Feds: Unregistered Firearms, Fake FBI, DEA Badges Found In Raid Of Rockland Deputy Mayor's Home Feds: Unregistered Firearms, Fake FBI, DEA Badges Found In Raid Of Rockland Deputy Mayor's Home
Feds: Unregistered Firearms, Fake FBI, DEA Badges Found In Raid Of Rockland Deputy Mayor's Home The deputy mayor of a Rockland County village who's already facing state charges for a trove of unregistered guns found at his home was charged by federal authorities with having a collection of phony badges and ID cards that identify him as working for the FBI, DEA and other law enforcement agencies, records show. Investigators reported a startling discovery when they showed up with a search warrant last week at the home of Brian Downey, a 47-year-old Republican who was elected deputy mayor of the village of Airmont in 2019. Downey was taken into custody after no fewer than 16 unregistere…
Historic Drug Seizure Near Atlantic City Nets Fentanyl, Heroin, Coke, Feds Say Historic Drug Seizure Near Atlantic City Nets Fentanyl, Heroin, Coke, Feds Say
Historic Drug Seizure Near Atlantic City Nets Fentanyl, Heroin, Coke, Feds Say Local and federal authorities seized more than 30 pounds of fentanyl, heroin and cocaine – the area’s largest narcotics haul in history -- while raiding a basement drug mill just outside Atlantic City, authorities said. A federal judge in Camden ordered via videoconference that Ricardo Clavijo, 39, who lives in the Egg Harbor Township home, and Christopher Gonzalez, 37, of Pleasantville, remain held without bail, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Each is charged with conspiring to have and sell more than a kilo of heroin. “By all accounts, this case represents the largest single…
Feds Charge Reputed Jersey City Gang Member With Gunning Down Rival Feds Charge Reputed Jersey City Gang Member With Gunning Down Rival
Feds Charge Reputed Jersey City Gang Member With Gunning Down Rival Federal authorities have charged a reputed gang member from Jersey City with murder in the shooting death of a rival during a running feud between allied crews. Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Rachael A. Honig announced Tuesday that her office has taken over the prosecution of Phillip Wiggins Jr. of Newark for the March 31, 2020 slaying of Damone “Munch” Smith. Wiggins, 24, who investigators say belongs to the Wilkinson Avenue gang, shot Smith in the chest near the corner of Rose and Cator avenues.  Smith, 25, was brought by private vehicle to Jersey City Medical Center, where he …
Feds: Purported NJ Gang Members Indicted On Murder, Attempted Murder Charges Feds: Purported NJ Gang Members Indicted On Murder, Attempted Murder Charges
Feds: Purported NJ Gang Members Indicted On Murder, Attempted Murder Charges Three purported members of the Rollin' 60s Neighborhood Crips gang were indicted on charges of murder and attempted murder Wednesday, federal officials said. Elijah Williams, aka “Lil Smith,” 21; Jason Franklin, aka “Freak,” aka “OG Freak,” 37; and Tre Byrd, aka “Bands,” aka “G Bandz,” 20 -- all of Newark -- were charged by indictment with Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) conspiracy, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Williams is accused of shooting four individuals and hitting two in Newark on Sept. 25, 2018, authorities said. Both victims survived the at…
Newark Projects Dealer Caught With Gun Gets 5 Years In Fed Pen Newark Projects Dealer Caught With Gun Gets 5 Years In Fed Pen
Newark Projects Dealer Caught With Gun Gets 5 Years In Fed Pen A Newark drug dealer caught with a gun was sentenced to five years in federal prison, authorities said. Ricky Terrell, 24, was one of several dealers targeted for running an open-air drug market – slinging heroin, fentanyl, cocaine and more -- at the Stephen Crane Village public housing complex near the Belleville border, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Several law enforcement agencies teamed up to smash the operation, making undercover buys and intercepting phone calls and text messages, among other tactics, she said. On Feb. 25, 2020, they raided Terrell’s home and found hero…
Hudson Ex-Con Who Shot At Moving Car Headed To Federal Prison For 5 Years, No Parole Hudson Ex-Con Who Shot At Moving Car Headed To Federal Prison For 5 Years, No Parole
Hudson Ex-Con Who Shot At Moving Car Headed To Federal Prison For 5 Years, No Parole A Jersey City ex-con who fired at a moving car is headed to federal prison for a plea-bargained five years, authorities said Tuesday. Jamel Armfield, 20, already had three felony convictions on his record when he squeezed off nine rounds from a .45-caliber Springfield Armory handgun at the vehicle on Gates Avenue last June, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. A nearby surveillance camera captured images of the shooting, she said. Whom Armfield was firing at, and why, were never determined, the U.S. attorney said. He tried to hide the gun, she added, but Jersey City police found it…
Passaic Man, Dominican National In 13-Pound Video-Recorded Coke Bust Sent To Fed Pen Passaic Man, Dominican National In 13-Pound Video-Recorded Coke Bust Sent To Fed Pen
Passaic Man, Dominican National In 13-Pound Video-Recorded Coke Bust Sent To Fed Pen A Passaic man and a Dominican national – both 60 years old – have been sentenced to federal prison terms for their roles in trafficking 13 pounds of cocaine. Cellphone video captured the DEA arrest of Ramon “Rafael” Fabian-Pena in January 2020. A U.S. District Court judge in Newark sentenced Fabian-Pena to 2½ years in federal prison during a videoconference last week, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. On Thursday, the judge sentenced Jose Reyes of the Dominican Republican to nearly six years, she said. Both must serve just about all of their terms because there’s no parole in t…
NJ Feds: Oxy Doc Admits Trading Drugs For Sex NJ Feds: Oxy Doc Admits Trading Drugs For Sex
NJ Feds: Oxy Doc Admits Trading Drugs For Sex A Staten Island doctor who saw patients from New Jersey admitted deliberately keeping some of them hooked by trading opioids for sex, federal authorities said. Joseph Santiamo, 65, “knowingly prescribed dangerous quantities of oxycodone – and, even more egregiously, solicited sexual favors from certain patients” in exchange for writing them additional opioid scripts, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said Wednesday. Although he specialized in geriatric care, many of Santiamo's patients were "well under 40 years old" and "dealing with pain and addiction,” Carpenito said. Others didn’t even have…
High-Speed Pursuit From PA To NJ: DEA Agent Struck, Dealer Caught With 7,500 Folds, Feds Say High-Speed Pursuit From PA To NJ: DEA Agent Struck, Dealer Caught With 7,500 Folds, Feds Say
High-Speed Pursuit From PA To NJ: DEA Agent Struck, Dealer Caught With 7,500 Folds, Feds Say A fleeing drug dealer hit a DEA agent with his car and tossed a bag filled with 7,500 heroin folds out the window during what became a high-speed chase from Pennsylvania to Mercer County, authorities said. Law enforcement officers from various agencies followed ex-con Daevon Bell, 26, of Hamilton Township from Trenton to an apartment complex in Morrisville, PA, on Tuesday, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Bell retrieved a bag from his trunk and went into one of the apartments there, then emerged carrying another bag, Carpenito said. When members of the law enforcement posse approached h…
Two Charged In Cold-Blooded Executions Of Jersey City Rival, Pregnant Woman, Associate Two Charged In Cold-Blooded Executions Of Jersey City Rival, Pregnant Woman, Associate
Two Charged In Cold-Blooded Executions Of Jersey City Rival, Pregnant Woman, Associate Two members of the Jersey City Bloods are charged in the cold-blooded killings of a rival, his pregnant girlfriend and an associate who accompanied them on the murder mission, federal authorities announced Monday. Markell “Sayboy” Brown, 32, and Terence “Sweet Meat” Shaw, 32, used fellow street gang member Quadel Chisolm to gain access to the Fulton Street apartment of Ishear Bailey and his girlfriend, Janaya Lee, on Jan. 16, 2017, an indictment returned by a grand jury in U.S. District Court in Newark charges. Brown and Shaw executed Bailey, 26, shooting him in the back of the head, the le…
Largest US Dark Web Sweep Ever: 179 Busted, Half-Ton Drugs, $6.5M Seized In Operation DisrupTor Largest US Dark Web Sweep Ever: 179 Busted, Half-Ton Drugs, $6.5M Seized In Operation DisrupTor
Largest US Dark Web Sweep Ever: 179 Busted, Half-Ton Drugs, $6.5M Seized In Operation DisrupTor Authorities seized more than $6.5 million in cash and virtual currency, as well as more than half a ton of drugs, in the largest dark web bust ever in the U.S., the Justice Department announced Tuesday. A total of 179 buyers and sellers were charged worldwide by law enforcement agencies in the United States and Europe as part of Operation DisrupTor, named for the heavily-encrypted private web browser (Tor) most often used to access the dark web, authorities said. More than 600 pounds of fentanyl, heroin, other opioids and cocaine were seized in the U.S. alone. Authorities charged 121 peopl…
Feds: Judge Orders Newark Ex-Con Caught With Loaded Gun, 626 Heroin Folds Held Feds: Judge Orders Newark Ex-Con Caught With Loaded Gun, 626 Heroin Folds Held
Feds: Judge Orders Newark Ex-Con Caught With Loaded Gun, 626 Heroin Folds Held A judge ordered that a Newark ex-con remain in federal custody after Essex County prosecutor’s detectives said they found a loaded gun in his pocket and 626 heroin folds in his apartment. Antoine Hawkins, a 31-year-old repeat offender with an extensive criminal record, also had three illegal ammunition magazines in his apartment, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Prosecutor’s detectives approached Hawkins earlier this week while investigating a shooting from last month, Carpenito said. As they spoke with him, they noticed “what appeared to be the imprint of a firearm on Hawkins’s jacket,…