The Roundup

A weekly tab of what’s going 

on in the courts.

By Logan Beck

For BigTrial.net

U.S. for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania:

They say you shouldn’t put your cell phone number on social media, and that advice probably applies to credit card numbers too.

Aaron Dashawn Caple, 23, of Philadelphia, used Facebook and Twitter to solicit people to provide him with their ATM bank cards and pin numbers.

From there, Caple used the accounts to deposit bad checks, and then withdrew the money quickly before he was found out. Once he devised the plan, Caple visited multiple ATMs in Philadelphia to deposit and withdraw funds, and also visited various stores to make purchases and get cash back.

In total, Caple was able to gather more than $47,000.

As a result, Caple was sentenced to 54 months in federal prison, in addition to a restitution of $47,000.25 and a five year supervised release period.

Pennsylvania Attorney General:  

A drug investigation in Philadelphia led to the arrest of six individuals, and the seizure of 238 kilograms of cocaine: valued at $23.2 million.

The U.S. Homeland Security Investigations Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Philadelphia Police Department, the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office and the Nether Providence Township Police Department were all a part of the ongoing investigation.

Photo credit: The Pennsylvania Attorney General 

According to the Pennsylvania Attorney General, the group arrested for the drug trafficking smuggled large amounts of cocaine from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic to Philadelphia and other locations.

Francisco Severino-Ortega, 54, Argenis Dioscoris Grullon, 37, Jose Morales, 53, Michael Perez, 24, Juan Rojas, 32, and John Olmedo, 48, worked together to transport and package the paraphernalia.

Severino-Ortega, Rojas and Grullon were all arrested after their vehicles were stopped, resulting in the seizure of about 40 kilograms of cocaine.

Perez, Morales and Olmedo were arrested shortly after the seizure of 192 kilograms of cocaine from an industrial warehouse.

Each defendant has been charged with manufacturing, delivery or possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, criminal conspiracy, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activity and possession of a controlled substance.

U.S. for the District of New Jersey:

A former teacher and summer camp employee was arrested on Aug. 4 on child pornography charges.

Colin M. Skeele, 30, of Florham Park, New Jersey, is a former counselor at a summer camp for boys in Hardwick, New Jersey, as well as a former teacher at two parochial schools. According to the court documents, back in 2011 Skeele became Facebook friends with a former camper. Skeele used Facebook messenger to ask the boy to send him sexual photos in exchange for money.

In 2012, Skeele also communicated with individuals in the Philippines about purchasing live, sexual child abuse shows via online video chat. It was later discovered that Skeele was able to use an online transfer fund to purchase those videos, one of which included the abuse of a child as young as 1 year old.

Skeele faces a variety of charges, including two counts of producing child pornography, enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity, and distributing child pornography.