NANTUCKET IS., MA – A great white shark has been spotted off the east coast of Nantucket Island near Sconset Beach. The shark’s name is Andromache and she is a nearly eleven-foot long great white shark. She was originally tagged by OCEARCH this week off the coast of Cape Cod, nearby. Andromache is being tracked by Ocearch, a marine mammal and shark tracking service.
Photo by Gerald Schömbs on Unsplash
TOMS RIVER, NJ – All week, Toms River Township officials refused to reveal who was buying a fire-sale auction of 6 commercial and residential lots, including a 1.2 acre commercial tract on Hinds Road and 5 residential lots ready to be developed off Whittier Avenue. The land sale, devised by the township aimed to sell the Hinds Road property, assessed by the township at $750,000.
https://www.facebook.com/vivaLeViral/videos/305343877210003/
“I had this item pulled off the item from consent agenda,” said Matt Lotano. “The auction was conducted with a bidding war, the price eventually reached $318,000. The winning bidder had bidder’s remorse and renegotiated his deal with the auction company.”
Rodrick revealed that the bidder of the property was Chaim Sabel, a member of the Lakewood Township Planning Board.
Chaim Sabel.
Attorney Ken Fitzsimmons told Rodrick that Sabel made a bid of $318,000 to win a bidding war, then backed out of his bid. The town and the auction house then accepted Sabel’s $250,000 counter offer on the Hinds Road property.
Rodrick claimed that Councilman Matt Lotano decided to pull the matter from the last township council agenda meeting shortly after Rodrick made a telephone call to the auction house. Rodrick asked Lotano if he ever did business with the auction house and Lotano said yes, he had made bids on properties with the auction house in the past.
Now, Rodrick says that possible bid rigging and fraud may have taken place and said he has forwarded his findings to the New Jersey Department of Criminal Justice.
SEASIDE PARK, NJ – A new study published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science found that the use of trendy bandanas and neck gaiters does very little, if anything to stop the spread of COVID-19 droplets. The study was conducted by researches at Duke University’s biomedical, chemistry, physics and medical departments.
Lately, as Governor Phil Murphy says his COVID-19 decision making is guided by science, Murphy now finds himself in an uncomfortable position of telling people, do as he says, not necessarily as he does. That’s because in recent photo-ops from the Jersey Shore, the governor and his wife Tammy have been out and about wearing custom printed neck gaiters, which according to this study, are essentially worthless when it comes to fighting and stopping COVID-19.
“Mandates for mask use in public during the recent COVID-19 pandemic, worsened by global shortage of commercial supplies, have led to widespread use of homemade masks and mask alternatives. It is assumed that wearing such masks reduces the likelihood for an infected person to spread the disease, but many of these mask designs have not been tested in practice,” the researches found. “We have demonstrated a simple optical measurement method to evaluate the efficacy of masks to reduce the transmission of respiratory droplets during regular speech. In proof-of-principle studies, we compared a variety of commonly available mask types and observed that some mask types approach the performance of standard surgical masks, while some mask alternatives, such as neck fleece or bandanas, offer very little protection. Our measurement setup is inexpensive and can be built and operated by non-experts, allowing for rapid evaluation of mask performance during speech, sneezing, or coughing.”
Droplet transmission through face masks. (A) Relative droplet transmission through the corresponding mask. Each solid data point represents the mean and standard deviation over 10 trials for the same mask, normalized to the control trial (no mask), and tested by one speaker. The hollow data points are the mean and standard deviations of the relative counts over four speakers. A plot with a logarithmic scale is shown in Supplementary Fig. S1. (B)The time evolution of the droplet count (left axis) is shown for representative examples, marked with the corresponding color in (A): No mask (green), Bandana (red), cotton mask (orange), and surgical (blue – not visible on this scale). The cumulative droplet count for these cases is also shown (right axis).
The scientists used a laser beam and cylindrical lense to measure the amount of droplets emitted from a human being while wearing each variety of PPE devices, ranging from N95 respirators to bandanas and fleece face coverings.
“We tested 14 commonly available masks or masks alternatives, one patch of mask material, and a professionally fit-tested N95 mask. For reference, we recorded control trials where the speaker wore no protective mask or covering,” the study’s report said. “Each test was performed with the same protocol. The camera was used to record a video of approximately 40 s length to record droplets emitted while speaking. The first 10 s of the video serve as baseline. In the next 10 s, the mask wearer repeated the sentence “Stay healthy, people” five times (speech), after which the camera kept recording for an additional 20 s (observation). For each mask and for the control trial, this protocol was repeated 10 times. We used a computer algorithm (see Materials and Methods) to count the number of particles within each video.”
You can read the complete study report here.
OAKLAND, CA – The Houston Astros are going to have a very long sixty-day season after the team is being made to pay for their years of alleged cheating, but this week, they were involved in Major League Baseball’s first COVID-19 era bench-clearing “brawl”.
The word brawl is used lightly. As usual, bench-clearing fights in baseball rarely turn out to be anything more than a bunch of guys hopping up and down and pushing and shoving. With no fans in the stands, it’s even less exciting when the cardboard cutouts don’t call players bums and throw their hot dogs at them. Here’s a highlight reel of this week’s mediocre brawl. It gets about a 1.5 out of 10.
https://www.facebook.com/CheddarGadgets/videos/3195683320511150/
Meanwhile, over in the Canadian hockey bubble, here’s what a real sports fight during the COVID-19 pandemic looks like when the sport delivers.
https://www.facebook.com/BucketsOffHockey/videos/905046993311747/
FORKED RIVER, NJ – Racial tensions in America are getting pretty bad, but rarely is the sport of youth softball impacted by what goes on in the world around us. Maybe those days are coming to and end as tensions this weekend at the Phoenix Rising softball tournament in Forked River between a diverse New York City team and a team from Egg Harbor Township. During that game between girls mostly 15 and 18 years of age, there was a close play at home plate. It was a bang-bang play.
The girl from the New York City based OLS Lady Twins softball team was out at home plate, but the team’s coach decided to challenge the call with the umpire.
According to Jose Nieves, Director of the OLS Softball program, a few of the OLS players were talking amongst themselves in the dugout when the Egg Harbor Township coach confronted them about their conversation. Another OLS coach asked the Egg Harbor coach not to address his players directly and if there was an issue he needs to bring it to an adult, not the girls directly.
From there, the situation escalated and the Egg Harbor coach allegedly told the OLS coach he can say whatever he wants, then the parents began yelling at the coach to “Cut it out” and the coach, told the team, “Go back where you belong.”
https://www.facebook.com/vivaLeViral/videos/2788095281292676/
“During our 4th game with EHT Tornadoes their coach if you listen carefully stated to our coach ‘go back where you came from’ prior to yelling at one of our players from across the dugout,” said mom Lilah Mejia. “I never would have imagined that I would experience racism on the field in this matter. What was more disturbing was the referee and the organizers for Phoenix Rising Tournament did nothing.”
After about twenty minutes, the assistant coach on the Egg Harbor team was removed from the tournament.
“Our team of players AND parents were on the verge of an all-out brawl,” Mejia said.
Nieves said he tried reaching out on Facebook to the EHT Tornadoes through their Facebook page to talk about the matter, but claims he was blocked by the team. “I tried connecting with EHT over Facebook but they blocked me when they saw which organization I belonged to,” Nieves said.
Nieves said his Little League program was chartered to provide baseball and softball opportunities for disadvantaged inner-city children and teens. “We’re mostly Hispanic. Our players don’t live in very good neighborhoods. We like to take our players out of that environment and put them on nicer fields in these tournaments. Unfortunatley, this happens.”
We have reached out to the organizers of the event and the opposing team’s organization and have not received a response.
OCEAN CITY, NJ – If you survive COVID-19 in 2020 and the sharks don’t get you while you try to hide at the beach away from the murder hornets, sea lice are now a threat at the Jersey Shore.
The larvae of stinging jellyfish, also known as sea lice, were found near Ocean City. They have primarily been reported near Avalon and Stone Harbor Beaches. Stinging jellyfish have been known to show up in New Jersey near the end of summer when the water is warmer. The stinging jellyfish larvae were likely pushed to New Jersey from Florida by Tropical Storm Isaias.
“Here we are in the middle of summer and people can’t enjoy our beaches because of sea lice in the water. Sea lice are jellyfish larvae that can cause skin irritation and uncomfortable rashes. They have already been found near Ocean City, Avalon and Stone Harbor, which means that they could spread north because of warm water and nutrients. This shows that we need to do more to both tackle stormwater runoff and leaky sewer pipes as well as climate change,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “This is a direct result of problems from both climate change and stormwater runoff. The nutrients in the water came from Tropical Storm Isaias last week. As the summer continues to be hot and rainy, the invasion of sea lice could spread up and down our coast.”
Sea lice are a larvae of jellyfish, typically thimble jellyfish. They can cause burning sensations and rashes, including a skin reaction known as seabather’s eruption. Severe cases can require medical treatment.
“Climate impacts will create even better conditions for sea lice as water temperatures rise and pollution worsens. The Murphy administration is not addressing those impacts. They are not dealing with stormwater pollution and overdevelopment. CAFRA rules continue to allow for high levels of impervious cover. Christie weakened Stormwater Management and Flood Hazard rules, delayed Water Quality Planning rules and allowed sewers into environmentally sensitive areas,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “We must work to retrofit storm basins and restore watersheds, wetlands and stress, and preserve environmentally sensitive areas. Otherwise, we will continue to see more problems along the Shore like sea lice.”
Here’s how you can protect yourself from sea lice, according to the Florida Health Department:
Outbreaks of seabather’s eruption occur intermittently between March and August, but they appear to peak during early April through early July. There have been many days when no infestations have occurred. Beach goers need to listen to local beach reports and observe daily posted beach messages in affected areas. The following recommendations may also help in minimizing the number of stings:
1. Each beach goer needs to assess his or her individual risk of an immune response. Persons with a history of a severe reaction should confine their beach activities to land, or use pool facilities instead, during outbreaks.
2. Swimmers should avoid wearing T-shirts while in the ocean. Use of a topical sunscreen and limiting sun exposure protects against solar injury. There is some evidence that use of a topical sunscreen or suntan lotion may actually protect skin from penetration by the nematocysts.
3. Women should consider two-piece instead of one-piece bathing suits, to reduce the surface area of swimwear that could trap larvae. It is possible that smooth, tight weave bathing suits may trap fewer larvae than suits with an open-weave fabric.
4. After ocean exposure, swimmers need to change out of their bathing suits as soon as possible after exiting from the water. Most lesions have occurred from contact with contaminated swimwear. Removal of possibly contaminated swimwear, followed by a shower to rinse off loose larvae, should limit the number of stings. If showers are in a public area, it is suggested that people bring a second suit to the beach; after removing the first, possibly contaminated suit, they can don the second suit and then shower. Showering with fresh water while still wearing a contaminated bathing suit could cause discharge of nematocysts trapped in the fabric of the suit.
5. Bathing suits should be thoroughly washed with detergent and heat-dried after use. Some have experienced a recurrence of symptoms when wearing suits that had only been air-dried. Air-dried nematocysts still have the potential to fire. A person who has had a severe reaction may be wise to discard the infested suit.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Democrats in Congress are now rallying behind New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, who has essentially ran his state into the ground during COVID-19, saying they won’t sign on to a new stimulus package unless there’s a bailout for New Jersey.
“Democrats said, ‘Our way or the highway.’ Republicans wanted to send cash now for schools, testing, and unemployment benefits… Democrats said nobody gets a penny until Texas and Florida bailout New Jersey,” Senator Mitch McConnell said.
Sen. Mitch McConnell: "Democrats said nobody gets a penny unless Texas and Florida bail out New Jersey." pic.twitter.com/WuJwAvw8lm
— The Hill (@thehill) August 10, 2020
TRENTON, NJ – The State of New Jersey has certified the July 2020 primary election and has confirmed that 40,845 mail-in ballots were rejected and tossed, and tens of thousands of ballots remain uncounted. The state said by statute the numbers had to be certified despite several counties notifying the department that they were still counting ballots, one month after the election.
In total 1.5 million mail-in ballots were counted including 1,009,349 for Democrats and 457,017 for Republicans.
There have been multiple reports of county clerks not receiving mail-in ballots from the post office. If you want to make sure your vote was received and counted, you can call your local election board and ask. Click here for a list of county election boards.
According to the state election division, 53,000 New Jersey Republicans did not vote for President Donald J. Trump. Democrat-controlled counties in New Jersey saw the highest rate of ballot rejections, including Bergen County, Hudson County and Camden County.
Call your election board today and let us know in the comments below if your vote was counted.
Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash
TRENTON, NJ – Governor Murphy on Monday moved the goalpost once again for three struggling industries in New Jersey which are not allowed to reopen due to his COVID-19 restrictions and executive orders. Initially, Murphy attributed his closure to a 15 day “flattening the curve” message. He claims he’s not moving the goalpost, but in mentioning the possibility of no further reopenings until there’s a vaccine, he essentially moved the goal post again.
Murphy said he’s not completely on board with the probability that he will not reopen indoor dining at restaurants, gyms and health centers and the hospitality industry fully until there is a vaccine for the COVID-19 virus.
“I have enormous sympathy for the industries both restaurant and hospitality as well as the gyms. We had a conversation this morning, literally today, about trying to piece together what indoor dining could look like, what gyms could look like,” Murphy said. “I don’t accept that we’re not able to get there in the absence of the end of the – in the absence of a vaccine or the end of the pandemic. I don’t accept the fact that – and I know this is not how you’ve put it, but this notion of moving the goalpost I don’t accept. We’ve just been up at – on rate of transmission and Judy will remind me, rate of transmission, we hang our hat on a lot, but it’s a suite of numbers. It’s new hospitalizations, it’s rate of transmission, it’s spot positivity. We were up literally five, six days ago at 141, which means it was going in the wrong direction meaningfully. Due to policy shifts, I think in particular pulling the indoor dining, the indoor gathering capacity down to 25, more aggressive enforcement, people doing the right thing, that combination has allowed us – also, by the way, I think having some success, particularly via the bully pulpit and through Judy’s technology weapon on folks who’ve been traveling out of state, which was a little bit of the Wild West, no pun intended, has now become a crisper reality.”
Many in New Jersey are skeptical of Murphy’s benchmarks since he and his administration alone controls the data and have not allowed any outside entities, the media, or any oversight agencies access to the outside media. Testing center errors have also skewed those numbers in recent weeks, which means the man who controls the data, also controls the direction of the reopening of New Jersey with an authoritarian level of control and access.
TOMS RIVER, NJ – They’re calling it “Mask Mouth”, a new trend being seen by dentists who are once again seeing patients since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. One prominent New York City dentist is now saying prolonged wearing of face masks to protect yourself from COVID-19 infection could also be rotting your gums and teeth.
“We’re seeing inflammation in people’s gums that have been healthy forever, and cavities in people who have never had them before,” said Dr. Rob Ramondi, a co-owner and dentist at One Manhattan Dental. “About 50% of our patients are being impacted by this, we decided to name it ‘mask mouth’, after ‘meth mouth.’ ”
Ramondi said mask mouth can lead to gum disease, even strokes and heart attacks.
“People tend to breathe through their mouth instead of through their nose while wearing a mask,” said his partner Dr. Marc Sclafani. “The mouth breathing is causing the dry mouth, which leads to a decrease in saliva, and saliva is what fights the bacteria and cleanses your teeth.”
The dentists say while wearing masks, people tend to drink less water and have been consuming more coffee and alcohol during the lockdown, both of which increase the damage of mask mouth.
They say you can mitigate your exposure to mask mouth by drinking more water, cutting out coffee and alcohol and using a dehumidifier in your bedroom at night.
WASHINGTON, DC – President Donald J. Trump was escorted out of a press conference today with reporters by the Secret Service as officers outside the White House shot a man.
“The investigation into a USSS officer-involved shooting is ongoing. A male subject and a USSS officer were both transported to a local hospital. At no time during this incident was the White House complex breached or were any protectees in danger,” the Secret Service said.
President Trump was rushed out of the White House briefing room Monday evening and later said the Secret Service had shot someone nearby. https://t.co/RrzvQqqQT4 pic.twitter.com/LdU94gVZZY
— ABC News (@ABC) August 10, 2020
BREAKING: #WhiteHouse #Shooting suspect down pic.twitter.com/BTg5o9YtL3
— Baruch Sandhaus (@BaruchSandhaus) August 10, 2020
HANOVER TOWNSHIP, PA- It’s getting crazier out there by the day. This time, an argument between two people at the South Main Street STARR gas station in Hanover Township turned into a gun battle as the two men began shooting at each other with their guns.
“The Hanover Township Police Department is investigating a report of shots fired. An argument had ensued between two individuals, at which time one individual fired at the other individual. The other individual subsequently returned fire. Both subjects fled in separate vehicles towards Wilkes-Barre,” the police department said.
TRENTON, NJ – New Jersey restaurants are staying closed for indoor dining and Governor Murphy said a study of a restaurant in China done back in January of 2020 is the reason why. In that study, it found that the ventilation and airflow of the restaurant between an exhaust fan and a wall-mounted air conditioning unit pushed the COVID-19 virus droplets from table to table, infecting 10 people.
That study found no COVID-19 nucleotides within the airconditioning unit itself and admitted it did not test its theories described in its findings.
“While we’re at it, let’s also illustrate one of the reasons why we’ve been so concerned about reopening restaurants for indoor dining. And by the way, I hope we’ll get there, and I hope we get there sooner than later, but there’s a video clip we want to show you that illustrates a case study of coronavirus spread in January that occurred in a restaurant in southern China, in this case was published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases,” Murphy said. “In this instance, one infected and contagious diner at this middle table was able to spread coronavirus to nine other diners at the tables to their left and right, including some seated as far as 14 feet away.”
Each table was seated in overlapping intervals lasting up to 53 minutes the report said.
“From our examination of the potential routes of transmission, we concluded that the most likely cause of this outbreak was droplet transmission. Although the index patient (patient A1) was asymptomatic during the lunch, presymptomatic transmission has been reported (1). Given the incubation periods for family B (Appendix Figure), the most likely scenario is that all 3 family B members were directly infected by patient A1. However, we cannot not exclude the possibility that patients B2 and B3 were infected by patient B1, the first family B member to become ill. For family C, a possible scenario is that both patients C1 and C2 were infected by patient A1; another scenario is that the patient C1 acquired the infection while caring for patient C2, beginning on January 27,” the report said.
“The common thread was that all of these patrons were seated in a straight line from an air conditioner. I think any of us can name any number of restaurants that we go to which have a seating arrangement and air conditioning situation not unlike the one in this restaurant halfway around the globe. Airflow is a constant concern,” Murphy said. “This is why we have been much more forthright in reopening outdoor activities, including outdoor dining, while limiting indoor ones and requiring masks to be worn at all times while indoors. Allowing diners to sit maskless for an extended period of time in a restaurant where the air conditioning unit can silently spread coronavirus is a risk we cannot take.”
“Our study has limitations. We did not conduct an experimental study simulating the airborne transmission route. We also did not perform serologic studies of swab sample–negative asymptomatic family members and other diners to estimate risk for infection,” the writers of the report stated. “We conclude that in this outbreak, droplet transmission was prompted by air-conditioned ventilation. The key factor for infection was the direction of the airflow.”
The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioner Engineers have given restaurants guidance on how to reduce the risk of airborne exposure to COVID-19.
“Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 through the air is sufficiently likely that airborne exposure to the virus should be controlled. Changes to building operations, including the operation of heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems, can reduce airborne exposures,” ASHRAE said. “Ventilation and filtration provided by heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems can reduce the airborne concentration of SARS-CoV-2 and thus the risk of transmission through the air.”
Photo by Carlos Lindner on Unsplash
BELMAR, NJ – Governor Phil Murphy today issued a stern warning to bars and patrons of bars and restaurants that if they do not start complying with his executive orders, they will be shut down again and he’s going to give them one more chance to do the right thing.
“Bars and patrons need to get on the same page. Quickly. I’m going to give everyone a chance to do the right thing,” Murphy said today. “But if we have to shut places down to protect public health, then we will. Consider this your warning before you go out drinking this weekend.”
Murphy said despite positive signs in combating the virus in New Jersey, bars and restaurants are both risking the safety of everyone by allowing patrons to not follow state and CDC guidelines regarding face coverings and social distancings.
“So the decrease in RT, the low spot, positivity, those are clearly positive signs, but no one should look at that and think it means that coronavirus is no longer with us or that you can go ahead and leave your mask at home or join a big crowd waiting to get into a bar with your friends. Both of these, however, are exactly what hundreds of young bar-goers did this weekend at numerous shore bars,” Murphy said. “Once again, we are seeing documented news reports of numerous examples of bars that may have been trying to do the right thing once patrons got in but whose lines were filled with people, again particularly young people, who were neither being kept socially distant or wearing masks. I don’t think there’s any masks in that picture, Judy. If you can find one, let me know.”
Murphy was not shy about dropping names of the bars he felt were in violation.
“The bars, by the way – apologies in advance for naming you. They include Jenkinson’s in Point Pleasant, D’Jais’s and 10th Avenue Burrito in Belmar, and Donovan’s Reef in Sea Bright. By the time these patrons would’ve even gotten in, this virus could’ve already easily spread just through the line. So folks, this is not a game. Standing around maskless in a crowd outside a bar is just as big a knucklehead move as standing around maskless inside one,” He added. “The patrons and these bars need to get on the same page and quickly. Your responsibility to help stop the spread of coronavirus doesn’t go on pause when you’re standing in line. I and Pat and others here are going to give everyone a chance to do the right thing, but if we have to shut places down to protect public health, then we will. Consider this your warning before you go out drinking this weekend.”
TRENTON, NJ – Governor Phil Murphy this week dodged questions from Shore News Network regarding the state-induced deaths of nearly 7,000 senior citizens living in nursing homes and long term care facilities after a March order by the state forced those homes to accept sick and recovering COVID-19 patients. The end result of that order was widespread outbreaks of COVID-19 and deaths in those facilities.
https://www.facebook.com/OCPoliceBlotter/videos/612464913035085/
Murphy denied responsibility for that March decision and order signed by Judith Persichili, Director of the New Jersey Department of Health. You can view that order here.
In that order, Murphy and Persichili ordered that no patients infected with COVID-19 could be refused entry to any long term care facility.
“No patient/resident shall be denied re-admission or admission to the post-acute care setting solely based on a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19. Persons under investigation for COVID-19 who have undergone testing in the hospital shall not be discharged until results are available. Post-acute care facilities are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized patient/resident who is determined medically stable to be tested for COVID-19 prior to admission or readmission,” the order directed to the nursing home industry declared. “During this global health emergency, all post-acute care settings must comply with the expedited receipt of patients/residents discharging from hospitals. Patients/residents are deemed appropriate for discharge to the post-acute care setting upon a determination by the hospital physician or designee that the resident is medically stable for return. A rapid review of necessary resources to provide adequate, safe care in the post-acute care setting is imperative during this time.”
Murphy said it nursing home deaths were not specific to New Jersey.
“Over the past nearly five months, one of the most impacted communities in our state has been the residents and staff of our long-term care facilities. They’ve borne an outsized burden of this pandemic. We cannot understate the enormity of either the spread or the loss of life within these facilities. Listen to these numbers: nearly 25,000 cases of coronavirus among residents, and nearly 13,000 among staff, and nearly 7,000 lab-confirmed deaths. This has not been a New Jersey-specific tragedy, either,” Murphy said. “Across the nation and indeed around the world, long-term care facilities have been crushed by COVID-19. And while we take no solace, zero solace, in the fact that we were not alone, we determined that we would be a leader in showing a better way forward.”
Here’s what Murphy said at the Monday, August 10th COVID-19 Press Conference:
In the late Spring, both the Departments of Health and Human Services fighting this pandemic directly, we engaged nationally recognized experts from Manatt Health to help us hone on what we – on what needed to be done and where it needed to be done and how it needed to be done. Manatt provided us with short, medium, and long-range solutions, and many of those recommendations are already in motion. For instance, more than 30 million pieces of personal protective equipment have been distributed to our long-term care facilities. Working in partnership with our facilities, we have conducted more than 310,000 tests of residents along with 495,000 tests for staff. Nearly 470 infection control surveys have been completed with their results posted for the public to see, and more than 3600 complaints that had been sitting in a backlog have now been cleared.
Implementation of other key immediate recommendations from the report include the hiring of David Adinaro to fill the critical role of Deputy Commissioner of Public Health at the Department of Health, and the creation of a long-term care emergency operations center led by, I might add, Dr. Adinaro, that is intended to serve as a central state resource for COVID-19 response efforts in long-term care. And so today, we add to that list. Today, the Department of Health will release a directive that will set mandatory benchmarks based on departmental, CDC, and CMS guidelines for New Jersey’s long-term care facilities as they look to reopen to visitors and resume normal operations. It will establish phases for reopening based on the time since a last outbreak and further timed to the broader reopening stages of our statewide road back. In this directive, we’ll establish strong baseline infection control measures as well as requirements for PPE stockpiling and resident and staff testing, including, by the way, weekly coronavirus tests for all staff among other items that will apply to all facilities regardless of phase.
To ensure that we get this right, we are preparing to commit a total of $155 million in state and federal funds. Of this, we will direct $25 million in CDC, epidemiology, and laboratory capacity funding, or ELC funding, through the Department of Health to support our new staff testing program. And I am proud to add that Commissioner Johnson is working directly with our legislative partners on a $130 million plan to stabilize and support our nursing facility workforce and critical infection control practices in the facilities. The plan would include tens of millions of dollars in federal matching funds.
With this funding, we would be able to increase wages, specifically for certified nursing aids, while also ensuring that our facilities can continue to fully support their current staffs and meet the more stringent criteria for reopening that are being put in place. So specifically, 60% of this funding must flow directly to our nursing home workforce. And the remainder will only go to facilities when they attest that they have met critical benchmark requirements outlined in the directive. The Department of Human Services will be prepared to recoup funds from facilities that do not comply with these requirements. I will ask both Judy and Carole to speak to this plan in greater detail, but here is our goal: to not only meet the current challenges but to ensure both high-quality care and the safety of residents and staff going forward. We will continue to work alongside the good actors in the long-term care industry of which there are many who want to do the right thing by their residents, their staffs, and their families who trust them while at the same time making sure we have strong measures in place that are needed to deal with the bad actors who put profit before people.
The Department of Justice announced that Zachary Clark, a/k/a “Umar Kabir,” a/k/a “Umar Shishani,” a/k/a “Abu Talha,” pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). Clark pled guilty today in Manhattan federal court before U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald. Judge Buchwald is scheduled to sentence Clark on Feb. 9, 2021, at 12:00 p.m.
“Having pledged allegiance to ISIS, Clark provided specific instructions for how to conduct attacks in New York City, instructing others on knifing and bomb-making,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers. “We must remain vigilant to the threat of terrorism. We must remain committed to identifying and holding accountable those who threaten our communities because of their support for foreign terrorist organizations.”
“As he admitted in court today, Zachary Clark pledged allegiance to ISIS and posted calls for attacks on the public and institutions in New York on encrypted pro-ISIS chatrooms,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss for the Southern District of New York. “He also posted detailed instructions for carrying out those violent acts. Thanks to the Joint Terrorism Task Force, Clark’s efforts to incite deadly violence on behalf of ISIS have been silenced, and he now awaits sentencing for his crimes.”
“Today’s plea by Mr. Clark is yet one more example of the resolve of the FBI’s JTTF in New York, and our many law enforcement partners, to protect this city and our citizens from the danger of lone wolf attacks,” said FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. “Many thanks to all of our partners who work side by side with us every day to neutralize threats of this nature.”
According to the allegations in the indictment, complaint, other court filings, and statements made during court proceedings:
Clark pledged allegiance to ISIS twice, first in July 2019, to ISIS’s then-leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and then in October 2019, to ISIS’s new leader, Abu Ibrahim al-Sashemi al-Qurayshi, who ISIS promoted after al-Baghdadi’s death. Beginning in at least March 2019, Clark disseminated ISIS propaganda through, among other avenues, encrypted chatrooms intended for members, associates, supporters, and potential recruits of ISIS. Clark’s propaganda included, among other things, calls for ISIS supporters to commit lone wolf attacks in New York City. For example, on Aug. 3, 2019, Clark posted instructions about how to conduct such an attack, including directions on how to select an attack target, how to conduct preoperational surveillance, how to conduct operational planning, and how to avoid attracting law enforcement attention when preparing for and conducting the attack. On another occasion, Clark posted a manual entitled “Knife Attacks,” which stated, among other things, that discomfort at “the thought of plunging a sharp object into another person’s flesh” is “never an excuse for abandoning jihad” and that “[k]nives, though certainly not the only weapon for inflicting harm upon the kuffar [non-believers], are widely available in every land and thus readily accessible.” Clark urged the participants in encrypted chatrooms to attack specific targets, posting maps and images of the New York City subway system and encouraging ISIS supporters to attack those locations. Clark’s guidance also included posting a manual entitled “Make a bomb in the kitchen of your Mom,” which was issued by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and included detailed instructions about constructing bombs using readily available materials.
Clark, 41, of Brooklyn, New York, pled guilty to one count of attempting to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, namely, ISIS, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.
Assistant Attorney General Demers and Ms. Strauss praised the outstanding efforts of the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, which consists of investigators and analysts from the FBI, the NYPD, and over 50 other federal, state and local agencies. Ms. Strauss also thanked the Counterterrorism Section of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division.
This prosecution is being handled by the Office’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gillian Grossman, Matthew Hellman, and Sidhardha Kamaraju are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
LEBANON, PA-The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Stefan Knoche, age 55, of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, was charged by Criminal Information with trafficking in counterfeit drugs.
According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, the information alleges that Knoche intentionally trafficked drugs knowing them to contain counterfeit marks of pharmaceutical manufacturers Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, Bayer AG, Eli Lilly and Company, and Roche Holding AG between May 23, 2017 and April 12, 2018. The information alleges Knoche knowingly trafficked counterfeit Viagra, Aurogra, Xanax, Levitra, Cialis, and Valium, all using counterfeit trademarks of their respective pharmaceutical companies.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations; and U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney James T. Clancy is prosecuting the case.
Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is 10 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
NEWARK, N.J. – A federal grand jury today indicted a Florida man for evading over $61 million in income taxes from 2016 through 2018, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Alfred Teo, 74, of Boca Raton, Florida, is charged with three counts of tax evasion and six counts of making and subscribing false personal and corporate tax returns in tax years 2016, 2017, and 2018. The indictment follows a June 17, 2020, complaint charging tax evasion, for which U.S. Magistrate Judge Edward S. Kiel set bond at $20 million. Teo will be arraigned at a date to be determined.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Teo was the majority shareholder of multibillion-dollar plastics manufacturing holding company Alpha Industries Management (Alpha). During the tax years 2016, 2017, and 2018, Alpha transferred funds directly into trading accounts for Teo’s benefit. Instead of reporting the funds Alpha sent for Teo’s benefit as income on his personal tax returns, a significant portion of Teo’s income from Alpha was recorded as 1099 Income to AAST Holding Corp. (AAST), another Teo-owned entity that was unrelated to his plastics business. Through AAST, Teo engaged in numerous acts to conceal and attempt to conceal the income he received from Alpha in order to evade income taxes.
According to AAST’s corporate tax returns, AAST received 1099 income from Alpha of approximately $27 million, $53 million, and $89 million in 2016, 2017, and 2018, respectively, for a total of approximately $169 million.
However, Alpha did not transfer these amounts to bank accounts controlled by AAST. The money Alpha recorded as 1099 income to AAST was instead money provided for the benefit of Teo and included money that Alpha sent directly to Teo’s brokerage accounts. Instead of reporting the $169 million of income from Alpha on Teo’s personal tax returns in 2016, 2017, and 2018, and paying taxes on that income, the income was reported on AAST’s corporate tax returns. Teo then provided false deduction information to his tax preparer in the form of fictitious “cost of goods sold” to artificially reduce his income and evade the income taxes owed.
AAST was organized as a holding company, and, in reality, AAST did not have cost of goods sold of these amounts for these years.
In 2016, 2017, and 2018, Teo’s tax preparer provided draft AAST corporate tax forms for Teo’s review. Teo then returned the corporate tax forms with handwritten notes that indicated AAST had tens of millions of dollars of cost of goods sold. Teo’s tax preparer used the information that Teo provided to report AAST’s cost of goods sold on AAST’s corporate tax returns in the amounts of approximately $26 million, $51 million, and $87 million for 2016, 2017, and 2018, respectively.
By submitting fraudulent cost of goods sold expenses to his tax preparer for inclusion on AAST’s corporate tax returns, Teo used AAST to avoid paying tens of millions of dollars of income taxes. He reduced AAST’s net business income by approximately $165 million for tax years 2016, 2017, and 2018 combined.
Teo’s personal IRS Forms 1040 for 2016, 2017, and 2018 included AAST’s net business income – as reduced by the approximately $165 million in AAST’s false cost of goods sold – as income to Teo. As a result, Teo understated his personal income for those years by approximately $165 million.
Because Teo’s personal tax returns for 2016, 2017, and 2018 included AAST’s net business income, Teo’s fraudulent reduction of AAST’s net business income with purported cost of goods sold expenses resulted in a tax loss of approximately $10 million, $20 million, and $31 million in 2016, 2017 and 2018, respectively, for a total tax loss of approximately $61 million.
The tax evasion charges in Counts 1 through 3 of the indictment each carry a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The six false tax return charges in Counts 4 through 9 each carry a maximum potential penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael Montanez in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s charges.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ari B. Fontecchio and Vijay Dewan of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
JERSEY CITY, NJ– A high-ranking member of a violent street gang operating in Jersey City, New Jersey, made his initial court appearance today on charges he possessed a weapon as a convicted felon, possessed Phencyclidine (more commonly known as PCP) with intent to distribute, and possessed a firearm in furtherance of his PCP distribution, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Jalil Burns, a/k/a “Big Ben,” 33, of Jersey City, was charged by complaint on Aug. 4, 2020, with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon, one count of possession with intent to distribute PCP, and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Burns appeared today by videoconference before U.S. Magistrate Judge Edward S. Kiel and was detained.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On Aug. 3, 2020, Burns was found in possession of a .40 caliber handgun, which was loaded with six rounds of ammunition, and a jar of Phencyclidine. In 2009, Burns was convicted in federal court of unlawfully possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.
The charge of unlawfully possessing a firearm as a convicted felon carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The charge of possessing with intent to distribute Phencyclidine carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison, and a $1 million fine. The charge of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum of life imprisonment, and a $250,000 fine.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited the Jersey City Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director James Shea; the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Esther Suarez; special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Charlie J. Patterson, Newark Field Division; and special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Joe Denahan in Newark, with the investigation leading to the charges and arrest.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Desiree Grace Latzer of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Organized Crime and Gangs Unit in Newark.
The charges and allegations in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
PHILADELPHIA, PA – United States Attorney William M. McSwain announced that Jerry Collins, 40, and Tyree Lamont Holmes, 28, both of Philadelphia, PA, were indicted for armed robbery of a Garda armored truck on the 3500 block of Market Street in the University City section of West Philadelphia just over one year ago.
According to the indictment, on August 1, 2019, at approximately 10:00 a.m., Holmes and a second unidentified suspect, both wearing masks and gloves, one armed with a loaded Glock 17 semi-automatic handgun and the other with a loaded assault rifle with an attached drum-style magazine, exited a Chevy Trailblazer that was parked behind a Garda armored truck. As one of the guards removed three black bags containing a total of $434,000 cash, Holmes and his accomplice approached the guard, pointed their firearms at him and announced a robbery while Collins waited in the driver’s seat of the getaway vehicle, the Trailblazer. Holmes allegedly grabbed the bags of money and attempted to get back into the vehicle when two guards drew their firearms and began shooting at the fleeing robbers, who fired back. During the shootout, Holmes dropped the bags of money on the ground and fled on foot while the second robber got into the Trailblazer with Collins and fled the scene.
Collins was arrested by the FBI on August 7, 2020; Holmes was arrested by the Philadelphia Police Department on February 18, 2020. Both defendants were indicted for conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, robbery which interfered with interstate commerce, and using, carrying and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. Holmes is detained pending trial; the Government has moved to detain Collins, as well, who will appear in federal court for his detention hearing tomorrow, August 11, 2020.
“Robbing any type of business – especially a brazen armed robbery of an armored vehicle in broad daylight – is a serious federal offense that can carry stiff penalties,” said U.S. Attorney McSwain. “And here, the alleged robbery precipitated a shootout on a busy city block that endangered many innocent bystanders. It is remarkable that nobody was struck and killed. This type of criminal behavior is completely unacceptable and my Office is focused on rooting it out.”
“This was a risky armed robbery carried out on a dense and active block in University City,” said Michael J. Driscoll, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division. “The robbery crew showed up armed to the teeth to accost Garda personnel, prompting a barrage of gunfire. Holmes, Collins, and their accomplices put countless innocent people in danger by allegedly planning and carrying out this daylight gunpoint heist. It’s imperative all involved are held accountable, both to keep them off the street and send a message to anyone else who may contemplate such a dangerous assault on our community.”
Each defendant faces a maximum term of life imprisonment with a mandatory minimum term of seven years’ imprisonment without the possibility of parole, up to five years of supervised release, and a $750,000 fine. Committing a violent crime in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania carries a tremendous risk of a long prison sentence, which is the message of the Office’s new anti-violence public awareness campaign. You can learn more about this campaign on the District website.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Philadelphia Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney José Arteaga.
ELIZABETH, N.J. – A federal grand jury today indicted two Union County, New Jersey, men for allegedly committing multiple armed robberies from August 2018 through February 2019, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Jaime Fontanez, 43, and Vincent Chan-Guillen, 30, both of Elizabeth, New Jersey, are charged in a 13-count indictment with conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, multiple counts of Hobbs Act robbery, as well as brandishing and discharging a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence. Fontanez and Chan-Guillen will be arraigned at a date to be determined. Both men were previously arrested on a criminal complaint for this conduct on Feb. 21, 2019.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From August 2018 through February 2019, Fontanez and Chan-Guillen conspired with each other, and others, to commit robberies in Bronx and New York counties in New York and Union, Middlesex, and Essex counties in New Jersey. The conspirators targeted convenience and liquor stores. After entering the business, one of the conspirators pointed a firearm at the store clerk while another conspirator went behind the counter to steal money from the cash register. On one occasion, Chan-Guillen discharged a firearm into the liquor store. That firearm was subsequently discovered in Chan-Guillen’s possession.
The Hobbs Act charges each carry a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison. The brandishing of a firearm during a crime of violence carries a maximum potential penalty of life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in prison, which must run consecutively to any other prison term. The discharging of a firearm during a crime of violence carries a maximum potential penalty of life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, which must run consecutively to any other prison term. Each count also carries a potential $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Joe Denahan in Newark, with the investigation leading to the charges. He also thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, under Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss, for their assistance with this case and the Elizabeth Police Department, under the direction of Chief Giacomo Sacca; the Rahway Police Department, under the direction of Chief John Rodger; the Woodbridge Police Department, under the direction of Director Robert Hubner; the Bloomfield Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director Samuel A. DeMaio; the Linden Police Department, under the direction of Chief David Hart; the Kenilworth Police Department, under the direction of Chief John Zimmerman; the Township of Union Police Department, under the direction of Director Dan Zieser; the N.J. State Police, under the direction of Col. Patrick J. Callahan; and the New York City Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Dermot Shea for their work on this case.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tracey Agnew and Shawn Barnes of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment ar
CHICAGO, IL — A federal jury in Chicago has convicted a suburban man of threatening a law enforcement officer and posting similarly threatening messages on social media.
ROBERT ANTHONY HAAS in 2019 sent harassing and threatening text messages and voicemails to a federal task force officer. In one of the text messages, Haas stated, “I’m not afraid to walk out my door in the morning. You should be however considering you support Jewish terrorism and your anti-American [expletive] is going to get you killed.” The officer had come into contact with Haas when he interviewed him after the FBI received a complaint about disturbing messages Haas posted to a social media website.
In addition to the threats against the federal officer, evidence at trial revealed that Haas posted similarly disturbing messages at the social media website. In one of those postings, Haas stated, “I don’t care if it’s a cop, prosecutor, judge, politician or elite. You try to stop me from telling the truth I will cut every throat in your home. Try me!”
After a four-day trial, a federal jury in Chicago on Thursday convicted Haas, 40, of Ottawa, Ill., on all 13 counts against him, including five counts of threatening to assault or murder a federal official and eight counts of knowingly transmitting in interstate commerce a communication containing a threat to injure another. Each count of threatening a federal official is punishable by up to ten years in federal prison, while the maximum sentence for each of the other threat counts is five years. U.S. District Judge Edmond E. Chang set sentencing for Nov. 3, 2020.
The conviction was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; and Patrick S. Mills, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), Chicago Field Office. Assistance was provided by the Illinois State Police and the Ottawa, Ill., Police Department. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erin Kelly and Barry Jonas.
ROCKFORD, IL — A Rockford man was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Philip G. Reinhard on federal charges of drug trafficking and possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
ANTWAN D. MANLEY, 27, was sentenced to 154 months in prison on the drug trafficking charge and 60 months on the firearm charge, to be served consecutively, for a total sentence of 17 years and ten months in federal prison.
Manley pleaded guilty on Nov. 27, 2019, to one count of possessing with intent to distribute heroin, cocaine base, and marijuana, and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. In the written plea agreement, Manley admitted that on Jan. 11, 2018, he possessed in a vehicle approximately 21 baggies of heroin, 24 baggies of marijuana, and a bag of cocaine base in the form of crack cocaine. Manley admitted that he also possessed in the same vehicle a loaded, black Beretta 9mm pistol that previously had been stolen, as well as approximately $6,950 in drug trafficking proceeds, four cell phones, a digital scale, and a box of latex gloves. Manley admitted that he intended to distribute the heroin, crack cocaine, and marijuana to street-level users, and that he possessed the loaded pistol to protect himself, his drug inventory, and his drug trafficking proceeds from individuals who may attempt to rob him of the drugs or money, including customers and rival drug dealers. Manley also admitted that he had distributed heroin to an individual cooperating with law enforcement on two occasions in November and December 2017.
The sentencing was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; Kristen De Tineo, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives; and Dan O’Shea, Chief of the Rockford Police Department. The federal investigation was conducted by the FBI-led Rockford Area Violent Gang Task Force, which includes the above agencies as well as the Loves Park and Freeport Police Departments. The Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office also assisted in the investigation. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Talia Bucci.
TUCSON, Ariz. – Yesterday, Carlos Victor Passapera Pinott, 53, of Buckeye, Arizona, was arrested on multiple counts of conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. Passapera was charged by complaint, and had his initial appearance today before United States Magistrate Judge Leslie A. Bowman of the District of Arizona.
According to the complaint:
Passapera is a Border Patrol Agent assigned to the Tucson Sector Ajo Border Patrol Station. On August 9, 2020, at approximately 3:15 AM, Passapera left his residence and drove south to a remote area of the border west of the Lukeville Port of Entry. Passapera then drove to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, where he loaded two duffel bags into another vehicle. Law enforcement agents stopped the driver of that vehicle after it left the airport, and searched the duffel bags. The bags contained multiple packages of substances that field tested positive for the characteristics of cocaine (21 kilograms), heroin (1 kilogram), and fentanyl (1 kilogram). The bags also contained approximately 350,000 pills. A sample from the pills field tested positive for the characteristics of fentanyl.
Law enforcement agents took Passapera into custody later that day while executing a search warrant at his residence. During the search, agents found approximately $329,000 in U.S. currency in Passapera’s residence, and an additional $40,000 in the vehicle Passapera used to transport the illegal narcotics.
Convictions for conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances carry a maximum penalty of life in prison, a mandatory minimum penalty of ten years, and up to a $10,000,000 fine.
A criminal complaint is simply the method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until competent evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The charges resulted from an investigation led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Southern Arizona Corruption Task Force, the Homeland Security Investigations, NATIVE Task Force in Sells, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The Public Integrity Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Tucson is handling the prosecution.
FREEHOLD, NJ – Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. is recalling its four-pound bag of Valencia Oranges, two-pound bag of lemons, bulk lemons, and a variety of in-store produced seafood and restaurant foods items that contain fresh lemon because they have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeriaem> infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.
The affected products were sold in Wegmans stores in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, and Brooklyn and Harrison, NY.
Affected produce items, sold between July 31 and August 7, 2020, include:
Wegmans 4lb Bag Valencia Oranges – UPC: 7789052363
Wegmans 2lb Bag Lemons – UPC: 7789015917
Wegmans bulk lemons – UPC: 4033
The lemons and oranges were supplied to Wegmans by Freshouse Produce LLC of Salisbury, NC, which issued a voluntary recall after the company’s internal testing identified Listeria monocytogenes on a piece of equipment in one of its packing facilities. No illnesses associated with this recall have been reported to Wegmans or its supplier.
Wegmans has placed automated phone calls to alert customers who purchased these products using Shoppers Club.
Customers should return these products to the service desk for a full refund. Those with questions may contact Wegmans Food Markets 1-855-934-3663 Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. or Saturday and Sunday from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.