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Fredric M. Knapp

Police & Fire
Prosecutor: Five Morris County Officers Admit Cocaine Possession, Used Database To Find Sellers Prosecutor: Five Morris County Officers Admit Cocaine Possession, Used Database To Find Sellers
Prosecutor: Five Morris County Officers Admit Cocaine Possession, Used Database To Find Sellers Five Morris County Corrections officers admitted using and sharing drugs including cocaine -- keeping them from ever getting a job in public employment ever again. Corrections officers Dominick Andico, 33, Albert Wyman IV, 36, Robert Busold, 27, Brian T. Rzucidlo, 35, and Sheriff's Officer Nicholas Ricciotti, 31, plead guilty to various drug charges for buying, distributing and being in possession of cocaine starting in January 2018, Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp said in a joint release. All five were forced to resign and will undergo mandatory drug treatment after pleading guil…

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by Valerie Musson
Police & Fire
Authorities: Accused NJ Armed Robber Among Pair Who Used Drugs To Force Woman Into Prostitution Authorities: Accused NJ Armed Robber Among Pair Who Used Drugs To Force Woman Into Prostitution
Authorities: Accused NJ Armed Robber Among Pair Who Used Drugs To Force Woman Into Prostitution Two men including one arrested for an armed robbery have been charged with using drugs to force a woman into prostitution for more than month in North Jersey, authorities said. William Wilson, 47, of Belvidere, NJ and Jeremiah Forde, 39, of Budd Lake, forced the adult female into acts of prostitution out of a Hanover hotel, then collected the proceeds, Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp, Acting Chief of Investigations Christoph Kimker, Hanover Police Chief Mark Roddy said. The pair used drugs to manipulate the victim, who was afraid to leave the hotel due to fear of being physic…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Authorities Release Details Leading Up To Morris County Man's Hanging Death, Ruled Suicide Authorities Release Details Leading Up To Morris County Man's Hanging Death, Ruled Suicide
Authorities Release Details Leading Up To Morris County Man's Hanging Death, Ruled Suicide ** WARNING: This story contains graphic and disturbing information ** The death of 20-year-old Amanuel "Amani" Kildea whose body was found hanging in a Morris County park tree last June was ruled a suicide following a months-long investigation, authorities said Wednesday. Kildea's body was found by a Lewis Morris Park hiker around 2:45 p.m. on June 28, around the same time at least seven black men were hanged in the U.S. "While the Morris County Prosecutor does not ordinarily issue public statements containing specific details regarding suicide investigations, there has been a great deal o…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Morris County Mastermind Behind Bogus Life Insurance Scheme Faces Theft, Fraud Charges Morris County Mastermind Behind Bogus Life Insurance Scheme Faces Theft, Fraud Charges
Morris County Mastermind Behind Bogus Life Insurance Scheme Faces Theft, Fraud Charges The Morris County mastermind behind a bogus life insurance policy scheme who forged a victim's signature on important documents is facing insurance fraud and theft charges, authorities said Monday. John G. Vincelli, of Lake Hopatcong, submitted an unauthorized life insurance application for a client’s two children without their consent, Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp said Monday in a joint release with Morris County Acting Chief of Investigations Chris Kimker. Vincelli, 35, had been receiving a commission after creating the scheme and made unauthorized withdrawals from the victim…

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by Valerie Musson
Police & Fire
Essex Vehicle Thieves Sent To Prison For Chase, Crash With Police Car Essex Vehicle Thieves Sent To Prison For Chase, Crash With Police Car
Essex Vehicle Thieves Sent To Prison For Chase, Crash With Police Car Plea bargains are sending a 20-year-old Orange man to state prison for a minimum of 3½ years and his 19-year-old Newark accomplice for at least a year and a half for a stolen vehicle pursuit that included a crash with a police car in Morris County. Alakir Wardlaw of Orange was driving a stolen Dodge Durango and Wanya McHenry of Newark a stolen Toyota Highlander when Denville police chased them in June 2019, Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp said. Wardlaw fled on foot with an underage boy after the Durango slammed into a police car, Knapp said. Inside, police found a …

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by Valerie Musson
Police & Fire
Authorities: Man Rapes Woman In Parsippany Motel After Months Of Abuse, Forced Prostitution Authorities: Man Rapes Woman In Parsippany Motel After Months Of Abuse, Forced Prostitution
Authorities: Man Rapes Woman In Parsippany Motel After Months Of Abuse, Forced Prostitution An Essex County man raped a woman and threatened to hurt her family in a Morris County motel this weekend after months of abuse and forced prostitution, authorities said. Mcquacy Goodridge, 28, of West Orange, verbally and physically abused a 31-year-old woman while taking her all across Morris County and forcing her into acts of prostitution between March 2019 and Aug. 15, Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp said in a joint release with local police. Police responded to the Ramada on Route 46 for a person being held in a room around 6:30 p.m. Saturday, just after Goodridge threa…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Authorities: Morris County Man Waited Outside Boy's Home During Sexual Phone, Online Chats Authorities: Morris County Man Waited Outside Boy's Home During Sexual Phone, Online Chats
Authorities: Morris County Man Waited Outside Boy's Home During Sexual Phone, Online Chats A 30-year-old Morris County man was waiting outside a 15-year-old boy's home while having sexual phone and internet conversations with him, authorities charged Tuesday. Michael A. Holdnak of Dover had sexually-charged phone and social media discussions with the minor between Sunday, July 12 and Tuesday, July 28, Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp said in a release with local police. Holdnak was outside of the boy’s home on at least two occasions during the discussions, Knapp said. Holdnak was arrested via warrant and charged with second-degree attempted sexual assault and third…

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by Valerie Musson
News
Parsippany Men Captured In California Sentenced In Roommate's Beating Death Parsippany Men Captured In California Sentenced In Roommate's Beating Death
Parsippany Men Captured In California Sentenced In Roommate's Beating Death A Parsippany man who fled to California after killing his roommate during a drunken brawl last summer must spend more than four years in prison before he'll be eligible for parole. Rogelio Laureano-Gonzalez, 26, admitted last month that he struck Jaime Lopez-Basilio, 27, in the head, killing him, during a drunken argument at their Old Bloomfield Avenue home last September. Laureano-Gonzalez fled with another roommate, Cirilo Rojas-Paulino, 25, and were later captured in Kern County, CA, authorities said. Superior Court Judge Stephen J. Taylor sentenced Laureano-Gonzalez …

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Prosecutor: Wrong-Way DWI Dumont Driver, 28, Charged In Route 80 Triple Fatal Crash Prosecutor: Wrong-Way DWI Dumont Driver, 28, Charged In Route 80 Triple Fatal Crash
Prosecutor: Wrong-Way DWI Dumont Driver, 28, Charged In Route 80 Triple Fatal Crash A car salesman from Dumont was charged in a wrong-way Route 80 crash in Parsippany-Troy Hills that killed three people last October, authorities announced Friday. Miguel Botero, 28, had been drinking and was headed westbound on the eastbound side of the highway on Oct. 18, the Morris County Prosecutor's Office said. Botero's car struck another vehicle around 1:45 a.m. near mile post 45.2, killing the driver and two passengers documents say. The passengers were identified as Julia Wells and Jalen Davis, a pair of friends pursuing careers in cosmetology and music, respectively. Another als…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
PROSECUTOR: Hanover Woman Accused Of Arson PROSECUTOR: Hanover Woman Accused Of Arson
Prosecutor: Hanover Woman Accused Of Arson A 51-year-old Hanover woman was charged with arson, authorities said. Fire officials and local police responding to a residential garage fire on Harvest Court on Oct. 11 found Nina Sheller and her husband, Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp said in a joint press release with local police. The fire that originated in the passenger compartment of a car parked inside of the garage spread to several other attached units in the same building, which sustained various levels of damage, Knapp said. Sheller took responsibility for the blaze at the scene, where her husband sustained non …

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by Cecilia Levine
Obituaries
Friends, 20, Killed In Route 80 Crash Remembered As Cheerful, Giving Friends, 20, Killed In Route 80 Crash Remembered As Cheerful, Giving
Friends, 20, Killed In Route 80 Crash Remembered As Cheerful, Giving One was pursuing a cosmetology license, the other a musical career -- but in an instant both 20-year-old friends were gone, killed in a fiery multi-vehicle crash on Route 80. Julia Wells and Jalen Davis were in the back seat of a Toyota Corolla that collided with a Jeep on the eastbound side of the highway in Parsippany around 1:45 a.m. Friday, family and friends said. They and the driver of the Corolla were killed, authorities said. A GoFundMe launched by her longtime friend Amber Sweedy had raised more than $1,900 for Wells' funeral expenses as of Sunday morning.  A Fundly for Davi…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Morris Prosecutor: Woman Doctored Medical Records In Family Court Case Morris Prosecutor: Woman Doctored Medical Records In Family Court Case
Morris Prosecutor: Woman Doctored Medical Records In Family Court Case A Franklin woman was charged with forgery, perjury and falsifying records after she submitted bogus medical invoices in a family court case, authorities said Wednesday. Lynneann K. Groves, 37, filed the documents with the Family Part of Superior Court’s Chancery Division in March, Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp said. “The documents were allegedly medical invoices totaling $2,800,” Knapp said, adding that investigators from his office’s Fraud Unit determined that they were phony. “The investigation also revealed several alterations to the original invoices,” with amounts claimed …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Rockaway Woman Gets 5 Years Behind Bars For DWI Crash That Killed Friend, 22 Rockaway Woman Gets 5 Years Behind Bars For DWI Crash That Killed Friend, 22
Rockaway Woman Gets 5 Years Behind Bars For DWI Crash That Killed Friend, 22 A 22-year-old Rockaway woman was sentenced to five years in state prison with no parole in connection with a February crash that left her friend dead. Samantha Viscardi last month pleaded guilty to second degree reckless vehicular homicide and driving while intoxicated, Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp said. Viscardi, who formerly worked at BMW of Morristown, had been drinking at two bars and was using her cellphone when she crashed her car near 435 Green Pond Road, with 22-year-old Kimberly Boyle in the front passenger seat, according to the police report. Boyle died of brai…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Authorities Investigating Overnight Blaze That Torched Long Valley Home Authorities Investigating Overnight Blaze That Torched Long Valley Home
Authorities Investigating Overnight Blaze That Torched Long Valley Home Authorities are investigating a fire that burned a Long Valley house to the ground early Friday morning. No injuries were reported in the blaze that broke out around 3 a.m. on East Mill Road, Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp, Firefighters worked until around 8:10 a.m. to knock down the fire in the unoccupied home, fire officials said. Anyone with information about this investigation is encouraged to contact the Washington Township Police Department at (908) 876-3232 or the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Fire/Environmental Unit at (973) 285-6200.

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Woman Charged With Liability For Fentanyl, Heroin Death Of Morristown Artist Battling Addiction Woman Charged With Liability For Fentanyl, Heroin Death Of Morristown Artist Battling Addiction
Woman Charged With Liability For Fentanyl, Heroin Death Of Morristown Artist Battling Addiction A Rockaway woman initially arrested on a minor drug charge is facing much more severe consequences for providing the heroin and fentanyl that killed a user, authorities said. Natalia E. Zyga, 30, is charged with strict liability for a drug-induced death, they said.  Police found Sasha Truesdale dead Nov. 23 after overdosing on drugs given to her by Zyga, Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp, Chief of Investigations Stephen F. Wilson, Jr. and Rockaway Borough Police Chief Conrad Pepperman said in a joint release Tuesday. Under state law, someone who sells illegal drugs that k…

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by Cecilia Levine