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Botched warning about infant in danger sparks disgust, vows of action

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Lawmakers, child advocates and a candidate for governor said they were alarmed by the Department of Children and Family's handling of a tip to the child abuse hotline.

SPECIAL INVESTIGATION:
'THE LAST GOODNIGHT'

TRENTON -- The federal court monitor for New Jersey's child welfare agency said she will open an inquiry into its botched handling of a call to the state child abuse hotline that warned an infant might be at risk. The agency did nothing, and the baby died 103 days later.

On May 1, 2015, two days after Jalon Josiah "JoJo" Lemons was born at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, a hospital worker called the hotline to report the baby's mother, Micael Jordan, had revealed that one of her children had suffocated while sharing a bed with her and others.

But an NJ Advance Media investigation published Thursday found the child welfare agency never followed-up on the call or dispatched caseworkers to Jordan's apartment on South 11th Street in Newark, where they would have seen a family with four children financially struggling -- and without a crib.

"The best practice in this case would have been for the hotline to accept the call, and minimally, gone out to do an assessment and have a conversation with the parent," said the monitor, Judith Meltzer, deputy director of the Study for Social Policy in Washington, D.C. "What we will do next is we will follow up with the department and have a conversation about the handling of this."

State lawmakers are also calling for action in response to the news organization's investigation. On Thursday, hours after the account was published, Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto vowed to get to the bottom of the case in order to make the child welfare agency more accountable.

"This astonishing investigation is both sad and maddening," Prieto, D-Hudson, said in a statement. "Clearly, questions need to be asked, whether that be through a committee hearing or other means, about how the state's child welfare agency failed to act on a potentially lifesaving call."

"I will be talking to my committee chairs about our next steps," Prieto said.

On the night of Aug. 11, 2015, JoJo was put to sleep on a single, full-size mattress with four other people, including his mother, Jordan, and his father, Hakeem Lemons. When the parents awoke the next morning, they found JoJo not breathing.

Jordan tried to revive him, but JoJo was pronounced dead an hour later at University Hospital in Newark. Lemons told investigators it was a "mistake" to lay JoJo with them on the mattress. He was the third of Jordan's children to die while bed-sharing, or co-sleeping.

A day later, on Aug. 13, 2015, the Essex County Prosecutor's Office signed an arrest warrant for Jordan and Lemons on charges of reckless manslaughter and child endangerment. The two later pleaded guilty to a single count each of child endangerment.

Despite the guilty plea, the child welfare agency, the Division of Child Protection and Permanency, concluded JoJo's death was not caused by abuse or neglect. That meant the agency was not legally obligated to release any information about the death, including the botched hotline call.

What's more, agency investigators omitted any reference of the hotline call from their final report on JoJo's death. That report has never been made public, but sources familiar with it confirmed its contents to NJ Advance Media.

For the past two years, the division has declined to answer questions posed by the news organization about the case and JoJo's death. It has also declined requests for interviews with the commissioner of the Department of Children and Families, Allison Blake, who oversees the agency.

On Friday, a day after NJ Advance Media published the investigation, Blake released a letter in which she did not directly address the hotline mistake and JoJo's death, but said, "our hotline receives more than 14,500 calls a month, useful context the article does not provide."

"The individuals answering calls to our around-the-clock hotline are trained professionals, and their work, dedication, and service has been documented over the years," Blake said in the letter, which was sent to department employees and child welfare professionals

Despite the work being "emotionally challenging," the hotline staff earned Meltzer's praise in a 2012 report, noting a "high degree of professionalism," Blake said.

When asked Friday about the hotline mistake and JoJo's death, Gov. Chris Christie said he "didn't see" the news organization's investigation and declined comment.

Blake's letter also raised new questions about the agency's finding of no abuse or neglect.

The commissioner said that it's difficult for the agency to prove abuse or neglect in cases of infant deaths involving bed-sharing because there must be an aggravating factor, such as "gross negligence or recklessness, like falling asleep impaired from alcohol or substance use."

"But reaching this conclusion often requires the parent admitting to their impairment," Blake said.

However, in JoJo's case, records obtained from the Essex County Prosecutor's Office show the baby's father, Lemons, told police he had been smoking marijuana that afternoon, and that the mother, Jordan, had been out until about 11 p.m. having drinks with friends.

What's more, civil and administrative investigations such as the one completed by the department have a lower burden of proof than a criminal prosecution, which, in JoJo's case, was successful.

The entire episode suggests the federal court monitor needs to do a comprehensive re-evaluation of the hotline, said Marcia Robinson Lowry, executive director of A Better Childhood, the national child advocacy group whose lawsuit forced New Jersey into the ongoing supervision.

Lowry said she would ask Meltzer to review the hotline's operations in the next biannual monitoring report.

Sen. Joseph Vitale, D-Middlesex, chairman of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee, said he intended to ask questions of Blake, including, "why no action was taken in response to the hospital's call to the hotline."

"When a hospital sounds an alarm about a child in danger, there has to be appropriate follow-up and accountability from the department," Vitale said.

Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri-Huttle, D-Bergen, called NJ Advance Media's report a "heartbreaking expose."

"At the heart of the primary account detailed in this investigation are some serious questions about the effectiveness of the Division of Child Protection and Permanency," Huttle said.

Lawmakers also promised to do more to publicize the risks of unsafe infant sleeping practices. From 2005 to 2014, 304 infants in New Jersey died while sharing a bed, according to the state's child death reports. About 25 to 30 infants die annually in the state while bed-sharing.

Assemblywoman Eliana Pintor Marin said she's worried a bill to require the state to better promote safe-sleep practices and improve access to "baby boxes" -- bassinet-sized  cardboard boxes that can hold a sleeping infant in lieu of a crib -- has stalled in the Senate.

"We know that unsafe sleeping often coincides with poverty and concerns such as tobacco usage," Marin, D-Essex, said. "We need an all-out effort to keep these babies safe. ... We cannot control personal behavior, but we can do more to raise awareness of safe sleep practices."

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'THE LAST GOODNIGHT':

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


The NJ.com football Top 20 for Sept. 17: Which new team cracked the list?

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Which team joined the fold? And where did everyone else land? Check it all out.

Newark cop arrested for 3rd time in 2 years

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The suspended Newark police officer is facing aggravated assault charges, authorities confirmed

Chirico.jpgChirico. (Essex County Dept. of Corrections)
 

NEWARK -- A city police officer has been suspended without pay after being arrested last week -- the third time he has been arrested in the last two years.

Peter Chirico, a 21-year veteran of the Newark police department, was arrested in the early morning hours of Sept. 11 on aggravated assault charges stemming from a domestic incident, a spokeswoman for the Essex County Prosecutor's Office confirmed.

Authorities said the incident happened in the alleged victim's Newark home, not in the police officer's. Chirico, 48, is from Toms River and has also lived in Manalapan, records show. Calls to his listed phone numbers in both towns were not answered Friday afternoon.

The prosecutor's office had moved to have the officer detained, but Superior Court Judge Peter Ryan denied the motion Friday under the state's reformed bail system, the spokeswoman confirmed. Chirico was released from custody Friday, with the charges against him still pending, authorities confirmed.

City police confirmed Chirico has been arrested twice before, in September of 2015 and June of 2016. The details and statuses of those arrests were not immediately clear.

According to a July administrative law decision, Chirico was also suspended from the department after a woman filed a restraining order against him in 2015. As a result, Chirico was barred from carrying his service weapon, the decision reads. The incident prompted the department to suspend him, without pay, for nine days, it says.

The department then reinstated him on a modified, unarmed duty.

Chirico appealed the suspension, but lost.

"(The) police department, though not required to do so, reinstated Chirico to modified duty despite his inability to fulfill his responsibilities fully due to lack of a weapon," the administrative law judge wrote in the decision.

It is unclear if Chirico received his gun back, or if he continues to serve on modified duty.

Chirico earns $64,956 a year, state pension records show. After his latest arrest, he was immediately suspended from the department without pay, a department spokesman confirmed.

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

 

$1M Mega Million ticket sold at North Jersey convenience store

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The ticket was sold at a news and food store in Fairfield

FAIRFIELD - The $1 million Mega Millions ticket sold for Friday night's drawing was bought at a convenience store in Essex County. 

The winner made the lucky purchase at Fairfield News & Food Store on the 300 block of Hollywood Avenue in Fairfield, state lottery officials said Monday.

It was the only ticket for the $86 million drawing sold nationally to match five numbers. Friday's winning numbers were 18, 24, 34, 38 and 58. The Mega Ball was 3 and the Megaplier 4X

North Jersey store sells $975K Cash 5 ticket

If the ticket had been bought with the Megaplier option for an extra $1, it's value would have increased to $4 million. 

A ticket matching four numbers and the Mega Ball worth $5,000 was sold at Welsh Farms on Flock Road in Hamilton, Mercer County.

Tuesday's Mega Millions drawing is worth $94 million with a cash option of $59 million.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Boys Soccer: Can't-miss games for the week of Sept. 18

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Here are 19 must-see boys soccer games this week.

Melgen tried to conceal flight data in Menendez case, prosecutor says

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An FAA analyst testified at the federal corruption trial of U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez on Monday

NEWARK -- After Salomon Melgen's Florida office was searched by the FBI on Jan. 30, 2013, his son-in-law made a late night request to the Federal Aviation Administration to remove the flight records of the doctor's plane from public view, an agency official testified Monday.

William Blacker, an analyst for the Federal Aviation Administration, testified at U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez's federal corruption trial that Eduardo Rodriguez, the doctor's son-in-law, sent an email to the agency just after midnight on Jan. 31, asking that the agency stop sending flight data about the doctor's plane to third-party flight-tracking services available to the public.

Both the prosecution and the defense had stipulated investigators on Jan. 30 recovered a cost estimate of the senator's flights on Melgen's private planes and a copy of a $58,500 check meant to reimburse two of the trips. The jury has not heard that FBI agents served a search warrant on the doctor's office, only that agents obtained the documents from that location.

Defense attorneys had asked U.S. District Judge William H. Walls to block Monday's testimony, but Peter Koski, the lead prosecutor on the case, argued the request shows a clear act of concealment that "establishes the defendant's consciousness of guilt."

The New Jersey Democrat is accused of accepting lavish personal gifts, expensive meals and golf outings from Dr. Salomon Melgen--as well as hundreds of thousands of dollars in political donations--in exchange for using the power of his office to lobby for his wealthy benefactor's extensive financial and personal interests in Washington.

Melgen, who was convicted in April in a separate Medicare fraud case in the Southern District of Florida, was charged along with Menendez and is on trial as well.

Defense attorneys have argued the senator's actions in question were legitimate legislative activity, and described the men's longtime friendship as "an absolute defense to bribery" -- theories prosecutors sought to challenge last week.

The trial continues in U.S. District Court in Newark.

Click on the circles in the photos to learn more about the charges in the federal corruption trial.  

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

Thomas Moriarty may be reached by email at tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.comFollow him on Twitter at @ThomasDMoriarty

Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

Girls Soccer: Can't miss games for week of Sept. 18-21

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A look at the top games from the upcoming week of the 2017 season.

How swanky spa, resort play into Menendez's corruption allegations

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A hotel stay at the resort with the "number one" rated golf course in the Caribbean could cost $1,500, according to testimony

NEWARK -- A prosecutor's line of questioning Monday afternoon in U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez's ongoing federal corruption trial focused on the lavish amenities at a high-priced resort.

The "number one" rated golf course in the Caribbean. Miles of sandy beaches and blue ocean. A spa, and a hotel that charges as much as $1,500 a night. Andres Pichardo-Rosenberg, the president of the Casa de Campo in the Dominican Republic, revealed the highlights of the resort under questioning from the prosecution. 

Dr. Salomon Melgen, the Democratic senator's co-defendant in the case, owns a villa on the resort's 7,000-acre property. The two men traveled together to the resort frequently, which prosecutors allege was part of an improper relationship between the two.

Testimony about the resort made for a light-hearted back-and-forth in court Monday, as presiding Judge William H. Walls urged attorneys on both sides of the courtroom not to go into excessive, unnecessary detail when questioning witnesses.

"I'm sick and tired of listening to this," Walls told the lawyers earlier in the day, indicating he felt prosecutors had wasted too much time asking repetitive questions, and the defense attorneys spend time harping on questions that have already been asked.

In court Monday, Walls abruptly interrupted testimony, sent the jury out of the courtroom, and reprimanded the attorneys, saying he is going to crack down on such lines of questioning.

The lawyers' actions, Walls said, were "insulting not only to the court, but the jury."

"There is too much insulting of the jury being done by both sides in this case."

Heeding Walls' warning, Menendez's lead defense attorney continuously objected to the government's questioning of Pichardo-Rosenberg, arguing the detailed descriptions may have been tantalizing to the jury, sitting in a courtroom in New Jersey, but irrelevant, since there is no proof that Menendez used the spa, golf course, or any other amenities while he was there.  

When asked directly by defense attorneys about what Menendez did while on the trip, Pichardo-Rosenberg could not specifically say the senator actually used any of the expensive perks of the resort prosecutors detailed.

Prosecutors have alleged that Menendez used his political influence to help Melgen, who was convicted in April in a separate Medicare fraud case in Florida, after accepting lavish gifts and large campaign donations from the doctor.

The trial continues Tuesday morning in U.S. District Court in Newark.

Click on the circles in the photos to learn more about the charges in the federal corruption trial. 

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

Thomas Moriarty may be reached by email at tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ThomasDMoriarty

Find NJ.com on Facebook.


Newark residents: More speed humps, please | Carter

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Newark residents in the North Ward want more speed humps

The speed humps on Summer Avenue, a long and busy street that carries traffic from the Belleville line to Bloomfield Avenue in Newark, start right after you cross Elwood Avenue in the city's North Ward.

Another one is just after Delevan Avenue, and yet another after Chester Avenue, all three installed last year to slow motorists driving like they were on the highway.

Some respect the hump. Most don't, however, particularly the young, reckless motorists. "They just go through it like it's not there,'' said Carmen Pagan, a resident.

MORE: Recent Barry Carter columns  

The scary part is that the cars' pace picks up again after the third hump, and residents at the next intersection - Summer and Arlington avenues -  are pleading for a fourth.

"Every day, we live in fear,'' said Carmen Rodriguez, a resident who said she has collected 400 signatures on a petition. "It's crazy. We've gone to meetings. I'm fed up.''

speed2IMG_5902.JPGNewark police set up a speed radar sign on Summer Avenue to remind motorists of how fast they are traveling. 

It's the talk of the neighborhood, from the corner store to their front stoop. Tires screech and the noise disturbs residents, but worse is the menace as the cars hurtle through. A lady almost was hit this summer; a kid, too. Drivers have blown past the traffic light at times and driven around school buses picking up kids, even when the bus driver has parked the bus on angle to deter them.

"I carry my (4-year-old) daughter across the street,'' said Melissa Santiago. "It's too dangerous.''

Willie Cruz had to buy a new SUV this summer after a speeding motorists crashed into his Jeep Cherokee that was parked in front of his house on Summer Avenue, a few doors down from Arlington Avenue. When he came outside, the driver of the speeding car had fled and his vehicle was on the sidewalk. "That's something I didn't want to see,'' he said.

North Ward Councilman Anibal Ramos knows it's a problem, noting that Summer Avenue is the only street in his ward that has three humps close together.

"It's such a long block, but they still manage to speed after the hump,'' Ramos said.

He has put in a request to the city's Department of Engineering to consider a fourth hump on that stretch of Summer Avenue.

Kimberly Singleton, manager for the Division of Traffic and Signals, said the Summer and Arlington avenue intersection will be evaluated by a traffic study to see if it's suitable for a hump. If it is, Singleton said, that site will be added to the list of neighborhoods it has identified in need of them.

Singleton said there are 150 requests for speed humps across the city, but her division will be able to install only 35. That work, which cost $10,000 to $15,000 per speed hump, should start next spring and be completed by the summer.  The city does not know how many it has throughout the five wards.

State guidelines for speed humps say they are available only on residential streets with fewer than 2,500 vehicles per day. And they will be installed only if 100 percent of homeowners and 67 percent of renters who live near the speed hump sign a petition. If case residents want one, Singleton said a request should be made in writing to the Division of Traffic and Signals.  

Two years ago, Newark started installing speed humps because the rumble strips it had been using were wearing out, Singleton said, and the hump proved to be more effective in slowing motorists.

Throughout the North Ward, where 15 were installed last year, Ramos has requests for 120 speed humps and he knows the need is growing in areas that were once industrial and are now residential.

"Whatever we have in the ward is not enough,'' he said. "We need more.''

Residents at Summer and Arlington avenues say the city has to do something for them now.

Gilbert Santiago, a Belleville resident, doesn't drive this way anymore.

MORE CARTER: Newark seniors say they need more security

"They drive like they got their license out of the cereal box,'' Santiago said.

Capt. Derek Glenn said the traffic unit patrolled the area Friday, issuing 10 summonses for moving violations, but none related to speeding. He said they were aware of resident concerns from neighborhood meetings.

"We're more than willing to work with the community to do things necessary to improve the quality of life in the area,'' Glenn said.

After patrolling the neighborhood, the traffic unit left a radar speed sign at the intersection so motorists will know how fast they're traveling.

It's not a speed hump, but it's better than nothing.

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

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

Lavish hotels, limo rides, a $20K plane trip: Menendez jury hears of luxurious lifestyle

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The Democratic U.S. senator's federal corruption trial is entering it's third week

Who were N.J.'s top football players for Week 2? Here are 36 standouts

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Which players had the biggest games?

Leader of multi-million dollar carjacking ring sentenced to 14 years

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The 30-year-old from Irvington got a 14-year term

NEWARK -- One of the leaders of a ring that carjacked luxury vehicles in New Jersey and New York for shipment and sale in West Africa was sentenced Monday to 14 years in prison.

kyle.jpgKyle Champagnie 

Kyle Champagnie, 30, of Irvington, had pleaded guilty in February to first-degree financial facilitation of criminal activity.

In all, 18 of the 26 people indicted in December 2014 have either been sentenced to terms of five to 20 years in prison or are awaiting sentencing.

Of the 160 vehicles recovered, 140 were recovered at ports, including Port Newark, Port Elizabeth and Howland Hook Seaport in Staten Island, N.Y. The ring operated in Essex, Union, Morris, Monmouth, Middlesex, Bergen and Somerset counties. The vehicles seized are valued at $8 million.

Authorities said the ring stole luxury cars -- often at gun- or knifepoint -- with brands including Land Rover, Mercedes Benz, Jaguar and Aston Martin. Others were taken by bumping the target vehicles to lure the owners out of their cars. 

Some were so-called "soft-steals" -- cars that were taken while running at car washes or airports. On other occasions, members of the ring bought luxury vehicles from dealerships with bad checks. 

Members of the ring later loaded the vehicles onto shipping containers at ports in New York and New Jersey and shipped them to West Africa, where they could be sold for far more than in the United States, police said.

Champagnie was one of three accused ringleaders of the operation, which had as many as 30 people working for it, according to police.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

See the childhood homes of Springsteen, Whitney Houston & other N.J. celebs

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Check out where Anne Hathaway, Martha Stewart, Mike Trout and others grew up

The boys soccer Players of the Week in all 15 N.J. conferences, Sept. 11-17

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See which players were tabbed as NJ.com's Player of the Week in every conference.

Man, 20, killed in triple shooting in Newark

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Alshadeem Q. Green, 20, of Newark, was killed in the shooting that inured two other men, authorities said.

NEWARK -- A 20-year-old man was killed Monday night in a shooting that injured two other men on the city's West Side, authorities said.

The three were shot at 7:25 p.m. on the 600 block of South 20th Street in Newark, authorities said. Alshadeem Q. Green, 20, of Newark, died about 30 minutes later at University Hospital.

The two other men, a 20-year-old from Irvington and a 37-year-old from Newark, were in stable condition, acting Essex County Prosecutor Robert D. Laurino and Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said.

No arrests have been made as of Tuesday morning.

Authorities spent more than three hours Monday night investigating the crime scene at 18th Avenue and South 20th Street, focusing their investigation on the sidewalk just outside Royal Liquors.

Investigators placed at least 20 evidence tags on the sidewalk and street.

Shortly after 9 p.m., a woman arrived the intersection in her car, got out and ran up to the police tape to talk to the officers.

"Did an ambulance take my son to the hospital?" she frantically asked. "Does he have his wheelchair?"

After a quick conversation with the policeman, the woman got back in her car and sped away.

Neighbors peered out of their windows to watch as police canvassed the street, taping off half a block east of 18th Avenue and half a block north of South 20th Street.

The killing marked the 48th murder in Newark this year compared to at least 68 slayings during the same time in 2016.

The prosecutor's office's Homicide and Major Crimes Task Force, which includes Newark detectives, is investigating the triple shooting.

Authorities are asking anyone with information to call the prosecutor's office's tip line at 877-847-7432.

Luke Nozicka may be reached at lnozicka@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @lukenozicka.

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A little bit of this, a little bit of that. Judge in Menendez case offers Jewish recipe for evidence

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U.S. District Judge William H. Walls' decision on the motion was somewhat of a mixed bag, which he likened to the traditional Jewish stew, tzimmes.

NEWARK -- The judge in the federal corruption case of U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez indicated Tuesday that he is willing to let the jury hear some evidence on a case by case basis likening his decision to the traditional Jewish stew, tzimmes.

Before the jury entered the courtroom for the eighth day of the New Jersey Democrat's bribery trial, attorneys in the case had argued a motion the government filed to suppress evidence related to the senator's official acts in other cases.

U.S. District Judge William H. Walls' decision on the motion was somewhat of a mixed bag. In describing the stew and the decision, he said it's "mixture of a lot of different things." 

He told the lawyers he would "give each of you a little bit of this, and a little bit of that."

Whether any given piece of testimony or evidence regarding the other actions would be allowed at the trial, he said, would be decided on an individual basis.

"It boils down to two words," Walls told attorneys. "It depends."

His reference to tzimmes was apparently a nod to the Jewish New Year this week. The court will not be in session for Rosh Hashanah. The traditional dish, often made for festive holidays, is made from a combination of sweet potatoes, carrots and dried fruit, but often depends on whatever a cook has on hand.

In the motion heard Tuesday morning, prosecutors said that while Menendez may have helped get visas for people other than the girlfriends of his longtime friend Florida ophthalmologist Salomon Melgen, who was charged along with Menendez and is on trial as well, those other incidents are irrelevant to his federal corruption case. 

Defense attorneys argued the pattern of behavior could be used to establish a lack of criminal intent on the senator's part.

Menendez has been accused of accepting expensive meals and golf outings from Melgen--as well as hundreds of thousands of dollars in political donations--in exchange for using the power of his office to lobby for his wealthy benefactor's extensive financial and personal interests in Washington.

But the question at the center the pair's federal corruption trial remains whether the doctor's generosity toward Menendez was a token of friendship, or a series of bribes.

The trial continues in U.S. District Court in Newark.

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

Thomas Moriarty may be reached by email at tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.comFollow him on Twitter at @ThomasDMoriarty

Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

Notable numbers: 75 girls soccer stats leaders who excelled in Week 2

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Get a look at who made their mark during the second week of the season.

Reward offered for arrests in murder of 17-year-old boy

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Teen was slain on the block where he lived.

ORANGE -- Officials on Tuesday announced the Essex County Sheriff's Crime Stoppers program is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to arrests in the killing of a 17-year-old boy, who was gunned down in a triple shooting in Orange last year.

Davon Jones and two other victims were in the 100 block of Taylor Street, where the teen lived, when several assailants pulled up in a light color sport utility vehicle and started shooting around 10 p.m. April 14, according to the Essex County Prosecutor's Office.

Jones suffered multiple gunshot wounds and died a short time later at University Hospital in Newark, officials said. Two other people were shot and survived the attack. Authorities did not comment on a possible motive for the shooting.

In a statement, Acting Essex County Prosecutor Robert D. Laurino and Sheriff Armando B. Fontoura urged anyone with information to call prosecutor's office investigators at 1-877-TIPS-4EC or 1-877-847-7432.

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

Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips

 

Loaded AK-47 seized, 63 arrested in sweep, police say

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Heroin, cocaine and marijuana also recovered in citywide effort.

NEWARK -- Police seized several weapons -- including a loaded AK-47 -- along with heroin, cocaine and marijuana in a weeklong anti-drug sweep that led to 63 arrests, officials said Tuesday.

The operation concluded Sunday after police targeted various areas of the city in response to complaints about drug activity and reports of people with guns, according to city Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose.

Many of the arrests were for drug possession, warrants and weapons-related offenses.

Police on Saturday were called to reports of a man with a gun in the 300 block of Mt. Pleasant Avenue, where they found Anderson Moronta armed with the AK-47, Ambrose said in a statement. Moronta, 20, of Newark, was charged with weapons offenses and trespassing.

In total, the operation led police to seize about $6,000 in drug money, Ambrose said. The drugs recovered in the arrests carried an estimated $14,980 street value. 

Other arrests in the operation included:

  • Altariq Palmer, 19, of Newark, was charged with weapons offenses after authorities said patrol officers spotted him with a handgun in the 200 block of Sunset Avenue Wednesday. Palmer ran when he saw the officers, but was soon arrested, authorities said. Police said they recovered a loaded 9mm handgun in the arrest. Officers also found another handgun at the scene of the arrest and were searching for its owner.
  • Anthony Taylor, 28, of East Orange, Hakim R. McKinney, 34, and Rodney Harrison-Simpson, 23, both of Newark, were arrested Sept. 12 and charged with weapons offenses.

    Police stopped the men after they smelled marijuana coming from a group of people outside a residence near South 9th Street and Central Avenue, authorities said. Officers saw Taylor with a loaded .45 handgun, according to police. He was also found with five vials of crack cocaine.

    The officers saw McKinney drop a plastic bag of marijuana, authorities said. McKinney also had a loaded 9mm handgun.

    Harrison-Simpson was arrested after he tried to run from the stop, according to police. He was accused of having a loaded .22 caliber handgun.

  • Newark detectives arrested Robert Figueroa, 24, of East Orange, after he was spotted with a gun Sept. 11 near 2nd Avenue East and Broadway, police said. Authorities recovered a loaded 9mm handgun and more than 300 envelopes of heroin in that arrest. Figueroa was charged with drug distribution and gun offenses.

  • Police arrested three men Friday after area residents complained about drug dealing in a North Ward neighborhood.

    Authorities said officers witnessed Calief Drummond, 33, of East Orange, Marcel Mangual, 40, of Belleville, conduct a drug transaction with another man.

    The arrest led police to seize about 281 packets of heroin, 22 vials of cocaine and 15 plastic baggies of marijuana, according to authorities. Drummond and Mangual were charged with drug distribution.

 

Magazine says this is the most beautiful high school in N.J.

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MAPLEWOOD The township's public high school, Columbia High, joins the ranks of Roanoke Rapids High in North Carolina, Withrow in Ohio and 47 others named the most beautiful public high school in each state by Architectural Digest magazine.  The 90-year-old building is an example of the Gothic Revival style and serves more than 1,900 students from South Orange as well...

MAPLEWOOD The township's public high school, Columbia High, joins the ranks of Roanoke Rapids High in North Carolina, Withrow in Ohio and 47 others named the most beautiful public high school in each state by Architectural Digest magazine. 

The 90-year-old building is an example of the Gothic Revival style and serves more than 1,900 students from South Orange as well as Maplewood. 

The magazine noted that although the current building was finished in 1927, Columbia High School was actually founded in 1815 and is one of the oldest schools in the country. 

To see the complete list, click here. 

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

 

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