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Jersey Shore Man Found With Rifle, Silencer, Bogus Federal Agent Badges Takes Plea
A Jersey Shore man who was caught with a handful of phony federal agent IDs in his own name admitted also having a homemade rifle and a silencer.
Jeffrey Backlund, 57, of Waretown, took a deal from the government rather than face trial, pleading guilty on Wednesday, April 27, to illegally possessing all of them, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.
Backlund was arrested after a warranted search prompted by a domestic disturbance in September 2020 turned up “a number of firearms and imitation federal identification badges,” Sellinger said.
“They found one short-barreled, AR-style, .223 …
Feds Charge Clifton Doc With Randomly Doling Out Large Doses Of Oxy, Xanax, More
A Clifton orthopedic surgeon was charged by federal authorities with prescribing high doses of addictive opioid painkillers to patients who abused, sold or otherwise didn't need them.
Evangelos Megariotis, 68, prescribed Oxycodone, Xanax, cough syrup with codeine and stimulants “outside the usual course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose,” U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.
Megariotis, who owned and operated Clifton Orthopedic Associates, already has been banned by the state from ever again practicing medicine or prescribing drugs in New Jersey.
State au…
Four NJ Smoke Shops Raided, Five Busted For Selling Pot, THC Edibles
A group of owners and operators sold pot and THC products out of smoke shops in Englewood, Butler, Randolph, and Scotch Plains, charged authorities who busted them during a series of raids.
Detectives assisted by the DEA seized seizure of hundreds of pounds of marijuana, THC edibles and THC wax/oil, along with $305,000 in illicit proceeds, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said.
They arrested co-owners Michael Ligus, 24, and Damian Harry Wesler Sr., 44, along with Damian H. Wesler Jr., 22, all of Ringwood, and were arrested, along with Anthony Garcia, 45, of Secaucus and Ezekiel Pau…