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Eastern District of Virginia

Police & Fire
Trenton Man Tied To Massive, Violent Virginia Dog Fighting Ring Trenton Man Tied To Massive, Violent Virginia Dog Fighting Ring
Trenton Man Tied To Massive, Violent Virginia Dog Fighting Ring A 45-year-old Stafford man has been convicted for his role in an animal fighting ring in the DMV for five years, federal officials said. Mark Joseph Rodriguez, aka “Slow Poke,” and co-conspirators from the region used a messaging app that they called "The DMV Board" or "The Board" to discuss training fighting dogs, exchange videos about dogfighting, and arrange and coordinate dog fights, out of view of law enforcement, Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said. Members of the DMV Board also used the app to compare methods of killing dogs that lost f…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Convicted MS-13 Killer Sentenced In NJ Murder Plot Convicted MS-13 Killer Sentenced In NJ Murder Plot
Convicted MS-13 Killer Sentenced In NJ Murder Plot 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: A member of an MS-13 clique who just began serving 40 years in federal prison for a murder in Virginia was sentenced to 10 years for his role in a failed plot to kill a rival in Hudson County. The plea-bargained sentence approved by a federal judge in Newark on Thursday, March 21, won’t require Jose Gimenez-Lobos, a 33-year-old Salvadoran national, to serve more time. It will run concurrently. Gimenez-Lobos and two companions were ordered by a high-ranking member of La Mara Salvatrucha to execute a member of the rival 18th Street gang from the Maryland/Virginia area, U.S. Attorney …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Feds: Counterfeiter Who Made Phony $100 Bills With Bleached Singles Gets 5 Years Without Parole Feds: Counterfeiter Who Made Phony $100 Bills With Bleached Singles Gets 5 Years Without Parole
Feds: Counterfeiter Who Made Phony $100 Bills With Bleached Singles Gets 5 Years Without Parole A convicted counterfeiter from Philadelphia must spend the next five years in federal prison for printing $235,000 worth of fake $100 bills that he and a crew circulated in Virginia, authorities said. Hollis Forteau, 38, formerly of Willingboro, NJ, already had an extensive criminal history when federal investigators arrested him for printing Benjamin Franklin and other $100 images onto bleached dollar bills that he distributed to at least six associates. The crew members used the funny money to buy items at retail stores in Virginia, then returned the goods to other stores in the same chai…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Feds: Crew In NJ, NY, Michigan Conned Banks, Merchant Processors Out Of $3.5 Million Feds: Crew In NJ, NY, Michigan Conned Banks, Merchant Processors Out Of $3.5 Million
Feds: Crew In NJ, NY, Michigan Conned Banks, Merchant Processors Out Of $3.5 Million Federal agents arrested five people from New Jersey, New York and Michigan and were searching for two others Monday in connection with a $3.5 million bank fraud. Working together, the defendants defrauded several major banks and electronic merchant processors by creating shell companies that issued checks to one another, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. They also conducted “fraudulent credit card and debit card transactions between shell companies to fraudulently credit payee accounts and fraudulently overdraw payor accounts,” Carpenito said. The shell companies also issued temporary re…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Justice Dept: COVID-Related Directives Can't Treat Religious Groups Differently Than Businesses Justice Dept: COVID-Related Directives Can't Treat Religious Groups Differently Than Businesses
Justice Dept: Covid-related Directives Can't Treat Religious Groups Differently Than Businesses Although state and local governments may issue coronavirus state-of-emergency directives, "there is no pandemic exception to the Constitution and its Bill of Rights," the Justice Department said Sunday. Federal authorities issued the statement in support of a Virginia church whose pastor was charged criminally with conducting a worship service attended by 16 people in a 225-seat sanctuary. But its message extends well beyond the specific case, as federal authorities continue examining state and local emergency orders to see whether they'd stand up to a constitutional challenge. The Lightho…

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by Jerry DeMarco