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☆ Jury selection begins in bribery case against Sen. Bob Menendez in New York
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Jonathan Dienst | Dareh Gregorian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Jury selection begins Monday in the federal criminal trial of U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., who is charged with accepting "hundreds of thousands of dollars" in bribes — including some in gold bars — in return for official acts. It also alleges the couple received "gold bars, payments toward a home mortgage, compensation for a low-or-no-show job, a luxury vehicle and other items of value," such as jewelry and exercise equipment. The other two, Fred Daibes and Wael Hana, have pleaded not guilty and will stand trial alongside Menendez. The indictment noted a search of Menendez's home in 2022 turned up "two one-kilogram gold bars and nine one-ounce gold bars that had serial numbers indicating they had previously been possessed" by Daibes. The federal criminal trial is the second Menendez has faced since he was elected to the Senate in 2006.

Persons: . Sen, Bob Menendez, he's, Nadine Menendez, Damian Williams, Jose Uribe, Fred Daibes, Wael Hana, Menendez, Daibes, Uribe, He's, Donald Trump Organizations: ., Senate Foreign Relations, Prosecutors, Southern, of New York, Government, Democratic, Senate, Democratic Party Locations: New Jersey, Qatar, Egypt, Hana, Cuba, Florida, Paris

☆ Sen. Bob Menendez's trial to proceed without his wife due to her health issues
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Jonathan Dienst | Dareh Gregorian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

US Senator Bob Menendez (center right), Democrat of New Jersey, leaves with his wife Nadine Menendez the Manhattan Federal Court, in New York City following his arraignment on March 11, 2024. Sen. Bob Menendez's criminal trial will continue as scheduled on May 6 — but without the New Jersey Democrat's wife and co-defendant Nadine Menendez. Nadine Menendez had requested the postponement earlier this week, and prosecutors said they were fine delaying the trial until the summer. Lawyers for Nadine Menendez argued in a separate motion that a joint trial would "undoubtedly prejudice Ms. Menendez's right to defend herself." In addition to health concerns, Stein said Nadine Menendez needs new attorneys because her current lawyers could end up being called as witnesses related to an obstruction count against her.

Persons: Bob Menendez, Nadine Menendez, Sen, Bob Menendez's, Sidney Stein, Nadine Menendez's, Menendez, Adam Fee, Menendezes, Nadine, Menendez's, —, Stein, Mercedes, Prosecutors Organizations: Manhattan Federal Court, Prosecutors, NBC News Locations: New Jersey, New York City, Jersey, New York, U.S

Firefighters view the scene after an incident at the Rainbow Bridge U.S. border crossing with Canada, in Niagara Falls, New York, U.S. November 22, 2023 in a still image from video. REUTERS/Reuters TVThe FBI is investigating a vehicle explosion Wednesday at the border crossing between Canada and the United States after a vehicle crashed into the checkpoint structure at the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls, four senior law enforcement officials briefed on the matter said. An initial search did not find a secondary explosive or device, the law enforcement officials said, noting this was preliminary information. A Customs and Border Protection officer also suffered minor injuries that did not require hospitalization, a senior law enforcement official said. All western New York bridge crossings into the U.S. were shut down following the incident, the Erie County executive said.

Organizations: Rainbow Bridge, REUTERS, Reuters, FBI, Customs, Border Protection, Erie County, Sheriff's, NBC Locations: Canada, Niagara Falls , New York, U.S, United States, Niagara Falls, New York, Erie, Buffalo

☆ At least 22 dead, 50 injured in mass shooting across several locations in Lewiston, Maine, police say
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Mike Pescaro | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

At least 22 people are dead and 50-60 more were injured in a mass shooting at two businesses in Lewiston, Maine, according to NBC News. Mayor Jason Levesque, the mayor of nearby Auburn, urged people in his city, Lewiston and the surrounding region to shelter in place. "I am aware of and have been briefed on the active shooter situation in Lewiston," Gov. Federal law enforcement agencies are assisting our state and local law enforcement partners in Lewiston, Maine," spokesperson Xochitl Hinojosa told NBC News. The ATF's Boston office said it is also responding to the active shooter event in Maine.

Persons: Scott Sweetow, NBC10, Sweetow, He's, Robert Card, Jim Cavanaugh, Mike Sauschuck, Sauschuck, Jonathan Dienst, Melinda Small, Small, Ange Amores, Amores, Jason Levesque, Shannon Moss, Janet Mills, Sen, Angus King, Maura Healey, Joe Biden, Anthony Albanese, Biden, King, Susan Collins, Jared Golden, Merrick Garland, Xochitl Hinojosa, Jake Langlais Organizations: NBC News, of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Lewiston, Bowdoin, NBC, Department of Public, Auburn Middle School, Lewiston police, Central Maine Medical, Maine Medical, Legends Sports, Associated Press, Maine State Police, Maine Department of Public Safety, Police, Lewiston . Massachusetts Gov, Australian, White House, Gov, Bates College, Public Locations: Lewiston , Maine, Androscoggin County, Lewiston, Auburn, NBC10 Boston, Lisbon, Maine, Portland, State, Lewiston . Massachusetts, Mills, Sens, Boston

Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., arrives to the U.S. Capitol for a procedural vote on a motion to vacate against Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., on Tuesday, October 3, 2023. Federal prosecutors hit Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., with 23 additional charges Tuesday, including allegations of identity theft and that he charged a supporter's credit card in excess of their contribution and then transferred the money to his personal bank account. He's also alleged to have been involved in a credit card scheme where the campaign would charge contributors' credit cards repeatedly and above FEC individual contribution limits. On another occasion, he allegedly "charged $12,000 to the Contributor's credit card, ultimately transferring the vast majority of that money into his personal bank account." Marks pleaded guilty last week to some of the same conduct involving false FEC filings that Santos was charged with Tuesday.

Persons: George Santos, Kevin McCarthy, Prosecutors, Santos, Nancy Marks, Marks, He's, texted Santos Organizations: U.S, Capitol, Federal, Commission, United, Eastern, of, Republican Party, Santos, Prosecutors, United States House, Representatives, NBC News Locations: United States, of New York

☆ Sen. Bob Menendez to be arraigned as resignation calls grow louder
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Dareh Gregorian | Jonathan Dienst | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

US Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) speaks during a news conference at Hudson County Community College's North Hudson Campus in Union City, New Jersey, on September 25, 2023. Menendez, his wife, Nadine, and two co-defendants are scheduled to be arraigned in the morning. Since the indictment was unsealed Friday, Menendez has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, and he is expected to plead not guilty. But he faces a deluge of calls to resign from his Democratic colleagues in the Senate and at the local level in New Jersey. The federal indictment is the second Menendez has faced since he became a senator in 2006.

Persons: Bob Menendez, Sen, Menendez, Nadine, — Wael Hana, Jose Uribe, Fred Daibes —, Hana, Uribe, Daibes, Damian Williams Organizations: Hudson, Hudson County Community, Hudson Campus, Democratic, Southern, of, Foreign, Capitol, Office Locations: Hudson County, Hudson, Union City , New Jersey, New York, New Jersey, couple's, Jersey, U.S, of New York, Englewood, Cuba, Florida

He was expected to be arraigned Friday after his arrest Thursday night in Manhattan, said Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney K. Harrison. "We anticipate an indictment later on this afternoon," said Harrison, whose agency and the Suffolk County district attorney are leading the investigation. According to NBC New York, Gilbert was not the only victim who was a sex worker. In May 2022, Suffolk County police released 911 audio related to Gilbert's disappearance. The development comes after a multi-agency task force made up of FBI, New York State Police and Suffolk County authorities was established in February 2022 to "reinvigorate" the investigation.

Persons: Rex Heuermann, Rodney K, Harrison, Shannan Gilbert, Sherre Gilbert, I'm, Rex, Steve Bellone, Emma Tang, Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, Amber Lynn Costello, Maureen Brainard, Jessica Taylor, Taylor, Valerie Mack, Mack, Gilbert, Joseph Brewer, Gilbert didn't, Michael Pak, Mike, Brewer, Pak, let's Organizations: Suffolk County Police, NBC News, Attorney's, News, NBC, FBI, New York State Police Locations: Long, Massapequa, N.Y, Manhattan, Suffolk County, New York City, Nassau County, Suffolk, Gilbert, New Jersey, Oak Beach, Barnes, Manorville, Gilbert's, NBC New York

☆ Ex-FBI official arrested for alleged money laundering, Russia sanctions, taking money from former foreign agent
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Jonathan_Dienst_Byline.Jpg | Jonathan Dienst | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Charles McGonigal, 55, was arrested on Saturday after arriving at JFK airport in New York on a flight from the Middle East. From August 2017 through his retirement in September 2018, McGonigal allegedly concealed his relationship with this former foreign security officer from the FBI. Charles McGonigal, the former head of counterintelligence for the FBI’s New York office. In 2022, federal prosecutors in New York charged Deripaska with violating sanctions. McGonigal joined the FBI in 1996, and was first assigned to the New York Field Office, where he worked on Russian foreign counterintelligence and organized crime.

☆ NYPD officers injured in machete attack near Times Square New Year’s Eve event, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Mithil Aggarwal | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Tom_Winter_Nbc_News.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Three New York City police officers were injured after being attacked with a machete near New Year's Eve celebrations in Times Square, authorities said. The suspect approached an officer and attempted to strike him over the head with the machete, Commissioner Keechant Sewell said. Multiple law enforcement officials told NBC News they were looking into whether the suspect had previously posted what they called jihadist writings online and traveled to New York to target police on New Year’s Eve. Four senior law enforcement officials told NBC News that the man had been identified as Trevor Bickford from Wells, Maine. The NYPD mounts a massive security operation every year during New Year’s Eve celebrations, with thousands of officers deployed in the area around Times Square.

A suspect in the slayings of four University of Idaho students has been taken into custody in Pennsylvania, law enforcement sources said Friday. Bryan Christopher Kohberger, 28, was apprehended in Monroe County in northeastern Pennsylvania, law enforcement sources told NBC News. Police in Moscow, Idaho, have scheduled a news conference for 1 p.m. PT, where it is expected they will reveal more details about the November murders that stunned the small college town. Three of the victims shared the home they were killed in — Goncalves, Mogen and Kernodle — while Kernodle’s boyfriend, Chapin, was staying overnight, according to investigators. An arrest comes as a “celebration of life” was planned later Friday for two of the roommates, Goncalves and Mogen.

A person linked to the slayings of four University of Idaho students has been taken into custody in Pennsylvania, law enforcement sources told NBC News Friday. Bryan Christopher Kohberger, 28, is being held for extradition in a criminal homicide investigation based on an active arrest warrant for first degree murder issued by the Moscow Police Department and Latah County Prosecutor’s Office. The apprehension was made in Monroe County in northeastern Pennsylvania, they said. Ethan Chapin, 20, of Conway, Washington; Madison Mogen, 21, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; Xana Kernodle, 20, of Avondale, Arizona; and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, of Rathdrum, Idaho, were killed on Nov. 13.

The FBI is analyzing shell casings found near power facilities in North Carolina and South Carolina, a law enforcement memo revealed Friday, after North Carolina gunfire led to nearly 96 hours of darkness in one county. The "target attacks" at two Duke Energy substations in Moore County, North Carolina on Saturday night knocked out power to 45,000 homes and businesses before local electricity was restored Wednesday night. No one lost power in the South Carolina shootings. So far there's no indication whether the North Carolina attacks have any connection to Wednesday night's gunfire in South Carolina, according to a law enforcement memo reviewed by NBC News. Authorities haven't publicly disclosed any possible motive for the North Carolina shooting.

Two men with access to weapons were arrested at New York City's Penn Station early Saturday in connection with a probe of threats to the Jewish community, authorities said. The senior law enforcement sources said Brown had the swastika armband on him when he was arrested at the train station. NYPD Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell said in a statement that authorities first identified "a developing threat to the Jewish community" Friday. Three law enforcement sources said threats against the Jewish community were posted online. "Today, we’re extremely grateful to NYPD investigators and our law enforcement partners who uncovered and stopped a threat to our Jewish community," Sewell tweeted Saturday.

Rudy Giuliani will not face criminal charges in a grand jury investigation that looked into whether he violated U.S. lobbying laws in his dealings with Ukraine, prosecutors said Monday. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch and whether he ran afoul of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Robert Costello, Giuliani’s attorney, told NBC News that he and his client are pleased with the formal decision not to bring charges in that investigation is now public. Costello, a former U.S. attorney in the office Giuliani once led, said Monday that it was unusual for prosecutors to release letters like the court filing revealing no charges against Giuliani. The judge presiding over that case, Arthur Engoron, said a decision outlining her specific "duties, powers and fees will be "forthcoming shortly."

The FBI in New Jersey said Thursday it is investigating a “credible” and “broad threat” to synagogues in the state, and the governor said law enforcement are working to protect houses of worship. Officials with the Newark FBI announced the threat in a statement and told the public to stay alert. “The FBI has received credible information of a broad threat to synagogues in NJ. Phil Murphy said in a statement his office has been in contact with the state attorney general’s office, the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness and the FBI. “We are closely monitoring the situation and are working with local law enforcement to ensure that all houses of worship are protected,” Murphy said.

☆ Nationwide catalytic converter theft ring made hundreds of millions of dollars, feds say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Jonathan_Dienst_Byline.Jpg | Jonathan Dienst | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

“Amidst a rise in catalytic converter thefts across the country, the Justice Department has today carried out an operation arresting 21 defendants and executing 32 search warrants in a nation-wide takedown of a multimillion-dollar catalytic converter theft network,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. Thieves made off with 12 times as many catalytic converters in 2021 as they did in 2019, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau. On his Instagram account, he posted a photo of a necklace with a pendant made to look like a catalytic converter. Prosecutors say that was among the businesses allegedly purchasing stolen catalytic converters and reselling them. Technician Adelmo Rodriguez etches a catalytic converter with a license plate number in Huntington Beach, Calif, in 2021.

U.S. law enforcement has circulated bulletins warning that conspiracy theorists could become violent around the midterm elections on Nov. 8. The bulletins, obtained by NBC News, are unclassified but intended only for law enforcement. One of the bulletins, issued Friday by the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI and the National Counterterrorism Center, and marked “for official use only,” warned about domestic violent extremism, or DVE in law enforcement circles. “The most plausible DVE threat is posed by lone offenders who leverage election-related issues to justify violence,” it said. Those include an Oct. 10 post on the fringe social media platform Gab in which a user wrote, “Death penalty for election fraud!

Dozens of federal grand jury subpoenas have been issued in the past several months as part of the federal criminal investigation involving several people in New Jersey and the powerful Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Bob Menendez, three people familiar with the matter told NBC News. Two people familiar with the matter said one of the entities involved in the investigation is IS EG Halal of Edgewater, New Jersey. According to a filing by Lustberg, federal agents seized cellphones, computers, tablets, USB drives, business documents, notepads, a photo album, $5,943 dollars in cash, jewelry and Hana’s passport. The court filings do not specify why federal investigators conducted the search, and NBC News could not confirm whether it was tied to the current investigation involving Menendez. Federal prosecutors decided in 2018 not to retry him.

WASHINGTON — Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., is under federal criminal investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan, according to two people familiar with the matter and a spokesperson for the senator. "Senator Menendez is aware of an investigation that was reported on today, however he does not know the scope of the investigation," Menendez’s adviser Michael Soliman said Wednesday in a statement. News of the investigation was first reported by the website Semafor. A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York declined to comment. He has served in the Senate since 2006 and previously served in the House.

☆ Facial recognition used in arrest of 9/11 conspiracy theory lawyer accused of trying to disarm officer on Jan. 6
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Ryan J. Reilly | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Jonathan_Dienst_Byline.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON — The FBI on Thursday arrested a New York lawyer who is accused of trying to disarm an officer protecting the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot, law enforcement sources told NBC News. Authorities say O'Kelly tried to "disarm" a D.C. Metropolitan Police Department officer on Jan. 6 by grabbing an officer's baton and "attempting to wrestle it from the officer’s hands." U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of ColumbiaO’Kelly, known to online sleuths investigating the Jan. 6 attack as “MidWhiteCrisis,” was No. A judge dismissed the lawsuit in March 2021, and an appeals court upheld the lower court ruling in August 2022. More than 870 people have been arrested by the FBI in connection with the Jan. 6 attack.

A French cement company has been charged in the U.S. with making $17 million in payments to the Islamic State terror group in exchange for the protection of its plant in Syria, the Justice Department said Tuesday. While no individuals have been charged, Justice Department officials said the investigation is ongoing. "We deeply regret that this conduct occurred and have worked with the U.S. Department of Justice to resolve this matter," the statement added. In 2015, Lafarge was purchased by Holcim, a company in Switzerland. Holcim added that Lafarge concealed the conduct from Holcim before and after the acquisition.

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