The police are asking the public to help find 58-year-old Reginald Williams, who has been missing since Monday.

NEWARK -- A 58-year-old Newark man who suffers from dementia has been missing since Monday, police said. 

Reginald Williams (Courtesy Newark Public Safety Department)

Newark authorities are asking the public for help finding Reginald Williams, who is described as 5-feet, 9-inches tall and weighing about 150 pounds. 

Williams was last seen wearing a red Chicago Bulls T-shirt, jeans and black sneakers.

Anyone with information can call the Crime Stopper tip line at 1-877-NWK-TIPS (1-877-695-8477). Information can also be shared through the Newark Police division app or on the website at: www.newarkpdo.org.

Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook. 

A Maplewood man who operated two Ponzi schemes and stole $300,000 from people battling debt or trying to hold onto homes was sentenced in Newark to 5 years in prison today and faces he sentencing in Jersey City tomorrow.

JERSEY CITY -- A Maplewood man who operated two Ponzi schemes and stole $300,000 from people battling debt was sentenced in Newark to five years in prison Wednesday and faces a separate sentencing in Jersey City Friday.

Germaine Theodore, 37, pleaded guilty on April 24 in Essex County Superior Court to the charge of theft in connection to his "company," TGC Movement based in Maplewood. Under that plea agreement, the state recommended a seven-year sentence but the judge opted for five, officials said.

"Instead of delivering the debt relief that his clients desperately needed, Theodore ruthlessly compounded their problems by stealing from them," Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino said in a statement. "We're sending Theodore to prison, where he can't swindle any more vulnerable consumers."

He pleaded guilty on Jan. 6 in Hudson County Superior Court to theft in the scam involving Save My Future in Jersey City, which operated similarly to the Maplewood operation. The state will recommend a four-year prison term on that charge when he is sentenced Friday by Hudson County Superior Court Mitzy Galis-Menendez.

The sentences are to run concurrently.

He must also pay restitution of approximately $250,000 to clients of TGC Movement and about $48,000 to clients of Save My Future, the two bogus businesses he created.

In the scam, Theodore told clients they could pay him 65 percent of their monthly bills upfront and his company would then pay the bills in full. He and other employees told clients that either funding from a government grant program or private investors would pay the remaining 35 percent.

In some cases, Theodore gained their trust by legitimately paying for a month or two, but then he stopped paying altogether while still collecting from the clients. In other cases, he didn't pay a single bill for a client.

He operated the two companies as classic Ponzi schemes, using money from new clients to pay the first bills submitted by earlier clients. 

Theodore has served more than seven years in prison for offenses like passing bad checks, theft by deception, identity theft, sale of a false driver's license, forgery and weapons charges.

Elie Honig, director of the Division of Criminal Justice, said the Ponzi schemes operated by Theodore were especially egregious because they targeted victims who were already struggling financially.

"White collar criminals like Theodore harm people as well as businesses, as this case starkly illustrates, and we will continue to prosecute them aggressively," Honig said.

Police and the public searched throughout the day for the girl, who was eventually found at Penn Station

NEWARK-- A woman who was found with an 8-year-old who had been missing throughout the day Sunday has been charged in connection with the incident, the Essex County Prosecutor's Office and Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said.

Rochelle Baskins (Newark police)  

The girl, Nevaeh Blaine, disappeared from the Bradley Court Housing Community shortly before 10 a.m., touching off a frantic search by ground and air.

She was found at Penn Station that night in the company of a woman Mayor Ras Baraka identified as a "family friend". 

The woman, Rochelle Baskins, a 51-year-old city resident, has now been charged with endangering the welfare of a child, police said.  

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

Paul Moe Sr., a Port Elizabeth terminal operator, showed up to his job for as little as eight hours per week, officials said.

NEWARK -- A general foreman for a Port Elizabeth terminal operator fraudulently collected almost $500,000 annually for work he did not perform and was sometimes out of the country when he was supposed to be on the job, a federal indictment says. 

Paul Moe Sr., of Atlantic Highlands, was sometimes in Florida, in Aruba or on his yacht when he was supposed to be at work, acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick said Thursday.

Moe, 66, was indicted Wednesday on one count of wire fraud conspiracy and 13 counts of wire fraud.

He collected his annual salary from September of 2015 through March of 2017 while being at his job site for as little as eight hours per week, officials said. Each count of wire fraud represents a week in which Moe failed to appear at work but was paid as if he had been there for at least 40 hours per week, they said. 

Other people submitted false time sheets every day on Moe's behalf and sometimes credited him with up to 16 hours of overtime per day so he could get his $9,300 weekly paycheck, authorities said. They did not identify the people accused of helping him. 

Moe was responsible for maintenance and repair of the terminal's container handling equipment, according to the indictment. He is a member of the International Longshoremen's Association.

Officials said Moe was arrested Thursday morning, and a U.S. magistrate judge released him on a $250,000 unsecured bond. 

Each criminal count carries the potential for five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to the acting U.S. attorney. 

Reached by phone, an attorney for Moe said the foreman's agreement with the terminal does not require him to work 40 hours a week, but says he is always on call, except for a few weeks of vacation each year.

"He has not engaged in any fraud whatsoever," Gerald McMahon, the attorney, said. "It's typical management getting the prosecutor's office to do their bidding and to try to intimidate the union (the International Longshoremen's Association)."

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

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Investigators said he groped a fellow passenger on a Newark-bound flight.

Yoel Oberlander. (New York Division of Criminal Justice Services)
 

NEWARK -- A Rockland County, N.Y. man previously convicted of sexually assaulting an 11-year-old was sentenced Thursday to more than a year in prison for groping a woman on a Newark-bound flight.

Yoel Oberlander, 36, of Monsey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas in March to a charge of assault with intent to commit stalking. Salas on Thursday sentenced Oberlander to 13 months in prison and three years of supervised release, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Oberlander was charged by the FBI in June 2016 after investigators said he repeatedly touched the breast and thigh of a fellow passenger on his May 29 El Al flight from Tel Aviv. The woman later switched seats and reported the incident to the flight crew, according to court filings.

In 2002, Oberlander pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of second-degree sexual assault in connection with the 11-year-old victim, who court filings state was a stranger he picked up in his car. He was subsequently registered as a sex offender with the state of New York.

Salas in January granted a motion by prosecutors to admit evidence of the prior conviction, but Oberlander pleaded guilty before the case went to trial, records show.

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

James Porter, of East Orange, was sentenced for his role in a $500,000 kickback scheme when he worked as a contractor at the Newark Watershed Corp.

NEWARK -- An ex-contractor for the Newark Watershed Conservation and Development Corp. was sentenced to two years in prison Thursday for his role in a $500,000 bribery scheme that helped topple an agency once tasked with treating and delivering water to state residents. 

James Porter, 80, of East Orange, previously admitted he conspired with former watershed corporation employee Donald Bernard Sr., giving him kickback payments in exchange for agency contracts, according to Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick.

Bernard was sentenced to eight years in prison earlier this month for soliciting more than $956,000 in kickbacks from contractors.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said Porter provided a stream of payments to Bernard and others between 2008-2013 in order to secure business for two of his landscaping and cleaning companies: Jim P. Enterprises LLC and New Beginnings Environmental Services. Bernard was a partner in New Beginnings. 

Together the companies were paid almost $800,0000 by the watershed corporation but submitted inflated bills for services that were not completed, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. 

Sex offender gets a year in prison for touching woman on flight

The watershed corporation dissolved in 2013 and was the focus of a scathing 2014 report by the state Comptroller's Office that found the agency was siphoning millions of public dollars and making illegal payments and sweetheart deals. 

At the center of the controversy was the watershed's former director, Linda Watkins Brashear, who later admitted she solicited nearly $1 million in bribes from businesses in exchange for overinflated and no-work contracts.

Authorities said Porter also helped conceal a kickback scheme for another contractor. Essex Home Improvements issued a $5,000 check to Porter for work that was not performed and Porter gave the money to Bernard, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

In addition to the conspiracy charge, Porter pleaded guilty to tax evasion for underreporting his income from the kickback scheme. 

U.S. District Judge Jose Linares sentenced Porter to two years in federal prison, two years of supervised release and more than $700,000 in restitution fees. 

Porter's attorney did not return a request seeking comment. 

Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook. 

Students from St. Benedict's Preparatory School in Newark and Ironbound USA, a non-profit organization, dig in for a big clean up of the Ironbound Stadium that has been closed for 30 years. Watch video

Students at St. Benedict's Preparatory School in Newark didn't understand why they were looking at pictures of the closed Ironbound Stadium in the city's East Ward.

They registered in May for a social media and marketing course offered at the school by Ironbound USA, a Newark nonprofit organization that has been working with St. Benedict's to prepare students for life after graduation.

The students were confused when Gary Bloore, the organization's founder who would teach the class, told them that they were going to clean up the grounds of a stadium that had once been used for high school football games but hadn't been touched in 30 years. In 1987, the federal government closed the stadium after testing found contaminants in the playing field.

Bloore was gung-ho about the project, focusing on the 4,500-seat concrete bleachers and a large uncontaminated adjacent area in front of them that had become a hidden garbage dump behind the Ironbound Recreation Center.

"Why don't we do something great?'' Bloore told the students "Let's not be average.''

MORE: Recent Barry Carter columns  

It was an admirable goal, but the students had a pressing question to ask of him:

"What does this have to do with social media?'' said Tevon Thomas, who just graduated from the prep school.

The students couldn't see Bloore's vision at first, but they get it now. Bloore told them that the best content for social media was to do something good. Cleaning the stadium, they learned, was the right thing to do for the community. And along the way, the task became more important than any picture the students posted on Instagram.

"We wanted to make sure we were doing it for the right reasons, not to get credit from it,'' Bloore said.

This is why several of them returned last week to keep pecking away at what they started in May. They wacked more weeds, picked up more garbage, watched Bloore use a chainsaw to take down another tree.

"It gave us the opportunity to help our city,'' said 15-year-old Isaiah Jimenez, a Newark native who recently transferred from St. Benedict's to West Essex, when his family moved after the school year.

"I still want to keep a strong connection,'' he said.  "I still want to keep that bond.''

This wasn't your ordinary cleanup. The students had to be convinced it was worthwhile, especially when they got a look at the amount of garbage piled high in the stadium. They could have changed their minds and taken a different class.

"I was surprised to see how bad it looked,'' said Pedro Rodriguez, 18, a graduate who lives in the Ironbound.

Students from St. Benedict's Preparatory School in Newark clean up the Ironbound Stadium with Gary Bloore, founder of Ironbound USA, a non profit organization in Newark that has been preparing the students for life after graduation. Ironbound USA 

Garbage was everywhere, from household castoffs to construction debris. Fifteen trees, as high as 35 feet, sprouted among the weeds and stretched the length of the bleachers, blocking the view of the contaminated field overgrown with vegetation.

"It's not something that you do every day,'' Thomas said. "It's not every day you get to clean a stadium that's been abandoned for 30 years. It's crazy.''

Bloore takes "crazy'' as a compliment.

He could have hired a contractor, but that would have defeated his purpose of getting the kids to work and see a project through. So, instead of being in the classroom, they cleaned up the stadium from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. every school day for nearly a month.

The class was part of St. Benedict's spring phase project, a 30-day program that allows its students to augment their education beyond the classroom. Bloore made it work with Ironbound USA.

"I thought the kids would learn more from this experience than the traditional social media,'' Bloore said.

There's lots more to be done, but a time-lapse video posted here shows how much progress they made with the help of local graffiti artists who painted the borders of the bleachers.

The goal is to have seasonal festivals at the site. The first scheduled event is Paint for Pink on Sept. 30,  to raise awareness about breast cancer. Lisa Byron, who was Bloore's long-time partner, died of breast cancer in December. He does this in her memory, working non-stop to make it happen and to get young people to grind for a purpose.

He came up with the idea to clean the stadium in the middle of another endeavor with Michael Steadman, director of the Leahy House, a residential hall at St. Benedict's for international and local students who need a respite from personal circumstances at home.

Steadman, a three-time NCAA boxing champion and former midshipman from the U.S. Naval Academy, wanted to start a boxing program for young people in an empty space that needed to be renovated at the Ironbound Recreation Center.

Bloore would add his educational component -- Ironbound Professional and Social Skills -- a life-skills program he teaches at St. Benedict's, where students learn that they are a brand and that everything they do affects their brand.

At no cost to the city, which operates the recreation enter, Steadman and Bloore converted the space into a gym, aided by private donors who also fund Bloore's education program at St. Benedict's and Essex County Vocational Technical Schools.

MORE CARTER: A. Harry Moore graduates take flight

With a spiffy new place, its walls done by graffiti artists, Bloore and Steadman figured the stadium looming over the recreation center should be cleaned as well.

Boxers volunteered. The city of Newark provided rakes, equipment and transportation for St. Benedict's students.

"These are people who need to be talked about,'' said Obalaji Baraka, manager of the city's Recreation Department. "They didn't ask the city for one dime. It was a blessing, because nobody wanted to touch that place.''

Two years ago, the city and Celanese, a chemical and technology company that once had a plastics plant on the site, agreed to terms for cleaning up the contaminated site. Newark Business Administrator Jack Kelly said then that Celanese agreed to pay about $2.3 million to remove the contaminated soil. The city's responsibility, he said, now will be to finance the rebuilding of the field. Work could begin this fall, assuming City Council authorization.

Bloore, meanwhile, presses on. The students thank him for pushing them, instilling confidence and a work ethic for a project they didn't think could be done.

"If it's not hard, it's not worth it,'' Jimenez said. "And if you say you're going to do something, then you should do it.''

They did it, all right.  Bloore and their school's motto wouldn't let them give up: "Benedict's hates a quitter."

Barry Carter: (973) 836-4925 or bcarter@starledger.com or 

nj.com/carter or follow him on Twitter @BarryCarterSL

The center will offer after-school programs, classes, workshops and services throughout the year

NEWARK -- Mayor Ras Baraka on Friday will open the latest location for his citywide Centers of Hope initiative, where adults and children have access to an array of services ranging from arts and athletics programs to financial literacy and job readiness training.

The new center is housed in three apartments at the Pennington Court Housing Complex, 190 South Street, in the East Ward, where Baraka will hold an 11 a.m. news conference.

Baraka announced the Centers of Hope initiative in March 2015, and since then the city has opened seven locations in city-owned, or previously vacant buildings, at recreation centers, in all five wards.  

"This is not a rec center, " Baraka said at the time. "This is a center of opportunity."

In an announcement of Friday's opening, the city said the new center will offer, "a schedule of after-school programs, classes, workshops and services throughout the year, including but not limited to: healthy living, tutoring, computer and financial literacy, athletics, arts & culture, academic enrichment, job readiness, and computer/graphic art training."

Like other locations, the Pennington Court center will be open Monday through Friday.

But, the city said in the announcement, "Unlike its predecessors, the Pennington Court site will be housed within three remodeled adjoining apartments, providing direct access to services to a previously underserved community."

The centers are operated and staffed by the city Division of Recreation, Department of Health and Community Wellness, and non-profit organizations.

For more information on the South Street center or other locations, call 973-733-6400, or visit the Centers of Hope page on the city web site.

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

BLOOMFIELD -- Hawkeye is a 4-year-old male pit bull terrier mix at the Bloomfield Animal Shelter. Rescued as a stray, shelter workers say he is "very people friendly, loves walks and knows basic commands." Hawkeye, who gets along with everyone he meets at adoption events, is said to be good with children; he has been neutered and is up-to-date on...

Hawkeye 

BLOOMFIELD -- Hawkeye is a 4-year-old male pit bull terrier mix at the Bloomfield Animal Shelter.

Rescued as a stray, shelter workers say he is "very people friendly, loves walks and knows basic commands."

Hawkeye, who gets along with everyone he meets at adoption events, is said to be good with children; he has been neutered and is up-to-date on shots.

To meet Hawkeye and other adoptable pets, visit the Bloomfield Animal Shelter at 61 Bukowski Place. The shelter is open every day from noon to 5 p.m. (Wednesdays until 6:30 p.m.) For more information, call 973-748-0194 or go to njhumane.org.

Shelters interested in placing a pet in the Paw Print adoption column or submitting news should call 973-836-4922 or email essex@starledger.com.

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

This week, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) is rolling out legislation to meaningfully reform tenant screening practices.

By Paula A. Franzese 

Yanira Cortes, a mother of four young children, lives in subsidized housing in Newark's Pueblo City Apartments. Her apartment is unsafe and uninhabitable, infested by rats, roaches and mold.

Her complaints to the landlord have gone unheeded. Finally, when the premises' bathroom ceiling collapsed, she withheld rent as is her right under the law and was promptly sued for eviction.

As a result, she found herself placed on a tenant "blacklist" that is the equivalent of a miserable credit rating.

Tenants who appear on those "tenant screening reports" find themselves denied future renting opportunities and discriminated against because they asserted their right to safe and inhabitable housing.

Cortes' appearance on that list sunk her chances of finding another apartment. In her words, "Now when I try to apply to other places, they tell me, 'You went to court for an eviction, you're a bad tenant.'"

For the past two years my colleagues Abbott Gorin, David Guzik and I have studied the experiences of low-income residential tenants in Essex County. We found that landlords can use tenant screening reports generated by private reporting agencies as a means to penalize tenants who fight back against unsafe and unlivable conditions.

Tenants like Cortes find themselves punished for asserting their right to safe and inhabitable premises while landlords who lease grossly substandard affordable housing units continue to receive sizable state and federal subsidies for those units.

The implied warranty of habitability is supposed to assure a residential tenant that the premises she leases will be safe and suitable for dwelling. It permits a tenant living in unfit premises to withhold rent until the problems complained of - like the absence of heat in winter, inadequate plumbing, lack of running water, and rodent and mold infestation - are abated.

But rather than compel landlord compliance with the law, a tenant's withholding of rent most often prompts the landlord's swift eviction action. The very commencement of that action, no matter its context or resolution, puts the named tenant on a "blacklist," called a "tenant screening report."

Court systems in New Jersey and across the country inadvertently feed the practice insofar as these privatized tenant screening agencies are able to access records of landlord-tenant court filings to vet prospective tenants at landlords' request. The agency issues its report in exchange for a fee that the tenant must pay when applying for rental housing

The report, which the tenant never sees, lists any and all instances in which that tenant was named as either a plaintiff or defendant in a housing court action. It reveals nothing about the given circumstances, not even indicating whether the tenant prevailed in the matter. There is no appeal process or chance for the adversely affected tenant to explain how and why she came to appear on the list. 
 
A tenant whose name appears on the list is stigmatized and denied future renting opportunities, rendering affordable housing options even less accessible.

What is more, the lists skew market efficiencies, creating "false negatives" of prospective renters who would in fact be fine tenants. Further, the very specter of being blacklisted imposes a considerable chilling effect, dissuading tenants from exercising otherwise assured rights and remedies. 

We teach our law students that a right without a means for its vindication is hollow. For too long now, the system has been stacked against tenants struggling to live in safe and affordable housing.

This week, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) is rolling out legislation to meaningfully reform tenant screening practices. The bill would amend the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act to exclude from tenant screening reports any landlord-tenant court or housing court matter that did not result in a judgment of possession in favor of the landlord and all matters that are more than three years old.

Its provisions would help to assure fair and accurate reporting, guaranteeing tenants a free copy of the generated report and the opportunity, through a central clearinghouse, to correct inaccuracies and provide context.

The proposed federal legislation mirrors in significant part a New Jersey bill introduced earlier this year by state Sens. Richard Codey (D-Essex/Morris), Ronald Rice (D-Essex) and Brian Stack (D-Hudson) and, like its state counterpart, it deserves passage.

Paula Franzese, the Peter W. Rodino professor of law at Seton Hall School of Law, is one of the country's leading experts in property law as well as government ethics.

Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook.

Welcome back to the jungle, GNR fans!

NEWARK -- Things seem to be going a-okay for Guns N' Roses these days: Axl Rose and Slash have learned to tolerate each other once more, the band's Not In This Lifetime tour was the best-selling rock roadshow of 2016 (even better than Springsteen's mega-tour) and now, the Los Angeles hard-rockers are planning their return to New Jersey. 

Guns N' Roses announced Friday it will visit Prudential Center in Newark Oct. 12 as part of its tour continuation. The band played MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford last July.

Tickets go on sale July 28 at 10 a.m. on Ticketmaster. 

The current lineup -- as close to the classic late-80's roster as the band will ever get -- includes Rose, Slash and original bassist Duff McKagan plus guitarist Richard Fortus, drummer Frank Ferrer and keyboardists Dizzy Reed and Melissa Reese.

We reviewed the band's Philadelphia show last summer and were blown away by how triumphant the two-and-a-half-hour show truly was, despite all the years of fighting. When Rose screamed "Do you know where you are?!" all was forgiven.

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

SOUTH ORANGE -- The Cameo Theater on South Orange Avenue in South Orange is shown in this circa-1930 photo. In 1940, it was chosen for the premiere of "Edison the Man" starring Spencer Tracy as Thomas Edison; Tracy attended the showing. MORE: Vintage photos around New Jersey A commercial building sits on the property once occupied by the theater. If...

SOUTH ORANGE -- The Cameo Theater on South Orange Avenue in South Orange is shown in this circa-1930 photo.

In 1940, it was chosen for the premiere of "Edison the Man" starring Spencer Tracy as Thomas Edison; Tracy attended the showing.

MORE: Vintage photos around New Jersey

A commercial building sits on the property once occupied by the theater.

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

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

Animal was given oxygen after being rescued by firefighters.

WEST ORANGE -- Firefighters rescued a dog from a second floor blaze at a restaurant in West Orange early Friday, according to officials.

The Essex House in West Orange (Photo: Google Maps) 

Police and fire crews found thick smoke coming from the Essex House eatery on Northfield Avenue after reports of a fire around 12:20 a.m., the fire department said in a statement.

In the second floor room, West Orange Fire Department Acting Capt. Sean Hector and Firefighter Mike Reilly found a dog that was having trouble breathing, the department said.

Crews removed the dog, which was given oxygen and taken to a Fairfield animal hospital. The animal's condition was not immediately available. The building's sprinklers contained the flames.

Firefighters initially received reports that two people were still inside the building, but found the duo outside when they arrived, according to the department. 

Officials said the fire did not appear to be suspicious and the cause remained under investigation.

Essex House has operated for more than 35 years, according to its website.

"The Essex House is adorned with ornate rich wood carvings, beautiful authentic details, and original Victorian antiques, which evoke a special feeling of the Golden Age of America and propel you back to the 'Roaring Twenties,'" the website stated.

A representative for Essex House said the eatery would be closed, but there was no major damage.

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

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Woman charged with aggravated assault.

NEWARK -- A Newark woman was arrested for a stabbing at an East Ward housing complex that left a man in critical condition, officials said Friday.

Kareema K. Walton (Photo: Newark Dept. of Public Safety) 

Kareema K. Walton, 36, was charged with aggravated assault and weapons offenses.

Police responded to the Riverview Court apartments for a report of an injured person around 5 p.m. Thursday, according to Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose. The victim, a 26-year-old man, was rushed to University Hospital.

Authorities said Walton was an "acquaintance" of the victim and the attack came after a dispute.

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

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It's not just the Jersey Devil lurking in the forests. But these 11 things aren't myths, they can actually kill you.

A beloved pizza truck, a Jersey classic and a Drunken Grandma are among our latest batch of semifinalists

FBI agents raided the home in 2010 and arrested its suburban owners Vladimir and Lydia Guryev.

MONTCLAIR-- When investor Jeremy MacDonald first looked at a residence in the township's Fieldstone neighborhood, he knew little of its colorful past: A family of undercover Russian spies had once occupied the now vacant house.

Fast forward four years, and MacDonald's development company is planning to flip the long empty Montclair property.

FBI agents raided the home in 2010 and arrested its suburban owners Vladimir and Lydia Guryev, a couple who went by fake names Richard and Cynthia Murphy and attempted to gather useful intelligence for Moscow. The case served as inspiration for FX's show "The Americans."

Situated on a quiet township road amidst a row of well-manicured houses, neighbors have for years described the vacant residence at 31 Marquette Street as an eyesore.

A makeover, however, is in its future.

The new owners, North N.J. House Buyers LLC., purchased the property at the end of June for $340,000 and recently submitted permits to begin renovations, said the company's co-owner MacDonald.

The businessman has had his eye on the home since 2013, when the U.S. Marshalls Service first put it on the market for $440,900. Boston-based Santander Bank then acquired it in 2016.

"I didn't even know it used to be a Russian spy house," MacDonald said. "The realtor I'm currently working with showed me all the news articles about its history." 

MacDonald said his company has hired a landscaper to repair the home's exterior, with its yellow, chipped paint and line of overgrown bushes.

Once renovations totaling around $200,000 are complete, MacDonald said, the home will have a new bedroom, walk-in-closet, bathroom and finished basement. He anticipates it will sell for about $700,000. 

MacDonald expects the home's history to neither help nor hurt prospects of selling it and called the latest move a step toward a "happy ending" for the seven-year saga.

"It's out of the FBI's hands and it's not foreclosed. This has been an ongoing story for the past seven years, but now its coming to an end," he said.

The Montclair couple -- two of 10 people arrested at the time as part of a ring of Russian spies -- evaded authorities using steganography, a high-tech method of writing and passing messages.

Neighbors at the time said they believed Cynthia Murphy was employed as a Manhattan accountant while her husband worked as an architect. In 2009, Cynthia Murphy used financial contacts in New York to pass information to Moscow about the prospective global gold market, according to the FBI.

Neighbors and the township now look forward to a fresh start for the home, which still hasn't parted with its history of espionage.

Rashaun Hall, who moved into the Fieldstone neighborhood in November, called the home "an eyesore" and said he is excited it's being repaired. 

"All the houses will look the same now once it's fixed up, so that's good," he said.

Head of Montclair Code Enforcement Brian Wilde says the township is also pleased with the fix-up plan.

"Montclair is excited that this house will be renovated soon and lived in again, bringing a new family to the neighborhood," Wilde said. 

A CNN "Declassified" special airing on Saturday at 9 p.m. will feature the 2010 story of undercover spies living in New Jersey and other parts of the country.

Avalon Zoppo may be reached at azoppo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @AvalonZoppo. Find NJ.com on Facebook. 

Where do police officers make the most?

Antonio L. Laracuente of Newark was stopped as he went through the George Washington Bridge tolls without paying, authorities said

Antonio LaracuentePort Authority Police  

FORT LEE -- A Newark man caught trying to beat a toll at the George Washington Bridge on Friday night owes more than $44,000 in unpaid tolls, authorities said Saturday.

Antonio L. Laracuente, 37, was arrested Friday after a Port Authority of New York and New Jersey police officer spotted him driving through the lower-level tolls of the bridge without paying, said Port Authority police spokesman Joseph Pentangelo.

Pentangelo said Officer Colman O'Reilly, stationed at the toll plaza, watched as Laracuente drove his 2012 Honda Accord through the EZPass lanes and the signboard read "toll unpaid."

After stopping the car, O'Reilly learned Laracuente had no valid driver's license or an EZPass transponder or account, he said. A computer check showed that Laracuente's license had been suspended and that he had an outstanding warrant from Clark, Pentangelo said.

He said Laracuente had racked up $44,445 in outstanding tolls and fees.

Laracuente was charged with theft of service, driving with a suspended license, toll evasion and traffic violations, Pentangelo said.

MaryAnn Spoto may be reached at mspoto@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @MaryAnnSpoto. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

The Essex County Prosecutor's Office is investigating an early morning homicide in Newark, a spokeswoman for the agency confirmed.

NEWARK -- Authorities are responding to an early morning homicide on Summer Ave., the Essex County Prosecutor's Office confirmed Saturday. 

Katherine Carter, a spokeswoman for the agency, said no further details were available. 

Residents on 500 block of Summer Avenue sat on their porches asking what happened along the tree-lined residential street as investigators combed the scene on Saturday. Half a block away, children played on a small playground. 

The killing marks the city's 34th murder this year, according to police records. There were at least 50 slayings during the same period last year.

Robert Sciarrino contributed to this report. This story will be updated when more information becomes available.

Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook.