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Homeland Security Investigations

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Undocumented Immigrant Assaults Feds In Region, Detained Under 'Laken Riley Act': DOJ Undocumented Immigrant Assaults Feds In Region, Detained Under 'Laken Riley Act': DOJ
Undocumented Immigrant Assaults Feds In Region, Detained Under 'Laken Riley Act': DOJ A Nicaragua man in the United States illegally assaulted federal agents in upstate New York while being detained under the new Laken Riley Act, prosecutors said. Michel Manuel Garcia-Rojas, 38, who resides in Albany, was charged with assaulting a federal officer in Albany federal court Thursday, March 6, following an alleged incident in Rotterdam. Garcia-Rojas entered the United States illegally in 2023 and has been in removal proceedings since that time, according to the US Attorney’s Office in the Northern District. On Wednesday, March 5, Rotterdam Police contacted Homeland Security Inve…

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by Michael Mashburn
News
$316K Fentanyl-For-Food Stamps Scheme At Capital Region Deli Lands Employee Behind Bars $316K Fentanyl-For-Food Stamps Scheme At Capital Region Deli Lands Employee Behind Bars
$316K Fentanyl-For-Food Stamps Scheme At Capital Region Deli Lands Employee Behind Bars A Schenectady deli worker who turned his family business into a hub of illegal exchanges will spend the next year behind bars. Omar Alaidrus, 24, was sentenced to 12 months in prison on Wednesday, Feb. 12, after pleading guilty to distributing fentanyl and committing food stamp fraud totaling $316,975, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York. Alaidrus operated the scheme out of his family’s Schenectady deli, where he exchanged controlled substances—including fentanyl—for food stamps, prosecutors said.  He also gave out cash and other prohibited item…

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by Michael Mashburn
Sports
$39.5M In Fake Sports Gear Seized In Massive Crackdown Before Super Bowl LIX $39.5M In Fake Sports Gear Seized In Massive Crackdown Before Super Bowl LIX
$39.5M In Fake Sports Gear Seized In Massive Crackdown Before Super Bowl LIX Authorities confiscated $39.5 million worth of counterfeit sports merchandise ahead of Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans. More than 214,500 items were seized in the year-long crackdown, Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a news release on Wednesday, Feb. 5. "Operation Team Player" targeted fake jerseys, hats, jewelry, and other memorabilia being sold to fans. Led by the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center), the operation involved Homeland Security Investigations, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and major sports leagues.  The initia…

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by Chris Spiker
News
Child Sex Abuse Sting Operation In Rockland County Leads To Arrest: DA Child Sex Abuse Sting Operation In Rockland County Leads To Arrest: DA
Child Sex Abuse Sting Operation In Rockland County Leads To Arrest: DA A sting operation by the Rockland County District Attorney's Office led to the arrest of a Queens man caught in the trap. Jose Quizhpi, age 48, was indicted on Tuesday, Jan. 14, by a Rockland County grand jury on eight counts of attempted disseminating indecent materials, two counts of attempted rape, and other charges. Scott Waters, spokesman for the Rockland District Attorney's Office, said that between Nov. 5 and 17, 2024, Quizhpi exchanged numerous text messages, photographs, and videos, which were sexually explicit in nature, with a girl who he met online and whom he bel…

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by Kathy Reakes
Police & Fire
Corrections Sergeant From Region Charged With Child Exploitation Charges Corrections Sergeant From Region Charged With Child Exploitation Charges
Corrections Sergeant From Region Charged With Child Exploitation Charges A 44-year-old sergeant at the Rockland County Jail is facing over 50 charges of possessing and promoting alleged child sexual abuse material, authorities announced. Daniel Dworkin, a corrections officer sergeant, was arrested Thursday, Nov. 21, following an investigation sparked by a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, according to Rockland County District Attorney Thomas E. Walsh II. Dworkin is charged with 51 counts each of promoting and possessing a sexual performance by a child. A search of his home and digital devices reportedly uncovered disturbing…

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by Daily Voice
Police & Fire
Drug Trafficker In Region Busted With 3 Kilos Of Cocaine, $136K In Cash, Police Say Drug Trafficker In Region Busted With 3 Kilos Of Cocaine, $136K In Cash, Police Say
Drug Trafficker In Region Busted With 3 Kilos Of Cocaine, $136K In Cash, Police Say A drug dealer/trafficker from the region was allegedly busted with three kilos of cocaine and other drugs along with cash following a two-month investigation. Sullivan County resident Raheen Meredith, age 50, of Thompson, was charged on Friday, Oct. 25. According to Sullivan County Sheriff's Office Undersheriff Eric Chaboty, the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office Gang and Narcotics Intelligence Unit executed a search warrant in conjunction with “Operation Hard Rock,” a two-month-long investigation into wholesale cocaine distribution in Sullivan County.  Meredith was captured during a tr…

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by Kathy Reakes
News
Ex-School Counselor In Capital Region To Spend 15 Years In Prison For Child Sex Crimes Ex-School Counselor In Capital Region To Spend 15 Years In Prison For Child Sex Crimes
Ex-School Counselor In Capital Region To Spend 15 Years In Prison For Child Sex Crimes A Capital Region ex-school counselor will spend 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to the sexual exploitation of a child. Related: Ex-School Counselor In Capital Region Filmed Sexually Explicit Content Of Child For Years Albany County resident Kristy Lynne Koldis, age 46, of Latham, was sentenced on Thursday, Oct. 3, said US Attorney for the Northern District Of New York Carla Freedman. In previously pleading guilty, Koldis admitted that she created sexually explicit content depicting the lewd and lascivious exhibition of the victim's genitals from the time the child was nine …

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by Kathy Reakes
News
Man Nabbed In Undercover Online Predator Sting In Region, DA Says Man Nabbed In Undercover Online Predator Sting In Region, DA Says
Man Nabbed In Undercover Online Predator Sting In Region, DA Says A man is facing multiple charges after an online predator sting in the region. From Tuesday, April 30, through Sunday, Sept. 1 of this year, Robert Fidler age 66, of Nyack engaged in internet chats and attempted to arrange meetings with what he thought were two teenage girls, the Rockland County District Attorney's Office said. An undercover officer of the DA Office's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force had assumed the personas of 13- and 14-year-old girls. During the conversations, Fidler described how he and the undercover officer would engage in sexual contact whe…

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by Joe Lombardi
News
Bank Manager From Region Sentenced For Hiring A Hitman To Murder Brother-In-Law Bank Manager From Region Sentenced For Hiring A Hitman To Murder Brother-In-Law
Bank Manager From Region Sentenced For Hiring A Hitman To Murder Brother-In-Law A Hudson Valley bank manager is headed for federal prison after pleading guilty to plotting to hire a hitman to murder her own brother-in-law. Orange County resident Reshma Massarone, age 40, of Pine Bush, a hamlet of Crawford, was sentenced to 9.5 years in prison and three years of post-release supervision on Wednesday, Aug. 28, said Damian Williams, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York.  “The defendant devised a chilling plan to have a member of her own family murdered for the low price of ten thousand dollars," said Williams. "Her plan was unthinkably heartless. For th…

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by Kathy Reakes
News
$400K, 415 Pounds Of Pot Seized In Hudson Valley Zava Smoke Shops Investigation $400K, 415 Pounds Of Pot Seized In Hudson Valley Zava Smoke Shops Investigation
$400K, 415 Pounds Of Pot Seized In Hudson Valley Zava Smoke Shops Investigation Five corporations and three people have pleaded guilty following an investigation into multiple smoke shops in the Hudson Valley that netted more than $400,000 and 405 pounds of pot. Rockland County District Attorney Thomas Walsh II announced Wednesday, July 10, that three individuals and five corporations that were involved in a year-long investigation into Rockland County smoke shops, said  have pleaded guilty, The investigation began on Monday, March 4, when the DA's Office, the New York Office of Homeland Security Investigations, New York State agencies, and local police …

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by Kathy Reakes
News
Westchester's Sean 'Diddy' Combs Subject Of New Federal Criminal Investigation: Report Westchester's Sean 'Diddy' Combs Subject Of New Federal Criminal Investigation: Report
Westchester's Sean 'Diddy' Combs Subject Of New Federal Criminal Investigation: Report A federal criminal investigation is focusing on well-known hip-hop artist and longtime New Yorker Sean "Diddy" Combs, according to a report by NBC.  Combs, a 54-year-old New York City native who grew up in Westchester County in Mount Vernon, was told that he is a focus of an ongoing criminal investigation being conducted by federal authorities in the Southern District of New York, NBC reported.  The outlet added that as part of the probe, a federal grand jury is hearing evidence. There is nothing to suggest that charges are coming, though.  Combs has not received a lett…

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by Ben Crnic
News
Westchester's Sean 'Diddy' Combs Faces New Sexual Abuse Allegation: Report Westchester's Sean 'Diddy' Combs Faces New Sexual Abuse Allegation: Report
Westchester's Sean 'Diddy' Combs Faces New Sexual Abuse Allegation: Report Following several previous accusations, well-known hip-hop artist and longtime New Yorker Sean "Diddy" Combs is facing a new lawsuit filed by a former model who claims the producer sexually assaulted her, according to reports.  CNN reports that former model Crystal McKinney, the winner of MTV's 1998 Model Mission competition show, filed the latest lawsuit against Combs, a 54-year-old New York City native who grew up in Westchester County in Mount Vernon, on Tuesday, May 21. McKinney alleges that Combs drugged and sexually assaulted her in 2003 following a Men's Fashion Week event in New Yor…

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by Ben Crnic