Reading Man Who Shot FBI Agents Convicted: USDOJ Reading Man Who Shot FBI Agents Convicted: USDOJ
Reading Man Who Shot FBI Agents Convicted: Usdoj Rafael Vega-Rodriguez "sealed his own fate" when he opened fire on three FBI agents in Reading four years ago, says the US Attorney's Office.  The 41-year-old was convicted Friday, Feb. 2 for three counts of attempted murder of a federal law enforcement officer and related offenses, federal prosecutors wrote in a release.  Authorities said Vega-Rodriguez was wanted for a state parole violation when the trio of FBI agents spotted him on West Greenwich Street on March 1, 2020.  When the agents tried to stop him, authorities said Vega-Rodriguez drew a handgun from his…
Cyber Attack: Some Parts Of Pennsylvania Courts STILL Shut Down (UPDATE) Cyber Attack: Some Parts Of Pennsylvania Courts STILL Shut Down (UPDATE)
Cyber Attack: Some Parts Of Pennsylvania Courts Still Shut Down (Update) A cyber attack has shuttered parts of the Pennsylvania Court System's website, Chief Justice of Pennsylvania Debra Todd announced at 10:18 p.m. on Feb. 4. A "denial of service cyber attack" led to the partial shutdown on Sunday, Todd explained citing the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. CISA said that "a denial of service cyber attack occurs when malicious actors flood the targeted host or network with traffic until the target cannot respond or simply crashes, preventing access for legitimate users." The attack affected the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania C…
Skull Found In PA Pond Was That Of 2004 Attempted Murder Suspect, Officials Say Skull Found In PA Pond Was That Of 2004 Attempted Murder Suspect, Officials Say
Skull Found In PA Pond Was That Of 2004 Attempted Murder Suspect, Officials Say A human skull discovered in an Amity Township pond has been identified as belonging to a missing attempted murder suspect, Berks County prosecutors say.  The skull was found by a child in a body of water near Pine Lane in April 2022, the District Attorney's Office wrote in a release Wednesday, Jan. 31. Two follow-up searches of the pond turned up no other human remains, authorities said.  Investigators believed the skull was that of Roger Hart, a former Pottstown resident who went missing in 2004 after he was charged with trying to kill his wife at their home. Hart fled the s…
NJ Man Trying To Meet PA Middle Schooler Gets Prison Time, DA Says NJ Man Trying To Meet PA Middle Schooler Gets Prison Time, DA Says
NJ's Steven Boutte Heads To Prison For Pursuing Sex PA Girl A New Jersey man will spend up to a dozen years in a Pennsylvania state prison after authorities say he tried to meet with a middle schooler for sex.  Steven Boutte, 53, of Burlington, was convicted in December for involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, criminal attempt to commit statutory sexual assault, unlawful contact with a minor, and related counts, said the Bucks County District Attorney's Office.  Investigators said Boutte began a conversation with someone he believed to be a 13-year-old girl on a dating app in December 2022. He engaged in a "very sexual…
'I'm Going To Shoot Up My School,' Said PA Teen On Video Game Chat: Police 'I'm Going To Shoot Up My School,' Said PA Teen On Video Game Chat: Police
'I'm Going To Shoot Up My School,' Said PA Teen On Video Game Chat: Police A 14-year-old in Coaldale Borough is accused of making a violent threat in an online chat, authorities say.  "I'm going to shoot up my school," the teen allegedly wrote to other players in a gaming session.  Borough police said they were notified of the threat by state police and the FBI on Tuesday, Jan. 9 around 3:30 p.m.  Authorities said they tracked the IP address associated with the user account to a house in Coaldale and spoke with the homeowner. The 14-year-old "confessed to the incident" and was charged with making terroristic threats, police said.  "Currently,…
Feds: Leader Of Ring That Flooded South Jersey, Philly 'Burbs With Fentanyl, Meth Gets 18 Years Feds: Leader Of Ring That Flooded South Jersey, Philly 'Burbs With Fentanyl, Meth Gets 18 Years
Feds: Leader Of Ring That Flooded South Jersey, Philly 'Burbs With Fentanyl, Meth Gets 18 Years A drug kingpin who headed a network that slung fentanyl and meth in South Jersey and the suburbs of Philadelphia while he hid from his pursuers was sentenced Thursday to a plea-bargained 18 years in federal prison. Glenn Long, 29, of Philadelphia, must serve just about all of the time he received in U.S. District Court in Camden on Jan. 4 because there’s no parole in the federal prison system. Long – known on the street as “Bless” and “Max” – ran the operation as a fugitive for three years while under a federal indictment for major drug trafficking out of Philadelphia. A second drug conspi…
Men Faked Mass Armed Robberies So 'Victims' Could Get Immigration Protection: FBI Men Faked Mass Armed Robberies So 'Victims' Could Get Immigration Protection: FBI
Men Faked Mass Armed Robberies So 'Victims' Could Get Immigration Protection: FBI Two New York men are accused of staging at least eight fake robberies so the store owners could receive immigration benefits, authorities said.  Long Island resident Rambhai Patel, age 36, of Farmingdale, and New York City Balwinder Singh, age 39, of Queens, are charged with conspiracy to commit visa fraud, the U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts said. FBI agents said they linked the men to four robberies in Massachusetts, two in Pennsylvania, and one in Kentucky and Tennessee.  The dates and locations of the alleged fake robberies are:  March 22: Richdale Food Shops, Hing…
Suspected Pennypack Park Slasher Has Links To Unsolved Rapes, Murder: Police Suspected Pennypack Park Slasher Has Links To Unsolved Rapes, Murder: Police
Elias Diaz Linked To Fairmount Park Rape: Police The man accused of attacking people with a machete in Pennypack Park has been linked to a string of unsolved rapes and one murder dating back to 2003, according to authorities.  Elias Diaz, 46, was arrested on the park trail on Sunday, Dec. 17, police said previously.  In a press conference on Tuesday, Dec. 19, Philadelphia police, District Attorney Larry Krasner, and FBI officials said Diaz's DNA was linked to evidence collected from the scenes of multiple sexual assaults in Fairmount Park from 2003.  He is also said to be linked to the July 13, 2003 murder of 30-year-…
NY Man Who Assaulted Female Passenger On Flight To Newark Gets 2 Years, No Parole NY Man Who Assaulted Female Passenger On Flight To Newark Gets 2 Years, No Parole
NY Man Who Assaulted Female Passenger On Flight To Newark Gets 2 Years, No Parole UPDATE: An upstate New York man who admitted assaulting a fellow passenger on a flight from Denver to Newark must spend two plea-bargained years in federal prison. Ryan Manuella, 30, of Erie County, “moved to a vacant center seat next to a female passenger, who was sitting in a window seat” on the April 16, 2021 flight, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Manuella, who didn't know the woman, then "touched the passenger without her consent," Sellinger said. "The victim then yelled at him and left the row of seats," the U.S. attorney said. Defense attorney Andrew Olesnyck…
Compulsive NJ Bank Robber From PA Heads Back To Fed Pen For 12½ Years, No Parole Compulsive NJ Bank Robber From PA Heads Back To Fed Pen For 12½ Years, No Parole
Compulsive NJ Bank Robber From PA Heads Back To Fed Pen For 12½ Years, No Parole A man who spent eight years in federal prison for robbing banks in Pennsylvania is headed back for another 12½ years for two subsequent South Jersey holdups in three days. Leon I. Stanford, 54, of Wilkes Barre, PA admitted this past March that he handed tellers notes demanding money at both the TD Bank in Oaklyn on Feb. 22, 2020 and at the Republic Bank in Cherry Hill two days later. Witnesses at both banks described seeing the robber flee the area in the same white Saturn SUV, said U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger. Surveillance cameras captured partial license-plate charac…
7 Suspected Drug Dealers With 'Links To Mexican Cartel' Sought By Berks DA 7 Suspected Drug Dealers With 'Links To Mexican Cartel' Sought By Berks DA
7 Suspected Drug Dealers With 'Links To Mexican Cartel' Sought By Berks DA A week after "Operation Knockout" saw 29 accused drug dealers charged in Berks County, prosecutors say seven of them are still on the run.  Roughly $1.5 million in cocaine, fentanyl, methamphetamine, and other substances were seized by authorities in recent weeks as part of their effort targeting a "large-scale drug trafficking organization" based in and around Reading, officials have said.  The organization, according to the DA's Office, was being supplied by a source who had "direct links to a Mexican cartel." Only 18 of the suspects were in custody when authorities announced "Operation…
Bomb Threat Received By Allentown Synagogue Was Not Credible, Police Say Bomb Threat Received By Allentown Synagogue Was Not Credible, Police Say
Bomb Threat Received By Allentown Synagogue Was Not Credible, Police Say Allentown police responded to a bomb threat at a city synagogue on Thursday, according to the department.  Authorities said the Congregation Keneseth Israel at 2227 Chew Street received a threat about an explosive device around 11:40 a.m. that was "determined to be unfounded."  Allentown firefighters also responded to the scene, police said.  APD and the FBI are continuing to investigate.