In brief: U.S. customs agency names interim internal affairs chief

WASHINGTON – U.S. Customs and Border Protection replaced its internal affairs chief, the agency said Monday.

Christopher O’Neil, a CBP spokesman, said FBI Deputy Assistant Director for Inspections Mark Morgan will lead the office on an interim basis starting later this month. For now, Anthony Triplett has been named acting assistant commissioner for internal affairs. Triplett replaced James F. Tomsheck, who had led CBP’s internal affairs office since 2006.

Triplett worked for the Secret Service before joining CBP in 2007.

The Los Angeles Times reported Monday that Tomsheck was replaced amid concerns about use-of-force investigations of Border Patrol agents.

O’Neil said Morgan will focus on improving CBP’s internal review policy for investigating allegations and complaints against Border Patrol agents. He also will work with the department’s DHS Inspector General and interagency partners on investigating complaints, particularly those focused on use of force.

Guilty plea in death of two on boat

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. – A man who crashed a powerboat into a barge on the Hudson River, killing a bride-to-be and a best man two weeks before her wedding, pleaded guilty Monday to reduced charges and acknowledged he was drunk at the time.

Jojo John, 36, of Nyack, was promised a sentence of two years in a local jail in exchange for pleading guilty to second-degree vehicular manslaughter, the Rockland County district attorney’s office said.

John was piloting a 19-foot Stingray on July 26 when it crashed into a stationary barge involved in the construction of a new Tappan Zee Bridge, about 30 miles north of Manhattan.

The impact killed Lindsey Stewart, of Piermont, and Mark Lennon, of Pearl River, both 30 and friends of John. John and three other friends, including groom-to-be Brian Bond, were injured. John’s lawyer, David Narain, said John suffered a fractured skull and fractured spine.

Prosecutors said John had nearly twice the legal level of alcohol in his system when the boat crashed.