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Federal Court

Ex-Abercrombie CEO Asks Judge To Rule On Mental Fitness Ahead Of Sex Trafficking Trial Ex-Abercrombie CEO Asks Judge To Rule On Mental Fitness Ahead Of Sex Trafficking Trial
Ex-Abercrombie CEO Asks Judge To Rule On Mental Fitness Ahead Of Sex Trafficking Trial Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Michael Jeffries is hoping to delay his federal sex trafficking case. An attorney for the 80-year-old Jeffries filed a motion on Monday, Dec. 9, asking a Manhattan judge to schedule a hearing to determine whether Jeffries is mentally competent to stand trial. “[The motion] will be dealt with in court as, and when, appropriate – according to the judge,” Jeffries’ attorney, Brian Bieber, told Daily Voice. Federal prosecutors are expected to challenge the move, potentially delaying the case by months. An indictment unsealed in October accused Jeffries of pr…
Trenton Man Sentenced To Life For Violent Carjacking Spree That Seriously Injured 2, Feds Say Trenton Man Sentenced To Life For Violent Carjacking Spree That Seriously Injured 2, Feds Say
Trenton Man Sentenced To Life For Violent Carjacking Spree That Seriously Injured 2, Feds Say A Trenton man will spend the rest of his life in prison nearly seven years after a violent carjacking spree that left two victims with life-altering injuries, authorities said. Cedrick Hodges, 41, received his life sentence in Trenton federal court, New Jersey's U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said in a news release on Wednesday, Nov. 20. He was found guilty on five counts after a seven-day trial on Thursday, Oct. 24. Sellinger said Hodges "terrorized" Hamilton Township on the night of Saturday, Dec. 16, 2017. "The sentence handed down today will ensure that this violent offender will …
Accused Pelosi Laptop Thief's Dad Convicted Of Child Abuse One Year After NJ Defamation Case Accused Pelosi Laptop Thief's Dad Convicted Of Child Abuse One Year After NJ Defamation Case
Accused Pelosi Laptop Thief's Dad Convicted Of Child Abuse One Year After NJ Defamation Case The father of a Pennsylvania woman who was accused of stealing Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's laptop was convicted of sexually abusing a girl on Wednesday, Oct. 30 — just two days after the trial began, according to court documents and the Dauphin County District Attorney's office.  Rickey Williams, 55, — a security guard from Dauphin County — touched the girl when she was between the ages of 8 and 18. Judge William T. presided over the trial.  She came forward about the abuse within two weeks after police allegedly caught him soliciting a video of a 14-ye…
Man Convicted Of 'Sextorting' Teen Through Snapchat, Sexual Assault At Atlantic County Hotel Man Convicted Of 'Sextorting' Teen Through Snapchat, Sexual Assault At Atlantic County Hotel
Man Convicted Of 'Sextorting' Teen Through Snapchat, Sexual Assault At Atlantic County Hotel A New York City man was convicted of blackmailing a teen into having sex with him at an Atlantic County hotel, authorities said. Zachary Williams, 37, was found guilty in federal court on Monday, July 22 of two counts of interstate travel to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor, production of and possession of child pornography, and coercion and enticement of a minor, New Jersey's U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said in a news release.  According to court documents and trial evidence, Williams met the victim through Snapchat in September 2020. He told t…
NJ Broker Bought Private Jet, Luxury Caribbean Vacation In $3.4M Insider Trading Scheme: Feds NJ Broker Bought Private Jet, Luxury Caribbean Vacation In $3.4M Insider Trading Scheme: Feds
NJ Broker Bought Private Jet, Luxury Caribbean Vacation In $3.4M Insider Trading Scheme: Feds A former partner at a New Jersey broker-dealer firm was accused of insider trading, making more than $3 million in illegal profits, authorities said. Christopher Matthaei, 44, of Brielle, was arraigned in federal court on Wednesday, July 17, New Jersey's U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said in a news release. A federal grand jury indicted him on Friday, June 21 for two counts of securities fraud conspiracy and seven counts of securities fraud. According to court documents and statements, Matthaei was a partner and senior salesperson at a trading firm based in Charlotte, North Carol…
Former South Jersey Nurse Admits Collecting Porn Of Children As Young As 12 Former South Jersey Nurse Admits Collecting Porn Of Children As Young As 12
Former South Jersey Nurse Admits Collecting Porn Of Children As Young As 12 An Atlantic County man admitted collecting child porn videos and still images, some involving sadistic or masochistic violence against victims as young as 12, federal authorities said. Special agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Newark caught Anthony Barbarino, 37, with 108 videos and 93 still photographs of child sexual abuse across three electronic devices, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. At least one image was of a prepubescent minor, while another "portrayed sadistic or masochistic conduct or other depictions of violence," Sellinger said. Barbarino, who live…
NJ Data Analyst Admits Trafficking Child Porn NJ Data Analyst Admits Trafficking Child Porn
NJ Data Analyst Admits Trafficking Child Porn A data analyst from Somerset County admitted in federal court in Trenton on Thursday that he trafficked videos and other images of child pornography. Marcevan Manasse, 28, of Somerville, was nabbed following an undercover operation, authorities said. Detectives accessed five video files and 11 images containing child sexual abuse from an IP address at Manasse’s home, a complaint on file in U.S. District Court in Trenton says. The files included “multiple visual depictions of pre-pubescent children being sexually abused by adults” that he ended up sharing over the course of more than two ye…
US Airman From NJ In Home Detention For Collecting Child Porn Does It Again, FBI Says US Airman From NJ In Home Detention For Collecting Child Porn Does It Again, FBI Says
US Airman From NJ In Home Detention For Collecting Child Porn Does It Again, FBI Says A disgraced U.S. airman from South Jersey was finishing out a federal prison term in home detention for collecting child pornography when he used his iPhone to do it again, the FBI charged. Kyle Daniel Reese, 29, of Williamstown in Gloucester County, was discharged from the Air Force after federal agents said they found several videos and more than 600 photos of child pornography on his PC while he was stationed at the Barksdale Air Force Base in northwest Louisiana in 2015. Reese took a deal from the government rather than risk the potential consequences of a trial and was sentenced t…
Delaware Man Admits Peddling Heroin In NJ: Feds Delaware Man Admits Peddling Heroin In NJ: Feds
Delaware Man Admits Peddling Heroin In NJ: Feds A Delaware man admitted in federal court that he sold heroin in New Jersey, authorities said. Carl L. Jones, 49, of Newport, did business with "a confidential source who was working with law enforcement" in a commercial parking lot in Mount Laurel on March 29, 2019, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said. According to Sellinger, Jones sold the informant a pound and a half of a a "mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of heroin." Jones took a deal from the government rather than risk the potential consequences of a guilty verdict at a trial, pleading to drug po…
Final Defendant In Trenton Police Car Firebombing Gets 27 Months In Fed Pen Final Defendant In Trenton Police Car Firebombing Gets 27 Months In Fed Pen
Final Defendant In Trenton Police Car Firebombing Gets 27 Months In Fed Pen UPDATE: A Trenton man who threw a makeshift Molotov cocktail into a city police vehicle following a protest was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison. Kadeem A. Dockery, 31, is the last of four defendants sentenced in U.S. District Court in connection with the May 31, 2020 protest in Trenton. Video captured by surveillance cameras and personal cellphones helped authorities identify Dockery, who was arrested a little over two months later, and Killian F Melecio, 22, of Columbus, NJ. Rather than face trial, Dockery took a deal from the government, pleading guilty in May 2021 to attemptin…
Gun Manufacturer Remington Settles With Sandy Hook Families For $73M Gun Manufacturer Remington Settles With Sandy Hook Families For $73M
Gun Manufacturer Remington Settles With Sandy Hook Families For $73M Families of five children and four adults killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting reached a historic $73 million settlement with gun manufacturer Remington, officials announced. Attorneys for the families who filed the suit against the now-bankrupt Remington and its four insurers, announced on Tuesday, Feb. 15 that they had reached the settlement, representing the first time a gun manufacturer has been held liable for a mass shooting in the US. As part of the settlement, lawyers for the families said that Remington agreed to release thousands of pages of internal company do…
Pagans Leader From Long Island Gets Nearly 3 Years For Gun Found In NJ Stop Following PA Party Pagans Leader From Long Island Gets Nearly 3 Years For Gun Found In NJ Stop Following PA Party
Pagans Leader From Long Island Gets Nearly 3 Years For Gun Found In NJ Stop Following PA Party UPDATE: The former national president of the Pagans was sentenced Thursday to a plea-bargained 33 months in federal prison for having a gun while returning home through New Jersey from a party in Pennsylvania. Keith Richter – a 62-year-old ex-con known as “Conan the Barbarian” – was returning to his Bay Shore (Suffolk County) home from a Pagan's Motorcycle Club party in Lancaster, PA when he was stopped in Mercer County this past February. Police found him carrying a loaded .45-caliber Ruger P345 handgun, Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Rachael A. Honig said. Rather than risk trial, Ri…
Feds: Bean Counter Admits Embezzling Hundreds Of Thousands Of Dollars From Bergen Tour Company Feds: Bean Counter Admits Embezzling Hundreds Of Thousands Of Dollars From Bergen Tour Company
Feds: Bean Counter Admits Embezzling Hundreds Of Thousands Of Dollars From Bergen Tour Company Only a week after her former manager took a guilty plea in federal court, a Lyndhurst accountant admitted Monday that she helped embezzle hundreds of thousands of dollars from the guided tour company they worked for. Ruby Baroni, 54, took a deal from the government rather than face trial – the same as Estela Laluf, 76, of River Edge, did last Monday, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Between 2010 and 2016, the pair conspired to write checks against the East Rutherford-based company’s bank accounts to cash, Honig said. Checks were also issued to actual company employees and co…
Ex-Con Carjacker Who Was Run Over, Pinned By Newark Police Car Takes Plea In Federal Court Ex-Con Carjacker Who Was Run Over, Pinned By Newark Police Car Takes Plea In Federal Court
Ex-Con Carjacker Who Was Run Over, Pinned By Newark Police Car Takes Plea In Federal Court A Newark ex-con who was run over and pinned by a city police car as he tried to flee an armed carjacking took a guilty plea in federal court on Tuesday, authorities said. Jared Walker, 24, had to be rescued after being run over while hiding in snow-covered grass shortly after 2 a.m. on Jan. 6, 2020. Walker had just taken a 2008 Ford E-350 van at gunpoint from its driver, who eventually managed to escape and call police, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Walker hit a police car and several other vehicles with the van before crashing through a fence and into a parking lot, authorit…
Pagans Motorcycle Gang Leader From Long Island Takes Plea On NJ Gun Charge Following PA Party Pagans Motorcycle Gang Leader From Long Island Takes Plea On NJ Gun Charge Following PA Party
Pagans Motorcycle Gang Leader From Long Island Takes Plea On NJ Gun Charge Following PA Party The former national president of the outlaw Pagans motorcycle gang took a guilty plea in federal court on Wednesday after police caught him with a gun in New Jersey while returning to his Long Island home from a party in Pennsylvania. Keith Richter – a 62-year-old ex-con known as “Conan the Barbarian” – was returning to his Bay Shore (Suffolk County) home from a Pagan's Motorcycle Club party in Lancaster, PA when he was stopped in Mercer County on Feb. 20. Police found him carrying a loaded .45-caliber Ruger P345 handgun, Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Rachael A. Honig said. Rath…
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…
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…
Jersey Shore Con Man, 73, Gets Three Years, Son Probation For $4M Insurance Scam Jersey Shore Con Man, 73, Gets Three Years, Son Probation For $4M Insurance Scam
Jersey Shore Con Man, 73, Gets Three Years, Son Probation For $4M Insurance Scam A 73-year-old Asbury Park man was sentenced to three years in state prison while his son got probation for an insurance scam that netted them $4 million, authorities said. Frank Pescatore, 73, and his son, former life insurance agent Evan Pescatore, 38, of Highlands finagled 18 policies with a combined face value of $61.5 million from eight insurance companies by paying the premiums, state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said Wednesday. The process of providing applicants and insureds with a no-cost inducement to apply for life insurance policies by paying their premiums is known as “reba…
Feds: Second Reputed Mob Associate Admits Role In Jersey Shore Drug Operation Feds: Second Reputed Mob Associate Admits Role In Jersey Shore Drug Operation
Feds: Second Reputed Mob Associate Admits Role In Jersey Shore Drug Operation A Toms River man on Thursday became the second reputed associate of the DeCavalcante crime family to take a plea deal from the government in connection with a Jersey Shore drug bust. Detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office discovered several ounces of coke during a warranted search of the home of Jason Vella, 39, in September 2019, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Also arrested in the takedown was Mario Galli III, 28, also of Toms River, who was sentenced in July to more than six plea-bargained years in federal prison for a pound of cocaine and a 9mm FEG Model PGK-9HP gun lo…