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Accused JC Scammers Hit With More Charges, Total Take Rises By $400,000
Three Indian Americans from North Jersey charged in a hotel supply company scam were re-arrested this week after authorities said they learned that the trio stiffed victims by three times as much money as they’d originally believed.
Married couple Viral Patel, 38, and Priyanka Patel, 33, of Jersey City and Pratik Patel, 35, of Ramsey, were originally charged last December with pocketing $200,000 for services that were never provided by their Janvi Hotel Supply company on Thorne Street, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said.
Members of the prosecutor’s Special Investigations Unit conti…
Victims Scammed Out Of $2.2M By NJ Couple In 'Publishers Clearing House Lottery' Scheme: Cops
A couple from Secaucus is facing a litany of charges after scamming residents in multiple states out of more nearly $2.2 million, police said.
Akeem Lee and Majda Hodzic-Lee called victims in Florida, Minnesota, Arizona, Kansas, Massachusetts, Kentucky, Colorado, Pennsylvania and Nebraska, saying they'd won the "Publishers Clearing House Lottery," Secaucus Police Chief Dennis Miller said.
In exchange for the vehicles and large sums of money the victims were told they won, they were required by Lee and Hodzic-Lee to send cash, money orders and/or gift cards for taxes, fees and IRS …
Arsonists Break Into Jersey Shore Home, Start Living Room Fire: Prosecutor
A pair of men from Ocean County have been charged with setting a home on fire in Little Egg Harbor, authorities said.
Thomas Lester, 20, of Tuckerton, and Ethan Salter, 19, of Little Egg Harbor Township, broke into a National Union Boulevard home on Jan. 8 around 2:15 p.m., then started a fire in the living room, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said on Friday, March 8.
Firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze and about two months later, Lester and Salter were each arrested at their homes and charged with aggravated arson, arson, burglary, criminal misc…
Robber Gets Life For Killing Clerk At Central Jersey Speedway Gas Station: Prosecutor
A South Carolina man who killed a clerk at a gas station in Edison during an armed robbery in 2018 has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for first-degree murder, authorities said.
Marcus A. Wright, 27, of Beaufort, SC, fatally shot the Speedway worker on Dec. 20, 2018, on Amboy Avenue, according to Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone.
Wright was convicted of murder in the slaying of John Bertram, 38, of the Fords section of Woodbridge, on Sept. 12, 2023. He also was found guilty of armed robbery, conspiracy and weapons offenses.
Wright was sentenced on Monday, March 4…
Verona Home Invasion: 2nd Suspect Nabbed In PA, Police Say
A 31-year-old Newark resident was recently arrested in Scranton, PA after breaking into a home in Verona by kicking in the side door last month, police said.
On Friday, Jan. 5 at 5 p.m., two suspects, Christopher Lassiter, a 30-year-old Newark resident and Hamid Travis, 31, burglarized a home on Wayland Drive, Verona police said on Facebook. Upon entering the phone, they proceeded to ransack it, taking numerous items, police said.
Neighbors shared their home camera footage allowing police to identify the suspects, who were seen attempting to sell the victim's jewelry in a neighboring county…
Newark Man Kicks In Side Door, Tries Selling Stolen Jewelry In Verona Home Invasion: Police
A 30-year-old Newark man was arrested on Wednesday, Jan. 16 after he broke into a home in Verona earlier this month, authorities said.
On Friday, Jan. 5 at 5 p.m., two suspects, including Christopher Lassiter, burglarized a home on Wayland Drive by kicking in the side door, Verona police said on Facebook. Upon entering the phone, they proceeded to ransack it, taking numerous items, police said.
Neighbors shared their home camera footage allowing police to identify Lassiter and another suspect, who were seen attempting to sell the victim's jewelry in a neighboring county, police s…
Feds: Serial Burglar Makes Bogus Calls To Divert Police Before Multiple NJ Drug Store Break-Ins
A hapless burglar tried to keep police in a half-dozen Bergen County towns busy with bogus calls of carjackings, kidnappings and other threats to try and buy himself time to break into local drug stores, federal authorities said.
Michael J. Gynegrowski, 34, hit pharmacies in Cresskill, Hackensack, Oradell, River Vale and Teaneck, usually by breaking a window, they said.
Six of a reported 10 attempts failed, but Gynegrowski did swipe a significant amount of Oxy, promethazine and other medications from an Englewood drug store, investigators told Daily Voice.
Police in the various towns …
Newark Man Convicted Of Day-Long Robbery Spree: Prosecutors
A Sunday in November 2020 was a prolific day for Anthony Torres, a 28-year-old Newark resident.
Torres was convicted on Monday, Nov. 20 of committing multiple robberies on Nov. 15, 2020, Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens, II said.
Torres was captured on video driving a stolen getaway car for one robbery, before robbing two different people on the streets in Newark, Stephens said.
He was convicted of second degree robbery, conspiracy and receiving stolen property, Stephens said.
Torres faces up to 35 years in prison when he is sentenced in January, Stephe…
Will Paterson Boy Accused Of Shooting Morris Man Dead, Wounding Two Others Be Charged As Adult?
Authorities haven't yet said whether they'll try to prosecute a 16-year-old Paterson boy as an adult for gunning down a Morris County man while wounding the murder victim's companion and a bus passenger who was struck by a stray bullet earlier this month.
Jerrell Wright, 23, was pronounced dead at St. Joseph's University Medical Center shortly after he was shot in a car in the area of Broadway and Rosa Parks Boulevard on Oct. 3.
His passenger, Shaheem Clark, 19, from Elmwood Park, was wounded but survived the shooting, as did Charles Obee, 57, of Paterson who was riding a bus when a bu…
Bloomfield Man Convicted Of Murdering Gas Station Attendant: Prosecutors
A 36-year-old Bloomfield man was convicted of murdering Jahque Benbow, a 23-year-old gas station attendant in May 2022, prosecutors announced.
On Tuesday, Oct. 10, a jury found Lamar Sommers guilty of murder in the first degree, conspiracy to commit murder and two weapons charges, Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens, II said. He faces a minimum of 30 years in prison when he is sentenced in December, Stephens said.
Sommers, along with two other men, conspired to shoot Benbow at the Irvington gas station where he worked, Stephens said. Sommers waited in the car while the …
Paramus PD: Car Burglary Couple Swiped $50K In Jewelry, $28,000 In Cash In Only One Day
An out-of-state couple who targeted parked cars in and around Paramus stole a whopping $28,000 in cash, $50,000 worth of jewelry and $3,000 worth of clothing in one day, authorities said.
Area police were on alert after the enormous haul the day before when Paramus Officer Justin Sicari spotted a blue Nissan Rogue with Florida plates parked at the Garden State Plaza around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 25, Police Chief Robert Guidetti said.
Sicari and Officer Nicholas Perna watched and waited, and eventually saw the couple enter the Rogue and drive off, the chief said.
Then they stopped them.
D…
Ex-Employees Of Franklin Lakes Cellphone Store Charged With Theft, Investigation Continues
Two now-former employees of a cellphone store in Franklin Lakes were charged with using customers’ information to steal from them, authorities announced.
Franklin Lakes police conducted an “extensive and comprehensive” investigation over the past several months before filing theft charges against both Robert Q. Hansford, 28, of Clifton, and Haleem K. Mitchell, 25, of East Orange, Capt. Mark McCombs said.
Mitchell, who’d worked with Hansford at TS Mobility AT&T on Franklin Avenue, also was charged with conspiracy, the captain said on Tuesday, July 18.
Both were released pending court ac…
