Tag:
Joseph Centanni
Albany, NY
Schools
15-Year-Old Threatened To 'Shoot Up' High School In Capital Region Over Policy, Police Say
A student upset over a school policy threatened to carry out a mass shooting at a high school in the region, authorities said. In Albany County, the Watervliet Police Department was contacted on Thursday, May 18, with reports of a physical threat against Watervliet High School. An investigation determined that a 15-year-old girl was angry over a school policy and took to social media, threatening to “shoot (the school) up,” police said. The student was arrested and charged with making a terroristic threat, a felony. She was arraigned in Albany County Family Court and later released on he…
Albany, NY
News
22-Year-Old Sold Fentanyl To Capital Region Man Who Died From Overdose, Police Say
Six months after a 26-year-old man from the region died from a drug overdose, the dealer who allegedly sold him the drugs is facing charges. Schenectady resident Reuben Sangster, age 22, was arrested Wednesday, May 17, on suspicion of criminally negligent homicide, according to Watervliet Police. Investigators said Sangster sold fentanyl to the victim not long before the man was found dead from an overdose in the bedroom of a Watervliet home on Nov. 8, 2022. Fentanyl is a powerful, synthetic opioid that is 80 to 100 times stronger than morphine and has contributed to a spike in overdose d…
Albany, NY
News
Police Chief Blames NY's Bail Reform Law For 'Serial Intoxicated Driver' Busted 3 Months In Row
A New York police chief is blasting the state’s bail reform laws, claiming they are directly to blame for a repeat DWI offender who was arrested three times in just as many months. Albany County resident Brandon McKinley, age 42, of Watervliet, was sentenced to an aggregate term of three to nine years in prison in Albany County Court Tuesday, Nov. 15. The sentence followed his September 2022 guilty plea to three counts of driving while intoxicated, a felony. According to prosecutors, McKinley was stopped by Watervliet Police on three separate occasions in May, June, and July 2022. During e…
Elizabeth, NJ
Police & Fire
NJ Landlord Faces Sex Crimes Against 7 More Tenants, Total Climbs To 20
A New Jersey landlord federally accused of demanding sexual favors from tenants in exchange for rent relief is facing additional charges against seven new alleged victims, bringing the total to 20, authorities said Thursday. Joseph Centanni was charged with five additional counts of second-degree sexual assault and seven additional counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual contact, Acting Union County Prosecutor Lyndsay V. Ruotolo and Elizabeth Police Department Chief Giacomo Sacca and Director Earl Graves said. The 74-year-old Mountainside resident -- who owns hundreds of residential rental …
Elizabeth, NJ
News
Judge Grants NJ Landlord Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Tenants Pause On Federal Lawsuit
A federal lawsuit accusing a 73-year-old New Jersey landlord of violating the Fair Housing Act has been temporarily halted in light of new criminal charges saying he forced more than a dozen tenants into sex acts in exchange for rent relief, NJ.com reports. The suit was filed last August against Joseph Centanni, of Mountainside says he demanded sexual favors from tenants since 2005. Last March, Centenni -- who owns hundreds of rental units scattered across 18 properties in Elizabeth -- was slapped with 13 more criminal charges out of Union County accusing him of similar…
Elizabeth, NJ
Police & Fire
Prosecutor: North Jersey Landlord Had Sex With 13 Tenants In Exchange For Rent Relief
The owner of hundreds of rental units scattered across 18 residential properties in Elizabeth has been arrested and criminally charged with forcing more than a dozen of his tenants into sexual acts in exchange for financial relief, authorities said. Joseph Centanni, 73, of Mountainside, is charged with eight counts of second-degree sexual assault, one count of second-degree attempted sexual assault, and 14 counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual contact in connection with incidents taking place at various times from 2016 into 2020, acting Union County Prosecutor Lyndsay V. Ruotolo …
Elizabeth, NJ
Police & Fire
NJ Landlord Demanded Sex For Housing, Lower Rents, Justice Department Charges
For at least 15 years, an Elizabeth landlord has demanded sexual favors from tenants to get or keep apartments while offering reduced rent to others in exchange for sex, federal authorities charged. Joseph Centanni, who owns hundreds of rental units in and around Elizabeth, “initiated or threatened to initiate eviction actions against tenants who objected to or refused his sexual advances,” U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said Wednesday. The U.S. Justice Department took the case because Centanni -- who is married and lives in West Mountainside -- receives roughly $102,000 a month in Section 8…