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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
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
US Government Sues Jersey Shore Town For Discriminating Against Orthodox Schools US Government Sues Jersey Shore Town For Discriminating Against Orthodox Schools
US Government Sues Jersey Shore Town For Discriminating Against Orthodox Schools Jackson Township is discriminating against Orthodox Jews through zoning ordinances that “intentionally restrict the operation of religious schools and housing associated with such schools,” including yeshivas, the U.S. Justice Department said Wednesday. The ordinances were enacted and used “against a backdrop of extreme [animosity] by Jackson residents and township decision makers toward the Orthodox Jewish community and a movement by residents to keep Orthodox Jewish community members from settling in Jackson,” the government contends in a lawsuit. Jackson’s planning board applied a pair o…

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by Jerry DeMarco