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Posted 4/14/21

Police: Man dealt drugs while on home confinement A "substantial amount of narcotics" and thousands of dollars in cash were seized last week from the Smith Street home of a man who allegedly continued to distribute drugs while on home confinement for a

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POLICE NEWS

POLICE & COURTS

Posted

Police: Man dealt drugs while on home confinement

A “substantial amount of narcotics” and thousands of dollars in cash were seized last week from the Smith Street home of a man who allegedly continued to distribute drugs while on home confinement for a previous arrest, according to Cranston Police.

Nico German Jr., 19, of 213 Smith St., is charged with manufacturing/possession/delivery of schedule I and II controlled substances based on the execution of a search warrant at his home on the morning of April 6, police said in a statement. He was ordered held following his arraignment in Third Division District Court.

According to police, the department’s Special Investigations Unit “developed information” that German “was continuing to distribute illegal narcotics from his home while on monitored home confinement from a previous narcotics arrest in Cranston.” Police also discovered that German was allegedly “openly displaying his possession of a firearm.”

Then, at 4:45 a.m. on April 6, members of the department’s Special Investigations Unit and Special Reaction Team, along with members of an ATF task force, executed the search of German’s home.

The search is said to have uncovered 365 grams of marijuana, 95 “THC edibles,” seven rounds of .45 caliber ammunition, “multiple items of drug paraphernalia” and $18,850 in cash. Another $40,000 in cash was later found at “another undisclosed location,” according to police.

German was previously arrested on multiple drug and weapons charges by Cranston Police in November.

At that time, police said a search of German’s residence – then listed as a Crossway Road address – led to the seizure of a .45 caliber handgun, two pounds of marijuana, hallucinogenic mushrooms, THC edibles, a “large amount of firearm ammunition,” a bulletproof vest and $22,000 in cash.

The November operation was conducted in coordination with the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force. German was also taken into custody on a federal arrest warrant at that time. City resident charged in UI fraud case

A Cranston resident is among 15 more Rhode Islanders charged with defrauding federal pandemic assistance programs, including the Paycheck Protection Program and supplemental unemployment insurance.

Michael Moran Lamb, 34, is alleged to have filed fraudulent unemployment claims in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Illinois, Nevada, Arizona and California.

According to a statement from the office of Acting United States Attorney Richard B. Myrus, state and federal law enforcement have worked to “identify, investigate, charge, and prosecute individuals who knowingly defrauded or attempted to defraud federally funded programs” since the March 2020 passage of the federal CARES Act.

Lamb is among 15 people who were charged in U.S. District Court last week with wire fraud and money laundering. The 15 defendants named in the U.S. Attorney’s release are alleged to have filed $578,571 in fraudulent unemployment claims in 11 different states, including roughly $126,000 in fraudulent claims filed with the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training.

“To date, federal charges have been brought against 23 individuals, including 15 this week, for fraudulently applying for aid from CARES Act funded programs,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s office. “Investigators have identified more than $31 million dollars allegedly targeted by these fraudsters.”

“It’s disgraceful that anyone would attempt to fraudulently obtain CARES Act funds intended for hard working Americans during the current health crisis, and we are committed to vigorously pursuing the criminals who commit this fraud,” Myrus said in the statement. “Our team of agents and prosecutors has the reach, coordination, and expertise necessary for effective enforcement efforts against the scourge of COVID-19 relief fraud, and our investigations are far from over.”

-- Daniel Kittredge

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