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US Department of Homeland Security

NJ Mental Health Clinics Founded By Late Liberian Defendant Agree To Forfeit $6.4M, More NJ Mental Health Clinics Founded By Late Liberian Defendant Agree To Forfeit $6.4M, More
NJ Mental Health Clinics Founded By Late Liberian Defendant Agree To Forfeit $6.4M, More UPDATE: New Jersey authorities have legally seized $6.4 million and other assets from a chain of mental health clinics founded by a recently deceased Liberian presidential candidate for billing Medicaid for more than 10,000 bogus claims. Daniel E. Cassell, formerly of Perkasie, PA was under a 17-count state indictment when he died of an apparent heart attack at 56 years old on Christmas Day 2022. The West African-born Cassell -- who was a psychologist, business consultant and politician and founding member of Liberia's People Liberation Party -- was the president and chief executive officer…
Career North Jersey Law Enforcer Patents Safety Device To Better Protect Kids In School Career North Jersey Law Enforcer Patents Safety Device To Better Protect Kids In School
Career North Jersey Law Enforcer Patents Safety Device To Better Protect Kids In School As challenges to school safety grow, so do the ideas to address them. Career law enforcer Robert Licamara has produced one that he hopes will make schools in North Jersey and beyond safer. The father of two from Wayne -- who became director of security for Fair Lawn's schools after more than two distinguished decades of police work -- has developed an electronically locked dropbox to replace open plastic bins that are often left in front of schools for parents and others to bring by students' items. Licamara, who spent much of his law enforcement career as an undercover detective, retired …
Social Media Stoked Fear Over Misinterpreted Blackboard Message, Cresskill Schools Chief Says Social Media Stoked Fear Over Misinterpreted Blackboard Message, Cresskill Schools Chief Says
Social Media Stoked Fear Over Misinterpreted Blackboard Message, Cresskill Schools Chief Says UPDATE: Translators from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security who are fluent in Arabic found that a message written by a student to her brother on a classroom blackboard at Cresskill High School was misinterpreted and harmless, officials said. "The writing contained no threat or criminal intent," and an alleged translation that circulated via social media was "inaccurate and misinterpreted," Cresskill Schools Supt. Dr. Peter Hughes said in a letter to the community. Hughes didn't share what the message actually said. However, a source with direct knowledge of the incident told Daily Vo…
12th-Grader's Allegedly Hateful Blackboard Message Draws Attention Of NJ Law Enforcement 12th-Grader's Allegedly Hateful Blackboard Message Draws Attention Of NJ Law Enforcement
12th-Grader's Allegedly Hateful Blackboard Message Draws Attention Of NJ Law Enforcement UPDATE: Translators from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security who are fluent in Arabic found that a message written by a student to her brother on a classroom blackboard at Cresskill High School was misinterpreted and harmless, officials said. "The writing contained no threat or criminal intent," and an alleged translation that circulated via social media was "inaccurate and misinterpreted," Cresskill Schools Supt. Dr. Peter Hughes said in a letter to the community. Hughes didn't share what the message actually said. However, a source with direct knowledge of the incident told Daily Vo…
Fairview Restaurant Owner In $90,000 Wire Transfer Scam Flees To Brazil, Returned To US Fairview Restaurant Owner In $90,000 Wire Transfer Scam Flees To Brazil, Returned To US
Fairview Restaurant Owner In $90,000 Wire Transfer Scam Flees To Brazil, Returned To US A Fairview restaurant owner who claimed to be sending wire transfers for customers to Brazil pocketed at least $90,000 before fleeing the country, authorities said. Joanistel Ramos, 59, who owns Brasil and Brazil restaurant on Anderson Avenue, stiffed at least 15 local victims out of $40,000 in wire transfers that were never sent, Fairvew Police Capt. Michael Martic said. "She basically printed out a bogus generic receipt and put the money in her pocket," the captain said. Ramos, of Cliffside Park, also defrauded a money transfer company in Newark called Lyons Express out of an additional …
NJ Man, 68, Gets 6½ Years For Child Porn That Included Dog Fellatio, Infant Penetration NJ Man, 68, Gets 6½ Years For Child Porn That Included Dog Fellatio, Infant Penetration
NJ Man, 68, Gets 6½ Years For Child Porn That Included Dog Fellatio, Infant Penetration A South Jersey man who was caught with more than 27,000 mostly horrific images of child porn -- including a toddler “engaged in fellatio” with a dog and penetration of months-old babies -- must spend the next 6½ years in federal prison. Bruce Makley, 68, of Voorhees, must serve out just about all of the plea-bargained sentence because there’s no parole in the federal prison system. Makley’s wife and stepson were home when U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents raided their Dutchtown Road home in August 2020, according to a complaint. Agen…
Atlantic City International Airport Could Become Shelter For NYC Migrants: Reports Atlantic City International Airport Could Become Shelter For NYC Migrants: Reports
Atlantic City International Airport Could Become Shelter For NYC Migrants: Reports Atlantic City International Airport is among 11 federally-owned facilities proposed by the Biden Administration as a shelter for immigrants arriving in New York City, according to news reports. The Egg Harbor Township-based airport, located 10 miles outside Atlantic City, was listed by the US Department of Homeland Security in a letter to New York City Mayor Eric Adams as temporary housing for some of the 60,000 migrants who recently arrived in the city, Bloomberg reported. Egg Harbor Township Mayor Laura Pfrommer strongly opposed the plan, saying in part: “An airbase and technical cen…
Biz Owners Take Pleas After NJ Feds Seize Record $14M Worth Of Cisco Networking Knockoffs Biz Owners Take Pleas After NJ Feds Seize Record $14M Worth Of Cisco Networking Knockoffs
Biz Owners Take Pleas After NJ Feds Seize Record $14M Worth Of Cisco Networking Knockoffs Three North Jersey business owners admitted importing and selling cheap knockoffs of Cisco Systems networking equipment after federal agents seized an unprecedented $14 million worth of the devices from their warehouse in Passaic County. Musa Karaman, 35, of North Arlington, was the last of the trio to take a deal from the government, pleading guilty to trafficking counterfeit goods in U.S. District Court in Newark on Thursday, Aug. 24. Accomplices Sadri Ozturan, 37, of Hawthorne, and Israfil "David" Demir, 38, of Secaucus both pleaded guilty to the same charges on Aug. 8, U.S. Attorney for…
Hudsonite Who Got Mail-Order Fentanyl From Mexico Gets Two Years, No Parole, In Federal Prison Hudsonite Who Got Mail-Order Fentanyl From Mexico Gets Two Years, No Parole, In Federal Prison
Hudsonite Who Got Mail-Order Fentanyl From Mexico Gets Two Years, No Parole, In Federal Prison A Hudson County man who had mail-order fentanyl from Mexico shipped to his home was sentenced Thursday to a month short of two years in federal prison. Miguel Polanco, 31, must serve out just about all of the 23-month plea-bargained sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. Polanco became the focus of an investigation after U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents intercepted the package from Mexico City on its way to his Union City apartment, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger previously said. Polanco had watched a how-to video sent to him by a conspirator on h…
Feds: It's 30 Years With No Parole For NJ Dad, 62, Who Made, Shared Child Rape Streams, Videos Feds: It's 30 Years With No Parole For NJ Dad, 62, Who Made, Shared Child Rape Streams, Videos
Feds: It's 30 Years With No Parole For NJ Dad, 62, Who Made, Shared Child Rape Streams, Videos UPDATE: A 62-year-old New Jersey father of three must spend the next 30 years in a federal penitentiary with no opportunity for parole for producing and sharing live streams and videos of children being sexually assaulted – some of them by him. Antonio Del Prado of Millburn must serve out the entire plea-bargained sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton also sentenced him to 10 years of supervised release. Del Prado theoretically would have to live into his 90s to ever breathe free air again -- and into his 100s before the gove…
SWAT Team Seizes 1,000 Child Porn Images, Videos From South Jersey Man: Prosecutor SWAT Team Seizes 1,000 Child Porn Images, Videos From South Jersey Man: Prosecutor
SWAT Team Seizes 1,000 Child Porn Images, Videos From South Jersey Man: Prosecutor A search involving a county SWAT team and the the U.S. Department of Homeland Security turned up more than 1,000 images and videos of child porn in a South Jersey man's home, authorities said. Jason Brown, of the Villas section of Lower Township, became the center of an investigation thanks to a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (N.C.M.E.C.), Cape May County Prosecutor, Jeffrey H. Sutherland and Lower Township Police Chief Kevin Lewis said. The tip said Brown had downloaded, possessed, and distributed videos/images of Child Sexual Abuse Material …
Specialized Paramus Police Unit Cranks Up Chainsaws After Pickup Crash Specialized Paramus Police Unit Cranks Up Chainsaws After Pickup Crash
Specialized Paramus Police Unit Cranks Up Chainsaws After Pickup Crash Members of the Paramus Police Emergency Services Unit got to work after a pickup truck toppled a pole at the Oradell border on Thursday. The 22-year-old Mosquito Squad driver from Basking Ridge apparently looked down at his GPS and looked up too late to avoid hitting the curb, uprooting a fire hydrant and toppling the guy-wire pole on Oradell Avenue at Terrace Drive at 10:20 a.m. May 25, Paramus Police Sgt. Todd Colaianni said. The driver refused medical treatment, Colaianni said, but Bergen Brookside Auto Body & Towing had to remove his pickup on a flatbed. The cross-trained membe…
Bergen Ex-Con Tried Boarding Newark Flight With AR-15, Taser, Fake US Marshal Creds, More: Feds Bergen Ex-Con Tried Boarding Newark Flight With AR-15, Taser, Fake US Marshal Creds, More: Feds
Bergen Ex-Con Tried Boarding Newark Flight With AR-15, Taser, Fake US Marshal Creds, More: Feds A convicted felon from Bergen County was seized while trying to bring two rifles, a handgun, a Taser, a switchblade and bogus U.S. Marshals credentials onto a flight from Newark to Fort Lauderdale, federal authorities said. Seretse Clouden, 42, of Wallington had a .308-caliber DPMS Panther Arms rifle, a 5.56-caliber AR-15 rifle, a .40-caliber Glock 22 handgun and the phony creds -- which bore his name, photograph and a U.S. Marshal badge -- in his checked baggage, the FBI charged in a complaint. His bags also contained a ballistic vest that said "Deputy Marshal," two magazines containing 15…
Convicted Jersey Shore Sex Offender Who Collected 1,000 Child Porn Images Admits Grooming Girl Convicted Jersey Shore Sex Offender Who Collected 1,000 Child Porn Images Admits Grooming Girl
Convicted Jersey Shore Sex Offender Who Collected 1,000 Child Porn Images Admits Grooming Girl A convicted sex offender living in Ocean County who collected more than 1,000 child porn videos -- after convincing more than two dozen underage girls to record some of them – took a guilty plea in federal court on Wednesday, authorities said. Samuel Schwinger, a 37-year-old British national living in Lakewood, was on 10-year probation for similar offenses out of Brooklyn when he posed as an 11-year-old girl to groom another pre-teen in Oklahoma in 2019, a federal complaint says. "I'll send you a vid of what I'm wearing now and then u send me of u and then my turn again k?" Schwinger texted…
Feds: Hudsonite Nabbed Accepting Mail-Order Fentanyl From Mexico Pleads Out Feds: Hudsonite Nabbed Accepting Mail-Order Fentanyl From Mexico Pleads Out
Feds: Hudsonite Nabbed Accepting Mail-Order Fentanyl From Mexico Pleads Out A Hudson County man admitted accepting mail-order fentanyl destined for New Jersey’s streets that shipped to his home from Mexico, federal authorities said. Miguel Polanco, 31, even watched a how-to video on how to handle the shipment, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said following a plea hearing in Newark on Wednesday, Feb. 15. Polanco became the focus of an investigation after U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents intercepted the package from Mexico City on its way to his Union City apartment, Sellinger said. He had previously received a video from a conspirator “exp…
NJ Army Vet Who Supported Syrian Terrorist Lover Gets 3 Plea-Bargained Years In Federal Prison NJ Army Vet Who Supported Syrian Terrorist Lover Gets 3 Plea-Bargained Years In Federal Prison
NJ Army Vet Who Supported Syrian Terrorist Lover Gets 3 Plea-Bargained Years In Federal Prison A U.S. Army veteran from Sussex County must spend more than three years in federal prison for deliberately concealing money and guidance she gave to a Syrian terrorist she'd fallen in love with. Because there's no parole in the federal prison system, Maria Bell, 55, must serve out just about all of the plea-bargained 36-month sentence approved by a federal judge in Newark on Tuesday, Jan. 24, Bell, of Hopatcong, offered not only money and military intelligence but the benefit of her experience in specialized weapons training to Syria-based factions fighting the Assad regime, a complaint on…
Feds: Hudson Grammar School Teacher From Morris Indicted On Child Porn Trafficking Charges Feds: Hudson Grammar School Teacher From Morris Indicted On Child Porn Trafficking Charges
Feds: Hudson Grammar School Teacher From Morris Indicted On Child Porn Trafficking Charges A longtime Hudson County grammar school teacher from Morris County shared child porn images with undercover investigators who found hundreds more on his cellphone, federal authorities charged. Anselmo Girimonte, 52, of Wharton, has remained in federal custody since being arrested by special agents of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security HSI's New Jersey Division last March. A grand jury in U.S. District Court in Newark subsequently returned an indictment that contains more specifics, authorities revealed on Saturday, Jan. 14. Over the course of three weeks beginning in late 2021, Girim…
US Customs Tip Leads To Major Drug, Weapons Bust On Jersey Shore US Customs Tip Leads To Major Drug, Weapons Bust On Jersey Shore
US Customs Tip Leads To Major Drug, Weapons Bust On Jersey Shore A tip from a U.S. Customs agent led to a major bust in Ocean County. At approximately 12:20 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 11, detectives from the Brick Street Crimes Unit, along with detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, agents from the U.S. Postal Service, and agents from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security made a warranted search at the Mantoloking Road home of Lucian Demarco, 37, Brick police said. The search resulted in the seizure of psilocybin mushrooms, Xanax pills, psilocybin tablets, marijuana, three firearms, a large amount of drug paraphernalia and packaging material…
HOLY SMOKES: Jersey Shore Fire Department Lands $223K Federal Grant HOLY SMOKES: Jersey Shore Fire Department Lands $223K Federal Grant
Holy Smokes: Jersey Shore Fire Department Lands $223K Federal Grant A fire department in Monmouth County has received a federal grant to upgrade its equipment. The Belmar Fire Department will receive $223,571 from the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program to replace critical firefighter equipment that in some cases has become dangerously outdated, according to US Rep. Chris Smith, a New Jersey Republican. “The volunteer firefighters of the Belmar Fire Department put their lives on the line every day to protect people and property in the borough and in neighboring towns when fires and other emergencies arise,” said Smith, a member of the …
Feds Bust North Jersey Man On Child Porn Charges Feds Bust North Jersey Man On Child Porn Charges
Feds Bust North Jersey Man On Child Porn Charges A Morris County man was arrested by federal agents Monday on child porn trafficking charges, authorities said. Igor Michael Terrero, 49, of Succasunna, shared more than 85 media files -- including "images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children" -- from Aug. 30, 2021, through April 20, 2022, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. U.S. Magistrate Judge Jessica S. Allen allowed Terrero's release on a $100,000 unsecured bond with home detention and electronic monitoring during a first appearance via video conference, Sellinger said. Terrero is charged with one count of distributing…
Feds: EPA Inspector From Bergen County Watched Child Porn On Work Computer At Home Feds: EPA Inspector From Bergen County Watched Child Porn On Work Computer At Home
Feds: EPA Inspector From Bergen County Watched Child Porn On Work Computer At Home A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency employee from Fair Lawn watched child porn on his government-issued computer, authorities charged. John Struble, 63, was released by a U.S. magistrate judge in Newark, with conditions, after a brief video-conferenced appearance on Wednesday, March 29, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said. Struble, who works as a tank system inspector for the EPA’s office in downtown Manhattan, is charged with possession of child pornography. “The EPA alerted the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Homeland Security Investigations that it discovered …
Feds: Ponzi Schemer Funded House, Car, More With $6.8M From Investors In NJ, Elsewhere Feds: Ponzi Schemer Funded House, Car, More With $6.8M From Investors In NJ, Elsewhere
Feds: Ponzi Schemer Funded House, Car, More With $6.8M From Investors In NJ, Elsewhere New Jersey residents were among more than two dozen victims who lost a combined $6.8 million to a North Carolina con man running a Ponzi scheme, federal authorities charged. David Schamens, 64, of Greensboro, NC, promised annual return rates of 12% to 30% when he began soliciting investments in 2014 in Secaucus-based TradeStream Analytics LTD, as well as in other entities with names such as TD Trading LLC, TFG Trading LLC, and Tradedesk Financial Group Inc., U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. He then launched Tradestream Algo Fund, an algorithm-based trading pool that he clai…
Feds: Hudson Grammar School Teacher From Morris Charged With Trafficking Child Porn Feds: Hudson Grammar School Teacher From Morris Charged With Trafficking Child Porn
Feds: Hudson Grammar School Teacher From Morris Charged With Trafficking Child Porn A Hudson County grammar school teacher from Morris County was arrested by federal agents who caught him trafficking child porn, authorities said. A federal magistrate judge in Newark ordered Anselmo Girimonte, 51, of Wharton detained following his arrest by members of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Homeland Security Investigations on Friday, March 4, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Girimonte, previously of Madison and Bloomfield, has taught Italian in grades 3 through 8 in the Kearny School District since 2006, according to his LinkedIn profile. Sellinger said Girimonte…
GOTCHA! Teaneck Fugitive Accused Of Running Sex Trafficking Ring Captured At Newark Airport GOTCHA! Teaneck Fugitive Accused Of Running Sex Trafficking Ring Captured At Newark Airport
Gotcha! Teaneck Fugitive Accused Of Running Sex Trafficking Ring Captured At Newark Airport A fugitive from Bergen County wanted for running a massive sex-trafficking ring in North Jersey, Rockland and New York City was captured trying to re-enter the United States from Colombia, authorities confirmed. Birmania “Nancy” Rincon, 62, a Colombian national living in Teaneck, was among the ringleaders of a crew that forced dozens of women into prostitution, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. She was in the wind, however, when authorities seized 21 defendants during a series of early-morning raids at 19 homes and other locations in Bergen and Hudson counties exactly two weeks ag…
Sussex Man Who Spent $5.6M COVID Relief Money On Stock Market, Luxury Car, More Sentenced Sussex Man Who Spent $5.6M COVID Relief Money On Stock Market, Luxury Car, More Sentenced
Sussex Man Who Spent $5.6M COVID Relief Money On Stock Market, Luxury Car, More Sentenced A Sussex County man was sentenced Tuesday to more than five years in federal prison for spending $5.6 million in federal COVID-19 pandemic business loans for himself, authorities said. Azhar Sarwar Rana, 31, of Newton will have to serve out just about all of the 64-month sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. The federal Paycheck Protection Program was designed to keep struggling small businesses afloat during the pandemic. Rana used the money, instead, to invest millions in the stock market, make a payment to a luxury car dealership and send hundreds of thous…
Feds: NJ Ex-Con Caught With 33 Guns, High-Capacity Mags, Silencer, Ammo Takes Plea Feds: NJ Ex-Con Caught With 33 Guns, High-Capacity Mags, Silencer, Ammo Takes Plea
Feds: NJ Ex-Con Caught With 33 Guns, High-Capacity Mags, Silencer, Ammo Takes Plea UPDATE: A South Jersey ex-con found with dozens of guns, high-capacity magazines and ammo admitted having others buy guns for him, federal authorities said. Darick Nollett, 32, who lives in Cumberland County near the Delaware Bay, caught the attention of law enforcement when he bought a “fuel filter” – a device commonly used to silence firearms -- from China, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. As a convicted felon, Nollett was prohibited from having weaponry, Honig said. So he got straw purchasers to buy guns for him, she said. A court-approved search of his Heislerville home in …
Feds Charge Somerset County Data Analyst With Trafficking Child Porn Feds Charge Somerset County Data Analyst With Trafficking Child Porn
Feds Charge Somerset County Data Analyst With Trafficking Child Porn A data analyst from Somerset County was charged with trafficking child porn following an undercover investigation, federal authorities said. Marc-Evan Manasse, 27, Somerville “distributed material containing images and video files of child sexual abuse” on a file-sharing network, Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Rachael A. Honig said. Detectives went undercover to access five video files and 11 images containing child sexual abuse from an IP address at Manasse’s home, Honig said. The files included “multiple visual depictions of pre-pubescent children being sexually abused by adults,” s…
Somerset County Man Tried Selling Child Porn On Social Media, Prosecutor Says Somerset County Man Tried Selling Child Porn On Social Media, Prosecutor Says
Somerset County Man Tried Selling Child Porn On Social Media, Prosecutor Says A Somerset County man was arrested for child porn possession and trying to sell the images over social media, authorities said Thursday. Agents with the US Department of Homeland Security and other local officials raided Siddh B. Shah's Winding Way home in Hillsborough on Sept. 30, seizing computers and other electronic devices, Somerset County Prosecutor Michael H. Robertson, said. An investigation found Shah had uploaded more than 200 images depicting the sexual exploitation or abuse of a child, Robertson said. The investigation also found that Shah was selling the child p…
Feds: Convicted Wayne Child Porn Collector Admits Doing It Again, Faces 10-Year Minimum Term Feds: Convicted Wayne Child Porn Collector Admits Doing It Again, Faces 10-Year Minimum Term
Feds: Convicted Wayne Child Porn Collector Admits Doing It Again, Faces 10-Year Minimum Term A registered sex offender from Wayne who served state prison time for downloading child porn is headed to a federal penitentiary this time after admitting that he did it again. Robert Klemt, 34, had more than 70 photos and videos “depicting the sexual exploitation of children" on a laptop, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Klemt, of New Street, had been imprisoned after pleading guilty in Superior Court in Essex County in 2014 to possessing and distributing child pornography. Agents with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations arrested him in J…
Feds: NJ Scammer, Accomplice Submit $1.2M In Bogus COVID-19 Unemployment Claims Feds: NJ Scammer, Accomplice Submit $1.2M In Bogus COVID-19 Unemployment Claims
Feds: NJ Scammer, Accomplice Submit $1.2M In Bogus Covid-19 Unemployment Claims A Paterson man and an accomplice filed nearly $1.2 million in bogus COVID-related unemployment claims over the course of three months, federal authorities in Massachusetts charged. Omar Thompson, 39, and his unidentified female partner submitted more than 100 fraudulent Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claims, sometimes recruiting people from other states in the scheme and pocketing kickbacks, they said. Roughly half of the claims were submitted on behalf of people with out-of-state driver’s licenses and mailing addresses, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Massachusetts. In anoth…
Dealer Caught With More Than 28 Pounds Of Coke Worth $720,500 In Passaic, Authorities Charge Dealer Caught With More Than 28 Pounds Of Coke Worth $720,500 In Passaic, Authorities Charge
Dealer Caught With More Than 28 Pounds Of Coke Worth $720,500 In Passaic, Authorities Charge A Paterson man was busted with more than 28 pounds of cocaine with a street value of $720,500 during a fugitive roundup, authorities announced Thursday. Tydel Clark, 31, was arrested following a warranted search of a Passaic city residence and his vehicle, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and U.S. Marshal for the District of New Jersey Juan Mattos Jr. said. The news came amid a joint announcement by both of an operation that they said produced 133 arrests and the seizure of guns and drugs. Authorities targeted active warrants and fugitive cases, most of them in Paterson, Valdes …