Criminal Investigation

Three Utah men took video of themselves toppling over an ancient rock formation in Utah's Goblin Valley State Park are under criminal investigation for their actions, officials said Friday. After viewing the video -- which shows one man pushing at the top of a mushroom-like rock formation until the boulder breaks off its rock stem and falls over -- parks officials immediately launched an investigation, Fred Hayes, director of the Utah Division of Parks and Recreation, told the Los Angeles Times.

Los Angeles police officials are seeking to fire two officers after an internal investigation determined that they pressured women to engage in sex acts with them in their car while on duty, sources said. The officers, James Nichols and Luis Valenzuela, have been ordered to appear at disciplinary hearings, where it will be decided whether to fire them. Through his attorney, Nichols denied wrongdoing. Neither Valenzuela nor his attorney could be reached. Although department officials have remained tight-lipped, the allegations against the officers are detailed in a search warrant affidavit filed by an investigator involved in an ongoing criminal investigation into the officers' conduct.

WASHINGTON -- Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. said Tuesday that he had ordered a criminal investigation into allegations that top IRS officials targeted conservative groups for extra scrutiny. “I have ordered an investigation to be begun,” he said. “The FBI is coordinating with the Justice Department to see if any laws were broken in connection with those matters related to the IRS. Those were, I think, as everyone can agree, if not criminal, they were certainly outrageous and unacceptable, but we are examining the facts to see if there were criminal violations.” He said the investigation, begun Friday, will be looking to see whether Internal Revenue Service officials “have gone beyond what they were supposed to do, broken regulations, broken rules, broken the law. We have prosecuted people.

The investigation into the deaths of two maintenance workers who were struck and killed by a Bay Area Rapid Transit train during a routine track inspection could take a year or longer, a federal investigator told reporters Sunday. “We will be turning over every stone and opening every door,” said Jim Southworth, an investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board.   He said his team of investigators, who arrived at the scene Sunday afternoon, would be looking at  BART operations, mechanical issues, signals, records and inspections.

The U.S. attorney's office in New York is conducting a criminal investigation of Goldman Sachs & Co. over mortgage securities deals the big Wall Street firm arranged, according to the Associated Press, citing an unnamed person knowledgeable of the investigation. The person said the inquiry stems from a criminal referral by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The source spoke Thursday on condition of anonymity because the investigation is in a preliminary phase. News of the action came a day after a group of 62 House lawmakers, including Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.

Federal prosecutors disclosed Friday that they were conducting a criminal investigation of Beverly Hills money manager Stanley Chais, who is accused of serving as the Southern California link to a Ponzi scheme operated by disgraced financier Bernard L. Madoff. Assistant U.S. Atty. William J. Stellmach revealed the criminal investigation in a motion that sought to postpone for six months a civil lawsuit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission against Chais in June. Stellmach said that proceedings in the SEC lawsuit, if not suspended, could interfere with an "ongoing, parallel criminal investigation" of Chais.

SAN DIEGO - After six weeks of civic turmoil over his treatment of women, Mayor Bob Filner submitted his resignation Friday, and the City Council approved a deal to pay for some of his expenses from a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a former aide. In an emotional and defiant address to the council after the vote was announced, Filner apologized to his victims and supporters but also said he had been victimized by "the hysteria of the lynch mob" caused by politicians and the media once the allegations by some 18 women became public.

SACRAMENTO - The accounting scandal at the California parks department will end without a criminal investigation, law enforcement officials said this week. The decision will probably close an embarrassing episode for Gov. Jerry Brown's administration. The scandal, which cost the parks director her job, broke last year when it was revealed that her department had an undisclosed $54-million surplus even as officials were planning to close dozens of parks. A subsequent probe by the attorney general's office determined that $20.4 million of the money had been intentionally concealed by officials concerned that their department's budget would be cut if the state's number crunchers knew about the extra funds.

After weekend raids on the headquarters of Royal Ahold, the Dutch public prosecutor's office said it had begun a criminal investigation into the global grocery retailer for allegedly falsifying documents and publishing incorrect information in its annual reports. Ahold said it had "given its full cooperation" to investigators. The Dutch offices of Ahold's accountant, Deloitte & Touche, also were raided.

An administrative law judge has referred a U.S. insurance company for criminal investigation after the firm failed to pay benefits to survivors of nine Iraqi translators killed while working for the American government. Under a federally funded program, Chicago-based CNA Financial Corp. provides insurance coverage to contractors killed or injured while working overseas for the U.S. The slain translators were helping to train Iraqi police recruits. CNA withheld information from the federal government and avoided making payments to the families who lost relatives in a 2006 attack, according to court files and interviews.

Yes, $13 billion in penalties --the figure at the center of the JPMorgan mortgage settlement deal being reported Saturday--is eye opening. Yes, it's a record in a civil proceeding against a major corporation. But the most significant thing about JPMorgan's deal with the Department of Justice may be what it doesn't do. It doesn't resolve the ongoing federal criminal investigations of the bank's conduct in the residential mortgage securities business during the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis.

Three Utah men took video of themselves toppling over an ancient rock formation in Utah's Goblin Valley State Park are under criminal investigation for their actions, officials said Friday. After viewing the video -- which shows one man pushing at the top of a mushroom-like rock formation until the boulder breaks off its rock stem and falls over -- parks officials immediately launched an investigation, Fred Hayes, director of the Utah Division of Parks and Recreation, told the Los Angeles Times.

Federal authorities have opened a civil rights probe into whether Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies have engaged in a pattern of abuse of inmates, according to a letter sent to county officials this week. The so-called pattern or practice investigation marks a new level of scrutiny for the nation's largest jail system, which is the subject of an ongoing FBI criminal investigation into allegations of excessive force and other misconduct. The letter, sent from the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division to the county on Thursday, said federal authorities opened the civil probe after becoming "increasingly concerned about use of force and alleged abuse by jail deputies and staff.

SAN DIEGO -- Bob Filner ended his controversial run as mayor Friday, but his legal problems persist. The state attorney general and San Diego County Sheriff's Department are conducting a criminal investigation into Filner's conduct toward women, with charges of assault possible. The Sheriff's Department has a hotline to field accusations against Filner. The City Council is also set to investigate Filner's use of a city credit card, as well as a trip to Paris in which two San Diego police officers went as a security detail.

Homicide detectives Saturday were investigating the death of an 8-month-old baby who drowned at a home in Valinda, authorities said. The drowning was reported at about 8:50 a.m. Friday in the 1500 block of Pass and Covina Road, according to Los Angeles County sheriff's officials. The baby was transported to a local hospital and later pronounced dead. The child's name and sex were not released. ALSO: Filner, out as mayor, still faces criminal investigation Yosemite fire battle hampered by hotter weather Judge throws out civil complaints in Coliseum case carla.rivera@latimes.com Twitter:CarlaRiveraLat

U.S. Border Patrol agents seized marijuana valued at more than $14 million at a San Clemente checkpoint, authorities said. The stash was discovered at 12:50 p.m. Thursday after agents stopped a 43-year-old man at the Interstate 5 checkpoint, authorities said. The suspect was hauling a 53-foot-long trailer and after being questioned was directed to an inspection area. A K-9 unit alerted agents to the trailer, which was found to contain 218 boxes filled with marijuana. The marijuana weighed 18,458 pounds -- about nine tons -- with an estimated street value of $14,766,448, officials said.

An 8-year-old boy will likely not face criminal charges for driving and crashing his mother's car, fatally injuring his 6-year-old sister who was riding in the passenger seat, police confirmed Friday. The 24-year-old mother of the two children -- who reported her children missing minutes before the crash occurred Wednesday night -- will also not face criminal charges, but an investigation is ongoing, said Phoenix Police Department spokesman Sgt. Steve Martos. “Based upon what we know right now, it's not a criminal investigation,” Martos said.

SAN DIEGO - After six weeks of civic turmoil over his treatment of women, Mayor Bob Filner submitted his resignation Friday, and the City Council approved a deal to pay for some of his expenses from a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a former aide. In an emotional and defiant address to the council after the vote was announced, Filner apologized to his victims and supporters but also said he had been victimized by "the hysteria of the lynch mob" caused by politicians and the media once the allegations by some 18 women became public.