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Claire C. Cecchi

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North Jersey Man, 65, Admits Sharing Horrific Child Sex Videos, Including One Of Girl Under 5 North Jersey Man, 65, Admits Sharing Horrific Child Sex Videos, Including One Of Girl Under 5
North Jersey Man, 65, Admits Sharing Horrific Child Sex Videos, Including One Of Girl Under 5 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: A video of a girl believed to be 3 to 5 years old astride a shirtless, bearded tattooed man was among the evidence that apparently convinced a North Jersey retiree to plead guilty in federal court to trafficking child pornography, records show. The clip was among 65 videos and 250 images that Gaetano Lapegna, 65, had collected of "prepubescent children engaged in sexual acts with adults and other children," an agent with U.S. Homeland Security Investigations Newark cited in a complaint. Lapegna, of Sussex County, shared many of them with what turned out to be HSI agents, the complai…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
NJ Predator Admits Getting Underage Girl To Share Nudes NJ Predator Admits Getting Underage Girl To Share Nudes
NJ Predator Admits Getting Underage Girl To Share Nudes A New Jersey man admitted posing as someone else to get a minor to pose naked online for him. Federal authorities had charged Sunil Vaid, 51, of North Brunswick with posing online as various people, including a man seeking romance, a woman offering career help and a personal trainer to meet underage victims. Rather than risk the outcome of a trial, Vaid took a deal from the government, pleading guilty in U.S. District Court in Newark to inducing one of them to engage in cybersex, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. U.S. District Court Judge Claire C. Cecchi scheduled sentencing for Feb…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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NY Dealer Gets 11 Years, No Parole, For Moving Fentanyl, Meth, Coke By The Pound Into NJ NY Dealer Gets 11 Years, No Parole, For Moving Fentanyl, Meth, Coke By The Pound Into NJ
NY Dealer Gets 11 Years, No Parole, For Moving Fentanyl, Meth, Coke By The Pound Into NJ A dealer who admitted flooding four North Jersey counties with massive quantities of fentanyl, meth and coke is headed to federal prison for more than a decade. Juan Carlos Merced Moreno, 45, of Manhattan must serve out just about all of his plea-bargained 11-year sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. Moreno and his partners operated a fentanyl mill in Washington Heights that supplied traffickers in New Jersey with at least 25,000 pills that were distributed throughout the Garden State, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said. Authorities disco…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Dealer Admits Role In Major Ring That Moved Fentanyl, Meth, Coke By The Pound Into NJ From NYC Dealer Admits Role In Major Ring That Moved Fentanyl, Meth, Coke By The Pound Into NJ From NYC
Dealer Admits Role In Major Ring That Moved Fentanyl, Meth, Coke By The Pound Into NJ From NYC One of three Manhattan men accused of flooding four North Jersey counties with massive quantities of fentanyl, meth and coke admitted his role in the organization, authorities said. Juan Carlos Merced Moreno, 45, and his partners operated a fentanyl mill in Washington Heights that supplied traffickers in New Jersey with at least 25,000 pills that were distributed throughout the Garden State, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said. And that wasn't all. Authorities discovered the operation during what began as an investigation into the Hudson County crew, which flooded the str…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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'BLOOD BATH': Out-Of-State Man Who Threatened NJ Executive Over Stocks Sent To Federal Prison 'BLOOD BATH': Out-Of-State Man Who Threatened NJ Executive Over Stocks Sent To Federal Prison
'Blood Bath': Out-Of-State Man Who Threatened NJ Executive Over Stocks Sent To Federal Prison An out-of-state man who threatened an executive officer at a New Jersey-based company where he used to work must spend the next 14 months in federal prison. Alan Wallace, 59, of Cumming, GA, had worked at a company facility in Georgia for nearly 18 years before he was involuntarily terminated in 2017, a complaint on file in U.S. District Court in Newark says. He began by sending an anonymous violent threat in January 2021 detailing how the family of the executive who worked at the New Jersey headquarters would pay if the publicly-traded company's stock prices didn't increase over the next m…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
UPDATE: Union County Ex-Con Admits Robbing Bergen County Bank UPDATE: Union County Ex-Con Admits Robbing Bergen County Bank
Update: Union County Ex-Con Admits Robbing Bergen County Bank An ex-con from Union County admitted robbing a Rutherford bank of $2,300 while wearing a New York Yankees cap that police later recovered from a nearby recycling bin, authorities said. Seneca Wilson, 43, of Clark, entered the Kearny Bank (formerly Kearny Federal Savings) at Park and West Newall avenues at 4:12 p.m. April 7, 2021, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said. He had on a dark t-shirt with a white logo, a windbreaker and sunglasses, as well as a neck gaiter over his face, a glove on his left hand and the baseball cap, witnesses said. Wilson “handed the teller a note…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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NJ Man Gets Nearly 6 Years In Fed Pen For Downloading Hundreds Of Child Porn Images NJ Man Gets Nearly 6 Years In Fed Pen For Downloading Hundreds Of Child Porn Images
NJ Man Gets Nearly 6 Years In Fed Pen For Downloading Hundreds Of Child Porn Images A Union County man is headed to federal prison for nearly six years for downloading more than 600 images of child sexual abuse. Joseph Hinksmon, 42, of Cranford, will have to serve just about all of the 70-month plea-bargained sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. Hinksmon was arrested by the FBI after downloading the videos and photos during a two-week period in July 2019, authorities said. Rather than go to trial, the former NJIT academic scholar took a deal from the government, pleading guilty via videoconference with a U.S. District Court judge in Newark in e…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Former Bookkeeper Who Embezzled $1.78M From NJ Steel Company Gets Six Years In Fed Pen Former Bookkeeper Who Embezzled $1.78M From NJ Steel Company Gets Six Years In Fed Pen
Former Bookkeeper Who Embezzled $1.78M From NJ Steel Company Gets Six Years In Fed Pen A former bookkeeper who embezzled $1.7 million from the Newark-based steel company she worked for must spend a plea-bargained six years in federal prison. There’s no parole in the federal prison system, which means Tammy L. Martinez, 49, of South Amboy, must serve out just about the entire term. For more than five years, Martinez forged her manager’s signature on bogus checks made out to her or to cash, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. She cashed the checks at area TD Bank branches where the company had an account or dropped the money into a personal account, a complaint on file…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Union County Man Admits Downloading Hundreds Of Child Porn Images Union County Man Admits Downloading Hundreds Of Child Porn Images
Union County Man Admits Downloading Hundreds Of Child Porn Images A Union County man admitted in federal court Tuesday that he downloaded more than 600 images of child sexual abuse. Joseph Hinksmon, 41, of Cranford, was arrested by the FBI after downloading the videos and photos during a two-week period in July 2019, authorities said. Rather than go to trial, the former NJIT academic scholar took a deal from the government, pleading guilty via videoconference with a U.S. District Court judge in Newark to receipt of child pornography. U.S. District Judge Claire C. Cecchi scheduled sentencing for Sept. 23. Honig credited special agents of the FBI with the…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Jersey City Jeweler From Clifton Admits Lying To FBI To Protect Customers Jersey City Jeweler From Clifton Admits Lying To FBI To Protect Customers
Jersey City Jeweler From Clifton Admits Lying To FBI To Protect Customers A Jersey City mall jewelry store manager from Clifton admitted lying to the FBI to protect investigative targets who were his customers, authorities said. Khaled Hamade, 60, told a federal judge in Newark via videoconference Tuesday that he lied when he told agents investigating a fraud against a financing company that he didn’t know the suspects. “Hamade denied knowledge of the identities and personal information of numerous customers of his jewelry store who were believed to have engaged in the fraud,” Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. The Lebanese immigrant, who managed the Ne…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
NJ Contractor Admits Using Check Casher To Duck $1.7M In Federal Taxes NJ Contractor Admits Using Check Casher To Duck $1.7M In Federal Taxes
NJ Contractor Admits Using Check Casher To Duck $1.7M In Federal Taxes A Union County contractor admitted cheating the federal government out of $1.7 million in personal and corporate income taxes. Olger Fallas, 49, of Union, told a U.S. District Court judge in Newark via videoconference this week that he used a check-cashing business to pocket payments form customers to his Essex County companies, Olger Fallas Painting and Olger Fallas Properties. He also admitted depositing hundreds of thousands of dollars in customer payments into bank accounts that weren’t associated with either business. Rather than go to trial, Fallas accepted a deal from the governmen…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Bergen Businessman Admits Paying $100,000 Bribe To Korean Official For Defense Contracts Bergen Businessman Admits Paying $100,000 Bribe To Korean Official For Defense Contracts
Bergen Businessman Admits Paying $100,000 Bribe To Korean Official For Defense Contracts A Bergen County businessman admitted Thursday that he bribed a high-ranking Korean defense official to get and keep defense contracts with the country. Deck Won Kang, 50, a U.S. citizen from Englewood Cliffs, was an officer, director, employee, and agent of two closely held New Jersey companies when he promised “something of value” to a high-ranking official in the Korean Navy when he left office. The official had worked for a state-owned and -controlled agency within the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of National Defense, federal authorities said. FBI agents arrested Kang after he sent $10…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Englewood Swindler Admits Conning Families Out Of $1.5M In Cosmetics Company Scheme Englewood Swindler Admits Conning Families Out Of $1.5M In Cosmetics Company Scheme
Englewood Swindler Admits Conning Families Out Of $1.5M In Cosmetics Company Scheme A former Englewood resident admitted in federal court that he scammed three investors out of $1.5 million with a bogus cosmetics company. Matthew Benjamin, 53, used the money instead for car and house rental payments, food, international travel, legal fees, technology equipment and summer camp tuition for family members, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Benjamin, currently of New York, told the victims that his purported company, Clear Solutions Group, had lucrative contracts to purchase closeout or excess cosmetic inventory from one company that he planned to sell to another, Carpenito…

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by Jerry DeMarco