Berndt, 61, is scheduled to be arraigned after 8:30 a.m. at Metropolitan Superior Court, 1945 S. Hill St., Department 69, said Deputy District Attorney Ana Maria Lopez.

Berndt, who was arrested Monday at his Torrance residence by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s detectives, is being held on $2.3 million bail.

Berndt, who taught for more than 30 years at Miramonte Elementary School in the Florence area, was charged in case VA123401 with 23 counts of lewd act on a child under 14 years of age involving 23 victims. All of the alleged victims are between the ages of 7 to 10 years old and all but two of the victims are girls.

The Sheriff’s Special Victims Bureau launched an intensive investigation in late 2010 after a film processing company contacted police about photos depicting children in a classroom with their eyes blindfolded and tape covering their mouths. An investigation is ongoing.

If convicted, Berndt faces up to life in prison.

Deputy District Attorney Jodi Link of the Compton Branch Office said Virgil Tyrone Tate (dob 01/29/81) is expected to be arraigned tomorrow in Department 12 of Compton Superior Court.

Tate is charged with two counts of murder and one count of attempted, willful, deliberate and premeditated murder in case No. TA121825. The complaint includes a special circumstance allegation of multiple murders.

The charging document further alleges that the defendant personally used a deadly and dangerous weapon, a knife, in the commission of the murders and attempted murder, and personally inflicted great bodily injury upon the only surviving victim.

Tate is accused of killing his longtime girlfriend Tracie Brooks, 32, and her mother Carol Susan Brooks, 58, on Jan. 29. A male roommate was injured in the attack, the prosecutor said.

The defendant lived with the victims at a condominium in an unincorporated area of Torrance.

Tate was arrested after a brief standoff by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies. He is being held without bail.

If convicted as charged, the defendant faces life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty. A decision on whether to seek the death penalty against Tate will be made by the District Attorney’s office as the case moves closer to trial.

Deputy District Attorney Kennes Ma said the jury deliberated about 40 minutes before convicting 28-year-old Alberto Molina of two counts of second-degree murder and one count of felony hit and run. Sentencing was scheduled for March 15. Molina faces a 30-year-to-life term in prison.

Demetria Dorsey, 50, and her 54-year-old husband, Kelvin, were killed around 11:30 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, 2010. Authorities said Mrs. Dorsey was driving a blue Infinity near Florence Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard.

Molina’s car, authorities said, ran a red light and slammed into the Infinity, flipping it on its roof. Molina got out of his car and attempted to get away, but was arrested by Los Angeles police.

Superior Court Judge Stephen A. Marcus ordered Molina held without bail. He had been in custody in lieu of bail pending the verdict.

SANTA ANA - The Orange County District Attorney’s (OCDA) Office will file two additional counts of murder Monday against a former Marine for the stabbing-murder of a mother and her son in Yorba Linda. The defendant is also charged with murdering four homeless men in a serial thrill-kill spree. Itzcoatl Ocampo, 23, Yorba Linda, is charged with six felony counts of murder with special circumstances for multiple murders and lying in wait and sentencing enhancements for personal use of a deadly weapon, a knife, during the commission of a crime. If convicted, he faces a minimum sentence of life in state prison without the possibility of parole. The special circumstances in this case make Ocampo eligible for the death penalty, and the District Attorney will make this determination at a later date. Ocampo is being held without bail and will be arraigned on the new charges Monday, Feb. 6, 2012, at 9:00 a.m. in Department CJ-1, Central Jail, Santa Ana.

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

Murder of Raquel Estrada and Juan Herrera
On the night of Oct. 25, 2011, Ocampo is accused of murdering 53-year-old Raquel Estrada and 34-year-old Juan Herrera. He is accused of stabbing both victims and leaving their bodies on the floor of their Yorba Linda home. Estrada was stabbed more than 30 times and Herrera was stabbed more than 60 times.

Ocampo is accused of being linked to the crime Jan. 31, 2012, through DNA evidence found at the scene.  The nature of this crime was similar to the murders of four homeless men (described below), in that all six victims were stabbed in a like manner and suffered a substantial number of stab wounds to the upper body.

Ocampo is accused of living approximately one mile from the victims’ home at the time of the murder. He is accused of having a prior relationship with Eder Herrera, the son/brother of the victims, as friends from middle and high school.

Case against Eder Herrera
Eder Giovanni Herrera, 24, Yorba Linda, was charged with the murder of his mother Raquel Estrada and brother Juan Herrera in late October 2011. Based on additional evidence developed in the Ocampo case, charges were dismissed today, Feb. 3, 2012, against Herrera. He will be processed by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD) and released from Orange County Jail.

Herrera was originally charged with the murders based on the following:

Herrera was identified by a witness dragging something from the front door threshold of his home into the house. Based on blood evidence at the scene, it appeared that victim Juan Herrera had attempted to escape out the front door before being dragged back inside by the murderer.

There was no evidence of forced entry into the home.

Herrera’s behavior was suspicious and he spent the evening driving around randomly with a friend. Law enforcement had evidence to believe that Herrera was in the area in which the 911 call was placed at the approximate time it was placed.

Video surveillance from a CVS showed a person resembling Herrera walking past the CVS close to the time of the 911 call. The call was placed from a nearby pay phone. The person captured on video was wearing shoes with a distinctive pattern on the side, matching those that Herrera was wearing at the time of his arrest.

Herrera and his friend drove past Herrera’s home and observed the police and crime scene investigation in front of the home. Herrera did not want to stop to check on his family. At the urging of his friend, Herrera called his brother and mother, but was unable to reach them on their cell phones. Despite these things, Herrera made no further effort to check on his mother and brother.

Spots were discovered in Herrera’s car that appeared to be blood. This evidence was waiting to be forensically examined. Based on the information that Ocampo may have been involved in the murder of Estrada and Juan Herrera, the OCDA asked OCSD to expedite the forensic analysis. The OCDA learned today that the spot in Herrera’s vehicle was not blood.

Serial Murders by Defendant Ocampo
Ocampo was in the United States Marines until he was discharged in June 2010.

For each of the four murders against homeless victims (described below), Ocampo is accused of planning the murders in advance and pre-selecting and stalking his victims. He is accused of being intelligent and calculating in carrying out these vicious, executions with no plans of stopping. He is accused of preying on homeless men because of their vulnerability. All four of the murders against homeless victims occurred in North Orange County using the same Ka-bar Bull Dozer knife.

Murder of James McGillivray
At approximately 8:15 pm. on Dec. 20, 2011, 53-year-old James McGillivray was laying behind a commercial complex at 140 N. Bradford Avenue in Placentia.

Ocampo is accused of approaching the victim on foot wearing dark pants and a dark hooded sweatshirt with the hood pulled up over the back of his head.  The defendant is accused of kneeling on the victim’s chest and striking him several times in the head and upper torso as McGillivray struggled to defend himself. Ocampo is accused of then stabbing the victim more than 40 times in the head, neck, and upper torso as the victim fought for his life. After McGillivray stopped moving, Ocampo is accused of continuing to stab the victim before fleeing the scene on foot.

The murder was captured on a video surveillance camera, which had been installed by the property management company only two days earlier. The victim’s body was discovered the following morning and Placentia Police Department (PPD) began investigating this case.

Murder of Lloyd “Jimmy” Middaugh
Shortly before midnight on Dec. 27, 2011, 42-year-old Lloyd “Jimmy” Middaugh was taking shelter in the Santa Ana River Trail under the California State Route 91 underpass in the City of Anaheim.

Ocampo is accused of approaching the victim and murdering him by stabbing him more than 50 times in the head and torso. The defendant is accused of then fleeing the scene.

The victim’s body was discovered the following morning and Middaugh was pronounced dead at the scene by responding paramedics and the Anaheim Fire Department. The Anaheim Police Department (APD) began investigating this case.

Murder of Paulus “Dutch” Smit
Sometime after 3:45 p.m. on Dec. 30, 2011, 57-year-old Paulus “Dutch” Smit arrived in the area of the Yorba Linda Public Library. Ocampo is accused of approaching the victim and murdering him by stabbing him more than 60 times before fleeing the scene.

Shortly before 5:00 p.m., the victim’s body was discovered. Responding paramedics from the Orange County Fire Authority pronounced Smit dead at the scene. The Brea Police Department (BPD), who patrols the City of Yorba Linda, began investigating this case.

Based on the similarities between the three murders and suspicion by law enforcement that one person was responsible for all three attacks, the Homeless Homicide Investigative Task Force was formed on Dec. 31, 2011, with personnel from APD, BPD, FBI, OSCD, and PPD.

Murder of John Berry
At approximately 8:15 p.m. on Jan. 13, 2012, Ocampo is accused of approaching 64-year-old John Berry on La Palma Avenue in Anaheim wearing a black hooded sweatshirt. He is accused of murdering the victim by stabbing him several times.

Witnesses observed the attack and began to chase the defendant, who is accused of fleeing the scene on foot. Other witnesses called 911. Responding paramedics from the Anaheim Fire Department pronounced Berry dead at the scene.

The pursing witnessing lost the defendant in a nearby mobile home park, but a law enforcement perimeter was established and Ocampo was arrested shortly thereafter. At the time of his arrest, Ocampo is accused of having blood on his hands and face.

Death Penalty Decision
Prior to seeking the death penalty, a special circumstances committee consisting of the District Attorney, the Senior Assistant and Assistant District Attorney in charge of the Homicide Unit, and other prosecutors experienced in capital cases meet and discuss the nature of the crime, the vulnerability of the victim, the defendant’s criminal record, and other factors. The committee also considers mitigating circumstances presented by the defense attorney.

California law permits the District Attorney to seek the death penalty if the aggravating factors substantially outweigh the mitigating factors.  Aggravating factors are any facts above and beyond the circumstances of crime that increases the wrongfulness of the defendant’s conduct, the enormity of the offense, or the harmful impact of the crime.  Mitigating factors are any facts that reduce the defendant’s blameworthiness or otherwise support a less severe punishment. The final decision to pursue the death penalty rests on the District Attorney.

John Tran, 36, of Rosemead, was named in a criminal information filed this morning. In a plea agreement also filed in United States District Court, Tran has agreed to plead guilty to the felony offense.

According to the plea agreement, a property developer, who is called a cooperating informant (CI) because of information provided to the FBI, made a series of payments to Tran, who first approached the developer at Rosemead City Hall. The developer made cash payments totaling $7,000 in 2005 and 2006, and the developer’s business partner wrote a $3,200 check to Tran in 2007.

“During the time that the CI made payments to defendant, the CI’s planning and building proofs were pending approval before the City,” according to the statement of facts in Tran’s plea agreement. Tran “occasionally informed the CI that the CI’s project was ‘there,’ and that he was ‘not going anywhere.’ Based on the CI’s conversations with defendant, the CI believed that the CI would have to accede to defendant’s bribe demands if the CI wanted the project approved, and that the CI’s project would not be approved if the CI refused to pay defendant.”

After the payments were made, Tran was voted out of office, and the city never approved the project.

Tran was elected to the Rosemead City Council in 2005 and was Mayor of Rosemead from 2007 to 2009.

The charge of bribery carries a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

Tran is expected to make his initial federal court appearance in this case on February 21.

A 31-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury yesterday charges the three defendants with conspiracy, bribery, embezzlement and obstruction of justice. The three defendants who have now been arrested by special agents of the U.S. Department of Labor are:

David Paul Holden, 30, of Corona, a former employee of the California Employment Development Department (EDD), who was arrested last night;

Patricia Cordova, 31, of Corona, who was arrested last night; and

Narciso “Tony” Rodriguez, 29, of Riverside, who was arrested this morning.

The three defendants are expected to be arraigned on the indictment this afternoon in United States District Court in Santa Ana.

According to the indictment, in 2010 and 2011, Holden worked at the EDD office in Anaheim, where he processed unemployment insurance claims and had access to EDD’s electronic database for approving claims and making payments of unemployment insurance benefits. Both personally and through a network of recruiters, which included Cordova and Rodriguez, Holden approached more than 50 individuals who were not qualified to receive state unemployment benefits because they were already employed, had voluntarily quit their prior jobs, or had been terminated for other reasons, including misconduct. Holden and his recruiters persuaded those people to provide their social security numbers and other information so that Holden could arrange for them to receive unemployment checks. Holden then manipulated EDD’s electronic database to make it appear that those people were entitled to benefits and caused EDD to issue unemployment benefits checks to those persons, the indictment alleges. After receiving the fraudulently issued checks, the recipients allegedly gave Cordova, Rodriguez and the other recruiters cash payments of up to $5,000, which were then funneled to Holden.

The indictment specifically alleges that the people who were not qualified to receive unemployment benefits from EDD illegally obtained $187,513, but investigators have determined that EDD paid more than $500,000 to unqualified beneficiaries. The indictment also specifically alleges that Holden and his co-defendants received $33,100 in kickbacks, but investigators have determined that the amount of kickbacks and unemployment benefits that went directly to the defendants is more than $85,000.

“Our tax dollars fund benefit programs that provide much needed payments to qualified Americans who have lost their jobs,” said United States Attorney André Birotte Jr. “Corrupt public officials and their accomplices who exploit these programs are ripping off taxpayers and compromising programs that are designed to help unemployed people in need.”

Abel Salinas, Special Agent in Charge of the Los Angeles Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, stated: “This case presents a clear message that combating unemployment insurance fraud remains a high priority for the Office of Inspector General. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to vigorously investigate these types of allegations in order to safeguard all Department of Labor programs.”

In addition to bribery and embezzlement, the indictment alleges that Holden and Cordova took various steps to conceal the scheme and discourage other participants from cooperating with investigators. For example, after learning that he was being investigated, Holden encouraged two people who were fraudulently receiving benefits to withdraw their illicitly obtained funds from their bank account, according to the indictment. Later, Holden allegedly called the same individuals – who were also acting as recruiters to bring new participants into the scheme – and instructed them to lie to investigators and to tell their own recruits to do the same. Cordova is also accused of approaching another recruiter and similarly encouraging him to mislead investigators.

“The state Employment Development Department is committed to safeguarding the money entrusted to us by California’s taxpayers, and we are dismayed by this alleged theft of public funds,” said EDD Director Pam Harris. “At the same time, we take pride in the vigilance of our Unemployment Insurance Branch managers who uncovered the theft and our Investigations Division criminal investigators, who worked with the U.S. Department of Labor OIG to build the case that has led to this indictment. We will not tolerate illegal activities by even a single employee, nor lose sight of the fact that the overwhelming majority of our employees are hardworking, dedicated and honest public servants.”

Holden, Cordova and Rodriguez are charged with conspiracy to commit bribery and embezzlement. Holden also is charged in 24 counts of accepting bribes and embezzling funds, as well as three counts of witness tampering. Cordova is charged alone in two bribery counts and charged along with Holden in one count of witness tampering. Additionally, Rodriguez is named in one bribery count.

If they are convicted of all counts in which they are charged, Holden would face a statutory maximum sentence of 305 years in federal prison, Cordova could be sentenced to as much as 45 years in prison, and Rodriguez would face a statutory maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.

Christopher Sabosky, 33 (dob 9-28-78), was arraigned before Superior Court Judge Upinder Kalra and pleaded not guilty to the one felony count each of conspiracy to commit a crime and revealing warrant information before the search warrant was served.

On Dec. 16, 2010, officers from the Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach and El Segundo Police Departments were preparing to execute search warrants at a suspected drug house on Sheldon Street in El Segundo. Officers conducting surveillance noted the driver of a GMC Yukon entering the house about 1:30 p.m. and radioed information that the truck was registered to Jeff Grau, a Torrance Police Department officer.

Before officers could enter the residence, the complaint alleges Sabosky texted Grau, who was a friend of his, that police were about to search the house. Sabosky also allegedly called Grau as Grau was fleeing the scene. The complaint also alleges that Sabosky tried to influence another officer into not detaining his friend.

Sabosky, who was fired Jan. 24 by Redondo Beach Police Department, surrendered today to court after a felony complaint for arrest warrant was filed Friday by Deputy District Attorney James Garrison with the Justice System Integrity Division.

Sabosky was released on his own recognizance. He returns to court Feb. 14 in Department 33 to set a date for his preliminary hearing.

Thomas Chia Fu, 63, and his wife, Cheri L. Shyu (also known as Cheri Fu), 60, owned Anaheim-based Galleria USA, Inc., which imported home decor items manufactured in China. The Fus obtained a $130 million revolving line of credit for Galleria from a consortium of seven banks. In connection with that revolving line of credit, the couple overstated by tens of millions of dollars the accounts receivables of the company – lies they told the banks in order to continue borrowing funds under the revolving line of credit, according to plea agreements filed in this case. The Fus also admitted to falsifying in Galleria’s computer system the accounts receivable amounts by a factor of 10 or more times the actual amount purchased to support the exaggerated numbers and hide Galleria’s true financial status.

The banks suffered an estimated loss of $4.7 million on the revolving line of credit from October 2008 to July 2009.

The Fus pleaded guilty this morning before United States District Judge Cormac J. Carney. Cheri Fu is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Carney on July 9, and Thomas Fu is scheduled to be sentenced on July 30.

At sentencing, the Fus each face a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison.

The business owners were sentenced along with their company, Angel Toy Company (ATC), which manufactured plush toys while developing an international reputation for laundering money generated by drug trafficking, according to court documents.

The co-owners sentenced today were:

• Meichun Cheng Huang, 58, of Irvine, ATC’s vice president in charge of sales, who was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison; and, Huang’s sister,

• Ling Yu, 53, of Arcadia, the president of ATC, who also was sentenced to 37 months in prison.

Huang and Yu were sentenced by United States District Judge S. James Otero, who remanded both defendants into custody. In addition to the prison terms, Judge Otero ordered each defendant to pay a $20,000 fine.

Judge Otero also sentenced Angel Toys by ordering the company to pay a $200,000 fine.

All three defendants were ordered to forfeit $1 million to the government.

“Businesses that launder profits for drug trafficking organizations should understand that they will actually be the ones paying the price when their illicit proceeds are forfeited,” said Claude Arnold, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Los Angeles.  “HSI will continue to relentlessly target members and associates of organizations that seek to exploit vulnerabilities in our trade, travel and financial systems in order to earn, move and store their illegitimate gains.”

In March 2011, all three defendants pleaded guilty to conspiracy to structure currency transactions. In court documents, all three defendants admitted that, from 2000 through July 2010, there was an agreement that cash deposits into ATC’s bank accounts had to be under $10,000 in order to avoid financial reporting requirements, specifically the filing of a Currency Transaction Report.

In documents filed in relation to today’s sentencings, prosecutors portrayed the structuring scheme as part of a widespread and long-running money laundering scheme. The investigation into ATC began in 2008 after multiple sources informed federal law enforcement authorities “that ATC was internationally known for laundering narcotics proceeds.” ATC was part of the Black Market Peso Exchange (BMPE) – “a method of trade-based money laundering that exchanges drug money in the United States for ‘clean’ Colombian pesos through the international purchase and shipment of goods (in this case, toys),” according to one sentencing memorandum.

The BMPE is a complex, money laundering scheme in which drug proceeds enter the legitimate financial system through numerous “structured” cash deposits into accounts held by a legitimate business in the United States. The money is returned to drug traffickers when actual goods – in the case of ATC, stuffed animals such as Teddy bears – are exported to the foreign countries and sold to generate local “clean” money.

The investigation revealed two primary ways in which ATC received and structured cash: in some cases, people affiliated with drug traffickers simply dropped cash at ATC’s offices in downtown Los Angeles; the second method involved cash deposits made directly into an ATC bank account, sometimes by individuals located as far away as New York. During one four-year period, the investigation tracked more than $8 million in cash deposit into ATC accounts, and not a single transaction was for more than $10,000, according to court documents.

Jeffery Wayne Langford, 56, was convicted on Feb. 15, 2011, of eight counts of first-degree burglary, six counts of first-degree residential robbery, three counts of criminal threats, two counts each of cutting a utility line and false imprisonment of an elder, and one count of assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury.

Deputy District Attorney Belle Chen of the Elder Abuse Section prosecuted the case. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James Dabney imposed Langford’s sentence at a morning hearing.

The crimes involved seven victims, ranging in age from 75 to 93, and took place between June and August 2008. Two incidents were in the City of Santa Monica and the rest were in the west Los Angeles area.

All of Langford’s victims were elderly women who lived alone in single story homes. In each of the burglaries, the defendant climbed through a window, roused the victims and demanded money, jewelry or silver. The latter demand earned Langford the designation of “The Silverware Bandit.”

In one instance, defendant attempted to choke a victim who tried to stab him with a screwdriver he had placed on her bed. Langford went on to burglarize her home. In another instance, Langford disabled a victim’s medical alert monitor, so she would be unable to call for help.

Prior to this case, the defendant had seven prior “strikes,” alleged in an amended complaint, including convictions in 1982 and 1976 for residential burglary.