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NJ: State Prison ‘Hit Squad’ Run By Latin King Targeted Inmates, Corrections Investigators NJ: State Prison ‘Hit Squad’ Run By Latin King Targeted Inmates, Corrections Investigators
NJ: State Prison ‘Hit Squad’ Run By Latin King Targeted Inmates, Corrections Investigators Members of a state prison hit squad assembled by a Latin Kings leader beat one fellow inmate and were about to attack another when corrections officials got wind of their plans, New Jersey's top law enforcement officer said Thursday. Working from the outside, Frank “Lafay” Blake, 33, of Hillside recruited eight inmates for his shank-armed crew at various correctional facilities, including Northern State Prison in Newark and New Jersey State Prison in Trenton, state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said. Blake, the reputed leader of the Elizabeth chapter of the Almighty Latin King and Queen…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
NJ Dog Owner Whose Pit Bulls Killed 3-Year-Old Boy, Injured Mom Won't Be Charged NJ Dog Owner Whose Pit Bulls Killed 3-Year-Old Boy, Injured Mom Won't Be Charged
NJ Dog Owner Whose Pit Bulls Killed 3-Year-Old Boy, Injured Mom Won't Be Charged A Central Jersey dog owner whose pit bulls attacked a 3-year-old boy and his mom -- killing the toddler and injuring the woman -- will not be charged, reports say. The dogs' Carteret owner, Santos Rodriguez, did not violate any law, Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone said in a letter to supporters of the grieving family, who apparently contacted her office, NJ.com says. Further, investigators did not find “intentional, knowing, or reckless criminal conduct," and "despite the well-intended demands for justice, no charges will presently be filed," the prosecutor said. A vigil …

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by Cecilia Levine
News
SABOTAGE: Former Carteret Mayoral Candidate, Massive Beastie Boys Fan Charged With Voter Fraud SABOTAGE: Former Carteret Mayoral Candidate, Massive Beastie Boys Fan Charged With Voter Fraud
Sabotage: Former Carteret Mayoral Candidate, Massive Beastie Boys Fan Charged With Voter Fraud A 43-year-old former Carteret mayoral candidate has been accused of voting twice during the November 2020 presidential election as different people with similar names, authorities said Thursday. Frederick Gattuso -- who according to his Facebook is a massive Beastie Boys fan -- was arrested without incident and charged with one count of third-degree fraudulent voting, Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone said. Ciccone did not say which political party that Gattuso is registered in, or who he might have voted for.  Gattuso was charged after an investiga…

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by Jon Craig
News
STRIKE 3: Two-Time Gun Convict From Middlesex Admits Having Firearm In Secaucus Hotel Lot STRIKE 3: Two-Time Gun Convict From Middlesex Admits Having Firearm In Secaucus Hotel Lot
Strike 3: Two-Time Gun Convict From Middlesex Admits Having Firearm In Secaucus Hotel Lot A Middlesex County ex-con caught with a stolen handgun and dozens of rounds of ammo in the parking lot of a Secaucus hotel took a guilty plea Monday rather than go to trial, federal authorities announced Monday. With two former gun convictions, Sharome Neals, 27, of Carteret is looking at an extended prison term when he’s sentenced on May 25 in U.S. District Court in Newark. He’ll have to serve nearly all of it because there’s no parole in the federal prison system. Police who stopped Neals's Ford Taurus for tinted windows in the Red Roof Inn parking lot on Meadowlands Parkway this past De…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
NJ Pedophile Roundup: 21 Caught Having Or Trying To Have Sex With Kids, AG Says NJ Pedophile Roundup: 21 Caught Having Or Trying To Have Sex With Kids, AG Says
NJ Pedophile Roundup: 21 Caught Having Or Trying To Have Sex With Kids, AG Says One pedophile traveled to Atlantic City from Oklahoma for sex with two pre-teenage girls. Another had a girl carve his initials into her legs. A third posted a social media video of her raping a youngster she was babysitting. These were among 21 people busted in a massive state pedophile roundup, New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced Wednesday. Opportunities for predators to contact children directly have dramatically increased with remote home learning amid the coronavirus pandemic, Grewal said. “Reports to our Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force of potential pred…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Huge Number Of NJ Protests Peaceful, Powerful, Only Trenton, Atlantic City Get Riotous Huge Number Of NJ Protests Peaceful, Powerful, Only Trenton, Atlantic City Get Riotous
Huge Number Of NJ Protests Peaceful, Powerful, Only Trenton, Atlantic City Get Riotous Nearly all of the protests in New Jersey this weekend over the death of George Floyd were peaceful -- with authorities joining the demonstrators to help underscore their message, although were damaging enough to steal the spotlight. What had been a peaceful protest that included police officers kneeling in solidarity in Trenton later erupted into more than 1,000 rioters rampaging through downtown, throwing bricks at officers, setting a police car on fire and looting businesses. The same was true in Atlantic City, which Mayor Marty Small  was "under siege" Sunday by those who took …

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by Jerry DeMarco & Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Middlesex Prosecutor: Carteret Man, 66, Caught With Child Pornography Middlesex Prosecutor: Carteret Man, 66, Caught With Child Pornography
Middlesex Prosecutor: Carteret Man, 66, Caught With Child Pornography A 66-year-old man from Carteret was arrested on child pornography charges, authorities said. A tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) prompted the investigation of Edward Kross by the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, assisted by Carteret police,  Middlesex County Acting Prosecutor Christopher L.C. Kuberiet said in a joint statement with local police. Kross was arrested Thursday and lodged at the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center pending an initial court appearance, authorities said. Authorities did not release any m…

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by Jon Craig
News
Central Jersey Mayor Tests Positive For Coronavirus Central Jersey Mayor Tests Positive For Coronavirus
Central Jersey Mayor Tests Positive For Coronavirus Carteret Mayor Dan Reiman said Monday that he tested positive for the coronavirus and is recovering in self-quarantine at home. “I was tested last week and I received the results this morning, nearly seven days later, which is a long time to wait for results but it shows the importance of self-quarantining and following the advice of the CDC and Governor Murphy’s executive orders to help stop the spread of the virus,” Reiman said on Facebook.  Reiman said he developed minor symptoms including a cough, fever, headache and muscle pains and was initially diagnosed with a seasonal upper re…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
Hawthorne Man Dies After Falling Through Ice At Monksville Reservoir Hawthorne Man Dies After Falling Through Ice At Monksville Reservoir
Hawthorne Man Dies After Falling Through Ice At Monksville Reservoir UPDATE: A Hawthorne man who fell into the Monksville Reservoir in Ringwood while apparently ice fishing Friday afternoon died a short time later, authorities said. Robert R. Trojanowski, 54, was taken by ambulance to Chilton Hospital in Pequannock, as were two Ringwood police officers who jumped in to save him. Trojanowski fell through the icy lake about 100 feet from shore in the Long Pond Ironworks State Park sometime around 2 p.m., responders said. Two Ringwood police officers went after him before all three were pulled out by colleagues from Ringwood and West Milford, they said. The i…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Three Fall Through Ice At Monksville Reservoir, One Reported In Cardiac Arrest Three Fall Through Ice At Monksville Reservoir, One Reported In Cardiac Arrest
Three Fall Through Ice At Monksville Reservoir, One Reported In Cardiac Arrest UPDATE: A Hawthorne man who fell into the Monksville Reservoir in Ringwood while apparently ice fishing Friday afternoon died a short time later, authorities said. Robert R. Trojanowski, 54, was taken by ambulance to Chilton Hospital in Pequannock, as were two Ringwood police officers who jumped in to save him. Trojanowski fell through the icy lake about 100 feet from shore in the Long Pond Ironworks State Park sometime around 2 p.m., responders said. Two Ringwood police officers went after him before all three were pulled out by colleagues from Ringwood and West Milford, they said. The i…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
'We Will Support You' Community Tells NJ Boy Whose Entire Family Died In Crash 'We Will Support You' Community Tells NJ Boy Whose Entire Family Died In Crash
'We Will Support You' Community Tells NJ Boy Whose Entire Family Died In Crash An 11-year-old boy from Carteret is recovering at home after a deadly crash that took the lives of his parents and only sister. More than $147,000 had been raised as of Monday evening on a GoFundMe for Yashvir Singh, who suffered a broken pelvis in the accident. Yashvir's parents Gurmeet Sing, 44, and Jasleen Kaur, 38, were killed instantly Thursday night while driving back to New Jersey from Virginia when a pick-up truck driver lot control and slammed into their minivan. His sister, Harjas Kaur, 6, also died. The GoFundMe remembered Gurmeet Singh as a "man of few words but many smiles. …

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Linden Man, 3 Others Charged In $2.5M ‘Bust Out’ Identity Theft Scam Linden Man, 3 Others Charged In $2.5M ‘Bust Out’ Identity Theft Scam
Linden Man, 3 Others Charged In $2.5M ‘Bust Out’ Identity Theft Scam Four men were arrested Thursday for using stolen personal information to create bogus identities as part of a scheme to defraud banks of millions of dollars, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Craig Carepenito said. Shahid Akhtar, 42, of Linden; Tassadiq Hussain, 70, of Sayreville; Asif Ali, 39, of Carteret; and Mohammad Mushtaq, 54, of Valley Stream, New York are each charged with one count of conspiring to defraud financial institutions. They were scheduled to appear in Newark federal court Thursday. Authorities say the four obtained valid Social Security numbers, dates of birth, drivers licen…

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by Paul Milo