North Bergen Man Charged with Sexually Abusing Sleeping Woman on Domestic Flight

NEWARK—A North Bergen, New Jersey man is due in federal court today after being charged for allegedly sexually abusing a sleeping woman aboard a flight from Phoenix to Newark Liberty International Airport, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Bawer Aksal, 48, was detained upon arrival in Newark early yesterday, August 21, 2012, and arrested by agents of the FBI. He has been charged by complaint with sexual abuse and is scheduled to appear this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Falk in Newark federal court.

According to the complaint filed late yesterday:

Aksal was seated next to a woman who occupied a window seat on a United Airlines flight from Phoenix to Newark. While the plane was in the air, the woman—who did not know Aksal—fell asleep with a jacket across her legs. She awoke to find Aksal’s hands inside her shirt and shorts as he asked her to kiss him.

After demanding Aksal get off her and slamming down the armrest, the woman walked to the back of the plane and told a flight crew member what had happened.

The federal government has exclusive jurisdiction over all sexual abuse cases that occur in American airplanes, as such events are outside the jurisdiction of any state.

If convicted of the sexual abuse charge, Aksal faces a maximum potential penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward; and the Port Authority Police Department, under the direction of Superintendent Michael Fedorko, with the investigation leading to the charge.

The government is represented by Danielle Alfonzo Walsman of the U.S. Attorney’s Office General Crimes Unit in Newark.

The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

FORMER LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER SENTENCED FOR MAIL FRAUD

TRENTON, N.J. – Michael Palermo, 52, of Jackson, N.J., was sentenced today to three years of probation and ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution for committing mail fraud in connection with a civil lawsuit that he instituted against a contracting company, its principal, and others who constructed and sold him a house in 2006, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Palermo, a former Task Force Officer with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, previously pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Peter G. Sheridan to an Information charging him with one count of mail fraud. Judge Sheridan also imposed the sentence today in Trenton federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Palermo was an officer with the Port Authority Police Department (PAPD) for over 16 years and was detailed to work with the FBI as a Task Force Officer on violent crime investigations for the last 11 of those years.

Palermo admitted that from February 2007 to January 2009, he schemed to defraud the adverse parties in the civil lawsuit by misrepresenting the cost to clean up water damage in the basement of his home. To further the scheme, Palermo enlisted an individual serving as cooperating witness in cases with which he was involved in an official capacity. Palermo asked this individual to create a false bill indicating Palermo had paid him $10,000 for repairs, which Palermo later provided in civil discovery to the adverse parties. Palermo never actually paid the individual for any services related to the cleanup of his basement. Palermo also admitted that he made false, sworn statements in a relevant deposition and provided false answers to interrogatories in the civil lawsuit, including that he paid $10,000 for the repairs, and directed his attorneys to mail those answers to the adverse parties.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward in Newark, N.J., with the investigation. He also thanked the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James. E. Tomlinson, and the PAPD, under the direction of Superintendent Michael A. Fedorko, for their vital roles in the investigation.

This government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric T. Kanefsky of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Special Prosecutions Division.

Commodities Trader Arrested for Threatening to Kill Government Officials

Vincent McCrudden, a former commodities trader, was charged in federal court today with two counts of transmitting threats to kill 47 current and former officials of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ("FINRA"), the National Futures Association ("NFA"), and the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC").1 McCrudden's initial appearance is scheduled for this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge E. Thomas Boyle at the federal courthouse in Central Islip, New York. The charges were announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Lanny A. Breuer, Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division, United States Department of Justice; and Janice K. Fedarcyk, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office.

According to the criminal complaint, which was unsealed today, McCrudden sent several e-mails threatening violence against employees of the CFTC and NFA. For example, on September 30, 2010, he allegedly sent an e-mail to an employee of the NFA stating that "it wasn't ever a question of 'if' I was going to kill you, it was just a question of when. And now, that question has been answered. You are going to die a painful death." In addition to sending threatening e-mails, the defendant posted threats on a website that he operated. On one of those website pages, the defendant invited others to "[g]o buy a gun" and take back the country and stated that he would be the first one to lead by example. On another page on his website, the defendant included an "Execution List" with the names of 47 current and former officials of the SEC, FINRA, NFA, and CFTC. That list included the chairperson of the SEC, the chairman of the CFTC, a former acting chairman and commissioner of the CFTC, the chairman and CEO of FINRA, the former chief of enforcement at FINRA, and other employees of the NFA and CFTC. The defendant wrote that "[t]hese people have got to go. And I need your help, there are just too many for me alone." Finally, the defendant posted a $100,000 reward on his website for personal information of several government officials and proof that those officials were punished. According to the complaint, McCrudden started making these threats shortly after the CFTC filed a civil enforcement suit against him in early December, 2010. The complaint alleged that McCrudden has been the subject of various enforcement or disciplinary proceedings at the NFA, FINRA, and the CFTC for several years.

If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment on each of the two counts.

"In this day and age, there is no such thing as an idle threat," stated United States Attorney Lynch. "Those who threaten injury or worse to the lives of others will be promptly investigated and vigorously prosecuted." Ms. Lynch expressed her grateful appreciation to the United States Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, for its cooperation and assistance in the investigation. Ms. Lynch added that the government's investigation is continuing.

Assistant Attorney General Breuer stated, "The Department of Justice takes very seriously the allegations in the complaint against Mr. McCrudden that was unsealed today. Threats of death and violence against federal officials and employees for executing their duties are simply unacceptable."

FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Fedarcyk stated, "Overt threats of the sort made by this defendant must be dealt with to the fullest extent of the law. The threats were direct, extreme, and specific, vowing to kill securities regulators and encouraging others to do the same. The allegations, coming as they do during a period of national mourning in the wake of horrific violence done to public officials and others, are especially troubling."

Assistance was provided in this investigation and arrest by the Federal Protective Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Suffolk County Police and the Port Authority Police Department.

The government's case is being prosecuted by Eastern District of New York Assistant United States Attorneys James McMahon and Christopher Caffarone and Trial Attorney Thomas Dukes of the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section in the Department of Justice's Criminal Division. The Office of International Affairs in the Department of Justice's Criminal Division provided assistance in this case.

The Defendant:

VINCENT MCCRUDDEN

Age: 49

The charges announced today are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.