Newark, NJ
News
Historic Guilty Plea By Oxycontin Maker Purdue Pharma: What It Means Historic Guilty Plea By Oxycontin Maker Purdue Pharma: What It Means
Historic Guilty Plea By Oxycontin Maker Purdue Pharma: What It Means Oxycontin maker Purdue Pharma pleaded guilty in federal court in Newark on Tuesday in exchange for not only the largest penalties ever levied against a pharmaceutical manufacturer for its role in creating the nation’s opioid crisis. The company, which declared bankruptcy last year, also will be dissolved and its assets used to establish a new "public benefit company,” federal authorities said. US District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo approved the deal after Purdue Pharma Board Chairman Steve Miller pleaded guilty during a teleconference to three criminal charges on behalf of the company. “Purd…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Hackensack, NJ
News
NO GAME: Feds Bust Accused Ringleaders Of Worldwide Videogame Hacking Crew NO GAME: Feds Bust Accused Ringleaders Of Worldwide Videogame Hacking Crew
NO Game: Feds Bust Accused Ringleaders Of Worldwide Videogame Hacking Crew Two accused ringleaders of one of the world’s most notorious videogame hacking groups were in FBI custody and an associate was being sought, federal authorities announced. All three are members Team Xecuter, a group that the government said develops and sells “jailbreak” devices that allow people to play pirated copies of games on their consoles. A federal indictment accuses Max “MAXiMiLiEN” Louarn, a 48-year-old French national, Gary “GaryOPA” Bowser, 51, of Canada, and Yuanning Chen, 35, of Shenzhen, China of creating and distributing the devices, which authorities said became more popula…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Hackensack, NJ
Police & Fire
Largest US Dark Web Sweep Ever: 179 Busted, Half-Ton Drugs, $6.5M Seized In Operation DisrupTor Largest US Dark Web Sweep Ever: 179 Busted, Half-Ton Drugs, $6.5M Seized In Operation DisrupTor
Largest US Dark Web Sweep Ever: 179 Busted, Half-Ton Drugs, $6.5M Seized In Operation DisrupTor Authorities seized more than $6.5 million in cash and virtual currency, as well as more than half a ton of drugs, in the largest dark web bust ever in the U.S., the Justice Department announced Tuesday. A total of 179 buyers and sellers were charged worldwide by law enforcement agencies in the United States and Europe as part of Operation DisrupTor, named for the heavily-encrypted private web browser (Tor) most often used to access the dark web, authorities said. More than 600 pounds of fentanyl, heroin, other opioids and cocaine were seized in the U.S. alone. Authorities charged 121 peopl…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Edison, NJ
News
FBI Confirms: Dead Activist Lawyer Killed Judge's Son, Wounded Her Husband FBI Confirms: Dead Activist Lawyer Killed Judge's Son, Wounded Her Husband
FBI Confirms: Dead Activist Lawyer Killed Judge's Son, Wounded Her Husband The FBI late Monday afternoon officially identified Roy Den Hollander as the gunman who killed the son of U.S. District Court Judge Esther Salas and wounded her husband at their Middlesex County home. The body of Den Hollander -- who recently had a case pending before Salas -- was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the Sullivan County town of Rockland in New York State. "Den Hollander is now deceased," U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Craig Carpenito announced Monday afternoon while calling him the "primary suspect." The investigation was continuing, Carpenito emphasized. He asked a…

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by Cecilia Levine
Edison, NJ
News
FBI Confirms: Dead Activist Lawyer Killed Judge's Son, Wounded Her Husband FBI Confirms: Dead Activist Lawyer Killed Judge's Son, Wounded Her Husband
FBI Confirms: Dead Activist Lawyer Killed Judge's Son, Wounded Her Husband UPDATE: The FBI late Monday afternoon officially identified Roy Den Hollander as the gunman who killed the son of U.S. District Court Judge Esther Salas and wounded her husband at their Middlesex County home. The body of Den Hollander -- who recently had a case before the judge -- was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the Sullivan County town of Rockland in New York State. "Den Hollander is now deceased," U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Craig Carpenito announced Monday afternoon while calling him the "primary suspect." The investigation was continuing, Carpenito emphasized. He aske…

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by Cecilia Levine
Newark, NJ
Police & Fire
New Trump Order Carries 'Long Prison Terms' For Defacing Monuments, NJ Top Fed Leads Task Force New Trump Order Carries 'Long Prison Terms' For Defacing Monuments, NJ Top Fed Leads Task Force
New Trump Order Carries 'Long Prison Terms' For Defacing Monuments, NJ Top Fed Leads Task Force In advance of the Fourth of July, President Trump on Friday signed an executive order that he said promises “long prison terms” for those who vandalize American monuments, memorials and statues. “I just had the privilege of signing a very strong Executive Order protecting American Monuments, Memorials, and Statues - and combating recent Criminal Violence,” Trump tweeted. “Long prison terms for these lawless acts against our Great Country!” In another move, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Craig Carpenito was appointed to co-lead a task force to counter anti-government extremists – specifically,…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Hackensack, NJ
Police & Fire
13 Local Law Enforcement Agencies In NJ Get $15.8M In COPS Grants To Hire More Officers 13 Local Law Enforcement Agencies In NJ Get $15.8M In COPS Grants To Hire More Officers
13 Local Law Enforcement Agencies In NJ Get $15.8M In Cops Grants To Hire More Officers A total of 13 police departments and other local law enforcement agencies in New Jersey will get $15.8 million in federal funding to hire 114 additional officers, U.S. Attorney General William Barr announced Tuesday. The Federal Community Oriented Policing (COPS) grants had been suspended since 2018 because of a nationwide injunction that was lifted earlier this year. On Tuesday, Barr announced that the Justice Department was awarding nearly $400 million to 596 law enforcement agencies nationwide to hire 2,732 additional full-time law enforcement professionals. They were chosen from nearly…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Fort Lee, NJ
Police & Fire
U.S. Supreme Court Overturns 'Bridgegate' Convictions U.S. Supreme Court Overturns 'Bridgegate' Convictions
U.S. Supreme Court Overturns 'Bridgegate' Convictions The nation’s highest court on Thursday unanimously overturned the convictions of two onetime allies of former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie who played keys roles in the infamous “Bridgegate” case. Bridget Ann Kelly and Bill Baroni didn’t defraud the government of its “property” by closing two local access lanes to the George Washington Bridge over three days in September 2013 as retribution against Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled. Kelly and Baroni “could not have violated the federal-program fraud or wire fraud laws” because the plan wasn't intended to obtain mon…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Hackensack, NJ
News
Justice Dept: COVID-Related Directives Can't Treat Religious Groups Differently Than Businesses Justice Dept: COVID-Related Directives Can't Treat Religious Groups Differently Than Businesses
Justice Dept: Covid-related Directives Can't Treat Religious Groups Differently Than Businesses Although state and local governments may issue coronavirus state-of-emergency directives, "there is no pandemic exception to the Constitution and its Bill of Rights," the Justice Department said Sunday. Federal authorities issued the statement in support of a Virginia church whose pastor was charged criminally with conducting a worship service attended by 16 people in a 225-seat sanctuary. But its message extends well beyond the specific case, as federal authorities continue examining state and local emergency orders to see whether they'd stand up to a constitutional challenge. The Lightho…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Fort Lee, NJ
Police & Fire
Israel’s Largest Bank Pays $900 Million In Offshore Tax Evasion Scheme, Soccer Payoffs Israel’s Largest Bank Pays $900 Million In Offshore Tax Evasion Scheme, Soccer Payoffs
Israel’s Largest Bank Pays $900 Million In Offshore Tax Evasion Scheme, Soccer Payoffs Israel’s largest bank and a Swiss subsidiary agreed in federal court in Manhattan on Thursday to pay $874.27 million to the U.S. Treasury, the Federal Reserve, and the New York State Department of Financial Services to settle offshore tax-evasion charges. At the same time, Bank Hapoalim B.M. and its wholly owned subsidiary, Hapoalim (Switzerland) Ltd., agreed to pay more than $30 million to the United States to resolve a federal investigation into their roles in laundering bribes and kickbacks to the world governing body for soccer. As part of the tax-evasion settlement, Bank Hapoalim B.M.&…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Hackensack, NJ
Police & Fire
Feds Smash Hundreds Of Online Coronavirus Scams -- And Tell You What To Look For Feds Smash Hundreds Of Online Coronavirus Scams -- And Tell You What To Look For
Feds Smash Hundreds Of Online Coronavirus Scams -- And Tell You What To Look For Federal authorities said they've gotten help from domain providers and others in smashing hundreds of online sites exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic to commit fraud and other crimes. As of Tuesday, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) had received and reviewed more than 3,600 complaints related to COVID-19 scams, the Justice Department said Wednesday. Many of them “operated from websites that advertised fake vaccines and cures, operated fraudulent charity drives, delivered malware, or hosted various other types of scams,” federal officials said in a release. To attract traffic, t…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Paramus, NJ
News
Chipotle Paying Feds Record $25 Million Fine For Foodborne Virus That Sickened Customers Chipotle Paying Feds Record $25 Million Fine For Foodborne Virus That Sickened Customers
Chipotle Paying Feds Record $25 Million Fine For Foodborne Virus That Sickened Customers Chipotle Mexican Grill has agreed to pay the federal government an unprecedented $25 million to resolve criminal charges stemming from a foodborne virus outbreak that sickened more than 1,100 customers nationwide, the Justice Department announced. The fine -- the largest ever in a federal food safety case -- is part of a three-year deferred prosecution agreement that will allow the California-based company to avoid a criminal conviction if it complies with an improved food safety program, DOJ officials said Tuesday. Papers filed in federal court in Los Angeles on Tuesday charge Chipotle wit…

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by Jerry DeMarco