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Bomb Threat On American Airlines Flight Diverts Plane From NJ To PA: Report
An American Airlines flight was diverted from Newark, New Jersey on its way to Dallas, Texas on Wednesday morning, Sept. 4, according to flight logs.
The flight, AA 1603, was diverted to Pittsburgh International Airport allegedly due to a bomb threat, as WPXI Channel 11 reported.
A flight attendant using the restroom supposedly spotted a "barely legible note written in pink pen on the door that said 'there’s a bomb on board,'" the outlet reported citing the FBI.
The plane left EWR at 8:06 a.m., diverting and landing at PIT at 10:15 a.m., flight logs show.
The landing at …
Felon From NJ Charged With Child Rape In Lebanon, PA: Affidavit
A New Jersey man with a felony criminal record in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey has been arrested on child rape charges police announced on Thursday, Aug. 1.
Jose Enrique "Enrico" Rivas, 47 of Newark, NJ, was arrested in New Jersey on a warrant issued by Lebanon City Police on Wednesday, July 31, as detailed in the police release.
Rivas will be extradited to Lebanon, PA, the police explained.
A 13-year-old girl's guardian made the ChildLine call after the girl told them "I woke to his fingers in me and then he put his pp in me" and "I was just raped and he is still upstairs,…
Member Of 'Hit List' Burglary Crew That Targeted Asian Homeowners In NJ, NY, PA Sentenced
𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: A member of a burglary ring that specifically targeted Asian-American small business owners in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware was sentenced to a plea-bargained 33 months in federal prison.
James Hurt, 48, of New York, and other members of the second-story crew worked from what the FBI called a hit list of dozens of homes in the four states based on “stereotype and opportunity" from Dec. 2, 2016, to March 20, 2019.
The burglars often got into homes through unsecured upper-floor windows before seeking out cash, jewelry and guns, the FBI said
In one instance, th…
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…
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…
3rd Member Of 'Hit List' Burglary Crew That Targeted Asian Homeowners In NJ, NY, PA, Cops Plea
UPDATE: A third member of a burglary ring that targeted Asian-American small business owners in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware has pleaded guilty, authorities confirmed.
Kevin Jackson, 57, of Rahway, was part of a second-story crew that the FBI said worked from a hit list of dozens of homes in four states based on “stereotype and opportunity."
One of Jackson's associates told detectives that Asians were targeted “because it was believed that the victims kept large sums of currency and jewelry in their residences,” an FBI complaint says.
Notes found in the defendants’ cars …
Member Of 'Hit List' Burglary Crew That Targeted Asian Homeowners In NJ, NY, PA, DE Cops Plea
UPDATE: A burglar from a crew that targeted Asian and Asian-American small business owners in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware took a deal from the government rather than risk the outcome of a trial, federal authorities said.
James Hurt, 47, of New York, was part of a second-story outfit that the FBI said worked from a hit list of dozens of homes in four states based on “stereotype and opportunity."
One of Hurt's associates told detectives that Asians were targeted “because it was believed that the victims kept large sums of currency and jewelry in their residences,” an FBI c…
NJ Politico Gets 24 Years, No Parole, For Hiring Hit Men Who Killed, Burned Longtime Associate
UPDATE: A New Jersey political consultant was sentenced to 24 years in federal prison for hiring two hitmen to kill a longtime associate from Hudson County.
Sean Caddle, 45, of Hamburg, will have to serve just about all of the plea-bargained sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system.
Caddle, a former aide to former State Sen. Ray Lesniak (D-Elizabeth), admitted last year that he paid the killers to whack Michael Galdieri, the son of former State Sen. James Galdieri (D-Jersey City) and a prominent figure in local Hudson County politics.
Galdieri, 52, who'd worked for…
Ex-Con Kidnapper Gets 43 Years, No Parole, For Rape, Arson, Assault Rampage Through NJ, NY, PA
UPDATE: An ex-con who kidnapped and raped his ex-girlfriend in Pennsylvania, then torched a used car dealership in Paterson and rammed a stolen SUV into police cars at both ends of the George Washington Bridge was sentenced to 43 years in federal prison.
Luis Figueroa, 42, first took a plea deal from the government that called for him to serve 26 years in a federal penitentiary.
Then he abruptly withdrew his plea, took his chances with a trial – and lost.
Federal jurors in Newark convicted Figueroa in May 2022 of kidnapping, criminal sexual abuse, illegal gun possession and assaulting…
Love At First Site: Ex-NJ Couple, Nigerian Wingman Charged In $4.5M Cyberfootsies Scam
A former New Jersey couple and a Nigerian national scammed more than 100 lonely hearts out of $4.5 million in an elaborate online romance scheme, federal authorities charged.
Martins Inalegwu, 34, of Philadelphia and Steincy Mathieu, 26, of Brooklyn cooked up the plot with Moses Chukwuebuka Alexander and several of his Nigerian brethren, an indictment returned by a federal grand jury alleges.
Together, they trolled online dating and social media sites for willing marks, whom they “wooed with words of love” on the phone and in emails, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said.
T…
Heard But Not Seen: Nigerian National Nabbed In $250,000 Audiobooks Scheme, NJ Feds Say
A Nigerian national living in Bangladesh contracted with more than 600 voice actors to produce audiobooks of written works that he didn't hold the rights to, federal authorities in New Jersey charged.
Anyanwu Benjamin Chizitere, 30, of Enugu, Nigeria, was part of a group that collected more than $250,000 by infringing on the copyright of a Newark-based company and its authors, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said.
Chizitere worked for a financial services business that provided online money transfer and digital payment services to the company, the U.S. attorney said.
He po…
Bergen Ex-Con Tried Boarding Newark Flight With AR-15, Taser, Fake US Marshal Creds, More: Feds
A convicted felon from Bergen County was seized while trying to bring two rifles, a handgun, a Taser, a switchblade and bogus U.S. Marshals credentials onto a flight from Newark to Fort Lauderdale, federal authorities said.
Seretse Clouden, 42, of Wallington had a .308-caliber DPMS Panther Arms rifle, a 5.56-caliber AR-15 rifle, a .40-caliber Glock 22 handgun and the phony creds -- which bore his name, photograph and a U.S. Marshal badge -- in his checked baggage, the FBI charged in a complaint.
His bags also contained a ballistic vest that said "Deputy Marshal," two magazines containing 15…
