, IV, used a rifle to shoot and kill a whitetail deer during Colorado’s archery-only season, a violation of state law. The HANDs then transported the antlers of the seven-point buck to Georgia in interstate commerce, a violation of a federal law called the Lacey Act.

The Lacey Act, enacted in 1900, is the first national wildlife law, and was passed to assist states in enforcing wildlife laws. It provides additional protection to fish, wildlife, and plants that were taken, possessed, transported or sold in violation of state, tribal, foreign, or U.S. law. The Act prohibits the import, export, transport, sale, receipt, acquisition, transportation, sale, receipt, or purchase of fish, wildlife, or plants in interstate or foreign commerce that were taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of state, tribal, foreign, or U.S. laws. The HANDs violated the Lacey Act when they brought the antlers back to Georgia.

The HANDs each were sentenced to pay a fine of $10,000 to the Lacey Act Reward Account, and restitution in the amount of $5,000, payable to the State of Colorado’s Division of Wildlife. The HANDs were also placed on probation for two years, and forfeited their right to hunt in 22 Western states.

This case was investigated by Special Agents of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement. Assistance in this case was provided by the State of Colorado Division of Wildlife.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mary C. Roemer.

For further information please contact David E. Nahmias (pronounced NAH-me-us), United States Attorney, or Charysse L. Alexander, Executive Assistant United States Attorney, through Patrick Crosby, Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Attorney’s Office, at (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the HomePage for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is www.usdoj.gov/usao/gan.

OWNER OF HI-TECH PHARMACEUTICALS AND CO-CONSPIRATORS SENTENCED IN PRESCRIPTION DRUG IMPORTATION RING

February 3, 2009

Wheat Sentenced to Over Four Years in Federal Prison

Atlanta, GA — A federal judge has sentenced JARED ROBERT WHEAT, 37, of Alpharetta, Georgia, to over four years in federal prison and assessed a $3 million forfeiture for being the mastermind of a criminal scheme to manufacture and import adulterated and unauthorized pharmaceutical products, to include illegal knock-offs of Viagra, Ambien, Lipitor, Celebrex, Xanax, Vioxx, and Zoloft. WHEAT is the sole owner of HI-TECH PHARMACEUTICALS, a Norcross-based manufacturer and seller of herbal products that allegedly enhance sex drive, encourage weight loss, etc.

Judge Jack T. Camp sentenced WHEAT to 4 years, 2 months in federal prison, and also sentenced his conspirators: DAVID BRADY, 42, of Pinehurst, North Carolina (32 months in custody, and ordered to forfeit $1.7 million); STEPHEN SMITH, 40, of Duluth (27 months); SERGIO OLIVEIRA, 48, of Hoschton, Georgia, (27 months); and TOMASZ HOLDA, 45, of Duluth, Georgia (24 months). In addition, co-defendants STEVEN BLINDER, 44, of Aberdeen, South Dakota; DAVID JOHNSON, 39, of Pinehurst, North Carolina; BRAD WATKINS, 40, of Marietta, Georgia, and his brother DAVID WATKINS, 42, of Daphne, Alabama, all received non-custodial felony sentences.

WHEAT’s corporation, HI-TECH PHARMACEUTICALS, was placed on five years’ probation by Judge Camp for its involvement in the criminal scheme.

United States Attorney David E. Nahmias said of the sentencings, “These defendants sought to profit from unsuspecting customers who had no idea they were buying pills manufactured in highly unsanitary conditions in a Belezian house, all without FDA approval or licensing from the rightful patent holders. We are extremely fortunate that no one was sickened or killed by these drugs, which are lawfully available only via prescription and from legitimate manufacturers.”

Rodney G. Benson, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division said of the sentencings, “Drug traffickers who use the internet to divert pharmaceutical products take advantage of the anonymity of the internet and deceive the American people in the safety and efficacy of pharmaceutical products. These individuals put the health and safety of the consumer at risk. Their actions were deplorable and their sentences are appropriate. This case would not have been possible without the unified efforts of our local, state and federal law enforcement colleagues.”

According to United States Attorney Nahmias and the information presented in court: the defendants in this case, in furtherance of their conspiracy, established a manufacturing facility in a small office park in rural Belize. Inside what was essentially a four-room home, the defendants produced unauthorized generic versions of such popular prescription pharmaceuticals as Xanax, Valium, Ambien, Vioxx, Zoloft, Viagra, and Cialis. The manufacturing processes complied with none of the sanitary, hygienic, or quality-control regulations issued by the FDA, nor had the defendants obtained approval from the FDA or licenses from the patent-holders to make such drugs. Nonetheless, the defendants made the drugs and marketed them, primarily via the internet, to customers in the United States and elsewhere. The drugs were made available without prescription and also without disclosure of the unsanitary manufacturing conditions. The defendants realized millions of dollars of sales before the scheme was disrupted by Belizean authorities and ended by U.S. authorities.

This case was investigated by the Food and Drug Administration-Office of Criminal Investigations, and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), with overseas assistance from Belizean law enforcement authorities. Investigative assistance was also provided by the United States Customs and Border Protection, Foreign Mail Facility, Miami, Florida.

Assistant United States Attorneys Randy Chartash, Douglas Gilfillan, and Robert McBurney prosecuted the case, with assistance from Michael Brown of the Asset Forfeiture Unit.

For further information please contact David E. Nahmias, United States Attorney, or Charysse L. Alexander, Executive Assistant United States Attorney, through Patrick Crosby, Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Attorney’s Office, at (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the HomePage for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is www.usdoj.gov/usao/gan.

Georgia’s Secretary of State, Karen Handel Will Be Guest of the Rome Young Republicans

February 2, 2009

Karen Handel, Georgia’s current Secretary of State and Republican gubernatorial candidate for 2010, will be the featured guest this week at the monthly meeting of the Rome Young Republicans this Tuesday, February 3, 2009 at Opi’s Waterfront Grill, located at 112 West 2^nd Avenue, Next to the Hawthorne Suites.

Dinner and social time is from 6:30 - 7:00 PM, and the program starts at 7:00 PM.

Handel has been aggressively pursuing many issues during her freshman tenure as Georgia’s Secretary of State, including election fraud, all over the state. She has been maligned by Democrats and Republicans alike, when her target is one of their particular local party, but Handel has been hanging tough.

Probably the most prominent fight in the election fraud battle has been our own region’s election fraud case against Chattooga County’s former State Court Judge, Carlton Vines, for crimes committed during the November 2006 election, involving hundreds of bogus absentee ballots - many metered, often sequentially, at the postage meter of Vines’ own law partner, Summerville attorney Albert Palmour.

The public is invited to attend, regardless of age or party affiliation.

Contact: romeyoungrepublicans@gmail.com

Teresa Watson

Rome’s Own State Representative Dempsey to Chair Technical College Subcommittee

January 30, 2009

ATLANTA – Representative Katie Dempsey (R-Rome) has been appointed Chairman of House Technical Colleges Subcommittee. This subcommittee is under the Higher Education Committee.

“I am so honored to be chosen for this position” said Rep. Dempsey, “I will do everything in my power to contribute to the success of the Technical College System of Georgia.”

As subcommittee chairman, Rep. Dempsey will oversee any legislation affecting Georgia’s technical colleges, including Rome-based Coosa Valley Technical College.

Rep. Bill Hembree (R-Winston), Chairman of the Higher Education Committee, said he named Rep. Dempsey to chair the subcommittee because, “Rep. Dempsey has displayed outstanding leadership on the committee the past two years. She has really shown an enormous amount of knowledge of higher education that will enable her to deal with issues that come before the subcommittee of the technical college system. It’s good to have her.”

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