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East Coast Ring Stole High-End GPS Devices From Boatyards In NJ, Elsewhere, State Police Charge
An ex-con with a previous history of boat-related thefts was part of a Miami-based ring that stole GPS systems from boatyards along the East Coast, including more than $300,000 worth in New Jersey, authorities said.
Mizael Alfonso, 47, and co-defendant Marie Frometa Rodriguez, 41, were captured at a motel in Plymouth, MA, New Jersey State Police said.
A third defendant, Manuel Barbosa Mendiluza, 58, was arrested by Miami police, while a fourth, Ciro Perez Martinez, 29, was nabbed by the Miami-Dade Marine Theft Task Force.
All were extradited to New Jersey, NJ State Police said.
Troopers f…
NJ Man Admits Hatching $400,000 Homeless GoFundMe Scam
The mastermind of a GoFundMe scheme that conned 14,000 donors across the country out of $400,000 to purportedly benefit a homeless veteran admitted in federal court in New Jersey on Monday that he and his ex-girlfriend pocketed most of the money.
Mark D’Amico, 42, formerly of Bordentown, admitted concocting a bogus feel-good story about the supposed victim coming to the rescue of Katelyn McClure after she ran out of gas on Route 95 on her way home to New Jersey from Philadelphia.
Both McClure and the homeless man, Johnny Bobbitt Jr., were in on the scheme, authorities said.
Together, D’Am…
Philadelphia Man Among 2 Charged In Kidnapping Of UDel Student
A Philadelphia resident was one of two men charged with trying to kidnap a University of Delaware student from her off-campus apartment, authorities said.
The victim had recently met Rene Villate Umpierre, 20, and invited him inside on Saturday night, several news outlets report citing Newark, DE police. Umpierre went inside as Keniel Rivera Peraza, 24, of Elkton, MD, waited outside in a car, authorities said.
Umpierre eventually became aggressive while inside, strangling the woman and trying to remove her from a bedroom of a resident at a student-housing complex on Hamlet Way aro…
9 Charged With Stealing $1.3M Worth of Vehicles In NJ, NY, PA, CT, MA, Shipping Them Overseas
An international ring of identity thieves stole $1.3 million worth of vehicles and watercraft from dealerships in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts using fraudulently obtained digital driver's licenses, authorities charged.
Nine defendants used the stolen identities of U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico -- along with fake Puerto Rico driver’s licenses, Social Security cards, debit cards and birth certificates -- to obtain the licenses from motor vehicle agencies in Jersey City and North Bergen, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck said.
They used thos…
Ex-Montco Deputy Sheriff Sentenced For Role In International Drug Trafficking Ring
A former Montgomery County deputy sheriff was sentenced to more than a decade in federal prison for his involvement in a global drug trafficking ring, authorities said.
In October 2018, David Landis, 44, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import controlled substances, possession, and distributing drugs that resulted in "serious bodily injury," throughout Montgomery County and beyond, according to the U.S Department of Justice.
From 2004 to 2014, Landis worked as a deputy sheriff in East Norriton Township, PhillyVoice reports.
From early 2016 until about March 2017, Landis "cons…
NYC Crew Conspired To Scam Atlantic City Casinos Out Of $1.12 Million, Authorities Charge
A group of New York City con artists conspired to scam five Atlantic City casinos out of $1,120,000 by exchanging bogus bank checks for gaming chips, authorities said.
The Hard Rock casino rejected a check and the Golden Nugget permitted only incremental amounts, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck said Thursday.
But Caesars, the Borgata and the Ocean Casino Resort all honored $284,000 checks, losing a combined total of $852,000, he said.
The New Jersey State Police Casino Gaming Bureau and the Division of Criminal Justice Specialized Crimes Bureau began investigating soon a…
