Newark man admits to armed carjacking in Elizabeth and bribing a corrections officer to smuggle contraband into Essex County jail

TRENTON – A Newark man yesterday admitted his role in an armed carjacking and subsequent involvement in a scheme to bribe a corrections officer to smuggle contraband, including marijuana and cell phones, into the Essex County Correctional Facility, a federal pretrial detention facility, U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman announced. Quasim Nichols, 30, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Mary Cooper to […]

Two Plainfield men convicted of sexual assault of mentally disabled woman

PLAINFIELD — A Union County jury has returned guilty verdicts against two Plainfield men who sexually assaulted a severely mentally disabled woman a little more than four years ago before leaving her outside in a snowstorm, acting Union County Prosecutor Grace Park announced. Edward Woodson, 34, and Marcal Campbell, 34, were convicted of first-degree aggravated sexual assault and […]

Elizabeth man indicted for murdering wife, dumping her body in Morris County

ELIZABETH — A Union County grand jury has returned indictments against the Elizabeth man accused of murdering his wife last February, then hiding her body in a vacant home and reporting her missing, acting Union County Prosecutor Grace Park announced. Abayuba Rivas, 40, was indicted Friday on charges of murder, two weapons offenses, desecration of human remains, endangering the […]

Elizabeth man among eighteen indicted on charges of participation in major weapons trafficking ring in Newark

TRENTON – Acting Attorney General John Hoffman announced that 18 men were indicted by a state grand jury for allegedly operating a major weapons trafficking ring based in Newark that was illegally selling numerous guns, including high-powered assault rifles. The primary target of the investigation faces many counts of first-degree unlawful possession of a weapon. […]

Middlesex couple faces up to 20 years in prison after arrested for alleged scheme involving fraud, money laundering, tax evasion and the concealment of more than $30 million in income

TRENTON – Acting Attorney General John Hoffman and Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Ronald Chillemi announced that the husband and wife owners of temporary staffing companies with offices in northern and central New Jersey were arrested yesterday on first-degree charges. The couple and a co-defendant allegedly grossly underreported the number of employees their companies outsourced, and […]

$500,000 allocated for Rahway River study

WASHINGTON — Cong. Leonard Lance, NJ-07, announced the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has allocated $500,000 in its 2015 Work Plan for the Rahway River Basin Flood Risk Management Feasibility Study. The funding would cover a significant portion of the estimated $1.2 million needed to complete the entire study and comes after years of advocacy from Lance […]

Springfield-based martial arts instructor admits to sexual assault of teen

SPRINGFIELD — An instructor who formerly worked at a Springfield martial arts academy has admitted to sexually assaulting a 13-year-old enrollee there, acting Union County Prosecutor Grace Park announced yesterday. Appearing before state Superior Court Judge William Daniel, George Mendoza-Valentino, 28, of Saddle Brook pleaded guilty Thursday to a charge of second-degree sexual assault. Mendoza-Valentino had been […]

NY man admits participating in armed robberies of electronic stores in NJ

TRENTON – A New York man admitted on Monday, Jan. 26 to participating in armed robberies of electronics stores in New Jersey, including armed robberies in Linden, Paramus, and Woodbridge, U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman announced . Eric Williams, 34, of Brooklyn, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Anne Thompson in Trenton federal court to a superseding information that […]