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Thomas Eicher

Police & Fire
UPDATE: Paterson Police Officer Indicted For Shooting Unarmed Man In Back As He Ran UPDATE: Paterson Police Officer Indicted For Shooting Unarmed Man In Back As He Ran
Update: Paterson Police Officer Indicted For Shooting Unarmed Man In Back As He Ran "Drop the gun!" a Paterson police officer shouts several times as he chases a fleeing man down a city street. Suddenly, two shots ring out and Khalif Cooper falls face down in the street. Officer Jerry Moravek, who fired the shots, handcuffs Cooper, 28, who is heard on a bodycam video telling him, "I don't got no gun." A grand jury agreed. Moravek was indicted in Trenton on criminal charges this week for shooting the unarmed Cooper, who was left paralyzed, in June 2022, state Attorney General Matthew Platkin announced on Thursday, Dec. 7. “Deadly force against a fleeing suspect must be u…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
'Improper, Unlawful': Trooper Punched Handcuffed Drunk Woman In Face, NJ Attorney General Says 'Improper, Unlawful': Trooper Punched Handcuffed Drunk Woman In Face, NJ Attorney General Says
'Improper, Unlawful': Trooper Punched Handcuffed Drunk Woman In Face, NJ Attorney General Says A New Jersey State Police trooper was charged with punching a handcuffed woman in the face as she sat in the back of a cruiser awaiting a medical evaluation. Nicolas J. Hogan, 28, of Gibbstown, was among a group of troopers who responded to a report of a trespasser at a home in Cumberland County’s Upper Deerfield Township around 1:30 a.m. Sept. 7, 2022. Two troopers found the victim walking in the middle of the road drunk. She needed a medical evaluation, so the troopers kept her detained -- but not under arrest -- and called for a medical unit, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platk…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Politics
Paterson Council Prez, Wife, Campaign Chief Charged In Hare-Brained Scheme To Steal Election Paterson Council Prez, Wife, Campaign Chief Charged In Hare-Brained Scheme To Steal Election
Paterson Council Prez, Wife, Campaign Chief Charged In Hare-Brained Scheme To Steal Election State authorities announced a bunch of new election fraud charges on Wednesday against Paterson’s council president along with allegations against his wife and campaign manager, as well. Alex Mendez, 48, has been awaiting trial in a case, stemming from 2020 council races, that has undergone a series of one delay after another. The contests were conducted entirely by mail-in ballots as COVID was spreading. The new charges involved what the attorney general described on Oct. 25 as a hare-brained plot to steal ballots from mailboxes outside people’s homes, toss out those that didn’t vote for…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
ONLY IN JERSEY: Convicted Paterson Mayor Joey Torres Indicted For Trying To Run Again ONLY IN JERSEY: Convicted Paterson Mayor Joey Torres Indicted For Trying To Run Again
Only IN Jersey: Convicted Paterson Mayor Joey Torres Indicted For Trying To Run Again A court order banned ex-Paterson Mayor Joey Torres from ever running for public office again after being convicted of corruption. But he did it, anyway. Now he's in another familiar position: under indictment. A grand jury in Trenton returned an indictment on Tuesday, Sept. 26, charging Jose "Joey" Torres, 64, with criminal contempt. “It takes remarkable brashness to flout a state court order and then attempt to strong-arm the city clerk, via civil litigation, into allowing an impermissible campaign to proceed,” New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said. “That is bold," the attorn…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Election Fraud: Notorious NJ Consultant Charged With Filing Fake Petitions For Partner Election Fraud: Notorious NJ Consultant Charged With Filing Fake Petitions For Partner
Election Fraud: Notorious NJ Consultant Charged With Filing Fake Petitions For Partner A controversial New Jersey political consultant was charged with election fraud for filing nearly 2,000 bogus petitions in a lame, transparent attempt at getting his life partner on the Democratic primary ballot for governor, state authorities charged. James Devine, 61, of Lambertville, filed 1,948 fraudulent petitions with the Secretary of State’s office to get Lisa McCormick on the ballot for the June 2021 primary, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said on Tuesday, May 2. "Jim" Devine -- who had been political director of the New Jersey Democratic Committee in the 1990s -- might be bes…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Jersey Shore Charter School Leaders Steered $115G Contract To Founder's Side Biz: Indictment Jersey Shore Charter School Leaders Steered $115G Contract To Founder's Side Biz: Indictment
Jersey Shore Charter School Leaders Steered $115G Contract To Founder's Side Biz: Indictment The founder of a Jersey Shore charter school and its business administrator illegally steered a $115,000 contract to the founder’s side business, state authorities charged. Peter Caporilli, 59, of Absecon, and Michael Falkowski, 48, of Point Pleasant, split a single project to build an outdoor learning center at Principle Academy in Egg Harbor Township into two smaller contracts for $40,000 and $75,000, respectively, a grand jury found. They did so to evade public bidding requirements and prevent competing contractors from bidding on the first phase of the job, an indictment returned by the…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
UPDATE: Paterson Officer Charged By State Authorities For Shooting Fleeing Man In Back UPDATE: Paterson Officer Charged By State Authorities For Shooting Fleeing Man In Back
Update: Paterson Officer Charged By State Authorities For Shooting Fleeing Man In Back "Drop the gun!" a Paterson police officer shouted several times as he chased a fleeing man down a city street before dawn this past June. Suddenly, two shots rang out and unarmed 28-year-old Khalif Cooper fell face down in the street. Officer Jerry Moravek, who fired the shots, handcuffed Cooper, who is heard on police bodycam video telling him, "I don't got no gun." He didn't have one, said New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin in announcing on Monday, Feb. 6 that his office had charged Moravek with aggravated assault and official misconduct. Moravek, 40, violated the state's …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
PARTY TIME: NJ Park Police Union Prez Accused Of Running Up $160,000 Tab On Members' Dime PARTY TIME: NJ Park Police Union Prez Accused Of Running Up $160,000 Tab On Members' Dime
Party Time: NJ Park Police Union Prez Accused Of Running Up $160,000 Tab On Members' Dime A former New Jersey park police union chief indulged himself on the members’ dime, spending $160,000 in dues on dinners at upscale restaurants, airfare and out-of-state trips unrelated to the local's business, authorities charged. Chris Smith, 48, of the Warren County town of Hope, “will now pay his dues,” Thomas Eicher, executive director of the New Jersey Office of Public Integrity and Accountability, said after a grand jury returned an indictment charging him with theft. Smith tapped the funds of two unions he led in a “continuous theft scheme” between 2014 and 2019, when Smith was presi…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Grand Jury: Police Didn't Cause Death Of Fleeing Route 80 Driver Struck By Tractor-Trailer Grand Jury: Police Didn't Cause Death Of Fleeing Route 80 Driver Struck By Tractor-Trailer
Grand Jury: Police Didn't Cause Death Of Fleeing Route 80 Driver Struck By Tractor-Trailer Montville police did nothing wrong during a traffic stop on Route 80 in which the driver suddenly ran onto the highway, where he was struck and killed by a tractor-trailer, a grand jury has found. Kevin Cruz, 25, of Black River, NY, was pronounced dead shortly after being struck on the westbound side of the interstate highway around 2:30 a.m. Aug. 22, 2019. Cruz – formerly of the Bronx -- was speaking with a lieutenant and two backup officers when he ran into the roadway and was struck, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck (inset photo above) said Tuesday. SEE: Tractor-T…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Four More NJ Prison Officers Charged In Vicious Beatings Of Female Inmates Four More NJ Prison Officers Charged In Vicious Beatings Of Female Inmates
Four More NJ Prison Officers Charged In Vicious Beatings Of Female Inmates UPDATE: Four more correctional officers have been charged in the brutal beating and pepper-spraying of inmates at a New Jersey women’s prison, bringing the total to eight, authorities announced Thursday. Of the four officers newly charged for the January incident at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility, one is from Maywood, another from Paterson, a third from Somerset and the other from East Piscataway. All four senior officers “purposely or knowingly attempted to cause serious bodily injury to inmates as an accomplice or as a principal by using force beyond what was objectively reasonable …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
5 From North Jersey Busted In Lucrative Political Bribery Scheme With Morristown Lawyer 5 From North Jersey Busted In Lucrative Political Bribery Scheme With Morristown Lawyer
5 From North Jersey Busted In Lucrative Political Bribery Scheme With Morristown Lawyer Five North Jersey residents were busted in a major political corruption case that has already produced charges against public officials and political candidates from Hudson and Morris counties. Last month, state officials said Elizabeth Valandingham, 47, had prepared and submitted proposals for the law firm where she worked to the township of Bloomfield for legal services between 2012 and 2016, state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said. Valandingham said the company hadn’t made any political contributions. She was lying, Grewal said. Valandingham and an unnamed co-conspirator “recr…

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by Cecilia Levine