Two Paterson men who allegedly ransacked a home on Thanksgiving night were apprehended six hours later after they went on a Black Friday shopping spree in Bergen, Essex, Morris and Passaic counties, police said.

Victor Serpa, 22, of Paterson (left) and Shaun Smith, 22 of Paterson (right)Clifton police

CLIFTON -- Two men who ransacked a home on Thanksgiving night were apprehended six hours later after they went on a Black Friday shopping spree in Bergen, Essex, Morris and Passaic counties, police said.

Victor Serpa and Shaun Smith, both 22-year-old Paterson residents, were each charged with burglary and theft in Clifton and fraudulent use of a credit card in Fairfield, Detective Sgt. Robert Bracken said.

The family residing at the East Seventh Street home returned at 11 p.m. on Thanksgiving and found their house ransacked of several thousand dollars worth of electronics, computer equipment, jewelry and personal documents, Bracken said.

Patrol officers Owen Curry and Michael Spano along with Sgt. Mohammad Droubi and Sgt. Darren Brodie investigated the burglary and canvassed the area, which led to a witness description of the vehicle, he said.

That vehicle, Bracken said, was later found on Lily Street in Paterson.

Clifton man charged with robbing Rite Aid at knifepoint

While officers with the patrol division investigated the burglary, Serpa and Smith allegedly used credit cards stolen from the family to go on a shopping spree throughout northern New Jersey. The duo allegedly spent thousands at stores such as Target and Wal-Mart.

Serpa and Smith, he said, made a large purchase at the Fairfield Target Thanksgiving night and then returned to the store at about 5 a.m. where they were arrested by Fairfield police.

Authorities were able to recover all of the items stolen from the Clifton home as well as the items purchased with the stolen credit cards from both the duo's car and the Lily Street residence.

Bracken said it was the assistance of Fairfield police detectives and the work by Officers Spano and Curry and Sgts. Droubi and Brodie that led to the quick arrest.

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

 

An amendment that would strip $1.6 billion in funding from seven northeastern states including New Jersey, could be resolved as soon as Monday evening.

Federal lawmakers warned that money for the Gateway Tunnel project could be in jeopardy if an amendment cutting $50 million from New Jersey and other northeastern states isn't rolled back in a new federal transportation bill.

U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and U.S. Rep. Albio Sires (D-8th Dist.) were joined at Penn Station Newark by Veronica Vanterpool, executive director of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, at a press conference Monday to talk about their efforts to restore the funding.

Sires, who is a member of the conference committee that is ironing out the differences between a senate and house funding bill, said the issue could be resolved as early as this evening or by Dec. 4, when the latest extension of the existing transportation legislation expires.

"I'm hoping that tonight we'll have news, but by Dec. 4, we need a resolution," Sires said. "We have enough problems without losing $50 million.

Northeastern lawmakers are trying to have a provision stripped out of the house bill that eliminated a special high-density public transportation program that provided a total of $1.6 billion to NJ Transit and transit agencies in six other densely populated northeastern states: New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

"If it becomes law, something like that would stop Gateway in it's tracks," Menendez said. "We would fall behind on basic maintenance and people could see delays like they saw this summer."

If NJ Transit loses $50 million in federal funding, that would also make it more difficult to find funding for Amtrak's Gateway Project, Menendez said. The project includes building two new rail tunnels under the Hudson River to augment two 105-year-old tunnels in need of repair and could cost $20 billion, based on preliminary estimates.

The $50 million loss would also put in NJ Transit in a budget hole, similar to the one that forced the agency to increase fares by nine percent last October to close a $56 million budget hole, Vanterpool warned.

"If this amendment goes into effect, it could have an affect on NJ Transit's service," she said. 

PLUS: How could Mid East events affect gas prices this week

If the $50 million isn't restored, Menendez said he couldn't vote for the funding bill, which could also be blocked by lawmakers from all seven northeastern states.

"We are doing everything we can to prevent it from becoming law, he said. "We want the right transportation bill."

Amtrak officials warned in October 2014 that one of the existing tunnels would have to be closed for one year each to repair damage from flood waters driven by Hurricane Sandy.

That would result in a 75 percent reduction to train traffic during rush hour, which in turn would put more cars on already congested roads, Vanterpool said.

In an interview a few hours after the press conference, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) echoed Sires comments that a compromise to restore funding and include his Gateway funding proposals in the final transportation bill, was imminent.

"This could be done tonight and we could get something to the house floor by mid-week," Booker said. "The biggest win would be for the reinvestment in the region. We did the ground work on the house side. I'm cautiously optimistic."

Booker said the measure to include his Gateway funding bills and reinstatement of the $1.6 billion in funding stripped by the house has gotten support from upstate New York Republican lawmakers, Booker said.

"They understand this is a powerful job creation tool in building and creating a return on investment," Booker said.

Could Gov. Chris Christie be doing more to convince Republicans to support the measures?

"I'm not sure what more he could be doing to influence the process," Booker said, saying that since August, Christie has been solid on the tunnel issue. "I'm glad he's been a willing partner to get us this far down the track."

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

Brick-and-mortar retailers say they experienced their best Black Friday in years.

SHORT HILLS -- National forecasters and theorists may say that holiday shopping in brick-and-mortar stores is on the decline, but retailers say there was no evidence of that in New Jersey.

"We don't have traffic counters, but...in the 15 years I've been here, this was one of the busiest Black Fridays we've had," Mike McAvinue, the general manager of the Mall at Short Hills, said in a phone interview Monday.

The mall, he said, was busier this Black Friday than it was last year. Its 6,100-spot parking lot was filled to capacity by 10:30 a.m. - about two hours after the mall opened and two hours fewer than it took to fill up in 2014, he said.

ALSO: Black Friday shopping fights nationwide, but what about N.J.? 

Other New Jersey malls reported similar experiences. In a statement Monday, Lisa Herrmann-Srednicki, a spokeswoman for the Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus -- which anticipated 100,000 shoppers on Black Friday -- called the start to the mall's holiday shopping season "robust...We are looking forward to a healthy and merry retail season."

A spokesman for nine of the Simon-owned shopping centers in New Jersey said those malls were "just as crowded, if not more" than they were last year.

But national estimates say the Jersey retailers' experiences were an exception. ShopperTrak, a consumer analytics provider, estimated that shoppers across the country spent $12.1 billion on Thanksgiving and Black Friday, a decrease from sales in 2014. In a preliminary estimate, ShopperTrak credited customers pre-shopping online with taking a bite out of in-person shopping.

Scott Rothbort, a business professor at Seton Hall University and founder of LakeView Asset Management, said online shopping is only one reason for what he called the "death of the American mall" in a recent article on consumer trends. Rothbort said lifestyle changes that have led to teens spending more time online and less hanging out in malls, the struggling nature of traditional mall anchor stores like JC Penney and Sears, and the growth in popularity of discount and outlet shopping centers have all contributed to the nationwide decline in mall shopping.

"Technology changed our lives," Rothbort said in a phone interview about his theory. "Shoppers are much more savvy than they used to be," he said, noting that shoppers are more likely to compare prices online than be tempted to head out the door to line up for "door buster" deals.

But, N.J. retailers said they see shoppers who choose to combine online and in-person techniques - by doing things like researching prices online but buying in person, or browsing online but doing quality-checks at stores.

This Black Friday, McAvinue said there was a perfect storm of low gas prices, nice weather, and good deals, to get people out shopping.

"There's a social aspect to it," he said of in-person shopping. "We had a lot of families, a lot of couples, who come out, get something to eat, (and) enjoy the holiday atmosphere...It was really nice to see."

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

After jurors at her first trial could not reach a verdict on most of the charges, Amber Brooks is preparing to go on trial again in the 2013 fatal shooting of Michael Brown

Amber BrooksEssex County Correctional Facility 

NEWARK -- Michael Brown was leaving a restaurant on Elizabeth Avenue in Newark on the night of Feb. 3, 2013 when he was suddenly shot in the lower back. The 49-year-old city resident fell to the ground and ultimately died.

Now for the second time, prosecutors are preparing to ask an Essex County jury to find that Amber Brooks killed Brown, an innocent bystander, when she was shooting at someone else.

Jury selection began on Tuesday in the second trial of Brooks, 21, of Newark, on murder and related charges in Brown's killing. At her first trial last year, the jury found Brooks not guilty of an attempted murder charge, but could not reach a verdict on the remaining charges.

Opening statements in the second trial are expected to take place on Jan. 12 before Superior Court Judge Carolyn Wright.

For the second trial, Essex County Assistant Prosecutor Roger Imhof is representing the state and Janelle Cleary is representing Brooks. Both of them are new to the case, since two different attorneys appeared at the first trial.

MORE: Jury unable to reach verdict on murder charge against 19-year-old Newark woman

Prosecutors have alleged the shooting occurred during an argument between Brooks, then 18, and Jennifer Prophet, who blamed Brooks for an earlier break-in at her apartment. Following that burglary, Prophet has said she and others went to Elizabeth Avenue to find Brooks.

After Brooks and others arrived at the scene, she allegedly fired the gun in Prophet's direction, but struck Brown as he was leaving a nearby restaurant, prosecutors said. Brown was not part of the dispute between Brooks and Prophet, prosecutors said.

The attempted murder charge that Brooks was acquitted of related to another man who allegedly accompanied Prophet.

The first trial hinged in large part on competing testimonies of people who claimed they witnessed the shooting, but differed on whether Brooks was there.

In one set of testimonies, Prophet and her uncle, Eugene Prophet, said Brooks pointed the gun in Jennifer Prophet's face. They claimed a man took the gun away from Brooks, but she snatched it back and opened fire.

Eugene Prophet said Brooks "got under the street light like she was on Hollywood" and started shooting.

But the defense's only witness, Tazmere Montague, said he was present at the time of the shooting and Brooks wasn't there. He claimed the shooter was one of three masked men.

Jurors at the first trial also were presented with surveillance video of Elizabeth Avenue at the time of the incident, which showed Brown being shot and falling to the ground.

All of the people involved, however, could not be clearly seen in the video.

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

 

The "South Ward Community Schools Initative" is likely to be funded by the organization created to manage the $100 million Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg donated to the city in 2010

NEWARK - A coalition of city officials gathered at City Hall Tuesday to announce a new initiative they hope might blaze a path toward erasing the glaring and often controversial disparities across Newark's school system.

Mayor Ras Baraka and Superintendent Chris Cerf were among those on hand to detail early plans for the "South Ward Community Schools Initiative", which would provide a variety of supports to students in the some of the city's neediest schools.

The initiative has received a tentative commitment of $12.5 million from the Foundation for Newark's Future - the organization created to manage the $100 million Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg donated to the city in 2010 to reform the city's floundering school system.

Those reforms have been widely criticized for what many considered a narrow focus on classroom-based efforts rather than the city's social ills, and for fostering the growth of charter schools that have stretched budgets for their traditional counterparts thin.

Those points were not lost on Baraka, who praised the new program's comprehensive support network that spans far beyond the academic, including social workers, physical and mental health workers and staff to supply healthy food.

"As people parachute in, pass out money and have us at each other's throats, our children every day are still stuck, for the most part," said Baraka.

The nuts and bolts of the program are still being ironed out, though officials said they plan to launch the program at Malcolm X Shabazz High School and three yet to be determined "feeder" schools in the immediate area by next fall.

FNF has pledged a total of $1.2 million to help plan the initiative and the Newark Opportunity Youth Network - a separate program aimed at steering dropouts and other disconnected youth toward obtaining a diploma. If all goes as expected, the organization has pledged another $10 million to community schools and $2.5 million to NOYN.

MORE: Latest gift to Newark schools marks beginning of end for $100M Facebook fund

If successful, officials said they hope to replicate the program in other schools around the city, though funding could present a major issue in a district still wrangling with a significant budget deficit.

"As we expand and invest in this initiative, we will make sure that we not in any way short change any of the other schools in the district," said Cerf.

The initiative also creates partnerships between Baraka, the state-controlled school district and FNF - an alliance that might have seemed inconceivable just months ago, when the mayor regularly called for the resignation of reform-minded superintendent Cami Anderson.

Plans for the community schools initiative incorporate much of the comprehensive, holistic solutions that critics like Baraka had pushed for, while also allowing school administrators additional latitude over budgets and curriculum and the ability to hand-pick staff members.

South Ward Councilman John Sharpe James said the move appeared to be a stark reversal for the state-controlled district that many had come to regard as an occupying force with little regard for the concerns of Newarkers.

"In 20 years, this is the first time we've seen that the state has taken an active interest in....what the community needs, what the community wants," said South Ward Councilman John Sharpe James.

The city's teachers and school administrators' unions had leaders in attendance at the press conference Tuesday, each of whom expressed tentative support for the plan.

Officials said the new program was borne out of a mutual recognition that community schools were in need of additional help amid years of flat funding from the state and a rapidly expanding network of charter schools in the city.

With control of the district now set to return to the city for the first time in more than two decades, Baraka said it was crucial to ensure students in traditional public school were properly equipped to succeed.

"When we get local control, we want to get a hold of something. We don't want to get local control and we have nothing," he said.

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

 

 

Essex County prosecutors are asking a Superior Court judge to deny Nicole Dufault's motion to dismiss her indictment

NEWARK -- Essex County prosecutors are calling on a judge to reject a Maplewood teacher's claims that they did not properly present her case to the grand jury that indicted her on charges of sexually assaulting six male students.

Saying the grand jury presentation was "extensive, detailed and thorough," prosecutors asked Superior Court Judge Michael L. Ravin in a Nov. 23 brief to deny Nicole Dufault's motion to dismiss the 40-count indictment charging her with aggravated sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child.

"Moreover, the State gave no information that was incorrect, misleading or blatantly wrong as the case law would require in order for any defect to warrant dismissal of the indictment," according to the brief submitted by Essex County Assistant Prosecutor Gina Iosim, who is handling the case.

A language arts teacher at Columbia High School, Dufault, 36, of Caldwell, is accused of engaging in sexual activity with the six students on multiple occasions between about July 2013 and August 2014. The alleged sex acts occurred in Dufault's classroom and in her car.

The students were between 14 and 15 years old at the time of the incidents, prosecutors said. The evidence against Dufault allegedly includes a cell phone video of her performing oral sex on one student in her car, court documents state.

Dufault's attorney, Timothy Smith, has said she suffers from frontal lobe syndrome, which he claims left her vulnerable to the students' "over-aggressive behavior." Dufault developed the syndrome after brain surgery she underwent following complications due to her first pregnancy, Smith said.

Maplewood teacher Nicole Dufault, pictured left beside her attorney, Timothy Smith, appears at a hearing on Monday, Aug. 3. Dufault is charged with sexually assaulting six male students at Columbia High School. (Bill Wichert | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)Bill Wichert | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com 

The motion to dismiss the indictment, which Smith filed in October, is based in part on his claims that prosecutors did not instruct grand jurors on the law when they presented the facts to them to support the indictment on Feb. 4, 2015.

Those legal instructions were provided to the grand jury on Dec. 3, 2014, according to an Oct. 21 brief filed by Smith. In his brief, Smith said the indictment should be dismissed as a result of the state's "laziness" in not providing the legal instructions on Feb. 4.

But Iosim claimed in the prosecutors' response brief that they provided certain legal instructions when Dufault's case was presented on Feb. 4, and they asked grand jurors if they had any questions on the law.

Iosim said that, during the Dec. 3 "orientation," prosecutors provided in-depth instructions on the laws pertaining to Special Victims Unit cases and discussed the laws in detail with the grand jury. In the grand jury sessions that followed, the panel reviewed other cases, Iosim said.

When Dufault's case was presented on Feb. 4, Iosim said the complaints against Dufault were read before the grand jury. Those complaints outlined both the law for aggravated sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child as well as the facts relevant to each charge, Iosim said.

At that time, prosecutors also highlighted the specific provision of the aggravated sexual assault law that Dufault allegedly violated, Iosim said. That provision had been presented to the grand jury on Dec. 3, Iosim said.

MORE: Teacher seeks to dismiss sex assault charges over prosecutors' 'laziness'

Before and after the evidence was presented on Feb. 4, grand jurors were asked if they had questions on the law, but each time, no questions were asked, Iosim said. At the end of the presentation of evidence, the allegations against Dufault "were then outlined again as they were presented in the complaints," the prosecutors' brief states.

The brief also notes that grand jurors "were presented with only two short and relatively straight forward statutes to consider during this presentation."

"The State asserts the Grand Jury was completely able to understand and apply those two pieces of law appropriately after a comprehensive orientation and complete review of the charges and allegations at the outset and conclusion of this presentation," the brief states.

In response to the state's brief, Smith on Tuesday countered in a reply brief: "No human being who is a layperson, that is, one whose profession is not the law, could possibly remember legal charges from approximately two months earlier."

Smith also reiterated his separate argument that prosecutors failed to ask grand jurors to consider any mental states in connection with any counts of the indictment. His reply brief claims grand jurors were never advised they had to find the alleged crimes were committed with a "knowing" mental state.

"They, therefore, never made such a finding," the brief states. "This is an irredeemable structural flaw in the indictment."

In a statement on Tuesday, Smith added that "this matter was plead and presented to the Grand Jury as if it involved strict liability crimes, which is not the case."

"Justice accordingly requires that the indictment be dismissed in its entirety as it is 'palpably defective,'" Smith said.

Essex County Assistant Prosecutor Gina Iosim appears at a hearing on Monday, Aug. 3, for Maplewood teacher Nicole Dufault, who is charged with sexually assaulting six male students at Columbia High School. (Bill Wichert | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)Bill Wichert | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com 

But in the prosecutors' brief, Iosim asserted they made it clear to the grand jury that the statutes under consideration required a finding that Dufault acted intentionally in her alleged sexual conduct and with a "knowing" mental state. The brief also notes grand jurors were instructed on the different kinds of culpability, including when a person acts knowingly.

"The statutes being considered by the Grand Jury against Ms. DuFault clearly and explicitly require intentional conduct, thereby indicating the 'knowing' mental state required," the brief states. "It is impossible for one to commit an intentional act of penetration recklessly, negligently or unknowingly."

Based on the legal instructions and the presentation of the case, "it is clear that the Grand Jury could not have concluded that Ms. DuFault could have committed the crimes of Aggravated Sexual Assault or Endangering the Welfare of a Child by unintentionally and unknowingly engaging in fellatio or vaginal intercourse with 14 year old students," the brief adds.

RELATED: Teacher sexually assaulted boys in Maplewood classroom, court docs allege

Prosecutors also rejected Smith's claims that they provided improper instructions to the grand jury in regard to the second-degree child endangerment charges.

Those charges require evidence that Dufault had assumed responsibility for the care of the students, but Smith has alleged prosecutors incorrectly suggested her status as a teacher was enough to satisfy that element.

In the prosecutors' brief, Iosim said Smith's assertion "is patently false and a clear attempt to mislead the court."

According to Iosim, the statements cited by Smith refer to the prosecutors' instructions on the law on aggravated sexual assault. In their instructions on the child endangerment law, prosecutors said that offense "requires that the defendant have a legal duty to care for or have assumed responsibilty to care for a child," the prosecutors' brief states.

"In the present case there is nothing false, improper or misleading in this instruction on Endangering the Welfare of a Child that would require the dismissal of the indictment," the brief states.

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

A Bronx man accused of stabbing his child's mother and fleeing with their 3-year-old daughter has been apprehended by the N.J. State Police in Clifton, hours after an Amber Alert had been issued, Capt. Steven Jones said.

N.J. State Police announced that Diomedes Valenzuela, 47, of New York, is traveling on the N.J. Turnpike with a 3-year-old girl. He was described as armed and dangerous, according to true Amber Alert. (Courtesy of N.J. State Police) 

TRENTON -- A Bronx man accused of stabbing his child's mother and fleeing with their 3-year-old daughter has been apprehended by the New Jersey State Police in Clifton, hours after an Amber Alert had been issued, Capt. Stephen Jones said.

Diomedes Valenzuela, 47, stabbed a 31-year-old woman multiple times and fled with their daughter, Rebecca, in a Dodge Caravan with New Jersey license plates, according to the State Police.

He was apprehended on the Garden State Parkway at mile marker 156.9 by troopers from the Bloomfield Station, according to the State Police's Facebook page. "Thanks for all your help and shares on Facebook!" according to Facebook post.

The child was recovered at about 5 p.m. She was physically unharmed.

MORE: Cops halt plane's takeoff to arrest fleeing man in N.J. child custody dispute

The attack happened just after 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at an apartment building on Perry Avenue in Bedford Park, according to Associated Press.  Police say the mother was hospitalized in critical condition.

The Amber Alert described Valenzuela was considered "armed and dangerous." 

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

 

 

The familiar story of a boy and his BB gun retains its charm, but the songs are unmemorable.

Adaptations cannot escape comparisons to their source material, and when that source material is as beloved as the 1983 classic holiday film "A Christmas Story," the comparison can be daunting.

"A Christmas Story: The Musical" by Joseph Robinette (book), Benj Pasek, and Justin Paul (music and lyrics), now running at The Paper Mill Playhouse, takes on the task of retelling a cultural icon and strains under the weight of its cinematic predecessor. The familiar story retains its charm, but the songs are unmemorable and the sentimentality proves overbearing. The result is an uneven, often unwieldy show.

Most know the show's story well enough (or if they don't, they can catch themselves up during the movie's annual 24-hour Christmas marathon on television): all Ralphie wants for Christmas is Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action 200-shot Range Model Air Rifle. But our hero finds himself beset by adults' conviction that he'll only end up shooting his eye out. As Christmas approaches, his increasingly desperate appeals to his mother, teacher, and the department store Santa Claus meet the same backlash. 

http://www.nj.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2015/10/the_bandstand_review_paper_mill_playhouse.html

The musical opened to warm reviews on Broadway in the fall of 2012 and went on to garner a Tony nomination for Best Musical before heading out for a national tour. There have since been frequent stagings at regional theaters -- the Paper Mill's production runs concurrently with another one at Philadelphia's Walnut Street Theatre. The show's success as a holiday staple is sure to continue; not only does it have a recognizable name, but it is also consistently heartfelt and funny. (It can't be hurting box office receipts that the show also features an ensemble full of ultra-adorable young performers.) 

And for those in the market for some jingle-belled razzle-dazzle, "A Christmas Story: The Musical" has much to recommend. Most of the song and dance numbers are accompanied by frenetic choreography (by Mara Newberry Greer) or fun, tongue-in-cheek haminess (see, for instance, Ralphie's dad doing a triumphantly jazzed-up romp celebrating his major award).

The adults are all convinced Ralphie is going to shoot his eye out in "A Christmas Story: The Musical" at the Paper Mill Playhouse.Joan Marcus 

Yet the songs in "A Christmas Story" seem shoehorned uncomfortably into an already cohesive story. Rather than working organically within the narrative, the musical numbers appear as a kind of jarring commentary on the plot. When Ralphie and his friends meet the school bully, we pause for "When You're a Wimp." When that same crew dares one of their own to lick the frozen flagpole we get "Sticky Situation." In neither instance do the songs enrich the drama or give us a greater sense of the characters.  

The actors fare best when not taking themselves too seriously. Chris Hoch gives us an enjoyable blowhard of a father, and Danette Holden is impressive as Miss Shields, taking her overdramatic cues from Ralphie's biased memories. Colton Maurer, who played Ralphie on opening night (he splits the role with Judah Immanuel), confidently carried the proceedings. 

Far less successful is the frame story concocted by the creators to justify the film's unseen narrator. Here he's onstage, functioning more as a chorus than a narrator. In the role, Ted Koch does well to express the desires of a young Ralphie. But too often his function is to make the sentimentality -- which runs as a steady undercurrent in the film -- unmistakably explicit and cloying. The songs for Ralphie's overworked and underappreciated mother (Elena Shaddow) operate in much the same vein.

In adapting a classic movie, the musical's creators have show too little faith in the emotional integrity of the source material. 

A Christmas Story the Musical

1/2

The Paper Mill Playhouse, 22 Brookside Drive, Millburn, through Jan. 3

Tickets: $37 - $120. Available online or by phone, (973) 376-4343

Patrick Maley may be reached at patrickjmaley@gmail.com. Find him on Twitter@PatrickJMaley. Find NJ.com/Entertainment on Facebook.

 

Youth picked up after allegedly trying to flee police

NEWARK -- A 14-year-old was arrested on weapons charges Monday night after he was found in possession of a loaded handgun, police spokesman Sgt. Ron Glover said.

 

Members of the Firearms Interdiction Team were patrolling near South 18th Street and 15th Avenue around 11 p.m. when they spotted the teen in a rear parking lot in the 500 block of S. 18th., Glover said. The boy clutched an item and ran when he noticed police but was quickly caught, Glover said.

The boy, who said he was in the yard urinating, was taken into custody after police found a .32-caliber revolver in the area, Glover also said.

"I applaud the members of the Firearm Interdiction Team for a job well done," said  Police Director Eugene Venable.

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

 

Former Newark police director Garry McCarthy is out as Chicago Police Department Superintendent following amid fallout over the killing of a South Side teen by a city police officer.

NEWARK -- Citing a lack of public trust, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has dismissed former Newark police director Garry McCarthy from his job as the Windy City's top cop, reports say.

The now former Chicago police superintendent parted ways with the department Tuesday amid fallout for the city's handling of the killing of a black teen shot to death by a Chicago police officer last year, the reports state.

"Now is the time for fresh eyes and new leadership to confront the challenges the department and our community and our city are facing as we go forward," Emanuel said at a Tuesday morning press conference.

Hired by then-Mayor Cory Booker in 2006, McCarthy served nearly six years as Newark police director before accepting an offer from Emanuel to assume leadership of the city's 13,000-plus member police department in 2011.

McCarthy's departure comes as Chicago city officials face intense criticism over the death of Laquan McDonald.

The fatal shooting has led to first-degree murder charges for Officer Jason Van Dyke, who according to reports shot McDonald 16 times in an Oct. 2014 incident on the city's South Side.

A spokesman for the Chicago police union said immediately following the shooting  that McDonald lunged at officers before he was killed, reports say. In statements released later, police claimed McDonald "refused to comply with orders to drop the knife and continued to approach the officers," according to news reports.

But video released to the public last week upon order by a Cook County judge appeared to contradict those initial statements, showing McDonald walking down the street and away from police as Van Dyke opened fire, the reports state.

The video's release ignited a city-wide backlash that saw week-long protests and calls for McCarthy's ouster, according to reports.

First Deputy Superintendent John Escalante will serve as acting superintendent while city officials search for McCarthy's replacement, reports state.

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

Those unseasonable temperatures that lingered across New Jersey last month tied a record in Newark and matched the fifth warmest November statewide in 120 years.

The warm spell is now official.

Those unseasonable temperatures that lingered across New Jersey last month, making it comfortable to be outdoors, tied a record in Newark and matched the fifth warmest November statewide in 120 years.

That's the word from the National Weather Service and state climatologist David Robinson at Rutgers University, after they analyzed temperature readings for all 30 days of November.

Newark's November average this year was 60.4 degrees for its high and 43.7 degrees for its low, which averages out to 52.0 -- slightly more than 5 degrees above the normal average for the month.  

WARM WINTER AHEAD?

Long-range forecast models at the National Weather Service are indicating the warm November trend will continue, with a high probability of temperatures continuing to run above normal in New Jersey during the first half of December.

"It's a lock the first two weeks of this month are going to be above average. . . and it will be very difficult to find a lot of wintry weather before the first of the year," Robinson said.

Another rainy day in N.J., but drying up soon

"You can never say these things with certainty," he noted, but "everything seems to be in lockstep," with cold air trapped in the polar regions and unable to push down into North America.

As for this week, the light rain that's falling across New Jersey is expected to continue on and off through Wednesday night, with temperatures hovering in the mid- to upper 50s, slightly above normal for this time of year.

The statewide average for November was 49.3 degrees, making it tied with 1948 as the fifth warmest November since records started being compiled in 1895, Robinson said. The only years it was warmer were 2006 (49.9 average), 1975 (49.6 average), 2009 (49.6 average) and 1931 (49.5 average).

While November was about 4 degrees warmer than usual, October turned out to be slightly cooler than usual. The statewide average -- a compilation of temperature readings from several dozen weather stations across New Jersey -- was 54.4 degrees, or 0.4 degrees below normal.

RECORD WARMTH IN NYC 

Across the Hudson River, monthly records were also tied or broken. In Central Park, the average November temperature was 5.1 degrees above normal and broke an all-time record, the National Weather Service said. The Long Island town of Islip tied its record for November warmth.

Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @LensReality. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

Diomedes Valenzuela was a member of the Irvington Police Department until 2002, officials said. Watch video

CLIFTON -- The man who prompted the issue of an Amber Alert Tuesday after allegedly stabbing his daughter's mother and stealing the 3-year-old girl is a former Irvington police officer, local officials confirmed Wednesday.

Diomedes Valenzuela, 47, of New York, was a police officer in Irvington until March of 2002, township spokeswoman Stephanie Bush-Baskette confirmed. She said she could not comment on the circumstances of his split from the department.

According to Star-Ledger reports at the time, Valenzuela was suspended after his November 2001 arrest of a taxi driver. Assault and misconduct charges initially filed against Valenzuela in connection with the arrest were dropped, the reports say. But, he was found guilty of filing false reports about the incident, which a judge at the time said was in an effort to cover up an unauthorized side job he was holding as a security guard for a towing company, they said.

WATCH: Police rescue 3-year-old girl, arrest father accused of stabbing mom

In 2003, at his sentencing, Valenzuela was stripped of his badge and banned from public employment for life, reports say.

It is unclear how long he had served on the force prior to the incident. 

N.J. State Police Tuesday said they arrested Valenzuela on the Garden State Parkway in Clifton after he allegedly stabbed a 31-year-old woman in a Bronx, N.Y. apartment multiple times, and fled to New Jersey with their daughter.

The woman was transported to a hospital, and the girl was found unharmed, police said.

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

Newark leaders sound off on the ouster of former Newark police director Garry MacCarthy from the Chicago Police Department.

Brittney Davies/The Star-Ledger 

NEWARK -- News that former city police director Garry McCarthy was relieved of his duties as head of the Chicago Police Department has generated little sympathy among city leaders that remember his tenure.

The city is "still suffering because of his bad public policy regarding police issues," said Central Ward Councilwoman Gayle Chaneyfield-Jenkins. "I just feel sorry that the citizens of Chicago had to be subjected to his horrific brand of community policing for all those years. He needs to get a different profession."

Udi Ofer, Executive Director of the ACLU of New Jersey, questioned the decision by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to hire McCarthy.

"He left a legacy of widespread civil rights violations," Ofer said, referring to the findings of a U.S. Justice Department review spurred by the ACLU that found that municipal police in the state's largest city had repeatedly violated the rights of its residents.

"That was his track record in Newark, and that's what he brought to Chicago," Ofer said. 

McCarthy, the now former Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department, was dismissed Tuesday amid the fallout over the shooting death of a black 17-year-old at the hands of a white city police officer.

McCarthy had held the position since 2011, when he was poached from the Newark Police Department by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to lead the Windy City's 13,000-plus member police force.

Prior to that, McCarthy served as director of the Newark Police Department, a job he was tapped for in 2006 by former Newark Mayor Cory Booker. Attempts to reach McCarthy for comment were unsuccessful. Booker could not immediately be reached for comment.

McCarthy's tenure in Newark was marked by extended periods of unrest. During his time at the helm, the city police department was hit with accusations of widespread police misconduct and civil right abuses. He also sparred publicly both with police officials, and city leaders who questioned reports of significant decreases in violent crime.

Council member Chaneyfield-Jenkins said that she and many other longtime Newarkers became increasingly disturbed as McCarthy's touted crime reductions, even as their own experiences signaled otherwise.

Residents at the time were afraid to walk in their own neighborhoods, but "this man (was) telling us the crime numbers were going down," she said.

A spokesperson for Mayor Ras Baraka did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In 2010, McCarthy angered city activists when he rejected calls by the state ACLU for federal oversight of the police department. He also faced down a a unanimous "no confidence" vote by the Newark Superior Officers Association, further undercutting McCarthy's leadership of the department. 

That same year, relations between the Newark police union and the city reached a breaking point as the city moved to layoff 167 police officers.

Newark City Council President Mildred Crump, who voted against appointing McCarthy as director, said it was his contentious relationship with both residents and the police department's rank and file that ultimately led to his exit.

"His ability to respect the community called Newark was absent," Crump said. "And as a lifelong believer in the police department, because they keep me safe and the people safe, I didn't like the way he treated the police officers"

Following McCarthy's 2011 departure, a scathing federal review of the Newark Police Department provided founding for accusations made by the state ACLU and others that the state's largest police force swept aside accusations of misconduct against hundreds of officers and failed to address complaints of brutality by city residents.

The department has since undergone a host of changes. The city found a new director in Eugene Venable, who has touted a new direction for the police department. And officials now appear poised to sign an agreement formalizing federal oversight of the city's police department.

When the agreement is finalized, Newark police will become the third New Jersey agency to require a federal monitor in the past 15 years. McCarthy's future, however, appears murky.

While public calls for reform of one of the nation's largest and most controversial police department's grow louder, one of McCarthy's former deputies has been temporarily installed in his place, according to reports.

But even after his firing, some are unwilling to lay blame for all of the department's issues with McCarthy.

Chicago had big problems before McCarthy's arrival, said James Stewart Jr., president of the Newark chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police.

"I don't know that one man can change that atmosphere," he said. "It's probably going to take a generation to fix that situation."

Staff Reporter Dan Ivers contributed to this report.

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

Crecco represented the 30th and 34th Legislative districts for 16 years until 2002

Former Assemblywoman Marion Crecco, shown here in a 2000 file photo. (Star-Ledger file photo)

VERONA -- Former state Assemblywoman Marion Crecco, a respected force in local conservative politics, died Saturday. She was 85.

A Newark native, Crecco was the first woman ever elected to represent the state's 30^th Legislative District (now the 34^th) in 1986, representing much of suburban Essex County, including her longtime home of Bloomfield.

Crecco, a Republican, held the post for 16 years, rising into leadership positions including deputy speaker, assistant majority leader and assistant majority whip, and served as chair of the Assembly's Law and Public Safety Committee, according to her obituary.

Crecco also took seriously her status as a trailblazing woman in Trenton, taking on roles as state director for the National Order of Women Legislators and National Foundation for Women Legislators.

MORE: Referendum bond helps fund Bloomfield College expansion

She left her seat behind in 2002, the same year her husband John Crecco left his post as mayor of Bloomfield. She remained active in the community, however, serving as chair of the town's Republican Committee for 10 years, and working for the John Crecco Foundation, which raises money for local hospitals and other organizations.

In addition to her time in politics, she carved out a successful career in advertising, becoming the Thomas Publishing Company's first female sales representative in the greater New York area.

She relocated to Verona in her later years alongside her husband, where she spent time with family, including two daughters and four grandchildren.

"Her outer and inner beauty captivated all who had the privilege of knowing her. And the limitless bounds of her heart were evidenced by the countless number of people she helped and inspired," her family wrote in her obituary.

Memorial services have been scheduled for Sunday and Monday. More information can be found here.

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

 

A New Jersey man was arrested Wednesday on charges of defrauding Medicare, which paid out more than $1 million to two unnamed clinical laboratories for unnecessary genetic tests on the elderly.

NEWARK--It was a $1 million scam aimed at convincing the elderly to get costly and unnecessary genetic testing.

Last July, Seth Rehfuss, 41, of Somerset, visited a low-income housing center in Cape May, organizing an ice cream social to talk about health issues. According to federal prosecutors, the presentation played on the fears that that genetic testing--painless and easily done with a simple swipe of a cotton swab--could identify those susceptible  to heart attack, stroke, cancer and suicide.

The pitch was one he had made before many senior groups, said U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman, through the use of a New Jersey-based non-profit organization called "Good Samaritans of America" to gain access to community centers across the state.

On Wednesday, Rehfuss was arrested on charges of defrauding Medicare, which allegedly paid out more than $1 million to two unnamed clinical laboratories in Virginia and California used by the New Jersey man in exchange for tens of thousands of dollars in commissions for the questionable genetic tests.

SEE ALSO: $5M mortgage fraud 'shell game' lands 2 N.J. men in prison

According to a criminal complaint filed in federal district court in Newark, Rehfuss claimed that The Good Samaritans of America was a "trusted non-profit" that assisted senior citizens in navigating federal benefit programs. On its webpage, the organization stated: "As Good Samaritans we are dedicated to increase the quality of life for seniors."

In reality, said prosecutors, the organization was a front to present information about genetic testing, luring people with advertisements for free ice cream to ensure attendance at the presentations.

The purpose of the genetic tests were reportedly to help identify potential side effects from medications. Hundreds submitted to the testing. Prosecutors said Rehfuss claimed that the genetic testing allowed for "personalized medicine."

Participants would have DNA swabs taken in the community rooms where the presentations took place, or in their apartments, without the involvement of any healthcare provider, or the determination that such testing was medically necessary or appropriate.

Rehfuss used advertisements on Craigslist to recruit doctors and physician assistants to get the tests authorized, through contractual relationships with The Good Samaritans of America. According to the criminal complaint, he paid off those providers with thousands of dollars per month to sign their names to requisition forms authorizing testing for patients they never examined.

Investigators said many of the test results were never sent to patients or their actual treating physicians.

While the scheme was launched in New Jersey, investigators said Rehfuss and others were working towards it into Georgia, Delaware, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Michigan, Mississippi, Florida, Tennessee and Arizona.

Rehfuss, who is not yet represented by an attorney, could face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.

Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TedShermanSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

Dashboard camera footage released Wednesday shows State Police rescue a 3-year-old girl and arrest her father on the Garden State Parkway after he allegedly stabbed her mother in New York City and fled with the child. Watch video

CLIFTON -- Dashboard camera footage released Wednesday shows State Police rescue a 3-year-old girl and arrest her father on the Garden State Parkway after he allegedly stabbed her mother in New York City and fled with the child.

Diomedes Valenzuela, 47, a former Irvington police officer, was scheduled to appear in Passaic County Superior Court on Thursday morning for an extradition hearing, the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office said.

Valenzuela attacked the 31-year-old woman in the Bronx on Tuesday afternoon and abducted their daughter, Rebecca, according to New York City authorities. He escaped in a Dodge Caravan and officials issued an Amber Alert in New Jersey and New York.

State Police were on alert for the Dodge when they spotted it on the highway in Clifton, authorities said.

"Troopers never know how a suspect will react. These types of situations are extremely dangerous and volatile," the State Police said in a statement. "It could have gone badly yesterday, but thankfully it didn't. No one was hurt, and that's the most important thing."

The patrol car video shows State Police pull Valenzuela from the van at gunpoint while other troopers rush the child to safety.

Records show Valenzuela remained held in the Passaic County Jail. Police said the girl's mother was in listed in critical condition.

An Irvington spokeswoman confirmed that Valenzuela was a township officer until March 2002. He was found guilty of filing false reports in connection with the November 2001 arrest of a taxi driver and later banned from public employment. 

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

 

A former county corrections officer was sentenced today to 24 months in prison for accepting bribes in exchange for smuggling contraband into the Essex County Correctional Facility, authorities say.

(file photo)

NEWARK -- A former county corrections officer has been sentenced to 24 months in prison for accepting bribes in exchange for smuggling contraband into the Essex County Correctional Facility, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced Wednesday.

John Grosso, 42, of Belleville, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler to one count of conspiring to commit extortion, according to a statement released by Fishman's office. 

http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2014/11/essex_county_corrections_officer_charged_with_smuggling_contraband_to_prisoner_in_exchange_for_cash.html

Arrested in November 2014, Grosso later admitted that he accepted cash bribes of around $1,000 in exchange for smuggling various banned items, including cell phones and cigarettes, to an inmate at the jail, the release states.

According to court documents, Grosso met with the inmate's relative at a Secaucus Best Buy to accept the contraband and bribe before delivering the items.

Sentenced in Newark federal court, Grosso was ordered to one year of supervised release in addition to the prison term, the release states.

Court documents indicate that the scheme came to light after an unnamed prisoner "cooperated with law enforcement in the hopes of obtaining a more favorable outcome with respect to pending federal criminal charges."

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

 

Authorities are investigating a Tuesday evening shooting in Irvington that left a Newark man dead, authorities said.

(File photo).

NEWARK -- Authorities are investigating a Tuesday evening shooting in Irvington that left one man dead, and another injured, authorities said.

Terry Riggins, 36, of Newark, was pronounced dead Tuesday by doctors at Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark, said Katherine Carter, spokeswoman for the Essex County Prosecutor's Office. 

Riggins was fatally shot in the vicinity of Sheridan Street and Paine Avenue at approximately 10:30 p.m., Carter said.

A second victim, a 45-year-old Irvington man, sustained a non-life threatening gunshot wound in the shooting, Carter said. Authorities are withholding the man's name, she added.

An investigation by the Irvington Police Department and the Essex County Prosecutor's Office Homicide/Major Crimes Task Force is ongoing, Carter said.

Investigators have yet to identify a suspect, and no arrests have been made, Carter said.

Additional details of the shooting were not immediately made available.

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

 

The State Commission of Investigation accused Motor Vehicle Commission officials of being in cahoots with used-car auto malls to thwart regulations and enforcement, resulting in fraud, unpaid taxes and suspicious financial transactions."

TRENTON -- In a scathing report released Wednesday, the State Commission of Investigation accused New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission officials of enabling used-car auto malls to thwart regulations and enforcement, resulting in fraud, unpaid taxes and "suspicious" financial transactions.

The SCI report alleges the auto malls, or "multi-dealer locations," were engaged in "questionable, unscrupulous and possibly illegal activities," while cloaked in the protection of heavily lobbied Motor Vehicle Commission officials.

"MVC's role as a regulator of business in this corner of the used-car world devolved into that of an enabler of some very troubling business as usual," the report said.

"Much of this occurred at the behest of MVC managers who took it upon themselves to effectuate what amounted to substantive policy and regulatory changes that benefited a narrow private interest -- all with the knowledge or authorization of the agency's chief administrator and governing board."

The 11 multi-dealer complexes in New Jersey owe at least $10 million in unpaid taxes, the investigation found.

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Those complexes serve as shelters for absentee dealers to secure used-car dealer licenses from New Jersey but conduct their business out of state, where "stricter licensing rules make it difficult, if not impossible, for them to qualify for certified dealer credentials," the report said.

The largest, the New Jersey Dealers Auto Mall in Bridgeton, better resembles an abandoned warehouse than a used car dealership, the report said, describing rows of empty cubicles and a deserted lot.

In fact, that complex is a bogus front for dealers, SCI said. It has been listed as the base of operations for about 1,214 used-car dealers, the report said.

MVC officials worked with that auto mall to circumvent state regulations, it said. Random inspections and audits of complexes were skipped altogether. Investigators' enforcement recommendations were "ignored, reversed or summarily dismissed." Penalties were waived "without explanation."

In sworn testimony to the SCI, MVC workers offered up examples of managers intervening on auto malls' behalf, with one employee saying "We find it hard to do our job because of roadblocks that we get from upstairs... just let us enforce the regulations, and everything would be fine," according to the report.

"During this investigation, the SCI found that hundreds of dealers based at Bridgeton and at other MDLs exist and function largely beyond the reach of basic rules governing licensure and oversight of car dealers in New Jersey," the report said. "The MVC essentially was a government entity run by mid-level bureaucrats accountable to no one," SCI said.

According to the State Commission of Investigation, the findings have been turned over to state and federal law enforcements agencies.

In its report, SCI said given New Jersey's lenient rules and enforcement compared with other states, it's "not surprising that used-car dealers looking to set up shop in this region often choose New Jersey as home base, if only on paper."

The SCI recommended reforms, including putting licensing and oversight operations under the Division of Consumer Affairs rather than the Motor Vehicle Commission.

The Motor Vehicle Commission says it has drafted regulatory changes to tighten dealer practices. It says it has issued more than $2.5 million in proposed fines to multi-dealer complexes across the state.

In one response attached to the report, former Division of Motor Vehicles director-turned lobbyist Dick Kamin, whose clients include New Jersey Dealers Auto Mall, said the state rules are an bad fit for the complex's tenants, which are wholesale dealers, not used-car dealers.

"But because New Jersey law does not provide for a wholesale dealer's license, NJDAM's tenants are forced to apply for used car dealer licenses and comply with associated regulations," said Kamin, who is mentioned in the report.

"These regulations make good sense for used car dealers selling cars to the public. They make less sense for the wholesale dealers occupying New Jersey Dealer's Auto Mall, who generally sell cars to used car dealerships for later sale to the public."

Read the State Commission of Investigation report here.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Samantha Marcus may be reached at smarcus@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @samanthamarcus. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.

Suspect was seen handling gun, police say

NEWARK  -- A 30-year-old city man was arrested and charged with weapons offenses after he was found in possession of a loaded handgun Tuesday, police spokesman Sgt. Ron Glover said. 

John O'Boyle 

Personnel with the city's Violence Reduction Initiative made the arrest around 9 p.m. in the South Ward. The unit consists of officers and investigators with the FBI, State Parole, the Essex County sheriff's department and prosecutor's office, State Police and city police.

MORE: Leaders say fired Chicago's top cop also failed Newark

While patrolling near Keer Avenue and Hobson Street, officers spotted someone leaning against a double-parked car and speaking with someone inside, then noticed Abdul Ausby place an object that appeared to be a gun in his waistband, Glover said.

When officers approached, the car sped off but Ausby remained when ordered not to move. Officers found a 9-mm Luger in his waist area, Glover said. Ausby was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon and other offenses.

"The officers in our city have a tremendous undertaking in keeping our citizens and visitors safe. Each gun that they take off our streets is one less weapon that could be used to put someone in harm's way," said Newark Police Director Eugene Venable.  "Policing can sometimes be a thankless job. I cannot stress enough how totally supportive I am of the hard-working men and women of the department and of the fine work that they do each and every day."

Police ask that anyone with information about this or any other crime call the department's 24-hour Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at 877 NWK-TIPS (877 695-8477) or NWK-GUNS (877 695-4867).

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