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NJ Broker Scammed Grieving Army Families Out Of $3.5 Million In Death Benefits, Feds Charge NJ Broker Scammed Grieving Army Families Out Of $3.5 Million In Death Benefits, Feds Charge
NJ Broker Scammed Grieving Army Families Out Of $3.5 Million In Death Benefits, Feds Charge Families of soldiers killed in war lost nearly $3.5 million to a merciless financial counselor from New Jersey who exploited their grief, federal authorities have charged. Caz Craffy, 41, worked for the United States Army when he defrauded two dozen Gold Star families who trusted him out of death benefits, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said on Friday, July 7. Craffy – also known as “Carz Craffey” – “took advantage of his role as an Army financial counselor, using lies and deception to steer their investments in a way that would make him money,” Sellinger said during a new…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Business
belVita Breakfast Sandwiches Being Recalled Due To Possible Presence Of Peanuts belVita Breakfast Sandwiches Being Recalled Due To Possible Presence Of Peanuts
belVita Breakfast Sandwiches Being Recalled Due To Possible Presence Of Peanuts A popular breakfast product that was sold nationwide and can cause a life-threatening allergic reaction is the subject of a new recall, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced. New Jersey-based Mondelēz Global is recalling two varieties of belVita Breakfast Sandwich products that could have undeclared peanuts due to cross contamination while being produced. According to the FDA, anyone with an allergy or sensitivity to peanuts could fast serious or life-threatening allergic reactions if they were to eat or possibly come into contact with the recalled items. The recall is limited …

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Couple From PA Charged In Computer Repair Scam That Conned Victims In NJ, Elsewhere Couple From PA Charged In Computer Repair Scam That Conned Victims In NJ, Elsewhere
Couple From PA Charged In Computer Repair Scam That Conned Victims In NJ, Elsewhere A Pennsylvania man whose wife was charged with a computer scam that allowed her to siphon money out of unsuspecting victims’ accounts had a similar scheme going, Bergen County authorities announced. Kuleep Sethi, 66, was arrested by detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office on theft, conspiracy and money laundering charges earlier this week -- five months after they busted his wife, Mona, for the same thing. The Furlong, PA couple scammed victims not only in New Jersey but throughout the world, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. The thieves “created the belief that vic…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Predator Who Drove 2,700 Miles For Sex With Jersey Shore Girl, 14, Busted When He Returns: Feds Predator Who Drove 2,700 Miles For Sex With Jersey Shore Girl, 14, Busted When He Returns: Feds
Predator Who Drove 2,700 Miles For Sex With Jersey Shore Girl, 14, Busted When He Returns: Feds A predator from Louisiana who drove 2,700 miles roundtrip for sex with an underage Jersey Shore girl was captured when he flew back for more, federal authorities said. Spencer William-Wayne Caudle, 34, began grooming the 14-year-old victim through the Whisper app in April, a complaint on file in U.S. District Court in Trenton alleges. Although he expressed concern about ending up on TV's “To Catch a Predator,” Caudle drove to Toms River and “committed sexual acts on the victim” on May 27, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said. Caudle left for home later that night, Seliling…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Weather
Air Quality Quickly Worsening As Wildfire Smoke Returns Air Quality Quickly Worsening As Wildfire Smoke Returns
Air Quality Quickly Worsening As Wildfire Smoke Returns Another wave of Canadian wildfire smoke is making its way to the East Coast — and things were already not looking great as of Wednesday, June 28. Air quality index (AQI) values were in the triple digits in Philadelphia, Washington DC, and Baltimore as of Wednesday afternoon, AccuWeather says citing Plume Labs (see map above). The AQI in Pittsburg was particularly bad, with levels reaching 285. Click here to watch the skyline vanish. ALSO SEE: Philadelphia Air Quality Hits Code Red Due To Canadian Wildfire Smoke, Officials Warn Worst day of smoke from the Canadian wildfires we’ve had y…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Feds: It's 30 Years With No Parole For NJ Dad, 62, Who Made, Shared Child Rape Streams, Videos Feds: It's 30 Years With No Parole For NJ Dad, 62, Who Made, Shared Child Rape Streams, Videos
Feds: It's 30 Years With No Parole For NJ Dad, 62, Who Made, Shared Child Rape Streams, Videos UPDATE: A 62-year-old New Jersey father of three must spend the next 30 years in a federal penitentiary with no opportunity for parole for producing and sharing live streams and videos of children being sexually assaulted – some of them by him. Antonio Del Prado of Millburn must serve out the entire plea-bargained sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton also sentenced him to 10 years of supervised release. Del Prado theoretically would have to live into his 90s to ever breathe free air again -- and into his 100s before the gove…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Weather
These Maps Show Realtime Smoke, Air Quality As Canadian Wildfires Rage These Maps Show Realtime Smoke, Air Quality As Canadian Wildfires Rage
These Maps Show Realtime Smoke, Air Quality As Canadian Wildfires Rage Can't tell if it's smoke or cloudy skies above? The following realtime configurations and air quality maps won't have you guessing anymore. A realtime configuration from Fire Smoke Canada — the Canadian portal for information about wildland fire weather and smoke — shows exactly where each of the more than 150 wildfires are raging and predicts roughly how heavy the smoke will be and where. The New York Times, meanwhile, has a similar smoke forecast map that indicates light, medium, or high levels of smoke from the fires, based on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The rea…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
South Korean Clothing Manufacturer Admits Customs Fraud, Agrees To Pay US $2 Million South Korean Clothing Manufacturer Admits Customs Fraud, Agrees To Pay US $2 Million
South Korean Clothing Manufacturer Admits Customs Fraud, Agrees To Pay US $2 Million A South Korean company has agreed to reimburse the United States $2 million for defrauding Customs officials about the value of imported clothing and apparel. Principals with Anyclo International Inc. admitted this week that the company evaded duties on clothing and apparel that it manufactured abroad and imported into the U.S. for nearly seven years, beginning in October 2012, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said. The fraud involved preparing two invoices for the same shipments, the U.S. attorney said. One invoice bore the true value of the merchandise, Sellinger said. Th…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Weather
Smoky Summer: Could Week Of Wildfires Be Preview Of What's Ahead? Smoky Summer: Could Week Of Wildfires Be Preview Of What's Ahead?
Smoky Summer: Could Week Of Wildfires Be Preview Of What's Ahead? Are this week's smoky skies a preview of Summer 2023 in the Northeast? According to U.S. National Weather Service meteorologist Bryan Ramsey, that depends. Ramsey is quoted by CBS New York saying "it's really just going be all about the wind shift." According to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson, the Canadian wildfires are showing no signs of slowing down and will "likely continue to burn over Quebec into the summer, as they are in remote, heavily wooded areas," he said. But, if what Ramsey is saying is true, then raging fires in Canada — and locally, for that matter — …

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Jersey Shore Wrestling Champ Who Coached Kids Admits Trafficking Child Porn Jersey Shore Wrestling Champ Who Coached Kids Admits Trafficking Child Porn
Jersey Shore Wrestling Champ Who Coached Kids Admits Trafficking Child Porn UPDATE: A former New Jersey state wrestling champion who made national headlines when he came out admitted in federal court on Tuesday that he trafficked child porn, authorities said. Alec Donovan, a 26-year-old youth wrestling coach and referee from Brick, “used an internet-based application to exchange multiple images and videos of child sexual abuse, including depictions involving pre-pubescent children,” U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said after the June 6 plea hearing in Trenton. Donovan, who records show has coached at the Shorething Wrestling Club in Lakewood, also …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Obituaries
NJ Native ID'd After Deadly Multi-Vehicle Crash On Route 30 In PA: Coroner NJ Native ID'd After Deadly Multi-Vehicle Crash On Route 30 In PA: Coroner
NJ Native ID'd After Deadly Multi-Vehicle Crash On Route 30 In PA: Coroner A 45-year-old New Jersey native has been identified as the man killed in a three-vehicle crash on US Route 30 in Pennsylvania, authorities announced on Tuesday, June 6, 2023.  Hassan Burgess Folkes originally from Camden, NJ but most recently from Lancaster, PA died at the scene of the York County crash near the Wrightsville exit at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 3, 2023, according to the York County Coroner. Hassan was driving west on Rt. 30 when he lost control for an unknown reason, crossing the median, slamming into two other vehicles, and his vehicle landed on its roof in the e…

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by Jillian Pikora
Police & Fire
SLEAZEBAG: NJ Case Worker Admits Groping Clients, Sexting Wank Pics, Threatening To Take Kids SLEAZEBAG: NJ Case Worker Admits Groping Clients, Sexting Wank Pics, Threatening To Take Kids
Sleazebag: NJ Case Worker Admits Groping Clients, Sexting Wank Pics, Threatening To Take Kids It’s about as low as someone who works in child welfare services can go. A now-former case worker with the New Jersey Department of Children and Families admitted groping women he was investigating, sending unwanted masturbation pics and threatening to have children taken from those who didn’t go out with him, authorities said on Friday. Gilberto Ortiz Jr., a 53-year-old bilingual family services specialist, told a mom he was investigating that he’d “help her” if she had a relationship with him, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said. Ortiz warned the woman during a home visi…

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by Jerry DeMarco