Store Owner Sold Disguise He Wore In Bank Robbery In His Martha's Vineyard Store: Feds Store Owner Sold Disguise He Wore In Bank Robbery In His Martha's Vineyard Store: Feds
Store Owner Sold Disguise He Wore In Bank Robbery In His Martha's Vineyard Store: Feds A 40-year-old Martha's Vineyard store owner is accused of robbing a bank in April, where he zip-tied the employees and said he'd planted a bomb on the counter, federal authorities announced this week.  Petar Petyoshin, age 40, of Edgartown, is charged with a single count of armed bank robbery, the US Attorney for Massachusetts said. He has been held in jail on a related state charge since May.  Investigators allege that Petyoshin entered a Rockland Trust Bank branch in the Cape Cod town of Falmouth on April 8 wearing a blonde wig and face mask and pointing a pistol. He put an object on the…
Springfield Man Convicted Of Sex Trafficking 13-Year-Old In Group Home Springfield Man Convicted Of Sex Trafficking 13-Year-Old In Group Home
Springfield Man Convicted Of Sex Trafficking 13-Year-Old In Group Home A 51-year-old Springfield man faces a lengthy prison sentence after he was convicted last week of sex trafficking a 13-year-old girl, authorities said.  Carlos Casillas, 51, was convicted Friday, July 14, following a three-day trial, the US Attorney for Massachusetts said. A sentencing date has not been set.  Police began investigating Casillas in September 2021 after he reached out to a 13-year-old girl through Facebook Messenger, the federal prosecutor said. At the time, the girl was living at a group home in the custody of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families.&…
Drug Dealer Admits To Selling Fake Adderall Pills Made Of Meth In Central Mass Drug Dealer Admits To Selling Fake Adderall Pills Made Of Meth In Central Mass
Drug Dealer Admits To Selling Fake Adderall Pills Made Of Meth In Central Mass A 48-year-old Worcester County drug dealer admitted this week to duping his customers into buying meth when he told them it was the prescription stimulant Adderall, federal authorities said.  Chanhda Onesyvieng, of Leominster, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine on Thursday, July 13, the US Attorney for Massachusetts said.  Police were tipped off in April that Onesyvieng was selling large amounts of methamphetamines disguised as fake Adderall pills in Rhode Island, authorities said. Officers pulled him over in Worcester on April 28 and …
Central Mass Flight Crew Attacker Who Threatened 'Blood Bath' Unfit For Trial: Report Central Mass Flight Crew Attacker Who Threatened 'Blood Bath' Unfit For Trial: Report
Central Mass Flight Crew Attacker Who Threatened 'Blood Bath' Unfit For Trial: Report A Worcester County man who threatened to kill passengers aboard a Los Angeles to Boston flight, attacked the flight crew with a metal spoon, and tried to open the plane's door mid-flight is not competent to stand trial, a federal judge ruled this week.   Francisco Severo Torres, 33, of Leominster, was charged in March with interference and attempted interference with flight crew members and attendants using a dangerous weapon, which could carry a life sentence in prison, the US Attorney for Massachusetts said.  Related: Terror After Takeoff: Man Tried To Open Plane Door, Stab Flight Atten…
Child Porn: Central Mass Man Who Tried To Meet Agent's Child For Sex Sentenced To Prison Child Porn: Central Mass Man Who Tried To Meet Agent's Child For Sex Sentenced To Prison
Child Porn: Central Mass Man Who Tried To Meet Agent's Child For Sex Sentenced To Prison A Worcester man who admitted to propositioning an undercover agent's underage daughter for sex will serve 12 years in prison, federal authorities announced on Monday, July 10.  Kenneth Gianatasio, 44, pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of child pornography and one count of distribution of child pornography, the US Attorney for Massachusetts said. A judge sentenced him on Friday.  Gianatasio is alleged to have started a conversation with an undercover agent on the social messaging app Kik in August 2019. The agent was posing as a parent, and Gianatasio asked if he…
Child Porn: Female Daycare Worker Took Nude Photos Of Kids in Tyngsborough, Shared Them With Ex Child Porn: Female Daycare Worker Took Nude Photos Of Kids in Tyngsborough, Shared Them With Ex
Child Porn: Female Daycare Worker Took Nude Photos Of Kids in Tyngsborough, Shared Them With Ex A 38-year-old daycare worker in Tyngsborough was arrested Thursday morning, June 22, and charged with child exploitation and child pornography, federal authorities said.  Lindsay Groves, 38, of Hudson, New Hampshire, is accused of taking nude photos of the children under her care and texting them to an ex-partner while employed at Creative Minds Early Learning Center, the US Attorney for Massachusetts said. Groves allegedly took the photos during bathroom breaks or when changing their diapers before naptime, the prosecutor said. A forensic audit of her cellphone showed s…
BB Gun Bank Robber With History Of Stick-Ups Gets 7 Years For Hyde Park Heist BB Gun Bank Robber With History Of Stick-Ups Gets 7 Years For Hyde Park Heist
BB Gun Bank Robber With History Of Stick-Ups Gets 7 Years For Hyde Park Heist A Hyde Park man with a history of bank robberies added another to his rap sheet when he confessed to holding up a bank in 2019, according to federal authorities. Now, he'll spend the next seven years in prison for it.  Paul Whooten, 59, was sentenced on Wednesday, June 21, for robbing a Rockland Trust Bank branch in Hyde Park, the US Attorney for Massachusetts said.  Whooten walked into the bank on 1196 River St bank on Dec. 21, 2019, in a mask and carrying what looked like an assault rifle and pointed it at the teller, authorities said. He demanded cash and walked out of the bank…
Scammer Sunk By Car Full Of Fools Gold In Central Mass Headed To Prison Then Deportation Scammer Sunk By Car Full Of Fools Gold In Central Mass Headed To Prison Then Deportation
Scammer Sunk By Car Full Of Fools Gold In Central Mass Headed To Prison Then Deportation A New Jersey scammer whose eyes were bigger than his brain when he tried to rob an Athol woman of more than $300,000 was sentenced on Wednesday, May 24, to a year in prison, after which he'll be deported, authorities said.  Gaurang Contractor, 38, a citizen of India living in Jersey City, NJ, tried to trick a Central Massachusetts woman into believing he was a DEA agent and she needed to convert her life savings into gold and give it to him for safekeeping, the US Attorney for Massachusetts said.  Contractor contacted the woman in August 2022 using the alias of "Oscar White," a Dr…
Child Porn Conviction: Central Mass Man Who Had 500 Videos, 1,000 Images Gets 10 Years Child Porn Conviction: Central Mass Man Who Had 500 Videos, 1,000 Images Gets 10 Years
Child Porn Conviction: Central Mass Man Who Had 500 Videos, 1,000 Images Gets 10 Years A 46-year-old Worcester County man who admitted to having hundreds of images and videos of child porn and using social media to solicit nudes from children will spend a decade behind bars, authorities said Michael Irons, 46, of Gardner, pleaded guilty in January to one count of possession of child pornography and one count of distribution of child pornography, the US Attorney for Massachusetts said. A judge sentenced him to 10 years in prison last week, the prosecutor announced on Tuesday, May 23.  Police searched Irons' home in July 2020 and found two cell phones in his bedroom that c…
Sudbury Man Caught Actively Downloading Child Porn Enters Plea: Feds Sudbury Man Caught Actively Downloading Child Porn Enters Plea: Feds
Sudbury Man Caught Actively Downloading Child Porn Enters Plea: Feds A 50-year-old man admitted to receiving and possessing child pornography after being caught red-handed, federal authorities said. Tyson Tu, of Sudbury, pleaded guilty to one count of receiving child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography on Wednesday, May 17, according to the US Attorney for Massachusetts. Tu was arrested on October 15, 2021, after a search of his residence in April of the same year found multiple electronic devices that contained child pornography. One of the devices was actively downloading and sharing child pornographic files when it was seized. T…
44 Pounds Of Cocaine: 2 Indicted In Largest Drug Bust In Littleton History 44 Pounds Of Cocaine: 2 Indicted In Largest Drug Bust In Littleton History
44 Pounds Of Cocaine: 2 Indicted In Largest Drug Bust In Littleton History A Mexican national and a man from Texas were arrested following a routine traffic stop in Littleton with more than 40 pounds of cocaine inside their car, federal authorities said.  Cornelio Hernandez, 51, of Fort Worth, Texas, and Erasmo Lira-Mendez, 38, of Mexico, were indicted in a Worcester court Monday, May 22, on one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and one count of possession with intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine, the US Attorney for Massachusetts announced. The two were arrested on March 29.  A Littleton …
'There Will Be Death!': Middleton Ex-Naval Officer Sentenced For Threatening Ex-Wife, Her Mom 'There Will Be Death!': Middleton Ex-Naval Officer Sentenced For Threatening Ex-Wife, Her Mom
'There Will Be Death!': Middleton Ex-Naval Officer Sentenced For Threatening Ex-Wife, Her Mom A former US Navy police officer who admitted to making several threats of violence to his ex-wife and her mother was sentenced to 18 months in prison, federal authorities said.  Luis De Leon, 30, of Middleton, pleaded guilty to three counts of making threats in interstate commerce in March, the US Attorney for Massachusetts said. A judge sentenced him on Thursday, May 18, to prison and three years of parole.  De Leon was stationed at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in New Hampshire in April 2022 when he called his ex-wife in Iowa and made several violent threats, the prosecutor…