Suspects were overheard planning knifepoint robbery, police said

NEWARK -- Police say two men who tried to rob another man of his cell phone got an unpleasant surprise instead -- their intended victim was a plainclothes city detective who was looking for them.

John O'Boyle 

Detectives were patrolling near Van Buren and Chestnut streets Monday morning when they spotted two men peering into cars, appearing as though they were thinking of breaking into them, police spokesman Sgt. Ron Glover said.

While trying to set up surveillance detectives lost sight of the men and began to look for them, with one detective leaving the car and searching on foot as the other detective continued to drive around the area.

The detective on foot soon spotted the men and called his partner. Meanwhile, the men approached the detective, who heard them saying they were going to rob the detective's phone, Glover said.  When the men drew closer, the second detective pulled up and both ordered the alleged would-be robbers to the ground.

The two men, Stephan Shallis, 25, of Browns Mills, and 24-year-old William Lawrence of Somerset, were each charged with conspiracy, robbery and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. Police also recovered a knife which they believe was going to be used in the robbery, Glover said.

"The detectives were in the field working when they observed the suspects peering into cars, a sign of a possible auto break in. They further investigated the suspicious activity which ultimately led to the arrest of duo who were apparently looking to commit a crime," said Newark Police Director Eugene Venable.

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

 

A group is unveiling its new "action agenda" for 50 cities across the country in Newark Tuesday.

NEWARK -- A development in New Jersey is a model for the revitalization of historic buildings across the country.

That's the message of a cohort meeting in Newark Tuesday to unveil what it calls an "action agenda" to rehab some of America's oldest cities.

Rutgers-Newark and the city's Hahne building - the long vacant department store that is being converted into a mixed-use development that includes a Whole Foods supermarket - will play host to planners and politicians from 40 cities Tuesday. The conference is meant to discuss the future of the country's "legacy cities," officials said.

There are about 50 legacy cities - urban centers that have lost at least 20 percent of their populations since the mid 20th century - across the U.S., according to Nicholas Hamilton, Director of Urban Policy for the American Assembly, one of the organizations that compiled the action agenda. Most of those cities were built up on an industry, and have struggled to convert to 21st century economics, he said.

"One of the challenges with these cities is definitely fiscal," Hamilton said in a phone interview, noting common issues like abandoned properties and older infrastructures that must be fixed and maintained.

Officials break ground on project once called Newark's 'Holy Grail'

"But you can look at, for example, a city with a lot of abandoned buildings as a liability, or as a place with a lot of available, affordable property...It's about beginning to redefine what an asset is."

The action agenda describes Newark and other cities like it as facing "unprecedented challenges in pervasive disinvestment, widespread abandonment, demolition by neglect, and extraordinarily limited resources. Yet they offer diversity, affordability, and irreplaceable urban character."

The group that put together the agenda, which also includes the national Preservation Rightsizing Network, will join forces with locals to show off the Hahne redevelopment, and the city of Newark, as examples of how to successfully capitalize on a city's history.

The conference, which is expected to draw about 200 participants, is meant to "change the conversation" from the issues that many legacy cities face, to how embracing history can fix them, said Peter Englot, the Senior Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs at Rutgers University - Newark.

The Hahne building, which was shuttered in 1986, is a symbol of the rebirth of these cities, the group said.

The $174 million project, which is being funded by a mix of public, non-profit and private entities, will include 160 mixed-income apartments, Rutgers community art programs (known as Express Newark), retail shops, and the Whole Foods.

The development, group members said, is a good example of its nine action items to revitalize ailing cities, which include engaging local residents, reforming policies to encourage preserving historical buildings, and developing new ways to finance building stabilization.

The theory will be in action in Newark soon. According to Jon Cortell, a VP at L+M Development, construction is on track to begin leasing apartments in November or December of next year. Express Newark should open in January of 2017, and Whole Foods in February or March of 2017, he said.

The preservation of some of the building's historical elements, like its concrete structure, has enabled smooth construction, he said.

"It allows for a more efficient execution than ground-up development," he said. "We get to capitalize on what's in place...without having to build it at today's cost."

Cortell and Englot said both Rutgers and L+M are looking for additional historical structures in Newark to redevelop. Cara Bertron, the chair of the Preservation Rightsizing Network, said it soon plans to pilot the action agenda in three yet to be chosen cities across the U.S.

"We are focusing on getting the word out in legacy cities across the country," she said.

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

Capt. Inez Gonzalez filed the suit in 2012, claiming she was retaliated against for not following Garry McCarthy's orders to find three officers guilty of internal charges

NEWARK -- The city has agreed to settle a former police internal affairs officer lawsuit claiming she was retaliated against after defying orders from Director Garry McCarthy to punish three officers involved in a controversial murder case.

Capt. Inez Gonzalez and her attorneys will receive $250,000 to resolve the complaint against McCarthy, the city and its police department, according to a resolution approved by the City Council Dec. 2.

The 27-year-veteran filed the suit in February 2012, nine months after McCarthy left Newark to take over as superintendent of police in Chicago a position he was dismissed from last week after questions arose about his handling an officer's fatal shooting of a 17-year-old last year.

She alleged that issues between the two surfaced in January 2010, after the body of Karen Cunningham was discovered in an Oldsmobile Delta in the city's West Ward. The 55-year-old grandmother had been shot in the shoulder during a blast of gunfire the night before, but officers who responded to the scene had somehow failed to notice her.

Various members of the department eventually faced internal charges as a result of the blunder, and Gonzalez was among a group of command staff assigned to a trial board that would determine whether they would face discipline.

The director, however, allegedly had a predetermined outcome in mind.

"McCarthy instructed Gonzalez to disregard her objectivity and regardless of the circumstances, find against the officers involved in the Cunningham matter," the complaint read.

Ines Gonzalez (LinkedIn)

Gonzalez and other members of the trial board reached an agreement with the city's Superior Officers Association to handle various officers' cases individually, and she acquitted the three assigned to her.

According to the complaint, McCarthy responded angrily, berating her in front of colleagues and launching an investigation into her handling of the cases. She was eventually cleared, but alleged that the retaliation continued over the next year by ordering additional probes of her internal affairs decisions, reassigning her to the city's cell block and ordering subordinates to attend meetings in her stead.

The treatment caused her to take a leave of absence in February 2011, though she returned to a new position overseeing the department's Inspectional Services Division three months later.

She was returned to IA after Samuel Demaio took over as police director in 2012, though she claimed she was subject to additional adverse treatment. After meeting with representatives from the U.S. Department of Justice and Attorney General's office during a two-year probe of the department's practices, she was removed from the position for a final time.

According to her complaint, she has been on "terminal leave" since January 2012, though state pension records indicate she continues to receive her $148,232 annual salary.

Her attorney, Adam Kleinfeldt of Hackensack-based firm Deutsch Atkins, said Gonzalez will now move to retire.

"Inez is a consummate professional and she's ready to move on from the city of Newark and turn to the next chapter in her life," he said.

Documents filed with the city indicate Gonzalez will receive $122,000 from the settlement, while her attorneys will get the remaining $128,000.

Former Newark Police Director Garry McCarthy, shown here in a file photo. (John Munson/The Star-Ledger)

Corporation Counsel Willie Parker did not return a request for comment on the deal.

Newark officials have widely criticized McCarthy's term overseeing the city's police department, with some blaming him for the DOJ's findings that it systematically violated citizens' rights and failed to take corrective action against officers accused of wrongdoing.

On Monday, the DOJ announced it would launch an investigation into the city's police department's use of force practices, disciplinary system and its handling of misconduct allegations.

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

Wayne V. Barnes, 47, was arrested about 6:30 p.m. Monday at his Belleville home.

Police say this man entered a Lukoil on Ridge Road and menaced an attendant using a metal pipe. (North Arlington Police Department) 

NORTH ARLINGTON - Police have arrested a suspect in a robbery at a Lukoil Gas Station in which an attendant was menaced with a metal pipe, authorities said Tuesday.

Wayne V. Barnes, 47, was arrested about 6:30 p.m. Monday at his Belleville home, according to Capt. Scott Hedenberg of the North Arlington Police Department.

The robbery occurred about 9 p.m. last Thursday at the Lukoil on Ridge Road in North Arlington, according to police.

The man fled with several hundred dollars cash, police said.

Officers from North Arlington and Belleville "were able to develop information that subsequently led to the (the suspect) being positively identified and arrested," Hedenberg stated in a news release Tuesday morning.

During the arrest, officers found clothing worn during the robbery as well as a metal pipe, "which was identified as the weapon," Hedenberg said.

Cops release photo of gas station robber

Barnes is charged with armed robbery, theft of movable property and weapons possession.

He was held in the Bergen County Jail on $57,500 full bail, police said.

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

The killings put Newark's total homicide count so far this year higher than its 2014 total.

NEWARK -- Authorities are investigating two homicides in the city - including one that claimed the life of a man featured in a Sundance documentary about gang life in Newark.

At 11:58 p.m. Monday, Darel Evans, 33, of Newark, was shot in the 300 block of Clinton Place, Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray and Newark Police Director Eugene Venable announced Tuesday. He was pronounced dead at the scene, they said.

According to authorities, Evans had appeared as "Creep" in the Sundance channel's documentary series about Newark, "Brick City." According to Sundance's website, Evans's storyline in the series focused on how he had turned his life around, going from an active gang member to a mentor for at-risk youth.

Evans, along with his fiancee and kids, also starred in the 2013 Pivot series "Jersey Strong."

Drug trade turf disputes at center of spiking Newark homicide rate, officials say

Authorities are also investigating the death of Michael A. Johnson, 28, of Newark, officials said. He died on Nov. 26 after having been shot on April 28, authorities said. Johnson had been recuperating, but returned to University Hospital, where he died, they said. His death was ruled a homicide on Dec. 2, authorities said.

The two homicides are unrelated, officials said. Motives for the killings and potential suspects have not been identified in either case, they said.

With the two murders, Newark has officially had more homicides so far this year than it did in all of 2014. The total number of killings to-date in the city this year is now 94, according to an NJ Advance Media count. In 2014, there were 93 total homicides in the city.

Anyone with information about the killings is asked to call 1-877-TIPS-4EC or 1-877-847-7432.

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

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

Kerry Coley and Jan Morrell have emerged as the top contenders hoping to deny Mayor Dwayne Warren a second four-year term in May

ORANGE - A three-way race has emerged as the city prepares to elect a new mayor next year.

Mayor Dwayne Warren, who is looking to secure a second four-year term, will need to fend off challenges from East Ward Councilman Kerry Coley and political newcomer Jan Morrell.

Over his time in office, the mayor touts accomplishments such as the closing of a more than $4 million budget deficit, an upgrade in the city's credit rating and budding developments at the former Orange Memorial Hospital and around the local transit hub.

MORE: Orange cop arrested for allegedly groping woman during traffic stop, officials confirm

"Orange is now a fiscally stronger, safer, and more engaged community, that is now headed in the right direction that we can all be proud of," he said in a statement.

Critics, however, the mayor's term has been largely politics as usual.

Many point to an early fracture with the City Council, stemming from his appointment of former Assemblyman Willis Edwards III as deputy business administrator, despite the council's earlier decision not to appoint Edwards to a permanent post. The move set off a costly legal dispute that simmered for nearly two years until September, when the city agreed to change Edwards' title and reduce his salary while officials vetted candidates to head the office.

"To me....that was a usurping of the city council's prerogative. That's not how government is supposed to operate," said Morrell. "We have a tripartite government so that there are checks and balances."

Other detractors point to Warren's 2013 endorsement of Republican Gov. Chris Christie, and hires they claim reek of cronyism, such as the appointment of Plainfield Mayor Adrian Mapp as city finance director. Warren serves as chief municipal attorney in Plainfield.

"City Hall is like a business," said Coley. "It's not a place where you can just give your frat brothers and all your family and friends jobs."

Warren fired back, however, saying that Edwards had been a valuable member of his administration railroaded by petty politics, and saying voters should be wary of turning over the town to candidates with little experience in elected office.

Coley was a longtime sergeant with the Orange police until being fired in 2011 - a move he alleged was politically motivated. Morrell is also retired after a 38-year career in the talent and admissions offices at Rutgers University, and has served on the city's Zoning Board of Adjustment and Citizen's Budget Advisory Committee.

PLUS: Accreditation can help N.J.'s urban schools reform, agency says

In a statement, Warren said handing the reins of the city's $70 million budget to Coley "will only erode the progress we have made", and criticized Morrell's platform as "outdated for the challenges we face."

Though voters will not head to the polls until early May, tensions between the candidates began earlier this year, when Coley and Warren began publicly sparring earlier this year after an explicit video appeared on his Facebook page. Coley claimed he was hacked, but Warren accused him of misogyny.

Issues in this city of roughly 30,000 are not unlike those of larger surrounding communities like Newark and East Orange, including escalating taxes, widespread home foreclosures and streets often littered with debris.

Crime rates have been fluid during Warren's term - the city recorded no homicides during 2014, but has seen at least five this year, according to an NJ Advance Media count. A class of 8 officers was added to the ranks this year and another 12 are on track to join them in 2016, though Coley and Morrell said the moves should have been made sooner.

Each of the contenders are still very much in the coordination stage - Coley recently aligned himself with a slate of council candidates, though Warren said he has yet to finalize his own. Many in town, however, say they are already holding out hope the votes for a more unified government come this summer.

"The council and the mayor don't see eye to eye in what direction they want to take the city," said Shelly Alexander, who chairs the city's Democratic Town Committee.

"Orange is not making the strides that it really should be making."

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

 

The men received sentences of 15 years and seven years in state prison.

TOMS RIVER -- Two men were sentenced Monday for sexually assaulting children, while another man admitted to sexually assaulting a 4-year-old victim.

Carl Creadle, 47, of Lakewood, was handed a sentence of 15 years in state prison for sexually assaulting a 6-year-old in February. Authorities said he knew the victim.

Creadle pleaded guilty to first-degree aggravated sexual assault.

Judge Wendel E. Daniels ordered Creadle parole supervision for life, and upon his release, he must register as a sex offender and have no contact with the victim.

Manuel Ramos, 40, of Newark, received a sentence of seven years in state prison for sexually assaulting two 7 - and 8-year-old victims in Forked River in separate incidents that occurred between October and December in 2011. 

In August, he pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual assault after the state presented its evidence in a trial. 

Ramos was mandated by Judge Daniels to have no early release, parole supervision for life and he must register as a sex offender upon his release from prison. 

The state had requested Daniels sentence Ramos to eight years in prison, while his attorney argued for six years.

Meanwhile, a 66-year-old man from Jersey City, Russell Cortese, pleaded guilty to first-degree aggravated sexual assault.

Authorities say Cortese sexually assaulted a 4-year-old victim who he knew in August in Point Pleasant Borough.

The state is seeking a 15-year state prison sentence for Cortese. 

Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

The driving force behind the recent surge in violence in Newark is the illegal drug trade, said the city's police director.

NEWARK -- The driving force behind the recent surge in violence that's helped push the city's homicide total past the 2014 tally is the illegal drug trade, said the city's police director.

In an interview last week about a string of killings over the last weekend of November that claimed the lives of five people, Newark Police Director Eugene Venable pointed to drugs as a common thread.

It's currently unclear how, if at all, the killings are related. While declining to elaborate on the details of the incidents, Venable said that much of the violence is being caused by gang members in the city's central and south wards.

"Some of the people involved may be classified as members, but their gang associations are not causing this," he said. "They're happening because of individual and drug-related disputes over narcotics territory."

Newark recorded 111 homicides in 2013, before the annual tally declined in 2014 to 93. But the Monday fatal shooting of Darel "Creep" Evans, who was featured in a Sundance Channel documentary series set in Newark, ensured that the slide will not continue. With Evans's death, the homicide count now stands at 94.

"We're definitely not satisfied," Venable said in an interview at the police department's Clinton Avenue headquarters. "Our goal is to reduce these homicides by 50 percent, and we're definitely not happy because we haven't done that."

One of the most recent homicides occurred less than a block from the Clinton Avenue precinct. On November 28, Najee Daniels, 22, was shot multiple times on a street corner near the intersection of Bergen Street and Clinton Avenue before dying at University Hospital.

Last year, Newark experienced a similar wave of bloodshed, as four people were killed and at least eight others wounded over the long Thanksgiving weekend. In the aftermath, Mayor Ras Baraka to declared a "state of emergency" to combat the violence.

Asked why the most recent rash of homicides and shootings did not prompt a similar announcement, Venable said that that the 2014 declaration was intended as a call for aid and partnerships with other state and local law enforcement agencies.

http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2015/12/documentary_star_one_of_2_victims_in_unrelated_new.html

Lack of partnerships is no longer an issue, the director said. "We've established partnerships with the state and local agencies, and we're not having as dire of a problem with the staffing," he said.

Authorities insist that the strategies are showing some success, pointing to reductions in non-violent crime. Mayor Ras Baraka pointed to incremental changes in the police department and policing strategies as signs the city's crime reduction efforts are working.

"We recently hired additional Newark Police officers and all of these recruits are out on the streets," he said. "We are developing a (civilian review board) and have witnessed incremental progress in crime reduction through our combined efforts with other law enforcement agencies. While we are by no means satisfied with the homicide rate or the number of shootings that have occurred, we continue to find innovative ways to address crime and to empower our citizens once again."

But gun violence continues to plague the city, according to police department statistics.

The most recent tally indicates the city could end 2015 with a significant bump in shooting incidents. As of Nov. 29, 379 people had been injured by gunfire in the city in 2015, a 16 percent increase over where the tally stood at the same point last year.

Drawing a conclusion from the apparent increases may prove difficult, said Todd Clear, criminology professor and provost at Rutgers University-Newark. 

"It's problematic trying to make too much out of a year-to-year fluctuations," Clear said. "You want to look at longer term patters, and in the long term, Newark's crime rates have been stable. But, stable is not the same thing as a decrease."

Recent busts of large-scale drug operations in and around Newark have helped curb some of the violence, Venable said. But once dismantled, those operations are quickly replaced, he added.

Shooting deaths mar holiday weekend in Newark 

"There (are) always people looking to take their place," he said. "What we have to do as a police department is get the small guys off the street quickly. Because when these shootings happen, they happen because of street-level crimes."

To prevent more shooting injuries and deaths, police said they have been pursuing a myriad of strategies, including arresting known gang members with warrants and cracking down on quality-of-life offenses and street-level narcotics sales.

The strategies were in place before the surge in homicides, and Venable said the police department expects to continue them through the close of the year.

But, cutting the annual homicide tally in half is "an ambitious goal," Clear said. "Cities don't have sustained changes like that," he said.

Given the violence prevention programs in place and the gains made by the police department in reducing non-violent crimes, a "meaningful drop" of 20 percent is within reach, he added.

"Public safety is not just cops acting alone," he said. "It has to be part of a initiative that (includes) groups in the public sector, the private sector, police, basically everyone."

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

 

Bamboozled wants to help you this holiday season.

Had a shopping nightmare this holiday season? Tell us about it. (Star-Ledger File Photo) 

It's the most wonderful time of the year ... unless you're shopping for Christmas, Hanukkah and other holiday gifts. Holiday shopping can turn the season into a real grind, but Bamboozled wants to help you make it through.

Share your worst holiday shopping nightmares via the form below. Bamboozled will take a look at your stories, and we'll try to help you resolve them if we can. Do you feel like you were scammed shopping online? Did a store's advertised sale suddenly disappear just as you arrived? Should your local mall get a lump of coal for the way it treats holiday customers? Tell us all about it. Your story could help others avoid the same fate as you. Submit your story below and it may appear on NJ.com.

John Shabe may be reached via jshabe@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter and find NJ.com on Facebook.

Montclair State University will present New Jersey Dance Theatre Ensemble's "The Nutcracker" on Saturday, Dec. 12 at 1 and 5 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 13 at 2 p.m.

Guest artists Morgan McEwen as Sugar Plum Fairy with Scott Weber as Cavalier in New Jersey Dance Theatre Ensemble's "The Nutcracker."Tony Turner

MONTCLAIR -- Montclair State University will present New Jersey Dance Theatre Ensemble's "The Nutcracker" on Saturday, Dec. 12 at 1 and 5 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 13 at 2 p.m.

The classic holiday production is choreographed by NJDTE artistic director Nancy Turano and features more than 55 young dancers as well as professional guest artists.

Tickets are $30 for adults and $20 for students, seniors and children. To purchase tickets, call 908-273-5500 or visit njdte.org/tickets.

The performances will take place at Memorial Auditorium on campus located at 1 Normal Ave.

If you would like to submit news pertaining to your college, please send an email to essex@starledger.com.

Mike Romano may be reached at mromano@starledger.com. Follow him on Twitter @mromano26. Find The Star-Ledger on Facebook.

A 30-foot art wall will be built around an electrical switching station in Newark's West Ward.

The Fairmount section of Newark's West Ward will be home to an electrical switching station that's not going to be an unsightly facility the community feared was coming to its neighborhood.

It's actually going to look good when 14 local and national artists, including six from Newark, beautify a 30-foot wall that will surround the structure at Littleton and Central avenues.

As part of a deal to allow Public Service Electric & Gas to build the facility, the utility also reached an agreement with the city and the Urban League of Essex County to design a wall that would enhance the neighborhood. They made the announcement today during a press conference at the Urban League offices.

Urban League President Vivian Fraser said her agency, which fought PSEG on how the switching station would be constructed, believes the art wall will make the neighborhood look like a gallery.

MORE: Recent Barry Carter columns

"We wanted a wall that didn't look like a wall but we had not imagined that it could be art,'' Fraser said

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said art is important in the transformation of cities and the wall will become a conversation piece after residents complained about having the switching station located in their neighborhood.

"It turned from this ugly kind of switching station that was a threat to people's lives into something beautiful in revitalizing the neighborhood and the community,'' Baraka said.

PSE&G officials say the station has to be built to supply Newark's growing demand for power and it should be completed by 2018.

"We're trying to be a good corporate citizen, a steward of the environment and a supporter of economic development,'' said Rick Thigpen, PSEG's vice president of state governmental affairs. "This community will be better off tomorrow than it is today.''

The lead architect on the project is Adjaye Associates, which designed the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History.

Barry Carter: (973) 836-4925 or bcarter@starledger or nj.com/carter or follow him on Twitter @BarryCarterSL

Authorities on Tuesday said they arrested two men accused of posing as Passaic County Sheriff's officers when they tied up a resident during an August home invasion in Paterson.

PATERSON -- Authorities on Tuesday said they arrested two men accused of posing as Passaic County Sheriff's officers when they tied up a resident during an August home invasion in Paterson.

Jason Thompson, 32, of Paterson, and Clemente R. Carlos, 28, of Newark, face a host of charges, including kidnapping, robbery, burglary and impersonating a law enforcement officer, Sheriff Richard H. Berdnik said.

The fake officers were wearing black T-shirts marked with "sheriff" on the back, wearing holstered guns and one had a five-point star badge around his neck in the Aug. 12 incident, Berdnik added. They used zip-ties to restrain one resident at a second floor apartment on 20th Avenue.

"These individuals' actions go against the very fiber of our society by impersonating members of law enforcement," Berdnik added in a statement. "The public needs to have a trust that person portraying to be law enforcement will help protect them from harm, not actually cause harm."

Security cameras captured both men near the crime scene and the vehicle they were using, according to the sheriff. Investigators reviewed the footage and checked with other agencies to confirm the men were not actually police officers.

Sheriff's detectives and agents with the FBI's Newark division arrested Thompson as he left his home Wednesday, Berdnik said. A search of his residence turned up a .38 caliber handgun, which was reported stolen during a burglary in North Carolina, ammunition and a face mask.

Carlos was arrested Monday and a search of his home netted three sheriff's T-shirts matching those used in the home invasion, Berdnik said. Two ski masks were also seized.

At the time of the robbery, Carlos was free on bail in connection with a March shooting in Belleville that allegedly stemmed from a drug deal, authorities said. The status of that case was not immediately clear.

Berdnik credited Passaic County Sheriff's Detectives Tiffany Baram, Robert Torres and Daniel Tareky with handling the case along with FBI agents.

"These two suspects were charged with 19 serious crimes, ranging from robbery to impersonating a law enforcement officer," the sheriff added. "I am thrilled that they have been apprehended and now are behind bars."

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

To call attention to the issue, several photographers and seniors are featured at a new photo gallery at the Jewish Community Center Metro West in West Orange.

WEST ORANGE -- Mary Bedward, 66, worked for 16 years as a staff member at Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital before a back injury from a five-car accident in 2004 forced her to retire.

RELATED: Record number of N.J. students eating free or reduced cost breakfast, report finds

She now receives $16 a month in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits based on her income, has COPD, and needs an at-home nurse.

"Really, I didn't think about being older, or old (when I was younger). I didn't think about it. I just took one day at a time, whatever it was, sticking by my Father in Heaven. Whatever that day was, He got me through," Bedward said.

Bedward is among several senior citizen photographers featured in a new photo gallery at the Jewish Community Center Metro West in West Orange that opened on Tuesday.

The exhibit is a project of the N.J. Anti-Hunger Coalition, and will remain open through Dec. 21.

Called "N.J. Soul of Hunger: The Hidden Reality of Hunger Among Seniors and the Disabled," it was funded by a grant from the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation.

The project was coordinated by several area Jewish social service organizations, including the Jewish Family Service of Central N.J., and featured their clients from around N.J.

"Record numbers of seniors and people with disabilities in our state regularly face difficult choices between buying food keeping their lights on, or paying for medications and other health care costs," the groups said in a flyer.

Bedward was asked by Jewish Family Service of Central NJ, which she said provides her with her nurse, to take photos of her life. She featured her pill bottles and Bible in her pictures.

She participated "because, I know what it's like," Bedward said, beginning to tear up. "I live alone and I know what it's like for others like me: disabled and elderly, that have to make a decision between our medication and our food...Can you live on $16?"

At a press event at the center on Tuesday, NJ Foundation for Aging Director Grace Egan was among many senior and anti-hunger advocates who spoke. N.J. Assemblywoman Sheila Oliver (D) also gave a speech, calling for action. 

"For some (seniors), they have difficulty breaking out of what has been a cycle of poverty. One of the things that help people break out of their cycle of poverty is affordable housing," Egan told NJ Advance Media.

"Those that are furthest away from working are the most economically challenged. You may retire at 65, you may have saved, but this level of inflation is something that you couldn't plan for....All of a sudden, you're one catastrophe away from living in poverty."

Adele Latourette, the executive director of the N.J. Anti-Hunger Coalition, called for support for three legislative proposals for N.J. seniors and disabled SNAP applicants.

The group's proposals include the implementation of a "standard medical deduction," so seniors aren't using their money for food for medication; an increase of the minimum household benefit from $16 to $30 per month; and a simplified SNAP application to make the enrollment process easier for seniors.

Though the SNAP program has been criticized as inefficiently run in New Jersey, it is "well-known and documented that the majority of people who receive SNAP are on it temporarily... and almost half are working," said Melanie Roth Gorelick, a leader in the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest N.J., which co-sponsored the program.

"Hunger is growing in America and New Jersey. It's not lessening."

Laura Herzog may be reached at lherzog@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @LauraHerzogL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

An intoxicated man drove over a curb, crashed through bushes before hitting a borough police car, authorities said Tuesday.

A 29-year-old man was accused of driving while under the influence of drugs in Riverdale Dec. 4, 2015, authorities said. (File photo) 

Sgt. Robert DiGirolamo and Patrolman Mike Reilly were called to a report of an erratic driver in a Chevy Tahoe on Route 287 northbound around 5:30 p.m., Lt. James Macintosh said in a statement.

As officers responded, the sport utility vehicle exited onto Route 23 southbound, went onto the grass at the Riverdale One building and ran over bushes before making a U-turn to the highway's northbound side, Macintosh said.

The SUV went back onto Route 287 north before police found it in traffic on the highway ramp to Hamburg Turnpike, according to the lieutenant.

Officers tried to reach the driver, Arthur Gussis, 29, of Roseland, and have him stop, but the SUV rolled forward and hit the door of the sergeant's cruiser, authorities said.

Gussis eventually put the vehicle in park, got out and tried to throw Xanax pills out of his pocket, Macintosh added. He tried to deny the pills were his and was taken to police headquarters for sobriety tests after an initial check at the scene.

At headquarters, a certified drug recognition expert found Gussis was under the influence of drugs, police said. He was charged with drug possession and being under the influence of narcotics. Police also issued him traffic summonses, including driving under the influence and careless driving.

Police said the officers were not injured.

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

Nader Saadeh, a 20-year-old from Rutherford taken into custody shortly after he arrived in Jordon, admitted to conspiring to provide material support to the terror group known as ISIS.

NEWARK--A third member of a close circle of friends tied together in an investigation spanning across New Jersey, New York and to the Middle East, pleaded guilty Thursday of attempting to travel to Syria to join ISIS.

Nader Saadeh, a 20-year-old from Rutherford taken into custody shortly after arriving in Jordan last May, admitted in a court appearance before U.S. District Judge Susan Wigenton in Newark to conspiring to provide material support to the terror group now controlling large areas of Syria and Iraq.

Prosecutors said Saadeh also admitted that two of his friends discussed plans to bomb landmarks including Times Square and the World Trade Center in the name of ISIS. That plot never materialized.

Saadeh had been one of five men linked by the FBI after a year-long investigation by the bureau and the Joint Terrorism Task Force that apparently began after the mother of one expressed fears that his friends were pushing him to "do something stupid."

Nader's older brother, Alaa Saadeh, 24, of West New York, pleaded guilty in October--also to conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State, by helping Nader travel to Jordan.

Samuel Topaz, 21, who graduated Fort Lee High School with Nader Saadeh, pleaded guilty in September to the same charge of conspiring to provide services and personnel to the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL.

Two others have been charged in federal court in Brooklyn. Munther Omar Saleh, 20, a student at an aeronautical engineering college in Queens and another friend of Nader Saadeh, is the focus of an ongoing investigation into the alleged bomb plot that authorities said would have utilized homemade pressure cooker bombs similar to those used in the Boston Marathon bombing. Fareed Mumuni, 21, of Staten Island, was charged with trying to kill an FBI agent who had arrived at his home to take him into custody.

Both Saleh and Mumuni, held since June, were indicted in August, again on charges of conspiring to provide material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization. Prosecutors have given notice that they will enter into evidence electronic records collected under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

Authorities said Nader Saadeh, a U.S. citizen who grew up in New Jersey, admitted that prior to his departure from the United States, he was shown technical drawings for the homemade bombs that Saleh and Mumuni discussed using to carry out an attack in the name of ISIS in Times Square, and also at the World Trade Center and the Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology in Queens, where Saleh was a student.

While the U.S. Attorney's office has said little more about the alleged plot, Topaz's attorney, Ian Hirsch of Hackensack, said some of those tied to the conspiracy had talked about "going to the White House lawn and killing whoever they could because they could not get out of the country." Hirsch said Topaz played no role in any such plot, but he acknowledged he took no steps to report it.

U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman, following Thursday's plea, said Nader Saadeh was the last of the three charged in New Jersey to admit guilt in the case.

"ISIL is intent on threatening the safety of Americans here and abroad, and we and our law enforcement partners are just as intent on stopping them," Fishman said.

Growing radicalization

According to criminal complaints in the case, Saadeh and others in the group had grown increasingly focused over the past year on getting to the Middle East to join ISIS. Prosecutors cited messages on Twitter and other social media, along with other computer records, showing that Saadeh had begun looking for airline tickets--initially seeking to fly to Turkey--after learning that the deli where he worked was to be sold.

Saadeh also admitted that Saleh assisted him by giving him a contact who authorities said would facilitate his travel from Turkey to Syria, prosecutors said.

By April of this year, investigators said Nader Saadeh was speaking mostly in Arabic, had stopped using the computer in the house, and turned to his smartphone for most communications. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, an informant said Saadeh had become a radicalized supporter of the Islamic State group, calling the execution of a captured Jordanian Air Force pilot by burning him alive earlier this year "justified."

According to court filings, Nader's parents had tried to convince him not to go.

"Yesterday your mother called me. She was crying and was subdued because of your issue. She said that you want to travel to Turkey and join a group of people you do not know who they really are," Khaled Saadeh, the father, wrote in an email cited in the criminal complaints filed in U.S. District Court in New Jersey.

He urged his son to reconsider. "They seduce you under the flag of Islam, but when you get to them, you see things that make you hate your situation...My dear, please, think about it...If you aim at the afterlife, you should obtain your parents' satisfaction, build a family and make us happy."

The father, who works as a project manager in the Gulf state of Oman, said in an email to NJ Advance Media that he and his wife had encouraged their son to come to Jordan instead, as a way of keeping him from traveling to Turkey and joining ISIS.

"I did what I have to do like a father to protect my sons, but the government is not doing enough to protect our kids from this kind of group, who try to brainwash our kids," he said in the email.

Nader Saadeh left for Jordan on May 5 aboard a Royal Jordanian Airlines flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport, flying on a ticked purchased on his brother's credit card. But he was taken into custody by Jordanian security forces upon his arrival in Amman.

Returned to the United States under circumstances the U.S. Justice Department still will not disclose, Saadeh was arrested and charged in August with trying to organize support for the Islamic State.

He faces up to 15 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 when he appears for sentencing March 18, 2016.

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

A Newark man became the fourth suspect charged with murder for the killing of a man who was lured to Elizabeth by a fake advertisement on Craigslist.

Police have charged a fourth man with the September 2014 killing of a Brooklyn who authorities said was lured to Elizabeth through a fake advertisement on Craigslist. (NJ Advance Media file photo) 

ELIZABETH -- A Newark man is now the fourth person charged in an attempted robbery that turned deadly when a man was lured through a fake Craigslist ad, authorities said.

Larry Jones, 33, was arrested at his South 13th Street home in Newark on Wednesday night and charged with felony murder for the Sept. 16, 2014 killing of Mamuka Chamiashvili, 41 of Brooklyn, acting Union County Prosecutor Grace Park said today.

Members of the Union County Homicide Task Force and the Elizabeth Police Department determined Chamiashvili had come to Elizabeth in response to a advertisement of a Mercedes-Benz SUV for sale.

After Chamiashvili completed a test drive of the SUV, men carrying guns approached the victim and gunshots rang out, Union County Assistant Prosecutor Albert Cernadas said.

At about 10:15 p.m., police responding to reports of shots fired found Chamiashvili on the ground on Jacques street and East Jersey streets. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene, said Cernadas, who is prosecuting the case.

Two other men, Keon Lewis, 30, and Ali Garner, 29, both of Elizabeth, were arrested within weeks of the shooting, and a third man, Travis Picou, 37, of Paterson, was arrested last January.

All four suspects have been charged with felony murder, Cernadas said.

Bail for Jones was set at $750,000. Jones was arrested by Homicide Task Force and the U.S. Marshals Service  

Felony murder carries a maximum penalty upon conviction of 30 years to life in prison.

MORE UNION COUNTY NEWS

Tom Haydon may be reached at thaydon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Tom_HaydonSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

As of Thursday morning, members of the latest class of Newark Police Department trainees had yet to be paid despite four weeks of work, sources say.

NEWARK --  As of Thursday morning, the members of the latest class of Newark Police Department trainees had yet to be paid despite four weeks of work, NJ Advance Media has learned.

Multiple sources familiar with the situation confirmed that two pay periods have come and gone since the 62 recruits began training in Passaic County on November 5, with none receiving paychecks, the sources said.

In a Dec. 7 response to inquiries about the paycheck issue, city business administrator Jack Kelly initially said he was unaware of the payment delay. In an emailed response sent to NJ Advance Media the following day, Kelly said "I believe manual checks are being processed today."

A spokeswoman for Mayor Ras Baraka on Thursday morning confirmed that paychecks were processed and that the city had issued each recruit a lump payment for the weeks they'd gone unpaid.

A source close to the situation told NJ Advance Media that the checks were scheduled to be delivered by hand to the recruits on Thursday afternoon.

The exact reason for the delay remains unclear. "It is very unfortunate the city's police recruits were not paid in a timely fashion, however, they have all been paid since the issue was brought to my attention," Kelly said in a statement emailed Thursday afternoon

City staffers have been assigned to determine the reason for the delay, and to "make recommendations to improve the process," Kelly said.

http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2015/10/41_new_police_officers_honored_at_newark_graduatio.html

The checks, when they do arrive, could come just in time to keep frustration among the police recruits from boiling over.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, one member of the class told NJ Advance Media that the recruits were assured by officials that checks for the entirety of their November pay would be issued on December 4, the scheduled pay day.

When the checks did not arrive, members of the class openly began complaining about the delay, the recruit said. Unable to pay their personal bills, some began to discuss the possibility of leaving the police department, the recruit added.

"We all want to be here to serve the city, that's why we signed up," the recruit said. "But everyone is sort of feeling like this is ridiculous. We're working really hard, and we're not seeing the reward for all of our sweat."

James Stewart Jr., president of the city's chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police, called the payment delay "disgusting."

"It is incredible to me that the city hired 60 recruits, with much fanfare, and lets them languish for weeks without so much as a dime," he said.

A 2007 class of recruits worked for a month before receiving their pay, Stewart said. Officers receiving their regular pay has never been an issue otherwise, Stewart said. "I don't recall any other serious problems, although they haven't hired many recruits since 2008," he added.

The 62 recruits are the latest additions to a department strained by significant staff reductions. Since coming to office, Mayor Ras Baraka has made bolstering the department's ranks one of his chief priorities.

Last year, Baraka announced a plan to graduate as many as 250 new Newark officers from various New Jersey police academies by June of 2016, and dozens of new officers have joined the department in the months since.

The 62 recruits receiving training in Passaic County are scheduled to graduate in May 2016.

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

 

2 other suspects remain at large

NEWARK -- Three people were photographed as they tried to break into a van Wednesday, leading to the arrest of one of the suspects, police spokesman Sgt Ron Glover said.

 

Police were sent to the 300 block of S. 11th Street, where they met a man who showed police cell phone photos of the three breaking into his vehicle. When police searched the area they found the three, two of whom escaped and remain at large, Glover said. The third, India Faulkner, 18, was caught and admitted she had a loaded .40-caliber handgun, Glover also said. She was charged with unlawful possession of a handgun.   

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

 

These seven questions will prove if you truly know New Jersey news.

You've spent all week reading all manner of local news stories. Are you ready to put that knowledge to good use? Take the quiz below based on some of this week's most popular local news stories. Once you're done, share your score in comments to see how you stack up with other NJ.com users.

John Shabe can be reached via jshabe@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter and find NJ.com on Facebook.

Newark community groups are concerned over the closure of the Violence Institute of New Jersey at Rutgers University.

Wearing a blue Chicago Cubs baseball cap doesn't necessarily mean a kid is a gang member of the Crips. And if he has on a Boston Red Sox cap, with a red B, it's not cause for us to jump on the bandwagon and think he belongs to the Bloods.

Maybe the kid is actually a fan of America's pastime or better yet - he's gotten good at concealing his gang involvement in order to keep his parents, his community and law enforcement off-guard.

In Newark, community groups, clergy members, social workers and health care professionals say they're going to miss learning about such informative, evolving trends, now that the Violence Institute of New Jersey has been closed.

"It looked at violence and the causes of violence in a practical, scientific manner, rather than in an emotional and political manner,''said Robert Davidson, executive director of the Mental Health Association of Essex County."They took a step back and considered the facts and weren't caught up in the passions of the day.''

In October, Rutgers University restructured programs in its Behavioral Health Care department to address issues surrounding violence, its causes and prevention. Unfortunately, the casualty of the university's decision was the institute and its gang component, based in Newark, leaving the community folks wondering where to turn for information on violence.

MORE: Recent Barry Carter columns

They had grown accustomed to talking with program analyst Jack Farrell, who could explain the institute's research and had become a liaison between the university and the community.

 "Jack is one of those people that we would refer to as a real fixture in the community... (and a source of information for) many professionals who have an interest in understanding the intersection of violence, substance use and gang involvement,'' said Hazeline Pilgrim, executive director of the Family Support Organization of Essex County. "A number of us relied on his expertise. His voice and particular skill set, I think, will be hard to replace because of his years of experience and vast contacts.''

Based in Newark, Farrell was one of 11 employees of the institute, which also had locations in Piscataway and Trenton. The employees were notified of the shutdown in October, but Jeff Tolvin, the director of Rutgers' university news and media relations, said the workers were offered jobs within Behavioral Health Care. However, Farrell declined.

Christopher Kosseff, president of Behavioral Health, said the institute's functions to address violence will continue and the community will not be at a loss for services.

Kosseff said the department is monitoring and reporting violent deaths in New Jersey, through a grant from the national Centers for Disease Control. There is a substance abuse training program for high-risk students in Essex County, another program to help people returning home from prison get settled with social services, and initiatives to prevent violence against city youth in public housing and the Newark public school system.

"Our commitment has not changed one iota,'' Kosseff said. "We're working in the community in all different kinds of ways to reduce violence.''

MORE CARTER: Newark students learn how to code and think big

Tolvin said Behavioral Health Care experts are available for the community to offer information on violence and its prevention. And despite the loss of the gang program, he said Behavioral Health Care has clinicians with experience  to provide insight about gangs.

Community folks are watching and waiting to see whose boots will be on the ground. Many of them believe that connection is lost with the move.

It's not everyday you learn that gangs no longer call themselves "gangs." It's "fam," an abbreviation for family, and that "Big Homie'' is the father figure or leader. 

"Kids don't wear colors anymore,'' said Farrell, who continues to speak to groups independently when asked. "Because you don't see that, don't breathe a sigh of relief that your kid is not engaged.''

Just as important, though, Farrell said, people need to understand that communities in which gangs exist have been emotionally scarred to the point that the violence has become part of the "normal" to residents and families.

"In order to counteract it, we have to better assess it earlier, intervene in the family as early as possible, (offer) wrap-around services and recognize there's no immediate solutions to it,'' he said.

Riaasa Muntaz, a Newark community organizer and activist, said learning about violence in workshops offered by the institute spurred her to organize a panel at Rutgers-Newark in October on how to stop violence.  Like others, she said she was shocked to learn that the institute, which also dealt with the socioeconomic and psychological factors of violence, is not around.

"When Jack does it, it's based on education and awareness,'' said Keesha Eure, of the Newark Anti-Violence Coalition.  "Outreach is extremely important to have connection and engagement. If you don't have that, you don't have nothing.''

In other words, the proof of the pudding for Rutgers is in the taste.

Barry Carter: (973) 836-4925 or bcarter@starledger or nj.com/carter or follow him on Twitter @BarryCarterSL