March 13, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • Page 7 Glen Rock Borough man charged in investment swindles by John Koster Paul Mancuso, a 42-year-old Glen Rock resident, has been charged with a number of real estate-based swindles in which he allegedly obtained money for various projects that never existed. Mancuso and his business associate, a disbarred attorney named Pasquale Stiso from Westchester County, New York, were charged with conspiracy to defraud on March 6 in United States District Court in Newark before Judge Madeline Cox Arleo. They reportedly swindled a number of victims out of about $5 million by convincing them to make middle-sized investments in real estate deals. FBI Special Agent Richard Sluzka provided sections of a transcript obtained by legal wiretaps in which the Glen Rock defendant convinced investors in the $40,000 range that they could turn fast and legal profits by loaning him money for “done deals” in commercial real estate where he needed short-term loans for closings. “Since in or around 2009, defendant Mancuso and his co-conspirators have defrauded in excess of 15 victims of approximately $5 million,” the complaint in federal court states. “Most, if not all, of defendant Mancuso’s victims have lost all or substantially all of the money they invested with him and his co-conspirators’ schemes to defraud.” Among the scams Mancuso and Stiso reportedly devised were a ticket scheme in which they claimed they would purchase blocks of sports and concert tickets for re-sale at substantial markups. However, the defendants never bought any tickets. They simply took the money for themselves. Mancuso also borrowed money for a pizzeria in the Bahamas, a residential tract in Florida, a casino in Atlantic City, and a real estate project in Matawan. Neither man was involved in any of these real estate properties and several of them never existed at all. The telephone transcripts did not contain the names of the victims, but quoted some of the conversations at length. Bank statements substantiated some of the transactions. Toward the end, Mancuso was reportedly deep in debt. Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli announced the arrest of Richard Lester, 55, of Glen Rock on charges of aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault, and endangering the welfare of child. The arrest was the result of an investigation conducted by members of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit under the direction of Chief Steven Cucciniello and the Glen Rock Police Department under the direction of Chief Frederick Stahman. On Feb. 25, members of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit and Glen Rock Police Department made the arrest after an indictment was handed down by a Bergen County Grand Jury. Lester is accused of sexually abusing a four-year-old female acquaintance at his residence in Glen Rock between January 2011 and January 2012. Bail was set by Judge Liliana DeAvila-Silebi, P.J.S.C. at $300,000.00 -- no 10 percent option. He may not have any contact with the victim and was required to surrender his passport. Prosecutor Molinelli states that these charges are merely accusations and that the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Arrest announced