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New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin

Police & Fire
Heart Disease Aggravated By Meth Use Killed Newark Suspect Following Arrest: Medical Examiner Heart Disease Aggravated By Meth Use Killed Newark Suspect Following Arrest: Medical Examiner
Heart Disease Aggravated By Meth Use Killed Newark Suspect Following Arrest: Medical Examiner It’s unsettling to watch video of a suspect you know has died. The last moments for Raul DeJesus -- who led Newark police on a foot chase before collapsing near Route 280 -- are no exception. Newark police did nothing wrong during the encounter, a grand jury has found. Among the evidence reviewed by the grand jurors are three police bodycams, one of them worn by the officer who began chasing the 43-year-old Newark native on foot after he ran. Two others graphically document the arrest and the moments that followed as highway traffic barreled by. In the end, what killed DeJesus was heart …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
HORRIFIC VIDEO: Fleeing Moped Rider, Passenger Sent Flying In Fatal Paterson Crash HORRIFIC VIDEO: Fleeing Moped Rider, Passenger Sent Flying In Fatal Paterson Crash
Horrific Video: Fleeing Moped Rider, Passenger Sent Flying In Fatal Paterson Crash UPDATE: Two men on a moped are seen spinning through the air and crashing to the pavement -- ultimately killing the driver -- when they ram the side of a vehicle in Paterson during a high-speed police chase, horrific video released by state authorities shows. Pursued by Totowa police, the gas-powered scooter driven by David Lucero, 28, of Paterson was racing north on McBride Avenue along Pennington Park on Sept. 20, 2023 when the driver of an oncoming Lexus sedan made a left in front of him. The moped slammed into the side of the vehicle, knocking both riders nearly 10 feet into the air ov…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
State Slams Paterson Handyman Who Refused To Serve Jewish Clients State Slams Paterson Handyman Who Refused To Serve Jewish Clients
State Slams Paterson Handyman Who Refused To Serve Jewish Clients A handyman from Paterson was ordered to immediately stop refusing to serve Jews and take several remedial steps or face serious charges, state authorities in Trenton said on Thursday. Melquisedec Francis must satisfy eight specific demands to keep from being prosecuted, including announcing that he no longer discriminates against Jewish customers, attending training on anti-Semitism and paying a fine, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said on Nov. 30. In advertisements on TaskRabbit and elsewhere last month, Francis wrote: "I am expressing my solidarity with the Palestinian Peopl…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Teen Dead, Man Wounded In Paterson's First Homicide In Nearly Two Months Teen Dead, Man Wounded In Paterson's First Homicide In Nearly Two Months
Teen Dead, Man Wounded In Paterson's First Homicide In Nearly Two Months A 19-year-old man was killed and an older man wounded in a hail of gunfire in a Paterson neighborhood that has seen more than its share of shootings. How many shooters were involved in the latest incident on Putnam Street near Rosa Parks Boulevard shortly before 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 23, wasn't immediately clear. Both victims were rushed via private vehicles to St. Joseph's University Medical Center, responders said. The younger one died in the emergency room, they said. The older one, 29, was in stable condition. Their identities weren't released. It had been exactly seven weeks sin…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
NJ Italian Restaurant Owner, 75, Faces Prison For Pocketing $500,000 In State Sales Taxes NJ Italian Restaurant Owner, 75, Faces Prison For Pocketing $500,000 In State Sales Taxes
NJ Italian Restaurant Owner, 75, Faces Prison For Pocketing $500,000 In State Sales Taxes The 75-year-old owner-operator of a New Jersey Italian restaurant faces up to three years in prison after admitting he stiffed the state out of nearly a half-million dollars in sales taxes over a period of nearly seven years. John Garofalo Sr. of Union Township – who owns Mario’s Tutto Bene restaurant in the township -- paid the outstanding $496,374.99 to the state as part of a plea deal that he hopes will get him leniency, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said. His assistants will recommend that Superior Court Judge Sherry L. Wilson send Garofalo to state prison for three years …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Grand Jury Backs Detective In Pursuit Crash That Killed Mercer Scooter Rider, 21 Grand Jury Backs Detective In Pursuit Crash That Killed Mercer Scooter Rider, 21
Grand Jury Backs Detective In Pursuit Crash That Killed Mercer Scooter Rider, 21 A Hamilton Township police detective did nothing wrong when he tried to stop a scooter rider from Trenton who was killed moments later in a crash, a state grand jury has found. Francis De La Cruz Abad, 21, was operating a Yamaha scooter near the intersection of Route 33 and Whitehorse-Mercerville Road when Detective Brian Davis, driving an unmarked vehicle, tried to stop him shortly after 9 p.m. May 25, 2021. The reason for the stop wasn't specified. De La Cruz Abad “continued traveling westbound on Route 33 and collided with a Dodge Caravan, whose driver was attempting to turn left into t…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Distraught Man Holds Officers At Bay For Hours In First Paterson Standoff Since State Takeover Distraught Man Holds Officers At Bay For Hours In First Paterson Standoff Since State Takeover
Distraught Man Holds Officers At Bay For Hours In First Paterson Standoff Since State Takeover The first standoff in Paterson since the state attorney general's office took control of the police department ended peacefully last weekend when a distraught man wielding a knife surrendered after 6 ½ hours, authorities said. Paterson and New Jersey State police worked together to resolve the confrontation with no injuries at NJ TRANSIT's Market Street garage, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said on Friday, April 14 No charges were filed, either, because the incident was considered a mental-health crisis that “involved police action as part of law enforcement’s community caret…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
'I Am The Attacker': Arrest Made In Threat That Shook Synagogues Across NJ 'I Am The Attacker': Arrest Made In Threat That Shook Synagogues Across NJ
'I Am The Attacker': Arrest Made In Threat That Shook Synagogues Across NJ Recent broad threats against synagogues and Jewish people in New Jersey earlier this month ended with the arrest of a teenager from the state, federal authorities announced on Thursday, Nov. 10. A manifesto posted by Omar Alkattoul, 18, of Sayreville in a forum frequented by extremists frightened the public, brought security to Jewish houses of worship and got the FBI involved last week. The concern stemmed from a contention in the Nov. 1 post that an attack had already occurred -- which active shooters have done in certain instances across the U.S. just before carrying out their fatal…

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by Jerry DeMarco