Motor Vehicle Stop in Ridgefield Leads Trafficking and Gun Charges

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgefield NJ, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced the arrests of FRANCIS E. HIDALGO (DOB: 11/06/1998; single; unemployed) of 15026 Timberlea Dr, Missouri City, TX, and ANTONIO A. MORENO (DOB: 04/07/1999; single; unemployed) of 5010 Grove West Boulevard, Stafford, TX, on money laundering and unlawful weapons possession charges.  The arrests are the result of an investigation by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office under the direction of Chief Jason Love.

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On August 25, 2022, during a motor vehicle stop in Ridgefield, NJ, detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotic Task Force searched a vehicle occupied by FRANCIS E. HIDALGO and ANTONIO A. MORENO and found $15,200 and two .9mm handguns, one of which contained hollow nose bullets.  Further investigation revealed that HIDALGO and MORENO had been paid for transporting two undocumented immigrants from Texas to New York and were to deliver the cash to an individual in Texas.  HIDALGO and MORENO were each arrested without incident.

FRANCIS HIDALGO was charged with second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun, N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5b(1); second-degree possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose, N.J.S.A. 2C:39-4a(1); third-degree money laundering, N.J.S.A. 2C:21-25a; and fourth-degree possession of prohibited weapons, specifically hollow nose bullets, N.J.S.A. 2C:39-3f(1).  ANTONIO MORENO was charged with second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun, N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5b(1); and second-degree possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose, N.J.S.A. 2C:39-4a(1).  HIDALGO and MORENO were both released with conditions following a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack, NJ.

Prosecutor Musella states that the charges are merely accusations and that the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and he would like to thank the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office for its assistance in this investigation.