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Criminal Justice

Trump Taps Loyalist Kash Patel As FBI Director Trump Taps Loyalist Kash Patel As FBI Director
Trump Taps Loyalist Kash Patel As FBI Director President-elect Donald Trump announced that 44-year-old loyalist and New York native Kashyap “Kash” Patel will serve as the next Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation,  Trump described Patel as a "brilliant lawyer, investigator, and 'America First' fighter, in an announcement shared to social media on Sunday, Dec. 1. He praised Patel’s career of “exposing corruption, defending justice, and protecting the American people.” "He played a pivotal role in uncovering the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, standing as an advocate for truth, accountability, and the Constitution," Trump sai…
Kids Club Staffer Who Had Sleepovers In NJ With Boy He Raped Sentenced: DA Kids Club Staffer Who Had Sleepovers In NJ With Boy He Raped Sentenced: DA
Kids Club Staffer Who Had Sleepovers In NJ With Boy He Raped Sentenced: DA A former Neshaminy Kids Club worker was sentenced to 35 to 88 years in state prison for sexually assaulting seven boys and filming some of the abuse, Bucks County authorities announced on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. Gerald William Spoto, 42, of Disk Lane in Bristol Township, pleaded guilty in July to nearly three dozen charges for crimes committed between the late 1990s and 2023. He was also declared a sexually violent predator, requiring lifetime sex offender registration and treatment. These assaults of seven boys included "sleepovers" in New Jersey, Detectives with the Middletown Township Pol…
NJ Soda Executive Confesses To Sharing Secret Formulas With Competitors, Feds Say NJ Soda Executive Confesses To Sharing Secret Formulas With Competitors, Feds Say
NJ Soda Executive Confesses To Sharing Secret Formulas With Competitors, Feds Say An executive from North Brunswick admitted to sharing secret soda formulas with his company's competitors, authorities said. Andrew Blum, 63, pleaded guilty on Tuesday, Nov. 12 to conspiracy to possess stolen trade secrets and possession of stolen trade secrets, New Jersey's U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said in a news release. Blum was the vice president of product development for an unnamed North Jersey-based maker of oil products and proprietary flavors from 2013 until Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2018. The parent corporation of Blum's company was one of the world’s largest produc…
Atlantic City Cocaine Dealer Admits To Drug Deal, Leading Police Chases: Prosecutors Atlantic City Cocaine Dealer Admits To Drug Deal, Leading Police Chases: Prosecutors
Atlantic City Cocaine Dealer Admits To Drug Deal, Leading Police Chases: Prosecutors An Atlantic City man suspected of selling cocaine pleaded guilty to charges in three cases, authorities said. Joseph Feliciano, 22, entered the guilty plea on Wednesday, Oct. 23 for two counts of third-degree eluding and third-degree possession with intent to distribute a controlled dangerous substance, the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office said in a news release. Atlantic City police saw a stolen vehicle go through a red light at the intersection of Pennsylvania and Caspian avenues before speeding away at around 6:55 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 22. Officers pulled over …
Former Jersey Shore Fire Dept. Treasurer Who Stole $100K+ Sentenced, Prosecutors Say Former Jersey Shore Fire Dept. Treasurer Who Stole $100K+ Sentenced, Prosecutors Say
Former Jersey Shore Fire Dept. Treasurer Who Stole $100K+ Sentenced, Prosecutors Say A Point Pleasant Beach man will spend several years in prison after stealing more than $100,000 from a volunteer fire department, authorities said. Salvatore Umek, 46, was sentenced on Friday, Oct. 11 to five years in state prison, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said in a news release. The former treasurer of Point Pleasant Beach Fire Company No. 2 pleaded guilty to theft on Monday, June 10. Investigators said Umek stole about $100,000 from the fire company's bank account to pay off personal credit card debt between February 2019 and November 2021. He als…
College Track Star, Special Toms River Police Officer Dies After Tonsil Surgery College Track Star, Special Toms River Police Officer Dies After Tonsil Surgery
College Track Star, Special Toms River Police Officer Dies After Tonsil Surgery A Toms River police officer who was part of the department since she was a girl died after tonsil surgery, according to a fundraising campaign. Ingrid Rivera-Zuniga, 21, died on Saturday, Oct. 5, her obituary from Horizon Funeral and Cremation Services said. She was a Class I special law enforcement officer with the Toms River Police Department. According to a GoFundMe page, Rivera-Zuniga had a difficult recovery from tonsil surgery. She was hospitalized with meningitis and suffered two strokes. The GoFundMe had raised more than $29,700 from at least 453 donations as of Wednesday, Oct. 9. …
Philly Man Admits To Attempting To Hire Girl, 12, As Prostitute At NJ Hotel: Feds Philly Man Admits To Attempting To Hire Girl, 12, As Prostitute At NJ Hotel: Feds
Philly Man Admits To Attempting To Hire Girl, 12, As Prostitute At NJ Hotel: Feds A Philadelphia man admitted to trying to hire a preteen girl as a prostitute and meet her at a New Jersey hotel, authorities said. Louis Goldenberg, 41, pleaded guilty on Wednesday, Sept. 18, New Jersey's U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said in a news release. He was charged in September 2023 with attempted online enticement of a minor to engage in prostitution. According to court documents and statements, Goldenberg started messaging an undercover agent posing as a middle-aged woman with a 12-year-old niece in August 2023. For the next month, Goldenberg continually expre…
Philly Woman With 15 Warrants Threatened To Kill Atlantic City Boardwalk Store Worker: Police Philly Woman With 15 Warrants Threatened To Kill Atlantic City Boardwalk Store Worker: Police
Philly Woman With 15 Warrants Threatened To Kill Atlantic City Boardwalk Store Worker: Police A wanted Philadelphia woman was accused of threatening to kill a worker at a store on the Atlantic City Boardwalk, authorities said. Fatima Gadson, 33, was arrested on Tuesday, Aug. 20, the Atlantic City Police Department said in a news release. She was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon, simple assault, terrorist threats, and obstruction of justice. Police responded to a report of a fight involving a gun at a business on the 2500 block of the Boardwalk at around 11:39 a.m. The employee said Gadson blocked the store's entrance and spat on the employee when the two began argui…
Jersey Shore Man Admits To Stealing Gun, Having Cocaine And Heroin: Prosecutors Jersey Shore Man Admits To Stealing Gun, Having Cocaine And Heroin: Prosecutors
Jersey Shore Man Admits To Stealing Gun, Having Cocaine And Heroin: Prosecutors A Barnegat Township man admitted to having heroin, cocaine, and a stolen gun, authorities said. Quaison Ellis, 25, pleaded guilty on Monday, July 15 to several charges related to two incidents, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said in a news release. He faces up to 10 years in prison. Investigators established surveillance outside a home on Hawthorne Lane in Barnegat on Friday, Sept. 10, 2021. Ellis was seen leaving the home and then entered a vehicle's front passenger seat. Detectives followed the vehicle to a home in Paterson and Ellis was seen meeting with a…
Bergen County Pastor Repeatedly Performed Sex Acts On Child: Criminal Complaint Bergen County Pastor Repeatedly Performed Sex Acts On Child: Criminal Complaint
Bergen County Pastor Repeatedly Performed Sex Acts On Child: Criminal Complaint A 74-year-old Paramus church pastor has been arrested and charged with 21 counts of sexual offenses for disturbing sexual assaults on a girl between ages 13 and 18 for years, authorities announced Friday, July 12. Stephen E. Sweet, the pastor at Grace's Lutheran Church in River Edge, became the center of an investigation on Thursday, July 11, on a tip that he'd sexually assaulted a juvenile in the past, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. ** WARNING: The following news article contains graphic and disturbing information. Reader discretion is advised ** Sweet sexually assaulted…
Rutgers Student, Edison Resident Noah Koenig Dies, 20 Rutgers Student, Edison Resident Noah Koenig Dies, 20
Rutgers Student, Edison Resident Noah Koenig Dies, 20 Noah Benjamin Koenig, of Edison, died suddenly on Friday, June 7, according to an obituary published by Dangler Funeral Home. He was 20 years old. Noah graduated from John P. Stevens High School in Edison in 2022, and joined the Cub Scouts in the first grade, his obituary said. He continued his journey with Boy Scouts where he earned the highest rank of Eagle Scout.  As a sophomore at Rutgers University, Noah majored in criminal justice so he could follow in the footsteps of his uncle, Robert Laureano, his obituary said. He was a member of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity at Rutgers. …
Man Convicted Of Robbing Jersey Shore 7-Eleven With Shotgun, Prosecutors Say Man Convicted Of Robbing Jersey Shore 7-Eleven With Shotgun, Prosecutors Say
Man Convicted Of Robbing Jersey Shore 7-Eleven With Shotgun, Prosecutors Say A Neptune Township man was convicted of robbing a convenience store with a shotgun, authorities said. A jury found 41-year-old William Herndon guilty on Monday, June 10, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago said in a news release. Neptune Township police responded to the 7-Eleven on Route 35 South near the intersection at West Lake Avenue just after 1 a.m. on Friday, Mar. 31, 2023. Investigators said a man pulled out a sawed-off shotgun while an employee tried to give change to a customer. The suspect reached over the counter to take money from the cash register before…
ATTEMPTED MURDER: Bergen Man Chokes, Tries To Sexually Assault Pre-Teen: Authorities ATTEMPTED MURDER: Bergen Man Chokes, Tries To Sexually Assault Pre-Teen: Authorities
Attempted Murder: Bergen Man Chokes, Tries To Sexually Assault Pre-Teen: Authorities A 33-year-old Ridgefield man choked a Fairview pre-teen “to the point of unconsciousness” and had removed both his and the incapacitated child's clothes before he was stopped, authorities said. Julio Amaro-Vasquez, who lives on Bergen Boulevard just off Oakdene Avenue, was charged with attempted murder, attempted aggravated sexual assault, aggravated assault, attempted sexual assault by contact and child endangerment. He wasn't the only person arrested in connection with the alleged incident, however. Amaro-Vasquez's girlfriend, Marlin Cervantes Santos, 30, of Fairview, “directed…