FBI: Jersey City Stockbroker Scams Investors Out Of $600,000 With Bogus Ticket-Reselling Biz FBI: Jersey City Stockbroker Scams Investors Out Of $600,000 With Bogus Ticket-Reselling Biz
FBI: Jersey City Stockbroker Scams Investors Out Of $600,000 With Bogus Ticket-Reselling Biz FBI agents busted a now-former stockbroker from Jersey City who they said ran a side hustle that scammed victims out of more than $600,000 through a fictional ticket-reselling business. Michael J. Clarke, 62, lost his job once it came to light that his promises of getting discounted tickets that he could later sell at premium rates for concerts and sporting events -- as well as seat licenses to the U.S. Open -- were lies, authorities said. Clarke, who was a licensed municipal securities trader, promised victims who fronted him the money for the purported ticket brokerage that they'd get a …
Feds Bust South Jersey Man With Homemade Explosives Feds Bust South Jersey Man With Homemade Explosives
Feds Bust South Jersey Man With Homemade Explosives Federal agents busted a South Jersey man with do-it-yourself explosive devices and the materials used to make them, authorities said. Among various other items, Thomas Petronglo, 63, of Vineland had a 5¾-inch diameter metal can filled with potassium perchlorate and aluminum with a fuse sticking out, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said Thursday. The mixture is commonly used in commercial fireworks displays. Honig said authorities seized several other improvised devices -- mostly plastic cylinders and cardboard tubes containing "explosive mixtures" that were wrapped in black electrica…
Feds: NJ Ex-Con Who Served Time For Scamming Charities Charged With $1.35M Investor Ripoff Feds: NJ Ex-Con Who Served Time For Scamming Charities Charged With $1.35M Investor Ripoff
Feds: NJ Ex-Con Who Served Time For Scamming Charities Charged With $1.35M Investor Ripoff A compulsive gambler from Passaic County who went to federal prison for three years for ripping off organizations that benefit schoolchildren and people with life-threatening illnesses went right back to scamming after he got out, federal authorities charged. This time, Gregory Ciccone, 43, of Woodland Park orchestrated a scheme that defrauded investors of $1.35 million, much of which he used to buy a $54,330 BMW, clothes, wine and more, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Ciccone told the 22 victims that he operated companies that reserved blocks of rooms of luxury hotels that then…
Feds: Ex-Lodi HS Teacher Admits Scamming Insurance Out Of $550,000 For Compound Meds Feds: Ex-Lodi HS Teacher Admits Scamming Insurance Out Of $550,000 For Compound Meds
Feds: Ex-Lodi HS Teacher Admits Scamming Insurance Out Of $550,000 For Compound Meds A now-former Lodi High School teacher admitted that he collected $550,000 worth of compound medications through bogus claims to an employee benefit program. Jason Nardachone, 51, of Nutley bribed three other teachers $500 a month each to obtain compounded medications that they, like him, didn’t need, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Some of the unnecessary compounded medications – for vitamins and pain and scar creams -- cost the New Jersey School Employees’ Health Benefits Program (SEHBP) $3,300 to $22,800 apiece, she said. All told, Nardachone and his accomplices defrauded the…
Feds: Bergen Tour Company Manager, 76, Admits Embezzling Hundreds Of Thousands Of Dollars Feds: Bergen Tour Company Manager, 76, Admits Embezzling Hundreds Of Thousands Of Dollars
Feds: Bergen Tour Company Manager, 76, Admits Embezzling Hundreds Of Thousands Of Dollars A 76-year-old Bergen County guided-tour company manager told a federal judge Monday that she and a company accountant embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars from their employer. Estela Laluf of River Edge, began working at the East Rutherford-based company in 1989 and took a management position in 1996, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Between 2010 and 2016, she and the company accountant conspired to write checks against the company’s bank accounts to cash, as well as to various actual company employees and contractors, individuals and shell companies for work they didn't do…
Feds: Duo Caught With AR-Style Rifle, Clothing Used In Camden County Gas Station Robberies Feds: Duo Caught With AR-Style Rifle, Clothing Used In Camden County Gas Station Robberies
Feds: Duo Caught With Ar-style Rifle, Clothing Used In Camden County Gas Station Robberies Federal agents captured two men following a pair of Camden County gunpoint gas station robberies, authorities said. Paul Rogers, 27, and Kamau Bradshaw, 19, were both spotted after each robbery returning to a Camden residence with a large duffel bag, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said Monday. Authorities armed with a warrant searched the residence and found an AR-style rifle believed used in both holdups, the duffel bag and other pieces of evidence, Honig said. Both Rogers and Bradshaw participated in the robbery of cash and cigarettes from a Pennsauken gas station last Tuesday, th…
Feds: Six Jersey City Gang-Bangers Charged With Stabbing Rival Feds: Six Jersey City Gang-Bangers Charged With Stabbing Rival
Feds: Six Jersey City Gang-Bangers Charged With Stabbing Rival Federal authorities have charged six purported members of a Jersey City gang with stabbing a rival in broad daylight on a busy city street. All were part of a street gang that operated in and around the Curries Woods housing complex near the Bayonne border, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced today. On Aug. 3, 2020, they sought out the victim and stabbed him, Honig said. The victim was critically injured but survived, she said. Charged with assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering: Sheldon “Thottie” Mays, 21; Jermaine “Maine” Jennings, 20; Divine “Dee” Abraham, …
NJ Car Thief Admits Selling Stolen Vehicles On Craigslist, Offerup NJ Car Thief Admits Selling Stolen Vehicles On Craigslist, Offerup
NJ Car Thief Admits Selling Stolen Vehicles On Craigslist, Offerup A Belleville man told a federal judge on Thursday that he advertised vehicles for sale on Craigslist and Offerup, then went out and stole them. Eric Morgan, 34, said he photographed particular vehicles and attached a GPS tracker to develop the owner’s “pattern-of-life,” Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. “The target vehicle was then listed for sale on an internet-based marketplace,” Honig said. “Potential purchasers of the target vehicles responded to listings and scheduled in-person meetings to purchase the vehicles. “Shortly before the scheduled meeting times, the targeted vehic…
FBI Arrests Sussex Mom For Producing, Sharing Child Porn FBI Arrests Sussex Mom For Producing, Sharing Child Porn
FBI Arrests Sussex Mom For Producing, Sharing Child Porn A Sussex County mom recorded and shared photos and video of a child being sexually abused, federal authorities charged A U.S. District Court magistrate judge in Newark ordered that Dominique Saczawa, 31, of Sparta remain in federal custody Tuesday afternoon via video conference in Newark, they said. Saczawa, who records show has a drug-related criminal history dating back 10 years, used an app to share files “depicting the sexual assault of a child,” Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. She also solicited others to do the same, Honig said. Saczawa, who has a young son, describ…
High-Living Ex-Bergen Stockbroker Arrested By IRS For Ducking $4.3M In Taxes, Feds Say High-Living Ex-Bergen Stockbroker Arrested By IRS For Ducking $4.3M In Taxes, Feds Say
High-Living Ex-Bergen Stockbroker Arrested By IRS For Ducking $4.3M In Taxes, Feds Say A disgraced stockbroker from Bergen County was arrested Thursday by IRS agents who said he lived the high life while shortchanging Uncle Sam $4.3 million. Jason Kronick, 48, of Woodcliff Lake made headlines after he was fired from one job for alleged “unauthorized trading and unauthorized positions,” then resigned from after allegedly omitting $330,000 in judgments against him on his job application. Kronick, who eventually filed for bankruptcy, earned $20 million during tax years 2008 through 2010, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said Thursday. Honig said Kronick: used roughly $1.…
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 …
Feds: Gunman Admits Intent To ‘Kill Lot Of People’ In Jersey City After Brother Was Shot Dead Feds: Gunman Admits Intent To ‘Kill Lot Of People’ In Jersey City After Brother Was Shot Dead
Feds: Gunman Admits Intent To ‘Kill Lot Of People’ In Jersey City After Brother Was Shot Dead An ex-con bent on avenging his brother’s death admitted he went to Jersey City armed with a semi-automatic handgun intending to “kill a lot of people.” Aware of his plan, police grabbed Raheem Allen, 34, of Newark and seized an Intratec Tec-22 loaded with 25 rounds of ammunition this past March, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Allen’s brother, Anthony Alvarado, 27, was considered a high-ranking member of a Jersey City street gang, Honig said. Alvarado was gunned down in the area of East 49th Street and Avenue E in Bayonne the night of March 6. He was pronounced dead about 45 mi…