Walmart is offering its employees homework in its ongoing battle with online retailers like Amazon. The nation’s largest retailer announced it will begin asking employees to deliver packages on their way home after work. The company is testing the employee deliveries at two stores in New Jersey and one in Arkansas. “The best part is this…
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Weather Looking Good for This Weekend
New Jersey residents on Friday should be able to end their week with some pretty nice weather that should carry into Saturday. Friday should be mostly sunny with highs near 77. After 2 p.m., however, there is a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Forecasters say highs will reach 79 in Vineland, Trenton and Newark. There…
Weekend Beach Outlook: 5 Shore Beaches Given Swim Advisories
A swimming advisory was issued for five ocean beaches in Monmouth County on Wednesday afternoon due to high levels of bacteria. The five beaches include: Broadway and Spray Avenue, in Neptune Township; Public Beach in Sea Bright Borough; and Brown Avenue and York Avenue in Spring Lake Borough. The statewide agency will check the beaches every…
Ocean County Rained On Most in NJ in May
May turned out to be a lousy month for New Jersey sun worshippers, but a great month for lush lawns and flower beds. All because of a pesky weather pattern that pushed a lot of storm clouds over the region and dumped abundant amounts of rain. Although some areas of North Jersey ended up getting average…
Lakewood Population Breaks 100,000 Mark
LAKEWOOD — The township has exceeded 100,000 residents, making it the eighth largest in New Jersey, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent data. The Ocean County town now has approximately 100,758 residents, according to the bureau’s data from 2016. That’s a 1.5 percent increase compared to the previous year. Very few local municipalities are…
Toms River RadioShack Store Not Closing
The one-time dominant electronics retailer RadioShack is in the final stages of closing more than 1,000 stores, leaving just 70 opened across the country. Just three brick-and-mortar stores will remain open in New Jersey, including in Kearny, Toms River and West Orange. The company will keep those 70 stores in operation across the U.S. as it…
First mounds of sand pumped ashore to start massive beach replenishment project
ORTLEY BEACH — The first mounds of sand for one of New Jersey’s largest beach replenishment projects started being pumped onto Ortley Beach this week as Shore towns on the northern Ocean County peninsula, which for decades had fought hard against engineered beaches, relented after Hurricane Sandy. After having at least two projected start dates fall…
Toms River North (5) at Wall (0), Shore Conference Tournament, Semifinal Round – Baseball
Jared Bellissimo tossed a four-hit shutout with six strikeouts and two walks to lead seventh-seeded Toms River North to a 5-0 win over third-seeded Wall in the semifinal round of the Shore Conference tournament in Wall. Toms River North will take on either top-seeded Toms River South or fourth-seeded Red Bank Catholic in the finals on…
Donovan Catholic Defeats St. John Vianney to Win Softball Championship
TOMS RIVER-Lindsay Nelson pitched 7 innings and struck out 5 batters while going 2 for 3 at the plate to help lead the Donovan Catholic softball team to a 6-5 win over St. John Vianney.
Donovan Catholic took an early 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first, but SJV answered right back with 4 of their own in the top of the second inning. In the 5th, SJV went up 5-4, but DC scored 2 in the bottom of the inning and held the lead through the 7th and final inning.
Karina Gaskins went 1 for 2, had a double and drove in 3 runs. Kayla Roncin went 1 for 3 and drove in the other 3 runs.
Rullo: Guadagno "Sold Her Soul"; Secures Powerful Lakewood Orthodox Bloc Vote
LAKEWOOD-The influential political power brokers of Lakewood Township, the Lakewood Vaad, have announced Kim Guadagno as their candidate of choice for governor of New Jersey in Tuesday’s Republican primary election.
In a report yesterday on the political news website, Ocean County Politics, editor Gavin Rozzi broke the news through a video published by Lakewood’s “First Amendment Activist” of a robocall sent out by Rabbi Yisroel Schenkolewksi, one of the Vaad’s religious and political leaders.
In the call, Schenkolewksi urged Lakewood’s Orthodox voters that a vote for Guadagno, Lakewood’s large bloc vote remains powerful.
“Let us stop those who are trying to divide us and weaken us,” Schenkolewksi said.
Guadagno’s opponent in the election, Ocean County resident Joseph Rullo wondered what offers or promises Guadagno made to Lakewood in return for the endorsement.
“It’s so corrupt how one guy can cut a deal to get 13,000 votes for promises after elected in Lakewood,” Rullo said. “Kim sold her soul….Lakewood is a sanctuary city with no rules.”
The news also doesn’t sit well with voters in the Republican stronghold of Ocean County where an ongoing confrontation exists between Lakewood’s growing Orthodox Jewish population and the surrounding gentile townships of Jackson, Brick, Toms River and Howell where Rullo is showing strong against Guadagno and the other Republican establishment candidates.
In a new SaveJersey poll, a shore area conservative blog site, Rullo is leading the pack with 41% of voters. Rival conservative Steve Rogers polled with 22% with Guadagno and her establishment arch-nemesis Jack Ciattarelli trailing with just 14% and 16% respectively.
In the latest Shore News Network poll, consisting mostly of Ocean County residents, Rullo received 51% of the votes and Guadagno 27.8%. Ciattarelli (8%), Singh (7%) and Rogers (5%) all trailed.
Rullo hopes his conservative platform and open support of Donald Trump resonates with the New Jersey voters on Tuesday. He backed the president in last November’s election and has been a staunch supporter of Trump since his announcement in 2015.
Rullo said he feels most of New Jersey’s Trump supporters will be behind him, while Guadagno, Ciattarelli and Singh compete over the balance of the establishment type voters in the state.
One Injured as Man Jumps Out of Window to Escape Lavallette Condo Fire
by Al Della Fave, OCPO
LAVALETTE-On Thursday, May 25th 2017, at 1:21 am, The Lavallette Police Department and Fire Department were dispatched to a structure fire at 1806 Grand Central Avenue. Upon arrival, emergency personnel observed the second floor of a two story, multi-unit dwelling condominium structure was fully involved in fire. Both Seaside Heights and Seaside Park Fire Departments assisted with fire suppression.
RELATED NEWS >> Lavallette Police Officer Under Fire by Toms River GOP Smear Campaign
Despite the intensity of the flames responding units found upon arrival, the fire event produced one minor injury. A 45-year-old male was transported to Community Medical Center for non-life threating injuries sustained when jumping from the second story to escape the extreme fire and smoke conditions.
The subsequent investigation conducted by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes/Arson Unit, Ocean County Fire Marshal’s Office, Ocean County Sheriff’s Department Crime Scene Investigation Unit and Lavallette Police Department determined that the area of origin was on the exterior of the south side of the structure, along a balcony style walkway on the second floor. The point of origin is on top of outdoor carpeting that lined the floor of the walkway in between unit #7 and unit #8. The cause of the fire is deemed accidental and improperly discarded smoking material cannot be eliminated as the cause of the fire.
https://www.facebook.com/JerseyShoreHurricaneNews/videos/1592115787474594/
School Buses Erupt in Flames in Toms River
Toms River-Police here said they are investigating an overnight blaze that occurred at a school bus parking lot that damaged two school buses.
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On May 26th at 2:40 am a fire was located to the rear of 2301 Industrial way. Toms River Police Officer John Minor was on patrol along Route 37 when he observed a smoke condition on the South side of the highway. He conducted a search of the area and located the source of the smoke. Officer Minor came upon several vehicles engulfed in flames. Toms River Fire Companies #1 and #2 responded and ultimately extinguished the multiple fires. Two Chevrolet buses and one Ford bus suffered extensive damage. Minor secondary exposure damage was done to a Ford F150 pickup. The vehicles are owned by the Toms River School District and they were within the transportation storage area at the time of the incident. Officers are still on the scene and the cause of the fires remains under investigation. The police department worked overnight with School Superintendent David Healy and his staff to ensure that no morning bus routes were negatively affected.
The cooperative investigation is being conducted by Toms River Bureau of Fire Prevention Inspector Kevin Britton, Toms River Police Detective Mark Bajada, Ocean County Prosecutors Arson Detective John Doran, and Ocean County Sheriffs C.I.U. Officer Jillian Menke.
Jackson Man Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for Role in 2015 Pizzeria Murder
TOMS RIVER-Daniele RomeodiSantillo, 29, of Jackson Township received a sentence of 30 years by judge James M. Blaney for his role in the murder of Peyman Sanandaji. Mr. Sanandaji was murdered on April 9, 2015 in the abandoned Casanova’s Ristorante, adjacent to the RemoediSantillo’s family owned Romeo’s Pizzeria.
RomeodiSantillo claimed the murder was in self defense, but during the trial, the jury found him guilty of conspiring with Hector Calderon, of Freehold to murder Sanandaji, and was found guilty on charges of murder, weapons charges and conspiracy to commit murder.
RomeodiSantillo maintained his innocence throughout the trial.
Rock Truck Crash in Manchester Sends Three to Hospital
by Manchester PD
MANCHESTER-On Monday, May 15, 2017, at approximately 3:28 p.m. , members of the Manchester Township Police Department responded to the intersection of Route 539 and Harry Wright Boulevard in the Whiting section of the Township to investigate a motor vehicle crash involving an overturned dump truck.
Upon arrival, officers observed a gray, 2008, Nissan Altima pinned under a silver, 2016, Kenworth T80 tri-axle dump truck which had been loaded with stone. Both vehicles were along the northbound shoulder of Route 539. The initial investigation revealed that the dump truck was traveling southbound on Route 539 when it struck the driver’s side of the Nissan as it was making a left turn onto Harry Wright Boulevard from Route 539 south. The impact caused both vehicles to leave the roadway and the subsequent collision with multiple signs and trees caused the dump truck to overturn onto the Nissan’s roof and spill its load.
The driver of the Nissan, 24-year-old, Andrea Penna of Whiting was trapped underneath stone and debris as the vehicle’s roof completely collapsed on top of her. Extensive extrication efforts were conducted and Penna was eventually rescued from her vehicle and transported to Community Medical Center for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. The driver of the dump truck, 41-year-old, Tayfun Obut of Browns Mills and the front seat passenger of the Nissan, 22-year-old, Kaitlyn McCabe of Lakehurst both sustained non-life threatening injuries and were transported to Community Medical Center for evaluation and treatment. The roadway was closed for several hours during the rescue, investigation and subsequent clean-up.
Assisting at the scene were detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigations (CSI) Unit as well as members of both the Manchester and Whiting Volunteer Fire Departments. Also assisting were EMTs from Quality Medical Transport and paramedics from MON-OC as well as representatives from the Manchester Township Department of Public Works and the Ocean County Road Department. We would also wish to express our gratitude to the members of the New Jersey State Police, New Jersey Department of Corrections, and other motorists who had stopped to assist with the extrication process. This crash is being investigated by Patrolman Ian Bole, Sergeant Antonio Ellis, and Patrolman Thomas O’Hare with the Manchester Township Police Traffic Safety Unit.
Anarchy in Toms River? Republicans Claim Anarchy in Wake of Firehouse Defeat
Anarchists are on the loose in Toms River according to statements made by Toms River GOP leaders after voters turned down a $14 million firehouse in a special election on Saturday.
According to a story in PoliticsOc today, Toms River Republican school board member Christopher Raimann, still recovering from a black eye after losing a critical political appointment vote earlier this year condemned the taxpayers of Toms River for voting down a new, lavish $14 million firehouse project.
The Toms River Republicans privately blamed conservative challenger Justin Lamb for their defeat, but their memo, like so many before were leaked to the local news media.
According to the report, Raimann, who sits on the supposed non-partisan Toms River Regional School District Board of Education, fired off a memo to the Toms River Republican Club warning them not to take Lamb’s campaign lightly, blaming Lamb for lying to voters about the costs of the firehouse.
After looking over Lamb’s social media and campaign statements, Lamb was an advocate for the defeat of the referendum, but did not appear to publish any statements that were not consistent with the facts released by the township and fire district pertaining to the project. Lamb offered sharp criticism over the costs, size of the building and clarification of the use of the word “average” when used by township officials in the expected tax increase.
“This memo is one of many I have received and agree with since the Fire House vote,” DiBiase was quoted as writing by Politics OC. “We will continue to expose them as the anarchists they are!”
“While we could only speculate over the TR GOP’s silence over this backdoor tax increase prior to the Saturday’s vote, this latest revelation from this surrogate shows they have been in full support of a huge tax increase all along,” Lamb said in a statement.
Lamb said his opponent, incumbent Maria Maruca had a chance to speak out against the referendum, but chose not to when the matter was discussed before the council.
Lamb is a police officer and volunteer firefighter himself and said the cost of the new facility was excessive at $14 million and would have impacted ward 1 residents more than others in town due to higher property values along the bay front and oceanfront.
Prior to the claim of anarchy in Toms River, Republicans have sharply criticized Lamb, leading to what could be a situation of strange bedfellows throughout the general election should Lamb defeat Maruca in the June 6th primary elections where he would run with those he criticized and those who have criticized him.
He would run as part of the Republican ticket in November.
Lamb fired off a final salvo in the back and forth exchange in heated contest which has had its share of mudslinging prior to the firehouse election.
“Are we taxpayers anarchists?” Lamb asked. “I believe we are called Conservative Republicans, an informed electorate is the establishment’s biggest fear…the TR GOP and WARD 1 has no leadership and my opponent sits silent as usual.”
NJ Attorney General Will Pay You $25,000 to Snitch on Corrupt Politicians
TRENTON-Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino announced two new initiatives to fight public corruption, including a reward program offering up to $25,000 for tips from the public, as well as a program that offers lower-level defendants in a corruption scheme the potential to avoid prosecution if they reveal the crime to the Attorney General’s Office so more culpable defendants can be prosecuted.
New Jersey has tough anti-corruption laws that provide mandatory minimum terms of imprisonment and parole ineligibility for people who commit crimes that touch upon their public office or employment. The Attorney General’s Office has utilized these laws in recent years to prosecute major cases involving elected officials, government employees and companies receiving public funds. A critical challenge, however, is securing the initial leads that allow such crimes to be uncovered and prosecuted. The new programs are designed to encourage those with information on corruption to come forward.
“It’s a troubling reality that along with the many public officials and employees who carry out their duties with integrity, there are some who abuse their authority and corruptly exploit their positions for personal gain,” said Attorney General Porrino. “We know these bad actors are out there, and we’re casting a wide net to catch them with these two new programs. For members of the public who have personal knowledge of corruption and are fed up with it, we’re offering an added motivation for them to turn their anger into action.”
“Our whistleblower program strategically allows secondary players in corruption schemes to come clean and avoid prosecution,” Porrino added. “Whether we’re talking about a skilled public worker assigned to act as a personal handyman for his boss, or a contractor asked to pay bribes to a local code inspector, or a corporate employee pressured by executives to make illegal political contributions, we’re offering a way out of such predicaments for those who come forward first and are less culpable.”
“These new programs offer strong incentives for people to come forward confidentially and help us root out public corruption, whether they’re tipsters from the public seeking a reward, or public workers or others seeking to extricate themselves from a corrupt scheme,” said Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice. “By offering the programs for a limited time, we’re looking for swift results, and we will vigorously pursue every lead.”
“By implementing the Anti-Corruption Reward and Anti-Corruption Whistleblower Programs for a relatively short time frame, we are hoping for quick and decisive action by anyone with knowledge of public corruption by elected officials and government employees,” said Colonel Rick Fuentes, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police. “The goal of the initiatives is to encourage those to come forward with information that will eventually lead to the prosecution of anyone who engages in these corruption schemes.”
Attorney General Porrino announced the following programs to promote reporting of corruption cases:
Anti-Corruption Reward Program
- The Attorney General’s Office is offering a reward of up to $25,000 for tips from the public leading to a conviction for a crime involving public corruption. The reward program will be funded by the Attorney General’s Office using criminal forfeiture funds.
- Individuals applying for this reward must provide information about a crime that has not previously been revealed to law enforcement and they must not have participated in the crime.
- The reward limit for any case is $25,000. In most cases, only the person who first reports the crime will receive the reward. However, where two or more people provide different information that is material to successfully prosecuting the case, the reward may be apportioned.
- The reward is not available to government employees who learn of the crime in the course of their employment if they have an official duty to report such crimes.
Anti-Corruption Whistleblower Program
- This program encourages eligible individuals or corporations to self-report their involvement in criminal activity, in return, in appropriate cases, for an agreement by the Attorney General’s Office to waive prosecution of the whistleblower.
- Individuals interested in participating in the program can choose initially to report information anonymously and/or through an attorney to determine whether they are a likely candidate for waiver of prosecution under the program. They can then decide whether to proceed with the formal application.
- The program is restricted to lower-level participants in a crime who provide information that enables the Attorney General’s Office to charge higher-level defendants. The whistleblower must provide truthful and complete information and must cooperate as required by investigators.
- An individual will not be eligible for the program if he or she is an elected official, had a controlling role in the criminal scheme, or enlisted another party to participate in the scheme.
- The whistleblower may be subject to forfeiture of public employment depending on the circumstances.
- Corporations may apply for the Whistleblower Program only where the criminal activity at issue was committed by employees of the corporation, without the knowledge, acquiescence or participation of the high-level employees, officers, directors or shareholders seeking waiver of prosecution for the corporation, and only where the corporation took prompt action to terminate the illegal activity or report it to law enforcement once it was discovered.
The programs are intended to encourage individuals who have information on public corruption to come forward promptly, so they will be open for a limited time. Both programs will expire on Aug. 1, 2017.
The Attorney General’s Office will keep the identities of applicants to the programs confidential to the fullest extent possible, subject to any statute, rule of court, or judicial decision to the contrary which may require disclosure to certain parties, including, in certain circumstances, a criminal defendant. Applicants to each program may be interviewed by detectives at the discretion of the Division of Criminal Justice. The applicant may also be required to give his or her verbal statement under oath and sign a written memorialization of his or her statement.
Additional information about the two programs can be found posted with this press release on the Attorney General’s Office website: www.njpublicsafety.com.
Individuals may report information and apply for the Anti-Corruption Reward Program or Anti-Corruption Whistleblower Program by one of the following methods:
- Call the DCJ hotline 866-TIPS-4CJ to speak with corruption detectives 24 hours/7 days a week;
- Visit www.njdcj.org to submit an online report;
- Write directly to DCJ at the following address:
New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety
Division of Criminal Justice
25 Market Street
P.O. Box 085
Trenton, NJ 08625-0085
Attention: Anti-Corruption Reward Program OR Anti-Corruption Whistleblower Program.
Police Charge Three Involved in Tailgate Thefts
by Christopher Parise
Jackson PD
JACKSON-The Jackson Police Department’s Detective Bureau investigation regarding a recent rash of stolen Ford tailgates has culminated in the arrest of three individuals.
28 year old Peter Wesolowski of Manchester was arrested by Detectives Scott Conover and Detective Keith Hood on May 8. Mr. Wesolowski was charged with two counts of theft and five counts of receiving stolen property. After being charged, Mr. Wesolowski was remanded to the Ocean County Jail.
31 year old Scott Hendrickson of Bennetts Mills Road in Jackson was charged with five counts of receiving stolen property. Mr. Hendrickson was released on a summons complaint.
32 year old Ronald Pearn Jr of Bennetts Mills Road in Jackson was charged with five counts of receiving stolen property. Mr. Pearn was released on a summons complaint.
Jackson Police Department were able to recover five stolen tailgates, four from thefts that occurred in Jackson and one that was stolen from Brielle. The investigation is still ongoing and anyone having information about these thefts are asked to contact Jackson Detective Keith Hood at 732-803-3012 or the Jackson Police Tip Line at 732-833-3032.
-The media and public are reminded that any persons arrested or charged with any offenses or crimes are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Lacey Speedball Competition A Success for the Community
by Michael DiBella
Chief, Lacey PD
LACEY–May 12, 2017, was a night of intense and competitive games of speedball at the Lacey Township Middle School. Over one-hundred 7th and 8th grade Middle School students participated in a double-elimination speedball tournament, ultimately resulting in one team being announced as the 2017 Lacey Middle School Speedball Tournament Champions. The tournament, which was coordinated by the Lacey Township Recreation Department, the Lacey Township Police Department and the Lacey Municipal Police Foundation, included free food and giveaways, provided by Lacey Township Recreation and the Municipal Alliance. Additionally, free team t-shirts (in various team colors) were provided to each Middle School student who participated, by the Lacey Municipal Police Foundation. Last evening’s tournament involved 10 teams of middle school students and several Lacey Township Police Officers who served as coaches and assistants.
The below picture depicts Officer Anthony Sarno looking on during one of the impressive games at last night’s Middle School Speedball Tournament.
The competition was very competitive with approximately 15 matches being completed before the final championship game. The championship game was between the “Flourescent Yellow Team” and “Golden-Rod Team,” with the Flourescent Yellow taking the victory after a very spirited hard-faught match.
Ten officers from the Lacey Township Police Department participated in the event, including: Chief Michael C. DiBella, Captain Patrick Ganley, Detective Dimitri Tsarnas, Officer Michael Hein, Officer George Resetar, Officer Anthony Sarno, Officer Scott Keefe, Officer Christopher Meyler, Officer Jason Lee and Officer Noah Schaffer. The members of the Lacey Township Police Department had an amazing evening serving as coaches and most of all interacting with the middle school students.
The below picture depicts an intense game between two teams (Maroon and Blue Teams) at last evening’s Lacey Middle School Tournament.
I want to truly thank everyone who participated in last evening’s event, including the students and staff of the Lacey Middle School, the families who attended and supported the event, the members of the Lacey Township Recreation Department and the members of the Lacey Township Municipal Alliance. In addition, I would like to thank all of my officers who participated. Building a positive relationship with the Officers of the Lacey Township Police Department and the students of our community remains a top priority for our agency. Moving forward the Lacey Township Police Department in coordination with the Lacey Township Recreation Department, will continue to foster these types of events for our kids. An additional Lacey Middle School Speedball Tournament might be forthcoming before the end of the year.
I would like to note that the next Gille Park Skate Park Evening Event will be held next Friday, May 19th, 2017, beginning at 6pm. There will be a live DJ playing music, along with a new Gaming Trailer made possible by the Lacey Municipal Police Foundation and the Lacey Municipal Alliance. Additionally, the Lacey Township Junior Policy Academy is scheduled to take place between July 10th and July 14th, 2017. Twenty Middle School students will be participating in the academy. Furthermore, the Lacey Township Police Department is presently coordinating National Night Out for Lacey Township at Gille Park on Tuesday Evening, August 1, 2017.