Tag:

Extortion

$200G Shakedown Of Jersey Shore Dad Gets NYC Man 7 Years In Federal Prison $200G Shakedown Of Jersey Shore Dad Gets NYC Man 7 Years In Federal Prison
$200G Shakedown Of Jersey Shore Dad Gets NYC Man 7 Years In Federal Prison 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: A Brooklyn man who tried strong-arming a Jersey Shore resident into giving him and two accomplices $200,000 was sentenced Thursday to seven years in federal prison. Endrit Kllogjeri, 30, had been convicted of multiple extortion-related counts by U.S. District Court jurors in Trenton last June. A month earlier, co-defendant Francis Garzon pleaded guilty to extortion and conspiracy in connection with the 2019 scheme. Kllogjeri, Garzon and an unidentified co-conspirator tried to shake down the Monmouth County victim and his son, who lived in Brooklyn, with a ruse that they'd been wron…
GUILTY: ‘Bling Bishop’ From Bergen Convicted Of Swindling NJ Parishioner's Mom, More GUILTY: ‘Bling Bishop’ From Bergen Convicted Of Swindling NJ Parishioner's Mom, More
Guilty: ‘Bling Bishop’ From Bergen Convicted Of Swindling NJ Parishioner's Mom, More 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: A flashy Brooklyn bishop who lives in Bergen County – and was infamously robbed at gunpoint during a live-streamed church service – was convicted in lower Manhattan of swindling the elderly mom of a parishioner out of her life savings, among other counts. Lamor Whitehead, 45, promised to put the $90,000 toward buying her a home, federal prosecutors told jurors in the Southern U.S. District of New York who found him guilty of all charges after only three hours of deliberations on Monday, March 11. Instead, the infamous "Bling Bishop" blew the money on BMW payments and luxury purchase…
Feds: NY Man Who Shook Down Jersey Shore Dad For $200G Gets 10 Years, No Parole Feds: NY Man Who Shook Down Jersey Shore Dad For $200G Gets 10 Years, No Parole
Feds: NY Man Who Shook Down Jersey Shore Dad For $200G Gets 10 Years, No Parole UPDATE: A man who admitted trying to strong-arm a Jersey Shore resident into giving him and his accomplices $200,000 must spend the next decade in federal prison. Francis A. Garzon, 35, of Brooklyn, must serve the entire plea-bargained 121-month sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. Garzon and Endrit Kllogjeri, 28, were undone by an undercover detective posing as the Monmouth County victim. Garzon took a deal from the government, pleading guilty last July to conspiracy and extortion rather than risk the potential consequences of a trial conviction. Kllogjeri, me…
Ex-Jersey Shore Man Gets 20 Years, No Parole For Serial Threats Against Police, Judges, Others Ex-Jersey Shore Man Gets 20 Years, No Parole For Serial Threats Against Police, Judges, Others
Ex-Jersey Shore Man Gets 20 Years, No Parole For Serial Threats Against Police, Judges, Others A former New Jersey resident with a cockamamie political history must spend the next 20 years in federal prison for threatening to kill police officers, lawyers and judges, among others, in and around Monmouth County. Eric G. Hafner, 32, formerly of Fair Haven, also made calls and sent messages to state officials while phoning in bogus bomb threats to local and state government offices, a police department, two law firms and the Monmouth Park Racetrack during a two-year terror campaign, federal authorities in Trenton said. Hafner told newspaper reporters in 2018 that he was on the lam for d…
2 Broken Thumbs Down: Gambino Family Hothead Nearly Torches Jersey Shore Restaurant, Feds Say 2 Broken Thumbs Down: Gambino Family Hothead Nearly Torches Jersey Shore Restaurant, Feds Say
2 Broken Thumbs Down: Gambino Family Hothead Nearly Torches Jersey Shore Restaurant, Feds Say Life imitated art when a reputed Gambino crime family captain threatened to burn down a Jersey Shore restaurant, then went to a service station across the street and tried to buy and fill a plastic gas can, federal authorities said. In what could’ve been a scene from any number of modern-day mob movies, Joseph Lanni of Staten Island became a walking cliché, the Justice Department said in announcing an organized-crime takedown that stretched all the way to Sicily. Lanni and fellow Staten Islander Vincent “Vinny Slick” Minsquero “became belligerent” after being asked to leave Roxy’s Bar and G…
SEXTORTION: AMC CEO, Philly Native Adam Aron Says He Was Blackmailed SEXTORTION: AMC CEO, Philly Native Adam Aron Says He Was Blackmailed
Sextortion: AMC CEO, Philly Native Adam Aron Says He Was Blackmailed Philadelphia native and AMC CEO Adam Aron says he was the victim of an "elaborate criminal extortion" scheme last year, he announced Thursday morning, Oct. 12, in a social media post.  Aron made the revelation after Semafor reported that the CEO had sent "sexually explicit images and messages" to a woman who later tried to hold them as blackmail.  The woman, Sakoya Blackwood of Bronx, New York, was charged with extortion and cyberstalking and later sentenced to one year time served, according to the outlet.  View this post on Instagram A pos…
Federal Jury Convicts NYC Man In $200,000 Shakedown Of Jersey Shore Dad Federal Jury Convicts NYC Man In $200,000 Shakedown Of Jersey Shore Dad
Federal Jury Convicts NYC Man In $200,000 Shakedown Of Jersey Shore Dad Federal jurors in Trenton convicted a Brooklyn man for his role in a plot to strong-arm a Jersey Shore resident into giving him and his accomplices $200,000, authorities said. Endrit Kllogjeri, 27, and his cohorts were tripped up by an undercover detective posing as the Monmouth County victim, federal authorities said. Francis Garzon, 31, took a deal from the government rather than risk the consequences of guaranteed prison time if he was convicted at a trial, pleading guilty last month to his role in the plot. Kllogjeri rolled the dice and lost, however. He, Garzon and an unidentified co…
NEW CHARGES: Out-Of-State Woman Held Captive For Year By NJ Man Was Raped, Grand Jury Finds NEW CHARGES: Out-Of-State Woman Held Captive For Year By NJ Man Was Raped, Grand Jury Finds
NEW Charges: Out-Of-State Woman Held Captive For Year By NJ Man Was Raped, Grand Jury Finds UPDATE: A South Jersey man repeatedly raped a woman he'd kidnapped and held hostage during a nearly year-long cross-country trip, state authorities said an ongoing investigation has found. James W. Parrillo Jr., 57, was captured and has remained jailed ever since the woman escaped from a residence in Bass Township and fled to safety at a nearby gas station three months ago, ending a terrifying year in captivity. Parillo originally was charged with first-degree kidnapping, criminal restraint, aggravated assault and strangulation, as well as hindering apprehension, obstruction and refusing to…
'PlugwalkJoe' Admits Unprecedented Twitter Hack That Included Musk, Kardashian, Biden: Feds 'PlugwalkJoe' Admits Unprecedented Twitter Hack That Included Musk, Kardashian, Biden: Feds
'PlugwalkJoe' Admits Unprecedented Twitter Hack That Included Musk, Kardashian, Biden: Feds A 23-year-old British citizen who hacked the Twitter accounts of Joe Biden, Elon Musk, Kim Kardashian and Bill Gates, among others, pleaded guilty in federal court to a host of related charges as part of a deal with the government. Joseph James O'Connor -- also known as "PlugwalkJoe" -- technically faces up to 77 years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines but will likely get somewhere between 10 to 20 years when all is said and done. The Liverpudlian hacker admitted during a plea hearing in federal court in Manhattan on Tuesday, May 9, that he committed one of the largest high-pro…
'Bling Bishop' From Bergen Accused Of Faking Docs To Finance Paramus Mansion: 'FBI Set Me Up' 'Bling Bishop' From Bergen Accused Of Faking Docs To Finance Paramus Mansion: 'FBI Set Me Up'
'Bling Bishop' From Bergen Accused Of Faking Docs To Finance Paramus Mansion: 'FBI Set Me Up' A flashy Brooklyn bishop who lives in Bergen County – and was infamously robbed at gunpoint during a live-streamed church service last year – claims the FBI set him. Lamor Whitehead was already facing charges of swindling a female parishioner out of $90,000 in retirement money when a new indictment this week accused him of fabricating bank records to try and finance his million-dollar mansion in Paramus. Whitehead made it appear on paper that he controlled an LLC that had an average balance of more than $2 million when it actually had less than 10 bucks, the indictment returned in the Sout…
‘Bling’ Bishop From Bergen Seized By FBI, Charged With Swindling Retiree Out Of $90,000 ‘Bling’ Bishop From Bergen Seized By FBI, Charged With Swindling Retiree Out Of $90,000
‘Bling’ Bishop From Bergen Seized By FBI, Charged With Swindling Retiree Out Of $90,000 A flashy Brooklyn bishop who lives in Bergen County – and was infamously robbed at gunpoint during a live-streamed church service earlier this year – swindled one of his parishioners out of $90,000 in retirement money that he used for himself, federal authorities charged. Lamor Whitehead, a 44-year-old Paramus resident known for his Rolls Royce, Gucci suits and bling, was arrested by federal agents on Monday, Dec. 19, on an indictment that charges him wire fraud, extortion and lying to the FBI. The indictment returned by a grand jury in U.S. District Court in Manhattan accuses Whitehead of …
Fugitive Dubbed 'Real-Life Tony Soprano' Couldn't Hide From The Law, Even In Death Fugitive Dubbed 'Real-Life Tony Soprano' Couldn't Hide From The Law, Even In Death
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 …
College Sex Cult Leader Larry Ray Of NJ Found Guilty On All Charges College Sex Cult Leader Larry Ray Of NJ Found Guilty On All Charges
College Sex Cult Leader Larry Ray Of NJ Found Guilty On All Charges The New Jersey man who ran a sex cult out of his daughter's dorm room will face life in prison after being found guilty by a jury of sexually exploiting and trafficking girls. Larry Ray, 62 — who was arrested at his home in Piscataway — was found guilty of 15 counts that include racketeering, sex trafficking, conspiracy, forced labor, extortion, tax evasion, and other crimes in relation to his scheme following multiple delays in his trial and prosecution. The jury deliberated for less than four hours before returning the guilty verdict. “Twelve years ago, Larry Ray moved into his…
MS-13 Members Convicted Of Murder Of Innocent West New York Man, 19, Other Gang-Related Crimes MS-13 Members Convicted Of Murder Of Innocent West New York Man, 19, Other Gang-Related Crimes
MS-13 Members Convicted Of Murder Of Innocent West New York Man, 19, Other Gang-Related Crimes Three ranking MS-13 members from El Salvador were convicted by federal jurors in Newark of the murder of an innocent 19-year-old dishwasher from West New York, among other charges stemming from their participation in the international gang. It was one of many offenses that jurors agreed were committed by Juan Pablo “Humilde” Escalante-Melgar, 31, Elmer “Locote” Cruz-Diaz, 33, and Oscar “Snappy” Sanchez-Aguilar, 25 – among them, extortion, witness tampering, and drug trafficking. Federal prosecutors told the jurors that Escalante-Melgar and Sanchez-Aguilar instructed an MS-13 member and an …
NJ Prosecutor: Did Cyber-Predator Ask Your Pre-Teen For Nude Pics, Sex Talk? NJ Prosecutor: Did Cyber-Predator Ask Your Pre-Teen For Nude Pics, Sex Talk?
NJ Prosecutor: Did Cyber-Predator Ask Your Pre-Teen For Nude Pics, Sex Talk? Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella asked parents to check whether their children were contacted by an out-of-state man who created various identities to have sex chats with a local pre-teen whom he tried to extort into sending him pornographic images. Cyber Crimes Unit detectives found that “several different online personalities engaged the same child victim in separate conversations, some of which contained sexually explicit content and dialogue,” Musella said. All of the social media accounts used to contact the Bergen County child were controlled by Jason J. Campbell, a 31-year-old s…
Prosecutor: Florida Cyber-Predator Preyed On Bergen Pre-Teen, Possibly Others Prosecutor: Florida Cyber-Predator Preyed On Bergen Pre-Teen, Possibly Others
Prosecutor: Florida Cyber-Predator Preyed On Bergen Pre-Teen, Possibly Others Detectives from Bergen County seized a security guard in Florida who they said created various identities to have sex chats with a local pre-teen whom he tried to extort into sending him pornographic images. Cyber Crimes Unit detectives found that “several different online personalities engaged the same child victim in separate conversations, some of which contained sexually explicit content and dialogue,” Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said Friday. All of the social media accounts used to contact the Bergen County child were controlled by Jason J. Campbell, 31, of Orlando, the pr…
FBI: Four From NJ, NY, PA Charged With Kidnapping Man, Demanding $100,000 Ransom FBI: Four From NJ, NY, PA Charged With Kidnapping Man, Demanding $100,000 Ransom
FBI: Four From NJ, NY, PA Charged With Kidnapping Man, Demanding $100,000 Ransom A group of men from New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York kidnapped a man on a Camden street, beat him and held him captive while trying to extort a $100,000 ransom from his family, federal authorities charged. The victim was grabbed from behind last Thursday night by his abductors, who “covered his head, bound him with plastic restraints, assaulted him and put him into a vehicle,” Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. They then drove him to a city residence where they “continued to beat him with a hard object the victim could not see,” she said. “After several hours, the kidnappers …
South Jersey Pair Indicted In Shooting Death After 'Internet Beef' With Victim's Son South Jersey Pair Indicted In Shooting Death After 'Internet Beef' With Victim's Son
South Jersey Pair Indicted In Shooting Death After 'Internet Beef' With Victim's Son Two men from Gloucester County have been indicted in the shooting death of another man after an alleged "internet beef" with the victim's son, authorities said. Victor Kaganzev, 21, and Christopher Velez, 22, both of Glassboro, were charged with "purposeful murder" and weapons offenses in connection with the Sept. 28, 2020, death of a 48-year-old man from Clayton, according to NJ Advance Media.  At a court hearing last year, Gloucester County prosecutors said that one of the suspects swallowed the spent bullet casings as well as a live bullet to conceal evidence from investigators…
Jersey Shore Man Forced Girl, 14, To Carve His Initials Above Her Breast, Indictment Charges Jersey Shore Man Forced Girl, 14, To Carve His Initials Above Her Breast, Indictment Charges
Jersey Shore Man Forced Girl, 14, To Carve His Initials Above Her Breast, Indictment Charges A Jersey Shore man who convinced a 14-year-old girl he met online to carve his initials above her breast with a razor blade threatened to hurt her and her family if she didn’t meet his demands, an indictment returned Wednesday by a state grand jury alleges. Jason Berry, 40, of Keansburg also “demanded that the girl photograph herself engaging in acts of sexual penetration,” then sent some of the images to her mother, the indictment returned in Trenton charges. He also sent the girl “sexually explicit photos and videos of himself,” it adds. The case “demonstrates how powerful online predato…
Feds: New Mob Regime Ran Sports Bets, Extorted Victims, Sold Drugs From Philly To Jersey Shore Feds: New Mob Regime Ran Sports Bets, Extorted Victims, Sold Drugs From Philly To Jersey Shore
Feds: New Mob Regime Ran Sports Bets, Extorted Victims, Sold Drugs From Philly To Jersey Shore The mob didn't disappear from Philadelphia and the Jersey Shore after former leaders Joseph Ligambi and Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino were sent to prison, federal authorities revealed Monday. Over the past five years, in fact, new leadership of the Philly and Atlantic City La Cosa Nostra beefed up the ranks, commanding illegal sports gambling, extorting victims through loansharking, selling cocaine, heroin and opioids -- even conspiring to kidnap a drug dealer who sold them bad dope, they said. Fifteen reputed mobsters and associates of the organized crime family were charged in a …
Feds: Essex OSHA Inspector, Brother Caught On Wire Shaking Down Hudson Job Site Contractor Feds: Essex OSHA Inspector, Brother Caught On Wire Shaking Down Hudson Job Site Contractor
Feds: Essex Osha Inspector, Brother Caught On Wire Shaking Down Hudson Job Site Contractor An OSHA officer from Bloomfield and his brother conspired to extort a general contractor at a North Bergen work site, said federal authorities who tapped one of their meetings. Assigned to investigate the alleged misuse of an extension ladder, Alvaro Idrovo, 44, told the contractor he was violating OSHA regulations for not having the necessary safety training certificates for his workers to be on ladders, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Idrovo told the owner he’d be “subject to exorbitant fines and possible arrest” if he didn’t obtain the certificates, which he said were available throu…
Former Passaic Mayor Samuel 'Sammy' Rivera Dies Former Passaic Mayor Samuel 'Sammy' Rivera Dies
Former Passaic Mayor Samuel 'Sammy' Rivera Dies Former Passaic Mayor Samuel Rivera has died in a nursing home in Pennsylvania, current Mayor Hector Carlos Lora confirmed Friday. He was 73. A cause of death wasn't immediately disclosed. "As a city we extend our condolences to the Rivera family on the passing of former Passaic Mayor Samuel Rivera," Lora wrote. "I still speak to people today who share stories of how he helped them personally and how much he cared about people.  "Many in our community can remember his approach to cleaning up the streets of violent crimes and how visible he was in Passaic," the mayor said. Born in Caye…
Piscataway Dad Accused Of Masterminding Sex Cult In College Dorm Piscataway Dad Accused Of Masterminding Sex Cult In College Dorm
Piscataway Dad Accused Of Masterminding Sex Cult In College Dorm A Piscataway man who moved into his daughter’s dorm has been charged with sex trafficking and extortion The 60-year-old is accused of subjecting his daughter's classmates at Sarah Lawrence College “to sexual and psychological manipulation and physical abuse,” according to an indictment unsealed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of New York.  Lawrence Ray, also known as Lawrence Grecco, was charged with extortion, sex trafficking, forced labor, conspiracy and trafficking, two counts of use of interstate commerce to promote unlawful activity and money laundering…