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Company Hired To Replace 18,000 Lead Pipes In Newark Faked Work, Billed For It Anyway: Feds
Two people hired by the City of Newark to replace 18,000 lead pipes are facing federal charges after they intentionally left the pipes in the ground, hid them from officials, and then collected payment for work that they didn't properly perform, federal officials said.
Michael Sawyer, 57, of Burlington, and Latronia "Tee" Sanders, 55, of Roselle, are each charged by complaint with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, US Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said (click here for the complaint).
Citing charging documents, NJ Advance Media says JAS Group Enterprise Inc. (JAS), the company in which Sa…
Ex-NJ Child Services Case Worker Sexually Assaulted Two Children, AG Says
A 58-year-old former New Jersey Department of Children and Family Services Division of Child Protection and Permanency case worker has been indicted for sexually abusing two children, authorities said.
Trent L. Collier, formerly of Newark and currently of Savannah, GA, has been charged in a seven-count indictment with sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual contact, attempted aggravated sexual assault, and official misconduct, based on Collier’s alleged sexually abusive conduct toward the two minor victims, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said.
Earlier this year, Collier ad…
NJ Wrestler Alan Vera Garcia, 33, Dies Weeks After Going Into Cardiac Arrest Playing Soccer
Alan Vera Garcia, a professional New Jersey wrestler, died on Monday, Sept. 23, weeks after going into cardiac arrest while playing soccer, according to multiple news reports. He was 33 years old.
Our dear friend and teammate, Alan Vera, recently suffered a sudden cardiac arrest while playing soccer. He is currently... Posted by USA Wrestling on Monday, August 5, 2024
Garcia, of Guttenberg, was born in Cuba and the first Cuban wrestler to win a national championship in the United States in Greco-Roman wrestling, his obituary on the Barquin Funeral Home site reads.
His obituar…
Terrifying Scenario Transforms Into Beautiful Moment For NJ High School Football Teams
Chase Young was on track to play his best game of the season.
It was the first game all year that the senior St. Thomas Aquinas running back had run 100 yards, Head Coach Tarig Holman said of the game at Elizabeth on Friday, Sept. 27.
But then, with about 2.5 minutes left of the third quarter and a score of 25-8, St. Thomas Aquinas in the lead against Elizabeth, Young went unconscious.
"I was getting ready to call a play. I looked at my play sheet, looked back up, and [Chase] was on the ground," said Holman, in his third season as head coach.
"At that point, it was much larger than footba…
NJ Luxury Car Trafficking Ring Dismantled, Four Arrests Made, Prosecutor Says
Four teenagers were arrested on Thursday, Sept. 12 and charged for their participation in an auto theft trafficking network in North Jersey, authorities said.
Two juveniles, a 16-year-old Newark resident and a 17-year-old Jersey City resident would use stolen Kias, Hondas and Hyundais to look for high-end luxury vehicles like BMWs and Mercedes, Union County Prosecutor William Daniel said.
After identifying target vehicles, they would go to target homes and search for keys/key fobs, Daniel said. Once they got the vehicles, they would contact Tikeem Shearin, 18, and Carlos Espi…
Macaulay Culkin Coming To NJ For Special Screening Of 'Home Alone'
If you're home alone with nothing to do, you can set a date with the man who single-handedly took down the Wet Bandits.
The 44-year-old Macaulay Culkin, star of the beloved holiday film classic "Home Alone," is going on tour to movie theaters across the country later this year. He'll screen the movie and talk with fans afterward.
Dubbed "A Nostalgic Night with Macaulay Culkin,” the tour will stop in Wallingford, Connecticut, Medford, Massachusetts, Erie, Pennsylvania, and other states.
“Hear about his experiences on set, his favorite memories from filming, and his take on why th…
Bomb Threat On American Airlines Flight Diverts Plane From NJ To PA: Report
An American Airlines flight was diverted from Newark, New Jersey on its way to Dallas, Texas on Wednesday morning, Sept. 4, according to flight logs.
The flight, AA 1603, was diverted to Pittsburgh International Airport allegedly due to a bomb threat, as WPXI Channel 11 reported.
A flight attendant using the restroom supposedly spotted a "barely legible note written in pink pen on the door that said 'there’s a bomb on board,'" the outlet reported citing the FBI.
The plane left EWR at 8:06 a.m., diverting and landing at PIT at 10:15 a.m., flight logs show.
The landing at …
19 NJ Retailers Fined $4,500 For Selling Illegal Flavored Vape Products, AG Says
Nineteen retailers across New Jersey are facing $4,500 after an investigation found they'd been selling flavored vape products banned in the Garden State, the NJ Attorney General's Office said.
All 19 stores were issued a Notice of Violation after they were found to have violated the state's consumer protection laws, AG Matthew Platkin said.
The enforcement actions are the result of a Division investigation into unlawful sales of flavored electronic smoking devices and products, including mint, candy, fruit, and chocolate flavors, Platkin said.
The Division launched its investigation…
Irvington Man, Garfield Woman Busted for Having Sex In Public: Newark PD
A 44-year-old Garfield woman and a 39-year-old Irvington man were recently arrested for having sex in public multiple times in Newark, authorities said.
Melissa Barrett and Christopher Turner were arrested following multiple acts of lewdness that occurred between February 2024 and August 2024, Newark Public Safety Director Fritz Fragé said.
On Sunday, Feb. 24, at 8:30 a.m., two juveniles reported they observed a man and woman having sex in public on the 200 block of Ferry Street, Fragé said. A photo of the couple having sex was provided to police, Fragé said.
On Thursday, July 25, at 5:12…
Felon From NJ Charged With Child Rape In Lebanon, PA: Affidavit
A New Jersey man with a felony criminal record in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey has been arrested on child rape charges police announced on Thursday, Aug. 1.
Jose Enrique "Enrico" Rivas, 47 of Newark, NJ, was arrested in New Jersey on a warrant issued by Lebanon City Police on Wednesday, July 31, as detailed in the police release.
Rivas will be extradited to Lebanon, PA, the police explained.
A 13-year-old girl's guardian made the ChildLine call after the girl told them "I woke to his fingers in me and then he put his pp in me" and "I was just raped and he is still upstairs,…
6 Charged In Luxury NJ Car Thefts: Prosecutor
Five men and one juvenile were recently arrested and charged with numerous residential and vehicle burglaries in Somerset County, authorities said.
In October 2023, broke into a Bernards Township home through a rear sliding window and stole a 2023 Mercedes Benz, Somerset County Prosecutor John McDonald announced.
A 2020 Kia, previously stolen from Newark, was let behind at the scene. Several days later, entry was made into a home in Bernardsville and two BMWs were stolen, authorities said.
In November, a Dodge Charger and BMW were stolen, authorities said. In December, police from Gre…
These 23 New Jersey Athletes Are At The Paris Olympic Games: Here's When To Watch
The Paris Olympics have begun!
And, in case you missed it, several of Garden State's fittest and most athletic residents are there (scroll for their names, sports, and hometowns).
A total of 23 athletes from New Jersey have qualified for the Olympics and are ready to make their run at the gold. Events kicked off Friday, July 26. Click here for a complete schedule of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The Garden State athletes include:
Paxten Aaronson, of Medford: Soccer
Bam Adebayo, of Newark, and 2020 Olympian: Basketball
Jack Alexy, of Morristown: Swimming
Jackie Dubrovich, of Riverda…
Drunk Driver Going 114 MPH Sentenced For Garden State Parkway Crash That Killed Amazon Worker
A 47-year-old Newark man was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Friday, July 19, for a deadly 2021 crash on the Garden State Parkway where he was driving intoxicated at 114 mph, authorities said.
On Feb. 15, 2021, Rolando Godwin was driving a Range Rover when he struck a Lexus SUV driven by Christopher Meikle, a 46-year-old East Orange resident, causing his car to be engulfed in flames on the Garden State Parkway in Clark, Union County Prosecutor William Daniel said.
Following the crash, Godwin requested he be transported away from the scene, indicating he was prepared to offer an unsp…
Man Admits Kidnapping Paterson Business Owner, Driving Across State Lines In U-Haul Truck
A 38-year-old New York man has admitted to his role in the kidnapping of a Paterson business owner in October 2020 in which he drove him across state lines in a U-Haul truck and called his family for ransom money, federal officials said.
Reginald Law, 38, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Evelyn Padin in Newark federal court to an indictment charging him with kidnapping and Hobbs Act robbery, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said this week.
On Oct. 8, 2020, Law and his conspirator, Maurice Cottman, went into a Paterson business where they accosted the victim, who was work…
Sole Survivor Of Wrong Way Parkway Crash Suffered 8 Fractured Ribs, Broken Spine: Campaign
Cadence Dabice is a survivor.
The 20-year-old Pompton Plains resident was the only person to escape a two-car crash caused by a wrong-way driver on the Garden State Parkway on Friday, July 5, with her life.
Two people were killed in the crash, both the Newark woman who caused the crash and the driver of the vehicle Dabice was riding in, as previously reported by Daily Voice.
Dabice sustained two broken tibias, a broken femur, a broken arm, a fractured C2 in her spine, eight fractured ribs, a lacerated spleen, a lacerated liver and an occluded artery in the crash.
A GoFundMe cam…
Mass Amounts Of Cocaine, $17K Seized From Mom-Son Duo In Bloomfield, Newark SWAT Raids: Cops
Detectives have put a stop to one family's cocaine distribution business in a series of raids across Essex County Tuesday, July 9, authorities said.
More than 10,000 vials of cocaine, several hundred grams of cocaine, $17,600 in cash and a handgun with an extended magazine were seized by detectives, ultimately leading to charges against Edwin Medina, 32 and his mother, Sandra Almodovar, 51, both of Newark, Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens, II announced.
Detectives from the ECPO Narcotics Task Force first seized more than a kilo of suspected cocaine in a series of…
Wrong-Way Crash Kills 2, Injures 1 On Garden State Parkway In Paramus, State Police Say
Two people were killed and one person was injured in a wrong-way crash on the Garden State Parkway overnight in Paramus, authorities confirmed.
Diana J. Cruz, 38, of Newark, was heading north in the southbound lanes of the Parkway when she struck a Toyota SUV head-on just before 2:30 a.m. at milepost 163.4 on Friday, July 5, New Jersey State Police Sgt. Jeffrey Lebron said.
Both Cruz and the Toyota driver, Sunday T. Ogundare, 55, of Newark, were killed, Lebron said. A passenger in the Toyota, a 20-year-old Pompton Plains woman, was hospitalized with moderate injuries.
The crash remain…
