The New Jersey Attorney General and Wildwood Police Department appear to be at odds over emergency preparedness following a chaotic Memorial Day Weekend. In a statement released on Saturday, June 1, the Wildwood Police Department said NJ Attorney General Matthew Platkin blamed the police department for the series of incidents that unfolded Memorial Day Weekend, in which rowdy teens prompted the closing of area boardwalks, according to various media outlets including NBC10 and the Press of Atlantic City. Platkin alleged that Wildwood had insufficient police staffing on its "world-famous b ..read more

??????: A 25-year-old ex-con from Trenton who’s already served 2½ years in state prison is headed to federal prison for 16 more for a string of gunpoint carjackings and robberies. Joshua M. Perez was one of three armed robbers who commited a Oct. 10 carjacking, another on Dec. 5 and the robbery later than second night of a local gas station, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Surveillance cameras captured video of Perez and two other robbers emerging from a sedan, pointing handguns at occupants of another vehicle, Sellinger said. They then fled with money and cellphones in the victims’ c ..read more

??????: A once-prominent New Jersey lawyer must spend the next 4½ years in federal prison for swindling a family he represented out of $2 million -- and then, while on pre-trial release, impersonating another attorney in applying for a loan. The family had retained James R. Lisa, 68, of Jersey City, to gather millions that had been moved into offshore bank accounts by relatives decades ago and to resolve any tax issues that arose as a result, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Soon after being retained, Lisa moved more than $6 million back into the United States but told the family ..read more

You've likely seen the colorful ferris wheel looming over the crossroads of Route 4 and Route 17, right outside of the one of the highest performing malls in the United States. Law Enforcement Against Drugs and Violence (L.E.A.D.) founder Nick DeMauro knew what he was doing when he put the carnival there.  "It's the best location in the nation for a small-town carnival," he said. And it's back. The annual L.E.A.D. Fest Carnival is running every Wednesday to Sunday through June 9, at the Westfield Garden State Plaza. Admission is $5, while tickets for rides and games, and food purchases a ..read more

??????: A member of a burglary ring that specifically targeted Asian-American small business owners in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware was sentenced to a plea-bargained 33 months in federal prison. James Hurt, 48, of New York, and other members of the second-story crew worked from what the FBI called a hit list of dozens of homes in the four states based on “stereotype and opportunity" from Dec. 2, 2016, to March 20, 2019. The burglars often got into homes through unsecured upper-floor windows before seeking out cash, jewelry and guns, the FBI said In one instance, the bu ..read more

??????: There’s no trying to present a defense in court when the prosecutors have a video of you shooting someone, as well as the loaded gun you were carrying when they arrested you. So Ex-con Antoine Hawkins, 31, of Newark, took a deal from the government and was formally sentenced to 12 years in federal prison on Friday, May 31, for shooting two victims five days apart in the Brick City in August 2020. Hawkins must serve no less than 10 years of his plea-bargained sentence before he'll be eligible for release because there's no parole in the federal prison system. Surveillance video sh ..read more

PSE&G customers could be getting some relief in their bills. PSEG filed proposals with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to lower gas bills for residential customers by 6.1% effective October. “This is an opportunity to lower our gas supply rate, providing our customers with a little bill relief and helping to maintain affordability,” said Dave Johnson, vice president Customer Care & Chief Customer Officer. “We’re pleased that we will continue to have one of the lowest gas rates in the state.” If approved, the Basic Gas Supply Service (BGSS) rate will be reduced by almost 7 cen ..read more

Authorities are hoping the public can help them investigate a hit-and-run crash that critically injured a 76-year-old pedestrian in Kearny. They recovered the vehicle believed to have been involved in the crash at the intersection of Kearny and Columbia avenues shortly after 7 a.m. Thursday, May 30, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said. She didn't say, however, whether authorities had taken anyone into custody or had identified any suspects. The prosecutor did say that the victim remained in critical condition Friday at University Hospital in Newark, having been transported there by EM ..read more

A man wielding a chainsaw was shot and critically wounded by police sent to his Keansburg home on a welfare check, authorities said. Borough officers who went to the Seabreeze Way home shortly after 1 p.m. on Memorial Day "encountered an adult male civilian who possessed numerous weapons and a running chainsaw," New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said. "As the male approached officers with the running chainsaw, one officer deployed a [Taser] and another officer fired his service weapon, striking the individual," the attorney general said. on Friday, May 31. Unconfirmed reports were t ..read more

A former Newark police officer who shot and killed a driver during a pursuit and critically injured his passenger was sentenced to 27 years in New Jersey State Prison. Jovanny Crespo, 30, must serve 85 percent of his sentence before he's eligible for parole. Essex County Superior Court Judge Michael L. Ravin Jr. imposed the sentence under the No Early Release Act. Crespo was convicted in July 2023 on six counts of first-degree aggravated manslaughter in the death of 46-year-old Gregory Griffin, and second-degree aggravated assault for critically wounding Griffin's passenger, Andrew Dixon, 35 ..read more