Man claims he lured, strangled Etan Patz

  Eyewitness NewsNEW YORK (WABC) -- A New Jersey man being interviewed by detectives as part of the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of 6-year-old Etan Patz claims he lured and strangled the child 33 years ago.

Detectives who are questioning Pedro Hernandez are cautiously optimistic he is linked to Patz' disappearance in 1979, but they are not yet ready to charge him. A law enforcement official says he has implicated himself and has been tied to the case in the past.

Hernandez, who was picked up at his Camden area home Wednesday, reportedly says he strangled Patz and put his body in a box to dispose of it. Prosecutors are attempting to verify if it's possible that his claims match the known fact pattern.

One source has said that some of the suspect's statements contradict known facts, but adds that is not a reason to discount the bulk of his remarks.

Hernandez is being questioned in Lower Manhattan by NYPD detectives and investigators with the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.

He was in his 20s or 30s at the time of the disappearance and had a connection to the SoHo neighborhood where Patz vanished as he walked to the school bus. He says he was working in a bodega at the time.

There was an exhaustive search by the police and a crush of media attention. The boy's photo was one of the first of a missing child on a milk carton. Thousands of fliers were plastered around the city, buildings were canvassed and hundreds of people were interviewed. Now, police may have the break they have desperately searched for.

"An individual now in custody has made statements to NYPD detectives implicating himself in the disappearance and death of Etan Patz 33 years ago," NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly said in a statement. "We expect to provide further details later today."

Last month, investigators dug up a SoHo basement for possible Patz remains. After a four-day search, they announced nothing conclusive was found, including any skeletal or human remains. Officials say the man in custody was not linked to the basement search.

Friday is the anniversary of the boy's disappearance, when detectives traditionally receive a landslide of hoaxes and false leads related to the case.

CLICK HERE to see the Etan Patz case in pictures

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Several Ways a New Jersey Doctor Convicted of Health Claims Fraud May Forfeit His Or Her License

Woman claims movers asked for sexual favors

MORRISTOWN, New Jersey (WABC) -- A moving mess as a moving company is under investigation for giving low estimates, holding peoples belongings hostage and even asking for sexual favors in exchange for a lower price.

"Do you feel like you were an easy target for them... Yes definitely," One suspected victim answers.

Hiliary isn't using her last name because she is still shaken.

Last year she was moving from Summit to Morristown. She had a new job and needed a moving company and like so many these days, she found one on the internet, Progessive Movers.

She got a quote of $210 in writing.

Once at her new place, she says the movers stayed in the truck for 45 minutes.

"So they come out provide me the paperwork and tell me that I owe them 1100 dollars in cash," she said.

$600 added on to walk up three stairs and an inflated travel time.

When she protested, one of the three male movers said "So the only way we will give you the $210 is if you sleep with me and the foreman".

Stunned, disgusted and scared she says he continued.

"He's like so you gonna take us up on our offer? I said no here is your cash now get out of here," she adds.

The New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs says they've heard this before. "It's not the first time we've seen it but this is one of the worst we've seen," said Eric Kanefsky.

Kanefsky says Progressive Movers has almost 90 complaints against them. Mostly for the bait and switch tactic, so he took them to court to shut them down.

The moving company couldn't be found anywhere.

A call to the company's attorney went unreturned

Back at Hiliary's new home, she estimates she lost $300-$400,000 worth of stuff in the move. Some of it broken, much of it never delivered.

A year later, and a little wiser she offers this advice learn from her.

"Even if it's a simple Google search you can find a lot of information on companies out there which I unfortunately discovered retrospectively instead of proactively before my move," she said.

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