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Hudson County, NJ

Police & Fire
Cigarette Butt Leads To NJ Suspect's Arrest In 2012 PA Diner Killing: DA Cigarette Butt Leads To NJ Suspect's Arrest In 2012 PA Diner Killing: DA
Cigarette Butt Leads To NJ Suspect's Arrest In 2012 PA Diner Killing: DA The alleged gunman in a deadly 2012 Reading shooting is in police custody in New Jersey, according to Berks County prosecutors.  Vallis L. Slaughter, of Jersey City, is being held in Hudson County pending his extradition to Pennsylvania, said the District Attorney's Office on Monday, March 25.  Investigators believe he killed 34-year-old Julio A. Torres on March 24, 2012. Torres was shot while sitting in his car in the parking lot of the West Reading Diner after a confrontation with suspects, the DA's Office said.  Jomaine Case was eventually convicted in connectio…

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by Mac Bullock
News
PA Drug Dealer Federally Indicted For Methamphetamine Sales: USDOJ PA Drug Dealer Federally Indicted For Methamphetamine Sales: USDOJ
PA Drug Dealer Federally Indicted For Methamphetamine Sales: Usdoj A federal grand jury indicted a Luzerne County man on drug trafficking charges this week, according to the US Attorney's Office.  Benjamin Woytas, 34, of Wilkes-Barre Township, is accused of distributing methamphetamine in Luzerne County in August 2023, said USA Gerard Karam in a release.  The maximum penalty for the charges is a 40-year prison term followed by supervised release and a fine, prosecutors said.  In addition to the FBI, the county Drug Task Force investigated the case.  Woytas was charged with drug possession in Hudson County, New Jersey, in 2020.&nb…

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by Mac Bullock
Police & Fire
NJ Politico Gets 24 Years, No Parole, For Hiring Hit Men Who Killed, Burned Longtime Associate NJ Politico Gets 24 Years, No Parole, For Hiring Hit Men Who Killed, Burned Longtime Associate
NJ Politico Gets 24 Years, No Parole, For Hiring Hit Men Who Killed, Burned Longtime Associate UPDATE: A New Jersey political consultant was sentenced to 24 years in federal prison for hiring two hitmen to kill a longtime associate from Hudson County. Sean Caddle, 45, of Hamburg, will have to serve just about all of the plea-bargained sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. Caddle, a former aide to former State Sen. Ray Lesniak (D-Elizabeth), admitted last year that he paid the killers to whack Michael Galdieri, the son of former State Sen. James Galdieri (D-Jersey City) and a prominent figure in local Hudson County politics. Galdieri, 52, who'd worked for…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
UPDATE: Aging Career Criminal Gets 16 Years In Bizarre Murder-For-Hire Of NJ Politico UPDATE: Aging Career Criminal Gets 16 Years In Bizarre Murder-For-Hire Of NJ Politico
Update: Aging Career Criminal Gets 16 Years In Bizarre Murder-For-Hire Of NJ Politico An aging Connecticut ex-con would have to turn 90 to taste freedom again after he was sentenced for stabbing a political consultant to death and then torching his Jersey City apartment in a murder-for-hire hit with a longtime crony from Philadelphia. The odds are stacked against George Bratsenis, 74, of Monroe, who reportedly has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cancer. There's also no parole in the federal prison system. Unless he’s granted a compassionate release for health reasons, Bratsenis will have to serve just about all of the plea-bargained 16-year sentence approved by …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
STREET JUSTICE: NJ Vigilante Posing As Child Lures Sexual Predators Into Livestreamed Arrests STREET JUSTICE: NJ Vigilante Posing As Child Lures Sexual Predators Into Livestreamed Arrests
Street Justice: NJ Vigilante Posing As Child Lures Sexual Predators Into Livestreamed Arrests For nearly a year now a vigilante has been prowling the streets of North Jersey targeting child predators. All are drawn to public meeting places by what appears to be an underage boy or girl. They're in for a surprise, though: It's actually a Hudson County native who calls himself XK. "I'm not here to hurt you," XK tells those who show up, recording every second of the encounter on his GoPro. "I just want to have a civilized conversation with you." Ten minutes or so in, XK asks the target if he likes ice pops. "I like firecracker ice pops. That's my favorite," he tells them. That's th…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
PA Fugitive Applies For Police Job — Then She Gets Arrested PA Fugitive Applies For Police Job — Then She Gets Arrested
PA Fugitive Applies For Police Job — Then She Gets Arrested A fugitive who applied for a job with the Hudson County Sheriff's Office thought she was going in for an interview. Instead, she was placed under arrest, authoritie said. Zyeama Y. Johnson, 27, had a bench warrant out of Monroe County, PA, along with 10 more bench warrants for failure to appear in court on traffic violations in Jersey City, Hudson County Sheriff Francis X. “Frank” Schillari said. Finding her didn't seem to be too difficult. After confirming the validity of her warrants, Johnson was called in for a "job interview" by authorities in Hudson County — and then promptly arre…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
‘Stolen Valor’: Former NJ EMT Who Fabricated 9/11 Involvement Smoked Out On Social Media ‘Stolen Valor’: Former NJ EMT Who Fabricated 9/11 Involvement Smoked Out On Social Media
‘Stolen Valor’: Former NJ EMT Who Fabricated 9/11 Involvement Smoked Out On Social Media A former North Bergen and Jersey City Medical Center EMT was removed as a guest speaker at a 9/11 memorial event amid a social media uproar over bogus claims that he’d been at Ground Zero as a New York City firefighter. August Johansen, 45, had his photo published along with a story about his participation in a 9/11 fundraiser in a Tennessee town that’s coincidentally named Union City. In the photo, Johansen is wearing an FDNY patch on his polo shirt. Johansen was outed by NYC Fire Wire, an online news service that also participates in fundraisers and assistance efforts for emergency respo…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
FATAL SHOOTOUT: NJ Gunman Fires Point-Blank At Police, Shot Dead In Exchange FATAL SHOOTOUT: NJ Gunman Fires Point-Blank At Police, Shot Dead In Exchange
Fatal Shootout: NJ Gunman Fires Point-Blank At Police, Shot Dead In Exchange Dramatic footage shows a fully-armed man shooting point-blank at West New York police, then being shot dead himself. The incident is captured in a compilation of police bodycam footage and home surveillance video released late Tuesday, Sept. 6, by Acting New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin. Several uniformed officers responding to a domestic dispute at the 59th Street home of Kevin Colindres, 32, of West New York on June 3, 2022 had their body cameras activated, Platkin said. Home security cameras in the neighborhood were working, as well. Bodycam footage video recorded throug…

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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
News
MURDER FOR HIRE: NJ Political Operative Admits Paying Hit Men To Kill Longtime Associate MURDER FOR HIRE: NJ Political Operative Admits Paying Hit Men To Kill Longtime Associate
Murder FOR Hire: NJ Political Operative Admits Paying Hit Men To Kill Longtime Associate A New Jersey-based political consultant admitted Tuesday that he hired two hitmen to kill a longtime associate from Hudson County who had worked for him on various election campaigns, federal authorities said. Sean Caddle, 44, a former aide to former State Sen. Ray Lesniak (D-Elizabeth) paid the killers -- one from Connecticut, the other from Pennsylvania -- to get rid of Michael Galdieri, the son of former State Sen. James Galdieri (D-Jersey City) and a prominent figure in local Hudson County politics. Galdieri, 52, was stabbed to death in May 2014 before his Jersey City apartmen…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Feds: NJ Man Enticed Minors To Send Him Homemade Porn Pics, Video Feds: NJ Man Enticed Minors To Send Him Homemade Porn Pics, Video
Feds: NJ Man Enticed Minors To Send Him Homemade Porn Pics, Video A Hudson County man was arrested by the FBI after he enticed two underage children to create and send him porn photos and videos of themselves, federal authorities charged. Erick Solis, 25, "used a social media application to engage with two underage victims in sexually explicit conversations," U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said Thursday. He then "instructed both victims to take sexually explicit photographs and videos of themselves and send them to him," Sellinger said. At least one of them complied, the U.S. attorney said. Solis, who's recently lived in Union City and Weehawken, was…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
NJ Police Chief Angry At Having To Free Hudson Fugitive Wanted In Shooting Death Of NYC Officer NJ Police Chief Angry At Having To Free Hudson Fugitive Wanted In Shooting Death Of NYC Officer
NJ Police Chief Angry At Having To Free Hudson Fugitive Wanted In Shooting Death Of NYC Officer A Guttenberg man wanted for shooting and killing a school safety officer outside a Queens nightclub was in the hands of police in Fairview less than a half-hour later -- but had to be let go, authorities said. Now he’s at large and a local police chief is incensed. Mye Johnson and her twin sister were celebrating their 27th birthdays with a group of people before dawn Thursday when her ex-lover from Hudson County showed up, authorities said. Security guards at Solletto on Steinway Street near Astoria Boulevard turned away the as-yet unidentified man after finding him carrying a gun, law en…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
MD Teen Charged With Bias Attempted Murder For Savage Beating In NJ Park MD Teen Charged With Bias Attempted Murder For Savage Beating In NJ Park
MD Teen Charged With Bias Attempted Murder For Savage Beating In NJ Park A grand jury has indicted a Baltimore teen on bias attempted murder charges for savagely beating a learning-disabled man in a Hudson County park because he thought he was gay. José Tobias Carranza Serrano, 18, was captured by police in Bayonne who found him and his clothes covered in blood while arresting him on a trespassing charge hours after the June 21 attack in James J. Braddock Park in North Bergen, authorities said. The indictment returned Wednesday charges Carranza Serrano with attempted murder, bias intimidation, aggravated assault and robbery. The 37-year-old victim from West New…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Weather
Remnants Of Hurricane Ida Threatens NJ, PA With Tornados & Flooding Remnants Of Hurricane Ida Threatens NJ, PA With Tornados & Flooding
Remnants Of Hurricane Ida Threatens NJ, PA With Tornados & Flooding Remnants of Hurricane Ida is posing a risk of tornados and flooding across parts of New Jersey and the Philadelphia area Wednesday. Thunderstorms are largely possible across Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean counties in the afternoon -- which could turn into tornados, according to the National Weather Service. Enhanced Risk for tornadoes extended, slightly farther north; Gale Watch upgraded to a Gale Warning; Small northwest shift in heaviest rain amountsNational Weather Service In Pennsylvania, a flash flood watch was issued for …

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Trio Charged In $3 Million Burglary Of 50 Cent’s NJ Crib Trio Charged In $3 Million Burglary Of 50 Cent’s NJ Crib
Trio Charged In $3 Million Burglary Of 50 Cent’s NJ Crib A stolen car helped tie three ex-cons to the $3 million burglary of 50 Cent’s luxury apartment above the Hudson River, authorities said. The rapper, songwriter, TV producer and actor posted on Instagram that he was in Miami the third week of January, which law enforcement sources said afforded the thieves the opportunity. 50 – whose real name is Curtis Jackson – reported the break-in of his apartment to Cliffside Park police on Jan. 17. It “involved an estimated loss of approximately three million dollars in U.S. currency and jewelry,” Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said Friday, wit…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Jersey Shore Bookie Admits Running Own ‘Pick Six’ Lottery, Cash Prizes Topped $100,000 Jersey Shore Bookie Admits Running Own ‘Pick Six’ Lottery, Cash Prizes Topped $100,000
Jersey Shore Bookie Admits Running Own ‘Pick Six’ Lottery, Cash Prizes Topped $100,000 A Jersey Shore bookmaker admitted in federal court on Tuesday that he operated his own lottery game in Hudson County using the numbers from the New Jersey Lottery Pick Six to award winners. Up to 8,000 participants at a time selected six numbers from 1 to 49 at $20 a pop, Edward O’Neill, 54, told a U.S. District Court judge in Newark. The sole winner of the illegal lottery was whoever matched all six numbers selected in the official Pick Six drawing. Prizes often exceeded $100,000, said O’Neill, of Beachwood, who skimmed a 10% vig off the total bets. Like bookies of days past, O’Neill per…

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by Jerry DeMarco