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Cyber Attack: Some Parts Of Pennsylvania Courts STILL Shut Down (UPDATE) Cyber Attack: Some Parts Of Pennsylvania Courts STILL Shut Down (UPDATE)
Cyber Attack: Some Parts Of Pennsylvania Courts Still Shut Down (Update) A cyber attack has shuttered parts of the Pennsylvania Court System's website, Chief Justice of Pennsylvania Debra Todd announced at 10:18 p.m. on Feb. 4. A "denial of service cyber attack" led to the partial shutdown on Sunday, Todd explained citing the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. CISA said that "a denial of service cyber attack occurs when malicious actors flood the targeted host or network with traffic until the target cannot respond or simply crashes, preventing access for legitimate users." The attack affected the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania C…

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by Jillian Pikora
Police & Fire
Bristol Man Who Filmed Sexual Abuse Of Toddler, Tweens Held On $20M Bond: DA Bristol Man Who Filmed Sexual Abuse Of Toddler, Tweens Held On $20M Bond: DA
Bristol Man Who Filmed Sexual Abuse Of Toddler, Tweens Held On $20M Bond: DA A Pennsylvania resident accused of sexually abusing multiple children and filming the acts is being held on a $20 million bond, the Bucks County District Attorney's Office announced Tuesday, Nov. 28. Brian Nathaniel Harris, of Bristol Borough, faces more than 160 criminal charges — most of them felonies — related to sexual assault and child pornography dissemination, according to prosecutors.  Harris first came under investigation on Oct. 31 when Bucks detectives received an online tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, authorities said.  …

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by Mac Bullock
Police & Fire
Feds: It's 30 Years With No Parole For NJ Dad, 62, Who Made, Shared Child Rape Streams, Videos Feds: It's 30 Years With No Parole For NJ Dad, 62, Who Made, Shared Child Rape Streams, Videos
Feds: It's 30 Years With No Parole For NJ Dad, 62, Who Made, Shared Child Rape Streams, Videos UPDATE: A 62-year-old New Jersey father of three must spend the next 30 years in a federal penitentiary with no opportunity for parole for producing and sharing live streams and videos of children being sexually assaulted – some of them by him. Antonio Del Prado of Millburn must serve out the entire plea-bargained sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton also sentenced him to 10 years of supervised release. Del Prado theoretically would have to live into his 90s to ever breathe free air again -- and into his 100s before the gove…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Bucks Man Arrested Following Child Porn Raid, Police Say Bucks Man Arrested Following Child Porn Raid, Police Say
Bucks Man Arrested Following Child Porn Raid, Police Say A Bucks County man is charged with multiple felony counts in connection with a child porn investigation, say authorities.  Stephen. L. Sottolano, a 56-year-old Jamison resident, was arrested following a raid on his home on Friday, March 10, said Warrington Township police in a statement.  Sottolano first appeared on investigators' radar in October 2022, during an investigation on child sex abuse material being shared in Bucks County, the department said.  He was developed as a suspect in that probe, leading authorities to execute a search warrant at his home last Friday, pol…

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by Mac Bullock
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Ex-Con Tried To Board NJ Flight With AR-15, Taser, Bogus US Marshal Creds, More: Feds Ex-Con Tried To Board NJ Flight With AR-15, Taser, Bogus US Marshal Creds, More: Feds
Ex-Con Tried To Board NJ Flight With AR-15, Taser, Bogus US Marshal Creds, More: Feds A convicted felon from Bergen County was seized while trying to bring two rifles, a handgun, a Taser, a switchblade and bogus U.S. Marshals credentials onto a flight from Newark to Fort Lauderdale, federal authorities said. Seretse Clouden, 42, of Wallington had a .308-caliber DPMS Panther Arms rifle, a 5.56-caliber AR-15 rifle, a .40-caliber Glock 22 handgun and the phony creds -- which bore his name, photograph and a U.S. Marshal badge -- in his checked baggage, the FBI charged in a complaint. His bags also contained a ballistic vest that said "Deputy Marshal," two magazines containing 15…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
NJ Army Vet Who Supported Syrian Terrorist Lover Gets 3 Plea-Bargained Years In Federal Prison NJ Army Vet Who Supported Syrian Terrorist Lover Gets 3 Plea-Bargained Years In Federal Prison
NJ Army Vet Who Supported Syrian Terrorist Lover Gets 3 Plea-Bargained Years In Federal Prison A U.S. Army veteran from Sussex County must spend more than three years in federal prison for deliberately concealing money and guidance she gave to a Syrian terrorist she'd fallen in love with. Because there's no parole in the federal prison system, Maria Bell, 55, must serve out just about all of the plea-bargained 36-month sentence approved by a federal judge in Newark on Tuesday, Jan. 24, Bell, of Hopatcong, offered not only money and military intelligence but the benefit of her experience in specialized weapons training to Syria-based factions fighting the Assad regime, a complaint on…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Feds: EPA Inspector From NJ Watched Child Porn On Work Computer At Home Feds: EPA Inspector From NJ Watched Child Porn On Work Computer At Home
Feds: EPA Inspector From NJ Watched Child Porn On Work Computer At Home A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency employee from Fair Lawn watched child porn on his government-issued computer, authorities charged. John Struble, 63, was released by a U.S. magistrate judge in Newark, with conditions, after a brief video-conferenced appearance on Wednesday, March 29, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said. Struble, who works as a tank system inspector for the EPA’s office in downtown Manhattan, is charged with possession of child pornography. “The EPA alerted the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Homeland Security Investigations that it discovered …

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Feds: Ponzi Schemer Funded House, Car, More With $6.8M From Investors In NJ, Elsewhere Feds: Ponzi Schemer Funded House, Car, More With $6.8M From Investors In NJ, Elsewhere
Feds: Ponzi Schemer Funded House, Car, More With $6.8M From Investors In NJ, Elsewhere New Jersey residents were among more than two dozen victims who lost a combined $6.8 million to a North Carolina con man running a Ponzi scheme, federal authorities charged. David Schamens, 64, of Greensboro, NC, promised annual return rates of 12% to 30% when he began soliciting investments in 2014 in Secaucus-based TradeStream Analytics LTD, as well as in other entities with names such as TD Trading LLC, TFG Trading LLC, and Tradedesk Financial Group Inc., U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. He then launched Tradestream Algo Fund, an algorithm-based trading pool that he clai…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
GOTCHA! NJ Fugitive Wanted For Sex Trafficking Captured At Newark Airport GOTCHA! NJ Fugitive Wanted For Sex Trafficking Captured At Newark Airport
Gotcha! NJ Fugitive Wanted For Sex Trafficking Captured At Newark Airport A fugitive from Bergen County wanted for running a massive sex-trafficking ring in North Jersey, Rockland and New York City was captured trying to re-enter the United States from Colombia, authorities confirmed. Birmania “Nancy” Rincon, 62, a Colombian national living in Teaneck, was among the ringleaders of a crew that forced dozens of women into prostitution, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. She was in the wind, however, when authorities seized 21 defendants during a series of early-morning raids at 19 homes and other locations in Bergen and Hudson counties exactly two weeks ag…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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NJ Man Who Spent $5.6M COVID Relief On Stock Market, Luxury Car Sentenced NJ Man Who Spent $5.6M COVID Relief On Stock Market, Luxury Car Sentenced
NJ Man Who Spent $5.6M COVID Relief On Stock Market, Luxury Car Sentenced A Sussex County man was sentenced Tuesday to more than five years in federal prison for spending $5.6 million in federal COVID-19 pandemic business loans for himself, authorities said. Azhar Sarwar Rana, 31, of Newton will have to serve out just about all of the 64-month sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. The federal Paycheck Protection Program was designed to keep struggling small businesses afloat during the pandemic. Rana used the money, instead, to invest millions in the stock market, make a payment to a luxury car dealership and send hundreds of thous…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Feds Charge Somerset County Data Analyst With Trafficking Child Porn Feds Charge Somerset County Data Analyst With Trafficking Child Porn
Feds Charge Somerset County Data Analyst With Trafficking Child Porn A data analyst from Somerset County was charged with trafficking child porn following an undercover investigation, federal authorities said. Marc-Evan Manasse, 27, Somerville “distributed material containing images and video files of child sexual abuse” on a file-sharing network, Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Rachael A. Honig said. Detectives went undercover to access five video files and 11 images containing child sexual abuse from an IP address at Manasse’s home, Honig said. The files included “multiple visual depictions of pre-pubescent children being sexually abused by adults,” s…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
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 …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Authorities Smash International Sex-Trafficking Ring In NJ, NY, Rescue Dozens Of Victims Authorities Smash International Sex-Trafficking Ring In NJ, NY, Rescue Dozens Of Victims
Authorities Smash International Sex-Trafficking Ring In NJ, NY, Rescue Dozens Of Victims More than 50 women were forced into prostitution in North Jersey, Rockland County and New York City by male members of a large-scale international human trafficking ring run by three women from Teaneck and two men from Lodi, authorities said . A massive investigation into sex trafficking in both states culminated in a series of early-morning raids Wednesday at 19 homes and other locations in Bergen and Hudson counties – including Lodi, Teaneck, Englewood, Elmwood Park and Bergenfield. Detectives and uniformed police and sheriff's officers arrested 21 ring members. They also obtained a fug…

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by Jerry DeMarco