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MAIL-ORDER METH: NJ Man Who Shipped 100 Pounds Gets 14+ Years In Fed Pen MAIL-ORDER METH: NJ Man Who Shipped 100 Pounds Gets 14+ Years In Fed Pen
Mail-order Meth: NJ Man Who Shipped 100 Pounds Gets 14+ Years In Fed Pen A New Jersey man who shipped more than 100 pounds of crystal meth for sale cross-country through the U.S. mail was sentenced to more than 14 years in federal prison as part of a plea deal. Michael Venditti, 39, of Camden, was arrested during a controlled delivery of a package in September 2021. It had been intercepted on its way from Calexico, a Southern California town at the Mexican border, federal authorities said. Inspectors got a warrant to open the package after a drug-detection dog reacted to its arrival at a South Jersey postal facility, they said. Inspectors swapped some of the m…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Federal Fort Lee Fentanyl Bust: Manhattan Man, 64, Could Get 10 Years Without Parole Federal Fort Lee Fentanyl Bust: Manhattan Man, 64, Could Get 10 Years Without Parole
Federal Fort Lee Fentanyl Bust: Manhattan Man, 64, Could Get 10 Years Without Parole A 64-year-old Manhattan man busted by federal Homeland Security agents for dealing nearly a pound of a drug mixture that contained fentanyl in Fort Lee took a guilty plea Tuesday rather than risk the outcome of a trial. U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo scheduled sentencing for June 21 after Jose Migel Cleto pleaded guilty in Newark on Jan. 31 to distribution and possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Cleto could still get 10 years, which has become a federal mandatory minimum for fentanyl trafficking -- a crime that prosecutors and j…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Feds: NY Ex-Con Who Tried To Get Loaded Gun By Newark Airport Security Gets 3 Years, No Parole Feds: NY Ex-Con Who Tried To Get Loaded Gun By Newark Airport Security Gets 3 Years, No Parole
Feds: NY Ex-Con Who Tried To Get Loaded Gun By Newark Airport Security Gets 3 Years, No Parole An ex-con from New York must spend the next three years in federal prison, with no parole, for trying to slip a loaded, stolen gun and lots of ammunition past a security checkpoint at Newark Airport. Desmond Herring, 48, of Newburgh made a beeline for his gate when a TSA officer staffing the checkpoint X-ray monitor found the loaded weapon -- along with boxes of ammo -- in his carry-on bag on Nov. 29, 2021, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said. Port Authority police collected the bag and examined its contents, the TSA said at the time. Along with the 9mm pistol were 10 rou…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Hudson Child Porn Collector Gets 9 Years In Fed Pen Hudson Child Porn Collector Gets 9 Years In Fed Pen
Hudson Child Porn Collector Gets 9 Years In Fed Pen A Jersey City man was sentenced to nine years in federal prison Thursday for collecting child porn. Benigno Gonzalez-Mendoza, 37, will have to serve just about all of the sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. Gonzalez-Mendoza "knowingly received images and videos of child sexual abuse, including videos of adults sexually abusing prepubescent children," U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. These included one of a girl believed to between 4 and 6 years old, an FBI complaint on file in U.S. District Court in Newark says. Rather than face trial, Gonzalez-Mendoza …

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Dealer Who Sold Jersey Shore Woman Fatal Dose Of Heroin Gets 15 Years Without Parole In Fed Pen Dealer Who Sold Jersey Shore Woman Fatal Dose Of Heroin Gets 15 Years Without Parole In Fed Pen
Dealer Who Sold Jersey Shore Woman Fatal Dose Of Heroin Gets 15 Years Without Parole In Fed Pen A drug dealer who substituted fentanyl for heroin, killing a Jersey Shore woman, must spend more than 15 years in federal prison. Quasaan Bethea, 35, of Trenton, will have to serve out just about all of his plea-bargained 188-month sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. The 39-year-old Englishtown victim bought the fatal dose – in a package stabbed “CAMEL” – from Bethea and Tarashanna Blake in May 2018, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Englishtown police who responded to a report of an overdose death soon after found several folds of “CAMEL” and some em…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Feds: NJ Uber Carjacker Gets 8 Years Without Parole Feds: NJ Uber Carjacker Gets 8 Years Without Parole
Feds: NJ Uber Carjacker Gets 8 Years Without Parole A Union County man who dragged a female Uber driver from her vehicle and threw her to the ground during a carjacking must spend the next seven years in federal prison. Rakeem McNair, 22, of Roselle, joined Raquin Tanner, 26, of Newark in taking a deal from the government rather than risk trial. Both he and Tanner -- who got 6½ years -- must serve out just about all of their plea-bargained sentences because there's no parole in the federal prison system. The victim was in the driver’s seat of her parked car on Summer Avenue in Newark around 11 p.m. Aug. 13, 2019 when Tanner, McNair and anot…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Feds: Hunterdon County Man, 48, Pleads Guilty To Receiving, Possessing Child Porn Feds: Hunterdon County Man, 48, Pleads Guilty To Receiving, Possessing Child Porn
Feds: Hunterdon County Man, 48, Pleads Guilty To Receiving, Possessing Child Porn A 48-year-old Hunterdon County man admitted in court Wednesday to receiving and possessing child pornography, authorities said. Daniel Murphy, of Lebanon, pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography in Trenton federal court, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said in a release. Murphy received and possessed images depicting the sexual abuse of minors, Honig said. Child pornography receipt and possession charges carry a maximum penalty of 40 and 20 years in prison and fines totaling $250,000 each, respectively, Honig said. …

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by Valerie Musson