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Saturday, dec 21
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Dominican Republic
Sports
Biggest Player Contract Ever In Sports: NY Yankees' Juan Soto Signs With Rival Mets For $765M
It's truly one for the books. New York Yankees free agent right fielder Juan Soto has reportedly agreed to a $765 million, 15-year deal to go crosstown and join the rival Mets. It's the largest deal in pro sports history, with no deferred money, a $75 million signing bonus, and an opt-out after five seasons, according to mlb.com. The signing represents a bold move for Mets owner Steve Cohen in his quest to build a championship-caliber team. He outbid not only the Yankees but also Soto's other suitors: the Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Toronto Blue Jays. News…
Police & Fire
New Details Released In Grisly Kitchen Floor Murder Of NJ Wife Seeking Divorce
New details are coming to light in the murder of a 40-year-old New Jersey mother in front of her kids, one of whom tried to save her, police papers show. On Friday, Oct. 4, a Middlesex County Superior Court Judge ordered Wellington Leonardo, 45, jailed pending his trial in the stabbing death of his wife, Rosanna Rodriguez, on the kitchen floor of their Perth Amboy home, in front of their children, according to News12 and MyCenralJersey, and police papers obtained by Daily Voice. Appearing over video link, Leonardo sobbed as the recording of the 911 call was played, News12 says. In the recor…
Police & Fire
Former NJ Child Services Caseworker Admits Collecting Kid Porn
𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: A 57-year-old former caseworker for the New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency admitted collecting images of victims as young as toddlers being sexually abused, federal authorities said. Authorities found images on his cellphone after Trent Collier, 57, of Kearny, arrived at Newark Airport on a flight from the Dominican Republic, U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said. Collier was targeted because he'd apparently exchanged images on the phone while out of the country, investigators said. He ended up taking a deal from the government rather than risking the potential ou…
Lifestyle
Childhood Dreams Come True: Watch NJ 20-Something Siblings On 'Amazing Race'
A pair of New Jersey siblings will be competing on the latest season of "The Amazing Race" on CBS. Maya Mody, 20, and Rohan Mody, 23, both students from Monmouth Junction, will be participating the in 36th race around the sun, premiering Wednesday, March 13. "This was a dream we both have shared since we were kids and still cannot believe that we get to call ourselves racers," the siblings said on Instagram. Maya is a junior at the University of Pittsburgh, where she made Dean's List last fall. Rohan graduated Magna Cum Laude from George Washington University with his bachelor's in neurosc…
Police & Fire
They Steal Your Heart, Then Steal Your Money: Romance Scammers Make It Look Easy
It's heartbreaking to discover that someone you've become enamored with online isn't into you, but it’s even worse to realize that person just made off with $3,500 of your money. That’s what happened to a Glen Rock resident who ended up wiring the dough to a sweet talker in the Dominican Republic. Suffice to say: It wasn’t coming back. Although $3,500 is a significant sum to some, it’s couch cushion change compared with the $450,000 in crypto lost last year by another romance scam victim from Glen Rock. According to the Federal Trade Commission, a staggering $1.3 BILLION was lost by 70,000…
Police & Fire
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 …
News
Hudson County Man Admits Getting Kids, Dad To Send Homemade Porn That He Shared On Social
A Union City man admitted getting two underage victims and a pedophile dad in the Dominican Republic to send him homemade child porn that he then shared on social media, federal authorities said. Posing as a teenage boy, Ramon Zelaya, 36, used an Instagram account to persuade a minor to send him a "revealing" photo, then used that to "entice, threaten, and coerce" the victim into sending him sexually explicit videos and other images, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Zelaya also conspired with an unidentified individual in the Dominican Republic on Facebook to sexually abuse that pers…
News
International Fugitive Wanted In Five-Kilo Cocaine Importing Ring Seized At Newark Airport
An international fugitive wanted for having couriers smuggle more than five kilos of cocaine into the U.S. on a cruise ship was seized at Newark Airport after a decade on the run, federal authorities announced. A federal magistrate judge ordered that Dennis "Death" Edwards, a 38-year-old Guyanese national, remain held without bail following a brief hearing in Newark on Tuesday, Nov. 15. Edwards had avoided capture since 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. Maar…
News
Netflix Is About To Start Charging You To Share Your Password
Sharing your Netflix password will soon come with a price. Starting in early 2023, Netflix will allow only one "home account" and charge for every "sub account" added to that account — up to five, the company announced. The new payment plan was rolled out as an experiment in Argentina, Dominican Republic, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, where customers paid $2.99 to add a sub account. Netflix did not immediately say how much sub accounts will cost Americans.
News
Heavy Luggage: Ringleader Gets 10 Years For Smuggling 330 Pounds Of Coke Into Teterboro Airport
A Puerto Rican resident who coordinated a private shipment of more than 300 pounds of cocaine into Teterboro Airport is headed to federal prison for a mandatory 10 years. Mariano Enrique Arroyo Perez – also known as “Humilde” – took a deal from the government rather than risk a trial. He’ll have to serve out the entire plea-bargained term because there’s no parole in the federal prison system. The scheme involved smuggling more than a quarter-ton of cocaine into the United States on private planes flying into the small local airport in Bergen County from 2017 through July 2019, U.S. Attorne…
News
Gotcha
! Fugitive Cocaine Dealer Captured In DR, Returned To NJ After 15 Years On Run
A cocaine dealer who fled the country after being sentenced to federal prison time 15 years ago has been returned to New Jersey following her capture in the Dominican Republic, authorities said. Ramona Cruz will have to serve out the entire 3½-year sentence because there’s no parole in the federal prison system. Cruz and her brother, Ramon DeJesus, were busted in 2005 with more than 6½ pounds of cocaine that had been flown in through Newark Airport by an unidentified associate from the DR, authorities said. DeJesus took a deal from the government rather than face trial, pleading guilty to…
News
Feds: NJ Family Services Caseworker Busted With Child Porn Tried To Traffic Minor For Sex
UPDATE: A now-former New Jersey child services worker who was busted on child porn charges at Newark Airport nearly a year ago also tried to traffic a minor for prostitution, federal authorities said they've learned. Trent Collier, a 56-year-old onetime "family service specialist" for the state Division of Child Protection and Permanency, had arrived on a flight from the Dominican Republic last October when images of child pornography were found on his cellphone, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. "One image depicts a fully nude prepubescent boy and fully nude prepubescent girl on…
Police & Fire
Motorcyclist Killed In Central Jersey Crash Was Aspiring Mechanic
Nelisson De La Rosa was just more than a year out of high school and had a bright future ahead of him, those who knew him said. He was an aspiring mechanic and, no matter the circumstance, had a positive attitude. The 19-year-old Franklin Township resident died in a Somerset crash Wednesday, July 20, leaving his single dad to grieve the loss of yet another son. More than $6,800 had been raised as of Thursday, July 21 on a GoFundMe to help bring his body to the Dominican Republic, where his mother lives. De La Rosa collided with a Toyota Camry turning left on Easton Avenue …
News
Passaic County Man Admits Laundering More Than $2.8 Million For International Drug Cartels
UPDATE: A Passaic County man admitted laundering more than $2.8 million in drug cash for international cartels operating in New Jersey and New York, authorities announced. Enmanuel Nunez-Reyes, 29, of Paterson became the fifth of six county residents charged in the case to take a deal from the government rather than face trial. Nunez-Reyes told a federal judge in Newark via videoconference that he accepted more than $2.8 million in cash and bought more than 100 cashier’s checks at local bank branches in New Jersey and elsewhere, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. It was all "part of …
News
Fugitive Dubbed 'Real-Life Tony Soprano' Couldn't Hide From The Law, Even In Death
He was considered one of the last of the old-time mobsters, a "real-life Tony Soprano" listed as one of New Jersey's most wanted fugitives. Even six feet under, though, Tony Mota couldn't evade his pursuers. After eluding capture for nearly 25 years for a gruesome murder committed in Hudson County, Anthony Mota was found buried in the country where he was born, the Dominican Republic. Mota had been collecting debts for high-level Colombian drug dealers in New York City when he and a group of accomplices abducted a Queens man on Dec. 13, 1997, authorities said. The victim, 38-year-old …
Obituaries
Suburban Philly Native Dies Suddenly In Dominican Republic
Brianna Tiffany London, of Rincon, Puerto Rico, and formerly of North Wales, PA, died suddenly on May 13 in the Dominican Republic. She was 29 years old. London had her own clothing and fashion line, her obituary said. She was remembered for her "love of life, vibrant energy, and disarming humor," among other qualities. More than $7,300 had been raised as of Friday, July 8 on a GoFundMe for her family. London is survived by her husband Tom Wegs, mom Naomi London, sister Brooke Ashley London, grandparents, Barbara Gugliotta Leute and George Leute, and great-grandmother Eileen A. Leute. Fu…
News
NJ Man Tried Sneaking 30 Pounds Of Cocaine Through MD Airport In Electric Wheelchair: Feds
A high-rolling New Jersey man was dealt a bad hand after being busted by federal officials in a Maryland airport attempting to traffic more than 30 pounds of cocaine into the country. Union City, NJ resident Gabriel Ruiz, 34, was arrested by members of the Maryland Transportation Authority Police Department when investigators called his bluff and seized cocaine that was concealed inside his electric wheelchair at the Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshal Airport. Ruiz was busted on Monday, June 20, and charged with state felony narcotics importation and possession charges on…
Police & Fire
Revenge
Murder
: Convict In NJ Woman's Burning Death Gets Life In Prison
A New Hampshire man convicted of murder in the gruesome Massachusetts death of a New Jersey native has been sentenced to life in prison without parole, WCVB reports. Julian Squires, 48, from Manchester, was found guilty on charges of murder and kidnapping for his role in the Nov. 3, 2015 killing of Ashley Bortner, 29, of Paulsboro, the Plymouth County District Attorney's Office previously said. Bortner was found gagged by clothing with her hands and feet tied behind her back, with burns over more than 70 percent of her body on railroad tracks. She had apparently been staying with …
News
'Goodfellas' Actor With Deep NJ Roots, Ray Liotta, 67, Dies Suddenly: TMZ
Star of television and film Ray Liotta died at the age of 67, according to multiple media outlets. EXCLUSIVE DETAILS: Ray Liotta Has Died. He Was 67. R.I.P. https://t.co/WsskKD7qUE — TMZ (@TMZ) May 26, 2022 Liotta's New Jersey roots run deep. He was born in St. Michael's Hospital in Newark in 1954 and spent his first six months at an orphanage there before he was adopted by a couple from Union Township. His father owned an auto parts store and his mom was a municipal clerk. Liotta got his BFA from Miami University before moving to New York City, where he took work as a bartender befo…
News
Yankees Miguel Andujar Beaten, Robbed At Gunpoint In Dominican Republic
New York Yankees utility player Miguel Andujar was beaten and robbed at gunpoint at his farm in the Dominican Republic, according to multiple reports. Andjuar, 27, wasn't struck by three bullets fired by the robbers, who stole a $7,000 watch and his father's SUV, ESPN Deportes reported. The vehicle was later found abandoned, authorities said. Andujar was hospitalized in stable condition following the robbery Wednesday, March 9, in San Cristóbal, according to Listin Diario. The 2018 Rookie of the Year runner-up was still expected to report for spring training with the Yankees in Tampa, Fl…
News
Feds: Smuggler Who Imported Ton Of Cocaine Into US Gets 15 Years Without Parole
A man who authorities said imported almost a ton of cocaine into the United States from Venezuela, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic was sentenced in federal court in Newark to a plea-bargained federal prison term of nearly 15 years, authorities said. Edwin “Tortuga” Nieves-Rosado, a 56-year-old U.S. citizen who was living in the Dominican Republic, must serve just about all of the sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. Nieves-Rosado "played a managerial role" in conspiring to smuggle the cocaine from with at least five other people from 2016 through January, 20…
News
Man Admits Role In NJ/NY Network That Laundered $27M For International Drug Cartels
The takedown of a New Jersey and New York network that laundered more than $27 million for Central and South American drug cartels has produced another guilty plea, federal authorities announced. Gilberto Martinez, 33, formerly of Clifton, "cleaned" more than $1 million himself, both by buying and directing others to buy cashier's checks using drug money, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Morristown police helped the DEA and IRS crack the case, in which more than 1,000 cashier’s checks were bought, he said. The buyers typically were paid a fee of $150 to $200 for each check…
News
Paterson Man Admits Laundering $1.94 Million For Drug Cartels
A Paterson man admitted in federal court on Friday that he laundered nearly $2 million for Central and South American drug cartels operating in New Jersey and New York, authorities said. Julio De La Cruz Acosta, 42, accepted the cash to buy 67 cashier’s checks at banks in and around New Jersey and elsewhere, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. He was one of a half-dozen residents from the area accused of laundering more than $27 million for the cartels, Sellinger said. Morristown police helped the DEA and IRS crack the case, in which the defendants and other conspirators converted cash…
News
'Heavy Luggage' Bust: Puerto Rican Man Admits Plot To Smuggle 330 Pounds Of Coke Into Teterboro
A Puerto Rican resident admitted coordinating a private shipment of more than 300 pounds of cocaine into Teterboro Airport, federal authorities said. Mariano Enrique Arroyo Perez, 29, took a deal from the government rather than risk a trial, pleading guilty Tuesday in federal court in Newark to conspiring to distribute five or more kilos of coke, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. The conspiracy unraveled after four men not on the manifest boarded a private Teterboro-bound plane in Puerto Rico with "particularly heavy" luggage, raising the pilots' suspicions, Honig said. Investiga…
News
9 Charged With Stealing $1.3M Worth of Vehicles In NJ, NY, PA, CT, MA, Shipping Them Overseas
An international ring of identity thieves stole $1.3 million worth of vehicles and watercraft from dealerships in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts using fraudulently obtained digital driver's licenses, authorities charged. Nine defendants used the stolen identities of U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico -- along with fake Puerto Rico driver’s licenses, Social Security cards, debit cards and birth certificates -- to obtain the licenses from motor vehicle agencies in Jersey City and North Bergen, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck said. They used thos…
News
Feds: Passaic County Duo Admits Laundering $4 Million For International Drug Cartels
Two Passaic County men admitted in federal court that they laundered nearly $4 million in drug cash for international cartels operating in New Jersey and New York, authorities announced. Erickson Checo-Almonte, 31 of Passaic, and Jordano Abreu-Diaz, 24 of Clifton, were among six defendants charged in the operation. Morristown police helped the DEA and IRS crack the case, in which those involved converted cash from drug sales in the two states to more than 1,000 cashier’s checks, Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Rachael Honig said. The checks were then sent to brokers “acting on behalf o…
News
Feds: NJ Family Services Caseworker Busted With Child Porn At Newark Airport
A New Jersey child services worker was busted on child porn charges following a search of his cellphone and laptop at Newark Airport, federal authorities said. Trent Collier, a 55-year-old "family service specialist" for the state Division of Child Protection and Permanency, had arrived on a flight from the Dominican Republic last week when his luggage was searched, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael Honig said. "Law enforcement" officers conducting forensic searches of both devices found "at least two images of child pornography depicting the genitals of prepubescent children," according to a co…
Police & Fire
Feds: Paterson Man Admits Laundering $2.5 Million For International Drug Cartels
A Paterson man admitted Tuesday that he laundered more than $2.5 million for Central and South American drug cartels operating in New Jersey and New York, federal authorities said. Willy Cruz-Bonilla, 24, was among six Passaic County residents charged in a massive network that converted nearly $27 million in ill-gotten gains to more than 1,000 checks sent to the Dominican Republic, Colombia and elsewhere, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael Honig said. The scheme was "designed to conceal the nature, source, ownership, and control of the illegal drug proceeds in order to avoid scrutiny by law enfor…
News
Grandparent Scam: Here’s How Pair From PA, NY Stole $300,000 From Elderly Victims Across US
At least 50 elderly victims across the United States were conned out of more than $300,000 by a ring of grandparent scammers who included a Pennsylvania woman and New York City man who confessed in federal court. Jacqueline Velazquez, 37, of Reading, and Daniel Duran, 33, of Queens played key roles in the phone and email-based scheme, Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams said. Here’s how it worked, Williams said: Co-schemers based in the Dominican Republic called elderly victims throughout the U.S. Posing as a grandchild, or the grandchild’s attorney, they claimed they’d been j…
Business
'I Wanted To Be Somebody': Bergen County Barber Achieves American Dream With New Mobile Shop
Cutting hair has always come naturally to 29-year-old Bergen County barber Starlyn Delgado. He first learned how as a kid, when he moved to Brooklyn from the Dominican Republic and spent time visiting his dad's friend's barbershop in Brooklyn. By the time he was in middle school, Delgado was giving shape-ups to his friends. And when he moved to New Jersey, he began working at Top Cutz in Hasbrouck Heights. "My family didn't come to the U.S. just for me to be somebody else," said Delgado, a dad of two from Hackensack. "I wanted to be somebody -- I wanted to be successful." The COVID-19 p…
News
Passaic Man, Dominican National In 13-Pound Video-Recorded Coke Bust Sent To Fed Pen
A Passaic man and a Dominican national – both 60 years old – have been sentenced to federal prison terms for their roles in trafficking 13 pounds of cocaine. Cellphone video captured the DEA arrest of Ramon “Rafael” Fabian-Pena in January 2020. A U.S. District Court judge in Newark sentenced Fabian-Pena to 2½ years in federal prison during a videoconference last week, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. On Thursday, the judge sentenced Jose Reyes of the Dominican Republican to nearly six years, she said. Both must serve just about all of their terms because there’s no parole in t…
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