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Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office

North Jersey Man, 65, Admits Sharing Horrific Child Sex Videos, Including One Of Girl Under 5 North Jersey Man, 65, Admits Sharing Horrific Child Sex Videos, Including One Of Girl Under 5
North Jersey Man, 65, Admits Sharing Horrific Child Sex Videos, Including One Of Girl Under 5 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: A video of a girl believed to be 3 to 5 years old astride a shirtless, bearded tattooed man was among the evidence that apparently convinced a North Jersey retiree to plead guilty in federal court to trafficking child pornography, records show. The clip was among 65 videos and 250 images that Gaetano Lapegna, 65, had collected of "prepubescent children engaged in sexual acts with adults and other children," an agent with U.S. Homeland Security Investigations Newark cited in a complaint. Lapegna, of Sussex County, shared many of them with what turned out to be HSI agents, the complai…
𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: More Than 90 Dogs, Pups Removed From NJ Home, Couple Charged 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: More Than 90 Dogs, Pups Removed From NJ Home, Couple Charged
𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: More Than 90 Dogs, Pups Removed From NJ Home, Couple Charged UPDATE: The ASPCA said on Wednesday that it helped remove more than 90 adult dogs and puppies from the Sussex County home of a self-described animal rescue couple who were charged with multiple cruelty-related counts. Two dogs were found dead during a 7 a.m. raid at a Vernon Township home led by the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday, Feb. 20, authorities reported. Both Gizela Juric, who founded the Angels for Animals Network in Cliffside Park before moving it to Sussex County, and her boyfriend, Ronald Colgan, were charged with six criminal animal cruelty accounts, the American S…
Barricaded Man In NJ Motel Wounds 2 NJ State Troopers With Airsoft Gun Barricaded Man In NJ Motel Wounds 2 NJ State Troopers With Airsoft Gun
Barricaded Man In NJ Motel Wounds 2 NJ State Troopers With Airsoft Gun An armed man who wounded two New Jersey State Police troopers with an airsoft gun during a lengthy standoff at a Sussex County motel was eventually taken alive, authorities said. Troopers were conducting a welfare check at the Cobmin Ridge Motel on Route 206 in Branchville, 10 or so miles from the Pennsylvania border, around 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 30, they said. Nicolas R. Martinez, 27, refused to leave a room he was staying in, according to a joint release from New Jersey State Police, the state Department of Law & Public Safety and the Sussex County Prosecutor's Office. Negotiations la…
Beloved Retired Police Officer From Bergen Dies In 'Freak Accident' In Sussex County Beloved Retired Police Officer From Bergen Dies In 'Freak Accident' In Sussex County
Beloved Retired Police Officer From Bergen Dies In 'Freak Accident' In Sussex County A retired New York City police officer with deep ties in Bergen County died in what his husband called "a freak accident" in Sussex County. John Kelly and fellow retired Tenafly Police Officer Joseph Grieco had bought a plot of land less than 100 yards from the New York State border in Glenwood, an unincorporated area within Vernon Township. They were building a new home there and had taken an apartment nearby in the meantime, those who knew them said. Vernon Township police were called to the residence around 1 a.m. last Wednesday, July 26, "for a discharge of a weapon with injuries," th…
Four Dead In Fiery North Jersey Crash Four Dead In Fiery North Jersey Crash
Four Dead In Fiery North Jersey Crash Police have identified a father and his two children as three of the four people who died in a Sussex County crash Friday, May 26. Click here for details, or read on for the original news report. A 2021 Jeep Rubicon heading west crossed over the double yellow lines, striking a 2001 Ford Ranger pickup head-on around 4 p.m., on Newton-Sparta Road east of Limecrest Road, in Andover Township near the Sparta line, local police said. The Ford Ranger pickup erupted in flames with three occupants entrapped. First responders used fire extinguishers and attempted life-saving measures but t…
Federal Agents Seize Sussex County Man In Online Child Porn Sting Federal Agents Seize Sussex County Man In Online Child Porn Sting
Federal Agents Seize Sussex County Man In Online Child Porn Sting U.S. Homeland Security agents seized a Sussex County man who they said shared hundreds of child pornography videos and still images with an undercover investigator. Gaetano Lapegna, 64, was arrested after a warranted search of his Franklin home turned up two videos and 100 other images, Homeland Security Investigations' Newark Special-Agent-In-Charge Ricky J. Patel and U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said in a joint announcement. A federal magistrate judge in Newark released Lapegna, formerly of Maine, on $100,000 unsecured bond pending trial on distribution of child pornog…
BETRAYER OF THE BADGE: NJ Officer Admits Using Authority On Duty To Pressure Women Into Sex BETRAYER OF THE BADGE: NJ Officer Admits Using Authority On Duty To Pressure Women Into Sex
Betrayer OF THE Badge: NJ Officer Admits Using Authority On Duty To Pressure Women Into Sex UPDATE: A Vernon Township police officer who was accused of groping a Bergen County woman during a domestic violence call admitted abusing his authority on duty to force women to submit to his sexual advances. Emanuel Rivera, 38, acknowledged the “imbalance of power” between him and the women he was hitting on, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and Acting Sussex County Prosecutor Annmarie Taggart said in a joint statement. This left them unable to consent, he admitted, because of the “coercive, intimidating nature of such requests” coming from a uniformed police officer," the s…
Sussex County HS Teacher Took Hundreds Of ‘Upskirt’ Photos, Videos Of Students, Prosecutor Says Sussex County HS Teacher Took Hundreds Of ‘Upskirt’ Photos, Videos Of Students, Prosecutor Says
Sussex County HS Teacher Took Hundreds Of ‘Upskirt’ Photos, Videos Of Students, Prosecutor Says A Sussex County high school science teacher was arrested and charged with child endangerment and possession of child of sexual abuse material after he was found with hundreds of photos and videos upskirting students, authorities announced. Michael F. Wagner, 39, of Hopatcong, was charged with second-degree child endangerment, possession of child sexual abuse material, and invasion of privacy, Acting Sussex County Prosecutor Annmarie Taggart said in a joint release. The investigation began on Wednesday, Oct. 12, when a teacher at Pope John High School in Sparta overheard several eighth-grade…
Man Dies From Self-Inflicted Shooting At Sussex County Police Department (UPDATE) Man Dies From Self-Inflicted Shooting At Sussex County Police Department (UPDATE)
Man Dies From Self-Inflicted Shooting At Sussex County Police Department (Update) UPDATE: The man died as he was being taken to the hospital, according to a report from NJ.com. ----------------------------- A man was being hospitalized following a self-inflicted shooting at a police department in Sussex County, authorities said. A Newton police officer was exiting the back of the station at 39 Trinity St. and found an unconscious 71-year-old Newton man lying on the ground just after 1:20 p.m. on Friday, July 29, a press release said. Officers immediately began rendering aid and discovered that he was suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. A 9 mm ha…
NJ Man Used TikTok To Solicit Sexual Photos From PA Girls: DA NJ Man Used TikTok To Solicit Sexual Photos From PA Girls: DA
NJ Man Used TikTok To Solicit Sexual Photos From PA Girls: DA A 26-year-old New Jersey man was arrested and found with child porn after he used social media to solicit sexually explicit photos from Pennsylvania girls, authorities said. An investigation began on April 20 when the dad of two girls, ages 11 and 12, told the Montgomery County Detective Bureau that his daughters had been solicited to send naked images via TikTok and text messages by a man later identified as Ryan Corcoran, of Andover, NJ, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said. The dad claimed he learned of the communications when one of his daughters told him t…
GUILTY: Sussex County Man Kicked, Headlocked Cop, Tried To Steal Gun During Theft Arrest GUILTY: Sussex County Man Kicked, Headlocked Cop, Tried To Steal Gun During Theft Arrest
Guilty: Sussex County Man Kicked, Headlocked Cop, Tried To Steal Gun During Theft Arrest A Sussex County man admitted in court to kicking, headlocking, and attempting to bite and disarm police who were arresting him for driving a stolen car, authorities announced. Michael A. Liska, 29, pleaded guilty to receiving stolen property, resisting arrest, obstruction, attempt to disarm a police officer, and DWI, Sussex County Prosecutor Francis A. Koch said in a release on Thursday, June 2. Liska, of Hopatcong, admitted to driving a 2008 White Jeep Liberty that had been stolen from a victim in New York on Wednesday, Jan. 26, Koch said. Liska then resisted arrest by kicking, headlockin…
Sussex County Woman’s Body Exhumed 32 Years After Disappearance In Homicide Cold Case Sussex County Woman’s Body Exhumed 32 Years After Disappearance In Homicide Cold Case
Sussex County Woman’s Body Exhumed 32 Years After Disappearance In Homicide Cold Case The body of a Sussex County woman who was found dead months after she disappeared was exhumed from its final resting place in a new development to a cold case from more than 30 years ago, authorities announced. Lisa McBride was exhumed from Restland Memorial Park in East Hanover on Wednesday, March 9, the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office said. McBride, 27, had just finished her workday at Lakeland Bank in Newfoundland before attending a concert with four friends in New York City on Friday, June 22, 1990, the SCPO said. She then went to Big John’s Pub on Old Route 23 in Newfoundland, where…
Morris County Man Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Girls In Motel Room, Police Say Morris County Man Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Girls In Motel Room, Police Say
Morris County Man Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Girls In Motel Room, Police Say A Morris County man is facing several charges after he allegedly sexually assaulted two girls at a motel room. Jose Rivera-Lobos, 30, was arrested on Sunday, Feb. 6 after an investigation showed that he assaulted two victims who were with him at an Econolodge motel, Andover Township Police said in a Friday release. Lobos, of Dover, was charged with two counts of second-degree sexual assault and two counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of children, police said. Lobos was being held at the Morris County Correctional Facility. The investigation is ongoing, and additional charges w…
1 Killed, Another Airlifted With Serious Injuries In Head-On Sussex County Crash 1 Killed, Another Airlifted With Serious Injuries In Head-On Sussex County Crash
1 Killed, Another Airlifted With Serious Injuries In Head-On Sussex County Crash One person was killed and another was flown to a nearby hospital with serious injuries following a head-on crash in Sussex County Sunday evening, police said. Erin Moore, 41, was driving a blue Hyundai Tuscon southbound on Route 181 near Signal Hill Trail in Sparta when she collided with a gray 540i BMW driven by Attila Princz, 41, around 5:30 p.m., Sparta Police Lt. John Lamon said. Princz, of Sparta, had been driving northbound when his vehicle crossed over into the southbound lane, striking Moore’s vehicle head-on, Lamon said. Both drivers were treated at the scene, and Moore was extric…
Indictment Returned Against Sussex Officer Accused Of Groping Woman, Pursuing Others On Duty Indictment Returned Against Sussex Officer Accused Of Groping Woman, Pursuing Others On Duty
Indictment Returned Against Sussex Officer Accused Of Groping Woman, Pursuing Others On Duty A former Paterson police officer who’s accused of groping a Bergen County woman during a domestic call with another department is also charged with using his authority to get other women’s phone numbers, authorities said. Emanuel Rivera, 37, was a Vernon Township police officer when he met the woman while responding to a May 11, 2019 domestic violence call at her then-boyfriend’s home, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck said. She told him and other responding officers that she intended to spend the night at a friend’s house but then opted to sleep in her car near there when …
Man In $1M Meth Lab Bust, Pal Put Dead Body Under NJ Family's Doghouse, Police Say Man In $1M Meth Lab Bust, Pal Put Dead Body Under NJ Family's Doghouse, Police Say
Man In $1M Meth Lab Bust, Pal Put Dead Body Under NJ Family's Doghouse, Police Say Two Sussex County ex-cons have been accused of relocating human remains found in a Hopatcong home to a doghouse underneath a deck, authorities said. Brian Cheda-Hackembruch, 25, of Andover Township (who you may remember from his involvement in a $1 million meth lab raid), and Matthew R. Thomas, 27, of Newton had found the body of an individual who died of a medical emergency in a Hopatcong home, Andover Township police said. Instead of notifying officials, the pair loaded the victim into the trunk of his or her own vehicle, then hired a towing company to move the car to a street near West L…
Attempted Murder Charges For Elderly Sussex County Man Who Fired Handgun At Police, Drove Away Attempted Murder Charges For Elderly Sussex County Man Who Fired Handgun At Police, Drove Away
Attempted Murder Charges For Elderly Sussex County Man Who Fired Handgun At Police, Drove Away The elderly man who fired two rounds at officers from a Sussex County parking garage has been charged with attempted murder, Newton Police said. Edwin Greene, 80, called officers from the parking garage under the Newton Town Centre complex stating that he had a gun and was suicidal around 1:30 p.m. on Jan. 25, police said. A temporary lockdown was put into place when Greene fired two rounds from a .22 caliber handgun and drove away, dodging officers’ attempts to block the area, authorities said. Greene was later found outside Newton Medical Center and subdued with physical force, police sa…
KNOW HIM? Police Seek ID For Man Found Dead In North Jersey State Forest KNOW HIM? Police Seek ID For Man Found Dead In North Jersey State Forest
Know HIM? Police Seek ID For Man Found Dead In North Jersey State Forest Police are seeking the public’s help identifying the man whose body was found in a North Jersey state forest.  A hunter found the body Dec. 8 in a wooded patch in Stokes State Forest approximately 300 yards off of Tower Trail in Sandyston Township, Sussex County, State Police said. The man has a light complexion and is estimated to be between 20 and 40 years old, 5 feet 7 inches tall and 171 pounds, police said. He has a large scar on his right knee as well as several tattoos, pictured above using graphics created by the New Jersey State Police Forensic Imaging Unit. The man was …
Army Soldier, Teen Boy Charged In Sussex County Killing Of 20-Year-Old Corporal Hayden Harris Army Soldier, Teen Boy Charged In Sussex County Killing Of 20-Year-Old Corporal Hayden Harris
Army Soldier, Teen Boy Charged In Sussex County Killing Of 20-Year-Old Corporal Hayden Harris A 23-year-old Fort Drum soldier and 16-year-old boy are facing murder and kidnapping charges in the Sussex County killing of 20-year-old U.S. Army Cpl. Hayden Harris. Pvt. Jamaal Mellish, 23, and the unidentified teen were arrested earlier this month after Harris' body was found buried in snow, in a wooded area off Ross Road in Byram Dec. 19, authorities in Sussex County previously said. Mellish, of Brooklyn, was charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping, handgun possession, suppression of evidence and more, the Sussex County Prosecutor's Office announced Monday. The teen was charged wi…
NJ Police Officer Who Shot Loose Dog Accused Of Sex Crime Against Domestic Assault Victim NJ Police Officer Who Shot Loose Dog Accused Of Sex Crime Against Domestic Assault Victim
NJ Police Officer Who Shot Loose Dog Accused Of Sex Crime Against Domestic Assault Victim Authorities have charged a North Jersey police officer with illegally touching a woman while responding to domestic violence call.  Vernon Township Officer Emanuel Rivera was responding to an early-morning incident on May 11, 2019, when he tracked down a female subject who was asked to leave the house and "engaged in illegal sexual contact through coercive means," Sussex County Prosecutor Francis A. Koch said Thursday. Rivera, 36, who was accused of shooting a loose dog last year, is charged with fourth-degree criminal sexual contact, the prosecutor said. A former six-y…
Sparta Man Gets 5 Years For Role In Morris, Sussex, Bergen Coke/Pot Ring Sparta Man Gets 5 Years For Role In Morris, Sussex, Bergen Coke/Pot Ring
Sparta Man Gets 5 Years For Role In Morris, Sussex, Bergen Coke/Pot Ring A Sparta man must spend the next two years in state prison before he’ll be eligible for parole for his role in a drug distribution ring. A judge in Morristown on Friday sentenced Samuel J. Rozynski to five years, with the two-year parole ineligibility requirement, for his March 2 guilty plea to having cocaine and pot for sale, money laundering and conspiracy. Rozynski also forfeited what authorities said was $329,000 drug proceeds seized from him during simultaneous raids in Sparta, Cliffside Park and Parsippany this past Jan. 29. SEE: Pair Busted With Coke, Pot, Guns In Morris, Sussex, Be…
Cliffside Park Resident Busted In Tri-County Drug Probe Cliffside Park Resident Busted In Tri-County Drug Probe
Cliffside Park Resident Busted In Tri-County Drug Probe Two people – one from Sparta, the other Cliffside Park -- were busted with 37 pounds of pot, three-quarters of a pound of cocaine, some guns and more than $300,000 in drug money, capping a lengthy investigation in Morris, Sussex and Bergen counties, authorities said. Samuel J. Rozynski, 44, of Sparta faces the most serious charges, including a variety of drug and weapons possession counts and money laundering, following raids Wednesday in Sparta, Cliffside Park and Parsippany, they said. Rozynski remained held Thursday at the Morris County Correctional Facility in Morristown pending a deten…
Child Protection Agency Notified After Sparta Man Stomps On Teenage Girl's Ankle, Report Says Child Protection Agency Notified After Sparta Man Stomps On Teenage Girl's Ankle, Report Says
Child Protection Agency Notified After Sparta Man Stomps On Teenage Girl's Ankle, Report Says The New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency and Sussex County Prosecutor's Office were notified after a Sparta man threw a 14-year-old girl in his care to the ground and stomped on her ankle, causing swelling and bruising, a recent report says. Logan Kylish, 36, was arrested Saturday, two days after the incident, and charged via a complaint warrant with child endangerment, abandonment, cruelty/child neglect and served a disorderly persons offense, the NJHerald reports. Someone picking the teen up for school Friday morning noticed she wasn't able to bear weight on her ank…
Missing Sussex County Teen Jordin Tenk Found Dead Missing Sussex County Teen Jordin Tenk Found Dead
Missing Sussex County Teen Jordin Tenk Found Dead A missing Sussex County teen was found dead on Monday, authorities said. The body of Jordin Tenk, 15, of Highland Lakes, was found around 12:30 p.m., in a heavily wooded area near Hamburg Mountain by search team members with the Sussex County Prosecutor's Office, Hardyston Township Police Chief Bret Alemy said. A firearm was recovered at the scene, police said. There incident was not considered a threat to the general public, Alemy said. Tenk, a sophomore Vernon Township High School, indicated that he intended on harming himself before he went missing Friday evening, authori…
Feds: Weapons Arsenal, White Supremacist Material Seized From Sussex County Man In Van Crash Feds: Weapons Arsenal, White Supremacist Material Seized From Sussex County Man In Van Crash
Feds: Weapons Arsenal, White Supremacist Material Seized From Sussex County Man In Van Crash A Sussex County man who was once stabbed in a biker bar brawl was found with an assortment of illegal weapons and ammo, along with white supremacist and racially-charged propaganda, after he crashed his van, federal authorities said. NJ State Police said they spotted some of the arsenal in a white Chevy Express van driven by Joseph Rubino, 57, of Lafayette Township, after it crashed into a tree off Route 80 in Allamuchy on July 24. A medical chopper took Rubino and his passenger, 55-year-old Kenneth Coe of Bayonne, to Morristown Medical Center, the NJSP said at the time. The federal Bureau…
Convicted Hackensack Drug Dealer Gets 12 Years In Morris County Jail Convicted Hackensack Drug Dealer Gets 12 Years In Morris County Jail
Convicted Hackensack Drug Dealer Gets 12 Years In Morris County Jail A Hackensack man with a history of narcotics trafficking was sentenced Tuesday to 12 years in prison, authorities said. Michael T. Swanson, 42, dealt cocaine in Morris and surrounding counties before he was caught. He pleaded guilty to distribution of cocaine and conspiracy to distribute controlled dangerous substances, according to the Morris County Prosecutor's Office. Swanson, in 2011, had been convicted of similar offenses in Passaic County. He must serve at least 53 months before earning parole eligibility. Swanson, who was dealing drugs out of Morris County between January 2017 and …
'Operation Home Alone': 16 Nabbed, Including Ridgewood Officer, Trying To Meet Kids For Sex 'Operation Home Alone': 16 Nabbed, Including Ridgewood Officer, Trying To Meet Kids For Sex
'Operation Home Alone': 16 Nabbed, Including Ridgewood Officer, Trying To Meet Kids For Sex A Ridgewood police officer who is accused of arranging a meeting for sex with what he thought was a 15-year-old girl was one of 16 men who were nabbed in a similar undercover sting by state and local authorities, New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced Wednesday. Others include a barbershop owner from Passaic, a food delivery driver from Fairview, a supermarket employee/deejay from Hawthorne and two Garfield men – one of them a rideshare company driver and another a convicted sex offender awaiting sentencing on child porn possession charges. All thought they were communicatin…
FOUND! Search Team Finds Hopatcong Man Reported Missing By Wife FOUND! Search Team Finds Hopatcong Man Reported Missing By Wife
Found! Search Team Finds Hopatcong Man Reported Missing By Wife UPDATE: A search-and-rescue team that numbered in the dozens on Saturday found a 34-year-old Hopatcong man whose wife reported him missing the night before. Kevin Fawthrop was hospitalized for hypothermia after members of the Ramapo Search and Rescue Team and co-workers from Blue Diamond Waste Removal found him in a heavily wooded area about a mile and a half from his home, responders said. "He was confused, disoriented and hypothermia had set in," Hopatcong police said. Also participating in the five-square-mile search were Hopatcong police and firefighters, Jefferson firefighters, the Su…
Prosecutor: 5 Charged, Pot, THC Oils, Edibles, Gun, $18,250 Seized In Lyndhurst, Rutherford Prosecutor: 5 Charged, Pot, THC Oils, Edibles, Gun, $18,250 Seized In Lyndhurst, Rutherford
Prosecutor: 5 Charged, Pot, THC Oils, Edibles, Gun, $18,250 Seized In Lyndhurst, Rutherford Bergen County prosecutor’s detectives smashed a drug ring that they said operated out of three homes in Lyndhurst and Rutherford -- arresting five people and seizing several pounds of pot, THC oils and edibles, mushrooms, drug packaging, a handgun and $18,250 in suspected drug cash. Charged were Theappratan Borriraj and Priscila Pisco, both 26, of Kearney Place in Lyndhurst; and Brittany Ramirez, 26, Diana Guillen, 21, and Vladilen Napuri, 29, of the same Franklin Place apartment in Rutherford. All face various drug counts.  Borraj and Pisco were also charged with child endangerment, Borri…