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U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez

Police & Fire
69-Year-Old Repeat Child Porn Collector From NJ Gets Ten Years, No Parole 69-Year-Old Repeat Child Porn Collector From NJ Gets Ten Years, No Parole
69-Year-Old Repeat Child Porn Collector From NJ Gets Ten Years, No Parole A 69-year-old ex-con from New Jersey who'd previously avoided prison time for collecting child porn must spend the next decade behind bars for doing it again. Because there's no parole in the federal prison system, John Schulenburg of Basking Ridge will have to reach his 79th birthday in decent health before he'll taste freedom again. Schulenburg was sentenced on Wednesday, Jan. 10, to the mandatory 10-year minimum that U.S. law requires for a repeat offender as part of a plea bargain, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said. Had he gone to trial and been convicted, Schulenbu…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
NJ Politico Gets 24 Years, No Parole, For Hiring Hit Men Who Killed, Burned Longtime Associate NJ Politico Gets 24 Years, No Parole, For Hiring Hit Men Who Killed, Burned Longtime Associate
NJ Politico Gets 24 Years, No Parole, For Hiring Hit Men Who Killed, Burned Longtime Associate UPDATE: A New Jersey political consultant was sentenced to 24 years in federal prison for hiring two hitmen to kill a longtime associate from Hudson County. Sean Caddle, 45, of Hamburg, will have to serve just about all of the plea-bargained sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. Caddle, a former aide to former State Sen. Ray Lesniak (D-Elizabeth), admitted last year that he paid the killers to whack Michael Galdieri, the son of former State Sen. James Galdieri (D-Jersey City) and a prominent figure in local Hudson County politics. Galdieri, 52, who'd worked for…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Ex-Con Kidnapper Gets 43 Years, No Parole, For Rape, Arson, Assault Rampage Through NJ, NY, PA Ex-Con Kidnapper Gets 43 Years, No Parole, For Rape, Arson, Assault Rampage Through NJ, NY, PA
Ex-Con Kidnapper Gets 43 Years, No Parole, For Rape, Arson, Assault Rampage Through NJ, NY, PA UPDATE: An ex-con who kidnapped and raped his ex-girlfriend in Pennsylvania, then torched a used car dealership in Paterson and rammed a stolen SUV into police cars at both ends of the George Washington Bridge was sentenced to 43 years in federal prison. Luis Figueroa, 42, first took a plea deal from the government that called for him to serve 26 years in a federal penitentiary. Then he abruptly withdrew his plea, took his chances with a trial – and lost. Federal jurors in Newark convicted Figueroa in May 2022 of kidnapping, criminal sexual abuse, illegal gun possession and assaulting…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Feds: Convicted Child Porn Collector From Somerset County, 67, Admits Doing It Again Feds: Convicted Child Porn Collector From Somerset County, 67, Admits Doing It Again
Feds: Convicted Child Porn Collector From Somerset County, 67, Admits Doing It Again A 67-year-old Somerset County man previously convicted of collecting child porn faces a minimum 10-year federal prison sentence after admitting on Monday that he'd done it again, federal authorities said. John Schulenburg of Basking Ridge shared images with what turned out to be an undercover detective in July 2019, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Investigators raided Schulenburg's home four months later, seizing a computer that Sellinger said "contained hundreds of images and videos of child sexual abuse, including images of prepubescent children." Schulenburg was previously convi…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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7½ Years Without Parole Awaits Twice-Armed NJ Ex-Con Nabbed By Federal Marshals 7½ Years Without Parole Awaits Twice-Armed NJ Ex-Con Nabbed By Federal Marshals
7½ Years Without Parole Awaits Twice-Armed NJ Ex-Con Nabbed By Federal Marshals UPDATE: An Essex County ex-con who rolled the dice and went to trial on drug and weapons charges is now headed to federal prison for more than 7½ years without parole as a result. Teriek Edwards, 44, of Newark, had already been charged by East Orange police with having heroin, cocaine, Oxycodone and other drugs, as well as a loaded 9mm handgun, during a previous arrest when U.S. Marshals seized him on a warrant in August 2018. Once again, he was packing a loaded 9, federal authorities said. Edwards went to trial rather than take a deal from the government. Jurors in U.S. District Court in…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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GUILTY: Kidnapping Rapist Who Cancelled Plea Deal Convicted In Rampage Through PA, NJ, NY GUILTY: Kidnapping Rapist Who Cancelled Plea Deal Convicted In Rampage Through PA, NJ, NY
Guilty: Kidnapping Rapist Who Cancelled Plea Deal Convicted In Rampage Through PA, NJ, NY An ex-con who kidnapped and raped his ex-girlfriend in Pennsylvania, torched a used car dealership in Paterson and crashed a stolen SUV into police cars on either side of the George Washington Bridge rolled the dice and lost. After originally pleading guilty to several charges, Luis Figueroa, 41, withdrew his plea and took his chances with federal jurors in Newark. They ended up convicting him following a two-week trial. So now, instead of the 26-year deal that he originally accepted from the government, Figueroa could be sentenced to nearly 50 years in federal prison. The rampage had an “…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Gun-Toting Ex-Con Who Tried To Flee Newark PD On Bicycle Sent To Federal Prison Gun-Toting Ex-Con Who Tried To Flee Newark PD On Bicycle Sent To Federal Prison
Gun-Toting Ex-Con Who Tried To Flee Newark PD On Bicycle Sent To Federal Prison A bicycle-riding ex-con who tossed a gun as he tried to evade pursuing Newark police officers was sentenced Monday to a plea-bargained 32 months in federal prison. Joseph Triplett, 32, of East Orange, was maneuvering his bike around pedestrians on a South 8th Street sidewalk when an officer tried to stop him in September 2019, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Triplett ignored the officer's orders and pedaled off in the opposite direction, Honig said. Officers pursued Triplett, who tossed a fanny pack holding a loaded .38-caliber Smith & Wesson revolver before he was capture…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Long Island Man Sentenced In NJ/NY ‘Shotgun’ Mortgage Scheme That Cost Banks $9 Million Long Island Man Sentenced In NJ/NY ‘Shotgun’ Mortgage Scheme That Cost Banks $9 Million
Long Island Man Sentenced In NJ/NY ‘Shotgun’ Mortgage Scheme That Cost Banks $9 Million A Long Island man was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison for his role in a $9 million ‘shotgun’ mortgage scheme in New Jersey and New York. Yorce Yotagri, 54, of Freeport admitted last year that he partnered with Jorge Flores of Oakdale and Jose Piehrahita, also of Freeport, to secure several home equity lines of credit for the same properties and pocket the money before the lending banks found out, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. One of those properties was in Jersey City, a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Newark says. Yotagri lived on another in Fre…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Ex-Con Who Cut Female Postal Carrier During Carjacking Gets 82 Months In Federal Prison Ex-Con Who Cut Female Postal Carrier During Carjacking Gets 82 Months In Federal Prison
Ex-Con Who Cut Female Postal Carrier During Carjacking Gets 82 Months In Federal Prison UPDATE: An ex-con who attacked a postal carrier with a box cutter while carjacking her SUV is headed to federal prison for more than 6½ years. Wallace Johnson, 32, of Newark, must spend just about all of the 82 months because there's no parole in the federal prison system.  The U.S. Postal Service carrier was taking a break behind the wheel of her Dodge Durango on June 6, 2020 when Johnson walked up and held the knife to her throat, cutting her skin, in the 80s block of Cedar Avenue, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Johnson “demanded that the postal employee get out of the …

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Bergen Nurse In Multi-Million-Dollar Health Scheme: I Pushed, Prescribed Meds Without License Bergen Nurse In Multi-Million-Dollar Health Scheme: I Pushed, Prescribed Meds Without License
Bergen Nurse In Multi-Million-Dollar Health Scheme: I Pushed, Prescribed Meds Without License A Bergen County nurse admitted cashing in on a multi-million-dollar health insurance scam by pushing and writing prescriptions for customized drugs that patients didn’t need -- and doing it without a license. The co-owners of a pharmaceutical marketing company paid Jennifer Nash, 51, of River Vale, to pitch and prescribe the particular drugs, known as “compounded medications," Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. “Not only did Nash write these prescriptions regardless of whether a health insurance plan beneficiary needed such a medication,” Honig said.  She also wrote them eve…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Confessed Hackensack Schemer Who Stole $2M From Victims' Bank Accounts Gets 5+ Years In Fed Pen Confessed Hackensack Schemer Who Stole $2M From Victims' Bank Accounts Gets 5+ Years In Fed Pen
Confessed Hackensack Schemer Who Stole $2M From Victims' Bank Accounts Gets 5+ Years In Fed Pen A Hackensack woman who stole $2 million from various victims’ bank accounts through an elaborate scheme that included going to their homes is headed to federal prison for more than five years, authorities said Tuesday. Working with others, Alexis Taylor, 32, bought a “significant amount of stolen personal identifying information via the dark web, including bank account information and online security question answers,” Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Rachel A. Honig said. She then used the information to access victim accounts in New Jersey, New York and elsewhere, Honig said. Taylor a…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Clifton Trader Sent To Federal Prison For $17 Million Market Manipulation Scheme Clifton Trader Sent To Federal Prison For $17 Million Market Manipulation Scheme
Clifton Trader Sent To Federal Prison For $17 Million Market Manipulation Scheme A securities trader from Clifton was sentenced Tuesday to 18 months in federal prison for orchestrating a market manipulation scheme that netted him and others more than $17 million, authorities said. Joseph Taub, 41, must serve the entire term because there’s no parole in the federal prison system. U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez also sentenced Taub via teleconference from Newark to one year of supervised release, while ordering him to forfeit $17.1 million and pay restitution of $394,424 to the IRS. The Department of Justice also has reached a settlement of a civil forfeiture ca…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Union County Man Caught With More Than 7,000 Child Porn Files Gets 7+ Years In Fed Pen Union County Man Caught With More Than 7,000 Child Porn Files Gets 7+ Years In Fed Pen
Union County Man Caught With More Than 7,000 Child Porn Files Gets 7+ Years In Fed Pen A Union County man found with more than 1,000 videos and 6,000 or so images of child pornography was sentenced Wednesday in Newark to more than seven years in federal prison. Nicholas Pecil, 33, of Rahway, "used a peer-to-peer file-sharing program to download and share videos and images of child sexual abuse," U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Special agents with the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations found the more than 7,000 images during a warranted search of his home in May 2017, Carpenito said.Pecil took a plea deal rather than going to trial, admitting that he made the files…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Rockland Man Admits Having Sex With Child In NJ, Sharing The Video Rockland Man Admits Having Sex With Child In NJ, Sharing The Video
Rockland Man Admits Having Sex With Child In NJ, Sharing The Video A Rockland County man admitted Wednesday in federal court in Newark that he took and then shared sex videos and images that he made with a child in New Jersey. Richard Murphy, 32, of Pearl River told a judge in Newark that he "persuaded a child to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of taking photos and videos of that conduct" in December 2016, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Murphy also "admitted that he took video of the child performing a sex act on him" and shared the images online, Carpenito said. U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez schedul…

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by Jerry DeMarco