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Ex-Olympian Accused Of Ordering Murders Added To FBI's Most Wanted List Ex-Olympian Accused Of Ordering Murders Added To FBI's Most Wanted List
Ex-Olympian Accused Of Ordering Murders Added To FBI's Most Wanted List In a stunning fall from grace, a former once celebrated for his prowess on the slopes, now finds himself at the center of a chilling manhunt. Accused of orchestrating a deadly drug trafficking operation that spans continents, Ryan Wedding, age 43, has been placed on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list, joining the ranks of the most notorious criminals in America.
 Once an icon of athleticism, Wedding now faces serious allegations, including multiple murders linked to his alleged drug empire.  As authorities intensify their search, a $10 million reward has been offered for informat…

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by Joe Lombardi
News
US Travel Advisory Expanded: These 23 Nations Now Under Warning US Travel Advisory Expanded: These 23 Nations Now Under Warning
US Travel Advisory Expanded: These 23 Nations Now Under Warning In a significant move to safeguard American travelers, the US Department of State has updated its travel advisory system, identifying 23 nations where heightened caution is urged.  The advisory system evaluates a range of risks, including crime, terrorism, civil unrest, health threats, and natural disasters. The State Department reviews Level 1 and 2 advisories annually, while Level 3 and 4 warnings are reassessed every six months.  According to a department statement, "A Travel Advisory will also be updated anytime there is a change in US government posture, normally as it relat…

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by Joe Lombardi
News
Fed Pauses Interest Rate Cuts Despite Trump's Push For Immediate Reduction Fed Pauses Interest Rate Cuts Despite Trump's Push For Immediate Reduction
Fed Pauses Interest Rate Cuts Despite Trump's Push For Immediate Reduction The Federal Reserve kept its key interest rate in place, pausing further cuts and ignoring a demand by President Donald Trump to immediately drop rates. After three months of reductions, the Fed decided to keep the key interest rate target at 4.25 to 4.5 percent. The Fed announced the decision on Wednesday, Jan. 29, after its first meeting since President Trump returned to the White House. Chair Jerome Powell said the Fed is monitoring inflation and economic stability under the Trump administration. "We remain committed to supporting maximum employment, bringing inflation sustain…

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by Chris Spiker
Business
Arabica Coffee Prices Spike Amid Colombia-US Tariff Dustup Arabica Coffee Prices Spike Amid Colombia-US Tariff Dustup
Arabica Coffee Prices Spike Amid Colombia-US Tariff Dustup Prices of Arabica coffee hit record highs in the aftermath of threats of tariffs by both the United States and Colombia after a dispute involving migrant deportation flights. Arabica futures hit a record of $3.56 in the Intercontinental Exchange on Monday, Jan. 27, a day after the back-and-forth dustup a day earlier, according to The Wall Street Journal. The previous record of $3.48 was recorded in early December. The US imports about 30 percent of its coffee from Colombia. Colombia agreed to accept the flights after earlier turning back two planes. This prompted President Donald Trump to…

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by Joe Lombardi
Politics
Colombia Agrees To Accept Migrant Deportation Flights After Trump Threatens 25% Tariffs Colombia Agrees To Accept Migrant Deportation Flights After Trump Threatens 25% Tariffs
Colombia Agrees To Accept Migrant Deportation Flights After Trump Threatens 25% Tariffs Colombia, one of the United States' key allies in Latin America, has agreed to accept migrant deportation flights after earlier turning back two planes, prompting President Donald Trump to threaten steep sanctions. Trump said Sunday afternoon, Jan. 26 that he would impose "emergency" 25-percent tariffs on Colombian goods after it blocked the flights. But negotiations between the countries led to an agreement late Sunday night and Trump withdrew the tariff threats. “The Government of Colombia has agreed to all of President Trump’s terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of all undocume…

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by Joe Lombardi
Politics
Trump Threatens 25% Tariffs After Colombia Turns Back Flights Carrying Migrants From US Trump Threatens 25% Tariffs After Colombia Turns Back Flights Carrying Migrants From US
Trump Threatens 25% Tariffs After Colombia Turns Back Flights Carrying Migrants From US President Donald Trump says he will impose 25 percent "emergency" tariffs on Colombian goods after the key South American ally refused to allow two two flights from the US carrying migrants to land. Click here for a new, updated story - Colombia Agrees To Accept Migrant Deportation Flights After Trump Threatens 25% Tariffs "The US cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals," Colombia President Gustavo Petro said in a statement on Sunday, Jan. 26. "I deny the entry of American planes with Colombian migrants into our territory. "The US must establish a protocol for the dignifie…

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by Joe Lombardi
Sports
Boxer Paul Bamba Dies Days After WBA Title-Winning Title Fight In New Jersey Boxer Paul Bamba Dies Days After WBA Title-Winning Title Fight In New Jersey
Boxer Paul Bamba Dies Days After WBA Title-Winning Title Fight In New Jersey A champion boxer died less than a week after reaching one of his career's biggest milestones and winning a title fight in Carteret. Paul Bamba has died at the age of 35, according to an Instagram post on Friday, Dec. 27 by his manager and R&B singer Ne-Yo. The cause of his death was unknown. Bamba's death was announced just days after he defeated Rogelio Medina by sixth-round technical knockout (TKO) at the Carteret Performing Arts Center. The victory on Saturday, Dec. 21 gave the World Boxing Association's (WBA) cruiserweight gold belt to Bamba, a Puerto Rico native. "He was a fierce…

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by Chris Spiker
Business
NJ-Based TD Bank Fined $3B For Allowing Drug Dealers, Human Traffickers To Launder Money: Feds NJ-Based TD Bank Fined $3B For Allowing Drug Dealers, Human Traffickers To Launder Money: Feds
Nj-based TD Bank Fined $3B For Allowing Drug Dealers, Human Traffickers To Launder Money: Feds TD Bank has agreed to pay about $3 billion in historic penalties after its relaxed policies allowed criminals to launder their money, authorities said. The Canadian bank with U.S. headquarters in Cherry Hill pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to not maintain an anti-money laundering program that complies with the Bank Secrecy Act, filing inaccurate currency transaction reports, and laundering money, the Justice Department said in a news release on Thursday, Oct. 10. TD Bank will pay more than $1.8 billion to resolve the DOJ's investigation and $1.3 billion in a penalty f…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
JUSTICE DELAYED: Accused Killer Of Bayonne Mom Finally Extradited To US To Face Murder Charges JUSTICE DELAYED: Accused Killer Of Bayonne Mom Finally Extradited To US To Face Murder Charges
Justice Delayed: Accused Killer Of Bayonne Mom Finally Extradited To US To Face Murder Charges A fugitive wanted for the brutal slaying of a Bayonne mom studying to be a nurse 3½ years ago has finally been extradited to the United States to face murder charges. Erick Acosta, 35, fled to Colombia after beating 40-year-old Crystal Ojeda to death with an object that local authorities have yet to identify in a public housing project on Lord Avenue near the Kill Van Kull. It was shortly before 1 p.m. Oct. 9, 2020 that city police responding to a request for a welfare check found the brutally beaten Ojeda. The mother of two, formerly of Jersey City, had been struck in the head and on her …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Lifestyle
Childhood Dreams Come True: Watch NJ 20-Something Siblings On 'Amazing Race' Childhood Dreams Come True: Watch NJ 20-Something Siblings On 'Amazing Race'
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…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
El Chapo Sons, Dubbed ‘Pioneers' Of Fentanyl Epidemic, Charged In Massive Sinaloa Cartel Case El Chapo Sons, Dubbed ‘Pioneers' Of Fentanyl Epidemic, Charged In Massive Sinaloa Cartel Case
El Chapo Sons, Dubbed ‘Pioneers' Of Fentanyl Epidemic, Charged In Massive Sinaloa Cartel Case Four sons of notorious druglord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman are among more than two dozen members of Mexico's reigning Sinaloa cartel charged in a massive fentanyl-trafficking offensive announced by federal officials on Friday. The infamous quartet known as the Chapitos – each of whom had $5 million U.S. bounties placed on their heads – were dubbed “the pioneers” of fentanyl’s introduction to American users by DEA Administrator Anne Milgram during an April 14 news conference in Washington, D.C. “Death and destruction are central to their whole operation,” said Milgram, a former New Jersey a…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Ecuadorian National Pleads Guilty To Brutal Stabbing Death Of Popular Bergen County Chef Ecuadorian National Pleads Guilty To Brutal Stabbing Death Of Popular Bergen County Chef
Ecuadorian National Pleads Guilty To Brutal Stabbing Death Of Popular Bergen County Chef A Jersey City man who brutally stabbed a well-known chef to death during a party at the victim’s Little Ferry home cut a deal with prosecutors, pleading guilty to aggravated manslaughter in exchange for a lesser sentence. Ray Edwardo Arcentales Sanchez, 24, could still get a minimum sentence of 10 years in state prison for the plea, entered in Superior Court in Hackensack earlier this week. Then there’s the matter of his citizenship. Police at the time said the Ecuadorian national was sitting on a curb, spattered with blood, when officers responding to a 911 call found a mortally wounded …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Heavy Luggage: Ringleader Gets 10 Years For Smuggling 330 Pounds Of Coke Into Teterboro Airport Heavy Luggage: Ringleader Gets 10 Years For Smuggling 330 Pounds Of Coke Into Teterboro Airport
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…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Passaic County Man Admits Laundering More Than $2.8 Million For International Drug Cartels Passaic County Man Admits Laundering More Than $2.8 Million For International Drug Cartels
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 …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Feds: Smuggler Who Imported Ton Of Cocaine Into US Gets 15 Years Without Parole Feds: Smuggler Who Imported Ton Of Cocaine Into US Gets 15 Years Without Parole
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…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Man Admits Role In NJ/NY Network That Laundered $27M For International Drug Cartels Man Admits Role In NJ/NY Network That Laundered $27M For International Drug Cartels
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…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
GOTCHA! Teaneck Fugitive Accused Of Running Sex Trafficking Ring Captured At Newark Airport GOTCHA! Teaneck Fugitive Accused Of Running Sex Trafficking Ring Captured At Newark Airport
Gotcha! Teaneck Fugitive Accused Of Running Sex Trafficking Ring Captured At Newark Airport A fugitive from Bergen County wanted for running a massive sex-trafficking ring in North Jersey, Rockland and New York City was captured trying to re-enter the United States from Colombia, authorities confirmed. Birmania “Nancy” Rincon, 62, a Colombian national living in Teaneck, was among the ringleaders of a crew that forced dozens of women into prostitution, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. She was in the wind, however, when authorities seized 21 defendants during a series of early-morning raids at 19 homes and other locations in Bergen and Hudson counties exactly two weeks ag…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Paterson Man Admits Laundering $1.94 Million For Drug Cartels Paterson Man Admits Laundering $1.94 Million For Drug Cartels
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…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
'Heavy Luggage' Bust: Puerto Rican Man Admits Plot To Smuggle 330 Pounds Of Coke Into Teterboro 'Heavy Luggage' Bust: Puerto Rican Man Admits Plot To Smuggle 330 Pounds Of Coke Into Teterboro
'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…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
ICE Puts Hold On Hudson Man Jailed In Brutal Stabbing Death Of Popular Bergen County Chef ICE Puts Hold On Hudson Man Jailed In Brutal Stabbing Death Of Popular Bergen County Chef
ICE Puts Hold On Hudson Man Jailed In Brutal Stabbing Death Of Popular Bergen County Chef UPDATE: Federal authorities have placed an immigration detainer on a 22-year-old Jersey City man accused of brutally stabbing a well-known chef to death during a party at the victim’s Little Ferry home. ICE issued the detainer amid questions over the immigration status of Ray Edwardo Arcentales Sanchez, who is listed in Bergen County Jail records as an Ecuadoran national. Sanchez was sitting on a curb, spattered with blood, when police responding to a 911 call before dawn Thursday found a mortally wounded Yuryin Herrera, 36, on the backyard steps of his Abend Street home, responders said.…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Feds: Passaic County Duo Admits Laundering $4 Million For International Drug Cartels Feds: Passaic County Duo Admits Laundering $4 Million For International Drug Cartels
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…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Feds: Paterson Man Admits Laundering $2.5 Million For International Drug Cartels Feds: Paterson Man Admits Laundering $2.5 Million For International Drug Cartels
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…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Lifestyle
Doctors On Netflix Show 'Lenox Hill' Rid NJ Grandmother, 89, Of Massive Head Tumor Doctors On Netflix Show 'Lenox Hill' Rid NJ Grandmother, 89, Of Massive Head Tumor
Doctors On Netflix Show 'Lenox Hill' Rid NJ Grandmother, 89, Of Massive Head Tumor For 25 years, Lorenza De La Villa of Teaneck barely noticed the small tumor in the back of her head. She found it in 1995, when she was 64 years old.  It was benign. It didn't hurt. It never grew. "She did what doctors told her to do," said one of De La Villa's 22 grandchildren, Michelle Tavares, of Weehawken. "She went for MRIs every year and saw a neurologist every six months. "Since it wasn't growing, causing pain or neurological impairment, doctors didn't have her do anything about it." For 25 years, that's the way things were. De La Villa's "little egg" rarely crossed her …

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by Cecilia Levine