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Police & Fire
Local NJ Police Sergeant Took Child Porn Images From Investigation For Himself: AG Local NJ Police Sergeant Took Child Porn Images From Investigation For Himself: AG
Local NJ Police Sergeant Took Child Porn Images From Investigation For Himself: AG A local South Jersey police sergeant cherry-picked child porn images for himself from a case that his department was investigating, a grand jury indictment charges. Suspended Vineland Police Officer Christopher Ortiz, 39, of Estell Manor "requested from a subordinate and obtained via email" at least 17 images from a child pornography investigation for unauthorized use, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said. All told, investigators found that Ortiz "possessed, viewed, or had under his control at least 100 items depicting the sexual exploitation or abuse of children," the attorney …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Wood-Ridge Man Convicted Again Of Murdering, Torching East Rutherford Grandmother Wood-Ridge Man Convicted Again Of Murdering, Torching East Rutherford Grandmother
Wood-Ridge Man Convicted Again Of Murdering, Torching East Rutherford Grandmother 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: Questionable DNA evidence found under the fingernails of a 70-year-old Bergen County woman bludgeoned and burned in her home may have gotten her killer a new trial, but it didn't change the outcome. For a second time, a jury in Hackensack convicted Daniel Rochat on Wednesday of all charges in the brutal September 2012 slaying of real estate agent Barbara Vernieri in her East Rutherford home. Rochat, 48, of Wood-Ridge was originally convicted in June 2017 of beating Vernieri, then pouring gasoline on her and around her home before setting it on fire to cover up the crime scene. Pros…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
COLD CASE: Two Charged 16 Years After NJ Robbery Victim Is Beaten To Death, Thanks To New Tech COLD CASE: Two Charged 16 Years After NJ Robbery Victim Is Beaten To Death, Thanks To New Tech
Cold CASE: Two Charged 16 Years After NJ Robbery Victim Is Beaten To Death, Thanks To New Tech UPDATE: Leroy Julious had planned on whipping up a celebratory dinner after cashing a bonus check from his cook's job at The College of New Jersey when his brutally beaten body was found in a gravel lot across the street from his Ewing home. Julious's murder went unsolved for 16 years -- until authorities announced that technological advances and a shared mission among various agencies and law enforcement forensic experts cracked the cold case. Breyon Goodman, 36, of Trenton, and Jason Howard, 41, of Providence, R.I. killed Julious during a robbery near his Ewing home on May 9, 2008, t…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
NJ Feds: PA Sex Offender Recorded Tryst With Minor In UK NJ Feds: PA Sex Offender Recorded Tryst With Minor In UK
NJ Feds: PA Sex Offender Recorded Tryst With Minor In UK A registered sex offender from Pennsylvania who authorities said recorded himself and a minor having sex in the United Kingdom is now in federal custody in New Jersey. Gregory J. Barger, 38, of Morrisville, PA, was originally one of 21 accused predators arrested by undercover investigators with the New Jersey attorney general's and Mercer County (NJ) prosecutor's offices in what became known as "Operation Risky Business" in the spring of 2022. It came to light during that probe, however, that Barger had flown to the United Kingdom, where he recorded video and still images on his phone of hi…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Controller From NJ Who Embezzled $2.37M From Madison Avenue Firm Gets 27 Months In Fed Pen Controller From NJ Who Embezzled $2.37M From Madison Avenue Firm Gets 27 Months In Fed Pen
Controller From NJ Who Embezzled $2.37M From Madison Avenue Firm Gets 27 Months In Fed Pen UPDATE: A controller from Middlesex County was sentenced to more than two years in federal prison for embezzling $2.37 million from his Madison Avenue employer. Gerard Beauzile, 63, South Plainfield, conducted an elaborate, long-running scheme to issue bogus checks to himself that he then deposited into his bank account, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Beginning a decade ago and continuing through the end of 2020, Beauzile admitted issuing 140 checks to himself from the Manhattan-based company, which offers news, analysis, research and data for the "global energy industry," accordin…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Notorious NJ Consultant Used COVID Rules To File Fake Petitions For Partner, Indictment Charges Notorious NJ Consultant Used COVID Rules To File Fake Petitions For Partner, Indictment Charges
Notorious NJ Consultant Used COVID Rules To File Fake Petitions For Partner, Indictment Charges 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: A controversial New Jersey political consultant was indicted by a state grand jury for filing nearly 2,000 bogus petitions in what authorities called a transparent attempt at getting his life partner on the Democratic primary ballot for governor. James Devine, 62, of Lambertville, initially received a summons last May after state authorities said he filed 1,948 fraudulent petitions with the Secretary of State’s office to get Lisa McCormick on the ballot for the June 2021 primary. Grand jurors in Trenton, in turn, returned an indictment charging Devine with offenses concerning nomin…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
'Trail Of Tragedies': Illegal Rifle Empowered Man Who Murdered 3 In PA, New Jersey AG Says 'Trail Of Tragedies': Illegal Rifle Empowered Man Who Murdered 3 In PA, New Jersey AG Says
'Trail Of Tragedies': Illegal Rifle Empowered Man Who Murdered 3 In PA, New Jersey AG Says UPDATE: A killing spree and manhunt in two states this weekend was "the latest in a horrific litany of illustrations of how illegal guns and assault rifles can empower one aggrieved and disturbed actor to do immense damage and leave a trail of tragedies in their wake,” New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said. Andre Gordon Jr., 26, gunned down his stepmother, his 13-year-old sister and the mother of his two children in separate locations in Falls Township, PA, after carjacking an elderly woman in Trenton to get there, authorities said. The homeless gunman also bludgeoned his girl…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Business
What Losing Its Only Starbucks Means For Trenton What Losing Its Only Starbucks Means For Trenton
What Losing Its Only Starbucks Means For Trenton Trenton is about to lose its one and only Starbucks. The Starbucks at 102 S. Warren St., in Trenton, has been a "vital source of employment and opportunity for Trenton youth since 2017," Mayor Reed Gusciora told Daily Voice on Tuesday, March 12. The store's last day in business will be March 30, according to a Starbucks spokeswoman. “It is disheartening to learn of Starbucks’ decision to close their community store," the mayor said. The Community Store program represented Starbucks’ commitment to serving marginalized communities, regardless of profit margins, he said. "While we appr…

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by Jon Craig
Police & Fire
52 Arrested In 'Elaborate' Cockfighting Ring In South Jersey: Police 52 Arrested In 'Elaborate' Cockfighting Ring In South Jersey: Police
52 Arrested In 'Elaborate' Cockfighting Ring In South Jersey: Police More than 50 people were arrested after police broke up a large cockfighting ring in Atlantic County, authorities said. Galloway Township police executed a search warrant at a home on the 300 block of South Bremen Avenue on Saturday, Mar. 9, the department said in a news release. When officers arrived, a large group of people were there and many tried to run away before they were detained. Investigators found an "elaborate cockfighting operation" that included a fighting ring, seating for spectators, and several cockfighting kits. About 50 roosters were found in "various degrees of health" …

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
UPDATE: NJ Police Officer Wounded, Domestic Violence Suspect Killed In Shootout UPDATE: NJ Police Officer Wounded, Domestic Violence Suspect Killed In Shootout
Update: NJ Police Officer Wounded, Domestic Violence Suspect Killed In Shootout A gunman was killed and a local police officer in Mercer County wounded multiple times in a shootout following a domestic violence incident Friday night, New Jersey's top law enforcement official confirmed. A 911 domestic violence call brought Hamilton Township police to an Orchard Avenue home around 10 p.m. March 8, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said on Saturday. "During the encounter, a civilian armed with a rifle exchanged gunfire with two officers," Platkin said. "The civilian was fatally wounded and pronounced dead at the scene. One officer was also struck and is being tr…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
GOTCHA! Police From Neighboring Towns, Sheriff's K9 Help Hillsdale PD Nab Career Criminal GOTCHA! Police From Neighboring Towns, Sheriff's K9 Help Hillsdale PD Nab Career Criminal
Gotcha! Police From Neighboring Towns, Sheriff's K9 Help Hillsdale PD Nab Career Criminal Teamwork with their colleagues in neighboring Pascack Valley towns helped Hillsdale police capture a drug-addicted repeat offender as he fled yet another crime, authorities said. Ex-con Daniel Margulies, 32, of Teaneck bolted from the Walgreens at the Plaza at Hillsdale with several items late Sunday afternoon, Feb. 18, Officer Jordan Bruce reported. He made it to the train station when Bruce and Officer Sean Marro him moments later.The officers chased him down Broadway before Margulies began ducking through backyards, he said. To call Margulies “known to police” overstates the obviou…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Feds: NJ Man, 45, Sent Out-Of-State Girl Sex Toys, Costumes To Make Videos For Him Feds: NJ Man, 45, Sent Out-Of-State Girl Sex Toys, Costumes To Make Videos For Him
Feds: NJ Man, 45, Sent Out-Of-State Girl Sex Toys, Costumes To Make Videos For Him A 45-year-old New Jersey man sent costumes and sex toys to a 16-year-old girl who lives out of state so she could make explicit videos and other images for him, federal authorities charged. Jeremy Greenwald, 45, of South Amboy, paid the youngster to create and sent him the images of her engaging in sexually explicit conduct," U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Greenwald "directed the victim to perform certain sexual activities, even using items Greenwald had purchased and sent the victim to use during the videos, including sex toys and costume," the U.S. attorney said. Members of the …

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by Jerry DeMarco