LINDEN — Police are asking for the public's help in identifying a man who held-up a city store and robbed a clerk at gunpoint. Police released a security camera photo of the robber, described as a male in his late teens or early 20s. Authorities said the man entered the Linden Stationery store, 638 West St. near George Avenue, at...

Security camera photography of a man sought for robbing a Linden store clerk at gunpoint. (Linden Police)Tom Haydon | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com 

LINDEN -- Police are asking for the public's help in identifying a man who held-up a city store and robbed a clerk at gunpoint.

Police released a security camera photo of the robber, described as a male in his late teens or early 20s.

Authorities said the man entered the Linden Stationery store, 638 West St. near George Avenue, at 6:10 p.m. on Tuesday.

The store clerk told police the man wandered around for several minutes before approaching him, pulling a handgun from his waistband, and ordering him to open the cash register, Capt. James Sarnicki said.

MORE: Uber driver, passengers robbed in Linden

The suspect then walked behind the counter and scooped an unknown amount of cash from the register before fleeing, Sarnicki said.

The victim told officers the suspect was wearing a woodland camouflage hooded sweatshirt and dark pants, the captain said.

Police ask anyone with information about the robbery to the gunman to call contact Detective Ken Mikolajczyk at (908) 474-8542, or send an email crimetips@lpdnj.org.

MORE UNION COUNTY NEWS

Tom Haydon may be reached at thaydon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Tom_HaydonSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

About 1,100 police officers are charged with crimes annually, according to an academic study.

LINDEN -- When suspended Linden police officer Pedro Abad was charged for the wrong-way double fatal drunk-driving accident, he joined a segment of the law enforcement community that no agency tracks: officers charged with crimes.

"There is not any government agency that keeps track of these cases," said Tim Lynch, director of the Washington-based Cato Institute's Project on Criminal Justice.

For three years, Lynch has overseen the National Police Misconduct Reporting Project (NPMRP), which collects data on the extent of misconduct by officers in the United States.

Abad appeared in court Thursday for a hearing on the indictment that charges him with aggravated vehicular homicide and manslaughter stemming from an off-duty March 20 crash in Staten Island when he was allegedly driving drunk.

RELATED: Officer in wrong-way crash pleads not guilty, released on bail

There are about 17,000 law enforcement agencies nationwide, but there are no requirements for them to report cases filed against officers, said Lynch.

Most of information collected at the NPMRP comes from media reports.

"That gives us an imperfect picture," Lynch said. "It's very hard to get specific numbers of cases against police."

While he has observed an increase in officers being charged in the last year, Lynch attributes that hike to the media attention placing law enforcement in the spotlight.

"That's probably a function of the increased scrutiny," he said, referring to cases in New York City, Baltimore and Ferguson, Mo.

In New Jersey, there have been several high profile cases recently:

* Four Edison police officers are accused of plotting retaliation against a North Brunswick officer for issuing a drunk-driving ticket.

* A former Plainfield officer was sentenced to prison for threatening a woman with criminal charges unless she disrobbed.

*Two Bloomfield officers currently face charges of tampering with records following an arrest and one of the officers was charged with aggravated assault allegedly committed during the arrest.

Abad has pleaded not guilty to a 27-count indictment stemming from the crash in Staten Island where two people, a fellow Linden police officer and a civilian passenger, were killed. Another Linden officer in Abad's car was severely injured. On Thursday, Abad's lawyer suggested he may have been drugged by a stripper at the strip club the men visited before the crash.

Off-Duty Incidents

Abad had two prior drunk-driving arrests, one was in Roselle in 2011 and the other in Rahway in 2013. The Roselle case was dismissed a year after the arrest when Abad's attorney complained to the municipal court that he had still not received information he had requested. Abad pleaded guilty to the charge in Rahway, where a police dashcam captured him failing a sobriety test, and had his license suspended.

Charges filed against police for off-duty conduct are among the most difficult to follow, particularly drunk-driving and domestic violence cases, Lynch said.

"I think DUI and and domestic violence are two of the scenarios where police often don't make reports," Lynch said.

Officers, he said, may be reluctant to file a charge against a fellow member of the law enforcement community.

"If it had been John Q. Citizen, then the person would have been arrested for DUI," he said.

Philip Stinson, professor criminal justice at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, also tracks cases of crimes against police and shares Lynch's suspicions about domestic violence cases.

"I've been stomping my feet trying to get people to pay attention to officers involved in domestic violence," Stinson said. "Police officers don't like to arrest other officers, and that is true for off-duty crimes as well as on-duty crimes. 

"Historically, police departments have not treated officer-involved domestic violence as a priority, and often officers were not arrested in situations where anyone else would have been arrested," said Stinson, who has researched such cases.

More than 1,000 charged annually

For more than nine years Stinson, a lawyer and former police officer, has collected data on law enforcement officers charged in crimes.

In each of the last seven years, more than 1,000 officers across the country have faced criminal charges, Stinson said.

In 2006, there were 968 officers arrested. That number jumped to 1,130 in 2008, and increased to 1,294 in 2011, the highest total in all the years Stinson has collected the data. In 2014, there were 1,088 in law enforcement facing charges.

"The numbers have been fairly consistent," Stinson said. "People are paying more attention (to the incidents). The general public is demanding more responsible responses from the police."

Juries reluctant to convict

Even as the public shows heighten interest in police charged with crimes for their on-duty actions, prosecutors tend to favor lesser charges, and juries rarely find police guilty at trials, say both Stinson and Lynch.

"There are biases that help to give the officer a benefit, as opposed to the average citizen," Lynch said.

From 2005 to 2014, there were 47 cases of an officer charged with murder for an on-duty incident where the officer shot and killed a person. 

Only 22 percent of those cases resulted in a guilty verdict against the officer charged, Stinson said.

"It seems that juries are reluctant to convict an officer when he is charged with a crime resulting from an on-duty violent street encounter," Stinson said. "People realize that policing is violent, ugly and difficult. They don't like to second-guess the split-second life-or-death decisions of police in those encounters."

Police misconduct reports are confidential in New Jersey, as they are in 23 other states, according to a report by Public Radio station WNYC. As with most public employees in New Jersey, police disciplinary files are confidential personnel records and are exempt from the Open Public Records Act.

Lynch says attitudes might be changing, in part because technology now allows more people to record incidents as they happen.

Tom Haydon may be reached at thaydon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Tom_HaydonSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook

An off-duty Newark police officer was arrested on assault and weapons-related charges after he allegedly pointed his service weapon at a civilian, NJ Advance Media has learned.

Newark police authorities say officer Andre Evans has been reassigned pending an internal investigation of the alleged assault. (Robert Sciarrino|NJ Advance Media)

NEWARK -- A veteran city police officer was reassigned from his regular duties following an off-duty incident in Woodbridge that ended with his arrest on assault and weapons-related charges, NJ Advance Media has learned.

Newark Police Department Detective Andre Evans, 41, was arrested and charged on Oct. 25 by Woodbridge police after he allegedly pointed his service weapon at a civilian during an early-morning verbal confrontation, confirmed township police spokesman Capt. Roy Hoppock.

Newark police authorities were alerted to Evans' arrest following the incident, and he has since been reassigned from his duties pending the outcome of an internal investigation of the incident, said department spokesman Sgt. Ronald Glover.

A fourteen-year police veteran, Evans rose through the ranks to eventually join the department's Gang and Narcotics Enforcement Division, according to his Linkedin profile.

MORE: Newark cop fired over Facebook post faced prior discrimination claim

Reached by phone Thursday, Evans declined to comment on the allegations and referred questions to his attorney James Nolan. Attempts to reach Nolan for comment were unsuccessful.

According to authorities, the incident began at approximately 1 a.m. outside a township steakhouse in the 100 block of Oakwood Avenue.

Evans and a 54-year-old North Carolina man were arguing inside the restaurant parking lot when Evans allegedly pointed a firearm at the man's face, Hoppock said. The weapon appeared to be Evans's service weapon, Hoppock confirmed.

MORE: More than 1,000 cops charged each year, but few found guilty

Witness statements provided to police indicate that an employee of the restaurant was able to secure the gun until police arrived at the scene, Hoppock said. Neither Evans or the man, whose name was not released, sustained injuries during the incident, he added.

Following the incident, Evans was placed under arrest and later charged with one count each of aggravated assault and possession of a weapon for unlawful purpose, Hoppock said.

Evans was later released on $20,000 bail, Hoppock said. A police investigation of the incident is ongoing, he added.

Newark police authorities declined to comment directly on the accusations against Evans. But spokesman Sgt. Ronald Glover said, "If it is found that Officer Evans' actions were criminal or violate departmental rules and regulations, the appropriate actions will be levied against him as is necessary."

Vernal Coleman can be reached at vcoleman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @vernalcoleman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

The man is in fair condition after suffering serious injuries, officials said.

File photo of South Mountain Reservation. (John O'Boyle | The Star-Ledger)
 

MILLBURN -- A South Orange man who was seriously injured when a tree fell on him at an Essex County park Thursday afternoon was in fair condition at University Hospital Friday morning, hospital officials confirmed.

Essex County Sheriff's Office spokesman Kevin Lynch said the weather may have contributed to bringing down the tree at South Mountain Reservation Wednesday when the 51-year-old man was walking nearby.

"According to (a) female companion, (a) gust of wind preceded (the) tree falling down," Lynch said.

"All of (New Jersey) took a lot of water/rainfall the day before, which may have been a factor."

The man sustained serious facial and other injuries when the tree fell and struck him at about 4:30 p.m. Thursday, authorities said. After being rescued by first responders from West Orange, Millburn, and the sheriff's office, he was taken to University Hospital in Newark, officials said.

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

 

Police are investigating after a thief stole, and then abandoned, a car with a still-sleeping child inside it, authorities say.

Authorities are investigating two recent car thefts where children were left inside the vehicle (File photo)

NEWARK -- Police are investigating after a thief stole, and then abandoned, a car early Friday morning with a child still inside, authorities said.

The theft took place at outside a car dealership in the 900 block of 18th Avenue in Lower Valisburg, said Newark Police Department spokesman Sgt. Ronald Glover.

The driver of the vehicle, whose name was not released, left a sleeping child inside his parked car after exiting to speak to someone, Glover said.

An unidentified thief then entered the still-running vehicle and drove off, Glover said. The car was recovered minutes later on Spencer Street with the child still asleep inside, he added. 

An investigation of the incident by the Newark Police Department Robbery Squad is ongoing, Glover said.

Police are also investigating a similar incident that occurred earlier this month, where a child was briefly taken by an armed thief during an attempted car theft.

On Oct. 19, an armed thief entered a car left idling outside a Columbia Avenue residence and drove off with a 10-year-old boy still inside.

The unidentified thief, upon realizing the boy was still in the car, threatened him with a gun and ordered him to exit, the reports said.

The car was later recovered, and the boy was unharmed in the incident, the reports said.

Vernal Coleman can be reached at vcoleman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @vernalcoleman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

The active shooter drill marked the first of its kind inside the Veterans Courthouse in Newark

NEWARK -- The situation was about as real as it gets.

With a jury trial underway for a defendant in custody, two armed individuals entered the area from a nearby stairwell and opened fire in an attempt to free the defendant, causing multiple causalities and injuries.

As law enforcement authorities responded to the scene, those individuals were shot and killed. The defendant held a person hostage in a bathroom, where a tactical team rushed inside to apprehend him. Medical personnel provided treatment to the injured victims.

That scenario played out Friday morning as part of an active shooter drill on the 11^th floor of the Veterans Courthouse in Newark, marking the first security exercise of its kind inside the building.

The operation, overseen by the Essex County Sheriff's Office, involved more than 1,000 people, including court employees and officers from various law enforcement agencies. As the shooting unfolded, workers were on lockdown in offices throughout the rest of the building.

Officials praised the law enforcement response during the drill, and said they would identify any areas for improvement.

"You did your job well," Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura told sheriff's officers and other law enforcement personnel during a briefing after the drill, adding "whatever we didn't do right, we're going to do it right next time."

Fontoura then reminded them about the 1993 fatal shooting of Newark Detective John Sczyrek inside the courthouse. At that time, a probation clerk smuggled a gun inside the building and passed it to man, who shot Sczyrek as he was about to testify at a drug trial of the man's brother and his cousin.

"We had a police officer assassinated upstairs," Fontoura said. "We want to make sure that that doesn't happen again."

MORE: You don't stand a ghost of a chance in this week's quiz

Essex County Assignment Judge Sallyanne Floria said in an interview she was "very impressed" with Friday's drill and said "there's always room for improvement."

Citing the "culture of security" within the state judiciary, Floria said officials were planning to conduct future drills to ensure the safety of court employees and the public in New Jersey's largest vicinage.

"It's important, because we all need to prepare for the worst," Floria said. "We need to ensure the safety of everyone who enters this building, including the workers and the public.

Lt. Edward Esposito of the sheriff's department, one of the drill's organizers, said the goal of Friday's operation was for law enforcement personnel to apply their training to a life-like event.

"They were being shot at. They were shooting," Esposito said. "This is as real as it gets without...really being involved in it.

"I think everybody completed the critical tasks to make themselves safe and secure, given the threat that they were faced against," Esposito added.

The particular scenario used - involving the hostage situation and the two armed individuals - was selected because it was challenging and involved multiple threats to deal with simultaneously, Esposito said.

As part of the scenario, someone played the role of a concerned person who has a relative in the building, learns about the incident on social media and tries to enter the courthouse, Esposito said. With the building locked down, that person was prevented from coming inside, he said.

"Their goal was to challenge the security to get into the building," said Esposito, adding that "we have to train people not only to respond to the threat, but to maintain the integrity of the security of the building."

Bill Wichert may be reached at bwichert@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillWichertNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

A state appeals court has ordered a new trial for Kenneth Glasco, 49, formerly of Irvington, on the charge of endangering an injured victim

Kenneth GlascoNew Jersey Department of Corrections 

NEWARK -- Due to limits placed on a witness's testimony, a state appeals court on Thursday ordered a new trial for a man convicted of crashing his car into a bicyclist in 2011 and leaving the scene of the accident.

The appellate panel upheld Kenneth Glasco's conviction on the charge of leaving the scene of an accident, but the panel vacated his conviction and ordered a new trial on the charge of endangering an injured victim.

A jury convicted Glasco of those charges in 2013, and he was later sentenced to a seven-year prison term on each charge to be served concurrently. Glasco, 49, formerly of Irvington, will be eligible for parole in May.

The bicyclist, Carl Russell, suffered "'a severe traumatic brain injury,' and ultimately never regained his ability to walk," according to the appellate decision.

The ruling for a new trial is based on the nature of the endangering charge and testimony about which direction the Russell was traveling at the time of the Aug. 3, 2011 crash.

Under that charge, the state had to prove Glasco "knowingly caused the injury" to Russell, the decision states.

Glasco testified Russell was riding "the wrong way" on a one-way street when the crash occurred, the decision states. In a police report, Irvington Police Officer Daniel Peton, who had responded to the accident scene, also said Russell was traveling the wrong way, the decision states.

During Peton's testimony at the trial, Glasco's attorney attempted to elicit the officer's opinion about Russell's direction of travel, the decision states. The state objected to that line of questioning, saying it called for the opinion of a qualified reconstruction expert, the decision states.

Superior Court Judge Michael L. Ravin agreed with the state's objection and said Peton could not testify about the direction of travel, because he had not been called as an expert witness, the decision states.

But the appeals court found that Peton's "personal observations of the accident scene qualified him to render an opinion as to the point of impact and Russell's direction of travel at that spot."

If Peton had been allowed to testify that Russell was traveling in the wrong direction, the officer would have corroborated Glasco's version and could have altered the jury's finding on whether Glasco caused the accident and should be convicted of the endangering charge, according to the appellate decision.

"As noted, Peton's opinion testimony arguably would have had the effect of bolstering defendant's credibility," the decision states.

"This in turn stood to increase the likelihood that a jury might find that defendant was not aware that it was practically certain that his conduct would cause Russell's injuries."

MORE: With legs amputated after hit-and-run crash, N.J. man vows to walk again

The accident occurred about 1 a.m. while Glasco was driving on Chapman Place near the intesection of Elmwood Avenue in Irvington, the decision states. Glasco testified "he then felt a 'jolt' and saw 'the bike going up over [his] windshield,'" the decision states.

Glasco said he stopped the car, but did not get out because he was in a high-crime area, and then drove to his home in Newark, the decision states. Glasco said he did not immediately call the police to report the accident because he did not have his cell phone with him, the decision states.

But Glasco's front license plate fell off in the crash and was later recovered at the scene by Irvington police, the decision states. Police used the license plate to identify Glasco as the vehicle's owner, and then responded to his home, the decision states.

When a police officer came to the home, Glasco's mother answered the door and then asked Glasco why the police were there, the decision states. Glasco told her that "he struck someone on Elmwood Avenue," the decision states.

Bill Wichert may be reached at bwichert@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillWichertNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

Ricky Zuber was 17 years and seven months old when he escaped from a state institution and instigated two gang rapes in 1981, according to court documents.

TRENTON -- A state appeals panel on Friday ruled that a convicted rapist's prison sentence of more than 100 years was not cruel and unusual punishment.

The panel rejected the inmate's claim that a 2010 U.S. Supreme Court ruling rendered his sentence illegal. 

Ricky Zuber was 17 years and seven months old when he escaped from a state institution and instigated two gang rapes in 1981, according to court documents.

Ricky ZuberNJDOC 

In November of that year, he led a "vicious gang rape" of a woman whose car broke down and in December, while still at large, "instigated and participated in" the gang rape of a 16 year old girl on her way to school, the documents show.

In two different trials in Essex County, he was convicted as an adult on a litany of charges ranging from robbery and kidnapping to aggravated sexual assault. A judge initially imposed consecutive sentences totaling 150 years in prison with 75 years of parole ineligibility, which was later reduced to 110 years with parole eligibility after 55 years.

In 2010, Zuber claimed his consecutive sentences were illegal under the U.S. Supreme Court decision, which found the Eighth Amendment forbids a life sentence without parole for juvenile offenders except in cases of murder.

He argued his sentences violated the cruel and unusual punishment clause of both the federal and state constitutions. Zuber, 53, will be in his early 70s by the time he is eligible for parole.

But the three-judge appellate panel found Zuber's sentence "is not the functional equivalent of life without parole, because it gives him a meaningful and realistic opportunity for parole well within the predicted lifespan for a person of defendant's age."

Katherine Carter, a spokeswoman for acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray, said her office was "pleased with the court's decision."

Kevin Walker, a spokesman for the state Office of the Public Defender, which represented Zuber, said they were reviewing the decision and weighing whether to petition the state Supreme Court.

S.P. Sullivan may be reached at ssullivan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

Republican presidential candidate Gov. Chris Christie on Friday night announced he will return to Camden Monday to highlight the "transformative community policing effort" he helped launch — mirroring President Obama's planned visit to Newark at that precise time to also discuss criminal justice issues

TRENTON -- Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican presidential candidate, will compete with President Obama in New Jersey on Monday with a visit to Camden at the precise time the Democratic president is planned to be in Newark.

Both men are expected to discuss criminal justice.  

Christie's office announced late Friday that he will go to Camden to highlight the "transformative community policing effort" he helped launch there.  

The governor will appear with Camden Mayor Dana Redd and Camden County Chief of Police Scott Thomson to talk about the formation of a county police force in 2012 "that is serving as a national model for crime reduction and positive police-community relations," according to an announcement from the governor's office.

Christie made a campaign stop in the highly Democratic city in July when he touted the police force's focus on community policing that he said has been instrumental in driving down violent crimes. Christie's visit Monday will be in his role as governor and is not a campaign event. 

RELATED: Obama to visit Newark next week to talk criminal justice

Joined by U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Obama will hold a roundtable discussion on the economic barriers former prisoners face after their release.

Three years ago -- a lifetime in politics -- Christie welcomed Obama when he came to tour the devastation inflicted by Hurricane Sandy. Conservatives across the country have said they resented what they characterized as a "hug" between the president and the governor, which came in the waning days of a close race between Obama and Republican contender Mitt Romney. 

Since Christie launched his own presidential bid in June, he has amped up his attacks on Obama. Fox News Channel host Greta Van Susteren apologized to Christie in August for mischaracterizing a handshake as a hug.

After leaving Newark, the president will travel to New York to attend fundraising events for the Democratic National Committee and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.

Suspect was caught after trying to run, police say

NEWARK -- An anonymous tip Thursday led police to a 26-year-old city man who was armed with a loaded Smith and Wesson 9-mm handgun, police said.

 

Members of the Newark Violence Reduction Initiative planned to stake out a store near Norfolk and New streets after receiving a tip describing the man around 9 p.m. department spokesman Sgt. Ron Glover said.

The initiative includes FBI personnel, State Police, State Parole and Essex County's sheriff's department and prosecutor's office detectives.

Detectives soon spotted Marquis Hines, who pulled the weapon from his waistband and fled, throwing the gun away as he ran, Glover said. Hines was quickly caught and the gun found, Glover also said.  Hines faces charges including unlawful possession of a weapon.

"The suspect had a loaded handgun in his possession. The officers were able to recover that weapon, arrest the suspect and provide for the safety of the officers as well as the suspect and the residents outside at the time," said Newark Police Director Eugene Venable.

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

 

Victim, 19, was punched, shot at during September robbery, police say

NEWARK  -- The Fugitive Apprehension Unit Friday arrested two 19-year-old city men who were wanted for the robbery last month of a third 19-year-old from Newark, department spokesman Sgt. Ron Glover said. 

John O'Boyle 

Grant Simmons and Marcus McLean were wanted in connection with a robbery on Roanoke Court Sept. 14 during which the victim was approached by three men who demanded money. When the victim said he had none and attempted to walk away, someone punched him in the back of the head. The victim fled into his apartment where he watched from a window as one of the men aim a gun at him, prompting the victim to quickly drop to the floor just before shots rang out. The assailants fled and the victim was not hurt, Glover said.

Warrants were issued for McLean and Simmons after the victim identified them as two of the assailants, Glover also said.  

McLean was arrested Friday morning at his Roanoke Court home. Simmons was also arrested Friday morning, at a Highland Avenue address.

Glover said that after Simmons' mother let them into the apartment, they found him in a bedroom where they spotted a ammunition magazine and two bricks of heroin. A 9-mm and a .44-caliber handgun were both also found in Simmons' laundry bag, Glover said.

Simmons and McLean were both charged with robbery, conspiracy, certain person prohibited weapon, aggravated assault, possession of a weapon for unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon. Simmons was also charged with numerous gun and drug related offenses in connection with the heroin and weapons found Friday, Glover said.

"I commend the dedication and commitment of  the detectives assigned to the Major Crimes Unit and Fugitive Apprehension Section, for working hand in hand during the course of this investigation. Their teamwork clearly resulted in the apprehension of these two violent criminals who have shown no regards for human life. I am pleased that they have been removed from our streets," said Newark Police Director Eugene Venable.

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

 

Rev. Ron Christian of Christian Love Baptist Church will be missed by his congregation and Irvington community. The popular pastor died suddenly at the church.

He didn't wear a pastoral robe or a suit and tie in the pulpit. That was too formal for Rev. Ron Christian.

Wait.

In fact, that title was too formal, especially for the man who wore cowboy boots and a casual print shirt over ripped jeans.

Drop the last name, too. He was just Rev. Ron. He was different, down to earth and he wanted everybody to be themselves at Christian Love Baptist Church in Irvington.

If you ever visited, he blended in so well that you might have walked right past him on your way into the sanctuary - and you didn't realize he was the pastor until he started preaching the Gospel.

"He wanted people to see that we're not far apart,'' says Assistant Pastor Alfreddy Fletcher.  "No matter what walk of life you come from, you should be able to walk in the church and see yourself.''

The congregation did that yesterday, looking to each other for comfort because Rev. Ron, 51, was no longer with them.

He died early in the morning at the church. Authorities have not announced a cause of death, but say no foul play is suspected.

William Christian, the pastor's father, says a church member who was with his son became concerned after noticing Christian had stopped breathing while sleeping in his church office.

Police and emergency units were called, then members began to call members. They gathered at the church as early as 7 a.m. Some had just dropped kids off to school. Others just left work.

They were out front and inside, and they did the only thing they knew how to do. They held a service. The worship team led them in prayer and song. It seemed like an ordinary Sunday, as if Rev. Ron would pop in with his boundless energy to lift them up with scripture.

His sister, Everette Christian, marveled at his drive, calling her brother supernatural, not only for his endurance to serve, but for his ability to forgive, even his enemies.

"He was an amazing life force,'' she says.

He was something else. His mother, Willie Mae Christian, was in labor 32 hours with him, but says he was always a blessing and a reliable family member who always knew what to say.

"He was the rock in the family that couldn't be chiseled,'' she says.

Rev. Ron, gone? Not like this. Not now. He was everything to everyone - pastor, son, father, brother, friend and confidant. 

"He just belonged to everybody,'' his father says. "He crossed all lines."

You could be black or white, a professor or pimp, a doctor or a prostitute, gay, straight, transgender or anything in between, as Rev. Ron would sometimes say.

He didn't judge. His journey from cocaine and heroin addiction, as well as time spent in prison, wouldn't let him. Instead, he became a Baptist preacher like his father and welcomed everyone who walked through the church doors on Lyons Avenue.

"It was something I had been praying for all of his life,'' says William Christian. I was thankful that God had made that choice for his life.''

When Rev. Ron took over the church in 2001, the membership grew rapidly. Christian Love became the community church, which sponsored a "Fun Day" event in the summer that families in the neighborhood looked forward to every year. There would be food, music and games for the kids.

The church was a refuge, even for those in trouble, such as gang members and drug dealers, who often called Rev. Ron for help in surrendering to law enforcement.

In times of death, members say it was common for Rev. Ron to reach into his own pocket to pay for anybody's funeral or to go above and beyond normal pastoral duties.

LaTronia Sanders, the mother of the church, says her sister died three years ago in a fiery car accident with a tanker truck. She says Rev. Ron, whom she calls her best friend, identified her sister's body because she was too distraught.

"He took on everything as if she was his daughter,'' she says. "He's like the father I never had.''

Everyone has a story that sticks. Some are emotional like this one, others are funny, including the time he danced his way down the aisle of another church he was visiting with his members.

"I just fell in love with him after that,'' says Barbara Turner, comparing their entrance to the "Soul Train" line.

The stories - and there are many - are spiritual, too, because members say he was a man of God. Margaret Woodson says she and her brother were visiting Rev. Ron's church when he became pastor.  His sermon, she says, was titled, "Bring your brother to church.''

"We walked down the aisle and joined the church that day,'' says Woodson.

However you met him, whatever was said, it was lasting. And regardless of what you were going through in life, Fletcher says, Rev. Ron would love you to a better place.

 It was his mantra and he wanted all of us to do that for each other.

 Love.

Barry Carter may be reached at bcarter@starledger.com or (973) 836-4925. Follow him on Twitter at @BarryCarterSL.

Officials have released statements and a traffic advisory surrounding the presidential visit.

NEWARK -- Not many details have been disclosed about President Barack Obama's impending visit to New Jersey, but local Newark officials are warning residents to prepare for it.

"We anticipate delays and congestion in the entire downtown area and surrounding streets between the hours of (noon and) 10 p.m.," the police department said in a traffic advisory released Friday afternoon.

MORE: With Obama headed for Newark, city takes stock of his legacy

One of the first statements released by the city about the presidential visit, the advisory asked residents and visitors to allow extra travel time and take mass transit.

"Due to (Obama's) visit we are expecting major traffic delays," it said.

According to the White House, Obama is expected to discuss criminal justice issues, and that Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and Senator Cory Booker are expected to be a part of the event.

The president will visit the Integrity House, a residential recovery house in the city, and will convene a roundtable at Rutgers-Newark on the topic, officials said.

Baraka has not yet released any statements about the visit, but Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo said the visit is an opportunity for the region.

"We are pleased President Obama chose to come here to discuss criminal justice issues. The national platform allows us to highlight the positive initiatives being undertaken at the county and municipal levels to address topics such as prisoner re-entry and recidivism," DiVincenzo said in a statement Friday.

"It also puts our community in the spotlight and gives us an opportunity to show the world the progress being made in Essex County and Newark."

A spokesman for the county executive did not respond to questions about whether or not DiVincenzo will be a part of the event.

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

Former Newark teacher Peter Kowalsky is being reinstated after the New Jersey Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal in the case, his attorney said

NEWARK -- More than three years after he was fired, a former Newark teacher is preparing to return to work after winning a legal battle over his tenure status and medical leave after he was severely beaten by a student.

Peter Kowalsky is expected to be reinstated in the coming weeks after the New Jersey Supreme Court about a month ago denied the Newark school district's request to hear an appeal in the case, according to his attorney, Eugene Liss.

The long-running dispute began when school officials fired Kowalsky in August 2012 for budgetary reasons, saying he had not attained tenure status.

An Administrative Law Judge ruled in June 2013 that Kowalsky had attained tenure status, but the next month, the New Jersey Education Commissioner rejected that ruling and found that Kowalsky never acquired tenure as a result of his medical leave.

But in May, a state appeals court reversed the commissioner's decision. The appellate panel ruled Kowalsky was a tenured teacher and must be reinstated to his position, along with back pay and other benefits owed to him.

The school district asked the Supreme Court to hear an appeal of that appellate decision, but the court denied that request.

In a statement, Liss said the Supreme Court declined to take on the case, "because the law was crystal clear that Kowalsky had met all the requirements to have earned tenure."

Kowalsky claimed the commissioner's and former Newark Superintendent Cami Anderson's "obvious intention was simply to cause Kowalsky to spend years fighting his way back to get the justice he deserved."

"It's sad the State taxpayers had to pay for this folly when it could have all be averted initially by common sense," Kowalsky said.

Liss estimated Kowalsky is owed about $300,000 in back pay, in addition to contributions to his pension.

In response to the Supreme Court's ruling and Liss's comments, the school district issued the following statement:

"We know that having high quality teachers in our classrooms is pivotal to the success of our students. NPS does not take any legal process involving the termination of teachers lightly.

"While not all rulings will align with our internal judgments, our priority will continue to be to support and develop our teaching force in a way that we believe best serves the needs of our students and their families.

"We remain proud of our teachers and the hard work that they do every day in service of our Newark students."

MORE: N.J. teacher, attacked by student, regains job in tenure fight

Kowalsky began working as a full-time health and physical education teacher in Newark on Sept. 1, 2005, according to the appellate decision.

Less than three months later, Kowalsky was attacked by a student on Nov. 28, 2005, causing "fractures to his right hip and femur, disc herniations, and a torn meniscus," the decision states.

Kowalsky went on medical leave and the district's doctors allowed him to return to work in October 2006, court documents state. The following month, however, the doctors placed Kowalsky on medical leave again, court documents state.

In September 2009, Kowalsky returned to work and worked during the following three school years, court documents state. During that period, he received positive job evaluations, court documents state.

The district notified Kowalsky in August 2012 that his position would be terminated "due to his 'non-tenured status coupled with budgetary restraints,'" according to the appellate decision.

Kowalsky initially filed an appeal in October 2012 with the state Department of Education, and the case was sent to the administrative law judge, according to the appellate decision.

In finding that Kowalsky had attained tenure status, the appeals court determined he remained a district employee while on medical leave.

Therefore, Kowalsky was an employee for more than three school years within a period of four consecutive school years - which is one of the ways of attaining tenure status, the decision states.

The appellate panel also noted that, during Kowalsky's medical leave, the district continued to make pension, health benefit and life insurance contributions on his behalf.

After Kowalsky ultimately returned to work, the district identified him as having been tenured in forms related to two formal observations and an evaluation, according to the decision.

"There is nothing in the record to suggest, therefore, that petitioner's employment relationship with the District ceased while he was on medical leave," the decision states.

Bill Wichert may be reached at bwichert@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillWichertNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

With President Barack Obama's looming scheduled to visit Monday, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka is ramping up discussion of how to prevent recidivism by ex-offenders.

NEWARK -- In a gray room packed with men confined by law at the Essex County Correctional Facility, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka stood at its center and told them how they could be free.

"You are not a prisoner," he said in a Oct. 21 speech. "Do not define yourself or your manhood as that. Your manhood is not in a gang, a gun or the material things you had. Do not limit yourself, and you'll find that you can be so much more. Do, and a prisoner is all you'll ever be."

Speaking publicly about self-determination and criminal justice reform has for the last two months been one of Baraka's primary orders of business. A speaking tour started in September saw him make similar speeches at several city schools and local jail facilities. 

The tour coincides with President Barack Obama's first planned visit to the state's largest city. Obama will arrive in Newark Monday, and is scheduled to appear alongside Baraka and others to highlight local programs that aid prisoners re-entering New Jersey communities. 

In September, Baraka was invited to the White House in Washington D.C. to take part in a panel discussion on mass incarceration. With Obama's visit looming, Baraka is ramping up discussion of how to prevent the formerly incarcerated from returning to jail.

"We have to transform our city's culture and the lives of our residents, particularly youth and re-entering offenders," Baraka said in a statement to NJ Advance Media.

Exact figures on the number of inmates re-entering after prison and jail terms are hard to come by. But a recent study by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School provides a glimpse.

From 2011 to 2014, New Jersey officials reduced the state's prison population by 9.5 percent via reforms of the parole process and revisions to sentencing guidelines for low-level drug offenders, the report states.

As the prison population has decreased, dozens of state and local programs have begun address recidivism among ex-offenders, providing legal counseling, job training and housing services.

In Newark, the city's Department of Re-entry targets ex-offenders between the ages of 18 and 30 who have been convicted of a violent crime or are gang affiliated. Along with several other services, Project Hope aims to teach them communications skills, interviewing techniques, resume preparation, while providing them a temporary employment, city officials say.

At the county level, "Staying Connected," a pilot program established Essex County Department of Corrections, assists soon to be released inmates with several services, including housing, anger management and life skills training.

The programs are part of efforts to treat crime as a public health issue, Baraka said in a released statement. "Crime in America cannot be defeated by simply arresting our way out of it."

Vernal Coleman can be reached at vcoleman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @vernalcoleman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

Top Rutgers administrators got official word Thursday that Obama was coming to campus -- in just four days.

NEWARK -- The first whispers that Rutgers University might be getting a high-profile visitor came early last week.

But, top campus administrators did not know for sure until they received a phone call from the White House asking if the Secret Service could visit campus Thursday.

It was official: President Barack Obama was coming to Rutgers-Newark - in just four days.

"The White House advance team met with us for the first time Thursday," said Peter Englot, Rutgers-Newark's senior vice chancellor for public affairs. "They told us this was a tight time frame, even for them."

MORE: Obama to visit Newark next week to talk criminal justice

Rutgers officials have spent the weekend scrambling to prepare for Monday's visit. Obama will fly to Newark and stop at Integrity House, a drug treatment facility in Lincoln Park, to highlight prisoner re-entry into the community. Then, the president will convene a round-table discussion on the issue and give a speech at Rutgers-Newark's Center for Law and Justice.

The visit is an honor for Rutgers, school administrators said. But it is a major logistical challenge that requires canceling some classes, giving some workers the day off, shutting down the campus' largest parking garage, closing roads and other major changes.

"Everyone has leapt into this with both feet," Englot said of the rushed planning.

Rutgers officials also need to make serious decisions about who on campus gets the coveted invitations to attend the Obama round-table discussion and speech.

The university has only been given about a dozen seats for its guests. The rest of the tickets are being handed out by the White House, lawmakers and the city of Newark. Additional spots will be given to Rutgers volunteers who will help run the event.

As of late Saturday, it was unclear if even Rutgers President Robert Barchi was going to be able to attend the presidential speech. His staff was still working out the logistics, campus officials said.

Making connections

Though Obama's visit was a last-minute decision, Rutgers officials said it has roots in years of work on the campus around the issue of prison reform and re-entry programs for former prisoners.

Rutgers-Newark Provost Todd Clear, former dean of the university's School of Criminal Justice, is among those who had done research and written books about the complex issue.

Clear is expected to be one of the experts participating in the Obama round-table discussion, though the participants have not been publicly named, Rutgers officials said.

Clear and others at Rutgers-Newark worked on the issue with Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), when he was the city's mayor. Booker continued to focus on the issue in Washington, D.C., where his staff talked to the White House about putting a presidential spotlight on prisoner re-entry.

Booker and his staff and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka's staff alerted the White House to the work at Rutgers, paving the way for the presidential visit, said Englot, Rutgers-Newark's vice chancellor.

Obama will be stopping in Newark before a previously-scheduled trip into Manhattan for a Democratic fundraiser.

Obama's visit will be culmination of years of important scholarship by Rutgers' faculty and students and an acknowledgement of the university's stature in the criminal justice field, Englot said.

"It says that we're really important on a national map," Englot said.

In her email to the university community announcing Obama's visit, Rutgers-Newark Chancellor Nancy Cantor said mass incarceration and prison re-entry are topics that resonate with many on the urban campus.

"These are perfect examples of issues of significant importance not just in Greater Newark and New Jersey, but across metropolitan America and around the world," Cantor said.

Seeing Obama

The White House officially announced Obama's visit Friday, but warned his events at Integrity House and Rutgers-Newark are not open to the public.

After visiting Integrity House, located a few miles away, Obama is expected to travel in a motorcade to Rugers-Newark in the late afternoon. Due to security concerns, the White House has not released exact times or routes for the visit.

Obama will host the round-table discussion in an unspecified room in the university Center for Law and Justice on Washington Street, home of Rutgers' law school, Rutgers officials said. Then, the president will give his speech in the building's soaring atrium lobby, which is dominated by a grand spiral staircase.

Suggestions that Obama give his speech in the building's large lecture hall were nixed by the White House team, which did not feel the academic space was appropriate, Englot said.

Rutgers-Newark students and faculty who will not get to see Obama in person are invited to attend viewing parties around the campus, including one in the campus center that will seat several hundred. The speech will also be broadcast online.

Students are unlikely to catch anything more than a glimpse of Obama as he enters and leaves the Center for Law and Justice.

"As far as we know, he's not going to spend any time walking the campus," Englot said.

Closures and cancellations

Obama's visit means everyone who works in Rutgers-Newark's Center for Law and Justice, one of the campus' largest buildings, is getting a paid day off. The building will be closed Monday until 7 p.m., school officials said.

The building includes the law school, law library, School of Criminal Justice, the chancellor's office and other administrative offices.

All classes in the Center for Law and Justice will be cancelled for the day and evening. Classes in other campus buildings will be held as scheduled, though professors always have the option of making other arrangements, Rutgers officials said.

The Secret Service is also requiring Rutgers to close Parking Deck 1, the campus main parking garage on University Avenue, due to its location next to the Center for Law and Justice. Several surface parking lots near the building will also be closed and used for White House guests. That is expected to create major parking problems on a campus that already has a lack of parking spaces.

Most of the roads on and near campus, including parts of Washington Street, University Avenue and Warren Street, are also expected to be closed between noon and 5 p.m.

Rutgers officials said they are advising students, faculty and staff to take public transportation into Newark and NJ Transit has been notified that additional train and bus service may be required.

"We deeply appreciate your patience and flexibility in making special travel arrangements for this truly exceptional day in our university's history," Cantor said in her note to the Rutgers-Newark community. "It is a rare privilege for us to share in such a moment."

Kelly Heyboer may be reached at kheyboer@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @KellyHeyboer. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

A five-alarm fire broke out Saturday night at a Bloomfield Avenue warehouse, authorities said.

FAIRFIELD -- A five-alarm fire broke out Saturday night at a Bloomfield Avenue warehouse, authorities said.

The Fairfield Fire Department responded to the fire on the 1200 block of Bloomfield Avenue just before midnight, Anthony Ambrose, chief of detectives for the Essex County Prosecutor's Office, said.

No one was hurt in the fire, Ambrose said.

The warehouse contained car parts and furniture. The prosecutor's office is investigating the blaze.

WABC reported that crews remained on scene through Sunday morning.

Fairfield 3rd Al 1275 Bloomfield Ave, Building #3 fire and explosions 1 story comm 1000x100. Extending across. DWH pic.twitter.com/5Hcg7ECT57

-- NorthJersey FireNews (@NJFires) November 1, 2015

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

The district is dealing with a budget deficit most recently estimated at between $15 million and $20 million

NEWARK - Superintendent Christopher Cerf will hold a public forum on the Newark school district's strained budget Thursday night.

Cerf, who was appointed school chief in July, inherited a deficit that was once estimated at more than $60 million under his predecessor Cami Anderson. After taking office, he has been able to trim that gap down to between $15 million and $20 million by returning various unassigned teachers back to classrooms and other measures.

The forum was announced at a Newark School Advisory Board meeting last week, during which dozens of parents and activists expressed frustration over what they said are continuously subpar conditions in public schools, while charter school networks prepare to expand their reach in the city.

Cerf did not provide a precise update on the deficit at the meeting, but said he planned share further details this week.

"It is no secret that we are collectively managing a complicated budget situation," he said. "We are making rather substantial progress, and I look forward to having a better report when we get together."

The forum is scheduled for 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday at Park Elementary School.

Dan Ivers may be reached at divers@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DanIversNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

It was the first service since the church's beloved pastor, Rev. Ron Christian, died suddenly Friday morning. He was 51.

IRVINGTON -- The line to get into Christian Love Baptist Church on Sunday morning was out the door and snaked along Nesbit Terrace.

It was the first service since the church's beloved pastor, Rev. Ron Christian, died suddenly Friday morning. He was 51.

"My heart really departed (my body) when I heard that," said Nefretiri Smith as she waited in line with about a couple hundred others.

The Newark resident said she was at work when she got the call that Christian, or Rev. Ron as he was known, had died.

"I was in total disbelief," Smith said. "I had (to come) see it for myself."

RELATED: Irvington church community mourns Rev. Ron Christian

Anthony Ambrose, chief of detectives for the Essex County Prosecutor's Office, said a family member found Christian unresponsive at the Lyons Avenue parish around 6 a.m. Authorities have not yet announced the cause of his death, but they do not suspect foul play was involved.

As people filed into the church on Sunday, pausing to embrace one another, they walked past a sign posted on the fence that read: "Thank you for touching so many lifes (sic). ... The community will forever miss you."

Inside the brick building, where every pew was full and people lined the walls, an empty chair sat to the right of the stage, draped in a white robe with red-imprinted crosses. Above it, a picture of Christian was perched above a bouquet of flowers. 

The words "giving," "understanding," "real," and "passionate" were used by members of the congregation to describe Christian.

He knew the meaning of understanding well, having pulled himself out of the dark depths of drug addiction, said Rev. C. Eugene Overstreet, who delivered the sermon at the 11 a.m. service.

"The man who used to occupy this chair," Overstreet said, pointing to the empty chair with Christian's robe on it, "knew the very hell that drugs can send a person through, and he didn't mind showing people a better way."

After 14 trips to rehab and time spent in prison, Christian emerged from a jail cell in the late 1990s and turned his life around, dedicating it to God.

He took the reigns at Christian Love Baptist Church in 2000, transforming it into a well-known institution not only in Irvington, but in the surrounding communities as well.

PLUS: Pastor with a past guides flock to the future

Overstreet said one of the things that made Christian so special, was that he welcomed anyone into the church, regardless of race, sexual identity, rich, poor - none of it mattered, he said.

"Ron didn't discard anybody," Overstreet said, adding that he had a way of bringing people together. Christian took a congregation of about a dozen to more than 6,000 over the years.

Overstreet said that when he heard the news that Christian died, he wept, not only because he had lost a friend, but also because the world had lost "another real preacher."

Assistant Pastor Alfreddy Fletcher said Christian wasn't a tall man, about 5 feet 6 inches tall. "But when he started talking about God," Fletcher said, "he seemed 10 feet tall."

Fletcher said Christian would preach in jeans and cowboy boots. People would shake his hand, walk right past him, and then ask Fletcher where the pastor of Christian Love was. They would feel a slight feeling of embarrassment when Fletcher would walk that person right back to Christian.

"He's brilliant," Fletcher said. "We're going to miss him. He was a great leader and led by example. He would be willing to get in your mess with you, just to pull you out."

Curtis Morris, a member of the church, said, "no one could capture the people in the room the way (Christian) could."

Morris, talking to a group of church members behind the stage, said there would be a lot of people who maybe haven't been to church in a while.

As Christian would do, "Hug them and love them," he said.

And despite all the tears and solemn faces at Sunday's service, there were also many joyous moments, as people sang, clapped and pointed to the sky.

Overstreet, looking over at the empty chair in the corner with Christian's picture above it, said Christian is gone but his presence can still be felt. 

"Ron is gone --- the words I never thought I would hear in this century now utter through lips of faith," Overstreet said. "Let me make an addendum to that motion, substantive motion. The part of Ron that we cannot see is gone. ... The part of Ron, in the select and innumerable company of angelic beings who travel with inconceivable rapidity at the will of him who sits upon the majestic throne, he's in heaven."

Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

President Obama is visiting the Newark institution to highlight its work with drug- and alcohol-addicted prisoners.

NEWARK -- Every year, Integrity House welcomes about 2,400 guests at the doors of its treatment facilities.

On Monday, it will welcome its most famous guest yet--President Barack Obama.

Unlike most of the people who pass through Integrity House's facilities in Newark, Obama is not looking for help with an addiction. He is visiting the non-profit rehabilitation organization to highlight its work with drug- and alcohol-addicted criminals.

Obama will meet with several Intergrity House clients trying to kick their addictions and change their lives, said Robert J. Budsock, Integrity House's chief executive officer.

MORE: How Rutgers-Newark landed a (last-minute) visit from President Obama

"It is a great honor to welcome the President of the United States through the doors of Integrity House," Budsock said. "Every day, treatment centers all over the country, like Integrity House, work to assist those seeking help to feel confident in their ability to regain control of their lives and provide them with proper support and treatment to enable them to live a healthy and rewarding life."

Obama's afternoon in Newark, which will also include a speech and round-table discussion at Rutgers-Newark, will focus on prison reform and programs that help former criminals re-enter the community.

It is a familiar issue for Integrity House, which helps prisoners with addiction treatment, housing assistance, employment help and other services to help keep them from ending up back in prison.

"We need to shine a light on the fact that treatment is effective. Addiction is a chronic brain disease that should be treated as a healthcare issue, not a criminal justice issue," Budsock said.

MORE: Dying for help: Treatment options don't meet demand of growing N.J. heroin and opiate epidemic

Integrity House traces its roots back to the 1960s when Newark parole officer David Kerr began to look for ways to help his drug-addicted parolees. Kerr began offering one-on-one counseling and group sessions in backyards and garages.

Eventually, the informal meetings grew into a more formal social club. In 1968, the club moved to a Belleville storefront and, eventually, a series of buildings in Newark, where rent was cheap after the 1967 riots.

Kerr and co-founder Richard Grossklaus, his cousin, incorporated the club, calling it Integrity, Inc.

The non-profit organization grew into New Jersey's largest state-funded rehab facility. In addition to a series of buildings near Lincoln Park in Newark, Integrity House has locations in Secaucus and Jersey City.

It offers programs for men and women, adults and teenagers, halfway houses, outpatients programs and treatment for prisoners. It accepts both paying clients looking for rehab and low-income addicts who need free outpatient treatment.

Integrity House clients remain a visible part of their Lincoln Park neighborhood in Newark, where they often hold outdoor sessions in the park off Broad Street.

The organization's mantra remains: "Integrity House provides the opportunity for people to reclaim their lives."

Last year, about half of those in treatment at Integrity House were addicted to heroin and other opiates, according to the organization's annual report. About 19 percent said marijuana was their primary drug, following by alcohol (12 percent) and cocaine and crack (10 percent).

The non-profit took in nearly $17.2 million last year through state funding, grants, donations and payments for its services, according to its annual report.

Former Gov. James E. McGreevey, who now works in Jersey City on prisoner re-entry programs, sits on the Integrity House board.

"It is a privilege and honor to work at and have a place where individuals can reexamine their lives and make a positive turn," McGreevey said in 2011, shortly after he started working with Integrity House.

The organization's leaders say Integrity House can serve as a model for the rest of the nation in treating criminals and ex-prisoners with substance abuse problems. Obama's visit will help put a spotlight on the issue and the links between addiction and crime.

"We simply can't arrest our way out of this crisis," said Budsock, the head of Integrity House. "Research shows over and over again that the only way to have safer communities and to effectively curb drug crime is to provide addicts with the treatment and support they need to quit and to stay clean long-term. We are looking forward to meeting with President Obama to help make necessary criminal justice reform."

Kelly Heyboer may be reached at kheyboer@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @KellyHeyboer. Find NJ.com on Facebook.