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Jersey Shore Man Admits Labeling Hong Kong-Bound Shipment Of Iguanas As 'Toys' Jersey Shore Man Admits Labeling Hong Kong-Bound Shipment Of Iguanas As 'Toys'
Jersey Shore Man Admits Labeling Hong Kong-Bound Shipment Of Iguanas As 'Toys' A Jersey Shore man admitted Tuesday that he falsely labeled a package containing 10 live iguanas bound for Hong Kong as “toys," federal authorities said. Jason Ksepka, 44, of Farmingdale, shipped the package via U.S. Priority Mail Express from the post office in Lambertville, Acting U.S Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. An unidentified sender paid him $500 to falsely label the package and ship it to Hong Kong, on top of $500 that he’d already given him, Honig said. Ksepka labeled the contents as “Toys” and the sender as “Luke Jacobs” on a U.S. Postal Service international shipping label and…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
BUSTED: 4 Charged; Handgun, $8K Cash Recovered In Scheme To Mail Cocaine Kilo In Morris County BUSTED: 4 Charged; Handgun, $8K Cash Recovered In Scheme To Mail Cocaine Kilo In Morris County
Busted: 4 Charged; Handgun, $8K Cash Recovered In Scheme To Mail Cocaine Kilo In Morris County Four people have been charged in a scheme involving the alleged distribution of cocaine to Morris County residents through the US Postal Service, authorities said. Two half-kilo cocaine packages were intercepted United States Postal Inspection Service, who determined that the drug was being sent to residences in Jefferson and Rockaway Townships, Morris County Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll and Chief of Detectives Christoph Kimker said in a release Friday. A follow-up investigation led to the arrest of Raymond D. Rosario, 38, Anthony J. Cavallone, 25, Rebecca R. Keir, 25, all of Lake Hopa…

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by Valerie Musson
Police & Fire
BUSTED: 31 Nabbed, 14 Pounds Of Coke, Firearms Seized In Massive Drug Distribution Scheme BUSTED: 31 Nabbed, 14 Pounds Of Coke, Firearms Seized In Massive Drug Distribution Scheme
Busted: 31 Nabbed, 14 Pounds Of Coke, Firearms Seized In Massive Drug Distribution Scheme Thirty-one people were arrested following a months-long New Jersey drug distribution scheme that netted 14.3 pounds of cocaine, two firearms and more than $193,000 in cash, authorities announced. An investigation into “Operation Triple Tragedy” involved law enforcement agencies from Somerset, Union, and Middlesex counties and the U.S. Postal Service. Somerset County Prosecutor Michael H. Robertson said the following arrests were made on June 4: Arrests made in “Operation Triple Tragedy”Somerset County Prosecutor's Office Joselin Castillo, aka “Tragedy," 30, Grandview Avenue Edison Po…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Feds: NJ Mail Carrier Picked Up, Delivered Drugs For Years Feds: NJ Mail Carrier Picked Up, Delivered Drugs For Years
Feds: NJ Mail Carrier Picked Up, Delivered Drugs For Years A New Jersey mail carrier took bribes for five years to help people use the U.S. Postal Service to ship coke, pot and other contraband through the mail. Emerson Pavilus, 46, of Union was working for the post office in Flanders when he took the payoffs, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. “Among other things, Pavilus provided his conspirators with addresses in Flanders to which parcels could be shipped, intercepted those parcels from the mail stream, and personally delivered those parcels to conspirators at addresses other than those listed on the parcels,” Honig said. Pavilus was n…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Feds: NJ Mail Carrier Picked Up, Delivered Drugs For Years Feds: NJ Mail Carrier Picked Up, Delivered Drugs For Years
Feds: NJ Mail Carrier Picked Up, Delivered Drugs For Years A New Jersey mail carrier took bribes for five years to help people use the U.S. Postal Service to ship coke, pot and other contraband through the mail. Emerson Pavilus, 46, of Union was working for the post office in Flanders when he took the payoffs, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. “Among other things, Pavilus provided his conspirators with addresses in Flanders to which parcels could be shipped, intercepted those parcels from the mail stream, and personally delivered those parcels to conspirators at addresses other than those listed on the parcels,” Honig said. Pavilus was n…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Ex-Con Who Cut Female Postal Carrier During Carjacking Gets 82 Months In Federal Prison Ex-Con Who Cut Female Postal Carrier During Carjacking Gets 82 Months In Federal Prison
Ex-Con Who Cut Female Postal Carrier During Carjacking Gets 82 Months In Federal Prison UPDATE: An ex-con who attacked a postal carrier with a box cutter while carjacking her SUV is headed to federal prison for more than 6½ years. Wallace Johnson, 32, of Newark, must spend just about all of the 82 months because there's no parole in the federal prison system.  The U.S. Postal Service carrier was taking a break behind the wheel of her Dodge Durango on June 6, 2020 when Johnson walked up and held the knife to her throat, cutting her skin, in the 80s block of Cedar Avenue, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Johnson “demanded that the postal employee get out of the …

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by Jerry DeMarco
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NJ Postal Carrier Admits Dumping Election Ballots NJ Postal Carrier Admits Dumping Election Ballots
NJ Postal Carrier Admits Dumping Election Ballots A postal carrier from Hudson County admitted Thursday in federal court that he dumped 1,875 pieces of mail -- including general election ballots and campaign flyers – instead of delivering them. Nicholas Beauchene, 26, of Kearny was nabbed by special agents of the U.S. Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General after a Saddle Brook man reported finding dumped bundles of mail in a dumpster behind a North Arlington bank last fall. The mail tossed by Beauchene included 99 general election ballots destined for residents in West Orange and 276 campaign flyers from local candidates for West Or…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Feds: California Gal Admits Running $9.9 Million Counterfeit Coupon Scam Feds: California Gal Admits Running $9.9 Million Counterfeit Coupon Scam
Feds: California Gal Admits Running $9.9 Million Counterfeit Coupon Scam A California woman admitted in federal court in New Jersey that she created and sold more than $9.9 million worth of counterfeit coupons used at retail stores throughout the country.Using the name “Mandy Carr,” Tong Lor printed Carolina coupons with fake bar codes for household items such as diapers, laundry detergent, and toiletries and then mailed them to customers nationwide, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Lor, 34, of Modesto sold the counterfeit coupons via invitation-only Internet groups associated with her businesses: Mandy’s Treasure Box, Mandy's Knitting Club, and …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
NJ Man Admits Using Postal Workers, Students To Steal, Forge COVID Stimulus Checks NJ Man Admits Using Postal Workers, Students To Steal, Forge COVID Stimulus Checks
NJ Man Admits Using Postal Workers, Students To Steal, Forge COVID Stimulus Checks A Union County man admitted recruiting postal service employees to steal federal COVID stimulus checks and then paying high school students to help cash them, authorities said. Tashon Ragan, 21, of Hillside was among a group of thieves associated with a group called “The Members” who paid US Postal Service employees in cash to steal credit cards and blank checkbooks from the mail, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. They then “forged the signatures of the accountholders and negotiated the checks by making them payable to individuals,” Honig said. Some were New Jersey high school st…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Ex-Con Admits Cutting Female Postal Carrier During Carjacking That Led To Newark Chase, Crash Ex-Con Admits Cutting Female Postal Carrier During Carjacking That Led To Newark Chase, Crash
Ex-Con Admits Cutting Female Postal Carrier During Carjacking That Led To Newark Chase, Crash An ex-con told a federal judge in Newark on Wednesday that he assaulted a postal carrier with a box cutter while carjacking her SUV. The U.S. Postal Service carrier was taking a break behind the wheel of Dodge Durango on June 6 when Wallace Johnson, 32, of Newark, walked up and held the knife to her throat, cutting her skin, in the 80s block of Cedar Avenue, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Johnson “demanded that the postal employee get out of the car and leave everything inside,” Honig said. “After the postal employee got out of the car, Johnson got [in] and drove away.” City p…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
COVID-19: Pennsylvania Health Officials Roll Out New Vaccine Phases Amid Statewide Delay COVID-19: Pennsylvania Health Officials Roll Out New Vaccine Phases Amid Statewide Delay
Covid-19: Pennsylvania Health Officials Roll Out New Vaccine Phases Amid Statewide Delay Pennsylvania health officials announced a clearer, multi-phase path toward statewide vaccine distribution Friday, in the midst of a statewide inoculation delay. "There is a delay of about 24 hours through the hospitals, and both through Walgreens and CVS, our partners in the long-term care mission by up to 72 hours," Pennsylvania Department of Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said.  "We expect that more vaccinations have been given, but that's the data we have right now." The largest concern for the state's health department was when the shipment of the second dose of vaccinations w…

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by Nicole Acosta
News
Feds: $250,000 In Mailed NJ Checks, Money Orders Stolen, Cashed By NYC Crew Feds: $250,000 In Mailed NJ Checks, Money Orders Stolen, Cashed By NYC Crew
Feds: $250,000 In Mailed NJ Checks, Money Orders Stolen, Cashed By NYC Crew More than $250,000 worth of checks and money orders were stolen from post office mailboxes in North Jersey by a group of thieves from the Bronx who quickly converted them to cash, federal authorities said. Crew members operated for nearly 14 months, stealing checks and money orders from the mail, altering them, depositing them into bank accounts and withdrawing the proceeds before the victims discovered the fraud. U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Jose Lopez Blanco, 22, got them access to the mailboxes with a U.S. Postal Service master key, Carpenito said. Law enforcement officers watche…

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by Jerry DeMarco