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Sopranos' cast helps celebrate FBI 's 100th anniversary

by Jeff Whelan/The Star-Ledger

Thursday August 07, 2008, 6:58 PM

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They turned one of his lieutenants into an informant. They sneaked through the woods to hunt him down. And eventually, FBI agents put Johnny "Sack" Sacramoni, the New York mob boss, behind bars.

Then today the gangster took an elevator ride to a fifth-floor parking garage in Newark and walked out to find himself surrounded by federal agents once again. This time there were hundreds of them.

"I thought this was all over with you guys," he sighed to a round of laughter.

Johnny Sack, of course, was a character on the "Sopranos," HBO's hit show about a dysfunctional Jersey mob family. Vincent Curtola, a Bergen County resident, is the actor who played him.

Curtola and several of his cast mates were featured guests today at a luncheon in which the FBI's Newark Division celebrated the 100th anniversary of the bureau.

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Gloucester County woman arrested on 39 charges of animal cruelty

by Brian T. Murray/The Star-Ledger

Thursday August 07, 2008, 6:20 PM

A Gloucester County woman being sought on charges she allowed 31 rabbits and possibly a horse to starve to death on an East Greenwich Township farm was arrested today.

Deborah Bailey, who failed to appear in municipal court on July 28 to answer to 39 charges of animal cruelty leveled by the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, was found by East Greenwich police at the West Cohawkin Road farm at about 5:20 p.m. today.

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Judge: Punishment too severe for Elizabeth cops' rooftop antics

by Judith Lucas/The Star-Ledger

Thursday August 07, 2008, 6:03 PM

Three Elizabeth police officers were punished too harshly when they were stripped of their rank and pay and suspended from their jobs over alleged drunken antics on a municipal garage roof deck three years ago, an administrative law judge has decided.

Judge Barry E. Moscowitz ruled officers James P. Kearns, Michael Delancey and Kevin Buckley should regain their ranks, back pay and pension benefits.

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Centenary College chief resigning at year's end

by Mike Frassinelli/The Star-Ledger

Thursday August 07, 2008, 6:01 PM

Centenary College said today that president Kenneth L. Hoyt, who arrived seven years ago from Ohio, is leaving at the end of the year.

Hoyt, 60, gave notice that he would resign Dec. 31 as the head of the only four-year college in northwestern New Jersey.

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Alcohol ruled out as factor in crash that killed 3 N.J. women

by The Associated Press

Thursday August 07, 2008, 5:58 PM

Investigators have ruled out alcohol as a factor in a crash on the New York Thruway that killed three New Jersey women and injured more than a dozen.

The women were returning home to New Jersey from waitressing jobs in upstate New York in the early morning hours of June 14 when the van they were traveling in crashed on the New York State Thruway.

Police initially suspected alcohol as a factor but now say toxicology reports have ruled it out. They say the van did not have mechanical problems and are unsure what caused the accident.

North Bergen residents Georgina Castaneda and Maria Mercedes Tay-Tuyuc were killed in the crash, along with Juana Rodriguez-Hernandez of Englewood.

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Family of woman who died after Rockaway fire sues landlord

by Margaret McHugh/The Star-Ledger

Thursday August 07, 2008, 5:49 PM

The family of a 42-year-old woman who died from burns suffered inside a Rockaway apartment in 2006 is suing the landlord, a former mayoral candidate, claiming the property was unsafe and had no smoke detectors, according to court papers that became public today.

The wrongful death lawsuit filed in Superior Court in Morristown names attorney Jeffrey Grow, who owns the East New Street property where Marita O'Connell died of burns to 85 percent of her body in November 2006. The lawsuit also names Melissa Greskovich and Debrah Turnbull, who owned the property with Grow at the time.

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Newark Councilwoman Dana Rone loses another bid to retain her seat

by Katie Wang/The Star-Ledger

Thursday August 07, 2008, 5:44 PM

Newark Councilwoman Dana Rone lost another legal bid today to keep her seat until an appeals court considers her case.

Appellate Division Judge Rudy Coleman denied Rone's request for a stay on a ruling that called for her resignation after she was convicted of a disorderly person's offense involving her office. Coleman, in a one page decision, cited a state statute that said a stay cannot be granted in a forfeiture proceeding unless the court believes an appeal will be successful.

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Toddler critical after near drowning in relative's pool

by Jennifer Golson/The Star-Ledger

Thursday August 07, 2008, 5:41 PM

A 2-year-old girl was listed in critical condition this afternoon after she nearly drowned in a relative's swimming pool in Hillsborough, police said.

The incident occurred at shortly after 1 p.m. on Kilmer Drive, police said. The toddler, whom police did not identify, was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, where she was listed in critical condition.

Police responded to the Kilmer Drive dwelling after receiving a report of an unresponsive female who had drowned in a swimming pool, authorities said. Family members removed her from the water before officers arrived, police said. Officers immediately started performing CPR.

The child and her father, who live on Capricorn Drive, were visiting relatives on Kilmer Drive when the incident occurred. The Hillsborough Police Department and the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office are investigating.

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In aftermath of altercation, grand jury declines to indict Nutley woman, 2 cops

by Guy Sterling/The Star-Ledger

Thursday August 07, 2008, 5:35 PM

A grand jury in Essex County has declined to indict a Nutley woman or two local police officers after a dispute at her home early last year during which she claims she was beaten and falsely arrested and they say she assaulted them.

The panel's decision against indicting Donna Koeppel or Officers Eric Stabinski and Andrew Bassett was confirmed by the Essex County Prosecutor's Office without comment. The "no bill" was returned Wednesday.

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Judge: Woodbridge was justified in firing cop after off-duty bar fight

by Sue Epstein/The Star-Ledger

Thursday August 07, 2008, 4:52 PM

The Woodbridge Police Department was justified in dismissing a township officer for conduct unbecoming a police officer after he started a fight while off-duty at a township bar, beat a patron and fled before his fellow officers arrived to investigate, an Administrative Law Judge has ruled.

Judge Israel Dubin dismissed Charles Hawkins III's version of the June 15, 2004 incident at the City Tavern in Avenel, which Dubin said "appeared to have been made out of whole cloth."

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Pennsylvania man admits to drug charges in Hunterdon County

by Ralph R. Ortega/The Star-Ledger

Thursday August 07, 2008, 4:41 PM

A drug courier who was nabbed for speeding on Route 78 in Hunterdon County while he was carrying about 150 pounds of marijuana in the trunk of his car last year, pleaded guilty today to first-degree drug possession with intent to distribute marijuana.

Corey Clarke, 22, of Harrisburg, Pa., must serve at least 32 months of a recommended eight-year sentence before he is eligible for parole, under a deal offered by Hunterdon County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Harvey Lester.

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N.J. man to face child prostitution charges in Mexico

by Jeff Whelan/The Star-Ledger

Thursday August 07, 2008, 4:10 PM

A New Jersey man who has been held without bail since his arrest earlier this year agreed today to be extradited to Mexico to face child prostitution charges stemming from an alleged incident six years ago.

Thomas Grisard, 49, of Spring Lake Heights, waived his right to an extradition hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Esther Salas in Newark and will be transferred to the custody of Mexican officials in the coming weeks.

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N.J. man gets 15-year prison sentence for gun charges

by The Associated Press

Thursday August 07, 2008, 3:53 PM

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- A New Jersey man has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison after being convicted of being a felon in possession of a weapon.

Authorities say Shawntrail J. Lee of Passaic also was fined $5,000 today by U.S. District Judge Dudley H. Bowen Jr.

U.S. Attorney Edmund Booth said police found a .40 caliber Ruger pistol in a car occupied by Lee, and co-defendant Rashon Jackson as they were visiting the Augusta area June 24, 2007.

Booth says Lee has three prior felony convictions and received the maximum sentence under the Armed Career Criminal Act. Jackson, who had one prior conviction, was sentenced last month to 18 months in prison and fined $3,000.

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12-year-old attacked by uncle dies

by The Associated Press

Thursday August 07, 2008, 3:44 PM

A New Jersey man already facing a murder charge in the death of his mother will face a second murder count after the death of one of his two 12-year-old nieces, authorities said.

Ronald Weed, who is charged with killing his 65-year-old mother, Loretta Weed, is also charged with murder in the death of Kim McCarten. The girl was one of two nieces who were visiting from Huntsville, Ala.

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Perth Amboy woman charged in stabbing of two sisters

by Sharon Adarlo/The Star-Ledger

Thursday August 07, 2008, 2:50 PM

A Perth Amboy woman is in custody today after allegedly stabbing two sisters Tuesday night at a Woodbridge park, police said.

Marcea Wade, 43, is accused of stabbing a 32-year-old Fords woman after an argument turned physical shortly before 7 p.m. at the Fords Park on King Georges Road. She is accused of then attacking the victim's 30-year-old sister, also from Woodbridge, who tried to help her sibling, police said.

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1 dead, 1 injured in second Elizabeth shooting in three days

by Robert E. Misseck/The Star-Ledger

Thursday August 07, 2008, 2:44 PM

For the second time in three days, a shooting in Elizabeth has left one man dead and another injured, authorities said today.

Police found Christopher Cunningham, 33, of Elizabeth, with multiple gunshot wounds at a house on Flora Street around 1:35 a.m, according to a release from the Union County Prosecutor's office. Cunningham was pronounced dead shortly afterward University Hospital in Newark.

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A new steeple for N.J.'s oldest English-speaking church

by Mariam Jukaku/The Star-Ledger

Thursday August 07, 2008, 2:22 PM

New Jersey's oldest English-speaking church got a massive face-lift this morning, with the raising of a new 27-ton steeple.

Dozens of congregants, politicians and community members gathered this morning on the historic church grounds of Old First Presbyterian Church of Elizabeth to watch the first piece of the white aluminum steeple rise to the top of the church's bell-tower.

"I don't know why, but I feel so proud at this moment," said Borys Abulevsko, a long-time member of the 344-year-old church, which sits next to the Union County Courthouse on Broad Street.

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Resurfacing project to start Friday on Route 78 in Somerset County

by Cathy Bugman/The Star-Ledger

Thursday August 07, 2008, 1:55 PM

Motorists on Route 78 may encounter delays in the coming months as the state sets out to resurface an 11-mile stretch in Somerset County, authorities said.

Beginning Friday, workers will start the project, which affects the area from Watchung to Bedminster, state officials said.

The work will affect both directions, from Milepost 30.9 to Milepost 42.2 in Bedminster, Bridgewater, Bernards, Warren and Watchung, according to a press release issued by the state Department of Transportation.

Along with the resurfacing, the state also intends to repair eight bridges along that section of thei highway. The $8.3 million project is scheduled for completion in September 2009.

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Political signs allowed again in Hawthorne

by Kate Coscarelli/The Star-Ledger

Thursday August 07, 2008, 12:53 PM

Posting a sign on the law to showcase your allegiance to politicians is permitted again in one Passaic County town, a civil liberties group said today.

The Hawthorne Borough Council last night rescinded a ban on the signs at its monthly meeting, according to officials from the New Jersey chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. The group represented a borough resident who was issued a citation for putting up signs on behalf of Ron Paul's campaign.

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