Find Your Daily Voice
22°
Violent NJ Human Trafficking Rings Dismantled Where Women, Teens Were Forced Into Sex: AG
Seven people have been arrested in the dismantling two human trafficking rings, one in North Jersey and one in South Jersey, authorities said.
The rings were based in Essex County and Cumberland County, state Attorney General Matthew Platkin said at a news conference on Tuesday, Dec. 3.
Khailah Meekins, 21 and Donte Barkley, 28, both Newark residents, trafficked two 15-year-olds and a 13-year-old in Essex County, Platkin said. Meekins and Barkley arranged sexual encounters for the girls through mobile apps that included online ads featuring nude photos of the minors. The girls would be…
Mugshots Released: SWAT Raid Uncovers 28K Fentanyl Pills, Meth, Ghost Guns In Bergen County
A major drug bust in Bergen County led to the seizure of tens of thousands of fentanyl-laced pills, along with cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana, and untraceable firearms, authorities said in announcing the arrests of the three men behind it.
Ramon Morillo, 39, of Fort Lee; Brandon Morillo, 31, of Lodi; and Joseph Diaz, 34, of Fort Lee, were arrested on Thursday, Nov. 7, following a months-long investigation conducted by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotic Task Force, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said.
The investigation began in July 2024, when detectives identified Mo…
Clifton Driver Asleep At Wheel Had Heroin, Cocaine In Lyndhurst: Police
A 37-year-old man who police found asleep behind the wheel of a car was found with drugs and more than $1,100 in cash, police in Bergen County said.
Lyndhurst Police Officer Dorio approached a Toyota Corolla stopped in the middle of the 300 block of Harding Avenue around 3:35 a.m. Monday, Oct. 28, where a man later identified as Daniel Barro Jr., of Clifton, was sleeping behind the wheel, Detective Lt. Vincent Auteri said.
With the vehicle running and still in drive, Dorio rendered the vehicle safe before waking Barro.
"Upon learning of the police presence, Barro attempted to conceal …
Bergen County Man Sexually Assaults, Smokes Marijuana With Teen: Prosecutor
A 31-year-old Bergen County man has been charged with sexually assaulting a teenager, authorities announced.
Shaboo Williams, of New Milford, made the child perform sex acts and smoke marijuana with the child, who was between ages 13 and 16, last August, according to a criminal complaint obtained by Daily Voice.
Williams was charged with sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a child, and criminal sexual contact after an investigation that began on Oct. 8, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. He was arrested on Saturday, Oct. 12 and lodged in the county jail.
18 Pounds Of Pot Seized From Consignment Shop Drug Ring Trio In North Jersey: Police
Three people have been arrested after authorities uncovered a massive drug ring being run out of a North Jersey thrift store.
Search warrants executed at businesses, storage units, and vehicles in Bloomingdale, Newton, and Wayne turned up 18 pounds of marijuana and 1.13 pounds of psilocybin mushrooms, Bloomingdale police said.
Jesse A Baron, 43, of Bloomingdale, and Ryan T Smith, 36, of Butler, and Daniel F. Valerio, 39, of Bloomingdale, were slapped with various drug possession and distribution charges for running the scheme out of Thrifty Hippie Consignments on Main Street in Bloomin…
$1.1M In Drugs, 5 Firearms, $65K Seized From NJ Man, Prosecutor Says
A 35-year-old Mercer County man is facing a slew of charges after investigators uncovered $1.1 million in drugs, five handguns, and $65,000 in cash from him, authorities said.
James Nalbone Jr., 35, of Hamilton Township, was arrested on Wednesday, Aug. 7, following a month-long investigation, Acting Mercer County Prosecutor Theresa L. Hilton said.
Detectives detained Nalbone at his home on Byron Avenue and executed a search warrant, Hilton said. Sgt. Tom Paglione's K-9 partner, Indy, gave positive indications of a drug odor at multiple locations within the premises, poli…
Paterson Drug Dealer Charged In OD Death Of Westwood Victim, 38, Prosecutor Says
A 39-year-old Paterson man has been charged with providing the drugs that allegedly resulted in a fatal overdose of a Westwood man in May, authorities said.
Jesus A. Cantillo is believed to have provided the drugs that led to the death of 38-year-old Lance Kerness, of Westwood, who was found unresponsive in a home on May 2, 2024, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said on Friday, June 28.
Kerness was pronounced dead at the scene, Musella said. Indicators of a possible drug overdose were noted, and detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotic Task Force were no…
5-Pound Pot Bust Behind School Sidelines Dealer: Elmwood Park PD
An Elmwood Park man who'd parked behind a local school had five pounds of pot for sale in his car, authorities said.
Officers approached the vehicle, which was parked behind the Gantner Avenue School, shortly before 9 a.m. on a Sunday, Elmwood Park Police Chief Michael Foligno said.
They found Richard Wochinger, 45, with a pound of marijuana each packed into five vacuum-sealed bags, a digital scale and assorted paraphernalia, the chief said.
Wochinger was charged with possession and distribution of the pot, among other offenses, before being released pending court action.
Out-Of-Town Driver Busted With 'Shrooms, Acid, Pot, More, Elmwood Park PD Says
Elmwood Park police busted a repeat offender with mushrooms, LSD, pot and prescription pills, authorities said.
Brandon J. Soto, 25, of East Orange blew a stop sign off the ramp from eastbound Route 46 onto Stefanic Avenue and was pulled over by members of the Street Crimes Unit, Elmwood Park Police Chief Michael Foligno said.
The officers had followed Soto’s 2008 Acura TL from the nearby Red Carpet Inn, the chief said.
Their suspicions aroused, they called for a Bergen County Sheriff’s K-9 unit, which lead them to a search that turned up a trove of drugs.
These included psilocybin mushro…
Big Purple NJ 'Bud Bus' Owner Arrested For Money Laundering, Deceptive Biz Practices: Cops
A 46-year-old Rockland County, NY man has been arrested for illegally selling marijuana out of a big purple van in New Jersey, authorities said.
Bud Bus Inc. Founder William Schlette, of West Nyack, was charged with deceptive business practices, money laundering, and drug offenses, according to Warren County Prosecutor Anthony Picone.
Two search warrants on Schlette's Bud Bus Inc, a van parked at 1077 State Highway 94 in Frelinghuysen Township, on March 7, culminated in the seizure of $1,900, a Ram Promaster van, a 2024 Loom trailer, suspected raw marijuana, and suspected cannabinoid i…
WWE Star Liv Morgan, North Jersey Native, Busted For Pot In Florida Traffic Stop: Police
Liv Morgan, a Bergen County native and former WWE Women's Champion, has run afoul of the law.
Morgan, whose real name is Gionna Daddio and who was raised in Elmwood Park, was arrested in Florida on Thursday, Dec. 14, after police found she was in possession of marijuana and a vape pen following a traffic stop, the Sumter County Sheriff's Office said, according to an arrest report obtained by Daily Voice.
At 6:26 p.m., police observed Daddio driving a yellow jeep that failed to maintain lanes, officers said. A traffic stop was initiated and as officers approached her vehicle, they smelled ma…
Drug Bust: 1,500 Pounds Of THC, 607K Seized From Jersey Shore Man, Mom Helped, Prosecutor Says
A man was arrested in connection with illegally selling marijuana and THC-related products in Ocean County — and he had help from his mom, authorities said.
Approximately 70 pounds of marijuana, 1,500 pounds of THC-related products, a 9 mm handgun, and approximately $390,000 in cash, were seized from Scott Carlino, 52, of Toms River, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer.
Ellen Carlino, his 74-year-old mother, was charged with Conspiracy to Commit Financial Facilitation, Billhimer said.
The pair had been using a Toms River business, “EarthE CBD,” as …
Joint Custody: 1,750 Pounds Of Pot Seized, 13 Busted In Bergen Over Past Six Weeks
The fifth huge pot bust in six weeks in Bergen County boosted the overall total in that time to nearly a ton of weed, along with a baker's dozen arrests, most of them involving carriers from Queens.
Two unemployed men from New York City's largest borough were nabbed with 120 pounds of pot during a traffic stop by Narcotic Task Force detectives this past Wednesday, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said, without specifying the area.
Xian Fang Mei, 62, and Xian Wei Tang, 39, were each charged with first-degree possession with the intent to sell the drug, the prosecutor said. They were the…
$15K In Drugs, $20K In Cash, Magazines Seized From Cousins During Jersey City Raid
A pair of alleged drug dealers were busted with high capacity magazines,, a handgun and more than $15,000 worth of cocaine and marijuana and other drugs in Hudson County, authorities said.
Talha Khan, 27, of Jersey City, and Hameem Khan, 21, of Rosendale, NY, were charged with 26 related offenses following the raid of 159 Mallory Ave., in Jersey City, according to sources with direct knowledge.
The Khan cousins had more than 170 grams of cocaine valued at more than $7,000, four pounds of marijuana worth approximately $8,000 and various prescription drugs, along with more than $20,000 in cas…
Trio Convicted Of Trying To Ship Mass Amounts Of Cocaine, Pot From NJ To MD
Three individuals have been convicted of attempting to traffic hundreds of grams of cocaine and marijuana from New Jersey into Maryland, the state's attorney announced.
Geoffrey Raheim Brown, 29, of Bel Air, MD, Keneil Carlos Callender, 32, of Edgewater, NJ, and Danita Ginette Cromwell, 46, of Elkton, MD have been convicted for conspiracy to import into Maryland at least 28 grams of cocaine, Albert Peisinger, Jr., State’s Attorney for Harford County, announced on Monday, July 18.
Between August 2021 and November 2021, the Harford County Narcotics Task Force conducted a lengthy investig…
Uber Driver, Buddy Stole $165K In Luxury Items, Cocaine, 15 LBS Of Marijuana: Kearny PD
A Newark Uber driver and his buddy from the Bronx were nabbed after a four-month-long investigation that yielded 15 pounds of pot, $165,000 in luxury goods and more, police said.
Javier Ortega, 40, of Newark, NJ, and Severiano Ybert Perez, 42, of Bronx, NY, were arrested on Tuesday, July 12, Kearny Police Chief George King said.
The investigation all started with two burglaries reported in one multi-family home on Argyle Place on Feb. 27, police said.
The suspects matched the description of the burglars who committed similar thefts at a Kennedy Boulevard, North Bergen, on Feb. 2…
