Newark woman was wanted by Virginia police.

NEWARK -- Essex County Sheriff's detectives on Wednesday arrested a woman who attacked a man with a hammer and smashed his Porsche after reportedly yelling at him for being "rich" and "white" at a Virginia gas station, officials said.

Angela M. Jones (Photo: Essex County jail) 

Angela M. Jones, 26, of Newark, was taken into custody without incident at her Fairmount Avenue residence, according to Sheriff Armando Fontoura.

Jones was wanted by Caroline County, Va. authorities in the alleged assault on Saturday.

Jones directed racial slurs at the Massachusetts man, who is white, as he fueled his Porsche that was hauling his boat, according to Virginia authorities. When the man ignored her remarks, Jones allegedly smashed his Porsche and boat with a hammer, Virginia television station CBS 6 reported.

"It is believed Angela Jones then attacked the owner of the SUV and the boat while allegedly making racial slurs by referring to the victims as 'rich' and 'white,'" according to a statement from the Caroline County Sheriff's Office.

Jones said she was "sick of fancy white people," the man said in a local television interview.

Possible hate crime leaves man bloodied at gas pump https://t.co/sS5c44rjBf pic.twitter.com/vQI8F4zqRe

-- WTVR CBS 6 Richmond (@CBS6) April 4, 2017

A witness took a cell phone photo, which helped authorities identify Jones, according to the sheriff's office.

Caroline County Sheriff Tony Lippa told CBS 6 hate crimes charges were being considered. Jones was being held at the Essex County jail ahead of extradition to Virginia, where she is accused of assault and vandalism offenses.

It was not immediately clear if Jones had retained an attorney to comment on the allegations.

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

The Mercer County man gave sneakers to his victims in exchange for watching them engage in sex acts, cops said

NEWARK -- A Mercer County man admitted in federal court Wednesday to paying a minor to stream video of themselves and their friends engaged in sexually explicit activity, federal prosecutors announced.

Curtis E. Thompson. (Lumberton Police Department)

Curtis E. Thompson, 32, of Lawrence, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John Michael Vasquez in Newark to a charge of producing child pornography, according to a statement from the office of Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick.

Thompson admitted using Facebook Messenger and FaceTime to encourage a minor victim to engage in sexually explicit conduct with friends, and to record or stream the activity online, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors say he also admitted making payments to the victim in exchange for the footage.

The crimes occurred between May 2015 and September 2015 in both Mercer and Essex counties, according to charging documents filed in the case.

Thompson, of the Lawrenceville area of Lawrence, was first arrested by Lumberton police in February 2015 and charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a minor. 

Authorities said Thompson had given sneakers to teenagers in exchange for watching them engage in sex acts in his vehicle.

He was later charged by the FBI in November 2015 with producing and receiving child pornography.

Under the terms of his plea agreement, Thompson will be sentenced to 20 years in federal prison and a lifetime of supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

His sentencing has been scheduled for April 13.

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

Man found shot late Tuesday.

NEWARK -- A 44-year-old East Orange man was found shot to death in a vehicle in Newark's West Ward late Tuesday, authorities said.

The Essex County Prosecutor's Office on Wednesday identified the slain man as Timothy Royster. He was found shot in a vehicle on the 600 block of South 15th Street shortly before 10 p.m.

Officials did not report any arrests or comment on a possible motive for the shooting. Additional information was not immediately available.

The killing was Newark's 14th murder of the year, according to records.

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

Will testify in case against Irvington cop who chased his son

Sharpe James was mayor of Newark for 20 years and a New Jersey state senator for nine.

He co-starred with adversary Cory Booker in the 2005 documentary "Street Fight" about the 2002 mayoral election, won by James.

That film was nominated for an Oscar and Emmy, and won the "Audience Award" at the Tribeca Film Festival.

James didn't drift too far from the news after he retired as mayor in 2006. He was convicted on five counts of fraud in 2008, for helping a lady friend flip nine city-owned lots for thousands in profits, and was sentenced to two years in prison.

Ah, but how quickly people forget.

During jury selection yesterday for the trial of an Irvington police captain charged with attempting to injure James' son with her car, it appears recollections of the 81-year-old former mayor have drifted from the collective memory of the jury pool.

Sharpe James will be called as a witness in the trial of Monique Smith, 45, whose romantic relationship with Sharpe James' son, Newark Councilman John James, came to an abrupt halt on the night of Jan. 5, 2015.

The case has all the elements of headline-grabber, a TV drama script writer's dream. The scion of Newark's first family, the former mayor's councilman son. A romance gone bad. A woman - not just any woman - but a high-ranking police brass - driven to rage. If the language was any more purple it would be, well, really dark purple.  

The break-up came on the very night Smith was being promoted to captain. There was a ceremony and Smith was waiting for John James to walk through the door at any minute to be by her side. Instead she got a text from him that said to read an email. The email was an electronic break-up. 

 "She was expecting him (John James) to show up. Instead she got an email ending the relationship," said Steve Altman, Smith's attorney, during a break in the jury selection proceedings.

 According to police reports and the indictment, Smith left a post-ceremony celebration at Marlo's in Irvington and drove to John James' house in Newark's South Ward. There she saw James sitting in his Nissan Xterra, waiting for a locksmith who was going to change the locks on his house, where Smith was a frequent visitor.

James pulled away and Smith followed him in her 2013 Honda Accord, according to the reports. James called his father, saying he was being chased, and when he pulled up to his father's house several blocks away, Sharpe James was waiting on the lawn.

Of course, John James' and Smith's versions will differ during testimony.

"She only followed him to tell him she loved him," Altman said.  

Smith was originally charged with aggravated assault, stalking, harassment, criminal mischief and multiple weapons offenses.

But most of the charges were dropped. She now faces only two counts: possession of a weapon (the car) and possession of the weapon for unlawful purposes.

The criminal mischief charges related to an estimated $1,500 in damages to the rear bumper and wheel well of James' car have been downgraded to disorderly persons, which means less than $500 in damages were incurred.

While the charges have been significantly reduced, the real risk for Smith is not jail; it's losing her estimated $120,000 a year job and pension after a long career.

Going into the trial her defense team worried that a jury might be overwhelmed by the charisma and celebrity of Sharpe James, who was loved by many as mayor. He beat Booker in the "Street Fight" election.   

In the jury questionnaire, Sharpe James was listed as the second potential witness after his son and will probably take the stand tomorrow.

This morning, about 60 jurors filled the gallery of Judge Michael L. Ravin's courtroom in Essex County Superior Court, just a few blocks from where Sharpe James reigned supreme for two decades.

The judge asked the jury pool if they were familiar with any of the names on the witness list and began to read. John James ... Sharpe James ... and then 45 more names of witnesses, investigators, experts, etc.

When he was done he asked for anyone familiar with any names on the list to raise their hands.

Seven hands went up. Just seven. It was a shockingly low number, though there were a more than a handful of young jurors who were probably nowhere near voting age when Sharpe James last served, either in office or ... well, you know.

Of those seven, four were dismissed.

"I was surprised," Altman said. "And the same thing happened (yesterday, the first day of jury selection). I thought more people would know him."

Still, the former mayor, who certainly knows how to entertain an audience, will attract the cameras when he takes the stand, probably tomorrow.

And when he does, a lot of people's memories will be refreshed. 

Prosecutors say 18-year-old John Coulouris of Hackensack could face stiffer penalties under the state's new 'swatting' law, for threats intended to draw a SWAT team's response

John Coulouris, 18, of Hackensack, has been indicted on various chargesEssex County Prosecutor's Office 

NEWARK -- An 18-year-old Hackensack youth has been indicted on charges relating to online threats that prompted the shutdown of Livingston High School and to the posting of nude photos of his 16-year-old ex-girlfriend, the Essex County Prosecutor's Office announced.

Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray announced Wednesday that a Hudson County grand jury had returned a 13-count indictment charging John Coulouris with making threats on social media beginning in September and continuing into December, while Coulouris was free on bail.

Murray said Coulouris is now back behind bars, being held in lieu of $400,000 bail.

Some of the threats prompted a shut-down of Livingston High School in September, Murray said.

On Sept. 13, autorities announced they were investigating a "a non-specific threat" on social media, which mentioned Livingston High School. Officials assured residents the threats were not considered credible, but increased police presence at the school.

The threats continued on social media and reportedly included a message that a person would "shoot up" the school. In response, the district canceled its planned back-to-school night and had a delayed opening. 

In announcing his arrest in September, authorities said Coulouris had posted unspecified child pornography online. On Wednesday, Murray's office revealed that was a reference to nude photos he had posted of his 16-year-old ex-girlfriend, who is a student at the high school.

The grand jury that returned the indictment was in Hudson County, where Murray said the case was moved from Essex, where the crimes are alleged to have occurred, because Coulouris' threats included one against a Superior Court judge in Essex County.

The 13 counts in the indictment include charges of endangering the welfare of a child, making terrorist threats, invasion of privacy, cyber harassment, creating a false public alarm, hindering apprehension, wrongful impersonation, and a conspiracy charge that involved other, unknown actors, said Katherine Carter, a spokeswoman for Murray.

Murray's office said that, for some of the counts, Coulouris is being charged under the state's new "swatting law," which provides for stiffer penalties in cases involving threats intended to draw a response from a SWAT team. 

The assistant prosecutor who handled the case, Joseph A. Giordano, said in a statement, "The perceived anonymity of the Internet does not mean that our criminal laws will not be enforced."

Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Tate George is serving a 9-year sentence

PHILADELPHIA-- A former player with the New Jersey Nets will remain behind bars after he lost his appeal of a conviction for orchestrating a multimillion dollar fraud, Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick said in a statement.

C. Tate George, a Newark native, was sentenced to nine years in prison in January 2016 for defrauding investors in a real estate development company that actually served as a cover for a $2 million Ponzi scheme. George, who was in the NBA from 1990 to 1995, traded on his name in attracting investors, including some fellow professional athletes, authorities said.

Tate George gets 9 years for Ponzi scheme 

A jury found that George used cash from new investors to make principal and interest payments to prior investors, along with spending some of it on personal expenses, including his own mortgage and for a self-promotional YouTube video.

On Wednesday, a panel in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals rejected various claims made in George's appeal, including an allegation that the government withheld evidence that would have exonerated him.

The panel also dismissed George's claim that an FBI agent gave false testimony and another claim that there was new evidence showing there were no victims of George's scheme.

The judges also upheld the enhanced sentence that was imposed because George had perjured himself during his trial and also because of the magnitude of the harm he caused his victims.

In addition to his prison term, George must pay $2.5 million in restitution.

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

Little information was immediately available

EAST ORANGE -- One person was killed after being shot Wednesday night, Chief Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Fennelly of the Essex County Prosecutor's Office said. 

The male victim, who was not identified, was found in the 100 block of Lenox Avenue around 10 p.m. 

Additional information would be pending further investigation, Fennelly said. 

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

Sometimes, the best something to do is little or nothing.

Angie: "Whaddya feel like doin' tonight?"

Marty: "I don't know, Ang ... what do you feel like doin'?"

Angie: "We're back to that, eh? I say to you whaddya feel like doin', and you say back to me I don't know what do you feel like doin', then we wind up sittin' around your house with a couple of cans of beer watchin' the Hit Parade on television."

                                                          --"Marty," 1955

(ring)

"Hello?"

"Hello. Wassup?"

"Nothin, B. Just watchin' the game, havin' a Bud. Wassup witchu?"

"Nuthin', watchin' the game, havin' a Bud."

"True."

"True."

                                                          --Budweiser commercial, 1999

Despite decades of separation, these vignettes from theater and television illustrate that a lot of the time, doing something doesn't necessarily require doing much of anything.

Where did you "hang out" growing up? The schoolyard? Paul Simon sang about that in 1972 ("Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard"). The mall? At least two movies ("Mallrats," Mallrats 2") were made about that. The iconic characters Jay and Silent Bob in 1994's "Clerks" (played by Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith) do little more than hang out in front of the Quick Stop convenience store.

Contrary to those who preach "idle hands are the devil's workshop," when I was a youth "hanging out" did not inevitably lead to mischief and delinquency. Sometimes, it was just a way to pass an afternoon or evening in a relaxing manner.

In the '70s, some smart people put their money into Microsoft; I put most of mine into 'Space Invaders.' 

I remember walking around the Cumberland Mall and hanging at the Spaceport, where I'd burn through pockets full of quarters. My friends and I also would spend hours nursing pitchers of beer at Pizza Hut (the drinking age was 18 and yes, Pizza Hut sold beer) or soda at the Presidential Diner. We would also "kill time" hanging in a peach orchard.

Adults "hung out" too. Urban folks hung out on the stoop. In the suburbs, a front porch or backyard served the purpose. Parks, bocce courts, neighborhood taverns and even "reserved spots" in front of mom and pop shops were all ideal places for doing something by pretty much doing nothing. For many folks, great memories were made simply "hanging out."

MORE: Vintage photos around New Jersey

Here's a gallery of folks just kicking back and hanging out in New Jersey. Naturally, your old photos for galleries like this are always welcome; send them to ghatala@starledger.com.

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

Amtrak officials said they hope to have repairs finished by Friday to track and equipment damaged in a minor derailment at Penn Station, but the work has been complex.

An almost week-long commuting nightmare for NJ Transit train commuters may be over on Friday when Amtrak officials say they expect to complete repairs to track damage from Monday's train derailment in Penn Station New York.

"We're hoping to have the work done by Friday," said Mike Tolbert, an Amtrak spokesman.

Until then, NJ Transit trains on the Northeast Corridor and North Jersey Coast Lines are still running on a holiday schedule Thursday to and from New York Penn Station with an additional five trains in the morning and afternoon.

MidTown Direct trains are being squeezed into Hoboken with Bergen County trains. Rail tickets are being cross honored on buses and PATH trains and NY waterway ferries.

Meanwhile, Gov. Chris Christie directed the state attorney general to stop making hundreds of millions of dollars in rent and maintenance payments to Amtrak until there has been an independent inspection to verify the Northeast Corridor is in a state of good repair.

"Amtrak's apparent disregard for NJ Transit's customers is unacceptable to me," wrote Christie, who asked the attorney general to look in to filing a lawsuit against Amtrak over $62 million NJ Transit paid for maintenance in 2016.   

Originally described as a minor derailment, the incident caused major damage to multiple pieces of equipment and tracks that couldn't have happened in a worse place, officials said.

The damage occurred in a maze of tracks that fan out from the two-track Hudson River tunnels to 21 tracks located under Penn Station New York.

The junction of tracks and switches, which allow trains to change tracks was described as "one of the most complex interlockings on the Northeast Corridor," by Chelsea Kopta, an Amtrak spokeswoman. An interlocking is a complex network of electronically controlled sections of switches.  

E.D. Santoro inspects track work in #NYPenn pic.twitter.com/wgHAZxukRA

-- NJ TRANSIT (@NJTRANSIT) April 5, 2017

The damage from the Monday derailment included multiple switches, signals and the mechanisms that control them, Kopta said.

Also damaged were several rails, a rail crossing point, signal wires and other components, she said. That meant train movements were limited by damage to several switch machines, which left the first eight tracks unusable, she said.

Work to repair them, using heavy machinery, has to be done by crews working in less than ideal conditions with "with energized power lines overhead and trains moving by at reduced speeds on adjacent tracks," Kopta said.

These same conditions made it difficult for Amtrak and NJ Transit crews to re-rail and move the derailed train, which remained on track 9 for about 20 hours, said Steven Santoro, NJ Transit executive director. In both cases, crew safety was the first consideration.

On Thursday, Santoro criticized Amtrak for the frustratingly long repair at an afternoon press conference and then took a tour of the work site. Santoro and Amtrak President and CEO Wick Moorman are scheduled to meet with Federal Railroad Administration officials on Thursday. 

Gov. Chris Christie also took issue with the lengthy repairs in a statement Thursday afternoon calling on Amtrak to resolve the problems. 

He also issued an order to NJ Transit executives Thursday afternoon to personally address concerns to customers during the Thursday evening and Friday morning rush hour at Newark, Hoboken and New York stations. 

@NJTRANSIT @CommutingLarry crowds by track 4 around 5:15pm in #Hoboken only ONE screen showing track assignments. Need more screens. pic.twitter.com/SHSfxhJAgf

-- keith hayden (@sillywampa) April 6, 2017

NJ Transit trains have been running on a holiday schedule and the Long Island Rail Road also has canceled trains since Monday.

The result has been severe crowding in places such as Hoboken Terminal and Newark Penn Station during the evening rush. The derailment and repair has made for less than idea commuting conditions on the trains that ran.

Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Despite the first-week rain, there was still plenty of turnover from the preseason projections.

The state agency comes up short for preparing foster teens for adulthood, but worker caseloads, once overwhelming high, are way down.

New Jersey has 115 Superfunds - more than any state in the U.S. Where are they?

A rabbi with a roving eye, a housewife whose secret ingredient was arsenic, a failing financial planner who requested cremations for the family that he killed (more economical), a real estate mogul in a nasty feud with a newsman: the Garden State has been home to some of the nation's most singular murderers, and some of the most horrifying acts of revenge, greed, jealousy, insanity, perversion and pure evil. Here are the 21 most notorious murders, crime sprees and serial killers in New Jersey history.

Former Orange Deputy Business Administrator Willis Edwards is continuing to appeal a decision mandating he repay his salary to the municipality.

ORANGE -- A judge has dismissed Mayor Dwayne Warren's appeal of a decision that one of his former appointees owes the city $268,000 in pay for two years of salary.

Judge Marie Simonelli granted a motion in a January made by the city council to dismiss Warren's appeal of the February 2016 decision that former Deputy Business Administrator Willis Edwards owed the city the salary he earned in the position.

The council sued Edwards and the mayor in 2015, arguing that it never approved Warren's appointment, and the position was never legally created by the city council.

Edwards is still in the midst of appealing the ruling, but the January decision removes Warren from the ongoing legal dispute over the validity of Edwards' position. He stepped down in 2015.

Why an FBI raid was a long time coming

"There was no basis for appeal and pursuing it seemed to be a waste of taxpayer funds," Robert Tarver, the attorney representing the city council, said in a statement to NJ Advance Media about Warren's appeal.

Through city spokesman Keith Royster, Warren declined to comment on the dismissal.

"Mayor Warren is no longer a party to this litigation which is ongoing and therefore inappropriate to comment at this time," Royster said.

The back-and-forth continues amid other controversies in the Warren administration, including the council's insistence that another of his appointees, Chief of Staff Tyshammie Cooper, holds that position illegally, and FBI raids last year probing government spending at city hall and the public library.

Edwards, who was one of the more than one dozen people named in the FBI's search warrants, has denied any wrongdoing.

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

A look at what dangers are really posed by the newest robocall blanketing the country.

It's the latest and greatest in phone scams, according to news outlets around the country.

Your phone rings, and you answer. After a moment's pause, the caller asks, "Can you hear me?"

Or, the caller might giggle. "Oh, hi, sorry about that. Can you hear me now?"

Reports say the caller wants you to say the word "yes" so they can record your voice.

As the warnings go, when you answer in the affirmative, scammers can use the recording to prove that you agreed to pay for some kind of product or service. That you authorized some kind of charge on your phone bill, utility bill or credit card account.

While we're not in the business of defending annoying robocalls, this one isn't necessarily an outright scam.

Snopes.com, the myth and rumor debunking website, ranks the "Can you hear me?" scam as "unproven." 

A screen shot of the Snopes.com report on the "Can you hear me?" scam.Snopes.com 

"We haven't yet been able to identify any scenario under which a scammer could authorize charges in another person's name simply by possessing a voice recording of that person saying 'yes,' without also already possessing a good deal of personal and account information for that person, and without being able to reproduce any other form of verbal response from that person," the website said.

And, the site said: "Even if such a scenario existed, it's hard to imagine why scammers would need to utilize an actual audio recording of the victim's repeating the word 'yes' rather than simply providing that response themselves."

Snopes said in all the news reports it examined, none of the consumers who reported they received the calls actually lost money or were scammed in any way.

It also cited Better Business Bureau (BBB) reports of consumers receiving the calls, but none resulted in any unwanted charges or financial loss.

We asked the BBB if that was accurate, and it said yes, it was.

BBBs in the U.S. and Canada have received 1,087 reports of the scam since November, a spokeswoman said, but there are no reports of financial loss.

Despite that, law enforcement agencies and consumer advocates across the country have been warning consumers about the "scam."

The calls are certainly on the rise, but should you really worry?

How a senior lost $100,000 to scams

Bamboozled is more concerned that the calls could be an opening line for a different kind of scam, and saying "yes" could be the least of targeted person's problems.

With these calls, there's usually a moment of silence after you answer the telephone. That's because the "Can you hear me?" voice is usually computer-generated. A robocall.

Your number is probably one of thousands called by scammers who aren't actually dialing your number, but instead use a computer to make calls one after the other.

When the computer detects a real human answering with a "yes," it may signal a live scammer to pick up the phone and continue the conversation.

And that conversation could go in a number of directions.

Callers may identify themselves as the Internal Revenue Service or a law enforcement agency, saying you owe back taxes and if you don't pay now, you could be subject to immediate arrest. 

Or they may tell you of your good fortune, and that you've won a sweepstakes or lottery. 

Or they identify themselves as tech support from Microsoft or another trusted company, and they've detected a harmful virus on your computer. If you pay a fee, they'll fix the non-existent problem. 

We could go on, but you get the picture.

The New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs doesn't address this so-called scam specifically, but it warns consumers not to engage scammers.  

A screen shot from the Division of Consumer Affairs' "Anti-Fraud Toolkit."Division of Consumer Affairs 

It said even if you don't reveal personal information during the call, it's valuable for the scammer to know your phone number is "live," or that a real person answers the phone. That's because scammers resell phone numbers and other private information to other bad guys.

"'Live' phone numbers are much more valuable than phone numbers that go unanswered," the agency says in its "Anti-Fraud Toolkit." "By answering the phone and 'playing along,' your number may be resold to others as a 'live' number, and you may open yourself up to a flood of bogus calls from other scam artists and fraudsters."

Consumer Affairs is right.

There are enough frauds out there that we're a little disappointed with the hysteria over this one. Without proof that someone was harmed, is this really a scam?

You decide.

Whether it's a real scam or not, what you should do is simple.

Don't answer calls from unknown numbers. If you do, and if someone asks "Can you hear me?" simply hang up. Don't worry about being rude. If it was a caller who has legitimate business with you, they will call again.

If you've already said yes to one of these callers, in an abundance of caution, keep an eye on your credit card statements and your phone and utility bills -- just in case. Always better to be safe than sorry.

Either way, you should always be monitoring your bills closely so you can catch any unauthorized charges.

You can report the calls to the Better Business Bureau's Scam Tracker  and to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) online or by calling (888) 382-1222. 

Essex Judge Deborah Gross-Quatrone is accused of ethics violations from her time in Bergen County.

NEWARK - A former Bergen County judge facing complaints from a state ethics panel says her secretary performed personal tasks - such as doing her son's homework - voluntarily and on her own time, according to court documents filed this week.

"My secretary performed personal tasks for me willingly, voluntarily and happily," Superior Court Judge Deborah Gross-Quatrone stated in an answer filed Tuesday. "She gladly did so on her breaks and on her own time."

Gross-Quatrone is accused of violating the Code of Judicial Conduct during 2015, while she sat on the bench in Hackensack, according to a complaint filed last month by the New Jersey Supreme Court's Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct.

In addition to having her secretary perform personal tasks, Gross-Quatrone is accused of making a law clerk work off-the-clock without pay and secretly taping conversations with another judge when her behavior came under scrutiny, according to the committee's complaint.

In her answer, Gross-Quatrone claims she was pressured to work 12 to 18 hours a day and that her secretary "was voluntarily working additional uncompensated hours as well to meet the demands" of the job.

Bergen high schools with highest dropout rates

In defending her recording of conversations, Gross-Quatrone accuses her former boss, Bergen County Assignment Judge Bonnie Mizdol, of verbally abusing her.

"I recorded the meeting with (Judge) Mizdol only after I had been subjected to workplace hostilities, belittling in the presence of staff, and verbal abuse," Gross-Quatrone said in the answer.

"Judge Mizdol repeatedly berated me with profanity-laced verbal assaults, sometimes in the presence of staff. I became physically and emotionally distressed as a result of the conduct."

Trial Court Administrator Laura A. Simoldoni said Mizdol would have no comment.

"We don't comment on pending matters," Simoldoni said.

Under New Jersey law, the recording of a conversation is legal as long as one of the parties involved gives consent.

Gross-Quatrone is not accused of a crime, but faces an ethics charge for not telling Mizdol that she was recording the conversation.

"I was protecting my stellar legal and personal reputation over the past years," Gross-Quatrone said in the answer.

Gross-Quatrone also denies making a law clerk work off-the-clock.

"I never dictated start days, hours or times," she said in the answer.

"I'm extremely sensitive to the requirements and importance of ethical behavior and would never intentionally conduct myself contrary to those standards," Gross-Quatrone said in the answer.

During the time the alleged violations occurred, Gross-Quatrone was assigned to Family Court in Bergen County, a position she held until January 2016. She is now an Essex County civil court judge.

Gross-Quatrone attended Pace University School of Law, Montclair State University and Paramus Catholic Girls Regional High School, and has served as president of the Bergen County Bar Association. She has been a member of the bar since 1990.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

The company that operates the detention center says it will not shut down, and is looking for another customer.

WEST CALDWELL -- The company that run prisoner reentry programs and in-prison treatment facilities and manages detention centers is laying off 166 employees at Newark's Delaney Hall.

Delaney Hall, an Essex County-based private correctional facility. File photo. (Andrew Miller | The Star-Ledger)

"Unfortunately, we had to notify 166 employees at Delaney Hall in Newark due to a low population from the facility's current customer," said Charles Seigel, a spokesman for the West Caldwell-based Community Education Centers.

CEC contracts with Essex County to house some of its detainees at the facility, he said.

The layoffs, he said, are effective May 31.

Delaney Hall can hold 1,022 detainees, Seigel said. He did not say how many inmates the county is currently housing at the facility, noting that it "fluctuates on a daily basis depending on the county's need."

A spokesman for Essex County declined to comment on how many inmates are held at Delaney, or what the county's plans are moving forward.

122 detention center employees get $4.8M settlement 

The layoffs come less than a year after Community Education Centers reached a $4.8 million settlement with 122 employees over a wage dispute. Sources said the settlement effectively ended an Immigration and Customs Enforcement program in which non-criminal or low-level immigrant detainees were housed in a non-jail setting at Delaney.

Still, Seigel said the company plans to continue operating the facility.

"We do not plan to close Delaney and are currently seeking new customers," he said.

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

Members of NJ 11th for Change and BlueWaveNJ met with U.S. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen

WASHINGTON D.C. -- Residents who have been protesting U.S. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen for weeks and asking for a town hall meeting shared their concerns with him Wednesday, but the congressman still won't commit to holding a town hall meeting in his district.

Frelinghuysen (R-11th Dist.) met with 35 members of NJ 11th for Change and BlueWaveNJ on the condition they travel 200 miles south to his D.C. office -- and then only in groups no greater than 10.

"Frelinghuysen took an admirable first step in meeting with some of us this week and we appreciate it," Debra Caplan, a spokeswoman for NJ 11th for Change, said in a statement. "But it should not be necessary to travel almost ten hours in a day to discuss our concerns with our own Representative." 

The groups have criticized Frelinghuysen over his support of the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, his recent votes in line with President Donald Trump's agenda and his refusal to attend a town hall meeting in his district.

Frelinhuysen has been dodging requests for an in-person town hall for months. Instead he's held town halls over the phone.

By comparison, U.S. Rep. Leonard Lance (R-7th Dist.) has weathered two contentious in-person town hall meetings so far this year, and plans to hold a third next week.

Despite the meeting, Caplan said many of Frelinghuysen's answers to group members' questions were "unsatisfying" -- specifically, his failure to commit to a town hall meeting in the next three months and his refusal to ask U.S. Rep. Devin Nunes to recuse himself on the Trump-Russia probe. Nunes announced Thursday he would step aside from taking the lead in his committee's investigation.

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"Rep. Frelinghuysen needs to understand that his district is much more diverse than in the past, and we hope he heard us loud and clear when we expressed that his current voting record does not reflect the views of many of his constituents," the group said. "Ultimately, he should be putting the needs of his constituents over the political needs of his party."

Frelinhuysen, however, said he does not support $20 billion for a border wall with Mexico nor does he support the plan for the wall as proposed, according to Caplan.

The congressman also agreed with the group that Trump should release his taxes like all modern presidents. Despite his position, Frelinghuysen voted against the measure raised by fellow New Jerseyan, U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-9th Dist.), calling for Trump to release his tax returns.

Frelinghusen told the group he opposed the motion because "it was break from the regular house rules." 

"We'd like our congressman to vote for what he believes in and what best represents us," Caplan said. "Not what's best for protocol or for supporting the party."

A message placed with Frelinghuysen's staff Thursday morning hasn't yet been returned.

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

Enjoy the banjo as you've never heard it before as the husband-wife duo play tonight at South Orange Performing Arts Center Friday and at Princeton University April 13.

Behold the oft-misunderstood banjo. For many, it's is a one-note pony, the instrument that provided the twang at the start of television's "Beverly Hillbillies" and was featured in the movie "Deliverance." 

Bela Fleck, arguably the world's most famous and renowned banjo player, wants to reset the record. Now touring with his wife and fellow banjo virtuoso Abigail Washburn, the pair perform Friday night at South Orange Performing Arts Center and April 13 at Princeton University's Richardson Auditorium. 

"This tour celebrates the banjo and all the things it can do that no other instrument can," Fleck said. "People usually have low expectations but those can be  easily shattered. We'll going to surprise people with the expression you can et from banjos, soulful and sad, pretty, cracking and jarring down."

Fleck has showcased the banjo's diversity for years. He's won 16 Grammy Awards in categories including country, jazz, world music, folk and classical crossover. Fleck and Washburn won the 2016 Best Folk Album Grammy for their self-titled album that showcased Fleck's classical style and Washburn's soulful voice and claw-hammer technique. Paste magazine dubbed the pair "the king and queen of the banjo."

Fleck's familiar with being misunderstood. It starts with his first name and its unusual accent mark. (It's pronounced Bay-la.)

"People either think i'm from the old county, whatever old country they imagine, or they think i'm a girl," said Fleck who grew up in Manhattan and was inspired to pick up the banjo after hearing the "Beverly Hillbillies" theme. "It dragged me out of one culture and into another."

A banjo player from New York City's Upper West Side? It makes perfect sense to Fleck. The instrument came to the United States from Africa with enslaved Africans. Society ladies played banjos in their parlors. Minstrels strummed banjos as they moved from town to town. Louis Armstrong had a banjo in his early jazz bands. 

"The banjo changes and changes," Fleck said.

And perhaps no artist has showcased the instrument's versatility as Fleck has. Last month, he released "Juno Concerto," written for the banjo and recorded with the Colorado Symphony. The piece is named for his son and the music is infused with his experiences as a father, he said. His experience writing another concerto was the storyline of the 2014 documentary, "Bela Fleck: How to Write a Banjo Concerto."

Washburn and Fleck are working on an album of new material scheduled for release this fall. And after that, well, Fleck will keep exploring the banjo's potential.

"I keep looking for the next thing and don't think too far out," he said. "I'm just having a great time playing in a room filled with people who like the banjo."

Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn

South Orange Performing Arts Center

One SOPAC Way, South Orange

Tickets: $55-70, available online at www.sopacnow.org. April 7. 

Princeton University's Richardson Auditorium

Princeton

Tickets: $15-40, available online at https://tickets.princeton.edu. April 13

Natalie Pompilio is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia. She can be reached at nataliepompilio@yahoo.com. Find her on Twitter @nataliepompilio. Find NJ.com/Entertainment on Facebook. 

The shooting took place early Thursday afternoon

NEWARK -- City police officers exchanged gunfire with a suspect Thursday, killing him, Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said. 

Thomas Fennelly, Chief Assistant Prosecutor with the Essex County Prosecutor's Office, later said the male suspect was pronounced dead at University Hospital. The suspect was not immediately identified, the prosecutor's office said.  

Two veteran officers and two trainees were sent to a building at Hunterdon Street and Custer Avenue around 5 p.m. after a caller said someone in the area had a shotgun. The caller also provided a description of the suspect, Ambrose said. 

The arriving officers saw the suspect entering a home with the weapon. The suspect then raised the weapon and pointed it at the officers, who ordered him to drop it, Ambrose said.

The suspect allegedly refused and the two veteran officers fired, striking the suspect. The suspect also opened fire, Ambrose said, but missed the officers. 

It was not immediately known how many times the suspect had been hit or who had fired first. 

Officers later located a victim who said the suspect had pointed the weapon at them before police arrived, Ambrose also said. A loaded shotgun was also recovered at the scene. 

Amirah Carden, 27, who lives near where the shooting occurred and was prevented from getting home as police processed the scene, said gunplay is rare in the neighborhood. 

"It's sad it happened on this block because there's a school on this block. All you see is little kids walking up and down. This is a pretty decent area. It's quiet." 

The shooting is under investigation by the Essex County Prosecutor's Office. 

Staff writer Karen Yi contributed to this report 

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