Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

SecurityWeekSecurityWeek

Cybercrime

New Jersey Mayor and Son Charged In Hacking Incident

Felix Rogue and His Son Were Arrested for Hacking and Disabling a Website That Criticized the West New York Mayor 

Felix Rogue and His Son Were Arrested for Hacking and Disabling a Website That Criticized the West New York Mayor 

The mayor of West New York, New Jersey and his son were arrested on Thursday for allegedly hacking into an e-mail account and website connected to an effort to recall the mayor, and harassing those behind the recall effort.

Mayor Felix Rogue Arrested for Hacking Website

FBI agents in Newark conducted an investigation that led to the arrest of Mayor Felix Roque and his 22-year old son, Joseph Roque, and charged the two with “gaining unauthorized access to computers in furtherance of causing damage to protected computers; causing damage to protected computers; and conspiracy to commit those crimes.”

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the compliant alleges that in early February 2012, a Hudson County resident and public official anonymously established and moderated the website www.recallroque.com, to post commentary and criticism of Mayor Roque and his staff.

Unhappy with the site, the compliant further alleges that in February 2012, the Mayor, 55, and his son attempted to hack into and take down the website and to “identify, intimidate, and harass those who operated and were associated with the site.”

Shortly after their decision to attack the website, Joseph Roque had successfully hacked into various online accounts used in connection with the recall website. Joseph Roque then used that access to disable the website. Following the successful breach, Mayor Roque harassed and attempted to intimidate several individuals whom he had learned were associated with the recall website, the U.S. Attorney’s Office says.

According to reports from local news outlet CBS 2, an ambulance was called when Roque’s ex-wife passed out in the courtroom during the initial appearance, and then got up saying “that’s my son.”

Gerald Lange, who lost the West New York mayoral election to Felix Roque, reportedly came to court to stare him in the eye, according to CBS 2’s Christine Sloan. “Coming from a man who called me ‘pretty boy commissioner’ and to see him in shackles is pretty sad, and to put his son through it and bring his son down like him that is a sad testament for a father to face,” Lange told CBS 2.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

“It’s incredibly disappointing that resources have to be diverted from protecting the U.S. against cyber intrusions targeting critical infrastructure, federally funded research, and military technology to address a public official intruding into computer systems to further a political agenda,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward.

The conspiracy charge and hacking charges are each punishable by a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of causing damage to protected computers carries a maximum potential penalty of one year in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Written By

For more than 15 years, Mike Lennon has been closely monitoring the threat landscape and analyzing trends in the National Security and enterprise cybersecurity space. In his role at SecurityWeek, he oversees the editorial direction of the publication and is founder and director of several leading cybersecurity industry conferences around the world.

Click to comment

Trending

Daily Briefing Newsletter

Subscribe to the SecurityWeek Email Briefing to stay informed on the latest threats, trends, and technology, along with insightful columns from industry experts.

Discover strategies for vendor selection, integration to minimize redundancies, and maximizing ROI from your cybersecurity investments. Gain actionable insights to ensure your stack is ready for tomorrow’s challenges.

Register

Dive into critical topics such as incident response, threat intelligence, and attack surface management. Learn how to align cyber resilience plans with business objectives to reduce potential impacts and secure your organization in an ever-evolving threat landscape.

Register

People on the Move

The US arm of networking giant TP-Link has appointed Adam Robertson as Director of Information and Security.

Raj Dodhiawala has been named Chief Product Officer at Eclypsium.

Cyber exposure management firm Armis has promoted Alex Mosher to President.

More People On The Move

Expert Insights

Daily Briefing Newsletter

Subscribe to the SecurityWeek Email Briefing to stay informed on the latest cybersecurity news, threats, and expert insights. Unsubscribe at any time.