Kidnappers Owed Drug Money Kept Victim Tied In U-Haul For Hours In NJ: Police Kidnappers Owed Drug Money Kept Victim Tied In U-Haul For Hours In NJ: Police
Kidnappers Owed Drug Money Kept Victim Tied In U-Haul For Hours In NJ: Police A woman was arrested for kidnapping and two suspects remain at-large as Secaucus police continue their investigation into the sale of narcotics at motels in the town, authorities said.  Police found one member of an illicit drug distribution ring was kidnapped at knifepoint in Jersey City in June 2023, since he owed Erica Festino, another member of the drug ring, money, police said. The victim was bound and driven around Hudson County in the back of a U-Haul truck for hours and robbed of cash and personal items, police said. He was eventually released, police said.  Festino was ar…
Theft Of Drugs From Bergen Prosecutor's Evidence Room Centers On Veteran Detective: Sources Theft Of Drugs From Bergen Prosecutor's Evidence Room Centers On Veteran Detective: Sources
Theft Of Drugs From Bergen Prosecutor's Evidence Room Centers On Veteran Detective: Sources A ranking detective with the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office is at the center of an investigation by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office into the sale of several kilos worth of drugs stolen from an evidence room, multiple sources said. At least one arrest was expected as part of what sources say was an undercover sting involving the New Jersey State Police that led to the theft and sale of more than a dozen kilos of narcotics that had been seized as evidence. An investigation was confirmed -- without elaboration -- by both agencies. Neither has publicly identified the department vet…
29 Charged, $1.5 Million In Drugs Seized In Massive Berks County Raid: DA 29 Charged, $1.5 Million In Drugs Seized In Massive Berks County Raid: DA
29 Charged, $1.5 Million In Drugs Seized In Massive Berks County Raid: DA Several dozen people face criminal charges and a purported $1.5 million in drugs have been seized as part of "Operation Knockout" in Berks County, according to District Attorney John T. Adams' Office.  The operation targeted a "large-scale drug trafficking organization" based in and around Reading with alleged ties to "a Mexican cartel," said prosecutors.  Police said they began investigating individual dealers in early 2023 but sought court approval for electronic surveillance after they "determined that these individuals were part of an even larger organization." …
BUSTED: Feds Charge NJ Pair With Selling Five Guns, Fentanyl, Coke to CI BUSTED: Feds Charge NJ Pair With Selling Five Guns, Fentanyl, Coke to CI
Busted: Feds Charge NJ Pair With Selling Five Guns, Fentanyl, Coke to CI Two Newark men were nabbed after illegally selling five guns to an undercover operative working for the government, authorities said. One of them, Carlo M. De Leon De Jesus, 26, peddled four of the firearms and also sold fentanyl and cocaine, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said. The Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms and Explosives conducted three controlled buys from DeJesus from this past July through September, the U.S. attorney said. The conversations were secretly recorded, he said, as the confidential informant bought: a Glock 19 pistol for $1,500 in cash; an E…
Feds Bust Bergen Doc For Prescribing Tens Of Thousands Of Oxy Pills For Fake Patients Feds Bust Bergen Doc For Prescribing Tens Of Thousands Of Oxy Pills For Fake Patients
Feds Bust Bergen Doc For Prescribing Tens Of Thousands Of Oxy Pills For Fake Patients A doctor from Hillsdale was arrested by federal agents for prescribing oxycodone for illegal use from her Paterson office, authorities said. Phony patients for whom Lisa Ferraro, 65, wrote scripts included two people who were locked up, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. They were among several “patients” who Sellinger said were “never physically examined or questioned about symptoms to determine whether there was a legitimate medical need for oxycodone.” Ferraro typically wrote prescriptions for 90 pills of 30mg of oxycodone per "patient," the U.S. attorney said. They were “typicall…
KILLING FIELDS: Another Dead, Two Wounded In Latest Paterson Shooting KILLING FIELDS: Another Dead, Two Wounded In Latest Paterson Shooting
Killing Fields: Another Dead, Two Wounded In Latest Paterson Shooting Paterson was already reeling from three fatal shootings in a single day when a 23-year-old Riverdale man was killed and a 19-year-old Elmwood Park man was critically wounded Tuesday in a hail of gunfire at one of the city's deadliest street corners. Gunfire erupted at Rosa Parks Boulevard and Godwin Avenue shortly before 4 p.m. Oct. 3. In addition to the dead and critically injured victims, a 57-year-old Paterson man took a bullet in the leg. He and the Elmwood Park teenager were being treated at St. Joseph's University Medical Center, where the third victim was pronounced dead. This…
Fugitive Seized At Newark Airport Gets Year In Prison For Each Of 5 Kilos Of Smuggled Coke Fugitive Seized At Newark Airport Gets Year In Prison For Each Of 5 Kilos Of Smuggled Coke
Fugitive Seized At Newark Airport Gets Year In Prison For Each Of 5 Kilos Of Smuggled Coke An international fugitive who spent more than a decade on the run before he was seized at Newark Airport was sentenced to five years in federal prison for having couriers smuggle more than five kilos of cocaine into the U.S. on a cruise ship. Dennis Edwards, a 38-year-old Guyanese citizen known as “Death,” had avoided capture after being indicted by a federal grand jury on conspiracy charges in 2012, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Authorities said he conspired to import cocaine from St. Maarten on a cruise ship. Edwards was seized by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents …
Feds Help Dismantle Meth, Fentanyl Ring In North Jersey: Cops Feds Help Dismantle Meth, Fentanyl Ring In North Jersey: Cops
Feds Help Dismantle Meth, Fentanyl Ring In North Jersey: Cops An investigation by multiple North Jersey police departments and the Department of Homeland Security led to the arrest of three men for running a meth and fentanyl ring on Wednesday, Sept. 20, authorities said. Nilo Ibarra, a 38-year-old Jersey City resident, Ramon Lopez Arias, a 32-year-old West New York resident and Alexander Sanchez-Castillo, a  37-year-old North Bergen resident were arrested following an operation conducted by the Secaucus Police Department, the Jersey City Police Department Street Crimes Unit and the North Bergen Police Department, Secaucus Police Chief Dennis Mill…
Ex-Atlantic City Basketball Star Admits Hiring Hit Man: Prosecutor Ex-Atlantic City Basketball Star Admits Hiring Hit Man: Prosecutor
Ex-Atlantic City Basketball Star Admits Hiring Hit Man: Prosecutor A 34-year-old Atlantic City convict has pleaded guilty to hiring another man to commit murder, authorities said. Khalif Toombs was sentenced on Thursday, Sept. 14 in connection with the shooting death of Lamir King, 21, also of Atlantic City, according to the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office. Toombs pleaded guilty to first-degree conspiracy to commit murder, the prosecutor said. Toombs at one point was best known as an Atlantic City High School basketball star who went on to play for South Carolina State University. The plea calls for Toombs to serve 12 years in New Jersey State P…
Federal Prison Awaits Fentanyl Dealer Who Rammed Undercover DEA Vehicle In NJ Federal Prison Awaits Fentanyl Dealer Who Rammed Undercover DEA Vehicle In NJ
Federal Prison Awaits Fentanyl Dealer Who Rammed Undercover DEA Vehicle In NJ A dealer from the Bronx who rammed a DEA vehicle in a failed attempt to flee a fentanyl bust n New Jersey followed his accomplice's lead and took a deal from the government rather than face trial. Miguel Nuñez, 50, pleaded guilty to fentanyl possession and resisting arrest with a deadly weapon during a hearing in U.S. District Court in Newark on Tuesday, Sept. 11, federal authorities said. Nuñez and Jesus Higuera-Parra, 28, of Ontario, California, drove from New York City to Elizabeth to sell the deadly drug on March 24, 2021, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said. T…
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…
Lakewood Man Charged With Dealing Cocaine, Heroin: Prosecutor Lakewood Man Charged With Dealing Cocaine, Heroin: Prosecutor
Lakewood Man Charged With Dealing Cocaine, Heroin: Prosecutor A 30-year-old man from Lakewood has been charged in connection with storing and selling cocaine and heroin/fentanyl in the Ocean County area, authorities said. Raheem Montgomery was charged with multiple drug and weapons offenses, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer. In a multi-jurisdiction investigation, Montgomery was placed under surveillance, the prosecutor said. On Aug. 3, detectives allegedly observed Montgomery exit a residence and travel to Point Pleasant; he stopped at a local gas station, where detectives approached and detained him without inciden…