Jersey Shore Bookie Admits Running Own ‘Pick Six’ Lottery, Cash Prizes Topped $100,000 Jersey Shore Bookie Admits Running Own ‘Pick Six’ Lottery, Cash Prizes Topped $100,000
Jersey Shore Bookie Admits Running Own ‘Pick Six’ Lottery, Cash Prizes Topped $100,000 A Jersey Shore bookmaker admitted in federal court on Tuesday that he operated his own lottery game in Hudson County using the numbers from the New Jersey Lottery Pick Six to award winners. Up to 8,000 participants at a time selected six numbers from 1 to 49 at $20 a pop, Edward O’Neill, 54, told a U.S. District Court judge in Newark. The sole winner of the illegal lottery was whoever matched all six numbers selected in the official Pick Six drawing. Prizes often exceeded $100,000, said O’Neill, of Beachwood, who skimmed a 10% vig off the total bets. Like bookies of days past, O’Neill per…
Female Passenger On Flight To Newark Groped By NY Man With Criminal History, Feds Charge Female Passenger On Flight To Newark Groped By NY Man With Criminal History, Feds Charge
Female Passenger On Flight To Newark Groped By NY Man With Criminal History, Feds Charge An upstate New York man groped a fellow passenger on a flight from Denver to Newark, federal authorities charged. Ryan Manuella, 28, of Erie County “moved to a vacant center seat next to a female passenger, who was sitting in a window seat” late last week, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said Monday. Honig said Manuella, who didn't know the woman, then “touched her on the groin and inner thigh without her permission,” Honig said. Manuella was charged in Nevada last year with a domestic violence assault, record show. The Cheektowaga resident also got into a struggle in 2017 with…
CAPITOL RIOT: Oath Keeper Becomes First To Plead Guilty, Sentence Depends On Cooperation CAPITOL RIOT: Oath Keeper Becomes First To Plead Guilty, Sentence Depends On Cooperation
Capitol Riot: Oath Keeper Becomes First To Plead Guilty, Sentence Depends On Cooperation One hundred days after the riot at the U.S. Capitol, a lifetime member of the Oath Keepers who plays in a metal band admitted Friday that he breached the building in a tactical vest and armed with bear repellent. Rather than face trial, Jon Schaffer, 53, of Columbus, Indiana, took a deal from the government, pleading guilty unlawfully entering the Capitol to obstruct Congress’ certification of the U.S. presidential election results.  The conviction could get the Iced Earth guitarist sent to federal prison for up to four years -- or more -- depending on how much he helps prosecuto…
Central Jersey Man Arrested For Storming US Capitol, Spraying Chemical At Officers Central Jersey Man Arrested For Storming US Capitol, Spraying Chemical At Officers
Central Jersey Man Arrested For Storming US Capitol, Spraying Chemical At Officers Another New Jersey resident has been arrested in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, authorities said. Christopher Joseph Quaglin of North Brunswick was arrested on Wednesday on charges of assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers or employees, civil disorder and obstruction of official proceeding. Quaglin is accused of organizing and leading the assault on the Capitol and its police officers, including spraying a chemical irritant at those trying to stop the rioters, authorities said. ALSO SEE: NJ Congresswoman sues Donald Trump and former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani for "inc…
Armed Robber From Trenton Who Was Shot By Undercover Fed Hit With Heavier Charges Armed Robber From Trenton Who Was Shot By Undercover Fed Hit With Heavier Charges
Armed Robber From Trenton Who Was Shot By Undercover Fed Hit With Heavier Charges An armed robber from Trenton thought he’d found an easy victim in a would-be gun buyer – only it turned out to be an undercover agent who shot him instead, authorities said. Members of a federally-led task force were investigating gun trafficking and other crimes when Jabree Johnson, 28, got into the undercover agent’s car at the Krauszer’s on Greenwood Avenue in Hamilton Township on March 22, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Johnson handed over a semi-automatic handgun that the agent inspected before returning it and asking to see others, Honig said Friday. At that point, Johns…
FBI: Middlesex Man Admits Trying To Torch Trenton Police Car Following Floyd Protest FBI: Middlesex Man Admits Trying To Torch Trenton Police Car Following Floyd Protest
FBI: Middlesex Man Admits Trying To Torch Trenton Police Car Following Floyd Protest UPDATE: A Middlesex County man admitted Tuesday that he stuffed a rag into the gas tank of a police cruiser and set it on fire during a riot in Trenton following what had been a peaceful protest last year over the death of George Floyd. Justin Spry, 22, of South Plainfield took a deal from the government rather than go to trial, becoming the second of three men involved in the incident to admit their roles. Spry originally tried claiming on Twitter that he was brutalized by police, but federal authorities produced surveillance video showing otherwise. “Law enforcement officers on scene ob…
Armed Robber From Jersey City Gets 14 Years-Plus In Fed Pen For Pennsylvania Holdup Armed Robber From Jersey City Gets 14 Years-Plus In Fed Pen For Pennsylvania Holdup
Armed Robber From Jersey City Gets 14 Years-Plus In Fed Pen For Pennsylvania Holdup A federal judge in Philadelphia sentenced a New Jersey man to a plea-bargained 14 years and nine months in prison for robbing a Pennsylvania gas station convenience store with a sawed-off rifle. Brandon Garcia, 22, of Jersey City, poked one Allentown Speedway station employee with the gun as he ordered him to “get down!” while demanding cash and Newports during one of the robberies on March 28, 2017, Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams said. A good Samaritan who’d pulled in for gas saw Garcia all dressed in black with his hood up and holding a gun, so he dialed 911. The citize…
SEEN HIM? FBI Seeks Public's Help Finding Accused Fugitive Killer, 20, From Paterson SEEN HIM? FBI Seeks Public's Help Finding Accused Fugitive Killer, 20, From Paterson
Seen HIM? FBI Seeks Public's Help Finding Accused Fugitive Killer, 20, From Paterson The FBI turned to the public for help catching a 20-year-old Paterson fugitive wanted for murder. Diego Alfonso De Leon Mejia gunned down Marco “Magoo” Bishop, 41, near the Delta service station at the corner of 25th Street and 21st Avenue around 1:30 a.m. May 16, 2019, authorities said. Responding officers found Bishop's body face down in the street on 25th Street. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Paterson detectives two weeks later obtained a warrant for DeLeon Mejia’s arrest for murder and weapons possession. Last week, a U.S. District Court judge in Newark issued a federal warran…
Feds: Teaneck Owner Of 70 Multi-Family Properties Admits $150M Bank Fraud Scheme Feds: Teaneck Owner Of 70 Multi-Family Properties Admits $150M Bank Fraud Scheme
Feds: Teaneck Owner Of 70 Multi-Family Properties Admits $150M Bank Fraud Scheme A Teaneck landlord admitted in federal court this week that he orchestrated a $150 million bank and securities fraud scheme that lasted nearly 10 years. Seth Levine, 52, told a U.S. District Court judge in Newark via teleconference that he and others pocketed cash they received by illegally refinancing 70 multi-family buildings containing nearly 2,500 apartments. Levine said he lied on refinancing applications about the rents collected, the number of apartments leased, expenses and the true owners of the complex, Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Rachael A. Honig said. That wasn’t all: L…
Convicted Murderer From Trenton Who Sold Gun, Extended Mag Gets 4 Years In Fed Pen Convicted Murderer From Trenton Who Sold Gun, Extended Mag Gets 4 Years In Fed Pen
Convicted Murderer From Trenton Who Sold Gun, Extended Mag Gets 4 Years In Fed Pen A convicted murderer from Trenton is headed to federal prison for four years for selling an illegal semi-automatic rifle and an extended magazine to a buyer who turned out to be a State Police cooperator. Edwin Gaines, 59, must serve all of the plea-bargained term approved Wednesday by a U.S. District Court judge in Trenton because there’s no parole in the federal prison system. U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan also sentenced Gaines to three years of supervised release under the terms of the deal. The former Jersey City ex-con was among dozens of gun- and drug-running gang members nab…
Illegal Immigrant Admits Raping Paterson Girl, 15, Taking Her Across State Lines Illegal Immigrant Admits Raping Paterson Girl, 15, Taking Her Across State Lines
Illegal Immigrant Admits Raping Paterson Girl, 15, Taking Her Across State Lines A deportee who'd been living illegally in Paterson after sneaking back into the country admitted Tuesday that he raped a 15-year-old city girl whom he convinced to travel out of state with him, federal authorities said. Juan Carlos Morales-Pedraza, a 34-year-old Mexican citizen, also pleaded guilty via video conference with a U.S. District Court judge in Newark to illegally re-entering the United States. The Ecuadoran-born Morales-Pedraza, who’d been deported in 2010, approached the girl in April 2019, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. After having sex with her, he took the girl …
Somerset Man Admits Flying To Philippines For Sex With Minor Somerset Man Admits Flying To Philippines For Sex With Minor
Somerset Man Admits Flying To Philippines For Sex With Minor A Somerset County man admitted that he flew to the Philippines to have sex with a minor he met online. James A. Diggs, 45, of Somerville, went there several times to have sex with four underage victims after arranging meetings online, federal authorities had charged. Rather than go to trial, Diggs took a deal from the government and pleaded guilty before a U.S. District Court judge in Trenton via teleconference Monday to traveling outside of the United States to engage in criminal sexual activity. Diggs first used an online messaging app to “persuade, induce, entice, and coerce” the first …