The Clifton police officer is charged with using a rifle to keep Pennsylvania police at bay during a nine-hour standoff in Doylestown Sunday

Facebook Richard Klementovich is shown in this Facebook photo. Klementovich, a Clifton police officer was barricaded in a Doylestown, Pa., home Sunday shooting at authorities from inside the home.

CLIFTON — The Clifton police officer charged with using a rifle to keep Pennsylvania police at bay during a 10-hour standoff in Doylestown on Sunday called police himself to report a dispute at the residence, and left a note in the driveway claiming he had more than 2,000 rounds of ammunition, authorities said.

Richard Klementovich, 42, was been charged with more than 80 counts of assault and attempted homicide in connection with the Father’s Day ordeal, and remains at the Bucks County Correctional Facility in lieu of $1 million bail, according to court documents released today.

The veteran police officer and soldier apparently called police to notify them of a dispute at his estranged wife’s Bittersweet Drive home around 2 p.m., said Acting Doylestown Township Police Chief Dean Logan. Klementovich opened fire on local police with a high-powered rifle as soon as they arrived, according to Logan, who said the 42-year-old left a note in the driveway identifying himself as a police officer.

The note also claimed Klementovich had 2,000 rounds of ammunition in the home. He has been charged with multiple counts of criminal attempted homicide, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and assault of a law enforcement officer, court records show.

Courtesy of Karen BoernerA photo of authorities in the backyard of a Doylestown home two houses away from where an off-duty N.J. police officer has barricaded himself inside and is shooting at police.

Klementovich took aim at two police cruisers around 2 p.m., damaging both vehicles. Authorities said one of the rounds ricocheted, and shrapnel from the bullet struck a Borough Police officer in the face, causing him to suffer minor injuries

The gunfire marked the opening of a ten-hour standoff between Klementovich, local police and the Pennsylvania State Police that left neighbors on Bittersweet Drive panicked and hiding in their basements.

A negotiator from the Central Bucks County special response team was in contact with Klementovich for several hours, according to local police, and Klementovich left the home of his own free will at 11:45 p.m. He was led into the township’s police headquarters a short time later, and he refused to speak to reporters assembled outside the municipal complex.

Acting Doylestown Twp. Police Chief Dean Logan said Klementovich did not offer a motive in the attacks when he spoke to investigators last night. A spokeswoman for Logan said the Chief would not be answering any further questions on the incident today.

In a statement issued today, Clifton Police Sgt. Robert Bracken described Klementovich as a decorated officer and father of two who worked in the agency’s patrol division for at least 15 years. Clifton Police aided in Klementovich’s surrender, according to Bracken, who said investigators have yet to determine what led to the standoff.

Facebook Richard Klementovich is shown in this Facebook photo. Klementovich was barricaded in a Doylestown, Pa. home Sunday shooting at authorities from inside the home.

Klementovich also served with the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office and with the U.S. Army in the Persian Gulf War during his lengthy law enforcement career. Earlier today, retired Clifton police lieutenant Pat Ciser spoke highly of Klementovich, describing him as one of the best cops he ever had the privilege to work with.

"He was a good all-around cop. Maybe a paragon of what a cop should be," said Ciser, who was Klementovich’s boss on the midnight shift until he retired in 2008. "He really did a lot of great jobs in Clifton, caught a lot of bad guys."

Ciser said he saw Klementovich less than a month ago, and the officer seemed fine.

"I don’t know what went so terribly wrong with his life … I’m just so thankful that the police officers in Pennsylvania were so patient with him and saved his life," he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Related coverage:

• Off-duty Clifton cop surrenders after 10-hour standoff in Pa.

• Off-duty Clifton cop barricaded in Pa. home shoots at police

Federal immigration authorities said Monday they will not move to deport Ravi over his webcam spying conviction

John O'Boyle/The Star-LedgerDharun Ravi inside his Plainsboro home in March. Ravi, a former Rutgers student, is expected to be released from jail today after serving 20 days for spying on his roommate with a webcam.

UPDATE: Dharun Ravi is released from Middlesex County jail

NORTH BRUNSWICK — Former Rutgers University student Dharun Ravi is likely going to be a free man today, after serving 20 days of his 30-day sentence for using a webcam to spy on his gay roommate in a campus dorm.

Ravi, a Plainsboro resident, had 10 days knocked off his jail sentence for good behavior, in accordance with state regulations, said Edmond Cicchi, warden of the Middlesex County Jail in North Brunswick.

In a trial that generated national attention, Ravi was convicted in March of multiple second-degree bias counts for training his webcam on his roommate, fellow Rutgers freshman Tyler Clementi, in September 2010 and then tweeting about Clementi's encounter with another man and inviting others to watch a planned second encounter.

Days after the incident, Clementi, 18, committed suicide by jumping off the George Washington Bridge. Ravi, 20, was not charged with causing Clementi's death.

Ravi faced up to 10 years in prison on the second-degree bias counts, but Superior Court Judge Glenn Berman sentenced him to 30 days in the county jail, three years probation and 300 hours of community service.

The Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office filed an appeal of Berman's sentence days after he delivered it, arguing the sentence did not fit state sentencing guidelines that called for a state prison term for second-degree convictions.

Ravi's attorney, Steven Altman, filed an appeal of his client's convictions last week, challenging the constitutionality of the bias intimidation law under which the Plainsboro man was convicted.

Altman is also challenging Ravi's conviction for invasion of privacy, hindering his own apprehension and tampering with evidence.

Both appeals could take upwards of two years before a three-judge panel acts.

When Ravi walks out of jail, he won’t have to worry about being booted out of the country.

Federal immigration authorities said Monday they will not move to deport Ravi over his webcam spying conviction.

Related coverage:

• Dharun Ravi files notice of intent to appeal conviction in Rutgers webcam spying case

• Dharun Ravi says goodbye to family, reports to jail

• Judge in Dharun Ravi case says he couldn't justify sending ex-Rutgers student to jail for long time

Woman spends 14 hours in holding cell, agrees to $155 fine

NEW YORK — A Bergen County woman says she spent a night in a New York City jail after police discovered she had a decade-old traffic summons.

Krystle Garcia of Elmwood Park tells NBC New York that she was arrested Thursday at a Manhattan checkpoint.

Garcia was 17 when she received the forgotten summons. It was issued because she did not have an insurance card with her.

Garcia said she received, and paid, other tickets in New York after that. She was able to renew her New Jersey driver's license and registration without any issues.

Mario Tama/Getty ImagesTraffic crawls along Second Avenue in Manhattan in this file photo.

Garcia, who works in New York City, agreed to a $155 fine. But she said her 14-hour ordeal in a holding cell was "horrifying."

She said she shared her story because she doesn't want it to happen to anyone else.

More Bergen County news

Mine Hill resident was in court earlier this month but turned down an offer to plead guilty to a downgraded disorderly persons, according to his attorney

Google mapsA Mine Hill resident is in a dispute with a Wharton cop over a complaint about a property dispute.

What started out as a property dispute in Morris County has escalated into a court fight, according to a report on dailyrecord.com.

Mine Hill resident Angelo Cutrone, 37, is facing charges of criminal coercion for threatening to reveal photos of Wharton police officer Sean Maher sleeping in a patrol car, according to the report.

Cutrone has been in a dispute with his neighbor over property lines and had asked Maher to address his complaint, according to the report. Cutrone told Maher he would show photos of the officer sleeping in a patrol car if Maher did not follow up on the complaint, the report said.

More Morris County coverage

Six men have been shot in city in past week

FacebookPaterson police are investigating a shooting that seriously injured two man Monday morning.

PATERSON — A shooting seriously injured two men in Paterson on Monday morning, according to a report on PatersonPress.com.

Six people have been shot in the city in the past week, the report said.

In the latest incident, a 31-year old man is in critical condition after being shot at 10th Avenue and East 27th Street around 2:30 a.m. A 34-yar-old man was also hospitalized after being shot in the left thigh and left arm, the report said.

A third man suffered head trauma during the altercation, but wasn't shot.

Paterson had had 41 non-fatal shootings this year.

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Ravi served 20 days of a 30-day sentence for his conviction in the Rutgers webcam spying trial Watch video

NORTH BRUNSWICK — Dharun Ravi was released from the Middlesex County jail at 8:35 a.m. today after serving 20 days there for using a webcam to spy on his roommate in a Rutgers dorm.

Wearing a dark blue shirt and khaki pants and sporting a beard, Ravi, 20, of Plainsboro walked out of the building with defense attorney Steven Altman's arm around his shoulder, flanked by Altman's son and fellow attorney Joshua Altman.

The two left the jail and headed toward Altman's silver BMW, about 100 yards away from where about 20 media members waited. Neither Ravi nor his attorney spoke.

Reached by phone later, Altman said Ravi grew the beard because "that’s what you do in jail."

The former Rutgers University student passed the days behind bars playing chess and cards, reading and watching television, Altman said.

"That’s all there is to do there," he said. "He’s relieved that his 20 days in jail are behind him and he’s looking forward to moving on with his life."

That future will include college, possibly as soon as the fall.

"He wants to go back to school, but he is concerned about where he will go," in light of the case, Altman said.

Ravi was sentenced to 30 days in the county jail after he was convicted in March of multiple second-degree bias counts for capturing roommate Tyler Clementi on webcam in September 2010 and then tweeting about Clementi's encounter with another man and inviting others to watch a planned second encounter.

Although Ravi faced 10 years in prison, Superior Court Judge Glenn Berman sentenced him to 30 days in the county jail, three years’ probation and 200 hours of community service. His jail sentence was cut to 20 days with time off for good behavior, as required by state regulation.

Ravi must report to his probation officer by Friday and start the process of determining where he will complete his community service.

The Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office filed an appeal several days after the sentencing, arguing the 30-day jail term did not fit the state sentencing guidelines, which call for a prison term for a second-degree crime.

Last week, Altman filed an appeal of his client’s convictions, challenging the constitutionality of the bias-intimidation law under which Ravi was convicted.

Although Ravi, who was born in India, could face deportation for his conviction, federal immigration on Monday said they will not take any action.

Related coverage:

• Dharun Ravi files notice of intent to appeal conviction in Rutgers webcam spying case

• Dharun Ravi says goodbye to family, reports to jail

• Judge in Dharun Ravi case says he couldn't justify sending ex-Rutgers student to jail for long time

• Dharun Ravi: 'I apologize to everyone' affected by my choices

• Dharun Ravi sentence: 30 days in jail after a dramatic day in court

Police went to his house where they found him hiding in his mother's closet under pillows

John Munson/The Star-LedgerA man allegedly called Hopatcong police headquarters and asked to speak to Jets QB Tim Tebow.

HOPATCONG — A Hopatcong man was arrested after allegedly calling borough police to say he was the was the president and demanding to speak to Jets backup quarterback Tim Tebow, according to a report on NJHerald.com.

Jason Slater, 28, made three calls to 9-1-1 on June 10 but refused to give the dispatcher any information. He then called police headquarters with his request to speak to Tebow.

Police went to his house where they found him hiding in his mother's closet under pillows.

Slater was charged with creating a false public alarm. He also received a summons for littering after twice throwing his other paperwork on the ground after being released.

More Sussex County news

Police arrested Seth C. Pilipski after Target security had observed him using his cell phone to record customers in the changing room around 7:40 p.m

Fairfield Police DepartmentSeth C. Pilipski

FAIRFIELD — A 35-year-old Bloomfield man was arrested Monday for allegedly videorecording customers changing in a Target dressing room, according to Fairfield police Deputy Chief Anthony Manna.

Fairfield police arrested Seth C. Pilipski after Target security had observed him using his cell phone to record customers in the changing room around 7:40 p.m.

When Pilipski was confronted, he quickly exited the store, got into a blue Hyundai wagon and drove off onto Route 46 East, according to Manna.

When Fairfield Officer Ian Rasmussen caught up with Pilipski in Wayne, the suspect denied having a cell phone, but police found the phone hidden on the suspect.

The search also yielded a small amount of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

Police allegedly found video on Pilipski's phone that had just been recorded and store surveillance footage showed that he had been in the dressing room for approximately seven minutes.

Pilipski has been charged with attempting to invade the privacy of patrons in the Target dressing room, hindering apprehension and possessing less than 50 grants of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, police said.

Pilipski was released on his own recognizance and is scheduled to appear in Superior Court in Newark June 27.

More Essex County news

Cpl. Jim Maribo claimed he retired on disability in October before a disciplinary hearing over whether Maribo had met with a prostitute that was previously held in the Ocean County Jail

Google MapsA street view of the Ocean County Justice Complex, where the county jail is located.

TOMS RIVER — An Ocean County corrections officer who stepped down amid a prostitution scandal is appealing a decision to get a disability pension.

Cpl. Jim Maribo claimed he retired on disability in October before a disciplinary hearing over whether Maribo had met with a prostitute that was previously held in the Ocean County Jail.

A state pension board agreed with the county that the 43-year-old Brick resident wasn't eligible because he had resigned.

The Asbury Park Press reports Maribo has asked the Administrative Law Office to overturn the ruling, making him eligible for an accidental disability pension of nearly $62,000 a year.

Treasury Department spokesman Bill Quinn tells the newspaper the former guard otherwise would need to wait 16 years to collect his regular $31,197 pension.

Maribo declined to comment.

More Ocean County news

Greta Tim was reported missing on Aug. 1, 2008 by her mother after she was last seen on July 27, 2008

Morris County Prosecutor's OfficeGreta Tim

PARSIPPANY — Human remains that were found in Parsippany in April were identified today as a 14-year-old girl from Irvington who was reported missing in 2008.

Greta Tim was reported missing on Aug. 1, 2008 by her mother after she was last seen on July 27, 2008, according to Capt. Jeffrey Paul, a spokesman for the Morris County Prosecutor's Office.

On April 12, at approximately 12:52 p.m., Parsippany police along with the Morris County Prosecutor's Office major crimes unit and other agencies, responded to Sylvan Way in Parsippany, after receiving a report that human remains were discovered in a bag on the side of the road, Paul said.

Landscape workers, who were employed to clean debris off the side of the road as well as the property, had discovered the remains while working in that area, according to Paul.

Officials launched an investigation based on missing persons reports and Tim was identified when her dental records were compared with the teeth recovered at the scene, Paul said.

Morris County Prosecutor Robert Bianchi said officials have met with the family of Greta Tim and expressed their condolences.

Bianchi praised the “joint investigation” that enabled officials to “quickly identify the victim.”

“We continue to pursue many solid leads with this investigation,” Bianchi added in a statement. “The events surrounding the death remain under investigation.”

Anyone with information concerning Greta Tim is asked to contact the Parsippany Police Department at (973) 263-4300, the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office at (973) 285-6200 or the Morris County Sheriff’s Office CrimeStoppers Program at (973) 267-2255.

Related coverage:

• Remains found in Morris County are human, authorities confirm

• Landscapers find possible human skeletal remains in Morris County

James Miller, 28, was attacked at the corner of North 7th and Temple Streets around 11:20 p.m. Saturday

FacebookPaterson police are searching for the people who beat a man outside a liquor store Saturday night. The man died Tuesday.

PATERSON — A Paterson man beaten outside of a city liquor store over the weekend died at an area hospital Tuesday, according to a report on NorthJersey.com.

James Miller, 28, was attacked at the corner of North 7th and Temple Streets around 11:20 p.m. Saturday. He was taken to St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center in Paterson after being beaten into a coma.

Authorities are investigating but have not established a motive nor made any arrests yet, the report said.

More Paterson news

Officers also issued 20 summonses for open alcohol containers, being in a park after hours, disorderly conduct, parking, and traffic violations

Dover policeDover police arrested 16 Saturday night on drugs and drinking charges.

DOVER — Dover police arrested 16 people on Saturday after several neighbors complained of public drinking and drug use.

About a dozen officers in plain clothes, driving unmarked vehicles spent Saturday evening enforcing local ordinances and issuing summonses, in an attempt to improve the quality of life for the surrounding neighborhood, said Detective Sgt. Richard Gonzalez.

Officers issued 20 summonses for open alcohol containers, being in a park after hours, disorderly conduct, parking, and traffic violations, Gonzalez said.

Arrests and summonses were issued in Hooey Park, Water Works Park, JFK Park and Crescent Field Park.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement Officials assisted Dover officers and took six people into custody for immigration violations.

Related coverage:

• Dover police arrest woman after discovering heroin in her home

• Dover police say man arrested on drug possession charges found with marijuana in his mouth

Judge Dennis Carey denied a motion by the state-operated school district of Newark and state Department of Education to dismiss the suit

NEWARK — A Superior Court judge this morning has allowed a civil suit to move forward to trial in the case of the August 2007 Newark schoolyard triple killings.

Judge Dennis Carey denied a motion by the state-operated school district of Newark to dismiss the suit on grounds that the four college-aged friends who were shot inside Mount Vernon Elementary schoolyard on the night of Aug. 4, 2007, were using the facility in a dangerous manner and should have known better.

Carey also denied a similar motion to dismiss from the state Department of Education, which argues it did not have day-to-day care over the school.

Despite noting that he was troubled by the fact that the four victims, all from Newark, should have known the schoolyard was a gang location and the site of prior criminal incidents, Carey said that fact should be left for a jury to decide.

"The issue is whether they exercised due care and used the lot in a reasonable and foreseeable manner," Carey said of the victims, following 45 minutes of arguments from the attorney for the parents of the victims and from the law firm representing the Newark board of education. Carey also rejected the defense motion to strike then-schools superintendent Marion Bolden as a defendant, saying she ultimately had "total control" over the school.

Natasha Aeriel, the lone victim to survive the execution-style shooting that night, was in court today, as were parents of the other victims. Aeriel was shot in the head that night but survived and has testified against three other criminal defendants at trial.

Related coverage:

• Editorial: Lawsuit rightfully looks at failure to secure Newark schoolyard

• A foreboding memo: Newark councilman warned of potential for violence before schoolyard killings

• Judge refuses to dismiss Newark board from schoolyard killings case

Reco Parks, 47, faces first degree murder and weapons charges for the slaying which occurred on, or around January 4

Reco Parks

ELIZABETH — An Elizabeth man was indicted Wednesday on charges he killed his wife earlier this year in their Oakwood Plaza apartment.

Reco Parks, 47, faces murder and third-degree weapons charges in the slaying that occurred on or around Jan. 4.

Thya Wilson’s body was found in the hallway outside of her second-floor apartment Jan. 6. A medical examiner said she had been dead for several days, the result of blunt-force trauma.

Prosecutors said she was killed in her apartment and then moved to the hallway.

Wilson, 45, worked at Enterprise car rental and was a maternal figure for the children living in the crime-ridden apartment complex on Irvington Avenue, relatives have said.

An arraignment date for Parks has not been scheduled.

Related coverage:

• Elizabeth man charged with killing wife pleads not guilty

• Authorities charge Elizabeth man with murder the day his wife's body was found

• Family, friends mourn slain Elizabeth woman who acted as a mother figure to community

Steven Contreras, the first of five teenagers tried in the fatal beating of an Old Bridge man says he won't plead guilty to reckless manslaughter, but wants to go to trial

OLD BRIDGE — The first of five Old Bridge teenagers tried in the fatal beating of an Old Bridge man two years ago, has decided to take his chances with a second jury and not plead guilty to reckless manslaughter.

Steven Contreras told a judge today in New Brunswick he wants another trial.

A jury could not decide on the reckless manslaughter charge last month in connection with the death of Divyendu Sinha, 49.

The jury convicted Contreras of aggravated assault, conspiracy and hindering apprehension and acquitted him of murder and aggravated manslaughter.

Contreras’ attorney, Hassen Abdellah, told Superior Court Judge Bradley Ferencz that his client rejected the plea offer from the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office that if he pleaded guilty to reckless manslaughter and agreed to testify against his four co-defendants, the state would recommend he receive between three and five years in state prison on all charges.

The four co-defendants, Julian Daley, Christopher Conway, Cash Johnson and Christian Tinli, will be tried after the completion of Contreras’ second trial, now scheduled for Sept. 24.

Abdellah told the judge Contreras and his family did not want him to have a manslaughter conviction on his record and wanted probation, not a prison sentence.

Ferencz explained to Contreras that if a jury convicts him of reckless manslaughter, he faces up to 10 years in prison on that charge alone and could possibly receive additional prison time on his previous convictions, saying "it would not shock me if the jury came back differently the second time (than the first trial)."

Sinha was attacked June 25, 2010 as he was out for a walk with his wife and sons near his Fela Drive home. Four teenagers surrounded the family and began punching and kicking Sinha and his sons. Sinha died three days later. Contreras was charged with aiding and abetting by driving the four to the location and driving them away after the attack.

Related coverage:

• Teen cleared of murder, convicted of conspiracy and assault in fatal beating of Old Bridge man

• In closing arguments, attorneys debate teen's role in fatal beating of Old Bridge man

• Son of Old Bridge man beaten to death recalls attack, says he recognized one assailant

• Four co-defendants accused in fatal beating of Old Bridge man revealed to jurors

• Defendant in Old Bridge beating death says suspects were 'buzzed' and 'looking for a fight'

• 14-year-old son of Old Bridge man beaten to death recalls 'the worst day of my life'

Both were acquitted of the charge of murder in aid of racketeering

View full sizeAP Photo/Lynne SladkyBen Novack Jr. had a successful travel company. His father built the storied Fontainebleau hotel, pictured here in this 2008 file photo, in Miami Beach, a celebrity hangout in the 1950s and '60s that appeared in the movies "Scarface" and "Goldfinger."

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — A Florida woman and her brother were found guilty today of orchestrating the killings of the woman's millionaire husband and his mother in a grab for the family estate.

A federal jury said Narcy Novack of Fort Lauderdale caused the savage 2009 beatings of Ben Novack Jr. in a suburban New York hotel room and Bernice Novack at her Fort Lauderdale home.

Novack and her brother, Cristobal Veliz of New York City, both were convicted of charges including racketeering, domestic violence, stalking, money laundering and witness tampering.

Both were acquitted of the charge of murder in aid of racketeering, which would have carried a mandatory life sentence.

Jurors said they had been instructed that to convict on that count, the killing had to be part of a robbery, which they said wasn't proven.

The defendants still could get up to life in prison when sentenced Nov. 1.

Novack chose not to attend the reading of the verdict.

"We all wondered, 'Where's Narcy?' said juror Danielle Daly of Yonkers.

Veliz was present and showed no emotion.

U.S. attorney Preet Bharara said Novack and Veliz "will now have to answer for the blood of Ben Novack and his elderly mother." He called the killings gruesome and sadistic.

Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore called the defendants "modern-day 'public enemies.'"

Novack's lawyer, Howard Tanner, said afterward, "We put on our defense, and the jury has spoken. They were a conscientious jury."

Prosecutors said Novack and Veliz were motivated by "jealousy, retribution and greed" when they hired the thugs who carried out the killings. They said Novack feared that her husband, who was having an affair, would divorce her, and that a prenuptial agreement would bar her from the multimillion-dollar family estate.

Ben Novack Jr. had a successful travel company. His father built the storied Fontainebleau hotel in Miami Beach, a celebrity hangout in the 1950s and '60s that appeared in the movies "Scarface" and "Goldfinger."

The defense had tried to blame the killings on Narcy Novack's daughter, whose sons will now inherit the estate.

Prosecutors said Novack, 55, paid Veliz, 58, to hire hit men to assault the victims. The killers testified that Veliz recruited them and relayed instructions from Novack on how to carry out the killings.

They testified that those instructions included blinding Ben Novack Jr. — his eyes were slashed with a utility knife — and bashing 86-year-old Bernice Novack in the teeth with a plumber's wrench.

The killers also testified that Narcy Novack identified her husband to them in advance by stroking his hair in a restaurant as they watched.

They said that on the day of Ben Novack's killing, Narcy Novack called Veliz, who said: "Well, she's ready. Let's go." One said that when they got to the Hilton hotel in Rye Brook, N.Y., where Ben Novack's company was running an Amway convention, Narcy Novack motioned them into her room, directed them to her sleeping husband, gave them a pillow to muffle his screams and questioned them afterward to make sure he had been blinded.

One key witness was Rebecca Bliss, a former prostitute and porn actress, who said she was having an affair with Ben Novack when he was killed.

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She said Narcy Novack tried to buy her off for $10,000 and told her, "If she couldn't have him, no other woman was going to have him."

Another witness, Alejandro Garcia, said he killed Bernice Novack by slamming her in the head with a wrench in the driveway of her home on April 4, 2009. He and Joel Gonzalez testified that they beat Ben Novack to death with dumbbells three months later.

Bloody photographs were shown to the jury.

"The crime scene photos were the worst," Daly said.

Garcia said the plan was to beat up the victims, not kill them. He said Ben Novack was to be injured so severely he would have to retire and Narcy Novack and Veliz would take over his travel company. At first the plan included cutting off Novack's testicles, but that evolved into slashing his eyes, he said.

He said Veliz promised him $15,000 and "a good tip."

Both defendants are natives of Ecuador.

The family intrigue in the case deepened when the defense strategy turned out to be blaming May Abad, who was Narcy Novack's daughter and Ben Novack's stepdaughter.

Defense attorneys said Abad, who wasn't charged, could benefit by ordering the killings and framing her mother because her two sons would then inherit the bulk of the family estate — which includes Ben Novack's large collection of Batman memorabilia — if Narcy Novack were convicted.

Abad denied any involvement.

Narcy Novack didn't testify at the trial, though she spoke to investigators for hours after the killing and said, "Only a monster can do this kind of evil thing."

She had told police in 2002, when complaining that her husband had hit her, that her husband had a fetish — and picture collection — involving female amputees. And she alleged that she once went under anesthesia to have a broken nose fixed "and when she woke up she had breast implants," a detective testified.

Veliz held the stand for days, repeatedly denying the prosecution's account but sometimes stumbling to explain away credit card records, cellphone logs and an ATM surveillance video. He denied that he went to a Kmart near Miami and bought the dumbbells, one pink and one blue, that were used to bash Ben Novack.

'I think Cristobal dug his own grave by testifying," said Daly, the juror. "He was lying."

Chief Frank R. Tidwell was arrested in South Plainfield just after 1 a.m. Wednesday , a Plainfield spokesman said late Wednesday night

Plainfield Fire Chief Frank Tidwell in this photo taken from the the borough website.

SOUTH PLAINFIELD — The fire chief of Plainfield was arrested early yesterday morning on charges of driving while intoxicated in a neighboring town, said city officials.

Chief Frank R. Tidwell was arrested in South Plainfield just after 1 a.m. Wednesday , a Plainfield spokesman said late Wednesday night.

Tidwell was driving a city-issued vehicle at the time of his arrest, said spokesman Terry West.

No further information was available last night, and a South Plainfield police spokesman could not be reached for comment.

Staff reporter Ryan Hutchins contributed to this report.

The altercation began just after 1 a.m. and involved two groups from Pennsylvania

Wildwood policeTwo people were stabbed in Wildwood on Wednesday.

WILDWOOD — Two people were hospitalized early Wednesday morning after being stabbed during a fight involving at least 20 males in Wildwood, according to a report on CapeMayCountyHerald.com.

The altercation began just after 1 a.m. near Hudson and Young avenues and involved two groups from Pennsylvania, the report said. One person is believed to have stabbed both victims. The injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

More Cape May County news

A newly-released video shows Florida neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman at the scene of Trayvon Martin's fatal shooting a day later giving police a blow-by-blow account of his fight with the teen

AFP PHOTO/ABC NEWS/HANDOUTGeorge Zimmerman reenacts the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin the day after it took place in Sandford, Fla.

SANFORD, Fla. — A newly released video shows Florida neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman at the scene of Trayvon Martin's fatal shooting a day later giving police a blow-by-blow account of his fight with the teen.

In a video posted on a website by Zimmerman's defense team, Zimmerman said Martin saw his gun and reached for it as the two scuffled on the sidewalk at a gated apartment community in Sanford. That's when Zimmerman said he pulled the gun and shot the teenager.

The tape shows two butterfly bandages on the back of Zimmerman's head and another on his nose. There are red marks on the front of his head.

On the tape, Zimmerman did a reenactment of the scuffle with Martin in the moments before he shot the 17-year-old from Miami. Zimmerman said Martin kept "slamming and slamming" his head on the sidewalk. "It felt like my head was going to explode," he said.

Zimmerman told police the confrontation began when he saw Martin walking toward him on the evening of Feb. 26.

Zimmerman had already called 911 after spotting the teen in the neighborhood. Police say Martin was staying at his father's girlfriend's townhome in the Retreat at Twin Lakes, a gated community in Sanford. The teen was walking back to the home after going to a nearby convenience store.

Martin was reported missing by his father, Tracy Martin, the next morning.

The Orlando Sentinel reported that Tracy Martin called 911 the morning after the teen's shooting and said he had been missing since the night before. During the 3-minute call, he gave the dispatcher identifying information about his son. A few minutes later, the dispatcher called back to get more information about the teen and told Martin an officer was on his way for an interview.

Officials released a transcript of the 911 call Wednesday.

Also Wednesday, Sanford City Manager Norton Bonaparte fired police chief Bill Lee, who had been criticized for his department's initial investigation into the shooting.

Zimmerman has been charged with second-degree murder in the shooting. He claims he shot the teen in self-defense, under Florida's "stand your ground" law.

Related coverage:

• Wife of George Zimmerman charged with perjury, accused of lying about couple's finances

• George Zimmerman's bond revoked in Trayvon Martin case

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The mother of suspect Clark Fredericks, left, says her son told her he was abused by the victim when he was a Boy Scout

By Amy Ellis Nutt and Joe Moszczynski/The Star-Ledger

The man accused of stabbing 68-year-old Dennis Pegg to death in Stillwater last week, told police the victim “got what was coming to him,” because he’d “been a child molester for years,” according to the arrest affidavit for Clark Fredericks, 46, of Fredon.

Court records, obtained by The Star-Ledger, detail how Fredericks, who had once been in a Boy Scout troop led by Pegg, and a friend, Robert Reynolds, 47, of Hackettstown drove to Pegg’s home in Stillwater late on the night of June 12. According to the affidavit, Reynolds told state troopers that the two men, armed with knives, drove to the older man’s home and that Fredericks, upon entering the house, “immediately began stabbing Dennis Pegg.”

Fredericks, who was arrested hours later, was charged with first-degree murder and Reynolds with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and being an accomplice to commit murder, as well as tampering with evidence. The pair used Reynolds van, which Reynolds later power washed, according to the document.

In the affidavit, police say Fredericks’ mother, Joan, told authorities her son returned her Stillwater home sometime around 2 a.m. where he removed his bloodied clothing and hid the garments, along with the knives. Joan Fredericks apparently urged her son, who incurred lacerations to his left hand during the attack on Pegg, to go to the hospital for treatment. Instead, he took sleeping medication and went to bed.

On Wednesday, the day after the murder, Joan Fredericks called a counselor in Franklin with whom she had sought treatment for several years, according to the document.

Clark Fredericks, left, 47, of Fredon and Robert Reynolds, 47, of Hackettstown have been charged in connection with the killing.

The counselor, Diane Howe, then met with the Clark Fredericks' sister who told her she believed her brother might have killed Dennis Pegg. It was Howe who notified state police. At around noon Wednesday, troopers discovered Pegg’s body, with at least 20 stab wounds and slashes to the neck, chest and torso, on the floor of his living room.

A short time later troopers arrested Clark Fredericks at his mother’s home. Fredericks identified Reynolds as his accomplice and police took him into custody as well.

The affidavit also indicated that when Fredericks returned to the mother’s home early Wednesday morning after the murder, he “stated something to the effect of an insanity defense.”

Both Fredericks and Reynolds are being held at the county jail on $350,000 bail.

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