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Teen in Bloomfield carnival shooting dies from gunshot wound by police officer

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BLOOMFIELD -- The teen suspect who allegedly fired into a crowd of 1,500 carnival attendees in Bloomfield Friday night and was then shot by a police officer died from his wound today, authorities said. Rasheed Cherry, 17, of East Orange, accused of spraying several rounds into the crowded carnival near Watessing Avenue and Franklin Street on Friday night died today...

BLOOMFIELD -- The teen suspect who allegedly fired into a crowd of 1,500 carnival attendees in Bloomfield Friday night and was then shot by a police officer died from his wound today, authorities said.

Rasheed Cherry, 17, of East Orange, accused of spraying several rounds into the crowded carnival near Watessing Avenue and Franklin Street on Friday night died today at 12:26 p.m. at University Hospital in Newark, said Acting Essex County Prosecutor Robert D. Laurino.

During the carnival shooting, Cherry allegedly struck another teen in the left elbow before he was shot in the torso by a Bloomfield police officer, authorities said.

Deputy Chief Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Fennelly said, “At this juncture, the shooting appears to be justified but the investigation is continuing.’’

Cherry was charged with aggravated assault, two weapons crimes and resisting arrest.

The victim, also a 17 year old from East Orange, was treated and released from Clara Maass Hospital in Belleville after the incident.

An autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday while the shooting is being investigated by the prosecutor’s office professional standards bureau and the Bloomfield Police Department’s Internal Affairs Unit.


Previous Coverage:

17-year-old is charged with firing wildly into crowd at Bloomfield carnival

Man shoots into crowd at Bloomfield carnival, injures one before shot by police

watsessing-avenue-carnival-shooting.jpgA map view of Watsessing Avenue and Franklin Street in Bloomfield where a teen opened fire in a crowded carnival.


Gun expert in Newark schoolyard slaying case testifies four victims were shot with same revolver

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The .357 Colt was found in a Long Island home six months after the shootings

gun-expert-newark-schoolyard-killings.JPGRoy Sineo, a forensic scientist with New York's Suffolk County crime lab, testifies that the bullets form the Newark schoolyard murders were fired from the gun the is holding, during the trial of Rodolfo Godinez.

NEWARK -- When a black .357 Colt Trooper revolver that prosecutors say was used to shoot four friends in the back of the head in a Newark schoolyard three years ago was shown today for the first time in court, the room became hushed.

There were no muffled sobs of the kind that could be heard from the audience last week, when prosecutors presented a rusted machete, also allegedly used in the 2007 killings.

The gun made an appearance at the murder trial of Rodolfo Godinez, the first of six defendants expected to stand trial in the case. Two forensics experts testified that the same Colt Trooper was used to shoot all four victims on Aug. 4, 2007.

Essex County assistant prosecutors allege Godinez, and five others, set upon the four college friends behind Mount Vernon School. Iofemi Hightower and Dashon Harvey, both 20, Terrance Aeriel, 18, and his sister Natasha Aeriel, 19, were all shot. Only Natasha survived.

Godinez, 26, has acknowledged being at the schoolyard that night but denies taking part in the violence. He has not been directly linked to either weapon, but forensics experts last week confirmed he drank from a beer found at the schoolyard shortly after the shooting.

The .357 Colt Trooper was recovered from a Long Island home six months after the schoolyard slaying, during an unrelated raid on a reputed gang member. The gun was entered into a law enforcement database, then tested against bullets taken from the victims shot in the schoolyard.

Newark Police Detective Frank Faretra, a ballistics expert, said today that bullet jackets and fragments recovered from the schoolyard victims had identical markings left by the .357 Colt. “The projectile going down the barrel leaves a unique fingerprint,” Faretra said. A forensic scientist with the Suffolk County crime lab came to the same conclusion. Roy Sineo, who test fired the gun, testified the grooves on the bullet he test fired matched those on bullets recovered from the victims.

The .357 Colt was found in the home of Alvaro “Lobo” Delgado, who, police say, belongs to a Central American gang known as MS-13. Prosecutors say the shootings were gang related and that Godinez and the other five defendants have ties to MS-13.

On cross examination, Godinez’s attorney, Roy Greenman, pointed out that Godinez has not been accused of firing the weapon, and that this was the only gun involved in the killings.

“The bullets came from the same gun that shot all four victims?” Greenman asked Faretra. “Correct,” Faretra said.

Before today’s session started, Greenman filed a motion for a mistrial. He called “highly prejudicial” a Star-Ledger article that said four of the other young men charged in the crime had made statements to police about Godinez’s alleged involvement. The presiding judge, Superior Court Judge Michael L. Ravin, denied the motion.

The trial resumes today with testimony expected from a man who says Godinez talked to him about the shooting while the two were in jail. An Essex County sheriff’s officer from the K-9 unit, who was supposed to appear today, is also expected to testify Wednesday.

Attacker kills 7 kindergarten children, 1 teacher with cleaver in China

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BEIJING — An attacker hacked seven children and one teacher to death today and wounded 20 other people in a rampage at a kindergarten in northwest China, the latest in a string of savage assaults at the country's schools. The slayings occurred despite a countrywide boost in security at schools, with gates and security cameras ordered installed and additional...

china-attack-hack-death.jpgSecurity guards man the entrance and exit to an elementary school in Beijing today as parents pickup their children after school. Seven children and a teacher were hacked to death with a cleaver in an attack at a kindergarten in northern China -- the latest in a series of violent school assaults.
BEIJING — An attacker hacked seven children and one teacher to death today and wounded 20 other people in a rampage at a kindergarten in northwest China, the latest in a string of savage assaults at the country's schools.

The slayings occurred despite a countrywide boost in security at schools, with gates and security cameras ordered installed and additional police and guards posted at entrances.

The attack happened at 8 a.m. (0000 GMT) at a kindergarten in Nanzheng county of Hanzhong city, the official Xinhua News Agency said. It did not give the ages of the victims or say who attacked them.

Liu Xiaoming, deputy director of the propaganda department of Hanzhong city, confirmed that seven children and one teacher were killed and that about 20 others had been wounded.

"The murderer killed himself afterward," Liu told The Associated Press. He said he did not have any other information.

A Nanzheng county resident reached by phone said crowds had gathered outside the kindergarten, but information was spotty. He said the assailant was believed to have been a local villager surnamed Wu, aged in his late 40s, who owned the house in which the kindergarten was located.

"I saw him before and he looked quite normal," said the man, who would identify himself only by his surname, Li.

The attack is the fifth major incident at schools and kindergartens since late March, sparking security fears among parents, officials and educators.

In Hanzhong, an industrial city of 3.72 million people, nearly 2,000 police officers and security guards had been detailed to patrol public schools, kindergartens and surrounding areas beginning last week, according to a statement posted on the city government's official website.

Sociologists say the attacks reflect a lack of support for the mentally ill and rising stress resulting from huge social inequalities in China's fast-changing society. Such issues have largely been ignored in state media's reporting on the attacks, which have focused instead on increases in security in an effort to quell public fear and potential unrest.

The assaults began with an attack on a primary school in March in the city of Nanping in Fujian province where eight children were stabbed and slashed to death by a former community clinic doctor with a history of mental health problems.

The man convicted for that crime was executed on April 28, the same day a 33-year-old former teacher broke into a primary school in the southern city of Leizhou in Guangdong province and wounded 15 students and a teacher with a knife.

The following day in Taixing city in Jiangsu province, a 47-year-old unemployed man armed with an 8-inch (20-centimeter) knife wounded 29 kindergarten students — five seriously — plus two teachers and a security guard.

Just hours later, a farmer hit five elementary students with a hammer in the eastern city of Weifang before burning himself to death.

The government has sought to show it has the problem under control, mindful especially of worries among middle-class families who, limited in most cases to one child due to population control policies, invest huge amounts of money and effort to raise their offspring.

Ex-assemblyman Van Pelt is expected to return to witness stand in N.J. corruption trial

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OCEAN COUNTY -- Former state Assemblyman Daniel Van Pelt is expected to return to the witness stand this morning for cross-examination in his federal corruption trial in Trenton. Van Pelt took the witness stand on Tuesday and denied taking a $10,000 bribe from convicted real estate developer Solomon Dwek. The ex-lawmaker testified the money was a fee for his...

van-pelt.JPGDaniel Van Pelt exits US Federal Court Monday with his attorney Robert Fuggi Jr. Van Pelt was one of 44 people arrested last summer in a federal sting involving alleged political corruption and money laundering.
OCEAN COUNTY -- Former state Assemblyman Daniel Van Pelt is expected to return to the witness stand this morning for cross-examination in his federal corruption trial in Trenton.

Van Pelt took the witness stand on Tuesday and denied taking a $10,000 bribe from convicted real estate developer Solomon Dwek. The ex-lawmaker testified the money was a fee for his consulting services for a development project in Ocean Township, the Ocean County community where he served as mayor and committeeman for 10 years.

Defense attorneys originally planned to call as their first witnesses local Republican leaders in whom Van Pelt allegedly confided he planned to leave the township committee to become a consultant.

But Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachael Honig had argued court rules permitted those witnesses to testify about Van Pelt's comments to them only after Van Pelt testified. U.S. District Judge Joel Pisano, who is presiding over the trial in Trenton, said he was inclined to agree with the government's assertion.

Defense attorneys also plan to call Marci Hochman, general ethics counsel to the state Assembly. Van Pelt said he sought advice from Hochman days after accepting the cash to ask her what his limitations were if he became a consultant.

Charged with extortion and bribery, Van Pelt is accused of taking the bribe in exchange for his help in expediting environmental permits for a redevelopment project in his town.

Dwek, posing as fictitious developer David Esenbach, secretly taped conversations with Van Pelt, including one in which Van Pelt accepted the envelope of cash on Feb. 21, 2009.

Dwek, a failed Monmouth County real estate developer, was charged in 2006 with defrauding PNC Bank out of $50 million. He admitted he ran a Ponzi scheme to buy and sell properties primarily in Monmouth County, costing investors millions of dollars. He spent two years working with the FBI as part of a massive public corruption and money laundering sting in New Jersey.

Plainfield School Board appoints interim superintendent after school chief is charged

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PLAINFIELD — The Plainfield School Board appointed an interim superintendent Tuesday night after a four-hour closed door session to discuss the recent charges againstindi Superintendent Steven Gallon 3rd, according to a report on NJ 101.5 radio's website. Gallon, 41, and two district assistants, Angela Kemp, 36, and Lalelei Kelly, 34, are accused of multiple theft and fraud charges involving the...

PLAINFIELD — The Plainfield School Board appointed an interim superintendent Tuesday night after a four-hour closed door session to discuss the recent charges againstindi Superintendent Steven Gallon 3rd, according to a report on NJ 101.5 radio's website.

Gallon, 41, and two district assistants, Angela Kemp, 36, and Lalelei Kelly, 34, are accused of multiple theft and fraud charges involving the South Plainfield school district.

Authorities say Kemp, the assistant superintendent for educational services, and Kelly, the district’s former coordinator of assessment, data collection and school improvement, enrolled their children in the South Plainfield school system on Aug. 14, 2009, and provided false documents contending they lived in the borough.

Kemp and Kelly were actually residents of Franklin Township, in Somerset County, authorities said. Gallon is accused of providing a sworn statement saying the women and their children lived with him at his South Plainfield residence, authorities said.

The Plainfield School Board named Anna Belin-Pyles the interim superintendent, but made no formal announcement about Gallon's future with the district, NJ 101.5 reported.

brennan-court-south-plainfield-superintendent.jpgA map view of Brennan Court in South Plainfield, where two women claimed their children were living in the home of a South Plainfield superintendent as part of a major theft scheme.

Pregnant N.J. woman is charged with drunken driving after crash into Cherry Hill house

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CHERRY HILL — Police charged a 24-year-old pregnant woman with driving while intoxicated after her car struck a Cherry Hill home on Monday, a report on Philly.com said. Cherry Hill resident Carina Madison drove through a red traffic light at about 9:30 p.m., according to the report. Her 2005 Chevrolet then went over a lawn and slammed nine feet into...

CHERRY HILL — Police charged a 24-year-old pregnant woman with driving while intoxicated after her car struck a Cherry Hill home on Monday, a report on Philly.com said.

Cherry Hill resident Carina Madison drove through a red traffic light at about 9:30 p.m., according to the report. Her 2005 Chevrolet then went over a lawn and slammed nine feet into the home between the garage and living room wall, the report said.

Virginia Rosario, 62, and her sister, Olmiraida Medina, 54, were both in the house, but no injuries were reported, the report said.

cherry-hill-accident-dwi-pregnant.jpgThe intersection in Cherry Hill where a pregnant woman charged with drunken driving drove her car into a home Monday night.

Newark schoolyard slaying trial will include testimony about scent-tracking dog

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Dog tracked cell phone found at triple slaying to Rodolfo Godinez's home several blocks away, authorities say

judge-michael-ravin-godinez-trial-newark-schoolyard.jpgSuperior Court Judge Michael Ravin listens to defense attorney Roy Greenman on Tuesday.
NEWARK — The presiding judge at the Newark schoolyard slayings trial today has allowed testimony from a dog handler for the Essex County Sheriff’s Office whose bloodhound tracked a scent from a cell phone found near the scene to the defendant’s home several blocks away.

The dog handler, Sheriff's Officer William Caldwell, is expected to take the stand this morning.

The ruling by Superior Court Judge Michael L. Ravin came over the objections of the defense attorney for Rodolfo Godinez, who is the first of six defendants to stand trial for the Aug. 4, 2007, triple killing behind Mount Vernon School.

The attorney, Roy , questioned the reliability of tracking dogs like the one from the Sheriff’s Office. “I don’t think there’s any foundation laid that it’s anything other than junk science,” Greenman said. “There has been no study that bloodhounds are reliable enough.”

Greenman also questioned the particular bloodhound, canine Hunter, which tracked the scent of a cell phone belonging to one of the victims in the killings to near Godinez’s backyard a few blocks away. The dog lost the scent there at 210 Tuxedo Parkway, which abuts the 209 Midland Place home where Godinez had lived.

Essex County Assistant Prosecutor Thomas McTigue said the dog had passed a number of tests. “As far as qualifications of the dog, he’s been proven reliable in terms of tracking and scenting.” He also said that statements Godinez had made to police shortly after his arrest indicated he and the other five accused all went to his Midland Place home after the shootings that night.

In issuing his ruling, Ravin said “the dog has proven reliable in tracking human beings, both according to tests and out in the field. There is no evidence to show that the dog was handled any other way than properly.”

Ex-N.J. student teacher is indicted on charges of having sex with 8th grade boy

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FRANKFORD — A former student teacher at a Sussex County elementary school is charged in a six-count indictment with having at least two sexual encounters with one of her students, the Sussex County prosecutor’s office said. Lindsay Massaro, 24, was indicted on charges of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, second-degree sexual assault, third-degree aggravated sexual assault, two counts of third-degree...

lindsay-massaro.jpgLindsay MassaroFRANKFORD — A former student teacher at a Sussex County elementary school is charged in a six-count indictment with having at least two sexual encounters with one of her students, the Sussex County prosecutor’s office said.

Lindsay Massaro, 24, was indicted on charges of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, second-degree sexual assault, third-degree aggravated sexual assault, two counts of third-degree endangering the welfare of a child and four-degree criminal sexual contract. A first-degree crime is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Massaro, a former eighth-grade student teacher at Frankford Elementary School, was arrested March 30, 2009, and accused of having a sexual relationship with a male student, according to her arrest affidavit. The boy was at least 13 and younger than 16.

Massaro is accused of having sex with the boy in her car in Branchville and in the bedroom of her home in Frankford in the days prior to her arrest. The affidavit states Massaro admitted having a consensual sexual relationship with the boy.

The case was brought to the attention of law enforcement by the boy’s father, who told State Police his son was having an "ongoing sexual relationship" with Massaro. She met and befriended the boy while she was a student teacher at the school, according to the affidavit.

Massaro is scheduled to be arraigned in Newton before Superior Court Judge N. Peter Conforti within six weeks. She was indicted last Thursday.

Related coverage:

Sussex student teacher in sex scandal seeks admittance into pretrial intervention program


Veteran Plainfield officer is convicted of insurance fraud

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PLAINFIELD — A 22-year veteran of the Plainfield Police Department has been convicted of insurance fraud, authorities said. David Thomas, 46, was found guilty by a Union County jury on Tuesday and faces up to 10 years in prison when sentenced on July 16. He is accused of filing a $3,300 claim in December 2008 with his insurance company...

dave-thomas-plainfield-officer.jpgA mugshot of Dave Thomas, 46.PLAINFIELD — A 22-year veteran of the Plainfield Police Department has been convicted of insurance fraud, authorities said.

David Thomas, 46, was found guilty by a Union County jury on Tuesday and faces up to 10 years in prison when sentenced on July 16. He is accused of filing a $3,300 claim in December 2008 with his insurance company for an Apple computer Thomas claimed had been stolen from the basement of his home on Madison Avenue in Plainfield.

Thomas told his insurance company he had purchased the laptop computer a day earlier at an electronics store in Union Township, but a subsequent investigation revealed that store had been closed by court order one month before Thomas claimed he made the purchase, according to Union County Prosecutor Theodore Romankow.

Furthermore, the store in question had never sold Apple products, Romankow said.

An investigation that Thomas' insurance company started was later referred to Sgt. James Russo of the Union County Prosecutor's Office Insurance Fraud Unit. Thomas was served with a summons in June 2009 and was indicted in November 2009.

"It's always a sad day when an officer commits a crime and is found guilty," said Assistant Prosecutor James Tansey, who tried the case during a one-week trial before Superior Court Judge Stuart Peim.

As soon as Thomas was found guilty, Peim ordered him held on $100,000 bail at the Union County jail pending sentencing.

Thomas had been suspended from the police department without pay following his arrest, authorities said.

More Plainfield news:

Scent-tracking dog in Newark schoolyard shootings case led police to defendant's home

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The dog picked up a scent from a victim's cell phone, and tracked down an address adjacent to Godinez's home

godinez-newark-schoolyard-shooting.jpgRodolfo Godinez, center, is escorted out of the courtroom by Essex County Sheriff's officers during a morning break in his trial.
NEWARK -- A dog handler with the Essex County Sheriff’s Office testified today in the Newark schoolyard slayings trial that his canine tracked a scent from a cell phone found near the scene to the defendant’s backyard a few blocks away.

“The canine is trained to track from a single item,” Sheriff’s Officer William Caldwell said this morning in the trial of Rodolfo Godinez, who is accused in the Aug. 4, 2007, triple killing behind Mount Vernon School.

Five others are charged but will be tried separately.

A day after the killings, Caldwell and his bloodhound, Hunter, were dispatched to 167 Tuxedo Parkway, a few yards from the crime scene.

There, investigators had discovered a cell phone belonging to one of the victims. Earlier that afternoon, Caldwell and the bloodhound had been sent to the schoolyard, where he directed his dog to nearby bleachers, he said. Investigators had found several beer bottles on the bleachers, and believed some of the assailants may have congregated there.

The dog picked up a scent, then tracked it to nearby steps, near where prosecutors say Iofemi Hightower and Dashon Harvey, both 20, and Terrance Aeriel, 18, were lined up, shot in the head and killed. Natasha Aeriel, then 19, was shot but survived.

Hunter lost the scent there, said Caldwell, who wasn’t surprised because the dog wasn’t given a specific item to track. The officer said he knew the exercise would fail, but did it “because of the nature of the call.”

Caldwell returned to the scene at 11:48 p.m. on Aug. 5, when the cell phone belonging to Harvey was found in a dirt and grass patch. Hunter immediately picked up a skin scent, Caldwell said.

“His head went down and stayed down so I knew he picked up the scent.” The dog tracked the scent along a fence, crossed the street, and ended up at 210 Tuxedo Parkway, about 70 yards away.

That address abuts Godinez’s home at 209 Midland Place. “A scent pooled in that area and my dog wouldn’t leave, indicating someone was in that area for a large amount of time, maybe 30 minutes,” Caldwell said.

Godinez has said he was in the schoolyard at the time of the shooting but denies taking part in the violence. In statements to police, Godinez said he and the other five defendants returned to his Midland Place home following the shootings, said Essex County Assistant Prosecutor Thomas McTigue.

On cross examination, defense attorney Roy Greenman questioned whether the cell phone found could have been contaminated by officers at the scene. But McTigue showed enlarged photos of the phone where it was found, which he said had not been disturbed.

Recording of Godinez's arrest statement played in Newark schoolyard killing trial

Newark schoolyard slayings suspect concerned about mother's safety after his arrest

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Godinez was fearful that his 'homies would think he would snitch,' says detective

godinez-newark-schoolyard-shooting.jpg Rodolfo Godinez, center, is escorted out of the courtroom by Essex County Sheriff's officers during a morning break in his trial. Godinez, 26 is the first of six defendants to stand trial in the Aug. 4, 2007, Newark schoolyard triple killings
NEWARK -- Rodolfo Godinez expressed concern for his mother moments after he was arrested and charged with the Newark schoolyard triple killings, a Newark police detective said today at his trial.

“He expressed concern for the safety of his mother because he was arrested in the presence of other individuals, his homies, he called them,” Newark Police Detective Lydell James said this afternoon in Superior Court in Newark.

“He was fearful that they would think he would snitch. Didn’t say why.” James said he called Newark police to request an officer be placed outside Godinez’s mother’s home. That was done, he said.

The arrest took place on Aug. 18, 2007, 12 days after four college-bound friends were set upon, robbed, then shot in the head behind Mount Vernon School. Only one of the victims survived.

Investigators tracked Godinez, 26, to Oxen Hill, Md., where they found him in an apartment complex. He was charged with robbery, murder, attempted murder and weapons offenses.

Five other people were charged with the Aug. 4, 2007, triple killings, including his half-brother Alexander Alfaro, who was arrested hours after Godinez.

Prosecutors say Godinez and the five others charged all have ties to the Central American gang MS-13. The schoolyard killings were gang-related, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors intend to play a recording of the taped interview James conducted with Godinez that morning after his arrest, a local jail.


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Newark family sues FBI agents who broke down house door, held them at gunpoint in mistaken arrest

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NEWARK -- A Newark man and his son have filed a lawsuit accusing federal authorities of mistakenly breaking down their door and holding them at gunpoint during an effort to arrest an alleged mobster who had moved from house six months earlier. Kevin Taylor, 41, and Zachary Taylor, 19, allege they were awakened at about 6 a.m. on May...

family-newark-arrest-fbi-lawsuit.JPGKevin Taylor stands in his doorway next to a pile of broken glass as he recounts an incident at his new home in Newark where the FBI broke down his door while looking for the previous owner, Charles Muccigrosso, a 68-year-old alleged mobster.
NEWARK -- A Newark man and his son have filed a lawsuit accusing federal authorities of mistakenly breaking down their door and holding them at gunpoint during an effort to arrest an alleged mobster who had moved from house six months earlier.

Kevin Taylor, 41, and Zachary Taylor, 19, allege they were awakened at about 6 a.m. on May 8, 2008, by FBI and other law enforcement agents. They were forced at gunpoint from their bedrooms and questioned for more than an hour before convincing officials neither of them was Charles Muccigrosso, a 68-year-old reputed associate of the Gambino crime family, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court in Newark.

newark-man-sues-fbi-house-arrest.JPGKevin Taylor recounts an incident at his new home in Newark where the FBI broke down his door looking for the previous owner, Charles Muccigrosso, a 68-year-old alleged mobster. The Taylors have filed a lawsuit against the FBI agents for the mistaken arrest."I understand the FBI has a job to do, but they should make sure they have the right place," said Evan Goldman, a lawyer for the Taylors. "We should all have the right to be safe and sound within our own homes."

A spokesman for the FBI’s Newark office declined to comment. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, who is also named in the suit, also declined to comment.

Muccigrosso, who died in February while out on bail and awaiting trial, sold the Ridge Street house, near Branch Brook Park, to the Taylors in February 2008 and was living in Ocean County by the time officials executed the raid. He was arrested later that day at his new home in Toms River.

The FBI issued an apology after the incident and, Goldman said, replaced the Taylors’ door. Nevertheless, the men continue to suffer emotional distress, according to the suit, which seeks an unspecified amount in damages. The younger Taylor refuses to sleep in the room he occupied at the time, according to the suit.

The suit also accuses officials of directing racial slurs at the Taylors, who are black. During an interview in 2008, Kevin Taylor said the agents should have taken a closer look before storming the house.

"Normally, when you have a case like that there’s a picture of the guy you’re supposed to pick up," he said. "At what point did they realize that two African-American males were not part of the Gambino crime family?"

Innocent and detained

N.J. State Police arrest two bounty hunters on weapons charges

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PARSIPPANY -- The State Police arrested two bounty hunters on weapons charges this morning in Parsippany-Troy Hills, authorities said today. The bounty hunters – David McMillan, 25, of Shirley, Ma., and Richard Rivera, 47, of Mechanicsburg, Pa. – were driving eastbound on Interstate 80 in a white Ford Crown Victoria at 6:47 a.m. when troopers pulled them over for a...

PARSIPPANY -- The State Police arrested two bounty hunters on weapons charges this morning in Parsippany-Troy Hills, authorities said today.

The bounty hunters – David McMillan, 25, of Shirley, Ma., and Richard Rivera, 47, of Mechanicsburg, Pa. – were driving eastbound on Interstate 80 in a white Ford Crown Victoria at 6:47 a.m. when troopers pulled them over for a motor vehicle violation, State Police spokesman Sgt. Julian Castellanos said.

McMillan had a switchblade and an unlawfully large pepper spray canister, while Rivera had a handgun with hollow point ammunition, Castellanos said.

He said both were arrested without incident. Although McMillan was released, Rivera is being held on $25,000 bail at the Morris County jail.

nj-state-trooper-arrest-bounty-hunters.jpgState Police arrested two out-of-state bounty hunters on weapons charges, authorities said today.

N.J., N.Y. doctor is sentenced to 5-year probation for role in steroid, human growth hormone sales

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Richard Lucente accused of improperly prescribing to 200 patients

steroid-ring-doctor.JPGAttorney John Meringolo, left, with his client, Dr. Richard Lucente, a doctor who practiced in New York and New Jersey at Lucente's sentencing at Brooklyn Supreme Court. He received 5 years probation in a plea deal, after he admitted his role in a steroids- and human growth hormone drug ring.
A doctor with practices in New Jersey and New York was sentenced to five years’ probation today for his role in a ring that illegally supplied steroids and human growth hormone to cops, bodybuilders and hundreds of other patients.

Richard Lucente, 38, of Middletown in Monmouth County, agreed to give up his medical licenses in both states under a plea agreement reached with the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office in March. He also was ordered to perform 200 hours of community service.

Lucente’s lawyer, John Meringolo, said his client had not practiced medicine in two months. Lucente had been affiliated with family practices in Middletown and Brooklyn.
Lucente spoke briefly during the hearing in Brooklyn Supreme Court, apologizing to his family and patients.

“I plan to spend the rest of my life and career trying to help people the best I can,” he said.

Initially charged in a 154-count indictment, Lucente had been accused of improperly prescribing anabolic steroids and growth hormone to nearly 300 people through his former practice in a Staten Island building dubbed the “Fountain of Youth.”

Among the charges was a count of reckless endangerment in connection with the treatment of patient Joseph Baglio, 40, a New York bodybuilder who was given steroids and growth hormone despite the fact he had received a heart transplant.

In March 2007, Baglio died of heart failure after undergoing gallbladder surgery. The New York State Board for Professional Medical Conduct later said the drugs likely weakened Baglio’s heart.

Lucente was more than two weeks into his trial when he pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy, admitting he received $27,000 in kickbacks from Brooklyn’s Lowen’s Pharmacy, which filled the prescriptions. Authorities have said New York City police officers received steroids and growth hormone through Lowen’s.

Lucente was first licensed to practice medicine in New Jersey in 2006. The state Board of Medical Examiners, which oversees doctors in New Jersey, has yet to revoke Lucente’s license but is aware of the case and will take action soon, spokesman Jeff Lamm said.

Staff writer Mark Mueller contributed to this report.

Ex-Assemblyman Van Pelt was $900K in debt when approached by FBI informant offering $10K

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OCEAN COUNTY -- A legislative ethics attorney testified yesterday that a former state Assemblyman accused of corruption did not divulge that he was hired as a consultant for a real estate developer and that he accepted $10,000 in cash. Marci Hochman, who as general ethics counsel to the state Assembly advises legislators on how to avoid ethics violations, was...

van-pelt.jpgHidden camera video footage shows Van Pelt accepting an envelope of cash that a government witness said was a bribe.
OCEAN COUNTY -- A legislative ethics attorney testified yesterday that a former state Assemblyman accused of corruption did not divulge that he was hired as a consultant for a real estate developer and that he accepted $10,000 in cash.

Marci Hochman, who as general ethics counsel to the state Assembly advises legislators on how to avoid ethics violations, was called by the defense in the federal corruption trial of former state Assemblyman Daniel Van Pelt.

Hochman testified she had conversations with Van Pelt in which he told her he was considering becoming a consultant. Contradicting Van Pelt’s earlier testimony, however, she said they never discussed the Assemblyman having a specific client.

Throughout his two-day testimony, Van Pelt insisted he told Hochman two days after accepting the money that he had been retained by a developer to work as a consultant.

"Did you tell Ms. Hochman you were engaged in a consulting business?" asked Assistant U.S. Attorney Dustin Chao.

"Yes," he replied.

Hochman, who testified after Van Pelt as a defense witness, steadfastly denied that.

"Absolutely not. I specifically asked him that," she said after Chao asked whether Van Pelt told her he had been retained. "He specifically said he did not have any clients."

She acknowledged that information was not contained in her notes and that she was relying on her memory.

On the witness stand for close to three hours yesterday, Van Pelt endured a harsh cross-examination in which Chao tried to present the ex-lawmaker as an opportunist who twisted the truth into lies.

Van Pelt testified he agreed at a Feb. 11, 2009, meeting to become Dwek’s consultant and accept the money on two conditions: he wanted to get approval from a state ethics attorney about a state lawmaker conducting business with a private developer and he wanted to wait until the end of that month when he would no longer be a member of the township committee.

But he also acknowledged he accepted the money on Feb. 21, 2009, before he left the township committee on Feb. 28, 2009, and before he had spoken to Hochman on Feb. 23, 2009.

Charged with bribery and extortion, Van Pelt was arrested last July as part of a massive federal investigation into political corruption and money laundering. Elected to the Assembly in 2007, he resigned his seat a week after his arrest.

He had nearly $900,000 in outstanding debt when he accepted the cash, he acknowledged.

Chao questioned Van Pelt about his debt, suggesting to jurors that the former lawmaker had a strong motive for taking a bribe from the developer.

Van Pelt, former mayor and committeeman in Ocean Township, acknowledged his debt as Chao ticked off a list of loans. The list includes a $440,000 mortgage on his home, two revolving credit loans totaling $200,000, three TD Bank loans totaling $192,000 and more than $19,000 on three major credit cards. He also had a $20,000 loan on his Mercedes. He said he also used his credit card for charges to an online casino.

Chao raised the issue after Van Pelt told jurors the developer’s payment — which Van Pelt insists was a retainer fee — was not immediately spent after he deposited all but $100 of the cash in a joint checking account and an E-trade account.

When questioned by his own attorney, Van Pelt said he and his wife were not having financial problems at the time. He said their last tax return shows they earned $247,000. His committee position paid him $5,800 as mayor, $90,000 as the administrator in Lumberton and $49,000 as a state Assemblyman. His wife, Stacey Kerr, is an attorney and former municipal court judge in Beach Haven.


Secret video camera captures assemblyman Van Pelt accepting an envelope of cash


North Brunswick deli owner slaying trial focuses on video interview of co-owner

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NORTH BRUNSWICK -- Jurors in New Brunswick today watched more than two hours of a video-taped interview in which Raymond Troxell, the man charged in the December 2008 murder of his business partner Vinney Russo, repeatedly denied killing the man. Then 2 hours and 38 minutes into the interview that took place three days after the murder, Troxell, under...

raymond-troxell-deli-owner.jpgRaymond Troxell, 49, of Kendall Park section of South Brunswick is charged with killing his business partner, Vincent Russo, 48, of Staten Island, co-owner of a deli in North Brunswick.

NORTH BRUNSWICK -- Jurors in New Brunswick today watched more than two hours of a video-taped interview in which Raymond Troxell, the man charged in the December 2008 murder of his business partner Vinney Russo, repeatedly denied killing the man.

Then 2 hours and 38 minutes into the interview that took place three days after the murder, Troxell, under intense questioning from Middlesex County Investigator Paul Miller, admitted making comments to friends at a bar that he would pay $2,000 to see Russo dead.

"Drinking in a bar, talking stupid," Troxell said on the tape, claiming he was not serious, but an acquaintance, Frank Marsh, misunderstood. "In my wildest dreams, I never thought it would happen," he said.

Middlesex County Assistant Prosecutor Manuel Samiero, in his opening statement at the start of the trial on May 4, alleged Troxell, 50, of South Brunswick, paid Marsh $3,000 to kill the 48-year-old Russo, who was partners with Troxell in a deli on Route 130 and Adams Lane in North Brunswick.

Defense attorney Robert Corbin, in his opening remarks, denied Troxell paid to have his partner killed. Corbin acknowledged Troxell was angry at Russo for taking money out of the six-month-old business.

Russo, of Staten Island, was found dead on Dec. 16, 2008, shot once in the head. He was found slumped over his desk after relatives and his girlfriend, who were concerned when he never came home, went to the deli. Authorities said he was killed sometime after the business closed at 7 p.m. the day before.

Marsh, 45, will be tried separately because Troxell’s statement to authorities implicated him in the slaying.

In the video, the interview starts with Miller and Troxell sitting at a table in a small interrogation room at North Brunswick police headquarters. As the minutes pass, Miller inches his chair closer to Troxell, who sat with his back pushed against a wall.

"It’s over. It’s over, bro’. We know exactly what happened. This is your chance to make it clear exactly how it went down," Miller told Troxell.

Miller said he knew Troxell was a "good guy" with a family. The investigator said he knew Troxell had been "running his mouth" at a bar about wanting Russo killed. Miller said Marsh was about to give a statement.

"You’ll feel better when you do this. I’ll help you get through it," Miller assured Troxell.

On the tape, Troxell eventually admitted to the conversation at a bar in September 2008. But, Troxell said, when Marsh asked whether he was serious, he laughed it off.

Troxell said a mutual friend told him about the murder. Troxell said he and the friend met Marsh at a bar, where Marsh said, "I did that thing."

Troxell and the friend then went to Troxell’s home, and Marsh arrived wanting to be paid. Troxell said he gave Marsh $3,000 cash to make him leave.

"He had the psycho look on his face," Troxell said on the tape.

Miller is expected to continue testifying when the trial resumes today before Judge Frederick DeVesa.

N.J. Supreme Court rules tenured teacher can be disciplined, fired based on 'unbecoming conduct'

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TRENTON -- A tenured teacher accused of sexually abusing a student can be brought up on disciplinary charges and fired, even if the assault case is not proved, the state Supreme Court ruled today. The 6-1 decision, with Justice Roberto Rivera-Soto dissenting, involved former Roselle teacher Gilbert Young Jr., who lost his teaching job for "unbecoming conduct." "The lesson...

supreme court.JPGA 2007 photo of the Justices of the New Jersey Supreme Court hearing arguments in Trenton.
TRENTON -- A tenured teacher accused of sexually abusing a student can be brought up on disciplinary charges and fired, even if the assault case is not proved, the state Supreme Court ruled today.

The 6-1 decision, with Justice Roberto Rivera-Soto dissenting, involved former Roselle teacher Gilbert Young Jr., who lost his teaching job for "unbecoming conduct."

"The lesson to school districts is they can feel free to be vigilant about protecting their students from predators," said attorney Stephen Edelstein, who argued the case for Roselle’s school district.

According to the account given in court papers, a former Roselle student who had been taught by Young, told a high school nurse during a 2007 visit that he and the teacher had engaged in sexual activity during the 2004-2005 school year. The youth, identified only as C.W., was 16 when the alleged incident occurred.

C.W. said Young groped him in a car in a park on one occasion and had oral and anal sex with him on another. An administrative law judge in the tenure proceedings subsequently found C.W.’s account credible.

Young denied the allegations and argued that once the state Department of Children and Families determined the allegations were unfounded, that should have been the end of the matter. The former teacher maintained state law was on his side.

The court disagreed, noting the state investigation was conducted immediately with the goal of protecting the child. In this case, C.W. no longer was a student. A subsequent police and school district investigation was aimed at determining whether Young met the standards required of a teacher.

"An interpretation of a statute should not lead to an absurd result," Justice Virginia Long wrote for the majority.

But Rivera-Soto said state law was clear.

"By cloaking the disciplinary charges as ‘conduct unbecoming’ when the charges are firmly and exclusively rooted in the original but declared-unfounded child abuse or neglect complaint, the court has permitted that which the Legislature explicitly forbade, thus rendering that statute utterly superfluous and meaningless," Rivera-Soto wrote.

Young could not be located for comment, and his attorney did not respond to a request for comment.

N.Y. man accused in Meadowlands hit-and-run of 9 pedestrians pleads not guilty to drunken driving

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EAST RUTHERFORD — A New York man who police say fled after driving into a crowd leaving a soccer match in New Jersey last weekend has pleaded not guilty to drunken driving. Frank Morocho of the Bronx entered the plea today in East Rutherford Municipal Court. The 21-year-old also faces charges of assault by auto and leaving the scene...

meadowlands-stadium-fans.JPGFans file out of the concourse at the new Meadowlands Stadium, in this April 2010 file photo.EAST RUTHERFORD — A New York man who police say fled after driving into a crowd leaving a soccer match in New Jersey last weekend has pleaded not guilty to drunken driving.

Frank Morocho of the Bronx entered the plea today in East Rutherford Municipal Court.

The 21-year-old also faces charges of assault by auto and leaving the scene of a dangerous accident.

Friday night's crash injured nine people near the new Meadowlands Stadium.

The victims, including a 20-month-old child, were treated at two area hospitals and all are expected to recover. They were crossing Route 120 when they were struck just before midnight.

Morocho was later found in Wallington.

He declined comment after the hearing.


Previous coverage:

Bridgeton teen in stable condition following Meadowlands accident

Bridgeton girl held onto hood of car in hit-and-run outside new Meadowlands stadium

Nine pedestrians struck in hit-and-run after soccer game in Meadowlands

Former Newark detective indicted on witness tampering charges

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NEWARK - A former Newark narcotics detective was indicted Tuesday on charges that he pressured a man to lie to the FBI about sexual encounters they apparently had when the alleged victim was a minor, authorities said. Sgt. Michael J. Lalley, 43, of Jackson, now faces federal witness tampering and obstruction charges, according to an indictment released by the...

michael-lalley-newark-police.jpgSgt. Michael Lalley of the Newark Police Department. NEWARK - A former Newark narcotics detective was indicted Tuesday on charges that he pressured a man to lie to the FBI about sexual encounters they apparently had when the alleged victim was a minor, authorities said.

Sgt. Michael J. Lalley, 43, of Jackson, now faces federal witness tampering and obstruction charges, according to an indictment released by the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey.

The 20-year Newark police veteran was arrested at his Ocean County home on February 17th, and served a six-day unpaid suspension following his arrest.

The FBI had begun investigating Lalley as early as the Spring of 2009 on suspicions that he was stealing money and narcotics from city drug dealers, according to federal court complaints. Investigators were also looking into claims that Lalley was paying minors for sex, according to the complaint.

Prosecutors have not filed drug or sex assault charges against Lalley, who is married with children. He was released on $100,000 bail.

The witness tampering charges stem from several recorded conversations between Lalley and one of his alleged victims, only identified as "Victim #2," who apparently contacted FBI agents in January about their alleged sexual encounters.

The victim told investigators that Lalley paid him between $25 and $60 for sex in 1994, when he was 17. The victim also claimed that Lalley instructed him to have sex with a woman, only identified as "Individual #1" in the complaint. The indictment alleges the sexual encounters would sometimes take place at a police precinct where Lalley worked at the time.

The FBI recorded a conversation between Lalley and "Victim #2" on Jan. 19, during which Lalley apparently told the man "They don’t know nothing about me and you, but you gotta back that up if they do ask you."

During another recorded conversation, Lalley allegedly coached the man to say the officer never gave him money for sex, according to a partial transcript of the conversation.

Police officials could not be reached for comment yesterday, and his status with the department was not immediately clear. Lalley faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of the charges.

Recorded statement of Newark schoolyard slayings defendant is played in trial

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'They was at the wrong place at the wrong time,' said Rodolfo Godinez in taped statement, as victims' families listen (above)

family-victims-newark-schoolyard-shootings.JPGShalga Hightower, center, the mother of victim Iofemi Hightower, fights back her tears while sitting with other victims' families in Superior Court in Newark as she listens to an audio statement by Rodolfo Godinez.
NEWARK -- "They was at the wrong place at the wrong time."

With that simple sentence, Rodolfo Godinez began his hour-long taped statement to police on Aug. 18, 2007, describing in detail the night four college-bound friends were attacked in a Newark schoolyard. All four were robbed then shot in the head. Only one survived.

Godinez, then 24, was apprehended in a Maryland apartment two weeks after the Aug. 4, 2007 killings. He and five others were eventually charged with the triple homicide.

On Wednesday, at his murder trial in Superior Court in Newark, jurors listened to the entire interview, the first time it was played in public. The interview was conducted by Newark police Detective Lydell James and a detective with the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.

On the tape, Godinez described that night, beginning when Iofemi Hightower and Dashon Harvey, both 20, Terrance Aeriel, 18, and Natasha Aeriel, then 19, arrived at the schoolyard. Godinez was drinking a beer on the bleachers with a few others, he said.

About 30 minutes passed without incident before the four, suspecting trouble, headed back to their car.

"When they tried to get in the vehicle, one of my homeboys just came," Godinez said in the recording, which was conducted at 3:30 a.m. in the break room of a Maryland jail, a short distance from where he had been arrested.

There was yelling and the victims were told to get on the floor. "One homeboy grab one dude from the car. Bring him down the steps then bring another one. Then a girl. Then one homeboy from Salvador came with a machete. Started to hit her. Shooting from the head all three of them."

Hightower, Harvey and Terrance Aeriel were all lined up against a wall and shot in the back of the head. Hightower was attacked with a machete, as was Natasha Aeriel.

Godinez gave his statement in English, which was imperfect but understandable. Throughout the nearly three-week-long trial, he has followed the proceedings with a Spanish translator, through headphones.

Much of what Godinez said about the attacks matches Natasha Aeriel’s account, however other portions of the statement have not been substantiated by authorities or contradict what they said they know. For example, Godinez said he was born in the United States, though he emigrated from Nicaragua when he was 5. He said his half-brother, Alexander Alfaro, wasn’t involved in the killings, though he is one of the six people who have been charged. And he said the Aug. 4 attacks were payback — a year in the planning — after one of the victims killed a friend of another defendant in the case. Godinez’s attorney and prosecutors have said there is no evidence to that effect.

He also described his affiliation with the Central American gang MS-13, where he was a member since he was 13 years old. Prosecutors said the killing was gang-related, and Godinez gave the impression that one of the defendants — whom he referred to as Shaka, but is actually Jose Carranza — may have been tryng to earn status within the gang. "They called me. Wanted to see what kind of heart Shaka had," he said.

Godinez acknowledges watching the brutal attacks, and though he said he did not take part in the violence, neither did he do anything to stop it. In the recording, he admits to collecting wallets from the victims after being instructed.

Natasha Aeriel told jurors during her testimony that she was attacked with a machete, and was able to fend off her attacker before hearing her three friends getting shot. Godinez described a similar account. Referring to Natasha, he said, "one girl tried to get up. Tried to ran. Then another homeboy just came and shoot her, too. Then after that we left." Godinez said he and the five others went to his Midland Place home a couple of blocks away, got into a waiting green van and drove to Queens, then to Virginia.

Recording of Godinez's arrest statement played in Newark schoolyard killing trial

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