GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ – The Gloucester Township Police Department announced their participation in the national “Click it or Ticket” campaign, aimed at enforcing seat belt usage. The campaign begins on May 20 and will continue until June 2. This enforcement effort will include high visibility seat belt checkpoints and saturation patrols, specifically targeting areas in town with a high incidence of crashes involving unrestrained occupants.
In addition to road enforcement, Gloucester Township Police Officers from the Traffic Safety Unit will be engaging with high school seniors. They will deliver presentations focused on the risks of driving without a seat belt and the dangers of impaired driving, coinciding with the prom season. This initiative is part of a broader national effort to highlight the life-saving benefits of wearing seat belts.
- Man admits to stealing $1.6 million in rare coins from Philadelphia bank
Philadelphia, PA – A Chester County man has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $1.6 million worth of coins from a Wells Fargo safety deposit box in Center City, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.
Richard DiStefano, 65, of Paoli, entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Savage to one count of bank larceny. Prosecutors said that between July 2017 and February 2021, DiStefano repeatedly accessed the safety deposit box at the Wells Fargo branch on South Broad Street and removed collectible coins belonging to an organization that stored them there.
Court filings show that DiStefano sold the stolen coins over time through various auction houses. The theft went undetected until June 2024, when the FBI was alerted and later confirmed DiStefano was the last person with access to the box. A search of his residence that September revealed his admission to the crime.
DiStefano now faces up to 10 years in federal prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine when sentenced on January 13, 2026.
A years-long scheme of coin theft will now cost DiStefano his freedom.
- Former Maryland office manager admits to stealing $1.7 million from Ocean City builder
Baltimore, MD – A former office manager who exploited her position of trust to steal more than $1.7 million from an Ocean City home builder has pleaded guilty to federal charges of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and tax evasion, prosecutors announced Tuesday.
Tammy Barcus, 56, of Berlin, Maryland, admitted that between 2016 and 2024 she forged a company owner’s signature on more than 500 business checks and funneled the money into accounts she controlled. Prosecutors said Barcus concealed the theft by falsifying company accounting records and hiding the income from the Internal Revenue Service.
As part of her role, Barcus had access to the company’s payment systems and accounting books and worked with significant independence. She used that authority to forge checks, divert funds, and commingle stolen money into her personal bank accounts.
The embezzled money was used for personal expenses, while fraudulent edits in the company’s records allowed the scheme to remain undetected for years. Barcus also misled the IRS by failing to report the illicit income on her taxes.
She faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for wire fraud, five years for tax evasion, and a mandatory two-year consecutive term for aggravated identity theft. Sentencing is scheduled for February 9, 2026, before U.S. District Judge Maddox.
The case was announced by U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes and IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Kareem Carter.
- Toms River woman guilty of killing two in Route 571 crash
Toms River woman found guilty of two counts of vehicular homicide
TOMS RIVER, NJ — A 30-year-old woman has been convicted on two counts of vehicular homicide after a jury found she caused a 2022 Manchester Township crash that killed two men, prosecutors announced Thursday.
After a nearly five-week trial before Judge Dina M. Vicari, jurors concluded that Danielle Bowker recklessly operated her 2018 Honda Civic when she veered out of her lane on Route 571 on March 29, 2022. The crash left two Toms River men dead: 48-year-old Michael Sadis and 58-year-old Paul Lamberti.
Bowker faces up to five years in New Jersey State Prison for each count when she is sentenced on December 12.
Investigators determined Bowker failed to maintain her lane while navigating a curve, colliding head-on with a New Jersey Department of Transportation Ford F-550 pickup truck driven by Eduardo Rivera, 30, of Hamilton Township. Rivera’s passenger, 26-year-old Daniel Septor of Upper Freehold, was also in the vehicle.
The impact forced Rivera’s truck into a Toyota Camry driven by Sadis, pushing the car off the road into an embankment. The truck then struck a Toyota Corolla driven by Lamberti. Sadis was pronounced dead at the scene, while Lamberti was airlifted to Jersey Shore University Medical Center, where he later died from his injuries. Rivera and Septor were treated for minor injuries.
Bowker was also hospitalized with minor injuries and later released.
She was originally charged in June 2022 with multiple counts, including vehicular homicide, strict liability vehicular homicide, and assault by auto. She surrendered to police with her attorney, was jailed, and later released under New Jersey’s bail reform laws.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said the guilty verdict sends a clear message about accountability on the road. “Reckless driving is not a mistake – it is a dangerous choice that costs lives,” Billhimer said. “While nothing can bring their loved ones back, we hope today’s verdict provides some measure of justice and closure for the families of Michael Sadis and Paul Lamberti.”
——
Key Points
- Danielle Bowker, 30, convicted of two counts of vehicular homicide in a 2022 Manchester Township crash
- The crash killed Toms River residents Michael Sadis, 48, and Paul Lamberti, 58
- Bowker faces up to five years in state prison on each count when sentenced in December
- Police say Bristol man engaged in explicit chats with undercover profile
Bristol man arrested in undercover investigation into attempted contact with minor
BRISTOL, PA — A 54-year-old man has been arrested after police say he engaged in sexually explicit conversations online with what he believed was a 12-year-old girl, then attempted to avoid capture by hiding inside his apartment.
According to investigators, the case began on March 21 when George Shetzline, of Park Avenue in Bristol, contacted an undercover profile on a social media dating app. Believing he was communicating with a juvenile, Shetzline allegedly sent explicit messages and photographs and discussed meeting the child at Neshaminy Mall in Bensalem. Police confirmed that no child was ever at risk during the investigation.
Bensalem Police obtained an arrest warrant charging Shetzline with attempted unlawful contact with a minor, dissemination of explicit sexual material to minors, and criminal use of a communication facility.
After failing to surrender, officers from Bensalem and Bristol Township went to Shetzline’s home. His girlfriend initially told officers he was not there, but a search revealed Shetzline hiding behind a couch. He was taken into custody without incident.
Police said charges of hindering apprehension are pending against the girlfriend for allegedly concealing his presence from authorities.
Shetzline was arraigned by District Justice Charles Jonas and committed to the Bucks County Correctional Facility on 10% of $750,000 bail.
- ISIS Agent from Minnesota Pleads Guilty to Helping Terrorist Organization
Minneapolis, MN – A 23-year-old man who twice tried to travel overseas to join ISIS and openly called for jihad has pleaded guilty in federal court to attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, officials announced Thursday.
Abdisatar Ahmed Hassan admitted before U.S. District Judge Donovan W. Frank that he sought to join ISIS fighters in Somalia and actively promoted the group online. Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson said Hassan “flew the ISIS flag, venerated attacks on the homeland, and wanted to kill Americans,” adding that Minnesota would not be allowed to become a “safe haven for terrorists.”
ISIS Agent
According to court documents, Hassan operated social media accounts where he praised terrorist attacks, shared ISIS propaganda, and called for the creation of an Islamic caliphate in Somalia. Posts included images of the black ISIS flag, propaganda videos, and messages glorifying violence, including praise for the New Year’s Day massacre in New Orleans that killed 14 people.
Abdisatar Ahmed Hassan – ISIS In December 2024, Hassan twice attempted one-way travel from Minnesota to Somalia via Ethiopia to join ISIS. Surveillance by FBI agents revealed that on his first attempt he was blocked from boarding due to improper travel documents. He then obtained additional paperwork and tried again. Customs and Border Protection officers intercepted him in Chicago, finding his birth certificate, naturalization papers, and high school diploma packed in his single carry-on bag.
A forensic review of Hassan’s two phones uncovered communications with an alleged ISIS recruiter, exchanges with an ISIS media outlet, and instructional documents on explosives and sniper training. Agents also located a series of internet searches on weapons, fertilizer, and ISIS operations.
In February, Hassan posted videos from his car displaying a knife and waving a homemade ISIS flag. When arrested later that month, FBI agents seized the flag, two phones, and the knife. Hassan later confessed to agents that he supported ISIS, routinely posted its propaganda, and sought to fight for the group abroad.
FBI Minneapolis Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston Sr. said the plea was the result of extensive investigative work, stressing that ISIS and Al Shabab “represent a clear threat to all Americans.”
Hassan remains in custody pending sentencing, which has not yet been scheduled.
The man who called ISIS his “commander” now faces judgment in a U.S. courtroom.