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Monday, dec 23
Tag:
Puerto Rico
News
Homeland Security Investigation Leads To $294K Cocaine Bust In PA
A joint investigation with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) led to the arrest of a Columbia man and the seizure of more than $294,000 worth of cocaine and marijuana, the Lancaster County Drug Task Force announced on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. Roderick Gonzalez-Perez, of the 800 block of Blunston Street, was arrested on Oct. 4 after authorities intercepted a package containing over five kilograms of cocaine en route to his home from Puerto Rico. The package, addressed to “Senior Perez,” was flagged during transit, prompting a collaborative investigation by the Drug Task Force and HSI. Af…
Weather
Newly Named Tropical Storm Sara Forms: Here's Latest
There's a brand-new tropical storm with just two weeks remaining in the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season. A system in the central Caribbean Sea called Tropical Depression 19 was upgraded to Tropical Storm Sara on Thursday afternoon, Nov. 14. It's now moving westward toward Central America. Tropical storm warnings are in effect for parts of Honduras and Nicaragua. "Residents in these areas should monitor the storm's progress and follow local advisories," the National Hurricane Center said. Current projections have the storm headed to Florida on Wednesday, Nov. 20. (See the …
News
Costco Raising Membership Fees In US, Canada
The Costco Wholesale Corporation has announced membership hikes in the US and Canada for the first time in seven years, according to a news release by the company issued on Wednesday, July 10. Costco opened the release sharing a June sales growth in the US of 5.6%, which is higher than the past 44 weeks of just 4.4%, the company experienced a decrease in revenue internationally. On the heels of sharing that news, the company made the announcement about raising the membership fees in both the US and Canada beginning Sept. 1. Annual memberships are rising $5 making them $65…
Police & Fire
Trafficker Who Mailed Hundreds Of Pounds Of Coke From PR To South Jersey, Philly Gets 10 Years
𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: A manager of a crew that purchased hundreds of pounds of cocaine in Puerto Rico that they shipped to South Jersey and Philadelphia via overnight mail was sentenced to a plea-bargained 10 years in federal prison. Philly resident Jose Gonzalez, 51, and his co-conspirators flew to San Juan on dozens of commercial flights from Philadelphia International Airport, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Phillip Sellinger said. They paid cash there for multi-kilo quantities of coke, then used overnight delivery from U.S. Post Office branches in San Juan to ship it to various addresses in Philade…
News
Federal Inmate In Pennsylvania Pleads Guilty To Assaulting Officer:
Usdoj
A federal inmate in Schuylkill County pleaded guilty to attacking a correctional officer on Monday, April 29, according to prosecutors. The US Attorney's Office said Carlos Rodriguez-Cruz, 33, punched a guard at FCI Schuylkill in Minersville last Oct. 6. According to authorities, the guard found a homemade knife or "shank" during a search of Rodriguez-Cruz's cell. Rodriguez-Cruz, formerly of Puerto Rico, faces up to eight years of imprisonment, supervised release, and a fine. The guilty plea comes just a week after another FCI Schuylkill inmate pleaded guilty …
Obituaries
Pedestrian Killed In Allentown Wreck Was A Beloved Mom, Family Says
Luz Daneza Ruiz Acosta, an Allentown mother of two with a grandchild on the way, was hit and killed in a car accident Sunday, Dec. 10, according to authorities and loved ones. She was 43. Ruiz Acosta was on the 300 block of West Hamilton Street around 1:15 a.m. when she was fatally struck, Daily Voice reported. The crash remains under investigation by Allentown police and the Lehigh County District Attorney's Office. Born in Puerto Rico, Ruiz Acosta most recently worked at KidsPeace in Allentown, her obituary says. Her daughters, Luz Ramos Ruiz and Lurielis…
News
Pounds Of Cocaine Seized In Pennsylvania Helps Convict Last Member Of Puerto Rican Drug Ring
The seventh and final member of a drug smuggling ring that ran from Puerto Rico to Pennsylvania — has been convicted, according to a release by the US Department of Justice on Nov. 16. Moniqua Ramirez, 44, has been found guilty of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, according to U.S. Attorney Gerard M. Karam. She was convicted at the end of a three-day jury trial before U.S. District Court Judge Jennifer P. Wilson on Wednesday, Nov. 15. Ramirez, along with six other Puerto Ricans conspired to smuggle kilograms of cocaine from Puerto Rico into Central Pennsylvania using the US Post…
Police & Fire
Man With Ties To Allentown Escapees Police Custody
A man with Allentown ties who escaped police custody may be on his way back to the area, authorities warn. Hector Ruben Medina-Pagan, 46, broke out from a transport van in Hazleton on March 24, said the Carbon County Sheriff's Office. He is wanted on two parole warrants and now has a pending felony escape charge, they added. Investigators believe he's headed back to Allentown or possibly Puerto Rico. Medina-Pagan is described as 6-foot, 175 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information is asked to call the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office at 570…
Weather
Hurricane Lee's Risk To East Coast Rises: New Week-Long Projected Track
A new week-long projected track for Monster Hurricane Lee has been released as forecasters are now saying its risk to the East Coast has increased. "Hurricane Lee will remain a powerful storm after undergoing rapid intensification," according to a report by AccuWeather.com on Saturday, Sept. 8. "As Lee turns northward next week dangerous surf will develop along the East Coast while the risk for direct impact rises in New England." For a look at Lee's projected path through Saturday, Sept. 16, see the image above. Lee is now a Category 3 hurricane packed with maximum sustained winds of…
Weather
New Monster Storm Update: Forecast Models Take Major Hurricane Lee Along East Coast
Hurricane Lee has rapidly strengthened with new long-range computer models predicting its eventual path could take it at or near the Northeast. Click here for a new, updated story: Hurricane Lee's Risk To East Coast Rises: New Week-Long Projected Track Lee, now packed with maximum sustained winds of 150 miles per hour, is located over the warm waters of the Central Atlantic, hitting Category 5 status before wind speeds lowered it to Cat 4. It's expected to move over the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico this weekend, according to the National Hurricane Center. Already the st…
Police & Fire
2 Suspects Arrested, 1 Wanted For Triple Homicide At Lebanon Playground: DA
Details have been released after four people who were shot near a Pennsylvania playground, including two young brothers whose bodies will be transported to Puerto Rico for burial. Jesus Perez-Salome, 8, Sebastian Perez- Salome, 9, and Joshua Lugo-Perez, 19, all of Lebanon have been identified as the victims of the deadly shooting near a home and a playground in the 400 block of North 5th Street around 10 p.m. on Tuesday, May 30, 2023. UPDATE: The third suspected killer and his girlfriend have been arrested. You can read more about their arrests here. Jesus died on the back porch of his …
Police & Fire
Support Rises For Brothers Killed In Lebanon Shooting
Support is surging for two brothers who were fatally shot, along with a 19-year-old man and a 33-year-old man who was wounded, at a Lebanon playground on Tuesday, May 30, 2023. More than $2,800 had been raised as of Wednesday, May 31 for the family of Jesus Perez-Salome, 8, and Sebastian Perez-Salome, 9, on a GoFundMe page. Funds raised will go toward transporting the boys' bodies to Puerto Rico. The other victim who was killed was identified as Joshua Lugo-Perez, 19, and Luis Cancel, 33, was recovering at the hospital after surgery, officials said. The children were elementary …
Police & Fire
'Operation Special Delivery': Berks Crew Smuggled $4M Of Cocaine Through The Mail, Police Say
A dozen people face criminal charges in connection with an ongoing scheme to mail cocaine from Puerto Rico to Berks County, according to authorities. During the course of "Operation Special Delivery," a task force of Berks detectives and federal agents seized roughly $4 million worth of cocaine from 19 packages sent through the US Postal Service, said county authorities in a release. Eleven of the 12 suspects are currently in police custody, detectives said. The investigation began last August when the Postal Inspector's Office found "kilogram quantities" of cocaine being regularly shi…
News
PA Woman Missing For Over 30 Years Found Alive In Puerto Rico: Authorities
A missing street preacher from Pennsylvania has been "found alive and well" in Puerto Rico, authorities announced in a press conference on Thursday, March 2, 2023. Patricia "Pat" Gail Kopta, had not been seen since June 20, 1992, and her husband Robert "Bob" Kopta reported her missing on Nov. 27 of that year, according to the police. She had a history of mental health issues and had disappeared before, so although there were rumors of a mugging and her jewelry being stolen, the police say family and friends knew she was looking for mental health treatment and her disappearance "…
Police & Fire
Fentanyl, Cocaine Worth $4.3M Seized In Takedown Of Massive PA Drug Ring, DA Says
Nearly thirty people are facing criminal charges after authorities dismantled a "large-scale" operation that trafficked drugs from Mexico and Puerto Rico to Pennsylvania, with nearly $4.3 million worth of fentanyl and cocaine seized as evidence, authorities said. In an early-morning roundup on Thursday, Dec. 1, a total of 22 adults were taken into custody, said Berks District Attorney John T. Adams and Montgomery District Attorney Kevin R. Steele in a joint statement. Posted by Berks County District Attorney on Thursday, December 1, 2022 Posted by Berks County District Attorney on T…
Weather
Cold Front Will Bring Change In Weather Pattern As New Storm System Develops In Atlantic
A springlike stretch of weather will finally come to an end as a cold front moves through the region followed by potential impacts from a storm system developing in the Atlantic. The cold front is gradually approaching on Sunday, Nov. 6, and will move through on Monday, Nov. 7, according to the National Weather Service. Before the front pushes through, high temperatures will rise into the 70s on both Sunday and Monday. On Sunday, there will be light showers at times, especially in areas farther west, said the weather service, which noted that the chance of showers will expand overnig…
Weather
Areas Of Interest In Atlantic Being Monitored As Hurricane Season Nears Final Month
Multiple areas of interest in the Atlantic basin are being closely monitored by forecasters as the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season nears its final month. Lisa is the next name on the list that meteorologists are using to name tropical storms for the hurricane season, which ends on Wednesday, Nov. 30. Showers and thunderstorms have decreased in association with a well-defined area of low pressure located just west-northwest of Bermuda, the NOAA National Hurricane Center said on Tuesday, Oct. 25. AccuWeather.com is referring to the system as a tropical rainstorm and said it is lik…
News
Heavy Luggage: Ringleader Gets 10 Years For Smuggling 330 Pounds Of Coke Into Teterboro Airport
A Puerto Rican resident who coordinated a private shipment of more than 300 pounds of cocaine into Teterboro Airport is headed to federal prison for a mandatory 10 years. Mariano Enrique Arroyo Perez – also known as “Humilde” – took a deal from the government rather than risk a trial. He’ll have to serve out the entire plea-bargained term because there’s no parole in the federal prison system. The scheme involved smuggling more than a quarter-ton of cocaine into the United States on private planes flying into the small local airport in Bergen County from 2017 through July 2019, U.S. Attorne…
Police & Fire
Gunman Wanted In Reading Homicide Nabbed In Puerto Rico
A 20-year-old Pennsylvania man was arrested in Puerto Rico Friday, Aug. 19 in connection with the killing of a Reading man last month, officials said. Luis Cepeda-Morales aka “Oriel" is accused of shooting Edwin Rivera-Valentin on the 400 block of Spring Garden Street on Sunday, July 31, Reading police said. Rivera-Valentin was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. Cepeda-Morales was identified as the gunman and later charged with first and third-degree murder, aggravated assault and recklessly endangering another person. Berks County District Attorney John T. Adams has approve…
News
House Agrees To Legalize Weed, But Don’t Fire One Up Just Yet
It was only 16 months ago that the U.S. House of Representatives approved the nation’s first attempted repeal of federal marijuana laws. Then nothing happened. Over in the Senate, then-Sen. Kamala Harris introduced a similar bill that metaphorically died on the vine. The House on April Fools' Day again agreed to legalize weed, taking the nation back to lawmakers' December 2020 attempt to toss the federal pot ban. Let's be blunt: The result will most likely be the same. Only a few Republicans joined the House majority in Friday’s 220-204 House vote to remove reefer from the 1970 Controlled…
News
Latin King Going Back To Prison After Shipping Cocaine From Puerto Rico To Pennsylvania:
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A member of the Latin Kings who once served prison time for supplying heroin and cocaine to drug dealers across the mid-Atlantic region will soon be back behind bars for a similar crime, authorities said.Hector Castro-Padro, 36, of York, was recently sentenced to six years in prison after trying to smuggle a box containing a kilogram of cocaine from Puerto Rico to York, Pennsylvania via US mail in November 2019, according to a release by the US Department of Justice. Authorities caught him when he collected the box from the mail, United States Attorney John C. Gurganus said. …
News
4 Men Arrested For Selling Fentanyl-Laced Heroin To Actor Michael K. Williams
Four men have been arrested and charged in connection with the fatal overdose death of actor Michael K. Williams, according to a release by the US Department of Justice. All four men were taken into custody on Tuesday– including one defendant who was arrested in Puerto Rico, according to the news release. Williams, 54, died of acute drug intoxication Sept. 6, according to the New York City medical examiner's office. The office previously ruled the death accidental and no foul play was suspected according to statements by law enforcement in the days and weeks following his death. Three o…
News
Murder
IN
Madrid
:
Nj-b
orn Tycoon Poisoned, Robbed In Hotel Room, Authorities Say
A New Jersey-born yacht company tycoon was robbed and killed by men he’d invited back to his luxury hotel room in Madrid, authorities there said. Investigators at first believed that José Rosado, 43, died of natural causes after combining drugs and alcohol. Charges on his credit card led them in another direction, however. Authorities in Madrid on Monday arrested two men accused of killing Rosado with a fatal dose of Ecstasy during a robbery at the luxurious Westin Palace Hotel on Oct. 29 and then going on a shopping spree with his AmEx card. One of the defendants, from Morocco, had 1…
News
Hero
: Rookie TSA Officer Revives Choking Baby At Newark Airport
A 2-month-old boy had stopped breathing and was red-faced when a young mother at the Newark Airport security checkpoint screamed for help. TSA Officer Cecilia Morales had barely been on the job two months when she heard the commotion at Terminal C and began shouting instructions. "They just kept passing the baby around probably because they were panicking," Morales's fiancé told Daily Voice. Morales, a Newark resident who's been an EMT in North Jersey more than a decade, then vaulted a checkpoint conveyer belt, took the child and placed him face down on her arm, TSA spokesperson Lisa Farb…
News
Omicron: Highly Transmissible Variant Expected To Cause 'Viral Blizzard,' Experts Say
Just when you think you've dodged the coronavirus, up pops a new variant: Omicron. The good news is that the new COVID-19 variant is milder than the Delta variant, but chances of reinfection are nearly five times higher, according to a recent study by the Imperial College London. Experts say that a "viral blizzard" could be upon us in the coming weeks, all thanks to Omicron. That means that Omicron might actually be helpful in achieving herd immunity faster. Officials are still urging everyone to get vaccinated, which can prevent life-threatening symptoms of the COVID-…
News
'Heavy Luggage' Bust: Puerto Rican Man Admits Plot To Smuggle 330 Pounds Of Coke Into Teterboro
A Puerto Rican resident admitted coordinating a private shipment of more than 300 pounds of cocaine into Teterboro Airport, federal authorities said. Mariano Enrique Arroyo Perez, 29, took a deal from the government rather than risk a trial, pleading guilty Tuesday in federal court in Newark to conspiring to distribute five or more kilos of coke, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. The conspiracy unraveled after four men not on the manifest boarded a private Teterboro-bound plane in Puerto Rico with "particularly heavy" luggage, raising the pilots' suspicions, Honig said. Investiga…
Police & Fire
Suspect In Deadly Berks Nightclub Shooting Nabbed In Puerto Rico
A 28-year-old Berks County man wanted in connection with a deadly weekend shooting, was nabbed in Puerto Rico, authorities said. Alberto Rivera-Vázquez was apprehended in Puerto Rico on Wednesday and is awaiting extradition to Pennsylvania on first and third-degree murder charges, according to Reading police chief Richard Tornielli. Rivera-Vázquez is accused of fatally shooting 43-year-old José Rodrguez-Bultron and injuring another adult male victim outside of La Cabaña Lounge in Reading shortly after midnight on Sunday, police said. Investigators believe the incident s…
News
Pagans Leader From Long Island Gets Nearly 3 Years For Gun Found In NJ Stop Following PA Party
UPDATE: The former national president of the Pagans was sentenced Thursday to a plea-bargained 33 months in federal prison for having a gun while returning home through New Jersey from a party in Pennsylvania. Keith Richter – a 62-year-old ex-con known as “Conan the Barbarian” – was returning to his Bay Shore (Suffolk County) home from a Pagan's Motorcycle Club party in Lancaster, PA when he was stopped in Mercer County this past February. Police found him carrying a loaded .45-caliber Ruger P345 handgun, Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Rachael A. Honig said. Rather than risk trial, Ri…
News
Feds: Angry JetBlue Passenger Rushes Cockpit, Chokes Attendant, Begs To Be Shot
A JetBlue passenger who was upset when he had trouble making a phone call had to be restrained after he tried to storm the cockpit and choke a flight attendant who intercepted him, federal authorities said. Flight 261 from Boston to Puerto Rico was 45 minutes or so from landing late Wednesday when Khalil El Dahr “became angry" about a phone call not going through, an FBI affidavit on file in U.S. District Court in San Juan says. El Dahr, who was sitting in the sixth row, rushed the cockpit, yelling in Spanish and Arabic for someone to shoot him, it says. A flight attendant tried to stop El…
News
Pagans Motorcycle Gang Leader From Long Island Takes Plea On NJ Gun Charge Following PA Party
The former national president of the outlaw Pagans motorcycle gang took a guilty plea in federal court on Wednesday after police caught him with a gun in New Jersey while returning to his Long Island home from a party in Pennsylvania. Keith Richter – a 62-year-old ex-con known as “Conan the Barbarian” – was returning to his Bay Shore (Suffolk County) home from a Pagan's Motorcycle Club party in Lancaster, PA when he was stopped in Mercer County on Feb. 20. Police found him carrying a loaded .45-caliber Ruger P345 handgun, Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Rachael A. Honig said. Rath…
Police & Fire
Cash Reward Offered For Capture Of Lehigh Fugitive Accused Of Selling Mass Quantities Of Heroin
SEEN HIM? Police are offering a cash reward for information leading to the apprehension of a Lehigh County fugitive accused of selling heroin who may have fled the country. Aurelio Pitre-Montalvo, 50, is wanted for failing to appear in Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas, according to the PA Fugitive Task Force. Pitre-Montalvo was initially charged with possession with intent to deliver 3,000 bags of heroin, police said. Pitre-Montalvo is also wanted in New York on similar charges and is accused of fleeing Pennsylvania to Puerto Rico last October to avoid prosecution. He may have also…
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