It seems like yesterday when hamburglar Karen stood outside a burning Burger King franchise demanding her money back. This video first surfaced a little over a year ago, but it has been making its rounds again. Here we are looking a true Pioneer Karen, long before the latest wave of Corona Karens showed up.
“That’s why you work at Burger King making 13 an hour, ho,” Karen yelled. No, that’s why they’re not waiting inside a burning restaurant to give this woman her money back.
JERSEY CITY, NJ – With major league baseball out of commission, Houston Astros fans don’t have any cheating baseball players to root for this year, so when a New Jersey microbrewery unveiled a Houston Astros themed trash banger microbrew their heads hit the ceiling. Ok, Altuve needed a little help with his head reaching the ceiling, but here’s what happened.
Mocking the whole thing about, you know, cheating to win a World Series, Departed Souls Brewery in Jersey City released a mildly humorous story around their Astros themed trash can banger, which is their Hazy IPA in cans decorated like those God awful 1970’s rainbow-themed jerseys that really, only Nolan Ryan made look good…and that’s not for any other reason than he threw over 200 strikeouts almost every year he played for the Astros. In fact, before the Astros figured out how to cheat their way to a World Series victory, Nolan Ryan was about the only good thing that ever happened to the Houston Astros. Well, that’s if you don’t count Houston getting New York’s sloppy seconds with Roger Clemens for a few years. Say Craig Biggio…I dare ya… or maybe we all remember the Astros’ franchise kid, Walking Underwear.
Enough of crappy baseball teams who have to cheat to win.
“Some of you may have already gotten the Signs that this was coming today, but beer releases are like a pitcher’s arsenal, and you never really know what’s coming and when… unless, of course, you cheat,” the brewery said, smacking it right in the face of the dirty cheating Astros’ fans. “When this pandemic first struck, much of our staff worked from home, while Brian rededicated himself to the Art of Brewing.. rewatching brewing school classes, reading new studies, and pouring over interviews, trying to Luhn(h)ow we could improve our efficiencies and processes. The result is a Fiersnew approach to everything we do, from mashing in, to dry hopping, water treatments to canning, and everything in between.”
They called their creation the Trash Can Banger…and all the little Altuve wannabes in Houston flipped out. So much so that they’re now apparently threatening legal action against the brewery.
“This was supposed to be a fun, one-off, quick-strike release… but when you threaten to kick our brewery dog into the Hudson River, and encourage an international conglomerate to sue us out of extinction, over a freaking game, and beer, well… it’s personal now,” the brewery said.
TRENTON, NJ – We’re not exactly sure what the incubation period is for COVID-19, but Governor Phil Murphy, after nearly a month of solid declines in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, deaths and folks on respirators, made note of a small uptick on Thursday. At first Murphy linked the uptick to Memorial Day Weekend, but doing the quick math in his head, backtracked out of that side street before hitting a dead end.
“Now, to something which is a little bit troubling and I think it’s fair to say Judy, Ed and their team are going to try to dig in on this, as we all are, there were 365 new hospitalizations yesterday, while 287 live residents left our hospitals. These are each the biggest numbers we’ve seen respectively in a week,” Murphy said on Thursday. “And here are those numbers charted across the regions. As you can see, the big bulk of these were up north, both those going in and those coming out. As I mentioned yesterday, we have expected this increase in new hospitalizations given the weekend, but we are going to watch these numbers closely over the coming days to see if there may be a deeper meaning to them, and I want to pause there for a second.”
First, most hospitalizations were up north, as he said…so keep your hands off the Jersey Shore.
“I don’t mean the weekend in that we were worried that activity took place on the weekend that led to this, although that could be the case. I mean also, and I think Judy is digging in on this, is whether or not we’ve had some lag reporting in the data,” Murphy back-peddled. “I know the hospitals, I believe are in the better to be safe than sorry category. I think, Judy, when somebody walks in the door with pneumonia on the margin, they’re going to assume the worst in terms of what the cause of that is. But this is something, folks, we’ve got to keep an eye on. And I promise you, we will keep an eye on, but for everybody who says open the thing up tomorrow, let’s turn all the lights on, let’s get back to normal. You’ve got 300 and what do we have here? 365 folks going in the hospital yesterday. We’ve got to make sure we are watching this like a hawk.”
“Again, so overall the trajectory remains largely positive. The key metrics that we’re tracking continue to move in the right direction and as you can see, continue to be way down from the peak. And especially over the past couple of weeks, even though we’ve seen some days with spikes, we remain confident in our overall direction. You can see this confidence in each region as the metrics generally follow each other across the state,” he said. “Again, upper left is where Judy, Ed and their teams, and I certainly can speak for myself, that’s what we’re focused on. It’s also why, again, I repeat that we look at three and seven-day rolling averages because you could have a distortion from one day to the next. A green ball means things went down, that’s good. Red ball means it went up. Again, when you’ve got holiday weekends, weekends generally, we need to smooth the data, but new hospitalizations is something that we are very much looking at.”
Who else out there wants to bet that Murphy has money riding on a complete slide back into full pandemic? It sure seems like that sometimes.
UNION CITY, NJ – Phil Murphy is watching small business across New Jersey and holding police officers’ feet to the fire to enforce his executive orders. In Union City, one rebellious restaurant owner was put in her place after it became known that she wasn’t requiring her employees to wear face coverings. Mask up Iris. Period. Full stop. Iris L. Diaz, 51, of Union City, N.J., was charged on May 24 by the Union City Police for not requiring that masks be worn by employees at her restaurant, Punto de la Baleda on 37th Street. Responding officers saw Diaz and an employee preparing food without wearing face coverings. The business had been warned earlier that day for the same violations.
Photo by Daniel Lerman on Unsplash
PERTH AMBOY, NJ – Caught in the act of giving french manicures and gel fills, two women from Brooklyn were slapped with fines along with two of their employees. This comes as New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy flexes his muscles against small businesses who dare violate his orders to remain closed to wither on the vine and die. Guo Lin, 39, Boa Lin, 46, Wei Chun, 40, all of Brooklyn, N.Y., were charged on May 24 by the Perth Amboy Police with violating the emergency orders. Guo Lin, the owner, and two employees were charged for opening and working at Dear Nail Salon on Smith Street.
Photo by Kris Atomic on Unsplash
BRANCHBURG, NJ – She was just cutting hair outside of her hair salon when police showed up and issued a violation. Melissa Colangelo, 50, of Hillsborough, N.J., was charged by the Branchburg Police on May 23 with violating the emergency orders by opening her business, DJ’s Salon on Route 202. Colangelo, trying to make ends meet, began servicing customers in defiance of Governor Phil Murphy’s ban on small business operations in the Garden State.
Photo by Jan Kopřiva on Unsplash
ELIZABETH, NJ – An Elizabeth bar owner was charged this week after allowing guests into his restaurant to drink and play pool. When police arrived, they found the establishment was in operation in violation of New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy’s executive order forcing the closure of all inside dining and drinking establishments. Ivan Serrano, 38, of Newark, N.J., the owner and manager of El Fogon Bar and Restaurant on Second Street in Elizabeth, was charged by the Elizabeth Police on May 23 with violating the emergency orders. Police found patrons playing pool and consuming alcohol at the bar.
MONMOUTH BEACH, NJ – Normally, a crime in itself, serving alcohol to minors is serious, but in lock down New Jersey, it comes with the extra penalty of violating Governor Phil Murphy’s executive orders. Jonathan Perrin, 51, of Monmouth Beach, N.J., was charged on May 21 by the Monmouth Beach Police Department with making alcohol available to minors (disorderly persons offense) and violating the emergency orders. Monmouth Beach Police responded to Perrin’s residence on a noise complaint and found numerous cars parked nearby and loud music coming from the home. There were approximately 25 teenagers in the backyard around a table filled with beer and alcoholic beverages.
TRENTON, NJ – AG Grewal announced updates on the Division of Consumer Affairs’ actions to stop price gouging. As of this week:
As of this week, the Division has logged a total of 5,033 complaints related to the COVID-19 emergency against 2,630 locations. More than 84 percent of the complaints allege unlawful price hikes on essential items like food, bottled water, cleaning products, and personal protective equipment such as masks.
Examples of alleged price hikes that consumers have reported to the Division include:
In addition to price gouging, the Division is looking into complaints from consumers alleging unlawful refund practices as a result of closures related to the COVID-19 health emergency. To date, the Division’s overall complaints include 366 reports of health clubs, hotels, ticket agents and other businesses allegedly refusing to issue refunds after they closed or suspended services as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
New Jersey’s price-gouging law, which took effect on March 9 upon Governor Murphy’s declaration of a state of emergency, prohibits excessive price increases during a declared state of emergency and for 30 days after its termination. A price increase is considered excessive if the new price is more than 10 percent higher than the price charged during the normal course of business prior to the state of emergency, and the increased price is not attributable to additional costs imposed by the seller’s supplier or additional costs of providing the product or service during the state of emergency.
Price-gouging and other consumer fraud violations are punishable by civil penalties of up to $10,000 for the first violation and $20,000 for the second and subsequent violations. Violators may also be required to pay consumer restitution, attorney’s fees, and investigative fees, and will be subject to injunctive action. Each sale of merchandise is considered a separate violation.
Consumers who suspect consumer fraud, violations, or believe that businesses have unfairly increased their prices in response to COVID-19, are encouraged to file complaints online to report specific details investigators can follow up on. Photographs of items being sold, receipts and pricing can now be uploaded to our new price gouging complaint form.
Tyler A. Harrison, 32, of Jersey City, N.J., was charged on May 26 by the Montvale Police Department with terroristic threats during an emergency (2nd degree), aggravated assault (2nd degree), aggravated on a law enforcement officer (3rd degree), receiving stolen property (3rd degree), and possession of a controlled dangerous substance (CDS) (3rd degree). While being taken into custody, the defendant allegedly repeatedly coughed at two officers while claiming to have COVID-19.
POMPTON LAKES, NJ – A woman staggering in the middle of the road smoking a cigarette in Pompton Lakes was dozing off when police arrived, but began coughing at them and telling them she had the coronavirus. Alexis Cap, 31, of Lake Hiawatha, N.J., was charged on May 25 by the Pompton Lakes Police with terroristic threats during an emergency (2 counts, 2nd degree), resisting arrest (3rd degree), aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer (2 counts, 4th degree), throwing bodily fluids at an officer (2 counts 4th degree), possession of prescription legend drugs (4th degree), being under the influence in public (disorderly persons offense), and various other disorderly persons offenses, including violating the emergency orders. Police responded to a call of a woman seated in the middle of the road smoking a cigarette. Police observed Cap staggering and dozing off. As two officers attempted to place Cap under arrest, she allegedly coughed and said, “I have coronavirus.”
Photo by: Brodie Vissers
PATERSON, NJ – Sheriff’s officers in Paterson said an inmate at the Passaic County Jail was being belligerent with officers after refusing to return to his cell. The inmate shouted at guards and told them they were going to die. Dominique Wilson, 26, of Paterson, N.J., was charged on May 24 with terroristic threats during an emergency (2nd degree), aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer (4th degree), and throwing bodily fluids at an officer (4th degree). Wilson, an inmate in the Passaic County Jail, did not want to return to his cell after using his allotted phone time. When sheriff’s officers repeatedly told Wilson to pull up his mask, he allegedly shouted profanities and said, “You are all going to die anyway and I don’t give a [expletive].” Wilson allegedly lowered his mask and coughed on the door handle to the cell they were approaching. He subsequently lowered his mask and allegedly intentionally coughed directly toward an officer.
Photo by: Matthew Henry
BOISE – Karina Renee Moore, 48, of Eagle, was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison for health care fraud, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced today. U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Moore to serve three years of supervised release following her release from prison and to pay $611,860.86 in restitution. Moore pleaded guilty on January 7, 2020.
According to court records, from August 2007 to December 2016, Moore was employed as the office manager at a skilled nursing facility in Boise. The skilled nursing facility was originally Marquis Care of Shaw Mountain, but it was sold in May 2016 and renamed Shaw Mountain of Cascadia. On December 1, 2016, employees at Shaw Mountain of Cascadia called law enforcement after discovering checks showing that the defendant had embezzled $23,805.66. The resulting investigation revealed Moore had been defrauding the Shaw Mountain care facility since at least January 2010. Between January 2010 and December 2016, Moore defrauded health care programs and social security programs, resulting in a loss of $611,860.86.
Moore used multiple schemes to cover her fraud. She embezzled the residents’ private payments and social security payments, including from their resident trust accounts. She fraudulently billed Medicaid for services that were covered by other health care benefit programs, and failed to report payments to Medicaid, causing overpayments, which she then embezzled. Finally, Moore collected and misused the social security checks of a deceased resident.
This case was investigated by United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, Boise Police Department, and Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General.
SAN FRANCISCO – Ross Anthony Farca was ordered to pay $17,832 in restitution for making false statements to a government agency, announced United States Attorney David L. Anderson and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge John F. Bennett. The sentence was handed down by the Honorable Jon S. Tigar, U.S. District Judge.
Farca, 24, of Concord, pleaded guilty to the charge, without a plea agreement, on April 9, 2020. As part of the proceedings for pleading guilty, Farca acknowledged he falsely certified on an electronic questionnaire that he had not consulted with a health care professional about an emotional or mental health condition when in fact he had.
Additional facts about the case appear in other court filings, including a complaint filed November 19, 2019. According to the complaint, on June 22, 2017, Farca traveled to a U.S. Army Recruitment Center in Mountain View, Calif., where he completed and submitted an online background check application in his bid to join the U.S. Army. The background check application, also known as an SF-86, contains language specifically warning that falsifying or concealing a material fact on the application is a felony which may result in fines or imprisonment. In this case, the criminal complaint alleges that Farca nevertheless knowingly made false statements about his mental health when completing the form. Specifically, he affirmatively stated that he had not received mental health treatment when, in fact, Farca had been in regular contact with a psychiatrist since 2011. In addition, the complaint alleges Farca had received prescriptions for various medications and had received treatments to manage his mental disorders.
According to the complaint, Farca understood that because of his diagnosis, he needed a letter of clearance from a mental health professional before he would be qualified to enlist in the army. The complaint alleges that Farca requested a letter of clearance from both his psychiatrist and a caseworker familiar with his condition; both mental health professionals, however, denied Farca’s request for a clearance letter. The complaint further alleges that when Farca completed the SF-86, rather than admit he had been seeing a psychiatrist and that he was unable to obtain a letter clearing him for duty, Farca instead denied he had ever had counseling for his psychological or emotional health. According to the complaint, Farca reported to basic training on August 28, 2017, and was discharged October 3, 2017. The discharge paperwork cited “failed medical / physical / procurement standards” and noted, “erroneous enlistment; medical condition disqualifying for military service, with no medical waiver approved.”
A federal grand jury indicted Farca on December 3, 2019, charging him with making a false statement, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a). Farca pleaded guilty to the count.
In addition to the restitution order, Judge Tigar also sentenced the defendant to time served in jail—a period of more than six months as defendant has been in custody since his arrest on November 21, 2019—and a 3-year period of supervised release, to include special conditions restricting his computer usage. Defendant will be released from federal custody and transferred to the custody of Contra Costa County, to face additional pending charges.
The Office of the U.S. Attorney’s Special Prosecutions Section is prosecuting the case. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Concord Police Department.
BROWNS MILLS, NJ – Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina announced that a 41-year-old Pemberton Township man has been sentenced to 20 years in New Jersey state prison for sexually assaulting a young girl last year.
Erick Gentner, of the Browns Mills section of the township, must serve all 20 years before becoming eligible for parole. The sentence was handed down yesterday by the Hon. Gerard H. Breland, J.S.C. The proceeding was conducted through videoconferencing.
Upon being released, Gentner will be subjected to parole supervision for life and also be placed on the New Jersey Sex Offender Internet Registry.
In November, Gentner pled guilty to Aggravated Sexual Assault (First Degree) and Attempted Aggravated Assault on Law Enforcement (Fourth Degree). Gentner was acquainted with his victim. Further details about the sexual assault are being withheld in an effort to protect the identity of the victim.
“The victim in this case was extremely courageous, and came forward to report the abuse,” Prosecutor Coffina said. “It is our strong hope that her actions have empowered her to move forward and lead a happy life.”
The case was prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutor LaChia Bradshaw. It was investigated by the Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit – Special Victims Section, with assistance from the Pemberton Township Police. The lead investigator was BCPO Detective Nicholas Villano.
TRENTON, NJ – As part of the Murphy Administration’s overall response to assist New Jersey residents affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Murphy and Lieutenant Governor Oliver today announced the COVID-19 Short-Term Rental Assistance Program. The program will provide rental assistance to low- and moderate-income households that have had a substantial reduction in income as a result of the pandemic, including those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
“From the moment this crisis took hold, we’ve made it clear that New Jerseyans should not fear losing their home as a result of financial hardship caused by COVID-19,” said Governor Murphy. “This program will provide at least $100 million in housing relief for low- and moderate-income families who need it most. We’ll continue working closely with our legislative and community-based partners to further strengthen protections for tenants.”
The program will open for applications in July and begin paying rental assistance in September. Qualifying households will be expected to pay 30 percent of their income toward rent, and the program would pay the remainder of their rent up to DCA’s fair market rent payment standard (see chart below). At the three-month mark, the household budget will be reviewed to determine if assistance is still needed. Assistance that is no longer required will be used to serve additional families.
“We understand the challenges families are facing at this difficult time and it is our goal to help as many people as possible, which is why we developed this new rental assistance program,” said Lt. Governor Sheila Y. Oliver, DCA Commissioner. “In addition to the new program, DCA is also urging households in need to apply for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which helps people pay for their home energy bills. With additional funding through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, New Jersey is able to help even more families cover their rent and energy expenses through this crisis.”
The program will devote approximately 20 percent of funding to serve those who are very low income and homeless or at risk of homelessness with up to 12 months of rental assistance. These households will be selected by DCA through the Coordinated Entry process in each county’s Homeless Management Information System. To help families reach self-sufficiency, case management, financial planning, and other assistance will be provided by the program.
For the remainder of the funding, DCA will administer an online lottery. When the lottery is opened, households may submit applications and participants will be selected from the overall pool of applicants through a randomized process based on eligibility and the lottery criteria. Applicants selected through the lottery will be eligible to receive up to six months of short-term rental assistance. Should further funding become available, DCA will serve additional households.
Households may qualify for the lottery based on the below standards:
Eligibility Requirements
The COVID-19 Short Term Rental Assistance Program website will launch on June 15 with additional information at https://www.nj.gov/dca/divisions/dhcr/offices/shorttermrap.html.
DCA will provide the centralized application intake, eligibility review, and payment directly to participants’ landlords. As part of the landlord contract, DCA will encourage landlords to agree to a reasonable payment plan for any rent arrearages, not to evict for any arrearages accumulated prior to the start of temporary rental assistance, and not to evict due to unpaid rent for six months after the end of assistance.
As more resources become available, DCA anticipates that the program might expand to assist additional families.
DCA offers a wide range of programs and services, including affordable housing production, fire safety, building safety, community planning and development, local government management and finance, and disaster recovery.
WEST MILFORD, NJ – A former staffer for a member of the United States House of Representatives today admitted using, without authorization, the seal of the House of Representatives in connection with falsified letters written on the member’s congressional letterhead, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Patrick Sheehan, 29, of West Milford, New Jersey, pleaded guilty during a videoconference before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael A. Hammer to an information charging him with the unauthorized use of the seal of the United States House of Representatives.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Sheehan was employed in the Newton, New Jersey, office of a member of the United States House of Representatives from February 2018 to August 2019. As a staff member, he had access to the member’s official letterhead, which contained the likeness of the seal of the United States House of Representatives.
In July 2019, Sheehan falsified and mailed to various recipients a series of letters. The first letters purported to be from another employee of the member and contained false information regarding the member and that employee. The employee did not create, approve, or sign those letters. Sheehan then falsified multiple copies of a letter on the member’s official letterhead purporting to be from the member. That letter, which the member did not create, approve, or sign, responded to the false information in the employee letters, and also contained false information. The phony letters that Sheehan created and distributed contained the likeness of the seal of the House of Representatives.
Sheehan faces a maximum potential penalty of six months in prison, five years of probation, and a fine of $5,000. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 29, 2020.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents with the U.S. Capitol Police, under the direction of Chief of Police Steven A. Sund, inspectors with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector in Charge James Buthorn, and special agents with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey with the investigation.
SEWELL , NJ – The Justice Department today sued a Gloucesster County construction company for allegedly defrauding the United States by falsely claiming credit for using disadvantaged business entities, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Companies performing federally funded work on New Jersey transportation projects sponsored by the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) are required to utilize disadvantaged business entities (DBE) for a specified percentage of the work, and are required to certify their use of these entities.
According to the complaint filed today in U.S. District Court:
Abbonizio Contractors obtained a $39 million subcontract from PKF Mark III, the prime contractor on the Direct Connection Project, a federally funded reconfiguration of the interchanges of Routes I-295, I-76, and Route 42 in Camden County. PKF Mark III was required to perform 15 percent of the work with DBE contractors, and Abbonizio Contractors assumed that requirement as part of its subcontract. Abbonizio Contractors and its president, Peter Abbonizio, improperly claimed credit for using DBE to perform work on the project by reporting to PKF Mark III the use of DBE that did not actually perform work. The scheme involved hiring DBE not to perform work, but merely to fraudulently invoice work as their own that was actually performed by other companies, in violation of the contract and federal regulations.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General under the direction of Acting Inspector General Howard R. Elliot, and agents of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Office of the Inspector General under Acting Inspector General Michael Farbiarz, with the investigation leading to the filing of this civil fraud complaint.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark C. Orlowski of the U.S. Attorney’s Government Fraud Unit in Newark.
TRENTON – As Shore resorts seek to augment their police forces with special officers for the busy summer season, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal today issued guidance to law enforcement on a new expedited process that will allow special law enforcement officers who work in New Jersey’s schools to be re-designated to perform general law enforcement duties as seasonal law enforcement officers in other municipalities.
The guidance is designed to help municipalities address law enforcement staffing issues caused by COVID-19, especially in those municipalities that see an influx of visitors during the summer months. This action is the latest step taken by Attorney General Grewal and the Police Training Commission (PTC), which establishes statewide standards for police officers, to ease the burden on local law enforcement agencies during the pandemic.
“We knew law enforcement resources would be stretched to the limit by this pandemic, not only because of officers being ill or quarantined, but because of the many new responsibilities imposed by this unprecedented emergency,” said Attorney General Grewal. “Nonetheless, police across New Jersey have worked together, as they always do, to meet the challenges, and we are doing all that we can do at the state level to support their heroic efforts. I’m confident that the measures we have announced to address manpower issues – along with the recent re-opening of the police academies – will give our Shore communities the officers they need to ensure a safe and family-friendly summer season.”
State law allows municipalities to hire “special law enforcement officers” (SLEO), who can perform certain functions for a police department but lack the full authorities of a typical law enforcement officer. The law establishes three categories: SLEO I officers, who handle routine traffic details, spectator control, and similar duties; SLEO II officers, who have full arrest authority but generally work on a part-time or seasonal basis; and SLEO III officers, who provide security at schools.
Generally speaking, law enforcement agencies must obtain approval from the PTC to transfer an officer from one category of SLEO to another. Earlier this year, the PTC created a program to streamline the transfer process, so long as the SLEO remained working in the same town. Today’s guidance now makes it easier for SLEOs to transfer between municipalities as well, making it easier to deploy officers to the communities that need them most.
TRENTON, NJ – George Floyd was killed while in police custody last week in Minneapolis, Minnesota but today, New Jersey Attrorney General Gurbir Grewal said the events unfolding in that state, some 1,200 miles northwest of Trenton highlights America’s racial divide.
“Today, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension arrested Officer Derek Chauvin, taking an important first step in the search for justice following the tragic death of George Floyd. Like so many others, I was horrified by the footage of Mr. Floyd’s death, and I hope that law enforcement officials across the country continue to make clear that abusive police practices will not be tolerated,” Grewal said. “Mr. Floyd’s death reminds us that our country has a long way to go not only in healing our nation’s racial divides, but also in addressing the systemic and implicit biases that prevent all Americans from equally securing our country’s great promises. Now more than ever, we must redouble our commitment to building trust between law enforcement and the people they serve, especially those from historically marginalized communities.”
Here’s the rest of the Attorney General’s statement:
Here in New Jersey, we are absolutely committed to a criminal justice system that is fair, transparent, and free of bias.
This past December, we rolled out a sweeping set of statewide policy reforms, known as the Excellence in Policing Initiative, to promote the culture of professionalism, accountability, and transparency that are hallmarks of New Jersey’s best law enforcement agencies. But we must do more, and we are committed to working with our partners in law enforcement and the broader community to identify additional opportunities for improvement.
Unfortunately, there remain occasions where an officer uses violent force against civilians without justification. We condemn such actions, not simply because they are wrong, but also because they do a disservice to the vast majority of law enforcement officers committed to upholding the highest standards of the profession.
We also prosecute such cases criminally and through the police disciplinary process. As Attorney General, I oversee the investigation of use-of-force cases in this State, a role that makes me particularly sensitive to the difficulties of investigating and prosecuting such cases. My role as Attorney General also prevents them from commenting on individual cases, even where the publicly available information is horrifying and the conduct at issue unconscionable.
The residents of New Jersey should rest assured that we will never tolerate the types of police practices that resulted in Mr. Floyd’s death. As part of our Excellence in Policing Initiative, we created new mechanisms for reporting allegations of police misconduct, including a standardized reporting form that must be offered by every police department in New Jersey. We take police-misconduct allegations seriously, and we are committed to ensuring justice and accountability for every resident of this state.
TRENTON, NJ – New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy just announced revised school funding allocations for school districts in Ocean County and some schools are losing. This comes as many districts have already finalized their 2020-2021 operating budget. Southern Regional and Central Regional were hit hardest with $203,985 and $187,044 in funding cuts, respectively. The already hard hit districts of Brick, Toms River and Jackson were spared in this latest round of cuts by the Murphy administration.
| District | Original Funding | Revised Budget | Difference |
| Southern Regional | $2,800,453 | $2,596,468 | ($203,985) |
| Central Regional | $4,561,165 | $4,374,121 | ($187,044) |
| Berkeley Twp | $2,843,725 | $2,727,481 | ($116,244) |
| Barnegat Twp | $20,695,898 | $20,586,769 | ($109,129) |
| Lakewood Twp | $23,472,641 | $23,391,251 | ($81,390) |
| Point Pleasant Beach | $601,295 | $593,205 | ($8,090) |
| Long Beach Island | $710,369 | $704,125 | ($6,244) |
| Island Heights Boro | $303,780 | $301,155 | ($2,625) |
| Beach Haven Boro | $205,860 | $203,437 | ($2,423) |
The New York Post on Thursday reported these two “armed rednecks” and “Two bearded men with long rifles strapped to their chests” menaced the city with their guns in part of some overall white vs. black narrative by reporter Lia Eustachewich. Either Eustachewich didn’t look deeper into the story, or she was looking for a good race-baiting headline, we’re not sure, but a quick two minutes of searching on social media proved this entire narrative by the mainstream media as false.
“A second armed man told the Minnesota Reformer he and his friend had been roaming the city to see which store owners needed help,” Eustachewich reported. The photo below shows the real story and the other men who were also defending their neighborhood. Two of those men are black men, but that doesn’t fit the liberal media narrative that rednecks are running around Minneapolis menacing and shooting at the protestors and looters destroying their city around them.
There is no race war, in fact, there’s racial unity in the city outside of the thugs protesting, looting and burning down their own neighborhoods.
OCEAN TOWNSHIP, NJ – Senate Majority Conference Leader Vin Gopal (D-Monmouth) today joined the New Jersey Restaurant and Hospitality Association in calling on Governor Murphy to immediately lift the statewide prohibition on outdoor commercial dining and issue a concrete roadmap toward permitting indoor dining within the coming weeks.
“I stand with all the restaurateurs today who are making their voices heard. Out of respect in making sure this press conference by restaurants stays non-political, I will not attend but am issuing my strong support in this statement.
New Jersey’s restaurant industry has worked hard to promote social distancing in their kitchens, design plans for reopening, and find new ways to keep staff and customers safe from COVID-19. As the Governor’s recent executive order expanding outdoor gatherings shows, and as broad amounts of medical data have indicated, this virus is far less dangerous when it’s not confined by four walls and a ceiling. New Jersey is making real, measurable progress on expanding testing and implementing contact tracing, and once we lift the ban on outdoor dining, I strongly believe that we can keep our infection curve flattened by keeping clear social distancing safeguards in place.
“Hundreds of restaurants have already gone out of business, and it is clear that we must make real, swift moves forward to allow those remaining to open up before it’s too late. These small businesses deserve our support and guidance, and we cannot afford to let them wait any longer. I’ve previously called for municipalities to provide additional room for customers by allowing restaurants to use public spaces for outdoor dining; with the proper precautions, outdoor dining is one of our lowest-risk opportunities for reopening. Governor Murphy and the Department of Health have done important, life-saving work to break the back of this virus, but with New Jersey’s curve flattened and a robust testing apparatus in place, it is time for us to look toward recovery where it is safe to do so.”’
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WILDWOOD, NJ – North Wildwood’s Mayor Patrick Rosenello had a great idea in light of a bad idea issued by Governor Phil Murphy. After Murphy allowed for the purchase of open liquor containers from bars and restaurants, Rosenello sought to put some kind of control on the executive order that had people in some shore towns using curbs as barstools. Rosenello designated certain spots in North Wildwood as public drinking zones where customers could buy alcohol from a bar and drink it nearby. The plan kept people from bringing open alcohol containers into their cars, as prohibited by state law and gave patrons a safe place to enjoy Memorial Day weekend together, out of the house.
After just one day, Murphy’s administration and the Cape May County Prosecutor shut it all down, even allegedly sending New Jersey State Police helicopters over the neighborhoods to ensure compliance.
Senator Michael Testa is calling on Senate President Steve Sweeney to join forces and take the necessary steps to fully open the Garden State economy.
In efforts to prevent alcohol on North Wildwood roads, Mayor Patrick Rosenello established designated areas for people to drink safely.
“This is about the economic collapse of the tourism industry, which is one of the largest industries in the State of New Jersey and the only industry for many parts of the State,” Mayor Rosenello said. “Senator Testa and I have been outspoken for weeks about this issue. The Governor received widespread support and buy-in from millions of people because we were told the shutdown was to stop our health care system from being overrun. That threat not only never materialized, hospitals are now actually laying people off because they have so little business. The ‘curve’ that we were all supposed to be working to ‘flatten’ is now about as flat as the economic heartbeat of this State. It is time to reopen.”
“I am calling on Senate Republicans and Democrats to reach across the aisle and stop the Governor’s economic disaster before we hit a cliff,” Testa said.
TRENTON, NJ – Governor Phil Murphy is seeking to hire an investigator to look into who is alerting the public to the inner workings of the New Jersey Department of Health. A leak became evident on Thursday when a Bergen Record asked Murphy about an internal conversation between the Department of Health and the Governor. That discussion was in reference to establishing a non-profit Public Health Institute in New Jersey.
“I understand that the Commissioner floated an idea with you to establish a nonprofit similar to a Public Health Institute that some states have, which can raise money and work around some of the government bureaucracy associated with procurement of supplies. What was your response to that, and is it something that’s on the table?” Dustin Racioppi asked.
“I’d be curious to know how you learned that, by the way. I like the idea, and Judy knows that,” the Governor responded. “To say this is a five-alarm fire I think would be the understatement of the century, in terms of getting the house fire out, but I like the idea and I think it’s an idea that has worked particularly well in some other states.”
Today, reporters asked the Governor if he supported the investigation, again catching Murphy off guard.
“Look, people leaking things and giving the outside world some sense of how the sausage is made, I got no time for that and that’s gotta stop,” Murphy said. “We’re going through stuff we’ve never gone through before and the last thing we need are people speaking out of school about it. Frankly, enough already and let’s move on.”