Dogs and cats throughout New Jersey are awaiting adoption.

Here is this week's collection of some of the dogs and cats in need of adoption in northern and central New Jersey.

We are now accepting dogs and cats to appear in the gallery from nonprofit shelters and rescues in all of New Jersey's 21 counties.

If a group wishes to participate in this weekly gallery on nj.com, please contact Greg Hatala at ghatala@starledger.com or call 973-836-4922.

More pets in need of adoption can be seen here and here.

Authorities are expected to announce the details of the bust later Monday morning

EAST ORANGE -- Authorities are set to announce the take down of what they called a "massive marijuana operation" in Essex County.

Officials from East Orange said they plan to announce the details of the drug bust, which was conducted by the East Orange police, at a press conference at city hall Monday at 10 a.m.

Authorities shared few details of the bust, but called the marijuana operation one of the largest in Essex County history.

East Orange Mayor Lester Taylor, Police Chief Phyllis Bindi, members of the city council, police department, and other supporting agencies are all expected to take part in the press conference.

Last month during another drug sweep, East Orange police arrested 13 people, and seized $318,000 worth of narcotics, $68,000 in cash, and seven weapons.

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

Only a select few teams remain as the boys lacrosse state tournament moves on this week

Shabazz has most successful season to date.

As an eighth grader, Ronaldo Espinal remembers watching a struggling Shabazz team getting 10-run ruled on a consistent basis. Now as a senior, Espinal has been a crucial piece in the program's turnaround and helped bring the Newark public school its most successful season to date.

Shabazz won the Independence Division title, the program's first divisional championship. It went 12-1 against divisional opponents and finished the regular season with a 17-9 record. Shabazz also advanced to the second round of the 85th Greater Newark Tournament, which is the furthest the program has made it.

"It was really important," Espinal said. "In the summertime, I play for teams with kids from Barringer and Bloomfield Tech, but they always looked down on me just because of the fact that I played for Shabazz. Now we are on the same played the level."

The program has blossomed under Shabazz coach Ryan Cordero, assistant coach Dan Barcia and former assistant coach Kevin Arroyo. For Cordero, who is a social studies teacher at the school and has been with the program the past eight years, seeing Shabazz reach this milestone is a testament of all the hard work that his staff and players put in through the years.

"There was a lot of hard work that came in this program," he said. "It comes down to the kids first and foremost. We have to believe in them. At the end, they believe in you too and start to earn your respect as crazy as things may get.”

Most of Cordero's seniors have been on the varsity squad for the past three years. In a neighborhood where baseball isn't the dominate sport, fielding a quality team is no easy task.

"In the South Ward, there's a good baseball player that's in the streets or doesn't make it to his 12th grade year because he'll drop out or just doesn't want to play baseball anymore," Espinal said. "Every year, the rate of baseball players in the South Ward goes down. For us to gather enough players that are talented and take the conference that's good enough for me."

Making fielding a team even more difficult is the fact that Shabazz isn't know for its baseball program. Instead it is a football and basketball school. It's women's basketball program flourished under legendary coach Vanessa Watson and its football team advanced to the North 2, Group 1 final this past year.

Getting its baseball program on the map is something that Shabazz alum Odanis Rodriguez, who graduated in 2012, is very proud of.

"This program has come a long, long way," Rodriguez said. "I give a lot of props to coach Cordero. He brought this team from nothing. We were always on a losing streak and always in a slump. He made it happen with this team. They look really good. It's a different ball game they're playing now."

Sparking this season's success has been Espinal, Al Shakir Evans, Genaro Falcon, Ashad Garat, Shamont Mercer, Lamont Oliver and Tahji Smith.

Shabazz hopes to continue look good when the state tournament gets under. Shabazz received the fifth seed in the North 2, Group 1 tournament and will host 12th-seeded Weehawken in the first round on Monday.

The teens gathered at DeHart Park after a nearby street festival ended

MAPLEWOOD -- Police were called to break up a crowd of more than 100 teens who gathered at a Maplewood park after leaving a nearby street festival, prompting at least one fight, officials said.

Mayor Victor DeLuca, who was at the park during the incident, said the teens migrated from Maplewood's annual May Festival to DeHart Park after the festival ended around 5 p.m.

Police estimated about 150 to 200 teenagers crowded into the park.

DeLuca said he saw one altercation involving only a few of the teens. He said he did not know what prompted the fighting.

According to a release from Maplewood Police on the incident, authorities said they needed help from Union, Irvington, Millburn, Springfield, and South Orange police departments, and the Essex County Sheriff's Office, to break up the crowd.

Shortly after the crowd dispersed, another fight broke out in Irvington, near the Maplewood border, which police broke up, authorities said.

Throughout the entire incident, police report only one arrest, a 19-year-old Newark man accused of stealing from a 14-year-old boy. Police did not immediately provide the man's identity or details about what he allegedly stole.

No serious injuries were reported.

A video of the incident shows police from Maplewood and nearby Irvington standing between teens shouting at each other, and instructing the teens to return home.

DeLuca said the festival site is about six blocks from DeHart Park.

Police said they are continuing to investigate the incident.

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

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The potted plants were grown in a 4-car garage behind a house the mayor would walks his dog past regularly, and officials said somehow the odor of the marijuana was masked

EAST ORANGE -- The mayor would walk his dog right past the house and never smelled a thing.

But East Orange Police said the four-car garage behind a single-family home contained a sophisticated illegal marijuana growing operation where on Thursday officers seized 1,470 plants with an estimated street value of $2.95 million, a record pot bust for the township.

"I would walk my dog right past the house on my way to Soverel Park," Mayor Lester Taylor, who lives near the undisclosed location of the operation off Springfield Avenue, said during a City Hall news on Monday morning.

A husband and wife have been charged with a variety of offenses, including a first degree charge of maintaining a drug production facility that could get them a 25-year prison sentence, said The city's public safety director, Sheilah Coley.

The wife, Sheline Dare, 37, was taken into custody immediately after police raided the garage at 9 a.m. on Thurday, based on a complaint of undisclosed activity at the location, Coley said. 

A warrant has been issued for her husband, Densely Lawrence, 41, who remained at large on Monday. 

In addition to the drug production facility charge, the couple face charges of distribution of CDS, possession with intent to distribute, possession of more than 50 marijuana plants, distribution within 1,000 feet of a school, distribution within 500 feet of a public park, and conspiracy, officials said.

A third individual, Gregory Rutty, 56, faces related charges of possession of under 50 grams of a controlled dangerous substance, after marijuana and $1,736 in cash were found in his truck, which officials said was parked outside the house and garage.

Taylor, who is not seeking a second term in this year's mayoral race, commended the police department, and said Thursday's raid and arrests follow a string of drug interdiction efforts by the East Orange Police over the past 5 months. Officials said those efforts include the execution of 16 search warrants resulting in the seizure of $83,400 worth of cocaine, $28,600 worth of methamphetamine, $10,733 worth of heroin, $444 worth of Xanax, plus 33 guns, six automobiles, and $82,700 in cash.  

Coley said New Jersey State Police were called in to catalog and store the seized marijuana plants, which were potted in soil inside and in the process of budding. 

Coley said the investigation was ongoing, and she declined to answer several questions during the press conference, including how the couple had masked the odor or such a large amount of the pungent drug.

"This was a very sophisticated operation," she said.

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

The 21-year-old is charged with killing three women, and trying to kill a fourth, in separate incidents.

NEWARK -- An Essex County judge on Monday relieved the private defense attorney for an Orange man accused of killing three women last fall, after the judge found the man could no longer afford to pay her.

Following Shevelle McPherson's withdrawal from the case, Khalil Wheeler-Weaver will instead be represented by public defender Deirdre McMahon.

Superior Court Judge Ronald D. Wigler said McPherson had asked to be removed from the case after it became apparent that Wheeler-Weaver could no longer afford her services, or those of any private attorney.

Wheeler-Weaver, 21, is charged with murder in the deaths of Sarah Butler, 20, Joanne Brown, 33, and Robin West, 19, who authorities say were killed in separate incidents last fall in Essex County.

He's also charged with the attempted murder and sexual assault in a Nov. 15 attack on a woman in Elizabeth, and is accused of setting fire to the abandoned house where West's body was discovered.

Wheeler-Weaver did not appear in court Monday, McPherson having waived his appearance.

Assistant Prosecutor Adam Wells told reporters in March that he would be surprised if Wheeler-Weaver would agree to the terms of a plea deal that would satisfy the Prosecutor's Office, making such a resolution to the case unlikely.

Court documents previously released to NJ Advance Media state that investigators were able to place Wheeler-Weaver at the scenes of both Browne and Butler's deaths using cellphone records, which showed Browne last called a friend from Wheeler-Weaver's phone.

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A detective's affidavit said both Brown and Butler were strangled with articles of clothing.

Wells said in court Monday that he's since submitted a motion asking that a statement made by Wheeler-Weaver to investigators be admitted as evidence at trial. The court is expected to rule on that motion at a later date.

Wigler scheduled the attorneys to return to court July 31, to give McMahon time to review the discovery in the case.

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

Joe Gorga of 'Real Housewives of New Jersey' took over a pizza and pasta joint in East Hanover, and here's our hot take

We never need an excuse to write about pizza or "Real Housewives of New Jersey," and this week we explore whether those two great tastes taste great together at "RHONJ" star Joe Gorga's new pizza and pasta joint in East Hanover. 

As the ranking "RHONJ" expert on staff, I brought along Pete Genovese, the Munchmobile czar, Food Dude and chief of the Pizza Patrol for an expert's take on Gorga's Homemade Pasta & Pizza the day after the restaurant's grand opening, and we tested two pizzas, a pasta and an entree in our Facebook Live Friday. 

No, Joe isn't behind the counter, or anywhere near the stove. The chef and much of the staff -- and much of the menu -- is a holdover from the restaurant's previous incarnation as Salugo Bistro, which was part of the acclaimed empire that also includes Fin in Montclair and Summit, Salute in Montclair, another Salugo in Verona, and the brand-new The Crosby in Montclair.

The faux rustic decor is even the same, with the addition of large-format photos of the Gorga clan, both current day and from their early years in Italy. 

So is much of the menu, although Gorga gave the chef family recipes for some of the dishes. Others were simply renamed for members of the "RHONJ" extended family. 

Gorga's menu diverges the most from Salugo in the pasta category ($16-18), which includes Nonna's Sunday Sauce (a tribute to Gorga's mother Antonia, who died in March), tagliatelle with sausage, black cabbage, fennel seeds and truffle oil, and our server's favorite, the lasagne stuffed with little meatballs. The Sunday Sauce that found a big fan in Pete, who loved the bright and tangy red sauce and flavorful meatballs and sausage. 

He was not blown away by Gabriella's Chicken Parmesan ($17) and the two pizzas, one a Grandma's pie ($16) with a nice thin crust and the other Gorga's pizza, a traditional crust with smoked scamorza, hot soppressata and sliced long hot Italian peppers ($13 for 12-inch, $17 for 16-inch). He mostly blamed the quality of the cheese, and said they were no better or no worse than much of what you've find at a Jersey Italian restaurant. (Unsaid: So better than most Italian restaurants in America.) 

Other selections from the menu: mussels with Italian long hots in a white wine broth ($12); escarole and white bean soup with baby meatballs ($7-$12); Nonno's Chicken Limone ($17); Joe's Bistecca (grilled honey-balsamic skirt steak, $24); the Italian hot dog panini (perhaps a shout-out to Jimmy Buff's, an outpost of which used to be located a few storefronts away, $9); and heaven help us, Joe's Cheeseburger Pie, with ground beef, lettuce, tomato, mozzarella, ketchup and onions ($18).

Check out photos from the grand opening Thursday night here. 

Vicki Hyman may be reached at vhyman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @vickihy or like her on Facebook. 

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Dennis Portalatin claims he was fired for pointing out a mechanical problem with a jet at Teterboro.

TETERBORO - An airplane mechanic who worked for a charter jet service at Teterboro Airport claims he was fired for refusing to sign off on a plane with a fuel leak, according to a lawsuit.

Dennis Portalatin of Fairfield alleges he was hired in Oct. 2015 by Pro Pilots LLC and was earning about $90,000 a year as an airplane mechanic at Teterboro Airport.

Pro Pilots provides charter jet services throughout the United States and maintains a business office on Industrial Avenue in Teterboro, according to the suit.

Shortly after he was hired, Portalatin noticed "accurate records of mechanical failures were not being properly recorded in the maintenance log books by the pilots, or otherwise," according to the suit filed in Bergen County Superior Court.

The suit states the inaccuracies were violations of Federal Aviation Administration regulations.

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For several months, Portalatin complained about the alleged violations to his superiors at Teterboro, the suit states.

"In response to each complaint, plaintiff was told that if he could not fix each mechanical failure that he found, he should not worry about it because a trip was planned for the aircraft in question and it had to fly," the suit states.

"Plaintiff was repeatedly assured that each mechanical irregularity would be fixed at the next stop," the suit states.

On Jan. 25, Portalatin claims he was servicing a nine-seat Dassault Falcon 20 when he found eight issues, most of which he was able to correct.

However, when Portalatin came across fuel leaking from a wing and fuselage, he told a supervisor he could not fix the leak for a few days because his employers did not own hangar space at the airport, the suit states.

"Let it go. We will get it fixed somewhere else," said Director of Maintenance Jim Martin, according to the suit. "We have seven passengers we have to take. What does the pilot think?" 

"The pilot is not the decision maker," Portalatin claims he responded. "I am the mechanic. I'm not signing off for a fuel leak."

On Jan. 31, Portalatin claims he received a letter terminating his employment "with immediate effect."

Portalatin said he later learned the plane in question flew on Feb. 1, although the suit does not say if the leak was fixed.

Portalatin claims he was fired in retaliation for disclosing a "violation of a law, rule or regulation" and for refusing to participate in an activity that would have violated regulations, the suit states.

The suit claims Pro Pilots violated the New Jersey Conscientious Employee Protection Act.

Portalatin is seeking back and front pay, lost benefits, emotional distress damages, attorney fees and court costs.

Pro Pilots representatives were not immediately available for comment on Monday.

A lawyer for the company told the New York Post that Pro Pilots follows FAA regulations and addresses safety issues. The lawyer declined to comment on Portalatin's allegations.

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

Authorities say a 33-year-old was shot on April 19.

NEWARK -- Police are asking for help finding a 20-year-old who they say is wanted in an April 19 shooting.

According to a release from Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose, a 33-year-old was shot at about 9 p.m. near the intersection of Vassar and Maple avenues. He was treated at Newark Beth Israel Hospital for non-life threatening injuries, and has since been released, police said.

Authorities say Samid Strothers, of Newark, is a suspect in the shooting. Anyone with information on him or the shooting is asked to call 877-695-8477 or 877-695-4867.

Police did not immediately say what may have prompted the alleged shooting or if the two men knew each other.

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

Newark man wanted in the alleged robbery has been arrested, authorities say.

NEWARK -- Authorities have arrested a city man who they say posed as a buyer meeting people to purchase their Xbox, but ended up robbing them at gunpoint instead.

Newark police allege Robert Berrian, 22, met up with a man and woman at 9:25 p.m. on May 19 on Martin Luther King Boulevard, near Spruce Street. The couple had arranged to sell an Xbox to a man they hadn't met before, police said.

When Berrian arrived, police said he pulled a gun on the couple, robbing them of the gaming console and other items. Police had issued a warrant for his arrest.

Berrian was arrested on South 19th Street Sunday night on robbery and resisting arrest charges, police said Monday.

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

Investigators say he had 101 forged tickets and more than $1,200 cash when arrested

NEWARK -- An East Brunswick man who worked as a ticket agent for NJ Transit has been arrested on allegations he tricked passengers into buying fake tickets and kept the cash for himself.

John A. Davey. (Essex County Prosecutor's Office)
 

John A. Davey, 49, is charged with official misconduct, theft and forgery, according to a joint statement Monday from Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray and NJ Transit Police Chief Christopher Trucillo.

Authorities said that Davey, a ticket agent for the Newark-based public railroad for 29 years, had been placing signs reading "no cash" on the ticket vending machines at the New Brunswick train station, and selling cash-paying customers forged tickets when they came to the ticket counter.

When officers moved into arrest Davey, following an investigation by both agencies, they found him carrying $1,285.95 and 101 forged tickets, printed on real ticket stock taken from the New Brunswick station.

NJ Transit police also found additional ticket stock and a thermal printer at his home, according to the Prosecutor's Office.

It was not immediately clear Monday whether Davey had an attorney who could comment on the charges. He's scheduled to make his first appearance in state Superior Court on June 13 in Newark.

The Prosecutor's Office said the investigation is ongoing, and has asked anyone with information about the case to contact NJ Transit Police Detective Michael Bavosa at 973-491-8953.

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

Rev. Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, a Newark native who was among nine people killed during Bible study in Charleston, S.C., will be honored by her city with a street sign that bears her name.

Rev. Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, a Newark native, has been honored in many ways following her tragic death two years ago in Charleston, S.C.

Artists have captured her image in paintings.  South Carolina State University, where she ran track, inducted her into the 2016-17 Hall of Fame Class.

She is also pictured in a calendar that features her and the eight other people who were shot and killed in June 2015 during Bible study at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. Dylann Roof, a white supremacist, has been sentenced to die after admitting to carrying out the massacre that stunned the nation.

Back home in Newark, the city did not forget Coleman-Singleton. During a memorial service a month after her death at age 45, Newark City Council President Mildred Crump, speaking at the Congregational Baptist Church that Coleman-Singleton attended as a child, said the city would honor the AME assistant pastor with a street dedication ceremony.

On June 3, Newark is keeping its promise. Pine Grove Terrace, the block in which she played, will bear her name where it intersects with Grove Terrace. From that day on,  "Rev. Sharonda Coleman-Singleton Way" will be part of the West Ward landscape.

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Among all the tributes in her memory, "this is number one,'' said Chris Singleton, her 20-year-old son, who is a junior at Charleston Southern University and an outfielder on the school's baseball team.

"It's a tremendous honor for her," added Singleton, who plans to attend the street-naming ceremony. "I'm going to be overwhelmed with a lot of emotion.''     

The main one being love. His mother embodied the word.

Love is stronger than the hate that engulfed Roof, who tried to start a race war. Love is what Coleman-Singleton instilled in Chris, Caleb and Camryn, his younger brother and sister. Chris continues to live this way, telling a crowd the day after the shooting:  "Love is always stronger than hate.  If we just love the way my mom would, then the hate won't be nearly as strong as the love is."

Rev. Sharonda Coleman-Singleton with her three children. From left to right is Caleb, Chris and her daughter, Camryn. Mark Jones 

Family and friends will gather at noon to celebrate Coleman-Singleton, a woman of strong faith, a mentor who encouraged young people and everyone she touched. In their reflections, they will say she was a genuine, unbelievably kind and loving soul. You can bet those who know her will call her "Tookie," an endearing nickname everyone still uses now.

"No one was a stranger to her,'' said Ruther Kinder, her cousin and Newark resident.

Pastor Stephen Singleton of Grace Heritage Ministries in Columbia, S.C., said Coleman-Singleton was the friend he could turn to for advice.

"We would bounce things off each other,'' he said. "There are special people in this world, and she was one of them.''

Mark Jones, her brother who lives in Newark, said his sister's name on a street sign is appropriate because she was a giving person who always was generous with her time. Out the blue, Jones said, she'd call him just to say she loved him. In that moment, he added, she'd could get him to tell her if something was wrong.

"I'd try to keep that macho image, but she'd see right through it,'' Jones said.

One of five siblings, Coleman-Singleton ran track for Vailsburg High School, earning a scholarship to South Carolina State University, where she was championship hurdler and joined the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. After she graduated from the historically black college in Orangeburg, S.C., Coleman returned to New Jersey and earned a master's degree in speech pathology from Montclair State University.

She began her career in Georgia, before settling in the North Charleston-Summerville, S.C., metropolitan area. At Goose Creek (S.C.) High School, she was the girl's track and field coach and a speech pathologist. She also had been working toward her doctoral dissertation.

No one was surprised when this spiritually grounded person became a reverend.

Her aunt, Brenda Hargrove of Newark, said Coleman-Singleton began attending Congregational Baptist Church in Newark, when she was 9 years old. As a teenager, she volunteered with the church's nurse's unit, which aided congregants needing medical assistance.

"She was always into the Lord,'' Hargrove said. 

Pastor Singleton said he could see her potential when she was a minister in training at Emanuel AME Church. She was sharp, gifted and inquisitive.

"She was on her way to being exceptional,'' said Singleton, who preached at her funeral attended by 2,000 people. "She had finally found that confidence.''

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Family members still coping with her death don't understand how Roof could be so heartless.

"It's still just a hurtful thing when I see a picture of her,'' Hargrove said.

She retains the African-American history calendar in which Coleman-Singleton is featured with the "Emanuel 9." She keeps the page turned to January, the month bearing Coleman-Singleton's picture.

The death sentence, she said, is too good for Roof.

"He should have been given life in jail so that he can suffer the consequences of what he did.''

Kinder, who is Hargrove's cousin, said there needs to be closure to the horror.

"If they're going to do it (execution), go on and do it and get it behind us,'' Kinder said.

Chris Singleton, however, doesn't think much about Roof's fate.

"I wasn't too caught up in it,'' he said. "In the long run, things usually do work out the way they're supposed to.''

He takes one day at a time, he said, remembering that love is stronger than hate.

Always has been. Always will be. 

Barry Carter: (973) 836-4925 or bcarter@starledger.com or http://connect.nj.com/user/bcarter/posts.html or follow him on Twitter @BarryCarterSL

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Authorities in Newark are conducting an ongoing, targeted drug operation, officials said.

NEWARK -- A month-long targeted drug operation in Newark resulted in 214 arrests as well as the seizure of 20 guns and more than $57,000 in cash and drugs, authorities said.

From April 21 through May 20, Newark police confiscated 2,163 packets of heroin, 1,076 vials and/or bags of cocaine, 480 plastic bags of marijuana, and 11 pills, Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said in a release.

The street drugs seized were worth $41,747, police said. Cops also seized $16,071.98 in cash during the drug busts.

The ongoing crackdown is in response to resident complaints of open-air drug trafficking throughout the city, Ambrose said.

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"We want the people who care about this city to know that we appreciate their partnership in helping to get guns and drugs off our streets," Ambrose said in a statement.

"This operation is producing tangible results largely due to the law abiding citizens who are increasingly coming forward with information to assist us to make Newark safer."

In the most recent four-day stint of the operation, police said 52 people were arrested, including 23 on drug-related offenses. Two people were caught with 212 vials of crack cocaine on them. The recent four-day sweep also saw three weapons arrests, Ambrose said, as police confiscated two handguns and a BB gun.

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

A University of Texas study looked at civil rights lawsuits filed before and after police departments were overseen by the federal government

NEWARK -- As Newark continues to push ahead with a federal monitor to reform its police department, a new study of federal interventions in local law enforcement has found they may reduce the number of civil rights lawsuits against departments.

That, researchers say, is data-driven proof that consent decrees may have positive effects.  

"Right now it's opinions, anecdotes, and political perspectives...dominating the conversation on consent decrees," said John Worrall, a criminology professor at the University of Texas at Dallas and one of the authors of "Police Consent Decrees and Section 1983 Civil Rights Litigation," which was published Monday.

"Very little of it is research based," he said in a phone interview.

In the study, Worrall and co-authors Zachary A. Powell and Michele Bisaccia Meitl examined civil rights lawsuits filed against police departments that were under a federal monitor between 1990 and 2013.

The report did not target particular agencies, but instead averaged the results of all 23 departments under a monitor during that time period, comparing the number of civil rights complaints filed against them before the decree was in place, to the number filed during and after federal oversight.

The study found, while considering different variables in the cities that could impact filings, cities that had been monitored saw a more than 20 percent reduction in the number of civil rights lawsuits filed. The study determined that was a data-based indication that conditions improved under the monitors.

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"Ultimately, our main conclusion is that the DOJ consent decree process may contribute to a modest reduction in the probability of (civil rights-based) filings occurring," the study said.

The authors also called for additional data-based research on the topic that looks at all of the departments that have been overseen and compares them to departments that haven't been, which this study did not consider.

Since Newark only reached its agreement with a federal monitor in 2016, it was not considered in the study.

City Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said Monday that reducing civil rights litigation is one of the hoped-for outcomes of the consent decree, but noted "it's way too early to tell" if that has happened or not in Newark.

City officials did not respond Monday to a request for comment on the study and on the civil rights litigation the department has faced in the past. But, Mayor Ras Baraka and other city officials have fully backed the decree process.

"We all agree here, that there needs to be systemic changes and we're going to make those changes," he told NJ Advance Media last month.

The national debate over federal monitors - which supporters say correct institutionalized police misconduct and opponents call massively expensive and invasive - is heating up.

In April, Attorney General Jeff Sessions called for a review of federal intervention in local police departments. City leaders in Newark have said they will stick to the federal reform plan, no matter what.

Worrall said he hopes more research will be done to see whether the modest improvements made during and immediately after monitoring stand the test of time.

"Thus far, a growing body of evidence reveals support for the consent decree process," the study concludes.  

"The results of our study suggest to us that these effects may be gradually implemented over time. It remains to be seen, however, whether these changes are lasting or lapsing in the long term. Regardless, there may yet be some benefit to DOJ oversight."

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