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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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Final Defendant In Trenton Police Car Firebombing Gets 27 Months In Fed Pen
UPDATE: A Trenton man who threw a makeshift Molotov cocktail into a city police vehicle following a protest was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison.
Kadeem A. Dockery, 31, is the last of four defendants sentenced in U.S. District Court in connection with the May 31, 2020 protest in Trenton.
Video captured by surveillance cameras and personal cellphones helped authorities identify Dockery, who was arrested a little over two months later, and Killian F Melecio, 22, of Columbus, NJ.
Rather than face trial, Dockery took a deal from the government, pleading guilty in May 2021 to attemptin…
Marine Corps Vet From NJ Admits Defrauding VA Out Of $119,000, Threatening Agent
A U.S. Marine Corps veteran from New Jersey admitted that he threatened to harm a federal agent after defrauding the VA out of $118,979 in disability benefits, authorities said.
Kamil Wakulik, 38, lied when he claimed that he'd suffered PTSD from active-duty service that included having to recover human remains following natural disasters in the Philippines and Thailand, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said.
Wakulik, who lives in the Morris County community of Long Valley and was in the Corps from 2003 to 2007, wasn't involved in such operations, the U.S. attorney said.
Ba…
Tappin' IT: Manager Admits Embezzling $4.5M From NJ Brain Injury Fund For Sex With Gal Pals
The now-former manager of a fund for traumatic brain injury patients in New Jersey admitted diverting more than $4.5 million in public money to women he was having sex with, authorities said.
Harry Pizutelli, 64, of Edison, pleaded guilty by videoconference to conspiring to commit health care fraud before a federal judge in Trenton, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced on Wednesday, Jan. 4.
One of the women who benefitted from the scheme, Maritza Flores, 45, of Toms River, pleaded guilty to the same charge, as well as to tax evasion, Sellinger said.
In exchange, Pizutelli had amorou…
Feds: Getaway Minivan Driver Gets 12 Years, No Parole, For Armed Robbery Spree In NJ, PA
UPDATE: The man who drove the getaway car -- actually a minivan -- in an armed robbery spree in New Jersey and Pennsylvania must spend the next 12 years in federal prison.
Omar Feliciano-Estremera, 45, was the wheelman for a fellow Trentonian Gabriel Lopez, who authorities said fired a gun during one of the holdups.
The pair committed the robberies at mostly convenience stores in Mercer and Union counties in New Jersey and in Bucks County, PA in May and June of 2019, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.
Lopez "entered the businesses, brandished a handgun, and demanded money from the sto…
Plea Deal: 10 Years, No Parole, Awaits Philly Dealer Who Slung Meth In NJ
UPDATE: A plea deal is sending a Philadelphia drug dealer who slung meth in New Jersey to federal prison for 10 years without parole, authorities said.
Nasir White, 30, took the deal, pleading guilty to drug conspiracy, rather than risk the consequences of being convicted at a trial. He must serve out the entire sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system.
A fellow dealer, Shawn McGuriman, took the same deal and was sentenced in August 2021 to a decade behind bars, as well, authorities said.
White and McGuriman had a half-pound of meth that they'd agreed to sell to anot…
Ex-Trump Stalker Gets 6 Years, No Parole, For Threatening Secret Service Agent, Vets Officer
UPDATE: A former longtime stalker of former President Trump must spend nearly six years in federal prison for threatening to assault a Secret Service agent and "shoot up" an officer at a VA hospital in New Jersey.
Frank Monte, 52, of Passaic County, NJ, must serve out just about all of the sentence because there's no parole in the federal court system.
Monte, of the Oak Ridge section of West Milford, "repeatedly called the emergency line of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Police at the VA Lyons hospital campus" in Somerset County, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said on Tuesd…
