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Joseph Centanni

Police & Fire
NJ Landlord Faces Sex Crimes Against 7 More Tenants, Total Climbs To 20 NJ Landlord Faces Sex Crimes Against 7 More Tenants, Total Climbs To 20
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 …

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Judge Grants NJ Landlord Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Tenants Pause On Federal Lawsuit Judge Grants NJ Landlord Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Tenants Pause On Federal Lawsuit
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…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Prosecutor: North Jersey Landlord Had Sex With 13 Tenants In Exchange For Rent Relief Prosecutor: North Jersey Landlord Had Sex With 13 Tenants In Exchange For Rent Relief
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 …

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
NJ Landlord Demanded Sex For Housing, Lower Rents, Justice Department Charges NJ Landlord Demanded Sex For Housing, Lower Rents, Justice Department Charges
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…

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by Jerry DeMarco