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Central Jersey Man Sexually Assaulted Two Children, Uploaded Pics On Dark Web: Feds Central Jersey Man Sexually Assaulted Two Children, Uploaded Pics On Dark Web: Feds
Central Jersey Man Sexually Assaulted Two Children, Uploaded Pics On Dark Web: Feds A Plainsboro man was accused of sexually assaulting two children and uploading pictures of the abuse on the dark web, authorities said. Anthony Lagotta Jr., 54, was charged with one count each of production and possession of child pornography, New Jersey's U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said in a news release on Tuesday, Aug. 20. He appeared in front of a federal judge and was detained. According to court documents and statements, Lagotta sexually assaulted two children and took photos of what happened about 15 years ago. He then uploaded 30 of the pictures to a child po…

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by Chris Spiker
News
Greedy Employee Manipulates Payroll To Steal $1.2M From Bergen County Company, Prosecutor Says Greedy Employee Manipulates Payroll To Steal $1.2M From Bergen County Company, Prosecutor Says
Greedy Employee Manipulates Payroll To Steal $1.2M From Bergen County Company, Prosecutor Says A Somerset County man is facing theft charges after manipulating his employer's payroll and employee reimbursement systems to steal $1.2 million over the course of several years, authorities in Bergen County said. Sang Park, 44, of Belle Mead used various internal payroll and expense systems to steal the $1.2 million from a Ridgefield Park company between 2018 and 2022, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. The alleged thefts came to light in December 2023, when they were reported to Ridgefield Park police, who notified the prosecutor's office's financial crimes unit, Musella sai…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Maintenance Worker Convicted Of Stealing $4,500, Smartwatch From Central Jersey Apartment Maintenance Worker Convicted Of Stealing $4,500, Smartwatch From Central Jersey Apartment
Maintenance Worker Convicted Of Stealing $4,500, Smartwatch From Central Jersey Apartment A maintenance worker at an Ocean County apartment complex was convicted of stealing more than $4,500 and a smartwatch from an apartment, authorities said. Troy Jones, 58, of Jackson Township, was found guilty by a jury on Wednesday, Mar. 20, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said in a news release. He was convicted after a nearly two-week trial. Jackson Township police responded to a reported theft at an apartment in the Gardens at Jackson Twenty-One complex on Chatham Court West on Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021. Officers found that when the apartment's residents returned home f…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
NJ Italian Restaurant Owner, 75, Faces Prison For Pocketing $500,000 In State Sales Taxes NJ Italian Restaurant Owner, 75, Faces Prison For Pocketing $500,000 In State Sales Taxes
NJ Italian Restaurant Owner, 75, Faces Prison For Pocketing $500,000 In State Sales Taxes The 75-year-old owner-operator of a New Jersey Italian restaurant faces up to three years in prison after admitting he stiffed the state out of nearly a half-million dollars in sales taxes over a period of nearly seven years. John Garofalo Sr. of Union Township – who owns Mario’s Tutto Bene restaurant in the township -- paid the outstanding $496,374.99 to the state as part of a plea deal that he hopes will get him leniency, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said. His assistants will recommend that Superior Court Judge Sherry L. Wilson send Garofalo to state prison for three years …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Georgia Woman Accused Of $184K Theft From Jersey Shore Law Firm: Prosecutor Georgia Woman Accused Of $184K Theft From Jersey Shore Law Firm: Prosecutor
Georgia Woman Accused Of $184K Theft From Jersey Shore Law Firm: Prosecutor A 55-year-old woman from Georgia is accused of stealing more than $184,000 from a Jersey Shore law firm when she served as a legal secretary, authorities said. Donna Frustieri, of Thunderbolt, Georgia, was charged last week with theft in connection with the unlawful taking of funds from an attorney trust account of a Point Pleasant law office, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer and Point Pleasant Borough Police Chief Adam Picca. Frustieri — in her capacity as a legal secretary at the law firm — had access to the financial instruments utilized by th…

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by Jon Craig
News
New Jerseyans Hurt In Railing Collapse File Lawsuit Against Washington Commanders New Jerseyans Hurt In Railing Collapse File Lawsuit Against Washington Commanders
New Jerseyans Hurt In Railing Collapse File Lawsuit Against Washington Commanders A handful of New Jersey football fans are suing the Washington Commanders over a nearly-fatal incident after a game in January 2021, as reported by various news outlets. After a game against the Philadelphia Eagles, quarterback Jalen Hurts was greeting fans when a railing collapsed, injuring multiple spectators who fell between five and 10 feet onto concrete at FedEx Field. Four of the individuals who were hurt in the incident are suing the Commanders for gross negligence, seeking $300,000 to compensate for their physical and emotional pain, ESPN says. Soon after the incident, Hurts asked …

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by AJ Goldbloom
News
Federal Convict Who Hatched $400,000 GoFundMe Scam Gets NJ Prison Time, Too Federal Convict Who Hatched $400,000 GoFundMe Scam Gets NJ Prison Time, Too
Federal Convict Who Hatched $400,000 GoFundMe Scam Gets NJ Prison Time, Too UPDATE: A New Jersey man already serving federal prison time for a GoFundMe scheme that conned 14,000 donors across the country out of $400,000 to purportedly benefit a homeless veteran got a state prison sentence, as well. The plea-bargained five-year term approved by a Superior Court judge in Mount Holly on Friday will run at the same time as the 27-month federal sentence that Mark D'Amico of Trenton received in April. The difference is that there's no parole in the federal prison system, which keeps D'Amico in the medium-security United States Penitentiary in Lewisburg, PA for more than…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Hackensack Man Jailed On Child Porn Charges Hackensack Man Jailed On Child Porn Charges
Hackensack Man Jailed On Child Porn Charges UPDATE: A Bergen County-based insurance underwriter for entertainers, athletes and corporate executives was released pending court action on child porn charges, records show. Matthew Heitman, 33, was arrested Thursday during a raid of his Hackensack home, Prosecutor Mark Musella said. The former Upper Saddle River resident "used the Internet to view, download, and possess more than 1,000 digital files and distributed multiple digital files depicting nude and/or sexually explicit prepubescent and pubescent children," the prosecutor said. Heitman was discovered during a "months-long Internet…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Authorities: NJ Mom Set Apartment On Fire Then Fled With 3 Kids To Perth Amboy Authorities: NJ Mom Set Apartment On Fire Then Fled With 3 Kids To Perth Amboy
Authorities: NJ Mom Set Apartment On Fire Then Fled With 3 Kids To Perth Amboy A Hillsborough mom was charged with intentionally starting three fires inside of her apartment before fleeing the scene to Perth Amboy with her three kids, authorities said. Hillsborough police got a 9-1-1 call around 11:10 p.m. April 20 for a fire at a Treeman Drive apartment, Somerset County Prosecutor Michael H. Robertson announced in a joint release. A neighbor told police she saw Jacklyn McLoughlin, 33, fleeing the unit where she lived with her kids just before fire companies and police responded, Robertson said. An investigation found that the fires were planned and deliber…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
'Want Rona?' Police Say Video Shows Morris Man Deliberately Coughing On Estranged Wife's Things 'Want Rona?' Police Say Video Shows Morris Man Deliberately Coughing On Estranged Wife's Things
'Want Rona?' Police Say Video Shows Morris Man Deliberately Coughing On Estranged Wife's Things A Morris County man was caught on surveillance video coughing on and touching objects in his estranged wife’s home, saying he had “the 'rona,” authorities charged. “Do you want the 'rona?” Nikolas Whitehill, 39, of Parsippany, is heard asking on the video, state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said. A court order allowed Whitehill to enter his wife’s house on alternating dates when she isn’t home to feed the fish, Grewal said. She provided video footage to the police from March 28, he added. Police charged Whitehill with violating an executive order issued by Gov. Phil Murphy that make …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Murphy Relents, Allows Gun Shops To Open Amid Coronavirus Crisis Murphy Relents, Allows Gun Shops To Open Amid Coronavirus Crisis
Murphy Relents, Allows Gun Shops To Open Amid Coronavirus Crisis Gun shops in New Jersey can now open as an essential business during the coronavirus outbreak -- but "by appointment only and under limited hours," Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday. Murphy originally classified gun shops as "non-essential" businesses required to be closed as part of an executive order. He changed that on Monday, saying that he was following U.S. Department of Homeland Security guidelines, which added gun dealers, ranges and manufacturers to its essential business guide for its coronavirus response on Saturday. “It wouldn’t be my definition, but that’s the definition at the fed…

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by Jon Craig
News
LAWSUIT: Leaked Shell Station Toxins Caused Cancer That Killed Northvale Girl LAWSUIT: Leaked Shell Station Toxins Caused Cancer That Killed Northvale Girl
Lawsuit: Leaked Shell Station Toxins Caused Cancer That Killed Northvale Girl The family of a late Northvale girl has filed a lawsuit alleging her deadly brain cancer was caused by a contaminant leak from a nearby gas station. Vivienne Knopp, 7, had been living at one of the homes in which toxic chemicals had seeped into the garden soil from an underground Shell station tank, NorthJersey.com reports. The lawsuit was filed last Thursday in Superior Court -- exactly two years after Vivienne's death - and names Shell Oil Co. and the station's owner, Tappan Realty. The Tappan Road gas station is one of the thousands of contaminated New Jersey sites on a list by the…

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by Cecilia Levine