N.Y. man arrested in N.J., charged in sex sting

Federal authorities arrested a New York City man Thursday in a sting operation in which he traveled to New Jersey to engage in illict sex with a person he believed was a 13-year-old girl, officials said.

In fact, authorities said, Michael Tway Smith, 66, had been exchanging messages with an undercover federal agent. He was arrested at a convenience store in Maple Shade, where authorities said he was expecting to meet the fictitious girl and then return to a motel room he had rented to have sex.

Smith initiated the first of a series of online chats with the agent on Nov. 13. Over the next several days, he told the "girl" he wanted to have sex with her and eventually planned to meet her in Maple Shade.

Smith was charged with traveling with the intent to engage in illict sexual conduct and faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. According to a federal criminal complaint, after his arrest, he "made statements indicating knowledge of his guilt." - Aubrey Whelan