CT Man Sentenced For Role In Cocaine Trafficking Ring Involving Postal Worker CT Man Sentenced For Role In Cocaine Trafficking Ring Involving Postal Worker
CT Man Sentenced For Role In Cocaine Trafficking Ring Involving Postal Worker A Connecticut man is heading to federal prison for his role in a cocaine trafficking ring that involved a US Postal worker. Kendall Hooks, age 50, of Hartford, was sentenced to more than 5 years behind bars Wednesday, May 11, in federal court in Hartford. It came nearly nine months after he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, the US Attorney’s Office said. The charges stemmed from an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in Hartford and the US Postal Inspection Service that revea…
Feds: Postal Supervisor In NJ Sold 400 Vax Cards That She Printed At Work Feds: Postal Supervisor In NJ Sold 400 Vax Cards That She Printed At Work
Feds: Postal Supervisor In NJ Sold 400 Vax Cards That She Printed At Work A U.S. Postal Service supervisor from New Jersey openly sold 400 bogus COVID vaccine cards that she printed at her job -- while claiming that a graphic design degree was "paying off" for her, federal authorities charged. Lisa Hammell, 39, of the South Jersey town of Turnersville, sold the cards for from $20 to $100 after advertising them on social media, an indictment returned by a grand jury in U.S. District Court in Newark says. Two of the buyers were from New Jersey and another was a federal employee in Virginia whose mother needed the card because she worked in a hospital and had to be …
Amtrak Worker Gets 18 Months Without Parole For Selling Stolen Agency Equipment Amtrak Worker Gets 18 Months Without Parole For Selling Stolen Agency Equipment
Amtrak Worker Gets 18 Months Without Parole For Selling Stolen Agency Equipment UPDATE: A now-former Amtrak employee from the Jersey Shore was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for selling hundreds of chainsaws and chainsaw parts that he stole from the agency. Jose Rodriguez, 49, of Brick, will have to serve out the entire sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. Rodriguez had collected 114 chainsaws, 122 chainsaw replacement bars and 222 replacement chains worth more than $76,000 before he was caught, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. He sold the items through online auction and directly to buyers, using the U.S. Postal Serv…
Long Island Man Nabbed With 18 Handguns, Police Say Long Island Man Nabbed With 18 Handguns, Police Say
Long Island Man Nabbed With 18 Handguns, Police Say A Long Island man has been apprehended after police allegedly found 18 illegal weapons in his home. Matthew Spigner, age 69 of Manhasset was arrested on Thursday, April 7 at his home. Spigner was arrested on a warrant by members of the Nassau County Police, Homeland Security, Nassau County District Attorney's Office, and the US Postal Service. During the search, officers found 18 handguns, police said. Spigner was placed into police custody without incident and charged with: Criminal possession of a weapon first-degree Criminal possession of a weapon second-degree Two counts of criminal…
NJ Feds: California Gal Admits Running $9.9 Million Counterfeit Coupon Scam NJ Feds: California Gal Admits Running $9.9 Million Counterfeit Coupon Scam
NJ Feds: California Gal Admits Running $9.9 Million Counterfeit Coupon Scam UPDATE: A California woman admitted in federal court in New Jersey that she created and sold more than $9.9 million worth of counterfeit coupons used at retail stores throughout the country. Using the name “Mandy Carr,” Tong Lor printed Carolina coupons with fake bar codes for household items such as diapers, laundry detergent, and toiletries and then mailed them to customers nationwide, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Lor, 34, of Modesto sold the counterfeit coupons via invitation-only Internet groups associated with her businesses: Mandy’s Treasure Box, Mandy's Knitting …
Retired Postal Worker, 74, Wins $50K Playing Maryland Lottery Retired Postal Worker, 74, Wins $50K Playing Maryland Lottery
Retired Postal Worker, 74, Wins $50K Playing Maryland Lottery A retired US Postal Service worker won $50,000 playing the Maryland Lottery. The unidentified winner from Woodlawn (Baltimore County) resident has been playing lottery games frequently with mixed results, he said. He likes the thrill of possibly winning, and of actually winning. That he did on Feb. 18, and attributes his luck to playing Bonus Match 5 to his daughter’s intercession. “I’ve won a number of times over the years, as much as $24,000 once,” said the 74-year-old winner. “I’ve focused on Bonus Match 5 in recent years and have hit for $400 at least four times.” He brought…
Conspirator Who Used NJ High School Students To Cash Stolen COVID Stimulus Checks Gets 4 Years Conspirator Who Used NJ High School Students To Cash Stolen COVID Stimulus Checks Gets 4 Years
Conspirator Who Used NJ High School Students To Cash Stolen COVID Stimulus Checks Gets 4 Years One of a nest of criminals who paid New Jersey high school students to cash COVID stimulus checks stolen from the mail was sentenced to four years in federal prison. Because there's no parole in the federal prison system, Jeffrey Bennett, 27, of Irvington, must serve just about all of the plea-bargained sentence rubber-stamped by a U.S. District Court judge in Newark via videoconference on Monday, Feb. 14. Bennett -- a reputed associate of a group called "The Members" -- recruited U.S. Postal Service employees to steal checks, checkbooks, debit cards, and credit cards from the mail in excha…
DUMB CRIMINAL FILE: Gunman Botches Robberies Of Mail Carriers In Bergen, Passaic, Feds Charge DUMB CRIMINAL FILE: Gunman Botches Robberies Of Mail Carriers In Bergen, Passaic, Feds Charge
Dumb Criminal File: Gunman Botches Robberies Of Mail Carriers In Bergen, Passaic, Feds Charge A 20-year-old Paterson man was arrested after he tried and failed to rob postal carriers in Bergen and Passaic counties at gunpoint on the same day, federal authorities said. Yeniser Cruz Perez was carrying a gun when he approached one of the U.S. Postal Service carriers in the area of Brownstone Court and Wyckoff Avenue in Wyckoff on Jan. 20, 2020 and demanded the master key used to open mail collection boxes and apartment panels, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. The only problem: The worker didn't have one, Sellinger said. That same day, he said, Cruz Perez approached another USPS…
Uptick In Stolen, Altered Checks Reported In Fairfield County Town Uptick In Stolen, Altered Checks Reported In Fairfield County Town
Uptick In Stolen, Altered Checks Reported In Fairfield County Town A Fairfield County town is seeing an uptick in the number of "check washing" cases. Check washing is the process of erasing the details from an already completed check to allow them to be rewritten, Lt. David Wolf of the Westport Police Department said. In most instances, checks that have been put in mailboxes and are awaiting pickup by a postal employee are stolen.  Once stolen, the suspect alters the check by changing the payee as well as the amount and then cash or deposit it at a bank, Wolf said. In Westport, Wolf said the checks that end up being “washed…
Eight Charged For Plotting To Traffic Contraband Into Suffolk County Jail, Sheriff Announces Eight Charged For Plotting To Traffic Contraband Into Suffolk County Jail, Sheriff Announces
Eight Charged For Plotting To Traffic Contraband Into Suffolk County Jail, Sheriff Announces A three-month investigation into the smuggling and distribution of contraband at the Riverhead Jail on Long Island led to charges for three inmates and five visitors who were allegedly a part of the conspiracy, authorities announced. Investigators from the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office announced the bust on Tuesday, Jan. 25 that resulted in a total of 25 felonies and 12 misdemeanor charges for trafficking drugs through jail visits and the US Postal Service. Charges include conspiracy, criminal possession of a controlled substance, criminal sale of a controlled substance, promoting prison …
Ex-Amtrak Worker From NJ Admits Stealing, Selling Agency Equipment Ex-Amtrak Worker From NJ Admits Stealing, Selling Agency Equipment
Ex-Amtrak Worker From NJ Admits Stealing, Selling Agency Equipment UPDATE: For more than eight years, a now-former Amtrak employee from the Jersey Shore collected chainsaws and chainsaw parts from the agency, then sold them and kept the money. Federal authorities eventually caught on to Jose Rodriguez, 49, of Brick, then got a conviction for mail fraud. Hired in October 2007, Rodriguez worked as a senior engineer and repairman at Amtrak's North Brunswick facility, authorities said. Five years later, Rodriguez admitted in federal court, he began gathering equipment under the false pretense that they'd be used for company projects. Before he was caught in …
POSTAGE SCAM: Brothers Who Co-Owned Bergen E-Commerce Company Admit Cheating Gov't Out Of $3M POSTAGE SCAM: Brothers Who Co-Owned Bergen E-Commerce Company Admit Cheating Gov't Out Of $3M
Postage Scam: Brothers Who Co-Owned Bergen E-Commerce Company Admit Cheating Gov't Out Of $3M Two brothers who co-owned a Bergen County e-commerce company admitted short-changing the government by more than $3 million in postage by altering hundreds of thousands of labels intended for envelopes and slapping them on outbound packages. Jack Koch, 44, of Elmwood Park, and Steven Koch, 43, of Pompton Lakes, owned Fresh N Clear, a high-volume business that sold various household items online that were shipped o customers via the Postal Service, federal authorities said. Over the course of several months in 2020, the company bought 240,471 USPS Priority Mail postage labels, “almost all fo…