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Police & Fire
NJ Apartment Association Bookkeeper Who Stole $357K Learns Prison Sentence NJ Apartment Association Bookkeeper Who Stole $357K Learns Prison Sentence
NJ Apartment Association Bookkeeper Who Stole $357K Learns Prison Sentence A former bookkeeper for the New Jersey Apartment Association has been sentenced to prison and ordered to pay restitution for stealing $357,250 from the organization, authorities said. Karly Simon-Sapp, 50, of Plumsted Township, was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Kenneth T. Palmer to five years New Jersey State Prison and ordered to pay $357,520 in restitution, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said. She previously had pleaded guilty to theft. Between January 2016 and January 2022, Simon-Sapp, in her capacity as a bookkeeper for the New Jersey Apartment Association, forged the …

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by Cecilia Levine
Business
OceanFirst Bank Agrees To $15M Settlement For Redlining In Central Jersey, Feds Say OceanFirst Bank Agrees To $15M Settlement For Redlining In Central Jersey, Feds Say
OceanFirst Bank Agrees To $15M Settlement For Redlining In Central Jersey, Feds Say A Jersey Shore bank will pay more than $15 million in a settlement for racially discriminatory lending practices known as redlining, authorities said. OceanFirst Bank agreed to the settlement to resolve the accusations that date back to 2018, New Jersey's U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said in a news release. The Toms River-based bank was accused of redlining in predominantly non-white neighborhoods in Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean counties. The $15 million settlement came after the Department of Justice launched its Combating Redlining Initiative in October 2021, aiming to s…

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by Chris Spiker
News
25 NJ Landlords Who Considered Tenants' Criminal History Facing Fines, AG Says 25 NJ Landlords Who Considered Tenants' Criminal History Facing Fines, AG Says
25 NJ Landlords Who Considered Tenants' Criminal History Facing Fines, AG Says Twenty-five landlords are facing fines after state officials said they violated state laws by considering potential tenants' criminal histories. According to NJ Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Division on Civil Rights (DCR), the notices of violation allege that the housing providers violated the law by, among other things, asking criminal history-related questions on housing applications that are prohibited by the law. The Notices of Violation announced Monday, Sept. 16 were served on housing providers located in 15 municipalities across Atlantic, Bergen, Burlington, C…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Campfire Accidentally Sparked Huge Wildfire Near Jersey Shore Neighborhood: Investigators Campfire Accidentally Sparked Huge Wildfire Near Jersey Shore Neighborhood: Investigators
Campfire Accidentally Sparked Huge Wildfire Near Jersey Shore Neighborhood: Investigators An illegal and abandoned campfire started a massive wildfire that burned for three days in Ocean County, authorities said. Investigators determined the wildfire was accidentally started by "an unknown person(s) improperly extinguishing a campfire," Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said in a news release on Wednesday, Sept. 11. The roughly 189-acre wildfire burned near Fishers Pit, a sand and gravel pit in the Bayville section of Berkeley Township. In its final update, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service said the wildfire was 100 percent contained a…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Smoke Diminshes As Crews Begin Containing Wildfire Near Jersey Shore Neighborhood (UPDATE) Smoke Diminshes As Crews Begin Containing Wildfire Near Jersey Shore Neighborhood (UPDATE)
Smoke Diminshes As Crews Begin Containing Wildfire Near Jersey Shore Neighborhood (Update) Smoke has diminished as a massive wildfire burned for a second day in Ocean County, officials said. The fire was first spotted at the Cedar Bridge fire tower at 4:44 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 9, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service said in an update. The roughly 189-acre wildfire was burning near Fishers Pit, a sand and gravel pit in the Bayville section of Berkeley Township. Conditions have improved after "erratic fire behavior" caused problems for the first firefighters at the scene. "Fire crews continue to secure and reinforce containment lines by mopping up hot …

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Crews Battle 150-Acre Wildfire Across Ocean County (DEVELOPING) Crews Battle 150-Acre Wildfire Across Ocean County (DEVELOPING)
Crews Battle 150-Acre Wildfire Across Ocean County (Developing) Firefighters were battling a massive wildfire in Ocean County that broke out late Monday, Sept. 9, officials said. The New Jersey Forest Fire Service said the fire was burning near Fishers Pit, a sand and gravel pit in the Bayville section of Berkeley Township. The NJFFS first posted on Twitter about the wildfire at 7:30 p.m. Monday. As of Tuesday morning, the fire had been 20 percent contained to 150 acres, after spreading near Northern Boulevard in the Barnegat Pines neighborhood of Berkeley. "When firefighters arrived on scene initial attack efforts were unsuccessful due to erratic…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
Sidewalk Pedestrian Airlifted After Being Struck By Man With History Of Careless Driving In NJ Sidewalk Pedestrian Airlifted After Being Struck By Man With History Of Careless Driving In NJ
Sidewalk Pedestrian Airlifted After Being Struck By Man With History Of Careless Driving In NJ A woman was flown to the hospital after a careless driver drove onto the sidewalk and struck her while she was walking her dog in an Ocean County town on Friday, Sept. 6, police said. Eugenio Carta of Berkeley Township was operating a 1999 Buick Sedan when he drove off the roadway, struck the victim walking her dog on the sidewalk, then came to rest after hitting a tree around 3 p.m. at the intersection on Doral Drive at Cohansey Drive, local police said. The woman suffered a head injury from the crash and was airlifted to Jersey Shore Medical Center where she was in critical but stable con…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Jersey Shore Boater Struck By Propeller, Sucked Under Water: Police Jersey Shore Boater Struck By Propeller, Sucked Under Water: Police
Jersey Shore Boater Struck By Propeller, Sucked Under Water: Police A 59-year-old boater was hospitalized after being struck by the propeller of a boat after being ejected from his own and sucked under water in Ocean County over Labor Day Weekend, police said. The Neshanic Station man was heading east on Manahawkin Bay in Long Beach on a personal watercraft when his boat was struck by a 28-foot vessel heading north around 4:35 p.m., New Jersey State Police Sgt. Charles Marchan said. The boater was ejected from his boat upon impact and sucked underwater by the other vessel’s propulsion. The propellers of the vessel then struck the man, who was hospitali…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
NJ Man, 39, Drowns In Delaware Water Gap NJ Man, 39, Drowns In Delaware Water Gap
NJ Man, 39, Drowns In Delaware Water Gap A New Jersey man's body was discovered in the Delaware River, authorities said. The 39-year-old Lakewood man was found dead in Bushkill, Pennsylvania, on Monday, Aug. 26, a National Park Service spokesperson said in a news release. His body was spotted about 20 to 30 feet from the shore at the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Rangers and divers responded to the drowning call at Bushkill Access at around 1:45 p.m. The man's body was recovered in about seven feet of water at around 3:07 p.m. This is the second person of the summer to drown at th…

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by Chris Spiker
Police & Fire
NJ Performing Arts High School Teacher Molested Female Student, Prosecutors Say NJ Performing Arts High School Teacher Molested Female Student, Prosecutors Say
NJ Performing Arts High School Teacher Molested Female Student, Prosecutors Say A former teacher at an Ocean County performing arts high school was accused of molesting a female student, authorities said. Douglas Bollinger, 56, of Neptune City, was charged on Monday, Aug. 12 with two counts each of endangering the welfare of a child and criminal sexual contact, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said in a news release. Bollinger was a teacher at the Grunin Performing Arts Academy at Ocean County Vocational Technical School (OCVTS). The academy had 240 students as of September 2023 and offers high schoolers opportunities to take dual-credit co…

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by Chris Spiker
Weather
Tracking Hurricane Debby, Severe Storms Expected To Slam Northeast This Week Tracking Hurricane Debby, Severe Storms Expected To Slam Northeast This Week
Tracking Hurricane Debby, Severe Storms Expected To Slam Northeast This Week The Northeast is in for a wild week of weather. AccuWeather forecasters say episodes of drenching rain and heavy winds are working their way across the country and are expected to arrive in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland on Tuesday, Aug. 6. AccuWeather The above AccuWeather map shows which part of the region will be most impacted by the storms arriving Tuesday afternoon and lasting into the evening. Those include the Pennsylvania-Maryland border, South Jersey, and the Philadelphia and Baltimore areas. Tuesday will be sunny and hot with a high of 90 before storms roll in,…

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Kayaker Who Drowned In NJ Lake Wasn't Wearing Life Preserver, Investigators Say Kayaker Who Drowned In NJ Lake Wasn't Wearing Life Preserver, Investigators Say
Kayaker Who Drowned In NJ Lake Wasn't Wearing Life Preserver, Investigators Say Authorities have identified the Old Bridge man who drowned when his kayak capsized in Jackson Township. Search and rescue divers found the body of 29-year-old John Pereira in Prospertown Lake on Sunday, Aug. 4, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said in a news release. He was first reported missing at around 2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 3. Witnesses told Jackson Township police that Pereira was not wearing a life preserver and they believed he drowned. The search was suspended in the evening due to severe weather and Pereira's body was recovered at around 3:55 p.…

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by Chris Spiker