Bensalem Driver Killed After Truck Hits Tree, Utility Pole In Chester County: PSP
A 69-year-old Bensalem man was killed when his pickup truck struck a tree and a utility pole along West Lincoln Highway in West Sadsbury Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania State Police announced in a release on Thursday, Oct. 30.
The crash happened around 8:39 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 28, just east of Blackhorse Road, according to police.
Michael J. Krukowski III was driving a 2016 Ford F-250 SuperCab eastbound when the vehicle drifted left for an unknown reason, investigators explained. It left the roadway, hit a tree, and then struck a utility pole before coming to rest on its passenger …
Bensalem Doctor Flooded Patients With 20K Oxycodone Pills In Health Care Fraud Scheme: DOJ
A physician forced patients into taking unwanted “Goody Bags” of drugs to get prescriptions, flooding them with oxycodone and defrauding health care plans out of millions, federal prosecutors said.
Neil K. Anand, M.D., 48, most recently of Bensalem, PA, but originally from Albany, NY, was convicted in April 2025 of conspiring to commit health care fraud, wire fraud, and the unlawful distribution of controlled substances. On Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Evidence at trial showed Anand and his conspirators require…
Longtime SEPTA Employee Caught With Condoms After Bensalem Bus Trip To Meet 13-Year-Old: Police
A longtime SEPTA employee’s bus trip to meet who he thought was a 13-year-old girl ended in his arrest in Bensalem, police announced on Friday, Sept. 12
Eric Karch, 53, of Jenkintown, began chatting with who he believed was a 13-year-old middle school student on a dating app on Saturday, Sept. 6, according to Bensalem Township Police.
Karch quickly turned the conversation sexual, telling the girl to sleep naked, photograph herself, and send him pictures, investigators said. He allegedly sent her a photo of his penis and described sex acts he wanted her to perform while calling him “daddy.” …
Air Supply Hits The Road—All Out of Love And Back On Stage In 2025
Picture this: It’s 1975, two guys meet during "Jesus Christ Superstar" in Melbourne, and instead of just singing through a rehearsal, they create one of the world’s most famous soft-rock duos. Fast forward 50 years and Air Supply is still out there proving love songs never go out of style. Their 2025 50th Anniversary Tour is underway, and if you don’t snag tickets before they vanish, someone else will be swaying in your seat.
Here’s where to catch them before the chance slips away:
Oct. 28, 2025 – Wind Creek Event Center, Bethlehem, PA
Oct. 19, 2025 – Palace Theatre, Stamford, CT
Oct. 25, …
Bensalem Man Molests 12-Year-Old Girl, Gets State Prison Sentence: DA
A Bensalem man who molested a 12-year-old girl has been sentenced to state prison more than two decades after the abuse, prosecutors announced on Monday, July 21, 2025.
Sean R. Greer, 42, admitted to molesting the child during incidents between May and October 2002, the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office said.
Greer was sentenced to 21 to 44 months in a state correctional facility, followed by a consecutive five-year probationary period, according to Common Pleas Judge Charissa J. Liller.
The investigation began in May 2002 after a referral about Greer’s sexual assault of the girl, Be…
Philly Man Busted In Predator Sting At Bensalem Parking Lot: Police
He thought he was meeting a 13-year-old girl for sex. Instead, he was met by vigilantes and arrested, Bensalem police announced on Friday, July 18.
Eric Rooney, 42, of Philadelphia, was caught in a sting set by members of an internet vigilante group called Predator Poachers, according to police.
For the past eight months, Rooney had been messaging with someone he believed was a 13-year-old girl on Instagram, authorities said. He sent her sexually explicit messages and made plans to meet in person to have sex, police explained.
Around 9 p.m. on Thursday, July 17, Rooney arrived at the 2500 …
$1.1M Medicaid Fraud Scheme: Bensalem Woman Forged Doctor Signatures, Took Kickbacks, DOJ Says
A Pennsylvania woman used patients who had moved overseas to help pull off a $1.1 million Medicaid scam involving fake home care services and kickbacks, federal prosecutors said in a sweeping national health care fraud takedown that uncovered more than $14.6 billion in schemes, the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced on Saturday, July 5.
Hemal Patel, 59, of Bensalem (Bucks County), forged doctors’ signatures, stole personal identities, and pocketed kickbacks from a home care agency that billed Medicaid for fake services, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District …
Man Drove 70 Miles To Gift Girl iPhone To 'Party For Free' In Bensalem: Police
A Slatington man is accused of trying to meet and exploit a 13-year-old girl for sex, Bensalem police announced on Thursday, July 3.
Warren Batz, 37, began messaging what he believed to be a 13-year-old girl on a dating app on May 3, police said. During the chat, Batz allegedly offered the child $200 to “hang out” and “party for free,” saying he wanted to make her his “sugar baby.”
He repeatedly asked the juvenile for nude photos and explicit videos throughout May and June, even urging her to sneak out at night when her mother was asleep, according to investigators.
On June 24, Batz allege…
Bensalem Stonemason Worker Killed In Tragic Accident, Leaves Behind Fiancée, 3 Children
A Pennsylvania family is mourning the heartbreaking loss of Robert C. Lauyer Jr., a proud union stonemason who was killed in a tragic construction site accident in Bensalem on Tuesday, June 24, according to his obituary from Joseph Levine & Sons Funeral Home and a GoFundMe launched to help his family.
Rob, 38, of Feasterville, was a devoted father and fiancé who loved spending time at home with his partner, Stephanie Lee Smith, and their three children: Brookelyn, Bosston, and Russell. He was a member of the Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers Local 1 PA/DE and took great pride in his …
NJ Man Extradited, Arraigned In Murder Of Girlfriend Found Shot In Bensalem Hotel
Orenthia Upshur, 51, has been extradited to Pennsylvania and formally arraigned for the murder of his girlfriend, 49-year-old Maisha Coon, who was found shot to death in a Bensalem hotel room on Jan. 15, 2025, authorities announced Tuesday, June 23.
Upshur was transported from a New Jersey prison to Bensalem by the Bucks County Sheriff's Department after waiving extradition. He was arraigned before District Justice Falcone and remanded to the Bucks County Correctional Facility after being denied bail.
He is now charged with Criminal Homicide, Kidnapping, Unlawful Restraint, Weapons Violatio…
Jealous Ex-BF With Knife Tries Repeatedly To Run Over Romantic Rival In Bensalem: Police
Fueled by jealousy over a woman the victim was dating, a Bensalem man allegedly chased him with a knife and tried to run him over multiple times, police announced on Monday, May 26.
Jeffrey Santucci, 66, of Bristol Pike in Bensalem, was identified as the driver of a red GMC SUV who terrorized the man along Bristol Pike and Red Lion Road on Saturday, May 24, according to Bensalem Police.
Officers were first called around 4:10 p.m. for a disturbance. A man told police that a stranger in an SUV pulled up beside him, started yelling, then jumped out of the car wielding a large knife and chased …
Candy Jar Used To Lure Girls For Sex Assaults In Bensalem: Police
A candy jar in a predator’s bedroom was used to bait little girls into a series of horrifying sexual assaults, Bensalem police announced on Thursday, April 17.
Mohhamed S. Alam, 62, of Kingston Way, is accused of molesting three children—between the ages of 3 and 11—over several years inside his home, police say.
The abuse came to light after a report to a child welfare agency sparked a criminal investigation. One girl, now older, revealed that Alam assaulted her repeatedly from age 7 to 11, investigators explained. In one instance, while attending a community event, she said he lured her i…
13-Year-Old Receives Nude Selfies Through Dating App: Bensalem Police
A Bensalem man is accused of sending sexually explicit messages and videos to a 13-year-old girl and arranging to meet her for a sexual encounter, police announced on Monday, April 7.
Ian Evans, 34, of Shipley Place, Philadelphia, began talking with the girl through a social media and dating app on Monday, March 4, according to Bensalem police. The conversation quickly shifted to text messaging and turned sexual within a day, officers said.
Evans sent the girl nude photos of himself, videos of him masturbating, and pornographic materials illustrating what he wanted to do with her, according…
Cherry Hill Man Who Paid To Torch $6M PA Book Warehouse, Injuring Firefighter, Sentenced: DOJ
A New Jersey man who orchestrated the arson of a Bucks County book warehouse—injuring a firefighter and causing over $6 million in damages—has been sentenced to six years in federal prison, authorities announced.
Ramiz Duka, 62, of Cherry Hill, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Kelley Brisbon Hodge for his role in the Dec. 10, 2022, fire at Ebooks Web LLC on Bridgewater Road in Bensalem, Acting U.S. Attorney Nelson S.T. Thayer, Jr. said on Monday, March 10.
Duka conspired with two men to set the warehouse ablaze, paying them $15,000 for the job, investigators previously revealed.…
Stalked, Groped On SEPTA Bus: Philly Man Sentenced For Attacking Teen In Bensalem
A Philadelphia man will spend nearly two years behind bars for stalking and groping a teenage girl on a SEPTA bus to Bensalem, the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office announced on Monday, March 3, 2025.
Elmange Watson, 27, was convicted in August of stalking, corruption of minors, indecent assault, and two counts of harassment following a waiver trial before Common Pleas Judge Wallace H. Bateman Jr., authorities said.
Bateman sentenced Watson to 11 ½ to 23 months in the Bucks County Correctional Facility, followed by five years of probation, officials said.
The incident occurred on…
NJ Man Posed As Religious Solicitor To Meet ‘13-Year-Old’ In Bensalem: Police
A New Jersey man who used the KIK app to groom what he believed to be a 13-year-old Pennsylvania girl was caught in a police sting when he arrived at her home dressed as a religious solicitor, authorities announced on Thursday, Feb. 20.
Oscar Castillo-Peralta, 53, of Pleasantville, NJ, began chatting with the decoy account on KIK on Jan. 30, according to Bensalem police. The conversation quickly turned sexual, and Castillo-Peralta sent nude photos of himself while describing explicit acts he wanted to perform with the teen, investigators said.
Over the next few weeks, he moved the con…
CT Couple Killed In PA Hit-And-Run; Driver Sentenced To Up To 56 Years
A Pennsylvania man was sentenced to 26 years, nine months to 56 years, 10 months in state prison for causing the high-speed hit-and-run crash that killed a Connecticut couple in Bucks County last February.
John Thomas Wadlinger Jr., 32, of Bensalem, received the sentence from Common Pleas Judge C. Theodore Fritsch on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, at the Bucks County Justice Center. He was also ordered to pay $14,971.11 in restitution and $8,100 in fines for the crash that killed Rebecca Whiddon, 33, and her husband Richard Whiddon, 37, both of Brooklyn, CT.
Crash And Aftermath
On Feb. 24, 2024, Wa…
Suspect, Victim ID'd After Bensalem Hotel Homicide, NJ Standoff
The community is reeling after the tragic loss of Maisha Koon, who was fatally shot at the Sleep Inn in Bensalem on Jan. 15. Her death has left her family, friends, and neighbors heartbroken, especially as she leaves behind her beloved child, whom she fiercely protected and cherished. Tributes have poured in, remembering her as a devoted mother, a supportive friend, and a vibrant soul who always radiated love.
A Mother’s Love
One friend recalled Maisha’s unwavering dedication to her children, saying, “She didn’t play about her kids. She always put what’s best for them ahead of herself, …
Suspect, Victim ID'd After Bensalem Hotel Homicide, NJ Standoff
A woman was fatally shot at the Sleep Inn on Street Road in Bensalem, PA, and the suspect was apprehended following a barricade situation in Trenton, police and prosecutors said during a press conference on Thursday, Jan. 16.
The victim, identified as 49-year-old Maisha Coon of Trenton, NJ, was killed in the hotel room late Tuesday night. The suspect, her boyfriend, 51-year-old Orenthia Upshur, also from Trenton, fled the scene to a home in New Jersey, where he admitted to killing Koon and attempted to kill her family, authorities said.
Details about Coon's life have been shared by her comm…
Bensalem Police Catch Serial Bank Robber Fleeing PNC Bank With $4K Cash: DA
A suspected serial bank robber was apprehended moments after he fled the PNC Bank on Hulmeville Road with $4,000 in cash on Monday, Dec. 23, authorities announced on Tuesday, Dec. 24.
Marc Masich, 47, of Amherst, NY, was captured by officers outside the bank at 5:21 p.m. while carrying a gray-and-white bag containing the stolen money, according to Bensalem police.
Masich had handed a teller a demand note similar to one used earlier that day at the TD Bank on Street Road, where he reportedly fled after being told cash was unavailable. He also attempted a robbery at the Santander Bank…
Suspected DUI Stop Leads To Gun, Drugs Seizure: Bensalem Police
A Philadelphia man is accused of driving under the influence, carrying a firearm without a license, and possessing marijuana with intent to deliver after a traffic stop in Bensalem, police announced on Monday, Dec. 9.
Khalil Laney, 34, of Bonsall Street, was pulled over at 2 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 8, near Knights Road and Dunksferry Road after officers noticed his black Nissan Rogue had inoperable rear lights, failed to signal a turn, and crossed the shoulder multiple times, authorities said.
During the stop, officers smelled alcohol on Laney and observed a concealed carry permit among his pap…
