Inquirer.com – Zurich DR

Author: Robert Moran

  • Judge convicts leader of Philly sex trafficking ring

    Judge convicts leader of Philly sex trafficking ring

    A 54-year-old Philadelphia man was convicted of leading a human trafficking ring out of his home in the city’s Lawndale section, state Attorney General Dave Sunday said Friday.

    Following a one-day trial in Philadelphia, Terrance L. Jones, 54, was convicted Thursday by a judge of eight charges, Sunday said. Jones will be sentenced on Dec. 11.

    Sunday said the trafficking operation generated hundreds of thousands of dollars a year and Jones employed drivers to transport the female victims to “dates.” Jones also posed as a woman to recruit sex workers, Sunday said.

    Sunday said Jones ran the operation from his residence from 2012 through February 2023, luring vulnerable young women into working for the trafficking ring, then giving them drugs and forcing them to have sex with men across the region.

    Multiple other people charged in the trafficking case also have been convicted, Sunday said.

    “Human trafficking convictions are very challenging, and there was a long road to get to this point. I commend our partners with the Pennsylvania State Police for collaborating on a complex investigation that brought this long-running criminal enterprise to an end,” Sunday said in a statement.

    Jones advertised his business, called “GFE” or “the Girlfriend Experience,” online and connected with young women in their 20s, investigators said.

    Authorities learned about the ring in 2021 after a confidential informant contacted police and said they feared a friend was being trafficked.

    After meeting with woman, authorities launched a three-year investigation.

  • Man fatally shot by police during confrontation in Mayfair

    Man fatally shot by police during confrontation in Mayfair

    A man who allegedly was trying to break into houses and may have been armed with a knife was fatally shot by police Friday afternoon during a physical confrontation in the Mayfair section of Philadelphia, police said.

    Just before 2:30 p.m., police received a 911 call reporting that a man on the 4100 block of Tyson Avenue was trying to enter houses, Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore said.

    Officers responding to the call were flagged down by someone who pointed out the man on the 7000 block of Frankford Avenue, Vanore said.

    The officers attempted to stop the man but he allegedly fled with the police in pursuit, Vanore said.

    The chase ended in front of a store, where the man allegedly got into a physical confrontation with the officers before the video ends.

    “At some point during that confrontation, both officers discharged a firearm,” Vanore said.

    Medics pronounced the man dead at the scene. His identity was not released.

    In a 12-second video obtained by The Inquirer, recorded by someone inside a car parked just feet away from the deadly shooting, one of the officers and the unidentified man can be seen struggling with each other.

    The officer appears to be trying to hold the man’s hands or arms, then falls to the ground as the man breaks free.

    A second officer then appears in the video. As the man steps away from that officer and into an open area of the building, the second officer fires multiple shots and the man falls.

    The first officer is seen falling backward away from the man and a second gun can be heard firing before the video ends.

    Vanore said the officers had their body cameras activated, and police were checking video from nearby cameras.

    “We know there’s a knife on location here, right by the individual that’s shot,” Vanore said.

    Under department policy, the shooting is under internal investigation and the officers who fired their weapons will be reassigned to administrative duty while the investigation is ongoing.

  • 83-year-old woman wounded by stray gunfire in North Philly

    83-year-old woman wounded by stray gunfire in North Philly

    An 83-year-old woman sitting on the steps in front of her house was wounded by stray gunfire from what police believe was a shootout early Wednesday evening in North Philadelphia, police said.

    The woman was struck twice in the torso from two bullets around 5:15 p.m. on the 2300 block of North Gratz Street, Chief Inspector Scott Small said.

    She was taken to Temple University Hospital, where she was listed in stable condition.

    Police found more than 40 spent shell casings at the scene fired from two different-caliber firearms, Small said.

    Nearby on Gratz Street, police found an empty sedan crashed into a light pole with its engine still running and a handgun inside, Small said.

    Video showed a blue Honda Accord heading east on Dauphin Street. It stops and someone gets out and starts shooting, Small said.

    It was not clear whom that person was shooting at, Small said.

  • Small shark seen swimming in flooded streets of Surf City during nor’easter

    Small shark seen swimming in flooded streets of Surf City during nor’easter

    A shark was captured on video swimming in the flooded streets of Surf City in Ocean County while the region was battered by the nor’easter last weekend.

    The video was recorded by Drew Procaccino, 66, an adjunct professor at Rider University, around noon on Saturday as the shark swam past his home, he said in a phone interview.

    Procaccino said Surf City was “totally flooded” because of the powerful storm, and he lost internet service for around 48 hours, so he and his wife passed time watching debris float by until his wife noticed something that appeared to be a fish.

    Then they realized it might be a shark, he said.

    “First one we’ve ever seen in front of our house,” Procaccino said.

    At first he shared the video with some news organizations, including ABC News, and then he licensed his video with Storyful, the social media news agency.

    ABC News said a marine researcher reviewed the video and identified the animal as a smooth dogfish, which can be found along the Atlantic coast from Massachusetts to Florida.

    The smooth dogfish, also known as the dusky smooth-hound or dog shark, on average grow to about 48 inches in length, but have been known to measure up to 5 feet.

    Unlike other sharks, the smooth dogfish has flat, blunt teeth for grinding crustaceans and other small prey, rather than sharp teeth for tearing apart animals.

    On Monday, the Barnegat Lighthouse State Park posted a video of a man rescuing a similar shark from shallow water and throwing it back into the ocean inlet.

    “Hero! Bobby Capri takes off his shoes, jumps into the tidepool, catches a dogfish, and throws it back into the inlet — just in time from it becoming lunch for a very interested seagull,” the state park posted.

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  • Police in Bucks County investigating swastika vandalism at golf course near Jewish school

    Police in Bucks County investigating swastika vandalism at golf course near Jewish school

    Police in Bucks County are asking for the public’s help in identifying the perpetrator who vandalized a golf course with swastikas and an antisemitic slur near a Jewish school.

    The Yardley Borough Police Department on Monday said the vandalism occurred between Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 7 a.m.

    “During this time, portions of the golf course greens were intentionally damaged with racial slurs and swastika symbols carved into the turf,” police said.

    “This type of behavior is not only a criminal act, but it is also hateful, offensive, and has no place in our community. The Yardley Borough Police Department is committed to thoroughly investigating this incident and holding those responsible accountable,” the police said.

    Anyone with information about what happened can contact the Yardley police at 215-493-2782 and ask for Officer Alex P. Bires at Ext. 411.

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    “Despicable behavior!” Yardley Councilmember David Appelbaum wrote on Facebook as he shared the Yardley police post about the vandalism.

    The incident happened near the Abrams Hebrew Academy.

    Rabbi Ira Budow said police came to the school on Monday to review surveillance video, but the school’s cameras had not recorded the perpetrator.

    Budow said he has been director for 46 years and the school has never experienced antisemitism from the Yardley community.

    Nonetheless, Budow said, the academy has spent $150,000 a year on beefed-up security since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the brutal conflict in Gaza.

    John Shapcott, director of golf and club operations at the Yardley Country Club, on Wednesday said members were told in a notice about the vandalism.

    “Two swastikas were scratched into the 10th green, and a racial slur was written in the greenside bunker on the 4th hole,” the country club told members.

    The club immediately contacted police, notified Abrams Hebrew Academy, and promptly repaired the damage, the statement to members said.

    “Yardley Country Club unequivocally condemns hate speech, fascism, antisemitism, and all forms of hateful conduct. Such acts are reprehensible, have no place at the Club or in our community, and will not be tolerated. The Club will continue to cooperate fully with local authorities as they investigate the incident and work to prevent similar acts,” the statement said.

    Adrienne King, president of the NAACP Bucks County Branch 2253B, said in an emailed statement Tuesday night that her organization “was deeply disturbed to learn of the racist and antisemitic vandalism discovered at the Yardley Country Club. Swastikas and racial slurs are not simply acts of vandalism. They carry a painful history and send a message of hate and intimidation that can impact an entire community.”

    King said the incident was “especially troubling given other recent incidents here in Bucks County. Just last week, our Branch spoke out following alleged threats containing racist and anti-Muslim language directed toward a historically Black church in our county.”

    She added: “We cannot become numb to expressions of hate simply because there is so much happening around us. Each time they occur, we have a responsibility to name them, condemn them and stand with the communities affected.”

    The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission said it was offering its “unwavering support” to Abrams Hebrew Academy.

    The commission “is also grateful to the Yardley Borough Police for their swift action to investigate this incident as a potential hate crime and their request for community assistance are encouraging steps toward accountability. We urge anyone with information to come forward, as public cooperation is critical to identifying those responsible and ensuring justice is served.”

    The American Jewish Committee Philadelphia/Southern N.J. said in a statement on Wednesday that the antisemitic vandalism was “deeply disturbing and unacceptable.”

    The organization continued: “As the Jewish community prepares to mark the third anniversary of the October 7 terrorist attacks, many Jews are already grappling with an increasingly hostile environment and are feeling especially vulnerable and concerned for their safety.”

    The committee added: “This is a moment for people of good conscience to stand together in rejecting hate in all its forms. We all have a responsibility to ensure that our communities remain safe, welcoming, and inclusive.”

  • Large tortoise found by police wandering alone in Gloucester County reunited with owner

    Large tortoise found by police wandering alone in Gloucester County reunited with owner

    The large tortoise found wandering alone Monday in Gloucester County has been reunited with his owner, officials said.

    “Meet Mikey — aka Michael Angelo, the sulcata tortoise who was found loose in Williamstown!” the Gloucester County Animal Shelter reported on Facebook.

    “While his namesake might have been famous for fighting crime in the sewers, this Mikey’s biggest adventure was apparently making a great escape and going on a little neighborhood tour,” the county shelter said, making a reference to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the popular franchise.

    “Thankfully, this shell-ebrity’s owner was found and is now safe and sound. No pizza required — although we’re guessing he wouldn’t say no. Glad you’re home dude. Cowabunga!” the shelter said, posting a photo on social media of the tortoise with a man who identified himself on Facebook as Alonzo Johnson.

    Johnson, who could not be reached for comment, posted a response thanking the team at the county shelter “for keeping Michelangelo until we could come get him.”

    The tortoise “arrived home unbothered, well-rested, and showing absolutely no remorse. We’re grateful you were part of the operation. If he ever goes on another unauthorized adventure, we’ll know exactly who to call,” Johnson said.

    Earlier, Monroe Township police had issued a playful appeal to find the owner of the tortoise.

    “Our officers had an unusual encounter today near Church Street and Academy Street when this little guy was found wandering the area without identification, registration, or any explanation as to where he was headed,” the Monroe Township police posted on social media.

    Under the headline of “FOUND: ONE VERY SLOW-MOVING SUSPECT,” the department posted several photos of the sand-colored tortoise, which appeared to be about two feet wide and around three feet in length.

    “After a brief foot pursuit (we won), the suspect was safely taken into custody. Needless to say, the platoon had a little fun with this call!” the department said.

    “We’re now looking to reunite our shelled friend with its owner. If this turtle belongs to you, or you know where it may have escaped from, please contact the Monroe Township Police Department or Gloucester County Animal Shelter. Please share and help us get this big guy back home!” the department said.

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  • A Philly woman won a NASA contest to design a food system for astronauts on Mars

    A Philly woman won a NASA contest to design a food system for astronauts on Mars

    A 25-year-old Philadelphia woman won the $300,000 first prize in a NASA competition to design food systems to improve how astronauts eat in space, and eventually how they will eat on Mars, the space agency announced Thursday.

    Chinyere “Chichi” Ukeje, a native of Bowie, Md., now living with her husband in Northeast Philadelphia, submitted a proposal called Adaptive Nourishment Infrastructure, or ANI, which is named after the Nigerian Earth goddess of harvest and fertility.

    Ukeje said in a phone interview Friday night that her family has roots in Nigeria and with the Igbo people, a major ethnic group in that country.

    With the Deep Space Food Challenge: Mars to Table competition, NASA asked participants to “explore innovative solutions for integrated space food systems that would provide safe, nutritious meals to astronauts living and working in space,” the agency said.

    NASA launched Mars to Table in January 2026 as a follow-up to the Deep Space Food Challenge, which NASA ran from 2014 to 2021 in collaboration with the Canadian Space Agency.

    The updated competition included entries from teams in 28 U.S. states and from a total of 33 countries. The total prize pool was $650,000 for five winning teams.

    Jennifer Edmunson, program manager for Centennial Challenges at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., said in a statement: “The future of human space exploration will rely on innovative food systems, and it is amazing how much ingenuity this challenge has helped us identify from participants near and far.”

    The challenge was created to find ways to feed astronauts without having to send prepackaged foods, which would not be possible because of the sheer bulk for the many months a Mars mission would take.

    The core of the challenge was to create a working system for a 15-person astronaut crew for 500 Martian sols, which is the equivalent of around 513 Earth days.

    “The problem of feeding astronauts on Mars is more than just growing crops,” said Ukeje, who is studying for a master’s degree in computer science at Johns Hopkins University.

    After spending most of her childhood in Maryland, Ukeje went to Nigeria during high school. She then returned to the U.S. to earn her bachelor’s degree in computer science at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, before moving to Philadelphia.

    NASA described Ukeje’s “ANI” as “a modular food ecosystem combining controlled-environment agriculture, fermentation and fungi cultivation, and closed-loop nutrient recycling through bioreactors with limited Earth-provisioned foods to produce 50% of the food away from Earth.”

    Ukeje’s complex winning entry included having astronauts heating food with portable electric lunch boxes. The astronauts would take cubes of nutritious food and prepare them into recognizable meals, and then they could have “taco night” or “Italian pasta night.”

    “You want them to feel at home when they are millions of miles from home,” she said.

    She was surprised she won first place, but not surprised that she did well.

    “I completely poured myself into this project,” she said.

    There are no restrictions on what she can spend her prize money on, but Ukeje said she expects some of it will go into further food technology research.

    Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly spelled Chinyere Ukeje’s first name in a sub-headline and photo caption.

  • A man was charged with ethnic intimidation after allegedly trespassing at a Philly synagogue

    A man was charged with ethnic intimidation after allegedly trespassing at a Philly synagogue

    A 34-year-old Philadelphia man was arrested and charged with ethnic intimidation after he allegedly trespassed at a synagogue with a preschool, tried to open doors, and made antisemitic statements, authorities said Friday.

    Angel Viera was taken into custody and also charged with defiant trespass and disorderly conduct, court records show. His bail was set Friday at $25,000 unsecured.

    Police said that around 10 a.m. Thursday, officers responded to the Germantown Jewish Centre in West Mount Airy for a report of a disturbance involving an unidentified man who was refusing to leave the property.

    The man, later identified as Viera, “had been pulling on doors and attempting to gain entry to the school and synagogue,” a police spokesperson said in an email Friday.

    “Security personnel instructed the male to leave the property, but he refused. While on the property, the male made several derogatory and antisemitic statements directed toward Jewish people,” the police spokesperson said.

    Viera was then arrested, police said.

    Nina Peskin, executive director of the Germantown Jewish Centre, said in a phone interview that a security guard first noticed Viera allegedly standing across the street and appearing to take photos or videos with a phone of the property.

    Viera then allegedly crossed the street and a lawn area to attempt to open several doors, Peskin said. The security guard, who called police, allegedly told Viera that he was on private property and that he should leave.

    Viera then sat on a curb of the property’s driveway and allegedly refused to leave until after police arrived within three minutes of being called, Peskin said.

    He allegedly said “F— the Jews” and questioned the security guard for working for a Jewish institution, Peskin said.

    The Germantown Jewish Centre has been the target of two bomb threats and multiple hostile phone calls in the last few years.

    However, this time a man allegedly tried to enter the property while children were attending the synagogue’s preschool, Peskin said.

    “This felt different,” Peskin said, adding that the incident has rattled “our whole community.”

    Viera is represented by the Defender Association of Philadelphia. George Jackson, a spokesperson for the association, declined Friday to comment on the case.

    Philadelphia police have offered to provide an increased presence at the synagogue and preschool, Peskin said.

    Although no one was injured, Peskin said she fears the situation could have been much worse.

    “If he had entered the building, it would have been a different story,” Peskin said.

  • Federal authorities announced a bust of a guns and drugs ring operating in Philadelphia and Luzerne County

    Federal authorities announced a bust of a guns and drugs ring operating in Philadelphia and Luzerne County

    Federal authorities on Thursday announced charges in a drug-and-gun-trafficking ring operating in Philadelphia and Luzerne Counties, with one of the defendants identified as a Philadelphia man who received a commutation from former President Joe Biden for a prior prison sentence.

    Michael Rinaldi, 49, and Jason Lozada, 51, both of Philadelphia, were among eight people indicted by a grand jury, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Philadelphia Field Division said in a news release Thursday.

    Prosecutors allege that the eight people conspired to distribute methamphetamine from August 2025 through September 2026, and also distributed fentanyl in addition to trafficking guns.

    Philadelphia ATF and the United States Attorney’s Office in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, citing public records, noted that Rinaldi received an executive grant of clemency from Biden on Jan. 17, 2025, commuting the remaining sentence from a prior drug-trafficking conviction.

    In the days before Biden left office, he granted clemency to nearly 2,500 individuals for what was described as non-violent drug offenses, and Rinaldi was one of the recipients.

    Since taking office in January 2025, President Donald Trump has granted clemency to more than 1,700 people, including the roughly 1,500 people convicted for their involvement or who had charges pending for their alleged involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

  • Philly congressional candidate Chris Rabb called Netanyahu a ‘war criminal’ at a New York protest

    Philly congressional candidate Chris Rabb called Netanyahu a ‘war criminal’ at a New York protest

    State Rep. Chris Rabb, the Philadelphia progressive running as a Democrat for Congress, called Benjamin Netanyahu a “war criminal” at a protest in New York on Thursday, as the Israeli prime minister gave a speech to the United Nations.

    “I’m here in solidarity with all these brave souls who want their country to be on the right side of history and who acknowledge that Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal and should be in the Hague,” Rabb said at the protest, captured in a video posted on social media, referring to the Netherlands-based International Criminal Court.

    “We have to make a decision about where our taxpayer dollar goes. We should not be funding atrocities overseas,” said Rabb, who is running to replace U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans.

    In his speech, Netanyahu called allegations of Israeli genocide in Gaza not only false, but “the biggest lie of the century,” the Associated Press reported.

    As he arrived for his speech, scores of delegates trooped out before he started speaking.

    Zohran Mamdani, New York’s first Muslim mayor and an outspoken supporter of Palestinian rights, has urged Netyanhau’s arrest, asserting that the U.S. should honor a war crimes warrant for Netanyahu issued by the International Criminal Court.

    Netanyahu released a video earlier this week directed against Mamdani, saying he was coming to the U.N. “to tell the truth about our heroic soldiers” and “to tell the truth about you.”

    The U.S. is not a party to the International Criminal Court, and New York City does not have the authority to arrest the prime minister. Israel denies that its actions in Gaza amount to genocide, saying that they are a military response targeting Hamas for the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks that killed about 1,200 Israelis, including hundreds at a music festival. More than 73,000 Palestinians have died in the war in Gaza, according to the Gaza health authority.

    Among the other participants in the New York protest was Hannah Einbinder, the Emmy-winning actress whose father was born in Doylestown. She famously shouted “Go Birds, f— ICE, and free Palestine!” during her Emmy acceptance speech last year.

    Rabb was recorded standing next to two other Democratic congressional candidates, Adam Hamawy of New Jersey and Melat Kiros of Colorado.

    Another congressional candidate, New York Democrat Darializa Avila Chevalier, was arrested at the protest, according to reports.

    Rabb posted to Instagram Thursday evening to let supporters know he was not after misinformation spread on social media.

    “I wasn’t arrested, but Netanyahu should be!” Rabb said in one post.

    Correction: This article has been updated to correctly reflect the year Einbinder made her Emmy acceptance speech.