The Sheriff's Blogger

IMPAIRED WRONG-WAY DRIVER SENTENCED TO TWO YEARS IN PRISON FOR KILLING GRANDMOTHER IN CAR CRASH

June 25, 2010

Orange County District Attorney's Office

SANTA ANA - A woman was sentenced today to two years in state prison for killing a 70-year-old grandmother by crashing into her car while driving on the wrong side of the road. Betty Diaz, 39, Lake Forest, pleaded guilty to one felony count of vehicular manslaughter by unlawful acts with gross negligence and two felony counts of child endangerment.

On July 3, 2007, Diaz was driving in her Chevrolet Suburban in Irvine with her two children near Irvine Center Drive and the Irvine Spectrum Center. The defendant started to feel sick due to a pre-existing medical condition as she drove southbound on Irvine Center Drive. Diaz, who had on another occasion needed paramedic assistance while driving due to her medical condition, failed to stop despite knowing that she was impaired.

Diaz began driving erratically, weaving through traffic, and crossed over the raised center divider onto the wrong side of the road. While weaving across lanes southbound in the northbound lanes, Diaz crashed head-on into a Toyota Camry driven by 70-year-old Connie Chung. The victim, a grandmother of six, was rendered unconscious in the crash and was taken to Mission Hospital, where she died of traumatic injuries.

Deputy District Attorney Susan Price of the Vehicular Homicide Unit prosecuted this case

CAUCASIAN TRANSIENT SENTENCED TO EIGHT YEARS IN PRISON FOR UNPROVOKED HATE CRIME ATTACK OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN TEENAGE BOY

June 25, 2010

Orange County District Attorney's Office

SANTA ANA - A Caucasian transient was sentenced today to eight years in state prison for committing a hate crime against an African-American teen by threatening and assaulting the victim outside of a CVS Pharmacy. Ronald Allen Bramlett, 65, pleaded guilty to the court to one felony count of aggravated assault, one felony count of criminal threats, and sentencing enhancements for committing a hate crime and the personal use of a deadly weapon. Bramlett admitted to a strike for a prior 1994 federal bank robbery conviction from Oregon, and a 2001 prison prior for petty theft with a prior conviction.

At approximately 8:00 p.m. on Dec. 29, 2009, 16-year-old African-American John Doe and his three friends were outside of CVS Pharmacy at 1835 Newport Boulevard in Costa Mesa. The teens did not know the defendant.

Bramlett approached the group and called John Doe derogatory racial names, including "Boy" and "dirty N*****." The defendant claimed to be a member of a well-known white supremacist gang. He stated that John Doe didn't have the right to look at him because Bramlett had blond hair and blue eyes.

A witness intervened and attempted to stand between John Doe and the defendant, telling Bramlett to back off. The defendant refused to leave and challenged the victim to a fight. He waived a knife and threatened John Doe, "I'm going to cut you up into little pieces, boy."

The defendant fled the scene after the witness's wife called police. Costa Mesa police arrived and arrested Bramlett in a nearby store.

Deputy District Attorney Israel Claustro of the Special Prosecutions Unit prosecuted this case.

CPA FOR KIA MOTORS AMERICA SENTENCED TO SIX YEARS STATE PRISON FOR EMBEZZLING OVER $889,000 WITH HER HUSBAND AND BROTHER

une 25, 2010

Orange County District Attorney's Office

SANTA ANA - A Certified Public Accountant (CPA) for Kia Motors America (Kia) was sentenced today to six years and four months in state prison for embezzling over $889,000 from Kia with her husband and brother.

Cecile Nhung Campbell, 55, pleaded guilty Oct. 31, 2008, to one felony count of grand theft, one felony count of receiving stolen property, three felony counts of computer access and fraud, three felony counts of money laundering, one felony count of filing false tax returns, and sentencing enhancements and allegations for aggravated white collar crime over $500,000, property damage over $150,000, and causing loss over $100,000. Cecile Campbell was also ordered to pay restitution of $624,930 to Kia and $83,138 to the California Franchise Tax Board.

Cecile Campbell's ex-husband, Mel Wayne Campbell, 56, pleaded guilty May 27, 2010, to one felony count of receiving stolen property, three felony counts of money laundering, and sentencing enhancements and allegations for aggravated white collar crime over $500,000, property damage over $150,000, and causing loss over $100,000. He was sentenced to four years in state prison.

Cecile Campbell's brother, Long Ngoc Ho, 50, pleaded guilty Aug. 10, 2007, to one felony count of grand theft, three felony counts of money laundering, and sentencing enhancements and allegations for aggravated white collar crime over $500,000, property damage over $150,000, and causing loss over $100,000. Ho faces a maximum sentence of 12 years in state prison at his sentencing on Sept. 24, 2010, at 9:00 a.m. in Department C-34, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.

In 2002, Cecile Campbell worked in the accounting department of Kia. On three occasions between May and July 2002, Cecile Campbell made three high-dollar wire transfers totaling over $889,000 to a Wells Fargo account. The account was opened by Ho under the fictitious business name U.S. Customs Service Detail. Ho created this account to resemble the legitimate federal United States Customs Service, which collects import duties on shipments of automobiles that arrive in the United States.

Mel and Cecile Campbell laundered the stolen money into personal accounts and used the embezzled funds to pay off the lines of credit on the Campbell's house, which they had maxed out for the full value of the credit line and used for personal expenses. They repeated this fraudulent scam four times.

Kia discovered the theft and reported it to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Mel Campbell was arrested June 21, 2006 at his home in Laguna Niguel. Ho was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on June 21, 2006, while trying to re-enter the United States from Vietnam. Cecile Campbell turned herself in on June 22, 2006. Mel and Cecile Campbell were married at the time of the crime but have since divorced.

This case was investigated by the Orange County District Attorney's Office, FBI, and California Franchise Tax Board. Deputy District Attorney Marc Labreche of the Major Fraud Unit prosecuted this case.

WOMAN TO BE ARRAIGNED FOR STABBING NEW MOTHER AFTER BEFRIENDING HER IN ORDER TO KIDNAP HER BABY GIRL

June 24, 2010

Orange County District Attorney's Office

SANTA ANA - A woman will be arraigned tomorrow for stabbing a new mother with the intention of kidnapping her infant child. Gabriela Osorio, 28, Santa Ana, is charged with one felony count each of attempted murder with premeditation and deliberation, kidnapping a child under 14 years of age, and first degree residential burglary, three felony counts of child abuse and endangerment, and two felony counts of criminal threats. She faces sentencing enhancements and allegations for having a non-accomplice present during a residential burglary, causing great bodily injury, and the personal use of a deadly weapon. If convicted, Osorio faces a maximum sentence of life in state prison. She is being held on $1 million bail and is scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow June 25, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. in Department CJ-1, Central Jail, Santa Ana.

Prior to March 2010, Osorio is accused of lying to her boyfriend and family by falsely claiming that she was pregnant. When her family became suspicious, the defendant is accused of telling her family that she gave birth to a baby girl on March 3, 2010, but the baby had to remain at the hospital for medical reasons. Osorio is accused of devising a plan to kidnap a baby and pass off the child as her own to put her family's suspicions to rest.

In May 2010, the defendant is accused of going to a medical clinic in Santa Ana to meet a mother with a new born child. Osorio is accused of befriending the victim Lucia I. and gaining her trust.

On May 28, 2010, Osorio is accused of arriving at the victim's Santa Ana home with the intention of stealing the infant. The defendant is accused of trying to suffocate victim Lucia I. with a plastic bag and a pillow. Osorio is accused of stabbing the mother three times in the ribs, shoulder and back of the neck with a kitchen knife that she found at the victim's home.

The victim's infant child and two other toddlers, both two years old, were in the room during the attack. Lucia I. escaped and ran outside with her two toddlers to a neighbor's house where she called 911. Osorio is accused of remaining in the victim's home with the baby.

Neighbors observed the bleeding victim run from the house and went to plead with the defendant to give them the baby. Osorio is accused of moving the new baby from one area to another inside the house and threatening to harm her. She is accused of handing over the child to the neighbors when she heard that police had arrived on the scene.

Paramedics transported Lucia I. to the hospital, where she was treated for her stab wounds and released.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Alison Gyves of the Felony Panel is prosecuting this case.

WOMAN TO BE ARRAIGNED FOR STABBING NEW MOTHER AFTER BEFRIENDING HER IN ORDER TO KIDNAP HER BABY GIRL

June 24, 2010

Orange County District Attorney's Office

SANTA ANA - A woman will be arraigned tomorrow for stabbing a new mother with the intention of kidnapping her infant child. Gabriela Osorio, 28, Santa Ana, is charged with one felony count each of attempted murder with premeditation and deliberation, kidnapping a child under 14 years of age, and first degree residential burglary, three felony counts of child abuse and endangerment, and two felony counts of criminal threats. She faces sentencing enhancements and allegations for having a non-accomplice present during a residential burglary, causing great bodily injury, and the personal use of a deadly weapon. If convicted, Osorio faces a maximum sentence of life in state prison. She is being held on $1 million bail and is scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow June 25, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. in Department CJ-1, Central Jail, Santa Ana.

Prior to March 2010, Osorio is accused of lying to her boyfriend and family by falsely claiming that she was pregnant. When her family became suspicious, the defendant is accused of telling her family that she gave birth to a baby girl on March 3, 2010, but the baby had to remain at the hospital for medical reasons. Osorio is accused of devising a plan to kidnap a baby and pass off the child as her own to put her family's suspicions to rest.

In May 2010, the defendant is accused of going to a medical clinic in Santa Ana to meet a mother with a new born child. Osorio is accused of befriending the victim Lucia I. and gaining her trust.

On May 28, 2010, Osorio is accused of arriving at the victim's Santa Ana home with the intention of stealing the infant. The defendant is accused of trying to suffocate victim Lucia I. with a plastic bag and a pillow. Osorio is accused of stabbing the mother three times in the ribs, shoulder and back of the neck with a kitchen knife that she found at the victim's home.

The victim's infant child and two other toddlers, both two years old, were in the room during the attack. Lucia I. escaped and ran outside with her two toddlers to a neighbor's house where she called 911. Osorio is accused of remaining in the victim's home with the baby.

Neighbors observed the bleeding victim run from the house and went to plead with the defendant to give them the baby. Osorio is accused of moving the new baby from one area to another inside the house and threatening to harm her. She is accused of handing over the child to the neighbors when she heard that police had arrived on the scene.

Paramedics transported Lucia I. to the hospital, where she was treated for her stab wounds and released.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Alison Gyves of the Felony Panel is prosecuting this case.

FOUR UNEMPLOYED MEN CHARGED WITH YEAR-LONG ATM THEFT CONSPIRACY USING STOLEN TRUCKS AND FORKLIFT

June 24, 2010

Orange County District Attorney's Office

NEWPORT BEACH - Additional charges were filed today against four unemployed men involved in a $400,000 conspiracy to steal Automated Teller Machines (ATM) using two stolen trucks and a stolen forklift. Richard Dwayne Bockman, 43, Yucca Valley, Ricky Joe Coffey, 44, Orange, Curtis Edward Weber, 38, Anaheim, and Charles Earl Roberts, 41, Riverside, are scheduled to be arraigned on the charges this morning, Thursday, June 24, 2010, in Department H-2, Harbor Justice Center, Newport Beach.

All four defendants are being held on $1 million bail. Prior to posting bond, the defendants must prove that their bail money is from a legal and legitimate source.

All four defendants are charged with four felony counts of grand theft, two felony counts each of arson, commercial burglary, and vandalism, and one felony count each of conspiracy to commit an unlawful taking of a motor vehicle, conspiracy to commit grand theft, conspiracy to commit arson, and the unlawful taking of a motor vehicle. They all face sentencing enhancements for causing over $200,000 in loss.

If convicted, Roberts faces a maximum sentence of 15 years and eight months in state prison.

As to the unlawful taking of a motor vehicle charge, Coffey faces sentencing enhancements and allegations for having a prior in 1994 for the same charge. Coffey also faces sentencing enhancements and allegations for being convicted and sent to prison on two separate occasions and not remaining free for a period of five years for a 1994 conviction for possession of stolen property and a 2005 conviction for identity theft. He faces an additional sentencing enhancement for crime-bail-crime, meaning that he was out of custody on bail on another criminal case at the time of this crime. Coffey faces a maximum sentence of 21 years and eight months in state prison if convicted.

Bockman faces additional felony charges including one count each of attempted grand theft, vandalism and the unlawful taking of a motor vehicle. Bockman faces sentencing enhancements and allegations for being convicted and sent to prison on six separate occasions and not remaining free for five years for 1992 and 1996 unlawful taking of a motor vehicle convictions, transportation of methamphetamine in 1995, possession of substances to manufacture drugs in 1999, and possession of methamphetamine and possession of stolen property in 2005. He faces an additional sentencing enhancement for crime-bail-crime. If convicted, Bockman faces a maximum sentence of 26 years and eight months in state prison.

Weber faces an additional felony charge for the possession of methamphetamine for sale. As to that charge, he faces sentencing enhancements and allegations for a prior conviction for possession of methamphetamine for sale in 2004. Weber additionally faces sentencing enhancements and allegations for being convicted and sent to prison on five separate occasions and not remaining free for a period of five years for possession of methamphetamine convictions in 1997, 1999, 2001, and 2003. He faces additional sentencing enhancements for two separate crime-bail-crimes. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 30 years and eight months in state prison.

Circumstances of the Conspiracy

Between May 30, 2009, and May 1, 2010, the defendants are accused of committing four ATM thefts using stolen pick-up trucks, a box truck, and a forklift. The thefts of the ATMs and trucks occurred in the Cities of Aliso Viejo, Anaheim, Fullerton, Long Beach, and Yorba Linda.

In each case, the defendants are accused of driving in a stolen truck early in the morning to businesses where ATMs, primarily School First Federal Credit Union ATMs, were free-standing or anchored into the ground with concrete. The defendants are accused of using a pallet jack or stolen forklift to move the ATM from the store into the back of the box truck and then fleeing the scene. In one case, Bockman is accused of attempting to steal an ATM on his own, but abandoning the ATM in the back of a stolen pick-up truck in the parking lot, leaving the cash and contents inside.

On May 1, 2010, the defendants are accused of leaving the stolen box truck in a Home Depot parking lot in Orange and setting fire to the inside. They are accused of burning the truck and an ATM that had been left inside to destroy the evidence and fleeing the scene.

Many of the thefts were captured on store surveillance videos. In all, the defendants are accused of stealing over $400,000 in money and property, including the ATM cash, check deposits, and machines, two vehicles, and the forklift.

Arrest of the Defendants

On May 3, 2010, Bockman was arrested at Morongo Casino Resort & Spa after being linked through DNA to evidence left behind at a crime scene. At the time of his arrest, Bockman is accused of being in possession of over $19,000 in cash.

On May 4, 2010, Weber and Coffey were arrested at a hotel in Orange. Coffey is accused of being in possession of $3,000 cash and a Harley Davidson motorcycle he had purchased using stolen money. Weber is accused of being in possession of $2,000 cash, prescription pills, drug paraphernalia, and over 20 grams of methamphetamine.

The Orange County District Attorney's Office filed charges related to some of the thefts on May 6, 2010, and the investigation continued. A warrant was issued for the arrest of Roberts. Roberts was arrested on the warrant at his sister's house in Orange on June 10, 2010. He is accused of being in possession of a Harley Davidson motorcycle he had purchased using stolen money.

The two motorcycles, $25,000 in cash, and the abandoned property from the attempted ATM theft were recovered. Most of the stolen cash and property have not been recovered or was destroyed in the arson.

This case was investigated by the police departments in the Cities of Anaheim, Brea, Fullerton, and Orange, the Orange and Los Angeles County Sheriff's Departments, the Orange Fire Department, and the Orange County Crime Lab.

Anyone with additional information is encouraged to contact Supervising District Attorney Investigator Anthony Sosnowski at (714) 347-8814. Deputy District Attorney Israel Claustro of the Special Prosecutions Unit is prosecuting this case.

DRIVER UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF ALCOHOL AND PRESCRIPTION DRUGS CONVICTED OF MURDERING MOM WHO WAS RIDING BIKE WITH SON

June 23, 2010

Orange County District Attorney

SANTA ANA - A driver under the influence of prescription drugs and alcohol was convicted today of murdering a woman by crashing his car into her while she was riding her bike on the sidewalk with her son. Alex David Trujillo, 45, Garden Grove, was found guilty by a jury of one felony count of murder and faces a maximum sentence of 15 years to life in state prison at his sentencing on Aug. 20, 2010, at 9:00 a.m. in Department C-34, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.

At approximately 4:55 p.m. on Oct. 12, 2008, 46-year-old Catherine Busse was riding her bike on Lampson Avenue in Seal Beach with her 15-year-old son, Samuel Busse. The pair was riding on the sidewalk. Trujillo was driving nearby and veered off the road up onto the sidewalk at 45 mph. He was driving under the influence of multiple prescription drugs including Oxycontin, Vicodin, Xanax, and Soma. He had a blood alcohol level of .11 percent.

Trujillo crashed his car into Catherine Busse, who was thrown from her bike and landed nearby. Witnesses called 911 and detained Trujillo until police arrived. Catherine Busse died at the scene due to blunt force trauma to the head. Her son, Samuel Busse, was transported to the hospital to be treated for minor injuries.

Trujillo, who has a prior 2002 conviction for driving under the influence, had completed an alcohol awareness class and a Mothers Against Drunk Driving panel, during which he was advised of the dangers of driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

During the trial, evidence was presented that Trujillo frequented four different pharmacies to obtain between 120 and 180 Vicodin pills and between 60 and 120 Oxycontin pills every month. Despite toxicology reports showing a presentence of Xanax in the defendant's system at the time of the crash, the defendant testified that he had never taken that prescription drug.

The People argued during the trial that Trujillo's drug and alcohol impaired driving was not limited to the day he murdered Busse, but was a daily occurrence based on his excessive prescription drug use and his admission to the hospital at the time of his arrest that he frequently consumed alcohol. The People argued that the defendant lived every day with a conscious disregard for the danger he posed to other drivers and pedestrians on the road.

Deputy District Attorney Susan Price of Homicide Unit is prosecuting this case.

ORANGE COUNTY MAN SUSPECTED OF HACKING COMPUTERS ARRESTED ON FEDERAL CHARGES RELATED TO DEMANDS FOR SEXUALLY EXPLICIT VIDEOS FROM WOMEN AND TEENAGE GIRLS

US Department of Justice

    LOS ANGELES – A man who claims to be affiliated with an underground gang of hackers was arrested today on federal extortion charges that allege he hacked into dozens of computers, obtained personal data about people using the computers, and then demanded sexually explicit videos from female victims in exchange for keeping their personal information private.

    Luis Mijangos, 31, of Santa Ana, California, was arrested without incident at his residence by special agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

    The arrest of Mijangos, which was pursuant to a criminal complaint filed last week in United States District Court, follows a six-month FBI investigation into his involvement in computer hacking, identity theft and video voyeurism. FBI computer forensics experts have determined Mijangos infected more than 100 computers that were used by approximately 230 individuals, at least 44 of whom were juveniles.

    The federal investigation into Mijangos resulted from a referral from the Glendale Police Department, which received a complaint from a victim and realized the matter involved a number of victims and may be the work of a sophisticated computer hacker.

    “This case is another example of local police and FBI agents collaborating to solve a crime,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge, Steven M. Martinez. “The investigation leading to the extensive network of victims in this case and culminating with today’s arrest of Mr. Mijangos would not have been possible without information provided by the Glendale Police Department, whose detectives worked this investigation jointly with FBI agents. Mr. Mijangos is alleged to have exploited new technology to exert control over young women whom he extorted, and many who were unwitting victims.”

    The affidavit in support of the complaint outlines a series of schemes that all involve Mijangos using peer-to-peer networks to infect computers around the world with malicious computer code. Mijangos induced victims to download the malware onto their computers by making the files appear to be popular songs. After the victims downloaded the malware, Mijangos was able to control their computers, allowing him to send instant messages containing malware from those computers to other people in the victims’ address books. These later victims thought they were receiving messages from friends or family members.

    Mijangos infected victim computers for a variety of purposes, according to the complaint, that outlines several lines of criminal conduct.

    Once he had control of a computer, Mijangos searched for sexually explicit or intimate images and videos of women, typically young women and girls in various states of undress or engaged in sexual acts with their partners. Mijangos contacted the female victims, informing them that he was in possession of intimate images and videos and threatening to distribute those stolen images and videos to every addressee in the victims' contact lists unless they made additional videos for him. Mijangos also told his victims that, because he controlled their computers, he would know if they attempted to contact the authorities, and he threatened to retaliate against them by releasing the images and videos if they called the police. According to the affidavit, Mijangos told one victim that she did not want to “mess” with a team of hackers.

    Mijangos also installed a “keylogger” on victims’ computers that allowed him to record every key that was struck on the keyboards of the infected computers. Because the users of those compromised computers were unaware that their computers had been infected, they continued to use their computers to engage in commercial and social activities. Mijangos used the keylogger to steal credit card numbers and personal identifying information that he used to engage in identity theft and to purchase merchandise, the affidavit states.

    Mijangos also used stolen usernames and passwords to access victims’ email and social networking sites to further his extortion scheme. After hacking email accounts belonging to victims’ boyfriends, Mijangos contacted women and teenage girls and, pretending to be their boyfriends, asked them to create pornographic videos for him. Once he had those videos, Mijangos again contacted the victims, this time using an alias, to demand more pornographic videos under threats of distributing the videos previously sent to him.

    With his control of the victims’ computers and all of their functions, Mijangos was able to remotely access victims’ webcams and to turn them on from time to time in an attempt to catch the victims in intimate situations. Occasionally he was successful.

    During the execution of a search warrant at his residence, Mijangos was interviewed by FBI agents. According to the affidavit, Mijangos acknowledged that he hacked into computers, but claimed that he did so at the request of boyfriends and husbands who sought to determine whether the women were cheating on them. Mijangos acknowledged that he asked for additional sexual videos but only to determine whether the women would actually do it. Mijangos also admitted his involvement with an international network of hackers and his participation in credit card fraud.

    Mijangos is expected to make his initial court appearance this afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles.

    The criminal complaint charges Mijangos with extortion, a felony offense that carries a statutory maximum penalty of two years in federal prison.

Woman charged in 2008 Santa Monica murder

June 21, 2010

Los Angeles District Attorney's Office

LOS ANGELES – A 44-year-old woman was charged today with the 2008 murder of an aspiring model-actress, the District Attorney’s Office announced.

Deputy District Attorney Halim Dhanidina of the Major Crimes Division said Kelly Soo Park (dob 10/10/65) is expected to be arraigned this afternoon in Department 144 of the Airport Court. Park is charged in case No. SA074676.

Park was arrested in Camarillo on June 17 by officers of the Santa Monica Police Department for the murder of Juliana Redding, 21. Park allegedly entered Redding’s Santa Monica apartment on March 15, 2008, and physically assaulted her, causing her death.

Though the defendant was staying in Camarillo at the time of her arrest, state records show her city of residence as Thousand Oaks, prosecutors said.

Redding moved to southern California from Tucson to pursue a modeling and acting career.

Bail for Park was recommended at $1 million. The defendant faces a maximum prison term of 25 years to life, if convicted as charged.

FORMER OFFICIAL WITH BARSTOW LABOR UNION PLEADS GUILTY TO THEFT OF UNION FUNDS AND FILING FALSE TAX RETURN

US Department of Justice

    RIVERSIDE, California – The former financial secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Union, Local 1023, pleaded guilty today to federal charges related to his theft of more than $90,000 in union funds.

    Jimmie L. Miles, 70, of Barstow, California, pleaded guilty to one count of embezzling union funds and one count of filing a false income tax return that failed to report the embezzled income to the IRS. 

    As part of his guilty pleas, Miles admitted that he embezzled more than $90,000 in union funds from the beginning of 2003 through June 2007. Miles issued and signed more than 350 checks from the union’s bank account without obtaining authorization from the union’s membership or the union’s executive board. Miles used the checks to pay for his personal expenditures, including more than $31,000 in checks made out to himself, more than $25,000 for credit card payments, and more than $6,000 for mortgage payments. Miles admitted that he created false monthly statements for the union to conceal his embezzling the union's funds.

    As part of his plea agreement with the government, Miles agreed to pay approximately $93,283 in restitution to the union, and to pay the IRS approximately $14,466 to resolve his outstanding tax liability.

    Miles remains on $25,000 bond pending his sentencing, which is scheduled for August 30 before United States District Judge Virginia A. Phillips.

    IBEW Local 1023, which represents approximately 180 members who work for the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, is based in Barstow.

    The case against Miles was investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards and IRS - Criminal Investigation. OLMS enforces federal labor laws that impose financial responsibilities on union officers and employees requiring that they properly account for the receipt and disbursement of membership funds.