Bergen Prosecutor's Detectives Seize $17,500, Bust Pennsylvania Pair Near GWB

Two Pennsylvania men had $17,518 in cash stuffed into the sleeves of a child’s winter coat when they were stopped in Fort Lee near the George Washington Bridge, authorities said.

Narcotic Task Force members pulled over the pair’s 2012 Jeep Cherokee on northbound I-95 and found the rubber-banded bundles of money, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said Wednesday.

Joel Maldonado, a truck driver, and Joel Rivera, a warehouse worker, both 23, were both released on summonses to appear on money-laundering charges in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack on Sept. 11, the prosecutor said.

Meanwhile, authorities will move to claim the money for public use through state forfeiture laws.

Musella thanked Fort Lee police for their assistance.

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