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Author: Robert Moran

  • Former Bucks County man who voted twice for Trump convicted of voter fraud

    Former Bucks County man who voted twice for Trump convicted of voter fraud

    A former Bucks County man who claimed he was covered by pardons given by President Donald Trump to supporters who tried to overturn the 2020 election was found guilty Wednesday by a federal jury in Philadelphia of voting twice for Trump in 2020.

    Matthew Laiss, 32, was charged by indictment in September of one count of voting more than once in a federal election and one count of voter fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 10 and faces a maximum of five years in prison on both counts.

    Laiss, who prosecutors said is currently a resident of Bethehem, Pa., had been a resident of — and was registered to vote in — Ottsville, Bucks County, from at least 2012 to around August 2020, prosecutors said. Laiss then moved to Frostproof, Fla., where he obtained a driver’s license and registered to vote there.

    Around Oct. 31, 2020, Laiss filled out and returned a mail-in Pennsylvania ballot, then on Nov. 3, 2020, Laiss went to a polling place in Florida and voted again.

    “Today’s conviction reinforces a simple principle: our elections must be fair, secure, and lawful, ” U.S. Attorney David Metcalf said in a statement.

    “Casting a ballot in more than one jurisdiction undermines public trust and dilutes the votes of others. Our office will continue to protect the integrity of federal elections and hold accountable those who violate the law,” Metcalf said.

    The case was investigated by the FBI, with assistance from the Pennsylvania Department of State, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Dubnoff.

    Federal defenders who represented Laiss could not be reached for comment Wednesday night.

    Lawyers for Laiss had argued to U.S. District Judge Joseph F. Leeson Jr. that a pardon proclamation Trump issued last year on Nov. 7 applied to Laiss, and that Laiss had accepted it.

    Laiss was not among the 77 people Trump listed when specifying who would receive relief, but Laiss’ lawyers said the proclamation’s preamble included language making it applicable to “all United States citizens” for conduct, voting, or advocacy surrounding the contest.

    His lawyers wrote that Trump allies including Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, and Mark Meadows were all explicitly pardoned for “exponentially more egregious alleged conduct.” Extending relief to them while denying it to Laiss, his lawyers wrote, “would be outrageous.”

    Prosecutors said they checked with Trump’s Office of the Pardon Attorney and were told that the lawyers there did not believe the pardon proclamation applied to Laiss.

    In January, Leeson ruled against Laiss’ motion to dismiss the indictment, explaining that the court was without jurisdiction to decide the matter because Laiss had not applied to the Office of the Pardon Attorney, or had received a certificate of pardon.

  • Building explosion in Gloucester County leaves four critically injured

    Building explosion in Gloucester County leaves four critically injured

    At least four people were critically injured after a large explosion destroyed a commercial production building Wednesday afternoon in Logan Township, N.J.

    Gloucester County Emergency Management quickly asked people within a two-mile radius of the explosion at 617 Heron Dr. to shelter in place, but the request was later lifted. About 7,200 people live within two miles of the explosion.

    “It was a terrible tragedy,” Logan Township Police Chief Joseph Flatley said at an evening news conference.

    However, he added: “The community is safe. There are no ongoing hazards.”

    The explosion occurred just after 2:35 p.m. and firefighters who were first on the scene said at least two people had been severely burned, and the building had collapsed with a ruptured propane tank still burning.

    Map of building explosion in Logan Twp., Gloucester County.

    Cooper University Hospital received three patients, said Cooper spokesperson Wendy A. Marano.

    Rebecca Forand, spokesperson for the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office, said a total of four people were hospitalized in critical condition. A fifth person in a neighboring building experienced a medical incident, Forand said.

    It was unclear how many people were in the building, but “as far as we know, the owners of the business have told us that they believe everyone is accounted,” Forand said.

    “We are assisting in the investigation. It does not look like there’s any criminal activity,” she added.

    A large amount of propane was being stored on the facility’s premises, which she said was used in the production processes of the company that used the building, called Savita Naturals. The company describes itself on its website as a “provider of specialty oil extractions and related services.”

    The cause of the explosion, however, remains under investigation. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection was notified of the situation, and officials from the Bureau of Emergency Response were heading to the scene, Forand noted.

    “Fire and HazMat Units remain on location monitoring a burn off of additional fuel product stored on-site and continue to conduct air monitoring in the community,” Gloucester County Emergency Management said on social media. 

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    A worker in a nearby business described the shock of the first large explosion.

    “I thought a bomb hit us,” said the worker, who asked not to be identified because his employer had not authorized him to speak to a reporter.

    He and his fellow employees were evacuated and saw the building with the explosion had been destroyed and a wall of the neighboring building had been knocked down.

    The worker said he saw a man whose clothes were on fire “rolling on the ground.” The man ripped his shirt off while other people pulled his pants off. The man then got up wearing only his underwear. His injuries didn’t appear to be serious, the worker said.

    Residents across the region said the explosion shook their houses. At Fish2Coral, a fish and aquatic supply shop in Swedesboro, things fell off the shelves, alarms went off, and part of the interior ceiling collapsed.

    “We didn’t know where it came from,” said store manager Brian Makowski. “It felt like something hit our building.”

    Fish2Coral is located only half a mile from the explosion site. “If I was outside, it probably would’ve knocked me over,” he said.

    Propane is a highly flammable gas that can decrease the amount of oxygen in the air in high concentrations, according to the New Jersey Department of Health. It is naturally colorless and odorless, but typically has an odorant added to aid in detection. Symptoms of airborne exposure may include headache and dizziness, as well as fainting, and contact with it in its liquefied gas form is capable of causing frostbite.

    The company notes online that it was founded about 35 years ago as a processor in the cocoa and chocolate industry, but has since expanded to include a range of products. Savita also indicates online that “production of cocoa butter remains our core business.”

    Among the other products for which Savita says it provides services is CBD, or cannabidiol, a non-intoxicating compound found in hemp and marijuana that has risen in prominence in recent years. An article on the company’s website from 2019 indicates that flammable solvents like butane, propane, and ethanol are popular choices in cannabis-related extractions.

    Savita notes online that propane has been its “solvent of choice” for botanical extractions since 1996, as it “produces the highest yields at intermediate cost without sacrificing quality.”

    — Staff writer Emily Bloch contributed to this article.

  • K-9 Ivan makes 40-pound drug bust in Delco

    K-9 Ivan makes 40-pound drug bust in Delco

    A drug-sniffing K-9 dog helped the Pennsylvania State Police make a 40-pound marijuana bust during a traffic stop on I-95 in Delaware County, the law enforcement agency said Tuesday.

    Around 11:20 p.m. on Thursday, state troopers stopped a vehicle on southbound I-95 in Ridley Township for multiple alleged traffic offenses, state police said.

    Troopers suspected something was up and asked for consent to search the vehicle, but the driver allegedly refused, so troopers called for Ivan, a state police K-9 dog.

    Ivan was “alerted to the odor of narcotics in the vehicle,” and a search warrant was obtained while the driver was detained for the investigation, state police said.

    The vehicle was towed to the state police barracks in Media, where troopers allegedly discovered about 40 pounds of marijuana concealed in boxes and buckets, and around $6,000 cash.

    The driver, who was not identified, was arrested and charged with multiple offenses, state police said.

  • 1 person reportedly dead after 3-alarm fire in Bucks County

    1 person reportedly dead after 3-alarm fire in Bucks County

    One person has reportedly died after a three-alarm fire devastated several homes Monday evening in Birstol Borough.

    The fire erupted on the 300 block of Dorrance Street and reached three alarms, prompting a regional response by various firefighting companies.

    Police Chief Joseph Moors told NBC10 that first responder arrived at the scene around 6 p.m. and found two houses fully engulfed in flames. Several neighboring homes also were damaged.

    One person was killed and another was injured, Moors told NBC10.

    Video posted on social media by one person at the scene showed the electrical sparks bursting from the flames.

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  • A Montco man is charged with soliciting sex with a 15-year-old girl after paying for pictures of her feet

    A Montco man is charged with soliciting sex with a 15-year-old girl after paying for pictures of her feet

    A 76-year-old Hatboro man has been charged with allegedly soliciting sex acts with a 15-year-old girl after paying her and her younger sister for pictures of their feet, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said Monday.

    Dennis Reilly was arrested Friday and charged with multiple sex-related offenses. He was being held at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in lieu of $99,000 cash bail, Steele said.

    On Thursday, two adults went to the Hatboro police station to report an alleged interaction between a man and a 15-year-old girl, Steele said.

    One of the adults, whose son is in a relationship with the teen girl, said he learned that she and her younger sister were recently outside walking a dog when they were approached by a man who was later identified as Reilly, according to the affidavit of probable cause.

    They were having a conversation when Reilly allegedly asked about the socks they were wearing, and this interaction led to Reilly paying the girls “around $100″ for pictures of their feet, according to the affidavit.

    The father of the 15-year-old girl’s boyfriend learned the girl was allegedly receiving multiple texts from Reilly asking for more photos of her feet, the affidavit said. The father then texted Reilly from his own phone pretending to be her and saying she had a new phone; thus, the teen would no longer be getting Reilly’s texts on her old phone.

    The father had a text exchange with Reilly that allegedly showed Reilly wanted to meet the girl to take more photos, specifically asking that she wear the “shoes you wore to school,” according to the affidavit.

    A Hatboro detective then used the father’s phone to continue pretending to be the teen girl and asked Reilly if she could do more to make $300, the affidavit said.

    Reilly allegedly made sexually explicit suggestions for what he wanted in exchange for the additional money and arranged for a meeting at a Wawa in Hatboro. The detective confronted Reilly at the Wawa and revealed Reilly had been texting with the police, the affidavit said.

    Reilly allegedly admitted he had a “foot fetish,” but he claimed he had not intended to go through with any sexual contact with the girl, the affidavit said.

    The detective asked to see the alleged pictures on Reilly’s phone of the girl’s feet, and Reilly “then accessed his cell phone photo library where I was able to see a large quantity of images of feet,” including the 15-year-old girl’s, the detective said in the affidavit.

    Reilly’s phone was taken as evidence.

    Hatboro Police Chief Mark Ruegg said that anyone who believes they have had a similar encounter with Reilly can call the Hatboro police at 215-675-2832.

  • Franklin Mall in Northeast Philly to reopen Friday after small fire last weekend

    Franklin Mall in Northeast Philly to reopen Friday after small fire last weekend

    Franklin Mall will reopen Friday after being temporarily shut down since a small fire last weekend at the once-popular Northeast Philadelphia retail destination, property management said Thursday.

    The mall has been closed since a fire on Saturdaywithin a single tenant space, management said. The city Department of Licenses and Inspections “issued a temporary closure notice while required inspections are completed to ensure building safety and building structural integrity.”

    Management said on Thursday that “following this due diligence Franklin Mall has officially been granted permission to reopen” from L&I.

    Franklin Mall will be open for normal business hours, but the management requested “patience with the property’s appearance while teams are actively making repairs to the affected areas within the mall while preserving a safe environment for shoppers.”

    The Inquirer reported in early December that Franklin Mall, which many locals still call Franklin Mills, was listed for sale and that the 36-year-old, 1.8-million-square-foot facility at Knights and Woodhaven Roads could be repurposed or demolished for non-retail uses.

    The mall opened in 1989 to great fanfare as the largest outlet mall ever, with a zigzag-shaped, one-story-tall concourse that stretched for 1.2 miles.

    Franklin Mills once attracted 20 million visitors annually, but now the current version of the mall has less than a third of that traffic.

    Under new ownership, it was renamed Philadelphia Mills, and most recently it has been called Franklin Mall, though a main entrance sign still says Philadelphia Mills.

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  • Three new baby penguins unveiled at Adventure Aquarium in Camden

    Three new baby penguins unveiled at Adventure Aquarium in Camden

    Adventure Aquarium in Camden on Thursday unveiled three Little Blue Penguin chicks that hatched earlier this month.

    Little Blue Penguins are the smallest species of penguin in the world — they are also called “fairy penguins” because of their diminutive size — and are naturally found along the coastlines of southern Australia and New Zealand.

    At the Adventure Aquarium, the first chick — a male — hatched on Feb. 2, aquarium officials said. A female hatched the next day, and a second male arrived on Feb. 5.

    The first chick is the offspring of Sheila and Spud, who are also the parents of Tater Tot (hatched 2023), Kiwi (2024), and Saquon (2025). This is Sheila’s 10th chick.

    The younger chicks were born to Maremma and Bloke, who are also experienced parents. Their offspring include Lovie, hatched in 2024, and Griffin, hatched in 2021.

    “Sheila and Spud are successful, proven parents and are once again doing a wonderful job with their chick, nicely allowing the biologists in the nest each morning to check on the chick’s growth,” Jamie Becker, biologist on the aquarium’s birds and mammals team, said in a statement.

    “Maremma and Bloke have been doing a great job taking care of two chicks and are very protective parents,” Becker said.

    The new chicks join 19 members of the Little Blue Penguin colony at Adventure Aquarium. The three chicks have been transitioned from parental care to biologist care in a nursery area, aquarium officials said,

    Once they are fully grown and have developed juvenile waterproof feathers, they will gradually be introduced back into the colony.

    Late last year, three new African penguins were hatched at the Adventure Aquarium. Duffy and Oscar made their public debut in late December. The third was named Scrappy after a public naming contest was held.

    The Little Blue Penguin chicks will be named by aquarium staff.

  • 2 people rescued from utility truck that plunged into waterway in South Jersey

    2 people rescued from utility truck that plunged into waterway in South Jersey

    Two people were rescued Wednesday morning from a utility truck that plunged into a waterway in Gloucester County, officials said.

    Gloucester County Emergency Management praised a nearby employee of the New Jersey Department of Transportation, a passersby who stopped to render aid, and West Deptford police for “heroically” rescuing the two occupants from the submerged vehicle.

    Just before 7:30 a.m., the utility truck and passenger vehicle collided along I-295 northbound and overturned into the Hessian Run Tributary near West Deptford High School, officials said.

    The occupants were transported to a hospital to be treated for injuries that were not life-threatening, officials said.

    The wreckage caused a “significant leak” of fuel into the tributary, and that prompted a response from county hazmat crews to assist firefighters at the scene, officials said. The U.S. Coast Guard and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection were also notified of the incident.

    All road lanes closed for the emergency response were reopened by 1 p.m., officials said.

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  • Franklin Mall in Northeast Philly closed because of small fire

    Franklin Mall in Northeast Philly closed because of small fire

    The Franklin Mall, which many locals still call Franklin Mills, is temporarily closed due to required city inspections after a small fire over the weekend at the once-popular Northeast Philadelphia retail destination that is now listed for sale, the property management said Wednesday.

    No injuries were reported after the fire occurred on Feb. 21 within a single tenant space, the management said in a Facebook post.

    The Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections “issued a temporary closure notice while required inspections are completed to ensure building safety and building structural integrity,” the post said.

    The management said it “immediately engaged licensed professionals and qualified vendors to evaluate the affected area and confirm that all life-safety systems are fully operational.”

    City officials could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

    The management of Franklin Mall said it was “working closely with city officials to complete all necessary inspections and secure the approvals required to safely reopen the property as quickly as possible. The safety of our tenants, employees, and visitors remains our top priority.”

    In the meantime, Walmart, Marshalls and HomeGoods, and Dave & Buster’s remain open for business, according to the mall’s website.

    The Inquirer reported in early December that the mall was listed for sale and the 36-year-old, 1.8-million-square-foot facility at Knights and Woodhaven Roads could be repurposed or demolished for non-retail uses.

    The mall opened in 1989 to great fanfare as the largest outlet mall ever, with a zigzag-shaped, one-story-tall concourse that stretched for 1.2 miles.

    Franklin Mills once attracted 20 million visitors annually, but now has less than a third of that traffic.

    Under new ownership, it was renamed Philadelphia Mills, and most recently it has been called Franklin Mall, though a main entrance sign still says Philadelphia Mills.

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  • Philly schools return to in-person classes on Wednesday

    Philly schools return to in-person classes on Wednesday

    After two days of virtual classes, the School District of Philadelphia will return to in-person instruction on Wednesday.

    More than a foot of snow was dumped across the city Sunday into Monday morning, prompting widespread closures. However, warmer temperatures on Monday helped to speed up snow removal.

    The city offices and courts reopened on Tuesday, but the School District decided to stay virtual one more day.

    Philadelphia trash and recycling collections will also resume Wednesday on a two-day delayed schedule, officials said.