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Sex Slave Sting: Women Held In NJ Homes, Forced Into Brothels, AG Says
Eight people have been charged with racketeering and human trafficking for running a prostitution ring out of several homes in Trenton and Camden, authorities said.
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced the charges on Tuesday, July 1, following a months-long investigation that began in May 2024. At least 15 victims were located during raids at five properties, investigators said.
According to the criminal complaints, Vilma Deleon Bracamonte, also known as “Janet,” 55, of Hamilton, and Maria Soledad Xec Chan, 42, of Trenton, were the alleged ringleaders. They face charges …
27 Suspected 'Terrorist' Gang Members Nabbed On Sex Trafficking, Gun, Drug Charges, Feds Say
Twenty-seven suspected members and associates of the violent criminal organization Tren de Aragua are facing federal charges in New York.
These charges follow a large-scale investigation into racketeering, sex trafficking, drug smuggling, robbery, and firearms offenses, authorities announced.
The two indictments, unsealed this week in the Southern District of New York, accuse the defendants of participating in a broad range of crimes.
The crimes include smuggling women from Venezuela into the United States, forcing them into commercial sex work, distributing a pink powdery drug…
Lucchese Mob Ran Illegal Gambling Ring Across NJ; 39 Arrested Including Councilman: AG
A two-year investigation into an underground gambling empire allegedly run by members of the Lucchese Crime Family has led to charges against 39 individuals, including mob leaders, poker club managers, sportsbook agents — and even a sitting Prospect Park councilman, authorities said.
Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced the takedown on Friday, April 11, following multi-agency raids at 12 locations across northern New Jersey earlier in the week. Among the sites: four poker clubs operating out of Totowa, Garfield, and Woodland Park, including two hidden behind functioning restaurants,…
Iran Sent Hitmen To Kill NY Journalist: Two Mobsters Convicted In Foiled Plot
Two Eastern European mobsters were convicted in a chilling plot to assassinate an Iranian-American journalist on US soil—at the behest of the Iranian government.
A Manhattan federal jury found Rafat Amirov, 46, of Iran, and Polad Omarov, 40, of Georgia, guilty on all five counts related to a murder-for-hire scheme targeting journalist and human rights activist Masih Alinejad on Thursday, March 20.
The pair orchestrated the plan under orders from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), offering a hitman $500,000 to kill Alinejad outside her Brooklyn home, according to prosecutors.
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Ex-Mass Police Union Chief Gets 2.5 Years In Prison After Fraud Conviction: Feds
The former president of the State Police Association of Massachusetts and the group's ex-lobbyist were sentenced Wednesday, May 10, after they were convicted on charges that they turned the union into a "criminal enterprise" that defrauded its members, authorities said.
Dana A. Pullman, 60, of Worcester — the former president of SPAM — was sentenced to 30 months behind bars and three years of probation, the US Attorney for Massachusetts said. Anne M. Lynch, 71, of Huff, the union's lobbyist, received two years in prison and two years of supervised release, the prosecutor add…
NY College Sex Cult Leader Found Guilty On All Charges
Larry Ray, the leader of a sex cult run out of his daughter's dorm room at a New York college located in Westchester County, will face life in prison after being found guilty by a jury of sexually exploiting and trafficking girls.
Ray, now 62 years old following multiple delays in his trial and prosecution, was found guilty of 15 counts that include racketeering, sex trafficking, conspiracy, forced labor, extortion, tax evasion, and other crimes in relation to his scheme at Sarah Lawrence College, located near the border of Yonkers and Bronxville.
Related story - DOJ Acciden…
Western Mass Man Admits To Racketeering Involving Prostitution
A Western Massachusetts man has admitted in federal court to racketeering offenses relating to the promotion of commercial sex.
Kevin Smoot, age 59, of Springfield, pleaded guilty on Monday, April 12, to one count of conspiracy to use a facility to promote prostitution and seven counts of use of a facility of interstate commerce to promote prostitution offenses, according to Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Nathaniel R. Mendell.
On Friday, June 26, 2020, Smoot was arrested and charged by complaint. He was indicted in July 2020.
According to a criminal complaint,…
Latin Kings 'Snitch Detective,' Second-In-Command Pleads Guilty To Gang-Related Charge
The Second-in-Command of the Massachusetts Latin Kings has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from his lead role in finding and punishing gang members who spoke to the police.
On Tuesday, Feb. 23, Angel “King Big A” Roldan, 35, pleaded guilty in U.S. Senior Court to conspiracy to conduct enterprise affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity, said the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Massachusetts.
From at least 2018 to 2019, Roldan served as the “Cacique,” aka second-in-command, of the Massachusetts chapter. As part of his leadership role, Roldan was responsible for investigating "snitches,"…
