Federal Grand Jury Indicts South Jersey Officer Who Pepper-Sprayed Handcuffed Driver Federal Grand Jury Indicts South Jersey Officer Who Pepper-Sprayed Handcuffed Driver
Federal Grand Jury Indicts South Jersey Officer Who Pepper-Sprayed Handcuffed Driver An angry South Jersey police officer doused a drunk driver with pepper spray twice after he’d been handcuffed, then filed a false report about the incident, an indictment returned by a federal grand jury on Thursday alleges. Another officer had handcuffed the disruptive driver and was beginning to put him in the rear of a patrol vehicle at a local gas station when Bridgeton Police John Grier III “grabbed a large can of OC spray and pulled out the pin,” Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael Honig said. Grier, 49, of Cedarville, told the officer to “step back,” then asked the driver, “Do you want to …
Feds: Sussex Man Admits Spending $5.6M COVID Relief Money On Stock Market, Luxury Vehicle, More Feds: Sussex Man Admits Spending $5.6M COVID Relief Money On Stock Market, Luxury Vehicle, More
Feds: Sussex Man Admits Spending $5.6M COVID Relief Money On Stock Market, Luxury Vehicle, More A Sussex County man who was seized by federal agents as he tried to board a flight to Pakistan admitted fraudulently collecting $5.6 million in federal COVID-19 pandemic business loans that he put to personal use, authorities said. Azhar Sarwar Rana, 30, of Newton, used the money -- designed to keep struggling small businesses afloat during the pandemic – to millions in the stock market, make a payment to a luxury car dealership and send hundreds of thousands of dollars to accounts in Pakistan, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Rana submitted an application for a stimulus loan und…
Grandparent Scam: Here’s How Pair From PA, NY Stole $300,000 From Elderly Victims Across US Grandparent Scam: Here’s How Pair From PA, NY Stole $300,000 From Elderly Victims Across US
Grandparent Scam: Here’s How Pair From PA, NY Stole $300,000 From Elderly Victims Across US At least 50 elderly victims across the United States were conned out of more than $300,000 by a ring of grandparent scammers who included a Pennsylvania woman and New York City man who confessed in federal court. Jacqueline Velazquez, 37, of Reading, and Daniel Duran, 33, of Queens played key roles in the phone and email-based scheme, Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams said. Here’s how it worked, Williams said: Co-schemers based in the Dominican Republic called elderly victims throughout the U.S. Posing as a grandchild, or the grandchild’s attorney, they claimed they’d been j…
First Convict Sentenced Federally In Trenton Protest Firebombings First Convict Sentenced Federally In Trenton Protest Firebombings
First Convict Sentenced Federally In Trenton Protest Firebombings UPDATE: A South Jersey man was sentenced today to 28 months in federal prison for trying to set fire to a police cruiser during a video-recorded riot that broke out following a peaceful protest last year in Trenton. Killian F. Melecio, 20, of Columbus must serve just all of the sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. Melecio admitted via video conference in U.S. District Cout in Trenton earlier this year that he stuffed a shirt he’d gotten from another man into the gas tank of the vehicle and tried to ignite it on May 31, 2020. The protest earlier that day in respo…
Disgraced Ex-Dentist From Morris County Takes Guilty Plea In DEA Meth Raid Disgraced Ex-Dentist From Morris County Takes Guilty Plea In DEA Meth Raid
Disgraced Ex-Dentist From Morris County Takes Guilty Plea In DEA Meth Raid A disgraced former dentist who already had a criminal history involving crystal meth admitted having the drug when the DEA raided his Morris County home last year. Frederick Bailey, 61, pleaded guilty via videoconference with a federal judge in Newark to having and conspiring to distribute methamphetamine, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Federal agents arrested Bailey, of Denville, after finding “methamphetamine and packaging materials throughout the residence” during a January 2020 raid. He already had a criminal history at the time. Local police arrested Bailey in 2016 after…
Mobster Sent To Federal Prison For Beating Husband Of ‘Real Housewives Of NJ’ Cast Member Mobster Sent To Federal Prison For Beating Husband Of ‘Real Housewives Of NJ’ Cast Member
Mobster Sent To Federal Prison For Beating Husband Of ‘Real Housewives Of NJ’ Cast Member A Lucchese crime soldier was sentenced Thursday to a plea-bargained 2½ years in federal prison for throwing the current husband of former “Real Housewives of New Jersey” cast member Dina Manzo a beating in exchange for an extravagant gift from her well-known ex. John Perna, 44, of Cedar Grove testified last October that Thomas Manzo hired him in 2015 to assault David Cantin, who was dating Dina at the time. Perna told a federal judge he was armed with a “slapjack” when he and another Lucchese associate followed Cantin to a Passaic County strip mall and attacked him on July 18, 2015. In exc…
Hudson Ex-Con Who Shot At Moving Car Headed To Federal Prison For 5 Years, No Parole Hudson Ex-Con Who Shot At Moving Car Headed To Federal Prison For 5 Years, No Parole
Hudson Ex-Con Who Shot At Moving Car Headed To Federal Prison For 5 Years, No Parole A Jersey City ex-con who fired at a moving car is headed to federal prison for a plea-bargained five years, authorities said Tuesday. Jamel Armfield, 20, already had three felony convictions on his record when he squeezed off nine rounds from a .45-caliber Springfield Armory handgun at the vehicle on Gates Avenue last June, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. A nearby surveillance camera captured images of the shooting, she said. Whom Armfield was firing at, and why, were never determined, the U.S. attorney said. He tried to hide the gun, she added, but Jersey City police found it…
NJ Con Man Who Swindled Elderly Out Of $2M Headed To Fed Pen NJ Con Man Who Swindled Elderly Out Of $2M Headed To Fed Pen
NJ Con Man Who Swindled Elderly Out Of $2M Headed To Fed Pen A confessed Somerset County con man is headed to federal prison for 6½ years for swindling elderly investors out of $2 million that he used, in part, to pay for his daughter’s college tuition and sorority fees. For nearly a decade, ex-financial advisor Daniel Rivera, 51, told primarily elderly investors that his Robbins Lane Properties was “staffed by experienced real estate professionals, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Rivera promised a “guaranteed monthly income” thanks to a rate of return based on secure investments, she added. The truth, Honig said, was: “Robbins Lane had …
Feds: Cali Con Man Hacks Law Firm Email, Collects $755,000 From Bergen Victim, US Government Feds: Cali Con Man Hacks Law Firm Email, Collects $755,000 From Bergen Victim, US Government
Feds: Cali Con Man Hacks Law Firm Email, Collects $755,000 From Bergen Victim, US Government A Bergen County property owner got fooled into wiring $560,000 to a con man from California who also collected nearly $195,000 in small business loans by fraud, authorities said. Eric Bullard, 59, of Los Angeles hacked an email account at a law firm representing the victim, then wrote to the client with instructions to wire the money into an escrow account identified as “Eric’s Commercial LLC,” Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. The account at the time held all of $40, Honig said. The day the transfer was posted, Bullard was seen on surveillance footage withdrawing $96,275 in 10 s…
Ex-Middlesex Officer Admits Recruiting Brothers In Blue For Multi-Million-Dollar Drug Scam Ex-Middlesex Officer Admits Recruiting Brothers In Blue For Multi-Million-Dollar Drug Scam
Ex-Middlesex Officer Admits Recruiting Brothers In Blue For Multi-Million-Dollar Drug Scam A former North Brunswick police officer admitted Monday that he cashed in on a multi-million-dollar health insurance scam by recruiting patients to obtain prescriptions for drugs they didn’t need. Daniel Passafiume, 45, of Monroe took a plea deal from federal prosecutors after an unidentified co-conspirator agreed to cooperate with the government, records show. Passafiume and the accomplice cut deals with pharmacies to collect large commissions for each prescription they delivered for “compounded medications,” including vitamins and pain creams, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. …
Bergen Businessman In Previous Coach-Stalking Case Charged With Tax Evasion Bergen Businessman In Previous Coach-Stalking Case Charged With Tax Evasion
Bergen Businessman In Previous Coach-Stalking Case Charged With Tax Evasion A once-renowned Bergen County businessman who has had more than his share of publicized predicaments is now in hot water with the IRS. David Kushner, a 55-year-old real-estate investor and property manager from of Cresskill, ducked hundreds of thousands of dollars in personal income taxes without even getting creative, the government alleges. He simply “deposited payments and income from the businesses and elsewhere into the accounts and then used most of the funds for personal expenses,” Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Kushner also “failed to file any income tax returns, faile…
Springsteen's Federal DWI Hearing Streams Live For Reporters This Week Springsteen's Federal DWI Hearing Streams Live For Reporters This Week
Springsteen's Federal DWI Hearing Streams Live For Reporters This Week Bruce Springsteen’s federal court appearance on DWI charges Wednesday will be streamed live via Zoom for the news media. A part-time U.S. magistrate judge based in Newark will handle the case in what is known as enclave court because the arrest was made on federal property at Sandy Hook. Members of the media must follows U.S. District Court rules that strictly prohibit "broadcasting, photographing, recording or otherwise transmitting court proceedings," including live streaming and rebroadcasting. Violators could face contempt of court charges in addition to losing federal court privileges…