Portuguese residents of the Ironbound are looking forward to matchup with France in key contest Watch video

NEWARK -- Additional police will be on hand in the Ironbound Sunday when Portugal plays France in the UEFA championships, Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said.  

Officers will head to the heavily Portuguese neighborhood "to ensure the safety of the people who will be watching Portugal" and who will be attending a parade following the 3 p.m. game, Ambrose said.

There will be no parking on Ferry Street between McWhorter and Merchant streets from noon to 8 p.m. and that same area will be closed to traffic from 4:30 to 8 p.m. for the parade.

The city police presence will include mounted, motorcycle, foot and car patrols and will be augmented by Essex County Sheriff's officers.

"I want everyone to have a safe and enjoyable experience. To do so, I am encouraging everyone to act in a safe and responsible manner," Ambrose said, asking attendees to refrain from carrying large flags on Ferry Street for safety reasons and to avoid drunk and rowdy behavior, including driving around the area honking car horns.

Motorists are also being urged to avoid the area if possible.

Myriam Martinez, a 52-year-old woman who was fatally shot Thursday, was remembered by her brother for her unique personality.

NEWARK -- The brother of a 52-year-old city woman who was fatally shot earlier this week stood outside her apartment this morning, watching as people walked by a makeshift memorial of candles he had set up. 

Angel Martinez, 42, propped up the cardboard box and placed two candles in it after his sister Myriam Martinez -- a mother of two and grandmother of three -- was shot and killed late Thursday outside her apartment near the corner of Clinton Place and West Runyon Street.

Myriam Martinez, who was known by many as "Cana," a nickname she was given for her lighter hair as a baby, was shot about 11:41 p.m. Thursday and died less than an hour later, authorities said. 

"How you going to kill a woman?" Angel Martinez asked, wearing a black Oakland Raiders hat while staring at the memorial. "She was funny, outspoken, a good person all around. ... Why it happened, I don't know." 

Newark shootings leave 3 dead, 1 wounded in less than 24 hours

Myriam Martinez leaves behind two daughters, both in their 20s, and three grandchildren, all boys, who were the "loves of her life," her brother said.

Angel Martinez said his sister lived in the neighborhood for two years. She would often help out at the grocery store attached to her apartment by making sandwiches, even though she didn't work there, he said. 

The two were born in Puerto Rico, but their family moved to Paterson where they were raised, he said. 

"We ended up here in Newark -- I guess that was a bad move," said Angel Martinez, who lives down the street from the scene and said he heard the gunshots that fatally wounded his sibling. 

As he leaned against his vehicle near the memorial, three investigators got out of a car and began knocking on doors. One said he could not comment about the ongoing investigation. 

"Yeah, it's the police," one said on the phone after knocking on the building Myriam Martinez lived in. "Can you come downstairs? We need to speak to you."

Myriam Martinez was one of three people shot and killed in the city within a 24-hour period this week. 

Authorities identified one of the victims as 24-year-old Dondre Williams, who was shot in the 200 block of Keer Avenue and died at University Hospital at 4:30 a.m. Friday, police said. 

Officials also said another man died Friday afternoon after he was shot near Parkview Terrace and Goldsmith Avenue.

As of Saturday afternoon, no one has been arrested or charged for any of the three killings, said Chief Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Fennelly, of the prosecutor's Major Crimes Unit.

Luke Nozicka may be reached at lnozicka@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @lukenozicka. Find NJ.com on Facebook and Twitter.

People poured into the park Saturday for the two-day festival featuring about two dozen bands.

MAPLEWOOD -- Despite the dreary weather, the township's two-day annual festival of music and arts drew community members to Memorial Park by the hundreds Saturday .

People spread blankets across a hill and munched on carnival food and barbecue as local bands took to the stage throughout the day. 

Acoustic folk rock duo Marry the Sea kicked off the festivities at noon and were followed by 11 other bands. Americana-flavored rock and roll band Railroad Earth was scheduled to headline in the evening.

Vendors sold crafts and clothing, kids bounced on inflatable rides and families strolled around the park. 

Check out photos above.

MORE ESSEX COUNTY NEWS

Marisa Iati may be reached at miati@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @Marisa_Iati. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Protest centers on downtown area

NEWARK -- More than a hundred people took to the streets of downtown Newark on Saturday to protest the recent shootings of two black men by police.

The group started with about two dozen people around noon and grew quickly as the crowd marched through the city's downtown business district, holding signs and making calls for racial unity. Some of the crowd remained on the streets well into the evening.

Newark officials: Protest recent police shootings, but do it peacefully

During the day, city police blocked traffic for the protesters, but many drivers didn't seem to mind the wait, honking car horns in solidarity with the marchers and joining in with the "Black Lives Matter" chant. 

As someone who works with black youth, Deidra Chatman said she came out to protest because hearing about the shooting of the two men by police this week broke her heart, though she said she didn't watch the videos circulating social media. 

"I couldn't bring myself to watch someone's death," the 32-year-old from Bloomfield said. 

When asked why he joined the rally, 23-year-old Michael O'Neil immediately said, "because black lives matter." 

"In light of the recent tragic events, we felt it was time to mobilize in order to make everyone know how crucial this is," he said outside Penn Station. 

In the evening, the protesters, many of whom said they are not anti-police, made their way Prudential Center, where pop star Justin Bieber was performing. 

The group marched through the area, holding hands and temporarily blocking off some of the entrances to the concert while shouting, "hands up, don't shoot" over Bieber's "Baby." 

Demonstrators and fans trying to enter the building clashed once or twice. 

Maya Rosado, a 17-year-old from Elizabeth, said she was cursed at by some fans walking by. 

"It was really disgusting," she said. "We need support and want to unite. This isn't a race war." 

As for Bieber fan 22-year-old Kerianne Westphal and her sister, the two planned to go to the concert but held off from going inside to join in on the protest, embracing members of the group. 

"They're protesting for people to live, and I am behind that," Westphal said. 

Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said there were no arrests and the protest was peaceful.

Protests have been held in cities around the country in the wake of the fatal shooting of Alton Sterling by police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minnesota.

A peaceful protest in Dallas erupted in violence Thursday night when a sniper ambushed and killed five police officers. Seven others were hurt before police used a robotic device to kill the heavily armed shooter.

Luke Nozicka may be reached at lnozicka@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @lukenozicka. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Four injured in brawl Wednesday

Michael Wheeler, 29 (Photo: Essex County Dept of Corrections) 

Michael Wheeler, 29, of Newark, was socializing with a group of people on Wednesday when an argument broke out and the dispute turned violent, according to authorities.  

All four members of the group were hurt, Ambrose said in a statement. One victim required surgery from his injuries. Earlier this week, Ambrose said two people suffered stab wounds while the others were cut by debris in the melee near Avon and Baldwin avenues.

Wheeler and the juvenile were charged with various offenses, including aggravated assault, possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes.

The public safety director commended detectives for bringing arrests in the case.

"Initially, there was nothing but chaos with four people suffering from what were initially reported as stab wounds, Ambrose said. "Within days of the incident, the detectives were able to determine what occurred and arrest the responsible parties."

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Thomas and Roth Brown were fatally stabbed in their home last month.

MONTCLAIR -- The hundreds of people who packed the pews of St. Paul Baptist Church on Saturday were there more for a celebration than a solemn remembrance. 

Girls danced, a gospel choir belted worship music and congregants clapped in rhythm in between a steady stream of community members who shared fond memories of the friends they lost unexpectedly last month.

They were there to commemorate the lives of Thomas and Roth Brown, a father and daughter whom authorities found fatally stabbed in their Springfield home June 27. Roth Brown's son, James Brown, has been charged with and pleaded not guilty to the crime. 

But the focus of Saturday's service was not how the pair had died, but how they had lived and how their paths had altered those of the people they had known. 

Rev. Dr. Bernadette Glover urged the mourners who filled the chapel to offer what the Browns had given them as gifts to other people.

"We pass on what we got from them to somebody else," she told the crowd. 

Thomas Brown, 79, was born in Camden and served in the U.S. Army, friends said at the service. He found his calling in the funeral business after he finished high school, and he went on to serve for 39 years as a funeral director at Martin's Home for Service in Montclair. 

In that role, state Sen. Nia Gill said, Thomas Brown walked with families as they fought through some of the hardest times of their lives.

"Mr. Brown stood for generations," Gill (D-34) said. "He stood when you were so sorrowful you could not see your way through tears." 

Martin's Home owner and manager Richelle Williams said Thomas Brown, a devoted Baptist, used his favorite psalm as the closing hymn for the last funeral he coordinated with the company. Psalm 121, his "go-to psalm," was included in Saturday's service.

Friends said Roth Brown, a Springfield native, studied radiologic technology at Howard University and worked for 15 years as a tester of electric conductors. She was active in ministry at Cathedral International in Perth Amboy, and she was also a photographer and jewelry designer. 

"Roth could have long, deep conversations with you concerning her dreams and the importance of motherhood," said Bonni Taylor, co-chair of the Montclair African-American Heritage Foundation. "She was a cheerleader and would support you to the end." 

Samuel Arnold, president of the Garden State Funeral Directors Association, worked closely with Thomas Brown. In the days after the homicides, he said, many people called him to express their sadness about "the tragedy." But Arnold cautioned against thinking about Thomas and Roth Brown's deaths this way.

"It's only a tragedy if we don't get the message," he said. "It's a tragedy if we, as people, fail to realize our family is still the most valuable asset we have." 

MORE ESSEX COUNTY NEWS

Marisa Iati may be reached at miati@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @Marisa_Iati. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Man suffers minor burns in two-alarm fire, according to public safety director

NEWARK -- A woman helped a 58-year-old man escape from a two-alarm fire with only minor burns Saturday in the city's West Ward, authorities said.

The blaze on South Orange Avenue, near Speedway Avenue, was reported around 5:20 p.m. and brought under control approximately 40 minutes later, according to Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose.

Emergency crews brought the man to University Hospital, where he was being treated for burns to both arms, Ambrose said. He was expected to be released.

More than 70 sworn in as Newark police officers, firefighters

It was unclear why the man was inside the abandoned building, according to officials.

Arson investigators with the city fire division and Essex County Prosecutor's Office were working to determine was caused the blaze, Ambrose added. Anyone with information was asked to call fire officials or the prosecutor's office.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Program to feature safety information, free giveaways

(File photo)File photo 

"We are opening the firehouse to give the public an opportunity to meet our city's firefighters, see the equipment up close and learn more about fire safety," said Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose, who oversees the city's police and fire divisions.

Firefighters will also show attendees how to properly use carbon monoxide and smoke detectors, and provide information on joining the department's ranks, according to an announcement. Visitors can also learn how to sign up for the Public Safety Academy, receive free smoke detectors and other giveaways.

A full list of locations and dates are listed below from the Department of Public Safety. All fire stations will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

July 11, 2016 - Engine 7:      241 West Market Street (Central Ward)

July 12, 2016 - Engine 10:    360 Clinton Avenue (South Ward)

July 13, 2016 - Engine 13:    714 Mount Prospect Avenue (North Ward)

July 14, 2016 - Engine 26:    420 Sanford Avenue (West Ward)

July 15, 2016 - Engine 27:    87 Elm Road (East Ward)

July 15, 2016 - Engine 28:    691-701 North 6^th Street (North Ward)

August 29, 2016 - Engine 7:  241 West Market Street (Central Ward)

August 30, 2016 - Engine 10: 360 Clinton Avenue (South Ward)

August 31, 2016  - Engine 13: 714 Mount Prospect Avenue (North Ward)

September 1, 2016 - Engine 26: 420 Sanford Avenue (West Ward)

September 2, 2016 - Engine 27: 87 Elm Road (East Ward)

September 2, 2016 - Engine 28: 691-701 North 6^th Street (North Ward)

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Massive map shows every house and building in city

Everyone has the same reaction to the 3-D model of Newark in the lobby of the main branch of the city library.

Kids, grown-ups, even the mayor.

They lean in and try to find their houses.

There are hundreds of thousands of color-coded pieces on the roughly 15-by-15 foot model, which represent every building in the 26-square-mile city. One- and two-family houses are yellow, apartments are orange and high-rises are a brighter orange.

Providence Amissah Green, 44, was looking for her building, the new public housing towers on Nevada Street. She found the golden dome of City Hall, the miniature model of Symphony Hall and the green triangle of Lincoln Park to locate her high-rise.

"This is amazing," she said. "What kind of mind does this?"

The long answer is this: The model is the centerpiece of an ongoing installation of a project called People Power Planning Newark, created by several civic entities and artist Bisa Washington. It was primarily funded by the National Endowment of the Arts.

Close to 200 volunteers, many from the New Jersey Institute of Technology's School of Architecture and Design, worked on the project for more than four years. 

The short answer is this: The kind of minds that want to spur imagination and education in kids and adults alike.

MORE: Recent Mark Di Ionno columns

It certainly worked on Khya Hatch, 9, and Kedrick Quartsin, 9, a boy who approached the 3-D model with such hands-on joy, he had to be reminded by a library worker that "it's not a toy."

The kids began running around the model to get their bearings, looking for their neighborhood and school, which, like all public buildings, is color-coded in blue.

Easier to find was the library building itself, marked by a flag that says "You are here" on one side and "Estas Aqui," the Spanish translation, on the other.

"Everybody tries to find their house," said Mayor Ras Baraka on Thursday at the re-opening of St. Peter's pool and waterpark on Lyons Avenue in the South Ward. "I did it, too. I tried to find the different monuments and places, like City Hall, that were especially meaningful to me."

One of those places was St. Peter's Park, where Baraka swam in the old pool, played basketball on the old courts, was on the Little League Mets as a kid.

"This place has a sentimental value for me," he told the crowd at the ceremony.

And sure enough, the park is on the 3-D map, painted green, the color code for recreation.

It's not far from the mini-spaghetti bowl jumble of overpasses and ramps that make up Routes 1 & 9, 21, 22, 78 and Turnpike interchanges, and the giant swath of gray that represents the parking and pavement areas of Newark's airport and seaport.

"You see they take up about one-quarter of the city's total area," said Tony Schuman, an NJIT professor of architecture and one of the project directors. 

In this way, the 3-D map shows the city in a perspective not possible to see from the ground, or even the air.

The three-dimensional model isolates Newark, like a big piece removed from the metro area puzzle. The northeast boundary meanders along the Passaic River; the extreme west juts well into the neighboring towns of Irvington, Maplewood, South Orange and East Orange.

The model is also close to being topographically correct, showing the city's climb from sea level at Newark Bay toward the elevated ridges of Clinton Hill and Martin Luther King Boulevard, formerly known as High Street.

It shows how small the downtown is, relative to the vast neighborhoods, and how the main roads -- Elizabeth Avenue, Springfield Avenue, West Market Street, South Orange Avenue and Bloomfield Avenue - spike in straight lines from the downtown into the suburbs.

It also illustrates the dearth of shopping areas along these roads.

"This was a city of many downtowns," said Fran McClain, president of the Rutgers-Newark Alumni Association. "I remember when I was a little girl in the '50s, there were parades down Orange Street."

One of the points of the project is to get voices like McClain's together to talk about Newark history and future.

Damon Rich, another project director, said, "The whole goal is to get people interested and active in planning and to know how things work."

Workshops on zoning and development are planned.

"We want to bring people into the discussion about how the city will plan, moving forward," said Rich, Newark's former planning director and chief urban designer. He is now a partner in Hector Design Service of Newark, with Jae Shin, who is also a project director.

One part of the exhibit, which officially opens July 20, depicts how city planning was done in the past -- often by developers and officials, while residents sat on the sidelines.

A map plan from 1915 shows the entire Ironbound industrial area zoned for residences, never foreseeing the westward expansion of the Newark suburbs, which devalued the city's housing stock.

A 1947 plan pinpoints areas of "blight." A late 1960s version shows those areas vastly expanded and categorized as "predominately blight" and "scattered blight."

Then comes the 1972-73 plan for urban renewal. More than 40 years later, Newark's change continues, as the 3-D model shows.

There are empty lots on which the James Baxter Terrace projects stood, just a three-block walk to NJ Transit's Broad Street Station and the Midtown Direct train lines. Vacant, for now.

The 3-D model, which will move to a permanent home in City Hall by the end of the year, represents a snapshot of Newark today. But it can always be amended. The vacant Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium - also near the train line - is on the model, but who knows for how long?

Change keeps coming, hopefully - and continually - for the better. The revitalization is on and the model, in its own way, is evidence of that.

"Every city worth its salt should have a 3-D map," Schuman said. "And now we do."

Mark Di Ionno may be reached at mdiionno@starledger.com. Follow The Star-Ledger on Twitter @StarLedger and find us on Facebook.  

Police seized three guns overnight.

NEWARK -- Police seized three guns and made a pair of arrests overnight, Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said.

Police made the first arrest just before midnight Saturday.

Officers went to a Salem Street address after a report of gunfire, Ambrose said. They saw Marsh O'Neil, of Newark, hiding near a porch.

Police arrested the 25-year-old for allegedly carrying a gun, Ambrose said. He was charged with unlawful possession of a gun.

Detectives are investigating whether he fired the gun, Ambrose said.

At about 4:30 a.m. Sunday, police in the 3rd Precinct investigated a caller's complaint that that two cars were driving very slowly through the neighborhood, Ambrose said. The caller said a passenger from one of the cars, a Chrysler, was walking on Astor Street in black clothing.

Two officers approached the man, identified as Christopher Brown, of East Orange, and saw that he was holding a gun, Ambrose said. Brown, 25, ran when he saw the police.

Backup officers arrested Brown after a chase through the neighborhood, Ambrose said. Police recovered the gun he was carrying and a second gun in the Chrysler, which was parked nearby.

Brown was charged with two counts of handgun possession, resisting arrest and obstructing the administration of law.

Ambrose credited the caller for working with police.

"The caller's suspicions appear to be correct," Ambrose said. "He likely prevented Brown from committing a crime."

Myles Ma may be reached at mma@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MylesMaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Quinnizel J. Clark is charged with one count of murder and a firearm in connection with the death of James Dewyer

MANSFIELD -- Authorities have charged a 34-year-old Belleville man with killing a 68-year-old man who was found shot to death in his car in January.

Quinnizel J. Clark 

Quinnizel J. Clark is charged with one count of murder and a firearm in connection with the death of James Dewyer, who was found in his car on Monica Court Jan. 3, the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office announced Monday.

The office said Clark and Dewyer were acquaintances and had spent time together earlier in that day.

Clark then allegedly drove Dewyer's car to the location where it was later found and shot him multiple times before leaving on foot.

Police found Dewyer dead at about 4:15 p.m., sitting in the passenger seat, while checking out a report of an unresponsive person.

Dewyer retired in 2010 from the New Jersey Department of Corrections.

Burlington man found shot to death in car

Clark was apprehended in Maple Shade Friday by the Burlington County Sheriff's Department's Fugitive Unit.

The prosecutor's office has said Dewyer's last known legal address was on Linden Road in Burlington Township, but he has not lived there for a few years.

Dewyer frequently changed addresses, sometimes living in area motels, the prosecutor's office said.

Clark is currently being held in the Burlington County Jail in Mount Holly on $500,000 full cash bail.

Mansfield police detectives and the prosecutor's office's major crimes, crime scene and high-tech crimes units worked the case.

Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

The university's students will have to go off campus if they want to buy Pepsi.

NEW BRUNSWICK -- In the latest twist in a multimillion-dollar campus cola war, Rutgers University is dumping Pepsi and will once again sell and serve Coca-Cola when students return this fall.  

A decade after dropping Coke in favor of Pepsi, the university has agreed to bring back Coke as the exclusive supplier of soft drinks and other beverages on its campuses, spokesman Greg Trevor said. The terms of the contract are being finalized and cannot yet be released, he said. 

Beverage contracts are a major boon for colleges and universities who agree to sell products made by one company in exchange for millions in revenue. Rutgers first agreed to a 10-year, $10 million contract with Coke in 1994 before switching to Pepsi when it offered a decade-long, $17 million deal in 2005. 

The money is especially valuable to Rutgers because it has great latitude to use it as it sees fit, including funding for scholarships, academic programs and commencement speakers. 

The deals also come with extra perks; Pepsi made commemorative soda cans for Rutgers, including a limited-edition 250th anniversary can that debuted last year. 

Though the Pepsi contract expired last summer, it was renewed for one year while the university weighed bids from both companies, Trevor said. 

Rutgers began the process of switching brands in its dining halls and vending machines on July 1, he said.

Adam Clark may be reached at adam_clark@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on twitter at @realAdamClark. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Alert citizen spotted suspicious activity, police said

NEWARK -- City police found two guns stashed in some bushes after a citizen reported suspicious activity, Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said.

A detective with the Community-Clergy Affairs Unit was patrolling when he received a phone call from a member of the public who reported seeing a group of suspicious men. The caller also said the men may have been armed, Ambrose said.

The detective, who was unable to respond to the report, immediately called the police call center, which dispatched a patrol car to the 100 block of N. 12th Street. When police arrived the suspects were gone but officers found the weapons after searching the bushes.  

Ambrose praised the officers for their diligence.

"When the officers arrived and didn't see any suspects, they could have easily driven away. They took the time to search through bushes where they recovered two guns," Ambrose said.

"Taking some extra time and perseverance helped the officers recover two guns which otherwise would have ended up back in the hands of the suspects that left them or worse, in the hands of some unsuspecting child, which could have ended with tragic results."

Anyone with information about a crime is urged to call the police department's 24-hour Crime Stoppers tip line, 877 NWK-TIPS (877 695-8477) or NWK-GUNS (877 695-4867).  All Crime Stopper tips are kept confidential and could result in a reward.

Paul Milo may be reached at pmilo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@PaulMilo2. Find NJ.com on Facebook. 

The story of the '60s rock revolution cannot be fully told without acknowledging Allen Klein's accomplishments.

Soon after John Lennon and Yoko Ono moved to New York City in 1971, Allen
Klein brought them to Newark in a limousine and showed them the Hebrew
Orphanage and Sheltering Home, in which he had grown up, and the neighborhood in which he had lived as a child.

The trip -- described in Fred Goodman's 2015 book, "Allen Klein: The Man Who
Bailed out The Beatles, Made The Stones, and Transformed Rock & Roll"
(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 320 pp.) -- was not unusual for Klein. As Goodman
writes, even though Klein worked in New York, "Any new acquaintance or
business associate could count on a trip to Newark, where the guided tour included the former site of the orphanage, the old playgrounds in Weequahic and the cemetery where his family members were scattered." Also, sometimes, an Italian hot dog meal at Jimmy Buff's. And Klein kept doing this, Goodman reports, until shortly before his death, in 2009, at the age of 77.

Though Klein -- "blunt-featured and barrel-chested with a full head of dramatically dark, pomaded hair," in Goodman's words -- never lost touch with his roots, he rose as high in the entertainment industry as a businessman could, especially in the '60s and '70s. And he transformed the music business as few have, before or after.

An accountant with a degree from the now-defunct Upsala College in East Orange, Klein had a revelation in the early '60s: Pop and rock musicians were routinely being swindled by their record companies, and by auditing the books and threatening to sue, he could make big money for them -- and take a percentage for himself.

He was coarse and aggressive; he delighted in stepping on toes and steamrolling weak business rivals. But his tactics almost always worked. He made more money for artists such as Sam Cooke, Bobby Vinton, Lloyd Price and The Animals than they ever dreamed possible, eventually working himself up the ladder to The Rolling Stones, and then -- a prize he coveted for several years before attaining it -- The Beatles.

What Klein did wasn't just a matter of dollars and cents. By helping make popular musicians more than just pawns to be pushed around by their bosses, he played an essential role in giving them more control over their careers. And once they had that, everything changed.

The story of the '60s rock revolution cannot be fully told without acknowledging
Klein's accomplishments.

He will always be most associated with The Beatles -- and, for most fans, not in a good way. He became The Fab Four's business manager in early 1969 and cleaned up their messy finances. But he also helped drive a wedge between them and, very possibly, sped up their breakup.

Klein won over Lennon first. Goodman writes that Lennon "listened to Allen's
stories about the orphanage and the painful indifference of his father and his
childhood on the streets of Newark, and he saw himself: the underdog who had
proven to be the leader of the pack, the everyman who'd had the temerity to
become extraordinary."

In January 1969, Lennon brought Klein to the rest of the group, who had been
managerless since their original manager, Brian Epstein, died in August 1967.
Paul McCartney had been pushing for Lee and John Eastman, the father and
brother of his then-girlfriend Linda (soon to be his wife), to become the band's
co-managers, and fought against Klein from the start. But George Harrison and
Ringo Starr sided with Lennon, so McCartney was outvoted.

Goodman writes that Starr, like Lennon, liked Klein immediately and Harrison was reluctant to give McCartney more power. By 1969, Lennon was concentrating on his relationship with Yoko Ono and also dealing with his heroin addiction, and had, by all accounts, let McCartney become the band's leader. And McCartney could be overbearing. "I thought, well, if that's the choice, I'll go with Klein because John's with him," Goodman quotes Harrison as saying.

McCartney and Klein continued to fight in The Beatles' final months, and not just on business matters. McCartney was furious, over the role Klein played in bringing Phil Spector in as producer of the "Let It Be" album.

Though Lennon was the first to tell the other Beatles he was quitting, McCartney
was the first to announce the breakup, via a news release (in interview form)
included with his April 1970 debut solo album, "McCartney." Part of the release
read:

"Q: What is your relationship with Klein?

A: It isn't. I am not in contact with him, and he does not represent me in ANY way."

After the band broke up, Klein remained in the business, but the next few decades were anticlimactic for him. They were also filled with lawsuits that pitted him against the Stones and all the ex-Beatles, who came to feel that Klein, although helpful in some ways, had made himself too rich, at their expense. In 1980, he spent two months in prison for making false statements on a tax return.

"I think Klein was a brilliant guy," says Goodman, a former Rolling Stone writer and editor whose previous books include "The Mansion on the Hill: Dylan, Young,
Geffen, Springsteen and the Head-on Collision of Rock and Commerce" and
"Fortune's Fool: Edgar Bronfman Jr., Warner Music, and an Industry in Crisis."

"But though I would want his advice, I certainly wouldn't want him as my business manager," says Goodman. "I think the book is pretty clear: It's a devil's bargain when you get with this guy."

Lennon's spiteful 1974 song "Steel and Glass" is widely considered to be about
Klein.

"You can't pull strings if your hands are tied," Lennon scolds at one point in the
song.

"Your mother left you when you were small/But you're gonna wish you wasn't born at all," he seethes in another.

Goodman met Klein only once, briefly. But after Klein died, his son, Jody, made a proposal. Jody felt that a lot of the obituaries got his father's story wrong and said that if Goodman wanted to try to write the definitive book, he would give him access to contracts, personal correspondence and whatever else he needed.

It was an offer Goodman couldn't refuse.

"If somebody said to you, we're going to open our files to you, and our files include all the recording contracts, and our communications about our lawsuits with The Beatles and The Rolling Stones ... I think, to me, as someone who's covered that beat, it's like, 'I'm about to go to the school nobody goes to.'

"What I was hoping to get from reading these things, and what I tried to convey in the book, is what people like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones talked about
when the door was closed, and the conversation is, 'What do we do about our
careers? How do we manage our business? Which part of it is business, which part of it is art? How do we sort through these things?' "

As part of his research, Goodman, who lives in New York, visited Newark with
members of Klein's family -- and even ate at Jimmy Buff's in West Orange.

Klein "would make (Newark) so much a part of his persona and legend," says
Goodman. "It's so interesting to me, that here's this guy who's got a chip on his
shoulder, and an inferiority complex because he was put in an orphanage. He's a bit of an outsider, who wants to be an insider. And he uses that so brilliantly, at the same time, with somebody like John Lennon. He recognized that his weakness could be a strength."

Goodman says Klein stumbled on this strategy during a stint in the Army (he served during the Korean War, but never saw battle).

"He happened to be assigned for a while to a medical unit on Governors Island, and was working with a lot of doctors and feeling like, 'All these guys went to medical school and Ivy League schools, and they know stuff that I don't know.' But when he started talking to them about the orphanage, they were all fascinated by this sort of Dickensian childhood he had in Newark.

"So once he recognized that this had some appeal, he used it. Because he was the kind of guy who used whatever he had at his fingertips."

MORE FROM INSIDE JERSEY MAGAZINE

Christian Love Baptist Church celebrates Fun Day and life of deceased pastor

If Rev. Ron Christian had lived to be an octogenarian, he may have evolved into his father.

To look at Rev. William Christian is to see the future his son never had. Physically, they are tree and acorn. Slight and compact, but athletic and graceful in their movements.

William Christian, 83, is a quiet, refined version of "Reverend Ron," whose frenetic energy could never be confined to a pulpit.

During his sermons at the Christian Love Baptist Church in Irvington, Ron Christian would pace, dance, and sweat. He would strip off articles of clothing, sometimes finishing his sermons in a drenched T-shirt.

He told stories with the timing and aplomb of a dramatic actor or a stand-up comic, whichever was best suited for the moment.

He could quoted scripture in the old-time Baptist tradition, while a gospel/rock band took his cues.

"Rev. Ron was definitely unique," his father said. "He had his own original style. I always encouraged him to be himself. I told him that was the best way to communicate with a congregation.

MORE: Recent Mark Di Ionno columns

Saturday was the 15^th Annual Fun Day at Christian Love Baptist Church, and the first without Reverend Ron, who died suddenly last October at age 51.

But his passion still reverberates in the Irvington church where his father is now the interim pastor.

"We're doing good," said John E. Smith, known as Deacon Smitty at the church, while he grilled burgers to feed the Fun Day masses. "We're keeping things going, we're paying the bills."

When Ron Christian took over the church in 2001, there weren't more than a dozen parishioners. Now there are over 3,000, and holding steady.

William Christian had a similar experience at New Dawn Baptist Church, where he spent 20 years as pastor, rebuilding a failing church into something that is still going strong.

"Rev. Ron had the ability to understand and transcend every strata of people," said William Christian, dressed in jeans and a weathered Hollister T-shirt, much like his son would have worn.

"He was able to be everybody's uncle, brother and friend,'' he said. "He truly believed God's word, and salvation, was there for everybody -- the least of the least, the worst of the worst. He wanted to get everybody into the kingdom of heaven."

His philosophy of "Sinners Welcome" remains on a billboard in big red letters outside the church. His generosity was legend. He dug into his pocket for people on the street. He did free funeral services for victims of violence. Fun Day, which he started in his first year at the church, is a free block party that costs the church about $80,000.

"We put up the waterslides and rides, and give the kids and neighborhood something to look forward to," Smith said.

Alfreddy Fletcher is one the people in what the elder Christian calls "the great ministerial team" developed by his son.

"God told Moses, 'Put your spirit in the people,''' said Fletcher, a former Newark police officer who now works for the Essex County Prosecutor's Office.

"Ron told us to do the same. He used to say, 'I don't preach to preachers, I preach to (community) leaders.' He created leaders in all of us. So there is still a lot going on here. We're still going strong. If anything, we're picking up people."

Fletcher said this as he moved through the congregation with Christian, greeting adults and hugging children.

The event was far from solemn, but was certainly done in memory of Rev. Ron. The bright orange T-shirts worn by most church officials and congregants had the words "In honor of Rev. Ron" printed on the back.

Another honor will be given to Rev. Ron on July 20, when Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo officially names the restored Weequahic Park running oval after him.

"He went to Weequahic (High School) and ran track there," said DiVincenzo, who was also at Fun Day.

It was DiVincenzo who arranged to have Gov. Chris Christie give his very first urban town hall meeting at the Christian Love Baptist Church in 2012.

"Ron understood what I was doing," DiVincenzo said. "He knew I had to work with Christie to get what we needed for Essex County. And he got the other black ministers on board."

It was also part of Rev. Ron's penchant for defying the status quo. His church serviced politicians and cops, activists and criminals.

During the funeral for a young man shot in a drug turf war in 2011, Ron Christian said, "I know half you guys out there crying know who did it, and one of you probably did."

William Christian not only approved of the way his son ran his church but was proud.

"He followed God's instructions for him, which may have been different than God's instructions to me," he said. "But he listened and what God told him to do worked very well." 

Mark Di Ionno may be reached at mdiionno@starledger.com. Follow The Star-Ledger on Twitter @StarLedger and find us on Facebook. 

Historians look at the historic rebellion while reacting to the racially-driven riots of 2016. Watch video

NEWARK -- Riots sparked by the beating of a black cab driver by white police officers left 26 people killed, more than 700 injured, and millions of dollars of damage to looted, vandalized, and burned properties.

That was the top story on July 12, 1967. 

On the 49th anniversary of the start of what have become known as the "Newark riots," local historians and activists say the similarities between the city then and the country now, are striking. Frustrated by racial tensions and individual acts of police-involved violence, and amid the backdrop of a politically and culturally tumultuous era, academics say the people of 1967 and the people of 2016 don't seem so far apart. In fact, they argue, should Newark's riots and the nearly 50-year fallout the city continues to struggle with in its aftermath not serve as a cautionary tale, we may be headed for a replay of what was arguably the decade of greatest violent upheaval in American history.

"One of the things that I thought about over the past week (after the police-involved shootings of two black men in Louisiana and Minnesota, and the sniping of police officers during a demonstration in Dallas) was how much this reminded me of the summer of 1967 in Newark," said Peter Savastano, an anthropology professor at Seton Hall University who was entering his sophomore year of high school in Newark when the riots broke out.

"It got me thinking...we are going through a similar pattern."

Documentary tells story of riots, recovery

The riots in Newark were sparked by the beating of black cab driver John Smith. When he was dragged into the 4th police precinct in the city's Central Ward, rumors spread quickly that he had been killed while in the custody of white police officers. In truth, he hadn't been, but the incident set off five bloody, destructive days that the city has been reeling from ever since. After about two days of looting and arson, state police and the National Guard descended on the city. By the end, 24 civilians, one police officer, and one firefighter were dead. Hundreds of properties were trashed or burned down, many of which were later abandoned and left to decay in the damaged city.

Historians say many of the underlying issues present in the city then - racial tensions, a struggling school system, and a lack of housing and economic opportunity - are still present in Newark now. Moreover, some of the national issues that served as a backdrop in 1967 - an unpopular war, highly debated presidential politics, and an increasing income disparity between the rich and poor - are in line with the world we are living in today.

"Not much has changed, and it's pretty depressing," said Bernard Freamon, a lawyer who defended Hispanic Newark residents during the city's 1974 riots and a professor at Seton Hall University's School of Law.

"We are supposed to make progress in history, and in the area of police-community relations, it seems we haven't."

Historians said that law enforcement and policy leaders could have looked to Newark's past to see the future of cities like Ferguson, Mo., which experienced similar riots in the wake of the 2014 police shooting of Michael Brown. According to Junius Williams, Director of the Abbott Leadership Institute at Rutgers University - Newark, activists today are faced with the same choice as those in the 1960s: protest peacefully or violently.

"We are poised on the precipice," said Williams, a lifelong Newarker who witnessed the rebellion first hand. "We will either have mass acts of civil disobedience, or individual acts of violence. But, (people are frustrated, so) either way, it can't stay the way it is now."

Williams, who also serves as the chair of the committee celebrating the 350th anniversary of the founding of the city of Newark this year, is hosting a two-day conference about the riots this Fall at Rutgers-Newark to discuss what the city has endured since 1967.

Fallout from the rebellion in Newark has led to both struggle and progress in the city, historians said. On one hand, the riots drove residents, businesses, jobs, economic activity, and development out of the city. Newark is still spotted with some buildings and lots that have been vacant since, though not so many as there were 20 or 30 years ago.

But, the riots have also been credited with bringing some of the major issues in the city to the forefront, and ushering in an era of political change, and the first elections of black leaders in the city.

"Some good did come out of the riots...the black majority finally got some power," said Kevin McLaughlin, whose documentary "Riot" was released last year.

"But, they were in charge of a city that was destroyed and that's not an easy job...(other cities across the U.S.) need to see and understand the long-term story."

At least in Newark, the lessons seem to have remained - for now.

This weekend, there were several Black Lives Matter protests in the city. After the recent killings of two black men in Louisiana and Minnesota, and of five police officers during a rally in Dallas, the atmosphere between police and activists in Newark could have been extremely tense. But, it wasn't.

Instead, cops, clergy, and citizens, mingled and had an open dialogue during and after the demonstration. Some even started organizing a future forum between law enforcement officers and activists.

But, some don't have as much faith that the underlying issues in Newark and across the country will be solved through discourse alone.

"It's 49 years later, and we are dealing with exactly the same problems," said Larry Hamm, leader of the People's Organization for Progress, an group that has peacefully protested in Newark for years, and holds a remembrance ceremony of the riots every July 12.

"If we don't correct what's going on, we may just have the 60s all over again."

Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Authorities say no arrests have been made

NEWARK -- The Essex County Prosecutor's Office on Tuesday identified the man shot to death within a violent 24-hour span in the city last week.

Jihad Hawkins, 26, of Newark, was shot on Parkview Terrace near Goldsmith Avenue shortly before 3 p.m. Friday, according to authorities.

Prosecutor's Office spokeswoman Katherine Carter said Tuesday morning no arrests have been made and the homicide investigation was active and ongoing. It was unclear if detectives have established a motive in the slaying.

Newark shootings leave 3 dead, 1 wounded in less than 24 hours

Hawkins was among three people fatally shot in the city between late Thursday through Friday. 

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Victim treated and released from Newark hospital

Michael Rodgers (Photo: Newark Dept of Public Safety) 

Michael Rodgers, of Newark, was charged with aggravated assault and weapons offenses in connection with the shooting Friday in the 300 block of South 14th Avenue, according to police.

The shooting victim, identified as a 35-year-old city man, was treated and released from University Hospital.

Officials ID man gunned down in Newark

Detectives with the city's Cease Fire Shooting Response Team identified Rodgers as the gunman, police said in a statement. He was arrested without incident early Monday at a residence on South 17th Street.

According to Essex County Department of Corrections records, Rodgers was held at the county jail in lieu of $60,000 bail.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

The 34-year-old New York woman gets the maximum sentence

The wrong-way drunken driver who killed a West Orange man on an upstate New York highway last year was sentenced Monday to at least eight years in prison, according to a report.

Amy DellOnondaga County (N.Y.) Sheriff's Office 

Amy Dell, 34, of Rome, N.Y. received the maximum sentence for aggravated vehicular homicide -- 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison, Syracuse.com reported.

Dell was allegedly drunk after a night spent barhopping around downtown Syracuse. She didn't accept offers of a ride home after collapsing in front of one bar and then left on her own, prosecutors previously said.

Dell was in a Ford Escape headed north in the southbound lanes of Interstate 81 on May 8, 2015 when she collided head-on with a vehicle driven by Bruce Ham, a 58-year-old father of three.

Ham was driving back to New Jersey after accepting a job in Toronto when Dell hit his Lexus around 3:17 a.m. in Lafayette, N.Y. He planned to move to Canada with his wife that fall. 

After the collision, Dell made an obscene gesture to responding deputies and cursed them out, Syracuse.com reported.

Dell tearfully apologized before being sentenced, saying she was "deeply sorry for my mistakes, my very poor choices and my actions."

One of Ham's children, Paul Ham, read a statement that said he forgave Dell. He added that his father, an ordained minister, would have also accepted Dell's apology.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JGoldmanNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Melissa Gorga invited fans to shop at her boutique, Envy, on Monday date to shop and toast the Season 7 premiere of the long-running Bravo reality series

Season 7 of "Real Housewives of New Jersey" premiered on Bravo on July 10, but, as we all know, the party doesn't end when the cameras stop rolling.

The "RHONJ" premiere after party took place on Monday evening at Envy, Melissa Gorga's Montclair clothing boutique.

In a compilation of Snapchat videos and photos, OMJ shared an exclusive look inside the party, for which hundreds of fans lined up down Bloomfield Avenue for a chance to shop with Gorga, according to OMJ.

Gorga's partner Jackie Beard Robinson and store manager Derek Zagami also made appearances at the event. They took photos with Gorga and fans on the short red carpet outside of the boutique in front of a floral backdrop.

Melissa and Joe were once again front and center in Sunday night's season premiere of "Real Housewives of New Jersey." The couple argued over Melissa's new store, with Joe -- who helped to build the store -- expressing concern that Melissa's new career would prevent her from fulfilling her matrimonial duties. Joe and Melissa expressed concern about what their historically-fraught relationship with Joe's sister, Teresa Giuidice, would be like following her release from prison. 

In one of the most talked-about moments of the show, Joe bared a little bit more skin than usual, while taking a shower as the cameras rolled. Bravo used creative pixellation to prevent viewers from suffering any long-term damage.

You can watch OMJ's video of the after party below. To find out more about the after party and to see photos from the event, go to OMJ.com.

Sydney Shaw may be reached at sshaw@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @ShawshankSyd. Find NJ.com on Facebook.