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Dealer Seized In Largest Drug Bust In Atlantic County History Takes Plea Dealer Seized In Largest Drug Bust In Atlantic County History Takes Plea
Dealer Seized In Largest Drug Bust In Atlantic County History Takes Plea A dealer who had more than 45 combined pounds of heroin, fentanyl and cocaine seized from his home in the largest drug bust in Atlantic County history will head to federal prison later this year, authorities said. Ricardo Clavijo, 40, and his brother, Christopher Gonzalez of Pleasantville, were arrested last summer when nearly 24 pounds of cocaine, 12 pounds of fentanyl and 9½ pounds of heroin were found in Calvijo's basement during a DEA-led raid of his Egg Harbor Township home. Members of the strike force also seized a .45-caliber handgun, a loaded magazine for the weapon, a 9mm 50-round …

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Ex-Con From NY State Admits Trying To Get Loaded Gun Through Newark Airport Security Ex-Con From NY State Admits Trying To Get Loaded Gun Through Newark Airport Security
Ex-Con From NY State Admits Trying To Get Loaded Gun Through Newark Airport Security An ex-con from New York admitted trying to slip a loaded, stolen gun through the security checkpoint at Newark Airport late last year, authorities said. Desmond Herring, 48, of Newburgh, NY made a beeline for his gate when a TSA officer staffing the checkpoint X-ray monitor found the loaded weapon -- along with boxes of ammo -- in his carry-on bag on Nov. 29, 2021, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said. Port Authority police collected the bag and examined its contents, the TSA said at the time. Along with the 9mm pistol were 10 rounds loaded into a magazine, along with anot…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Getaway Driver Takes Guilty Plea In Armed Robbery Spree Across NJ, PA Getaway Driver Takes Guilty Plea In Armed Robbery Spree Across NJ, PA
Getaway Driver Takes Guilty Plea In Armed Robbery Spree Across NJ, PA A Trenton resident admitted driving the getaway car for a stickup man who robbed a string of convenience stores at gunpoint in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Omar Feliciano-Estremera, 44, took a deal from the government rather than go to trial after accused robber Gabriel Lopez died. Feliciano-Estremera pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Trenton on Tuesday, March 15, to three counts of robbery and one each of conspiracy and aiding and abetting the possession of a gun that was fired during one of the holdups, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. He and Lopez committed the robberies i…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Feds: NJ High School Food Service Worker Had 1,673 Child Porn Files Feds: NJ High School Food Service Worker Had 1,673 Child Porn Files
Feds: NJ High School Food Service Worker Had 1,673 Child Porn Files A New Jersey high school food service worker was caught trafficking child porn, federal authorities said. Ezra W. Saphire, 29, of West Orange, was working at a high school in East Hanover (Morris County) when investigators found 1,014 video files and 659 still images of child sexual abuse, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. "These files included multiple visual depictions of prepubescent children being sexually abused by adults," the U.S. attorney said. Special agents of the Department of Homeland Security's Homeland Security Investigations arrested Saphire on Thursday, March 10, and …

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Feds: Smuggler Who Imported Ton Of Cocaine Into US Gets 15 Years Without Parole Feds: Smuggler Who Imported Ton Of Cocaine Into US Gets 15 Years Without Parole
Feds: Smuggler Who Imported Ton Of Cocaine Into US Gets 15 Years Without Parole A man who authorities said imported almost a ton of cocaine into the United States from Venezuela, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic was sentenced in federal court in Newark to a plea-bargained federal prison term of nearly 15 years, authorities said. Edwin “Tortuga” Nieves-Rosado, a 56-year-old U.S. citizen who was living in the Dominican Republic, must serve just about all of the sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. Nieves-Rosado "played a managerial role" in conspiring to smuggle the cocaine from with at least five other people from 2016 through January, 20…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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NJ Feds: California Gal Admits Running $9.9 Million Counterfeit Coupon Scam NJ Feds: California Gal Admits Running $9.9 Million Counterfeit Coupon Scam
NJ Feds: California Gal Admits Running $9.9 Million Counterfeit Coupon Scam UPDATE: A California woman admitted in federal court in New Jersey that she created and sold more than $9.9 million worth of counterfeit coupons used at retail stores throughout the country. Using the name “Mandy Carr,” Tong Lor printed Carolina coupons with fake bar codes for household items such as diapers, laundry detergent, and toiletries and then mailed them to customers nationwide, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Lor, 34, of Modesto sold the counterfeit coupons via invitation-only Internet groups associated with her businesses: Mandy’s Treasure Box, Mandy's Knitting …

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by Jerry DeMarco
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NJ ID Thief Gets 6½ Years In Federal Prison For $450K New York State PUA Scam NJ ID Thief Gets 6½ Years In Federal Prison For $450K New York State PUA Scam
NJ ID Thief Gets 6½ Years In Federal Prison For $450K New York State PUA Scam A Union County ID thief is headed to federal prison for 6½ years for illegally collecting $450,000 in pandemic unemployment insurance benefits from New York State. Maurice Mills, 30, of Union Township must serve just about all of the sentence because there's no parole in the federal court system. Mills submitted bogus applications for the benefits, funded by the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, "using the names of other individuals," U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Mills took a deal from the government rather than face trial, pleading guilty to wi…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Trenton Police Car Firebomber Gets 2½ Years Without Parole In Federal Prison Trenton Police Car Firebomber Gets 2½ Years Without Parole In Federal Prison
Trenton Police Car Firebomber Gets 2½ Years Without Parole In Federal Prison The last of four men who admitted torching a police car during a riot following a civil rights protest in Trenton was sentenced to 2½ years in federal prison. Earlja J. Dudley, 28, of Trenton, will have to serve just about all of the plea-bargained sentence handed down Wednesday, March 2, because there’s no parole in the federal prison system. Surveillance and bystander video showed Dudley and another man opening the vehicle’s hood and igniting an engine fire during the unrest on May 31, 2020, following what had been a peaceful day of protest over the death of George Floyd, U.S. Attorney Ph…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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FBI Charges Newark Man With Carjacking Montclair Woman In Driveway FBI Charges Newark Man With Carjacking Montclair Woman In Driveway
FBI Charges Newark Man With Carjacking Montclair Woman In Driveway Federal authorities took over the case of a Newark man charged with carjacking a Montclair woman at gunpoint in her driveway. Andy Cook, 23, was captured by Essex County sheriff's officers shortly after he and a gunman accosted the victim on Melrose Place in the township's Estate section shortly before 7:30 p.m. last Dec. 6, authorities said. The victim told police she'd just returned home when Cook's crony pointed a gun at her, demanded she get out of the car and ordered her to leave her purse, phone and keys behind, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. The gunman ran away as Cook got …

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Feds: Theft Of $8.2M In HIV Meds From Vets Hospital Gets Bergen Man 2½ Years Without Parole Feds: Theft Of $8.2M In HIV Meds From Vets Hospital Gets Bergen Man 2½ Years Without Parole
Feds: Theft Of $8.2M In HIV Meds From Vets Hospital Gets Bergen Man 2½ Years Without Parole UPDATE: A Lyndhurst man was sentenced to 2½ years in federal prison for conspiring to steal $8.2 million worth of HIV medications from a New Jersey veterans hospital to sell on the black market. Wagner Checonolasco, 34, must serve out just about all of the plea-bargained sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. Checonolasco, better known as “Wanny,” had an accomplice in Lisa M. Hoffman of Orange, who worked in the pharmacy of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in East Orange, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Surveillance cameras helped show how Hoffman “plac…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Businessman Admits Laundering $653M In Drug Money Through Banks In NJ, NY, PA Businessman Admits Laundering $653M In Drug Money Through Banks In NJ, NY, PA
Businessman Admits Laundering $653M In Drug Money Through Banks In NJ, NY, PA A businessman admitted laundering what a federal prosecutor called a "staggering" $653 million in drug money by bribing employees in banks and other financial institutions in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. Da Ying Sze, 43, of Queens said during a plea hearing in U.S. District Court in Newark on Tuesday, Feb. 22, that he deposited the cash into accounts in the names of shell companies and conspirators. Sze said he laundered the money from 2016 to 2021 by buying bank checks, writing personal and business checks and making international and domestic wires to thousands of individuals an…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
NJ Man Convinced By Ex-Con To Rob Bank Gets 92 Months In Federal Prison NJ Man Convinced By Ex-Con To Rob Bank Gets 92 Months In Federal Prison
NJ Man Convinced By Ex-Con To Rob Bank Gets 92 Months In Federal Prison A Camden man was sentenced to 92 months in federal prison for his role in a holdup spree by a serial bank robber. Laque Hunter, 37, was recruited to rob the Ocean First Bank in Collingswood in July 2018 by Anthony L. Livingston, 50, also of Camden. Livingston helped with a demand note and even drove Hunter to the bank, authorities said. The two then split the proceeds. Livington had only just been released from federal prison less than two weeks earlier after serving 18 years for robbing eight South Jersey banks in 2000 and 2001. A day after he was freed, Livingston robbed a PNC Bank…

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by Jerry DeMarco