FBI: Four From NJ, NY, PA Charged With Kidnapping Man, Demanding $100,000 Ransom FBI: Four From NJ, NY, PA Charged With Kidnapping Man, Demanding $100,000 Ransom FBI: Four From NJ, NY, PA Charged With Kidnapping Man, Demanding $100,000 Ransom
FBI: Four From NJ, NY, PA Charged With Kidnapping Man, Demanding $100,000 Ransom A group of men from New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York kidnapped a man on a Camden street, beat him and held him captive while trying to extort a $100,000 ransom from his family, federal authorities charged. The victim was grabbed from behind last Thursday night by his abductors, who “covered his head, bound him with plastic restraints, assaulted him and put him into a vehicle,” Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. They then drove him to a city residence where they “continued to beat him with a hard object the victim could not see,” she said. “After several hours, the kidnappers …
Nassau County Restaurant Owner Sentenced For Role In Extortion Scheme Nassau County Restaurant Owner Sentenced For Role In Extortion Scheme Nassau County Restaurant Owner Sentenced For Role In Extortion Scheme
Nassau County Restaurant Owner Sentenced For Role In Extortion Scheme A Long Island restaurant and bar owner has been sentenced for his involvement in soliciting more than $150,000 bribes from local restaurant owners.  William Mendez, age 50, of Elmont, was sentenced on Monday, Aug. 9 to one-and-a-third to four years in prison, according to Acting Nassau County District Attorney Joyce Smith. Smith said Mendez pleaded guilty on March 15 to the following charges: Two counts of second-degree bribe receiving Two counts of second-degree grand larceny by means of extortion Fourth-degree conspiracy Two counts of second-degree tampering with public records&nbs…
South Jersey Pair Indicted In Shooting Death After 'Internet Beef' With Victim's Son South Jersey Pair Indicted In Shooting Death After 'Internet Beef' With Victim's Son South Jersey Pair Indicted In Shooting Death After 'Internet Beef' With Victim's Son
South Jersey Pair Indicted In Shooting Death After 'Internet Beef' With Victim's Son Two men from Gloucester County have been indicted in the shooting death of another man after an alleged "internet beef" with the victim's son, authorities said. Victor Kaganzev, 21, and Christopher Velez, 22, both of Glassboro, were charged with "purposeful murder" and weapons offenses in connection with the Sept. 28, 2020, death of a 48-year-old man from Clayton, according to NJ Advance Media.  At a court hearing last year, Gloucester County prosecutors said that one of the suspects swallowed the spent bullet casings as well as a live bullet to conceal evidence from investigators…
Jersey Shore Man Forced Girl, 14, To Carve His Initials Above Her Breast, Indictment Charges Jersey Shore Man Forced Girl, 14, To Carve His Initials Above Her Breast, Indictment Charges Jersey Shore Man Forced Girl, 14, To Carve His Initials Above Her Breast, Indictment Charges
Jersey Shore Man Forced Girl, 14, To Carve His Initials Above Her Breast, Indictment Charges A Jersey Shore man who convinced a 14-year-old girl he met online to carve his initials above her breast with a razor blade threatened to hurt her and her family if she didn’t meet his demands, an indictment returned Wednesday by a state grand jury alleges. Jason Berry, 40, of Keansburg also “demanded that the girl photograph herself engaging in acts of sexual penetration,” then sent some of the images to her mother, the indictment returned in Trenton charges. He also sent the girl “sexually explicit photos and videos of himself,” it adds. The case “demonstrates how powerful online predato…
Long Island Restaurant, Bar Owner Admits To Receiving Bribes Long Island Restaurant, Bar Owner Admits To Receiving Bribes Long Island Restaurant, Bar Owner Admits To Receiving Bribes
Long Island Restaurant, Bar Owner Admits To Receiving Bribes A Long Island restaurateur admitted to conspiring with a former village official to solicit more than $150,000 in bribes through extortion from Hispanic-owned restaurants, the District Attorney’s Office announced. Elmont resident William Mendez, age 50, pleaded guilty on Monday, March 15 to bribe receiving and other charges for his role in a scheme with former Hempstead Village Trustee Perry Pettus to defraud other restauranteurs. Specifically, Mendez pleaded guilty to: Two counts of bribe receiving; Two counts of grand larceny by means of extortion; Conspiracy; Two counts of tampering w…
Woman Accused Of Conspiring With Father In So-Called Westchester College Sex Cult Case Woman Accused Of Conspiring With Father In So-Called Westchester College Sex Cult Case Woman Accused Of Conspiring With Father In So-Called Westchester College Sex Cult Case
Woman Accused Of Conspiring With Father In So-Called Westchester College Sex Cult Case A female cohort of the man accused of running a sex cult out of his daughter’s dorm at Sarah Lawrence College in Westchester Countyis facing charges for her role in helping him run the scheme. Staten Island resident Isabella Pollok, age 29, has been charged with racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, and extortion conspiracy for helping Lawrence Ray manipulate and groom the college students, who the convicted felon met after moving into his daughter’s on-campus room in 2010. Original story - Father Of College Student In Westchester Charged With Sex Trafficking Her F…
SURPRISE! Hudson Ex-Con Nabbed By Cliffside Park Police After Texting Female Burglary Victim SURPRISE! Hudson Ex-Con Nabbed By Cliffside Park Police After Texting Female Burglary Victim SURPRISE! Hudson Ex-Con Nabbed By Cliffside Park Police After Texting Female Burglary Victim
Surprise! Hudson Ex-Con Nabbed By Cliffside Park Police After Texting Female Burglary Victim A Hudson County ex-con with a lengthy rap sheet who broke into a Cliffside Park woman's garage and stole some of her valuables got a surprise when he tried to extort her, authorities said. Rashon Drone, 36, of West New York took $200 in cash and other items from the woman's car after breaking into the Palisade Avenue garage, Deputy Police Chief Vincent Capano said. He then texted the victim and told her to meet him at a Quick Chek in North Bergen to get them back, the deputy chief said. As it turned out, authorities trying to serve a protection order also had been looking for Drone, who ha…
MS-13's Highest-Ranking Leaders Charged On Long Island With Terrorism MS-13's Highest-Ranking Leaders Charged On Long Island With Terrorism MS-13's Highest-Ranking Leaders Charged On Long Island With Terrorism
MS-13's Highest-Ranking Leaders Charged On Long Island With Terrorism Some of the highest-ranking leaders of the MS-13 street gang were charged in federal court on Long Island with terrorism. An indictment was unsealed in Central Islip federal court on Thursday, Jan. 14 charging 14 MS-13 leaders - known as the Ranfla Nacional - who operated the organization’s Board of Directors and directed international violence for two decades. Specifically, federal prosecutors said that the indictment charges the gang leaders with conspiracy to provide and conceal material support to terrorists, conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries, consp…
Feds: New Mob Regime Ran Sports Bets, Extorted Victims, Sold Drugs From Philly To Jersey Shore Feds: New Mob Regime Ran Sports Bets, Extorted Victims, Sold Drugs From Philly To Jersey Shore Feds: New Mob Regime Ran Sports Bets, Extorted Victims, Sold Drugs From Philly To Jersey Shore
Feds: New Mob Regime Ran Sports Bets, Extorted Victims, Sold Drugs From Philly To Jersey Shore The mob didn't disappear from Philadelphia and the Jersey Shore after former leaders Joseph Ligambi and Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino were sent to prison, federal authorities revealed Monday. Over the past five years, in fact, new leadership of the Philly and Atlantic City La Cosa Nostra beefed up the ranks, commanding illegal sports gambling, extorting victims through loansharking, selling cocaine, heroin and opioids -- even conspiring to kidnap a drug dealer who sold them bad dope, they said. Fifteen reputed mobsters and associates of the organized crime family were charged in a …
LI Moving Company Owner, North Jersey Employee Admit $540,000 Low-Ball Extortion Scheme LI Moving Company Owner, North Jersey Employee Admit $540,000 Low-Ball Extortion Scheme LI Moving Company Owner, North Jersey Employee Admit $540,000 Low-Ball Extortion Scheme
LI Moving Company Owner, North Jersey Employee Admit $540,000 Low-Ball Extortion Scheme A Nassau County moving company owner and a Passaic County woman who worked for him admitted in federal court that they extorted customers out of nearly $550,000 with the old “low-ball” scam. Lior Atiyas, 42, of Hewlett, Long Island began regularly low-balling estimates to move household goods, then jacking up the price by two to three times once the items were on the trucks, in early 2016, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said Friday. He then refused to deliver the goods until the customers paid up, Carpenito said. Atiyas recruited Lola Larios, 37, of Haledon into the scheme when she joined t…
Tribe Chairman Accused Of Taking Kickbacks In Exchange For Casino Contract Tribe Chairman Accused Of Taking Kickbacks In Exchange For Casino Contract Tribe Chairman Accused Of Taking Kickbacks In Exchange For Casino Contract
Tribe Chairman Accused Of Taking Kickbacks In Exchange For Casino Contract The chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe is being accused of participating in accepting kickbacks in exchange for a contract to design a resort and casino in Taunton. On Friday, Nov. 13, Chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and leader of their Gaming Commission Cedric Cromwell, 55, was indicted in Massachusetts on the charges of accepting bribes as an agent or to an agent of an Indian Tribal government (two counts) and conspiring to commit bribery, extortion under color of official right (four counts), and conspiring to commit extortion, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Massachusetts said. …
Feds: Essex OSHA Inspector, Brother Caught On Wire Shaking Down Hudson Job Site Contractor Feds: Essex OSHA Inspector, Brother Caught On Wire Shaking Down Hudson Job Site Contractor Feds: Essex OSHA Inspector, Brother Caught On Wire Shaking Down Hudson Job Site Contractor
Feds: Essex Osha Inspector, Brother Caught On Wire Shaking Down Hudson Job Site Contractor An OSHA officer from Bloomfield and his brother conspired to extort a general contractor at a North Bergen work site, said federal authorities who tapped one of their meetings. Assigned to investigate the alleged misuse of an extension ladder, Alvaro Idrovo, 44, told the contractor he was violating OSHA regulations for not having the necessary safety training certificates for his workers to be on ladders, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Idrovo told the owner he’d be “subject to exorbitant fines and possible arrest” if he didn’t obtain the certificates, which he said were available throu…