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Division of Criminal Justice Specialized Crimes Bureau

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GOTCHA! Gunman Who Carjacked Couple Captured Thanks To Police Drone: NJ Authorities GOTCHA! Gunman Who Carjacked Couple Captured Thanks To Police Drone: NJ Authorities
Gotcha! Gunman Who Carjacked Couple Captured Thanks To Police Drone: NJ Authorities A gunman who carjacked a couple waiting to pick up food outside an Elizabeth restaurant was captured by police thanks to a Newark police drone that followed their Mercedes to Jersey City, authorities said. Rahmel Belle, 22, of Jersey City, and another man were both wearing masks when they got out of a car behind the couple on Morris Avenue around 7:30 p.m. this past April 23, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said. Pointing a grey handgun with a laser at them, Belle ordered the victims out of the Mercedes and took their keys, cellphones and other valuables – as well as $…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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NYC Crew Conspired To Scam Atlantic City Casinos Out Of $1.12 Million, Authorities Charge NYC Crew Conspired To Scam Atlantic City Casinos Out Of $1.12 Million, Authorities Charge
NYC Crew Conspired To Scam Atlantic City Casinos Out Of $1.12 Million, Authorities Charge A group of New York City con artists conspired to scam five Atlantic City casinos out of $1,120,000 by exchanging bogus bank checks for gaming chips, authorities said. The Hard Rock casino rejected a check and the Golden Nugget permitted only incremental amounts, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck said Thursday. But Caesars, the Borgata and the Ocean Casino Resort all honored $284,000 checks, losing a combined total of $852,000, he said. The New Jersey State Police Casino Gaming Bureau and the Division of Criminal Justice Specialized Crimes Bureau began investigating soon a…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Trouble Collecting Unemployment? Working NJ Man Pocketed $96,437 Before COVID, Authorities Say Trouble Collecting Unemployment? Working NJ Man Pocketed $96,437 Before COVID, Authorities Say
Trouble Collecting Unemployment? Working NJ Man Pocketed $96,437 Before COVID, Authorities Say Before the coronavirus pandemic drove claims to unprecedented heights, a South Jersey man collected $96,437 in unemployment benefits from the state while holding down a job, said authorities who charged him with theft. Brian Peyton, 50, of Vineland had worked for a major food packaging company in Cumberland County for 27 years, in fact, records show. A state grand jury in Trenton indicted Peyton late last week after prosecutors said he had the benefits directly deposited from July 2010 through January 2017 while remaining employed the entire time, state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal sai…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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NJ’s 1st Social-Distanced Verdict: Philly Man Convicted Of Stealing $17G In Unemployment Checks NJ’s 1st Social-Distanced Verdict: Philly Man Convicted Of Stealing $17G In Unemployment Checks
NJ’s 1st Social-Distanced Verdict: Philly Man Convicted Of Stealing $17G In Unemployment Checks A socially-distanced jury in Trenton convicted a Philadelphia man of conspiring with a state worker to steal $17,206 worth of unemployment checks. The conviction of Phillip Stewart III, 39, was the first verdict obtained by the state Division of Criminal Justice in a socially distanced jury trial during the COVID-19 pandemic, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said Tuesday. Participants in the trial wore face masks “to comply with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines and maximize safety,” Grewal said. “There were plexiglass barriers between each juror in the jury box …

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Retired NJ Corrections Officer, Couple Charged In Sex Trafficking Of Girl, 14 Retired NJ Corrections Officer, Couple Charged In Sex Trafficking Of Girl, 14
Retired NJ Corrections Officer, Couple Charged In Sex Trafficking Of Girl, 14 A retired New Jersey corrections officer paid a couple for sex with a 14-year-old girl who was trafficked at an Atlantic City casino hotel, authorities charged. The girl was rescued when she showed up at the hotel after undercover State Police detectives responded to an online escort ad, state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said Wednesday. Authorities later that day arrested Derrick V. Ross, 27, of Atlantic City, who Grewal said brought the girl to the hotel to have sex for money – and often sexually assaulted her himself. Also arrested was Tiffany N. Davis, 39, of Egg Harbor Township, …

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by Jerry DeMarco
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NJ Charges 9 With Using Stolen IDs, Bogus Driver's Licenses To Buy $1.3M Worth Of Vehicles NJ Charges 9 With Using Stolen IDs, Bogus Driver's Licenses To Buy $1.3M Worth Of Vehicles
NJ Charges 9 With Using Stolen IDs, Bogus Driver's Licenses To Buy $1.3M Worth Of Vehicles Nine people from New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Ohio used stolen IDs to get digital driver’s licenses that they used to finance more than $1.3 million worth of vehicles and water craft, Garden State authorities charged. The defendants got the driver’s licenses from motor vehicle agencies in Jersey City and North Bergen using stolen identities of U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico, New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said Thursday. They also used fake Puerto Rico driver’s licenses, along with other false documents to land big-ticket items at dealerships in New Jersey, Pennsylv…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Lodi MVC Clerk: 7 Years For Selling Illegal Licenses To School Bus Drivers Lodi MVC Clerk: 7 Years For Selling Illegal Licenses To School Bus Drivers
Lodi MVC Clerk: 7 Years For Selling Illegal Licenses To School Bus Drivers A former Lodi motor vehicle agency clerk was sentenced Friday in Hackensack to a plea-bargained seven years in prison after admitting that he collected thousands in dollars in bribes operating a ring that allowed 220 motorists -- including school bus drivers -- to obtain permit and licenses without having to take any tests. Rodman Lora, 39, of Queens must serve two years and four months before being eligible for parole, under his deal with prosecutors. Lora was among 70 people charged in a wide-ranging investigation. He admitted that he got an average of $700 per license or permit from 2014…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
More Prison Time For Fort Lee Con Man Who Used Prisoners' IDs On Claims More Prison Time For Fort Lee Con Man Who Used Prisoners' IDs On Claims
More Prison Time For Fort Lee Con Man Who Used Prisoners' IDs On Claims FORT LEE, N.J. – A former Fort Lee mortgage broker already headed to a federal pen must also spend at least three years in state prison for filing bogus unemployment and temporary disability claims that netted $317,736 by using the names of prison inmates. Jose Crespo, 52, must also pay the government back after pleading guilty last April to computer theft. Crespo's wife, Marilyn Crespo, 50, pleaded guilty to theft charge and was sentenced to a drug court program that carries a five-year prison sentence if she fails to meet its requirements. Her husband's friend, Craig Mallone, 62, of Wilm…

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by Jerry DeMarco