Two Brothers Charged in Alleged Five-County Burglary Spree

George Washington and Angel Miguel Vargas, both of Allentown, have been charged in more than 100 burglaries and attempted burglaries.

Two Allentown brothers have been charged in more than 100 burglaries and attempted burglaries of businesses in a five-county area over 15 months.  George Washington, 28, and Angel Miguel Vargas, 30, who lived at 318 N. Second St., Allentown, were charged after an investigation that involved searches of vehicles and residences where the men were believed to have lived when the burglaries occurred, according to a release from the Lehigh County District Attorney's Office. The two allegedly burglarized child care centers, gas stations, hair and nail salons, barber shops, restaurants, markets, video stores, pet stores, convenience stores and dry cleaning businesses from Oct. 2, 2009 to Jan. 7 of this year in Lehigh, Northampton, Bucks, Luzerne …

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Bill Villa

5:33 pm on Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Here's some verifiably factual info on DA Jim Martin ... http://bloggingdottie.blogspot.com/2011/05/heres-how-da-jim-martin-fixes-dui.html   more ›

Digital Forensics Crime Lab Dedicated at DeSales

State-of-the-art facility honors the memory of fallen Upper Saucon police officer David M. Petzold.

A once nondescript basement area in DeSales University’s Dowling Hall has been transformed into a state-of-the-art digital laboratory that will not only give Lehigh County law enforcement better crime-solving ability, but also honor one of its fallen officers. In front of a packed house, Lehigh County officials and members of law enforcement agencies gathered Thursday to dedicate the David M. Petzold Digital Forensics Laboratory of Lehigh County at the university’s Center Valley campus. The digital laboratory honors the memory of Upper Saucon Township police officer David M. Petzold, who was struck and killed by a van on Route 309 in 2006, as he tried to remove a deer carcass from the roadway. Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin, …

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Alburtis Killings an Isolated Case, Law Officials Say

Statement released to allay residents' fears.

Alburtis Police Chief Robert Palmer and Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin said this evening that based on the evidence collected so far, the deaths of Althea Walbert and her daughter, Jeannette, should be considered an isolated incident. "At this point in the case, the police officers and Pennsylvania State Police at Fogelsville who are leading the investigation have found nothing  to indicate that residents at large in the borough are in danger," they said in a joint release. The Walberts were found by a family friend around 9am Friday in their 122 Cobblestone Court home. Lehigh County Coroner Scott Grim ruled the deaths homicides later that day. Manners of death have not been released, though autopsies were scheduled for 8am …

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Mother, Daughter Victims of Homicide in Alburtis

Althea Walbert was well known in town; state police are investigating.

An elderly woman and her daughter were found dead in their Alburtis home Friday morning and state police are investigating. Lehigh County Coroner Scott Grim says the deaths are homicides. Grim was called to the home of Althea Walbert at 122 Cobblestone Court in Alburtis and declared the women dead at about 10:15 a.m. Walbert, 82, was well known in the small town, Shawn Meyers, a neighbor, told Patch in an interview. Meyers recalled that Walbert and her daughter, Jeanette, were usually seen together. Jeanette was 59 and had a disability, according to several reports. Autopsies are scheduled for tomorrow morning and officials don’t expect to release further information until then. A man who identified himself as a family friend looked …

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Keeping Them Honest

How You Can Stop Election Fraud

For starters, don't let petitions just sit around.

In "John Morganelli, Bon Vivant," I told you that our local top crime dog, DA John Morganelli, regularly dips into his campaign fund for meals at posh places like the Blue Grille and Emeril's Chop House. He blew over $13,000 on himself last year to dine out (35 times), fill up the tank (15 times) and even to buy DA uniforms at Macy's. But there's one eatery he missed--Darto's Restaurant in Bethlehem. The owners must be looking for his business because the first thing you see when you walk into this North Street breakfast nook is a poster telling you to sign Morganelli's election petition for DA. And right below, Whoomp! There it is. Now I know you've probably seen your fair share of nomination petitions languishing in bars, social halls, …

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Morganelli Says He'll Crack Down on Construction Fraud

New law makes it illegal to classify workers as "subcontractors" except in certain situations.

Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli said Tuesday he will enforce a new state law that makes it illegal for construction firms to misclassify workers as "subcontractors." The Construction Workplace Misclassification Act, which went into effect last week, allows state and local prosecutors to go after companies that misclassify their employees in order to save money. Under the law, companies who do this could receive fines and stop work orders. According to the law, workers can only be considered independent contractors under very specific circumstances: Morganelli said that in the past, construction companies have classified their workers as subcontractors to avoid paying payroll taxes, health benefits and higher wages, and…

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DA: Newspaper Story Thwarted Prison Investigation

The Morning Call published an article about inmates' alleged contraband business.

Northampton County's District Attorney says a Morning Call story about a county prison inmate who allegedly ran an illegal business from his cell has thwarted an investigation into that inmate.  Last week, the paper ran a front page story about an investigation the DA's office was conducting into an inmate who was suspected of funneling $10,000 a month worth of drugs and tobacco into the prison. The story also stated that a guard at the prison may have been involved. On Monday, District Attorney John Morganelli released a statement to Patch criticizing the paper for its handling of the story, specifically its use of a sealed search warrant. Morganelli said the Call's reporter should not have had access to the warrant, which was discovered …

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