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Getaway Driver In 7-County North Jersey Holdup Spree Heads To Federal Prison Getaway Driver In 7-County North Jersey Holdup Spree Heads To Federal Prison
Getaway Driver In 7-County North Jersey Holdup Spree Heads To Federal Prison The wheelman in nearly two dozen gas station and convenience store armed robberies in North Jersey was sent to federal prison for at least nine years. Meshach Whagar, 31, of Newark must serve just about all of the 110-month sentence handed down in U.S. District Court in Newark on Wednesday because there’s no parole in the federal prison system. Whager admitted late last year that he drove the getaway car during the 20 predawn holdups in seven counties -- Bergen, Passaic, Hudson, Essex, Middlesex, Morris and Union -- in November and December of 2017 (see list of locations below). The gunman…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
BUSTED: 31 Nabbed, 14 Pounds Of Coke, Firearms Seized In Massive Drug Distribution Scheme BUSTED: 31 Nabbed, 14 Pounds Of Coke, Firearms Seized In Massive Drug Distribution Scheme
Busted: 31 Nabbed, 14 Pounds Of Coke, Firearms Seized In Massive Drug Distribution Scheme Thirty-one people were arrested following a months-long New Jersey drug distribution scheme that netted 14.3 pounds of cocaine, two firearms and more than $193,000 in cash, authorities announced. An investigation into “Operation Triple Tragedy” involved law enforcement agencies from Somerset, Union, and Middlesex counties and the U.S. Postal Service. Somerset County Prosecutor Michael H. Robertson said the following arrests were made on June 4: Arrests made in “Operation Triple Tragedy”Somerset County Prosecutor's Office Joselin Castillo, aka “Tragedy," 30, Grandview Avenue Edison Po…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Feds: NJ Mail Carrier Picked Up, Delivered Drugs For Years Feds: NJ Mail Carrier Picked Up, Delivered Drugs For Years
Feds: NJ Mail Carrier Picked Up, Delivered Drugs For Years A New Jersey mail carrier took bribes for five years to help people use the U.S. Postal Service to ship coke, pot and other contraband through the mail. Emerson Pavilus, 46, of Union was working for the post office in Flanders when he took the payoffs, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. “Among other things, Pavilus provided his conspirators with addresses in Flanders to which parcels could be shipped, intercepted those parcels from the mail stream, and personally delivered those parcels to conspirators at addresses other than those listed on the parcels,” Honig said. Pavilus was n…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Feds: NJ Mail Carrier Picked Up, Delivered Drugs For Years Feds: NJ Mail Carrier Picked Up, Delivered Drugs For Years
Feds: NJ Mail Carrier Picked Up, Delivered Drugs For Years A New Jersey mail carrier took bribes for five years to help people use the U.S. Postal Service to ship coke, pot and other contraband through the mail. Emerson Pavilus, 46, of Union was working for the post office in Flanders when he took the payoffs, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. “Among other things, Pavilus provided his conspirators with addresses in Flanders to which parcels could be shipped, intercepted those parcels from the mail stream, and personally delivered those parcels to conspirators at addresses other than those listed on the parcels,” Honig said. Pavilus was n…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Business
Sticky's Finger Joint Opening 4th NJ Location Sticky's Finger Joint Opening 4th NJ Location
Sticky's Finger Joint Opening 4th NJ Location Sticky's Finger joint is opening its fourth New Jersey location. The latest shop will be replacing Cluck-U in Hoboken, as reported by Hoboken Girl. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Alison K (@alisonlivestoeat) Sticky's has other locations in Paramus (Bergen Town Center), Bridgewater and Union. The gourmet chicken finger restaurant was launched in 2012 by childhood friends Jon Sherman and Paul Abrahamian in New York City.  An opening date has not yet been announced. Sticky's Finger Joint, 112 Washington St., Hoboken

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by Cecilia Levine
News
WINNERS: 3 Winning Mega Millions Tickets Good For $10K Sold In NJ WINNERS: 3 Winning Mega Millions Tickets Good For $10K Sold In NJ
Winners: 3 Winning Mega Millions Tickets Good For $10K Sold In NJ Three third-tier prizewinning tickets from Tuesday's Mega Millions drawing were sold in New Jersey. The winning numbers were 03, 05, 56, 61, and 66. The Gold Mega Ball was 04, and the Megaplier Multiplier was 02. The tickets that win the $10,000 prize were purchased from the following locations: Bergen County: Krauszer’s Food Store, 394 Ramapo Valley Rd., Oakland; Cumberland County: Xpress Mart, 67 Oak Rd. East, Vineland; and, Union County: $.99 Cents Plus of Union, 350 Chestnut St., Union. In addition to the third-tier prizes won, 50 players matched four of the five white balls …

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Multi-Agency Probe Ties Quartet To 84 Burglaries In Eight NJ Counties, Rockland Multi-Agency Probe Ties Quartet To 84 Burglaries In Eight NJ Counties, Rockland
Multi-Agency Probe Ties Quartet To 84 Burglaries In Eight NJ Counties, Rockland A car crash in Hackensack and an alert officer in Cedar Grove produced key evidence in the takedown of a mixed-gender crew believed responsible for 84 home burglaries in eight New Jersey counties and Rockland, authorities said. Investigators armed with a search warrant found proceeds from one of the burglaries in a Mercedes-Benz GL 450 that Keith Perry, 38, of Teaneck crashed in March, state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said. Perry was identified as a burglar who threatened an Englewood homeowner by "making a motion with his hand inside his sweatshirt as though he had a gun" and saying…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Feds: NJ Drug Dealer Who Led High-Speed Chase Moved 15 Kilos Of Heroin, Had $400K Cash Feds: NJ Drug Dealer Who Led High-Speed Chase Moved 15 Kilos Of Heroin, Had $400K Cash
Feds: NJ Drug Dealer Who Led High-Speed Chase Moved 15 Kilos Of Heroin, Had $400K Cash A large-scale drug trafficker from Somerset County who led investigators on a high-speed chase was dealing major quantities of heroin laced with deadly fentanyl, federal authorities said. William T. Bouza, 46, of Watchung, initially eluded police during a chase but was captured a week later, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Authorities targeted Bouza after intercepting 33 pounds of heroin stashed in a secret compartment of a Mercedes shipped to New Jersey from California on a car carrier in February 2019, authorities said. Bouza was waiting for the drugs in Union but bolted afte…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
LAWSUITS: 9 More Men Accuse North Jersey Shop Teacher Robert Goodlin Of Sex Assault LAWSUITS: 9 More Men Accuse North Jersey Shop Teacher Robert Goodlin Of Sex Assault
Lawsuits: 9 More Men Accuse North Jersey Shop Teacher Robert Goodlin Of Sex Assault A New Jersey shop teacher previously accused of sexually assaulting a pair of students is facing similar accusations from nine more men, NJ.com reports. The suits were filed in Union and Hudson Superior Courts against Robert Goodlin, who is incarcerated at the Adult Diagnostic Treatment Center in Avenel. In 2019, Goodlin was convicted of sexually assaulting a pair of students at Battin Middle School in Elizabeth, where he taught from 1993 to 2004. Two of the latest suits come from former Elizabeth students, while seven were students in Secaucus -- where Goodlin taught in the 1980s, NJ.com…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
NJ Tax Preparer Gets 5 Years In Fed Pen For $1.6M IRS Scam NJ Tax Preparer Gets 5 Years In Fed Pen For $1.6M IRS Scam
NJ Tax Preparer Gets 5 Years In Fed Pen For $1.6M IRS Scam A twice-convicted tax preparer who helped New Jersey clients scam the IRS out of $1.6 million is headed to federal prison for the next five years. Joseph Kenny Batts, 52, of Elkridge, MD became the third of five men sentenced for preparing bogus tax returns at Tax Pro’s and Tax Solutions & Associates in Essex and Union counties. Batts, who already had a federal tax fraud conviction on his record, was the only one of the group to go to trial. U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp convicted him of conspiracy to defraud the United States, as well as five counts of aiding in preparing fals…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
NJ Contractor Admits Using Check Casher To Duck $1.7M In Federal Taxes NJ Contractor Admits Using Check Casher To Duck $1.7M In Federal Taxes
NJ Contractor Admits Using Check Casher To Duck $1.7M In Federal Taxes A Union County contractor admitted cheating the federal government out of $1.7 million in personal and corporate income taxes. Olger Fallas, 49, of Union, told a U.S. District Court judge in Newark via videoconference this week that he used a check-cashing business to pocket payments form customers to his Essex County companies, Olger Fallas Painting and Olger Fallas Properties. He also admitted depositing hundreds of thousands of dollars in customer payments into bank accounts that weren’t associated with either business. Rather than go to trial, Fallas accepted a deal from the governmen…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
National Eyeglass, Contacts Retailer Accused Of Discriminating Against Pregnant NJ Employee National Eyeglass, Contacts Retailer Accused Of Discriminating Against Pregnant NJ Employee
National Eyeglass, Contacts Retailer Accused Of Discriminating Against Pregnant NJ Employee A discount vision retailer with stores throughout New Jersey discriminated against a now-former employee by switching her to part time and not providing a suitable place to pump breast milk after she had a baby, a state civil rights complaint alleges. Jalaia Hill says in a state civil rights complaint that her health coverage was eliminated by the sudden position switch from full to part time when she returned from maternity leave to the America’s Best Contacts & Eyeglasses store in Burlington. America’s Best also “failed to reasonably accommodate her request for a place to express brea…

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by Jerry DeMarco