MCALLEN, TX - A man and his son who allegedly shot and wounded a Homeland Security Investigations special agent in the back on Tuesday were arrested and charged with assault, according to federal prosecutors.

Pedro Alvarado, 41, and  Arnoldo Alvarado, 18, were also charged with knowingly using and carrying a firearm during a crime a violence,  the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of Texas stated in a press release.

Federal officials said the special agent was conducting surveillance, anticipating a drug deal to be occurring near Hargill. While parked at an intersection of Farm to Market 493 and Cemetery Road, the special agent was allegedly approached by another vehicle from which shots were fired, according to federal authorities.

The special agent drove north and was chased by the suspects who continued shooting. The agent lost control of his vehicle and was found by law enforcement. The agent had been shot one time in the back, say federal officials.

The Alvarados who are from Hargill, Texas were taken into federal custody. A third person, a minor was turned over to state authorities, according to federal officials. 

CLEVELAND - Five people were arrested and accused of conspiring to blowup a bridge near Cleveland.

The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force arrested Douglas L. Wright, 26; Brandon L. Baxter, 20, and Anthony Hayne, 35 on Monday on charges of conspiracy and attempted use of explosives, the U.S. Attorney General's Office announced today.

Also arrested were Connor C. Stevens, 20, and Joshua S. Stafford, 23. Charges against Stevens and Stafford are pending.

Federal officials said the public was never in danger from the explosive devices, which were controlled by an undercover FBI employee. Also the defendants were closely monitored by law enforcement, according to officials.

According to the criminal complaint, Wright, Baxter and Hayne are self-proclaimed anachists who formed into a small group and considered a series of other plots.

LOS ANGELES:  A Japanese citizen who federal authorities describe as "a major wildlife trafficker" was sentenced today to nearly two years in prison for smuggling 55 reptiles into the United States, according to the U.S. Attorney General's Office.

The majority of the turtles and tortoises were species protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, an international treaty, say federal officials.

The live reptiles that were inside snack food boxes stuffed in suitcases when they were found at Los Angeles International Airport in January 2011, according to federal officials.

Federal prosecutors argued in court that the method used to smuggle the reptiles from Japan constituted animal cruelty, and the animals posed the risk of transmitting Salmonella.

The judge ordered Atsushi Yamagami, 39, to pay $18,403 as restitution to the Lacy Act Reward Account, which is used to finance investigations conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, say officials.

During the investigation, authorities found out that Yamagami was a leader of an organized group of Japanese nationals who were responsible for smuggling protected turtles, tortoises, chameleons and lizards into and out of the United States through Honolulu and Los Angeles airports.

Yamagami sold or traded the animals at reptile pet shows across the United States and used proceeds from the purchases to buy snakes, turtles and tortoises native to North America.

BUFFALO-- A former union president was sentenced to a year in prison on Monday after he was convicted of stealing from the union, according to the U.S. Attorney General's Office.

Ellis Wood, 61, of Clarence, New York, devised a scheme to defraud the Buffalo Education Support Team or BEST. It is a union representing more than 900 teacher's aides and assistants in the Buffalo School District, the Attorney General stated.

Woods used a credit card between November 2008 and February 2011 to pay for personal expenses, including gambling expenses that he incurred at local area casinos. Woods stole a total of $44,987 from union funds,  according to federal officials.

OKLAHOMA CITY-- Coy C. Coleman, 42, of Olympia, Washington is going to federal prison for 30 months for interstate stalking two Oklahoma women, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Coleman was sentenced on Friday after pleading guilty in December. He admitted that he was originally from Oklahoma, moved away from the state, and used the mail, a computer service and a facility of interstate commerce to cause substantial emotional distress to the two females, according to federal officials.  

From April 2008 through September 2009, Coleman sent one victim several postcards and letters from around the world, posted MySpace messages about her, and helped to place telephone calls to the victim, officials stated. He also admitted that his conduct was rude and derogatory and were meant to harass and frighten her.

BROOKLYN -- An 18-count federal indictment was unsealed today charging 11 people, including several made members and associates of the Genovese organized crime family with racketeering conspiracy, extortion, illegal gambling, union embezzlement and obstruction of justice.

SALT LAKE CITY--Former Box Elder Deputy Sheriff  Scott R. Womack, age 36, of Brigham City, was charged with using his position as a law enforcement officer to deprive eight woman of their constitutional right to be free from unreasonable searches.

The eight-count misdemeanor information alleges that Woman used his position as a law enforcement officer to require the victims to expose parts of their bodies without a lawful reason for doing so.