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Police & Fire
Car Full Of Fools Gold Lands NJ Man Trip To Fed Pen — Then Back To India Car Full Of Fools Gold Lands NJ Man Trip To Fed Pen — Then Back To India
Car Full Of Fools Gold Lands NJ Man Trip To Fed Pen — Then Back To India A New Jersey scammer whose eyes were bigger than his brain when he tried to rob an Athol woman of more than $300,000 was sentenced on Wednesday, May 24, to a year in prison, after which he'll be deported back to India authorities said.  Gaurang Contractor, 38, a citizen of India living in Jersey City, NJ, tried to trick a Central Massachusetts woman into believing he was a DEA agent and she needed to convert her life savings into gold and give it to him for safekeeping, the US Attorney for Massachusetts said.  Contractor contacted the woman in August 2022 using the alias of "Oscar…

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by Josh Lanier
News
Most-Wanted Fugitive Captured At Newark Airport Gets 8 Years, No Parole, For Child Porn: Feds Most-Wanted Fugitive Captured At Newark Airport Gets 8 Years, No Parole, For Child Porn: Feds
Most-Wanted Fugitive Captured At Newark Airport Gets 8 Years, No Parole, For Child Porn: Feds A wanted pedophile from Canada who was captured at Newark Airport after 17 years on the run was sentenced to a plea-bargained eight years in federal prison for trafficking child porn. Perth De – also known as Parthasarthie Kapoor -- had been one of Canada’s “Ten Most Wanted” fugitives when U.S. Homeland Security Investigations agents nabbed him on Jan. 21, 2020 as he tried to fly to his native India. An examination of several cellphones in his luggage “revealed numerous videos of children being sexually abused,” a complaint on file in U.S. District Court in Newark says. Some of the videos …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
COVID-19: Highly-Infectious 'Arcturus' Variant Detected In NJ COVID-19: Highly-Infectious 'Arcturus' Variant Detected In NJ
Covid-19: Highly-Infectious 'Arcturus' Variant Detected In NJ A new COVID-19 variant first detected in New York in January has now been identified in 27 states, including New Jersey. The so-called Arcturus strain — officially known as XBB.1.16 — is believed to be one of the most infectious versions of Omicron to date.  Shortly after the World Health Organization began monitoring the variant in late March, cases had been reported in about two dozen countries. The WHO says Arcturus is a "recombinant" of COVID subvariants BA.2.10.1 and BA.2.75. In addition to New York, XBB.1.16 has also been confirmed in California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pen…

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by Joe Lombardi
News
Online Sting Scheme: Indian National Admits Scamming Elderly In NJ, Around World Online Sting Scheme: Indian National Admits Scamming Elderly In NJ, Around World
Online Sting Scheme: Indian National Admits Scamming Elderly In NJ, Around World UPDATE: An Indian national who participated in an international conspiracy that preyed on senior citizens in New Jersey and throughout the U.S. was sentenced to a plea-bargained 33 months in federal prison, authorities said. Ashish Bajaj, 29, of India, will have to serve out the entire term because there’s no parole in the federal prison system. U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty also sentenced Bajaj to two years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $2.4 million in restitution to his victims. Bajaj lived in different parts of the United States, including New Rochelle, NY, and Anahe…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Man Killed By Amtrak Train In Central Jersey Was Family Breadwinner, Loved Ones Say Man Killed By Amtrak Train In Central Jersey Was Family Breadwinner, Loved Ones Say
Man Killed By Amtrak Train In Central Jersey Was Family Breadwinner, Loved Ones Say Friends of the family of a 39-year-old man struck and killed by an Amtrak train in New Jersey are reaching out with support.  Sreekanth Digala, who died Tuesday night, Feb. 28 in Plainsboro, loved ones say on a GoFundMe campaign. He is survived by his wife, Suvarchala, and their son, Aneesh, who is 10 years old. "Sreekanth is the only breadwinner for his family and the sole responsible person for his 70+-year-old parents and in-laws down in India," the GoFundMe organizer wrote. The GoFundMe organizer wrote, "He was a very good human being and a Hardworking individual as free…

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by Jon Craig
News
CLIMATE OF FEAR: Jersey Doc Admits Harboring Indian Nationals As Unpaid Domestics CLIMATE OF FEAR: Jersey Doc Admits Harboring Indian Nationals As Unpaid Domestics
Climate OF FEAR: Jersey Doc Admits Harboring Indian Nationals As Unpaid Domestics A Jersey Shore doctor must pay $642,212 to two undocumented women from India whose true identities she hid for eight years while harboring them as unpaid domestics, federal authorities said. Harsha Sahni, 66, of Tinton Falls, also must cover $200,000 worth of treatment of a brain aneurysm that one of the women suffered while they worked in her and her family's homes, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Federal prosecutors required the payments as part of a plea deal that allowed Sahni to avoid the potential consequences of a conviction at a trial, the U.S. attorney said. In exchange, S…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Jersey City Widow Seeks Help After Husband's Heart Attack Jersey City Widow Seeks Help After Husband's Heart Attack
Jersey City Widow Seeks Help After Husband's Heart Attack A widow from Jersey City has launched a GoFundMe page for her family after her husband died of a heart attack. Rajya Lakshmi Yakkali's husband, Praveen Grandi, was working a typical day from home on Jan. 19 when he suffered a massive heart attack after lunch, and collapsed, she writes. Lakshmi Yakkali called 911, but it was too late, she says. Her husband was gone. "Praveen was the only breadwinner for our family," she writes on a GoFundMe page. "We were blessed with 2 children - Nayan (12 years) / Neetha (8 years). Praveen is the only son and currently looking after his old parents (mom a…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
North Jersey Dad's Sudden Death Sparks Rally For Toddler, Wife North Jersey Dad's Sudden Death Sparks Rally For Toddler, Wife
North Jersey Dad's Sudden Death Sparks Rally For Toddler, Wife A beloved Union County husband and father of a 2-year-old girl died suddenly of cardiac arrest at age 32.  Now, Sriram's loved ones are raising money to send him home for a funeral with family members in his native India, according to a campaign page on GoFundMe.  In less than 24 hours after going live, the campaign has raised a staggering $39,000 — nearly half of its projected $100,000 goal.  Friends and family recalled Sriram as "full of energy and positive vibes," and said they look forward to honoring his memory through his 2-year-old daughter, who was "the center o…

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by Mac Bullock
News
NJIT Student Fighting For His Life After Major Crash NJIT Student Fighting For His Life After Major Crash
Njit Student Fighting For His Life After Major Crash A New Jersey Institute of Technology senior is fighting for his life after a serious car crash. Vinamra Sharma has been taken off a ventilator but suffers severe brain swelling after multiple surgeries, stemming from a crash on Nov. 12, said Abhishek Sharma, who organized a GoFundMe page. Vinamra was on his way home from the university's campus in Newark when the crash occurred, knocking him unconscious the GoFundMe says. The student was rushed to Rutgers University Hospital, where he was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Within 10 days, Vinamra had undergone four br…

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by Jon Craig
News
Former NJ Resident Convicted Of Kidnapping Son Former NJ Resident Convicted Of Kidnapping Son
Former NJ Resident Convicted Of Kidnapping Son A former New Jersey resident faces federal prison time after being convicted of kidnapping his son and failing to return him from India. Amitkumar Kanubhai Patel, 38, a naturalized U.S. citizen who previously lived in Edison, fled with the child in July 2017 before settling in Vadodara, federal authorities said. He was captured in England three years later. Patel had lived with the child’s mother from August 2015 through July 2017. Their son was born in November 2016. According to her, Patel wanted to take the boy to India to introduce him to his parents and obtain DNA testing that he sai…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Obituaries
Java Developer Dies Playing Cricket In Jersey City Java Developer Dies Playing Cricket In Jersey City
Java Developer Dies Playing Cricket In Jersey City An IT worker who died playing cricket in Jersey City leaves behind his pregnant wife and 7-year-old daughter, both in India. Abhishek Kumar, who had working as a Java developer at Synechron, an IT development company, collapsed on the field at Lincoln Park on Saturday, July 16, and was rushed to Jersey City Medical Center, according to a GoFundMe page. "Doctors from Jersey City Medical Center tried to save him and worked hard for the next several hours but unfortunately, we heard sad news late in the evening on 07/16/2022 that Abhishek is no more with us," the page reads. Ku…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Imprisoned Gunman Who Killed Wife, Good Samaritan At Clifton Church Wants New Trial Imprisoned Gunman Who Killed Wife, Good Samaritan At Clifton Church Wants New Trial
Imprisoned Gunman Who Killed Wife, Good Samaritan At Clifton Church Wants New Trial A convict who's 10 years into serving two life sentences for shooting and killing his wife and a congregant at a Clifton church wants New Jersey's highest court to overturn his conviction. Joseph "Sanish" Pallipurath, 40, argues in an appeal to the state Supreme Court that his attorney should have mounted an insanity defense during his trial in Superior Court in Paterson in 2011. Reshma James, 24, had been trying to flee an abusive arranged marriage in India that continued after Pallipurath brought her back with him to California, prosecutors said at the time. James obtained a r…

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by Jerry DeMarco