The range of information for sale allegedly included everything from product names to market data.

NEWARK -- FBI agents on Thursday arrested an employee of an unnamed manufacturer of "As Seen On TV" products on charges of stealing trade secrets, after what prosecutors said was a two-month-long sting operation.

The Martin Luther King Building and U.S. Courthouse in Newark, where Ralph Mandil was scheduled to appear Thursday afternoon.File photo  

During the sting, Ralph Mandil, 37, of West Long Branch, offered to sell merchandise and trade secrets stolen from his employer to people he believed were employees of an unnamed competitor, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office. 

Those employees, prosecutors say, were actually law enforcement agents wearing recording devices.

While the prosecutors did not identify Mandil's employer by name, the firm was described as manufacturing a number of personal, household and automotive products "frequently marketed via television ads" and "commonly sold at large retailers such as Walmart."

The range of information for sale allegedly included unreleased product names, specifications, artwork, advertising, market data and manufacturing information, according to prosecutors.

Mandil was allegedly offering the information for sale at the price of $197,500, which would buy access to an online cloud storage account containing the trade secrets.

In exchange for $10,000, Mandil also provided investigators with samples of the merchandise and information, which he told the undercover agents was worth "millions," the statement says.

Mandil is facing charges of the theft of trade secrets and wire fraud. If convicted of wire fraud, he faces up to 20 years in prison, prosecutors say.

He was scheduled to make an initial appearance Thursday afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael A. Hammer in Newark, according to prosecutors.

Thomas Moriarty may be reached at tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ThomasDMoriarty. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

A Jersey girl is born at Manhattan's new transport hub

NEW YORK -- A girl born to an East Orange couple Wednesday helped christen one of the city's newest landmarks.

From left, Port Authority Police Lt. Scot Pomerantz, Police Officer Matthew Binkowitz and Inspector Ronald Shindel. Not pictured: Officer Brian McGraw. (Port Authority Police Department)  

Officer Matthew Binkowitz was patrolling the Oculus transportation hub at the World Trade Center around 11 p.m. Wednesday night when a man approached him and said his wife was in labor, the Port Authority said in a statement. Officer Brian McGraw and Sgt. Aaron Woody responded when Binkowitz radioed for help.

Using drop cloths from a nearby display to shield the mother for privacy, McGraw, an EMT, delivered the girl a few minutes later. The baby and her parents were taken to Lenox Hill Hospital.

The girl is the first born in the recently opened Oculus transportation hub. She's also the second baby brought into the world with help from McGraw, who also delivered a girl in August 2015 at the World Trade Center PATH station.

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

The bear showed up at the Prestige Volvo dealership on Route 10 in East Hanover on Thursday

EAST HANOVER -- The employees of Prestige Volvo encountered a most unusual visitor at the Route 10 dealership on Thursday when a black bear chased a stray kitten around the lot.

Matthew Haiken, dealer principal of Prestige Volvo, said the bear was at the dealership for about 40 to 45 minutes.

"We've never seen something like that before," Haiken said.

Pedals the walking bear feared dead as hunt continues

The bear's visit was surprising, but it was fun for all the employees at the dealership, he said.

Human-bear interactions aren't exactly a rarity in Morris County, as it's one of the frequently cited reasons the state Department of Environmental Protection says its extended the annual bear hunt to a week in October and a week in December.

Justin Zaremba may be reached at jzaremba@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinZarembaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Omara Portuondo admits she still gets nervous in front of crowds, but her performances are as vital as ever

When baby boomers with a touch of grey leave a concert after seeing 85-year-old Omara Portuondo, the usual response is, "I want to be her when I grow up."

Portuondo -- whose career was reborn with the unlikely international phenomenon called the Buena Vista Social Club -- radiates an enviable glow of warmth, joy and grace as she takes to the stage, as she will on Saturday evening at NJPAC in Newark. While she walks slowly these days -- after all, her tour is celebrating her 85th birthday -- her smile leaps out quickly and captures audience members' hearts.

Asked recently about the enthusiastic reception she gets from audiences, she said through a translator, "Oh my dear! I can't find the words to thank people." She adds, "I have to confess that still nowadays I get a little nervous before each show, but from the minute I see the audience and the music starts, my heart gets all the love and energy to sing."

Portuondo was never a belter, but was always a more elegant, intimate singer and her voice remains a lithe instrument. On this tour, she is sharing the stage with several top-flight jazz musicians, including Roberto Fonseco, Anat Cohen and Regina Carter.

[enhanced link]

She said she will pick songs from her own popular repertoire and other Cuban classics,
while also letting the jazz guest stars take the spotlight on their own songs.

"I'm honored to be surrounded by so many talented musicians," she said. "All of them -- Anat, Regina and Roberto -- have an amazing sensibility to make the music even more beautiful than it already is."

Portuondo was born in pre-Communist Havana. "My first memory is seeing my parents singing in the kitchen," she said. "The radio was always on, and as I child I listened to that -- all the different styles they used to play."

While she initially began to work as a dancer at Havana's storied nightclubs, she began to sing at the Tropicana Hotel when she was eighteen, joining a group led by Orlando de la Rosa. A few years later, she joined the vocal group Cuarteto d'Aida with her sister Haydee, and they had enough success to tour the U.S. and open for Nat King Cole. She continued to tour with various performers, touching both jazz and Cuban styles such as the slow, romantic bolero and the stately danzon.

The Buena Vista Social Club, a multi-generational gathering of Cuban musicians playing older music that had mostly gone out of fashion, was a serendipitous accident. In 1996, after British producer Nick Gold was unable to do what he came to Havana to do due to
visa problems -- namely match African and Cuban musicians for a recording -- his team pulled together an impromptu group of Cuban players.

The resulting albums -- popularized by a documentary by director Wim Wenders -- were surprise hits worldwide, eventually selling more than five million copies and garnering a Grammy, catapulting the little-known musicians to iconic status.

In another impromptu move, Portuondo was asked to do a duet on the song "Veinte Anos" with singer Compay Segundo, who was 89 at the time. "I came to the studio and they were all there - it was magical seeing everyone together again."

"Then after the album was released," she continued, "I was invited to the shows in Amsterdam and Carnegie Hall, and I was invited to record on Ibrahim Ferrer's album, where we sang 'Silencio' together."

Portuondo, always a crowd favorite at their concerts, went on to release her own critically acclaimed solo albums, and today is the only surviving vocalist from the original Buena Vista lineup.

Asked why she thought the group was so successful, she said, "our roots, our traditions," adding that Cuban music blends influences from around the world and from multiple genres. "I think Cuban music is contagious for its energy and soul."

Portuondo's career in Cuba began in the high-flying days and nights of pre-Castro Cuba and now is seeing her homeland re-establishing ties with the United States. "Indeed both countries are getting together," she said. "I'm thankful for living and sharing that moment with everybody."

While Portuondo said she thought she would have continued singing regardless, the Buena Vista phenomenon "had a major impact on my life...I have had the opportunity to perform all around the world. Music is what keeps me young."

Omara Portuondo

Where: New Jersey Performing Arts Center, 1 Center Street, Newark

How much: $39.50 - 89.50; call 888-GO-NJPAC or go to www.ticketmaster.com

Marty Lipp may be reached at martylipp@hotmail.com. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Here's your chance to snag a pair of tickets to see John Cleese, Ehud Barak, Ted Koppel and more

NEWARK -- As New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark is already underway in its annual N.J. Speaker Series -- EGOT winner Rita Moreno spoke Friday -- here's your chance to snag a pair of tickets to see "Monty Python" co-founder John Cleese, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, ABC "Nightline" anchorman Ted Koppel and more. 

Visit the NJ.com contest page and fill out the form to enter for a chance to win a pair of tickets to the Speaker Series. Only one entry per person/per email address. Ten winners will be chosen Oct. 21 at 9 a.m. and notified via phone call immediately afterward.

Tickets will be mailed to the winners. This prize is good for all six remaining installments of the Speaker Series presented by Farleigh Dickinson University, which begins with Barak Oct. 27 and ends with presidential historian Jon Meacham April 20, 2017. 

No purchase necessary. 

Bobby Olivier may be reached at bolivier@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BobbyOlivier. Find NJ.com on Facebook. 

What's going to happen on the gridiron this weekend? The football staff at NJ.com offers up its bold predictions.

NEWARK — This undated photo was taken of the Krueger-Scott mansion in Newark. Located at the corner of Court Street and Martin Luther King Boulevard, the 40-room mansion was built in 1888 by Gottfried Krueger, founder of Newark's Gottfried Krueger Brewing Co. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. Since 2011, there have been efforts...

NEWARK -- This undated photo was taken of the Krueger-Scott mansion in Newark.

Located at the corner of Court Street and Martin Luther King Boulevard, the 40-room mansion was built in 1888 by Gottfried Krueger, founder of Newark's Gottfried Krueger Brewing Co.

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.

Since 2011, there have been efforts by various groups to restore the property. The mansion is reported to be structurally sound, but the interior is dilapidated.

If you would like to share a photo that provides a glimpse of history in your community, please call 973-836-4922 or send an email to ghatala@starledger.com. And, check out more glimpses of history in our online galleries Thursdays on nj.com.

Greg Hatala may be reached at ghatala@starledger.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregHatala. Find The Star-Ledger on Facebook.

 

Driver remains hospitalized in stable condition, according to State Police

EAST HANOVER -- One person was killed after the vehicle they were riding in went off Route 280 and overturned Thursday night, State Police said.

The 1992 Dodge Dakota pickup truck was heading westbound when it ran off the roadway near milepost 3.2 in the township, according to Trooper Lawrence Peele, a State Police spokesman. The rear passenger was ejected from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver was listed in stable condition after the crash, Peele said. Two other people in the vehicle were treated for non life-threatening injuries.

There were no other vehicles involved in the wreck, the spokesman said. Two lanes were closed for about three hours while State Police investigated the crash.

Police did not immediately release the name of the deceased before next of kin could be notified.

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

The man is facing charges in Morris County, authorities said.

ORANGE -- A city firefighter has been suspended after allegedly being found with heroin in his car, officials said.

A file photo of an Orange fire truck. (Bill Wichert | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
 

According to Orange spokesman Keith Royster, the Parsippany-Troy Hills Police arrested firefighter Vincent Piserchio on Sept. 4 on charges of driving while intoxicated and possession of a controlled dangerous substance. After police pulled Piserchio over, they allegedly found heroin inside his car, Royster said.

The firefighter is suspended without pay pending a hearing on disciplinary charges and the outcome of the criminal charges against him, Royster said.

A spokesman for the Morris County Prosecutor's Office confirmed Piserchio is scheduled to appear for a pre-indictment conference on Oct. 31 in front of Judge Thomas J. Critchley.

Building's complex ID: Food pantry to the FBI

According to a statement from Assistant Morris County Prosecutor Tara Vyas, Piserchio will be offered a deal to plead guilty to third degree possession. If he agrees, his sentence would include the forfeiture of his job as a firefighter and a ban on public employment in New Jersey, officials said.

Piserchio, who according to public records has been employed in Orange since 2006 and earns $73,000 a year, could not immediately be reached for comment on the charges.

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

East Orange General Hospital has undergone renovations since being taken over by a for-profit chain.

EAST ORANGE -- The East Orange General Hospital is out of bankruptcy, investing in its infrastructure, and staying open for business.

That confident message, being pushed forward by the community hospital's new leadership, is in sharp contrast to the uncertain future it had just a few months ago. The hospital, like many of the other community hospitals in the area that were forced to close in recent years, was strapped with financial woes when it declared bankruptcy last November. In March, the for-profit hospital chain Prospect Medical Holdings, of Los Angeles, announced it had purchased the hospital, and planned to keep it open.

"Overcoming the negative publicity that has surrounded this institution for the last few years has been problematic," said Otis Story, who took over as CEO in March.

He blamed the community's uncertainty about the hospital on "the B word - bankruptcy. Once you hear that in America, you think it's one step away from closure," he said.

"(We now have to) get across our commitment to serve...the city of East Orange."

The hospital is putting its money where its mouth is. Over the past seven months, it has invested several million dollars in a few modest upgrades - a new 19-single bed unit, a revamped lobby, a new meditation area, renovations to the emergency room waiting area and cafeteria, and a new laboratory information system that will speed up the process of delivery test results to doctors and patients.

For-profit chain buys bankrupt hospital

It's also opened a new center for obesity-related diseases, headed by noted bariatric surgeon Dr. Saniea Majid. The center, which is staffed by about 10 new employees, focuses on many of the health issues that plague the community, Story said, like obesity and diabetes. 

The hospital chain said when purchasing East Orange General that it planned to invest $52 million worth of capital improvements into the Central Avenue facility by 2021.

The improvements, Story said, are piece-meal.

"We will continue to evolve over time," he said. "We will work to prove ourselves, and we are asking the community to come see what we've been up to."

To that end, East Orange General Hospital is hosting an open house Saturday from noon until 6 p.m. The event, which will feature free health screenings, exercise classes, children's activities, and a "Health Passport Challenge" with giveaway and prizes, is meant as a way to invite the community in to witness some of the changes, first-hand, Story said.

One of his main allies in the reintroduction and reintegration of the hospital, he said, has been the city itself.

"(We are working with the hospital) to ensure that our residents continue to have easy access to quality health care, while also maintaining and growing employment opportunities for our residents," East Orange Mayor Lester Taylor said in a statement to NJ Advance Media.

Since taking over in March, Story said the hospital has kept on nearly all of its 900-member staff, and hired an additional 35 to 50 employees, with continued plans to expand.

"One of the fastest growing employment sectors in Essex County is health care and the hospital is making significant investment in infrastructure improvements and new specialized services and staff that will set the tone for our community hospital to become a flagship hospital for the region and an economic driver for our city."

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

'When I saw you Friday night at the Michael Jackson concert I gasped,' Clive Davis wrote in the letter. 'When I got home, I cried. My dear, dear Whitney, the time has come.'

An upcoming Clive Davis documentary will delve extensively into the music mogul's relationship with the late Whitney Houston, and early footage screened by the Hollywood Reporter includes Davis reading a heartbreaking letter he wrote to Houston after her cadaverous appearance at a 2001 Michael Jackson anniversary concert. 

In the letter, he writes that he was joining with Houston's mother Cissy in pleading for her to get help, "to face up to the truth now, right now, and there is no more time or postponement": 

Dearest Whitney, When I saw you Friday night at the Michael Jackson concert I gasped. When I got home, I cried. My dear, dear Whitney, the time has come. Of course I know you don't want to hear this. Of course I know that you're saying that Clive is being foolishly dramatic. Of course I know that your power of denial is in overdrive dismissing everything I and everyone else is saying to you. ... You need help and it must begin now. I will stand by you with love and caring to see you through it to newfound peace and happiness in every way as a woman, as a mother, as a role model to inspire the rest of the world. Love, Clive.

The letter doesn't specify what sort of help Houston needed, but Houston's appearance made headlines and sparked rumors of anorexia and fed already rampant whispers about drug addiction. The sight of her gaunt frame was so disturbing that her spokeswoman was forced to deny reports a few days later that Houston had died. 

A few months later, a healthier-looking Houston gave a now-infamous interview to ABC's Diane Sawyer in which she denied smoking crack -- "I make too much for me to ever smoke crack. Let's get that straight, OK? I don't do crack. I don't do that. Crack is wack" -- but did admit to problems "at times" with alcohol, marijuana, cocaine and pills.

Houston died in 2012 in a Beverly Hills hotel room bathtub. Her cause of death was an accidental drowning, with cocaine and heart disease contributing to her death.  

"Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives" is expected to be completed next year. Among the famous names interviewed, according to the Hollywood Reporter: Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel, Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick, Pat Houston, Sean Combs, Babyface, Patti Smith, Berry Gordy, David Geffen, and Barry Manilow.

Vicki Hyman may be reached at vhyman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @vickihy or like her on Facebook. Find NJ.com/Entertainment on Facebook, and check out TV Hangover, the podcast from Vicki Hyman and co-host Erin Medley on iTunes, Stitcher or listen here.

Ep. 53: Which shows are winning the fall?

East Orange mayor talked about embracing urbanism at a panel discussion on gentrification. Watch video

NEWARK -- Three years into his first term as East Orange mayor, Lester Taylor says he is still working to right negative perceptions of his city, including those espoused by recent Nobel Prize recipient, Bob Dylan.

"Folks, never go to East Orange, New Jersey," Dylan told a crowd at New York's Gaslight Cafe in 1961. "It's a horrible town."

To be fair, Dylan's chief complaint in the story he tells is, after having played a gig in East Orange, he was paid in chess pieces. He then ended up having to use those chess pieces to buy a pint of beer.

Taylor, who served as a panelist during a session Friday morning at the NJ Spotlight On Cities conference, assured NJ Advance Media that the city has come a long way from using chessmen as currency.

"We've worked very hard to brand our city," Taylor said. "Our vision is setting the standard for urban excellence, and making East Orange a destination city."

But to do that, Taylor said, officials needed to focus on the basics: cleanliness and safety.

"We have experienced a crime rate that is as low, if not lower, than it has been since 1968 in East Orange," Taylor said. "Coincidentally, that was when East Orange was the cleanest city in the country."

Joined by Braden Crooks, founding partner of Designing the We, and Paul Silverman, principal of Silverman real estate in Jersey City, the three discussed ways to handle gentrification and promote cultural sustainability.

Cleaning up the city of 700 vacancies

One of the ways his firm works to stem gentrification, Silverman said, is to focus on revitalizing empty buildings and spaces, instead of kicking out people who contribute to the vibrancy of the community.

The same tactic is being used in East Orange, where redevelopment is taking place in the city's unused spaces. 

"We're working very hard to clean the city, to identify and remove blight throughout the community," Taylor told NJ Advance Media, pointing to the city's Vacant and Abandoned Properties Division, which has "helped to aggressively clean up properties, hold owners accountable and get vacant homes back on the tax rolls."

Lester and other panelists at the event Friday. (Michael Anthony Adams | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com) 

According to a release, private capital investment in East Orange has tripled over the past several years to over $350 million, supporting more than 2,400 units and 200,000 square feet of construction in every ward of the city on vacant or underutilized property.

East Orange apparently isn't the only city in New Jersey struggling with their image. A Rutgers-Eagleton poll, released Friday in partnership with the conference, said nearly half of New Jersey residents believe the quality of life in the Garden State's 40 most populous municipalities is fair or poor and near a third say the situation has only gotten worse in the last five years.

Part of that problem, Taylor said, is branding. Officials in East Orange grappled with using the word "urban" in their mission statement, because of the way it's been used in popular culture to describe impoverished, struggling communities.

"Then we thought about urban being the new buzzword," Taylor said. "Urban not meaning black and brown. Urban not meaning poor. Urban meaning a quality style of living."

Ever the litigator, Taylor was even able to argue that Dylan actually preferred East Orange to New York City.

"I do know that Nobel prize laureate Bob Dylan has a song saying he's leaving New York and coming to East Orange," he joked.

Michael Anthony Adams may be reached at madams@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MichaelAdams317. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Everything you need to follow Friday night football in New Jersey.

KEY LINKS
• Schedule/scoreboard: Full | By conference
• Week 6 Mega-coverage football guide
• Results & links: Thurs.
• Our picks: All games | Top 20
• Picks by conference
• Current NJ.com Top 20 | Next 10
• Group and conference rankings
• Statewide stats leaders
• Best PHOTOS of Week 6

• BREAKING: Donovan Catholic player airlifted to trauma center

FEATURED GAMES:

No. 7 St. Peter's Prep 48, No. 1 Bergen Catholic 42
• Prep survives late score to knock off No. 1
• St. Peter's sack machine goes to work, with PHOTOS
•  Photo gallery
• Look back at live updates
• Box score

No. 16 St. John Vianney 28, No. 10 Rumson-Fair Haven 3
• Vianney avalanche sweeps away No. 10
• Photo gallery
• Look back at live updates
• Box score

River Dell 42, Ridgefield Park 7
• Dell wraps up division title
•  Photo gallery
• Look back at live updates
• Box score

Sparta 42, Roxbury 0
• Ultimate playmakers spark Sparta
• Look back at live updates
• Box score

Old Bridge 24, No. 13 Piscataway 20
• 3 TDs for Sodano as OB stuns No. 13
•  Video: Pick-6 gets P'way on the board
• Look back at live updates
• Box score

Carteret 29, Woodbridge 14
• Carteret capitalizes on big plays
•  Photo gallery
• Look back at live updates
• Box score

Camden Catholic 28, Shawnee 7
• CC victorious in battle of unbeatens
•  Photo gallery
• Look back at live updates
• Box score

No. 9 Timber Creek 56, Camden 7
• Game recap
•  Photo gallery
• Box score

Vineland 61, Clearview 29
• Clan says 5-0 start is no fluke
•  Photo gallery
• Look back at live updates
• Box score

West Windsor South 42, Princeton 18
• 335 rushing yards for Coop pushes Pirates
•  Photo gallery
• Look back at live updates
• Box score

Delaware Valley 21, Voorhees 7
• Lessig scores 3 TDs and sparks D for DelVal
•  Photo gallery
• Box score

Newton 54, Chatham 21
• Game recap
•  Photo gallery
• Box score

Union City 56, Memorial (WNY) 0
• Game recap
•  Photo gallery
• Box score

Millville 28, Hammonton 26
• Bolts hold on, stops late 2-point conversion
• Box score

Delsea 26, Kingsway 7
• Crusaders back on track
• Box score

West Deptford 41, Woodstown 7
• WD follows O line to win over Wolverines
• Box score

West Windsor North 48, Lawrence 38
• Full staff report
•  Video interview: Myles Mitchell-White, Lawrence
• Box score

Peddie 54, Lawrenceville 30
• Falcons fly despite losing two starters
• Box score

Burlington Township 43, Ewing 0
• Burl Town improves to 5-1 with win
• Box score

WEEK 6 FEATURES
• Mid-season awards: N.J. football's best at halfway point
• Which teams have the toughest schedules the rest of the way?
• Meet the most famous athletes from each of N.J.’s 21 counties
• Who has the best student section? Voting for semifinals coming soon
• Who won helmet stickers from Week 5 action?
• 2 players added to Player of the Year watch 
• VOTE for the top offensive playmaker in each football conference 

COMPLETE SCOREBOARD

Braulio Perez may be reached at bperez@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BraulioEPerez.

The man was arrested following a tip to Secaucus police

NUTLEY -- An anonymous tip led to the arrest of a township man on charges of making terroristic threats against law enforcement, police said.

Secaucus police called Nutley after receiving a call from someone who claimed that Victor Terletsky, 24, threatened to "shoot the first cop he sees," Nutley police said.

Nutley police contacted the Essex County Prosecutor's Office, where an assistant prosecutor authorized the charge of making a terroristic threat. Terletsky was arrested Sunday in Nutley, where bail was set by a municipal court judge at $20,000 with a 10 percent cash option. Terletsky was released pending a court appearance after paying the 10 percent amount.

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

The 13-year-old Newark boy was arrested with key fobs from carjacked vehicles, according to authorities.

(File photo) 

Detectives with the police division's Special Enforcement Bureau spotted the teen driving a Ford Edge near South Orange Avenue and South 18th Street around 4 a.m., according to Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose. Police turned on their lights and sirens to stop the Ford, which matched the description of a stolen car used in a Maplewood robbery.

In an effort to escape, the teen drove in reverse but crashed into a fence, leaving the vehicle disabled, Ambrose said. Detectives captured the teen after a short foot chase.

Police discovered the teen had three key fobs that matched vehicles from earlier carjackings or attempts, Ambrose added. Police were investigating if the boy was involved in incidents from Maplewood and Orange.

"Thirteen-year-olds should be asleep in preparation for school at 4 a.m. and not roaming our streets committing crimes," Ambrose added in statement. "The officers did an excellent job of apprehending the suspect without anyone getting injured."

15-year-old carjacked woman at gunpoint before crash, authorities say

The teen was charged with offenses, including receiving stolen property and resisting arrest. Ambrose said the court instructed police to release the youngster to a relative's custody after processing.

The arrest marked at least the second time since last week where a juvenile was accused of crashing a stolen car in the city. Last Friday, police said a 15-year-old Newark boy carjacked a woman at gunpoint in Hillside before slamming into another car at Bergen Street and Pomona Avenue.

"We are contacting the Newark Board of Education and the Department of Children and Families in an effort to see what more can be done to help ensure our kids avoid criminal activities and engage in activities that ensure they have prosperous futures," Ambrose added.

Hours before the 13-year-old was arrested in Newark, a woman in Maplewood reported she got into her car on Warren Road when a white SUV pulled up next to her around 9:30 p.m. 

An assailant got out of the passenger side and grabbed the woman's car door to stop her from closing it while he yelled "get out, get out, get out," Maplewood police Sgt. Christopher Black said. The woman started screaming and the suspect took off. Black said the woman, who was not hurt, believed the attacker was trying to take her car, but he never announced a robbery.

Maplewood police increased patrols and alerted other law enforcement agencies, according to Black, who said the investigation was ongoing. Anyone with information on that case was asked to call 973-762-3400. Maplewood police did not confirm if the incidents were related. 

Ambrose also urged anyone with information about the Newark investigation to call the 24-hour toll-free Crime Stoppers tip line at 1-877-NWK-TIPS (1-877-695-8477) or 1-877-NWK-GUNS (1-877-695-4867). Police said Crime Stopper tips are kept confidential and could lead to a reward.

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

The incidents occurred last month

NEWARK-- Two teens have been charged for their alleged involvement in a drive-by shooting and a robbery occurring within days of each other last month, Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said.

On Sept. 14, a city resident was robbed around 4 a.m. while walking to a bus stop at Stone Street and Park Avenue. Around 2 p.m. Sept. 22, an Irvington resident suffered non-life-threatening injuries after being shot in the drive-by along Alexander Street.

An investigation led to two 16-year-olds as the suspects in both incidents. The youth wanted for the robbery was arrested Friday by Fugitive Apprehension Unit officers in the 200 block of Chancellor Avenue.

An anonymous tip Friday afternoon led to the arrest of the second teen in the 600 block of 15th Avenue.  

One of the youth has been charged with robbery, while the second has been charged with aggravated assault, unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and conspiracy.

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

Lucas Sumler now faces up to 10 years in prison

NEWARK-- A city man was found guilty in federal court Friday of being in possession of a firearm despite being barred from doing so because of a prior criminal conviction, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement.

Lucas Sumler, 42, was already a convicted felon when he was found with a .357 Magnum revolver and ammunition March 25.

Sumler faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine when he's sentenced Feb. 1, 2017.

The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, along with Newark police and the Essex County Prosecutor's Office, assisted in the investigation leading to Sumler's conviction Friday, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

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

World-renowned Portuguese street Alexandre Farto will carve murals into spaces in Newark's five wards as part of a collaboration between the city and his native Portugal. Watch video

NEWARK -- Murals by a world-renowned Portuguese street artist will soon be on display in all of Newark's five wards as part of a collaboration between the city and Portugal.

Alexandre Farto, better known by his tag name VHILS, will begin working on the murals this November. The project, "Scratching the Surface," will allow local artists to connect with Farto during workshops, in which he'll demonstrate how he creates his stencil-based art, a release from the mayor's office said.

"The City of Newark and the great nation of Portugal enjoy many ties, and the arts is one of the greatest such links," Mayor Ras J. Baraka said in a statement. "We are now expanding those ties by uniting as two great communities to bring the power of modern art to all of our wards, with these mural projects by Alexandre Farto."

Farto's unique style of graffiti uses tools such as chisels, jackhammers and tiny explosives instead of spray paint to carve through the surface layers of walls and other media to create a new image, the release said.

The goal of the project, sponsored by the Newark Museum and local arts organizations, is to "add to the beauty of Newark, our luster to visitors, and our role as a center for learning and the arts," Baraka said.

Michael Anthony Adams may be reached at madams@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MichaelAdams317. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

If the NAACP votes on Saturday for a moratorium on charters, it will be voting to secure black people remain a permanent underclass.

By Charles Love

I come from a long line of black activists.

My grandfather Charles "Big Apple" Scott, stood behind Martin Luther King Jr. at the podium on the National Mall when he made the "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963.  Today I advocate for children in New Jersey -- my own children and that of thousands of other families I meet every day in my work.

After having spoken with all of these families, having heard their frustration with their children's schools, having seen what a good school (which happens to be a charter school) has done for my own children -- I have a warning for the NAACP: You are a dinosaur, and if you continue to go down the road of doing the teachers' union's bidding and denying millions of black families viable education options, you will bring about your own demise.

The most important issue that those leading the NAACP are missing here is that parents don't care about distinctions like charter or traditional public school. Why would they? What they care about is whether their child can read and do math and potentially go to college and graduate from college so that they can then become the masters of their own destinies.

And so what you really should be doing, as an organization that advocates for the advancement of black people, is yelling at the top of your lungs for America to put a moratorium on failing schools -- whether they are charter or traditional public schools. If you really cared about the advancement of black children, you'd be demanding that there be more opportunities for children to be educated -- not fewer.

Right here in Newark, at Uncommon School's North Star Academy, 57 percent of the class of 2016 passed at least one Advance Placement exam, nearly three times the national average of 20 percent. They are proving every day that low-income black and brown children can learn at the highest levels.

But it's not just North Star in Newark. The city has some of the best charter schools in the country. More than 90 percent of Newark KIPP high school graduates enrolled at colleges in 2015. At People's Prep, an independent charter high school in Newark, 90 percent of graduating seniors enrolled in college, 95 percent of whom are first-generation college students. 

That is the kind of opportunity we should be doing everything we can to make available for more kids.

Where's the data on district schools? It's all around us. Over 100 years of failing black kids -- decades and decades before charter schools were even invented.

We've been failing generations.

According to one study, 98 percent of Newark Public School students who enrolled in Essex County College required remediation in math and nearly 90 percent required it in reading. If our students can't get it figured out at Essex County, how in the hell are they going to get it right at Harvard or Howard? Why isn't the NAACP voting to place a moratorium on that?

I once read an African Proverb that went a little something like this:

Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn't matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle. When the sun comes up, you better start running.

In a city with an annual murder total that has averaged 100 for the past 20 or so years we can't afford to wait, we need options now.

In my humble opinion, the only way it makes sense for the NAACP to take this position against black kids is because the influence of the teacher's union is too profitable to ignore. Nothing else makes sense.

It's not a secret that black people have been marginalized and exploited by many groups throughout the ages. It's always worse when the people taking advantage are the same people who are supposed to be advancing us.  

If the NAACP votes on Saturday for a moratorium on charters, it will be voting to secure black people remain a permanent underclass. That's the opposite of what it's supposed to do -- and millions of black families will know it.

Charles Love is a community activist and the parent of three children who attend charter schools in Newark.

Verona-based nonprofit Little Kids Rock has expanded its unique curriculum nationwide.

VERONA -- When Warren Gramm started out as the music teacher at Academy I Middle School in Jersey City, he had to overcome a pretty sizable obstacle - the school didn't have any instruments.

"We were doing more traditional things, like music history and theory," Gramm said. But, he said, it was tough to get the kids engaged. So, nine years ago, when the school partnered with Verona-based non-profit "Little Kids Rock," he jumped at the opportunity to take part in a weekend-long training the organization was offering Jersey City teachers.

LKR founder, David Wish, said Gramm's story is not unlike the one that prompted him to form the music charity.

Wish was a first grade teacher in East Palo Alto, Calif. in the early 1990s when he started thinking of ways to incorporate music education into his students' school days. Without many resources, he started teaching his kids music basics through songs that were popular at the time, namely Backstreet Boys and Ricky Martin.

The class became so popular, that he was soon holding fundraisers to buy instruments, offering before and after school classes to other grades in the building, and having the kids write and perform their own songs that they recorded on CDs.

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By 2002, the idea had become so popular that Wish left teaching to found Little Kids Rock, which partners with school districts across the country to bring popular music education to children who otherwise would not have the opportunity to learn music.

"We believe that every human is profoundly musical, it just has to be drawn out of you," Wish said in an interview about the program.

"We teach the music that inspires kids... (and) the impact of it is immediately visible to teachers."

The program operates by training teachers of all subjects how to teach music, and providing free instruments to the schools. Through teachers volunteering their time to learn and teach the curriculum, and an annual budget of about $6 million raised through grants and donations, Little Kids Rock has brought pop music education to about 500,000 students at 30 school districts across the country.

From its Verona office, LKR has sent trainers to more than 100 schools in New Jersey - including in districts like Newark, East Orange, Trenton, Elizabeth, and Montclair - and to hundreds of others across the nation.

It also brings its "Modern Band" curriculum to the schools, where kids can play in a group band that uses instruments like guitars and drums, and plays rock and rap music. The curriculum is sometimes used in addition to more traditional music programs in districts, and other times it becomes the music program, Wish said.

In an effort to continue to grow, the program has launched the online "Jam Zone," which contains video tutorials teaching kids about music and how to play popular instruments. It has also started a "Half a Million Music Makers fundraising campaign" to help support its spread to the next 500,000 kids.

Gramm said he has seen the difference the program has made in his students.

"In districts like Jersey City, it's tough. Money is tight. You don't always get the music (education) you'd hope for," he said. Thanks to LKR, he said, his students have not only had the opportunity to learn, but have played shows at venues like Carnegie Hall, and have had jam sessions alongside famous musicians, like Liberty DeVitto, the drummer for Billy Joel.

Wish said his goal is to provide those types of opportunities to more kids.

"We are trying to create a national movement," he said. "We want to introduce music into kids' lives in a way that will stick."

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