Feds: Message App Shows How Pair Stole $10M Worth Of HIV Meds From NJ Veterans Hospital Feds: Message App Shows How Pair Stole $10M Worth Of HIV Meds From NJ Veterans Hospital
Feds: Message App Shows How Pair Stole $10M Worth Of HIV Meds From NJ Veterans Hospital UPDATE: Encrypted messages outline how a former pharmacy worker stole $10 million worth of HIV medications from a New Jersey veterans hospital with the help of a black-market fence from Bergen County, authorities charged. Surveillance cameras had already caught pharmacy tech Lisa M. Hoffman of Orange stealing the drugs from the shelves of the outpatient pharmacy at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) in East Orange, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said earlier this year. According to an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Newark this week,  federal agents also s…
Feds: NJ Mail Carrier Picked Up, Delivered Drugs For Years Feds: NJ Mail Carrier Picked Up, Delivered Drugs For Years
Feds: NJ Mail Carrier Picked Up, Delivered Drugs For Years A New Jersey mail carrier took bribes for five years to help people use the U.S. Postal Service to ship coke, pot and other contraband through the mail. Emerson Pavilus, 46, of Union was working for the post office in Flanders when he took the payoffs, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. “Among other things, Pavilus provided his conspirators with addresses in Flanders to which parcels could be shipped, intercepted those parcels from the mail stream, and personally delivered those parcels to conspirators at addresses other than those listed on the parcels,” Honig said. Pavilus was n…
Feds: NJ Mail Carrier Picked Up, Delivered Drugs For Years Feds: NJ Mail Carrier Picked Up, Delivered Drugs For Years
Feds: NJ Mail Carrier Picked Up, Delivered Drugs For Years A New Jersey mail carrier took bribes for five years to help people use the U.S. Postal Service to ship coke, pot and other contraband through the mail. Emerson Pavilus, 46, of Union was working for the post office in Flanders when he took the payoffs, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. “Among other things, Pavilus provided his conspirators with addresses in Flanders to which parcels could be shipped, intercepted those parcels from the mail stream, and personally delivered those parcels to conspirators at addresses other than those listed on the parcels,” Honig said. Pavilus was n…
Feds: Online NJ 'Romeo' Conned Woman Out Of $300,000 Feds: Online NJ 'Romeo' Conned Woman Out Of $300,000
Feds: Online NJ 'Romeo' Conned Woman Out Of $300,000 She met him on an Internet word game, then gave him her heart. Before she knew it, he’d taken more than $300,000 of her money. And she didn’t even know who her online Romeo really was. Eseosa Obaseki, 36, of Linden, was trying to dodge justice when FBI agents grabbed him this week at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, authorities said. Obaseki used a bogus persona to reach out to the Washington State victim in late winter/early spring of 2019, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Their online exchanges continued for a couple of months before Obaseki “convinced [her] of his rom…
NJ Federal Juror Who Did His Own Research Fined $11,227 For Causing Mistrial NJ Federal Juror Who Did His Own Research Fined $11,227 For Causing Mistrial
NJ Federal Juror Who Did His Own Research Fined $11,227 For Causing Mistrial A New Jersey federal juror was fined $11,227 for researching the case and sharing what he found with other jurors, causing a mistrial, authorities said Tuesday. Jurors in the trial “were instructed repeatedly, both in writing and verbally, not to conduct any research about the case, including through use of the Internet,” Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. However, Juror Number 7 – as he was identified – “conducted Internet research into evidence in the case” during a recess and then shared his findings with the other jurors during deliberations, causing a mistrial,” Honig said. U…
Jamaican Man, Peruvian Woman Admit Smuggling 22 Pounds Of Cocaine Into Newark Airport Jamaican Man, Peruvian Woman Admit Smuggling 22 Pounds Of Cocaine Into Newark Airport
Jamaican Man, Peruvian Woman Admit Smuggling 22 Pounds Of Cocaine Into Newark Airport Two people in two days this week admitted smuggling more than 22 pounds of cocaine combined into Newark Airport. Perez Omar Gibbs, 38, of Jamaica told a federal judge in Newark via videoconference that he hid more than six pounds of coke in two bags of coffee and four picture frames aboard a flight from Montego Bay, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. In an unrelated case, Honig said, Yolanda Fonseca Melgarejo, 59, a legal permanent resident of the United States and a citizen of Peru, told another judge in Newark that she concealed more than 15 pounds in chocolate candy on a flight …
Mobster Sent To Federal Prison For Beating Husband Of ‘Real Housewives Of NJ’ Cast Member Mobster Sent To Federal Prison For Beating Husband Of ‘Real Housewives Of NJ’ Cast Member
Mobster Sent To Federal Prison For Beating Husband Of ‘Real Housewives Of NJ’ Cast Member A Lucchese crime soldier was sentenced Thursday to a plea-bargained 2½ years in federal prison for throwing the current husband of former “Real Housewives of New Jersey” cast member Dina Manzo a beating in exchange for an extravagant gift from her well-known ex. John Perna, 44, of Cedar Grove testified last October that Thomas Manzo hired him in 2015 to assault David Cantin, who was dating Dina at the time. Perna told a federal judge he was armed with a “slapjack” when he and another Lucchese associate followed Cantin to a Passaic County strip mall and attacked him on July 18, 2015. In exc…
Feds, Locals Smash Burglary Crew That Targeted Asians In NJ, PA Feds, Locals Smash Burglary Crew That Targeted Asians In NJ, PA
Feds, Locals Smash Burglary Crew That Targeted Asians In NJ, PA A second-story burglary crew whose methods were based on “stereotype and opportunity” worked from a hit list of more than 50 homes owned by Asians in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, federal authorities charged Tuesday. Local, state and federal law enforcement authorities who teamed up to smash the ring found notes in the defendants’ cars “containing the home addresses of individuals of Asian descent with derogatory descriptive terms to identify the ethnicity of the homeowners,” Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Rachael A. Honig said. Crew members got those addresses by breaking into the vict…
Feds: PA Man Nabbed Collecting 950 Pounds Of Khat At Newark Airport Feds: PA Man Nabbed Collecting 950 Pounds Of Khat At Newark Airport
Feds: PA Man Nabbed Collecting 950 Pounds Of Khat At Newark Airport A Pennsylvania man was arrested by federal agents when he showed up at Newark Airport to collect a half-ton of khat that was flown in by freight container, authorities said. Azeez Adebari, 46, of Harrisburg, was listed as the consignee on a manifest and other documents the claimed the contents as clothing, ground melon and pepper, among other things, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig U.S. Customs and Border Protection authorities charged Adebari with conspiring to possess and distribute 430 kilograms (948 pounds) of the illegal drug after taking him into custody at the airport on Monday…
13 STRIKES: Feds Seize Repeat South Jersey Felon After Gun, Ammo Arrest 13 STRIKES: Feds Seize Repeat South Jersey Felon After Gun, Ammo Arrest
13 Strikes: Feds Seize Repeat South Jersey Felon After Gun, Ammo Arrest A 13-time convicted felon from South Jersey was in federal custody after he dropped a loaded handgun while trying to flee local police on a bicycle, authorities said. Officers responding to a 911 shooting call on March 7 spotted Sharif Hallman, 38, of Carneys Point, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. As they grabbed Hallman, a pistol fell to the ground, she said. The gun had a round in the chamber and an extended magazine with 22 more, Honig said. Hallman has an adult criminal history spanning nearly his entire adult life, federal authorities said. These include convictions for …
Female Passenger On Flight To Newark Groped By NY Man With Criminal History, Feds Charge Female Passenger On Flight To Newark Groped By NY Man With Criminal History, Feds Charge
Female Passenger On Flight To Newark Groped By NY Man With Criminal History, Feds Charge An upstate New York man groped a fellow passenger on a flight from Denver to Newark, federal authorities charged. Ryan Manuella, 28, of Erie County “moved to a vacant center seat next to a female passenger, who was sitting in a window seat” late last week, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said Monday. Honig said Manuella, who didn't know the woman, then “touched her on the groin and inner thigh without her permission,” Honig said. Manuella was charged in Nevada last year with a domestic violence assault, record show. The Cheektowaga resident also got into a struggle in 2017 with…
Fugitive Admits Swiping 94,000 Credit Card Numbers At Michaels Stores In 19 States Fugitive Admits Swiping 94,000 Credit Card Numbers At Michaels Stores In 19 States
Fugitive Admits Swiping 94,000 Credit Card Numbers At Michaels Stores In 19 States A fugitive who was captured in Mexico admitted his role in stealing information from 94,000 credit and debit cards used by customers at Michaels stores in 19 states, including New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. Jose “Tito” Salazar, 44, of Riverside, CA was part of a crew that replaced card-reading terminals at the arts and crafts retailer with wireless imitations that they used to capture customers' bank account numbers and PINs, Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Rachael A. Honig said. They then created copycat cards that were then used to withdraw more than $500,000 from…