Arraignment

(WNY News Now) Accusations of sexually abusing five kids over a period of years have been brought against a former Scranton police officer and school resource officer at West Scranton High School. HARRISBURG—A former Lackawanna County police officer who worked as a school resource officer at West Scranton High School has been charged with sexually abusing five minors over a number of years, according to Attorney General Michelle Henry and the Pennsylvania State Police. At the time of the alleged crimes, 49-year-old Stephen J. Carroll was a Scranton police officer; he is no longer with the department. Carroll was accused of rape, statutory sexual assault, official oppression, institutional sexual assault, involuntary deviant sexual relations, and other felonies by Pennsylvania State Polic...

(WNY News Now) HARRISBURG, PANINE — A $20 million Medicaid and Medicare fraud conspiracy allegedly coordinated through Broad Street Family Pharmacy, a pharmacy in South Philadelphia, has led to charges against individuals. HARRISBURG — Attorney General Michelle Henry charged nine people in connection with a $20 million Medicaid and Medicare fraud scheme that originated from a small drugstore in South Philadelphia. Broad Street Family Pharmacy's registered owner, Elizabeth Thompson, her husband, Peter Dello Buono, who managed day-to-day operations, and pharmacist Frank Bengermino are accused of masterminding the scheme, which took place between 2016 and 2021 and involved false claims for costly prescription drugs to federal benefits programs. The drugstore purportedly paid their customers c...

(WNY News Now) Six people have been accused by a federal grand jury with a multi-state plan to steal leftover restaurant cooking oil, a commodity that is needed for the creation of biodiesel fuel. New York's Rochester. Federal charges have been brought against six men for allegedly plotting to steal and resell leftover cooking oil, which is frequently converted into biodiesel fuel. U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced the indictment, which charges Ruimao Yang, Yan Han, and Wen Xiao Zhang of New York City, Guodeng Chen, Didi Huang, and Fangfang Yan of Pittsford, N.Y., with conspiring to transport and sell stolen items across state lines. The maximum punishment for a conviction on the conspiracy accusation is five years in prison. Additional allegations against Chen, Huang, and Yan includ...

(WNY News Now) After allegedly forging petition signatures, Sally A. Jaroszynski, a candidate for Chautauqua County Family Court, was charged with violating election laws. Falconer resident Sally A. Jaroszynski, 57, has been charged with election law breaches after allegedly fabricating a petition in support of her candidacy for Chautauqua County Family Court Judge. The accusations were made public today by Acting Erie County District Attorney Michael J. Keane, who said that Jaroszynski is charged with two unclassified misdemeanors, Misconduct in Relation to Petitions. But because of problems with the evidence, one of the counts was rejected. The claims are based on an incident that happened in Chautauqua County's Town of Ellicott on March 26, 2024. Jaroszynski signed and notarized a Conse...

(WNY News Now) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania The owner of a home care service in Montgomery County and 19 other people have been charged in a multimillion-dollar scheme following a comprehensive Medicaid fraud investigation, Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry said Friday. HARRISBURG—A Montgomery County home care service, its owner, and eighteen other individuals have been accused in a scheme that allegedly scammed the Medicaid program out of millions of dollars, Attorney General Michelle Henry revealed. ComfortZone Home Health Care, LLC, a Medicaid provider located in Bala Cynwyd and authorized to offer Personal Assistance Services to qualified beneficiaries, was owned by Stephanie Mobley. The Office of Attorney General filed charges alleging that Mobley, her daughter Naya Campbell,...

Mobile Users: Click Here to Watch the Video(WNY News Now) As part of an international $2 million organized retail theft case, Governor Kathy Hochul and Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced the first-ever indictment under a pioneering statute targeting the sale of stolen goods.In the ongoing battle against organized retail theft, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz and Governor Kathy Hochul announced a historic indictment ahead of the holiday shopping season. According to the indictment, organized crews stole retail goods valued at over $2 million over the course of a multi-year, global operation. As part of Governor Hochul's five-point plan to combat organized retail theft, the case contains the first-ever charges under his recently passed statute that makes encouraging the sa...

Richard Gaines Jr. allegedly took out about $80,000 in pension money from the New York State and Local Retirement System by taking advantage of his father's passing (WNY News Now).A Florida man was charged with grand larceny and identity theft by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli and District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly for allegedly accepting, taking out, and spending close to $80,000 in pension payments from the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS) to the defendant's father, who had died in 2019.Judge Geoffrey Prime arraigned Richard Gaines Jr., 51, of Daytona Beach, Florida, today on counts of identity theft in the first degree (a D felony) and grand larceny in the second degree (a C felony). After entering a not guilty plea, the defendant was freed on his own r...

(WNY News Now)Buffalo, New York.Rashaun Crule, 30, of Buffalo, New York, has been charged by a federal grand jury with conspiracy to distribute narcotics and distribution of fentanyl that results in death. There is a mandatory minimum punishment of 20 years and a potential sentence of life in prison if found guilty of the allegations, which are related to the deaths of two people in February 2023.According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Evan K. Glaberson, Crule allegedly gave a substance to victims M.M. and B.Y. in Amherst, New York, posing as cocaine. The material was identified by investigators as pure fentanyl. After consuming it, both victims overdosed right away, and it took several days for their bodies to be found.After the incident, Crule erased messages with one of the victims, accord...

A 29-year-old man is accused of fatally shooting a man close to Wade Avenue (WNY News Now).Buffalo After a deadly shooting in Buffalo's Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood, 29-year-old Latrice T. Purdie was charged with second-degree murder. Behaving The arraignment was held Tuesday morning in front of Buffalo City Court Judge Peter J. Savage, III, and was announced by Erie County District Attorney Michael J. Keane.Purdie, Latrice T. Erie County DA's Office PhotoAccording to the authorities, Purdie killed a 39-year-old man by purposefully shooting him at Wade Avenue and Holden Street on Wednesday, October 30, 2024, at around 6:00 p.m. When Buffalo Police arrived on the scene, the victim was declared dead.The criminal hearing for Purdie, who is being held without bond, is set for Friday, Novembe...

(WNY News Now) After a lengthy investigation that involved drugs, guns, and a dramatic cross-state chase, a federal grand jury indicted a Jamestown couple on several drug-related offenses.Buffalo, New York. Jensen Vazquez, 38, and Kylah Seiberg, 29, of Jamestown, New York, were charged with narcotics conspiracy, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl, and keeping a drug-involved premises, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. They might be sentenced to a minimum of 10 years in jail and a maximum of life in prison if found guilty.The indictment is the culmination of a sequence of actions that started in August 2024 when Vazquez gave his probation officer false information regarding his residence while he was already under federal supervised release. O...