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Two Newark Men Plead Guilty To Trafficking Fentanyl: Feds
Two Newark men pleaded guilty on Wednesday, Dec. 18 to being members of a drug trafficking organization that distributed hundreds of kilograms of fentanyl analogues, authorities said.
From January 2014 through September 2020, Thomas Padovano, 50, and Bartholomew Padovano, 72, agreed to import and distribute various controlled substances and controlled substance analogues, including fentanyl, fentanyl analogues, methylone, and ketamine, US Attorney Philip Sellinger said.
The Padovanos placed orders with a source in China and distributed the controlled substances and analogues in Ne…
Westfield Man Admits To Defrauding COVID Relief Fund Of $900K: Feds
A 66-year-old Westfield man recently admitted to fraudulently obtaining a $900,000 PPP loan during the COVID-19 pandemic, authorities said.
Joseph McKeon applied for PPP loans on behalf of his New Jersey company, falsely claiming a higher number of employees and inflated payroll figures, US Attorney Philip Sellinger said. To support his claims, McKeon submitted forged documents, including bank statements and tax returns, Sellinger said.
McKeon withdrew significant amounts of cash and transferred portions of the money, including a $315,504 transaction to an Indiana title company, Selli…
NJ Ex-Con Charged In Deadly Attack Near Times Square
A New Jersey man recently released from prison has been arrested and charged with murder after a young Manhattan woman died from injuries sustained in an assault, according to the NYPD.
Leslie Torres, 23, was walking on West 46th Street near 8th Avenue when she was attacked by Jaheem Warren, 33, of Prospect Park, on Tuesday, Oct. 29 around 1:35 p.m., according to NBC and the NYPD.
Torres was left unconscious on the sidewalk in front of the Riu Plaza New York Times Square Hotel, NBC says.
Torres, who lived on West 45th Street, was in critical condition when she arrived at Mount Sinai W…
$1.1M In Drugs, 5 Firearms, $65K Seized From NJ Man, Prosecutor Says
A 35-year-old Mercer County man is facing a slew of charges after investigators uncovered $1.1 million in drugs, five handguns, and $65,000 in cash from him, authorities said.
James Nalbone Jr., 35, of Hamilton Township, was arrested on Wednesday, Aug. 7, following a month-long investigation, Acting Mercer County Prosecutor Theresa L. Hilton said.
Detectives detained Nalbone at his home on Byron Avenue and executed a search warrant, Hilton said. Sgt. Tom Paglione's K-9 partner, Indy, gave positive indications of a drug odor at multiple locations within the premises, poli…
Felon From NJ Charged With Child Rape In Lebanon, PA: Affidavit
A New Jersey man with a felony criminal record in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey has been arrested on child rape charges police announced on Thursday, Aug. 1.
Jose Enrique "Enrico" Rivas, 47 of Newark, NJ, was arrested in New Jersey on a warrant issued by Lebanon City Police on Wednesday, July 31, as detailed in the police release.
Rivas will be extradited to Lebanon, PA, the police explained.
A 13-year-old girl's guardian made the ChildLine call after the girl told them "I woke to his fingers in me and then he put his pp in me" and "I was just raped and he is still upstairs,…
Again: Big Purple Bud Bus Guy, Woman Arrested After Series Of Raids Across NJ, NY, Cops Say
The New York owner of a popular cannabis company known for its fleet of purple buses and vans was taken into custody, as was a woman, on Wednesday, July 10, following a series of raids across New Jersey and New York, authorities said.
Searches on Bill Schlette’s Bud Bus Inc. locations Hewitt, Manahawkin, Keyport, and West Nyack, NY turned up $200,000 in cash, according to West Milford Police Capt. Parrello.
Back in May, West Milford police executed search warrants at five Bud Bus locations in town where 150 pounds of marijuana were seized, along with $11,000 in cash, police said. A warrant …
Bayonne Pair Arrested For Selling Cocaine, Illegal Firearm
Two men were arrested in Bayonne on Tuesday, June 18 and charged with dealing cocaine, marijuana and pills, authorities said.
Giovanny Alfaro and Jamie Juarez-Castillo, both 23, were arrested on Avenue C in Bayonne and found to be in possession of more than 180 grams of suspected cocaine, more than three pounds of suspected marijuana, multiple quantities of Alprazolam and Oxycodone pills and more than $3,000 in suspected proceeds from narcotics transactions, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said.
During the course of the investigation, numerous transactions w…
Big Purple NJ 'Bud Bus' Owner Arrested For Money Laundering, Deceptive Biz Practices: Cops
A 46-year-old Rockland County, NY man has been arrested for illegally selling marijuana out of a big purple van in New Jersey, authorities said.
Bud Bus Inc. Founder William Schlette, of West Nyack, was charged with deceptive business practices, money laundering, and drug offenses, according to Warren County Prosecutor Anthony Picone.
Two search warrants on Schlette's Bud Bus Inc, a van parked at 1077 State Highway 94 in Frelinghuysen Township, on March 7, culminated in the seizure of $1,900, a Ram Promaster van, a 2024 Loom trailer, suspected raw marijuana, and suspected cannabinoid i…
Ridgefield Park Officer Finds Gun, Hollow-Nose Ammo, $24,500 After Stopping Out-Of-State Driver
A Ridgefield Park police officer turned up a handgun loaded with hollow-nose bullets, a small amount of crystal meth and $24,500 in suspicious cash during a traffic stop, authorities said.
Officer Amanda Thomas stopped the Toyota Tundra for a number of violations at Main and Hobart streets shortly after 10 a.m. Monday, April 8, Police Chief Joseph Rella said.
The driver, 40-year-old Mexican national Raul Villanueva Muratalla of Nashville, was taken into custody a short time later, he said.
Muratalla was charged with unlawful weapons possession, possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpo…
Victims Scammed Out Of $2.2M By NJ Couple In 'Publishers Clearing House Lottery' Scheme: Cops
A couple from Secaucus is facing a litany of charges after scamming residents in multiple states out of more nearly $2.2 million, police said.
Akeem Lee and Majda Hodzic-Lee called victims in Florida, Minnesota, Arizona, Kansas, Massachusetts, Kentucky, Colorado, Pennsylvania and Nebraska, saying they'd won the "Publishers Clearing House Lottery," Secaucus Police Chief Dennis Miller said.
In exchange for the vehicles and large sums of money the victims were told they won, they were required by Lee and Hodzic-Lee to send cash, money orders and/or gift cards for taxes, fees and IRS …
Cyberfootsies: Ex-NJ Couple, Money Washer Confess $4.5M Online Romance Scam
UPDATE: A former New Jersey couple and a local businesswoman have admitted scamming more than 100 lonely hearts out of $4.5 million in an elaborate online romance scheme, federal authorities charged.
Martins Inalegwu, 35, took a deal from the government, pleading guilty in U.S. District Court in Camden on Monday, March 25 to conducting an unlawful money-transmitting business and evading taxes for four straight years.
Inalegwu's wife, Steincy Mathieu, 27, had already pleaded guilty to tax evasion last November.
Oluwaseyi Fatolu, 56, of Springfield, followed her by admitting this past …
Tardy Rochelle Park Hotel Guest Busted With Cocaine, Pills, Knife: Police
A Rochelle Park hotel guest who overstayed his welcome was arrested after officers found cocaine and pills for sale in his room, authorities said.
Police responding to a call of a guest not leaving by checkout time at the Ramada by Wyndham Hotel on West Passaic Street found Anwar Mnawer, 33, of the Bronx disoriented shortly after 1 p.m. Monday, March 18, Capt. James M. DePreta said.
“In plain view inside the room, officers observed a large folding knife, prescription pills, a baggie containing a white powdery substance believed to be cocaine, and miscellaneous drug paraphernalia,” the …
Drug Dealer Sold Fentanyl Elixir To 28-Year-Old Man Before Fatal Morris County OD: Cops
A 26-year-old man has been charged in the fatal overdose of a 28-year-old man last February in Morris County, authorities said.
Anthony Dello Russo, of Cedar Knolls (Hanover), is believed to have sold a man identified only as T.H. the fentanyl and cocaine that killed him on Feb. 16, Morris County Prosecutor Robert Carroll said.
The cause of death for T.H., who was found dead at a home in Whippany, was combined toxicity of cocaine, fentanyl, and acetyl fentanyl, Carroll said alongside Chief of Detectives Robert McNally, and Hanover Township Police Chief Michael Loock.
Dello-R…
$50K, Cocaine, 5 Pounds Of Pot Seized From Morris County Drug Dealer: Prosecutor
More than $51,000 in suspected drug proceeds, cocaine, and five pounds of marijuana was seized from a Morris County man, authorities said.
Hanover's Anthony Dello-Russo, 27, is facing multiple drug-related offenses following a drug dealing investigation, Morris County Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll said.
More than $51,000 in cash, half an ounce of cocaine and more than five pounds of marijuana were seized from Dello-Russo on Friday, Dec. 8, Carroll said alongside Chief of Detectives Robert McNally, Sheriff James M. Gannon, and Hanover Township Police Chief Michael Loock.
Dello-Russo was…
8 Prostitution Arrests Made In Secaucus Sting: Police
As part of an effort to combat vice-related crimes, eight people were arrested in Secaucus on Friday, Nov. 17 as part of a prostitution sting, authorities said.
At 6:55 p.m., police arrested Johanny Ledesma, a 45-year-old resident of the Bronx for engaging in prostitution, Secaucus Police Chief Dennis Miller said. Less than an hour later, Simone Deoliveiraavila, a 36-year-old Newark was arrested for engaging and promoting prostitution, Miller said.
At 8:41 p.m., police arrested Estefanie Martinez, a 31-year-old Paterson resident, Bladmir Encarcioncruz, a 26-year-old Paterson resi…
