Washington, DC - Monday, the Department of Justice announced that it has submitted to the Federal Register the “Frame or Receiver” Final Rule, which modernizes the definition of a firearm. Once implemented, this rule will clarify that parts kits that are readily convertible to firearms are subject to the same regulations as traditional firearms. These regulatory updates will help curb the proliferation of “ghost guns,” which are often assembled from kits, do not contain serial numbers, and are sold without background checks, making them difficult to trace and easy to acquire by criminals.

Sacramento, California - A former contract manager for the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) pleaded guilty Monday for his role in a bid-rigging and bribery scheme involving Caltrans improvement and repair contracts.

Tacoma, Washington - A Washington state man pleaded guilty to hate crime and false statement charges in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.

Baltimore, Maryland - US. District Court Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Joshua Lankford, aka “20-20,” aka “Light Bright,” aka “Yellow,” age 33, of Manchester, Maryland, was sentenced to 17 years in prison with five years of supervised release and $2,320 in restitution for kidnapping in relation to a sex trafficking conspiracy.

Memphis, Tennessee - Former supervisory corrections officer Kenan Lister, 43, pleaded guilty Friday to two civil rights offenses: one count of deprivation of rights under color of law for using unlawful force on an inmate and one count of being deliberately indifferent to the inmate’s medical needs. 

New York - A former Managing Director of The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (Goldman Sachs) was convicted Friday by a federal jury in the Eastern District of New York for conspiring to commit bribery, to circumvent internal accounting controls, and to commit money laundering in connection with a multibillion-dollar scheme involving Malaysia’s state-owned investment and development fund, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).