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Father, Son Admit To Using South Jersey Deli In $100M Stock Inflation Scheme: Feds
A quiet deli in Paulsboro became the unlikely focal point of a $100 million stock manipulation scheme led by a father and son, authorities said.
Peter Coker Sr., 82, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and his son, Peter Coker Jr., 56, pleaded guilty on Thursday, Dec. 19 to securities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud, New Jersey's U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said in a news release. Coker Jr. is a former resident of Hong Kong.
Prosecutors said the plan started around 2014 when two New Jersey residents opened Your Hometown Deli on Mantua Avenue. The pair soug…
Life Sentences Cut Short For Brothers Convicted In Violent South Jersey Bank Robberies: Feds
The life sentences have been reduced for two New Jersey brothers convicted in a string of violent crimes, including armed bank robberies and a thwarted armored car heist in the late 90s, authorities said.
Charles Rodriguez, 58, and Joseph Rodriguez, 57, were re-sentenced to 30 years in prison for committing two armed bank robberies and conspiring to rob an armored car, New Jersey's U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said in a news release on Tuesday, Dec. 17.
The brothers were initially convicted in 1999 after a six-week jury trial on conspiracy, carjacking, multiple armed robberies, …
NJ Pilot Who Went To Philippines For Sex With Underage Sisters Sentenced, Feds Say
A Mercer County pilot will spend more than a decade in prison for traveling to the Philippines to have sex with girls, authorities said.
Frank Maile, 68, of Hamilton Township, was sentenced on Thursday, Aug. 15 to 12 years in prison, New Jersey's U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said in a news release. Maile is also a former New Egypt resident and pleaded guilty on Sept. 6, 2023, to illicit sexual conduct abroad.
According to court documents and statements, Maile went to the Philippines as early as 2013 for "sexual contact" with two girls who were sisters and paid to sexually assaul…
Four Jersey Shore Men Charged After Selling Ghost Guns To FBI Informant: Feds
Four Ocean County men were accused of using a 3D printer to sell ghost guns to an FBI informant, authorities said.
The men facing charges in the case are James Hyres, 38, of Toms River; Dennis McMickle, 35, of Brick Township; James Opalenik, 51, of Ocean Gate; and Edward Trost III, 36, of Toms River. New Jersey's U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger announced the charges in a news release on Monday, July 29.
According to the criminal complaint, the four men were part of a gun-trafficking conspiracy throughout Ocean County in April and May 2024. Hyres created the ghost guns by using seve…
Guatemalan Man Who Kidnapped NJ Girl, 14, To Sexually Assault Her In Georgia Indicted: Feds
A Guatemalan man was accused of kidnapping a Cape May County teen and trying to sexually assault her in Georgia, authorities said.
Sergio Gomez, 22, was detained on Thursday, July 18, New Jersey's U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said in a news release. He was federally indicted on Wednesday, July 17 for enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity, transportation of a minor to engage in sexual activity, and kidnapping.
According to the indictment, Gomez, also known as “Abner Abigail Chub-Choc,” used the internet and a cellphone to entice the 14-year-old girl to have sex …
NJ Broker Bought Private Jet, Luxury Caribbean Vacation In $3.4M Insider Trading Scheme: Feds
A former partner at a New Jersey broker-dealer firm was accused of insider trading, making more than $3 million in illegal profits, authorities said.
Christopher Matthaei, 44, of Brielle, was arraigned in federal court on Wednesday, July 17, New Jersey's U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said in a news release. A federal grand jury indicted him on Friday, June 21 for two counts of securities fraud conspiracy and seven counts of securities fraud.
According to court documents and statements, Matthaei was a partner and senior salesperson at a trading firm based in Charlotte, North Carol…
Feds: Crooked Bookkeeper Admits Embezzling $900G From Restaurants In NJ, NY, PA (Update)
A bookkeeper from New Jersey admitted in federal court that he embezzled more than $900,000 from restaurants he worked for in the Garden State, New York and Pennsylvania, authorities said.
Richard Winter, 53, of Pompton Lakes authorized bank wire transfers from some of them, pocketed vendor payments to others and issued checks payable to cash that he then deposited into his own bank accounts, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip Sellinger said.
Winter serviced the clients' accounts payable through a company he created called Back Office Pro, a complaint on file in federal court in Newark say…
FBI: Sex, Money, Murder Members Nabbed With Guns, Coke, More At Open-Air Brick City Drug Market
Five reputed members and associates of the Sex, Money, Murder gang were charged by federal authorities with peddling fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine at an open-air drug market in Newark.
Drugs and loaded guns were seized during the arrests early last month of the quintet, who U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip Sellinger said slung the potentially lethal narcotics from the neighborhood at Kent and Brenner streets.
He identified them as Fuquan Williams, 33; Dwight Dixon, 52; Nafee Patterson, 41; Jabriel Mason, 20; and Daqwuan Barkley, 29, all of Essex County.
A federal magistrate judge in New…
Essex Jail Officer, GF Stung By FBI In Scheme To Smuggle In Tobacco, Cell Phones: Feds
A corrections officer and his girlfriend were busted for smuggling tobacco and cellphones into the Essex County Jail from a source who turned out to be an undercover FBI agent, federal authorities said.
Efrin Wade, 34, and Yairisa Lizardo, 29, both of Jersey City, accepted $14,000 for the illegal acts and apparently were counting on another $30,000 when they were busted, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip Sellinger said following their arrests on Tuesday, March 14.
Wade, who’d worked as a corrections officer at the Essex County Correctional Facility (ECCF) in Newark since February 2020, be…
Career Criminal From Connecticut, 73, Admits Committing Murder-For-Hire Of Jersey City Politico
A hardened ex-con from Connecticut admitted that he and a longtime criminal pal from Philadelphia stabbed a political consultant to death and then torched his Jersey City apartment in a murder-for-hire attack.
George Bratsenis, 73, of Monroe, CT said he and his partner were paid to whack Michael Galdieri, the son of former State Sen. James Galdieri (D-Jersey City) and a prominent figure in local Hudson County politics.
Bratsenis and the other killer, Bomani Africa, 61, were hired by onetime political operative Sean Caddle, who’d been an aide to former State Sen. Ray Lesniak (D-Elizabeth) a…
