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WASHINGTON, DC —Johnson Matthey Inc., the owner and operator of a gold and silver refining facility in Salt Lake City, plead guilty Thursday to violating the Clean Water Act by failing to properly report wastewater discharges at the facility, the Justice Department announced.

The former plant manager and former general manager both plead guilty to making false statements and were sentenced by Dee Benson, U.S. District Judge for the District of Utah.

As part of a plea agreement worked out with federal prosecutors, the company will pay a $3 million fine.

Former plant manager Paul Greaves and former general manager John McKelvie admitted to one felony violation for making false statements when reporting pollutants under the Clean Water Act at the precious metals refining facility. Greaves was sentenced to 1 year probation, a $500 fine and 20 hours community service and McKelvie was sentenced to 1 year probation, a $1,000 fine and 20 hours community service.

The Salt Lake City refines both gold and silver from a semi-refined product called dore. As part of the refining process, pollutants including selenium, accumulated in the wastewater. After treatment to remove the selenium, JMI’s wastewater was discharged to a sewer leading to Central Valley Water Reclamation Facility (Central Valley) and discharged to the Jordan River.

In 1999 a JMI auditer told the compay it was violating its industrial discharge permit by internally screening the water samples prior to them being submitted to an outside laboratory for analysis, the government said. JMI’s permit required samples be representative.

In January 2000, to avoid disclosing true concentrations of the selenium-contaminated wastewater discharged from the facility, employees continued to screen the wastewater, submitting only those with low selenium concentration to outside review.

“Accurate information about pollution discharges is essential for government to protect the public and the environment,” said Lori A. Hanson, Special Agent in Charge of EPA’s Crimininal Investigation Division in Denver. “Our criminal investigations will go as high up the corporate hierarchy as the evidence permits. Companies and their senior managers who submit false reports or bogus data will be vigorously prosecuted.”

U.S. District Judge Dee Benson set sentencing for the corporation for Dec. 2.

Stockholm, Sweden — Swedish carrier TeliaSonera Thursday announced it will block user access to material deemed promoting child sexual abuse. The free service is being offered to Internet Service Providers and others.

The service was created in partnership with NetClean, a Swedish-based organization offering products for safe Internet surfing by children, and the UK-based Internet Watch Foundation.

The Internet block works by comparing a user’s destination against a constantly-updated list of URLs provided by IWF. If the two match, a “stop sign” is displayed.

“We fully support the initiative to implement international blocking of offensive websites. Blocking access to these sites is a vital step against a harmful industry and toward a safer world for our children. These sites are not just illegal and deeply hurtful for the abused children but also serve as the financial engine for the criminal activity on the Internet.” Anders Persson, Criminal Intelligence Officer at Interpol’s General Secretariat in Lyon, France and Chairman of the Sub-Group Victim Identification of Interpol’s specialist group on Crimes against Children.

In July, several U.S. ISPs joined with New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, pledging to block Web sites and newsgroups believed to spread child pornography.

LOS ANGELES, CA — Fonality, an open source Internet calling service, Thursday announced it had secured $12 million in financing led by Draper Fisher Jurvetson Growth Fund with Intel Capital. Fonality said it will use the money to expand VoIP services for small and medium-sized businesses.

“This investment by DFJ and Intel Capital, two top-tier investment firms, gives us the freedom to further accelerate our growth and acquisition strategy,” said Fonality CEO Chris Lyman in a statement.

Fonality links e-mail, voicemail, landline and mobile calling into a single desktop application. The services are resold by Dell as well as directly at Fonality’s Web site.

“You could never tell your best salesperson: ‘work from home or the road today and take sales calls as if you were in the office.’ This used to be a $100,000 expense. Fonality’s open source technology gives growing businesses a big-time presence that fits within their budgets,” Lyman said.

As part of the DFJ investment, Randy Glein, managing director of DFJ Growth Fund, has joined Fonality’s board of directors.

Fonality employs 140 people with offices in three countries.

WASHINGTON, DC (DOJ) — A Florida man was sentenced to 15 years in prison for smuggling Mexican women and girls into the U.S. and forcing them into prostitution.

U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez also ordered Juan Luis Cadena-Sosa to pay jointly with his co-defendants more than $964,000 to the victims.

“Juan Luis Cadena-Sosa was a member of a conspiracy that lured young women and girls from Mexico to the United States with false promises of a better life and then forced them into modern day-slavery in a network of brothels that spanned the East Coast,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Becker. “We thank the Mexican authorities for working with us to extradite him from Mexico to face justice in Florida, where the exploitation took place.”

In 1998, 15 defendants were indicted in the matter. Cadena-Sosa remained a fugitive until extradited from Mexico to the United States in November 2007. Nine defendants, including Cadena-Sosa, have now been found guilty in U.S. federal court. One was convicted in Florida state court. Another was convicted on related charges in Mexico. A third died while a fugitive. Three defendants remain at large. Those convicted in U.S. federal court have received prison sentences ranging from 30 months to 15 years.

KNOXVILLE, TN. (DOJ) - A federal jury Wednesday convicted retired University of Tennessee professor Dr. J. Reece Roth, of allegedly exporting advanced drone technology to China, the Department of Justice announced.

The technical data and information were developed during a U.S. Air Force research contract on advanced drones, the government said.

Dr. Roth was convicted of one count of conspiring with Atmospheric Glow Technology, Inc., a Knoxville, Tennessee, technology company, to unlawfully export in 2005 and 2006 fifteen different “defense articles” to a citizen of the People’s Republic of China in violation of the Arms Export Control Act.

He was also convicted of 15 counts of violating the Arms Export Control Act and one count of wire fraud relating to defrauding the University of Tennessee by illegally exporting sensitive military information relating to this U.S. Air Force contract.

The Arms Export Control Act prohibits the export of defense-related materials, including technical data, to a foreign national or a foreign nation, without the required U.S. government license.

Roth faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the conspiracy conviction. The retired university professor could also receive 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Sentencing is set for Jan. 7, 2009.

SEATTLE, Wa. –Amazon.com Wednesday announced Amazon Video On Demand. The service provides ad-free streaming of movies and television episodes to Macs or PCs. The move updates prior streaming available only to PC users or TiVo owners.

Amazon also unveiled plans to stream video to some Sony televisions. Amazon Video On Demand can be viewed directly by some Sony HDTVs or on Sony BRAVIA televisions using a Sony BRAVIA Internet Video Link.

The Internet retailer said it will now offer the first two minutes of every movie or TV episode to give customers a chance to decide whether to rent or buy a video.

Starting today, to make it even easier for customers to decide whether they want to rent or purchase a title, the first two minutes of every movie and TV show automatically plays for free as soon as they visit the product detail page. At any time during the free viewing period, customers can choose to purchase or rent the title to watch it in its entirety. Once a customer orders a video, it is automatically added to Your Video Library. With the new Your Video Library, customers can access and stream their Amazon videos through popular web browsers on Macs and PCs. Customers can also access Your Video Library through the Sony BRAVIA Internet Video Link device on their compatible Sony BRAVIA televisions.

“We’re continuing to create new, convenient ways for our customers to watch digital movies and TV shows. The ability to watch content instantly without downloading first was among the most requested features of our customers, and now it’s live—customers can instantly watch the ad-free title of their choice on a Mac, PC or compatible Sony BRAVIA TV via Sony’s BRAVIA Internet Video Link device,” said Roy Price, director of Amazon Video On Demand.

Amazon Video On Demand offers more than 40,000 movies and TV shows.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — AT&T Inc. announced Wednesday a $2,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of people stealing copper telephone cables, which have occurred recently in the area near Little Birch. The steady rise in the price of copper has led some people to take extreme measures, including stealing copper cables from houses and telephone poles.

“We are working with the law enforcement to ensure that those responsible for the crimes are apprehended and punished. We think the reward will motivate people with information to come forward,” Erika K. Thompson, vice president and general manager of AT&T wireless operations in West Virginia and Virginia, said in a statement.

The offer, which expires Oct. 1, comes amid a rash of thefts of copper wiring from deserted homes, metal from catalytic converters - even stainless steel beer kegs.

CARMEL, Ind — Have you ever forgotten a key or the combination to a lock? Lockmaker Schlage Wednesday introduced new deadbolt locks that can be controlled by computer or cell phone.

Schlage’s LiNK deadbolts and locks can be opened or closed using either a traditional 11-button keypad or an online application. The feature does away with keys and gives access to other family members or guests without needing to cut a new key or hand out security codes.

The Schlage LiNK online portal lets you set days and times - even e-mailing you when a code is used. The system reminds you when codes are used over the past three months.

Other features of the $299 lock include:

• Compatibility with Z-Wave home automation devices, such as lighting or temperature controls.
• For security, the LiNK locks use Secure Socket Layer and AEC 128-bit encryption.
• A $12.99 monthly fee is required to access the LiNK portal from your computer or cell phone.

Source: PR Newswire.