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'Things Will Get Ugly': Gambling Debt Collector From Franklin Square Convicted, Usao Says
Two men, including one 86-year-old Long Islander, have been convicted for extorting money from someone who owed them a gambling debt, authorities have announced.
Anthony Romanello, age 86 of Franklin Square, was convicted alongside his co-conspirator Joseph Celso, 50 of Queens on Monday, Dec. 11, according to the United States Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of New York,
Romanello and Celso, along with another Queens resident named Luan Bexheti, conspired from March to June 2017 to collect a gambling debt from an unnamed victim and a family member (named John Doe 1 and John Doe 2…
Ex-Jersey Shore Man Gets 20 Years, No Parole For Serial Threats Against Police, Judges, Others
A former New Jersey resident with a cockamamie political history must spend the next 20 years in federal prison for threatening to kill police officers, lawyers and judges, among others, in and around Monmouth County.
Eric G. Hafner, 32, formerly of Fair Haven, also made calls and sent messages to state officials while phoning in bogus bomb threats to local and state government offices, a police department, two law firms and the Monmouth Park Racetrack during a two-year terror campaign, federal authorities in Trenton said.
Hafner told newspaper reporters in 2018 that he was on the lam for d…
MS-13 Gangsters, Undocumented Individual Charged In Leesburg Crime Spree: Police
Four arrests have been made in a series of violent crimes across Leesburg dating back to May 2023, authorities announced.
Those charged include Emerson Martinez-Alvarenga, 19; Marcos Sorto-Argueta, 19; Marco Mendoza-Monjaras, 19; and Juan Cubillas-Rodriguez, 18, all of Leesburg, were slapped with various offenses, Leesburg police said Thursday, Aug. 10.
The teens were charged in the following incidents:
May 21: A subject brandished a firearm at multiple victims in the 0-99 block of Hancock Place NE. Emerson Martinez-Alvarenga has been charged in this investigation with one …
Federal Jury Convicts NYC Man In $200,000 Shakedown Of Jersey Shore Dad
Federal jurors in Trenton convicted a Brooklyn man for his role in a plot to strong-arm a Jersey Shore resident into giving him and his accomplices $200,000, authorities said.
Endrit Kllogjeri, 27, and his cohorts were tripped up by an undercover detective posing as the Monmouth County victim, federal authorities said.
Francis Garzon, 31, took a deal from the government rather than risk the consequences of guaranteed prison time if he was convicted at a trial, pleading guilty last month to his role in the plot.
Kllogjeri rolled the dice and lost, however.
He, Garzon and an unidentified co…
MS-13 Leader Gets Life In Prison For Maryland Murders, Racketeering Conspiracy
Another MS-13 gang member in Maryland will spend the rest of his life in prison for his role in a wide-ranging racketeering conspiracy that included multiple murders and federal drug charges.
Brayan Contreras-Avalos - also known as “Anonimo,” “Humilde,” and “Malia,” 28, of Langley Park, has been sentenced to life in prison after being convicted during a lengthy for his participation in the deadly conspiracy, according to federal officials.
Prosecutors say that Contreras-Avalos was the leader of an MS-13 clique operating in Frederick, Anne Arundel, Prince George’s, and Montgomery counties. …
‘Bling’ Bishop From Bergen Seized By FBI, Charged With Swindling Retiree Out Of $90,000
A flashy Brooklyn bishop who lives in Bergen County – and was infamously robbed at gunpoint during a live-streamed church service earlier this year – swindled one of his parishioners out of $90,000 in retirement money that he used for himself, federal authorities charged.
Lamor Whitehead, a 44-year-old Paramus resident known for his Rolls Royce, Gucci suits and bling, was arrested by federal agents on Monday, Dec. 19, on an indictment that charges him wire fraud, extortion and lying to the FBI.
The indictment returned by a grand jury in U.S. District Court in Manhattan accuses Whitehead of …
Men Busted For Running Organized Crime Loan Sharking, Gambling Ring: Mass AG
State and federal agents wrapped up a multi-year investigation with the arrest of three men who they say used threats, intimidation, and extortion to run a multi-million dollar gambling ring with the help of an organized crime syndicate.
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced the arrests last week and laid out the state's case against them. They are, and their charges include:
Eric Rogers, 54, of Revere: Extortion, conspiracy to commit extortion, witness intimidation, and gambling charges.
Michael McMahon, 44, of Boston: Extortion, conspiracy to commit extortion,…
Iranian Nationals Coordinated Cyberattacks On Boston Children's Hospital, Others: FBI
The FBI said three Iranian nationals have hacked and attacked computer systems around the world, including the Boston Children's Hospital.
Mansour Ahmadi, 34, Ahmad Khatibi Aghda, 45, and Amir Hossein Nickaein Ravari, 30, "engaged in a pattern of hacking, cyber-theft, and extortion largely for personal gain," FBI Director Christopher Wray said. The agency indicted the men earlier this week, though they remain in Iran and have escaped capture.
The FBI is offering a $10 million reward for information leading to their capture.
REWARD! 💰Up to $10M 💰for information on Iranian malicious #…
MS-13 Gang Member Admits To Extorting Maryland Business Owners: DOJ
An MS-13 member in Maryland is facing up to 20 years in prison after admitting to extorting money from businesses to further the exploits of his gang, according to federal officials.
Jilmer Hernandez-Alvarado, also known as “Toro,” 27, most recently of Hyattsville, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to extort business owners US District Attorney Erek Barron announced on Tuesday, Aug. 30.
“La Mara Salvatrucha, also known as the MS-13 gang, is an international criminal enterprise that is active throughout the United States, including in Maryland,” officials said.
MS-13 in Maryland is…
