SPRINGFIELD -- An East St. Louis cop failed an integrity test after federal agents put a Rolex watch encircled with diamonds in a vehicle that appeared to be abandoned or stolen, according to federal officials.

On Sept. 17,2010, Larry D. Greenlee responded to a call of a suspicious vehicle and inventoried what was inside the vehicle before it was towed, according U.S. Attorney General's Office.

Audio and video surveillance caught Greenlee stealing the Rolex watch.

Greenlee, 40, pleaded guilty today to  one count of theft in federal court. He will be sentenced on Sept. 21.

 Greenlee is no longer with the police department.

LOS ANGELES - A Southern California manager of an international  computer hacking ring was sentenced today to five years in federal prison, the U.S. Attorney General's Office announced today.

Nichole Michelle Merzi, 26, of Oceanside was accused of being one of the main players in the "phishing" operation that used spam, emails and bogus websites to collect personal information used to defraud American banks, say federal authorities.

Last year, jurors found Merzi guilty of bank and wire fraud conspiracy, aggravated identity theft, computer fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy charges,  federal officials stated.

As a result of a multinational investigation tabbed "Operation Phish Phry," 47 people have been convicted in federal court in Los Angeles.  The investigation conducted in the U.S. and Egypt led to charges being filed against 100 people, according to federal officials.

Also arrested  was Merzi's former boyfriend Kenneth Joseph Lucas II. He was sentenced to 13 years stemming from a phishing scheme and from an indoor marijuana grow operation, say federal authorities.

Operation Phish Phry was the largest number of defendants ever charged in a cybercrime case, federal authorities said.

SAN ANTONIO -- A federal grand jury today indicted and arrested Cameron County District Attorney Armando Villalobos and Attorney Eduardo "Eddie" Lucio with bribery and extortion, according to the U.S. Attorney General's Office..

The 12-count indictment alleges that Villalobos and Lucio were involved in a scheme to illegally generate income for themselves and others through a pattern of bribery and extortion,  favoritism, improper influence, personal self-enrichment, self-dealing, concealment and conflict of interest, according to federal officials.

Villalobos solicited and accepted more than $100,000 in bribes and kickbacks in the form of cash and campaign contributions from Lucio and others in return for favorable acts of prosecutorial discretion, including minimizing charging decisions, pre-trial diversion agreements, agreements on probationary matters and case dismissals, federal authorities allege.

Villalobos and Lucio face up to 20 years in federal prison for each count, officials state.

Three asset forfeiture lawsuits were filed by federal prosecutors against properties housing marijuana operations in Santa Barbara County, the U.S. Attorney General's Office in Los Angeles announced today.

Federal authorities also executed search warrants at four locations and have sent letters warning people associated with 10 other illegal marijuana stores in the county, according to federal officials.

The three properties are located Santa Barbara and Summerland were marijuana is grown or the stores are currently operating, say officials.

The buildings named in the forfeiture lawsuits are Miramar Collective on Ortega Hill Road in Summerland, which officials say was generated $840,000 in profits in 2009, and whose owner is currently being prosecuted by the Santa Barbara District Attorney's Office.

Also Pacific Coast Collective on North Milpas in Santa Barbara, which its operators say is a non-profit business. But authorities allege that the business doesn't have a non-profit status for taxes, federal official stated. The operator is being prosecuted by the Santa Barbara District Attorney's Office.

A search warrant was executed today at an indoor marijuana farm on East Haley in Santa Barbara.   Federal authorities claim that substandard and unpermitted equipment was used in that operation.

This week's legal action against the commercial marijuana industry in Santa Barbara County follow similar action targeting illegal storefronts and grows in recent months in Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and eastern Los Angeles counties, according to federal prosecutors.

ALBUQUERQUE--A former state probation and parole supervisor who supervised the sex offender unit  pleaded guilty of possessing child pornography and is facing a minimum of five years and up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced, according to federal authorities.

Larry Franco, 57, entered the guilty plea Friday of having pornography depicting minors engaged in sexually, explicit conduct, stated U.S. Attorney's General's Office prosecutors.

Franco committed the offense when he was the supervisor of the sex offender unit of the Probation and Parole Division of the New Mexico Corrections Department in Farmington,

During an interview, Franco told authorities that he had the pornography because he was  "inquisitive" and "wanted to know what [his] probationer clients were looking at." Although Franco claimed that he eventually deleted the images and videos from his computers, he admitted saving videos in a folder titled "movies." During the interview, Franco also admitted knowing that child pornography was illegal.

A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled, according to federal officials.