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U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo

Police & Fire
CHILD SEX STING: German 'Perv To Some Extent' Admits Flying Into NJ To Abuse Children CHILD SEX STING: German 'Perv To Some Extent' Admits Flying Into NJ To Abuse Children
Child SEX Sting: German 'Perv To Some Extent' Admits Flying Into NJ To Abuse Children UPDATE: A German man admitted in federal court in Newark that he flew to New Jersey for what he thought would be sex with children as young as 10 years old. Christian Stefan Walther, 39, of Erfurt, communicated with what turned out to be two undercover New Jersey State Police detectives via email, phone, and an encrypted messaging app, authorities said. The officers had posed as members of a group of predators who had access to young children, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said. Walther, who called himself a "perv to some extent," expressed a "desire to engage in sexual …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Rapes, Beatings, Brandings: Married Paterson Sex Traffickers Who 'Defied Humanity' Go To Prison Rapes, Beatings, Brandings: Married Paterson Sex Traffickers Who 'Defied Humanity' Go To Prison
Rapes, Beatings, Brandings: Married Paterson Sex Traffickers Who 'Defied Humanity' Go To Prison A married Passaic County couple who operated a sex trafficking ring that raped, beat and branded women with the husband's name while he was in prison have been sentenced for their crimes, authorities announced. Enna Gonzalez, 58, was sentenced to a plea-bargained four years in federal prison last Thursday, July 6, by U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo in Newark for crimes that one federal official said “defy humanity.” Her husband, Jean “Poison” Noriega, 52, also took a deal from the government and was sentenced last month to 20 years in prison in exchange for a guilty plea, U.S. Attorn…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Federal Fort Lee Fentanyl Bust: Manhattan Man, 64, Could Get 10 Years Without Parole Federal Fort Lee Fentanyl Bust: Manhattan Man, 64, Could Get 10 Years Without Parole
Federal Fort Lee Fentanyl Bust: Manhattan Man, 64, Could Get 10 Years Without Parole A 64-year-old Manhattan man busted by federal Homeland Security agents for dealing nearly a pound of a drug mixture that contained fentanyl in Fort Lee took a guilty plea Tuesday rather than risk the outcome of a trial. U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo scheduled sentencing for June 21 after Jose Migel Cleto pleaded guilty in Newark on Jan. 31 to distribution and possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Cleto could still get 10 years, which has become a federal mandatory minimum for fentanyl trafficking -- a crime that prosecutors and j…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
CPA From Passaic County Admits Scheme To Hide $150,000 From IRS CPA From Passaic County Admits Scheme To Hide $150,000 From IRS
CPA From Passaic County Admits Scheme To Hide $150,000 From IRS A CPA from Passaic County admitted trying to hide $150,000 from the taxman with a little help from a friend. His unidentified pal compensated William Kawam, 57, of Hewitt, for his accounting services by giving him a credit card belonging to one of the friend’s businesses, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Kawam racked up $146,605 in charges from 2015 through 2017 that neither he nor his friend reported, Sellinger said. The scheme shortchanged the Internal Revenue Service by $54,400, he said. Kawam, a former partner at SKC & Co. LLC in Boonton, took a deal from the government rat…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Feds: NJ Drug Dealer Gets 10 Years, No Parole Feds: NJ Drug Dealer Gets 10 Years, No Parole
Feds: NJ Drug Dealer Gets 10 Years, No Parole An admitted drug dealer from Union County is headed to federal prison for 10 years. Tyrell "Hell Rell" Wilson, 36, of Rahway, must serve out just about all of the sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. Wilson was busted in September 2019 with ex-con Marvin "Black Jesus" Lagrier, 39, of Newark. Authorities said they seized cocaine base, heroin, fentanyl, drug-packaging materials, a gun and several rounds of ammunition after searching Wilson's vehicle and a backpack he tossed while trying to flee. They also recovered several Newark Housing Authority uniforms bearin…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Ex-Newark Officer Who Took Payoffs To Protect Prostitutes Gets Nearly 4 Years In Fed Pen Ex-Newark Officer Who Took Payoffs To Protect Prostitutes Gets Nearly 4 Years In Fed Pen
Ex-Newark Officer Who Took Payoffs To Protect Prostitutes Gets Nearly 4 Years In Fed Pen A retired Newark police veteran who admitted pocketing tens of thousands of dollars to protect city whorehouses while he was on the beat was sentenced to a little under four years in federal prison. Julio I. Rivera, 52, of Old Bridge, not only looked the other way: He also promised to have fellow officers do the same and agreed to crack down on a paying brothel owner's competitor, authorities said. Rivera pulled down between $200 and $800 a week from the operators, according to a 14-count indictment on file in U.S. District Court in Newark. The indictment charged Rivera with several counts…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Feds: NJ Uber Carjacker Gets 8 Years Without Parole Feds: NJ Uber Carjacker Gets 8 Years Without Parole
Feds: NJ Uber Carjacker Gets 8 Years Without Parole A Union County man who dragged a female Uber driver from her vehicle and threw her to the ground during a carjacking must spend the next seven years in federal prison. Rakeem McNair, 22, of Roselle, joined Raquin Tanner, 26, of Newark in taking a deal from the government rather than risk trial. Both he and Tanner -- who got 6½ years -- must serve out just about all of their plea-bargained sentences because there's no parole in the federal prison system. The victim was in the driver’s seat of her parked car on Summer Avenue in Newark around 11 p.m. Aug. 13, 2019 when Tanner, McNair and anot…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
NJ Feds: Business Owner Admits Selling Erectile Dysfunction Drug As Herbal Supplement NJ Feds: Business Owner Admits Selling Erectile Dysfunction Drug As Herbal Supplement
NJ Feds: Business Owner Admits Selling Erectile Dysfunction Drug As Herbal Supplement A business owner told a federal judge in Newark that he sold men’s herbal supplements nationwide that were spiked with the prescription ingredient in Viagra. Robert Zeng, 55, of Salt Lake City, Utah sold purported natural supplements online and through e-commerce sites under the brand NutopiaUSA, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. In late February, he used three imported kilos of sildenafil to manufacture an unapproved and misbranded drug he called “Mr. Richard Rocks,” she said. Zeng “falsely marketed and labeled ‘Mr. Richard Rocks’ as a dietary supplement containing only natural …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Pair Admit Violent Gunpoint Carjacking Of Female Uber Driver In Newark Pair Admit Violent Gunpoint Carjacking Of Female Uber Driver In Newark
Pair Admit Violent Gunpoint Carjacking Of Female Uber Driver In Newark An accused carjacker admitted Monday that he helped a gunman drag an Uber driver from her car and throw her to the ground in Newark before they drove off with the vehicle. Rakeem McNair, 21, of Roselle, took a guilty plea in federal court in Newark less than two weeks after an accomplice, city resident Raquin Tanner, 25, confessed to his own role in the Aug. 13, 2019 carjacking. The victim was in the driver’s seat of her parked car on Summer Avenue in Newark around 11 o’clock that night when three thugs approached, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael Honig said. Video surveillance shows Tanner ap…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Newark Ex-Con Caught With 3,151 Heroin Folds, 455 Crack Vials, Gun Must Do 7½ Years In Fed Pen Newark Ex-Con Caught With 3,151 Heroin Folds, 455 Crack Vials, Gun Must Do 7½ Years In Fed Pen
Newark Ex-Con Caught With 3,151 Heroin Folds, 455 Crack Vials, Gun Must Do 7½ Years In Fed Pen An ex-con from Newark must spend the next 7½ years in federal prison after city police caught him with 3,151 heroin folds, 455 crack vials and a loaded gun. Terrance Bradley, 28, must serve the entire plea-bargained sentence because there’s no parole in the federal prison system. Newark police were watching as Bradley sold drugs near a Renner Avenue residence on Dec. 6, 2018, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Armed with a search warrant, they raided the home the next day and found the drugs, a loaded 9mm semi-automatic pistol and $6,000 in suspected proceeds in Bradley’s bedroom, Carpeni…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Bergenfield Dad Admits Trafficking Child Porn Bergenfield Dad Admits Trafficking Child Porn
Bergenfield Dad Admits Trafficking Child Porn A married Bergenfield father admitted Wednesday that he trafficked child pornography. Pleading guilty to the crime, Barry Goldstein told a federal judge in Newark that he had “explicit conversations” with an undercover agent about “the sexual abuse of children” while also sharing “images depicting child abuse,” U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. The conversations began last May, before Goldstein -- a 46-year-old transportation supervisor for an environmental waste management company -- began sharing images of children being sexually abused, Carpenito said. Federal agents raided …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Payroll Clerk Gets 18 Months For Helping Con Clifton Trucking Company Out Of $920,000 Payroll Clerk Gets 18 Months For Helping Con Clifton Trucking Company Out Of $920,000
Payroll Clerk Gets 18 Months For Helping Con Clifton Trucking Company Out Of $920,000 A now-former payroll clerk was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison on Monday for helping con a Clifton trucking company out of $920,380. Lisa Popewiny, 56, also of Clifton, admitted her guilt last September, joining three brothers who also accepted deal from the government rather than face a jury in U.S. District Court in Newark. Like Popewiny, Miguel Vidal, Angel D. Vidal, and Angel Gabriel Vidal previously pleaded guilty to similar charges for their roles in the scheme -- and, in doing so, agreed to testify against her if she took the case to trial. The brothers admitted they allowe…

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by Jerry DeMarco