A former corrections officer was sentenced to five years in state prison Friday after pleading guilty to his role in a $1,000-a-week scheme to smuggle drugs, cell phones and other contraband into the Essex County Jail

Star-Ledger file photoFormer Essex County Corrections Officer Joseph Mastriani, of Nutley.

NEWARK — A former corrections officer was sentenced to five years in state prison Friday after pleading guilty to his role in a $1,000-a-week scheme to smuggle drugs, cell phones and other contraband into the Essex County Jail.

Joseph Mastriani, 32, of Bloomfield, admitted in November to a single count of second-degree official misconduct, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement.

Authorities called Mastriani the criminal mastermind in what was akin to a concierge service, in which he filled inmates’ orders by using go-betweens on the street and point men in jail. The nine-year veteran was arrested, along with 12 others, in late July 2010 following a five-month investigation dubbed "Operation Jail Breach."

"When a corrections officer smuggles narcotics, cell phones and other contraband into a corrections facility, he not only violates his oath but he puts innocent people at grave risk," said First Assistant Prosecutor Robert Laurino.

Also sentenced Friday was Mastriani’s girlfriend, Jill Watral, 33, who received two years’ probation and was required to forfeit her job as a teacher at Washington Academy in Cedar Grove.

Two other defendants — Wilbert Best and Ricardo Ortiz, inmates who are each serving 13-year prison terms — were sentenced to three years each for their role in the smuggling ring.

Related coverage:

• Essex authorities are shocked by 'intricate criminal smuggling scheme'

• Essex authorities arrest 13 accused in county jail smuggling ring

• N.J. prison inmate is accused of ordering hit on his girlfriend from jail

• More Essex County news

Christopher Page, 34, of Bayville stabbed Noah Jackson, a store employee, several times in the back and chest after an altercation Friday morning, police said

Berkeley Township policeChristopher Page, 34

BERKELEY — Police have arrested a suspect in a brutal stabbing at the Shop Rite supermarket in Bayville after a tip from a resident helped police locate the alleged attacker.

Christopher Page, 34, of Bayville stabbed Noah Jackson, a store employee, several times in the back and chest after an altercation Friday morning between the two men, police said.

"He was observed by a resident in South Toms River," today, said Berkeley Police Sgt. Phil Smith adding that South Toms River and Toms River Police responded .
"They got him on Main Street."

It is yet unknown why Page and Jackson, 37, got into the argument which began in the supermarket lobby and spilled over into the checkout area. Smith said the two men apparently knew each other. As the fight escalated, Page pulled a knife and stabbed Jackson several times, Smith said.

Jackson was taken to Jersey Shore Medical Center where he is expected to recover.

Page was charged with attempted murder and weapons charges and is being held at Ocean County Correctional facility in lieu of $500,000 bail . He will not be given the option to post 10 percent of his bail.

Related coverage:

• Bayville man charged, sought in connection to Ocean County supermarket stabbing

• Supermarket worker stabbed by customer in Ocean County, report says

While details were scant, investigators said the stabbing appeared to have been the result of a domestic dispute

Andrew Mills/The Star-LedgerNewark Police and the Essex County Prosecutor's Office are investigating the fatal stabbing of a Newark man Friday night.

NEWARK — A Newark man died Friday night, the victim of a stabbing attack, authorities said.

Shawnell Anderson, 41, was stabbed on Vermont Avenue in Newark at roughly 9 p.m. Friday, according to statement issued by the Essex County Prosecutor's Office and Newark Police tonight.

While details were scant, investigators said the stabbing appeared to have been the result of a domestic dispute. Anderson was declared dead at 9:45 p.m. Police said they are pursuing a "person of interest" but no arrests have been made yet.

West Ward Councilman Ron C. Rice mentioned the stabbing during his state of the West Ward address Saturday morning saying it was the latest example of continued violence in Newark.

"We gotta stop the genocide in our own community," Rice said. There have been at least 16 homicides in Newark this year.

Related coverage:

• Newark councilman touts development, emphasizes need to decrease violence in West Ward address

• Essex County authorities make two arrests of suspects in recent killings

A student was shot to death at a Mississippi State University residence hall late Saturday night, prompting campus-wide alerts as authorities searched for suspects who fled the scene

Google MapsA student was shot to death at a Mississippi State University residence hall late Saturday night

STARKVILLE, Miss. — A student was shot to death at a Mississippi State University residence hall late Saturday night, prompting campus-wide alerts as authorities searched for suspects who fled the scene.

University spokeswoman Maridith Geuder said police received a call about the shooting at Evans Hall around 10 p.m. Saturday. The victim was taken to a hospital where he subsequently died.

Three male suspects fled the building in a blue Crown Victoria. As of early Sunday, no arrests had been made and the campus remained under emergency conditions.

Shortly after the shooting, the university began sending a series of text message alerts to students. Geuder said a team of university officials and police was meeting early Sunday. The team is automatically convened in emergencies under a school policy.

The four-story Evans Hall holds about 300 male students and is located on the north side of campus. The campus of about 20,000 students is located in a rural area in the northeastern part of the state, about 125 miles northeast of Jackson.

The school's website says the campus is located in a low-crime area, and that emergencies are rare.

Tom and Bill Crane, 46, are alleging in a lawsuit that they were sexually assaulted by the Rev. Luke Travers, who once served as Delbarton's headmaster, and the Rev. Justin Capato

Robert Sciarrino/The Star-LedgerTom Crane and Bill Crane, twin brothers who allege they were sexually abused by two Delbarton School monks in the 1970s, standing in front of the Morris County Courthouse to announce the filing of a lawsuit against St. Mary's Abbey, which runs Delbarton.

BERNARDS — Bill Crane Sr. remembers the sweaty August day in 1964, when he drove his Pontiac onto the sprawling Delbarton School campus, hoping to land a job as a history teacher that paid $4,400 a year. Married, he had a freshly printed diploma from Upsala College in his pocket and a baby on the way.

But he wasn’t desperate. After all, he had just told a "stuffy" administrator at Hanover Park High School in East Hanover that he didn’t want the job the guy was offering.

"Where do you see yourself in five years?" Crane was asked.

"Anyplace but here," he replied, then walked out.

But Delbarton was different. Even in midsummer, the place had the feel of serious academia.

"As I stepped out of the car, I said to myself, ‘Now, this seems like a great place,’ " Crane recalled in a phone interview Wednesday from his home in Washington state. "Knowing what I know now, I would have shut the door and driven away — in a hurry."

But he stayed for 43 years, and this is what happened:

On Tuesday, his twin sons, Tom and Bill Jr., now 46, filed a lawsuit against Delbarton and St. Mary’s Abbey, which runs the school, charging that they were sexually abused by two monks while the kids hung around the school in the 1970s and 1980.

In other words, two of their father’s colleagues — the Rev. Luke Travers, who once served as headmaster, and the Rev. Justin Capato — allegedly betrayed Bill Crane Sr. by abusing two of his six children while Crane and the monks worked side by side.

For all the reasons Crane, 69, has to be angry, he said he is not.

"I’m upset," he said. "It was my kids. I’m very upset about that. But I’m not an angry person. I don’t think problems can be solved with anger. You have to deal with the issues. Delbarton, unfortunately, hasn’t wanted to deal with its issues.

"It’s just sad it has come to this. The people who hold the power are not dealing with some of the problems they should’ve dealt with."

In an unparalleled lay career at the 73-year-old elite, all-boys Catholic school in Morris Township, Crane served as a teacher, a member of the board of trustees, the head of the middle school, the director of guidance and as assistant headmaster — the highest-ranking layperson on campus — for 22 years.

For four decades, he was Mr. Delbarton — a legacy that should have been celebrated with a black-tie farewell dinner, a plaque and a tree planting. Instead, he said, he left the school with barely a goodbye in 2007 — three years after alleging abuse against his family.

Star-Ledger file photoFormer Delbarton School Headmaster Luke Travers, pictured in this Star-Ledger file photo, is accused of sexually assaulting Bill Jr. and Tom Crane, now 46..

Crane was calm throughout an hourlong interview as he discussed the allegations and the years of stonewalling by administrators he once considered friends.

When he first approached the school about the abuse, he was told, "We’ll get back to you." Now, eight years later, his sons filed a complaint in Morris County Superior Court, two miles from the school. Among the allegations: genital groping and fondling, and introducing the boys to hard-core pornography and masturbation.

During the interview, Crane talked about "issues" and "problems." He began two responses with "It’s not sour grapes" and "I’m not out to destroy the school."

"Don’t be fooled by my father’s personality," his son Tom said. "He is a man of few words, but when he uses those words, he’ll knock you back into a chair with nothing to say. He is not intimidated by anyone. Delbarton found that out."

Bill Crane Sr. refused to denounce the men he believes seriously injured his sons — emotionally and spiritually — and apparently set them up for further abuse by another clergyman, Joseph Hanley, the former pastor of St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church in Mendham. His sons were among roughly two dozen alleged victims who shared a $5 million settlement awarded by the Paterson Diocese in 2005.

CULTURE OF ABUSE

Crane said he learned of the alleged abuses at Delbarton at different times — first, when Tom told him in 2004 that "something had happened with Father Capato."

Years later, he learned that Bill Jr., too, allegedly had been abused by Capato. And then, weeks before the lawsuit was filed, the father learned that Tom had allegations to make against Travers, too.

After more than four decades at the school, Crane said he knows whose closets contain skeletons, but he won’t open them — yet.

"I probably should write a book," he said. "It would show the abbey is trying to give one image to the outside world when there’s a whole other image on the inside."

And that image?

"The culture," he said.

Of sexual abuse?

"Yes, of sexual abuse."

In total, five men have made allegations against Travers in the past year. The Star-Ledger has reported four of them (one was Crane’s son), and victims advocate Patrick Marker said there is one more alleged victim who has yet to come forward publicly. Crane said he saw it coming.

File photoBill Crane Sr. has said that if he knew that his twin boys would be allegedly abused by two monks at the Delbarton school, he never would have taken a job as a teacher there.

In 1995, Crane, then an administrator, said he was told by the abbot and headmaster to keep Travers "at arm’s length" from students because "he was being too touchy-feely."

In 1997, Crane said, Travers was removed as junior class guidance counselor, although no reason was given.

"Your antenna goes up right away," Crane said. "You think, ‘There’s more here.’ But I figured the powers that be would let me know if it was really serious."

At one point, with more and more restrictions placed on monks for Crane to enforce, he said he told administrators he was done "protecting pedophiles."

Then, in 1999, Travers was named headmaster — over objections by Crane and other faculty. When asked about Travers’ ascent despite alleged inappropriate behavior, Crane became animated:

"You got it! You got it!" he said. "No one else has connected those dots. It doesn’t make sense, right? You don’t want him around students, but you make him headmaster?"

Something else doesn’t make sense to Crane: the abbey’s review board, which secretly investigates alleged sex abuse. His sons claim the board denies abuse, bullies alleged victims, buys silence and buries cases. The panel, all three Cranes say, prevents the public from seeing the insidious behavior occurring behind the abbey walls.

When the school and abbey stalled, the Cranes filed a lawsuit and held a press conference on the courthouse lawn.

Crane said he "very proud of (his sons) for having the courage to come forward." And often he’ll wonder, "What if?"

"Of course, I have guilt, but you want to change things," he said. "You only have one lifetime to do that.

"I tell my sons, ‘You might actually be a gift to the school. You might help change things.’ I’m upset about what’s happened, but I can’t lose my perspective."

Related coverage:

• 2 former students sue Delbarton over alleged sexual abuse

• Sexual abuse lawsuit planned against 2 former Delbarton School monks, complaint says

• Delbarton ex-headmaster 'under tightest restrictions' after sex abuse allegations

• 2 more men come forward, support sexual misconduct accusations against former Delbarton headmaster

The Morris County Clerk is warning residents against a scam that has homeowners needlessly forking over cash

Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey JournalThe Morris County Clerk is warning residents against a scam that involves someone offering to sell a certified copy of your deed for $69.50.

MORRIS COUNTY — The Morris County Clerk is warning residents against a scam that has homeowners needlessly forking over cash.

Joan Bramhall said the scam involves someone offering to sell a certified copy of your deed for $69.50.

"Don't be fooled by these offers," she said. "You probably already have a copy of your deed."

Bramhall added that if the deed is misplaced it can be obtained at the county clerk's office. The charge is $10 for the first page and $1 for every page after that.

"There is no need to go through a middle-man who charges an exorbitant fee for this service," she said.

Anyone seeking more information may contact the clerk's office at 973-285-6747 or visit their website at www.morriscountyclerk.org.

More Morris County news

Bail was set at $882,500 for 37-year-old Gregory Canova of Middletown, who also is accused of injuring another officer

Google Maps Bail was set at $882,500 for 37-year-old Gregory Canova of Middletown, who also is accused of injuring another officer.

MIDDLETOWN — Numerous charges — including attempted murder — have been filed against a Monmouth County man who allegedly struck and dragged a police officer who was trying to arrest him on several warrants.

Bail was set at $882,500 for 37-year-old Gregory Canova of Middletown, who also is accused of injuring another officer.

Authorities say Middletown Police Cpl. Daniel Murdoch was trying to arrest Canova around 11 a.m. today when he was struck by Canova’s vehicle. Murdoch was then dragged a short distance when Canova drove off.

Another Middletown officer, Sgt. Charles Terefenko, began pursuing Canova, who allegedly rammed the officer’s patrol car. But Canova was soon captured after his vehicle crashed.

Murdoch and Terefenko were treated at a hospital for undisclosed injuries and were released later today.

More Monmouth County news

The chief is accused of removing his girlfriend from the scene of an accident in 2008 in which she was suspected of being intoxicated

The Record of Woodland ParkHackensack Police Chief Charles "Ken" Zisa

HACKENSACK — Hackensack Police Chief Ken Zisa is set to go on trial today.

Zisa was suspended without pay in 2010 after he was charged with official misconduct and insurance fraud.

The chief is accused of removing his girlfriend from the scene of an accident in 2008 in which she was suspected of being intoxicated. Authorities allege Zisa then filed false information in an insurance claim.

Zisa also is accused of covering up an investigation stemming from a 2004 assault and robbery in which his girlfriend's sons were suspects.

The chief's attorney tells The Record of Woodland Park the case is based on testimony from police officers who stand to gain financially from his conviction.

Related coverage:

• Hackensack police officials indicted on misconduct, witness tampering charges

• Editorial: Ken Zisa must go

• Hackensack police chief charged with fraud, misconduct had side security business

A young woman's body 125 years ago today, and to this day questions still remain about the death of the "unknown woman"

RAHWAY — The Worth boys stood against a cold March morning in Rahway, staring down, as if time had stopped. Their eyes were transfixed on the blue-eyed brunette in the green cashmere dress.

She lay on her side, frozen to the ground in a pool of blood, her face beaten and dirtied, her throat slit from ear to ear. Footprints were cast into the hardened ground, it — like her skin — torn up in an apparent struggle. Eggs spilled from a basket, and her head pressed into the dirt where she breathed her last breath.

Who was this woman? Who killed her? Why?

The Worths discovered the young woman’s body 125 years ago today. In that time, no one, with any degree of certainty, has been able to answer those questions. The woman’s murder is one of the most intriguing cold cases in New Jersey history. She was the "unknown woman" then, in 1887, and is today — her grave still marked with those words.

Sunday, the anniversary of her death, actors in period costume dotted Rahway Cemetery, where she is buried, and told her story to some 200 people who came for the guided tours, organized by the Merchants and Drovers Tavern Museum. The event was headed by the museum’s leader, Alex Shipley, whose book, "The Case of the Unknown Woman," recounts the investigation into her death.

"It’s an intriguing case; the murderer was never found, the motive was never discovered and the victim’s identity was never uncovered," Shipley said Sunday. "I think it goes well beyond the bounds of this community or Union County or even the state of New Jersey."

On that Saturday in 1887, the Worths, who had been heading to work at the Goodblood felt mill, turned their attention to the young woman’s death. They found Police Chief William Tooker, who rushed to the scene. A crowd was already growing, and the chief and the Worth brothers pushed their way through.

"It was a terrible sight," recalled Frank Worth, who was played yesterday by 18-year-old Doug Nolan, a Rahway resident. "Her face was crushed into the ground."

The news spread fast. First among locals, then to New York City. Reporters came from all of the New York papers, The Washington Post and the Associated Press. The story spread as far as San Francisco.

Reporters and private investigators flocked to Rahway, all trying to solve the murder. None could.

With no one in town saying they knew the woman, who was about 25 and wore European-made clothes, her body was put on display. Within the first week, 5,000 people came to see. There was a rush on the city when it was announced there would be no more viewings.

"Thousands of people were flooding into the city," said the mortician, Daniel K. Ryno, played Sunday by Matthew Dobrowolski of Rahway. "The Pennsylvania Railroad had to put out additional trains."

In one day, 6,000 people saw her body. Still, none could identify her. There were jury hearings, a few arrests and countless theories about who did it: The boys who liked to steal eggs, the mysterious man with the overcoat, the basket maker’s boy. In the end, all fizzled out.

The media stuck around for about 40 days, until the woman was buried. Few people came when she was laid to rest. It seemed the public thought the unknown woman to have been of ill repute.

"She was buried 25 yards from any other tomb," said Townley Crane, a New York reporter played by Shipley’s 30-year-old son, Sam.

At her burial were some women who insisted they knew her, though no one believed them. A minister said a few words.

That was it, save the woman’s pallbearers: The reporters who covered her story.

U.S. investigators have said they believe Staff Sgt. Bales killed in two episodes, returning to his base after the first attack and later slipping away to kill again

Spc. Ryan Hallock/AFP/Getty ImagesThis August 23, 2011 photograph obtained courtesy of the Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System (DVIDS) shows Staff Sgt. Robert Bales (L) at the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, California, the U.S. soldier who allegedly shot and killed more than a dozen civilians in Afghanistan.

SEATAC, Wash. — The wife of a U.S. soldier accused of killing 17 Afghan civilians says her husband showed no signs of PTSD before he deployed, and she doesn't feel like she'll ever believe he was involved in the killings.

"I don't know a lot about the symptoms of PTSD, so I wouldn't know," Karilyn Bales told NBC's "Today" show. "He doesn't have nightmares, you know, things like that. No dreams," she said.

She defended her husband, Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, in a weekend interview with Matt Lauer that aired today. Officials say Bales left his base March 11 in southern Afghanistan and killed eight Afghan adults and nine children.

The wife of the Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier said the accusations are "unbelievable to me."

"He loves children, he's like a big kid himself," she said. "I have no idea what happened, but he would not ... he loves children, and he would not do that."

He was formally charged Friday with 17 counts of premeditated murder and other crimes, and is being held at a U.S. military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.

Karilyn Bales was in a grocery store when she first heard of the rampage in a phone call from her parents.

"They said well it looks like a U.S. soldier, some Afghan civilians were killed by a soldier," she said.

She learned more when she got home.

"I saw 38-year-old staff sergeant, and I don't think there are very many of those, and I probably prayed and prayed that my husband wasn't involved," she said. "And then, I received a phone call from the Army saying that they would like to come out and talk to me. And I was relieved, because when you get a phone call, you know that your soldier is not deceased."

She was told about the shootings.

"They held my hand and they just said that perhaps, you know, they thought that he had left the base, and gone out and perhaps killed the Afghan civilians, and that was really the only sentence, and I just started crying," she said.

The deaths of the nine Afghan children are especially difficult.

"It's heartbreaking. I can't imagine losing my children, so my heart definitely goes out to them for losing all of their children."

Bales was on his fourth tour of duty in a war zone, having served three tours in Iraq, where he suffered a head injury and a foot injury. His civilian attorney, John Henry Browne, had said the soldier and his family had thought he was done fighting.

"It was a big shock because we weren't on the schedule to be deployed again, to be honest with you. He didn't want to miss out on any more of his kids' life," Karilyn Bales told "Today."

Bales said she feels he was mentally fit when he was deployed. He never told her about a traumatic brain injury he suffered while in Iraq, until he returned home.

"Not until he came back and said that he, you know, had been blown up," she said. "He shielded me from a lot of what he went through. He's a very tough guy."

U.S. investigators have said they believe Bales killed in two episodes, returning to his base after the first attack and later slipping away to kill again. He is reported to have surrendered without a struggle.

Karilyn Bales has spoken to her husband by telephone twice since he was detained. The soldier called his wife first from overseas shortly after massacre, and then last week from Fort Leavenworth.

They didn't talk about what happened.

"Not on the monitored phone call. So we couldn't discuss those details. He was — seemed a bit confused. As to where he was and why he was there," she said.

She says he'll probably tell her about it when they meet.

"I don't think anything will really change my mind in believing that he did not do this. This is not what it appears to be," she said.

The couple has two young children, a girl named Quincy and a boy named Bobby. They are now living on the base at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

The Bales family had a Seattle-area home condemned, struggled to make payments on another and failed to get a promotion a year ago. Karilyn Bales put the family's Lake Tapps, Wash., home up for sale days before the rampage.

The youngest of five brothers, Bales grew up in the working class Cincinnati suburb of Norwood, Ohio. He joined the Army two months after 9/11, after a Florida investment business failed and after he had worked with a string of securities operations.

Karilyn Bales told the "Today" show she has set up a fund to help pay for her husband's legal defense.

Related coverage:

• U.S. paid $50K per slain villager in soldier's alleged rampage that killed 16 Afghan civilians

• Charges to be filed this week against U.S. soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians

• Following Afghan civilian killings, N.J. congressman seeks info on how soldiers with brain injuries are evaluated

• U.S. soldier who killed 16 civilians including women, children deepens Afghan public outrage

Authorities allege a knife-wielding Colin M. Steffener of Hope was walking along the road, flipping his middle finger at passing motorists when he refused to drop the weapon when asked to by State Police

Tom Wright-Piersanti/The Star-LedgerState Police arrested a man last week who was waving a knife at passing motorists in Hope.

HOPE — A 29-year-old Warren County man was arrested after waving a 12-inch knife at cars driving by on Route 519 in Hope, according to a report on NJHerald.com.

Colin M. Steffener of Hope was walking along the road Wednesday waving the knife and flipping his middle finger at passing motorists. He refused to drop the weapon when asked to by State Police, the report said.

Steffner then began walking toward troopers and yelling incoherently before he threw the knife onto a nearby lawn, the report said

Eventually, State Police had to use peppery spray to take Steffner into custody after he wouldn't get down on the ground. He was charged with possession of a weapon for unlawful purpose, terroristic threats and resisting arrest.

More Warren County news

Cpl. Anthony Girardi Jr., a 24-year member of the Fairfield Police Department, allegedly gave the bogus information to Hardyston police while they were investigating a fight on Jan. 12

Fairfield policeA Fairfield police officer has been with second-degree official misconduct and third-degree hindering apprehension.

HARDYSTON — An off-duty Fairfield police officer was arrested for giving false information to police who were investigating a fight at a Sussex County bar that involved two known associates of the Hells Angels motorcycle club, the county prosecutor's said.

Cpl. Anthony Gerardi Jr., a 24-year member of the Fairfield Police Department, allegedly gave the bogus information to Hardyston police while they were investigating a fight on Jan. 12 at Tony’s Restaurant Pizza and Bar on Route 94.

During the fight, Bernard Krynicki, 45, a prospective recruit for the notorious motorcycle gang, struck a bar patron in the head with a beer mug, causing serious bodily injury, while Sean Sweeney, 42, a patched member of the club, tried to punch the patron’s wife, the prosecutor’s office said.

Gerardi, 48, was with both of the men at the time of the altercation, and failed to perform his duty as a police office and try to break up the fight. After identifying himself as a police officer, he gave false information to investigating officers “in an effort to protect both Krynicki and Sweeney from arrest and prosecution,” the prosecutor’s office said in a news release.

Gerardi, who was arrested Friday, was charged with second-degree official misconduct and third-degree hindering apprehension. He was released on his own recognizance.

Krynicki, of North Arlington, and Sweeney, of Hamburg, were arrested Jan. 26 and charged with aggravated assault and weapons offenses. Krynicki was being held in the county jail in lieu of $57,000 bail. Sweeney was released on a summons.

Gerardi was suspended with pay following his arrest, according to a news release issued by Fairfield police.

More Sussex County news

Centenary College was placed on lockdown around 10 a.m. this morning, and all area schools remain locked down after a man told police he had an assault rifle in the area

Jerry McCrea/The Star-LedgerThe administration building at Centenary College is seen in a 2010 photo. The school is under lockdown, along with all other Hackettstown schools, as police search for a man with an assault rifle.

UPDATE: Hackettstown school lockdown has ended, gun threat was 'unfounded,' officials say

HACKETTSTOWN — Reports of a man carrying an assault rifle in the Hackettstown area have caused a swift police response and the lockdown of every school within the town this morning, education and law enforcement officials said.

Centenary College was placed on lockdown around 10 a.m. this morning, after Hackettstown Police called the college and reported "a sighting of a man with a gun in the area," said Annamarie Lavalee, the school's director of public relations.

At 11:16 a.m., the school posted an update to its website warning students that officials were searching for a white male wearing blue jeans and a black sweatshirt with an assault rifle.

"Please be reminded the person could have hid the weapon," the post read. "NJSP Helicopter is in the area."

The panic began around 9:45 a.m. when a man called the Warren County Communications Center and claimed he had an assault rifle in a wooded area near Hackettstown High School, according to an alert posted on the Centenary College web site.

The first call to the college came at 10:08 a.m., Lavalee said.

Every school, from the elementary level to Centenary College, has been locked down due to the looming threat, according to authorities and public service announcements being broadcast on local radio stations.

Bobby Sporman, a 23-year-old student at Centenary College, said he was in a classroom with 30 other people when the siren went off this morning.

“We told the teacher that we had to evacuate, as a joke, and then we found out two minutes later it was locked down,” said Sporman, a Somerset County resident who is locked in the Seay Building, the campus' main structure.

Sporman said most of the students in the room have been calm despite reports of a gunman in the area, but complained they are also "hungry and tired."

A Star-Ledger reporter arrived at Centenary College around 12:30 p.m., but was told by campus security to "leave or stay in your car."

A post on the Centenary College website from 12:34 p.m. reads: "Lockdown continues - A high ranking member of the Warren County Tactical Unit has requested that ALL personnel, students and employees alike, remain inside as there are police all over the area. People outside compound their efforts!"

All Classes before 4 p.m. have been canceled, according to the college's web site.

Hackettstown High School and Hatchery Hills High School have also been placed on lockdown, police said.

Local authorities, State Troopers from the Washington Station, and State Police aviation units are currently searching for the man, police said.

There have been no official sightings of the man who said he had an AK-47 and no threats were made, said Warren County Public Safety Director Frank Wheatley. He is calling from an untraceable number and he says he was born on Feb. 19, 1993, authorities report.

At Centenary, students not checking their email are learning about the lockdown as they arrive at campus buildings, a student who is on campus said.

"A lot of students keep coming in and out of campus," the student, who called the Express-Times but didn't want to give his name, said. "I'm in the one place they told us not to go - the cafeteria."

"I keep seeing students coming in and walking in the area," he said. "Commuters aren't aware."

He heard an alarm sound earlier but alerts come via email, so many students are walking around unaware, he said. It's not until they get to a building that they are told they can only come in and not leave, he said.

He said security told him there is a gunman running between the high school and the woods with a rifle.

The Warren Reporter says parents at barricades set up outside the high school are texting with their children inside.

The Warren County field communications unit was posted at the main access road to the high school. A New Jersey State Police helicopter arrived just before 11 this morning. Tactical team members were deployed and other police were getting organized in a nearby parking lot.

Officials from the Hackettstown Police and Warren County Public Safety Directors said they will release information on the lockdowns later in the day, and could not immediately provide comment.

Staff writer Ben Horowitz, The Warren Reporter and The Express-Times of Easton, Pa., contributed to this report.

One of five teenagers arrested in the 2010 murder of an Old Bridge man who was beaten in an alleged case of juvenile "wilding" now faces charges of forgery Watch video

Star-Ledger file photoChristian Tinli, one of the five suspects in the Old Bridge 'wilding' murder case, appears in the 2010 Old Bridge High School yearbook.

OLD BRIDGE — One of five teenagers arrested in the 2010 murder of an Old Bridge man who was beaten in an alleged case of juvenile "wilding" now faces charges of trying to cash two forged checks.

Christian Tinli, 19, was arrested today and charged with two counts of forgery and two counts of writing bad checks, Old Bridge police Capt. Arthur Carullo said.

On March 15, employees at the Old Bridge Check Cashers store on Englishtown Road reported a man tried to cash two U.S. Postal Service money orders made out to himself, Carullo said. He said each check was for $950.25.

Store employees became suspicious, held on to the checks, and turned them over to police, the captain said.

Detective Glenn Smalley subsequently obtained arrest warrants for Tinli, Carullo said.

Tinli and four other township teenagers were charged with the June 25, 2010 killing of Divyendu Sinha. The other defendants awaiting trial are Steven Contreras, Julian Daley, Christopher Conway and Cash Johnson.

Photo Courtesy of the familyDivyendu Sinha, 49, of Old Bridge, died after being attacked outside his home and five teens have been charged in his killing. A Family Court judge on Friday ordered the five teenagers, all students at Old Bridge High School, to be tried as adults.

Sinha was strolling with his wife and two sons near their Fela Drive home about 11:30 p.m. that day when, authorities allege, the defendants drove up and four of them got out of the car and attacked the 49-year-old computer scientist in a case prosecutors describe as a "wilding" attack.

All of the suspects were 16- or 17-year-old juveniles when the assault occurred, and four were athletes at Old Bridge High School. They were later waived up for trial as adults.

Contreras’ trial is scheduled to begin April 10 before Superior Court Judge Bradley Ferencz in New Brunswick.

Tinli had been out on bail on $450,000. The forgery charges are each third-degree crimes carrying maximum sentences of five years in prison each upon conviction. The bad check charges are fourth-degree counts that could bring an 18-month sentence upon conviction.

Ferencz set bail for the forgery and bad check charges at $80,000.

Police said Tinli was being was being held today in the Middlesex County jail in North Brunswick.

Related coverage:

• Trial date set for five teens charged with beating Old Bridge man to death

• Five Old Bridge teens charged with fatally beating man to be tried as adults

• Memorial is held for Old Bridge man who was fatally beaten

• Two more teenagers are charged in fatal beating of Old Bridge man

• Fatal beating of Old Bridge man highlights harassment of South Asian community

• Three teenagers arrested in beating of Old Bridge man

• Old Bridge man is beaten in apparent group attack

A Tenafly painter used glue and epoxy to restore the head after is was in pieces in some bushes

PALAISADES PARK — A vandalized statue of a saint has been restored outside a church in Bergen County.

Someone beheaded the statue of St. Nicolas at the Roman Catholic church that bears his name in Palisades Park two weeks ago. The head was found in pieces in some bushes.

Painter Jim Golodik of Tenafly heard about the statue. He used glue and epoxy to restore the head.

Golodik tells The Record of Woodland Park it was "almost spiritual" bringing the statue back to life.

Police have not found the person who decapitated the statue.

Related coverage:

• Statue outside Bergen County church is beheaded

Anthony Gerardi Jr. has been suspended with pay after being arrested on charges of official misconduct, hindering prosecution and failing to perform his duty as a public servant.

Fairfield policeA Fairfield police officer has been with second-degree official misconduct and third-degree hindering apprehension.

HARDYSTON — The off-duty veteran police officer should have known better, authorities say, when he walked into a Sussex County bar with two known associates of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang.

That was Anthony Gerardi Jr.’s first mistake, they said.

His second, authorities allege, was lying to officers who were called to Tony’s Restaurant and Pizza Bar in Hardyston after a nasty brawl that January night that left one patron seriously injured.

After a two-month investigation, Gerardi, a 24-year veteran of the Fairfield police force, was arrested Friday on charges of official misconduct, hindering prosecution and failing to perform his duty as a public servant.

“That night, Gerardi had the choice to be a police officer or solidify his association with the Hells Angels,” Sussex County First Assistant Prosecutor Gregory Mueller said yesterday. “He made the wrong choice.”

Authorities say the 48-year-old Gerardi identified himself as an officer that night and then gave Hardyston police false information, saying he didn’t know who had struck the patron in the head with a beer mug. Gerardi also denied his two companions, Sean Sweeney, a Hells Angels member, and Bernard Krynicki, a recruit, had anything to do with it, authorities said.

But video surveillance cameras that captured the Jan. 12 melee indicated something different, authorities said. The off-duty officer saw everything.

“He was only two feet away from them,” Mueller said. “He had a front-row seat.”

Gerardi went to the Route 94 bar with Krynicki and Sweeney, whose girlfriend was celebrating her birthday that night. Later, Krynicki had words with a patron, then hit him in the head with a beer mug from behind, prosecutors said, and Sweeney, wearing a Hells Angels cap, then tried to punch the patron’s wife.

When police arrived, Gerardi gave them false information “in an effort to protect both Krynicki and Sweeney from prosecution,” the prosecutor’s office said in a news release.

Krynicki, 45, of North Arlington, and Sweeney, 42, of Hamburg, were arrested two weeks after the incident and charged with aggravated assault and weapons offenses. Krynicki posted bail, while Sweeney was released on a summons.

Gerardi, who faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted on the top charge, has been released on his own recognizance. He could not be reached for comment Monday. Fairfield police announced the arrest but referred all questions to Mueller’s office.

A corporal in the Essex County department’s 29-member patrol division, Gerardi has been suspended with pay pending the outcome of the criminal case and any administrative charges that may follow, according to a statement on the Fairfield Police Department’s website. Gerardi is eligible for retirement next March. A conviction could cost him his job, along with an annual retirement pension of about $61,600, records show.

Related coverage:

• Off-duty N.J. cop charged with giving false information to police following bar fight involving Hells Angels member

Joselin Lizardo, 38, and her son Aneudy Breton, 10, were driving in Newark in late November to get milk when their car was hit by the speeding car at Orange Street and Myrtle Avenue, authorities said

Star-Ledger file photoJames Perry, of East Orange, was sentenced to 40 years in prison for driving a stolen car that crashed into another vehicle, killing a mother and her 10-year-old son in 2008.

NEWARK — An East Orange driver of a stolen car who struck and killed a mother and her son in 2008 was sentenced to 40 years in prison Monday, authorities said.

For each of two charges of aggravated manslaughter, James Perry, 24, will spend 16 years in prison, said acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray.

Superior Court Judge Joseph A. Portelli also sentenced Perry to another eight years for not helping an injured victim, Murray said. Perry, with three prior felony convictions, must serve 30 years before being eligible for parole.

Joselin Lizardo, 38, and her son Aneudy Breton, 10, were driving in Newark in late November to get milk when their car was hit by the speeding car at Orange Street and Myrtle Avenue, Murray said.

Earlier, Perry had been seen driving recklessly with two other people in a stolen Acura in East Orange when police gave chase, only to stop when he crossed into Newark.

About 15 minutes later, the Acura smashed into the Toyota Corolla driven by Lizardo, propelling her 10-year-old son a block from the crash site.

The boy died the next day, and his mother was taken off life support a few days later.

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The Port Authority initiative is believed to be the only one of its kind being contemplated at a domestic airport, but it's unclear whether the agency would have the power to implement it

David Gard/The Star-LedgerAm aerial view of Newark Liberty International Airport.

NEWARK —The agency that operates the New York City area's three major airports wants passengers who don't turn off their cellphones or tablets before takeoff to pay up or go to court.

The executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said Monday the agency is considering levying fines that could reach tens of thousands of dollars for behavior that causes flight delays.

"We think that with the economic costs of delays and with the passenger inconvenience and the effect on our airports' ability to serve 100 million passengers a year, it's the right thing to do," Pat Foye said.

The issue of electronic devices on planes received national publicity in December when Alec Baldwin was kicked off a New York-bound flight in Los Angeles for refusing to turn off his cellphone. Baldwin, who stars on NBC's "30 Rock," later issued an apology to fellow American Airlines passengers who were delayed but mocked a flight attendant on Twitter.

The use of electronic devices on planes generally is prohibited during takeoffs and landings, and passengers are warned by public announcements. The Port Authority initiative is believed to be the only one of its kind being contemplated at a domestic airport, but it's unclear whether the agency would have the power to implement it. News of the Port Authority's plans was first reported in the New York Post.

According to Foye, Port Authority police last year responded to about 400 calls involving passengers who refused to turn off their electronic devices at John F. Kennedy International, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty International airports. Foye said he believes for every one of those episodes there may have been dozens more in which police weren't called but delays may have ensued.

New York has some of the most crowded airspace in the country, and delays at any of its three major airports can cause havoc around the globe, such as in January 2009 when a security breach closed a terminal for six hours. Flight delays caused by storms in New York often have a ripple effect across the rest of the country.

Last week, the Federal Aviation Administration announced it is looking at ways to test devices to see if they are safe for passengers to use during critical phases of flights such as takeoffs and landings.

Foye said the fines would be targeted primarily at repeat offenders and egregious behavior that causes lengthy delays. He didn't give specifics on how the fines would be calculated but said the airlines would receive some reimbursement.

"The Port Authority legal department has been looking at options we have for bringing civil litigation, and we're prepared to bring that," he said. "We wanted to put people on notice that that is a potential remedy."

Attorney David Stempfler, head of the Air Travelers Association advocacy group, said there could be jurisdictional issues because, while the Port Authority polices the airports, federal agencies such as the FBI and the Federal Aviation Administration govern what takes place inside airplanes.

"It seems like the injured party here is the airline, not the Port Authority," he said. "It's the airline that needs to be taking action against the passengers for doing this. The concept needs to be fleshed out more."

United Airlines, Newark Liberty airport's largest tenant, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.

American Airlines said shortly after Baldwin was removed from the plane in Los Angeles that FAA regulations require that cellphones and other electronic devices be turned off as soon as its airliners' doors have been closed. It said Baldwin refused to comply, stood up when the fasten seat belt light was on and took his phone into the lavatory, slamming the door so hard the cockpit crew heard it and became alarmed.

Baldwin spokesman Matthew Hiltzik said that it was the flight attendant who acted inappropriately and that Baldwin was singled out while other people on the plane were violating the regulation.

Air traveler Jamie Williams, a resident of Portland, Maine, who was typing on his laptop Monday at a Newark Liberty airport coffee shop, said he favored the Port Authority's plan even though he hadn't experienced a delay due to an unruly passenger.

"I would have no problem with that," he said. "I think it's a good idea."

More Port Authority news

George Zimmerman who shot and killed Trayvon Martin, says the two exchanged words before the teen punched him in the nose and began banging his head on the ground Watch video

Courtesy of Martin family via Miami HeraldIn this family photograph, Trayvon Martin is shown at age 11, playing with one of his cousins at home. Trayvon was fatally shot by a neighborhood watch volunteer last month as he returned to a Sanford home during a visit from Miami, authorities said.

SANFORD, Fla. — A slain Florida teenager and the neighborhood watch captain who shot and killed him exchanged words before the teen punched him in the nose and began banging the man's head on the ground, according to the watch captain's account of the confrontation that led to the shooting.

The Orlando Sentinel reported that George Zimmerman told police he lost 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in the neighborhood he regularly patrolled and was walking back to his vehicle last month when the youth approached him from behind.

The two exchanged words, Zimmerman said, and Martin then punched him, jumped on top of him and began banging his head on a sidewalk. Zimmerman said he began crying for help; Martin's family thinks it was their son who was crying out. Witness accounts differ and 911 tapes in which the voices are heard are not clear.

A statement from Sanford police said the newspaper story was "consistent" with evidence turned over to prosecutors.

Because Martin was black and Zimmerman has a white father and Hispanic mother, the case has become a racial flashpoint that has civil rights leaders and others leading a series of protests in Sanford and around the country. Zimmerman said he shot Martin in self-defense and has not been arrested.

Meanwhile, Martin's parents are blaming police for leaking information about their son being suspended for marijuana and details about the fight he had with Zimmerman that portrayed the teen as the aggressor.

Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton, and family attorneys said Monday that it was part of an effort to demonize her son.

"They killed my son and now they're trying to kill his reputation," Fulton told reporters.

Martin was suspended by Miami-Dade County schools because traces of marijuana were found in a plastic baggie in his book bag, family spokesman Ryan Julison said. Martin was serving the suspension when he was shot Feb. 26.

The Sanford Police Department insisted there was no authorized release of the new information but acknowledged there may have been a leak. City Manager Norton Bonaparte Jr. said it would be investigated and the person responsible could be fired.

Martin family attorney Benjamin Crump said the link between the youth and marijuana should have no bearing on the probe into his shooting death. State and federal agencies are investigating, with a grand jury set to convene April 10.

"If he and his friends experimented with marijuana, that is completely irrelevant," Crump said. "What does it have to do with killing their son?"

The state Department of Juvenile Justice confirmed Monday that Martin does not have a juvenile offender record. The information came after a public records request by The Associated Press.

Despite the news of Martin's possible actions the night of the shooting, rallies demanding the arrest of the 28-year-old Zimmerman spread from Florida to Indiana.

Thousands rallied Monday on the steps of the Georgia state Capitol. The crowd chanted "I am Trayvon!" and "Arrest Zimmerman now!" The protest ended with the crowd linking hands and singing, "We Shall Overcome."

Students from Morehouse College, Spelman College and Clark Atlanta University encouraged their fellow students to talk to their lawmakers about gun laws. Students wore hoodies that said, "I am Trayvon Martin" and lofted signs reading, "Don't shoot!" and "I could be next."

"We're humans, and even more so, we're American citizens, and we have the expectation that justice will be delivered," said Ronnie Mosley, 20, a student at Morehouse who helped organize the rally.

Back in Sanford, city officials named a 23-year veteran of the police department as acting chief. The appointment of Capt. Darren Scott, who is African-American, came days after Chief Bill Lee, who is white, temporarily stepped down as the agency endured withering criticism over its handling of the case.

"I know each one of you — and everyone watching — would like to have a quick, positive resolution to this recent event," Scott told reporters. "I urge everyone to let the system take its course."

The Sanford City Commission held its first meeting Monday since giving Lee a no confidence vote, which led to his ouster. Martin's parents both addressed the panel, urging them to take steps to arrest Zimmerman. More than 500 people crowded into the meeting, which was moved from City Hall to the Sanford Civil Center.

Andrew Mills/The Star-LedgerEast Orange City Council member Andrea McPhatter, center, clutches her son, Everard, 6, as her daughter Sage, 9, leans on a sign during an emotional candlelight vigil for Trayvon Martin, the unarmed Florida teen who was shot and killed by a neighborhood watch member.

"We are asking for justice," said Tracy Martin, the teenager's father.

Civil rights leader Al Sharpton warned commissioners that Sanford risked becoming a 21st century version of civil rights struggle in the South during the 1960s.

Sharpton said Martin's parents endured "insults and lies" Monday over reports that their son attacked Zimmerman.

Also Monday, an attorney for Martin's mother confirmed that she filed trademark applications for two slogans containing her son's name: "Justice for Trayvon" and "I Am Trayvon." The applications said the trademarks could be used for such things as DVDs and CDs.

The trademark attorney, Kimra Major-Morris, said in an email that Fulton wants to protect intellectual property rights for "projects that will assist other families who experience similar tragedies."

Asked if Fulton had any profit motive, the attorney replied: "None."

Related coverage:

• Residents hold vigil in East Orange in support of Florida shooting victim Trayvon Martin

• Friends of Florida shooting victim Trayvon Martin say he never picked a fight

• Editorial: Trayvon Martin's shooting by George Zimmerman shows danger of Florida's gun law

• Pres. Obama says Trayvon Martin incident is a tragedy, calls for 'soul searching'

• Lead investigator in Trayvon Martin case asked to step down; protests spread to N.Y.

Twenty-two-year-old Devone Kirkland is the second of five inmates charged in the 2010 death of 20-year-old Carl Epps of Egg Harbor

Department of CorrectionsDevone Kirkland.

CLINTON TOWNSHIP — An inmate has pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter in the death of a fellow inmate at New Jersey's Mountainview Youth Correctional Facility.

Devone Kirkland, 22, is the second of five inmates charged in the 2010 death of 20-year-old Carl Epps of Egg Harbor.

Authorities say Epps was attacked at the Clinton Township prison and died from trauma to the head.

Epps was found lying unconscious on the floor. He was taken to Hunterdon Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Hunterdon County's prosecutor says Kirkland and Quacy April, who also pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter, have entered into plea bargains. They'll each receive sentences of 12 years in prison with parole eligibility.

Three other defendants are awaiting trial.

Related coverage:

• Man admits role in death of fellow inmate at Clinton Township prison; four more still face murder charges

• Five Hunterdon County inmates plead not guilty in fatal beating of another prisoner

• Hunterdon grand jury indicts 5 inmates at Mountainview prison in murder of a fellow inmate