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ByKristinJ.Benderand Paul Elias TheAssociatedPress SAN FRANCISCO Two for- mer federal agents were charged with fraud in the theft of digital currency dur- ing an investigation into an online black market known as Silk Road that let users buy and sell drugs and other illegal items, authorities said Monday. Former U.S. Secret Ser- vice special agent Shaun W. Bridges, 32, of Laurel, Mary- land, appeared in federal court in San Francisco but didn't enter a plea. He has been charged with wire fraud and money laun- dering. He was later released on $500,000 unsecured bond. His attorney, Steven Levin, declined to comment. Bridges is accused of di- verting more than $800,000 in digital currency to his per- sonal account after gaining control of the funds during the investigation. The complaint alleges that Bridges placed the assets into a now-defunct digital currency exchange in Japan then wired funds into one of his personal investment ac- counts in the U.S. The criminal complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco on Wednesday and unsealed Monday. Carl M. Force, 46, of Balti- more, a former special agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration, also has been charged in the case. He was expected to appear Monday in court in Mary- land. Force worked undercover and was tasked with estab- lishing communications with a target of the inves- tigation, Ross William Ul- bricht, who was convicted of seven drug and conspir- acy charges in February. Ulbricht was accused of creating the multimillion- dollar marketplace for il- legal drugs and other con- traband and adopting the alias Dread Pirate Roberts, a character from the movie "Princess Bride." The website promised its buyers and sellers anonym- ity by using encryption and bitcoins. Force is charged with wire fraud, theft of government property, money laundering and conflict of interest. The complaint alleges that Force used fake online per- sonas and engaged in com- plex bitcoin transactions to steal from the government and Ulbricht. Investigators say Force solicited and received digi- tal currency as part of the investigation but failed to report the funds and in- stead transferred the cur- rency to his personal ac- count. In one such transac- tion, Force sold information about the government's in- vestigation to Ulbricht, au- thorities say. The complaint also al- leges that Force invested in and worked for a digital currency exchange com- pany while still employed by the DEA. He directed the company to freeze a cus- tomer's account and then transferred the account funds to his personal ac- count, it says. SILK ROAD Agents charged with stealing currency By Scott Smith The Associated Press FRESNO For the first time in a century, endangered Si- erra Nevada bighorn sheep are back on their ancestral range and headed toward recovery, wildlife officials said Monday. During an ongoing relo- cation effort, hundreds of bighorn have been captured with nets dropped from he- licopters then moved to Yo- semite and Sequoia na- tional parks. "We've got the sheep where we want them on a broad geographic basis, which is a huge milestone," California Department of Fish and Wildlife biolo- gist Tom Stephenson said. "We've still got to get their numbers up a bit." Thousands of the sheep once roamed the Sierra Ne- vada but overhunting and disease spread by domes- ticated sheep herds caused near-extinction. Between 1914 and 1986, no bighorn roamed Yosem- ite, and statewide their numbers hit a low of about 100. The animals were placed on the federal en- dangered species list in 1999. Today, about 600 exist statewide in areas critical to their survival, Stephen- son said. The number is about three-quarters the size called for in the state recov- ery plan that indicates the importance of the animals to the survivals of moun- tain lions, bobcats and coy- otes. Bighorn sheep thrive on cliffs and rocky outcrop- ping, where they watch for predators. Standing over three-feet tall at the shoul- der, rams have coiled horns that they use to butt other males during breeding sea- son to compete for ewes. State biologists recently started moving sheep from thriving herds in Inyo Na- tional Forest, in the south- ern mountain range. Each was examined and fitted with a GPS tracking collar. Seven ewes and three rams are being relocated in the Laurel Creek area of Se- quoia National Park, while nine ewes — eight of them pregnant — and three rams were trapped and released into Yosemite. Yosemite wildlife biolo- gist Sarah Stock said only the most intrepid park visi- tors will ever see the sheep that roam high in the back- country at elevations above 7,500 feet. She says that the bighorn sheep are an icon of the Western landscape and helping them recover rights a wrong. "I think it says a lot about humans," Stock said. "We're capable of correcting mis- takes of the past by return- ing this charismatic Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep back to its native habitat." WILDLIFE En da ng er ed b ig ho rn s he ep m ov ed to Yosemite, Sequoia parks STEVEBUMGARDNERYOSEMITECONSERVANC—NATIONALPARKSERVICE Female Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep are released into the backcountry of Yosemite National Park. "We've got the sheep where we want them on a broad geographic basis, which is a huge milestone. We've still got to get their numbers up a bit." — Tom Stephenson, California Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist PLEASE RECYCLE THIS NEWSPAPER. Thank you! NOTICETOTAXPAYERS Friday, April 10, 2015 at 5:00 p.m. is the last day for paying the second installment of real estate taxes without a 10% penalty and $20.00 cost.Paymentcanbemadeat444OakStreet,Room D, Red Bluff CA. or by mailing to the Tehama County Tax Collector, P O Box 769, Red Bluff CA 96080. Copies of bills, tax information and credit card payment information is available online at www.tehama.us. Our office hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. MAIL YOUR PAYMENTS EARLY! PAYMENTS MUST BE POSTMARKED ON OR BEFORE APRIL 10, 2015. All payments postmarked after 5:00 p.m. on April 10, 2015 will be charged a penalty. DANA HOLLMER Tax Collector PaidAdvertisement Small Engine Repair GOLDENRULE SMALL ENGINES (530) 526-8121 796 Antelope Blvd., Red Bluff (Enter from Trinity Ave.) Chainsaw Sale 10% off! 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