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Police & Fire
Justice Dept: NYC Allows ‘Anarchy, Violence, Destruction,’ Federal Funds In Jeopardy Justice Dept: NYC Allows ‘Anarchy, Violence, Destruction,’ Federal Funds In Jeopardy
Justice Dept: NYC Allows ‘Anarchy, Violence, Destruction,’ Federal Funds In Jeopardy New York City risks losing federal funding for “endangering innocent citizens” by allowing widespread violence and destruction and preventing police from doing their jobs, U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr said Monday. Portland, Oregon and Seattle were included in a list released Monday by the Justice Department of jurisdictions that “have permitted violence and destruction of property to persist and have refused to undertake reasonable measures to counteract criminal activities.” Shootings in New York City “have been on the rise since looting and protests began on or about May 28, 2020…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
FUNDING POLICE: Paterson Gets $1.9 Million To Hire More Police Officers, Attack Gun Violence FUNDING POLICE: Paterson Gets $1.9 Million To Hire More Police Officers, Attack Gun Violence
Funding Police: Paterson Gets $1.9 Million To Hire More Police Officers, Attack Gun Violence With gun violence rising as quickly as cries in some national quarters to defund police, Paterson is receiving nearly $1.9 million to hire 10 new officers to fight back, Mayor Andre Sayegh formally announced Friday. The $1.88 million U.S. Department of Justice COPS grant is the largest amount received in this round by any law enforcement agency in New Jersey and "comes at a pivotal point in time," he said. For one thing, the mayor said, it “will allow the City of Paterson to hire 10 new officers," which "allow for expanded support in reducing gun violence." The news comes amid a rising wav…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Feds: Staff At NJ Women's Prison Sexually Abused Inmates Feds: Staff At NJ Women's Prison Sexually Abused Inmates
Feds: Staff At NJ Women's Prison Sexually Abused Inmates Staff members at a New Jersey prison for women sexually abused inmates, federal prosecutors said Monday. Evidence shows that the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women in Clinton "fails to protect prisoners from sexual abuse by the facility’s staff," U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said Monday. This violates the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, Carpenito said. The U.S. Justice Department served notice on the Hunterdon County facility "for these alleged conditions and the minimum remedial measures necessary to address them," he said. In turn, Carpenito said, state official…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Hudson Company Pays Penalty, Damages For Denying Tour Bus Access To Paraplegic Army Vet Hudson Company Pays Penalty, Damages For Denying Tour Bus Access To Paraplegic Army Vet
Hudson Company Pays Penalty, Damages For Denying Tour Bus Access To Paraplegic Army Vet A Hoboken-based charter bus company that failed to provide access to a 74-year-old paraplegic U.S. Army veteran for a tour of Arlington National Cemetery has agreed to not let that happen again, authorities said. Academy Express will also pay a $10,000 civil penalty to the United States and $10,000 in damages to the aggrieved veteran, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. The former 189th Assault Helicopter Company staff sergeant, who was gunned down in Vietnam, wanted to join dozens of fellow combat unit veterans on an Academy charter bus for a multi-day “Honor Flight” tour of Arlington Nati…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Husband-Wife Owners Of Bayonne Telemedicine Company Indicted In $56M Medicare Fraud Husband-Wife Owners Of Bayonne Telemedicine Company Indicted In $56M Medicare Fraud
Husband-Wife Owners Of Bayonne Telemedicine Company Indicted In $56M Medicare Fraud A husband and wife who own two telemedicine companies with a location in Bayonne were indicted by a federal grand jury Wednesday for defrauding Medicare in a $56 million bribe and kickback scheme involving orthotic braces, authorities said. Reinaldo Wilson, 51, and Jean Wilson, 49, of Richmond Hill, Ga., are accused of using their companies to solicit kickbacks and bribes from patient recruiters, pharmacies and brace supplies – then hiring providers to order medically unnecessary braces for Medicare recipients, the U.S. Department of Justice said. Both were arrested Wednesday morning and la…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Mahwah Police Chief Leaves A Modernized, Professional Department Sensitive To Township's Needs Mahwah Police Chief Leaves A Modernized, Professional Department Sensitive To Township's Needs
Mahwah Police Chief Leaves A Modernized, Professional Department Sensitive To Township's Needs Ask retiring Mahwah Police Chief James N. Batelli for highlights from more than four decades in law enforcement and his attention immediately turns to the accomplishments – large and small -- of the members of the department he’s headed since 2002. “We are a nationally accredited agency through CALEA and that is a tribute to the officers who provide the service,” Batelli said Saturday. “Since the initial accreditation we have received four re-accreditations, which is something our officers work very hard at -- and only 5% of law enforcement agencies in the nation achieve.” Accreditation re…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
'Digital Blackmail': FBI Hunts Iranian Duo Named In $30M International 'Ransomware' Plot 'Digital Blackmail': FBI Hunts Iranian Duo Named In $30M International 'Ransomware' Plot
'Digital Blackmail': FBI Hunts Iranian Duo Named In $30M International 'Ransomware' Plot Two Iranian men were being sought by the FBI for what one official called “21st-century digital blackmail” that netted them more than $6 million while racking up over $30 million in losses to hospitals, municipalities and public agencies across North America. Faramarz Shahi Savandi, 34, and Mohammad Mehdi Shah Mansouri, 27, operated an international computer hacking and extortion racket for more than 2½ years, a grand jury indictment unsealed Wednesday morning in U.S. District Court in Newark charges. Working from inside Iran, Savandi and Mansouri authored “SamSam Ransomware” that was “capa…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Tax Dodge Sends 'Jersey Shore's Michael ‘The Situation’ Sorrentino, Brother To Federal Prison Tax Dodge Sends 'Jersey Shore's Michael ‘The Situation’ Sorrentino, Brother To Federal Prison
Tax Dodge Sends 'Jersey Shore's Michael ‘The Situation’ Sorrentino, Brother To Federal Prison Former "Jersey Shore" personality Michael “The Situation” Sorrentino was sentenced Friday to eight months in federal prison and his brother, Marc, to two years for ducking taxes on what authorities said was nearly $9 million in income from promotional gigs -- while claiming pricey clothing, high-end cars and personal grooming as business expenses. Both were scheduled to go to trial late last year but agreed to plea deals from the government instead. Michael Sorrentino, 37, pleaded guilty in January to tax evasion, while Marc Sorrentino, 39, admitted in U.S. District Court in Newar…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Ex-Teaneck Tax Preparer Convicted Of Trying To Con IRS, Helping 14 Others Ex-Teaneck Tax Preparer Convicted Of Trying To Con IRS, Helping 14 Others
Ex-Teaneck Tax Preparer Convicted Of Trying To Con IRS, Helping 14 Others Federal jurors in Newark on Tuesday convicted a former Teaneck tax preparer of helping himself and 14 clients cheat on their taxes. Sixto Rodriguez, 55, was found guilty of all 17 counts of an indictment charging him with three counts of filing false tax returns for himself and 14 counts of helping clients do the same following a one-week trial, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Rodriguez, who now lives in Kissimmee, FL, "inflated education credits, charitable donations, unreimbursed business expenses and rental losses that he knew his clients had not actually incurred," Carpeni…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
'Jersey Shore's Michael ‘The Situation’ Sorrentino, Brother Admit Tax Dodge 'Jersey Shore's Michael ‘The Situation’ Sorrentino, Brother Admit Tax Dodge
'Jersey Shore's Michael ‘The Situation’ Sorrentino, Brother Admit Tax Dodge Former "Jersey Shore" personality Michael “The Situation” Sorrentino and his brother admitted Friday that they ducked taxes on what authorities said was nearly $9 million in income from promotional gigs while claiming pricey clothing, high-end cars and personal grooming as business expenses. Michael Sorrentino, 36, pleaded guilty to tax evasion, while Marc Sorrentino, 38, pleaded guilty to aiding in the preparation of a false and fraudulent tax return, both in U.S. District Court in Newark.  After several delays, both were scheduled to go to trial last month. They took plea deals …

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by Jerry DeMarco