National Roundup

New Jersey
Dominican Republic murder suspect captured 
HACKENSACK, N.J. (AP) — A man charged in a fatal restaurant shooting in the Dominican Republic last summer has been captured in New Jersey.

Federal immigration officials say 35-year-old Kelbin Perez De Los Santos shot a man in July 2016 after they had a verbal altercation. They say he soon fled the country and eventually came to the United States.

U.S. marshals determined that De Los Santos was likely living in the Hackensack area, and they tracked him to an apartment there. He was arrested Feb. 23 on immigration violations, and officials say they will seek to deport him to the Dominican Republic, where he will face murder charges.

The arrest was made public Tuesday.

New York
Broker faces prison time over $131 million fraud scheme
NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors in New York City say a former broker who pitched “worthless” stock to investors and television viewers faces prison for participating in a $131 million market manipulation scheme.

U.S. Attorney Robert L. Capers in Brooklyn says Herschel “Tres” Knippa, of Dallas, pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy to commit securities fraud.

Authorities say the scheme ran from around 2009 to 2015 and artificially controlled the price and volume of traded shares of ForceField Energy Inc., a distributor of LED lighting products.

They say Knippa got kickbacks to shill the stock at investor conferences and as a TV guest commentator.

Participants communicated with burner phones and encrypted text messages.

Knippa could be sentenced to up to five years in prison, restitution and a fine.

Pennsylvania
Man holding $30K in stolen jewelry ODs in bank
IRWIN, Pa. (AP) — A man is jailed on charges he was holding $30,000 worth of stolen jewelry when he suffered an apparent drug overdose inside a Pennsylvania bank.

KDKA-TV reports 54-year-old Kenneth Rossi collapsed Saturday in the lobby of the PNC Bank in North Huntingdon Township.

Police say Rossi was there to put more than 200 stolen items into a safe deposit box. They say that stuff came from a burglary last Wednesday at a pawn shop in Jeannette, Rossi’s hometown.

Rossi is in the Westmoreland County jail on a charge of receiving stolen property. Online court records don’t list a defense attorney.

He’s not charged in the burglary , which was caught on surveillance tape, but police expect that will occur soon.n and a fine.

Maryland
Woman gets 50 years for burning 5-year-old son
GAITHERSBURG, Md. (AP) — A Maryland woman has been sentenced to 50 years in prison for giving her 5-year-old son a fatal overdose of antihistamine before setting her car on fire with the boy inside.

Media outlets report that before 35-year-old Narges Shafeirad was sentenced Monday, she spoke about her bitter divorce and custody fight. She pleaded guilty in July to first-degree murder in the death of Daniel Dana.

An autopsy revealed Daniel died of a Diphenhydramine overdose in 2015 after prosecutors say Shafeirad forced him to swallow medication containing the antihistamine.

Prosecutors say Shafeirad then tried to stage a wreck after putting her son’s body inside the car, dousing it with gasoline and setting the vehicle on fire beside a Montgomery County highway. Responding police and firefighters found Shafeirad lying outside the car.

Connecticut
Pastor faces 60 years for fleecing two parishioners
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) — The former pastor of a Connecticut church has pleaded no contest to charges that he fleeced two parishioners out of a combined $400,000.

Prosecutors say 67-year-old Robert Genevicz faces 60 years in prison at sentencing May 26 after entering his plea Monday. He remains free on $100,000 bond.

The Connecticut Post reports that Genevicz and his lawyer refused to comment after the hearing.

Authorities say as pastor of Stratford Baptist Church, Genevicz stole nearly $200,000 from retired school teacher Patricia Stosak and $200,000 from the estate of 88-year-old Arthur Devack. Both have since died.

Police say Genevicz took out loans under Devack’s name to buy two Mercedes-Benzes, one for him and one for an alleged accomplice.

Florida
Police chief resigns over racial comments
GLEN COVER SPRINGS, Fla. (AP) — A northeast Florida police chief has resigned following allegations he made racially offensive remarks toward a subordinate and then tried to thwart an investigation into the complaint.

The Florida Times-Union reports Glen Cove Springs Police Chief Robert Musco resigned Feb. 23 after a labor law firm hired by the city found evidence that he violated policy by subjecting Officer Kimberly Robinson to workplace harassment. The review also uncovered evidence that Musco put pressure on the officer to drop her complaint against him.

The complaint came from a Jan. 12 conversation in which Musco, who’s white, referred to Robinson as a “token” while discussing staffing for a Martin Luther King Jr. event. She’s the department’s only black officer.

City Manager Danielle Judd condemned Musco’s behavior, calling it “unacceptable.”

California
Federal appeals court rejects egg-labeling suit
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal appeals court has rejected a lawsuit that sought to require labels on egg cartons indicating the conditions in which the chickens were raised.

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday ruled that several federal agencies had acted reasonably in rejecting the labeling regulations.

The plaintiffs — two animal advocacy groups and six egg consumers — wanted the cartons to bear the terms “Free-Range Eggs,” “Cage-Free Eggs” or “Eggs from Caged Hens.”

They argued that eggs from caged hens are nutritionally inferior and carry a greater risk of Salmonella contamination.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said evidence for those claims was not persuasive.

Cheryl Leahy, general counsel for one of the animal advocacy groups, said the group would continue fighting against misleading egg carton claims and images.