A judge also appointed an independent monitor for the dealership, Lencore Leasing, which does business as North Jersey Auto Mall and DCH Motors

Martin Griff/The Times of TrentonA Paterson-based used car dealership is being sued by the state over a lack of information to customers. Above, a file photo of the Statehouse.

TRENTON — A Paterson-based used car dealership must disclose damage to the cars it advertises for sale after state authorities alleged in a lawsuit the company sold dozens of cars without telling buyers about their true condition, the state Attorney General’s Office said today.

A state Superior Court judge also appointed an independent monitor for the dealership, Lencore Leasing — which does business as North Jersey Auto Mall and DCH Motors — and its owner, Lenny Belot, as the case moves forward, the office said in a news release.

DCH Motors is not affiliated with a similarly named company, DCH Auto Group, or any of DCH Auto Group's dealerships.

"A nice wax job can make any vehicle look good," the acting director of the state Division of Consumer Affairs, Eric Kanefsky, said in a statement. "But below the surface, we allege that real and potentially dangerous problems existed for Lencore’s consumers."

The state’s lawsuit alleges the company sold 51 used vehicles that had a cumulative $213,758 in undisclosed damage. The company also sometimes told buyers vehicles were in "absolutely mint in and out" condition or were "pristine" when they were not, the office said.

The company also allegedly misrepresented that vehicles were covered by a warranty when they were not, the office said.

A man who answered the phone at North Jersey Auto Mall declined to comment today.

Editor's Note: The original version of this story did not include the fact that DCH Motors is not affiliated with DCH Auto Group or any of DCH Auto Group's dealerships.

More Statehouse coverage

Ferretti posted the $50,000 bail while Meyer remains behind bars, according to the Bergen County Sheriff's Office

Bergen County Sheriffs OfficeJoseph Meyer, 19, and Joseph Ferretti, 28, were charged after police say the two lost control of Ferraris they were driving and struck a motorcyclist.

BERGEN COUNTY — Joseph Ferretti, the Dumont man who was allegedly driving the Ferrari that killed a Kinnelon motorcyclist Sunday morning, posted bail and was released from Bergen County jail Monday night.

Ferretti, 28, and Joseph Meyer, 19, of Oveido, Fla., were arrested without incident around 9 p.m. and charged with death by auto in the wreck that killed Stephen Lenge, 56, Sgt. Brian Polite, a State Police spokesman, said.

Ferretti posted the $50,000 bail while Meyer remains behind bars, according to the Bergen County Sheriff's Office.

The two men were driving Ferraris along Berry’s Creek Road North in East Rutherford when Meyer lost control of his vehicle and struck two curbs, Trooper Christopher Kay, another State Police spokesman, said Sunday. Ferretti lost control of his car seconds later and spun into the northbound side of the roadway, striking a Triumph motorcycle operated by Lenge, Kay said today.

Investigators have not said how fast the men were traveling, but Polite confirmed the Ferraris were moving at a "high rate of speed."

Previous coverage:

• Two men driving Ferraris charged in crash that killed Kinnelon motorcyclist near MetLife Stadium

• Kinnelon motorcyclist dies after head-on crash with Ferrari near MetLife Stadium

After one hour of deliberations a jury in Superior Court in Elizabeth found Kenneth Banks, 37, a member of the Piru set of the Blood street gang and Andre Nance, 46, guilty of armed robbery, possession of a handgun for an unlawful purpose and eluding a law enforcement office

View full sizeUnion County Prosecutor's OfficeKenneth Banks and Andre Nance were convicted this morning of armed robbery.

ELIZABETH — Two Newark men were convicted this morning of an armed robbery in which they robbed a woman and her two young daughters at gun point and then led police on a high-speed chase through Elizabeth, said Union County Prosecutor Theodore J. Romankow.

After one hour of deliberations a jury in Superior Court in Elizabeth found Kenneth Banks, 37, a member of the Piru set of the Blood street gang and Andre Nance, 46, guilty of armed robbery, possession of a handgun for an unlawful purpose and eluding a law enforcement officer.

Prosecutors said a woman and her two young daughters were walking through Kellogg Park on Oct. 17, 2009 when Nance pulled a gun out and pointed it at the older girl's stomach. As the mother begged the men "not to kill my daughter," Banks took the older girl's earrings out of her ears and the necklace from around her neck before fleeing with Nance in Banks' vehicle, said Assistant Prosecutors Jamel Semper and Joshua McMahon, who prosecuted the case.

The younger girl then flagged down a pedestrian who called police. Elizabeth Police Officers Robert Sharpnick and Humberto Alvarez spotted Banks' vehicle in downtown Elizabeth and attempted to stop the men.

A five mile chase through Elizabeth ensued in which Banks crossed yellow lines, swerved into oncoming traffic and ran numerous red lights before losing control of the car and crashing on Meeker Avenue in Newark.

Both men were arrested at the scene and the gun used in the robbery was recovered.

"This type of violence against women and children and endangerment of this community will not be tolerated," said Romankow, who added prosecutors will seek the maximum sentence, life in prison, when the two men are sentenced July 12.

More Elizabeth news

Officers recovered $33,000 in alleged drug proceeds, $6,000 in heroin and a .40 caliber firearm loaded with hollow-point bullets

Robert Sciarrino/The Star-LedgerNewark police seized $40,000 in cash and drugs during two raids last week.

NEWARK — A pair of raids in Newark’s Central Ward netted police nearly $40,000 in cash and drugs last week, officials said.

The undercover investigation into narcotics trafficking resulted in two simultaneous raids at 7A and 7B Irvine Turner Boulevard around 6 a.m. on May 10, said Sgt. Ronald Glover, a city police spokesman. Officers recovered $33,000 in alleged drug proceeds, $6,000 in heroin and a .40 caliber firearm loaded with hollow-point bullets after they searched both residences, Glover said.

Newark resident Shaquan Ward, 27, was arrested and charged with nearly a dozen weapons and narcotics offenses, according to Glover, who said Ward has a dozen prior felony convictions.

Kenneth Ward, 41, and Olajuwan Reynolds, 25, were also arrested inside building 7A and held on open criminal and traffic warrants. Inside building 7B, 22-year-old Hassan Ward, 21-year-old Dashon Ward and 29-year-old Zakira Ward were all arrested and charged with multiple drug offenses.

Police Director Samuel DeMaio applauded the efforts of the Department’s gang and narcotics unit, as well as the emergency services unit, who executed the raids.

"I commend the entire unit on their hard work and commitment to improving the safety and quality of life for our residents," he said. "These brave officers routinely put themselves at great risk as they conduct undercover narcotics operations."

Related coverage:

• Authorities seize $20K in heroin, cocaine in Newark drug raid

• Essex County detectives are forced to fatally shoot pit bull during drug raid

Incident in Scotch Plains is the latest chapter in an ongoing dispute between Union Catholic High School and its neighbors

View full sizeJoe Proudman/The Star-LedgerSeveral baseballs hit from Union Catholic High School baseball games sit in Rajul Shah's backyard in Scotch Plains last year.

SCOTCH PLAINS — It was the bottom of the fourth inning on Saturday afternoon when a player knocked a foul ball to the edge of Union Catholic High School’s property — possibly into a neighbor’s yard — and re-ignited a ongoing feud.

At first, it wasn’t a big deal — just an errant ball that landed near some trees. An 18-year-old player for the Scotch Plains school headed over, picked up the ball and started to jog back toward the field. That’s when things got weird, police and a coach say.

A man who believed the ball landed in his yard spotted the player from his house and started yelling at him to get off his property, Scotch Plains Police Capt. Brian Donnelly said. Then the neighbor, 44-year-old Michael Bennett, approached the player, the captain said.

"He grabbed him by the neck and yelled for him to get off his property, then kind of shook him a bit," Donnelly said.

James Reagan Jr., an assistant principal at Union Catholic and the school’s varsity baseball coach, said he was standing at third base and had a clear view of what was happening.

"He grabbed him around the waist and his right shoulder," Reagan said Tuesday. "At that point, I saw what was going on. I said: ‘Sir, please stop it. Let go of my player. Let go of him.’ And then I went over to that area."

The coach said he started running, passing through the visitor’s dugout, occupied by their opponents from Plainfield High School, and toward his player, an Edison resident who police would not identify. Reagan said Bennett "quickly retreated," heading toward his driveway.

Police charged Bennett with simple assault, a disorderly persons offense that will be heard in municipal court, and released him. The player suffered a scratch on his neck, Donnelly said.

Bennett did not return several calls for comment today and no one answered the door at his home tonight.

The incident appears to be the first flare-up in months between Union Catholic and its neighbors, who have been complaining for some time about errant balls landing in their yards.

The dispute grew so tense that one family on nearby Dutch Lane, where Bennett also lives, has sued the school twice, arguing it may not have had proper approval for $1.3 million in renovations done to the 50-year-old ball field. That family, the Shahs, also claimed the improved field had actually been moved 25-feet, sending more fouls onto their property.

Reagan told The Star-Ledger last year the claims simply weren’t true, dismissing the foul ball accusation as mere "hyperbole."

Eventually, the school was able to reach an agreement that satisfied neighbors, Reagan said Tuesday. The school put up additional netting and trees to block the balls, significantly reducing the number of fouls, he said. It satisfied a Superior Court judge who lifted a temporary restraining order that had prohibiting baseball-related activities on the field, Reagan said. His team has been playing games since March without complaint.

Until Saturday, police had never been called on anything related to the foul ball dispute, Donnelly said. In addition, Reagan said, he had never even heard of Bennett, let alone fielded complaints from him.

"I think that it was completely shocking" he said. "It was shocking for the student and for all of us who were there and witnessed it."

Star-Ledger staff writer Tomas Dinges contributed to this report.

Related coverage:

• High school baseball player attacked by Scotch Plains homeowner while retrieving foul ball, police say

Bimbo Olumuyiwa Oyewole, 55, of Elizabeth, pleaded not guilty this afternoon to a single count of identity theft in state Superior Court in Newark

Amy Newman/The RecordBimbo Olumuyiwa Oyewole, 55, of Elizabeth, pleaded not guilty to a single count of identity theft in state Superior Court in Newark.

NEWARK — A security supervisor at Newark Liberty International Airport accused of stealing the identity of a murdered Queens man two decades ago began using the victim’s identification three weeks before he was killed, officials said today.

The supervisor, Bimbo Olumuyiwa Oyewole, 55, of Elizabeth, a Nigerian immigrant living in the United States illegally, is accused of using the birth certificate and Social Security number for Jerry Thompson, who was shot and killed in Queens on July 20, 1992.

Thompson’s murder remains unsolved and officials said one aspect of an ongoing investigation involving several federal and state agencies is whether Oyewole played any role in the 45-year-old man’s death.

It was just one confounding element of a case labeled "bizarre" by officials who briefed reporters after a hearing in Superior Court in Newark today, during which Oyewole pleaded not guilty to a single count of identity theft, a second-degree crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

Wearing an orange prison jumpsuit and flanked by two sheriff’s officers, Oyewole appeared via video feed from the Essex County Correctional Facility where he has been held since his arrest Monday at his home in Elizabeth.

Judge Roslyn Holmes-Grant declared Oyewole a flight risk and granted a request by Deputy Attorney General Vincent Militello to raise bail from $75,000 to $250,000, with a 10 percent option.
"Your honor, we simply do not know who this gentleman is," Militello said.

Oyewole’s public defender, Regina Lynch, said the bail issue was moot, however, since federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials had requested that her client remain in custody regardless of his criminal status. He has been placed under a federal immigration detainer, essentially a notification has been identified for deportation.

Oyewole is due back in court June 18.

Oyewole is accused of using Thompson’s identification to obtain work, a New Jersey driver’s license and a high school equivalency diploma. Militello told the judge Oyewole had been using Thompson’s documents for three weeks before he was shot outside a Queens YMCA.

But officials later said Oyewole’s prior use of the ID did not necessarily indicate he was involved in Thompson’s death. A spokeswoman for the Queens District Attorney’s office said the Thompson case remains open. She declined to comment on Oyewole’s arrest.

The Port Authority, which operates Newark Liberty, said Oyewole entered the United States illegally in 1989 and had worked under several contractors at the airport, most recently FJC Security Services, a private firm contracted by the agency to staff vehicle access gates and perform other functions at the airport. Officials said Oyewole supervised about 30 guards and had access to the tarmac and to planes. FJC was one of several airport security firms Oyewole had worked for using Thompson’s name, having passed background checks at all of them, officials said.

Port Authority officials said its investigation found no indication he used the fake identity for any reason other than to live in the United States. The probe began after an anonymous tip was sent to the Port Authority inspector general’s office in Hoboken.

In another bizarre twist, officials said the body of the real Jerry Thompson and his living imposter were neighbors in Elizabeth for years. Oyewole rented an apartment on Pingry Place, while Thompson was buried at Rosemount Memorial Park, across Route 1&9 from the airport.

Star-Ledger staff writer Richard Khavkine contributed to this report.

Related coverage:

• Newark Airport security supervisor accused of using ID of NYC murder victim

• Report: Security breaches underreported by TSA

• No-fly list glitch: Computer error led N.J. toddler to be pulled from JetBlue flight

• Passenger caught trying to bring colorful brass knuckles on flight at Newark airport

City Police are hunting for a 16-year-old Newark teen who escaped from the back of a police cruiser with the aid of a 26-year-old woman this morning, and then led police on a chase with a 1-year-old in the back of the getaway car, authorities said

Tony Kurdzuk/The Star-LedgerCity Police are hunting for a 16-year-old Newark teen who escaped from the back of a police cruiser with the aid of a 26-year-old woman this morning, and then led police on a chase with a 1-year-old in the back of the getaway car, authorities said.

NEWARK — A Newark teen who escaped from the back seat of a police cruiser later took off in an SUV with the year-old child of a woman who helped him flee, authorities said today.

Officers seeking a youth attempting to break into a car parked near Hawthorne Avenue School arrived at the 100 block of Clinton Place shortly before noon today, according to Sgt. Ronald Glover, a city police spokesman. Glover said a 16-year-old was quickly arrested and placed in the back of a Newark Police Department cruiser.

As the officers "investigated the scene further," 26-year-old Newark resident Shaquana Council pulled up in a gray Dodge Durango and opened the door of the cruiser, allowing the 16-year-old to escape, Glover said. The duo, he added, fled in the truck, with Council’s 1-year-old daughter riding in the back seat.

Police found the Durango a short time later and pursued it, according to Glover, but the cruiser chasing the sport utility vehicle crashed into another vehicle. Glover said the teen managed to elude officers and drove off with Council’s daughter in the Durango.

Council was left at the crash scene and arrested in connection with the escape, Glover said. Both a civilian and a Newark officer suffered minor injuries in the accident.

Citing the ongoing investigation, Glover would not say if the teen was handcuffed or how far away the officers were when he escaped. He said the baby was later found unharmed at the home of one of the teen’s relatives.

The teen remains at large, Glover said. He also said the youth’s name is not being released because he is a minor and the relationship between the youth and Council has not been established.

The Durango’s license plate reads L90-ATP.

More Newark news

Kristin Leone, 26, pleaded not guilty to numerous charges

Passaic County Pros. OfficeTeacher Kristin Leone

PATERSON — A female Clifton High School history teacher has denied allegations she had sex with a 16-year-old male student on two occasions.

Kristin Leone, 26, pleaded not guilty to numerous charges — including sexual assault, child endangerment and two counts of official misconduct — during a state Superior Court appearance Tuesday in Paterson.

She remains free on $100,000 bail.

Passaic County prosecutors say the first alleged incident occurred on school property, the second in the teacher's Clifton home. There's no evidence to show the boy was coerced, but authorities say the relationship was not legal.

Related coverage:

• Female Clifton High School teacher had sexual contact with student, authorities say

Alrashim Chambers, 25, was charged in the slaying of Victoria Carmen White, who had undergone sexual reassignment surgery

Victoria Carmen White was fatally shot in 2010.

MAPLEWOOD — Victoria Carmen White’s death was about ego, anger and an illegal gun, an Essex County assistant prosecutor told the jury in Newark Tuesday.

Her accused killer, Alrashim Chambers, stands charged with murder, bias intimidation and weapons offenses in the fatal shooting of the 28-year-old transgender female, whom he had met hours earlier at an Irvington nightclub.

"But for Carmen White’s status as a transgender individual, I would submit to you she would be alive today," Assistant Prosecutor Eileen O’Connor said during her opening statements in Superior Court.

What began that night as "a festive event of young people, turned very violent, very very quickly," O’Connor said. White, a lingerie model whom everyone called Carmen, was found dead of multiple gunshot wounds inside her cousin’s Maplewood apartment on Sept. 12, 2010, a few blocks from the nightclub.

Born a male, she had undergone sexual reassignment surgery after high school and had legally changed her name. O’Connor called the killing "a gross overreaction" on Chambers’ part, "when he realized this individual wasn’t a woman, or at some point had been a man."

His alleged accomplice, Marquise Foster, was also charged with murder, but has since pleaded guilty to a lesser offense in exchange for his testimony against the defendant, expected later this week.

Chambers, 25, sat quietly at the defense table Tuesday as his attorney acknowledged he was in the apartment that night. However, the attorney, Bukie Adetula, accused Foster of the killing, noting his extensive criminal record.

"He is an experienced crook," Adetula said of Foster, 26, who last year pleaded guilty to an unrelated gun possession charge. "He knows the buttons to push, when to reach out to the prosecutor’s office, how to tell a story."

Adetula maintained his client’s innocence and did not address the bias charge in court. But in an interview afterward, he said "there is no basis for it. Even in the best of circumstances, it just isn’t there. You can be shocked, and react. But how is it done with an eye toward intimidating?"

John O'Boyle/The Star-LedgerAlrashim Chambers of Newark is arraigned in connection with the fatal shooting of Victoria Carmen White at the Essex County courthouse in Newark in this 2010 photo.

Tuesday, two women who were also in the Maplewood apartment the night of the killing and who testified for the prosecution appeared to point the finger at Chambers. Both claimed they saw him and White kissing in the studio apartment that evening. Foster, meanwhile, was on the phone and wasn’t mingling with White, they said.

The women, Sharon White — the victim’s cousin — and Natasha Wray, said they went into the bathroom to give the couple some privacy. "They were hugging on each other," Sharon White said on direct examination.

When the bathroom door briefly swung open at one point, the women saw White leaning against Chambers, with her shirt partially pulled up. "I yelled to my cousin, was she good," Sharon White testified. "She said she was ok."

Minutes later, the party turned deadly.

Sharon White and Wray said they heard a man yell: "You a dude?" followed by three gunshots.

The bathroom door was closed at that point so neither could tell who fired the shots. They also couldn’t tell who uttered the statement, the tone of which sounded like "a question, with anger," as Sharon White put it.

In his previous statement to police, Foster said he and Chambers both had sexual encounters with Carmen White during those few minutes when the women were in the bathroom, but that only the defendant suspected she was a transgender female.

The trial continues today, with Chambers’ cousin expected to take the stand for the prosecution. She provided testimony at a grand jury hearing but O’Connor indicated to the judge Tuesday that her statement may have since changed.

Related coverage:

• Man pleads not guilty to fatal shooting of transgender lingerie model in Maplewood

• Newark man indicted on murder and intimidation of transgender woman

• Three accused in separate Maplewood slayings plead not guilty

• Second man accused of fatally shooting Maplewood transgender model surrenders

Police used the photo to track down the car, which still had some of the woman's items inside

Google MapsCity Hall in Hackensack.

HACKENSACK — Authorities say a Bergen County woman helped solve a burglary at her home after she photographed a car that was parked in her spot.

Police say seconds after the woman took the photo, a man walked out of her Hackensack home carrying two pillowcases. He drove off when she asked him what he was doing.

Detective Capt. Thomas Salcedo tells The Record police used the photo to track down the car, which still had some of the woman's items inside.

Eduardo Masdeu is held on $20,000 bail, charged with criminal mischief, burglary and theft. It's not known if he has hired a lawyer.

More Bergen County news

Al-Quadir Williford, 17, of Newark, is charged with killing Dechania Edwards, also of Newark, last August

Tim Farrell/The Star-LedgerAl-Quadir Williford, 17, of Newark, is charged with killing Dechania Edwards, also of Newark, last August.

NEWARK — An Essex County grand jury has indicted 17-year-old Al-Quadir Williford on murder and weapons offenses in last year’s fatal shooting of a 23-year-old woman in Newark, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office announced today.

Williford, of Newark, is charged with killing Dechania Edwards, also of Newark, on Aug. 29, 2011, at 11:15 p.m., in the 100 block of 12th Avenue. Police found Edwards bleeding on a sidewalk, and she died at University Hospital in Newark.

The shooting was one of three reported in the West Ward over a six-hour period. Two people were killed and a third man hospitalized in the attacks, authorities said at the time.

Williford was originally charged as a juvenile but the prosecutor’s office filed a successful application to have him tried as an adult.

He will be arraigned on June 5, in front of Superior Court Judge Peter Vazquez in Newark.

Related coverage:

• Newark gun violence claims 2 lives, injures 1 in the last 12 hours

• 2 fatally shot, one hospitalized in string of shootings in Newark's West Ward

The victim was found in front of a house on East 32nd Street near 11th Avenue at about 12:30 a.m

FacebookA Paterson man was shot to death this morning.

PATERSON — A man was fatally shot in Paterson this morning, according to a report on PatersonPress.com.

The victim, an African-American man in his mid to late 20s, has not been identified yet, the report said. He was found in front of a house on East 32nd Street near 11th Avenue at about 12:30 a.m.

The man was brought to St. Joseph Regional Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

Two other men with gunshot wounds came to the hospital for treatment later, but police said it's unclear if they were a part of the same incident. A 23-year-old man is in critical but stable condition after being shot in the abdomen, the report said. A 25-year-old man was shot in the shoulder.

More Paterson news

Prosecutors will determine whether a federal probe in warranted; last week a Middlesex County grand jury declined to indict 2 officers in the shooting death of Barry Deloatch

NEW BRUNSWICK — The U.S. Attorney's Office in Newark today said it will review circumstances surrounding the fatal police shooting of a New Brunswick man in September and determine if it will begin a full investigation.

"We will evaluate the facts to determine whether a federal investigation is warranted," said Rebekah Carmichael, spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman.

On Thursday Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan announced that a grand jury decided not to indict New Brunswick police officers Brad Berdel and Daniel Mazan in the September shooting of Barry Deloatch, 46, in an alley on Throop Avenue in New Brunswick.

"We respect the work of the grand jury," Carmichael said.

Salaam Ismial, director of the National United Youth Council in Elizabeth and one of the leaders of protests that followed the Deloatch shooting, sent a letter to the U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman requesting a federal investigation.

"Your involvement is in dire need," Ismial said in the letter.

After the release of the grand jury decision, Ismial raised questions about the investigation of the shooting, noting a judge had refused to impanel a special grand jury, and that the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office is located in the same building as New Brunswick police headquarters.

The shooting occurred shortly after midnight on Sept. 22, 2011, when Berdel and Mazan approached three men, including Deloatch, who had just emerged from an alley. When the men were ordered to show their hands, Deloatch refused, holding one hand behind his back, Kaplan said. When Mazan drew his weapon and repeated the order, Deloatch ran, prompting the officers to give chase, authorities have said.

When Mazan tackled Deloatch, the suspect began beating the officer with a 2-foot stick, police have said. To protect his partner, Berdel fired, killing Deloatch, authorities have said. It was later determined Deloatch did not have gun or knife.

Lawyers for Deloatch's two adult sons said they will review the prosecutor's investigation.

Related coverage:

• Family of man killed by New Brunswick police officers meet with Middlesex County prosecutor

• Grand jury in New Brunswick fatal police shooting case does not bring charges against officers

Stolen were the U.S. Amateur's trophy that was created in 1926 and a replica of the late golfer Ben Hogan's Hickok Belt

View full sizeU.S. Golf AssociationTwo golf artifacts are missing after an apparent break-in at the U.S. Golf Association Museum early this morning, a USGA spokesman said.

BERNARDS TOWNSHIP — Hours after U.S. Golf Association officials toasted the donation of more than 200 artifacts to their Bernards Township museum, a thief smashed into the building early today and snatched two prized trophies.

The thief took a U.S. Amateur Trophy and a replica of the late Ben Hogan’s Hickok Belt, USGA spokesman Joe Goode said.

The U.S. Amateur Trophy was created in 1926 and had been used for nearly 65 years, while the Hickok Belt was a trophy given to Hogan in 1953, Goode said. The Hickok Belt was awarded from 1950 to 1976 to the nation’s top professional athletes through a vote by sportswriters.

Goode declined to say how much the items were worth, but said they "are an important part of our collection and their loss is a disappointment."

The museum on Liberty Corner Road was closed Tuesday for a reception that allowed attendees to glimpse the new Mickey Wright Room, which is scheduled to open next month. Wright, the only player to have held four women’s major championship titles at the same time, had donated more than 200 artifacts.

The donation boosted what was already the world’s largest collection of golf memorabilia, with 42,000 artifacts, 14,000 books and a half-million photos.

According to the USGA, the Mickey Wright event lasted into the night.

About 2:30 a.m. today, an alarm brought police to the museum, Somerset County Prosecutor Geoffrey Soriano said.

Anyone with information should contact the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Burglary Task Force at (908) 231-7100 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 577-TIPS (8477) or 888577tips.org.

A $5,000 reward is being offered.

More Somerset County news

By pleading guilty, John Staten, of Orange, avoided the murder charge he had faced, and the accompanying potential life sentence if convicted at trial.

John O'Boyle/The Star-LedgerJohn Staten, of Orange, pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter and weapons offenses in connection with the beating death of a Maplewood man he met through a telephone chat service.

MAPLEWOOD — A 32-year-old man pleaded guilty today to aggravated manslaughter and weapons offenses in the beating death of a Maplewood man he met through a telephone chat service.

By pleading guilty, John Staten, of Orange, avoided the murder charge he had faced, and the accompanying potential life sentence if convicted at trial. Under the terms of the agreement, Staten will receive 18 years in prison when he is sentenced on June 19 in Superior Court in Newark, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office said.

Staten admitted he beat 27-year-old Arthur Downey III with an iron just hours after they met on March 14, 2010, then covered his head with a plastic bag, prosecutors said. The cause of death was bludgeoning and asphyxiation. A roommate discovered Downey’s body the next morning in their Maplewood home.

In a statement accompanying the news release about Staten’s plea, Assistant Prosecutor Margarita Rivera said, "It is our hope that the 18-year sentence will bring some solace to Mr. Downey’s family."

At the time of Staten’s arrest in October 2010, authorities said they were investigating whether the victim’s sexual orientation may have been a factor in the killing, but he was never charged with a bias crime.

Staten had also been charged with theft for allegedly stealing an Xbox console and other property valued at more than $500 from Downey's home following the killing, then driving off in the victim's 2007 Chevrolet. The theft charge was also dropped as part of the plea deal.

Related coverage:

• Essex County man indicted in murder of Maplewood man he met through phone chat service

• Two Maplewood slayings may have been related to sexual orientation, prosecutor says

• Police say Maplewood man found killed in bed was not randomly targeted

Pedestrians in the Kohl's parking lot on Route 10 alerted Morris Plains police that the children were crying

Morris Plains policeMorris Plains police arrested a couple that left three children in a car while they shopped.

MORRIS PLAINS — Authorities say a Morris County couple left their three children unattended in a parked car at a shopping center for more than 30 minutes.

Dane and Narailin Bath of Morris Plains are charged with disorderly conduct.

Pedestrians in the Kohl's parking lot on Route 10 alerted Morris Plains police that the children were crying.

Police tell The Daily Record of Parsippany the children — ages 3 months, 2 years and 4 years — did not require medical attention.

Child welfare officials investigated the children's home. They were released, along with their parents.

More Morris County news

The couple had been acting 'irrational' during the standoff, yelling obscenities and talking about 'conspiracy theories,' police say

Mahwah policeMahwah police responding to a domestic violence call ended up in an 5-hour standoff with a couple.

MAHWAH — Authorities took a Bergen County couple to a hospital for psychiatric evaluation after they held police at bay for five hours.

The standoff began after officers responded to a report of domestic violence in the condominium in Mahwah Wednesday.

Police say a SWAT team a fired tear gas cannister into a window and stormed through the front door after 47-year-old Joseph LaRocco and his 45-year-old wife, Rosa, barricaded themselves inside.

Police Chief James Batelli tells The Record the LaRoccos had been acting "irrational" during the standoff, yelling obscenities and talking about "conspiracy theories."

There are no reports of injuries.

More Bergen County news

John Balsamo allegedly teamed up with two others to make an unnamed victim believe the $50,000 he had borrowed was actually owed to a mob figure referred to as the 'Old Man'

Essex County Sheriff's Dept.A former longtime Essex County sheriff's officer appeared in a federal courtroom Wednesday to face charges that he threatened mob violence while extorting money from a man who federal authorities say owed a co-conspirator $50,000.

NEWARK — John Balsamo, a former longtime Essex County sheriff’s officer, stood in a federal courtroom Wednesday, wearing a tight black T-shirt and a tense expression as he listened to charges that he allegedly threatened mob violence while extorting money from a man who federal authorities say owed one of Balsamo’s co-conspirators $50,000.

As his lawyer, federal public defender John Yauch, noted his client had worked in the sheriff’s office for some 25 years, had no previous criminal record and was collecting a pension, Balsamo, a short, thin man from West Long Branch, heard some details of the allegations against him spoken in court.

According to both federal prosecutor Leslie Schwartz — who appeared in court at Balsamo’s Newark bail hearing — and a lengthy indictment unsealed against Balsamo yesterday, the former law enforcement officer teamed up with two others to make an unnamed victim believe the $50,000 he’d borrowed from co-conspirator Timothy Kelly was actually owed to a mob figure referred to as the "Old Man."

The indictment alleges that in March 2011 Balsamo approached the victim, an Ocean County contractor building a restaurant in Brick, and warned him that the Old Man wanted to beat up the restaurant’s owner due to the victim’s failure to repay the debt.

In addition, authorities allege, Balsamo and Kelly, 36, of Jersey City, told the victim the debt had grown to $70,000.

During the same incident, it is alleged, Kelly told the victim that if he had brought his "boys" it would have gotten "done right in here, right in this place, right like this, in front of everybody … and your wife gets it too."

Balsamo additionally told the victim the Old Man had been "promoted," implying he now possessed a higher position in organized crime, according to the indictment and federal authorities.

During the course of the conspiracy, Balsamo allegedly received a Rolex watch and $2,500 in cash from the victim toward payment of the debt.

Kelly, a former Union Township firefighter, and Balsamo’s other alleged co-conspirator, Robert C. Bantang Jr., 43, of Oceanport, pleaded guilty in February to conspiring to collect a debt from the victim using extortionate means, authorities said Wednesday.

At the conclusion of Balsamo’s hearing Wednesday, U.S. District Magistrate Judge Michael A. Shipp released him on an unsecured appearance bond of $100,000.

Moments after the hearing, Balsamo’s wife, Nikki, angrily said "the truth will come out." She added that "we’ve been going through this for a year," but declined to elaborate.

If convicted, Balsamo faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count — conspiring to collect a debt using extortionate means and collecting a debt using extortionate means.

More Essex County news

Ken Zisa faces a minimum prison sentence of 23 years, with no parole for 15 years

Carmine Galasso/The RecordHackensack Police Chief Ken Zisa could be sentenced to up to 45 years in prison.

HACKENSACK — Hackensack Police Chief Ken Zisa faces up to 45 years in prison after a jury convicted him of insurance fraud and official misconduct.

After deliberating three days, the panel on Wednesday found Zisa filed a false insurance report and became involved in two investigations involving his former girlfriend.

Jurors acquitted the 58-year-old of conspiracy and witness tampering.

The Record reports Zisa faces a minimum prison sentence of 23 years, with no parole for 15 years. Authorities are also seeking to remove him from office and the forfeiture of his pension.

Zisa's attorney plans to appeal.

Zisa was police chief for 15 years and was a state assemblyman for 8 years. Members of his family held the top elected and appointed positions in Hackensack for decades.

Related coverage:

• Jury finds suspended Hackensack police chief guilty of insurance fraud, misconduct

• Trial of Hackensack police chief nears conclusion

The 57-year-old man is charged with 3 counts of sexual assault

Long Hill policeLong Hill police charged a township man with sexually assaulting a 9-year-old girl.

LONG HILL — A Long Hill man has been charged with sexually assaulting a 9-year-old girl, the Morris County Prosecutor's Office said.

Mark C. Annis, 57, of the Gillette section of the township is charged with three counts of sexual assault, one count of attempted sexual assault and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. He turned himself in to Long Hill police Wednesday.

The alleged incidents occurred in August and December of 2011, the prosecutor's office said.

Annis is being held on $125,000 bail with no 10 percent option.

More Morris County news