Crime & Safety

Authorities Find $186K Hidden In NYC's Man Jeep, Charge Him With Money Laundering: Prosecutor

Francisco J. Lopez, 55, was stopped near Fort Lee during a narcotics investigation, authorities said.

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — A New York City man was arrested and charged with money laundering after authorities found $186,000 in a secret compartment in the vehicle he was in, Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir S. Grewal announced Friday.

During a narcotics investigation by the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office, Francisco J. Lopez, 55, was stopped near Fort Lee driving a black 2006 Jeep Cherokee, Grewal said.

Authorities found $186,725 "suspiciously packaged" in a hidden compartment inside the Jeep, Grewal said.

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Lopez was charged with second-degree transporting or possessing property known or which a reasonable person would believe to be derived from criminal activity, the prosecutor said. Lopez was released on his own recognizance pending a hearing in Bergen County Central Judicial Processing Court.

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Photo: Francisco J. Lopez, 55/Courtesy of Bergen County Prosecutor's Office

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